§ Sir Henry Parnellrose, pursuant to notice, to submit certain Resolutions to the House with respect to the claims of the Roman Catholics of Ireland. In these Resolutions it was his object to explain the course of proceeding which he proposed to pursue, with a view to satisfy the parties referred to, without meaning to lead the House into any premature discussion. The House, he observed, was now placed in different circumstances from those which existed upon any former discussion 258 of this interesting question, inconsequence of the Resolution adopted on the motion of the right hon. member for Liverpool (Mr. Canning). For by that Resolution it was decided, that it was expedient to repeal the penal laws affecting the Catholic body, and therefore the House was not again called upon to vote on the principle of the measure, but to consider the details necessary in order to give effect to that Resolution. He had been informed by the Speaker, that as this question related to religion, it must be considered in a committee of the whole House.
§ The Speaker.—Such is the standing order.
Then in this instance (resumed Sir H. Parnell) he meant only to bring forward these Resolutions in order to have them laid on the table, as containing the subject matter of what he proposed subsequently to submit to the consideration of the House. In framing these Resolutions, he had been aided by the suggestions of those gentlemen who had waited upon him with the Catholic petition in Dublin, and to whom he naturally said that it would be very desirable to know what were the views of the petitioners—what the exact nature of the claims to which they wished Parliament to accede.
Mr. Yorkerose to order, and asked whether the hon. baronet meant to conclude with any motion, because his observations would otherwise be irregular.
§ Sir Henry Parnellreplied, that it was not his intention to have concluded with any motion; but in order to conform to order, he now meant to move his first Resolution, after stating the nature of the several Resolutions which he held in his hand, and which contained a precise description of what the Catholics of Ireland required Parliament to do in their behalf. These Resolutions, which he meant on a future day to submit to the consideration of a committee of the whole House, he proposed to have printed; and in making this proposition, he was governed by the precedent established by the House in the case of the right honourable member for Liverpool, whose clauses for the security of the Protestant Establishment, as those clauses were denominated, were ordered to be printed. The hon. baronet then read the following Resolutions:—
1st. "That it is expedient the Roman-Catholic inhabitants of these realms shall not be liable or subject to any laws for the limitation, charging, or discovering of 259 their estates, real or personal, or touching the acquiring, enjoying, holding, or disposing of property of any kind or nature, save such as the Protestant inhabitants of these realms are liable and subject to.
2d. "That it shall not be necessary (in order to enable or to entitle any Roman Catholic inhabitant of these realms to vote at any election of a member or members to serve in Parliament, or any other election; or to vote at any election of a representative peer of Scotland; or to been rolled as a freeholder in any shire or stewartry of Scotland; or to vote in any proceeding of the court of freeholders, or to be chosen præses or clerk of such court; or to be chosen a commissioner or delegate for choosing burgesses to serve in Parliament for any district of boroughs in Scotland; or to enable or entitle any peer of Ireland to vote at any election of a representative temporal peer; or to make or sign any return to the writ of election of a temporal peer, pursuant to an Act made for that purpose by the late parliament of Ireland, in the 40th year of the reign of his present Majesty), that any such inhabitant or peer should, at or previous to the time of his so voting or being so enrolled or chosen, or so making or signing a return to any writ of election, respectively as aforesaid, take or subscribe the oaths of allegiance, abjuration, and supremacy—or make or subscribe the declaration against transubstantiation, the sacrifice of the mass, and the invocation of saints.
3rd. "That whereas doubts have been entertained whether the provisions of an Act made by the late Parliament of Great Britain, in the 26th year of the reign of his late Majesty King George the second, intituled 'An Act for the better preventing of Clandestine Marriages,' extend or ought to extend to or affect marriages between Roman Catholics:
"It is expedient that the said Act, and the provisions therein contained, shall be deemed, taken and construed, not to extend or to affect any marriages of Roman Catholics (where both the parties shall be Roman Catholics); but that all such marriages of Roman Catholics, being duly solemnized according to the forms of the Roman Catholic religion, shall be excepted from the operation of the said Act, in like manner as marriages amongst persons professing the Jewish religion, and marriages amongst the people called 260 Quakers, are by the said Act excepted from the operation thereof.
4th. "That it shall and may be lawful to and for any person or persons whomsoever, to give, grant, transfer, or convey to any person or persons (and for such, person or persons to take, receive, and hold), any lands, tenements, hereditaments, goods, money, or other property, for the maintenance, support, or benefit of any Roman Catholic chapel, or house of worship, priest, or minister of worship, school, hospital, or other pious or charitable foundation or establishment, of such or the like nature, in the like manner, and to the same extent as his Majesty's Protestant Dissenting subjects are now enabled and authorized by law to make and execute gifts, grants, and conveyances, as aforesaid, for the maintenance, support, or benefit of any Protestant Dissenting chapel, or house of worship, minister of worship, school, hospital, or other pious or charitable foundation or establishment of such or the like nature.
