"the house of lords, on the petition presented by "the Irish catholics in 1810.-' I have heard allu"sions made this night, to doctrines, which I do "hope no man now believes the catholics to enter"tain: nor is there any ground for an opinion "that the question is opposed under any such pre"tence. The explanations which have been given "on this head, so far as I know, are completely "' satisfactory, and the question as it now stands is ""much more narrowed than it was on a former dis"cussion*.-How very little beyond this decla"ration, and a legislative enactment in consequence of it, do the roman-catholics solicit! "CHARLES BUTLER."

"Lincoln's-Inn, "Feb. 5, 1813.

LXXXIX. 2.

The Petitions presented by the English Catholics to both Houses of Parliament.

DURING the period, which is the subject of the preceding chapter, the English catholics presented several petitions for relief; but, from deference to the Irish catholics, whose vast superiority in number was justly thought to give them an unquestionable right to take the lead in the question of emancipation, the English catholics uniformly avoided a separate discussion of their own case. Care, however, was always taken, that, when their petitions were presented, some personage of high con"See his Lordship's Speech, printed and published by Keating and Booker."

sideration in the house, should explain the situation' of the English catholics to the house, and attract the attention of the members to it. By earl Grey and Mr. Elliot this was repeatedly done, with equal propriety, elegance, and effect.

The petition presented by them in 1810, being expressed much more at length, than any other of their petitions, and containing every thing suggested in them, we shall insert it in this place.

Petition of the roman-catholics of England, presented to the house of lords, on Thursday February 22d, 1810, by the right honourable earl Grey; and to the house of commons by the right honourable William Wyndham.

"To the right honourable the lords spiritual "and temporal of the united kingdom of "Great Britain and Ireland in parliament "assembled:

"WE, whose names are underwritten, roman"catholics of England, humbly beg leave to repre-. "sent to your honourable house,

That, at the time of his majesty's accession to "the throne, the laws in force, against his English "roman-catholic subjects, deprived them of most "of the rights of Englishmen, and of several of the "common rights of mankind :

"That, by the acts of the 18th and 31st years of "his majesty's reign, several of the penalties and "disabilities, under which the English roman"catholics laboured, were removed:

"That the English roman-catholics are most "grateful for the relief granted them by these acts, "and have taken and subscribed the oaths and "declarations contained in them:

"That their conduct hath been conformable to "their professions;-in peaceable submission to "the laws, and in the discharge of moral or civil duty, they have not been exceeded by any of his "majesty's subjects; they have served him effectively and honourably in his fleets and armies: "there never has been a call upon Englishmen to "do their duty, which the English roman-catholics "have not been forward to answer:

"That several penal and disabling laws are yet "in force against them:-They are not equally "entitled, with their fellow subjects, to vote at the "election of any member of the house of commons; 66 they are excluded from a seat in either house of "parliament; they are not admissible into corpo❝rations; every civil and military office is denied "them; every laudable object of ambition, all "that elevates a man among his fellow subjects, "all hopes of public distinction, all means of at"tracting the notice of their country, or the favour "of their sovereign, are placed without their reach: "The more they deserve of their country, the "more sensibly their country makes them feel this "exclusion. In the ranks, she suffers them to

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fight her battles, but to them victory is without "its reward; promotion is wholly denied them; "no services can advance, no merit enable them "to profit of their country's favour :

"Even in their humble situation of private sol"diers, the law follows them with pains and pe"nalties. By the articles of war, if soldiers refuse "to attend the religious worship of the established "church, they are punishable by fine, imprison"ment, and death. Thus the English catholic "soldiers are incessantly exposed to the cruel "alternative of either making a sacrifice of their religion, or incurring the extreme of legal pu"nishment; than which, your petitioners humbly "conceive, there never has been, and cannot be a "more direct religious persecution. To an alter

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native, equally oppressive, the English roman"catholics are exposed on their marriages; the "law requires, for the legal validity of a marriage "in England, that it should be celebrated in a 'parish church; as roman-catholics believe mar

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riage to be a sacrament, the English roman"catholics naturally feel great repugnance to a "celebration of their marriages in other churches "than their own:

They are cruelly debarred from any means, "which their fellow subjects possess, of providing "for their families, by employments of honour or "emolument; so that, while they bear their full "share of the general contribution to the wants of "the state, they are denied even a hope of participating in those advantages, by which the burden "of their fellow subjects is alleviated:

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"In other occurrences of life, the law has the same humiliating and depressing operation on your petitioners :-thus, every roman-catholic

"subject of his majesty, is forced below his fair "line in society, and the general body is a marked "and insulated cast.

"Yet the roman-catholics form more than one "fourth of the whole mass of the subjects of the "united empire-whatever there is of genius, of "talent, or of energy among them, is absolutely "lost for public use; and this, at a time, when "the united empire is engaged in a conflict, for"midable beyond example; and it therefore seems

important, if not essential to her preservation, "that she should call into action, without qualifi"cation or limit, or any religious test or declara"tion, the genius, talents, and energies of all her subjects:

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"It is true, that your petitioners profess some religious principles, which are not professed by "the established church; and to this, and to this only, their refusal of certain tests, oaths, and "declarations is owing, which subjects them to "the pains and disabilities they complain of; but

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none of the principles, which occasion their re"fusal, affects their moral, civil or political inte"grity; and your petitioners humbly submit to

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your honourable house, that no principle, which "leaves moral and political integrity unimpaired, " is a proper object of religious persecution. Besides, the whole creed of your lordships peti"tioners was once the creed of the three kingdoms "it is the actual creed of four-fifths of Ireland, "and of much the greater part of Europe. It was "the creed of those, who founded British liberty