state, and to seats in parliament? What, existed, he was sure that the exclusion he would ask, was their lordships' opinion bills of that time would never have been of a man who swears, that no foreign passed; for they manifestly originated in prince or potentate hath power or juris- a desire to keep James from the throne. diction in these realms, who takes that as Extraordinary hypotheses had, indeed, the civil test of his allegiance to the power been broached in the course of these diswithin this kingdom, believing at the same cussions, as to the danger of having a time, in matters of faith, that the spiritual Catholic monarch, and of having a body head of his church is the Pope, who re- of Catholic ministers surrounding the sides without these realms? Did their sovereign, and combining together to carry lordships think that a person entertaining their purposes into effect. But, in the such opinions was unfit to discharge the practical affairs of the world, they could duties of a legislator, or to hold any of the not so argue; and if they attempted to do various offices in the state? They had so, they never would do any thing they already acted upon that principle in 1791 would remain fixed and petrified, and and in 1793; and the present measure useful for no practical purpose. The but followed up what was then enacted other security upon which he would rely and made the law of the land. was this-the bill which accompanied the present measure, and which was intended to regulate the elective franchise in Ireland. As he said before, let property indifferently, either of Catholics or Protestants, be represented, and let the elective franchise be settled on the steady basis proposed by the bill to which he alluded. Another security he saw in the oath which was framed in the present bill. He was well aware, that there were some who would say that that was a frail security, and that they could believe nothing upon the oath of a Roman Catholic. Their lordships must see, that this was only adding insult to injury, and outrage to oppression. How had they, he would ask, excluded Roman Catholics from offices in the state, and from seats in parliament, except by means of oaths? They found oaths effectual for such purposes, and then they turned round and said, that there was no faith to be placed in the oaths of Roman Catholics! He would call on the noble and learned lord (Eldon) to answer that argument, and he would also call upon the other noble and learned lord, near him (lord Redesdale) to answer it if he could. From the year 1778 to the present time, the exclusion of the Catholics had been maintained by no principle, save that of oaths. It was a shameless assertion, then, to say, that Roman Catholics were not to be believed upon their oaths, when oaths alone had formed the bar to their advancement in the state, and their admission to the legislature. These were his sentiments. They were not the offspring of any crude or visionary theories; they rested upon the deliberate determination of the legislature, who had voted five or six times, that they could With regard to the Coronation Oath, he would merely say, that he perfectly concurred in the opinions expressed by the father of the noble lord (Kenyon), in his correspondence on this subject. Since the period when that correspondence took place, the arguments which had been raised, regarding the Coronation Oath, had been so much derided and laughed at, that they had never been revived until of late. They had never been adopted by the late lord Liverpool in opposing this question, nor by the right hon. gentleman in the other House of parliament, his majesty's Secretary for Home affairs. They always scouted such an argument. Upon that subject he should not trouble their lordships any further. He was asked, where were his securities? The first security which he would give, and that which he considered by far the greatest, consisted in the results which he hoped and confidently expected would flow from this measure; the tranquillity of Ireland -the harmony which would be produced amongst all classes and orders of menand the binding and uniting together of the two countries in the lasting bonds of mutual interest, affection, and attachment. Such were the results which he was convinced would follow in the train of this measure, and that was his first security. His next security was that which had been established at the Revolution, and which made the Crown essentially Protestant. That was the next great security which they possessed, and the way for its passing had been prepared, by the exclusive laws which were enacted in the reign of Charles the 2nd. If a fear of the accession of James the 2nd to the throne had not then he felt no apprehensions for the safety of the established church. rely with confidence upon the oaths of Catholics. The Roman Catholic was in no manner incapable of exercising the privileges of a free citizen in a free state; his opinions regarding civil power and civil matters accorded with those of other men, and in no manner, therefore, incapacitated him from discharging the duties of a legislator; and as to private opinion in matters of spiritual belief and doctrine, they should be let to run in their own channels. Looking at this measure both on a political and a religious principle, he was sure it would put an end to the contentions and animosities which had prevailed, particularly in Ireland, and that it would operate to the advantage of the Protestant church and the Protestant religion. If he were asked, what was the security on which he relied for the maintenance of the Protestant church, he would say, that he relied mainly and principally on the purity and soundness of its doctrines-on the arguments put forward by those great and good men, who had