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 On the other hand, Lord Brougham and many Liberals defended the existence of the Association. O'Connell spent a considerable time in London endeavouring, and somewhat successfully, to influence public opinion, and striving to obtain a hearing at the bar of the House, Mr. Peel advocated the abolition of the Association, and a Bill to effect that object, styled by O'Connell the "Algerine Act," was carried by 253 to 107 votes. O'Connell received an ovation on his return home; the Association held its last meeting on the 1 6th March 1825, and he immediately set about the formation of another within the law. For a time his popularity was impaired in consequence of his approving a relief Bill, with clauses providing for the payment of the clergy, and raising the franchise in counties from £2 to;£5 (the "wings" as they were called); and he found that he had been much deceived as to the amount of influential English support their adoption would conciliate. The first meeting of the new Catholic Association was held in the Corn Exchange, Dublin, on 1 6th July 1825; O'Connell had managed, as many expected, to "drive a coach and six" through the "Algerine Act." The Act forbade holding meetings continuously for more than fourteen days. The Association accordingly arranged annually to hold fourteen days' continuous meetings, which were most successful. The principal incident in the movement in 1826 was the defeat of the Beresfords at Waterford (which they had theretofore regarded as a pocket borough), by a vote of 1,172 to 501. The political campaign of 1828 opened with the usual fourteen days' meetings; and 2,000 meetings were convened for one day in January, at which almost the whole of Catholic Ireland met to demand Emancipation. The question came before Parliament in May, and had sufficiently advanced in public estimation to be passed in the Commons by six votes, while it was rejected in the Lords by forty-four—the Duke of Wellington advising the Catholics to desist from agitation, as their only chance of having their claims favourably considered. The Act that virtually excluded Catholics from sitting in Parliament did not preclude their return as members. It had been the opinion of the veteran Catholic leader, Keogh, that some Catholic should be elected, so as to bring the English people face to face with the absurdity of disfranchising a constituency because the man of its choice would not swear that his belief was damnable and idolatrous. A vacancy occurred for the County of Clare in June, on Vesey Fitz-Gerald's being made President of the Board of Trade, and O'Connell caught at the suggestion of contesting the seat. He immediately issued an address, declaring himself in favour of Catholic Emancipation, Repeal, and the reform of the Established Church. The Catholic Association granted £5,000 towards the expenses, and £9,000 more was raised within a week. The utmost enthusiasm was aroused in Clare, and throughout Ireland, and on Saturday the 5th July, O'Connell was returned by a vote of 2,057 to Fitz-Gerald's 982. Decorum and good order prevailed throughout the election. The following months were a time of feverish excitement in Ireland. O'Connell used his "frank" as a member of Parliament, but did not present himself at the House. It was now perceived that a settlement of the Catholic question could not be much longer delayed. The Lord-Lieutenant, Lord Anglesea, was recalled for recommending the Catholics to persevere in constitutional agitation, and on his departure received an ovation such as had not been seen since Lord Fitzwilliam's time. In the King's speech of next February (1829) a revision of the Catholic disabilities was advised, " consistently with the full and permanent security of our Establishment in Church and State, with the maintenance of the Reformed religion established by law." In the debate on the address, Lord Eldon declared "that if ever a Roman Catholic was permitted to form part of the legislature of this country, from that moment the sun of Great Britain would set;" and the Duke of Cumberland said that if the King gave his assent to a Bill embodying such principles he would leave the kingdom and never return. Before introducing a Catholic Relief Bill, Peel passed the Act 10 Geo. IV. cap. 1, for the suppression of the Catholic Association, or any similar association in Ireland—in fact, any " association, assembly, or meeting of persons in Ireland, which he or they [the Lord-Lieutenant or Lords-Justices] shall deem to be dangerous to the public peace or safety, or inconsistent with the administration of the law." It became law on the 5th March, but the Association had dissolved nearly a month before. The Emancipation Bill passed the second reading in the Commons by 353 to 173 votes, and the Lords by 213 to 109, and received the royal assent on 1 3th April. It is known as 10 Geo. IV. cap. 7, consists of forty sections, and occupies eleven pages in the Statutes. The chief provisions were: (1i) Catholics might sit in the Lords and Commons, upon taking a 377