The Sun.
London, England, 1851-02-08 00:00:00

FEBRUARY 8, 1851.

tion whatever on the subject.—(Hear, hear.) He says
he does not recollect the circumstance ; and it is olio
which he may well have forgotten, supposing it had even
taken place. But, even if the story be true, it is surely
a most astonishing inference to draw from the circuit:-
stance that there happened to be a paper lying on a table,
which parer was never read by the Minister c f England,
that he had given his consent to the aggression which
had been made upon this country.—(Cheers.) Be it ob-
served, that supposing the story had been told with com-
plete accuracy, it is nut alleged that the Secretary of State
or the Pope, or any other person, said, " Here is a paper
that we would wish you to take and peruse, and submit
to your Government." If anything was said at all, it was
only, " That is a project that concerns you."—(Hear.)
Now, having said this. I must refer for a moment to
the conduct which has usually been observed by all
ecclesiastical bodies in the several states of Europe.
It has always been the nature of all ecclesiastical
bodies to press upon the temporal powers in every
state.—(Hear, hear, and repeated cheering.) I have
myself had frequently to repress the aggressive conduct
of the ecclesiastical body of the Church of England when
it has been partially or unitedly attempted to trespass on
the spiritual or temporal liberties of other ecclesiastical
subjects in the realm.—(Hear, hear.) And if this be
the case with ordinary ecclesiastical bodies, how much
more so is it with the Church of Rome, the members
of which are more than any others devoted to the ser-
vice of their ecclesiastical soperiors, and subject to a
power which claims for itself the quality of infallibi-
lity.—(Hear, hear.) But in the first place I must refer
to the peculiar practice of the church of Rome,
and if we may judge of the instances which
have come to our knowledge, the Church of Rome
has at all times been opposed to the progress
of liberty and civilization, whether exercised over men
or states. I will at once show how this power was used
when applied to a state which was confessedly Roman
Catholic. Sir, this power was asserted in the most arro-
gant manner by Boniface VIII., when he told Philip the
Fair, of France, " It is fit you should know that you are
subject to us in temporal as well as in spiritual
things."—(Hear, hear.) Now, the country that has
had most to contest this power'of the Roman Catholic
Church, the country which I should ray had most suc-
cessfully contested it, but at the same time amid repeated
danger, is that very country of France.—(Hear, hear.)
I have read 'kith great pleasure and instruction the
work of Dupin, who is now President of the Legisla-
tive Assembly of France, but who before he attained to
ministerial office had turned his attention to the study of
the progress of ecclesiastical bodies. At the beginning
of his work upon the liberties of the Gallican Church he
makes an observation to the effect, that though Rome
has for the present relaxed many of her pretensions,
she never entirely loses sight of them; that she is a
power which has forgotten nothing, and learned much—
that she is a power which is neither in infancy nor
widowhood; hence she can struggle with temporal
States at all times with means of which those tempo-
ral States are not often possessed.; that therefore it re-
quires the utmost vigilance and the utmost attention
to watch against the aggressions of the Church of
Rome, and to preserve the temporal liberties of
any country with which she is connected.—(Loud
cheering.) And here I find a word of admonition
for the Hon. Member for Sheffield (Mr. Roebuck); M.
Dupin goes on to say that philosophers thought
that they would be able to stop her pro-
gress, but philosophers found that they were mistaken.
He held that the greater part of men, whether from re-
lieteus cenvicions, whether from habit, or whether from
a regard of the opinion of the world, are governed by
religious feeling, end do not attend to the opinions of
philosophy. Sir, M. Dupin then states in a very small
book, but containing an immense quantity of learning
upon the subject, what are the rights and liberties which
France has asserted in its contest with Rome. Now
some of these—rind so with regard to other
states—naturally enough relate to the appoint-
ment of bishops and other ecclesiastical officers,
who are dependent upon it in any way, receiving sala-
ries or emoluments from the state.—(Hear, hear.) Well,
Sir, but even supposing that those who conform to the
will of the Pope ought occasionally to be tolerated,
there are maxims that have been establised
by law, maxims established by the dicta
o: all the courts of justice in France, which
are well worthy of our attention.— (Hear, hear.)
One of these is. that no command of the Pope can
be received in Franco without the content of the
Sovereign. This rule applies not only to appointments to
ecclesiastical benefices and bishoprics, but it applies gene-
rally to anything that may be ordered by the See of Rome.
There is another maxim which was laid down
by these judges which likewise is well worthy
of our attention. In order to preserve entire
the temporal independence of the King of France,
it was laid down, that if any person should
introduce any bull or instrument affecting the spiritual
excommunication or censure of any persons in the ser-
vice of the King of France, all his goods and property
should be forfeited to the Crown. Sir, that
was a very important and strong power, but one which
was rendered necessary by the assumptions of Rome
herself, for had the King been left without
this power, he would occasionally have been in a
state of extreme insecurity. Such, then, were the
general maxims, such were the laws of France, during
the time of Philip the Fair, and the power, too, was ex-
ercised by the Kings of France under the monarchy.
by Lewis the llth, a saint of the Roman Catholics.
A VOICE —No; Lewis the 9th.
