Page:History of the Radical Party in Parliament.djvu/170

 156 History of the Radical Party in Parliament. [1820- Lords. There another serious alteration was made, the two members being given to the county of York instead of to the town of Leeds a change which took from it all its value in the eyes of reformers, which was exactly what the Conserva- tive peers desired. The measure had to be passed in this shape or given up altogether; no one cared much about so insignificant an affair, and so two more knights of the shire were added to the House of Commons. This was the position of the two sections of the Liberal party on the question of reform at the time when that national agitation was com- mencing which, during the following ten years, had such an important effect, not only on the fortunes of parties, but on those of the country. The question of Catholic emancipation was now forced to the front, and, with the increased support which it received, began to produce that effect upon the party organizations to which allusion has been made. On the 28th of February Plunkett moved in the Commons that a committee of the whole House should consider the state of the laws affecting the Roman Catholics, and inquire whether it would be expedient to alter or modify the same. A division in the Ministry was at once manifested. Peel strongly opposed the resolution, which was supported by Castlereagh, and carried by a majority of six. On the 2nd of March the House wen-t into committee, and Plunkett moved six resolutions involving the principles of emancipation, and they were agreed to pro forma, Peel announcing his intention to oppose the bills which were to be founded upon them. Two bills were introduced and read a first time on the ist of March. The subsequent stages were marked by vehement opposition on the part of Peel, and by support from Canning, who, on the second reading, made one of his most eloquent and impassioned speeches. The second reading was carried by 254 to 243 ; the two bills were then consolidated, and on the 2nd of April, after more speeches by Peel and Canning, were passed by a majority of nineteen. Thus, in little more than a year after the death of George III., the measure to which he had been so bitterly opposed was