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The oath was handed to the Honourable and Learned Member, who, after looking attentively over it, said, "There is one assertion in this oath which I do not know to be true; there is another assertion in it which I believe not to be true. I cannot, therefore, take this oath."

The Speaker: You may withdraw.

Mr. O'Connell bowed and withdrew.

The Solicitor General said the Resolution which he was now about to move, was founded on various precedents. When a party, was called upon to take certain oaths, to enable him to take his seat, and refused to take them, the uniform course had been to move a new writ immediately, and the Motion was always complied with. I say, Sir, said the Solicitor-General, that Mr. O'Connell's refusal to take the Oath of Supremacy has caused a vacancy in the representation of the County of Clare, and I therefore move- "That a new Writ be issued for the election of a Knight of the Shire for that County, in the room of Mr. O'Connell, who has vacated his seat by refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy, he having been elected before the enactment of the recent Bill, passed for the Relief of his Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects."

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Mr. W. W. Wynn said, that he was anxious, before Mr. Rice proposed his Amendment, to point out to the House a Clause in the Catholic Relief Bill, which he conceived formed an additional reason why the Motion for a New Writ might safely be delayed. The Clause was as follows:-"That after the commencement of this Act a Session for the purpose of registering Freeholds within this Act, shall be holden in and for each County in Ireland, by, and before the Assistant Barrister of such County, on such days, and at such places, in each of such Counties respectively, as the Lord Lieutenant, or other Chief Governor, or Governors of Ireland shall appoint; and the Clerk of the Peace for each County shall, forty days at the least before the day so appointed for such County, cause to be posted in each market-town therein, notices in the form 27. 4 N

swearing in of Members; it was going back to form a pre dent, and that too in a very inconvenient manner, as a Member should only be asked questions at the Table.

The Solicitor-General said, that pursuant to the Resi of the House, Mr. O'Connell was called to the Bar and asked if he would take the Oath of Supremacy; and if he refused to do so at the Bar, it would be an idle and useless ceremony w ask him the same question again at the Table. He theref felt it his duty to move the new Writ.

Lord John Russell repeated, that an answer given by a Member at the Bar could not be considered as a refusal to take the Oaths. He should be questioned at the Table

The Solicitor-General said, the Hon. and Learned Member for Clare had already refused to take the Oath, and the present course was only for the purpose of rendering the proceeding more satisfactory.

The Speaker directed the Serjeant at Arms to inquire whether Mr. O'Connell was in attendance.

The Serjeant at Arms replied in the affirmative.

The Speaker directed that he be called in.

Mr. O'Connell entered the House, and immediately placed himself at the bar.

Mr. Speaker then said: Mr. O'Connell, I am directed by this House to communicate to you two resolutions to which the House came last night. The first is, "That it is the open of this House that Mr. O'Connell having been returned a Member of that House before the commencement of the Act passed in this Session of Parliament, for the Relief of s Majesty's Roman Catholic Subjects,' is not entitled to sit or vote in this House, unless he first take the oath of Supre macy." The next Resolution is "That Mr. O'Connell de attend the House this day, and that Mr. Speaker do then communicate to him the said Resolution, and ask him whether he will take the Oath of Supremacy?" In obedience to those Resolutions, I now ask you if you are willing to take that oath? Mr. O'Connell I wish to see that oath (after a short pause.)-I wish to see that oath.

The oath was handed to the Honourable and Learned Memzber, who, after looking attentively over it, said, "There is one assertion in this oath which I do not know to be true; there is another assertion in it which I believe not to be true. I cannot, therefore, take this oath."

The Speaker: You may withdraw.

Mr. O'Connell bowed and withdrew.

The Solicitor General said the Resolution which he was now about to move, was founded on various precedents. When a party, was called upon to take certain oaths, to enable him to take his seat, and refused to take them, the uniform course had been to move a new writ immediately, and the Motion was always complied with. I say, Sir, said the Solicitor-General, that Mr. O'Connell's refusal to take the Oath of Supremacy has caused a vacancy in the representation of the County of Clare, and I therefore move-"That a new Writ be issued for the election of a Knight of the Shire for that County, in the room of Mr. O'Connell, who has vacated his seat by refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy, he having been elected before the enactment of the recent Bill, passed for the Relief of his Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects."

