In 1795 the defenders became more furious and formidable than ever, in many parts of the kingdom, which arose from the following cause:

Lord Fitzwilliam, appointed to fucceed lord Weftmorland in the government of Ireland, landed at Dublin on the fourth day of January.

Some time before his arrival, the leading Romanifts having received affurances that the whole of the popery laws would be repealed during his adminiftration, the fub-committee prepared a petition to parliament, praying that a law might pafs for that purpose; and they recommended to perfons of their perfuafion, in all counties, towns and boroughs, to prepare fimilar petitions. Their orders were obeyed, and the petitions were prefented to parliament on its meeting.

It is remarkable that the first addrefs, prefented to his lordship in the name of the Catholick body, was figned by doctor James Mc. Nevin, Mr. John Sweetman and Mr. Richard Mc. Cormick, three felf-convicted traitors.

It was univerfally faid and believed that Mr. Grattan, who came to Dublin fometime before earl Fitzwilliam left London, gave undoubted affurances to the leading Romanifts there, that they were to be gratified in their wishes in the fullest manner.

It was faid in the Northern Star, on the eighth of September, 1794, that there was good authority for faying, that lord Fitzwilliam was to be viceroy; and that the first meafure of his adminiftration was to be the emancipation of the Roman catholicks.

On Monday the fecond of February, 1795, the petition of the town of Belfaft, (the mafs of whofe inhabitants are prefbyterians,) in favour of Catholick emancipation,

inhabitants, who were mostly prefbyterians, meditated the eftablishment of a republick as their main object, and confidered asfaffination merely as the means of promoting it; but the mafs of the confpirators in Munfter, Leinfter, and Connaught, being papifts, aimed at the extirpation of protestants in the first inftance, and as their primary object, of which the reader will be convinced in the Lequel.

emancipation, was prefented to the house of com mons 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 lordship 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 majesty the greater part of their lives with the utmoft fide lity; 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 conceflions; 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 course of which fir Laurence Parfons faid, that, if the Roman catholicks were difappointed in the expectations with which they had been filled, every gentleman in Ireland would be under the neceflity of keeping five or fix dragoons in his houfe for his protection; and it turned out afterwards that he fpoke prophetick truth.

It was univerfally believed, and the contrary has never been proved, that Mr. Grattan was the perfon 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 interest 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 protestants, in a ftyle of fturdy and menacing folicitation, at a time that both Great Britain and Ireland are threatened by a barbarous enemy, the English miniftry must 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 disappointed in their expectations; and the very difturbed state 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 amiablenefs 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.

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laws,

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

It must be univerfally 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 Romanists, who had manifefted a ftrong spirit of difaffection during the three preceding years..

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

The disappointment of the Romanifts 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, Westmeath, Kildare, King's and Queen's county, Louth, Armagh, Mo-. naghan, Cavan, Derry, Donegal, Rofcommon, Lei trim, 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 thofe who dared to profecute them, or to affift the civil magiftrate in enforcing the execution of the laws. The loyal subjects deferted their houfes in many parts of the difturbed 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 amiablenefs of his manners.

The chief officers of ftate, and many of the nobility and gentry, repaired to the caftle, to pay their refpects 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 horfes, 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 conftitution.

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-ftreet 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

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Thomas,