The Sun.
London, England, 1821-03-01 00:00:00

CATHOLIC ENIANUIP.VTION.

Mr. PLUNKETT said, that as one of the highest
a►r.l most distinguished honours had devolved
upon him, it remained for hisn to discharge his

. ,
duty as a Member of that House, by bringing
under its consideration the laws relating to the
Catholics of the United Kingdoms. On behalf
of Protestants, :as well as Catholics, he called
upon the House, as those laws were equally dan-
gerous to the-one party. as to the, other. His ob-
ject was to attain the end of_ public good, by an
.aat of justice ;
.and if
.such was =his object, it
would be sure to la v -the foundation of concord ;
because concord,. Was the consequence of justice.

, .
It would also pr4dutte those feelinzs which re-
sulted from the warmth of . gratitude. And the

last inference was a matter of consideration,

though by no means equal to the other important
benefits to be expected. Much discontent upnn

general subjects would be allayed ; but the ques-
tiOn was not agitated with that view. To believe
that it was brought forward for the purpose of al-
lying discontent, or .any irritated feelings
which might prevail, was to undervalue the'rno-,
tives of the parties interested in its success. The
Roman Catholics of Ireland were determined
then, as :at all times, never to .abandon their
clainis,upon the justice and wisdom of Parliament.
They.were equally determined to wait patiently
for the exercise of:that judgment and of that wis-
dom,- because. they knew, that it would operate
. sooner or later. That a most anxious desire of

liPcoming partakei.s of British freedom, did exist
,on their parts, he should be ashamed to deny ;

neither would he say that there was not amongst
them a degree of feverish sickness, created by a
" hope deferrtd," which had been the cause of
great and long-coutinued -uneasiness. And it
could not be expected that any measure which he,

.or any one else, proposed, should operate upon it -
as a charm. It was not when the wind of the
tempest first ceased to-blow that the waves would.
cease. to roll. But whether any discontent existed
-or notwas not .the question -which claimed their
:attention, ft was their duty to consider whether
-an injustice to alarge portion of the peoplehad
not been done, and-if so, to atone for it. Whether
,1,4?,y -were Ilot.stifrerina a. cryiuggriev,ance, and if
so, to. remove . it. Whether laws injurious to
them did not.exist, and if so, to obliterate them.
.This WAS what.he called upon the, House. to look
at, and if they found these burthens pressing Ilea.,
and :unnecessarily upon any, the: smallest
...portion:of the: people, it was their duty to take
wastires . for: their relief. But .if they found
them weighing upon a riot, important and exten-
sive branch pf .the population, they ought not to
.lose a moment. in taking' steps-which would re-
lease them from their situation. It had been ob-
jected • from:,tio-Je.. to, time that these individuals
were notagreed as to the extent,or'nature of the
measure to, be proposed or required for their re-
He. would take the liberty of saying, that
-this was neither a fair nor. a Candid, nor a manly
.w.ly of meeting {he question. Was it or was it
not a measure which the : House* ought to.enter-
tain ? Was it dangerous ? WaS it unconstitu-
tional ? met on these grounds,_ he could un-
!derstand opposition to the measure he should
-,propose. If any. one should meet him with the,
. unmanly olijections to-which he had alluded,- he.
w-ould ask,'" why did you not come to Inc, and
assist Me in framing a measure snore consonant to
your wishes. you have that within you which
would perfect my proposition, and render it un-
exceptionable, why .do you wrap yourself op in
.neutrality, and then object to the little differ-
ences Wiiich. may-exist. between the parties who
.•
.seek relief." The question was,entitled to a more
••,
.manly and
dcandid. reception. How did.the Catho-
-•, •
• lics.-,corue forward? Not to.attack th.c.>Constitution.
...Ttley„came onder.the'Constitution itself. "They,
as_loyal subjects. of the- K ing, with their
humbly prayiog. that they should ex!--
. excise. the rights and .privileges of their anees-
,T bey ...came upon all . the known and
tried,,and proved principles of the Constitution.
Under loch' circumStances, attY measure proposed
• ougilt not, to be met in its detail,. bUt upon its'
trued .p.o&general.merits. What he Meant to
•
..prel49,se was,that the 1-louse should :go into a,
Committee, to consider the _ details of the laws
affecting...the:Catholic snhjects of the realoi. It
.w is hi.s. own most confident ex.pecta.ion, that -the
}louse. would consent to his propOsition
.
- that confidence -was not a little increased, • when
• be remembered that not-more thau two yearS ago,

a majority of that House consented to the ap-
pointment of a similar Committee. At another
period, numbers nearly amounting to a majority,
agreed to measures recommended in that Come'
mittee e and if there had not. leeen gross impro-
priety of conduct en the part of some who Called
themselves friends of Caiholic emancipation,
these measures would then have been carried.—
This took place at a time When the country was
reeling to its very centre in the heayieet storms ;
and he would not. believe that any one who had
given their suffrage for those measures in the hour
of danger, would be disposed to refuse them at
the present time. He was sure. it could not be
forgotten by the general mind, that-proud as the
exertions of the people had been in bringing the
late mighty contest tooea conclusion, none had
more distinguished themselves than the Roman
Catholics.--(Hear, hear !)—He was sure he
should have nothing of hostility_to encounter in
the opposition he should meet ;—certainly no-
thing of rancour, and he hoped nothing of illibe-
rality. Prejudice, he believed, he had to con-
tend with. But if any Gentlemen Isere preju-
diced, he was aware that their prejudices arose
from the most honourable motives. -Motives
gfowing out of ethe recollections of all that was
connected with the struggles of their ancestors,
for the rights and liberties of the people. He
believed that even amongst- these who would op-
pose him, the greatest... anxiety was entertained
for granting the claims of the Catholics. The
'general feeling, both in and out of that House,
upon which all opposition was grounded, was an
idea of the danger which Might attend such a
course. Therefore, with the greatest confidence,
and not expecting to be encountered .by any thing
but that sense of danger, he would proceed to
state. his views upon the question._ He would di-
vide it into three distinct propositions—namely,
Its bearings upon Religion, upon the Constitu-
tion, and upon. the policy of the country. lie
feared he should have to call too largely upon
the patience of the House.—(Hear,•hear!)—,ffe
should, however, only have . to occupy
,a short
portion .of its time upon the first division of the
question, merely as it affected Religion, because
he was not callcdeen to , go into any great depth'
upon that subject. It was not necessary for him
to do so, because it involved in, itself no
question affecting the _interests or safety of
the State. . Great praise was_ Blue to a high per-
sonage for saying in another place, that he had
no objection to the Claims of. Catholics being
granted, on the score of religion. It was only
upon political. grounds that danger might be 'ap-
prehended. Ishe-Se doctrines had been declared
by the Right •Rev. Personage to whom he alluded
before the Rev. Bendh whom lie addressed, with
.no expressed dissent whatever on their' parts.
He would make a few observations upon the Act
of Charles I 1.. which required certain pledges
from persons holding the. Roman Catholic faith,
who entered into any office -of -State. To. say
that this was provided with any reference to re-
ligion, or that for the sake of religion, any pledge
whatever was required, appeared to him to be a
course calculated in itself to.take away the very
principles which constituted religion. It was
merely resorted to as a State affaireand the pledge
was consequently required when persons entered.
upon the civil offices of State. If the interests
of true religion required it, why .was it confined
to this country ? Why was not an oath imposed
upon all persons filling similar offices in other
nations ; Why was it not resorted toin Catholic,
in .Mahometan, Pagan countries ? No man
could maintain that in principle, the interests...of
religion called for any sucleaid or defence. If
a contradiction to what he then-advanced should
be attempted, why, he would ask, was not a
positive declaration required? Why was it not
necessary for a:person to declare that he believed
in the existencesof a God ? Why not call upon
him to ,acknowledge his conviction of the true
Redeemer ? Why not expect him to declare
that - he believed in a future state ? None of
these things were required. The state acted:as
are electrifying power upon religion, but it was
all negative electricity and no positive.---(Much
cheering.)lt- was all abhorrence of the body
which religion presented.—(Cheers.)—And why,
he would ask, were the-Roman Catholics to he
selected as the .ouly- class to be denounced
Why.did they not denounce the Mahometan, the
Pagan, and the Jew ? A. man might worship
Jupiter, • Osiris, a crocodile, the host of Heaven,.
Or the creeping things of the earth,--and the only
exclusion to be made was against Ro:nan Catho-
licsewhose faith merely contained shades of dif-
ference from that of the Protestant himself.
'These only Were shutout from the offices of State,
end only because they believed-iomething more
in their Religion than the Protestants did. They
were charged with superstition and idolatry. on
account of their service of the-Mass. Now he
would-ask Gentlemen who made. these objections,
what elie .aerviceof the Mass. was? and if all
would engage to -.support his proposition who
could -not answer that question, he was sure he
should-carry it with an. overwhelming majbrit y.—
(A. laugh.)—lle would make one or two observe-
tions.upon this suhject:as far as he understood it.
The-Sacrament of the-Lord's Supper was in com-
memoration of his sacrifice for the salvation. of
mankind, and was held • by certain persons to be:
efficacious for their spiritual Welfare. As far as
this-. went, he found tie difficulty. But then it was
said that Roman Catholics believed in, the actual
presence of the.body of Christ. If it were-true
that they' believed this, it would be a proposition
'so diametrically opposed to all natural laws and
principles, that he. for one should be ready to
reject it. _ But the :Roman Catholics themselves
siad they-believed in no such thing. They,.indee,d,
declared that in one sense it was present. What
this sense was, .he confessed he 'did not know.
But this was neither idolatry nor . superstition.
Such was net the conclusion of the great and ce-
lebrated Queen:Elizabeth, although she did not
believe in it.. The wisdom .which she displayed.
in the disposal of this 'question, might be traced.
in the writings of Bishop Burnet, in his• History
of :the Refoimation. He saidee-" It was the de-
sign of the Queen • to unite the nation in one
faith. A great part of- the people continued to
believe is the :presence, therefore did she allow
it to remain :te speculative opinion, •upon

