tihtavy of t:he t:heolo0icd ^tminavy 
 
 PRINCETON . NEW JERSEY 
 
 -^^^ 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 Mr. Samuel Agnew of 
 
 BR 746 .S55 1814 
 
 A sketch of the history and 
 proceedings of the deputies 
 
l! 
 
 
SKETCH 
 
 OF 
 
 THE HISTORY AND PROCEEDINGS 
 
 or 
 
 THE DEPUTIES 
 
 APPOINTED TO PROTECT THE CIVIL RIGHTS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 IProtestent Dissenters;. 
 
 TO WHICH IS ANNEXED 
 
 A SUMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 AFFECTING 
 
 PROTESTJNT DISSENTERS. 
 
 WITH AN 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 OF 
 
 STATUTES AND PRECEDENTS OF LEGAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 LONDON 
 
 PRINTED FOR AND SOLD BY S. BURTON, 156, LIADENHALL STREET J 
 AND CONDER, BUCKLERSBURY. 
 
 1814. 
 
CnteitD at g^tattoner's l£>all 
 
Pi^EFACE. 
 
 Mo HE than seventy years have elapsed since 
 the first annual appointment of Deputies, by 
 the several congregations of the Protestant Dis- 
 senters of London and its vicinity, for the 
 purpose of protecting their civil rights. In the 
 long interval of time, which has thus elapsed, 
 they have, agreeably to the high trust, so dele- 
 gated to them, directed their attention to every 
 circumstance that in any degree affected the in- 
 terests of rehgious liberty. 
 
 They have, from time to time, printed short 
 accounts of their proceedings; and have cir- 
 culated among the Protestant Dissenters such 
 information, and such documents, as were cal- 
 culated to answer the important objects of their 
 appointment. 
 
 In the present volume, will be found a con- 
 cise sketch of the transactions of the Committee 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 of Deputies, from their first appointment to 
 the present time; including not only their various 
 efforts to procure a repeal of all those laws, by 
 v/hich religious liberty has hitherto been re- 
 stricted ; but also comprehending a brief state- 
 ment of very numerous legal proceedings, which 
 have at different times been instituted, and in 
 general successfully prosecuted, by the advice, 
 and very frequently with pecuniary assistance 
 from the Committee. 
 
 To this sketch of their transactions, the Com- 
 mittee have subjoined a digest of the Laws 
 relating to Protestant Dissenters, and which 
 comprises the following particulars. 
 
 1. A summary of the Penal Laws, in force 
 /against Dissenters in general, subject to the 
 
 Toleration Acts ; together with their privileges, 
 and duties. 
 
 2. The qualifications, privileges, and exemp- 
 tions of Protestant Dissenting Ministers ; the 
 oaths, declarations, ^^c. &c. to be made and 
 taken by them. 
 
 3. The Law concerning Protestant Dissenting 
 Schoolmasters, and their situations, as regulated 
 by various acts of parliament. 
 
 4. Miscellaneous laws and regulations, af- 
 
PREFACE. Y 
 
 fecting the Places ofJP^orship of Protestant Dis- 
 senters ; their liability to taxes ; the power of 
 courts of law over Trustees ; the best mode of 
 securing the benefit of such places for their re- 
 ligious worship, &c. 
 
 In preparing this summary of the existing 
 laws, the utmost care has been bestowed to state 
 them with brevity and perspicuity ; and such 
 remarks have been introduced, as might tend to 
 elucidate the construction of the different sta- 
 tutes. 
 
 To this Summary is added an Appendix, con- 
 taining the principal Acts of Parliament at 
 length, which are cited in the course of the 
 work ; together with the oaths and declarations, 
 necessary to be taken and made by Protestant 
 Dissenters, as well as precedents of legal in- 
 struments, for want of which much inconvenience 
 has often been experienced. 
 
 From the preceding statement it will be ob- 
 vious, that the present volume comprehends a 
 great variety of important information ; to the 
 attentive perusal of which the Protestant Dis- 
 senters are invited, in full confidence that it will 
 not mislead them. And the Committee of De- 
 puties will consider their labours abundantly 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 recompensed, if they shall contribute to secm^ 
 and extend the interests of civil and reli- 
 gious LIBERTY. 
 
 PS. The Sketch of the History and Proceed- 
 ings of the Deputies is brought down to the 
 autumn of 1811. At the close of that year, 
 and early in 1812, applications were made to 
 the Prince Regent's ministers, by the Society 
 OF Methodists, by the Protestant Society 
 TOR the Protection of Religious Liber- 
 ty, and by the Committee of the Deputies, 
 for their consent to a repeal of the Conventicle 
 and Five- Mile Acts, and to the unequivocal 
 establishment of those privileges which the Dis- 
 senters had considered as secured to them by 
 tiic Toleration Act, and the 19 Geo. III. but 
 which had been lately in many instances in- 
 vaded by magistrates in the country. The re- 
 sult of these applications was the Statute of 
 52 Geo. III. cap. 155; the form of which was 
 jltirnished by the society of Methodists. 
 
 In the last session of Parliament, 1813, Mr. 
 William Smith succeeded in obtaining an Act 
 of Parliament, (53 Geo. III. cap. 515,) inti- 
 tuled, " An Act to relieve Persons who impugn 
 
PREFAci;.^;^^ , vii 
 
 the Doctrine of the Holy TFjn% from certain 
 Penalties ;" which has extended' t-pieration to a 
 respectable class of Protestant Dissenters,- who 
 were before tolerated by the liberality of their 
 countrymen, but not by law. 
 
 Almost the whole of this book was printed in 
 the summer of 1812, when a delay occurred in 
 the publication, in consequence of the lamented 
 death of the gentleman who had prepared the 
 legal part of it, and had superintended the 
 printing. Advantage has been taken of this 
 delay to re- compose, and consequently to re- 
 print a considerable part of the Appendix, for 
 the purpose of incorporating the enactments of 
 52 G. HI. 
 
 Mr. William Smith's Act is added to the 
 Appendix. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 SPage. 
 KETCH OF THE HiSTORY AND PROCEEDINGS 
 
 OF THE Deputies •• 1—154 
 
 Supplement, containing a brief Statement of 
 
 their legal Proceedings • loSetseq. 
 
 Unjust Demands and prosecutions • . • • 155 
 Refusals of Magistrates to execute their 
 
 Office 1<}4 
 
 Refusals of Clergy to perform their Duty i67 
 
 Parochial Disputes 171 
 
 Private Disputes • 173 
 
 A Summary of the Laws affecting Pro- 
 testant Dissenters \S3 etseq, 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Laxvs relating to Protestant Dissenters in general 185—215 
 Chap. I. Penal Laws in Force, subject to the 
 Toleration Act and subsequent Sta- 
 tutes 185 
 
 II. Eti'ect of the Toleration Act, and sub- 
 sequent Statutes, on the foregoing 
 Laws 197 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Chap.III. Penal Laws not altered by the Tole- .. 
 ration Acts • • • • • • 201 
 
 IV. Privileges under the Toleration Acts 206 
 
 V. Common Ric;hts and Duties 207 
 
 *D' 
 
 PART II. 
 
 Laws relating to Protestant Dissenting Ministers 215 — 229 
 
 Chap. I. Penal Laws in Force, subject to the 
 Toleration Act and subsequent Sta- 
 tutes 215 
 
 n. Effect of the Toleration Act, and sub- 
 sequent Statutes, on the foregoing 
 Laws • 216 ' 
 
 - — — IIL Privileges granted by the Toleration 
 Act, and subsequent Statutes, to Mi- 
 nisters of Congregrations 2*22 
 
 " IV. Oaths to be taken after Admission to 
 
 their Offices 22() 
 
 PART IIL 
 
 Jmivs relating to Protestant Dissenting Schod- 
 
 fnasters •• 229—233 
 
 Chap. I. Penal Laws in Force, subject to the 
 
 Statute 19 G. III. c-ti. 229 
 
 — - II. Effect of the Statute 19 G. III. c. 44 231 
 
 PART IV. 
 
 Laxvs relating tu the Places of IFors/iip of FrO' 
 
 test ant Disiaitcrs^ (^-c. • • • • ♦ • •••.•• 233 — 247 
 
CONTENTS. X4 
 
 rage. 
 
 Chap.L Miscellaneous Laws and llegulations, 
 concerning Places of Worship and 
 Dissenters in general 233 
 
 — II. On the liability of Places of Worship 
 
 to Rates and Taxes — Trustees of 
 Chapels— The Admission and Re- 
 moval of Ministers 2t3 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 No.}. Statute 1 W. and M. c. 18, usually 
 
 called the Toleration Act 21? 
 
 Notes — Oaths of Allegiance, Abjuration, 
 and Supremac}^, required by 1 W.and 
 M. c. 1, and 1 G. 1. stat. 2, c. 13 26'0 
 Declaration against Popery, required 
 
 by 30 C. II. c. U 262 
 
 Declaration of Fidelity for Quakers, 
 imposed by 1 G. I. c. 6 2^3 
 
 — 2. Statute 19 G. III. C.44, An Act for the 
 
 further Relief of Protestant Dissent irig 
 Ministers and Schoolmasters 265 
 
 — 3. Statute 52 G. III. c. 1 55, An Act to re- 
 
 jjeal certain Acts, and amend other Acts 
 relating to Religious Worship and As- 
 semblies , a?id Persons teaching or preach- 
 ing therein 270 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 No. 1. Form of a Trust Deed 285 
 
 ►— 2. Indictment for disturbing vi Congrega- 
 tion of Protestant Dissenters 297 
 
Xii ICONTENTS. 
 
 No. 3. Form of Application to certify a Meet- 
 ing-House 301 
 
 — 4. Form of Certificate of Birth for Regis- 
 
 tration, with Observations 305 
 
 — 5. Form of Legacy for charitable Pur- 
 
 poses, with Remarks • 309 
 
 6. Statute 58 G. III. cap. l60, Jn Act to 
 
 relieve Persotis who impugn the Doc- 
 trine of the Holy Trinity from certain 
 
 Penalties 312 
 
 Index 315 
 
SKETCH, 
 
 XhE annual appointment of Deputies, by the 
 several congregations of Presbyterians, Independ- 
 ents, and Baptists, in and within ten miles of Lon- 
 don, to protect the Civil Rights of the Protestant 
 Dissenters, originated in the following manner. 
 
 On the 9th of November, 1732, a general meet- 
 ing of Protestant Dissenters was held, at the meet- 
 ing-house in Silver-street, London, to consider of 
 an application to the legislature for the repeal of 
 the Corporation and Test Acts, At this meeting a 
 Committee of twenty-one persons was appointed, 
 to consider, and report to a subsequent meeting, 
 when, and in what manner, it would be proper to 
 make the application. Another general meeting 
 being held on the 29th of the same month, the Com- 
 mittee reported, that they had consulted many per- 
 sons of consequence in the state ; that tbey found 
 
 B 
 
!S SK"ETCir OF THE IlISTOUY A M> 
 
 every reason to believe such an application would 
 not then be successful ; and therefore could not 
 think it advisable to make the attempt. This re- 
 port was not very cordially received. The Com- 
 mittee was enlarged by the addition of four other 
 gentlemen, and instructed to reconsider the subject. 
 It was at the same time resolved, that every con- 
 gregation of the three denominations of Protestant 
 Dissenters, Presbyterians, Independents, and Bap- 
 tists, in and within ten miles of London, should 
 be recommended to appoint two Deputies ; and to 
 a general assembly of these Deputies, the Com- 
 mittee were instructed to make their report; An 
 assembly of Deputies thus appointed, was accord- 
 ingly held on the 29th of December ; and the Com- 
 mittee, after mature deliberation, were obliged to 
 make a report very similar to the former. The ob- 
 ject, however, was not abandoned. The Committee 
 was continued ; and the appointment of Deputies " 
 renewed. It soon became evident, that whatever 
 might be the fate of their attempts to procure a re- 
 peal of the Corporation and Test Acts, the Dissent- 
 ers would derive considerable advantage, in other 
 respects, from establishing a permanent body to 
 superintend their civil concerns. It was accord- 
 ingly resolved, at a general meeting of the Depu- 
 ties, held at Salter's Hall meeting-house, on the 
 14th of January, 1735-6, '' That there should be 
 an annual choice of Deputies jto take care of the 
 Civil Affairs of the Dissenters." In order to carry 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. J 
 
 this resolution into effect, it was further resolved, 
 ** That the chairman do write to the ministers of 
 the several congregations, some convenient time 
 before the second Wednesday in January next, to 
 return the names of their Deputies to him fourteen 
 days before." 
 
 The first meeting of the Deputies, elected in 
 pursuance of these resoluiions, was held at Salter's 
 If all meeting-house, January 12, 1736-7, when 
 Dr. Benjamin Avery was called to the chair.* 
 The meeting, after some preliminary business, ad- 
 journed for a fortniglit, to give each member time 
 to determine upon the most proper persons to form 
 
 * Mr. Holden had been chairman of the Committee from iis 
 first institution, in November, 1732, to the October meetin^r in 
 1736, when he resigned. 
 
 Dr. Avery continued chairman of the ]3pputies, and of their 
 Committee, from the time of his first election, for twenty-seven 
 years ; and by his indefatigable activity obtained tlie applause of 
 every person interested in the cause of the Dissenters. On the 
 death of Dr. Avery, July 23, 1764, Jasper Mauduitt, Esq. was called 
 to the chair, which he filled very honourably till his death in 1771. 
 He was succeeded by Thomas Lucas, Esq, who resigned, on ac- 
 count of ill health, in 1777. William Bowden, Esq. was then 
 elected to the office, which he sustained two years, and dying, was 
 succeeded by Nathanial Polhiil, Esq. From the death of this gen- 
 tleman in 1782, the office was held by George Brough, Esq. till 
 his death in 17B5. He was succeeded by Edward Jeffries, Esq. 
 who filled the S'tuation titl tfic vr-ar 1802, when his removal to a 
 distant county obliged him to resign ; and Ebenezer Maitland, Esq. 
 was elected in his stead. This gentleman resigned in 1805; and 
 was succeeded by the pjesent chairman, \\ iliiana Smith, Esq, 
 Weoaber of Parliament for the City of Norwich, 
 
 B 2 
 
4 SKETCH OF THE HISTORT AND 
 
 a Committee of twenty -one, on whom the principal 
 business of the year was to be devolved. Accord- 
 ingly, on the 26th of the same month, the Deputies 
 met, and elected their Committee by ballot. These 
 several elections, — of the Deputies by the congre- 
 gations, and of the Committee by the Deputies,— 
 have been continued annually from that time to the 
 present. 
 
 The Committee, appointed in 1732 to reconsider 
 the subject of an application for the repeal of the 
 Corporation and Test Acts, and to make their re- 
 port to the first assembly of Deputies, repeatedly 
 waited upon the leading men in administration ; 
 and it appears, from the minutes of their proceed- 
 ings, that such an application would at that time 
 have scarcely had a chance of success. 
 
 In the year 1735, soon after a general election, in 
 which the Dissenters had used all their efforts in 
 behalf of the existing administration, which might 
 ])e considered as the surest pledge that could be 
 given of attachment to the House of Hanover, a 
 Committee was appointed again, to consult Sir 
 llobert Walpole on the subject. He returned for 
 answer, '' That on account of the situation of 
 public affairs, both foreign and domestic. His Ma- 
 jesty's servants were not of opinion, that the time 
 was then proper ; but as the Dissenters had more 
 than once deferred their application, in deference 
 to the wishes of ministers, and in the late elections 
 kad behaved so exceedingly well^ they would leav^ 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. D 
 
 it to them to make the attempt, if the^^ saw fitting, 
 the next session." On this it was resolved to per- 
 sist ; the heads of a bill were drawn, and measures 
 taken to secure success. After many months exer- 
 tion, on the part of the Committee, the report was 
 again unfavourable. Thej say, '' From the admi- 
 nistration, so far as we know their minds, we have 
 not the least encouragement ; but on the contrary, 
 must expect opposition from them. Those mem- 
 bers of parliament, now out of power, tell us the 
 attempt will be vain unless the administration con- 
 cur, and decline giving us the promise of their as- 
 sistance." " Others," say the Committee, ^^ though 
 the number be small, declare their readiness to 
 assist us in all events." It was at length resolved, 
 that an appeal to parliament should be made ; and, 
 accordingly, on the 12th of March, 1735-6, Mr, 
 Plumer, the distinguished member for the county 
 of Iferts, moved for leave to bring in a bill for re- 
 pealing the Test and Corporation Acts. After a 
 debate of considerable length, in which he was 
 supported by a number of gentlemen, who were 
 known friends to the established church, the ques- 
 tion was lost by a majority of 251 to 123. 
 
 This defeat was not unexpected by the Com- 
 mittee. They say in a circular letter, soon after 
 it happened, that their friends in general^ who were 
 of the greatest weight and influence, dissuaded 
 them from the attempt; but that the generality of 
 B 3 
 
O SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 Dissenters being of a contrary opinion, they judged 
 it necessary to make tie experiment. 
 
 Soon after iheir regular appointment, the Com- 
 mittee of Deputies were called upon, in various 
 instances, to protect the civil rights of their bre- 
 thren. In April, 1737, some Dissenters of the 
 parish of St. Olave, Southwark, applied to them 
 respecting certain clauses, in a bill then flepen ding- 
 in parliament, for rebuilding the parish church, 
 which tended to subject the Dissenters in that parisli 
 to certain new and unreasonable rates on burials. 
 In this and two similar crises, viz. at St. Leonard's, 
 Shoreditch, and St. Mary's, Rotherhithe, the Com- 
 mittee determined to give the complainants all the 
 assistance in their power. Petitions were accord- 
 ingly drawn up and presented to the House of Com- 
 mons ; and, in each case, redress was obtained. 
 In the instance of St. Leonard's, Shoreditch, the 
 bill had actually passed into a law, without the 
 knowledge of those who considered themselves ag- 
 grieved by its several provisions ; but the parish 
 being obliged to come to parliament again for an 
 extension of their pov/ers, the business was theft 
 opposed, and all the clauses which affected the in- 
 terests of the Dissenters were repealed. 
 
 The Committee began, now, to feel the import- 
 ance of the office to which they had been appointed ; 
 and in a letter to their friends, in the several coun- 
 ties of England; dated Nov. 17, 1738, they say, 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 7 
 
 ^' You well know that the Corporation and Test 
 Acts were the important business that gave rise to 
 our thus meeting. But though this be the chief, it 
 is not the only thing we would have in view. We 
 would willingly attend to every thing that may 
 remedy or prevent any inconveniency to the cause 
 of civil and religious liberty ; and we have the sa- 
 tisfaction to inform you, that we have already seen 
 some desirable fruits of this our watchfulness and 
 care." 
 
 In reference to the bills brought into the House 
 of Commons for rebuilding the churches, they ob- 
 serve, that, '' In the first draughts of these bills 
 there were several clauses which would have sub- 
 jected many of the inhabitants of the parishes above 
 named, and particularly such of them as dissented 
 from the established church, to new and unreason- 
 able exactions : and these seemed, to us, designed 
 as precedents and rules for the drawing and mo- 
 delling all future acts of parliament of -a like na- 
 ture. These, therefore, we thouglrt it nearly con- 
 cerned us to oppose, and have been so happy as to 
 get those clauses struck out of each of the bills be- 
 fore they passed into laws. In our attendance 
 upon these affairs, we found that the want of a pro- 
 per attention and of a timely notice had manifestly 
 occasioned many of the inconveniences we have 
 laboured under. We judged it, therefore, a mat- 
 ter of great consequence to engage a solicitor, who 
 should make it a part of his stated business to ac- 
 
8 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY ANW 
 
 qnaint us with any thing that may fall under his 
 notice, which he apprehends can any way affect the 
 cause of civil and religious liberty, which the Pro- 
 testant Dissenters have always professed to have at 
 heart : and we have accordingly retained a person 
 in this character, who is thought to be well quali- 
 fied for the purpose ; and though we have had but a 
 short trial of it, yet we are already convinced, by 
 our experience, of the usefulness of this measure." 
 
 The principal occasion, however, of this letter, 
 was to communicate the information, that the De- 
 puties, at a general meeting, held on the Sth of 
 the same month, had unanimously resolved upon 
 applying to parliament, the ensuing session^ for 
 the repeal or explanation of the Corporation and 
 Test Acts ; and to entreat the zealous co-operation 
 of their friends in the country. 
 
 To forward this fresH attempt, application was 
 made to the leading members of both houses ; and 
 a treasurer was appointed to receive the voluntary 
 contributions of the several congregations, and 
 others, towards defraying the past and future ex- 
 pences of the Deputies and Committee, in their at- 
 tention to the civil affairs of the Dissenters. 
 
 A Committee having been elected, January 10, 
 1738-9, Dv, Avery was appointed the chairman, 
 and also treasurer of the fund. At an early meet- 
 ing of this Committee, some of its members were 
 instructed to prepare a paper concerning the repeal 
 of the Corporation and Test Acts ; which being 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. V 
 
 done, it was ordered to be print ed^ and a copy 
 to be delivered to each member of the House of 
 Commons. This paper was as follows : 
 
 " Reasons for repealing or e:rplainiug so 7nuch 
 of the Corporation and Test Acts, as relates 
 to the taking the Sacrament of the Lord's 
 Supper as a Qualification for Offices, 
 " ^y the Statute, \3 Car. IL cap. 1, com- 
 monly called the Corporation Act, To the end that 
 the succession in corporations may most probably 
 be perpetuated in the hands of persons well affected 
 to His Majesty and the established government, 
 It is among other things enacted. That no person 
 shall be chosen into any office of magistracy, or 
 other employment relating to corporations, who 
 shall not, within one year next before such elec- 
 tion, have taken the sacrament of the Lord's sup- 
 per according to the rites of the church of En- 
 gland. 
 
 '' By the Statute, 25 Car. II. cap. 2, commonly 
 called the Test Act, For preventing dangers that 
 may happen from Popish Recusants, It is enacted, 
 That every person who shall be admitted into office 
 or trust under His iMajesty, shall, among other 
 things there required, receive the sacrament of 
 the Lord's supper according to the usage of the 
 church of England, within three months after his 
 admittance into such office, under very severe 
 penalties. 
 
10 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 '' The Protestant Dissenters can and do readilj 
 take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy r€?- 
 quired by these acts ; but some of them scruple re- 
 ceiving: the sacrament after the manner of the 
 church of England ; and many of them refuse to 
 take the sacrament, after the manner of any church, 
 as a qualification for an office. 
 
 ^' It is humbly hoped, therefore, that so much of 
 these acts as relates to the taking the sacrament as a 
 qualification for offices, may be repealed, for the 
 following reasons : 
 
 " 1. Every man has an undoubted right to judge 
 for himself in matters of religion. No one there- 
 fore ought to be punished, by being deprived of 
 any of the common rights of subjects, and branded 
 with a mark of infamy, merely for exercising this 
 right in things that no way affect the public walfare 
 and prosperity of the kingdom. 
 
 '* 2. The sacrament of the Lord's supper was ap- 
 pointed only for religious purposes ; and the using 
 it as a qualification for civil offices, seems, in a 
 great measure, to have occasioned that disregard 
 and contempt of this institution in particular, and 
 of religion in general, of which all good men have 
 so long and justly complained, 
 
 ^'3. As the Dissenters are universally acknow- 
 ledged to be well affected to His Majesty and the 
 established government, they think it hard, that by 
 the Corporation Act they are rendered incapable of 
 lipying offices in the corporations where they live> 
 
PROCEEDl?iG.S OP THE DEPUTIES- 11 
 
 tlioug'h In many places tlicir property is at least 
 I equal to that of their neighbours ; especially since 
 many of them have been fined for not taking- upon 
 them such offices ; and in particular, as a yery large 
 jfine is novy insisted on, by the city of London, 
 from a known Dissenter, fur not serving* the office 
 of sheriff, and a prosecution for the same is ac- 
 tually commenced. 
 
 '' 4. Many persons of substance and capacity 
 being excluded by this act, the government of se- 
 veral corporations has fallen into the hands of the 
 meaner sort of people, to the great prejudice of 
 such corporations, the discouragement of industry, 
 land the decay of trade. 
 
 '' 5. The Test Act was designed wholly against 
 Popish Recusants, as tiie title shews. At that 
 time the nation thouoht itself in o-reat danger of 
 Popery, from the prince on the throne, and the pre- 
 sumptive heir. The receiving the sacrament ac- 
 cording to the usage of the church of England, 
 was then thought some security. But when cir- 
 cumstances are so much varied, and we have a 
 prince on tlie throne, and the succession fixed in a 
 house, zealously concerned to support the Protest- 
 ant religion, surely such a provision can no longer 
 be thought necessary. 
 
 ''- The Dissenters, from their zeal against Po- 
 pery, and fearing lest the Papists should have made 
 Miy ad\ antage of their refusal or opposition, ge- 
 nerously acquiesced in having this restraint laid on 
 
12 SKETCif OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 tliem, not doiibtiiig- but sucli disinterested conduct J 
 would in gratitude, justice, and good policy, have 1 
 long since intitled them to relief. 
 
 '' The Act of Toleration will hardly be thought 
 to have weakened either the Church or the State : — 
 the whole nation seems sensible of the benefits that 
 have accrued from it. The removal of this cause 
 of uneasiness will probably prove an additional 
 strength to both, and effectually secure them against 
 their only formidable enemies : for nothing seems 
 more likely to heal our divisions, put an end to 
 party names and distinctions, and unite the friends 
 of liberty, than removing these incapacities from a 
 body of men, whose dissent is founded on the right 
 of private judgement, and who are confessedly a 
 great support and security to the religion and li- 
 berties of this kingdom. 
 
 ''It is therefore humbly hoped, that those 
 clauses of these acts which require the taking the 
 sacrament as a qualification for offices, will be re- 
 pealed, or so explained as ma) be necessary to give 
 relief in the premises." 
 
 On the SOth of March, 1739, and after the printed 
 '' Reasons," &c. had been circulated among the 
 members of parliament, a motion was made in the 
 House of Commons, for leave to bring in a bill to 
 repeal so much of the Test A ct, as obliges all per- 
 sons who are admitted to any office, civil or mili- 
 tary, to receive the sacrament of the Lord's supper 
 within a time limited by the said act. 
 
PROCtEDINGS OP THE DEPUTIE.?. 13 
 
 It does not appear by whom the motion was 
 made; or who the persons were that vindicated the 
 rights of conscience on this occasion. According 
 to the Parliamentary Debates, (vol. xvii. p. 311, 
 printed in the year 1741,) the motion occasioned a 
 long debate] but the particulars of it not having 
 been made public, no farther account is given, than, 
 that in consequence of many members having re- 
 tired from parliament, and most of those concerned 
 in the administration being against the motion, it 
 was rejected by a majority of 188 to 89. Though 
 the numbers tliat divided on this occasion were 
 very different from those that had divided before, 
 yet the proportions were nearly the same, and in- 
 deed rather more unfavourable to the Dissentei-s. 
 
 Tlie Deputies were summoned for tho 11th of 
 April, to receive the report from their Com- 
 mittee : who then stated, that the motion for the 
 repeal was very well supported, by a fair and can- 
 did representation of facts, and a great variety of 
 strong and conclusive reasonings ; that the cause 
 of truth and liberty could not, as they conceived, 
 have suffered any prejudice by the motion ; but, on 
 the contrary, that it must surely be advantageous 
 to have a question of so much importance, which 
 hitherto had been too little understood, and which 
 a few years ago could hardly obtain u hearing, so 
 freely and thoroughly canvassed in such an assem- 
 bly. 
 
 G 
 
14 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 The Committee were desired to keep in view a 
 fresh application for the same ol>ject, whenever a 
 fit opportunity should offer ; and for this purpose 
 were recommended to continue and improve their 
 correspondence with the Dissenters in the country, 
 and take measures to obtain representatives from 
 them, who might be present at the annual meeting 
 of the Deputies, the first Wednesday in April. 
 
 A letter was soon afterwards circulated by the 
 Committee, giving an account of their exertions 
 and the unsuccessful issue. }n this letter, they say, 
 '' We had the satisfaction, in our application to 
 gentlemen, before the affair was brought into the 
 House, to find the greatest part of them own, that 
 what we asked was a reasonable thing." Farther 
 on, in answer to a supposed insinuation, that they 
 had been prompted by the enemies of the public 
 peace, in order to distress the administration, they 
 add, '' surely nothing can be advanced with less 
 foundation or regard to truth. The motion was 
 made and seconded, and the debate entirely sup- 
 ported, by known and approved whigs, and most 
 of such as are also upon, good terms with the ad- 
 ministration." 
 
 In October, 1739, another letter v;as circulated, 
 to give information, that a general meeting of the 
 Deputies would be holden on the first \Vednesday 
 in April, every year, to which, if the Dissenters, 
 in the several counties of England, would please^ 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPl'TfES. lo 
 
 to send persons properly. authorized, it would be 
 highly acceptable to the Deputation in London, 
 and highly serviceable to the Dissenting Interest. 
 
 Notwithstanding these steps, wliich were un- 
 doubtedly intended as preliminary to a new appli- 
 cation to parliament, nothing more v/as done in it 
 for nearly half a century. 
 
 In the course of the same year, applications were 
 made to the Committee in the case of a watch-rate 
 being levied on certain meeting-houses in London ; 
 and in the instance of Mr. Caleb Evans, who had 
 been cited to appear before the bishop of LandafF's 
 court, for keeping a school at Pontypool, in Mon- 
 mouthshire, without a licence. In answer to the 
 first of these applications, the Committee advised 
 the rate to be resisted, promising their support, 
 should the question be brought into court ; and 
 they likewise agreed to support Mr. Evans, in de- 
 fending himself against the prosecution. As nothing 
 farther appears concerning these cases, in the mi- 
 nutes of the Committee, they were probably aban- 
 doned ; when the assessors in the one instance, and 
 the prosecutors in the other, found that the Dis- 
 senters had friends both able and willing to defend 
 their rights. 
 
 At the next annual meeting in April, several 
 Deputies were returned from the country, in pur- 
 suance of the former resolutions, and tlie invitation 
 of the Committee. One of these gentleipen re- 
 quested the advice of the Deputies respecting the 
 c 2 
 
16 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 refusal of certain magistrates in Montgomerysliire, 
 to register places designed for public worship under 
 the Toleration Act. The Deputies, desirous at all 
 times of procuring the redress of grievances in the 
 most pacific and least expensive manner, laid tlie 
 case before the Attorney General, and transmitted 
 his opinion into the country; which being perfectly 
 satisfactory, as to the duty of tlie magistrates to 
 register the places, appears to have produced the 
 desired effect. In many other cases of the same 
 kind, at different periods, the Committee have been 
 obliged to apply to the Court of King*s Bench for 
 a mandamus*^ 
 
 Very soon after the appointment of the Deputies, 
 they received complaints from various quarters, of 
 clergymen refusing the rites of burial to those wlio 
 had not been baptized according to the forms of the 
 established church. In 1740 they took the opinion 
 of the Attorney General upon this subject, and 
 received instructions hovf to proceed for the future 
 in cases of the same kind. An account of the 
 course ^vhich the Committee have pursued in the 
 numerous cases t in which they have since been 
 applied to, and a full report of the judicial deter- 
 mination which the question has lately received, 
 will be found in a subsequent part of this Sketch. 
 
 * Some of these cases will be particularized in the Supplement, 
 f For particulars of many of the cases, see the Supplement, 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 17 
 
 In the montli of October, 1740, the Committee 
 of Deputies were applied to by Dr. Coleman and his 
 brethren, in New England, respecting* some in- 
 jurious claims set up against them, with regard 
 to their glebe lands. The Committee gave them 
 seasonable advice, and received a vote of thanks in 
 the following year. 
 
 The Committee of Deputies was now regarded as 
 a body qualified, by its wisdom and experience, to 
 give advice and assistance in every weighty affair 
 among the Dissenters, in all parts of the British 
 dominions. In November, 1743, a letter was trans- 
 mitted from Mr. Jonathan Law, the governor of 
 Connecticut, relating to certain disorders and con- 
 fusions, introduced by a particular class of persons, 
 in their religious services. To suppress these, the 
 American government had enacted some new sta- 
 tutes, which, it should seem, had been severely re- 
 probated by Dr. Avery. Mr. Law's letter, was a 
 long and hi])oured attempt to justify the measures 
 adopted by the government of Connecticut. To 
 this the Committee replied, in a letter so com- 
 pletely in harmony with the true principles of 
 toleration, that it seems to deserve being inserted 
 at length. 
 
 " Honoured sifj-^Your letter of November^ 1 74:3, 
 to Dr. Avery, and the papers which accompanied 
 it, have been imparted to us by the doctor : and as 
 we all feel, so your honour will allow us to express 
 our joint concern and sorrow, for the ecclesiastical 
 c 3 
 
18 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AXD 
 
 and religious disputes which prevail among the 
 inhabitants of your province. 
 
 " We all of us have a great dislike to those 
 principles which we hear, from other hands, as 
 well as from your honour's, have with too great 
 eagerness and success been propagated in those 
 parts. We see the tendency of these principles, 
 and of the way that is taken to spread them ; they 
 plainly tend to create feuds and animosities, and 
 to de&lroy that peace, unity, and mutual good will, 
 so amiable among neighbours, so essential among 
 Christians. We fear that such opinions and prac- 
 tices, as you justly complain of, will not only lead 
 many weak persons into enthusiastic delusions, but 
 will likewise much abate that spirit of industry and 
 application to business, which is well known to be 
 absolutely necessary to the prosperity of the colony. 
 
 *^ We are sensible that by the propagation of 
 such sentiments as have lately crept in among you, 
 the minds of many must be unhinged, endless 
 doubts and perplexities will arise, and scepticism 
 or infidelity seem likely to be the unhappy issue. 
 
 ** But great and manifest as these mischiefs are, 
 we cannot be of opinion that the magistrate has any 
 thing to do in this matter, but to see the public 
 peace is preserved ; that there are no riots or tu« 
 mults; and that his subjects are not allowed to 
 assault, hurt, maim, wound, plunder, or kill one 
 another in these religious contests. 
 
 *' We apprehend the making laws against these 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 19 
 
 opinions, and those who avow them, can answer no 
 valuable purpose. It is no way that God has ap* 
 pointed to inform the judgements of men, or alter 
 their way of thinking. It will neither enlighten 
 their understandings, nor procure their esteem or 
 good will. It will exasperate them — drive them to 
 a greater distance and disaffection ; and it will be 
 apt to move compassion in disinterested by-standers, 
 and thereby increase the number of those eager 
 enthusiasts and ill-informed zealots. 
 
 '' For such reasons as these, we imagine, it is, 
 that both church and state have connived at the ir- 
 regular, unseasonable, and perhaps sometimes al- 
 most tumultuous assemblies of the same kind of 
 mistaken men in this country. The governors both 
 of the state and church well know,, that they have 
 laws in being, to the penalties of which these men 
 make themselves daily obnoxious. But not one of 
 these laws has been put in execution against them, 
 ^io attempt of that nature has been made. Nay, 
 when any have olFered to abuse or disturb them in 
 their assemblies for worship, which possibly were 
 not strictly legal, the magistrate has interposed, and 
 punished such who have presumed to insult them. 
 And it is visible that this method of connivance has 
 had a very desirable effect. Expostulations and en- 
 treaties, attended with strong reasoning and a steady 
 persevering lenity and forbearance, promise great 
 good in contests of this kind. Force can do nothing 
 but mischief. 
 
20 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 ^^ We find, sir;, it is appreliended to be injurious 
 treatment, when your law, particularly that act in 
 May, 1742, is represented as of a persecuting na- 
 ture. 
 
 *' We firmly believe that your honour, and the 
 majority oF the legislature, who enacted that law, 
 did think it quite consistent with all the just rights 
 which the inhabitants of Connecticut had any claim 
 to, and that it was likely to be serviceable to the 
 country ; or else we cannot persuade ourselves that 
 you would ever have proposed, encouraged, framed 
 and passed it. 
 
 " But you must allow us to add, that this thing 
 appears to us in a very different light. The three 
 penalties, of which you seem to think and speak so 
 lightly, appear to us very grievous : we well know 
 we should think them so, were the case our own. 
 And the instances of conduct which are threatened 
 with these penalties, are not necessarily, and in 
 their own nature, violations of that public peace 
 and tranquillity which the magistrate is obliged or 
 concerned to preserve. We mean, that a man, 
 whether seitled minister, inhabitant, or foreigner, 
 may, without any breach of the public peace, cog- 
 nizable by the civil magistrate, at the request of 
 any number of its inhabitants, preach in any parish 
 or town to which he does not stand related as their 
 stated minister. And if this be not true, we cannot 
 see how Christianity at first, or the Reformation 
 since; could have claimed or obtained a fair hearing. 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. J2I 
 
 *' It may possibly not appear to the majority in 
 Connecticut any way hard or injurious, to lay a 
 restraint, by public authority, on parents and guar- 
 dians in educating their children. But we well 
 know, and shall not easily forget, what we felt on 
 a like occasion. We were greatly alarmed and 
 disquieted by an attempt, made here about thirty 
 years ago, to deprive us of the liberty of educating 
 our children in the way most agreeable to our 
 judgements and consciences. Through the good- 
 ness of God, the threatened storm blew over. The 
 act, though passed, was never executed, and was 
 soon repealed. And we have lived to hear the 
 gentlemen of the most forward zeal and greatest 
 bigotry, who were principally concerned in making 
 that attempt, reflect upon their own conduct in that 
 affair, and censure it as unreasonable and not to be 
 defended. And it cannot fail of giving us great un- 
 easiness should we hear it said, that what the most 
 zealous high church men profess now to be ashamed 
 of here, should be copied and imitated by our Pres- 
 byterian and Congregational brethren abroad, in 
 their conduct to persons of their own, or indeed of 
 any denomination of Christians. 
 
 '' In short, whether we consider this matter in a 
 religious or political light, it seems every way most 
 advisable to let these men alone, how wildly erro- 
 neous soever both you and we may take their senti- 
 ments to be. Any penalties, incapacities, fines, 
 imprisonments, banishments, or vexatious pvosc^ 
 
22 SKETCH OF THE IIISTOKY AND 
 
 cations, will not fail of being represented here, to 
 our, as well as your disadvantage. Andif on such 
 accounts as these, any such complaints should be 
 made to the king and council, we should not be 
 able, and indeed it would but ill become us to en- 
 deavour, to vindicate such proceedings. Perhaps 
 we do not know every circumstance that attends 
 your situation distinctly enough, to take upon us 
 to advise you what part it will be most prudent 
 for you to act on this occasion. But we think no- 
 thing can be more clear, than that it is absolutely 
 necessary you should avoid all kinds of rigour and 
 severity in your methods of procedure. 
 
 '^ We heartily wish you, sir, health, happiness, 
 a lasting and growing usefulness and reputation. 
 May you, sir, your council, and the House of Re- 
 presentatives, be directed from above how to be- 
 have in this arduous and critical juncture. We 
 shall rejoice to hear that the province is settled on 
 the sure and lasting foundation of truth, righteous- 
 ness, and peace. ^ — Signed in the name and by order 
 , of the Committee. B. Avery, chairman." 
 
 This letter was the means of restoring harmony 
 among the contending parties, and the wisdom of 
 the counsel contained in it, occasioned various ap- 
 plications to the Committee to obtain the redress 
 of different oppressions; in all which, either by 
 prosecuting the modes they suggested, or through 
 their influence with persons then in power, the de* 
 sired relief was obtained. 
 
rROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. S3 
 
 A still stronger proof of the reputation which the 
 Committee had acquired across the Atlantic, and 
 of their influence at home, is to be found in the 
 affair, so long- in agitation, relative to the intro- 
 duction of bishops in America. In the year 1749, 
 it was generally believed that there was a scheme 
 in contemplation to make two new bishops, one for 
 Barbadoes, and the other for Virginia, for tlie al- 
 ledged purpose of conferring orders on candidates 
 for the Christian ministry, who had been educated 
 in America, without giving them the trouble of 
 coming to England. I'he views of the establish- 
 ment, as explained by Archbishop Seeker to Sir 
 Ilobert Walpole, were, that these bishops, sent 
 over by the English government, should exercise 
 such jurisdiction, temporal as well as spiritual, 
 over the clergy of tlieir communion in America, as 
 had been conferred on the late bishop of London's 
 commissaries, or should he conferred on any future 
 commissaries. 1'his report having created much 
 alarm, and the measure appearing likely to be 
 very obnoxious and prejudicial if carried into exe- 
 cution, the Committee appointed their chairman 
 and another member to communicate their senti- 
 ments upon the subject to some of His Majesty's 
 ministers. These gentlemen accordingly waited 
 upon the Dukes of Bedford and Newcastle, the 
 Lord Chancellor, and Mr, Pelham, all of whom 
 concurred in declaring, *' that the affair was far 
 from being concluded on, and that nothing would 
 
Si SKETCH OF tHE HISTORY AND 
 
 be done in it without the maturest deliberation, 
 and that thej should be very willing to hear ob- 
 jections thereto from persons of any consequence." 
 In return for their seasonable exertions in this 
 business, the Committee received a letter of thanks, 
 in the following September, from the House of Re- 
 presentatives of the province of Massachussets Bay, 
 signed by the speaker, in which they were re- 
 quested to continue their assistance. 
 
 After this scheme had lain dormant for nearly 
 twenty years, letters were received from Massa- 
 chussets, representing, that circumstances had oc- 
 curred which excited great apprehensions there, 
 that the attempt was about to be revived with in- 
 creased vigour. A letter upon this subject, dated, 
 Boston, January 4, 17G8, and signed by four mi- 
 nisters in the name of the Congregational pastors 
 of the provinces, in which the evils that would 
 arise from such a measure were strongly pictured, 
 having reached the Committee, they had another 
 interview with several members of the administra- 
 tion ; and receiving the most positive assurances 
 that no such intention existed, had the satisfaction 
 of removing all the apprehensions which had been 
 entertained by their friends in the province. It 
 does not appear that any farther interference of the 
 Deputies, in regard to this affair, took place dur- 
 ing the few remaining years of the connexion be- 
 tween Great Britain and America. Since the sepa- 
 ration of the two countries, the introduction of 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. ?5 
 
 bishops has been partiallj carried into effect, but 
 with an entire restriction of their authority to con- 
 cerns purely ecclesiastical. The liberal and ami- 
 cable reception they met with in America, may be 
 considered as a proof that the resistance made by 
 the Dissenters originated in no principles of into- 
 lerance towards episcopacy, but simply in a just 
 fear of its influence when allied with temporal 
 power. 
 
 In December, 1741, it wa« referred to a Sub- 
 committee of the Deputies, to consider of some me- 
 thod for registering the baptisms or births of the 
 children of Protestant Dissenters ; and after many 
 discussions on the subject, it was agreed, " That 
 if a general register of the births of the children of 
 Protestant Dissenters of the three denominations, 
 could be kept where constant recourse might be had, 
 it would be of advantage to the Dissenting Inte- 
 rest." Application was made to the trustees of the 
 late Rev. Dr. Daniel Williams's estates, and per- 
 mission obtained from them, that the register 
 should be kept at their house and library, for one 
 year; and that it should be under the superin- 
 tendance of the librarian, upon a small remunera- 
 tion being made to him for his trouble. At first 
 the expence of registering the birth of a child was 
 six-pence, which sum being found inadequate to the 
 necessary expences of books, parchments, &c. it 
 has been lately increased to one shilling.* For a 
 
 * Particulars of this Register will be found in the Appendix B. No. 4, 
 
 D 
 
26 SKETCH OF THE HISTORr AND 
 
 considerable time the Dissenters did not, generally, 
 avail themselves of the advantages which were 
 likely to result from this plan ; but of late years 
 it has come much more into use, and few persons, 
 now, among the three denominations, neglect a 
 practice which may be of essential importance to 
 the children and connexions of families, concerned 
 in establishing a title to property by descent. 
 Though peculiarly designed for the accommodation 
 of Dissenters, it is equally open to all classes of 
 the community. Since the period just referred to, 
 a motion has been, and still is, annually made at 
 one of the general meetings of Dr. Williams's 
 trustees, to allow the register to be kept in their 
 library, and it is now under the superintendance of 
 their librarian, the Rev. Thomas Morgan.* 
 
 The Committee were applied to, in 1742, for 
 their advice respecting a claim of fe«s, t by a 
 clergyman, for churching the wives of Dissenters 
 in his parish, though they had not been at church; 
 for marriages, though solemnized in another parish ; 
 
 * It appears upon the minutes of the Deputies, that a general 
 Register of the births and baptisms of children was opened at the 
 Herald's Oflice ; the idea of which was probably taken from the 
 Register thus adopted by ths Dissenters. It did not, however, 
 meet with great encouragement ; and on the passing of an Act, in 
 the year 1783, for imposing a duty on the registration of baptisms, 
 was nearly abandoned, though it still is occasionally resorted to for 
 that purpose. 
 
 f See Summary of the Laws, Part 1. ch. v. 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES, 27 
 
 and for burials in the burying" ground belonging to 
 the Dissenters. The parties were recommended to 
 refuse payment, and the clergyman abandoned his 
 claim. Many similar attempts at oppression have 
 since been made, in which the advice of the Com- 
 mittee has been followed with success.* 
 
 In the year 1745, when the nation was not only 
 threatened with a serious rebellion, but when the 
 adherents of the Pretender were actually in arms, 
 and making a rapid progress towards the metro- 
 polis, the Committee of Deputies met on the 27th 
 of September, and resolved iiniinifnously, *' That 
 it be recommended to the body of Protestant Dis- 
 senters to express their utmost zeal and readiness 
 to join ^*lth'tf?»y number of His Majesty's subjects, 
 in order to support His Majesty's person and go- 
 vernment in the present time of danger, in any 
 legal way that shall be most effectual." They also 
 wrote a circular letter to all the congregations in 
 the country, a copy of which is inserted here, as a 
 proof of that steady zeal in favour of the House of 
 Brunswick, by which the Protestant Dissenters 
 have always been distinguished. 
 
 '' Sir, — The Committee of the Protestant Dis- 
 senters, in and about London, having taken into 
 their consideration the present dangerous situation 
 of affairs in these kingdoms, by reason of the un- 
 
 » For particulars of some of these cases, sue the Supplement. 
 
 d2 
 
§S SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 natural rebellion raised against Hrs Majesty, King 
 George, in favour of a Popish pretender supported 
 by the power of France, the natural and avowed 
 enemy to the religion, liberty, and trade of this 
 country, have unanimously come to the following 
 resolution, viz. : That it be recommended to the 
 body of Protestant Dissenters to express tlieir ut- 
 most zeal and readiness to join with any number 
 of His Majesty's subjects, in order to support His 
 Majesty's person and government in the present 
 time of danger, in any legal way that shall be 
 thouglit most effectuaL I am therefore directed by 
 the Committe to communicate to you the above re- 
 solution ; and they earnestly desire that you would 
 use the utmost of jour influenceefi^iiKall your 
 friends, to induce them to act in the most zealous 
 manner, agreeably thereto. — Signed by order of 
 the Committee, — Benjamin Avery, chairman." 
 
 It was, probably, in consequence of this well- 
 timed letter, that armed associations of Dissenters 
 were formed, and that some of the principal people 
 among them accepted of commissions from the 
 King. By this loyal and patriotic conduct, how- 
 ever, they became liable to the penalties of the 
 Test Act. The government, therefore, not insen- 
 sible of its obligations to their active aid, in a 
 moment of the utmost danger to the reigning fa- 
 mily, caused an Act of Indemnity to be passed, by 
 which the rebels, and those who had thus asso- 
 ciated to suppress the rebellion, were included ir^ 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 29 
 
 the same amnesty. This statute has, however, 
 been succeeded by a series of annual Acts of In- 
 demnity, that have been uniformly passed in par- 
 liament, by the operation of which the Corpora- 
 tion and Test Acts have been kept, to a certain 
 degree, suspended, from that period to the pre- 
 sent.* 
 
 The minutes of the Committee record numerous 
 cases of riots and disturbances in different parts of 
 the country, in which the Dissenters experienced 
 much ill treatment. Wherever it appeared that 
 the meeting-houses, in which the riots were ex- 
 cited, were prpperly registered, according to the 
 provi-sions of the Toleration Act, the Committee 
 readily lent their assistance in bringing the offend- 
 ers to justice. In some instances the bills of in- 
 dictment which were preferred, were thrown out 
 by the grand jury. In others, as in thercase of 
 Mr. Rees,+ a minister in Wales, whose life had 
 been in imminent danger fiom the violence of a 
 bigoted mob, it was found impossible to proceed^ 
 
 * See Saminarj' of the Laws, &c. Part I. ch. 3. 
 
 f This worthy minister was the father of the present Dr. Abra- 
 ham Rees. He used to make frequent excursions from Llanbryn- 
 maire, in Montgomeryshire, where he resided, to various parts of 
 the counties of Merioneth and Carnarvon, often travelUng by night 
 ttf avoid the assaults he was exposed to by day. Such was the 
 success of his labours, that he lived to see meeting-houses built in 
 tho^e very districts where his life had been in the most imminent 
 danger. 
 
 i>3 
 
•50 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 because no attorney in the neighbourhood could be 
 prevailed on to act, and it does not appear to have 
 occurred to the Committee, at that time, to dis- 
 patch an attorney for the purpose from London. 
 The Committee have, for the most part, however, 
 procured all the redress they desired.* The know- 
 ledge that a body existed in the metropolis, for 
 obtaining' the protection of the law in favour of 
 Dissenting' Ministers, served, in a considerable 
 degree, to restrain the violence of their persecutors. 
 The improvement, also, which their preaching pro- 
 duced in the disposition and manners of the lower 
 classes, gradually rendered it less easj for persons 
 of superior rank to find instruments to execute the 
 hostile purposes, which in those days they were too 
 ready to entertain, and did not scruple to avow. 
 
 The Committee conceived it their duty, however, 
 not to interfere in cases where the requisitions of 
 the Toleration Act had not been complied with. A 
 case of this sort occurred in 1752, at Silverton, 
 in Devoiisliire, where an insult was committed on 
 several Dissenters, by a mob, while attending the 
 public services of a Methodist preacher, in an un- 
 registered house. The grand jury having thrown 
 out the bills against the rioters^ and the rioters 
 having prosecuted the Dissenters themselves for 
 being present at an unlawful meeting, and for an 
 
 * For particulars of many of these cases, see the Supplement, 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 51 
 
 assault, application was made to the Committee, 
 who resolved, that the case appearing indefensi- 
 ble, on account of the place of meeting not having 
 been registered, they could afford no assistance^ 
 
 The experience the Committee had acquired on 
 legal subjects, and their readiness to procure the 
 best professional advice, occasioned fi-equent ap- 
 plications to them, at an early period, when dis- 
 putes arose between congregations and their minis- 
 ters, or other persons, though merely of a private 
 and local nature. A case of this sort occurred in 
 1741, where the minister of a congregation at Wol- 
 verhampton, when he was dismissed, refused to 
 deliver up possession of the meeting-house and 
 dwelling-house belonging to the congregation. A 
 bill in Chancery being filed^ at the recommenda- 
 tion of the Committee, possession was delivered up. 
 In other instances the Committee have had the sa- 
 tisfaction of procuring an accommodation of dif- 
 ferences without resorting to the courts of law.* 
 
 Several instances appear upon the minutes, about 
 this period, in which the influence of the Com- 
 mittee in parliament was vigilantly and success- 
 fully exerted, though in a private manner, for the 
 benefit of the Dissenters. In 1743, they prevented 
 the conferring upon the corporation of London, a 
 discretionary power to assess meeting-houses to a 
 
 * For further particulars, see the Supplemeat. 
 
32 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 rate for lighting the streets ; and, in 1752, pro* 
 cured the omission of an objectionable clause in 
 the Act of Indemnity. 
 
 A bout the same time, the Committee laid a case 
 before the Attorney -General, respecting a regula- 
 tion adopted by i\\e trustees of a free-school at 
 Hitchin, for excluding children who did not attend 
 at church ; tlie Attorney-General being of opinion 
 that the regulation was illegal, the trustees agreed 
 to suspend it ; and the Dissenters in the neigh- 
 bourhood received assurances that it should not be 
 carried into effect. 
 
 It is now time to give an account of the pro- 
 ceedings in what has been called the Sheriif's 
 Cause ; the commencement of which was not no- 
 ticed before, that the whole might be related 
 without interruption. In the jear 1742, Mr. 
 Robert Grosvenor, a Protestant Dissenter, who 
 had never taken the sacrament according to the 
 usage of the church of England, and who scrupled 
 to do it as a qualification for an office, was chosen 
 sheriff of London and Middlesex. The Committee 
 encouraged Mr. Grosvenor to refuse the office, 
 apprehending that the Corporation Act,* which re- 
 quires that qualification, was an effectual bar to 
 his election, and that the Toleration Act would 
 protect him in refusing to qualify. Judging this 
 
 * 13 C. 2. Stat. 3. ch. 1. See Summary of the Laws, &c. Part 1. 
 ch. 1. 
 
rROCEEDIN'GS OF THE DEPUTIES. 35 
 
 to be a point of great importance to the Dissenters, 
 not only in London, but in every corporation in 
 the kingdom, the Committee determined to support 
 him against any measures which the City might 
 pursue, to force his compliance, or punish his re- 
 fusal. They accordingly entered into a subscrip- 
 tion to defray the expences, which was soon after 
 increased by a general subscription of the Depu- 
 ties. 
 
 In the first instance, the City moved the Court 
 of King^s Bench for an information against Mr.^ 
 Grosvenor. The Committee engaged several emi- 
 nent counsel on his behalf, and the court unani- 
 mously refused the information.* The City then 
 brought an action of debt against him, which they 
 shortly afterwards abandoned. Here the affair 
 ended for a time ; and when fresh attempts were 
 made, they appear to have been rendered unavail- 
 ing by the vigilance and activity of the Committee. 
 
 The City, being at length convinced that the 
 existing bye-laws could not reach the Dissenters, 
 in the year 1748 made a new law, with a view, as 
 they alledged, of procuring fit and able persons to 
 serve the office of sheriff: and thereby imposed a 
 fine of four liundred pounds and twenty marks 
 upon every person, who, being nominated by the 
 Lord Mayor, should decline standing the election 
 at the Common-hall ; and six hundred pounds upoa 
 
 « This is reported in Strange, 1193. 
 
,14 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 every one who, being elected by the Common-hall, 
 should refuse to serve the office. It was notorious 
 that this bye-law was contrived for the double pur- 
 pose of oppressing' the Dissenters, and raising 
 money. The fines were expressly appropriated to- 
 wards defraying the expence of building the Man- 
 sion-house. Many Dissenters were nominated and 
 elected to the office, not because their services 
 were wanted, — for some were wholly incompetent, 
 through age or infirmity, — but because it was 
 known they would rather submit to the fine, than 
 serve an office, for which, they supposed, they 
 were disqualified by law, except upon a condition 
 with which they could not conscientiously comply. 
 Numbers of them, accordingly, paid their fines; 
 and above fifteen thousand pounds were thus ob- 
 tained by the corporation of London. 
 
 The oppression growing so serious, the legality 
 of this bye-law, and the proceedings under it, be- 
 came the subject of anxious consideration : and as 
 the Corporation Act had enacted, that no person 
 should be capable of serving an office in a corpora- 
 tion, who had not taken the sacrament according 
 to the usage of the church of England, within a 
 year previous to his election, and the Toleration 
 Act appeared to have removed all the penal conse- 
 quences of non-conformity, it was thought this 
 system of exaction might be effectually resisted. 
 
 In 1754, three Dissenters, Messrs. Sheafe, Streat- 
 ^eld, and Evans^ were elected to this office ; and 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 35 
 
 on applying- to the Committee for advice, were en- 
 couraged to refuse serving-. The City, upon their 
 refusal, brought separate actions of debt against 
 each, in the Sheriff's Court, the judges of which 
 are persons appointed by the Common Council, 
 Tliat against Mr. Streatfield could not be main- 
 tained, as he was found to be out of the jurisdic- 
 tion ; and the City refused to accept his offer cf 
 trying the merits of the cause in the courts above. 
 The actions, however, against Messrs. Sheafe and 
 Evans, were carried on ; and after mut:h delay and 
 expence (the City having made it necessary for the 
 defendants to apply to the Court of Chancery for 
 authority to inspect the books of the corporation 
 upon the subject) both causes came on for judge- 
 ment in September, 1757, and were determined in 
 favour of the City. The defendants then brought 
 writs of error, returnable in the Court of Hustings, 
 of which the Recorder of London is sole judge, and 
 where the former judgements were affirmed in 
 October, 1759, The defendants then sued out a 
 special commission to examine and correct errors, 
 directed to Lord Chief Justice Willes, Lord Chief 
 Baron Parker, Mr. J. Foster, Mr. J. Bathurst and 
 Mr. J. VVilmot. The records being brought by 
 certiorari before this court, called the Court of St. 
 Martin's, from having been formerly held in the 
 church of St. Martin's le Grand, counsel were 
 heard several days, partly at Serjeant's Inn Hall, 
 partly at Guildhall; and at length, the several 
 
36 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 commissioners, with the exception of Chief Justice 
 Willes, who died before judgement was given, de- 
 livered their opinions seriaiim^ July 5, 1762, at 
 Guildhall, and unanimously reversed the judge- 
 ments of the Shei'iff's Court and Court of Hustings, 
 in both causes. 
 
 The opinions of the judges were taken down in 
 short hand, and are preserved at length in the 
 minutes of the Committee, (vol. 1. p. 518—548); 
 Their respective arguments contained very judi- 
 cious and forcible reasonings in support of their 
 decision ; all of them declaring, that the operation 
 of the Toleration Act extended not only to remove 
 the direct penalties^ but also the guilt of non-con- 
 formity. In Mr. Justice Foster's argument, taken 
 from his own notes,* are the following observa- 
 tions : 
 
 '^ It hath been said, that the construction now 
 contended for is over-partial to the Dissenters; it 
 cxcuseth them from offices of burthen. But doth 
 it not at the same time exclude them from all offices 
 attended with honour and profit ? And it would 
 sound extremely harsh to say, that the same law 
 which, for the reasons given in the preamble, ex- 
 cludes them from the one, as persons unworthy 
 of public trust, hath still left them liable to the 
 
 * These notes were communicated by Michael Dodson, Esq. the 
 nephew to this excellent judge, to Dr. Funieaux ; and published ia 
 the second edition of the Doctor's Letters to Mr. J. Blackstone. 
 See DodsorCs Life of Sir M, Foster , p. «,9. 
 
