Harley supported the Toleration Bill during its passage through the Commons and he hoped for "an equal settlement of religion" to be achieved by the inclusion of Presbyterians in the Church of England. However, this was not adopted. He also helped to defeat a Tory amendment to the Bill of Rights that would have enabled James II's son James Francis Edward Stuart to inherit the crown if he converted to Protestantism. On 14 May, Harley delivered his maiden speech in which he reminded the House of recent Tory persecutions (such as the harsh punishment of Monmouth's followers) and said that this injustice must be remedied.