not, upon inquiry, appear to have been ever CHAP. III. exercised in any one instance; and, in fact and practice, it has made no difference in favour of the Catholics. Indeed, it may well be argued, that the Lord Lieutenant does not now possess it. Anne, ch. 14 Sect. 2. which is the IrishTest Act. Lord Lieute sing power, For, (by a Statute enacted in 1704) the Oath prescribed by those Rules, &c. has been replaced by a new oath of supremacy, and also by a declaration against Transubstantiation, the sacrifice of nant's dispenthe Mass, and invocation of saints, which are by nugatory. this Statute required to be taken and subscribed by those persons to whom the former oath (2 Eliz.) was prescribed; and upon the like occasion, and in the like manner. Now, this latter Statute of 1704 has not authorized the Lord Lieutenant to dispense with the subscription to to the Declaration, or even renewed or continued the former dispensing power touching the Oath and therefore the power appears to be virtually extinguished. 33 Geo. 3. This exclusion of the Catholics from Corporate Offices has been carefully confirmed and re-enacted by the Irish Statute of 1793, which declares, by proviso, "That nothing therein "contained shall enable any person to hold, ex- ch. 21. Sect. 9. ercise, or enjoy any office contrary to the rules, In 1793, the "orders, and directions, made and established by Catholics from "the Lord Lieutenant and council, in pursuance offices was re Exclusion of all Corporate enacted. CHAP. III." of the Act passed in the 17th and 18th years Re-enacted by "of the reign of King Charles II. entitled, an Act "for the explaining of some doubts arising upon the Statute of 1793. 66 an Act, entitled, an Act for the better exe"cution of his Majesty's gracious Declaration "for the settlement of the kingdom of Ireland: 46 "Unless he shall have taken the oaths, and "performed the several requisites, which by any Law heretofore made, and now of force, "are required to enable any person to hold, "exercise, and enjoy the said offices respectively." Enumeration of offices interdicted. Offices in Dublin interdicted, 248. 2. IT is difficult to enumerate all the municipal situations in the various Cities end towns of Ireland, thus closed against Catholic industry and merit. In the city of Dublin alone we find the Offices following, viz. Lord Mayor and Aldermen ...... 24 Recorder and Treasurer Common Council-men .40 .2 ..96 Masters and wardens of Guilds, about 84 Town Clerks ... 2 Officers 248 Water-ing Cities and Towns, Cork, Galway, fast, &c. &c. 2,300. Passing thence to the other Cities and cor- CHAP.111. porate towns of Ireland-which may be reckoned In the remainat 115 in number, (as Cork, Limerick, ford, Belfast, Kilkenny, Drogheda, Sligo, Derry, Cashell, Clonmell, Trim, Enniskillen, Wexford, &c. &c,) we may reasonably take the average number of Corporate offices in each at about 20: which probably falls far short of the real number, since the City of Dublin alone appears to produce nearly 250. This average number of 20 offices to each of these 115 other Corporations gives the number of 2,300 ; and, added to the number of 248 appearing in by express Dublin, will amount to a total of 2,548 Corporate offices in Ireland, comprized within this positive proscription. Total 2,546, words ration of this 3. Thus far do the words and letter spirit and ope of the Law extend; but its spirit and necessary exclusion. operation reach farther. They render inaccessible to Catholics the numerous lucrative situa All Offices, de pendant, &c. are interdicted. dependant of tions dependant upon, and connected with, those Corporate offices; the patronage, power, preference, and profits at their disposal, In the In Dublin, 200 city of Dublin alone, the number of these de-fices, pendant situations exceeds 200-including the entire Police establishment and its officers, Paving and Lighting and Pipe-water Boards, Dependant offices, in Dublin, 200. CHAP. III. Commissioners of Wide Streets, Court of Conscience, Grand jury, City surveyors, craners, collectors, clerks, secretaries, solicitors, agents, and the various petty offices of more or less emolument, derived from those Boards. In the remain Towns, 1000. We may fairly estimate the number of 1,000, as not exceeding the amount of similar minor ing Cities and offices in the gift, or at the disposal, of the several Corporate officers in the remaining Cities and towns of Ireland. This number, added to the number of 200 to be found in the city of Total, 1200 de Dublin, will form a total of 1,200 offices in Ireland, from which the Catholics are excluded by the spirit and consequential hostility of those Laws, which exclude them from Corporate offices. pendant offices in Ireland. Hence it will appear, that the the gross number of offices and situations, from which this class of Penal Laws excludes the Catholics, may be considered as amounting directly, and by express enactment, to &c. interdicted, 3748. Here, then, is an immense number of officers, stationed throughout the different districts of Ireland, invested with powers of annoying others, CHAP. III. and of protecting and enriching themselves-Cities and which are refused to their Catholic fellow citizens. Towns. Inhabitants di and Vassals. 4. The great and general Dominion attached to these situations, in public and in pri- vided--Masters vate life, naturally separates the inhabitants of every city and town in Ireland into two very distinguishable casts-the Masters and the Vassals. culable vexa The vexations, insults, and other mischiefs flow- Hence, incal ́ ing from this Municipal system, almost baffle tions. calculation, and can scarcely be even imagined, save by the actual sufferers. Let us, however, attempt a cursory outline. merchants, ar weavers, &c, All Catholic merchants, tradesmen, and ar- To Catholic tisans; all the immense variety of petty dealers tisans, masons, and handicraftsmen, shop-keepers of every kind, smiths, carpenters, masons, shoe-makers, weavers, &c. &c. are under a necessity (for subsistence sake) of residing in these cities and towns, and under the yoke of Corporate power. Perhaps these men and their families amount in number to some hundred thousands of the most useful, laborious, and valuable citizens of Ireland. Such persons, in any well regulated State, would be deemed fit objects of favor and encourage H |