emancipation, was prefented to the house of commons by the members of the county of Antrim.

About the fame time, there appeared in the Northern Star, fome inflammatory addreffes to the volunteers, invoking them to refume their arms and fave their country.

On the twelfth of February, 1795, Mr. Grattan moved for leave to bring in a bill for further relief of the Roman catholicks.

Lord Fitzwilliam was recalled fuddenly from the government of Ireland, and returned to England. on the twenty-fifth of March.

The reafons affigned for it were, that his lordfhip exceeded the powers granted to him by the adminif tration of England, in attempting to repeal the whole of the popery laws, and to remove moft of the old officers of the crown, who had ferved his majefty the greater part of their lives with the utmoft fidelity; and this by the advice of his excellency's cabinet minifters in Ireland, of whom Mr. Grattan was the chief.

It is not to be doubted, but that the Romanists were buoyed-up with the hope of being admitted to equal privileges with the proteftants, though the English cabinet never empowered lord Fitzwilliam to make them fuch conceffions; but on the contrary, defired him to prevent the Catholick claims from being difcuffed. Lord Grenville and Mr. Pitt publickly defied his lordship to prove that he had received fuch powers.

On the fecond of March, 1795, a debate took place on the recall of lord Fitzwilliam, in the courfe of which fir Laurence Parfons faid, that, if the Roman catholicks were disappointed in the expectations with which they had been filled, every gentlenian in Ireland would be under the néceffity of keeping five or fix dragoons in his houfe for his protection; and it turned out afterwards that he spoke prophetick

truth.

It was univerfally believed, and the contrary has never been proved, that Mr. Grattan was the person who filled the Roman catholicks with these vain hopes, with a view of acquiring popularity, or from fome other fecret motive.

It was generally thought that he reafoned thus: If the Roman catholicks of Ireland, the majority of its inhabitants, who have been ready on all occafions to join any foreign foe against the intereft of the proteftant empire of Great Britain, fhall come forward in a body, and afk for an equal participation of civil liberty and political power with the proteftants, in a ftyle of sturdy and menacing folicitation, at a time that both Great Britain and Ireland are threatened by a barbarous enemy, the English ministry muft grant, from intimidation, what their policy and prudence might withhold.

At the fame time Mr. Grattan, and the partifans of the Romanifts, affured earl Fitzwilliam, that a feparation of Ireland from England would moft certainly take place, fhould they be difappointed in their expectations; and the very difturbed ftate of the kingdom, agitated at that time by the defenders and the united Irishmen, gave fome credit to their affertions.

His excellency, relying on their veracity and integrity, perfifted in promoting the wishes of the Romanifts, I believe, from the best motives, and was therefore recalled.

From the refpectability and amiablencfs of his character, no perfon could doubt the rectitude of his intentions, or that he had any other object at heart than the intereft of the empire; but it is believed that his lordship was unacquainted with the real ftate of the kingdom.

Notwithstanding the recall of earl Fitzwilliam, Mr. Grattan prefented, on the twenty-fourth of April, a bill for further relief of the Roman catholicks, which contained a total repeal of the popery VOL. I.

M

laws,

laws. It was read a fecond time, debated and re jected the fourth of May; the numbers having been 155 to 84.

It must be universally allowed, that Mr. Grattan was very imprudent in bringing this meafure forward, because he could not entertain the most distant hope of its fuccefs; and he must have known that the difcuffion of it would excite much difcontent among the mafs of the Romanifts, who had manifested a strong spirit of difaffection during the three preceding years.

The Roman catholicks of Dublin voted an ad-drefs of thanks to Mr. Grattan for his exertions in their favour; and his answer to them was very intemperate and inflammatory.*

The disappointment of the Romanists was fuch, as to fill them with the most implacable hatred against the government and their proteftant fellow-fubjects, which manifefted itself in various ways, but particu larly in the destructive rage of defenders, who defolated many parts of the kingdom; and particularly the counties of Dublin, Meath, Weftmeath, Kildare, King's and Queen's county, Louth, Armagh, Monaghan, Cavan, Derry, Donegal,, Rofcommon, Leitrim, Longford, Sligo, and part of the county of Down.

