The Sun. — London, England, 1819-05-04 00:00:00

ri"-+;;;; tly,.•triseves 1)4; the rectifisite Hari t''ce berane fot' office."- r - Jill thi s appea- ver y f a i r i ll the eyes of some Gentlemen ; but l e t its tIOVe the There wer e iit heels' 150 Statutes, all bearing on the settle sithject:e . -ahe disabilities of Slit Roman C athelics ; some desiring otte (biog., some an othr,r, but all tendiue ro dis9nalif Y. them from holding offi ces e ,,,t er teo% eminent. I! Wai a dii glace to ourSra-tote 130 , `k5 this's many of them still tx '"ted, and tit;; the most ot 'item were as absurd as that of traesubsteetiati . On. 'flue laws were so 1111- Inerohs, tits' th -y became twee. awl more perplex -51,1 till were multiplied. Bat to p ass over the ausserdiiieS and contraiticeions of former times, lie should only coesider the laws as ihey now .11t °"( 1 . In that sorvvy of ti,e statutes, he would Pk's ()Vet' all the fresh which had preceded the tcession ofeWiliiem iire4 Mary, or the House of .elatiover, when the Laws became more Ea.. anus were rcHticed to a more liberal sys iete. ilhat prescribes that every 'Person who shall accept bf an office . under Goeeinment shall take 'certain °Allis thought re-. "''sarv, and that thice months were tifforded to 94alify themselves acconitog to law, also extend ed th,e iedti! fe e nee of time to Siz mrPirltS• WaS the incipient operation of the Acts. e h,ail afterw ar d s been edlieied to. But as our C onStiteti on and hew.' Govertiment became more settled and confi!a t i et l, - th o se who wets iii; power became more lib,ral in - •their principles. At ilie ceviiiiiencepietit of the reign of Geo. I. one sif the efirb nets of his governmen t was to introduce: the Jodente:tV Bill, which gave . a greater indulgence to those wh o acce p ted orshlic offices. la• first • gra't'ed beyond the six months inentiotted, till the I" of March foilo.ving, and afterwards ex ,,end,"i time to the 25th of March; btu six le eeexs before the eenir e ti on :of that period, the alway s tdl teas " e N l, l' Hy Bill, it wai an animal Act,: it. Vv " , 11 , ‘ r, c4refollv renewed every year. It was 11 'w 100 he=irs since those acts of pains and pe -1):116es might he snit! to have been repealed ; for 411h "ogl , many of them still continued to remelt* the Statute Books, yet they might be said to hav e been virtually, legeliy, a n d actually repeal ' edi as they had not been acted 'Toth It is some thing reinerkahle that 1!r. Fox, who took a 111- Inn -mils view of the subject, has! noticed the ala 3oraite of these Aria of Perliament, and stig !lbw i t 14 " tittit with his pow ei Itt I condetimation.--; -4 e well remembered the very Intuitions inns :ration which that great Statesman look of t :'"se Statutes, a,iil how forcibly he manifested tinpolicy, as excluding a great portion of our i e do v-subjects trans their patina! t ights. It w a s i i i °rie etls that offices of the highest authority in . d_ e State were, kept from the occupancy of Roman "(holies; Roil that, althotte,h they might enjoy ;`; ll )or t li nate situations in the Army or Navy, yet neser could aspire to the office of either )t tliiiet toter iii-Chiet or Lo;a1 High Admiral. The Act • - r evues, tha t '' whet eas doubts have a risen, h e ; il in rt her enacted," and then proceeds to exclude Professing the Roman Catholic religion. The ill'strati/3ns then given by Al r. Fox were splendid ti nt! leatioolis, isecompaoied with such a f o r ce of te 4"vtice as to entry conviction to the minds of le e r t Y ()tie wino was not prejudiced against the t ter ) ' l 4 .l Catholics. The offire of Lord High Ad ae vvas, at the times alluded to, one of the Y • 4 1 n 'St importance in the Stat e , and had for etleY heen held by Jetties 11. himself, whets Duke ri n .."it • The very first act of William, ou his' oin iv °l in this coutory, was to ldy lsold the tested "I Lord High Admiral ; which et once in .the 'n in his person the vet y greatest authority in ili oe S 'ate. Mr. Rix hail happily imHeitted, that the pi , c "tilil never arrive, whet) two Commissioners -le"e Admiralty were sitting at the same Board, at: e u , 33 ille the propriety o f the L aw on Transuh dtio duty "u t n instead of dischar ging th e i r o ffi cial • _ t elt ' g. the public. But it wo u ld b e t h oug h t tttl ranrdj y that the person who filled the office t e k et clr a High Admiral had never to this day the oaths referred to. This might by some pettcntlisidered an act of premunire, hut so it hap.