The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1821-03-01 00:00:00

'on. Ike woon*lllat,apothteMinibitaity, end if his interest were the osameis she constituted. why shou ld ) 82 ,be yggiNdedebn lia , eoadd 1104. bit down without wayinpre row oliNis-eleaor•pos#tion of the i ii. a bilities, on !inch he . felt a yeepli f ir ; interest. Roman Catholics were holy admitted to the bar in Ireland; the Irish Catholic Borristett• wa. now ad. mitteti ttitat otsPortunity of dioployirig his talents me a .public 'stage, where every permit couneeted with Me by the ties or affinity or of ►eligion, could see and exalt in his progress; but then. just when ordistinction wits opened to his talents, lot, I was stopped short in his career, and, condemned to temsin in otter hopeless'''s and despondency, on the outer benches of the Courts of Justice, whilst he saw his cosupetitors pa's him in the race, moil thus the most infliienthil portion of the Irish public wrre left in u stale of irritation sod gloomy despair. NiTas it right, he would ask. to send them thus into , 411 parts of the empire to sow the seed. of discontent ? The Roman Catholics at the bar hod been remirk able for their loyalty sod good principles ; but be would entreat the House, poi the behalf of the Pro testant bar. to restore to their Rowisn Catholic brother all his privileges and remove every impe (Juana that might restrain his laudable ambition. It might be ssked where most concession stop? and l►e would answer. There where the necessity lweitit to exist. If there was exclusion from any office from soy solkient reason, the Roman Catholic would it* it, and lie •woold see diet there was ilo brawl. no intention to stigmatize. Should the House go into a Committee what Ise should desire on the part of the Catholics was, that the Declara tion against Tmasabstantiebou should be abolished and some ulterstion should take place in the Oath of Supremacy. to enable. the Roman Catholic to take U. On the behalf of the Protestant be should wish to have some power of inspecting the inter course of theCathobe Clergy with the See of Rome, and that some plan might be devised to assure the Government of the loyalty of the Clergy. If on going into the Committee it should be fouod that the Roman Catholic asked only foe what the State might with safety grant, the inquiry could not fail to hi- conciliatory. The Right Hon. Gentleman then moved.... " That a Committee be appointed to inquire into the stale of the Lasses reseed' the Irish Roma Catholics, and to see it Lay sad whet alteration mold be made is the Declaration whim Triasabstastiatios, sad is tie Oath of Sepressacy." Mr. DIMS Bacswein seconded the motion. Mr. Peat, apologised to the House for rising to offer himself to their attention so early, his diffi culty was considerably Mcressed by the circum sauce of the Right Hon. Gentleman having re islied to a speech of his, mode four years ago, wheu hi 'himself was present, and had the oppor tunity of replying to his obiservetioas with all those rowers of reasoning which the light Honourable Gentleman so pre-einineutly possessed. In attempt iag to follow the Right Hon. Gentleman he would Ant allude to that part of his speech in which he expressed his regret for the loss of his departed friend.. In the eoloeinas which he had potouotaoced *Splint whom above all he lamented, lie (Mr. Peel) cordially agreed. It might seen) arrogant in au humble individual like himself presuming to praise Mr. Grattan. He had not the advantage of that Right Hon. Gentleman's friend ship; he had not even that community of senri meek which often was the source of admiration and regard, and if he followed the Right lion. Gen tleman in his patwgyrie, it was only to testify to those who did not know the departed statesman, that the Right Hon. Gent. had not been seduced by the partiality of friendship in his eulogium on that illustrious man. He (Mr. Peel) who knew him only in his mild decline, particularly ad mired him for his unquestioned and unquestionable integrity, and, to use his own eloquent language, for that desperate fidelity with which he adhered to this very question, but, above all, he admired him for his readiness to part with his preconceived bpi- Mons when he foond them interfere with his public dui v. At the mine time that he regretted the loss of Mr. Grattan, he could not but rejoice that in the Right llonosiable Gentleman they had found one corneetent to wield the arms which he had borne. With respect to the immediate question before the (louse, he had never viewed any thing which had been done is any other light than a choice of evils. He wss not satisfied. but the measure he selected grew eat of the anomalous state of things which bad pr e ceded, and when he had made the selection, he was compelled to acknow ledge it was not satisfactory. When the Right lion. Gentleasso tied he (Mr. Peel) was so sa tisfied with the arrangement of 1793, did he really tinnier that be cowl., view it with such