The Sun. — London, England, 1821-03-01 00:00:00

but what did the argument mean ? Did the Right lion. Gentleman suppose that Ireland was to be a jungle —a deposit for' wild and savage beasts ? lie surely could not; for he admitted .restric tion to be an evil. The Right Hon. _Gentlerrian admitted also that there was a point at which restriction should stop, and concession should be gin. Wher e th en was th a t po i n t ? Th e 'Ri g ht Hon. Gentleman would contend that that point was • .fixed in the year 1793. But if the 'medium had been so critically hit at that period, where , was the necessity- for the subsequent altera tion ? Why allow them to be Grand Jurors, and to fill other offices of honour ? Why not allow the sane privileges to the English Catholics, who, from their - situation, their dignity, and their pa tience, were equally entitled to them.—(Hear, hear !)—The House ought not to object to a Committee for the relief of the English Catholics. - Under the English Laws a Catholic ought to be u holder of land, which, under some circum stances, would enable him in effect to return _Members to that House, although he could not sit in it himself. Indeed if he were to. go through all the distinctions of absurdity in the present system, he should exhaust the patience of the House. The laws permitted the Irish Catholic to be called to the bar.: The country witnessed' his talents and their honourable application in practice. They encouraged him ; and . when they - found him advancing towards the well-earned re ward of his labours they stopped him short, checked-his honourable ambition, and left him in the utmost despondency. Was this just; was it honourable ?—(Cheers.)—He had the honour :to .be acquainted with many of the Catholic Gentlemen of the Irish Bar,- and he knew them .. 1 0 be as loyal and as zealously attached to the ` - onstitution as any of his Majesty's subjects.- 7 But it was not on their behalf he spoke. He sPnke in behalf of the. Protestant Bar, for its members were anxious that this invidious par tiality should be removed.— (Cheers.)—The question was , where concession should begin ; :for if it were clear that the present restrictions 'Were proper, the Roman Catholics had certainly no right to complain. The principal object he h ad in- view,- was the removal of the oath denying tr ansubstantiation, and the modification - of the Oath of Sapremacy.—The Right Hon.. Gentle man was here so exhausted that he sat down for a few seconds to recover hiniSelf before read ing his motion. The universal cheers of the House continued until he rose again, When he `moved, "-That the Rouse do resolve itself into a Cortnnittee of the Whole House, to consider the Laws relating to the Declarations taken as qualifications for Offices, sofas as they_ affected the Irish Catholics, and whether it would be expedient to alter or modify the same, so as to enable the said Catholics to take them ; and also to consider the propriety of removing the declaration against T iansubstantiation." Mr. DENNIS.BROWNE seconded the motion. Mr. PEEL said he hoped it was always unne cessary for hirn.tt. assure the Right Hon. Gentle man.that nothing should induce him to attempt to answer his arguments, under any circumstances, as that Right Hon. Gentleman must possess over powering advantages ; but, on the present °cm , sion, he had atuwered a speech - made by him (Mr. Peel) four years ago, on the - discussion of the question now before the House. The Right I.ion. Gentleman had the advantage of tearing to -pieces every argumenewhicit he (Mr. Peel) had. 'arged on that occasion." The House might there . tre imagin e un d er w h a t appre h ens i on i t was t h at (Mr. Peel) rose-to follow that Right Hon. „. 4 en tlernan: He would shortly allude to that to I ' 4 the Right Honourabl e G en tl eman h a d ( ;`°:lielf fi rst alluded. He meant the affectionate , Li tY which had been shavin to the memory a ;departed fri e nd, und er w h ose aus pi ces 'fie present question had been so powerfully , Itl Pported. I n th e warm tribute which had i t ' e en paid to the memory of Mr. Grattan 4 O most cordially joined. It might seem arro- P h ce it) him to follow the Right Honourable Gentleman in the terms in which lie had sp - eke!), 'dudh e th ere f ore wou ld forbear to do so ; but if lea subscribed to that had been advanced by "'he Right Hon. Gentleman in praise of Mr. Grat tan, it would convince all who heard him that th e Right Hon. Gentleman opposite had not been educed by the partiality of friendship. No man more than himself could admire Mr. Grattan, Illiough he (Mr. P.) had the misfortune to be Opponent,on the principles of the subject un , der discussion. 