YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS,

THE LAST THIRTY YEARS,

(from 1808 TO 1838.)

BY JAMES BENNETT, D.D.

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR HAMILTON, ADAMS AND CO.,
33, PATERNOSTER ROW.
MDCCCXXXIX.

LONDON ;
WIMIAM eTBTBNS, PRINTER, BKLL-TAED, TE.MPLK BAR.

PREFACE.

Thirty years having elapsed since the first
edition of the History of Dissenters was pub
lished, during which period one of the Authors
has been permitted, in a good old age, to rest
from his various useful labours ] the survivor has
attempted to bring down the work to the present
time, by recording the events which have since
formed an extraordinary sera, deeply interesting to
Dissenters, and amply sufficient to fill another
volume. New sects have continued to arise, to
swell the catalogue of those who have separated
from the Establishment; a grand legislative
change has, after mighty struggles, altered and
improved their position in society ; theological

IV PREFACE.
controversies of great importance have called
forth the polemical powers of dissenting writers ;
the statistics of the several denominations have
exhibited important alterations ; the dissenting
colleges, multiplied and improved, have diffused
the advantages of an educated ministry among
those who are excluded from Oxford and Cam
bridge ; and the biography of Dissenters has
been enlarged by the memoirs of distinguished
men who have left behind them names " that
posterity will not willingly let die."
Short as is the chapter on new sects, it is
longer than the lover of Christian union could
wish to see it ; while the disproportionate extent
of the history of religious liberty requires no
apology, as it is the result of conflicts that have
left more cause for gratitude than regret. Pos
terity will be benefited by a detail of improve
ments in the legislation of our country, which
formerly exhibited a strange contrast of practi
cal liberty with legislative intolerance. If the
records of the theological seminaries should

PREFACE. V
prove less interesting to general readers, minis
ters will be gratified with the history of institu
tions which gave them access to the fountains of
sacred learning, and fitted them more efficiently
to serve the church, and control the movements
of the world. In the controversies that are re
corded, the spirit of the times will appear ; and if
the more ephemeral or less important are unno
ticed, those polemical publications are enume
rated which have had most influence on the
principal questions in debate. The external con
dition of Dissenters belongs to the department of
statistics, which, however improved in modern
times, has yet done but little in the domain of
religion, and still less in that of dissent. All
that can now be effected to secure accuracy and
extent of information leaves still more to be de
sired ; and while individuals may, in their own
locality, correct errors and supply defects, they
who have attempted this, on a large scale, will
be most sensible that an approximation to perfect
statistical details is the utmost that can be
honestly professed.

VI PREFACE.
Of the inward state of Dissenters, or their
personal piety, which is the primary object of
consideration in the history of a people that
exist only for religion, it would have been easy
to speak at random ; but instead of vague
eulogies, or censures, facts have been specified ;
and such an attempt has been made to reason
upon them, as will assist the reader to form his
own estimate. The difficulty of this task is
attested by the variety, and inaccuracy of the
opinions entertained concerning the religion of
the first Christians, though recorded by an
inspired pen ; and no two independent minds
will form exactly the same estimate of the
religious state of any portion, or period, of the
church. The chapter of Biography proves how truly it
is said, " That abundance may create a sense of
want." Numerous were the endeared names
that had been marked out for insertion ; but
when the respective limits came to be assio-ned
to each division of the histor\ , it was found

PREFACE. vn
impossible to afford space for one tenth of those
whom the partialities of friends might pro
nounce worthy of this preference. A propor
tionate number has been selected from each
denomination ; and distinguished worth, or ex
tensive usefulness, has turned the scale in favour
of each name. The Memoirs of Tutors in
Colleges, who died in their office, being intro
duced into the history of their several institu
tions, the Biographical list is really more com
prehensive than it appears. A long catalogue
of names and dates might have been attempted ;
but as it must have omitted more than it re
corded, it would have provoked rather than
satisfied the demand for, " honour to whom
honour is due."
This last period, which brings down the history
of Dissenters to the present day, is necessarily
less recondite than the three former ; but it has
been scarcely less embarrassing by the redun
dance, than they were by the paucity of mate
rials ; and though the present generation may

viii PREFACE.
not feel so much interest in that which many
already knew, every day will give additional
value to the history of a people, that proves as
it advances in years, the immortality of its prin
ciples, and the salutary extent of its influence
on our country, on the church of God, and on
the world.
If the following pages betray the mind of a
Dissenter towards the Establishment, and of an
Independent towards other denominations beyond
its pale, the author alone is responsible to the
public and the church, while he can reiterate
the sentiments of the preface he wrote thirty
years ago — that opposition to an ecclesiastical
system, far from implying the condemnation of
those who espouse it, may be combined with
esteem, not only sincere, but ardent, for Chris
tian excellence, wherever it may be found ; and
happy is he to see it often so eminent in those
who are most remote from his own communion,
that he cannot but say, " Such they are, that I
wish they were our own." While labourino-

PREFACE. IX
sometimes, perhaps, unsuccessfuly, to do justice
to all, nothing has been more consoling to the
historian of Dissenters than the recollection, that
the differences among Christians, though nume
rous, and not unimportant, are far outweighed
by the greater considerations, which constitute
them " all one in Christ Jesus."

CONTENTS.

Ch.\p. I. — New Sects of Dissenters .... 1
II. — History of Religious Liberty . . . 40
III. — Seminaries among Dissenters .... 129
IV. — Controversies . . . . . . . 197
v. — The External State of Dissenters . . . 240
VI.— Their Internal or Religious State . . . 300
VII. — Biographical Sketches of Eminent Dissenters . 383
VIIL— Conclusion  558

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

CHAPTER I.
NEW SECTS.

The history of Dissenters opened with an account
of the four religious communions that formed the
general body, for whose sake the legislature passed
what is called the Toleration Act, our first charter of
religious freedom. To the Presbyterians, Indepen
dents, Baptists, and Quakers, were added, in the
second period, the Methodists and Moravians; and, in
the third, the Sandemanians and Swedenborgians.
The fourth, on which we now enter, has been as fertile
in new denominations as any period of equal length,
though the increasing liberality of the times has suf
fered to pass unnoticed such an event as the rise of a
sect, which formerly shook society to its centre. As,
however, some of the new communions are little else
but modifications, or amalgamations, of those that
already existed, it will not be necessary to enlarge on
their principles ; and a religious society that is but of
yesterday, and has never been persecuted into im
portance, can afford but scanty annals. Priority of
time claims the precedence for those with whom we
commence.

2 HISTORY OF DISSENTEK.S.
The Scotch Baptists.
If, as might naturally have been supposed, this
title merely designated Scotchmen who adopt the
principles of the Baptists, they would not have con
stituted a new sect ; but they form a body of Dis
senters in England, which is not confined to the
natives of North Britain, and they hold tenets which
completely separate them from the English Baptists.
This new denomination of English Dissenters may,
perhaps, be most compendiously and clearly described
as a compound of Sandemanianism with Antipaedo-
baptism. The Sandemanians arose in Scotland, and
the sect before us, which combines some of the pecu
liarities of Glas and Sandeman with those of the
Baptists, sprang from the same country. Coming into
the south, its adherents were distinguished from others
who reject infant baptism, by the designation oi Scotch
Baptists, even when the societies were composed of
Englishmen. Sandeman 's strenuous opposition to
the principles of the Baptists, neither prevented his
followers from becoming Baptists, nor hindered Bap
tists from becoming Sandemanians ; till, at length,
a modification of the two sects produced a third,
which, in Scotland, includes the majority of those who
reject infant baptism, and, in England, constitutes
a body of Baptists, separated from the rest as by a
brazen wall.
The Scotch Baptists entertain Sandemanian views
of the pastoral office, almost sinking it in the mutual
exhortations of the brethren ; and while the English
Baptists are becoming more liberal, admitting Peedo-

NEW SECTS. 3
baptists to the Lord's supper, the sect before us
excludes, not only Independents, but also those Bap
tists who do not adopt Sandemanian church polity.
With an honourable zeal for the sole authority of
Christ in the church, and a laudable diligence in the
study of the Scriptures, this communion is not dis
tinguished, either for diffusing the knowledge of the
Word of God among the ignorant, or for displaying
its harmonising effects on those who enter into their
views. Their societies have been recruited, chiefly
by proselytes from other sects ; and as the attention
they pay to the points on which they differ from their
fellow Christians, naturally engenders a disputatious
spirit, they explode and send off again to proximate
communions those who become tired of endless dis
cussion and minute division. Intent on forming a
perfect church, they are diverted from the end for
which the church exists on earth, the glory of Christ
in the propagation of the Gospel. The consequences
of this error are beginning to appear, in a disposition
to make adult immersion essential, not only to Chris
tian communion, but also to salvation ; and as extremes
meet, some of these ultra Protestants are verging
towards the Popish tenet which inseparably associates,
if not absolutely identifies, baptism with remission of
sins. The originator of this divergence from the
previous orthodoxy of the sect, is a Mr. Campbell of
America, whose views, though not clearly defined,
have been, to a considerable extent, adopted by some
ofthe Scotch Baptists in England, much however to
the grief of others, who now denounce the man they
had highly extolled. B 2

4 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
A small Baptist church existed in Scotland from the
time that Cromwell's victory at Dunbar made him
the lord of that land; but, at the Restoration, this
society, which was probably composed of soldiers who
were Baptists, expired. About the year 1765, Mr.
Robert Carmichael, and Archibald Maclean of Glas
gow, left the Independents, and formed the first
Scotch Baptist church in Edinburgh. - Several kin
dred societies afterwards arose in Glasgow, Dundee,
Montrose, and other places. They were much reduced
by separations, and agitated by the question of the
eternal sonship of Christ ; and some of their number
fell into Socinianism. They received, however, fre
quent accessions, and Mr. Charles Stuart, who had
given up the cliarge of the parish of Cramond and
become a physician, joined the church in Edinburgh,
on which he conferred some distinction. But though
he was a man of property, of considerable learning,
and critical skill in the Scriptures, he afforded little
aid to the cause ; for he was restless, disputatious,
and not long satisfied with anything. He separated
at last from their communion, though he continued to
defend their views. Mr. Moncrief, who had much
increased the church at Glasgow, was taken away by
an early death. There were societies on similar
principles formed at Whitehaven, Chester, Hull, Be-
veriey, and London ; but in 1795 their whole number
north of the Tweed did not amount to four hundred.
After they had existed some time in Scotland,
without making much noise, or progress, they were
excited to greater activity, about the beginning of the
19th century, by the Messrs. Haldanes, who had

NEW SECTS. O
quitted the establishment and devoted themselves to
the propagation of the Gospel. Having commenced
their benevolent efforts, without any definite sentiments
on Church government, they afterwards adopted, with
the ardour of a new conviction, those of the Inde
pendents, and becoming at length Scotch Baptists,
they laboured to extend this sect, not only among
their own countrymen, but also in England and
Ireland. They sent preachers to London, Portsmouth,
Nottingham, and other towns ; but the congregations
which were raised were small, and in many instances
betrayed symptoms of dissolution, rather than of
extension, or even of continuance. As a sect of
Dissenters in England, the Scotch Baptists are not
entitled to a large space in history, either for their
numbers, the eminence of their preachers and writers,
or their influence on the public mind. Not indigenous,
they seem not likely to be naturalised ; but accord
better with the genius ofthe Scotch, who enter keenly
into minute distinctions, than with the temper of the
south, which has never shown much taste for the
Sandemanian leaven. fndependents in Scotland.
As the object of this history was to record the
principles and struggles of those who have formed
religious communions separate from the English
hierarchy, little notice was taken of the ecclesiastical
affairs of Scotland; and as the powerful bodies of
seceders in that country generally approved the con
stitution of the national church, from whose corruptions

6 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
alone they professed to separate, they were not, in
the strictest sense, Dissenters. But the Independent
churches that have been formed beyond the Tweed,
during the last thirty years, are so identified with
those in the south, that this chapter would scarcely
be complete without a sketch of that branch of Inde
pendency which has arisen in Scotland, during the
former part of the nineteenth century.
Sandemanianism has been called Scotch Indepen
dency; and, for many years, Scotland contained
scarcely any other modification of the system. After
the decisive battle of Dunbar, in 1640, an order
passed the House of Commons, " for Mr. Joseph Caryl
and Mr. Owen to proceed to the army in Scotland,
agreeably to the desire of the general."* As the Scotch
had declared themselves bound by the Covenant to
avenge the King's death, and were sworn enemies to
all Sectaries, by which term the Independents were
specially designated, the Parliament and Cromwell
seem to have aimed at giving a better idea of Inde
pendency, by sending northward the principal Inde
pendent divines, in hopes, probably, of producing the
same progress from the Presbyterian to the Inde
pendent system, as was then exhibited in England.
To the declaration of the Parliament, was added
another by Cromwell, addressed "to all that are saints,
and partakers of the faith of God's elect in Scotland,"
assigning reasons for rejecting Presbyterian church
government, and defending the army against the
charges of heresy and blasphemy. There is sufficient
* Whitelock, p. 450.

NEW SECTS. 7
evidence that Owen did not much approve his anoma
lous position in the train of a conqueror. We have
on record two sermons preached by that celebrated
divine, while on this expedition, and they give proofs
of a wise forbearance on the points in which he dif
fered from the Scotch and of a devout consecration to
the objects in which all Christians agree. One was
preached at Berwick, and the other at Edinburgh ;
but they are printed together, as a single discourse,
under the title of " the Branch of the Lord, the Beauty
of Zion, or the Glory of the Church in its relation to
Christ." In the dedication to Cromwell, the preacher
says " it was with thoughts of peace that I embraced
my call to this place, in time of war. That this was
my chief design,. to pour out a savour of the Gospel on
the sons of peace, I hope was manifest to all, since
my coming hither. Though some may be so seasoned
with the leaven of contention, about carnal things, or,
at best, the 'tithing of mint and cummin,' as to dis
relish the weightier things of the Gospel, the great
owner of the vineyard hath not left me without a
comfortable assurance, that even this labour in the
Lord has not been in vain." Far from encourag
ing the victorious army of Independents to force
their system upon the vanquished, the preacher closes
with this paragraph : " See hence the ruin of perse
cution, that has appeared in the world in various
forms. It has put on all manner of colours and pre
tences, and prevailed with all sorts of persons, at one
time or other, to close with it. What has been the
issue? What is likely to be? The house, indeed,
has been battered, sometimes, but they who have

8 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
come against it, have been all broken in pieces. Shall
the residue of men, who under new pretences, or old
ones, new painted, drive on the design, prosper?
Thou, O Lord Jesus, in thine anger wilt cut them off.
The Lord open the eyes ofthe sons of men, that they
may not hope any more to separate between Christ
and his saints, between whom there are so many ever
lasting relations."* Strange as it may appear, the
pacific tone of this discourse was the grand offence to
those who thought themselves bound, by covenant and
by oath, to extirpate whatever they deemed heresy and
schism. The world had never before exhibited such
a triumph of religious principle over physical force,
the chaplain of a victorious general, pleading for the
rights of conscience, against the vanquished advocates
of persecution. When, therefore, the Scotch Presby
terians gloried that Independency, with Owen at its
head, was vanquished in their country, they claimed
a victory where no battle had been fought. For,
though the Independents in the army treated their
theological opponents with as little ceremony as might
be expected from men with victorious weapons in
their hands, the Independent ministers devoted them
selves to their proper work, the inculcation of piety
towards God and charity towards men. In Glasgow,
indeed, Mr. Hugh Binning, a zealous Presbyterian,
is said to have confuted Cromwell's ministers ; but as
this was in the presence of the general, it proves, at
least, that the Presbyterians felt themselves at liberty
to defend their kirk.
* Owen's Sermons and Tracts,

NEW SECTS. 9
They were soon left to contrast the forbearance of
the Independents with the cruelties of the Episco
palians. The Revolution left the Presbyterians in
undisturbed possession, till what are called, in Scotland,
the Old Independents, arose, in 1787, and made a
near approach to English Independency. Mr. Henry
Davidson, minister of the parish of Galashiels, may
be considered as the father of the new communion.
He was the friend of Boston, the author of "The Fourfold
State of Man," and like him, was weaned from a fond
ness for national churches, by the contentions that
arose in the Scotch establishment. In conjunction
with Mr. Wilson, he formed an Independent church,
to which he administered the ordinances of religion,
while continuing to officiate in the parochial pulpit,
which he was suffered to do as long as he lived.
Mr. Smith, minister of the parish of Newburn,
adopted, also, Independent principles, in conse
quence of reading Sandeman's letters. Mr. Robert
Ferrier, while holding the parish of Largo, was brought
to the same conclusion, which induced him to form
an Independent church. These ministers were joined
by Mr. David Dale, who rose from poverty to great
wealth, by introducing into Scotland Arkwright's
machinery. Disgusted with the violence that forced a
minister upon the parish, he withdrew and built an
Independent chapel in Glasgow, where he eventually
became pastor. The native vigour of his mind raised
him above the defects of his early education, and
his ardent piety employed his wealth in promoting
the cause of religion beyond the bounds of his own
communion.

10 HISTORY or DISSENTERS.
There were thirteen of these churches in Scotland,
containing about two hundred and fifty members.
They entered into some sort of' connection with what
are called the Inghamites in this country, and may
be said to form a middle link between the Sande
manians and the English Independents, if that term
can be applied to inhabitants of Scotland.
But it was not till the year 1797, that a church was
formed avowedly on the plan of those which in Eng
land are called Independent, or Congregational. A
few pious persons in Aberdeen, deploring the dark
ness and formality that reigned around them, united
together on Independent principles. The leader in
this movement was Mr. George Moir, one of the
wisest and best of men, who had been proselyted to
Independency by yielding to the natural effect of
reading Lord Chancellor King's " Account of the
Primitive Church." The author of this history having
visited Aberdeen, to open the chapel built by the
infant society, officiated there for a short time. Nine
persons avowed, in the presence of a large assembly,
their Independent principles, and pledged themselves
to walk in fellowship according to that order. " The
little one soon became a thousand," and, from this,
several other churches have arisen, who have contended
for purity of communion, in opposition to an amal
gamation of the church with the world.
At the same time, Messrs. Robert and James Hal-
dane, at Edinburgh, procured a spacious building
called the Circus, and invited Mr. Rowland Hill, from
London, to officiate there. He was succeeded by
other English ministers, and large congregations were

NEW SECTS. 11
gathered. The originators of the movement in Scot
land were at first favourable to Mr. Hill's more lati
tudinarian system ; but they soon altered their senti
ments and became Independents. To this, perhaps,
" A Pastoral Caution " published by the General As
sembly of the Scotch Kirk contributed ; for the
zealous efforts of the new Evangelists to diffuse the
Gospel, by tracts, Sabbath schools, and itinerant
preaching, roused the established clergy, not to imi
tation, but to opposition, and to solemn warnings
against excessive zeal. Though a new building
capable of containing three thousand persons was
erected to accommodate those who first assembled at
the Circus, the congregation so increased, that it was
deemed desirable for Mr. Aikman, one of the preachers,
amicably to withdraw, and form an Independent
church, for which he erected a chapel. New and
large societies were formed under Mr. Ewing at Glas
gow, and Mr. Innes at Dundee, both of whom had
been ministers of the Scotch establishment. Mr.
Ralph Wardlaw formed a second Independent church
at Glasgow. By the liberality of Mr. Robert Haldane
an academy was formed at Edinburgh for the education
of ministers, who went forth and planted churches in
many of the towns of Scotland. When the munificent
patrons of these schemes became Scotch Baptists,
some of their coadjutors followed them; but most of
the ministers, adhering to Independency, went on
diffusing their principles. A new seminary was
formed at Glasgow, under Mr. Ewing and Dr. Ward-
law, by whom many valuable men were trained up for
the ministry among the Independents.

12 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
But as infant churches are usually small, and sel
dom contain many of the rich, and as the new Inde
pendent congregations were gathered in small towns,
a Congregational Union was formed to assist in sup
porting the pastors, and extending their labours to
the dark parts of the country. About 1300/. per
annum are raised for these objects, and when the
poverty of the country, and of many of the congre
gations, is considered, their zeal and liberality will be
found entitled to great praise. Many ministers are
thus enabled to itinerate in the Highlands and isles of
the north west, and some candid men of other com
munions have pronounced the Congregational Union
the most useful body in Scotland. For a quarter of
a century it has formed an efficient Home Missionary
Society, which sends out from forty to fifty valuable
labourers, some of them being entirely supported, and
others greatly assisted by the Union. They have
chiefiy devoted themselves, with most laudable self-
denial, to the remote and more thinly peopled portions
of the country, where the inhabitants would not other
wise hear the Gospel. Unfettered by the boundaries
of parishes, or the authority of synods, they go where
there is ignorance to be instructed, or vice to be
counteracted by the saving power of the Gospel.
The Report published by the Union in 1836, says,
" there has never been a period more meniorable for
the energy and progress of congregational churches in
this country, than that which has intervened between
the present and the last anniversary. Since the
beginning of the past year, eighteen churches con
nected with the Union have had pastors ordained

NEW SECTS. 13
over them, (several never enjoyed that blessing before,)
pastors, we trust, given them by God, according to
his own heart, to feed them with knowledge and
understanding." The acknowledged eminence of some ofthe ministers
of this body, "whose works praise them in the gates,"
being "seen and read of all men," has contributed
powerfully to commend their principles to their
countrymen. As the paramount interests of trutli
and piety have been, to the conviction of all parties,
eminently promoted by the Independents in Scotland,
they have received from various quarters assistance in
carrying on their benevolent labours.
If this account of the new body of Independents in
Scotland has been exclusively historical, it is because
there was no necessity for specifying principles and
practices which are virtually identical with those of
the English Independents. With a slight peculiarity
of spirit, arising from the difference between the
Scotch and English nations, there is also a trifling
discrepancy of practice. Many of the Independent
churches in Scotland, not only celebrate the Eucha
ristic supper every Lord's day, but hold that this is
proved to be a duty by the practice of the Christian
churches when under the guidance of the inspired
apostles. This, however, produces no alienation from
the English, who celebrate the supper every month,
for Independent pastors of both countries are wel
comed to each other's pulpits, whenever divine Provi
dence affords opportunities for this fraternal inter
change. Ireland also partook of the movements which dif-

14 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
fused Independency over Scotland. Mr. Walker,
fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, who had quitted
the ministry of the established church, adopted a
species of Sandemanianism, and Mr. Kelly, whom his
father, one of the judges, had destined to the state
priesthood, followed in a similar track, each of them
officiating to Independent societies, in Dublin, or its
vicinity. But in the sister isle- other congregations
arose, more in harmony with the Independent churches
of England. In Dublin, one of them was under the
pastoral care of Mr. Cooper, who had been early dis
tinguished in this country by preaching to the Jews,
and another is now under the ministry of his son.
At York Street chapel, where ministers from England
for a long time preached, Dr. Urwick is now pastor.
The efforts of that useful body, the Irish Evangelical
Society, have increased the number of these churches,
which amount to about thirty. Their academy for
educating ministers will be mentioned in another place.
The identity of the new Scotch and Irish Indepen
dent churches with the principal body of English
Dissenters, and the fraternal intercourse that is main
tained between the ministers and members of the
communion through the whole empire, seemed to
require this account of the extension of the Indepen
dent denomination into Scotland and Ireland, though
not strictly within the limits of a history of Dissenters
in England.

The Southcottians.

The Southcottians, or Joannites, as they are fre
quently called, may scarcely seem to deserve a place

NEW SECT.S. 15
among sects; but as the historian is bound to record
facts, whatever may be their merits, it is necessary to
exhibit those new formations which have attracted
even ephemeral notice, and swelled the number of
those who have renounced the established communion.
Joanna Southcott, who gave both name and birth to
this sect, was the daughter of a farmer at St. Mary
Ottery's, in Devonshire. From the establishment, she
went into the Wesleyan Methodist Society, from which
she was expelled for obtruding upon the public her
pretended visions. To these, however, she attracted
considerable attention, about the year 1791, and
though her claims to inspiration were refuted by the
principles which she herself promulgated, she soon
found some credulous enough to regard her as a
prophetess. At length, she announced herself to be the woman
mentioned in the twelfth chapter of the Revelation,
and some deluded or designing persons having
gathered round her, she formed congregations, of
which the most distinguished was in the borough of
Southwark, in a building entitled, by emphasis. The
house of God, Here she pretended to seal " the hun
dred and forty and four thousand," conferring that
honour in a paper packet, on those who thought it
worth half-a-crown. She proceeded, at last, so far as
to declare herself, though unmarried, pregnant, in
consequence of a miracle being wrought to render her
the mother of another Messiah, whom she called the
Shiloh. Costly preparations were made by her
followers for the birth of their prince, whose cradle,
which cost two hundred pounds, was exhibited as a

16 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
show. But as she had, perhaps, been deceived by
the symptoms of disease, these terminated in her
death. This, however, could not break the charm, or
dispel the illusion she had created; for her disciples,
after delaying her interment as long as possible, per
sisted in expecting that she would rise, with her child
in her arms, though medical examiners declared that
she had never been pregnant. Congregations were
still gathered to maintain her pretensions ; and new
revelations are said to have been made to the more
favoured of the sect.
The men of this society are known, in the north of
the kingdom, by wearing their beards and a brown
hat, and many are said to have set out for Jerusalem,
in expectation of meeting Messiah, or Shiloh, there.
Their worship is described as being awfully wild and
tumultuous ; but it finds favour with not a few in the
northern counties, especially about Ashton-under-line,
where they have erected a splendid temple, which
cost nine thousand pounds.
Their followers have been gathered chiefly from
among the more ignorant members of the Wesleyan
Methodist society and of the establishment. Mr.
Foley, rector of Old Swinford, near Stourbridge, was
said to be one of those who expected the resurrection
of Joanna Southcott; and another clergyman used
to go regulariy to expound her writings at Bristol.
These he pronounced so sublime, that an uneducated
woman, as Joanna confessedly was, could not have
produced them without divine inspiration, though they
consisted of doggrel rhymes below contempt. Of
other sects it is our task to record the doctrines ; but

NEW SECTS. 17
this body may be said to have none ; for they profess
to be guided, each moment, by immediate inspiration,
and one illiterate man is celebrated for strange ut
terances, which he dignifies with the title of divine
revelations. Of the extent, or prospects, of the society it is diffi
cult to speak ; for though they receive considerable
accessions, instabdity seems to be the natural conse
quence of their irrational enthusiasm. It is gratifying
to be allowed quickly to dismiss, as insignificant, a
sect from which no benefit to religion, or to society,
can be expected to arise. The frvingites.
With the person from whom this sect derives the
name by which it is generally known, we must com
mence our account of the very anomalous and extra
ordinary body. In an obscure congregation, connected
with the Scotch establishment, but meeting in Hatton
Garden, London, appeared, in the year 1820, Edward
Irving, who, as assistant to Dr. Chalmers, at Glasgow,
had attracted but little notice, though, on coming to
London, he seems to have determined to become
"some great one." The effect of his tall figure, and
patriarchal air, was aided rather than diminished by
a squint and a slight Scotch accent. He read with,
vehemence, sermons which were carefully written, in
a style that bore strong marks of the study of Milton's
prose works ; but the archaisms and imagery of the
great poet were imitated with more success, than his
powerful reasoning, and elegant rhetoric. There was,

IS HISTORY OF DISSENTEKS.
however, enough of these, added to action and voice
most outrageous, to create, in such a city as London,
an ephemeral popularitj''.
By the influence of some of the Scotch nobility, he
was soon lifted to the skies, and followed by crowds,
not merely ofthe vulgar, but ofthe highest ranks; for
the coronet was now seen at the conventicle. He wasj
at the outset, little more than the eloquent declaimer
on moral themes. His "Orations," which were the
first discourses he published, contained not much
theology of any sort. But when the popularity which
led to the erection of a large elegant gothic building
in Regent's Square, began to decline, Mr. Irving
changed both his style and his doctrine, becoming less
rhetorical, and more mystical. Verging at once to
wards antinomianism and protestant popery, he strange
ly talked of baptismal election. Then, going off into a
prophetic strain, he pretended to expound the pre
dictions of the Old Testament, and of the Revelation.
on high church principles, and became furious against
Catholic emancipation, which at that time agitated
the public mind. As popularity flagged, he devised
some new mode of excitement ; and at length broached
the doctrine of the sinfulness of Christ's humanity;
on which he ventured to assert horrible things. The
approach of the second advent of Christ, to reign per
sonally on the earth, and the right of the church to
expect and ask the restoration of miraculous gifts,
were then boldly asserted.
After this, meetings were held by ministers and lay
gentlemen of various communions, at Albury park, the
seat of Henry Drummond, Esq. where, under the presi-

NEW SECTS. 19
deiicy of Rev. Hugh M'Neile, rector of the parish,
they discussed the import of the inspired prophecies.
Here Mr. Irving distinguished himself by his partiality
to half formed ideas, the usual accompaniment of mys
ticism. At this convocation, which was held in 1826,
the errors and fanaticism of some of the party were so
clearly developed ; that the more sober members, des
pairing of any good result, quitted the camp.
Miss Mary Campbell, a Scotch lady, had drawn to Fer-
nicarrie, her residence, a concourse of dpvout visitors,
who were so fascinated by the piety she displayed on her
sick bed, as to regard it with a portion of that reve
rence which is accorded to prophetic inspiration. She
seems herself to have concluded that some extraor
dinary afflatus prompted her ; and when, beyond all
expectation, she recovered, she determined to devote
her life to the conversion of the heathen. Instead of
judging by her qualifications, of the work for which
she was destined, she concluded, from certaiu impres
sions and impulses, that she was called to a mission.
Then, far from seeking to acquire the necessary quali
fications, in the use of rational means, she prayed for
them, as if she expected a miracle to be wrought upon
her, as upon the apostles at Pentecost. From such
prayers and expectations there was but a short step to
the conclusion that she was thus miraculously endued
with the gift of tongues. This step she took ; and at
first seems to have tvritten strange characters, which
neither she nor any others could decipher ; but which
the writer and her admirers concluded were the written
language of some unknown heathen nation, to whom
she was to be conducted, by another miracle, for their
c 2

20 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
conversion. But as their language was to be spoken,
as well as written, by the missionary, she, from ille
gible scratches, proceeded to unintelligible voices.
There was probably a sufficient portion of conceit
mixed with her enthusiasm ; and willing to make the
unintelligibility of her writing and speaking a proof
of inspiration, she never reflected that such proofs are
at the command of any who think them worth having.
As one delusion leads to another, the appetite for
miracles, oncg created, was not long without food.
Among her admirers, at Greenock, a brother ap
proached the sick bed of a sister, and commanded her,
in the name ofthe Lord Jesus, to rise and walk. We are
informed, that she, believing, though astonished, did
rise and walk. An epistle to Fernicarrie announced,
that the gift of miraculous healing was restored to the
church, and some one commanded Mary Campbell,
who it seems, was not yet perfectly restored, to rise
and walk, which she did. The fraternity then attempt
ed to give another proof of their miraculous powers, by
healing a poor lame boy, who, however, did not rise and
walk. It is unnecessary to say that a corpse on which
they presumed to operate did not rise and live. The
utterances supposed to be supernatural, were first
exhibited at Port Glasgow, by two brothers named
M'Donald. Miss Campbell, who had married a Mr. Caird, was
invited to London, by Mr. Irving, who pronounced
these pretences the miraculous gifts for which they
had been praying. After three ladies had rehearsed
in private, a Mr. Taplin burst forth in the public
prayer meeting ; and on the morning of one Lord's day,

NEW SECTS. 21
OctobeT 16, 1831, the congregation at the Scotch
church in Regent's Square, was agitated by a Miss
Hall, who professed to have been visited by such a
power, that, unable to restrain it, and forbidden to
speak in the congregation, she rushed into the vestry,
and there exclaimed, " How dare ye to suppress the
voice of the Lord ? " In the evening of the same day,
Mr. Taplin spoke in a tongue, as it was called, amidst
the congregation, " Do you fly from the voice of God
in the midst of you ? Where will ye flee in the day
of judgment ?"
Mr. Irving seems to have been but half prepared
for the hazardous experiment, and a great part of the
congregation, previously wearied by orations of an
hour and a half, or two hours, bewildered by his
strange dogmas, and rendered doubtful of the sound
ness of his mind, by his repeated changes of senti
ment, entirely quitted his ministry, and sought refuge
in other congregations. But the morning prayer
meeting constantly exhibited the new gifts lo public
view. Before daylight, even in the winter, crowds
were seen flocking to Regent's Square, though not all
with pious zeal. There Mr. Irving was seated before
a single lamp, wrapped in a cloak, with theatric atti
tude, surrounded by his helpers. While one of these
was reading a chapter, or offering a prayer, a burst of
sounds made the uninitiated start and tremble and
look around, to see from whence the voice issued, for,
like ventriloquism, it strangely deceived the ears, and
bewildered the minds of the auditors, leaving them in
doubt whether the noise was that of coughing, or
laughing, or of a person in a fit. At last, however,

22 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
English words, such as " He is coming," or " Why do
ye not believe ? " solved the mystery, and told that the
former part of the noise was speaking in an unknown
tongue. Women were, at first, the chief actors in this
awful drama, so calculated to expose all religion, and
especially the influences of the Holy Spirit, to the
contempt of the infidel and the profane. Mr. Irving
himself, however, never pretended to be thus inspired ;
though he employed all his influence to sanction
the illusion ; while attentive and discerning spectators
were left in doubt whether he was perfectly satisfied
of its origin, or suffered himself to be borne away by
a torrent of enthusiastic, or designing persons, who
had contrived to get him into their hands.
There seems to have been, in the whole affair, an
entangled web of action and reaction, "deceiving and
being deceived ; " for the gifted speakers were mani
festly inoculated with Mr. Irving's spirit, and spake
with tongues as if they had received their afflatus from
his mouth. His exposition of the prophecies fur
nished them with a constant theme, the immediate
second coming of Christ ; and the doctrine of the sin
fulness of Christ's humanity was sanctioned by their
uttarances, while his style of speaking was theirs, an
emphatic reiteration of the same expressions, " He is
coming, he is coming, he is coming."' Whoever had
watched Mr. Irving's eloquence could be at no loss to
discover their great Apollo. The physical character
of the sounds bore some resemblance to his varied
energetic and exciting intonations; while they pre
sented such an odd combination of the involuntary,
with the artificial, that persons who had gone to gra-

yEw SECTS. 23
tify their curiosity, were heard, as they went away,
diverting themselves with a very exact imitation of
the Babel sounds. That it was not all honest enthu
siasm, was betrayed by the fact, that, finding it diffi
cult to speak for any length of time in pure unmean
ing sounds, they who began vvith pretending to other
tongues, ended with repeating some of Mr. Irving's
English oracles.
So infecting was the scene, that any excitable per
son, with a dash of enthusiasm in his composition,
might have become, first a patient, then a convert,
and finally an actor. Some who were thus carried
away, ignorant of the laws and operations of the
human mind, afterwards attributed the whole to Sa
tanic impulse. Mr. Baxter, a lawyer of Doncaster,
in Yorkshire, was brought up to London and drawn
into the vortex. After some other indications of a
bewildered mind, he exhibited the tongues in a parish
church, where one of his relatives officiated. But
having gone to deliver an inspired message to the
Lord Chancellor in his court, on finding himself
unable to accomplish his object, he changed his mind,
and published a pamphlet to prove that these exhi
bitions were the work of the devil. The book, how
ever, proved that the author was but imperfectly
restored to sound sense ; for satan had little more to
do with those vagaries than with the other follies and
sins of mankind.
The new building called the Scotch church, though
erected for Mr. Irving's ministry, having been vested,
with his approbation, in trustees for the use of ministers
in communion with the Scotch establishment, those

24 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
who disapproved of the tongues instituted proceedings
in their ecclesiastical courts, to remove him, and suc
ceeded. His attempt to retain the building adds one
more to the numerous proofs that error perverts the
conscience, while it bewilders the mind. His friends
then procured for him a large room in Newman Street,
and here fanaticism became the lord of the ascendant.
From this place Mr. Irving often issued forth to preach
in the streets, accompanied by those who sometimes
spoke with the power, or with the tongue, as they
called it, which the preacher assured the assembled
crowd was the word of the Holy Ghost confirming the
sermon. But Mr. Irving soon began to sink under the ex
cessive efforts of body and mind to which he had been
urged ; and his medical advisers pronounced a retire
ment to his native air essential to the preservation
of his life. In Scotland, however, he continued to
decline, and shortly died, the victim of fanaticism, or
ambition. A sort of dying confession was published,
which was painfully equivocal, seeming to indicate
a wish to retract his errors, without the honest, humble
decision that was necessary to such an act. His fol
lowers have been accused of garbling the confession,
and the document bore internal evidence that the
charge, though most disgraceful to them, was not
unfounded. Mr. Irving, from being considered "the
son of the morning," had fallen to the rank of a
secondary being in his congregation, who took but
little notice of his death. For as some of the pre
tenders to inspiration had been pronounced, by their
fraternity, guilty bi speaking by a lying spirit, while

NEW SECTS. 25
palming the voices on the Holy Ghost, so Mr. Irving
had been censured by the body for checking those
who were under the genuine inspiration. He had
knelt down and asked pardon before the congregation.
It was manifest, some time before his departure for
Scotland, that he was broken, not only in constitution,
but in mind. Having lost his eloquence and energy,
he sat a silent spectator of the exhibitions of those,
who, either by artifice, or enthusiasm, had thrown
over him a net from which he could not escape. Al
ways defective in soundness of judgment, he had mis
taken imagination for mental power, and an ephemeral
popularity for permanent ascendancy. Determined to
distinguish himself, he succeeded to his own ruin.
After his death, the new movements of his party
were further developed, and though he had exalted
the Scotch church as little else than infallible, and
next to this, had eulogised the English establishment,
his followers soon began to assume the form of another
dissenting communion. Their fondness for prophecies
led them to the Revelation for their model of church
government, and they called their pastors " the angels
of the churches." They pretended, also, to revive
the office of apostles, and talked of their power to remit
sins. Evangelists were ordained among them, and
sent forth to propagate the sentiments of their sect.
A tenth of their income was, at last, required from
every member of the new church, which, as some of
them are wealthy, amounts to a large sum, while it
falls heavily on the poor. Their zeal was, as usual
with a new sect, most ardent, and they not only
preached in the highways, but some of their wealthier

26 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
members have gone to the rich and noble to deliver
to them instructions and warnings, which have been
better received than could have been expected. A
memorial was presented to the prelates of the
established church, and another to the Privy Council.
By efforts so zealous, the body has been enlarged,
and societies have been multiplied, not only in Lon
don, but also in various parts of England and Scotland,
till they amount to sixty. These accessions have been
chiefly from the established churches, and not unfre
quently from the clergy and the rich, the senator and
the noble. But though new and large places of wor
ship have been erected, they have not been filled ; for
their preachers do not take hold of the public mind.
Too mystical and declamatory to instruct, they
denounce all other churches as Babylon, and exalt
their own as the only true church; but furnish no
convincing reasons for the preference. Their doctrine,
which is not easily defined, is Arminian, rather than
Calvinistic, and on some points, may be termed popish,
especially in requiring the members of their church to
learn the sense of Scripture, not by reading, and
prayer, but from the authorised teachers, who are
supposed to be under that special inspiration, which
confers on them something- like the infallibilitv of the
church of Rome.
But the genius and sentiments of this communion
will be best learned from their own writers. Mr.
Irving was a high churchman of the Scotch kirk, and
Mr. Drummond was of the church of Eno-land : but
the party has been conducted to Independency. Mr.
Drummond says, " Hence we see settled the long

NEW SECTS. 27
agitated question between Episcopacy and the Inde
pendents. The Independent form of church govern
ment is that which God has appointed. The supper
is observed every week, by the Lord's special di
rection." As this communion is, however, frequently assuming
new shapes, it is not easy to describe its actual state.
The tongues, as they were called, seem to have fallen
into desuetude; for, after the abandonment of the
original theory, that they were the language of some
unknown heathen nation, who were to be converted by
these missionaries, the piractice of uttering the unin
telligible sounds was dropped, and speaking in the
power, that is, with vehemence, broken sentences in
English, succeeded. The whole communion is, in
deed, the child of excitement, administered as by
electric shocks, one of which will probably shiver it to
atoms. Mr. Irving of the Scotch church, which is
thoroughly Calvinistic, symbolised with the ultra
Arminianism of Mr. Erskine, so that this body has
a determined hostility to the election of grace. A
Presbyterian and an Episcopalian have given birth
to a new species of Independency, which has many
points of resemblance to the Scotch Baptists. But
time will show in what way the omniscient and al
mighty Sovereign ofthe church will cause this strange
movement to promote his glory and the interests of his
kingdom. At present, the communion presents no
points on which a benevolent and candid mind can
dwell with approbation, or even with hope. While it
multiplies sects, already too numerous, it aggravates
the evil of division by a most arrogant, exclusive

2S HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
spirit; but we must conclude that he who guides the
whirlwind, will bring order out of this chaos. Hap
pily the times forbid all attempts at persecution, which
would, in former days, have aggravated the evds that
forbearance may ultimately cure. A great part of the
proselytes to this sect have been won from the
establishment. Persons whose prejudices against
dissent have kept them at the utmost distance from all
its older communions, have joined that which is the
most extravagant and repulsive.
The rapid spread of the delusion having created, in
a short time, sixty congregations, some of them pro
vided with handsome chapels ; and the feverish activity
of the society having given a factitious importance to
its movements, many were carried away with the
imposing appearances, though others saw enough
among them to cast discredit upon their pretensions to
inspiration, or even to religious truth, or solid piety.
Mr. Baxter once fixed, by inspiration, as the com
munity affirmed, the day for the descent of miraculous
powers, and an assemblage was held for that purpose,
with the loftiest expectations ; but it is scarcely
necessary to say, the day passed away in disappoint
ment. By the same inspiration, it was declared that
at the close of three years and a half, from the 14th of
January, 1832, the Lord Jesus would come again in
glory ; but the time passed by, with a simdar result,
though the church was summoned, July the 14th, and
waited in vain for the event. Mr. Irvins was to have
been made a great prophet to Scotland ; but he has
gone down to the dead without this honour ; many
were sent forth to bear witness, through all London;

NEW SECTS. 29
but about the end of 1832 they were called in again,
to be ordained by the Spirit, and thus ended their
mission. An impostor came to them from America,
who induced some of them to go on an abortive errand
to that land. A revelation induced them to pitch the
tabernacle, by making sixty ministers to answer to its
sixty pillars, which, after all, a letter from an apostle
condemned, as a delusion. Several ofthe chief actors
have been since denounced by their own party as
speaking by a lying spirit, which has opened the eyes
of others to the delusion, and induced them to abandon
the cause. There can be no stronger proof of wicked
artifice than their assertion, that the worst poison that
can be put into the hands of the people is the Bible,
wliich was designed for the priesthood, and that no
one standing apart from the Irvingite ministry can
understand the book. This, however, is not their
only approach to the church of Rome, of Avhich they
begin to speak favourably, though Mr. Irving's strange
career was distinguished by denouncing Rome as
" Babylon foredoomed of God."
A leading angel of one of their churches has re
nounced the whole communion as under a delusion,
and it is now said the prevailing revelation among
them is, that which orders every one to wait where he
is for some new revelation. To many it seems unac
countable that such a sect should be able to make any
progress ; but this wonder betrays the same ignorance
as led some into the snare. They thought such pro
fessions of miraculous powers and extraordinary inspi
ration were unknown, since the apostles' days. But
the world has scarcely ever been without them, for

30 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
any long interval of time. Miraculous gifts were
supposed to be continued to the church, ages after
they had ceased. The Cataphrygians, or Montanists,
were the Irvingites of the second century ; and Pris
cilla and Maximilla were the gifted ladies, whose
themes were the fall of Babylon, Rome ; the coming
of Antichrist and the Millennium. Tertullian was
their Edward Irving. Leuthard agitated the tenth
century with visions and revelations ; Elizabeth and
Hildegandis, the twelfth ; St. Francis, the thirteenth ;
Brigitta and the French lawyers, the fourteenth ;
Elizabeth Barton, Munser and Stock, the sixteenth.
Conrerius was the Irving of the Moravians, who, as
well as the continental Anabaptists, were disturbed
and dishonoured by fanaticism. But the French
prophets were the great wonder of the seventeenth
century. They imported into our country unknown
tongues. To America they carried their Irvingism, in
combination with Southcottianism by anticipation,
boasting of their mother Ann, and maintaining
the sinfulness of Christ's humanity. A knowledge of
these facts would have spared many well meaning
persons a long season of mischievous bewilderment,
and a longer period of bitter regrets that they had
ever been carried away by what appeared to them
miraculous, because it was to them new and un
paralleled. The Brethren denominated in the Parliamentary
Returns, " Catholic, not Roman.""
The name of Brethren, by which this division of
Christians is more known than by any other, creates

NF.AV SECTS. 31
confusion; for it has already been appropriated to the
Moravians. The new sect, however, is unwilling to
take any distinctive appellation, and when the officer
was making up, at Plymouth, the returns ordered by
Parliament, being told he might call them what he
pleased, he chose to denominate them " Catholics, not
Roman." They are as much anomalous as they are
anonymous; for, with their reluctance to take a specific
appellation, professing to be contented with the generic
term Christians, or disciples of Christ, they have an
equal aversion to creeds, contending that they are
inefficient to secure either orthodoxy or uniformity of
faith. Like the Independents in being without a
creed, with them they are known to be firmly attached
to what are called evangelical doctrines, which they
think are better learned from Scripture than from any
human formula. They attach great importance to
the promise of the Holy Spirit, as the teacher promised
by the ascending Saviour, to lead the Christian into the
truth contained in the Scriptures, while many of them
despair of his converting the world without the bodily
presence of Christ. The Brethren are what would
usually be termed Calvinists, some of them rather
high, but all exercising forbearance with regard to the
various modifications, if not to the system itself.
They agree also to differ, without separation, on the
questions which divide the Baptists from other
Christians. This body of Christians expect the speedy coming
of Christ, but without imitating the Irvingites in fixing
the time ; though contending that all believers shall
prepare to meet him by Vv-hat they call a resurrection

32 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
life, or an entire separation from the world, and con
secration to the service and kingdom of Christ. They
have, therefore, adopted what may be termed a modi
fied community of goods, not admitting that any one
has a right to say to another, " Your house, or money,
is mine ; " but contending that every one should prac
tically say to his brother, " All that I have is at your
service." Many among them having property, and
making sacrifices to their principles, their sincerity
and zeal cannot be called in question. In addition to
these two excellencies they profess a catholicity and
expansion of view, for which some would not give
them credit ; but they contribute to missions not formed
by themselves, and are editing valuable concord
ances to the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, which
are to be published at low prices. Some of these
Brethren are said to have been found in Geneva, in
the year 1824, and it is thought that they appeared in
Ireland about the same time. They have now formed
societies in about seventy places, and each congre
gation has usually sprung up without any assignable
connection with another. They abound most in the
vicinity of Plymouth ; but, meeting, sometimes in
chapels, and frequently in private dwellings, they may
say, with the primitive Christians, "The world knoweth
us not." It is, indeed, difficult for an inquirer to
obtain information concerning them. Some have
confounded with the Irvingites this less obtrusive
body, especially when its preachers have, in the parks
and streets of London, called men to repentance and
righteousness. Consisting chiefly of proselytes from
the establishment, and including a considerable number

NEW SECTS. 33
of its clergy, this sect has many points of resemblance
to the Quakers, especially in their horror of all pre
tensions to an order of priesthood, which they denounce
as "the sin against the Holy Ghost." Young among
dissenting bodies, they excite hope and fear ; exhibit
ing so much truth and piety as to inspire expectations
of their recovery from present errors ; but betraying
so much fanaticism as to make it probable that they
will wander farther from the truth.
New bodies of Methodists have sprung up during
the last thirty years, in addition to that earlier sepa
ration which is emphatically denominated the New
Connexion. One party was called the Church Metho
dists, professing to cling to Mr. Wesley's original
high church views, and to disapprove of the practical
dissent into which the Wesleyans have diverged. The
attempt to return to the establishment seems to have
been abortive, and the splendid new chapel erected
for this purpose at Beverley, in Yorkshire, has been
closed. The Ranters, or Primitive Methodists, have been
formed into a distinct and active body. They do not
differ, either in doctrine or discipline, from the original
communion created by Mr. Wesley, which they con
sider to be fallen from its primitive simplicity, piety,
zeal and usefulness, for the restoration of which the
new society has been reared. The prohibition of
female preaching by the Conference having given a
special offence to those who recollected that this
practice had formerly prevailed, the Ranters formed
a rival Conference, and restored to the sisters the
D

34 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
liberty of prophesying. These, therefore, have formed'
an important part of the Primitive Methodist preach
ers, who go forth, not only into tlie villages and ham
lets, but also into streets and alleys of towns and
cities, calling men to repentance. They hold what
are called camp, or revival meetings, in various parts
of the country, and abound in displays of zeal, rude,
indeed, but not always discreditable to the body, or
unprofitable to the world. The preaching of women
will probably drop into disuse, as the female frame is
not fitted for such efforts, and the tumultuous charac
ter of their meetings will, perhaps, be corrected, as it
has been among the body from which this has ema
nated. The preachers are, of course, uneducated;
but hearers of the most cultivated minds, who have
listened to them in the streets, have been agreeably
surprised to find so much good sense and sterling
piety delivered with so much energy and zeal, and
with so little that could give just oft'ence. This sec
tion of the Methodists has, indeed, devoted itself to
a most desirable object, the care of the neglected, the
instruction of the lowest of our population, who are
sunken in the most degrading and ruinous ignorance
and vice. Th€ chapels of the Ranters, or Primitive
Methodists, are generally small and burthened with
debt, and their best efforts are made under the canopy
of heaven.
What is called the " Methodist Association" arose
out of the dissatisfaction felt by many of the Wes
leyans in the conduct of the Conference, which they
charge with virtually retracting the concessions made
to the people in 1797, when "the greatest part of the

NEW SECTS. 35
executive government, and of the superintendents'
authority, was given up." But it is said that the new
rules, published at the Conference office, in 1798, have
been altered without notice being given. To the preach
ers claim of a right to expel or retain members of
the Methodist Society, considerable lesistance was
opposed. About the year 1835, a number of the "London
Trustees," feeling concerned at the agitated state of
the connexion, and believing that the agitation was
generally occasioned by the arbitrary proceedings of
the preachers, subscribed and published a " Decla
ration," in which they recommended
" That the Conference should declare, that in future there should
be no expulsion from office, or membership, except by the consent
ofthe majority of the meeting by whom the accused ought metho-
distically to be tried: — That official meetings should have the
unfettered right of respectfully addressing the Conference on any
methodistical question affecting their interests : — That the opinion
of the quarterly meetings should be taken upon any proposed new-
law, and the consent of the majority obtained, before it should
become the law ofthe connexion."
Such were the principal things they recommended,
and the language employed, was to the preachers
courteous and respectful.
They were desirous of avoiding any measures which
might occasion an open rupture between them and
the preachers, and therefore resolved, not to call
public meetings, until every other measure had been
tried. At the approach of the season, they prepared
an "Appeal to the Conference," urging upon its
attention similar topics to those contained in their
D 2

3G HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
" Declaration " before referred to. In a few days, it
received the signatures of upwards of one hundred
official members, in the London circuits : six of the
trustees went to Sheffield, to present the " Appeal,"
and to urge the Conference to grant its requests.
When the minutes of the Conference were pub
lished, the trustees saw it was necessary to adopt more
vigorous measures ; and as many official persons, who
are not trustees, expressed a wish to unite with them,
it was resolved to foi'm a society, to be designated
"The London Wesleyan Methodist Association." It
is founded upon a recognition of the following pro^
positions :
I. That as the Holy Scriptures contain a sufficient rule. of
faith and practice, the church of Christ ought not to be re^
quired to submit to any ecclesiastical human authority, or
rule, except as required in the Word of God.
II. That no one class of officers in the church has authority, from
the Bible, to exercise exclusive power in tbe government of
the church.
III. That ecclesiastical history proves, that all the corruptions of
Christianity originated in the depravation of the character of
its ministers, and that such depravation was consequent upon
their advancement in worldly rank, and upon their having
been allowed, by degrees, to assume to themselves the entire
government of the church.
IV, That the Wesleyan itinerant preachers have, of late, assumed
to possess higher ministerial prerogatives than are claimed by
any other body of Protestant Christian ministers; asserting
that they have divine authority to make laws, and lo enforce
them, by expelling from church fellowship, whomsoever they
may determine ought, for refusing to obey them, to he ex
pelled, and now have publicly declared, in the minutes of this
year, 1835, tlieir determination to maintain those assumed
prerogatives.

NEW sEcrs. 37
V. That therefore it is requisite, that all lawful and proper means
be employed, to obtain for the Wesleyan societies their just
and scriptural rights, as to their government, and exemption
from the unscriptural ministerial domination now claimed over
them. If this be not done, the character of the Wesleyan
preachers will ultimately become depraved ; Methodism be
corrupted, enslaved, and debased, and so become a curse to
the world instead of a blessing.
The Evangelical Quakers are, like the body last
mentioned, a branch from an older denomination, and
it is not easy to say to what extent it may form a new
communion. The internal conflict among the Friends,
which gave rise to this movement towards an addi
tional sect, will be noticed in the chapter devoted to
the state of religion among Dissenters. While some
have so far abandoned the principles of George Fox
as to join other communions and receive baptism and
the Lord's supper, many who are dissatisfied with the
present state of the Friends, have gone no farther than
to hold separate meetings for worship, in which the
Scriptures are read and expounded, their authority as
a standing rule of faith and practice is maintained,
and the doctrine of justification by faith is exhibited
as the only path of peace. The characteristic prudence
of the body is seen in the slow and cautious move
ments by which the separatists advance towards the
formation of that society, which may, perhaps, in
future be better known under the name of the Evan
gelical Friends.
These new sects that have sprung up during the
last thirty years, are manifestly little more than modi
fications and amalgamations of the original bodies, or

38 HISTORY OF MSSENTERS.
repetitions of ancient extravagancies which had
burned themselves out and expired. Deriving their
members chiefly from the establishment, either imme
diately, or through the medium of Methodists who
still clung to it, the young communions have often
inspired their proselytes with ardent sectarian zeal.
Each additional sect both draws off those who had no
disposition to join any former body of Dissenters, and
gives to the general mass, with an accession of num
bers, an infusion of new blood, which, however, has
sometimes more of the fire of fever than of youth.
Religious liberty is thus acquiring fresh safeguards
against the predominance of any ambitious sect, as
well as against the interference of the state. It is,
however, to be deplored, that alienation and strife
usually attend the rise of a sect, while such an event
now ceases to throw any new light on the doctrines
of Scripture, or the methods by which Christians
should maintain the worship of God, and seek the
salvation of the world.
The love of domination, mental as well as physical,
the offspring of pride and selfishness, is seldom cured
but by circumstances, which thwart its schemes and
reduce it to despair. After a long and cruel war for
exclusive rule had ended in compelling what was
called the church to submit to the existence of a Pro
testant hierarchy, the new power immediately betrayed
the very spirit which it had condemned in its prede
cessor, and would have crushed all who refused to
submit to its sway. Nor were the Dissenters, by
all their sufferings, cured of the insane ambition to
reign alone. Each sect has, however, found itself

NEW SECTS. 39
followed by another, which has attracted public
favour and contended for pre-eminence. The accu
mulating numbers lead us to suspect that it may be
the design of the supreme Govex'nor, by these minute
divisions, to abate the pride of all, and prepare them
for fusion into some superior form, by which the
purity, as well as the unity, of the ancient church
shall be restored.

