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Show CATHOLICS MAKE GAIN IN BRITISH PARLIAMENT London, May 14. A comprehensive bill for the removal of Roman Catholic disabilities and providing for an alteration altera-tion in the accession oath taken by the British sovereign was introduced by JVilliam Redmond in the house of commons today and gave variety to the customary dullness of Friday debate. Roman Catholics never have ceased to inveigh against the "insulting references," refer-ences," to certain beliefs in the monarch's mon-arch's accession declaration which refers re-fers to these beliefs as "superstitions" and "idolatrous." The same opposition that hitherto has defeated any effort to alter the oath of accession again showed up today when a petition signed by 300,-000 300,-000 persons against the removal of Roman Ro-man Catholic disabilities was handed in just before Mr. Redmond arose. Mr. Redmond's bill not only deletes what is regarded as the objectionable portion of the oath of accession, but it repeals the acts prohibiting residence and the acquisition of property by the Jesuits and other monastic orders, and abolishes the disqualification which prevents pre-vents Catholics from filling the offices of lord chancellor of Great Britain and lord lieutenant of Ireland. Premier Asquith spoke early in the debate and gave his cordial support to the objects of the bill. He declared that the exclusion of Roman Catholics from the lord chancellorship and the lord lieutenancy was quite unjustifiable on the grounds of either logic or policy. Regarding the oath of accession the premier said that this declaration was dated during the worst period of British Brit-ish history. The language, therein could not be justified and the time had come to put an end to it. He suggested if parliament were opposed to the total abolition of the declaration that a committee com-mittee be appointed to devise a form of words that would be mutually satisfactory. satisfac-tory. The bill passed its second reading by a vote of 133 to 123, but as it is not a government measure there is little prospect pros-pect of finding time to pass it into a law at the present session. The fact that a majority of the house of commons voted in favor of the measure, however, how-ever, is regarded as a great victory for the Catholics. Although similar bills have been debated on manv previous occasions, this is the first time that one has passed its second reading. |