The Sun.
London, England, 1821-04-02 00:00:00

CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION.

Mit. EDlTort.—" Perhaps it may not be diffi-
cult to make them take, as the general standard of their new
institutions, not the wild, monstrous, untried, unknown Spa-
nish Constitution, bat the admirable, the proved, and the. ef-
fective BRITISH CSTITUTION."—Such was the language
of " The New Times " of the 28th ult. I shall not subjoin
any remark upon theepithets applied to the Spanish Constitu-
tion ; but I must observe that the Spanish Constitution is a
Catholic Constitution, and that one duty enjoined in the oath
imposed upon the King of Spain. is, " not to tolerate any other
Religion than the Catholic in that country."—lf to this obser-
vation it is replied, that the oath is enjoined in a Catholic
country, and, that being the case, it justifies the spirit of the
enactment altogether ; that it is absurd to consider the danger
as attendant upon the admission of the Papists into the British
Legislature, that the fangs of that intolerant spirit of the Ca-
tholic Religion, which formerly persecuted this Nation, have
been extracted by modern philosophy, I affirm that Mr. PLUN•
KETT'S Bills are a decisive contradiction to that liberal idea ;
because, if the intrusion. of the Catholics into the British Go-
vernment were not pregnant with destruction to the Protestant
Ascendancy, and theConatitution and the spirit of their Religion
were smothered, why are specious provisions to be made in these
Bills to prevent their displaying the genuine tendency of the
Catholic Religion, which will ever be at work in secret ? and
why, instead of these fictitious safeguards for the Protestants,
have not the Catholics been called upon to renounce their sub-
jection to the Decrees of Roman Catholic Councils, which re-
late to the extirpatiiiA of heresy, and have never been repealed,
and the spirit to enforce them remains unabated in the heart
of the Catholic to the present day ? In a former communica-
tion you presented: your Readers with an accurate account of
the Decrees to which I allude, and therefore. I shall only refer
them to a reperusal of those Decrees, and not delay to refute the
ridiculous statement, that the Catholic of a foreign country and
the Catholic of this are two different religionists. I desire
chiefly to observe, that the Protestant Constitution is that which
the " New Timei"" justly stales. to be " the admirable, the
proved, and the effective Constitution."—Yet this Constitu-
tion is to be betrayed into the power of the Catholics, with the
Spanish Constitution contrasted With it, without one murmur
from this courtly admirer, and with a resignation, not the result
of a just conviction that it will be for the best, but the result of
an apathy and insensibility that can only be the destitution of
principle. However, these silent spectators will, I trust, ere
long, perceive that,there is a storm gathering for the annihila-
tion of the Protestant Constitution, which the well-wishers to
the present Protestant Ascendancy can only avert by a timely
and decisive opposition. That
:this opposition must be speedy
and resolute, the policy adopted by the present Government
glaringly exposes, because when the Catholics are in power,
and they shall begin to repeal laws which were passed for
the security of Protestantism with toleration to Catholicism,
and. when, on this, account, this sacrificed country shall
rise up against this treachery and persecution, the Catho-
lic Government will then resort to the standing army; and the
point of the bayonet will be effectual one way or other. Either
the Catholic laws must be obeyed, or Protestant subjects perish,

_ .
But let us still hop.: that this Protestant Empire is not yet aban-
doned by our Minister ; because if it is, soon, very soon in-
deed, will the Minister find public opinion. not that which most
assuredly he at present considers it to be. Of late years there
has been much disaffection, I should say discontent. and die-

turbance in this country, and I cannot now intrude upon you
to state their source otherwise than by saying, that it was the
consequence of indecision, for are we not betrayed and fall-
ing victims, not to disafEtion, disloyalty, or revolutionists in
the people, but to the very loyalty and patriotism ofthe country?
Certainly serious tumult did lately exist in England, and in a
communication of this kind it cannot be expected that every
point of the subject upon which I write can be embraced ; such
duty must be left, and is assigned to the historian. Therefore
I only add, that the nation did then support the Minister in
his measures, as a temporary protection from the assaults
to which the Constitution had been exposed. To. this

cause is solely and justly to be attributed. the majorities
in the House of Commons which the Minister has had so fre_

quently in Ma favour. But the protection the State then re

quired is removed, and to another still stronger must the coon•

try resort, not by supporting the advocates for the admission of
the Papists into the Lei,-islature, but by upholding vigorously
the Defenders of the Protestant Faith, in the support and

