for my anxiety for the constitution, and the rights of the people, I certainly should now be silent. It is no fiction, that this seat is absolutely a burden and an expence to me. No one advantage do I derive from it. I want not for the privileges of parliament, sir; I have no debts, sir; I never had any, and never shall. My spirit is much too independent to allow me to contract for what I cannot pay, or to owe any one when I have money to pay him. The noble lord expresses great zeal for the purity and independence of this house. These are fine sounding words; but neither of them will suffer from my being a member of it, while I am not sure that they do not suffer from the royal patronage, the effects of which so terrify the noble lord in this instance. There have been gentlemen, not in holy orders, who held livings in the church, and continued members of this house. Sir Richard Wrottesley, for one, held several valuable benefices. Of this I am certain, that many that now hear me would be glad to go into orders for 15001. or 20001. a year, if, indeed, they had the fair moral character which I enjoyed when I first entered the church, and the small pittance of learning necessary to qualify any one for ordination.

I shall not trouble the house much either with law or divinity. All must allow that there is often a great deal of cant about both. Having for many years had neither profession nor employment, I have had nothing to do, but to follow the bent of my inclinations, and to improve my mind. I have thus read much divinity, and with law Subjects have been conversant near half a century.

Had I not continually exercised my judgment, the greater part of the books on these subjects would have turned my brain. This effect they certainly have had upon many who have not used the same precaution. I know the advantage which I might derive from perplexing the understanding, by recurring to abstruse reasoning and legal quibbles. But I wave it all. I shall speak nothing but common sense, and what may be understood

by any one, however slender his acquirements. The natural way of debating this question would be, to consider, first, the arguments from reason for and against the eligibility of a person in holy orders; next, the law upon the subject; and lastly, usage and customs, which, when they are not contrary to reason or law, are more binding than either. To save the time of the house, however, I shall take these a little out of their order, and begin with precedent. My poor constituents are left entire to me, and I must do my utmost to support their interests. The report proceeds on the supposition that I am in orders. I admit certainly, that I held the living of Brentford forty years ago. But, in speaking of this report, the question naturally arises, whose it is? I find that the gentlemen on the committee ordered search to be made. If there is one principle incontestible, it is this: that no one can delegate delegated power. However great abilities have been displayed in drawing out this report, (and I mention this that those may have the merit of it who actually drew it out,) the reporter has given us a morsel of old English, which af forded me no small amusement. It was written no further back than in the time of Henry VI; and though there are but twenty-one lines in all, the characters have been mistaken eleven times. Lest he should be directed to make a second search of this kind, I would inform him, that the letter he has mistaken so often for a y is the Saxon theta; and that instead of yis, yat, and yese, sounds not to be found in the English language at any period of our history, he should have wrote this, that, and these. Of the real saxon y he is ignorant, and, by mistaking it for z, he has committed several blun ders, not less ridiculous.

It is said in the report, that every thing is inserted, to be found in the journals, at all bearing upon the question. Sir, this is not the case. Many facts directly in point have been overlooked; no one would learn from this report, but upon searching the journals, he will

find, that all those who were declared ineligible by the house, actually continued to sit till they were disqualified by an act of parliament. It had been declared, that minors, aliens, &c. were incapable to sit in the house of commons; yet till the reign of king William they both occasionally sat. It has often been resolved, that the eldest sons of peers, mayors of corporations, and other classes, are ineligible, individuals of which now compose this house. No express act of parliament was ever made to exclude them. Though I should think it unjust to disable a man for actions committed before the act, yet if an act be fairly brought in to declare ineligible all who have been in orders, I shall not oppose it. It is indeed rather cruel in the noble lord thus to tantalize me. Had I not heard his most pious, religious, and learned speech, I should not have been so sensible of the immensity of the loss I am about to sustain. When he knew my situation, he might have been a little less lavish in eloquence. The legislature, sir, has not been sparing of disqualifying acts. In 1705, an act was passed, declaring ineligible all officers of customs and excise, distributers of wine licences, the commissioners of sick and wounded, and various others; but an act to disqualify those who have once exercised the functions of a clergyman, never has been proposed. As, therefore, my constituents had an undoubted right to elect me, I reckon myself bound to struggle as hard to preserve my seat, as if I were personally anxious to preserve it. To disqualify the beneficed clergy to sit in this house, would certainly tend much to preserve its purity.