40 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

CHAPTER II.
THE HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.
Towards the end of the reign of George IIL, the
public mind in Britain took a more liberal turn. But
this movement may be ascribed to the illiberal party,
who, attempting to abridge religious liberty, discovered
that the world had been advancing, while they were
standing still. Extraordinary occurrences on the con
tinent of Europe had their share of influence in
opening the eyes of our countrymen to just views of
the connexion between civil government and religion.
Napoleon Buonaparte, having become emperor of
France, published a decree, dated from Rome, May 17,
1809, affirming that the union of spiritual and tem
poral power, was a source of mischief The papal
territory, therefore, he united to the French empire,
and the Inquisition he abolished, observing, that our
Lord Jesus Christ sought no temporal power, but re
quired men, in the affairs of this life, to be subject to
Caesar. The concordat which the French Emperor
induced the Pope to sign, and the dominion which the
victorious soldier assumed over religion in France,
shewed, indeed, that he did not understand the more
just and liberal principles which he advanced ; but,
whether he proceeded in the right direction, or the

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 41
wrong, he set men a thinking on the whole question,
and common sense led to considerable improvement
in the sentiments of mankind. When, therefore. Lord
Sidmouth attempted to abridge religious liberty, he
was surprised to find that he had opened the cage to
clip the wings of an eagle, which, escaping from his
grasp, took a new and bolder flight. Had the ill-
starred effort been made when first projected, it had
probably succeeded. For Mr. Pitt fostered such a
project, directing it not merely against the dissenters,
but against the evangelical clergy, whom he consi
dered their coadjutors in disturbing the peace of
society, by rousing increased attention to religion.
From the Life of Mr. Wilberforce it appears that
Mr. Pitt, under the influence of his tutor, Dr. Prety-
man, the bishop of Lincoln, had prepared a bill to
restrict religious liberty. But the immediate occasion
of this measure is thus recorded by the biographers.*
"A member of parliament,! who, on his accession to
a large fortune by his father's death, discontinued the
practice of the legal profession, but who acted as a ma
gistrate, with a considerable sense of his own impor
tance, got into a quarrel with a person who came to be
licensed as a dissenting teacher. Finding the applicant
very ignorant and somewhat forward, he at first resisted
the man's claim, but discovering that the law clearly en
titled him to a license, on paying the specified fee of a
shilling, or sixpence, he warmly exclaimed, ' that if such
was the law, then it should not continue so.' Accord
ingly, he considered how best to introduce some discre-
* Rev. Robert Isaac, and Samuel Wilbeiforce.
I Michael Angelo Taylor.

42 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS;
tionary power'to magistrates in granting, or withholding
of dissenting ministers' licenses. His purpose reached
the ears of the dissenters and methodists of the city
which he represented in parliament, and he soon found,
that, if he persisted in his endeavour, it would be at the
expense of his seat. He set himself, therefore, to devise
how best to get out of the difficulty, and actually pre
vailed on Mr. Pitt to adopt his measure. The regulations
tended materially to restrict the freedom hitherto en
joyed by protestant dissenters ; a fine for the first of
fence, and imprisonment for the second, were the
sanctions by which they were to be enforced.
"I lost no time, (says Mr. Wilberforce,) in conferring
with Mr. Pitt on the subject ; but he had been strongly
biassed in favour of the measure by Bishop Prety-
man, on whom I urged in vain the serious conse
quences that must infallibly ensue. We spent some
hours together, and I confess I never knew, tdl then,
how deep a prejudice his mind had conceived against
the class of clergy to whom he knew me to be attached.
(Mr. Pitt had before called them rascals.) It was in
vain, I mentioned to him, Mr. Robinson of Leicester,
Mr. Richardson of York, Mr. Milner of Hull, and Mr.
Atkinson of Leeds. He thought ill of their moral
character, and it clearly appeared that the prejudice
arose out of the confidence he reposed in the Bishop
of Lincoln. All I could obtain was an assurance, that
the measure should not actually be introduced without
his giving me another opportunity of talking over the
matter with him. Happily that opportunity never
oceurred ; of course I was in no hurry to press for it,
and the attempt never was resumed ; but some years

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 43
after, when Lord Sidmouth's memorable bill was in pro
gress, Lord Redesdale stated tliat he well remembered,
that, during Mr. Pitt's administration, a stronger bill
had been in contemplation, and he did not know why
it had been dropped. From this association of the
evangelical clergy with the dissenters, there is reason
to suspect that the restriction of religious liberty, if
carried against dissenters, would have been introduced
into the pale of the establishment." — Wilberforce' s
Life, vol. i. p. 362.
In the year 1809, Lord Sidmouth moved in the
House of Peers, for " a return of the number of per
sons who had obtained licenses to become dissenting
ministers, during the last fifty years." This inac
curate language, coming from such a quarter, and so
generally adopted, seems the result of design. For
the law knows nothing of licenses for the religion of
dissenters, whose ministers are required to take certain
oaths, and their places to be registered, of both which
the proper officers are required to give certificates.
Though the professed object of Lord Sidmouth's
motion was to prevent improper persons from escaping
civil burdens, by obtaining certificates as dissenting
ministers, the dissenters took the alarm, and called a
meeting at Dr. Williams's library on the 15th of June,
1809; as it was manifest that the real object was to
check that increase of dissenters, at which the arch
bishop of Canterbury expressed his alarm, while join
ing the Lord Chancellor in professions of attachment
to religious toleration.
The Methodists were roused by a movement which
seemed to be aimed especially at them ; for their ene-

44 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
mies boasted that the itinerant must soon be exchanged
for a stationary system. An attempt was made to
cajole the regular dissenters, by professing a solicitude
for their respectability, which was said to be injured
by the intrusion of ignorant itinerants into the minis
try. But only one dissenter, Mr. Belsham, of the uni
tarian creed, gave any public sanction to the proposed
tampering with the liberty of preaching. Village
preaching was the real object of attack, and neither
Lord Sidmouth nor his ecclesiastical coadjutors, knew,
or cared to distinguish between methodists, and those
dissenters who pursued these evangelical labours.
The spirit of opposition to them extended into Scotland,
where Mr. Donald M'Arthur, pastor of a dissenting con
gregation in the island of Bute, was sent on board a
ship of war, by a magistrate, who was, however, com
pelled by a court of law, " to pay him a hundred
guineas as a solatium."
When the returns were made to the House of Lords,
the dissenting places registered during the last fifty
years were found to be about twelve thousand, and the
preachers who had taken the oaths, four thousand.
This increase was much less than was expected ; but
the returns were no criterion ; for one congregation
might have had occasion to register many places ; while
another might have risen into existence, or doubled
its numbers, without making any entry in the courts ;
and many persons who began, did not continue to
preach ; while others, disapproving the law, refused
to place themselves under its shield, till some impe
rative occasion arose. But Lord Sidmouth, on the
20th of June, 1810, commented on the increase of

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 45
dissenters, and affirming that he knew many of their
own body disapproved of the indiscriminate licensing
of preachers, gave notice that he should, early in the
next session of parliament, make a motion on the sub
ject. For he contended that the law had, during the
last forty years, received a novel interpretation, by
giving to any person, however ignorant or profligate,
a right to preach, and thus to escape serving in the
militia. Lord Holland observed, that nothing but a
very strong case should induce government to inter
fere with that act, by which, not toleration, but justice
was secured to dissenters. Earl Stanhope shrewdly
asked, what were to be the criteria of a dissenting
minister, and who were to be the judges of his qualifi
cations. The press was immediately employed to address
warnings to Lord Sidmouth, and to arm the dissenters
against the machinations of their foes ; but the bill was
brought into the House of Lords and debated. May 21,
1811. The dissenters had prepared for the conflict. A
committee, which had been appointed by the general
body of the three denominations, to watch the progress
of the bill, published a string of resolutions agreed to
at a meeting held, May 16, when it was determined to
petition parliament against the proposed measures.
The dissenting deputies, also, took similar steps, and
the Wesleyan methodists joined a meeting of the
friends of religious liberty, at the London Tavern,
where a subscription was entered into, to guard the
sacred rights of conscience. A sub-committee waited
on the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to state their

46 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
sentiments, and engage the King's ministers to oppose
the bdl.
On the day appointed for the second reading, the
lords were astonished at the torrent of petitions against
the bill. Lord Erskine presented about two hundred
and fifty, and other noblemen, such numbers, that they
were piled in heaps, to the great obstruction of their
lordships, the amusement and delight of the friends,
and the mortification of the enemies of religious li
berty. Earl Stanhope observed, that, if the measure
were persisted in, the petitions against it, instead of
being counted by thousands, would amount to millions.
Lord Sidmouth, after inveighing against the kind of
persons who became dissenting preachers, betrayed
the real object of the bill, by saying, that, if things
went on in their present course, we should have a
nominal established church, and a sectarian people. To
prevent this, he would have limited the protection of
the law to ministers of separate congregations, in a
way that would have been fatal to the methodist sys
tem, as well as to many of the operations of the various
bodies of dissenters.
But the whole scheme was abortive ; for Lord Liver
pool, the Pretaier, said, that, though the motives ofthe
author were pure, and the nature of the bill much
mistaken, the alterations proposed were trifling, com
pared with the mischief it might create, in the present
agitated state of the public mind. The archbishop of
Canterbury followed in the same strain, and admitted
that the flood of petitions should induce the house to
stop short. Lord Sidmouth still pressed the second

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 47
reading ofthe bill ; but Lord Erskine contended that it
was a violation of the toleration, which the Lord Chan
cellor denied. Lord Holland condemned all legis
lation for religion, and even the toleration act as an
imperfect measure. Earl Stanhope expressed the same
opinion, and said that, on reading the statutes, with
a professional man at his side, he had marked off three
hundred laws on religion from the statute book ; and
that an act had passed in the reign of Edward VI.
"which shovelled them all away." The noble lord gave
notice, that he would, in the next session, introduce
a bill on the equitable principle of leaving religion to
itself After Earl Grey had declared that the pro
posed bill was so objectionable that no modifications
could reconcile him to it; it was ordered to be read
that day six months.
Since the attacks on religious liberty by the last
ministry of Queen Anne, which were defeated by her
death, no measure had so much alarmed the Dissenters
as Lord Sidmouth's bill, and nothing so powerfully
promoted their interests. Their strength, their energy,
and their means of concentrating their divided forces,
were now demonstrated ; for in forty-eight hours, six
hundred petitions were brought up to the Lords,
signed by a hundred thousand adult males. A last
ing benefit was conferred on the nation and the church
of God, by the proofs given of the existence and force
of a public voice, which no government could venture
to despise. For though the ministry concurred in
rejecting the bill, and thus secured an easy triumph
over it ; there is reason to fear that they would have
suffered it to pass, if the public had not been roused.

48 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
The dissenters returned thanks to the ministry, as Well
as to the opposition lords, who spoke nobly in behalf
of the rights of conscience.
Lord Sidmouth, contrary to his intention, gave a
death-blow to the long cherished machinations against
religious liberty ; for the confusion and consternation
that overwhelmed his party, on this occasion, proved a
beacon to all who inherited their spirit. The imme
diate consequence of the defeat of the obnoxious mea
sure, was, on the one hand, the passing of what was
called the New Toleration Act, which was a consider
able improvement on that of William and Mary, and,
on the other, the formation of the Protestant Society
for the Protection of Religious Liberty. The reasons
assigned for this new association of dissenters and
liberal churchmen, were the construction recently put
on the Toleration Act; the assumption by magistrates
of judicial authority, where their power is only minis
terial ; the recent outrages committed against dis
senting preachers and chapels ; and the revival of the
intolerant provisions of the Conventicle Act. Ninety
pounds were recovered from persons in Wales, who
were found at a prayer meeting; and in Berkshire
three hundred pounds were expended in resisting the
conviction of Mr. William Kent, of Childrey, in a
penalty of twenty pounds, for praying at such a meet
ing. A persecution of this kind was raised at Wick-
ham Market, in Suffolk, which cost the Dissenters
about five hundred pounds. To meet these expenses,
therefore, it was proposed to give to the new society
the surplus of tlie funds raised to resist Lord Sid
mouth's bill. The annual meetings ofthe society con-

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 49
tributed powerfully to promote the cause of religious
liberty, for some liberal nobleman, or distinguished
member of the House of Commons, presided, and
there learned the claims of the Dissenters and the
injustice inflicted on them, by the reports that were
read in public and eloquently commented on by one
of the secretaries, John Wdkes, Esq., the member of
Parliament for Boston.
But, notwithstanding the prompt and vigorous
interposition of the Society for the Protection of
Religious Liberty, so frequent and violent were the
attempts, in various parts of the country, to make the
existing laws answer the end proposed by Lord Sid
mouth's abortive measure, that the Dissenters applied
to government for relief, and Lord Castlereagh, one
of the secretaries of state, obtained leave, July 10th,
1812, to bring in a bill to restore things to the same
state they were in before the late decisions of the
quarter sessions. This, which has been called the
new Toleration Act, repealed three acts of Charles II. ;
the first for preventing the mischief that may arise
from persons refusing to take lawful oaths ; the second
for restraining Non-conformists from inhabiting cor
porations ; and the last to suppress seditious conven
ticles. The new act, therefore, extended, as well as
confirmed, religious liberty ; for, instead of restricting
its provisions to avowed Dissenters, it took Metho
dists, and even members of the establishment, under
its shield, on their declaring themselves Christians
and Protestants. The act of William and Mary allowed
no more than five persons to meet in an unregistered
place ; but this improvement on it, permits twenty ;

50 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
while it leaves ministers to defer taking the oaths of
allegiance and supremacy till they are required by
a magistrate ; and defends congregations, not only
from disturbances within the place of meeting, but
also from annoyances without. This was a great
triumph for our religious liberties, especially as it
arose out of attempts to return to the days of intole
rance. The manner in which the government co-ope
rated in the advanced movement was highly creditable
to a ministry that was not formed of the more liberal
party in the state. But the temper of the govern
ment, at this time, may be seen by the address which
the Archbishop of Canterbury and the clergy of his
province presented to the Prince Regent, expressive
of " the tenderest regard for those who differ from us
in religion."
The extension of the stale establishment of religion
to our Colonies, and especially to India, may be re
garded as aretrograde movement. The Rev. S. Claudius
Buchanan, in 1813, submitted to the imperial par
liament, "considerations on a colonial ecclesiastical
establishment, with a view to the conversion of our
Indian possessions to Christianity." He recom
mended the extension of our national church to all
our colonies, and the a])pointment of a bishop at
Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, with subordinate
members of the hierarchy. About this time, the
renewal of the charter of the East India Company
engaged public attention, and the eloquent pen of the
Rev. Robert Hall was employed to induce the nation
to demand free , access for missionaries into India.
Hitherto the policy of the company was to discoun-

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 51
tenance missionaries, and it had power to send them
out of the country ; so that those who gained access
went, not openly by a direct course, but by stealth,
and in a circuitous route, and were always defenceless
against the will of the colonial governors. Public
meetings, therefore, were held and petitions were
presented from all parts of the country, to obtain the
insertion in the new charter of a clause to secure
religious liberty in India. The petitions of nearly
half a million of persons were powerfully supported,
in the Commons, by Mr. Wilberforce, the philanthropic
advocate of the negroes ; and in the House of Peers,
by various liberal noblemen ; so that the clause which
secures to missionaries the right to enter India, and
pursue their benevolent labours there, was carried by
a great majority, and the bill received the royal assent.
This was a national triumph ; for it rescued Britain
from the guilt of closing the door of mercy against
a hundred millions, over whom we have a direct, or
indirect sway, in India. If, however, those who
pleaded for an ecclesiastical establishment in that
country, sought the spiritual welfare of its inhabitants,
all who consider a state church to be an unscriptural
and injurious device must naturally deplore its intro
duction into new domains, as still more indefensible
than its continuance where deeply-rooted prejudices
and complicated interests form its best apology. That
it should have done mischief in India will surprise
none who have watched the progress of human affairs ;
but it is painful to see the men who ventured first into
the breach and stormed the citadel of idolatry, com
pelled to struggle against the domination of those who
E 2

52 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
came, in pomp and power, to reap the fruits of other
men's victories. As the essence of a state church lies
in the employment of human power, physical force, in
religion, it would be absurd to expect that those who
act upon that system should not sometimes exercise
a dominion that is not founded in grace, or in reason.
But the civil sceptre, armed with the sword, has, in
India, as well as in Britain, defended Dissenting mis
sionaries from the ecclesiastical crosier.
The peace of society was, about the year 1813,
n)uch disturbed by an attempt to assess dissenting
chapels for the poor's rates, which was vigorously
resisted by the minister of Surrey chapel, near Lon
don, who, though unwilling to be classed among
Dissenters, fought their battles through a protracted
and embittered struggle. In many instances, the
Society for the Protection of Religious Liberty de
feated those who attempted to tax the Dissenting
places of worship ; but, after various applications to
the legislature, the requisite legal protection was
obtained, which set the question at rest, in 1815, when
school rooms for gratuitous instruction of the poor, as
well as chapels, were exempted from all parochial
rates. Another step of advancement in the march of re
ligious freedom was taken in 1818. The Toleration
Act expressly provided " that nothing contained
therein should give ease or benefit to any Papist, or
any person that shall deny, in his preaching or writing,
the doctrine of the blessed Trinity." The spirit ofthe
times had, indeed, preserved those who denied the
Trinity from actual persecution ; but they lived upon

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 53
sufferance, and might, at any time, have been perse
cuted by a malicious or mistaken foe, and Mr. Fox
had in vain employed his powerful eloquence to obtain
for them, twenty years before, that protection which
the act of William and Mary should have accorded
to all. But Mr. William Smith, member of Parlia
ment for Norwich, succeeded, at length, in obtaining
an act intituled " An Act to repeal certain Acts and
amend other Acts relating to Religious Worship and
Assemblies, and Persons teaching or preaching therein."
This repealed that exception which deprived Uni
tarians of the benefit of the Toleration Act — that part
of the act against blasphemy and profaneness which
applied to denying the doctrine of the Trinity — and
two acts of the Scotch legislature which doomed Uni
tarians to death. The quietness with which these
intolerant laws were blotted out of the statute book,
was a gratifying proof of the advanced spirit of the age.
It is, however, painful to record that, even in the
higher circles, a disposition to persecute was betrayed,
where the law afforded no protection. Lord Romney
informed against the Honourable Charles Noel, for
celebrating worship at Barham Court, in Kent, though
by the forms and the ministry of the establishment.
The plea of ignorance could not procure exemption
from the fine of forty pounds for two offences. Similar
proofs of a disgraceful temper were given, at the close
ofthe year 1816, when Mr. Hopkins, the Independent
minister at Tisbury, Wdts, was disturbed in a riot
raised by those who ought to have taught " peace on
earth and good will among men." The Protestant
Society for the Protection of Religious Liberty,

54 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
brought the cause before Mr. Justice Holroyd, who
expressed to the jury his conviction that a riot had
been proved, and they gave their verdict " guilty of
a riot," against the perpetual curate who resided at
Tisbury, the peace officer, and seven other persons.
At the same assizes, held at Sarum, the same judge
decided that a farmer had been dlegally charged with
the turnpike toll, when going to his ordinary place of
worship, the Independent chapel at Devizes. It was
pleaded, that, by going out of his own parish, the
Dissenter lost the right of exemption from the toll;
but the judge confirmed a previous sentence of Mr.
Justice Grose, that such a plea was untenable.
The celebration, in 1818, of the centenary of the
Reformation contributed eminently to interest the
public mind in behalf of religious liberty; for the
Reformation was an assertion of the right of private
judgment, without which the Scriptures exist in vain.
Two very opposite events, also, promoted the cause of
religious freedom ; the persecution of the evangelical
party, by the Socinianised leaders in the church of
Geneva ; and the crusade of the Catholics against the
Protestants in the department of the Gard, on the
return of the Bourbons to the throne of France. The
horror created by persecution is always favourable
to freedom ; as was manifest in the conduct of Queen
Mary, which was fatal to Popery in England ; and in
the reaction created by the French persecutions.
The Dissenters were alarmed, in 1820, by the bill
which Mr. Brougham brought into the House of Com
mons, to create a naUonal system of education. To re
ward the clergy for communicating information, he pro-

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 55
posed to entrust them with the execution of his plan.
Schools were to be established all over the country,
and the schoolmasters were to be of the estab
lished church, of which they were to give proof,
by having taken the sacrament within six months
previously. This proposal of a new sacramental test
filled the Dissenters with astonishment, and roused
them to oppose the scheme, which, however, was
postponed for six months, and finally dropped. The
project of a system of national education was, indeed,
revived by the same person, several years after, when
he was ex-chancellor ; but though he abandoned his
exclusive clauses, he could never regain the confidence
of the Dissenters, who had not seen any thing so
unjust and intolerant as his first scheme, since the
famous schism bill of the latter days of Queen Anne.
It is remarkable that Mr. Brougham made no provision
for the education of girls ; though it must be manifest,
to every reflecting mind, that the mental condition of
this half of our race is of the highest importance to
the improvement of the other. Hitherto, nothing has
been done so liberally and wisely for national edu
cation, in which our country is disgracefully inferior
to many others, as that which the Reform ministry
effected, by obtaining parliamentary grants which are
divided between the schools of the National — an ex
clusive society belonging to the establishment — and
the British and Foreign schools, which are open to all.
Wherever the half of the requisite funds for a school
is provided by private benevolence, the government
furnishes the other half
To accomplish the object of Lord Sidmouth's bill,

56 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
in a less offensive way, a million was granted by
Parliament for building new churches ; for it was
affirmed that Dissenters increased, in many places, for
want of church room. This grant the Dissenters
suffered to pass unnoticed ; but as the duty on the
building materials was remitted by government, the
sum was really, though not apparently, much in
creased, and they contended that the same exemption
from duty should be conceded to those who erected
places of worship, without taxing the nation. This
approach to even-handed justice has not, however,
been made.
Another occurrence which interested the public,
demands notice here; for though it belongs to the
history of the established church, rather than to that
of the Dissenters, it deeply affected the religious
liberties of our country. Dr. Herbert Marsh, bishop
of Peterborough, required all who applied to him for
ordination, to answer eighty-seven questions, the drift
of which may be known by their being called " Traps
to catch Calvinists." This large addition to the
Thirty-nine Articles, without the sanction of the autho
rity by which they are imposed, was felt to be a
great grievance by those who were refused ordination
because they could not agree to the Pelagianism of
the new questions. It was observed, that they entirely
omitted all inquiry into personal piety, or ministerial
qualifications, and were directed exclusively against
the Calvinistic and evangelical tendency of the creed
established by law. The university of Cambridge
was called upon by some of the clergy, who wrote
against this imposition, to remove the prelate from his

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 57
office of Margaret Professor of divinity ; and the affair
was severely noticed in Parliament ; so that, as other
bishops did not concur in this new attempt to coerce
the consciences of the clergy, it was abandoned. The
days of Laud were gone by, and religious liberty was
triumphant beyond the established pale ; or this
serious attack on the evangelical party in the church
would not have been so easily foiled.
The sympathies ofthe nation were, in 1824, roused
most intensely by the sufferings and death of Mr.
Smith, a missionary in Demerara. His zealous labours
for the spiritual welfare of the slaves in that colony,
had kindled the wrath of their cruel masters, who
accused him falsely of fomenting rebellion, and threw
him into prison, where he died. A letter which he
wrote to the secretary of the Society for the Protection
of Religious Liberty, was intercepted by the rulers of
the colony ; but the London Missionary Society, which
had sent him out, having applied to the government
at home, it gave prompt attention to the case ; and
Mr. Brougham, in the senate, so eloquently pleaded
the cause of the martyr, that the painful event proved
most advantageous to religious liberty, and the cause
of missions. Demerara itself, afterwards, seemed
ambitious of atoning for its fault, by an entire change
of conduct ; so that this colony has become a most
favoured seat of missions, where the liberty of the
Gospel has turned the curse of slavery into a blessing.
The attempt to relieve Unitarians from the necessity
of recognising the Trinity, in the ceremony of mar
riage, though a failure, deserves notice here, on
account of two attendant circumstances. The arck-

58 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
bishop of Canterbury voted for the bill, which was
brought into the House of Lords ; and the Lord Chan
cellor Eldon denied that the repeal of the penal
statute of William and Mary against the oppugners
of the Trinity, had given complete toleration to Uni
tarians, whom he affirmed to be still' liable to punish
ment by the common law. That such a statement
should have been made, unaccompanied by any ex
pression of regret, affords a melancholy proof of the
extent to which the technicalities of law may blind the
mind to the claims of liberty and equity. Though the
bill for the relief of the Unitarians obtained a second
reading, it was thrown out, and Dr. Phillimore then
abandoned a bill which he had introduced to the
Commons for the relief of Catholics in England from
the necessity of conformity to the established religion,
in marriages and burials. As a precursor to a more
general display of liberality, it should be recorded,
that, in 1825, the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn
abrogated one of their bye laws which, by requiring
every candidate to produce a certificate of having
taken the sacramental test, virtually excluded Dissent
ers from being called to the bar. But, on the 1 6th
of November, 1825, a spontaneous order was issued
by the Benchers, which placed the admission to the
bar of students of that society on the same ground as
in other inns of court.
The grand event of the nineteenth century was the
repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, which had,
for more than two centuries, disgraced the statute
book. For obtaining relief, efforts were made, in
1787, 1789, and 1790; and the last unsuccessful

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 59
attempt bears the date of 1823. The hour of success
seems to have taken the Dissenters by surprise ; but
they were now assisted by the most pious and judicious
friends of the established church, and by the Roman
Catholics. A united committee was formed, in 1827,
from the deputies ; a committee of the three denomi
nations ; the board of congregational ministers ; the
united associate Presbytery of London ; the Unitarian
Association ; and the Protestant Society for the Pro
tection of Religious Liberty. A periodical publication,
called the Test Act Reporter, was issued for this single
object, and a very able statement of the case was
published by the united committee. Other tracts also
issued from the press, to enlighten the public mind,
which was found to be very ignorant of the nature
and effects of the obnoxious acts. For they were so
far virtually repealed by the annual bill of indemnity
that their intolerance, being neutralised, was concealed
from the view of many, who would otherwise have
raised their voices for the repeal. But even the lame
device of an annual bill of indemnity, a disgrace to the
legislation of our country, was perverted, in order to
afford the relief which was made a plea for suffering
the acts to remain on the statute book ; for the in
demnity was intended, not for conscientious Dissenters,
but for careless churchmen, who had neglected to take
the sacramental test, or for officers of the army and
navy, who had been prevented, by their employments
on foreign service.
When the Toleration Act was passed, the temper of
the high church party, which gave William so much
annoyance, prevented the government from availing

60 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
itself of the proper moment for the repeal of the intole
rant statutes. The auspicious moment having, how
ever, at last arrived, a meeting of the liberal members
of Pariiament, in Palace Yard, Westminster, unani
mously recommended an immediate application to the
legislature. Lord John Russell, whose family had
always been the champions of religious liberty, was
requested to take the lead, by moving for leave to
bring in a bill to repeal the Test and Corporation
Acts. To awaken the Dissenters, who had slumbered
over the question, and to call forth petitions, the
general body met at Dr. Wdliams' library, Dec. 11,
1827, and published a very able address, admirably
calculated to produce the best effect, not only on Dis
senters, but on the whole community.
Lord John Russell, on presenting petitions for the
repeal, in the House of Commons, June, 1827, had
made a very able speech, and observed, " I have voted
for the removal of disabilities imposed by law on the
Roman Catholics, who had been adherents to the
house of Stuart ; and I could not but do the same for
the Protestant Dissenters, the zealous adherents of the
house of Hanover. These laws are nothing but the
dregs of the persecuting spirit of the sixteenth century.
The test required tends to the profanation of one of the
most sacred rites of our holy religion, and the Indemnity
Act is nothing but an incomplete and insulting pardon
for men who have committed no offence. The pe
titions are numerous almost beyond precedent, and
many deserve peculiar consideration ; for they are
founded on the broad ground of the injustice and im
policy of all disabilities on account of religion. There

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 61
are many petitions from members of the church of
England against these infringements on the rights of
conscience, and I shall have to present petitions from
Roman Catholics also."
The conduct of the corporation of the city of
London contributed powerfully to the triumph of
liberty and justice. A requisition being sent to the
Lord Mayor, by about a hundred persons, a special
court of common council was held, May 9, 1827, to
consider the propriety of petitioning Parliament for
the repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts. Mr.
Favell, a Dissenter, introduced the subject, and the
court resolved, by avast majority, that "the Corpora
tion and Test Acts were passed in times, when almost all
parties were opposed to the rights of conscience, and
the principles of religious liberty." The first corpo
ration in the empire, which had, in 1790, petitioned
against the repeal, and thanked those representatives
of the city who had voted against it, now nobly re
deemed its character, by passing liberal resolutions,
and presenting a petition full of just sentiments hap
pily expressed.
But, while a civic corporation voted for wiping
away the blot cast upon the Christian religion, by the
profanation of the Lord's supper to secular purposes ;
Dr. Herbert Marsh, bishop of Peterborough, took the
opposite course, in a charge delivered to his clergy,
in July, 1826, which he published, under the title of
the " Influence of the Roman Catholic question on the
Established Church." He objected to Catholic eman
cipation, because the first and necessary consequence
would be the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts ;

62 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
observing that " it would be the height of injustice if
the door were opened to those who act under the
spiritual sway of a foreign potentate, and kept shut
against such as submit to no other governors than
such as are subjects ofthe British crown."
Though it was deemed prudent to withdraw the
notice of motion for the repeal of the Corporation and
Test Acts in 1827, it was determined to renew it in the
next session of parliament. The way was prepared by
Mr. Favell's motion in the common council of the city
of London, for petitioning parliament, agreeably to the
resolutions of the preceding year. So strong was the
tide in favour of the petition proposed, that only three
hands were held up against it ; the members of parlia
ment who belonged to the court were desired to pre
sent it ; and great hopes were expressed that other
corporations would follow that of the metropolis.
Petitions for the repeal of the intolerant act, were,
indeed, poured into the Houses of Lords and Commons
from all parts of the country, and not only did liberal
members of the Established Church join in the effort,
but Roman Catholics also, though they had been in
formed that the Dissenters would oppose Catholic
emancipation, after obtaining their own.
Lord John Russell moved, in the House of Com
mons, Feb. 26, 1828, for leave to bring in a bill for
the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts. His
speech was full of that information which was much
wanted ; for many of the members of the legislature
were strangely ignorant of the nature of the obnoxious
acts, and of the position in which they placed the Dis
senters. The noble mover showed, that it " was once

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 63
the custom for persons to be waiting in a neighbouring
tavern, when some one belonging to the church came
and called for the gentlemen who wished to qualify,
for the sacrament was just about to be administered."
He argued, that "those who opposed the repeal because
they were apprehensive of danger to the Established
Church, paid it an ill compliment, supposing it could
not stand alone with just and equal laws, and observed,
that, while no such tests exist in Scotland, the estab
lished church stands, as also, in Ireland, where the
Protestant church is exposed to far greater danger.''
He concluded by saying, " the illustrious person (the
Duke of Wellington) now at the head of his majesty's
counsels, the conqueror at Waterloo, that great per
sonage, entitled as he is to the gratitude of the country,
standing in the singular position that he does, com
manding the patronage of the church, and the patron
age of the state, having an army of a hundred thousand
men attached to him, from long service and command,
I had almost said, having at his disposal, the power of
the sovereign, even he, great as is his power, and ex
tensive as is his patronage, must modify his opinions,
and fashion his actions to the age in which he lives.
He must look to the signs of the times, and if so, he
must see the necessity of granting these rights, which
the Protestant Dissenters have demanded, which may
be retarded, but cannot long be withheld."
The motion for a committee of the whole house to
consider of the repeal was seconded by Mr. John Smith,
who, commenting on the ignorance that prevailed in
the house, shewed to what absurd lengths the test act
went, obliging even serjeants and corporals in the

G4 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
army, and pedlars, who hawked goods through the
country, to take the sacrament, as a qualification; and
imposing penalties so severe as to ruin a man, render
ing him incapable of receiving a legacy. " Would it
not be more merciful (he exclaimed), to throw a man
into the Thames at once ?" He related several anec
dotes that showed how ignorant of the acts were many
of the very persons who were specially intended to be
controlled by them.
Sir Robert Inglis, was the first who spoke on the
opposite side, and he contended that the acts in ques
tion were necessary for the protection ofthe Established
Church ; while Mr. Secretary Huskisson, opposed the
repeal, because he thought it would be injurious to the
object he wished to accomplish, the emancipation of
the Roman Catholics.
Mr. Peel, the chancellor of the exchequer, having
been called up by some remarks of Lord Milton, pro
fessed the greatest respect for the Dissenters, and
wished he had not been compelled to vote on the
present occasion ; because he was not like those in the
opposition, who have none to consult but themselves.
He opposed the repeal of the acts, which, he said, pro
duced little practical injury to the Dissenters ; and
as there was a very good feeling between them and
Churchmen, this should not be disturbed by any
change in the law. When the house divided, the
ministers were confounded to find that there were,
Ayes .... 237
Noes .... 193

Majority for going into the committee . 44

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 65
On Thursday, February 28th, Lord John Russell
moved the order of the day for going into the com
mittee, and Mr. Spring Rice was called to the chair.
The mover expressed the highest satisfaction at the
tone of conciliation which had characterised the de
bate ; but Mr. Peel owned the surprise and disap
pointment he felt at the majority with which the mea
sure had been carried ; while some who had voted
with Lord John Russell, began to talk of a suspension,
rather than a repeal, and Mr. Peel asked for a few
days' delay.
"Lord Viscount Milton. Mr. Spring Rice; — if
honourable gentlemen who now, all at once, evince
so ardent a disposition to conciliate and promote the
wishes of the majority of this house, asked for delay
for the purpose of devising a bona fide remedy for the
grievances under which the Protestant Dissenters of
England have so long laboured, I would advise my
noble friend to grant them that delay. But, Sir, as
I am convinced that these Gentlemen have no such
object, I beg my noble friend will not remit his exer
tions in carrying this measure through the house, by
an unseasonable delay of three or four days. For,
upon what ground does the Honourable Baronet (Sir
Edward KnatchbuU) who spoke last, and the Member
for the University of Oxford (Mr. Estcourt) ask for
delay ? Because, forsooth, they are taken by sur
prise — that they did not expect the decision of the
house— -that they were disappointed on that occasion —
that they were not prepared for the alternative of a
total repeal of the acts, or a total defeat of my noble
friend's proposition. I ask, why are they taken by

66 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
surprise ? How can they be unprepared for that
alternative ? For, what were the terms of the notice of
the motion given by my noble friend, now standing
upon the books of the house, and since the opening of
the session? Here they are, in the book in my hands;
for a ' Repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts.'
What then becomes ofthe objections of the honourable
gentlemen to our proceeding at once ? Away, there
fore, with these idle, false pretences, which those who
advance them must know to be false pretences. I know,
that their only object in making them is to endeavour,
some way or other, to regain the vantage ground which
they lost by the majority of the other night ; and, by
delay, to defeat the Protestant Dissenters, and not only
them, but, I will say also, to defeat the best interests
of the church, of which they profess themselves to be
the most zealous supporters.
"Mr. Secretary Peel. Sir, I moved for a short
delay, for the purpose of giving this subject fuller con
sideration ; that proposition has been met in a spirit —
in a spirit so totally different from that which, I
declare on my honour, I made it in ; the noble lord
has thrown out imputations so utterly foreign to me,
that I do demand — why was not the proposal I made
met in the same spirit of concdiation with which every
one must agree that the motion of last Tuesday was
met ? When I say that delay would be beneficial to
the question, I do not ask for delay with any other ob
ject : I do not propose suspension or delay for any
sinister purpose. I should have been happy to have
undertaken a co-operation with the noble lord in his
views, but now let him take his own course ; — let him

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTV. 67
move his resolution. — I shall propose no suspension
— I shall accept of no delay ; — I shall give no vote
upon the subject; — but I shall reserve to myself full
liberty, at any future period, to meet the subject in
any way I think proper."
During an angry discussion, Mr. Peel left the house,
as it was thought, in a passion. But he returned, and
endeavoured to remove the impression he had created.
The debate, after this, turned on the introduction of a
declaration into the proposed bill of repeal, to answer
the end of a test, by compelling all to declare that they
would not use any office to which they might be called,
to the injury of the Church of England. Lord John
Russell and his friends pleaded for the unconditional
repeal ; but Mr. Sturges Bourne proposed a declaration
to be taken by all, whether dissenters or churchmen,
on entering office, and Mr. William Smith, as a dis
senter, ceded the point.
Lord Holland introduced the bill in the House of
Peers, by saying, " My Lords, I rise to move the first
reading of a bill just brought up from the House of
Commons, for repealing so much of several acts as
imposes the necessity for receiving the sacrament of the
Lord's supper, as a qualification for certain offices."
He then expressed his satisfaction at the success of the
measure, and at the conciliatory conduct of the Church
of England, its clergy and bishops. On the 17th of
April, his lordship observed, " Here is a bill, which
after gliding through all the perdous passes, which
were so fatal to its predecessors, has arrived where,
until this day, not a breath of adverse wind has blown
upon it." It would be difficult to do justice to the
F 2

68 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
wisdom and eloquence of his lordship's speech, but it
would be going too far to ascribe to it that which fol
lowed ; for the Archbishop of York, after apologising
for the absence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who
was indisposed, declared that he felt himself obliged
to vote for the repeal of those acts which had given
rise, in too many instances, to the profanation of the
most sacred rites of our religion. Other prelates fol
lowed in the same strain; but the ex-chancellor, Eldon,
declared, that the proposed bdl was calculated to de
stroy a great principle in our constitution.
The premier, the Duke of Wellington, observed,
that the government had opposed the bill, on its intro
duction into the other house, but when it had received
the sanction of a decided majority, he had thought it
wise to yield. Viscount Goderich delivered a very
convincing speech, which contained the following
passage :
" My Lords, it is probable I may speak on this sub
ject from feelings in which few of your Lordships can
share ; for it has been my lot to hold various offices,
and I have also taken the sacrament on various occa
sions ; but I was only called on to qualify for one office,
and that was the Chancellorship of the Exchequer.
Why this was the case I really do not know, except it
be that, perhaps, the Chancellorship of the Exchequer
is a peculiarly dangerous office — why it is so dan
gerous I cannot tell. Be that as it may, however,
soon after my nomination I was told it was absolutely
necessary that I should, upon a certain Sunday, in a
certain church, qualify myself for retaining office hy
taking the sacrament. God knows I had not the

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 69
smallest objection to do that : I was accustomed to do
so ; but it did so happen that I had received it shortly
before my appointment, though not with a view to
qualify myself for the enjoyment of any temporal
office ; and I naturally said to my informant, ' Won't
that do ? ' But the answer was, ' Oh ! no, not at all,
by no means.' Well, I complied, and to the church,
on the day intimated, I proceeded, for the purpose of
receiving the sacrament ; and I will say it was to me
one of the most painful duties I had ever been called
upon to perform, considering its object, and combining,
as it did, two duties, of the combination of which I
could not approve."
The Bishop of Chester made a long and able and
candid speech, in favour of the bill, answering Lord
Eldon, who had uttered his fears for the christian
character of the country, by showing that this did not
depend on the Test and Corporation Acts, but was prior
to them, and would remain when they should be abo
lished. The prelate contended that the sacramental
test was a grievous burden to the consciences of the
clergy, who were obliged by it to admit to the supper
of the Lord, persons who came to qualify for office,
but were of such a character as would have justified
the minister in refusing to admit them. He proved
by numerous facts that the security they afforded to
the church was perfectly nugatory, and that equal
security, at least, would be furnished by the proposed
bill. But he took this opportunity of denouncing the
London University, for proposing to banish religion
from education.
Lord Mansfield opposed the bill, in a speech which

70 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
seemed designed to tarnish the honour of the great
name he bore. He commented, in a severe manner,
on some of the petitions in favour of the bill, especially
on those from " the Roman Catholics, who prayed that
their suffering brethren might be released from op
pression, at the same time that, by the acknowledged
doctrine of the church to which these petitioners be
longed, the persons for whom they petitioned are
condemned to eternal destruction. This," he contended,
"proved that their motive was to destroy, on some pre
tence or other, the test, that they might themselves be
able to take office."
When the Chancellor put the question, that the bill
be now read a second time, he declared that the con
tents had it.
The Earl of Winchelsea then said, " My Lords,
I hold in my hand a clause which I shall certainly
propose to be added to the bill when it is in committee.
By this clause, the relief sought to be afforded to the
Dissenters will not be abridged ; and the clause con
tains a declaration of Christianity to which I cannot
conceive there will be any objection on the part of any
Christian sect. With your Lordships' leave, I will
read the clause which I wish to introduce into the
bdl. " ' And whereas, many religious and conscientious
persons having objected to the necessity of taking the
sacrament of the Lord's supper for the purposes
aforesaid, as tending to an irreverent use of the same ;
and whereas, experience for many years past having
proved that many Protestant Dissenters from the
Church of England and Ireland may be admitted to

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTV. 71
offices in corporations, and to offices of trust under
the crown, without injury to the constitution in Church
and State, it is expedient that some other provision be
substituted in lieu of the said sacramental test.
" ' And whereas, by the laws of this realm, consti
tuting and confirming for ever the treaties of union
between England and Ireland, it is solemnly enacted
and declared that the churches of England and Ireland,
as by law established, be united into one protestant
and episcopal church, to be called the united church
of England and Ireland ; and that the doctrine, wor
ship, and government of the said united church shall
be, and shall remain, in full force for ever, as the
same are now by law established for the Church of
England ; and that the continuance and preservation
of the said united church, as the Established Church
of England and Ireland, shall be deemed and taken to
be an essential and fundamental part of the said union ;
and that, in like manner, the doctrine, worship, and
government of the Church of Scotland shall remain
and be preserved as the same are now by law esta
blished by the acts for the union of the two kingdoms
of England and Scotland ;
" ' And whereas, it is just and fitting that all persons
now required by law to take the sacramental test
aforesaid, should, on being excused therefrom, be re
quired to give some other sufficient assurance of their
being well-disposed to the continuance and preser
vation of the said united church ;
" ' Be it therefore enacted, that so much and such
parts of the said several acts, passed in the 13th and
25th years of the reign of King George the Second, as

72 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
require, &c., be repealed. And be it further enacted
that in lieu of being required to take or receive the
said sacrament, as aforesaid, all persons who are at
present by law required to take the said sacrament,
&c., either as a qualification for being admissible to
any corporation, or to any office of trust, or as a con
dition subsequent to being admitted to any such cor
poration, &c., shall, except as hereafter excepted,
immediately before their admission to such corporation,
&c., make and subscribe the declaration following : —
" ' I, A. B., being about to be admitted to (as the
case may be), do solemnly declare in the presence of
Almighty God, and of his Son, our Saviour, Jesus
Christ, that I do firmly hold and believe that the ca
nonical books of the Old and New Testament, as they
are set forth by authority within this realm, are true,
and do contain the true revealed word of Almighty
God ; and I do promise and swear that I will do
nothing to injure or weaken the united church of
England and Ireland, as by law established, or to
bring into contempt the doctrine, discipline, and
government thereof. — So help me God.'
" ' And whereas, there are several offices of trust
under the crown, of too little power or influence to
make it necessary to require the said declaration from
persons admitted to the same ;
" ' Be it therefore enacted, that his majesty in coun
cil shall be enabled to enumerate and publish, by order
of council, a list of such inferior officers as his said
majesty in council shall deem not to require the said
declaration to be made as a qualification for admission
to the same. '.Provided always, and be it further

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 73
¦enacted, that nothing herein contained shall be con
strued so as to empower his majesty, as aforesaid, to
excuse from taking the said declaration any person
about to be admitted to be a member of his majesty's
most honourable privy council, or any person ap
pointed and named to be judge in any of his majesty's
courts of king's bench, common pleas, or exchequer,
or judge of any court of record within this realm, or to
be justice of the peace in any county of the same, or
to hold any office of state under his majesty, his heirs,
and successors.
" ' And whereas, there is an ancient and laudable
custom, that the judges of assize, on their several cir
cuits in England and Wales, do solemnly attend divine
service, according to the rites of the Church of Eng
land, in the cathedral or other principal church of the
city or town wherein the said assize is holden ;
" ' Be it declared, that it shall be part of the
duty of the said judges of assize to attend divine
service according to the rites of the Church of England
as aforesaid, unless prevented by illness or other un
avoidable impediment.' "
This amendment, which was afterwards modified,
shows the spirit of the opposing party ; but by a
considerable majority it was negatived. On go
ing into the committee, the Earl of Roseberry
showed, that the Test and Corporation Acts were a
great grievance to the Scotch established church. Lord
Eldon replied at considerable length; and, though
answered by Lord Holland, declared, that if every man
in the house voted for the bill, he would go below the
bar and vote against it. ^.^i^sii^'"'^''-- .

. .„ ,..*«-.''"¦'-¦'

74 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
In discussing the declaration to be substituted for
the test, a curious scene of recrimination occurred.
The Bishop of Chester, commenting on Lord Eldon's
proposal, to have those who approved the sacramen
tal test to continue to take it, said, "The earl defended
the sacramental test, as a means of excluding dis
senters, and then proposed that, as many dissenters, as
well as churchmen, took this test, they should be al
lowed to continue to do so. I should like to know
how the noble and learned lord can reconcile principles
so different." Lord Eldon answered, "the right reve
rend prelate would be better employed in attending to
his own consistency of conduct, than in talking about
that of others." The bishop replied to a prophecy of
Lord Eldon, that Chester would be exchanged for
Canterbury, "I would advise the noble and learned
lord, hereafter, to found his reasonings on something
more tangible and more to the purpose than his pre
sent hypothesis. Such a course will be more con
sistent with his duty, and tend more effectually to
attain the object of his argument." The Earl of Eldon
then requested the right reverend prelate would ab
stain from giving his advice, where he was not asked
for it ; saying, " I am sure I am not likely to follow his
admonitions, at least in the present instance."
Almost the whole time of the house was devoted to
the declaration that was to be substituted for the
sacramental test, and great care was taken by the
Duke of Wellington to suffer nothing to pass which
would prejudice the cause of the Roman Catholics.
When Lord Roden expressed his regret that more care
seemed to be taken of the temporalities of the church

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 75
than of its religion, one of the Bishops made a de
claration that should be put on record.
"The Bishop of Lincoln. I wish, my Lords, to
say a few words upon what has fallen from the noble
earl who has just spoken. I believe that in what that
noble earl has uttered, concerning the support given
by the bench of bishops to the declaration proposed to
be introduced into the present bill, he has fallen into
a serious mistake, since, in declaring his opinion upon
the insufficiency of that declaration, he has asserted
that the bishops have shown a greater regard for the
temporalities than for the spiritualities of the church.
If the proposition submitted by the noble baron, with
respect to the declaration, had been to alter the liturgy
of the church in conformity with the opinions of the
Dissenters, to expunge from its articles some part of
the substance of its creed, or to change its doctrines
or its discipline ; if these, or any of these, had been
the objects of the proposal, there would have been
some ground for the assertion, that the clergy in this
house had neglected the spiritual doctrines of the
church. But what is the question before the house ?
It is, whether a portion of the two acts of parliament,
whereby persons dissenting from the doctrines of the
Church of England are excluded from holding cor
porate offices, shall be repealed. That, and that only,
is the question before the house. Now, what con
ceivable connexion there is between that proposition
and the spiritual doctrines of the Church of England,
I confess I cannot see ; and I am surprised that the
noble lord should have fallen into the error of con
ceiving that there is any. The facts and arguments

76 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
advanced by the noble earl could only have arisen
from a mistake of the nature of the proposition before
the house, or from a confusion of two things perfectly
distinct in their existence — namely, the temporahties
of the church, and its spiritual character. I will tell
your lordships that these two things are not connected
together, and that one of these may be destroyed
without the principle of the other being affected. The
church may be separated from the state — its ministers
may be ejected from their benefices — its revenues may
be transferred to the support of other denominations,
or diverted to secular purposes — but still it will con
tinue to exist as a religious community ; its believers
will meet, like the primitive churches of Christianity,
for the purpose of performing the act of worship ac
cording to its creed ; and they will perform it in a
decent form, and with great scrupulousness as to its
rites, although they may be deprived of their places of
worship. It may be stripped of its worldly wealth,
but it will remain rich in spiritual blessings. Such
charges as those made by the noble earl against the
members of this bench can only proceed from a confu
sion of the two things to which I have already referred,
and which, I am fully convinced, are in their nature
extremely different. The charge, however, is one of
so grave a nature, that, though founded in mistake,
I could not but feel that I was called on immediately
to deny it."
The bill passed by a great majority, and received
the royal assent.
The Dissenters expended about three thousand
pounds in conducting this affair to a successful issue.

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 77
One thousand was contributed by the Protestant
Society for the Protection of Religious Liberty, and the
other two by the deputies. Thanks were tendered
by the united committee, not only to the mover and
seconder of the bill, in both houses of parliament ; but
also to the Premier, and Chancellor of the Exchequer,
as well as to some of the bishops, and to distin
guished advocates of the measure in the lower and
upper house. It was proposed, in order to commemo
rate the event, to erect a building for the public meet
ings of Dissenters ; but nothing was done beyond a
public dinner at Freemasons' Tavern, where the Duke
of Sussex presided. He was supported by a very
large number of the most distinguished members of
both houses of parliament. Owing to the illustrious
chairman, and the noble and honourable guests, the
meeting was brilliant beyond all example. There
were upwards of 130 stewards, consisting of dissenting
gentlemen from all parts of the kingdom. To the
managing stewards the decorum and comfort of the day
are in a great measure to be ascribed. There were
400 gentlemen present, the utmost number that could
be pleasantly accommodated, and 100 ladies graced
the galleries with their presence.
"The united committee appointed a deputation to wait
upon His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, with cor
dial acknowledgments of his most valuable services on
this ever-memorable day ; and they also passed a
unanimous vote of thanks to the stewards for their
zeal and liberality, and their judicious arrangement of
the festival."
That the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts,

78 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
as far as they affected dissenters, was a grand event,
may be seen by the struggles of opponents, as well as
by the exultations of friends. The nation was rescued
from a most unprecedented profanation of the rites of
religion, and the concurrence of churchmen with dis
senters in accomplishing this object, afforded a grati
fying proof of the increased sense of religion, before
which the horrid practice of desecrating the memorial
of the Saviour's death, to answer political purposes,
could not stand. Those who regarded the Lord's
supper as a divine institution, and yet stood aloof on
this occasion, are not to be envied ; and while we
honour those churchmen who joined the dissenters in
seeking the repeal, we cannot but think that the appli
cation should have come from them. By the obnoxious
acts the Dissenters were politically degraded ; but the
church of England was spiritually prostituted. If
the same necessity had been laid upon dissenting
churches and ministers, as was imposed on the esta
blished clergy by the Test Act, the jails would have
been filled with those who would have suffered any
thing rather than profane the supper of the Lord.
While, therefore, we cannot but sympathise with those
prelates who said that the Test Act was a grievance
to their conscience, we can scarcely avoid saying,
" Why, then, did not you take the lead in seeking the
repeal ? "
To those whose wisdom and energy obtained the
relief so long needed, the success of the measure was
the more gratifying, as it was a good omen of the final
triumph of the principle, that no difference of religious
sentiments should affect any man's civil rights. To

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 79
Dissenters the new bill gave relief from a degrading
necessity to conform to a church they disapproved, in
order to enjoy their full rights as citizens. Those of
them who had been accustomed to practise what was
called occasional conformity, by taking the sacrament
in the establishment, as a qualification for office, must
have felt, as Lord Goderich declared he did, on a
similar occasion. Others, indeed, took office, and
neglected the test, along with thousands of churchmen;
but these were always exposed to unpleasant conse
quences, which made the great majority of Dissenters
abstain from entering corporations, and taking offices
under government.
By the temper with which the repeal was carried
its value was greatly enhanced. Those ebullitions of
wrath which occurred, both in the House of Commons,
and in that of Lords, were not against Dissenters, who
were, on their part, very temperate in their petitions,
and were, in their turn, treated candidly, even by op
ponents. But churchmen said hard things of church
men ; bishops of lawyers, and civilians of ecclesiastics.
It is observable, however, that bishops never appeared
to greater advantage than on this occasion ; for even
those who opposed the bill spoke with as much mode
ration as could be expected, while the episcopal advo
cates for the repeal uttered more just sentiments than
had been heard from their bench for ages. For this,
they were charged by the opposite party with be
traying, not only their own church, but the christian
religion. The absence of anything like general pe
titioning against the measure, or any attempt to get
up the cry, that the church was in danger, may be

80 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
ascribed to this improved temper of the heads of the
church. The Dissenters received the boon with a corres
pondent spirit. Far from exulting, they gave the due
meed of praise to churchmen for their co-operation,
and held no exclusive festival to celebrate the triumph.
By inviting a professed churchman, and a member of
the royal family, to preside, they gave a pledge of the
catholicity of the spirit which led to the pubhc dinner
on the joyous occasion.
The success of the measure may be ascribed to
various causes. There was a general concurrence of
all parties among Dissenters ; their measures were
well taken, and their language was temperate ; they
took great pains to inform their representatives and
engage their votes ; the noble movers, Lord John
Russell in the Commons, and Lord Holland in the
Peers, poured much light on the subject, so as to win
the assent of many who were previously ill-informed ;
and by great amenity and candour, subdued the hosti
lity of those who had been ill disposed. The decided
majority gained, at first, in the Commons, took the
ministers by surprise, and carried the more weight for
being composed of men of all parties. The irritation
felt, or feigned, in consequence of Lord Milton's
remarks, which drove Mr. Peel out of the house, led
to consultation with the more politic premier, who de
termined on a concession which he deemed favourable
to his ulterior views. For it cannot be doubted, that
the determination of government to grant Catholic
emancipation, induced it to seize this opportunity of

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

81

affording relief to the Dissenters, as a preparatory
measure. The improved temper of the Commons proclaimed
the progress of liberal opinions, as well as a growing
conviction of the number and importance of Dissenters.
Lord Sidmouth had, indeed, opened the eyes of the
legislature to some important facts, and when the hope
of suppressing or restricting dissent was abandoned,
many came to the conclusion, that it was necessary to
improve the whole policy of the country, with regard
to religious freedom.
Since their last vigorous effort for the Repeal of the
Test and Corporation Acts, Dissenters had devoted
themselves with so much ardour to the diffusion of
knowledge and religion, that, while their own numbers
had increased, the national mind was improved, and
their indirect influence, where not very percep
tible, had become great. The Established Church
had felt the necessity of improvement. Those clergy
men that were a scandal to their profession were be
coming more rare ; while the evangelical clergy had
not only increased, but some of them had found their
way to the episcopal bench. This party was, indeed,
accused of increasing the numbers of Dissenters, with
whom an agreement in doctrine and spirit was obvious;
but it was still found that none but evangelical
preachers could rival the Dissenters in attracting con
gregations. By the united influence of both, there
fore, the public mind was so much improved, that the
profanation of the Lord's supper to political purposes
found few advocates and many censors.
The relief obtained by the Dissenters was, however,

82 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
far from being as perfect as was at first expected.
The advocates of bigotry and intolerance left their
marks on the bill, in the declaration that was to be
taken, instead of the sacramental test. As applied to
Dissenters, it looks suspicious; but as it must be taken
by Churchmen too, it is ridiculous. The whole world
can scarcely exhibit any thing so preposterous as
compelling a man, on entering upon, office, to declare
that he will not injure his own church. That this
declaration is useless was admitted by those who
defended, as readily as it was urged by those who
opposed, it. One of the Tory lords, pleading for the
words, "on the true faith of a Christian," owned that
the expression might be adopted by a Jew, and that
he could use it if he were a Jew. A Dissenter urged
upon his representative in Parliament the propriety of
calling upon the other party to declare that they
would not, on taking office, do any thing to injure the
Dissenters ; but the senator replied, " It is true, that
public men ought to be as much bound not to injure
religious liberty, as not to injure the Church of Eng^
land ; but we had better not endanger the bill, by any
such proposal ; for the declaration is only designed to
let a certain party down gently."* Still the decla
ration is liable to many of the objections that were
urged against the Test. Delicate consciences are
most embarrassed by such provisions. The bishops
were so treated in the debate on this bill, that a re
flecting man might deeply feel the injury done to the
Church of England, by seating her principal clergy
there ; but if it be said, that the declaration should be
* For the Bill, see Appendix.

