LIBERTY of C 
tegiflators to annex flich a condition, proceed from ideal 
fears ? Were they but trivial, infignificant, unimportant, 
Errors in religion, which Bradford, Cranmer, Ferrar, 
Hooper, Latimer, Philpot, Ridley, Rogers, Rowland 
Taylor, having oppofed and renounced, refufed to em¬ 
brace again, even though refufal was to be punifhed by a 
•painful death ? Are not the grounds, on which We fepa- 
rated from the church of Rome, the very fame now, 
which originally jurtified feparation, fo far as they relate 
to articles of faith ? From the decrees parted by the 
council of Trent, has the church of Rome reicinded any 
one canon pointed in its anathemas againll us protedants? 
Does the church of Rome concede any one tenet or ufage, 
with a view to eftablifhing a religious union between us ? 
If truth and faft demand a negative anfwer to all thefe 
queftions, he will then alk,— Confidently with the l'enfe 
in which he underftands the doftrines of the gofpel 5 con¬ 
fidently with the facred duty which, morally fpeaking, 
obliges him to aft conformably with that fenfe; can a pro- 
tedaut ChrHlian encourage a meafure calculated for the 
afcendancy of catholicifm in a part of the Britidi empire, 
fo nearly fituated, and fo immediately connefted with us, 
ns the kingdom of Ireland ? Can it be equally fafe for a 
protedant church to have for its legiflators foine catholics 
and fome protedants, as to have them all protedants ? 
And, to the catholics, who will not for our fatisfaftion 
concede one fingle principle, is it reafonable that we fhould 
furrender our conrtitution? He will be told, The catho¬ 
lics “ difclaim, difavow, and folemnly abjure, any inten¬ 
tion to i'ubvert the prefent church-edablifhment, for the 
purpofe of fubdituting a catholic edablirtunent in its dead.” 
(Oath and Declaration of Catholics, 33 Geo. III.) This 
be will hear, and will give them full and unqualified cre¬ 
dit for the prefent fincerity of their hearts and the prefent 
purity of their defigns. It will be alked; Why then he- 
fitate about making them legiflators ? For thefe reafons; 
It is natural for man to favour his own caufe, if opportu¬ 
nity be given him. The polfeflion of power to effeft a 
meafure has often created, what did not before exid, a 
will to effeft that meafure; to effeft it too by means not 
antecedently conceived in the mind. Succefs, attained in 
one degree, dimulates a defire of attaining fuccefs in far¬ 
ther degrees. As the approach to a great and defirable 
ohjeft is more near, the exertions ufed for fecuring that 
objeft are proportionably more drenuous, and the efforts 
more bold. A beginning once made, in itfelf apparently 
unimportant, has often terminated in difaftrous conle- 
quences, which on no calculations of probability, on no 
grounds of conjefture, could have been expefted. There¬ 
fore, although he will entertain not the flighted midrud 
of honour and veracity in catholics, fo far as they mean 
and can promife for themfelves according to circumdances 
exifting at the time of making their unfeigned declara¬ 
tion ; yet, knowing and lamenting the flexibility with 
which, even in men of the bed intentions, whether pro¬ 
tedants or catholics, the judgment is warped ; and having 
experienced the fuccefs with which, through refined con- 
ftruftion of words, political debate can miflead even the 
mod upright perfons; he will conclude, that the fafer 
mode by which to guard againd future and unforefeen 
contingencies, will Le that the power of legiflating for 
protedants fhould be delegated to none but protedants.” 
Protejlant Letter, 1813. 
II. We now come to fpeak more particularly of the Irifh 
Catholics. Purfuing the idea of jujlice and right, lord So¬ 
mers proceeds thus ; “It is but fair to the catholics of Ire¬ 
land to add, that if their claims are founded on this broad 
bafis, and it fhould a!Ip turn out, as I have been informed 
is the faft, that they were induced to promote the union 
between Great Britain and Ireland not merely on implied 
but on exprefs intimations from high authority, that both 
as the price and reward of their fu|mort, and as the natu¬ 
ral and legitimate confequence of fuccefs in the caufe to 
which that fupport was requeded, their .then and prefent 
claims fhould be accorded ; if this it fo, my lords, as I 
Lave been confidently allured, and we nave all firong rea- 
Yok-XII, No. 855. 
