The Sun.
London, England, 1822-06-01 00:00:00

FOR THE SUN.

ANTICIPATION,
OR,

A SPEECH which might be spoken, (but perhaps will not), on
the introduction of Mr. CANNING'S Bill, for regulating the
Constitution of the House of Peers, into that Most Honoura-
ble House.

" MY LORDS-Without expressing much of
that surprise, which I presume every Peer must
feel, on an attempt from another branch of the
Legislature to interfere with the Constitution, I
forbear to say the PRIVILEGES of this House, I
am desirous to come at once to the question,
which, in so singular a manner, has been brought
under your consideration.
" My Lords, if we look to the whole proposal,
which has commonly been called THE CATHOLIC
QUESTION, the subject is so wide, that I should
hesitate to address your Lordships upon it. A
discussion of this kind can hardly be borne, even
by those who are most hacknied in political ar-
gumentation. On the very mention of it, a sud-
den horror seizes every hearer, lest he should be
condemned to hear, for the five hundredth time,
the same stale arguments repeated, on the one
side or the other; and be obliged to listen to the
praises of liberality and toleration, the excel-
lence of which, in their proper places, lie never
doubted ; or of the tendencies, equally clear to
him, of Popish influence, wherever admitted and
allowed. On these topics,My Lords, I will not
touch. If they are not exhausted, which I do
not think they are, they- have been too much
bandied'by the public voice to be fit for intro-
duction here, and I pass on, with much alacrity,
to a particular branch of the inquiry.
" The newest aspect of the business is the
curious, and, I must say, the insidious form, in
which it is at present brought before you. Baffled
in repeated attempts to bring the whole question
at once to issue ; and baffled, I say with pride,
chiefly by the firmness and consistency of this
House, the friends of the measure have had re-
course to the extraordinary ingenuity of the
Right lion. Framer of this Bill, to invent some-
thing which might not create alarm, and yet
might serve their purpose in the end, as well or
better than any thing more decided in its form.
lie has not deceived their expectation. He has
contrived a measure, which to the enginery of
the Romish Church would give a rot/ crtcy, a
centre of action, by which our whole Protestant
world might in time be. shaken to its base. It is
la maxim, I have heard, with those whose practice
it is to enter dwellings surreptitiously, that where
the head %s ill pass the body will undoubtedly
follow. Whether it be true or not, in the bodily
experiment, I shall not inquire ; but that it would
be fully verified in this political measure, I feel
it impossible to entertain a doubt. Admit the
Romish Peers to sit with you on these benches,
and not a plea will be considered valid which
may be urged to keep their brethren in exclusion
from the remaining branches of Magistracy, Le-
gislature, or official situation.
" lf, indeed, the.only question were whether we
shookd gratify our brethren of that persuasion
as individuals, as worthy and amiable indivi-
duals, I should feel, and I doubt not that the
feeling would be common to every Member of
this House, that we could not be too prompt
to accede to any of their wishes, which would be
not more to their advantage than to our own gra-
tification. But, my Lords, there are cases when
imperious duty commands us to refuse our own gra-
, titication, and to oppose the wishes of our clearest
friends, lest, by yielding to those natural influ-
ences, we should desert our proper post and le-
gislative station, to the permanent and grievous
injury of the whole community. It is not that
restoring a few excellent men to their hereditary
privileges could in itself prove dangerous or per-
nicious ; but it is this,—that, by abandoning-the
great principle of Protestant ascendancy, which
experience, as well as 4.isdom, has she‘sn to be
so necessary to the safety of our whole constitu-
tion, we should make a breach in its defences;
which no subsequent exertions could sufficiently
repair. It is not. a small opening in its walls
which puts a garrison in danger, but the weaken-
ing of the general fortification—its inspiring ef-
fects upcin the assailants, as well as its disheart-
ening influence on the-defenders.

I am perfectly ready to give all possible cre-
dit to the Noble Lords who may advocate this
question, for the uprightness of their intentions,
and the benevolence of their feeliogs. It is to
he urged upon us, I understand, as a measure of
justice and of peace !—On the former point, I
,hail no further touch than to observe, that if
it be justice to injure the many for the sake
of the few, it is a kind of justice which I wish
not ever to see administered in this House or
io this country. Our Government and Con-
stitution are Protestant. To Protestants, there-
fore, are cotrimitted trusts and offices of in-
fluence which are intended to be exercised for
the common benefit of Church and State. Into
these important trusts, if it be just to introduce
one set of enemies to the State's Religion, on
t‘ hat plea can any other be excluded? Why are
we not to have also Jewish, or even Mahometan,
Councillors and Legislators to assist the Defender
of our Faith ?

" But I hasten to the other part of the plea,
the peaceful nature of the measure proposed.
And here; my Lords, I take my stand. If it
were, indeed, a meas•ire of peace, there is, I be-
lieve, no person in this House who would more
warmly espouse it than he who now addresses
you. But, in my judgment, it appears a project
hatched in the very temple and sanctuary of Dis-
cord, to serve the direst purposes of that worst
enemy to human happiness. We are told on sa-
cred authority, that the beginning of strife is as
when one letteth out water.' A trifling stream
at first escapes, perhaps only a few drops, till
Cie ope►►ing, gradually enlarged, pours forth a
torre►►t, whicl► carries death and desolation over
all the country. The measure now proposed will
cause, perhaps, but little alarm, will make but
a slight inroad upon the Protestant constitution
but, followed by others, which `as certainly must
follow it as hour succeeds to hour, it will soon