On this page
-
Text (3)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
PAPAL AGGRESSION—THE ADJOURNED DEBATE . The debate of Monday presented nothing remarkable , except that the House did not break up till two hours after midnight . The speakers in favour of the bill were—Mr . Moncktoh Milnes , Mr . Granti / ey Berkeley , Mr . P . II . Berkeley , and Lord Ca . sti / ereaoh . Those against it were—Mr . Fagan , Mr .
Smythe , Mr . Sadleir , Sir J . Young , Mr . Beresford Hopk , and Mr . Grattan . The most notable speech of the evening was that of Mr . Smythe , who described the measure as " a sham bill of sham , pains and sham penalties against a sham aggression . " After alluding to the Whig alliance with the Catholic party for political purposes , he went on to condemn the manner in which they sought to repudiate " the bride of their not illegitimate and certainly not impolitic bigamy " : —
" In a far different spirit—in the spirit of a wise and far-seeing and courageous statesman—the Secretary of State for the Colonies had not hesitated to accord to Catholic prelates in our colonies those titles which would have been accorded to them by Mr . Pitt ; and , knowing that we governed St . Lucia by French laws , and Berbice by Dutch laws , and Trinidad by Spanish laws , had seen no reason why we should not give Catholic bishops to Malta and to our Catholic fellow-subjects in the British colonies . Why , then , should , not Catholic laws and Catholic bishops be given to the Catholics in Ireland , and Catholic laws and Catholic bishops to Catholics in England ? { Hear . ) What had the Pope really done ? He had accorded certain territorial titles , but with no territorial faculties . The title of' Archbishop of Westminster ' involved no more territorial faculties than did the title of ' King of Cyprus' borne by the King of Sardinia , or the
title of ' King of Jerusalem borne by the King of the Two Sicilies . It involved no more territorial faculties than did the title of ' King of France , ' which was borne by three Electors of Hanover constituted Kings of England , or than did the title of ' King of England ' when borne by King James III ., Charles III ., and Henry IX . Although the Legislature of England proscribed those princes , they were still , in their own words , ' Dei gratia , non voluntate hominuna , ' Kings of England to the consciences of some at least among their subjects . They might legislate as they pleased , and proscribe Dr . Wise roan as they wouldvyet still ' Dei gratia , non voluntate hominum , ' he would be still primate of all England in the consciences at least of many of the Catholic subjects of this realm . ( Hear , hear . ) The principle was one which defied legislation , because it was in foro conscientiae , ' between man and God . It reminded him of the old doggrel of the Jacobites : —
" ' God bless the King , God bless the faith s defender , God bless—there is no harm in blessing- —the Pretender ; But who is that , and who the King , God bless us all , —that ' s quite another thing-. '" It was absurd to talk , in these days , of Papal power as anything very dangerous in a Protestant country . " Men had only not to believe , and the Pope ' s jurisdiction ceased and determined . " Alluding to the voluntaryism of the Church of Rome , he said : —• " The Pope had given the most signal , the most startling , the most transcendent range to the voluntary principle . For the first time in history , by the side of an Established Church , he had connected the highest grades of the Komish hierarchy with the voluntary principle .
(• Hear , ' and cheers . ) He renumbered to have read in one of the debates of the Long Parliament , in the speech of the Puritan Member for Kent , Sir Edward Dering , of a mediaeval legend , which stated that when Christianity first exchanged the persecution of the Roman Emperor for the smiles , and the favours , and the moneys of Constantine , the voice of an angel was heard crying and wailing in the air , — ' Hodie in ecclesiam venenum infunditur . ' From thin mediaeval myth Rome had extracted and deduced a profound political truth . What was it that rendered her so powerful—more powerful than at any time he had read of in the annuls of the church — ho powerful that 10 , 000 bayonets had been sent to her Attpport by the universal aufl ' ra ^ c of France , at the cost
of the univcrttal suffrage of France— ( cheers );—that , day by day , voluntary restitutions of church property were tuking place in Spain ; that in one second , by one stroke of Prince Schwarzenberg ' n pen , the rationalistic bigotry and the Josephint spoliations of a hundrt d years had been annulled ? One sole fact , —that , bit . by bit , and year after yeur , she had learned to withdraw herself from State connexion and eramiun domination . ( Hear , hear . ) Thus she had been enabled to present to the world the unique spectacle of a pauper hierarchy by the aide of a largely « aluried episcopate . —( hear , hear ) ; — that pauper hierar ohy recognized and prayed for by uuivoitsil Christendom —that salaried episcopate not recognized , and not prayed for , and not Hympathized . Jn , out of the HritiHu Kmpire . At the head of that , hierarchy « the had sent a prince of
the ohureh—one who , Lord I'owia staled in one of bin admirable speeches , wduld take iiU'ci-denee even of the l ' rince Consort in evyry Court of the Continent of Kurope ; l > u ! she . had hunt him with the wallet of the mendicant beneath the robes of the cardinal , dependent on the uImih of lho « e who rhofle to believe . (< fivers . ) Jtome hud in this , at least , gone far beyond the ( iovernment of liagland in tho spirit of that principle , which decreed thut none should puy for u faith other than bin own . She hiul flung far down a warning truth into a posterity which would not be ungrateful for the boon . ( Cheers . ) 8 he had gone further ; Hho had road in England the firm lMtn « of th <« o free nuptials between liberty and faithbetween modern liberty and ancient faith , which , in Iuh « onaaieu <* e he believed , in no remote age would yet regenerate mankind , { Cheers . )" ,
