the last harvest, has been the cause of petty riots in various parts of the kingdom, unconnected with the serious commotions above-mentioned, and which have required no extraordinary exertions for their suppression. It is observable that the metropolis did not participate in any of these popular tumults, though the frequency of burglaries and street robberies proved that a great number of lawless banditti were loose upon the public.

The catholics of Ireland have continued stedfast in the pursuit of that restoration to the full rights of citizens, which has long been the very natural object of their desires, and to which it will be very difficult to convince them by argument that they have not a well-founded claim. They have, however, during this year avoided any of those contests with government which, in the opinion of many, threw some discredit on their cause, and subjected them to the imputation of attempting to gain by intimidation, what they could not obtain by an appeal to justice. On the other hand, the government of that country, content with asserting the authority of the laws, has treated with great lenity those breaches of them which appeared to proceed rather from inconsiderate ardour, than a spirit of defiance.

After Mr. Kirwan, in the month of January, had been tried before the King's Bench at Dublin, for acting as a delegate for one of the parishes of that city at a meeting of the catholics, and found guilty, the sentence pronounced upon him was only a fine of one mark, and the attorney-general entered a noli prosequi upon the others who lay under a similar charge.

On Feb. 28, the aggregate meeting of the catholics was held at Dublin, in which a petition to the Prince Regent was read and unanimously voted. It was presented to his Royal Highness in the month of April. This contains, in respectful, but firm and explicit language, a statement of their grievances and their claims. It begins with copying that civil test of allegiance to the established government and its head, and of renunciation of all principles subversive of this allegiance, and disavowal of any designs hostile to the present church establishment, which they have taken, and are willing to take, on the sanction of a solemn oath, in lieu of spiritual tests to which their consciences will not suffer them to submit. It remarks, that for nearly the last twenty years the progress of religious freedom has been obstructed; and whilst other Christian nations have hastened to unbind the fetters on religious dissent, the Roman catholics of Ireland have remained unrelieved. It refers to the numerous penal laws and incapacities still in force against them, and from which they seek relief. "Our object (they say) is avowed and direct-earnest, yet natural. It extends to an equal participation of the civil rights of the constitution of our countryequally with our fellow-subjects of all other religious persuasions : it extends no further." It frankly reminds his Royal Highness, that an equal degree of enthusiasm cannot be expected in the defence of their country from men who feel themselves excluded from a fair participation of the benefits of a good constitution,as from those who fully

partake

partake of those blessings. On the whole, it may be regarded as perhaps the most concise, yet comprehensive statement of the case of the petitioners that has appeared in an authentic shape. See State Papers.

The parliamentary debates will show how often this important topic came under consideration in the two houses, and with what result. It was kept alive by a number of petitions to the legislature poured in from the catholics of the different Irish counties, and also by many from protestant bodies in that country, in support of the former; for it appears either that the protestants had lost their habitual fears and jealousies of their catholic neighbours, or that they were convinced, that between opposite dangers, the least was that of conceding, what it would be finally unsafe to refuse. Expectation seems to have kept the catholics in a state of moderation till after their cause had sustained two defeats in parliament, and they saw a ministry established which they had reason to suppose decidedly adverse to their cause; when they could not be prevented from breaking out into a degree of intemperance. At an aggregate catholic meeting held at Dublin on June 18, a set of resolutions proposed by Lord Kileen was passed, in which,after declaring their deter mination of renewing their petitions to the legislature, they allude to disappointments proceeding from "the fatal witchery of an unworthy secret influence, spurningalike the sanctions of public and private virtue, the demands of personal gratitude, and the sacred obligations of plighted honour." The

general strain of these resolutions was in a similar style of angry censure levelled at a high mark; and arriving in England at the time when a new effort was made in their favour, it occasioned some embarrassment to their friends. The issue, however, of the subsequent motion for taking their case into consideration early in the next session of parliament, was a complete victory in the House of Commons, and as nearly as possible a drawn battle in the House of Lords

appearing to evince an approaching national decision in their favour. But either this prospect,

or the known inclinations of the ministry, now began to animate the zeal of all in England, who, from motives of interest, or religious prepossessions, were foes to all concessions which treuch upon the exclusive privileges of the establishment; and the remainder of the year passed in the active promoting of petitions against the catholic claims, from both the universities, from different clerical bodies, from counties, towns, and parishes; whilst a variety of publications, addressed to that hatred of popery which has for some generations been a ruling passion among the different denominations of protestants in this country, kept up the ferment in the public mind.

As the ministers, at the time of the prorogation of parliament, appeared to be possessed of all the usual influence of government, and the Regent's terminating speech expressed full satisfaction in the measures which had been adopted by that assembly, the nation in general, notwithstanding some preceding rumours, did not seem to expect its speedy dissolution. None

of

of the late parliaments, indeed, had been suffered to live out their assigned period; but manifest causes for anticipation had existed in some instances, and in others, a year only had been retrenched from their term of existence; but the present parliament had nineteen months to run before its legal expiration. It was, therefore, to the general surprise, that by a proclamation issued from the Prince Regent, on Sept. 29, a dissolution of parliament was declared, with the announcement of writs for a new one returnable on the 24th of November next. As no public reason has been given for this step, conjecture has been left to imagine the most probable. It might be thought that the pledge given by the House of Commons of an early attention to the catholic claims, concurred in by a majority which seemed to augur a prevailing disposition to grant them, suggested to those who were adverse to the measure this effectual means of defeating it; but the ministers themselves differed on this topic; not to add, that such a change of sentiment in the Prince Regent is scarcely conceivable, as should induce him to give his sanction to a project for overthrowing attempts which he once undoubtedly favoured. Whatever were the immediate motives for ministers in advising this measure, it certainly displayed a confidence in their popularity with the nation at large, or, at least, in the powers in their hands for procuring such a return of representatives as would rather augment than diminish their influ

ence.

