The National Register.
London, England, 1812-06-28 00:00:00

JUNE es.

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the duty of Parliament to come to a final decision on this most
portal)t question. These were the principles on which his arguments
and his motion would be grounded. The concessions required had
been withheld on the ground, that to give them would constitute a
serious innovation on the constitution ; he must ask, at what period
of our history it was they conceived iis principle at its utmost per-
fection ? when it was defined, where built, when it received the
finishing hand, anti at what precise time it was incorporated
into the Constitution of the Empire ? Must the House look
hack to that period when the lust and pride of Henry VII I. induced
him to interfere, and, though one of the greatest tyrants that ever
existed, to produce that blessing—the Reformation ? when that
Monarch wreaked his vengeance equally on Cirtholic and on Protes-
tant ; when those who were for the Pope were hanged, and those who
were against him were burned ; when, in lieu of constitutional
guards, proclamations were the order of the day ? Was it in the reign
of Elizabeth, of which the latter years were oppressive u p.m the sub_
jest ? When she exercised most of the cruelties which her pride.
cesser had exercised, inflicting on the sect which the early pate of her
reign had overthrown, the barberities which that sect had inflicted on
th cc of the reformed religion ? Would they go to the reign of
Charles the First, or would they come down to liter times, to shew
at what period the Constitution was so fix:'',, with respect to the
Catholics, that the system ought not to be altered ? He would ask
those most clamorous for the continuance of the disabilities, who were
net aexious to depart from ancient usage, when and where the wis.
dom of our ancestors was to be found, which should induce them to
seecl nil for a system which flourished for a short time, hut which
Ii been gradually ping to decay f;or the last 5D years. It was for
them to shew to the House where the hazard of innovation l!y. Re-
laxations had been tried, and no dam; followed. A Roman Gene-
ral, when the army he had defeated were his prisoners, sent to an
ancient Senator, les father, to know what he should do with the van-
quished army. The answer to the message was, " Dismiss them
uoransomed and unarmed." This answer not seeming correct to the
Captain, he dispatched the messenger again to the Oracle. The se-
cond reply was—" Exterminate them to the last man." The coil.
tract between the two answers so astonished the Commander, that he
conceived the intellects of his father were hopaired, And he sent again,
and he was brought to the camp. When asked how he reconciled
the two answers, he replied,—" My first council .was to send off the
vanquished, and in so doieg you would have conferred a benefit on
your country, for you would have secured to it the everlasting grati-
tude of a brave and power ful people." Being required to explain his
second answer, he replied,—" My second council was the conse-
wince of your not attending to my first ; for if you exterminated that
:elm, you had resolved not to grant mercy to, you would have got rid
of a determined evenly." Instead of attending to this advice, he
neither exterminated nor conciliated, but passed them home under a
yoke. Our policy was somewhat similar towards the Catholics; we
neither conciliated nor exterminated them, but degrading them, made
them our enemies. It was curious what sort of oaths the Sovereigns
of Scotland took. King William and Queen Mary had, in the oath
which they took to govern that kingdom, a clause to this effect
We swear to be careful to root out all heretics, convicted by the
true Kirk of Scotland and of God, of any crimes." Now what mode
did they take of rooting out these heretics ? Why, Kng William
remonstrated against the oath ; but the Commissioners told him, the,
be must put his own construction upon it, and being of opinion that
it meant no such thing, he consequently swallowed the oath. Ac-
cording to the Catholic religion, yet not believing an oath could bind
them, lie had himself drswn up one for the Catholics to take, in order
to give the Protestants security. It had been said, that when the
Catholics complained, they should look abroad. He (Mr. C.) did ,
not like to teach them to look abroad, and if they did do so, they
would not be likely to derive great consolation from the view. There
were those who, referring to the transactions of ancient times, held I
them up to deter any concession to the Catholics. Good God ! what
would be said of the Catholics, if they, adverting to the cruelties of
the Anabaptists of Munster, to the blood-thirstiness of Henry VIII.
and Elizabeth, represented them as the tenets of the reformers ? To
such inferences we should object ; but the Catholics had as much
tight. to refer to them, as we to the practices of their progenitors.—
Such horrible attrocities in cold blood, only proved the danger of al-
lowing religious to mix with political feeling. It had been said, that
.Parliament ought not to give political power to Irish Catholics. They
hal given it. They had given the elective franchise to them. Under
the circumstances of a separate Parliament, he could easily understand
Why any hesitation should take place, with respect to the admission
of Catholics into that Parliament, lest they should out-number the
Pjotestants; but, in the Parliament of the United Empire, lie had no
difficulty in saying, that a hundred Catholic Gentlemen would be less
d ingerous (if, indeed, danger were a term at all applicable in the pre-
sent case), than a large body of Catholic Electors let loose to follow
he dictates of their own inclination, and who perhaps would exact
from their Representatives greater deference to their inclinations, from I
the want of sympathy which must exist between them. It had been I
refused to admit the distinguished for rank, for talents, and for virtue,
and the common herd had been permitted to enter the pale of con-
-47,1_00. The concession roust be complete. I f the proposition were
*4c by piece-meal it would bs from time to time rejected. lit had

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