The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-03-24 00:00:00

CATHOLIC CLAINIS BILL.

Sir JOHN NEWPORT said, that in rising to move
Vie Order of the Day for going into a Couto 'tt Pr upus
a subject involving the dearest interests of the country,
he felt hisown inadequacy to the task which hail falka
upon him. Under any circumstances he should fel
the difficulty; but be felt it more especially when he
recollected the cause of the task devolving upon him;
it was no less than a severe domestic calamity uhirli
prevented the attendance of his lion. Friend who 64
so ably commence) the present measure. Indeed it
was the fate of this great question to he visited by
difficulty in every shape and in every stage. One by
one had those great ch tracters disappeared, who shed a
lustre on the cause ; one by one had those great (ithi
been extinguished ; anal to him did it fall in the ma.
log of Isis days to introduce this great and etc ,tfol
question. Yet however he might be satisfied of 11e
feebleness of the Advocate, he relied upon the justice
of the cause, and was satisfied that it most elti-
widely he successful. After passing a warm vulitelinn
on the conduct of the late Mr. Grattan, the Right
Hon. Baronet proceeded to observe that hr should liceit
every protection on the part of the House in the came
he had undertaken, hail not the House already deciihil
in favour of the principle of the '1 hat
admitted, it only remained to judge of the detail., 314.1
he therefore should at present content himself by itierclv
moving for the Order of the Day.
Mr. CIO Halt said, that when lie gave notice o;
a motion fur enabling his Majesty to make pritvisi.in
for the Roman Catholic Clergy of Ireland, he did s a
upon the full conviction that such a measure unul.l
tend to the security of the Roman Catholic no
titan that of the. Protestant interest; and the mu e
lie tlit.u:lit of the subject the more was lie satisfied ~f
its propriety. Ile was aware, however, that st a e
Honourable Members, for whose of ilion heentertair.nl
a sincere regard, objected that the time he pro?tori
for introducing the nieasure was unfavourable, aiel
he was therefore anxious that the Hollse should he
enabled to give its undivided attention to the ap-
proaching. discussion. With this slew, he
postpone the motion of which he had given nots' e
until the bringing up of the Report of the Committer.
The Bill now to be discussed, he considered as the
second Union Act of the country, and the hest sett.
guard of the dangers whic:i surrounded the empire
(Hear, hear.)—He was, consequently, desirous that
such a Bill might not be embarrassed ; hut he thossLi
it proper to state, that the measure he intended
propose, was known to his friends no less than seven
years ago as tieing in his contemplation. The
Member concluded by postponing his motion toad
the bringing up of the Report.
The House then resolved itself into the Cotninittce,
Mr. It. Smith in the Chair.
The CHAIRMAN proceeded to read the PreaniVe
of the Bill. On coming to that part of it which re•
listed to the Oath of Supremacy,
Sir W. SCOTT rose to mate his objection to it; but
from the very low tune in which the Right Honouralle
Gentleman spoke, lie nos very imperfectly heard in
the Gallery. Ile observes( that to equal. talents
those by which the measure had beets ad-itwated
the last 17 years, the Right Honourable Gentlem
by whom it had been now introduced into the Roue.
added the advantage of experieuce. Nevertheless, tie
question, as it respected the oath of supremacy, pre
sented an olistaele which no ingenuity could get oter.
The Rt. Hon. Gent. here entered into a history of the
oath of supremacy. It was well krown, that im
the accession of Elisabeth, an oath teas
prescrib ea
which contained two provisions ; first, that her Ma-
jesty possessed the supreme authority of the Chun
secondly, that no Foreign Prince, Prelate. State.
or 1 e-
toOte, should have any ecclesiastical or spiritual jai,
diction in the realm. At the Revolution, the prinovie
that the Sovereign should have the full and myth
allegiance of his subjects, wits confirmed. Harine been
',Wiliam i in the best times, that principle had n.,"'
st iod %he test of experience for more than two cesturn:
and estight not hastily to be abandoned. The
of subdivided allegiance had been strong), sod unetl"'
vocally expressed in numerous Statutes. It
.ran it+
only through the Stittutvw, hut through the various :-
noes of the Viturch, in which it was Jistinctly s:Att-

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