which every man might' be allowed the ot-
ercise of his free opinion." But Queen Eliza-
zabeth had the: true art, or rather the genius, of
governing her people for their general good. There-
fore it was, that although she did not believe in
these opinions, she altered the Liturgy as it had
been established by Edward the Sixth for the
purpose, of accommodating the different faiths
and interests of her subjects. This. was her
ject, as .Bishop Burnet had said, and with sash
views, the whole 'Reformation was established.
if this belief was now to be charged on Roman
Catholics as superstition and idolatry, it really
becal,ile monstrous to consider what had been
done. In - Ireland, Roman Catholics were ad-
mitted to be Grand Jurors and Magistrates.—
What then did they do, according to the pre-
vious doctrine ? Why, after making them take an
oath that they were Catholics, and consequently
idolators, they.left them to tax, and to dispose of
the lives of Christians. To those Gentlemen.who
professed religion—and no doubt felt its'zeal, he
.would say.that its interest could . net' be better'
served, or its character sooner relieved from dis-
ghee, than by not allowing such principles to be
any longer recognized :upon .the Statutes. He
next came to. the constitutional -bearing of the
question. And what he meant . to contend was
this, that admission to all offices of state was the
right of any liege subject of the King. • For the
establiShment of that right he should not touch
upon the Reformation, nor upon the RevolutiOn.
The causes 'of the exceptions made against the
Catholics at the 'Revolution were only of a tem-
porary nature, and had long since ceased to ex-
ist. ,But they were not now to examine into such
collateral matter—they were not to get rid of
the question by side shifts—they were to look
Its principles in the face, and either adopt or re-,
ject them altogether. The first question then
was, whether the Roman Catholics were not the
liege subjects of the King.? He would ask ivhat
shut them out? There could, be nothing but their!
assertion of the spiritual supremacy of the Pope.
It was said that this was indifferent to the law,
but that the Constitution shut them out upon- this
account. Now let them examine-to what this in-
ference would lead. 1 f the law,.as it regarded the
oath of Supremacy, could have this. interpretation,
then there never was a liege subject in England
before the reign of Henry VIII. because up. to
that.period, this country had always • a.cknow-
ledeed the spiritual supremacy of. the Pope.—
Then they mast determine that up to that
tied England had been a nation of outlaws.—
Magna Charta 'had been obtained by outlaws—
' and the .Revolution of 1688 had been accom-
plished'hy outlaws.—(Cheering.)—Accordiug to
that doctrine, -there was not a Catholic nation in
Europe whose Monarch rultrd over as much as
one liege subject.—(Much cheering.)—What was
this- supremacy ?. The Uoman Catholics.admitted,
that in all the states of the realm—all the consti-
tuted authorities, all the civil and ecclesiastical
Lestabliehrnents were without the jurisdiction of
the Pope, and that it was only in spiritual -affairs
that he was held supreme. Ile could not give a
stronger illustration of the subject, titan by sup-
Iposing the case of a person who held conscienti-
ous doubts upon any part of-his conduct or ha
bits of life. He would then consider that a re-
fe- Fence to the Pope was necessary, and his deci-
' sion would regulate his mode of living. It was
well known that we he!tl the rights of marriage
within certain degrees of consanguinity, which a-
Roman Catholic would notceneider lawful. He-
would declare such persons to be living in,a state
of sin. But he would not deny the rights of the
children born in such a marriage,. nor any other
lawful rights connected with it ; and if any one
should interfere with those rights, a Roman Ca-
tholic Priest would feel bound in duty to visit
such interference with- the spiritual censure.—
' But they did not claim the exercise of that spirie
tuel condemnation beyond their own sect. He
must own, therefore, that it was with some de-
gree of regret that he heard the same Right
Reverend pe,rson to whom he had before alluded,
lay down the- principle -that -the oath of- supre-
macy affected the Constitutional rights,and-privi
leges of the nation. He certainly aciinitted with
candour, - that as to their religious opinions,
they had no concern ..with
,those rights and
privileges. , But he said that the Roman Ca-
tholic yielded that to the. Pope -which the Pro--'
testant would yield to no person. Therefore
-he deduced that a civil disqualification
_exist-
ed. This was what . Locke had called " see-
ing a little, presuming a -great. deal, and then
jumping- to a conclusion." It must appear
.to
every plain unsophisticated -mind, that • all such
conclusions were founded in any thing but
truth. It really would become those persons
who made such .objections as those he-was then
combatting to point out the law, and its exposi-
tion, to demonstrate that line ,of deniarcatioo
which shut out. individuals from common pro-
tection of-their country,,on.account of their de-
grees of faith. It was seid, that theieficiency
of the Scotch. Churcle-was: not sufficiently greats
but that the deficiency of the Roman Catholics
arrived-at that very exact degree which would-1
shut them out from the Constitution. In meta-'
physics, this was entitled civil -worth. He did net
know what was meant by this new (angled "phrae
of civil worth, unless it was that all the grand
-immaterial attributes of truth, justice, wisdom,
were -to be excluded from the qualificatious- of the
King's liege subjects. •Because all persons' how-
ever-eminent ly possessing them, if they held the
doctrines of Supremacy, were to be shut out,
while others, who held neither the former nor
thelatter, were left to the enjoyment of the full
benefits of the Constitution. 'The security 'of
the Constitution consisted in the power of
the -Monarch to select tit* -who, were most
worthy to fill the offices of the State, and
to . exclude those who were unworthy. How
then were so.large a portion of the commu-
nity as the Roman Catholics composed to be se-
parroted from the -body of the nation, and to be
shut out from the choice of the Monarch, • in
violation of these principles, which he affirmed
to be-:the -principles of- the Constitution He
spoke in the presence of spend Constitu-
tienal Lawyers, and-,men who . were thorooghlse,
acquainted with the hiStory of the-Country,
he was open to
.contradiction. In our free.mo-

narchy every subject had the right of all the
Franchises of the State. If not, we no longer
lived under a free Monarchy. lie did not here
apply the term franchise as it was generally ap.
plied:by lawyers,_but iu-the sense in which Mr.
Burke used .it; namely, as applying to the offices
immediately connected with the Government
and the Parliathent. These principles were
independent of all law; inastiluch as, they were
derived from what the law was also derived,
namely, the sacred fountains of the British
Constitution. The Right Hon. Member then
read a long passage from the works of Lord
"Bacon, which went to support his argument. These
were the sound principles of, the
,Constitution.
The principle of exclusion was alt upstart repub-
lican principle, of the same description as thoSe
116 had so much and so justly condemned in that
House. There was no part of our history so vul-
garly abused as that which related to the Re-
formation. The Act of Admonition of Queen
Elizabeth, was introduced for the purpose of se-
parating those who we're loyal from the unloyal
and because that: Princess would not suffer the'
subjects of her ancestors to be ruled) by any fo-
reign Sovereign. The sth of Elizabeth was an ex-
planation of the Act of Supremacy-:—lt 'said that
" whereas the Queen is always sufficiently assur-
ed of the loyalty of all her subjects who were
Barons in Parliament, this -Act does not extend
to them," Scc. This proved that the Act of Su-
premacy was not considered as a test of religion,
but of loyalty, as the Act declared. Together
with this legislative, exposition, he.wortld recom—
mend to Gentlemen not acquainted' with it, also
to look-at the writings of Walsinghatn, who de-
clared that the measures adopted, by the _Queen
were not intended to interfere with the conscien-
tious oriniOns.of the people, -but to meet the exi-
gencies of the moment, arising Worn the machi-
nations of Baer foreign enemies, and other imme-1
diate.causes. They were the result of her Royal
wisdom, and applicable to the changes which
were then . taking place. He confidently hoped
that our present Sovereign would exercise his
Royal wisdom in the same manner. His Ma-
jesty was not called upon to alter any principles
upon which he had hitherto acted, but to meet
the changes and consequent necessities which had
arisen with the course oltime. There was a re-
markable case in the reign of Charles-11. of Sir
S. S.vale, who was a 'Roman Catholic and was
expelled from the Ilouse of Commons iii 1677.—
Re was not expelled' for- being -Roman Catho-
lic, but for being a Papist recusant convict.—
Therefore, down to that period, the Reformation
had not excluded Roman Catholics from sitting
in Parliament. At -the-time when the-13th of
Charles the Second Was passed, he :wits-suspected
of being a Romaii Catholic, • and his presumptive
successor notoriously professed thaCfaith. 'Now,
here there was danger, and therefore hid The Act
been passed, not as a test,' hut for the purposes of
exclusion. lie might be asked,why was it not af-
terwards repealed'? -He would answer, because a
recurrence of danger was apprehended. 'The
fear of Popish ascendancy was hangiug over the
country for a considerable period, and operated,
as Bishop Burnet 'said, to continue the restric-
tions upon .the -Roman Catholics.. There were
one or two facts, not,' Its lea believed,,generally
known, which Ile would take the liberty to read.
in the '6th of Anne, ,an Act was paseettappoint-
ing certain Commissioners, in which a clause was I
introduced, disabling them from giving their:-sup-
port to any measure for repealing the Act of
Uniformity. It. was proposed also. to introduce
into that Act a clause for disabling therm in like
manner from consenting to ,a repeal of-the.l3tlaof
Chas. 11, They. next cause down to the Union,
at which time it was.'expressly agreed that that
Act, together with the Test Act, should
,remain
in force until the
.Parliament of England should
take the. subject into its. consideration. Subse-
quently, at the Irish Union, the same ,stipulaion
was made ; and now he called uponthe,Holise to
discharge its bounden duty, by coming to.that
consideration. lie called upon it, upon all tise
principles which had . been avowed by 'Pitt, by
Fox, by Sheridan, by -Wyndham, and by all the
great names whose spirits had buoyancy enough
to_bear them down the stream of.tithe. He ap-
pealed to them whether lie had- not triumphantly
rebtitted all the objections which had been hi-
therto thrown-out against the measures which he
proposed. 'When- he said' triumphantly he could
not hnply-any personal 'feelings of triumph, for
lie could not look round him without thinking of -
the liiends which lie had lost, since he last had
the honour of delivering his sentiments upon the
present question. There was Mr. Sel-Vhithread,
the steady'centinel of the people's 'rights—the
inn-natured splkdour which wass burstiog from
the public -and private Virtues of SinS.Romilly—
the lamented'Mr. Ponsonby, the friend alike of
the Crown. and of the Peoples-ethe dawning ge-
niu's of - Mr. llorner—the sound, constitutional
doctrines ofSir Arthur Pigott, mid that :.pattern
of what 'aristocracy should be, .Mr.•.Elliotta—
When he considered that .they were still as
•if walking in : the funeral
_procession of those
great men, lie could not mingle any thing
like feelings of triumph with the solemn discharge
ot' his duty. He now Came to a part of the :sub-
ject which would leave the whole imperfect if it
were not touched upon. There were ninny re-
spectable people, -who thought there were -mea-
sures dangerous to the Constitution likely to grow
out of the present proposal. If -he, for'otie, were
of that opinion, he-could only say, that dear to
his:heart. as was, thesubjectnow before the House,
he. would abandon it at once. Therefore it svas
that he implored the House to•consider the pre-
sent question coolly and dispassionately. , When
he recollected the opposition which he_was
~prep-
ared to meet:from the Rieht Hon; Member for
Oxford—his talents, his weight .olargument, and
the gentlemanly steadiness of his principles, :he
.Was convinced that no person was more likely to
he influential in the State than 'the Right. Hon.
:Member. lie (Mr. Plunkett) expected, to be
met by all those early prejudices
.which had been
imbibed by the Right Hon. Gentletnau. It might
probably'be said the Church was,indanger a and
realLy.if he were asked t 4 question, he ceuldelot
conscientiously-say. the Church was not in datiger
—( Hear, hear, hear !)—BUt thedanger lay in-.the
ft:4ll4oms a its the narrowness of the basis. - :The

