§ 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 56,000l. 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 838 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.