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This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order m its judgement, fulfillment of the order would Involve violation ^ * ^ v nt law. ORTHHOUSE, W. -\:^ M. m M. M^MJj • UR ^^fi t^^ifi^;^ ^ RATES PROVED ILLEGAL PL A CE: #■■ h r I fV DON] ^ s ^ V ^ J^ ^ IS Re COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARCFT Master Negative # Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record :s 6KS/SAVE Book Record 1 of UNI I0:NYCG92-B43239 CC:9668 BLT:am SAVE FUL/BIB record NYCG92-B43239 Acquisitions NYCG-PT CP:enk PC:s MMD: 040 iOO i 245 10 260 300 LOG QO OCF INT 9 '? RTYP CSC GPC REP DM: :a ST :s FRN: :? MOD: SNR: :? BIO: •9 ■ • FIC: :? CPl: ;? FSl: RR: COL: MS EL S L:enq PD:1837/ OR: POL: NNC:i:cNNC Northhouse, W. Church rates proved to be illegal, ntt:h[miroforni];{:cby W. S. Northhouse [London,^bWiliouqhby, J:cl837] 16 p. ORIG 11-18-92 ATC CON ILC EML 7'?7 • • ♦ ?'??7 AO UD II GEN 11-18-92 11-18-92 BSE: unconstitutional, and anti-protesta — ^ TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA REDUCTION RATIO: FILM SIZE: ^1^_^__ IMAGE PLACEMENT: lA (ITaYiB IIB DATE FILMED:, 2,-_Z_l;53: INITIALS HLMEDBY: RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS, INC WOODBRfDGErCT \U Mh.C. c Association for Information and Image Management 1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1100 Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 301/587-8202 Centimeter ill ■^ o ^ J o ""I'l'lllllllllll lillllllllllllillilllilllllillllllllllllllll 1 1 1 1 1 II rrrTiTi'Tr 'rr'rr'f'r Inches 1.0 M 1.25 8 iliiiiliiiil 9 10 llllllllllHllllllllliililil I I I II 1^ 2.8 2.5 tii V' 2.2 ■ 63 ■*£ _ ■r |4j0 2.0 l£ ii t. bil&u, 1.8 1.4 1.6 11 J 12 I I r 13 14 15 mm 11 uu TTT ill MflNUFRCTURED TO fillM STflNDflRDS BY fiPPLIED IMAGE. INC. •■■^■'•■""'""••liiiiihifiiiiMiT-'iiirtriiittagaiwMBM Il ' ^^ CHURCH RATES >Jo.8 PROVED TO BE ILLEGAL, UNCONSTITUTIONAL, AND ANTI-PROTESTANT ; BY W. S. NORTHHOUSE, PARLIAMENTARY AGENT, BEING THE SUBSTANCE OF A SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE HORNS' TAVERN, KENNINGTON, TO THE ELECTORS OF THE METROPOLITAN BOROUGH OF LAMBETH, AND CONTAINING REPORTS OF THE LEGAL DECISIONS AND QUOTATIONS FROM THE WRITINGS OF BISHOP LATIMER, Dr. BARROW, Dr. BURN, JOHN MILTON, AND OTHERS. PUBLISHED BY REQUEST. JOSEPH THOMAS, I, FINCH LANE, CORNHILL; RIDGWAY & SONS, PICCADILLY ; DINNIS, PATERNOSTER ROW ; EFFINGHAM WILSON, ROYAL EXCHANGE; AND ALL BOOKSELLERS. PRICE SIXPENCE. Oty £2. per Hundred, for distribution. 1 TO JOHN WILKS, ESQ. M. P. THIS LITTLE PAMPHLET IS DEDICATED, FROM THE GRATITUDE WHICH THE AUTHOR, AS A DISSENTER, FEELS FOR HIS UNCEASING EFFORTS IN THE GREAT CAUSE OF CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY ; WHICH EFFORTS, THOUGH OFTEN aUIET AND UNOBTRUSIVE, HAVE ALWAYS BEEN VALUABLE AND SERVICEABLE, AND ARE NOW LIKELY TO BE TRIUMPHANTLY SUCCESSFUL. LONDON : PRINTED BY R. WILLOUGHBY, 109, GOSWELL STREET. PARLIAMENT STRKI-'T, AfRtL 3rd, 1837. 1 I ABOLITION OF CHURCH RATES. i A public meeting of the electors and inhabitant householders of Lambeth, was held at the Horns' Tavern, Kennington, on Monday, the 27th of March, to consider the propriety of petitioning Parlia- ment in favour of the plan proposed by his Majesty's Government, for the aboHtion of Church Rates. The attendance was very nume- rous. The Chairman, Samuel Palmer, Esq., having eloquently introduced the subject, letters being read from Mr. Hawes, Dr. Lush- ington, Mr. Barnard, Mr. Pattison, Mr. Buncombe, and Mr. Grote, and a gentleman having requested that all the resolutions might be read in order that the Meeting might have the whole fully before them ; Mr. Northhouse, being called upon by the chairman addressed the Meeting as follows : Gentlemen, I have the honor of being deputed to bring the first Resolution before you. It is one to which I trust that the gen- tleman who has requested that the whole of the Resolutions be read will not object : it is one to which every man may assent, be he Whig, Tory, or Radical ; — it is one with which pohtics ought to have no connexion ; and I earnestly hope that in its consideration we shall strictly confine ourselves to its substantive merits, and be prepared rather than lose sight of truth, justice and Christian prin- ciples, to fling " party to the winds, and faction to the whirlwmds." (cheers). The following is the