Star. — London, England, 1827-05-02 00:00:00

.~ 1 .., w here be pow sat, had left little room for doubt 1.7 - the' subreil;'ktbeo - ; he - he- d.Phcrit'll the Cathuite Qtte; Doe as this - WM Iwo au qu estion . I pot - ), lt was, acciiid- ' the F . w. to be- ' f leeted - that the Right Hon. Gentleman, , 'b bolt ( It-abiTreasury, would soon some down on ... 0 the Hauge anti proposesurr at least, support some ;„„ d v et Some final decision ought to take place elhhtlerech " e interest of Ireland or ' of England Was cisn ; t id er e i l? The Elonsßarnoevhad stated, that this queStion s n3w beco min g a Ministerial sine pia nog - ((hies of nes).-w-He might be under a ntis ilest, hear, nnal . No , la k e , but he had apprehended that the expression of rise gun non, used by the Honourable Baronet, referred to the Catholi c Question, and, to no other; and be did h e lot-, that his ninon, and justification, and induce westt' •O 'occupy the position in which he *as now ge e, was the opinion that Ibis measure Wad to be ogered o t h e o pport ottlie House under the auspices of Ad• ministration. For his own part, he would rather see t h4tplestion receive the decided support of His 'Mejest y's Government, than as it had' been leer since 1817— o ug hte r ).—he nverrmt to-say, for. many years past. He w ould now trespass no further upon the time of the filoasethati ttadeciare Mt deteribtOthrh to - rippose this q ion under whatever atttPiOi -It, ,Mightle-ought tuit - forward; and he called upon the Members or %Ilia Mo. jostes Govesiment in that House.to let, these know what they lure to expect—whether they were them selvesect, ihrd Prepared to di:rpt a united upon th e subject, determined course, or whether the question was still to be pared down upon the principle of expediency ? This was but lair to an, parties concerned in it. He could! only say further, that be, foe one,was deter mined always to set his lace against it. Sir F. BURDRTT explained.—lie had employed the wdrds, taufwlAwl with reference not to the Catholic Question in pard • *cube, hot to suits a geiteral course of policy is might best pro,n6te , t he peace, happiness, and.tranquillity of Ireland. He had said thatt it was branticipating the progress of .English mind, under the in. , hence of a liberal and enlightened Administration, that be saw hope . 'sod only hope of Riding this question. . Mr. G. DAWSON (late Under Secretary for the Home D.partment) acknowledged that in the entire affair, namely, the sudden support which the Right Hon. Gentleman. at the head of the Treasury had re ! ceived trom'the'Gentlemen who were (heti to sit on that, Aber side.vf the .House, he could see nothing but a desire to participate in that Right Hon. 'Gentleman's • station and duthuritY.Thit.was the right iny to look at the maw, Foie himset4belibdetasedlo be 'member of the Government, and .was not sorry fee it i and he agreed with his Right Hon. Friend, Mr. Peel, that he telt more pleasure „en standing where he did, in conse quence of his aditetence to his,principles,than hold place wider the Might Hpit-Centleman at the beast of the Treasury. 'The • Hon. Baronet had said, that he took his portion by the side of that Right Hon. Gemlernan, with a view to.effeCt the ultimate success of the Catholic Qiestion.. Nowt- if *that. Hon. Member's friends did . not participate in his- motive; their present junction . with thi Right Hon. Gentleman was one of the basest coalitions that' ever occurred.—(Cheering). lie Wald repeat, if Theylail hot that object in view, their coali tion was the basest, the most unnatural, and unpreter dented, he hud,,ever witnesSed-.-(Deafening clamouri; and continned mut mars). Be would not be put 4ownbyl clamour in t4at House. if Gentlemen wanted to put him down by laughing, hesrusted the Braker would use his author icy to preserve eider;--(Alaugh). BUt he would re peat, it the Hon. Gentlemen changed their aide throesh my other motive, they had made it ashen unpreeedenomt mention. On that 'subject he would not say more,. but. would ask, vos it Understoodthit the Catholic Qnestios Iva to. be made a Cabinet measure? if not, these Gen demo (the Whigs) as honest men, could not support the Right HonsemintlemsusiMr. Canning), But the strangest thing in the affair Arras, that the astire prop, by some extriordinaty fatality of ,gpneurrenep,.. was unanimous -• of the change of the Ministry-z-(Lood cheering.) The fact was, that the entire prop was corrupted—corrupted . to its very core—corruption had stifled the public voice, . and revealed the expression of the public opinion; but thought the prop was stlenttbe voice of individuals was not. He, .as au individual, would raise his voice to state facts which had come to his knowledge, and which, it true, w-uld place the Right Hoek Gentleman at the head of the Treatuty in an embarrassing