The Sun.
London, England, 1829-04-04 00:00:00

that has been alluded to by-a
Noble Lord that bas addrose
you, you will find that after the articles of Union wee
agreed upon there was an Act for settling the manner 11'
which Peers should be elected to serve in Parliauwest'
(Hear, hear.)—That Act is net forth in the Act 9!
William, and it is declared that Act 49.11, be tes
valid as if had been engrossed and made part OP?
Act of William.—(Hear.).Then what dose the-4cl
contain ? It contains this, that none shall be eapila"
elect or be elected for any of the said seats (Houses ed
Commons and Lords) but such as are 21- :years of ate
complete, and Protestants, e.ecluding all Papists, or such
ors being suspected of Popery, ,5-c. Now, therefore, WY
Lords, it appears, that taking the whole of that Act to-
gether, it shows that it is to be considered those wh")
by the Crown represent the three kingdowe
shall be Protestants. How incumbent is it then, before
your Lordships proceed to overthrow an Act, that you
should know distinctly what it is. My Lords, the prose:it
measure proposes to repeal this Act for the sake of the
peace and tranquillity of Ireland, and this country. Novi
if I could suppose that this measure would have that effect
it should have my cordial support—(Hear)—but I am II
no means able to bring myself to take that view of the ms?'
sure. The danger of abrogating lamer lewd, yOur Lordshir'
ought to be aware is always great, and before such :a -etel)
is taken, a sufficient protection ought to be provided. .1
admit that there is a prospect before your Lordships gal'
culated to baffle the firmest mind and the stoutest heart--
language which has already been made:use of, and stronger
than which I cannot use. The questionis will this mea-
sure retard it ? My Lords, I have already alluded to the
hierarchy and the Protestant Establiehment of this country,
which I feel bound to regard with the highest -bittern. 13f,
what means Ireland has been brought into a state which in a
very few months has brought a change in the minds of
many individuals, Ido not know. I know not by what
this change has taken I place, or by whose neglect, or
by what improper encouragement, this state of things ha'
been brought about, or by what apathy it has been permitted
to go on ;it is vain fur me to enquire into it. If, as a
lawyer, I were called upon to judge, I must say, that nothing
I have heard has been:sufficieat to satisfy my mind that
proper steps have been taken ; speeches have been made dal
after day, published and widely circulated, sparing neither the
orators, nor the names of the living or the dead, decla-
ring that they will not only have seats in Parliament, bet
will root out, before they have done, that pestilent heresy
they have found to exist opposed to their views.—(Hear.)
If your Lordships could not prevent meetings, you could
at least have prevented speeches; if you could not prevent
speeches, you could at least have prevented their public
tion. Therefore, whether the present measure will have
the effect of putting an end to the aggravated state of
things at present is the question. Whether it will satisfy
the minds of all who have taken an interest in
the subject? My Lords, lam most decidedly of opinion it
will not, and therefore I must vote against the measure,
which I shall do with great sorrow, considering it will be
against the views of those whom I ha re heard so learnedly
and so powerfully argue the cause. My Lords, I take it to
be the duty of all not to relieve ourselves from danger
without the prospect of being able to better our condition,
and by this measure I really cannot perceive that we shall
have the slightest chance of so doing. If we pass this measnro
we shall be much leasable to ree:st the attempts of those WO
by the measure we are giving in the true sense of the word
political power to, and who have long been making attempt,'
against our existing laws, than we are at present. I hopes
my Lords, I may be mistaken in nay views of the measure
should it pass into a law, but in ray opinion, should it
pass, the time will soon come when your Lordships Wig
find the sentiments I entertain of it will be realized.

