We now arrive at the turning-point in the progress of the question. The office of President of the Board of Trade had become vacant. It was offered to, and accepted by, Mr. Vesey Fitzgerald. As a necessary consequence of this appointment, his seat for the county of Clare became vacant. At the election Mr. O'Connell opposed Mr. Fitzgerald, and defeated him. This result was of vast importance. Lord Eldon, in a letter to his daughter soon after this event, states, Nothing is talked of now which interests anybody the least in the world, except the election of Mr. O'Connell," and makes these memorable remarks:

"As Mr. O'Connell will not, though elected, be allowed to take his seat in the House of Commons, unless he will take the oaths, &c., (and that he won't do, unless he can get absolution,) his rejection from the Commons may excite rebellion in Ireland. At all events, this business must bring the Roman Catholic question, which has been so often discussed, to a crisis and a conclusion. The nature of that conclusion I do not think likely to be favourable to Protestantism."

The Clare election proved the existence of an unusual condition of the public mind in Ireland :

:

"That the sense of a common grievance, and the sympathies of a common interest, were loosening the ties which connect different classes of men in friendly relations to each other, to weaken the force of local and personal attachments, and to unite the scattered elements of society into a homogeneous and disciplined mass, yielding willing obedience to the assumed authority of superior intelligence hostile to the law and to the government which administered it."

The evil to be feared from the result of the Clare election was not force, or violence, or any act of which the law could take cognizance, but in the peaceable and legitimate, but novel exercise of a franchise according to the will and conscience of the holder. "All the great interests of the country were broken down," writes Mr. Fitzgerald; that is, the serf had thrown off the landlord's chains, and dared to exercise a right that had been inconsiderately given to him. The Government thought of a remedy-the abrupt extinction of the forty-shilling franchise in Ireland, and the continuance of civil disability; but, from the well-known temper of Parliament, they knew it could not for a moment be entertained.

The correspondence connected with the Clare election, between the LordLieutenant (Anglesey) and Peel, shews the height of excitement prevailing, and the danger to be apprehended from it. Lord Anglesey, a military man, prepares for resistance. Peel's resolution wavers-he in

clines to concession. At this time Lord Lansdowne moved that the House of Lords should concur with Sir Francis Burdett's motion in the Commons, and although the motion was rejected, it was admitted that the Catholic question had reduced the country to a state of great difficulty, and the opposition of the Lords to concession appeared to be giving way; and in July, at the close of the session of 1828, the Duke of Wellington entered upon the whole subject with Sir Robert Peel. "But the chief difficulty was with the king." The difficulties of the case appeared insuperable. The Duke consulted certain bishops, hoping that by obtaining their consent to an adjustment of the question, the obstacles on the part of the king might be removed. But the bishops were disinclined to concession. Fearing his secession from the Cabinet might obstruct the measures entertained by the Duke, Peel expressed his willingness to remain in it, in spite of his desire to withdraw. He thought "his support to concession would be more useful out of office than in it." Here we find him an advocate and promoter of concession; how he arrived at this position is best learned from his own apology :

"At the close of the session of 1828 it became incumbent upon me to decide without delay on the course which I ought to pursue. It was open to me to retain office, or to relinquish it-persisting, in either case, in offering continued resistance to concession. There could be little doubt (considering that the king was opposed to concession, and that a clear majority of the House of Lords was opposed to it,) that, notwithstanding the recent vote of the House of Commons in its favour, resistance to concession would for a time prevail. It would so far prevail as to obstruct the final settlement of the Catholic question, but the same sad state of things must continue; a divided Cabinet, a divided Parliament, the strength of political parties so nicely balanced as to preclude any decisive course, either of concession on the one hand, or the vigorous assertion of authority on the other.

"I maturely and anxiously considered every point which required consideration, and I formed a decision as to the obligation of public duty, of which I may say with truth, that it was wholly at variance with that which the regard for my own personal interests or private feelings would have dictated.

"My intention was to relinquish office; but I resolved not to relinquish it without previously placing on record my opinion, that the public interests required that the principle on which the then existing and preceding governments had been formed, should no longer be adhered to; that the Catholic question should cease to be an open question; that the whole condition of Ireland, political and social, should be taken into consideration by the Cabinet precisely in the same manner in which every other question of grave importance was considered, and with the same power to offer advice upon it to the sovereign.

"I resolved also to place on record a decided opinion that there was less of evil and less of danger in considering the Catholic question with a view to its final adjustment, than in offering continued resistance to that adjustment, and to give every assurance that after retirement from office I would, in a private capacity, act upon the opinion thus given."

