The National Register. — London, England, 1812-04-26 00:00:00

A pRi i, 26• A Petition from the University of Oxford against the Catholic claims was read, and ordered to lie on the Table. Mr. BRA ND postponed' his motion on Parliamentary Reform, which stood for this day week, to this day fortnight. Mr. WELLESLEY POLE obtained leave to bring in a Bill to prevent the distillation from Grain s in Ireland, for a time to be limited.—Ad journed. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22. This day the House was called over, previous to the discussion of the Catholic Question to-morrow. A Petition being presented from the City of Waterford against the renewal of the East India Company's Charter, some conversation arose between the the/ -oa of the EXCHEQUER and Mr. BROUGHAM, in the course of which the former declared he knew nothing to the contrary at present, but that be should bring the measure forward this Session. Mr. Rost moved the re-committal of the Parish Register Bill, and proposed some amendments. The Report was received, and ordered to be taken into further consideration this day week. THURSDAY, APRIL 23. CATHOLIC QUESTION. Mr. GRATTAN, pursuant to notice, called the attention of the Hous e to this important subject, and, in doing so, stated, that in consequence of the late discussions, and the line of argument his Majesty's Ministers had pursued, he had been induced to change the ground of his motion, and should merely move, that the laws relative to Catholic disqualifica tions should be taken into consideration. On this extended basis, every person who thought that these laws might he revised with advantage, and who did not wish to shut the door against all discussion, would rea dily vote for the motion, as not pledging them to any decided proceed ing, but merely to a fair and candid examination of the question. It was now to be decided on its fair principle. The doom of Ireland was now before then'. It they determined that Ireland should not be free • if they were deaf to all prayers, to all entrraties, and all reasonings on this subject, they would deprive three-fourths of the population of Ireland, and one-fourth of the population of the empire, of their rights and liber ties for ever. He did not know what they might mean by their claims not being taken into considerations, by not granting Ireland a participa tion of British privilege now. If he could attach any meaning to it, it eras that they were to he denied these priviledges for ever.—(Hi:ar/j If such was the case, the sentence was not only impolitic, but abomina ble. Were three-fourths of the country of Ireland to be doomed to per petual and unceasing oppression, and to be deprived of the rights of na tore,and the priviledges of civil society, because they followed the reli gion of their ancestors ? Let them recollect that religion was of the na ture of the most sacred and inviolable property. Revelation was the gift of God, to be interpreted by man according to his best under standing. Was not the Irishman to explain this without a license from the King ? If Parliament said otherwise, they would o ff end both against their fellow-creatures and against God. In circumstances not religious, the State had a right to interfere: allegiance, and not religion, was the object of Legislation. It was not any description of religion, but the want of allegiance that the State had a right to punish. Was the want of allegiance complained of in the Irish? On the contrary, they knew that the Irish were dying every day in their service. Those very Rcanan Catholics to whom they refused the rights of citizens were now fighting the battles of the country, and,' sustaining the honour and glory of the British name, both at home and abroad.— Did they say that no Trish Catholic could be true to a Prince of the House of Hanover. The enemy knew and felt the contrary, and guided by a wiser policy, had admitted men of all religions to a pa.rtici pation of privilege, as the best mode of making their efforts applicable to the support of the state. Did they say that the Roman Catholic reli gion referred all power and authority to the Pope, that it relaxed all al legiance and duty to the sovereign, and that it was impossible that ever the Protestant and Catholic religions could amalgamate. Were this true, the Catholic religion could not have existed, and every Catholic country rmust have been long ago dissolved. This doctrine the Catho lics themselves denied. The most enlightened among them, their uni versities abroad, hi.cl given the most solemn opinion to the contrary. 'The Universities of Douay and Valladolid, and others, had declared that the power residing in the Pope was not of a temporal but spiritual nature, and had satisfactorily answered the question respecting oaths and allegiance to a Protestant Sovereig n .. They had thus the strongest practical proofs that the Cat holics were capable of al legiance, and that nothing was to be feared from an opposi tion of interests. Of this the Protestants of Ireland themselves were also convinced. They had not only Petitions from the Ca thodes, but also Protestant Petitions innumerable in their support. Before they dismissed these petitions, they were to consider under shat cir cumstances I re l an d now app li e d to t h em . Th e y h a d d e prived Ireland of her Parliament, and now she appeared before them in person wi'sh her Imperial Crown, and appealed to their honour and justice. the pa y s you in trade ten millions a year; she assists in all your strut:- Bits. Your enemies are her's, and she sends forth the best pact of her PoPulation to fight your battles; and would they now send away that kingdom from their bar , embcdicd as it was in these petitions, without I. "~~, THE NATIONAL REGISTER. n•l5 any answer, without deigning even to examine their complaints ? stice would not permit it. lie could not forget the time when Ireland • was flattered with a predeliction, which was now no more, when she was led to look forward to a period that would heal the wounds of the