The House had become very tired of the discussion by midnight , and when Mt . A . B . Hope rose to speak he was interrupted by loud calls for a division . He persisted , however , in finishing his protest against the bill , and then Mr . Hobhottse moved the adjournment . Lord John Russeli , tried to persuade the House to come to a division ; twenty-six members had spoken against the bill and twenty-two for it . They might debate the question for six days longer without eliciting any new argument . Mr . Moobb thought it would be injustice to Ireland if the debate
were terminated so soon . They had not occupied above five or six hours of the debate , while some fourteen or sixteen hours had been taken up by the speakers on the other side . Mr . Scully reminded Lord John that there were some thirty-five or forty Catholic members in the House , only seven of whom had spoken yet . Sir George Grey said that no less than fourteen Irish members had addressed the House , and the time they had occupied was eleven hours and a half . Mr . M . O'Connell wished to epeak on the question , but would not address a jaded audience at that late hour . The Earl of Arundel
and Surrey agreed with those who wished to bring the debate to a close as speedily as possible . But only consider that out of thirty-seven Catholics in the House only seven had yet spoken . Lord John wondered when the discussion would close if all the other thirty Catholic members should insist upon speaking . The House having divided on the question of adjournment , the motion was negatived by 414 against 64 ; but as it was evident that the opposition would be renewed , Lord John gave way .
The opponents of the bill had the larger share of the speaking on Tuesday evening . The debate was opened by Mr . Hobhouse , who thought the Church of England was in much greater danger from infidelity than from the Church of Rome . " These debates would give great advantage to scoffers and infidels , enabling them to point to the scandals of the Church . " The right course for Government to take with the Romish hierarchy was to ignore its existence . Mr . Portal , the new Member for Hants , fully shared in the general feeling of indignation at the Papal aggression , but , as he believed the bill to be a mockery and delusion , unworthy of the age , of
the wisdom of Parliament , and of the national dignity , he would oppose the further progress of a measure which was just large enough to satisfy the Protestants of England . Mr . John O'Connell praised the speech of Sir James Graham , as reflecting the highest honour upon him . "It was full of hope , not so much perhaps for Ireland as for England . " He defended the Synod of Thirrles , in their opposition to the colleges . " It was the duty of the Roman Catholic prelates to denounce them . The law of the land had no right to say that the children of Catholics should be educated in infidelity . " Mr . Lawless , although a Protestant , followed on the same side . He accused Lord John of having introduced
the bill under false pretences . He had said that the word " mummeries , " in his letter to the Bishop of Durham , referred to the Puseyites . Why then not introduce some measure to stop the progress of Puseyism ? Mr . Muntz stuck to the aggression point , that was the only question of any value . The Pope had made " a premeditated and most impudent attack on tho Protestant religion of this country , '' which ought to be repelled ; and , therefore , he would vote for the bill . Mr . Scully warned Lord John , that the cry of " the Church in danger , " had always brought evil . Mr . Hume , as a Protestant and an Englishman , gave his hearty opposition to the bill . He considered the introduction of Buch a
measure as by far the most unfortunate occurrence which hud taken place during the long period of hia parliamentary experience . The only point on which he differed from the eloquent , brilliant , und powerful wpeech of Sir James Graham was , in not thinking that there had been any act of aggreanion on the part of tho Pope : —• " If they patted this bill , how were they to govern Ireland ? What was the reason that the right honourable gentleman , the member for Windsor , who was also the Attorney-General for Ireland , bad not risen in his place before now , and explained the probable operation of the bill in that country ?—[ Thin observation wuh received
with the most vehement cries of ' Hear , hear ' from the Irish members , who take a most terrible retribution on tho Irit < h Attorney-General for the anxiety which he invaiiably evinces to avoid taking any part in Irish debates , by receiving every allusion to his name with nhoutH of derision . ]—It wan the bounder duty of the right honourable gentleman , the Attorney-General for Ireland , to explain the provisional of thi . s hill an they would affect that country , of which he w . ih the Unit law officer . ( Thunders of applause from the Irish members . ) I have hiininuiyeye , " ioniiinied Mi , Hume , " he is Hitting below
me , and 1 want to know why he haH not taken part ia this debate , and why he has not officially explained to the House his viewn upon this question ? —[ In uttering these words , Mr . II nine , to make himself mure iinpreHHive , leant over the shoulder of a portly gentleman who was Bitting just , below him on the Treasury bench , and thundered hit ) moving appeal into his slumbering ear . The member in question nuddrnl y waked as from a trance , an . l , turning up bis head in the direction of Mr . Hume , revealed the features , not of the successor of Lord Plunkctt , but of Mr . Denial . This miatake evoked a peal of