satisfaction When annual discussions were inking place in that House, and when lie heard those ;civil names who had advocated the other site of the question, lie was obliged to admit that he could not be satisfied. Thom great names imposed on the House the ne cessil of examination ; but after that examination they might theta exercise their own free judgment, and they might be satisfied that there had been nu alternative. The Right Gentleman had de clared that every subject of the realm had a right to office. On that point he was at issue wills hint ; and be could let least appeal to such authority as would chew that, if he erred, lie did not err alone. If it were right to admit the Roman Catholic to the capacity to hold office, the same must he given to the Ploteseint Dissenter—that being granted. it necessasily led to the repeal of the Teat and Cur roratton Al tO, Mid on that point the great authori ties of the Right Doe. Gentleman deserted him. Mr. Po , t, Mr. Burke, and be believed 11r. Wind ham, when it was proposed to repeal those Acts, all declined against it. Mr. Pitt, then oppiosed Mr. Fox, declared them the bulwarks of the Comiti. tonal, and denied the right of every mew to hold ufftce. Mr. Burke opposed the repeal on grounds somewhat differing from Nlr. Pitt. Ile declared that he would hero voted for the repeal ten years befort, but that lie then saw wounds rif espedteacy to induce him to resist the repeal ; and therefore he (Mr. Peel) ha.l Burke'ir authority fur th is , t h at un d er certain circti mstaiices, in his op ining, the repeal would be inexpedient. De heard with considerable surprise the ergo.. 111(111 which the Noble Lord (Nugent) had that uililuctil from Blackstone. 'I lie pimage which Inc Nidit e Lord had quoted was in the Cosa- I menturr,es, b u t it was i nserted w i th a d iff erent io tent. file statutes which the Learned Judge spoke of repealing were the penal statutes, as con-' .~.:1'"" '._ /eadistio u i s i ti ed, feign the excluding statutes ; 414 et loch ass his OstsentOikigeNilY appeared Cr"' what flowed ; tied a foorgptitator on the Learuet,l !fudge's work bad so tit4efiltond it also , as stmeas- N by • note on theipure.ige. The Right non. Gentleman had proceeded to trace through along riod of history, and had declared that the prilici. de of exclusion was alien to the Co nst it u ti on . ' e had referred to periods b e f ore th e Reformation well as since, but to all balances drawn from Isf.the sulqrct was tile same. He would procemits Lo consider the state of the law, and notwitlistinti sk ,' ng the authority of the Right Honourable Gee% an, he roust assert that the c o ndition of the Ro l/ palm Catholic had been coeval with the Reformaticiii.. The Act of the Ist Elizabeth required a u oathilif be taken, acknowledging that her Majesty limit authority in ecclesiastical as well as t em p oral e matters. 'the Act of the sth Elizabeth aibuitied. "ithe ip d ti t o l e hl)) b c "e i b c rr e le l ° , e l":i t s l i ta a t o jb s ge f t eds i fit c t °i7e i s r i d o m atildhs a s e t t t i a ‘l e ' t eßr r ‘ i p a rse t . ed es tlii)i(rg. H tini w i e ' e nliti t w ioni o sit : ' i ' o t :ti l d 'hol e eti x ti as se rt, t e lt l e u et6ni d tw e le t oill t ra i n a l i id e t it se an Cat holier from o ffi ce. Passing the reign Charles 11. and James IL he would come t once to the time of the Revolution , fie ust apologise to the House but the detail; he is cw. suld only repent what he had befo re u r ge d, an d should not have felt justi fi e d in offering is, only , .„. i. was the hist discussion' on the subject in the..pstsent Parliament. The Right Hon. Gentle. sums contended there was a clear distinctiou be tween toleration and power, and an equally clear distinction between laws to impose penalties on a man for his religion and those which exclude fiorn office. At the Revolution it was not admitted that exclusion front office branded a matt, as neither at that tune was the alternative of admission to office we extermination of our religion then imposed. He ,hmliaever argued that any irrevocable principle was sanctioned at the Revolution, which made it im -possible to admit the Roman Catholic to the privi leers which were now claim e d. H a d th e B i ll o f rs Rightsitself declared for such exclusion, be should, as a Member of the present Legislature, dechue be ing bound by that authority. When he had re ferred to the period of the Revolution, it was to be . satisfied that, in acting on the principle of exclu sion, he had acted constitutionally. He had heard in that House last week, an eloquent and just anathema pronounced against those who appealed to King William, es an authority for intole rance. Agreeing as he did in the eulogium which was then prouoisuced on King William, lie should, with the permission of the House, read to them the opinion of King William, given when he was Prince of Orange, at the time that the strongest inducements were held out to him to give his