§ Mr. Percevalsaid, he was quite confident the House would think that hardly any individual could stand more in need of their indulgence than he did in the task which he had undertaken. He could sincerely assure the House, that it was only an imperative sense of duty to his God and to his country which could induce him to rise and 542 bring forward the subject to which he now begged humbly to call attention. He felt that he was perfectly unfit to engage the attention of the House to it in the manner that the occasion merited, or to enforce, by any powers of his own, things to which he wished to call their notice. He had neither strength, nor talent, nor personal character sufficient to claim the respect of the House. He had but one claim to their attention, but that was one which he had not often found to fail—he meant the name which he had the honour to bear. That name was his greatest earthly treasure, his highest earthly boast. However unworthy he might be to introduce a subject of such deep importance as that to which he was proceeding, he felt that no individual within those walls was so completely the debtor of his country as he was. He was the mere child and creature of this nation's bounty; for if it were not for the munificence of Parliament, and for the still greater bounty of the Sovereign, who augmented that munificence, he should not be in a situation to address the House upon any subject whatever. He felt, therefore, that if he was convinced of danger to the country—if he was persuaded that for her there was one, and but one, deliverance open and apparent of which she could ever possibly avail herself, he should be baser than the basest thing we tread upon if he suffered any unworthy motive of fear, because his motion was not of such a nature as to be palateable to the House—because it was not a common measure, and such as others would readily undertake—if he should, although feeling that danger existed, and being convinced that there was safety in but one way, suffer himself to be deterred, by any cowardly or even modest feeling, from endeavouring to point out the path of safety. The motion which he was about to submit to the House was not suggested by the immediate pressure of the circumstances by which the country was at this moment agitated; it had been uppermost in his heart and mind for two years. He had looked to those quarters from whence such measures were wont to proceed, but he had looked in vain. Having heard that others were striving to induce the Crown to adopt the measure for which he was now about to propose an Address to the Throne, he had postponed his motion till the last moment, and it was not until 543 the very day before the Recess that he gave his notice. He was convinced that the whole of this country was in a state of disorganization—that all the elements of society were loose and disjointed. There was no contentment in the land— no attachment to the rulers of the land. There was no bond of mutual confidence between different classes of men—there was no attachment between the employer and the employed; on the contrary, there was mutual mistrust, mutual fear, and mutual and gross deception. The institutions which were wont to be the boast of our ancestors were growing into objects of hatred and aversion in many instances. Iniquity was rife and rampant in the land. And, besides these signs of a decaying and corrupt State, there were other tokens of approaching evil. There was the probability of wars and tumults, which caused sober men to look to the great Ruler of all human events, and to bethink themselves how they stood before Him who ruleth as He wills. In his opinion, the sword was going forth through the whole land, and great troubles, and great struggles, and great convulsions were about to take place, and were inevitable, unless they were averted by that Being whose mercy was boundless. This, therefore, he said, was the season for humiliation and intercession for mercy, and confession of sins. Such was his sincere conviction; and, if he erred in it, he erred with many who were able and observant men. The hon. Member then read several extracts from different works, in order to show the increasing depravity of the times, and the consequent necessity of divine interference to prevent it—"to thee, O God," exclaimed the hon. Member, "I call aloud; to thee, oh God! who hast so often protected this nation and this people, that thou wouldst be pleased to do the work of mercy unto guilty men and wretched sinners in thine own good time." It was said by too many persons in the present degenerate days, that there ought to be no connection between religion and politics; that all religion should be banished from discussion in that House, and all politics from the pulpit. This notion was gamins: ground with too much rapidity, and therefore it was that he wished to address the House on a subject so vitally important as the present to all their dearest interests. The notion itself was conceived in the true spirit of the liberals and infidels abroad. 544 Yes, it was conceived in that spirit which struck out from the title of the present King of France the words "by the grace of God," It was conceived in the spirit of those men who had taken into pay the teachers of the Jewish religion. This spirit was the very essence of liberalism. In all the acts of our forefathers, religion formed the grand basis. It was the foundation of all public proceedings, from the crowning of the Sovereign down to the most minute occurrence in ordinary life! Yes; from the crowning of the Sovereign by the Bishops of the Church of Christ, down to the most minute acts, and again up to the proceedings of Parliament, where as we now met, our forefathers had met in other days, and had sworn to maintain the Protestant religion on the faith of those Gospels which were now attempted to be removed from the Table [alluding as was understood, to the motion for the repeal of the Oath of Abjuration]. The hon. Member next read an extract from an address by Lord Bacon to Queen Elizabeth, containing these words, "The King who holds not religion, is void of all piety and justice." He next read an extract from the first speech of Elizabeth, earnestly enjoining