The Sun.
London, England, 1825-05-11 00:00:00

Catholic countries of Europe, took en oath of entire submission
to the State, the Catholic Bishops as Ireland were not to do so
also. In France, and indeed in every country in Europe, the
Crown exercised entire controul ever the Bishops. In none
were they permitted to possess the powers, which, if these mea-
sures were sanctioned by the Legislature, they would possess.
—But it was said that the' Bill contained an efficient security
against any improper conduct on the part of the Catholic Church:
What was it ? The establishment of a Board of Catholic
Bishops ! Suppose it were required to secure the country from
the danger of suffering embezzlement or imposition from a
Chancellor of the. Exchequer, would it be considered a very
judicious proceeding to establish for that purpose a Board con-
sisting of four Lords of the Treasury ?—(A laugh, and cries of
Hear !)-Really it was not a subject on which a grave man
would throw away the powder and shot of an argument. The
very proposition for framing any Board at all implied the exist-
ence of jealousy, the necessity for inspection; and then the par-
ties respecting whom that jealousy existed, and whose conduct
it was thought necessary to inspect, were made comptrollers of
their own acts, anti judges of their own cause.—(Hear, hear !)
In none-of the former measures of a similar nature had so great
an absurdity been introduced. In the Bill proposed by Mr.
Grattan, whose name was inseparably linked with the recol-
lection of the most eminent talents and the most ardent pa-
triotism.— (H ear, hear !)—The Secretary of State and a Lay
Board- were to be appointed, for the purpose of inspecting the
documents received- by the Catholic Bishops from the See of
Rome. In Mr. Plunkett's Bill, the Chief Secretary for Ire-
land, and one of. the Secretaries. of State for England, were to
be appointed the inspectors. But it had been said that it was
a principle of the Roman Catholic Religion not to allow un-
hallowed eyes to behold these sacred .documents. Against this
assertion, he would confront the whole practice in France from
the time of Henry IV. downwards ; the whole practice in Spain,-
and in every other country in Europe; in all of which those.
communications from the Papal See were submitted to the in-
spection of the Ministers of the Crown. He begged the House
to consider the state of publicopinion as to this question There
were 263 petitions against it, and only 5-1 for it. The petitions
against the present measure were not the emanations of the
Clergy, • they were the spontaneous presentations from the
Lally. He should forget his character of a constitutional
lawyer if hr voted for the Bill, and supporting it, he should
consider
.himself as supporting a system of trickery and char-
latinism. Ile should therefore consider it his duty to move,
that the Bill be read this day six months.
Mr. HL'SKISSON protested that, after the course of his
long Parliamentary life, there were few things he could look
back to with more entire satisfaction than the votes he bad
given for the partial relief, and general removal of the
disabilities of the Roman Catholics. He considered the
present measure as having nothing to do with the doctrine
of the Hierarchy, or as affecting the morals of individuals,
either in their relations of private life, or in respect to their
obligations in civil society ; but he viewed it solely as a ques-
tionbetween -subject and subject. On this ground lie should
vote for the present measure, and he was convinced that it
would tend to allay the discontents that had prevailed in Ire-
land so much to the prejudice of the general interests of the
empire. Vie disunion that had been created upon this subject,
and which still existed, had the effect of retarding the progress
of prosperity in time of peace, to render the period of peace
less durable, and to endanger every interest whenever war
should arise, dissevering the feelings of the country, at the pe-
riod when it was the most essential that they should be concen-
trated.--( Hear !)—He conceived that as to the principle of
the question, all discussion was long ago at an end, and he
should- therefore confine himself solely to the convenience of
the question, as far as it immediately concerned Ireland.—
In this point of view, the evil generated by the present sys-
tem of the laws -was one of the greatest magnitude. lie
would beg the House to consider die extraordinary circum-
stances under which the Protestant religion had been first in-
troduced into Ireland—it had merely transferred. the endow-
ments of the Church, • without transferring the opinions and
feelings of the people. This was the basis of all the diffi-
culties which had arisen in the management of the Catholic
Question with reference to Ireland. Many considered the trans-
fer of church property which had taken place in Ireland upon
eke Reformation to be as irrevocable, and that the present
right of ownership in the Protestant church was as valid as the
gtheral possession of property in either country—and that to
unsettle the property of the church would be to unsettle all
other property, and to disturb the Government of the chun-
try. Putting aside such questions, which at least admitted
of diseute, he thought the present measure amounted to this—
was the evil of the present system of religious intolerance in :
Ireland, of such a nature that it might wear itself out, or whe-
ther it was likely to increase or ti continue to the extent of in-
juring the country ? Was it fit to-let an evil of this nature take.
