" contains only a renunciation of speculative and dogmatical opinions, but imports no positive as"surance of the submission and attachment of the

persons making the same, to the laws and con"stitution of the realm, or to the person of his "most sacred majesty: And whereas, in and by "an act of parliament, made in the thirty-first year "of the reign of his present majesty, (intituled, "an act to relieve, upon certain conditions, and "under certain restrictions, the persons therein "described, from certain penalties and disabilities,` "to which papists, or persons professing the popish "religion, are by law subject,') a certain form of "oath, abjuration, and declaration was prescribed "to be taken and subscribed by all persons professing the roman-catholic religion, which was found a proper and sufficient test of the loyalty of "such persons who should take and subscribe the 66 same; and upon the taking and subscribing thereof, they became exempted and relieved from many pains, penalties, and disabilities, to which

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they were before subject and liable: And by the "said act it was provided, that nothing therein "contained should extend to that part of Great "Britain called Scotland: And whereas it is now "found expedient, that one common form of oath, abjuration, and declaration, shall be taken and "subscribed by all his majesty's subjects professing "the roman-catholic religion, throughout the whole "kingdom of Great Britain, and that similar advantages shall be annexed to the taking and subscribing of the same

It was therefore enacted, that " from thenceforth "all persons professing the roman-catholic reli

gion, within that part of the kingdom of Great "Britain called Scotland, who should take and "subscribe the oath, abjuration, and declaration, "thereinafter expressed, and in the manner thereby "directed and required, should be exempted and "relieved from all the pains, penalties, and disa"bilities imposed, enacted, revived, ratified, and "confirmed by the before-mentioned act of the "8th and 9th sessions of the first parliament of king William the third, as fully and effectually, "to all intents and purposes whatsoever, as if such persons had actually made the renunciation of popery thereby ordained, according to the formula "thereunto subjoined."

Both the general tenor and the language of this act are very remarkable. They appear to imply, or rather to express, in clear and unambiguous terms, that the parliament, who passed the act, understood,-1st, That popery consists in the belief of the pope's right to temporal power in this country*; 2dly, That a roman-catholic, taking the oath of supremacy, denies by it the pope's temporal power, but does not deny by it his spiritual powert; -3dly, That this spiritual power was, in a political view, merely a speculative and dogmatical opinion;-4thly, That the oath of 1778 was, and

* If this be true, there is now no papist.

+ But it has, we apprehend, been shown in a former part of the work, that the oath of supremacy is not susceptible of

had been found, a proper and sufficient test of the loyalty of the persons, by whom it is taken ;—and 5thly, That an uniformity of oaths is desirable. Quid quærimus ultra?-LUCAN.

The catholics solicit from parliament nothing more than that they should legislate, in their regard, upon these principles, in a manner suitable to their high wisdom and liberality, and with a due regard to the honour and conscientious feelings of those whom they profess to relieve.

CHAP. LXXXVI.

THE VETO.

IN 1813, a bill was brought into the house of commons of the imperial parliament, for the emancipation of the catholics of Great Britain and Ireland. If it had passed, it certainly would have placed them in a situation greatly better, in many respects, than that which they now hold in the united kingdom. But, to many catholics, it was unpalatable: they chiefly quarrelled with it for the negative which it allowed to the crown in the election of bishops, and for the regulations to which it subjected the correspondence of the dignitaries of their church with the see of Rome. The negative which these clauses were supposed to power confer on the crown, soon received the short but expressive appellation of THE VETO.

We shall attempt in this chapter to give our readers a summary account of the principal circumstances which attended it :-I. The negotiations in 1799, between lord Castlereagh and the Irish catholic prelates, respecting the veto :-II. The resolutions of the Irish catholic prelates in its favour :--III. The allegation, that they were intimidated into these resolutions :-IV. The offer of government to them of a state provision, and their grateful acceptance of it :-V. The degree of negative power which the English government sought, in these negotiations, to obtain in the appointment of Irish prelates to their sees :-VI. The first mention of the veto in the house of commons, in sir John Cox Hippisley's speech, on the 13th of May 1805:VII. The approbation of that speech by the Irish prelates, and their request that he would publish it; -VIII. The suggestion of the veto in the house of commons by Mr. Ponsonby, and, in the house of lords, by lord Grenville :-IX. The subsequent adherence of the Irish prelates to the veto :-X. The opposition to it in Ireland-XI, Its advocation in the "Letter addressed to a parish priest, by Dr.

Milner," vicar-apostolic in the midland district of England, and, at that time, agent of the Irish prelates:-XII. The declarations of the Irish prelates, that the veto was inexpedient; the explanation given by the primate O'Reilly of that declaration; XIII. The conciliatory resolution of a meeting of English catholics :-XIV. The sixteenth of the resolutions entered into by the Irish prelates, at their

monsignor Quarantotti to Dr. Poynter:-XVI. From the address of the English roman-catholics to his holiness pope Pius the seventh :-XVII. From the letter of the pope to the English catholics :— XVIII. And from a letter of cardinal Litta to Dr. Poynter:XIX. Further resolutions of the Irish prelates respecting the veto :-XX. The pope's reply :-XXI. Remonstrance of the general board of catholics in Ireland :-XXII. And the pope's reply to them.

LXXXVI. 1.

Negotiations between Lord Castlereagh and the Catholic Prelates of Ireland, in 1799, respecting the Veto.

THE material document, in this part of the subject, is lord Castlereagh's speech in the debate, in the house of commons, in the sessions of 1810, on the petition of the roman-catholics of Ireland. His lordship's speech,—a corrected copy of which is now before the writer, contains the following important passage:—

"After some introductory observations," says the compiler of the account of his lordship's speech, "lord Castlereagh proceeded to discuss the inter"nal circumstances of Ireland, which rendered

• See "The substance of the Speech delivered by lord vis"count Castlereagh, on the 25th of May 1810, on Mr. Grattan's "motion to take into consideration the roman-catholic peti“tion. To which are added, copies of the original documents "therein referred to. Stockdale, 1810. See also, The de"bates in both houses of parliament, in the sessions of 1810, ❝ on the petition of the roman-catholics of Ireland."—Keating, Brown, and Keating, 1811.