NOTE C. (Page 141.) Further Extract from Lord Castlereagh's Speech. "THAT Lord Cornwallis never considered any pledge or assurance to have been given, he had the means of proving, beyond the possibility of doubt, from a communication received from that noble lord, in 1801, in reply to inquiries made by himself relative to two papers, which the House will recollect were circulated in Ireland at that time, and which he (Lord Castlereagh) had never seen till they appeared in print: on the contrary, the principle upon which Lord Cornwallis acted was, that the measure, to be either conciliatory or dignified, ought to be the spontaneous and gratuitous act of the united legislature. The memorandum received from Lord Cornwallis, he would, with permission, read. "MY DEAR LORD, "Dublin Castle, March 3, 1801. In answer to the queries stated in your lordship's letter to the Lord Lieutenant of the 26th instant, his Excellency has directed me to inclose to you the statement which accompanies this letter, and which has been prepared according to his Excellency's directions. 'I am ever, my dear Lord, • Most truly, Your Lordship's servant, Viscount Castlereagh, &c. &c. &c. MEMORANDUM. "When it was notified to the Lord Lieutenant, that Mr. Pitt, Lord Grenville, Lord Spencer, Lord Camden, Mr. Dundas, and Mr. Windham, had requested permission to retire from his Majesty's councils, upon their not being sanctioned in bringing forward such measures as they thought essential to secure to the empire the full benefit of the Union—the most important of which measures was a concession of further privileges to his Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects-his Excellency conceived that it was expedient that the Catholic body should have an authentic communication upon a subject so deeply affecting their situation and interests, and so calculated to influence their future conduct. His Excellency had long held it as his private opinion, that the measure intended by those of his Majesty's ministers who were retiring from office was necessary for securing the connection of Ireland with Great Britain. He had been, however, cautious in his language on the subject, and had studiously avoided any declaration to the Catholics, on which they could raise an expectation, that their wishes were to be conceded. Through the whole measure of the Union, which was in discussion for two years, and during which period every effort was made to procure a resistance to the measure on the part of the whole body of the Catholics, no favourable assurance or promise was made to them. "Their judicious conduct during that trying period confirmed his Excellency in the opinion, that every measure tending to secure their attachment to the em pire in future, which they had, in this instance, so essentially served, ought, in true policy, to be attempted. "His Excellency did, therefore, recommend it to his chief secretary, who was engaged with his Majesty's ministers in the course of the summer in England, to second every disposition for effecting the object of the Catholics; at the same time, he retained a prudential reserve to the Catholics during the progress of the discussions of the cabinet. " His Majesty having approved of the solicitation of the majority of his Majesty's ministers to retire from his Majesty's councils, and his Excellency having requested that his Majesty would extend to him the same indulgence, it became a matter of public duty for his Excellency to explain to the Catholic body the sentiments which had been held with respect to them, and to inculcate the line of conduct which, in this arduous crisis, it became them to pursue. His Excellency, therefore, being apprized of the sentiment held by Mr. Pitt, did, on the 13th of February, send for Lord Fingal and Dr. Troy, and gave them two Papers to be by them circulated among the principal Catholics in different parts of Ireland. "The first, his Excellency felt assured, corresponded with Mr. Pitt's sentiments; and the other conveyed his own private sentiments formed on the speeches and conduct of many of the most eminent characters of all parties and distinctions. "It being of great importance, that any communication made by his Excellency should not be misunderstood or misinterpreted, and that it should make a due im X pression, and produce à general good effect, his Excellency preferred a written to a mere verbal communication, which might have been ill reported, and might have been subject to perversion, according to the inclination or capacity of those who should circulate and receive it. His Excellency has seen a happy result from this mode of proceeding. Rumours having been transmitted from England, that the wishes of the Catholics were likely to be acceded to, every ill consequence from their disappointment has been obviated; and there is now every reason to believe, that they will take that line of conduct, which the well-wishers to his Majesty's service and the cause of the empire would desire." "The House will perceive from this statement, not only that no pledge was given previous to the Union, but that the papers in question, which have been often confounded in point of date with the Union, and been supposed to contain some pledge, were framed and issued in Ireland long after that measure had been effected, without the knowledge or authority of any member of the Government in England. The sentiments contained in one of these Papers (No. 1) Lord Corn-' wallis knew to be Mr. Pitt's, having been conveyed in a letter from himself (Lord Castlereagh) to his Lordship, which letter was previously seen and approved of by Mr. Pitt, though not expressed precisely in the terms used in the Paper; but that the opinions contained in the second Paper (No. 2) were given to the Roman Catholics simply as his Lordship's own sentiments at the moment, appeared distinctly, not only from the Memorandum which he had read, but still more pointedly from a correspondence which subsequently took place between Lord Cornwallis and Mr.Plowden (No.3), with reference to these Papers, in which his Lordship declares, that he was never authorized, directly or indirectly, by any member of the administration, who then resigned his office, to give a pledge, that he would not again embark in the service of government, except on the terms of the Roman Catholic privileges being obtained."" PAPERS REFERRED TO IN THE PRECEDING EXTRACT. No. 1. Lord Castlereagh's Communication to Lord Cornwallis. "THE leading part of his Majesty's ministers, finding insurmountable obstacles to the bringing forward measures of concession to the Catholic body whilst in of fice, have felt impossible to continue in administration, under their inability to propose it with the circumstances necessary to carrying the measure with all its advantages, and they have retired from his Majesty's service, considering this line of conduct as most likely to contribute to its ultimate success. "The Catholic body will, therefore, see how much their future hopes must depend upon strengthening their cause by good conduct in the meantime. They will prudently consider their prospects, as arising from |