Lord J. RUSSELL—Yes, and Lewis the 11th and
Henry the 4tb. All these princes exercised the power as
fully as it had been exercised in any subsequent
time; but there is another circumstance which I think
well worthy of our attention, because it completely an-
swers the argument that with respect to what his once
been done by Rome cannot be undone. Now, according to
the concordat mado by Napoleon at the commence-
ment of the present century, in connexion with the
Pope, the archbishops end bishops of the Roman
Catholic Church of France were entirely de-
prived of their rights. There is another circumstance
of that nature which occurred in 1817, when the King of
France, bowing to the wish of the Legislative Assembly
of that period, induced the Pope to annul a decree
abolishiug the concordat of Napoleon, and from that
time to this the concordat of Napoleon and the
law has remained the same.—(Hear, hear.) Now, do
not tell me after this that the Pope can never retrace
his steps.—(Cheers.) Do not tell me that what
once is done by Rome must remain in
force for ever, arid can never be altered,—
(Loud cheers.) Do not tell me that whatever re-
sistance may now he made by the nation to the edicts of
the Pope is useless, because Rome will not listen to our
remonstrances, or recall her decrees.—(Cheers.) Sir, I
pass now to what was once the law of Austria.—(Hear,
bear.) Austria is a great Roman Catholic power, but
the laws that she made were of the most stringent de-
scription respecting the introduction of Papal bulls, with
respect to Papal appointments, and with respect
to Papal offices. She declared that the civil power was
supreme, and that nothing should be admitted into
the empire without the sanction ot' the Emperor, that no
document should have force without the sanction of
the Emperor, and that no appointment could be
made that had not his confirmation,--(Hear, hear.)
No intercourse was to take place between the clergy in
Austria and the Pope without the knowledge and sanc-
tion of the civil power, and that every document which
proposed to inflict spiritual censure or excommunication
should be subjected to a mixed body of the clergy and
laity, and should not b© valid without their concur-
rence. This shows, then, with regard to another great
Roman Catholic power how great has been the jealousy
of the encroachments of the Church of Rome on the
temporal power of Austria. Sir,
having stated the prac-
tice of these two principal states of Europe, I will not go
into any of the others, but I will state generally that no
Roman Catholic power, which as far as we believe—but
before I complete the sentence, I will state that
the Emperor of Austria last year (1850) made a
new constitution with respect to the clergy,
and has permitted intercourse, by bulls, between his
ecclesiastical subjects and Rome without the knowledge
and sanction of the temporal power, and therefore with-
out his sanction—(Hear, hear)—but I was going to say
that with regard to the Roman Catholic powers of
Europe there is no one, so far as I am aware, that
would permit any bull to be brought into the
country without the previous sanction of some civil au-
thorities of the country. Such ir! the case with reg ird
to Portugal. Her Majesty's Minister at Lisbon has in-
formed us that no bull is permitted to be published and
inculcated in Portugal of which notice had not
been previously given, or which had not re-
ceived the Prussia,
onerei of the greatestgning powers.
cweievehdevethbe coeentnocludrrtehnectein
Protestant powers, that though the King, out of regard
to his Roman Catholic subjects, has given a power by
which the appointment of bishops is regulated by the
Pope, yet that when it was proposed to create a
Bishop of Magdeburg and some others in the
Protestant territories of Prussia, the Government imme-
diately referred to the articles of the treaty of Westphalia
and refused totally and entirely to give their consent to
the introduction of these bishops.—(bear, hear.) Well,
Sir, at least one inference is to be drawn
from this narrative—that there is no country in Europe
in which the Pope would have endeavoured to pass the
insult which is ofered to the Queen of England.—(Loud
cheers.) I now come to the character of the bull
which has been introduced into this country. —(Hear.)
This document purports to be issued without
the smallest reference to the United Kingdom
being an independent state. There is not a
word in it from beginning to end acknowledging that
any authority exists whose consent ought to have been
asked.. The archbishop who is mentioned in it is spoken
of as the archbishop of this great city, where the Queen
holds her court, and where she meets her Parlia-
ment. Other bishoprics and other sees are pretended
to be created in various parts of the country which are
now under the bishops of the Established
.Church. In
the document issued by Cardinal Wiseman, in pursuance
of the letter of the Pope, he declares—" We govern
and shall continue to govern the counties of Middlesex,
Hertford, and Essex."—(Cheers.) Now, I cannot
see anything in these words but an assumption of terri-
torial authority. Some may say this is all a matter of
form in the custom of the Roman Catholic Church. I
do not deny the authority of those forms, but there is
another term which has not been mentioned, which
begins, " Victoria, by the grace of God," and
which is totally icconsinteat with the ether.—(Loud
cheering.) I am ready to admit that this was only en
assumed authority; but I owe no gratitude and thanks
to those who do not attempt to enforce it, because I
know it is utterly impossible for them to
do so. But it is quite enough for me to
know that it is an assumption—(Cheers)—anti if any
person . had come during the time that the Pretender
wLs rCi,idlng at Rome, Ind s. d l he had ben nepointed
by him Lord• Lieutenant of Middlesex, tlte real Lord-
Lieutenant would still exercise authority, but the person
who improperly assumed it would be subject to punishment.
Now, Sir, I must refer for a few minutes to that which