be Country.
The following letter from the Reverend Charles 1Vodeliouse, a Prebendary of Norwich, has excited, as it deserves, much attention. The writer is not free from Tory prejudices, but he has learned to keep them in check ; and reads a useful lesson to inert of all parties. 4, Mv dear E—So much has been said about my declioing to vote at the
present election a
n (though the same course m been pursued in my memory by inore decided partisans than ever I was) that I have determined lo adopt this ne the easiest !node of making known to yourself and others what has been the Tell ground of my conduct. No one likes to be misrepreeented sr misunderstood. My opinions are of little moment; but every one's character is of cone eequence both to himself and others. " According to the usual judgment of the world, many, I conclude, impute to me an intereeted motive in not opposing by my vote the Gov.roment now ia power. To this I may fairly say—Judge me by the past. It is now more than twenty years since I was appointed—expressly on no political ground—to any present situation in our Church. During that period, the Great Seal, I think, has changed hands five times ; and seven Ciabnets have been in office. From none of these have I ever, directly or indirectly, solicited any personal advancement. 4, I am well aware how extremely sensitive people in general are as to consistency ; meaning, however, in reality, adherence to party, but not to opinion. For, if required to be consistent, with whom am I to be so ? With the Duke of Wellington, as the leader of the Anti.Catholic party, or as the adviser of Emancipation ?—with Lord John Russell, as the defender of the Nomination Boroughs, or as the proposer of Parliamentary Reform. Lord Eldon, indeed, is consistent still : but where are we to look for the supporters of his Cabinet, aud those who entered public life under its auspices? They are studded over almost every section of the political chart. I acknowledge no real consietency, none worth aspiring to, but that which springs from a constant endeavour to ascertain the right course, and a fixed resolution to pursue it through evil report and good. It is on such a principle diet I have declined voting at this election. 4, I come then to that question which now appears to me the most important; on which I have for some time entertained a very decided opinion, which now influences my couree—I mean the treatment of the large Irish population, especially the Roman Catholic portion, comprising, it is said, 6,000,000 of our fellow subject. During the long discussions on the Roman Catholic question, I confess that I was unable to make up my mind upon that subject ; one, on which even Cabinets were divided ; on which the best men were undecided ; of which nearly all the great statesmen, I think, who spoke on either aide confessed the difficulty. I never accordingly signed a petition either way, though fully alive to the hard condition of many Roman Catholic families, and hoping that some safe method might be devised for removing from the whole body the grievances and disabilities which had long laid heavily upon them. But, as to the manner in which that question was finally carried, I never doubted ; and am convinced that to that we must ascribe much of our present situation, and by that recollection ought to be guided in dealing with the results it has produced. " From that period, the whole condition of Ireland assumed a different aspect. It was the Iwginniug. in our times, of the system of concession to agitation; coming too from the old opponents to concession ; and has always struck me as the most hazardous step which any Ministry has ventured upon in this century. It was a direct encouragement to further aggression. Do not suppose that I would disregard the voice of the people, when properly and unequivocally expressed. What I mean is, that the same voice, which speaks their opinion, also paints out the persons who alone can safely and con-istently execute the measures that are desired. Had this measure been handed over to its proper fiiends and advocates, very different, probably, would have been the general result. The .Ministers who proposed it—and I doubt not with a real view to the public good—gained only a loss by the deed ; broke up their party of supporters, and soon retired from office, leaving however behind them a leaven which has been fermenting to this hour. After this grant of so large a portion of political power to the Woman Catholics—so conceded—there remained, I think, but one safe and wise course; namely, to meet the sure consequences of such a step ; and to confer upon the Irish, without useless and irritating suspicion, the same powers and privileges which are enjoyed by the people in England. Till this is dune, the Irish cannot be satisfied ; nor will this nation unite in declaring that they ought to be so. To this concession, the necessary result of their own original concession, the Conservative leaders have hitherto been opposed. " Why, you rosy ask, have I not sooner acted upon these views? Call to mind the numbers you have met with who sometimes disapprove of the tactics of their party, and yet adhere to it ; the difficulty, especially in these unsettled days, of finding your own opinions exactly represented by any body of public men; the ties of habit, relationship, and many others, which render any change of this kind difficult mid unpalatable ; and you will readily make allowance for me. Up to the election of 1835, moreover, other and still more engrossing subjects formed the principal ground of difference between parties. These have most of them been settled ; and the management of Ireland has confeesedly become, as the addresses of candidates demonstrate, the most prominent ground of difference. Entertaining the opinions on that subject already ex. pres,ed, I felt that I could no longer vote as I hail done, with comfort and satisfaction, and that I must candidly declare this conviction. " Nor do I consider it only necessary thus to meet the present condition of Ireland; but, rejoicing that it has m been. judged proper to remove many grievances from the Roinau Catholic population, should rejoice still more to witness a cordial endeavour to unite them as closely as possible with this country by confidence and kindness ; by a full communication of all the rights and play'.