PROCEEDINGS OP THE DEPtJTIES. 3T 
 
 other, be the trust that attends the office what it 
 may. The shrievalty is indeed an office of burthen, 
 but we all know that it is likewise an office of great 
 importance and signal trust. The present defendant 
 hath properly pleaded it, (the Toleration Act) and 
 shewn himself intitled to tlie benefit of it. And he 
 doth not plead it in order to excuse one fault by 
 another^ but in order to shew that the Rubric which 
 requires all persons to communicate with the esta- 
 blished church three times at least in the year, i» 
 not now obligatory on liim. The Toleration Act, 
 he saith, hath taken away the force and effect of 
 the Rubric with regard to him. Whether it hath 
 or hath not done this remains to be considered. 
 And I am clearly of opinion with my ]>rothers who 
 have spoken before me, that it hath. Thjs opinion 
 I ground, not barely on some particular branches 
 of the Act, but likewise on the spirit and general 
 frame and tenor of it. It is not to be considered 
 merely as an act of connivance and exemption from 
 the penalties of former laws ; it doth, in my opinion^ 
 declare the public worship among Protestant Dis- 
 senters to be warranted by law, and intitled to the 
 public protection. It no less than four times, upon 
 different occasions, speaks of the religious worship 
 practised among them as a mode of worship per- 
 mitted and allowed by that act. What is tliis but 
 saying, that it is warranted by law ? The magis- 
 trate may sometimes connive, where he cannot 
 punish or reform; but what the legislature per- 
 
3S SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 mits, allows, and takes under its protection, ceasetli 
 from that moment to be an offence. 1 conclude, 
 therefore, that the Corporation Act being- prohi- 
 bitory on the electors, every election made in con- 
 travention to it, with notice of the incapacity of 
 the candidate, and of his legal excuse founded on 
 the Toleration Act, is a mere nullity: and that the 
 Act having- dispensed with the defendant's con- 
 formity to the Rubric, the judgement against him 
 must be reversed." 
 
 The corporation, however, not contented with 
 this solemn decision, brought both the causes, by 
 writ of error, before the House of Lords ; but Mr. 
 Sheafe dying, only one of them, intitled Sir Tho- 
 mas Harrison, Knt. Chamberlain of the City of 
 London, against Allen Evans, Esq. came on to a 
 hearing. On the 21st and 22nd of January, 1767, 
 this cause was argued at the bar of the House of 
 Lords, by Mr. Yorke and Sir Fletcher Norton for 
 the plaintiff, and Mr. Attorney General De Grey 
 and Mr. Solicitor General Willes for the defendants. 
 Lord Mansfield tlien observed to their lordships, 
 that he knew no difference between a person's being 
 elected.) and being duhy elected; and that no person 
 who had not taken the sacrament according to the 
 rites of the church of England within twelve montlis 
 before, was eligible to a corporation office, what- 
 ever might be his motive. He said he was desirous, 
 however, that their lordships might draw the line 
 between the bonajide Dissenter and the occasional 
 
phoceedings of the deputies. 3i) 
 
 Conformist, IheTnfidel and the Profligate; asd that 
 it might be so determined in their journals, as to 
 prevent all future application to parliament, either 
 from corporations or bona fide Dissenters. He 
 would therefore propose, with their lordships' leave^ 
 tlie following- question to be put to the judges: viz. 
 *' Whether, upon the facts admitted by the plead- 
 ings in this cause, the defendant is at liberty, or 
 should be allowed, to object to the validity of his 
 election, on account of his having not taken the 
 sacrament according- to the rites of the church of 
 England within a year before, in bar of this ac- 
 tion." 
 
 On the Srd and 4th of February, all the judge 
 who had not sat as commissioners, (except Mr. J. 
 Yates, who was ill, and Lord Mansfield himself) 
 delivered their answers and reasons, seriathn^ be- 
 ginning with the junior, according to the usual 
 course where there is a difference of opinion. These 
 judges were Mr. Justice Hewitt, Mr. Justice Aston, 
 Mr. Justice Gould, Mr. Baron Adams, Mr. Baron 
 Smythe, Mr. Justice Clive, and Mr. Baron Perrott. 
 All, except Mr. Baron Perrott, were full and clear 
 in stating it as their opinion, " That the defendant 
 is at liberty, and should be allowed to object to 
 the validity of his election on account of his hav- 
 ing not taken the sacrament according to the rites 
 of the church of England within a year before^ in 
 bar of the action." 
 
 Lprd Mansfield then rose in his place, as a peer, 
 E 2 
 
40 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 and delivered a most nervous and eloquent speech^ 
 which is recorded in the minutes of the Committee, 
 and which was afterwards published, with his lord- 
 ship's permission, by Dr. Philip Furneaux, as an 
 appendix to his Letters to Mr. Justice Blackstone.* 
 A few extracts may not improperly be inserted here. 
 
 *' In moving," said his lordship, " for the opinion 
 of ilie judges, I had two views. The first was, 
 that the House might have the benefit of their as- 
 fjistance, in forming a right judgement in this cause 
 before us. The next was, that the question being 
 fully discussed, the grounds of our judgement, to- 
 gether with their exceptions, limitations^ and re- 
 strictions, might be clearly and certainly known, 
 as a rule, to be followed hereafter;, in all future 
 cases of tlie like nature." Here his lordship stated 
 the question, and continued, '* In every view in 
 which I have been able to consider the matter, I 
 think this action cannot be supported. 
 
 *' If they rely on the Corporation Act, by the 
 literal and express provision of that Act no person 
 can be elected who hath not within a year taken 
 the sacrament in the church of England : tlie de- 
 fendant hath not taken the sacrament within the 
 year; he is not therefore elected.— Here they fail. 
 
 " If they ground it on the general design of the 
 legislature in passing the Corporation Act, the de- 
 
 * It is stated by Mr. Dodsoti, that this speech was brought away, 
 rmmoriter, by Dr. Furneaux, 
 
PROCEEDIXGS OF THE DEPUTIES 41 
 
 Sign was to exclude Dissenters from office, and 
 disable them from serving. For in those times, 
 when a spirit of intolerance prevailed, and severe 
 measures were pursued, the Dissenters were re- 
 puted and treated as persons ill-affected and dan- 
 gerous to the o-overnment : the defendant, therefore, 
 a Dissenter, and in the eye of tliis law a person 
 dangerous and ill-affected, is excluded from office, 
 and disabled from serving. — Here they fail. 
 
 'Mf they ground the action on their own bye- 
 law ; since that law was professedly made to pro- 
 cure fit and able persons to serve the office, and 
 the defendant is not fit and able, being expressly 
 disabled by statute law : — here too they fail. 
 
 '' If they ground it on his disabilitj^being owing 
 to a neglect of taking the sacrament at church, 
 when he ought to have done it ; the Toleration Act 
 having freed the Dissenters from ail obligation to 
 take the sacrament at church, the defendant is 
 guilty of no neglect, no criminal neglect, — Here 
 therefore they fail." 
 
 liis lordship then took up all the objections and 
 arguments produced by Mr. Baron Perrott, to which 
 he gave the most masterly and decisive answers. 
 '' it is now,", said his lordship, ^' no crime for a 
 man to say he is a Dissenter ; nor is it any crime 
 for him not to take the sacrament according to the 
 rites of the church of England : nay, the crime is 
 if he does it contrary to the dictates of his con- 
 science. 
 
 E 3 
 
42 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 '' If it is a crime not to take the sacrament at 
 cliurch, it muRt be a crime bj some law; which 
 must be either common or statute law, the canon 
 law enforcing* it depending wholly upon the statute 
 law. Now the statute law is repealed as to per- 
 sons capable of pleading that they are so and so 
 qualified ; and therefore the canon law is repealed 
 with regard to those persons. If it is a crime by 
 common law, it most be so either by usage or prin- 
 ciple. There is no usage or custom, independent 
 of positive law, which makes non -conformity a 
 crime. The eternal principles of natural religion 
 are part of the common law : the essential princi- 
 ples of revealed religion are part of the common 
 law ; so that any person reviling, subverting, or 
 ridiculing them, may be prosecuted at common law. 
 But it cannot be shewn from the principles of na- 
 tural or revealed religion, that^ independent of 
 positive law, temporal punishments ought to be in- 
 flicted for mere opinions with respect to particular 
 modes of worship. Persecution for a sincere, though 
 ei*roneous conscience, is not to be deduced from 
 reason or the fitness of things ; it can only stand 
 upon positive law. it hath been said, that " this 
 being a matter between God and a man's own con- 
 science, it cannot come under the cognizance of a 
 jury." But certainly it may: and though God 
 alone is the absolute judge of a man's religious pro- 
 fession, and of his conscience, yet there are some 
 Biarks even of sincerity; among which there i% 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES, 43 
 
 none more certain than consistency. Surely a 
 man's sincerity may be judged of by overt acts. 
 It is a just and excellent maxim, which will hold 
 good in this as in all other cases, " By their fruits 
 ye shall know them." Do they — I do not say go 
 to meeting now and then — but do they frequent the 
 meeting-house ? Do they join generally and stated- 
 ly in divine worship with Dissenting congrega- 
 tions ? Whether they do or not, may be ascer- 
 tained by their neighbours, and by those who fre- 
 quent the same places of worship. In case a man 
 hath occasionally conformed for the sake of places 
 of trust and profit, in that case, I imagine, a jury 
 would not hesitate in their verdict. Ifa man then 
 alledges he is a Dissenter, and claims the protec- 
 tion and the advantages of the Toleration Act, a 
 jury may justly find, that he is not a Dissenter 
 within the description of the Toleration Act, so far 
 as to render his disability a lawful one. If he takes 
 the sacrament for his interest, the jury may fairly 
 conclude, that his scruple of conscience is a false 
 pretence when set up to avoid a burthen. The 
 defendant in the present cause pleads, that he is a 
 Dissenter within the description of the Toleration 
 Act; that he hath not taken the sacrament in the 
 church of England within one year preceding the 
 time of his supposed election, nor ever in his whole 
 life; and that he cannot in conscience do it. Con- 
 science is not controllable by human laws^ nor 
 amenable to human tribuoals. Persecution^ or at- 
 
44 SKETCH Of THE niSTORY AND 
 
 tempts to force conscience, will never produce con- 
 viction; and are only calculated to make hypo- 
 crites, or martyrs. My lords, there never was a 
 single instance from the Saxon times down to our 
 own, in which a man was ever punished for erro- 
 neous opinions concerning' rites or modes of wor- 
 ship, but upon some positive law. The common 
 law of England, which is only common reason 
 or usage, knows of no prosecution for mere 
 opinions. For atheism, blasphemy, and reviling 
 the Christian religion, there have been instances 
 of persons prosecuted and punished upon the com- 
 mon law; but bare non-conformity is no sin by the 
 common law : and all positive laws inflicting any 
 pains or penalties for non- conformity to the esta- 
 blished rites and modes, are repealed by the Act of 
 Toleration ; and Dissenters are thereby exempted 
 from all ecclesiastical censures. What bloodshed 
 and confusion have been occasioned from the reign 
 of Flenry the Fourth, when the first penal statutes 
 were enacted, down to the Revolution in this king- 
 dom^ by laws made to force conscience ! There is 
 nothing certainly more unreasonable, more incon- 
 sistent with the rights of human nature, more con- 
 trary to the spirit and precepts of the Christian re- 
 ligion, more iniquitous and unjust, more impolitic^ 
 than persecution. It is against natural religion, 
 revealed religion, and sound policy. Sad expe- 
 rience, and a large mind, taught that great man, 
 the President De Thou, this doctrine. Let any 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DETUTIES. 43^ 
 
 man read the many admirable things which, though 
 a Papist, he hath dared to advance upon the subject, 
 in the dedication of his History to Harry the Fourth 
 of France, (which I never read without rapture), 
 and he will be fully convinced, not only how cruel, 
 but how impolitic, it is, to persecute for religious 
 opinions. , I am sorry, that of late his countrymen 
 have begun to open their eyes, see their error^ and 
 adopt his sentiments. I should not have broke my 
 heart, (I hope I may say so without breach of 
 Christian charity), if France had continued to 
 cherish the Jesuits, and to persecute the Hugue- 
 nots. There was noi occasion to revoke the Fdict 
 of Nantz : the Jesuits needed only to have advised 
 a plan gimilar to what u contended for in the pre- 
 sent case : — make a law to render them incapable 
 of office; — make another to punish them for not 
 nerving. If they accept, punish them, (for it is 
 admitted on ail hands, that the defendant, in the 
 cause before your lordships, is prosecutable for tak- 
 ing the office upon him) : if they accept, punish 
 them; if they refuse, punish them ; if they say yes, 
 punish them ; if they say no, punish them. My 
 lords, this is a most exquisite dilemma, from which 
 there is no escaping ; it is a trap a man cannot get 
 out of: it is as bad a persecution as that of Pro- 
 crustes : — if they are too short, stretch them ; if 
 they are too long, lop them. Small would have 
 been their consolation to have been gravely told, 
 the Edict of Nantz is kept inviolable ; you hav* 
 
.46 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY A^B 
 
 the full benefit of that Act of Toleration ; you may 
 take the sacrament in your own way with impu- 
 nity ; you are not compelled to go to mass. Was 
 this case but told in the City of London as of a 
 proceeding in France, how would they exclaim 
 against the Jesuitical distinction 1 And yet in truth 
 it comes from themselves : the Jesuits never thought 
 of it; when they meant to persecute, their Act of To- 
 leration, the Edict of Nantz, was repealed. This 
 bye-law, by which the Dissenters are to be reduced 
 to this wretched dilemma, is a bye-law of the City, 
 a local corporation, contrary to an act of parlia- 
 ment, which is the law of the land ; a modern 
 bye-law, of very modern date, made long since 
 the Corporation Act, long since the Toleration Act, 
 in the face of them : for they knew these laws were 
 in being. It was made in some year of the reign 
 of the late King : I forget which ; but it was made 
 about the time of hirUdins: the Mansio?i'house. 
 Now if it could be supposed the City have a 
 power of making such a bye-law, it would entirely 
 subvert the Toleration Act, the design of which 
 was to exempt the Dissenters from all penalties 5 
 for by such a bye-law they have it in their power to 
 make every Dissenter pay a fine of six hundred 
 pounds, or any sum they please ; for it amounts to 
 that. The professed design of making this bye- 
 Jaw, was to ^ai fit and able persons to serve the 
 office : and the plaintiff sets forth in his declara- 
 tion, that if the Dissenters are excluded^ they shall 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 47 
 
 want fit and able persons to serve the office. But 
 were 1 to deliver my own suspicion, it would be, 
 that they did not so much wish for their services, 
 as for their fines. Dissenters have been appointed 
 to this office, one who was blind, another who was 
 bed-ridden ; — not, I suppose^ on account of their 
 being fit and able to serve the office. No ; they 
 were disabled both by nature and by law. AV'e 
 had a case lately, in the courts below, of a person 
 chosen mayor of a corporation, while he was be- 
 yond the seas, with His Majesty's troops in Ame- 
 rica ; and they knew him to be so. Did they want 
 him to serve the office? No; it was impossible. 
 But they had a mind to continue the former mayor 
 a year longer, and to have a pretence for setting 
 aside him who was now cliosen, on all future oc- 
 casions, as having been elected before. In the 
 cause before your lordships, the defendant was by 
 law incapable at the time of his pretended election : 
 and it is my firm persuasion, that he was chosen be- 
 cause he was incapable. If he had been capable, 
 he had not been chosen ; for they did not want 
 him to serve the office. They chose him, because 
 without a breach of the law, and an usurpation on 
 the crown, he could not serve the office. They 
 chose him, that he might fall under the penalty of 
 their bye-law, made to serve a particular purpose : 
 in opposition to which, and to avoid the fine 
 thereby imposed, he hath pleaded a legal disabi- 
 lity, grounded on two acts of parliament. As I am 
 
48 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY A?f!i 
 
 of opinion that his plea is good, I conclude with 
 moving your lordships^ that the judgement be 
 affirmed." 
 
 The judgement was immediately affirmed nemine 
 contradicente : which was accordingly entered on 
 the journals in the following words : '' Mercurii, 
 4th of February, 1767 ^ It is ordered and adjudged, 
 by the lortls, spiritual and temporal, in parliament 
 assembled, that the judgement given bj tiie Com- 
 missioners' Delegates, appointed to hear the errors 
 in a judgement given in the SherilFs Court, Lon- 
 don, and affirmed by the Court of Hustings, re- 
 versing the judgement of the said Sheriff's Court 
 and Court of Hustings, be, and the same is hereby 
 affirmed; and that the record be remitted."* 
 
 By this decision, the important question, in 
 wliich the property, not to say the liberties, and 
 even the Jives of Protestant Dissenters were so 
 much involved, was finally set at rest. 
 
 At the first meeting of the Committee after the 
 decision, the chairman gave an ample report of the 
 whole business ; and lie added, that several of the 
 noble lords were disposed to give the Committee 
 costs, and that he had, on such a hint being thrown 
 out, furnished one of them with an account of the 
 various artifices employed by the City to increase 
 their expences, in the hope that the Committee 
 
 • Lord's Journ. Kxxi. 475. Reported in 3 Bro. Pail. Ca. 465^ 
 Slid edition. 
 
PJIOCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES;. 49 
 
 would be tired out, and compelled to give up the 
 contest. When, however, that nobleman in- 
 quired whether a motion should be made for costs, 
 the chairman, in the name of the Committee, in- 
 formed his lordship, that as the House of Lords 
 never allows more costs than £ 200,* and as the 
 suit, though carried on in a single name, was of 
 a public nature, they were not desirous of pressing 
 that claim. 
 
 The chairman having through the whole business, 
 which had lasted so many years, been exceedingly 
 active in promoting its success, the Committee una- 
 nimously voted him their thanks. 
 
 At a general meeting of the Deputies, on the 
 11th of March, 1767, the chairman delivered an 
 excellent addi'ess, in reference to the recent triumph 
 of the Dissenters, and \\\q general prosperity of 
 their concerns. He particularly observed their ob- 
 ligation to the favour of Providence, in lengthen- 
 ing out '^ the dying life of the defendant," Mr. 
 Evans, just far enough to sustain the cause till it 
 was judicially determined. Mr. Evans's life was 
 at that time so precarious, and an object of such 
 importance to the Dissenters, that numerous in- 
 quiries were continually made at his house respect- 
 
 * The House of Lords enforces payment of the costs of appeal 
 by means of a recognizance to the King, which the appellant is re- 
 quired to en<er into, in the penalty of ^200, conditioned for the 
 payment of such costs as the 1 lease shall appoint, in case the ap- 
 j)eal is disallowed.— Or^fr, 27th January, i71U. 
 
 F 
 
50 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 ing' the state of bis liealtb. ' lie was sufficiently 
 sensible, when the cause was determined, to re- 
 ceive the information, and to express, witJi a faint 
 smile and faultering accents, the satisfaction it 
 afforded him in the immediate prospect of death. 
 He was a man of considerable opulence, and great 
 respectability ; and had been several years a mem- 
 ber of the Committee. 
 
 The Committee were appealed to, about the year 
 1770, respecting some differences among a congre- 
 gation of Dissenters at Shrewsbury, as to the 
 choice of an assistant minister. The adherents of 
 one candidate applied for the assistance of the Com- 
 mittee in regard to the temporalities belonging to 
 the congregations, alledging that the other had 
 been elected by a minoritj^ On this, the Com- 
 mittee directed their secretary to write for a state- 
 ment from the other party, with properly authenti- 
 cated documents. Before any progress could be 
 made in the investigation, the elected candidate 
 died ; and the chairman of the Committee wrote to 
 one of the principal people connected witli the 
 congregation, urging him by all means to endea- 
 vour to unite both parties. The Committee highly 
 approving of his conduct, came to tlie follov^^ing 
 unanimous resolution, which is strongly recom- 
 mended to the attention of those who may in future 
 be interested in similar cases : 
 
 '' That it is the opinion of this Committee, that 
 differences like those above mentioned, weaken 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 51 
 
 the Dissenting Interest, and tend to bring* Dis- 
 senters into contempt ; and strengthen the hands of 
 those who watch opportuninies to dissolve the De- 
 putation : — a Deputation that reflects great honour 
 on the Dissenters ; and has been of the utmost 
 utility and advantage to the Dissenting Interest, 
 and without which several of their congregations 
 must have fallen a prev to their adversaries. For 
 Providence has, in several instances, fivoured tlie 
 attempts of the Deputation and Committee, to de- 
 fend the legal civil rights of the Dissenters against 
 oppression. This is their proper bussiness, and no 
 to settle disputes and controversies in particular 
 churches, which should be always adjusted with a 
 spirit of meekness and humility by the congrega 
 tions themselves, or their friends and neighbours 
 
 "" That as it is the undoubted right of every con- 
 gregation of Protestant Dissenters in England to 
 choose their minister, they have also the sole right 
 to fix the qualificalioils of an elector. — And there- 
 fore it is the opinion and resolution of this Com- 
 mittee, that it be recommended to the congregation 
 at Shrewsbury, and to all other congregations, that 
 before they coipe to the choice of a minister, it 
 should be plainly settled by them what kind of 
 persons should have a vote." 
 
 At a meeting of the Committee, in March, 1772, 
 the Rev. ivlr. Pickard, Dr. Furneaux, and Dr , 
 Stennett, deputed by the general body of Pro- 
 testant Dissenting ministers, attended to solicit 
 F 2 
 
52 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 advice and assistance^ in an application to parlia- 
 ment, for taking off the subscription required, by 
 the Toleration Act^ from Protestant Dissenting mi- 
 nisters, and to obtain relief in the case of tutors 
 and schoolmasters. 
 
 By the Toleration Act, Protestant Dissenting mi- 
 nisters were exempted from the penal laws made 
 against non-conformity, onlj on condition of taking 
 the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, subscribing 
 the declaration against Popery, and subscribing 
 also the articles of the church of England, except- 
 ing the 34th, S5th, .S6th, and part of the 20th. Of 
 course those who could not subscribe the doctrinal 
 articles of the church of Er?gland were, at the period 
 in question, excluded from all the benefit of the Act 
 of Toleration, subjected to the most grievous re- 
 strictions, and liable to severe punishments by fine 
 and imprisonment.* 
 
 To relieve persons of this description, the minis- 
 ters resolved to apply to parliament, and, instead 
 of subscription to the articles, they proposed to 
 make tlie following declaration : '' That we believe 
 that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Tes- 
 tament contain a revelation of the mind and will of 
 God, and that we receive them as the rule of our 
 faith and practice." To assist them in this affair, 
 they had recourse to the Committee of Deputies, 
 who unanimously approved of the application, and 
 expressed their hearty concurrence. 
 
 See Summary of the Laws, &c. Fart II. 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. OJ 
 
 In the month of April, a bill was brought into the 
 House of Commons, hy Sir Henry Floghton, for 
 the farther relief of the Protestant Dissenters, and 
 was seconded by Sir George Saville. The adminis- 
 tration supporting the measure, and bearing ample 
 testimony to the loyalty and affection of the Dis- 
 senters, the bill passed the House of Commons. 
 But in the upper House, though zealously support- 
 ed by tJie Lords Mansfield, Camden, Chatham, 
 Shelburne, &c., it was lost by a majority of S6 to 
 28. '' It is no reflection," says the editor of the 
 Parliamentary History and Debates of that period, 
 " to say, that the ability of the speakers, and the 
 force of argument, were on the side of the bill." 
 Besides the noble lords already mentioned, the 
 Dukes of Richmond, Devonshire, Portland, Nor- 
 thumberland, Athol, and Newcastle : the Marquis 
 of Rockingham : the Earls of Coventry, Tanker- 
 ville, Talbot, Hardwicke, Besborough, Bucking- 
 hamshire, and Northinton : the Viscounts Say and 
 Sele, and Torrington : and the Lords Despencer, 
 Romney, Lyttleton, Trevor, and Milton, and the 
 Bishop of Lincoln, divided in favour of the bill to 
 give further relief to the Dissenters. 
 
 Seven years after this, the Bishop of Exeter, Dr. 
 Ross, in his Sermon before the House of Lords, 
 January SO, 1779, openly and handsomely express- 
 ed his wish that religious toleration were extended, 
 and that Protestant Dissenters might have a legal 
 security for the free exercise of their worship. This 
 f3 
 
54 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 hint was not suffered to be lost ; and on the 10th 
 of March Sir Henry Hoghton, after an excellent 
 speech in favour of an extended relief to Dissenters, 
 moved, — "That the House do resolve itself into 
 a Committee, to consider of granting further relief 
 to Protestant Dissenting Ministers and Schoolmas- 
 ters." The motion was ably supported, and carried 
 without a division. 
 
 The bill was accordingly brought in again, and 
 passed into a law with little opposition. By thjs 
 act,* Dissenting Schoolmasters were at length re- 
 lieved from the penalties + to which they had been 
 exposed for not being licensed by the bishop, or 
 taking the sacrament at church. The Committee, 
 though they could affbrd no protection, had very 
 liberally furnished legal advice and pecuniary 
 assistance, in numerous cases of this description, 
 in which they had been solicited to interfere. 
 
 On the 19th of January, 1776, a case of great 
 oppression was brought before the Committee. At 
 HackletoU; in Northamptonshire, there was a meet- 
 ing-house, at which about two hundred persons, 
 chiefly poor people and labourers, usually attended; 
 who, on account of their poverty, had been obliged 
 to mortgage the house for £40. The money had 
 been called in on the preceding Christmas, and as 
 they \\ ere unable to raise the sum, the lady of the 
 
 * 19 Geo. 3. c. 44. — See the Act in Appendix As 
 t See Summary of the Laws, Part III. 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 55 
 
 manor, an enemy to the Dissenters, endeavoured to 
 get the mortgage into her own hands, with a view 
 of converting the place of worsliip to some other 
 purpose. The same lady had aheady turned se- 
 veral poor families out of their dwellings for attend- 
 ing the meeting : had beat down a w all belonging 
 to the meeting-house premises, grubbed up a hedge, 
 and made a carriage road, where it could be proved 
 there had been no road for eighty years. The Com- 
 mittee immediately directed their secretary to ac- 
 quaint the lady that if she did not repair the damage 
 done to the ground, and make satisfaction to the 
 parties, an action would be commenced. It is pro- 
 bable that, by this time, she was aware of the im- 
 propriety of her conduct, and compromised the 
 matter ; as by the advice of the minister of the 
 place, nothing further was done by the Committee. 
 Information was laid before the Committee, May 
 31, 1776, that Mr. Austin, a Baptist minister, at 
 Sutton Coldfield, liad been appointed to serve the 
 office of overseer of the poor, although he carried 
 on no trade,* and had qualified agreeably to the 
 Toleration Act. Doubts having arisen as to the 
 best mode of proceeding, the Committee directed 
 a case to be drawn and submitted to counsel : who 
 advised Mr. Austin not to appeal to the Quarter 
 Sessions against the order of the two justices, as 
 
 * Carrying on trade makes no difference in this respect. — Se« 
 Summary of the Laws, Part IJ, ch. 3. 
 
56 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 the parish would then have no remedy but by in- 
 dicting him for not taking upon him the office of 
 overseer ; and, in case an indictment should be 
 found at the Sessions, to remove it bj certiorari^ 
 that it might be tried at the next assizes, and to 
 plead the Toleration Act. Mr. Austin was accord- 
 ingly indicted ; he pleaded as he had been advised, 
 and counsel were retained by the Committee on. his 
 behalf. The prosecutors, seeing that the defence 
 was indisputable, did not venture to try the cause, 
 nor did they even reply to the defendant's plea : 
 he accordingly signed judgement, Avhich put an end 
 to the affair. 
 
 The Committee have from time to time had before 
 them several cases relating to marriage. In 1769, 
 a clergyman, in the county of Durham, refused to 
 marry a couple, because they were born of Baptist 
 parents, and had not been baptized. The young 
 people having, as they imagined, no other resource, 
 were married in Scotland ; but on their return, the 
 clergyman demanded his fees, for a duty which he 
 had refused to perform; The fees being denied him, 
 he actually instituted proceedings in the Spiritual 
 Court ; but on the interference of the Committee, 
 the matter was dropped. 
 
 In 1777, the Committee were applied to for ad- 
 vice and assistance, in a case where a couple had 
 been married in a meeting-house, at Barton on the 
 Beans, Leicestershire, so long ago as the year 1752. 
 Some question of property rendering it necessary 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF'tHE DEPUTIES. 67 
 
 that the validity of the marriage should be ascer- 
 tained, application was made to the Committee, who 
 immediately determined that it did not come under 
 their cognizance : the Dissenters having no right, 
 by law, to perform the marriage ceremony, and 
 the supposed marriage being consequently void, 
 and the children illeoitiniate. 
 
 In 1783, a clergyman in Derbyshire, having re- 
 fused to solemnize a marriage between unbaptized 
 persons, a case was drawn up, and laid before Mr. 
 Dodson, who gave it as his opinion, that the refusal 
 could not be justified ; and upon sight of this opi- 
 nion, the clergyman readily acquiesced. 
 
 In the year 178G, the Committee were applied to 
 by the Rev. Dr. Peckwell, respecting the conviction 
 of a Dissenting minister, and four other persons, 
 at Ilecklington, in Lincolnshire, upon the Con- 
 venticle Act,* the minister having been guilty of 
 praying and expounding the Scriptures in an un- 
 registered place, in the presence of five persons. 
 The Committee had, previously to this, in no in- 
 stance given countenance to persons who had not 
 taken the oaths according to the due forms of the 
 law, or who ofliciated in places not properly re- 
 gistered; but upon the present application, they 
 laid the case before Mr. Lee, who gave it as his 
 opinion, that there was no remedy, and of course 
 the Committee could not interfere. 
 
 * 22 C. 2. c. 1.— See Suuinuiiy of the Laws. 
 
58 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 Al)ill of costs was sent to the Committee, about 
 the same time, relating to several suits, instituted 
 by the parish clerk and sexton, in the Archdeaconry 
 Court of Carmarthen, against ten poor persons, at 
 Swansea, for the non-payment of certain ecclesias- 
 tical dues, to which they were not liable, amount- 
 ing to ^43. 14.?. bd. In consequence of suffering 
 judgement to go against them by default, they- had 
 all been excommunicated, and would have been 
 sent to prison, had not ihe demand been satisfied. 
 The Committee, therefore, resolved to pay the 
 plaintiff's bill of costs ; but before the sentence of 
 excommunication was taken off, new demands 
 were made, and i}ie Committee actually paid nearly 
 £80, to put an end to the affair, which, without 
 their interference, might have subjected the de- 
 fendants, on account of their poverty, to perpetual 
 imprisonment. They determined, at the same time 
 to undertake the defence of these unfortunate per- 
 sons against any future demands of the same kind. 
 
 A long interval had now elapsed, since the last 
 application to Parliament for a repeal of the Cor- 
 poration and Test Acts. During this time, the 
 justice and expediency of a perfect toleration had 
 been so povverfully taught, and so generally ad- 
 mitted, as a doctrine of political science ; the 
 bitterness of controversy had in so great a degree 
 given way to the mild and liberal spirit of Chris- 
 tianity ; and the conduct of the Dissenters at large, 
 both as private individuals, and as members of the 
 
FnOCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 59 
 
 body politic, had been so higliiy respectable and 
 meritorious, that it was hoped some extension of 
 religious liberty might at lengtli be obtained with- 
 out much opposition. Accordingly a special meet- 
 ing of the Committee was held on the 29th of De- 
 cember, 17S6, to consider the expediency of ap- 
 plying to Parliament for the repeal of the Corpo- 
 ration and Test Acts, so far as they affect Protest- 
 ant Dissenters. The opinion of the Committee, 
 tliat if the proper course was pursued^ there was 
 a considerable probability of success, was after- 
 wards sanctioned by a general meeting of the De- 
 puties ; who resolved unanimously, that an appli- 
 cation should be made, as soon as possible. For 
 the purpose of conducting this application, the 
 Committee held special meetings, independent of 
 those for the general business of the Deputation, 
 and added to their number several distinguished 
 individuals. In their addresses to the public, they 
 styled themselves '* The Committee appointed to 
 conduct the application to Parliament, for t-;e re- 
 peal of the Test and Corporation Acts." In Ja- 
 nuary, 1787, they waited on the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer, Mr. Pitt, and upon several other lead- 
 ing members of both Houses, soliciting their atten- 
 I tion to the subject, and stating the claims of the Pro- 
 testant Dissenters, upon the justice and liberality 
 of the Legislature. "■ None of His Majesty's sub- 
 jects," they observe in a letter addressed to Mr. 
 Pitt, '' are more loyal, nor more faithfully attached 
 
60 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 to the constitution, laws, and liberties of their 
 country. They cannot, therefore, but feel it to 
 be a grievance that they should remain stigmatized, 
 by these two Acts, from which no single benefit re- 
 sults, as they conceive, either to the church or 
 state," 
 
 Having settled their plan, the Committee ob- 
 tained the assistance of Henry Beaufoy, Esq. to 
 bring forward the business in the House. On the 
 28th of March, 1787, the motion was made. It 
 was seconded by Sir Henry Hoghton, and supported 
 with great force and eloquence by Mr. Fox, Lord 
 Beauchamp, and Mr. W. Smith ; but being op- 
 posed by Mr. Pitt and Lord North, it was lost, 
 after a debate of seven hours, by a majority of TS, 
 the numbers being 100 in favour of the proposition, 
 and 178 against it. The Committee, in their re- 
 port on the business, say, ^' Notwithstanding the 
 opposition met with, our friends had clearly the 
 advantage^ in point of reason and argument. No 
 small impression in our favour seemed to be made 
 on the minds of many persons, and it has certainly 
 been of much advantage to have the subject so ably 
 discussed."—'^ Conscious,*' they add, '^ that the 
 Protestant Dissenters have ever been ardent friends 
 to th€ legal constitution and government of this 
 country; zealous adherents to the House of Hano- 
 ver, and faithful subjects to his present Majesty; 
 conscious at the same time, that they solicit nothing 
 but what is just and reasonable to be asked, and 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF TIFE DEPUTIES. 61 
 
 what it would be safe and honourable for the Lejris- 
 lature to grant, the ComniiUee unanimously and 
 zealously recommend that this great object be pur- 
 Sued with a prudent ])ut steady assiduity, witli a 
 decent but manly firmness and fortitude, till the re- 
 dress sou^rht shall be obtained." 
 
 It was eventually determined, however, that the 
 application should not be renewed till the Session of 
 1789, and that tlie interval sliould be employed in 
 adopting suitable methods to secure success. In the 
 former discussion, it had been stated as an objection, 
 that the Dissenters at large were neither earnest in 
 their exertions, nor unanimous in their wishes for 
 redress. On this account, the Committee thought 
 it right to solicit the avowed concurrence of their 
 brethren in every part of the kingdom. In a printed 
 letter, which was widely circulated on this occasion^ 
 they express themselves in the following terms : 
 " Nothing but the circumstance of proximity to 
 the seat of power, can ever induce those Dissenters 
 who constitute what is here called the General 
 Body, to act upon any occasion independently of 
 their brethren in the other parts of the kingdom, 
 and that only upon sudden emergencies, on which 
 the sentiments of the Dissenters at large cannot be 
 collected. — But as a common interest must dictate 
 similar feelings, we are confident that in general 
 we express your sentiments whenever we declare 
 our own. On the present occasion, we think it 
 impossible, whatever diversity may exist in our 
 
 G 
 
6S SKETCH OF THE IIISTORV AND 
 
 religious persuasions, that we should not have one 
 and the same wish. We feel alike as fellow-citizens 
 unjustlj deprived of civil privileges, and are equally 
 sensible that what we claim is not a favour, but a 
 right. The more this subject is considered and 
 discussed, the more clearly must the hardship of 
 our present situation in the community be seen. 
 And be assured that with this fixed persuasion, and 
 with your concurrence and support, we shall stea- 
 dily persevere in the pursuit of our object, confi- 
 dent of success in the end, and even of the applause 
 of those, who, through the course of long continued 
 prejudice, may for a time oppose our just applica- 
 tion for relief." 
 
 A Committee was now appointed for the purpose 
 of circulating books and pamphlets in favour of the 
 repeal. The attention of the Dissenters at large 
 was excited ; meetings were called in the different 
 counties, and resolutions passed expressing a warm 
 concurrence in the proceedings of the Committee, 
 and highly approving the intended application to 
 Parliament. In some instances, the Dissenters in 
 the country were anxious that the application 
 should extend not only to the repeal of the Test 
 and Corporation Acts, but to the general abolition 
 of ail penal laws on the subject of religion. 
 
 On the Sth of May, 1789, Mr.Beaufoy moved in the 
 House of Commons : " That this House will imme- 
 diately resolve itself into a Committee of the whole 
 House, to consider of so much of the Act of l3ih. 
 
PROCEEDIXGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 6J 
 
 of Charles IT., for the well governing- and regulating- 
 of Corporations, and of the act of the 2jth of Charles 
 11., for the preventing of dangers which may happen 
 from Popish Recusants, as requires persons before 
 they are admitted into any office or place in cor- 
 porations, or havings accepted any office, civil or 
 militar}^, or any place of trust under the crown, to 
 receive the sacrament of the Lord's supper accord- 
 ing to the rites of the church of England." 
 
 This motion was seconded by Sir Henry Hoghton. 
 and most ably supported by i\Tr. Fox, Mr. W. 
 Smith, and other friends of civil and religious li- 
 berty. Upon the division of the House, there were 
 104 votes in favour of the motion, and only 121 m 
 opposition to it. 
 
 With so small a majority against them, the Com- 
 mittee seem to have had no doubt of succeeding in 
 the next attempt. They therefore came to an im- 
 mediate resolution to renew their application in 
 the following Session. They advised the several 
 Dissenting congregations in the country to form 
 institutions similar to that of the Deputies, foF 
 such districts as should be found convenient. Thej 
 also recommended to all Dissenters who had votes 
 for Members of Parliament, to apply to their re- 
 spective representatives, and request their attend- 
 ance and support in the Flouse of Commons, when 
 the motion for the repeal of the Test and Corpo- 
 ration Acts should again be made. 
 
 Towards the close of the year 1789, and early ia 
 g2 
 
64 ^SKETCH OF THE HISTORT AND 
 
 1790, meetings of the Committee were frequently 
 held ; and many of them were attended not only 
 by Delegates from the Dissenters of the several 
 counties, but by various other gentlemen, who, 
 though members of the establishment, were zealous 
 friends of civil and religious liberty. At one of 
 these meetings, January iS, 1790, it was unani- 
 mously resolved, '' That every Test calculated to 
 exclude Protestant Dissenters from civil and mili- 
 tary offices, on account of religious scruples, is a 
 violation of their rights as men and citizens of a 
 free state, inconsistent with the principles of the 
 constitution of this country, and repugnant to the 
 genuine spirit of true religion, subjecting a large 
 number of deserving members of the state to a 
 species of persecution, not more injurious to thera 
 than dishonourable to the government of which 
 they are useful and loyal subjects." 
 
 Early in 1790, Mr. Fox was solicited to bring 
 forward the motion in the House, at such time as 
 he should judge most convenient. To this request 
 he readily acceded, though he foresaw there was 
 but little chance of success. The Revolution in 
 I'rance had occasioned such a ferment among the 
 people of this country, and excited such alarms in 
 the minds of many who were otherwise of liberal 
 principles and dispositions, that tJie smallest change 
 in favour of liberty was regarded with the utmost 
 apprehension. Jn many parts of the country, every 
 possible exertion was made, both by the clergy and 
 
PROCEEDIXGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 65 
 
 laity, to convene meetings for the purpose of op- 
 posing tlie repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, 
 as threatenino^ destruction to the established church. 
 Ilepresentations of this kind, frequently conceived 
 in violent and inflammatory language, were cir- 
 culated with the utmost iictivity. In many cases, 
 it was scarcely safe to be known as a Protestant 
 Dissenter ; and nothing but the power seemed 
 wanting, to renew all the horrors of persecution. 
 
 Under these most discouraging circumstances, 
 notice was given by Mr. Fox, on the 15th of Fe- 
 bruary, 1790, of a motion for leave to bring in a 
 bill for the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts. 
 Mr. Pitt immediately moved for a call of the House 
 on the day preceding Mr. Fox's motion. His object 
 was, evidently, to destroy all the hopes of the Pro- 
 testant Dissenters, by an overwhelming majority. 
 The plan succeeded. 1 he call of the House took 
 place on the 1st of March, and on the following 
 day Mr. Fox made his motion. ''The power of 
 truth, reason, and eloquence/' said the Commit- 
 tee in their subsequent report, " was so conspi- 
 cuous in the speech with which he opened, and in 
 the reply with which he closed tlie debate, that 
 his defence of religious liberty, in its fullest ex- 
 tent, made the strongest impression upon the 
 House of Commons. " Means were taken, liowever, 
 both before and during the debate, to spread 
 jealousy and alarm among the members, by cir- 
 culating printed papers, fabricated to suit the pur- 
 
 g3 
 
66 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 poses of the moment ; so that, on the division, 
 though 105 persons voted for the repeal, there 
 were 294 against it. Mr. Fox concluded the de- 
 bate, by congratulating himself that he had been 
 selected to vindicate the rights of conscience, and 
 to defend the principles of religious liberty ; de- 
 claring that, *' so sincerely was he a friend to the 
 cause, that he should be ever ready, on any future 
 occasion, to take the field again, under the clearest 
 conviction that the complaints of grievance and 
 oppression, in the present instance, were well 
 founded." 
 
 The Committee, sensible of their obligations to 
 this great statesman, presented to him their una- 
 nimous thanks, for his inflexible perseverance in 
 the cause of civil liberty, and for the singular 
 ability and energy which he displayed on this par- 
 ticular occasion, when the superiority of reason 
 and truth consoled tliem for the triumph of num- 
 bers ; and they begged him to be assured, that the 
 Protestant Dissenters never would desert a cause 
 which had invited such a defender, and which they 
 were convinced would ultimately prevail, in de- 
 fiance of all opposition. 
 
 Though defeated in their object, the Committee 
 were satisfied that much good would eventually 
 arise from the discussion, and they indulged the 
 hope that the period could not be very distant when 
 they might confidently look for complete success. 
 With this view they recommended that a standJD^ 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 67 
 
 Committee, composed of Delegates from all parts of 
 the kingdom, sliould be appointed, to meet in Lon- 
 don, for the purpose of concerting and pursuing mea- 
 sures for obtaining relief from the Legislature, on the 
 subject of the Test Laws ; and that the proportion 
 of Delegates, in this Committee, should be twenty- 
 one on the part of the Deputies of the congrega- 
 tions in and near London, and forty-two for the 
 remainder of the kingdom.* They also circulated 
 an able and spirited paper, intitled " An Address 
 to the People of England." In this they observed, 
 that their late application to Parliament appeared 
 so clearly founded on the unalterable principles 
 of reason and justice, that they could not but re- 
 gard the manner in which it was defeated, and the 
 violent spirit that had been raised against them, 
 not only as an injury to themselves, but as a dis- 
 credit to the character of a free and enlightened 
 
 * In pursuance of this resolution, several meetings of gentlemen 
 appointed to form the permanent Committee, were held early in 
 the year 1791 ; and the first general meeting of this Committee, 
 including twenty-nine Delegates from ditferent counties, was held 
 on the 24th of January, 1792, when it took the title of "The 
 Deputies and Delegates from the Protestant Dissenters of England 
 and Wales, appointed to obtain a repeal of the Test Laws." It 
 held frequent meetings, and circulated several addresses, during 
 the two following years ; but found every thing, in the circum- 
 stances of the times, to discoui'age the renewal of an application to 
 Parliament. The last annual address of this body, was in 1794. 
 Most of its leading members are still living. 
 
6S SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 nation. They claimed nothing from the countiy, 
 but to be delivered from ignominious disqualifi- 
 cations imposed by laws which deprived them of 
 their riahts as men and as citizens; and which^ 
 under certain circumstances, placed them nearly 
 in the situation of proscribed out-laws. " Was it 
 to be expected," they ask, " that we should con- 
 tinue for ever silent under such grievances, thus 
 disgraceful and galling to every liberal mind ? If 
 we had not sought for the redress of them, we 
 should have been wanting to the dignity and feel- 
 ings of free men." They next enter into a defence 
 of their principles ; and, in justification of their 
 conduct, appeal to their own practice, as the uni- 
 form and zealous defenders of the House of Hano- 
 ver ; and conclude with saying, " We are not dis- 
 couraged by our late defeat ; but shall cherish the 
 confidence that when the application for relief from 
 our grievances is renewed, we shall not be censured 
 as obstinately persisting in fruitless attempts. The 
 time will speedily arrive when a generous nation^ 
 that of late has been misled by false alarms and 
 insidious and bigoted representations, shall return 
 to calmer feelings and morje sober reflections. A 
 restoration to our rights must necessarily result 
 from the progress of truth, justice, and sound policy. 
 Great Britain, which has so long appeared with 
 such distinguished splendor in the annals of civil 
 and religious liberty, will not suffer her ancient 
 
PROCEEDING? OF Til C DEPU I 1E«;. 69 
 
 and well-earned glory to depart from her. She 
 will not permit herself to be exceeded by other 
 countries in th6 regards whicli are due to the rights 
 •of men and of citizens, and to the claims of faithful 
 and loyal subjects." 
 
 These hopes were, unfortunately, but too san- 
 guine. The suspicion and alarm wliich had been 
 excited in the country, instead of subsiding, grew 
 still more violent; and prevailed in so great a 
 degree, for a long period of time, as to repress 
 almost every eifort to advance the cause of hu- 
 manity and freedom. 
 
 In the month of November, 179S, an association 
 w as foimed at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, by 
 Mr. John Reeves, and others, which attracted a 
 a large share of public notice. Its avowed object 
 was, '' The protection of liberty and property 
 against the attempts of republicans and levellers ;" 
 but the natural tendency, not to say the real design 
 of its measures, appears to have been to excite 
 prejudice and suspicion against all who were fa- 
 vourable to public liberty, however warmly at- 
 tached to the English constitution. In one of their 
 papers, they charged the Dissenters with having 
 been the authors of the American war, and of the 
 consequent taxes, '' Oi/r national debt,^^ say they, 
 ''for which zee are now paj/ing such heav?/ (axesy 
 was (loub/ed by the troubles of America, all brought 
 upon us, pom the beginning, hi/ the Dissenters 
 there and here. Did not Dr. Price write for them? 
 
70 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY ANB 
 
 and did not the Birmingham Doctor encourage 
 ihem^ and n'rite Mob-principles of Go'cernment to 
 justify them ? Yet these people, who brought 
 our burdens upon us, are they that rail most at the 
 expensiveness of our government, and use it as a 
 handle for overturning- it," &c. 
 
 To repel these atrocious calumnies, the Deputies 
 judged it expedient, at a special general meeting-, 
 held for that purpose, December 13, 1792, to de- 
 clare their adherence to the constitution of the 
 country, as by law established. The follow ing de- 
 claration having accordingly been prepared, was 
 adopted unanimously^ and was afterwards exten- 
 sively circulated bj means of the morning and even- 
 ing papers. 
 
 *' We feel ourselves called upon, at the present 
 period, publickly to declare our firm attachment to 
 the constitution of Great Britain ; being persuaded 
 that it is excellent in its principles, and wisely 
 framed for the extension of solid happiness and real 
 liberty. 
 
 *' li always has been, and still continues to be, 
 our determined resolution^ to contribute our best 
 endeavours to maintain and preserve, by all the 
 means in our power, the constitution of this king- 
 dom, consisting of King, Lords, and Commons ; 
 at the same time we rejoice as Britons, that one 
 great merit of this invaluable constitution is, that 
 it contains within itself the means both of reform 
 and of improvement. 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF TIIK DEPUTIES. 71 
 
 '' Having thus in tlie most unequivocal manner 
 declared our sentiments at tliis critical juncture, it 
 is a pleasing- reflection, that this declaration is in 
 perfect consistency with the conduct of tlie Pro- 
 testant Dissenters ever since the glorious Revo- 
 lution of 1688^ which we consider as the basis of 
 the constitution, and which happily conduced to 
 the establishment of the present Royal Family 
 on the throne. — Signed, — Edward Jeffries, Chair- 
 man." 
 
 This declaration, which certainly contained the 
 unequivocal sentiments of the great body of Dis- 
 senters, throughout the kingdom, excited the at- 
 tention of Mr. Reeves's association ; and they dis- 
 avowed that part of the above quotation which is 
 printed in italics. In a letter, dated December the 
 18th, from Mr. Reeves to the chairman of the De- 
 putation, inclosing a new edition of the paper in 
 which the obnoxious passage originally stood, he 
 says, '' You will see that the paper published bj 
 us contains nothing that could possibly give offence 
 to the Dissenters. In truth the original paper did 
 •contain some harsh reflections ; these we disap- 
 proved, and we accordingly left them out," &c. 
 In reply to this letter, Mr. Jeffries said, '' that the 
 Deputies would probably have taken no notice of 
 it, but for tlie sake of explaining themselves by re- 
 pelling the charge contained in the printed paper, 
 ' That the Dissenters were the cause of the Ame- 
 rican troubl^s^' as both false and injurious." '' I 
 
72 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 am directed/' said he, '-by the body unanimously, 
 to say that they consider the expression, as it stood 
 in the llrst edition, a gross calumny ; and the alte- 
 ration since made, so trilling as scarcely to merit 
 attention, — the allusion remaining- the same." 
 
 Shortly after this meeting, the attention of the 
 Committee was called to a case of very serious im- 
 portance. A meeting-house at Guilsborough, in 
 Northamptonshire, was burnt down in the night of 
 Christmas-day, 1792, and several circumstances 
 led to the belief that it was the result of design. 
 The Committee being applied to, obtained an au- 
 thenticated statement of facts, which they laid be- 
 fore His Majesty's ministers, who readily offered a 
 reward of .^200, by public advertisement, to any 
 person or persons, for bringing the offenders to 
 justice. No discovery was made ; but the vigi- 
 lance of the Committee, and the prompt attention 
 of His Majesty's government to their representa- 
 tions, were probably the means of preventing far- 
 ther outrages in other parts of the kingdom. 
 
 In the year 1796, some recent Acts of Parliament 
 led the Committee to inquire whether places of 
 public worship among Protestant Dissenters were 
 liable to the payment of the Land-Tax, Poor Rate, 
 Watch and Lamp Rate, &c. The result of the 
 inquiry, founded upon the opinions, given at dif- 
 ferent periods, by four able lawyers, who after- 
 wards rose to the most distinguished stations, viz. 
 Messrs. Dunning, Wallace, Wedderburn, and 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 75 
 
 Macdonald, was entered on their minutes, in the 
 following words. 
 
 1. ''As to the Land-Tax. — If the ground upon 
 which the meeting-house is built was previous 
 thereto subject to the Land-Tax, it is so still; 
 but if it produces no profit to any person beyond 
 the rent reserved in the lease of it, that rent ought 
 to be the measure of the assessment. But where 
 no rent is reserved, or the trustees have the inhe- 
 ritance of the meeting-house, and no profit is made 
 of it by any person, it is not rateable at all. 
 
 2. '' As to Poor Rates. — This is a tax on the occu- 
 pier ; and if any profit is made of the meeting-house, 
 by letting the seats or otherwise, whoever makes 
 that profit, whether the trustees in whom the lease 
 is vested, or the preacher^ may be considered as 
 the occupier, and rated as such. But if tlie meet- 
 ing-house is only used as a place of meeting for 
 religious worship, and no profit arises from it to 
 any body, no one can be considered as having any 
 such occupation of it as will subject it to the Poor 
 Rate. 
 
 3. '' As to the Watch, Scavenger, Lamp, Sewer, 
 or any other Parochial or Ward Taxes, these will 
 depend upon the several laws under the authority 
 of which these taxes are collected : but if tiiey are 
 taxes upon the occupier they will fall under the 
 same consideration as the Poor Laws." 
 
 On two important occasions, the Deputies con- 
 sidered it their duty, as in some sjrt the lepresea- 
 
 u 
 
7^ SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 tatives of tlie Dissenters in general, to approach 
 the throne with expressions of loyalty and affec- 
 tion : first, on His Majesty's recovery, in the year 
 1789, and afterwards, on his providential escape 
 from assassination, in 1795. In 1789, addresses 
 both to the King and Queen, signed on behalf, and 
 at the unanimous request, of the general body of 
 Deputies, by a Sub-committee, consisting of Mr. 
 Jeffries, the chairman, and three other members of 
 the Committee, were presented by those gentlemen, 
 at Windsor, on the 18th of April. They were very 
 graciously received, and the gentlemen of the Sub- 
 committee had the honour of kissing their Majes- 
 ties' hands. The answer returned by his Majesty, 
 was in the following terms : " Your dutiful and 
 affectionate congratulations on my recovery from 
 my late severe indisposition, and your expressions 
 of attachment to my family and government, are 
 very agreeable to me. The Protestant Dissenters 
 will alwajs experience my favour and protection." 
 On the subsequent occasion, an address to His Ma- 
 jesty alooe, signed in like manner,, by Mr. Jeffries, 
 was presented at St. James's, by two gentlemen of 
 the Committee, appointed for that purpose. They 
 were most graciously received, and had the honour 
 of kissing His Majesty's hand. 
 
 About the same time, one of the members of the 
 Committee, W. Smith, Esq. M. P., procured the 
 insertion of a clause in the bill then pending, " for 
 preventing political lectures^" whereby it was de- 
 
PROCEl^DIXGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 75 
 
 clared not to extend to the Academies and semina- 
 ries of the Dissenters.* 
 
 In 1797, a person was indicted for disturbing a 
 congregation at Reigate. fie was tried, and 
 found guilty, at the Surrj Assizes^ before Mr. 
 Justice Buller, whose speech to the jury upon sum- 
 ming up the evidence having been taken down, a 
 copy of it was presented to the Committee^ and en- 
 tered on their minutes. It is as follows : 
 
 '' This is an indictment founded on a statute 
 which passed in the reign of King William and 
 Queen Mary, and known by the name of the Tole- 
 ration Act. The object of that Statute was, what 
 every man in his heart must commend, to leave every 
 man to worship God in his way, to follow the dic- 
 tates of his own conscience, and to observe them in 
 such a manner as he thinks right, he not doing mis- 
 chief to any other member of the community. It is 
 undoubtedly to be wished that that indulgence 
 should be granted to ail ranks of men. 
 
 '' The ground of this prosecution is, that when 
 this Dissenting Congregation were met for the pur- 
 poses of v/orship, the defendant Yeoman thought 
 fit to go into this congregation, disturb them in 
 that worship, and, according to the evidence, to 
 insult and abuse the minister to a great degree; 
 
 * This is but one of the very numerous and important services, 
 for which ti e Protestant Dissenters are indebted to the vigilance, 
 ability, and public spirit of the honourable Member for Norwich. 
 
76 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 '' Having proved what I may call the introduc- 
 tory parts of this case, namely, that this place was 
 registered, and that the minister had a certificate 
 granted to him, which is also required, for the pur- 
 pose of the government of the country knowing 
 who are intitled to the exemptions given by the 
 statute, and who not ; they proceed to state what 
 passed on the 4th of December, when the congre- 
 gation were assembled." 
 
 [Mr. Justice Buller stated the evidence, and 
 then proceeded.] 
 
 " This is the evidence on the part of the prose- 
 cution, and this evidence is not contradicted. 
 
 '* To be sure, there cannot be more insolent or 
 more abusive conduct than that proved on the de- 
 fendant. It is said by his counsel, that he did not 
 mean to disturb the congregation. Disturbing the 
 minister, who was then performing his duty as the 
 minister of that congregation, was the greatest in- 
 sult that could be oftered to that congregation. 
 The others who were silent were not the objects of 
 abuse : the most likely object of abuse was the mi- 
 nister in the act of preaching. 
 
 " It is proved that there were no v/ords used on 
 the part of the minister that should give him any 
 provocation. 
 
 *' It should be remembered, that where people 
 are assembled together in a place of worship for 
 the purpose of paying tlieir duty to the Divine Be- 
 ing, a man who does not agree in opinion with 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF TPIE DEPUTIES. 77 
 
 tliem is not at liberty ta go into that assembly and 
 quarrel with the minister because he does not hap- 
 pen to utter the doctrine which is ai^reeable to his 
 mind. The object and purpose of their being al- 
 lowed to have such a meeting-house, is because 
 they do not agree with the established church. — 
 They have ideas peculiar to themselves, and they 
 have as much right to be pleased with their mode 
 of worship as we have with ours, and thej are pro- 
 tected by the law in worshipping God in their own 
 way, if they comply with the requisites of the law, 
 as much as we are. 
 
 ** Then these people were doing no more than by 
 law they had a right to do when this man chose to 
 go into this chapel, insult the minister, and disturb 
 the congregation in the manner you have heard. 
 I am bound to tell you the evidence brings this 
 man's offence clearly within the Act of Parliament : 
 and if you believe the evidence, it is your duty to 
 find the defendant guilty " 
 
 A proper apology being made by the defendant, 
 he was not called up for judgement. The Com- 
 mittee, though they did not carry on the prosecu- 
 tion in this cause, contributed above £40 towards 
 the costs. 
 
 On the 27th of April, 1S04, the attention of the 
 Committee was called to an Act of the Assembly of 
 Jamaica, passed in December, 1802, by which very 
 severe punishments were enacted against persons 
 who should presume to teach or preach without a 
 Ji 3 
 
78 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 licence. It was stated to the Committee, that 
 licences had been refused, by the magistrates, to 
 those persons who had been accustomed to preach 
 before the passing of the Act ; that, with a single 
 exception, the Toleration Act might be considered 
 as totally suspended in that island ; no public 
 preaching, or even meetings for social prayer, 
 among the Dissenters, being permitted ; and that 
 one person, who, on being refused a licence, had 
 ventured to preach without one, had suffered a 
 rigorous imprisonment. 
 
 On this representation, a Sub-committee was 
 appointed, to make inquiry into any circumstances 
 affecting the rights of the Protestant Dissenters in 
 the island of Jamaica. Jn the report of this Sub- 
 committee, there is a copy of a memorial on the 
 subject drawn up and addressed, by Mr. Booth, 
 Mr. Fuller, and Mr. Hall, three Dissenting minis- 
 ters, to the lords of the Committee of His Majesty's 
 Privy Council, praying that their lordships would 
 be pleased to advise His Majesty not only to dis- 
 allow the present law, but also to refuse his assent 
 to any and every proposed modification of it which 
 would recognize a power in the magistrates to re- 
 fuse licences, either to preachers or to places of 
 worship. In support of the facts contained in the 
 memorial, , many authentic proofs were adduced. 
 The memorialists were informed, in answer, that 
 the act vtas disallowed by the Privy Council, but 
 that a new law would be recommended by them to 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTfES. 79 
 
 Ihe legislature of Jamaica, to prevent designing 
 men from collecting assemblies of blacks and people 
 of colour, under pretence of religious worship, and 
 concerting schemes of public mischief. 
 
 Thb Committee of Deputies now addressed a 
 memorial to the Committee of the Privy Council, 
 beseeching their lordships not to permit any in- 
 structions to be forwarded to Jamaica that might 
 have a tendency to abridge the Toleration Laws, 
 without affording them an opportunity of stating 
 their objections to it. This memorial was presented 
 in June, 1804, and in the following April the Com- 
 mittee were informed that in consequence of the 
 order of His Majesty in Council, disallowing the 
 Act of Assembly, the preachers in Jamaica had 
 resumed their social meetings. 
 
 The Committee heard nothing more upon this 
 subject till August, 1807, when the chairman read 
 an extract of a letter from a Baptist preacher in 
 Jamaica, (himself a person of colour) with a copy 
 of an Ordinance passed by the Common Council of 
 the town of Kingston, in that island, on the pre- 
 ceding 15th of June, under which no Protestant 
 Dissenting house of worship was permitted to be 
 opened in that place, except the i\!ethodist chapel. 
 The Committee directed this Ordinance to be laid 
 before the Attorney General and Mr. Stephen, who 
 were of opinion, that it was illegal ; and in case of 
 any conviction upon it taking place, they advised 
 an appeal to the Supreme Court of Judicatui'e in 
 
80 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 that island. In conformity with this advice, the 
 Committee of Deputies recommended the preacher 
 above-mentioned to re-open hi« place of worship, 
 assuring him that they would defend him in the 
 exercise of his right, and supply him with money, 
 if necessary, to meet the expences of a prosecution. 
 
