simplicity was duped, I can only all. But no such absurd requisi

tion disgraces this famous statute.

The seventh clause of the Act extends its protection to all nonconformist ministers and candidates for the minstry of every description who comply with its requisitions. "No person dissenting from the Church of England

66

answer that it were to be wished that this example were singular in its kind. But in fact no practical inconvenience was intended by the learned framer of the Bill, nor has any such inconvenience been felt till very lately. For more than a hundred years the statute was acted upon as if it had been in holy orders," i. e. clergymen imperative. Every candidate for who have quitted the church," or the ministry was admitted to pretended holy orders," i. e. Presqualify, and every qualified minis- byterians, Independents, &c. "or ter was regarded as intitled to all pretending to holy orders," i. e. the immunities of the Bill. The candidates for the ministry, "nor abominable abuses of this quali- any preacher," whether connected fication under Lord Sidmouth's with a congregation or otherwise, administration, when many quali- or teacher of any congregation fied for no purpose but to escape of Dissenting Protestants, that the militia laws, first induced the shall make and subscribe the demagistrates to inquire into the ex- claration aforesaid, &c. shall be tent of the toleration: and the liable to any of the pains and rapid increase of Methodism creat- penalties, &c." ed an alarm which has led to a The tenth clause of the Act discovery which has in fact intirely confers immunities but limits those annulled and abrogated the Toler. immunities to ministers connected ation Act, so far as it relates to with congregations. It repeats the nonconformist ministers, for a tol same description of persons which eration which depends upon the are enumerated in the seventh discretion of the magistrates is no clause, with the exception of perlegal toleration at all. sons pretending to holy orders or candidates for the ministry, who of course could not be entitled to Nothing can be more extraor- the benefits: The expressions are dinary than the supposition that remarkably precise and clear: viz. this new interpretation of the Tol. "And be it further enacted, that eration Act is authorized and in- every teacher or preacher in holy tended by the act itself. The great orders, or pretended holy orders, Lord Somers who framed the bill, that is a minister, preacher, or and the legislature which passed teacher of a congregation, &c. it, and the nonconformists who shall be exempted from serving were contented with it, must all upon any jury, &c." Nothing have laboured under a strange be- can be more intelligible, distinct, reavement of intelect for the mo- or consistent than the intentions ment, if it had been enacted that of the act. Lord Somers having, the candidates for legal protection as he thought, by the introduction should be actually settled with of the word impowered laid in a congregations before they were sufficient caveat to secure the conlegally authorized to preach at stitution, was willing that the rest

of the bill should be constructed with all the latitude which the Dissenters could desire.

And no persons now think of contending for the obsolete doctrines of divine right, either of episcoThe noble framer of the bill pacy, presbyterianism or indepentherefore and the legislature which dency. This is a great step gained passed it stand acquitted of the in the progress of moderation. If charge of imposing the inconsistent any thing could bring the church conditions which are now required. into danger it would be the petty But that the magistrates of the persecutions which have of late present day under the shelter of been exercised upon nonconformthe word impowered, are author- ists of various descriptions. It is ized by law to demand these con- a fact, attested by all history, that ditions or any other which they persecution, where it does not promay think expedient previously to ceed to extermination, always protheir administering the required motes the persecuted cause. oaths cannot, I think, be justly disposition shewn to deny privileges denied. It is from this discretionary to bodies of men who think themauthority, which completely annuls the Toleration Act, that the nonconformists now justly, anxiously, and unanimously seek legislative relief.

The temporalities of the church can never be in danger, so long as they are protected by power and fashion. Even the multiplication of sectaries bodes no evil to the establishment, if they are left to themselves without being molested for their opinions. For in the first place they are too much divided amongst themselves, and too hostile to each other to conspire against the church. And, in the second place, the controversy concerning church discipline, forms of prayer, ceremonies, &c. is almost at rest: -the great thing with religionists of the present day is to hear what they call the gospel: if the doctrine is evangelical and approved, the hearers regard it as of little consequence whether the place of assembly is consecrated or unconsecrated, whether the offi. ciating minister reads forms or prays extempore, whether he wears a surplice or a coloured coat,