'the unquestionable integrity of d esperat e Gratt an h a d en d eare d hi m to a ll ; an d t h e me sPerate fidelity with whiCh he adhered to the Present question was the strongest proof of his Political consistency. But he thought that while the llouse would agree with hint in the praise of l h e excellence of Arr. Grattan, it would also be Of with him, that the cause he advocated had 0 0111 41 a worthy successor in the :Right Hon. Gent. tu4osite. After this preface he would proceed t r Z 4 7 tic e the speech of the Right lion. Gentle ye and in the outset he should ob ve; that if any man supposed he wished to }, r7 P e al to those, passions and pr e juoices w hich 1, 4 been alluded to by the Right Hon. Mem : c that man was under a d e lusion, fo r "l ie d e -' ar ed an o pini on w hi c h i n d ee d wou ld b e a re re tition of a former opinion, that in the present . `!`he l aws we h a d only a c h o i ce of ev i ls. -uhe state of society was anomalous; and the f Co u rse adopt e d - - was necessary, though he was free to confess it was not satisfactory. He should Proceed to state his dissent from some of the propositions of the Right Honourable Mern;. h er. bid the Right honourable Alerriber sup- Pose that he looked at 'the state of things of the year 1793, with any satisfaction ?' Was it -Possible that.he could hear the natites which had been mentioned by the Right Hon. 'Member, as d isapproving of that state of things, and yet de clare that he was satisfied ? He 'rase to con scler the present question with a view to justice aloo e , and he should be 'ashamed to look the lions e in the face if he could address himself to the present question from interested motives. • The _present duty, .he conceived, called upon them to examin e and re:exenrine all their former l opini ons ; and if. • they s till consc i entiously ad tileretd to those opinions, they might -reasonably ouot the infallibility of the - gre , t authorifies. which had been quoted by the Right Hon. Mover. - The Right 'Hon. Member stated ' his conception, that constitutionally every subject had a right to fill an office, and that it was un.& constitutional to exclude him. lie (Mr. Peel) contended against that position. He would ap peal to authority equal to that which had been adduced by - the Right Hon. Member. He thought the- Right Hon. Member would agree with him, that if it was right to admit the Ca tholic, it was right to admit the Protestant Dis senter. In fact, to grant the proposed relief to the Catholics, would be an admission of the necessity of repealing the Corporation-and Test Acts.—(Hear, hear, hear.!)—Here it was .that all the great authorities in question, left the Right Honourable Member._ Mr. Pitt de clared that he considered those Acts the bul wark, of the Constitution, and he objected to the principle of their repeal. Mr./Burke also, on a great occasion, when that prin., ciple came' under discussion- in that House; staid away from the debate, observing, that he really was not able to make up his mind on the question. , Another authority had been quoted: with much confidence. It was Blackstone, who had been quoted in aid of Hoad ley. But the Noble Lord who quoted Blackstone could ' scarcely have read the ivhole of the chapter from which he had referred. Blackstone observed - , that if a time should arrive when thoßoman Catho lics -disclaimed the tenets ascribed to them, the. Penal Statutes might be removed ; but it did ilot follow from this passage that the excluding Acts, should be also removed. The contrary was evi dent, for Blackstone went on to speak of the ex-1 eluding Acts as applicable to all Dissente r s. Th e authority of Blackstone was therefore clearly against the repeal of the excluding Laws. Ile would, in reference to the History of England, commence with the Reformation.; passing by the period at which the _Roman Catholic was the established Religion of the country. The Act of the Ist of Elizabeth required every per son iir office to tale an oath, not only, that no other person had jurisdiction in this kingdom, .but, af firmatively, that Queen Elizabeth 'had jurisdic tion spiritual as well as temporal. The sth of Elizabeth required every knight, citizen, and burgess, to• take a similar oath. .The question was, would the Roman'Catholics of the present day take this oath ? If they would not,. it fol lowed that the Roman Catholics of that day were objects of even less jealousy thin they were at present. The Right Honourable Member had referred too, to the Debates of the other House, though such a reference was an irregularity which could not be sanctioned by the authority of his respectable