Why was catholic emancipation such a big issue? In Ireland there had been a long period of hostility and injustice towards Catholicism, the Church of England was funded by taxes which had to be paid by non-Angelicans, for instance non-conformists or Catholics and up until 1829 Catholics were not allowed to vote, sit in parliament or serve public office. The Corporation Act (1661) and the Test Act (1672) had imposed religious tests on all public officeholders, effectively excluding …
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…and Peel feared that to further block emancipation would lead to rebellion in Ireland. However in supporting this Peel received much abuse from Ultra Tories and was seen to be betraying his original beliefs. However despite all this work emancipation made very little difference. Protestant ascendancy remained untouched and public office was still close to the Catholic middle class. In the countryside peasants still feared famine and eviction and contested the imposition of tithe payments.