situa tion—circumstances on which the Right Hon. Gentle. man was bound•tcigive the Houseu clear explanation. It had been stated : by 'Vie highest airthority in the coutia try, that the nets Cabinet would not change tbe.dourse of policy porsueil:by tile late oneond that the nialutit • of that Cabinet would he ad-versa to the Catholic Ques tion. Bat now it appeared that • was not the case. What, then, would the country d u nk of such conduct? What would the'Dgtb:dlies ofil eland think, but that Emancipation would be instantly, conceded when • they saw Able Members out of twelve in favour of the measure? If this should be the feeling of the Catholms of frelrmsP, what would be the feeling of the Protestanti - of' rie . tatict; Who. bad learned' that the najority of -the, Cabinet was to; tin Protestant—when they werlinfoimathai the ooly. sideocate for Protes tant princikbirt in the-Cabinet woold-he Lord-Bexley, who had givens up place, and taken it back again, atid id Who* lie thltr.*-D.I . as a Protestant, had no trust P— .Would.tba .Prinestants of Ireland depend on Lord •-- Lyndharst, who,-after having the other day Amadei a : . Itetich from• the- pamphlet of Dn Philpot, afterwards gate his aid to it 'Cabinet in which the principles of that •• . speech must be - outvoted? ;its, the - Prmeat s apts in Ire -land had no confidence izeicliex of mem, apd 11044 01,4 would they elitist thetorelees sander tlindsannoreof Lord Lyndhurst. What would . Ahe &their-skits of "Fdiglind . • ;11.414, when they heard ke ttate4,4 authoilty,"that the. • -• ' Archbishop of Canterbuly, and .the Bishop- of 14nd°84 Ina informed the assembled Bishops at Lumbedh they understood'from the King that big opinions on the ... Catholic Question were unchanged:--stronger, 'in fact, • • tha% hisfatber's opinions were, when, in 1806, he game that memorable answer to Mr.i Fox. If this were not true, it could be contradicted by the Right H onoura bl e Gentleman. ;.414 Majesty said '•tti . ..thil Aribbishop of Canterbury and ,uhf Bishop of London, that before be t., o k t h e coronation Oatb—[Here there was a Cheer, and Order, forseeet.alseconds, to as completely to d rown the Honograbli i‘fetbbre.s voice.] The.SPEAKLIIO-1 am sure the House will feel that I have at present mote reasons than one in steering m 7 cause aright in the interruption given to the speech of the Honourable Gentleman. I trust the Honourable Gentleman will recollect that fundamental principle in; Out rules, which forbids -an attempts to influence our debate by allusion to the S..vereign. , L:t. DAWSON, in continuation said, that was an imponanst rirtipte in the Constitution ; yet in connection with a change of ttor erument, he would assert, t h a t U the conduct of Ministers was IC i ftizce with the declaration - to whidi he alluded, he had a righi. i l 2 demand an explan at i on o f t h em , b e f o r e b e cou ld a llow say sat at m'o to be King's .Ministers—(Great coniusloal). He would repoirj• tilt bad been said by the Archblebepor Cgistabwr i at 11AmWiii to give not ly an explanation but an expositison of hill own personal intentions, and of the mind , pies on which the Gentlemen now seated beside him intended to give theirsupport to his Majesty's Government. For himself, he did not value their support ; but if be were influenced by it eitbcr way, it would rather excite him to a more decided oppottion. The House ought not to separate without asking the Prime Minister what was his intended course of policy as to the question of Catholic Emancipation?—lf the Catholics of Ireland, irritated by a diap. pointment of their hopes, should allow themselves to be mislbd into acts of popular ♦iolence, the present Ministers, and the party in that- House that supported the Ministry, would be responsible' 'for ail the•calantities that world follow. ' Mr. BROUGHAM had the greatest anxiety to ad dress the House and the country upon this occasion. He should have addrease4 the House immediately after the Hon, Member for Westminster, in the apprehension that same part of his speech might have been misunder stood. But after hearing the speech of the Honourable Baronet, the Member for Somerset. and, with increased astonishment, that of the Right Hon. late Under Se creutty for the Home Department, he should feel him self guilty of a positive dereliction of duty if be. did not reply to their observations. The Right Hon. Gentleman 44,.ailuded prticularly to him, and could see no earthly motive for the new situation in which he and his Mends had placed themselves, but that of a desire totsharb•the hottours and the emoluments of office. Re did not know whether the Right lion. Gentleman had used the word etnpluments, but if not, mere sordid matures would uhderstand it. They 'had been attacked by the Hon. Ltironet, reasoning according to his means of reasoning, and by the first _ . burst of wit frays a Bight Don. Ez.Officeiof the Crown. — He did not believe that the imputations cast upon his Hon. Friends weremented in any single case; but to himself thee imputations could have no application whatever. Office was mucks more inevi tably removed from him, and placed out of his contemplation much further than out of the contemplation of the Right Hon. Gentleman , himself. But he supported the Administration of the Right 11°0. 