The Sun.
London, England, 1818-06-03 00:00:00

EXTRACTS.

On the 14th of May 180,5, on Mr. Fox's Motion for a Corn-
mittee, &c. Sir J. Hippisley stated, in Parliament, that his
Majesty had ratified the Catholic Constitution of Corsica, as
he had before ratified that of Canada', and had also given Coin-
Missions, under his Koval Signature, to Roman Catholic Cler-
' gymen, to act as Chaplains of Catholic Regiments, raised in
Great Britain and Ireland. In a few days afterwards Sir
H, published a Tract. of " Additional Observations," in
the form of a'continuation of his speech, in which he made
Use of the • following expressions:—" God forbid that any
Member of Parliament, in assenting to the prayer of the Pe
tition under- such modifteations as may , be deemed advisable,
should be accused of a wish to propose to his Majesty a de-
parture from the solemn obligation.by which he has bound
himself ' t:o- maintain the Protestant Reformed Religion, es-
tablislied-hy4aw,- and to govern the people according to the
Statutes in Parliament agreed on, and the laws and constitu-
tions of the realm%"—(Corenation Oath.)
" Were we to go into a Committee, I should think the oc-
casion favourable for adducing many heads•of regulation,
which I conceive to he intimately connected with the conces-
sion of.tbe objects of the Petition—so necessary, in my own
fainion. that I should fort think myself justified in voting in
vour of that concession, if unaccompanied with provisions of
a similar tendency ; and under the influence of the same opi-
nion, they were submitted, by myself, to his Majesty's Minis-
ters, while the great measure of the Union was pending."
On the esth of May, 1808, on Mt. Grattan's motion for a
Committee, Sir J. H. again stated the 7 egulations and restric-
tions, which, in his opinion, were indispensable, and " which
might tend (he added) to quiet the apprehensions of the most
scrupulous, whenever the See of Rome should be considered
as acting under a hostile influence and become an object otitis-
tifable suspicion ;" concluding, that " he voted for going in-
to a Committee, in which the important subject might be more
adequately considered."
On the 18th-of May, 1810, on a similar motion of Mr. Grat-
tan, Sir J. H. proceeded to state the grati's of his insuper-
able objection to any further concessions, unless they were
accompanied with all those regulations and restrictions which
he bad before urged, concluding a speech of thud) detail
with these words To the Catholic and Protestant Bigot
I feel equally indisposed—I would recommend to many Ca-
tholics to desist from their flippant and ill-directed attacks, and
not outstrip their adversaries in the face of calumny; they
have to combat the honest prejudices of a great people, the
early impressions of youth, and the force of inconsiderate seal,
as well as the timidity and defect in information of a pleat
portion Of their fellow-subjects. It was a melancholy truth,
that the best-infotmed on other subjects, philosophers and
statesmen, were often most' ignorant of this, which vitally
affected the interests, the feelings, and the honour, of Mil-
lions of the people, and the security of the empire itself
Our Constitution (says the great Mr. Burke) is not made
for great—general—proscriptive exclusions ; sooner. or later
it will destroy theta, of they Wilt destroY the.Constitution.'
lit tbe thuieo dfineasufes (Sit J, H, observed), be only wish-

