in itself to make new
battle-grounds for those who advocated the full recognition of the
principle.

The new measure proposed to admit the members of all recognized
Protestant denominations, whether inside or outside the Church of
England, to the rights of citizenship, but it took good care to affirm
that it had no intention of admitting any one else. The Act provided
that all {68} persons presenting themselves as candidates for election
to political or municipal office should subscribe a declaration "on the
true faith of a Christian." This, of course, excluded Jews and
Freethinkers, while the Roman Catholics were shut out by a special
oath, directed exclusively against themselves, and to which it was
impossible that any professing Catholic could subscribe. Lord John
Russell, however, had begun his great career well when he carried the
Legislature with him, even thus far, on the way to religious equality,
although he was not himself destined to see the last fight which had to
be fought before the principle had been completely established. It is
almost needless to say that the new form of pledge introduced by the
measure was no part of Lord John Russell's plan, but he accepted the
Bill as amended in the House of Lords rather than sacrifice, for the
time, the whole purpose of his motion. The motion, it may be added,
was strongly opposed in the House of Commons, not only by Robert Peel,
but by Huskisson. Peel's opposition is easily to be understood,
because up to this time he had not risen above the convictions with
which he started in public life in favor of the general practice of
making the political and civic rights of citizenship conditional upon
what he believed to be religious orthodoxy. In the case of Huskisson,
who was a strong supporter of the admission of Roman Catholics to full
equality of political and civic rights with the members of the State
Church, the explanation probably was that he feared if the Dissenters
received their rights in advance they might become less zealous than
many of them had been for the full recognition of the Catholic claims.
Some of the archbishops and bishops in the House of Lords were liberal
enough to give their support to the Bill, much to the consternation of
Lord Eldon, who could not understand how any prelate of the State
Church could be so far led away from the sacred duties of his position
as to lend any countenance to a measure admitting the unorthodox to the
place