HC Deb 13 August 1834 vol 25 cc1253-4
Mr. Henry Grattan

rose to submit the Motion of which he had given notice—"That an humble Address he presented to his Majesty, praying that his Majesty, being pleased to take the affairs of Ireland into his most serious consideration, and the loss of life and calamitous consequences that have resulted from the various conflicts between the soldiery, the police, and the peasantry of Ireland, on the levying and collecting of tithes, may direct that the military force shall not in future be employed in that service." The hon. and learned Gentleman said, that having seriously considered the importance of the question, and the danger of exciting still more the angry feeling of the people of Ireland—a consequence which, probably, would ensue if a debate arose on the Motion of which he had given notice; considering also that so few Members remained, and so few Irish Members were present, he deemed it to be more prudent not to bring forward the Motion. At the same time, he could not but dispute the prudence of the House of Lords in rejecting the Bills of the Commons, though he admitted their right to do so. He reserved to himself the full scope on this subject, and in the next Session opportunities would occur of discussing the expediency of nullifying the proceedings of that House, and rejecting so many popular and salutary measures as the House of Lords, in the undoubted exercise of their constitutional rights, had thought proper to do. Their right was one thing: the expediency of exercising it, and thus going against the sense of the people, was another. For instance, the Dissenters' Bill, the Jewish Disabilities Bill, the Warwick Disfranchisement Bill, the Bath and Bristol Railroad Bill (or Irish Bill, it might be called), and last, though not least, the Irish Tithe Bill. In addition to the rejection of these, they had mutilated other measures—the Coroner's Bill, the Punishment of Death Bill, and the Bribery at Elections Bill. The allusion to the measure would rekindle great warmth, and possibly no public good would result from it, particularly in Ireland. He, therefore, felt it more advisable to sacrifice his feelings, and yield to the dictation of numbers, and to trust the cause of Ireland to the calmness and the cool forbearance to be exercised by the noble Lord, now at the head of his Majesty's Government, and to commit to his care the peace of Ireland and her real interests.

Motion withdrawn.