The Statesman.
London, England, 1822-05-01 00:00:00

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stiiet b , from.the Peers of Charles to those of our earlier
aerators, and he called epee that Howie to - perform to-'
wards the Catholic Peered the present day, as act of
retribution for the cruelties whiels.haskbeen practised on
their ancestors; so act which Was expedient on the
score of pulley, Atli tibli on'thiliaFt tif ili enmity, and'
In the name of god sinetjett.•- The: Hoc tiontlemso
then, amid the cheers of the Honer, moved—
" That leave be gives to bring inn Bill for repealing
Of
much of an Act pealed in the 31)th.yeer of the reign
Of King Charles the Served. as eselediti Woman Cat"'
Ile Peers from sitting in the l'lntfier. of Peers."
The Hon. 0. A. ELLIS seconded the foot-lon. He was
alweys of opision that the gennesilenniEre of removing
the Catholic disabilities, nal a meanies of right and of
justice. The part of that question rniiiiii,was then be-.:
fore them had en additional clams at* their favour, inas- ,
much as it related to an exclusion whisib had its origin
in a plot whirl, was supported by' ilierillrr• and in the
existence of which nu one at present b:dieved. lie
hoped the stain would soon be removed from the statute
I book. He recollected a saying of that spirited defender
of the Protestant weed's • y, Queen.Elizabeili, who be-
ing advised to administer olios Tied Oath to sloe Catholics,
replied—that she bad better incline of ascertaining sloe
loyalty of the Peers.—He would give his. warmest sup.
port to the motion.
On floe question being rot by the SPEAKER.
Mr. PEP.I. rose and said, that if his Hight Helmer.
able Friend knew the full extent of the ri I godlier tinder
whirl' he laboured, he would soderstazd a parr of the
difficulties which affected him on rising on that uer.t- I
aim'. Difficult it was to make en appeal to the sober
reason of the House, when their feelings have been
worked u;oron by the persuasive elooq.:enee-Lwhen . their
'minds were dazzled by the heillisrlicy of his Right Hoe.
Friend. Ills Right lien. Friend bail, in the -concluoion
of his speech, stated the grounds on which. be wished
.the question to be treated. lie radii not avoid saying,
that as the challenge was given by,his ;Hight Honour-
able Frienol, hoe should have left to oihrys the choice of
the ground and the weapons. Bet 'le would endeavour
I. confine himself to the limits trblelf Were prescribed.
In the first place, he contended, that the House should
not make a distinction between the dahlia of the Homan
Catholic Peers and the people of that persuasion. The
proposition which he was anti, ..A to establish was, that
they sl 1.1 not open time other House to the Roman
Catholic Peers, when they continued at the same time
to close the doors of the House of Commons against the
, other classes of that persnasion.' First' of all with re-
spect to the competency of that breech of the L-gis.
lature to originate a measure for the regaled** of the
other which his Right lion. Friend had 'pissed on the
ground of precedent ; the only presnlynt which on the
slightest degree could be relied upon as similar, was the
Act of the Commons, in the, thus of Charles 11.14 which
I spiritual Roman Catholic Peels were excluded front the
Upper Eonse. He must protest against the admission
of that Act as a precedent, because it•hrhzienSted in
peculiar sissi extriordistery amputees's...Kik/a.) I u
the year 1640 immediately before tint ,lirerdsiug out of
a civil war, the House of Consumes posers! a Mill for
the exclusion of Roman Catholio Peers i that was the
only ground on which the precedent could'be adopted.
--,(Hear, hear.) With respect to the Act 'of the With'
of Charles 11. he would ask did his Hon.'Prieid go to
the entire length of repealing that Aet,!-(fireas.) It did
out exclusively affect the Peers.—(Hear.). .Tie Homan.
Catholic laity men were initially conipridiseelini by it;
the tests were imposed, the same declarif(ione ain't.
transubstantiation were enacted against butt ear.)
He Would hslc his Right 'Hon. Friend If be Id *tan/
on the ground of piseingehe Peers end 11/k Tololoolll'
0114 he same footing.—(Hear.) His RighoHistaorteiend
nail mtgeed.,tlsatin *filet, Roane Cletholit-ifeete. •
not excluded from seats in Parliament V.I,11;116. e
(Mr. Peel) however, considered that the Romeo ' 's
tworia.