Resolution. " That this meeting view with unfeigned regret, the grievances and conten- tions which have constantly occurred on the subject of Church Rates, often bringing the ministers of the gospel into unseemly collision with their parish- ioners, and always destroying that good fellowship which ought to prevail amongst the members of a Christian community," (cheers). Now were there anything in this Resolution, or in the object of this Meeting that could have the least tendency to impair the efficiency of the Church of England, or to lessen the spread of social and rehgious education among the people, I should reject it G \vith disdain — I would be no consenting party to such a proposal. I consider that England owes its greatness and its glory mainly to the moral excellence of its people ; that the advancement of religi- ous principles, and the consequent soundness of the population are in comparison with politics, "As Ossa to a wart." hence I would implore you to suffer nothing to divert or distract your minds from the real question at issue ; which is, whether it is more for the interests of Christianity, and better for the community at large, that Church Rates should be abolished, or that they should not, (hear, hear,) and whether in fact that the present system does or does not produce consequences the most inimical to religious feeling — war where there ought to be peace — discord where there ought to be harmony, and hatred where there ought to be Christian charity and brotherly love ? (^cheers) Gentlemen, a great number of petitions have been presented to both houses of Parhament, praying that Church Rates should not be abolished, and really it might be imagined from the clamour of many of the Church Rate payers on the subject, that the old charge against the people of " an ignorant impatience of taxation," should be changed to an ignorant impatience of relief: (laughter) but do I regret the number of these petitions ? Far from it — 1 rejoice that such a feeling exists — I rejoice in whatever portion of those peti- tions it may be that evinces a sincere apprehension on behalf of the Church ; — the motives of the petitioners are deserving of the high- est honor and the warmest sympathy ; — they love the &ith of their fathers, and desire that their children may never want the means which they possess, of being educated in the paths of religion and piety — God forbid that of such a feeling they should ever be de- prived, or that the policy of any government should ever interfere with its growth and its developement ! I accuse not it, but I accuse those who would take advantage of such virtuous simpHcity — of those who for their own ambitious and corrupt objects have guaged the extent of unsophisticated piety in the rural districts, and made nice calculations of the votes they might gain by alanning the fears of wayfaring but church-loving country people. Oh! I do accuse those who expect by such tricks to regain place and power. I do accuse that blasphemous presumption which would make the *' kingdom of God," a mere stepping stone to mundane preferments ! —I do acccuse that reckless selfishness which could risk, for such paltry objects, the continuance in Christian faith, of those who when they discover how they have been cheated, may confound religion itself with its false-hearted professors, {hear hear) That there is no such pretended veneration for Church Rates among those fomen- ters of the rural districts, I have a pretty strong proof in my hand ; I hold here a letter addressed to one of the greatest champions of the present Church system, from the Churchwardens of a Metropohtan parish, the parish of St. John, and St. Margaret, Westminster beseeching him to pay his own arrears of Church Ra^es which have I been due for more than four years, {loud cries of hear, hear). The Right Honourable gentleman to whom this letter is addressed is not so poor that he is unable to afford them, but on the contrary of princely wealth ; he is not sordid, but on the contrary of princely liberality. I will read the letter. [Mr. Northhouse then read the letter, which was dated 10th De- cember, 1836, and asked for the payment of £16. Os. lOd., being arrears for Church Rates in the years 1831 and 1832. It stated, that there might be a doubt as to the legality of the rate, but £800. having been advanced on the security of the rate, and the executors of the