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assistance of the spirit, he has the labour and difficulties attendabundant reason to expect that ing exercises preparatory to the promise which is made to them ministry more easy; and reconthat ask, shall be fulfilled, without cile you (should that be your lot, any consideration whether this which has been the lot of some of man be elected or no, for this is the most upright and best of men,) the usual way of grace, in work- to the suspicions of those preju ing upon the elect, to set them diced against you, and shield you upon exerting their natural powers from the tongue of slander. to seek salvation, under a rational A hint of this sort cannot be sense and conviction of their own amiss, when it is considered that guilt and misery, by reason of Jesus himself met with such treatsin; and there is so much encou- ment, and has suggested to his ragement given to the diligence of followers, that the disciple is not man, in this case, that I am well above his master, nor the servant satisfied, there shall no soul ever above his lord. arise at the day of judgment and plead that he has sought salvation as far as the powers of nature would go, and yet God refused to bestow it upon him. The great condemnation is, that men love darkness rather than light, and they will not come unto Christ that they may have life.

I. W.

Letter from a Tutor in a Dissenting Academy, to a Candidate for the Ministry.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

You are convinced with me, my dear friend, I doubt not, that all error has a pernicious tendency, and your concern is to preach the truth as it is in Jesus. But where do you expect to find it? Where

but in those very writings which he has given to all his followers. I cannot but think, that many mistake on this head; that while they join to cry out The Bible, the Bible is the religion of Protestants," they do not, in fact, pay that deference to the sacred scriptures which they deserve. Our I cannot but feel myself pecu- grand, concern ought to be, that liarly interested in your welfare, we may know and preach just and heartily wish that the plan what they contain, not substitut you are now pursuing may pro- ing any human interpretation of mote it, in connection with your scripture in the place of scripture being an instrument of advancing itself. This, I fear, is often done: the best interests of others. and phrases, entirely human and You are, I conceive, strongly arbitrary, become very important; impressed with a sense of the worth ill. will is generated among childof souls, having been divinely ren of the same family, or sertaught, I sincerely hope, the va- vants of the same master, whose lue of your own. Endeavour, great concern is, mutually to know my friend, always to maintain a and do his will:-hence parties lively sense of this; it will give of Christians, supposing each other vigour to your studies, and con- mistaken, look as shy on each tribute abundantly to your use other, as they would on those who fulness. An habitual conviction reject the common salvation, or that your object is the salvation did not call Christ Lord, or labour of the souls of men, will make to understand and obey his will.

Search the scriptures diligently of some Christians of different deand impartially, with daily prayer nominations, in a country town, to the Father of Lights, for divine with the Petition drawn up by the illumination: and allow me to Rev. C. Wyvill, in favour of liberty add the following hints:Consi- of conscience, and with a request der carefully in reading the differ. that his lordship would have the ent parts of scripture, who is the goodness to present it to the House speaker, to whom he addresses of Lords. This he did, at the time himself, i. e. under what particu. that the Right Honourable Earl lar circumstances his auditors are Grey, the Marquis of Lansdowne, to be regarded; and how they, of and Lord Holland presented simicourse, would most naturally un- lar petitions, viz, April 20th, derstand his language. Distinguish 1812. I shall only add an obserbetween those vation of his lordship in answer passages where any particular point is evidently la. to this letter, which in my opinion boured by the inspired writer, I does him more real honour than mean, formally stated and en- his high title. "I observe with larged upon, and where, at most, pleasure that your petition em. it is only occasionally alluded to. braces the claims of Christians of Weigh as carefully as you can, every denomination, a liberality the exact amount of different scrip- and justice which I am sorry to tural expressions on different sub- say has not always marked the jects, when you have compared language and conduct of Protesthem together:-collections of tants, but which I now hope to texts of scripture, on the leading see universal, and which must doctrines of Christianity, may, sooner or later (and I think at no in this view, be very useful. Re. very distant period) be successmember, truth is consistent ful." throughout, and divine truth all practical. But I have not room or time to enlarge. Let me hear how you go on; and be assured of the best wishes and prayers of

Your sincere Friend,

Letter to a Noble Lord, with

Mr. Wyvill's Petition.

