this view his majesty trufts that the fituation of his ma jefty's Catholic fubjects will engage your serious attention, and in the confideration of this fubject he relies on the wifdom and liberality of his parliament."

Early in March the expected Bill of Relief was brought into the house of commons by Mr. Secretary Hobart, and, in its original form, it appeared well calculated to answer the purpose intended. The influence of the executive government was in this inftance no lefs laudably than powerfully and feasonably exerted; but it had ftrong obstacles. in the bigotry and prejudice of a great majority of the house to encounter. "The inveteracy of fome," fays a writer well informed on this fubject, "was not to be overcome even in the agonies of their defpair. Whatever could be faved to them from this wreck of their monopoly they fe cured by exceptions from the broad and liberal relief which the first form of the bill held out."*

Some of these exceptions were admitted; others were rejected. The chief enacting claufe, enabling the Catholics to exercife and enjoy all civil and military offices and places of truft or profit under the crown, was almost paralyzed by the fubfequent reftri&ions,--that it fhould not be conftrued to extend to enable any Roman-catholic to fit or vote in either house of parliament, or to fill the office of lord-lieutenant or lord-chancellor, or judge in either of the three courts of Record or Admiralty, nor keeper of the privy-feal, fecretary of state, lieutenant or custos rotulorum of counties, nor privy-counfellor, or mafter in Chancery, nor a general on the staff, nor sheriff or fubfheriff of any county, with a long catalogue of other disqualifications.

Mr. Fofter, fpeaker of the houfe of commons, declared, on the fecond reading of the bill, that he confidered it as the prelude and certain fore-runner of the overthrow of the Proteftant establishment. And the lord-chancellor Fitzgib

* PLOWDEN'S Twenty Montba."

bon

bon, who was regarded as the head of the Anti-catholic party, declared, "that it was an abfurd and wicked speculation to look to the total repeal of the Popery laws of that kingdom, or to endeavour to communicate the efficient power of the Proteftants to the Catholics of Ireland.. As long (faid his lordship) as the nature of man continues what it is, a zealous Catholic cannot poffibly, or with good faith, exercise the powers of government in fupport of a Protestant establishment, or of the Proteftant connection with Great Britain. If, therefore, I am the fingle man to raife my voice against such a project, I will refift it."

The oppofition of the lord-chancellor was feconded with great vehemence by Dr. Agar, archbishop of Cafhel, a prelate who had, on a former occafion, diftinguished himself by the memorable declaration, " that the Roman-catholic religion was a religion of knaves and fools.”

The bill at length, clogged with innumerable modifications and restrictions, paffed with few diffentient voices into a law and though it ftopped far fhort of Catholic emancipation, and bore no relation to parliamentary reform, it was supposed to be all that the executive government could, at this time, without too violent an exertion, effect; and upon this account it was received with gratitude and fatisfaction. Mr. Curran, an eminent advocate of the Irish bar, and an eloquent speaker in parliament, declared, in relation to the fituation of the Catholics," that had the petition paffed over last year in contemptuous neglect by the Irish parliament been this year rejected by the throne, there remained only one other throne for mifery to invoke. From that laft and dreadful appeal the country had now been faved by the paternal benignity of the fovereign and father of his people." -As a farther conceffion to the reviving fpirit of liberty in Ireland, a Libel Bill paffed, fimilar to that of Mr. Fox in England; the power of the crown to grant penfions on the Irish establishment was limited to the fum of 80,000l.; and certain defcriptions of placemen and penfioners were ex

cluded

cluded from the privilege of fitting in the house of com→ mons. Alfo the king declared his acceptance of a limited fum, fixed at 225,000l. for the expences of his civil lift, in lieu of the hereditary revenues of the crown; "a meafure," as the speaker, in his speech to the lord-lieutenant at the close of the feffion, justly observed, " effential for effectuating in that kingdom a fimilar control over the application of the public money to that which had been long established in Great Britain."