5th. "That, if any person or persons shall maliciously disturb any congregation or meeting of persons assembled in any Roman Catholic chapel, or other place, for the purpose of religious worship, according to the forms of the Roman Catholic religion; or shall maliciously prevent, hinder, or disturb such religious worship; or shall assault or menace any Roman Catholic clergyman, in such chapel or place, whilst officiating, or about to officiate therein; it is expedient that every such person so offending shall forfeit and pay for every such offence, a sum of twenty pounds sterling, British currency.
6th. "That whereas by an Act made by the late Parliament of Ireland, in the sixth year of the reign of her late Majesty Queen Anne, and by another Act made by the said Parliament, in the 23d year of the reign of his late majesty King George the second, any Roman Catholic priest, solemnizing marriage between any two persons (being Protestants, or either of them being a Protestant,) is rendered subject to certain punishments mentioned in the said Acts respectively;
it is expedient, that the said provisions of the said Acts be repealed so far as the same relate to such punishments as aforesaid; and that any Roman Catholic clergyman, who shall hereafter solemnize 261 marriage between two Protestants, or between any Protestant or Roman Catholic (such Protestant and Roman Catholic not having been previously married by a Protestant clergyman, and the said Roman Catholic clergyman knowing such party to be a Protestant), shall forfeit a sum of 100l. to his Majesty for the same, on conviction thereof.
7th. "That if any officer, or person holding any military or naval office, or situation, under his Majesty, his heirs, or successors, shall by punishment, force, menaces, or otherwise, compel, or endeavour to compel any Roman Catholic soldier, sailor or marine, to assist or be present at the celebration of divine worship, according to any other form than the form of the Roman Catholic religion, it is expedient such officer or person, so offending, shall forfeit and pay for every such offence a sum of one hundred pounds sterling of British currency.
8th. "That it shall and may be lawful to and for the Roman Catholic inhabitants of these realms, to sit and vote in either House of Parliament; and to hold, exercise, and enjoy all civil, judicial, and military and naval offices, and places of trust or profit, under his Majesty, his heirs, and successors, within these realms, and the dominions, dependencies, and colonies thereunto belonging, and to take and receive any degrees of medicine, law, or arts, in any of the universities of Great Britain or Ireland, and to be students, exhibitioners, scholars, professors, and lay-fellows for any of the said universities or colleges belonging thereto; and to hold, exercise, and enjoy the offices of mayor, sovereign, bailiff, alderman, treasurer, sheriff town-clerk, councilman, master or warden, of any guild or fraternity; and all such offices (by whatever name the same may be called), in any city or town within these realms; and also the offices of governors, deputy governors, and directors of the banks of England and Ireland respectively, and all other offices therein; and also to be members of any other lay body corporate, and to enjoy the freedom, franchises, and immunities thereof; and to hold, exercise, and enjoy any office or place of trust therein, any statute, charter, bye-law, or usage to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding, upon 262 taking and subscribing the oath and declaration following: (instead of the oaths of allegiance, abjuration, and supremacy, and instead of making and subscribing the declaration against transubstantiation, the sacrifice of the mass, and the invocation of saints, now by law required, and instead of taking the sacrament, according to the forms of the Protestant religion); that is to say, upon taking and subscribing the following Oath and Declaration:
"I, A. B. do hereby declare that I profess the Roman Catholic religion.
"I, A. B, do sincerely promise and swear, that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to his Majesty King George 3, and him will defend to the utmost of my power, against all conspiracies and attempts whatever that shall be made against his person, crown or dignity: and I will do my utmost to disclose and make known to his Majesty, his heirs and successors, all treasons and traitorous conspiracies which may be formed against him or them.
"And I do promise to maintain, defend, and support, to the utmost of my power, the succession to the crown (which succession by law now stands limited to the princess Sophia, electress and duchess dowager of Hanover, deceased, and the heirs of her body, being Protestants).
"Hereby utterly renouncing and abjuring any obedience or allegiance unto any other person, claiming, or pretending a right to the crown of these realms.
"And I do not believe, that any foreign prince, prelate, state, or potentate, hath or ought to have, any temporal or civil jurisdiction, power, superiority, or pre-eminence, within these realms.
" And I do declare, that I swear this oath, and every part thereof, in the plain and ordinary sense of the words of this oath. So help me God."
