The Sun.
London, England, 1828-05-20 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, MAY 20, 1828.

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

of France, he declared that they should mot refuse
to a Ministry which has frankly declared that it will
never recognize in Portugal, usurpation and the
overthrow of the established order, the funds which
it asks in the name of the national glory and dignity.
" The general discussion having been closed, the
debate on the articles of the project separately was
adjourned to Monday. •

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS, MAY 19.

Petitious against any further eoncessi9n to the Catholk-s
were presented by the Earl of Roden, from the Corpora-
tions of Tailors and Weavers in Dublin, and from seve-
ral places in the county of Wexford ; by the Earl
of Longford, from several parishes in the county of
Tyrone ; by the Bishop of Ossory, from the diocvse of
Ossory ; by the Earl of Mounteashel, from a number
of parishes in the county of Cavan ; and by Lord Rolle,
from Wrexham, in Devonshire. . _

Lord COLCHESTER presented a petition from the
county of Roes, against the importation of Foreign Wool.
The Earl of SHAFTESBURY presented a petition from
Woodbridge, praying for an alteration in the Nounty Luna-
tics' Bill.

CATHOLIC CLAIMS.
CONFERENCE WITH THE COMMONS.

The Duke of WELLINGTON moved that the following
Noble Lords be appointed to meet the Commons in a
conference in the Painted Chamber, on the subject of the laws
affecting the Roman Catholics : —The President of the
Council (Earl Bathurst), the Duke of Devonshire,
Earl Grey, Earl Vane (the Marquis of Londonderry), the
Earl of Eldon, the Bishop of Durham, and Lord Colchester.
The motion was agreed to, and the Managers proceeded
in the order in which their names stand to the Painted
Chamber.

On their return, after a few minutes' absence,
Earl BATHURST sail, my Lords, in obedience to
your commands we have met the Commons in a confer-

ence in the Painted Chamber, where Sir Francis Burdett,
who attended as manager on the part of the Commons, de-
livered to us the following Resolution, which I move that
the Clerk do now read. It was as follows :

" That it is expedient to consider the Laws affecting his
Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects in Great Britain and
Ireland, with a view to such final and conciliatory adjust-
merit as may be conducive to the peace and strength of the
United Kingdom, to the stability of the Protestant Esta-
blishment, and to the general satisfaction and concord of all
classes of his Majesty's subjects."
The Clerk having read the Resolution,
Earl BATHURST said—My Lords, Sir Francis Bur-
dett, on the part of the Commons, desires your concurrence.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE not -having been aware
it was the intention of the Noble Lord or Duke opposite to
propose that the House should take into consideration
the Resolution now read, moved that they should do so on
the earliest day convenient for the House, that was to say,
on Friday the 30th. In fixing this day he had not his own
but the House's accommodation in view, and felt it of the

utmost importance with respect to a motion of this sort
that a day once fixed for it should nut be altered.
If, therefore, any Noble Lord had any thing to say
why that day should not he named, he hoped it would
now be stated.

The Duke of WELLINGTON thought as Friday might
he occupied with an adjourned Debate, it would be better
for the Noble Marquis to name some day in the following
week.

The Marquis of CLEVELAND thought it desirable to
have the earliest day appointed, but thought any day in
the beginning of the following week inconvenient.
The Marquis CAMDEN thought to-morrow three weeks
the most suitable day.

The Marquis of LANSDOWNE, with every disposi-
tion to accommodate the Noble Lords, would delay it till
this day three weeks, but could not further adjourn it,
otherwise he should feel himself dismissing the discussion of
the question altogether, therefore he moved that this reso-
lution be taken into consideration by their Lordships on
Monday the 9th of June.
The motion was then agreed to.
ENGLISH CATHOLICS.

