The coming of Wellesley to Dublin Castle roused the enthusiasm of the Catholic party and the animosity of the governing minority. In 1822 a great public meeting voted an address of congratulation to the marquis, the motion being proposed by O'Connell and seconded by Richard Lalor Sheil. Meetings all over the country followed suit, and the squeakings of the Orange lodges were drowned in the popular welcome. There was a temporary lull in the formation of secret societies, and the Whiteboys, the Orangemen, the Ribbonmen, and other associations for doing evil by stealth, waited for a sign from the Lord-Lieutenant. He gave it by abolishing the annual Orange decoration of King William's statue, and instantly the Orangemen flew to 'arms.' Wellesley attended a gala performance at the theatre, and an infuriated Orangeman entered a practical protest by hurling a bottle at his head. It missed its mark by inches, and the culprit was arrested. The Grand Jury, unanimously anti-Catholic, threw out the bill, and the powerful minority followed up this blow by inspiring a debate in the House of Commons, in which a vote of censure on the Lord-Lieutenant was rejected with the utmost difficulty. It was only too evident that the {226} Orangemen were determined to contest every inch of ground with the viceroy. [Illustration: Marquis Wellesley] The general opinion regarding the Marquis Wellesley, when it was known that he had no power to grant relief to the Catholics, was summed up in the lines by Furlong, the Irish poet: 'Who that hath viewed him in his past career Of hard-earned fame could recognize him here? Changed as he is in lengthened life's descent To a mere instrument's mere instrument; Crippled by Canning's fears and Eldon's rules, Begirt with bigots and beset with fools. A mournful mark of talents misapplied, A handcuffed leader and a hoodwinked guide; The lone opposer of a lawless band, The fettered chieftain of a fettered land.' [Sidenote: The Catholic Association]