1 C,errtisamau, In the hope that it would eventually lead to the removais of great difficulties which beset the most important question of, diiiiible•pidicy. The Right Honourable Gentleman called this et 1 itiniffittslue and unnatural coalition-4 juoction .of men opposed tot el* other in principle, at Variance open all the detail, of affairs„; hid all the /ceding principles of national policy. How; be would; pek, had this exuenie difference of opinion been manifested? It was no doubt because they had hitherto opposed and obstructed the irately& Pohey of the Right Honourable Gentleman now at the bead of his Majesty', Council. Because they bad been unwilling to permit him to disengage from the wheels of the Holy Alliance, the triuMphint 'chariot of British policy.' Or perhaps the coali tleo was, unnatural, because he and . she Honourable, Friends around him bad opposed and obstructed the lil.eral and enlightened Principles of commercial policy adopted by the Right Hon. Presi dent of the Hoard of Trade. Or was this coalition unnatural, be cause they had always professed opinions se different front the Right Hon. Gentleman as to the best means of giving tranquillity to the Sister Kingdom? Look over all the greet questions of foreign or domestic pulicy,.whetber io relation to the Governments of Europe, or whether piercing across the • Ailantie,-they beheld together the dawn of new-born liberty; whether they were connected with the freedom of trade, or the fair and reasonable protection of agricul. tare—where wad the disagreement to be seen which rendered their pratentsuppoit of the Right Hon. Gentleman so monstrous. Upon the Agricultural Qtestioo be had voted with the Right Hon. Gen tleman' now First Lord of the Treasury, al th ough the Right Mom .i.iliderSecretaty then sat by hie shim He would ask that Right Hmq , Gentleman to point out a single practical . question for the last three or four years, in which Government did not find in his vok ,s aupport--in bis feelings &faithful eche. Bee there was one goes• tiotkin which he could not go Who the Right HOD. Gentlettain.— *hen he knew that the opinions of Ministers were not may dim eordent, Out wide is the Wm asooder--when one Secretary of State was op posed to mother—as the Right Hon. Gentleman (?Jr. I PM . I) had heath*, caodidly, and omit hortoundely to lsinwelf it. passed, sod on ascoont of which difference he had, ewe oe three putts ago, been desirous to retiro- 7 knowing this, he felt himself restrained from'supportieg the Government upon many occasions, .when he was most desirous of doing so, because be felt that a Go.' vernment so constituted was not worthy of the confidence of any thinking man. That impedimenr bad now been removed, by the re. , cirement of those who constituted the opposidan in bit Majesty** Connell& Of those Right Hon. Gentlemen and Noble Lords be wished to speak with great respect—of the Right Hon. Gentleman,, l the late Secretary of State foe the Home Department particularly. He could not be suspected of any intention to flatter that Right Honourable Gentleman, for it would be recolketed that they bad on some occasions been particularly opposed to each, other; because any events in the life of aperson so obscure as hi could be worthy of memory, but as forming part of the brighter annals of the Eight Honourable Gentleman. Now he must, justice to that Right Honourable Gentleman, declare that the gem. ral tenour of his official conduct bad been not merely honour to him, but suck as to place him beyond the utmost refinement Of ingenious malice, if (which be could not suppose) the Right He. pourable Gentleman had so much as a siogle enemy to exerebi such ingenuity. He was grateful for the Militia services the ' Right Honourable Gentleman had rendered to the country, and he, for one felt that It was not one of the least of the evils of the Catholic Question not yet being carried, that it deprived the country of them services. And now one word upon that question— they bad bees (barged with base conduct, with an unnatural coali tion. Now there mold be no baseness if there was no fraud upon the parties; and for his own port be declared, that he did not look to the Catholic Question being Made a Cabinet measure. He ex pected so more than a gradual *advance to that question, and great immediate advantage to the peace and prosperity of