Peers and Commons were placed on the same tooti a
exaCtly by the Act of the 30th of Charles 11. Lail go_
'ion the argument was that the Roman Catholic Peers
and COllllOOOll had but one claim, add 'that 'AO

le were equally entitled to a participation- in, she-i '
seats of the Conatitetien.—(Hear„hisarp,imee.)- al e
would refer to.tbe speech 0 1 the MEW &W. Arlikteif s'
the Uoieersity of f)ublin(Mr. Plaskett.) Hi sit awed'
that Roman Catholle Peers, had sat in this house, add
that they were entitled to ao so soder the Act, Ottlle
Masi Charier the Second. 'lt wan evident !tear 1
cue of Sir Solomon Swale in 1677. He woodtpell
.lot for being a papist, isat bemuse be had a itoone
on, was Sir Robert Sawyer's argument epos 41- .. 1; o
on, Member for the University of Dublia.was apt
at with this Particular ease, bin he went on: to s
the' very title dais Act' f the 30th of Charles' he
Sewed. It war stated to be one for the more effeettielly
Peolleolingthe Kiiit's-Gaverninebt from the diabolical
of popish& to subvert it. His aritura•wrwas
Itirtr:re woo so onausios till.the year 1766- IN 4411 a
jpecial.case is now wanted so be made oat, that of "MS.
lkiale is totally forgotten, !mil an attempt was now. made
'hi show that a paiticillai distinction existed between the i
.teerearta the Comtions. All that he (Mr. Peel) ;WI
Aar was, when siclo bppesite arguments were bra lit
Vet sea high aithotity is his Hon. Priced and the
VOL Ilatenber for Dliblin, he felt theditticulty of coming
M a condition when their opinion* were thus coop'.
ed,---(Hear, hear.)—Though be differed with his .hfon.
Friend on the propriety of the house of Cernmene qow
originating a measure to regulate the Upper bowie, he
wasbound on bold constitational principles to any' that
the boom of Commons were equal to originate• id} le-
gislative enactment. Parliament had on other exclaim' ,
Interfered with the house of Peers, on the Unioa. in the!
introduction of Irish Peers to that house. With respect
to the Scotch Peers, his Hon. Friend had not informed
them what provision he intended.—(Hear.)—He eionld
wish to know if he had it in contemplation to extends*
them the same privilege as to the Irish, or was Its in-
clined to repeal the Act of Union, which disqualified all
Scotch Roman Catholic Peers even from the pow* of
nomination. A conditiou of the Act of Union was, that
no person, being a papist, could sit in the house of Le-
gislation, or hare a voice in deciding upon the affairs of
the realm. He wished to have it observed, that he re.
(erred to that period for the purpose of showing that there
was out then recognized any intention of ever again
bringing Roman Catholics into power. Lord Stoners
was floe who had assisted in settling the Act of Union.
The others who joined him in the measure, and
the liog's Ministery of that day, wished to destroy
the principle of an inherent right in the Catholic No-
bility, and wished to do so for ever. bloat was the me-
mashy of making an application of the present nature,
or why they were called on for relief? Sinai the year.
ISt*, when Mr. Pox had brought forward the question,
and when Mr. tirattsn joined to support it to.the present
moment, no proposition haul helm snide to the effect of
that now before the house.—(dear, hear.)-31r. Plane
kett had given notice that early in the next Session he
would bring the entire quest' under their consider-1
atien—and were they not asked now at the cloak.; of this.
Session, to agree to a measure simply fur the purpose to
giving a few Peers the right to sit in Parliament during
the recess, when the House did not sit at all.—(tlear,
hear.)—lie owned, notwithstanding the eloqnent and ^
impressive speech of his Right Hon. Friend, he could
not see that any cue was wade for the House of Com-
mons to agree to a peculiar measure. —(Hearj—Anotber
branch of his Right lion. Friend's argument, and which
no doubt he had must successfully treated, was a refer-
ence to the period of oar history when those disabilities
were imposed. His Right Hon. Friend had endearourml
~
to attach all the odium entertained against the Papists
in the time of Charles 11. so the plots and pretended die-