its course, and go on year after year, or was it requisite to-
check it by Parliamentary influence? The question, however,.
seemed no lOnt.;er to be whether any thing ought to be done,
the difficulty was rather to ascertain what the Government ought
to do. Al! consideretions of converting the Catholics to-Pro-
testantism were- now at an end. The hope of converting
6,000,000 of Irish to the Protestant Church, was too absurd to
merit attention, and the point now was, to consider these people
aconfirnied Catholics, and to deliberate upon the extent to
which the House might go in removing the disabilities under
which such Catholics laboured. It had become the duty of
the House to inquire and ascertain what the difficulties of
Ireland really were, and it behoved -all parties to acknow-
ledge-that the question did not admit of being longer post-
poned. Lte would refer to time opinion of one Military
Commander of authority, who knew well what the value .
of ten thousand men was in tranquillizing a country, and.
be was of opinion that the granting of the present ques-
tion would do more to tranquillize Ireland than keeping
up an army of such an amount In that .country. The
greatest loss that Ireland suffered tinder the present system,
was the diversion of millions of capital into other chan-
nels, which lied otherwise been employed in the encourages
merit of her industry, and the improvement of her advantages.
. She had, however, advanced considerably in other respects-e-
in knowledge, in education, in liberality.and was in every
respect better qualified to receive the boon than she had been
• some years ago. It was said that oft ancestors had provided
by these disabilities against speculative \langer, but it became
that House to contrast with those speculative dangers the real
and pressing emergency to which the system had given rise. •
The Catholics came before them as supplicants,; they were
hacked by a great portion of the intelligent Protestant popula--
tion of both countries. What danger then was likely to• arise
from the grant ? Some persons might think that the Catlin-
i lics spent every hour of their lives • in deliberating how they
might best destroy the Protestant religion all, over the earth.—
But what was it they now demanded ? To be admitted within
the pale of the Constitution. - Was it likely to suppose, that,if
i they were admitted, they would apply themselves the next.
moment to destroy what they were so anxious to participate in ? If they did, what would they theta become ? • Not
supplicants for justice, which constituted their strength-( Hear,
hear !)---but aggressor's :ind enemies to the Constitution, whom_
I they were bound to resist. But it was absurd to anticipate
! such result, unless we could believe that they were at the same
time the most desperately wicked, and desperately foolish of
Mankind. The Secretary for the Home Department, though.
lie seemed to think that something might still be granted to the
Catholics,. under certain circumstances, maintained the neces-
-1 city of their exclusion froth the Bench and from both I-louses
of Parliament. He seemed to think that there might be an in-.
divichsal of that persuasion possessed of such transcendant ta-
lents as to command a situation in the Coundils of the country,
if there was not a law to prevent it. But if, on acquiring such
a situation, he proceeded to-use his•power for the overthrow of
the Constitution, he must, with all his talents, be not only a
bigot but a hypocrite, and the slave of an ambition such as
had' never actuated any man before in any popular assem-
bly. In that House he would be taught to move in the
legitimate sphere of his ambition, but if shut out of the pri-
vileges of the Constitution, he would become here, as in Ire-
land, an eccentric and blazing comet, over which they could
have no controul. He would warn the House again And
again, that it.would be their fate to deal with combinations as
formidable as those of the Catholic Association, if they did not
get rid of those childish prejudices and apprehensions which
induced them to persevere in refusing their claims: He
wished it to he distinctly understood before he sat down, that
neither his Right Honourable Friend, the Secretary for Foreign
Affairs, nor himself, had any concern in the framing of those
measures, which were called the wings of the Catholic Bill, nor
any knowledge of them until they were stated to the House.