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTV. 83
taken in the sense of those who impose it, then a deli
cate conscience would ask, " Must I consent to what
I know wdl injure the Church of England, because she
thinks it for her benefit?" The immediate practical
effect of the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts
was not considerable. Few Dissenters were, in conse
quence of the change of the law, admitted into cor
porations, or appointed to offices under government.
The corporations, being self-elected, were in most
places actuated by an exclusive spirit, and where they
were more liberal, Dissenters had previously been
admitted, forming in some places the majority, and
never having been called to submit to the test. They
were not, however, in general ambitious of office, or of
civic powers ; for their religious principles and habits
made them shun associations which they saw operating
most injuriously on the character of their neighbours.
Those Dissenters who were most zealous in seeking
the repeal of the disabilities were, in many instances,
least inclined to make any use of the new bill for their
own admission to place or power.
But the subsequent municipal reform was the most
efficient practical repeal of the Corporation Act. For
the election to civic offices, being now thrown open to
all householders of a certain rent, Dissenters were
chosen in great numbers, to mayoralties, as well as
other posts of honour, in cities and towns. In some
instances, all the old corporation was thrown out, and
a majority of Dissenters chosen; for the towns had
long groaned under an exclusive party, which had
employed its influence for the aggrandizement of its
members, and the embezzlement of the corporate
G 2

84 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
property; so that when the election was open and
free, such citizens were chosen as had had no share in
these malversations. As the exclusive corporations
had been in most instances composed of high church
men who had used their influence to suppress Dissent,
the cause of religious liberty was eminently advanced
by this municipal reform, which was scarcely inferior
in importance and influence to parliamentary reform,
the grand leading event of this age, which has not
been mentioned here, because it was purely a political
affair. ,
The mention of the London University by the
Bishop of Chester, in the debate on the repeal of the
Test and Corporation Acts, leads to the consideration
of another occurrence which has an important bearing
on religious liberty. Oxford and Cambridge have for
ages been so exclusive, that Dissenters have been shut
out from the literary advantages which should be open
to all, and the Dissenting youth, of the richer families,
had been compelled either to go to the Scotch and
continental universities, or to study at Cambridge,
without hope of obtaining the honorary rewards
of learning. This more liberal university did not,
like Oxford, impose subscription to the articles of the
Established Church, at the very entrance, but it requir
ed subscription previously to the taking of degrees.
Dissenters, therefore, often projected schemes for
relieving themselves ofthe literary disadvantages under
which they laboured. The venerable Dr. Bogue drew
up, and circulated among friends, a plan for the for
mation of a Dissenting University, to impart the
knowledge of languages and science to all, without

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 85
distinction, leaving theology, and the studies peculiar
to those who are destined to the ministry, to the
institutions which already exist for these objects.
Whether this movement, which was not very generally
known, led to the formation of the London University,
it may not be easy to determine ; but certainly Dr.
Bogue's proposal was prior in point of time ; and that
which was eventually adopted followed soon after.
This was a decided improvement ; for having no
peculiar connexion with Dissenters, and being on
a grander scale, the London University was calculated
to be a greater blessing to the nation.
The first stone of the buildings for the new insti
tution was laid by the Duke of Sussex, April 30, 1827.
The corporation consisted of the shareholders, among
whom there were many Dissenters of various denomi
nations ; and as it was designed to afford the advan
tages of a liberal education to all, not excluding Jews,
or heathens ; it was necessary to leave religion to be
taught by those to whom the parents of the students
might entrust this important charge. For, as no
lodgings are provided in the institution, the youths are
supposed to be under the domestic care of their
parents or guardians, to whom a constant account is
rendered by the professors of the attendance and con
duct of each class. The independent efforts that have
been made to supply religious instruction in the vi
cinity, but beyond the jurisdiction of the university,
have not, it is believed, succeeded. As might have
been expected, a violent clamour was raised against
an attempt to counteract the exclusive bigotry of Ox
ford and Cambridge. London was denounced as an

86 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
unfit site for a university ; though there is scarcely
a metropolis in Europe without such an institution;
but the insincerity of this objection was quickly de
monstrated ; for the same party which raised it, formed
a rival institution, called King's College, in a far more
objectionable part of London ; and they who affirmed
that there was no need for one university in addition
to those of Oxford and Cambridge, formed what may
be called a second. But the grand objection made to
the London University was, the exclusion of religion
from the course of instruction ; and this was to be
remedied in the rival college by introducing the same
exclusive system which made it necessary to provide
a university for those who could not submit to the
tests of Oxford and Cambridge. As usual, however,
the illiberal party in the country has been driven by
the efforts of Dissenters, and their friends, to extend
the benefits of education, and while knowledge gains,
liberty will not lose by the strife.
It was always expected that a royal charter would
be given to the London University, to enable it to
grant degrees in arts, which would be nationally re
cognised ; and this was actually drawn up, and waited
only for the great seal ; but the formation of King's
College created a difficulty ; for as it was desirable to
grant the same privileges to both institutions, the
government determined to form a kind of senate, to
which the title of the London University should he
transferred, along with the power to grant degrees in
arts. University College is, therefore, now the
appellation of that which was at first called the
London University, and which shares with King's

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 87
College in the benefits to be derived from a university,
with a royal charter to grant degrees. The dissenter,
and the prelate of the establishment, sit, together with
the physician and the man of science, in the senate,
which is constituted a university ; and several of the
professors of University College are Dissenting minis
ters; so that religious liberty has obtained an im
portant conquest over the high church bigotry, which
would have monopolized the honours and benefits of
literature and science.
But while the Dissenters have thus obtained some
practical relief from an ancient grievance, and their
sons derive the advantage of the new institution, de
grees have not been conferred ; for, by some strange
interference, the liberal intentions of the government
have hitherto been thwarted, an attempt having been
made to introduce a religious test, under a mask.
Even the complete success of this liberal college
would not, however, furnish the Dissenters with a valid
reason for abandoning all thoughts of obtaining free
access to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge,
which, as national institutions, ought to be open to the
whole nation. The Earl of Radnor has distinguished
himself by his zeal for the accomplishment of this
object, which is favoured by some of the members of
the universities, but, hitherto successfully opposed by
the majority, who have displayed an intolerant spirit
towards their more liberal compeers. Dr. Hampden,
the Regius Professor of Divinity, at Oxford, has been
made the object of a most vexatious persecution, os
tensibly for heterodoxy, but really for his liberality
towards Dissenters. While the contest is raging, and

88 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
the right of the sovereign and parliament to interfere
with the colleges is denied, there is an obvious reme
dy ; for the Regius Professors may be multiplied, made
efficient, bound to admit all comers without tests, and
endued, as a corporation, with power to grant degrees.
A great national measure, which did not particularly
affect Dissenters, demands notice in a chapter on the
history of religious liberty. The Duke of Wellington,
to the great surprise of many, introduced and carried
in the Lords, as well as the Commons, the long con
tested measure of Catholic emancipation. The bill
received the royal assent, April 13, 1829. Seats in
both houses of parliament were thus opened to Catho
lics, and every thing was done to make the grace
complete. But nothing could exceed the mortification
of the high church party, whose advocate. Lord Eldon,
shed tears ; nor were there wanting Dissenters who
were inconsistent enough to deplore this act of justice,
though the great majority abundantly repaid the
liberality of the Catholics, who had petitioned for the
repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts. The general
body of the three denominations determined to petition
for the entire removal of all civil disabilities on account
of religion. From this time, it was said by some in
a desponding tone, the constitution was sacrificed, and
our government ceased to be Protestant ; nor has this
party failed to make some late and feeble attempts to
petition for the repeal of the bill of emancipation. To
the genuine Protestant, however, it was highly grati
fying to reflect, that our government having now set
at rest this question which had long agitated the king
dom, completed the triumph which religious liberty

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 89
obtained by the repeal of the Test and Corporation
Acts. The Reform of the Irish church had an important
bearing on religious liberty and dissent ; for it ex
hibited that entire dominion of the state over the
church, which the latter has affected to deny, and
which forms one grand reason for dissent. When a
number of bishopricks were extinguished at a stroke,
who could deny that they were the creatures of the
state ? or that the power which annihilated many
might do the same to all ? This sweeping measure
demonstrated, too, that a state church cannot stand
against a preponderancy of Dissenters ; for it is now
generally admitted that what is left of the Irish Pro
testant establishment must undergo new changes,
while parties are divided between two projects, the
one for completing the adulterous connexion by givino^
to the state two wives, at once paying both Protestants
and Catholics ; and the other for submitting to that,
which must be at last triumphant, the voluntary prin
ciple. Church reform in England, also, became the all-
absorbing theme, not by the efforts of Dissenters, but
by the conviction forced upon reflecting churchmen,
that, after the changes that had taken place, in the
administration of affairs, it would be impossible for the
Churcli of England to stand without reform. Dissent
ers being now disposed to press their great principle,
the duty of government to confine its attention to civil
affairs, and leave religion to the management of volun
tary churches, turned off their attention from minor
objections against the Church of England ; but these

90 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
were exposed by the clergy themselves, with a bold
ness that astonished Dissenters, and justified all that
they had been accustomed to say. Publications on
church . reform by churchmen, both of the laity and
clergy, in quick succession, roused the public atten
tion, and one by Lord Henley, and another by Mr.
Cox, perpetual curate of Stonehouse, laid naked the
faults of the establishment, with an unsparing hand.
A large part of the clergy of Durham petitioned for
church reform.
After the passing of the bill for parliamentary
reform, much was said of the intention of the ministry
to reform the church ; but it soon became manifest,
that they had either formed inadequate notions of that
work, or found themselves encompassed with difficulties
which they were unwilling, or unable to overcome.
The boasted, or threatened, church reform, therefore,
proved a mockery ; and many of the clergy, convinced
that deliverance from the evils which wounded their
conscience, would not come from government, quitted
the establishment, a few of them joining the older
bodies of Dissenters, and others swelling the ranks of
the Plymouth brethren.
It was -happy for these new Non-conformists that
they rose under the shade of those who had made it
safe to dissent from the Established Church. For, in
consequence of the spirit of liberty created by the
labours and sufferings of the puritans and their suc
cessors, no persecution was raised against the new
secession, though it formed a body of ultra-dissenters
hostile to state churches and even to the christian
ministry, in the eagerness of a zeal to destroy the popish

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 91
distinction of clergy and laity. The prelates seemed
to take no notice of these deserters, though some of
them were men of distinction ; but the Bishop of
Salisbury informed one Dissenting clergyman that he
could not withdraw himself from the episcopal au
thority under which he had been placed at his ordi
nation. As the temper of the times did not admit
of enforcing spiritual authority by temporal power,
the offender despised the empty threat.
The ecclesiastical courts, however, those relics of
papal power, which ought not to have survived the
Reformation, now attracted the attention both of
friends and foes. The Dissenters complained of being
exposed to expensive suits in these judicatories, which
are the scorn of our courts of lavy ; and some hopes
were held out that the jurisdiction of the priests would
be either abolished, or restricted in its operation to
those who belonged to the church of which these
courts formed a part. But, while the nation waited
in vain for this change, the members of the establish
ment began to feel that what was so unjust an annoy
ance to those without, was as ineffectual to secure
discipline within, their own pale. The bishops had,
indeed, obtained absolute dominion over the defence
less curates ; but the beneficed clergy had retained
some independence, though of a pernicious kind ; for
some men of scandalous character set their diocesans
at defiance, being able lo ruin them by expensive
delays. A commission was, therefore, appointed to
seek for a remedy, and a bill was prepared, but not
carried. When a second attempt was made, in 1838,
a curious scene was exhibited in the House of Lords ;

92 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
for the Bishop of Exeter so fiercely denounced the
proposed bill, that the Archbishop of Canterbury was
roused from his meekness, and the ex-chancellor
Brougham exclaimed, " Tantes. tie animis ccelestihus
ircE ?" The bill designed to give an immediate appeal
from the bishopis' courts to the arches court in London,
which, wounding the love of power in my lord of
Exeter, drew from him such denunciations as provoked
others to tell him that there were more appeals lodged
against his decisions, than from all the other dioceses
of England and Wales put together. But he who so
loved to rule showed that he had not learned to obey ;
for he threatened to set the act at defiance, if it should
be passed, and to assert his own episcopal rights,
maintaining that they were imprescriptible ; since
bishops' courts were coeval in date, and therefore
coequal in authority, with the New Testament. One
important element in the argument he willingly over
looked, that a New Testament bishop was not a lord
bishop, was not armed with civil authority, could
enforce no penalties, and had, like, the dissenting
bishops, no other influence than that which the judg
ment and conscience of the faithful conceded to cha
racter and conduct. These contests laid naked the
deformities of the state church, and showed, that,
while diocesan bishops had armed themselves with the
sword of state, which enabled them to persecute those
who renounced their jurisdiction, they had lost their
power to maintain effective discipline within that
church which professed to bow and call them lords.
The principles of religious liberty were asserted,
towards the close of the period of which we write,

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 93
with unusual energy. " An appeal to Dissenters on
their submitting to the obligation imposed by law for
the religious celebration of marriage according to the
form prescribed by the book of common prayer," was
published by Joshua Wilson, Esq., of the Inner
Temple. This was a very able assertion of the rights
of Dissenters, and a spirited protest against the injury
done to them by the law of marriage. The Baptist
board published a set of resolutions, in 1832, in which
they affirm that "we rejoice in the increased attention
now awakened in the public mind to the rights of every
part of the community ; that, of all the rights of man
kind, their spiritual rights are the most sacred ; that,
while we admire the patience of our forefathers under
the disadvantages which still press upon Dissenters,
we are compelled to declare that these disadvantages
are unjust, since God has ordained that religion should
be free ; that we feel it unjust to be compelled by law
to support a religion from which we dissent, convinced
that the expense of supporting Christian ministers,
the celebration of Christian worship, and the extension
of the Redeemer's kingdom, should not be compulsory
but voluntary ; and that the employment of religion
as an instrument of political government, and the use
of political force in support of religion, are alike
unjust and derogatory to the dignity of religion."
Tlie Case of the Dissenters, which was drawn up
and published and extensively circulated at the request
of the body, spoke the same language. It gave
offence, and was often attacked as the manifesto of
political Dissenters, by those who pleaded for the
propriety of giving to Christian bishops a seat in the

94 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
assembly of political legislators, which was, at this
time, fiercely assailed in the House of Commons, not
by Dissenters only, but by those who were warmly
attached to the Church of England, which they con
sidered to be injured by the political character of its
clergy on the bench of justices, and of its prelates on
the bench of bishops.
The spirit in which some of the clergy, at this time,
opposed the claims of Dissenters, may be seen by an
assertion in a volume which obtained a momentary
approbation from the Bishop of London, "that, when
persons took on them the profession of Christianity,
they at once gave up the right of private judgment,
and all other real or fancied natural rights." This
slavish doctrine drew forth, however, such a remon
strance to the Bishop of London, from a lay member
of the Church of England, that his lordship rescinded
his recommendation of the book which contained the
obnoxious passage.
The precursor of the most recent attempts to perfect
religious liberty was Lord Nugent 's bill for the regis
tration of births, introduced into the House of Com
mons, in 1832. This went into the common receptacle
for abortive projects, as did also Sir Robert Peel's
bill for giving relief to the Dissenters from the neces
sity of conforming to the establishment in the celebra
tion of marriage. Sir Robert, in order to ascertain the
views of the Dissenters, invited three eminent meii
among them to an interview, when he entered on
office, to supersede the reform ministry. He proposed
to secure to the clergy their fees, though the official
duty was consigned to the magistrate ; but as his

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 95
ministry was not able to obtain a majority in parlia
ment, he gave way to his predecessors, who were,
however, encouraged, by the movement already made,
to introduce a more satisfactory bill. But a complete
system of registration of births, marriages, and deaths,
was enacted, and marriage was treated as a civil con
tract, to be made either in a dissenting place of worship,
to be registered for the purpose, or in the presence of a
registrar, at his office ; or in the parochial place of wor
ship, by the established clergy. This was a very liberal
measure, which rewarded the long struggles ofthe Dis
senters, and immensely improved the laws of our coun
try, that were before a compound of folly and intolerance.
Some imperfections in the arrangement, led many to
doubt whether the Dissenters would generally avail
themselves of the privilege ; but their places of wor
ship were immediately registered for the celebration of
marriage, and ministers of all denominations officiated
at the marriage of those who belonged to their own
charge. Nor have there been wanting instances of
persons who have requested dissenting ministers to
officiate on this occasion for those who were not mem
bers of their communion. The loss of their fees has
provoked the established clergy to say hard things of
this innovation ; but where there is neither force of ar
gument, nor the argument of force, angry declamation
produces no effect. The registers of baptisms belonging
to dissenting congregations have been rendered valid
by being incorporated with the national registration.
The project of Lord Grey's administration for na
tional education in Ireland excited intense interest, and
encountered a most determined opposition from the

96 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
high church party. As a departure from Laudean
politics, it was, indeed, so bold and uncompromising,
that none but those who were prepared to abandon
the principle of an exclusive establishment in Ireland,
could consistently espouse the new measure. A
board was established, consisting of one Protestant,
and one Catholic prelate, and a Presbyterian barrister;
and to unite the [children of Catholics and Protestants
in the schools, instead of a whole bible, selections ap
proved by the board were to be employed. This fur
nished the opponents with a specious objection, and
with a popular watchword, or war-cry, "a whole bible,
instead of a mutilated one ; " forgetful, or regardless
of the fact, that the common prayer book is framed on
the principle of selections. The Dissenters strengthened
the hands of the government, by petitioning in favour
of the Irish system of education, and a deputation
from the Congregational board had an interview with
Lord Grey, who, on presenting their petition to the
House of Peers, eulogised the petitioners. For this,
however, they had to pay the usual tax of being se
verely condemned by the organs of an illiberal policy.
Before the new system of registration was carried into
effect, Dissenters petitioned very generally for rehef
from their grievances — the necessity of celebrating
marriage according to the established forms — the want
of legal registration of births and burials — the imposi
tion of church rates — the denial of the right of burial
in the parochial burying grounds, according to their
own rites, performed by their own ministers — and a
virtual exclusion from the two universities. The
united committee published their resolutions on these

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 97
subjects, and presented a memorial to His Majesty's
government, as agreed upon, at a meeting held at
Dr. Williams's library, May 11th, 1833.
From the above date, a more liberal system of na
tional education was attempted in England ; for a
grant of twenty thousand pounds was made by the
government, for the instruction of the poor, and the
lords of the treasury determined to give aid to schools
recommended by the National Society, or by the
British and Foreign School Society. This was the
first time the government of our country had acted
upon a plan so liberal ; for though it might be ob
jected, that a society which restricted its efforts to one
class of Christians, should not have an equal share of
the public money with one that was open to all the
subjects of the realm ; it was still a great concession
to religious liberty to grant any portion of the public
funds for an education that was not restricted to the
Established Church. A more comprehensive system of
national education is, however, still a desideratum
which is beginning to attract its due share of public
attention. It is encompassed with difficulties, and no
plan which has yet been proposed is free from objections.
Lord Brougham has a new bill in preparation for the
accomplishment of this object ; but the glaring faults
of his former attempt awaken the jealousies of Dis
senters, who have shown their zeal for the education of
the poor by the extent to which they have carried their
own efforts and contributions for that great cause.
Happily for the nation and the church of God, there
is little reason to fear that the intolerant system of
committing education to the care of the Established
H

98 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Church, and compelling the chddren of the poor to
submit to the inculcation of religion according to the
views of one sect, is not likely to be endured by the
people, or decreed by the state.
The abolition of slavery in 1834, may be said to
belong to the history of civil, rather than rehgious
liberty ; but as it was effected by the energetic efforts
of the Christian public, so these efforts were called
forth by the religious persecution which the slave
holders raised against the Baptist and Methodist mis
sionaries in the West Indies. The masters practically
said, slaves shall not be Christians ; and the Christian
community replied, then negroes shall not be slaves.
Nothing but the most determined movement of the
whole religious public would have impelled, or enabled
the government to accomplish the object, which ex
tended the reign of religious as well as civil liberty in
our colonies. The mission chapels which had been
burnt down were rebuilt, and the missionaries who had
been driven away were restored to the field of their
benevolent labours. Lord Mulgrave, who had carried
the act of abolition into effect, in Jamaica, conducted
himself with so much wisdom, impartiality, and energy,
that, on his return to this country, the Missionary So
ciety sent a deputation of directors to present to him
their congratulation and thanks. The apprenticeship
which had been substituted for slavery, proved such a
mockery, that, when the termination ofit, with regard
to the non-predials, approached, in 1838, a vigorous
effort was made by the religious part of the commu
nity, to induce government to abolish the apprentice
ship of the predials, or field slaves. Though Lord

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 99
Brougham, now in opposition, took an active part in
this effort, the friends of abolition foiled to obtain the
consent of government, which, however, adopted such
measures as induced the colonial legislatures to abolish
the apprenticeship.
From the year 1834, the abolition of church rates be
came the all-absorbing subject. The Society of Friends
had, from its origin, not only protested against the un
just impost, but also suffered constant distraint of goods,
rather than pay the demand. Many Dissenters felt
that they were now, by the circumstances of the times,
called to join in this practical protest. Catholics, in
Ireland, had been released from church cess, and, from
that time, it had been declared in parliament, that it
would be impossible to collect church rates in Eng
land. The goods of many Dissenters, were, therefore,
seized for church rates, though, in some places, no
purchaser could be found, and the property was re
stored to its owners. Mr. Child, of Bungay, was, for
refusing to pay, prosecuted in the Ecclesiastical court,
and imprisoned in the gaol of Ipswich. This raised
the public indignation ; and such notice was taken of
the affair in parliament, and at the annual meeting of
the Society for the Protection of Religious Liberty, as
could not fail to contribute towards ultimate relief.
Mr. Child returned to his residence in triumph, and
Lord Althorp introduced into parliament a measure of
relief, which the Dissenters rejected ; because it pro
posed to take from the public taxes, what was required
to keep the parochial buildings in repair. If the Dis
senters could have consented to this arrangement,
H 2

100 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
which would have taken the power out of the hands
of the parochial vestry, they could have paid the
church rates. Lord Althorp 's plan being abandoned,
when Lord Melbourne became premier, he, after some
delay, yielded to the pressure of the Dissenters, and
promised a measure that should be satisfactory, but
which was kept a secret from the public, till it should be
announced to parliament. This proved to be a plan for
rendering church lands more productive, and employing
the increased revenue to supply the place of church
rates. The principle had been acted upon, in the
reform of the Irish church, when it was contended, by
one who has since joined the high church party, that
government had a right to appropriate to other pur
poses that improved income which its own superior
arrangements may have derived from church property.
The hostile party, however, contending that no such
revenue could be obtained as would relieve the Dis
senters from church rates ; it became necessary to
appoint a commission to investigate the affair. Their
report has not yet been made ; but those who are sup
posed to understand the question, including some of
the established clergy, declare that a much larger
increase of revenue than the ministry calculate upon
may be obtained, and the church lands be saved from
the scandalous alienations, that have been practised to
an extent of which neither the government nor the
public were aware.
Meanwhile the church rate war is carried on, and
many parishes are agitated with the strife. When
vestries have refused the rate, the churchwardens
have assumed a power to make one. Mr. Burder, a

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 101
deacon of the Independent congregation at Braintree
in Essex, is engaged in an expensive suit to resist this
claim, which, if established, would overthrow the con
stitutional principle, that the subject cannot be taxed
but with his own consent, given by his representative
in parliament. The suit has been carried, by appeal,
from the Ecclesiastical court, to the court of Queen's
Bench, which, however, has deferred the decision, in
expectation, perhaps, of some legislative enactment
which may set the odious question at rest. Which
ever way the civiL court may decide the case, re
ligious liberty must gain; for if the churchwarden
should establish his right to make a rate, and thus
render the calling of a vestry and putting the question
to the vote of the parish, a mere mockery, the nation
will be roused to indignation at this new power of tax
ing them ; but if the churchwarden should be found to
have no such power, the rates will so often be success
fully refused, that it will be necessary to find some
other mode of repairing the parochial edifices, and car
rying on the worship of the state church. The Church
Rate Abolition Society, which has been formed to pro
mote that most desirable object, has also incidentally
served the cause of religious liberty in general.
The celebration, in 1835, ofthe centenary of the trans
lation of the Bible into English, by Tindal, powerfully
contributed to diffuse the principles and spirit of reli
gious liberty. The numerous sermons preached on the
occasion, several of which were published, naturally
turned on the right of private judgment in religion,
which was the grand principle of the reformers, in
opposition to the claims of the Church of Rome to

102 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
dominion over conscience. This, again, led Dissentei's
to show that their principles were but the full develop
ment of those of the Reformation ; and to display the
happy consequences of leaving every one to judge for
himself of the will of God revealed in the scriptures.
For as Tindal, who was now so highly venerated as
the first translator of the whole scriptures into English,
was crowned with martyrdom for his holy zeal, the
sin and folly of persecution for religion were demon
strated, and Dissenters could not but advert to the
sufferings of the Puritans, who share with Tindal in
the honour of being held in everlasting remembrance,
as those who were called to make costly sacrifices for
being in advance of their own age, and for conveying
blessings to the most remote posterity.
Many attempts have been made to extend to other
Dissenters the exemption from the necessity of taking
legal oaths which the Quakers enjoy. This was
granted to a small body called Separatists, soon after
the Reform Bill passed ; and, in 1838, Lord Denman
brought into the House of Lords a bill to allow all who
scruple the taking of an oath, to give their affirmation,
subject to the usual penalties for perjury. The bill,
however, was lost ; but immediate notice was given of
the introduction of another, to extend to those who
have separated from the Quakers, the exemption with
regard to oaths which the Society of Friends enjoy.
The Bishop of London carried through the upper
house a bill for erecting vestries, under the plea that
the churches were profaned by holding vestry meetings
in them ; but this attempt at additional taxation for
the Established Church was thrown out by the Com-

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 103
mons, July 10, 1838. A similar defeat was experienced
by the established church of Scotland, in the same
year ; for their attempt to obtain a national grant for
the building of additional churches, roused the oppo
sition of Dissenters, who sent a deputation to London,
to engage the government, through the influence of
the religious public, to refuse the grant. The sta
tistical inquiry by a parliamentary commission, to
which the conflict gave rise, demonstrated the fact
that a majority of those who attended public worship
in the large towns of Scotland, were Dissenters, and
that there was a great number of sittings in the esta
blished places unoccupied. The government, there
fore, refused to grant any aid to the building of
churches, except in the more remote rural parishes,
which defeated the object of the original promoters of
the scheme.
As Drs. Wardlaw and Heugh had been deputed to
visit London, to resist the claims of the Scotch national
church, an association of the opposite party brought
Dr. Chalmers to the metropolis, to lecture in behalf
of church establishments. His lectures, which at
tracted the attendance of dignitaries in church and
state, were afterwards published ; but while they did
not venture to assent that the connexion between the
church and the state was of divine right, they left it
doubtful whether established churches in general, and
the Church of England in particular, were attacked, or
defended, by the eloquent champion from the north.
One act of parliament that affected the question of
religious liberty would have passed unnoticed, if the
dissenting deputies had not roused the attention qi

104 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
the public by a protest. In a bill to regulate prisons,
a provision was made for a salary to Catholic priests
who attended on prisoners of their communion, which
looked like a covert introduction to a state endowment
for the Catholic church. This, which is known to be
a favourite project with some statesmen, was justly
exposed by the deputies, who observed that no evidence
could be brought to show the necessity for the proposed
salary, as the Catholic priests had always attended on
prisoners of their own churcli ; while the new regu
lation was an extension of the odious practice of
compelling men to contribute towards the services of
a church which they do not approve.
In the history of religious liberty which we have
now given, many interesting particulars are necessarily
omitted ; for the acts of persecution in the early part
of the period, were so numerous that a complete detail
would be wearisome and would appear vindictive; but
it is consoling to know that the public mind is happily
changed, though it is equally painful to reflect, that,
if the populace are more tolerant, it is, in many in
stances, because they have exchanged high church
bigotry for infidel indifference, or hatred to the es
tablished church. Municipal reform has deprived the
old exclusive corporations of their power, which was
generally employed in the cause of intolerance, and
the influence of Dissenters in the parliamentary elec
tions has rendered the local magistracy more disposed
to court than to provoke those who may turn the scale
in a political contest. The government, also, is less
inclined than formerly to fill the bench of justices with
clergymen, who were, in the earlier part of this een-

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 105
tury, the violators, rather than the conservators, of the
public peace, where Dissenters and religious liberty
were concerned. The statistical researches that have
been instituted for various purposes, have abated the
courage of the enemies of dissent, by demonstrating
the fact that, in many parts of the kingdom, the ma
jority of those who attend public worship are to be
found in places unconnected with the Established
Church. The liberality and equity of the Whig
government have led its enemies to complain, that
Dissenters have more influence over it than the state
church ; and though Dissenters themselves are not of
that opinion, they cannot but observe, with pleasure,
that they are more duly appreciated in the present
than in former reigns. Our highly popular, youthful
Queen came to the throne in circumstances peculiarly
favourable to religious liberty. For the Orange party,
which is but that section of the high church party
which is rampant in Ireland, having allied itself to one
of the royal dukes, and given significant hints of its
wish to seat him on the throne that belonged to his
niece, it was natural that she should turn towards
those who adopted the opposite system of politics.
She had been wisely educated by her widowed mother,
and taught to consider herself the Queen of a nation,
and not of a sect. As, therefore, she had not come to
the throne without having been in company with a
Dissenter, so the first knight she made was one of that
body, in which, when she was informed of it, she
expressed great pleasure. In the principles and spirit
of religious liberty, Dissenters themselves have, during
this last period of their history, made great progress.

106 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
The voluntary principle, a modern phrase, has become
their favourite watchword. This was at once the
effect and the cause of advancement. The Puritan
fathers had derived their name from their struggles
for greater purity ; but their descendants were perse
cuted into the knowledge of the principles of religious
liberty. The triumph of the Presbyterians, under the
Commonwealth, was disgraced by intolerance, which
ruined their cause ; for though the Independents came
to the rescue of religious liberty, the mischief was done
which could not be repaired, the nation was disgusted
with the Presbyterians, and their Episcopal adversaries
returned to rule the church. For more than a
hundred years after, the contest was for preference ;
but the last half century has witnessed a war of prin
ciple. Instead of criticising other men's religion, to
show that our own is more worthy of being adopted
by the state ; it has been the study of Dissenters to
convince their countrymen, that the government
should protect all sects, and establish none ; but leave
religion to the voluntary endowment of its own
disciples. This has given a more generous, though
a more daring character, to the conflict which Dissenters
have maintained.
The voluntary principle is not, indeed, of so modern
date as its enemies would insinuate. It had long been
cherished in secret by men who had outstripped their
contemporaries ; but circumstances have recently called
it out to view, and given it a bold prominence. That
it should be viewed with horror by those who had been
accustomed to lean upon the state for support, was
natural ; for they were well aware that state endow-

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 107
ments and compulsory tithes had extinguished the
generosity of Christian principle, which in purer times
more than sufficed for the support of the Church of
Christ. That statesmen should embrace the principle,
as soon as presented to their minds, was not to be
expected ; for it proposed to take from them a patro
nage on which they were accustomed to lean, though
this had often proved a broken reed, which not only
failed to support, but even pierced their hand. But
no great and good principle ever achieves a sudden
and an easy triumph. Minor maxims may spring into
instantaneous possession of their ephemeral popu
larity ; but the grand principles that are destined to
alter, improve, and sway the world, are first conceived,
pondered over, and cherished in the breasts of a few
distinguished men ; then announced, to startle, offend,
and disgust the mass ; consigned to a temporary
oblivion, they rise again to win a more extensive
approbation and incur increased odium; persecuted
into importance, they struggle for the victory ; van
quished they seem for ever lost; but springing up
again, stronger for defeat, they wrest the sceptre from
their opponents, to rule and bless the world, which
wonders that it should have been so slow to learn what
is so manifestly true and pre-eminently good.
The voluntary principle has foiced itself upon
public notice, and those who would willingly have left
it to expire in oblivion, have been compelled to pro
mote its triumphs by their censure ; while others,
more favourably disposed, acknowledge that if the
connexion of the state with the church did not already
exist, it ought not to be introduced. The ministers of

108 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
the crown, though vexed by the Toryism of the
Established Clergy, cannot be expectedto extricate
themselves from their embarrassment, by espousing the
voluntary principle, till it has acquired far more
dominion over the public mind ; but it has won other
advocates, where it might have looked for most deter
mined hostility. Presbyterians who once denounced
religious liberty, as the great Diana of the Indepen
dents, now join them in their war against state churches.
The elder Dissenters of Scotland, most firm Presby
terians, are become the zealous, energetic advocates
of the voluntary principle, and their most esteemed
ministers are seen co-operating with the leading
pastors of the Independent churches north of the
Tweed, in pressing upon government the duty of
leaving religion to its own energies and resources.
Even Roman Catholics are beginning to adopt the
same principle ; and the Irish church seems destined
to grace its triumph. The vast preponderance of
Roman Catholics in the sister isle has wrested from
the Protestant establishment its long cherished argu
ment, that the religion of the majority should be taken
into alliance with the state ; and though the fiction of
the united church of England and Ireland has been
created, to save appearances, it has only given birth
to a new difficulty ; for if the whole empire is to be
taken together, the united church can by no means
claim the majority. To cut this political knot, some
statesmen contend for taking the Irish Catholic church
into the pay of the state ; but the popular leaders of
that communion, afraid of seeing their priests the
indolent tools of government, oppose to this plan the

HISTOllY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 109
claims of the voluntary principle. Whatever may be
the private opinions of the priesthood, they, who are
supposed to rule the laity with tyrannical sway, dare
not plead against the policy of the popular champions.
This may be supposed to indicate nothing more than
political intrigue ; and certainly it requires overwhelm
ing evidence to convince an acute observer that the
favourite principle of the Independents and Quakers
can have been adopted by those who are at the other
extremity of the scale of sects ; but as the Catholic
church has shown a wonderful power of adaptation to
circumstances, and even Episcopalians are the great
champions of the voluntary principle in the United
States of America, why may not Catholics be so in
Ireland ?
In fact, the face of the world is so changed, and the
Catholic church finds that the civil power is so deter
mined to maintain the dominion which it has acquired
over the ecclesiastical, that, vexed and thwarted, the
priesthood begins to think it might do more by in
fluence over the people, than by alliance with the
government. The state of dependence in which the
occupant ofthe holy Roman see is held by the Aus
trian head of the holy Roman empire, frets and dis
gusts many discerning Catholics, who, on visiting
Rome, see that the Pope has purchased his limited
temporal sovereignty by the loss of his wider eccle
siastical dominion. Such revolutions have happened
in public opinion, that, while Oxford exhibits her
champions for an almost unmasked Popery, Catholics
at Rome have expressed their wish to see the Pope
divested of his civd power, and confined to his spiritual

110 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
character, as the chief pastor of the Christian church.
Mere politicians, however, look far more favourably
on the Dissenters' advocacy of the voluntary principle,
than such men ever did on the arguments against
diocesan episcopacy, a liturgy, and the other distinct-
tive characteristics of the Church of England. The
ecclesiastical knowledge required for waging the
ancient war, must always render its victories slow and
small ; while the modern question demands nothing but
common sense, or that appeal to civil history which
is open to men of ordinary education. No man can
be ashamed of pleading for doing to others as we
would they should do to us, the essence of the
voluntary principle ; but to argue for our own domi
nation over another man's conscience, and our right
to make him pay for our religion, is an invidious task.
It can, therefore, excite no surprise that the true, the
just, the generous principle has become the popular
favourite ; while its antagonist has been thrown upon
the clergy and the aristocracy for support.
Religious liberty has not, however, to boast of
triumphs without defeats. The extension of the state
church, with the creation of new bishops, in our colo
nies, especially in the East Indies; the erection of
new churches, at the public expense ; the consequent
increase of a state clergy ; the failure of the attempt
to remove the bishops from the House of Lords ; and
the long delay of relief from church rates ; may
be considered as discomfitures, to abate the pride of
victory. To revive the memory of those ages of injustice and
cruelty through which our Nonconformist ancestors

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. Ill
nobly passed, is not desirable. We should rather
write injuries in dust, that they may be quickly
obliterated. But the false assumption by which they
were attempted to be justified, should be exposed to
public reprobation and scorn.
By the glorious revolution of 1688, the long and
dreary reign of persecution terminated, in what is
called toleration, a word dear to our forefathers, be
cause they contrasted it with the intolerance they had
been compelled to endure ;- but to us almost odious,
because we compare it with the perfect religious liberty
we have a right to enjoy.
If, however, toleration is an insolent term, implying
either permission to our brother to follow his own
convictions, with which we have no right to interfere,
or permission to our Maker to receive worship which
we deem it possible for him to endure ; still toleration,
as a first step towards our original rights, is to us
triumph, to our antagonists a confession of defeat.
For what is the language of governments which tole-
•rate? "We have attempted to grasp a rule which
we cannot retain ; we have advanced into an empire
from which we must retreat ; we have assumed a
dominion over conscience that is too mighty for our
arm ; we have discovered that though we can subdue
physical violence with superior force, we have neither
sword nor sceptre that can conquer, or sway the moral
energies of souls ; though we can crush rebels against
the civil state, we must suffer, or in other words tole
rate, those who refuse to yield to our dictation in
religion." For when a state allows and protects
other churches than those which it adopts and endows,

112 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
it acts in religion as it never could do in civil affairs.
No state could suffer distinct and rival governments,
for this would be subversive of all authority; but
vvhen, in the advancement of knowledge and liberty,
the civil authorities find themselves compelled to suffer
other churches besides that of the state, they virtually
confess, that, in religion they must yield to paramount
authority and a superior moral force. Would that all
tolerant governments had followed out this confession
to its legitimate extent ! For here they cannot stop.
They must advance, or recede; go back to the despotic
intolerance of Spain, or forward to the absolute liberty
of the United States of America.
But good principles are, even when elicited, slowly
conducted to their legitimate triumphs. Our govern
ment, which has long protected other churches, still
attempts to maintain the exclusive rights of one ; and
as it, till lately, exposed the rest to many odious dis
abilities, so it imposes on them, to this day, an unjjist
load of taxation, and of comparative disgrace. At this
we cannot wonder, when we reflect how that branch of
the legislature, which was designed to represent the
people, was formerly constituted ; but the triumph of
reform now opens to our country a new and more
glorious career. We have been told by high authori
ties, that it is our own fault if we do not obtain all that
we can reasonably ask.
It becomes us, then, first to know what we should
claim; and immediately to put into operation the
means by which it may be acquired. We should ask
that our government would retreat within its own
proper sphere, the protection of the peace of society

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 113
and the equal rights of all, leaving religion where
Christ left it, to the government and protection of the
Most High.
To the attainment of this consummation so devoutly
to be wished, many things conspire. Those who ad
here to the prejudices of the dark ages, and the policy
that hunted our forefathers to the dungeon and the
stake, confess and complain that by the repeal of the
Corporation and Test Acts, and the emancipation of
the Catholics, the compact between the church and
the state was broken ; so that the church is no longer
bound to submit to the legislation of a parliament into
which her enemies are admitted, on whose enactments
she may well be supposed to look with a jealous eye.
No modification of an evil so gross, so essentially
unjust, as the union between the church and the state,
ought to satisfy those who are duly concerned for their
country's welfare, and the paramount interests of the
Christian faith. Dissenters ought to ask temperately
and respectfully, indeed, but firmly and incessantly,
for the entire dissolution of the unhallowed, unautho
rised and' pernicious alliance. This demand may at
first startle the timid and the ill-informed ; but it will
soon become familiar to their minds, and by presenting
its reasons to their judgment, commend itself to their
conscience, if not to their interests or their choice.
To obtain it with the general consent must be our
noblest aim; but, failing in this, we should seek to
accomplish our object at the smallest possible cost of
mortification and discontent. Happily, the better part
of the Established Church is already beginning to see
that this change is as desirable for them as for us, and

114 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
among them some of the boldest avowals of our prin
ciples have been made, while the more bigoted part
have, for opposite reasons, begun to seek a similar, if
not the same, end. As a noble senator justly ob
served, that the repeal of the Test Act was even more
desirable for the Church of England, which was the
sinning party, than for the Dissenters, who were
sinned against ; so we affirm that the church, which is
now chained to the state, will be a greater gainer by
the dissolution of the bond, than those who, not being
thus entangled, are suffering rather than doing evil.
But since it is unreasonable to expect to undo in
a day the accumulated evils of ages, we should be
prepared for delays, and determined to secure at once
what is attainable, while we incessantly pursue all
that is just. The difficulties of the task should dictate
to us patience, and the prejudices we must encounter
should be met with the arms of reason in the spirit of
love ; though we deny that we should, for one moment,
descend from our highest claims, or stop, even to take
breath in our pursuit.
As there is no more glaring relict of the ancient
domination of a state church than the temporal baronies
of the bishops, and their consequent seat in the House
of Peers, we should petition for the removal of this
grievance, which, as it arose when churchmen were
prime ministers, bishops led armies, and the church
and the nation were supposed to be one body under
different aspects ; so it should fall, at the arrival of
a happier era, and on the knowledge of the fact that
the vast majority of the united empire does not belong
to the united church. It has scarcely an existence in

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 115
three parts out of four. Scotland is Presbyterian,
Ireland chiefly Catholic, and Wales exhibits an im
mense preponderance of Dissenters, while in England,
the fourth great division of our country, a majority of
those who show their concern for religion by constant
attendance on its ordinances, dissent from the Esta
blished Church. The church of Rome ceased to be the
established religion, long before it was reduced to such
a minority. We therefore join with our opponents in
saying, " It is high time that our enemies ceased to
legislate for us."
The clerical tithes, which had become such a
grievance to Ireland, that their abolition seems in
evitable, should be blotted from the statutes of the
British empire. As they are a species of national
property, they should be appropriated to national use ;
if not to the diminution of taxation, to the relief and
education of the poor, for whom a part of them was
intended. Church rates having been abolished in Ireland, on
the avowed principle that it is a hardship for people of
one religious persuasion to be thus taxed to support
the worship of another, should be equally abolished
in England and Wales. For these impositions give
the power of taxation to petty parochial parliaments,
often chosen by a junta in which reign the worst cor
ruptions that were once supported by an unreformed
senate. To provide the bread and the wine, that one
religious body may celebrate the feast of redeeming
love, by distraining the goods of others who support
their own worship, is impious and shocking. It is
a contradiction in legislation, first to say, that we are
1 2

116 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
at liberty to have our own churches, and then to
decree that we must pay for that of others.
The parochial burying-grounds are, in Ireland,
open to all denominations, whose ministers there per
form the rites of their own church. What they gained
by taking forcible possession, we may hope will be
conceded to us by the justice and liberality of the
state, which should be respectfully told that we can
no longer endure the monopoly of public property,
by a party which obtrudes its services where they are
not welcome, and demands fees for violating our
religious feelings, at a moment when the most sacred
griefs cause irritation and insult to be keenly felt.
To show that these are not the mere private senti
ments of the historian, this chapter will close with two
documents, which will exhibit the spirit of religious
liberty in Dissenters during this period.
"The Committee of Deputies ofthe three denominations
of Dissenters, Presbyterian, Independent, and Bap
tist, with Deputations from the general body of
Ministers, the Protestant Society, and the United
Associate Presbytery, having formed themselves
into a United Committee, think it expedient to state
their present legal position, and some of the reasons
and principles on which they recommend a simul
taneous and united application of the Dissenters to
the legislature of their country for the consideration
of their claims, and the redress of their grievances.
" The history of Protestant Dissenters has abundantly
proved that religious liberty is the result, not of spon-

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 117
taneous, but of compelled legislation. It is the na
tural tendency of power to extend and perpetuate its
own aggressions. Those limitations which in the pro
gress of states it is found necessary to impose in order
to the safety and happiness of society, determine the
actual amount of civil liberty which they respectively
enjoy. Such liberty was never gained without effort,
and never established without resistance ; but its
triumphs are inevitable, when communities are suf
ficiently enlightened to understand its principles, and
have the public virtue which is requisite in order to
maintain them.
" Religious liberty has been brought to its present
favourable position, by the slow but certain advance
ment of society in knowledge, truth, and justice.
Every step of its progress has been a struggle, and
every accession to its amount and its strength has
been secured by persevering opposition to unrighteous
usurpation. The erasure of penal statutes affecting
religion from the criminal code of our country, will
show the extent of those encroachments which have
been successively made by enlightened policy on
unjust pretensions.
"The terms Protestantism and Nonconformity are
alike of relative import, and suppose the existence of
institutions and principles to which they are respec
tively opposed. Nor is there one argument that can
be advanced in defence of Protestantism, that may not,
in its essential elements, be applied to the vindication
of Nonconformity. Nonconformity had its origin in
the principles maintained and acted upon at the
Reformation ; and the same convictions and feelings

118 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
which led to a successful resistance to the tyranny of
Papal Rome, determined the consistent advocates of
that resistance to oppose the Protestant tyranny of the
Tudors and the Stuarts. When the Act of Uniformity
was passed, it was not for the sake of vestments and
forms that our venerable ancestors withheld their
acquiescence, but because, in the principles which
led to their adoption, there was no recognition of
personal and social rights ; no accordance with the
liberty of the Christian dispensation ; no allowance
for weak and tender consciences ; but a system of
arbitrary and capricious enactments, which directly
impugned the great principles of the Reformation, and
invaded the prerogatives of Him who is our only
master and lord. Not finding a sufficient code for the
regulation of their ecclesiastical system in the New
Testament, they added an apocryphal book of Leviti
cus to its canon, and claimed for this appendage of
human origin implicit faith and unresisting obedience.
" Thus originated the cause of religious dissent. It
had, in the first instance, a special reference to the
ceremonies imposed by acts of parliament and royal
dictation; other reasons of dissent have been gradu
ally intermingled with these primary causes of seces
sion, and in proportion to the diffusion of scriptural
knowledge and the progress of enlightened inquiry,
the grounds of Nonconformity have been more firmly
and invincibly established. In those grounds of Non
conformity we recognise principles of the highest
importance to the true prosperity of states, and the
legitimate interests of religion. They respect the sole
and exclusive sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures, the

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 110
right of all men to judge for themselves in the inter
pretation and use of that divine standard, and the
corresponding right to act accoi»ding to their judgment
in matters of religion, so long as the exercise of that
right interferes not with the rights of others. As
human laws do not originate these rights, so human
laws cannot abridge them without an invasion of the
prerogatives of the Most High. For their exercise,
men are accountable to God alone. They are the
unalienable and universal property of our species. No
earthly power can enter with impunity the sacred
recesses of conscience.
" The exertion of force for the suppression of error,
or the establishment of truth, proceeds upon the as
sumption of infallibility ; a principle which, unless
supported by supernatural evidences, is an act of
impiety towards God, and of injustice towards man.
The Governor of the world has invested no living
tribunal, whether civil or ecclesiastical, with this pre
rogative ; and no instance of its pretension, or its
interference can be adduced, which has not tended to
perpetuate error, promote corruption, and support
intolerance. If this assumed power be exercised, there
are no definable limits to its operation ; it invariably
secularizes every form of Christianity with which it is
associated, and becomes a virtual rejection of the
evidence, the independence, and the sufficiency of
divine revelation.
" The principle of force, thus directly opposed to
the genius and tendencies of Christianity, is inse
parable from all civil legislation in matters of religion.
The moment the authority of law is brought to bear

120 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
on the promotion, or the suppression of theological
opinions or plans of ecclesiastical polity, the sanctions
of law must inevitably operate by restrictions and
penalties, while suffering, to a greater or less degree, is
imposed on the conscientious, and they are compelled
to endure such suffering, in proportion to the degree
of their moral sensibility ; temptations on the other
hand are presented to an interested and unprincipled
acquiescence in the claims of the dominant system.
Adventitious distinctions are thus connected with an
adherence to that system, which are unfavourable to the
interests of honest inquiry, and the maintenance of pure
integrity. Principles and systems are not left to the
examination of impartial reason. If one section ofthe
Christian church is unjustly exalted, the members of
other sections, equally entitled to the esteem and confi
dence of their fellow- subjects, on the ground of their per
sonal excellence or their public character, are unjustly
depressed. Talents and virtues are not the criteria of
worth, or the sources of influence; but the flca'fifew^a/ com
bination of such talents or virtues, with the religious opi
nion or the religious ritual, which the civil magistrate
has happened to take under his exclusive patronage, and
to the profession of which, under the authority of the
legislature, he has attached exclusive privileges. We
inquire not on this occasion into the truth or the fallacy
of such opinions, the suitableness or the unsuitableness
of such ritual to the genius of Christianity, the scrip
tural or the unscriptural character of the particular
faith and polity which may be thus fostered and sanc
tioned by the state. These are altogether irrelevant
questions in the present argument. But, assuming

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 121
even the perfect and unimpeachable excellency of any
given system of principles and polity, we believe that
no civil power on earth can incorporate such a system
with its legislation and government so as to etnploy the
authority of law to support it, without positive injustice
to such as conscientiously maintain and adopt other sys
tems of religion, and moral injury to the purity of the
privileged party. It cannot be pretended that the
CAmfiflw revelation affords the shadow of a pretext for
such incorporation : the purest ages of the Christian
church witnessed no alliance of the civil government
with its principles or its rites. The actual history of
establishments, as such, has proved that in all periods
and under all modifications, error, corruption, and in
tolerance, have been proportioned to the degree in
which they have been uncontrolled and dominant.
What have been the most prolific sources of intestine
commotion in states, of vacillating policy in govern
ments, of desolating wars and international jealousies,
but the various questions that have arisen out of the
claims of rival sects, and the feuds of religious parties?
What are the chief hindrances, at this moment, to the
progress of pure Christianity in every Protestant and
Papal state of Europe, but the restrictions created by
the fears of ecclesiastical monopolists ? What has
been the prolific source of Ireland's wrongs, but the
excitement of religious contention arising from the
same exclusive principle ? It has been in all ages the
great error of states, that they have not left religion
to the care of its own professors and advocates, and
the protection of its great Author. By this inter
meddling, infidelity is strengthened, hypocrisy is

122 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
encouraged, injurious distinctions are created, free
inquiry is fettered, and honest co-operation is pre
vented. Had there been no aUiance of civil govern
ments with ecclesiastical polity ; had the things that
are Csesar's been always kept in a state of complete
distinctness and separation from " the things that are
God's," religion would have preserved its purity and
its efficiency in the strength of its own evidence and
the majesty of its own principles, civil government
would have been limited to its specific and appro
priate sphere. Those sustaining its functions in their
individual and unofficial capacity, would have been
left to the unrestricted exercise of all the influence
that can be legitimately employed in the maintenance
of their religious principles ; rival parties unfettered by
civil distinctions, without bribes to prevent them, or
penalties to deter them, would have had free scope for
the discussion and comparison of their respective
claims to the regard of society. The possibilities of
union without compromise, and of variation without
strife, would have been inconceivably enhanced, while
the equal and impartial protection of the civil autho
rities, extended alike to all the forms of religious pro
fession, so long as their respective adherents main
tained the peace and order of society, would have
uniformly contributed to the stability of empires, and
the advancement of Christianity.
" It is the deep conviction felt on this subject, that
impels this Committee thus prominently to state their
principles in reference to this primary ground of reli
gious Nonconformity. This they regard as the basis
of all their claims to the consideration of the British

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 123
legislature. They have specific grievances of which
to complain, and the removal of which they anticipate
on the grounds of impartial justice. But whatever
may be the immediate result of their efforts, they feel
that it would be a violation of their own consciences,
did they not avow their firm belief, that until there is
a separation of all ecclesiastical systems from that
alliance with the civil power which employs the autho
rity and penalties of law, to support the religion of
Jesus Christ, and, until all sections of his universal
church are left to their own resources and arrange
ments alone, for their preservation and extension, they
will consider the main ground of their Nonconformity
unaltered, and their highest claim to an impartial pro
tection ofthe legislature disregarded. They prescribe
not the methods, or the process, by which this object may
be effected, and this chief grievance redressed. They
desire no means to be employed in the discussion and
determination of the question, but those of fair rea
soning and deliberate conviction. They are not identi
fied with the interest of faction, or the intrigues of
political destructives. To no legitimate interests of
their fellow-subjects are they hostile ; nor, if the legis
lative adoption and recognition of these principles
were to involve a protracted series of preparatory and
provisional arrangements, are they desirous to hurry
on by precipitation, and still less by violence, the
transition from a system of injustice and impolicy to a
state of pure, equal, and universal freedom.
" But they have thus recorded their deliberate and
solemn testimony, and leave to the progress of events
and the determination of an honest legislature, and

124 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
the providence of the Most High, the decision of the
great question."
The second document will show the present position
of Dissenters, as it is the last Report of a body ap
pointed to watch over the civil rights of Dissenters.
" Report ofthe Committee of Deputies ofthe Protestant
Dissenters to the General Meeting, on the 21th
December, 1837.
" The short period which has elapsed since your last
annual meeting has been marked by events of great
national importance, — by the death of a king, — the
accession of a queen, — the consequent dissolution of
an assembled parliament, and the election of a new
one, — all of which have necessarily exerted a direct
and powerful influence upon the religious and civil
rights of Protestant Dissenters.
" Your Committee, in laying before you the report of
its proceedings during this eventful year, will first
state the course which it has adopted in reference to
the general claims of Dissenters, and then briefly
advert to some matters of detail, more particularly
connected with the business and interests of this depu
tation. "The principal exertions of your Committee, and of
the United Committee, have been directed to the ques
tion of church rates ; and of the grievances of which
Dissenters still have to complain, this may be con
sidered as the most important. Too long had the
friends of civil equality remained quiescent, if not

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 125
supine, under this obnoxious tax ; either submitting
to the exaction without a murmur, or betraying weak
ness by unorganised opposition. But they have now
become sensible of their wrongs, and are determined
to obtain redress.
" This question has long engaged the attention of the
Deputation, but it has never been so warmly taken up
by Protestant Dissenters, and the friends of religious
liberty generally, as during the year that has just
elapsed. It is now deemed to be one of paramount
importance by all parties, and the country has been
agitated upon it to an extent almost unprecedented.
The interested opponents of the abolition of churcli
rates have been roused to make the most extraordinary
exertions, by a general demonstration against the con
tinuance of this impost.
" So deep and extended had this feeling become
throughout the kingdom, that in order to concentrate
the opposition to this ecclesiastical tax, delegates from
all parts of the country were sent to the metropolis.
Your Committee, and the United Committee (some
of whose most active members were amongst the pro
moters of this assembly of Delegates,) deputed some
of their members to attend their meetings. And your
Committee feels it to be its duty to state, that in con
sequence of the admirable arrangements of the Church
Rate Abolition Society, (to the funds of which associ
ation your Committee has cheerfully subscribed,) those
meetings have systematized and augmented the ex
ertions for the removal of this grievance.
" Previous to the meeting of Delegates, however, a
deputation from the United Committee waited upon

126 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Lord John Russell, to request an explanation of the
measures intended to be proposed relative to church
rates ; and that deputation was informed that govern
ment had prepared a plan for their abolition. The
United Committee, upon receiving this information,
immediately published a resolution, which was exten
sively advertised and circulated, recommending the
metropolitan congregations to be ready with petitions
to both Houses of Parliament, for presentation at the
commencement of the session, for early and entire
relief from church rates, and to urge their represen
tatives to afford the respective petitions their most
active and decided support.
" When the ministerial resolution relative to church
rates was brought forward by the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, the United Committee met on the 8th of
March, and expressed its cordial approbation of the
general principle of the measure.
" A Deputation waited upon the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, on the 16th, to assure him, that so far as
the plan had been explained, it had given great satis
faction to the Dissenters ; and to express a hope that
those parishes which had contracted debts on the
security of church rates would be relieved ; but the
right honourable gentleman did not think that it
would be expedient to afford the relief suggested, in
connexion with the present measure, as those local
debts were large, and the avadable surplus under the
bill would be small.
" The following is a copy of the resolution adopted
by the House of Commons, on the 15th of March, by
a majority of twenty-three : —

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 127
" ' That for the repair and maintenance of parochial
churches and chapels in England and Wales, and
the due celebration of divine worship therein, a
permanent and adequate provision be made out
of an increased value given to church lands, by
the introduction of a new system of management,
and by the application of the proceeds of pew
rents ; the collection of church rates ceasing
altogether from a day to be determined by law ;
and that, in order to facilitate and give early
effect to this resolution, the commissioners of His
Majesty's treasury be authorised to make ad
vances on the security, and repayable out of the
produce of such church lands.'
" On the 20th of that month the United Committee
determined to prepare an ' Address to the Protestants
of England and Wales,' on the whole question of
church rate ; and an address was accordingly pub
lished. Copies of it were sent to the members of His
Majesty's government, and many members of both
houses, by whom it was promptly acknowledged. On
the 29th this Deputation petitioned the House of Com
mons in favour of the measure, and expressed, in a
series of resolutions, its entire approval of the plan.
And while you congratulated the Dissenters on the
recognition, by the House of Commons, of a principle
which must eventually secure the abolition of church
rates, you called upon them to advance the progress
of this measure by the use of all legal and consti
tutional means.

128 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
" On Tuesday, the 23rd of May, the resolution al
ready quoted was read a second time in the House of
Commons ; and your Committee laments to say that
there was a majority of five only in favour of this most
conciliatory and just proposition.
" On the next day, the United Committee met, and
sought an interview with government, to ascertain
their intentions respecting the measure ; and the Depu
tation was informed that ministers, notwithstanding
the smallness of the majority, would not desert the
measure ; but hoped to bring it forward again next
session, on much stronger grounds, after a committee
had inquired into and reported on the present state
of the ecclesiastical property which would be affected
by it. On the last day of that month the United Com
mittee received the report of this interview, and
published resolutions of thanks to His Majesty's
ministers, and to the liberal majority in the House of
Commons, who afforded to the government their
independent and continued support, and had again
evinced their disposition to afford to Protestant Dis
senters and the people of England, this important and
much-needed relief.
" The proposal of a parliamentary inquiry into the
mode in which the property of the Established Church
is now administered, was decidedly approved by that
Committee, which felt assured that the result would
evince the wisdom and practicability ofthe measure."

