ed to be taken by his majesty's Roman Catholic subjects, who shall take, make, and subscribe the said oath last herein before described, and obtain such certificate thereof as hereinbefore prescribed for enabling them to hold or enjoy any real or personal property, other than such as may by law be tendered to and required to be taken by his majesty's other subjects; and that the said oath herein before prescribed, being duly made, taken, and subscribed, and such certificate thereof obtained as aforesaid, shall be in the place of, and as valid and beneficial to all intents and purposes, for the persons so making, taking, and subscribing the same, as if such person had duly made, taken, and subscribed the several oaths now by law required to be taken by his majesty's Roman Catholic subjects, as qualifications for the enjoyment of any civil right, office, or franchise, or of any real or personal property: Provided always, That nothing herein contained shall be held to dispense with the taking of the said oath hereby appointed to be taken in the place of the said oath of supremacy, in all cases where the said oath of supremacy is now by law required to be taken. within this realm; or to repeal abrogate or in | no oath or oaths shall be tendered to or requirany manner to interfere with any local statute, ordinance, or rule, which is or shall be established by competent authority within any such university, college, hall or school, and by which Roman Catholics shall be prevented from being admitted thereto, or from residing or taking degrees therein: Provided also, that nothing herein contained shall extend or be construed to extend to enable any person profess ing the Roman Catholic religion, to exercise any right of presentation to any ecclesiastical benefice whatsoever, and that in every case in which a right of presentation is or shall be vested in a person professing the Roman Catholic religion, the same shall be, and continue to be, exercised in the same manner, and in no other, than is now by law required; save and except where such right of presentation shall belong to any office in the gift or appointment of his majesty, his heirs and successors, in which case if such office shall be held by a person professing the Roman Catholic religion, it shall and may be lawful for his majesty, his heirs and successors, to appoint by commission under the great seal, such member or members of the privy council, being a Protestant or Protestants, as he or they shall think fit, to be a commissioner or commissioners for exercising such right of presentation, whilst such office shall be held by a person professing the Roman Catholic religion: Provided also, that nothing herein contained shall extend or be construed to extend, to enable any person being a Roman Catholic to hold and enjoy the office of lord high chancellor, lord keeper or lord commissioner of the great seal of Great Britain or Ireland, or of lord lieutenant or lord deputy, or other the chief governor or chief governors of Ireland. And be it further enacted, that it shall and may be lawful for any of his majesty's Roman Catholic subjects personally to appear in any of his majesty's courts of Exchequer, King'sbench, Common Pleas or Exchequer, at Westminster or Dublin, or before any judge of assize, or in any court of general quarter-sessions in Great Britain or Ireland, or in any of his majesty's courts of session, justiciary, or exchequer, or in any sheriff or stewart court, or before the magistrates and councillors of the royal burghs, or before the council of their respective burghs in Scotland, and there, in open court, between the hours of nine in the morning and two in the afternoon, to take, make, and subscribe the said oath hereinbefore described to be taken; and that the proper officer of such court with whom the custody of such record shall remain, shall make, subscribe, and deliver a certificate of such oath having been duly made, taken, and subscribed, to the person who shall have so made, taken, and subscribed the same, as often as the same shall be demanded and such certificate shall be sufficient evidence of such person having duly taken, made, and subscribed such oath as aforesaid; and that from and after the : And whereas it is expedient that such precautions should be taken, in respect of persons in holy orders professing the Roman Catholic religion, who may at any time hereafter be elected nominated or appointed to the exercise or discharge of episcopal duties or functions in the Roman Catholic church in Ireland, or to the duties or functions of a dean in the said church, as that no such person shall at any time hereafter assume the exercise or discharge of any such duties or functions within the United Kingdom, or any part thereof, whose loyalty and peaceable conduct shall not have been previously ascertained, as hereinafter provided; be it therefore enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for his majesty, his heirs and successors, by a commission to be issued under the great seal of Ireland, to nominate and appoint such persons in holy orders professing the Roman Catholic religion, and exercising episcopal duties or functions in Ireland, as his majesty, his heirs and successors, or the lord