sanction to the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts. The letter was written in 1687 by the Grand Pensionary, sud addressed to Mr. Steward. He called upon die House to observe the distinc tion which was drawn between penal laws and laws excluding from office. The Right Hon. Geutleman then proceeded to read a passage from the letter to which he had alluded, expressive of the Prince of Orange's " willingness to consent to the repeal of three laws which inflicted any punish ment upon persons for professing the Catholic Religion, hot that he could not agree to the re. peal of the Corporation or Test Laws, as these could not be said to inflict any hardship upon Catholics, fur they were only regulations as to candidates for office, requiring them as a qualification to (lecture before God and mats that they profess the Protestant religion." Could any distinction, he would ask, be more clear than this, which had been laid down by the person whose tolerant spirit had drawn forth so animated an eulogy from the Right Hots. Gentleman ? In another place, lie said, " the Test and Corporation Lie's inflict neither fines nor punishments, but only exclude Catholics from office, for the security of the Protestant Establish meitt. because if' they were admitted to • partici pation of power, they would naturally seek by every means the advancement of their own par ty." This was the 'minion of King William ; • but there were other opinions on which he placed a much stronger reliance for encountering the propo sition of the Right Honourable Gentleman'. It hind been said, and very truly, that there could not be found in the Bill of Rights any mention of the exclu riott of Catholics from office. Certainly there could Hot. But on the other hand, was there to he found in that Bill any claim of a right to office ? These was, however, to be found in the introduction to that Bill, a complaint that James had exercised the power of dispensing with the disqualifications. It would be no answer to him to say, that it was the assumption of a dispensing power that was complain ed of. His arguments wits, that it was not neces sary afterwards to repeat its the Bill a clause of ex clusion of the Catholics from office, a censure his. nig been recorilidagninst the K tog by that complaint in the introduction, fur having dispensed with the operation) of the laws enacting such exclusion. Im mediately after the expulsion of James 11. and the accession of I%'illistn, the Corporation Act was lensed. In the reign of Queen Anne, an attempt was made to extend that Act so as to exclude Pro. teatant Dirsenters. That Act required, that pre vious to entering upon office, the party should re ceive the Sacrament in the Protestant Church; and if a person' Having dune so took office, nod u fterwards absented himself from the Cloirch mid attended a niertmg as a Dissenter, he was mint thereby Mays coated from office. To remedy this a Bill of Con formity was brought in, which pissed through the Commons. but In its progress through the Lords encountered much 01111(0111011. A conference was at length agreed on, and certain Members ap pointed to attend it as mainigers for the House of Cimino's,, stud certain Peers for the House of Lords; among whom were Loid Peterborough, Lord Halifax, the Duke of Devonshire, and Julio Lord Somers. These were persous who, whatever might be the light iii which be might view their doctrines end °pillions, would not, lie presumed, be held as light authorities by the Right Hon. Get,- tlemiiii mid those who sat near him. And under whit ttaitietice were they at that period ? Did they consider the Church to be iii danger from the ill flueuce of the Pope ? or had they any apprelieu sions from a foreign i'murr ? .1 . 1 o• answer might he gath•red from the Resolution which they adopted in consequence of the conference which he had mentioned ; which Resolution declared the Church of England, as by law established, to be in a most "7 person in denoter, !oilfield* oandition, sm. rho Avoid go about to lay th t,alaw /stated that the. Protesioat Dissenter _ imartr friends or the Qrseen; that they Formerly ail been enemies of the Church, but that they tad. of late sliest* by their coudnot that such litany no banger existed ; that the main design of h e Bill * un t o s ecure the Church of England, and Its intention being to exclude from office aueh weans as were inisaical toolisit-Charch, was not op.. theable to the case of thelii‘enters. Lairs of em illation from office thq farther decl are d, were Pot laws of puogdsauvett, but of precaution .gainst the inquiries -if 'portions whose mecca- lion to power might be alte.ided with danger to the Established Church. The same reasoning be [Mr. Peel) thought himself entitlrd to apply to rite case now under ,eismiderution. But on whet ground, lie would ask, did Or Right Hon. Oen :let-pan propose to administer an oath of any kind, is it test of loyalty, or as* qualification for office Du what ground could he, for example, propose loch ats. oath to persons whose religions feeli ngs orevrtited them from taking oaths in any case ? Would it, be said that it did not operate uuau them as is religious disability ? There were many persons in this kiogdous, who, from religious feel ings 'templed to take au oath iii any eam. The (louse would perceive that he alluded to thet most loyal and useful body of persons called Quakers. Their affirmations, however, were received in eases which involved the dispose& of property, although he knew not opon what principle of consietesicy they were rejected as qualifiestiona fur ( A ce .