reckoned among their friends, the wisest and best men of the nation. At the time, to which the subject of these pages now leads us, Mr. Pitt, Mr. Fox and Mr. Burke were, confessedly, the most distinguished political characters in the country. Agreeing in little else, these great men united in the catholic cause, and in their wishes to afford the catholics every relief, which the temper of the times would admit. Through the whole progress of the bill of 1791, Mr. Pitt's conduct towards them was most open and friendly; he watched the bill, in all its different stages, with kind and unwearied attention. Sometimes by energy, sometimes by conciliation, he removed the obstacles, which opposed it; and, when the differences in the catholic body afforded too good an excuse for postponing the measure indefinitely, he did all in his power to compose the feud, and prevent its injuring the general cause. On every occasion, Mr. Burke advocated the catholic claims, and Mr. Fox proclaimed himself their patron. On one occasion, the writer called on Mr. Wyndham to solicit his attendance at the discussion of the bill for the relief of the catholics, then in the house of commons: "Give yourself no trouble," said that amiable and informed statesman, "to call upon me on "these occasions; I shall always be sure to be at my post."-From him the writer went to Mr. Whitbread, with the same request:-" You may always,” he said, “depend on me: if parliament "should give you a limited relief, I shall rejoice "that they give you something; if they should 66 grant it without limitation, I shall rejoice that they give you all." We shall shortly mention, in this chapter,I. The general hopes of relief, which the catholics entertained, upon Mr. Fox's accession to the ministry in 1806-II. The objections to catholic emancipation, which were supposed to arise from the oath, taken by the monarch, at his coronation :III. The conduct of lord Grenville's administration towards the catholics :-IV. Their attempts to obtain relief in 1810, 1811, and 1812. LXXXVIII. 1. General hopes of Relief, entertained by the Catholics, at the time of Mr. Fox's Accession to the Ministry, in 1806. MR. Fox's principles of civil and religious liberty are known to have been of the most enlarged kind. On one occasion, he desired the writer of these pages to attend him, to confer with him, as he condescended to say, on catholic emancipation. He asked the writer, "what he thought was the best "ground on which it could be advocated?" The writer suggested it to be-that, "it is both unjust, "and detrimental to the state, to deprive any por"tion of its subjects of their civil rights, on ac"count of their religious principles, if these are "not inconsistent with moral or civil duty." " No, "sir!" Mr. Fox said, with great animation: “that " is not the best ground. The best ground,—and "the only ground, to be defended in all parts,"is, that action, not principle, is the object of law "and legislation. With a person's principles no government has a right to interfere."—"Am I "then to understand," said the writer, wishing to bring the matter at once to issue, by supposing an extreme case," that, in 1713,-when the houses "of Brunswick and Stuart were equally balanced, "-if a person published a book, in which he at"tempted to prove that the house of Hanover unlawfully possessed the British throne, and that 66 all, who obeyed the prince on it, were morally "criminal,--he ought not to be punished by law?" "-" Government," said Mr. Fox, should answer "the book, but should not set its officers upon its "author." 66 No," he said, with great energy, "and rising from his seat, "the more I think of "the subject, the more I am convinced of the truth "of my position :-action, not principle, is the true - object of government." In his excellent speech for the repeal of the test, Mr. Fox adopted this principle, in its fullest extent; and enforced and illustrated it with an admirable union of argument and eloquence. LXXXVIII. 2. The objection to catholic Emancipation from the IT is not, therefore, to be wondered, that the hopes of the catholics, for substantial relief, rose very high on the formation of Mr. Fox's administration. They were soon checked by a report, advised, by the late earl Rosslyn, that it was inconsistent with his coronation oath, to repeal the laws remaining in force against the catholics. That, for this difficulty, there is no real ground, has been fully proved by two able publications : Dr. Milner's Case of Conscience solved; or, Catholic Emancipation proved to be compatible with the Coronation Oath, in a Letter from a Casuist in the Country to his Friend in Town, 8vo. 1806; and Mr. John Joseph Dillon's Essay on the History and Effects of the Coronation Oath, including Observations on a Bill, recently submitted to the consideration of the Commons, 8vo. 1807. In fact, all discussion of the subject may be brought, at once, to a very simple and decisive issue. The coronation oath was fixed in Ireland, by the first of William and Mary. At this time, catholic peers had their seats, and voted in the Irish house of lords; catholic commoners were eligible to the Irish house of commons; and all civil and ecclesiastical offices in Ireland were open to catholics. Of these rights, they were deprived by the subsequent acts of the third and fourth of William and Mary, and the first and second of queen Anne. Now, the coronation oath can only refer to the system of law, which was in force, when the act, prescribing that oath, was passed: but, the Irish laws, the repeal of which was prayed for, were subsequent to that act; therefore,-to those, or to any similar laws, the coronation oath cannot be referred. The prejudice, however, of the royal mind, against any extension of favour to the catholics, was very great; and was represented by many, to be unconquerable. This was remarked by Mr. Fox, to several of the leading catholics. He admitted to them, unequivocally, the justice of their claims, and the expediency of granting them; but declared, that, in his opinion, it was impracticable for them, at that moment, to carry the question of emancipation, and therefore advised them not to bring it forward, as the discussion of it could not possibly lead to any good, but might do them harm in future, by the ill-will and irritation, which it would naturally produce on both sides. He added, at the same time, that, if they should determine to bring forward their petition, they might at all times, and in all situations, depend on his voice and influence in support of it. The candor and openness of this declaration, from one so zealously attached to their interests, and so well known for the frankness and fairness of his character, had their due weight with the gentlemen, who communicated with Mr. Fox, on the occasion, and they resolved to abide by his advice*. LXXXVIII. 3. The Conduct of lord Grenville's Administration towards the Catholics. DURING the two years, which immediately preeeded the decease of Mr. Fox, his health was visibly on the decline: in August 1806, symptoms |