The Sun.
London, England, 1821-04-18 00:00:00

except matters of belief, with no definition of
what they considered matters of belief. It was
not Titus Oates, or the Popish plots (which they
were continually laughing at and giving thanks
for), that induced King William to, pass the
Acts respecting the Catholics`; but he plainly de-
clared, that it was necessary that a Protestant
King should have a Protestant Government (the
IDeclaration against Transubstantiation bad been
taken not twelve months ago by the King on the
Throne). It was not thought enough that the
King should be Protestant alone, but that the
Legi,slature and all the Officers•of State should
be Psotestaaits. All 'these enactments were ex-
pressly declarea'to be not only essential but fun-
damental, and as far as that Legislature could
make them, perpetual. Though he acknow-
ledgedthat the Legislature of to-day could not,
bind the- Legislature of to-morrow, yet this was
undoubtedly the strongest way in which they
could express an opinion, that the system was
not only essential but exclusive. It was necessary
to remember, that they could not pass this Bill of
Conciliation [so called, he supposed, from set-
ting together all parties by the ears—(A laugh),
unless they would to-morrow repeal the Test and
Corporation Acts. They must take this system
of Legislation altogether in opposition to the
Bill of Rights and the Act of Settlement, which
declared, that the person who wore the Crown
should be Protestant, and that he should be sur-
rounded by Protestant Ministers and Officers.—
The Noble and Learned Lord referred to the
136, 14th, and 33d of the late King, and the
oaths imposed under them; he desired to know
what circumstances had happened since 1793, to
induce them to dispense with all the oaths which
were then thought necessary ? It was worthy of
consideration, too, how, under the present Bill,
they intended to protect this country from that
public exercise of the Catholic religion, which
could not be permitted without disturbing the
harmony of the people. In the first Bill, a march
was stolen upon the Protestants by calling the
Catholics 44 his Majesty's Roman Catholic sub-
jects." He could not call them by any other title
than that which was given to them in former Acts,
"his Majesty's subjects professing the Roman Ca-
tholic religion." By the Bill before them, the Ca-
tholic Church was recognised in every part of the
kingdom. Were we to have Catholic Archbishops
of Canterbury and York, Bishops, Deans, and Col-
legiate Bodies? Was every part of this country
to see that species of Catholic establishment,
which if net now a misdemeanour, only failed of
being so under a forced construction of recent
statutes? They should act, if at all, fairly and
with manliness, and if they wished to allow this
open display of the Catholic religion, they should
avow it and acknowledge their error.—(Hear !)
—He now wished to consider the Bill as a mea-
sure of conciliation, and he would ask, whether
they had heard any thing from Ireland within
the last seven or eight days, which could lead
them to suppose that it would be accepted by the
Catholics as a boon ?—(Hear !)—But, oh! we
were not to mind the Catholics. We were
to bring in a Bill to conciliate the hearts and
minds of all classes of the community, but we
were not to care whether the Protestants would
grant it, or the Catholics receive it—but conci-
liated they must be. This put him in mind of
a story he had heard of a person in the High-
lands, who was seen driven along by a fellow
with a cat-o'-nine-tails. A passenger naturally
asked the driver w hat he Was doing with the
man who was driven ? Oh," said he, C 4 lam
going to make a volunteer o. him."—‘A. laugh !)
This was the nature of this forced conciliation.
Under the Bill, he was to have no choice of his
religion, nor the Chancellor, nor the Lord Lieu-
tenant and Chancellor of Ireland. But yet
Roman Catholics were allowed to be Judges.
This was one of the most monstrous proposi-
tions he could conceive, for if they allowed
persons without the qualifications to hold
those offices, it was a call upon all persons of
that religion to point at the Throne as the cause
of their exclusion. It was curious too, that
this Bill allowed the King's Councillors. to
be Catholics, but required that the Chancellor
should be not a Catholic. The. Privy Councillor
was forbidden by this Bill from giving advice on
Ecclesiastical matters; and he was made the judge
of what was Ecclesiastical or not. But the oath
of the Privy Councillor was to advise his Sove-
reign in all matters without distinction. It was
said, however, that the Legislature which im-
posed that oath, could unmake it. So that the
Privy Councillor would say, "True, I have sworn
to-day that I will give my Sovereign advice in,,
all.matters, but there was an Act of Parliament
Made yesterday to say; I. shall 'not." By the
Bill too the Ecclesiastical Judges were to be
Protestants, but in Westminster Hall the Judges
might be-Catholics. Now any one who knew
the• nature of our laws would know, that our
temporal and- Ecclesiastical Laws were so bound
tip together, that it was impossible to separate
them.--(Rear.!).—lt would of course happen un-
der this• Bill that a Pretestant Judge would have
to decide in Doctors' Cosurnon.s, and a Catholic
Judge in Westminster Hall, on the same ecclesi-
astical cause.—(Hear !)—This, under. the provi-
sions of the Bill, they could not, possibly avoid.
Asior the dignity of K ing's• counsel, .it was not
an office, and it was to be remarked, that they.
did not take any oath on being appointed, so that
place, was,perhaps,alriady more open to them than
was generally. supposed. From the year 1688 to
the present time, this country had been governed
by a Protestant King, Protestant
_Peers, and Pro-
testant Commons, who had supported religious
liberty as it' had. never before been supported.—
held that no person was punished by being
excluded from political power.. It was the giv-
ing the elective franchise to which in, his con-
science he believed the.present motion was to be
attributed.—(Hear, hear, hear !)—They were
now to open the doors of Parliament to Catho-
lics, who were to come there under the King's
summons, to consult of the arduous business.of
the English Church";. he felt that the country
was' well now, and lie would not hazard the
destruction of its blessings., What might happen
was the subject of conjecture=what had hap-
pened -was the subject of experience. The Noble
and Learned Lord then alluded to the present