people were not Connected with the State.---
(Cheers.)—lt might be asked, too, that admitting
the danger, where was the protection to be af-
forded if they adopted this measure ? He would
answer, that every safety would he ensured by
its adoption, which would be uncertain by its re-
jection. He would confidently affirm that there
was no danger, but such as he had stated. There
were dangers, heeldmitted ; but some were un-
founded, and many were exaggerated. A. large
majority Nl/4f tht people of Ireland were of a reli-
gion ditTerent from the State, and- yet that
majority contributed to the support of the
Established Church. They were necessarily
in communication with the Church of norneeand
therefore were net connected .with the State.
And yet, by an anomaly in the. Government,
many of those persons were substantially admitted_
into power; they were admitted upon the secu-
rity of oaths imposed, by the Government. But
the-Right Hon. Gentleman might argue, 'that-- if
they were sincere in their religion, - they conld
not keep their oaths ; but -if this were urged, it
was asserting neither %more nor less than that
those persons were corrupt and perjured. In
fact, the. great maj'ori'ty were rejected, not so
ritual by the voice of reason, as by the arm of
power; while some of them were in the pos-
session of privileges held by oaths, which it
was argued could not bind them. . Was
this the bed of roses, was this the heap of
Elysian flowers upon evhich • the Right
Gentleman was contest to take his_ repose ? The
Right Hon. Gentleman argued, that if those per-
sons were true to- their religaen, they would at-
tempt to subVert the present establishment, and
probably they would attempt it. What then
was the wisest course to be taken by the Legis-
lature -? They were boiled to prevent such a sub-
version, by granting a just concession ; and for
this they were justified in precedent by the Scot-
tish Union. The Catholics-were urged' by their
propensities and their feelings to attempt such
subversion ; hut the Right Hon. Gentleman ict .
answer had referred to the passive-state in which
they had so long appeared. If he (Mr. Plunkett)
could think with the. Right' Hon. Geotleman, he
would abandon, the preseet subject ; he would
'retire with the-Right-Hon. Gentienian-:to ie-state,
not of. repose, .but of inactivitye-enot of tor-
por, but of dissolution. if it was true that the
'Roman Catholic was bound to .aim-at the sabeer-
sion of the present Establisleneut, it was their
defy to attempt the destractiou of his;religion.---
If this subversive spark remained in his.bosom,
it was their-duty to extinguish it ; for the present
principle of intoleration rebounded upon our-
selves.. He could find no name for it but that of
religious bigotry ; for, in fact, it was nothine
else. lie wished for a Conetitetionewhich woeid
relieve. the Roman Catholics, and at the steno
time remove their supposed spirit of hostility.--`
But he denied that they possessed any such spi-
rit.. The Right Hon. Gentleman opposite nil ist
know that the Scottish precedent was an -ae;tn-
merit in favour of the Catholic Claims ; for it was
a fundamental principle of the laws of the Em-
Ore. And in truth, the Roman Catholic no more
-thought of disturbing those laws, than he th© neht
.of depriving his neighbour of his property ; .aril
h-e Wisely preferred Protestant ascendancy with
security, to Catholic ascendancy with danger'
would ask
,upon what- authority it wal tit"'
this -stigm:t had been branded upon- teie,,Roieatx
Catholic? -What had they said or written; ner.
done, to warrant it ? But the Right Hon. Mem-
ber opposite .said he was bound to exclu le the
•Roman'catholics,upon the principle of their •h.e#
ing subject to all the feelings of human nature-
-He (Mr. Plunkett) could not find in ifo'r
volume of human
_nature any thing -Achitil.
called -upon the -Rornan Catholic to surrender
his COIISTiE nee and his reason, merely:that
his •Prest might gain a mitre. Indeed Ali°
Right
.lion. Gentleman -very much mistook"-
the nature of man in making such art assertion r
for the Constitution was alevayi made more Se'
cure by being made generally beneficial to those
who lived under it. This, however, he read
human nature. Be read that if a man were'ee
eluded -from constitutional benefits, merely
cause he entertained certain religious opiniooo
if he and his -childreti were to he considered g°
outcasts,; -then, indeed, he (Mr. Ploakett)-rea-d
-there was- .a fearful principle. in .himienenature
which- rendered that man's exclusion a' danger t°
the State. --But where was -ehe differene be;
•t-weer the-Right -Hon. Gentleman.-hietielf •
He .(111e. •Plunkett) would -propose e-CorninitWe
-of -Inquiry.. Ills ultimate object would • be' t°
render the appointment of- Catholic Iliskoits
.der the controul of the State ; a-nd thus at 09'6
-relieve the grievance and tenser° • the lovall
-of the Catholic. But the Right Hon. "Gen-
t.
tleman -wanted to leave -the 'matter -as -it ems
-He -was in love- with his danger. - Bat he (Mr.
-would tell the Right. Honourable
.man, that the -remedy was to incorporate In!
Catholic with the State, and to render his pr,'
vileee our own security. He -would have 1-,1'5
,1
.accomplished by every thing- binding -11P',
the conscience of the Catholic.; .by rerso
every invidious distinction, without
featherto his power. -Ile (Mr. Pueleett)
say, " Connect the Roman Catholic with, t'd
Establishment of the State, take away the 103',
, from his forehead, and the shackles from his leg':
and leave,, him in a situation the preudest.olyb'
earth—that of a local English subject.
(cheers.)---Ile intreated the House trot rejecc
this proposal—a proposal at once of. grace nd,°
justice. Ile intreated them not to send the La
tholic from their Bar, and tell him that he
not to be relieved. The Right Hon. Gentlein%
had truly stated that the Roman Catholics
advancing to a situation of eminence in the Sta'
Their nembers, their wealthe their respectabillts;
their situation in our fleets and armies, all show
-bet
that they formed a considerable. portion ni r
were justly called the sinews of political pow%
Their demand was justice and the cry of tr'e
-would-efrorftiluset:-cecr'y, 1-Ine-ranva‘sviPtehrindhen7s
antiwould say oeilf.Perywohrd onenst
e man
if
the Without
pttkn
-House was not exhausted.:( Loud and enntiN'te:
cheers.)--,lt might be urged ;thee there, won .‘
-deneer in admittinz -the.principle- of eante"-°"
more if e tiWere'l. of .t 1,1-11edi

but what did the argument mean ? Did the Right
lion. Gentleman suppose that Ireland was to be
a jungle—a deposit for' wild and savage beasts ?
lie surely could not; for he admitted
.restric-
tion to be an evil. The Right Hon. _Gentlerrian
admitted also that there was a point at which
restriction should stop, and concession should be-
gin. Where then was that point ? The 'Right
Hon. Gentleman would contend that that point was
• .fixed in the year 1793. But if the 'medium
had been so critically hit at that period, where
,was the necessity- for the subsequent altera-
tion ? Why allow them to be Grand Jurors,
and to fill other offices of honour ? Why not allow
the sane privileges to the English Catholics, who,
from their-situation, their dignity, and their pa-
tience, were equally entitled to them.—(Hear,
hear !)—The House ought not to object to a
Committee for the relief of the English Catholics.
-Under the English Laws a Catholic ought to be
u holder of land, which, under some circum-
stances, would enable him in effect to return
_Members to that House, although he could not
sit in it himself. Indeed if he were to. go through
all the distinctions of absurdity in the present
system, he should exhaust the patience of the
House. The laws permitted the Irish Catholic
to be called to the bar.: The country witnessed'
his talents and their honourable application in
practice. They encouraged him ; and.when they -
found him advancing towards the well-earned re-
ward of his labours they stopped him short,
checked-his honourable ambition, and left him in
the utmost despondency. Was this just; was
it honourable ?—(Cheers.)—He had the honour
:to .be acquainted with many of the Catholic
Gentlemen of the Irish Bar,- and he knew them
..10 be as loyal and as zealously attached to the
`-onstitution as any of his Majesty's subjects.-7
But it was not on their behalf he spoke. He
sPnke in behalf of the. Protestant Bar, for its
members were anxious that this invidious par-
tiality should be removed.— (Cheers.)—The
question was, where concession should begin ;
:for if it were clear that the present restrictions
'Were proper, the Roman Catholics had certainly
no right to complain. The principal object he
had in- view,- was the removal of the oath denying
transubstantiation, and the modification -of the
Oath of Sapremacy.—The Right Hon.. Gentle-
man was here so exhausted that he sat down
for a few seconds to recover hiniSelf before read-
ing his motion. The universal cheers of the
House continued until he rose again, When he
`moved,

