The Sun.
London, England, 1828-12-17 00:00:00

PROTESTANT MEETING at A SHBOURO

On Monday, pursuant to a requisition of the Inlll
bitants of the Town of Ashbourne and its vicinitfo,.
Meeting was convened by the Magistrates, for t.M:
purpose of petitioning the Legislature against Olt
further concessions to the Roman Catholics. Tis!-
Meeting was convened for one o'clock in the dsk
but in, copsequence of there being a meeting of Olt
principal inhabitants on the affairs of the town, OP
Anti-Catholic Meeting was not held till late; 04
had therefore an opportunity of making some 15'
quiries respecting the town and its inhabitail
Ashbourne is situated 139 miles from the metropoW
it may be said to be a purely Protestant town, as
are given tv understand that there has our}
been a resident Catholic in the town since till'
French prisoners were there ; its population is abOle
9000. Compton Brook, famous for its prime trolar
atrrlas having contributed to the sport of thir.
Poetic Anglers, Walton and Cotton, glides J.fl
there—the principal church i 3 a rectory, of which
Dean of Lincoln is the Rector; it is dedicated to Ptr,
Oswald by Hugh de Patishall, who was Bishop ,01
Coventry in FM. There are a considerable nom'
beg of Methodists, Calvinists, and Baptists here'
Sir Win. I3oothby, Bart., is Lord of the Manor; th 4
gentleman was expected to take the chair at • tb4
meeting, and the reason he did not, it was said, off.
in consequence of the recent death of the lament'
Earl of Li veipool.
The National School Rooms iu which thi meet,
ine,o was held, commenced filling with individtat?i
about two o'clock, when the chair was taken by
Henry Fitzhefbert.
The CHAIRMAN having read-the requisition
ing the Meeting, and having briefly stated its 01X:
jeer, remarked, us the room continually kept gettiot
more crowded with the inhabitants and county ger
tlenien, that it would be most expedient if they wel
to adjourn to the Ma:ket-place, where numbers Igo
assembled. This, however, was not approved o{,.
and the room, which is very large, .was'erowded tO'
excess.
The Petition to both Houses of Parliament a'o;
then put in and read, of which the following is I
copy :
To the Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual-0k
Temporal of the United Kingdom of Gre4"
Britain and Ireland,, in Parliament aisembled.
the humble Petition of the Inhabitanti of Or
Town and Parish of Ashbourue, ip the Coute
of Derby, and its Vicinity,
SheweAl—That your petitioners beg leave to e 4
press to your Honourable -House the high sense.`
which they entertain of the blessings.einoyed
this country since the Revolution established il!)
1688, when by the energy, by the wisdom, and the'
piety of our ancestors, his country was rescued frog'
the tyranny of the Church of Rome, and its constitir-
tionfounded uponthose pure prinCiples of Protestantisl
which alone can afford protection to the people, silt
security to their laws and institutions, and whic!;
principles, under ProVidence,. have been produetiO
of happiness and presperiry to the realm, and a 10,:,
of that superior degree of civil and religious libertli
for which our country is admired among the eats'
founding nations. That your petitioners see
deep concern the exertions which are made, espe'
eielly in Ireland, to alter the principles of our Cope
stitution, by abrogating those laws which tio`v"
protect them, and thus to expose us again to th.ej,
domination of a ChUreh whose foubdations are 10
in superstition, whose spirit is intolerant, and who!!:
history is marked with cruelty.
That your Petitioners, contemplating the ger-
gance and violence with which the Irish Rom 0.1!
Catholics now demand an alteration of the Constrii
tution, and from the existence of an Association
ting with all the forms of Legislation, and procvek2
ing in levying money, and arraying the people Pi!
the promotion of their designs—how they deny e
the Laity the unalienable right of reading the Holf
Scriptures, and pay a spiritual allegiance to a Foreign
Power, subversive of the civil duties and political
claims of the country in which they live, cannot bil6
view with alarm the danger arising from their 07
mission to political power, as unabated by time, arl.`"
the diffusion of knowledge—your petitioners thi!;.e;
fore, while they desire (as in duty bound) the
welfare of their Catholic fellow-subjects, in
moral illumination, most respectfully intreat
Honourable House to defend the. Constitution, boo',
in Church and State, against the dangerous adolc
signs which are demanded for them, in the preo/-
eventful crisis, and your petitioners will ever p 11317
&c. &c.
The Petition to the House of Commons was prr.`
cisely the same as the above.
The CHAIRMAN said, that all those gentleroc,ll-'
whose sentiments accorded with the petitiorieri
were to signify the same by holding up their harls;
A show of hands then took place,whichwas in favott
of the petition, as it was unanimous, like the Bridge
north election all on one side. The Chairman tiler"-
requested that all those who were averse to the petl'-
tion_ would hold up their hands—a solitary Land oresexhibited, which caused a great uproar, and shot-
of " Who is he ?- who is he ?" (A farmer, fror
the crowd, " Alt! who is he belike ? Maybe]) he,
wants to say summut.") The gentleman who he
up the dissentient hand declared that it was held Of/