Ireland. The object of Catholic emancipation was one to be pursued firmly but cautiously. He counseled the Catholics not to urge their claims at the present moment-'(loud laughter sad citeers)—topiease their bitterest enemies—chat quadrant of the House, some of whom were skilled in the use of inarticulate signs, mid seldom therefore, re sorted to the employment of articulate language . Tim Honourable Baronet accepted a pointer's which but for his respect for him he Would denominate grotesqut. He was now on the other side of the House, apparently the leader, he wished him lung to remain there. Then, the Hon. Member fur Ifotksbire—between his regard Partite pierogative and his enmity to the Catholic claim*—ht was in a most tantalizing situation. He was ,quite puzzled by opposite temptations, and drawn alteinately to this side and to that by bun dies of coollicting anotisies=(Hear and laughter).—Speaking 'merely as a by-stander, he would say, that he had no idea that the claims of itheCadeolies w‘re all at once to be made a Cabinet question--The presence of Lord Bexley and the Lord Chancellor its the Cabinet was surely a sufficient pledge that no such thing was intended. The Hon. end LearnedDentleinan, after proceeding in the same strain nr, amasiderable length,, observed, that as it .was . oonsiarzocy to talk of sacrifices, he might, perhaps, be .permitted to speak of his In, withdrawing from the other side of the House, he bad left a situation in Which he had been surrounded, and, perhaps, he might say, in some degree followed, by a diningoislsed body of mep, who muntitated if not the most powerful, be would venture to say the Itionet disinterested opposition wbkh had ever f sat, in that House.— ra4 quitted that side of the House under m arrangement, otterly precludes the possibility of his becoming a servant tb dlie (town. He had determined to support the present Government 10,14ess eimmustances, and whir from anxiety to prontote.tholle of various kinds which such an Administratim pro- to the country and the settlement of the Irish Question g them. He bad proinoted the coalition entirely with this opeeeemente ablect • and as he knew that his being open to accept office would base been an obstacle to the arrangement, be had annoupced his determiaatiao to remain mantel) , unconoected with the Adrninis .tratlam—(Hear, bear). Mr. CANNING rose, and said, it would be uncour ' [epos to the House, it• would be oncourteous to his 'flight Hon. Friend, if he let this opportunity o with out expressing, in as few words a s possible, how entireff the sentiments contained in his speech coinciiied with the character of his conduct in all iti 'parts. Tor begin, he said, with .the more agreeable part, his Righl . ,iinn, Friend had made an appeal to his Opinions for confirmation of his own. He could bear,testimi.ny to his i'onduct; which, during 'a continualintercoUrse,' ne had found distinguished by that jusr feeling and 'th peiriplis so sttongly portrayedia his speech. The • wouid si•atly mistake. his 4hitsGaiusestit)aitio;l ation if they believed that it was one of gratified anb. bition. From the beginning of the discussions on the 'object of the Catholic cl Sims he had felt that their sepa l iation was inevitable, and not far remote. Would to Gas that he could now persuade himself that his retirement onld be but for a short time I Had the necessity f aee hich had made the resignation of one of them inevitable leftr of i h n is h o is w h u an r d es s, ig h o i u s r d io e fi c . is a ion ud would have that of bona haee in lit y:u Right,Hon. Friend. The courtesy of his Right Hon. 'Friend had induced him to acquaint him (Mr. Can. ping) with his Intention of speaking to-night. He had thereupon consulted the will of-his Royal Master, from whom he had obtained permissionto publish such parts of the late negotiations as were necessary for his vindi cation. True it was,—and why should he deny it ? He had been called upon by his Majesty for his advice, or rather he ought to say, for his opinion, on the occa sion alluded to. He did, then, if he might presume to say it, give his council to the King, that his Majesty ought, under the circumstances to which he felt himself placed, to make a Government conform able to that lately conducted by the Earl of Liverpool. He_ was free to admit that the a (vice he bad so given the King was not what he should have wished to offer, ,were he, allowed to be guided altogether by his own opinion; it . was counsel, which in fact necessarily in. volved his own retirement from office. That result lk Ad not conceal, but at the same time laid his resigns*, tion at the feet of his Sovereign, with mush more cas-' fidence relpecting his future position, apart fronstiii Government{ than any which be knew he cants! occupy •shbsequently, with the question differently sculled.