- , ' ti tm e t tind the omission was suffered to pass e noe ll 'eed• 13ut these disqttaliticatious were 110 t Se„ t i ned to Ireland merely, hut England and • tit les ' " (I , were made to participate in the restric ,. 'f England were not satisfied, let her tell -Tte We said that she has to expect. It might be tn„ a _ . England has been coy its her conduct T hela Irelnnd, bit she has also been very kind. • inl et , a ", fiS they now stood, have lasted wit Insult pf , i r "Ptititt f or 85 years . ; and therefore the lapse abse:l',e bas rend ere d t h e exerc i se o f t h ose l aws g am t t , rtntl n ugatory i n t h e extreme. With re lient:Y the Oath of S u p remacy , i t or i g i nate d w i t h Vl llmerely of 1 • I llase te • as a dogma his own, to et eoti b e le.e llis indignation against the }tope; and ths nog its origin, it was ridiculous and ab- It h eti h t it should continue to the present day. b tu gag o gone into disuse, although re 'With te Y ti onie busy spi r i ts , w h o c h ose to sport e it feeli ngs o f their fellow-subjects. Dread *No li t tertained that they should have the Hoose resteietith Roman C at h o li cs were the present cold est f ns reatoved ; hot G e n t l emen m i g h t re arm . t h at ' during the times of James 1. er te i tithi r ies I. th e P rotestants never thought of Persia m ) e g t he (Roman C at h o li cs f rom Seats in li erved t r t / e t and although the Popish Plot • !ri ved ve reduce th e i r power, yet they con . kl ous. :°r •e _ s ome time a f ter to en j oy seals in that Restrictions irgainst them, however, d e r v ': to increase, and as the Protestants of that j og Y iy. ere i e LOr Ithey took measures accord- A ct of Tre e s Oth of Charles 11, produced the as whie, ent_ittbistaistiation, which he might term tridiZtcoines egislature of the clay, and which it th e . e s of _ anti useless to continue. The Oth ei.e : t u. finny and Navy were liable to the ad , of th ' e r .ton of this oath. At the commencement ei rei gn of w ill . i,tli against the tans and Mary, all the restric uevv ; Roman Catholics were re-enacted 1 0 11 . 14 . e .„ G a toll'__every person who accepted offices v Ylng oethe l"e e. nt were obliged to take the qua- F ut ,euuntry en' tsut when it was recollected that ci llish ea r then not only threatened with a Vra n c e rel L en , who was powerfully supported en s t h e out that even a landing had been made Pr o , shores itict`etttatit Interest . of Ireland by the enemies of the it could not be surprising that ejt!'edit;pttfof _s we re resorted t o, as a nece s sar y protectiou of our new Govern. J` matt. Bil . t even in 'the times of .William and Mary, w !f en the 111=iv eioVe'rn !richt became carsolidated'and established on a pertbanent basiS, Something like kin Act of I mirtmi it'y was introduced to soften the igours of the pain's and penalties. The oath of elle teceat that tittle was founded on the simplest of all terms. It merely ►equired those Who accepted offices under the Crown to swear " allegiance to William and Mary," and " ill no other words." That Act still remained on the siit'tute books ; and alluding to the Act ludicrously, the Hon. Member himself was not sore that he had not been guilty of an act of firemlinite, as he had not sworn " allegiance to XVilliatwand Mary," as re quired by the law. He was, however, protected by the. Bill of Indemnity. which was called a Pe rennial Act, introduced for the relief of all those who neglected to take the qualifying" oaths. In the year 1793 the restrictive laws - wete emend ed or modified ; but among the exceptions were the Lord Lieutenant of Irelaud, the Chief Secre— tary, and the CoMmander-in-thief—hecause it was not believed that any of these offices would he give!' to a Roman Catholic, „ Bart all were holmd hy - the sAmet test. It ;vas the law of Ire land as well as that' of Eng Lind, thik no Rif man Carbolic . should hold offices under. the Crown without qualifying hitir4ell in the usual manner. .But they ;were . Rllott.td . :tbree months to qualify theroselves- T amt eeen.,,xfrree,soodrds more—and then if they neglected to qualify themselves, they were prot ected by theludemni ty -Bill. so :that Roman Carholies might thou; loold_offices- under Government.,.,” they add all Dissenters were protected by the Indemnity Bill. But the boles of persecution baiting long sitice ceased, the, leers enacting the restrictions were now seldom, if ever, administered. , He saw no necessity of administering the oaths now meo tinned either to the Cotronander-iii . -Chief