The Sun.
London, England, 1812-04-22 00:00:00

tuft religioti, mild and amiable in itself, Gail been
her too freteently made the in4rurnent of intolea,
ranee and love of blood. Let the country avoid this
stigma. To Parliament the petitioners looked tor re-
dress. Let Parliament convince them that am Wand
just iceatill dwell in the country, and here still loved
. to build their nests. He was well aware that the man
who spoke his sentiments freely on political subj its'
must raped to be. calumniated ; but he who felt the
anior patriee, and had the welfate of his country at
heart, would not hesitate to put on the armour of
Curtius, and plunge into the gulph for her salsa-
lien. He Might perhaps be a, cused of indispo-etion
cowards the Established Church. On the contrary,
he was one of its wannest friends ; and he should
continue to conceive it-
the most perfect system, as
long as it should' continue to be the most charitable
one. It was the cause of humanity which he was
anxious to advocate. If a man were prevented from
_Manifesting his religious opinions, he must become
either a silent. and suspicious charaier, or a hypo-.
' critical and detestable one. The wiseit way was,
to leave all religions to themselves, as long as
they did. riot disturb the quiet of the commu-
nity.. A 1 good Giavernmeuts had tolerated a
diversity of - Relig'ons. On the principle of
toleration, the Greeks and Romans cenquered the
greatest part of the known world, leaving to the
,countries which they subjected the erne enjoyment
of their laws and religion. To the same cause
might, in a great degree, be ascribed the success of
modern France. How advisable would it be in this
point, to take a lesAna from our evenue., and thus to
gain millions of faithful and loyal subjects. His
Roy 4 Highness proceeded to a detail of Ecclesiasti-
cal history, in order to Oliew, from the authority of
Pope Gregory, and others, teat the Sovereigns of
Cbentries in Europe had by no means been
uniformly considered as ading under the controul
of the Pontiff. No country had. re,isted Papal in-
flaence with so much determination as the Citholic
Sovereigns and Parliaments of this country. Even
four hundred seats before. the birth of Henry the
Eighth, Catholic judges of England; in expounding
the laws; decided against the supremacy of the
Pope. William the Conqueror had . refused to
swear obedience to Pope Gregory VII. The ob•
taining of Magna Charta, that palladium of our
liberties, was attributable to the thinness of Cardinal
Langten, aided by the Nobles, Although cettamly
Henry VIII. was influenced by privaje rather than
by public views, his opposition to the Pope was no-
. turious„ Mary, although she armored min of the
Ads of Henry VIII. would not allow the Pope to
interfere in-the State. Elizabeth re-enacted those
Acts, but such was the wisdom of her policy,_ and
so judicious her toleration, that had the Catholics of
Spain landed in England, they would have found
Caftdics and Protestants equally .hostile. His
Royal Highness referred tO the auzhoritay of the best
writers, to shew that the Catholics did not acknow-
ledge any power in the Pope dangerous to the State,
and that their faith and loyalty might be depended
upon. If it were necessary to answer the vulgar
belief, that Catholics did not think themselves
bound to keep their woad with heretics, the beha-
viour of Maria Theresa, a Catholic Princess, to her
Protestant subjeCts might be instanked. When
she was surrounded by tier enemies, she said to her
Pieeiestant subjects, " Take toy son, guard him, and
when lie beconies a Sovereign, he will Strew you his
gratitude." And at a subsequent petted, this Ca.-
tholic Princess repealed the restrictions which her
predecesior had imposed on their Protestant sub-
jects." This noble conduct he contrasted with the
-conduct of queen Anne towards the Catholics,--
He then took a view of the situation of things at
the period of the accession of King William, and
contended that the revolution was very different,
considered as it effected Ireland, from what it was
considered as it effected England. In England
it was the effort of the great body of the people
to establish their liberties in opposition to a
Small party in Ireland it was a ,small faction
establishing its own authority in opposition to the
people at huge. The exclusions complained of by
the people of Ireland were exclusions of which they
Might well complain, as he thought any thing that
went to deprive a man of the fair meats of sup-
porting himself in that line of lite most agreeable
to himself, robbed him of the best rights of nature,
of those rights which were dearer than life itself.—
Such exclusions were unknown to the Coustiiu ion,
and eventually they would destroy the Constitution,
or the Constitution would •destroy them. He
then took a view of the Protestant and Ca-
IbOi:C Settlements, Services, and. Establishments,
and. contended, that, from this similarity,. there
was a prospect of their feeling no hostility
towards each - other, of a nature that could
at all endanger the State, if the Catholics
were relieved from their disabilities of ,which they
complained. The doetrine of the Catholics he
e thought presented no barrier to the most•cordial
union with Protestants. He would ask, were we
not even now co-operating with the Catholics of
Spain ; and thus aiding the Catholics abroad by our
exertions, and injuring those at. home by our asser-
tions?. Our conduct in the .cape, instance belied our
sentiments in the other. Notwithstanding all that had
been said, that this was not the proper time toge into
a Committee on the subject, he thought, whether it
was a question of right or of justice, that they ought
to go into the proposed Inquiry. It had been send it
was not a proper time to go into it, On I.ccount of the
disturbances which had taken place ; but surely it
Would not be maintained, -that because the- people
were turbulent, it was necessary to give them cause
to be so, in older to make them quiet. •He knew
the Catholics felt a warm alma:lenient to their coun-
try, notwiths'atiding all the disabilities under which
they laboured; and no man could deny that such
disallitiies were grating things. He had .secni when
at [tome, in one Of their large rooms, a pietore of
-their Majesties, and this he thought furnished -an
incontrovertible proof of t: eir attachment to their
Sovereign. In those moments' when indulging in'
solemn reflections, when standing as it .were almost
facds to face, with his Maker, lie had aked himself
seriously, what if, was that court recommend him
to the mercy of the Almighty ? tie had mentally
answered, that all hopenauss be founded on fellow-
ing the Divine precepts dictated by the Creator—to
love one another, awl' not to do that to another
which he would not like another to du to him. This.
was his" feeling, strengthened by • a consciOusnesta
that the more fan hfully man pert°, ined hiri'day
here below, the greater would be his reward on
hio at • I'