The Sun.
London, England, 1821-04-17 00:00:00

present Bill had been well considered in the
other House. Perhaps no measure had ever been
more carefully discussed. The Bill went to ad-
mit Catholics into the two Houses of Parliament,
but doing this it granted nothing which they had
not before enjoyed. The Constitution, when this
was done, would still be a provident Constitution.
The. Bill went but to remove penalties which had
been imposed under particular circumstances,
and to restore the- Catholic to that which had
formerly been his birthright; .in common with
every other:-subject: Proper precautions were
Ashen forepeexerving the Crowte inethe hands of
larProfestart King, and ~fore protecting .all -the
nights aiisile.:.dinitieee of the Protestant Church.
:t-was trueedf thisaßillepassed, might
ia-veaCa.'tholic-,Mitlisters, but were they not to
Aisne thutzonfidence irx a Protestant Prince which
*could give-thorn assurance that he would know
how. to,:defendihimaelfand the nation against any
Ifiseknerinflnence:on the part of Catholic Counsel-
,..:by :calling . to. his aid Protestant adyisers.
4ir: this Bill, Catholics were to be admitted to
Itise ..henciw: After it was once determined to
atiltnit ißbmara . Catholics to the bar, he was
:settonished that it should ever have been. thought
-svise to exclude them from the bench. He
'wondered how any one could have thought
iteviine, after doing so .much, to say " thus
ittr shalt. thou go, and no further." Every
ii.ornan ;Catholic admitted to the bar - must
ftel:hirnself insulted every morning when he got
tip, an.d.every night when he went to bed, by
h. exclusion. • The effect of this was likely
cos it appeared to him) to create the disaffection
;',Limputed. The present Bill relieved the Ca-
4alics in.several important particulars. It suf-
feted-them no longer to. be branded on account
caf.lheir.religion, and it moderated the oath of
supremacy so: that it could be taken by them as
vseras by any other class of subjects. Consider-
ieg the Catholics to have proved themselves trust-
'w.orthy"by the manner in which they had exer-
cised the elective franchise which had been con-
cealed _to their now for eight and twenty years,
below no necessity for imposing on them any
feeels oaths, while affording them that relief
which this measure was intended to give, He,
therefore, could not see that the second Bill
azhiCh : had been brought into the House, and
"Lich was incorporated with the first in that
which was now before their Lordships, was at all
desirable.
.The second Bill afforded him no :fa-
ciiity.f6r agreeing to the first, and was so far
fsernaimproving it, that he should expect a Ca-
tholic-to have the strongest objection ,to it, and
telete.much disposed to say, 44 Take baCk your
Bill of :Securities; to escape that ii am content to
give Up the proffered benefits which they are in-
Waded to accompany." • The Bill' of Securities
sent to insult the Catholic Clergy, by telling
them,:if .the law could speak intelligible. lan-
gnage, that the 'Catholic laity were -denied the
privileges enjoyed by their fellow subjects, in
consemience of the disaffection' of. floe body of
their Clergy:. It was because he kneW them to
b. _the very reverse of what they had been re-
preseoted te:he„ that he could not agree in pass-
ing this measure, for the relief of the RoMan
Catholits generally, to impose any new shackles
on account of the Clergy. The securities which
this-Bill required, he thought it must be felt,
even by those who proposed them, . were not
wanted.. He regarded them but as a tub thrown
out-lathe whale--as intended merely to screen
those- wholavoured thii Bill from the intolerance
of others who were opposed to it, and to appease
the ignorant clamours of those 'who would not
listen to:reason. lie would not pay their Lord-
sh'epsao-bad.a.complirnent as to suppose that they
would consider them necessary to the measure.
They were. calculated to give offence to the Ca-
thelics, without.affording any additional security.
to:the. Protestants; .and without gaining any ob-
ject. for,the state, they cast an *unjust stigma on a
very ineritorions-body of men". He would new 'pro-
ceed' to offer a few remarks, which perhaps their
Lordships might think would be as, well reserved
for chic. Committee,. but which he thought it de-
sirable teeexpress now, that his• sentiment§ on the
1111..anight .at once be knosvn. In its present
sleep, ise- could -not advo-cate . the measure as. a
whole._ lie should .feel himself unworthy of a
seat in that House,•if could give- his entire ap-
probation to a:Bill- so constructed-. He 'Could not
dce:this.a and he would now :proceed to state
the modifications of the. olinoxious parts which
he_ thought. ought to take !place, and .the Tee
rnov4l. of . which. would make the measure .pa-
late Ale to the. Catholics, ..:without abandoning
anyfosectirity that the -.Protestants ought to-. re-
galia-tea.. In the first plaCee he' would remark this
Bill'imkaased *a compuls!nry oath on the Catholic
argyes :which. they. must take,. or incur the
peasthies of misdemeandur:. lie did not like the
paiseci.ple! of.a compulsory oath. The only parallel
e;syt; isj whichean -oath had been • forced on
the qlergy, .occurred France- at th'eabegin-
nino' of Abe. Revolution, when every. Clergy.;
rnanowaa obliged. -to _take an oath under pain of
depoetatioo.,..This was the ordp similar case that
Kati v.come to his knowledge,and this,. thank God..
hadenc.cureed, under no Tegular Government; It.
was 'only Py.:one•of the revolutionary Adminis:
trations (brit, infStnonsecsath had been .enforced-;
aadhe trustedethat such a measure WoUld never
reassive the sanction of- this GovernmefiL • The
oath; whiChi in the present . instance, it was
tent Jed to impose ow the Catholic Clergy, he would.
adirrite contained nothing ain its matter to which
any..hou6st man could' Object. :He merely object-
ed'to it that it: was compulsory and unnecessary
to Work:the machinery of- the Bill, which-: was
fttllyeend: Satisfactorily, provided for by -other
parts of themseakuree After the CathOlic. Clergy
had•teen. made An swear that they would' not
sanction the appointrirent" of any but loyal per-
-swage:to be their, BishOps of their Deans,:i refe-:
recce was made to :another party. He therefore-
t eusted that that oath might begot rid -bfaltogea
thera.% It was proposed tsi establish a COMMiSgiCitl
under this each. country. Without this,
he *thoUglii:there-;was no reason to fear that im-
proper, nominations should fake place ; but that
everything in that respect
,WOuld go on as it hid
done for the last sixty 'years. Under this Bill,
if-asi)rSori proposed as a Dean should be unfor-
tunate eoOngla ;to b."i:ejectedahiot
•