The Sun.
London, England, 1829-03-11 00:00:00

131 PERIA 1, PA 111,IA NLENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS.-(LAST NIGHT.)

Mr. DowstE, Mr. floosou, mid several other Metnbers
01 the Commons, hrowsitt up the Edinburgh Gas Light
Company Bill, and the St. Mary Stratford Vestry Apt
•

The Dnisent 'RICHMOND, I'r rented a petition from a
ylare in :tgainst Einancipition.
The NI-J(111'1s of CONYING HAM presented petition',
ft epveral parishes in Donegal, and other parts of Ire-,
in favour of the Catholic

tie Duke of GLOUCESTER pee-ented a petition front
tto• town and neighbourhood of Southampton, in favour of
the ettttioNe

- . .
Ittril UE DUNSTANVILLE presenteda petition Ihni
4111:nanth itt fa`onr of Einancipation.
Lora W4STON presented n petition from Colebrook,
'fvitit .'h Varish in the county ttf Ciloucester, from an-
'nt!lik parish in Bockinghamehire,- from the Wesleyan
Ahodists of Carnarvon, and ten other petitions from
ditft•tent pari.k.ot *lid counties, against concession to tin,

giNSFIELD presented a petition from Clack-
-I,toiimtm acmin,t further conres,imis.
Bi:kop of DURHAM "presented a petition from
W hitborne and Endtoriqv against Emancipation.

The. Archbishop of YORK presented petitions from
iltiddersftebt, tiro Clergy of the West Riding of Yoik, and
••thee• islozes, avainst Concessions.
L,t 4 MAYNARD presented a petition from Rochford,
iiat fAvma.. o; the Catholioi.

The.llishop of BATH and WELLS presented a peti-
ti..n from Bath, ttegellitr with several other petitions,
-.Aga:post rooms...km.

Lord KING obscured, with reference, as we under-
:loud, to the petitiou from Bath, that it had
4,en earried shoot from house to house, had been
N;i4zned by all the parish paupers._ in the alms-hew:es, and
,I.to by all the plup,,rs an,l apprentices in the p Irish wot k-
itouse.