legea of o i tither subjects. It s the want of this kindly feeling towards the Irish on the part of the Conservatives, which I regret even more than their resistance to any specific measures; and, I repeat, so differing from them, I cannot vote with them. Deal with Scotland in this spirit, and what would be the issue ?
" You may tell me I am not justified in adopting this, or indeed any other course, unless prepared to meet its full consequences; and in reply, I need only Observe, that, if every voter felt as I do, the Representatives chosen by them would feel the samethe conduct of the next Parliament towards Ireland would he that which I desire ; there would remain a still more slender separation between Whigs and Conservatives; less influence in Radical hands ; more Power to suppress Radical mischief. _You mu iv ask me again, Would you then give way to Mr. O'Connell and his maucieree? would you place yourself under his dictation, and lower yourself by suciminbing to his demands?. And to this I answer, that a manly spirit should acorn to be guided by such feelings, and that an equitable mind will at (nice rise superior to them. With such, the simple question will be, what is .!'gliiri nay, I will adopt O'Connell's own term, what is Justice to Ireland ? t lire .e yourself for a moment in his situation, or, at least, suppose yourself an Irishman and a Roman Catholic. Would you not rejoice in putting forth the n.ame ability and perseverance (abstaining indeed from the faults which have defaced his career) to defend your religion, and to elevate its professors to an equality with the more favoured subjects of the same kingdom ? You would strive, I know' to accomplish this in a wiser and better spirit; not merely aiming at political rights, but also by raising the moral character and habits, and by increasing the fire-eitle comforts of the people, in which consists their real ha ilium. 'Fire ' Friend of Ireland' has long been a general receiver ; but I No. lini relnemher that his public course has ever aimed at adding one domestic flint,u rt or improvement to an Irish cabin. All I would say is that, as an 'Of .tcoa !Roman Catholic, and a politician, he has (often by means deserving
and ever will he, the occaeional produce of a free people. There is neither prudence, courage, or justice in unduly magnifying, or fearing. or deepieing a power which resides, not in their persons, but in the feelings of their supporters. If a real grievance has conferred this power, there should be a timely remedy; if delusion and wickedness, we should unite to crush it. A Christian mind will be calmly exercised in discovering to which of these causes it belongs, and in dealing with it accordingly. " Consider again the wrongs whieb England has for centuries inflicted On Ireland. Have you ever read the history of that unfortunate country ? If you have, you will agree with me that it is nearly throughout a tissue of heartless tyranny and injustice. A Roman Proconsul would often have been a better master than this Chrietian Government. Happy should this generation esteem themselves if, by a more generous treatment, they may blot out this foul stain from our national annals. Are the Iriah Caholies unworthy of our regard? Are they morally or physically deserving of our contempt? Are they, for instance, inferior to the better-fed mercenaries of our own land, who have even now been selling their conscience and their ante, or to the purchasers? They have helped to man our ships, recruit our regiments, houee our harvests, menufacture our clothes, excavate our canal:, couatruct our railways, awl have carried half Loudon on their backs. If yen esteem them a priest-ridden race, led to the poll by their confessors, yet a religious influence is at least a nobler and more righteous trammel than a bribe. Amongst the more educated, are men in no respect inferior to ourselves, unless indeed you charge them with their religious errors. And here, what has the Government of this country effected to bring this large population to a purer faith ? Our Establishment has been for centuries either unequal to the task, or confeesolly deficient in the attempt. Nearly three hundred years of trial have elapsed, and still