"-That the Rouse do resolve itself into a Cortnnittee of the
Whole House, to consider the Laws relating to the Declarations
taken as qualifications for Offices, sofas as they_ affected the Irish
Catholics, and whether it would be expedient to alter or modify
the same, so as to enable the said Catholics to take them ; and
also to consider the propriety of removing the declaration against
Tiansubstantiation."
Mr. DENNIS.BROWNE seconded the motion.
Mr. PEEL said he hoped it was always unne-
cessary for hirn.tt. assure the Right Hon. Gentle-
man.that nothing should induce him to attempt to
answer his arguments, under any circumstances,
as that Right Hon. Gentleman must possess over-
powering advantages ; but, on the present °cm-
, sion, he had atuwered a speech -made by him
(Mr. Peel) four years ago, on the -discussion of
the question now before the House. The Right
I.ion. Gentleman had the advantage of tearing to
-pieces every argumenewhicit he (Mr. Peel) had.
'arged on that occasion." The House might there-
. tre imagine under what apprehension it was that
(Mr. Peel) rose-to follow that Right Hon.
„.4entlernan: He would shortly allude to that to
I'4 the Right Honourable Gentleman had
(;`°:lielf first alluded. He meant the affectionate
,LitY which had been shavin to the memory
a ;departed friend, under whose auspices
'fie present question had been so powerfully
,ItlPported. In the warm tribute which had
it'een paid to the memory of Mr. Grattan
4O most cordially joined. It might seem arro-
Phce it) him to follow the Right Honourable
Gentleman in the terms in which lie had sp-eke!),
'dudhe therefore would forbear to do so ; but if
lea subscribed to that had been advanced by
"'he Right Hon. Gentleman in praise of Mr. Grat-
tan, it would convince all who heard him that
the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite had not been
educed by the partiality of friendship. No man
more than himself could admire Mr. Grattan,
Illiough he (Mr. P.) had the misfortune to be
Opponent,on the principles of the subject un-
, der discussion. 'the unquestionable integrity of
desperate
Grattan had endeared him to all ; and the
mesPerate fidelity with whiCh he adhered to the
Present question was the strongest proof of his
Political consistency. But he thought that while
the llouse would agree with hint in the praise of
lhe excellence of Arr. Grattan, it would also be Of
with him, that the cause he advocated had
0011141 a worthy successor in the :Right Hon. Gent.
tu4osite. After this preface he would proceed
trZ47tice the speech of the Right lion. Gentle-
ye and in the outset he should ob-
ve; that if any man supposed he wished to
},r7Peal to those, passions and prejuoices which
1,4 been alluded to by the Right Hon. Mem-
:
c that man was under a delusion, for "lie de-'
ared an opinion which indeed would be a re-
re
tition of a former opinion, that in the present
. `!`he laws we had only a choice of evils.
-uhe state of society was anomalous; and the
fCo u
rse
adopted --was necessary, though he was
free to confess it was not satisfactory. He should
Proceed to state his dissent from some of
the propositions of the Right Honourable Mern;.
her. bid the Right honourable Alerriber sup-
Pose that he looked at 'the state of things of
the year 1793, with any satisfaction ?' Was it
-Possible that.he could hear the natites which had
been mentioned by the Right Hon. 'Member, as
disapproving of that state of things, and yet de-
clare that he was satisfied ? He 'rase to con-
scler the present question with a view to justice
alooe, and he should be 'ashamed to look the
lionse in the face if he could address himself to
the present question from interested motives.
• The
_present duty, .he conceived, called upon
them to examine and re:exenrine all their former
lopinions ; and if. • they still conscientiously ad-
tileretd to those opinions, they might -reasonably
ouot the infallibility of the -gre,t authorifies.

which had been quoted by the Right Hon.
Mover.- The Right 'Hon. Member stated ' his
conception, that constitutionally every subject
had a right to fill an office, and that it was un.&
constitutional to exclude him. lie (Mr. Peel)
contended against that position. He would ap-
peal to authority equal to that which had been
adduced by - the Right Hon. Member. He
thought the- Right Hon. Member would agree
with him, that if it was right to admit the Ca-
tholic, it was right to admit the Protestant Dis-
senter. In fact, to grant the proposed relief to
the Catholics, would be an admission of the
necessity of repealing the Corporation-and Test
Acts.—(Hear, hear, hear.!)—Here it was .that
all the great authorities in question, left the
Right Honourable Member._ Mr. Pitt de-
clared that he considered those Acts the bul-
wark, of the Constitution, and he objected
to the principle of their repeal. Mr./Burke
also, on a great occasion, when that prin.,
ciple came' under discussion- in that House;
staid away from the debate, observing, that he
really was not able to make up his mind on the
question. , Another authority had been quoted:
with much confidence. It was Blackstone, who
had been quoted in aid of Hoad ley. But the
Noble Lord who quoted Blackstone could'
scarcely have read the ivhole of the chapter from
which he had referred. Blackstone observed-,
that if a time should arrive when thoßoman Catho-
lics -disclaimed the tenets ascribed to them, the.
Penal Statutes might be removed ; but it did ilot
follow from this passage that the excluding Acts,
should be also removed. The contrary was evi-
dent, for Blackstone went on to speak of the ex-1
eluding Acts as applicable to all Dissenters. The
authority of Blackstone was therefore clearly
against the repeal of the excluding Laws. Ile
would, in reference to the History of England,
commence with the Reformation.; passing by the
period at which the
_Roman Catholic was
the established Religion of the country. The
Act of the Ist of Elizabeth required every per-
son iir office to tale an oath, not only, that no other
person had jurisdiction in this kingdom,
.but, af-
firmatively, that Queen Elizabeth 'had jurisdic-
tion spiritual as well as temporal. The sth of
Elizabeth required every knight, citizen, and
burgess, to• take a similar oath. .The question
was, would the Roman'Catholics of the present
day take this oath ? If they would not,. it fol-
lowed that the Roman Catholics of that day were
objects of even less jealousy thin they were at
present. The Right Honourable Member had
referred too, to the Debates of the other House,
though such a reference was an irregularity which
could not be sanctioned by the authority of his
respectable name. By that reference it would
appear, that the Oath of Supremacy had been
found effectual ; but it was rather too Much to
argue from thence, that there was no intention to,
exclude the Roman Catholics. He would pass
over the reigns of Charles the Second_ and James
the Second, and come-at once to the Revolu-
tion. -.lie -hid •-really 'to ap-ologize to the House,
—(Cheers)--but really the- ground in question
had been trodden so often, that there was
little .to do, 'but to urge that which had
been urged 'before. The Clear distinction to be
'observed upon the present question was that
which existed between toleration and power—
, between those laws which impos'ed penalties and
those which merely excluded from office ; and he
would leave it to the judgment of the House
.whether the authority he appealed to was not at
least•equal to that of the Right 'Hon. Mover.—
Ile would admit that although the Laws of 'Ex-,
elusion were coeval with the Reformation, yet
that circumstance ought to be no bar, to the
claims of the Catholics, if they were well founded.
Nay, though the Bill of Rights itself had -ex-
cluded them, he would 'halve been the first to,
consent to a removal of thatexclusio'n if it should
appear that the Bill of Rights was.the founda-
tion of an act of injustice.(llear !)—lre' had
heard an eulogium on the character of King Wil-
liam and on his opinions; but what were those
opinions ? It was proposed while he was Prince
of Orange, toadmit his friends into power, if he
would-consent to the repeal Of the Corporation
and Test Acts. On that occasion, he most
certainly did • not admit that every person had
a 'Constitutional right -to office. His opinions
of that day were so applicable to the -pre-
sent occasion, that" lie (Mr. Peel), with the
-permission of the House,. woull read them.—
The Prince's answer .ivas addresSed through
the Pensionary of Holland to the then King
of Englaed, and the answer ran as follows :
" And if hig Majesty think fit to repeal the
penal laws, they Nt' re ready 'to Consent thereto,
but subject to the exclusion of the Roman Catho-
lics." And again afterwards—" 'But they can-
not consent 'to the repeal of those laws by Which
the Constitution' is preserved against the designs
of Roman Catholics." Indeed ,rno 'distinction
could be clearer, as' he observed before, than
that bet Ween penal laWs and laws of 'exclusion.
In another part of the answer, was the following
passage :—" The Roman Catholics, by being
in Parliament, must naturally study to in-
crease their -power, WhiCh was dangerous to
the Protestant Religion, since 'all in power
leaned more or lets to their religion." This
was the opinion of King William ; but he (Mr.
Peel) had other authority to show that there'
was no such • right as 'that of the adrnisiion
into office of every subject. It was known to
every Member Of the House that the first ground
of the Bill of Rights was the attempt at the
exercise of a-dispensing poWer. This power was,
attempted to .be exercised for the purpose of
letting the Roman Catholics into power. He Was;
-however, prepared for argements 'against the
authority of King William,-and he would there-
fOre-refee to others. He would 'commence with
.the Act for the -Toleration; Of Protestant. Dis-
senters. In the reign Of Queen Anne a, Bill was
brought into Parliathent for depriving Dissenters
of that Toleration. • It Was called " An Act to
compel' occasional conforMity." It passed the'
Commons, but it met with considerable opposi-
tion in the Lords. A conference Was agreed to,
and managers were appointed- to conduct it. It
Would here he highly proper to notice the per
sons aPpointed to conduct the cOnfererice on
the- part' of thz: `Lords. They Were the,