The

selves entitled to them, or to deprive them of what they have long enjoyed, excites irritation and hos tility where it did not before exist, and combines parties who be fore had no connexion with each other. And this, if any thing, might bring the church into real danger. If the object be to fill the churches, the doors must be opened to the popular preachers, whose loose but familiar and mov ing addresses will always attract the multitude far more than the elegant, polished, argumentative, or moral compositions of men of taste, education and learning. But if the friends of the Church of England would place her upon a rock from which she could never be removed, they must reform the church herself, by discarding a system of speculative theology, which was the product of a rude and barbarous age, and which in these times of abounding light and knowledge, no well-informed person will undertake to defend, by substituting, agreeably to the prayer of the petitioning clergy forty years ago, subscription to the scriptures for subscription to the articles, and

by adopting a Liturgy reformed with a proviso to prevent religious upon the plan of the celebrated opinions from being made the stalk. Dr. Samuel Clarke, the rector of ing horse for exciting disorder. St. James's, in which all religious Referring to what had been said worship shall be addressed to the on a former evening by a noble Father alone. What a glorious earl (Liverpool), that no man æra would this be for the national ought to be molested on account church! What a happy day to of mere religious opinion, he ennumbers of her most enlightened tirely concurred in that sentiment, and virtuous sons, who are now and trusted he should have the bending in anguish under a yoke noble earl's support. The noble of bondage. Then, indeed, would earl had also objected in the forthe Church of England identify mer, that the whole of the intended herself with the church of Christ, measure was not brought forward. "without spot or wrinkle or any In this case the whole of the insuch thing," nor will she then be tended measure was brought for afraid of distributing Bibles with- ward, and he trusted that no shifts out note or comment.-But I for- or devices would be attempted to bear. And if any are disposed to defeat it. The noble earl had Cavil at the liberty which has also said, that a Protestant estab been taken to suggest improve lishment was the best, because the ments in a church of which the au- best calculated to give an enlarged thor is not within the pale, he and liberal toleration. He (Earl must shelter himself under the ex- Stanhope) gloried in being a Proample of those eminent members testant. The right of private judgof the established church, who ment, and consequently the most have lately manifested such gen. liberal toleration to all religious erous zeal to raise the character opinions, being the essence of that and to promote the respectability of the nonconformist clergy.

t

'Lord Stanhope's Speech on the

Second Reading of his Bill. The order of the day having been read,

Earl STANHOPE rose to move the second reading of his Bill for preventing the Imposition of Disabilities upon Persons on account of Religious Opinions, or the Exercise of their religion. His lord ship stated, that his bill did not touch the Test or Corporation Acts, or what was called Catholic emancipation; the object of it merely being to prevent persons from incurring any disability on account of their religious opinions,

religion. The difference between the Catholic and Protestant was, that the former contended that God had not only given a book of revealed religion, but had also given a church to interpret that book, and that no other interpre. tation but the interpretation of that church was right; the Protestant contended for the unlimited right of private judgment. The unlim. ited right of private judgment in matters of religion, was what he was contending for, and it was the object of his bill to authorize by law. His lordship proceeded to quote several old statutes, for the purpose of shewing the absurdity and injustice of the provisions, formerly made for restraining religious opinions, amongst others,

persons were rendered liable to a penalty of 107. for every servant in their house that did not go to church, for every visitor also, and for the servant of every visitor. After quoting several other enactments in various old statutes, enforcing still more oppressively the

