understood, to their previous declarations, his Lordship entered the proteft, (fee page 1 12)in which he contrafted part of the contents of their addrefs to his Majefty in convocation, with their conduct in reference to the bill. Lord Lyttelton having moved to have the bill read a fecond time, a debate enfued. The Bishop of London declared, he was entirely against Bishop of the bill going to a committee; that, however, he should London. not have rifen, were it not to exculpate himfelf from a charge made against him and the rest of his brethren by a noble Earl present; that it was not a thing that fell merely in the heat of debate, it was no loofe equivocal expreffion which might admit of a double interpretation; the matter he adverted to was on record, for it was on their Lordships journals. He faid, it was no lefs fallacious in point of fact, than injurious to a body of men, who were certainly intitled to justice in common with the reft of their fellow fubjects. He then proceeded to inform the Houfe, that although he difapproved of the bill, and was of courfe from the begining refolved to vote against it, he did not think the first reading the proper ftage to oppofe it, as it would, in his opinion, be more candid and agreeable to parliamentary ufage, to combat the bill on the fecond reading. He therefore, from the known candour of the noble Earl who had entered the protest, as well as his love of justice, expected that his Lordfhip would withdraw it, or at least expunge such parts as may be supposed to convey to pofterity a moft heavy accufation on a body of men who were entirely innocent. As to the question itself, whether or not permiffion ought to be given to erect a playhouse at Manchester, he had not a fingle doubt of the impropriety of granting fuch a permiffion, in a great trading manufacturing town; but, he feared at the Lame time, that throwing out the bill would not prevent the evil, as what was refufed by Parliament would still be fupported by confcience. He faid there were many plays of a moral inftructive tendency, that where those representations were properly conducted, they operated to the improvement of manners; and if custom had not determined otherwise, for his own part, he could with pleasure go to the theatre to fee the English Rofcius; and on the whole, if a thea tre was to be permitted, or established by act of Parliament ('or he was afraid the evil would exift in one form, or the other) he hoped the magiftrates in all those towns, where fuch exhibitions were permitted, would take fingular care to prohibit the representation of one particular play (the Beggar's Ope R 2 ra) Earl of Earl of Carlife, ra) which, in his opinion, tended more to corrupt the morals of the lower orders of the people, than all the other plays extant in the English language befide; and fhould the managers or directors perfift, he trusted that the magiftrates would vigorously execute the vagrant laws against such daring offenders, as perfons not entitled to a parifh fettlement. The Earl of Radnor. No perfon in this House would be farther than I would from paffing a cenfure upon any body of men, particularly the right reverend bench, for whom I entertain fo high and fingular a refpect. A fhort hiftory of the tranfaction will however be my best apology for my conduct relative to what has already happened; and for still perfifting in my former opinion, and refufing now to retract it. While this bill was paffing through the other House, I applied to the most reverend prelate who fits at the head of the Bishops bench, to the right reverend prelate who now fpoke, and to the other right reverend prelate in whose diocefe Manchester is fituated. I informed them of my intention to oppose the bill; and defired to know their sentiments. They answered, they thought with me on the subject; and were refolved to give it every oppofition in their power. Having notice of the day the bill was to come up from the Commons, I defired the first reading might be deferred, and the Lords fummoned. This being complied with, how great was my aftonishment, when I moved the rejection on the first reading, to find the previous question put, and myself in a minority alone; every one member of the right reverend bench that was prefent having divided against me. I do therefore appeal to your Lordships, if I had not reason to be offended; and if any one noble Lord in this House would not think himself ill treated, if upon any queftion agitated within thefe walls, his friends, after afsuring him of their fupport, fhould encourage him to divide the House, and afterwards vote directly contrary to the previous affurances given on their part? The Earl of Carlisle spoke much in favour of the bill; faid, that Methodifm was daily gaining ground, particularly in the manufacturing towns; and that playhoufes, well regulated, would be the means of difpelling those gloomy thoughts, and that melancholy ftate of mind fo favourable to the propagation of the dangerous doctrines embraced by thofe fectaries. That he would not fay plays were therefore at this time lefs witty, but they certainly were less immoral and indecent than the productions of former periods, and confequently that a reftrictive hand was lefs neceffary than it ever was before, Lord Lord Lyttelton. The right reverend prelate who openǝd Lord Lyttel the debate, though he profeffes his intention of giving a ne. on. gative to the bill, has at the fame time pleaded moft powerfully in its favour. He fays, were our theatric exhibitions properly regulated, they might ferve and promote the cause of virtue, inftead of hurting it. He deprecates the pernicious, baneful effects of one play in particular, The Beggar's Opera; and feems to allow, that the reprefentation of that play alone is to be dreaded. I am pleafed to find, that the right reverend prelate has given me fo fair an opportunity of fatisfying him on that head; and informing him, that the intended manager has given me the fullest and most unreferved affurances, that the play of the Beggar's Opera shall never be exhibited on his theatre, The right reverend prelate likewise tells your Lordships, that if cuftom and the current prevailing opinions of mankind had not forbidden it, that he could with pleasure be present to fee the English Rofcius appear in fome of his capital characters. I applaud the wish, and I am forry to obferve, that nothing but prejudice and ignorance could lay the foundation of a diftinction, which is to preclude any fet of men from enjoying the fruits of fo pleafing, inftructive, and folid an entertainment. The right reverend prelate endeavours to make a distinction, and draw a line between those places where entertainments of