50] 



ANNUAL REGISTER, I8I7. 



Mr. Leslie Foster rose, and after 

 stating the character of the two 

 parties into which the Irisli Ca- 

 tholics were divided during the 

 last year, he proceeded to show 

 what the conditions are on which 

 they seem now agreed. The iio^ 

 inination of the Bishops hat for a 

 long time been as practically do- 

 mestic as any possible arrange- 

 ment can make it. When a see 

 is vacant, a recommendation is 

 forwarded to Rome from Ireland, 

 and within memory not more 

 than two or three instances have 

 occurred of any difficulty in con- 

 firming thii choice. Lately, it is 

 said, the persons tlms nominated 

 in Ireland have bee* the coadju- 

 tors of the deceased bishop, who 

 has been selected by the bishop in 

 his life-time. The transmission 

 of the episcopal rank has there- 

 fore, in practice, been a mere 

 matter of testamentary bequest. 

 Some persons, it seems, now pro- 

 pose that the elections shall here- 

 .^fter be made by the deans and 

 chapters ; but if they should, will 

 this mode be either lees domestic, 

 or more conducive to give satis- 

 faction to a Protestant, than the 

 present ? The ])roposition of do- 

 mestic nomination is distinctly 

 tliis — that the Protestants and 

 Catholics having each much to 

 require, and much to give up, the 

 Protestants are to cede all that 

 remains, and tiie Catholics are to 



.luake the single concession of re- 

 maining exactly as they are, as the 

 ground of being admitted to a 

 complete participation of poU- 

 tical power. 



^. Affer .wmc discussion of the 

 j)rinciplc of th< vclo, Mr. L. F. 

 proceeded to the consideration of 

 the manner in which ihe Pope is 



treated by the different powers of 

 Europe, which he borrowed from 

 the work of Sir J. C. Hippesley. 

 H€ concluded, We have thus. Sir, 

 looked around Europe, and seen 

 Calvinists, and Lutherans, and 

 Roman Catholics, and Christians 

 of th& Greek communion, agree- 

 ing ia two propositions : first, 

 that the patronage of the higher 

 stations of the Catholic clergy 

 iimst be vested in the state j and 

 secondly, that the most vigorous 

 superintendence must be exer- 

 cised over all their communica- 

 tions with the see of Rome. And 

 therefore, when the right honour- 

 able gentleman asks, whether this 

 country will continue to be the 

 only great nation that shall per- 

 sist in intolerance, I say, that his 

 question rather ought to be, whe- 

 ther this nation will determine to 

 be the only one in Europe which 

 shall consent to place the Roman 

 Catholic religion in a situation so 

 free from all practical control, as 

 to form a complete iinperium in 

 imperio within its bosom. 



Mr. Yorke said, that the great 

 difficulty he had always found of 

 bringing tliis question to a satis- 

 factory result was the foreign in- 

 JJucnce ; and no consideration 

 could induce him to yield in any 

 material degree to the petitions of 

 the Roman Catholics, but the pros- 

 pect of security to the Protestant 

 establishment from such an influ- 

 ence. In formerly giving his 

 opinion on this subject, he had 

 always said, that he thought it could 

 only be usefully taken up when 

 the Pope was u)a&ter of himself. 

 This was now the case ; and the 

 (jucstion appeared to stand upon 

 more favourable ground with re- 

 spect to any communications that 



might 