Earl of Peterborough, Lora rialifaia, Burnet,
Bishop of Salisbury) the Duke•of Devonshire,
and Lord Somers. It appeared that the Lords
urged in support of their arguments again St
the Bill, their opinion that the Cluirch *as
in no danger from Protestant Dissenters. There
was a Resolution passed, which in substance de-
clared, " that the Church of England, as happily
saved by King William, of blessed memory, was
not in danger; and • that whoever went about
declaring that it was in danger, was an enemy
to the Queen and the State."—The Managers
appeared to admit that the Dissenters were
peaceable and well-disposed ; and he (Mr. Peel)
was perfectly ready to adthit the same of the
Roman Catholics. What was the distinction
drawn by the Managers ? They said, and truly
said, that the natural distinction was; the exclu-
sion of persons from office: The Laws consider-
ed that " the regulation of Offices belonged to
the Legislature, but that- Penalty. and Punish.:
ment was of another nature."—(Cheers.)—This
was the constitutional doctrine of the great Lord
Somers. If he (Ldr. (=ee!) therefore objected to
the, general admission of Dissenters, he had
a right to object to the motion of the Right
Honourable Member in favour of PLoaian Ca-
tholics. There was a most , respectable and
loyal class of his Majesty's subjects who
would not take an oath at- all, and he did not see
why the same argument should not be offered
in favour of them alSo ; for the law had put
them on the same .footing with the rest of the
community in all cases of• property. Why then
exclude the Quakers ? It. was known that a
Quaker had even ,been returned to sit in that
House ; and certainly there Was no greater rea-
son' for excluding them. Foreign- or Papal • in-
fluence could not be dreaded with respect to
them, and certainly a: More estimable class of
men he had.'never known in his life. They were
in all respects a just, loyal, humane, and chari-
table class of people.—:(Cheers:)—lle was asked
what danger he feared awould accrue to the pre-
sent generation from the repeal of these Acts.
His answer was, that he was not going to form a
Constitution for the present day. He was going
to frame a system- of laws which he believed
would be irrevocable by future ages; for what-
ever the future danger might be, he did not be-
lieve a power would be reserved to the State to
rescind them. There was, therefore, a claim on
behalf of posterity,. avhich did demand serious
consideration. It was admitted by all that a, re-
peal of these laws would affect the Constitution.
And when an alteration was to be made in the
Constitution which was to last for posterity, was
he 'to be precluded from considering the dangers,
which these laws might subject them to, as far as
he was able to carry his calculation into futurity
He believed that these laws were Made to ward
off the recurrence of dangers Which existed iti
past ages ; 'and when they were Makin.. laws,
they had a right to- look at the history of 'the past
as the best guide to be obtialitherdefettritrionogghtothtez-s
iotYfrom any desire to rake
past,kao e pathsd did
d on fo
tf futurity.
up the mouldering ashes of religious feuds and
exacerbations, which were in the present day
knowit only byname. Such was not his wish
he assured the House ; he was sincere in the pur-
pose he had stated. The Right Hon. Gentleman
(Mr. Plunkett) said, that as a reason for the
continuance of the existing restrictions in' the
time of. Queen Elizabeth, that there was-a Poi
pish plot, which didnot exist now. In the reign
of Charles 11. there was an 'equal danger from
the King himself, in selecting improper members
forlds Council. In the time of James U. it was'
said there was another species of danger—he
was professedly attached to -the -Roman Ca-
tholics. In the reign of William III: there was
still danger. But it was to be remarked,
.there was nothing to be feared from the Pope ha
that day ; nothing from the bigotry or intolerance
of the Pope ; -but still there was sufficient danger
to warrant the continuance of the Catholic restric-
tions. The danger which then' authorised our
guarding ourselves in a similar way, as we had
done till that time, was the fearful power ef
Louis the Fourteenth on the Continent. From
these examples, drawn from the. past, then he had
a right to.say, that if at five periods.of otir his-
tory there were: five different dangers _to be
-guarded against, he had a right to-assume,-that a
danger of a nature not to be foreseen in the pre,
.sent day, might spring up in futa-re times. It
had beet said, what had the state to dO with. re-
ligion ? •In reply it Might-be said, that when re-
ligion had nothing to do with the State, the State
would have nothing to do with religion. B-ut
how could it be shewn that -.religion was not con.-
nected with affairs of State ? Could it be inferred
from the pages of the historY of 'England, of Scot,
land, or of Ireland, the three constituents of this
great empire ? A fter reviewing these histories,
who could say that amongst. the motives which
influenced man as a political member of the State,
religion had not its place ? What was it .that
male every man in that House feel that aifection
and reverence for the institutions of the Established
Church of thiaceuutry, but that he felt that Church
was a pure and holy , one : In the words of the
•Bill of 1813, Religion formed. a part of the
Constitution of this country. He reMembered
the words of the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr.
Plunkett) ors the occasion of that Bill. He then
called upon the house, as Ern argument for going
'into the Conunittee, to do so for the purpose of
giving satisfaction, and restoring concard toa great
portion of the subjects of the realm. And the
-Right Hon. G-entlernats would remember that a
great part of-What he (Mr. Peel) said in 1817
against the Committee-was to skew their inabia
lity to give that concord Or • satisfaction, on
'which the Right Hon Gentleman 'so much- in-
sisted. Let the Right lion. Gentleman refer
to the Bill framed- on that occasion, professedly
for the purpose of doing away with the • inabi.:
litieS under which the Catholics laboured, and
of width they COMplained. He would find
that three-fonrths of that Bill was taken tip
impoaing restrictions, to gUaad againit the dan-
ger which the Rt. Hon. Gentleman denied did or
could exist. Such *as the natiire: of thO;ie pre-
cautions, that to use the words of the lit. Hon.
Gentlethan, " it was granting political power to
the Cat:holies spon terms 'which the host jealous

Protestaht could iiat object to; hor thO most
scrupulous or inveterate Cathrlie reject:" He was
correct, notwithstandidg; he belitied, iii stating,
that this Bill so framed veal generally reprobated
bra great part of the Ro:aish Glergye who con-
sidered that- they were not able to give did
pledges it required. There was, he believed, a
general fe-eling of disapprobation in the Catholic
laity, which led them to prefer their present state
of to accepting power on those coodi,
tions; These feelings existed in opposition td
the authority of the Church of Rome ; for they
had the sanction of the Pope. to give those pledges
they felt in their conscience they could not give.
The itt. Hon. Gentleman. had seid, bat he was
sure he meant it only by inal'Aiaation, that he
(Mr. Peel) accused the Catholics of being ca-
pable of perjury. He was sure he meant only,
that his arguments were Capable df warranting
that -deduction. He assured the Rt. Honourable
Gentleman, that he always wished to argue this
question in the most temperate mannee.—(Hear !)
—He was the last person who could be guilty of
using intemperate language, for the express pur-
pose, as on some occasions he had seen done, of
exciting similar feelings, because he was interest-
ed in producing that result. He cherished no
hostile feelings against the Roman Catholics.; in-
deed he should be most ungrateful if he did.
'When he was in office he thought it his duty
conscientiously to oppOse the Catholic claims,
as lie did now,. and' to their credit he acknow-
ledged that the Catholics always did him the
justice to appreciate the motives by which lie
acted. He did not do them the injustice to
discredit their oaths ; but he did maintain ttiat
it was reasonable. that the prevalence of the
Members. high in •office should be attached to
the Reformed Religion. He did not charge
the Catholics with being less able to discharge the
high duties of office ; but still he did not think
they' ought to be entrusted with them. If he
were a Catholic he never should think it wrong
to reinstate his own Church in the State. Was
there any thing in past history' which tended to
exempt a Roman Catholic from that suspicion
which he (Mr. Peel,) if -a Roman Catholic, and
in a Protestant country, would be subject to ?
But althoOgh he thought that apprehensions
might be entertained from the adoption-of the
principles lard down by the Right Hon. Gentl-
eman, he was free to acknowledge that if he could
think that this measure would operate materially
to rastore that 'concord and satisfaction, which
whatever might be his, views on this question,'he
as ardently desired to see established as the ‘Righ t
Hon. Gentleman—all his fears for the Church
Establishment would give way in favour of that
desirable consummation. No one wished more
than he did, to See the religious parties in
Ireland living in harmony and cordial union.,
But he was far from thinking that that would be
the effect of the measure recommended by the
-Might Hon, Gentleman. To strengthen his opi-
nion, he would not review this part of the his-
tory of Ireland, ,although he could notrellect on
the struggle for power, the frequent copfiscations,
and contests between the Catholics and Parlia-
ment, without seeing sufficient in the proposed
measure to produce agreatalegree of religious ani-
mosity. He. did believe, notwithstanding these
restrictive laws, that the religious parties in Ire-
land were approaching to a , much more social
state than ever existed between them before.—
The lapse'of Years, and the increase of refinement,
had contributed to produce great harmony
and concord between the Protestants anti Ca-
tholics, the continuation of which he could
not contemplate if the existing laws were altered.
It might be asked why, if he' admitted that there
were other causes sit tlieient 'to produce animosi-
ties, he was not willing. to do away this one ?
If the causes of. most of the dissensions in 'past
dynes were the religious and commercial mono-
poly of this country, which still existed, it might
Le asked, why he did not desire to put en end
to one part of that monopoly, if he desired to
cement more closely the harmony whiCh he stated
to be beginning, to manifest itself ? It was ex-
pressly to avoid disturbing that harmony that he
opposed such a measure. He must state honestly,
that after having conferred the capacity to pos-
.sess power, he was :afraid that there would remain
no means of maintaining an equal division of power
betwixt Catholic and 'Protestant. He did think
that there- would be a constant struggle for power.
On every occasion of a new Representative
for the people laying chosen, if a Protestant
and Catholic Candidate were opposed to each
other, he could not doubt that. ancient ani-
mosities would be revived. If a reform in the
representative systemOf the kingdom were to take
place,
tending to abridge the term of the eXis-
tenceof each Parliament, it would be impossible
not to anticipate a great interruption of the doa
meatic concord of the country in the traoae fre-
quent reveal of the religions .feelings which
would then be called into aletion at every elec.
!ion hustings in the country. As he had before
said, he had a difficult task to-perform on this'oca
cashee having so often delivered his sentiments
before iii that Muse e and tae again begged 'to
assure the HOus6 'that iii deciding upon this
question, the grounds Of his decision were by
no rneatii determined 'by his connection with
rtLTV party or -any individuals. He spoke inde-
pendently roenl:C•t erl
of lilt, and had not even taken the pains
others. lie determined On this, as on all other
i'lniain what might 'be the sentiments of
questionse according to the intrinvic merits. If
the Right, Hon. Gentleman brOught in his Bill,
he asstiFed him that, ahauld the people of Prig-
land, contrary to what they ought to do, ,take
any part 'against' it, he. would not qnote their sen,
time:its in support of his6wO. As he had not.re,
(ralied what Was-termed
.the voice of the people
in other Matters, lie would not pretend tO, do so'
iu this, bectaise it acoordod with ins own. ITH
Would appeal to nothiue bat the deliberative
wisdom of that Ilouset—(Hear.).—lf fie thought
this Measure could with .safety' be adopted, not
the Whole voice of England should prevent hini
from givirtg it his support. His 'opinion was as
he had '-'epressetil it,' and with ineatfs eof influence
over Others which he had possessed,: so far -from
being consulted on the subject,• he-had refrained
from- •.entleavourin,g to . bias the opinions of.
any. He he btAleved, been the meant