— If these people were to he excluded from office because their religious scruples prevented them from taking oldie of any kind, where was the ground on which the Catholic could rest his com plaint of hsrd.hip ? It was equally a queseinn of religion with the Quaker as with the Catholic ; hut in point of fact it was a mere regulution of civil policy whereby a certain qualifiristion was required of all candidates fur office ; and if they operated to exclude one person because his con.cirette forbad him to take an oath of any sort, the hardship was as great upon him as upon the man who was pre vented from complying with the required con ditions by ally particulars which the oath pre. seined might contain.—(Hear, hear, hear ) It might be asked, what he feared from the Cattle lies at she present dry? He would ask, in return, when he was about to establish a new con.titutional law, which would leave 110 power of repeal—a law repealing disabilities and conferring privilege., latt. tug in its nature and binding on posterity—was he to lose sight of the daugers which thise disabilities had warded off? Was it sufficient to say that lie, had uo fear of soy such daugera at present ? ( Hear, hear, hear.)—He would admit, for the *site or argument, that no danger was at present to hr apprehended; but when he was about to make a law, in its nature irrevocable, wad he not to con sider the pest circumstances which had rendered necessary those enactuieuts which that law would repeal? The Right Honourable Gentleman then proceeded to enumerate the dangers of various kinds which had been .opposed to exist at various periods, and to have called for the enactment of ie. strictive laws; these were, the anathema of the Pius, whew he cheesed a tempo! al at well as a spiritual juriadictioul the hostile intentions and intrigues of Philip 11., of Louis XIV., of James 11. after his expulsion, and of the Pretender at a later pe rird. If (the Right 11011. Gentleman continued) at five different periods of the history of the country, dangers had existed from which these laws had guarded us, although he might adroit that hone of those dangers existed at present, yet was lie to lose sight of the fact of their past existence, and to forego his conviction of the possibility of their future recurrence ?—( Hear. j—Then it was asked, what hail the State to do with religion ? He would an swer, " Nothing at all, while religion had nothing to do with the Slate."—(Hear, hear.)—But, Wlls he to be told that religion had no influence on the political conduct of meu From what part of the history of these kingdoms was such an opinion to be derived ? If he looked at the history of this coun try—if he searched the history of Scotland—if lie appealed to the history of Ireland—if he examined the history of any part of these kingdoms, where should he find that among the many circumstances which iufluenced the political conduct of men, re ligion was not to be numbered ? The reason why he objected to gOO% into a Committee on this subject in 1817, was, because he thought they never could hope to effect the object proposed of adopting an arrangement which would give as. tisfaction to all parties. He would refer to the Bill which it was at that time intended to propose, and which had the sanction of the Right lion. Gentleman, and he would ask whether that Bill, which in the words of the Right Hon. Gentleman was " to give power to the Catholics on terms to I which the most jealous Proteotant could sun object, nor the moat inimical Catholic refuse to tweeds"— he would ask the Right Hon. Gentleman whether lie thought that Bill, if it had passed, could have been carried into effect in Ireland ? He would ask whether •the obstruction to its provisions was more likely to proceed from the Protestants or tint Ca tholics? The Act proposed certain securities on the part of the Catholics, and the intention of the Right Hon. Gentleman was Oust they 'tumid be refused admission to the full enjoyment of their privileges, until those conditions were acceded to. But was not a public declaration made in Ireland, that the Catholics would refuse those conditions becruse they were repugnant to their religious feelings? And although the Pope had declared that the conditions were such as might be accepted, and recommended compliatice with them, the re fusal was persevered in. Yet, were we to be told that after ibis pertinacinos, this, it might be thought, a laudable adherence to religious opitiions, were they, he would ask, still to he told that reli gion hail no itinlteliCe 111111111. 