CH. III.] INTERVIEW WITH THE PRINCE OF WALES. 75 Grattan's sentiments. The passage which mentions "the Irish machinators" alludes to the following circumstance. Mr. Foster, who was unfortunately full of prejudice and hostile to the Catholics, had sent to England a list of individuals who had lost their lives in some of the riots and robberies that had occurred in the county of Down. Their names were marked "Protestants," and opposite to them was a note-" Killed by a Catholic." These riots had arisen between the defenders and the opposite party, who were Pro testants. This mischievous document was sent to the Prince of Wales, and he was requested to lay it before the King. Mr. Grattan and Mr. Forbes had an interview with him at that time, by appointment. The Prince was then friendly to the Irish, and, according to Mr. Grattan's account, kept him and Mr. Forbes waiting very long. At length, when he appeared, he made a speech on the subject of the Catholics and their Convention, all of which he seemed to have previously studied. Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas (Lord Melville) were there. Mr. Grattan described the Prince as professing himself friendly to the measure, saying that he was a lover of Ireland, and would support the Catholics." He spoke well, and was very animated; and at the conclusion, he slapped most violently a very tight pair of yellow leather breeches which he wore, acting this part with much address and spirit, and adding, with great animation, that he had seen letters from the north of Ireland respecting the riots which had occurred there; that the names of the persons were marked "Protestant," "Killed by a Catholic," and so on; that he had been requested to give these letters to the King, but that he had declined to do so; and that they had been sent 76 CATHOLIC CONVENTION. [CHAP. III. then to the Duke of York, who had brought them to his Majesty. Mr. Pitt was very fair in the business, and was favourable to the proposed measure; so was Mr. Dundas. He spoke as friendly towards the Catholics as Pitt did, and, like Pitt, he subsequently opposed them, but in the end they succeeded with the King. Such were the circumstances that occurred at this meeting. The truth was, that the King had formerly taken up the Catholics as Anti-Americans, thinking they would support him in that war; and now that the battle of Jemappe* had been lost, he took them up as Anti-Jacobins; but soon afterwards he let them drop, and since that time he uniformly opposed them. The Catholic Convention had assembled in Dublin on the 3rd of December, 1792. Delegates attended from all the counties and the principal cities of Ireland. The first resolution passed was "That the Catholic peers, prelates, and delegates, were the only power competent to speak the sense of the Catholics of Ireland;"-the second was That a petition be presented to his Majesty, stating their grievances, and praying relief." It was proposed that their petition should be sent to the Lord-lieutenant for transmission, and Mr. Hutchinson opened a communication with the Castle to ascertain their sentiments. Some delay and distrust, however, occurred, and the Convention determined to send it by members of their * This battle was fought on the 6th of November, 1792, at the village of Jemappe, between the Austrians, commanded by the Duke of SaxeTeschen, and the republicans under the command of Dumourier. The French account represented the loss of the enemy 5,000 killed, and as many prisoners. The Duke of Chartres, then called after his father, young Egalité, (now Louis Phillipe, King of the French,) distinguished himself on this occasion, by his courage and abilities (par sa froide valeur). This battle decided the fate of Belgium for the French, as the battle of Neerwinden, in the year after decided it against them. CHAP. III.] RECEPTION OF DELEGATES IN LONDON. 77 own body. Bearing in mind, probably, the conduct of the Marquis of Buckingham in 1789, and unwilling to trust another Lord-lieutenant, they appointed five delegates on the 7th of December, with instructions to present the petition to the King, stating the disabilities under which they laboured, and praying to be restored to the rights and privileges of the Constitution. No mention, however, was specifically made of seats in Parliament; but the instructions were that in any conference with the King's Ministers, they were fully to apprise them that it was the expectation as well as the wish of the Catholics of Ireland, that the penal and restrictive laws still affecting them be totally removed, and that nothing short of such total removal would satisfy the doubts and anxieties which agitated the public mind, or carry into effect his Majesty's gracious wish for the union of all his subjects in sentiment, interest, and affection. They arrived in London a few days after Mr. Grattan had the interview with the Prince and Mr. Dundas. The latter delayed giving a direct answer to their request of a personal interview with the King. The