no Roman catholic had a feat, the fame evils would have followed, our confenting to admit this Roman catholic gentleman, to be a member of the council, as the council have an equal authority in making the laws with the affembly, and must be equally legally conftituted to make thofe laws valid. We are far from being actuated, upon this occafion, by any partial, national, selfish, or illiberal prejudices, relating to the new fubjects; but in the fpirit of true liberty, defire the bleffings of our free conftitution and happy form of government, may be extended to all our fellow-fubjects equally with our ourselves; but we muft think it very hard, to be deprived of our franchifes and rights, by means of thefe measures, and inftead of having the fatisfaction of feeing thefe formerly French fubjects exalted into English freemen, to find ourselves funk into the ftate of the fubjects of arbitrary crowns, where the will of the king is the only law of the land, and can change at pleasure both the laws and legally established form of government. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS in IRELAND. February 4, 1772. This day the house of commons met according to adjournment, from the first of January. The fpeaker having taken the chair, fundry orders of the houfe, for refolving itfelf into committees, to confider feveral bills which lay over from the last meeting; but the business of the house occafioned them all. to be poftponed. Sir George Macartney then arofe, and told the houfe, that as he had informed it of his Excellency's refolution, to proceed no farther in relation to the new commiffion (for dividing the revenue board into two different boards, one of customs, and one of excife, and appointing five new com-' miffioners) until his Majefty's further pleafure was known, that now he had to acquaint the house, that his Majefty had fent further orders to proceed therein, and the new commiffions were paffing the great feal. When he had fat down, the houfe was filent for fome minutes. Alarm, confufion, and indignation were painted on the countenances of moft of the members prefent; at length Mr. Cramer arofe, and moved that the resolution of the house on this bufinefs, when first brought before it, might be read. This motion being agreed to, the refolu Z 2 tion tion was read, and it appeared that it was the opinion of the houfe, that the prefent commiffioners of the revenue were fufficient to tranfact the bufinefs thereof. That this refolution had been carried by the whole houfe, and by the Speaker had been laid before the Lord Lieutenant, [who had promised to tranfmit it to England.] ; When this refolution was read, Mr. Lodge Morris arose, and faid he did not arife to impeach the Right hon. member who had dared to bring fuch a meffage to that house a piece of information that muft ftrike indignation and dismay into the breaft of every upright member of it. But as fo few were then prefent, he moved that the confideration of this affair might be poftponed till next Tuesday, on which day there would be a call of the house. Mr. Brownlow arofe to request that the hon. gentleman would inform that house what new lights had arifen, to make that meafure then expedient and proper, which that houfe had folemnly declared to be very improper. He faid alfo, that from the confufion and trepidation with which the right hon. gentleman informed the house of this extraordinary ftep of government, it appeared that he was very much embarraffed in the execution of his orders; and that that gentleman was not to be blamed for what he had said, as it was merely in execution of his office. Mr. Ponsonby declared his abhorrence of this new infult on the parliament of Ireland, in the strongest terms. He faid, that it was abfolutely ftriking at the very effence of the houfe, to proceed in contradiction to its folemn refolution, on the queftion of which, there was a majority of no less than forty-fix. That he fhould move when it came before them on Tuesday next, that a committee of that houfe fhould be appointed to wait on his Majefty himself, to give true information of the real ftate of this kingdom, and befeech him not to proceed further in this measure, as it was certain that falfe information had been given to the king, who was too good to lay unneceffary burthens upon his people of Ireland, if he knew their real condition-and if nothing elfe would do, but that this commiffion was to be forced upon them, he would, himfelf, move not to make any provition for the expence incurred by an oppofition to the refolutions of the houfe. Mr. Connolly fpoke in fupport of what Mr. Ponfonby had faid. And Sir Lucius O'Brien requested to know, whether they were to look upon the information they had received as a meflage from the Lord Lieutenant, or only a notification from the fecretary ? Mr. Mr. Monck Mafon (who is to be one of the new commiffioners) faid the information came very properly from the right honourable gentleman, as he was the perfon who had given the former notices to the house on this affair. Sir George Macartney faid it was not a meffage, but only a notification which his Excellency had ordered him to make; upon which, Sir Lucius O'Brien faid, fince it was denied to be a message, he could not tell whether it was properly before the houfe or not. Mr. Brownlow then moved, that the proceedings relative to this affair, fhould be laid before the house on Tuesday next. This was agreed to, and Mr. Ponfonby obferved, that though Sir George in his firft fpeech only gave it as an information, in his fecond he owned it to be in confequence of an order from his Excellency. Mr. Mafon rofe again in defence of the propriety of Sir George Macartney's conduct (not in the defence of the measure itfelf.) Mr. Lodge Morris advised to drop any further debate, as the adjourn ment thereof was agreed to; and then Mr. Cramer having moved that the king's laft letters fhould be laid before the houfe next Tuesday, and the motion being agreed to, the houfe adjourned till next day. An Account of the great Debate in the House of Commons, concerning