The Sun.
London, England, 1829-03-27 00:00:00

IMPERIAL, PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF tOttIiS.—(LAST NIGHT.)
The Loan CHANCELLOR sat at 20 minutes before Five.
Several Private Bills were read a second and third time,
rand' passed.
The Bishop of ELY presented three petitions against
the Catholic claims.
Earl HAREWOOD presented a petition from a parish
in Yorkshire to the same effect.
Lord ENNISKILLEN presented twelve petitions from
the Protestant inhabitants of parishes in different counties
of Ireland, to the same effect.
Lord FEVERSHAM presented 25 petitions from the
Protestant inhabitants of various parishes, in the county
of York, to the same effect.
The Archbishop of YORK presented a petition from
the Protestant Dissenters of Whitmore, Wiltshire, to the
same effect.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE presented a petition,
signed by 4.5,000 Protestant inhabitants of Castletown
Delvin, Westmeath, in favour of the Catholic claims. The
Noble Marquis presented other petitions from the Roman
Catholics of parishes in different counties in Ireland to the
fame effect.
The Noble Maagurs likewise presented a petition from
an individual, Mr. Stockdale, a bookseller, of whom he
bad no knowledge whatever, against the proposed measure,
and the overthrow of the Constitution.—(Laughter.)
- Lord DARNLEY, in presenting several petitions, be-
lieved that the emancipat►on about to be granted would
act as a charm in allaying all irritation, and be most con-
ducive. to the prosperity of Ireland. He presented nu-
merous petitions from the Roman Catholics of families in
Ireland, in favour of their Claims.
The Duke of RICHMOND implored Noble Lords who
acted in Lord Liverpool's constitution, not to abandon
their opinions in toto. If leaders were wanted,
there was the Noble and Learned Earl (Eldon) on
the Cross Benches, who had always supported
the Protestant C.institution. He trusted their Lordships
would not give way to theoretical expediency. He ad-
♦ised them to persevere in their opposition, but to be mo-
derate.

THE LONDON AND WESTMINSTER PRO-
TESTANT PETITION.

The Earl of ELDON rose to present this petition, signed
by u pwards of 113,000 inhabitants of London, Westminster,
and the parts adjacent. The Noble Earl observed that the
petitioners stated that in their opinion it was inconsistent
with the first principles of the Constitution, and with the
future tranquillity of his Majesty's subjects to concede
to the Popish Church that part of the legislation
which affects the Protestant Dissenters. That before the
Union of Great Britain and Ireland, the Catholics were
not permitted to enter the Legislature of their own country,
nor to exercise the elective franchise, until very shortly
before the Union, and that to admit them now into a Pro-
tesunt Parliament would not tend to trauquine Ireland.
That the tenets of the Church of Rome were undoubtedly
hostile to the Established Church. That no necessity (lid nor
can exist to justify the subversion of the Protestant Consti-
tution. That it would be impossible, by any enactment,
to render the popish power consistent with the
stability of the Throne and the Established Churcli..—
Many of the petitioners were most respectable Magistrates,
Bankers, and Traders of this city. The petition lay at the
Crown and Anchor (where the public meeting at which it
was submiassi, bad been held) and an orator of some kind,
who had held forth at Spa-fields, and who had advocated
Emancipation of some sort or other for twenty years, oc-
casioned so much confusion that the petition was ohl;ged
to be removed to some other place, where immense
numbers had signed it. It was afterwards left at sixty
different places for the purpose of obtaining signatures,
and a person with it to take care that no improper parties
signed it. The Noble Earl did not mean to say that in
such a petition as this some improper persons had not
signed ; hut he thought at all events there must be the
names at least of 100,000 iiio6t respectable individuals at-
tached to it.

The Duke of SUSSEX gave full credit to the explana-
tion the Noble Earl had given in presenting the pir,tion,
and had no hesitation in saying that a great many of the
names subscribed to it were extremely respectable.
But as it had fallen to his lot on former occasions to com-
ment on some of these petitions, it was his duty on the
prevent to state one circumstance which be thought
would strike the Noble Lord with great force as to
the incorrectness of the manner in which the petition
had been got up. On one individual a person called and
requested of hint his signature: the individual staked of
that person his name, to which no objection was made.
After urging him again and again to sign the petition,
he also inquired by whose authority, and from whom
he came, to which an answer was declined. He then
:.!,ked whether he had Any objection to state upon a card,
whirl, i possess, the reasons why he refused to state the
name of those who employed him, hut he refused giving the
names of those by j7rhoui be was employed on that occasion.
The Emulous Duke did "at mean to complain of this, but
he thought a person going to house of another, asking
him for his signature, and declining to 4`" the names of
the persons by whom he was authorised to "'s b°, bore in
itself, in every point of view, something of an ezirti:lrdi-
nary nature.

