Star.
London, England, 1813-02-26 00:00:00

•
Votince.fttaismoatificoui tab, at.
the work tol israiregfid, hid not
templed to accost the Catheike bf h 'ding natiriferoui
and treasonable.: eentiluentsi Fit.enbid not doubt
that the- venestable pato% I,llllE7eittd pasChairman at the nitetlng. ut a shore
.
buts of kirdieritie,sanetion id • Ad atte.l
tient charges. .e-1f he was net instOdhts
ries= of the Bowie, he wohld 'tame Wither pub.
leation.— (Ifear,-Aear.).The 'clergy, that part of
the Church of England' who were opposed is the
claims of the Catholics, had certainly not been idle
on this occasion. These divines, dignified and not
dignified, some with mitres oa. their heads, and sons%
perhaps, with mitres in their heads—(4 loud aid
:aural laugh).—had all united their endeavours to,
attack a religion,-whose similitude to their own
they appeared not to know or to understand. In
the front rank of this army of ecclesiastics—these
holy militants
.of the Protestant, stood the name
of a prelate, from whose former writings be had de-
rived both pleasure and instruction, but from whose
late production no man would be likely to add much
to his stock of knowledge or of candour. In this work
that prelate had freely ascribed to all those whose
reasonings or opinions might not coincide with his
own, artful misrepresentations, specious liberality,
and concealed infidelity. To his judgment, it appear-
ed but little consonant to the mild character of that
Church, whose author was the Siviour of the world,
to thunder out these anathemas on, and to attribute
these unworthy motives to a political opponent. Was
no allowance to be made for the errors of those who
might be inferior to him in learning and in talents ?
His opinion, indeed, was, that no pare spirit of Chris-
tianity was exhibited in these wild imputations of in-
fidelity or adversary. He thought too, that there
was something like specious liberality in the conduct
of those who refused any scheme of extended indul-
gence, and took credit to themselves-for their mercy
and toleration in allowing the possession of that
which they could not take away.—(Hear, hear, hear.)
T him, too, it appeared that misrepresentation war
employed when a sentiment was imputed to that it
lustrious statesman, Mr. Fox ; that the whole tenor
of his political life, which was one continued effort
of civil and religious' liberty, plainly contradicted.—
This had been done by the saute orthodox divine
who extracted an opinion giver; as to the probable
consequences of seeing a Popish. King and a subser-,
vient Parliament, and applied it to a question of ad-
mitting about six Catholic Members to one House,.
and about double the number to the other. He him-
self was a firm and zealous Member of the Protes-
tant Church of England; by birth, by education, by
conviction. Entertaining, however, this preference-
and attachment, he should always persist in claiming
for his fellow-subjects the unrestricted liberty of work'
shipping their GOD in the form which their conscience
dictated to be the best. He should conclude, there-
fore, by expressipg his sincere conviction, that by ac-
ceding to the motion of the Right Hon. Gentleman
the Legislature would restore and confirm the har-
mony of the empire, and at a moment when all its
strength was so necessary to its safety and protection,
venlig itt.te above all other measures to increase.and

consolidate i t.-- [This "cam:perch was retrived through-
out,- and honoured, particularly 'at its close, with general
cheert;) . •.
Mr. 13.1/41(E.S said, it waa.natural that the Right
HOW Gentlem4n mho -maaliarthe Motion, should be
anaiims to ascertain whiwsivapisfie quality and nature
of those Petitions which seen- crowded on the
Table, in opposition to the Catholic Claims. To
those, however, who were not so immediately con-
nected with Ireland, or. peculiarly with the subject,.
it was sufficiently manifest, that the' belief which had
been inculcated of the unanimity prevailing on this
question in the country, was a belief not founded on
or justified by the lam—(Hcar, hear.) —The Peti-
tion, it was not pretended to be denied, came from
very respectably persoqs, and- from. very extensive
classes. The Right Hon. Gentleman who com-
menced the debate had made use.of some expressions,
which he lamented, and which were foreign to the
usual tone of moderation that he maintained. He
thought his statements of the grievances under which
the Catholics laboured much exaggerated, although
this might, perhaps, be fairly_ attributed to that
energy of feeling; atid fervour -of elocution, by
which he was so much distinguished. He thought
sz unjust, too, that a country exhibiting more ex-
amples of a tolerant and beneficent spirit than any
ether in Europe, should be represented as being
more niggardly in its concessions even than Catlio-
lc States. The latter position was contradicted by
tha unitirm testimony of history and the experience
of all who had visited the different European States.
The Right Hon. Gentliaman had mentioned two
particular instance% France and Hungary, where
an unbounded toleration was exercised. He should,
however, prefer a reference to the doctrines and prac-
tice of the -.Papal Court itself. If the Protestanti
charged the Catholics with still adhering to the faith
and tenets of their ancestors, who was to blame for
this ? Had not the Catholics themselves declared,'
that they had not derogated from that discipline and
doctrine, but that they still maintained every legiti-
Mate canon of their antient Church ? The Pope,
the present Pontiff, bad complained of those Decrees.
of France by which an improper latitude was opened
to the admission of different sects to civil and mili-
tary* eMploYMents. Prance 'would,. -probably, con-
tinue to act as she found it most-convenient, but
here were the sentiments of the See -of Rome, and
the policy which the head of the RomiSh,Chnrch re-
quired to be adopted: 3.n another document It was
ai,,,clared by the same 'authority, that the Catholic
(hutch could not mute itself with antotber insaution
tiny more than Christ could unite ivtth Belial.—(Hear,
door).—Who would say then that there were not in
these dogmas sufficient causes for 'the dislike with
which the Catholics were described to be inspired
wards the Protestant ? The old doctrines of Popery
remained unchanged, and the power of dispensing
with Usaeriages is so closely reserved to his Holiness,
that it was never entrusted eVen to the Bishops.—
The unity and single divinity of their Church was'
still its ruling principle. He wished to state these]
;observations, because he had concurred in the restilii-:
tiOh of thelast Parliament, adopted on .the sugges-,
tion of his Right Honourat le Friend (Mr. Canning).
(Hear, hear.) He gave his support to' that resolui-.
tion, because its objects appeared to hint to be Suck
as challenged the approbation of every man. If his
views were now different, it was perhaps because-the