The impressions under which he came to the resolution, and the motives for the advice he gave, are contained in the confidential correspondence which took place with the Duke of Wellington at this time. In a letter to the Duke, dated Aug. 11, 1828, he states:

"I have uniformly opposed what is called Catholic Emancipation, and have rested my opposition upon broad and uncompromising grounds. I wish I could say that my views upon the question were materially changed, and that I now believed that full concessions to the Roman Catholics could be made, either exempt from the dangers which I have apprehended from them, or productive of the full advantages which their advocates anticipate from the grant of them. But whatever may be my opinion upon these points, I cannot deny that the state of Ireland under existing circumstances is most unsatisfactory; that it becomes necessary to make your choice between different kinds and different degrees of evil, to compare the actual danger resulting from the union and organization of the Roman Catholic body, and the incessant agitation in Ireland, with prospective and apprehended dangers to the constitution or religion of the country; and maturely to consider whether it may not be better to encounter every risk of concession than to submit to the certain continuance, or rather perhaps to the certain aggravation, of existing evils.-Whatever be the ultimate result of concession, there would be an advantage in the sincere and honest attempt to settle the question on just principles, which it is difficult to rate too highly in the present state of affairs."

Further on he says:

"No false delicacy in respect to past declarations of opinions, no fear of the imputation of inconsistency, will prevent me from taking that part which present dangers and a new position of affairs may require. I am ready, at the hazard of any sacrifice, to maintain the opinion which I now deliberately give, that there is upon the whole less of evil in making a decided effort to settle the Catholic question, than in leaving it, as it has been left, an open question; the Government being undecided with respect to it, and paralysed in consequence of that indecision upon many occasions peculiarly requiring promptitude and energy of action.

"I put all personal feelings out of the question. They are, or ought to be, very subordinate considerations in matters of such moment, and I give the best proof that I disregard them by avowing that I am quite ready to commit myself to the support of the

principle of a measure of ample concession and relief, and to use every effort to promote the final arrangement of it."

Sir Robert Peel clearly foresaw the penalties to which he was exposed in taking this course, such as the rage of party-his rejection by the University of Oxford-the alienation of private friends-the interruption of family affections; and others—such as the loss of office and of royal favourmuch heavier in the estimation of vulgar and low-minded men, incapable of appreciating higher motives of public conduct.

The drama was now hastening to its close: the King had a separate interview with each of his ministers, at which they expressed conformity of opinion with a memorandum of Sir Robert's communicated to the King by the Duke. The Cabinet received from his Majesty a general permission to take into consideration the whole condition of Ireland, and to offer their advice upon it; and a royal speech, vaguely worded in accordance with this permission, was reluctantly consented to.

Meanwhile, Sir Robert felt it to be his duty to his constituents to resign his seat for the University of Oxford. On offering himself for re-election, he was defeated by Sir Robert Inglis; but was elected for Westbury, and took his seat on the 3rd of March. Being anxious that there should not be a moment of unnecessary delay, he gave notice on the same day that he would on Thursday, the 5th, call the attention of the House of Commons to that part of the speech from the throne which related to the state of Ireland, and the removal of the civil disabilities under which the Roman Catholics laboured.

In the interim, circumstances wholly unforeseen occurred, which appeared for a time to oppose an insuperable barrier to any further progress with the measures of which the actual notice had been thus given.

On the very evening when the above notice was given, the King commanded the Duke of Wellington, the Lord-Chancellor, and Sir Robert to attend his Majesty at Windsor at an early hour on the following day :—

"We went there accordingly, and on our arrival were ushered into the presence of the King, who received us with his usual kindness and cordiality.

"He was grave, and apparently labouring under some anxiety and uneasiness."

The King objected to the Oath of Supremacy. Upon reference being made to it, he seemed much surprised, and said rapidly and earnestly, "What is this? You surely do not mean to alter the ancient Oath of Supremacy!" He appealed to each of his Ministers on this point. They explained that they proposed the oath should be administered in its present form to all his subjects except the Roman Catholics, who should be required to declare on oath their belief that no foreign prince or prelate hath any temporal or civil jurisdiction, power, superiority, or pre-eminence, directly or indirectly, in this realm. That if the Roman Catholic was still required, before his admission to office or Parliament, to declare his belief that no foreign prelate hath or ought to have any spiritual or ecclesiastical jurisdiction, power, or pre-eminence within the realm, the measure of relief would be unavailing; that an effectual impediment to the enjoyment of civil privileges would remain unremoved :—

"The King observed, that be that as it might, he could not possibly consent to any alteration of the ancient Oath of Supremacy; that he was exceedingly sorry that there had been any misunderstanding upon so essential a point; that he did not blame us on account of that misunderstanding; that he did not mean to imply that in the explanation which we had previously given to him in writing, there had been any concealment or reserve on this point: still the undoubted fact was, that he had given his sanction to our GENT. MAG. VOL. XLVI.

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proceedings under misapprehension with regard to one particular point, and that a most important one, namely, the alteration of the Oath of Supremacy; and he felt assured that our opinions would be in concurrence with his own,-that a sanction so given ought not to be binding upon the Sovereign, and that his Majesty had no alternative but to retract his consent, if the measure to which it had been given under an erroneous impression were bona fide disapproved of by his deliberate and conscientious judgment.”