name. By that reference it would appear, that the Oath of Supremacy had been found effectual ; but it was rather too Much to argue from thence, that there was no intention to , exclude the Roman Catholics. He would pass over the reigns of Charles the Second_ and James the Second, and come - at once to the Revolu tion. - .lie - hid • - really 'to ap - ologize to the House, —(Cheers)--but really the- ground in question had been trodden so often, that there was little . to do, 'but to urge that which had been urged 'before. The Clear distinction to be 'observed upon the present question was that which existed between toleration and power— , between those laws which impos'ed penalties and those which merely excluded from office ; and he would leave it to the judgment of the House .whether the authority he appealed to was not at least•equal to that of the Right 'Hon. Mover.— Ile would admit that although the Laws of 'Ex-, elusion were coeval with the Reformation, yet that circumstance ought to be no bar, to the claims of the Catholics, if they were well founded. Nay, though the Bill of Rights itself had -ex cluded them, he would 'halve been the first to, consent to a removal of thatexclusio'n if it should appear that the Bill of Rights was.the founda tion of an act of injustice.(llear !)—lre' had heard an eulogium on the character of King Wil liam and on his opinions; but what were those opinions ? It was proposed while he was Prince of Orange, toadmit his friends into power, if he would-consent to the repeal Of the Corporation and Test Acts. On that occasion, he most certainly did • not admit that every person had a 'Constitutional right -to office. His opinions of that day were so applicable to the -pre sent occasion, that" lie (Mr. Peel), with the - permission of the House,. woull read them.— The Prince's answer . ivas addresSed through the Pensionary of Holland to the then King of Englaed, and the answer ran as follows : " And if hig Majesty think fit to repeal the penal laws, they Nt' re ready 'to Consent thereto, but subject to the exclusion of the Roman Catho lics." And again afterwards—" 'But they can not consent 'to the repeal of those laws by Which the Constitution' is preserved against the designs of Roman Catholics." Indeed ,rno 'distinction could be clearer, as' he observed before, than that bet Ween penal laWs and laws of 'exclusion. In another part of the answer, was the following passage :—" The Roman Catholics, by being in Parliament, must naturally study to in crease their - power, WhiCh was dangerous to the Protestant Religion, since 'all in power leaned more or lets to their religion." This was the opinion of King William ; but he (Mr. Peel) had other authority to show that there ' was no such • right as 'that of the adrnisiion into office of every subject. It was known to every Member Of the House that the first ground of the Bill of Rights was the attempt at the exercise of a-dispensing poWer. This power was, attempted to .be exercised for the purpose of letting the Roman Catholics into power. He Was; - however, prepared for argements 'against the authority of King William,-and he would there fOre-refee to others. He would 'commence with .the Act for the - Toleration; Of Protestant. Dis senters. In the reign Of Queen Anne a, Bill was brought into Parliathent for depriving Dissenters of that Toleration. • It Was called " An Act to compel' occasional conforMity." It passed the' Commons, but it met with considerable opposi tion in the Lords. A conference Was agreed to, and managers were appointed- to conduct it. It Would here he highly proper to notice the per sons aPpointed to conduct the cOnfererice on the- part' of thz: `Lords. They Were the, Earl of Peterborough, Lora rialifaia, Burn e t, Bishop of Salisbury ) the Duke•of Devonshire, and Lord Somers. It appeared that the Lords urged in support of their arguments again St the Bill, their opinion that the Cluirch *as in no danger from Protestant Dissenters. There was a Resolution passed, which in substance de clared, " that the Church of England, as happily saved by King William, of blessed memory, was not in danger; and • that whoever went about declaring that it was in danger, was an enemy to the Queen and the State."—The Managers appeared to admit that the Dissenters were peaceable and well-disposed ; and he (Mr. Peel) was perfectly ready to adthit the same of the Roman Catholics. What was the distinction drawn by the Managers ? They said, and truly said, that the natural distinction was; the exclu sion of persons from office: The Laws consider ed that " the regulation of Offices belonged to the Legislature, but that - Penalty. and Punish.: ment was of another nature."