The Sun.
London, England, 1819-05-18 00:00:00

PARLIA MENT.

TiOUSE OF IiO.RDS, NIAY 17.

The Dike of KENT, the Earl Of HARBOROUGH.
Lord FORBES, and the Bishop of PETERBOROUGH
took the oaths and their seats.
Lord KENYON presented a petition from Man-
chester against the Catholic Claims. Several
-other petitions for and against the Catholics were
laid on the table, but in consequence of the great
crowd below the bar, it was impossible to hear
from what places they came,' or to see the Peers
by tvliorn they were presented.
AFFAIRS OF THE BANK.
The Earl of tiAattowilty laid (in the table the
resolutions' be intends to move on the-Bank Re-
port.- As far as the et-Allusion of the bar per-
mitted us to hear them, they aPpeaf.to be, with
the necessary alteration, of form, a copy of-the
recommendation in the Repot t of the Committee.
They &dare the expediency of renewing the
Bank Restriction Act for a time to be limited ;
of ryments by the Bank in gold bullion, at tile
prow essive prices of 41, Is., 31. 19s. 6t1., and
3!. 17s. 141.; and of the repeal of all the laws
agaiost the exportation'of gold.—They were or-
dered to be printed. '
. .

CATHOLIC QUESTION.
The Order of the Day, on which their Lord-
sb:ps were summoned. being read,
The Earl of DoNotionmoatt rose to bring for-
ward the motion of•which be had given not ice on
important subject. The Noble Earl oared
Isis inteodecl motion intim outset of his address,
which was nearly the connterpara of that sub-
mitted to the other. House of Parliament, name-
ly That ;be House do resolve itself into a
Committee, to consider of the -state of the laws
respecting the oaths and qualifications required
for the appointmen,t to Civil Offices and others,
as far as applies to his Majesty's Boman Catholic
subjects, and to consider whether it be expedient,
and in what manner, to alter or amend the same,"
• Ste. The Noble Earl proceeded to observe, that
I more imporant question than the present could.
not cause under the consideration of the Legisla-.
lure. The numerous ,petitions; which he and
other Noble Lords, on his side of the question,
had the,houour to present, spoke most unequivo-
cally the sense of,a very large portion of their fel-
low-subjects of every denomination.On the sub-
' jeer. A very large class of his Majesty's sub-
jects .remain disqualified, and .incapable of par-
ticipating in the advantages of the Constitu-
tion under which they all lived.' Nearly four-
- fifths of the pppulation of Ireland, and above
one-fourth of the whole• 'population of the
- United Kingdom, were still in this, predica-
ment. This, seeded :to be now. continued on
the ground of their holding:Communications,with
the Church of, Koine ; and this excluded'elass of
their fellow-subjects weir still subjected 'to the
. most illiberal and unfounded imputations. Every
Principle, either of justice or Sound pokey, called
upon the Legislattire to relieve them from that
state of thraldom or disability, in which they
bad so lung been plaCed. The *injurious tenets
and doctrines so strenuously urged against them,
they had long and repeatedly, as welt as Most so-
lemnly, disclaimed: In ,the course of repeated
discussions, however, the ppsition of the Catholic
Qaestion bad greatly changed, and of late it had
become still more narrowed. He contended that
no tenable_ objection could exist to expunging
feons the Statute Book thoSe injurious laws which
still remained in force: At present they were
productive of insult to one set of Men, while
they goaded the feelings of others ; and
,some
parts of the oaths which,they were'called upon
to abrogate,, were, in his mind, an injurious
potation upon the whole Christian religion. He
argued that no one sound or solid objeetion re-
mained to. justify the destituting so numerous anti
deserving a portion of their fellow-subjects of their
strict right to an equal share in the benefits of that
free Constitution undee which they allhad'the hap-
piness to live. The Noble Earl, after apislogiiiog
for Isis inability, from continued ititlisposition, to
go more in detail into the subject, moved to the
t•
effect stated in the outset of his address.
The •BishOp of Wm:nisi-TR rose, and argued
at some length against the propnsiiimi before'the
Honse. Their Roman Catholic fellow-sohjets, he
conceived,had no just ground ofeomplaint." All that
remained imposed upon them were whrilesOine'and
necessary resttictious, continue with a reference:
to the safety n 1 the established Constitution of
these -Kingdoms in. Church and. State. Thcliwere
in the full and free enjoyment of all their reli-
giotts rights, and participated to no small extent
• in the political advantages of the' Constitution.--
~ Whet they now father called for, he, for one,
.would readily assent to, if he thought it could be
done without eudangering the established Consti-
tution of the country. Io support of his argu-
. ment, the Rev. Prelate referred to the able work.
(as could be collected) of Dr. Hoadley upon the
. subject, and particularly in What he advanced in
refutation of the doctrines of Mr. Locke upon
the Film'. The principle that the Protestant
religion was a part of the established Constitution
• of the country be regarded as a sound and firm
one, and .be deprecated the natural probability
that the claims of the Roman Catholics would
increase with the concessions made to them, its a
way widen tott,t eventually endanger the whole
fabric of the Protestant Constitution of these
Kingdoms. •
. .
The Bishop of Nottwicit professed himself not
behind hand with 'any of his brethren in'attach-
ment to the security and well-being of the\Church
of England, though, -unfortunately; he widely
' differed from many with respect to the m'ost'
• likely means of effectuating that desirable ob-.
: ject. He was particulady oppoied to the
practice of endeavouring to disunite 'and'. divine
" their fellow-sUbjects by unfounded 'claniours
that the Church was in 'danger, if about
th' remaining fourth part of the population were
allowed to participate its the benefits of Our free
• Constitution. It wcitild be'better did inen regu-
late their -conduct by the' leading principles' of
Christianity ;'and he thOttelft the' adoption of a
more lateral, and equitable 'line tot' conthict
best tend to the real security and well-being of
their Church Establishments. The conduct of
the Catholics he considered as such, and particu-