APPENDIX.

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED IRISHMEN IN 1791.

1st. This society is constituted for the purpose of forwarding a brotherhood of affection, a communion of rights, and a union of power among Irishmen of every religious persuasion, and thereby to obtain a complete reform in the legislature, founded on the principles of civil, political, and religious liberty.

2nd. The members of this society shall either be ordinary or honorary, and shall not be limited to any description of men, but to extend to all persons who may be deemed eligible.

3rd. Every candidate for admission into this society shall be proposed by one member, and seconded by another, both of whom shall vouch for his character and principles, and whose name shall be entered on the books of the society; the candidate to be ballotted for on the society's subsequent meeting, and if one of the beans be black, he shall stand rejected.

4th. As a fund is necessary the better to carry into effect the purpose of this association, each member, on his admission, shall pay to the society the sum of per month while

he shall continue a member.

and

5th. The officers of this society shall be a secretary and treasurer, who shall be appointed by ballot every three months, viz. on every first meeting in November, February, May, and August.

6th. This society, in manner aforesaid, shall appoint two members, who with the secretary shall act for the society in a baronial committee, which members shall receive on each night of their attend

ance on said committee.

7th. This society shall in manner aforesaid appoint members, who. with the treasurer, shall form a committee of finance, &c.

8th. At the request of either committee, or any members signing a requisition, the secretary, or if he should be absent, the treasurer shall call an extra meeting of the society.

9th. This society shall meet in ordinary every evening at

o'clock; the president to be chosen by the majority of the members present, of whom shall be a quorum.

10th. Every respect and deference shall be paid to the chairman. On his rising from bie seat and taking off his hat, there shall be silence,

and the members seated. He shall be judge of order and propriety; shall grant leave of absence at pleasure; shall not enter into debate. If any membe: behave improperly, he is empowered to direct an apology; or if refractory, fine him in any sum not exceeding

and on refusal to do as directed, he shall therefore be expelled the society for

11th. No member shall speak more than twice to a question, without leave from the chairman.

12th. Every person elected a member of this society, whether ordinary or honorary, shall, previous to his admission, take the following test in a separate apartment, in the presence of the persons who proposed and seconded him, and one member appointed by the chairman ; or in case of absence of one of the two persons, the chairman shall appoint another member to act for the absentee; after which the new member shall be brought into the body of the society, and there take the test in the usual form.

TEST.

In the awful presence of God.

"I, A. B., do voluntarily declare, that I will persevere in endeavouring to form a brotherhood of affection among Irishmen of every religious persuasion; and that I will also persevere in my endeavours to obtain an equal, full, and adequate representation of all the people

of Ireland.

"I do further declare that neither hope, fears, rewards, or punishments, shall ever induce me, directly or indirectly, to inform on, or give evidence against any member of this or similar societies, for any act or expression of theirs done or made collectively or individually, in or out of this society, in pursuance of the spirit of this obligation."

13th. A member of any other acknowledged society, being introduced to this society by a member, shall, upon producing a certificate signed by the secretary, and sealed with the seal of the society to which he may belong, and taking the foregoing test, be admitted to attend the sittings of this society.

14th. No member shall have a certificate but by applying to the committee, who shall grant it, unless the member is leaving his place of residence, which certificate shall be lodged with the secretary on his return.

15th. When this society shall amount to the number of thirty-six members, it shall be equally divided by lot, that is, the names of all the members shall be put into a hat or box, the secretary or treasurer shall draw out eighteen individually, which eighteen shall be conidered the senior society, and the remaining eighteen the junior, who hall apply to the baronial committee through the delegates of the senior society, for a number; and that this division shall only take place in the months of October, January, April, and July. The fund shall also be equally divided.

16th. That no society shall be recognized by any committee, unless epproved of and taking the test, and amounting in number to seven members

DECLARATION OF THE CATHOLICS OF IRELAND.

Whereas certain opinions and principles, inimical to good order and government, have been attributed to the Catholics, the existence of which we utterly deny; and whereas it is at this time peculiarly necessary to remove such imputations, and to give the most full and ample satisfaction to our Protestant brethren, that we hold no principle whatsoever incompatible with our duty as men or as subjects, or repugnant to liberty, whether political, civil, or religious.

Now we, the Catholics of Ireland, for the removal of all such imputations, and in deference to the opinion of many respectable bodies of men, and individuals among our Protestant brethren, do hereby, in the face of our country, of all Europe, and before God, make this our deliberate and solemn declaration :

1st. We abjure, disavow, and condemn the opinion, that princes, excommunicated by the pope and council, or by any ecclesiastical authority whatsoever, may therefore be deposed or murdered by their subjects, or any other persons. We hold such doctrine in detestation, as wicked and impious; and we declare, that we do not believe that either the pope, with or without a general council, or any prelate or priest, or any ecclesiastical power whatsoever, can absolve the subjects of this kingdom, or any of them, from their allegiance to his Majesty King George the Third, who is, by authority of Parliament, the lawful king of this realm.

2nd. We abjure, condemn, and detest, as unchristian and impious, the principle, that it is lawful to murder, destroy, or any ways injure any person whatsoever, for or under the pretence of being heretics; and we declare solemnly before God, that we believe that no act, in itself unjust, immoral, or wicked, can ever be justified or excused by or under pretence or colour, that it was done either for the good of the church, or in obedience to any ecclesiastical power whatsoever.