 On the 25th of March, 1808, the Committee 
 were informed that by a new consolidated Slave 
 Law, passed by the Governor, Council, and As- 
 sembly of that island, on the 28th of November, 
 1807, and which took effect the 1st of December 
 following, Dissenters of every denomination were 
 prohibited from preaching to the slaves. It was 
 not, however, till March, 1809, that the Com- 
 mitee felt themselves justified in addressing a me- 
 morial to government, requesting that the conso- 
 lidated Slave Law might not be sanctioned by His 
 Majesty; and in the following month the chair- 
 man reported, that he had received information 
 from Lord Bathurst, the president of the Board of 
 Trade, that the Act passed by the Legislature of 
 Jamaica, in which a provision was introduced con- 
 trary to the principles of toleration prevailing in 
 these kingdoms, had been disallowed by His Ma- 
 jesty in Council. 
 
 A general meeting of the Deputies was now 
 summoned, to express their dutiful thanks to His 
 Majesty's government, for the attention which had 
 been paid to the wishes and interests of that part of 
 the community with which they were more parti- 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. SI 
 
 ciilarly connected. At the same time, the Com- 
 mittee were enabled to lay before the meetings, a 
 copy of the report made to His Majesty by the lords 
 of the Committee of Privy Council, and a copy of 
 an instruction which had been issued in pursuance 
 of that report. The latter document is in these 
 word : 
 
 '' Additional Inst mci ion to the Gorenwrs of 
 His JMajestifs Islands in the West Indies, 
 
 " It is our will and pleasure, and we do hereby 
 require and command, that you do not on any pre- 
 tence whatever give your assent to any law or laws 
 to be passed concerning religion, until you shall 
 have first transmitted unto us, through our principal 
 secretary of state, the draft of such bill or bills, 
 and shall have received our royal pleasure there- 
 upon ; unless you take care, in passing such bill or 
 bills, that a clause or clauses be inserted therein, 
 suspending and deferring the execution thereof 
 until our will and pleasure shall be known there- 
 upon." 
 
 The minutes of the Committee, as has been already 
 mentioned, record a multitude of cases, in which 
 they have been called upon to assert the right of 
 Dissenters to burial according to the service of the 
 church of England. I'his right is founded upon the 
 principle, that all persons, except those who die 
 unbaptized^ excommunicate, or by their own hands, 
 are intitled to burial according to the established 
 form ; and that baptism administered in the usual 
 
82 SKETCH OF THE HISTOHY AND 
 
 manner, is, in the estimation of the church of 
 England, valid^ though the person officiating be 
 not a minister of the church. No doubt upon this 
 subject appears to have been entertained by eccle- 
 siastical lawyers ; but many of the clergy having 
 imbibed a contrary opinion, have refused to perform 
 the burial service, or permit the interment of Dis- 
 senters in the church-yard. 
 
 The course which the Committee have pursued, 
 upon applications of this sort, has been, to inquire 
 of the clergyman whether the complaint made 
 against him were true, and, in that case, whether 
 lie intended to persist in his refusal for the future. 
 If he replied, admitting the fact, but promising 
 to alter his conduct for the trnie to come, the answer 
 was deemed satisfactory ; but if he persisted, an 
 application was made to the bishop of the diocese, 
 requesting his interference, which has been for the 
 most part readily granted, the bishops usually ex- 
 pressing a pointed disapprobation of the conduct of 
 their clergy in refusing. 
 
 In the year 1798, the Committee were favoured 
 with the copy of an opinion which had been ob- 
 tained, upon a case of this nature, from Sir Wm, 
 Scott, then Judge Advocate. A Dissenter, at 
 Coventry, on the deatli of one of his children, who 
 had been baptized by a Dissenting minister, applied 
 to the curate of the parish to bury it : on receiving 
 for answer that the curate would have nothing to 
 do vv^ith it, he applied to the vicar, who declined to 
 
PnOCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 83 
 
 interfere, saying he paid the curate Iiaudsomely, 
 that he was of sucli a violent temper lie did not 
 know what to do with him, and that the laws were 
 open. The curate being' again applied to, said the 
 child was no Christian, and concluded by address- 
 ing the father in these words : " You may lay your 
 child by the rest of your family, but I will not bury 
 him, nor shall any one else ; — 1 will bury no Dis- 
 senter. I will only bury Roman Catholics and 
 Churchmen." The afflicted parent was obliged to 
 make a grave in the church-yard, and bury his 
 infant with his own hands. 
 
 The question stated, upon this case, wa.s as fol- 
 lows : ^' Whether the curate has not acted impro- 
 perly and illegally in refusing to bury the child ? and 
 whether he is not liable to a prosecution, andiu 
 w hat court, for so doing ? and whether the vicar is 
 in any, and in what degree implicated with him, 
 in the impropriety of the transaction r" 
 
 The learned civilian having been informed, in 
 i answer to a question proposed by himself, that it 
 was tlie practice of Dissenters in general, who use 
 infant baptism, to have their children baptized by a. 
 Dissenting minister, with water sprinkled on the 
 face in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of 
 the Holy Ghost, — expressed his opinion in the fol- 
 lowing terms : " I am of opinion, that if reasonable 
 proof was offered to the clergyman complained of, 
 that the child had been baptized in the manner 
 described in the answer to the question proposed 
 
84: SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 bj me, he acted illegally and improperly in re- 
 fusil) g- to bury it, and that he might be prosecuted 
 with effect in the ecclesiastical court for his refusal. 
 — The vicar had no right to consider himself as 
 totally discharged from the obligation of performing 
 a parochial office, when applied to upon an illegal 
 refusal of his own curate to perform it , it is a duty 
 that must be done, and if it is a duty which he could 
 dO;, upon the refusal of the curate, properly signi- 
 fied to him, I think he had no right to leave it un- 
 done, and to refer the parties to their penal remedy 
 against his curate ; at the same time, 1 do not think j 
 that the refusal on his part was attended with such \ 
 circumstances as would render him the proper ob- 
 ject of a public prosecution, though liable to the 
 just censure of his ordinary. — The ground upon s 
 which I hold the refusal of the curate to be unjusti- I 
 fiable is, that the child was not unhaptized^ in the 
 sense and intention of the compilers of our Liturgy 
 and Rubric ; what that sense and intention was, is 
 very much a question of fact and history : — and I 
 think that that history has been collected by dif- 
 ferent writers, but particularly by Bishop Fleetwood, 
 with sufficient accuracy to authorise the legal con- 
 clusion I draw." 
 
 The opinion of Sir William Scott^ however, 
 though intitled to the highest respect, on account 
 of his splendid talents and profound learning, could 
 not certainly be presented to the public as deciding 
 the question in dispute. Instances of refusal bj 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 85 
 
 the clerg-T, in similar circiinistiiiices, to perform tiii^ 
 part of their duty, were brought before the Committee 
 at almost every meeting. It became, therefore, abso- 
 lutely necessary to obtain a judicial recognition of 
 the right so often disputed ; and the denial of which, 
 especially in the numerous instances where there was 
 no burial ground appropriated to the Dissenters, was 
 found extremely inconvenient and distressing. The 
 only competent mode of redress, was that of pro- 
 ceeding in the ecclesiastical court against some cler- 
 gyman, whose persevering refusal might diminish 
 the reluctance the Coniinittee naturally felt to adopt 
 hostile measures. 
 
 In the month of August, 180S, the Rev. John 
 AVlght Wickes, rector of VVardly cum Belton, 
 Rutlandshire, refused to bury the infant child of 
 two of his parishioners, John and Hannah Swingler. 
 xi letter was written to him on the subject by the 
 secretary of the Committee, to which he paid no 
 attention. Application was then made to his dio- 
 cesan, the Bishop of Peterborough. His lordship 
 admitting the right of Dissenters to Christian 
 burial, according to the established forms^ informed 
 the secretary of the Committee, that he had sent 
 Sir William Scott's opinion to Mr. Wickes, with 
 which he did not seem satisfied ; that he should not 
 further interfere in the business himself; and, 
 therefore, that the Committee would proceed 
 against Mr. Wickes as they should think proper^ 
 upon his refusal, on that, or any other occasioiir 
 
 I 
 
^ SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AN1> 
 
 The Committee immediately caused proceediiigs 
 to be instituted in the Arches Court of Canterbury ; 
 and, the admission of the articles having- been 
 opposed by Mr. Wickes, upon the ground that the 
 facts stated did not constitute any offence, the 
 question of law came on for decision in that stage 
 of the cause, at Doctors' Commons, on the 1st and 
 the 11th of December, 1809. After Dr. Arnold 
 and Dr Swabey had been heard for the promoter or 
 prosecutor, and Dr. Adams and Dr. Edwards for 
 the defendant^ judgement was given for the Dis- 
 senters, in a most able and liberal speech, by the 
 Official Principal, Sir John Nicholl. 
 
 Although the Committee have taken the best 
 means in their power to circulate this judgement, 
 by publishing it in a separate tract,* it may, never- 
 theless, be proper to introduce a concise abstract 
 in the present publication. 
 
 The learned judge began by stating that it was 
 alledged by the articles, and must in that stage of 
 the cause be taken for true, that the defendant, 
 Mr. Wickes, had refused to bury the infant daugh- 
 
 * <* The Judgement delivered, December 11, 1809, by the Right 
 Hon. Sir John Nicholl, Knt. LL.D. Official Principal of the Arches 
 Court of Canterbury, upon the admission of articles exhibited in a 
 cause of office promoted by Kemp against Wickes, clerk, for refu- 
 sing to bury an infant daughter of two of his parishioners, who had 
 been baptized by a Dissenting minister. — ^Taken in short-hand by 
 Mr. Gurney, London, 1810." — Octavo, price Is. Gd ; royal, 2s. 6d. — ■ 
 Sold by Butterwortb, Conder, &c. 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 87 
 
 ter of two of his parisliioners, wliich infant had 
 been baptized by a Dissenting- minister, in all 
 respects qualified according- to law, with water, and 
 in the name of the Fatlier, the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost ; and that Mr, Wickes w as sufficiently ap- 
 prised of such baptism, and expressly assigned the 
 same as the ground of his not complying" with the 
 application ; that he did not doubt of the fact that 
 the child had been so baptized, but refused to bury 
 it upon the ground of law, namely, that he was not 
 bound to bury a person of that description. 
 
 Sir J. NichoU then proceeded to observe, that 
 ^^ the canon* pro /^/^//^ the refusal of burial in all 
 cases except in the case of excommunicated persons, 
 and punishes such refusal,"! The Hubric, how- 
 ever, or directory part of the Book of Common 
 Prayer, which, since the Book of Common Prayer 
 was approved and confirmed by Parliament,:}: is 
 part of the statute law of the land, '' adds two 
 other exceptions expressly, and forbids the office 
 of burial ' to be used for any that die unbuptized^. 
 or excommunicate, or have laid violent hands upon 
 themselves.' " '' It is not matter of option, or of 
 expediency and benevolence," says the learned 
 judge, '' whether a clergyman shall administer the 
 burial service, or shall refuse it : for the Rubric 
 
 • The 68th Canon. 
 
 -f- The punishment is suspension for three months. 
 
 X 13 and 14 C. 2. c. 4. 
 
 I 2 
 
m- SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 expressly enjoins him not to perform the office in 
 the specified cases ; and the question is, whether 
 this infant, baptized with water, in the name of 
 the Father, the Son, and the Holj Ghost, by a 
 Dissenting minister, who is qimlilied according to 
 the regislations of the Toleration Act, did die un- 
 baptized within the true meaning of the Rubric. 
 If the child died unbaptized, the minister was not 
 only justified in not performing the burial service; 
 but was enjoined by law not to perform it. If the 
 child did not die unbaptized, then he has violated 
 the canon, by a refusal, neither justified by any 
 exception contained in the canon, nor by any sub- 
 sequent law." 
 
 llic whole question being, therefore^ reduced to 
 this, viz. the meaning of the term •' unbaptized," 
 as it stands in the Rubric, the learned judge ex- 
 amines that meaning by the ordinary rules of con* 
 st ruction : and after observing that according to 
 the obvious and general sense of the term, it was 
 plain the child in this case did not die U7ibapti%ed^ 
 he next inquires whether it has any peculiar mean-- 
 ing in the Rubric, which is to be ascertained either 
 from the context, or the history of the law itself. 
 
 From the context, in which it appears that the 
 nnbaptized are ranked with excommunicated per- 
 sons and suicides, the term is construed to apply, 
 not to all persons whatever except members of the 
 church of England, but to those only who are to 
 be considered as in no sense Clirisiians at all — as 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 89 
 
 totally destitute of the Christian character, and se- 
 parate from the Christian church. 
 
 Sir J. NichoU observes that it is another rule of 
 construction, that the general law is to be construed 
 favourably, and the exception strictly. " Here 
 the general law is, that burial is to be refused to no 
 person. This is the law not only of the English 
 church ; it is the law not only of all Christian 
 churches ; but it seems to be the law of common 
 humanity, and the limitation of such a law must 
 be considered strictissimi juris, ''^ He then adds, 
 that " erccptiofis not being to be extended by 
 mere implication, so as to limit the general law, it 
 would be necessary, in order to give to the excep- 
 tion the meaning which has been contended for in 
 argument, that it should have expressed it, not 
 only by the term ' unbaptized,' but by the terms — 
 * persons who have not been baptized according to 
 the form prescribed in the Book of Common 
 Prayer.' It has not done so, at least in express 
 terms." 
 
 It then becomes necessary to ascertain from the 
 history of the law, whether the term " unbaptized*' 
 lias this peculiar limited meaning as understood by 
 the church of England, or whether that church 
 does not in fact recognize baptism with water and 
 the invocation of the 1 rinity, as validy though not 
 administered by one of her own ministers. — It is, 
 in short, the question of the validity of lay- 
 baptism. 
 
 i3 
 
90 SKETCH OF THE' HISTORY AND 
 
 In pursuing this investigation. Sir J. Nicholl ob- 
 ser\ e.^5 tliat '^ the law of the church of England, 
 and its historj, are to be deduced from the ancient 
 general canon law, — from the particular constitu- 
 tions made to regulate the English church, — from 
 our own canons, — from the Rubric, and from any 
 Acts of Parliament that may have passed upon the 
 s^ubject ; and the whole may be illustrated, also, by 
 the writings of eminent persons." From a careful 
 examination of all these authorities, he clearly 
 shews, that the church of England has always con- 
 sidered laij-haptism as valid, however irregular / 
 and hence that persons who have received such 
 baptism cannot be regarded, in the sense of the 
 church of England, as '' unbaptized." The old 
 Canon Law expressly declares, ' Non rerteraUir 
 baplisma quod in rwntine Sanctce lYinitatis minis'^ 
 traiur ;^ — ^ Valet haplisma etsi per laicos ministra' 
 Uir,'' From the Legatine and Provincial Consti- 
 tutions, the proofs to the same effect are equally 
 clear. The character of \A\ft person who adminis- 
 tered baptism, had no effect upon its validity ; the 
 application of water, and the invocation of the 
 Trinity, were considered as the substance of the 
 rite ; and baptism so administered, even by a 
 heretic, by a iaymtrin, or a woman, was received 
 as valid, lest the invocation of the Holy Trinity 
 should be treated as of no effect. 
 
 Thug stood the law of the cliurch at the time of 
 the Reformation : and it has not been materially 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 91 
 
 altered since. The Rubrics of Edward VI. and 
 Elizabeth, give the following direction, concern- 
 ing the private baptism of infants; — " Let those 
 that he present call upon God for his grace^ and 
 say the Lord's Prayer if the time will suffer : and 
 then one of them shall name the child and dip him 
 in the water, or pour the water upon him, saying 
 these words, — * 1 baptize thee in tlie name, &c.' " 
 " The same Rubric," says Sir J. Nicholl, " al- 
 though it enjoins people not to baptize their chil- 
 dren at home, except in cases of necessity, express- 
 ly directs the pastors to instruct their parishioners 
 in the form of doing it." In fact, it appears, that 
 down to the time of James I. all private baptisms 
 were administered by the laity. In the Hampton- 
 Court conferences, that prince expressed his dis- 
 approbation of lay-baptism; but neither he nor 
 his prelates contended that it was invalid; and he 
 expressly declared — " I utterly dislike all re-bap- 
 tizatioii on those whom women or laics have bap- 
 tized.''^ As he thought it more orderly, however, 
 for baptism, even in private, to be administered by 
 a clergyman, the Rubric of the service f«)r private 
 baptism was altered, and it was directed to be per- 
 formed by the '' lawful minist(?r.'* Lay-baptism, 
 then, even in cases of nece6sity,becameirreg'ular ; 
 but was not declared invalid. In the same manner, 
 marriages solemnized between minors, and in a 
 private house, though prohibited by the laws of 
 the church, and exposing the parties to punish- 
 
92 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 ment, were nevertheless valid^ previous to the 
 Marriage Act, by which it was expressly declared, 
 that such marriages should in future be void. The 
 concluding part of the Rubric of baptism, as 
 settled under James I. represents only two things 
 as essential, — the use of water, and the invocation 
 of the Trinity : in case it shall not appear certain 
 that these essentials have been complied with in the 
 private baptism, fZie;? the clergyman is to baptize 
 the child in the church in the conditional form pre- 
 scribed ^ — '* If thou art not already baptized, I 
 baptize thee,*' &c. No alteration of the Rubric, 
 respecting baptism, has taken place since that 
 time. 
 
 The practice of the church of England, in this 
 respect^ is stated to have been conformable to the 
 lam. After the Restoration, great numbers of per- 
 sons who had been baptized by Presbyterian minis- 
 ters, under the Common-wealth, were confirmed^ 
 ordained, and buried, without any scruple, by the 
 bishops and ministers of the episcopal establish- 
 ment. '' The practice, also, has always been, if 
 Presbyterians, or any other Dissenters from the 
 church of England, have come over to that church, 
 and have become members of it, nay, have become 
 ministers of it, they have never been re-baptized.* 
 
 * This was the case with two illustrious prelates of the last cen- 
 tury, — Archbishop Seeker, and Bishop Butler : the former of 
 whom baptized his present Majesty^ George the Third, and most of 
 his royitl issue, 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 95 
 
 The same practice Isas prevailed with respect to 
 Catholic conver(s ; they have never been re-bap- 
 tized." "Papists, who, ever since the Reforma- 
 tion, have been considered as much more widely 
 separated from the reformed clirTch than Protestant 
 Dissenters, are not only permitted to be buried 
 by our church, but are required to be buried in 
 the church or church-yard, or a penally is incurred 
 by their representatives ; and this not by putting 
 the body into the ground without the ceremony be- 
 ins^ performed^ but the minister is to read the ser- 
 vice ; our church knowing no such indecency, iis 
 putting the body into the consecrated ground, with- 
 out the service being at the same time performed." 
 The Rubric, made upon the Restoration, intro- 
 duced the words, '^ uiibaplized, and persons who 
 had laid violent hands on themselves," into the 
 preamble to the burial service. Now it seems in- 
 credible, from the circumstances of the times, al- 
 ready referred to, that the word " unbaptized'* 
 could have been introduced, to exclude all those 
 who had not been baptized according to the forni 
 of the church from the right of Christian burial. 
 *^ In every view of this su])ject," says the learned 
 judge, " and the more accurately and fully it is 
 considered, the more clearly it appears, that bu- 
 rial cannot in such a case be refused ; and it should 
 in no view of the subject be forgotten, that the 
 question is a question of disability and exclusion 
 from the rights which belong to His Majesty's sub- 
 
M SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 jects generally — an exception from the general 
 law." 
 
 The learned judge next considers the subject in 
 connexion with the Toleration Act. '^ Bj that 
 Act, an important change was worked in the situa- 
 tion of His Majesty's Protestant Dissenting sub- 
 jects ; and the baptisms now administered by Dis- 
 senting ministers stand upon very different grounds 
 from those by mere laymen. There were many 
 laws, both of church and state, requiring conformitj 
 to the church, creating disabilities, imposing pe« 
 nalties, and denouncing excommunications upon 
 all non-conformity. Now, supposing that during 
 the existence of these disabilities it could be main- 
 tained, that in point of law no act of non-con- 
 formists conld be recognized in a court of justice ; 
 and, therefore, that a baptism administered by 
 such persons could not be noticed at all, either bj 
 the church or by the courts administering the law 
 of the church ; yet, could it be maintained, now^ 
 that such a baptism was to be considered as a mer@ 
 nullity ? If such could have been considered as the 
 view of the law before the Toleration Act, yet that 
 Act would change the whole shape of the thing : 
 that Act removed the disabilities ; it allowed Pro- 
 testant Dissenters publickly to exercise their wor- 
 ship in tlieir own way under certain regulations ; it 
 legalized their ministers it protected them against 
 prosecutions for non-conformity. 
 
 ^' NoWj! their ministers and preachers being* 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 9j 
 
 allowed by law, (and so far as that ^oes they are 
 lawful ministers for the purposes of their on n wor- 
 ship), — their worship being- permitted by law, — 
 their non-conformity beino- tolerated, — could it any 
 
 & 
 
 longer be said that rites and ceremonies performed 
 by them are not such as the law can recognize in 
 any of His Majesty's courts of justice, proyided 
 they are not contrary to, nor defective in, that 
 which the Christian church universally holds to be 
 essential, that is, provided they are Christians ? 
 This appears to be a necessarj consequence of the 
 Toleration Act," 
 
 The learned judge then adverted to the manner 
 in which that Act has been considered by the 
 <:ourts of law, and particularly to the sentiments 
 expressed upon the subject, by Lord Mansfield and 
 Mr. Justice Foster, in the case of Evans d. the 
 Chamberlain of London, already stated.* He 
 adds, '^ Acts of non-confoiTnisiS are now legalized; 
 and they are to be recognized, and were upon tliat 
 occasion recognized, in courts of law. Indeed, 
 the legislature itself has recognized the baptism of 
 Dissenters ; for stat. 23 George III. cap. 67, which 
 laid a duty upon registers of baptisms by the 
 church, was extended, by stat. '25 George IIL 
 cap. 75, to the registers of baptism of Protestant 
 Dissenters. Both are now repealed, but the pass- 
 
 * See p. ^7, &c. 
 
96 SKETCH OF THE HIStORY ANB 
 
 ing of that second statute is a recognition of bap- 
 tism hy Protestant Dissenters." 
 
 Having' examined the law itself, the learned 
 judge briefly observed, that the opinions ®f eccle- 
 siastical writers upon the subject, led to the same 
 conclusion. He noticed the high authority of the 
 learned Hooker, as well as those of Bishop Fleet- 
 wood, Bishop Burnet, and Watson in his Clergy- 
 man's Law. He added, — '' If what has been re- 
 lated of a very eminent and learned prelate of the 
 church,'t]ie late Bishop Warburton, be true, he is 
 another practical authority. The circumstance I 
 allude to was this. A person who had applied for 
 holy orders, but was rejected, went into the coun- 
 try pretending that he was ordained^ and he per- 
 formed various sacred functions, and among others 
 he administered baptism in very many instances. 
 When it was at length discovered that he had not 
 been ordained at all, the parents of the children 
 who had been baptized bj him felt considerable un- 
 easiness, and wished the minister of their^parish to 
 re-baptize their children. The clergyman of the 
 parish very properly consulted his diocesan. Bishop 
 Warburton ; but the Bishop charged him on no 
 account to re-baptize their children, for that the 
 baptism already administered, though performed 
 by a mere layman, was a valid baptism, and that 
 the church did not allow a re-baptization. This 
 fact, if it be true, (and the court has no reason to 
 doubt it) at the same time that it does honour to a 
 
PttOC^EEDtNdS OF THE DEPUTIES. 97 
 
 distinguished prelate, by shewing how accurately 
 he had studied the law and the constitution of the 
 church of which he was a ruler, is another autho- 
 rity in opposition to the almost only authority 
 which has been relied upon on the other side,' and 
 that is Mr. Wheatly. 
 
 *' Now, if the character and the reputation of 
 the difForent writers were to be matter of consi- 
 deration, there could not be anV £rreat doubt whe- 
 ther the weight lay willi Hooker and Fleetwood, 
 and the other persons who have oeen referred to, 
 or with Mr. Wheatly ; but if the writings them-' 
 selves be examined, the difference may perhaps be 
 still more striking. In the former writers^ particu-' 
 larly in Hooker and Fleetwood, there are not only 
 great powers of reasoning, but accurate references 
 to legal authority. In the latter, there is a great 
 deal to be foiind that rests upon assertion, and as- 
 sertion only. This writer, among other things, 
 maintains, that no person is to be buried but those 
 who are baptized by the established church; nay, 
 he seems to go further, that no persons are to be 
 buried but those whose baptisms have been re- 
 gistered ; for his words are these, ^' all persons are 
 supposed to die unbaptized but those whose bap- 
 tisms the registers own^ and therefore, the regis- 
 ters not owning Dissenting baptisms, those who 
 die with such baptisms must be supposed to die On- 
 baptized.' Now this is assertion, but nothing 
 more ; for there- is no tiuthoritj' whatever referred 
 
 K 
 
98 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 to in support of it, — there is no law to be found 
 which so declares,— there is no practice which jus- 
 tifies this as being the rule. And to what extent, 
 — to what monstrous length would this go ? No 
 foreigners who are in this country, — not only no 
 Catholics, but no persons born in any Protestant 
 country in Europe, coming into this country and 
 dying here, could be buried according to the forms 
 of the church of England, because they are per- ~ 
 sons clearly not registered in this country, clearly 
 not baptized by a lawful minister of this country, 
 or according to our Book of Common Prayer. Not 
 only these, but none of IJis Majesty's Scotch Pres- 
 byterian subjects could be buried here, no member 
 of the church of England whose baptism has been 
 by omission neglected to be registered in his 
 parish ; — nay, a person born in one part of the 
 kingdom, if he happened to die in another and a 
 distant part of the kingdom, could not receive 
 Christian burial, from the want of facility to pro* 
 cure the register of his baptism.'' 
 
 '^ It has been asked, — If you do not require 
 proof from the register, what other proof can you 
 have ? How are the clergy otherwise to find out who 
 are baptized, and who are not ? To that it may be 
 properly answered, they must be satisfied with rea- 
 sonable evidence — with what a person acting fairly, 
 and not captiously, would require ; for if a clergy- 
 man meant to act vexatiously, and, under the pre- 
 text of not being satisfied of the fact, when, taking 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 99 
 
 all the circumstances of tlie case together, no doubt 
 could reasonably be entertained upon the subject, 
 refused burial, he would not only be liable to the 
 punishment of the law, but exposed to that punish- 
 ment in its utmost extent. In the present casfe 
 there appears, however, no difficulty of the sort : 
 for the articles assort, that the child was baptized 
 according to the form generally observed among 
 that class of Dissenters : — that Mr. AYickes stood 
 upon tjie fact as the ground of his refusal. This 
 was acting, certainly, much more properly, than 
 pretending to doubt a fact of which he had no con- 
 scientious doubt ; and though he has, perhaps, un- 
 fortunately mistaken the law, it was much more 
 honourable not to state a doubt of the fact, but to 
 act upon the existence of his doubt of the law." 
 
 In answer to an observation of Mr. Wheatlj, 
 that the Dissenters may have separate places of 
 burial, or be content without requiring the prayers 
 of a minister, the learned judge says, *' Mr. W. 
 is not explaining the law, but he is making the 
 law; and he is making it, not with the tolerant 
 spirit of the church of England, but with a consi- 
 derable degree of intemperance and mistaken 
 zeal." " Its principle is to bring over by conci- 
 liation, not to force away by severity ; — to extend 
 its pale, not to contract it by unnecessary exclu- 
 sion." He then asks, whether it be just to exclude 
 those from its rites, as far as their consciences will 
 allow them to join, who are obliged to pay their 
 a 2 
 
100 SKETCH OF THE, n,I§TORY AND 
 
 Tithes, Churcli Rates, Easter Offerings, and other 
 dues, and contribute to the support of the church 
 and its ministers. He corrects another of Mr. 
 \Yheatly's errors, by observing' that ''persons in- 
 titled to be buried in the churfih-?yard can be buried 
 there pn\y by the interventipn .of a minister of the 
 church." lie adds, that "^ the proofs of the rights 
 of property and pedigrees, and the validity of mar- 
 riages, frequently depend upon the register of 
 burials, and therefore that on grounds of public 
 policy, burials at the church, merely for the sake 
 of their being registered, ought to be encouraged.'* 
 Of Mr. Wheatly, Sir J. Nicholl says, "• he maybe 
 a very learned, and a very sound divine, (of that 
 the court does not presume to form any judge- 
 ment) ; but he cannot very safely be followed as a 
 sound ecclesiastical lawyer, and hia writings may 
 possibly have misled this very clergyman, and have 
 exposed him to the present prosecution." 
 
 '' It has been said," continues the learned judge., 
 " that the present case is iniportant, both to the in- 
 terests of the Dissenters and of the church. It may 
 he -iniportant to the Dissenters, that their right of 
 church burial should be establisthed, and that their 
 baptisms should be recognized, and should not be 
 considered as mere nullities, for that goes far to 
 the denial of their being Christians at all ; and 
 every tiling which savours of disability and e%^ 
 elusion is of importance to any subjects of His Ma- 
 jesty ; and, if the law does not exclude them from 
 
PROCEEDINGS OP THE DEPUTIES. lOl 
 
 church burial, no blame whatever can be imputed 
 either to the individual, or to the body, if the body 
 countenance the individual, in the attempt now 
 made to assert the right Of burial by the institution 
 of the present suit ; but how the object of the suit 
 can be that, which has been suggested by the coun- 
 sel, namely, for the purpose of establishing their 
 ministers as ^' lawful ministers," is difficult to be 
 imagined. As lawful Dissenting ministers, they 
 are already established ; for the law allows them, 
 and recognizes them as such ; and the event of this 
 suit cannot by possibility make them lawful minis- 
 ters of the Church of England, episcopally or- 
 dained ; nor can it in any manner alter their station 
 and character in the political society of the coun- 
 
 try- 
 
 ^' The importance of the suit, to the interests 
 and dignity of the church, is not less difficult to be 
 apprehended. If the legal rights of the church 
 were affected, it would not be more the duty than 
 the inclination of the court to uphold them. The 
 suit may be interesting to individuals who have 
 been embarked in controversy and contest ; it may 
 be interesting to the clergy in general, who are 
 doubtful what the law is, that the law should be 
 ascertained by a judicial decision : but why the 
 rights and interests of the church are to be affected 
 by the considering of Dissenting baptisms as 
 Christian baptisms, — by allowing persons so bap- 
 tized the common right of being buried according 
 k3 
 
102 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 to the ordinary forms of the church, and by a mi- 
 nister ofthe church, to whose support they are bound 
 to contribute, has not been explained . J f the law has 
 not excluded them from this ordinary right of Chris- 
 tianity and humanity, the ministers of the church 
 will not surely be degraded by performing the office. 
 On the contrary, the generality of the clergy, it 
 may be presumed, will rejoice that in this last office 
 of Christian charity there is no separation between 
 the church and their Protestant Dissenting brethren. 
 It is by a lenient and a liberal interpretation of the 
 laws of disability and exclusion, and not by a cap- 
 tious and vexatious construction and application of 
 them, that the true interests and the true dignity of 
 the church establishment are best supported. 
 
 ** Upon the whole of the case, and for the reasons 
 assigned, the court is of opinion, that the minister, 
 in refusing to bury this child in the manner pleaded 
 in the articles, has acted illegally. The suit is 
 probably brought for the sake of deciding the ques- 
 tion, rather than punishing the individual. The' 
 minister may have acted, and it is presumed has 
 acted, from a sense of his public duty : for, upon . 
 his understanding of the law, it was his duty, and , 
 he was bound, not to perform the service, which he 
 might most willingly have performed if he had more 
 correctly understood the law. The court has, there- 
 fore, thought it proper to state its opinion, and the 
 grounds of that opinion, the more fully, in the hope 
 of setting the question at rest, and of putting an 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 103 
 
 end to the suit. If the facts are truly stated, and 
 the decision now given upon the law should be 
 acquiesced in, it may reasonably be expected from 
 the spirit of candour which has been avowed on the 
 part of the promoter, that he would be satisfied in 
 correcting the error, and in establishing the right ; 
 and that the suit might end here, and harmony be 
 restored between these parties, each of them recol- 
 lecting, that however they may differ upon certain 
 points, either of doctrine or of ceremony, still they 
 are both equally bound by Christian charity to dis- 
 miss, as quickly as possible, from their minds, all 
 feelings of animosity, and to return to the exercise 
 of mutual kindness. The court, upon the grounds 
 already stated, has no doubt at all in admitting 
 these articles, and does admit them accordingly.'* 
 
 The law of the case being thus decided against 
 Mr. Wickes, and the facts being admitted, he be- 
 came liable, under the 68th Canon, to suspension 
 for three months, besides being condemned in costs. 
 The Committee, however, having no other wish 
 than to obtain a decision of the point, forbore to 
 pray for more than an admonition, which was ac- 
 cordingly pronounced when the cause came on for 
 final judgement, February 15, 1810, and the court 
 was pleased to express its approbation of the mo- 
 derate spirit which had dictated that prayer. 
 
 About the time of instituting this suit in vindi- 
 cation of an important general right of the Dissen- 
 tejrs, the Committee were called upon to assist in 
 
104 SKETCH OP THE HISTORT AND 
 
 maintaining another right, of a more confined and 
 private nature, enjoyed in a particular district 
 under a local Act of Parliament. As a similar 
 right, however, is possessed in most other parts of 
 the country, under statutes of the same kind, the 
 case may with propriety be mentioned here. By 
 an Act of the 47th of His present Majesty, c. 49, 
 for amending certain roads in the county of Suffolk, 
 it is enacted, that no toll shall be demanded or 
 taken, at the gates therein mentioned, from '* any 
 person going to or returning from his proper paro- 
 chial church, chapel, or other place of religious 
 worship tolerated by law, on a Sunday, or on any 
 other day on which divine service is ordered by 
 authority to be celebrated." In 1809, several Dis- 
 senters who were going to a meeting-house at 
 Halesworth, on the Lord's day, through one of 
 these gates, were compelled to pay toll. The Com- 
 mittee, on being applied to for advice, ordered the 
 case to be laid before Mr. Serjeant Lens. His 
 opinion being that the demand was illegal, and that 
 the money might be recovered back, an action was 
 brought for that purpose, and at the Summer Assi- 
 zes, at Bury St. I^munds, in 1809, the plaintiff 
 obtained a verdict. The Committee contributed 
 ^20 towards the expences incurred by the plaintiff 
 beyond the amaunt of the costs recovered. 
 
 The Committee have not been unmindful of the 
 interest of the Dissenters, as liable to be inciden- 
 tally affected, from time to time, by the acts of thcjt^ 
 
PBOCEED1NG6 OF TIJE DEPUTIES. 105 
 
 legislature. Their interposition, in several cases 
 of this kind, especially respecting the Militia and 
 Local Militia Acts, and the Indemnity Act, has 
 not been less effectual than if it has been forced 
 upon the public attention. In 1805, thej procuretl 
 the omission of a clause in the Bermondsej Road 
 Bill, which would have subjected meetiiig houses 
 to assessment. — Directions were given for an ap- 
 plication respecting the Charitable Donation Bill, 
 in 1809, but were superseded by its early withdraw- 
 ment. 
 
 The last affair which it falls within the design of 
 this abstract to particularize, is the unsuccessful 
 attempt of Lord Viscount Sidmouth to put the tole- 
 ration of Protestant Dissenters on a new footing. 
 A succint account will therefore be subjoined of the 
 various steps taken by the noble viscount on the one 
 hand, and the Deputies on the other, in reference 
 to this important subject, down to the final triumph 
 of the Dissenting cause. 
 
 On the 2nd of June, 1809, Lord Sidmouth de- 
 livered a speech in the House of Lords, in which 
 he stated, that he had reason to believe many per- 
 sons took out licences as Dissenting ministers, 
 under the Toleration Act, for no other purpose 
 than that of obtaining an exemption from parish 
 offices and the militia ; and that some explanjilion 
 of those statutes was become necessary in order to 
 preserve them from abuse. His lordship, therefore^ 
 
106 SKETCH OT THE HISTORY AND 
 
 moved for an account of licences^ granted in each 
 year^ in the respective counties of England and 
 Wales, at the Quarter Sessions, and in the Bishop's 
 Registries, from the jear 1780, to the end of the 
 year 1808, under the Acts of 1st William and 
 Mary, and 19th George 111. Lord Marrowby ex- 
 pressed his regard for the prosperity of the estab- 
 lished church, and his conviction that it was not to 
 be promoted by imposing restrictions upon the Dis- 
 senters, whose increase he attributed, in many in- 
 stances, to the want of accommodation in the parish 
 churches : his lordship concluded with suggesting 
 that the returns should commence from the year 
 1760. The motion thus altered being agreed to, 
 the returns were ordered accordingly. 
 
 At the next monthly meeting of the Committee of 
 Deputies, June the SOth, Lord Sidmouth's inten- 
 tions were canvassed, and a Sub-committee was 
 appointed to propose a conference on the subject 
 with the Dissenting Ministers of the three denomi- 
 nations, residing in and near London. A con- 
 
 * The use of this word, even for convenience sake, is equally 
 invidious and unwarrantable. No such word is used in either of 
 the Acts of Parliament. The legal rights which the Dissenters 
 obtain by qualifying and registering, in no degree dep^id upon 
 the discretion ol the courts in which those fuinialities are to be 
 complied with, nor on the granting of the certificate which the 
 law has directed to be given to then* as evidence of such com- 
 pliance. 
 
PIIOCEEDIXGS or THE DEPUTIES. 107 
 
 ference accordingly took place, at which it was 
 agreed to recommend the Ministers and Deputies, 
 individually, to procure as much information as 
 possible, during the recess of Parliament, respect- 
 ing the sentiments of the Dissenters in general 
 throughout the country, as to any changes in the 
 j Acts of Toleration. In consequence of this recom- 
 mendation, various reports were made to the Com- 
 mittee in the course of the winter, which concurred 
 I in reprobating any design to explain or alter the 
 jlaw so as to abridge the freedom in religious mat- 
 |ters then enjoyed by the Dissenters, but differed as 
 to the description of persons who, it was thought, 
 might reasonably expect from the legislature the 
 advantages of Dissenting ministers. The general 
 opinion appeared to be, that no alteration in 
 the law was desirable, except to render the ope- 
 ration ofthe Act of His present Majesty co-extensive 
 with that of 1st William and Mary, and to establish 
 the right of students in divinity to ilie same advan- 
 tages as regular ministers. 
 
 In the next Session, February 27, IS 10, Lord 
 Sidmouth observed that the returns which had been 
 made were by no means satisfactory. A new order 
 therefore was given ; and other returns were made, 
 in obedience to it, in a few days.* 
 
 * The first return stated the number of persons qualified, and 
 places registered, in England and Wales, in each i/ear, not distin- 
 guishing in which county or diocese. It was ordered to be printed, 
 iFebruary 21, 1810. The second return, made in coti:-)equence of 
 
lOS SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AN» 
 
 At a special meeting of the Committee, on the 
 11th of May, a Sub-committee was appointed to 
 wait upon Lord Sidmouth, to ascertain what al- 
 terations his lordship intended to propose in the 
 Toleration Acts. The Sub-committee accordingly 
 obtained an interview with Lord »Sidmouth, in 
 which his lordship vorj frankly communicated his 
 own views and wishes. The first object, it appear- 
 ed, for wliich his lordship thought it necessary for 
 parliament to interfere, was to require some species 
 
 Lord Sidinor.th's motion on the 27th of February, distinguished the 
 covjities and dioceses, but not the years. It was ordered to be 
 printed, Maich 6, 1810. The totals of both are the same. The 
 foiiowing: results are drawn from the first return ; the chronology 
 of the subject being much more important, as to this discussion, 
 than the geography of it. — N.B. No returns were transnntted from 
 the counties Worcester and Carnarvon, nor from the diocese of St, 
 David's ; and many of the returns commence at periods long sub- 
 sequent to 1760. 
 
 Number of persons who have taken the oaths and subscribed the 
 declarations prescribed by 1st W. and M. c. 18, and 19th G. 3. c. 
 44. at the (Quarter Sessions, in p-eriods of seven y^ars, and in each 
 year of the last period. 
 
 From 1760 to 1766 
 
 80 
 
 In 1802 
 
 .... 105 
 
 1767 to 1773 •••• 
 
 38 
 
 1803 
 
 188 
 
 1774 to 1780 
 
 179 
 
 1804 
 
 .... 113 
 
 1781 to 1787 
 
 379 
 
 1805 
 
 .... Ii4 
 
 I78B to 1794 
 
 610 
 
 1805. 
 
 171 
 
 1795 to 1801 
 
 1318 
 
 1807 
 
 163 
 
 1803 to 1808 
 
 1068* 
 
 1808 
 
 .... 215 
 
 3672 1068* 
 
 Number of places of worship registered, or recorded, conform- 
 ably to the Act of 1st W. and M. c. 18, at the Bishop's Jlegistries, 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTfES. 10.0 
 
 of testimonial to the abilities and moral character 
 (especially the latter) of those who should qualify 
 as Dissenting- teachers ; such testimonial to be 
 given by persons of their own sect and persuasion, 
 and not left to any discretion of the magistrate ; to 
 subject any teacher, whose conduct should be found 
 immoral, to the forfeiture of his qualification, 
 which should not be renewed without a fresh testi- 
 monial ; and also to fix a certain age, under which 
 none should be allowed to qualify. 
 
 On these points, the Sub-committee represented 
 to his lordship, that any new restrictions upon per- 
 sons who wished to qualify as Dissenting teachers, 
 would be very objectionable to the Dissenters at 
 large, and therefore ought not to be imposed with- 
 out adequate cause : that no evidence had been^ or, 
 as they conceived, could be produced, to shew a 
 necessity for new restrictions : that though unwor- 
 thy individuals might be found among those who 
 
 or the 
 
 Quarter Sessions, 
 
 in periods of 
 
 ■ seven years. — N.B. 
 
 Many of 
 
 these 
 
 places have long ago ceased to be used for p' 
 
 ublic worship. 
 
 
 
 
 Bp.'s Reg. 
 
 Qr. Sess. 
 
 Total. 
 
 
 From 1760 to 
 
 1766 
 
 387 .. 
 
 .. 284 ..■ 
 
 ■• 671 
 
 
 
 1767 to 
 
 1773 
 
 391 •• 
 
 .. 193 ... 
 
 .. 584 
 
 
 
 1774 to 
 
 1780 
 
 .... 652 .. 
 
 .. 246 .. 
 
 .. 898 
 
 
 
 1781 to 
 
 1787 
 
 .... 665 .. 
 
 .. 213 ... 
 
 •• 878 
 
 
 
 1788 to 
 
 1794 
 
 .... I486 .. 
 
 ... .386 .. 
 
 .. 1872 
 
 
 
 1795 to 
 
 1801 
 
 3185 .. 
 
 ■•. 393 .. 
 
 .• 3578 
 
 
 
 1802 to 
 
 1808 
 
 .... 3388 .. 
 
 •. 292 .. 
 
 .. 3680 
 
 
 
 
 
 10154 
 
 2007 
 
 12161 
 
 
 
 
 
 Zi 
 
 
 
 
no SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 had qualified, their moral clmracter was, in most 
 cases, an ornament to their profession, and would 
 not suffer from a comparison with any other descrip- 
 tion of ministers whatsoever: that a minister whose 
 conduct was found to be immoral, was almost in- 
 variably dismissed from his situation, and seldom 
 could get appointed to any other, or even obtain 
 permission to preach ; so that no interposition of 
 the legislature was necessary even in the rare case 
 of immorality : that, as to other qualifications, 
 most ministers of congregations had received a com- 
 petent education, and that some were men of the 
 most eminent talents and attainments : that al- 
 though it might be true that some, who qualified, 
 were ill-informed, or, as had been alledged, per- 
 haps even incapable of writing, they were still 
 competent to give some instruction to their neigh- 
 bours who could not read, and who were in other 
 respects still more ignorant than themselves : and 
 that, in short, the degree of learning which Dissent- 
 ing teachers possessed, was not an object that de- 
 served the attention of the legislature : that to 
 require a testimonial, would sometimes prove very- 
 inconvenient and vexatious : that where it did not 
 degenerate into an empty form, it would confer 
 upon ministers, if fhei/ were to grant it, a new and 
 obnoxious authority; or, if to be granted by a man's 
 neighbours, would lay him at their raercy : that 
 it might often be difficult for a man, before he 
 could safely exercise his talents, to obtain a re- 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. HI 
 
 spectable testimonial that he possessed talents : 
 that, in case a man's views of religion should hap- 
 pen to be different from tliose of all existing sects, 
 it would either bind him to silence, or expose him, 
 if he preached, as he probably would, to all the 
 severities of the penal laws : that it could scarcely 
 fail of investing the Quarter Sessions with some 
 discretionary authority, in judging of the suffi- 
 ciency of the testimonial, and that this would be 
 to subvert the very basis of toleration : tliat any 
 such regulation would be directly at variance with 
 a leading principle among the Dissenters, who 
 held that every man had a riglit to propagate what 
 he himself believed to he truth, without craving 
 permission from others, and without being liable 
 to any penalties, unless he infringed upon tlie 
 peace and good order of society : that, as to limit- 
 ing the age of preachers^ so few persons, if anj', 
 were found to qualify at an unsuitable age, that no 
 legal provision was requisite, and that some parti- 
 cular individuals might probably be capable of 
 preaching in certain situations, at an earlier age 
 than it might be thought proper to fix as a general 
 standard. 
 
 Another object, which his lordship said had 
 engaged his attention^ was imposing some restric- 
 tion, either by separate licence, or otherwise, on 
 itinerant preaching. 
 
 On this point, the Sub-committee assured his 
 lordship, the Dissenters would feel particularly 
 l2 
 
112 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 jealous : that though their own regular ministers 
 were in general stationary, most of them occasion- 
 ally preached in neighbouring villages, or distant 
 parts of the country : that it would be a serious 
 grievance to the Weslejan Methodists, whose mi- 
 nisters were mostly itinerant, and would be stre- 
 nuously opposed, upon principle, by all the Dis- 
 senters, though not so liable to be affected by it 
 themselves : that it would only have the effect of 
 harrassing and irritating itinerants, for they would 
 not be prevented preaching when they considered it 
 their dwiy^ except by being thrown into prison : 
 that in fact itinerant preachers were often the most 
 useful ones ; and that whatever their faults or 
 defects might be, their labours were upon the whole 
 highly beneficial, in civilizing the lower ranks, and 
 rendering them sober, industrious, and religious. 
 
 The third object which his lordship had in view, 
 and which he appeared to consider particularly im- 
 portant, was preventing lay-preachers from claim- 
 ing exemption from burthensome offices, and mi- 
 litary service. 
 
 The Sub-committee observed, upon this subject, 
 that none but ministers of congregations were 
 intitled to these exemptions by the law as it now 
 stood, (1st W. and M. c. 18. s. 11): that to sup- 
 pose any person could gain exemption by merely 
 qualifying as a preacher, without being bona Jide 
 the minister of a congregation, was an evident mis- 
 take^ and consequently that no alteration in the 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 113 
 
 law was necessary to preserve it from abuse : 
 that in fact not a single instance had been made 
 out, in which it had been so abused: that to 
 take away the exemption from ministers of con- 
 gregations who were engaged in trade, without 
 which their scanty income would not suffice to keep 
 their families from want, would be a most grievous 
 hardship, and operate as a direct punishment for 
 being poor and industrious : and that the number 
 of persons who claimed exemptions under the act, 
 appeared by the returns to be too inconsiderable, 
 to produce any material inconveniencej or require 
 the interference of Parliament. 
 
 There was another point which his lordship men- 
 tioned, but without appearing to lay any great 
 stress upon it : this was, to require some more for- 
 mal and public notification of the places that were 
 registered for worship under the Act. 
 
 The Sub-committee observed that such a regula- 
 tion would be invidious and oifensive, while it 
 appeared altogether unnecessary and useless. 
 
 On the whole, the Sub-committee strenuously 
 endeavoured to persuade his lordship to abandon 
 his design. They observed, that whatever might 
 be his lordship's disposition, if a h'Al were to be 
 brought into the House, it might perhaps assume a 
 form still less favourable to their liberties ; that the 
 established church and the Dissenters were at pre- 
 sent on friendly ter:ms, but would certainly be set 
 at variance by bringing the question before the 
 h 3 
 
]M SKETCH OF THE HISTORY ANJ> 
 
 public ; that nothing but necessity should curtail 
 the operation of a law vvbicli had continued undis- 
 turbed for one hundred and twenty years, and that, 
 so far from such a necessity existing", the general 
 conduct of the Dissenters had proved them Worthy 
 of every benefit they enjoyed. 
 
 The noble viscount listened with great patience 
 and attention to the objections of the Sub-commit- 
 tee, and expressed very liberal opinions on the- 
 subject of toleration in general. He declared that 
 instead of harbouring any hostile intentions towards 
 the Dissenters, he had entertained great hopes of 
 their concurrence in his views ; and that though he 
 might be ill-informed or mistaken, he did not mean 
 to attempt any measure which he did not think he 
 should be desirous to support if he were a Dissenter 
 himself. 
 
 On the 25tli of May the Sub-committee made 
 their report of the conference they had held with 
 Lord Sidmouth, observing, that though they could 
 not flatter themselves with the hope of having pre- 
 vailed upon him to abandon his design of bringing 
 the subject before Parliament, they had, upon the 
 whole, derived much satisfaction from the inter- 
 view.* 
 
 Although there appears reason to believe, from 
 the subsequent measures of the noble viscount, 
 that this conference had a considerable effect on his 
 
 c r- , . .., - ., ■ . ' .. ■ , . . -^ 
 
 * It is believed that the substance of what passed at this inter- 
 view is correctly given ; though it must be taken subject to tbe^ 
 qualifications, which a statement frona recollection requires. 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 115 
 
 mind, it certainly did not induce him to abandon 
 the whole of his designs. On the 18th of June, 
 his lordship made several remarks in the House, 
 respecting the abuses of the Toleration Acts ; he 
 asserted that tl>ese abuses were disapproved of by 
 many of the Dissentei'^ themselves ; and concluded 
 with giving notice of his intention to bring in a bill 
 to prevent any person taking out a certificate as a 
 preacher or teacher, unless he had attained the 
 age of twenty-one, was appointed to a congrega- 
 tion, and could produce testimonials of his fitness 
 for the office from some persons of the same reli- 
 gious persuasion. 
 
 On the 29th of March, 1811, the Committee au- 
 thorized a Sub-committee to wait upon such of the 
 peers and members of the House of Commons, as 
 they should think proper, in order to secure their 
 support in the event of Lord Sidmouth bringing 
 forward his intended bill. 
 
 On the 9th of May, the noble viscount rose ac- 
 cording to notice, to propose '* a Bill to explain 
 and render more effectual the Acts of 1st William 
 and Mary, and the 19th George III. so far as re- 
 lates to Dissenting ministers." The reasons his 
 lordship urged in favour of the measure, were 
 chiefly founded on the abuses which he stated to 
 have arisen from the interpretation given *lo the 
 law in most parts of the country ; and the descrip- 
 tion of persons, who, under that interpretation, 
 kad obtained licences as preachers and teachers. 
 
IK) SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 witliout any inquiry as to their moral or intellec- 
 tual qualifications. This, he contended, was an 
 abuse. It was not so in the counties of Devon, 
 Buckingham, and Norfolk, where a different in- 
 terpretation of the law prevailed, and where li- 
 cences were not granted unless the persons apply- 
 ing were actually the ministers of Dissenting con- 
 gregations. To shew the description of persons 
 who now frequently obtained licences, he cjuoted 
 the returns of two Archdeaconries, by which it ap- 
 peared these persons consisted of tailors, pig- 
 drovers, chimney-sweepers, &c. He did not ob- 
 ject to their situation of life, if they were consi- 
 dered by Dissenters as fit and proper persons to 
 preach and teach : but what he objected to was 
 the self-election by which they chose to consider 
 themselves as fit and piioper persons for that pur- 
 pose, and without any other authority obtained a 
 licence. He was utterly averse to any measure 
 that could in the least infringe upon a just and en- 
 lightened toleration ; but he thought it was abso- 
 lutely necessary to declare, in this instance, what 
 the law was, not only that there might be no doubt 
 in the minds of the magistrates, but also with a 
 view to the direction of Dissenters themselves.. 
 He had had communications with several Dis- 
 senterS^ upon the subject, and it was but justice to 
 tliem to saj, that they had given him valuable in- 
 formation, and shewn a liberal and candid spirit. 
 After stating the remedies he proposed in the Bill 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 117 
 
 for the evils and abuses he had complained of, he 
 went on to observe, that when it was considered 
 that persons obtaining licences were e'^empt from 
 serving upon juries, from serving parish offices, and 
 other duties to which their fellow-subjects were 
 liable, it was surely requisite, that some caution 
 and circumspection should be used. His lordship 
 then took a view of the state of the established 
 church : observing, that, from the deficiency of ac- 
 commodation in its places of worship, many persons 
 were driven to Dissenting meeting-houses, as the 
 only places wliere they could receive religious in- 
 struction. It was highly important that some means 
 should be taken to prevent us from having a nomi- 
 nal established church, and a sectarian people. In 
 the reign of Queen Anne fifty new churches were 
 directed to be built in the metropolis, of which 
 only ten were erected. At the present time, to 
 provide for the increase of population of the me- 
 tropolis, one hundred new churches were required ; 
 and he thought such an object loudly called for 
 the attention of Parliament. Grants should be 
 made out of the public purse in aid of the exer- 
 tions of individuals; and every measure adopted 
 to support the established church, which was a part 
 of the constution, and upon which so greatly de- 
 pended the sound morality of the country. II is 
 lordship concluded by moving the first reading of 
 his Bill. 
 
 Lord Holland said he would not act so irregu- 
 
118 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 larly, as to oppose the first reading of the Bill, but 
 he thought it right to state that he could not agree in 
 the opinion which his noble friend seemed to adopt 
 as the basis of it, viz. that it was only by the per- 
 mission of government, that a man was intitled 
 to preach the religious doctrines he maintained. 
 He, (Lord H.) on the contrary, was of opinion, 
 that every person had a right to preach those reli- 
 gious opinions which he conscientiously believed. 
 He regretted that the noble viscount had spoken 
 invidiously of persons in inferior situations of life 
 becoming preachers ; for surely they were as mucli 
 intitled to preach their own religious principles, as 
 those who enjoyed the rich endowments of the 
 church. He regretted also that his noble friend 
 should have interfered with the subject at all, as in 
 his opinion it could only tend to excite dissensions. 
 No case had been made out^ which called for the 
 interference of Parliament. The exemptions from 
 civil duties, of which the noble viscount complain- 
 ed, could only apply to a few persons ; and it was 
 better that these few persons should have their 
 exemptions, than that Parliament should run the 
 i-isk of exciting dissensions and alarms, which must 
 be created by meddling with the Toleration Act. 
 He agreed with the noble viscount as to the pro- 
 priety of increasing the number of churches ; but, 
 whilst he had no objection to a grant by Parlia- 
 ment tor that purpose, he thought that the church 
 itself ought to be called upon to contribute to aa 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. j 19 
 
 object, in which its interests were so materially ir»- 
 volved. He would not enter further on the sub- 
 ject till he had read the Bill : but to the object 
 stated by the noble viscount) he was decidedly 
 hostile, as he thoug;ht it infinitely the wiser course 
 to leave the Toleration Act untouched. 
 
 Lord Sidmouth having explained, — Earl Stan- 
 hope, stated it as his opinion, that the noble vis- 
 count had better begin by some measure for build- 
 ing* places of worship to accommodate those mem- 
 bers of the established church who were now, as 
 he alledged, for want of that accommodation, 
 obliged to frequent meeting-houses ; and not dabble 
 with the Dissenters. 
 
 The Bill was read a first time, and ordered to be 
 printed : and Lord Sidmouth gave notice of his in- 
 tention to move the second reading on the 17th 
 instant. 
 
 The Chairman immediately summoned a meeting 
 of the Committee for the 13th, A copy of the Bill 
 was procured by tlie secretary,, and two thousand 
 copies printed off.* 
 
 ■* '' ^ Bill, intituled an Jet to explain and render more effectual 
 
 certain Acts of the First Year of the lieign of King ffilliam 
 
 and Queen Mary ^ and of the li'ineteeth Year of the Reign of 
 
 His pres€7it Majesty^ so far a^ the sayne relate io Protestant 
 
 Dissenting Ministers. 
 
 '' VVhf.rf.as by an Act made in the first year of the reijrn of 
 
 iCing VVilliam and Queen Mary, intituled, An Act for exempting 
 
 their Majesties' Protestant Subjects, dissenting from the Church of 
 
120 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 On tlie ISth of May the Committee met. After 
 hearing the Bill read, they resolved unanimously, 
 that a petition ought to be presented to Pariia- 
 
 Englundy fv-oin the Penalties of certain Laws, persons dissenting 
 from the church of England in holy orders, or pretended holy- 
 orders, or pretending to holy orders, and preachers or teachers of 
 any congregation of Dissenting Protestants, in order to their being 
 intitled to certain exemptions, benefits, privileges, and advantages, 
 by the said Act granted, are required to declare their approbation 
 of and to subscribe to certain articles of religion : and whereas by 
 another Act, made in the nineteenth year of the reign of His pre- 
 sent Majesty, intituled, yJn Jet for the furthey^ relief of Protest-' 
 ant Dissenting Ministers and ScJioolm asters, it is enacted, that 
 every person dissenting from the church of England in holy orders, 
 or pretended holy orders, or pretending to holy orders, being a 
 preacher or teacher of any congregation of Dissenting Protestants, 
 if he shall scruple to declare and subscribe as required by the .said 
 first recited Act, may make and subscribe the declaration in the 
 said last recited Act set forth, in order to his being entitled to the 
 exemptions, benefits, privileges, and advantages, granted by the 
 said first recited Act, and to certain other exemptions, benefits, 
 privileges, and advantages, granted by the said last recited Act : 
 and whereas doubts have arisen as to the description of persons to 
 whom the said recited provisions were intended to apply, and it is 
 exr 3tl*.ent to remove the said doubts : may it therefore please your 
 Majesty that it may be declared and enacted, and be it declared 
 and enacted by the King's most excellent Majesty, by and with the 
 advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and Com- 
 mons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority 
 of the same, that every person being a Protestant dissenting from 
 the church of England in holy orders, or pretended holy orders, or 
 pretending to holy orders, who shall be appointed or admitted to 
 be the minister of any separate congregation of Dissenting Pro- 
 testants, duly certified and recorded or registered according to law, 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 121 
 
 meat against its bill passing into a law ; and or- 
 dered a general meeting of the Deputies to be sum- 
 moned for the 15th instant. A Sub-committee was 
 
 shall be, and is hereby declared to be a person entitled to qualify 
 himself to be a Dissenting minister, >vithin the intent and mean- 
 ing of the said recited provisions of the said Acts ; and that no 
 other than such person as aforesaid is so entitied within the intent 
 and meaning of the same. 
 