—(Cheers.)—This was the constitutional doctrine of the great Lord Somers. If he (Ldr. (=ee!) therefore objected to the, general admission of Dissenters, he had a right to object to the motion of the Right Honourable Member in favour of PLoaian Ca tholics. There was a most , respectable and loyal class of his Majesty's subjects who would not take an oath at- all, and he did not see why the same argument should not be offered in favour of them alSo ; for the law had put them on the same .footing with the rest of the community in all cases of• property. Why then exclude the Quakers ? It. was known that a Quaker had even ,been returned to sit in that House ; and certainly there Was no greater rea son' for excluding them. Foreign- or Papal • in fluence could not be dreaded with respect to them, and certainly a: More estimable class of men he had.'never known in his life. They were in all respects a just, loyal, humane, and chari table class of people.—:(Cheers:)—lle was asked what danger he feared awould accrue to the pre sent generation from the repeal of these Acts. His answer was, that he was not going to form a Constitution for the present day. He was going to frame a system- of laws which he believed would be irrevocable by future ages; for what ever the future danger might be, he did not be lieve a power would be reserved to the State to rescind them. There was, therefore, a claim on behalf of posterity,. avhich did demand serious consideration. It was admitted by all that a, re peal of these laws would affect the Constitution. And when an alteration was to be made in the Constitution which was to last for posterity, was he 'to be precluded from considering the dangers, which these laws might subject them to, as far as he was able to carry his calculation into futurity He believed that these laws were Made to ward off the recurrence of dangers Which existed iti past ages ; 'and when they were Makin.. laws, they had a right to - look at the hist or y o f ' the past as the best guide to be obt i a l i t he r d efe tt r i t r i o n o g gh to th t ez- s i o tY from any desir e t o r ak e past,kao e pathsd did d o n f o t f futu r ity. up the mouldering ashes of religious feuds and exacerbations, which were in the present day knowit only byname. Such was not his wish he assured the House ; he was sincere in the pur pose he had stated. The Right Hon. Gentl eman (Mr. Plunkett) said, that as a reason for the continuance of the existing restrictions in' the time of. Queen Elizabeth, that there was - a Poi pish plot, which didnot exist now. In the reign of Charles 11. there was an 'equal danger from the King himself, in selecting improper members forlds Council. In the time of James U. it was' said there was another species of danger—he was professedly attached to -the -Roman Ca tholics. In the reign of William III: there was still danger. But it was to be remarked, .there was nothing to be feared from the Pope ha that day ; nothing from the bigotry or intolerance of the Pope ; - but still there was sufficient danger to warrant the continuance of the Catholic restric tions. The danger which then' authorised our guarding ourselves in a similar way, as we had done till that time, was the fearful power ef Louis the Fourteenth on the Continent. From these examples, drawn from the. past, then he had a right to.say, that if at five periods.of otir his tory there were: five different dangers _to be -guarded against, he had a right to-assume, - that a danger of a nature not to be foreseen in the pre, .sent day, might spring up in futa - re times. It had beet said, what had the state to dO with . re ligion ? •In reply it Might-be said, that when re ligion had nothing to do with the State, the State would have nothing to do with religion. B-ut how could it be shewn that -.religion was not con . - nected with affairs of State ? Could it be inferred from the pages of the historY of 'England, of Scot, land, or of Ireland, the three constituents of this great empire ? A fter reviewing these histories, who could say that amongst. the motives which influenced man as a political member of the State, religion had not its place ? What was it .that male every man in that House feel that aifection and reverence for the institutions of the Established Church of thiaceuutry, but that he felt that Church was a pure and holy , one : In the words of the •Bill of 1813, Religion formed. a part of the Constitution of this country. He reMembered the words of the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Plunkett) ors the occasion of that Bill. He then called upon the house, as Ern argument