merriment , which grew faster and more furious when the Attorney-General emerged from a position of obscuritv where he had been overshadowed by Sir George Grev ' and proceeded to make inquiries oi those around him , as though he were wholly unconscious of what had been going on . ]—He ( Mr . Hume ) believed it was the duty of the right honourable gentleman to address the House on this question , and to relieve their anxiety with respect to the probable Operation of the bill in Ireland , and it was hwould do
to be hoped e so . —[ Renewed merriment in the midst of which Mr . Hatchell collapsed into his usual state of reverie , and , drawing his hat over his brows appeared to have delivered himself to that delicious ' languor which occasionally supervenes on tremendous physical exertions . ]—For his own part , he ( Mr . Hume ) was persuaded that the bill would be as distasteful t 0 the people of Ireland in one clause as in four , and he should vote against it as a measure of persecution unworthy of the country and of the legislature . ( Loud cheers . )"
Sir P . Thesioer spoke at great length against the bill , which he characterized as * ' puerile and absurd , " but declared his intention to vote for the second reading , because he thought that legislation was absolutely necessary , and because , bad as it was , he preferred the minimum of legislation proposed by the noble lord to no legislation at all . Mr . Gladstone , while admitting the existence of serious intestine divisions in the Church of England protested against any attempt to meet the spiritual dangers of the church by temporal legislation of a penal character . Those dangers might be met by a spirit of temporal wisdom ; but he did not believe that they could be cured by remedies which had been tried before , under circumstances a thousand times more favourable than the present , and had utterly and entirely failed . If
the Pope , or the Roman Catholic bishops should interfere with our temporal affairs in 6 iieh a manner as would not be permitted to any other body of religionists , Parliament would be bound to interpose . But till they did overstep the line Parliament had no right to interfere , or to deny them any right or liberty which it gave to other bodies of Christians . He fully agreed , with those who considered the language used in the Pope ' s brief , and the archbishop ' s pastoral relating to the appointment of the hierarchy as " preposterously inflated , vain , boastful , and improper , and distinctly meriting complaint and reprobation in the strongest terms . " But the Roman Catholic body was not responsible for that language , and therefore it was unjust to make them suffer . We must look to the substance of the act , and by that stand or fall . If the law of nations had been
broken , nothing was more disparaging to the country than to proceed only by act of Parliament imposing a penalty . There was nothing to prevent our representing the wrong to the party who had done it , and demanding redress . He then proceeded to point out various deficiencies and anomalies in the bill , which , he said , did not defend the territorial rig hts of the Crown ; and with respect to Romish aggression , there was a preliminary question , —whether the rescript of the Pope had a temporal character . That the Roman Catholics recognized the Pope as their spiritual head did not justify the withholding one jot
of religious freedom . It was not enough that bishops were appointed by a foreign authority ; it must be Bhown that they are not spiritual officers , but appointed for temporal purposes . If the appointment of bishops per se was a spiritual not a temporal act , why interfere with the Roman Catholic bishops ? if it was per ae a temporal act , why exempt the Scotch bishops ? Then as regards Ireland , it app eared from the Attorney-General ' s speech that , after all the flourishes about the Queen s supremacy , the unity of tho two countries , and the impartial app lication of the samo law to both , Ministers did not intend to carry out the same principle in Ireland as in England . Uut the whole measure was a bundle of
inconsistencies . He went on to show that the question relating to the establishment of a Roman Catholic diocesan episcopacy was one upon which the Church of Rome had long beon divided . Ever since the Reformation there had been two parties in the Roman Catholic body . The bulk of the laity and of the secular clergy had followed one line of policy—the regular orders , especially the Jesuits and the Court of Rome , hud followed another . The Moderate had
party , whenevor they had had breathing time , Htruggled for this very measure of ft diocesan episcopacy . Tho extreme party represented by f cardinals around the Papal throne , and tho JeHUito , had been all along struggling against it . lor tho lant three hundred yoara the rnasM of the laity hu < l boon engaged in Hueking for thin incaHure , while y H y had been opposed by tho Ultrainontaniflts . lm ! CHtablUihiuent of thu local principle would g ivo to every oIhhn in the Roman Catholic Church certain fixed
und intelligible ) rights . " They were told that the high Papal interest wiib gaining ground in the Church of Home , that the nyHtein was becoming more closely knit , itn diHcipline more an < more rigid , and that the scope allowed to freedom waa from year to year diminished . He presumed that , ait «« r aa Parliament had a ri ght to interfere at all , they would wish , if they could , to stop that baneful tendency ; but it was his deep conviction that the course they were n «« taking , ho far from tending to atop that course of affairs , had a tendency directly the reverse . ( ' Hear' and Cheers . ) They w < re throwing back the Roman Catholics upon tho Pope—( hear )—they wero annoying them with a h » lo
Untitled Article
PARLIAMENT OF THE WEEK .
Untitled Article
286 " &t ) t yiC&it eV . [ Saturday ,
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), March 29, 1851, page 286, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1876/page/2/
-