Star.
London, England, 1829-02-27 00:00:00

BR !VIOL PETITION.

Mr. HART DAY'S rose to present the Petition of
the Magistrates, C:ergy, Merchants, and other Inlisibik
tants of the City of Bristol, praying that no Roman Ca-
tholic may be admitted to a se.t in either of the Hooves
of Legi.latnre, and that noftuther extension of political
power be granted to persons professing that religion.
He begged to call the attention of the House to this
Petition, not only on account of the great number
and the respectability of the names attached to it, but
also Ixostbe that as one that ever came before Parlia.
ment conveyed a more feithful reOresentation of the
opinions of the great body whom he had the honour to
represent. So mach had been said and pertinaciously
repeated as to the manner in whith the petition had
been got up, that be should give a short history of its
progress. A little previous to the meeting of Palls-
meat the different parishes of the city of Bristol met in
their Vestries, and agreed to petitions which he had
the bosom; of resealing to the House. Some, how.
ever, thought that the sentiments of the city ought to
be declared in a public meriting. where 'both parties
would have an opportunity of being heard. A requi-
sition. most respectably signed, was accordingly pre-
sented to the Mayor, but be declined presitling at such
a Meeting, and it was given up. When the King's
Speech was received, the feelings of the inhabitants woe
so excited, that another application was made to the
Mayor, and he sanctioned the holding of a Meeting in
gneen's-square,which was calculated to hold 30,000 per.'
sons, and very approprlatery contained a statue of King
William. The meeting was the largest that bedevir been
held in Bristol. The question was debated, and fairly
put, and the. Petition carried by an overwhelining
evity: The sigiatuies to the pethiblt irete notnodly
thole of the infiabia;istrOf 'Witch; But 11116
Joining 'patihhel,:ah tTiiy "anhountedle ME whUlt:to,
38,894. In consequence of reports which had gone
abrkd, it was thought necessary to examine the names,

• ' •
and icreensoire those which bad Vim, siguestinries. and,
thaw of women ; aldrnikb ersilot tow aria what
principle the latter werfpreiteetell from signing, if '64
~trevellbuwholders. He was harmed by tbeJoldest
reams in Bristol. thif no paid& ever eimit4Switithatl
city before with mote than 15.000 signatures. He hoped
that such a petition would have Its just irdluence upon
the Government, and mete the same feelings in other
parts of the country. He felt a rood satisfaktion in
knowing that hit constituents had done their duty. He
should endesiour to follow in their footsteps, mid he,
called upon the House to do its duty by protecting our
glorious Constitution as it was established at the Revo-
lution—a 4 that era which was the foundation of all the
glory and the prospetity to 'which the country bad now
arrived. With regard to the course taken by a Hon.
Gentleman not now a Member of the House. no one
could lament it more than he did. But at the same
time he was convinced that the Right Honourable Gen-
tleman had acted hoar a sense of duty to his Sovereign
and his country.
Lord MILTON—Amt right in supposing the Hon. Member
to say that the 35.000 signatures attached to the petidea are those
of inhabitants of Wind alone ?
• Air. H. DAVIS—No; of Hrbtol. sad sea miles rowed.
Mr. BRLGHT. fully corroborated the stateaseat of Ida Rom
Colleague. Ile lould not speak to the entire of the signatures at.
tubed to the pith's., but be mold state from a paper which he
held in his lava, that 24,712 of the MIMS Abed to the petisien
were those Mike inhabitants of Bristol.
Mr. TEhiNYSON doubted very finch whether those
who had been employed in striking out double signa-
tures and the names of females, had done their duty;
for, by the last census, the population of Bristol was
calculated at 87.000, and of these one half were males
(his Noble*Friend beside bins bad said), but certainly
one half Were children. Of the remaining adults one
half only were males. It would consequently require
more than one half of the male adults of Bristol to
make up the 24,712, of whom the Hon. Member for
Bristol had just then spoken. Moreover, his Hen. and
Learned Friend the Member for Winchelsea bad the
other night presented a Petition in favour of the Catho.
lic Claims from 1,700 inhabitants IA Bristol, which
number must also be deducted from the amount of male
adults. The 24 712 signatures could not. therefore.
r have beenthose of male adult inhabitants of Bristol ;
and he was quite sure *bat, When he should take these
facts into consideration, the Hon. Gentleman himself
woaldbe very far from asserting that those were the
signatures of inhabitants of Bristol only. So much for
numbers. The Petition had also stated that it was that
of the Magistrates, Clergy, Merchants. and Inhabitants
of Bristol. Now, the Mayor had not signed it; and
among the signatures to the Petition presented by his
Hon. Friend the Member for Winchelsea were those of
several Clergymen and Merchants. Consumed, the
Petition in the hands of the Hon. Member opposite
could notbe viewed as the Petition of the Magistrates,
Cis tgy. and Merchants of Bristol.
Sit T. LETHBRIDGE, from his acquaintance with
the city of B,istol, could bear testimony to the great
espectability of many of the persops whom names were
affixed to the Petition of his Honourable Friend. He
was surprised, therefore, that the Noble Lord and the
Hon. Member opposite should have treated it as they
'had done.

