vellously.
All Ireland desired to see the King, who was, says the chronicler, "all
affability, condescending to shake hands with the lowest of the
populace. During the whole period of his stay in Ireland he met with
nothing but the most ardent demonstrations of loyalty. 'My heart', the
King assured his Irish subjects, 'has always been Irish. From the first
day it beat, I have always loved Ireland.'" The Irish question, some
thought, was solved.
No one was more profuse in his demonstrations of
loyalty than O'Connell, and no one was more sincere. The Nationalists
eagerly hailed the opportunity given them of proving that their
detestation of the Union did not involve disloyalty to the Crown. Even
Lord Londonderry, who had been, of all the ministry, held up the most as
an object of vituperation, was received, during his rides through the
streets of Dublin, with the most enthusiastic fervour.
Notwithstanding these demonstrations of loyalty, the
people, however, proved to be animated by a spirit with which no
statecraft of any kind seemed to be able to cope. "It is melancholy",
says the chronicler, "to be obliged to relate that the events of
October, November, and December destroyed all the splendid anticipations
to which His Majesty's visit to Ireland had given rise in the minds of
those who possessed a superficial acquaintance with the character of
that people. The gaudy and hollow bubble of conciliation soon burst, and
a system of outrage, robbery, murder, and assassination commenced,
hardly to be paralleled in the annals of any civilized country." The
county of Cavan was one of the chief seats of the disturbance.
The appointment of Lord Wellesley to the Viceroyalty
in the winter of 1821-2 brought the country a friend. He was firm alike
in his support of Catholic Emancipation and in his condemnation of
Orangeism. It had been the practice to decorate the statue in Dublin of
William III on the 12th of July and on the 5th of November. In 1822 the
annual celebration of the Battle of the Boyne had caused much
disturbance, and notice was given early in October that the decoration
of the statue for the 5th of November would not be permitted. The
prohibition was bitterly resented by the Orange leaders, and the
Merchants' Guild passed a resolution condemning it. Six weeks later Lord
Wellesley was insulted and attacked in the Theatre Royal, Dublin.
Hatred of " each other for the love of God", became
one of the most significant "religious tendencies of the age". This was
most noticeable in Ulster. In the counties of Antrim and Armagh, for
example, insults and provocations followed by riots were common features
of the life of the people. To ascertain the identity of the first
offender was almost impossible, so commonplace had perjury become. At
Carrickfergus assizes the flat contradictions given on oath by Catholics
and Protestants alike to statements made by their opponents were so
flagrant that the judge, Baron M'Cleland, refused to take the testimony
of either side, and dismissed cases with earnest exhortations and
reproofs, both to Ribbonmen and Orangemen, for the unnatural spirit of
animosity they displayed, which, the judge declared, "was calculated to
make the banner of Christianity, not an emblem of peace but a standard
to excite people to deeds of discord and bloodshed".
On the 12th of July, 1823, some Orangemen, and
Ribbon-men met at the fair at Maghera in County Londonderry. A quarrel
took place, and the Orangemen, being driven to the barracks, provided
themselves with arms and ammunition and fired repeatedly upon their
adversaries, with the result that some twenty or thirty were wounded and
several were killed. The Orangemen's triumph was later celebrated by a
concerted attack upon the dwellings of the Catholics.
In this year (1823) the Catholic Association of
Ireland was founded, by O'Connell, Sheil, and others. Its purpose was
described to be that of adopting "all such legal and constitutional
measures as may be most useful to obtain Catholic Emancipation". It was
not limited to Catholics. Everyone who subscribed £1, 2s. 9d.
annually was qualified for membership. Reporters were admitted. The
meetings were held at three o'clock on Saturday, ten members forming a
quorum. The country was appealed to. Subscriptions were invited in every
town, indeed in every village. Collectors were appointed for every
parish to receive monthly subscriptions, which varied from one penny to
two shillings. The result was a huge success: the feeling of the people
was awakened. Everyone, however humble, felt he could take his share to
remould the state of things nearer to the heart's desire. A fourth
estate arose in Ireland, as powerful, in many instances, as the other
three.
The King's speech at the opening of the session of
1825 proved that the Catholic Association was not to be allowed to
triumph. "Outrages", it said, "have so far ceased as to warrant the
suspension of the extension of extraordinary powers in most of the
districts hitherto disturbed. Industry and commercial enterprise are
extending in that part of the United Kingdom. It is the more to be
regretted that associations should exist in Ireland irreconcilable with
the spirit of the constitution, and calculated, by exciting alarm and by
exasperating animosity, to endanger the peace of society and to retard
the course of national improvement."