To the Editor of the Monthly Repository
SIR,

With fervent wishes and ardent hopes that no intolerant law on account of religion, will much longer remain to disgrace our Statute Book, 1 am, Sir, respectfully Yours,

A FRIEND. TO UNIVERSAL
LIBERTY.
To the Right Honourable Lord

MY LORD,

of sending your lordship, by this I have done myself the honour day's mail-coach, a Petition on I have transcribed the follow- the unalienable rights of consciing letter for insertion in your va- ence, drawn up by that well-known luable Repository, if you think it liberal clergyman of the Estabin the least degree calculated to lished Church, the Rev. C. Wyvill. promote liberal sentiments respect- It was sent to me by a Dissenting ing the unalienable rights of con- minister in this place with a rescience. It was sent, a few months quest that I would lay it before ago, to a nobleman, in the name my friends, and if they with my

legiance," &c. are not entertained by them as a body of Christians, whatever may be the sentiments on these points of a few obscure, ignorant and bigotted individuals among them. With respect to their avowed religious principles,

self approved its contents, that we jects of other states from their al would affix our signatures to it, and apply to other persons in the town and neighbourhood who may be supposed favourable to the ob ject of it, for the same purpose. This has been done, and upwards of ninety professing Christians of different denominations, have put such as the " doctrine of transubtheir names to it. stantiation," "the worship of the Considering you, my Lord, as virgin Mary land of the saints," the zealous friend and eloquent and other articles of their faith, advocate of the civil and religious however irrational and absurd they rights of all classes of the com- appear to us, we think these ought munity, the subscribers take the to be considered as no more a liberty of requesting your lordship ground of their exclusion from the to present their petition to the freest toleration, than the pecu. House of Lords. We are by no liar sentiments of the various dismeans sanguine in our expectations cordant sects of Protestant Chrisof immediate success, but it will, tians, some of which must, neceswe apprehend, produce discussion, sarily, be false and unscriptural., and discussion your lordship knows We also apprehend that the exis eventually fatal to groundless tending to the Catholics as well as prejudices and errors, and favour. to all classes of Protestant Disable to the cause of truth. We senters, the free toleration or are persuaded that the more freely rather the just rights, civil and re. the civil and religious rights of ligious, for which the Petition men are examined, the more pleads, would instead of being clearly they will appear to be attended with any danger either to founded in reason and justice, and church or state, add to the security that it would be as much a point of both, and be the best safeguard of policy as equity, to abolish to the British empire, in the prethose penal laws which interfere sent awful and critical situation of with them, and which disgrace our public affairs. the Statute Book, the present enlightened age, and this land, in various respects, of justly boasted . liberty.

The object of this petition, as your lordship will perceive, embraces the Roman Catholics as well as Protestant Dissenters; their cause, however, we should not advocate, were we not convinced by what appears to us satisfactory evidence, that the pernicious tenets attributed to them, such as that" no faith is to be kept with heretics," and the power of the Pope to dispense the sub

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Should you, my Lord, think proper to present this petition to the House of Lords, your Lord. ship will have the goodness to state it as the petition of individual Christians of different denominations in the town and neighbourhood of

Your Lordship's compliance with the request contained in this letter, will oblige the petitioners, and more particularly

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My Lord, Your Lordship's most respectful and humble servant,

Since transcribing the above letter, I have seen it announced in the Newspapers, that Lord Castlereagh means to introduce a Bill into Parliament, explanatory of the Toleration Act, in favour of the Dissenters. This I trust, should it pass into a law, will be

received by them with all due gratitude to the legislature, but not induce them to compromise for it their just rights, or be content with any thing less than the repeal of all the penal statutes on account of religion.

July 10, 1812.

EXTRACTS FROM NEW PUBLICATIONS.

Penal Laws which aggrieve the the Catholic might thus chance to

Catholics of Ireland,

[From A Statement, &c.

Continued

from the last No. p. 424.]

CHAP. II.

Of the Laws which deny to the Catholics the Right of Sitting and Voting in the Houses of Legisla. ture and herein, of the elective Franchise, as enjoyed in Ireland.