Irish nation, and put an en d t o all her grievances. They felt an attach ment, a fondness superior to allegiance. Was then di ;appointment aiel mortification to be the result of all the expectations they had so lotto indulged ! Was the flattering vision to die , ppear fur ever, that idler 4 fire by night, and that cloud by day, that had conducted them throoeh the wilderness only to settle them in a more hopeless, more sterile and barren waste ? Was it thus they were to repose their confidence in the pledge of princely faith, and was this the return they were to receive for that unlimited confidence and affection ? He would have required at that time more than a miracle to have induced him to believe that this would be the result of all those flattering promises. —The expecta tions were most sanguine, and the disappointment was immense. But this was not enough; the Union efforded also another subject of the severest disappointment. By acceding to this measure they svere pro mised Emancipation, and a participation in all the privileges of the Constitution. Had it not been for this bmn held out to the Irish, they never would have got the Union. He did not even ask the letter of thO bond, but, as an honourable nation, they must fulfil its spirit, or the name of England, that had so often sustained them, must be covered with disgrace, and perish for ever ! You have a population of s i xteen millions, and out of that population would you strike out at once four millions ?—You, a wise nation, an enlightened nation, fighting for your existence, and would you extinguish at once, without coloide ration, without inquiry, one fourth of your strength; and you do it for what ? for no reason, for the Eucharist, for the worsh;p of the Virgin, for Transubstantiation, for the Seven Sacraments; for no cause whatever, if not the deeth and annihilation of the British empire. The day you sign our doom, you sign your own : it is a law of nature. You make partial laws and a;k them to be obeyed. Yea make laws contrary to thoseof not ure and rea«); God does not so. With equal propriety you might say, a mon shall not have a seat in lholia ment because his complexion is black, or that no man shall be a Ge neral whose complexion is brown. Parliament has a right to make laws, because—because they are the gueedians or privihe ; but they cannot make laws destructive of the priviteees of waich they are the guardians. There are two species of laws, the municipal laws, and those of God inimitable and eternal. Parliament may modify the fors mer ; but, if it violates the latter, it exceeds i:s bottods, and its power is on a falacious and false foundation. • You °nose the Almighty. You strike •od out of the ecclesiastical consitothoo and liberty out of the civil.—This was not the province of leg d legiAttion. He rejected the policy of founding our empire on jealous) and haleness of mind. He appealed, in support of the claim; cf the Roman Catholics, to the field: of Spain and Portugal, which were eraeed with their bl oo d ; he appealed to the deep, over which our navy thundered ; he ap. pealed thus,_ to those who called on ooe meo to cut the throat of the Other in metaphysical war, and he would then ask them to save a country from such a mean and such a ihseustful degrada tion. - If they did this, they would have to say to Ireland, „ '"e are both saved it we unite!"--and Ireland have to say to tl.em, " You have given us our civil liberties; in return we devote our pro perties and our lives to your services."—(Lsod cheering lioni eccrg part of Mc Hoase.)—He concluded by moving, " That a Committee be appeinted to take into consideration the state of the Laws compo sing the Civil Disabilities of tke Roman Catholic Subjects of Ireland." 1)r. DUIGENAN observed, the only way to meet the ciero.tu,:s of the Catholics, would be to do away the Constitution as established front the reign of 'Queen Elizabeth down to the preqent time ; and lie would ask, what would then become of the bule;;:r% , of the iurch? These were the ordinances of ancestors ; but modern philosophers and modern orators wished tor their repeal. 'the Sovereign at his coronation had sworn to maintain inviolable certain laws, yet it was now recommended to repeal them, for the sake of obtaining what was delusively called Ca tholic Emancipation. if they obtained t his, the Cer onetion Oath w o uld I not only be done away, but the very essence of the Union between 1 ng land and Ireland would be destroyed. Such was the meast•; e i.roposed to be adopted for the gratification of the ambition of a set of sohjeets, whose religious opinions were in direct hostility to the State. \\ hat ad vantages were then to be procured by this subversion of the Constitu tion ? The Catholics claimed religious liloo ty ; for God's sake, did Gen tlemen know what these people were ? they were the mast ierolerant set in the world, more intolerant even than the A lahometaos.—(.l Cough.) They allowed no liberty of conscience? if they did, why wa- the in quisition established ? Why was the first article of the new Constitu tion in Spain a denouncement of itoolerer .12atiesl: every religion but the Roman Catholic ? lie had no doubt hut that, if they hid great power, they would matte use of it, and he was:: (44 %/lilt. that their au inanity consisted in their impotence. They ha.l, therefore, to, right to come there to petition for that which :hey elreaoy had in the irsot com plete manner.—There were on the t.IL.e petitit,s, soul to be fo eo t : Protestants of Ireland, in favour of the i:e Ituee; seso rat counties, which he could name, that refused to saso such pet etote,. He also knew, ;hat private emissaiies had been seat to erotestant fe. met ~ who told them, that if they did not, sten the peti:isn taear hous e s d their property should be set on lire. fe l!ublio, too, wilt ve • here et e many lhotestants in the retail bu.siecss, einissetres weie sent aheo; Heir property should be set on lire. PI l!u!Jui, too, wh t I.lny utotants in thc. retail hu.,izcsi, Welt: sent tvi'• --~