129

CHAPTER III.
SEMINARIES FOR THE DISSENTING MINISTRY.
A COMPARISON of the earliest periods of our history
with the contents of this chapter will show that, with
the increase of dissenting churches, provision is made
for a supply of well educated ministers. For most of
those seminaries that formerly existed are not only
maintained, but enlarged, as well as improved; and
new ones have been formed under favourable auspices.
The older institutions, and those of the metropolis or
its vicinity, claim the first attention; but we shall
present to view, not merely those which are scattered
over England, but such as belong to the same class in
Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
Homerton Old College.
From the beginning of the year 1806, to September,
1813, the Rev. Thomas Hill taught the classics and
Hebrew in this seminary, of which he was, during
the last six years of his life, resident tutor. Death
removed him from his useful labours, in the twenty-
ninth year of his age. He was a native of Lancashire,
his parents and their ancestors having resided at Moss
Hall, near Bury. He studied for the ministry under
Dr. Williams, at Rotherham, and immediately after
quitting the seminary, was chosen to succeed Dr. John
K

130 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Pye Smith, who removed from the classical to the
theological chair.
Mr. Hill married Dr. Wdliams' eldest daughter,
whose early death was a severe loss to the Institution,
as well as to her husband. He had been compelled,
for a time, to relinquish his preparatory studies ; and
symptoms of consumption returning, he retired to his
native place, where he died, August 25, 1813, saying,
" Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
Called in youth to preside over the studies of
those who were scarcely his juniors, his admirable
qualities justified the hazardous choice, and gained
the hearts of the students, whose dearest hopes were
blighted by his early death. Having adopted Dr.
Williams' views of theology, he defended them, in
a publication which was equally creditable to his
ability and temper. He was succeeded, at the close
ofthe year 1813, by Rev. William Walford, of Great
Yarmouth, who was, in the year 1831, compelled, by
severe relative and personal affliction, to retire. The
Rev. Daniel Godfrey Bishop was, in the same year,
chosen to fill the vacant chair, which he still holds,
as Dr. Smith does that of theology.
The number of students is rather under twenty,
and the course of study is divided into the classical,
which is introductory, and that which is called, by
emphasis, the academical. The former usually in
cludes two years, which are devoted to Latin, Greek,
Hebrew, and mathematics ; the latter commences with
what is called the matriculation, when the student is
admitted, by a special Latin form, into the theological
class. Without abandoning the study of languages,

SEMINARIES. 131
he receives lectures on biblical criticism, Jewish an
tiquities, church history, civil and canon law, doctrinal
and practical theology, and the pastoral care. To
wards the expiration of four years, this course is
followed by what is termed passing trials, when a
Latin testimonial is given, and the student is at liberty
to accept an invitation to the pastoral office.
The buildings of this elder suburban seminary
having become dilapidated, were repaired, and twenty
studies were fitted up, in 1811, at an expense of
nearly four thousand pounds; but, in 1822, the whole,
being pronounced insecure, was taken down, and the
present edifice erected, which cost nine thousand.
Subscription to doctrinal articles, formerly required of
those who entered this institution, was, in 1817,
abandoned ; and the ancient appellation of the King's
Head Society, given to the supporters of the seminary,
was then exchanged for that of the Homerton Academy
Society. Highbury College; formerly Hoxton Academy,
Dr. Simpson, who was the resident and theological
tutor, at the commencement of this period, was
removed by death, in the year 1817. He was born
in Scotland, and early joined a congregation of Anti-
burghers, in the north of England ; but, removing to
Cotherstone,.he obtained, through the ministry of Mr.
Pratman, a valuable dissenting minister, that evan
gelical light and liberty to which he had hitherto
been a stranger.- His comments on that event give
an insight into his character. " I was," said he, " like
one transported to the third heavens. The recollection
K 2

132 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
of those days is, after a lapse of fifty years, stdl fresh
and delightful."
A change so decided was quickly followed by inti
mations of a call to public usefulness. Being invited
to pray in public, one of the hearers said to him, "Oh,
Simpson, you have been to the gates of heaven, and
you have carried us along with you." Mr. Pratman
recommended him to enter the theological seminary at
Heckmondwike, in Yorkshire, then under the tuition
of the venerable Mr. Scott. Here Mr. Simpson
studied four years, with exemplary diligence and
success. He commenced his ministry in Lancashire ; first at
Haslingden ; then at Elswick ; and afterwards removed
to Bolton, where he spent nine years. He was called
thence to be tutor at the academy recently removed
from Mile End to Hoxton. While he taught theology
and Hebrew, he, for some time, ministered in Artdlery
Street, London. He afterwards gathered a congre
gation in a small place adjoining the academy, where
a church was at length formed, and supplied with
preachers from the country.
From the university of Glasgow he received the
diploma of doctor of divinity. But his health de
clining, he resigned, in 1817, the chair he had filled
for twenty-seven years. In his last illness, he said to
a minister who had been educated under him, " I have
been, this day, looking keenly into my condition, and
I cannot doubt for the life of me. Had I ten thousand
souls, I would, at this moment, cast them all into the
hands of Christ." He died, December 21, 1818, aged
seventy-two. Energy and ardent attachment to evan-

SEMINARIES. 133
gelical truth were his most distinguishing qualities ;
but his ministry was not acceptable in proportion to
the estimation in which his character was held ; for
his voice was harsh, and his Scotch accent was to
many unintelligible.
The Rev. W. Harris, LL.D., was invited, from the
pastoral care of a congregational church at Cam
bridge, to become the resident theological tutor at
Hoxton. He took also the charge of a small flock at
Stoke Newington, but was removed by death, at the
age of fifty-four, in the year 1830. He was a man of
great intellectual and religious excellence, whose
judicious and instructive ministry was rendered pecu
liarly engaging by a mild dignity of manner and a
most musical voice. His sun, which went down at
noon, shed heavenly rays ; for his meek submission to
the sovereign will of God, and his calm reliance on
Christ, left a lasting impression on survivors.
Dr. Ebenezer Henderson, who had presided over
the Mission College at Hoxton, succeeded Dr. Harris
as theological tutor in the seminary, now removed
from Hoxton to Highbury.
Dr. Henry Foster Burder, who had, for twenty
years, taught mathematics and mental philosophy,
resigned his office in 1830. Mr. Atkinson, who had
been classical tutor at Hoxton, removed, to take charge
of the Dissenting Grammar School at Mill Hill, near
London; and the Rev. John Hooper, A.M., who had
been educated at Hoxton, taught the classics there, for
seventeen years. He was removed from this office,
and from the care of a congregation in Old Gravel

134 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Lane, by a paralytic stroke, on the 9th of December,
1826. He was a native of Wareham, in Dorsetshire,
where, renouncing the Established Church, he joined
that of the Independents, and from thence was recom
mended to the seminary for the ministry, at Hoxton.
He finished his education at the university of Glasgow,
and took his degree in 1808. His kindness endeared
him to his flock, and to the students under his care.
He was succeeded by the present resident and classical
tutor, Dr. Halley.
It was determined, in 1825, that the college should
be removed from Hoxton, a confined, unhealthy situ
ation, to an estate purchased in Highbury Park for
two thousand guineas, and given to the institution by
the treasurer, Thomas Wilson, Esq. A handsome
building was erected, which, with its furniture, cost
twenty thousand pounds. It contains a residence for
the cla.ssical tutor, and a spacious library, as well as
a separate study and bed-room for each of forty
students. The voluntary contributions of the friends
of religion and learning among Dissenters, supplied
the means of meeting this large expenditure.
The average number of students approaches to forty.
Dr. Henderson teaches theology and the oriental
languages. Dr. Halley the Greek and Latin classics,
and Professor Rogers, of University College, London,
delivers lectures on rhetoric and mental philosophy.
The course of education occupies four years, and, since
the year 1808, nearly three hundred students have
been received into this institution, including Dr.
Morrison, the translator of the Scriptures into Chi-

SEMINARIES. 135
nese, and Dr. Philip, the liberator of South Africa, as
well as many more who are preaching the Gospel in
almost every quarter of the globe.
Coward College, London (late Wymondley),
The Rev. W. Parry, who held the theological chair
at Wymondley, from the year 1799, though presiding
over an institution of mixed character, is pronounced
by those who knew him well, a divine of unques
tionable orthodoxy. After twenty years, he was
removed from his office by death. " The blood and
righteousness of Christ," he said, at the close of life,
" are my only plea. As to the fine spun theories of
modern theology, they are but flimsy cobwebs ; one
blast from eternity will blow them all away."
Mr. Parry was succeeded by Mr. Atkinson of
Epsom, in Surrey ; but he was removed from this
world in 1821. The Rev. Thomas Morell was then
called from St. Neots, in Huntingdonshire, to preside
over this institution. Mr. Beuley, who died about
a year before Mr. Parry, was classical tutor for many
years ; and was succeeded by the Rev. Joseph Turn-
bull, B. A., on whose resignation Mr. Lee was ap
pointed, and after him Mr. Hull became classical tutor.
But, in 1832, a total change was made in this institu
tion; for the trustees, wisely determining to avail
themselves of the advantages of the London Univer
sity, bought a handsome building in Byng Place,
Torrington Square, near University College, and
there placed the seminary, under the name of Coward
College, to perpetuate the memory of its founder.
There is now no other tutor than Mr. Morell, who

136 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
fills the theological chair; but, while the students
are lodged and boarded in the house, they attend the
classes of the professors of University College, for
instruction in Hebrew and the classics, mathematics,
and mental philosophy.
Hackney Theological Seminary.
This academy is the offspring of " the Village
Itineracy, for sending the Gospel into the dark parts
of our country." The Rev. John Eyre, A. M., a
minister of the establishment, united, in 1796, with
Edward Hanson, Esq., Mr. David Whitaker, and Mrs.
Mather, in sending out evangelical preachers to labour
in Hampshire, Surrey, and Sussex. They received, in
1801, an efficient coadjutor in Charles Townsend, Esq.,
who offered to invest £10,000 for the use of the So
ciety, in order to accomplish Mr. Eyre's scheme for
the formation of a theological seminary, to educate
pious young men for the service of the Village Itine
racy. Two years after, three of these benefactors to
mankind died, including Mr. Eyre. This faithful
minister of Christ was nobly distinguished by his
superiority to a sectarian spirit, and by his generous
zeal for the best interests of mankind. As the first
secretary of the London Missionary Society, he was a
benefactor to the heathen ; and as the father of the
Village Itineracy, and of its Theological Seminary,
he has become a blessing to our native land. The
wealth which he did not himself possess, he contrived
to bestow, by acquiring a hallowed influence over
those whose talent of gold might otherwise have been
buried in the earth. The Theological Seminary was

SEMINARIES. 137
opened in 1803, Joseph Hardcastle, Esq., being chosen
treasurer; and the Rev. Matthew Wilks, minister of the
Tabernacle, secretary, and superintendent. The Rev.
George Collison, A. M., who had taught the classics
at Hoxton College, was elected tutor. The residuary
legatee of Mr. Townsend having refused to pay the
£10,000 which he bequeathed, the opinions of the
attorney and solicitor general were given in favour
of the institution, and the sum being obtained, was in
vested intrust for the benevolent purposes ofthe donor.
The number of students was, at first, small, but is now
from ten to fifteen. The original plan of education was
limited to theology, as the name of the institution inti
mates ; but the committee of management has wisely
extended its views. Latin, Greek, and Hebrew are now
rendered subservient to the study of divinity, and of the
peculiar duties of the pastoral care ; and the Rev.
Samuel Ransom has been appointed classical tutor.
The Village Itineracy possesses property to the
annual value of about a thousand pounds, the greater
part of which is expended on the seminary, that has
sent forth, during the course of thirty-two years, more
than a hundred and twenty preachers of the gospel.
Of these, two are officiating in the Establishment, and
several are labouring in foreign parts, Mr. Medhurst
having devoted himself to the millions of China. The
ministers who have been educated at Hackney are
assisted by pecuniary grants from the Village Itineracy,
when needful, either for their own support, or the
erection and enlargement of places of worship.
About £500 were expended in 1836, on the pur
chase of buildings adjoining to -the academy house

138 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
and on its repairs and additional furniture. The late
Rev. Rowland Hill, who had been a zealous friend of
the institution, bequeathed, at his death, a considerable
sum, to aid the operations of the Village Itineracy.
During the last thirty years, this institution has been
the means of erecting, or enlarging, fifty chapels, in
sixteen counties of England, by the labours of more
than one hundred and twenty ministers, sent forth to
preach the gospel. Cheshunt College.
To the connexion of the celebrated Countess of
Huntingdon this seminary belongs. It, therefore,
partakes of her spirit, which was not that of theoretical
dissent. The institution was founded and supported
at the sole expense of the countess, and being designed
chiefly for the benefit of Wales, was located at Tal
garth, in the county of Brecon, and publicly opened,
24th of August, 1768, when the celebrated George
Whitefield preached a sermon on the occasion. To
perpetuate the institution beyond the life of the
founder, a Voluntary Society was formed in 1787,
to which she transferred the furniture and library.
After the death of Lady Huntingdon, June 17th,
1791, the trustees removed the college to buildings
which they purchased at Cheshunt, in Hertfordshire,
fourteen miles from London. The new college was
opened, August 24th, 1792, and an additional chapel,
July 9th, 1806. What was the chapel is now the
library. The books have greatly increased, chiefly
by donations and bequests, and, in 1827, a valuable
philosophical apparatus was added. In 1814, a second

SEMINARIES. 139
tutor was appointed, and the course of study was im
proved, by dividing it into two distinct departments.
The trustees, wishing to extend the benefits of the
institution, aad increase the comfort of the pupils,
erected, in 1820, a substantial and spacious edifice,
containing twenty apartments for students, a lecture
room and dining hall, and other buildings suited to the
important object. This expenditure, together with
the deaths of many ofthe oldest friends ofthe college,
compelled the trustees to draw upon the funds be
queathed by former benefactors, and to throw the
institution to a great extent upon the subscriptions and
donations of living friends.
As the college was founded by Lady Huntingdon,
on the most catholic principles, to educate pious
young men for preaching the gospel, without limiting
them to any particular communion, the reader will not
be surprised to learn, that, out of ninety students who
have been educated, since the year 1818, eleven have
entered the Establishment, and twenty-nine have joined
other denominations of Dissenters than that by which
they were educated ; but most of them have become
Congregationalists. These facts give the Cheshunt
College a claim on various communions.
The number of students is, at present, sixteen, and
the term of study is four years. Nearly two hundred
and seventy have gone from Cheshunt. The Rev. Jacob
Kirkman Foster, who resides at the institution, re
moved from Rochdale, in Lancashire, in the year 1826,
to become classical tutor. The Rev. William Broadfoot,
being compelled by illness to resign the charge
of a Scotch Presbyterian congregation in London,

140 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
succeeded Mr. Kemp, in 1832, as theological tutor at
Cheshunt. This excellent minister, beloved by the
wise and good of all parties, was removed by death,
in 1837. In the early part of the following year, the
Rev. John Harris, of Epsom, accepted the invitation
of the trustees, to take the theological chair, and the
Rev. John Sortain, of Brighton, engaged to devote six
weeks, twice in the year, to lecture on mathematics,
logic, and belles lettres.
The course of study comprises the Latin, Greek, and
Hebrew languages ; mathematics, history and geo
graphy ; theology, systematic and expository, with the
composition of sermons ; ecclesiastical history, and the
philosophy of the mind.
For this, like many of the dissenting seminaries, has
considerably enlarged its original course, and thus
increased the benefits it confers.
The Evangelical Institution at Newport Pagnel.
The singularly liberal foundation on which this semi
nary was placed, has not been found to produce any
practical evils or difficulties ; but while independency
preponderates, ministers are educated here for the
service of Christ in different denominations. Mr.
Samuel Greatheed, who had studied under Mr. Bull,
the first tutor, had been appointed assistant tutor, in
1786 ; but he afterwards took the charge ofthe Inde
pendent church, Woburn, Bedfordshire, and Mr. Bull's
son succeeded to the assistant tutorship, which he held
tdl the death of his father. This venerable man was
born in Northamptonshire, December 21st, 1738, and
was educated at Bedford, where he studied Greek,

SEMINARIES. 141
under Mr. Belsham. Having joined the Congrega
tional church, Mr. Bull entered the academy at
Daventry, in 1760, when Dr. Caleb Ashworth, the
successor of Doddridge, was the tutor. Mr. Bull
became pastor of the church at Newport Pagnel when
it was in a low state, and before he died, enjoyed the
pleasure of seeing it increased nearly tenfold.
He was honoured with the friendship of some of the
most distinguished Christians of his day. The poet
Cowper, who used to call him Charissime Taurorum,
addressed to him some beautiful poems, and Mr.
Newton selected him as the object of his Cardiphonia.
Mr. Thornton, the philanthropist, gave the most sub
stantial proofs of his high regard for Mr. Bull, of
whom Cowper said, " He is a Dissenter, but a liberal
one, a man of letters, and of genius ; master of a fine
imagination, or rather not master of it, an imagination
which, when he finds himself in the company he
loves, runs away with him into such fields of specu
lation as amuse and enliven every other imagination.
At other times, he has a tender and delicate melan
choly not less agreeable in its way." His memory
was extraordinary, which his zeal for the acquisition
of knowledge taxed with surprising tasks. In his
youth he learned, by the letters which marked the
divisions of the 119th psalm in his Bible, the Hebrew
language, without the aid of a master, or grammar,
or lexicon, and made such progress in that tongue
as to compose a new translation of the psalms in a
dramatic form. On the 23rd of July, 1814, in the
seventy-sixth year of his age, and the fiftieth of

142 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
his ministry, he closed his useful life in holy peace
and joy.
The seminary for the ministry, of which Mr. Thorn
ton had taken the whole expense upon himself, was
endowed by him with £200 per annum, as long as
Mr. Bull should continue to be the tutor; but, on his
death, the friends of religion in Bedfordshire and
London determined to support it by subscription.
The number of students being eight, the institution
has a domestic character highly favourable to personal
piety. Mr. Thomas Palmer Bull, who succeeded to
his father in the care both of the church and the aca
demy, is assisted by his son, the Rev. Josiah Bull, A.M.
The course of study includes four years, devoted to
the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages, divinity,
and the cognate sciences. The Christian ministry has
thus been supplied with upwards of seventy useful
pastors, and the usual number is now enjoying the
benefits of the institution. The funds are derived
from annual subscriptions, congregational collections,
and legacies, the friends of religion in Bedfordshire
and in London being the chief contributors.
Gosport Academy and Missionai^y Seminary,
The institution to which the munificence of Mr.
Welch of London gave rise, by placing a few young
men under the tuition of the Rev. David Bogue, A.M.,
at Gosport, never ceased to educate ministers for the
care of the churches at home, though it became, at
last, chiefly distinguished by its missionary character.
The death of its founder threw the seminary upon

SEMINARIES. 143
the liberality of the public, which was stimulated to
greater efforts, by an offer from Robert Haldane,
Esq., of Edinburgh, to give ten pounds per annum
towards the support of each of ten additional students,
the remaining sum required being subscribed by the
churches in Hampshire.
But when the Missionary Society determined to
educate its missionaries under Dr. Bogue, these be
came the majority, and gave a new character to the
institution. Dr. Bogue was, after some years, assisted
by his son David, who had studied at the universities
of Glasgow and Edinburgh; He filled the office of
classical tutor with great credit, till he retired to study
for the bar, soon after which he died. He was suc
ceeded by the Rev. Theophilus Eastman, of Fareham,
till the institution was removed, on the death of Dr.
Bogue, in 1825.
This valuable man was . born in the parish of Col-
dingham, Berwickshire, February 18, 1750. His
ancestors were confessors for the truth, and his parents
sent him, at the age of twelve, to study for the
ministry, in the university of Edinburgh, where he
spent nine years. Having taken his degree, he re
moved in 1771, and was licensed to preach in the
church of Scotland, expecting to be presented to the
living of Coldingham. But the disputes about
patronage, in which his father sternly contended for
the principles of the Scotch covenanters, excluded the
son from this preferment, and led him to that which
was far higher. He came to London, in 1772, and
preached his first sermon in the pulpit of Mr. Muir,
a Scotch minister, in Wapping. He afterwards as-

144 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
sisted the Rev. Mr. Smith in his school and congregation
at Camberwell, and in a lecture at Silver Street,
London. Having been invited to take the charge of
the Scotch church, at Amsterdam, he visited Holland
in 1776 ; but, dissatisfied with the prospect of use
fulness, he declined the offer. In the following year
he succeeded Mr. Watson, who quitted the charge of
the dissenting church at Gosport, Hants, to study for
the bar, and went out to India, as Sir James Watson,
to succeed Sir William Jones. George Welch, Esq.,
of London, induced Dr. Bogue to undertake, some
time after his settlement at Gosport, the education of
young men for the ministry. The Missionary Society
having been formed with his zealous concurrence, he
preached at its first anniversary, and the conversion of
the heathen world from that time so engrossed his
heart, that it would require a volume to record his
labours in the great cause. He educated a large
number of the missionaries who have devoted their
lives to the conversion of the world. At a missionary
meeting in Brighton he died, October 25, 1825, in his
seventy-sixth year.
The character of Dr. Bogue forms a study for his
species. His mind fastened with instinctive eagerness
on whatever was essential to solid usefulness. As a
preacher and author he was plain, simple, and grave,
dwelling on evangelical truth with a tone of earnest
ness that always awakened the conscience. His first
printed sermon, in 1788, was on the importance of
right sentiments in religion, in opposition to the So
cinian tenet, the harmlessness of mental error, which
was then obtruded on the public. A vigorous and

SEMIX.ARIES. 145
convincing pamphlet in favour of the repeal of the
Test and Corporation Acts, which followed, in 1790,
displayed that love of liberty which, next to his zeal
for the diffusion of the gospel, was his ruling passion.
A sermon preached before the Society for Promoting
Religious Knowledge in the Highlands and Islands of
Scotland, contains the germ of that missionary spirit
by which he was so honourably distinguished. At the
request of the Missionary Society, he wrote an essay
on the divine authority of the New Testament, which
was designed to be an introduction to an edition of the
Christian Scriptures in French. The essay has been
translated into French, Italian, Spanish, and German,
and a French copy was in the possession of Napoleon
Buonaparte at the time of his death. Dr. Bogue's last
publication was a volume of sermons on the millenium,
which have the rare merit of renderins that theme
practically useful.
Dr. Ebenezer Henderson was invited by the Mis
sionary Society to go to Gosport, in order to carry on
the business of the seminary, which was, soon after,
removed to the premises vacated by Hoxton Academy.
The Mission College was opened, in 1826, but was
soon dissolved, and the missionaries have been, ever
since, educated at the various dissenting colleges, for
which they have been prepared by the Rev. Richard
Cecd, of Turvey, Bedfordshire, who has now removed
to Ongar, in Essex.
The county of Hants made an effort to preserve an
academy at Gosport, under Mr. Carruthers, Dr.
Bogue's successor; but his health failed, and the
seminary was finally relinquished.

146 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Rotherham College,
In the year 1808, this seminary was under the care
of Dr. Edward Williams, as resident and theological
tutor. He died on the 9th of March, 1813, in the
sixty-fourth year of his age. He was born near Den
bigh, in North Wales, and his father intended him for
what is called the church ; though his religious edu
cation was far from being what the Christian ministry
demands. He was sent to a school at St. Asaph's,
whence many were transferred to the universities.
But, when he saw his school-fellows, at whose impieties
he had been shocked, clothed with robes emblematical
of innocence, and chanting with solemn pomp the
praises of God, he conceived a disgust, which ter
minated in his quitting the establishment. Returning
home, he was impressed with a deep sense of the
terrors and grace of the Divine Majesty, but was far
from all help in the paths of religion. "In the whole
parish," he says, " there was not one family that main
tained the worship of God, that of the minister not
excepted." The reflections that young Williams
heard thrown out against him, as a Methodist, led him
to seek for that people, whom he concluded he should
find possessed of the religion which he longed to
know. About this time, Mr. Daniel Rowlands, a preacher
in the connexion of Mr. Whitefield, or the Calvinistic
Methodists, came on one of his extensive itinerant
tours, into those parts, and, by hearing him preach,
Edward Williams was cut to the heart. But on his
return to his paternal abode, he was, for the crime of

SEMINARIES. 147
going after the Methodists, literally shut out of doors.
His father having relented, Edward Williams was
placed under the instructions of a clergyman, to pre
pare for orders in the establishment, to which he was
not, at this time, entirely averse. But, going to St.
Asaph's, to witness an ordination, he was overtaken by
some persons who profanely swore that they should
be too late ; and on entering into the cathedral, he
found these men were to be ordained. This scene led
him to examine again the question of conformity, and,
from this time, he became a confirmed Dissenter.
He entered the seminary for the education of dis
senting ministers, at Abergavenny, over which the
excellent Dr. Davis presided. Here the force of Edward
Williams' mind was developed ; for he entered deeply
into all the doctrines of theology, betraying, at one
time, a tendency towards Sandemanianism, or Mysti
cism, from which, however, he recovered with a sin
gular display of decision and purity of character.
His first pastoral charge was at Ross, in Hereford
shire, from which he removed to Oswestry, where he
was appointed theological tutor, first to students sup
ported by the pious Lady Glenorchy, and then to
those whom Dr. Davis had taught, under the patronage
of the Congregational Fund Board, in London. He
resigned this office in 1787, in consequence of
domestic afflictions and declining health. He was
afterwards invited to take the superintendence of the
Dissenting Theological Academy at Mile End, near
London, but declined, in order to accept a call to the
pastoral office in Birmingham, on which he entered,
January 1, 1792. His flock was small but intelligent,
L 2

148 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
and deeply sensible of his superior worth ; and while
here, he received the diploma of D.D. from the uni
versity of Edinburgh.
Hewas called, in 1795, to preside over the Rotherr
ham College, and to take the pastoral care of the
adjoining congregation, at Masborough, from which
Mr. Grove, one of the famous six students who had
been expelled from Oxford for praying and preaching
irregularly, had recently removed to Walsal. Dr.
Williams was assisted in the classical department at
Rotherham, first by the Rev. Maurice Philips ; and
then by a former pupil, the Rev. Joseph Gilbert,
who published the valuable memoirs of his life. Mr.
Gilbert held, at the same time, the pastoral office over
the church at the Nether Chapel, Sheffield. Dr. Wd
liams was now in his proper sphere, which he filled
with great satisfaction to his pupils, and high advan
tage to the church of Christ. If he erred, it was by
attempting too much ; for his vigorous and ardent
mind engaged largely in the labours of the press. He
acquired great celebrity by his controversy on Baptism,
with that excellent Baptist minister, Mr. Abraham
Booth. This was no vulgar logomachy ; for Dr.
Williams entered into the rationale of the question, by
a very luminous and instructive display of the whole
doctrine of positive institutions. His letters to Priest
ley, and Levi, and Belsham, exhibit a delightful com
bination of the acute philosophical thinker with the
holy man of God. A sermon whicli he preached and
published on "Predestination to Life," developed the
germ of his " Essay on Equity and Sovereignty," and
gave rise to a controversy which will demand notice

SEMINARIES. 149
in a following chapter. To the Refutation of Calvi
nism by Dr. Tomline, prelate of Lincoln, he published
an answer, entitled "A Defence of Modern Calvinism."
His abridgment of Owen on the Hebrews was not
equally useful with his editions of the works of Dod
dridge and President Edwards, wdiich he enriched
with very valuable notes ; for he illuminated every
subject he touched. As a preacher, he was too slow
and inanimate to be popular with the multitude ;
though he always interested those who could duly
appreciate purity of motive and profound thinking.
For personal sanctity and theological eminence, Dr.
Williams was a lively image of the celebrated Presi
dent Edwards.
He was succeeded, in September, 1813, both in the
college and the congregation, by James Bennett, who
removed from the pastoral care of an Independent
church at Romsey, in Hampshire. The buildings of
the institution were, soon after, enlarged and improved,
at a co.st considerably greater than that of the original
erection. Joshua Walker, Esq., of Clifton, near
Rotherham, treasurer to the college, made a gift of the
premises, which had been held upon lease. The
adjoining house, which his father, the late Samuel
Walker, Esq., of Masborough, had erected for the
minister of the congregation, was purchased for the
resident tutor, and the college was made capable of
containing more than twenty students, with a separate
study and bed-room for each. The library and phi
losophical apparatus were enriched by the liberality of
Joseph and Thomas Walker, Esqrs,, sons of Samuel

150 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Walker, who had erected the spacious adjoining
chapel, and given it to the congregation.
In the year 1818, the institution was deprived of
the valuable services of Mr. Gilbert, as classical and
mathematical tutor, by his removal to take the charge
of a congregation at Hull, from which Mr. Lambert
had been called by a death that filled all classes in
that large town with mourning. Mr. Gilbert was
succeeded in his office at the college, and at the
Nether Chapel, Sheffield, by the Rev. Thomas Smith,
A.M., who had removed from Lancashire, and whose
diligent and able services the institution still enjoys.
Towards the end of the year 1828, declining health
induced the writer of this history to resign the chair of
theology and oriental languages in the college, as well
as the pastoral care of the congregation at Masborough,
and to remove to take the charge of the congregation
in Silver Street, London, where the celebrated John
Howe had formerly preached.
The Rev. Clement Perrot was then invited, in 1829,
from the island of Guernsey, to preside over the
college and the congregation. When he resigned, in
1834, he was succeeded by the Rev. William Hendry
Stowell, from North Shields, who entered, in July,
1834, on the double duties which he ably performs.
The period of education here is four years. The
course comprises Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Chaldee, and
Syriac ; mathematics, systematic theology, logic, men
tal and moral philosophy, rhetoric, elocution, eccle
siastical history, and the composition of sermons. The
students preach in the adjacent villages and towns.
The college has lately received some endowment,

SEMINARIES. 151
from the bequest ofthe late Rev. Mr. Pickersgill, who
was educated at the institution, when it was under the
care of Mr. Scott, at Heckmondwike. The number
of students has of late years been under twenty ; but
two hundred ministers have gone forth from Rotherham
into various counties of England, Scotland, and Wales,
into Canada and the United States of America. One
is presiding with great celebrity over the Old College
at Homerton, and another is professor of logic and
mental philosophy in University College, London.
Airedale College, formerly Idle Academy.
After this institution had existed thirty-three years,
it was removed from Idle to Undercliffe, in the vicinity
of Bradford, Yorkshire, Mrs. Bacon, of that place,
having given two estates, one of which was to form
the site of the new college, and the other to furnish an
annual addition to its income. The first stone of a
handsome edifice, capable of accommodating a tutor
and twenty students, was laid, June 20, 1831.
The next year, however, Mr. Vint became too ill to
sustain any longer the arduous duties he had long
discharged, and on the 13th of March, 1833, he
entered into rest. The esteem in which he had been
held by Mr. Hanson of London, induced him to endow
this institution with the funds requisite for the support
of two students, and Mr. Vint's influence with other
friends obtained the means of maintaining two more.
The usefulness of the seminary continually augmented
its patronage, till that which begun on a small scale,
has become one of the most important institutions in
the north of England. There were, in 1828, eighteen

152 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
young men studying for the ministry at Idle, and
during the course of thirty-four years, Mr. Vint con
ducted the studies of about ninety ministers.
The Rev. Walter Scott, of Rowell, in Northamp
tonshire, who had been employed in preparing young
men for Hoxton College, and for the ministry, was..
chosen to be the theological tutor at Airedale. He
entered on this office in March, 1834, and was the first
who occupied the new premises. The Rev. Thomas
Rawson Taylor, who had studied under Mr. Vint, and,
for a short time, assisted him, was chosen to be the
classical and mathematical tutor. But this excellent
young man was, on the 7th of March, in the following
year, removed by death from the institution he was so
well fitted to serve, and to which he bequeathed his
library. His office was filled by Rev. W. B. Clulow,
from Sheldon, in Devonshire.
In 1836, it was announced to the assembled friends
of the institution, that the debt which had been in
curred, on account of the building, was liquidated,
and that considerable progress was made, by the
donations of books, towards forming a library adequate
to the wants of such a seminary. The period of study,
which is four years, is occupied with mathematics,
Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, to which are added the
Chaldee and Syriac, systematic theology, ecclesiastical
history, biblical criticism, and moral philosophy.
Theological Seminary at Blackburn.
Nearly half a century has elapsed since the first
attempt was made to form an Academy for Dissenting
Ministers in this part of Lancashire. George Welch,

SEMINARIES. 153
Esq., of London, who founded the institution at Gos
port, supported a few students, who were educated by
Rev. James Macquhae, pastor of the Independent
church at Blackburn. But the history of this institu
tion was short, and not more than three or four
ministers were educated here, when the attempt was
abandoned. The present seminary at Blackburn, may
be considered as arising out of another at Manchester ;
for from the year 1802, Robert Spear, Esq., of that
town, supported an academical institution there, for
some years. The Rev. William Roby, the pastor ofthe
Independent congregation in Grosvenor Street, was
appointed tutor. The course of education was not
extensive ; but Mr. Roby's ability and zeal rendered
him an eminent blessing, and eighteen laborious and
successful ministers went forth from this institution.
Other friends of religion and learning in Manchester
projected, in the year 1809, a Dissenting Grammar
School, on the plan of one which had been recently
established at Mill Hill, near London. The Lancashire
institution was placed at New Windsor, near Man
chester, and the profits which were expected to arise,
were destined to the support of a theological depart
ment, separate in its domestic arrangements, and under
its own divinity tutor ; but the master of the school
was to teach the classics to the students. The Rev.
George Phdips was the first classical tutor. At his
death, he was succeeded by the Rev. John Reynolds,
who afterwards took the charge of a church at Chester.
The theological department, which is the proper sub
ject of these pages, was filled by the Rev. Jenkin Lewis,
who had been, for several years, the tutor of the dis-

154 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
senting seminary at Wrexham, in North Wales, having
succeeded Dr. Edward Williams in that office. Seve
ral students were educated while this complex plan
was in operation ; but it can excite no surprise that
it was neither successful nor durable. The theological
institution was abandoned, and the classical school
became the private property of the Rev. Dr. Clunie.
The increase of Independent churches in Lancashire,
and the difficulty of obtaining preachers, afterwards
induced the members of the County Union to provide
another seminary for the ministry. It was at length
determined to form the present academy, at Blackburn,
where the Rev. Joseph Fletcher, A. M. was pastor of
the Independent church. He was appointed theolo
gical tutor, in 1816, and the Rev. William Hope classical
tutor. The latter was succeeded by Mr. Howie, and,
on his resignation, the Rev. Gilbert Wardlaw was
appointed to the office. But in 1822 the institution
was deprived of the valuable services of its theological
tutor. His health failing, under his double duties, he
accepted an invitation to the pastoral care of the church
originally raised by the ministry of the celebrated
Matthew Mead, at Stepney, near London.
Dr. Payne was invited, from Edinburgh, to fill the
theological chair, and Mr. Wardlaw, the classical
tutor, succeeded him in his pastoral care. The Rev.
Ebenezer Miller became classical tutor at Blackburn.
Dr. Payne resigned his office, in 1831, and became,
afterwards, the president of a similar institution newly
formed at Exeter. Mr. Wardlaw, the former classical
teacher, was then invited to take the theological de
partment, which he at present fills. Mr. William

SEMINARIES. 155
Alexander, who had been chosen classical tutor, having
left Blackburn, was succeeded by Mr. Daniel Burgess
Hayward, who still occupies that post in the institution
in which he was educated.
There are, at present, about twelve students at
Blackburn. The course of education comprises theo
logy, and biblical criticism, with ecclesiastical history,
Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. The support of the insti
tution is chiefly derived from subscriptions and collec
tions in the Congregational churches of Lancashire ;
but it has been much indebted to the liberality of its
first treasurer, the late Roger Cunliffe, Esq., of Black
burn, who provided by his will, that one hundred
pounds should be annually applied from his estate,
towards the support of the seminary, so long as it
should continue at Blackburn. Having seen the good
effects of the institution by the preaching of the stu
dents in the neighbourhood, the donor was anxious to
be the means of perpetuating that blessing where he
knew it was so much needed.
The Western Academy, Exeter,
At the close of the former period of this history,
Mr. James Small, minister of Axminster, being the
tutor of this seminary, it was located in that town.
For thirty -two years, he discharged the double duties
of pastor and teacher ; but he resigned his tutorship in
1829, and was removed by death from all his labours,
on the 22d of January, 1834, in the seventy-fifth year
of his age. He was modest and retiring, but emi
nently devotional, and a hard student, rising very
early, and pursuing mathematical researches to an

156 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
advanced age. As he preached three times a day, and
took the sole charge of the academy, it is manifest that
he must have been "in labours more abundant;" but it
was not without reason that his friends regretted his
refusal to accept the aid of another tutor.
The number of students under Mr. Small, was, how
ever, very limited, but they were men of piety and
evangelical sentiments, and have contributed power
fully to rescue dissent, in the West of England, from
the desolating effects of the Arian and Socinian creeds.
The Congregational Fund Board was induced, by
financial considerations, to withdraw its support, when
the committee of the academy, anxious, not only to
maintain its existence, but to increase its efficiency, by
providing two tutors, published, in 1827, an appeal to
the public. "It now remains," they say, "for one
hundred Independent churches of the four western
counties, to determine whether an institution which
has been a blessing, and which, with the contemplated
advantages, may become a still greater blessing, shall
utterly fail, or rise, with an accession of strength and
efficiency." This appeal was not in vain. Many Dissenters
came forward to place the academy on a permanent
footing of increased usefulness, and after some preli
minary meetings, one was held at Exeter, November,
19th, 1828, when it was resolved to remove the insti
tution to Exeter. Dr. George Payne, who had presided
over the Blackburn academy, became the resident
and theological tutor, and Mr. Pope, who had studied
under him, and who is minister of a congregation at
Heavitree, near Exeter, is the classical tutor.

SEMINARIES. 157
The institution which was nearly extinct, as there
was only one student under the temporary care of
Mr. Rooker, of Biddeford, is now revived. Under
the new administration it commenced with five, and
soon numbered twelve students. It has some small
property, but not amounting to a hundred pounds of
annual income. The Congregational Fund Board in
London, which had withdrawn its support, determined,
in 1837, to maintain four students in the western aca
demy ; leaving all the other expenses to be provided
for by voluntary contributions.
Six years ago, a commodious building, beautifully
situated in the vicinity of Exeter, capable of accommo
dating the academic family, and eight students, was
purchased by the committee. The debt thus incurred,
has been liquidated by the persevering and meritorious
exertions of its treasurer, William Collard, Esq., of
Wellington. It was found necessary, about twelve
months ago, to enlarge the building so as to accom
modate fourteen students, and this has entailed upon
it a debt of four or five hundred pounds, which
presses heavily upon the institution. It has now, how
ever, very commodious and most delightful, as well as
very healthy premises. The course of study, which is
for five years, comprehends the Latin, Greek, and
Hebrew languages, general history, mathematics,
natural phdosophy, logic, general grammar, rhetoric,
mental and moral science, theology, biblical criticism,
and ecclesiastical history.

158 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Manchester College, York,
This, which is the only college for the Unitarians,
has experienced so little alteration during the last
thirty years, that it is not necessary to say more than
that Mr. Wellbeloved still presides over it, and that
the Rev. John Kenrick, having been compelled, by loss
of sight, to resign the office of classical tutor, has been
succeeded, in the last year, by Dr. Perry. The Rev.
James Turner was mathematical tutor, but since the
year 1829, the Rev. J. Hincks fills that post.
The average number of students is about eighteen,
and some of the funds have been derived from the
neighbourhood of Manchester, where the institution
received its origin. But Lady Hewley's charity had
been made very subservient to the interests of this
seminary, which has been deprived of that resource,
since the Chancellor decreed that the proceeds of her
estate should be paid into the Court of Chancery,
until the suit that is now carried on shall be finally
decided. Spring-hill College, Birmingham.
This new college had its rise in the Christian libe
rality of the late George Storer Mansfield, Esq., and
his sisters, Mrs. Sarah Glover, and Miss Elizabeth
Mansfield ; and it depends for its support, partly upon
funds which have been placed in trust by them, and
partly upon voluntary subscriptions.
On this principle it recognises a committee selected
annually, at a general meeting of subscribers to the
above-mentioned object, as constituting the body in

SEMINARIES. 159
whom the administration of the trust funds, as well as
of the associate subscription fund, shall be perma
nently vested. It is expressly provided in the deed of
trust, that " No person shall, at any time, be deemed
eligible to be a member of the committee, unless he
profess and declare, by writing under his hand, that he
believes in the unity of the Godhead, — the divinity of
Christ, — the atonement made by his death for sin, —
the divinity and personality of the Holy Spirit, — the
necessity of the Spirit's influence for the illumination
of the understanding and the renovation of the heart,
— and the plenary inspiration of the Holy Scrip
tures." The committee thus appointed, are empowered to
frame the necessary rules and regulations for managing
and conducting the affairs of the college ; and also to pass
such bye-laws as they shall, from time to time, deem
necessary for its government and welfare; but every such
bye-law must be reviewed at the next ensuing meeting
of the trustees and subscribers, and no rule or bye-law
may at any time be made, which militates against any
ofthe provisions ofthe trust deed. The committee is also
charged with the appointment and removal of tutors,
when necessary, and the admission and dismissal of
students. The trustees, tutors, and students, who are ap
pointed or received in pursuance of the trust provi
sions, are required, in addition to the declaration made
by members of the committee, to profess themselves
Dissenters from the Established Church and Psedo-
baptists, and in the event of any suspicion arising that
the aforesaid declaration has ceased to represent the

160 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
actual principles of any trustee, tutor, or student, he
may be required to renew it ; if a trustee, on the
application of one-third of his co-trustees ; if a tutor or
student, on the application of the committee or any
three trustees.
At the express desire of Mrs. Glover and Miss
Mansfield, the surviving founders, the trustees have,
for a considerable time, been occupied with arrange
ments preparatory to the establishment of the college ;
and aided by a very munificent sacrifice on the part of
those ladies, of a portion of their reserved income, the
institution was opened for the reception of students,
at the end of August, 1838 ; a period anticipating,
probably by several years, that originally contem
plated. OFFICE BEARERS IN THE EDUCATIONAL
DEPARTMENT.
Chairman of the Board of Education.
The Rev. J. A. James, Birmingham.
'Visitors and Examiners.
The Rev. R. S. M'All, LL.D., Manchester.
The Rev. George Redford, D.D. LL.D., Worcester.
The Rev. John Burder, M.A., Stroud.
The Rev. J. Gawthorn, Derby.
The Rev. Joseph Gilbert, Nottingham.
Tutors.
The Rev. Francis Watts, Professor of Christian Theolog-y, Church
History, and Pastoral Science.
The Rev. T. R. Barker, Professor of Biblical and Classical
Philology, and Resident Tutor.
In the department of Philosophy the appointment is not yet made.

SEMINARIES. 161
Honorary Secretary.
The Rev. John Hammond, Handsworth, near Birmingham.
Members of the Educational Boai-d.
The Rev. Benjamin Brook, Birmingham.
The Rev. James Dawson, Dudley.
The Rev. Timothy East, Birmingham.
The Rev. J. G. Gallaw.ay, M.A., West Bromwich.
The Rev. John Hill, Gornal.
The Rev. John Jones, Birmingham.
The Rev. James Mattheson, D.D., Wolverhampton.
The Rev. R. M. Miller, Atherstone.
The Rev. Robert Ross, M.D., Kidderminster.
The Rev. John Sibree, Coventry.
A theological course of four years will constitute
the proper academical curriculum, whose completion
will be indispensable to a student's honourable dismis
sion from the college, and which it will be their
sincere desire to render comprehensive in its outline,
biblical and scientific in its source and evidences,
practical in its bearings on ministerial labour, and
liberal, devout, and conscientious in its spirit. To this
curriculum no student will be admitted, except under
very special circumstances, who has not completed his
18th year, or is unable to pass a creditable examina
tion in the elements of the Hebrew language, — a few
select authors of Greek and Roman literature, — ancient
Geography and History, both sacred and profane, —
and the principles of mathematical and intellectual
Philosophy. That, along with this provision for prepared stu
dents, due assistance may be rendered to young men
who have not enjoyed the same previous advantages,
M

162 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
and especially considering, that through the deep con
viction which prevails in the Congregational churches,
that none but such as are hopefully pious should be
countenanced in contemplating the Christian ministry,
youths whose talents and character afterwards become
very promising, are frequently, before the develop
ment of them, apprenticed to some secular pursuit,
incompatible with general mental cultivation, it has
been determined by the board, to establish an initiatory
course of philological and philosophcal training, which
shall occupy from one to three sessions, as circum
stances may require. Into this, young men of piety,
suitably recommended, may be admitted in their
seventeenth year, provided they can read the Mneid of
Virgil, and are acquainted with the rudiments of the
Greek language.
The business of education will, in both courses, be
conducted through the medium of lectures, exercises,
and examinations.
" In the THEOLOGICAL CURRICULUM Lectures will be de
livered in the four branches of exegetical, synthetical, historical, and
pastoral theology, in the following order : —
L — In Exegetical Theology, four Lectures will be delivered
weekly, on the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, the
original text being the basis of the Lecture.
During the first Session of the course, on the Pentateuch and the
Epistle to the Hebrews.
During the second Session, on Select portions of the Historical
Books.
During the third Session, on the Prophetical or Oracular portions
of the Old and New Testaments.
During the fourth Session, on the Doctrinal, Ethical, and Expe
rimental portions of Scripture.

SEMINARIES. 163
II. — In Synthetical Theology, three Lectures will bc delivered
weekly ; the matter of the course being distributed into four prin
cipal parts, of which each will occupy, as follows, an annual
Session ; these are,
1st. A comprehensive introduction to Revealed Theology.
This will embrace, in addition to the positive evidences, external
and internal, in favour of divine Revelation, a digest of the prin
cipal facts of Natural Theology, and a critical analysis of them in
reference, on the one hand, to their independent sufficiency as
alleged by the Deist, and, on the other, to the question of their
corroborative testimony to the divine authority of the Old and
New Testament Scriptures.
2ndly. Christian Dogmatics ; a digest of Christian doctrine
in reference to the Deity, his nature, counsels and operations in
creation, providence, and grace.
3rdly. Christian Ethics; a digest of the laws of Christ in
their most comprehensive obligation.
4thly. Comparative Theology ; comprising summaries of the
doctrinal systems developed by the controversial writings of the
Fathers, Heresiarchs, and Schoolmen, and embodied in Eccle
siastical Creeds and Confessions, and a comparison of them with
each other and the Holy Scriptures.
III. — The Historical Course, in which two or three Lectures
will be delivered weekly, includes in four sections, of which the first
will occupy two, the others one session each,
1st. The History of the Christian Church, from its commence
ment to the present times.
2ndly. A Special History of Protestant Missions.
3rdly. A course on Ecclesiastical Antiquities, unfolding the
inventions and corruptions of men in the positive institutions of
Christianity, with their causes and effects.
IV. — In the course on Pastoral Science, which will be com
prised in one weekly Lecture : —
The first annual Session will contain a general survey of the
whole course of pastoral qualification and duty.
The second, will illustrate pastoral didactics, or the duties,
qualifications, and preparation connected with the office of public
instruction specially considered.
M 2

164 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
The third, pastoral liturgies, or the duties, quaUfications, and
preparation connected with the social and public worship of God,
specially considered.
The fourth. Church Government, illustrated on the same plan.
The exercises connected with the above-mentioned Lectures, are
as follows : —
1. In the department of exegetical theology, the students will be
exercised twice a week by the philological tutor, in translating and
expounding a portion of the Old and New Testaments in the original
languages. These exercises will occasionally be required in
writing. 2. The exercises in the synthetical department, will consist of
two hours' repetition by the students, as they may be severally called
upon by the tutor, of the principal matter of the three synthetical
lectures of the preceding week. These repetitions to be delivered
from the notes taken at lecture, amplified by the references given
with them.
3. In the historical branch, an occasional written exercise to be
examined by the tutor, or read at a monthly meeting of the board
of education, will probably be all that the other engagements ofthe
students will allow.
4. In practical theology, two hours a week will be devoted to
exercises. On these occasions a student will be called upon to read
a sermon on some prescribed subject, which will be followed by the
tutor's remarks, and plans of sermons will then be asked for, til!
three shall have been read and discussed.
In addition to the exercises which stand in immediate connexion
with the theological lectures, the students will be occupied three
times a week in reading, with the philological tutor, portions of those
Greek authors, whose style illustrates the formation and character
ofthe New Testament Greek, and some of the most valuable por
tions of the Greek and Latin fathers.
The visitors and examiners of the College will, as before stated,
in connexion with the tutors and the Board of Education, appoint
two examinations in each year, one immediately preceding the recess
at Christmas, the other at the termination of each session.
The INITIATORY COURSE will comprehend a series of lee-

SEMINARIES. 165
tures, exercises and examinations, in Philology and intellectual
science. The Philological Lectures will be comprised in a double series,
illustrating in alternate sessions, the geography, physical and poli
tical, the general history, the antiquities, domestic, civil and reli
gious, the language and the literature of the Hebrew and Gentile
races. In the classical series the illustration of religious Antiquities
will require a survey of the heathen mythology ; and under the
heads of language and literature, in both series, it is intended to
give a summary of grammatical, critical and hermeneutical prin
ciples, and by occasional exegetical analyses of select passages of
sacred and profane antiquity, to furnish sufficient special intro
ductions to the style and spirit of the authors included in the sketch,
and exemplary hints to students of the proper methods of inves
tigating and explaining them.
The students will, during the whole of the initiatory course, be
engaged with the philological tutor, five days of every week, in
exercises on the elements of Hebrew, in reading classical authors,
and in writing translations into Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
The branches of philosophical instruction included in the course,
are Mathematics, the elements of Mental Science, Logic, Rhetoric,
the history of Philosophy, and that of modern European literature.
The philosophical tutor will also prescribe and correct the exercises
of the students in English Composition, but no particular details
respecting this course can be furnished until the arrangements for
filling the chair shall have been brought to completion.
The Committee respectfully direct the attention of ministers and
churches, as well as of young men disposed to apply for admission
into the College, to the following rules which have been framed by
the Board of Education in reference to the admission of students.
1. Every candidate for admission into Spring-hill College
whetlier applying to be received on the foundation, or at his own
charge, must state distinctly whether he applies for the theological
curriculum only, or for the initiatory course also; must forward
with his application a statement of his reasons for desiring to be
received, accompanied with a sealed letter of recommendation from
his pastor, seconded by such other respectable recommendations of
christian friends, also sealed, as he may be able to obtain ; and if

166 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
he apply for the theological curriculum only, must particularly
specify what previous advantages of education he has enjoyed, and
what classical and philosophical authors he has read.
It is particularly requested that every recommendation of a can
didate may be conscientiously explicit respecting his piety, talents,
disposition, temper, habits, and previous occupation and attain
ments ; as in every instance of deficient information, the board will
deem it necessary to request of the recommending parties, distinct
answers to a series of printed questions to the following efiect,
accompanied by such other questions as the particular case may
seem to require.
1 . Is the candidate in your judgment a young man of serious and
fervent piety ?
2. Is his character without reproach ?
3. Is he amiable in his disposition, temper and deportment, or
in case of constitutional infirmity in this respect, has he shown a
conscientious desire to correct what is amiss ?
4. Has he manifested, for how long, and in what way, an interest
in the increase of Christ's kingdom, a personal devotedness to the
cause of Christ, and a concern for the instruction of the ignorant
and the salvation of souls ? If he have been engaged in the distri
bution of tracts, or sabbath school instruction, are you able to
furnish any accurate information respecting the acceptableness of
his visits to the poor, or his influence upon the teachers and children
of the school ? or can you say anything respecting the character, for
disinterestedness and constancy, of his effi)rts to do good ?
5. Are his general talents, aptitude for learning, and inclination
for study such as justify the hope that his engaging in theological
pursuits will be attended with satisfactory results in reference to the
work ofthe Christian ministry?
6. Has he contracted any habits unsuitable to the character
which, as a Student of Theology and aspirant to the Christian
ministry, he will be required to maintain ? "
Stepney College, Baptist.
This is a new institution, having been founded in
the year 1810. It originated, however, in a society

SEMINARIES.

