The Sun.
London, England, 1812-07-02 00:00:00

• land, in Ireland, in Scotland, anomalies relaxing
that which ought to be restrained, and restraining
, that which ought to be relaxed—he asked if there-
was any thing on the Face of this scheme of laws
so beautiful and So perfect in theory, as to deter
_ their Lordships froth approaching' it, with a
.view of considering whether it might not be sus-
esptible of some improvement He thought' no
one would venture to reply in the affirmative.—The
next question then would be, what tvas .the prac-
tical effect of this system ? Was it such as to in-
duce a forgiveness of its theoretical errors and ano-
malies ? It sometimes occurred, that the most
adva.nlsageous practical results proCeeded from.
theoretical" error. 'Wns that the case in the pre.
sent instance?' • This system, when it operated,
inflicted a positive stiffering. He insisted, that to
be deprived of the capacity of holding any civil or
military office, or of enjoying a seat in 'Parlia-:
ment, was to -endtire a positive suffering. It was
a degradation. It was unworthily secluding indi-
viduals from the society of the great
"mass of their
felloW-subjects.. He would go farther.. It was
not only a suffering, but it was a suffering of the
„nature of a penalty. • Was not an incapacity to
hold ti civil or military office one of the heaviest
penalties'tfoit could be infi cted ? Was it not by
the established law the penalty annexed to the
commission-by public men of high misdemean-
ours ? 'would go still further. ,It was slot
only a suffering, it was not only a penalty,' hut it
was of the nature of persecution. persecu-
tion exist only in tire -rind faggot,, in the racks, or:
other torture ? He for one could n6f consent to
continue- the visitation of penaltiO amounting to
persecution on religious opinions, because they
were sue posed to involve political tenets, which
those who were said to' hold them forswore ;
whch the first authority of the Popish ehtirch dis-
clai7ned, and which stood only on the imputation
nf having heels the acts cif a doUnCil ro longerin
existence, and Which could never he reVi.TVed.
Much stress would; no dollot, • be laid Ontbelan-
page that had late's, been used by a. part iif the
Catholics. :in Ireland. Their Lordships would
probably behold, that, they ought not to be influ-
enced ,by menaces. Far was he from wiihingthat:
they -should be so. But he was sm7rsnatiled that
they would very weakly understand their duty as'
the hereditary Counsellors of the Crown, .
they objected to take 'into legislative consides,k;-
tion any just causes of discontent; belaUse
that discontent Might, perchance, be expresSed
in warm and itivoiarded terms. The 'question
ought to be, whether just cause for discontent
existed ? If he Could chew that his case was
proved; but he would go beyond-this; ,he would
maintain that in his conscience he did not con=
ceive it possible to expect that discontent should •
not arise out of the laws as they stood, operating
upon the
,description of persons to .which the
question referred. What was the tendency M
such discontent ? Must not the effect of it be to
weaken the national spirit—to diminish the na-
tional resources—to establish., in the heart of the
Empire, a feeling hostile to our own Government,
and well disposed to that of the enemy ? Did it
not go to create a party adverse to the National
Establishments, and above all to the .Church
Establishment ? It was impossible but that such
an effect must be produced, from the depreciation
• which a part of the people suffered in their civil:.
rights. This indeed was danger. It was indeed
dangerottsAhat a large class of persons, not per-
witted to participate in the privileges of their fel-
low subjects, should find their interests int;Mates
lv implicated with the very existence of the
Church Establishment itself. Nor had the exist-
ing system effected even its Own objects ; and the
mischiefs which it had produced Must increase in
proportion to the reluetance4f the Legislature—
he himself would say to remedy, but certainly at
least to consider the evils that it had occasioned.
If Parliament should deter Mine, that $t was their
ss, wisdomnot even to consider the claims cif 'the
Catholics, .he feared that those rischiefs and
evils would increase in a progsfessive ratio,
until . they arrived at a point whiels he would
not venture to describe, but which be en-
treated their Lordships seriously to contem-•
plate. Another view might be taken (Adds subject.
What had been the '-effect of thiS system in that
part of the United Kingdom in svhie It it-had been
enforced with severity ?—And what had been the
effect in that part of the United Kingdenn in which
the system bad been relaxed ?- 'lldd tie severity
produced quiet hr Ireland ?: In Scotia-Id, where
the whole system differed, and where that strange
anomaly existed, by which Papists were rendered
eligible to all civil and military ,offices, had the'
Catholic Bishops in Scotland interfered with the
Presbyterian establishment of 'that country ?: The
conclusion was irresistible, namely, that if, where.
the operation of the system was enforced, the
greatest injury resulted;;. and where the operation
of the system was relaxed, no injury whatever re.
suited, the continuation of time system, Without.
any attempt at remedy, and still more Without any
disposition to consider it, must 'rapidly and clan-
gerouslysincrease the evils that at present existed.
—The next consideration was, what would be the
probable effect 'of a change lie had heard, it
pnbliciy contended, that a change would produce
nogood eaect in Ireland. What was the audio-

city to which those who uttered that assertion re-
ferred ? The examination before Secret Commit-
tees of the House of Lords and Commons in Ire-
land of certain individuals, who declared that Ca-

tholic Emancipation would not hay the slightest
effect in tranquilizing Ireland. In answer to
this, he would appeal to the experience of all his-
tory. If a certain class of individuals were evi-
dently enduring- a suffering of the nature of a
penalty, and amounting to persecution, a suffering
etk~iversallycomplained of by the Protestant as well as
by the Catholics—would not the conClusion, that a
removal of that suffering would•not be followed
by a cessation of discontent, be contrary to the
ordinary course of human feelings and human of
fairs -% " But it was said, " there are other

causes of discontent in Irelind." Suppose' this
true, was-there ever such a maxim held by.a State
--was there ever. such a doctrine adopted 14. a Le-
gislature, as that, because a great variety of pub-
lic grievances existed, one, particularly pointed
out, and the cause and operation of which Were
renxiered irrecistibly evident, ought not to be re-
tricrect ? For himself, he was persuaded—although
it wag UOt a subject on which it was possible-dis=