In voting for the other measure, he was influenced by a desire
to chew that he was prepared to concur in carrying. the great
question of the Catholics into effect, by agreeing to pecuniary
arrangements, if it should be necessary ; but when Honourable
Gentlemen talked of details which were not before the House ;
of allowances to Archbishops and Bishops, and others of the
Clergy, lie begged to be considered as not pledging -himself to
any such proceeding. As far as lie could judge at present,
upon a subject so difficult, lie thought he should be unwilling
to place the Catholic-in the condition of an established church,
but that the provision for the' Clergy should be left dependent
on the Crown, like that of other Dissenters. He would not now
enter into a discussion which was not before the House, nor
could lie until the principle of the measure of relief was agreed
upon. Ile would therefore conclude by entreating the House
to deal with that important question in the manner and with
the tone of .men who were fully apprized of its importance to
the prosperity and well-being of the State.
Mr. PEEL said he was anxious, before lie made any obser-
ttoeaarnnoebdsearae-nataioemn
rations on the immediate question before the House, to allude
last.. The Honourable and Learned Gentleman had said-upon
awnh i(c3ll
rh. aßd r
odroppedugiam )f rionmthaen
dHe
boantoeu
or ail IFer
da na (31,
. .
that occasion, thgt Dr. O'Beirne, the late Bishop of 11Teath,

had received his ordination originally in the Catholic Church.
The widow of the Bishop of Meath having seen thatstatement in
the papers, had addressed a letter to him (Mr. Peel), requesting
that this error might be corrected, and declaring that the
Bishop had never been at any time ordained into the Church of
Rome. The fact, he believed, was, that Dr. O'Beirne had been
educated at Paris, where, at an early period of life he saw reason
for changing to the Proteistant faith.. Ile subsequently became
a member of the University of Cambridge, and was there or-
dained for the first time, he believed, by Bishop Watson. The
House, he was confident, -would excuse this trespass upon
their time, as the widow had expressed considerable anxiety
on the subject—(Hear, hear, hear !) In proceeding to the
question itself; it was not his intention to occupy them long ;
he had already offered every opposition to the measure
which he was capable of giving, his opinions were on re-
cord, and be should not seek for novelty where he could not
find it, nor abuse their indulgence by exhausting their pa-
tience. He- would, however, avail himself of that oppor-
tunity to express his decided adherence to the opiniOns which
he hail already avowed. Ile could not concur with those who
thought that nothing more could be granted to • the Roman
Catholics, for he had repeatedly expressed his willingness that
the Roman Catholics of England should be placed on the same
footing with those of Ireland— Hear, hear !)—and the Noble
Lord who had brought forward a proposition to that effect
would give him credit for the sincerity of his intentions, as he
must recollect that the measure had his entire approbation.—
But his opinion was unaltered as to the expediency of reserving
the Executive Government and the. Chief Officers of State to
be-filled by Protestants, under this. Protestant Constitution.
When he saw the Civil contest which had arisen from religiohs
feeling, both in Scotland and in Ireland; when he saw that the
Reformation and the Revolution in this country were brought
about by such means; he could not help thinking that religion,
at all times a powerful motive, would still continue to influence
the transactions of mankind, and the great occurrences of em-,
pires. It was therefore that he did not not think it right to •
remove these barriers which had been set up for the protection
of the Protestant ascendancy (Hear, hear !)—An
Ilonpur-
able and Learned Gentleman had done them the favour to
read a most learned treatise on the Constitution, for their edi-
fication, but he seemed to have lost sight of an imPortant'faet.
This principle was, that the exclusive laws against the
had their origin at the time of Charles IL when the coun-
try was in a state of ferment upon these subjects. But that
was not the period to which they were to be referrelea-
They were coeval with the Reformation. The Honour-
able and Learned Gentleman would find that an Act
passed so early as the eighth year of Elizabeth, imposing
an oath upon such Catholics as were elected Members of that
House, which, if the Honourable Gentleman -would propose as
a substitute for the present form, might readily be adopted by
the most anxious advocates of exclusion. The authority of a
peamble in the time of Edward the Sixth, had also been al-
luded to, as if the policy of that period was peculiarly favour
able to the views of the Honourable and Learned Gentleman.