The Bishop of BAT U aed. „WELLS, in answer, had
been inftwzased that it was vary numerously and respectably
signed.
The Bhhop of GLOUCESTER would take the present
etnportsteity of making a fe.v remarks in justice to it very
oesaescathie individual, and a very respectably body of mete
e,otton the Noble Baron opposite hail the other evening ar-
'raigaed befere the House, when he (the Bishop of Glou-
cester) had the hot-Kew of preseeting a petition front the
fellows of Eton College. The Noble Lord, on that occa-
sion, drew ont of his pocket a bundle of papers, and read
tO their Lord-nips what he called an extract of a sermon
delivered in the chapel belonging to the college, by one of
the fellows. Ile had expressed an opinion that the ex•
tract reed was not a cot rect one,—an opinion, in which,
of coarse, the Noble Lord -did not coincide. He woeld
eat the itherty of readine the extract with which the No-
ble Lord .had furnished him. " Roman Catholic principles
Are fast creeping in, ruinous both in Courch andeStote.
&ted ye hp, then, my brethren, in defence of the principles
whitch the Church professes, but which are opposed by the
resent refewernment." He should have thought that the
ferrate end eteucture of these sentences might have convinced
sny o Of the least refiectien, who was not blinded by the
',est inveterate prejudices, that they were rather the bung-
titsg work of school boys, than the.composition of a Clergy-
'man advance ! in years and long used in the duties of
his profession. He now litageti leave to read an ex-
tract from the sermon as really delivered. The text
was taken train Proverbs, 9:h verse, chap. 15. The
Clergyman, after stating that it was Christianity which
above all promotes righteousness, and after settine
forth its principles and advantages, concluded with the
following wends, to which alone the remarks made by
the Noble Lord could apply t—" Such ie the religion
whith our church professes, and which our Government
uphold% which is caleuteted to exalt the prosperity of the
esation in general, and the happiness of individuals in par-
ticular. Let not temptation withdraw us from it ; let nos
jeer risk its sanctity ; but stand ye up, my brethren, and
ish the name of the prophet of the Lind, seek and ark for
the old p sth, where is the good way, and walk therein.
For be well assured, that the Christian religion, as left us
by our forefathers, pore and unadulterated, is the best of
blessiree bestrewed on us by the graciims hand of God ;
but mixed with the corruption of the Romish faith, it be-
comes an intolerant and dangerous euperstitian, and, so
far from exalting the nation, if suffered to predominate,
will not only be the reproach,-but the ruin of any people."
&tele were the words, as delivered front the pulpit,
And of which the Noble Lord hel favoured the Ilense
with his notable version. The Noble Lord had told us
that the clergyman said—" Stand ye up, my brethren, in
the defence of those principles which our church pro-
feseeis ; bet which are °lapsed by our present Govern-
neeta".--inetead of which Isis real werils were, " such is
the religion which our church professes, and which our
'Government upholds." The very same language had been
tered by our reformers, when they purged this country
from the errors of the Romish faith, and brought back
the inhabitants to " seek for and walk in the old paths."
He bad now explained the diffirence between the version
of the Noble Lord, and the original language used by the
Clergyman ; and he was astonished that any Nohle Lord
should have come down to the House, and entertained
their Lordships with such idle trumpery.—(Hear, !tear.)
—He bad no doubt that the Noble Lord thought hie in-
formation correct; but the Noble Lord and himecif had
hem many years sehool-fellews together, and he might
'have recollected, that school-boys had ready wits, and
were fond or raising a laugh against their master and fel-
lows of the College. Tie Noble Lord might have recol-
lected that him young friends must have been aware for
where taste they were catering, and he might have sus-
pected that the morsel was served up in the manner most
aereeable t s his p late.—(Hear.)—lle (the Nebo!) of
Gloucester) found no fault with these beardle-ts
hut he could not so easily excuse the veteran politician.
It was not worthy of the Noble Lord to censure a re-
enectable individual, and a respectable body of men, on
"wit information. The Noble Lord hail shown a most
egregious credulity (hear); for which he (the Bishop of
Gloucester) could not account, except by supposing it to
be the consequence of the most inveterate prejudiee, oref
the eagerness with which the Noble Lord peized upon
every scrap and morsel which ceeshi tell against those pe-
titioners who differed from himself on the Catholic Ques-
tion.—(Hear.)-11e thought proper to say thus much in
justice to a body of men of the highest respectability, with
whom he had been connected above 46 years.
Lord KING said that the Right Rev. Prelate did him.
but justice in saying that unless he thought the extract a
true oee, he would not have notice:] it to their Lordships.
He had it from what he conceived to be good authority.
Considering the time at which it was pronounced, its lan-
guage, and to whom it was exclusively directed, there could
be no doubt in the mind of any into that there was as much
political as clerical feeling in the sermon. As to the beard.
less politicians whom the Rev. Prelate had spoken of, if he
would look at the petitions that had been sent to this
House, he wooldefind that the greater part of them were
signed by beardless boys.—(Laud cries of " No, no," from
all parts of the House.)—He was glad to hear from the
Right Rev. Prelate that the Clergy hail discovered one
error into which they hail fallen. They declared now that
their religion was upholder by the Governm.-nt, though
they told us befire that their religion was deserted by the
Government. He only wished that their Lordships had
heard the peti:ion to which the Right Rev. Prelate had
alluded read. t'tht.t thought the petitioners would have doe
well t• have veiled it in an oliscute latiguege ; for a piece
of mere absurd balderdash never had been brought forward.
The Bishop of NORWICH held in his hand a petition in
favour of the Roman Catholic Claims, signel by a very
considerable tumber of highly lespectahle Clergymen resi-
dent in 'he diocese of Norwich, whet* attachment to the
Civil and Ecclesiastical Eltalliehenents of this country was
as cordial as that profeseed by their opponents on this guess.
firm.' The petitioner's epula not bring themselves to think
that the real teethetity-of the Christian Church could be ene
elengered by acting on Chrieti elpt inciples, or that the safety
of any civil government on the ewe of the earth could be
hazarded by whiting in gomi-will and fellowship persons of
all denominations and persnasione. In that opinion he cor-
dially concurred ; but it was. not now his wish to trouble-
their Lordehip* with his reasons for doing so, because the
question has been so repeatedly discussed, that it would re-
quire littledess than inspiration to suggest a new reading,
or to treat with an air of novelty the old one. He would,
however, earnestly entreat their Lordships' attention fir
one moment to a very Short extract from the writings of
man of thelast century,hha man, who for piety Send learning,
for moderation and practical wisdom, had never been star-
polled by the living or the dead. He alluded to B'shop
Burnet.- That excellent prelate, in a charge to his clergy,
has the folowing passage, which appeared to him .so
peculiarly applicable to what was now taking plaee,_ that
their Lordships would, he trusted, allow him to read. it :
" Many opportunities," said Bishop Burnet,-." have hap-
pened since the Reformation, favourable to putting an
end to our di.putes ; but if we again repeat our former
errors, and let the opportunities slip awate—if the Church
of England will hearken to the persuasions of sour end
narrow-minded men, it will be abandoned both by God
and 6tcn, and will set both heaven and earth against itself."
Those were the words delivered- by the Bishop to the
Clergy of hi* diet-toe, in order to point out to them that
t.- eeeeoht it their duty to MIME with