110 roll.ol'll With the hKthtical conduct of Inca? The flight flo noureble Geroleition sad that he (tir, Peel) charged the Catholics aids perjury and disl.tyally. He hoped, indeed lie was sure, that the Right Hon. Cientlemun could only meats that such atm the scope or tendency of his argument ; for, God for bid that he should for a usoinetit thick or reviving charges which could only tead to upeu afresh and inerea.e the exascerbotimi of wounds which time should lo ng si a ee have healed. Ile should be the last Inan iu the world to charge the whole body of the Catholics with disloyalty or disiffectiou, or to fix them with any respanaility fur the factious end intemperate condiact, piOividilels whO might "Me. an interest in this 010116PPlance of the 4i04 .1 10411116.1 and the perpetwaliostof the violence and auimotne tie* which they were made the mewls of exciting. When he was in Mice, and had felt himself obliged to oppose them, the great body of the Ru mors Catholics did ample jitatice to his monves; and lie should feel himself to be uue of the most illi beral= and ungrateful of men, if he could fur a moment entertain so uuketierous an cotillion. He did not, therefore, mean ti> charge the Catholics with ony•feelings of hostility the Coustitutiou— he did not mean to charge theta with any delibe rate design' of overturning the Protestant Esta blishment—but, if they were actuated by thole feelings which were most natural to their situation, their admissiou to political power could not be unattended with danger to that establishment. He • felt that if he, being a warm and zealous member of the Protestant Church of England, were resi dent in a country where the Reunite Catholic retie gion prevailed, lie should most anxiously wish to see the, Protestant Church in full possession of the same privileges, immunities, and power, as the established religion of the country.-- Judging therefore, by his impression of whit bill own conduct must be in a similar situation, lie could not entirely divest himself of the fear, that danger to the &alibi:stud Protestant Religion of this country must attend the admissiott tit the Catholics to equal power. Fur Imoself, lie was far from satisfied with the present distracted and divided state of Irelaut!. His fears tOr the Protestant Establishment would no longer re main if he could be brought to believe in the possibility of removing those fearful and rancorous animosities which had so long existed in that cone try. No man snore reprobated the system of divid ing the people of Ireland into parties—no man more anxiously wished to see them living to per feet harmony and union than he did ; but he doubt ed the possibility of removing the animosities which opposed so desirahle a result. He could not look at this diversified transections of the history of Ireland— he could not behold the confiscations aild spoliation of property, which had taken place at various petrels in that unhappy kingdoni, with out feeling that those causes were suffitaeut in themselves, without the addition of these ob noxious laws, to engeuder linstilitie% and enkindle animosities which presented obstacles to every en deavour to allay 11wm, widely cliff- rent from any which existed in ibis country. km it might be ask ed, if he admitted that there were other causes than this of the disabilities complained of, which excited the animosities and divisions which distracted that country, why he would not consent to the removal of slits one, is) order to abate them ? He would readily consent to such removal, if be could in his eninCiellee believe that it would produce so desira ble an effect ; but after giving to the Catholics a freedom of accession to power, lie could nut look at the contest for ascendain_7 between the Catholic and Protestant which must ensue without much dismay, tie then proceeded to remark upon the tentlealcy of election contests between Catholic candnlatee backed by Ca , thole> tufluenee, and Preeestant candidates esp. ported by Protestants, to keep alive existing aid , mosities, if net to foment new marl more virulent divisions. Whatever might be thee effect of this measure upon opinions out of door., he cared not. If the motion should succeed, and the consequence should he a renewal of that outcry which it had fume' ly excited, mid which was happily now at rest, be should not appeal to that result in confirmation of his ergumenta, or in support of his opinions.—(Hear, hear, heur.)—He was not desirous to undervalue what was called ptiblic opinion ; but thinking and 'edits( as lie did, that the deliberative wisdom of that House was the proper, the only competent arbiter of this question, to whatever decision that House should come, the united opinion of the whole people of England would not tit the slightest'degree affect his view of the question, or his reliance upon the pro priety of that decision.