ed to see those ailoe'ed that coe',l eNsnre the great ~m 1.7 et'
rid tits of coos, ifvuefor every desoiptionofourfellow-sobjeas,
coati/I'o.on I,y the least exeeptienalde me:tits—to ..recore he
ang GE/AP°, THE BULWARKS OF °UK CoNs•rl-
fU T 1 (Or rots TUE oF ALL." He therefore, voted
for going into a Committee, for taking into corisnteration the
objects of the Petition.
On the teeth of .sure 1811, on a third similar motion. of Mr.
the same restrictions. tie urged also the practice of modern-
poilited out the ioconsistency ufa
Grattan, Sir J. 11. repeated the same arguments, arid n,ved
tion by the Catholics--aimed
some of their Prelates. 1-le eoggested, also, that " a Seiett
Committee should be formed fur the consideration of the sub-
ject, consisting of the La.,' Officers,
and'
Corsonon Lawyers of eminence, as well as other Nleatheres,
a4:ort of such a subject • arid
most competent to the eretinin ,
that in the House of Lords the Prel:l(cs (P•t"e e„,
ought to take a material part 'n such an Investigation. The
production 'of documents, and the e,""Th4ti"' in such a
Coininittee, might be followed
reseintions of fact, di-
reefing the attention of the Publicto the riViteliat points,
arid constituting the most satcstactorp' ant on which a.
Bill might hereafter be framed conameres-tziatx, with the re'.l
exigency and justice of the case. ne oeirptitrneqtralithe.:-
tion, or ever', the rejection of the chinos o•t:tl't
would thus derive a sanction nut to be fun d
discussions of successive Par littmeroary Debate i• It h,"9"3
seem (said Sir J. 1-1.) that this expedient was too iratioi!4 1°
be questioned by any, but those who were dete,-011i.,',)1
.resi.st inquiry in any shape wAatever. .2!co Menv:Tr
House was more .-..ealously devoted to the Constitution,
iri Church and State, than Aim self: Ile wished, neverttieless,J
to. give a free currency to the investigation—and to see
great lank of national suraath raised on the extinction of
antiquated prejudice. Linioo, be was persuaded, Was with-
in our reach, though unlforrnity unattainable."
On the 24t1 of Apt ii, 1812, on a fourth similar motion of
Mr. Grattan, Sir J. H. pressed agoin the adoption and report
of a Committee, " for the satistact;on (as he observed; of the
public at large, on a question which involved a striking. atiet.
material departure front a system which had been the re--
ceived policy of ages. The mere iiet of legislation, however
groat the Parliamentary Majorities witit which it might be
carried, would still be comparatively unstilfetantialtillhuilett
by the according public voice, enfranchis.tet from its preju-
dices:—the human mind is not so'readily litnualieed as civil
franchises are extended by legislation*."
On the oed of June, 1812, on the motion of the Right
Hon. George Canning, late one of his Majesty's Principal
Secretaries of State, Sir J. H. again expressed INuself as
strongly in favour of " regulations which. should be iuter-
posed as barriers against the encroachments of the Sec (f.
Rome; and there were not wanting instau.'ees; he obscreee,
of the existence of such encroachments. • A Droi/!:nt
ture yebuld not dispense with the enactment of suer,' provietuns
as might, eventually meet the evil whenever it might preseut
itself—however small the probability might be,. of its recur-
rence. He had
,been uniform, he said, in his deciaratioos
from the first moment when he took part in the .diseuss•ion
the question, and he would never assent to the I.•terisare,
ur-
accompanied by those securities, Which lad bcea .sanetiome::
by the wisdom and experience ty* ages."
. •
To these extracts the opinions of some eminent Prelate's of.
the Establishment may not be unopportunely•subjoinrd'o
The late Bishop (Watson) of Leadoff (Regius Professor of
Divinity in the University of Cambridge), lit an adverti!sio
ment prefixed to a Charge delivered to his Clergy in 2,80:),"
thus expresses himself:—" A numerous and respectab'e part
of the Clergy of my Diocese requested me "to publish thew
Charge now submitted to the world. 1 excused myself front
complying with their request, because I considered the Catho-
lic Question to have been then settled, at least. fur a time;,
and I was unwilling to revive the discussion. Of a subject urn
which I had the misfortune to differ in oo;:aion from a taajor4
in each House of Parliament. 1 lit-ve still that misfortune;
but, looking upon tbe sits!ttlon of the empire to be abOri-
dantly more hazaHous now than it was three years ago, I
have thought it a duty to declare publicly my approbation of
a measure, calculated, I sincerely believe, above all other
measures, to support the independence of the country—to sc•
Ezire the stability of the Throne—to promote peace among*
fellow subjects, and charity among fellow Christians—and its
no probable degree dangerous to the Constitution, either in
ChtliCh Or State."
he late Bishop (Law) of Elphin, in one of his. ptrblirie-
Cons, obieri•es, " By far the greatest part of the population.
of my DioteSe are Roman Catholics. I know I cannot fifaln'e
them good Protestants; I therefore wish to make good Ca..
tfoolics of them—and with this intention I put into their
hands the works of Gather, an eminent Catholic Divine."--
n
tti someolic points
brethren
mw
seer
lef o fhando
bauctcuouitliet
The same Prelate, in a debate on the Catholic Bill in 1793;
hi
deqated, that, in his opinion, " Speculative differences o
teHligisiulitl_orutbarei
ligion of Christians;—and that without justice to the Ca,
tholic, there could be no security for the Protestant EstaL
blishment."

