Star.
London, England, 1812-04-25 00:00:00

plied to, wk:tont conectlintz them any thTng n return.
if they would resign the dominion cf a foreigner'
over their minds—if they would shake the (hints of
bigi:ry from around their necks, And enter into a
cordial co-veration vith their 'Protestant brethren..,
then wits the time for conceding towards them. an 3.
not till then. He concluded by strongly giviag his.
dissent from the naltinn,

Mr. GRATTAN said, from the expressive eye
which the Honourable Gentleman had cast toward*
him in a particular part of his speech, he was led to
'suppose that the Houourable Gentleman beleved he
h:&d quoted an opinion of his (Mr. Grattan's) cor-
rectly. He could only inform tile Hon. Gentleman
that it was a total misreprzsentation.
Mr. SHAW (of Dublin) said he had formerly dis.
puted the propriety of conceding to the Catholic
claims ; but now, upon more mature deliberation, he
had become more favourable towards the measure.
—Contemplating the Catholics as forming a strong
body in the Brhish Empire, he was willing to heat ken
to their grievances, and for that purpose was desirous
of going into the proposed Com.nittee. Rrt:rectiiig
the Dublin Petition, he had. n:-1 seen it till within
these few days ; but he could assure the Right Hon.
Gentlemen on the opposite Bench, that upon exami-
nation he had found the signatures of many•of the
most respectable mercantile gentlemen in that city
annexed to it. His judgmcnt might be erroneous,
but his anxious wish was to give tranquillity to Ire.
land, under the influence of which be would rote fur
the motion.

Colonel DILLON said he represented a eounty
mhere the whole of his constituents were Protestants.
possessing a hereditary disinclination towards the Ca-
tholics, yet so far were they influenced by the pre.
priety of their fellow-countrreen's claims, that they
had not only relaxed from their accustomed severity
of demeanour, but had actually drawn up a Petition
requesting a concession of these claims on the part
of the Geverarnent. Thie Petition they committed
to his hands, and which he plesented to the Prince
Regent.
Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY said, from the time
that he had became possessed of a seat in the Parlia-
ment, he had always silently toted in favour of the
Catholic claims, because he reverenced the minds of
the persons who maintained the propriety of con-
ceding to our eottntrymen's claims, and refrained
from speaking, because he had melting remarkably
to enforce. But he had now come fully prepared to •
display his opinions. and the motives which actuated
him in the vote which he was prepared to give. He
did this, because he was conscious that no person •
could bestow a vote favourable to the present melon,
but who would have his conduct traduced in a most
uncandid manner. lie was justified in asserting this,
from the scrutiny in the Awning Papers, in one of
which was mentioned, that a certain person, in a vote
he had given, had renounced his religion. Of him-
self, he would say, for he was perhaps the person
meant, that the intolerance of the Roman Catholics
a century and a half ago, had made his forefathers
martyrs to their belief as Protestants —had driven
them from their native land ; but he, their descendant.
was not willing to become a persecutor himself, be-
cause through his ancestors he had suffered prosecu-
tion. Having thus mentioned his motives, he would
address himself to the proper subject. The simple quese
lion before them had been endeavoured to be consi-
dered in a light less pleasant than a tolerating one ; but
as a question of toleration he would contemplate it, not-
withstanding all the artful arguments which had en-
deavoured to overturn it. He was happy to find that
the time was now arrived, when those strong obsta-
cles that impeded its progress formerly were t4moved,
and a Catholic might safely be allowed to support
the Government in such a manner as would shew ef-
fectually that religious liberty was what he had con-
tended for. Could it be for a moment contended,
the present was a political question alone, then they
would be told, that disqualification for office was not
a penalty. Could it be contended, that when cer-
tain Acts prevented a man from honestly rising to
the highest offices of the State, that he had not
penalties imposed upon him ? While the honest
ambition of gloriously distinguishing himself in
the service of his country, and the amiable hope
of transmitting an honourable name to posterity,
were alike denied him, were not these penalties ?
To cut off the hopes of warming his children's cheeks
with a glow of exultation at the mention of theirfe-
ther's name in some glorious achievement, was not
that a penalty ? (Hear, ;scar.) Such a political stigma
degraded the natural erect aspect of man, and all be-
cause he worshiped his Ceueeent in a manner accor-
dant to Isis own feelings, and dared to think in reli-
gious matters for himself. He would ask the Hon.
Geetletnen on the opposite Bench, who had distin-
guished themselves in the same profession as himself,
would they have aspired at the Bar, had they been
conscious of never being able to arise beyond a cer-
tain height prescribed by law ? Where then would
have been the Hales, the Holts, and the Somerses,
the immortal ornaments of their profession, had they
been Catholics ? They would have beers found sta-
tioned at a certain height in their studies, selling out
words, while other men, possessed of less favourable
moral endowments, would have been rising resplen-
dently above them. He was much surprised in hear-
ing the concluding serrence from the Honourable
Gentleman who had spoken last from the benches on
the opposite side, because, from the complexion of his
speech until the very conclusion, he was led to expect
a more favourable vote to the present motion. All
his quotations had appeared agaiu.t him, and he had
applied them in a manner which seemed to threaten
no hostility to the motion. From a contemplation of
the celebrated work of the Bishop of Manx, against
the Protestants, he perceived, that the Catholics of the,
present day had features of a most mild and benig.
nant nature, in comparison with the Ronsish believer
of the good Bishop's times. Now, the speech of die
Hon. Gentleman opposite, had maialy tended to
rake up the crimes of other generations against au
unhappy people ot the present day, believing, perhaps,
that by stirring up amongst the Protestants a sad re-
membrance ot their ancient compleints, their judg-
ments would assume a bias and a partiality not very
favourable to a nation of conciliation and brether-
hood. Unless he had the belict that the relation ref
such unhappy transactions would infliience the inde-
matt of the House, to whet purpese else cr old to
quote the calamities 'which the Protestants L.tu str!.
tared ? The Anabaptists of the present day were a
sect as pure as the zearrality of reltgicus.iects, but