167

that was formed six years before, called the Baptist
Education Society, of which the venerable Abraham
Booth was a zealous promoter. It afforded instruction,
during a course of two years, to several young men,
not in the learned languages, or the higher depart
ments of knowledge, but in English grammar and
composition, and in theology, by a course of reading
of the best English divines. Several excellent men,
who are stdl labouring in the gospel, have thus
received valuable aids.
But these humbler institutions have usually given
birth to others more efficient; and, in the year 1810,
the present college was founded, to give an education
which extends through four years, and embraces all
the most important objects with which a minister
should be acquainted. Its theological basis is the
same as was laid down for the former institution, of
which the rules were preserved, as far as they could
be adapted to a more important seminary. The late
W. Taylor, Esq., who was, for many years, a deacon
of the church of which Mr. Booth was pastor, pur
chased the present premises, and generously gave to
the college what cost him three thousand six hundred
pounds. It was a budding frequently called King
John's palace, and supposed by many to have been the
residence of that monarch. But more correct judges
assign the erection to the close of Elizabeth's reign, or
the commencement of that of James I. What is called
King John's tower is a noble gateway belonging to a
mansion which, in the reign of Charles IL, was the
residence of the Marquis of Worcester. The anti
quarian is interested in the singular beauty of the

168 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
brick-work and cement, which, indeed, attract the
notice of every observant passenger. This has been,
with much good taste, preserved, and a Baptist chapel
has been erected on the right hand, in a correspondent
style of architecture, with fine brick-work and stone
facings. On the left hand is the house occupied by
the theological tutor.
The prospectus of the new institution was written
by Mr. Robert Hall, then at Leicester, and was well
calculated to attract the favour of his own denomi
nation, and the friends of religion in other communions.
The Rev. Dr. Newman, pastor of a Baptist church at
Bow, was appointed theological tutor, and Rev. S.
Young was chosen to fill the chair of classics. Early
in the year 1827, Dr. Newman resigned his oflBce,
which he had honourably held for sixteen years ; and
Mr. Young, who was appointed to succeed him, was,
within a few weeks, snatched from the hopes of his
friends, by death. In the spring of the same year,
were appointed the present tutors, Rev. W. H. Murch,
who resides on the premises and teaches theology,
and Rev. S. Tomkins, A. M., who is the classical
tutor. The four years of study are occupied with Latin and
Greek; and as the candidates for admission are re
quired to read Virgil and the Greek Testament, those
who have not reached that point are placed under a
competent person for preparatory instruction. He
brew, Chaldee, and Syriac are taught, as are also
mathematics. Theology occupies the chief attention,
and is accompanied by lectures on biblical criticism,
the evidences of divine revelation, on the divine dis-

SEMINARIES. 169
pensations, and pastoral theology. Mental and moral
philosophy and rhetoric complete the course.
Shortly after the appointment of the present tutors,
it was resolved to erect more suitable apartments for
the students. A considerable part of the old premises
was converted into bed-rooms, and the cojnmittee
erected a dining-hall, library, and lecture room, and
twenty-two studies, which, with the chapel, cost about
four thousand pounds, and the public generosity fur
nished the whole whde the buildings were in the
course of erection. The number of students, durinof
the last session, was twenty-five. Additioncd premises
have been purchased, at a cost of eighteen hundred
pounds, with a view to further enlargements. The
adjoining chapel affords a desirable sphere for the
early labours of the young men, who have there
gathered a good congregation. Some of them go to
finish their education at one of the northern univer
sities, and a prize of £50 has lately been awarded by
the Senatus Academicus of Edinburgh to one of the
alumni of Stepney College.
Bristol Academy.
This ancient Baptist coUege was, in the year 1812
removed from North Street to Stokes Croft, where
extensive and substantial buddings were erected to
accommodate the resident tutor and thirty-three stu
dents. Those who had known the valuable library
and museum of the institution, were then happy to
see them provided with a suitable edifice; for the
library, which amounts to seven thousand volumes,
contains, among other curiosities, the only entire copy

170 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
of Tyndale's edition of the New Testament, 1526,
which escaped the flames ; and the museum, which was
founded by Dr. Gifford of the British Museum, has
been enriched by the Baptist missionaries with many
valuable articles.
In the year 1817, the Rev. Henry Page was suc
ceeded, in the classical department, by the Rev.
Thomas S. Crisp. In May, 1825, Dr. Ryland, who
had long presided over the institution, and taught
theology and Hebrew, was called home to his heavenly
rest. He was the son of the Rev. John Collet Ryland,
the celebrated Baptist minister of Warwick, who after
wards spent twenty-six years of vigorous, successful
labour at Northampton. His son John was born at
Warwick, January 29, 1753. Of Mr. Spence, the
author of Polymetis, young Ryland, when a school
boy, learned Hebrew, in which he read the 23d
Psalm to Mr. Hervey, author of Theron and Aspasio,
the friend of Mr. Ryland, senior. Like Doddridge,
John Ryland was taught the Scripture history by his
mother, from the Dutch tiles in the fire-place, and when
repeating the answers in Dr. Watts' catechism on the
misery of the wicked, he burst into tears. It was not,
however, till he was thirteen that he was renewed by
divine grace, and then showed that jealousy about the
reality of his religion which distinguished him in
future life, and which was nourished by reading the
treatise on religious affections by President Edwards,
whose works he most highly valued. He soon after
devoted himself to the ministry, and having obtained the
sanction of the church, he began preaching with such
zeal, that he received a warning from Mr. Newton,

SEMINARIES. 171
then curate of Olney, against "burning the candle
at both ends." In 1781, when in his twenty-fifth year,
he became assistant to his father in the pastoral office
at Northampton, which, five years after, devolved
entirely on him, as his father retired to Enfield, where
he died. Mr. Ryland had some trouble, when sole
pastor at Northampton, for refusing to admit Hunting
ton into the pulpit; but that firebrand was always
treated as he deserved by one who was too wise to
bow to the arrogant pretender. For though the pastor
of Northampton had commenced his ministry on what
would be called high principles, he soon joined Mr.
Carey and Mr. Fuller in adopting the more just views
of the reformers and puritans, to which the study of
Edwards on the Freedom of the Will contributed.
He contributed eminently to the formation of the
Baptist Missionary Society, in 1792, and was ever
after its most zealous friend. Dr. Caleb Evans having
been called by death from the care of the Baptist
church in Broadmead, Bristol, and the presidency of
the academy for the ministry, Mr. Ryland, after twice
refusing, succeeded to both offices, December 1793.
His answer to the invitation of the Paedobaptist
church, which is singularly combined with the Baptist,
was beautifully expressive of the Catholicism which
reigned in Mr. Ryland's heart. In Bristol, he was the
faithful witness for the truth, and the wise, kind,
beloved friend of all good men ; for he had nothing
sectarian in his character. It was, indeed, with equal
truth and beauty observed of him by Mr. Robert Hall,
that his sensibdity extended, not only to his own
species, but pervaded the whole circle of animated

172 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
nature. After a healthful course, greatly promoted
by early rising and temperance, he sickened, and, soon
after, was allowed to enter into rest, May 25, 1825,
in the seventy-third year of his age. His funeral
sermon by Mr. Hall, his successor in the pastoral care,
being published, contributed powerfully to give to a
modest, retiring man, the honour that is his due. For
he was one of the wisest and best of men, whom no
good man could know without loving. His theological
accuracy and catholic benevolence made him an emi
nent blessing to his own communion, if any com
munion but that of all saints can be said to be his, who
loving the image of Christ, wherever he saw, it com
pelled all who valued it at all, to admire it in him. He
was the correspondent of Dr. Erskine, of the Scotch
establishment, and of Newton and Scott, in the
English, and that man must have been a bigot indeed
who would not have deemed himself honoured by the
friendship of Dr. Ryland.
Mr. James, who had assisted in teaching the classics,
being advanced in years, resigned, when the duties of
Mr. Exley, the mathematical tutor, with the whole of
the classical department, were committed to the Rev.
William Anderson, from Dunstable. Mr. Crisp was
chosen to succeed Dr. Ryland. In 1813 the insti
tution suffered two losses ; for Mr. Anderson was
removed by death, and Rev. W. Pechy refused to hold
the situation more than one year. Mr. Edgar Hux-
table, from the University of Cambridge, was chosen
classical and mathematical tutor, under whom both
these departments of knowledge are pursued with
great success, as are Hebrew and theology, in which

SEMINARIES. 173
Dr. Ryland had laboured to impart to the rising ministry
his own eminence.
Horton College, Bradford, Yorkshire, Baptist.
As this institution was but just formed when the
History of Dissenters was published, it was then
merely announced that the Rev. William Steadman
had been chosen tutor.* He fully justified the expec
tations which all who knew him entertained of his
usefulness in this office. The Northern Baptist Edu
cation Society, the patron of the institution, placed it
at Little Horton, a village near Bradford, and, after
some time, the tutor's house, and studies for twenty-
three students, were rebuilt, by which two thousand
pounds of funded property were expended ; but their
treasurer, J. Broadley, Esq., bequeathed to the
college upwards of a hundred and sixty pounds per
annum. As the close of 1835, the Rev. Wdliam Steadman,
who had hitherto presided over the institution, and had
received from America the diploma of doctor of
divinity, was induced, by the infirmities of years, to
resign the charge, soon after which he was removed by
death. He was born August 12, 1764, in the parish
of Eardisland, near Leominster, His ancestors were
Baptists, but friends to the Calvinistic Methodists. By
an early affection of the eyes, which had been ill-
managed, his sight was permanently injured, and his
subsequent destination affected, not to his disad
vantage, or that of the church of God. But he was,
on account of his weak sight, suffered to grow up to
* Second Edition, Vol. II. p. 538.

174 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
the age of nine without learning to read ; till, stung
with shame, he applied himself to the task, and in a
few months could read the Bible. At length he kept
a school himself, and for six years was an assistant
to Rev. John Thomas, the clergyman who presided
over the free school at Eardisland.
Toward the close of his seventeenth year, the serious
impressions which he had often received, and as often
lost, terminated in a change of heart, which induced
him to join, in April, 1784, the Baptist church at
Leominster, under the pastoral care of Mr. Joshua
Thomas, the father of Mr. Timothy Thomas, pastor of
the Baptist church, Devonshire Square, London. This
step did not diminish the kindness with which Mr.
Steadman was treated by his clerical employer, who
always afforded him substantial proofs of affection and
esteem. In that autobiography which forms a valuable
portion of his Life, published by his son the Rev.
Thomas Steadman, of Bradford, William Steadman
observes, " From the commencement of my religious
impressions, I had a predilection for the ministry."
His fears that he should never become a preacher, he
wisely suffered not to prevent his pursuing those
studies that might fit him for the work, and he was
rewarded by being soon invited to assist his pastor,
who recommended him to the Baptist Academy at
Bristol. There he studied, far too short a time, under
Dr. Caleb Evans, when Mr. Robert Hall and Mr.
James Newton were classical tutors, and Mr. Pearce,
afterwards of Birmingham, was Mr. Steadman's fellow
student and bosom friend. Broughton, a village in

SEMINARIES. 175
Hampshire, was the first sphere of Mr. Steadman's
labours, rendered pleasant by residing in the family of
which Miss Steel, the celebrated Theodosia, was a mem
ber, and painful by the Hyper-calvinism of some, as
well as the divergence of others into Sandemanianism.
Here, however, he grew in grace and in knowledge,
by studying the works of Dr. Owen and President
Edwards, while, by very laborious itinerant excursions
he sought to increase his usefulness.
But he was called, in 1798, to a larger and more
fertile field ; for he became fellow labourer with Mr.
Josiah Birt, at Devonport, then called Plymouth
Dock. After a time, a second church was formed, of
which he became sole pastor. From thence, he was
invited to become president of the new seminary at
Little Horton, near Bradford, Yorkshire. He became,
at the same period, pastor of the Baptist church, and
laboured, as formerly, in the villages around him,
till, worn out with tods, he died April 12, 1837, in
the seventy-third year of his age.
The defect in his sight gave him an odd appearance,
which, however, seemed to vanish, as soon as he spoke ;
for though Socrates would have advised him, as well
as Plato, to sacrifice to the graces, he poured forth
such stores of evangelical knowledge, with so much
holy earnestness of manner, that the wisest and the
best of men loved to sit at his feet and listen. The
writer of these pages, who was happy in his friend
ship, first when we both resided in Hampshire, and
afterwards when engaged in similar labours in York
shire, was once told by Dr. Ryland of Bristol, "I
never was so disposed to become a Welch jumper, as

176 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
when I heard Mr. Steadman preach on the attributes
of God glorified in our redemption by Christ." That
this was his favourite theme was, perhaps, both the
cause and the effect of his great delight in Owen's
Treatise on the Glory of Christ, and Edwards' works,
especially his Life of Brainerd. Dr. Steadman shared
with Dr. Ryland in the honour of stemming the torrent
of Ultra-calvinism in their own communion, which had
been tainted, as well, by giving to Gill's works a defe
rence which they do not deserve, and an application
he never intended, as by countenancing the impudent
dogmatism of some ignorant Antinomians.
But Dr. Steadman committed the usual fault of an
ardent man, who " remembered that it was written of
the Redeemer, the zeal of thy house hath eaten me
up." He that had shared with Pearce in the desire to
become a missionary in India, and had followed in
the steps of the Methodist itinerant labourers through
Cornwall, persisted to the last in attempting too much.
He should have contented himself, when president of
a college, with preaching twice a day in Bradford, and
left village labours to younger men ; but that he took
the care of procuring pecuniary supplies for the
seminary, was in him a folly, and in those who suf
fered it a sin. Yet he lived to a good old age, and his
disinterestedness was rewarded, at the close of life, by
a generous friend. The office of classical tutor was
filled, in 1818, by Mr. Jonathan Ryland, son of Dr.
Ryland, of Bristol; but, in 1822, he was succeeded by
the Rev. B. Godwin, pastor ofthe second Baptist church
at .Bradford, who, in about ten years, resigned the
oflSce. His successor was Mr. William Fawcett,

SEMINARIES. 177
grandson of Dr. Fawcett, of Ewood Hall; but ill
health compelling him to retire, the Rev. T. Clowes,
from Bristol, is now classical tutor.
The excellent Dr. Steadman was succeeded by the
Rev. James Acworth, the present theological tutor and
president. The average number of students is about
eighteen, who pursue the usual routine of the Latin,
Greek, and Hebrew languages, mathematics, divinity
and ecclesiastical history. Towards the latter part of
Dr. Steadman's life, some very noble instances of libe
rality to the academy cheered his heart. Thomas
Key, Esq., of Water Fulford, near York, gave nearly
thirteen hundred pounds towards the purchase and im
provement of the buildings. Samuel Hope, Esq., of
Liverpool, subscribed fifty pounds a year, towards the
current expenses, in which he was followed by Broad-
ley Wdson, Esq., of Clapham, near London.
The General Baptist Midland Seminary,
Loughborough.
The General Baptist Education Society placed, in
1825, a small number of young men under the Rev.
Thomas Stevenson, pastor at Loughborough, to be
educated for the ministry. The Latin, Greek, and
Hebrew languages, mental and moral phdosophy,
evidences of natural and revealed religion, theology,
and Jewish antiquities, are taught. The number of
students varies from four to eight, and five are now
under tuition. The income of the institution is de
rived solely from voluntary subscriptions, and is not
more than two or three hundred pounds per annum.
N

178 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Caermarthen Academy.
This seminary, which derives its present name from
its locality, is supported by what is called the Presby
terian Fund Board. The Rev. David Peter was the
tutor, from the year 1795, until he was removed by
death. He was also pastor of the Congregational
church in Lammas Street, Caermarthen, which was, at
the commencement of his ministry there, small, having
not more than fifty members; but his labours were
successful; for his preaching was sound, judicious,
practical, and affectionate, and his conduct exemplary.
His congregation built a new and larger place of wor
ship, and afterwards rebuilt it on a still larger and
handsomer scale, so that it is now one of the best in
the principality ; and he was accustomed to administer
the Lord's supper to about six hundred communicants.
But he was at length visited with paralysis, which
produced great mental depression, and seriously inter
rupted his labours. The Rev. John Breese, of Liver
pool, was, therefore, invited to be his colleague, and
finally succeeded him, in the pastoral charge. Mr.
Peter was removed from his labours and sufferings,
May 4, 1837, in the seventy-second year of his age.
He was distinguished by prudence, firmness, and
decision of character, both as a pastor and as a tutor,
by which he was enabled to fill a post of considerable
difficulty. He published, in the Welch language, the
History of Religion in Wales ; and, at his death, the
high estimation in which he stood was displayed.
During the early part of Mr. Peter's tutorship, Mr.
Davics, minister of Lanybre, was classical tutor.

SEMINARIES. 179
Thouo-h there were sometimes Arian or Socinian stu-
dents in the college, they were few in nuniber ; but
several of the classical tutors were of those senti
ments. The Rev. D. L. Jones held that office, in
which he was succeeded by Mr. Palmer. ¦ The present
classical tutor is Mr. Lloyd, a Unitarian minister, who
preaches to a small congregation in the country. It
is said that little injury has been done to the students
of evangelical sentiments, by their connexion with
persons of another faith; for, while they leam the
state of the controversy with the Socinians, their creed
has not appeared worthy of adoption.
Mr. Peter's successor as theological tutor, is the
Rev. David Davies, from Panteg.
The institution, deriving its support from the Pres
byterian Fund Board, is visited once in three years by
a deputation from this body. Drs. Rees and Lindsay,
and other persons of note in that connexion, have been
among the visitors, who, on those occasions, have
preached in the Independent chapel, but have not
introduced their peculiar sentiments, conducting them
selves with kindness, candour, and forbearance.
The number of students is about twelve, and the
course of study includes four years. Though the
Presbyterian funds support the institution, it has been
of great use to the Independent churches in Wales,
supplying them with valuable orthodox ministers.
The Independent Academy, Newtown, Wales.
The Independents and Presbyterians had joined to
support the academy at Caermarthen, tdl Mr. Thomas,
the theological tutor, departed from the ancient faith,
N 2

180 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
and then the Independents withdrew, and formed a
new institution at Abergavenny, under the care of Mr.
David Jardine. Dr. Davies was afterwards the theo
logical tutor, and when he took the charge of the Old
College at Homerton, the Welch seminary was removed
to Oswestry, where Dr. Williams was its theological
tutor. When he resigned the chair, the institution
was removed to Wrexham, and placed under the care
of the Rev. Jenkin Lewis. It was afterwards removed
with Dr. George Lewis to Llanfyllin, in Montgomery
shire ; and with him went to Newtown, in Mont
gomeryshire. He was called away by death in 1822,
leaving behind him a high reputation for talents,
learning, and worth. He wrote, in Welch, a body of
divinity, and a commentary on the New Testament.
The Rev. Edward Davies succeeded to the theological
chair. Mr. Bowen was the classical tutor, but he
afterwards removed to Macclesfield.
The course of study at Newtown has included Latin,
Greek, Hebrew, Chaldee, and Syriac, theology, logic,
mathematics, and ecclesiastical history. The Welch
language is cultivated critically, as many of the stu
dents ultimately exercise their ministry in that tongue.
The report of the examination, in May, 1823, was
highly creditable to the institution, which had recently
been deprived of its excellent tutor, Dr. George Lewis.
The Congregational Fund Board, having for many
years supported this theological seminary, for the edu
cation of pastors for the Congregational churches in
Wales, at length concluded "that the improved circum
stances of these churches required that they should
participate alike in the support and the management

SEMINARIES. 181
of the academy." The board, therefore, passed a
resolution, in March, 1836, that Newtown was no longer
eligible for the academy, and that all further grants
should, after the following Christmas, be withheld,
unless it should be placed under the effective and
direct management of the Welch churches, in co-ope
ration with the board. But, as little hope was enter
tained of the efforts of the churches being duly called
forth, while the board continued its support, it was
resolved, in October, 1836, that the board should no
further interfere in the formation, or support, of such an
institution. At the same time intimation was given,
that if an academy were formed of which the board
could approve, it would afford its aid.
In consequence of this resolution, delegates from
various Welch counties met in Brecon, and appointed
a committee to establish a new academy in that town.
The committee purchased a house for £1150, and col
lections were made for raising that sum, and providing
a permanent income for the support of an academy.
The happy consummation of this affair is much to be
desired, as Wales needs aU the advantages which such
an institution would afford.
Seminary at Neuaddlwyd, Cardiganshire.
This was not originally intended to be a collegiate
institution, but a congregational school. It has been
a preparatory seminary for the Presbyterian CoUege,
at Caermarthen, and the Congregational, at Newtown.
It was established in 1810, and has been ever since
under the care of Dr. Thomas Philips. But the
seminary at Neuaddlwyd is introduced here because

182 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
some finish their studies under Dr. Phdips, and go at
once into the ministry.
From the character of the seminary, it may be seen
that the course of instruction is varied. Those who
are intended for the ministry, pursue the study of the
Greek Testament, logic, and ecclesiastical history.
Several of the Welch ministers were educated here,
and some of them rank among the most estimable and
useful. But the voluntary contributions of the Con
gregational churches for this object have not been
kept up, and the students have been left to their own
resources, or the aid afforded by the churches from
which they came. It is feared, that if Dr. Philips,
who is now in ill health, should be removed, the insti
tution, which has been very useful, will not be con
tinued. Penwayne Auxiliary Institution, near Newport,
Monmoutlishire.
This seminary, which somewhat resembles the pre
ceding, originated in the diflficulty which some young
men found in obtaining funds to support themselves
for two years at the preparatory school, which was
necessary to their admission into the Newtown Aca
demy. The Rev. Daniel Davies, of Penwayne, there
fore, benevolently took them under his tuition, and he
has at present five, who are preparing for the ministry;
the whole number who have gone from under his care
is twenty-two. It is to be regretted that he is not
encouraged by the contributions of the churches, and
especially of the rich. As the young men, on their
entrance, are such as need even a preparatory edu-

SEMINARIES. 183
cation, to fit them for entering a college, Mr. Davies
imparts the most elementary instruction, but advances
to Latin and Greek, none of them having yet been
able to enter on the study of Hebrew.
The Bala School, for the Welch Calvinistic Ministers.
Though we have given the name of a school to this
institution, and placed it after the preparatory semi
naries, it is intended to occupy a higher rank than the
reader might thus be led to imagine. It is, in fact, a
new college for the Calvinistic Methodists of Wales.
That body, like the Wesleyans, after opposing, have
felt the necessity of adopting, a system of education
for their ministers. The Rev. Mr. Charles, the grand
son ofthe celebrated leader of the Welch Calvinistic
Methodists, after studying at Oxford, with a view to
the established ministry, and gaining university
honours, has determined to follow his father's steps,
and has become tutor of a new institution, in which
he has, for his colleague, a pupil of Dr. Chalmers. But
the seminary has so recently been formed, that we can
only express our hope that it will greatly improve a
communion which has been an eminent blessino- to
Wales. The Baptist Academy at Pont y pool (late
A bergavenny.)
This seminary, which has existed thirty years, is
under the presidency of the Rev. Micah Thomas, who
teaches theology and the learned languages.
The institution was removed, in 1836, from Aber
gavenny to Pont y pool, in Monmouthshire. Suitable

184 HISTROY OF DISSENTERS.
buildings have been erected, and to the contributions
in Wales have been added those of London, to meet
the expense. The institution is in an improving state,
and gives an education of four years to about ten
students ; having sent out, since its commencement,
nearly a hundred ministers.
The Theological Academy, Glasgow.
This is the only collegiate institution for the Con
gregational churches in Scotland. Its name expresses
correctly its design, which is exclusively theological.
Availing itself of the advantages of its locality, it aids
the young in pursuing their studies under the pro
fessors of languages and philosophy in the University
of Glasgow, but provides a divinity hall, where the
ology is taught gratuitously by the Rev. Grevdle
Ewing, A.M., and Ralph Wardlaw, D.D., who are
pastors of Congregational churches in the city.
This seminary, which rose into distinct existence
about the year 1814, may be considered as a revival,
or continuation, of one which Mr. Robert Haldane had
created in Edinburgh. On the change which took
place in his views, it became necessary to provide the
present institution for the Congregational churches of
North Britain, and they happily engaged the services
of the present able tutors.
The institution has no buildings, but provides board
and lodgings for some of the students, though many of
them support themselves. As they differ much in
their previous acquirements, some having nearly
finished their university course, before they enter upon
that of theology, while others pursue the two courses

SEMINARIES. 185
simultaneously ; the time for continuing in the theo
logical academy, which is four years, is not very
rigidly observed The number of students varies also ;
but, from small beginnings, it has steadily increased.
In 1837, it was reported that there were upwards of
twenty in the institution ; seven missionary students
were added to that number, some of them supported
by the Loudon Missionary Society ; and often young
men from England and other countries, who are
studying at the university, avail themselves of the
opportunity of receiving lectures on theology at the
Congregational Divinity Hall.
Exegetical and systematical theology being the
objects of attention, lectures are delivered four times
a week, and homilitical and expository exercises are
required from the students, who deliver also, once a
year, essays before the constituents. This course is
pursued from the beginning of November till May,
while the session ofthe university lasts.
During the summer, the students are extensively
engaged as home missionaries, especially in the north
and west, under the patronage of the Congregational
Union for Scotland. In July, 1837, about eighteen
went out on this service, some of them to preach to
the Highlanders in their native tongue.
The expenditure of this institution, scarcely amount
ing to five hundred pounds annually, is provided for
by the voluntary contributions of the Congregational
churches, which have received great benefits from a
seminary so wisely and vigorously conducted.

186 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Dublin Theological Institution.
This small, but highly important, seminary, origi
nated, like many kindred institutions, from a benevo
lent effort to diffuse the light of the gospel in its
vicinity. Inthe month of May, 1814, a meeting was
held in London, of friends to religion, of various de
nominations, who formed the Irish Evangelical Society.
It was then resolved, that the resources of the society
should be directed, first, to the maintenance of a
seminary, in which students shall be prepared to preach
the gospel of Christ ; and as it appears that persons
acquainted with the prejudices, and accustomed to the
habits, of the people among whom they labour, will
be received with more cordiality, and will conduct
their ministry with more facility, than foreigners and
strangers ; that these students shall be selected prin
cipally, if not entirely, from among the pious natives
of that country in which the academy is to be
established. A thousand pounds were soon sub
scribed to accomplish the benevolent object, and
Thomas Walker, Esq., of London, was appointed
treasurer; and the Rev. Mark Wilks, and J. Richardson,
Esq., were nominated as secretaries.
The Rev. Thomas Loader, who had been invited
from Fordingbridge, in Hampshire, entered on his
labours as theological tutor, in the year 1815. Six
young men were admitted at the commencement ; and
several others offered themselves as candidates. This
method of evangelising Ireland, called forth many
native teachers, who derived essential benefits from
the institution, and carried into the dark parts of the

SEMINARIES. 187
country the light of the gospel. The academy did not,
however, long enjoy the advantage of Mr. Loader's
pious and benevolent services ; for his health being
delicate, he resigned his office.
Dr. Cope, who removed from Launceston, in Corn
wall, was then invited to Dublin ; but the Irish Evan-
gehcal Society withdrew its support, and the institu
tion suffered a temporary extinction. It was, however,
revived in 1832, under the auspices, and at the expense,
of the inhabitants of Ireland. The first report of the
resuscitated academy, dated January, 1833, contains
the following statement. " Few wdl deny the propriety
of some provision for the education of those young
men of piety and talent, natives of Ireland, who may
be anxious to go forward to the work of the ministry,
and may wish to avail themselves of the requisite
preparatory instruction, without leaving their native
land." The Committee have arranged a plan which seems
to have obtained very general approbation. They
made arrangements with Rev. William Haweis Cooper,
as having been, for several years, the resident tutor
under the Irish Evangelical Society, "for receiving into
his family such young men as their funds might
enable them to place under his care, for general and
theological instruction, and at the same time for
educating gratuitously, any number of extern students
whom the committee might deem eligible for that
purpose. Of three candidates for admission as intern
students, two have been admitted, and the committee
have made arrangements for the instruction of each of
their intern students in the Irish language."

188 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
The committee of the Irish Evangelical Society in
formed the founders of the new institution, that they
concurred in the opinion that a theological academy
would be desirable, and though they felt their inabdity
to support such an institution, they would afford such
co-operation as their means would allow. This revival
of the academy was very happily commended by one
who had been educated at Manor- street, and who
seem.s to have thought the institution unfairly depre
ciated. " Ireland will, I trust, after all, have cause to bless
the day in which the former academy was founded ;
and, perhaps, if an equal number were taken, just as
they stand, out of any denomination of ministers in the
British empire, the zeal, piety, disinterestedness, and
truly ministerial requisites of those brought up in
Manor-street would not suffer loss upon a strict com
parison. In the opinion of many, something super
human was expected from them, and when they were
discovered to be but men, it appears they were slighted
as if unable to acquit themselves like men. A review
of my life in it presents to my memory much that is
humiliating, yet over the gloomiest scenes that my
recollection can make in vision pass before me, I see
the refulgence of a light so pleasing, that I cannot
hastily, nor without reluctance, turn my eyes to others,
though, apparently, at first view, more cheering pros
pects. I could, with pleasure, live that period again,
and I am sure to more personal advantage. As an
impatient recruit prefers the unknown horrors of the
field to the drudgeries of barrack-yard discipline, and
never fully sees the importance of the minutise of driU

SEMINARIES. 189
until he grapples with his foe, it is to be feared that
many (quorum ego) soldiers of an infinitely nobler
cause do not sufficiendy value and avail themselves of
academical pursuits and advantages, until they come to
close engagement with the enemies of Messiah's king-
(lom — then they learn the humiliating lesson of
neglected means of improvement — then they must
begin to buckle on the armour but loosely thrown over
them, untd the enemy was presented to their view in
an aspect so formidable as they never dreamt of"
The term of study is four years, and the course is
Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, the elements of general
knowledge, and the various branches of theology.
Every resident student will be expected to learn the
Irish language, for which a provision is made by the
committee ; a benefit that will be extended to as many
of the non-resident students as think proper to avail
themselves of it. Lectures on other subjects will be
provided by the committee.
The third report of the revived institution states,
that the objects have been happdy accomplished, with
the general concurrence of the friends of religion in
Ireland. Forty preachers have been sent forth from
this school of the prophets, since its institution in
1814. The tutors are, the Rev. Wdliam Haweis Cooper,
with whom the students reside, and who teaches Latin,
Greek, and Hebrew, sacred and profane chronology,
and the elements of mental philosophy ; the Rev. Dr.
Urwick, who gratuitously instructs in theology, bib
lical criticism, and ecclesiastical history ; and Mr.
Owen Conellan, of the Royal Irish Academy, who

190 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
teaches the Irish, language. The students preach the
gospel in the neighbourhood, during their term of study.
Their labours in the Irish tongue are an important
feature in this institution. {See Ath Report, p, 4.)
Among its benefactors should be mentioned the Hox
ton Hibernian Association. If, of seminaries for the
dissenting ministry, this should be deemed last in date
and least in extent, a discerning eye will see in it the
germ of great blessings to a country which can put
forth the strongest clainis to the liberality and zeal of
Christians. Ireland has too long been the opprobrium of
England, whose sons should at last aspire to hear it
said by the common Lord of all, " It shall come to
pass, that as you were a curse, so will I save you, and
you shall be a blessing."
In its fifth year, the Dublin x\cademy contained five
students, who are studying the Irish language with
diligence and success. Their vacations are employed
in preaching the gospel amidst the dark parts of the
sister isle, where they have found the native tongue of
the Irish of great use, in communicating knowledge
and conciliating good will. This institution is the only
resource for supplying Ireland with native preachers
in the Congregational churches, which are constantly
increasing, through the zealous efforts of the Irish
Evangelical Society, and Congregational Union. The
principal support which the Dublin Academy receives
from England, is due to the Hoxton Auxiliary, which
voted for this object, last year, nearly one hundred
pounds.

SEMINARIES. 191
The Wesleyan Theological Institution.
This is a new seminary for the ministry, among those
who formerly took their travelling preachers from the
class caded local preachers, without any collegiate pre
paration. Not that an education for the ministry was so
remote from the genius of methodism as some have
imagined; for Mr. Wesley had, as early as the year
1744, projected "a Seminary for Labourers." Since the
death of their founder, the ^^ esleyans. at different in
tervals, had turned their attention to this subject, and
in various ways had endeavoured to anord instruction
to their young ministers. But. in 1S33. the Conference
determined to form a tiie: .C'^tcal srminarT. and in the
following year their p^an was matured, includiLnz the
following branches of learning.
" 1. Enghsh Grammar, Composition, and Elocution; Geoi-rapliv
and History; and elementary instruction in the Alatheniatics. Natural
Philosophy, and Chemistry, and in Loi-ic and the Philosophy of the
Mind. " 2. Theology ; including the Evidences, Doctrines, Duties, a:.d
Institutions of Christianity, and having particular refererice to thoss
views of the Christian system, in its application to eiperioiental
and practical religion, which are held bv our V.^y to Vx; coo-
formable to the Holy Scriptures. This vrill also jnolndfe the Geijeral
Principles of Church Order and Goverr.ro^r.t, %ii:i%o-t.ed w.th a d»-
tinct Exposition of our own established D--yoopinic, <iad of tLe proper
methods of administering it fo: 'Ij^ J- --"-J; ¦¦i^.rtffjiafA), 5i,.oid preser
vation of our societlo; ; an.<J i t^tt d »-.,% .oaime a»c .ropoitancft of
the Pastoral Oiioe a-od Care, wirii lo^jal rere.eooe to the d'jtie-.
and enge^ements of a Meti.vi.v, ?-4&fi-.fer,
" 3. The ElemeLV- '/. ES.i>jaii C.-iriciHis ; toe Ust methods of
critically studym-^ tfcfe '•v.t:-/x,.:-a ; tlie R jles and Principles to be

192 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
observed in their Interpretation ; Hebrew, Greek, and Roman
Antiquities ; and the Outlines of Ecclesiastical History.
" 4. The most useful methods of direct preparation for the pulpit;
and general instructions for the composition and acceptable dehvery
of sermons.
" 5. Such instruction in the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages,
as may enable the students to read and study the sacred Scriptures
in their original tongues, and prepare them for the successful pur
suit of farther Classical and Biblical knowledge, when they shall be
called into circuits or missions. — This branch of instruction may,
however, be wholly omitted, at the discretion of the officers of the
institution, if, on examining the student, at his first admission, or
subsequently, they shall deem it most expedient to confine his
attention to the English and Theological classes.
" 6. That the care and assistance of this institution shall be extended
also to those candidates for the Christian ministry, who cannot he
received into the Institution-House ; for which purpose they shall
be regarded as non-resident students. The object of this care and
assistance shall be to direct them in the prosecution of their literary
and theological studies ; to aid them in the purchase of suitable
books, according to a list to be prepared for that purpose ; and
to make provision for their regular annual examination by one of
the officers of the institution, assisted by such person, or persons, as
the Conference may appoint, in reference to the studies which shall
have been enjoined. These examinations of non-resident students
shall take place, either at the House of the Institution, or elsewhere,
as may be most convenient ; and an exact and faithful report of
them shall be presented every year to the Conference."
The premises formerly occupied by the Hoxton
Academy, and subsequently by the Mission College of
the London Missionary Society, were taken for the
new institution.
The Rev. Jabez Bunting, D.D., was appointed
president of the institution ; the Rev. Joseph Entwisle,
sen., governor of the institution house; the Rev. John

SEMIN.ARIES.

193

Hannah, sen., theological tutor ; and the Rev. Samuel
Jones, a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, classical
and mathematical tutor.
Between the conferences of 1836, and 1837, thirty-
one students were resident in the institution house.
Two of these were recommended by the committee for
a third year's appointment, and thirteen, having been
(at the conference of 1S37.) resident only one year.
were therefore reappointed. The remaining sixteen
have been taken into the actual work of the ministry ;
eight having been sent to foreign stations, and eight
to circuits at home. The total number of students
fromthe institution, now engaged in home circuits, is
twelve, and on foreign stations, eleven ; making in all,
twenty-three. Other seminaries there are. in great numbers. amoLg
the Dissenters, who have always been friends of ed'iCcL-
tion. Not to mention lower schools, there are superior
academies, though they bear not the same relation to
the dissenting coUeges, as Westminster, E*-.r., and
Winchester schools hold to Oxford and Camhrid;;;-,
Mill Hdl Grammar School, in the paris'n of Hendon.
near London, resembles those proprietary- school;
which now abound, except that it is a boaraiv; arid
not a day school. It was at first aided by voluntary
contributions, and annual sermons were preached for
it ; but it is now supported by the sums paid for eia-
cation. As Baptists joined with Independents in il;
formation, the question on Baptism in the Asv^rnblv s
Catechism was agreed to be omitted. The school is
under the management of a committee, and the pupils

194 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
are publicly examined annually, by competent scholars.
Beside classical and mathematical masters, it has a
chaplain, who watches over the religious instruction of
the pupils. For the sons of ministers, and youths of
extraordinary claims, an education is afforded, either
gratuitously, or at a reduced rate.
At New Windsor, near Manchester, a similar school
was created, but soon transferred to private hands.
Silcoates Grammar School, near Wakefield, Yorkshire,
which was formed on the plan of that at Mill Hill, is
now devoted to the education of the sons of ministers
and missionaries, on reduced terms. The Congregational
School, at Lewisham, near London, was the offspring
ofthe benevolent zeal of John Townsend, pastor ofthe
Independent church, Rotherhithe, and father of the
Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, near London. This
institution, for which he laboured assiduously, is
designed to educate, on easy terms, the sons of minis
ters with small salaries.
A school near London for the education of the
daughters of ministers, and another near Wakefield
for the same object, exhibit rather what has been
attempted than what has been done.
As we are charged to " commit the things we have
heard to faithful men, who shall be able to teach
others;" so our Lord is said to have "given some
pastors and teachers, to perfect holy men for the work
of the ministry." But the mode is left to our prudence;
and till we can devise some better plan, that which is
now in operation claims our support ; for " knowledge
is better than ignorance, as light is preferable to dark
ness." Personal piety, and purity of motive, are

SEMINARIES. 195
essential in students for the ministry ; but to be fitted
to explain the Scriptures, we should be able to read
them in the original ; and the Scriptures themselves
suppose various kinds of knowledge in their readers.
Dissenters have, from their origin, been so far from
undervaluing a well-informed ministry, that our Chapter
on Seminaries has, in every period, shown great atten
tion to this object. The study of the Hebrew Scrip
tures, which is the parent of all biblical science, has,
in later times, been chiefly preserved among Noncon
formists. It must not, however, be supposed that
Dissenters insist on an academical education as, in
every case, essential to the pastoral office. To say
nothing of the Quakers, whose ministry is little under
stood beyond their own pale, and who are known to
have no colleges, though by no means indifferent to
education; the Baptists, notwithstanding all their
increased attention to these institutions, have stiil
a considerable proportion of what would be callei
uneducated ministers; and tne Independents occ^i-
sionally call men from secular emplovments to the
pastoral care. As this is not always to be re^-rett-ed.
those who have been employed in traininj students
for the ministry, sometimes officiate at the ordination
of such as have never been at a college ; for these
may be more suited to the work than some who have
been educated for it. The Presbyterians never o-o
beyond their colleges to call ministers to take charge
of their congregations. The Wesleyans, who formerly
provided no seminaries of instruction for their
preachers, we have seen founding one at Hoxton • and
the Calvinistic Methodists, who have long had their
o 2

196 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
college in this country, are now imitated by their
brethren in Wales.
With regard to degrees, conferred by a diploma
from a chartered college, Dissenters differ in their
opinions of the value, or even lawfulness, of such
distinctions ; but as academic degrees confer no rank,
and are not recognised by the churches, the harmless
inanity creates no dispute. That no d issenting college
has the power to grant degrees has not been generally
felt as a grievance ; and when foreign universities
have conferred this honour on Dissenters, it has usually
been in consequence, either of an education beyond
the boundaries of our less liberal land, or of a literary
reputation, or of the officious application of partial
friends. But the London University seems intended
to alter the course of affairs; though its charter is of
too recent date to afford any practical proof of the
extent to which it may improve the literary policy of
our country, which has hitherto been behind that of
every tolerant state.

197

CHAPTER IV.
CONTROVERSIES IN WHICH DISSENTERS WERE
ENGAGED.
If the title of this chapter should be supposed to
give proof that Dissenters have been not unjustly
charged with a litigious spirit, it should be remembered
that our Redeemer, though the Prince of Peace, said,
"Think not that I am come to send peace on the
earth : I am come to kindle a fire." Whatever rouses
the human mind from the torpor of ignorance and
sensuality, to a due regard for truth and sanctity, must
place it in hostility to the prejudices, or errors, which
can produce no peace but that of the grave. The
intellectual character of Greece generated the strifes
of phdosophers, of which the surrounding barbarians
knew nothing ; and the still loftier genius of Chris
tianity brought her immediately into perpetual conflict
with all the errors and vices of the world.
The first dispute which we have to notice, the
controversy on Dr. Williams' system, will be admitted
by every intellectual and candid man, to reflect no
disgrace on the dissenting body; for it was upon a
theme that must always interest those who have suf
ficient mental power to discern the first of all theo
logical difficulties, and hearts duly alive to that which
involves the honour of God, and the accountability of

198 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
man. None but theologians by habit and by incli
nation could have originated and sustained this mental
strife. In the earlier period of our history, was
recorded the contest that arose on the works of Dr.
Daniel WdUams, of London, which bore upon the
modifications of the Calvinistic system ; but here we
must penetrate to the very core of this much-agitated
question. Dr. Edward Williams, already known to the reader,
as filling the theological chair of Rotherham College,
published, in the year 1809, "An Essay on Equity
and Sovereignty." The intelligent reader ofthe work,
perceiving that it was no ephemeral production, will
not be surprised to learn, that it was the fruit of
twenty years of reading and reflection. "The first
design ofthe author was to publish a small essay, con
taining merely his leading views ; but, as he proceeded,
the subject seemed to acquire accumulated interest
and importance."* Peculiar circumstances rendered
the external appearance of the work so uninviting,
that nothing but its own intrinsic merits, and the high
character of the author, could have attracted to it any
considerable share of public attention. Whatever may
be the conclusion at which the reader may arrive, no
one can be pronounced a master of that which may be
called the theological difficulty, who has not so read
the essay as to feel himself compelled to grapple with
its positions. With a style unadorned as Euclid, and
abounding with technology, which, however correct,
and even necessary, appeared to many new and
strange, the essay required to be studied, like Newton's
* Preface to the First Edition ofthe Essay, p. 14.

CONTROVERSIES. 199
Principia. It was, therefore, accused of introducing
a new system of divinity ; though the well read
divine felt that it merely presented, in a new light,
the principles which had agitated reflecting minds
ever since the entrance of sin and grace into the moral
world. The ancient philosophers have said, " If there
are gods, whence cometh evil ; and if there are none,
whence cometh good ? " For they concluded that deity
was the source of good ; and not only thought that
evil could not proceed from the same spring, but
concluded that a benevolent deity must be able and
disposed to prevent its existence.
" To the height of this great argument," Dr. Wil
liams directed his mind, and it would not be easy to
find one more equal to the mighty task. For he pre
cisely defined his terms, and kept his definitions
continually in view ; and, while his own mind was
superior to the passions of the polemic, his style was
most remote from that fruitful source of confusion, the
substitution of figures for arguments. The subjects of
discussion in this Essay on Equity and Sovereignty,
were, moral government, moral obligation, moral evil,
that liberty which is essential to agency, the different
kinds of necessity, and especially passive power, which
was naturally treated by the sciolist as a strange con
tradictory phrase. The doctor, reviewing the different
dispensations of religion, shows that it always had a
universal aspect, accordant with the rectoral design of
the moral governor, and that it always laid man under
obligation to receive the blessings exhibited. The
sovereignty of God, Dr. Williams placed in a light
that to most will appear new, and certainly is at once

200 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
clear, and amiable, limiting it to the conferring of
undeserved favours. He shows, in a very instructive
way, the difference between Christ as a mediator, pro
viding salvation for all, and Christ as a surety, securing
the salvation of the elect ; the former exhibiting the
rectoral character of God, and the latter carrying into
efliect the decrees of sovereign goodness. Reprobation,
as vulgarly understood, he proves to be no counterpart,
or consequence of election ; for the decree to permit,
of which divines have spoken, he shows to be a
decree to do nothing, and, in fact, no decree at all.
The practical working of his system, Dr. Williams
unfolds, in copious comments on two of the principal
Arminian writers, Whitby, and Fletcher, of Madely.
That which has been emphatically called Dr. Williams'
system, maintains, that God, being the only self-suf
ficient, independent agent, is the only one who is pure
act, as the schoolmen say, and is alone free from
passive power, or tendency to failure, which necessarily
belongs to all creatures. If, therefore, they be dealt
with in mere equity, having only that which consti
tutes accountability, they will fall, of which both
angels and men have given proof But God may,
from pure sovereign goodness, either preserve, as in
the case of the holy angels, or restore, as in the case of
elect men. The design of God, in all his moral
government, is to exhibit, in every case, either equity,
or sovereignty ; for to the one or the other, every act
must be referred.
The controversy which this treatise elicited, for it
will not be just to say provoked, was less calm and
devotional than Dr. Williams had a right to expect.

CONTROVERSIES. 201
Some affected to treat his essay as an idle speculation,
remote from all practical use ; but the whole work
showed a direct bearing on every great question, in
theology and Christian morals. Others attempted to
decry it, as a new scheme of metaphysics and divinity ;
though the author had fortified his system by large
quotations from Gale and Baxter, Fenelon and Presi
dent Edwards ; and, in his notes, from Wolf, and Stap
fer, and Turretine, to whom it is surprising that he did
not add Leibnitz, whose Theodice contains the germ, or
rather an expose, of the same system. The first of the
above mentioned writers says, " Dependence on God
for being, is essential to every creature; and it thence
necessarily follows, that they depend on him for all.
Whatever is dependent is ens, or being, by partici
pation, finite, potential, contingent, and defectible.
Nothing is pure act but the first, most simple, inde
pendent being ; no creature is pure actuality ; where
there is dependence, there is somewhat of potentiality,
or passive power, either physical or metaphysical.
The root or origin of all creatural dependence, is the
creature's passive power, and God's absolute dominion
over it."
Some who had more zeal for the term Calvinism
than knowledge of the system, charged Dr. M^dliams
with Arminianism, because he maintained the universal
aspect ofthe death of Christ, in his mediatorial office;
but such Arminians as understood their own system,
saw clearly that this essay was what would have been
called, in other times, "a blow at the root" of Armi
nianism. It would have been amusing, if it had not
been too humbling, to see, in this controversy, pro-

202 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
fessed Calvinists defending, as they thought, their own
system, upon Arminian principles.
Dr. Williams had, however, his admirers as well as
his opponents. In Wales, his native country, his
system attracted comparatively more attention than in
England ; for it is a fact, at once curious, instructive,
and gratifying, that many, amidst the extreme poverty,
and abundant labours of that simple region, give them
selves to the study of all the nicer distinctions of the
ology, with an ardour and a mental force seldom found
in the centre of wealth, and its attendant science. In
England, however, there were some who highly ap
preciated Dr. Williams' theological researches, though
others slighted them as a fruitless, and not a few
denounced them as an impious, attempt to discover the
origin of moral evil. But, as we have seen that he
defended himself by an appeal to former divines, of
great name, who held the same sentiments, all he could
pretend to, was, the just application of the true prin
ciples of moral science. He showed that passive
power, or metaphysical evil, from which moral evil
flows, neither was produced, nor could be prevented,
by any decree, though its effects could be prevented,
not by mere equity, but by sovereign goodness, or
grace. The creature, left to itself, must fall; physi
cally, if not upheld in being, and morally, if its virtue
be not sustained. If a moral system were desirable
in itself, or to display the glory of the Creator, it was
necessary that equity should be maintained towards
creatures that were made accountable, and, therefore,
that they should be endued with intellect, freedom,
and sufficient objective means of virtue ; but, if left

Controversies. 203
thus, the passive power that is essential to a creature,
will inevitably lead to defection, or sin. The sove
reignty of God, or his right to do whatever is not
contrary to his own character, and which is never
exercised but for good, may sustain the creature, who
would otherwise fall, or may restore him when fallen.
The object of redemption was the display of glorious
grace, of which election is a grand effect, and repro
bation is a mere negation, or has no positive existence.
The term passive power, which the Dr. employed,
was assailed on various grounds, though it was at least
as old as Aristotle, whose SijvapiQ iraderiKT) can be rendered
in Latin, only by potentia passiva, or, in English, by
passive power. To ridicule it as powerless power, is
not to disprove, that there is a distinction between a
power of acting and a power of being acted upon. Dr.
Williams was too wise to war for a word. He con
tended only for that which Augustine, in his work on
free will, and on true religion, has maintained, which
Leibnitz terms " essential limitation," and Stapfer, "the
want of ulterior perfection."
Dr. Williams, who had been maturing his system,
ever since 1790, employed its principles in " A Sermon
on the Influence of Religious Practice upon our In
quiries after Truth ; " in answer to a sermon by Mr.
Belsham, who had asserted, that indifference to the
practice of religion was most likely to lead to a rational
creed. The practical use the Dr. here made of his
system, proved that it was not liable to the charge of
being a mere barren speculation.
From 1802 to 1805 he had, in conjunction with Mr.
Parsons, of Leeds, edited Doddridge's Works, to

204 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
whose Lectures on Pneumatology, Dr. Wdliams ap
pended notes on moral science and theology, containing
the principles of his essay. But, in 1804, he published
a sermon, preached before an association at Sheffield,
on " Predestination to Life," of which his biographer
says, "there is nothing in so small a compass extant
upon the same subject, which equals this production
in comprehensiveness, perspicuity, force of argument,
practical application, and devotional impression."
To those who know the works of President Edwards,
of New England, it will not appear surprising, that
Dr. Williams should become their editor, or that he
should have added notes developing his own system.
In some of these, indeed, it appears to greater ad
vantage than in his own essay, and the whole compass
of theological and moral literature contains nothing
more beautiful in thought, or language. They who
read them will cease to regret that such a man should
have spent his time and strength in editing other men's
works, instead of instructing the world by his own.
The essay itself appeared, at last, in 1809; and was
followed by a second edition, which was, perhaps, a
more readable book, but is less valued by many,
because the principles of the work are less nakedly
exposed, and the Review of Whitby and Fletcher,
which was omitted, as a mere episode, had contributed
powerfully to display the nature and application of
the Dr.'s system.
As that part of the essay which showed the origin
of moral evil attracted most attention, it was combatted
by the Rev. William Bennet, formerly of London,
then of Chapel le Frith, Derbyshire, in a pamphlet

CONTROVERSIES. 205
entitled "Thoughts on the Primary Condition of Intelli
gent Creatures." About the same time, Mr. Bennet
published also an "Essay on the Gospel Dispensation,"
which may be considered as intended to form a sub
stitute for Dr. Williams" view of the rectoral design of
the gospel. Mr. B. acquired no credit for meta
physical acumen by measuring lances with Dr. Wil
liams, who, having been visited by a dangerous
illness, which rendered it unsafe for him to defend
himself, was happy enough to enjoy the services of
Mr. Gilbert, a student in the college, competent to the
task. Mr. Bennet afterwards addressed " Letters to
Dr. Williams on the Origin of Moral Evil."
The Rev. William Parry, theological tutor of
Wymondley College, attacked Dr. Williams' essay in
" Strictures on the Origin of Moral Evil," which were
answered by another gentleman who had studied
under Dr. Williams, Mr. Hill, then classical tutor at
Homerton College. Dr. Williams, whose confidence
in his system was unbounded, and whose zeal was far
more ardent than his calm manner and feeble elocution
would indicate, answered some attacks made on him
by the Theological Review, and especially by the
Christian Observer. Mr. Bennet published a rejoinder
to the strictures on his remarks by the Rev. T. Hill.
As it is observable that Dr. Williams was defended by
two who had studied under him ; it should be noticed
also, that another of his pupils, the Rev. William
Moorhouse, of West Melton, took the opposite side,
in a " Candid Examination of the Essay on Equity
and Sovereignty."
This controversy was the most important of all those

206 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
in which Dissenters were engaged during the last
period of their history, whether we consider the gran
deur of the theme, and its bearing on all the vital
questions in religion and morals, or the mental force
of the combatants ; for though Dr. Williams far sur
passed in metaphysical and theological acumen, he
was attacked, and defended too, by men who were as
competent to the task, perhaps, as any which the age
could furnish. His system was most severely criti
cised, but not confuted ; and if we are expected to
pronounce a verdict, it would be this : — that his oppo
nents erred by contending that he had done nothing,
or worse than nothing ; and he, by supposing that he
had done everything; while impartial truth would say,
that he had done much, and left much yet to be done.
It had previously been admitted, that no one could be
accounted a well read divine, who was not familiar
with the works of President Edwards, especially his
Essay on the Freedom of the Will ; and it must now
be added, that Dr. Williams' Notes, and his Essay,
are necessary to be studied, in order to derive the full
benefit of the writings of the American divine.
Those who, on studying this controversy, conclude
that, upon Dr. Williams' system, existence is not a
favour to an accountable creature, will yet acknow
ledge, tbat it is difficult, if not impossible, to deny his
grand principles ; and that we must suppose there are
others yet to be discovered, which will clear up the
mystery which hangs over the moral government of
God. Every one, however, who is equal to the awful
theme, must admit, that we are much indebted to the
author of the Essay on Equity and Sovereignty. To

CONTROVERSIES. 207
Calvinistic preachers it is invaluable, for it will
instruct and improve those whom it fails to convince.
The Controversy on Calvinism.
That this contest should have been revived in each
successive era, will excite no surprise in the breasts
of those who know the history of the human mind.
It was as much the knowledge of the philosopher, as
the imagination of the poet, that induced Milton to
exhibit fallen angels, sitting in high discourse on free
wdl and fixed fate ; for sages, as well as divines, have
in all ages agitated this theme ; and nothing but uni
versal torpor, or an advancement in knowledge scarcely
to be expected, will set the question at rest. The war
note was sounded, in 1808, by " Hints to the Public
and the Legislature, on the Nature and Effects of
Evangelical Preaching, by a Barrister." A first,
second, and third parts, by the same writer, attacked,
indeed, evangelical preaching in general, even as it
exists among the Wesleyans, and the Arminian clergy ;
but the writer confounds the most important distinc
tions in theology, and charges opposite parties with
destroying human accountability, and superseding the
use of moral means, by the doctrines of election and
sovereign grace, as well as by gratuitous justification,
through the merit of Christ alone, without works.
Had his ability been equal to his inclination, this
Barrister's Hints would have been the tocsin of perse
cution ; but, happily for him, as well as for his antago
nists, the barrister was born after the world had learned
the folly, if not the iniquity, of substituting flames for
syllogisms.

208 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
He was answered by Dr. Hawker, rector of Charles,
Plymouth, in a first and second Letter to a Barrister.
There followed "A Letter to a Barrister, by a Lay
man;" "An Appeal to the Legislature and the Public,
in Answer to the Hints of a Barrister, by an Evan
gelical Preacher;" a " Vindication of the Nature and
Effects of Evangelical Preaching, by John Styles;" and
" The Legislature Alarmed, the Barrister Unmasked,
in Two Letters to a Barrister, by a Looker-on." The
Edinburgh Review, having followed in the wake of the
barrister, in two articles on Methodism and Missions,
was answered in "Three Letters to a Friend, by John
Styles." Here may be introduced, "Zeal without Inno
vation," the production of a clergyman; who, without
the indiscriminate hatred to revealed truth, which
animated the other opponents of Calvinism, suffered
himself to become their coadjutor.
The next attack on Calvinism, was a sermon
preached at Scarborough, at the primary visitation of
the Archbishop of York, by the Rev. Francis Wrang-
ham. The author, who had excited better expec
tations, indulged in the vulgar misrepresentations of
Calvinism, which he seems to have mistaken for a
faithful description of that system. In some apolo
getic notes, the preacher disclaims the intention of
espousing the common charges on modern preachers of
Calvinism, but insists that they are applicable to the
works of the great reformer himself. From some sen
sible, candid statements on this subject, published by
Dr. Vernon, Archbishop of York, at a subsequent
period, it may be supposed, that Mr. Wrangham added
the notes, on finding that his sweeping censures were

CONTROVERSIES. 209
not so acceptable to his diocesan as the preacher
expected. Mr. Wrangham's sermon was reviewed at
great length, and with much candour and ability, in
the Evangelical Magazine for J809. Mr. William
Bennet's Essay on the Gospel Dispensation, which
appeared about the same time, may also be considered
as a refutation of the misrepresentations of Calvinism,
which were so common at this period.
Mr. Smyth, a clergyman of Manchester, published
a work entitled, " St. Paul against Calvin;" and was
answered by the Rev. William Roby, in "A Defence
of Calvinism," which was distinguished by the wisdom
and benevolence of that minister of Christ. The
Bishop of London, in his primary visitation in 1810,
joined the cry against those who go into " the
mysteries and depths of Calvinism," and the notions
of sudden conversion, absolute election, and the utter
insufficiency of our own righteousness.
But the rank and reputation of the writer, if not the
ability of the performance, may give the title of the
grand attack to " A Refutation of Calvinism, in which
the doctrines of Original Sin, Grace, Regeneration,
Justification, and Universal Redemption, are explained,
and the peculiar tenets maintained by Calvin upon
these points, are proved to be contrary to Scripture,
and to the writings of the ancient fathers of the
Christian Church, and to the public formularies of the
Church of England, by George Pretty man Tomlin,
D.D., F.R.S., Lord Bishop of Lincoln." This title, as
formidable as boasting can make it, excited the more
attention, as it came from the tutor of the celebrated
premier, William Pitt. It was answered by Mr. Scott,
p

210 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
the venerable commentator, who felt himself attacked
as a Calvinistic divine. In two thick octavo volumes,
he defended the evangelical clergy from the charges
brought against them by their superior. This work,
which was heavy, though able, faded to attract the
attention it deserved, because it advocated, not truth
in the abstract, but truth as maintained by a party.
It was remarkable for detecting an error, which may
give an idea of the accuracy of episcopal theology.
The bishop severely censured an expression in the
Homily on Whitsunday, supposing it to be an inference
drawn by modern Calvinistic writers.
But our business is with the part which Dissenters
took in the controversy which was kindled by the
Refutation of Calvinism. Dr. Williams, of Rotherham,
published "A Defence of Modern Calvinism, in answer
to the Bishop of Lincoln's Refutation." This work
has two advantages over Mr. Scott's ; for, instead of
confining himself to the defence of a certain class,
Dr. Williams pleaded for truth, without respect to
party, time, or place ; and while Mr. Scott, by fol'
lowing the bishop's vagrant course, became immetho-
dical and wearisome, the Independent divine gathered
into regular order the adversary's rambling charges,
and formed a well arranged system of important theo
logical disquisitions. It was equally amusing and in
structive, to observe how the clergyman and his diocesan
differed, as if they belonged to opposing communions;
while the episcopalian commentator and the dissenting
professor agree, and co-operate, as brethren ofthe same
church. Such is the efficacy of acts of uniformity;
and such the import of the word dissent. The two

CONTROVERSIES. 211
answers agreed, also, in spirit, and in the truly Chris
tian treatment which they gave to the bishop, who had
made a provoking attack. It has been observed, with
strict justice, by Dr. Williams' biographer, that,
"learned and able as the bishop was, it is obvious,
that, in the subject discussed, he was but a novice, though
he is treated by his antagonist with all the delicacy
and deference due to elevated station. Dr. Williams'
manner is like that of the master of a petulant young
prince, respectfully correcting his lordly pupil. Dr.
Wdliams' work cannot fail of being regarded as a
production of singular excellence in the department
to which it belongs, of the highest utility to those who
would obtain clear notions on the most difficult parts
of theology, and as adapted to fix principles in the
mind, by which apparently discordant parts of Scrip
ture are harmonised, and the moral government of
God, and the sovereignty of his grace, alike estab
lished."* The spirit of the attacks on Calvinism may
be seen by the following title. " The Predestinated
Thief; or a Dialogue between a Calvinistic Preacher
and a Thief condemned to the Gallows, with an appli
cation to the recent case of R. Kendall, who was
executed at Northampton, August 13th, 1813. Trans
lated from the Latin." The Editor was the Rev. E.
Griffin, curate of St. Nicholas, Nottingham.
A contest in a religious periodical, gave rise to
several publications on Calvinism. An admirer of Dr.
Adam Clark, having sent to the Editor of the Evan
gelical Magazine, an extract from the Dr.'s Com
mentary on Acts XV., containing his views of God's
• Gilbert's Memoirs of Dr. Williams, p. 519.
P 2

212 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
foreknowledge, or rather of his determination not to
foreknow the actions of accountable agents, in order to
leave them free ; the Magazines for June and July,
1818, gave a full reply, defending the foreknowledge
of God, as a fact consistent with moral government,
and the accountability of man. This drew forth a
publication, entitled " A Letter to the Rev. George
Burder, in Answer to Observations in the Evangelical
Magazine, on Dr. Clark's Remarks on the Foreknow
ledge of God." The editor having been severely
, accused of giving a garbled extract from Dr. Clark,
defended himself by showing that he inserted every
word sent to him, by way of challenge, from Dr. Clark's
admirer. Another work appeared on the Arminian
side, anonymous, but ascribed to John Wilkes, jun. ;
and a defence of the Calvinistic view, proving God's
foreknowledge from the Prophecies, by Gill Tims.
Dr. Clark's views, which are peculiar, are not defended
by Watson in his Christian Institutes ; and the defence
of Calvinism in the Evangelical Magazine, excited
considerable attention, as enabling ordinary readers to
unravel the entangled web which the Doctor has
exhibited in his Commentary. The letter of Verax,
which was too abusive to be argumentative, was
answered in the first two numbers of the magazine for
1819. Among the ammunitions of war in this field, must
be mentioned, " The Doctrines of General Redemption,
as held by the Church of England, and the early
Dutch Arminians ; also Calvinism and Arminianism
compared in their Principles and Tendency, both by
J. Nichols." This was followed by " A Translation

CONTROVEKSIES. 215
from the same author of the Works of James Armi
nius, D.D. of Leyden, with Brandt's Life of him."
On the Arminian side, again, was published, "Consider
ations on the Subject of Calvinism, by William Bruce,
Knight, A.M., Chancellor of Landaff Cathedral ; " of
which his reviewers said, " he copied from Bishop
Tomline the pretended articles of the synod of Dort,
which that ignorant and careless prelate had borrowed
from Peter Heylin, which are, both in substance and
design, a falsification and forgery."
In opposition to a sermon by Dr. Clark, appeared
another, entiUed "The Eternity of Divine Mercy estab-
Ushed, and Unconditional Reprobation Discarded, by
William Calton."
"Arminianism and Calvinism compared, by William
Moorhouse, of West Melton, Yorkshire," was a review of
the whole question, which must convince every candid
reader, that Bishop Horsley gave shrewd advice to his
clergy, when he said, " understand what Calvinism is,
before you attack it." The same sentence will apply to
" Lectures on Divine Sovereignty, Election, the Atone
ment, Justification and Regeneration, by Dr. Payne, of
Exeter," the perusal of which would compel any candid
and discerning Arminian to own that the writers on his
side, were not usually aware of the nature and difficul
ties of the task they have undertaken.
To enumerate all the minor works which appeared on
this controversy, would scarcely be possible ; but it is
gratifying to observe, that greater ability, and better
temper were exhibited at this period, than when
Wesley and Whitefield separated on the same question.