Mr. W. W. Wynn said, that he was anxious, before Mr. Rice proposed his Amendment, to point out to the House a Clause in the Catholic Relief Bill, which he conceived formed an additional reason why the Motion for a New Writ might safely be delayed. The Clause was as follows:-"That after the commencement of this Act a Session for the purpose of registering Freeholds within this Act, shall be holden in and for each County in Ireland, by, and before the Assistant Barrister of such County, on such days, and at such places, in each of such Counties respectively, as the Lord Lieutenant, or other Chief Governor, or Governors of Ireland shall appoint; and the Clerk of the Peace for each County shall, forty days at the least before the day so appointed for such County, cause to be posted in each market-town therein, notices in the form

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specified in the first Schedule to this Act annexed—that such Session for the purpose of registering Freeholds within this Act, will be holden on the days, and at the places so appointed, and that applications for that purpose will be then and there taken into consideration."

Mr. Secretary Peel was aware of the Clause alluded to, and admitted that the question, whether the Speaker should issue a new writ, or direct his warrant to the Clerk of the Crown, who would, of course, take care and act according to law in issuing the writ, and if he delayed issuing it, and thereby was guilty of disobedience to the Speaker-if disobedience he might call it—still he would be borne out by the law. This being the state of the law, and there was no inconsistency in it, or, if there were, it could casily be cured by an order of the House, that the Speaker do not issue his warrant until the Clerk of the Crown could legally carry it into effect forthwith.

Mr. W. W. Wynn thought that there were two courses to be pursued. Either the Speaker might issue his writ as soon as the notice appeared in The Gazette in Dublin, or he might issue his warrant to the Clerk of the Crown, as soon as it could be legally acted upon.

Mr. Portman put it to his Hon. and Learned Friend, whether he felt inclined to press his Motion against the opinion of so many Hon. Members. He considered this one of the most important steps they could take, and were they to enter upon it without notice? The Honourable Member for Limerick had certainly given a notice, but it was a notice of about half an hour. No Honourable Member could be prepared to discuss so important a question on the instant, and without information. He did think that the further discussion ought to be postponed to Friday next.

The Solicitor-General observed, that if this were a subject entirely new to the Honourable Members, and that no time. for consideration had been given upon it, the proposal for delay ought to be complied with. But Honourable Members had

the Journals constantly before them, and with such an advantage he did not think any Honourable Member could doubt the conclusion to which he ought to come as to the course of proceeding to be adopted

Sir J. Mackintosh said there was no procedent applicable to this peculiar question; for in all the cases in which it had become necessary to issue New Writs, the Warrant of the Speaker met with immediate obedience, But here there was no reason at all for immediate issue of the Writ, and therefore it might be delayed until it could be obeyed. Unless some case was pointed out to him which formed a hypothetical precedent, he would say that the course proposed by the SolicitorGeneral would be a departure from, not an adherence to, the usage of Parliament.

Mr. Secretary Peel thought there was good ground for their proceeding to some notice of this measure at present. He would put a case- suppose Parliament were to be prorogued before the issuing of the Writ, then the county of Clare would remain unrepresented.

Mr. Huskisson said it appeared to him not that the warrant should not issue at all at present, but that it shall not issue in the usual form. With respect to the delay, the House should recollect that time was given upon what appeared to him a less important question-namely, whether Mr. O'Connell should be heard at the Table or at the Bar. He thought a delay of at least 24 hours necessary.

Mr. Portman moved that the further discussion of the Solicitor-General's Motion should be adjourned to Thursday, the 21st.

On that day the Solicitor-General moved the order of the day for resuming the adjourned debate, and then said that it would be in the recollection of the House, that on the former occasion when this subject was under the consideration of the House, doubts existed in the minds of some Hon. Members, to whose judgment great deference was due, whether the resolutions he had proposed ought not to have reference at once to the provisions of the recently enacted Statute. With a view

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