—(Herr, henr.)—eThis was a ' declaration which he had made heretofore, and which he had found occasion frequently to repeat to persons who had applied to hen on the subject of 'stemming Petitions against the present motion, which he had uniformly recor ttttt earned them to withhold, and not to set up their own private opi- Mons in competition with the wisdom and judge ment of Parleameirt.—( Hear, hear, hear.)—lle the fate of the present motion what it might, the result would not be one of u ttttt 'zed triumph to , whichever party prevailed. If the Right Hnitour able Gentleman should succeed in carrying it ti gli, he feared that the effect would be widely different from that which, lie contem plated ; if he should tail, still he (Mr. Peel) should feel pained by the conviction of the increase of discomfort which this diSippointment of renewed hopes must entail nu so large a portion of his fel low subjects as the Catholics of Ireland. If, how ever, the motion should succeed, he wished the result might prove contrary to hoi prediction, and establish the fallacy of the arguments which he had used, by promoting peace and concord among his Majesty's subjects of the Kingdom of Ireland. ( Load and general cheering. I Sir JAMES MACKINTOSH said, that the ques tion now before them was one of the weightiest importance, and often as it had been brought he fore, and powerfully as it had been heretofore en forced on their attention, never had it presented itself to that House under so commanding an aspect as had been imparted to it on this occa sion by the splendel eleynence and command ing talent of the Right Hotiourable Mover.— And if the Right Honourable Gentleman opposite had I I cause to complain of the difficulty of the task imposed on hum, of following him through his brilliant career, with view, so much reversed, how much more reason had lie to lenient the disadvantages he most eiscimeter io pursuing the saute line of argument wlitelt had been so powerfully traced befOre him. Wish respect to the general argument of the Right Hon. Gentle man, he had attnbuted a proposition to his Right Honourable Friend which he had never once en tertained, and had thus engaged himself in so eu coutieer with an adversary of his own raising, His Right Hen. Friend came down with a decla ration of rights derived from the fundamental pain , ciples of constitutional liberty. He contended ' that all Mila born under our laws inherited from • their 'birth an equal right of aditsiiiifidity . toiroteek 'and office; and this tioa bien qttVerttd bj the . ,Right Hon. Gaul:men into a proPoction of en equal claim of admission to office, ivitlermit rm.. igard to the particular (uddle-atoms of the litillurit. dual. The Right Hole Oentlemie had stated that a whole seri e s o f danger- .i.ti0.4,.. at differeut periods hiaa giveti rise to the disabilitteit complained of; whereas the danger was one. sold the same et each of those periods; newly, that from the cir- Curnstance of the Catholic. in this criuntiy being leagued with a foreign Power, it became danger ous to intrust them with office. l'his had been moat explicitly laid down by his Right 11011: Friend, in recounting the several instances which our history prevented-, of enactments deviating from the spirit of the general proposition which lie hail advanced, and had expresdy stated that every such deviation was caused by circumstances of a tempo rary nature. The Right Hon. Gentleman sap posed himself to agree in principle with the states men of the Revolution. They would ore how fair lie did so. Those stales me n provided by these disa bilities tagaiost a present danger; and the Right Hon. Gentleman shirt he wits of the same princi ple and (Tilling, a because lie looked to possible dangers I:1 futurity.--41fersr.1—They wrre, how ever, diameiricidly opposite; they had recourse to excluaion us a remedy for a temporary evil ; hut tie would mike such exclusions permaileet after the danger was gone 4, upon a proapuct of dangers iii contingency. The Learned Speaker then proceeded to comment out the nature of the Test which the Catholics were wilting to erode 1.., and compared it with tliove which had formerly been required. Ile eorrinented in severe term, of repreliresion Liu :he Statute SO Charles I. which was founded on the foul and malignant perjuries of. that execrable villain Titus Oates; and cited St as a melancholy instance of the facility with which bail and portal laws might be passed, but of the difficulty in obtaining the re peal of a law dint was ailitlat. He then entered into a warm and unit:baled eulogium on Wit ham 111., who had given a glorious proof of a to kraut spirit, In coiwenting to the repeal of the penal laws. issnes had not long before attempt ed to repeal the Test - Laws, and had designed also the repeal of the flabe.as Corpus Act. The latter lie Might, no doubt, have easily effected ; for its value hid not then been arcertaitied by twig experience and frequent ouspefisions.