Lord ill ELTON, unseat table, denied that be bad Impeached
the respectability of the petitioners.
Sr r. LETHBRIDGE—WeII, as the Noble Lord
disclaims such intention, my observations only apply to
the Honourable Member. The Hon. Baronet then pro-
ceeded to state his surprise at the observations of the
Hun. Gentleman, and would undertake to say that a
more respectable, weighty, or important
bad not been made to that braneh of the
during the present or any former Session of Put Mime,
and that never bad there been a more mianimous en'
pcession of public opinion than that conveyed in the
Petition before the House—(Hear). He could not re-
lish' from remarking that other Petitions on the same
sub*t, respectably, though not so numerously, signed,
had been received and treated by Honourable Members
on the other side of the House in a manner utterly des
rogatory to the usages of Parliament, not creditable to
themselves, and at variance with their own expressed
sentiments in favour of the free exercise of public
opinion—(Hear). He did not pretend to anticipate
what would be the result of that great question, but
he would take care that respect should be paid to
Petitions presented from his as well as the other
Lide of Vie House—(Hear, hear). Of the rresent
Petition, he would undertake that it was not to be sur-
passed in weight and respectability by any that would
be presented on that important question. That Petition
had been agreed to before the retitieners bad been
made acquainted with the terms of his Majesty's Speech
at the opening of Parliament. What the feelings of the
inhabitants of that portion of the empire from whence
the Petition emanated now were on the subject in ques-
tion he did not know. He hoped, however, that they
would pause before they gave any angry expression to
their sentiments, and that they would meet the discos-
sion of it with an anxious desire to settle amicably and
permanently that great question, keeping in view the
safety and integrity of our establishasents—(Hear, bear).
Those interests mutt be attended to, and he had no
doubt that the Parliament and the Bovitreign, thethree
Ecates of the Realm, would arrive at such a result—
(Heat). One word with respect to the Right MOTICIOr-
abIe Gentleman, die Secretary of State lot the Home
Depaitment, whose recent conduct; as regarded that
question, had been animadverted upon in that House
and out of that House in a manner unworthy of Eng.
land, and disgraceful to its press. He would venture to
say that the Right Honourable Gentleman could Myer
have come to the point at which be bad arrived without
consideration which would do honour to bine as a man,
and reflect credit on bias as a statesman; and that be
would be hereafter found to prove that his conduct had
been such as to entitle him to the coedited confidence
of the country. The Honourable Balkiest concluded
by apologizing to the House for hating so long eccu.
pied its attention, but be bad felt that be would not have
been doing his duty bad be assained' silent on that
occasion.
Sir R. WILSON denied that any slight whatever
had been inteaded to be thrown upon Petitions coming
from the other by Hon. Members at his side of the
House. On the contrary, the object of the seteidny of
his Hain. Friend (as it was their duty). was to obtain
the free and ontaaaTed expression of labile opition".—
He hoped, therefore, that the Hon. Member opposite
would explaiii why he signatures to the petition per.
poriing•to be those of the inhabitants of Bristol had
amounted to •such a•nomber. With respect to the Pe-
tition presented- by his Hon. Friend the Member for
Winchelsea, he (Sir It. Wilson) had learned that move
th antnethousind seven bemired oaks would haft been
subscribed to it bad not the Maybe ibterfeied in conse-
quence of a tumultuous assemblage of persons. who
toieed their way into the Exchange, where the Petition
lay for sighatisfe; dexcitityed Some of the sheets, and
mok! the tables... •
IL DAVIS, in reply to as attention so injut out
in its tendency, begged leave to state to the House that
the petition referred to by the Hon. Member had been

torn in consequence of numbers otpeople having signed
it supposing it to be that which he now held in hi. hand,
end having learned their nsistake sought to correct it
by cancehsng the sheers which bore their signatures
Of the names attached to that petition he had never
.spqbas disrespeedellys he believed that it was as se.
vectsible a petition as ever was presented to the Howe
of Commoos, too& the numbers. Still it bore no com.
pisisoo-in point of weight to the petition which had
been confided to bilis. The *table Lord had. ht thoogbr;
underrated the amount of the population of Bristol..i.
His (Mr. H. Davis) had not aseasi to say that an the
Magistrates, all the Clergy, and all the merchants of
.1366'01. had of their sigmas** to the petitionshen
in his hand, nor did the petition itself contain each saw
mint; it only pupated to be the &dela' of "the on
designed Magistrates, Clergy, Merchants,' ftc. ;IQ
certainly bore the signatures of an immense majetity of
those classes—( Hear, hear, bear).
Mr. O'NEILL rose to express his most cordial men;
to all that had fallen from the Honourable Baronet
near him, and he trusted be should have his valoahlsi
suppos t when be should bring forward his motion whict
stood for that night.
Lord JOHN RUSSEL bad taken the trouble to in.
quire into the character and (aridity of the persons
whose signatures were And to the petition then befori
the House, of whom he had beard a long account. He
begged leave to state that he held in his hands petition
which he should shortly present to the House, free, a
most respectable body of the Dissenters of Bristol. in
favour of the Catholic Claims. He bad, however, rises.
chiefly to deny the assertions of the Hon. Barmen; !thal;
Member for Somenstshire, that there was any intention
on that side of the House to discountenance
sioa of public opinion, and to deciare• thatiblesr g-Z
Members could be.assore anxious far the free ozonise of
that invaluable sight than those who sat at hie (Lord
J. Russell's) side of the Home; but, when faction poi,
tions were gotten op, it became the duty of all those
who valued the right of recision rigidly to scrutinize sod
investigate. Of the petition before the House be should-
only say,'that he bad beard (and it was not yet COMM.
dicted) that it bore a number of signatures of boys
under eleven years of age, as, probably, the Hoe.
Member himself wen knew.