He
was nearly commencing 'May Dacre' instead of 'My Lords,' but he escaped
this blunder. For the first five or ten minutes he spoke in almost as
cold and lifeless a style as when he echoed the King's speech; but he
was young and seldom troubled them, and was listened to therefore with
indulgence. The Duke warmed, and a courteous 'hear, hear,' frequently
sounded; the Duke became totally free from embarrassment, and spoke
with eloquence and energy. A cheer, a stranger in the House of Lords,
rewarded and encouraged him. As an Irish landlord, his sincerity could
not be disbelieved when he expressed his conviction of the safety of
emancipation; but it was as an English proprietor and British noble
that it was evident that his Grace felt most keenly upon this important
measure. He described with power the peculiar injustice of the situation
of the English Catholics. He professed to feel keenly upon this subject,
because his native county had made him well acquainted with the temper
of this class; he painted in glowing terms the loyalty, the wealth, the
influence, the noble virtues of his Catholic neighbours; and he closed a
speech of an hour's duration, in which he had shown that a worn subject
was susceptible of novel treatment, and novel interest, amid loud
and general cheers.
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