cit preventing. many PetitiOns „on.. the sub-
ject. being presented to the Rouse. Ie
had oh all occasions declared, to,:the
deliberative wisdom of. the House of Commons,
and to that alone, shoUld he - appeal,, and in
that he confided fora decision according. with
Ids own sentiments. He should here conclude
What lie had to say to the House, by asgtiring
them that no result of that debate could give
unqualified pleasure. lie was bound to. wish
that those opinions which he advocated might
prevail. If they did, that sort of 'satisfaction
which he could not but derive frOmthe circum-
stance,' would be tempered by the reflection; that
it was tantamount to a rejection of 'the claims of
a great portion of their deserving fellow-subjects.
—(Heat!)—lf, on the contrary, the sentiments
of the Right lion. Mover should be triumphant,
he. assured the House that no-one would rejoice
more than he should to see all his predictions
proved false, and all his arguments refuted by
the increasing. cogcord of the two sects.—(The
Right lion. Gentleman sat down amidst loud and
general cheers.)
Sir JAMES MACKINTOSH commenced by ob-
serving, that notwithstanding this question had
been so often argued in that House, it had never
-presented sogreat a display of every quality which
marked the mind of a Statesman, as the Rt. lion.
Gentleman who had just sat down had that. night
evinced.—(lfear, hear o—To follow so great a
person was fully as formidatJe a task for hime
(Sir J. Mackintosh) as he (Mr. Peel) had com-
plained of having in encountering his. Rt. Hon.
Friend who opened the debate, a task which. he
(Sir J.-Mackintosh) would have been tempted to
decline, had he not been more solicitous for
,the
success of his cause, than desirous of the vanity
of contending with such an adversary. The 'Rt.
lion. Gentleman, he must -take the liberty, of
observing, had attributed to his Rt. Honourable
Friend propositions which he had not hid
down, inasmuch as he had charged him with
advocating unqualified Emancipation.--His
Right Hon. Priend had taken no such ground.—
he had spent a great part of his argument to ridi-
cule those Statesmen who pretended to reducOall
legislation to abstract principles. The Right lion.
Gentleman (Mr. Peel) had endeavoured to shew
that there Were a series of dangers from the Ca-
tholics from the Reformation to the time of King
William 111-. But the fact was, that there was
only one danger, viz.—the existence of agrat
Catholic Body connected with some foreign Power.
Throughout the whole of the times that he • had
euunierated, the danger was one and the same;
bearing the same character--,--evident, :great,
and urgent. As his Right lion. Friend (Mr.
Plunkett) said, every deviation from the principle
of the law of England, that every Englisinuan
had a common right and title to cOmpetenu
for office in the State, had been professedly. of
a temporary nature to connteract temporary
;danger. The Right lion. Gentleman who opposed
this doctrine, admitted that there was no pre-
sent danger, but said that his opinion was the
same as that Which actuated the great StatcSmati-,
who had- secured to them all the blessings. of the
Revolution, viz. to provide against future contin-
gencies. If. he
.compared these sentimentS.,:he
should say they were diametrically opposite.
The Right Hon. Gentleman said, that an altera-
tion in the British Constitution would be pro-
duced by the repeal of the 13th of Charles
He thought it a hard matter that an Act so Ob-
tained as that was should be so difficult of gettisg
repealed.. There was no laW so infamolts in i.ts
origin, or produced by such acomhination of
villainy, as the 13th of Charles the:Second:- It
was passed on the 28th of October; 16713-_ How
had the House employed itself previously to the
passing Of this Bill ? How. had they prepated
themselves for this great exercise of "delibera-
tive wisdom, and equanimity of 'temper, so ne-
cessary to go hand in hand in legislating on
such a question? They had been employed
examining at their Bar, Titns Oates. It was
when their Minds were intoxicated •by the iv.
famous perjuries which had caused the defith:-of
so .roany innocent persons, by that infatnous
wretch whose name stained the annals of the
-Fnglish history; that this law was enacted. The
foul perjuries of the most execrable miscreant
that ever showed his face at the, bar ora.iivil
tribunal as a false witness, had induced the whoie
Legislature of the country.to'pass a lacy which
after years had elapsed, and new generations
sprung ,up with
.persons not of equal
with great zeal its the cause, it was now impos-
sible to repeal. The Honourable and 'Learned
'Gentleman went into a review of the -circum-
stances attending the different. periods Of -his-
tory in which 'the question of Catholic disabi-
lities had been agitated, in order to Silks-art his
position that the restrictions had been placed
on the Catholics to ward, off some temporary
danger. The Right Honourable Gentleman had
alluded to the case of. the Quakers, in whLZh
allusion he thought. hurt unfortunate. The not .
'admitting, Quakers. to good testimony Was troloss
to them, brit was a great loss to society. At
.tbe
establishment of that Sect, -great apprehensions
were entertained, as were now of the Catholics
With respect to them. But it bad tuned eut
that they ',were the most tranquil and'Pearl:able
Sect iu the kingdom. All the-experienee.or Past
time referred to by the Right-lion, Gentlerno,n
only sheaved that whilSt
.they were refused- ateir
rights, they would be the enemies of the ,t_ate.
In conclusion, the Hen. and Learned Centlernau
said, glut as it was given out, thathis Majesty was
going to visit I reland,hehoped be would be enabled
to .19. so hot as a
,COtiqueror, as all his
cessors had,- but as the messeuger of peac-.;' and
the bearer of that Constitution which was' no
longer -to be viewed as a boon, but ;11.9' a right On
their part. .• .
Mr. Psi.. expiain.ed. • .
Lord gtiltli supported the motion. Ile -cOns.i-
-•
de red that the Irish. Catholics were v!ttiilf.l to
the admiSsion.of. their claims, from the' evirsi-
plary condlict Ns' 11 kell Ilia always distinguibed
them under every privation.. .During the hottest
moments of party zeal. the,V had 'nevt/tx!,,jvco
,the
slighteSt encouragemento-s:edition
i~ir. D. BnowsiC stiPported the motion::. e
Act of Union heltV out a promise tbai'-the':first
'Subje'ct that should be taken- into cgifsideio.tioa.