party who had advanced the money being anxious for its repayment, the churchwardens hoped that their request would be complied with, especially from those "who were such true friends to the Church, and who had never yet paid any Church Rates at all," as was the case with the inhabitants of Whitehall, Richmond-ter- race, &c. This letter was signed by Henry Lucas, James Bower, John Johnson, and James Lys Seager, churchwardens. {Loud cries of Name, 7iame).] I ought not to give the name— the letter is not answered to this hour, but from the important claims upon the Right Honourable Gentleman's time, it may not yet be convenient to answer it ; and I only adduce it to shew that there is no such personal feeling of the necessity of Church Rates among the great proversof the cry in their favour as they wish to enkindle in others, (no, no, name, name,) There might be another reason : the Right Honourable Gentleman has alluded in Parliament, to the " privilege and pleasure" of contribu- ting to the Church Rates ; and, perhaps, he might not be averse to indulge the people with the privilege and pleasure of paying his portion as well as their own. {Laughter succeeded, hy cries oj name name.) Gentlemen, the argument is just as good without the name as with it; {name, name), I hope, as the Right Honourable Gentleman may pay this demand you will not compel me to divulge his name. {here the uproar became tremendous, and Mr, N, was not permitted to proceed by the shouts for the name.) Well, if I must give you the name, this is the copy of a letter, addressed among others, to^ the Right Honourable, Sir Robert Peel, Baronet. {Loud cries of Oh ! Oh ! and long continued laughter,) Gentlemen,— having disposed of this letter, I will now proceed to the consideration of compulsory Church Rates, in a legal, constitu- tional, protestant, and religious point of view ; and as it is a subject of very great importance, I must solicit your attention to details of rather a dry character, as I shall first begin with the Law. Dur- ing the recent debates in Parliament, it has been said, that where parishes refused to pay Church Rates they could be compelled to do so by a mandamus. In the second vol. of Modern Reports, the following cases occur : — the first is Rogers v. Davenant, In prohibition the question was, whether, if a Church be out of rp)air, or so much out of order, that it must be rebuilt, the bishop of the diocese may direct a commission to empower commissioners to fax and rate every parish- ioner for the rebuilding thereof? Tlie court unanimously agreed, that such 8 commissions are against haw, and therefore granted a prohibition to the spiri- tual court to stop a suit there commenced against some of the parishioners of Whitechapel, for not paying the tax according to their proportions." Aj^ain, in the Court of Exchequer, page 222 — in the case of " St. Mary Mag- dalen, Bermondsey Church, SouthwarJcy" wherein was decided: — "That the Bishop or his Chancellor, cannot set a rate upon a parish, — but it must be done by the parishioners themselves." So North, Chief Justice, said it had been lately ruled in the Common Pleas." Again, there is a case in the 5tli Vol. of the Term Reports, (the King against the Churchwardens, of St. Peter's, Thetford,) which is reported as follows : — " Bower, (Counsel) moved for a mandamus to the def3ndants, (the Church- wardens) to make a Rate for the repairs of the Church, of this Parish. He admitted that, in general, the Rate should be made by the Churchwardens and Inhabitants, at a Vestry, but said that the former alone might make a Church Rate, if the latter refused, (I, Ventris, 367) and he stated that the Inhabitants had refused in this case ; but the Court said, ice cannot interpose by (/ranting a mandamus, this being a subject purely of Ecclesiastical jurisdiction." Also in " the King against Wilson and others." — Dowling and Ryland's reports, vol. 5, p. 602, it is stated " On a former day a Rule was obtained, calling on the Churchwarden'', of — , in the County of Cambridge, to shew cause why a mandamus should not issue to them, commanding them to make a Rate, for the repairs of a donative Church, in that Parish. Sc«r/e^ shewed cause, and objected, preliminarily that a manda- mus would not lie to the Churchwardens, to make a Rate. All that they could be required to do was to call a meeting of the Parishioners, for the purpose of