for going 'into the Conunittee, to do so for the purpose of giving satisfaction, and restoring concard toa great portion of the subjects of the realm. And the - Right Hon. G-entlernats would remember that a great part of-What he (Mr. Peel) said in 1817 against the Committee - was to skew their inabia lity to give that concord Or • satisfaction, on 'which the Right Hon Gentleman 'so much - in sisted. Let the Right lion. Gentleman refer to the Bill framed- on that occasion, professedly for the purpose of doing away with the • inabi.: litieS under which the Catholics laboured, and of width they COMplained. He would find that three-fonrths of that Bill was taken tip impoaing restrictions, to gUaad againit the dan ger which the Rt. Hon. Gentleman denied did or could exist. Such *as the natiire: of thO;ie pre cautions, that to use the words of the lit. Hon. Gentlethan, " it was granting political power to the Cat : holies spon terms 'which the host jealous Protestaht could iiat object to; hor thO most scrupulous or invete ra t e Cathrlie reject:" He was correct, notwithstandidg; he belitied, iii stating, that this Bill so framed veal generally reprobated bra great part of the Ro:aish Glergy e who con sidered that- they were not able to give did pledges it required. There was, he believed, a general fe - eling of disapprobation in the Catholic laity, which led them to prefer their present state of to accepting power on those coodi , tions; These feelings existed in opposition td the authority of the Church of Rome ; for they had the sanction of the Pope. to give those pledges they felt in their conscience they could not give. The itt. Hon. Gentleman. had seid, bat he was sure he meant it only by inal'Aiaation, that he (Mr. Peel) accused the Catholics of being ca pable of perjury. He was sure he meant only, that his arguments were Capable df warranting that - deduction. He assured the Rt. Honourable Gentleman, that he always wished to argue this question in the most temperate mannee.—(Hear !) —He was the last person who could be guilty of using intemperate language, for the express pur pose, as on some occasions he had seen done, of exciting similar feelings, because he was interest ed in producing that result. He cherished no hostile feelings against the Roman Catholics.; in deed he should be most ungrateful if he did. 'When he was in office he thought it his duty conscientiously to oppOse the Catholic claims, as lie did now,. and' to their credit he acknow ledged that the Catholics always did him the justice to appreciate the motives by which lie acted. He did not do them the injustice to discredit their oaths ; but he did maintain ttiat it was reasonable. that the prevalence of the Members. high in •office should be attached to the Reformed Religion. He did not charge the Catholics with being less able to discharge the high duties of office ; but still he did not think they' ought to be entrusted with them. If he were a Catholic he never should think it wrong to reinstate his own Church in the State. Was there any thing in past history' which tended to exempt a Roman Catholic from that suspicion which he (Mr. Peel,) if - a Roman Catholic, and in a Protestant country, would be subject to ? But althoOgh he thought that apprehensions might be entertained from the adoption-of the principles lard down by the Right Hon. Gentl eman, he was free to acknowledge that if he could think that this measure would operate materially to rastore that 'concord and satisfaction, which whatever might be his, views on this question,'he as ardently desired to see established as the ‘Righ t Hon. Gentleman—all his fears for the Church Establishment would give way in favour of that desirable consummation. No one wished more than he did, to See the religious parties in Ireland living in harmony and cordial union., But he was far from thinking that that would be the effect of the measure recommended by the - Might Hon, Gentleman. To strengthen his opi nion, he would not review this part of the his tory of Ireland, ,although he could notrellect on the struggle for power, the frequent copfiscations, and contests between the Catholics and Parlia ment, without seeing sufficient in the proposed measure to produce agreatalegree of religious ani mosity. He. did believe, notwithstanding these restrictive laws, that the religious parties in Ire land were approaching to a , much more social state than ever existed between them before. — The lapse'of Years, and the increase of refinement, had contributed to produce great harmony and concord between the Protestants anti Ca tholics, the continuation of which he could not contemplate if the existing