The Sun.
London, England, 1833-08-07 00:00:00

M PE RIA_L PARLIAMENT
THIS DAY, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7.

HOUSE OF CO.VIMONS.

At a quarter past twelve, when the gallery was opened
we found about 25 Members in the House.

Colonel TORRENS preseneed a petition from Bolton,
signed by 3,000 inhabitants, praying that the Rev. Robert
Taylor, Mr. Carlisle. and other persons confined for ,ffences
involving religious opinions, might he released. He con-
curred in the prayer.
Colonel EVANS said that he understood the Rev.
Robert Taylor was already released, but that Mr. Carlile
was still in confinement, because he refused to enter into
personal security for the next ten years. The present
incarceration of that individual was the second he had
suffered for what be considered the proper maintenance of
his religious opinions. Without going into that ques.
tion, he (Colonel Evans) would observe that the
first sentence the prisoner bad received was for three years,
at the expiration of which he refused to enter into per.
sonal recognizances, and the Government of that day
caused him to be kept in prison for another three
years. He had now, by another sentence for three
years, made up altogether a period of nine years'
imprisonment—(Hear, hear)—and he could not now
obtain his liberty, b.scause he could not conscientiously
enter into recognizances, as that would be admitting
an error which, he contended, did not exist. Another
ground of objection was the alleged illegality of his con-
viction, as he stated that the late Recorder of London,
b.fore whom he was tried, had tampered with the jury. It
was a fact that one of the jurymen declared he had been
obliged to yield his assent to the verdict by sheer fatigue
and weariness. The Hon. and Gallant Member put it to
the Government. whether the periods of imprisonment
this man had suffered were not altogether unreasonabl..,
and expressed his earnest hope that his MajAsty's Govern-
ment would order the release of the prisoner.

Mr. A. JOHNSTONE said he could not see that the
man had anything of which to comp] ►in. He had outraged
the feelings of society, and it was only just that he should
he prevented from the continuing of such conduct. It di l
not sry much for the religion of the country from
whenc. the petition came (Lane shire) that out of
1.300,000 inhabitants, only 200.000 received religious
education ; and it was a mistake to say, as was too fres
qnently said, thit any religious opinions might be ewer-
tained in Americas as blasphemy was punishable there
as here.

Mr. SINCLAIR thought that prosecutions of this kind
only tended to propagate erroneous religious opinions, and
to increase the number of proselytes.
Mr. CORBETT begged to remind the Howe that Car-
lisle was not in prison on account "(any religious opinions,
hut for publishing a pamphl-t relative to the incendiary
fires, and that every person censured the sentence which
had been passed upon him. Ttiat pamphlet which would,
nut have been thought worthy o! not re at any other time,
was wholly insignificant, not above 250 copies having been
published. The prosecution was not conducted by the
Government, but by one of those busy, medding societies
in the City of London which ought not to have troubled
itself about the matt. r. As to the religious toleration in
the United States, we should not lo.tk to them for religious
toleration, for when he was there I,s' a man was in gaol at
New Jersey simply for being a Unitarian. With regard
to the people of Lancashire, he believed them to be as reli-
gious as in any other part of the kingdom. At all events,
20 new churches had been built there, and there were
plenty cf m-eting houses. The Honourable Mem-
ber (Mr. Johnstone), had not done justice to the
people of Lancashire, for they were not only fully
as religious as the people of any other part of the
country, hut they were religious enough.
Mr. JOHNSTONE explained that he merely went by
the public papers, that out of a population of 1,300.000
in Lancashire, only 200,000 had the bentfit of religious
instruction.

Colonel TORRENS bore testimony to the religious dis-
position of the inh ibirants of Lancashire, and stared that
there were a great twiny Sunday schools in that county.
The SOLICITOR•GENERAL thought he could ex-
plain the statement of the Hon. Member fur St. Andrews
(Mr. Jo',nitwits). In L incashire there were a great many
Catholics, and the Hon. Member, he believed, did not in-
clude those persons as Christians.—(Laughter. )
Mr. JOHNSTONE begged in as strong language as the
usages of Parliament showed, to deny that he ever in
tended to make such a religious distinction as that alluded
to by the H.in. and Learned Gentleman.
Mr. R POTTER said the Hon. and Learned Solicitor-
General had mistaken the sect which the Hon. Member
for St. Andrews said were not Christians; the Unitarians
were the sect which that Hun. Gentleman said were not
Christians. He could tell him that there were in Lan-
cashire many thousands of that persuasion. The circum-
stance m-ntioned by the Hen. Member for Oldham of a
person having been put in prison for professing Unitarian
principles, was another proof that persecution generally pro-
duced an opposite effect to what the persecutors intended ;
for he could also tell the Hon. Gentleman that the spread
of Unitarian opinions in America had been most rapid.
There was now hardly a town in that vast country in
which there was not a Unitarian Chapel—in the larger
towns two—and in the town of Boston, no less than
sixteen congregations professing Unitarian belief. So
much for the effect of religious persecution.
Sir E. CODRINGTON presented a petition from
Gloucestershire, in favour of a Local Courts Bill.
The GALLANT ADMIRAL gave notice, th it next session
of Parliament he would move that an humble address be
presented to his Majesty, praying that he would be gra-
ciously pleased to take into consideration the claims of the
poor seamen who had been engaged in the battle of
Navarino.