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

zuervofthe 'Roman Cuti,oliC Church, beCr,us: in-
.erference could only arise out of paying for the
:q4pport of the church. In one case direct inter-
tvrence would be abstained from, and the danger
likely to arise to the Protestant Church, from such
iaterference and indirect influence,- might be
avoided. In the other case, effectual power would
be obtained : and he was convinced that of two al-.
teruatives their Lordships ought not to choose that
obnoxious and extremely prejudicial power of the
Veto,• that continual source of heart-turnings
and discontent. Their Lordships were told that
this was a Bill of grace and-favour ; but how had
it been looked to by the Roman Catholic
isleggy ? What'feeling-was there among those on
:.fte other side of the Channel ? Their Lordsli:ps
were reduced to /his extremity, they were at-
tempting impracticabilities It giving unlimited
-power to the Roman Catholics, and demanding
new securities for the Established Church. The
moment new securities were asked for, this Bill
-was looked upon as obnoxious to the Roman Ca-
tholics, and not as a Bill of grace and favour.
Lte Would again- repeat, that he was convinced. if
the firstpart of these. Bills should pass, the''effect
be the sapping of the foundations of Church
and. ;sate. It might be 'said that the dangers
which he had stated were remote' and'ideal.- lie
would admit that the dangers might be rernote.;
-t gat 1::!;(4 were dangers which, if not provided
algalost before they occurred, could never
he remedied. Even if he were satisfied
,that 'the • effect of this measure would be
• lc. satisfy the Roman Catholics, which would
:$e a practical good, yet he'did• think that their
Toordshipsought to reflect uponk the risk ruR , for
tae attainment of that object: With respect to
the mass of the population of Ireland, they could
receive no benefit whatever from the passing of
this Bill, the effect of which' would be,.that a
few respectable men might enjoy seats in Par-
;lament, but the mass of the population would re-
' CeiVe. no benefit. Though the people would :re-
ceive no benefit from this measure, he
.was
.sure
that they must from some subsequent measures;
end he therefore thought that it was better for
their Lordships to take their stand where they
11,":7 were with the King Protestant, the Parlia-
ment Protestant, the Privy Council Protestant,
end the Church Protestant, which was the true
Constitution of the Country, than to declare by
this Act that there needed no connection between
I.eligious belief and political power. If the Par-
liament, the Council, and the. Sovereign were
Protestant, the Constitution itself could-not
be Protestant. Their Lordships had a duty to
vrform to the Catholics of Ireland, and in dis-
-charge of that duty ought to confer upon them
any benefits which could be conferred, without
danger to the Established Church ;. but their
'Lordships had also a duty to perform to the
Protestants of Ireland and of the Empire at
l'nrge ; and as he did not think the good con-
lerred upon the Catholics overweighed the evil
which would be done. to the Protestants, -he
should recommend to their Lordships to keep
-every body of men in their proper places, to give
them the advantages of the laws under which.
they were born, and not to take away those
securities which had for so tong a period
preserved the Constitution. These were •his
feelings upon this measure, and he should there-
fore vote against the second reading of this Bill.
The Marquess of LANsoOwN declared that he
did by no means advocate this measure so much
for the advantage of the Catholics as for the ad
vantage of the State; for in the. success of sucJ

a measure the State was deeply interested. He
• was glad to hear from the Noble Earl who had just
sat down, that the tiine was-gone by for-the exter-
mination-of heretics, and that it was now become
necessary to admit them into the bosom of our
Coristitution. The Noble Earl had seen the Presby-
terians of Scotland admitted into public offices with-
out any alarm for the security of the Protestant
Church, and yet he expressed the greatest appre-
-I,ensions at the idea of rendering Catholics eligible
1.6 r such offices. But the Noble Earl had main-
t .ined that the Catholics of Ireland were not

dispo.ed to receive this Bill as,a boon.

Whence

the Noble Earl obtained his information he could

nit' pretend to say, but from what he (Lard
Lanidown) had heard, the main body of the
Catholics of Ireland were disposed to receive

this measure with gratitude.—The Noble Earl
had argued, that this Bill was not to be re-
garded as any advantage to the great mass
of the Irish people, because the benefits
it would confer could immediately be felt
only by a few ; but the Noble Earl appeared
to forget that the privileges of the few
were enjoyed for the protection of the n;lany ;
and. that iu no country on earth was that

more likely to be felt than in Ireland. The

p,!ople of Ireland were, indeed, peculiarly alive
to this feeling. An Illustrious Duke had, as
as the Learned Lord on the Woolsack, and
one of the Learned Prelates, expressed an opi-
nion, that the adoption of this Bill would strike
at come of the fundamental principles of the Re,
volution ; but this opinion was totally erroneous
—ff;r `P nal laws to which the Bill referred
•

nc,l;ii.),4 whatever to do with the principles of
the Revolution. Mow, he would ask, could the
Bill of Rights or the Act of Settlement, which
-eere really fundamental, be in any degree af-
fected by the repeal of those penal laws ? But
these laws formed, in fact, no part of the Re-
volution, nor were they ever so declared by any
of the authors or great actors in that impor-

tant -proceeding. He should therefore have

been - surprised at any contrary statement,
if he had not heard it that night for the
iirit time, from so high an authority as the
speaker of that House.—(Hear,hear!)—But this
Learned Lord had also inculcated, that it would

be an outrage upon the memory of King William,
as well as a vital attack upon the security of the
Constitution, to accede to the proposed repeal of
the penal laws. Many of the professed admirers
of the -Revolution, of whom King William was
the idol, were but too apt, as most persons devoted
to an idol were, to attribute to that idol all their

own prejudices and partialities. Hence. some
such persons ascribed to that great and glo-
rious Monarch, opinions, or rather prejudices,
which he never entertained. But that Kin°.
William never entertained such prejudice or