HISTORY OF EUROPE [145 



xvas one of the establislied Roman 

 catholic clergy, long resident in 

 this country : that, in fact, the 

 eminent clergy in France had no- 

 thing to do with the controversy. — 

 If the bill, therefore, had been 

 drawn with a view to the contro- 

 versy in question, it was neither 

 fair nor just to make it bear on 

 those who were unconnected with 

 the controversy. — His lordship re- 

 peated his wish, that the bill might 

 go into a committee, because the 

 letter- writer's sentiments shewed 

 ■that some anxious feelings were en- 

 tertained. 



The bishop of Rochester rose 

 again and said, that he also had 

 read the two works alluded to, and 

 he agreed in part with the criti- 

 cism of the noble and learned lord 

 upon the woolsack, upon the dif- 

 ferent merits of the two writers. 

 Mr. Milner had undoubtedly used 

 too many asperities against our esta- 

 blished church and the practices of 

 its ministers, but — here the bishop 

 was called to order by lord Hard- 

 wicke. The bishop was so eager 

 to speak, and to obtain a hearing 

 of his criticism on the two polemi- 

 cal divines just mentioned, that it 

 was with difficulty he could be re- 

 duced to silence by the repeated 

 calls to order by lord Hardwicke, 

 supported by the chancellor and all 

 the house. When, at last, he was 

 obliged to sit down, amidst a general 

 and long continued cry of order, he 

 proclaimed in a voice louder still 

 than the cry of order " that all he 

 meant to have said was^ that, in 



many cases, Mr. Milner had the ad- 

 vantage of the chancellor of Win- 

 chester,whohad not shewn sufficient 

 zeal for orthodoxy, and th e discipline 

 of our protestant establishment." 



That eagerness to speak, and 

 make long speeches, which seems 

 to be, if possible, even increasing 

 in our parliament, though not 

 usually so great in the upper as 

 the lower house, calls to mind^ by 

 the association of dissimilitude and 

 contrast, that becoming and digni- 

 fied modesty that prevailed in the 

 Roman senate ; in which the sena- 

 tors did not declare their opinion 

 on questions, till they were called 

 on in their turn to do so, by the 

 home consul, or the prsetor, or 

 other magistrate, who convoked and 

 presided in the senate. Had Julius 

 Caesar, or Cato, been clamorous for 

 a hearing of those justly celebrated 

 orations on the conspiracy of Cata- 

 line, much of their effect would 

 probably have been lost, with the 

 diminished gravity, dignity, and ap- 

 parent impartiality of the speaker.* 



The question for the commit- 

 ment of the monastic-institution- 

 bill was then agreed to. It was now 

 moved, " That the bill stand com- 

 mitted to this day three months." 

 The motion was carried, and the 

 bill was of course lost. 



It was matter of some surprize to 

 many, both that the poor distressed 

 catholics should be so zealous for the 

 continuance of their orders, and that 

 the protestants should be so easily 

 alarmed at the dying efforts of their 

 adversaries. It is in moments of 



• At Marcus Fortius Cato rogatus sententiam — Sed Caesar, ubi ad eum ventuni 

 e«t rogatuR sententiam a consula hujuscemodi verba locutus est. Sallust. Bell. 

 Catalinar. — It appears that the opinions of the senators were asked in tlie order 

 of their dignity.— Turn D. Junius Silanus primus sententiam rogatus, quod eo tem- 

 pore consul designatus erat. J6. 



Vol. XLII. QL] 