this kind ought or ought not to be permitted; by which he would exclude all trading and manufacturing towns. But here I must beg leave to diffent from him, and to draw a direct contrary conclufion; for in my opinion, there is no place under proper regulation, in which they fhould be more encouraged, as people, who labour intenfely, require a proportionable recreation; and the fixpence spent at a theatre is much better laid out than at an alehouse. It gives me much pain, but my duty as a member of this House will not permit me to pass over in filence a matter of no small confequence mentioned in this day's debate; I mean the proteft figned a few days fince by the noble Earl near me, which, give me leave to fay, when properly and seriously confidered, has a much more direct tendency to corrupt the morals of the lower orders of the people, than all the theatrical exhibitions ever represented in this country. The right reverend bench, who are the great protectors of the interefts of religion, the known promoters of virtue and morality in their feveral diocefes, who in their own perfons enforce by example what they teach by precept; who are the only fet of men in the chriftian world of the fame defcription that follow the rigid doctrines of primitive chriftianity, and fhew them themselves the true difciples of their Saviour Jefus, (the bishops of Spain, France, Italy, and the rest of Europe having long fince mixed in the common herd of mankind, and thrown off all diftinctions of living and acting, which originally connected themselves with the exercise of their facred functions.) This very refpe&table body of men, I fay, are not only held out to the prefent generation, but their names handed down to pofterity, as the encouragers of vice, immorality, and profanenefs; and ftill the more to aggravate the charge, their own words, on a former occafion, are quoted and contrafted with their recent conduct, in order to convict them of hypocrify, and furcharge the picture. This is the fubftance of the noble Earl's proteft. Now, what will be the probable confequences, as operating on the people? First, to increafe that levelling fpirit, and contempt of the high orders of the ftate, which I am forry to fee is already too prevalent, and which is known to be fo deftructive of all fubordination, order and good government; and fecondly, to persuade mankind, that religion and morality are no more than empty founds taken up and echoed for personal, interested purposes, when it is proved that the very protectors and guardians of both have deferted their charge, as unworthy of their care or attention. This, my Lords, will be the certain effect of the noble Earl's proteft in its prefent form; and it is on this ground I now prefume to contend, that it is highly incumbent on his Lordship to withdraw it, or modify it in fuch a manner as to prevent the manifeft evils it muft otherwise be productive of. I know the noble Lord's candour; I am fatisfied of his love of truth and justice. His religious tenets are too well known; indeed, his ecclefiaftical, I fhould fay his epifcopal character, for fanctity of life and purity of doctrine, are already so notorious, that his Lordship wants no essential quality, but a mitre and a pair of lawn fleeves to make him a perfect bishop. I therefore intreat that his Lordship from those united motives, will undeceive the public, and difabuse pofterity, by erafing the exceptionable parts of the proteft, or confent to withdraw it entirely. The explanation of the right reverend prelate, the fentiments of the whole bench, fhew beyond question, that justice rigidly demands what is now afked; for, fure, the noble Lord could not wish to have it go abroad into the world, that the right reverend bench voted for the bill, when the fact was confeffedly otherwise; and that the caufe of virtue, morality, and religion, should fuffer, by means of any fuch mifreprefentation. On the whole, my Lords, I appeal to the candour and justice of the noble noble Lord: I trust to his care of the morals of the people, and his love of truth, that he will devife fome method to fet this matter upon a right footing; and I prefs him, more earnestly to the execution of this request, because, otherwise, I must be under the difagreable neceffity of moving to expunge from your Lordships journals what truth will not permit to remain there; what is in its nature fo very injurious to the perfonal character of fo refpectable a part of this Houfe; and finally, what may be fo deftructive to the morals of the people and to the civil and religious interefts of this country. The Earl of Radnor. Whatever might have been the in- Earl of tention of the right reverend prelate, and the reft of his bre-Radnor thren prefent, I could not pretend to determine. I found myfelf compelled to act in a manner fuited to my feelings, and to the fpur of the occafion. A bill was offered to be read a first time, for establishing a theatre in the town of Manchester; from the very minute therefore that the divifion took place, and that I faw the members of the right reverend bench fupport the bringing in of the bill, I was clearly juftified in making the diftiction on which my proteft was grounded. The right reverend prelate juftifies himself on the ufages of Parliament, and the general mode of proceeding usually adopted by this Houfe; which is, to let a bill go to a first reading, perhaps out of compliment to whatever noble Lord may happen to bring it in. But I deny any fuch ufage, as a rule never to be departed from: I remember myfelf many inftances to the contrary, particularly one, in which the right reverend bench itself took a very leading and active part, relative to the diffenters. I recollect a recent inftance, in the courfe of the prefent feffion, full in point, when a bill was rejected on the very day it was received; and I look upon it to be much more parliamentary, candid, and regular, to reject a bill, the principle of which is totally difapproved of, in the first stage, than, by permitting it to go to a fecond reading, entertain, and give a fanction to the principle, and fubject the perfons applying for it to the expences and fees of the Houfe. How much foever the right reverend prelate may talk of candour and parliamentary ufage, I am juftified in contending, that fuch an indulgence is cruelty in the extreme, and that I fhall always think it my duty to put a negative on a bill, in a stage in which it is attended with little or no expence, rather than vote first for its introduction (though fully determined to oppofe it) and when it comes to be read a fecond time, vote for its rejection; which to me appears fomewhat like entertaining a bill or fuit in 1 |