— When he had thus presumed to give his Majesty a solicited opinion, and to withdraw himself into re tirement, lest he should be deemed any obstacle to future arrangement, it was net for him to recommend to his Majesty the individuals who were to form a Government opposed to his own opinion ; therefore all that remained for him was, to a-k leave to retire, and make way, so far as he was concerned, for its formation. Ile had always defended, and he still delended, unre stricted freedom of opinion upon the Catholic question; that was the opinion and the wish of his oldest col leagues in the late Administration ;-it was the opinion of, the Earl of Liverpool, and expressed in a manner which he would just relate. Not many months ago, from a source which he should not name, a recommendation had been given to his Majesty to place his Government upon a tooting of uniformity upon the Catholic Ques tion; and Lord Liverpool, to whom that advice was communicated at the same time as to the King, imme diately wrote a letter to his Majesty declining his concur rence in such advice ; stating also, that being himself ill some tespects the author of the principle of the divided Cabinet upon it, he would never be a member of a Go vernment which excluded it.—(Loud cries of Hear)ij He (Mr. Canning) therefore, in delivering his opinion to his Majesty, did not conceal from the King, that the diffi culties would be great in forming an exclusive Cabinet upon that question; and he repeated, that it was no part of his duty to suggest who should be the Royal counsel lon, when he had intimated his intention of withdraw ing from the Government. He did not disguise the diffi culties which must attend the formation of such a Go vernment as he had alluded to, but he did not pronounce it to be a won k of impracticability: It was not for him ^tosay by whose advice, or for what reasons, it was the King's determination not to act upon the suggestion which he had ptesumed to offer; but from the period 'when 'he fret saw his Majesty upon this business, until the King afterwards came to town, he (Mr. Can ning) had had no certainty that the plan of forming a different sort of administration would not have been followed. So far, therefore, from seeking to possess power under the circumstances in which Lord Liven' pool's secession had placed him, his first act was a direct expression of his wish to withdraw from it.—, Was that like seeking to exclude any person? Was that , like seeming to impede the formation of a Government, which was sought to be promoted by the abortive mo tion (he did not mean the word in an invidious sense) of the Honourable Baronet opposite ? (Sir l': Leth bridge.) Why, the experiment of forming it had been fairly tried at the very time, and nothing done to that hour had been done by him to impede it, unless offering to step out of the way for the purpose of promoting it could be construed into such an impediment. But when he was afterwards told that such a Government could not be formed, and when he, like Lord Liverpool, had' recorded his declaration that he would not be a member of any Administration which inflexibly excluded the Catholic qaestion, nothing remained for him but to' assist, as far as he could, in -the reconstruction pf the divided Government upon Lord Liverpool's plan, with, of course, the necessary consequence that that question was not to be made a Cabinet measure. Then there arose a totally different state of things, not one involving the question whether he should himself be in the Government or not, • but whether that Government would be discredited upon receiving horn him that assistance which, not his own wishes, but the situation of circumstances—perhaps a mislot tune to the country —had cast upon him? What then had been proposed to him? Why, to reconstruct the Government, all the old• Members retaining office, ' but placing at its head some Peer who was known 'to entertain anti-Catholic sentiments. Then what was the principle which, by such an arrangement, he was called upon to sanction in his own person? Why it was plainly this,—tbat, holding the opinions which he did, was necessarily. a disqualification for his filling (he highest office in the- Aciministrat on.: -(Loud cries, of bear). Office he Would quit-for ever, for office he cared not, retirement be would' seek at the extremity of the earth ; but to possess it be terms' so degrading, was the last stigma which be could suffer in his own person,. and only next to that , of bearing a part in the Adminis: ration ostensibly form ed for excluding the Catholic questiontondeheert.), He would emigre his being proscribed for ever from the councils of his Sovereign, rather than, any (tante- Statesman should , have the power to blast his memory' by recording -his submission to such disgrace, and hold inglial up to