Expressing their concern that there had been any misunderstanding on so important a matter, the Ministers entirely acquiesced in the King's opinion that his Majesty ought not to be bound by a consent unwarily given to important public measures under a misapprehension of their real character and import :

"After a short lapse of time, his Majesty then said, 'But after this explanation of my feelings, what course do you propose to take as my Ministers ?' He observed that notice had been given of proceedings in the House of Commons for the following day; and addressing himself particularly to me, who had charge of those proceedings, said, Now, Mr. Peel, tell me what course you propose to take to-morrow.' I replied, that with all deference and respect for his Majesty, I could not have a moment's hesitation as to my course; that the speech from the throne had justified the universal expectation that the Government intended to propose measures for the complete relief of the Roman Catholics from civil incapacities; that I had vacated the seat for Oxford on the assumption that such measures would be proposed; that the consent of the House of Commons had been given to the Bill for the suppression of the Roman Catholic Association, if not on the express assurance, at least with the full understanding, that the measure of coercion would be immediately followed by the measure of relief; that I must therefore entreat his Majesty at once to accept my resignation of office, and to permit me on the following day to inform the House of Commons that unforeseen impediments, which would be hereafter explained, prevented the King's servants from proposing to Parliament the measures that had been announced; that I no longer held the seals of the Home Department, and that it was my painful duty to withdraw the notice which had been given in my name."

To a similar question, the Duke of Wellington expressed his desire to retire from office, and to make to the House of Lords an announcement to the same effect with that Sir Robert Peel wished to make to the House of Commons; and the Chancellor intimated his entire acquiescence in the course which the Duke and Sir Robert proposed to pursue.

This interview lasted five hours. After expressing his deep regret that they could not remain in his service consistently with their sense of honour and public duty, his Majesty accepted their resignation of office," and took leave of them with great composure and kindness," and they returned to London under the full persuasion that the Government was dissolved ;-joining their colleagues at a Cabinet dinner, they announced, to their infinite astonishment, that they had ceased to be members of the Government :-

"A sudden change, however, took place in the King's intentions. At a late hour on the evening of the fourth of March, the King wrote a letter to the Duke of Wellington, informing him that his Majesty anticipated so much difficulty in the attempt to form another administration, that he could not dispense with our services; that he must therefore desire us to withdraw our resignation, and that we were at liberty to proceed with the measures of which notice had been given in Parliament."

Sir Robert Peel accordingly proceeded with his measure, and on the 10th of April the Bills for the removal of the civil incapacities of the Roman Catholics, and for the regulation of the franchise in Ireland, were each read a third time, and passed the House of Lords. Thus terminated the parliamentary conflict on these important measures. Sir Robert concludes his Memoir by a 'solemn affirmation" that, in advising and promoting the measures of 1829, he was swayed by no fear except the fear of public calamity, and that he acted throughout on a deep conviction that those

measures were not only conducive to the public welfare, but that they had become imperatively necessary in order to avert from interests which had a special claim upon his support-the interests of the Church, and of institutions connected with the Church—an imminent and increasing danger :"It may be that I was unconsciously influenced by motives less pure and disinterested -by the secret satisfaction of being

when the waves went high, A daring pilot in extremity.'

"But at any rate it was no ignoble ambition which prompted me to bear the brunt of a desperate conflict, and at the same time to submit to the sacrifice of everything dear to a public man, excepting the approval of his own conscience, and the hope of ultimate justice."

With these words ends the secret history of the Roman Catholic Question. We cannot say that the expectations raised upon opening the volume were realised upon closing it. Some addition, it is true, is made to our previous knowledge of the subject, yet the materials appear to be contracted within very narrow limits, and we cannot but think that much belonging to the history of the question has been suppressed. The names of many statesmen who took a prominent part in public affairs at the date of the Catholic Question are not even alluded to; and it also appears to us that Sir Robert Peel, in his anxiety to avoid wounding the feelings of many of his contemporaries, or of their connections, has been careful even to timidity in expressing his opinions.

MEMORIALS OF HIS TIMES. BY HENRY COCKBURN a.

LORD COCKBURN's name is conspicuous among those of his countrymen who are eminent for private worth and public spirit. It appears in the annals of Scotland, and in those of Edinburgh, his native town, in connection with the events of the first half of the present century. As a lawyer and judge he was eminently distinguished, while his private character commanded universal respect. In 1821, being then nearly sixty years of age, he was seized with a desire to place on record the various events that had occurred within his own recollection, thinking it "a pity that no private account should be preserved of the distinguished men or important events that had marked the progress of Scotland, or at least of Edinburgh, during his day." He had never made a single note with a view to such a record, but he now began to recollect and inquire. His task occupied him some nine years, bringing his "Memorials" down to the year 1830, at which date he was made Solicitor-General for Scotland. Mingling largely in the events of his time, he enjoyed ample facilities for the task he imposed upon himself, and has done ample justice to his subject, contributing to contemporary history such a work as rarely comes under the notice of the historian. Full of anecdote, portrait-sketches of well-known men, and other entertaining matter, related in a quiet, easy style, marked by keen

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"Memorials of His Times. By Henry Cockburn." (Edinburgh: A. and C. Black, 1856. 8vo. 470 pp.)