Catholic Relief Act 1829
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The Catholic Relief Act 1829 (10 Geo IV c.7) was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 24 March 1829, and received the Royal Assent on 13 April. It was the culmination of the process of Catholic Emancipation in the United Kingdom, and in Ireland it repealed the last of the Penal Laws. Its passage followed a campaign on the issue by Irish lawyer and newly elected MP Daniel O'Connell.
The act allowed Catholics to have a seat in parliament. This condition was crucial as Daniel O'Connell had won a seat in a by-election in County Clare but under British law he was forbidden (because of his religion) to take his seat in Westminster. Sir Robert Peel, who had for all of his career opposed emancipation (and had, in 1815, challenged O'Connell to a duel) was forced to conclude: "though emancipation was a great danger, civil strife was a greater danger." Fearing a revolution in Ireland, Peel drew up the Catholic Relief Bill and guided it through the House of Commons. To overcome the opposition of both the House of Lords and King George IV, the Duke of Wellington worked to ensure passage in the House of Lords, and threatened to resign as Prime Minister if the King did not give Royal Assent.
The Catholic Relief Act was a compromise, however, and effectively disenfranchised the Catholic peasants of Ireland, the so-called Forty Shilling Freeholders. The act raised fivefold the economic qualifications for voting. Starting in 1793, any man renting or owning land worth at least forty shillings (the equivalent of two Pounds Sterling), had been permitted to vote. Under the Catholic Relief Act, this was raised to ten pounds.
The act also makes it illegal for a Catholic to directly or indirectly advise the British Sovereign on appointments in the Church of England. There has not yet been a Catholic Prime Minister to date, since the act's passing. The Prime Minister usually advises the Soverign on appointment of Bishops in the Church, although today, the Prime Minister's role is somewhat of a formality, channelling information from the Church authorities to the Sovereign. The current Prime Minister, Tony Blair, whilst married to a Catholic, is not one himself.
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| Major constitutional laws affecting Ireland | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-Union Poyning's Law (1492) Grattan's constitution (1782) Act of Union (1800) |
UK Acts Catholic Relief Act (1829) Church Disestablishment Act (1869) Representation of the People Act (1918) Government of Ireland Act (1920) Statute of Westminster (1931) Northern Ireland Constitution Act (1973) Northern Ireland Act (1998) |
Constitutions Dáil Constitution (1919) Free State Constitution (1922) Constitution of Ireland (1937) |
Oireachtas Acts Ministers and Secretaries Act (1924) Courts of Justice Act (1924) External Relations Act (1936) Republic of Ireland Act (1948) Human Rights Act (2003) |
Treaties Anglo-Irish Treaty (1922) European Convention (1950) Treaties of the EU (1973-2003) Good Friday Agreement (1998) | |
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