The Sun.
London, England, 1829-03-10 00:00:00

the great majority of that body, formerly ot►nsidered so
hostile to the Catholic claims, were now decidedly favour-
able to concession.

Mr. WELLS was understood to vindicate the Honour-
able Member for Surrey from the aspersions which had
been cast upon him. . _
Mr. O'NEILL wished to put only one question to the
Hon. and Learned Member for Tregony (Dr. Lushington.)
As he had characterised in the strongest terms those who
did not give pledges at elections, he begged to know what
terms the Hon. and Learned Gera!emu) would employ to
characterise those who having given pledges to their con-
stituents had violated them ?—(Loud cheering.)
A MEMBER, whose name we could not learn, stated
that as a freeholder of Surrey, he had been unable to obtain
from one of the candidates at the last election (Mr. C.
Pallmer) any information as to his intentions on the Ca-
tholic Question. He had subsequently tried privately to
eltisfy himself on the subject, and had stiil been unsuccess-
ful.—(Hear.)
Sir H. SMITH (we believe) remarked that after the
recent conversions it was idle to talk of pledges. If
pledges had been realised, the minority of Friday night
would have been a majority.—(Hear.)
Sir R. INGLIS felt it necessary to notice very briefly
some things that had been said. His sole object was to
preserve the Constitution of the country in its integrity ;
and he was satisfied that if an appeal were made to the
prcple, a majority of Members would be returned, who
would support his Majesty in his assertio❑ of his rights,
and in his vindication of the Constitution. In what he
had said regarding an election, Le had referred less to
1807 than to 1784, when the India Bill was brought for-
ward—unquestionably a had measure, but not so iniqui-
tous as that now proposed. The King was then betrayed
by his Ministers; he appealed to his people, and by his
people was nobly supported. He hardly expected that the
Hon. Member for Limerick would have attempted to make
bias (Sir R. Inglis) responsible for the contents of a book,
because it happened to be dedicated to him. He begged
leave also to state, for the information of the House, for
the Hon. Member must know it, that as soon as he (Sir
R. Inglis) had discovered the error, he had taken care to
have it corrected, and had procured the sheet in which it
occurred to be suppressed. Though not responsible he had
done what he could to remove the prejudice against the
author on the score of his blunder. One further observa-
tion would he sufficient : the Hon. Member, on a petition
from Whitechapel, had produced a hand-bill from Bath,
thereby verifying- the proverb, of going to Bath by way of
Whitechapel.
The petitions were laid upon the table and ordered to be
printed.

Mr. BELL presented three petitions from parishes in
Northumberland, and two from Norfolk, against concession
to the Rom•m Catholic Claims.

Sir J. ASTLEY presented a petition, signed by about
5,000 freeholders of Wiltshire, also against concession.
The Hon. Baronet observed, that the signatures were all
voluntary, no undue means having been used to obtain
them, or they would have been far more numerous. He
thought Ministers extraordinarily culpable in not putting
down the Catholic Association lung ago, as they had the
power to do if they bad chosen to exercise it : the present
crisis had been brou7ht on by their want of energy.
Mr. BENETT bore testimony to the respectability of
the signatures, although he could not concur with the pe-
titioners in their opinions. Considering the immense po-
pulation of Wiltshire, 5,000 signatures were a very small
number. He returned thanks to the Noble Duke and his
Colleagues for their courage in bringing fin-ward and per-
severing in the measnre of relief for the Roman Catholics.
Mr. BARING referred to a County Meeting once held
at Devises, at which a petition for concession to the Ho-
man Catholics had been carried by a large majority. -
Sir J. ASTLEY agreed that such a meeting had been
held ; but as the number of persons present did not ex-
ceed three or four hundred, it could not be supposed that
this small body spoke the sense of the whole mass of free-
holders and inhabitants.

Sir JOHN AS ILLY believed he had befere omitted to
say Oat this petition spoke the general sense of the county.
All 'the signatures had been obtained in three following
weeks. No undue influence bad been used for that pur-
pose; but when it woo publicly known that the petition
lay for signatures, the people went, and every body who
signed it did so voluntarily.
Ordered to be printed.

Mr. BANKES had fourteen petitions to present from
different parishes of Dorsetahire. Indeed, thele were so
many petitions, that it was hardly likely they could come to
the business of the day until the House was nearly ex-
hausted. He wished, therefore, on his own part, and on
the part of those with whom he acted as to this measure,
to state that they had no intention of debating the Bill, or
dividing upon it that night ; and he suggested, therefore,
that snore time might he allowed for presenting petitions.
It was his intention, and that of his friends, to waive the
debate, and have a division on the second reading, and at
every subsequent stage of the Bill.—(Cheers.)

