262 GRATTAN. for one, whose exemplary virtue and apostolic character, qualify him to preside over whatever is learned, pure, or holy; but in Irish affairs, in matters in which our civil as well as our religious interests are implicated, might I say, his majesty's counsellors should be his Irish parliament and his Irish bishops. It seems highly prejudicial to the church and the monarchy, that the argument which ex cludes the catholic under pretence to strengthen both, should be attended with circumstances that bespeak the Irish hierarchy a cypher, the English hierarchy a nuisance, and represent the king as a magistrate sworn against the privileges of his people. So far am I from agreeing to such an argument, that I must here repeat what I ad vanced before, and say, that I do not dissent, but I contradict. I do not say that catholic emancipation is compatible with the present monarchical government in Ireland, but that it is now become necessary to i t
and that, a s for the preservation o f the connexion, you must make i t compatible with the privileges o f three-fourths o f your people; so, for the preservation o f your monarchy, you must make monarchy also compatible with those pri vileges, you must make the regal capacity o f the king compatible with the civil capacity o f the subject.” The 17th o f February, 1797, was the last time the ques tion o f catholic emancipation was brought before the Irish parliament. Mr. Grattan waded through every worn-out argument, o n a l l o f which h e threw new light; and, towards the conclusion o f his speech, h e thus inveighed:— “These men prescribe for these things a s the old natu ral jobbers o f the country; they demand a l l power and a l l place, i n consideration o f the superior purity and disin terestedness o f their religion: “Give u s a l l the good things o n earth, i n the name o f God; and i n God's mercy give nothing t o the rest o f our fellow-subjects' Thus this pure and pious passion for church and state, turns out t o b e a sort o f political gluttony—an ascendancy hunger—a state voracity—an inordinate appetite for temporal grati fications; i n consideration o f spiritual perfection; and