—According to the eloquent language of that preamble, the
season of summer required a more light and liberal clothing
than that of winter, and so of more quiet times. But he (Mr.
Peel) had taken the pains to look at the enactment of which
this preamble was the exordium, and he found that the " light
and liberal clothing" was of a very different nature from .what
the House might beled to suppose. It was, in fact, a measure
under which the Honourable and Learned Gentleman might
have suffered death for delivering such a speech as that in
which he had pronouced its eulogium.-•--(A laugh.)—He found
in this enactMent that any person Who maintained, either by
speech or in writing, that the King was not the supreme head
of the Church; sheu'd be deemed guilty of high -treason, and:
should suffer the penalties of death and confiscation ac-
cordingly.—(A laugh.)—The apprehensions, which lie can-
didly avowed, upon contemplating the admission of Catho,:
lics into Parliament and the high .offices. of State, were not
lessened by the guards proposed to be introduced, and which
seemed to give satisfaction to many.. His Right Honourable
Friend (Mr. Buskisson) seemed to take a little alartn upon
that part of the subject when he protested against being under,'
stood to approve of making the Catholic Clergy independent.
of the Crown, or . placed, on a different footing with respect to
their allowances from the other Dissenters. Yet, what was the
meaning of the words " provision,by law," contained in the
Bill for which lie had voted, if they did not mean that such a
provision .should be made independent of the Crowh,. which
should have no discretion to exercise in the case ? Ir ever there
Was a question that ought to be left to the Executive Govern-,
ment, it was. that of conducting the arrangement with the
clergy, and he did not think it was likely to forward the object
•of that negociatiop much, to shackle the negotiations on both
sides with a resolution of this nature. It was true that the plan
was: not yet formally before the -House, but he would appeal to
the House -Whether the _plan of remuneration for Archbishops,
Bishops, Priests, and other Clergy, was not distinctly explained.
The words of the resolution indeed were. general, but the lan-
guage of- the mover was explicit- enough. It was competent
to them to take die provision for the Clergy either out of the
pockets of the people or the funds of the Established Church.
This was the alternative proposed twthem ; for his part, lie had
strong objections to either. If hereafter it should be
deemed expedient to adopt some such provision for the Roman
Catholic Clergy, he would shew that they could not be
too cautious in deliberating upon- the arrangement, when
they knew, from the mouth of Dr. Doyle himself, the extreme
degree ofjealousy with which they looked updn any interfer-
ence on the part of the Crown in matters.with which the Pope,
as the head of their religion, was in any way connected. He
thought the House would have done better, if theyhad paused
before they agreed to the resolution for making a provision for
the Catholic Clergy, and leaving that matter entirely to the Exe-
cutive Government, who could alone conduct it to a satisfactory
result. He thought that the chief Executive Officers should.still
he Protestant. It implied no degradation •to the Catholic; nor
would it lead to animosities which could interfere with the:im-
partial administration of justice, to which every man in the
community had an equal right. He was aware that much use
had been made by the advocates of the Catholic Association of
the alleged inequality in the administration of justice. But
after all the evidence that had been—gone into for the
purpose of investigating that charge, the proposition was not
made out. Hit had been made out,-or it he saw the slightest
reason for supposing that such inequality realy did exist,
there was no concession that he .would not consent to
I make, in order to give them that security which, as members
of the state, they were entitled to demand from its laws.
Ile would not deity that the hopes of the Catholics had been
excited by the great talents they had seen engaged in their
favour. His,Right Honourable Friend had advised him to re-
lax his opposition, but he had heard no arguments which could
induce him to take that view. On the grounds he had always
stated,. he still thought that exclusion to the extent he had de-
scribed was necessary. to the safety of the country. He pre-
ferred acting on the dictates of his own judgment, after having
heard all that could be said on both sides of the question, to
following the advice of any other persons. He thought it stets
slue to himself, due to his • public character, and due to his
own consistency, a° take the part lie did, he did it with re-
gret, as differing from gentlemen with whom, :on all other
questions, he had acted with the greatest cordiality, and for
whom lie had the highest respect.(Hear, hear !)—He took
on himself the responsibility which might belting to this line
of conduct, but he had been no party to the hopes of the Catho-
lics,. and it was his determination to adhere to his duty, and
oppose the measure. _

:Mr. BROUGHAM rose amidst some cries of Question, and
began by assuring the House, that after twelve nights' discus-
sion—due, however, to the great interest at stake, and due to
the Catholics—it was not his intention to trespass on the House
at any length, when there could not possibly be any novelty of
argument—when the question had been over and over again
exhausted—when he had previously given his reasons for his
opinion--but he felt himself called on to make a few observa-
tions as to something which fell from him on Friday evening,
and which had drawn forth an observation from the Right Hon.