or to a Privy Councillor. But he would go a step farther —he saw nothing to prevent a Roman Catholic from being aPi ivy, Councillor. The. Honourable Member was not now fi g hting for victory„ but fighting for common sense; and he begged that Gentlemen would coolly delibersite on the subject. He gave his honest, and candid opinion on the occasion and be again stated, that he saw no law by which the Routes) Catholics were preclud ed trom being Privy Councillots. While the Act of Parliament says you must take the oaths, an other law protected them against the omission of the oaths through the medium of the Indemnity Bill. Members of • Parliament were obliged to lake the usual oaths at the table, while the Speaker was in the Chair; while those for a Privy Cithricilliar were taken in the old common way.—The 'Honottrable Member thought that he. had proved that the Acts of William and Mary tvere abolished, as inapplicable to' the pre sent limes. Besides the Privy Councillor, the Judges and other persons who filled offices of high authority took the .oaths in the old established way. If a Roman ,Catholic were to b ecome a Judge to-morrow—and he saw no reason why he • might not—the Clerk would ten der him the oath of allegiance, which he could not swear, "to William and Mary." because such an exercise of it would be too ridiculous and absurd. • Welk--he.would then ,tender him the oath of supremacy, ---which, in his opinion, was. another absurdity. He Would afterwards tender him the oath of abjura tion. Abjure whom ? There was now no Pre tender ; and as all that family were now extinct, there was no need for administering diet - Yeti) of abjuration. The person who had accepted office might say, I will not take any of your oaths, be cause lam protected-by the Indemnity Act. All those Acts were at one time expedient, in order to prote c t the newly-established Government... — But as they were now in a state of desuetude, he recommended the Right Hon. Gentleman (the Attorney-General) to introduce a Bill for their immediate repeal, as disgraceful to their legal code. Au Act had been - passed against any Ec clesiastical anthority by the Pope ; but although this was a trap for Papists, it became equally a trap for Protestants, by a particular clause, which he did not explaiO. It .was called Sir John Mit ford's Act, and enacted, that " no foreign Po tentate should have any power or jurisdiction within these realms." But the Molllent we ad mit a Catholic clergyman to the tree exercise of his religious functions, the Protestants take the alarm ; the moment we sanction the College of Maynooth, or any other Catholic seminary, that very moment a jealousy is excited, and we ex claim " Down with the Papists." But notwith standing these false grounds of alarm, no person could prove that the Pope had any authority within these realms. But the domestic no- Initiation of the Clergy by the Pope was con a ., sidered a greater violation than the refusal of the oath of supremacy. It was absurd that the oath of transubstantiation was adminis tered to Naval Officers, while those who Were about the King's person were exempted from such an obligation. The difference was as great as between a clear day and a dark night, and ex posed the unfair principle by which we dealt with the Roman Catholics. In the jealousy which was excited by the marriage of. Charles 11. with a Princess of France, there was cause for an alarm and then followed a pretended plot, which, as Dryden ludicrously says, " puzzled all the learned and the wise." There was then, indeed, cause for alarm, when the people 84W the King, going openly to Mass. The llooourahle Member con fessed that he was not sufficiently read in the art of casuistry to explain the meaning of some words in the Declaration Act. The policy of. William and Mary was well directed for the protection of the infentine government ; and therefore the law was rendered peremptory, Had it been. so enact ed, and had not William, in his wisdom, taken upon him Self the office of Lard High Admiral, the Admiral who commanded off La Hogue might have lost the battle, it a Roman Catholic, as be might have feelings in favour of those who were partial to his religious principles, and thus mien gered the new State. The profound wisdom of 'Wit liam foresaw dine difficulties, and provided against the emergency. ‘Vhat happened in the days of George I.? The first thing which he did ,waS to provide against any ‘ ,accidental emergency. If such a policy bad not been adopted, all