Star.
London, England, 1813-03-03 00:00:00

to the formation of the intended,Committeee. On
the contrary, all he had heard and seen confirmed
him in his approbation of that measure; and he should
sit down in the confident hope that a majority of the
House would agree with-him in that sentiment.
Mr. BRAGGE BATHURST rose to erplain,
amidst the most overwhelming clamours for question;
insomuch that Mr. Secretary RYDER moved an
adjournment, which was seconded, and put by the
Speaker; but the 'sense of the House being to go on,
Mr. PONSONBY trusted, that as there remained
but few Members who were anxious to speak; the
House would not defeat its own ends by refusing to
hear.

c -:

M. BATHURST then proceeded in eftplanation,
but was repeatedly interrupted by the impatience of
the House.

Mr. G RATTAN then rose, and very briefly re-
plied. He observed, that art Honourable Member
had accused him of not communicating with the
Catholic Body before he submitted his motion to
the House ; bat if he had done so, with what credit
could he have come before them on the presenOasca-
sion ? And might not the Honourable Member sn
that case have asked, who was the Catholic Body;-
Was it the Catholic Board ? And did he come then;
not as a Member of the Legislature—pot to con-
sult Parliament, but to controul it ? The matter now
before them simply was, whether they would gia into!
a Committee upon the ureat question of Catholic
Emancipation. The Petitions that had been presented
might be divided into three classes :—those from the
Catholics of Ireland and England, which prayed for
concession ; those which prayed the House to watch
over the Constitution in whatever it might do in Its
wisdom and liberality ; and those which prayed that
no concession might be made. But it would be found
that the Litter were, by far, the fewest in number,
and therefore if they followed the prayer of the ma-
jority of the Petitioners, they would go into the
Committee.—He had been charged with speaking
disrespectfully and invidiously against those
whose Petitions were adverse to the Catholic claims.
—He had done no such thing—he had carefully
guarded against any such misconstruction. But
when those petitions accused his countrymen of a
desire •to subvert the Protestant establishment,
he could have no hesitation in animadverting upon
such arguments with severity ; and it was the argu-
ments of the petitions only that he,condecnned.
litiped he should never condemn those who came be
tore that House in a constitutional way. The late-
ness of the lour forbade him going at any length in-
to a reply ; and he should therefore confine himself
to one remark of the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr.
York:2), who had asserted, that the object of his (Mr.
Grattan's) Bill, was to set aside the Declaration of
Rights. That Right Hon. Gentleman had caused a
part ot the Bid of Rights to be read relatively to Ca-
tholics sitting in Parliaoent, and his whole argument
was founded on the assumption that the oath excluding
Catholics from Parliament was a part of that
•••1 BA he would produce the authority of Parliament
of the P.m's:intent of Queen Anne, and of the
Imperial Parliament ot Great Britain and Ireland,
to contradict that argument. In 1706, the Scotch
Union Parliament prescribed the oath that should be
taken, concluding with these words, a and this oat h
shall be taken by every Member of the Parliament of
Great Britain, antilthe Parlianuat shall othervisedirect."
(Hear, hear.) Thus what the Right Hon. Gentle.
man considered as an unchangeable part of the Bill
of Rights, turned out to be only a provisional enact-
ment. And in the Imperial parliament of 1800:
ter the Union with Ireland, after reciting the cath
to be taken by Members, it was added, in a similar
way, that such oath should be taken by all Mem-
bers, a until the Parliament of the United Kingdom
shall otherwise provide." There- aiso was another
proof that the oath for excluding Catholics from Ire-
land was not a fundamental part of the British Con-
stitution. He would not trouble the douse further.
The House then divided—
For Mr. GRATTAN's Mullett ••464
Against it • 224
MAJORITY IN FAVOUR or THE CA7ll4lcl
Adjourned at Four o'Clock this morning.