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"when he moved over the waters of the law, redemption was accomplished." The metaphor of the dove was common in the Jewish writings in Chagiga (c. 2.) the Spirit of God is said to have been borne over the waters, like a dove () brooding over her young. It was the general emblem of the Holy Spirit; and it was used by the Greek poets, to express purity and meekness. Kuinoel understands the words, "ritu et more columba:" adding, "verba Lucæ 1. c. owμating de referenda sunt ad fulmen, ad nubem lucidam fulmen emittentem."

The voice from heaven, at v. 17, has been identified with the hypn,, about which innumerable fables exist, and with the Disp, mentioned in the Psalms. It is worthy of remark, that paval are referred to povrai, in the Apocalypse; and Gregory, in his New Testament, annotates on Qwvn, “ oùv nxw Bporns." Various legends pervaded the Pagan world, that the voice of the gods was heard in thunder. The Mohammedans pretended, that the mission of their prophet was attended with símilar phænomena, of which Abúlfeda gives the following his

اذا كانت الليلة التي اكرمه الله سبحانه و تعالى فيها : tory حتي جاه جبريل عليه السلام فقال له اقرا قال له فما اقرا قال اقرا بسم ربك علم بالقلم علم الانسان ما لم يعلم فقراها ثم ان النبي خرج الي وسط الجبل فسمع صوتا من جهة السماء يا محمد انت و انا جبريل فبقي و اقفا في موضعه يشاهد جبريل حتي رسول الله

انصرف جبريل

"As the night approached, in which the Glorious and most High God honoured him, Gabriel (on whom be peace!) came to him, and said to him, Read. He replied, What shall I read? Gabriel said, Read in the name of thy God, who created mankind from clay Read, thy God is worthy of honour, who instructed men, by means of writing, in that which they knew not before. Having read these words, the prophet went to the middle of the mountain, and heard a voice from heaven, saying, O Mohammed ! thou art the envoy of God, and I am Gabriel. Looking round him, and turning himself to the place, whence it proceeded, he beheld Gabriel, until he vanished."

The words which were heard at our Saviour's baptism, are taken from Isaiah xlii. 1. with a slight alteration. From a collation of the Lxx, it has been supposed that yarnros answers to TT, and implies μovoyevs; but sufficient reasons for collating that version, in this instance, do not appear.

Reiske translates le grumus sanguinis: it also signifies clay.

DEBATES IN PARLIAMENT

RELATIVE TO THE CHURCH.

Report of Proceedings in the Session of 1825, continued from p. 212.

CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION BILL.

THE long delay, which took place between the first discussion of this Question in the House of Commons, and its final disposal, afforded a favourable opportunity for the people of England to give the subject their deliberate consideration, and to express their sentiments by the constitutional mode of presenting petitions to Parliament in favour, or in disapprobation, of the proposed measure. At first there appeared but few Petitions against the Bill, but when certain Members in both Houses began to exult in this silence, and to interpret it as the tacit intimation of the popularity of the Bill, then the voice of the multitude could be restrained no longer, and numberless Petitions were poured in from every quarter, praying that no farther concession might be made to the demands of the Roman Catholics.

With the exception of the Unitarians, there were but very few even of the dissenting congregations, which did not address Parliament in language of the strongest assurance, that they had every reason to fear for the cause of religious toleration, if the Papists should be admitted to additional privileges or power. When the Roman Catholic Emancipation Bill was printed, and the people saw distinctly what invasions of the Constitution they would have reason to expect, if it should pass; it became manifest, from the loudness of their remonstrances, that they did not deserve the charge of apathy, which was brought against them, while they hesitated for awhile to declare themselves.

HOUSE OF COMMONS. Tuesday, April 19....

SECOND READING OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC RELIEF BILL.

Sir Francis Burdett moved the order of the day for the second reading of this Bill. Mr. Brownlow rose and declared that he no longer entertained his former sentiments

upon the subject before the House. Many of the grounds of opposition to Catholic Emancipation on which he previously stood were now gone; and many of those arguments, which he was once in the habit of using were removed or weakened. He no longer supposed that the Roman Catholic Religion affected the discharge of social duties, or detracted from allegiance; and he could hardly reconcile his present notions with the identity of those which he formerly held. All the alarm, that had existed in his mind, had been completely silenced by the evidence before the House. The honourable member then referred to the evidence of Dr. Murray, Dr. Doyle, and Mr. O'Connell, and proceeded to examine the proposed measures of making a provision for the Priesthood, and controlling the exercise of the elective franchise. He would incorporate the Roman Catholic Clergy closely with the State, and would take away political privilege from a class of persons to whom it had been unwisely entrusted, and bestow it on property, station, and character.