laws were altered. It might be asked why, if he' admitted that there were other causes sit tlieient 'to produce animosi ties, he was not willing. to do away this one ? If the causes of. most of the dissensions in 'past dynes were the religious and commercial mono poly of this country, which still existed, it might Le asked, why he did not desire to put en end to one part of that monopoly, if he desired to cement more closely the harmony whiCh he stated to be beginning, to manifest itself ? It was ex pressly to avoid disturbing that harmony that he opposed such a measure. He must state honestly, that after having conferred the capacity to pos .sess power, he was :afraid that there would remain no means of maintaining an equal division of power betwixt Catholic and 'Protestant. He did think that there- would be a constant struggle for power. On every occasion of a new Representative for the people laying chosen, if a Protestant and Catholic Candidate were opposed to each other, he could not doubt that. ancient ani mosities would be revived. If a reform in the representative systemOf the kingdom were to take place, tending to abridge the term of the eXis tenceof each Parliament, it would be impossible not to anticipate a great interruption of the do a meatic concord of the country in the traoae fre quent reveal of the religions . feelings which would then be called into aletion at every elec. !ion hustings in the country. As he had before said, he had a difficult task to - perform on this'oc a cashee having so often delivered his sentiments before iii that Muse e and tae again begged 'to assure the HOus6 'that iii deciding upon this question, the grounds Of his decision were by no rneatii determined 'by his connection with rtLTV party or - any individuals. He spoke inde pendently roen l :C• t er l of lilt, and had not even taken the pains others. lie determined On this, as on all other i ' l n iain what might 'be the sentiments of questionse according to the intrinvic merits. If the Right , Hon. Gentleman brOught in his Bill, he asstiFed him that, ahauld the people of Prig- land, contrary to what they ought to do, ,take any part 'against' it, he . would not qnote their sen , time:its in support of his6wO. As he had not.re, (ralied what Was-termed . the voice of the people in other Matters, lie would not pretend tO, do so' iu this, bectaise it acoordod with ins ow n. ITH Would appeal to nothiue bat the deliberative wisdom of that Ilouset—(Hear.).—lf fie thought this Measure could with .safety' be adopted, not the Whole voice of England should prevent hini from givirtg it his support. His 'opinion was as he had '-'epressetil it,' and with ineatfs eof influence over Others which he had possessed,: so far -from being consulted on the subject,• he - had refrained from- •.entleavourin,g to . bias the opinions of . any. He he btAleved, been the meant cit preventing. many PetitiOns „on.. the sub ject. being pres e nt e d t o the Rouse. Ie had oh all occasions declared, to,:the deliberative wisdom of . the House of Commons, and to that alone, shoUld he - appeal,, and in that he confided fora decision according. with Ids own sentiments. He should here conclude What lie had to say to the House, by asgtiring them that no result of that debate could give unqualified pleasure. lie was bound to. wish that those opinions which he advocated might prevail. If they did, that sort of 'satisfaction which he could not but derive frOmthe circum stance,' would be tempered by the reflection; that it was tantamount to a rejection of 'the claims of a great portion of their deserving fellow-subjects. —(Heat!)—lf, on the contrary, the sentiments of the Right lion. Mover should be triumphant, he. assured the House that no-one would rejoice more than he should to see all his predictions proved false, and all his arguments refuted by the increasing. cogcord of the two sects.—(The Right lion. Gentleman sat down amidst loud and general cheers.) Sir JAMES MACKINTOSH commenced by ob serving, that notwithstanding this question had been so often argued in that House, it had never -presented sogreat a display of every quality which marked the mind of a Statesman, as the Rt. lion. Gentleman who had just sat down had that. night evinced.—(lfear, hear o—To follow so great a person was fully as formidatJe a task for hime (Sir J. Mackintosh) as he (Mr. Peel) had com plained of having in encountering his. Rt. Hon. Friend who opened the debate, a task which. he (Sir J. - Mackintosh) would have been tempted to decline, had he not been more solicitous for ,the success of his cause, than desirous of the vanity of contending with such an adversary. The 'Rt. lion. Gentleman, he must - take the liberty, of observing, had attributed to his Rt. Honourable Friend propositions which he had not hid down, inasmuch as he had charged him with advocating unqualified Emancipation.