 ^* And be it further enacted, that from and after the passing of 
 this Act, upon the appointment of any person, being a Protestant 
 dissenting from the church of England, and being in holy orders, 
 or pretended holy orders, or pretending to holy orders, to be the 
 minister of any separate congregation of Dissenting Protestants, 
 duly certified and recorded or registered according to law, and 
 upon his admission to the peaceable possession and enjoyment of 
 the place of minister of the said congregation, it shall be lawful 
 for any or more substantial and reputable householders 
 
 belonging to the said congregation, in order that the said minister 
 may duly qualify himself according to this Act, to certify the said 
 appointment and his admission to the peaceable possession and en- 
 joyment of the said place, by writing under their hands and proper 
 names, in the form set forth in the schedule of this Act marked A^ 
 10 be directed to the justices of the peace, at the general ses.ion of 
 the peace, to be hold<in for the county, riding, or place where such 
 congregation shall be established ; and every such minister, who 
 shall cause tlie certificate -to him granted as aforcs&id, to be re- 
 corded at any general session of the peace to be huldcn as afore- 
 said, within after the date of the Ftiid ceitificate, in the 
 manner directed by this Act, (proof being first made on the oath 
 of or more credible witness or witnesses of the hand-writing 
 of the several persons of the said congregation whose nan:es are 
 subscribed to the said certificate, shall be, and is hereby allowed, 
 without further proof, to take the oaths, and to make and sub- 
 scribe the declaration against Popery required to be ;aken and 
 
122 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 also appointed, to meet a Committee of the Dissent- 
 ing Ministers, in and near London^ on the Mth, 
 and acquaint them with the proceedings of the Com- 
 mittee, which was accordingly done. 
 
 made by the said Act passed in the first year of the reign of 
 King William and Queen Mary, and also the declaration set forth 
 in the said Act, passed in the nineteeth year of the reign of His 
 present Majesty: and after taking the said oaths, and making and 
 subscribing the said declarations, in manner and upon proof afore- 
 said, every such minister shall be and is hereby declared to be en- 
 titled to all the exemptions, benefits, privileges, and advantages 
 granted to Protestant Dissenting ministers by the said recited Acts 
 or either of them, or by any Act in the said recited Acts or either 
 of them mentioned or referred to. 
 
 »« Provided always, and be it further enacted, that nothing 
 herein-before contained shall aft^ct or impeach, or be construed to 
 affect or impeach, any provision or exemption, or any qualification 
 or modification thereof, contained in any statute made since the 
 said recited Acts, and now in force, relating to the militia, or the 
 local militia, of this kingdom. 
 
 *' Provided also, and be it further enacted, that nothing herein- 
 before contained shall affect or impeach, or be construed to affect 
 or impeach, the title or claim of any Dissenting minister, who 
 before the passing of this Act shall have taken the oaths and sub- 
 scribed the declarations mentioned or set forth in the said recited 
 Acts, or either of them, to have and enjoy the exemptions, benefits, 
 privileges, and advantages granted by the said Acts, or either of 
 ihem. 
 
 " And whereas it is expedient to exempt from certain penalties 
 other persons herein-after described, who shall make and subscribe 
 the declaration set forth in the said Act of the nineteeth year of 
 the reign of His present Majesty, be it further enacted, that in- 
 case any person, being a Protestant dissenting from the church of 
 England, and in holy orders, or pretending to holy ordeis, but who 
 shall not have been appointed or admitted the minister of any se- 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 123 
 
 At the general meeting of the Deputies on the 
 J 5th, after the Bill had been read, the following^ 
 Resolutions were unanimously agreed to : 
 
 pai'ate congregation of Dissenting Protestants, shall be desirous of 
 qualifying himself according to this Act, to preach and officiate as 
 a Dissenting minister, it shall be lawful for any or mor© 
 
 substantial and reputable householders being respectively Dissenting 
 Protestants of one and the same sect or persuasion with the person 
 applying, to certify, on their consciences and belief, by writing 
 under their hands and proper names, in the form set forth in the 
 Schedule of this Act marked B., to be directed to the justices of 
 the peace at the general session of tlie peace to be holden for the 
 county, riding, or place, where the said householders, or the 
 major part of them, shall reside, that such person is a Protestant 
 Dissenting minister of their sect or persuasion, and has been known 
 to them and every of them for the space of at the 
 
 least before the date of the said certificate, and that such person is 
 of sober life and conversation, and of sufficient ability and fitness 
 to preach or teach and officiate as sach Dissenting minister j and 
 every person to whom such last-mentioned certificate shall bd 
 • ranted, who shall cause the same to be recorded at any general 
 session of the peace to be holden as aforesaid, within after 
 
 the date of the said certificate in the manner directed by this Act, 
 proof being first made on the oath of or more credible 
 
 witness or witnesses of the hand-writing of the several persons 
 whose names are subscribed to the said certificate, shall be, 
 and is hereby allowed, without further proof, to take the "said 
 oaths, and make and subscribe the said declarations in the 
 said recited Acts mentioned or set forth ; and every such per- 
 son, after taking the said oaths, and making and subscribing the 
 said declarations in manner and upon the proof aforesaid, may 
 from thenceforth preach and officiate as a Dissenting minister in 
 any congregation of Dissenting Protestants duly certified and re- 
 gistered or recorded according to law ; and every person so qualify- 
 ing hiiuself as last aforesaid, shall be wholly exempted from all and 
 
 u 2 
 
IM SKETCH OF THE HISTORY ANB 
 
 ^' That liberty of conscience, comprehending- the 
 freedom of public assemblies for religious worship 
 and instruction, in such forms, and under such 
 
 every the pains, penalties, punisliments, or disabilities inflicted by 
 any statute mentioned in the said recited Acts, or either of them, 
 for preaching or officiating in any congregation of Protestant Dis- 
 senters for the exercise of religion permitted and allowed bylaw. 
 
 ** And be it further enacted, that upon the appointment or ad- 
 mission of any person of sober life and conversation to be a proba- 
 tioner for the exercise during a time to be limited of the functions 
 of a Protestant Dissenting minister, it shall be lawful for any 
 
 or more Dissenting ministers who shall have taken the said 
 oaths, and made and sub&cribed the said declarations pursuant to 
 the said recited Acts, or either of thera, or this Act, to certify the 
 •aid appoint£i&nt or admission by writing under their hands, in 
 the form set forth in the Schedule of this Act marked C. to he 
 directed to the justices of the peace at the general session of the 
 peace to be holden for the county, riding, or place where the 
 said ministers, or major part of thera, shall reside, and that the 
 person so appointed or admitted is of sober life and conversation, 
 and has been known to them for the space of before the 
 
 date of the said certificate, and every person to whom such 
 last-mentioned certificate shall be granted, who shall cause the 
 same to be recorded at any general session of the peace to be 
 holden as aforesaid, within after the date of the 
 
 said last-mentioned certificate in the manner directed by this 
 Act, (proof being first made on the oath of or more 
 
 credible witness or witnesses of the hand-writing of the said mi- 
 nisters whose names are subscribed to the said certificate), shall 
 be and is hereby allowed without further proofs to take the said 
 oaths, and to make and subscribe the said several declarations in the 
 said recited Acts mentioned or set forth ; and every such person, 
 after taking the said oaths, and making and subscribing the said 
 declarations, may from thenceforth, during the period specified 
 in such certificate, and not exceeding next ensuing, 
 
 preach and officiate as such probationer in any cougregktion of 
 Dissenting Protestants duly certified and registered or recorded 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF TUE DETUTIES. 125 
 
 teachers, as men shall for themselves approve, is 
 the inalienable right of all ; in the peaceable exer- 
 cise of which they are not justly controllable by th» 
 civil magistrate. 
 
 according to law ; and every person so qualifying himself as last 
 aforesaid shall be and is hereby declared to be during the space 
 of exempted from all and every the penalties, punish- 
 
 ments, and disabilities inflicted by any statute mentioned in the 
 said recited Acts, or either of them, for preaching or officiating in 
 any congregation of Dissenting Protestants for the exercise of 
 religion permitted and allowed by law. 
 
 *' Provided always, and be it enacted, that nothing herein con- 
 tained shall be construed to authorise or enable any person to 
 qualify more than as such probationer. 
 
 "And belt further enacted, that the justices of the peace, to 
 whom any such certificate as aforesaid shall within the time herein 
 limited be tendered at their general session, shall, and they are 
 hereby required, after such proof in verification thereof as is herein 
 directed, to administer the said oaths and declarations to the person 
 producing such certificate, upon his offering to take and make and 
 subscribe the same respectively, and thereupon to record the said 
 certificate at the said session, and thereof to keep a register. 
 Provided always, that any declaration required to be subscribed by 
 the said recited Acts, or either of them, shall be subscribed in open 
 court, with the proper christian and surname and names of the per- 
 son making such declaration in his own hand-writing, and in the 
 usual manner of his writing the same in words at length, and not 
 otherwise ; Provided always, that in the body of every certificate 
 granted by the said officer or officers of the said court to any person 
 as such probationer and not as minister, there shall be expressed 
 the limitation of time for which such certificate shall be in forc« 
 by virtue of this Act. 
 
 ** And be it further enacted, that every certificate of appoint- 
 ment or admission of any such minister, or of any person to offici* 
 
 M 3 
 
126 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 ^' That this liberty has been generally recognized 
 in the practice of the British Government, since the 
 aBra of the Revolution, under the construction of 
 the statute commonly called the Toleration Act, 
 Thus, whatever may have been the letter of the 
 
 ate as such minister, or of any such probationer pursuant to this 
 Act, shall be subscribed with the respective proper names of the 
 several persons granting the same, in their own hand-writing, and 
 in the usual manner of their writing and subscribing the same, and 
 in the presence of the person or persons who, is, or are to be the 
 witness or witnesses, to verify the same before the court of general 
 session of the peace in the manner herein directed. 
 
 *' And be it further enacted, that this Act shall be deemed and 
 taken to be a public Act, and shall be judicially taken notice of as^ 
 such by all judges, justices, and others, without being specially 
 pleaded.. 
 
 Schedules to ultick this Act refers. 
 
 SCHEDULE (A). 
 <'* Certificate of appointment or admission of a Minister to a separate 
 congregation. 
 " To the justices of the peace at the general session of the peace to be holden 
 for the county, riding,, city, or town, [as the case may be] of We, whose 
 
 nuines aj-e hereunto subscribed, being respectively substantial and reputable 
 householders, belonging to the separate congregation of Dissecting Protestants 
 ef the sect or persuasion denominated [Here describe the sect or persuasion of 
 Dissenters] duly certified and recorded, or (registered) according to law, to be 
 bolden at [Here insert the house, chapel, or place, and the parish, town, and ' 
 county where the congregation assemble] do certify that A-.B. of 
 being in holy orders, (or pretended holy orders, or pretending to holy orders, as 
 the case shall require) hath been appointed minister of the said separate cofl- 
 gregation, and has been admitted and is in the peaceable possession of th« 
 place of minister of the same. Given under our hands this- day of 
 ift the year of oiu- Lord 
 
 " Signed and subscribed by the above-named CD., £.F., " (Signed) 
 O.LT., I.K„ L.M., and N.O., in the presence of P.Q , CD. I L K. 
 •f th« day above writtea. E. F. I, L M. 
 
 ii.fl. i N.O. 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 127 
 
 law, the spirit of toleration has been extended, and 
 a larg-e portion of religious liberty actually enjojed. 
 *' That we have beheld with great concern a Bill 
 lately brought into Parliament, designed^as appears 
 to us, to abridge such religious liberty, and having 
 a tendency to deprive the lower classes of the 
 community of those opportunities which they have 
 
 SCHEDULE (B). 
 *' Certificate of Appointment or Admission of a sufficient Person to preach 
 and officiate as a Dissenting Minister. 
 " To the justices of the })eace at the g^eueial session of the peace, to be holdea 
 for the couuty, riding, city, or town [its the case may be], of We, whos« 
 
 names are hereunto subscribed, being respectively substantial and reputable 
 householders and Dissenting Piotestants of the sect or persuasion denominated 
 [Here describe the sect], do certify on our consciences and belief, that A.B. of 
 is a Protestant Dissentinpf minister of oxir sect or persuasion, and one 
 of our congregation, and that we have and each of us hath known the said A.B. 
 for the space of at the least, before the date of this our certificate, 
 
 and that we truly believe in our consciences that the said A.B. is a person of 
 eober life and conversation, aud of sufficient ability and fitness to preach or 
 teach, and officiate as a Dissenting minister. Given uuder our hands this 
 day of in the year of our Lord 
 
 '• Signed, and subscribed by the above-named CD., E.F., " (Sign«d) 
 G H., I.K , L.M, and N.O , in the presence of P.Q., C. D. I I. K. 
 of the day above written. E. F. I L. M. 
 
 G. H. i N. O. 
 SCHEDULE /(C). 
 ** Form of the Certificate of Appointment or Admission of a Probationer. 
 " To the justices of the peace at the general session of the peace to be holdea 
 for the county of We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, being respec- 
 
 tively Dissenting, ministers, duly qualified according to law, of the sector per- 
 suasion denominated [Here describe the sect], ], do certify that A.R of 
 is a person of sober life and conveisation and has been known to us for the 
 space of before the date of this our certificate, aud hath been appointed 
 
 or admitted by us as a probationer for the exercise of the functions of a Protestant 
 Dissenting minister for the term of alter qualifying himself as required 
 
 by law. Given under our hands this day in the year of our Lord 
 
 " Signed and subscribed by the above-named CD , E F., " (Signed) 
 G H., I.K., L.M., and N.O., in the pres«ac« of F.Q , C. D. | I. K. 
 «f the «iay aljov* writt«o. E. F. f L.M. 
 
 «.B. I N.O.' 
 
128 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 SO long enjoyed, to attend public worship and re- 
 Ijo-ious instruction under teachers of their own 
 choice. 
 
 *' That as deputed by large and respectable bo- 
 dies of Protestant Dissenters to attend to their civil 
 rights, it becomes our bounden duty immediately 
 to protest against the principle of such a measure, 
 and to point out the unjust and vexatious operation of 
 the aforesaid Bill, as now brought into Parliament. 
 
 '' That a petition against the said Bill, grounded 
 on the principles of the foregoing resolutions, be 
 signed by the members of this meeting, and pre- 
 sented lo the legrslature. 
 
 '' That the foregoing resolutions be signed by 
 the chairman, and inserted in all the public papers.'^ 
 
 A Petition which had been prepared by the Com- 
 mittee, was then read and adopted. It was as 
 follows : 
 
 ^' To the Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual 
 and Temporal, in Parliament assembled: 
 
 '^ The humble Petition of the undersigned Pro- 
 testant Dissenters, residing in and near London, 
 slieweth, 
 
 '' That your petitioners, deeply impressed with 
 a sense of the incalculable importance of religious 
 liberty, in the fullest extent of that phrase, are ever 
 most willing gratefully to acknowledge the large 
 and valuable portion of that blessing which they 
 have been accustomed to enjoy, and are at the same 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 129 
 
 time anxious that this advantage should be trans- 
 mitted undiminished to their posterity. 
 
 " That your petitioners have therefore learned 
 with great regret, the introduction of a Bill into 
 your lordships' House, intitled, * An Act to explain 
 and render more eiFectual certain Acts of the 1st 
 William and Mary and the 19th of His present 
 Majesty, so far as the same relate to Protestant 
 Dissenting ministers,^ which they fear will tend to 
 impair that great principle of religious liberty 
 which they are above all things desirous to vi-ndi- 
 cate and maintain, and to infringe on riglits which 
 have long been held sacred and inviolable. 
 
 *' Your petitioners therefore humbly pray your 
 Lordships will be pleased in your wisdom to re- 
 ject the said Bill. — And your petitioners shall ever 
 pray."* 
 
 The further management of the opposition to the 
 Bill was then referred to the Committee. 
 
 It was accordingly resolved by the Committee. 
 that one thousand copies of the Resolutions and 
 Petition should he printed ; that the Resolutions 
 should be inserted in all the public papers ; and 
 that a copy of the Resolutions, Petition, and Bill 
 
 * This Petition was signed by the Deputies only, it being then 
 expected that the Bill would come on for a second reading on 
 Friday the 17th, which would not have allowed time for obtaining 
 the signatures of the individuals composing the different congrega* 
 lions, which the Deputies represent. 
 
130 SKETCH OP THE HISTORY AN» 
 
 should be forwarded by tlie secretary, in a circular 
 letter, to every Dissenting- Minister whose address 
 he was acquainted with. These Resolutions were 
 immediately carried into effect. 
 
 The Sub-committee appointed for that purpose, 
 waited upon several nobie lords who were known 
 to favour the cause of religious liberty, and endea* 
 voured to impress on their minds the legitimate 
 grounds of Protestant dissent ; and also furnished 
 them with a copy of some observations, in which it 
 was pointed out in what manner the intended Bill 
 would operate to render the toleration at present 
 enjoyed by the Dissenters less extensive, and throvr 
 difficulties in the way of taking the benefit of it» 
 There appeared, however, no reason to apprehend, 
 from the best information the Sub-committee could 
 procure, that the Bill would be favoured by Hh 
 Majesty's ministers, or finally adopted by the 
 House. 
 
 On Friday the 17th, the second reading of the 
 Bill was unexpectedly postponed till Tuesday the 
 21st. This afforded an opportunity of procuring 
 signatures to petitions, which was so well employed 
 by a Committee, which had been appointed at a 
 meeting of Dissenters and other friends to religious 
 liberty, at the London Tavern, (to which the Com- 
 uiittee of Deputies had sent two hundred copies of 
 the Bill), and also by the Wesleyan Methodists, 
 that when the Bill came on for a second reading,, 
 above seven hundred petitions were ready to hj^ 
 
PROCEEDINGS OP THE DEPUTIES. 1^1 
 
 presented to the House of Lords against its passing 
 into a law. 
 
 Accordingly, on the 21st of May, Earl Stanhopo 
 presented a petition against the Bill, signed by 
 upwards of two tliousand persons ; and said he had 
 no doubt, if it was persisted in, that the petitioners, 
 instead of thousands, must be counted by millions. 
 On the question of receiving the petition, the Earl 
 of Liverpool said he had not the slightest intention 
 of opposing the motion. His object in rising, was, 
 if possible, to save the time of the House. He was 
 perfectly convinced that his noble friend (Sidmouth) 
 had been actuated by the purest and best motives 
 in bringing forward the Bill which was now before 
 the House, and he was satisfied that the object of 
 the Bill had been by many persons much miscon- 
 ceived and mistaken. It was, however, a consi- 
 deration of great importance, whether the object 
 sought to be attained v, as equivalent to the incon- 
 venience arising from the agitation and alarm tliat 
 had prevailed since the measure had been before 
 the House. If there v^as any one subject more than 
 another, in which he thought it impolitic for the 
 legislature to interfere, without a real and absolute 
 necessity, it was on religious subjects. However 
 laudable the object of his noble friend nriglit b?, 
 still it ought to be considered that the good to be 
 attained by the change proposed was trifling, and 
 that the inconvenience sustained in consequence of 
 the agitation and alarm that prevailed was very 
 
132 SKETCH OP THE HISTORY AN» 
 
 great. Under these circumstances, lie suggested 
 to his noble friend the expediency of withdrawing 
 the Bill. 
 
 Lord Viscount Sidmouth said he felt very forcibly 
 the importance which must be attached to what had 
 been stated by his noble friend, particularly as he 
 knew that his noble friend spoke the sentiments of 
 government upon this subject. Still, however, he 
 did not think that his noble friend had made out a 
 case to call-upon him (TiOrd Sidmouth) to withdraw 
 his Bill. His noble friend had spoken of miscon- 
 ception and mistake ; and certainly there had been 
 much misinterpretation and misconception ; but if 
 the Bill was allowed to go into a Committee, every 
 thing that had given rise to misconception might 
 be remedied. 
 
 His lordship was proceeding to explain the ob- 
 jects of the Bill, when Lord Holland said he had 
 heard the noble earl (Liverpool) opposite with 
 much satisfaction, but regretted that the noble earl 
 had not delivered those sentiments when this mea- 
 sure was iirst announced, which might have pre- 
 vented much of that agitation and alarm that had 
 since prevailed. 
 
 The petition presented by Earl Stanhope was 
 then ordered to lie on tlie table. The petition from 
 the Deputies was presented by Lord Holland, who 
 stated that the persons who had signed it were the 
 representatives of the great body of the Dissenters 
 in and near the metropolis. A petition was pre- 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 135 
 
 sented by Earl Grey, from the Dissenting Ministers 
 of the three denominations, in and near London. 
 Another, presented by tlie ?>larquis of Lansdowne, 
 was from a number of persons who had met in 
 London, consisting- of nine hundred and sixty, 
 many of whom, including the chairman, his lord- 
 ship stated, were members of the church of Eng- 
 land, and some of tiiem beneficed clergymen, who 
 felt the importanceof preventing those dissentions 
 to which this measure, if persisted in, must un- 
 happily give rise, and were anxious to live in peace 
 and harmony with tlieir fellow subjects, the Dis- 
 senters. Some of the petitions fi'om the country 
 were presented by the same noble lords ; and 
 others, by the Earls ofMoira, Hosslyn> and Lau- 
 derdale, and Lord Erskine. A few of the petitions 
 were read at length, stating a serious apprehension 
 that the Bill would materially 'dffect the privileges 
 'enioyed by the Dissenters under the Acts of the 
 1st NV^illiam and Mary and 19th George IIL, and 
 praying to be heard by counsel against it. The 
 rest, whicli were stated to be of the same tenor, 
 were read short, merely specifying the names of the 
 places from whence they came, and, in several in- 
 stances, the number of sigJiatures. 
 
 After the petitions had been presented, and or- 
 <lered to lie on the table, the order of the day w^as 
 read for the second reading of the Bill, and Lord 
 Viscount Sidmouth again rose. His lordship ex- 
 pressed his regret^at the misinterpretation and mis- 
 
134 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 conception, and he was afraid lie must add mis- 
 representation, of the objects and provisions of the 
 Bill, which had gone abroad. The chief object' of 
 it, he contended, was merely to give an uniform 
 sense to the Toleration Acts, and to prevent them 
 from being differently construed in different coun- 
 ties. One of its principal objects, at the same 
 time, was to prevent persons without anj moral or 
 intellectual qualifications from electing themselves^ 
 to the exercise of the most important duties that 
 could be exercised by man, and the proper exercise 
 of which was of incalculable importance ; and, still 
 further, to prevent persons from obtaining licenses 
 as preachers and teachers, merely for the purpose 
 of exempting themselves from those civil duties to 
 which their fellow subjects were liable. Relative 
 to the qualifications of those who sometimes ap- 
 plied for licences, his lordship cited an instance at 
 Stafford Sessions, where a man who could neither 
 read nor write, took out a licence as a preacher 
 and teacher. As to the point of moral qualifica- 
 tions, his lordship read a letter he had received, 
 stating an instance of great depravity in a preacher 
 who had obtained a licence. It was to prevent, as 
 far as possible, these abuses, that he had framed 
 this Bill; and requiring the certificate of six house- 
 holders, of the sobriety of life and conversation of 
 the person applying for a licence, was, he had 
 conceived, so moderate a measure, that he had no 
 idea it could be resisted. With respect to the 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF TilE DEPUTIES. 135 
 
 ministers of separate congregations, it was pro- 
 vided in the Bill, that there should be a certificate 
 of six members of the congregation of which the 
 person applying for a licence was a minister. Witli 
 respect to itinerant preachers, the object proposed 
 was, that there should be a certificate of six house- 
 holders ; whether the words should be ' reputable 
 and substantial,* or merely ' householders,' might 
 be easily settled in the Committee, so as to obviate 
 all objection. With respect to probationers, it 
 was proposed that they should have a licence for a 
 limited period, and he had an idea of substituting 
 for six householders the certificates of three Dis- 
 senting ministers. In proposing remedies for what 
 was an acknowledged evil, he had conceived that 
 he was proposing what would be considered bene- 
 ficial. Far be it from him to object to the low 
 situation in life ofthe persons applying for licences. 
 Upon that ground he never had the slightest inten- 
 tion of urging any objection ; his object being, that 
 there should be a security, as far as it could be 
 applied, for their moral fitness for the exercise of 
 the important duties of religious instruction. He 
 had had communications upon the subject from 
 several magistrates, complaining ofthe situation in 
 which they were placed with respect to the con- 
 struction of the law ; and he had understood, from 
 the communications he had had with several re- 
 spetabie Dissenters,that they were desirous that some 
 such measure as this should be adopted, or at least 
 N 2 
 
136 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 that tliej approved of it. He was much astonished, 
 after this, at seeing Resolutions advertised upon 
 the subject, with the name of a member of Parlia- 
 ment to them, with whom he had also had commu- 
 nications. He had not the remotest intention, in 
 proposing the Bill, of infringing upon the Tolera* 
 tion Laws. He rather wished to make the Bill 
 one of comprehension, than one of exclusion ; and 
 if it was thought that its provisions tended to~ 
 exclude any class of Dissenters, he was most de- 
 sirous tliat other provisions should be so framed as 
 to include them. He conjured their lordships to 
 allow the Bill to go into a Committee, where, he 
 was convinced J all the objections to it might be 
 obviated. His lordship concluded by moving' that 
 the Bill be now read a second time. 
 
 The Archbishop of Canterbury, although satis- 
 fied that if it had not been conceived the Toleration 
 Act was infringed on, the present Bill would not 
 have been so much opposed, was convinced that no 
 such infringement was in reality intended. But 
 although no persecution was intended, and although 
 some misconception might exist on the subject, the 
 flood of petitions which had been laid upon the 
 table, ought to convince their lordships of the 
 necessity of stopping short for the present. How- 
 ever he might lament what he conceived to be 
 the errors of Protestant Dissenters^ it was to be 
 recollected the Bible was the foundation of their 
 religious belief^ as well as that of tlie established 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 137 
 
 church, and was, or might be, in the hands of every 
 member of the empire ; and it was to be recollected 
 that the best of interpretjtions were but the 
 interpretations of men ^ and that the best of men 
 were liable to error. He was sure that so long as the 
 church of England should endure as a church, the 
 Dissenters would not be disturbed by the church of 
 England ; and as he was no prophet, he did not 
 wish to foretel what might happen to them after it 
 was no more. As to the Bill itself^ it was stated 
 to have tv/o objects : 1st. To procure an uniform 
 construction of tli/ese Acts of Parliament, which 
 were inconsistent with one another; and 2dlj, to 
 secure a more respectable description of teachers to 
 the Dissenters than they had at present. The noble 
 viscount, who brought in the Bill, stated that he 
 brought it in, as he conceived, under the sanction 
 of the Dissenters. But the Dissenters had thought 
 fit to oppose it ; and they must be allowed to be 
 the best judges of what was for their own interests. 
 His grace therefore conceived that more injury 
 than good would result from j^rsisting in the mea- 
 sure ; and thought it would be better not to attempt 
 to press the Bill against the opinions of the Dis- 
 senters. 
 
 Lord Erskine said, that the evidence which they 
 had had in the multiplicity of petitions which he 
 had had the honour to present to them against the 
 Bill, left no doubt as to the opinion entertained by 
 the Dissenters on the subject. But it was to be 
 
158 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 observ eel, that a small part only of the petitions 
 had yet arrived ; and that if a longer time had been 
 allowed, ten times the number would have been 
 presented. If his noble friend would attend but 
 for a few moments, he was coniident that he himself 
 would be of opinion tliat he (Lord Erskine) was 
 justified in thinking that the second reading of the 
 Bill should be put off till that day six months. He 
 said he had no doubt of the purity of the motives of 
 the noble lord (Sidmouth). Their lordships Avould 
 have imagined, from the discourse of that noble 
 lord, that his Bill was necessary to relieve the 
 Dissenters from errors and misconceptions in their 
 construction of statutes so justly called the palla- 
 dium of British religious liberty. But the Act of 
 the noble lord was merely a declaratory Act ; and 
 what it declared was a direct infringement and con- 
 tradiction both of the letter and spirit of the To- 
 leration Act. He had formed this opinion after he 
 had been asked by his noble friend to examine 
 these statutes, before he knew that this Bill was 
 to be opposed by the Dissenters, and that he should 
 have to present two hundred and fifty petitions 
 against it. The Act was a direct repeal of the most 
 important parts of the Toleration Acts, as they had 
 })een uniformly explained for one hundred and 
 twenty years ; and he believed that no courts and 
 no judges in, the country, woijld agree in the con- 
 struction put on them by the noble lord. Would 
 tfeey suHfer a Bill to pass, declaring that to be law 
 
rnocEEBixcs of the deputies. 139 
 
 which was not law ? It was not only necessary to 
 look into the Toleration Act, but to the intolerant 
 statutes which preceded it. The noble lord then 
 went into some of these Acts, and concluded by 
 wisliing to God that all of them could be buried in 
 eternal oblivion. His noble friend, he observed, 
 had confounded sections in the Toleration Act, 
 which were totally distinct from one anotlier. The 
 8th section was intended only to exempt from pe- 
 nalties. Who were intitled to be exempted ? The 
 first Act says^ that no person in holy orders, or pre- 
 tended holy orders, or pretending^ to holy orders, 
 nor any teacher or preacher, wlio should subscribe 
 certain articles of religion, and should give a ge- 
 neral security, not of householders, but in a de- 
 claration to be made by himself, should be subject 
 to the penalties of the law. But if they were to 
 adopt the noble lord's construction, this section 
 would be repealed. By the 10th section certain 
 provisions were made for extending the benefit of 
 the Act to the Baptists and Quakers ; and by the 
 11th section it was stated, that every person in holy 
 orders, or pretended holy orders, being a preacher 
 or teacher of a congregation, who should take the 
 oaths and subscribe the declaration, should be ex- 
 empted from serving on juries, or as church- 
 wardens, &c. Now supposing that the statute of 
 the 19th of the King had never been passed, the 
 present Bill was directly contrary to this section. 
 Nothing could be more distinct than the 8th and 
 
140 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 11th sections. Supposing the petitions out of the 
 question, he asked them if they would make a de- 
 claration in the teeth of the law I — After a variety 
 of other arguments against the Bill, he conciudecj 
 with moving*, that the second reading should be 
 postponed to that day six months. 
 
 The Lord Chancellor said, the Bill was no in- 
 fringement, and he was confident was intended as 
 no infringement on the Toleration -\ct. But when 
 the Toleration Laws had been made the grounds of 
 different judicial decisions in different counties, 
 both with respect to the penalties and exemptions, 
 it became necessary to establish their meaning be- 
 jond a doubt. Iv had been said by his noble friend, 
 (Lord Erskine), if any difficulties should arise, they 
 would at once be settled by a mandamus. But if 
 such difFiCulties were only to be settled by a ynan- 
 damus^ he would venture to say they would never 
 be settled. The objections stated bj the noble lord 
 (Erskine) against the terms of the Bill, were not 
 conclusive against going into a Committee. A cu- 
 rious circumstance happened with regard to him* 
 self; when he was drawn for the militia he was 
 ashamed to avail himself of his degree of Master of 
 Arts, but he was 'gravely pressed to qualify him- 
 self, by the payment of 6d. as a Dissenting teacher. 
 Upon the whole, he thought it more advisable that 
 the Bill should not be farther pursued at present. 
 
 Lord Holland maintained that every man had a 
 right to preach, as well as print, what he con- 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. Hi 
 
 ceived was for the good of his fellow-creatures ; 
 and that if he should injure the tranquillity of his 
 country, he was liable to punishment : in the same 
 manner as every man was intitled, without a li- 
 cence^ to carry arms, though it did not follow that 
 he was intitled to employ them to the injury of 
 another. If any person thought he knew the mean- 
 ing of the Scriptures, it was his ()uty to communi- 
 cate his opinions. He agreed with Locke, that the 
 Toleration Act was not a complete measure, but 
 was the first step merely. There were two parts 
 of the Toleration Act ; one part was a boon, the 
 other was merely an admission of what the Dis- 
 senters were intitled to. He did not wonder that 
 the Dissenters misconceived the noble viscount's 
 Bill : no person could have imagined from the no- 
 tices of that noble viscount, till they saw the pre- 
 sent Bill, that its terms would be v/hat they now 
 appeared. After a variety of arguments against 
 the Bill, his lordship concluded with declaring his 
 determination to support the motion of his noble 
 friend (Erskine). 
 
 Earl Stanhope said, he did not now rise to op- 
 pose the Bill, because it had already got its death- 
 blow. He hoped, however, it would be followed 
 up by a measure of a very different nature. Ne- 
 ver, since he had been a member of Parliament, 
 had he received so much pleasure as this day, at 
 observing the number of petitions, so numerously 
 signed, which had been presented as^ainst this most 
 
142 SKETCH OF THE HISTOHY AND 
 
 wretched Bill. The event had shewn, that there 
 was still a public opinion in this country, and that, 
 when caMed into action, it could manifest itself 
 speedily, and with effect. He was one of those 
 who detested thett Act, which they called the To- 
 leration Act, and for this reason, because it did 
 not go far enough, lie believed he might say, 
 that he was one of those who had read as many 
 statutes on the subject of religion, not as the 
 lawyers only, but, he might say, as my lords the 
 bishops. He had gone through them with a pro- 
 fessional man by bis side ; and with his pen had 
 abstracted and marked off three hundred laws about 
 religion ; and he ventured to assert they were of 
 such a nuture, as would make their lordships dis- 
 gusted with the Statute Book, and ashamed of their 
 ancestors who could have enacted them. An Act, 
 however, was passed in ist of Edward VI. (who 
 might fairly be said to be the first Protestant prince 
 who had ever reigned in this country ; for King 
 Henry the Eighth, that Defender of the Faith, 
 could hardly be said to be a real Protestant), by 
 which they were all shoveled away at once ; and 
 justly so : for what need had religion for Acts of 
 Parliament ? He gave notice, that he should, early 
 in the next Session, introduce a Bill in place of 
 that, of which Tie trusted they had seen the last 
 glimpse that night, founded on the equitable prin- 
 ciple he had now alluded to. To toleration, as it 
 now existed in this country, he was, as he already 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES, 143 
 
 said, a decided enemy ; but^ to religious liberty, 
 he was the most decided friend, convinced that no 
 restraint should be put on religion, unless in so far 
 as it might seem to endanger the state. 
 
 Earl Buckinghamshire, though he did not disap- 
 prove of the determination of his noble friend (Sid- 
 mouth) not to persevere in the Bill, after the oppo- 
 tition that had been manifested towards it, was still 
 <;onvinced that, if the Bill had been suffered to go 
 into a Committee, it would have come out free from 
 the objections under which it now laboured, and in 
 such a state of improved regulation, as would have 
 satisfied many of those who now appeared hostile 
 to it. 
 
 Earl Grey said, though he perceived that his 
 noble friend (Sidraouth) did not mean to press the 
 Bill farther, yet, after what had fallen from his 
 other noble friend (Lord Buckinghamshire), he 
 could not allow the question to be put without de- 
 claring his unchangeable objection, both to the de- 
 tails and to the principle of the Bill, to which no 
 modifications could ever reconcile him. The prin- 
 ciple of the Bill was restraint — restraint vexatious 
 and uncalled for. That it was a Bill of restraint, 
 even his noble friend (Sidmouth) himself had not 
 denied, or attempted to disguise. He (Earl Grey) 
 was against all restraint. He went along with 
 his noble friend (Lord Holland) in thinking, that 
 every man who was impressed with the belief that 
 he had a call to preach, ought to have every liberty 
 
Hi SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 allowed him to do so. One inconvenience, stated 
 to result from tkis unlimited liberty, was of a 
 purely civil nature; that it afforded facilities to 
 men not actually preachers, but who pretended to- 
 be so, to avail themselves of that character, to 
 escape certain obligations imposed on their fellow- 
 subjects. Judging from the papers on the table, 
 he could not see toe force or j ustice of tliis obser- 
 vation. For the last 40 years, the number of per- 
 sons who had qualified appeared to have been about 
 11,000. lie should take, however, the last twelve 
 years, dividing it into two equal parts, it appeared 
 that, in the six former years, the number was 
 1,100; and, in the latter six years, 900; so that 
 the number had diminished, instead of increasing ; 
 and the present measurCj instead of being thereby 
 more peculiarly called for, had become so much the 
 less necessary. 
 
 Lord Sidraouth, hi reply, observed, that he 
 would not be deterred by any thing that had fallen 
 from the noble lord who had just sat dov/n, from 
 bringing before their lordships whatever his own 
 sense of duty suggested, as worth}^ their attention. 
 He left it to their lordships to decide, whether the 
 law on this su'bject ought to continue in its pre- 
 sent state of uncertainty. 
 
 Lord Erskine's motion being then put, was 
 agreed to without a division, and the Bill was 
 therefore lost. 
 
 On the 2ith of May, the Committee of Deputies 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 14i) 
 
 met, pursuant to a summons of tlie chairman, who 
 reported what had passed in the House of Lords. 
 It was then resolved, that a general meeting- of the 
 Deputies should be summoned^ to receive the re- 
 port of the Committee. 
 
 At the general meeting of Deputies, on the 2Sth 
 of May, the chairman reported the proceedings of 
 the Committee, and the defeat of the Bill ; upon 
 which the following resolutions were unanimously 
 agreed to : — 
 
 ^' That tliis Deputation, in conformity with the 
 deep interest which they must always feel in every 
 question affecting the civil and religious concerns 
 of the Protestant Dissenter, do, in the names of 
 those by whom they are deputed, offer to their 
 brethren throughout the kingdom, their sincere 
 congratulations on the rejection of the above-men- 
 tioned Bill, and especially as connected with the 
 opinions so generally expressed in the House of 
 Lords, of the inexpediency and injustice of in- 
 fringing on the liberty of the subject in religious 
 matters. 
 
 '' That the thanks of this Deputation be grate- 
 fully offered to the Marquis of Lansdowne, to Earl 
 Stanhope, Earl Moira, Earl Grey ; to Lord Hol- 
 land, and to Lord Erskine, for their able and dis- 
 tinguished support of the cause of the Dissenters, 
 and of the great and important principles of religi- 
 ous liberty, in the debates on the Bill lately intro- 
 
 o 
 
146 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 duced by Lord Sidmoutli into the House of 
 Lords. 
 
 '' That the thanks of this Deputation be given 
 to all those members of that Right Honourable 
 House who co-operated in rejecting- tlie said Bill. 
 
 '^ That this Deputation are extremely happy in 
 the opportunity of expressing their high satisfac- 
 tion at the just and liberal sentiments respecting 
 the right of private judgement in religious matters^ 
 delivered in that debate by his grace the Archbi- 
 shop of Canterbury. 
 
 " That William Smith, Esq. M. P. the chair- 
 man of this Deputation, be desired to accept our 
 warmest thanks, for his vigilant attention to the 
 subject of the late measure ever since it was first 
 announced in Parliament ; for his ready and oblig- 
 ing communications with the Committee, in their 
 attempts to dissuade the noble author from actually 
 bringing the same forward ; and for his able and 
 active assistance in obtaining its rejection. And 
 that this Deputation entertains a strong and grate- 
 ful sense of his constant and zealous support of 
 civil and religious liberty, and of the rights of 
 Protestant Dissenters on all occasions. 
 
 '' That this Deputation feel themselves highly 
 indebted and express their best acknowledgements 
 to John Gurney, Esq. tl-cir deputy chairman, for 
 the zeal and ability which he on various occasions 
 has manifested in defence of the rights and privi- 
 leges of Protestant Dissenters ; for his disinterest- 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 147 
 
 ed attention to the objects of this Deputation, and 
 particularly for his grea* exertions upon the pre- 
 sent occasion, in clearly and forcibly stating- to va- 
 rious members of the legislature the highly objec- 
 tionable tendency of the Bill lately brought into 
 Parliament. 
 
 " That the cordial thanks of this Deputation be 
 given to the Committee, for tlie zeal and prompti- 
 tude which they have so long and so constantly ma- 
 nifested, in the protection of the civil rights of 
 Protestant Dissenters, both in the metropolis and 
 in the country, fi-om every part of which applica- 
 tions on the subject have been so frequently re- 
 ceived ; for their watchful and anxious regard to 
 these important interests ever since Lord Sidmouth 
 announced his intention respecting the Toleration 
 Act ; and especially for the unshaken firmness with 
 which they have maintained the unalienable rights 
 of conscience, and deprecated the interference of 
 magistrates in matters of religion, as a violation 
 of those sacred principles which (in their judge- 
 ment) human laws ought never to controul. 
 
 " That the following Address to the Protestant 
 Dissenters of England and Wales, now read, be 
 approved. 
 
 *' That the said Address be signed by the chair- 
 man, and printed for general circulation." 
 
 The Address referred to in the foregoing Resolu- 
 tions was as follows : 
 
 o 2 
 
148 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 ** To the Protestant Dissenters of England and 
 Wales, 
 '' The Address of the Deputies^ 
 '' When, in the years 1787, 1789, and 1790, the 
 Dissenters applied to the legislature for a repeal of 
 the Corporation and Test Acts, it was not surpris- 
 ing that, on a subject so deeply interesting to them, 
 considerable warmth should have exhibited itself 
 both in discussion and in action. Disappointed at 
 last in expectations which they thought reasonable, 
 and therefore dissatisfied, in their own opinion 
 justly, they have yet forborne since that period to 
 renew their application, unwilling uselessly to re- 
 vive animosities ; and preferring to wait iiW time 
 and reason should have overcome prejudice and 
 fear. In this interval, instances of local intoler- 
 ance and vexation have frequently happened j 
 which, when without legal remedy, as in some 
 cases, have been patiently endured : or, as in far 
 the greater number, by the attention and ii^terfer- 
 ence of the Deputies, have been quietly and legally 
 suppressed ; but, as no general or prevailing dis- 
 position to abridge the religious liberties or disturb 
 the peiice o^ the Dissenters has been manifested, 
 nothing has occurred afiectirig them as a body to 
 excite much general interest, if we except a late 
 pertinacious attempt to withhold the rites of burial 
 from all such as had not been baptized according 
 to the forms of the establishment ; which, by the 
 game interposition, having been brought to trial in 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DETUTIES. 119 
 
 the Court of Arches, where it was decided in their 
 favour, has been laid before the public. 
 
 " And much longer might this state of tilings 
 have lasted, but for the recent proposal of Lord 
 Sidmouth ; which indeed excited a very great and 
 general alarm, the reasons for which will appear 
 when we advert to the previous situation of tlie 
 Dissenters, and examine the provisions of his Bill 
 as offered to the House of Lords. The amend- 
 ments which it might have received in its subse- 
 quent stages, are here out of the question, because, 
 however they might have improved the original 
 measure, or how far soever they might have excul- 
 pated the noble mover from having been disposed 
 intentionally to infringe on religious liberty, it was 
 impossible to calculate on such alterations : nor 
 could they, even in flieir greatest extent, have pre- 
 vented all violation of the first, great, and leading 
 principle on which all Dissenters found themselves, 
 and which they never can concede, the right of 
 every man to teach to others those religious opi- 
 nions which he himself entertains. Freedom of 
 thought the magistrate has it not in his power to 
 control ; it is only in abstaining- from interfer- 
 ence with the commumcalio7i of opinions, that he 
 has the opportunity of proving his wisdom or his 
 justice. 
 
 " The Dissenters cannot be supposed to have re- 
 garded the Toleration Act itself, as satisfying their 
 just claims. It was indeed scarcely to be hoped, 
 
 ^ o 
 
 o ^ 
 
150 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 that a law enacted at that period should have pro- 
 ceeded on those sound and comprehensive views of 
 the subject, which deeper examination and more 
 dispassionate discussion have since afforded. Still 
 even by that law much was gained : — and though 
 it was then deemed expedient to demand subscrip- 
 tion to the articles as the condition of its protec- 
 tion, yet from the imperfect records of the debates 
 in Parliament, it seems probable that subscription 
 was required rather under some vague idea of pre- 
 venting writings against the establishment, than 
 with any deliberate intention of limiting toleration 
 to those only who believed all the doctrines of the 
 church. On the contrary, the description in the 
 Act, of the persons intitled to avail themselves of 
 its pr()tection, is most comprehensive; and the 
 spirit in which, fiom the very first, it has been al- 
 most uniformly administered, strongly confirms 
 this view of its design. Still, however, further 
 legal relief was wanting : the growing spirit of re- 
 ligious inquiry rendered subscription to creeds and 
 articles every day more burthensome; while the 
 legislature became more sensible to the injustice of 
 impositions not countervailed by any correspond- 
 ing and peculiar benefits. — Then came the Act of 
 1779, and, by the joint operation of the two laws, 
 interpreted in unison, and agreeably to what ap- 
 peared to have been the original spirit of both, 
 practical religious liberty has been ever since en- 
 joyed 'in this country, uninterrupted^ till of late, 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTfES. 151 
 
 but by accidental ebullitions of imprudence or ma- 
 levolence. In this state of things it was not possi- 
 ble that Lord Sidmouth's Bill, which did not pro- 
 fess to abrogate one penal law, and which did 
 enact new restrictions, should be favourably re- 
 ceived : unfortunately for its popularity, it was the 
 iirst attempt of such an aspect since the accession 
 of the present Royal Family ; nor, however in- 
 nocent, or even beneficial it might appear in the 
 eyes of its author, Mas it free from great and ob- 
 vious objections : It confined the protection grant- 
 ed bj the Toleration Act within narrower limits 
 than either the words of that law, its original ob- 
 ject as collected from history^ or the uniform prac- 
 tice upon it would justify : — It broke in afresh 
 upon the principle of religious liberty, and it 
 opened a door for the exercise of discretion by the 
 magistrate in cases where, hitherto, he had been 
 bound to act only ministerially ; a change so im- 
 portant, as, if once permitted to creep in, would 
 rapidly destroy every vestige of religious freedom, 
 and place every future candidate for admission into 
 the Dissenting Ministry in dependence on the plea- 
 sure of a Quarter Sessions. 
 
 " That such is the apparent tendency of some 
 parts of the Bill, as introduced, cannot be denied ; 
 and, notwithstanding tlie present imperfection of 
 our religious liberties, that a measure in its prin- 
 ciple sapping their foundation, and particularly re- 
 stricting them in practice^ should have been warm- 
 
152 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 ]y Opposed, is extremely natural. Nor do we be- 
 lieve that any Dissenters encouraged his lordship 
 to imagine, that such infringements on their an- 
 cient and accustomed possessions could ever meet 
 widi the approbation of their body. Their objec- 
 tions have also been further strengthened, by the 
 deficiency of adequate cause for legislative inter- 
 ference : the evils complained of as arising from 
 the preaching of persons alledged to be improper 
 or ill qualified for the function, being rather as- 
 sumed than proved ; and the inconvenience to the 
 state, of exemptions from burthensome services 
 having been obtained by some few persons not in- 
 titled to the privilege, being already remediable, 
 and in most cases actually remedied by law : to 
 which it may be added, that such unwarantable 
 claims have not been sanctioned by the Dissenters. 
 " On the prompt and unanimous feeling, so fa- 
 vourable to the maintenance and advancement of 
 our common interests and liberties, which this at- 
 tempt has excited, and en the success of our re- 
 sistance, we most cordially congratulate our bre- 
 thren : and we think we discover equal cause 
 of satisfaction in those unequivocal declarations 
 against every species and degree of persecution, 
 against every intolerant principle, which in the 
 course of this discussion, short as it has been, have 
 been drawn from persons of the highest rank, the 
 brightest talents, and the most efficient public sta- 
 tions in the country. 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 153 
 
 " From s3?mptoms so favourable, arising, in our 
 opinion, not from any accidental circumstance, but 
 from the gradual and silent increase of just and li- 
 beral sentiments, we cannot but augur the happiest 
 results. We trust that the present laws will con- 
 tinue to be administered with that liberality v»hich 
 we have so generally and so long experienced. We 
 cannot but anticipate the speedy approach of that 
 fortunate period, when the legislature shall ex- 
 punge from that Statute Book which they now dis- 
 grace — all penalties, restrictions, and disabilities 
 on account of Religion : and we earnesly hope that 
 nothing will occur to defeat these expectations, or 
 by exciting a hostile spirit even to postpone a con- 
 summation on every account so devoutly to be 
 wished. 
 
 '' Signed, by order of the Meeting, W^illiam 
 Smith, Chairman.'* 
 
 It was finally resolved, at a subsequent meeting 
 of the Committee, June 12, ISII, to circulate the 
 Address and Resolutions, together with a circular 
 letter, announcing that the Sketch of the History 
 and Proceedings of the Deputies from the year 
 1752, which had been for some time in prepara- 
 tion, would shortly be published. 
 
 It ought not to be omitted, in closing the account 
 of this transaction, that the Committee have had 
 the pleasure of receiving from different parts of 
 the kingdom, the most gratifying testimonies of 
 approbation, for their attention in this, as in former 
 
154: SKETCH OF THE HISTORY ANJ) 
 
 instances, to the interests of their Protestant Dis- 
 senting brethren. They have, also, thankfully to 
 acknowledge the receipt of several pecuniary con- 
 tributions, which their expences, not merely in re- 
 sisting Lord Sidmouth's Bill, but in the continual 
 discharge of their various duties, have rendered 
 absolutely indispensible ; and, for w ant of which, 
 they have occasionally been constrained to pay only 
 a part of the expence attending different prosecu* 
 tions, when they would have gladly defrayed the 
 whole. 
 
upplement 
 
 In order to afford a better idea of the labours of 
 the Committee of Deputies, and convey useful in- 
 formation, it has heen thought advisable to give a 
 concise account of the principal cases in which they 
 have interfered, but which could not be stated at 
 length without an improper extension of the vo- 
 lume, nor be introduced into the foregoing narra- 
 tive, without perplexing the reader's attention bjr 
 an incessant change of subject. The heads under 
 which these cases have been arranged, are as fol- 
 lows : — Unjust Demands and Prosecutions ; Riots, 
 Assaults, and Disturbances ; Refusals of Magis- 
 trates to execute their Office ; Refusals of Clergy 
 to perform Duty; Parochial Disputes; Private 
 Disputes. 
 
 UNJUST DEMANDS AND PROSECUTIONS. 
 
 I7iO. A Dissenting minister, who had been 
 named as churchwarden, was supported with etiect 
 in refusing to serve. 
 
 171.V. Carmarthenshire. A demand being made 
 on the Dissenters there for fees on baptizing their 
 
156 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AN» 
 
 children, tliougli baptized by Dissenting ministers; 
 and some of them being cited into the Spiritual 
 Court for refusing to pay those demands ; through 
 the interference of the Committee, the prosecutions 
 were dropped, and the clergyman who instituted 
 them was obliged to pay costs. 
 
 1763. Merionethshire, Prosecutions against a 
 Dissenting minister for baptizing a child, and 
 against the mother for not coming to be churched, 
 successfully resisted. 
 
 1769. Hawsterleys, A clergyman demanding 
 marriage-fees of persons, who, on his refusal to 
 perform the service, had been married in Scotland ; 
 the claim was successfully resisted. 
 
 1764. Oswestry, Several Dissenters having 
 been cited into the Spiritual Court for not bringing 
 their children to church to be christened, and their 
 wives to be churched ; and Dissenting ministers 
 also, for baptizing ; the Committee interposed, and 
 prevented farther proceedings. 
 
 1750. Cirencester. 1764. WeJford, 1769. New- 
 castle, 1780. JVendens. 1781. Harhorouo-h. 
 
 o 
 
 1785. Soham. Demands of fees, for burials in the 
 Dissenters' burial-grounds, and for churching the 
 wives of Dissenters, by the advice of the Com- 
 mittee successfully resisted. 
 
 1766. Tregoy. A justice who had ordered a 
 distress on the goods of a Dissenter under the Con- 
 venticle Act, refusing to make satisfaction to the 
 party, the Committee, on the opinion of counsel, 
 
PROCEEDINGS OP T?IE DEPUTIES. 157 
 
 advised an action to he brouglit against him ; on 
 trial it was ordered, tliat the justice should pay- 
 costs, and the amount of the goods which had been 
 sold, and that what remained unsold should be re- 
 turned to the plaintiff, 
 
 1772. Oxford. A Dissenter there having been 
 summoned to undertake the office of common- 
 council-man, was supported in refusing to serve. 
 
 1788. Ver^annQ^v Tregoni/. A Dissenter, be- 
 ing prosecuted in the yU'chdeacon's Court for not 
 going to church, went to the Quarter Sessions to 
 take the oaths, and qualify as a Protestant Dis- 
 senter, but being an ignorant man, and unable to 
 give his reasons for dissenting, was not permitted, 
 in consequence of which he was excommunicated; 
 by the interposition of the Committee, on another 
 attendance the oaths were administered and the ex- 
 communication removed. 
 
 1796. Leicester^ A mortuary of JOs. having 
 been demanded by the -clergyman of the parish 
 upon the death of a Dissenter as the head of a fa- 
 mily, though buried in the burial-ground belong- 
 ing to the Dissenters, the clergyman was informed 
 by the Committee that demands of a similar na- 
 ture had been found improper, and that if a pro- 
 secution was commenced it would be resisted. 
 
 1 798 . Tozccestcr. The curate of the parish hav- 
 ing made a demand of Easter dues, the Committee 
 took Mr. Serjeant Ileywood's opinion upon the 
 subject, which being that the demand could not be 
 
 p 
 
15S SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 supported^ it was communicated to the parties, and 
 the matter dropped. 
 
 1800. South Weald. The vicar having threaten^ 
 ed a prosecution for non-payment of burial-fees of 
 a Dissenter, though buried in the Dissenters' 
 ground by their own minister, the Committee in- 
 terfered, and the demand was given up. 
 
 1802. Brigg. ThB vicar having demanded a 
 mortuary of I7s. upon the death of a Dissenter, 
 which had not been customarily paid in that parish, 
 the Committee advised the party not to pay it ; and 
 if cited in the Spiritual Court, to appear and pray a 
 copy of the libel, and inform the Committee. 
 
 1804. Bedford, The parish-clerk having made 
 a demand upon a Dissenter for sweeping his pew 
 at church, although he never attended worship 
 there ; and having summoned him to appear at the 
 County Court; and it appearing the Dissenter had 
 made default by not causing an appearance to be 
 entered, the Committee advised the arrears to be 
 paid, and a written declaration delivered at the 
 «ame time before witness, {an attested copy of 
 which was to be kept) protesting against the le- 
 gality of the claim, and giving notice that it would 
 in future be resisted. 
 
 1805. BiMcrston. A niLnister was convicted 
 under the Conventicle Act, in tLe pei^^alty of ^SO, 
 for preaching in a house which had not been re- 
 o'is^ered on account of toe certificate s^nt to the 
 Archdeacon's Court that the house was intended 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 159 
 
 for relig-ious worship not being" signed by the per- 
 son who took it. The Committee gave their opi- 
 nion that the case did not admit of relief. 
 
 1807. Flock, Cornwall. A person having been 
 prosecuted in the Spiritual Court, by the clergy- 
 man, for not attending at church, wliich he had 
 left to frequent a Dissenting meeting-house, and 
 fined ^}, application was made to the Commitiee. 
 On further investigation it appeared, that previous 
 to the prosecution neither the place was registered, 
 nor had the minister taken the oaths. The defend- 
 ant had since qualified as a Dissenter. 'J'he case 
 not admitting of relief, the amount of the fine and 
 other expences was paid by the Committee. 
 
 OTHER CASES SUITABLY ATTENDED TO E Y THE 
 COMMITTEE. 
 
 1740. PontypooL 1745. Biddcford. 1748. 5^//- 
 folk, 174:9. Refilej/. 1753, ^'udbinj/. \7b7. Mai- 
 den, 1751. Ha-cer ford-west. 1764. Cheltenham. 
 1770. Roi/ston. 1771. HincMey. 1775. Wing, 
 
 1777. Kirksby Woodhouse. Bridgstock. Durham. 
 
 1778. Basin^bournc. 1785. Framllngham. 1792. 
 Nottino;ham. Abingdon. 180G. Canterbury. 
 Godmanchester, 1807. Denton. Norfolk. 1809. 
 Maldon. 1811. ^wa^ileyj Kent. Glamorganshire 
 
 RIOTS, nSS.iLLTS, AND DISTURBANCES. 
 
 1741. Slratton. Several rioters having insulted 
 the congregation of Baptists, and barbarously 
 abused a family belonging to it, were prosecutedj 
 
 p2 
 
160 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 by which the peace of that place and neighbour- 
 hood wes restored. 
 
 1743. Angksea. An information was obtained 
 against several rioters who had disturbed and abused 
 the Dissenters there. 
 
 J 751. Wahal. The meeting-house having been 
 pulled down bj some rioters, government, on the 
 representation of the Coramitte, undertook to pro- 
 secule the offenders. 
 
 1760. Clapham. The Dissenting minister hav- 
 ing been insulted whilst preaching, and part of the 
 meeting-house demolished, the Committee inter- 
 posed, and procured the repair of the damage, and 
 proper satisfaction to the minister. 
 
 1772. Mldhurst. Great damage having been 
 done to the meeting-house in a riot, the Commit- 
 tee, undertook to prosecute the rioters, but were 
 prevented by their absconding. 
 
 1772. Dartmouth, A congregation having been 
 disturbed, and the mayor of the town having re- 
 fused to grant warrants against the offenders, he 
 was threatened with a prosecution, which pro- 
 duced the desired effect. 
 
 J 775. Lewes, There having been seen several 
 riots at a meeting-house at St. Thomas's, near that 
 town, a warrant against one of tlie rioters was ob- 
 tained and served, on which he made satifactory 
 submission. 
 
 1781. Staines, 1782, Peterborough, Rioters 
 prosecuted for disturbances.. 
 
PROCEEDINGS OP THE DEPUTIES. IGl 
 
 1783. Anglesea. A minister having been at- 
 tacked and insulted while administerino- the rite of 
 baptism, the oftender was threatened with prose- 
 cution, on which he submitted to the terras im- 
 posed. 
 
 1785. Grimshi/, An attorney of that place, hav- 
 ing disturbed the Dissenting- congregation during 
 divine service, by cursing, swearing, and other 
 iil-behaviour, a letter was written to him, on which 
 he made suitable submission. 
 
 1785. Beaumaris. An assault having been made 
 upon the minister, the offender was written to on 
 behalf of the Committee, and compromised the 
 affair upon their terms. 
 
 1787. LlanryUi/n. A violent outrage having 
 been committed, by seven men masked, on the Dis- 
 senting minister and two of his friends, the Court 
 of King's Bench was moved for an information 
 against the rioters. It being afterwards deter- 
 mined to proceed by indictment, true bills were 
 found ; and four, being all who could be taken, 
 submitted to the Committee's terms. 
 
 1795. Needham and Stowmarket. Four per- 
 sons having been found guilty on an indictment for 
 a riot at a meeting of Dissenters, and sentenced 
 to six montlis imprisonment in the county gaol, the 
 Committee contributed to the expences of the pro- 
 secution. 
 
 1797. Sawhridgeworth, A person having been 
 prosecuted under the direction of a member of the 
 p3 
 
162 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 Committee and the secretary, for a disturbance of 
 public worship, and being found guilty, the ex- 
 pences were defrayed by the Committee. 
 
 1799. Smith Green, Esse.v,. A person indicted 
 for a riot at a meeting-house there, was tried and 
 found guilty, but discharged bj the magistrate with 
 only a reprimand. The parties were reimbursed 
 the expences of the prosecution by the Committee. 
 
 1800. Dartmouth. A disturbance having been 
 made at the meeting-house, the Committee inter* 
 fered ; upon the oifenders making submission, and 
 paying ail expence&, the affair v/as settled. 
 
