of legislative independence had prepared them for the further challenge of gaining a truly democratic system of government. The failure of Presbyterianism to gain full political representation throughout the 1780's, and their treatment as second-class citizens, laid in stone by the Penal Code, led them to seek redress. This being especially true in the largely Presbyterian town of Belfast, where Lord Donegall controlled the town's corporation, effectively excluding the Presbyterian community from political activity, and the lack of a substantial Catholic community meant that sectarian tensions did not really exist. Therefore the principles of the French Revolution were attractive to them as it brought to them hope of a revival of the reform movement which had fizzled out after the constitution of 1782 and the Volunteer split. Thus there existed, within the Presbyterian community:
             "A genuine, if somewhat naive, enthusiasm for revolutionary principles" Beckett
             The news of revolution in France was bound to capture the
             ...