3rd. We further declare, that we hold it as an unchristian and impious principle, that "no faith is to be kept with heretics." This doctrine we detest and reprobate, not only as contrary to our religion, but as destructive of morality, of society, and even of common honesty; and it is our firm belief, that an oath made to any person, not of the Catholic religion, is equally binding as if it were made to any Catholic whatsoever.

4th. We have been charged with holding as an article of our belief, that the pope, with or without the authority of a general council, or that certain ecclesiastical powers can acquit and absolve us, before God, from our oath of allegiance, or even from the just oaths and contracts entered into between man and man:

Now we do utterly renounce, abjure, and deny, that we hold or maintain any such belief, as being contrary to the peace and happiness of society, inconsistent with morality, and, above all, repugnant to the true spirit o the Catholic religion.

of

5th. We do further declare, that we do not pe..eve that the pope Rome, or any other prince, prelate, state, or potentate, hath, or ought to have, any temporal or civil jurisdiction, power, superiority, or preeminence, directly or indirectly, within this realm.

6th. After what we have renounced, it is immaterial, in a political light, what may be our opinion or faith in other points respecting the pope however, for greater satisfaction, we declare, that it is not an article of the Catholic faith, neither are we thereby required to believe or profess, "that the pope is infallible," or that we are bound to obey any order, in its own nature immoral, though the pope, or any ecclesiastical power, should issue or direct such order; but, on the contrary, we hold, that it would be sinful in us to pay any respect or obedience thereto.

7th. We further declare, that we do not believe that any sin whatsoever committed by us can be forgiven at the mere will of any pope, or of any priest, or of any person or persons whatsoever; but, that sincere sorrow for past sins, a firm and sincere resolution, as far as may be in our power, to restore our neighbour's property or character, if we have trespassed on or unjustly injured either; a firm and sincere resolution to avoid future guilt, and to atone to God, are previous and indispensable requisites to establish a well-founded expectation of forgiveness; and that any person who receives absolution without these previous requisites, so far from obtaining thereby any remission of his sins, incurs the additional guilt of violating a sacrament.

8th. We do hereby solemnly disclaim, and for ever renounce all interest in, and title to, all forfeited lands resulting from any rights, or supposed rights, of our ancestors, or any claim, title, or interest therein, nor do we admit any title, as a foundation of right, which is not established and acknowledged by the laws of the realm, as they now. stand. We desire further, that whenever the patriotism, liberality, and justice of our countrymen, shall restore to us a participation in the elective franchise, no Catholic shall be permitted to vote at any election for members to serve in parliament, until he shall previously take an oath to defend, to the utmost of his power, the arrangement of property in this country, as established by the different acts of attainder and

settlement.

9th. It has been objected to us, that we wish to subvert the present church establishment, for the purpose of substituting a Catholic establishment in its stead: now we do beartily disclaim, disavow, and solemnly abjure any such intention; and further, if we shall be admitted into any share of the constitution, by our being restored to the right of elective franchise, we are ready, in the most solemn manner, to declare, that we will not exercise that privilege to disturb and weaken the establishment of the Protestant religion, or Protestant government in this country.

Signed, by order and on behalf of the general committee of the Catholics of Ireland,

EDWARD BYRNE, Chairman.
RICHARD M'CORMICK, Secretary

ANTRIM PETITION.

The Humble Petition of the Freeholders of the County of Antrim, convened by public notice from the High Sheriff, at Ballymena, on Monday, May 8th, 1797. The Honourable Chichester Skeffington, High Sheriff, in the chair, Luke Teeling, Esq., Secretary. "To the King's Most Excellent Majesty.

"Sire, "We, the freeholders of the county of Antrim, in the kingdom of Ireland, feel it our most indispensable duty to your Majesty, to ourselves, and to our country, at this awful crisis, to approach the Throne with a representation of our most intolerable and most unmerited sufferings; and we do conjure your Majesty, by that great covenant which binds the sovereign and the subject in the reciprocal duty of allegiance and protection, and in the awful presence of God, not to suffer those advisers against whom we prefer our just complaints, to add to the catalogue of their offences that of shutting your eyes or your ears to the dangers of your empire or the miseries of your people. "They have involved us in a war, of which the motives and the conduct have marked their injustice and incapacity, and of which the disastrous event seems reserved by Providence as a dreadful example of unprovoked and frustrated oppression. Innoxious only to the enemy, its fury and havoc have recoiled only on ourselves, in the waste of blood, in the profusion of treasure, in the destruction of private in lustry and happiness, in the depravation of public integrity, in the loss of character, in the decay of liberty, and finally, in the ruin of commercial credit.

"Such are the fatal consequences which the empire has to charge upon the advisers of this most calamitous war, but they form only part of the crimes and sufferings which have deformed and degraded your Kingdom of Ireland.

"Your Majesty's ministers have laboured in this country, and with the most fatal success, to destroy the third estate of the legislature, and reduce the government to an arbitrary despotism, by bribing the representatives of the people to betray their constituents in parliament; and this crime, if capable of aggravation, they have aggravated by the most public avowal of the fact.

They have laboured with the most remorseless perseverance to revive those senseless and barbarous religious antipathies, so fatal to morals and to peace, and so abhorrent to the mild and merciful spirit of the gospel.

"They have answered our demands for a full and fair participation of the rights and privileges of the British constitution, and our just complaints of their rapacity, corruption, and oppression. by the most atrocious calumnies against our characters, and the most merciless prosecutions against our lives; and in order more effectually to organize