"'in a mistake." He had int-endt:Y it to have eti:
pressed his satisfaCtiom of the proceedings.
A Gentleman moved that his Grace the Duke-
Devonshire be applied to, to present the Petition°,
the House of Lords; and that to the Cornwall:.
should be presented by the County Member';
}•
Mundy, Esq.
Dr. GREAVES, M.D., rose to object to the Dale
of Devonshire being applied to to present the vo•
tition to the House of Lords. He thought that
~.%
individual, should present it to either House, t'
had expressed himself in the least hostile to li,„s
4
views of the meeting. He would propose that o„,_
Lord Bishop of the DioCese be -applied to, to t.
sent the petition to the House of Lords. .
The CHAIRMAN said, that for obvious reasong4
would be more advisable, that the petition ShOS.,
be presented by a lay Lord, than Ecclesiastical Vera
GREAVE6 proposed that the Right
Earl Howe should be the Lord appointed to prod'•
the petition.
Capt. GOWLER rose and said, that he beg?
leave to second that motion, and would, at the Or
time, express his sentiments on the subject. of -Co,
Roman Catholic Claims. He did not intend, p
trespass upon their time by entering fully intor
question which had been so often discussed, but
_4
wished to state his reasons for being averse to
further concessions being made to the Roman n,;
tholics. He had for a considerable period live° of
Catholic countries, and had had an opportuniti,tie
itnessing the slavery in which the minds of.l,
professors of Catholicisni were kept by the leth'
of the Priesthood, and the civil as well as eecleer;
tical power the Roman CatholiC Church endeav,ll! e
ed to grasp in her own hands, which was'the:'7o
in England till our glorious Reformation. .Pricier
which millions of our countrymen suffered under. r
power; and shall we again let the power front:
own' hands ? asked the Captain, I. firmly- ansioithe
No.-- I tun persuaded that the sentiments of;:eis
meeting are the inane: (Applause.) 'Our forefetlog
at last broke their chains asunder, but in so 4°. id
how many of their lives were _sacrificed. Itris
that things 'are widely different now to what t -an
were in those days, but I say that the disPoOlie
of the .Church of Rome has, not changed in:,..t.re
least. All the euperstition -and intolerance e
riser times .still belong • to her ; it is true, in,°l;4
respect, that she has changed—that ;lie v9o"t
not persecute-abut why ?- Because 'she heg.-11,,
'the power; her nature, is not ehangeiL. 'Let
lion from. its cage, and it will -again shevr•the fe,
rocity of its disposition. He should conclude "1171
expressing . his cortlig:apiirObatiOn or the siittilb7
the meeting, and lie congratulated
.the toff irtt.ie
mots of Ashbourrie„ as'being the-first io erbqt,s,
to come boldly forward, to, petition against the.
tholios,.for it was, quite evident, were they etnl "be
pated, that the Protestant., Constitution wonio

. _
placed in jeopardy. (Applause.) r•
The Rev. Mr. SHIPLEYsaid, that it gave him