The rations declarations in Parlianient trade on this sub-
ject, in concurrence with these opinions, by the present. B-
ishop (Bathurst) of Norwich, were preceded by a Charge to
his Clergy in 1808, when, speaking of the Roman Catholic
subjects of his Majesty, be says—" That it would,be unfair
to involve in the guilt of his misguided zealots of former
days, a body of men of a far different description, to wham it
is our duty, and should be our inclination, to shew every
mark of benevolence, both as brethren and as deservivg fel-.
low subjects."
And in a speech of the late BiShdp (Horsley) of St. AsaPh,
in 180::,, his Lordship says—" 100 not hold that there is any
thing in the Roman Catholic religion at variance e nth the
principles of loyalty. Ido not believe that any Roman Ca-
tholic of the present day thinks himself at liberty not to keep
faith with fieretics—not bound by his oath to a Protestant
Government; or that the Pope can release bins from the
obligation of his oath of alleglarieii to his Sovereign: I: have.
a perfect knowledge of the questiOns proposed, and' the an-
swers returned by the foreign Universities, in which those
abominable principles (the dispensing and deposing power)
were most completely and unanimously reprobated by those
learned bodies, and I am persuaded the Roman Catholics
are sincere in their disavowal and abjuration of those
pernicious maxims ; and I told that the Roman Catho-
lics of this country are dutiful and loyal subjects of his Ma-
j

Such are the extraC!'s and refeeences which were Cleduiated
on the occasion alluded to, in -the preceding address.. Itx
each subsequent Session, Sir J. llippisley maintained' the
same ground, and re-urged the appointment of a Select com-
mittee of Inquiry. That measure was at length acceded to,
and on the 24th of June, 1816, the Report of the Committee
was delivered to the Howe. It has since been printed by'
Corder of both llouses of Parliament,

The chief diounients annexed to the Report, together with
the supplementary papers, communicated by command of the
Prince Regent; on the 28th of March, 1817, stand upon the
authority of the Governments of the most considerable States
of Europe; of the Roman Catholic, the Greek, the Lutheran,
and the Reforme "
.d Churches—and may be considered valuable,
especially from throwing light," to use the words of the
Report, " upon subjects of long and continual controversy,
regarding those points in which a regulated intercourse with
a foreign spiritual jurisdiction has been held to be necessary'
or allowable, consistently Oh the rights of conscience, tb,-/.
integrity of civil obligations, and the security of the State.'

' '-' ----...

* In a note annexed to the substanCe of Sir J. speech
on the motion of Mr. Grattan, on the 24th of April., the facts
stated were referred to, with the following Observation :
" It such be the opinions of eminent Ecclesiastics of the See
of Rome, jealous of the independence of their Church,
the Members of the If.stablisbjuvo )vholly shut
against the ossibility of enctoachment ?—.l sail eves,
who seek the protection of their Catholic fellow-ksobitects,
equally with their own, he calthuniated, because they are out
disposed to surrender their reason to the voice of clamour ?
If the Representative Body of. the Nation—the Guardians of
its interests and security—should be so little alive to their
duties, as to turn aside from wholesome legislation, in-yield-
ing to those clamours, very little permanent good could be au
gured from concessions exacted by such ill-grbunded appre.
hensions.