considering the propriety of making a Rate. The Churchwardens had not power to make a Rate without the sanction of the Vestry. He cited the King against the Bishop of Chester, (1, T. R. 396) and the King against St. Margaret's (4, Maule and Selwyn, 250). Denman, (Counsel on the other side) admitted th force of the objection. The Court said, you cannot call upon the Church- wardens to make a Rate. You can only call upon them to hold a Vestry meeting for that purpose. — Rule discharged. Now, Gentlemen, all these cases agree, in the principle that the Common Law Judges have not power to compel a Rate, but that all the power to make a Rate, is vested in the Parishioners them- selves, and that their refusal is subjected alone to the exploded anathemas of the Spiritual Court, {hear, hear.) This, however, ought to be no matter of surprise ; the great principles of our consti- tution, run through and intersect the whole law, and the maxim everywhere prevails that no man can be taxed, save by his own consent, and though perhaps some of us may differ upon the point whether actual representation should be co-extensive with taxation, we shall all agree that taxation, without either actual or virtual repre- sentation, is tyranny, (cheers). On this principle I take my second position, that compulsory Church Rates are not only illegal, but that they are unconstitutional, {hear, hear.) Gentlemen, I now approach a most important branch of this subject, the justice or injustice of the Rates ; — and here there are certain principles, which only require stating, to be immediately and unanimously acknowledged. The first I take to be this, — the golden maxim as it is most properly called, " Do ye unto others as ye would that others should do unto you." Apply it— ask the Churchman how he would like to have summonses and warrants issued— to have his goods seized, and sold— to pay for the support of a Dissenter's Chapel ? {loud cries of hear, hear.) But it is contended that the ChuiTh is the National Religion, and being the Religion of the majo- rity of the people, ought to be supported by all. Now waivmg the application of this argument to Ireland, {hear, hear,) and suspending my opinion, as to the fact of the majority, {hear, hear,) let us enquu'e whether the establishment have not sufHcient property, and is not in iustice bound to apply that property to the mamtenance and repair of its own Churches. The great Ecclesiastical authority. Dr. Burn in his chapter on Appropriations, says « The benevolence of a Diocese was, at first, entirely at the Bishop's receipt and disposal : but, that there might appear to be ^just apphcahon of it a rule wasob- tained for dividing the fund into four parts ; one to the fabric and ornaments of the church J another to the officiating prie.t ; a third to the poor and necessitous travellers ; and a fourth reserved to the more immediate service of the Bishop and his College But when Sees began to be endowed m the lands, and other firm possessions, then the Bishops did tacitly recede from their quarter part and were afterwards by Canons forbidden to demand it, if they could hve without it So that the division was now only into three parts; and every priest was the receiver and distributor, as the Bishop had been before -standing obliged to expend one part on the raising, supporting, and adorning his church and manse.-another part upon entertaining strangers and rehevmg the poor,- and to have a third reserved for his own immediate occcasions. Yet still the whole product of tithes and offerings was the bank of each parish church, and the minister was the sole trustee^ mid dispenser of them, accordmg to those stated rules of piety and charity.* " This is the law. The Church took the wealth of its Cathohc predecessors, upon the same trusts on which that wealth was then held, and one of those trusts clearly was, the repair and maintenance of the buildings and fabric. If it will no longer perform the trusts^ it is bound to give up the property, and justice demands that such should be the case, {cheers). But there are other reasons of a still more important character bearing upon this portion of the case. The immortal Milton, says " Forced consecrations out of another man's estate, are no better than forced vows-hateful to God, ' who loves a cheerful giver; but much mere hateful, wrung out of men's purses, to maintain a disapproved niinistry