execration, for entertaining ail cptnion which, up to that moment, he thought he was tate to bold without any violation of compact with his col- . lengues—(ltennved cheers). He threw himself upis, that House and his.country for a candid construction of his conduct.: His first object was to quit office, Ms, 'next to remain in it with all his old colleagues, exactly' ,upon the same terms as he and they had,' hithetto well towards each other upon this Very Catholic iftiii - stion-11 - 1 - eare hear, bear). _ It was for this that he tad been arraigned, not .indeed by his Right Honour. able Friend (Mr. Peel), who had Ludy stated his opi nions to him, but in coarser 'terms by another Hon. Gerft, (Mr. Dawson), who had charged him with forming a Gniernment . which t as he had described it, wnschisfly . - • .--* 'hILS reproaching him for not havir.g advised, the King to do that which he had in the first place counselled his Majesty to attempt. foe not pursuing a course from wbioh, as the facts prcisyro,.,he.had never deviated. Again, he would only stsmsnon the Hon. Member's recollection to these facts.,,When on the 12th April, he went to the chamber of theliihg, intending to propose a plan of atranginsentifor a Government composed of all the members of the old Government, with a divided, or ra hera preponderating anti-Catholic Cabinet, for such it was, was it his fault (as the insi. nuatinn conveyed) that he received in the closet of his Sovereign, the resignatiod of six Protestant Members of the late Cabinet?—(Loud cries of u Hear"). Not by concert or pte-arrangettlent, es his Right Hon. FL iend (Mr. Peel) had declared, and he (Mr. Canning) believed, but by a coincident movement. This was a tact which the late Hon. Under Secretary (Mr. Dawson) had thought proper to sink--(Hear, heal ).—Eilere Mr. Peel &Ai something in a low tone of voice to Mr. Cunt. g, which we understood was to explain tl.at five and not six of the Members of the late Cabinet had resigned in the manner statedl —Mr.Canning resumed,and thanked his Right Hon. Friend fur the correction. There were only five resignations sent into his Majesty at deminse to which he alluded, for Lnrd Melville's was not ten. deLed till the following d.y. Still the suppressed fact was this—that when he was charged with bringing in an undue p. °portion of Members of the Cebinet favour able to the Catholic question, the Honourable Member had to gotten to state that the Protestant half of tie Cab i net had voluntarily thought proper to resign —(A laugh, and cries of Hear I) By this coincident move ment be was placed in clone a new situation : within hours five of the anti-Catholic members of the late babinet, upon %hose support he had firmly Tattooed, ad resig ed. Was it after that act of his late colleagues, that any Hon. Members acquainted, too, with what had occurred, could fairly imßute to bim a wilful non. execution'of the orders of his Sovereign ? (Cheers). But did his conduct end there? It was about the middle of Thursday, and two hours before the meeting of that Hoare, when he had given direction for violin the new writ 'for himself, that he bad received these un expected resignations; and in consequence, he re paired, to the King with them in his hand, and said, —" Sire, Isere see what disables me from executing your Majesty's will. It is 'quite open for you still to take a new course of policy respecting the formation or your Government ; nothing has been yet done which commits your Majesty to any particular line of con duct ; but I must fairly crave permission to state to you, that if I ant to go on in the formation of a new Admi nistration, my new writ must be moved for this night, for I cannot move on through the recess (Ka:ter) with out endeavouring to finish the business." I will not pre. sume to repeat the words which the King was graciously pleased to address to me on that occasion sidfice it to say, his Majesty gave me his hand to kiss, and.my writ • was instantly made out to be used on that eveningio i (Cheers). As to the conduct pursued by his Right Hon. i Friend (Mr. Peel), he had throughout expressed his un qualified approbation of its candour and manliness.