supported that creed in former days, and on the zeal, learning, and exertions of the present clergy of the Protestant church of these countries. He had been, from his earliest youth, taught to look up to the doctrines of his religion as pure and rational; he had always been taught to believe that it was impossible for any man who approached, with an impartial and unbiassed judgment, to the consideration of those doctrines, and who fairly lent his mind to them, not to acknowledge their truth and to embrace them. Every thing since had served to convince him still more of the correctness of that opinion; and he was sure, if the disabilities affecting the Roman Catholics were once removed, and Catholics and Protestants put upon an equal footing, that the Catholics, instead of exhibiting a stronger tendency to undermine the Protestant religion or Protestant church, would most probably come over in great numbers to the reformed faith. He would appeal to the right reverend bench, whether there would not be much reason to expect such a change, from the exertions and the zeal of the great body of the clergy of the church. He knew and respected that body of men-with many of them he was closely connected-to many of them he owed obligations which he should never be able to repay; and when he considered their zeal and their ability, He had trespassed long on their lordships' attention. The sentiments which he had expressed had been often repeated before; and he had resorted to nothing but the old arguments and reasonings; for, to speak the truth, the subject was completely exhausted, and admitted of nothing new to be said upon it. But their purpose here was not to collect novelties for a newspaper, but to deliberate upon the great and important interests of the nation,-to consider questions involving the security of the Throne, the safety of the state, and every thing that was valuable to man. Their duty manifestly was, to apply themselves to that important subject with anxious attention-to weigh well the great interests committed to their care, and to legislate wisely and beneficially for the people of these countries. He cared not for the personal obloquy which might be cast upon him for his advocacy of this measure. He had discharged his duty, fearlessly and conscientiously, and to the best of his ability; and his most anxious desire, as it would be his greatest consolation was, to be associated with their lordships in carrying this great object into effect, and thereby to secure, upon a permanent basis, the happiness and tranquillity of the united kingdom. The Earl of Falmouth rose and said : Amidst the cheers of the noble lords behind me, whose favour he has so well earned, and the expressive silence of other parts of the House, the noble and learned lord has delivered, what I will mildly call, his very extraordinary speech; and he has thus afforded, perhaps, the most marvellous instance of conversion of all those by which the present measures must be for ever distinguished. My lords, it would ill become me to set myself up against so high an authority, but I hold in my hand a document which, I am sure, the noble and learned lord will think contains arguments fully equal to his own, and I beg his attention to a part of it, which I propose to read to the House, because, as it must be more familiar to him than to any other man, I wish to be corrected, if he does not recognize it as his own speech delivered in this House, no longer ago than the 10th of June last. My lords,-I should also have made some comments upon the noble and learned lord's attack upon my noble and learned him to take possession of the crown; and friend (lord Eldon) if I did not know in the convention, they discussed the there could be but one opinion upon it, propriety of the laws which were proposed, in or out of this House. My respected the whole of which I shall not now state friend's crime seems to have been that, to your lordships-but the nature of the strong in his conscious rectitude, he measures adopted is sufficient to enable would not call that man his friend who me to show that they considered the laws, would charge him with insinuations and which I have mentioned, to form a vital mystification, and that he advised him to and essential portion of the constitution— look to his own consistency-a hard hit, The laws were, then, however, imperfect, I must admit, in such a case, and one for although they excluded Catholics from which, it seems, required, at the end of a parliament, and from offices, they did not full fortnight, this renewed attack, but I extend to the monarch, and in the Bill of am sure I shall do best to leave my noble | Rights reference is made to the Declaration, and learned friend's answer in his own and it was agreed that the crown should hands. be held by Protestants alone'-Thus the system was confirmed, and, as my noble and learned friend stated, thus was the Protestant constitution completed.