They plundered proteftants houfes of arms, often burned them, and killed fuch of their inmates as made any refiftance: They houghed their cattle, wrote threatening letters to compel perfons to comply with their unreafonable requifitions; and frequently maffacred those who dared to profecute them, or to affift the civil magistrate in enforcing the execution of the laws. The loyal fubjects deferted their houses in many parts of the disturbed countries, and fled to their respective county towns, or to the metropolis, for protection.

Lord Camden, who fucceeded lord Fitzwilliam as viceroy of Ireland, landed in Dublin on the fecond

See Mr. Grattan's addrefs, Appendix, No. X.

of

of April, 1795; a nobleman univerfally revered there, for his good fenfe and firmness, the mildness of his difpofition, and the amiableness of his manners.

The chief officers of state, and many of the nobi lity and gentry, repaired to the castle, to pay their respects to his excellency. The lord chancellor at his return was attacked by a gang of affaffins, who, by repeated vollies of ftones, broke the pannels of his coach, gave his lordship a fevere contufion in the forehead, and would have murdered him, but that the skill of his coachman, and the agility of his horses, enabled him to escape.

The primate was alfo attacked at his return from the castle, but received no other injury than that his coach was in fome degree damaged.

The fame party repaired immediately to the house of Mr. John Claudius Beresford, nephew of the marquis of Waterford, and affaulted it with many fhowers of ftones; but one of them having been killed by a fhot from it, the remainder fled. :

It was afterwards proved, that this mob was entirely composed of defenders, who had been selected by their leaders, to raise an infurrection; and lord Clare and Mr. Beresford's family were particularly the object of their vengeance, because they had given the most decided oppofition to Catholick emancipation, and reform of parliament; the two engines by which the difaffected hoped to fubvert the confti

tution.

The Romanifts in Dublin were fo much incenfed at lord Fitzwilliam's recall, that a combination was formed in Francis-ftreet chapel, that no papifts fhould hold any dealings or any friendly intercourfe with proteftants; and their example was followed in all the other chapels.

There was to have been a charity fermon in James's-freet chapel, but it was fuddenly put off, for the purpose of entering into this combination; by which many of the poorer clafs of proteftants in

Thomas, Francis, and James's-ftreets, principally inhabited by papifts, were ruined..

An eminent flour-factor affured me, that all the popish bakers, who had dealt with him, fuddenly left him; and that to make up for the lofs which he fuftained by it, he was under a neceflity of giving credit. to perfons whofe folvency was doubtful. Papifts alfo withdrew their cuftom from proteftant bakers.

Should the proteftants pursue the fame vindictive and uncharitable system, the Roman catholicks would be by far the greatest fufferers; as the former poffefs at least nineteen parts out of twenty of the property of the kingdom.

The mafs of the popish rabble were univerfally infected with defenderiím in the metropolis and its environs, in which outrages were perpetrated every night, and committees were frequently detected and feized with their papers, in the act of forming treafonable plots. The police commiffioners were in poffeffion of a mufter-roll of 4000 perfons affociated in these clubs; but the popifh multitude in the metropolis were in general at this time enrolled in them. . The united Irishmen and defenders were then very active, and in many inftances fuccefsful in feducing the military from their allegiance, and in attaching them to their caufe. They occafioned a mutiny in the 104th and 11th regiments quartered in Dublin, and endeavoured to procure their co-operation and affistance in an infurrection and maffacre, which they meditated on the twenty-fourth of Auguft, 1795Many of the foldiers deferted from their regiments to join the rebels; and on that day a mob of traitors, who met the caftle guard on Effex-bridge, were fo confident of being joined by them, that one of their leaders attempted to wrench the colours from the officer who bore them, as a fignal for a general infur`rection; and another of them mounted on the bridge, and began to exhort the populace to rife, in an inflammatory harangue; but he was foon filenced by a dragoon,

2