GRATTAN. 261 spirit of prophecy. Examine a little further, and you will find his majesty swears, not in his legislative, but in his executive capacity, he swears to the laws he is to execute, not against the laws which parliament may think proper to make. In that supposition he would, by his oath, con trol not himself but parliament, and swear not to execute laws but to prevent them. Examine a little further, and you will find the words of the oath cannot support the interpretation: “‘I will support the true profession of the gospel, and the protestant religion as by law established.’ This is the oath. I will perpetuate civil incapacities on catholics: this is the comment. Such comment supposes the true profession of the gospel to stand on pains and penalties, and the protestant religion on civil proscription. Examine the oath a little further; and, if the comment be true, the oath has been broken, by his majesty's gracious recom mendation in favour of the catholics in 1793; broken by the grant of the elective franchise; broken by the Canada bill; broken by the Corsican constitution. Hear the speech of the viceroy of Corsica; his excellency having recommended to parliament the civil and military esta blishment, proceeds at last to the church, and advises them to settle that establishment with his holiness the pope. Very proper a l l this, n o doubt; but i f the interpretation were true, what a n outrageous breach all this o f his ma jesty's coronation oath. I should ask, whether, i n the interpretation o f the oath, his majesty has consulted his Irish bishops ? And yet h e could have found among them men perfectly competent. I will venture t o say, that the head o f our clergy understands the catholic question better than those consulted; I will add, h e does not, I believe, disapprove o f their emancipation, nor approve o f the argument against them. But i t seems, i n matters that relate t o the Irish church, the Irish clergy are not t o b e consulted; a n English episcopacy, like a n English cabinet, i s t o determine the destiny o f Ireland. I have great respect for the learned prelates o f England, particularly
