Lord Melville rose,to move the second reading of the bill he had lately introduced, for amending the law relative to the Oaths taken on Naturalization and on reversal of attainder. According to the law as it now stood, foreigners naturalized, or subjects restored to honours, were obliged to appear at the bar of the House to be sworn, and to have taken the test according to the forms of the church of England. This was on high authority held to be the law, under an act which passed in the reign of James 1st. about a century before the Union with Scotland. It was understood at the Union that no test should be required of the natives of Scotland; but, notwithstanding the stipulation on that subject, the law had since been differently interpreted, so that the great age of the earl of Mar could not excuse him from coming to that House, and he was obliged to comply with the usual practice of taking the test. It was very unreasonable that the sacramental 825 test should be required of natives of Scotland, or of foreign Calvinists on being naturalized. He thought it would be sufficient if the law provided that the person naturalized was a Protestant, without inquiring whether he belonged to the church of England or any other sect. With regard to cases of restoration and reversal of attainder, it might often be a great hardship on persons to require their attendance at the bar of their lordships' House. A case of this kind had occurred with respect to a young officer, Mr. Fitzgerald, who was obliged to appear and take the test, before he could enjoy the advantage of the restoration, though he was in the public service, and in a situation on account or which their lordships would have been disposed to extend indulgence to him. He therefore proposed that the necessity of appearing at the bar in cases of sickness, bodily infirmities, and under some other circumstances, should be done away with; and the object of his bill was, to provide, that in such cases it might be referred to a committee of their lordships to see whether the requisite oaths had been taken, and all that the law required complied with elsewhere.
The bill was read a second time.