lieutenant or lord deputy, or other chief governor or governors of Ireland, shall from time to time think fit to be commissioners under this act, for the purposes hereinafter mentioned. And be it further enacted, That any number not less than of the said commissioners, shall form a board for executing the several powers and duties by this act vested in the said commissioners. And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for his majesty, his heirs and successors, from time to time, at his and their will and pleasure, to revoke and determine the commission aforesaid, or any commission-issued under the provisions of this act, and to cause a new commission to issue instead thereof. Provided always, and be it further enacted, after the revocation and determination of the commission so revoked and determined as aforesaid; and provided always, that every such new commission shall consist in like manner of Roman Catholic ecclesiastics exercising episcopal duties or functions in Ireland as aforesaid; and that every commissioner to be appointed under this act shall, before he acts as such, take and subscribe the following oath: That such new commission shall issue within | before which he shall take the same, the said duplicate certificate so to be transmitted to such bishop or dean as aforesaid, and such officer shall indorse thereupon a certificate of the said oath having been so taken, and shall return the same to such bishop or dean; and the said certificate, so indorsed as aforesaid, shall be evidence of such bishop or dean having taken the said oath: Provided, That no bishop or dean to be hereafter appointed in the said Roman Catholic church, in Ireland, shall act as such, until such duplicate certificate shall be delivered or transmitted to him as aforesaid. "I, A. B. do promise and swear, That I "will, without favour or affection, preju"dice or malice to any person whatsoever, "faithfully and impartially, and to the "best of my judgment and discretion, ex"ecute and perform the duties of a com"missioner vested in me by virtue of an 66 act of the fifth year of the reign of his present majesty, intituled, 'An act, "[here insert the title of the Act], and "will honestly and truly advise his majes"ty in all matters which shall come be"fore me as a commissioner under the "said act; and that I will not directly or "indirectly publish, disclose, or make "known, except to his majesty, or by his "majesty's command, any matter or thing "whatsoever which shall come to my "knowledge by reason or in consequence "of my being a commissioner under the "said act. "So help me God." And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the said commissioners so to be appointed as aforesaid, or any of them, from time to time to certify to his majesty, or the lord lieutenant, lord deputy, or other chief governor or governors of Ireland, the appointment of any bishop or dean to be hereafter appointed in the said Roman Catholic church in Ireland; and which certificate shall be in the words following (that is to say): 66 "We do hereby certify, That A. B. having "been previously chosen and recom"mended by certain ecclesiastics of the "Roman Catholic church of Ireland, to be "a bishop or dean [as the case may be], "of the said church, has accordingly been "appointed a bishop or dean [as the case may be], of the said church: And 66 we do believe the said A. B. to be a "loyal subject of his majesty." And they shall transmit a duplicate of such certificate to the bishop or dean named therein. And be it further enacted, That every person who shall, after the commencement of this act, commence exercising the functions of a bishop or dean of the said Roman Catholic church in Ireland, shall, instead of the oaths now by law required to be taken by his majesty's Roman Catholic subjects in Ireland, take, make, and subscribe the oath hereinbefore appointed to be taken by his majesty's said Roman Catholic subjects, instead of the said oath of supremacy; and shall, at the time of taking the same, deliver to the proper officer of the court And whereas it is fit to regulate the intercourse and correspondence between his majes ty's subjects of Ireland and the see of Rome; be it therefore further enacted, that from and after so often as any subject or subjects of his majesty in Ireland, shall receive any bull, dispensation, or other instrument, from the see of Rome, or from any foreign body or individual whatsoever, or from any person or body whatsoever in foreign parts, acting under the authority of the said see, or under that of any other spiritual superior, the person or persons so receiving the same shall within after receiving the same, deliver the same, or cause it to be delivered in the original, to the president of the said board of commissioners, who shall lay the same before the said board of commissioners, who shall forthwith inspect the same; and if the said board of conmissioners shall not find any thing in the said instrument so submitted to their inspection, which shall appear to them to be in any way injurious to the safety or tranquillity of the United Kingdom, or to the Protestant establishment in church or state, they shall forthwith report the receipt thereof to the lord lieutenant, lord deputy, or other chief governor or governors in Ireland, and thereupon the said instrument shall be returned to the person by whom the same shall have been so submitted for inspection as aforesaid, with an indorsement signed by the president, signifying that the same had been duly inspected, and reported upon to the lord lieutenant, lord deputy or other chief governor or governors of Ireland, according to the provisions of this act. