Lord Dudley and Ward presented a petition from the Protestant Dissenters of the town of Dudley, in favour of the bill. His lordship observed, that though he regretted, he was not surprised, to see the clergy of the established church presenting petitions against their Roman Catholic fellow-subjects, but it filled him both with surprise and disgust, when he saw Dissenters petitioning against the extension of that toleration to others, which was extended to themselves, and therefore he felt happy in presenting the present petition, as being more worthy of their character, and of the times in which they lived.

The Duke of Sussex said, he had a petition to present to their lordships in favour of the bill, which though not very numerously signed, contained some respectable names that must have an influence upon any assembly. The opinions of the petitioners perfectly conincided with his own. The persons who had signed it had none of them changed one religion for another. They were, the archdeacon of Sudbury, and three other eminent persons, with whom he was intimately connected. His right reverend friend the bishop of Norwich, could bear witness to the respectability of the signatures.

The Marquis of Lansdown presented a petition from several members of the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, in favour of the Catholic claims. It was signed, he said, by two heads of colleges, a majority of the professors, and 80 or 90 other members of Cambridge university; but it was not so numerously signed by members of the other university, because the petition could only receive the signatures of such of the latter as were in London, there not having been time to send it to Oxford. Connected as he was with the university of Cambridge, it was with the greatest gratification that he beheld attached to this petition the names of the professor of Greek, of Arabic, of geology, of anatomy, of astronomy, in short of all that was distinguished for learning and enlightened talent in that great university, thus giving a bright example of liberality to the country.-The noble marquis presented a second petition, to the same effect, signed by 100 graduates of Oxford and Cambridge. His lordship then stated, that he had to present another petition, which possessed strong claims on the attention of the House. Their lordships would remem

ber, that a short time ago he presented a petition from Dublin, signed by several Protestant peers, bankers, merchants, and others, praying that relief might be ex. tended to their Catholic fellow-subjects. The petition he now held in his hand, which was to the same effect, contained the signatures of a great many individuals of property who had been prevented from putting their names to the former. It was signed by ten Protestant peers, who were not peers of that House, and by a great number of bankers, merchants, and landed proprietors, not members of either House of parliament; and it might be taken as representing the sentiments of the great bulk of property in Ireland — the noble marquis also presented a petition signed by 7,000 members of the established church, inhabitants of Liverpool, who represented property to the amount of six millions sterling, praying that the Catholic claims might be conceded.

The Duke of Devonshire said :-My lords, I rise for the purpose of presenting to your lordships two petitions in favour of the bill now pending in this House, in favour of the Roman Catholics. The first is from the Protestant inhabitants of the county of Waterford; the other is from the inhabitants of the town of Bandon, in the county of Cork. My lords, the petitioners in both cases humbly pray that your lordships will be graciously pleased to remove the disabilities under which their Roman Catholic fellow subjects at present labour. They pray this, first, because they conceive that no religious opinions ought to operate as a ground of exclusion from political rights and privileges; and secondly, they pray it as the only means by which permanent peace and prosperity can be diffused throughout Ireland. My lords, the petition from Waterford is signed by a large majority of the Protestants of that county, and may be fairly considered as expressive of the opinion of all the Protestants must distinguished for rank and property in that part of the country. The other petition is, as I have already stated, from the Protestant inhabitants of a town heretofore distinguished for its hostility to the claims of the Roman Catholics, and yet such is the liberal and enlightened feeling which prevails, that the most opulent and leading Protestants of that town come forward and beseech your lordships to remove those disqualifications under which the Catholics have so long and so unjustly la

similar description, which has attached to it the signatures of the duke of Norfolk, and the other Roman Catholic peers, the signatures of the Roman Catholic prelates and clergy, and also of the ancient Roman Catholic gentry of this kingdom. This petition is, as I am informed, signed by upwards of thirty thousand individuals, many of them of the very highest rank, character, and respectability; and they pray the repeal of those disqualifying laws and regulations, to which, for no fault of theirs, they have been so long and so unjustly subjected. They complain that these restrictive measures have been continued in force against them upon no other ground than their belief in a particular creed, which it did not depend on their will to change; and that upon that ground only are they excluded from a participation in the blessings of the British constitution. My lords, the petitioners address you with the utmost respect; but they address you with dignified firmness-they address you in the tone of men who are suffering under disabilities which they entertain a proud consciousness of not deserving they address you in the tone of men who feel that they are deserving of a participation in all the blessings and privileges of the constitution; and they tell you mildly, but firmly, that while their disabilities continue, they will never cease to complain. They appeal to their past conduct as a contradiction to the foul aspersions with which they have been assailed. They challenge your inspection of that conduct; and they proudly assert, that their claim to an equality of rights and privileges with their Protestant brethren is incontrovertible. They call upon you to inquire into their principles; they invite you to inspect the morality of their conduct, and the propriety with which they discharge their social duties. They boldly assert that they have ever been distinguished for as active and disinterested a zeal for the rights and liberties of this country (unless, indeed, where they have been impeded by the impolitic and jealous spirit of the laws) as the most loyal of their Protestant fellow-subjects. My lords, they not only do this, but they repel, as unjust and totally unfounded, those charges, which impute to their religious opinions, any thing unconstitutional, or in any wise contrary to subordination and good government. But, my lords, they go further; they refer your lordships to that period of our history, VOL. XIII.

