The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-01-25 00:00:00

mately broub

,ht to pass. It was fairly argued by

ose who opposed this dangerous innovation, that

no form of oath could be binding upon men who

admitted a mental reservation in taking an oath—

a° could obtain

absolution for a breach of the

most-solemn obligation—and who believed th

at any

obligation contrary to the interests of the Romish

as their positive du

:y to break,

caned upon 1

r priests to do so. In order to

combat this objection, a number of witnesses were

.mined before v. committee of thellouse of Lords,

and their evidence went to show that the sole, object
of the Romanists was to obtain civil privileges—that
they were willing to take any form of oath which the
wisdom of Parliament might devise—and they
solemnly avowed their belief that no advantage
would be taken of the coveted privilege to do any

act subversive of the interests of 'the English

Church. Their professions
accordance with the views thus expressed, a majo-

were believed ; and, in

rity of both Houses of Parliament were induced to

consent to the bill by which the. Church of Rome
1 .a voice in the Legislature of the United

o btaine

of that stamp, and are so now, except when crafty
nich was taken policy dictates another course. It is time, then, that
for the security of our own Church against the we, as a Christian people, were awake to a sense of
dreaded encroachments was .the following form of the danger which threatens us, and in these days of
oath, which was ordered to be taken by all Roma- .
!list members on their admission t o Parliament : popular agitation, the first step, perhaps, should be
1, —, do sincerely promise and swear, that a response to the appeal for public meetings to pro-
'l be faithful and bear true allegiance to His test once more, as oar fathers did of yore, against
the iniquities of the Church of Rome.
King , and will defend him to the
' utmost of my power against all conspiracies and

Kingdom

The only guarantee v,

`-I wii

Majesty

THE FRENCH EMPEROR'S MARRIAGE.

" attempts whatever, which shall be made against
" his person, crown, or dignity; and I will do my
" utmost endeavour to disclose and make known to
" His Majesty, his heirs, and successors, all trea-
" sons Lad traitorous conspiracies which may be.
" formed against him or them ; and I do faithfully.
"promise to maintain, support, and defend, to the
" utmost of my power, the succession of the crown,:
" which succession, by an,act intitled 'An act for
" the •further limitation of :the crown, and better
" securing the rights and liberties of the subject,'
" is, and stands, limited to the Princess Sophia,
" Electress of Hanover, and the heirs of her body,

'Tat most important item of news from the French
Court is the determination of the EMPEROR to
marry. He has philosophically borne his rejection
by the Princess VASA ; he has found it impossible
to ally himself with any of the crowned heads of
Europe; and, as a last resource, has resolved to
please himself, by marrying a woman -for her per-
-sonal attractions.. The lady destined to-be EMPRESS
of FRANCE is known in the fashionable society of
Paris as the Countess THEBA. Sire is about 26
years of age, and is the daughter of the late Count
DF, MONTL.TOS, a grandee of Spain, her mother
being of Irish or Scotch descent. :It appears that
-some opposition -to this alliance was shown by the
ministers, but Louis NAPOLEON was positive, and
the ceremony is expected to be performed on Satur-
day next. The circumstance of the granddaughter
of an Irishman or Scotchman being raised to an
imperial throne, might furnish the theme for a
modern romance in fitting companionship with the
career of her consort; but it is difficua to arrive at
a satisfactory conclusion as to the peculiar motives

" being Protestants ; herely.utterly renouncing and
abjuring any obedience or allegiance unto any

retending a right to
and, I do further declare,
" that it is not an article of my faith, and that I do

other person claiming or

" the crown of this realm.;

renounce, reject, and abjure the opinion that

ees excommunicated, or deprived by the Pope,

-other authority of

,he see of Rome, may

e deposed or murdered by. their subjects, or by

Tscn whatsoever; and

I do cieclare, that I

do not believe that the

Pope of Rome, or any

.i have influenced this affair. LOUIS NAPOLEON
is Lo longer in the heyday of youth, when we
might suppose his passions to have overwrought
his judgment, but it may be that his disappointment
has vented itself in this violation of the etiquette of
legitimacy, or, perhaps, it is considered as a prac-
tical acknowledgment of the sovereignty of the
people. In any case, •it serves to show that he has
a will,of his own, irrespective of state-.advisers--a

" other foreign prince, prelate, person, state, or no-
" tentate, hash, or ought to hate, any temporal or

" civil jurisdiction, power, superiority, or pre-emi-
" nence, directly or indirectly, within this realm.
" I do swear, that I will defend, to the utmost of

?mu, the settlement of property wit

din this

rn, as -established by the laws: and I do

" hereby disclaim, disavow, and solemnly abjure
" any intention to subvert the present Church
" establishment as settled by law within this realm;
" and, I do .solemnly swear, that will never exec-
" cise any privilege to which I am, or may become,
" entitled, to disturb or weaken the Protestant re-

position which in no degree helps to allay the ap-
prehensions for the peace of Europe, which almost
all his proceedings have unded to excite.

" ligior

in the United

ant government,
" Kingdom; and, I do solemnly, in the presence of
" God, profess, testify, and declare, that I do make
" this declaration, and every part thereof, in the
" plain and ordinary cense of the words of this oath,
" without any evasion, equivocation, or mental
" reservation whatever. So help me God."
This act has now been in operation for nearly a
quarter of a century; and after this lengthened ex-
perience, the question is fairly before us, how far
the oath has proved to be an effectual barrier to the
evils which were anticipated from thus opening the
doors of Parliament to Romish legislators. It is
now no longer a matter of opinion, but we have
facts to deal with, and by these should the policy of
that measure be tried. Was the oath of any avail,
when the Romanist members voted with Lord JOHN
RUSSELL, to appropriate the surplus revenues of
the Irish Church for secular purposes ? Did it
bind those who swore by it, when they entered into
the Lichfield-House compact to support a Whig-
Radical Administration for the surrender of State

patronage in Ireland ? Had DANIEL O'CONNELL
no mental reservation or equivocation, when he
agitated the Repeal of the Union, and endeavoured
by monster meetings to intimidate the Government
into further concessions, by which Ireland should
have been wholly surrendered to Romish priests ?
Was the oath binding on Mr. CHISHOLM ANSTEY
and others, in their ceaseless endeavours to remove
every remaining disability, and even to legalise the
idolatrous processions of Rome and similar mum-
Was the oath of any avail, when the POPE

meries

OP ROME made the daring attempt to parcel out
England into dioceses, and was openly supported
in Parliament by men who had subscribed ti

e fore-

going

declaration Can we indeed Point to any