214 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Controversy concerning the Female Penitentiary.
A Penitentiary having been instituted in Penton-
ville, near London, chiefly by Evangelical Dissenters,
for the recovery of prostitutes from the paths of vice,
William Hale, Esq., issued, in 1809, "An Address
to the Public, on the dangerous tendency of the Lon
don Female Penitentiary." Had this been the pro
duction of one averse, or even indifferent, to benevo
lent and pious schemes for the good of mankind, it
would probably have attracted little notice, and excited
no controversy ; but the well known piety and zeal of
the author, induced the friends of the institution to
come forward in its defence, which led to a war of
pamphlets. William Blair, Esq., gratuitous surgeon
to the institution, was the author of one, entitled,
" Prostitutes reclaimed, and Penitents protected, in
Answer to some Unreasonable Objections made against
the Tendency and Principles of the London Female
Penitentiary." On the same side, appeared the fol
lowing : — " The Remonstrant, being a Letter to Mr.
William Hale, in Reply to his Address to the Public,
on the Injurious Tendency of the Female Peniten
tiary;" — "A Letter to William Hale, Esq., upon his
Remarks on the Injurious Tendency of the Female
Penitentiary, by R. Hawker, D.D. ;" — " Cursory Re
marks on a Recent Publication, entitled ' An Address
to the Public, on the Tendency of the Penitentiary,'
bv Juvenis; " — "A Defence of the London Female Peni-
tentiary, against the charge of Dangerous Tendency,
by William Shrubsole ;" — and " The London Female
Penitentiary defended, by John Clarke."

CONTROVERSIES. 215
Mr. Hale published, " A Reply to the Defenders of
the Female Penitentiary." This was followed by " An
Appeal to the Public, or a Vindication of the Cha
racter of Mr. Hale, by John Thomas," pastor of the
Independent Church, Founders' Hall, of which Mr.
Hale was a member and a deacon. Mr. Blair replied
to both these, in a tract entitled, " The Pastor and
Deacon Examined." " A Vindication of the London
Female Penitentiary" appeared, with the signature of
G. Hodgson. The character of Mr. Hale could not
have been assailed, except by those who, not knowing
him, concluded, that an attack on what they deemed a
good institution, must have been written by a bad
man. But some of the wisest and most benevolent
of men entertain grave and not unreasonable doubts
of the ultimate tendency of many of those schemes of
charity, which commend themselves most strongly to
the hearts of others It is, however, highly gratifying
to record, that this undue excitement and alienation of
good men, ended in a friendly conference, in which the
parties agreed to lay aside their hostility, and to leave
each other to think and act for themselves on the sub
ject of Penitentiaries.
Mr. Hale afterwards published "Considerations on
the Causes and Prevalence of Female Prostitution, and
on the most Practicable Means of preventing that
Crime." This was an offering on the altar of peace,
which showed that the author was far from being one
of those who raise objections to schemes of charity, to
apologize for their own selfishness.
The Penitentiary was, perhaps, benefited rather
than injured by this contest ; for, becoming more

216 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
known, it was better supported ; while its distinguish
ing feature, the watchful superintendence of Christian
ladies, has been crowned with tokens of the divine
blessing, in the salvation of several unhappy women,
who have given proofs of having been plucked as
brands from the burning.
The controversy excited by the Penitentiary in Pen-
tonville, was so far from quenching the zeal of Dis
senters for this form of charity, that, while the old
institution acquired additional strength, a new one was
established, under the title of the Maritime Female
Refuge. This was placed nearer to the haunts of
the sailors, and was accompanied by various efforts for
the recovery of the most degraded of our race.
The Socinian Controversy.
The term Unitarian, which is preferred by those
who adopt the Racovian creed, is an unjust assumption
of exclusive belief in the unity of the Deity ; and they
who protest against being called Socinians, because they
dissent in many points from Socinus, scruple not to
call others Calvinists, whom they know to differ from
Calvin in several of his tenets. A general coincidence,
especially on certain distinguishing doctrines, is all
that is intended by these denominations, derived from
great names ; and it is no disgrace to agree with
Socinus, except in those points in which it can be
proved that he erred.
The Socinian controversy, then, was revived, or
rather carried on, during the last period of the dissent
ing history, with unabated vigour, at least on one side.
The successor of Dr. Priestiey, at Hackney, having

CONTROVEKSIES. 217
removed to a new place of worship, the old one was
occupied by Dr. Smith, the theological tutor at Ho
merton, who preached a course of lectures on idolatry.
An anonymous challenge having been sent to him, to
vindicate himself from the charge of Christian idolatry,
he preached and published, "The Adoration of our
Lord Jesus Christ, Vindicated from the Charge of
Idolatry." To this may be added, a sermon by Dr.
Smith's predecessor, the excellent Dr. Davies, entitled,
"The Deity of the Saviour the Riches of Chris
tianity." But, on the other side, had already appeared, " A
Calm Enquiry into the Scripture Doctrine on the
Person of Christ, by the Rev. Thomas Belsham."
To this, which was considered the most important
attack on the divinity of Christ, an answer was soon
announced by Dr. Smith, though a considerable time
elapsed before it appeared. Meanwhile, Dr. Smith
published a discourse on the sacrifice of Christ, with
notes and illustrations, which may be considered a
part of the Socinian controversy, though not on the
person of Christ. On this subject, however, was pub
lished, " The Pre-existence and Deity of Messiah,
defended on the indubitable evidence of the Prophets
and Apostles ; in Answer to a Socinian pamphlet on
the Unity of God, by W. A. Hads,"— " Scriptural
Arguments for the Divinity of Christ, by Joseph
Kinghorn, Norwich,"—" Dr. Watts no Socinian, a
Refutation of the Testimony of Dr. Lardner, as
brought forward in the Rev. T. Belsham's Memoirs of
the late Rev. Theophdus Lindsey ; in a Series of
Letters to the Rev. J. Smith, of Manchester, by

218 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
S. Palmer;" — and "A Scriptural Display ofthe Triune
God, and the Early Existence of the Human Soul of
Jesus, by John Stevens."
On the opposite side appeared, " A Plea for Unita
rian Dissenters, in a Letter of Expostulation to the
Rev. R. H. Norris, A.M., on that part of his work
against the Hackney Auxiliary Bible Society, which
relates to the Unitarians, by R. Aspland."
No work on this subject created more general
interest than a volume of " Discourses on the Principal
Points of the Socinian Controversy, by Dr. Wardlaw,"
in 1814. The efforts of Mr. Yates, of Glasgow,
induced Dr. Wardlaw to preach these discourses,
which rendered a local controversy a public blessing.
Mr. Yates and Dr. Wardlaw had too much good sense
and good temper to enlist the passions in this war,
and therefore the truth or falsehood of their respective
opinions engaged the undivided attention of the
public. As a part of this contest, we may introduce " An
Essay on the Doctrine of the Trinity, attempting to
prove it by Reason and Demonstration, by the Rev.
James Kidd, A.M., Professor of Oriental Languages
in the University of Aberdeen." The author was not
a Dissenter, except as a minister of the Scotch
Establishment is so, on this side the Tweed; but the
book is of a very singular character, as, indeed, might
be expected, in an attempt to prove the Trinity by any
other mode than appeals to Scripture. The eccentric
author convened, in London, divines of various deno
minations, to whom he unfolded the principles of his
work, previously to its publication. About the same

CONTROVERSIES. 219
time, appeared "The Confessions of an Arian Minister,
containing a narrative of his conversion, and exhibiting
his present views of the principal doctrines of the
gospel, by William Gellibrand."
In 1818, came out the work which had been pre
viously announced, " The Scripture Testimony to the
Messiah, including a careful examination of the Rev.
T. Belsham's Calm Enquiry, by John Pye Smith,
D.D." If those who adopt Mr. Belsham's creed make
his Calm Enquiry their text-book, the advocates of
the opposite system, both among Dissenters, and in
the EstabHshment, appeal to Dr. Smith's "Testimony "
as their best defence; for this is a very able and
laborious discussion of the doctrine of Christ's
divinity. A discussion, it may justly be called, since
nothing is taken for granted ; but every text is
laboriously examined, and none is pressed into the
service of the writer, but on sufficient evidence of its
inspiration, relevancy, and force.
Though versions of the Scriptures should not par
take of a controversial character, we must now mention
one, so remarkable for this fault, that it claims a place
in this chapter. " The New Testament in an improved
Version, on the Basis of Archbishop Newcome's New
Translation, with a Corrected Text, and Notes, Critical
and Explanatory." This was the work of what is
called the Unitarian Society, which employed its funds
to give notoriety and currency to a very discreditable
specimen of partisanship. The creed of the translators
constantiy dictates their version, but their chief hope
of making proselytes seems to rest on their notes.
The work was ably criticised in the Eclectic Review,

220 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
and by the Rev. Frederick Nolan, in his Defence of the
Greek Vulgate. On the same side was the following
work, " The Trinitarian Appeal defended, with a view
to expose the Errors of the Unitarian Version, by
Samuel Newton, Witham, 1820."
To "Lectures on Modern Socinianism, by Joseph
Fox, Bolton," must be added "A Letter from Robert
Haldane, Esq.,- to M. I. I. Cheneviere, Pastor and
Professor of Divinity at Geneva." For though this
concerns the state of controversies in another country,
it became part of the conflict carried on in our own.
M. Cheneviere's " Summary of the Theological Con
troversies which of late years have agitated the City
of Geneva," was published in the Monthly Repository,
the organ of Socinianism. Mr. Haldane 's letter was
designed to unmask the heresy of the Genevese clergy.
This branch of the controversy was extended by six
letters to the editor of the Monthly Repository, which
were, "A Vindication of those citizens of Geneva, and
other persons, who have exerted themselves for the
revival of Scriptural Religion in that city, in reply to
the Representations of M. Cheneviere and Robert
Bakewell, Esq., by John Pye Smith, D.D."
An " Essay on the Divinity of Christ, by William
Jones, of Bolton," which appeared in 1825; and an
"Essay on the Divinity of Christ, by John Burnet," in
1835; were among the latest works in this controversy.
Dr. Jack, of Manchester, published " A Volume of
Discourses, intended as a Refutation of certain So
cinian Opinions, in reference to the Doctrine of the
Trinity." " The Great Mystery of Godliness, or a De
fence of the authorised Reading and Version of the ce-

C0.NJTR0VERSIES.

221

lebrated Text in Timothy," was a small but elaborate
work, by Dr. Henderson, of Highbury College.
The Controversy on Dissent.
Among the attacks made on Dissent, about the year
1814, appeared "The Velvet Cushion," an anonymous
religious novel, which was, however, known to be the
production of a talented clergyman, not unfavourable
to evangelical sentiments, though he deals more gently
with Roman Catholics than with Dissenters. This
was answered by "The Legend of the Cushion;" and
"A New Cover to the Velvet Cushion."
"A Defence of Extemporary Prayer and Calvinistic
Preaching, in reply to the Dean of Chester, by George
Redford, A.M.," in 1819, observes, that "the Dissenters
of the present age have been almost sdent on the
topics in dispute between them and the Episcopalians ;
nearly all that has been written by the former has
been in reply ; whereas, defences of the Liturgy, and
impeachments of extemporary prayer, are found in
almost every treatise and sermon that Episcopalians
publish." In defence of Dissent appeared, in 1817,
" Pastoral Letters on Nonconformity, by Dr. Winter ; "
and Dr. Newman's "Principles of Nonconformity,
sanctioned by the New Testament." It will not excite
wonder, that Dissenters, who may be deemed Ultra-
protestants, should have commented severely on a
sermon which Dr. Law, Bishop of Chester, preached
on the death of the lamented Princess Charlotte ; for
it contained the following prayer : — " We commend,
too, as far as we may, and as it becometh us, into thy
hands, the soul of her who is departed. We pray, we

222 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
humbly pray, that she be received into the mansions
of the blessed." She had then been dead, nearly three
weeks, and this prayer went rather farther than that of
Dr. Johnson, of the same church, who, on the anni
versary of his wife's death, prayed, " that it may
please thee to have had mercy on her ; " while the
homily on prayer, says, " let us not dream either of
purgatory, or of prayer for the souls of them that be
dead." Considerable notice was excited by the attack of
an evangelical clergyman on the Bible Society, for
favouring Dissent. It was in the form of two letters,
addressed to a young clergyman, dlustrative of his
clerical duties in these times of innovation and schism,
by Richard Loyd, A.M., Vicar of St. Dunstan's in the
West. Of the Auxiliary Bible Associations, he says,
" Are not the common people reminded of their
numerical strength and ascendancy? Is not their
physical force arrayed against the wisdom and autho
rity of church and state 1 Are they not expressly told,
in these days of pressure and sedition, that they can
do more than the rich ; that their union is strength ;
that their penny subscriptions would exceed half a
million annually ? The Dissenters anticipate, with
secret satisfaction, a vast accession." To a brother
clergyman this vicar wrote, "your bibles are not as
good as ours ; they smell of schism ; they are given in
the spirit of schism, and intended to produce that
effect." Of sermons and charges in this strain, the number
was so great, that they defy enumeration; but the
following work demands notice as a curious specimen

CONTROVERSIES. 223
of Sacheverell revived : " Gravamina Ecclesiae, a state
ment of the numerous and increasing oppressions of
the Church, the substance of a Speech addressed to
the Clergy of the Diocese of Exeter ; by the Rev.
Jonas Dennis, of Exeter College, Oxford, B.C.L.,
Prebendary of Kerswell, in the Royal Collegiate
Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Exeter, 1819."
The most remarkable part of the contents of this ultra
high church pamphlet is, a declaration that crimes
had been committed in Exeter cathedral, which made
it necessary to reconsecrate that edifice.
This warfare was carried on, in 1820, by "An AflPec-
tionate Address to those Dissenters from the Church
of England, who agree with her in the Leading Doctrines
of Christianity, by S. Wix." This was followed by
"The Dissenter's Apology, containing some Reasons
why the Orthodox Dissenters feel obliged, in conscience,
not to comply with the Affectionate Address ; by
S. Newton."
But a more important production was entitled, "On
Protestant Conformity, by Josiah Conder ; " 2 vols.
8vo., in 1821. The whole question is here discussed,
in an elaborate style and candid spirit. The repeal
of the Corporation and Test Acts, awakened all who
clung to the old system of exclusion ; and a specimen
of their spirit was given in " Considerations on the
Danger of any Legislative Alteration respecting the
Corporation and Test Acts, and of any Concession to
Dissenters, or Papists, by Stephen Hyde Cassan,
A.M." This was an attack on the evangelical clergy,
and on Bishop Hoadley, as well as on the Dissenters.
The writer gays, for himself and his communion, " We

224 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
ourselves are a branch of the Church of Rome." In
Mr. Irving's letter on the same subject, a kindred
spirit breathes, denouncing judgments on the monarch
and the nation, if they should repeal the profane and
intolerant acts.
Mr. James' "Churcli Member's Guide," was attacked
in awork entitled "TheChurch of EnglandandDissent."
It was the republication of a critique in the British
Review, which turned a confession of evils among
Dissenters into a proof of the evil of Dissent. Mr.
James defended himself, or rather his Dissent, in a
pamphlet entitled "Dissent and the Church of England,
1830." About the year 1829, the ancient controversy on
Dissent took a new turn, and became a dispute on the
connexion of the church with the state ; so that, from
this time, what was called the voluntary principle was
the agitated question. This change was not antici
pated, as it might have been, by a perspicacious
observer of the course of events. For when the repeal
of the Test and Corporation Acts, rendered it no longer
necessary to participate in the rites of the Established
Church, in order to enjoy the full privileges of a
citizen, the attention of Dissenters was turned from
the religion of others, to dwell on the injustice done
to themselves, in being compelled to support any other
than their own worship. If their attempt to obtain
relief from this evil may be pronounced a bold step,
it was the natural consequence of the success which
had crowned a long and arduous struggle against the
oppression of the Corporation and Test Acts. The
Scotch Dissenters were first in this field, and they

COVTROVERSIES. 22.5
commenced the battle with a boldness and an ardour
worthy of the genuine heirs of the men who had
vanquished Episcopacy, and obtained a nearer approach
to the primitive constitution of the church than their
brethren in the south. It was, however, an interesting
spectacle to behold those who had formerly maintained
the high notions of the old Covenanters, come down to
the broad ground of the voluntary principle, and join
with the Independents, whom Scotland once abhorred,
to secure the triumphs of a common cause. The Pres- ¦
byterian Dissenters, called Seceders, were, indeed, no
mere auxiliaries in this conflict ; for they furnished
the most skilful leaders, and the most determined
troops ; though the Scotch Independents, if less iiume-
rous, were not less zealous in the war. It is remark
able too, that some of those who, in Scotland, are
termed the old lights, the Antiburghers, if not the
direct Cameronians, discovered, all at once, that,
without changing their principles, they might com
pletely reverse their application. Having contended,
that as Christ was king of the church, all earthly
sovereigns were mere lieutenants, bound to obey his
orders in their rule over the church ; they now argued
in a different way from the same original position. A
very bold and able work was published by one of them,
contending that Christ, the Universal King, had de
puted to believers the rule of the church, to which,
therefore, kings, as such, had no right, and in which
they could only share with others, by becoming real
Christians ; while the rule over the world, not having
been assigned by the Redeemer to one more than
another, was left to be shared equally by all citizens
Q

226 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
of the state, whose suflTrages, expressed or implied, were
the fountain of authority. Happily for him who made
this new application of the old light, the Stuarts
were no longer kings, when he became an author.
His work, therefore, was subjected to no severer
censure than the pen can inflict.
One of the first and ablest tracts published under
this new form of attack on state churches was entitled,
" Ecclesiastical Establishments Considered, by Andrew
Marshall, minister ofthe Associate Church at Kirkin
tilloch." As the substance of it had been delivered
at a grand meeting of his own communion, it was con
sidered demi-official, and was, accordingly, severely
attacked by the advocates for a state church. A second
work on this subject, by the same author, sustained
the credit of the former. The Presbyterians were fol
lowed by the Independents ; and the able pen of Dr.
Wardlaw gave to the public a sermon entitled, " Civil
Establishments of Christianity, tried by their only
Authoritative Test, the Word of God."
The commencement of this controversy in England
was marked by a curious circumstance, the republication
of Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity, with notes by Ben
jamin Hanbury, Esq., a well-informed and decided
Dissenter. As Hooker has been entitled the "judicious,"
and his defence of the state church is considered by
its friends a chef d'oeuvre, this republication by a
Dissenter was a singular act of defiance. But this
was in accordance with the spirit of the times, ofwhich
the formation of the Society for the Promotion of
Ecclesiastical Knowledge was a proof , Its object was
to publish tracts on all the subjects connected with

CONTROVERSIES. 227
Dissent, which it treated, not in the ordinary apologetic
style, but in the bolder mode of the new tactics. A
dominant sect, a state religion, was denounced as an
infringement on religious liberty, and the equal rights
of all Christians. The tracts of this society were
published in the Library of Ecclesiastical Knowledge.
Mr. Matheson, of Durham, may be said to have
opened this warfare in England, by a sermon entitled,
"Voluntary Churches the true Churches of Christ,"
which he afterwards defended, in " A Reply to the
Remarks ofthe Rev. P. Pensom, Vicar of St. Oswalds."
Mr. Thorne, of Winchester, treated the modern ques
tion in the same comprehensive way as he had adopted
with regard to Baptism ; for he published " The Union of
^Church and State Antiscriptural and Indefensible ; "
exhibiting every material argument hitherto advanced
for and against political establishments of Christianity.
Another work had appeared at an earlier period,
entitled, "An Appeal to Equity, showing the unreason
ableness and injustice of obliging Dissenters to con
tribute towards the support of the Church of England,
with some remarks on Tythes ; by Phileleutherus."
This was an answer to a pamphlet entitled, " National
Establishment, National Security, by a Clergyman of
Oxford." One of the most remarkable titles that
appeared in the progress of this controversy was the
following: — " The Church of England identified, on
the authority of her own historians chiefly, with the
Second Beast as described in the Book of Revelation,
xin. V. 11 — 18, by R. B. Sanderson, Esq.,, late Fellow
of Oriel College, and formerly Secretary of Presen
tations to the Lord Chancellor." Q 2

228

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

As the controversy on Dissent exhibited the grand
principles of the sufficiency of the Scriptures, and
the right of private judgment, a new mode of answer
ing these was adopted by certain divines at Oxford,
in "Tracts for the Present Times," in which Popery
was employed to oppose Dissent. This, however,
alarmed others in the Establishment, and Dr. Fausset
preached, at St. Mary's, Oxford, a sermon which he
published under the title of "The Revival of Popery."
He showed that, among other papistical principles
avowed in the Establishment, the restoration of monks
was recommended, in order to oppose Dissent. But
the preacher himself defended apostolical succession,
and traditions, which became the favourite doctrine,
even of many evangelical clergymen. Mr. Powel, a
Wesleyan minister, was called forth by the ultra high
church claims, to write against apostolical succession;
and against a sermon by Dr. Hook, of Leeds, preached
before the Queen, on the text, if such a one there is,
" Hear the church." Controversy with Infidels.
The term Deist would have been adopted here, as
less offensive, had it been fairly applicable ; but, as
some of the party hostile to Christianity professed
Atheism, it was necessary to employ the generic term,
infidel. The press had formerly been almost the only
instrument of this warfare ; but with the advance of re
ligious liberty the oppugners of divine revelation grew
bolder; and lectures were publicly delivered, in London,
against the Sacred Scriptures and the being of God.
Two persons were devoted to the unhappy task of

CON'TROVERSIES. 229
teaching the mechanics and poorer tradesmen to
abjure ad religion. One of them was styled the Rev.
Robert Taylor, as he had been episcopally ordained,
and had ranked among evangelical clergymen. He
commenced his infidel ministrations in a large room
in Cateaton -street, under the false colours of " A
Christian Evidence Society," professing to court fair
discussion on Paley's Evidences of Christianity. But,
when the suffrages of the audience were given in
favour of Paley's decision, the lecturer threw off his
mask, and openly avowed his hostility to Christianity.
Mr. Taylor afterwards hired Salters' Hall chapel,
which had been given up when Dr. Collyer, of Peck-
ham, ceased to preach an afternoon lecture there ; and
the painful spectacle was exhibited, of infidelity super
seding, for a short time, the gospel of Christ. From
this school issued a sort of defiance to Christians,
entitled, "The Manifesto of the Christian Evidence
Society," to which an answer was published by the
Christian Instruction Society. To this succeeded " A
Course of Lectures on the Evidences of Christianity,
delivered at the Monthly Meetings of the Congre
gational Board."
The other apostle of error was Richard Carlisle,
a bookseller in the Strand, who avowed himself an
Atheist. He travelled to make proselytes, by publicly
lecturing. At Nottingham, he found that the Rev.
Joseph Gilbert, an Independent minister there, was
accustomed to open his house for conversation, with
a view to the conviction of the infidels, who abounded
in that town. Mr. Carlisle was, at his own request,
allowed to mingle in these discussions ; and, after a

230 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
private meeting, he called for a public debate, to which
Mr. Gilbert consented. But when the discussion was
about to commence in the Town Hall, the magistrates
refused to allow Mr. Carlisle to speak, in which they
were followed by the county magistrates, when the
meeting had adjourned to a place beyond the juris
diction of the civic authorities. Mr. Gilbert declined
to plead where his antagonist was not allowed the
liberty of reply ; and refused to retire, as was proposed;
to the open fields, where the decorum necessary to all
useful discussion could not be secured.
Out of this abortive attempt at debate arose some
correspondence in the Nottingham journals ; and Mr.
Carlisle, seizing upon a very temperate sentence in his
opponent's letter, prosecuted Mr. Gilbert for a libel.
As the infidel pleaded in forma pauperis, and contrived
to protract the suit to a great extent, Mr. Gilbert was
put to a serious expense ; for after a verdict had been
given in his favour, a new trial was granted, though
the suit was not followed up to a second trial, but was
dropped. The design evidently was, to increase the
expense of the litigation; and as nothing could be
obtained from a man of Mr. Carlisle's desperate cir
cumstances, the friends of Christianity in Nottingham
felt themselves bound to take care that Mr. Gilbert's
fidelity to truth should not be rewarded by being left
to bear the ruinous expense.
Mr. Taylor, also, travelled and lectured in defence
of Deism, and obtained the honours of imprisonment.
On being liberated, he pursued the same career, and,
in a visit to Cambridge, he affixed a challenge, in
Latin, to the doors of the colleges ; and when no one

CONTROVERSIES. 231
appeared in defence of Christianity, he threatened to
call upon the legislature to confiscate the property
which provides a salary for the public orator, whose
office it is to defend the Christian religion.
Having published what he termed a diegesis, or
professed demonstration of the falsehood of Chris
tianity, he was answered by Dr. John Pye Smith.
The Christian Instruction Society set up lectures in
defence of revelation, at an hour when the mechanics,
who were the prey of the infidels, could attend ; but
these meetings were disturbed by the intrusive speeches
of Messrs. Taylor and Carlisle.
Mr. Taylor afterwards hired the Rotunda, a large
building in Blackfriars Road, and assemblies were
attracted to hear his jests, rather than his arguments,
against Christ and the Scriptures. As money was
demanded for admittance, this was, for some time, a
considerable source of profit to- the lecturer, and of
injury to his hearers. He boasted that he had chal
lenged all the ministers of religion to contest the
claims of divine revelation, and that they all refused
to take up the glove, conscious that they were deceiving
mankind. The author of this volume, deeming it
a duty to make such boasting void, gave notice of
a course of lectures, at Silver-street chapel, on the
Lord's day evening, on the internal evidences of reve
lation, and on Thursday evening, on the external ;
after which any one would be at liberty to question
the lecturer on the subject of the preceding discourse.
Mr. Taylor, perceiving for whom this was intended,
gave notice of his intention to accept the challenge.
He came; and, after the lecture, a chairman was

232 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
appointed, and a debate was held on "The Impossi
bility of Imposture-in the Miracles recorded in Scrip
ture." The fame of the first contest drew immense crowds
to the second, which was on "The Jews as Living
Witnesses to the Truth of Revelation." The debate
was now more animated and protracted than before ;
and was chiefly remarkable for an assertion, hazarded
by Mr. Taylor, that the Jews never were a nation, and
are not even asserted to have been one by the Scrip
tures, which was met by an appeal to Tacitus, and to
a text in the Acts of the Apostles, " After many years
I came to bring alms to my nation."
The third evening, the crowd was so overwhelming,
and so great was the chagrin of the infidels at the
figure which their champion made, that they raised
a disorderly clamour, which rendered it necessary to
dissolve the assembly, without proceeding to the
debate. Against the next evening, provision was
made to prevent a repetition of the riot, by putting up
bars to keep off the pressure of the crowd, and pro
curing a strong body of the city police. But Mr.
Taylor declined to appear; though one of his adherents
made a faint attempt to keep up the debate. The
course of lectures was finished and* published, with
the debates that followed on the delivery of each one,
under the title of "An Antidote to Infidelity."
The efforts of the infidel party, soon after, ceased.
Mr. Taylor was, indeed, imprisoned at the suit of the
Society for the Suppression of Vice, for making a
mock exhibition of the Lord's Supper. His antagonist
applied to the Secretary of State ; and Mr. Taylor

CONTROVEKSIES. 233
being liberated, soon after quitted this country for the
continent. Mr. Carlisle also desisted from his public
attacks on the existence of God, and professed to be
converted to Christianity.
This, which was the last controversy with infidels,
was conducted almost exclusively by Dissenters, though
Mr. Taylor's former character, as an episcopal minister,
seemed to demand the efforts ofthe established clergy.
Mr. Robert Owen, of Lanark, was an auxiliary to the
infidels, under the guise of promulging a new view of
society. He had made an abortive attempt to form
an infidel community at New Harmony, in the United
States of America, and then came to London on the
same errand. But Atheism was at the bottom of this
quixotic scheme, which has met with the failure it
deserves. The community of goods, which was to
banish all vice from society, has ended in confusion
and strife, and every evil work.
Controversies on the Invasion of Religious Liberty,
In consequence of an attempt to tax Dissenting
places of worship, an appeal was made to the public
through the medium of the press. A serious investi
gation of the nature and effects of parochial assess
ments on places of religious worship, protected by the
Act of Toleration, by Rowland Hill, A.M., was pub
lished in 1814. The same pen wrote on this subject,
in 1816, "Religious Freedom in Danger, or the
Toleration Act invaded by Parochial Assessments on
Places of Religious Worship."
The refusal of some clergymen to bury Dissenters
gave rise to several publications. An appeal made

234 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
against this petty persecution was answered by
" Perlege si vis, a Letter to the Right Rev. Spencer,
Lord Bishop of Peterborough, in answer to an Appeal
made to the Society for Defending the Civil Rights of
Dissenters relative to the important question of Church
Burial by the Established Clergy ; by J. W. Wickes,
A.M., Rector of Wardley." On this subject a case
was laid before Sir William Scott, whether a clergy
man ought to refuse to bury a child baptised by a
Dissenter ? Reference was made to the statute
25 George HI., for granting a stamp duty on the
registry of the burials, births, and baptisms of Pro
testant Dissenters from the Church of England, which
gave a legal sanction to Dissenting baptisms. But
when a Dissenter of the name of Bott requested the
curate of Belton, in Rutland, to bury his child, he
received this answer ; " You may lay your child by
the rest of your family ; but I will not bury him, nor
shall any one else ; I will bury no Dissenter ; I will
bury only Roman Catholics and Churchmen."
Sir William Scott, however, answered, " I am of
opinion, that if reasonable proof was offered to the
clergyman complained of, that the child had been
baptised in the manner described in the answer to the
question proposed by me, he acted illegally and im
properly in refusing to bury it, and he might be prose
cuted with eflfect in the ecclesiastical court. The
ground on which I hold the refusal of the curate to
be unjustifiable is, that the child was not unbaptised,
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 of history.

CONTROVERSIES. 235
And I think that that history has been coUected by
different writers, but particularly by Bishop Fleet
wood, with sufficient accuracy to authorise the legal
conclusion I draw."
Mr. Wickes, however, showed as little disposition as
a Dissenter could feel, to bow to Sir Wdliam Scott, and
published again, under a Latin title, " Accipe si vis, a
Letter to the Bishop of Peterborough, in answer to the
opinion of Sir William Scott, as to the Legality or
Illegality of refusing Church Burial to Dissenters."
This puny warfare was obstinately maintained, and Dis
senters were informed, that they ought to provide their
own burial grounds, but to pay the clergy their fees,
as if they had done the work. The next publication
on this subject was " The Judgment Delivered, De
cember 11th, 1809, by the Right Honourable Sir John
Nichol, Knight, 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 refusing to bury an Infant
Child of two of his Parishioners, who had been baptised
by a Dissenting Minister. Taken in short-hand, by
Mr. Gurney." The judge decided, that a person was
not allowed to be rebaptised, even thongh his baptism
had been very irregularly performed by a layman, or
even by a pagan, and quotes the words of James I.,
" I utterly dislike all rebaptisation of those whomi
women or laics have baptised." James had just
brought here his own children, born in Scotland, and
baptised by Presbyterian ministers. Could he ever
intend that all persons but members of tbe Church of
England should be excluded from Christian burial?

236 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
The court decided, " That the minister, in refusing to
bury this child in the manner pleaded in the articles,
has acted illegally. It has no doubt in admitting
these articles, and does admit them accordingly."
The British and Foreign Bible Society was fre
quently attacked by the clergy ; and though some
Dissenters mingled in the controversy, by defending
the society, as the contest was almost exclusively
among the members of the Establishment, it is not
entitled to any further notice. The attempt made,
however, in 1830, by some of the school of Mr. Irving,
to establish a test, in order to exclude Socinians, was
opposed, not only by Dissenting speakers, but also by
their writers, who contributed powerfully to the failure
of an effort which would have destroyed the catholic
character of that institution. A letter to the Honour
able and Reverend Baptist Noel, by Fiat Justitia,
contributed to set this question at rest.
The Controversy on Baptism.
The disputes on the subject and mode of Baptism
have been so continuous, that they become wearisome
to record. Passing by a considerable period, during
which the publications on this subject were more rare,
or rather, less frequent, we must point to the year
1823, when the following works reanimated the con
test. " The first Principles of Christian Baptism, by
T. Eisdell," who, though the son of a Baptist minister,
defended infant baptism. " A Sermon on Baptism,
by J. Bass," claims more notice than ordinary sermons,
as the author, an Independent minister, had been
many years so much in doubt, that his congregation

CONTROVERSIES. 237
was left to obtain the service of other ministers to per
form the ordinance. At length, he decided in favour
of infant baptism by aifusion. Dr. Urwick, then of
Sligo, now of Dublin, published, at the same period,
on the same side, " A Concise View of the Doctrine of
Scripture concerning Baptism." But the most com
prehensive and interesting view of the question was
given in "An Essay on Baptism, by Grevdle Ewing,
Glasgow." His celebrity as a Greek scholar was
transferred to his etymology of the word in dispute.
After this, appeared, " On Baptism, in Reply to the
Rev. Grevdle Ewing and Dr. Wardlaw, by Rev. F.
A. Cox, A.M. 1824." But the fodowing must be con
sidered, at least, a curious work, " A Father's Reasons
for not baptising his Children, by a Lay Member of
the Church of England." Another work on the op
posite side, " The Family Baptist, by Mr. Newbury,
1830," was of a bold order, and contains what may be
called new, even on this worn out controversy. The
same writer addressed two letters to the Rev. Dr.
Henderson, theological tutor of Highbury College, on
the relation of baptism to Christian missions. But
the most complete display of the whole subject was
given, in " Modern Immersion, not Scripture Baptism,
by the Rev. Wdliam Thorn, of Winchester."
Controversy on the Terms of Communion,
Alhed to the ancient controversy on Baptism, was
a more modern inquiry into the terms of commu
nion, which was agitated chiefly among the Bap
tists. For though Dr. Mason, of New York, led the
way, by his " Plea for Catholic Communion in the

238 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Church of God," which was republished in this
country, the same liberal views were displayed by
the eloquent pen of the celebrated Robert Hall, in a
volume " On Terms of Communion, with a Particular
View to the Case of Baptists and Psedobaptists."
On the other side, appeared a posthumous work of
Mr. Fuller, of Kettering, " On the Admission of
Unbaptised Persons to the Lord's Supper;" and a "Plea
for Primitive Communion ; " and " Baptism, a Term of
Communion, by Mr. Kinghorn, of Norwich." Mr. Hall
met his opponents by " A Treatise on the Difference
between Christian Baptism, and the Baptism of John."
The effect of this controversy was good, as it brought
Baptists and Independents into closer communion.
The contest for the management and appropriation
of Lady Hewley's property belongs to the history of
religious liberty, as far as it was a question of law; but
the controversy to which it gave birth demands a place
in this chapter. "The Judgment of the Vice Chan
cellor^" which decreed that the Unitarian trustees should
be exchanged for men of orthodox sentiments, formed a
leading document, to which a kind of official answer was
given in "A Letter to the Vice Chancellor of England,
in Reply to his Honour's Remarks relative to the British
and Foreign Unitarian Association, delivered De
cember 23rd, 1833, in pronouncing judgment in the
case of the Attorney General versus Shore and others."
This was understood to be the production of Mr. Yates,
a minister of the denomination which had obtained
possession of the funds bequeathed by Lady.Hewley.
It was immediately answered in a pamphlet, entitled,
" The Improved Version truly designated a Creed ; a

CONTROVERSIES. 239
Letter to the Rev. James Yates, A.M., secretary ofthe
British and Foreign Unitarian Association, by Robert
Halley, of Highbury College."
In the same category with the last mentioned
contest, may bt, placed the controversy that arose on
the annuity tax, to support the established ministers in
Edinburgh ; for the legal struggle belongs to our
second chapter, but the controversial publications on
the subject must be noticed here. Dr. T. Brown
preached, and published, with notes and illustrations,
"Lectures on the Law of Christ respecting Civil
Obedience," to show that it was not a duty to pay this
tax for the state religion. In answer to which, Mr.
Haldane published, "The Duty of Paying Tribute ; "
and as the controversy was carried on in the daily
papers, "A Scotch Baptist " addressed, in one of them,
" Letters to Robert Haldane, Esq., in opposition to
his work on the Duty of Paying Tribute." A con
temporaneous controversy was maintained in England,
upon the question of church rates, which many Dis
senters joined the Quakers in refusing to pay. " A
Review ofthe Hull Ecclesiastical Controversy," though
originating in a local struggle against church rates,
was an index of the spirit which at that time was very
widely diffused j for the injustice of taxing all other
sects for the support of the one which is adopted by
the state, was very clearly but temperately proved.

240

CHAPTER V.
THE EXTERNAL STATE OF DISSENTERS.
Sect. I. — Intercourse with Government.
The operation of religion in the soul is not more
powerfully modified by the condition of the body, than
the religious portion of the community is affected by
the circumstances of the civil state. The pressure of
a protracted and widely wasting war had been severely
felt by Dissenters, who occupy precisely that middle
station in society, which is most affected by the stag
nation of trade, and the increase of taxation ; when a
jubilee was celebrated, on the fiftieth anniversary of
the accession of George IIL, the Dissenters entered
cordially into the project, celebrating divine worship in
most of their churches. The aged monarch, who was
now almost blind, and at war with a great part of the
world, was, immediately after, afflicted with the return
of his mental disease, which made it necessary to
appoint the Prince of Wales regent. The decisive
battle of Waterloo having restored peace to the
bleeding nations, the Princess Charlotte, daughter of
the Prince Regent, was, in 1816, married to Leopold,
Prince of Saxe Cobourg, on which occasion, the
ministers of the three denominations of Dissenters in

external STlkT*..^ ..•J,''' 241
London, presented to the RegenrTattMadail^*^' con
gratulation, which was favourably received.
The death of George 111., on the 29th of January,
1820, in the eighty-second year of his age, after a
reign of sixty years, was scarcely felt ; for he had
been, for nine years, withdrawn from public view.
That degree of religious liberty which he had found
established, on his accession to the throne, he faith
fully maintained. His moral character secured to him
considerable popularity, in spite of the pressure created
by the expensive and sanguinary wars which occupied
the moiety of his unusually long reign. To the
influence of the Earl of Bute is ascribed the attachment
of George III. to what are called Tory principles,
which, though naturally the favourite creed of kings,
had been, since the revolution, expelled with the
Stuarts, and had vainly attempted to return, towards
the end of Queen Anne's reign. But when the exiled
dynasty was reduced to the person of Cardinal York,
the wholesome fear which had operated on the first
Georges, was withdrawn ; and when the last of the
Stuarts died, the nonjuring tendencies of the Church
of England were exchanged for loyalty, which could
not but be grateful to the prince, who was willing to
forget that it was ardent because it was young. The
American war first brought the Dissenters into an
: antagonist position with the King; for the Puritans and
Nonconformists were brothers to the pilgrim fathers of
the transadantic churches; and the arbitrary procedure
that roused the Americans to resistance, was but the
counterpart of that policy which had driven the Dis-
: senters from the established pale.

242 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
The alienation from court policy which the contest
with America produced among Dissenters, was con
siderably aggravated by the war of the French revolu
tion, that appeared to them, a crusade against the
liberties of mankind, and a mad attempt to prop up
the falling Papacy and its supporters. During this
reign, therefore, the Establishment and the Dissenters
changed places ; for the high church party, which had
been a thorn in the sides of the government, ever since
the revolution, was now in favour at court ; while the
Dissenters, who had been regarded with special appro
bation by the former Georges, were viewed with some
suspicion. There were, however, exceptions; for as a
low church party had always espoused the cause of the
House of Hanover, so there were Dissenters who never
took the side of opposition. George IIL, who was a
friend to the education of the poor, and the diffusion of
the Scriptures, was never an enemy to the Dissenters,
who, in their turn, always gave him his full meed of
praise for the morality of his conduct, and his respect
for the ordinances of religion. Many Dissenters,
indeed, gave the King credit for true piety, though
others thought it difficult to reconcile this with his
long wars, his frequenting of the theatres, and his
disposal of church patronage according to state expe
diency, to the almost total neglect of evangelical truth.
This latter fault, however, has been ascribed to the
Queen, to whom the affairs of the church were said to
be confided.
The accession of George IV. failed to create the
interest which ordinarily accompanies such an event,
because he had already, under the title of Prince

EXTERNAL STATE. 243
Regent, exercised the functions of royalty, though, at
first, with some restrictions. The dissenting ministers
of London claimed their accustomed privilege of pre
senting their congratulatory address to the new King
on the throne. But as the length of the preceding
reign had left few who had witnessed a king's acces
sion, the secretary of state disputed the right, which
Dr. Abraham Reece was able to prove, for he had, when
a very young minister from the country, mingled with
the procession of the London ministers, who were going
up to address Geoi^e III. on the throne. The privilege
was conceded, and Dr. Rees delivered to George IV.
the following address : —
To the King's Most Excellent Majesty.
" Most Gracious Sovereign,
" We, your Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects,
the Protestant Dissenting Ministers ofthe Three Deno
minations in and about the cities of London and West
minster, approach your Majesty, with profound respect,
to express our sincere condolence on occasion of the
breaches made by death in your illustrious House, and
more especially on the demise of our late venerable
and beloved Sovereign, your Royal Father, as well as
our cordial congratulations on your Majesty's accession
to the Throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland.
" We partake of the satisfaction which his late
Majesty's subjects in general, and his own illustrious
Family in particular, must have experienced in the
extended duration of his life and reign ; and whilst
r2

244 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
we lament the personal affliction which, during his
latter years, deprived the nation of his pubhc ser
vices, we bow with devout resignation to the mysterious
will of Almighty God ; and we reflect with pleasure on
the filial attention manifested by your Majesty and
the other branches of his family to his dignity and to
his comfort, during his seclusion from the duties and
enjoyments of social life.
" We also render to the Supreme Arbiter ofthe con
dition of man our unfeigned thanksgivings, that his
dissolution succeeded a gentle and gradual decay,
without any previous suffering.
" Among numerous other virtues that distinguished
his character and reign, his solicitude for the education
of the poor, and for the diffusion of those Scriptures
which open, both to rich and poor, the best sources of
instruction and comfort, will be recorded in future
ages to the praise of our much revered sovereign.
" As Protestant Dissenters, we recollect, with pecu
liar thankfulness, that, conformably to the declaration
with which his late Majesty commenced his reign, he
not only maintained the Toleration inviolate, but
enlarged its protection and benefits.
" We should the more deeply lament the decease of
our late sovereign, if we were not warranted to direct
our views to your Majesty as his successor, and to
assure ourselves, by the experience afforded us during
your regency, that you will continue to us the same
protection and similar benefits.
" It is, we trust, needless for us to make any public
avowal of our attachment to your Majesty's person

EXTERNAL STATE. 245
and family, and the form of government established
in the British realms.
" Whdst we are ambitious of expressing ourselves
the invariable friends of civil and religious liberty,
we are no less the enemies of every kind and degree
of hcentiousness, both in principle and practice.
. "As none of our number were ever degraded by
hostdity to the civil government of our country, as it
is by law established, we are persuaded that none of
us will be found amongst those who profane religion,
deride the Holy Scriptures, and diminish the influence
of sacred subjects on the minds of the people ; but that
it will be our uniform solicitude and endeavour to
manifest and to inculcate a due regard to religion, to
the constitution and laws of our country, and to the
honour and tranquillity of your Majesty's life and
reign. " Thus avowing our principles and conduct, we
humbly solicit, aud feel confident of enjoying your
Majesty's protection and favour : prompted, as we are,
by inclination as well as duty, it will be always our
earnest wish and ardent prayer that your Majesty's
reign maybe long, peaceful, and prosperous ; and that,
at a distant period, your Majesty may exchange your
present crown, after having exhibited its brightest
lustre in the uninterrupted and increasing attachment
of a free, grateful, and loyal people, for a crown of
celestial glory that fadeth not away."
His Majesty paid a marked attention to the Ad
dress, and delivered the following answer with great
dignity : —

246 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
" I receive with great satisfaction this loyal and
dutiful Address.
" The justice which you have rendered to the memory
of my beloved father, is highly gratifying to me. You
may be fudy assured of the continuance of that pro
tection which you experienced during his beneficent
reign, and my determination to maintain strictly and
inviolably the Toleration now so happily enjoyed."
The ministers then advanced, and had the honour
to kiss his Majesty's hand. It had been previously
agreed upon by the ministers, that only twelve of their
number should advance to the throne for that purpose;
which being done, Dr. Rees intimated to the King
that, to prevent his fatigue, the rest of the gentlemen
would retire ; but his Majesty was pleased to express
the peculiar satisfaction he felt with the Address, and
the manner in which it had been delivered, and desired
that all the ministers, if they wished it, might come
forward; which of course they gladly did, greatly
delighted with this special mark of his Majesty's
condescension. It was observed that, on this occasion, only one of
the ministers was present who had joined in the
Address to his late Majesty, in 1760, namely, Dr.
Rees. George IV. had scarcely been seated on the throne,
when the arrival in this country of his Queen Caroline,
from whom he had been long separated, threw the
nation into a ferment. Her name having been, by the
King's order, excluded from the Liturgy, the worship

EXTERNAL STATE. 247
of the Establishment was disturbed by the different
parties into which its members were divided ; and many
withdrew for a time from its services, as degraded by
connivance at what they deemed an illegal and vin
dictive mandate. Among Dissenters, prayer for the
Queen was offered, or omitted, according to each one's
views of duty or expediency. The subsequent trial
of the Queen for adultery, was deplored by all friends
of morality ; but as the bill of Pains and Penalties was
sanctioned by majorities so small, that it was ultimately
abandoned, the nation would gladly have forgotten the
odious aflfair, had not petitions from the country, and
a motion in the Commons, for the restoration of the
Queen's name to the Liturgy, kept alive the ferment.
The King, however, prevailed, and his consort never
was introduced into the liturgical prayers for the royal
family. After a short, but chequered, course of royalty,
George IV. died. His reign was as peaceful as the
former had been warlike, and he created bishops of such
a character as reflected severely on George IIL, who,
during sixty years, had conferred no similar benefit on
the national church. The extension of religious liberty,
by the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, and
by Catholic Emancipation, seems to have been a
reluctant concession to the spirit of the times, in
dicative, if not of more liberality, yet of less obstinacy
in the son than the father. For though, as Prince of
Wales, George IV. had always espoused the liberal
party in the state, it was never difficult to foresee what
followed on his coming to the throne, when he made

248 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
some feeble efforts to induce a few of his old friends to
join the opposite party ; and at last acquiesced in ad
ministrations wholly composed of those whose Toryism
he had formerly condemned. By these, were carried,
from motives of expediency, the liberal measures of
this reign.
The Duke of Clarence succeeded to the throne by the
title of William IV. He had been, during a great part
of his life, in the service of the royal navy, and was^
for a short time, Lord High Admiral, but had been
induced by the Duke of Wellington's administration,
which had promoted him, to resign. Having married
Adelaide, Princess of Saxe Meiningen, with whom he
lived harmoniously, he presented to the nation an
agreeable contrast to the domestic life of his prede
cessor. The ministers of the three denominations of Dis
senters in London, presented to him and his Queen,
addresses of congratulation : —
Address of the London Dissenting Ministers of the
Three Denominations to the King.
"Most Gracious SovEREit;N,
"We, your Majesty's loyal and dutiful subjects,
the Protestant Dissenting Ministers in and about
the cities of London and Westminster, humbly ap
proach your royal presence, to express our sincere
condolence on the demise of your royal brother, our
late revered sovereign ; and to offer our heartfelt con
gratulations on the accession of your Majesty to the

external state. 249
throne of these realms. We call to mind, with devout
thankfulness to the Supreme Ruler of the kingdoms of
the earth, that the reign of his late Majesty was dis
tinguished by the unspeakable blessing of peace ; we
rejoice in the remembrance that under his auspicious
sway all the useful arts were encouraged and pro
moted ; science and literature were extended in a
degree beyond example in the history of nations ;
reforms were made in the civil and criminal juris
prudence of the country, by which our legal institutions
were brought still nearer to the evangelical standard
of justice and mercy ; the claims of humanity and
Christian benevolence were enforced by the power of
this great kingdom, in all the quarters of the globe,
and the rights of conscience were invariably respected,
and the boundaries of religious liberty greatly enlarged.
We are also impelled by gratitude to acknowledge
especially, that, under the liberal government of our
late beloved sovereign, the Protestant Dissenters of
the United Kingdom were relieved from various dis
qualifying statutes, and were confirmed, by express
laws, in their rights and privileges. Your Majesty's
faithful subjects, the Protestant Dissenting Ministers,
have ever been devoted in their attachment to your
Majesty's illustrious house, under whose gracious
rule they have enjoyed blessings far beyond the expe
rience of their forefathers ; and they entreat you, Sire,
to accept their sincere and ardent congratulations on
your accession to the throne of your ancestors. The
known disposition of your royal mind assures them of
your protection and favour; and they pledge them
selves, in your august presence, to promote, amongst

250 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
the people committed to their charge, loyalty to your
Majesty's person, family, and government; obedience
to the laws, and all those virtues by which, under the
Divine Providence, nations are rendered great and
prosperous. Our fervent prayers ascend continually
to the King of kings, that it may please him to pour
down his merciful blessing upon your Majesty's
government, and to make your Majesty's reign long,
peaceful, and happy ; that he may give to your Ma
jesty to rule in the affections ofyour subjects through
out the wide extent of your Majesty's dominions, and
to receive the satisfaction and delight, dear to the
heart of a patriotic prince, of seeing your people
united in the bonds of Christian charity, and con
tentedly and piously thankful in the enjoyment of the
bounties of the Supreme Providence, that so your
Majesty's happiness may be increased and multipHed
in the happiness of your people ; that he may grant
that your Majesty and your illustrious consort, our
most gracious Queen, may enjoy together all earthly
felicity ; and that he may hear and answer the united
supplications of your people ; and vouchsafe that, after
a reign of virtuous glory, your Majesty may exchange
an earthly for a heavenly crown."
The King returned the following answer : —
" This public demonstration of your attachment to
my person and government, is entitled to my warmest
thanks. The justice which you have rendered to the
memory of my lamented brother, and the gratitude
which you express for the full measure of relief
granted during his reign to the Protestant Dissenters

external STATE. 251
of the United Kingdom, are highly consolatory and
satisfactory to my feelings. I place entire confidence
in the fulfilment of your engagements to promote,
among those of my people who are committed to your
spiritual charge, loyalty to the throne, and obedience
to the laws ; and I assure you in return, that it will be
one of the first objects of my solicitude to maintain
inviolate the civil rights and privileges of all my
faithful subjects."
To this the King added an impromptu address,
which was, perhaps, well-intended, but was certainly
ill-advised, and is not worth recording.
To the Queen, also, a separate address was delivered,
to which she returned a suitable answer.
The addresses were read by Dr. Thomas Rees,
secretary to the general body. For he had previously
declared, that the Presbyterians who formerly claimed,
on account of their preponderance, certain privileges,
had resolved to relinquish them, as no longer suited to
their diminished numbers, but had determined now to
take the precedence for the last time.
William IV. at first seemed ambitious of restoring
to the monarchy that popularity which it had lost
under his predecessor ; and as the eastern pomp and
mysterious seclusion of George IV. had alienated from
him the public mind, William showed himself freely,
and by the unassuming frankness of a British sailor,
gained, as a man, a prepossession which was highly
advantageous to him as a king. When the Duke of
Wellington, after coinmitting himself by a declaration
against parliamentary reform, was compelled to resign

252: HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
the administration of affairs, the King called to his
councils, Earl Grey, who took office on condition of
being allowed to make that reform a government
question. Its political bearings belong not to this
history ; but the objection which the Duke of WelUng-
ton made to the Reform Bill, as throwing power into
the hands of the middle classes, to wdiich the Dis
senters belong, shows that they were not uninterested
in a measure, to the success of which they powerfully
contributed. But as the reform of parliament was considered, by
all perspicacious observers of public affairs, a means
to a further end, the reform of the municipal corpo
rations was a natural consequence. It had formerly
been projected by Mr. Fox, but was carried by the
administration of Lord Melbourne, who succeeded
Earl Grey. The high church party had, in their
eagerness to create difficulties, objected to Dissenters
as unfit to exercise the patronage of those church
livings that were in the gift of corporations ; but the
liberal ministry cut the knot, by introducing a pro
vision for the sale of these advowsons.
While the two parties in the state were struggling
against each other, William IV. died, June 20, 1837,
and was succeeded by his niece, the daughter of the
deceased Duke of Kent. As the late King's early
character and history had inspired no favourable pre
possessions, the popularity which he at first gained,
was to the nation an agreeable surprise. To his
Queen he owed much ; for she placed hira in advan
tageous contrast with his predecessor, and once more
the female part of the nation could appear at court.