those concerned in the,Treasury would have atoodatill, and all those connected with the Army and Navy would have als6 stood still, Ile also gave them the indulgence of time for qualifying themselves. A rebellion followed ; but it was not of that dangerous result 'Which had been at first expected by many persons - . It was evit:elit that the. Pre tender was only a I)oorear—a' Momentary tool of France. The restrictions were not increased, but the rigours of the pains and penaitiei were more anti more softened. The whole system Was placed on more rational principles. George 11. succeeded, and evinced greatsolicittole for the • happiness of his subjects. The Statesmen of those days, ac tuated bra wise principle, took every opportunity of bestowing (greater confidence to the people, anti thus conciliated their affections . Indemnity Acts were also introduced, io order that there might be greater- appioximatioos to the spirit of general confidence and general liberty. Tina was what .Dr. Johnson happily described as having " stilled the flatter of.a number of hosoms."—s . Auother rebelliou ensued; but this did not tend. to the abridgement of our privileges ; it only proved that there was a radical affection to the florise'of Hanover, : and that the King and his People were actuated by the same motives .fur the honour 'and glory of the country. This Loin ciple! of mutual affection 'produced the happiest resin:S—the prosperity• of the State, and the bappitteSs of the people. In the 'year 1743, au founded nib of Charles 11. ! bin- on the rationale of the Act,. it isavident 'that it gave the Roman Catholic greater privileges than had ever yet been claimed. This modihcia -Hon. of -the law, invigorated by the Bill of In ' demnify, afforded the greatest freedom to the Ito man Catholics. The Act may be termed a retro vation'of that of and Mary, but so ex pressed as to afford our fellow subjects of the Ca tholic persuasion greater privileges than ever had at that time been thought of. It was an amalga mation of two Acts of - Parliament. It was the living and the dead tied together, as it w e re, f u r the benefit of rhe!community, with this extraor dinary'pecoliarity, that it obliged the dead body to speak. After taking the oaths before the Lord High Steward--after duplicate oaths at the table of the House—they were forced to take whoa might be considered a triplicate oath. But, in the opinion of the Hon.' Member, there was nothing to prevent a Roman Catholic •from sitting in that House at the present - moment ; for he had every guaraiitee' Which he co u ld wish for by the ludein y Act. He bad thus far expounded what he considered the• laws which bore more immediately on the question before the House ; but were he to take a survey of the other laws on the subject, he might speak till nine o'clock in the morning. Not only was the Duke of York liable to an act of prenitipare, but he himself (Mr. Croher) was also liable ; for they had not qualified them selves agreeably to the letter of the Act.— There were other persons high in office who had also been guilty of the same omissions. Such acts of neglect were' not confined to the Roman Catholics alone, but extended to others of his Ma. jesty's. subjects.. They were, however, all pro tected.by the Indemnity Act. The Roman Catho lics ought not to accept of ihtlalgence as a sufferance un the part of the Protestaais. They ought to demand their privileges as their natural rights, to Which they were as fully entitled as any other class of our fellow-subjects.. By admitting the Rumati Catholics into a share of political power, you would at once concilia•e the affec tions of the people of Ireland. After they had freely bled for the honour and glory of the Bri tish Government, it. would be ungenerous in the extreme to refuse them that reward to which they were so justly entitled—the blessings of the Bri tish Constitution, by a participation of civil rights. By every manly effort in the cause of the British Empire, they knew how to appreciate the worth of our Government. Instead, there fore, of dreading the consequences, we ought not to hesitate' in granting that compensation to which their noble acts entitled them. By making thefts partners in the firm of our enviable Colistitutiou, it would increase our mutual af fections us fellow-subjects, and strengthen the foundations of that fabric which was the theme of panegyric of every foreigner. Some Gentlemen talked much of " good old times," in allusion, be supposed, to the superiority of the Protestant interest. But he wished that Gentlemen would be candid, and tell what they meant by the "good old times." Our Constitution was made no of shreds and patches. It , was not the work of a moment, but built up and propped by piece-meal, by patience and by perseverance. Here be would make his atand, and call upon -the !loose to act iostly to their fellow-subjects of the Roman Ca tholic persuasion. The Hon. Member hoped that there was no necessity for his professions of at tachment to the Constitution, and to the autho rities of this country as they were now founded,. But with all his veneration for that Constitution and those authoritita, 4 . 