Earl GREY—I now rise, my Lords, for the purpose of
once more offering to your Lordships' consideration, the
petition of the Roman Catholics of England, praying that
they may be restored to a due enjoyment of the rights of
the Constitution, which, unless withheld on the strong and
clear ground of a paramount political necessity, involving
the religion and the safety of the State, they cannot be
deprived of without the greatest injustice. They state
that they come before your Lordships on the present occa-
sion, to claim your Lordships' consideration on the strong
ground of having done nothing to merit the disqualifica-
tions to which they are subject. They offer to prove to
your Lordships, and they appeal for the truth of their as-
sertions to the best periods of our history, that respecting
them such a political necessity as I stated can alone justify
their exclusion never existed. They appeal to their con-
duct in many instances, both in ancient and modern times,
to prove their undeviating loyalty, and their zealous deter-
mination, under all circumstances, to maintain the esta-
blished Constitution, and in the defence of its benefits they
have never thought any sacrifice too great. They have not
merely contributed their property, they have risked their
lives in support of the Constitution, and in making this
statement, I regard no man as more capable than the Noble
Duke opposite, and no man, lam sure, is more willing to
bear his testimony to their bravery in those contests in
which they had been the instruments and the partakers of
his fame. No class of men had more supported the power
of this country, or preserve the independence of that Con-
stitution, of the benefits of which they are still deprived ;
for they are still stigmatised as subjects unworthy of the
confidence of that Sovereign end country they have so ably
served. These are the topics, my Lords, which are urged by
the Catholics, to shew that they are entitled to your Lord-
ships' attentive consideration. They state that there is
nothing in their faith or in their religion which is hostile
to civil or religious liberty, or which can bring danger to
the State, ;f thy are permitted to enjoy all its benefits; and
they appeal for the proofs of this to the conduct of their
ancestors at the best periods of our history, They re-
ferred their Lordships to the determined resistance of their
Catholic ancestors under Catholic Sovereigns--to all the
attempts made by the See of Rome to encroach on the tem-
poral rights of our Constitution, and our Sovereign ; and
they refer your Lordships to the conduct of their ancestors
in the glorious reign of Queen Elizabeth, when they were
foremost in the ranks of those who were most zealous in
repelling a foreign invasion in favour of the Catholic reli-
Leion--when the armament of the Catholics was consider-
able, and came under the sanction of the Pope. They
deny, too, as they have often done before, that they profess
a divided allegiance—they deny with respect to the spi-
ritual obedience they owe to the See of Rome, that it has
ever prevented them from paying that temporal allegiance
to our King as supreme head of the State as established by
appeal emphatically to the wise and beneficial po-
rthia of the kingdom.—(Hear, hear.)—They appeal
fuersr to the example of all the States of modern Europe
the
—theyicy of the King of Hanover—
(Hear hear)—who admitted
to a participttion of all the civil and political rights of his
subjects on account of their religious
other subjects, and who made no distinction between any
opinions. They appeal, also, my Lords, to the conduct of
aelbf,edtrhytvesruciteca:egin Eofuhroispe: pt, perhaps, Spain, Portugal,
parts of Italy, for the proof that in adopt-
ing the PrinelPle of allowing the country to be
served by persona of different religious persuasions, its
strength is not weakened and impaired, but consolidated
and strengthened—they appeal, above all, to the free States
of Europe, to show your Lordships that their religion is not
incompatible with civil liberty ; a charge which it is strange
should be made in this country--(Hear, hear,)—the liberty
of which was founded by their Catholic ancestors—they
appeal to the free States of Switzerland, and more em-
phatically even to the union of the Protestant States of
Holland with the Catholic Provinces of the Netherlands—
a union which was sanctioned and promoted by this oountry,
at the general peace of Europe, as the outwork and defence of
this country, and as an arrangement conducive to the future
pease They appeal to this with confidence, and they
callon°fyEumPe.
our Lordships to consider that it was the Ministers
of this country, which is stated to be essentially Protestant;
who bad united Holland, which was also essentially Protes-
tant, with the intention of giving security to his Majesty's
Government,
providing an outwork of defence for the
country--they, the Ministers of this country, had promoted
the sthnyofe reign theand
Protestant State of Holland, under a Pro-
teet f with the Catholic Netherlands; and it
taso