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That when any person shall receive from the see of Rome, or from any authority under the same, an instrument which relates wholly and exclusively to the spiritual concerns of an individual or individuals, he shall so certify, within after he has re ceived the same, and shall verify such certificate by the following oath : "I A. B. do swear, That the instrument "(describing the instrument) which I "hereby acknowledge to have received "from the see of Rome (or from such "other bodies or persons, as the case may "be) under the authority of the see, as "relates wholly to the personal spiritual "concerns of the party or parties in re<< spect of whom it has been issued, and "to no other matter or thing whatsoever. "So help me GOD." Which oath it shall and may be lawful for such person to take and subscribe before the said board of commissioners (who are hereby empowered to administer the same) or in any of the courts herein before mentioned, or before of his majesty's justices; if the person taking and subscribing the same shall be resident more than miles from Dublin, or shall from ill health or infirmity be unable to travel, and in every such case it shall and may be lawful for the said board of commissioners, in the exercise of their judgment and discretion, to direct the said instrument to be transmitted, sealed up, for the sole inspection and verification of the president of the said board; who shall inspect the same, and if he shall after such inspection certify that the said instrument, is in his conscientious opinion and judgment, of the nature described in the certificate and oath of the person by whom the same shall have been so transmitted as aforesaid, the receipt thereof shall be reported to the lord lieutenant, or lord deputy, or other chief governor or governors of Ireland, and thereupon the said instrument shall be returned, sealed up, to the person by whom the same shall have been so transmitted, after being indorsed by the said president. And be it further enacted, That any person or persons in Ireland, receiving any such bull, dispensation, or other instrument as aforesaid, who shall so deliver the same, or cause it to be delivered in the original, or who shall so certify the receipt, and so describe and verify by oath the nature of the said instrument by him or them received as aforesaid, and whose certificate and oath shall be so confirmed and allowed as aforesaid, shall be free and exempt from all pains and penalties whatsoever, which he or they would be liable by any laws now existing in Ireland, against the receiving and publishing bulls, dispensations, or other instruments from the see of Rome, or from any authority or pretended authority under the said see. be liable to for such offence, by any law or statute now in force in Ireland. HOUSE OF COMMONS. ILL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS BILL.] Mr. R. Martin rose, to ask for leave to bring in a bill to amend the act for preventing cruel and improper Treatment of Cattle. As the act now stood, for the most atrocious act of cruelty which a man could commit on any cattle which were placed under his care, the maximum of punishment that could be inflicted was a fine of 5l., and in default of payment, imHe prisonment for a month or two. thought every gentleman would acknowledge, that animals ought to be protected, either in their own right, or as the property of the individuals to whom they belonged: and if that principle were admitted, he did not see how it could be disputed, that the punishment for wantonly injuring them ought to be increased. In the present state of the law, if a man intrusted with the care of a horse should knock out its eye from malice to its owner, or, as had recently been done, should tie its tongue to a gate, and then beat it on the head till it tore its tongue out, it was impossible to do more to such a wretch than fine him 5l., or imprison him for a month or so. Now, he proposed to make such an offence a misdemeanor, and to leave the punishment of it to the magistrates at quarter-sessions. He also intended to add a clause to the bill, to authorize magistrates at the quarter-sessions to award to the prosecutors of such offences a reasonable compensation for the trouble and expense which they incurred. As he did not expect that any objection would be made to his bringing in the bill, he should not enter further into a description of its details. Mr. Heathcote opposed the motion. ment already awarded to offences of this He was averse to extending the punishnature, and more especially to leaving it within the discretion of the magistrate.. And be it further enacted, That any person or persons so receiving any such bull, dispensation or other instrument as aforesaid, and not so delivering or causing to