The Sun.
London, England, 1828-03-07 00:00:00

EXPENSES OF PRINTING.

Sir M. W. RIDLEY moved for the return of the ex-
pence of printing certain papers. The expense in-
curred for printing matters, that were without
the slightest earthly use, he conceived to be enormous.
Without any sort of consideration things were sent to be
printed, which in no way could be considered productive
of the least utility; such, for instance, as the names of
many slaves, the names and characters of their masters
and mistresses, whether they were of good temper, ice.
After this return was received he intended to
move for a Committee to inquire by what means the
expences could be lessened. The motion was seconded
and passed.

Lord ALTHORP moved for leave to bring in a Bill,
of which he had given notice, for the legislation of Free-
holders in the counties of England and Wales.

The motion having been seconded, leave was granted.
TREATY OF LIMERICK.

Sir H. PARNELL rose to move for a copy of the Treaty
of Limerick, according to the notice he had given some time
ago. He was induced to [give that notice, by having ob-
served that so many of the petitions presented of late by the
Roman Catholics of Ireland had referred to that Treaty in
support of their claims. Under these circumstances, he
thought the House would agree with him that the document
should be in their possession to enable them to judge how
far the language of the petitions was borne out by that of
the Treaty. The House was aware that until the time of
the union Ireland was an independent country in all re-
spects but that of owing allegiance to the same King.—
such was the situation of Ireland when the Protestants of
this country dethroned James IL, the Irish still continuing
their allegiance to him. In the contest which ensued in
Ireland, no results took place in favour of William until
Limerick was besieged for the second time in 1696, the oc-
oupation of Ireland having been contested with the English
troops for two years and two months from the commence-
ment of hostilities. The surrender of Limerick was
important to King William in every point of view, but espe-
cially as a confirmation of the revolution of 1685, for up to
that period James, who still had a party in England, was
strong both in Scotland and in Ireland. He would now
read to the House the first article of the Treaty entered
into at the surrender of Limerick, the first and third
being the two articles on which the Catholics rested the
charge of broken faith against the Government of this
country. The first article was as follows :—" The Ro-
man Catholics of this kingdom shall enjoy such privileges
in the exercise of their religion, as are consistent with the
laws of Ireland, or as they did enjoy in the reign of King
Charles 11. ; and their Majesties, as soon as their affairs
will permit them to summon a Parliament in this king-
dom, will endeavour to procure the said Roman Catholics
such further security in that particular, aS may preserve
them from any disturbance upon the account of their said
religion." The next article they appealed to in favour of
their charge was the ninth, which ran thus:—" The oath
to be administered to such Roman Catholics as submit to
their Majesties' Government, shah', be the oath above said,
and no other." That oath above said was simply the oath
of allegiance.—(Hear, hear.)—The construction put upon
those articles by the Catholics was, that according to the
first they were to be indemnified against all obstructions
on account of their religion ; and according to the ninth,
that they were to be subjected to no oaths but the oath of
allegiance ; that the other oaths since imposed upon them
were so many infractions of the Treaty, to which the faith
of the Government was pledged. It was sometimes ad-
vanced in opposition to this construction, that the Treaty
was too old to be of any authority—that it was
out of date, and therefore inapplicable to the pre-
sent argument of the Catholics. In answer to
that, however, he would say, that the Catholics
had never ceased to refer to that Treaty, so that the
lapse of time could not be said to have interrupted their
claim. In their memorials to the King, and in their pe-
titions to Parliament, the claim was constantly kept alive.
There were also great constitutional authorities in favour
of the interpretation contended for by the Catholics.
the liberties of Ireland. Dr. Lawrence bad directly stig-
Smollett had called the Treaty of Limerick the charter of
matized the laws against Popery as so many violations of
the Treaty of Limerick. But there was another authority
to which the House was snore likely to be partial than
to any of the rest—he meant that of Mr. Burke, who
pposed agreeable to those of nature in these
pi
." After re-
who in one of his tracts on the Popery Laws, published in
the 9th volume of the Svo. edition of his
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