30] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1813. 



man Catholics, but granting them 

 no political power, and affecting 

 to make them concessions which 

 at the same time it was rendered 

 impossible for them to receive ; 

 and he regarded it as an absurdity 

 to retard the measure in its pro- 

 gress, lest the plan should not ulti- 

 mately prove acceptable to the 

 Catholics. 



Sir J. C. Hippisleij entered into 

 a detail of considerable length re- 

 specting the course of proceeding 

 which he would recommend to the 

 committee, and the objects which 

 would be proper for their delibe- 

 ration. 



Several othermembers then gave 

 their opinions on the subject, 

 which, at the present stale of the 

 business, were rather anticipations 

 of their intended line of conduct, 

 than immediately called for; and 

 on a division of the House there 

 appeared, for the resolution, 186; 

 against it, 1 19; majority, 67. 



On April 30th, Mr. Grattan pre- 

 sented to the House his bill " to 

 provide for the removal of the civil 

 and military disqualifications under 

 which his majesty 'sRomanCatholic 

 subjects now labour," and moved 

 that it should be read the first time 

 and printed, which was agreed to. 

 He then moved for the second 

 reading of the bill on the 11th. of 

 May, which was also carried. 



The following is an abridged 

 view of the most important con- 

 tents of this bill. 



After a preamble declaring the 

 inviolable establishment of the 

 Protestant succession to the 

 Crown, and the Protestant national 

 churches of England, Ireland, and 

 Scotland, and the expediency of 

 communicating to his majesty's 

 Roman CathoUt; subjects the bless- 



ings of our free constitution, in or- 

 der to put an end to all religious 

 jealousies, and unite all the inha- 

 bitants of those islands in the de- 

 fence of their common liberties and 

 government, it enacts, that it shall 

 be lawful for persons professing the 

 Roman Catholic religion to sit and 

 vote in either House of Parlia- 

 ment, upon taking the following 

 declaration and oath instead of the 

 oaths of allegiance, abjuration, 

 and supremacy, and the declara- 

 tions against transubstantiation 

 and the invocation of saints. The 

 oath, which is of great length, con- 

 tains a promise of allegiance to the 

 king ; of supporting the Protestant 

 succession to the Crown ; a re- 

 nunciation of belief in the temporal 

 jurisdiction of the pope or any fo- 

 reign potentate in these kingdoms, 

 and of the validity of excommuni- 

 cation by the pope or council to 

 depose princes ; a declaration that 

 no act in itself immoral can be 

 justified on pretence that it is for 

 the good of the church, or in obe- 

 dience to any ecclesiastical power; 

 and that no sin can be forgiven at 

 the will of the pope or any priest 

 without sincere repentance ; a de- 

 claration that the infallibility of 

 the pope is not an article of the 

 Roman Catholic church ; a dis- 

 avowal of any intention to subvert 

 or disturb the present church es- 

 tablishment; and a promise to make 

 known all conspiracies, &c. for 

 such a purpose ; and, finally, an 

 attestation that this oath is taken 

 in the plain sense of the words, 

 without equivocation or reserva- 

 tion, and that no power or autho- 

 rity can dispense with or annul it. 

 It is farther enacted, that on 

 taking the above oath and decla- 

 ration, it shall be lawful for Roman • 