the people adhere to the religion of their forefathers, preserving and supporting it by an abundant zeal out of the most slender reeaurces. Is this state of things to continue for ever ? Is it not the duty of the state to provide for the religious instruction of the people ; and as human power may not now happily enforce conversion, is it not time to adopt the plan proposed by Mr. Pitt and others to offer stipends to their ministers? For my own part, I have long been convinced that such is the duty of our Government ; and that this is one amongst the measures which alone promise peace and improvement, and, above all, a gradual conversion to the Protestant faith.
" Such measures, you will telf me, may endanger the very existence of the
Established Church in Ireland, and consequently in England. I readily allow that our Church is in danger, both here and there ; that, at bottom, the question now at issue amongst us is, Shall there be an Established Church or not? and feeling deeply interested in its perpetuation, as essential, humanly speaking, to the preservation of pure religion, would beg you to turn from the notion that political power can suppott it, to the inquiry, why it has so many opponents? Its history, candidly considered, will present many reasons for this, now too little remembered, and one more especially requiring our attention. In England it is not adequate to the population : and a National Church not adequate to the religious wants of the people, is the greatest of all encouragements to dissent ; for it is employed in teaching the value of religion, and then obliges the people to seek from other sources, ministers and places of worship to meet their aroused religious convictions. Let the opulent supporters of the Church display a larger measure of the pious liberality of the olden times, the spirit of their ancestors. Let voluntary ENDOWMENT.,—not that voluntary system which would crush independence, and silence truth,—let voluntary endowments—the original source of the provision for our National Clergy—and Church building, where needed, again become the tests of attachment to the National Church, and, with such a clergy as it is now acquiring, new defenders, under God's blessing, will spring up on all sides to perpetuate its existence and to augment the blessings it has already conferred on this nation, as well as all the world.
" But I am wandering from the subject before us, and have already occupied
you too long. In few words then, Ireland now appears to me the prominent object to which the attention of Parliament must be directed. A large portion of political power hiss been conceded by emancipation to the large Roman Catholic population: it was extorted from opponents, and agitation was thus taught its strength. To retract or hesitate, because the num e.sare large on whom
you have conferred it, is only to excite worse difficulties than those which you now apprehend. The consequences should be fairly encouateeed, and then the laws will be readily enforced by every party, except one, which, I trust, is daily surrendering its power to sober patriotism. Sound policy dictates a cordial endeavour to unite the Irish people with this country. 1 he memory of past wrongs suggests allowance for recent exceesee arid compensation for former injustice. Religious fidelity is entitled to respect, and religious error is not to be harshly censured by those who, possessing power, have not duly exerted themselves to correct it. A spirit of kindness should be the spirit of a Christian government; and Justice, which need never fear the consequences of its own conclusions, now calls upon us cheerfully to confer upon the lush people every privilege enjoyed by the English ; above all to promote their domestic comforts, improvement, and happiness. " These are toy deliberate views. I fear they are not those of the Conservatives on this now important question, and therefore have abstained from voting at the present election; but not without a sanguine hope that such views will, ere long, be more generally acceptable. " Believe me always yours, Sec.
"Cu.caees N. WODE1101:SZ. " Upper Close, Norwich, 12111 Aaga:t 137."
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