delegates, however, evinced a determination which does them great credit, and in which they were supported by their Parliamentary friends, Messrs. Grattan, Hutchinson, Forbes, Curran, and Doyle, (afterwards Sir John Doyle,) all of whom happened fortunately to be then in London, and in particular by Lord Rawdon, (afterward Moira,) who received them with that hospitality* for which he was famed, and * Lord Rawdon's reception (almost his support) of the French refugees, was princely, but his generosity cost him not only his fortune, but his independence. It was from the mother's side this family derived their good qualities. She was a woman of a noble mind, and possessed not only good, but great sentiments. Her notions were those not of family, but of royal consequence. She, however, had some that were 78 CATHOLIC DELEGATES. [CHAP. III. which, unfortunately, on other occasions, cost him so very dear. In case of a refusal by the minister, Lord Rawdon meant to avail himself of his privilege as a peer, and to have demanded an audience of His Majesty to express his opinion. The letters of the delegates were judicious and well-advised; but, unfortunately for both countries, the suggestions they contained were not followed up, and the long-agitated and vexatious question of Catholic emancipation was left open for an indefinite time, and under circumstances most critical to the empire. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DELEGATES TO THE RIGHT HON. HENRY DUNDAS, SECRETARY OF STATE. SIR, We have the honour to inform you, that the Catholics of Ireland have delegated us to present their humble petition to our most gracious Sovereign. We request to know at what time we may be allowed the honour of waiting on you with a copy of the petition which we wish to be submitted to His Majesty's inspection. We have the honour to be, with the greatest respect, Sir, your most obedient and very humble servants, Grevier's Hotel, Jermyn Street, EDWARD BYrne. MR. DUNDAS TO THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DELEGATES. GENTLEMEN, Somerset Place, 19th December, 1792. I have received your letter, and shall be at the Secretary false, and those she entertained on the subject of the reform in Parliament were quite aristocratic. The generosity of the family may be known by the following circumstance. On one occasion three bills came from the Prince to Lord Moira for 1,500l., 5,000l., and 15,000l.; Lord Moira endorsed them, sent them to a friend, and got the money for the Prince. His Royal Highness's letter which was read on the occasion, made great protestations of regard, and added, “If ever I forget your kindness, may God forget me" on which Lady Moira made the following prophetic remark: “If ever that man comes to the throne, he will deceive his friends.” СНАР. III.] CATHOLIC DELEGATES. 79 of State's office to-morrow at one o'clock, ready to receive the copy of the petition you propose to submit to my perusal. I have the honour to be, gentlemen, your most obedient and humble servant, H. DUNDAS. THE ROMAN CATHOLICS TO MR. DUNDAS. SIR, In justice to His Majesty, with a sense of whose paternal goodness to all his people we are thoroughly impressed, and to the Catholic people of Ireland who sent us hither, we think it our indispensable duty to state, that the unanimous sentiment of that body, after a long and solemn discussion of their affairs, was, that no measure short of an abolition of all distinctions between them and their fellow-subjects of other religious persuasions would be either just or satisfactory. We were sent here to support that opinion, and with instructions to state it fully on all occasions where it might be necessary to do so. We do therefore now, in conformity with those instructions, unanimously declare that no measure of partial relief will be esteemed satisfactory by the Catholics of Ireland; and we further declare it as our opinion, that independent of the justice of our claims-a total abolition of all distinctions now existing between the Catholics and others, His Majesty's subjects of Ireland-will be experimentally found to be the only measure capable of removing the anxieties which now exist-of insuring a permanent tranquillity to that kingdom, and of perpetuating the connexion with England, the benefits of which we deeply feel, and whose existence we are peculiarly anxious to promote. We have also the honour to enclose for your perusal a copy of the signatures affixed to the petition of the Catholics of Ireland. We have the honour to be, &c. &c. &c. EDWARD BYRNE, &c. December 20th, 1792. SIR,-In consequence of the interviews with which you honoured us on the 20th and 24th of this month, we presumed to entertain a hope that we should have been favoured by this with your determination as to the time when we should wait on you to learn the proper mode and season of presenting to his Majesty the humble petition of his loyal subjects the Catholics of Ireland, a copy of which we had the honour to leave for your inspection. We feel |