—(Hear.)— Bot that would oily live given him a civil control of the kingdom, where.,s the repeal of the Telt Laws would have placed the whole military trowel' of the country at his disposal ; lie, therefore, attempted that and failed. William succeeding in consequence, notwithstanding the danger which had so recently threatened him, consented to repeal the Penal Cm*, hut not the tans imposing disalii lilies. He said, however, upon that occasion, that if after the repeal of the Penal Laws the Catholics *hewed themselves deserving of further favour, lie would Dot fell to give it ; by which he could only alPaa to promise the removal of the dis abilities. Bishop Burnet, to whom the Right lion. Gents had referred for teutimony of IVillisat'a decid ed hostility to the Catholics, was precisely the bust authority in support of his toleitinit disposition, ere tweedy declaring that the Catholics in Ins reigit en joyed a greater share of liberty that. under auy oilier Protestant Prince. He also related that when urged to the imposition of greater restraints upon the Catholics, by certain bigots of that time, alio, if they erre now living, perhaps would have the impudence to cell themselves (liamgcnitii—(l - fror) he answered, that " if he imposed fetters upon es thetics at home, he could not have the face to fight for Protestants abroad." —(Clieers.)—The Learned speaker then proceeded to remark upon Mr. Peel's application of die words of Lord Somers, which he contended lie greatly misinterpreted. He exposed also in clear and forcible terms the absurdity of the Right Hon. Gesit.'s arguing from the exclusion of the Quakers, which lie cottectitled was a vicious rx• ample, and proved by experience to have heels founded on an erroneous calculation of the effect of their principles, in justification of the roetinued exclusion of the Catholic's, which was a still more iniquitous measure, and by experience also proved to be ecersary. He thou :Livened to the charge revived against the Catholics in the Petition of the Clergy of Leicester, of admitting of mewst reserve tiou, which rendered them unfit to be misted on oath; and raid he would nut discredit the chinch of which lie was a member, so far as to impute to any great portion of its clergy, so foul, so scan dalous, so uncharitable an opinion of a huge end exemplary body of their fellow-subjects and fellow-christians.--( Load cheers.)—The ques tion was, would the danger of the Church of Ire land be increased or diminished ? He consider ed an alliance of Protestant and Catholic tie best security, and in support of this principle he would appeal to the experience of ages. Did we hear cf liopi-li plots In England when Popish Peers were admitted into the House of Lords? Indeed in the reign of Charles 11. there was a real Popish plot, for the King was himself a conspirator; and lie thought that that circumstance af f ixed the most indelible stain on the Catholic ie. ligion, which it ever stistained. He had heard the Sight Honourable Gentleman speak, and he heard it with infinite patisfictiou, of the approaches of the various glasses towards harmony. He hail spoken of the recent disturbances and commercial jet:wanes, but lie seems to have forgotten the real canoes of all the miseries the people tortured, the triumphs of the conquerors over the cuu• filleted, the unfortunate distinction between Proteatast seed Catholic, that has protracted their discontent' to the rely hour in which they were then sittiNg.—(Hear, hear L—And what du we, a leti suppott this mutton, piupuse? It is to abolish awl design these udinst badges of distinction that have so lung existed, and ID thug into the llamas the last remains of that triumphal car, which one part of the netettu display as a triumph over the remainder ef their countrymen. He towleistood his Majesty MOW ilSiellied to visit liettud shortly. It is a strange feet, that he is the only Komi that ever stalled !reload as a favour. This was a most dowlfol peculiarity. Even Ring William, the liberator of Holland, the plaster of England, sad itf Eeirespe, isupeared 111 Ire laud ad n emigre reir.—! flier, hear.)--Ilia preseeti 111.i.,ty thou was the lion king that visited ketone'. Ile bulled and treated that, as the common father of all his subject., list would not go amongst them to enjoy way letup...tory poptilarisy, that Ite omelet appear sinsougat them Pas I/ a I hearer of a tuition), freedom, the guardian of our excellent Coosttiution, mud the protector of the rights and interests of all his sobjeets.—(lust cheering.) Mr. PEEL explaioed. Lord BURY could soot, on this OCCIWOIII, content hint. 'elf with a silent vote. He csitundered the exclusitto of as smithy excellent persons flume their just rights, Mote era. I and inspolitic.—(llser,lbetir.),—thr, their loyally sad idled, me to their Sovereign, they bad milkiest' prouta.-. ~ ;4 ~,r „ fy.yr.,4. ~~.~ • 1 1 ~~ ~,;~ • • 1 4, . •