Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1827-04-24
PRINTED AND FrsLisHED,
DAILY,
CATHOLIC QUESTION.
HOUSE OF coMMoNs-MARch .,

Ths n,s,rr of the Rolls said, tins quesuon
e. oG.n discussed, that he did not
venture to hope he should be able 10 aou an!
,oyel,r N wha, had already been advanced
n. conoratula,ed the House on the temper WIN
which the discuss had been Carried on, anu
he should feel il MS duty TO endea'of 10 abstain
from any remarks which could be considered
inyitIious or irritating. Indeed ne sihcerei.
trusted that the same temper which haa oeen
eyinced at the outset OF the discussion "o"io
BIZ continued TO the close OF 1t (Hear, hear')
A great crisis was then before Inc HOUSE
Onud cheers The eyes Of the country were
Sx.d mon il: The great mass Of the Protestant
oopula,ion looked with anxiety Tor the result OF
lis deliberations; and the great mass OF the Ro-
man Catholic population might be said 10 await
IT'S decision even with more intense anxiety:
(Hear) But whatever might be the result Oh
tba, debate. whether for good or for eHli, II the
discussion was conducted with temper-h the
de,berarion used was serions and sihctre-ahd,
If opinions were delivered with truth and no.
n.,ly-,be result of that debate would larry ana
fully claim the acquicsence OF all Parues as 10
ITS authority and It's worth. From the way IN
which the resolution was brought forward, Il
was evidently intended that the question should
be fully discussed. Fur twenty years the ques-
ton had agitated the Empire, and the Roman
Catholics having advanced step by step, now
demanded TO be admitted into Parliament, and
10 such Offices in the State, with the exception
Of very few, which they were al present eA-
cluGed fran There was, however, one thing
extraordinary in the present State oil the cues
ton. The Pro'estants were put upon the de-
fence. They were charged with 5igotry and
oppression; the were charged with those very
vices which used Of old TO be- laid TO the accoun,
Of the Roman Catholics. Clear, hear) lie
Was at a loss TO account for such charge. hut
was there any justice in the charges thus pre-
frred against the Protestants? When Hon.
Gentlemen told him of the laws wnich had been
passed 10 The prejudice Of the Roman Caiho-'
lies, they keBtsroatzof siphgr sessr1nsacf'nns
unon them at all, they did so very nightly, ana
intims ted that those who made them hau oeeh
deceived, had been led 20 frame them through
dece ption and delusion, and therefore they ar
guyd that they ought no longer 10 be continued
in force. Why, until within the last twenty
wears our Protestent ancestors who had framed
those laws had been Ievered as the lriehds OF
liberty and as the champions ofindependence-
(hear, near. h-ar)-bu, within these last twenty
wears, those who had before been regarded and
admired as the benefactors oftheir country and
the founders of her Constitution, had been LOOK,
ed upop by some as bigots, as in,oleranls, ana
as prosecutors. cloud cheers) Some vinGi-
carion, then, Of those laws seemed necessary,
and he would, therefore, direct the attention o'
the House TO the occasions which had called lor
them and he absolute necessity there was LOT
their adoption. Were the laws, whica were
passed in the reign Of Elizabeth, passed from
vague fears and doub,?-were they the result OF
unfounded fears and apprehenslons! No, 'hoSe
laws were caused by the dreadful snterlnss
which had been endured in the short reign oil
Mary; and it was for the purpose OF preventing
the recurrence Of the atrocious and the hear'-
rending scenes which then transpired that 'hey
were enacted. Those who framed them were
spec,a:ors Of those dreadful scenes; ana lhey
were likewise spectators OF what was pass
ing in France and in the Netherlands. iney
felt that the Roman Catholics OF that period (he
men, no reflection on those Of the present day.
were laborinp to over,urn the Government OF
this country, and that TOO in concert win the
most bigo,ted and d-spolc Government that
ever existed, which was that Of Spain. Clear,
hear) He would pass from ,ha, period 10 the
ign OF James. In that reign fresh laws were
enacted, and among others was that which I'M
posed The Oath of Allegiance. Those laws and
that oath were not imposed for the purpose Of
Irritating, taunting, and expressing The Roman
Catholics, but they were passed IN consequence
of one Of the most atrocious attempts that had
ever been made to destroy the freedom and the
religion of this country. That oath was i'm
nosed 10 oounterac, the effects OF Popish in
tr,gues, which were directed to the suh'ersion
of the Pro,estan. Establishment. Again, when
the trainers Of those laws TO which he mad al
Iuded, were charged with bigolry, let HIM call
the attention Of the House 10 the irlgh,iui pic
ture shich Ireland presented in The reign Of
Charles, in the year 1914 When they and ,heir
predecessors were charged with Intolerance, let
him call the attention OF the House TO the dread
fui scene Of desola,ion and Of bloodshed who
Ireland presented al that period through the
mac hlna,iors Of Popery CLEAR, hear) Was
ii then, wonderful, shat those who had been
spectators of those fearful days, should have en-
deavored to avert their return, and have passed
those acts-oall them acts Of severity IT you
will-whioh had been de scribed as displaying
bigotry and intolerance! (Hear, hear, hear }
From that period Of desola,ion he might pass
on to the Revolution. 1t was in consequence