 1801. Downham. The Committee paid the ex- 
 pences incurred in prosecuting several persons for 
 a disturbance, the congregation being poor. 
 
 1802. Aston Abbott. A m.agistrate having dis« 
 turbed the congregation during the time of worship, 
 and also personally assaulted the minister, the Com- 
 mittee advised a prosecution for both offences. In- 
 dictments were accordingly preferred at the assizes, 
 and true bills found ; but the party making sub- 
 missioU;, and paying all expences^, the prosecution 
 was stopped. 
 
 1S02. Bracknell. A person found guilty of a 
 disturbance was unable to pay the penalty ; the 
 congregation being poor, the expences of the pro- 
 secution were defrayed by the Committee. 
 
 1805. Brixham, Devon. A riot and disturb- 
 ance having been made at a house properly regis- 
 tered, at Stoke Gabriel, during divine worship, the 
 
piiocj:edings of the deputies. 163 
 
 Louse damaged, and the minister, and several of 
 the congregation assaulted on their way home, tire 
 Committee interfered, and ordered an indictment 
 to be preferred against the offenders. The onlj 
 one Itowever that could be found, making an apo- 
 logy in the newspaper, paying all expences, and 
 giving £10 to the Exeter Hospital^ the prosecu- 
 tion was dropped. 
 
 1806. Burnham^ Essex. A person having dis- 
 turbed the Baptist congregation there, the Com- 
 mittee preferred an indictment against him at the 
 Quarter Sessions, which was found a true bill, and 
 removed by certiorari into the Court of King's 
 Bench. On the defendants applying- to settle the 
 affair, discharging the costs, and paying a dona- 
 tion of five guineas to the parochial-school, pro- 
 ceedings against him were stayed. 
 
 1807. Brixham. Complaint was made to the 
 Committee of a person grossly insulting the mem- 
 bers of the congregation as they passed to and from 
 the meeting-house, raising a mob, and creating a 
 disturbance during the time of worship both at 
 and within the meeting doors. The Committee or- 
 dered him to be indicted, and a true bill was found 
 for the disturbance. The trial came on at the as- 
 sizes, and the defendant was acquitted on the 
 ground of insanity. 
 
 1808. Aylshcmiy Norfolk. Several persons 
 guilty of disturbing the public worship of the Dis- 
 senters there, and personally ill-treating the mi- 
 
IGi SKETCH OF THE HISTORT ANIT 
 
 Ulster, were indicted by order of the Committee. 
 At the trial, the defendants offered to make n pub- 
 lic apology and pay the costs. The proposition 
 being acceded to, they were reprimanded by the 
 judge, who observed, that if the affair had not been 
 compromised, and the defendants had been found 
 guilty, the sentence of the court would have been 
 very severe. 
 
 1809. Norton St. Philips^ Somersetshire. The 
 Dissenting* congregation having been disturbed and 
 assaulted during- divine worship by several persons, 
 the offenders were indicted and found guilty. The 
 congregation being poor, the expences were de- 
 frayed by the Committee. 
 
 1810. Reigate. A person who had disturbed 
 the Dissenting congregation there, was indicted by 
 order of the Committee ; and on a true bill being 
 found, pleaded guilty and paid the penalty of ^20. 
 
 OTHER CASES. 
 
 1773. Oa:ford. Ull . Titchfield. 1792. Ut- 
 toxeter. 1793. Gtdlshorough.. 1794. Woodstock. 
 1797. Reigate. 1798. Mere^ Wilts. 1799. Essex. 
 1810. Mere. WiMiam Market. 1811. Broseley.. 
 
 REFUSALS OF MAGISTRATES TO EXECUTE THEIR 
 OFFICE. 
 
 1743. Radnor. The justices refusing to register 
 places of worship, the Committee obtained a rule 
 to shew cause why a'7?2«?2(?amw^ should not issue^ 
 which produced compliance. 
 
PKOCEEDTNGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 165 
 
 1763. Anglesea. A similar refusal ; compliance 
 enforced by a mandamus. 
 
 1760. Derbi/shire. A similar refusal as to se- 
 veral places, and likewise as to granting certificates 
 to mininisters ; compliance enforced by mandamus, 
 
 1769. Berkshire. A refusal to register places 
 of worship, on pretence that the parties had not 
 obtained the bishop's certificate ; compliance ob- 
 tained bj application from the Committee. 
 
 1770. Merionethshire. 1774. Sussex, in^i. 
 Rutland. 1781. Carmarthen. Similar refusals ; 
 compliance enforced by mandamus. 
 
 1789. Hereford. A similar refusal on the 
 ground of the certificate not having been applied 
 for bj motion of counsel ; compliance was obtained 
 by the interference of the Committee. 
 
 1791. Brecknock, The justices having refused 
 to register some places, and also to grant certifi- 
 cates to ministers ; complied at the instance of the 
 Committee. 
 
 1791, Lincolnshire, Similar refusals as to 
 places and ministers, and also to permit lajmen to 
 qualify as Dissenters : the justices complied on be- 
 ing threatened with a mandamus. 
 
 1796. Broughion. The justices refusing to re- 
 gister a meeting-house without a motion by coun- 
 sel, and the clerk demanding exorbitant fees, jus- 
 tice was obtained by the Committee. 
 
 1798. Wrexham. The justices having refused 
 to administer the oaths to a minister who applied 
 
166 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 to qualify under the Toleration Acts, counsel's opi- 
 nion was taken : but the minister having exposed 
 himself to a prosecution under the Conventicle 
 Act, the Committee did not recommend applying 
 for a mandamus, 
 
 1799. Tauntop. The justices refusing to admit 
 a Dissenting minister to qualify, the Committee in- 
 terposed ; and under their advice a second applica- 
 tion was successful. 
 
 1799. Bristol. Several students at the academy 
 having been refused admission to take the oaths, 
 suitable advice was given to the parties. 
 
 1802. Mirk'Ella. The justices having refused 
 to admit a person to qualify, because he carried on 
 the business of a farmer, application was made by 
 the Committee to the chairman, which produced 
 the desired effect, 
 
 1806. Ipswich, The magistrates having refused 
 admitting a person to take the oaths as a Dissent- 
 ing teacher, unless the leading men of the congre- 
 gation certified in writings that he was their minis- 
 ter, the Committee took the opinion of counsel, 
 who advised applying for a madamus ; but fiirther 
 steps proved uiinessary. 
 
 J809. Backs. The refusal in this case was on 
 the ground of the person who offered himself not 
 being the minister of any congregation : an appli- 
 cation to the chairman of the Quarter Sessions was~ 
 successful. 
 
 1809. Asmin&ier. Some of the students of th^ 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 167 
 
 academy not being allowed to qualify, suitable ad- 
 vice was given by the Committee. 
 
 ISIl. Iladdenham^ Bucks. In consequence of 
 a complaint tkat the magistrates had refused to 
 «dmit the minister to qualify, on the grouud that 
 he was not regularly settled over the congregation, 
 and was not prepared with a certificate of his being 
 their pastor ; counsel's opinion was taken, and on 
 a fresh application the object was attained. 
 
 OTHER CASES. 
 
 1792. Oxfordshire, Glj/n-Ceriog, 1794. Not- 
 iingham. 1799. South Petherton. Chichester* 
 1802. Yorkshire, 1806. Ipszcich, 
 
 REFUSALS OF CLERGY TO PERFORM DUTY. 
 
 1748. JVatesfield, Burial was refused to the 
 children of some Dissenters, on account of their 
 not having been baptized according to the rites of 
 the church of England. The Bishop of Norwich, 
 on application by the Committee, wrote to the 
 t:lergyman; and expressed his hope that no occa- 
 sion would be given for such complaints in fatare. 
 
 1741 . Isle of Wight. A clergymau refusing to 
 bury a child without a certificate of its baptiGm, 
 was written to by the Bishop of Winchester, on tlie 
 application of the Committee, and no further com- 
 plaint vv as made. 
 
 1764. Llan-oigan. The minister refusing to 
 bury a child, because it was baptized by a Dissent- 
 
168 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 ing minister, the Committee interfered^ and he 
 made satisfaction. 
 
 1769, Marshfied. The vicar havins; refused to 
 bury a child, baptized by one who was not an or- 
 dained ])issenting minister, and insisting he had 
 done rights w^as reprimanded by the Bishop of 
 Llandaff, and ordered for the future to perform 
 the service. 
 
 177^. MearS'Aslihy, The clergyman havings 
 refused to bury 'two children who had been bap- 
 tizsd, was reprimanded by the Bishop of Peter- 
 borough, and promised to do his duty for the fu- 
 ture. 
 
 J792. Margate. The vicar refused burial to a 
 parishioner who had been baptized by a Dissenting 
 minister, and bade the friends of the deceased go 
 and bury the corpse in the fields. It was however 
 buried in the clmrch-yard, but the vicar would 
 neither read the burial service himself, nor suffer 
 his curate to read it. Tlie case being laid before 
 the Arc]\bishop of Canterbury, his grace expressed 
 great disapprobation of the vicar's conduct, and 
 was pleased to say he should be reprimanded, and 
 left to the course of the law for any future misbeha- 
 viour of that kind. 
 
 1796. HarrbigtQti. The ciirate of the parish hav- 
 ing refused to bury the child of one of his parishion- 
 ers, baptized by a Dissenting minister, the Com- 
 mittee interfered, on which the curate performed 
 the service. 
 
PkOCEHDlXCS OV THE DEPUTIES. l<5f 
 
 1798. Towcesle?\ The curate having refused 
 to burj the children of two of his Dissenting" pa- 
 rishioners because they had not been baptized by 
 him, but by a Dissenting* minister, he was written 
 to by the Bishop of Peterborough, on the applica- 
 tion of the Committee, and accordingly performed 
 tlie duty. 
 
 1800. Staines, In this case, the churchicardai re- 
 fused to permit the bell to be tolled at the death or 
 burial of Dissenters' children, or the corpses to be 
 brought into the church prior to the interment. 
 A letter being sent by the Committee to apprize 
 him that his refusal was illegal, and that if he re- 
 peated it proceedings would be instituted against 
 him in the Ecclesiastical Court, no further com- 
 plaint was made, 
 
 1801. Brigg. The vicar refusing to bury a 
 child baptized by a Dissenting minister, the Bishop 
 of Lincoln, on the application of the Committee, 
 desired him to comply, observing that he should 
 give the same directions to the other clergy of his 
 diocese whenever there should be occasion. 
 
 1804. Llanthelly , The rector, on a similar re- 
 fusal, was written to by the bishop, and enjoined 
 to perform the duty in future. 
 
 1805. I>Ialmshury, The curate of Lea, on a 
 similar refusal, was disired by the Bishop of Salis- 
 bury not to refuse in future. 
 
 1807. Gloucestershire^ The rector of Coate* 
 having refused to read the burial service, iu a si- 
 
170 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 niilar case, and declaring, in answer to an appli- 
 cation from the Committee, that he had done right, 
 and was ready to abide by the consequences : the 
 Committee, in pursuance of the best opinions in 
 Doctors' Commons,, instituted a prosecution against 
 liim in the Consistorial Court of Gloucester : but, 
 in consequence of the depositions being taken 
 down in an improper manner by the officer of the 
 court, judgement was given for the defendant. 
 
 1805. Enderhij^ Leicestershire. There being 
 no officiating curate, and the rector living many 
 miles off, the churchwarden refused to permit the 
 burial of a Dissenter's child in the church-yard. 
 The case was laid before Sir J. Nicholl, Vvho gave 
 it as hisopinion^ that the refusal was justifiable, 
 the churchwardens not being bound to procure a 
 minister to perform the service. 
 
 OTHER CASES. 
 
 1745. Biddeford. 1748. BiUinghoTGUgh. 1778. 
 MattishaU. 1781. Frome. 1784. Cheshunt. 1191. 
 Jlingshall. 1796. Staines, 1798. Eaton, North" 
 amptonsliire. 1799. BurzotU. 1800. Kent. 1801. 
 Morton. Kibzcorth. Brcadway. Wuie. 1805. Eea. 
 1806. Nczo Cam ford ^ Essex. Isle of Thanet, Bar- 
 net. Hertford. 1808. East Lydford. Somerset- 
 shire. Ipiwich. Birch, Essex. PenaJti/, Pe^nh. 
 3Iii ford. 1809, ilmmleigh, Devon. Burwell, Camb. 
 Sherborne. 1811. NorthamptonsJtire. 
 
rROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 171 
 
 PAROCHIAL DISPUTES. 
 
 1748. Yarmouth. The Dissenters complain ine^ 
 of a rate for the support of an organ erected by vo- 
 luntary contribution, the Committee procured ihos 
 best opinions both in Doctors' Commons and West- 
 minster 11 all, and the affair was satisfactorily set- 
 lied. 
 
 1764. Rotherhithe, A distress having been 
 made on a meeting-house, for a scavenger's rate, 
 was recovered by the Committee, 
 
 1772. An attempt having been made to remove 
 a Dissenting minister as a pauper, counsel's opi- 
 nion was taken, on which he procured full redress. 
 
 177S. Lymington. The Dissenting minister 
 desiring to know if he could be compelled to take a 
 parish child for an apprentice, was informed that 
 the Toleration Act did not exempt him, but advised 
 to appeal. 
 
 1783. FramUngham, The Dissenting minister 
 making a complaint on the same subject, was like- 
 wise recommended to appeal, 
 
 1787. ^outhwar/i. A meetinof-house havinff 
 been assessed to the House, AVindow, and Cora- 
 mutation Tax, on account of the pew-opener re- 
 siding in part of it, redress was obtained on ap- 
 peal. 
 
 1789. .Lnces. The Dissenting minister being 
 threatened with removal from the parish, on pre- 
 tence that he was likelj to become chargeable, the 
 q9 
 
172 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 Committee advised that his friends should offer to 
 indemnify the parish. On his attending at the 
 Sessions, the justices refused to make the order, 
 and reprimanded the parish officers for their con- 
 duct. 
 
 1794. Hare Court, 'London, The meeting- 
 house having been rated for the repairs of Alders- 
 gate Church, the parties, under Mr. Serjeant Hey- 
 wood's opinion, entered an appeal, which was al- 
 lowed, and the rate confirmed with regard to the 
 cellar only. 
 
 1795, Kensington. The Hornton-street Cha- 
 pel being assessed to the poor-rate, and it appear- 
 ing that no profit was derived from it, the rate was 
 appealed against with success ; and upon the trus- 
 tees applying to be reimbursed their expences, the 
 Committee contributed .3^25. 
 
 1798, Stockbridge. A house there properly re- 
 gistered and from which no profit or advantage was 
 made, being assessed to the poor-rate, the Com- 
 mittee took counsel's opinion on the case, and the 
 demand was given up. 
 
 1806. Essex. The churchwardens not per- 
 mitting a poor man in the workhouse to attend di- 
 vine service among the Dissenters, and insisting 
 that he should attend at church, counsel's opinion 
 was taken, by which it appeared they had no au- 
 thority for so doing. A copy of the opinion being 
 sent to the party, no further complaint was made. 
 
 1S08. London. The meeting-house in the ^^e.w- 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 175 
 
 road bein^ assessed to a parochial rate, the opinion 
 of counsel was taken : by which it appeared that 
 the assessment being made pursuant to a local Act, 
 under which churches and chapels were also rate- 
 able, payment could not be resisted. 
 
 ISIO. Jewin Street^ London, The meeting- 
 house being assessed to the poor-rate, (as well as 
 the cellar below, from which only a profit was de- 
 rived,) and the seats not being let, but the sub- 
 scriptions entirely voluntary and solely applied to 
 the ??upport of the minister and keeping the place 
 in repair ; the Committee advised the parties to 
 appeal, which they accordingly did with success. 
 
 OTIIEIl CASES. 
 
 1777. jyhitechnpeL 1777. Crcditon. 1796. 
 Grantham, 1800. Little Wild Street. ISO]. 
 Aldermanburij Postern, 1802. Jxminster, 1805. 
 Bkmdford Street, 1807. Little Wild Street, 1808. 
 Bath, 1809. Great Jlie Street, 1810. Croi/- 
 don, 
 
 PRIVATE DISPUTES. 
 
 1744. Brentwood, An encroachment having 
 been made on the premises belonging to the con- 
 gregation, the Committee procured immediate re- 
 dress. 
 
 1747 Maes-y-ronij, The trustees of a legacy 
 of £20, leO: to the minister of a Dissenting congre- 
 gation, refusing to pay it, complied on the inter- 
 fer^ence of the Committee. 
 
 q3 
 
174 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND 
 
 1753. A legacy of £500 to trusiees for the be- 
 nefit of the minister of a Dissenting congregation 
 being claimed by one of tlie trustees as next of kin, 
 on the pretence that the legacy was forfeited by the 
 congregation removing to another place of worship, 
 was recovered by a suit in Cliancerj under the ad- 
 vice of the Committee 
 
 1765. Tredweston. Payment of an annuity to 
 the congregation was obtained by the Committee. 
 
 1771. Bicester, £100 being bequeathed to a 
 person for the use of the minister o^ the Dissent- 
 ing congregation, and that person djing before the 
 testatrix, the Committee took the opinion of Mr. 
 Bicknell on the question, whether the legacy was 
 lapsed. His answer being in the negative, the 
 executor agreed to pay it to the trustees of the 
 meeting, ibr the use of the minister, upon having 
 an entry made in their books, appointing the dea- 
 cons and trustees to invest the property. 
 
 177 i. Westbury, Payment being refused of 
 £20 a year, bequeathed to the congregation, the 
 Committee interfered, and the affair was amicably 
 settled. 
 
 177K Neiilswort/i, Payment being refused of 
 a legacy of £4: per annum^ for the support of the 
 minister of the Dissenting congregation, was ob- 
 tained by the interference of the Committee. 
 
 1772. AndoTer, Payment of a legacy of £100 
 left to the minister of the Dissenting meeting-house 
 thttre, the interest of which had been regularly paid 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 17% 
 
 for many years, being refused, was obtained on 
 filing a bill in Chancery. 
 
 1783. Norzoich, Two separate legacies, of 
 £1200 each, were bequeathed to six trustees for 
 the use of a congregation in Norwich. The testa- ' 
 tor died i\\ 1778. Payment being evaded by the 
 executor, was obtained by a suit in Chancery. 
 
 1783. Leicester. The heir at law of a person 
 who had given a meeting-house to a congregation 
 there, threatened to resume it, and forbidding any 
 alterations to be made without his consent, coun- 
 sel's opinion was taken, which put an end to the 
 dispute. 
 
 1784?. Biggleswade. The only surviving trus- 
 tee of the meeting-house, which was copyhold, re- 
 fusing to surrender it, complied on the interfer- 
 ence of the Committee. 
 
 1785. Szcansea. A sum of £100, held in trust 
 for the congregation, being detained from their 
 use, the parties were threatened with a suit in 
 Chancery, on which they submitted, and assigned 
 over the trust. 
 
 1785. Falmouth. A clergyman having obtain- 
 ed possession of the trust deeds of the meeting- 
 house, and refusing to deliver them up, a bill in 
 Chancery was filed against him by advice of the 
 Committe, on which he submitted, and paid the 
 costs. 
 
 1787.. Fordingbridge. In a similar case, the 
 party submitted at the instance of the Committee. 
 
^ 176 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY ANB 
 
 1797. Brigg. Ui)der the advice of the Com- 
 mittee, a piece of ground, on which a meeting- 
 house formerly stood, and which had been seized 
 and built upon by an individual^ (the congregation 
 having been extinct twenty years) was recovered, 
 and the congregation re-established. 
 
 1798. G/oucester, One of the two surviving 
 trustees of the Southgate meeting-house having re- 
 fused to join in a conveyance to new trustees, agree- 
 ably to the trust deed, was written to on behalf of 
 the Committee, and the business amicably settled. 
 
 1799. Sidhurij, Payment being refused of an 
 annuity of .f 10 per annum, (bequeathed prior to 
 the Statute of Mortmain, to the minister of the 
 Presbyterian meeting, out of certain ft'eehold and 
 leasehold premises J after having been paid up- 
 wards of sixty years, the Committee took coun- 
 sel's opinion on the case, and obtained payment. 
 
 1799. Neath. The trust deeds of the meeting- 
 house being improperly withheld, and two members 
 of the congregation keepingpossession of the place, 
 advice was sent to the trustees. On another ap- 
 plication respecting disputes among the congrega- 
 tion, the Committee declined interfering ; but re- 
 commended a reference to the tutors of the acade- 
 my at Carmarthen. 
 
 1801. Highgate, A dispute respecting the 
 meeting-house, for the recovery of which an eject- 
 ment had been brought by an individual as being 
 part of an estate he had purchased, was amicably 
 
PROCEEDINGS OP THE DEPUTIES. 177 
 
 adjusted through the interference of the Commit- 
 tee. 
 
 1806. Dudley, A suit in Chancery was insti- 
 tuted by the Committee to recover back certain 
 premises containing; about ten acres of land, which 
 had been conveyed by deed, in 1782, to trustees, 
 for the support of the minister or pastor for the 
 time being' of the Baptist church, at Dudley, and 
 which two of tlie trustees afterwards purchased of 
 the others at a low price : the suit is still proceed- 
 ing with every probability of success. 
 
 1806. JVhitehaven. A dispute with the trustees 
 of the meeting-house, who liad refused to shew the 
 trust deeds, and otherwise acted improperly, was 
 by the Committee's interference brought to an ami- 
 cable termination. 
 
 1S06. Kingswood, Gloucestershire. Application 
 being made to the Committee for advice and assist- 
 ance in settling the concerns of the meeting-house, 
 new trust deeds were prepared at their expence. 
 
 1807. Stroud. The minister, who had volun- 
 tarily quitted his office, continuing to keep posses- 
 sion of the dwelling-house belonging to the con- 
 gregation, the dispute was settled through the in- 
 terference of the Committee. 
 
 ISl^. Kirkstead] Li)icoln^hire, Daniel Disney, 
 Esq the lord of the manor, and possessor of a large 
 estate at Kirkstead, by deeds dated the 25d and 
 24th of June, 1720, stating, that for a competent 
 provision and maintenance for the Dissenting mi- 
 
178 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY ANI> 
 
 nister and ministers of Kirkslead, successively, a 
 yearly sum of £30 was intended by him to be al- 
 lowed and paid to the minister of Kirkstead, as by 
 his consent had been some time received by such 
 minister, either in money or by the rents of certain 
 hereditaments belonging to the manor ; and for 
 the discharge of which annual payment, Mr. Dis- 
 ney for the confirming and settling the same, did 
 convey the several lands and hereditaments therein 
 particularly described unto the four persons therein 
 named as trustees, and their heirs, to the intent 
 that they should suffer the Rev. John Taylor, the 
 then present minister of Kirkstead, to let and dis- 
 pose to his own use all the premises, and receive 
 the rents for his life, or so long as he should con- 
 tinue to exercise the ministry there ; and after his 
 death or removal, that the trustees should stand 
 seized of the premises for succeeding ministers in 
 like manner^ to be from time ,to time nominated by 
 the trustees, Piud appointed in manner therein men^ 
 tioned : and power was thereby given to the sur- 
 viving trustees from time to time to appoint others 
 in case of the death of tlie then present or any suc- 
 ceeding trustees. 
 
 Mr. Disney by his will, dated the 6th of April, 
 17S2, ratified and confirmed the above settlement, 
 and did thereby devise to the trustees therein men- 
 tioned the use of the chapel at Kirkstead, and the 
 benefit of the chapel-yard belonging to it, as usu- 
 ally separated from the other chapel grounds, for 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 179 
 
 tlie benefit of the ministers of Kirkstead successive- 
 ly that should be duly chosen, so long^ as they con- 
 tinued the exercise of the miiiistrj tliere. And he 
 did also devise and will that in case none of his 
 grandsons, who should bo in possession of that 
 estate at Kirkstead, or of some part of it, should 
 desire to dwell in the hall at Kirkstead, that Mr. 
 Taylor the then minister, or any ministers that 
 should succeed him there might dwell in it (upon 
 the same terms on which Mr. Taylor then did) 
 during' their continuance in the ministry there, 
 maintaining the same in good and sufficient re- 
 pair. 
 
 After the death of Mr. Taylor, a Mr. Harrison 
 was nominated minister by the trustees, and conti- 
 nued to officiate as such until about the year 1759, 
 when he left the place, and Mr. Dunkley was ap- 
 pointed minister in his stead. 
 
 In the year 179?, Richard Ellison, Esq. became 
 the purchaser of the m.anor and estate at Kirkstead, 
 from Lewis Disney Fytche, Esq. grandson of the 
 testator; and being thus in possession of the estate, 
 ^nd wishing also to ^ot possession of that part 
 which was held by Mr. Dunkley, as minister of 
 Kirkstead, he prevailed upon Mr. Dunkley to ac- 
 cept him as his tenant', and by these means ac- 
 quired possession of the trust lands mentioned in 
 the deeds of 1720. 
 
 Mr, Dunkley continued to be the minister at 
 
ISO SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AN1> 
 
 Kirkstead, until the time of his decease, which 
 happened about the month of December, 1793 ; 
 and Mr. Ellison, upon Mr. Dunkley's death, en- 
 gaged with a clergyman of the Church of England 
 to do the duty at Kirkstead at a regular salary 
 of £30 a year. 
 
 The trustees who resided at various places^ all 
 distant from Kirkstead, had no knowledge of Mr. 
 Duokley's death for several years : when they be- 
 came acquainted with it they demanded of Mr. 
 Ellison possession of the trust lands; which he re- 
 fused either to deliver up, or to account for the 
 rents of the same. The trustees applied to the 
 Committee for their advice and assistance. Under 
 their direction an action in ejectment was com- 
 menced against Mr. Ellison, in order to recover 
 possession of the trust property withheld by him ; 
 and the cause having been tried at the last Sum- 
 mer Assizes for the county of Lincoln, a verdict 
 was found for the lessors of the plaintiff: in con- 
 sequence of which the trust lands, to the extent of 
 about one hundred and forty acres, are recovered 
 to the trustees ; and the Committee are now about 
 to commence the necessary proceedings against 
 Mr. Ellison, in order to recover the arrears of 
 rents, &c. 
 
 The value of the wliole -of the trust property 
 which has been withheld, is estimated at about 
 ,€7,000. 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPUTIES. 1S.\ 
 
 OTHER CASES. 
 
 1755. Woohvich. Neath, 1770. Nezqwrt Pag- 
 nell. 1773, Chishull, Essex. Mottesha/l, 1774. 
 Falmouth, 1774. Frame, Bushe/l, Wiltshire. 
 1779, Bucks. 1780. Newbuny. 1786. Dorvnton. 
 1787. Coningsbi/. 1792. Coedy-Cymmer. Swal- 
 well. 1793. Burham. 1799. Neath. Henley, 
 Warwickshire, Melksham. 1800. Brisks;. 1801. 
 Great Yarmouth. Dartmouth. 1802. March, Isle 
 of Ely. 1804. Peurufldock. 180G. Navcastle- 
 npoii-Tyne. Bewdley. Morpeth. Red-cross Street, 
 London. Aylesbury. 1807. Newcastle. Gla- 
 morganshire. 1808. Coningsbi/. Edmonton. Ro- 
 therfield, Sussex. Croscombe. Ilfracombe. 1810. 
 Barnstaple. Cotherstone. York. SouthilL Grims- 
 hy. Coedy^Cymmtry Brecon. Plymouth. Nevin, 
 Carmarthen. 1811. Falmouth. 
 
 ' R 
 
SUMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 AFFECTING 
 
 PROTESTANT DISSENTERS, 
 
 The common law of England, wliich is only com- 
 mon reason, or usage, knows of no persecuting for 
 mere opinions.* 
 
 There is no usage or custom, independent of po- 
 sitive law, which makes non-conformity a crime. 
 The eternal principles of natural religion are part 
 of the common law : the essential principles of re- 
 vealed religion are part of the common law ; so 
 that any person reviling, subverting, or ridiculing 
 them, may be prosecuted at common law. But 
 it cannot be shewn from the principles of natural 
 or revealed religion, that, independent of posi- 
 tive law, temporal punisnments ought to be in- 
 flicted for mere opinions with respect to particu- 
 lar modes of worship. Persecution for a sincere, 
 
 * Lord Mansfield's speech in the House of Lords, February 4, 
 1767, in- the cuise of Harrison i. Evans. S^^e Skecch, p. 20. 
 
1S4: SUMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 fcliough erroneous conscience, is not to be deduced 
 from reason or the fitness of things : it can only 
 stand upon positive law.* 
 
 The positive laws, however, of this kingdom, 
 including the statutes and canons, as administered 
 by its courts of judicature, place Protestant Dis- 
 senters from its religious establishment in a situa- 
 tion, which differs in many important respects from 
 that of their fellow subjects in general. In order 
 to afford a distinct view of these laws, it will be 
 eonvenient to divide the present Summary of them 
 into four ptirts ; the first of which will comprise 
 thoae relating to Protestant Dissenters in general ; 
 the second, those relating to their Ministers ; the 
 third, those relating to their Schoolmasters ; the 
 fourth, those relating to their Chapels, or Piaees 
 of Worship, &c. 
 
 It has been judged expedient to advert, under 
 some of these heads, to a few points, in which the 
 legal situation of the Protestant Dissenters is not 
 altered by their religious persuasion ; but on which 
 some information may, for various reasons, be found 
 acceptable. 
 
 * Lord Mansfield's speech in tbe House of Lords, &c,. Sea 
 Sketch, p. 3iK 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTANT DISSEIfTERS. 185 
 
 FART I. 
 
 LAWS RELATING TO PROTESTANT DISSENTERS 
 IN GENERAL.* 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 PENAL L'WVS IN FORCE,t SUBJECT TO THE TOLERA- 
 TION ACT AND SUBSEl^UENT STATUTES. 
 
 § I. Procuring any Minister to officiate other- 
 wise than according to the Common Praj/tr Bock. 
 By 2 and 3 Ed. VI. c. I. Any person procuring- or 
 maintaining any person or other minister in any 
 
 * None of the laws mentioned in this Summarj' extend either to 
 Ireland or Scotland. The Toleration Act of Ireland, 6 G. 1, c. 5, 
 (Ire.) places Protestant Dissenters in that country almost exactly in 
 the situation of the Protestant Dissenters in England, after the 10 
 Anne, c. 2, (Eng.) except that no subscription to the articles is re- 
 quired. There was no law, it api>fears, to exclude them from cor- 
 porations. The Irish Test Act, 2 Anne, c. 6, (Ire.) was repealed, 
 as to them, by 19 and 20 G. IIL c. 6, (Ire.) It was also repealed 
 by 33 G. in. c 21, (Ire.) except as to certain high oflBces, in favour 
 of Roman Catholics, on condition of taking the oaths of that Act, 
 and of 13 and 14 G. III. c. 35, (Ire.) abjuring the tenets which are 
 considered incompatible with fidelity to the state. 
 
 f Many of these laws were chiefly levelled against Papists, but 
 affected all Non-conformists indiscriminately. 
 
 r3 • 
 
186 SU3IMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 eliurch, chapel, or other place, to sing or say any 
 common or open prayer, or minister any sacra- 
 ment otherwise than is mentioned in the Common 
 Prayer Book, is liable, on conviction by a jury, his 
 own confession, or notorious evidence of the fact, 
 for the first offence to pay £10, or be imprisoned 
 three months ; for the second, £20, or be impri-^ 
 soned six months ; and for the third to forfeit all 
 his goods and chattels, and be imprisoned for life. 
 
 The Statute 1 Eliz. c. 2. § 9, 10, II, J 2, 13, re* 
 enacts the same law, with heavier penalties for the 
 first and second offence, viz. 100 marks, or six 
 months imprisonment ; and 400 marks, or twelve 
 months imprisonment, 
 
 § 2. Nou-utttndance at Church. By 1, 5, and 
 6 Ed. yi. c. I. § ^; and 1 Eliz. c. 2. § 14, de- 
 clared to be in force by an expired Statute, 16 C. 
 II. c. 4,* Every person not resorting to his pa- 
 rish church or chapel, or (upon reasonable hind- 
 rance thereof) to some usual place of common 
 prayer, on every Sunday and holiday, is liable ta 
 ecclesiastical censures, {i. e. fine and costs) and 
 (by the Statute of Eliz.) forfeits 12d. for each 
 offence. § 14. f 
 
 ♦ See b«low. 
 
 f It is clear that the Eeclesiastical Court has jurisdiction under 
 the Act of 1 Eliz. c. 2; and it seems that it has an original juris- 
 diction to enforce attendance at church, and taking the sacra- 
 Hient, by virtue of the ancient canons, Britton v, Standisb,. 
 8 Mod, 183, 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. 187 
 
 By 23 Eliz. c. 1, Every person above the age of 
 sixteen, not resorting to some church or chapel, or 
 usual place of common prayer, incurs a forfeiture 
 of €20 for every month's absence ; and if so ab- 
 sent for twelve months, is to be bound to good be- 
 haviour, with two sureties, in the sum of £200 at 
 least, till he submits in manner mentioned in the 
 Act. § 5. 
 
 By 29 Eliz. c. 6, Every offender in not repair- 
 ing to church, having been once convicted, becomes 
 liable, without any other process, to pay half-yearly 
 into the Exchequer £20, for every month after- 
 wards till he conform, § 3 ; and if he fail to make 
 such payment, the king may seize all his goods and 
 t^vo-thirds of his lands and leases. § 40. Or, by 
 3 J. c. 4, the king may refuse the £20 a month and 
 take the two-thirds of the land. ^11. By S J. 
 c. 5, No person so convicted may enjoy any public 
 office, or practice law or physic, under penalty of 
 £100 for each offence, § 8 ; nor be executor, ad- 
 ministrator, or guardian, § 22. 
 
 By 35 Eliz. c. 1, Any person above sixteen, hav- 
 ing neglected to resort to church, for a month, who 
 shall persuade another to impugn the king's au- 
 thority in matters ecclesiastical, or to abstain from 
 coming to church, or to the communion, or who 
 shall be present at any unlawful assembly, meeting, 
 or conventicle,* under pretence of any exercise of 
 
 * This term, which in strictness only signifies a small assembly, 
 has generally been employed to denote an unlawful one. Since 
 
188 SUMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 religion, is to be imprisoned till he conform^ § 1 ; 
 if he do not conform within three months, he 
 must abjure the realm, § 2 ; if he refuse to abjure, 
 or after abjuration do not depart the kingdom, in 
 manner specified in the Act, or after such depar- 
 
 the Toleration Act, however, as Lord Mansfield once said, it can- 
 not with any propriety be applied in this sense, to the meetings of 
 Dissenters, 
 
 The first time it occurs in the Statute Book, appears to be in re- 
 ference to the schools of Wickliffe, 2 H. IV. c. 15. In this Act 
 (which was repealed by 25 H. VIII. c. 14, and revived by 1 and 2 
 Ph. and M. c. 6, wl.ich was repealed by I Eliz. c. 1. § 15,} it is re- 
 cited, that " divers false and perverse people of a certain new sect, 
 of the faith of the sacraments of the church, and the authority 
 ©f the same, damnably thinking, and against the law of God and 
 the church usurping* the oftice of preaching, do perversely and ma- 
 liciously, in diverse places within the said realm, under the colour 
 of dissembled holiness, preach and teach in these days, openly and 
 privily, divers new doctrines and wicked heretical and erroneous, 
 opinions, contrary to the same faith and blessed determinations of 
 the holy church : and of such sect and wicked doctrine and opi- 
 nion they make unlawful conventicles and confederacies, they hold 
 ' and exercise schools, they make and write books, they do wickedly 
 instruct and inform people," /ke. In order, therefore, " that this 
 wicked sect, preachings, doctrines, and opinions shouldyVom hence- 
 forth cease and he utterly destroyed," it is there ordained that per-^ 
 sons suspected might be arrested and imprisoned, and on conviction 
 iii the Ecclesiastical Court receive sentence of imprisonment and 
 fine ; and might also, on refusing to abjure their errors, or on re- 
 lapsing after abjuration, be left to the Secular Court, and the she- 
 riffs, &c. ** them shall receive, and them before the people in a 
 high place do cause to be burnt^ that such punishment may strike 
 in fear to the minds of others." Pickering's Edit. 1762. li\ the 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. 189 
 
 ture return without licence, he will be guilty of fe- 
 lony without benefit of clergy, § 3. Whether he 
 a])jure or not, he forfeits his goods absolutely, and 
 his lands during life. § 13. 
 
 ^ 3, Attending at any other manmr of common 
 prayer, administration of sacraments, or ordina^ 
 tion, than mentioned in the Book of Common 
 Prayer, By 5 and 6 Ed. Vl. c. 1, Any person so 
 offending, upon conviction by a jury, or his own 
 confession, or otherwise, at the Assizes or Ses- 
 sions, is for the first offence to be imprisoned six 
 months ; for the second, a year ; and for the third, 
 during life, § 6. 
 
 § 4. The rigour of the foregoing laws cannot 
 but strike the attention of every observant reader ; 
 iiOr was that rigour mitigated until in^ year 1819. 
 In the last session of Parliament, on the applica- 
 tion cf this Deputation and other Bodies, the to- 
 leration of the Protestant Dissenters was ad- 
 vanced by the statute 52 G. 111. c. \bo'^ by the 
 first section of which the 13 and 14 C. II. c. 1, 
 17 C. II. c. 2, and 22 C. II. c. 1, were respec- 
 
 later editons, this Statute is omitted. It was the first which au- 
 thorised the burning of heretics. 
 
 The term *< conventicle" occurs in a more favourable, or, how- 
 ever, in a less specific sense, in Stat. 21. H. VIH. c. 16. § 6. '* That 
 none of the said strangers, artificers, or handicraftsmen, &c. shall 
 assemble in any company, fellowship, congregation, or conventicle^ 
 but only in the common hall of their crafts." 
 
wo SUMMARY OF TilK LAWS 
 
 tively repealed : the last of these statutes had 
 lately been enforced, in many instances, in a most 
 oppressive manner. In order that the importance 
 of the late Act of Parliament may be duly appre- 
 ciated, it is necessary to advert to the statutes 
 which it repeals, and to state their regulations 
 with as much brevity as the nature of this work 
 will admit. 
 
 Almost immediately on the restoration of Charles 
 II. in 1661^ an Act was passed, (13 and 14 C. II. 
 c. 1) intituled " Jn Act for preventing the Mis' 
 chiefs tnid Dangers that may arise by certain Per* 
 sons called Quakers, arbd others refusing to take 
 iazef'ul Oaths.'' By this statute it was enacted, that 
 any person refusing to take a judicial oath, per- 
 suading another to refuse, maintaining it to be un- 
 lawful, and any of the persons commonly called 
 Quakers, sixteen years old, assembling to the 
 number of five, under pretence of joining in reli- 
 gious worship, not authorised by the laws of the 
 realm, shall, on conviction, for the first offence 
 forfeit £5 ; for the second £10, to be distrained 
 for; or, if that is not paid within a week, shall be 
 kept to hard labour in the house of correction or 
 common gaol, for the first offence, three months , 
 for the second, six months ; and for the third of- 
 fence shall abjure the realm, or be liable to tran- 
 sportation. 
 
 Three years afterwards^ viz. in 1661, the 16 C. 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTANT DTSSEMERS. J'91 
 
 II. c. 4, was passed, intituled " An Jet to pn- 
 vait and suppress seditious Conventicles." 
 
 By this statute, any person attending- a conven- 
 ticle or meeting, under pretence of any exercise of 
 religion, in other manner than according to the Li- 
 turgy and^ practice of the church of England, shall 
 on conviction for the first offence be imprisoned 
 not longer than three months, unless he pay dozen 
 the fine imposed, not exceeding £5 ; for the second 
 offence, be imprisoned not longer than six months, 
 unless he pay down the fine imposed, not exceed- 
 ing £10 ; for the third offence shall be imprisoned 
 till the next Sessions, or Gaol Delivery, indicted, 
 and, if found guilty, shall be transported for seven 
 years to any of the plantations except Virginia and 
 New England ; his goods, in that case, to be se- 
 questered to re-imburse the sheriff his expences, un- 
 less indemnified ; and for df^fault of such re-ini- 
 biu'sing, the sheriff may contract with any master 
 of a ship, merchant, or other person, at the best 
 rate he can, for transporting the offender, who may 
 be detained and employed by such person as a la- 
 hourer, for five years. Conviction to be made on 
 confession, oath of zi^itnes^., or notorious evidence 
 of the fact, by two justices ; and the fines to go to 
 the churchwardens, for the relief of the poor. 
 
 The same penalties attached to the crime of suf- 
 fering conventicles to be held : and justices were 
 empowered to employ military force, and break 
 open suspected houses on denial of admittance ! ! ! 
 
192 SUMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 Married women were liable to the penalties de- 
 nounced against the first and second offences. £5 a 
 year real property, or £50 a year personal pro- 
 perty^ exempted from imprisonment in the house of 
 correction. Persons legally required to take an 
 oath, and refusing, were liable to transportation 
 for seven years, unless they abjured the opinion 
 that oaths are unlawful. 
 
 This Act Xwhich is not printed in the modern 
 editions of the Statutes,) was limited to three 
 years, and the end of the then next Session of 
 Parliament ; and was suffered to exist during the 
 whole period to which it was limited.* 
 
 In the next year, 1655, was passed the 17 C. II. 
 c. 3, intituled '' An Act for restraining l^on-con^ 
 formists from inhabiting in Corporations :" and 
 which has in some cases been called the Oxford 
 Jet, but popularly, the Five-Mile Jet. 
 
 'By this Statute, no person in holy orders, or pre- 
 tending to holy orders, who has not declared his uii-- 
 feigned assent and consent to every thing contained 
 in the Book of Common Prayer, and subscribed the 
 declaration required by the Act of Uniformity,t 
 
 * This oppressive Statute was tacked to a Money Bill, which the 
 House of Commons had just passed : in presenting it for the royal 
 assent, the Speaker concluded a speech replete with bitterness, with 
 the following merciful declaration ; Inmiedtcabie vulnus ense res- 
 ciNDENDUM, 716 pars sincera trahatur. llapin, vol. xi. p. 261. 
 
 f This is the declaration prescribed i)i 13 and 14 C. II. c. 4, § 9 J 
 
AFFFXTING PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. 193 
 
 and shall not take the oath therein mentioned,* 
 nor any person who shall take upon him to preach 
 or teach in any conventicle, shall (unless only in 
 passing upon the road,) come within five miles of 
 any city or town corporate, or borough that sends 
 burgesses to Parliament, on pain of forfeiting £40, 
 — one third to the king, one third to the poor, and 
 one third to him that sliall sue in any court of re- 
 cord at Westminster, or at the Assizes or Sessions. 
 
 And no person so restrained, or any other per- 
 son that shall not frequent divine service establish- 
 ed by the laws of the kingdom, and carry himself 
 reverently, decently and orderly there, shall teach 
 any public or private school, or take any borders, 
 on pain of forfeiting £40, to be recovered and ap- 
 plied in like manner. 
 
 Any two justices, on oath of any offence against 
 this Act, may commit the offender for six months 
 without bail ; unless upon or before such com- 
 mitment he take the oath required by tliis Act, and 
 
 which as altered by 1 W. and M. 6t 1, c. 8, § li, is as follows j i 
 A. B. do declare that I will conform to the Liturgy of the church 
 of England, as it is by law now established." 
 
 * " I y^. Ji, do swear that it is not lawful upon any pretence 
 whatever, to take arms against the king ; and that I do abhor that 
 traitrons position of taking arms b}' his authority against bis per- 
 son, or against those that are commissionated by him in pursuance 
 of such cemmissions > and that I will not at any time endeavour 
 a.ny alteration of Government either in Church or State." 
 
 S 
 
191: SUMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 subscribe (lie oath and declaration above men- 
 tioned. 
 
 Upon the expiration of the Act 17 C. II, c. 2, 
 the 22 C. II. c. 1, was passed, and intituled *' J[n 
 Act to prevent and suppress seditious Conventicles.''^ 
 By this Statute, (commonly called the Conventicle 
 Act) if any person sixteen years old is present at 
 any conventicle at which five or more persons, be- 
 sides the household, are present, (if in a house where^ 
 there is a family) or at which five or more persons 
 are present^ if in a place where there is no family ; 
 every justice is required (on pain of forfeiting 
 ^100, half to the informer) on proof of such of- 
 fence, to make a record of the same under his hand 
 and seal, to be afterwards certified to the Sessions, 
 and such record to be a fidl conviction, and the of- 
 fender to be fined 5s. for the first, and 10s. for 
 every other offence, to be levied on his goods, or, 
 in case of poverty, on the goods of anij other per- 
 son then convicted of the like offence, so as not io 
 levy on any one person, on account of the poverty 
 of others, more than XIO for one meeting : one 
 third of the fine to the king, one third to the poor 
 of the parish, and one third to the informer, or 
 suet other person as the justice shall appoint, re- 
 gard being had to tlicir diligence in dispersing con« 
 venticles. Penalties of 5s. and 10s. on married 
 women may be levied on the goods of their hus- 
 bands. Pel sons suffering any conventicle to be 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. 195 
 
 held on their premises, to forfeit on conviction £20, 
 to be levied and disposed of in like manner, or in 
 case of poverty, upon the goods of other persons 
 convicted of being present, not exceeding £10 on 
 any one such person. 
 
 When the sum charged upon any person offender, 
 exceeds 10s. he may within one week after the 
 penalty paid or levied, appeal in writing to the 
 Quarter Sessions, and have the money returned, 
 and be tried by a jury, but if he fails he shall pay 
 treble costs; and no other court shall intermeddle 
 with such appeal.* Appellant must leave his ap- 
 peal with the person convicting, at tiie tiirse o! 
 making it, and enter into a recognizance, before 
 him, to prosecute the same. 
 
 Justices, constables, &c. and military officers, 
 are empowered to break open doors where they shall 
 be informed ^wy such conventicle is held, take any 
 persons assembled into custody, and by the best 
 means they can, dissolve, dissipate or prevent such 
 
 * The design of the frameis of this most oppressive clause was 
 evidently, to prevent the unfortunate victims of its severity from 
 having- any redress from a higher tribunal. It was, however, frus- 
 trated i for it has been determined th?.t these negative words were 
 not sufficient to deprive the Court of King's Bench of its jurisdic- 
 tion to remove proceedi«o^5 by certiorari : which can only be done 
 by express terms. The conviction by the justice of the peace, and 
 aho the proceedings on appeal, (where that is given) even after 
 judgement might therefore be removed into tlie King's Bench. 
 The King v. Morley, 2 Burr. 1040. 1 BI. 231 . 
 r9 
 
196 SUMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 unlawful meetings. Constables, &c. neglecting to 
 enforce the Act, to be fined £5. 
 
 Every preacher or teacher, preaching' in such 
 conventicle, &c. (as above mentioned) to forfeit 
 for the first oflence £20, and for every other £40, 
 to be recovered and levied in the same manner, and 
 with the same privileges of appeal and remedy by 
 certiorari^ as in the case of conviction for attend- 
 ing at or suffering conventicles. 
 
 This Act to be interpreted most beneficially for 
 suppressing conventicles, and no proceedings un- 
 der it avoided for defect of form. Offenders are to 
 be prosecuted within three months. 
 
 Posterity vfill learn with surprise, that such 
 Staddes as the 13 and 14 C. II. c. I, 17 C. II. c. % 
 and 22 C II. c. I, remained on the Statute Book, 
 unrepealed, until the 29th of Julj, 18 f 2. 
 
 Harbouring a Non-cojiformisL By 3 J. c. 4. 
 § S2, 33, Harbouring, or retaining in service, a 
 person who has, without reasonable excuse, ne- 
 glected to attend at ^church, or other usual phice of 
 common prayer, for a month, incurs a penalty of 
 £10 for every month of such harbouring or retain- 
 ing. 
 
 Keeping a No?!- conformist Tutor. By 23 Eliz. 
 c. i. The penalty for this offence is £10 a month.* 
 
 See Part III. infra. 
 
AFFEOTIXG PROTESTANT niSSENTERS. 197 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 EFFECT OF THE TOLERATION ACT, AND SUBSEQUENT 
 STATUTES, ON THE FOREGOING LAWS. 
 
 '' The Toleration Act is grounded on natural 
 rights ; and the highest natural right is that of the 
 conscience. The Statute ought to receive a large 
 and liberal exposition."* 
 
 '' It is of the utmost importance, said Lord 
 Mansfield, that all the consequences of the Act 
 of Toleration should be pursued with the greatest 
 liberality in case of the scrupulous consciences of 
 Dissenters on the one hand ; but so as those scruples 
 of conscience should not be prejudicial to the rest 
 of the king's subjects. For a scruple of conscience 
 intities a party to indulgence and protection, so far 
 as not to suffer for it ; but it is of consequence that 
 the subject should not suffer too."f 
 
 § 1. Qualification under the Toleration Act, The 
 penal laws above mentioned, though still in force, 
 are virtually repealed, under certain conditions^ by 
 the Stat. 1 W. and M. c. 18, commonly called the 
 Toleration Act. By that Statute, (which by the 
 10 Ann, c. 2^is ratitied and extended, and by the 
 
 * Lord Chief Justice Willes, in Kenward t. Kiiuwles, Willes's 
 Reports, 4G3. 
 f AtcUeson v. Everitt, Cowp. 388. 
 
 s3 
 
198 SUMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 19 G. III. c. 44, is declared a public Act,)* all the 
 foregoing- laws, and all other laws against Popish 
 Recusants, except 25 C. II. c. 2, (the Test Act) 
 and 30 C. II. st. 2 c. 1, (the Act enjoining the 
 declaration against Popery,) are declared not to 
 extend to any person that shall, at the General 
 Sessions of the peace, for the county or place where 
 helives,take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, 
 and subscribe the declaration against Popery ;+ nor 
 shall such person be prosecuted in the Ecclesiastical 
 Court for Non-conformity ; except that persons 
 assembling in any place for religious worship, 
 with the doors locked, barred, or bolted during 
 any time of such meeting, or not certified in man- 
 ner prescribed by the Act, will not be intitled to 
 the benefit of it, but be liable to all the pains and 
 penalties of the foregoing laws, for such meeting. :|: 
 A Register is to be kept at the General Sessions, 
 of the taking the oaths, and making the declaration. 
 No more than 6d. is to be paid for making the entry 
 thereof in the Register; nor more than the further 
 sum of 6d. for a certificate of the same, to be made 
 out and signed by the officer of the court. § 2. 
 
 * An objection had been made, in the case of the King v. Lar- 
 wood, in 1694, that the Act of 1 W. and M. e. IB, was not a 
 public Act, and must therefore be pleaded specially. Salk. 167. 
 4 Mod. 574. 
 
 f See the Statute, together with the oaths (1 W. and M. c. 1) 
 and declaration, (30 C. II. st. 2. c 1) in Appendix A= No. 1, 
 
 X See Part IV. 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. 199 
 
 Persons scrupling to take any oath, may obtain a 
 like exemption by subscribing the declaration of 
 fidelity, and profession of christian belief set forth 
 in the Act,* in addition to the declaration against 
 Popery. § IS. But no person having refused to 
 take the oaths the first time shall be admitted to 
 subscribe the two declarations, unless within thirty- 
 one days after tender of such declarations to him, 
 he can produce two sufficient Protestant witnesses 
 to swear that they believe him to be a Protestant 
 Dissenter ; or produce a certificate under the hands 
 of four Protestants, who conform, or who have 
 taken the oaths, and subscribed the declaration ; 
 and unless he also produce a certificate under the 
 hands and seals of six or more sufficient men of the 
 congregation to which he belongs, owning him for 
 one of them. § 14 ; and in the mean time, such 
 person must enter into a recognizance with two 
 sureties in the sum of £50, for producing the same, 
 or be imprisoned till the same be produced. § 15. 
 
 § 2. Refusing to take the oaths ^ S^c, Persons 
 who go to any meeting for exercise of religion, 
 refusing, when required by a justice of the peace, 
 to subscribe the declarations against Popery, and 
 take the oaths, or subscribe the declaration of 
 fidelity^ are to be committed to prison till the next 
 
 * See the Statute, Appendix A. Note to No. I. By 8 G. 1. c. 6, 
 for relief of Quakers, another declaration of fidelity is substituted. 
 S«e ^e Statute, Appendix A, Note to No. L 
 
JiOO SUMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 General Session ; and then refusing, are to be 
 taken for Popish Recusants convict, and suffer 
 accordingly^ and incur all the penalties of the fore- 
 going Acts. § 12. 
 
 § 3. Qualifying after Prosecution commenced. 
 By 10 Anne, c. 2, Any person dissenting from the 
 church of England, (not in Jioly orders^ or pre 
 tended holy orders^ or pretending to holy orders^ 
 nor a preacher or teacher of any congregation) who 
 at any time during any prosecution under any of 
 the penal statutes, from which exemption is granted 
 by the Toleration Act, qualifies under that Act as 
 above mentioned, or before any two justices, (who 
 are required to take and return the same to the 
 next Quarter Sessions to be there recorded) is as 
 fully intitled to the benefit of the Toleration Act as 
 if he had duly qualified within the time prescribed 
 by that Act ; and is thenceforth exempted and 
 discharged from all the penalties and forfeitures 
 incurred by force of any of those penal statutes. §8. 
 
 § 4. Papisls, and Deniers of the Trinity, eX' 
 cepted. No Papist or Popish Recusant, or person 
 that shall deny, in his preaching or writing, the 
 doctrine of the blessed IVinity, as declared in the 
 articles of religion, is to have any benefit of the 
 Toleration Act. ^ 17. 
 
 §5. Persons not entitled to the henefit of the 
 Toleration Act, '^ If a man be a professed church- 
 man, and his conscience will permit him sometimes 
 to go to meeting, instead of coming to church, the 
 
AFFECTIXG PROTEST.ANT DISSENTERS 201 
 
 Act of Toleration shall not excuse him ; for it was 
 not made for such sort of people/'* 
 
 CHAP. UL 
 
 PENAL LAW S NOT ALTERED BY THE TOLERATION ACTS, 
 
 § 1. Not taking the Sacrament^ as a Qualifi' 
 cation for OJjice in Corporations, By 13 C. II, 
 St. 2. c. 1. This Statute (commonly called the 
 Corporation Act) is not affected by the Statute 
 1 W. and M. but continues in full force, except as 
 it is altered by 5 G. 1. c. 6. By this Act, no 
 person may be placed, or elected, in or to any 
 office or offices of magistracy^ or places, or trusts, 
 or other employment relating to the government of 
 any corporations, cities, towns, boroughs, cinque 
 ports, and their members, or other port towns, 
 who has not within one vear next before such elec- 
 tion taken the sacrament of the Lord's Supper 
 according to the rites of the church of England, 
 and who will not also take the oaths as therein 
 mentioned, and such election is declared void. 
 % 12.f 
 
 * Holt, C. J. in Eritton ?•. Standish, 6 Mod. 190. Salk. ISG. 
 And see above, Lord Mansfield's Speech, Sketch 34. Ihere is no 
 express decision, however, upon this point. 
 
 f Dissenters, are also disabled, on the ground of scruplin.^ the 
 
202 SUMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 But, by 5 G. 1. c, 6, No person chosen to, or 
 placed in such office, is to be removed or prose- 
 cuted for want of having taken the sacrament ; nor 
 is any incapacity or forfeiture incurred ; unless 
 within six months such person be removed, or 
 prosecution commenced and carried on without 
 delay. § 3. Such election is not void ; but only 
 voidable, in case of removal, or prosecution com- 
 menced within the time limited.* There is no 
 penalty incurred, except the removal from office. 
 
 It is to be observed, however, that by this Act 
 any mayor, baililf, or other magistrate, knowingly 
 or willingly resorting to, or present at any public 
 meeting for religious worship, other than the church 
 of England, in his gown, or other peculiar habit, 
 or with the ensigns or ensign of his office, on con- 
 viction thereof, is disabled to hold such or any other 
 public office or employment. § 2. 
 
 § 2. Not taking the Sacrafneniy as a quaUfica- 
 t ion for Office under the Crown. By the ^5 C. IJ. 
 c. ^f commonly called the Test Act, (which is ex- 
 pressly excepted, by the Toleration Act, § 2, out 
 of the Statutes, from wliich Protestant Dissentera 
 were by that Act to be relieved.) as altered by 
 
 Sacramental Test, to be called to the bar by the Honourable So- 
 ciety of Gray's Inn ; that Society having an order or bye-law, which 
 requires a candidate for that degree to produce a certificate of 
 having- taken the sacra:ne2).t. The other Inns of Court have n-> 
 such law. 
 * Lord ]\Iansfield, in 2 Eyrr. 1013, So. 1 Bl. 22p. 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTAXT DISSENTERS. 203 
 
 9 G. II. c. 26. § 5. and 16 G. II. c. 30. § 3. every 
 person that shall be admitted into any office, or 
 receive any pay by reason of any patent or grant of 
 His Majesty, or hold any command or place of 
 trust under, or by his authority, or by authority 
 derived from him, in England and Wales, Berwick, 
 the royal navy, or the islands of Jersey and Guern- 
 sej, must within six months take the oaths of alle- 
 giance, abjuration, and supremacy, and subscribe 
 the declaration against transubstantiation, in 
 manner specified, and must also receive the Sa- 
 crament of the Lord's Supper according to the 
 usage of the church of England, within six months 
 after receiving his authority or employment, in 
 some public church, on some Lord's Day commonly 
 called Sunday, immediately after divine service and 
 sermon. § 2. And of this he must produce a cer- 
 tificate under the hands of the minister and church- 
 warden, and make proof of the truth thereof by the 
 oath of at least two credible witnesses, at the time 
 of taking the oaths as specified in the Act. § 3. 
 Any such person neglecting; or refusing to take the 
 oaths or the sacr^nent as directed, shall be ipso 
 facto, adjudged incapable to occupy or enjoy the 
 said office or offices, and the same shall be void. 
 § 4. And any person so having neglected or re- 
 fused, and having been convicted of executing any 
 such office . fter the time specified for taking the 
 oaths and sacrament, is disabled to sue in any 
 court, to be guardian^ executor, or administrator, 
 
204 NUMMARY OF THE LA^VS 
 
 to take any legacj or deed of gift, or bear anj 
 office in England, &c. and is liable to a penalty of 
 £500. § 5. But any person having* so forfeited 
 an office, by neglecting to comply with this Act, 
 may by a new grant of such or any other office, if 
 not at the time granted to or enjoyed by another 
 person, be capable to have and hold the same 
 again, on complying with the requisitions of the 
 Act, § 14. 
 
 Persons holding offices of inheritance, may ex- 
 ecute the same by deputy, duly qualifying under 
 the Act. § 11. 
 
 The Act does not extend to make any forfeiture 
 or disability by or in non-commission officers of 
 the navy, who subscribe the declaration against 
 transubstantiation in manner therein directed, § 15; 
 nor to the office of high constable, petty constable, 
 overseer, churchwarden, or any like inferior civil 
 office, or to any office of forester, bailiff, or any 
 like private offices. § 17. 
 
 An annual Act,* however, (called the Indemnity 
 Act) is now regularly passed, early in every Session 
 of Parliament, for indemnifying^ and discharging 
 persons, who shall, previous to a certain time there 
 prescribed, which is now the 25th of March in the 
 
 * The first of this Series of Annual Acts was passed in 1745, 
 18 G. If. 0. 11. Acts partly or wholly for the same purpose had 
 been passed before; as 1 G. I, St. 2. e. 13 j 2 G. II. c 31 ; 9 G. IL 
 c. 26j 16G.II. c. 30. 
 