Secretary; and he should add a few words as to the measure
itself, which he hoped would preclude all further debate. The
Honourable and Learned Gentleman then entered into an ex.
planation relative to what he had said of Bishop O'Byrne. IC-
had been understood lie said that the Bishop had, in the early
part of his life, received orders from the Pope which had been
afterwards repealed. This was not a solitary instance, as he
understood a gentleman, at present a very pupular preacher,
had never received any but a foreign ordination. If Bishop
O'Byrne had not received Popish ordination, it was singnlar.
that this should haVe been so generally credited. He (Mr.
Brougham) in saying so, only said what was generally under.
stood. His friends denied it, and he had himself stated the
same circumstance about five or six years in the House.:—
Bishop Finchley, it was said, gave him the Protestant ordina-
tion, but it was always a matter of doubt.—[Mr.. Peel here
shewed the Honourable and Learned Member a letter.]—He
(Mr. Brougham) said he did not deny it. He was himself sa-
tisfied, but there were other people Who were not satisfied ;
though it was probable the mistake might have arisen from the
brother of Bishop. O'Byrne having been a Catholic Priest,—
[There was here some interruption, and the House manifested
symptonis of impatience.]-111 r. Brougham assured the Meni-
hers he should not be long, but that he should necessarily be
longer in proportion as he was interrupted. The Honourable
and Learned Member then proceeded' to make a few observa-
tions -on the measure itself; and, in reply to M r. Peel, spoke
nearly as follows :—Sir, the arguments which have been most
strenuously advanced,- and OR which most stress has been
laid, both as they apply
to this measure and its two ad-
juncts, refer chiefly to the dangers to be appfeliended to
the Protestant Establishment, both in Chinch and State,
`! by granting any political power to the Catholics, who, it
I is said,. will be bound in close and intimate union by the
bond of their eornrnon faith and a large majority of the Irish

people being Catholics, they will return to this House a ma-
jority of Catholic Members, who being also united, will endan-
ger our establishment both in Church and State. To me, Sir,
this apprehension of danger seems as nothing, for I find
the very same argument urged, and the very same species of
alarm founded on them 120 years ago. We have had expe-
rience that the alarm then sounded was groundless, that no mis-
chief has been the consequence ; and I call on the House' to
dismiss from their minds all alarm of danger from the present •
measure, as equally grounless with that with which our Pro-
testant establishment was threatened 120 years ago. At that
period, when the Union with Scotland was proposed, the
House of Lords was told by the Bishop of Bath and Wells,
the worthy predecessor of the present Bishop, who was un-
derstood to be one of the violent opponents of the Catholics,
that _the Government and - the Protestant Church' woohl be
exposed to great danger by the admission of sixteen Presby-
terian Peers to sit in the House of Lords, who could not be
suppesed, well affected to the Church of England as este- '
hlished by Bishops, Priests and Deacons. Danger too was ap-
prehended in Scotland, but there the 'matter was viewed in a
different light, and it was said, do not send sixteen Lords and
forty-five Commoners, the flower of the land, up to the English
Parliament, for if they go to that land where there is a Church
provided with Bishops and Deans, they will be converted from
Presbytery, and will bring much danger on the Church of Scot- •
land. The argument is equally good on both sides ; the ,
alarms arc both equally groundless, and the experience that
they were groundless, which we now, have, should make the '
House reject as equally groundless.the alarms which were now
propagated, and suppose that 120 years hence they would he
regarded by our posterity with the same sort of sniile with
which we now regard the violent apprehensions of the Pro-
testant Bishop. Violent fears, Sir, are also nourished
against the Protestant Priests, and loud alarms are
hounded more especially against the Jesuits. But may not Je-
suits be found, or men whose doctrines are like those of the
Jesuits, even in this House, and among the persons whe are
th most friendly to e Protestant Establishment ? I have heard,
Sir, of such aperaon, a great friend to the Protestant-Establish-
ment, a great eneiny to the Catholics—a Prelate, Sir, for
iyhoui I have a great respect, a verylearned and pious Divine,
Who says, that when a man signs the Thirty-nine Articles, he •
is not called on to believe eves's, oneof them, but to have a gen
ral belief in the whole s there being, Sir, I suppose some, whirls
are overpowering in their evidence,' overdone with belief, while
there are others which are deficient in belief, and others which ;
are null ; sonic, Sir, which are at flood, and others at ebb, and
Some standing still; and- out of all this a man, -I suppose,
makes up an average belief,. sa that he assay swallow down the
whole, and take the living and the ankles together.—(Hear !
