BILL FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF UNLAWFUL ASSOCIATIONS IN IRELAND.
The proceedings of the Catholic Association in Ireland created alarm in the minds of ministers. It was clear, however, to them that public opinion would be against the enactment of a partial law against that body, while the Orange societies, which were also mischievous in their tendency, were tolerated. A bill, therefore, was introduced by Mr. Goulburn “to amend the acts relating to unlawful associations in Ireland.” This produced a warm discussion, which extended by adjournment through four nights. In the course of this debate Mr. Canning vindicated himself against the insinuations of those who considered him estranged from the Catholic cause. He remarked:—“I have shown that, in 1812, I refused office rather than enter an administration pledged against the Catholic question. Nor is this the only sacrifice I have made to the Catholic cause. From the earliest dawn of my life, ay! from the first visions of my ambition, that ambition was directed to one object, before which all others vanished comparatively into insignificance; that object, far beyond all the blandishments of power, beyond all the rewards and favours of the crown, was to represent in this house the university at which I was educated. I had a fair chance of accomplishing it, when the Catholic question crossed my path. I was warned, fairly and kindly warned, that my adoption of that cause would blast my prospects; I adhered to the Catholic cause, and forfeited all my long-cherished hopes and expectations. Yet I am told that I have made no sacrifice; that I have postponed the cause of the Catholic to views and interests of my own.” Mr. Goulbum’s bill was carried by large majorities; but though the Catholic Association yielded to legal authority and became defunct, it was soon resuscitated under a different form. Ostensibly regulating itself according to the late act, it disclaimed all religious exclusions, oaths, powers of acting in redress of grievances, and correspondence with depending societies; and, concealing its intentions under the mask of charitable purposes, it pursued its original course with impunity.