maintenance of the present Established Constitution. It will,
by and bye, be found that they who are styled Ministerialists

generally, but who do honestly desire an improvement in one
branch of the Legislature, will not be the sycophantic defmdcrs

of any man, or set of men, who endeavour to undermine the

foundation and destroy the principle of our Constitution by

innovations upon its present formation,

The national principles of Englishmen will remain firm to
the last moment of their power in the support and defence of

the Protestant Constitution,. and the Minister, whomsoever he
may be, that supports Popish influence, will flail himself ere

tong not so stable in his situation as he may think, and a per-

feet outcast in the favourable opinion of a majority of the coun-
try. I shall conclude with a very fvw further observations.

Let me. ask, why are not the Dissenters to enjoy those privi-
leges also, which the Catholics claim as a right ? It requires.no

argument or subtle reasoning to point out the inconsistency and
treachery of an advocation for the admission of Papists to rule

a Protestant Nation, and the Opposition to a restoration of the

rights of Protestant Subjects. Yet this is the effect of the pre-

sent Representative System in the House of Commons; it is the
result of the present Election System ; and they who in de-

siring Emancipation from the notorious Borough Systeni, in
fact from bribery and corruption, and are nevertheless also ad-
vocates for the Papists being invested with power in the State,

cannot be aware that it will have been by these means that the.
Papists will have succeeded, and that it will be their interest to

continue the same degrading system to keep thcmselv,:s in,
when they shall once have entered, Parliament. That it was

by this system alone that the Catholics could get into the House

of Commons ; and to this. may be attributed almost exclu.sively
the of the modern Whig Interests m opposing every

measure that oourd eact the Emancipation of the Protestants
from the usurpation of their just rielts and privileges.

FIDEL DEFENsort.

• The freedom, of the city of Bath, was presented last week to
CaptP.in PARRY? explorer of the Polar Seas. The box, which
was presented with the freedom of the city, is made of pannel-
led oak, which formed part of Captain PARRY'S own ship., the
Hecla. In the centre of the top is a fine gold oval medallion,
beautifully shaped in bas-relief, representing the vessel being
towed by. boats, passing immense icebergs, with a distant view
of the Cirma, being; a faithful copy ftoin a drawing taken during
the expedition.

WednEsday the Rev. Mr. SCOTT was ordained Minister o'
the Burgher Congregation at Inverness. A number of the
neighbouring Ministers in the same connexion attended on this
occasion, and the ItL:v. Mr. Anderson of Boghole and Mr.lien-
nody of Kith preached two very appropriate sermons. We
understand, that a new rr.eeting-house is immediately to be crec-
tad ar.cogatigda:e eo.Nro.flat:,ott new paujr.

THE SUN.

JO'LEM QUIS DICERI3 FALSUN AUDEATP-

LONDON,
MONDAY, APRIL 18`21.

Paris Papers of Friday and Saturday confirm.

the accounts of the completion of the counter-
revolutions in Naples and Piedmont. As soon
as the news of General PEpo's defeat was re-
,ceived, the PfttscE REGENT communicated it to
.the Parliament, who adopted the resolution of
sending an Address of Submission to the Kamo,
General FARDELLN, the bearer of it to his MA-
JESTY, left Florence on the 19th, with a letter
addressed to Hls ROYAL. Illoitsess. The army
of CARASCOSA, ls 4 avoid being cut off by the Aus-
trian force from the Abruzzi, which threatened ,I
him in flank, had abandoned the entrenched camp
of Magna= and. the line of the Garioliano, and
to retire to Capua.---The French five per cents.
left off on Thursday at 81 f. 25 c., and on Friday
they are said to have closed at 80 1. 90 c.

NAPLES, MARCH 14.

Within these four days, says the journal called
The Voce del Secolo, great events have occurred
in this kingdom. We abstain from all commen-
tary ; it would be too painful to make it..
Yesterday we received a second bulletin from
General William Pepe, dated Castel di Sangro,
twenty leagues from this capital.—lt is as fol-