Until the year 1692, the Cath olics were admissible by law into both the houses of legislature, in Ireland. Their exclusion was ef. fected by an English statute of this year. The English Parlia ment, exercising in those days the jurisdiction of binding the people of Ireland by laws expressly naming Ireland, passed an Act declaring that the provisions of a former English Act, (namely the 30, Cha. ii. stat. 2. ch. 1.) should extend to Ireland.

re-enter the sanctuary of the legis lature. As a barrier against Catholic hope it was therefore enacted, "That all clauses in English statutes, relating to the taking of oaths, or making or subscribing any declaration or affirmation in Ireland, or to penalties or disabilities in cases of omission, shall be in force in Ireland, according to their present tenor.”

The Irish Parliament having thus, in the express terms of this statute of 1782, confirmed this exclusion of Catholics, thought proper to renew their vigilance in 1793.

The statute of 1793, professing to be an Act for the further Relief of the Catholics of Ireland, has expressly reserved and re-enacted a great number of the most griev. ous privations, disabilities and in. capacities, which, however obso lete, heretofore existed in the Statute Book. This dormant pro hibition against the admission of Catholics into either House of Parliament, was found amongst others and was renewed.

In 1782, upon the restoration of legislative independence to Ireland, the friends of the Protestant Ascendancy became alarmed, lest in the national enthusiasm for freedom, the chains of the suffer. ing Catholic might be loosened. Having stated this article of exIt was apprehended that the Irish clusion, according to the letter Parliament might, by a retrospec. of the law, we shall next advert tive operation, defeat the policy to its extent and operation in Ire. of the English statute of 1692, land.

amongst many others, and that

As to the House of Peert.

2. As to the House of Comparative merits. Nor do we presume to insinuate any diminution

mons,

1. The honors of the Peerage, of those merits, when we offer the the profitable rank and effective observation, naturally growing out power attached to it, the personal of this subject-that these 500 benefits derived from that rank and personages have been thus selected power, not only to the individual and distinguished, not from peer, but also to the wide circle amongst the people of these realms of his family and connections, are at large, but from amongst the objects deservedly high in the es- members of a favoured religious timation of all, who are gifted community, who, in Ireland, do with superior minds, or capable not amount to one tenth part of of noble exertions. They are the population. valuable in the eyes of any person, who looks around him, and ob serves, even cursorily, the present state of society.

Let us take a short view of the extent to which these honors and privileges are now enjoyed.

If, therefore, these honours be great, the competition for them must be recollected to have been necessarily very limited, and espe cially in Ireland.

Now it will scarcely be denied, that some portion of talent, virtue, or other claims to honorary distinction must naturally have been dispensed by Providence to the Catholics of Ireland, during the period we have taken. So large

The lords temporal, who sit and vote in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, exceed 340 in number. Taking a view of the creations to peerages, which have occurred only within his present a number of Christians as four Majesty's reign, comprizing about millions, dwelling in the immedia fifty years, we find about 250 in ate vicinity of enlightened nations, England, and nearly an equal cannot in the ordinary course of number in Ireland, forming a total, affairs have been so utterly aban not far short of 500 peerages. doned by nature, so long uncul. Of these, however, several are tivated and sunk in stupid torpor, extinct. as to have remained altogether The books of peerage will satisfy destitute of individuals, whose any reader, how very large a pro. merits might have laid claim to a portion of these five hundred per participation of those rewards, sonages have raised themselves from Perhaps many brave captains, the rank of commoners, perhaps many upright statesmen, many from a mere equality with their useful legislators, might have Catholic neighbours, even within arisen amongst the Catholics of these last thirty years. Some few Ireland, if the laws bad not may have been indebted to acci. frowned upon their early hopes, dental causes for their elevation: and paralyzed their exertions. many to the display of eminent Who will affirm, that there might virtues, talents, or other splendid not have appeared amongst them qualifications: all, however, may Rodney or a Nelson, a Hutchinson, have had cause to feel, that the a Moira, or a Moore, to swell laws afforded exclusive encourage. the triumphs, and spread the re ment to their services and claims, nown of his country, if the grand and ready rewards for their com. incentives, public reward, resped

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