shotild be the Catholic Emancipation. It was.
merely, required that they. should go. into the
Committee for the purpose, of ascertaining the
truth; of the assertions of the Petition presented
tikak_night, and refusing to do it,would be tan-
tamount to saying, " you've been faithful loyal
paßple, and therefore we wo'nl hear you."
„Mr. Dawson opposed the motion. lie dis-
claimed having been ever influenced in private
matters by the religion of the parties—he never
made a distinction between Catholic and Pro-.
testant, and trusted„ therefore, his opposition to
the motion would not be ascribed to prejudice,
or ether uttworthy motive. The Roman Catholics
of Ireland, at this present moment, enjoy as great
a inevortion. of liberty as it is possible for men to
enjoy ; under which conviction he would oppose
extension to them of political ,power. lie
_conceived it would be purchasing Roman Cae
thofic loyalty at too great a price, by the sacri-
fice of .the Established religion.—(Censidarable
noise, and cries of Order !)--He was not sur-
prised at the impatience of lion. Gentlemen,
~rhea doctrines and opinions in opposition to
their's were maintained.—(hear l)---The lion.
Gentleetan concluded by'saying, be should
pose the motion.
GItANT made an eloqaent speech in
support of thamotion. He commenced by observ-
ing, that the advanced state of the niehtpreclud-
eel the power of discharging to the-ohnost, what
he eon3idered his imperative duty. He bad lis-
tened with the, greatest attention and deference
to the brilliant display made that night, when
his Right Honourable Friend called, around him
the illuStrious names or great characters—those
great geniuses which adorned the pages of his-
tory, he heard him with unfeigned delight, be-
cause the eloquence which charined the House
was_ worthy the cause the Right lion. Pentle-
- man engaged in. The Cause, ,of the petitioners
then before the Muse was of high importance,
and lie congratulated them on the transcendent
talents of their advocate. He was convinced
their cause had already made some prO7ess, not
only .from the able assistance imparted" in the
speech of the Right Hon: Gentleman, but the'
speec'h of his Right lion. Friend, :rho had con-
ducted himself that night in a manner he expect-
ed, from his character and liberality. At the
same time be was obliged to. lament, that his
Right Honourable Friend argued as if they
were debating whether they should rescind the
diSabilities at once and not enter into a Com.:
ritittee. HiS Right rionourable Friend had trans-
ferred the question from the Catholics of Ireland
to the. Test and Corporation Acts with his usual
dexterity. A rest was to be made on the Words
of the Test and Corporation Acts, but what was
the language to be held out upon those Acts
The Catholics of Ireland requested to be freed
and relieved upon the subject of disabilities, and
the answer was :—lt is true we lament for .you;
true it is we feel for you; but then if we eman-
Cipate you, we are flying in the face of the Test
and the Corporation Acts ; therefore the laws
which bind you under these unpleasant circum-
stances are unalterable. The Catholics would
say : Times. have passed away which rendered
these Acts necessary ; the principles which gave
rise to measures of restriction are no more ; the;
revolutions of States, and power trodden under
foot, leave _not the:remotest prospect
.of danger.
His Right 800. Friend had told. them of the laws
of :Sweden and Denmark. The Catholics' of
Ireland asked for the mild principles of
the British Constitution, not the laws of States
this country disavowed. His flight lion. Friend
had truly said, this measure combined motives of
justice and humanity. The Constitution afford-
ed an equal participation in privileges to be en-
joyed by the subjects of the realm, and Ireland
ought not to be excluded. It was not his inten-
tion to enter into the evils of Ireland, but he
was led to believe a great 'portion of these evils
were to be attributed to the want of Catholic
Esnatlcipation. They saw in Ireland local de-
gradation. A vast population shut out from the
benefit. enjoyed by their fellow , subjects.—
The higher classes were admitted to privileges
-which the lower class could not hope to possess.
—The aristocracy as
.it were, possessed advan-
tages which the democracy had not. The safety
of England notwithstanding depended upon the
united efforts of Catholics and Protestants. , The ,
interest of society then became general, and he
might ask why were Catholics separated from
their-rights ? The result of this anomalous-state
of society, was local hatm:d, disorderly meetings,
and 6trages. He did not
.believe that Catholic
diSdbilities were The sole cause of all these evils,
bet.he was persuaded they had great effect in
promoting discord in that Country. The
peo'ple of Ireland complained of partiality aris-
inj.,frope political jealousy, when the causes
fOr jealousy had ceased -to exist. If the system
applied.-- to Roman Catholics was examined,
it 'Would:appear a- system of degradation from
which:there was no relief. It was a remark-
able fact,. looking to history, that Wales and
cbeSte.r. owed their liberty to a descendant of
Chlrles* the Second, and that Ireland owed her
slavery to King William. The people of Ireland
were prepared to receive with submission all that
Parliament might do ; they were
,prepared to
obey. the principles of the Constitution, and to
trust to Parliament for morality and justice, but
they expected their claims would at least receive
attention and loquiry. _ He could not help ad-
verting to, the inconsistency which marked the
lights of Protestants and Catholics. Electors
might qualify themselves by declaring they were
CatftolieS,. and the Representativa was only qua-
lified by being a Protestant. There were many
other inconsistencies. They had been told it
was inconsistent to have a\i.)rotestant King and
a Catholic Council; but:, es that more inconsistent
than having Catholic Ernfors and a Protestant Re-
preientative ? Was it.coaslstent to sacrifice the ad:
vantage of the Unioneto false conclusions and ill-
founded jealousy ? He wished to know whether
there was, any consistency in admitting persOns
to civil righ6, and excluding them from offices
in the State ? The fat,e of Ireland depended, per-
haps, upon the treatment of this country. Their
virtues and their vices had hitherto been weighed-
together, and ParliaMent should in the.present
instance look with the indulgence of a pa-,

rent: Ireland called upon Parliament to implore
our present Sovereign to do something for them.
Let it no longer be said, that having done those
duties which the Constitution required, Ireland
was not to participate in the advantages of that.
Constitution. hie called on the House to ratify
the solemn compact of the Union, and cited the
admirable.terms used by Mr. Pitt when he advo-
cated the question of Catholic Claims, and re-
commended wise and liberal policy; That great
Statesman had endeavoured to impress upon Par-
liament, that they ought not to be satisfied until
they secured the emancipation of Ireland. The
improvements in Ireland, and the extension Of
education appealed to be securities given by
Providence to tale away all pretence for with..
holding that relief they demanded; The Right
lions Member concluded by expressing a hope
that Parliainent would no longer oppose the be-
nefits ,which Providence intended Ireland should
enjoy. • . .

iVr. L. WHITE rose to concur in all the observations so
ably urged by Gentlemen, and pm ticularly the Bight Hon.
Secretary of Ireland, in behalf of his'suffering country.
Mr. BANKES rose to oppoie the :notion, hot the cry of
" Questicn, que,tion !" became general, rendering_ the obser-
vations of the- Hon. Member inaudible in the Gallery.
Mr. 11. DAVIN spoke-to order., In debate upon a question
.of so touch importance, it was right to allow a fair opportu-
nity ffCr the earession of sentiment. If the opposition was
e,,n'inued, be should feel it his duty to move an adjournment.
--11,1 r. M. FITZGEILALD lose, for the purpoie -of statinga
fact, that an Address had been presented to his Majesty from
crrtain Orangemen in Ireland, and it. was published in the
Gazette, although tt be Society of Orangemen laird been de-
clared illegal by the Judges of Ireland. The Address ,tas
brought over to this country, and presented to his Majesty by
the Lord Mayor of Dulan;deco-rated with the. symbols of the
Society; bete they were lit known, but in Ireland the')' were
and gave offence to the general body of the people. The
Lord Mayor was his Majesty's stationer in Ireland, and on the
occasion of pi esenting the Address, expected to be knight-
ed : so much- so, that be informed a Noble and Learn-
ed Lord -in Ireland of his expectation, who. was always
facetious and Komi-humoured, even -with an Alderman, and
he gave hio, a motto .for the occasion, Pro pnfrict-; he was,
however, eisappointed in his expectations,.and a worthy good.
humoured A idel man (Sir Wm. Curtis) whom he, saw at the
bar, cheered him up by giving him a dinner in the city, with
the.exclusive loyalists. He was'of opinion all Partv Addresses
to.the Throne should be reprobated, and concluded by-saying
drat the motion should have his most hearty s.:pport.
Sir G. HlLLsaid, he hail the honour of acc-ompanying the Lord Mayor of Dolihn, when. he presented the Address.—
(Hear, hear, and laiighter.)—lle -was, of opinion that tie re-
strictions on the Catholics were as 'necessary now as they
were forty years ago.
Lord CASTLEREAGH said he could not allow
the motion to pass without making a few obser-
vations, but whenever he spoke on • the subject,
it was with
_a kind of regret, as it separated him
from many of those he was in the habit•of acting
with, and.he.was fearful now the measure• would
not meet with success, If -be' was to strip the
question of the epoch of our history, he could en-
ter-into the feelings of the Catholics, for there was
nothing so gratifying to the human mind as.beiug
on an equality with its fellow.--(Hear, hear !)
The real extent of political poWer to the Ca,-
tholic would - not extend too great an. advan-
tage, nor would it be cause of danger to the
Protestant ; for, according to• the state of Ire-
land, he did not, believe that the emancipation of
the Catholics would give them any political
power,- even if they were inclined to use it ; for,
although their numbers were great, the power and
wealth of the country was on the other side.—
The House ought to consider how necessary it was
to put this question to rest -on account of the
danger the empire was put in by discus4ing
as it divided the councils of the Government. It
was better, therefore, if it was ever to be conced-
ed, to be granted HOW, and no.t to be allowed to
hang.on the vitals of the councils of the,Govern-
ment. He disclaimed participating in any of
the doctrines laid down by his Right Hon. Friend
(Mr. Peel.) He had. ncr hesitation in saying that,
in his opinion, the State had the right to abridge
the rights of the subject for the security of the
State. He thought that putting the Catholics on
the same footing as other Dissenters ought to satisfy
them, but at present they were proscribed. • It
might be better to allow them to take the oath
of admissibility to office in the same. way
as other Dissenters did. By placing them in
that situation, it would open to them the benefits
of the Constitution. He dreaded nothing from the
.population and wealth of the Catholics of Ireland
if the measure was carried ; the latter would be
progressive, and the former would be kept within
bounds, by the
.enjoyment of equal laws and
equal rights. He believed we were the only
country in Europe where the eligibility for office
was decided by a religious distinction, and this
was a country which ought to teach liberality on
the subject to all others. He denied that at the
time of the Union there was any promise- made
by this Government that Catholic Emancipa-
tion shouid follow,-. but he admitted it NI as held
out that that part of the empire could not be con,
sidered as settled .until it was granted. In the
arrangement for the Union, in which, he had
taken a part, the Protestant Church of, Ireland
was united to that of this Country, and although
it was not prudent -at that time to do the same
towards the Catholic, Church, lie was of ,opinion
it ought to be protected by the Government.—
In Lord Sidmouth's administration, although at
that time he did not belong to it, he was deputed
to make a. proposal to the Catholic Clergy of •Ire-
land, and what were their answer.? "We will
never receive a shilling from GoVernment.nntil
our Catholic Brethren are . allowed to par-,
ticipate its .the Constitution." • Although . he
was convinced the Government of Ireland
made no ,-difference between- persons on ac-
count of their religious • persuasions, yet
he • kne,w they could not stand sa.firm
as when they - Were all equal, 'and ,all
that was asked by the motion .was, to give all
the same rights and. to bind them by the same
laws. He would certainly vote for, going into
the Committee, although the feelings of the ma-
jority of the people of this country.-might differ
with hint, for until this great, question- was set-
tled, he was convinced the safety of
.the country
was not secure ; and if settled, it would tend
_to
secure the harmony of the empire.. The Noble
Lord was 'loudly cheered. .
Mr. R. MARTIN . rose, amidst loud cries of
",Question !;question !"—"Strangers withdraw!"
&c. The Hon. Member supported .the motion.
The House then divided, when there appeared—
For the Motion
Against it. - 221

Majority
On the motion of Mr. I'LLTNLETT, the House

EXTRACT

-OF A LETTER FROM THE AGENT TO

LLOYD'S AT- GENOA, DA.TED FEB. 13.