On the other hand, the court was gratified by the paffing of Alien and. Traitorous Correfpondence Bills, analogous to thofe of England; and yet more by an act of an extraordinary nature," To prevent the election or appointment of affemblies, purporting to represent the people, or any description or number of the people, under pretence of preparing or prefenting petitions, &c. to the king or either houfe of parliament, for alteration of matters eftablished by law, or redress of alleged grievances in church or state.', This act plainly indicated the apprehenfions of government that the Catholics would not be permanently fatisfied with the conceffions now made to them: and the measure in question was adopted, in order to make it impracticable for them to meet in provincial or national convention. The policy, therefore, of the prefent feffion was not to extinguish discontent, but to allay it for the prefent, and to repress the external symptoms of this political diftemperature in future.

The earl of Westmoreland, on proroguing the parliament on the 16th August (1793), informed the two houses, "that the wisdom and liberality with which they had attended to his majesty's recommendation in favor of his Roman-catholic fubjects were highly pleafing to the king." -That the fentiments of the British cabinet were not, however, really favorable to the general interests of liberty too plainly appeared from the manner with which the powers of government were exercifed at this time both in England and Scotland.

Notwithstanding

Notwithstanding the great predominance of the spirit of loyalty, and the numberlefs addresses of duty and allegiance tranfmitted from all parts of the united kingdom, and the perfect fecurity of the government, a mean and merciless fpirit of revenge displayed itself in the prosecution and punishment of very many petty offenders accused of the vague and indefinable crime of fedition-amongst whom were feveral printers and bookfellers; fo that it became extremely dangerous to publish any tract or pamphlet reflecting in any manner upon the measures of government, and the liberty of the prefs was filently and virtually annihilated.

The profecutions in Scotland were of a nature more important and interefting. The fpirit of political reform had diffused itself very widely in that kingdom, blended, as is too frequently the cafe, with the alloy of enthusiasm and theoretic extravagance. A numerous affociation of perfons of this complexion, fent from various towns and diftricts, met this fummer at Edinburgh, under the pompous title of a Convention of Delegates for obtaining Univerfal Suffrage and Annual Parliaments. This was no infraction of any known exifting law; and a similar proceeding had taken place in England in the year 1780-a convention of delegates from different parts of the kingdom, for the purpose of obtaining a reform in parliament, meeting in London repeatedly, not only without judicial or parliamentary animadverfion, but with national approbation and applauseMr. Pitt, now first minifter, being himself a delegate to this convention.

The extreme indifcretion of the Scottish association appeared, however, very manifeft, in their affected adoption of the modes and forms established in the National Affembly of France; and more especially in their habitual use of the obnoxious term "Citizen." But although these things indicated great puerility and want of judgment, it cannot be denied that many perfons of great refpectability, attending only or chiefly to the object in view, and regardless of these

follies

follies which they no doubt difapproved and despised, had accepted the office of delegates, and, with perfect rectitude of intention, entered as members into this affociation. On a fudden, and while the legality of this conventional affembly was yet unquestioned, divers of the delegates were apprehended (Auguft 1793) on a charge of fedition, and brought to their trial before the High Court of Justiciary, by whom they were found guilty upon evidence which would in the English courts have been held totally inadmiffible, and by the judges of that defpotic tribunal fentenced to be tranfported beyond the feas for the term of fourteen years, to fuch place as his majefty fhould judge proper.

Of this number were, Mr. Muir, one of the Faculty of Advocates at Edinburgh, Mr. Gerald, whofe eloquent defect attracted much notice, Mr. Skirving, and Mr. Margarot, who were foon afterwards, with many circumstances of relentless barbarity, conveyed in a government tranfport, with a crowd of felons of the vilest description, across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans to the fettlement of BotanyBay. The fame hard fate awaited Mr. Palmer, an English clergyman of moral character, whofe zeal for the diffemination of unitarian principles in religion had induced him to fix his refidence at Dundee, where he had opened a chapel and collected a congregation. Being a friend to political no less than religious liberty, this gentleman had been engaged in re-printing an address to the people of Scotland on the subject of reform, containing many bold truths and fome unguarded expreffions; not, however, more cenfurable than might eafily be found in thousands of papers, the political ephemera of the day, which have in England paffed altogether unnoticed.

For this offence Mr. Palmer was tried by the Circuitcourt of Justiciary, and fentenced to seven years' transportation beyond the feas. The amiable qualities of the individuals who were condemned excited a general fympathy for their fufferings, and infpired into the breafts of thou

fands