agamst their con- science ; however unholy, infamous, and dishonourable to his mmisters, and the free Gospel, maintained in such unworthy manner as by ^;lolence and extortion. If he give it, as to his teacher, what justice or equity compels him to pay for learning that Religion, which leaves freely to his choice, whether he will learn it or no, whether of his teacher or another, and especially to pay for what he never learned or approves not ; whereby, besides the wound of his conscience, he becomes the less able to recompense his true teacher ? t Here is a powerful argument which I now, call upon the advo- cates of those " forced consecrations" to answer. Are they prepared to provide for the chapels of the Dissenter to the extent that they ♦ Burn, on Ecclesiastical Law. t Essay on the likehest means to remove hirelings out of the Church. 10 incapacitate him from providing for them himself? If not, where is their justice ? Where is their practical observance of " Do ye unto others as ye would that others should do unto you ?" {loud cheers). Gentlemen, let us now look at another feature of this case and enquire how far Church Rates are consistent with Christianity, {hear) Ihere are certain principles and precepts which all acknowledge and which bear most powerfully upon this part of the subject. The great founder of our faith laid an express injunction upon his disci- ples,— (the successors of whom the Established Clergy claim to be) —he directed them to go forth and " preach the Gospel to every creature;" to "take neither purse nor scrip," but in every house say peace. Do they, m the forcible exaction of Church Rates, obey this injunction ? Do they, not take both purse and scrip {A voice, i/esy and hibles too,) and in every house say "war?" i^reat cheering). ^® ^Again, our Saviour proposes a test of the sincerity of his followers ; he says, " by this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if ye have love one to another,^ Where is the love that is enkindled or developed by summonses and warrants of distress ? Milton in lus time denounced such anti-Christian conduct, and compared it to that of the wicked sons of Eli, who fell victims to the righteous ven- geance of that God whose temples they had desecrated, and whose services they had prostituted : he says, " Their violent and irreligious exactions ;-their seizing of pots and pans from the poor; from some the very beds; their suing and imprisoning, worse ^Fli'^vtr. P^T^^i:"^"'""' ^"^^'^^' ^"^^^^ than when thL wicked sons of i.h n ere Priests, whose manner was thus to seize their pretended priestly W'^ TJ~n "^'T V'' ^T-V''^''"-^^^ "^^ «^^--^ ^^^ offering^ Tthe Lord. And it may be feared that many will as much abhor the Gospel if pretndtrthro^fl-' ^' '''flf ^ V^ "k"^'"'''' '^^ '^ '^^'-'^'^^ theTalso hm t. r^Tn^P the offenng of the Lord. For those sons of Belial within some W ZLTr ""^''M '^'y ^°^^" ^^'"« '^'^ «^^^ by an undoubted .V b"^^H,^' ^^«"? ^^hat there is no sanctuary, seize out of men's grounds S whTch did'n^r' ''T ''^" ^^^^ '''''''''''' '^-^^^-- of treWe .Sue, fo; that which did not covetousness and rapine blind them, they know to be not their own by the Gospel they preach *." ^ What a spectacle we had but yesterday in this great metropolis -here in the capital city of Christianized Europe, to witness in one parish alone the issuing of mO warrants of distress for Church Rates! {Loudcnes oj hear, hear, and great groaning.) Is this ^^l}-tla^^tJ?{^o! ^o!) But let us not'confine ourselves to the testimonies of our friends— the evidence of those who - have a rea- son for the hope that is in them"-let us go into the camp of the infidel and behold there the rightful use that is made of these unholy weapons of professing Christians ;— let us mark how the Titans who are warring against our Olympus, shoot back those weapons upon Christiamty itself. Observe the language of their great leader ; ** Is it, say'st thou, religion that's the parent Of all this rapine, virulence, and rage ? * Milton, on the likeliest means to remove Hirehngs from the Church. 11 No ! true religion is ever mild, propitious, and humane ; Plays not the tyrant ; plants no faith in blood ; Nor bears destruction on her chariot wheels ; But stoops to succour, polish, and redress. And builds her grandeur on the public good." Let not those who profess the benign, the mild, and the beautiful principles of Christianity be taught their own rehgion by the arch infidel Voltaire. {Load cheers,) . ^ .