The hon. baronet then proceeded to observe, that the House was now in possession of a statement of all that was required to be granted; and he trusted that when these Resolutions should be examined, they would be found to contain nothing more than what was fair and equitable in regard to the Catholic subjects of the realm. He should therefore move "That these Resolutions be brought up."
§ The Speakerapprehended that the hon. member had not distinctly made himself understood as to what was the nature and object of his motion.
§ Sir H. Parnellsaid, he wished to move that these Resolutions be brought up.
§ The Speakerreplied, that the hon. member had described a certain paper which he held in his hand to be a series of Resolutions come to by the Catholics of Ireland, and he understood him to intend to move that the paper so described be brought up.
§ Sir H. Parnellrejoined, that he should move the first Resolution, finding that to be a more proper course, than taking them generally.
§ The Speaker.The hon. member now makes another motion. Which, therefore, is the motion that he intends to propose? I understood him to intend to move two different things; first, that the Resolutions should be brought up; and afterwards, that the House should agree to the first Resolution.
§ Sir H. Parnellanswered, that understanding the House would not agree to his first motion, he had changed it.
§ The Speaker.Then the hon. member offers to the House the first of these Resolutions for their assent. The question then is: "That it is expedient that the Roman Catholic inhabitants of these realms shall not be liable or subject to any laws for the limitation, charging, or discovering of their estates, real or personal, or touching the acquiring, enjoying, holding, or disposing of properly of any kind or nature, save such as the Protestant inhabitants of these realms are liable and subject to."
§ Mr. Peter Moore.seconded the motion.
§ Mr. Bankes, observing that he should abstain at present from entering at large into the merits of the Catholic question, suggested for the consideration of the hon. baronet, that he was proceeding disadvantageously for his own object; because he himself, for instance, if called upon to vote upon this Resolution, as it appeared to be one of a string of resolutions, should feel it his duty to vote against it; and thus if the motion were rejected, the hon. baronet was liable to be deprived of the head and front of the object which he desired to attain. The clauses alluded to by the hon. baronet were, he was aware, ordered to be printed; but that order was made through a sort of private consent and convention between gentlemen on both sides of the question, to which convention he and others felt it inconsistent to accede with respect to the present resolutions, and of that the hon. baronet 264 had had due notice. On these grounds he thought it would be more advisable on the part of the hon. baronet not to persevere in his motion, which was the less necessary now that the hon. baronet had had an opportunity of fully apprising the House of the nature of his propositions.
Mr. Yorkeseconded the views of the last speaker, declaring that he would be better pleased if the hon. baronet would consent to withdraw his motion. But he must add, that the hon. baronet's mode of proceeding appeared to him to be altogether novel and irregular—quite in opposition indeed to the standing order of the House, with regard to any question upon the subject of religion. If it were, as it appeared, the only object of the hon. baronet to get his Resolutions published, there were various means by which he might have contrived to give them publicity, without this mode of taking the House by surprise. As the notice of a motion upon this subject stood for Tuesday se'nnight, he should not at present enter into the general question; against the object of which, however, he felt no hesitation in protesting at the present time. The right hon. gentleman concluded with observing, that he could not help expressing his regret that this subject had been taken out of the hands by which it was usually conducted, because, if it had remained in those hands, it was not likely that the House would have been exposed to such inconvenience and irregularity as the present mode of proceeding involved.
§ Mr. Peter Mooredeclared that his support to the motion arose from the fact, that certain Resolutions, explanatory of the redress which the petitioners sought, were identified with it. This would enable them the better to judge, how far they would go, and where they would stop. He could see no irregularity in receiving resolutions of this kind, and having them printed pro forma: nor could he see how such a procedure could anticipate the general discussion.
§ Sir H. Parnellwillingly acquiesced in the suggestion of the hon. member (Mr. Bankes), and withdrew his motion, as the only object he had in view was accomplished, namely, that of explaining to the House the objects necessary to satisfy the wishes of the Cætholics of Ireland.
Mr. Peelobserved that the precedent alluded to had no analogy to the case of the hon. baronet, for the hon. baronet, 265 although deputed to act for a certain class of his Majesty's subjects, was but an individual member of that House, whereas the right hon. member for Liverpool was deputed to act by the House itself, being one of a committee appointed to draw up a Bill, of which, according to the resolutions of the House, some provision for the security of the Protestant establishment must necessarily form a part. Therefore that right hon. member was acting in an official capacity in bringing forward the clauses which the House agreed to have printed.
§ Sir H. Parnellconceived, that it was not necessary for him to prove an exact analogy in order to justify his reference to the precedent alluded to.
§ The motion was then withdrawn.