upon the Legislature and the people, the practice of religion and virtue. "The French," said the hon. Member, "have struck out the words 'by the grace of God,' and put in blasphemously the words 'by the sovereign people,' in the title of the King to the Throne. If we turn from God as the French have done, God will turn from us, and give us up to our own ways most assuredly, and of a verity this was the case with the French, when they took a prostitute from the streets, and worshipped her as an idol. The French forsook their God, and God gave them up to the devil." The hon. Member then proceeded to read extracts from some periodical publications, contending, that though they professed to be the great enlighteners of the times, yet that the men of the present generation were but mere pigmies in wisdom compared with their ancestors. According to one of these publications, he observed, that Protestant Governments and Christian Governments now meant just as much as Protestant Cookery, or Christian Horsemanship. In such a state of things, he maintained it to be the duty of all men, who were not led away by the horrible 545 spirit of infidelity, to implore the Deity to avert his judgment from the land. If no peace, no quiet, no content, were to be found in the land—and if the spirit of Atheism was found to extend itself in all directions, the consequence would he, that we must speedily tumble down to a state of utter ruin and desolation, and that at a moment when we least expected it. If the people of England were in a miserable and distracted state, he would ask, could there be any stronger motive than this for humiliation and penitence before the throne of the Almighty? His own firm belief was, that the safety and prosperity of the land was closely bound up with the Established Church of the land. Of late years he had observed, with great satisfaction, an increasing improvement among all ranks of the Clergy, but too many of their predecessors had been led away by a false spirit, and if corruption had prevailed among all classes, —if the sacred duties of the Sabbath were neglected—the heavy responsibility must rest with these men, to whom the best interests of education had been intrusted at the period to which he had referred. He would appeal to the House, whether it was unbecoming in any body of Christian men to agree to such a motion as that which he had now to submit? During a long interval of peace they had neglected to do that which their ancestors had frequently done—namely, to address the Crown to appoint a day for a general humiliation and thanksgiving. He was aware that the objection likely to be urged against him was, that a motion of this nature ought to emanate from the Privy Council, and not from an ordinary Member of the Legislature. He admitted that such had always been the usage in former times, but as he found with pain that it had long ceased to be observed, he felt himself called upon to undertake what he considered a sacred duty, however incompetent he was to discharge it with effect. In justice, however, to his Majesty's Ministers, he must say, that having seen what they had already done in directing a certain Form of Prayer to be composed and distributed throughout the land, they had entitled themselves to his most cordial thanks. They also deserved entire approbation for the firm and decisive conduct they had adopted with regard to Ireland—conduct which was already attended with the most favour- 546 able effects. They had in this respect obeyed the injunction of Him who said, "Ask, and you shall receive.". His Majesty's Ministers had asked for wisdom, and they had received it. He had now only most earnestly to entreat the House, that if there should be any thing odd, either in the tone or manner of any hon. Member who should lend him his support on this occasion, they would, in consideration of the solemn and sacred character of the subject, forbear from displaying the slightest appearance of levity. The hon. Member, in conclusion, moved, That an humble Address be presented to his Majesty, praying that he may be graciously pleased to issue a Royal Proclamation appointing a day to be set apart for national humiliation and prayer to Almighty God, to avert, with his mercy, those evils which we have deserved, and bless the consultations of this House for the good of his Church: and also praying his Majesty that he may be pleased to direct a Collection to be made in all the Churches for the Poor."
Mr. H. Hughesseconded the Motion. The hon. Member said, that at that late hour he would not trespass on the time of the House, lest he might detract from the arguments of the hon. Member. He was satisfied that the country would honour him for the manner in which he had brought this question forward.
§ Lord Althorpsaid, that no one could have listened to the speech of the hon. Gentleman without admiring the feeling with which the Motion had been brought forward—a feeling, indeed, not merely displayed in the speech, but which must have existed in his mind, to induce him to submit it to the House, and for which he was entitled to respect. Having said this, he would, however, submit to the hon. Gentleman, whether, as he himself had intimated towards the close of his remarks, the subject was one which could be advantageously discussed in a popular assembly like the House of Commons? He thought such a subject as the one in question was properly one which should be left to the King in Council. He was aware that the Motion was not unprecedented—for there were precedents to be found, though these occurred a long time ago—yet he thought that he should not be fulfilling his duty, if he did not press upon the House not to discuss this question. He hoped that the discussion upon it 547 would extend no further. He did not stand up to give a negative to the question, but he was anxious that it should be got rid of, by the House consenting to the previous question, which he would then move.
§ Mr. Percevalexpressed his thanks for the respectful manner in which his motion had been listened to by the House, and in the manner it had been treated by the noble Lord, and then signified his intention of not dividing the House.
§ The Previous Question carried.