4. could not forget that our fellow subjects of the Roman Catholic persuasion had been suffering a deprivation of their rights, when they aright fir:enjoy them as fully and as freely as any other class of the community. The adoption of such a policy . would invigorate the operations of Government, by conciliating at once the affections of every class of the community,— Such a measure in favour of the Roman Catholics would destroy that animosity which rankled the hearts of some of his Majesty's subjects.— He confessed that be saw no danger from a par ticipation Of power. It was in tact the birth-_ right of every subject of these realms : and the policy was erroneous and illiberal which deprived the Roman Catholics of the same immunities which their other fellow subjects enjoyed. With regard to former times, to which _references had so often been made, the analogy did not bold good, for the times referred to were those of barbarism and implacable antipathies. ! 'hie pre sent times were happily : _of a contrary descrip tion, wheu•sentiments'of liberality and Christian charity actuated the niinds of men of different re.. ligiuns persuasions. There could therefore be no 'danger in receiving our lellow-aubject's the Roman Catholic persuasion into a partici-. ;ration of the blessings of the Consti.; union. Its the late! war, the Roman Catho. lie sailor and soldier 'heti rivalled 'the Protestant in every martial achievement ; he *as therefore eutitled twevery.constittitional right. Cointl ;he participation of the Roman citnolie t en d tc, abridgment of the rights of the Protestant ? Such notions were :absurd, and emit(' be enter. tabled only by those who trembled 'at their owq shadows. He We's not onlyadvoctring the c. use of the Roman CethoLcs, but he• was advocating the Cause of the Prote s tants e l s o..... a th oeti ti ng t h e cause of the Church of +' . gland, by beating down those hillocks, those concealed tortresses, whence the Much of England might be en dangered •by a sudden and violent attack. He conceived such respect, such veneration, for• the Church of• England, that be should lament, indeed,.Were she to surrender the ittiallest portion of her dignity or splender. Biit Wi;ile he venerated our Establishments both in Chi:reit and. Stare r he wished that we would look around us, ansl conteMplete where we thought otaselvti most vulnerable. Such a surrey would 'enable us to guard againet•any sudden eneroathinent ; against any alarm or commotion. In his opinion, no Act would so effectually .contlibute to our strength and happiness as - the fteediam of the Rornau Catholics' by the participation of poli tical power.. These were his honest sentimenis, and lie openly avowed them; although the dif ference of opinion might hazard, a coot leo. *lnce of friendship between him :and the Right Honourable ; ., , Gentleman (Mr; Peel); for whore' he had a very !lig]) regard, pis tiC . FOlint of Iris great virfues,ond his' eminent talents. He had Sat si lent-on the:subject for the last ten years, end he now, came eforaverd tri do justice to his fellow subitos, the Roman Catholics of Ireland. Li these privileges -wraith! also be comprehended the Roman Catholics of England and Scotland, equally entitled to their natural rights. lie had always professed the warmest attechmeet end respect for the Ch u rch of England ; and lie wits certain that the latter ought not to beAetatined for any ad dititional concessions .to the. Roman :Catho lics. • Ike Church of England was a noble-and le Magnificent edifice, foanded by the wisdom and virtues of our ancestors, and could not he the dangered by the measure in contemplation The Hon. Member hoped that the H o use would excuse hint while he read an extract from the very highest authority in favour of the Roman Cetho lies. It was from Judge Blackstone, who could not be