and a laugh.)—Or perhaps thesearesiiallowed pareMhetieally,
as it is always in a parenthe: that such things go down:—
(A laugh.)—l must object, too, against that injustice of select- s'
ing an individual, and taking his sentiments and opinions
as the sentiments and opinions of a ,whole
.mass, charg-
ing on it whatever absurdities and whatever errors he may
have fallen into. There can be no greater injustice; but- this '•
is not all, for the pamphle-s written , by- Bishop Doyle at one
time, are contrasted with his examination taken at another ;
and though the writingsSaf Bishop Doylai contain Many things '
which I do not approve of,. which _I wish he had never said,
and which the Bishop himaelf probably wishes he had never ,
Said, yet May not the contrast observed between his writings,
and his evidence, have originated, in that kindness which
'the Catholics have since received,—they have since seem
the door of Parliament thrown open to them, and the House
condescending for the first time to go Seriously into their case; -
candidly listening to their. complaints, honestly allowing that ,
their grievances ought to be taken into consideration, and
bending our minds to give them redress; and if this is the causes`
of such an alteration in the sentiments of the Catholics, what •
more reason, Sir, can I, or. can any man give why we .
should carry this alteration further-eadiniteing the Catholics to '
all the benefits of the Constitution, incorporating them with
us, encouraging these kindly feelings, by doing away all dis-
tinctions;and if so much good has bi,en done by just allow-:"..
ing them to see a part of the •Conititution through a chink'
as it were—if they are so - much reconciled to us by this
mere glimpse, what May •We not 'expect by thiowing the
doors wide open. to them, and admitting them to all the
honours of the Constitution ? if the, doors- are thrown wide
open, Sir, there will then be no difference, and that confidence
in our-Government. and in the Ptotestant,Establishment will be '2
completed, of which we now see the beginning. But I must,
Sir, protest against taking the Opinions and expressions of one
person. as the criterion for judging of the opinions of a large
class of men, and of making the opinions of that one the stand- ,
ant for all. flow would gentlemen here like to have,themselSose
judged of in- this manner ? Are there no individuals-in the
House ? Ate there never any speeches made here, which Geo- -
tlemen would not like should be adopted as the standard for the
whole ? Such an lion 11Ieniber made a speech the other night, in
which there was .no, great. portion of Sense, no great accuracy of
grammar, would the Right Hon. Secretary like that this speech
p
should be adopted as the criterion foie:judging of all those who
opposed the CatholiC Question ? Vapid lie be leased that
Such-a-one, or Sir Something Such-a-one, should be taken as
a sample of? all those who opposed the Catholics, and that the
whole of the opponents of that measure should be described
, according to the speeches of one or two individuals ? Persons,
too, may be found out of the Hotise, great supporters, of the
establishment. Hon.• Baronets, or Honourable and Reverend
Baronets, who write books and letters against the, Catholics ;
and the Right, Honourable Secretary will not certainly
that all the -friends of the• EstahliShment, all the enemies
of the Catholics, should he described.-as these persons are.--
Again, Sir, it is said that there is danger of persecution from'
the Catholics, and that the Catholic Church is essentially per-
seeuting; but this does not belong to it as Catholic ; it belongs- .