be delivered as aforesaid, either the said original instrument, or such certificate of the receipt thereof, accompanied by such oath as herein before prescribed; or who shall publish or put in execution, or be wilfully and knowingly concerned Mr. F. Palmer was of opinion, that the in publishing or putting in execution, any hon. member had already proceeded too such bull, dispensation, or other instrument as far with his legislation upon this subject, aforesaid, in Ireland, before the same shall and he should therefore use every effort have been properly inspected and indorsed as to prevent him from proceeding further. aforesaid, shall be deemed and taken to be Since the hon. member had introduced guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall suffer such punishment as may by law be imposed upon his first bill for the protection of cattle, persons guilty of a misdemeanor, instead of not a drover could touch an ox, not a any punishment which such person would hackney-coachman could whip a horse, without some ingenious gentleman's coming forward to call him to order. It was only this morning that his hon. friend, the member for Beverley, and himself, had seen an instance of this exaggerated zeal in the cause of humanity. They were going along the street in a hackney-coach, when one of the horses suddenly became restive, and started back, in consequence, he believed, of a waggon coming too closely in contact with it. The hackney-coachman administered three or four blows to the horse to make it spring forward again, but not with any savage violence, nor upon its head or its neck. A gentleman who saw the occurrence immediately came forward, and threatened to carry the man to a police-office if he did not instantly desist from beating the animal. Now, was such interference to be tolerated? He thought not; and should therefore, with a view of preventing its increase, give every opposition in his power to the present motion. Mr. Lockhart thought the House had done itself great honour in passing the former bill which the hon. member for Galway had introduced upon this subject. By that bill they had consecrated the principle, that animals ought to be protected by legislative interference. In so doing, the House had, in his opinion, gone far enough; and he should therefore advise the hon. member not to press it to go further, nor to weaken the effect of his bill by perpetual legislation. That bill conferred great credit on the hon member, and had already effected a beneficial change in the manners of the people. Mr. Warre would consent to the introduction of the bill, though he would not pledge himself to support its details; with which at present he was utterly unacquainted. It was an argument in favour of it, that the act which it was intended to amend had been generally reprobated as useless before it was placed on the Statute-book, and was now universally admitted to be most beneficial, since the magistrates had begun to put it in operation. Mr. C. Wilson supported the motion. Mr. Alderman Thompson said, that the former bill had done great good, and particularly in Smithfield market. Though he was unwilling to go the length of making the offence a misdemeanor, he would still vote for the introduction of the bill. Mr. Maxwell supported the bill. There was no duty, he conceived, more imperative upon the House than that of affording protection to animals. Mr. Martin said, he could not have believed, that any hon. member would have stood forward, as the hon. member for Reading had done, to defend the barbarities which were practised upon horses, and cattle. With regard to the anecdote which the hon. member had related respecting his adventures with the hackneycoachman, he would merely observe that, upon the hon. member's own showing, the hackney-coachman had taken the worst course in the world with his restive horses. The hon. member must be little of an equestrian, if he was not aware, that the most certain way to make a horse a starter was to beat it when it did start. He was sure the hon, member's constituents would not like the hon. member the better, for the sentiments he had that night expressed. He said so, because he knew the hon. member would soon have a petition to present from them in favour of this bill. The hon. member, at the recurrence of another election, might find it difficult to secure his return ["order!"]. He was not out of order. He had one argument in support of his bill, which he thought would secure him the vote of the Attorney and Solicitor General. It was this. The present bill was a transcript of a bill which had been approved, some years ago, by all the law lords, by lord Ellenborough, lord Erskine, and last, though not least, by the present lord chancellor. He did not expect that mention of this last name would at all injure this bill with those gentlemen who were of opinion that "whatever is, is best." The present lord chancellor had approved of this bill, when it was sent down from the Lords to that House. He therefore trusted that the House would allow this bill to be introduced, notwithstanding the invidious sarcasms which had been thrown upon it. The House divided: Ayes 23. Noes 33. Majority against the motion, 10. THREATENING LETTERS PUNISHMENT