" War being determined on with Naples, if
that Power does not accede to the terms dictated
by Austria, an Austrian vessel, which was load-
ing here for Messina and Naples, has received
orders to discharge."

Another Letter, dated Genoa, Feb, 17, says,—
" By a Courier arrived this day, we learn that a
division of the Austrian Army has arrived at
Sienna, on its way towards Rome. This event
has put our Underwriters on the alert, who
have risen the premium of Insurance, and
feel more reluctance to cover risks under
the Austrian, Russian, and Neapolitan flags.
—We learn that- a premium of 8 per cent.
was paid yesterday upon an Austrian ship which
has arrived from Constantinople, with a cargo of
wheat for this port. They ask 3 per cent. to
insure fOr England with a British flag."

Paris Papers of Monday last reached us this
morning, but-their contents are devoid of inte-
rest with regard to the: affairs of Naples. The
last accounts from Lay bach state, that Prince de
HARDENBERG, the Prussian Minister Plenipo-
tentiary to the Congress, has received dispatches,
informing him that the King of PrtusslA.'would
set out from Berlin 'on the 15th ult. for Laybach.
The departure of the Allied Sovereigns from the
latter place will, it •is said, be governed by the
course of events. The King of NAPLES proposes
to leave Laybach as soon as he is apprized of the
entrance of the Austrian troops into his capital ;
and, it is added; he will be accompanied by the
Ministers, M. Pozzo nI Bono° on the part of
Russia, Baron VINCENT on the part of Austria,
and Count de' BLACAS on the part of France.
We learn from Madrid, that•the following let-
ter has been addressed by the Minister of War
to all the corps' composing the garrison of that
capital:—
«
The King has received the Address of the Officers of the
Infantry of the Royal Guard,' the Artillery of the Garrison, and
the National Militia of this Capital, respectfully offering to sa-
crifice their lives in defence of his Majesty's person, which the.
Spanish Constitution of 1812 has rendered inviolable and dear to
them all.

• " His Majesty, to whom such sentiments are so dear and de-
sirable, commands me to inform you, that his Majesty accepts
the otter, and demands its performance ; his Majesty directs
that, in no case and 'under no pretence whatever, are you to
countenance the slightest attack that may be attempted against
that solemn_ compact which his Majesty desires may be adhered
to religiously, according to the mutual oaths that -all haVe sworn
to observe.

.G° His Majesty commands me at the same time to express to
you his satisfaction and pleasure at your attachment to his Per-
son and the Constitution of the Monarchy.
" His Majesty recommends you to maintain the c/osestunion,
being convinced that by these nieamany secret attempt or daring
plot must always fail in suvending the majestic march of a
people, who have chosen for their motto these sacred words—
' Fidelity and Love. to the august Person of our Kings, and im-
moveable strength of resolution.' Then nothing can prevail
against a Constitution which his Majesty accepted with plea-
sure," &c.

Private letters of the 15th, represent that Ilis
MA ESTY continues seriously indisposed, and was
obliged to be bled. ills Physicians have►, it is
said, recommended him to pass some time at the
Escurial, and afterwards to go to the Waters of
Salcedon.

The. success of Mr. PLUNKETT'S motion last

night was as unexpected by us, as it will be
alarming to the great body of Protestants of every
d6nomination. It unhappily shows that we did
not hastily or unadvisedly call upon them, not to
lose in consideration the very short period al-
lowed them for petitioning, but immediately to
come forward and to enter their strong and de-
cided protest against the concession of farther
political power to the Roman Catholics. As far
as it was practicable, that has been done, and
the majority of petitions on the table of the
House of Commons are adverse to the claims of the
Roman Catholics, and opposed to the vote of last
night. But when we recolleathe very unfavourable
circumstances with which the PROTESTANT CAUSE
has to contend,-that the Administration is di-

video, and wavering in their support of. it—that
it 'is opposed by rich and powerful individuals,
who though actually excluded from the posses-
sion of political power, yet by their wealth and
influence in numerous Boroughs, are enabled in
effect to enjoy it,—that these men are supported
by'a party, who by their inconsistency and sel-
fishness have lost the confidence of the Country,
but whose ambition and desire of power impel
them to struggle for office, and too frequently to
deviate from the principles professed by the Old
Whigs, whose name they have assumed, and to
adept any which may lead to the attainment of
their views : when we recollect these circum-
stances, we are not so much. surprised at the
success of this atten.pt to introduce Papists into,
the Legislature, and to invest them with powers,
which it is probable will only be used for aug-
menting- the political influence, of men of -their
own persuasion, whose object undoubtedly would
be there-establishment of Popery as the Religioa
of the State ; but we rather admire the intrinsic
goodness of the Protestant cause, which enables
it to make so strong a stand against such formi-
dable and active opponents. But we will not de-
tain our readers from the perusal of the debate
on the subject—it will be read'with the strongest
intereet. We wish; however, to refer them to the
motion itself, which- we particularly submit
to the consideration of those Protestant Dissenters
who have a common_ feeling with the Members
of the Church of England on this VITAL Qurs-
TION. And we earnestly call upon the Protes-
tants in general, to exert all their influence upon
this occasion, and ,to use every legitimate means
in their power, to stop the further progress of a
measure which will be -so fatal to that toleration,
and the possession of these Civil and, Religious
Rights,.which they. now-enjoy. Animated by this
feeling, and strongly impressed with the convic-
tion of its propriety, we fervently hope that we
shall on Friday see the Question for the SPEAKER
leaving the Chair, or the motion for leave to
bring in a Bill, lost by a great and decisive
majority.

We are informed that several Members who
voted for the Committee last night have openly
avowed their intention to resist the admission of
the Catholics to seats in the Legislature.

FOREIGN Tnanr.—Yesterday two other wit-
nesses were examined before this Committee, Mr.
PELLY, a Norway merchant, and Mr. STEWART.
The Committee, it is now thought, will not make.
their Report until Monday next ; but whenever
they do, we hope the Government will allow a
reasonable opportunity for the shipfowners at the
out-ports, and other individuals in the Colonial
Trade, to see the Report before any Legislative
measure is attempted to be founded upon it.
ft is certainly due to these respectable indivi-
duals, that such an opportunity Should be afford-.
ed them, especially as they are whollz ignorant
of the evidence given before this Committee.

Letters from Madrid communicate very im:
portant intelligence regarding the fate of the ex-
pedition under Lord COCURANE. The dates are
of the 15th inst., from the Spanish capitals, . and
the advices -state, that an express had -arrived'
from Cadiz, announcing, that a merchant ves-
sel, with a valuable cargo, had come in from
Calloa, bringing the news that Lord,COCHRANE had
made an attack upon Lima, in conjunction with
Gen. SAN MARTIN,-and had failed with great loss.
No particulars had. been published by the Go.
vernment, nor had any thing of the contents of
the dispatches transpired at Cadiz, the dates
from whence are of the 17th inst.

His Majesty's ship Iphighzia, and the Thomas
and Mau transport, arrived at Gibraltar on the
6th ult.

BinGwros, FEB. 27.—The KING i 3 in the en-
joyment of good health. His MAJESTY has not
appeared in public since his arrival on Saturday,
but has often taken walks on the Pitlace Lawn.
The SPEAKER'S First Parliamentary Levee for
the present. Session will be on Saturday,the 17th
of March instant.

Doctor DAMI'E and his accomplice, a black-
smith, have received sentence of death, at Co-
penhagen. It is believed they. will throw them-
selves on the mercy of the KING.
Count CHARLES V01.,1 MOLTEICE is appointed
Ambassador from the- Court of Denmark to the
King Of GREAT BRITAIN.
The ReV. R. It. BLoxAlt, A.B. of Worcester
College, Oxford, has been appointed by• the
Patron, Sir JAMES LANGHAM, Bart., and the
other Trustees, Master of the Classical School at
Guilsborough in the County of .Northampton,
which is in future to be conducted, in all its
branches of instruction, upon the Madras System.
There was a general fall of snow yesterday
morning over the Metropolis and its vicinity. On
the Essex side it was very heavy, and accompa-
nied with hail.

DEATH OY Mn. SCOTT.—It is with feelings of
pain, that we have to announce the death of Mr.
SCOTT, who was lately wounded by Mr. CHRISTIE,
in a duel at Chalk Farm.—The unfortunate gen-
tleman, ever since the fatal occurrence took place,
has been at Chalk Farm, in apartments where
every medical and other attendance, which
his situation called for, were supplied with the
most unceasing humanity. He seemed perfectly
sensible_of his awful condition all along.. On
Sunday night the symptoms of health were very
flattering, and , great hopes were entertained
of his recovery; but unfortunately, on Monday
night, there was a sudden change for the
worse. He continued in a languid state dur-
ing the whole of Tuesday, and was surround-
ed by his dearest connexions, among whom
was his disconsolate wife, who was overwhelmed
with grief. Mr. COLNAGui and his two sons were
also present, expecting every moment to be his
last. At half-past nine on Tuesday night the un-
fortunate Gentl2man expired, with apparent ease,
and. without a groan. His afflicted wife was con-
veyed home by Dr. BARING. Mr. SCOTT was be-
tween 30 and 40 years of age, and has left a wife
and 2 children to deplore his premature loss. Mr.
CunisTlE, the opponent of Mr.SCOTT, frequently
made inquiries after his health, and seemed im-
pressed with the deepest regret at the unhappy
affair. The body still lies at Chalk Farm, and
Mr. COLNAGHI'S two sons remain with it. A
Coroner's inquest will be held ou the body.