Lords Sitting of 17 July 1807

IRISH GLEBE HOUSES BILL.
The order of the day being read for the second reading of the Irish Glebe Houses bill,
The Earl of Hardwickesaid, he should wish the bill to be postponed for further consideration, Thursday next. He conceived the bill to be superfluous: an act having passed in the year 1803 granting the sum of 56,000 l. the same as proposed by the present measure, for building Glebe Houses in different parts of Ireland. All, therefore, that was required, was to carry that act into execution; and it was with the view of enquiring into the causes of its having hitherto remained a dead letter, that he proposed to put off, for a few days, the second reading of the bill now on the table.
The Earl of Suffolkunderstood the reason of not executing the act passed five years ago, to be the want of sufficient securities for the due appropriation of the money. This was, however, a very unsatisfactory reason, because the clerical livings might be taken as securities. Something ought certainly to be done in the business. At a time when the extension of the privileges of the Catholics was so much objected to, surely means should be taken for spreading more generally the Protestant worship, by increasing the facilities of attendance upon it. He had no doubt that the residence of the established clergy in their respective parishes would be productive of many converts to the Protestant faith. Upon this point he could speak from a fact within his own knowledge. What was considerered the pattern regiment of the artillery at Woolwich consisted of Irish Roman Catholics, and of these, as there was not a Roman Catholic Chapel within a convenient distance, a very considerable number of them spontaneously attended the established church. Of the dissenters, very few, if any, did so: but that might arise from there being several meeting houses in the neighbourhood to which they might resort. Among the Roman Catholic troops at the depôt in the Isle of Wight, he believed there were few who frequented the established church, because they had an opportunity of attending divine service at Cowes, according to their own system. Here he could not but advert to an expression which fell the other evening from high authority (the Lord Chancellor). Their lordships had been told, that the Catholics were within
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the pale of the constitution. If he was rightly informed, an instance had occurred, in which the Catholic soldiers at Cowes were compelled, under threats of punishment, to attend the established church: and if such a proceeding was to be permitted, it was clear that the Catholics were not within the pale of the constitution.—The earl of Hardwicke's motion was then put, and agreed to.

DEFENCE OF THE COUNTRY.
The Earl of Suffolkthen rose to state, that before he left town, on his necessary avocations, he should feel it his duty to address their lordships on the military defence of the country. He was apprehensive that the proposition to be brought forward in the other house would come before their lordships too late to admit of his delivering his sentiments upon it. He should therefore state what he had to say on Monday. He begged leave to remind the house that his advice had been followed in many of the points which he had repeatedly urged on their attention. There still, however, remained much to be done towards an efficient system of defence. He must at the same time intimate, that some of the observations which he might have to make, were of so delicate a nature, that he was apprehensive he should be under the unpleasant necessity of clearing the bar. He wished it to be under stood, that nothing but an imperious sense of duty could induce him to move for the exclusion of strangers. [Here there was a cry of order!] He was aware that he was not altogether in order, but he was unwilling that the public should conceive that he wished to conceal from them any proceeding but such as a due regard for their own interests and safety required to be kept secret.—On Iris lordship's motion, the house was ordered to be summoned for Monday.