• • Let us now go from Christianity in general to Protestantism in particular, and see how far the very basis of Protestantisni bears upon the question at issue. And here we are very favorably cir- cumstanced; a meeting is advertised to be held m this room next Friday, of no doubt equal! i/ pious and patriotic individuals, to sup- port Protestant principles, and to check, the " alarming growth and encouragement of Popery." {Laughter.) That meeting is to be under the auspices and presidency of the Honourab e and gallant member for the County, and being so honoured {laughter) -^nd hav- ing such truly Protestant objects, it may be as well that those pious and patriotic people, should be reminded of the foundation on which Protestantism itself is based, and then perhaps we may look lor their co-operation in getting rid of the Popish leaven that still cleaves to our Protestant establishment, in the shape of compulsory Church Rates, {laughter and cheers.) Be it known, therefore, to Captain Alsager, and his friends, that some two centuries ago, the Roman Catholic Religion being the dominant ChuiTh throughout neariythe whole of Europe, and, there being some few Dissenters who could not conscientiously belong to it, undertook by three modes to compel all men to lend it their support— first —on pain of forieit- ure of i?oods ; secondly, on pain of forfeiture of liberty ; and, thircUy, onpain of forfeiture of life;— now, in the present times there is ano- ther dominant Church, which does not attempt to force all men into its communion, butwithout coveting their souls, extorts their purses, and take from many their liberty, and from aU, their money, {hear, hear ) What, I ask, is the difference between the two Churches save in deo-ree ? It is true the present dominant Church does not cro so far as the former one ; the secular arm does not extend to the stake, but to the step next to the stake it does extend ; and m principle, both Churches are one and indivisible, {cheers.) Let me tell Captain Alsager, that it was to combat this very principle that the first protest was issued: that the sacred right of private judge- ment in matters of faith, was the very key-stone of Protestantism;— that for this " the holy army of martyrs" which the Church honoui^ in its liturgy, but forget in its law, ascended up into heaven through the racks, tortures, and flames of the earth; {immense cheering) t\mi for this the Latimers and Ridleys, fed those fires m Smithfield, which illumined the christian worid, and at which the torches ot Protestantism, that soon after blazed into day, were ht. These in- deed were the pillars of the Christian temple — " Flinging their shadows from on high. Like dials which the wizard Time, Had raised, to count his ages by." 1 12 {great cheering.) That Protestantism was founded upon this great principle we have authority upon authority ; but, I will again refer you to iVIiIton, who says Co,',j!.!l.*.!f p'"''''' """f.?' °''.^'f°"?d Pyotestant writers, that neither traditions, riv ..ii . f ?i™' "^ '^'^ ''"'^'^ <'''"''<^''' ™"<=^ '^^-^ '^'li'^'s "f any magistrate o^ li^ion nnH .hn^ " ''I'*"' "" ^'' '"" J"^ *''^ final judge or rule in maUers of re- e tati'on t tt hlh" i . '^""f f.'^"-^^, of every christian to himself. Which pro- Idfct of r^^ri. fh PT^r' '"''''" '■eforers of o„r religion against the Imperial ed.ct of Charles the bifth, imposmg church traditions without scripture gave ce?™f ?h^H"^'° "" 't'"^ °^ '^'■'"'f "' ' ^""l ^""> ">»' "^'"e hath ever heen re! ledles Inl 1, tT' '•".'' '""'^'? ^'" '^'^"•"•"•'^ ''•^'■"'■e *« <^'»"-ch, and acknow- anv mnn"?. I' 'f ,'f "''t' ^^l^.-n'^rpreter of itself to the conscience. But if h7n,^i ^ t; ^;'?'^"'^/''»« *e scripture judges to his conscience for other men, Aa^ h. It *-"'"'%'• "f" ""•>' "''^ "'<= ^'"^^l-- 1'"' «1^° 'han the scriptures rhUfl f '^^.