owing years, especially in the
house of lords, where Eldon inflexibly resisted any concession, and
always commanded a majority.

[Pageheading: _CATHOLIC RELIEF._]

When Liverpool replaced Perceval as prime minister in 1812, catholic
emancipation became an open question in the cabinet. In that year
Canning succeeded in carrying triumphantly a resolution pledging the
house of commons to consider the question seriously in the next session,
and a like resolution was only lost by one vote in the house of lords.
Accordingly, in 1813, Grattan's motion for a committee of the whole
house on catholic disabilities was accepted, and a bill for their
removal passed its second reading. But it was loaded with vexatious
securities in committee and wrecked by the vigorous opposition of the
speaker, Abbot, who on May 24 carried by a majority of four an amendment
withholding the right to sit and vote in parliament. After this, the
bill was of course abandoned, but another was unanimously passed
exempting from penalties Roman catholics holding certain military and
civil offices, to which, by a harsh construction of law, they were not
eligible. In 1817 the question was debated at great length in the house
of commons, and several leading men took part in it, but the motion for
catholic relief was again defeated by a majority of twenty-four. It was
revived in 1819 by Grattan, who delivered on this occasion one of his
greatest speeches, and succeeded in reducing the majority to two only.
In 1821 a further advance was made by Plunket's success in obtaining a
committee to consider the claims of the catholics. This was carried by a
majority of six, and followed up by two bills, removing all catholic
disabilities with very slight exceptions, but subject to stringent and
somewhat illusory securities for the loyalty of the priesthood.
Ultimately on April 2 a comprehensive measure of catholic relief passed
the house of commons by a majority of nineteen. All the most influential
members of the lower house now voted in its favour, but the attitude of
the upper house remained unchanged. The spirit of Eldon still ruled the
peers, and his speech against Plunket's relief bill contains a complete
armoury of protestant arguments. But the catholics had a still more
doughty opponent in the Duke of York, who delivered on this occasion the
first of his famous declarations, binding himself to life-long
hostility. As Eldon said, "he did more to quiet this matter