Mr. Banks opposed the Bill, and stated that the additions which were to be tacked to it, rendered it ten times more objectionable. The object seemed to be to raise the Roman Catholic Church to an equality with the Protestant Established Church. In Ireland there were 2500 parishes, and if all the priests were to be provided for, it would make a considerable draft on the Consolidated Fund. He concluded by moving as an amendment, that the Bill be read that day six months.

Mr. W. Peel seconded the amendment. If he might be allowed to judge of the public feeling on the question from that which prevailed in Staffordshire, where he principally resided, he would venture to say that it was as much against the measure as ever. It was only to observe the influence which the Catholic priests had over the minds of their flocks, to look forward with terror to the time when numbers should be admitted to take their seats within those walls. He thought the proposition to make provision for the Roman Catholic Clergy, was one of the most monstrous that could be suggested. If such concession were to be made to the Papists how could it be refused to other sects? Colonel Bagwell briefly supported the Bill.

Mr. Dawson expressed his dread of consolidating the strength of a party in Ireland which was hostile to the religious establishment of this country, which was full of rancour for past triumphs, and ready to make the worst use of future concessions. He thought his honourable friend (Mr. Brownlow) had been dazzled by the eloquence, and misled by the specious moderation of several eminent and intelligent persons who had given evidence before the House. It was impossible to reconcile the turbulence and vehemence of Mr. O'Connell in Ireland with his moderation and forbearance before the Committee; it was impossible, upon any rational grounds, to reconcile the exaggerated statements in his speeches with his palliations and admissions before the Committee; it was impossible on any rational grounds, to reconcile his political principles with his political remedies. He (Mr. Dawson) was at a loss to understand how the same person, whose opinions he had heard before the Committee, could also be a friend to the principles of the honourable member for Westminster (Sir F. Burdett); how he could be at the same time the friend of universal suffrage and of the disfranchisement of the people of Ireland (hear, hear.) He was still more astonished at the evidence of Dr. Doyle, because there was the greatest possible inconsistency between his evidence as a political writer and the evidence which he had given before the Committee (hear, hear, hear). It was scarcely possible to conceive that the evidence which Dr. Doyle had given, in his capacity as a political writer, and as a witness before the Committee of the House of Commons, could proceed from the brain of the same man. The meekness and moderation which he exhibited before the Committee, contrasted with the fury and rancour which pervaded his political writings, must excite the most lively apprehensions as to the truth and justice of a cause which a man of Dr. Doyle's great abilities espoused in those double characters. There was no doubt that Dr. Doyle was the author of several pamphlets written under the signature of "J. K. L." These pamphlets, together with Twelve Letters on the State of Ireland, were filled with such rancorous and virulent attacks on the Church, as must excite the most lively fears in every man who was attached to the Protestant interests. Whether Dr. Doyle was considered as a legislator, a divine, or a citizen of the world, every passage in his writings breathed the most rancorous hostility to the laws, the Protestant establishment, and the Protestant population

of Ireland. He trusted, that though his honourable friend was converted, other members would not follow his example, but that they would examine the two documents, and declare whether it was possible, that the same man, who wrote the book, and who gave the evidence, could be right in both instances. The mischiefs attending this double dealing were incalculable; they rendered the settlement of this question almost impossible. The honourable gentleman after examining Dr. Doyle's evidence at some length, proceeded to shew what were the effects, when the objects of the Petition then before the House were carried into execution in 1687. At that period the first step was to remove all Protestants from the administration of justice. Protestant Judges were changed for Catholic, Protestant Magistrates were struck out of the Commission, and Protestant Corporations were disfranchised and their Charters taken away. After these preliminaries were settled, the next step was to summon a Parliament, in order to give the colour of law to the complete extirpation of the Protestants. Accordingly a Parliament was summoned in Dublin in 1689; and from the care taken to send orders to the Sheriffs to return none but Papists from the counties, and from the complete possession of the corporations by the Catholics, it was just such a Parliament as the most sanguine Catholic could desire. The House of Commons consisted of 228 members, eight of whom only were Protestants. The House of Lords consisted of 49 members, eight or nine of whom only were Protestants. Behold the Roman Catholics in full power, and what was the use which they made of it? The first act was to repeal the act of settlement, an act passed in the reign of King Charles the Second, for confirming the titles of forfeited estates. Next followed the Act of attainder, and 2,500 were attainted: the Catholics then got the Diocesan schools in their hands, introduced Popish fellows into the University of Dublin, appointed a Popish Priest to be Provost of the College, and to give the finish, they placed 26 parishes in the diocese of Dublin in the power of the Papists. He drew these events from history, that persons might compare the examples of past experience with the scenes now passing before their eyes.

Lord Milton replied to the arguments of the former speaker, by saying that there were no longer any partisans of tyranny to frighten us, and no King James struggling to overthrow the liberties of the country. The people had been barbarized by Laws enacted during the conflict between Roman Catholics and Protestants, and it was high time to remove them.

