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THE CORONATION OATH AND THE IRISH CHURCH.

Lord REDESDALE said—In rising to move that an humble address be presented to her Majesty for a copy of the oath taken by her at the coronation, your lordships will be aware that I do so with reference to the Irish Church Bill sent up to us by the other House of Parliament. Hitherto, almost altogether, the political part of the question has been referred to; but the country will have to be appealed to before this part of the question can be settled. Though I have already taken the opportunity of stating, when I addressed your lordships, that I looked upon the proposed alienation of the revenues of the Church as practically an act of sacrilege, and consequently that I considered it sinful. The only answer I had came from the noble duke opposite, and in the debate on the bill, in which he assumed and laid it down—which I admit to a certain extent—that money given to the service of the Church is not necessarily given to God. In that, to a limited extent, I concur, because I believe that that which may be given to the Church may be prejudicial to the cause of religion and cannot be devoted properly to the service of God. I judge of these things by their results.—“By their fruits ye shall know them”—and if these funds produce good fruits then they should be devoted in perpetuity to those good purposes. But if I come to the conclusion that the money is producing evil fruits, then I come to the belief that it is not given to he service of God. But the case is otherwise where the money is given for the propagation of true religion, and I do not expect that the teaching of the truth will be found agreeable to all men. Our Lord himself said, “I came not to send peace, but a sword.” I know that that sort of doctrine is not pleasant to the minds of certain people in the present day; they like to look at the bright side of the question, to that which is pleasing to them, and it is impossible that the truth should be preached without giving offence. But it is not because men are offended with the truth that you are to cease to preach to them. That is the case in the present day with respect to the Church in Ireland. But we who believe Protestant truth say that it is our bounden duty to see that our doctrines are preached in Ireland—whether that give offence or not—as they have been up to the present time. I lay it down as a broad principle, which no one can deny, that, in dealing with the temporalities of the Church, you are to consider solely and exclusively what is pleasing to God, without considering what is pleasant to this or to that body. The resolutions which were presented to us came up hastily, and were framed for a particular purpose. It was found that the government, having, to the disappointment of many, succeeded in passing an English Reform Bill, were getting on favourably with the Reform Bills for Ireland and Scotland. With reference to the statement that these measures were proceeded with by a government which remained in power without possessing the confidence of the House of Commons, I would say that if the decisions on all important questions were analysed it would be found that the leader of the Opposition was in more minorities than the leader of the government, and that, so far from the house not giving confidence to the government they possessed to a more considerable extent, perhaps, than any other party the confidence of the House of Commons. The Opposition, then, thinking it expedient to get up some subject for the purpose of making a hostile movement, and which should at the same time serve to unite the whole of the Liberal party, unfortunately turned to the Irish Church. It was found necessary that what they proposed should be agreeable to Cardinal Cullen, and also that it should be found gratifying to the Liberation Society, in order that the extremes of all parties might be brought to vote together. Cardinal Cullen was pleased with the resolutions because they were opposed to Protestantism; the Liberation Society approved them because they were calculated to effect the abolition of all establishments. I believe we have the highest authority for defending the Church. I think that these resolutions were not proposed in a manner that will be acceptable in the sight of God, nor do I think that they will prove acceptable in the sight of man.

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Unfortunately the agitation on this question has arisen within very few years and I think it affords us a lesson as to what our position ought to be. We all know that, since the passing of the Catholic Emancipation Act, we have not until lately had any such action as this; in fact, until lately we had a promise that no such action should be started. I believe that at the time the Catholic Emancipation Bill was passed it was considered impossible that an attack upon the Irish Established Church could be successful. Since that period we have applied all the relaxations we could. In the oath provided at the time of Roman Catholic emancipation the person taking it solemnly disclaimed, disavowed and solemnly abjured any intention to subvert the present Church Establishment as settled by law in these realms, and avowed that he would not exercise any privilege to disturb the Protestant religion or government of the United Kingdom. That oath among others has been removed. It was said that the removal of such oaths would lead to the promotion of goodwill between Protestants and Roman Catholics, instead of which it has given license to the Roman Catholics to attack the Protestant Establishment, and whatever you give will only be a stepping stone to demands for something more. I regard this, therefore, as a very important matter, and we should take care, learning from the past, not to permit any measure to be proceeded with which would be destructive to the Irish Church. I hope noble lords will come to consider this matter in the true religous view. Our aim should be to please God, and God alone. Since the Reformation the position of this country has marvellously altered. Before the Reformation we constituted one of the powers of Europe, but did not seem likely to exercise an influence transcending that of any other European state. But from that period, especially from the reign of Elizabeth, when our great colonial empire was first founded, we have extended our name, our language, and our religion over a very large portion of the globe, our borders have been everywhere enlarged, and in the case of our Indian Empire we have fulfilled the prophecy that “Japheth shall dwell in the tents of Shem.” 0003 When James II. departed from the Protestant faith he was cast down from his throne and his family exiled. At the present time the danger appears to be the other way, for it is the people, and not the Sovereign, who are beginning to relax in their support of the Protestant cause. And I warn them that if they cast aside the spiritual blessings which they have so long enjoyed, the proud position which the nation has so long maintained may be taken from them. It is under these circumstances that I move for a copy of the Coronation Oath. It is impossible that her Majesty can view this oath in any other light than that it is imposed by parliament. She cannot say, “I have taken an imprudent oath, and I trust that I may be pardoned for not acting on that which I repent of.” If parliament repealed the act of parliament it might be a question how far her Majesty might be relieved from the obligation; but at present I hold that the oath is as binding as any oath can be. I entirely repudiate the doctrine laid down by “Historicus” that the Coronation Oath is no oath at all; but merely an obligation to the nation, for I maintain that all the circumstances of its administration show that it is an obligation to God. When we consider that the place in which the oath is taken is the Temple of God, and that the book on which she places his hands is the Holy Gospel, I think it is impossible for any person to deny that the oath is an obligation to God. It is a very old doctrine that the Sovereign of this country holds allegiance to none but God, and that the Sovereign is bound by her duty to God. My lords, for the reasons I have stated, I move for a copy of the oath (hear, hear).

The motion was put from the woolsack, and agreed to.