On the 10th of February Goulbourn moved for leave to
bring in a Bill to amend the Acts affecting unlawful societies in
Ireland. In order to meet objections, it was stated that it was intended
to have reference, not merely to the Catholic Associations, but to all
societies of a similar kind; and its objects were to prevent the
permanent sittings of any associations or appointment of committees
beyond a certain time, and also to put a stop to any levy of money for
the purpose of redressing private or public grievances. It was further
to make illegal all societies which were affiliated, which corresponded
with other societies, which excluded persons on the ground of any
particular religious faith, or in which any oaths were taken other than
those which were directed by the law. The Bill was supported by Plunkett
and Canning, and was pressed rapidly through all its stages by large
majorities. Early in March it was read a third time in the House of
Lords, and on the 9th received the royal assent, with the result that
the Catholic Association fell without a struggle, no attempt being made
to resist the law.
Shortly after the session closed, a committee of
twenty-one noblemen and gentlemen was appointed by the Catholic
Association to consider what course would be best to adopt under the
circumstances. On the 13th of July, 1825, Lord Killeen, as
representative of the committee, submitted the report, on which they had
agreed, to another large meeting, and its provisions were almost
entirely adopted. It recommended that a new Catholic Association should
be formed, which should have its head office in Dublin; that there
should be ramified associations in every county in Ireland, which should
act, with apparent independence of each other, in getting up petitions
to Parliament for Catholic Emancipation, that each of these associations
should have a permanent committee, which was to meet fourteen days at a
time, but that all its members should be, whether in meeting or not, in
constant correspondence with the head committee in Dublin; and, finally,
in order to do away with the apparent factiousness of a Catholic
opposition to Government, it was agreed that any person whatsoever,
irrespective of creed, should on the payment of twenty shillings become
a member. "Each province of Ireland", says Wyse, "was summoned by
requisition. The Catholics invited their Protestant friends; both met on
an appointed day in a town chosen in rotation in one or other of the
counties of the province. The result was most important. It familiarized
the two sects with each other; it inspired mutual confidence and mutual
respect. The people were incalculably benefited. It was not only a
spectacle of great and stirring interest, but a series of impressive
political lectures on their grievances and their rights, leaving behind
them thoughts which burnt for many months afterwards in the hearts of
the peasantry, and gave them a visible and sensible connection with the
leading class of their countrymen." The Act directed against the
Catholic Association expired in July, 1828, when the association was
without delay reconstituted in its original form.
A vacancy occurring in the representation of County
Clare, through Vesey Fitzgerald's appointment to the Presidency of the
Board of Trade, the Association started O'Connell as a candidate for the
vacant seat, with the result that Fitzgerald retired after a few days'
contest and O'Connell was elected; when, however, he presented himself
at the bar of the House of Commons, the oaths of supremacy and of
abjuration were presented to him, and he refused to take either. A brief
but stormy discussion followed, and O'Connell was sent back to his
constituents, with whom he became more popular than ever.
The Catholic Association now redoubled their activity
and the country was soon in a ferment of excitement. The organization of
the south had been completed, but in Ulster the power of the association
was not fully established, and they therefore sent Lawless as an agent
to represent them. On his way he wrote to the committee to say that the
whole population followed him up the hills, many on foot and large
numbers on horseback; and he actually entered the town of Ballybay, in
County Monaghan, with from twenty to thirty thousand people in
attendance. Such large numbers, being animated with a wild desire for
lawlessness under the guise of freedom, became a serious menace to the
welfare of lovers of peace, and the magistrates were obliged to call out
the military to check the proceedings of Lawless, one large meeting
being held at Armagh on the 30th of September, 1828, at which many of
those present were armed.
When Parliament met on the 6th of February, 1829, the
King's speech regretted the continuance in Ireland of an association
dangerous to the public peace, and advised Parliament to consider the
removal of civil disabilities of Catholics consistently with the
maintenance of establishments in Church or State. On the 10th Peel
brought in a Bill for the suppression of the Catholic Association, and
on the 5th of March he proposed a resolution that the House should form
into Committee to consider the laws imposing disabilities on Catholics.
The Bill, embodying Peel's resolution, was read for the first time on
the 10th of March. After two days' debate the second reading was carried
on the 18th by 353 to 180, and the third on the 30th by 320 to 142. In
the Lords the majority for the Bill on the second reading was 217
against 111, and the Bill was read a third time on the 10th of April,
and on the 13th received the royal assent. On the 15th of May O'Connell
presented himself in the House, claiming to take the oath newly enacted.
A debate took place, and on the 18th he was heard at the bar. It was
decided by 190 votes against 116 that, having been elected before the
change in the law, he must take the former oath. On his refusal to do
this a new writ was issued. He returned to Ireland to seek re-election,
and at once raised the cry of Repeal. He was again returned for Clare,
this time without a contest.
During the early part of 1830 the health of the King
had been rapidly declining, and after being for several months secluded
from everyone, save his personal attendants, he died on Saturday, the
26th of June, and was succeeded by his brother, William Henry, Duke of
Clarence, as William IV.