Lord ELDON did not believe that there was any peti-
tion but on which some objection might be made to the
signature of some particular individual. He had thought
it his duty to examine carefully into the obtaining of signa-
tures to any of the petitions he had had the honour of
prewnting ; anil he was perfectly satisfied, that if their
Lordships were to take the same trouble he had done,
that they would at once perceive that there were per-
sons who played what may be called tricks,
for the very purpose of having those tricks related. to
such a state as this country now is, there is not a corner
from which a petition does not come but there may be raised
some objeetion. The great question is, does the mass of
the great body of the petitions bring before your Lordships
the objects and wishes of the majority of the people.
Earl GREY had nothing to say against the way in
which this petition had been brought forward by the
Noble Earl; but he could not agree that the country was
in such a state of agitation as the Noble Earl would
have the House believe it was. He rebel in his
hand a printed paper calculated to excite the public wind,
the like of which had he not seen it he could not have bee
!ivied wild have been pobdished. This too he understood
to be published and circulated by some Tract Society.
The attempts that had been made to inflame the public
mind had greatly failed, and whatever might be the ex-
tent of petitioners and number of petitions thrtiss in upon
the House day after slay, he believed that the sober, steady,
sound sense of the country was ready to agree to the
measure about to be proposed, and to rely with confidence
on the wisdom of Parliament. 113,000 householders of
the city of London, Westminster, 4nd the adjacent parts,
he could not think could be found Ast sign such a peti-
Linn as this, because no less than three out of the
four Members who represent the eity of Lowiton had
voted in dse other House in favour of the proposed seitaz.
sure, and their conduct had not induced their con,
stituente to adopt any step whatever, with the view of
correcting or eontomling that conduct. The petitioners
to the Noble Earl's petition, denied that the eligibility to
political power was a right of the subject, arguing that it
was to be granted only to the Legislature. Now he (Lord
Grey) denied the accuracy of that propcoition. He con-
sidered that it was the right of the subject, aod to be con-
trolled only by the Legisl.sture, provided that right
_ve-
nted injuriously to the public. interest.
Lord ELDON said that the question would be, whe-
ther, under the circumstances is which the State thought
proper to `uvest power, it would proper and just to
grant it, or to tri!lahold it on the present occasion. He
was no friend to deeSmation, nor should die 441elge in it.
As to inflammatory pap...rs, if the House chose to.set aside a
day for the purpose of hear:qg documents of this eleacrip-
tion, he would pledge himself to read inflammatory papers
against the Noble Earl as long as cYfir he might wish to stay.

There were revolutions in opinions az well as in Stotts ; and
when he sat next to his Noble Prism,' endeavouring to
'hew the value of the petitions of the people of this coun-
try, his Noble Friend at the same time enicayboring to
..Inder-value them, it would be well for both to reeoi::et
that there was a time when speeches they had made (:4
Another House) perhaps did not very entirely accerd with
the opinions of the people of England.
Earl GREY held the petitions of the people of the
country to be most sacred, and to require the most serious
attention the House could at all times bestow ou
and God forbid that he should ever knowingly undervalue,
or attempt to undervalue them.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE could not let it go forth
to the country that this petition expressed the sense of the
very numerous body of which the petitioners farmed a part.
At the last general election for Westminster, both the
Members chosen were in favour of emancipation, and not
one elector stood forward to object to them on that ground.
This could not be said to have proceeded from ignorance
of their opinions, for they both had declared them openly'
there and elsewhere, and one of those Hon. Members ha
only a short time previous to the election brought se a
Bill for the removal of all disabilities which affected the
Roman Catholics, which was carried by a very small ma-
jority, Was he then,
not justified in stating that the pe-
tition before their Lordship, did not represent the opiaion*