I

Earl GREY—My Lords, in discussing a question so
often discussed by persons more popular than myself, in
which I have on repeated occasions found myself cow"
pelled, in the course of my duty, to offer to you a state-
ment of the motives that influenced my conduct and feeling,
on this occasion, however, I can add nothing to what
before stated—still less to what has been stated by others.
I most certainly feel that an apology is due to you >n
bringing myself forward to your notice. In the next
place, I must state to your Lordships that I rise with coo'
siderable fear that something like preinnuption should be
I imputed to me, if I ventured to differ from a Noble Lord ,
(the Lord Cilia* Justice of England), who hu rested
the greatest part of the arguments he has the ,
addressed to your Lordships, with statements of law'
with which he is necessarily more acquainted,
which he has studied more and with which he has a Kw"
perfect knowledge than I can possibly have—therefore it
might be like presumption in me to offer a difference °f
opinion. A sense of duty, however, my Lords,s induce"
me to state what my opinions are, and even unlearned as
am I will venture, against the judgment of the Noble spa
Learned Lord, to offer the views I have taken upon•
the subject. Indeed, lam nut sure that we game to
very different conclusion ; for the Noble Lord, after
having gone through an historical tale of the Oaths of
Supremacy and Allegiance downwards from the time of
Queen Elizabeth, in the Bill of Rights, and also in
the Bill of Union, the Noble Lord comes: to the coo-
' elusion that he admits the power of Parliauzeot
to abrogate these Acts. Nay, he goes further—he saY°
that if this individual measure can be proved to him likelY
to produce the objects its promoters represent, it is am!'
lateclto produce the peace and happiness of Ireland, then that
he himself will give it his support. My. Lords; I feel my-
self therefore under the necessity of abstaining from enter-
ing into that debate which I have so often eutered
into on former occasions, namely, whether the Act •
of Union and the Act of the Revolution have, been
made so irrevocable, that notwithstanding any induce'
went of policy or expediency, it is utterly insposeible
for us without a breach of the contract. which exists
between the King and the people to make the slightest
alteration in those laws.—(Hear.)---The Noble Lerd.
trust does not maintain that proposition; to wiont
then are we to addrees:ourselvee? Why my:Lordsethat is
the days of "Elizabeth it was thought neceseery to guetd
against Popery. I admit that to the Nehle lieoe‘l, but ip.ti,Q
time of Charles the Second it was thought necessary, by
circumstances of the country, under some apprehensions of
danger to enact other !awe for the exclusion of the Papists
and to guard the religion of this country. lam alp'
ready to admit that, under the same impression, at the
passing of the Bill of Rights and the Union with Scotland,
Parliament did proceed to enact civil provisions. That I
am ready to admit. But the question we have to con'
eider this day is, whether, these enactments under thee 4
circumstances, and with these views, are in the present
state of circumstances under which we are to disco" '
them, so binding upon tia, so precluded from applr-
ing the rernadiee, that we think them most likely ,
to prevent the dangers with which we are threatened,
Now I certainly have deriot; my life uniformly inippoited
the principles of civil and religious liberty. The-,N0,1$
Lord might have spared what I did not evqectt t~ hear
from him, ft sort of reproach to tie; eaen4ers of tbi
House of arrogating exclusively to themselves that ••••
fon-
ciple. My Lords, I arrogate nothitus....2;
believe I BPI
a true friend to relkit'Ua libertyl have
shown myself to be so for thirty years, and a
friend to these 'Which at last arc likely
to b eaiyiect into effect. But I arrogate nothing
to myself, in tilt': character. Ido not pretend there mar
I hot be others as truly friee,de of religious liberty as myself.
but who, frpAl solae feelings, cannot hying themselves to
I agree ta the proposition now brought forward. Now, I
will eebscrihe to what the Noble Lord has said of the
Church of Lugland. lam a member of that Church
believe in its superior doctrine and purity of 45,
' plea—l believe time proposed meas,Arq 71;1
.e'eer have the
' effect of endangering the churciae—and I believe it will be
a measute that will be found in its effects considerably
to strengthen and support it. I believe the true principles of ,
that Church, if rightly acted upon, are favourable to
religious liberty. Ilut, if the Noble Lord chooses to re-
flect on me as arrogating to myself the liberty of a friend
in contradistinction to others, I beg to :mare hist I