^'■'en^s of other men-a presumption too high for any mortal Ch efly for this cause do all true Protestants account the Pope, Antichr^ for that he assumes to himself this infallibility over both the conscience and the scrip ure-'s,«„,j ,n the te.nple of God.' as it were opposite to God 'aTdexat t,n,j lumself above all that is called God, or is uorsh:i,pel-fnes^.Ji, 4"" Here then, in their departure from this great principle, is the alarming growth ot Popery," at which those piou.s gentlemen are so much, and so justly alarmed. (Laughter and cheers.) I recom- mend tiiem to coiibider tlie following quotation ; " ITie Papist e.'iacts our belief as to the Church due above scripture • and hv the Church which IS the whole people of God, understands the pZ' the general Councds, prelatjcal only, and the surnamed fathers; but the fo' c ng Protes? ant though he deny such belief to any Church whatsoever, yet takes it^toh'msef and h,s teachers, of far less authority then to be called the Churd, and above Scnpture beheved ; which renders his practice both contrary to hi beUef and far worse than that belief, which he condemns in the Papis^t. By aU whfch weU considered, the more he professes to be a true Protestint. the mo^e he hath to answer for his persecuting than a Papist. t" rieJ^of ILrtnlVr f r'' °"« °f the greatest dignitaries and lumina- ries of theCliurch of England says, a man acknowledged totliishour to have been one of the .soundest and niostorthodox of hex d^ les-^ the distinguished Dr. K.arrow ; let us mark the test by wliich he tries a Christian Church. After shewing what such a Church ought to vfo r^" "*°"' "-^"Ifh and pomp," "gentle without force and r°l" <<'f P''M"*''r'''-r'''°"' ""Perious awe," forbidden to domi- neer, turiushed with no arms save the divine panoply," teachino- to reprove but not being allowed to compel. He goes on— in effect, soon resod, itself i.to such L^^^Z^IP^!^!, ow pi^t did' t'h"' Its management IS committed to an ecclesiastical monarpV. if ./' ' worldly kmgdom ; for such a polUy co'ld n'f be uph d'jit wlp^ same means and enrjwes, without practising the same methods and ar/?wh£h^^ secular governments are maintained, ll^maifsty mu?t 1^^^^^^^ ^-^ * Ireatise of Civil power in Ecclesiastical cases, t MiLTOx's Treatise of civil power in Ecclesia-^tical causes. I it It must apply corts^rtf iw^ anrf/orce, lor procuring uuc ^„ti,oriKr u mt require craft, icealth, or force to mamtam it: but did interest may do so stUl without any such means . This is what the great Dr. B.^rrow considered in his day, and this isb^t a Prophedc vrsion of the Church in our day, and one whic li that great kader of Martyrs, Latimer, savv m his. Listen to the following sermon addressed by him in the spirit of prophecy to the then clergy :— " Take heed and beware of eorerou.ne.. .' ^a^e heed and beware of eo^^^ „ess.' take heed and ^F^^^^^'^^^^' ^^i eo-plai't tLr^ was^gainst three or four hours, b"* *ese ft w w ords^ _u ^ ^^„„t_ Covetous- it,-much crying ouL-a"-! "J^Xre ,"n*^ «( hat root? Aye, out Nvith your t:Z^r:r:^^'^^^T^^^ oppressors of the needy, —fear them not, but strike at the ROOTit <^reat cheerins.) Aye, indeed, " Strike at that Root." It is the T^nas of the Garden of our Eden.-(/'^'- * Barrow's Discourse concerning the Divine unity of the Church. t Gilpin's Life of Latimer. M support her whether they like ?t o ''ot " it ?T'' """'l'" " Right Reverend Father* in r 1" •: , .,'*.'"" I'^'cause her " that Religion brought for Wealth n? t. n^'V™', ^P^orism, Mother." \cAeers «^yfo,!g/.7er.) ' f'^I^^^ghter devoured the I am the last individual In the wnrlrl tr^ ;»ofV ^ to the .neans by which those RlghrR^tldXtteratTr^^^^^^^ power which they now level ^lo-nn^f fi. ri .• ^^^^^\^ auainecl the I am the last beinj^T, he vodddisnol .."''! °^"'? dissenters. them were indebted for their vasSetCdi '"'.^^ ^^''^'^t''"- ^ome of ♦^ 1 • ' • "^ '^^^^j a^^dmacfnihcentreveTinpeiYi^>.« "S'!nS'',i,'r.'s£'Sp'"-°" ""■ "*■""■ ■ testant religion, if she wiU^efo™ herself nVhrr^K ^^1"'''""=^ that the pro- them ofaU their gilded vanities.Tnd reduce ?hem Jit ''"''""T' '""^' •">''^««» and equal order of presbyters : they know i, ^nf ^^^J''"" "' fif^t to the lo;vIy t> mes more than thi text, and to lift ,.p the r e", '"^"•^!jl "'fV '" ^'"dy ,h^ whence only comes their help ;_but T theTr S ' *""' "'^."'