WeRead Powered by ReaderPub
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. / From the Accession of George III. to the Twenty-Third Year of the Reign of Queen Victoria cover

The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. / From the Accession of George III. to the Twenty-Third Year of the Reign of Queen Victoria

Chapter 430: CATHOLIC RELIEF BILL, ETC.
By Edward Farr
Open in WeRead

Explore more books like this:

History - BritishHistory - Modern (1750+)History - RoyaltyHistory - Warfare

About This Book

The volume traces British political, parliamentary, and military developments from the accession of George III through the early nineteenth century, chronicling changes of ministry and cabinet, debates over colonial taxation and the American conflict, parliamentary controversies involving figures such as Wilkes and Warren Hastings, questions of Catholic relief and slave-trade abolition, and responses to the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars, including major naval and continental campaigns, the union with Ireland, and domestic legislation on finance, civil liberties, and parliamentary reform.

CATHOLIC RELIEF BILL, ETC.

During this session Mr. Mitford moved for a committee of the whole house, to enable him to bring in “a bill to relieve, upon conditions, and under restrictions, persons called Protestant Catholic Dissenters, from certain penalties, to which Papists are by law subject.” A reform in the penal statutes was at this time peculiarly called for, since a large body of Catholic Dissenters had recently formally protested against the temporal power of the pope, and his right to excommunicate princes, or to absolve subjects from their oath of allegiance; and had likewise disavowed the lawfulness of breaking faith with heretics, and the power claimed by their priests, of exempting men from moral obligations. The principles of the bill were generally approved, and it passed both houses without opposition: the bishops themselves expressing sentiments in its favour. Encouraged by this liberality of parliament, the church of Scotland transmitted from the general assembly a petition praying for the relief of the Test Act, as far as it applied to that country; and subsequently Sir Gilbert Elliot made a motion on the subject, but it was rejected by a large majority.