accused as inimical to the Church of Eng land or a Protestant Government. The extract tended to explain the operations of the Act of Supremacy, which bad been passed against the Romeo Catholics whets the Government thenette such an Act was requisite. Montesottieu, whelk remarking on that law, said, that " it did ell the injury which could be inflicted in cold blood !" But Judge Blackstone, in reply, observed, that it had seldom been acted upon, and ther efore was not of the descriptiou drama by that profound foreign. philosopher. The Judge afterwards, when reason iug on the consequences of the Act, said, that •imee might perhaps demand such an act of severity ; but if ever the period should arrive when all tears of a Pretender ware removed, the restrictions on the Roman Catholics might, in some degree, be re moved also. The power or supremacy of the Pope he considered as too contemptible to excite apprehensions or fears. Should that time ever arrive, Judge Blackstone, who appeared as if writing for the present days, said, that it might probably then not be amiss to soften the 'rigours of the penal laws, by removing the restrictions (sit the Roman Catholics. The time was now cotne, and we ought to embrace the opportunity of ren dering justice to our fellow-subjects. Let Ili make the experiment—give them the tree enjoy ment of their rights; and should it afterwards be found that they acted indiscreetly, and proved themselves unworthy of the beolefits of political Dower, we could soon reduce them atoll) to obe dience, by a deprivation of those grants which we I had so generously bestowed. lot not the Gentle , - men of the Roman Catholic persuasien haeve, that the Protestants could not very soon reduce them to obedience to our laws and iestittitious by the . revival of all the restrictions against them, provided they deserved such a chest iseineet. Should the Roman Catholics be so tar embold ened by the indulgence granted as to forget their duiies to the State, we should have to recur to the courage and capacity of our ancestors for a. protection from the dangers with which we might be menaced. We have to remember that we had done all that we could to conciliate their affec tions, and that they had proved themselves un worthy of the indulgence. But till they haul com mitted some aggressioe against the laws end in stitutions of the State, they ought not to be viewed with jealousy or alarm. They did not ask for a grant; they only called upon us to ratify what we had already granted in part. The extra vagant class of the Roman Catholics would al ways have some bugbear or another in view, whee ther of another Archbishop of Jerusaletn, or his Holiness the Pope ! If the Roman Catholics were not loyal, and therefore deserved every in dulgence, what had made them disloyal ? The Lion, Member was not only friendly to the Ro man Catholics, but friendly also to the Protes tants, by endeavouring to sink into oblivion all fanner prejudices, and, by coneiliating the atlec. (ions of his Majesty's subjectg, improve anti strengthen the operations of the State Mr. Crolter concluded an ingenious and an tiblespeeck` amidst. Lod acclamations from all parts at the !louse. Mr. L. FOSTRR began by observing, that,what.z. ever other etfeet the speech of i,in Hon. Friend was capable of producing, it fpliSLhave excited its no small degree the astonishment of the House. His lion. Friend had discoverel, that the emanci pation for which the Roman cstholics wereseek ing for six -and-twenty years, had been open to their enjoyment for one hundred years, 'during which period Indemnity Bills were 'annually passed ; that they alight have been Chancellors; Generals, Admirals, and Dignitaries of tale, :cud that they might even lifiVC sat in Parliament. Bot' notwithstanding this positive assertion, he woul , l take leave, as a lawyer, to differ from conclusion. '1 beflou.Member then argued froth tilts preamble of the indemnity Act, that the nuestiuit of Catholic Emancipation 'could never have beets involved in it, and remarked, that [J0..., ever this ACt might give indemnity tor past neglect, in not taking the oaths prescribed, it gave no prospec tive ProCectt"lt: to any,,person.sa neglecting for l and threVy him into the Power, t o; e a.r ' y a c r oo " :n c it g at i o ine itsforaiet i riniasp his HOUVUT.- o ftil e ttee di n?f •;sr rcf, i te , , t he ~ 09f NO " le ° the W lo• fir r ' or ° vil e Ac t o oi.l o ` ' : 0 011 (0,f1 , • s ervirl :i )notirve( hot ° d ij r rer a i, o io t i c . • ~.J;