:OWS

" The corps commanded by General Pepe was
chiefly composed of legionaries and provisional
militia, who were hastily assembled on the first
announcement of the movements of the Austrian
troops, and who never believed the war in which

we were engaged.
" With this corps General Pepe had• to• guard
the valley of Rovelo, Tagliacozzo, Autroduco,
Leonessa, and the Tronto. Tile enemy appear-
ed in force in the neighbourhood of Civita Du-
cale. Among the courses which General Pepe
had it in his power to follow, the most prudent
was to debouche frorahis position, and to attempt
an extensilie-re-46avoissance. - On the morning of
the ith he attacked the enemy near Rieti, and at
the same time. directed an attack to be made near
Leonessa by three battalions. The national
troops, and particularly those of the line, drove
back the enemy with the greatest bravery. A
demi battalion of the Capitanata distinguished it-
self iu the first line, as did a demi battalion of the
3d, light infantry.
" In vain did the enemy employ all his caval-
ry in the plain of Rieti, our sharpshooters hand l'ed
the hussars severely, and killed a great number
of them, including some superior officers.
cc After a warm fire had continued for seven
hours, the enemy brought up fresh .reinforce-
ments. His numbers soon became very superior
to ours. The General ordered a retreat, which
was effected without any of our troops receiving
either a musket shot or sabre cat. But the ene-
my advanced ; the fire of his artillery threw into
disorder the second line of our militia,
,Who, per.:

ceving that the troops compo:,ing the firA line
were retreating, believed the corps defeated which
they had so bravely sustained for seven hours
under the hottest fire. lany of the battalion of
militia dispered.
" The enemy, surprised it the courage our
troops had opposed to them, did not venture to
advance on any 'Point; but having learned fro
spies the disordL:r which had taken place, I
seized the propitious moment, and tried wit
large masses to force the passage of Antroduco
This defile was defended with extreme vaio
by the brave General Russo, whose troops lon

well ; but our troops were overcome by numbers,
' and the defile was carried.. General Pepe then
moved his head-quarters to Sulmona, and on the
11th to Castel di Sangro, where he intends to
recompose his corps, and to present to the-enemy
that resistance which he ought to expect from
Neapolitan• soldiers, when recovered from a first
surprise. This, carps will be reorganized, and
will be rendered worthy of the esteem of the

enemy and the nation."
The journal adds to this bulletin, that General
Pepe has displayed all the coolness and• bravery
,of a veteraw. We arc, however, assured that Ire
is this day expected in the capital, and that he
's replaced in his command by General Filangieii.
It was yesterday announced that the army of
the centre and that of the left, in wisich are

many troops of the line, are tranquil in their
cantotunenta;. but it is at the slime time stated
that the Prince Regent had gone to the head-
cluarters of the first corps of the army ; that he
found every thing there in. good order, and that
General Cara.scosa was maneuvering with his
well-known ability to support the second' corps.
It is added, that Marshal Verdinosi, whose
.column. had sustained no loss, was in: the pros-ince
of Chiti, and that he would e►rrbarrass the enemy
by manoeuvring on his flanks.
We learn to-day that a, Council of War, pre-
'sided by - the Prince Regent, had been held at
Capua. On_ the. breaking up of the Council the
Prince Regent sent Lieut.-Gen. Florence on a
mission to the King.

MILAN, MAncn 21.

General Fardella, who was dispatched by the
Duke of Calabria to the King of Naples, left
Florence on the 19th, to return to Naples with a
letter addressed to his Hoyal Highness.

NAPLES, 24.f.s.Rcii

[EMTRACT OF A PRIVATE LETTER.]

cc O❑ the 9th the Austrians advanced and at.

tacked the position which covered Aquila. It
appears- that they met with no resistance, as all
lied at their approach ;- and even the- defiles of
Antroduco, where a few metr would have sufficed
to arrest the progress of a whole corps of the
enemy, were abandoned. The militia and le-
gionary troops lied from their colours. At length
the whole army of General Pepe disappeared,
:And he arrived alone at Castel di Sangre..
" It is said that the runaways having com-
mitted some excesses in the places through which
they passed, the City of Sulmona closed its gates
against them.: The army of Carascosa, which
found itself in danger or being. cut off,bas received
orders to abandon the entrenched camp of Mag-
nano and the line of the Garigliano, and to retire
to Capu:a by that of the Volturno.
" As soon as the mews of this defeat was re-
ceived, the Prince Regent communicated it to
the Parliament, who adopted the resolution of
sending an Address of submission to the King.
It has been carried by General Fardella, Aide-
de-Camp to the Duke of Calabria.

" Orders have been. issued" for recalling part
of the troops to Naples, for the purpose of pre-
serving the tranquillity of the city..
" There remains here no symptom of agita
tion; the Royal Family have abandoned the pro-
ject of going to Messina, and vwill remain here."