The Earl of Rodenhad to present a Petition to which he wished to call the particular attention of the House. It was from Elphin, in the county of Roscommon, praying their Lordships not to deprive them of their Bishop. It was signed by both Catholics and Protestants, It slated 996 the great advantages the town derived from the residence of their Bishop among them, especially as in that part of the country there were hardly any resident gentlemen. The present Bishop commanded the respect and love of all that knew him, and there was no one who had conferred such great benefits upon that part of the country. Former Bishops also were still remembered with gratitude and affection. The present Archbishop of Tuam, who had been at Elphin, was a most estimable man, and his conduct as a Magistrate, while he was Bishop of this diocese, gained him the respect and regard of every person within its limits. He must also be permitted, in naming those who had done themselves honour when presiding over this see, to go back to the days of Bishop Law, an individual who was beloved by everybody who knew him, and who exerted himself so laudably, during the Rebellion, in putting down treason, and in restoring peace and order to Ireland. There was a notorious rebel of that day, known by the title of "General Plunkett," who was taken prisoner in the neighbourhood of Elphin; and some difficulty arising as to the mode of conveying him to Dublin, the Bishop ordered out his own carriage, he put the General into it, got in himself, and drove off to Dublin. On his arrival in the Castle Yard, the Bishop's friends were astonished to see his fellow-traveller with him in regimentals, and they asked him whom he had got with him? His answer was, "I have caught the queen bee; "and he handed over his prisoner. Such was the conduct of Bishop Law on that memorable occasion His opinion on the subject of the petition was the same as that expressed by the petitioners, for he believed that the consolidation of some of these bishopricks, and the extinction of others, if persevered in, would be productive of evils which no future Government could ever remedy. He particularly condemned that part of the proposed measure which went to reduce ten bishopricks, and to take away the funds of those dioceses, in order, he was afraid, to transfer them to those who were anxious to support treason and rebellion in every part of Ireland. From the late events, opinions prevailed not only in Ireland, but in England and Scotland, that the Government meant to give the plunder of the Church to the Catholics. 997 The people universally regretted such a project, and they regretted the steps which the present Government had taken respecting education in Ireland, which they looked upon as having a tendency to enable Catholicism to triumph over Protestantism in Ireland.
Petition laid on the Table.