--It is true that the Protestant church was established at the Reformation, and that it was, to a certain extent, connected with the state; but there never existed a complete and perfect union between the Protestant church and the state until the Revolution." My lords, I shall not take up your time by reading more than a small part of the noble and learned lord's speech in June last, although, to do him justice, the whole of it presents the completest answer to his present one, that can be imagined. I shall only apply myself to two points in the latter, because others will be adverted to, by what I shall afterwards say upon the noble duke's (Wellington's) opening speech and on the general question. My lords, the noble and learned lord has given us his present opinion upon the truth of the assertion, that our constitution owes its date to 1688, which, it appears, is now a notion worthy of ridicule in this House. On this point let us see what he said in June last-He said, "allow me, then, my lords, to call to your recollection, that with which your lordships must all be familiar --I mean the Declaration made by king William, before his embarkation from Holland--In that Declaration, the laws against the Catholics, by which they were excluded from all offices, and the provisions of the Test Act, are stated in detail-It is declared that an attempt had been made to evade those laws-the disastrous consequences of such an attempt are described; and William declares that the great object for which he was about to come to this country was to confirm and execute the laws, especially those for the exclusion of the Catholics and the Test Act; and thereby to establish civil liberty, and secure the Protestant religion-Accordingly, on his arrival here, for the maintenance of the constitution, there was a meeting of the Houses of Lords and Commons, and William took additional measures to carry his Declaration into effect-They advised This was the noble and learned lord's opinion upon the constitution of 1688 in June last.-Then, upon the effect of agreeing to the noble marquis's (Lansdowne's) motion, which, be it remembered, was a motion merely for considering the subject with a view to its adjustment, his uncompromising objections even to considering the subject are thus expressed-" I cannot understand the policy of those who recommend this concession, and I cannot bring myself to think that they have taken an accurate view of the consequences— I resist the claims, because I cannot come to the conclusion, that, without dangerwithout destruction, perhaps, to the Protestant establishment in this country-we can agree to a Catholic establishment in Ireland-I cannot accede to the proposition of the noble marquis (Lansdowne) unless I am prepared to grant a Catholic ascendancy in Ireland-I contend, that by consenting to this motion, we shall not purchase tranquillity--the notion is fallacious, and we shall only give new means to support further claims, which will be urged and backed by the very power we have ourselves conferred.-Are your lordships then prepared to bid adieu to the Protestant church of Ireland? Are you prepared to establish the Catholic religion there, in its stead?-We know that the population of Ireland is Catholic, that three-fourths are of that persuasion; and it may be contended that it is as just to establish the Catholic religion in Ireland, as the Protestant in England, or the Presbyterian in Scotland.-Any man who comes to that conclusion, I can understand he acts a consistent part, and may well call upon us to take this step in order to facilitate the object he has in view-but because I love the Protestant church of Ireland, because I know it has produced great and illustrious men, because I think it the bulwark of the church of England, I am not willing to forego my support to it, and to grant a Catholic ascendancy in Ireland-Therefore I cannot agree to this intermediate step, which I think leads to no other conclusion than that which I most earnestly deprecate-the establishment of the Catholic religion in Ireland." And now, my lords, having read these passages from the noble and learned lord's speech in June last, I shall leave his present one to the judgment of your lordships. man. Not, indeed, mere consistency of votes, where there has been no reflection; but, when a public man has reflected and has long followed what he believes to be right principles-let him not, at least, succumb to the baneful doctrines of expediency. Let him not, like some politicians, unconvinced and mentally unchanged, though he may own himself, forsake those principles which he feels to be good, and act against those opinions which he owns to be his real ones. Let him not, like them, when sinking in the troubles they themselves have created, catch at the straw of expediency to save himself from drowning-or his example will be more pernicious than his talents, to whatever rank they may exalt him, can be useful to his country. benches; since, no doubt, his placing himself there would at once relieve them from their incompetency. My lords, there was one remark at the close of the noble earl's speech, to which I cannot avoid alluding. The noble earl says, rather gratuitously, that the crossbenches have not only the vice of consistency, but that, in his opinion, they would be unfit to conduct the affairs of the If, on former occasions, I have viewed nation. Now, my lords, I was really this question as one of vital moment to almost in hopes, that according to the the British empire-if I, at length, thought fashion he so much admires, he was it my duty, as I did last year, from certain about to offer his aid as prime minister, observations of my own, to raise my in case there should be a change in the humble voice in the hope of preserving government; but as he has not done so that most valuable inheritance, which II can only invite him to the crosshave ardently wished to hand down unimpaired to those who might come after me -the happiest and best institutions which ever emanated from human experience and sagacity-with what feelings must I now rise, when I hold in my hand the death-warrant, as it has been truly termed, of our pure Protestant ascendancy. My lords, whichever way I look, whether to the moral effect of the recent conduct of public men, or to the political evils of this bill, if it becomes law, I am met by the worst anticipations. Already do we hear members of parliament ridiculing the name of political consistency. Already have we heard a noble earl (Wicklow) whose rising talents I shall hope to see one day better employed, as if doubtful how long his own opinion