APFFXTING PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. ^Od 
 
 followino^ year,) qualify according to the Corpora- 
 tion and Test Acts, and several other Acts, from 
 all penalties, forfeitures, incapacities, and disabi- 
 lities, incurred bj omitting so to qualify previous 
 to the passing of the Bill ; and for making such 
 qualification as effectual, to all intents and pur- 
 poses, as if they had qualified in the manner ap- 
 pointed by those Statutes. 
 
 But this annual Act does not extend to indemnify 
 any person, against whom final judgement shall 
 have been given, in any Court of Record, for ne- 
 glecting to qualify : nor any person whose obliga- 
 tion to qualify commences subsequently to the pass- 
 ing of the Act. The last Act is 52 G. III. c. 26, 
 It received the royal assent, March 25, 1812. 
 
 § 3. Not subscribing and declaring assetit to the 
 Thirty-nine Articles.^' Not declaring unfeigned 
 assent to everj/ thing contained in the Book of 
 Commo7i Prayer. Not obtaining Episcopal Ordi* 
 nation^ &^c. It is unnecessary here to specify the 
 Statutes which, by enjoining these and other com- 
 pliances, exclude Dissenters from office and emolu- 
 ment in the church. 
 
 * By tbe Statutes of the University of Cambridge, no member 
 can be admitted to take a degree, witbowt first declaring and 
 subscribing bis assent to the tbirty-nine Articles; and by the Sta- 
 tutes of the University of Oxford, no }icrson can even be matri* 
 culated, or admitted a member, without first making such subscrip- 
 tion and dee)ara.tion. 
 
^06 SUMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 CHAP. IV, 
 
 PRIVILEGES UNDER THE TOLERATION ACTS. 
 
 After stating the restrictions and disabilities 
 imposed upon Protestant Dissenters, it is proper to 
 mention two instances in which the law has inci- 
 dentally given them an advantage. 
 
 §, 1. Exemption from hurthensome Offices^ to 
 which the Sacramental Test is annexed. Under 
 the Corporation and 'I'est Acts, these offices cannot 
 be held by Non-conformists. Since the Toleration 
 Act, conscientious Non-conformity is no crime ; 
 and may therefore be legally alledged as a ground 
 of ineligibility to civil offices. 
 
 Non-conformists are consequently not only ex- 
 cluded from such of these offices as are desirable, 
 but are at the same time exempt from those which, 
 notwithstanding the infiuenc^e, profit, or honour 
 attached to them, are in certain cases considered as 
 burthensonie. A contrary doctrine was held by 
 the Court of King's Bench, in 1694,'^^ but this point 
 has been conclusively decided in favour of the Dis- 
 senters on appeal in the House of Lords, f 
 
 * The King f. Larwood, Salk. r57. 
 
 f Harrison, Knt. v. Evans, 4th February, 1767. 31 Lords' 
 Journals, 475. 3 Bro. Pari. Ca. 465. SnU Ed. See Sketch, p. 48. 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. 207 
 
 §. 2. Right of serving certain Offices to zohich 
 no Sacramental Test is annexed hi/ Depute/, as 
 Churchwarden^ Sfc, By the Toleration Act, a 
 Dissenter who is appointed to any parochial or 
 ward office, and who scruples to take upon him 
 such office, in regard of the oaths or other matter 
 or thing' required by law to be taken or done in 
 respect of such office, shall and may execute the 
 same by a sufficient deputy to be provided by him, 
 to comply with the laws on that behalf, and to be 
 allowed and approved as such officer should have 
 been allowed and approved. § 7. 
 
 The design of this claitse, with regard to Dis- 
 senters in general, seems doubtful, unless it was 
 apprehended, that they might object to serving the' 
 office, or taking the oath of churchwarden. The 
 design of it, with regard to Quakers, is evident. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 COMMON RIGHTS AND DUTIES. 
 
 In other respects, Protestant Dissenters stand 
 upon the same footing with the rest of the subjects 
 of the realm. 
 
 They are not excluded from the Sacrament of 
 Baptism^ nor (if baptized by any person with 
 
 Tg 
 
20§ SUMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 water, and in the name of the Father, the Son, 
 and the Holy Ghost,) from the Sacrament of the 
 Lord'^s Slipper, or the rites of Burinl, according 
 to the forms of the established church ;* nor, it 
 seems, from the solemnization of Matrimony^ 
 though unbaptized. 
 
 They cannot contract a valid marriage, however, 
 in England, without the intervention of a cler- 
 gyman in \}aq usual way; as the Marriage Act, 26 
 G. II. c. S3, declares all other marriages void, 
 except only those where both parties are Quakers 
 ©r Jews. § 18. 
 
 They are not intitled to any exemption from 
 tithes, or any other parochial duties, or any other 
 duties to the church or minister ; an express pro- 
 vision to that effect being inserted in the Act of 
 Toleration. § 6. 
 
 Although they are liable, it should seem, to pay 
 all ecclesiastical fees, legally due by custom, + yet 
 no custom can be supported for demanding fees 
 where the particular service for which they are 
 demanded, as burying, churching, &c. has not been 
 performed ; such a custom being unreasonable, 
 and therefore contrary to law. It is only by custom 
 that any demand of a fee for burial, or baptism, 
 
 * 68tli Canon. Rubric. Kemp v. Wickes, in the Arches Court 
 December 11, 1809. See Sketch, p. 86. 
 i Willes, 629- 
 
AFrECTING PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. ^•) 
 
 or marriage, can be supported. No fee is due by 
 canon or common law.* 
 
 Dissenters are intitled to exemption from tolls, 
 in going" to their usual place of worship on the 
 Lord's Day, where there is an express provision to 
 that effect in a local turnpike Act ;+ but not other- 
 wise. There is no ge??eral exemption, on this 
 g'round, for any class of persons. 
 
 Extracts or certificates from the Register cf 
 Births, kept at Dr. Williams's library, Red-cross- 
 street, ^ are admitted in a certain degree as evi- 
 dence in a court of law ; though the Acts of 23 and 
 25 G. n[. requiring* them to be stamped, are 
 repealed. This register is only considered, how- 
 ever, as a private entry, and not as a public 
 record. § 
 
 A Register of burials, kept at a meeting-house, 
 is regarded in the same light, and certified extracts ^ 
 from it are to the same extent admissible evidence. 
 
 One consequence of the Act of Toleration, has 
 been the clear recognition of the Dissenters, as 
 
 * Co. Litt. 113. Salk. 332, 334. Lutw. 1030, 1059. Hob. 175. 
 LinrUvood, 613. Raymond, 1558. 9 Bl. Com. 9,0. Willes, 538, 
 
 f See Sketch, p. 104. 
 
 + See Appendix B. No. IV. 
 
 § Sir John NichoU's Judgment, in Kemp v. VVickes, p. 8G. Au 
 entry in a father's family Bible — an insniption on a tomb-stont— 
 a pedigree hung up in the family mansifln — are all good evidence. 
 Lord Mausficld, in Goodright ex dem. Stevens v. Moss. Cowp. 594. 
 
 tS 
 
210 SUMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 persons in whose favour the courts of law will 
 interpose. In the reign of James II. 1684, a 
 bequest by the Rev. Robert Margot, a beneficed 
 clergyman, to the celebrated Richard Baxter, of 
 the sum of £600, to be distributed among sixty 
 pious ejected ministers, not for the sake of their 
 uon- conformity, but because he knew many of 
 them to be pious and good men, and in great want,, 
 was decreed incapable of taking effect ; and the 
 disposition of it consequently vesting in the king, 
 it was adjudged to be applied to the maintenance of 
 a chaplain for Chelsea Hospital.* In 1689, how- 
 ever, after the revolution, the decree, upon a 
 re-hearing, was reversed, and the money in court 
 ordered to be paid to Mr. Baxter, to be distributed 
 according to the directions of the will, t 
 
 Since that time the charitable intentions of tes- 
 tators have been frequently carried into executioa 
 by the Court of Chancery, in favour of the Dis- 
 senters.. 
 
 An annuity was given to '^ the minister belong- 
 ing to the meeting-house at M , but if the said 
 
 house at M should not be used as such after 
 
 the testator's decease, then to the minister of any 
 other place the Protestant Dissenters called Bap- 
 tists should meet in, within the parish of 11......" 
 
 This charity was established by Sir J. Strange, 
 
 * Attorney General v. Baxter, 1 Ves. 247. 
 Attorney General, v, Hughes, 2 V«s. 105>> 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. 211 
 
 M. R. for the benefit of the minister for the time 
 being ; the Baptists, as he stated^ beings persons 
 the legislature have thought proper so far to coun- 
 tenance as a denomination of Christians, as to 
 extend the toleration to them.* The court refused, 
 however, to carry into execution a bequest for 
 supporting the Jewish worship. + Where copyhold 
 lands had been devised for a charity for the Qua- 
 kers, (previous to the Mortmain Act) Lord Hard- 
 wicke decreed that the want of a surrender to the 
 use of the testator's will should be supplied.:!; A 
 legacy in trust for augmenting the charitable col- 
 lections which should be made for the benefit of the 
 poor Dissenting Ministers of the gospel in England, 
 to be paid to the treasurer or treasurers of such 
 charitable societies or fund for the time being, has 
 also been interpreted by the court, upon evidence, 
 as a bequest to the Presbyterian, Independent, and 
 Baptist Funds, and decreed to be paid accordingly. § 
 By the Statute of Mortmain, however, (9 G» II. 
 c. 36) which passed in 1736, any devise of landed 
 property, or bequest of money, secured upon or to 
 arise from land, or of money or stock, or other 
 personal property,, to be laid out in land for a cha- 
 
 • Attorney General v. Cock, 2 Ves. 273. 
 
 t Da Costa v. D'Pay^, cited 2 Ves. 274. See also Lloyd v. Spil- 
 lett, 3 P. W. 344. 2 Atk. 148. 
 
 I Attorney General v. Andrews, 1 Ves. 225. 1 Ves. 973. 
 § Waller v. Cbilds, Amb. 524, 
 
2i2 SUMMAUY OF THE LAWS 
 
 ritable or religious purpose, is absolutely void. 
 The terms of the Act extend to every description of 
 real estate ; to advowsons ; to leasehold property ; 
 rents ; money lent on mortgage,* even on the se- 
 curity of tolls ;t and to money given ibr the pur- 
 pose of paying off a mortgage on a chapel. J 
 
 But land, or property to be invested in land, &c. 
 may be given for any of the above purposes by a 
 deed of gift irrevocable, executed twelve months 
 before the death of the grantor, and enrolled in 
 Chancery within six months after execution ; it be- 
 ing required that stock in the public funds should 
 also be transferred six months before the grantor's 
 death, including the days of transfer and death. 
 Such grant must be made to take effect, in posses- 
 sion for the charitable use inl ended, immediately ; 
 and there must be no reservation, trust, or agree- 
 ment, for the benefit of the grantor, or any claim- 
 ing under him. 
 
 Personal property, however, may be given by 
 will, to be laid out in erecting or repairing build- 
 ings for charitable or religious purposes, if it dis- 
 tinctly appear that such application of the bequest 
 is not to include the purchase of the land.§ 
 
 A proper form of a legacy, with variations 
 
 * White V. Evans, 4 Ves. 21. 
 
 f Knapp V. Williams, 4 Ves. 430. n. 
 
 I Corbjn v. French, 4 Ves. 418. 
 
 § Attorney General v. Davies, 3 Ve? , 535. 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTANT DISSEN-TERS. 213 
 
 adapted to different circumstances, is inserted in 
 the Appendix.* 
 
 The Court of Chancery will execute a charitable 
 bequest for the benefit of Dissenters, ci/ pres^ i. e. 
 as near as circumstances will admit, to the probable 
 intention of the testator, where the fund is more 
 than adequate to the purpose expressed. Where 
 money was given to apprentice children of mem- 
 bers, of a particular congregation, residing in a 
 particular parish, the surplus was ordered to be 
 applied to apprentice children of persons of the 
 same denomination in other parishes, rather than 
 children of other persons in the same parish, t 
 
 • See Appendix B. No, 5. 
 
 t Attorney General v. Wansey, 15 Ves. 231, 
 
Si 5 
 
 PART II, 
 
 LAWS RELATING TO PROTESTANT DISSENTING 
 
 MINISTERS. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 1*ENAL LAWS IN FORCE, SUBJCCT TO THE TOLERA- 
 TION ACT AND SUBSEl^UENT STATU'J>:S. 
 
 k 1. Administering the Sacrament. Dy 13 
 and 14 C. IL c. 4, commonly called the Act of 
 Uniformity, No person shall consecrate and ad- 
 minister the Lord's Supper before he is ordained 
 priest, according to the form prescribed in the Kook 
 of Common Prayer, on pain of forfeiting for every 
 offence ^100; one moiety to the king, the other 
 in equal parts between tlie poor of the parish, and 
 him that shall sue. ^ M. 
 
 § 2. Protestant Dissenting Ministers were for- 
 merly exposed to severe fines for preaching pub- 
 lickly, and also for teaciiing privately in schools, 
 and were further prohibited from taking boarders^, 
 &c. But as these oppressive regulations have been 
 
216 SUMMART OF THE LAWS 
 
 repealed by the 52 G. III. e. 155, it will be suf- 
 ficient to refer the reader to Part I. ch. 1. § 4, (pp. 
 150^ &c.) where a concise history of them is given. 
 By the 52 G. 111. c. 155. § 3, Every person 
 who shall teach or preach in any congregation, in 
 aiiy place, without occupier's consent, shall forfeit 
 for every offence not less than 40s. nor more than 
 £30, at the discretion of the convicting justices. 
 
 CHAP. 11. 
 
 EFFECT OF THE TOLERATION ACT AND SUBSEQUENT 
 STATUTES ON THE FOREGOING LAWS. 
 
 § 1. Qualifying under the Toleration Act, By 
 1 W. and M. c. 18, No person dissenting from 
 the church of England, in holy orders, or pre- 
 tended holy orders, or pretending to holy orders, 
 xior any preacher or teacher of any congregation of 
 Dissenting Protestants, that shall make and sub- 
 scribe the declaration against Popery, and take the 
 oaths of allegiance and supremacy,* at the General 
 or Quarter Sessions of the Peace, for the county, 
 town, part or division where he lives, (which such 
 court is empowered to administer) and also declare 
 his approbation of and subscribe the Thirty-nine 
 
 =* See Appendix A. No. I. notesi» 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. 217 
 
 Articles, except the 34th, 33th, and S6th, and 
 these words of the 20th article,—'* the church hath 
 power to decree rites and ceremonies and authoritj 
 in controversies of faith," — shall be liable to the 
 penalties of the Five-Mile Act, or those of the 
 Cx)nventicle Act,* for preaching at any meeting", or 
 the peiialtj of £100 in the Act of Uniformity, for 
 officiating in any congregation allowed by this Act, 
 ^ 8 ;t and (for the relief of those who scruple the 
 baptizing of infants) every person in pretended 
 holy orders, or pretending to holy orders, or 
 preacher or teacher, is allowed to except part of 
 the 27th article, touching infant baptism, in taking 
 the oaths and subscribing the declaration above 
 mentioned; 1 W. and JNL c. 18. § 10; 52 G. IIL 
 c. 155, § 8. It is provided, however, that such 
 persons shall not any time preach in any place with 
 the doors locked, barred, or bolted, on pain of the 
 officiating ministers forfeiting, for every time any 
 such meeting shall be held with the doors locked, 
 barred, bolted, or otherwise fastened, not less than 
 40&. nor more than £20, at the discretion of the 
 convLeting justices, 52 G. III. c. 155, ^ II. 
 
 The making and subscribing the declaration, and 
 taking the oaths, &c. as above, shall be entered on 
 record of the court, for which 6d. shall be paid to 
 
 * These two Acts are now repealed by the 52 G. III. c. 155, §1, 
 f This Act, therefore, does not remove the prohibition tq preacb 
 via a church. See above, Chap. I. Sect. 2, 
 
 U 
 
218 SUMMARY OF THE LAWS / 
 
 the clerk of the peace, and no more ; 1 W . and M. 
 c. 18, §9. 
 
 But now, by. the 52 G. III. c. 155, § 7, 8, Any 
 person may appear before a justice, and produce to 
 him a written copy of the said oaths and declara- 
 tion, and require him to administer such oaths, and 
 tender such declaration, who shall attest the same, 
 and transmit them to the clerk of the peace, and 
 give a certificate thereof to the Dissenting Minister 
 so applying; taking* for such certificate 2s. 6d. 
 which shall be conclusive evidence accordingly.* 
 
 Although the Act (1 W. and M. c. 18) does not 
 "require," but only "empower," the justices at 
 the Sessions to permit such persons as above de- 
 scribed to make the declarations and take the oaths, 
 nor give any directions as to a certificate, yet the 
 Court of King's Bench has interfered by mcmdamt/s 
 to enforce compliance with the evident intention of 
 the Act, especially since the Statute 10 Anne, 
 c.-2.f 
 
 § 2. Preaching in a different Count?/. It was 
 held by the Court of King's Bench, in 1704, that 
 a qualification in one county would not protect a 
 minister preaching in another. J 
 
 By the Statute 10 Anne, c. 2, passed a few years 
 afterward, Any preacher qualified according to tlie 
 
 * See the Act, Appendix A. No. 3, 
 
 •f* See the next Section. 
 
 + The Q. . • . «/. Peace, Salk. 572. 
 
AI'FECTING PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. 219 
 
 Toleration Act is allowed to officiate in any con- 
 gregation duly certified and registered or recorder- 
 ed, §9. 
 
 But such preacher, if required, must produce a 
 certificate of his having qualified, under the hand 
 of the clerk of the peace for the county or place 
 where he qualified, wliich such clerk is required, 
 to make ; and such preacher must also^ if re- 
 quired, make and subscribe the declaration, and 
 take the oaths mentioned in the Toleration Act. 
 ^ 9. This however is now modified by the 52 G. 
 III. c. 155. § 8, which makes the justice's certi- 
 ficate conclusive evidence that tiie party named 
 therein, has duly qualified. 
 
 § 3. Qualifying under' the Statute 19 G. III. 
 c. 44, (not extending to an^ Person who is not a 
 Teacher or Preacher of a Congregation) For the 
 relief of those who scruple to subscribe the Articles 
 a? required of miuiste;'s qualifying under th9 Tole- 
 ration let, ii IS enacted,, by the 19 G. III. c. 44, 
 that every person dissenting from the church of 
 England, in holy orders, or pretended holy orders, 
 cr pretending to holy orders^ being a preacher, or 
 teacher of anj/ congregation of Dissenting Pro* 
 testanlsy who shall take the oaths and make and 
 subscribe the declaration against Popery above 
 mentioned,* and also make and subscribe another 
 
 * See the oaths aa;l Jeclaiation, AppeiidU A. No. 1. notes- 
 
 u 2 
 
SIX) SUMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 declaration coiitamed in the Act,* skall be in- 
 titled to all the benefit of tlie Acts of 1 W. and M. 
 c. 18, and 10 Anne, c. 2. The justices at the Ge- 
 neral Session of the Peace for the county or place 
 where such rainister lives, are required to admi- 
 nister the last mentioned declaration upon his of- 
 fering- himself and to keep a register ; and such 
 minister shall not pay above 6d. for the entry of his 
 iiiakiiig llie declarations, and taking the oaths, nor 
 above 6d. for any certificate thereof, to be made- 
 out and signed by the officer of the court. § 1. 
 
 Such persons shall be exempted from any punish- 
 ment, under the Act of Uniformity, or the Statute 
 of 15 C. II. c. 6, (explaining and confirming that 
 Act) for preaching or officiating in any congrega- 
 tion of Protestant Dissenters, for the exercise of 
 religion allowed by law. f § I. A Dissenting Mi- 
 nister qualifying under this Act, J is protected from 
 all prosecutions for teaching or instructing youth, ^ 
 ^ 2 ; whereas it may be doubted whether qualifica- 
 tion under the Toleration Act would be a defence 
 ugaiost a prosecution under tlie 13 and 14 C. II. 
 c. 4, or in the Ecclesiastical Court. 
 
 Ex post facto qualification not allowedy ministers 
 
 * See the Act, Appendix A. No. 2. 
 
 f Ij It not officiatinj;- in a church. See above, Ch. I. Sect. 2. 
 : See Part III. Ch. 1. 
 
 § See 1 W. and M. c. 18, § 8, above, Ch. 2. § 1 ; and 13 and 
 U C. II. c. 4, below. Part III. Ch. t. 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. 221 
 
 bein'2: expressly excepted, in the 10 Anne, c. 2, 
 § 8,* cannot protect themselves against prosecu- 
 tion by a cjualifi cation subsequent to the alledged 
 offence. 
 
 In concluding this chapter, it will be neither in- 
 curious nor uninteresting to the conscientious Dis- 
 senter, to trace the gradual developement of libe- 
 rality of sentiment displayed in the different Acts 
 passed by the British Legislature, relative to Pro- 
 testant Dissenting Ministers. 
 
 1 he first Toleration Act, 1. Y\\ & M. c. 18. 
 (§ 1. p. 21Q, supra) required subscription to nearly 
 all the Thirti/'nine Articles ; the 19 G. III. c. 44, 
 {% 3. p. 219, supra) required subscription to a ge- 
 neral declaration. But both required, that the 
 oaths a ad declaration should be taken and made at 
 the Quarter Sessions ; in consequence of which re- 
 quisition, persons were compelled to take long and 
 inconvenient journies. 
 
 The general declaration of 19 G. III. c. 41, is re- 
 tained in the new Act of 52 G. Ill, c. 155, (which 
 may justly be called the Nezo Toleration Act), for 
 the purpose of qualifying under it : but, by the 
 eighth section of that (supra, p. 219) it is not ne- 
 cessary to apply to the Quarter Sessions for the 
 oaths may be taken, and the declaration may be 
 made before any justice of the peace. 
 
 * See above. Part I. Ch. 2, i 3. 
 
 V 3 
 
222! SUMMARY OP THE LAWS 
 
 CHAP. Ill 
 
 PRIVILEGES GRANTED BY THE TOLERATION ACT, AND 
 
 SUBSEQUENT STATUTES, TO MINISTERS OF 
 
 CONGREGATIONS. 
 
 Considerable differences have been made by 
 various Acts of Parliament, in respect of the ex« 
 emptions of Dissenting Ministers, from burthen- 
 some offices. 
 
 1. (Privileges under the Toleration Act,} 
 Thus, by J W. and M. c. 18, Every teacher, or 
 preacher, in holy orders, or pretended holy orders^ 
 that is a minister^ preacher, or teacher of a con^ 
 gregatiouy having qualified under this Act, is 
 thenceforth exempt from serving on any jury, oc 
 being chosen or appointed to bear the office of 
 church-warden, overseer, or any other parochial 
 or ward office^ or other office in any hundred, &c. 
 
 The exemption under this Statute has been held 
 to extend to all parish offices,^ though created since* 
 and so to the office of collector of rates for building 
 a church, under a local Act, Statute 10 G. 11. c. 18, 
 § 2. It is no objection that the party is engaged 
 in trade.* 
 
 * Kenward a;. Knowles, Easter, 17 G. 11. May 1, 1744. Willes- 
 463. The judgement in this case^ as preserved in a MS. note of 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. S23 
 
 As the Militia was not in existence at the time 
 the first Toleration Act of 1 W. and M. c. 18, was 
 granted, provision was made for relieving Pro- 
 testant Dissenting Ministers from being drawn for 
 serving in the Militia, by the 19 G. III. c. 44, 
 which however did not extend the description of 
 persons on whom the privilege of exemption wa» 
 conferred- 
 
 § 2. (Privileges under the 19 G. III. c. 44.) 
 Every person dissenting from the church of Eng- 
 land, in holy orders, or pretended holy orders, or 
 pretending to holy orders, being a preacher or 
 teacher of any congregation of Dissenting Protest' 
 ants, having qualified under this Act, is intitled to 
 all the privileges of the Toleration Act, and is also 
 exempt by this Act from serving in the Militia.^ ^ J . 
 
 § 3. (Privileges under subsequent Acts,) By 
 42 G. IlL c. 90, No teacher " licensed" within 
 the county, riding, or place, to teach in some se- 
 parate congregation, whose place of ^neeting shsM 
 have been duly registered loithin twelve months pre- 
 vious to the yearly meeting appointed to meet in 
 October, for the purposes of the Act, is liable to 
 serve personally, or provide a substitute, to serve 
 
 Mr. Justice Abney's, was partly in the following terms. Per 
 Curiam. This is an extremely clear case. This is a parochial 
 office in the nature of it ; the Statute 10 G. II. calls it an office. 
 It is appointed to by the parishioners, and exercised in a parish. 
 The addition of the plaintiff being a merchant, or a dealer in hops, 
 varies not the case. The Toler«ition Act exempts teachers froi» 
 all offices. 
 
224 SUMMART OF THE LAWS 
 
 in the Militia, § 43, This Act is amended by the 
 4S G. III. c. 10, which enacts that no '' licensed" 
 teacher of any separate congregation, who sh^ll 
 have been " licensed" twelve months at the least 
 previous to the yearly general meeting- appointed 
 by the Act, to be held in October, shall be liable 
 to serve personally, or provide a substitute to serve 
 in the Militia. 
 
 But for several years past, the temporary De- 
 fence Acts, which have been passed respecting the 
 Supplementary and Local Militias, have confined 
 the exemptions (as far as relates to those services 
 only) to ministers of congregations not carrying on 
 trades. Accordingly, by the latest of these Acts, 
 ,52 G. III. c. 38. § 38. No person being a 
 '^ teacher or preacher in holy orders^ or pretended 
 holy orders, {not carrying on any trade, or exer- 
 cising any other occupation for his livelihood, ex- 
 cept that of a school-master,) having taken the 
 oaths and made and subscribed the declaration re- 
 quired by law, from the teacher or preacher of Dis- 
 senting Protestants, and being bona fide the teacher 
 of any congregation, whose places of meeting shall 
 have been duly registered, at least twelve months 
 previous to the general meeting appointed by this 
 Act," to be annually held in October, shall be 
 liable to serve in the Local Militia. 
 
 By the late Act of 52 G. III. c. 155, the exemp- 
 tion is still further extended. It enacts, that every 
 Dissenting Minister, duly qualified, who shall erw 
 
AFFECTING PROTES^TANT DISSENTERS. 225 
 
 ploy himself soklj/ i?i the duties of a teacher or 
 preacher^ atid shall 77oi follow or e?7gage in any 
 trade or employment zchatever, except that of a 
 SCHOOLMASTER, and who sliall produce a certifi- 
 cate from some justice of his haying- taken the oaths, 
 and made and subscribed the declaration, required 
 hy the Statute, shall be exempt from the civil ser- 
 vices and offices specified in the 1 VV. and M. c. IS. 
 §11. (supra ip. 222.) and from being- hallotted to 
 serve, and from serving in the Militia, or Local 
 Militia of any county, town, parish, or place, in 
 any part of the united kingdom. § 9. 
 
 And every person producing a false or untrue 
 certificate for the purpose of obtaining such exemp- 
 tion from civil and military offices, shall forfeit s€dO 
 for every offence, recoverable by any person that 
 will sue for the same, in any court of record at 
 Westminster, or the courts of great Sessions in 
 Wales, or the courts of the counties palatine of 
 Chester, Lancaster, and Durham, as the case shall 
 require. § JO. 
 
 In order that Dissenting Ministers may fully 
 avail themselves of all the privileges which the 
 Legislature has conferred upon them, it should be 
 remarked, that this last Act of 52 G, III. c. 155, 
 extends to all persons who are really and bonajldc 
 Ministers/ that is, who employ themselves solely 
 in ministerial duties, provided they follow no se- 
 cular occupation, except that of a schoolmaster. 
 But it jnust be kept in mind^ that it does not ex- 
 
226 SUMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 «mpt the minister of a congregation, who carries 
 on trade, from serving in the Militia, or in the Lo- 
 cal Militia : it only exempts such ministers gene- 
 rally fi'om the civil services and offices specified in 
 the 1 \y. and M. c. 18. And as the 52 G. III. c. 
 155, is an enlargement of the Toleration Act, and 
 has not repealed either of the former Statutes, it 
 will still be necessary for such a person, in order 
 to avail himself of them, to qualify under the 19 
 G. III. c. 44. Any person therefore, who is en^ 
 gaged in trade, must still go to the Quarter Ses- 
 sions, and take the oaths, and make the declara- 
 tion required by that Statute** 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 OATHS TO BE TAKEN AFTER ADMISSION TO THEIR 
 OFFICES. 
 
 By 9 G. II. c. 26, (referring to 1 G. L St. 2. c. 
 13, and2G. II. c. 31,) All preachers and teachers 
 of separate cor{gregation<^, in common with school- 
 masters and ushers, and persons in almost every 
 kind of office, are required within six months after 
 
 * Some further remarks on the principles of this last Toleration 
 Act, wiiich affect Dissenting- Ministers atid Laymen, collective])- 
 will be found iuj'ra^ part IV. ch. 1. § 6, 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. 227 
 
 admission to, or taking upon them their respective 
 offices, to take and subscribe the oaths of allegi- 
 BRce, supremacy, and abjuration, in either of the 
 four courts at Westminster, or at the General or 
 Quarter Sessions for the county or place, &c. 
 where they reside, between tlie hours of nine and 
 twelve in the forenoon, § 3. And 1 G. I. Stat. 2. 
 c. IS. «5 I. 
 
 Such persons, refusing or neglecting to take and 
 subscribe these oaths, are (by the Stat, 1. G. 1.) 
 adjudged ipso facto incapable and disabled to oc- 
 cupy or enjoy their offices, which are adjudged 
 void. § 7. But on taking the oaths they are again 
 rendered capable, and may be restored their offices, 
 if not granted to others. ^ 14, 25. 
 
 Persons so refusing or neglecting, who execute 
 their offices after the time allowed for taking the 
 oaths, are, (by the same Statute) upon conviction 
 In the courts of Westminstet*, or at the Assizes, 
 disabled to sue, to be guardian, executor, or ad- 
 ministrator, to take a legacy or gift by deed, to be 
 in any office, to vote for members to serve in Par- 
 liament, and also incur a forfeiture of c£'500 to him 
 that shall sue for the same. § 8. 
 
 By the 52 G. III. c. 155, Every person not hav- 
 ing taken the oaths and subscribed the declaration 
 therein specified, who shall preach at any place of 
 worship certified pursuant to the directions of this 
 Act, shall, when thereto required by any one jus- 
 tice, by any writing under his hand or signed by 
 
228 SUMMARir OF THE LAWS 
 
 limi, take and make and subscribe in the presence 
 of such justice, tlie oadis and declaration contained 
 in the 19 G. III. c. 44. i\«d no person refusing 
 to attend the magistrate to take the oaths and make 
 the declaration when so required by him as afore- 
 said, shall thereafter teach or preach, until he have 
 taken such oaths and made such declaration as 
 aforesaid, on pain of forfeiting for every offence 
 not more than £10, nor less than 10s. at the discre- 
 tion of the convicting magistrate. § 5, 
 
 But no person shall be required by any justice to 
 go more than five miles from his own home, or from 
 the place where he shall be residing at the time of 
 such requisition, for the purpose of taking such 
 oaths as aforesaid. § 6. And any person may re- 
 quire a justice to administer the oaths, &c. under 
 tiiis Act, who shall give him a certificate of his hav- 
 ing made the oaths and signed the declaration re- 
 quired by this Act, taking 2s. 6d. for making and 
 signing such certificate, v/hich sliall be conclusive 
 evidence thereof. | 7. And the production of such 
 certificate shall exempt the duly qualified minister 
 from all civil services and offices^ and from the Mi- 
 litias : but if any one produce ^ false certificate, he 
 will incur a forfeiture of £50, recoverable by any 
 person that will sue for the same. § 8. 9. 
 
AITECTING PROTESTAXT DI6Sr.J?T£RS. 2S5 
 
 PART III, 
 
 LAWS RELATING TO PROTESTANT DISSENTING 
 SCHOOLMASTERS. 
 
 CHAP. L 
 
 PENAL LAWS IN FORCE, SUBJECT TO THE STATUTE 
 J9G. in. c. 44. 
 
 § 1. Te^ciitn'g without licence ; not subscnb' 
 ing Articles. By the 77th Canon, no man is to 
 teach, unless allowed under the hand and seal of 
 the bishop or ordinary, and unless he subscribes 
 the 1st and 3d articles of religion, and the two first 
 clauses of the second articles.* 
 
 ^ 2. Absence from Church. 23 Eliz. c. 1.) Any 
 schoolmaster who neglects to repair 4o c])urch for a 
 inonth, and is not allowed by the liishop, is liable 
 
 * The Canons, allowed by Janie? the First, in 1603, were ne'.'er 
 confirmed by Parliament ; and it is therefore conceived that they 
 do not ** in certain instances, and ex proprio vi^ore, bind the 
 laity." Sir J, Nicho'l. diet, in Kemp i'. WicUeS;, p. 9- 
 
S30 SUMMARV OF THE LAWS 
 
 to a year's imprisonment. Any person keeping 
 such schoolmaster forfeits ^10 a month. 
 
 § 3. Teaching without licence j and subscribing 
 declaration of conformity > (IS and 14 C. II. c. 4.) 
 Every schoolmaster keeping any public or private 
 school, and every person instructing any youth in 
 any house or private family, without having sub- 
 scribed the declaration mentioned in the Act,*" be- 
 fore the archbishop, or ordinary of the diocese, is 
 disabled to teach. § 8, 9, 10, 12. 
 
 And any schoolmaster, or other person, instruct- 
 ing or teaching youth in any private house or fa- 
 mily as a tutor or schoolmaster, who shall instruct 
 or teach any youth as a tutor or schoolmaster, be- 
 fore licence obtained from his respective arch- 
 bishop, bishop, or ordinary, according to the laws 
 and statutes of the realm, (for wliich he shall pay 
 12d. only) and before such subscription, shall for 
 the first offence be imprisoned three months. For 
 every subsequent offence be imprisoned three 
 months, and forfeit £5 to the king. § 11.+ 
 
 * See Part li. chap. 2. § 3. p. 200. 
 
 •\ By the 17 C. II. c. 2, (now repealed) Dissenters were prohi- 
 bited, under veiy severe penalties, from tef^ching in private schools 
 or taking boarders, unless they frequented church and took the 
 oath against resistance to the King. See the provisions of this Act 
 abridged, supraVdXt I. ch, 1. p, 18(). 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. 231 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 EFFECT OF THE STATUTE 19 G. 111. e.44. 
 
 § 1. Qb\i LIFTING under this Statute. No per- 
 son dissenting* from " the church of England, who 
 shall qualify as before raentioned,* shall be pro- 
 secuted in any court whatsoever, for teaching and 
 instructing youth as a tutor or schoolmaster, § 2. 
 
 But the Act does not enable any dissenter to ob- 
 tain or hold the mastership of any college or school 
 of royal foundation, or of any other endowed col- 
 lege or school for the education of youth, unless 
 founded since the 1st. of W. and M. c. 18, for the 
 immediate use and benefit of Protestant Dissent- 
 ers. § 3. 
 
 It does not appear that schoolmasters can defend 
 themselves under the 10 A. c. 2, § S,t against a pro- 
 secution, by a subsequent qualification. 
 
 § 2. Oaths to be taken after entering up-^r? their 
 offices. Schoolmasters and ushers are required 
 within six months after taking their office upon 
 them, to take the oaths in the same manner as mi- 
 nisters and other persons in office, and are subject 
 to the same penalties in case of neglect, if 
 
 * See Part II. c. 2. § 3. p. 200, supra. 
 f Wide supruy Part II. c. S. 5 3. p. 200. 
 I See Part II. c. 2. § 3. p. 200. 
 
 7l2 
 
238 
 
 FART IV. 
 
 LAWS RELATING TO THE PLACES OF WORSHIP 
 OF PROTESTANT DISSENTERS, «Stc. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS LAWS AND REGULATIONS CONCERN- 
 
 L\G PLACES OF WORSHIP AND DISSENTERS 
 
 IN GENERAL. 
 
 § 1. The Places of Worship must be certified 
 and registered according to the Toleration Acts* 
 (1 W. and M. c. 18 ; 52 G. IIL c. loo, § 2.) No 
 assembly for religious worship is allowed under 
 these Acts, until the place of such meeting is certi- 
 fied,* either to the bishop of the diocese, the arch- 
 deacon, or the justices at the General or Quarter 
 Sessions for the county or city, &c. and registered 
 in the bishop's or archdeacon's court, or recorded 
 at the Sessions ; the registerer or clerk of the peace 
 
 * S«e form of certifying Appendix B. No. 3, 
 
 X 3 
 
^4 SUMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 is required to register the same, and to give a cer- 
 tificate thereof to such person as shall demand it, 
 taking no greater fee than 2s. 6d. by the 52 G. III. 
 c. 155. % 2. 
 
 It seems that any person may deliver in a certi- 
 ficate of a place being appointed for religious wor- 
 ship.* 
 
 In case the bishop^s registrar,f or the justices at 
 the Quarter SessionSjJ refuse to register or record 
 such ceFtificate^ they may be compelled by manda-' 
 mus. The court of Quarter Sessions is merely 
 ministerial. An action will be for a false return to. 
 the mandamus f and all who sue for it should join ; 
 but the action should be in the King's Bench^ in 
 order to have a peremptory mandamus. \ 
 
 Every person who shall knowingly permit any 
 congregation to meet in any place occupied by him, 
 until the same shall have been duly certified, shall 
 ibrfeit for every time auch congregation shall meet 
 contrary to this Act, not less than 20s. nor more 
 than £20, at the discretion of the justices convict- 
 ing for such offence. 52 G. III. c 155. § 2. 
 
 And every person who shall teach or preach in 
 any congregation, in any place, without the occu- 
 pier's consent, shall forfeit for every offence not 
 
 * Green v. Pope, \ Raymond, 125» 
 
 f 1 Raymond, 125. 
 
 % The King v. the Justices of Derbyshire. 1 BL 606, 
 
 § 1 Raymond, 125. 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTANT OrSSENTERS. 235 
 
 less than 40s. nor more than £S0, at the discretion 
 of the justices who shall convict for such offence. 
 52 G. III. c. 155. §3. 
 
 All preachers in, and persons resorting to, anj 
 congregations or assemblies for religious worship, 
 duly certified under this or any other Act, are 
 exempt from all penalties imposed by any Acts 
 relative to religious worship, in the same manner 
 as persons taking the oaths under the Stat. 1 W. 
 and M. e. 18; 52 G. III. c. 155. § 4. 
 
 § 2. Doors must tiot be hoUed or barred. No 
 meeting or congregation for religious worship, shall 
 be held in any place with the door locked, bolted 
 or barred, or otherwise fastened, so as to prevent 
 any persons from entering during the time of such 
 meeting. And the minister officiating therein shall 
 forfeit for every time the door shall be so fastened, 
 not less than 40s. nor more than £20, at the dis* 
 cretion of the justices convicting for such offence. 
 52 G. III. c. 155. § 12. 
 
 § 3. Disturbance of Congregations in certified 
 places. Any person, who shall willingly and of 
 purpose maliciously or contemptuously co?ne into a 
 chapel or other congregation permitted by the Act, 
 and disquiet or disturb the same, or misuse any 
 preacher or teacher, upon proof thereof before any 
 justice of the peace by two or more sufficient wit- 
 nesses, shall find two sureties to be bound by 
 recognizance in the penal sum of £50, or in default 
 of such sureties be committed to prison till the next 
 
^36 StJMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 General or Quarter Sessions ; and upon conviction 
 at the Sessions, shall forfeit ^20 to the king.* 
 1 W. and M. c. 18. ^ 18. 
 
 The offence provided for, and the penalty imposed 
 bj the 1 W. and M. have been very beneficiail>' 
 extended in favour of the Protestant Dissenters by 
 he 62 G. III. c. ]55. The former Statute merely 
 W(int to protect them from being disturbed during 
 divine worship by persons coming into their meet- 
 ings and molesting them : but by the 52 G. III. c. 
 155. § 12, it is enacted that, if any persons at any 
 time after passing this Act, shall wilfully and ma- 
 liciously or contemptuously disquiet or disturb any 
 congregation assembled for religious worship under 
 this or any other Act, or shcdl in any way disturb^ 
 molest^ or misuse any officiating minster of such 
 congregation, or any persons there assembled, the 
 offenders, on proof thereof before any justice^ by 
 two or more credible witnesses, shall find two sure- 
 ties to be bound by recognizances in the penal 
 sura of <£50, to answer for such offence. And in 
 default of such sureties, the offenders shall be 
 committed to prison until the next General or 
 Quarter Sessions ; and on conviction of the said 
 offence at such Sessions, they shall suffer the pe- 
 nalty of £40. 
 
 Upon conviction of several defendants for one 
 
 * For the proper form of an iudictroent oa this Act, see Appen- 
 dix B. No. 2. 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTANT DI-SSENTERS. 2^37 
 
 such offence, each is liable to the whole penalty.* 
 
 § 4. Pulling doion a Chapel registered under the 
 Toleration Act. (1 G. I. st. 2, c. 5, the Riot Act.) 
 Riotously demolishing or pulling- down, or begin- 
 ning to demolish or pull down, any chapel or meet- 
 ing-house certified and registered under the Tolera- 
 tion Act, is a capital felony. % SA 
 
 The damages may be recovered in an action in 
 the courts at Westminster, by the persons damniA- 
 fied, against the hundred, &c. § 6. :}: 
 
 § 5. General Clauses of the 52 G. III. c. 155, 
 applicable to Protestant Dissenters^ collectiveh/, 
 (1) Nothing herein contained shall affect the eccle- 
 siastical jurisdiction of the united church of Great 
 Britair^nd Ireland ; or shall extend to the people 
 called Quakers, or any of their meetings for reli- 
 gious worship, or alter or repeal any Act concern- 
 ing them, (except the 13 and 14 C II. c. 1, and 
 22 C. II. c. 1) 52 G. III. c. 155. § 13. 14. 
 
 (2) Offenders against this Act may be convicted 
 before two or more justices, acting in and for the 
 place where the offence is committed ; and all 
 penalties incurred under this Act may be levied by 
 
 * Rex V. Hube, 5 T. R. 542. 
 
 t As the Stat. 52 G. III. c. 155, has not repeated this enactment 
 res^pectin^ places of worship certified and registeed under it, it is 
 advisable to certify and register under the Toleration ^ct, (1 W. 
 and M. c. 17) as well as tinder the 53 G, III. 
 
 X As to the mode of levying: money, is recovered, see 5 Term 
 Rep. 544> 
 
^38 SUIVfMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 distress under the hands and seals of such two jus- 
 tices of the place where the offence was comii^itted, 
 or i\\e forfeitures were incurred ; and, when levied 
 and paid, such fines shall go — one moiety to the 
 informer, and tlie other moiety to the poor of the 
 parish wherein the offence was committed. In 
 case of no sufficient distress whereby to levy such 
 penalties, the convicting justices may commit the 
 offender to prison, for any time not exceeding* 
 three months, at their discretion. § 15. 
 
 (3) Persons convicted under this Act, conceiving- 
 themselves aggrieved, may appeal to the next 
 General or Quarter Sessions, on giving to the con- 
 victing magistrates notice iu writing within eight 
 days after such conviction, of such their iitentiott 
 to appeal : ajid the justices at such Sessions shall 
 proceed to hear and determine such appeal, and 
 make such order therein, and award such costs to 
 be paid by or to either party, asthey in their dis- 
 cretion shall think fit. § 16. 
 
 (4) All penalties under this Act must be sued for 
 and prosecuted within six months after the offence 
 committed : and no person, who shall suffer any 
 imprisonment for non-payment of any penalty, shall 
 thereafter be liable to the payment of such penalty 
 or forfeiture. § 17. 
 
 (5) If any action shall be brought against any 
 person for any thing done in pursuance of this Act, 
 every such action shall be commenced zmthin three 
 7nonths after the fact committed^ and not after -^ 
 
AFFECTING PIIOTESTANT DISSE-fTmS. 239 
 
 zcarch, a?id shall be brought in the county zchere 
 the cause of action accrued^ and not elsewhere^ 
 and the defendants in snch action may plead the 
 general issue, and give this Act and the special 
 matter in evidence on any trial to be had there- 
 upon ; and that the same was done in prursuance 
 and by authority of this Act ; and if it shall appear 
 to be so done, or if any such action be brought 
 after the time limited, or in any other county, city, 
 or place, in such case the jury shall find for the 
 defendant or defendants : and upon such verdict^ 
 or if the plaintiff shall become non-suited, or dis- 
 continue his or Tier action, or if a verdict shall pass 
 against the plaintiff, or if upon demurrer judge- 
 ment shall be given against the plaintiff, the de- 
 fendant shall recover treble costs, and have the 
 like remedy for the same as any defendants have for 
 costs of suit in other cases by law. § IS. 
 
 (5) This Act shall be deemed a public Act, and 
 be judicially noticed as such by all judges, justices, 
 and others, without specially pleading the same. 
 § 19. 
 
 § 6. General Observations on the Principles and 
 Construction of the Toleration Act, 52 Geo. III. 
 c. 15.5. 
 
 Although,, in the preceding pages of this volume, 
 we have offered various remarks, tending to illus- 
 trate the principles and tenor of the Toleration 
 Act lately passed; yet, as several observations 
 have suggested themselves, applying to Dissenters 
 
MO SUMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 generalli/^ tlieir insertion (it is apprehended) will 
 not be found irrelevant in tliis place. 
 
 Those obnoxious Statutes, the Five-Mile and 
 Conventicle Acts, being repealed by the first sec- 
 tion of the 52 G. III. c. 155. professed Dissenters 
 and all other persons, who do not worship accord- 
 ing* to the forms required by the established church, 
 are delivered from the punishments^ to which they, 
 had hitherto been exposed, for worshipping God 
 agreeably to the dictates of their conscience. But 
 all places, (it is required by the second and ele- 
 venth sections) wherein more than twenty persons 
 shall be convened for divine worship, must he noti' 
 fied as heretofore to the clerk of the peace of the 
 county, or to the bishop's or archdeacon's register, 
 within whose jurisdiction such places shall be si- 
 tuated; and during divine worship their doors shall 
 be unbarred. The penalties imposed by the Con- 
 venticle Act, extended, notwithstanding the former 
 Acts of Toleration, to every assembly for religious 
 worship m an unregistered place, where more than 
 five persons were convened; but this Act super- 
 sedes the necessity of any registration, where the 
 number assembled does not exceed iwenti/. 
 
 The ministers of religion are also placed in cir- 
 cumstances more suited to the sacred office ; for, 
 by the fifth section, all persons, who are teachers 
 at such registered places of worship, shall, if re- 
 quired hij a magistrate^ take the oaths of allegiance 
 and supremacy, and sign the declaration that they 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. 241 
 
 are Protestants, inserted in the 19 G. III. c. 44. 
 And to prevent the issuing of any arbitrary man- 
 date, it is further provided. 
 
 1. That such requisition must he in tt kiting. 
 
 2. No person, who has once taken the oaths, and 
 made the declaration either under the 52 G. I IF. c. 
 155, or the 19 G. IIL c. 44, will be subject to a 
 second requisition. 
 
 3. No fee can even then be demanded by any ma- 
 gistrate ; who must gratuitouslj/ supply a certifi- 
 cate to the person who has so complied with the re- 
 quisition which he made. 
 
 4. No person can be compelled to go more than 
 five miles for the purpose of taking such oaths. 
 
 Further, the exemption from parochial offices 
 and military duties, which had before been given to 
 ministers of congregations only, is by the late Act 
 extended to all persons who preach to one or more 
 congregations^ (if they follow no secular employ- 
 ment, — that of schoolmasters excepted) provided 
 they take the oaths and make, the declaration pre- 
 scribed. And they are authorized to require any 
 one magistrate, on payment of 2s. 6d. to admini- 
 ster such oaths, — to attest such declaration, — and 
 to certily such proceedings as evidence that the per- 
 son claiming the exemption has complied with th« 
 requisites of the Statutes. 
 
 It should also be recollected, that the former 
 Acts required, both from laymen and ministers, 
 
242 SUM3IAUY OF THE LAWS 
 
 (previously to their becoming entitled to toleration) 
 an inconvenient, and in many instances an expen- 
 sive attendance at the Sessions of the Peace. This 
 oppressive and absurd requisition is removed by 
 the late Act. 
 
 Again, the immunities and exemptions, bestowed 
 on preachers by former Acts, were by them confined 
 to the stated ministers of separate congregations ; 
 but they are now more beneficially and extensively 
 diffused. The judicial and discretionary powei-, 
 which before was asserted by magistrates, is en- 
 tirely swept away . 
 
 X^astly ; another great advantage is, that the se- 
 curity of religious worship is completely provided 
 for. Under the Toleration Act of William and 
 Mary, no persons were liable to penalties for dis- 
 turbing a congregation, unless tliey entered the 
 place where the congregation was assembled: but 
 the Statute 52 G. III. c. 155, makes them liable 
 to punishment if they disturb a congregation, 
 whether they do or do not enter th^ place of wor- 
 ship. 
 
AFFECTING PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. 2ii 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 ON THE LIABILITY OF PLACES OF WORSHIP TO RATE^ 
 AND lAXES.— TRUSTEES OF CHAPELS.— THE AD- 
 MISSION AND REMOVAL OF MINISTERS. 
 
 § 1. Rates and Taxes. A^^here any profit is 
 made of a place of worship by letting pews or seats, 
 or where it is inhabited as a dwelling* house, it is 
 rateable to land-tax and parochial and assessed 
 taxes ; but not otherwise.* 
 
 A rate made upon the ministers^f or the trus- 
 teeSji: for a meeting-house of which no profit was 
 made, cannot be supported. They are not to be 
 considered as beneficial occupiers. Neither, it 
 seems, are pew-holders^ any more than patients in 
 a hospital. § 
 
 § 2. Trustees of Chapel, The legal property of 
 a Dissenting chapel or meeting-house is usually 
 vested in trustees, who are in most cases empower- 
 ed to assign it over to a new set of trustees when 
 they are reduced to a certain number. 
 
 * Rex V. Woodward, 5 T. R. 79. 
 
 f The King v. St. Tiiomas, Southwark, Str, 745. Foitesc. 30G. 
 + 5 T. R. 79. 
 
 § See 2 BuiT. 1053, and -1 Burr. ',^435, as to trustees and pa- 
 tients of a hospital. 
 
 Y 2 
 
^44 SUMMARY OF THE LAWS 
 
 Great difUculties having frequently arisen from 
 Uie inaccurate and improvident manner in which 
 trust deeds have been constructed, an approved 
 precedent, with suitable variations to adapt it to 
 different cases, is introduced in tlie appendix.* 
 
 § 3. Jinisdiction of Chancerij over Trustees of 
 Chapels* The Court of Chancery will interfere to 
 inforce the execution of the trusts of a chapel for the 
 benefit of a Dissenting- congregation ; and to settle 
 disputes among the trustees, or between them and 
 the congregation. f 
 
 The Court will also, upon regular application, 
 restrain an improper person from receiving pew- 
 rents, and appoint a receiver daring the suit : but 
 this cannot extend to subscriptions or contributions 
 cf a voluntary nature. The Court, however, on a 
 laie occasion, strongly recommended to the parties 
 '^ the weighty consideration, — whether it is not bet- 
 ter to compose their temporal differences, which 
 cannot subsist without great hazard to their reli- 
 gious concerns ; and to endeavour at least to settle 
 their disputes without calling upon this Court to 
 interpose its jurisdiction. :|;'* 
 
 § 4. Admission of Ministers when elected. The 
 Court of King's Bench will grant a mandamus to 
 compel trustees of a chapel to admit a minister duly 
 
 ■* See Appendix B. No. 1. 
 
 •j Attoiiu-y General v. Fowler, 15 Ves. 88. 
 
 X Lord Eldon in same Case, May 7, 1808. 
 
ATFECTIXG PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. 21,5 
 
 elected according to the trust deed tliough no en- 
 dowment. The use of the pulpit is a right incident 
 to the function.* 
 
 § 5. Removal of Ministers. Ministers in general 
 are removable at the discretion of the same autho- 
 rity which appointed them. It has been suggested 
 by high authority, (though the contrary appears to 
 be the sounder opinion) that where a place is en- 
 dowed, and a minister has a certain interest in his 
 office, not depending on the voluntary contribu- 
 tions of the people, he is not removable without 
 reasonable and sufficient cause, as for immoral con- 
 duct, &c. In such a case, however, the Court 
 of King's Bench will at its discretion interpose by 
 mandamus to restore him, if wrongfully removed ; 
 but in. making an application for that purpose, he 
 must shew that he had been regularly put into full 
 possession of his office according to the usual forms 
 of the denomination to which he belongs, t 
 
 * Rex. V. Barker, 3 Burr. 1265. Mr. J. Foster; <' Here is a le- 
 gal right. Their ministers are tolerated and allowed ; their right is 
 established therefore as a legal right, and as much as any other le- 
 gal right." 
 
 'f The King v. Jotham. 3 T, R. 575. 
 
 y 3 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 No. I. 
 
 Statute 1 W. and M. c. 1 8, usually called 
 THE TOLERATION ACT. 
 
 j4n Jet for exempting Their Majesties Protestant 
 Subjects, dissenting from the Church of Eng- 
 land, from the Penalties of certain Laws, 
 
 Jr ORASMUCH as some ease to scrupulous con- 
 sciences, in the exercise of religion, may be an 
 effectual means to unite their Majesties Protestant 
 subjects in interest and affection ; be it enacted by 
 the King and Queen's most excellent Majesties, by 
 and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spi- 
 ritual and Temporal, and the Commons, in this 
 present Parliament assembled, and by the authority 
 of the same that neither the Statute made in the 
 three and twentieth year of the reign of the late 
 Queen Elizabeth, intituled, An Act to retain the 
 Queen* s Alajestj/^s Subjects in their due Obedience / 
 nor the Statute made in the twenty-ninth year of 
 
248 APPENDIX. 
 
 the said Queen, intituled. An Act for the more 
 speedy and due Execution of certain Branches of 
 the Statute made in the three and twentieth Year of 
 the Queen s Majesti/''s Reign^ viz. the aforesaid 
 Act, nor that branch or clause of a Statute made in 
 the first year of the reign of the said Queen, inti- 
 tuled, An Act for the Uniformity of Commoyi 
 Prayer^ and Service in the Churchy and Adminis- 
 tration of the Sacraments ; whereby all persons, 
 having' no lawful or reasonable excuse to be absent, 
 are required to resort to their parish church or 
 chapel, or some usual place where the Common 
 Prayer shall be used, upon pain of punishment by 
 the censures of the church, and also upon pain 
 that every person so offending shall forfeit, for 
 every such offence, twelve-pence : for the Statute 
 made in the third year of the reign of the late King 
 James the First, intituled. An Act for the better 
 discovering and repressing Popish Recusants ; nor 
 that other Statute made in the same year, intituled, 
 An Act to prevent and avoid Dangers which may 
 groxo by Popish Recusants y nor any other Law or 
 Statute of this Realm made against Papists or 
 Popish Recusants, except the Statute made in the 
 five and twentieth year of King Charles the Se- 
 cond, intituled, An Act for preventing Dangers 
 which may happen from Popish Recusants y and 
 except also the Statute made in the thirtieth year of 
 the said King Charles the Second, intituled, An Act 
 for the more effectual preserving the King's Per^ 
 
APPENDIX. 249 
 
 son and Govcrnmenl, hy disabling Papists from 
 sitting in either House of Parliament ^ shall be 
 construed to extend to any person or persons dis- 
 senting from the churcli of England, that shall take 
 the oaths mentioned in a Statute made this present 
 Parliament, intituled, An Act for removing and 
 preventing all Questions and Disputes concerning 
 the assembling and sitting of this present Parlia' 
 ment y* and shall make and subscribe the declara- 
 tion mentioned in a Statute made in the thirtieth 
 year of the reign of King Charles the Second, in- 
 tituled. An Act to prevent Papists from sitting in 
 either House of Parliament ;-\ which oaths and 
 declaration the justices of peace, at the General 
 Sessions of the peace, to be held for the county or 
 place where such person shall live, are hereby re- 
 quired to tender and administer to such persons as 
 shall offer themselves to take, make, and subscribe 
 the same, and thereof to keep a register : and liker 
 wise none of the persons aforesaid shall give or pay, 
 as any fee or reward, to any officer or officers, be- 
 longing to the court aforesaid, above the sum of 
 six-pence, nor that more than once for his or their 
 entry of his taking the said oaths, and making and 
 subscribing the said declaration; nor above the 
 farther sum of six-pence for any certificate of the 
 
 * 1 W. and M. c 1. See the oath^ mentioned in the above clause 
 in note [a] to this Statute. 
 
 t See Note {b) to this Statute. 
 
250 APPENDIX. 
 
 same, to be made out and signed by the officer or 
 officers of tlie said court. 
 
 II. And be it farther enacted by the authority 
 aforesaid, that all and every person and persons al- 
 ready convicted, or prosecuted in order to con* 
 viction, of recusancy by indictment, information, 
 action of debt, or otherwise, grounded upon the 
 aforesaid Statutes, or any of them, that shall take 
 the said oaths mentioned in the said Statute made 
 this present Parliament, and make and subscribe 
 the declaration aforesaid, in the Court of Exche- 
 quer, or Assizes, or General or Quarter Sessions to 
 be held for the county w^here such person lives, and 
 to be thence respectively certified into the Exche- 
 quer, shall be thenceforth exempted and discharged 
 from all penalties, seizures, forfeitures, judge- 
 ments, and execution^ incurred by force of any the 
 aforesaid Statutes, w^ithout any composition, fee, 
 or farther charge whatsoever. 
 
 III. And be it farther enacted by the authority 
 aforesaid, that all and every person and persons 
 that shall, as aforesaid, take the said oaths, and 
 make and subscribe the declaration aforesaid, shall 
 not be liable to any pains, penalties, or forfeitures, 
 mentioned in an Act made in the five and thirtieth 
 year of the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth, in- 
 tituled, Jii Jet to rttain the Queens Majesty's 
 Subjects in their due Obedience ; nor in an Act made 
 in the two and twentieth year of the reign of the late 
 King Charles the Second,, intituled, J?i Act to pre- 
 
APPENDIX, 25J 
 
 vent and suppress seditious Conventicles : uor shall 
 any of the said persons be prosecuteid in any Eccle- 
 siastical Court, for or by reason of their non-cou- 
 forming- to the church of England. 
 
 IV. Provided always, and be it enacted by the 
 authority aforesaid;, that if any assembly of per- 
 sons dissenting from the church of England, shall 
 be had in any place for religious worship with the 
 doors locked, barred, or bolted, during any time of 
 such meeting together, all and every person or per^ 
 sons that shall come to and beat such meeting shall 
 not receive any benefit from this law, but be liable 
 to all the pains and penalties of all the aforesaid 
 Laws recited in this Act for such their meeting, not- 
 withstanding his taking the oaths, and his making 
 and subscribing the declaration aforesaid. 
 
 V. Provided always, that nothing herein con- 
 tained shall be construed to exempt any of the per- 
 sons aforesaid from paying oftythes or other pa- 
 rochial duties, or any other duties to the church or 
 minister, nor from any prosecution in any Eccle- 
 siastical Court, or elsewhere, for the same. 
 