EXTERNAL STATE. 253
His patronage of reform bore every mark of sincerity ;
and his subsequent abandonment of that cause was,
perhaps unjustly, charged upon the Queen. The
manner in which he volunteered his declarations of
attachment to the Church of England, conferred no
dignity either upon Church or King ; and the equi
vocal position in which he at last stood towards his
ministers and the nation, caused his removal to be felt
as a release from public embarrassment.
The accession of his successor, who was proclaimed
Queen Victoria, was an event deeply interesting to the
nation. Having been declared, by act of parliament,
capable of succeeding to the crown at eighteen, she
had but just attained that age, when her uncle died.
Her mother, the Duchess of Kent, pronounced by one
of the British senators, the wisest of her sex, had
certainly earned that proud title by the manner in
which she had conducted the education of the Prin
cess. Kept aloof from political parties, as well as
from the usual dissipation of a court, the heir to the
throne was distinguished by elegant simplicity of
manners, a dignified superiority to the frivolities of
the great, and a reverence for religion rather than a
bigoted fondness for a party. The fortitude and
wisdom which she displayed, on her accession, extorted
universal admiration ; and it was only by the enthu
siastic applauses with which the people welcomed her,
on the day she was proclaimed, that she was melted
into tears, which, with one of her sex and her youth,
at such a moment, served only to give additional value
' to her uniform dignity and self-possession.
When the ministers of the three denominations

254 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
of Dissenters in London were about to meet, in order
to prepare their address of congratulation to the
Queen, on her accession to the throne, they were in
formed by the trustees, that they could not be allowed
to assemble at Dr. Williams' Library, in Red Cross-
street, as there was no longer any such body as that
which was composed of the three denominations, Pres
byterians, Independents, and Baptists. The trustees,
by this step, opposed the intention of Dr. Williams,
which was, that the Library should afford exactly that
accommodation to the Dissenting ministers of London,
which was now refused. The secession of a party that
was never included in Dr. Williams' idea of Presby
terians, was made a reason for excluding all others.
To leave aliens in sole possession, the heirs were cast
out. After holding preparatory meetings at the King's
Head in the Poultry, the ministers of the three deno
minations assembled at the Congregational Library,
and proceeded to St. James's palace, where the Rev.
John Clayton, who had witnessed the accession of her
grandfather, delivered the following address : —
To the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty.
" Most Gracious Sovereign,
"We, your Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the
Protestant Dissenting Ministers in and about the
cities of London and Westminster, humbly approach
your royal presence, to assure your Majesty that we,
in common with all our fellow subjects, largely share
in those emotions of sorrow which have filled the
heart of your Majesty on the death of your illustrious
relative, our late gracious and patriotic King.

external state. 255
" The numerous blessings which the adorable
Author of all good has deigned to bestow upon this
nation, during the beneficent reign of our departed
Monarch, excite in our minds the deepest sentiments
of gratitude and joy.
" We highly appreciate that great improvement in
the representation ofthe people, which his late Majesty
so decidedly encouraged, and which is so admirably
adapted to promote the welfare of the united king
dom. "With lively satisfaction we record the just and
liberal enactments of the Imperial Parliament, since
the date of that great constitutional measure — enact
ments that have diminished the number of legal oaths,
abated the severity of the criminal code, opened the
seats of municipal authority to all, encouraged the
diflfusion of education, of science, and the useful arts,
unlocked the ports of the world to the commerce of
our country, and which, we trust, will remove the
enormous evil of slavery from the British colonies.
"Nor can we fail gratefully to acknowledge the
pacific temper of our lamented sovereign, who, though
trained to the art of war, valued and preserved the
blessings of peace, and sought, by a righteous policy,
to secure the tranquillity and friendship of every
nation. " While, as British Christians, we celebrate these
attributes of the late happy reign, it becomes us, as
Protestant Dissenters, gratefully to acknowledge that
our venerated King respected the rights of conscience,
and desired the amendment of those laws which we
deeply feel as unequal and oppressive.

256 history of dissenters.
" In ordinary circumstances, the loss of such a
monarch might have been thought irreparable, but
your happy accession, most gracious Sovereign, to the
throne of your forefathers, supplies that loss ; for you
venerate his illustrious example, and wish to per
petuate and extend the blessings which our country
enjoyed under his paternal sway.
"We entreat, then, your Majesty to accept our
heartfelt congratulations on this most auspicious event,
and the assurance of our entire allegiance to your royal
person and government.
"As the Protestant Dissenting Ministers of this
metropolis, the successors of those godly and patriotic
men who assisted to establish your Majesty's family
on the British throne, permit us, most gracious Sove
reign, to declare that we inherit their firm attachment
to the Protestant faith, and their loyal devotedness to
the House of Brunswick.
" With the most illustrious of the princes of that
house, the name of your Majesty's royal father must
ever be associated. We remember his powerful advo
cacy of the unrestricted circulation of the Bible, and
of the universal education of the people in its holy
truths; and feel grateful to Almighty God for the
salutary influence of those exertions on the welfare of
the present generation.
" As your Majesty was deprived of his instructions
when unconscious of your loss, we rejoice that one
who sympathized with his noble sentiments, was
spared to watch over your Majesty's earliest years.
Nor can we fail to acknowledge and adore that gracious
Providence which has crowned the exertions of your

external state. 257
dlustrious parents, by seating your Majesty upon the
throne of this great empire, amidst the acclamations of
an intelligent and loyal people. Our prayers, most
gracious Sovereign, shall continually ascend to "the
blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and
Lord of lords," entreating him to be your helper in all
the arduous duties of the state ; long, very long, to
preserve your Majesty's invaluable life, and so to
guide and strengthen you by his Holy Spirit, that
your Majesty may continue to sway the sceptre of
these realms over a free and loyal people, until you
shall, through the infinite merits of our Divine Re
deemer, exchange these earthly dominions for that
kingdom which cannot pass away."
Her Majesty then read, in a firm and clear tone, the
following gracious answer : —
" I receive, with satisfaction, this loyal address. I
thank you for the justice which you render to the
character of his late Majesty, and to the measures of
his reign. I am sensibly touched by your allusion to
the memory of my father. I shall always respect the
rights of conscience, and, to the utmost of my power,
extend to all equal and impartial justice."
Each member of the body present was then intro
duced by name to her Majesty, and had the honour of
kissing her Majesty's hand. One hundred and two
ministers were thus presented.
As the heterodox Presbyterians, who had, in March,
1836, seceded from the general body, formed them
selves into a new association, they applied, and were
s

258 history of dissenters.
permitted to present an address, which followed that
of the three denominations.
The Rev. Robert Aspland read their address as fol
lows, and Dr. Thomas Rees officiated as Secretary : —
To the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty.
"Most Gracious Sovereign,
"We, your Majesty's loyal and dutiful subjects,
the Protestant Dissenting Ministers of the Pres
byterian Denomination, in and about the cities of
London and Westminster, humbly approach your
royal presence, to express our sincere condolence with
your Majesty upon the demise of your royal uncle,
our late revered and beloved sovereign, together with
our heartfelt congratulations upon the happy accession
of your Majesty to the throne of these realms.
" We have ever felt devoutly thankful to the Divine
Providence that, during several successive generations,
these kingdoms have been placed by the Omnipotent
Ruler, under the mild and beneficent sway of princes
of your Majesty's august family, by whom the liberties
ofthe people have been enlarged and confirmed, the
moral character of the nation has been exalted ; and
the power and prosperity, the wealth and happiness,
of the kingdom have been promoted beyond all ex
ample. And we are impelled by gratitude to acknow
ledge, in particular, the blessings enjoyed by the
country during the reign of his late lamented Majesty,
in the preservation of peace, the wise and timely reform
of some of our national institutions, and the extension
of religious liberty, by which the condition of your

external state. 259
Majesty's Protestant Dissenting subjects especially
has been greatly improved.
"When we cad to remembrance your Majesty's
royal descent ; when we reflect upon the character of
the prince, your Majesty's ever-to-be-lamented father,
whose virtues, public and private, endeared him to the
British people, and to no portion of them more than
the Protestant Dissenters; when we consider that
your Majesty's early years were nurtured by the
enlightened and patriotic counsels, and the moral and
religious instructions of your illustrious mother, whom
we have been accustomed to regard as a pattern of
conjugal and maternal excellence ; and when we bear
in mind your Majesty's gracious language in your first
speech before your Privy Council, which has diffused
general satisfaction and joy amongst your subjects, we
entertain the firm and cheering persuasion, that your
Majesty's reign will be just and beneficent, honourable
to your Majesty, and glorious to your people.
" We have seen, with deep aflfection and lively sym
pathy, your Majesty's pious declaration of reliance
upon the Divine Providence for support and guidance,
and we humbly join our supplications with those of
your Majesty and of the whole kingdom, on your
Majesty's behalf May the Supreme Benefactor, the
Father of Mercies, grant that on your head the crown
may flourish; and that during your auspicious reign,
peace may be preserved with all nations, tranquillity
may be enjoyed at home, and equal rights and liberties
may knit the hearts of all your Majesty's subjects, in
love to your Majesty, and to one another. May the
King of kings take your Majesty under his Almighty
s 2

260 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
protection, shield you from dangers, replenish you
with all heavenly gifts and graces, and prolong your
life and reign to a far distant period, and cause your
happiness as a queen to be constantly growing, in the
spontaneous loyalty, the cordial affection, and the
generous confidence of all classes and denominations
ofyour Majesty's subjects, until, in the course of the
Divine Providence, and in fulfilment of the Divine
Grace, your Majesty shall be translated from earthly
to heavenly felicity and glory."
To which address her Majesty was pleased to return
the following most gracious answer : —
" I thank you for your condolence upon the death
of the late King, and for your congratulations upon
my accession.
" I am much gratified by the feelings which you
express towards former sovereigns of my family, and
more particularly towards his late Majesty.
"I am actuated by the same principles, and you
may always rely upon receiving, at my hands, that
protection which is so justly due to you."
Sect. II. — Numbers and Rank of Dissenters.
If by numbering the people David sinned, and
brought on them judgments which tremendously
thinned their ranks, the fault lay rather in the motive
and circumstances, than in the act itself, which God
had formerly commanded Moses to perform. But
there is great danger of counting over numbers, as
the miser his gold, to feed our vanity and confidence
in our own strength. If some communions publish

external state.

261

an annual statement of their numbers, this has been
so far from a general practice among Dissenters, that
nothing has been more difficult than to obtain an
accurate estimate of their churches, and members, and
congregations, and ministers. The statistical view
which our earliest historian, Neal, gave of them, in
the first period of our history, has been recorded.*
In the second period, they were found to be increased.
Still more so in the third.
In the early part of the fourth period, now before
us, we have the benefit of a return made to the House
of Lords, of the places of worship in towns containing
a thousand inhabitants, and upwards. It was fur
nished by the prelates, aud ordered to be printed,
Aprd5, 1811.

Diocese.

Churches, &c.

Chapels not of the Estabt

1 Bath and Wells .

. 78 .

103

2 Bangor .

. 52

. 99

3 Bristol

59 .

71

4 Canterbury

. 84

. 113

5 Carlisle

49

. 39

6 Chester .

. 352 .

439

7 Chichester .

47

. 58

8 Durham .

116 .

175

9 Ely . . .

22

. 32

10 Exeter

188 .

245

11 Gloucester .

46

. 76

12 Hereford .

51 .

42

13 Landaff

21

. 45

14 Lincoln .

. 165 .

269

Carried forward

1330

1806

* Second Edition, vol. i. p. 358.

262 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

Diocese.

Churches, &c.

Chapels not of the Estabt.

Ight forward .

1330

1806

15 Litchfield & Coventry 190

. 288

16 London

. 187 .

. 265

17 Norwich

. 78 .

114

18 Oxford

50

. 39

19 Peterborough

20 .

. . 36

20 Rochester .

36

. 44

21 Salisbury

. 135 .

142

22 St. Asaph

. 149

. 95

23 Winchester .

. 193 .

164

24 Worcester .

66

. 60

25 York .

. 221 .

404

2655

3457

These returns increased the alarms of the clergy,
who discovered, what they had not anticipated, that
the dissenting places were more numerous, by one-
third, than those of the Establishment, after all that
had been done to crush Dissent. In some parts of the
country, there were two dissenting chapels to one
parochial edifice. As the above list did not include
the smaller towns and rural districts, it should be
observed, that village preaching, among the Inde
pendents, Baptists, and Methodists, had raised con
gregations in many hamlets where there were no
parish churches. In the diocese of York, the Esta
blishment presents, in the larger towns, little more than
half the number of the dissenting places; and the
vdlage congregations of the Dissenters, especially of
the Methodists, were very numerous.
In the diocese of Chester, which had always pre
sented extraordinary obstacles to the Reformation,

external STATE. 263
many of the dissenting places were Catholic chapels ;
and smaller deductions must be made from the num
bers of Protestant Dissenters in other parts. A slight
allowance is also required for Jews' synagogues. But,
on the other hand, it should be observed, that the
return ofthe parochial places was sure to be complete,
while that of the dissenting chapels was almost as
sure to be defective. For the officers who made the
returns were frequently ignorant of the existence of
congregations which met in obscure places, and which
were sometimes willingly overlooked. The Registra
tion, under the Toleration Act, was an uncertain guide,
because the places were not always registered as soon
as built, while some were entered in the bishop's court,
and some at the quarter sessions.
The cathedrals, and larger parish churches, were,
indeed, far more capacious than the dissenting chapels;
but the congregations in cathedrals are proverbially
small, and the whole of a dissenting place is devoted
to the worshippers, while large vacant places are
found in an episcopal building. The routine of the
Establishment goes on when the congregation is re
duced to such a state that, among Dissenters, the
place would be shut up. By the greater frequency of
the dissenting services, a larger number of persons
make their religious home at a chapel than the attend
ance at any one time would indicate.
Having presented to the reader a comparative view
of the established and dissenting places of worship,
made, by authority, in the early part of the period of
which we write ; we shall now avail ourselves of dis
senting statistics, collected towards the close of the

264 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
same era. The editor of the Congregational Maga
zine, the organ of the Independents, having taken
great pains to make complete lists, published them
as a Supplement to the year 1827 ; so that it is eleven
years short of the period to which this volume brings
down the dissenting history. But all who have made
any attempts in this line will justify us for at least
recording a summary so laborious and so recent. It
contains some details which belong not strictly to
dissenting affairs, but might have assisted the reader
in forming a more accurate view of the comparative,
as well as positive, state of Dissent.

COUNTIES.

1812

1827.
Pres.
Ind.
Bapt.
Total.
Unitarian
. Ind.
Bapt.
Total.
Bedfordshire . . . .
0
4
16
20
0
7
21
28
Berkshire 
1
12
8
21
0
14
11
25
B u ckinghamshire
3
14
17
34
0
21
28
49
Cambridgeshire . .
0
24
20
44
1
22
27
50
Cheshire 
12
20
5
37
14
26
5
45
Cornwall 
0
28
7
35
0
32
12
44
Cumberland ....
15
7
5
27
0
16
I
17
Derbyshire ....
10
20
11
41
14
35
5
54
Devonshire ....
19
30
16
65
11
57
32
100
Dorsetshire ....
5
23
4
32
3
23
5
31
Durham ......
14
3
6
23
2
13
8
23
Essex 
I
47
17
65
4
59
24
87
Gloucestershire . .
3
17
16
36
4
35
31
70
Hampshire . . . .
2
26
17
45
4
30
25
59
Herefordshire . .
2
3
4
9
0
11
9
20
Hertfordshire ....
1
13
10
24
1
21
13
35
Huntingdonshire
0
5
14
19
0
9
11
20
Kent 
7
28
24
59
8
40
30
78
Lancashire 
33
57
27
117
39
82
29
150
Carried forward
137
381
244
753
106
,553
327
965
EXTERNAL STATE. 265
eOUNTIES. 1812. 1827.
Pres. Ind. Bapt. Total. Unitarian. Ind. Bapt. Total.
Brought forward 137 381 244 753 106 553 327 965
Leicestershire .. 4 11 17 32 4 15 13 32
Lincolnshire  3 21 22 46 4 20 31 55
Middlesex  20 53 33 106 10 90 55 155
Monmouthshire 0 9 15 24 0 24 29 53
Norfolk  3 10 20 33 6 20 32 58
Northamptonshire 0 18 16 34 1 35 40 76
Northumberland 32 7 5 49 2 6 3 II
Nottinghamshire 1 7 9 17 2 11 7 20
Oxfordshire .... 3 8 6 17 I 12 12 25
Rutlandshire ....022 4 0 3 2 5
Shropshire  3 20 11 34 3 20 15 38
Somersetshire .. 6 29 15 50 7 47 34 88
Staffordshire  4 22 6 32 7 31 16 54
Suffolk  5 26 16 47 5 32 35 72
Surrey  1 20 15 36 1 23 21 45
Sussex  2 7 16 25 7 29 13 49
Warwickshire .. 5 16 8 29 8 26 16 50
Westmoreland ..243 9 1 10 Oil
Wiltshire  2 38 17 57 4 30 31 65
.Worcestershire.. 349 16 6 10 22 38
Yorkshire  20 95 42 157 20 156 51 227
252 799 532 1583 204 1051 750 1775

By some error in the Magazine, a false amount is
given, but the true sum is as follows : —
Unitarian Congregations, frequently called Presbyterian 204
Independent ........ 1203
Baptist ........ 750

2157
Wales is not included.
In reply to some strictures in the British Magazine,

266 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
it was observed, that Dissenters increased, from 1812
to 1829, at the ratio of fifty-three per cent., while the
population increased, only twenty-six per cent. A
statement so comprehensive and minute, required
great labour and perseverance ; but that it is defective,
is neither doubtful nor surprising. Village congrega
tions that have no settled pastor, are, in many instances,
omitted ; except in the returns of the Wesleyans,
where they are included in the number of chapels
and local preachers. The writer of these pages can
bear witness, that in Hampshire and Yorkshire, with
which he is best acquainted, numerous omissions occur.
He has also been furnished by a minister of Mon
mouthshire, with the names and localities of twelve
additional independent churches, which would raise
the number in that county, from twenty-four to thirty-
six ; and it was asserted, that further research would
prove them to amount to near fifty ; which is so far
confirmed, that a ministerial correspondent, in the
middle of this year, says, the number is forty-one.
Glamorganshire is wholly omitted, but a Welch mi
nister gave the names of fifty congregations in that
county ; so that it may not seem quite incredible,
when the same informant asserts, that instead of two
hundred and nine Congregational churches in the Prin
cipality, there are nearly one thousand.
Thirty years ago, the Independents had only seven
teen chapels in the six northern counties of Wales.
Of these, all but two have been enlarged ; and a hun
dred and fifty-seven new ones have been built. In the
Principality, indeed, the progress of Dissent has been
so great, that the Establishment is reduced to the state

EXTERNAL STATE. 267
of a West India regiment, whose officers have no
troops. . The minor sects in England are frequentiy passed
over as insignificant ; but taken together, they are
important. In the last annual meeting of the General
Baptist connexion, held July, 1838, near Halifax, they
gave an account of a hundred and twenty-one churches,
and fourteen thousand members.
It is announced in the Congregational Magazine,
that what are called Hyper-calvinistic congregations,
are omitted, and these, in London and the larger towns,
amount to a considerable number. The Sandemanians
are little known to other denominations, and are usually
omitted in the statistics of Dissenters, which thus
become defective to the amount of the whole number
of that body, which, however, is but small.
The Scotch Baptists equally escape notice.
The Swedenborgians, or Church of the new Jeru
salem, at their twenty-seventh general conference, held
in August, 1834, report forty-four societies, containing
about fifteen hundred members, to whom must be
added others residing in places where no societies are
formed. Of the Unitarian congregations, a defective estimate
is made in the Congregational Magazine for January,
1833; for one of their own body, had, in 1819, asserted,
that they were about three hundred ; and it is not
probable that they had suffered a decrease of one-third
in so short a space of time. These congregations,
however, are usually small.
Since the list in the Congregational Magazine was
drawn up, the Irvingites have started into being as a

268 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
separate sect, and have added about sixty congre
gations, and almost as many chapels, to the number of
those that are separate from the Establishment. The
Brethren, or Catholics, not Roman, have many con
gregations in rooms which escape notice ; for this sect
attaches no importance to buildings, which they never
procure, except when circumstances make it necessary.
The Methodist Association also, has created many new
congregations, which, though originally composed of
members withdrawn from the old connexion, are
gathering other elements, and swelling the number of
those who worship in dissenting places, and have more
of the dissenting spirit than is cherished by those who
adhere to the original conference.
Some gentlemen in London took great pains, in the
year 1834, to procure a more minute and accurate
account, particularly specifying the communicants;
because one of the King's ministers told a dissenting
deputation, that the communicants were the true test
of relative numbers, since many persons attended
dissenting worship, who were by no means attached to
their communion. These returns were given from no
more than two hundred and three towns and villages,
in twelve counties ; and did not include London
Bristol, Bath, Manchester, Bolton, Leeds, Birmingham,
Sheffield, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leicester, Northamp
ton, Norwich, Cambridge, Portsmouth, Plymouth,
Exeter, and other places where the proportion is much
in favour of the Dissenters.

EXTERNAL STATE. 269
Places of iipnrpra Commu- Scholars in
Worship. "'"^'="- nicants. Charity and
Protestant Dissenters of all deno- Sum. Schis.
minations, including Quakers.. 634 231,701 47,276 75,7.56
Methodists  214 74,897 22,377 38,706
Total of Nonconformists  848 306,598 69,653 114,472
Church of England  330 166,099 9,625 47,247
Number of Nonconformists above
the Church of England  518 140,499 60,028 67,225
The defects of the preceding estimate, cannot now
be supplied ; but with regard to London, a very im
portant desideratum has been furnished by the London
City Mission, in their magazine for the year 1838.
After the lapse of nine years, the Congregational
Magazine for January, 1836, gave the following state
ment : —
NUMBER OF CONGREGATIONS IN EACH COUNTY.

Bedfordshire

76

Berkshire ....

. 88

Buckinghamshire

. 126

Cambridgeshire

. 90

Cheshire ....

. 141

Cornwall ....

. 322

Cumberland

. 129

Derbyshire .

. 184

Devonshire

. 270

Dorsetshire ....

. 133

Durham ....

. 200

Essex ....

. 165

Gloucestershire .

. 159

Hampshire ....

. 141

Carried forward 2,224

270

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

Brought forward .
Herefordshire
Hertfordshire HuntingdonshireKent . . . .
Lancashire LeicestershireLincolnshire
London and Middlesex .
Monmouthshire Norfolk
NorthamptonshireNorthumberland .
Nottinghamshire
Oxfordshire .
Rutland .
Shropshire .
Somersetshire .
Staffordshire Suffolk .
SurreySussex Warwickshire
Westmoreland .
Wiltshire Worcestershire .
Yorkshire Wales, North and South
England and Wales

2,224 65
. 61
34
. 265 581
. 161
314
. 306 93
. 206 161
. 137162
. 99 14
. 164
281
. 211 132
. 94
98
. 137 38
. 138 100
1,047
1,091 8,414

At a public meeting of the Church Rate Abolition
Society, held May 8th, 1838, when Churchmen and
Dissenters of various denominations were present, a
member of Parliament said, " There are not quite
eleven thousand places of worship belonging to the
Establishment, and there are within thirty-five of that

EXTERNAL STATE. 271
number belonging to Dissenters, including the Ca
tholics."* The present numbers of Dissenters give rise to
many important reflections. From the passing of the
Toleration Act, in 1688, to the death of Queen Anne, in
1704, the liberties of Dissenters, were so insecure as
to make it generally prudent to conceal their plqpes of
worship, and restrain their efforts. Daniel Neal, the
historian ofthe Puritans, gave, in 1716, eleven hundred
and seven as the total amount of their places of worship
in England. After the lapse of sixty years, that is, in
' The following statement was recently given in an able work by
the secretary of the British and Foreign School Society.
I. Church of England.
Number of Churches and Chapels, 11,825.
Orthodox, or High Church religious organs — Standard, John
Bull, British Magazine, British Critic, Christian Remem
brancer.
Evangelical, or Low Church — Record, News, Christian Observer,
and Christian Guardian.
Raised for foreign missions, £78,000
II. Methodists.
1. Wesleyans. Number of Chapels, 2,818.
2. New Connexion. Primitive and other Methodists. Number
of Chapels, 666. Total 3,484.
Organs — : Watchman, Christian Advocate, and Methodist
Magazine.
Raised for missionaries, £46,000.
III. Congregationalists.
1. Independents. Number of chapels, 1,840.
2. Baptists. Number of chapels, 1,349.
3. Calvinistic Methodists. Number of Chapels, 800. Total 3,989.
Organs — Patriot, Evangelical, Baptist, and Congregational
Magazines, and Evangelical Register.
Raised for foreign missions, £72,500.

272 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
1776, they are reported as being only eleven more.
In some parts, as for instance, in Middlesex, they had
decreased. This was the period in which the Pres
byterians departed from the faith of their forefathers,
which change was ushered in by such pleadings for
candour, and against bigotry, as afforded to many a
speciq,us pretext for conformity. Twenty years after,
some imperfect lists, published in the Monthly Maga
zine, intimate a considerable increase. The History of
Dissenters, in 1808, gave the total of dissenting places
as rather more than two thousand, nearly twice as
many as the preceding periods had exhibited. But
the missionary spirit, at home and abroad, had then
been in operation, and had produced important results.
Several new and active sects had risen, and dissenting
principles had begun to be valued for their tendency
IV. Sundries.
1. Unitarians. Number of chapels, 197. See Unitarian Chro
nicle, 1832, Christian Reformer.
2. Catholics. Number of chapels, 416. See Laity's Directory,

1835.

3.

Jews. Number of synagogues

,12.

4.
Quakers. Number of chapels.
396.
Scotch Presbyterians, about 100 chapels.
Congregations.
HeareTs.
Congregationalists
. 1,840
Baptists ....
1,350
Scotch Presbyterians .
60
3,250
1,300,00
Wesleyans of all classes
3,500
1,400,0C
Calvinistic Methodists .
124
Welch .
615
7,489 3,000,000
EXTERNAL STATE. 273
to promote the highest interests of the kingdom of
Christ. County associations, village preaching, and
home missions, have multiplied congregations in every
direction, while Sabbath schools are preparing a popu
lation fitted to receive the message of the Gospel, which
every church now deems it a sacred duty to send, first
to its own immediate neighbours, and ultimately to the
ends ofthe earth.
In describing the external state of Dissenters, if we
direct our attention to their rank and wealth, it will be
rather as a question of fact, and in deference to the
opinions of others, than from a conviction of the
importance of this subject to a religious people. The
testimony of Scripture and of history proves, that the
mental and moral character of a church is of far
greater consequence than its wealth or station in
society. Very shortly after the apostles had said to
Christians, " Hath not God chosen the poor of this
world ? For not many mighty or noble are called ; "
Tertullian asserted, " We are of yesterday, and have
filled all places." The Wesleyan Methodists, whose
origin was, perhaps, as strongly marked with poverty
as that of any communion, have shown that this had
no injurious effect on their progress, their exertions,
their influence, or their ultimate rank and weight in
society. In a former period, it was observed, that the men of
rank and title who first espoused the cause of the Non
conformists, soon veered off; or, when they were
removed by death, were seldom succeeded in the
church by those who inherited their titles and estates.
During the last thirty years, there were few of this

274 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
class left behind, and as few were gained ; but the
immense increase in the wealth of the country, by
means of manufactures and commerce, created a new
order of men, who rose from mediocrity, or poverty, to
far greater incomes than those which were possessed
by the titled Nonconformists of the first era of Dissent.
The more simple and frugal habits which this class
of Dissenters had learned in early life, were too often
exchanged for expense and show ; but, on the whole,
they were still able, and in many instances, proved
themselves willing, to devote larger sums to the cause
of religion, than were ever given by Dissenters when
they could boast of titled men. The contributions to the
London Missionary Society, and other kindred insti
tutions, supported chiefly by Dissenters, demonstrate
that they have among them money enough to accom
plish any objects which they have hearts to devise.
That most difficult part of their external machinery,
the building of places of worship, has made immense
progress ; and of the numerous chapels that have risen
up, during the period of which we write, few, if any,
are so small as those that were erected for the most
eminent of the two thousand Nonconformists. Within
the last twenty years, many very large and rather
elegant buildings, have attested both the zeal and the
ability of the congregations. The Wesleyans have
made immense progress in this line, in which, however,
the metropolis is rather behind the country.
It has, indeed, been asserted, that the increase of
chapels, however large and expensive, is no proof of
the abundant means of Dissenters, because they are
involved in immense debt. But as one bankrupt

EXTERNAL STATE. 275
attracts more attention than twenty solvent trades
men, chapels that are in debt, are obtruded on the
notice of the public, in order to obtain relief; while
those which need none, are, for that reason, unnoticed.
Small country towns have erected buildings at the
expense of several thousands, and paid for them
immediately, in a style of princely liberality that would
astonish strangers. The debts, too, have furnished
proofs of wealth, as well as of poverty, which we have
seen in the noble exertion of the Independents in
Wales, to pay off the debts on their places of worship,
for which nearly twenty thousand pounds have been
raised. A chapel building fund, for the erection of
places for dissenting worship in London, has com
menced its operations by building a large and hand
some place at Lambeth.
Sect. III. — The Labours of Ministers and their
Support.
These are associated together by the Redeemer,
when he says, " The labourer is worthy of his meat ; "
and no friend to religion, or its ministers, would wish to
separate what God has thus joined together. The duties
and toils, both of ministers and private Christians,
must always increase in proportion to the advancement
of religion. The mere fact of constant accessions to
the church, imposes on a dissenting pastor an onerous
and anxious duty, delightful, indeed, but most im
perative, and incapable of being devolved upon others.
This has, during the last thirty years, been felt in its full
force, for most of the churches have greatly increased.
The disposition to decline three services, and to
t 2

276 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
preach only in the morning and evening of the Lord's
day, has been steadily gaining ground ; but the more
laborious preparation for the pulpit has increased in
equal proportion, and the exposition of the Scriptures
has become a general practice, by which the labour of
the minister in his study is immensely augmented.
Lectures on given subjects are become more frequent;
and, as these are designed to counteract infidelity,
Popery, or Socinianism, and are sometimes delivered
on the working days, they form a considerable tax on
the minister's time, and on his strength, both physical
and mental.
The increase of Sabbath schools has diminished the
labour of the pastor, who formerly spent much time in
catechising ; but where he takes his due measure of
interest in these schools, they make frequent calls on
him, to address both children and teachers, and to hold
meetings, as well as preach sermons for their support.
To a certain extent, this observation applies to the
effect of the Christian Instruction Society, and the
Home and City Missions.
But foreign missions are now so closely associated
with the Christian church, that almost every minister,
who is awake to his duty, spends some considerable
portion of his life in cherishing auxiliary missionary
societies. It is to be regretted, that so much time and
money should be spent in travelling to preach at
anniversaries, except when missionaries, returning to
recruit their health, visit the churches, and " declare
what God has wrought by them among the Gentiles."
That some incidental benefit arises out of this call for
a stimulating novelty is unquestionable; but the minis-

EXTERNAL STATE. 277
ter's increased knowledge of other churches is often
procured at the expense of his own charge.
The New Marriage Act has brought an unexpected
augmentation of labour on ministers. For, though the
law admits of solemnizing marriage, as a civil act,
before the registrar alone, Dissenters are either not
generally weaned from Popish ideas of marriage, or
. they think it so necessary to yield to popular prejudice,
that many of their places of worship are registered for
the performance of the marriage ceremony, and the
ministers are generally requested to perform a religious
service on the occasion. In the more populous dis
tricts, this will become a very serious tax on a minister's
time and attention.
If, during the last age, preaching three times on
the Lord's day has somewhat declined, the extra ser
vices for religious and benevolent societies are not the
only modes in which the labours of ministers have
been rendered equal to those of their predecessors ;
for the press has more generally been employed than
in former eras. Periodical publications have im
mensely increased ; almost every communion has one
or more devoted to its interest ; and while they are
usually edited by ministers, these look to their brethren
for the articles which form the staple of works that
exert an immense influence over the public mind.
The industry of the present, or, rather, of the past,
generation of dissenting pastors, is attested by the
numerous volumes, chiefly theological, which have
issued from the press ; and which show that authors
among us are more numerous, if less voluminous,
than in former times. Single sermons, or even whole

278 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
volumes, may be thought to prove little, as they
merely transfer to the press what had been prepared
for the pulpit ; but even these demonstrate, and often
to great advantage, the mental force employed in the
ministry of the Gospel. Numerous, however, are the
treatises on every subject connected with religion and
sacred literature, which attest the diligence of ministers,
and their solicitude for the young, for the kingdom of
Christ in the world, and for the defence of truth
against error in all its forms.
The support of the dissenting ministry has varied
but little, during the last thirty years, from the ratio
of former periods. That support has always been
scanty; andthough Dissenters have recently increased
their contributions, to maintain the numerous bene
volent institutions that have sprung up, the pastor,
who has not a large congregation, or a private fortune,
or some other source of income, must be much em
barrassed in bringing up a family.
London has, for ages, set the example of generous
solicitude for poor ministers ; and, unhappily, the
country has been slow to follow. The fund boards of
the three denominations have been, by annual col
lections in the metropolitan churches, supplied with
the sums which have been remitted to country minis
ters ; who find, even a small addition to their income,
a great relief amidst the embarrassments with which
they have to struggle.
The Associate Fund, or Ministers' Friend, is the
designation of a society formed in London, in the
year 1822, to include" a greater number of churches
than those which collect annually for the Independent

EXTERNAL STATE. 279
Fund ; and to extend relief to a wider range. The
annual income of this society is short of a thousand
pounds ; but it has distributed between four and five
thousand pounds, in small sums, to many deserving
ministers, whose congregations are too poor to give
them adequate support. Here, again, it is to be
regretted, that the country, which receives, does not
co-operate in liberality with London, which gives the
relief The Congregational School may be deemed an
addition to the means of supporting the dissenting
ministry. The school is supported by voluntary con
tributions, and has educated nearly two hundred chil
dren. A similar institution, called the Northern Congre
gational School, at Silcoats, near Wakefield, York
shire, arose out of a kind of proprietary boarding
school for the sons of Dissenters, which afforded a
reduction in terms to the children of ministers. But
when this institution was given up, the premises were
taken, about 1830, for a school for the sons of ministers
and missionaries, at a low rate. The subscriptions of
the benevolent in the counties of York and Lancaster,
enable the institution to charge the parents but fifteen
pounds per annum ; and in the case of deceased minis
ters, the son is educated for ten pounds annually. A
fourth part of the pupils are the sons of missionaries.
This institution has not, however, received that extended
support which can be regarded as a promise of the
perpetuity which it deserves.
Other charitable foundations for education might be
mentioned, such as the Protestant Dissenters' Charity

280 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Schools, in Jewin Crescent, London ; at Maze Pound,
Southwark; and in Wood Street, Spitalfields, founded
by Dr. Watts and others, in 1717, and many in various
parts of the country, which continue to afford instruc
tion to the rising generation at the expense of Dis
senters. The Dissenting Grammar School, at Mill Hill, is a
dissenting boarding school upon a large scale, in which
Independents and Baptists are united. But the sons
of ministers are admitted at a reduced rate, and those
of peculiar promise are educated gratuitously.
The profits arising from the sale of the Evangelical
Magazine, may be reckoned among the means of
supporting the dissenting ministry, because nearly a
thousand pounds are annually distributed among the
widows of ministers.
That which was at first called the Regium Donum,
or Royal Gift, and afterwards, the Parliamentary Grant,
must be introduced among the pecuniary resources of
the dissenting ministry. But as the voluntary prin
ciple became more popular, objections were made to
the reception of this grant ; and some of the dissenting
bodies passed public resolutions against what appeared
to them to degrade the recipients of the bounty into
the rank of ministers of religion salaried by the state.
These objections were mentioned in the senate, when
the annual vote was passed, for no administration
has yet altered the long-established practice. To de
fend themselves in continuing to accept this trust,
the 'almoners published, in 1837, the following state
ment ; — -

EXTERNAL STATE. 281
" The subject of the Regium Donmn and Parlia
mentary Grant to the poor dissenting ministers of
England and Wales, has engaged a considerable share
of the attention of the Dissenters, in their late pro
ceedings relative to the assertion of their principles
and the redress of their grievances. By some persons,
this Grant has been denounced as one of the evils of
which the Dissenters have a right to complain, the
reception of which they have pronounced to be " inex
pedient and improper;" and the immediate disconti
nuance of which, they have thought a fit object for
memorial or petition to the government and the legis
lature. " Under a full conviction that the strong feeling
of disapprobation, which has been thus manifested
against the Grant, is altogether founded in ignorance
or misapprehension of its true character, we deem it
to be due to the sovereigns who have successively
bestowed this mark ofthe royal favour; to the parlia
ment which has, for some time past, continued it on
behalf of the crown ; and to the distributors who have
had the honour of acting during so long a period as
the almoners of the royal bounty to their necessitous
brethren, to endeavour to rectify the prevalent mistakes,
by submitting, to the consideration of the dissenting
public, a brief statement of the origin and nature of
this fund.
" For the ouly authentic account of its origin, we
are indebted to Dr. Edmund Calamy, who was a con
temporary of its benevolent royal founder, and one
of the first-appointed trustees. In the ' Memoirs '
of his ' Life and Times,' lately published (vol. ii.

282 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
pp.465 — 467,) under the year 1723, he writes as
follows : —
" ' About this time his Majesty (George I.) was
pleased, in a private way, to give the Dissenters a
considerable taste of his royal bounty and kind regard
to them by an annual allowance. The first motion for
it was made by Mr. Daniel Burgess, who had, for
some time, been secretary to the Princess of Wales.
He, of his own head, and out of good will to those
among whom he had had his education, moved for
something of that kind to the Lord Viscount Townshend,
who readily fell in with it, and afterwards discoursed
his brother Walpole about it, who also concurred.
Upon its being mentioned to the King, he was very
free to it, and soon ordered £500 to be paid out of
the treasury for the use and behoof of the poor widows
of dissenting ministers. And some time after, £500
was, upon application made on that behalf, ordered to
be paid each half year for the assisting either ministers
or their widows, that wanted help, or to be applied to
any such uses as the distributors thought to be most for
their interest.* An order was each half year obtained
by Mr. Burgess, payable to Mr. Ellis, a surgeon ; and
when Mr. Burgess received il, he paid it to the fol
lowing persons, viz., Mr. William Tong, Mr. Jeremy
Smith, Mr. Merril, of Hampstead, Mr. Thomas Rey-
• It is not certain whether the antecedent to the words " their
interest " be the " ministers" and " widows "of dissenting ministers,
or " the distributors ; " if the latter, it is unquestionable that Dr.
Calamy intended " their interest " only in the sense of their being
representatives of, and agents for, necessitous " ministers or their
widows."

EXTERNAL STATE. 283
nolds, Mr. Matthew Clarke, Dr. Joshua Oldfield, Mr.
John Evans, Mr. WiUiam Harris, and myself; and as
any of these persons died, the survivors chose another
in his room.'
"From this simple statement, it clearly appears that,
when first made, the Grant was one of pure charity,
designed for the relief of the poor widows of dissenting
ministers. The same compassionate feeling which
dictated the first act of royal beneficence, prompted,
shortly afterwards, the augmentation of the Grant,
and the extension of its benefits to poor dissenting
ministers.* " There is not to be discovered, in this transaction,
the slightest trace of any political feeling or purpose.
No conditions were imposed on the part of the crown
when the money was paid, nor were any stipulations
entered into by the trustees and the recipients, which
virtually pledged them to the support of the political
principles and measures of the existing administration.
The prime minister did not even reserve to himself
a voice in the appointment of the distributors, to
secure their subserviency. They were originally
chosen without his interference ; and the vacancies,
which have since occurred, have been successively
'* When or why the Grant was at length confined to " ministers,"
the present distributors have no means of ascertaining. They
received their trust with this long-established limitation. It appears
to them probable, that this alteration in the objects of the royal
bounty was made, upon the establishment, a century ago, of " The
Widows' Fund," a noble monument ofthe liberality ofthe " Three
Denominations," raised principally by the zealous and generous
exertions of ministers associated in the distribution of the royal
charity.

284 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
filled by the survivors at their own discretion; the
appointment being, however, always made in reference
to the age, character, public and official station, or
generally acknowledged usefulness in the several
denominations, of the ministers chosen into the trust.
" The trustees have never, in any part of their public
conduct, evinced a disposition to truckle to the minister
of state for the time being. In seasons of political
excitement, they have not only asserted their inde
pendence, but have never scrupled to oppose existing
administrations when they have judged their measures
to be injurious to the Protestant Dissenters, or inimical
to the public good. They fearlessly challenge the
world to point out a single instance in which their
charge as dispensers of the royal bounty has weakened
their attachment to their principles as Nonconformists,
or cooled the ardour of their zeal in the cause of civil
and religious freedom. They have, from the first,
stood in the foremost ranks of those who have laboured
to remove the unjust restrictions imposed upon Pro
testant Dissenters, and to obtain the enlargement of
their liberties.*
"The distributors repel the insinuation, that in
undertaking the charge of this charitable Grant from
the crown and the parliament, they are acting in vio-
* In the only case, from the foundation of the Grant, in which
political feelings disturbed the purity of its distribution, the body
of the distributors threw up their appointment; nor would they
resume it, until, on a change of administration, it was acknowledged,
that the office was one of mere charity, and neither a reward of
past, nor a pledge of future, adherence to the ministers of the
crown. The case alluded to was in the feverish crisis of the first
French revolution.

EXTERNAL STATE. 285
lation of any acknowledged principle of Dissent. In
their estimation, it is in no way opposed to the doctrine
which they hold as firmly as any of their brethren, and
for which most of them have, in their public character,
pleaded as zealously, at least, as any ministers of the
three denominations, that Christianity should be sup
ported by the free-wdl offerings of its professors. The
Grant is not an endowment to congregations, nor even
an annuity to ministers. It is apportioned to the
relief of the necessitous, as cases of necessity arise.
In many instances, it is given to such as from old age
and infirmity have retired from the pastoral office. It
is, therefore, essentially different from a grant of the
state for directly religious uses. And the distributors
maintain, on historic grounds, that this bounty of the
sovereign is in no respect a fund created by the com
pulsory taxation of the people for the maintenance of
any system of Christian worship.
" Formerly, the kings of England, on their accession
to the throne, became possessed of large hereditary
revenues, out of which were defrayed the expenses of
the royal establishment, a great part of the charges of
the executive government, and such charitable do
nations, whether of a temporary or a permanent nature,
as the sovereign might deem it proper to bestow.
From this personal fund was paid, during the reigns of
George I. and George II. , the Royal Grant to poor
dissenting ministers. On the accession of George IIL,
it was thought adviseable to substitute, for these here
ditary revenues, a fixed annual sum, equivalent to
them in amount, which obtained the technical name of
the civil list. The charges which had been usually

286 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
defrayed out of the rents and profits of the royal
demesnes, including the Grant to dissenting ministers,
and other permanent charities, were now paid out of
the new fund. In 1804, some alterations were made
in the civil list itself Owing to heavy war-expenses,
and other causes, it was found inadequate to all the
purposes for which it had been designed, and the par
liament, on the application of the then chancellor of
the exchequer, voted an annual addition to it of
£60,000. In order, however, to simplify the public
accounts, and to prevent the civil list falling into
arrear, it was at the same time settled to take from it
certain payments, to the amount of £135,000 per
annum, and to provide for them separately by an
annual vote of the House of Commons. Among the
permanent charges thus transferred, were certain royal
charities, including the bounty to the poor French
refugee clergy and laity, and to the dissenting ministers
of England and Wales. By this change, the Regium
Donum became a Parliamentary Grant. Its character
was not, however, changed. The parliament became,
in fact, the king's almoner, and pledged its faith to
continue the royal charities, which were considered as
permanent charges on the crown estates. Nor did the
parliament enter into this compact without securing
ample means to fulfil it. When called upon to add
the large sum of £60,000 per annum to the civil list,
it was stated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that
so favourable to the country had been the bargain for
the crown-lands, that, after making up the full amount
of the civil list, with this increase, and defraying all
the expenses chargeable upon it, there would remain

EXTERNAL STATE. 287
a considerable balance in favour of the nation, to be
appropriated to the public service.
" From these facts, it is apparent, that the Regium
Donum, or Pariiamentary Grant, is not derived from
the compulsory taxation of the people. And in this
view of the case, the Dissenters have no cause to
complain of this Grant as a forced contribution to sup
port religion. To attempt, under a mistaken notion
of its nature and purpose, to procure its discontinuance,
is, therefore, as unjust as, if the attempt were to
succeed, it would be injurious to the least protected,
and a most deserving portion of the dissenting mi
nistry. If any necessitous dissenting minister have
conscientious objections to participate in the benefit of
this charity, he will do well to refuse it ; and none
will be more ready to respect and honour his scruples
of conscience, however unfounded, than the distri
butors themselves. But those who on speculative
principles raise an objection to the Grant, act, as the
distributors must be allowed to think, neither wisely
nor charitably, in seeking to deprive a large and
numerous class of Christian ministers, whose inde
pendence and uprightness none will or can call in
question, of pecuniary supplies, which, though small
in amount, are of importance to the comfort of them
selves and their families, and on the expected con
tinuance of which, their habits and plans of life may
be in some degree calculated. The privations and
sufferings of many of these servants of the churches
are little known to the Christian public. From a
virtuous delicacy, and from regard to the dignity of
their sacred profession, they shrink from proclaiming

288 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
their necessities to the world, and submitting them to
be canvassed by large bodies of men, although asso
ciated for charitable purposes. The portion of the
royal bounty unostentatiously bestowed upon such
meritorious labourers in the Gospel, (whether stdl
engaged in public duties, or laid aside by the hand of
Divine Providence,) is the more acceptable and effica
cious, on account of the honourable confidence which
they know by experience they can place in the dis
tributors. " Whatever may be pleaded in the excitement of
debate, it is plain, that no adequate substitute (with
regard not so much to its amount, as to the impartiality
of its apportionment) could be raised by the Dis
senters, for the Royal or Parliamentary Grant; which,
as it has been unconditionally, graciously, and gene
rously given, it would be perverse and ungrateful to
refuse. The distributors, in the spirit, as they con
ceive, of this munificence of the crown, have ever
dispensed it amongst ministers of the three denomi
nations, and other Protestant dissenting ministers not
falling strictly under this description, but recom
mended by both their necessity and their character,
without any stipulations political or theological, ex
pressed or implied. They have received the royal
bounty as a simple charity, designed to express the
sense which the august family now upon the throne of
these realms, is pleased to entertain of the zeal and
exertions of the Protestant Dissenters of the earlier
part of the last centuiy, on behalf of its accession to
the British crown. They have always contemplated
the Grant as having reference to the past and not to

EXTERNAL STATE. 289
the future, and as laying no obligation whatever either
upon them or the recipients, with regard to their faith
or worship, or the exercise of civil franchises and
political duties. They feel it to be an honour to be
selected as the almoners of a great and disinterested
charity. They look back with satisfaction to all their
regularly appointed predecessors in the royal trust, —
men of high name for learning, talents, character,
independence, and distinguished usefulness in their
several denominations. Differing widely in religious
sentiments, and never concealing the difference, they
take pleasure in acting together in the discharge of a
charitable trust. They affect no secrecy ; they fear no
publicity : although they judge that it would be a
violation of the delicacy and respect due to virtuous
poverty, to proclaim the names of the recipients,
unless they should be called upon to do so by the
legislature or the government, the only authorities to
which in this case they can bow. Their own names
are given to the world as a pledge for the uprightness
ofthe distribution. Unmoved by misrepresentation and
clamour, they wdl continue to exercise this trust for
the benefit of their needy brethren, as long as it shall
seem fit to his Majesty's government and the Com
mons' House of Parliament to fulfil the generous
design and intent of the successive princes of the
House of Brunswick. Personal interest in the distri
bution they have none. They dare to appeal to the
Searcher of Hearts in testimony of their invariable
purpose and endeavour to preserve the charity in its
simplicity and purity, to dispense it with impartiality,
and to make it as serviceable as possible to their

290 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
brethren, suffering amidst, or after, useful labours,
under the trials of adversity. They cannot bring
themselves to fear that a grant which has been gene
rously made, and faithfully administered, and which
has proved itself, under the divine blessing, an occa
sion of joy and gratitude to hundreds of Christian
teachers, whose earthly lot has been one continued
scene of privation and hardship, will under any
pretence be withheld ; but should this be the unhappy
result of the interference of certain Dissenters, they
must ever lament the injury thus done to a numerous
class of indigent ministers of the Gospel, — the blow
being the more felt because inflicted by the hand that
should have been extended for protection — ; and will
fervently pray that he whose providence is over all,
and is especially engaged towards them that devote
their lives to his glory, may open other sources for the
relief of these his servants, not indeed more pure, but
better guarded against the fluctuation and even caprice
of public opinion.
JOHN HUMPHRYS, LL.D. JOHN CLAYTON, AM.
JOHN PYE SMITH, D.D. GEORGE PRITCHARD.
THOMAS REES, LL.D. W. H. MURCH.
F. A. COX, D. D., LL.D. THOMAS MADGE."
ROBERT ASPLAND.
The sums thus appropriated are not given to congre
gations, to enable them to make up a salary ; but are
sent to the minister himself, for his own private relief.
A society for the relief of aged and infirm ministers,
was formed in the year 1818, and though not exten
sively known or supported, has received large sums to

EXTERNAL STATE. 291
distribute among those who are worn out in the labours
of the ministry.
Lady Hewley's charity, which was designed by the
benevolent donor to be an important means of carry
ing on the cause of religion among Dissenters, has been^
for some years, a subject of litigation in Chancery.
But the proceeds of the estates, which are somewhat
under three thousand pounds per annum, furnish as
sistance in various ways to dissenting congregations.
Funds for the relief of the widows of ministers, exist
in various parts of the kingdom. That which is known
by the name of the Widows' Fund, was instituted in
London, in 1733, for the relief of the widows of minis
ters of the Presbyterian, Independent, and Baptist
denominations. An annual sermon is preached in a
chapel belonging to each denomination in its turn, and
the preacher is thus constituted a member of the
society. The most distinguished men of the three
bodies, have performed this service. The sums vested
annually, have risen from five pounds to the English
widows, and three to the Welch, to fifteen pounds to
the former, and eleven to the latter. But an increasing
indisposition to unite with the heterodox Presbyterians?
has latterly diminished the resources of the society.
The Protestant Union obtained its name from the union
of a few of the established ministry with Independents,
Baptists, and Calvinistic Methodists, for the relief of
their widows and chddren. As the annuities are
subscribed for by the living members, it scarcely
deserves a place here, but it has received donations
u 2

292

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

and legacies, which somewhat modify its character.
It has property to the amount of nearly twenty thou
sand pounds ; and the children of the members have a
claim when they leave no widow. In some counties
there are kindred institutions supported by the ministers
and churches.
It is doubtful whether the prizes offered for
treatises should be ranked among the external or in
ternal affairs of the dissenting body. They were
intended to promote the interests of religion, but
they may fairly be considered external inducements.
Dr. Conquest, a physician in London, offered a prize
of one hundred guineas for the best essay on the Evil of
Covetousness, and the Duty of Giving Liberally. The
adjudicators were the Rev. Dr. John Pye Smith, and the
Honourable and Rev. Baptist Noel, who awarded the
prize to Rev. John Harris, of Epsom. The competitors
were very numerous ; some within the Establishment,
and others belonging to various dissenting bodies.
The prize essay, which was published under the title of
"Mammon," had an unprecedented sale, and produced
many happy effects, though it was attacked by two ofthe
established clergy, in a work entitled, "Anti-Mammon,"
which censured some expressions in the successful
work, and opposed to its prevailing spirit a hyper-
calvinistic train of thinking.
Another prize of fifty guineas was offered for the
best essay on the Claims of our Seamen upon the
Benevolent Attentions of Christians, and was won by
the same person, who published his work under the
tide of " Britannia." Sir Cullen Eardley Smith
offered a prize of fifty pounds for the best essay on

EXTERNAL STATE. 293
Schism, its Nature, and Evils. The successful compe
titor was Rev. Dr. Hoppus, who had been the Inde
pendent minister in Carter Lane, Doctors' Commons,
whence he had been ejected by the Socinian party,
though the congregation was originally orthodox.
He is now professor of Logic and Mental Philosophy,
at University College, London. A society for pro
moting the religious and intellectual improvement of
young men, announced a prize of one hundred guineas
for an essay in recommendation of their object. To
the Rev. Dr. Cox, Baptist minister at Hackney, the
premium was awarded ; and he published the work
under the title of " Our Young Men." Two other
prizes are now offered ; the first, for the best essay on
Missions ; and the other, for the best treatise on the
Employment of Lay Agency iu the Church of Christ.
The Suit for the Recovery of Lady Hewley's Charity.
A memoir of this celebrated benefactress to Dissen
ters was given, in the first period of the History of
Dissenters ; * but as the funds which she bequeathed
fell into the hands of the Unitarians, and were diverted
from their legitimate object, a suit for their recovery
was instituted, which forms an important occurrence
in the last period. The writer of these pages, on
going to reside in Yorkshire, was informed that tliere
were valuable documents, relative to this charity, in
the hands of a minister near Hull. These were ob
tained, and submitted to the inspection of a dissenting
barrister in London, whose opinion was not sufficiently
encouraging to lead to any immediate step ; but they
* Vol. i. 505. Second Edition.

294 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
contributed to the ultimate prosecution and success of
the suit.
The Commissioners of Charities, appointed by Lord
Brougham's Bill, made a Report which opened a door
for legal proceedings. By these, it appears, that the
St. Saviour Gate Meeting House, in York, was partly
built and endowed by Lady Hewley. She also founded
and endowed in her lifetime, an hospital, or alms
house, for ten poor women. Some years before her
death, she devoted the principal part of her property
" for the preaching of Christ's Holy Gospel," and for
the maintenance of " godly preachers ;" for " the re
lief of godly persons in distress," and for the support
of her alms house. For this purpose, she executed
two sets of endowment-deeds. The first, bearing date
1701, appointed seven trustees, Richard Stretton, Na
thaniel Gould, Thomas Marriot, John Bridges, Tho
mas Nisbett, James Wyndlow, and Thomas Coulton,
who was Dr. Coulton, the first minister of St. Saviour
Gate Meeting House. To these were conveyed the
manors of Kelling Hall, Brey Croft, Haya Park, and
other lands, in the county of York, to relieve poor and
godly preachers, and their widows, and aid the edu
cation of young men, never more than five, " to be
preachers of Christ's Holy Gospel," and towards re
lieving godly persons in distress, chiefly in York and
Yorkshire, and the Northern counties. The second set
of endowment-deeds was executed in 1707, to provide
for the alms house ; and certain lands, in the manor of
Eston, in the county of York, were given to provide
catechisms, and secure an income of 60/. per annum.
A book of rules and orders, signed by Lady Hewley's

EXTERNAL STATE. 295
own hand, was to be kept. Mr. Edward Bowles'
catechism was to be said by the alms women. New
trustees were appointed, for the first time, in 1755,
when James Wyndlow was the sole survivor of the
original trustees ; and the Rev. John Witter, a dis
senting minister, and Robert Moody, a Trinitarian
Dissenter, and Richard Gilpin Sawrey, were the only
successors to the original trustees. The new trustees
appointed, were Samuel Shore, Ayman Rich, and
Thomas Lee, persons of wealth and influence. They
were the patrons of the Rev. Newcome Cappe, a
young minister who had been educated at a college
for orthodox dissenting ministers, and who was ap
pointed assistant to Mr. Hotham, the aged minister of
St. Saviour Gate Chapel. Mr. Hotham, dying soon
after, Mr. Cappe became sole minister. He quickly
became an Arian, and finally, what is now called, a
Unitarian. He was the favourite of the trustees, who
raised his allowance from the charity, to sixty pounds
a year, which was twenty pounds more than Mr. Ho
tham had received. Mr. Cappe was made one of the
sub-trustees, or managers of the alms house. He died
in 1799, and was succeeded by the Rev. Charles Well-
beloved, a Unitarian, whose allowance from the cha
rity was raised to eighty pounds per annum. Mr.
Moody, the Trinitarian trustee, before mentioned, made
some strenuous efforts to prevent the alienation of the
property to Socinian purposes; but was induced to
desist, from dread of the delay and expense of a Chan
cery suit. But his papers on this subject were those
alluded to, and have contributed to the accomplish
ment of his honest purpose. An application was

296 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
made by the managers of Rotherham College, for assist
ance for its students, from the funds bequeathed by
Lady Hewley for that object ; but the trustees replied
that they had no funds.
When the Commissioners of Charities visited York,
in 1826, a formal complaint was made to them of the
misapplication of this charity. They examined the
Rev. Charles Wellbeloved, and made a Report, dated
Jan. 27, 1827, stating that it was at least questionable
whether Unitarians could properly receive exhibitions
under this charity, and that the question ought to be
submitted to the consideration of a court of equity.
But as the Commissioners did not take any step
in the affair, the expense of a Chancery suit deterred
from any attempt, till certain occurrences at Man
chester caused several friends of orthodoxy to venture
on the arduous contest. A hundred gentlemen of the
Socinian creed gave a dinner at a tavern to Mr.
Grundy, on his ceasing to be their minister, when they
presented him with a silver tea service. Speeches
were delivered on the occasion, lauding Unitarianism,
and condemning orthodox opinions. These being re
ported in the newspapers, drew forth replies, in which
the Socinians were reproached for perverting and
abusing Lady Hewley's charity. " The Manchester
Socinian Controversy," contains the charges and de
fences that were published on that occasion. The
Evangelical Magazine observed, " That the Unita
rians, as a body, most flagrantly violate the principles
of moral integrity, by the mal-administration of trust-
property, to the support of their own system. A list
of the chapels occupied by Unitarians in Cheshire,

EXTERNAL STATE. 297
Lancashire, Derbyshire, and the West Riding of York
shire, was given, amounting to eighty, of which, at
least, sixty-nine were originally orthodox." The
Monthly Repository said, " It is now seriously pro
posed to the evangelical world to try to rob Unita
rians of their meeting-houses. It would be ridiculous
to argue against the principle assumed in the menace ;
it would be worse than ridiculous to say a word upon
the result of the meditated legal process. Let the
Calvinists begin their holy war, and they will then
understand the signs of the times."
Mr. Moody's papers were now once more examined ;
and the result was, that the Attorney General exhibited
an information in Chancery, June 18, 1830, which was
amended December 15, 1831, against the Socinian
trustees, at the relation of Thomas Wilson, of London,
Joseph Reed, of Wincobank, George Had field and
John Chapham, of Leeds, and Joseph Hodgson, of
Halifax, to recover the trust property, estimated at
nearly three thousand pounds per annum, from the
hands of Unitarians, that it might be devoted exclu
sively to the support of sentiments accordant with
those ofthe donor.
The defendants admitted, that all the books kept by
the original trustees, aud their immediate successors,
prior to the year 1729, were lost; as were also those
kept between the years 1732 and 1762. They, at
first, refused to give an account of their religious
belief; but, compelled by the court, they almost all
admitted that they were Unitarians. A commission
of Chancery sat at York, to examine evidence ; and Dr.
John Pye Smith, and Dr. James Bennett, gave their

298 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
opinion, that Mr. Edward Bowles' Catechism was
Trinitarian. The Rev. James Turner, of Knutsford,
the Rev. Thomas Scales, of Leeds, and the Rev. Man
ning Walker, of Bolton, who had been twenty years
a Unitarian minister, were examined on behalf of the
relators, as were the Rev. John Kenrick, and the Rev.
Samuel Duckingfield Derbyshire, and the Rev. John
Grundy, on the part of the trustees.
After the information and answers had been laid
before the Vice Chancellor, and Lord Chancellor
Brougham, the cause was heard before the Vice Chan
cellor, on the 18th, 19th, and 23d days of December,
1833; and he gave a decree, bearing date December 23,
1833, that Unitarians, not being proper objects of
Lady Hewley's Charity, Unitarians should not be
allowed to be trustees. The proceeds of the estates
had been paid into court while the suit was pending;
and from the sum of ten thousand pounds, which had
thus accrued, the costs of the parties were to be
allowed. The Vice Chancellor made great use of the
Unitarian version of the New Testament, in proof of
the opposition between the sentiments of the trustees
and those of Lady Hewley.
An appeal from the decree was made by the trus
tees, to the Lord Chancellor Brougham, who called in
to his assistance, Mr. Justice Littledale, and Mr. Baron
Parke ; but after the hearing on the 26th, 27th, 28th,
and 29th days of June, 1834, the cause was adjourned;
and Lord Brougham going out of office, the appeal
came on to be heard anew, before the Lord Chancellor
Lyndhurst, assisted by Mr. Baron Alderson, and Mr.
Justice Patteson, on the 17th and l8th of February,

EXTERNAL STATE. 299
1835, when the hearing was again adjourned, in con
sequence of Lord Lyndhurst's retirement from office.
The solicitors for the relators, and the respondents,
gave a written engagement, that, if Lord Lyndhurst
would hear the appeal, either with or without the
assistance of any of his Majesty's judges, the respec
tive parties would give to his lordship's judgment,
delivered after quitting office, the same effect and no
farther, as it would have had in the event of its being
delivered by him while in possession of the great seal.
The appeal was heard on the 11th and 15th of
April, 1835 ; and on the 5th of February, 1836, Mr.
Baron Alderson delivered the joint opinion of himself
and Mr. Justice Patteson, expressing the concurrence
of those two judges in the decision of the Vice Chan
cellor. Lord Lyndhurst, after fully stating his rea
sons, affirmed the decree of the Vice Chancellor.
The trustees, after a short pause, gave notice of an
appeal against this decree to the House of Lords.

