Seven years later (1828) the Duke of Wellington, a Tory (S479) in
politics, became Prime Minister. His sympathies in all matters of
legislation were with the King, but he made a virtue of necessity, and
for the time acted with those who demanded reform. The Corporation
Act (S472), which was originally passed in the reign of Charles II,
and had for its object the exclusion of Dissenters (S472) from all
town or corporate offices, was now repealed; henceforth a man might
become a mayor, alderman, or town officer, without belonging to the
Church of England. At the same time the Test Act (S477), which had
also been passed in Charles II's reign to keep both Catholics and
Dissenters out of government offices, whether civil or military, was
repealed. As a matter of fact "the teeth of both acts had long been
drawn" by by an annual Indemnity Act (1727).[1]
[1] This act virtually suspended the operation of the Corporation Act
(S472) and the Test Act against dissenters so that they could obtain
civil offices from which these two acts had excluded them.
In 1829 a still greater reform was carried. For a long period the
Catholic Association had been laboring to obtain the abolition of the
laws which had been on the statute books for over a century and a
half, by which Catholics were excluded from the right to sit in
Parliament. These laws, it will be remembered, were enacted at the
time of the alleged Popish Plot, and in consequence of the perjured
evidence given by Titus Oates (S478).[2] The King, and the Tory party
marshaled by the Duke of Wellington, strenuously resisted the repeal
of these statutes; but finally the Duke became convinced that further
opposition was useless. He therefore suddenly changed about and
solely, as he declared, to avert civil war, took the lead in securing
the success of a measure which he heartily hated.
[2] See Sidney Smith's "Peter Plymley's Letters."
But at the same time that Catholics were admitted to both Houses of
Parliament, an act was passed raising the property qualification of a
very large class of small Irish landholders from 2 pounds to 10
pounds. This measure deprived many thousands of their right to vote.
The law was enacted on the pretext that the small Irish landholders
would be influenced by their landlord or their priest.
Under the new order of things, Daniel O'Connell, an Irish gentleman of
an old and honorable family, and a man of distinguished ability, came
forward as leader of the Catholics. After much difficulty he
succeeded in taking his seat in the House of Commons (1829). He
henceforth devoted himself, though without avail, to the repeal of the
act uniting Ireland with England (S562), and to the restoration of an
independent Irish Parliament.