 VI. And be it farther enacted by the authority 
 aforesaid, that if any person dissenting from the 
 church of England, as aforesaid, shall hereafter be 
 chosen, or otherwise appointed to bear the office of 
 high constable, or petit constable, churchwarden, 
 overseer of the poor, or any other parochial or ward 
 office, and such person shall scruple to take upon 
 him any of the said offices in regard of the oaths^ ov 
 
§5!^ APPENDIX. 
 
 any other matter or thing required hj the Law to 
 be taken or done in respect of such office, every 
 such person shall and may execute such office, or 
 employment, by a sufficient deputy, by him to be 
 provided, that shall comply with the Laws on this 
 behalf. Provided always the said deputy be al- 
 lowed and approved by such person or persons, in 
 such manner as such officer or officers respectively 
 should by Law have been allowed and approved, 
 
 VI L And be it farther enacted by the authority 
 aforesaid, that no person dissenting from the church 
 of England, in holy orders, or pretended holy 
 orders, or pretending' to holy orders, nor any 
 preacher or teacher of any congregation of Dissent- 
 ing Protestants, that shall make and subscribe the 
 declaration aforesaid, and take the said oaths at 
 the General or Quarter Sessions of the Peace to be 
 held for the county, town, parts, or division, where 
 such person lives, which court is hereby empowered 
 to administer the same ; and shall also declare his 
 approbation of, and subscribe the articles of reli- 
 gion mentioned in the Statute made in the thirteenth 
 year of the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth, ex- 
 cept the thirty-fourth, thirty-fifth, and thirty-sixth, 
 and these words of the twentieth article, viz. (the 
 Church hath Power to decree Rites or Ceremonies , 
 and Authority in Conlroversies of Faith ^ and yet) 
 shall be liable to any of the pains or penalties men- 
 tioned in an Act made in the seventeenth year of the 
 reign of King Charles the Second, intituled, An 
 
APPENDIX. N 255 
 
 Act for restraining Non-conformists from inhabit i?ig 
 in Corporations ; nor the penalties mentioned in 
 ,the aforesaid Act made in the two and twentieth 
 year of his said late Majesty's reign, for or bj rea- 
 -son of such persons preaching at any meeting for 
 the exercise of religion ; nor to the penalty of one 
 hundred pounds mentioned in an Act, made in the 
 tliirteenth and fourteenth of King- Charles the Se- 
 cond, intituled, An Act for the Uniformity/ of 
 Public Praijers and Administration of Sacraments j 
 and other Rites and Ceremonies ; and for establishing 
 the Form of making, ordainingy and consecrating 
 of Bishops, Priests and Deaco?is, in the Church 
 of England, for officiating in any congregation for 
 the exercise of religion permitted and allowed bj 
 this Act. 
 
 VIII. Provided always, that the making: and 
 subscribing the said declaration, and the taking 
 the said oaths, and making the declaration of ap- 
 probation and subscription to the said articles, in 
 manner as aforesaid, by every respective person or 
 persons herein-before mentioned, at such General 
 or Quarter Se&sions of the Peace, as aforesaid, shall 
 be then and there entered of record in the said 
 Court, for which six-pence shall be paid to the 
 clerk of the peace, and no more. Provided that 
 such person shall not at any time preach in an^ 
 place, but with the doors not locked, barred, or 
 bolted, as aforesaid. 
 
 IX. And whereas some Dissenting ProtestaiTt» 
 
 z 
 
251 APPENDIX. 
 
 scruple the baptizing of infants, be it enacted bj 
 the authority aforesaid, that every person in pre- 
 tended holy orders, or pretending to holy orders, 
 or preacher, or teacher, that shall subscribe the 
 aforesaid articles of religion, except before ex- 
 cepted, and also except part of the seven and 
 twentieth article touching infant baptism, and shall 
 take the said oaths, and make and subscribe the 
 declaration aforesaid, in manner aforesaid, every 
 such person shall enjoy all the privileges, benefits, 
 and advantages, which any other Dissenting Mi- 
 nister, as aforesaid, might have or enjoy bj virtue 
 of this Act. 
 
 X. And be it farther enacted by the authority 
 aforesaid, that every teacher or preacher in holy 
 orders, or pretended holy orders, that is a minister, 
 preacher, or teacher of a congregation, that shall 
 take the oaths herein required, and make and sub- 
 scribe the declaration aforesaid, and also subscribe 
 such of the aforesaid articles of the church of Eng- 
 land, as are required by this Act, in manner afore- 
 said, shall be thenceforth exempted from serving 
 upon any jury, or fropi being chosen and appointed 
 to bear the office of churchwarden, overseer of the 
 poor, or any other parochial or ward office, or 
 other office in any hundred of any shire, city, town, 
 parish, division, or wapentake. 
 
 XI. And be it farther enacted by the authority 
 aforesaid, that every justice of the peace, may at 
 any time hereafter, require any person that goes to 
 
APPENDIX. 255 
 
 any meeting for exercise of religion, to make and 
 subscribe the declaration aforesaid, and also to take 
 the said oaths or declaration of fidelity herein-after 
 mentioned, in case such person scruples the taking 
 of an oath, and upon refusal thereof, such justice of 
 the peace is hereby required to commit such person 
 to prison without bail or mainprize^ and to certify 
 the name of such person to the next General or 
 Quarter Sessions of the Peace to be held for that 
 county, city, town^ part, or division, where such 
 person then resides, and if such person so com- 
 mitted, shall upon a second tender at a General or 
 Quarter Sessions, refuse to make and subscribe the 
 declaration aforesaid, such person refusing sliail be 
 then and there recorded, and he shall be taken 
 thenceforth, to all intents and purposes, for a Popish 
 Recusant Convict, and suffer accordingly, and incur 
 all the penalties and forfeitures of all the aforesaid 
 Laws. 
 
 XI r. And whereas there are certain other per- 
 sons, Dissenters from the church of England, who 
 scruple the taking of any oath ; be it enacted by 
 the authority aforesaid, that every such person shall 
 make and subscribe the aforesaid declaration, and 
 also this declaration of fidelity following, viz. 
 
 *' I yJ. B, do sincerely promise and solemnly 
 declare before God and the world, that 1 wiii be 
 true and faithful to King William o d }e^^ Ma'-y. 
 And 1 do srlemniy profess and declare, that I do 
 from my heart abhor, detest, and renounce, ae 
 
 a 2 
 
256 ATPENmX. 
 
 impious and heretical, that damnable doctrine and 
 position, that Princes excGmrrwnicated or deprived 
 hi/ the Pope, or any Authority of the Seeof Korne^ 
 may he deposed or murthered by their Subjects, or 
 any other Zi^hatsoever ; and I do declare that no 
 foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate, 
 hath, or ought to have, any power, jurisdiction, 
 superiority, pre-eminence, or authority, ecclesi^ 
 astical or spiritual within this realm." 
 
 And shall subscribe a profession of their christian 
 belief in these words : 
 
 " 1 J. i>. profess faith in God the Father, and 
 in Jesus Clu ist hi& eternal Son, the true God, and 
 in the Holy Spirit One God blessed for evermore: 
 and do acknowledge the iioly Scripture.^, or th© 
 Old and New Testament^ to be given by divine 
 inspiration.'* 
 
 Which declarations and subscription shall be 
 made and entered of record, at the General Quar- 
 ter Sessions of the Peace for the county, city, or 
 place, where every such person shall then reside ; 
 and every such person that shall make and subscribe 
 the two declarations and profession aforesaid, being 
 thereunto required, shall be exempted from all the 
 pains and penalties of all and eyery the aforemen- 
 tioned Statutes made against Popish Recusants, or 
 Protestant Non-conformists, and also from the 
 penalties of an Act made in the fifth year of the 
 reign of Queen Elizabeth, intituled Jn Jet for 
 the Assurance of the Queen's Royal Pozoer over 
 
APPENDIX. f57 
 
 all Estates and Subjects within her Dominions ; 
 for or by reason of such persons not taking or 
 refusings to take the oath mentioned in the said 
 Act ; and also from the penalties of an Act, made 
 in the thirteenth and fourteenth years of the reign 
 of King Charles the Second, intituled. An Act for 
 preventing Mischiefs that maj/ arise by certain 
 Persons called Quakers refusing to take laziful 
 Oaths ; and enjoy all other the benefits, privileges, 
 and advantages, under the like limitations, pro- 
 visoes, and conditions, which any other Dissenters 
 shall or ought to enjoy by virtue of this Act.* 
 
 XIII. Provided always, and be it enacted by 
 the authority aforesaid, that in case any persen 
 shall refuse to take the said oaths when tendered to 
 them, which every justice of the peace is hereby 
 empowered to do, such person shall not be ad- 
 mitted to make and subscribe the two declarations 
 aforesaid, though required thereunto, either before 
 any justice of the peace, or at the General or 
 Quarter Sessions, before or after any conviction of 
 Popish Recusancy, as aforesaid, unless such person 
 can, within thirty-one days after such tender of the 
 declarations to him, produce two sufficient Pro- 
 testant witnesses, to testify upon oath that they 
 believe him to be a Protestant Dissenter, or a cer- 
 tificate under the hands of four Protestants who are 
 conformable to the church of England, or have taken 
 
 , - . --n-— ^ i ^-T- . T~ . ■ - - ^^ * 
 
 * See Note (c) annexed to this Statute. 
 
 z3 
 
258 APPENDIX. 
 
 tlie oaths^ and subscribed the declaration above 
 mentioned, and shall also produce a certificate 
 under the hands and seals of six or more sufficient 
 men of the congregation to which he belongs, own- 
 ing him for one of them. 
 
 XI y. Provided also, and l>e it enacted by the 
 authority aforesaid, that until such certificate, under 
 the hands of six of his congregation, as aforesaid, 
 be produced, and two Protestant witnesses come to 
 attest his being a Protestant DigT^enter, or a certi- 
 ficate under the hands of four Protestants as afore- 
 said, be produced, the justice of the peace shall, 
 and hereby is required, to take a recognizance, 
 with two sureties, in the penal sum of fifty pounds, 
 to be kvied of his goods and chattels, lands and 
 tenements, to the use of the King and Queen's 
 Majesties, their heirs and successors, for his pro- 
 ducing the same; and, if he cannot give such secu- 
 rity, to commit him to prison, there to remain until 
 he has produced such certificates, or two witnesses 
 aforesaid. 
 
 XY. Provided always, and it is the true intent 
 and meaning of this Act, that all the laws made 
 and provided for the frequenting of divine service 
 on the Lord's Day, commonly called Sunday, shall 
 be slill in force, and executed against all persons 
 that offend against the said laws, except such per- 
 sons come to some congregation or assembly of 
 religious worship, allowed or permitted by this 
 Act. 
 
APPENDIX. 259 
 
 XVI. Pro videtf always, and be it farther enacted 
 by the authority aforesaid, that neither this Act, 
 nor any clause, article, or thing* herein contained, 
 shall extend, or be construed to extend, to give 
 any ease, benefit, or advantage to any Papist or 
 Popish llecusant whatsoever ; or any person that 
 shall deny in hi^ preaching or writing, the doctrine 
 of the blessed trinity, as it is declared in the afore- 
 said articles of religion. 
 
 XVII. Provided always, and be it enacted by 
 the authority aforesaid, that if any person or per- 
 sons, at any time or times, after the tenth day of 
 June, do and shall willingly and of purpose, mali- 
 ciously or contemptuously, come into any cathedral 
 or parish church, chapel, or other congregation 
 permitted by this Act, and disquiet or disturb the 
 same, or misuse any preacher or teacher, such 
 person or persons, upon proof thereof before any 
 justice of peace, by two or more sufficient witnesses, 
 shall find two sureties to be bound by recognizance 
 in the penal sum of fifty pounds ; and, in default 
 of such sureties, shall be committed to prison, 
 there to remain till the next General or Quarter 
 Sessions ; and upon conviction of the said offence, 
 at the said General or Quarter Sessions, shall suffer 
 the pain and penalty of twenty pounds, to the use 
 of the King and Queen's Majesties, their heirs ajid 
 successors. 
 
 XV^UI. Provided always, that no congregation 
 or assembly for religious worship shall be permitted 
 
§60 APPENDIX. 
 
 or allowed by this Act, until the place of such 
 meeting- shall be certified to the bishop of the dio- 
 cese, or to the archdeacon of that archdeaconry, or 
 to the justices of the peace at the General or Quar- 
 ter Sessions of the Peace for the county, or place, 
 in which such meeting" shall be held, and registered 
 in the said bishop's or archdeacon's court respec- 
 tively, or recorded at the said General or Quarter 
 Sessions ; the register or clerk of the peace whereof 
 respectively is required to reg-ister the same, and 
 and to give certificate thereof to such person as 
 shall demand the same, for which there shall be 
 none greater fee nor reward taken than the sum of 
 sixpence. 
 
 (a) Oaths of Allegiance and Jbjuration imposed 
 ly 1 VV. and M. c. 1. (Referred to p. 198, 199, 
 216.) 
 
 " I j4, B. do sincerely promise and swear, that 1 will be faithful, 
 and bear true allegiance to their Majesties, King William and 
 Queen Mary. — So help me God" 
 
 ** 1 yi. B. do swear that I do from my heart abhor, detest and 
 abjure, as impious and heretical, that damnable doctrine and posi- 
 tion, that princes excommunicated or deprived by the Pope, or 
 any authority of the See of Rome, may be deposed or murthered 
 by their subjects, or any other whatsoever. And I do declare that 
 no foreign prince, person, prelate. State or potentate hath, or 
 ought to have any power, jurisdiction, superiority, pre-eminence 
 or authority ecclesiastical or spiritual within this realm.— ^So help 
 me Cod. 
 
APPENDIX. 261 
 
 Oajtks of JHegiance^ Abjuration, and Supre- 
 mac?/, imposed bj/ 1 G. I. St. 2. c. JS. (Referred 
 to p. 198, 216, 218, 7iotes.) 
 
 ** I /I. B. do sincerely promise and swear, that I will be faith- 
 ful, and bear true allegiance to his Majesty King George. — So help 
 me God." 
 
 *' I yJ. B- do swear, that J do from iny heart abhor, detest, and 
 abjure, as impious and heretical, that damnable doctrine and posi- 
 tion, that princes exconununicated or deprived by the Pope, or 
 any authority of the See of Rome, may be deposed or murtbered 
 by their subjects, or any otlier whatsoever. And I do declare, that 
 no foreii^n prince, p;Mson, prelate. State, or ]>otentate, hath, or 
 ought to have any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence, 
 or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm. — So 
 help me God. 
 
 ** J j4. B. Ao truly and sincerely aeknowledg?, profess, tostifv, 
 and declare in my consctence, before G id and the world, that our 
 sovereig;n Lord King Geor^ce is lawful and rightful King of this 
 Realm, and all other his Majesty's dominions and countries there- 
 unto belonginjy. And I do solemnly and sincerely declare, that I do 
 believe, in my conseienci^ that the persan pretended to be Prince 
 of Wales, during the life of the late King James, and since his 
 decease pretending to be, and taking upon himself the stile and 
 title of King of England, by the name of Jame» the Third, 
 or of Scotland, by the ?name of James the Eighth, or the stile 
 and title of King of Great Biitain, hath not any right or title 
 whatsoever to the crown, of this Realm, or any other the do- 
 minions thereto belonging ; and I do renounce, refuse, and abjure 
 any allegiance or obedience to him. And I do swear, that I will 
 bear faith and true allegiance to his M.'\jesty King George, and him 
 will defend, to the utmost of my power, ag;tinst all traiterous con- 
 spiracies and attempts whatsoevei-, which shall be made against his 
 person, crown, or dignity. And i will do my utmost endeavour to 
 disclose and make known to his Majesty, and his successors, all 
 tieasons and traiterous conspiracies wliich 1 shall know to be 
 against him, or any of them. And I do faithfully promise, to the 
 
262 APPENDIX. 
 
 utmost of my power, to support, maintain, and defend the suc- 
 cession of the crown j^gainst him the said James, and all other per- 
 sons whatsoever ^ which succession, by an Act intituled, An Act 
 for the further Limitation of the Crown, and letter securing the 
 Rights and Liberties of the Subjecty is and stands limited to the 
 Princess Sophia, Electoress and Duchess Dowager of Hanover, and 
 the heirs of her body, being; Protestants. And all these things I do 
 plainly and sincerely acknowledge and swear, according to these ex- 
 press words by me spoken, and according to the plain and com- 
 mon sense and understanding of the same words, without any equi- 
 yocatiori, mental evasion, or secret reservation whatsoever. And! 
 do make this recognition, acknowledgment, abjuration, renuncia- 
 tion, and promise, heartily, willingly and truly, upon the true faith 
 jof a christian. — So help me God." 
 
 (b) Declaration against Poperi/^ required by 
 30 C. II. Stat. 2, c.^^l. (Referred to i>. 198,216, 
 !gl9, notes,) 
 
 ** I A. B. do solemnly and sincerely in the presence of God, pro- 
 fess, testify, and delare, that I do believe that in the Sacrament of 
 the Lord's Supper, there is not any transubstantiation of the ele- 
 ments of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, at or 
 after the consecration thereof, by any person whatsoever: (2) And 
 that the invocation, or adoration of the Virgin Mary, or any other 
 saint, and the sacrifice of the mass, as they are now used in the 
 church of Rome, are superstitious and idolatrous. (3) And I do 
 solemnly in the presence of God, profess, testify, and declare, that 
 1 do make this declaration, and eveiy part thereof, in the plain and 
 ordinary sense of the v.'ords read unto me, as they are commoiiiy 
 understood by English Protestants, without any evasion, equivoca- 
 tion, or mental reservation whatsoever, and without any dispensa- 
 tion already granted me for this purpose by the Pope, or any other 
 authority or person whatsoever, or without any hope of any such 
 dispensation from any person or authority whatsoever, or without 
 thinking that I am, or can be acquitted before God or man, or ab- 
 solved of this declaration, or any part thereof, although the Pop« 
 or any other person or persons, or puwer whatsoever, shall dispense 
 
APPENDIX. 263 
 
 fvith or annul the same, or declare that it was null or void from the 
 bejj'iniiin^. 
 
 (c) Declaration of Fidelitj/ for Quakers^ im- 
 posed hi/ i G. I. c. 6. (Referred to p. 199, note,) 
 
 " i y1. /?. dosolemnly and sincerely {iTomise and declare, that I 
 will be true and faithful to King George ; and do solemnly, sin- 
 cerely, and truly profess, testify, and declare, that I do fiom my 
 heart abhor, detest, and renounce, as impious and heretical, that 
 wicked doctrine and position, that princes excommunicated or de- 
 prived by the Pope, or any authority of the See of Rome, may be 
 deposed or murthered by their subjects, or any other whatsoever. 
 And 1 do declare, that no foreign prince, person, prelate. State, or 
 potentate, hath, or ought to have, any power, jurisdiction, supe- 
 riority, pre-eminence, or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, 
 within this Realm." 
 
 ** I A. B. do solemnly, sincerely, and truly acknowledge, profess, 
 testify, and declare, that King George is lawful and rightful King 
 of this Realm, and of all other his dominions and countries thereunto 
 belonging. And 1 do solemnly and sincerely declare, that 1 do believe 
 the person pretended to be the Prince of V\'ales, during the life of the 
 late King James, and since his decease, pretending to be, and 
 taking upon himself the stile and title of King of England, by the 
 name of James the Third, or of Scotland, by the name of James 
 the Eighth, or the stile and title ot King of Great Britain, hath not 
 any right or title whatsoever to the crown of this realm, nor any 
 other the dominions thereunto belonging ; and I do renounce and 
 refuse any allegiance or obedience to him. And I do solemnly pro- 
 mise, that I will be true and faithful, and bear true allegiance to 
 King George, and to him will be faithful against all traiterous con- 
 spiracies and attempts whatsoever, w hich shall be made against his 
 person, crown, or dignity. And I will do my besit endeavour to 
 disclose and make known to King George, and his successors, all 
 treasons and traitorous conspiracies which I shall know to be made 
 against him, or any of them. And 1 will be true and faithful to the 
 succession of the crown against him the said James, and all other 
 persons whatsoever, as the same is and stands settled by an Act, 
 
254 APPENDIX. 
 
 •in'.ituled, An Act declaring the liights and Liberties of the Sub- 
 ject, and settling the Succession of the Crown, to the late Queen 
 Amie, and the heirs of her body, being Protestants ; and as the 
 same, by one other Act, intituled, A7i Act for the further Limitation 
 of (he Croivny a7id letter securing the Rights and Liberties of the 
 Subject, is and stands settled and intailed, after the decease of the 
 said late Queen, and for default of issue of the said late Queen, to 
 the late Princess Sophiaj Electoress and Duchess Dowager of Ha- 
 nover, and the heirs of her body, being Protestants. And all these 
 things I do plainly and sincerely acknowledge, promise, and declare, 
 according to these express words by me spoken, and, according to 
 the plain and common sense and understanding of the same words, 
 without any equivocation, mental evasion, or secret reservation 
 whatsoever. And I do make this recognition, acknowledgment^ 
 renunoiatixjn, and promise, heartily, willingly, and truly. 
 
APPENDIX. 265 
 
 No, 2. 
 
 Statute 19 Geo. III. c. 44, 
 
 An Act for the further Relief of Protestant Dis' 
 senting Ministers and Schoolmasters, 
 
 Vt HEiiEAS, by an Act of Parliament made in the 
 first jear of the reign of King- Willram and Queen 
 Mary, intituled, Jii Act for exeinpting their Ma^ 
 jesties Protestant Subjects, dissenting from the 
 Church of England, from the Penalties of certain 
 Laws,) persons dissenting- from the church of 
 England, in holy orders, or pretended holy orders, 
 or pretending to holy orders, and preachers or 
 teachers of any congregation of Dissenting Pro- 
 testants, are required, in order to be entitled to 
 certain exemptions, benefits, privileges, and ad- 
 vantages, to declare their approbation of, and to 
 subscribe, the articles of religion mentioned in the 
 Statute made in the thirteenth year of the reign of 
 Queen Elizabeth, (except as in the said Act, made 
 Aa 
 
^6 APPENDIX. 
 
 in the first year of the reign of King William and 
 Queen Mary, is excepted.) And whereas many 
 such persons scruple io declare their approbation 
 of, and to subscribe the said articles not excepted 
 as aforesaid : for giving ease to such scrupulous 
 persons in the exercise of religion, may it please 
 your Majesty that it may bo enacted ; and be it 
 enacted by the King's most excellent Majesty, by 
 and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiri- 
 tual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present 
 Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the 
 same, that every person dissenting from the church 
 of England, in holy orders, or pretended holy or- 
 ders, or pretending to hoij orders, being a preacher 
 or teacher of any congregation of Dissenting Pro- 
 testants, who, if he scruple to declare and sub- 
 scribe as aforesaid, shall take the oaths and make 
 and subscribe the declaration against Popery, re- 
 quired by the said Act, in the first year of the reign 
 of King William and Queen Mar3^, to be taken, 
 made, and subscribed by Protestant Dissenting Mi- 
 nisters, and shall also make and subscribe a de- 
 claration in the words following : viz. 
 
 " I ^. B, do solemnly declare, in the presence 
 of Almighty God, that I am a Christian and a Pro- 
 testant, and as feuch, that I believe that the Scrip- 
 tures of the Old and New Testament, as commonly 
 received among Protestant churches, do contain the 
 revealed will of God ; and that I do receive the 
 same as the rule of my doctrine and practice : — 
 
APPENDIX. 267 
 
 shall be, and every such person is hereby declared 
 to be, entitled to all the exemptions, benefits, pri- 
 vileges, and advantages, granted to Protestant 
 Dissenting Ministers by the said Act, made in the 
 first year of the reign of King Wiiiiaai and Queen 
 Mary ; and by an Act made in the tenth year of 
 Queen Anne, intituled, An Act for preserving ths. 
 Protestant Religion, hi/ better securing the Church 
 of England, as hi) Lazo established ; and for con- 
 frniing the Toleration granted to Protestant Dis- 
 senters b(/ an Act, intituled, Aji Act for exempting 
 thtir Majesties Protestant Subjects, dissenting from 
 the Church of England from the Penalties oj' cer- 
 tain Lazvs : and for supphjing the dejects thcreoj' ; 
 andfor the further securing the Protestant succes- 
 sion, bjj requiring the Practisers oj' the Lazo in 
 North Britain to take the Oaths and subscribe the 
 Declaration therein mentioned ; and the justices of 
 the peace at the General Session of the Peace to be 
 holden for the county or place where any Protest- 
 ant Dissenting Minister shall live, are hereby re- 
 quired to tender and administer the said last-men- 
 tioned declaration to such minister, upon his offer- 
 ing himself to make and subscribe the same, and 
 thereof to keep a register ; and such minister shall 
 not give or pay, as a fee or reward to any officer or 
 officers belonging to the court aforsaid, above the 
 sum of six-pence for his or their entry of such mini- 
 ster's making and subi-cribing the said last-men- 
 tioned declaration, and taking the oaths, aad mak- 
 A a 2 
 
^68 APPENDIX. 
 
 ing and subscribing the declaration against Popery, 
 required by the said Act, made in the first year of 
 the reign of King William and Qiieen Mary, to be 
 taken, made, and subscribed by Protestant Dis- 
 senting Ministers ; nor abov e the sum of six-pence 
 for any certificate thereof to be made out and signed 
 by the officer or officers of the said court ; and 
 every such person, qualifying himself as aforesaid, 
 shall be exempted from serving in the Militia of 
 this kingdom ; and shall also be exempted from any 
 imprisonment, or other punishment, by virtue of 
 an Act, made in thirteenth and fourteenth years of 
 the reign of King Charles the Second, intituled, An 
 Act for the Uniformity of public Prayers^ and Ad- 
 ministration of Sacraments, and other Eitcs and 
 Ceremonies ; and for establishing the Form of mak' 
 ing, ordaining, and consecrating, Bishops, Priests, 
 and Deacons^ in the Church of England; or by 
 an Act made in the fifteenth year of the same reign, 
 intituled, An Act for Relief of such Persons as by 
 Sickness, or other Impediment, were disabled from 
 subscribing the Declaration in the Act of Uniformi* 
 hj, and Explanation of Pnrt of the said Act ; for 
 preaching or officiating in any congregation of Pro- 
 testant Dissenters, for the exercise of religion per- 
 mitted and allowed by law. 
 
 And be it farther enacted by the authority afore- 
 said, that no Dissenting Minister, nor any other 
 Protestant dissenting from the church of England, 
 who shall take the aforesaid oaths, and make and 
 
APPENDIX. 269 
 
 subscribe the above-mentioned declaration against 
 Popery, and the declaration herein-before men- 
 tioned, shall be prosecuted in any court whatso- 
 ever for teaching and instructing youth as a tutor 
 or schoolmaster ; any Law or Statute to the con- 
 trary notwithstanding^. 
 
 Provided always, that nothing in this Act con- 
 tained sliall extend, or be construed to extend, to the 
 enablinj^ of any person dissenting from the church 
 of England to obtain or hold the mastership of any 
 college or school of royal foundation, or of any 
 other endowed college or school for the education 
 of youth, unless the same shall have been founded 
 since the first year of the reign of their late Ma- 
 jesties King William and Queen Mary, for the im- 
 mediate use and benefit of Protestant Dissenters. 
 
 And whereas it hath been doubted whether the 
 said Act, made in the first year of the reign of 
 King William and Queen Mary, be a public or pri- 
 vate Act ; be it enacted and declared, that the said 
 Act, and also this present Actj shall be adjudged 
 deemed, and taken to be public Acts ; and shall be 
 judicially taken notice of as such, by all judges, 
 justices, and other persons whomsoever, without 
 specially pleading them, or either of them. 
 
 Aa3 
 
270 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 (AJ 
 No. 3, 
 
 Statute 5'2 Geo. III. c. 155. 
 
 An Act to repeal cert aih Acts^ and amend other Acts 
 relating to Religious Worship and Assefnblies^ 
 and Persons teaching or preaching therein. 
 
 Whereas it is expedient that certain Acts of 
 Parliament, made in the reign of his late Majesty 
 King Charles the Second, relating to Non-conform- 
 ists and Conventicles, and refusing to take oaths, 
 should be repealed, and that the Laws relating to 
 certain congregations and assemblies for religious 
 worship, and persons teaching, preaching, or offi- 
 ciating therein, and resorting thereto, should be 
 amended ; be it therefore enacted by the King's 
 most excellent Majesty, bj and with the advice,^ 
 and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, 
 and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, 
 and hy the authority of the same, that from and 
 after the passing of this Act, an Act of Parliament 
 
APPENDIX. 271 
 
 made in the Session of Parliament held in the thir- 
 teenth and fourteenth years of his late Majesty 
 ^ing Charles the Second, intituled, Jn Act for 
 prtTcnthig the Mtschiefs and Dangers that may 
 arise hy certain Ptrsons called Qual:ers^ and others^ 
 refusing to take lajsful Oaths ; and another Act of 
 Parliament, made in the seventeenth year of the 
 reign of his late Majesty King Charles the Second, 
 intituled, An Act for restraining Non-conformists 
 from inhabiting in Corporations , and another Act 
 of Parliament, made in the twenty-second year of 
 the reign of the late King Charles the Second, in- 
 tituled, An Act to prevent and suppress seditious 
 Conventicles; shall be and the same are hereby re- 
 pealed. 
 
 II. And be it farther enacted, that from and after 
 the passing of this Act no congregation or assembly 
 for religious worship of Protestants (at which there 
 shall be present more than twenty persons besides 
 the immediate family and servants of the person in 
 whose house or upon whose premises such meeting, 
 congregation, or assembly, shall be had) shall be 
 permitted or allowed, unless and until the place of 
 such meeting, if the same shall not have been duly 
 certified and registered under any former Act or 
 Acts of Parliament relating to registering places of 
 religious worship, shall have been or shall be certified 
 to the bishop of the diocese, or to the archdeacon 
 of the archdeaconry, or to the justices of the peace 
 at the General or Quarter Session of the Peace for 
 
Tf2 APFENDlt. 
 
 the county, riding-, division, city, town, or place, 
 in which sucli meetino^ shall be held ; and all places 
 of meeting whic^ shall be so certified to the bishop's 
 or archdeacon's court, shall be returned by such 
 court once in each year to the Quarter Sessions of 
 the county, riding, division, city, town, or place ; 
 and all places of meeting which shall be so certified 
 to the Quarter Sessions of the Peace shall be also 
 returned once in each year to the bishop or arch- 
 deacon ; and all such places shall be registered in 
 the said bishop or archdeacon's court respectively, 
 and recorded at the said Genera] or Quarter Ses- 
 sions ; the registrar or clerk of the peace whereof 
 respectively is hereby required to register and re- 
 cord the same ; and the bishop or registrar or cle4*k 
 of the peace to whom any such place of meeting- 
 shall be certified under this Act shall give a certifi- 
 cate thereof to such person or persons as shall re- 
 quest or demand the same, for which there shall be 
 no greater fee nor reward taken than two shillings 
 and six-pence ; and every person who shall know- 
 ingly permit or suffer any such congregation or 
 assembly as aforesaid to meet in any place occupied 
 by him, until the same shall have been so certified 
 as aforesaid, shall forfeit for every time any such 
 congregation or assembly shall meet contrary to the 
 provisions of this Act, a sum not exceeding twenty 
 pounds, nor less than twenty shillings, at the dis- 
 cretion of the justices who shall convict for suck 
 ©ffence. 
 
APPENDIX. 273 
 
 III. Provided always, and be it farther enacted, 
 that every person who shall teach or preach in any 
 congregation or assembly as aforesaid, in any, place, 
 without the consent of the occupier thereof, shall 
 forfeit for every such offence any sum not exceeding- 
 thirty pounds, nor less than forty shillings, at the 
 discretion of the justices who shall convict for such 
 offence. 
 
 I V^. And be it farther enacted, that from and afler 
 the passing of this Act every person who shall teach 
 or preach at, or ofHciate in, or shall resort to any 
 congregation or congregations, assembly or assem- 
 blies, for religious worship of Protestants, whose 
 place of meeting shall be duly certified according to 
 the provision of this Act, or any other Act or Acts 
 of Parliament relating to the certifying and regis- 
 tering of places of religious worship, shall be ex- 
 empt from all such pains and penalties under any 
 Act or Acts of Parliament relating to religious wor- 
 ship, as any person who shall have taken the oaths, 
 and made the declaration prescribed by or men- 
 tioned in an Act, made in the first year of the reign 
 of King William and Queen ?ylary, intituled, An 
 Act for exempting their Majesties Protestant Sub' 
 jects, dissenting from the Church of England, from 
 the Penalties of certain Lazes, or any Act amending 
 the said Act, is by law exempt, as fully and effec- 
 tually as if all such pains and penalties, and the 
 several Acts enforcing the same, were recited in 
 this Act, and such exemptions as aforesaid were 
 
£74 APPENDIX. 
 
 severally and separately enacted in relation there- 
 to. 
 
 V. Provided always, and be it farther enacted, 
 that every person not having taken the oaths, and 
 subscribed the declaration herein-after specified, 
 who S' a." preach or teach at any place of religious 
 worship certified in pursuance of the directions of 
 this Act, shall, when thereto required by any one 
 justice of the peace, by any writing under his hand 
 or sig^ned by him, take and make and subscribe, in 
 the presence of such justice of the peace, the oaths 
 and declaration speciiied and contained in an Act, 
 passed in the nineteenth year of ilie reign of his 
 Majesty King George the Third, intituled. An Jet 
 
 for the farther Relief of Protestant Dissenting 
 Ministers and Schoolmasters , and no such person 
 who, upon being so required to take such oaths and 
 make such declaration as aforesaid, shall refuse to 
 attend the justice requiring the same, or to take 
 and make and subscribe such oaths and declaration 
 as aforesaid, shall be thereafter permitted or allowed 
 to teach or preach in any such congregation or 
 assembly for religious worship, until he shall have 
 taken such oaths, and made si!ch declaration as 
 af resaid, on pain of forfeiting, for every time he 
 shall so teach or pr.^a'h, any sum not exceedini:: ten 
 pounds nor less than ten shillings, at the discretion 
 of the justice convicting for such offence. 
 
 VI. Provided always, and bo it farther enacted, 
 that no person shall be required by any justice of 
 
APPENDIX. 275 
 
 tlie peace to go to any greater distance than five 
 nailes from his own home, or from the place where 
 lie shall be residing at the time of such requisition, 
 for the purpose of taking such oaths as aforesaid. 
 
 yil. And ])e it farther enacted, that it sliall be 
 lawful for any of his JMajestj's Protestant subjects 
 to appear before any one justice of the peace; and 
 to produce to such justice of the peace a printed or 
 written copy of the said oaths and declaration, and 
 to require such justice to administer such oaths and 
 to tender such declaration to be made, taken, and 
 subscribed by such persons ; and thereupon it shall 
 be lawful for such justice, and he is hereby autho- 
 rized and required to administer such oaths and to 
 tender such declaration to the person requring to 
 take and make and subscribe the same ; and such 
 persons sliall take and make and subscribe such 
 oaths and declaration in tiie presence of such jus- 
 tice accordingly ; and such justice shall attest the 
 same to be sworn before him, and shall transmit or 
 deliver the same to the clerk of the peace for the 
 county, riding, division, city, town, or place for 
 ^vbich he shall act as sucli justice of the peace, be- 
 fore or at the next General or Quarter Sessions of 
 the Peace for such county, riding, division, city, 
 town or place. 
 
 VI If. And be it farther enacted, that every jus- 
 tice of the peace before whom any person shall 
 make and take and subscribe such oaths and decla- 
 ration as aforesaid, shall forthwith give to the per- 
 
276 APPENDIX. 
 
 son having; taken, made, and subscribed such oaths 
 and declaration, a certificate thereof under the 
 hand of such justice in the form following: (that is 
 to say,) 
 
 " I A. B. one of his Majesty's justices of the 
 peace for the county, [riding, division, city, or 
 town, or place, as the case may he'\ of 
 
 do hereby certify, that C, D. of, &c. [de- 
 scribing the christian and surname, and place of 
 abode of the 'party'] did this day appear, before me, 
 and did make and take and subscribe the several 
 oaths and declaration specified in an Act, made in 
 the fifty-second year of the reign of King George 
 the Third, intituled {^set forth the title of this Act,'] 
 Witness my hand, this day of one 
 
 thousand eight hundred and ." 
 And for the making and signing of which certifi- 
 cate, where the said oaths and declaration are taken 
 and made on the requisition of the party taking and 
 making the same, such justice shall be entitled to 
 demand and have a fee of two shillings and six- 
 pence, and no more : and such certificate shall be 
 conclusive evidence that the party named therein 
 has made and taken the oaths and subscribed the 
 declaration in manner required by this Act. 
 
 IX. And be it farther enacted, that every person 
 who shall teach or preach, in any such congregation . 
 or assembly, or congregations or assemblies as 
 aforesaid, who shall employ himself solely in the 
 duties of a teacher or preacher, and not follow or 
 
APPENDIX. 277 
 
 ena^age in any trade or business, or other profes- 
 sion, occtipation or employment, for his livelihood, 
 except that of a schoolmaster, and who shall pro- 
 duce a certificate of some ju.^tice of the peace, of 
 his havins: taken and made and subscribed the oaths 
 and declaration aforesaid, shall be exempt from 
 the civil services and offices specified in the said re- 
 cited Act passed in the first year of King William 
 and Queen Mary, and from being ballotted to serve 
 and from serving in the Militia or Local Militia of 
 any county, town, parish, or place in any part of 
 the united Kingdom. 
 
 X. And be it farther enacted, that every person 
 who shall produce any false or untrue certificate or 
 paper, as and for a true certificate of his having 
 made and taken the oaths and subscribed the de- 
 clarations, by this Act required for the purpose of 
 claiming any exemption from civil or military 
 duties as aforesaid, under the provisions of this or 
 any other A<it or Acts of Parliament, shall forfeit 
 for every such offence the sum of fifty pounds ; 
 which penalty may be recovered by and to the use 
 of any person who will sue for the same by any ac- 
 tion of debt, bill, plaint or information in any of his 
 Majesty's Courts of Record at Westminster, or the 
 Courts of Great Sessions in Wales, or the Courts 
 of the Counties Palatine of Chester, Lancaster, 
 and Durham (as the case shall require) ; wherein 
 no essoin, privilege, protection, or wager of law, 
 or more than one imparlance shall be alloMed. 
 Bb 
 
278 APPENDIX. 
 
 XI. And be it farther enacted, that no meeting, 
 assembly or congregation of persons for religious 
 worship, shall be had in any place with the door 
 locked, bolted, or barred, or otherwise fastened, 
 so as to prevent any person entering therein, dur- 
 ing the time of any such meeting, assembly, or con- 
 gregation ; and the person teaching or preaching at 
 such meeting, assembly, or congregation, shall foi^ 
 feit for every time any such meeting, assembly, or 
 congregation, shall be held with the door locked, 
 bolted, barred, or otherwise fastened as aforesaid, 
 any sum not exceeding twenty pounds, nor less 
 than forty shillings, at the discretion of the justices 
 convicting for such offence. 
 
 XII. And be it farther enacted, that if any per- 
 son or persons, at any time, after the passing of 
 this Act, do and shall wilfully and maliciously or 
 contemptuously disquiet or disturb any meeting, as- 
 sembly, or congregation of persons assembled for 
 religious worship, permitted or authorized by this 
 Act, or any former Act or Acts of Parliament, or 
 shall in any way disturb, molest, or misuse any 
 preacher, teacher, or person officiating at such 
 meeting, assembly, or congregation, or any per- 
 son or persons there assembled, such person or 
 persons so offending , upon proof thereof before 
 any justice of the peace by two or more credible- 
 witnesses, shall find two sureties to be bound by 
 recognizances in the penal sum of fitly pounds to 
 answer for such offence, and in default of such 
 
APPENDIX. 279 
 
 sureties shall be committed to prison, there to re- 
 main till the next General or Quarter Sessions; 
 and upon conviction of the said offence at the said 
 General or Quarter Sessions, shall suffer the pain 
 and penalty of forty pounds. 
 
 XIII. Provided always, and be it farther en- 
 acted, that nothing" in this Act contained shall affect 
 or be construed to affect the celebration of divine 
 service according to the rites and ceremonies of the 
 united church of England and Ireland, by ministers 
 of the said church, in any place hitherto used for 
 such purpose, or being now or hereafter duly con- 
 secrated or licensed by any archbishop or bishop or 
 other person lawfully authorized to consecrate or 
 licence the same, or to affect the jurisdiction of 
 the archbishops or bishops or other persons exer- 
 cising lawful authority in the church of the united 
 Kingdom over the said church, according to the 
 rules and discipline of the same, and to the Laws 
 and Statutes of the Realm ; but such jurisdiction 
 shall remain and continue as if this Act had not 
 passed. 
 
 XI V^. Provided also, and be it farther enacted, 
 that nothing in this Act contained shall extend or 
 be construed to extend to the people usually called 
 Quakers, nor to any meetings or assemblies for re- 
 ligious worship held or convened by such persons ; 
 or in any manner to alter or repeal or affect any 
 Act, other than and except the Acts passed in the 
 reign of King Charles the Second herein-before re- 
 B b2 
 
fSO APPENDIX. 
 
 pealed, relating to the people called Quakers, or 
 relating to an)^ assemblies or meetings for religious 
 worship held hy them. 
 
 Xy. And be it farther enacted, that every per- 
 son guilty of any clfence, for which any pecuniary 
 penalty or forfeiture is imposed by this Act, in re- 
 spect of which no special provision is made, shall 
 and may be convicted thereof by information upon 
 the oath of any one or more credible witness or 
 witnesses before any two or more justices of the 
 peace acting in and for the county, riding, city, or 
 piace wherein such offence shall be committed ; 
 and that all and every the pecuniary penalties or 
 forfeitures which shall be incurred or become pay- 
 able for any otfence or offences against this Act, 
 shall and may be levied by distress, under the hand 
 and seal or hands and seals of two justices of the 
 pieace for the county, riding, city, or place, in which 
 any such offence or offences was or were committed, 
 or where the forfeiture or forfeitures was or were 
 incurred, and shall when levied be paid one moiety 
 to tlie informer, and the other moiety to the poor of 
 the parish in which the offence was committed ; and 
 in case of no sufficient distress whereby to levy the 
 penalties, or any or either of them imposed by this 
 Act, it shall and may be lav* ful for any such justices 
 respectively before whom the offender or offenders 
 shall be convicted, to commit such offender to pri- 
 son for such time not exceeding three months, as 
 the said justices in their discretion shall think fit. 
 
APPENDIX. 281 
 
 XVI. And be it farther enacted, that in case any 
 person or persons who shall hereafter be convicted 
 of any of the offences punishable by this Act, shall 
 conceive him, her or themselves to be aggrieved by 
 such conviction, then and in every such case it shall 
 and may be lawful for such person or persons re- 
 spectively, and he, she, or they shall or may ap- 
 peal to the General or Quarter Sessions of the 
 Peace holden next after such conviction in aad for 
 the county, riding, city, or place, giving unto the 
 justices before whom such conviction shall be made, 
 notice in writing within eight days after any such 
 conviction, of his, her, or their intention to prefer 
 such appeal ; and the said justices in their said Ge- 
 neral or Quarter Sessions shall and may, and they 
 are hereby authorized and empowered to proceed to 
 the hearing and determination of the matter of 
 such appeal, and to make such order therein, and 
 to award such costs to be paid by and to either 
 party, not exceeding forty shillings, as they in 
 their discretion shall think fit. 
 
 XVII. And be it farther enacted, that no penalty 
 or forfeiture shall be recoverable under this Act, 
 unless the same shall be sued for, or the offence in 
 respect of which the same is imposed is prosecuted 
 before the justices of the peace or Quarter Sessions, 
 within six months after the offence shall have been 
 committed ; and no person who shall suffer any im- 
 prisonment for non-payment of any penalty shall 
 
 Bb3 
 
t>S9 APPENDIX. 
 
 thereafter be liable to the payment of such penultj 
 or forfeiture. 
 
 XYIII. And be it farther enacted, that if anj. 
 action or suit shall be brought or commenced 
 against any person or persons for any thing done in 
 pursuance of this Act, that every such action or 
 suit shall be commenced within three months next 
 after the fact committed, and not afterwards, and 
 shall be laid and brought in the county wherein the 
 cause oi' alleged cause of action shall have accrued, 
 and not elsewhere ; and the defendant or defend- 
 ants in such action or suit may plead the general 
 issue^ and give this Act and the special matter in 
 evidence on any trial to be had thereupon, and that 
 the same was done in pursuance and by authority 
 of this Act ;. and if it shall appear so to be done, or 
 if any such action or suit shall be brought after 
 the time so limited for bringing the same, or shall 
 be brought in any other county, city, or place, 
 that then and in such case the jury shall find for 
 such defendant or defendants; and upon such ver- 
 dict^ or if the plaintiff or plaintiffs shall become 
 hon- suited, or discontinue his, her, or their action 
 or actions, or if a verdict shall pass against the 
 plaintiff or plaintiffs, or if upon demurrer judge- 
 ment shall be given against the plaintiff or plain- 
 tiffs, the defendant or defendants shall have and 
 may recover treble costs, and have the like remedy 
 for the same, as any defendant or defendants hath 
 or have for costs of suit in other cases by law. 
 
APPENDIX. 283 
 
 XIX. And be it farther enacted, that this Act 
 shall be deemed and taken to be a public Act, and 
 shall be judicially taken notice of as such by all 
 judges, justices, and others, without speciallj 
 pleading* the same. 
 
APPENDIX B. 
 No. 1. 
 
 FORM OF A TRUST-DEED. 
 
 (Referred to p. 244<, note,) 
 
 This indenture,* made the daj of 
 
 and in the jear of our Lord one thousand 
 eight hundred BETWEEN (Donor) of the 
 
 one part, and (Trustees) of the other part WIT- 
 NESSETH, that, for promoting the Christian 
 Religion, as professed by Protestant Dissenters of 
 the denomination of at and for enabling the 
 professors of the same religion, of the denomina- 
 
 * An Indenture is essentially necessary ; and this deed must be 
 executed in the presence of two or more credible witnesses, and be 
 enrolled within six calendar months at the latest, t« comply with 
 the Statute of 9th G. II. c. 36, and within six lunar months when 
 lands of freehold tenuie, and for a freehold estate are conveyed, 
 and no lease for a year is used, thus complyinj with the Statute- of 
 eurolimeuts of bar^aina and sales« 
 
286 APPENDIX. 
 
 tion aforesaid, more conveniently to exercise the 
 forms of their religious worship, and other ordi- 
 nances of their persuasion at aforesaid: AND 
 also, in consideration of live shillings,* of lawful 
 money current in Great Britain, to the said ( Donor) 
 now paid, the receipt whereof is hereby acknow- 
 ledged, the said (Donor) HATH given, granted, 
 bargained, aad sold, and, by these presents, 
 DOTH give, grant, bargain, and sell, unto the said 
 ( Trustees )\ and all other persons, (if any) parties 
 
 f Administrators ^ 
 hereto of the second part, their < Heirs > 
 
 ( Executors J 
 and Assigns, ALL \_here describe the parcels^ omit' 
 ting the usual clauses of reversion , Sfc. for the sake 
 of hre-oitTj'] TO HAVE and TO HOLD the said 
 and hereditaments, hereby bargained and, 
 sold, with tlieir appurtenances^ unto and to the 
 use of the said (Trustees) and all other persons (if 
 any) pkrties hereto of the second part, their Heirs 
 and Assigns for ever,j: UPON THE TRUSTS, 
 
 * No other consideration must be introduced, except when there 
 is a purchase of land, then the consideration should be expressed, 
 and the purchasers should, in all cases be directing parties. 
 
 f These words are inserted to guard against the accidental omis- 
 sion of one of many names. 
 
 X Freehold and leaseholds may be comprised in the same deed, 
 ai»d even in the same clause of grant. But, there should be two 
 clauses of Habendum, one for the freehold, the other for the iease- 
 Uold, and all the estate oi the Grantor must pass; no estate, rent. 
 
ArPENDTX. 287* 
 
 and for the ends, intents, and purposes, herein-after 
 expressed, declared, and contained, of and concern- 
 ing the same. And it is hereby declared and agreed, 
 
 , , ... -. i baroained or sold} 
 
 that the said hereditaments { , , > as 
 
 (^ surrendered y 
 
 ^ . - . , ( bargained or sold "> 
 
 aforesaid, are respectively < , , > 
 
 •^ C. surrendered y 
 
 UPON THE TRUSTS herein-after declared, that 
 
 or benefit, by way of condition, or otherwise, may be reserved. See 
 fith G.II. c. 36. 
 
 When there are leasehold, let the Habendum be to the Trustees, 
 their executors, administrators, and assigns, henceforth, for and 
 ■during the residue of a certain term of years, which the said 
 (Donor) hath therein, being a term which was cr€ated by Indenture^ 
 bearing date on or about the day of one thousand eight hun- 
 dred and and made between of the one part, and 
 of the other part, at the yearly rent of and to 
 be computed from the day of 
 
 When there are copyhold, add— AND THIS INDENTURE 
 FURTHER WITNESSETH, that, for the consi.lerations hertin- 
 before expressed, the -said did, on the day of the date of these 
 presents, being a Surrender in eflFect but an Indenture iu fohn, 
 prepared for complying with the provisions of the Act of Parlia- 
 ment, made in that behalf, personally go before Steward 
 of the Manor df in the County of and did, out of 
 court, by the rod, surrender out of his hands, into the hands of the 
 'lord of the said Manor, by the hands and acceptance of the said 
 Steward, according to the custom of the same Manor, ALL, &c. 
 TO THE USE AND BEHOOF of the said, &c. and other persons, 
 (if any) parties hereto, of the second part, their heirs and assigns 
 forever: NEVERTHELESS, to be held by them upon the trusts, 
 and for the ends, intents, and purposes, herein-after expressed, de- 
 <*lared, and contained, of and concerning the same^ 
 
288 APPENDIX. 
 
 is to say, UPON TRUST, the Trustee or Trus. 
 tees, for the time being-, shall, from time to time, 
 and at all times hereafter,* permit the said [il/ee^- 
 
 "* Forrns frequently required are the following : 
 
 Permit a meeting-house, vestry-room, or other offices, to be 
 built on the said piece of ground, and to be used, occupied, and en- 
 joyed, as and for a place of public religious worship, &c, such 
 meeting-house, and other erections, to be built at the expence of 
 such members of the said society of Protestant Dissenters, and such 
 other persons as shall think fit to subscribe to the same, and ac- 
 cording to such plan as the said society, or the trustees thereof, 
 shall adopt for that purpose. 
 
 Permit and suffer the said piece of ground, to be from time to 
 time, and at all times hereafter, vised as a burial-place for the in- 
 terment of deceased members of the said society of Protestant Dis- 
 senters and others, according to the regulations lo be prescribed by 
 the majority of the men-members for the time being of the society 
 attending the said meeting-house being subscribers thereto, and 
 communicants therein, and being present at a church-meeting to 
 be convened for that purpose. 
 
 If the premises are intended to be used as an academy, then, say, 
 
 Permit and suffer the said messuage or tenement, and heredita- 
 
 X , , . ^ bargained and sol<i ) . , j • . , 
 
 ments, hereby J ^^^.y^nclered S ^ ' occupied, and en- 
 
 joyed, as and for an academy, or school, or place of classical and 
 religious instruction for young men, devoted to the ministry among 
 Protestant Dissenters ; or otherwise, in such manner, and under 
 such regulations, and with full power to alter and vary such regu- 
 lations, as the major part of the Trustees for the time being, toge- 
 ther with the mjor part of the men-subscribers for the time being 
 to such acarlemy, who shall have been sub,scribers ther^^to for twelve 
 preceding calendar months, shaP, at any public meeting to be con- 
 vened for such j)urpose, and held after a week's j^revious notica. 
 thereof, from time to time, order and direct. 
 
APPEN'DIX. 2S9 
 
 2ng House'} and premises to be u&ed, occupied, 
 and enjoyed, as a place of public religious wor- 
 ship for the service of God, bj the society of 
 Protestant Dissenters, of the denomination called 
 
 and, also, by such other 
 persons as shall hereafter be united to the said 
 society, and attend the worship of God in tlie said 
 meeting-house. AND, ALSO, at all times for 
 ever hereafter, permit the said room, called the 
 vestry room, to be used with and be appendant to 
 the said meeting-house, as a vestry-room ; and the 
 said piece of ground^ called the burial-ground, to 
 be used with and be appendant to the said meeting- 
 house as a burial ground ; and the said to 
 be used and inhabited by the officiating minister, 
 for the time being, for his residence, or otherwise 
 to be let, as the major part of the men-subscribers 
 to the said meeting, being members thereof and 
 communicants therein, shall, at a meeting, duly 
 held for that purpose, declare: AND permit such 
 person or persons as shall be nominated, by the 
 men-subscribers for the time being to the said meet- 
 ing-house, or the major part of them, being mem- 
 bers of the said society and communicants therein, 
 at any meeting for that purpose duly assembled, to 
 receive and take all such voluntary subscriptions, 
 and other sums of money, as shall, from time to 
 time, be paid or subscribed by any person or persons 
 whomsoever, towards the support of the public wor- 
 
 c c . 
 
290 APPENDIX. 
 
 ship of God in the said \ , i and for 
 
 t meeting-house^ y 
 
 defraying the expences and charges attending the 
 same, or shall be contributed for the benefit or 
 support of the minister, for the time being, officiat- 
 ing therein ; AND permit to officiate in the said 
 
 \ P ' f such person or persons, of the de- 
 
 (^ meeting-house^ 3 
 
 nomination of Protestant Dissenters, called 
 
 ' as the said subscribers, 
 
 or the major part of them, men or women, being 
 members of the said society and communicants there- 
 in, at a meeting, duly assembled for that purpose, 
 shall, from time to time, elect, to officiate, as their 
 
 minister or pastor, in the said{ ^. ' >ac- 
 
 (^ meeting-house^ y 
 
 cording to the usual order and customs of societies 
 of Protestant Dissenters of the denomination afore- 
 said; AND UPON THIS FURTFIER TRUST, 
 that the said Trustee or Trustees for the time be- 
 ing, shall, at any time or times, when thereuto re- 
 quested by the major part in number of the men- 
 subscribers for the time being, members of the said 
 society and communicants therein, and who shall be 
 attending at a meeting duly assembled for that pur- 
 pose, raise such sum or sums of money as shall be 
 directed by the men-members present at such meet- 
 ing, or the major part of them, by a mortgage of 
 all or any part of the said Trust- Estate, and make 
 
APPENDIX. 291 
 
 r Conveyance ^ 
 any^ Assignment >* for that purpose ; AND^ i^L- 
 
 Surrender ^ 
 SO, when thereunto requested by the major part in 
 number of such men-subscribers, being members 
 and communicants as aforesaid, attending at a 
 meeting duly assembled for that purpose, absolutely 
 make sale of the saidTrust-Estates, or any part there- 
 f f\ ih ^ ^^^ 52wp/e and Inheritance thereof^ "> 
 ^ Residue of the Term therein, 3 
 
 either by public auction or by private contract, and 
 in such manner as such men-subscribers, being 
 members and communicants as aforesaid, or the ma- 
 jor part of them, for the time being, attending such 
 
 r Conxey -\ 
 
 meeting, shall think fit, and X Assign > the 
 
 ^ Surrender J 
 same Trust- Estates, when sold, to the person or 
 persons who shall agree to become the purchaser or 
 purchasers thereof: AND, ALSO, at any time or 
 
 f Convey -^ 
 times, at such request as aforesaid,^ Assign \ 
 
 ^ Surrender J 
 the said Trust- Estates, or any part thereof, to any 
 person or persons in exchange for, or in lieu of, any 
 other hereditaments, to be situate within 
 
 * The words in a para»thesis are to be used thus ; Conveyance," 
 if the premises are Freehold ; " Assignment," if Leasehold j and 
 ** Surrender" if Copyhold. 
 
 cc2 
 
292 APPENmx. 
 
 miles of (the town) aforesaid, as to 
 
 the said Trustee or Trustees, for the time being, 
 with the consent of such men-subscribers^ being 
 members and communicants aforesaid, or the major 
 part of them, present at any meeting convened for 
 that purpose, shall appear more convenient for the 
 purposes aforesaid or any of them ; AND UPON 
 THIS FURTHER TRUST, that the said Trustee 
 or Trustees, for the time being, shall stand and be 
 
 \ ^^^^^ f of the hereditaments, (if any) which 
 
 t possessed} 
 
 shall be taken in exchange aforesaid, upon the same 
 
 or the like trusts, and to and for the same or the 
 
 like ends, intents, and purposes, as are herein-be- 
 
 fore expressed and declared concerning the heredi- 
 
 X I. 1 ( l)ar2:ained or sold,') 
 laments hereby < * , . S or 
 
 ( surrendered, y 
 
 thereto as may be, and the nature of the heredita- 
 ments to be so taken in exchange, and the purposes 
 of convenience for which they shall be taken in ex- 
 change, will admit; AND UPON THIS FUR- 
 THER TRUST, that the said Trustee or Trustees, 
 for the time being, shall stand possessed of the 
 money, which, from time to time, shall be received 
 on any sale, or mortgage, or exchange, which shall 
 be made under the Trusts herein-before declared, 
 UPON TRUST, to invest, lay out, or dispose of 
 the same, in such manner, and for such purposes, 
 for the benefit of the said society of Protestant Dis- 
 senters, of the denominatioji aforesaid, or for ^he 
 
 as near 
 
APPENDi:x. 293 
 
 improvement of the Trust-Property, or the enlarge- 
 ment, repair, or rebuilding, of the Trust-Premises, 
 or any of them, or otherwise, as the major part, in 
 number, of the male subscribers, being members 
 of the said society and communicants therein as 
 aforesaid, and present at a meeting, to be called 
 for that purpose, shall direct ; AND UPON THIS 
 FURTHER TRUST, that, in case the said society 
 shall be totally dissolved or dispersed, and the pub- 
 lic worship of God in the said meeting-house dis- 
 continued for the space of two years together, then 
 the said Trustee or Trustees, for the time being, 
 
 C Convej/ ^ 
 shalK Assign / and assure the said Trust- 
 
 ^ Surrender ^ 
 
 r, . . , , i har^-ained or sold. 7 j i ^i, 
 Lstates, hereby: * ' J and, also, the 
 
 (^ surrendered ) 
 
 hereditaments, to be received in exchange as afore- 
 said, unto such person or persons in such manner 
 and for such purposes, either religious or civil, as 
 two-thirds in number of those men-members of the 
 said society of Protestant Dissenters, who, at the 
 time of such dissolution or dispersion, shall be, and, 
 for one year then n^xt preceding, shall have been, 
 subscribers to the support of the public worship of 
 
 God in the said J '^ ' Jand during the 
 
 (^ meeting-house^ 3 
 
 like period shall have been members of the said 
 congregation and communicants therein, shall ap- 
 point by any writing under their hands ; AND the 
 cc3 
 
J294 APPENDIX. 
 
 said (T)o7ior) doth direct, and the other parties do 
 hereby agree, that the person or persons who shall 
 become the purchaser or purchasers, or take a mort- 
 gage or mortgages of all or any part of the said 
 Trust- Estates, his, her, or their, heirs, executors, 
 or administrators, shall not be obliged to see to the 
 application of the money to be advanced or paid 
 by him, her, or them, respectively, as the conside- 
 ration of such purchase or purchases, mortgage or 
 mortgages, nor be answerable or accountable for 
 the misapplication or non-application of the same 
 money, or any part thereof^ after the same shall 
 have been paid to, or to the order of, the said 
 Trustee or Trustees for the time being, under these 
 presents ; AND that every receipt which shall be 
 given by the said Trustee or Trustees, for the time 
 being, for such purchase or mortgage money, or any 
 part thereof, shall be a good, valid, and sufficient 
 acquittance and discharge for the sum or sums of 
 money which therein or thereby respectively shall 
 be acknowledged or expressed to or to have been 
 received; AND that every sale and mortgage 
 which shall be made, and contract for sale which 
 shall be entered into, and conveyance which shall 
 be executed, by the said Trustee or Trustees for the 
 time being, pursuant to the trusts herein-before de- 
 clared, shall be binding and conclusive on all per- 
 sons claiming any benefit or interest under the 
 trusts herein-before contained. PRO VOIDED 
 FURTHER, and it is directed, that when and as 
 
APPENDIX. 295 
 
 often as, or at any time afteiv, there shall be 
 only five acting Trustees of the said Trust-Estate, 
 the vacancy in the number of Trustees shall be 
 supplied by the appointment of so many addi- 
 tional persons, being Protestant f)issenters by pro- 
 fession, as will make up the number of thirteen 
 Trustees ; such appointment to be made by the 
 major part of the men-subscribers to the said 
 
 < ' ; being members and communi- 
 
 t meeting-house^ S 
 
 cants as aforesaid, who shall be present at a meet- 
 ing convened for that purpose, and with the con- 
 sent and approbation of the surviving and continu- 
 ing Trustees or Trustee ; And that all such convey- 
 ances shall be made and executed, (at the expence 
 of the Trust- Estate, or the funds of the congrega- 
 tion attending the said meeting-house,) as shall be 
 necessary or deemed advisable for vesting the 
 said Trust- Estates in the then acting Trustee or 
 Trustees, jointly, with such additional Trustees; 
 And that, of every meeting, for the purposes 
 aforesaid, there shall be public notice given on the 
 Sunday preceding, during the time of divine ser- 
 vice ; and that the meeting shall not be held earlier 
 than the Wednesday succeeding such Sunday, and 
 that no person shall be entitled to vote on any of 
 the matters aforesaid unless such person shall have 
 been a subscriber to, and a member of, the said 
 society, and a communicant therein, twelve calen- 
 dar months prior to such meeting j and that the 
 
996 APPENDIX. 
 
 Trustee or Trustees for the time being sliall be en- 
 titled to deduct and retain all the costs, charges, 
 and expences, of and attending the execution of 
 the trusts reposed, or to be reposed, in him or 
 them, under or by virtue of these presents. IN 
 WITNESS, &c. 
 
