The National Register.
London, England, 1819-05-24 00:00:00

2mperial /3arlianunt.

110115 R OF LORDS.
MONDAY. MAY 17.
n 491.09 CATUOLIe et.Al9l9.—The Earl of 1:10g01.1011-
3101tE foot:on the Order of the Day fur taking into consisleratio3
the Catholic Claims, and after it short speech, in which he tugs d
the Claims of the Homan Cstholi‘a in the r sot strenuous manner.
morsel. .• That this House do resolve itself into a Conimittce of
the whole House, to consider the state of the 'wet (with a view
so regulation) which refer to qualification for the enjoyment of
evil U... 1191. MO far as relates so Roman Catholic sttlijects. end
vahether it would be expedient to allow Or modify their claims
to oerticipation in the privileges enjoyed by Protestant subjects."
The Iltslioo of WORCESTER, ths.lainieil ill-aril towun.a per-
sons who differed from him in forms of worship. He rapeetel
every man who alined up prayers to the authot of his exanuce
yet he could not go the length of saying the Legislature ought to
give up to the Roman Catholics restriction metssary Per the
safety of the E5t,41.,:h0l Church. Ile held is to be a principle
admitted in every State. that thole who held the offices in the
State should be of the established religion. He amid not consent
en grant the claims of the Raman Catholics upon another ground.
In cue they obtained the object they then had in view, they
w.eald not be content. but go on to obtain the establishment of
their religion and the subversion of the Protestant Church.
The ILsho s of Nonw ;en deprecated the attempts male to
encite alarm by crying the church was in danger. There could
lee no danger to the church in granting civil rights to one fourth
of his Majesty's inbjects. The christian church could never be
in Jtriga while its Ministers acted upon the principle of Chris-
tinaity I While they raid, do untootheri even as you would have
others do unto you. The chu-cli was not obe supported by Test
and Corporation Acts. Reason au every
.day gaining ground
said benevolence with rm-reei to Sectarian principles- Aremark-
able change hail taken pace its the minds of reple within a few
yerra past. In this ever changing scene of human life reason
would ever prevail. Its dictates should be of eyed. We should
by a goner: t: and wise policy abandon pessecating Statutes only
lit to bind demons. .

The Iti.hoe uf PaTZIII3OILOUGII said, if the question had been
MC of toleratton, he should williugly twee ;totted to it, but it
was a question of potty. He could- readily mantic, that men who
believed in teansubstant;ation, naiet bca allegiance to his
Majesty King George ; but if at the same time they oseyed the
autoority of a foreign Potentate, they could not bear the same
allogionee to the King that a Member of the Established Church
troa;gl bear. He trusted the decision of the House that night
wou:d remove all cause for apprehension.
The. Loan CHANCEL LOll uppoe:il the motion. He found
ao securitita—nothing that coined reconcile the Piotestant mind to
the doctrine of the Pupe's Supreni Icy. Looking back to they ear
rfifio, dawn to 166 e, he found the efrat iif Roman Catholic
tenets, and if thee: teoets were not dangerous, then the Acts
which hues leeeti passed wile all instantes Cl the greatest imposition
ever practised in this ter say other ontntry. In IGCS, a solemn
&impact was enteral into between the people of this cuunuy and
the Kier, for the support of the Protestaut interest. We weie
to have 3 Protestant King, Parliounent, and Government. By
the great principle of that compact, no man who falows that
God weo keeps us all could be persecuted in this country fur his
relseents.qpnoion. On that pruiciple no man could sit on the
ill 1031! WIL,IOIIL being a Protestant. It was a proviso that he was
not to be assisted by Roman Cat colic advisers in Council. The
laws ware nit to be admini acres! by Roman Catholic Judges,
and he w as so be supported by a subordinate government, consist-
ing of Protestants, to enable him to make good the compact and
pledges, and if he had Lot made them good, every man in the
country would have been released from his allegiance. The
compact the King could nut make good, it Government did not
enable his. The No'ole and Learned Lord then adverted to the
argument. which went the length of dispensing with the oath,
dcnyin, Cie Pope's supremacy. lie observed, we live in times
of wonder. bet it I had heard of tha discovery of a North-West
passage. and rcrivtual motion, I should nut have been more
surprised titan to hear that a man could sit in Parliament
without taking the oaths. If you can find any Lord in this
House who has nn. taken the oaths you may impeach me this
night. The lord Chance'lor cited the hiMbest law autholigies,
proving that the CO3Vstlitiol could not admit the repeal of those
important Result:ions which supported a Protestant Govern-
enact. His &icy to his Sovereign, to Perliainent, and the
King's subjects, together with his oath token as a Privy
Coutwehur did not allow him to accede to the claims of the
Romaneatholie Petitioners without those securities which
weuld sathrfy the people of Englund. The Church of Home had
given up nothing, and the Country felt that the security °trued
was imutiicient.

Earl Garr said, that none of the disabilities now propo,ed to
be removed were to be found milling the securities taken fin the
Protestant re,gion at the revolution. Allot* them were imposed
either before or after the revolution. None of them was to be
found is the Blil of Rights or in the Act of Settlement. If, then,
he could prove that all those disabilities were occasional, the whole
argument if the noble and learned Lord went to the grouril.
The cons:ittition, the noble and learned Lord would admit, was
fundamentally and essentially Bee. At the revolution securities
had ben taken to guard me national freedom. The hill of
Rights and the Act of Settlement contained those &murkier,. Yet
the noble and learned land would be the lan to contend that those
sceur:ties were so e,sential and fundamental as to be inseparable
flora the constitution. and that they could not be altered. 'l' he
purity of Parliament was provided for both in the Bill of Bights
and in the Am of Settlement, and it was enacted by then that
an plaeetnan could have a seat in Parliament. Yet a few years
&feu:arils this provision was repeeled. A similar repeal had
takeo place of an enactment of equal authority respecting appeals
to the privy council. At the revolution it had been provided,
that Parliaments should be frequently holden. Two years after-
wards it was enacted that the other house should be elected every
torte years. Yet it was well known that by the let George I.
this act had been repealed. The septennial act was one of
doubtful right. which Le thought justified by. the necessity and
danger of die dines. But now diet the necessity and danger ex-
isted no long's, its continuance was injurious to the character and
enr...aitution of Parliament. In like manner the right of peti-
tinimg was provided for in the Bill of Rights. Would the noble
and learned Locd, however, say that Chit right could not in any
circumstances be %Lade the subject of qualification and resit fiction
The noble and learned Lord himselt had laid his null:allowed
hands or, the most sacred security of the constitution, when he
suspended the right of every man to a joy personal liberty, or to
have a fair trial by his country ; and yet they were now stopped
Foot ary further application to their Lordships, on the ground
ti.r.t whatever had been establi,hed at the revolution was funda-
mental and essential. Of those laws which were now complained
el, the first was the corporation act, which had been passed in the
first year after the restoration : its cbjett ass to exclude from
Parliaii,ent, not the Catholics. but the supporters of Cromwell,
who had overturned the government and the constitution. The
next law was the test act, in the 23th of Charles 11. That law
bail been Mee:tett against the Catholics. but particularly against
SeC fkihe of fork. The Disser.tei.:, alto bad zealously sup.
vatted tins me, sure, were hardly trtatid, since they hail this act
still sa.penettl over them. But the occasion of this law ass
ecaniftw4 temporary.
.Thr MU law was the so& a Cherlea 11.