The measure would be a highly proper one, and should have my warmest support. It might indeed be urged, that there are already not a few among us much more dependent upon the crown than any of the clergy, beneficed or unbeneficed. Of such an argument I shall not avail myself. Because things are bad, it surely is no reason why they should not be prevented from growing worse. I beg to be understood as not defending

my seat upon the same grounds that the clergy in general might advance. There is surely a great difference between one still exercising clerical functions, and one who has not exercised them for many years, Lord Coke and never means to exercise them more. and Mr. Justice Blackstone have been quoted; but there are other authorities, which should not have been for. gotten. I have within these few days, read four or five writers upon the subject, of the greatest celebrity, (among them is lord Bacon,) who think exactly as I do. It has been remarked, that legal gentlemen are in general very unfortunate upon points of parliamentary law; but I must remind the house, that Mr. Hatsell, whose knowledge upon the subject was universally allowed to be unrivalled, is exactly of the same opinion. An honourable member of this house, I believe, who a few minutes ago called me to order, (Mr. Simeon) has written a book, in which he asserts that there are several resolutions of the house of commons, declaring the ineligibility of persons in holy orders to sit in the house. That honourable gentleman, I believe, was also a member of the committee by whom the report was drawn up; but it is unfortunate for him, and the credit of his book, that in that committee he could not find any of those resolutions which he says in his book do exist. To come to the precedents stated in the report of the committee, of which so much has been said, they are but three in number, and all of them took place before the convocation ceased to tax the clergy. They are therefore In 1624 it was ento be considered as of little weight.

acted that no parson or vicar should have a voice in the election of the knight of the shire. While this law was in force, certainly they had not the shadow of a claim to sit in parliament. To elect representatives, and to represent electors, are two privileges which are inseparable. To allow the one and withhold the other, is contrary to the plainest dictates of common sense and right reason. But since that period the right of the

clergy to vote at elections has been fully recognized, and by the 18th of George II. it has been confirmed to them. Now, therefore, they have a right to represent their fellow-citizens. Lord Coke has been mentioned triumphantly. Perhaps I may be able to shew that his sentiments were not exactly such as they have been represented. The noble lord has made me pay very dear for my seat, by the trouble it cost me to prove my right to it. [Mr. Tooke was searching among a bundle of papers for a letter, which he immediately made use of.] Among the archives of the university of Cambridge, I have found a letter, in sir Edward Coke's own nand. It was written to the university immediately after the pri vilege of sending a representative to parliament was allowed to that learned body. [The honourable gentleman then read the letter, in which the university is strongly advised not at first to make choice of any one who was a member of the convocation, as some dispute might arise; but rather to fix at this election upon some doctor of the civil law, or other grave and learned layman.] You see here, sir, that this great oracle of the law makes a distinction between eligibility, and the policy of electing. He probably meant, that after they were fairly seised of the right of choosing a representative, they might afterwards choose whom they would, whether he were a clergyman or a layman. The honourable gentleman laughs, sir; he would do better to consider what he is going to say. I long to hear his opinion, and that of the other law officers of the crown. If they satisfy my doubts, I shall be grateful to them. If they think to put me out of countenance by tricks, they will find themselves egregiously disappointed. I shall now omit the greater part of what it was my intention to offer to the house. Gentlemen would do well to consider the importance of the question now be fore them. It is indeed of great magnitude; and, as there are few who may not be interested in it remotely, they ought to lay out of their consideration the circumVOL. II.

71