when their Catholic ancestors made the most powerful and decided stand against Papal usurpation. They call your attention to those exertions of their Catholic ancestors, which achieved some of the dearest and most valuable privileges of Englishmen. They broadly assert, backed by such authorities, that there is nothing in the character or tenets of the Roman Catholic religion which ought to exclude them from the full enjoyment of their civil rights and privileges. And, in proof of this assertion, they call your attention to the modern history of dif ferent countries around you. Look at Switzerland, a country consisting of Protestant and Catholic cantons (and the latter, by the way, not the least remarkable for the liberality of their institutions) there the people are bound together by one bond of amity, and differences on the ground of religion are unknown amongst them. Look at France-there you find that a Catholic sovereign has granted an equality of rights and privileges to his Protestant subjects. Look at the Netherlands

there you will find that several Protestant states are united under one government with the Catholic provinces formerly under the dominion of Austria; and there all enjoy an equality of rights and privileges, and that, too, under the special sanction of the king of Great Britain. In Hanover, also, under the auspices of the same beneficent sovereign, there exists no civil disqualification on the ground of religious opinions. In Canada, not the least important of our possessions, the established religion is the Roman Catholic, and yet no inconvenience, no disaffection, no ground of civil disqualification, is found to exist. In the United States of America, a country which has advanced in civilization and prosperity with a rapidity almost surpassing belief; the business of the state is not only not impeded but facilitated by the total extinction of all predominance of sect or religion. That great and increasing power has been peculiarly careful to avoid giving encouragement on the one hand, or of holding out disqualification on the other, on the ground of religious opinions; and by so doing, she has succeeded in raising herself to her present pitch of greatness and glory.

My lords, the Roman Catholics, whose petition I have had the honour to present, repel with indignation such foul and false aspersions as those which have been attempted to be cast upon them by petitions 2 U

such as that presented to the House tonight. A petition which came, as I understand, from a person who was once a clergyman of the Roman Catholic church, but who is now described to be a reverend divine of the church of England. The Roman Catholics, I say, deny the charges thus attempted to be cast upon them, and assert, that they are as ready as their Protestant brethren can be, to stand for ward in defence of the Crown and constitution of these realms, against the attacks of any foreign prince, potentate, or power, that may assail them [hear, hear, hear!]. Upon these grounds they once more, and with undiminished hope, implore your lordships to take into your consideration the justice of their claims; and I, my lords, beg to add my prayer to theirs, and at the same time to remind you of the danger with which your refusal to do so may be attended. It is in vain to tell me Ireland can much longer be excluded from the pale of the constitution. Reflect then, I beseech you, upon the inexpediency of not doing that now, which it is evident you will be obliged to do ere long. The petition which I have just presented to your fordships comes from a set of persons who have been described by the noble lord opposite as most peaceable and loyal subjects, and who so distinguished themselves at a period of danger and distress. The measure which it supports comes recommend ed to you by the leading Protestants of the sister country. They tell you that they anticipate danger, not from the bill being carried, but from its being refused. This opinion has been powerfully impressed upon your lordships by the noble duke who has just presented some petitions in favour of the bill. It comes recommended to you by the vote of the House of Commons, who have now, for the second time, sent the bill up to your lordships. And it should be recollected that the feelings of the House of Commons, at a period like the present, are no bad criterion of the feelings of the country; for a general election being at hand, it is not likely that they would act in direct opposition to the opinions and wishes of their constituents. Some noble lords have endeavoured to prove by the petitions which have been sent to this House, that the feeling of the country was against the measure, while others have attempted to detract from the weight of those petitions, by describing the characters of the persons who originated them, and the means by

which they had been got up. It is not my intention to decide between these conflicting opinions, but this I may venture to say, that from all I have been able to learn personally; from all I have been able to collect from those whom I conceived to be best informed on the subject, and taking into consideration, that not one county meeting has been called by the opponents of the measure that hardly any great town has petitioned against it; or, at least, that we have had no petition from any great town without having an opposite petition from the same place; taking into consideration, too, that whereever a meeting has been called against the measure, it has ended by adopting Resolutions in its favour; I say, my lords, taking all these things into consideration, I have a right to conclude, that if the sense of the country be not strongly in favour of the Roman Catholics, it is not hostile to their claims [loud cries of hear, hear!]. I have a right to conclude that the terror and alarm, at one time so prevalent in this country, have subsided; and that had we a ministry who were not divided on the question [loud cries of hear, hear!]; had we not a ministry whose opinions are so much at variance that they abandon their duty, and leave the management of affairs to a kind of chancemedley [hear, hear !], it would be found that our difficulties would vanish, that our obstacles would be removed, and that this great measure of policy and justice, this act of benevolence and favour, would be passed into a law, and would at once and for ever set at rest those jealousies and disquietudes which at present exist; and we should find in their place that mutual good will and Christian charity which it is the wish of every good man to see established in society [hear, hear, hear!]. We should then have a set of men worshipping their God, perhaps in a different form, but certainly upon the same great Christian principle [hear, hear, hear!]. My lords, I have every respect for the right reverend bench of bishops; I believe them to be a set of pious men, who would not utter that which they did not believeto be true; but, from their rank and station in society, their feelings and opinions upon: this question, must necessarily be known; and, my lords, we are all aware that there are not wanting those who would seek to recommend themselves by the getting up of such petitions as those which have been presented to your lordships against the