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the most extraordinary bill ia Its shape , the most extraordinary in its history , and , as he thought he should be able to shew their Lordships , the most extraordinary in its provisions that they had ever sees * But neither its shape , nor history , nor
provisions were more extraordinary than its title- The Noble Earl was pleased to call this a bill of relief ; but if their Lordships should be satisfied , ( as he ( Lord Holland ) hoped to satisfy them , ) that this bill of relief was intended to make a
considerable number of Roman Catholic subjects pay for that which at present they were wot called oa by law to contribute for , the Hpuse would , perhaps , demonstrate its disinclination to countenance such a remedial measure , After all that they had heard about the state of the Protestant Church in Ireland , and
the comparative numbers of Protestants and Roman Catholics in that country , he could not help thinking that it was the most whimsical plan of relief he ever heard of , to require the Roman Catholic majority to pay for the churches of the small Protestant community . For aught
he knew , the measure might have some foundation in justice , or expediency , or propriety : but to use a vulgar , and he believed uttjasi imputation , to illustrate what he meant , the way of laying it was certainly very Irish . ( A laugh . ) Now it was a maxim among their Lordships , that when a bill came before them with
a great variety of preambles , it presented itself in a very suspicious shape . During the period in which he had sat in that House , he had seen some bills with two , three , and even as many as four preambles ; but how many , in the name of wonder , did tneir Lordships suppose that this Bill boasted ! Absolutely , no
less than eight . ( A laugh . ) Well , this great non-descript reptile with its eight legs , having crawled on as far as a third reading in that House , was just upon the point of flying out into an Act of Parliament , when the Noble Marquis , ( of Lansdown , ) who was somewhat of a natural
philosopher' in the history of these reptiles , ( laughter , ) detected and prevented it . Yet even on that occasion , did any one of their Lordships know what matter this Bill contained ? No , he doubted whether the Noble Earl himself was
aware of its provisions , relating as they were to tlie greatest , the most delicate and the moat tjucklish principles of legislation on the most delicate ana most ticklish subjects known to our constitution , ( Bear . ) Of these eight Acts of Parliament—for such , in effect , H& £ various cl auses we ^^ -he ( Lord Ji » Uan d ) would briefly as pps ^ ib ^ e , $ ^ t % the natur e .,: and seeing that here wen ; £ Q | i || u : eainbl <; s , he
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thought their Lordships would U 4 > t refuse to indulge him with eight sentences aboat them . ( A laugh *) One of these had , indeed , the beneficial operation of reducing the parochial rate from 6 / . to 4 A per cent . ; but this pleasing draught was mixed up with some bitter ingredients indeed . The first thing which the Bill
proposed to do , for example , was to take away the power of relief and ferbeara » Ge > which , under the present law , it was in the breast of the Irish judges to exercise ; for here it was expressly ' stated ** that justices should not forbear to give judgment in cases where parties might have been proceeded against for non-payment
of rates , unless such parties should have previously gone into the Ecclesiastical Courts . " This was effectually to do away with any power of affording relief to them . The next part of the Bill related to the giving notices in Church . The
Noble Earl had said , it had been found that notices given in the parish churches in Ireland were as good as no notices at all . ( A laugh . ) And why § o ? Why , their Lordships should be told—it was because there were no Protestants in
those churches ta hear the notices . A Noble Friend of his ( Lord Holland ' s ) had just put inCo his ha ad a letter , which was received by a clergyman in the sooth of Ireland , and might serve to shew what was the proportion in that part of the country of Protestants ; and as his Noble Friend ( the Duke of Leinster )
permitted him , he would read it to the House . — " Dear Sir , she is unwell ; therefore you need not come to-dayJ * Now , who was intended , could their Lordships possibly imagine , by < c she" ? The ancient " Mother Church" ? ( A
laugh . ) No , but the mother of the sexton . ( Laughter . ) So that their Lordships would concede from this , that I he sexton was the only person who usually represented this congregation . There was another circumstance about the bill which
appeared very whiaisical , ant ] calculated to generate a good deal of suspicion-Whoever , by the bye , had drawn out thi » bill , knew very well what he was about i and carelessness or oversight was the last thing in the wprld that ha ( Lord Holland ) would impute to him . At * far as he could understand it , there was a vast deal mpre the It
me ^ nt eye ear . pro * vided that all persons paying rates of the nature therein descrifeecl , ajad to which a former , clause bad sibjecHod Roonu Catholics , ftfrpuld be admitted to vote in veqtry * au £ to ail the rights consequent \ q the nayinunt of such ^ atep . 3 irt then foUoffl ^ $ l § e act of relief , s * s the Noble Kail had ventured to call it , in the next clause * providing and declaring th ^ t no
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Intelligence . —Papliumentary . Churches in Ireland . 439
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1823, page 429, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1786/page/61/
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