BILL FELONIES PARDON BILL.] Mr. Secretary Peel said, he rose pursuant to notice, to move for leave to bring in two bills, of which, as they both related to alterations in the criminal law, he proposed to explain the objects and details at the same time. By the first, it was proposed to introduce an important alteration in the law respecting the sending threatening letters, by assimilating the Suppose, for instance, a man was sentenced punishment for those letters when they for some slight shade of felony to an im meant to extort money or other valuable prisonment of six months, and that, in the things, by charging an attempt to commit mean time, his evidence became of the a certain offence, with that of charging greatest importance in the prosecution of with the offence itself. As the law stood a capital offender. The man's credit pos at present, the sending of a threatening sibly was not impeached by his offence; letter charging with the offence itself, was but he could not be produced as a witness, punishable with the loss of life, but the without the expensive and tedious pro sending such letters charging an attempt ceedings of a pardon under the great seal : to commit the offence, was only a misde- and possibly he would be wanted under meanor. Now, without entering into circumstances which did not afford time any detail upon the subject, it was enough for going through that process. In such to say that, in a moral point of view, the cases, there was a possibility that justice attempt and the offence were alike in would be altogether evaded. So also with famous; and the danger from a charge of respect to the pardoned convicts of New either was to be equally apprehended. South Wales. What could be more gallRecent instances of a failure of justice in ing, upon a man returning with the king's the administration of the law had rendered pardon to his native country, than to find some alterations requisite ; as last summer, that, because he was a thousand miles off, a man who was morally guilty, was obliged and had not had his pardon passed under to be discharged, from a defect in the law the great seal, or could not afford to do to meet his case. The next bill was intended so, he was still unworthy of credit in a to facilitate the granting free pardons by court of justice? The fees upon a pardon the Crown. At present, a person receiv- under the great seal were very high; and ing pardon was not restored (according properly so, for so solemn an act. The to the law phrase) to his " credits and ca- bill would also go to place persons whose pacities" or in fact, was not a free sub- sentences had been commuted in the full jeet, unless his pardon had passed the enjoyment of all their rights as free great seal. Now, this was a most ex- citizens. So when a capital convict had pensive process-so expensive, indeed, that fulfilled his commuted terms of seven it was out of the reach of ordinary persons; years transportation, he was to be re and hence, many were deprived of a right stored to all his "credits and capacities."? to which they were indubitably entitled. No maxim was more just, than that when By the spirit of the English constitution, a man had complied with all the conditions every man who had satisfied the justice of of the law, he was entitled to all the pro the country, by a pardon, ought to be re-tection of the law. This being the first stored to the same situation as he was in before he committed any offence; but by the practice of the law, this restitution to "his credits and capacities" was not complete, unless under the sanction of the great seal. Many instances of injustice must bave taken place under this law; for the number of pardons under the great seal bore no proportion whatever to those under the king's hand. By the exclusion from "credits and capacities," the lawyers understood that a man could not be a competent witness in a court of justicea most serious exclusion, as the House would see. The effect of this bill would be, to give to all pardons under the king's sign manual, when countersigned in the usual way by a secretary of state, all the effect of a pardon under the great seal. It required but little argument to recommend this alteration in the law, as not only the injustice, but the inconvenience of the present practice were notorious. object, the next was, to supply a singular omission in the present law with respect to clergyable offences. The effect of the privilegium clericale in law, formerly was, that, after a conviction upon certain felonies, persons, not clerks, were restored to their rights, after being branded upon the left thumb; but this infliction upon so odd a part of the person being found inconvenient, the punishment was changed to burning on the fleshy part of the left cheek, as near the nose as possible. More lately, however, the enlightened spirit of civilization had disused these barbarous inflictions altogether, and a slight fine and imprisonment were now accepted, in lieu of the burning in the thumb; but so far as regarded the expiation of the offence, the individual was not restored to his rights, as he would have been by being burnt in the hand. It was therefore important to establish some general principle in punishment, by making |