 This draft is drawn in the most concise form. It 
 must be varied in the trusts as circumstances 
 and the intention of the donor may require. 
 The deed must be enrolled within the li- 
 mited time, and all the circumstances re- 
 quired by the Statute of 9th G. II. c. 36, 
 must be observed. Covenants (if any are 
 deemed necessary) should be inserted in a 
 separate instrument. 
 
 RICHARD PRESTON, 
 Inne?' Temple, 
 
APPENBIX. 297 
 
 rJBJ 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 Indictment for- disturb'mg a Congregation of 
 Protestant Dissenters, 
 
 (Referred to p. 236^,^ 
 
 Middlesex") 
 
 to uoit, ) X HE Jurors for our Lord the Kiii!^, 
 upon their oath present that C. B. late of 
 the parish of in the county of 
 
 Middlesex, labourer, on the day of 
 in the year of our Sovereign Lord George 
 the third, by the grace of God of the united 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 
 King, defender of the Faith, with force and 
 arms, at the parish aforesaid, in the county 
 aforesaid, did, during the time of divine 
 worship, unlawfully, wilfully, maliciously, 
 and contemptuously disquiet and disturb a 
 certain congregation of Protestant Dissent- 
 
S98 APPENDIX. 
 
 ers frcm the church of England, being- then 
 and there duly and lawfully assembled for 
 the purpose of religious worship, in a cer- 
 tain chape], situate, standing, and being in 
 the parish aforesaid, in the county aforesaid, 
 the said chapel being then and there duly 
 certified and registered, pursuant to the 
 Statute in such case made and provided, in 
 contempt of public worship to the evil ex- 
 ample of all others in the like case offending 
 against the form of the Statute in such case 
 made, provided, and against the peace of 
 our said Lord the King his crown and dig- 
 ad Count, nity. AND the Jurors aforesaid, upon their 
 oath aforesaid, do further present that the 
 said C. B. afterwards, (to wit) on the said 
 day of in the year of the 
 
 reign aforesaid, with force and arms, at the 
 parish aforesaid, in the county aforesaid, 
 did during the time of divine worship, un- 
 lawfully, wilfully, maliciously, and con- 
 temptuously disquiet and disturb a certain 
 other congregation of Protestant Dissenters 
 from the church of England, being then and 
 there duly and lawfully assembled for the 
 purpose of religious worship, in a certain 
 other chapel, situate, standing, and being 
 in the parish aforesaid, in the county afore- 
 said, the said, last-mentioned chapel being 
 then and there duly certified and registered 
 
APPENDIX. 299 
 
 pursuant to the Statutes in such case made 
 and provided, in contempt of public wor- 
 ship, to the evil example of all others in 
 the like case offending- against the form of 
 the Statutes in such case made and provided, 
 and ag^ainst the peace of our said Lord the 
 King" his crown and dignity. AND the 
 Jurors aforesaid, upon theiijoath aforesaid, 
 do further present that the said C. B, after- 
 wards, (to wit) on the said day of 
 in the year of the reign aforesaid, with 
 
 force and arms, at the parish aforesaid, in 
 the county aforesaid, did during the time of 
 divine worship, unlawfully, wilfully, mali- 
 ciously, and contemptuously disquiet and 
 disturb a certain other congregation of Pro- 
 testant Dissenters from the church of En- 
 •gland, being then and there duly and law- 
 fully assembled for the purpose of religious 
 worship, in a certain other chapel, situate, 
 standing and being in the parish aforesaid, 
 in the county aforesaid, the said last-men- 
 tioned chapel being then and there duly 
 certified and registered pursuant to the Sta- 
 tute in such case made and provided, in 
 contempt of public worship, to the evil ex- 
 ample of all others in the like case offending 
 against the form of the Statutes in such case 
 made and provided, and against the peace 
 
300 APPENDIX. 
 
 of our said Lord the King^ his crown and 
 dignity. 
 
 If the place of worship be certified and registered asa '* Meeting 
 House," then that term should be used instead of '* CfiAPEL." 
 
 If the place of worship be certified and registered for the religious 
 worship of '* Protestants," (not describir>g them as " Protestant 
 Dissenters from the Church of EMGLAND,'~which it may be 
 under the 52 G. III.) then the Indictment should describe the con- 
 gregation, as a ** Co>iG«EGATiON of Protestants being i hen and 
 there^ ^'C. 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 SOh 
 
 I.) 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 Form of Certificate of a Chapel or Meeting 
 House, 
 
 {Rcftrrcd to p. 233.; 
 
 THE Ceriijicate of a Building, to he used as a 
 Chapel or Meeting' II ouse^ may he addressed either 
 to the Justices of the General or Quarter Sessions 
 of the Peace for the county ^ city^ or place, in 
 zchich it is situated, or to the Bishop ofihe diocese ^ 
 or to the Jrchdeacon of the archdeaconry. — It 
 should be signed by two or three of the congrega- 
 tioH, 
 
 lORM OF CERTIFICATE TO THE QUARTER SESSIONS. 
 
 TO the Worshipful, His Majesty's justices of 
 
 the peace, dieting in aiicl for the county of , 
 
 in General Quarter Sessions of the Peace for the 
 
 ^aid county assembled. We, whose names are here- 
 
 Dd 
 
309 APPENDIX. 
 
 under written, do hereby certify that a certain 
 building situate in the parish of , in the 
 
 county of , in the possession or occupation 
 
 of , is intended to be used as a chapel for 
 
 religious worship by Protestant Dissenters from the 
 church of England, and of the denomination of 
 C PresbT/terians, ^ 
 
 \ Independents^ /under and by virtue of the Sta- 
 ^ Baptists, y 
 
 lute of the first year of King William and Queen 
 Mary, intituled '^ An Jet for excepting their Ma- 
 jesties^ Protestant Subjects dissenting from the 
 Church of England from the Penalty of certain 
 Lazos,^^ and also by virtue of the Statute of the 
 fifty-second year of King George the third, intituled 
 " An Act to repeal certain Acts, and amend other 
 Acts relating to religious Worship and Assemblies 
 and Persons teaching or preaching therein.'^ And 
 we request that this certificate may be registered 
 and recorded by the clerk of the peace. 
 
 Dated this Day of 18 
 
 (Signed) A. B. 
 C. D. 
 E. F. 
 
 FORM OF CERTIFICATE TO THE BISHOP. 
 TO the Right Reverend Father in God 
 by divine permission Lord Bishop of 
 
APPENDIX. 305 
 
 We whose names are under- written, do hereby cer- 
 tify that a certain buildings situate in the parish of 
 ^ in the countj of , in the diocese 
 
 of 5 in the possession or occupation of 
 
 , is intended to be used as a chapel 
 for religious worship by Protestant Dissenters from 
 the church of England, of the denomination of 
 r Presbj/terianSj 1 
 
 < Independents J /under and by virtue of the Sta- 
 V Baptists J ^ 
 
 tute of the first year of King William and 'Queen 
 Mary, intituled " An Act Jor excepting their Ma- 
 jesties^ Protestant Subjects dissenting from the 
 Church of England from the Penalty of certain 
 Laws^'' and also by virtue of the Statute of the 
 fifty-second year of King George the third, inti- 
 tuled " An Act to repeal certain Acts^ and amend 
 other Acts relating to religious Worship and As* 
 setnblies^ a?id Persons teaching or preaching there 
 in/'' And we request that this certificate maybe 
 registered in the Commissary's Court ofyour Lord- 
 ship. 
 
 Dated this Bay of 18 
 
 (Signed) A. B. 
 C. D. 
 E. F. 
 
 FORM OF CERTIFICATE TO THE ARCHDEACON, 
 
 TO the Rev. D. D. M. A. or B. A. 
 
 (as the case may be) archdeacon of the archdeacon- 
 
 Dd2 
 
304 APPENDIX. 
 
 ry of 5 in the county of , witliiii 
 
 the diocese of , We whose names are 
 
 under-written, do hereby certify, that a certain 
 building', situate in the parish of , in the 
 
 -eounty of , in the archdeaconry of 
 
 5 in the possession or occupation of 
 5 is intended to be used as a chapel 
 for religious worship by Protestant Dissenters from 
 the church of England, of the denomination of 
 /- Preshi/terians^ -\ 
 
 y Independents, [under and by virtue of the Sta- 
 C Baptists, 3 
 
 tute of the first year of King William and Queen 
 Mary, intituled '^ Jn Jet for ejccepting their Bla" 
 jesiies' Protestant Subjects dissenting from the 
 Church of England from the Penaltij of certain 
 Laws/'' and also by virtue of the Statute of the 
 fifty-second year of King George the third, inti- 
 tuled ^' An Jet to repeal certain Jets, and amend 
 ether Jets relating to religious Worship and Js- 
 se?nbliesy and Persons teaching or preaching there* 
 in.''' And we request that this certificate may b© 
 registered in the court of your archdeaconry. 
 
 .Dated this Daij of 18 
 
 (Signed) A. B. 
 C. D. 
 E. F. 
 
4iPPENDIX. 305 
 
 No. 4, 
 
 Form of Certificate of Birth for Regist7^ation, 
 with Observations. 
 
 (Referred to p. 209 J 
 
 Ihe Deputies of the several congregations of Pro- 
 testant Dissenters, in and near London, finding 
 that a General Register of Births of Dissenters' 
 Children was much wanted, and would be of great 
 utility, established one, in the year 174?, with the 
 consent of the Trustees, at Dr. Williams's Libra- 
 ry, in Red-cross Street, near Cripplegate, London. 
 This Register has been continued from that time^ 
 and certificates may be had of the Librarian, who 
 also keeps the Register, any Tuesday, Wednesday, 
 Thursday, or Friday, between the hours of ten 
 and three, except in the month of August, and the 
 Whitsun and Christmas weeks, when the Library 
 is shut up. 
 
 Dd3 
 
^06 APPExVDlX. 
 
 FORM OF THE CERTIFICATE. 
 
 These are to certify that A. B. Son (or 
 Daughter) of C. D. atid E. hh Wifey zoho zcas 
 the Daughter of V, Qr. was horn at in the 
 
 Parish of in the Citi/ (or County) of 
 
 on the J^f^ of ^8 ^' idhose 
 
 Birth zee wtre present, 
 
 I. K. 
 
 L. M. 
 
 Registered at Dr. Williams's Library, Red-cross Street, CrippU- 
 ^ate, London, the Bay of N. O. Register. 
 
 Two of these certificates must be carefully filled 
 up ; the date of the birth being in nsords at length.^ 
 and not in figures ; and they must be signed where 
 the letters I. K. and L. M. are placed, by two or 
 more persons, who were present at the birth ; and, 
 if such persons canuot write, but only make their 
 marks, those marks should be attested by at least 
 two credible persons, who shall add their places of 
 abode to their names, in order to authenticate such 
 certificates, (in case it should be necessary after 
 the deaths of the persons present at the birth,), 
 whose marks it might otherwise be impossible to 
 prove to the satisfaction of a court of justice. 
 
 Great care should be taken to write the certifi- 
 cate accurately and plainly, in order to prevent 
 mistakes in entering* it in tke Register Book^ which 
 might render the entry useless, at the time when it 
 
APPENDIX. 307 
 
 may be wanted, and when no other proof can be 
 obtained. 
 
 Any person may have a child registered while 
 tl',n witnesses to the birth are living- ; but the sooner 
 it is done after the birth the better. 
 
 The certificates beino' entered in the Re'nster 
 Book, and attested by the keeper of the Register, 
 one of them is filed at the Library, and the other is 
 returned to the parents or friends of the child. The 
 expence is one shilling, which must be paid when 
 the certificates are applied for. 
 
 And this Register being under the inspection of 
 the Deputies, they are warranted in asserting it to 
 be accurately kept. 
 
 The Deputies recommend the use of this Re- 
 gister to the Protestant Dissenters in general, who 
 frequently suffer very great inconveniences and 
 losses from the neglect of it, (though it is open to 
 all others who may choose to use it,) as it not un- 
 frequently happens, that there is either no Re- 
 gister kept in the meeting-house to which they be- 
 long, or only an imperfect one, which often ren- 
 ders it impossible to prove the birth of their chil- 
 dren, when necessary. 
 
 The use of this Register by no means precludes 
 the use of others, where such are kept. 
 
 As a Register of Births, it will be peculiarly 
 useful to Dissenters of the Baptist denomination ; 
 and to all others it will have this recommendation, 
 that, the birth being registered instead of the bap- 
 
^08 APPENDIX. 
 
 tlsm^ the age of the child is ascertained with the 
 utmost precision ; which it cannot be where the 
 time of baptisin only is registeredj which usually 
 does not take place till some tirsie after the birth. 
 
 The expence of searching the Register Book, to 
 ascertain whether any individual has been entered 
 therein, is one shilling ; and that of a certificate of 
 an entry in the same, is also one shilling. 
 
(BJ 
 No. 5. 
 
 Form of Legacy for Charitable Purposes^ with 
 Remarks. 
 
 C Refined to p. 3 10 J 
 
 fecvEHAL Instances having lately occurred wherein 
 Legacies, left to Dissenting Ministers, or to Dis- 
 senting* churches or congregations, for the use of 
 the ministers, or for the benefit of the poor, or for 
 the general carrying on the public worship of God 
 in such churches and congregations, have been 
 LOST, by reason of the respective Testators having, 
 unfortunately, made them payable out of real 
 estates, or out of the rents of houses or lands, 
 (either freehold or leasehold) instead of charging 
 tliem uoholl?/ on their personal estate. 
 
 The Committee think it their duty to apprize their 
 Dissenting ])rethren, in general, and in the country 
 in particular, of the necessity of attending to this 
 distinction in framing their Wills, as otherwise, 
 any Legacies they bequeath, payable out of real 
 estates, or out of houses or lands, (whether free- 
 hold or leasehold) or the rents and profits thereof. 
 
JIU APPENDIX. 
 
 for the benefit of any of their churches or congre- 
 gations, will be ^oid hy the St at if te of Mortmain^ 
 and, conseqiientlj, their intentions will be frus- 
 trated. 
 
 And, in order to assist (as far as possible) persons 
 who may be desirous of leaving any part of their pro- 
 perty to such purposes, the Committee have thought 
 fit to subjoin the form of different clauses applicable 
 thereto, which if adopted, will be the means of 
 securing such Legacies going according to the iri' 
 tentionsnof the respective donors. 
 
 f I give and bequeath the sum of £ to be 
 
 raised by my executors out of my personal es- 
 tate, and to be paid to the Deacons^ for the time 
 beings of the church or congregation of Protest- 
 ant Dissenters, under the pastoral care of Mr, 
 in whose receipt shall be a sufficient dis- 
 charge to my executors for the same, to be by the 
 said Deacons laid out and invested, in their joint 
 names in the public funds, upon trust, to pay 
 and apply the interest and dividends thereof as 
 the same shall, from time to time, be received, 
 to the minister, for the time being, of the said 
 chiirch or congregation, for his own use and 
 ^benefit. Or, 
 (As above.) Then, say, 
 
 I ^unto and amongst such poer persons^ members 
 l| I 0/ the said church or congregation, as the said 
 t.a \ Deacons, for the time being, shall, in their 
 1° I discretion, think fit. Or, 
 
 i 
 
ATPnNDlX. 311 
 
 (As above.) Then saj, 
 
 '' Towards the expences of carrying' on the pub- 
 lic worship of God in the said place, as the 
 said Deacons, for the time being, shall, in their 
 discretion, think fit. 
 
 %* In those congregations where other officers are 
 appointed instead oi Deacons^ the v/ord '' Dea- 
 cons^'' must be varied accordingly. 
 
312 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. 6. 
 
 Statute 53 Geo. III. cap. 160. 
 
 An Act to relieve Persons who impugn the Doctrine 
 of the 11 oil/ Triniti/ from certain Penalties, 
 
 ^W^iiEREAS, in the nineteenth year of his present 
 Majesty an Act was passed, intituled An Act for 
 the further relief of Protestant Dissenting Minis' 
 ters and Schoolmasters; and it is expedient to 
 enact as hererein-after provided: be it therefore 
 enacted by the King's most excellent Majesty, by 
 and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spi- 
 ritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this pre- 
 sent Parliament assembled, and by the authority of 
 the same, that so much of an Act passed in the 
 first year of the reign of King William and Queen 
 Mary, intituled An Act for ^Tempting his Majesti/'s 
 Protestant Subjects dissenting from the Church of 
 England, from the Penalties of certain Laws, as 
 provides that that Act, or any thing therein con- 
 
tained, should not extend or be construed to ex- 
 tend to give any ease, benefit, or advantage to 
 persons denying the Trinity as therein mentioned, 
 be and the same is hereby repealed. 
 
 II. And be it further enacted, that the provisions 
 of another Act passed in the ninth and tenth years 
 of the reign of King William, intituled An Act for 
 the more cjjtctual suppressing Blasplicmij and 
 Profancness, so far as the same relate to person* 
 denying' as therein mentioned respecting the Holy 
 Trinity, be and the same are hereby repealed. 
 
 III. And whereas it is expedient to repeal an 
 Act, passed in the Parliament of Scotland in the 
 first Parliament of King Charles the Second, inti- 
 tuled All Act against the Crime of Blasphemy ; 
 and another Act, passed \\\ the Parliament of Scot- 
 land in the first Parliament of King William, in- 
 tituled Act against Blasphemy ; which Acts re- 
 spectively ordain tlie punishment of death ; be it 
 therefore enacted, that the said Acts and each of 
 them shall be, and the same are and is Iiereby re* 
 pealed. 
 
 I\^ And be it farther enacted, that this Act sliall 
 be deemed and taken to be a public Act, and shall 
 be judicially taken notice of as such by all judges, 
 justices and others, w ithout being specially pleaded. 
 
 G e 
 
INDEX. 
 
 A. 
 
 ABJURATION, oath of, 260 
 
 Absence from church, penalty on, 229- 
 
 Actions, limitation of, under 52 G. III. c. 155. 238, 283. 
 
 Administering the sacrament, penalty on an unqualified person 
 
 doing it, 215 ; penalty for doing it otherwise than prescribed by 
 
 the Common Prayer, 189. 
 Admission of ministers when elected, may be enforced by manda- 
 
 7nus, 244. 
 Addresses oi the Committee of Deputies to his Majesty favourably 
 
 received, 73; to the Protestant Dissenters, on the defeat of Lord 
 
 Sidmouth's Bill, 148, 153. 
 Allegiance, oath of, '260. 
 
 Appointment of Deputies of the Protestant Dissenters, origin of, 1,3. 
 Assaults, successful proscutions for. See Legal Proceedings W, 
 
 p. 257. 
 Austin (Mr. a Baptist Minister) appointed overseer, 55 j this ap- 
 ■ pointmeut successfully resisted, 56. 
 
 B. 
 
 Baptisms of Dissenters, proved to be valid, by Sir JohnNicholl, 90, 
 
 ei s-^q; recognized by A..-t of Pariiamtrnt, 94, 95. Dissenters not 
 
 excluded from baptisn), 207. 
 Baptists catiuot be iciustd marriage on the ground of their not 
 
 being baptised in the church of England, 57 ; relief to, under 
 
 1 W'. and M. c. 18. 253. 
 Bequest. See Legacy. 
 Births of Dissenters, register of, kept at Dr. ^^'ilIiams's Library, 
 
 25, 26 ; how far extiacts or certificates from such Register aie 
 
 evidence, ^Ojjj foriu of Certificate of Birth, with, observations 
 
 thereoi!, ZOl. 
 
 Ee 2 
 
$16 INDEX. 
 
 His^iojys, scheme for sciidinii; them to Barbadoes and Virginia, frus- 
 trated, 23, "24; now quietly established in America, 24, 25. 
 
 Bullery (Mr. Justice) speech of, in favour of Dissenteis, 75, 76. 
 
 Buckinghamshire, (EariJ speech of, on Lord Sidmoulli's Bill, 143. 
 
 Murial, right of Dissenters to, successfully asserted, 81, 86, etseq; 
 Sir John NichoU's opinion, in the case of Kemp and Wickes, 207, 
 tt ssq ; register of Dissenters' burials, how far evidence, 209. 
 
 Burial Fees, unjust demands of, successfully resisted, 156, 157,158, 
 I5y. 
 
 Burning of Heretics^ whtn firit authorized, in England, 188, 7iote 
 
 €ant.erourt/^ (Archbishop of) speech on Lord Sidmouth's Bill, 13(5. 
 
 Cartijicatti of qualification to be prt)duce(l by Dissenting ministers, 
 in order to exempt them from parochial and military services, 
 i'25, 228 ; peisalty on producing a false certificate, ibiiL 911; foim 
 of sucli certificate, 276. 
 
 Chairmtn of tlie Committee of Deputies, 3, 4, nole 
 
 Chancery^ (Court of) its jurisdiction over the trustees of chapels, 
 i'44 j will execute a charitable bequest for the benefit of Dis- 
 seiitej's, cypres, 213. 
 
 Chancellor Eldorty (Lord) speech of, on Lord Sidmouth's Bill, 13<?. 
 
 Ckapel. S^G Meeting- house, Places oj' Worship. 
 
 christening Fees, unjust demands of, successfully resisted, 156 — 15J>. 
 
 Church oJ' England, law of, concerning baptism of Dissenters, J)0, 
 91, 92 ; practice of, 9*2, et seq ; rights of, saved, by the 52 G. IIL 
 c. 155. 237, 278. 
 
 Church, penalty for not attending, 186 — 188, 
 
 Churchmen, professedly such, are not entitled to the benefit of the 
 Toleration Act, 200. 
 
 Qeigymcn cannot claim marriage dues for marriage performed out 
 of their parish, 56; nor refuse to marry Baptists, 57; prosecu- 
 tion of, for refusing to perform their duty, 167, et seq. 
 
 dolman, (Dr.) case of, 17; letter to the Governor of Connecticut 
 in his behalf, 18—22; its beneficial results, 23. 
 
 C'mnnwn Law of England acknowledges no persecution for religious 
 opinions, 183. 
 
 Conventicle, import of, explained, 189, note. 
 
 Conventicle Jet of 16 C. II. c. 1. ojpreisive clauses of, 190 — 194. 
 
 Conventicle Jet of iii2 C. 11. c. 1. (now repealed) oppressive regula- 
 tions of, 194, 195 ; its design frustrated by the Court of King's 
 Bench, 195, 7iote, 
 
 Corporation Jet, (13C. II. st. II. c. 1.) 201; sacrament must be 
 taken as a qualification for office in corporation^, 201 ; penalty 
 ou persons not complying with this Act, iMd ; modification of 
 sjach penalty by 5 G. L c. 6. 201, 202. 
 
INDEX. 317 
 
 Corporation and Test Acts, accoimt of applications for the repeal of, 
 I, '2; 4, T> ^---ly reasons for their repeal, f) — 12; further applica- 
 tions inefTectual, in 178?. 58, 59; in 1789, 62, 63 ; in 1790, 63 
 
 Corporations, Non-conformists were prohibited from inhabiting, by 
 17 C. II. c. 2, (now repealed) 19';^^ severe penalties imposed on 
 them, ibid. 194. 
 
 Costs, to what extent allowed in appeals to the House of Lords, 49, 
 and note. 
 
 Coventry., conduct of a curate there, in refusing to bury the child 
 of a Dissent'-r, 82—85 
 
 Crown and Jnckor Association, object of, 69,70; intolerant ad- 
 dress from, 70; reply to, by the Dissenters, 70, 71 ; retratt their 
 calumny, 71. 
 
 D. 
 
 Declaration against Popery, to be made by Dissenting ministers, 
 216, 217, 219, 2eO ; copy of such Declaration, 262. Declaration 
 required by the Act of Uniformity, 19B, note f. Declaration of 
 Ficielitv for Quakers, 263. Declaration imposed by 19 G. III. 
 c. 44. 265 ; adopted by 52 G. 111. c. 155. 270, 
 
 Deed of Trust, precedent of, for a Dissenting place of worship, 
 285, et seq. 
 
 Deputies of the Protestant Dissenters, wben first appointed, 1 ; 
 their first application for repealing the Corporation and Test 
 Acts, ibid; second application, defeated, 2; formed into an an- 
 nual board, ibid ; list of their chairmen, ibid, and .3, notes; third 
 application for repealing the Corporation and Test Acts, 4; lost 
 in Parliament, 5 ; protect some Dissenters in Soiuhwark and St. 
 Leonard's, from the oppression of local Acts, 6 ; successfully in- 
 terfere, to prevent oppressive clauses in the bills f(;r re-building 
 churches, 7 ; employ a solicitor statedly, ibid; renew their at- 
 tempt for repealing the Corporation and Test Acts, 8, 9 ; reasons 
 for such repeal, 10—12; their application frustrated, 13; general 
 meeting of, in 1739, 14; interfere in behalf of Mr. Caleb Evans, 
 \l> ; compel the magistrates of Montgomeryshire to register places 
 of worship, 16; their letter to Mr. Law, in behalf of the Dissent- 
 ers of Counecficut, 17 — 22; beneficial effects thereof, 22 ; .appli- 
 cation to Government, relative f© the appointment of bishops for 
 the American and West-Indian Colonies, 23, 24 ; propose a Re- 
 gister of Births to be kept at Dr. Williams's Libraiy, 25 ; recom- 
 mend the Dissenters to take up arms for the Crown, during the 
 Rebellion of 1745, 27 ; their letter on this occasion, 27, 28 ; de- 
 cline to interfere in cases where the requisitions of the Toleration 
 Act are not complied with, 80 ; sheriff's cause, 32, et seq; decline 
 to interfere in difference between Dissenting congregations, 50 ; 
 proceedings, for taking off the subscription to certain articles 
 required by the Toleration Act, 52 ; ineffectual, ibid, 53 ; the 
 BiU carried, 54 ; successful interfeience of the Committee in ttie 
 
 E e 3 
 
31S 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 case of Hackleton meeting-house, 54; and of some cases of mar- 
 riage, 56, 57 •■, renew their efforts for repealing the Corporation 
 and Test Acts in 1787, 58^ unsuccessful, 63; further steps in 
 1798, frustrated, 64 j another application in 1790, 64, 65 ; de- 
 claration of attachment to the Constitution in 1793, 70 ; pro- 
 ceedings of the Deputies in regard to the liability of meeting- 
 houses to the land-tax and poor rate, 72, 73 ; addresses of, to his 
 Majesty, favourably received, 74. Proceedings of the Deputies 
 -on the Slave Act of Jamaica, 77, et seq: assert the right of Dis- 
 senters to burial according to the service of the church of En- 
 .gland, 81, et seq; case of Swingler v. Wickes, 85, et seq : inter- 
 views of the Sub-committee with Lord Sidmouth, on the subject 
 •of his Act, 105 — 114 ; proceedings of the Committee thereon, 
 114, et seq; defeat the Bill, 144 ; votes of thanks to peers and 
 others for their services, 145, .146; address to Dissenters, 148 — 
 153; interference of, in legal cases, stte Legal Proceedings. 
 
 Devises of landed property for religious purposes are void, 210, 212, 
 309. 
 
 Disnci/ (Daniel), bequest of, for the maintenance of a Dis?entt?ig 
 minister, at Kirksted, 177; litigation of this bequest, 178, suc- 
 cessfully terminated, 179. 
 
 J)lsse?iters, oppressive operation of the Test and Corporation Acts 
 npon them, 8 — 12 ; who are such, within the meaning of the 
 Toleration Act, 43; their right to burial asserted, 84, et seq ; 
 privileges of Dissenters under the Toleration Acts, 206 ; common 
 rights and duties, 207, et seq ; general clauses of 52 Geo. Ill c. 
 155, affecting Dissenters collectively, 2o6 ; may serve certain 
 parochial ofiices by deputy, 250, 251 ; qualifying under 19 G. III. 
 e. 44, may keep schools, 218; but not to hold any mastership, 
 unless founded since 1 W. & M. for Dissentei's, ibid. 
 
 Dissenting' jJJinisterSy see Ministers. 
 
 Disturbing co7igregations, indictment for disturbing one atReigate, 
 74—77 ; cases of successful prosecutions for. See Legal Pro- 
 ceedings., II. (p. 330,} penalty on persons disturbing congrega- 
 tions, 235, 236, 259, 278. 
 
 Doors of meetings not to be barred or bolted, 234, 250, 253U 
 
 Dues (ecclesiastical) cannot be enforced from Dissenters, 58. 
 
 E. 
 
 Er^kine (Lord) speech on Lord Sidmouth's Bill, 137. 
 Evans, (Mr.J case of, for keeping an unlicensed school, 15. 
 
 case of, for refusing the office of sheriff of London, 34,ets€qji 
 
 •terminated in his fovour, 49. 
 
 F. 
 
 Fees, claims of, successfully resisted, 26 ; unjust demands of fees for 
 burials and christenings successfully resisted, 156 — 158 ; fees can 
 only be demanded, where the service has been actually performed, 
 
 ?08. 
 
INDEX. 319 
 
 Five Mile y^lci (IT C II. c. 2. now repealed) oppressive regulations 
 
 of, \B-2, 193. 
 Foster (Mr. Justice) s}5eech of, in the SherifTs case, 36, 38. 
 Fox (Mr.) nobly advocates the cause of religious freedom, (j4, 65. 
 
 G. 
 
 Grdf/'x Inn (Hon. Society of) require the taking the sacrament as a 
 qiiaiilication for being called to the bar by tliem, £01, 202, note. 
 Grey (Earl) speech of, on Lord Siduiouth's i»iil, 142. 
 Grosvcnor (Mr.) case of, for refusing ihe Sheiifi"s office, 31, e/ seq, 
 Cuiishorough Meethig'house, burnt down, in 1792, 72. 
 
 H. 
 
 HacJdeton (Meeting-house) oppressive case of, 54; relieved throngh 
 
 the intervention of the Committee, Hid. 
 Heretics f burning of, when first authorised in England, 187, 188, 
 
 note. 
 Hifchin (Free School) Dissenters not excluded from, 31, 22. 
 Holland (Lord) speeches, on Lord Sidmouth's Bill, 140, 141. 
 
 I.J. 
 
 Indictment^ form f>f, for disturbing a congregation of Protestant 
 Dissenters, 297. 
 
 Jamaica^ severe law against Dissenters, 77 ; proceedings of the 
 C ommittee of Depirties thereon, 78 ; and on the consolidated 
 slave-law of 1808, 79 ; instructions from government to the go- 
 vernors of the West India Islands, 80. 
 
 Jurisdiction of Chancery over the trustees of chapels, 244. 
 
 Justice of the Peace. See Magistrates. 
 
 Kemp V. Wickes, judgment of Sir John Nicholl in the case of, 85, 
 
 ei seq. 
 Kirksted (Lincolnshire) bequest for a Dissenting minister there, 177 ', 
 
 contested and successfully terminated, 178, 179. 
 
 L. 
 
 Landed Property^ for religious purposes, devises of, void by the 
 
 statute of Mortmain, if 10, 309 ; how land may be given, 212. 
 Land-tcu-j liabilities of meeting-houses to, 7.2, 73i 
 
S20 INDEX. 
 
 Law (Mr. Governor ox*^ Connecticut) letter of to the Deputies, 16, 17; 
 their reply, tT— 22; its beneficial results, 22. 
 
 L(ti! Baptism^ proved to be vaUd, ^9^etseq, Bishop Warburton's 
 opinion in favour cf it, 96. 
 
 Legacies, payment of, successfully eiaforeed in various cases, 173 
 —180, I'lO, 211 i ])ersonal property may he bcqueated by will, 
 212; the Court of ChaiTcciy will execute a charitable bequest to 
 Dissenters as near as cirrumsiance will admit, 212, 213 ; proper 
 form of a legacy, 310, 3 11 . 
 
 Legal Proc eedings of the Committee of Deputies, 155, et seq. 
 
 I. Unjust Demands and Prosecittions. 
 
 Abin2:don, 159; Anonymous case, 155; Basin^bourne, 159; Bed- 
 ford, 158 ; Biddeford, 159 ; Bilder=ton, 158 ;'Brigg, 158; Bridge- 
 stock, 159; Caermartlicnshirc, 155; Canterbury, 159; Cheittn- 
 ham, ib. Cirencester, 156; Denton, Norfolk, 159; Durham, i6. 
 Flock, Cornwall, 159; Framliniiham, ib. Glamorganshire, iJ. God- 
 nianchester, ib. Hamsterleys, 156; Uarborouoh, ift. Haverford- 
 west, 159 ; Henley, i6. Kirkcby Wood- f louse, i6. Leicester, 157, 
 Maiden or Maldon, 159 ; Merionethshire, 156 ; Newcastle, ib. 
 Nottingham, ib. Oswestty, 156; Oxford, 157; Pontypool, 159; 
 Koyston, ib. Soham, 156; South Weald, 158; Sudbury, 159; 
 Suffolk, iij>. Swaidey, Kent, ib. Towcester, 157; Tregony, 156; 
 Veryan, near Tregonv, 157 ; Welford, ib. Wendens, ib. Wing, 
 159. 
 
 IL Riots ^ AssariUs, and Disturbances, prosecutions for, 156, etseq. 
 
 Anj^lesea, 160, l6l ; Aston Abbott, 162; Aylsham, Norfolk, 163 ; 
 Beaumauris, 161 ; Bracknell, l62 ; Brix5iam, Devon, 162, 163: 
 Broselv, 164; Burnham, Essex, 163 ; Clapham 160; Dartmouth, 
 160,162; Downham, 162; Essex, 164; Grimsby, 161; Guilsbo- 
 rough, 164; Lewes, 160; Llanryllyn, l6l , Mere, Wilts, 164; 
 Midhurst, 160; Needham, 161 ; Norton St. Pinlips, S(nnerset- 
 shire, 164; Oxford, i6. Peterborough, 160 ; Riegate, 164; Saw- 
 bridgeworth, 167 ; Smith-green, Essex, l6'-2 ; St;iines, 160 ; Stow- 
 market, 161 ; Stratton, 159 ; Titchtield. 164 ; Uttoxeter, ib. VVal- 
 5al, 160; Wickham Market, 164; Woodstock, ib. 
 
 ill. Prosecutioji of Magistrates for refusing to execute their office, 
 164, et seq. 
 
 Anglesea, 165 ; Axminster, 166; Berkshire, 165; Brecknock, ib. 
 Bristol, 166 ; Broughton, 165; Bucks, 166, Carmarthen, 165; 
 Chichester, 166; Derbyshire, 165; Glyn-ceriog, l67 ; Hadden- 
 ham, 167 ; Hereford, l65 ; Ipswich, 166, 167; Kirk-Ella, 166; 
 Lincolnshire, 165 ; Merionethshire, ib. Nottingham, l67 j Ox- 
 fordshire, ib. Radnor, 164 ; Rutland, l65 ; South Petherton, l67i 
 Sussex, 165 ; TRunton, 166; Wrexham, 165 ; Yorkshire, 167. 
 
INDEX. 321 
 
 IV. Refusal of Ckrgy to perform Duty, IC'Tj et stq. 
 
 Barner, 170 ^ BidJeford. ib. Billingburou^^h, ib. Birch, Essex, ib. 
 Brig-^, 16'9 ; Broadway, 170 ; Burwell, i^, Clieshuut, ib. Chum- 
 leiojh, Devon, ih. East Lydford, Sjnursetshire, ib. Eaton, 
 Northamptonshire, ih. Endeiby, 170 ; Fionie, ib. Gloucestershire, 
 1(39; Hciriiuiitoii, 1()8 j HertVurd, 17O ; Ipswic-h, 16'6' ; Isle of 
 Thanct, ih. UW of Wight, IG'T ; Kent, I70 ; Kibworth, ib. 
 Lea, ib. Llautheiiv, 169; Llauvii;au, 16/ i Aiahnsbuiy, I69 j 
 Margate, 168 ; Mattishall, 163 ; Marshfield, 168, Mears Asliby, 
 ib. Aiilf'Ji*', 170 ; Morton, ib New Canifoid, ib. Northamp- 
 tonshire, ib. Penalty, Penib. ib. RingshHll, ib. Sherborne, ib. 
 Staines, 169, 170 ; Towcester, 169 , Ware, 170 j Wateslield, 
 167. 
 
 V. Varocldal Disj:iite$, I7I, et seq. 
 
 Axniinster, 173; Bath, ib. Crediton, ib. Cro}don, i&. E?isex, 172, 
 Framlinghans, 171 ; Grantham, 173; Kensington, 172; Lewes^ 
 171; London, 172; Aldern^anbury Postern, 173; Blandfoi'd 
 Street, 17.i^i Great Alie Street, ib. Hare Court, 172: Jewiii 
 Street, 173 : Little Wild Street, 173 : W bite Chapel, ib. Lyming- 
 ton, 171 ; Rotheihithe, ib. Stockbridge, 172; Southwark, 171 j 
 yarmouth, ib. 
 
 VI. Private Disputes terminated hy the Committee of Deputies ^ 
 173, et seq, 
 
 Anduvor, 174; Anonymous case, 174; Aylesbury, 181; Bainstap'le, 
 ib. Bewdley, ib Bicester, 174 ; Bis:glesvvade, 175, Brentwood, 
 173; Brigg, I76, ICl ; Burham, 181 ; Bucks, ib. Bushell, Wilt- 
 shire, ib. OhishuU, Essex, ib. Coedy-Cymmer, ib. Coniugsby, ib, 
 Cotherstone, Yorkshire, zft. Croscombe, ^6. Dartmouth, ib. Down- 
 ton, ib. Dudley, 177; Edmonton, 181; Falmouth, 175,181; 
 Fordingbridge, 175; Frome, 181; Gloucester, 176 ; Groat Yar- 
 mouth, 181; Grimsby, i6. Henley, Warwickshire, i6. Highgate, 
 176; Ilfracomb'*. 181; Kingswood, Gloucestershire, 177 j Kirk- 
 sted, Lincolnshire, eV;. Lieeester, 175 ; London, Red Cross Street, 
 181 ; Maes-y-rony, 173 ; March, Jsle of Ely, 181 ; Melksham, ib, 
 Morpeth, ib. Motteshall, ib. Nailsworth, 174; Neath, 176, 181 ; 
 Nevin, Carmarthen, 181; Newburry, 181 ; Newcastle, Glamor- 
 ganshiie, 181; Newcastle-uponrTyne, 181: Newport Pa;cnell, 
 181; Norwich, 175; Penruddock, 181 ; Plymouth, 181 ; Rolher- 
 held, Sussex, 181; Sidbury, 178: Southifl, 181 ; Stroud, 177; 
 Swalwell, 181 ; Swansea, 175; Tredweston, 174; Westbury, 174 j 
 Whitehaven, 177 ; Woolwich, 181. 
 
 L'nnitations of Actions, under the 52 G. IIL c. 155. 230, 282. 
 
 M. 
 
 Magistrates refusing to execute their ofilce, cases of, successfully 
 prosecuted, 164, et se'i; when required by a Dissenting miaibtcr 
 
322 INDEX. 
 
 are to administer ceitaiii oaths, 226, 228; to take declaration, 
 &c. under the ] W. and M. c. 18. 249, 250; to tender the oaths, 
 &c. to Dissenters, 'J54, 255 ; penalty on the latter for refusing;, 
 S65. Offenders against the 52 G. 111. c. 155, to be convicted by 
 two or more justices, 279, 280. 
 
 Mandamus will be granted for admission of ministers duly elected, 
 244 ; and for restoring them when wrongfully ejected, 245. 
 
 Mansfield (Lord Chief Justice) speech of in the sheriff's case, 39, 
 48 ; his liberal construction of the Toleration Act, 197. 
 
 Marriage in a meeting-house illegal, 56 ; Clergymen cannot claim 
 dues for marriage performed out of their parish, 56 ; nor refuse 
 to marry Baptists, 57. 
 
 Matrimony^ unbaptised Dissenters are not excluded from, it08 \ but 
 it must be solemnized by a clergyman, ib. 
 
 Meeting- Houses, liability of, to the Land-Tax, Poor and other 
 Hates, 72, 73 ; list of those registered from 176O to 1808, J 08, 
 109, note. See Places of Worship, 
 
 Militias, Dissenting ministers exempt from, by various Statutes, 
 223, 225, 267, 268. 
 
 Minister, penalty on procuring one to officiate contrary to the 
 Common I'rayer Book, 186. 
 
 Ministers, (Dissenting) numbers of qualified, from 1760 to 1808, 
 108, 109, note: oppressive operations of the Statutes upon 
 them, 186, et seq ; these Statutes repealed by 52 G. 11 1. c. 155 ; 
 how they must qualify under the Toleration Acts of 1 W. and M. 
 e. 18, 216— under 19 G ill. c. 44, 218, 219— under 52 G. III. 
 c. 155 217, 272, et seq ; their privileges, 222 ; are exempt from 
 parochial offices, ib. 253 ; cannot be appointed overseer, 55, and 
 from military duties, 223, 225, 268 ; penalty on the production 
 of false certificates to obtain exemptions, 224, 225 ; to take oaths 
 of allegiance, supremacy, and abjuration, 227 ; penalty on ne- 
 glect thereof, ib. not compellable to go more than five miles for 
 that purpose, 228 ; penalty on their producing a false ceitificate, 
 ib. Ministers duly elected can enforce their admission by manda- 
 mus, 244 ; how to be removed from their office, 245. See School-' 
 7)iasters. 
 
 Mortmain, (Statute of) prohibits the devise of landed property 
 for charitable purposes, 211, 212. 
 
 N. 
 
 Nichnll, (Sir John) judgement of, in the case of Kemp f. Wickes, 
 86; who may be s.iid to die un- baptized, 88 ; the va^dity of Dis- 
 senters' baptism proved 89, et seq. 
 
 Non-conforinists, formerly (by 17 C. IF. c. 2, now I'epeaied) were 
 restrainad fruvn irdiabiting corporations, 195 -, severe penalties 
 imposed on theni, 1 06. Penalty for harboiiring a Non-d^n- 
 formist, ib. and for keeping a Non-conformist tutor, ib, 
 
 Non-conforjnityy'wk'iiviiu no crime, 183. 
 
INDEX. 323 
 
 OatliS of allegiance, abjuration, and supremacy, to be taken by 
 Dissenting ministers after admission to tl)eir offices, 197, 2'25 — 
 228 ; persons not having taken such oaths, to take them when 
 required by a magistrate in writing, 227; penally for refusing 
 such oaths, ib. and for producing a false certificate of their hav- 
 ing taken them, 224, 228. Schoolmasters to take the oaths in 
 the same mimner as ministers, after entering upon their offices, 
 231. Forms of the Oaths of Allegiance, Abjuration, and Su- 
 premacy, 260, 262. Persons refusing to take the oaths requii-ed 
 by 1 W. and M. c. 18, to make a declaration, 199. Penalty on 
 persons refusing both, ih. 200. 
 
 Offices^ (Parish) Dissenting ministers exempt from, 55, 222 ; 
 Dissenters, generally, are exempt from, 206, 207 ; may be exe- 
 cuted by deputy, 207. 
 
 Overseer, Dissenting ministers cannot be, 55. 
 
 P. 
 
 Papists were excepted out of the Toleration Act, 1 \V, and M. c, 
 
 18. 200, 258. 
 Parochial Disputes. See Legal Proceedings V. (p. 321.) 
 Parochial OfficeSy Dissenting ministers are exempt from, 55, 222, 
 
 253 ; Dissenters exempt from, in certain cases, 206, 207. 
 Venal Laws in force (but subject to the Toleration Act, and subse- 
 quent Statutes) against Dissenters in general, 185, et seq. and 
 also against Dissenting Schoolmasters, 229, 231, Penal Laws not 
 altered by the Toleration Acts, 201, 203. 
 Penalties under the Toleratioji Act of 52 G. III. how to be re- 
 covered and appropriated, 226, 280. Appeal to General Quarter 
 Sessions allowed, 281. Penalties to be sued for and prosecuted 
 within six months, ib. 
 Persecution for conscience sake, unjust, 41—43 ; for mere opinions, 
 
 not admitted by the Common Law of England, 183. 
 Pf;?7!on of the Deputies against Lord Sidraouth's Bill, ]23j up- 
 wards of seven hundred presented against it, 130. 
 Places of fFbrship vAust be certified and registered under the To- 
 leration Act, 233, 260, 271 — 273. Any person may deliver in a 
 certificate of a place being appointed for religious worship, i6. 
 bishops' registrars and justices compellable to register them, 234. 
 Penalty on pex'sons allowing congregations to meet in their un- 
 certified premises, and on teachers preaching therein, ib. 272. 
 Doors of meetings not to be barred or bolted, 235, 251, 253, 278. 
 Penalty on persons disturbing places of worship, 235, 259, 278. 
 Liberal provision of the 52 G. IIL c. 155, for securing religious 
 worship 235, 237. Pulling down a registered chapel is felony, 
 237 : how flir liable to rates and taxes, 72, 73, 243 : property of, 
 legally vested in trustees, 243, 244. Form of a Trust Deed for a 
 place of worship, 285, et seq. 
 
324 INDEX. 
 
 Poor Hate ^ liability of meeting-houses to, considered, 73. 
 
 Popery, decb.nition against, 262. 
 
 Preaching- \n an unregistered plaee, penalty on, 234, 273. Penalty- 
 
 on preaching in any place without the owner's consent, 216. (Jua- 
 
 iification for prenching in a different county, 218. 
 Precedent of a Trust Deed, 285. 
 
 Private Disputes. See Leg^al Proceedings f'f (p. 321.) 
 Prii'ilegex trj-anted by different Statutes to Dissenting ministers, 
 
 222— -226, 
 
 206, 207. 
 Procuring any minister to officiate contrary to the Common Prayer 
 
 Book, penalty on, 185. 
 
 Quakers, oppressive enactments against, by 13 and 14 C. II. c. 1. 
 
 "^ IgO ; how exempted by the 1 \¥. andM. c. 18. 255, 256 : decla- 
 ration of fidelity and belief to be made by them, ib. form of such 
 declarations, 263 ; not included in the 52 G. 111. c. 155. 279. 
 
 Qualification of Dissenting ministers under the Toleration Acts, 197 
 --200—218 : qualification after prosecution commenced, 20Q. 
 
 R. 
 
 Rates, (Parochial) Dissenting chapels how far liable to, 243, 
 Rehellion of 1745, patriotism of the Dissenters during, 27 — 30 
 Rtes (Mr.) case of, 29. 
 
 Reevd: (Mr. John) forms the Crown and Anchor Association, GQ. 
 Refu.als of magistrates to execute their office, casfs of, successfully 
 
 punched. See Legal Proceedings ILL (p. 320.) of clergy to 
 
 perform duty. See Legal Pj-oseciitions IV (|). 321.) Perulty 
 
 on refusing to take the oaths, &c. required by the Toleration Act, 
 
 199. 
 Register of births kept at Dr. William's Library, 25, 26 ; one at 
 
 the Herald's College, 26, note. 
 Registers of pl'i'. es of wot ship may be enforced !)y mandainus, 234. 
 
 To be kept, 250, 271, 2/3. Of persons qualifying under 1 \V. 
 
 & M. c. 1«, 198,260. Registers of Dissenter's births and bu- 
 rials, how far evidence, 209, 210. 
 Removal o{ ministers, 245. 
 Repeal of the Test Laws, a committee formed for, 67, and note. 
 
 Ex.traci from their address, 67 — Q9' Accouots of uhsuccessful 
 
 attempts for such repeal, 1—5, 7, 8, 12, 59, 68. 
 Resolutions of the Deputies against Lord Sidmouth's Bill, 124, 
 
 125. 
 Riots, cases of successful prosecutions for. See Legal P^'oceed- 
 
 ings, II. (p. 320). 
 Ross, (Dr. Bishop of Exeter) liberal declaration of, in behalf of 
 
 Dissenters, 53. 
 
INDEX. 323 
 
 s. 
 
 Sacrament must be taken as a qualification for office in corpora- 
 tions, 201 ; and also as a qualification for office under the crown, 
 202. 
 Scott (Sir Wm.) opinien of, on Dis>enter's right to burial, 82. 
 School-masters, Protestant Dissenting Ministers may be such, with- 
 out prejudice to their exemptions from civil and military duties, 
 225. Laws relating to Pi otestant Dissenting Schoolmasters, not 
 beincj Ministers, but subject to the 19 O. III. c. 144, 229. 
 Teaching without licence, not subscribing the Articles, ib. Ab- 
 sence from church, ib. Teaching without licence, and subscrib- 
 ing declaration of conformity, 230. 0,<\a.Vify'inii under 19 G. ill. 
 c. 144. 234, 269- Can hold nw endowed mastership, unless 
 founded since 1 W. and M. lor Dissenters, 231, 269. To take 
 the oaths under 19 G. III. c. 44. after entering on their offices, 
 231. 
 
 Sheriff's Cose, State of, and arguments thereon, 34 — 49- 
 
 Shreivsbuti/, difference at, concerjiing the appointment of a pastor, 
 50, Resolutions of the committee thereupon, 50, 51. 
 
 Sidmouth (Lord), moves for a return of Dissenting Ministers, duly 
 qualified, 106", 107. Rt-turns of Ministers and places of worship, 
 108, 109, wo^e. Interviews of the Sub-committee of Deputies, 
 on the subject of his Bill, 107, 114 His Lordshp's speech on 
 the first reading of the Bill, 114, 115. Copy of the Bill, 119— 
 1 'if, notes. Proceedings in the second reading, 132, et seq. His 
 Bill lost, 144. 
 
 Stanhope (Earl) Speeches on Lord Sidmouth's Bill, 119, 131, 141. 
 
 *it. Leonard's (ShoreditchJ, Dissenters of, assisted against a Local 
 Act of Parliament, fi. 
 
 St. Olavt's fSoiithwark), Dissenters of, relieved, from the oppres- 
 sion of a Local Act, 6. 
 
 Subscriptinn to the Articles of the Church of England requiretl. as 
 a qualification for offices therein, 205 ; and Ibi admission to de- 
 grees, &c. at the universities, ib. note. 
 
 Supreinaci/f oath of, 261. 
 
 T. 
 
 Taxes, liability of meeting-houses to certain taxes, considered, 72, 
 73. The l-'iw in this case, 243. 
 
 Teaching, without licence, penalty on, 229, 230. 
 
 'Jest Jet, applications for its repeal, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13. Against 
 whom originally p;«6sed, 11. Its op{ ressive operation upon Dis- 
 senters, ib. 12. Unsuccessful applications fc»r its repeal, 59 — 6'4, 
 64 — 68. Provisions of the Test A'.-t, 202. The Sacrament must 
 betaken, a?, a qualification for office under the crown, 202; and 
 certificate thei' (,f be exhilitcc, ih. Penalty on not duly qualify- 
 ing, 204. Annual Indemnity Act passed for default as under the 
 F f 
 
326 INDEX, 
 
 Test Act, 204, 205. Who cannot take benefit of it, if jut^gc- 
 ment have passed a^':aiiist them, 205. 
 
 Tithes, must be paid by Dissenters, 208. Disseftters not exempt 
 from, 250. 
 
 Tolerniioti Act of Tfiliiam and Mary^ (I W. & M. c. 1.) Preamble 
 of, 24/. Relief of Ministers from the operation of certain 
 statutes therein mentioned, 248. Lord Mansfield's liberal con- 
 struction of it, Jf)7- CJualification under it, 1J)7. Church- 
 men are not entitled to the benefit of this Act, 200. Qualifica- 
 tion, after prosecution commenced, ib. P.'\p)sts and deniers of the 
 Trinity, excepted from it, 200, 259. Justices to take declaration 
 which is to be registered, 250. Person convicted, &c. taking the 
 oaths to be discharged, ib. and exempt from certain penalties, %b. 
 Private meetings excluded, 251. I\o coupling oaths, allowed to 
 act by deputy, 250, 251. Dissentinii- ministers how exempted 
 from the operation of certain Acts of Parliament, 251. Taking 
 the oaths, &c. to be registered, 253. Meeting-house doors not to 
 he barred or bolted, 253. Relief to Dis enters, being Baptists, 254. 
 Dissenting Ministers exempt from civil offices, ih. Justices 
 may tender the oiths, &c. to Dissenters, ib. Penalty for re- 
 fusing, ib. 255. Quakers how exempted, 255. Declaration of 
 ft«!elity and profession of belief to be made by them, ib. 256. 
 How punished after refusal to take the oaths, 257. Laws for 
 divine service in force, 258. Disturbers of religious worship how 
 to be punished, 259. Place of worship to be certified, 260. 
 
 TDleration Act o/' 19 G. III. c. 44, 265. Dissenting ministers, tak- 
 ing the oaths and making the declaration hereby imposed, en- 
 titled to the privileges of 1 W. & M. c. 18, 266 ; and exempt 
 from serving in the militia, and the penalties of the Act of Uni- 
 formity, 267 — 269. Dissenters duly qualifying, allowed to in- 
 struct "youth, 269. But not to have masterstersliip of any col- 
 lege or school of royal foundation, ih. This Act, and the Tole- 
 ration Act of 1,,W. & M. declared to be public acts, ib. 
 
 Toleration Jet of 52 G. 111. c. 155, 270. The 13 & 14 C. II. c. I. 
 17 C II. c. 2, and 22 C. II. c. 1, repealed, ib. 271. AH places 
 of religious worship to be registered, 271. Penalty for worship- 
 ping in unregistered places, 273 ; and on persons teaching or 
 preaching without the occupier's consent, ibid. Preachers in, 
 and persons resorting to, religious assemblies, certified under this 
 Act, exempt fiom same penalties as persons taking oaths under 
 the statute of William & Mary, 273, 274. Oaths and declarations 
 to be taking by all preachers, &e. when thereto required by a ma- 
 gistrate, 274. No persons compellable to go more than five miles 
 tov taking such oaths, 275. Any person may require a justice 
 of peace, &c. to administer the oaths, &c. under this Act, 275, 
 Justices shall give the parties a certificate of having made such 
 oath, 275. Form of such certificate and fee for the same, 276. 
 Which shall be conclusive evidence, ib. Teachers having taken 
 the oaths, &c. exempt from offices, and from the militia^ ib, Pe= 
 
ixXDEX. 327 
 
 naly on proclucingj false certificate, 277- Door? of religious as- 
 seniblies not to be bolted or barred, 278. Penalty on dlstuib- 
 ing religious assemblies, ib. saving of the riij^lits of tie church 
 of En{;land and Ireland, ib. The Act, not to extend to Qua- 
 kers, 279- Oll'enders to be cojivjcted before two or more justices, 
 and forfeitures levied by distress, ib. Appe:>l allowed, :tfter con- 
 viction, to the General Quarter Sessions, 280. Penalties to be 
 sued for and prosecuted within six months, ib. Lin.iiation of 
 Actions, 281. This Act to be deemed a public Act, 283. Com- 
 parative Observations on the Toleration Acts of W. & M. c. 18, 
 and 52 G. III. c. 155. 22), 236", 237. General Clauses cf the 32 
 G. 111. c. 155, atfectiug; Dissenters, collectively, 237 ; saving of 
 the Uiohts of the Church, ib. Offenders, how to be convicted, ib. 
 Persons ag^'jrrieved may appeal to Quarter Sessions, 238. Penal- 
 ties to be sued within six mouths after offences committed, ib. 
 Penalties, to whom appropriated, ib. Limitation of Actions, 238, 
 239. General observations on the principles and tenor of this 
 statute, 239 — 242. 
 
 Toll, not to be levied on Dissenters in Suffolk, under a Local Act 
 of Parliament, 104. Dissenters goinji- to, or returning from, a 
 place of worship, in what case exempt from toll, 209. 
 
 Trinity, deniers of, excepted out of the Toleration Act, 1 W & M. 
 c. 18. 200, persons impugning the doctrine of, relitved by 53 
 G. III. c. 160. 312, 313. 
 
 Trust-Deed, \ov a place of worship, precedent of, 285, et seq. - 
 
 Trustees of Dissenting chapels have the property thereof 243. Their 
 power, ib. 244, Jurisdiction of the Court of (Jhancery over them, 
 244. 
 
 U. 
 
 Unjust Demands and Prosecutions, cases of, successfully resisted. 
 See Lfgal Proceedings I. (p. 320.) 
 
 W. 
 
 JVkeatly (Mr ) opinion of, on Infant Baptism, proved to be false 
 
 and iiliberil, 97, et seq. 
 IVickes, (Kev. J. \V.) refuses Christian Burial to a Dissenter's child, 
 
 85. Proceedings agaiust bim, 86. Judgment of Sir John Nicholl,' 
 
 against him, 86, et seq. 
 
 T. Bayley, Priut«r, Devonshire Street, Bishopsgat«. 
 
BW5043.S62 1814 
 
 A Sketch of the history and proceedings 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 
 
 1 1012 00041 4724