— He had deplored his Right Honourable Friend's deci sion, as well as that of his other colleagues. Theirs was, indeed, as unexpected as it was . painful to him. He knew not in what way he had sinned against them, So as tti have provoked their late refusal to act with him. lie was utterly . at . a loss .to know how he had ,excited their angry feelings against him. On every subject which he could call to mind, whether of foreign or domestic policy, this one unhappy question excepted (the Catholic). be had received apparently their most cordial, support. With . respect to his Right Ht;n. Friend (Mr. Peel), be could unfeignedly declare that he did not know a greater calamity, than that the country should, at this moment, be deprived of his ser vices,not alone in the o ffi ce, the duties of which he had discharged with so much ability, and such signal id vantages tothepoblic, but in the general Councils- of the 'Griverrirnene: they would, nevertheless, he hoped, thotigls ' „4eprived at this moment in the administration of his aid, have the benefit of it, in his. in the ge neral share of the legislative business re:the kingdom, Reit Member of Parliament—(Hear, heir). • He repeat ed, thm ' either in private or in public; ?it his seat in the Cabinet, or in his place in that House, he . could not charge himself with having . offered .a . single individual of the late Government the smallest inteut.onal offence. —He was unaware that he had giverrthe least cause for their estrangement by 'any. act of unkindness or ill feeling on his part—(Heer, In giving this explanation, be had, he hoped, carefully abstained from making any severe or reprehensible observation, save to place the real facts that had occurred in their true coder, and how he had been brought into the situation which he now filled. There were, however, one or two topics to ohich, with the permission of the House, he would just allude, as growing out of his Right Honourable Friend's speech. and arising, as he believed, from mistake and misconception, rather than the least desire to misrepresent what he (Mr. Can ning) had done. His Right Hon. Friend had said, 6, How should it be possible, when I have been advanced to tt.e high situation which I now fill, that without any active promotion on my part, and in the absence of any direct personal effort of mine, the CatOlic question can „fail to progress, and acquire a mural approach to its consummation, even without my incurring any official responsibility in assisting such a reault." He could not, beltorgi avowed, deny the general truth of his Right - Honout able Friend's observation; and in, the admission of that tits he believed) identical fact, Would be found the'complete and obvious answer to the. taunts of the Honourable Baronet opposite, (Sir Thorisae Lethbridge), AL the support which the present Government were now receiving from the Gentlemen of the Opposition. Why had these Gentlemen supported him ? because they saw in the aspect of the present state of things exactly the same tendency which his Right Hon. Friend had seen towards the moral advance. meta of that great question, namely—that without his official inter. femme, indeed with his perfect inaction ' they beheld'a considerable "prospect of improveman In a question far which they felt a corn mottlaterest. so,"it was a good reason why he should have their support, and equally so for his Right Hon. Friend to oppose him ; bet It was a little too much for any Hon. Member to say that the reason was good at one side and bad at the other, while built par tici concurred in antidpating the same result—(Hear, bear). If Ms Right Hon. Friend were justified in reacting, because even with his 01r. Carmine's) passive existence in office. that question must thrive,' surely the same justification held for his receiving the suppoit of other Gentlemen who contemplated, in the success of inch a question, the tranquility and consolidation of the empire (Cheers.) His Right Honourable Friend's defence of his own retreat must therefore be taken as a complete and cooclu sive answer to alt these taunts which were levelled at the support which was held out to him fermi other; quarters at the House. That support, he felt confident, would be continued to him by tbroe Geaderuen, as long as they respected and approved the measures which be should introduce; and in the same relative feeling, and in we other, be was persuaded he should have to re tfelieSor aboanter the support er opposition of his Right Honour able•Friend—(Hear.bear.) Was it the Catholic question, then, which -had Mashed his late colleagues from his stile? !w e n th, ,, steesj cu tel y ,. as It had done since the year isl 2, 155.1 that his Minty considered the Coronation Oath to stand in the , way o[ the a gOliadOO: HOW, theo,• could the present Ca- -14.141111/8"1.1011.11110114000Calilheialle40014 tki.6olOfd., Ca- and chair)--4 we fact lanai It had been stated—if it were knoifttibit a diwided , objertinnothe Catholic Question' existed in the nsintiof thtlainiskpereasiOss the country, as the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bi,bop of Lotkion had declared to thesother Bishops? He therefore would. Contend, that the flight Hon. Gen- tleman was • bound to give not only an eiplanation of that matter, .11 , ‘ -1 1 . , , I l l i t ' . 1 1 i i . I i , 1 , 11 1 , 1 1 41 ,i' s 1 IN' . 4 i , .'i 4 I p , . i . 111 t I , H4l ' \ I l i i 4. li 1 1 1 1 I h ! i .' , ' ,Il i f r ,z . I;t s It , I , 1 I ,1 Ii ill i 1 1 li 1 i 4. il