vour. But do you promise me."-Fene, character," says M. de Bausset, lon would make no promise; it "from their general admiration of was not till a long continuance of Telemachus, and possibly from good conduct had convinced him a secret wish of revenging the of the sincerity of his pupil's re- Archbishop of Cambray, against pentance, and after a formal inter- the injustice of Lewis the Fourcession of Madame de Maintenon, teenth, the hostile armies permitted that Fenelon received him into fa. Fenelon to visit every part of his diocese. The English, Germans and Dutch rivalled the inhabitants of Cambray in veneration for the It is among his flock, that FEN. Archbishop. All distinctions of ELON appears to most advantage; religion and sect, all feelings of in every sense of the word he was hatred or jealousy, which divide their father. His establishment nations, disappeared in his presand stile of living were suitable to ence. He was often obliged to his public situation; but far be- have recourse to artifice to avoid neath the scale of expence and the honours which the armies of shew, which even good men the enemy intended him. He rewould have thought justifiable. fused the military escorts which This left him an ample income, but it sunk under his acts of beat were offered him, for his personal security in the exercise of his func neficence. His principal attention tions; and without any other atwas directed towards the labouring tendant, than a few ecclesiastics, peasantry; he appears to have! he traversed the countries desolafelt strongly the hardship of their ted by war. His way was marked lot. A curate complained to him, by his alms and benefactions, and that after the evening service of Sunday, his parishioners, in spite which armies bring. by the suspense of the calamities of his remonstrances, would dance; short intervals, the people breathed "My dear friend," replied Fene- in peace, so that his pastoral lon, "neither you nor I should visits might be termed the truce dance; but let us leave these poor of God." people to dance as they please; their hours of happiness are not too numerous.” During the contest for the Spanish succession, the Diocese of Cambray was often the theatre of war, and of course experienced the cruel ravages of advancing and retreating armies. Under these circumstances, Fenelon frequently made visitations of every part of his diocese: and all the writers of his life mention a singular mark of homage which was shewn on these occasions to his eminent virtue. "From their high respect for his In these In one of those visits he met a peasant, still young, but plunged in the deepest affliction. He had recently lost a cow, the only support of his indigent family. Fene lon attempted to comfort him, and embourg; he was then in his 80th by giving him money to buy ano. year. When this became public, ther, alleviated his sorrow; still all the little Savoyard boys assem. he had lost his own cow, and the bled, and went in a body to the tear continued to fall. Pursuing National Assembly: they loudly his journey, Fenelon found the petitioned the Assembly for his very cow which was the object of liberty; and offered that any numso much affliction; and like the ber of them should be constituted good shepherd, he himself drove it prisoners in his stead, as hostages back before him in a dark night for his good conduct. This, for to the young man's cottage. a time delayed his fate: but a day This," says the Cardinal de was at length fixed for his execu Maury," is, perhaps the finest tion. One of the poor Savoyards, trait in Fenelon's life. Woe to whom the abbé had instructed and those who read it without being assisted, was at that time, turnaffected!" "The virtues of Fene. lon," continues the cardinal, “give his history something of the air of romance: but his name will never die. To this moment, the Flem. minders bless his memory, and call him the Good Archbishop." 66 key of the prison of the Luxembourg. Perceiving his benefactor among the victims led out to execution, he sprang forward, and in a state of distraction, strained him in his embrace and cried aloud, "My father: my father! are you then going to die! You, whose life has been an uniform act of goodness!" "Be comforted," Many of Fenelon's relations were the abbé said to him, "death is happy imitators of his virtues. not an evil to him, who can no The ABBE DE FENELON may be longer do good. My dear child, particularly mentioned. After a your sensibility at this moment length of years, uniformly devoted comforts my heart. Farewell, my to religion and virtue, he retired friend! farewell, Joseph! Think to Paris, and spent the remainder sometimes upon me."