The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-04-22 00:00:00

THE BRITiSH PRESS.

will be moductive of the benefit which its supporters anticipate.
I do not mean the moral benefit, but that Protestant interest which
this Bill professes to increase. Considering, then, the great addition
of prosperity which we are told .this measure would give to Ire-
land, and looking at the great msjorlty of the people as Catholics,
I am not quite sure that in somewhat less than twenty years the
whole property of the country would not be in the bands of the
Catholics. lam not singular in this np:niqn: an evidence of some
weight upon this question—l nean Mr. O'Conrell--has stated it
as his opinion, that the distranchieernent of the forty-shilling free-
holders would add considerably to the Catholic interest and power.
qty Honourable Friend considers that this will be a sareguard to
t:.e Protestant interests: but he ftwgets that the same privilege may
be still managed under a different tenure—that it may be attached
to the possession of a house, and still retain the tenant in the name
state of bondage and the country its the -same condklon of paupe-
rism. Unlots, therefore, you ate satisfied that the measure will pros
duce all the good elects you hope, I say ! should have very serious
doubts of the propriety of the change. I do not however commit
myself by en opinion. I will giVe the measures separately my best
attention when they come before me, independent of any other
question with which .they may.he connected. I will .now state
shortly my opposition to this Bill, confident that I have already
he-massive( much longer than I ought upon the time and patience of
the Horse. As I object to the paying of the Catholic mieisters
from the funds of the State, and as I-am by no meant' convinced of
the propriety of disfranchising theforty-shilling freeholders as se-
curities offered for the Pill, aml as I consider the securities WTI.
tamed in the body of the Bill wholly illusive, I must still hold m
minions that the Catholics should be excluded from certain high
offices in the State—that they should be excluded from. the
Houses of l'arliamenu—and that the Protestant Constitution of
th- country, in Church and State, should still remain paramount
rn I inviolable. And I must confess, Sr, while! consider the con-
duct which trevails in a- Protestant House now sitting. and dat-
iieg upon the propriety of admitting their Catholic brethren into
,t is pinion of ;h •:r constitutional advantaga.—l mean, Sir,.this
Loose of Commons—and when I ectitrast that conduct with the
pr c.o tinge of a Catholic !louse in A neighbouring kingdom, con-
stituted nearly alike to this one, end now delibenating upen the
propriety of punishing the crime of sacrilege with death—the
crime of questioning. I believe, ohne rights and oblervances of
the Catholic Church—l cannot, Sir, I confess, avoid say•ng that the
Protestant principles, as they have been hitherto maintained in this
House. arc the only real securities for civil and religious liberty.
The Pion. Gentleman sat down amidst loud cheers from both sides
of the House.

Alr. BROUGHAM rose. amidst cries of " Question." After
the powerful and unanswerable speech of the Secretary for Foreign
Affairs—a speech which seemed, indeed, to anticipate all that had
been advanced by the Secretary for the Home Department--that
he would not be guilty of any attempt to force himself upon the
attention of the Nouse ; but for the protection of himself, and
numbers of those around him, he thought it necessary to say a fee*,
words upon those measures. which had more than once been mixed
up with this question in the course of the debate. He would say,
then, that this Bill, whatever had been said to the contrary, with
all its security, stood upon its ground, and totally independent of
any other Bills, securities, or alleged securities, with which it had
been said to be connected. On that plain principle of the right,
justice- and expediency of Catholic Emancipation, he supported it.
As to the n:her Bills. he conlessed that they presented to hint a very
great difficulty, a difficulty not a little increased by the different
opinions he heard upon the subject of them, from all those
connected with Irish affairs of whom he sought information. The
Ecclesiastics were invariably favourable to the Civil Bill, slide
they expressed great dolling of the Ecclesiastic—while the civi-
lians were favourable to the Ecclesiastic measure, they con.
condemned the Civil. This s:range difference war, in his mind, a
satisfactory reason for pausing before he came to a conclusion upon
these important measures. Whenever they did come before
him, he promised to bring to them as much impartiality as if
they had been wholly unconoec•ed with any previous question.
One of his great ch.iections to one of the measures was his indisp.s.
eition to interfere with a great Constitutional privilege; the other
was the tendency to increase the power of the Crown ; for he could
not deliver his mind from the answer of an Hon. Friend, when he
said psy the Irish Clergy, and you have a Gosernment officer in
every parish. The lion. Gentleman, after some other observa.
tions, concluded by expressing his satisfaction, that upon this, pro.
b ,by the last occasion, when they would have an opportunity to do
an act of grace to the Catholics, they would carry the question with
such a triumphant makrity as would produce an effect spun that
House where alone it bad been hitherto rejected.
Mr. TRA Nl' rose amidst great tumult and cries of " Question."
The lion. Gentleman seemed to be reading front a book, but after
some violent gesticulatio n. and several attempts to raise his voice
above the clamour for a division, he was compelled to give way.
Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and the Gallery was
cleared fora division—
For the Secohd 'leading of the Bill - . 268
Against it - . . '241
Majority in favour of it - . • —27
Tellers for the Ayes—Lord Nugent snd Lord Duntannon.
For the Noes-31r. Goulburn an,. Mr. G. Dawson.
The announcement of the Majority was received with cheers
from the Opposition Benches.
The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of, and the
House adjourned at THREE 0 CLO:i Trots AIORNING.

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