Star.
London, England, 1829-02-20 00:00:00

changetous and mischievous measure ever introduced
into this or any other country. He bad not been an
intimacies inquirer into the doctrines of the Church of
Rome, and he bound that they destroyed three of the
commandments of the Decalogue.
The Duke of SIJSSEX;' in explanation, begged to
remind the Right Rev. Prelate; that in the statement
•hilijid 'Mink% be had purPoselynbstained from any
reasoning on the subject, because he did not think that
;that watthe time to talk about ir. When the time came,
if the Right Reverend Prelate still wished to battle the
point, he (the Duke) should be very happy, though he
was not eery strong in theology, to attempt to be a
gladiator on the Occasion, in the hopes of convincing
him. With respect to the petitions, he again stated
. that there were several names three times repeated;
while such was far, from being the case in the petition
which he had the honour of presenting; or if one name
bad been intruded, it had been purposely with the views
of producing conclusion; (or it was right that he should
inform their Lordships, that the very origin of the riot
of which he had spoken, was from the circumstance of
a man coming where the petition lay for signature, and
signing it after the object of it bad been hilly explained
to,bim, and then,. halt an hour. 'aftertiards, returning
eed saying that be did not mean to sign the petition;
in consetotnee of which a struggle took place, and a
p.,ftion of the signatures wait torn of£
The Petition wasthen ordered to be laid on the %bk.
The Duke of CUMBERLAND—I can assure your
Lordships that I never felt more unwilling to trespass
on. your attention than on the present occasion, and no-
thing but the duty which I feel I owe to your Lordships
—to the country—and to myself, could have made me
steed up on the present occasion. But, my Lords. I
Cave,alwayt been willing to speak out on this subject,
and ever shall be. -for I think it a duty I owe to the
country to let it know what my ('_clings are. It shall
oolong°, bisaid that I am this thing or that. butit shall
be distinctly known what I am. It is painful, believe
me, my Lords, to differ from my Noble Friend (the
Duke of Wellington) with whom I have so long been
united ip the bond of private friendship. But I cannot
charn;e an opinion which. I conscientiously think to be
tight; and mote especially, my Lords, when the guess
ti•en is. as it undoubtedly is in the present case, neither
more hot less' than this.—is England to be a Protestant
or a Popish county ?.(Loud cheers) For, my Lords,
the very moment we admit the Roman Catholic into
this douse or into the other House of Parliament, I
'maintain that this becomes not a IProtestatit Patliament-
. -(Cheers). I haVe carefully and attentively viewed this
questi: ss every way in the world in which it has been
considered ; and the result is. that 1 willnever give my'
consent either to a Roman Catholic Peer sitting in this.
disuse. or.to a Roman Catholic Member sitting in the.
other douse. or to any Roman Catholic being a Minister
of the Crown, or to a Roman Catholic Lord Lieu-
tenant of Iceland, or to any Raman Catholic holding
any office that may give bins power to injure the Esti*.
tidied Church. Instating my opinions, I mean to shove
no hostility to his Majesty's Government. No mane=
tespect the Noble Duke mole than I do; and I am quite
convinced that in doing what he is going to do, it will
cost him a great deal of painful feeling_; but as. an
ho e,t :Lao I feel it my duty to state openly my opi;
nines and I tru.t that your Lordships will excuse me
fin detaining you while I repelled the insinuations
which it was necessary I should no longer suffer to go
winiliced—(Cheers).
Earl GREY observed, that if the avowal of theilles-
. ,rious Doke, on a subject of such paramount import.
since a. that ii.cidentslly introduced by this petition to
their Lordahips' nottce, cost him rime effort, it was
not
.too much for him to say that he had heard that
avowal with considerable pain and 'egret, so far as. it ,
might be expected to pioduce an isrettence on a goes-
ti, n connected. in his mind, with the best, dearest, and
. most vital intere..ts of the country. He should not,
'. per h.rps, have troubled tiler Lordships on this occasion,
but for a term which that illustrious Person had intro-
duced unh.'ppily into his apes ch. He alluded to the
statement made by tin Royal Doke, that the question
to which their attention had been so very frequently
drawn this Session of Parliament was neither more nor
less than this—was tire country to continuaa Protestant
country. or to become a Roman Catholic country? He
denied that such was the qu.stion—(Hear). U that
measure of relief to the Catholic body wadi. in his
mind, subvert the Protestant Constitution of this coon-
try. the Royal Duke himself could not be. a more de-
cided or determined opposer of the measure. It was
not true that this measure was fraught with danger to,
but it was true that it wasft aught with safety, and even
essential to the preservation of, this Protestant country.
It was not a question whether this• country was here-
after to become a Catholic country. but whether it were
to become an united or a. divided empire?-((less.)
This tnetsute,.to far from being calculated to subvert.,
was eminently calculated to support our Protestant
Constitution against all possible divisions which might
kiise in this country. tither from the effect of religious.l
faction or the bank of political danger. Having said
so much in answer to the matter of the illustrious
speaker who precededhim, oho bad no doubt been
'prompted to that avowal, by an imperious sentiment of
duty. he (Lord Grey) cerra'uly saw great. cause to se.
gret:that such an avowal had been made by that illus-
trious Person just at this moment. He hoped the colour
the illustrious Duke bad given to the measure content-
plated would not be suffered to affix itself to it out of
doors ; but that it timid be considered clearly as a.
• queiti so. so intimately connected with the best int, rests
of the empire, and so log environed by danger .and
peril, that it every hour became mote necessary that it
should oats anci for vier be amicably settled.
• ' The Earl of ELDON—It would appea., my Lotds,
that the Noble, Members of. this Hoose.who to-night
have founti.it necessary to declare their opinioi s dli this
Freat4qnestion, have dome. so .with no small pain—that,
so a wormy, there was a great.deal of pain an all aides—
end; therefere,lshall toy the..less of what I myself feel.
Onthe first:day of Alsepteiscoticssion I e;pressed my,
positive determination never. to relax my endeavours
wliise the mostlfifling chance remained ot effectually
resi!trg.thenauds against the itnegrity.of that cost
stitution Ashir was established.. at the Revolution. with
'such leneat to all who hate lived. since, that .period.
Your Loidships will naturally.expecethat I should de-
clare my 91. concurrence Witb the sentiments of the
Noble and illustricus perionaie who spoke hat but one.
He ha; dtnte no more. than ju,tice to those principles
and that constitution which placed bis family upon the
throne 'Of these realeist'ibeyere the sound principles
of British lite • and when they shall he derailed from
I have tio dilgUlty in saying the constitution has been
undetesined. Ido not; believe, that, cpnaistently . with
that constitution,, Roman CitholiCs cyan be admitted
lo political power, ai„the Nohlii.codtopPOOP--Whill
Lords the desceedaptcof Wbigns—would beet us be,
beve. The encestertof those, Noble Peers were all for
fkor.estatif Kim. and "Protestant Lords, and Putorstaot
Cetamon...-si bet their, descendants, though the issue,
if time *nit none of. their vision!. FP,

•~ ~.

16,