--His Right Hon. Priend had taken no such ground.— he had spent a great part of his argument to ridi cule those Statesmen who pretended to reducOall legislation to abstract principles. The Right lion. Gentleman (Mr. Peel) had endeavoured to shew that there Were a series of dangers from the Ca tholics from the Reformation to the time of Ki ng William 111 - . But the fact was, that there was only one danger, viz.—the existence of agrat Catholic Body connected with some foreign Power. Throughout the whole of the times that he • had euunierated, the danger was one and the same; bearing the same character--,--evident, :great, and urgent. As his Right lion. Friend (Mr. Plunkett) said, every deviation from the principle of the law of England, that every Englisinuan had a common right and title to cOmpetenu for office in the State, had b een professedly. of a temporary nature to connteract temporary ;danger. The Right lion. Gentleman who opposed this doctrine, admitted that there was no pre sent danger, but said that his opinion was the same as that Which actuated the great StatcSmati - , who had- secured to them all the blessings . of the Revolution, viz. to provide against future contin gencies. If. he .compared these sentimentS . , : he should say they were diametrically opposite. The Right Hon. Gentleman said, that an altera tion in the British Constitution would be pro duced by the repeal of the 13th of Charles He thought it a hard matter that an Act so Ob tained as that was should be so difficult of gettisg repealed . . There was no laW so infamolts in i . ts origin, or produced by such acomhination of villainy, as the 13th of Charles the : Second: - It was passed on the 28th of October; 16713-_ How had the House employed itself previously to the passing Of this Bill ? How. had they prepated themselves for this great exercise of "delibera tive wisdom, and equanimity of 'temper, so ne cessary to go hand in hand in legislating on such a question? They had been employed examining at their Bar, Titns Oates. It was when their Minds were intoxicated •by the iv. famous perjuries which had caused the defith:-of so .roany innocent persons, by that infatnous wretch whose name stained the annals of the - Fnglish history; that this law was enacted. The foul perjuries of the most execrable miscreant that ever showed his face at the, b ar ora.iivil tribunal as a false witness, had induced the whoie Legislature of the country . to'pass a lacy which after years had elapsed, and new generations sprung ,up with .persons not of equal with great zeal its the cause, it was now impos sible to repeal. The Honourable and 'Learned 'Gentleman went into a review of the -circum stances attending the different. periods Of -his tory in which 'the question of Catholic disabi lities had been agitated, in order to Silks - art his position that the restrictions had been placed on the Catholics to ward, off some temporary dan g er. The Right Honourabl e G en tl eman h a d alluded to the case of. the Quakers, in whLZh allusion he thought. hurt unfortunate. The not . 'admitting, Quakers . to good testimony Was troloss to them, brit was a great loss to society. At .tbe establishment of that Sect, -great apprehensions were entertained, as were now of the Catholics With respect to them. But it bad tuned eut that they ',were the most tranquil and'Pearl:able Sect iu the kingdom. All the - experienee . or Past time referred to by the Right-lion, Gentlerno,n only sheaved that whilSt .they were refused - ateir rights, they would be the enemies of the ,t_ate. In conclusion, the Hen. and Learned Centlernau said, glut as it was given out, thathis Majesty was going to visit I reland,hehoped be would be enabled to .19. so hot as a ,COtiqueror, as all his cessors had, - but as the messeuger of peac-.;' and the bearer of that Constitution which was' no longer -to be viewed as a boon, but ;11.9' a right On their part. .• . Mr. Psi.. expiain . ed . • . Lord gtiltli supported the motion. Ile -cOns.i -• de red that the Irish . Catholics were v!ttiilf.l to the admiSsion.of. their claims, from the' evirsi plary condlict Ns' 11 kell Ilia always distinguibed them under every privation.. .During the hottest moments of party zeal. the,V had 'nevt/tx!, , jvco ,the slighteSt encouragement o - s:edition i~ir. D. BnowsiC stiPported the motion::. e Act of Union heltV out a promise tbai'-the':first 'Subje'ct that should be taken - into cgifsideio.tioa.