the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England. SSTR SIR William Meredith, who had been perfuaded by the clergy and others, praying for relief in the matter of fubfcription to the thirty-nine articles, to undertake their caufe, moved the houfe for leave to bring up their petition. in the following train: Mr. Speaker, WHEN I inform the houfe that the fubject of the petition which I hold in my hand, is religion, a matter of a grave and serious nature, and that it is figned by two hundred and fifty grave and refpectable men, I think I need not make ufe of any other argument to befpeak your indulgence. Solicited as I have been, and inclined as I always am to promote the redrefs of national grievances, I could not on this occafion help ftepping forth to the affiftance of tender confciences, and I will fay, of injured truth. The thirtynine articles of the church of England were framed, when the spirit of free enquiry, when liberal and enlarged notions were yet in their infancy. That fubmiffive and flavish turn of mind, which is the characteristic of Popery, the implicit deference deference which it prefcribes to fuperiors, ftill cramped and fettered the humane mind. The fovereign or directors of his confcience, or his archbishop, or his prelate, dictated an article of faith; and the reft of the clergy received it perhaps with reluctance, but without daring to complain, much Jefs to oppofe. Is it not then reasonable to fuppofe, that the thirty-nine articles are not fo perfect as they should be, or as they might be? Is it not natural, from this circumftance, to conclude, that they do not breathe that air of freedom, that liberal spirit, which they might have acquired, had they been properly examined and difcuffed, like other questions, in the great council of the nation? I think we may fafely draw this conclufion a priori, without attending to any other, point, but the hiftory of their formation. But when we come to read, and to weigh deliberately in our own minds, how much stronger does the argument be-. come? Several of the articles are abfolutely unintelligible and indeed contradictory and abfurd. Human reafon and common fenfe, by which alone we can judge of revelation: itself, revolts against them; and I will be bold enough to fay, that there is not a clergyman in England, who thoroughly believes them in the literal and grammatical fenfe, as he is required by the nature of his fubfcription: is it not then a great oppreffion, thus either to wound tender confciences, or to keep them entirely out of the church? To me the matter appears in that light; and as I know that this house ought always to be ready to redrefs grievances of the fubject, and in fact, muft redrefs them, in this inftance, if they are at all redrefled, I think that the petitioners have with great propriety and judgment applied to this houfe. Were the propofed reform a matter of flight and trivial nature, were there in our creed no tenets, no dogmas, that had any pernicious effects upon fociety, I fhould be lefs fanguine. But the fact is, that there are feveral, which are damnable, not only in a religious and fpeculative light, but alfo in a moral and practical view. Hence many of our most learned divines, the great lights of the church and bulwarks of the reformation and proteftantifin, wish that we were well rid of them. Hence the murmurs and complaints, which at their first promulgation they produced, and ever fince perpetuated, Hence the prefent petition, which, were it not for reasons obvious to this houfe, would, inftead of two hundred and fifty names, have had the fanction of thoufands, But let me communięta cate to the house the substance of it. Creeds and confeffions are according to it mere human compofitions, and therefore ufurpations ufurpations upon the right of private judgment, which no man can give up without offending God and his confcisnce, and incurring the guilt of prevarication and hypocrify. The. fcriptures are the law of God, and therefore, infallible and inditpenfably obligatory upon a chriftian. For this reafon let the fcriptures be the only teft, the only confefsion of faith to which fubfcription is required from the teachers of the gofpel, or from any other clafs of men. Put a stop to the practice of making the young scholars at our universities fubfcribe to articles, which they come to ftudy, and not to fubfcribe. Before matriculation they are at one univerfity obliged to perform this ceremony at fixteen, and at the other before that period. Is not this the way to make them imagine that all fubfcription and oaths are a matter of mere form, and have in them nothing facred or effential? Surely fuch a plan of education is very little calculated for making them good members of fociety. Were there no other objects of confideration offered in this petition but this fingle fact, I think it alone would be fufficient to command your attention, and to induce you to let it be brought up. I move therefore for leave to prefent this petition, that it may be read by the clerk, and afterwards difcuffed by this great affembly. Sir Roger Newdigate faid it was neceflary the mover should read the petition. Sir William Meredith read the petition, as follows. To the Honourable the Commons of Great Britain in Parliament affembled. The humble PETITION of certain of the CLERGY of the CHURCH of ENGLAND, and of certain of the Profeffions of Civil Law and Phyfic, and others, whose names are hereunto subscribed, Sheweth, TH HAT your petitioners apprehending themselves to have certain rights and privileges which they hold of God only, and which are fubject to his authority alone.-That of this kind is the free exercife of their own reafon and judgment whereby they have been brought to, and confirmed in, the belief of the chriftian religion, as it is contained in the holy fcriptures. That they efteem it a great bleffing to live under a conftitution which, in its original principles, enfures to them the full and free poffeffion of their faith, haying afferted the authority and fufficiency of holy fcripture in "all things neceffary to falvation; fo that whatfoever is not read |