to it as possessing superiority; and the same spirit has be--
longed to every Church. Persecution. is not 'reserved for one
Church, but belongs to all Churchei at that particular periode;
When any one has oairied the ascendancy, and all difference of
opinion is not put crown by reason, and at this particular crisis-
every church is persecuting.- Give priests power, and let there,
only be honest men living under them who have the courage td
think for thernaelves, and differ from the Priests, and the
priests will always be ready to persecute and Crush them. Not
only, I repeat, has the Catholic Church, but every Church
been persecuting. Even. Luther, Sir, I fear, the first person to
protest against the Catholic, the great reformer, ;Vas not exeroPt
from the spirit of persecution. Our Church is not Lutheran'
but Calvinistic, and of that Church which talked so -much of
the persecution of the Catholics,. Lord Chatham said, • that we •
had a•Calvinistic Creed, an Arminian Clergy, and a Pop'sh.
Ritual. And what did Calvin; whose creed we follow, do .
Why he burnt, he tortured- Servetus, for differing from hits`e
about some iota of faith. Cranmer has been referred to ; h°:'
Cranmer was not without the persecuting spirit—but I need
not go abroad to_ seek for instances of persecution, nor g°
so far to find them', nor seek for them beyond the Pro-
testant Church; for • there was in-Scotland, not more than --
120 years ago, as bloody a, persecution as could be found in the
annals of any Catholic country—a persecution carried on by ;a -
tyrant, the Sovereign of this country, and his more tyrarooe
Minister against the Covenanters, whom they persecuted untodeath like the primitive Martyrs, whom these people resembled,
both by the constancy with which they suffered, the virtues they
possessed, and the torments they endured. They were the
honest men who had a different opinion. from the Priests, and
they were persecuted. Now we hear' violent language,
puted heresies, and apprehensions of still more violent proeee
ings ; but let us open the door of the ConStieution, and we
shall hear no more of this crimination and recrimination—n°
more bandying about the charges of Jesuitism—no more "
agitation and violence, and- they will only be knowts
matters of history for our children. Let us remember the. •
memorable words, of Thuanus, as they were quoted by thf,
Right Hon. Gentleman. " Proseriiiiiones, at the very top (3`
a climax, he exclaims, wounds, death and proscriptiOn—" pr°'"
scriptiones irritasse potins quart?, snnasse- morbun: menti inhce-
rentem." The country, Sir, is now at Peace—but are there no
s
circumstances which may make this
-transient ? And if this
peace should be transient, where are we to look to but
Ireland for the interruption ? If , the peace be national in
e
England, -but if in Ireland is is kept by tae
pointat
point of the bayonet ; if there they see only the hand of Mal
ready to oppress them, or the hand' of Government surf;
with a scourge ready to torment them ; can the peace We
enjoy be secure? If that peace were gone, -there is no point.s
of so much danger as Ireland. To this spot foreign P9vve
turn delighted ; those who like to seek out our blenushfs'
turn their views on Ireland. There is not one part of Irish;
affitirs which does not find its way into every Gazette 0_!-,
Europe, and these is not one of the Holy Allies who- doe;
not dwell with rapture on the troubled state of Ireland•
would take this pleasure from them. I would deprive th
of all hope froM Ireland. There is not one feature in-
case which. 'is not published in' the Vienna Gazette—it is
filled with the events relative to Ireland, while it never no-
silent
tices any-other point in our domestic policy ; it is
silent on those domestic reforms which are pouring.the peasn'
of the world into our country, but it is careful to, record_,
every circumstance connected with Ireland. This may :Tbi.,,,
as an exaMple for all the fsreign urnals. Ireland is time
they delight in, and this blot I would take care to remove, I
. they should not have one spot to dwell on with pleasure; and
wOuld
Dublin make
and theomrk,loowkitwhitii
whichthe satzydinstoewmpreergedardfeeltiognsdoll
ha
and Edinburgh. There may be foreign causes which
sfre-
break up this peace, and whenever that shall collie, ,
land will be the point of danger. Let the House reinea-
ber the American* War,'-the beginning of the French'
volationary war—let diens remember little more than ten yet 7;
re
ago, when it was a receivedopinion that Ireland was .not
+strength but the weakness of the Empire, when she hardly ape
peared to belong to us, and was almost looked on ai a provw'