The remainder of the year was,

of course, occupied with all the bustle of a general election; but the shortness of the notice, joined to the circumstances of the time, seems to have abridged the usual proportion of contests, especially in the counties. For the same reason, few of those riots were heard of which have so often disgraced this period of popular licence. As far as the temper of the nation can be judged by the return of representatives, the cause of opposition had at least gained no ground by the events of the year. In the metropolis, and the towns of Bristol and Liverpool, the candidates in that interest underwent a defeat. The case of the latter great commercial port was extremely remarkable. Though it had been peculiarly a sufferer from the operation of the orders in council which had ruined its American trade, the election went in favour of one who, when a member of administration, had taken a great share in promoting those orders, to the rejection of the person who had been the principal instrument of their repeal-so little confidence can be placed even in men's apparent interests, when opposed by their political prejudices! It is true, the system of carrying on almost the only foreign commerce left in this country, that by licences, has a direct tendency to augment the influence of government over the mercantile interest; while the manufacturers in many branches are equally subjected to the same influence by means of contracts. The monied interest in the metropolis has always been notoriously at the disposal of every existing administration.

CHAPTER

THE attention of the French emperor has, during this year, been so much engaged by his continental projects, that the mighty preparations he seemed to be making in the past year for contending with Great Britain on the ocean, produced no sensible addition to the power and enterprise of his navy, which for the most part lay quiet in port, and offered very few opportunities to the British commanders stationed in the European seas of gratifying that ardour for distinguishing themselves in their country's service by which they are so honourably characterised.

An account arrived at the Admiralty, in February, of the capture, on November 19, by the Eagle, Captain Rowley, of the French frigate La Corcyre, pierced for 40 guns, but mounting only twentysix eighteen pounders on the maindeck, and two six-pounders on the quarter-deck. She had a complement of 170 seamen, and 130 soldiers, was laden with wheat and military stores, and was bound from Trieste to Corfu. She had two companions, which escaped during the chace that began off Fano, and terminated near Brin

disi. The action was short, as, indeed, the inequality of force would have rendered a protracted resistance only a fruitless waste of lives. No one was hurt on board the Eagle.

In the same sea, off Lissa, a very severe action was fought between three English and three French frigates, which did credit to the bravery and conduct of both parties, though success, as usual, remained to the English. The French squadron having been descried to the south of Lissa on November 28, the ships Alceste, Active, and Unité were warped out of the harbour of St. George, and on the morning of the 29th eame in sight of the enemy off the island of Augusta. The French commodore formed in line, and for a short time stood towards his antagonists; but finding the English bearing upon him in close line under full sail, he bore away to the N.W. His rear ship separating, Captain Murray Maxwell, the British commodore, detached the Unité after her, and himself, in the Alceste, commenced action with the other two. On passing the rearmost to get at the commodore,

a shot

a shot bringing down his main topmast, he dropt a little astern, on which triumphant shouts of Vive l'Empereur resounded from the French ships. Captain Gordon, however, in the Active, pushed on, and brought the sternmost to close action; whilst the French commodore, shortening sail, fairly engaged the Alceste. After a warm conflict of two hours and twenty minutes, the French commodore, in the Pauline, thought proper to bear away to the westward, the crippled state of the Alceste not suffering Captain Maxwell to pursue him. The other ship then struck, and proved to be the Pomone of 44 guns, and 322 men, commanded by Captain Rosamel, whose skill and courage are very honourably recorded by the victor. He had fifty men killed and wounded; his antagonist, the Active, had thirty-two, among whom were Captain Gordon, who lost a leg, and his first lieutenant, who had an arm carried away. In the mean time, Captain Chamberlayne in the Unite had overtaken his chase, which struck after a trifling resistance, and to his mortification proved to be only a store ship of twenty-six guns and 190 men, named La Persanue. The Active was sent with the prizes and prisoners to Malta, and the two others were immediately refitted for service.

In addition to the naval losses by shipwreck at the close of the last year, that of the Manilla frigate of thirty-six guns, Captain Joyce, was reported by Adiniral Winter, commander of the Dutch Texel fleet, as occurring near the end of January. This ship having struck on the Haak sand in a dreadful gale

on the evening of the 28th, made signals of distress, upon which some fishing boats were sent out to her relief. These were obliged to return without being able to reach her; but on the next day, the weather becoming more moderate, they approached her, when the chief pilot risked his life by venturing upon the shallows and sunken rocks, and the English having made a raft of empty barrels, he was enabled to bring off thirtyfive of them. During the 30th and 31st all the rest of the crew were brought safe to land, whence they were marched as prisoners to Amsterdam; the whole loss from the wreck appearing to have amounted only to six men. The ship went entirely to pieces. On this occasion, the exertions of the Dutch to preserve the lives of the sufferers were highly meritorious.

About the same time the Laurel, Captain S. C. Rowley, a fine new frigate, was lost in Quiberon bay. This ship, with two other frigates, had been ordered to pursue three French frigates which had escaped from the Loire; and on the morning of January 31, they weighed anchor, and made sail through the passage Taigneuse. It blew hard, and the weather became hazy; when the Laurel struck upon a sunken rock, and had a large hole made in her bottom. She was backed off, and the men continued pumping, till the vessel was reported to be sinking, when the cable was cut, and she was run ashore on a reef of rocks, about a mile from the French coast. In this situation, a heavy fire being opened upon her from the enemy's batteries, a flag of truce was hoisted. The firing was, however, con

tinued,