Within the Irish policies it also included local government reform. Examples of acts passed include the Devon Commission, the Academic Colleges Act and Catholic Emancipation. The 1829 Catholic Emancipation allowed Catholics to sit in parliament. The 1843 Devon Commission was to investigate the problems of land tenure. This was a failure because even though its report was authoritative the legislation had to be abandoned. Finally, the 1845 Academic Colleges Act. This was the concession to the Catholic laity to match Maynooth, and split them from the repel movement. Three university colleges were to be set with the building grants and annual aid. Colleges were to be open to all denominations. There was to be no religious teaching or tests. This was a failure as the Bishops were hostile fearing that 'godless' colleges would undermine the faith. Government motives were distrusted. The colleges seemed part of an anti-Catholic plot. The benefits of Maynooth were lost. The two religious reforms I will look at are the Maynooth Grant of 1845 and Catholic Emancipation of 1829.
The Maynooth Grant (1845) was a reform done in Sir Robert's Peel second ministry. The 1845 Maynooth Grant increased to $26,000 a year and a building grant of $30000. The aim was to improve the quality of the clergy, and to make them more loyal to the Act of Union (this united England and Ireland). This was a success as the Bishops welcomed the concession. They were consulted in advance. O'Connell gave his support. However, the political reaction in England was a strong anti-Irish feeling. This is because the proposals to increase the Maynooth grant stirred up the Protestantism and the anti-Catholicism of both the Conservative Party and the country at large. Nonconformist ministers and evangelical Anglican clergy shared the same platforms and urged opposition to the proposals of the Commons.
A majority of the Conservative MPs voted against the Bill on the third reading, but the government still won through with Whig and Radical support. Members who remembered what happened in 1829 (Catholic Emancipation) accused Peel of betraying the principles of his Party, and Protestantism, once more.
Catholic Emancipation was another reform in Irish polices. This was passed in 1829. There were several reasons for this. One was, that Robert Peel advised Welligton's Home Secretary that the alternative to Catholic Emancipation was civil war in Ireland. The second reason was that in 1828 election at County Clare O'Connell won the seat. This increased the Catholic Emancipation crisis as O'Connell was Catholic himself. The impact of this split the Tory Party into three warring elements.
To conclude, even though these reforms were examples of successful reforms it brought Peel down as many Party members had been elected in 1841 to protect the Church of England form further attack. This is because their government was now preparing to offer Roman Catholicism in Ireland. Rebel backbenchers rejected the sophisticated Conservative arguments that justified the policy. This because they felt betrayed. Peel could not temper with religion with extraneous matter without being punished.