-" Alas!" of his life in endeavouring to pro- answered the poor Savoyard, "" I cure a religious and moral educa- shall never forget you." The tion, for the poor Savoyard boys, abbé ascended the fatal cart, with with whom, under the ancient sixty-eight other victims. government, Paris abounded. Al- exhorted them, during the whole lowing himself no more than was way, to sorrow for their sins, to necessary for his mere subsistence, confide in God, and to offer up to he contrived, with the remaining him, with resignation, the sacripart of his income, and with the fice of their lives. Having ar contributions which he raised upon rived at the guillotine, he once his friends, to accomplish this edi- more addressed them; he exhorted fying work. The horrors of the them to form, with all their hearts, Revolution forced him from it, and in an act of repentance for their he retired to the delightful solitude sins! all of them humbly inclined of the Mont St. Valerian. He their heads; he pronounced over was pursued to his retreat, and them the words of absolution; conveyed to the prison of the Lux- and continued to suggest to them He sentiments of religion, till it was his turn to submit to the instrumeat of death. offices to each of these 115 other corporations gives the number of 3,300; and, added to the number of 248 appearing in Dublin, will Penal Laws which aggrieve the amount to a total of 3,548 corpoCatholics of Ireland. [From A Statement, &c. Continued from the last No. p. 488.] CHAP. III. Of the Laws which exclude the Catholics from municipal Offices in Cities and Towns Corporate; and herein of the corporate Fran. chise, as enjoyed by Catholics. rate offices in Ireland, comprised within this positive proscription. Thus far do the words and let. ter of the law extend; but its spirit and necessary operation reach farther. They render inaccessible to Catholics the numerous lucra tive situations dependant upon, and connected with, those corporate offices; the patronage, power, preference and profits at their disposal. In the city of Dublin alone, the number of these dependant situations exceeds 200, including the entire police establishment and its officers, paving and lighting and pipe-water boards, commissioners of wide streets, court of conscience, grand jury, city surveyors, craners, collectors, clerks, secretaries, solicitors, a gents, and the various petty offi. 2 ces of more or less emolument 96 derived from those boards. The exclusion of Catholics from all corporate offices was ef. fected during the reign of Charles II. and in the year 1667. It is difficult to enumerate all the municipal situations in the various cities and towns of Ireland, clos. ed against Catholic industry and merit. In the city of Dublin alone we find the offices follow. ing, viz. Lord Mayor and Aldermen Common Council.men 24 40 Masters and wardens of Guilds, Offices We may fairly estimate the 84 number of 1,000, as not exceed2 ing the amount of similar minor offices in the gift or at the dispo 248 sal of the several corporate offiPassing thence to the other ci- cers in the remaining cities and ties and corporate towns of Ire. towns of Ireland. This number, land, which may be reckoned at added to the number of 200 to 115 in number, (as Cork, Lime- be found in the city of Dublin, rick, Waterford, Belfast, Kilken will form a total of 1,200 offices ny, Drogheda, Galway, Sligo, in Ireland, from which the CaDerry, Cashell, Clonmell, Trim, tholics are excluded by the spirit Enniskillen, Wexford, &c. &c.) and consequential hostility of those we may reasonably take the ave- laws which exclude them from rage number of corporate offices corporate offices. in each at about 20; which probably falls far short of the real number, since the city of Dublin alone appears to produce nearly 250. This average number of 20 Hence it will appear, that the gross number of offices and situa. tions, from which this class of pe nal laws excludes the Catholics may be considered as amounting directly and by express enactment, partial imposts; by undue preferto about 3548 ences, and accommodation beConsequentially, to about 1200 stowed upon their competitors; by a local inquisition; by an un Total 4748 certain and unequal measure of Here, then, is an immense num- justice; by fraud and favouritism ber of officers, diffused through daily and openly practised to out the different districts of their prejudice. The Catholic Ireland, invested with powers of gentleman, whose misfortune it annoying others, and of protecting may be to reside in or near to and enriching themselves, which any of these cities or towns in Ireare refused to their Catholic fel- land, is hourly exposed to all the low-citizens. slights and annoyances that a petThe great and general dominion ty sectarian oligarchy may think attached to these situations in pub. proper to inflict. The profes lic and in private life, naturally sional man risks continual inflicdivides the inhabitants of every tions of personal humiliation. city and town in Ireland into two The farmer brings the produce of very distinguishable casts, the his lands to market under heavier masters and the vassals. The vex- tolls. Every species of catholic ations, insults, and