AT A MEETING OF THE
INHABITANTS OF THE TOWN AND LIBERTIES OF
Coleraine,
Held, persuant to notice, on Friday, the 7th Day of January, 1831,
RICHARD DRUE, ESQUIRE, IN THE CHAIR,
THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTIONS WERE UNANIMOUSLY AGREED TO:
Moved by Mr. W. W. LAWRENCE; seconded by Mr. DAVID DUNLOP:
THAT Petitions be presented to the House of Lords and Commons, praying that the privileges conferred by the Charter, granted by James the First, on the Inhabitants of the Town and Liberties of COLERAINE, be restored.
Moved by Mr. B. McNAGHTEN: seconded by Mr. CURTIS. McFARLAND:
THAT a Committee be appointed, for the purpose of preparing a Petition to Parliament, and the the following compose the Committee:-
RICHARD DRUE, CURTIS McFARLAND,
JAMES McFARLAND, SAMUEL LAWRENCE,
DAVID DUNLOP, THOMAS DUNLAP,
JOHN LAWRENCE,
Moved by Mr. John McKEE: seconded by Mr. JAMES GIBBON:
THAT the Petition, now prepared, be adopted as the Petition of this Meeting, and that the MARQUIS of LANDSDOWNE be requested to present the same to the House of Lords, and the LORD ALTHORPE to the House of Commons.
Moved by Mr. JAMES McFARLAND: seconded by Mr. THOMAS DUNLAP:
THAT Mr. DUNLOP do transmit copies of the Petition to such Members of the House of Lords and Commons as are known to be favourable to reform, and to request their support of same.
Moved by Mr. JOHN LAWRENCE: seconded by the Rev. JOHN WHITESIDE:
That the warmest thanks of this Meeting be conveyed to The Honorable the Irish Society of London, for the valuable assistance ot has afforded to the Inhabitants of the Town and Liberties of Coleraine, in the assertion of their just Rights.
Mr. DRUE having been voted out of the Chair, and SAMUEL LAWRENCE, Esq. called to it -
It was proposed and carried, unanimously -
THAT the thanks of this Meeting be given to RICHARD DRUE, Esq. for his uniform exertion in promoting the Freedom of this Borough, and for his very proper conduct in the Chair.
SAMUEL LAWRENCE.
TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE THE
KNIGHTS, CITIZENS & BURGESSES IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED.
The humble Petition of the undersigned Freemen and Inhabitants of the Town and Liberties of Coleraine, in the Province of Ulster, in Ireland,
SHEWETH,
THAT His Majesty, James the First, being (indecipherable) of colonizing certain parts of the Province of Ulster, with English and Scotch Settlers, and of giving to those Settlers such Right and Privileges as had been given to the Citizens of London and Dublin, by their respective Charters, forwarded certain motives to the Citizens of London, to (indecipherable) them to undertake the Colony: and the said citizens of London accordingly agreed to undertake the Plantation, on getting a grant of the whole of the then County of Coleraine: and it was a part of such agreement, that One Hundred House should be build at Derry, and that a Town should be erected at Coleraine, in which Forty Houses should be erected, before the end of the Year 1812: and that the Inhabitants of said Town of Coleraine should have all such Privileges as were enjoyed by the Citizens of London, Dublin, or Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and that a Charter should be given to such effect, to the said Citizens.
THAT the colony (indecipherable):and, about the Year 1813, there were erected, at Coleraine, about Thirty or Forty Houses, and the Citizens of London, who had undertaken the Plantation, were incorporated by the Name of "The Irish Society".
THAT King James, being (indecipherable) to call a Parliament in Ireland, issued several Charters, to several Cities and Towns in Ireland: such as Armagh, Coleraine, Belfast, &c appointing Portrieve, or Sovereign, and Twelve Free Burgesses, and giving to the Portrieve and Burgesses, and to them only, the power of sending two Members to Parliament: and under the one issued to Coleraine, Two Burgesses were returned, and sat in King James's First Irish Parliament, of 1813: but the Irish Society, on finding this, immediately ordered that this Charter should be surrendered: and that one, conformable to their agreement with the King, and similar to that, obtained by them, for the City of Derry, should be obtained, they having given full and valuable consideration for the Privileges and Rights offered by the King: and accordingly, King James the First, by Charter, dated 28th June, in the 11th Year of his Reign, after certain (indecipherable) grants and ordains, that Coleraine, and the Liberties thereof, should thenceforward, for ever, be a FREE TOWN.