Page:History of the Radical Party in Parliament.djvu/198

 184 History of the Radical Party in Parliament. [1822- doing so must have been significant to some of his col- leagues. On the loth of February Goulburn moved for leave to bring in the bill which was intended to suppress the Catholic Association. The motion led to a debate which lasted over four evenings. It was on the last night, the I5th of February, that Canning made the great speech in which, whilst defending his opposition to the Catholic Association, he gave a history, called for by attacks which had been made upon him, of the devotion with which he had supported the cause of emancipa- tion, and the sacrifices which he had made on its behalf. He described how, in 1812, he had refused office when it would have been most acceptable to him, rather than enter into an administration pledged against the Catholic question ; and how he had been compelled, in consequence of his continued adhesion to the principle, to give up another long-cherished hope. " From the earliest dawn of my public life ay, from the first visions of youthful ambition that ambition had been directed to one object above all others. Before that object all others vanished into comparative insignificance ; it was desirable to me beyond all the blandishments of power, beyond all the rewards and favours of the Crown. That object was to represent in this House the university in which I was educated. I had a fair chance of accomplishing this object, when the Catholic question crossed my way. I was warned, fairly and kindly warned, that my adoption of that cause would blast my prospect. I adhered to the Catholic cause, and forfeited all my long-cherished hopes and expecta- tions." This speech created a deep impression. It was felt that a cause for which such a man had made such sacrifices could not be much longer postponed. The Act was passed ; the Government and the legislature had done their worst. National attention had been called to the Association ; it had been threatened, and it survived in essence, having only to change its name and alter some of its methods of action. O'Connell afterwards said that there was no Act of Parliament through which a coach-and-four could