ONSCIENCE. $qs 
fon to believe, why then furely the refult of our inverti- 
gation of thefe points mud be, that the Irifh Roman ca¬ 
tholics are entitled to the admiffion of their claims, as a 
matter of drifted judice.” Speech, p. 4. 
The bifliop replies: “Your conclufion would be good, 
if your premifes were found; but, before we admit the 
one, we mud examine the other. The negociation, to 
which you refer as having aftually parted, mud have been 
extraordinary in its nature. No words can too fully ex¬ 
prefs our conviftion that you have dated it precifely as it 
was communicated to you. Since, however, you mention 
it, not as a faft concerning which you can fpeak from 
your own perfonal knowledge and perfonal engagement 
in it, but as one of which you have been informed ; we are 
at liberty, without intending or giving caufe for offence, 
to receive the circumdance as a matter reported only, 
Now r although the authority, from which a report ema¬ 
nates, may be highly creditable, yet it is poflible there 
might have been fome degree of mifconception in the au¬ 
thor. In a cafe too, where the production of fome writ¬ 
ten document, fubdantiated and atteded, might reafona- 
bly he required in proof, report alone is not fufficiently 
valid to be allowed as evidence incontedable. The tranf- 
aftion, to which you allude, is a cafe in which we might 
be jurtified in requiring the production of fome written 
document, fubdantiated and atteded. For it is not proba¬ 
ble that, when a propofal of fuch magnitude as the tranf- 
ferring of its parliament was made to the kingdom of 
Ireland, there diould be no written fpecification of terms 
from this to that country; nor, if fuch fpecification of 
terms ever exided, and the granting of legiflative power 
to catholics was one of thofe terms, is it probable that 
no well-authenticated copy of it,' containing that among 
other terms, diould dill exid among date-papers. Such copy 
however has never yet been laid before the public, nor even 
has appeal to it ever been made; although the promife, 
reported to have been given, has repeatedly been di feu fled 
“But, to grant you every advantage poflible, it ftsaiS 
be admitted as certain, that, as a condition of their acced¬ 
ing to the propofed union, there was given to the catho¬ 
lics a promife of admiflion into the Britilh legiflature. By 
whom could fuch promife be given ? By none but the 
minirters of public affairs for the time beirig. My lord, 
with every difpoiition to pay minirters the utmort refpect 
which perfonally and officially is due to them, an inde¬ 
pendent mind cannot acknowledge the word of minirters 
to be the law of the land, nor the promife of minirters 
to be binding on the nation. Until they have been fub- 
mitted to the judgment, and fandtioned by the approba¬ 
tion, of parliament, they are without force in the con¬ 
templation of the public. Produce to us, my lord, any 
formal aft of the legiflature, by which, in confequence of 
a minifterial promile, and becanfe the catholics of Ireland 
had promoted the union of the two kingdoms, it was or¬ 
dained that henceforth catholics diould be admitted into 
the houfes of parliament, equally as protedants ; then 
without a moment’s hefitation we will fay, For the honour 
of Britilh faith, admit the catholics into parliament, ac¬ 
cording to the folemn covenant of the legiflature. But 
you can produce no Inch aft; no aft with any claufe of 
limilar import. On the nation, therefore, the miniderial 
promife, even if made, could not be deemed obligatory, bc- 
caufe not lanftloned by the nation through its parliament, 
“The fured mode by which to alcertain what really 
was or was not promifed at the period of forming the 
union, will be by reference to the aft of union. Thede- 
fign of every aft may belt be collefted from its preamble. 
The preamble of the union aft is this; ‘ Whereas, in pur- 
fuance of his majerty’s mod gracious recommendation ta 
the two houfes of parliament in Great Britain and Ireland 
refpedtively, to confider of fuch meafures as might bed 
tend to Itrengthen and confolidate the cor.neftion between 
the two kingdoms, the two houles of the parliament of 
Great Britain and the two houfes of the parliament of 
Ireland have feverally agreed and refclved, that, in order 
to promote and l’ecure the efl’ential iuterefls of Great Bd- 
7 M .tain 