Sir EDWARD KNATCHBULL need not tell the
House that the attention of the people was excited, with
regard to this question, to a degree of intense anxiety. He
perfectly concurred in the propriety of the suggestion made
by his Hon. Friend, and hoped it would be agreed to by the
Right Hon. Gentleman. But he wished to observe, that
in consenting to this arrangement he did, for his own part,
and on the part of others, object to being considered as
having his opinion concluded from so doing as to this Bill.
He objected that any conclusion of opinion should be in-
ferred front the acquiescence of the House. It was very
well known that this was a measure of immense import-
ance; and no opportunity, he thought, should be lost to
give it that opposition which, in his humble judgment, it
deserved. He wished the opinion not to go forth that
they had ceased to oppose the Bill. It was only against
that opinion he prote,ted.
Mr. Secretary PEEL entirely acquiesced in the arrange-
ment suggested by the Hon. Member for Dorsetshire, as it
would be probably most convenient to all pa► ties, and was
likely to produce a more perfect understanding of the
nature of the Bill. A waiver cf any discussion or
debate regarding this Bill on the present occasion could
not, he thought, be considered to imply any approval of
its principles. He should that evening merely tike the
opportunity of submitting to their consideration the mea-
sure, the principles of which could with greater propriety
be discussed on the second rea:ling. He consented, there-
fore, to the proposition for giving more time to the pre-
sentation of petitions—indeed l►e was most anxious to give
every latitude to the right of petitioning.

Sir EDWARD KNATCHBULL declared his inten-
tion at every convenient opportunity to oppose the
Mr. Secretary PEEL reposed entire confidence in the
assurance of the Hon. Member, but he wished that there
should be an understanding that it was the general opi-
nion of the House, and that other Hon. Gentlemen con-
curred in it.

Mr. W. HORTON did not rise to mate any observa-
tion on the arrangement now proposed. He rose only to
state, that he had abstained, in the discussions that had
taken place, from adverting to some observations that had
fallen from his Right Hon. Friend (Mr. Peel.) He was
most unwilling to interrupt the discussion of this great
question by any considerations of a personal nature; but
he would take an early opportunity of speaking further
on the subject.
Mr. G. MOORE was quite of the same mind with
the Hon. Member for Dorsetshire. He had risen also to
guard against the imputation, that bY-nequiescing in this
arrangement, he was also acquiescing in the plan by which
his Right Hon. Friend (Mr. Peel) intended to settle the
Catholic Question. (Hear.) But he objected strongly to
the precipitation with which this measure was hurried
forward. The people bad no time given to them what-
soever. (Loud cheers and laughter.) Let his Right
Lion. Friend, and let other lion. Members, consider how
the case really was. The Bill was to be read that night
for the first time. It could not be printed before to-morrow,
and what time was there then left for its circulation through
the country ? lie thought that it was the more desirable
that time should he given, because it was perfectly well
known that the measure was progressing through the
House just at the season when many gentlemen were scat-
tered through the count, y. Any measure of ordinary im-
portant.° would scarcely be pressed at such a season—cer-
tainly the most inconvenient that could be selected, and
the least likely to collect the sense of the public at large.
Ile would suggest to his Right Non. Friead that the fairest
and best course would be to fix the second reading of the
Bill fur such a titne as would not arrive till after the
Circuits. (General laughter, and cries of " Oh, oh !")
He *could tell the House in a few words his reason for
saying: so : all the representatives of those places where
tlure was a large body of constituents would thereby have
a fair opportunity of making them acquainted not merely
with the princip:e of the Biil, but of its details, and the
people would have the means of judging as to the suffi-
ciency of the securities contained in it.

lonel DA VIES was as anxions to listen to the plibli
voice as any Member of the House, but he protested ageinsZ
the doctrine which the Hon. Member far Dublin 1,4 d
broached, and which, if pushed to its legitimate conse- •
quences, would render that House only an Ituieinm7 of De,.
legates, having no votes of their own, but that every inc-a
sure was to he circulated through the country before they
voted on it, in order that their constituents should direct
how they should give their suffrages.--(Cheers. )_He
contended that the Members of that House, when sent
there, had power and discretion given then] to Oct for their