^ Court/from and observance, as ere long it wou and tharet^.l"'' ""^T^ "''" """ching higher ascent of worldly honour thi", onlvr^L^ " '"!'"'' "^'"'^ «"" 'o a must of necessity contrile to bring hem4l^^Tnd',';,rr '"'^'^'^^-^ they supremacy; and thiswe see they L-e. b/fah^degrlronat r„" I^'g^^/""^'' •Milton's Animadversions upon a Remonstrant's defence &c t M,.To.v's Reasons of Church (iovern.nent urged against Pr^.a.v. 1.5 Wlmt is the chief cause of the dissent which exists ? It is not In doctrine, for nine-tenths of the different sects may find their own doctrines in the Articles of the Church. It is not in the liturgy, ji for, with the exception of the atrocious forgery rarely read, known ■ by the name of the Athanasian creed, nearly all Dissenters concur in admiring its beauty and piety, and acknowledge that they have nothing equal to it. It must be therefore not because of the prin- ciples, but because of the practices of the Church that dissent has covered the land. Why do we dissent ? Because we beHeve that Christ's "kingdom is not of this world;" because we acknow- ledge no supremacy save that of our own divine master, and no code save that of the Eternal w^ord — because we have not yet learned to solve the problem of a Christian church being able to serve at the same time both God and mammon — because we — " Disdain to rest our Heaven aspiring wings. Beneath their native quarry." (great cheering.) Gentlemen, the Dissenters are of opinion, and they have right to be protected in that opinion, that they ought not to be compelled to support another Church to which they conscientiously dissent, in addition to the support of their own Chapels. The liberal Church- man is of opinion, that he ought not to be degraded by being indebted for his place of worship to the forced contributions of his christian brother, the Dissenter. Who have w^e in opposition to those ? Not the honest bigot — he is deluded, but he is just ; — not the working Minister of the Church, he starves in the midst of its wealth, and will for ever starve under the present system ; — not the Common Law, for its greatest authorities have declared that they have no power to interfere ; — not the British Constitution, for its crowning jewel, is, that no man shall be taxed without his own consent ; — not the Protestant faith, for it was founded on exactly the opposite principle ; — not the Christian Religion, for it is a Temple, not built by human hands, and seeking no forced consecrations ; but Gentlemen, by the mean and the selfish — the ambitious prelate, and the crouching priest — the calculating trader in politics, and smooth- tongued dealer in devotion ; men who, to win their tortuous way to the offices they have lost, would make Heaven a stepping-stone, and God a go-between, (immense cheering). Gentlemen, we have one consolation — the system cannot last, (hear, hear). It was always difficult, it is now impracticable. The light that the late debates have shed upon the people, will enable them to rid themselves of the tyranny that has so long oppressed them. After the Attorney General's speech, stating the law, and a knowledge of the cases which I have quoted, and many others which I might have quoted, it is impossible for the system to drag much longer its "slow length along;" but how awful is the contemplation of the means by which it may be destroyed. Wliat rancour ! — what 16 fury I — what desecration of* the Temples of the living God ! Wicked are the men who will not permit an enlightened Government, and a beneficent Monarch, to provide other means, without injustice to any, for contributing what has been hitherto forced from all ! (cheers). Gentlemen, Dissenter though I am, most glad should I be to behold the Church regaining her primitive purity and glory, and denuding herself of the harlequinade garb in which avarice and ambition have enshrouded her. (cheers). Once more I hope to see the gentle dove take the place, before its kindred altar, of the vora- cious vulture that now too frequently haunts it. I hope to see the place of Magaera and her sister furies with their serpents hissing for wealth and power, supplied by the Christian graces of Faith, Hope, and Charity, the greatest of whom is Charity. (Loud applause). Then indeed will the Clmrch be worthy of the name of its divine Founder, and deserve the high title which it assumes, of being the greatest Protestant Church of Europe ; then indeed will Dissent be crippled, and the Church reclaim her lost children; and then indeed, may those who love her exclaim, that she is immortal, immutable, universal! — that " The stars may fade away, the sun himself Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years. But she shall flourish in immortal youth. Unhurt, amid the war of elements, The wreck of matter, and the crash of worlds !" — (Immense cheering). Mr. Henderson seconded the resolution, which was carried unani- mously. WILLOITGHBY, PRINTER, lOQ, G08WELL STREET, LONDON.