The Sun.
London, England, 1813-05-12 00:00:00

i
if the question were no wstiriz.d, he Woulastver dkaiu
bare the same opportunity of.standing as it were
,upon a pinnacle-from wbence he 'could conimand
A full view of the suffering's of his fellow-subjects.
There was a tide in the affairs of men, upon the top
of which they were now riding, and their object
should'be to remove every thing that could endan-
ger their progress ; let then) hut once move back,
and who knew what clouds may arise to obscure
their passage ? who knew what causes of irrita-
tion may spring up to inflame on one side, and to in-
timidateon the other, men who were nowstretching
out their bends to'each other ? 13ut the majority
who voted for, the.Resoiutions last ,year, and for
the Committee in this, left no doubt on his mind
that. the present motion would not he agreed to.-:;•—•
When twoßight Honourable Gent lemen,(Sir Wil-
liam Scott and the Speaker) had given it rte their
opinion thatthe law's against the Cetholics could not
stand as they were, belied little en fear that twenty
such motions as the present could prevent the Ca-
tholics front obtainiine their object: There ,were
good reasons for preferring the way of proceeding
by Bill, because in this question .the principle was
all in all. A Noble Friend of his (Lord Liver-
pool) had said in another House—Let use see
the principle once decided by Parliament, and I
will tint he so shabby as quarrel with the detail. Let
them. then decide Upon' the princiPle in that House
and he had no denbt that it any person proposed '
an indefinite delay in the other, his ,Noble Friend
would act tip to the principle he professed. He
was one "of those who , thought the busineSs,
should uot be precipitate:l; hat it was not on the
second reading. when the Bill was to be perfected
that the complaint of precipitancy should be
made. If the•difticulties that attended the ques-
tion had vanished, they had vanished, not by the
means of inquiries made in Africa or Anterica.
They had vanished before the discus,.;ions
of that Hoese.e, find the finding of a „para-
graph in , the corner of a tiewspaper'should
not bring them back again. The House allow-
ed that the principle of the Bill was relief CO
the Catholics from their disabilities ; and that re-
lief attended with certain qualifications. 2 His
Right Hon. Friend (Mr. Grettan) and he•agreed
in this general object ; bw he (Mr. Canning),
from his
,knowledge of the public mind of this
country, thought that more prevention was neces-
sary th`awhis Right Hoo:,Friend seemed to sup-
pose. He there‘fore proposed certain chases, with,
a promise of support', if they were admitted into.
the 8i11'... There were three points upon which they
dwelt who opposed the Bill. .The first was the
necessity ofeaseertaining the loyalty of the Roman
Catholic Prelates. The second p'n yegdrded
the See of Rome ; and the third was some se-
curity that the beneficence of the, Legislature
sould not be thrown ewne, 'but met by a con-
ciliatory spirit .on the part Of the Catholies.--e
On the first .point there was -a plan that had
been much discussed, namely, the . Vetb.----Tk
more he considered that lilan, the less he seas
satisfied with it, not upon
.Catholic, but upon
Protestant groneds. Ao Estabislimentefor. the
Catholic *Clergy was not now under consider:44M.
Tito st, e of things which the Hon. Baronet
seemed i...sirotti; to iotroduce would rte;o4nize all'l
endow a Catholic Hierarchy. Th;s was not his
'object, nor the subject of the Bill. He, desired,
therefore,, that,hia, chnoes may not be. viewed in
reference to such: stn object. The Bill was for acle
mitring the Catholics tO civil franchises, With9nt
any reference to their Clergy. With respect to
Bishops, testimony and not noinipation was
what the Crown ought to require. The Fion• Ba-
ronet's sketch wasnoteapplicablete the. Bill, lie
alluded to many points through which It was not
his intention. now 'to 'follow hint.
,He steted,
that some of the, Bishops nmy not be canonically
elected, but what was it to them whether they
were or not 1- Whether they were elected by than
anal Chapter, or by any other untie, what was that
to the ilonsel- lf-, ti:cv were to inquire into this
subject of canonical election, they.raust read the
Mognuin Otateriani, ;Ind malty inure quarttis before
they could come to a decision. .Testintony then
being the only thing to.he &Mantled, where 'was
it to be looked for,' but among those who were'
most likely to know the character. of the candi-
dates for electimi ? He proposed doing this through
the medium of the five senior Catholic Pecr, and
he ditinot knoVe uponevliorn.he could better impose
so far the duty of guarding the Constitution, tulip
upon those who had been just admitted to the
full enjoyment of it. The testimony of such. per-
suns would give more perfect assurance of the cha-
; racter of A. Man, then Could be obtained from,auy
Secretary. The Honourable Baronet said,• that
in the gross ignorance . in-which they wereeaud
in which he (Mr, Canning) hoped, they would
Continue, with respect to* the formi of election,
a disloyal person may be made Bishop ; a charac-
ter which, athorg the Catholics, was indelible.
Why then be would say, let that dieloval Bishop
go to the country of his preference, he should
not
,remain here. The second point upon,
upon which the Hononeable Baronet clwet, was
the necessity
,of contrinding the correspAdence
with the l'ape. For this purpose be had a plan
jn`his box, bet fortunately he did not produce
it. 'lt was certainly je t-
st thaa jealousy should
.be eeteeteined ' of-.such a correspondence:--"-"
There existed a law- since the ;time. of' Eliza;
beth ' for the prevention , of . it, which made the
receiving any hillis or ' interdicts in - this ' coun-
try high trelson. Notwithstanding- such tte law,
bulls-of this kind were frequently reeeivede "Was
this ehen a ground upon which the Bill was to
be delayed, until the Honourable- Baronet
lead returnees from his.. circuit of the 'globe ?--.
He would go into the Committee not sit bi-
goted as to 'exclude all further security, ii'i t
should be judgedneeessary to the State, hitt the law-
against the: Catholics should he no longer allows
.ed to slumber in obsolete black letter. (Here i)s-.
Thiigennn rose, bat sat down- ogaih amidst cries of
Ordep .1) He would now come to the third point. ft
Was said that the Catholics Would take edvatitage of
.
their concessions, but ma,ketione .theteselves. The
i
cushion of the C —at Acmes "could not he eollected
until afier the enactMent. -For this third point,
he would endeavour toproyhle iu this manner—
that the live Lay Commisiioners should meet at a
- agility given
nte iont'lete'ritfpteelt.viiislit),:'S'illt7r'trthol ft.ittithee ebi'll'ei te't amid that
time tjie Commission began to act,. ;1,, eel), all
the ccattnuuicatitn4 4e 404 -remind, hang TritSOn