The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1821-04-17 00:00:00

Clergyman leek an mth et his ordinstiou that no
foreign Power had any spiritual jurisdiction within
this rads. How could the Clergyman now take
that oath, when the Bill regulated and ackweiw-
ledged the intercourse with the Pope ? The Pro-
testant sae thero•ere has no uuthority, the Catlin-
tholic says he h and both declared by the issue
Act of Parliament. Protestantism was the key
which bound all the parts of the edifice of our
Constitution t . If that were given op ad
would be oared which our ancestors acquired
in 160. Besides, from what had lately passed in
Ireland, they bad no reason to believe, if this
measure were awfied . that the Catholics in that
country would be satisfied. When be recollected
the concessions which were made in 1793, he had
every reason to believe that the Catholic claims bad
grown by wbsst it fed on. At Stotiyhunit, Jesuits
had been established, brought over, as he smiler.
stood, from Liege, and the order had bees formally
established by • Papal rescript. Should the Bill
pm, he could not see any thing to prevent the
Jesuits having an establishment in the metropolis.
He thought the House were Not prepared to sty
that this order of &nee who bad beer, exiled from
Russia should find protection in this country. The
Rowan Catholic religion had ever been the parent
and nurse of arbitrary power. For the troth
in that assertion lie might appeal to our cows
history. In the time of Mary and James 11.
the liberties of tee people were nearly overwhelmed.
The dawn of Protestantism and liberty rose togr.
flier : nor need he confine himself to our own les-
tory only; iu both Switzerland and Holland free-
dom slid Protestantism had gone lewd in head.
Perhapafrom early prejudices he might attach more
weight to that argument than it deserved. He had
been brought up, and hoped he ever should temaiu,
'a frieud to civil and religious liberty. Should the
Bill pass, the oath which his Majesty takes at the
coronation would become of uo weight whatever.
The Learned Prelate concluded with expressing h's
anxious hope and prayer that the vote of to-night
would prevent the recurrence of the anxieties which
the agitation of the question gave birth to, and that
their Lordships would declare in the spirit of the
Barons of old, their determination Dot to eudaager
the safely of this Protestant country.
The Bishop of NORWICH warmly 'spooned
the Bill. He would ask if any person, either in
the House or in the country, believed that the Ca-
thulics of the nineteenth century (and it was fur
them their Lordship. were legislaiing) held any
opinioes incomputable with the info, of our civil
and social institutions.? He declared himself no
party roan—he never •at any time attempted to
push hisnrelf forward upon his opiuiosis ; but he
was anxious to express his sentimeuts this night,
as in all human probability he never should
lave another opportunity of doing so. His Lord-
ship concluded his speech (great part of *lnch we
regret to say was not audible below the bar) by
giving his cordial approbation to the Bill.
Lord Iteoestiaee said their Lordship* had been
called upon to oppose this Bill by one Noble Lord
upon what he celled the priticiple of it ; but the
difficulty was to find out what was the principle
of the Bill, since one clew contradicted the other.
This set urity of the Protestant succession was slot •
mere parchtneut security, but deptuded on the
King, being of necessity a Protestant, and the
restriction under which he lay hot to merry
a Roman Catholic. The principle, therefore,
•of the security of the Protesteat succession was
erne of exclusion. Every religious sect was it po-
litical party. He had the highest respect for the
Catholic Peas, and Gentry, but he could only
consider them as the heads of a political party,
• and experience taught him that in such par-
ties unfortunately the tail always governed the
head. This was exemplified in ii Bill which was
brought into the other House, which gave tun I
satirfaction to the heads of the dissentiug sects, hut

the tail wisforthraiely turned upon then, tnd nullified
all. liir objection to the Roman Cutholic religion
was, that no man could proprrly be snid to be in
entire possession of his owu conscience. The Bill
proceeded upon the principle that the Protestant
succession to the throne was established, but

nevertheless it proceeded to endermioe the secu-
rity on which that principle stood. A Learned
Prelate thought that it was extremely illiberal
to exclude the Catholics solely on account of their
religion; but when all the descendants of James I.
{except the Electress of Hanover) were excluded ,
from the throne, was not the culy ground that
they professed the Roman Catholic religion. '
Now the Bill was brought in, which held that null).
sion for religious opinions was, according to the
expression of true Noble Lord, " abominable,"
and ought cot to be endured. It was telling the
Ring that lie sat upon the throne on u false prinui-
ple, rattan abominable principle, which ought never
to have been adopted. The Bill acknowledged
that some security was necessary, and what could
be so effectual as those already established, and
which was the law of the land, namely, the prin-
ciple of exclusion ? He thought the Bill, if it..
passed, so far from conciliating, would tend to In-
crease the irritation which existed ; for it was con-
trary to the principles of human nature to suppose
thatlit would stop there.
Lord IlAnaowair said, that yieldi,ig to no nice
in uff!ctlon for our Church Establi.lonent, could
it be made evident that any danger would result to
it from the present measure, he would willingly
vote with the Noble Lord (Mansfield) for the second
reading on that day six months. The principle of
the Bill be took to be this—to grant to the
Catholic whatever could he granted with secu-
rsty to the Protestant. It appeared to hint that
atone of their Lordships ought to vote against
the second reading of this Bill, sinless they wi re
µmisted to bay that nothing should now or at
say future time be granted to the Catholics.
/Hear, hear, hear.)—Another pontt urged was the
intolerant doctrine of the Catholic Church, but at
the lime of the union with Scotland, we had to treat
with a sect equally iutoleranL During the discus.,
sion on that measure the Presbyterial.* in Scotland
protested against eveo treuiuiig with a count.).
where Episcopacy was established; fur fear of .
the guilt they should incur. Yet the l'arlisinelit
introduced sontreis Peers and forty-five Pirshy-
teliso Commoners. Did they do so without li.atog
an idea of the danger ?—No, for one of the fitiglish
Peers who were opposed to the measure, declared
that if he should live to see that union carried, he
should have survived the constitution of the