may be the same, taunting the cross-benches with what he terms their "boasted consistency," which, I think, he said shackled the judgment and fettered the understanding. My lords, I say to that noble earl, that consistency is one of the brightest gems in the character of a British states My lords, I beg leave to say, as to my own consistency, that I know it is as disinterested as it is unfashionable; and as to private feelings, I, in common with others, have suffered in a way which I hope I shall not live to see repeated; but I shall not take up the time of the House by complaints on that head. All I claim is some little respect in this House from my opponents. My lords, I look with consolation to the conduct of the noble and learned lord (Eldon) who sits on those cross-benches. His political career has been marked by many changes in the country, from tranquillity to danger, from depression to prosperity; but, on all points essential to the public welfare, he sits there, himself unchanged, and unaffected by the catching lights of liberal philosophy. My lords, he sits there strong in the affections of a Protestant people. Their confidence in public men-that confidence which is the soul of a nation's strength has been lamentably deceived and destroyed: but he is there to struggle to the last, in defence of their dearest institutions; and when his manly and useful career shall be terminated, which I earnestly hope may be a time yet distant, his memory will be indelibly written on their hearts, and his honours will hardly be excelled by those of any man, not even by the honours of Waterloo. The noble duke says, the necessary magistrate would not act the demagogues were too cunning for him: but, my lords, can we admit such reasoning as this, when the vital principle of our best institutions is at stake? I repeat, the Protestant strength has not been fairly tried. Do I mean by blows ?-No. Do I mean by civil war, which the noble duke has described in terms that, no doubt, made the hair of a certain baronet stand on end again [alluding to sir T. Lethbridge's speech against sir F. Burdett some years ago.] No; I mean by a good Protestant united govern. ment at home, and a Protestant lord-lieutenant and Secretary in Ireland. Will the noble duke say such a thing was impossible. Of this I say he has not the shadow of a proof; and nothing can be clearer than that he has not tried it. My lords, as to the mode in which this bill has been brought forward, I wish I could sink my impression of it in "a short oblivion," to use the famous words of a famous letter; for that impression, I assure the noble duke, is a very painful My lords, I will not minutely review the conduct of the noble duke's government, for the fourteen months during which it has existed. Whether it has been an expediency government or a consistency government, I leave it to the But the noble duke says, "I had a country and to history to judge; but as to divided cabinet," (though he formed it the evil of a divided government, I do say, himself) "the Catholic half would not and I appeal to facts, that the noble duke come to me, so what was I to do?-Why, has increased and confirmed that evil therefore I and my half went over to them which he now tells us is irremediable.and here is a bill which will satisfy My lords, I cannot forget his military every body-aye, even the conscience of services; but I must say that ambiguity a bishop !" My lords, I look at it, and I and concealment have been the preludes to this fatal measure. True it is, that a surprise could alone give, even to him, that success which no other man could have obtained-which Mr. Canning never dreamt of obtaining in such a manner. But was this a fit return to a confiding people? I say nothing of his disinterested friends here; but was it a fit return to the principles which placed him on that bench? My lords, the Protestant cause has not been fairly dealt with. The energies of a Protestant government have not been fairly exerted. What says a noble and learned lord (Plunket) whose mazy path in other respects, I cannot attempt to trace? He says, "when I was in Ireland it was not my business to order as to the law, but to obey." What says the noble marquis, whose dismissal is now become an unintelligible riddle? He says, "there was force enough to keep peace in Ireland, and I too was ready to obey my orders." Why, then, my lords, must not the country say "where there is a will there is a way." Has a fair trial been made? Here is the question; and if a satisfactory answer can be given, let it be given in the face of this House-in the face of a deceived people. see a more sweeping, a more dangerous bill, than ever was dreamt of by the most sanguine emancipator. It opens the door to almost every thing to all except one or two offices, including that of lord chancellor.-Now, my lords, far be it from me to suppose it possible that a lord chancellor could change his opinions in a moment; but still, I venture to think, the country will hardly be satisfied with this as a security. A most reverend prelate (the archbishop of Canterbury) whose argument I hope it may not appear presumptuous in me to say, is full of sound sense-has exposed the fallacy of such securities. He has shewn the consequences of having Roman Catholic Secretaries of state and other great officers. My lords, suppose the case of a future king (and we do not legislate for the present generation alone) in the hands of a Jesuitical court favorite, with a Roman Catholic prime minister.→→ Suppose fifty Roman Catholics in the other House of Parliament, united with the seventy-nine members who voted, not long ago, for a direct attack on the church (on the motion of Mr. Hume.)-Suppose the king to make a number more Roman Catholic peers-would the Protestant |