GENERAL HISTORY. 



[55 



late opposite me, and have there- 

 fore copied from the pamphlet, 

 published by him on the subject 

 of Bible societies, his own words. 

 The words made use of by the 

 right rev. prelate, (the Bishop of 

 Landaff) are these. " But it is 

 urged, if jou still require that the 

 Bible, however extensively you 

 may wish to distribute it, should 

 be accompanied by the liturgy, 

 you must certainly suspect that 

 there is danger to the establi.shed 

 church from the distribution of 

 the Bible alone. Here let me ask 

 whether the Bible itself is not 

 capable of perversion ? Whether 

 the best of books may not be 

 misapplied to the worst of pur- 

 poses. Have we not inspired 

 authority for answering this ques- 

 tion in the affirmative ? — But if 

 we neglect to provide the poor of 

 the establishment with the book 

 of Common Prayer as well as with 

 the Bible, we certainly neglect 

 the means of preventing their 

 seduction from the established 

 church. The dissenters lemain 

 dissenters, because they use not 

 the liturgy ; and churchmen will 

 become dissenters if they likewise 

 neglect to use it with the people. 

 Have the persons to whom Bibles 

 are gratuitously distributed either 

 the leisure, or the inclination, or 

 the ability, to weigh the argu- 

 ments for religious opinions ? Do 

 they possess the knowledge or the 

 jvidgment which are necessary to 

 direct men in the choice of their 

 religion ? Must they not learn it, 

 therefore, from their instructors? 

 And can there be a bettt-r in- 

 structor, in the opinion of churcli- 

 nien, than the book of Common 

 Prayer r" 

 The Earl concluded his speech 



with moving, " That this House 

 do resolre itself into a committed 

 of the whole House, to consider 

 the petitioas of his Majesty's Ro- 

 man C*tholic subjects." 



The speeches on each side were 

 upon the whole so similar to those 

 delivered in the House of Com- 

 mons, that little additioh by way 

 of argument can be expected fiorn. 

 them. It may, however, be de- 

 sirable to giY« a view of what the 

 Earl of Liverpool, regarded as the 

 jirime-minister of this country, 

 •onsidered as the leading point. 



1 now come (said his lordship) 

 to the main question : Are the 

 Catholic* entitled to enjoy privi- 

 leges e^ual to those enjoyed by 

 the members of the established 

 religion ? It has been well ob- 

 served, that in poirtt of abstract 

 principle, no description of per- 

 sons can complain of unequal pri- 

 vileges who voluntarily place 

 themselves in a situation by which 

 they forfeit their right to equal 

 privileges. 1 ask, not only as it 

 affects the Catholics, but as it 

 affects every other body of dis- 

 senters from the establishment ; do 

 they, when they requiie equal pri- 

 vileges, offer equal conditions? 

 If they do not, can it be con- 

 tended that there is any injustice 

 in distinguishing between them ? 

 I have always considered that the 

 civil establishment was necessa- 

 rily interwoven with the church 

 establishment. This will be found 

 a leading and unalienable princi- 

 ple in the earlier periods of our 

 history. It was the leading prin- 

 ciple at the period of the Revolu- 

 tion, when the connexion between 

 the state and the church was so- 

 lemnly recognized. On that I 

 rest : to that I will adhere. The 



moment 