other mischiefs industry and mechanical skill is flowing from this municipal sys- checked, taxed, and rendered pretem, almost baffle calculation, carious. and can scarcely be even imagined, save by the actual sufferers. Let us, however, attempt a cursory outline of them. In fine, it may be truly affirm ed (as was complained in the first Catholic petition, presented to Parliament in 1805 by Mr. Fox) All Catholic merchants, trades. "That this interdiction of the men, and artizans; all the im. Catholics from all corporate offimense variety of petty dealers ces is severely felt by them as an and handicraftsmen, shopkeepers evil, not terminating in itself; for of every kind, smiths, carpenters, by giving advantage over the Ca masons, shoemakers, weavers, tholics to the exclusive possessors &c. &c. are under a necessity of those situations, it establishes (for subsistence sake) of residing a species of qualified monopoly, in these cities and towns, and operating universally in their disunder the yoke of corporate favour; contrary to the spirit, power. Perhaps these men and and highly detrimental to the their families amount in number freedom, of trade. to some hundred thousands of the most useful, laborious and valuable citizens of Ireland. Such towns:this freedom is of consi persons, in any well regulated derable value to a citizen, 1. in state, would be deemed fit objects qualifying him to vote at elec of favour and encouragement, tions of members to represent the at least of protection. But, in corporation in Parliament; 2. in Ireland, their lot is a grievous one. exonerating the freeman and his They are debased by the galling family from the payment of va ascendancy of privileged neigh- rious market tolls and local du. bours. They are depressed by ties; and 3. by securing to him With respect to the corporate franchise, or freedom of cities and an indirect monopoly of the exercise of various trades and arts, by the exclusion of such persons as have not served legal apprenticeships. Now the number of catholic free. men in Ireland is very inconsiderable, and, for various reasons, must continue so. granting freedom by “grace especial" being, however, vested in the existing members of the corporations, the exercise of it in favour of Catholics remains suspended by the hostile spirit of the penal laws; except, perhaps in rare and occasional instances, where a Catholic, by the influ money, contrives to be a favourite with the proprietor of the corpora tion, or with its leading interests. When the Catholics, in 1727, ence of private friendship or of were deprived of their right of vot. ing at elections of members of parliament for cities and towns corporate, and also at the elections Nay, even where a Catholic of the civic magistrates, they were happens to be legally entitled to stripped of one great inducement his freedom, either by birth or to seek the freedom of corpora- service, his admission is generally tions, as well as of the chief re- obstructed. His petition is not, commendation for obtaining it, indeed, directly refused; for, in This disability, co-operating with that case, a mandamus might lie the persecuting spirit of the times, to compel a compliance with it, gradually deterred them from so. but no answer is returned; and liciting even the imperfect fran- the consideration of the subject is chise that remained. It also be adjourned "sine die." This is came more difficult to obtain it. termed, cushioning a petition." Partial prohibitions were enacted, In the city of Dublin, for inby express statutes, against taking stance, the 24 Guilds or Fraterni. Catholic apprentices, Consequent ties, comprize, as is supposed,. ly, freedom by service was ren. about 2,400 freemen. Probably dered less attainable: and, the not 100 of this number are Catho number of Catholic freemen by lics; and these, though free of service being thus circumscribed, their respective Guilds, and capa those entitled, by birth decreased ble of voting at elections of offi. in proportion. And, although cers within those Guilds, are the rights of voting, which they yet incapable of voting at elections lost by the statute of 1727, were of Members to serve in Parliament nominally restored by the statute for the city; for they are uniformof 1793, yet the Catholics have ly" cushioned" when petitioning not, in reality, derived any benefit to be made free of the city at from this restoration. For, the large. The like practice prevails long lapse of sixty-six years of in- throughout the other corporations capacity having effected a com- of Ireland. plete exclusion of the Catholics Hence, although no express from Corporations, they were oblig- law prohibits Catholics from beed to resort to the third mode of coming freemen of cities and acquiring their freedom, namely, towns corporate, yet so many are by grant, or "grace especial," the obstacles and discouragements as it is termed. This power of in their way, that, in fact and |