Mr. North supported the Bill, and employed a torrent of eloquence to show that the grievances of which the Roman Catholic complains are not imaginary. He would take the country gentleman-supposing him a man of considerable influence in the country, distinguishing himself upon Grand Juries, and in all his undertakings, by calm good sense and sound discretion, and enjoying the esteem and confidence of all the gentlemen in his county. He is to derive from all those distinctions what privilege-what advantage? Nothing more than the poorest 40s. freeholder in the county. Let us next take the professional man; take, for instance, the case of a gentleman who has been so often alluded to in these discussions. You allow him to enter into an ambitious profession-you urge him on to spend the best years of his life in the tedious studies of that profession, and when at length he has surmounted the difficulties, and begun to acquire for himself the esteem of the public, and to eujoy the advantages which attend it; when he is flushed with success and burning to go on, he is impeded by your law in his honourable career, and held fast, whilst his Protestant competitor passes on to distinction. This was a grievance, harassing, vexatious and galling, such as no man of spirit could bear without complaint, and so long as such a system continues, the country must remain discontented (hear). The honourable gentleman concluded, by ridiculing the idea that the Catholics of the present day, held the same principles by which they were governed in former times, and by affirming that the dangers apprehended from concession were remote and imaginary, whilst those which must result from denying their claims were near and imminent.

Mr. J. Daly voted for the Bill, and declared his opinion, that the Catholics would go on gathering strength, till they were in a condition to take by force what was not granted by fair means.

Mr. Goulburn rose amidst cries of "Question," and after many ineffectual attempts to be heard, the further Debate was adjourned till Thursday, and the House separated at One o'clock in the morning,

HOUSE OF COMMONS. Thursday, April 21.

ROMAN CATHOLIC RELIEF BILL.

Sir F. Burdett moved the order of the day for the House resuming the adjourned debate on the second reading of the above Bill.

was

Mr. Goulburn rose, and began by remarking that the contents of the Bill now before the House afforded evidence, that they would incur danger by adopting the course they were now called upon to pursue. He stated then, and he would repeat it, that he could not comprehend the necessity of introducing all the securities, unless danger was apprehended. He proposed to examine the nature of those securities, to see how far they were applicable to meet the danger which they were intended to guard against, and to inquire in what degree they were calculated to afford protection against the risks which were likely to be incurred. Those securities were of three descriptions:—first, the declarations which were contained in the preamble of the bill; second, the oaths required to be taken in certain cases; and thirdly, that which was considered the great security, the commission for the purpose of assuring the Crown of the loyalty of those who were hereafter to hold high situations in the Roman Catholic church, by superintending and controlling the correspondence between the Catholic bishops and foreign powers. With respect to the first class of securities-those contained in the preamble of the bill-they did not appear to him to be valid. The first part of the preamble relates to the Protestant succession to the throne of these realms, which it set forth, "established permanently and inviolably." At present, the Protestantism of the throne, and also the Protestantism of Parliament, were provided for; but the moment this Bill was passed, the Protestantism of the Crown being preserved, it was declared, that it would be of no consequence what was the religious persuasion of those who filled high political offices in the state. The next point to which the preamble adverted was the discipline of the Protestant Episcopal Church of England and Ireland. He did not think it was intended to place any other religion on a level with the Established Church, but he had no difficulty in saying, there was in the Bill before the House a recognition of the Roman Catholic Church of Ireland. The Protestant Church at the Union was permanently fixed as the Established Church, but now there was an attempt made to place on a level with it the Roman Catholic Church of Ireland. As to the security which would be derived from the oaths that were to be administered to the Roman Catholics, they applied only to temporal matters, but left untouched the spiritual and ecclesiastical authority of a foreign power. By former Bills it was provided, that all the Catholic Clergy should be bound to the State by certain oaths, but by this Bill, it should be observed, that Bishops and Deans only could be required to take the oaths. He would proceed next to the third security, and this was the appointment of four Catholic Bishops, for the purpose of regulating the intercourse with the See of Rome of his Majesty's subjects in Ireland. He congratulated England upon the protection which was thus provided for her institutions, and for the security of her civil and religious liberties by the appointment of four Roman Catholic Bishops, as guardians of the Protestant establishment! To the proposition for paying the Roman Catholic Clergy in such a manner as befitted their rank and utility, the right honourable gentleman declared he had no objection, but he could not consent to recognize their several dignities, or to give them all the character and station of a regular establishment, for that would be allowing the existence of two Bishops of opposite principles in religion to each diocese, and would be giving rise to inconveniences which must ultimately be attended with danger to the country. The Bill before the House in its present shape gave the Roman Catholics a power of combining, which they did not at present possess, and without attempting to magnify this danger, it was enough to point out its existence to justify his opposition to any thing that might have even a remote effect of bringing the Established Church into jeopardy. From a sincere belief, therefore, that the ultimate object of the Bill was the subversion of those principles on which the reformation was

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