enacting that persons not going to church for a month, should forfeit 201. and and security for good behaviour for a year, but that the penalty, though tendered might be refused, and the party forfeit one third of his lands, tenements and hereditaments. At the present moment it was physically impos- other provisions on the same sub. sible for a large proportion of his ject, he proceeded to adduce a majesty's subjects to go to church, variety of instances of absurd en for it appeared from the diocesan actments in old statutes, amongst returns, printed by order of the others some in the reign of Elizahouse, that 4,000,000 of persons beth, that certain kinds of fish in England had not the means of should be eaten on particular days, attending church, there being that and that the fish should be all number more than all the churches eaten before tasting meat, without could contain. This bill, he con- fraud or cozenage. It was also tended was peculiarly called for, enacted, that flesh should not be inasmuch as it appeared by the eaten on particular days without a same returns, that whilst the num- licence. In the reign of James ber of places of worship of the the First, it was enacted that no Established Church in England, person should entertain evil spirits, were 2533, those of the Dissenters or feed them with fish, flesh or were 3454, thus proving that the vegetables. Another curious enmajority of the people were non- actment was, that a man should conformists; and taking into the be deemed guilty of bigamy who account the church of Scotland, married two wives, or one widow. to which the greater part of the in- Another enactment instanced was, habitants of that country belonged, to prevent women from leaving and the Catholics of Ireland, form- this country, because they were ing a large majority of the popu- popishly inclined. His lordship lation of that country, it was evi- also dwelt much upon the subject dent that a very large majority of of excommunication, instancing sa the population of England, Scot- variety of enactments and canons land and Ireland were nonconfor. of church, respecting it, for the mists. He trusted, therefore, that purpose of shewing their absurdity he should not hear one argument and injustice. He thought that against this bill used on former oc- the repeal of the enactments he casions, that the majority ought had mentioned would do no good, to bind the minority in matters of whilst the power of the Ecclesias religion. Proceeding in the quo- tical Court remained with respect tation of old statutes, his lordship to excommunication. He related dwelt much upon the injustice and an anecdote of a noble lord, going oppression of those enactments, to an eminent painter to desire the object of which, to compel him to paint a fool, and the manpersons under a heavy penalty to ner proposed was this, to paint a attend church on Sundays and man getting over a park paling set holidays, and not merely this, but with tenter-hooks, whilst an open

bill, the object of which was, to give liberty of conscience, and the right of private judgment in matters of religion, without interruption.

gate was near him, by which he might have entered. He would propose to paint a rank ideot in the following manner; to represent him getting over a park paling set with tenter hooks, while before His lordship avowed himself him was a wall fifty feet high, a decided enemy to toleration, bewhich he could not get over, and cause it implied that certain in on one side an open gate, by which dividuals were permitted, as a he might enter without difficulty matter of favour and sufference, to and avoid the wall. Now what worship their Creator in the way he meant by this was, that the they deemed proper. It acknow paling set with tenter-hooks was ledged the right of those who the statutes he had quoted, the granted toleration to be, if they high wall was the ecclesiastical pleased, at any time intolerant. jurisdiction, and the open gate For this reason he had always was his bill, containing a short en condemned and hated the statutes actment declaring the liberty of of the 29th Charles II. and the religious opinion. The subject of 1st. Will. and Mary, ch. 15. be uniformity, his lordship illustrated cause they were called Toleration by an anecdote of the chapel clock Acts: in his lordship's opinion, with four faces, in Vere Street, near what was called toleration, only Cavendish Square, which on pass. rivitted the chains of religious ing one day he looked up to, to ob- slavery. One Mr. William Smith serve the hour, and observed, that had lately been dabbling in these on one of the faces it was five o'clock; matters, but not with much suc but having an angular view, he cess: he proposed by his bill a saw that the second face pointed completely new system, accordat a quarter past five: thinking ing to which licences were to be this very odd, he looked at the granted, not only to a man to third face, and found that to point preach, but old women were not at half-past five: this was odder even allowed to say their prayers still, he looked at the fourth face, without it-people were not to be and found it was three-quarters allowed to exercise their natural past five. Adverting to a variety rights, without permission from of enactments respecting the Book Mr. W. Smith. The quantity of of Common Prayer, his lordship licences required would be innuobserved upon the differences that merable, and it would have been existed in the copies of that book, a great improvement of the scheme, as published by the Universities of if Mr. Vansittart had thought of Oxford and Cambridge, stating making it a very fruitful source of that they amounted to 4000 and revenue, by imposing a stamp Codd. He quoted an opinion of duty of 5s. or 10s. on every licence: Lord Mansfield, delivered in giv- the produce would be incalculable; ing judgment in an appeal in that almost as much as the tax proHouse, stating that conscience posed by a learned but humorous was not amenable to human law, bishop, who said that he could point or controulable by human tribunals, out to government a mode of raisand urged this in support of his ing a very large sum of money. Of