THE CORONATION-OATH.
AMONG other apparitions of sophisms supposed defunct, the Coronation-oath argument has been resuscitated in the course of the Muynooth debate, and even in the solemn shape of a protest in the House of Lords! Reasonable men interpret the Corona- tion-oath as binding the King not to encroach on the klies by his prerogative. The opponents of the increased allowance to Maynooth view it as binding him to refuse his assent to certain laws: they deem the oath a means of restricting the royal pre- rbgative and diminishing the liberty. of the subject at the same time. This view is the standing consolation of politicians beaten in, argument: they seek to persuade themselves, that though the Wmg be convinced, and the People be convinced, yet neither one nor other, nor. both togetheri can' act upon- their convictions- notwithstamlinc. The consolation, it is true; does-not last long; for- the impos- sibility is always achieved. The Coronation-oath, in their accep- tation of it, may be-compared-to the mirage of the desert The mirage looks like a -vast .lake; in which the traveller will be drowned if he advances : but when he does advance-to the place of the.suppesedwater, he finds, dry. land,, and the lake, still before. hinr; . which:again and againrecedes as he marches on. George the, Thirdtook the Coronation-oath, which some maintain binds the-King to allow of no change in what pertains to religion: he. found: no perjury in relaxing- the penallaws and granting the.. elective franchise to Roman Catholics;. but he stuck at Emancipa- tion—that was his lake. George. the 'Fourth, after much appa- rent- 'rent fear of drowning in his.. father's lake, , stepped 'owes far. as.. Emancipation' with dry clothes.: there he stop William the Fourth warth'reateried with being- overwhelme -in-the sea of per,. jurn.and losing. his.crown, Pharaoh-like, in..the waves; if ha. aw sented to the Church_Temporalities: Act : he reached. this. point,. ,however; and the shore, the receding mirage -being yet, at some : distance-beferelim. And now the Queen.is to be over -head.and ,earsin perjmy, and-lose her crown, for assenting to the-Maynaoth .grant.; and she will be threatened.with the like again and again,_ for making.still further. advances in the .same direction.. Whew, shall We get- over this low arid, region of prejudiced ..sophistry,.ini which the miragais perennial? If there were a shadow of reason in the. alli.gatiex that they Queen has forfeited the crown, by recognizing' the Roman' Catholics, Ireland.would have been forfeited. ;at the Reformation.;: since the- Kings of England for. a long -time olaimed. thatoountry as a gift from the Pope, on the condition of bringing it into -sub- jection to him. And the case of the Pope was even stronger. Parliament may interpret' or relax conditions imposed by Parlia-, . me-At:- it cannot be supposed that,. Parliament would bind a.King to refuse his assent to a bill passed through Parliament. Butthe Pope and. the Irish nation did not give their sanction to the Re- - formation-; and- therefore, -on. this hypothesis, may fairly demand the forfeit.
If the interpretation of the Coronation-oath, put forth by some withsuch apparent seriousness,, should- ever prevail, there. would"' still' be one resource :left for English Kings wishing to. deal justly by their subjects. From this interpretation it- follows that. we.. have in the- realm two kinds of regal. government—that .of- am uncrowned and-that of a crowned. King... The 'latter is bound. te..., - certain things, which. the firmer is.not. Every. King_has. at the outset his choice-whichof these two he Will be ; for he is. King- at:. once, and may reign as long as he. likes without being crowned, or may decline it altogether.
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