That cabinet, however, doubtless influenced by the wishes of the King, to whom Emancipation was anathema, was now determined to firmly resist the Catholic demands, with the result that Ireland rapidly drifted towards rebellion. Grattan warned the government in a series of masterly speeches of the lawless condition to which Ireland had been driven. He could now count on no more than 40 followers in the Irish House of Commons, and his words were unheeded. In protest he retired from parliament in May 1797, and departed from his customary moderation by attacking the government in his 24-page "Letter to the Citizens of Dublin", in which he said it was now "absolutely necessary to reform the state" as the people no longer had confidence in parliament.