300

CHAPTER VI.
THE INTERNAL OR RELIGIOUS STATE OF
DISSENTERS.
The history of Dissenters is so much identified
with that of religion, that this chapter may be said to
contain the essence of the whole volume. If those
who expect it to be proportionably copious and perfect,
should censure it for omissions and defects, they should
remember that general history cannot imitate the
minuteness of annals. The standard by which we
form our estimate of the religion of a people, will vary
according to the character of our own ; but a Dis
senter will appeal to the Divine word, and inquire how
far the principles, spirit, and conduct of his commu
nion accord with the inspired memorials of the first
churches of Christ.
With purity of communion the earliest Christian
societies commenced, as a church is separated from
the world by regenerating grace ; and the first depar
ture from the sanctity of the Christian character was
visited by that judgment on Ananias and Sapphira,
which proclaimed the irrevocable sentence, " If any man
defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the
temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. " The pro
miscuous communion of the Church of England having

INTERNAL STATE. 301
formed one ofthe chief reasons of Dissent; the Indepen
dents and Baptists, who constitute the larger part of
the dissenting body, have always maintained, that,
" Except a man be born again, he cannot, with pro
priety, be admitted into the visible kingdom of God."
Those Methodists who adhere to their original par
tiality for the Establishment, are less scrupulous with
regard to admission to the Lord's table; but if, as
some fear, the discipline of the dissenting churches is
relaxed, they still avowedly exclude from their com
munion all who deny the great essential truths of the
Gospel, who do not profess to have been regenerated
by the Holy Spirit, or who fall into gross sin. For
any of these causes, the richest, as well as the poorest,
would be excluded ; and the censors of Dissenters
blame them, rather for inquisitorial strictness than for
relaxation of morals.
In one point, the revolution of human affairs has
produced a change which may be pronounced an im
provement. For though it never was a rule with dis
senting churches to exclude from the Lord's table,
avowed members of the Establishment, it is only of
late, that such persons have been found to ask com
munion with Dissenters, which is now not unfre
quently granted to such as are known to be genuine
Christians, though not Dissenters. The right of ad
mission on the ground of belonging to another church,
is restricted to the members of such churches as admit
to the communion on a profession of regeneration ;
and, therefore, a person would not be admitted to the
Lord's table among evangelical Dissenters, merely

302 history OF DISSENTERS.
because he was a communicant in the Establishment,
where this is no test even of moral character, much
less of Christian experience ; but when persons of
other sects, whether dissenting or established, are
known to be genuine Christians, they are cordially
admitted to occasional communion, by all Independent,
and by some Baptist churches.
As the character of the ministry marks that of the
church, Dissenters have, for the last thirty years, paid
anxious attention to the piety, as well as the abilities, of
those whom they admit to the pastoral office. A per
son educated in an orthodox dissenting college, must
first have been admitted into a church, as one born of
God; and be recommended by the pastor and flock as
a man distinguished for piety and gifts, and a desire
to be useful in the service of Christ. If, during their
studies, any of them forfeit this character, they are
expelled, as unworthy ofthe ministry. Those who are
chosen to the pastorate, hold their office during good
behaviour, and cannot retain it with a stain on their
character. The few who enter the dissenting ministry
without being educated at any of the seminaries, are
usually men who have been distinguished by their
superior devotedness to the cause of religion, and their
natural or acquired gifts. A divine call to the work is
considered indispensable ; but this is judged of by the
fitness of the individual, his own preference for the
ministry, and the conduct of Providence in opening
the door. Dissenting ministers are expected tobe
men of study, abstaining from worldly amusements,
and devoting themselves to the care of their flocks.

internal state. 303
A hunting, or shooting, or card-playing parson is not
known, and would not be tolerated in any class of
evangelical Dissenters.
It must be confessed, however, that the admission of
strangers into dissenting pulpits is far too easy ; and
the influence of popular preaching is so great, that
men are sometimes chosen to the pastoral office, with
a culpable neglect of inquiry into their previous cha
racter and history. By this means, mere adventurers,
or students who have been expelled from colleges for
immorality, have obtained settlements of which they
were utterly unworthy ; and though the evil is almost
invariably temporary, and usually very short lived,
since detection leads to expulsion, sufficient mischief
is done to punish the churches for their recklessness
and want of deference to the judgment of their bre
thren. As what are called falling stars attract, for the
time, more notice than the genuine luminaries of hea
ven, a few instances of worthless ministers among
Dissenters, have been sufficient to open the mouths of
their enemies, who were willing to forget that these
scandals were notorious in proportion as they were
rare. The sufferings which Dissenters have endured
from this source, are, perhaps, the only remedy for
their fault.
To churches which admit into their communion none
but those who profess to be born again by the Word
and Spirit of God, the evidence of the divine blessing
accompanying the ministry, must be an object of soli
citude ; for to this they must look to repair the wastes
of death, and preserve their existence. No minister,
therefore, can long retain his standing without useful-

304 history of dissenters.
ness. The tendency of the churches has, of late years,
been to look, not merely for continuance, but for in
crease ; and happily this has, in numerous instances,
been enjoyed. They have doubled, trebled, or qua
drupled, according to the character of the minister,
the extent of the surrounding population, or the
number of evangelical ministers in the neighbourhood.
Where the church, as distinguished from the congre
gation, has declined, ministers usually remove ; for
they are not now as stationary as in former times.
This has often been deplored ; but though it may
sometimes be an evil, it is, on the whole, far better
than permanent barrenness, to say nothing of the in
stances in which, by these changes, " he who has been
faithful in a few things, is made ruler over more."
The preaching of the Gospel among Dissenters, has
latterly worn a more lively and popular character ; for
the ministers very seldom read their sermons. But
while some fear that the solid divinity of former days
is now becoming rare ; others think that an excessive
attention is paid to artificial method, to brilliancy of
thought, and elegance of style. It is not often, how
ever, that these are found in excess, except among
young preachers, who usually drop their redundancies
as they advance in years ; while the great fault of
young and old is want of devotional fervour, deep
communion with God in the pulpit, and anxious
watchfulness for the accompanying influence of the
Spirit of Grace.
Some publications, by recent conformists, have
charged the Dissenters with making the lives of their
ministers wretched by tyrannical dictation, or cruel

INTERNAL STATE. 305
neglect. But no discerning, spiritual mind, could
avoid seeing, that if the authors of those works en
dured all they described, it was far less than was
deserved by men who had obtruded themselves into an
office for which they were not fitted. The ebullition
of passion which they condemned, was created by
their own unhallowed fires, by which they were
thrown off as scum ; and when, for the sake of ease, or
honour, or emolument, they conformed to a worldly
system, and published their apology in the shape of
censures on their former connexions, they did but go
in their own spirit, to their own place. An apostle
who had reason to blame the churches, still found it
his honour and his bliss " to live and die with them."
That the principles of the Nonconformist and Puri
tan fathers are highly valued by the present genera
tion, may be inferred from the encouragement given
to republish their works. Those of Charnock, Owen,
Baxter, Watts, Doddridge, and Edwards, were so
voluminous, that nothing but an extensive circulation
could repay the cost. But of these expensive under
takings, the supply gave proof of the demand; for
new editions of the whole works, and of the most evan
gelical and devotional treatises of these great men, have
characterized the era of which we write. This is the
more remarkable, as those who cater for the public
taste, complain that books do not sell ; few even of
the more popular productions coming to a second
edition; and many standard works entailing on their
authors, or publishers, a heavy loss.
But a modern improvement, the formation of con
gregational libraries attached to dissenting societies,
X

306 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
has contributed powerfully to diffuse a knowledge of
our great divines among those who could not, or would
not, have purchased the voluminous works. While
the Sunday schools have created a generation of
readers, school libraries have fed and increased the
taste produced. Religious books for the young have
been immensely multiplied ; and some of them are so
excellent, as to justify the highest expectations of a
happy influence on the rising race.
The increase of their literature has extended the
influence of Dissenters beyond their own frontiers.
For the works of their most esteemed writers are
found in the libraries of religious churchmen, whether
of the clergy or laity. This is often manifest and
avowed, in the writings of the clergy, and of those
few lay members of the Establishment who publish on
religious subjects ; but those who scrupulously avoid
mentioning any other than episcopal writers, are not
the less furnished with the works which they decline
to quote. The reading of Dissenters themselves, is
very much limited to religious books ; for, being nei
ther men of leisure nor of wealth, few of them go
beyond their favourite hallowed circle. The frequency
of preaching among them, and of devotional meetings,
leaves them little opportunity, or desire, for a more
extensive range. But the concentration of their
powers to one object, makes them such divines as
require considerable reading and study in their minis
ters, in order to keep alive the interest of public
worship, by being in advance of their flocks.
No candid Christian, who is acquainted with the
works of the Puritans, Nonconformists, and early Dis-

INTERNAL STATE. 307
senters, will deny, whatever may be his communion,
that a taste for such divinity is a sign of a healthy
state of religion. For these treatises are no appeals
to blind passion, but are addressed to an enlightened
judgment ; they are not mere party productions, but
commend the great vital principles of our common
Christianity ; nor do they idolize a barren orthodoxy,
but lay a due stress upon spirituality of mind and
purity of life.
Whde the fickleness that turns about with every
wind of doctrine, is denounced by inspiration, as the
mark of children in religion; the firmness that adheres
steadily to the truth we have received, is inculcated
as the evidence of having grown up to manhood.
Judging by this criterion, we must conclude favourably
of the state of religion among the great bulk of Dis
senters in the present day. No age has been more
fruitful in novelties ; but these have neither arisen in
the original dissenting bodies, nor found among them
much countenance, or many proselytes. The doctrines
of the sinfulness of Christ's humanity ; of the speedy
appearance and personal reign of the Redeemer on
earth; and of the revival of miraculous powers, though
most manifestly unscriptural, absurd and pernicious,
have obtained many disciples ; yet not from the ranks
of the Dissenters, but from among the members and
ministers ofthe Established Churches of Scotland and
England. Joanna Southcott found admirers, and
apostles in the same quarter, and among the Metho
dists ; but the Independents and Baptists have not
been led away by these vagaries. On the contrary,
they have furnished the sermons and books, which
X 2

308 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
interposed a barrier against the enemy that came in as
a flood ; and have preserved their flocks uninjured,
amidst the evil times. The superior theological educa
tion of the ministers, has communicated so much solid
scriptural knowledge to their congregations, that these
have shown little or no tendency to the wild heresies
and practices into which others have fallen.
It is, indeed, remarkable, that the churches which are
independent of each other's control, owning no autho
ritative human creed, have maintained the greatest
practical unity of faith, unchanged through successive
generations, amidst the prevalence of fanaticism and
error. The works of Owen and other founders of
their churches are as much valued as ever they were ;
and any one of their ministers might preach in all
their congregations, from the extreme north to the
Land's End, and across the whole kingdom, without the
smallest apprehension that a diversity of sentiment, or
spirit, would render his ministry unwelcome.
That this uniform steadiness is not the effect of in
difference to truth, is proved by the activity of the
body in propagating the Gospel, and by the defences
which they have published, whenever any important
doctrine is attacked. It can, therefore, be ascribed to
no other cause than a solid acquaintance with the
scriptural evidences of the sentiments they hold, and a
practical experience of their power to give solid peace,
personal holiness, public usefulness, and cheerful hope
of heaven. For the eagerness with which others have
caught at every novelty, and the levity with which
they have been " carried about by diverse and strange
doctrines," betray the fatal secret that they had not

INTERNAL STATE. 309
found in their former sentiments and practice anything
to set the heart at rest. In fact, the vendors of strange
novelties pay a compliment to the evangelical Dissen
ters, by turning from them in despair, and seeking
proselytes among those who are less acquainted with
the divine word, and less satisfied with the sentiments
they profess to hold. The near approach to Popery
which many Protestants in high places are making, pro
claims, as with an articulate voice from heaven, that
"the way of peace, through believing the testimony of
the Gospel, they have not known;" and, therefore, they
are hunting after the terra incognita of a fancied apos
tolical succession, to give saving efficacy to sacramental
rites. But they who have received justification by
faith, find that doctrine as effective to shake the throne
of antichrist, as it was in the days of Luther.
The unshaken adherence of Dissenters to " the faith
once delivered to the saints," must, therefore, be re
garded as nothing less than a proof of the presence of
the spirit of truth in their churches ; and that to them
may be said, "Ye have an unction from the Holv
One, and ye know all things, clearly discerning that no
lie is of the truth." Many of these churches have
been " the pillar and ground of the truth," through
successive generations.
A high- regard for the inspired writings is, indeed,
one of the most decisive proofs of the religious pros
perity of any communion. To that undivided defe
rence for these infaUible records, and that care to mul
tiply copies of them, which formed the chief features of
primitive Christianity, we owe the advantages we now
derive from this treasure; while the introduction of

310 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
other authorities, and the oblivious neglect of Scrip
ture, were at once the effects and the cause of that
decay of true piety which rendered the Reformation
necessary. This auspicious event was marked and
accredited by an unparalleled diligence in the study
of the inspired word, and by the faithful improvement
of the newly-discovered engine of the press, to mul
tiply editions of the Scriptures in their original tongues,
and translations into the modern languages, to a far
greater extent than is commonly known. The indirect
consequence of this improvement should not be for
gotten, amidst the splendour of the direct benefit ; for
the Catholic Church was compelled, in its own de
fence, to labour in the same vocation, as many splen
did works can testify ; and thus the downward ten
dency of that communion was arrested, if not reversed.
Bad as Popery may now be thought, who can tell
what it would have been, if the free circulation of
the Scriptures among Protestants had not rendered it
necessary for all parties to profess a deference for the
inspired book ? '
In the Establishment of this country, no greater
proof can be given of an improved state of religion,
than the publication and wide diffusion of the " Com
mentary on the Scriptures, by the Rev. Thos. Scott,
Rector of Aston Sandford, Bucks." If, among the
Dissenters, few new works of this kind can be adduced,
the cause was honourable; they were already well
furnished in this department. The exposition of
Mathew Henry almost forbids the hope of a successful
rival. The editions of this most practical and useful
work have so extended its benefits, as to prove that

INTERNAL STATK. 311
there has been an increase, rather than a decay, of
that regard for the divine word which characterized
the class to which the author belonged. Nunierous,
however, have been the commentaries, either on the
whole Bible or on separate books, which attest the
regard of Dissenters for the revelation of the divine
will. Among the Methodists, the Commentary of Dr.
Adam Clarke has appeared ; and if it has not been so
generally adopted by them as others may suppose,
this should create neither surprise nor regret ; for it
contains a greater display of learning than suits the
average attainments of the body ; while it has at
tempted to sustain the cause of Arminianism by
copious plagiarisms from Taylor of Norwich, whose
heterodoxy was far below the standard of Methodist
doctrine. The knowledge of the Scriptures has been emi
nently promoted among various bodies of Dissenters,
by the Bible classes which the ministers have formed.
These have created, in the rising generation, a just
deference for divine authority, a minute and accurate
attention to the inspired language, and a habit of exa
mining the real sentiments conveyed by the sacred
penmen. Persons thus instructed in their early years,
after having learned the Assembly's Catechism, with
Scripture proofs, are prepared to value and improve
those expositions of the Scriptures which are becom
ing very general in dissenting pulpits. Dissenters
being free from the injurious tendency of the Church
Catechism, and having no Liturgy to rival the Bible,
are left under the undivided influence of the infallible
volume. Appending a large array of Scripture refe-

312 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
rences to their catechisms, gives life and efficacy to
the charge — " To the law and to the testimony; if they
speak not according to their word, it is because there
is no light in them."
If the published sermons of the day may be justly
appealed to, as evidence of the state of religion, we
may mention those of Samuel Lavington, of Bidde
ford. For though they are specimens of the preaching
of a former period, the reception they obtained are a
proof of the religious taste of that in which they were
published. They furnish a beautiful model of evan
gelical preaching. The great truths essential to sal
vation are here exhibited with touching simplicity and
holy fidelity, in combination with genuine Christian
experience and practical exhortations, which wake all
the graces of the believer into vigorous action. These
sermons, in obtaining the welcome which they so
richly deserved, proved that the taste for simplicity,
spirituality, and energy, almost sublime, which Laving
ton displayed, was still cherished by a subsequent age,
that was surprised and delighted to discover excel
lences which had been almost unknown, because they
had modestly hidden themselves in the retirement of
a little quiet country town.
The sermons and other devotional works of Mr. Jay,
of Bath, have, during the last thirty years, maintained
a circulation which bears a similar testimony to the
public taste. This should, however, in justice, be
extended to many in the Establishment, among whom
this preacher is popular. In his volumes, there is no
catering to a spurious religious taste ; no attempt to
make a favourite creed a substitute for holy tempers

INTERNAL STATE. 313
and conduct ; no sacrifice of our common[Christianity
to the pride of sect ; but the Scriptures are soberiy
interpreted, and applied with fearless fidelity to every
legitimate purpose of Christian experience and
practice. If single sermons are, in general, too ephemeral to
demand the notice of history, those of Mr. Robert
Hall are splendid exceptions. To some of them may
be assigned the importance of volumes ; and every
competent judge will admit that they are adapted to
promote the interests, not of a party, but of the whole
church of Christ. As the style of this writer was
adapted to the higher order of readers, the extent of
his popularity proved that there was a large class who
could duly appreciate evangelical sentiments and
sublime thoughts in elegant language.
The perspicacious reader will, however, perceive,
that, if the dissenting preachers of this age rose far
above the inanity that prevailed in the reigns ofthe first
princes of the House of Hanover, there was a consi
derable falling off from the richness of doctrine and
evangelical simplicity of the founders of Dissent. The
tone of Calvinism has been lowered ; for the dread of
Antinomianism drives the most distinguished preachers
and writers, if not too far towards the opposite ex
treme, at least, into a caution and reserve that may
lead others into that extreme. Dr. Williams' sermon
on Predestination to Life, acquired a notoriety that
may be supposed to interpose a check to the serious
evd ; but his sentiments on the origin of evd attracted
most attention, and led the public mind away from
the title and theme of the discourse.

314 .HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
The periodicals of a religious community, like the
newspapers of a nation, show the spirit of the times
less artificially, and, therefore, more sincerely, than
its histories, or any other productions of the press.
During a great part ofthe last thirty years, the Evan
gelical Magazine was the only public organ of the
Independents ; for though this work originated in a
union of evangelical ministers of various communions,
including some in the Establishment; of late years, few
but Independents have contributed to its pages. To
the spirit of this magazine we may confidently appeal,
in proof of the supreme regard of the Dissenters for
personal religion, on the great principles of the Re
formers. There is no work in existence in which
catholic Christianity is maintained so free from the
bias of a party, and every unhallowed admixtm-e.
Politics, which have forced themselves into works of
amusement and taste, have been excluded from this
magazine. Pure benevolence presides over the work;
for its writers receive no compensation but the pleasure
of rendering its extensive sale and large profits sub
servient to the relief of many widows of ministers, and
to some kindred objects of charity.
The Congregational Magazine, a more recent work,
avowedly designed to advocate the principles of Inde
pendents, and aiming at a higher literary character,
has a less extensive circulation ; but the spirit of its
denomination may be known, from its pages, to be
decidedly evangelical, and devoted to the best interests
of mankind. If the Baptist Magazine adds, to an
equal regard for orthodoxy and piety, a marked zeal
for adult baptism, by immersion, it should be remem-

INTERNAL STATE. 315
bered, that this is the only organ by which that body
of Christians can defend and diffuse the sentiments
and practice which they deem necessary to a complete
conformity with the will of Christ. The Methodist
Magazine is a fair exhibition of the religious state of
a body which arose out of the zealous labours of Mr.
Wesley ; and if the abandonment of its old name, the
Arminian Magazine, be significant, we may presume
that it is what Calvinists would call more orthodox
than the original work. Its literary character has
certainly improved since it ceased to be under the
control of the men who were educated at Oxford ; and
no impartial Christian can read it without gratitude to
God, that such a mass of important truth obtains a
circulation so extensive. The Calvinistic Methodists,
being less numerous, have either allied themselves
with the Evangelical, or supported the Gospel Maga- •
zine, to which has now succeeded the Evangelical
Register, which leans towards a higher shade of Cal
vinism, and the adoption ofthe forms of the EstabHshed
worship. But from all these works, an impartial in
quirer wdl learn, that the various bodies which form
the aggregate mass of Dissenters are essentially a
religious people, devoted to the interests of eternity,
elevated abovejhe politics of the day, and every thing
that does not directly promofe the salvation of men-
The same sentence cannot, with truth, be pronounced
concerning the Monthly Repository, the organ of those
who call themselves Presbyterians, or Unitarians, and
are called by others, Socinians. To say nothing of the
incessant advocacy of a Racovian theology, often bor
dering on Deism, its pages contain httie that can make

316 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
any pretence to a devotional character, or a benevo
lent solicitude to extend the blessings of Christianity
through the world. A host of minor miscellanies
might be mentioned among the productions of Dis
senters which attest their piety and their zeal.
If it be observed, as naturally it may, that the lite
rary mediocrity of most of these' publications, says
little for the learning or genius of Dissenters ; though
this is not the object to be proved in a chapter on the
state of religion, it may be replied, that the Son of
God, when on earth, never visited Athens, to eclipse
its philosophers, or Rome, to compete with her orators ;
but showed the superiority of his character, by con
fining himself to the paramount interests of eternity,
which will retain their worth " when tongues shall
cease, and knowledge shall vanish away."
Among the proofs of advancement in genuine piety,
it may be proper to mention an increased aversion to
war. The honour of giving prominence to the pacific
spirit of Christianity, and exposing to just abhorrence
the warlike mania that has been the opprobrium of our
country, and of the Christian name, belongs to but one
class of Dissenters, the Friends, or Quakers. The
other denominations too long joined the world, in re
garding this as merely one among the singularities of
a singular people. But between the years 1820 and
1830, several pubhcations, by Dissenters of other
classes, contended for the absolute unlawfulness of
war, as Dr. Williams, of Rotherham, had done, many
years before. Other dissenting writers, who hesitated
to go all these lengths, believing, that when the apostie
declared the magistrate was entrusted by God with

INTERNAL STATE. 317
the sword, which he was not to bear in vain, the pos
sibility of a lawful war was implied ; yet wisely de
cided, that as almost every war that breaks out is
rash and unnecessary, it is a duty to join those who
attempt to extinguish a spirit and practice most ab
horrent from the genius of a religion of meekness,
mercy, forbearance, and love. The Society for the
Promotion of Universal Peace was not, therefore, com
posed solely of Quakers ; and though its annual
assemblies, in London, were held in the Friends' Meet
ing House, the speakers were of various dissenting
bodies, who were joined also by military and naval
men of the Established Church. One of the tracts,
by which this Society sought to enlighten the public
mind on a Christian duty which had been most awfully
neglected and violated, was an extract from Dr.
Bogue's volume of Sermons on the Millenium. No
discerning Christian could read these publications,
and hear the speeches by other classes of Dissenters,
without rejoicing that they had, at length, taken an
important step, by learning from those who had long
been in advance in one point of Christian morals.
For the public agitation of the question is eminently
calculated to improve the private character of indivi
duals, and to banish all passion and revenge, by force
of the meekness and gentleness of Christ. Duelling,
that opprobrium of our country, and every species of
vindictiveness, fall under the censure of the Peace
Society. What are called revivals of religion, are peculiar to
Dissenters ; for though religion has revived in the
Establishment, by a great increase of evangelical

318 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
preaching, which God will never leave destitute of a
blessing, those more marked scenes to wdiich the term
revival is applied, are scarcely to be expected where
all things are prescribed by fixed forms, and where
departure from the ordinary course is treated as a
crime. America seems to be the native soil for these
scenes of modern growth ; and the first that attracted
attention in this country was that which occurred
under the ministry of President Edwards, of North
ampton, in New England, of which the " Narrative "
was recommended to the notice of the British public,
and especially of Dissenters, by Drs. Watts, and Guyse.
The sound philosophical mind of the author of the
Treatise on the Freedom of the Will, furnished a gua
rantee against fanaticism in this affair ; and the publica
tion of the sermons which produced the revival, proved,
not only that the most legitimate means were em
ployed, but that the people who could understand
and relish such discourses, must have been the last to
be carried away by mere rant, or emotions for which
they could give no good reason. The Treatise on
Religious Affections, which Edwards published, at this
time, to guard the church against being deceived by
unhallowed fire, submits experimental religion to an
ordeal more severe than was ever instituted by the
most acute foe to fanaticism. The minister who could
write, and the people who could welcome, such a book,
amidst high religious excitement, must be able, and as
willing, to distinguish between the kindlings of animal
passion, and the genuine influence of evangelical truth
brought home to the heart by the Holy Spirit.
During the latter part of the thirty years of this

INTERNAL STATE. 319
history, these scenes of religious excitement were not
only renewed in the Western world, but were also ob
jects of intense interest in our own country. One of
the earliest notices of such an event was given in a
letter from a minister at Trelech, in Wales ; but many
other publications called the attention of Dissenters to
this theme.
The intercourse of British Nonconformists with the
churches which their fathers founded beyond the
Atlantic, having been rendered more close and serious,
kept alive attention to those interesting occurrences,
revivals, which may be called the spring tides of
religion. If a desire to witness similar scenes in our
own country may indicate a consciousness of need, it
proves also a state of religion not very far from such
prosperity ; for where they are most needed, they are
either undesired, unnoticed, or despised. That this
was not the case with the Dissenters is proved by
" Notes of the Worcester Conference, which was held
in that city in 1828, to consider the means by which
religion might be revived among us." At the Poultry
Chapel, in London, a similar conference was held in
the beginning of 1829, by the Ministers of the Con
gregational Board, for consideration of the same sub
ject, and prayer to obtain the effusion of the Spirit on
the churches. Several most valuable publications on
this subject waked up the attention of the churches,
and showed the deep interest which the ministers took
in it. The republication of many American works on
revivals gave additional impulse to the public mind.
"An Address to those who are engaged in preparatory
studies for the work of the Ministry, on the subject

320 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
of Revivals of Religion," was published in the Evange
lical Magazine, to interest the rising ministry in this
most desirable object. Days of fasting and prayer
were held by the Congregational ministers in London.
For the Congregational Board having been called to
consider this subject, by a communication from Bir
mingham, at the close of the year 1828, passed a series
of resolutions expressive of gratitude to God for what
he had wrought in America, and of a desire to enjoy
similar blessings in our own land. The Board as
sembled, the next month, for special prayer, and agreed
to call the attention of the churches to this object, on
the first Sabbath of the year ; and to employ the first
leisure day, which was what is called Good Friday, in
public united devotions, to implore the effusion of the
Holy Spirit. A fraternal letter was agreed to be sent
to the American Churches, on the revival of religion
among them ; and another, on the same subject, was
ordered to be addressed to the Congregational churches
of England.
On many of these special seasons of prayer, the most
decisive evidences were given of the spirit of devotion,
and of the gracious presence of Him who has said, that
"none shall seek his face in vain."
About the same time that the attention of the
churches was directed to the revival of religion, and
their prayers were poured out to obtain the blessing,
the subject of temperance was brought before them.
In America, the use, or rather, the abuse, of ardent
spirits, having spread fearful desolation among even
professors of religion, the formation of temperance
societies to banish the practice of taking spirits as an

INTERNAL STATE. 321
ordinary beverage, was crowned with unexpected suc
cess. The Dissenters of Scotland and England took
up the question with considerable zeal, and many of
their ministers signed a pledge of total abstinence from
the deadly poison. In London, they were induced to
take this step, from seeing the fearful desolation pro
duced among the lower classes, by a practice which
filled the city with what were called gin palaces,
where the utmost splendour was displayed, at the
expense of the unhappy victims, who resorted in crowds
to these temples of drunkenness. To be the more
fully authorised to bear their testimony against the
wide-wasting mischief, many ministers and private
Christians publicly abjured the use of spirits them
selves, and engaged to discountenance the practice and
causes of drunkenness. Much good was done by the
public meetings held to promote the influence of the
Temperance Society ; and those who joined it were
grateful to the kind providence that directed their
attention to a measure which equally promoted their
piety and their health ; but the same extensive and
powerful effects that America has witnessed, have not
yet been seen in England.
This has led to the formation of a new society, for
total abstinence from wine and beer, and every drink
that can intoxicate. For it was observed, that if in
London, Scotland, and Ireland, ardent spirits are the
general poison ; in the greater part of our own country,
intoxication is chiefly produced among the poor by
the excessive drinking of beer, and among the richer
classes by wine. It is, however, gratifying to record,
that, though drunkenness was formerly deemed the
Y

322

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

appropriate vice of gentlemen, the higher ranks now
regard it as a disgrace. The zeal of the younger
Temperance Society has attempted to render what is
foolishly called teetotalism, a test of religion, and a
term of admission to communion among Christians,
which has naturally produced a reaction in the minds
of those who joined the original society for abolishing
the ordinary use of ardent spirits, but resisted the
imposition of a test which Christ has not enjoined.
The effect of the Temperance Societies was favour
able to religion. A solicitude to do every thing that
might discountenance vice and promote the welfare of
others, led many temperate men to join the new
societies; and they unanimously declare that they and
their families have been benefited by the banishment
of an article, which ought never to have appeared on
their tables. By this sacrifice to public good, which
has proved a private blessing, they have felt them
selves authorised to war against an evd that was spread
ing around the most appalling ruin. The farther ad
vance to total abstinence from every drink but water,
has been the natural consequence of discovering that
health has been promoted by the former step, and of
a wish to try whether a second and final step may
not be equally safe, and still more widely beneficial.
The original society was eminently promoted by a
grand array of medical testimonies, that spirits were
not only not useful, but positively injurious; and
nothing seems wanting to secure the triumphs of
total abstinence from all stimulating drinks, but a
similar declaration from those who are best acquainted
with the laws of health. Meanwhile, many are trying

INTERNAL STATE. 323
the experiment for themselves ; and a generation of
water drinkers is rising, who, never having been ac
customed to the use of stimulants, may furnish con
vincing proofs, that the most entire abstinence is as con
ducive to the health of the body as to that of the soul.
The Temperance Society having operated on sailors,
a class notoriously given to the abuse of ardent spirits,
and induced many commanders of ships to go to sea
without the usual supply of the poison, shipwrecks
have been prevented, and insurances effected at a
lower rate. This leads us to notice another favourable
indication of advancing piety — increased attention to
the religious wants of sailors. By Dissenters this sub
ject was first pressed upon the minds of Christians ;
and societies being formed, ships were fitted up for
chapels, where the Gospel was preached to seafaring
men. Tracts and magazines were printed for their
instruction, and asylums were opened for their ne
glected children and orphans. These efforts were not
confined to our own ports, but attempts have been made
by persons who have gone out for that purpose, to
furnish the means of religious instruction to sailors in
every quarter of the globe. As a natural appendage
to this benevolent movement, may be mentioned, the
opening of more than one a.sylum, called penitentiaries,
for prostitutes, in which the wretched women who
create a large part of the sins and miseries of sailors,
are not merely furnished with a refuge in the hour
of repentance, but are also wisely and diligently in
structed in the doctrines ofithe Gospel. These efforts
have brought out to view the melancholy fact, that the
poorer part of our population has been suffered to grow up
Y 2

324 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
in ignorance of the Christian religion, scarcely inferior
to that which reigns among the most distant heathens.
Another proof of the prevalence of active self-deny
ing piety among Dissenters is furnished by the Chris
tian Instruction Society. This institution labours to
bring religious knowledge into the homes of those who
would not seek it in places of worship, and sends visitors,
with rehgious tracts, into the most neglected districts,
where rooms are hired for prayer meetings and preach
ing, by which many have been induced to attend
public worship, and to send their children to Sabbath
schools. To these and other methods of diffusing
Christian knowledge, of which history cannot record
the details, has been added, the bold measure of preach
ing in the open air. This practice, which commenced
with the Lord himself, and was followed by his
apostles, which was commonly practised by the iti
nerant friars of the Church of Rome, and adopted, at
the Reformation, by some of its most distinguished
promoters ; was revived by Whitfield ; largely practised
by Wesley ; and never entirely abandoned by the
Methodists of the Calvinistic and Arminian creeds.
But it has been the honour of the Christian Instruction
Society to give currency to it among the Independents,
whose ministers have, for some years, laboured in this
truly apostolic way. To obviate the inconvenience
which sometimes arises from the weather, tents have
been provided, and put up in open spaces near to the
most frequented haunts of Sabbath breakers, who have
thus been attracted from scenes of profaneness and
dissipation, to listen to the voice of prayer, and the
sound of salvation. To the honour of our country,

INTERNAL STATE. 325
and the encouragement of the zealous, it should be
recorded, that the brutal treatment often given to Whit
field, Wesley, and their followers, when preaching in
the open air, is now exchanged for orderly behaviour,
and respectful attention, almost without exception ;
nor is it less creditable to the government, that the
new police, which forms a marked feature of the times,
is so far from opposing any hindrance to these bold
aggressive efforts, that its agents prove the most
efficient protectors of all who combine prudence with
their zeal. Some exceptions to this last fact have,
however, lately occurred.
These varied and energetic movements were still not
enough to meet the exigencies of the case, or the bene
volent solicitude of Christians. A new society, there
fore, was introduced by a Dissenter into London, after
he had tried its efficacy in Scotland, Ireland, and
America. The City Mission was its title ; and its aim
was to employ agents whose whole time should be
devoted to visiting every house, in order to instruct
the inhabitants, and warn them to fly from the wrath
to come. For this purpose, it was necessary to pro
vide funds to support numerous agents ; while the
Christian Instruction Society employed gratuitous
visitors, who could give, only their leisure hours, chiefly
in the afternoon of the Lord's day. The towns and
cities in which the new society was formed, were
divided into sections, with a view to the visitation of
every family. In a short time, funds were obtained by
Mr. Naismith, the father of this scheme, for the sup
port of upwards of sixty agents and superintendents ;
and as his object was catholic, and did not include

326 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
preaching, he was cheered by the zealous co-operation,
not only of Dissenters, but of some devoted members
and ministers of the Established Church. Full of
benevolent schemes, after rendering the City Mission
suddenly effective, beyond all expectation, he with
drew to take charge of other measures for the accom
plishment of the same great object. Thus a new
society for the distribution of tracts among the rich,
supplies an important desideratum. That which is
called, by emphasis, the Religious Tract Society,
aimed chiefly at the instruction of the poor and the
middle classes, and left the distribution to the zeal of
the purchasers. But the new society procures tracts,
on a connected series of subjects, in a style suited to
the better educated, who are supplied, at regular inter
vals, with what is more attractive in appearance, as
well as more agreeable in style and composition.
A female mission, also, is devoted to the recovery of
the thousands of unhappy women who, having been
the victims of seduction themselves, become the
seducers of our youth. To this should be added, a
Young Men's Society, formed to preserve this impor
tant class from pernicious associations ; to employ
their evenings in profitable and instructive exercises;
and to provide for them lodgings where their morals
may be guarded from injury.
The Home Missionary Society, another offspring of
this last period of Dissent, has, by its very name,
given vast offence to those who think it treats as
heathen, a nation which they would denominate Chris
tian, without being able to prove that it is a nation of
Christians. This benevolent institution is but a kind

INTERNAL STATE. 327
of national effort to accomplish what minor societies
and county associations had long attempted in dif
ferent districts — the sending of the Gospel into the
dark parts of our land. That such realms of night
should be found, without requiring any careful research,
is, indeed, our disgrace. But when the people are
left as sheep without a shepherd, or with such as are
worse than none, it is a sacred duty to seek their rescue
from the devouring lion. The Home Missionary
Society, which makes the whole kingdom its charge,
took the precedency in many of those efforts which
have just been mentioned. The agents whom it em
ploys, are either ministers, who offer themselves to this
department of labour, or good men who have been lay
preachers in a more limited locality. They are fre
quently put under the direction ofthe associated dissent
ing churches, and are located in particular counties, at
a distance from the preaching of the Gospel in the
Establishment, or among Dissenters. The Home
Missionary has various preaching stations, which
occupy almost every evening in the week ; and myriads
owe to these laborious men all their knowledge of
the Gospel of Christ. Congregations have thus been
raised, which have invited the Home Missionaries to
become their settled pastors. This is a consummation
to be desired, provided the objects of their choice be
equal to the arduous task of constantly preaching to
the same people ; for it should not be forgotten, that
there is danger of increasing an incompetent ministry.
Though the Home Missionary Society and its
agents are Dissenters, its principles and spirit are
catholic; and, while some of the high church party are

328 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
indignant at its very name, others in the Establish
ment acknowledge the necessity for such an institution,
and give substantial proofs that they would rather see
the kingdom evangelized by these means, than left a
prey to heathenish ignorance and vice. This society
furnishes the best answer to those who argue against
foreign missions, by saying we have heathens enough
at home; for it would, indeed, be a disgrace to our coun
try, if we were to expend large sums for the conversion
of those who are at the ends of the earth, and do
nothing for those who are perishing a); our own doors.
The Colonial Missionary Society is the offspring of
the Congregational Union. For this latter institution
was intended to promote the formation of Congrega
tional churches in our colonies abroad, as well as in
our villages at home. But it was found most desirable
to form a distinct society for the foreign operations,
and this was effected in May, 1836. Under the pa
tronage of the Colonial Mission, ministers have gone
to New South Wales, Van Dieman's Land, and Ca
nada, to form, or to save from extinction. Congrega
tional churches. Where our countrymen would have
been left to sink into heathenism, they now enjoy the
ordinances ofthe Gospel, and the pastoral care of men
imbued with the principles and spirit of the pilgrim
fathers, who founded, in the United States of America,
those churches which now exhibit so noble a specimen
of Christianity, and, in their turn, are spreading the
Gospel to the ends of the earth. This is the first
instance in which the English Independents have
attempted to propagate their own form of religion in
foreign stations ; for, largely as they have shared in

INTERNAL STATE. 329
the work of missions, they, and the Calvinistic Metho
dists alone, have hitherto merged their own peculiari
ties in societies of a catholic character, to diffuse the
common faith of Christians.
The London Itinerant Society for the Preaching of
the Gospel in the Suburban Villages, and other kin
dred institutions, have not been mentioned, because
they have been the offspring of a religious zeal which
existed prior to the commencement ofthe period ofwhich
this volume treats. But the Irish Evangelical Society
claims our notice, as a recent benevolent effort for
the sister isle, whose spiritual state has been improved
by the labours of many excellent men, who have been
sent forth to preach the Gospel in the Irish, as well
as the English tongue.
An enumeration that may be thought tedious, has
yet left much untold. For many local associations,
for the same pious and benevolent objects, have either
escaped the writer's notice, or have been deemed too
minute for the page of history. Every visit to a loca
lity before unknown, discloses new proofs of an active
zeal, and of laborious efforts for the eternal welfare of
men ; and not unfrequently, a dissenting congregation
in a village, puts to shame a metropolitan church.
As it must strike every attentive observer, that so
cieties for all kinds of benevolent objects cannot be
formed and maintained without immense funds, it may
naturally be asked, how are they obtained ? This
directs our attention to another branch of personal reli
gion, liberality in the use of property. The Establish
ment, in -addition to its immense permanent revenues,
has frequently received large grants from the public

330 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
purse ; while Dissenters, who are not generally rich,
are left to their own resources. The Quakers, and
the Unitarians, indeed, are not unfrequently persons
of considerable property ; but these are not the classes
which furnish the funds for the most expensive efforts
of Dissenters. The latter body, though composed of
the most wealthy dissenting families, and occupying
places that have been endowed by men of an opposite
creed, is not engaged in such missions as absorb the
largest funds ; nor do they take any share in several
other schemes of expensive benevolence. The support
of their own congregations, and the publication of
works designed to diffuse their distinguishing creed,
are almost the only objects of a religious nature to
which they contribute. The wealth of the Society of
Friends is, perhaps, not always equal to its reputation ;
and it has been taxed, by their own faithful testimony
against being called to support a state priesthood, for
which they have suffered, by the spoiling of their.
goods, to the amount of ten or fourteen thousand
pounds annually. Far from being impoverished by this
stern adherence to principle, they are still renowned
for wealth. Such power has wisdom, and industry,
and sobriety, and abstinence from the expensive fol
lies of the world, to repair, and repay any damages
that may be inflicted by bigotry on Nonconformity.
But, after all, it is a disgrace to a religious people
to be rich. As long as our Lord's words sound in our
ears, " Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,
for hardly shall they that have riches enter the king
dom oflieaven;" it must be the study ofthe conscien
tious Christian to keep down his riches, as he would

INTERNAL STATE. 331
his foes. This is not overlooked by the more dis
cerning and pious among the Society of Friends, who
lament over the tendency of others to accumulate
riches. The vast fortunes which some of them have
amassed, are the more disgraceful, because they pro
fess peculiar spirituality and detachment from the
world, and because they are surrounded with those
who are furnishing, from far inferior resources, the
means of diffusing Christianity, without regard to sect
or party, through the world. If the Friends cannot
join with others, why not go to work by themselves?
To wait for a special call to do that which is, at all
times, a duty, is the worst species of fanaticism, not to
say Antinomianism. With pleasure we record, how
ever, that a people whom so many considerations
induce us to esteem, has not been without faithful
men who have sounded the note of warning and reproof
for the undue accumulation of wealth, and the selfish
neglect of benevolent duties. This is said to have
been adverted to by one of their number, at their
yearly meeting in London, in 1837.
Not, however, that it would be just to leave the
reader to think, that the Friends are doing nothing for
those benevolent objects in which they are not engaged
as a body. As they have always been ready to give
to hospitals, and charitable subscriptions for the tem
poral necessities of men ; so they have, of late years,
shown some sympathy for their eternal interests.
Schools for the children of their own poor they libe
rally provide ; and since the British and Foreign
School has presented them with an object free from
sectarian bias, they have proved themselves the friends

332 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
of education for the children of others. The Bible
Society has, on the same account, received their liberal
support ; and even missions have been aided by them,
not directly, because they disapprove of what they
term a hireling ministry, but by contributions to the
schools formed at the various mission stations, which
relieves the funds that must otherwise have been
expended on education, and may now be devoted to the
preaching of Christ among the heathen. One of the
Society of Friends, Daniel Wheeler, has made a sort
of missionary visit to the islands of the Pacific. But,
with every allowance that justice or candour may
make, it still remains true, that the richest, though not
the largest body of Dissenters, is doing the least, com
pared with its means, for the extension of the know
ledge of Christ at home and abroad.
The funds, then, that support the most numerous
and costly efforts of Christian benevolence, are mainly
furnished by the least wealthy bodies, the Indepen
dents, Baptists, and Methodists. If the last-mentioned
communion are scarcely allowed, either by themselves,
or others, to be Dissenters ; in those exertions, of which
we speak, they are eminentiy so. To support ministers
who are not episcopally ordained, to budd chapels
which are placed under the protection of the Toleration
Act, to distribute tracts, and to send missionaries
through the world, independently of the Church Mis
sionary Society, or the Society for promoting Christian
Knowledge, or the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign
Parts, is the most practical dissent. For these works
of mercy, the Methodists subscribe with distinguished
liberality ; and they are, perhaps, less chargeable, as a

INTERNAL STATE. 333
body, with the sin of covetousness, than any other reli
gious communion. It may, indeed, be said, that this
arises from their being younger than the other sects,
who, at the same age, were entitled to the same
praise. But whatever may be the cause, the fact is the
province of the historian, who has no right to assume
the office of the prophet, by affirming that the Metho
dists will, at last, fall into the vice of old age.
The Baptists deserve the more credit for the reli
gion that prompts to benevolent sacrifice, because
they are neither so numerous, nor so wealthy, as sorae
other denominations ; and they have had to overcome
the resistance which a tendency to Hyper-calvinism,
bordering on Antinomianism, will oppose to schemes
of self-denying benevolence. They led the way, and
provoked the Independents to jealousy, in the labours
of missions. Their station in Bengal will furnish a
lasting testimony to the excellence of character that
is to be found in this communion. If the amount of
their contributions to missions is not equal to that of
some other communions, so neither are their means.
The Baptist Irish Mission is a proof of their zealous
solicitude for a country which has special claims on
our benevolence.
One of the most striking proofs of the liberality of
Christians was given by the Congregational churches
of Wales, who, in 1834, subscribed eighteen thousand
pounds towards paying off a debt of thirty thousand
on their chapels. The Congregational Board of Lon
don, therefore, gave special sanction to an application
to this country, by which the churches of the princi
pality were assisted to discharge the remainder of the

334 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
debt. When the poverty of Wales is considered, this
must be regarded as a very noble proof of liberality
and zeal.
To prompt Christians to abound in these graces, a
dissenting physician offered a prize, of a hundred
guineas, for the best essay against Covetousness, which
was awarded by the adjudicators, one of whom was a
clergyman, and another a dissenting minister, to the
pastor of a Congregational church. The effect of this
essay, which was published under the title of Mam
mon, was, as might be expected, a considerable in
crease of liberal offerings to the treasury of religion.
If it should be objected, that these numerous and
vigorous schemes are no decisive proofs of the influ
ence of pure religion among Dissenters, because the
ambition of party may have been the predominating
motive ; it may be replied, that the fields of labour
were, in many, perhaps in most instances, chosen
where the necessities of men were the greatest, and
where the hopes of sectarian advantage were the least.
But the most decisive evidence of purity of motive is
furnished by the catholic character of those benevo
lent schemes which have been projected and supported
by the zeal of Dissenters. It is their usual practice to
confine their attention to the great essentials of reli
gion, in which all but Socinians and Catholics are
agreed. In urging attendance on public worship,
dissenting missionaries encourage those who are so
disposed, to attend on an evangelical ministry in the
Establishment, and advise against listening to error
wherever it may be preached. In fact, the bigots of
either party are not the most zealous labourers in this

INTERNAL STATE. 335
field, which is almost exclusively occupied by those
who, while they adhere to the communions which their
judgments most approve, are deeply penetrated with
the paramount importance of the sentiments and
practices in which true Christians of various denomi
nations cordially agree. The most exclusive efforts
to keep men to one communion are made by the
Establishment. If, therefore, a catholic spirit is a
proof of pure religion, the prevalence of this more
expansive benevolence among Dissenters, affords some
evidence in their favour.
From our Lord's last prayer for his disciples, we
learn that Christian unity is essential to a high state
of religion. For, as those contentions, which too fre
quently arise among Christians, spring from evil
causes, on one side, at least, if not on both, so the
most pernicious effects arise from discord. A religious
quarrel is a contradiction in terms. It is, therefore,
consoling to reflect, that in this last period of our his
tory, we have had to record no great internal dissen
sion, but many proofs of sacred harmony. The Arian
controversy of an earlier era, and the Socinian of a
later, shook the Dissenters like a civil war ; but ended
in that separation which showed how small was the
number of the heterodox, and left the main body
peaceful and united. The Socinian controversy had,
during the last period, been carried on as with a
foreign foe, and produced little effect on the interior.
The Arminian controversy, that arose on the separa
tion of Whitfield and Wesley, was conducted in a dis
graceful spirit ; but it was between two classes that
were still clinging to the Establishment, from which

336 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
they had recently emerged, and the avowed Dissen
ters took little part in the strife. The continuance of
that contest has been chiefly between Calvinists and
such Arminians as Wesleyans would pronounce anti-
evangelical ; while the general spirit of the Calvinists
and Wesleyans towards each other, has been pacific,
even to a friendly interchange of kind services.
The question of the subject and mode of baptism
has, indeed, never ceased to be agitated; but it has
not prevented an approximation of the parties, who
are, at present, in a more desirable position towards
each other, than in any former period. The honour
of producing a more catholic spirit, is due to writers
in those bodies which had formerly been most exclu
sive ; for Dr. Mason, a Presbyterian, and Mr. Robert
Hall, a Baptist, have been the eloquent advocates of
catholic communion.
The contest concerning the London Female Peni
tentiary, was ephemeral and local, and ended iu a
manner that did honour to the religion of both par
ties. There was more heat in the publications on Dr.
Williams' system, than became either the subject or
the combatants ; but the dignified bearing of the
Doctor himself, spoke highly for his principles ; and
as there were not many who took part in the dispute,
it never affected the temper or the credit of the Dis
senters at large.
No Christian will think it a crime to have mingled
in the strife that was created by the attacks of infidels ;
but it may fairly be asked, how far the religious cha
racter of Dissenters has been affected by the modern
controversy on the voluntary principle. As this was,

INTERNAL STATE. 337
in a certain sense, a question of money, it exhibited, at
its commencement, the bitter fruit which " the root of
all evil " usually bears. The ministers of the Esta
blishment, alarmed for their revenues, charged the
Dissenters with adopting a principle, to save their
money. Refusal to pay church-rates, led to parish
contests, and to the seizure of goods, which inflamed
the passions of the contending parties. But it too
often escaped observation, that this new mode of war
fare had many advantages over the ancient attacks of
Nonconformity upon the Establishment. For, instead
of finding fault with the religion of others, always an
ungracious aud provoking thing, Dissenters began to
say, "We presume not to dictate to you, and merely
ask that you should not exact upon us. If you prefer
Episcopacy and a Liturgy, we have no right, and no
wish, to control you ; but you should pay for these
things yourselves, and leave us to support, only that
religion which we prefer." The end of this controversy
will be peace, because " the work of righteousness is
Peace." But if the age of which we write cannot justly be
charged with unholy strife, many are the proofs of a
spirit of union and harmony highly creditable to the
different bodies of Dissenters. When the Missionary
Society was formed, so various were its component
parties, that many sinister forebodings were uttered
concerning its permanency. The few evangelical jcler-
gymen who assisted at its birth, found scarcely any
successors ; for the speedy formation of the Church
Missionary Society left its elder sister to be practi
cally a dissenting body, though its catholic principle

338 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
remained unchanged, and one of its anniversary ser
mons is still preached, by an Episcopalian, within the
established pale. But the Independents, the evange
lical Presbyterians, and the Calvinistic Methodists,
have worked so harmoniously together, that it would
be difficult to know the distinctive communion of its
directors, or agents, by any thing that occurs in its
councils or operations : nothing could aiford a more
refreshing proof of the purity of their aims, and their
exalted devotion to the one grand, all-absorbing ob
ject — the glory of Christ in the conversion of the world
to the Christian faith. The predominance of the
Independents in this Society, is a proof of their
catholicity. The spirit of union, so indicative of religious pros
perity, was displayed, during this last period of the
dissenting history, in the accomplishment of an ob
ject, which had formerly been attempted in vain. The
history of the Congregational Union belongs strictly
to the preceding chapter ; but its introduction here is
demanded by the testimony it affords to the state of
religion. A jealousy of their independency has always
marked the churches which adopt the system, and has
hitherto prevented any general specific union of the
whole ; though county associations throughout the
kingdom have exhibited the same thing on a similar
scale. While that jealousy reigns undiminished, the
concurrence of the greater part of the churches in the
formation of the Union, proves an increasing influence
of the attraction of affinity ; and while several great
public objects have been attempted, nothing has
hitherto occurred, but what was calculated to elicit

INTERNAL STATE. 339
the exclamation, " Behold how good, and how pleasant
it is for brethren to dwell together in unity !"
But the title of the Congregational Union of Eng
land and Wales would not lead a stranger to under
stand the full extent to which the union of Christians,
of this denomination, has been carried. The Congre
gational Union of Scotland, which had previously
existed in vigorous and beneficent operation, was
brought into friendly contact with that in England.
Delegates from the one body attended at the anniver
saries of the others, and fraternal epistles were ex
changed. The same course was adopted towards the
Congregational Union of Ireland ; and powerful, as
well as holy and delightful, were the effects. This,
however, was not enough to satisfy the love of union
which has latterly prevailed. Fraternal correspon
dence was carried on between the Congregationalists
of England and those ofthe United States of America ;
and as these are in close alliance with the Presby
terians of that country, they also were included in the
interchange of epistles which expressed and cherished
"the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace." Depu
tations were sent from the Congregational Association
of New En gland, and the Presbyterian Synod of New
York ; and sermons were preached in this country by
the American ministers, whose visits eminently con
tributed to unite Christians, on both sides of the
Atlantic. It was, at length, resolved to repay this
expression of love ; and Messrs. Reed, of London, and
Matheson, of Durham, went, as the representatives of
the Congregationalists of England, to attend the an
niversaries of the Congregational and Presbyterian
% 2

340

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

Unions in America. Their reception was all that
could have been expected, or wished ; and the account
they gave, on their return, contributed to draw closer
the bonds of unity between Christians and churches,
who, though separated by lands and seas, are one in
Christ. The journal of the deputation was published,
and will furnish to posterity a memorial, like the altar
erected on the Jordan, to remind the children that their
fathers on both sides of the flood had one religion and
one God.
The Baptists followed in the same tract, and deputed
Messrs. Cox, of London, and Hoby, of Birmingham,
to bear their fraternal salutations to the transatlantic
churches of their own communion. But the question
of the abolition of slavery in America, the inevitable
consequence of the triumph of that cause in Britain,
placed these two ministers in a very delicate and diffi
cult position. Mr. George Thompson, an agent ofthe
British Anti-slavery Society, who was then agitating
the question of emancipation, on their return to this
country, charged the ministers with unfaithfulness to
the cause of the negroes, because they confined them
selves too much to the object for which theywere sent.
This theme of terrible interest, threatened to disturb
the harmony of the Christian churches in the two coun
tries ; for though the States in which the Independents
prevail, are free from the curse of slavery, its preva
lence in those where Baptists and Presbyterians are
numerous, has deeply implicated them in the sin,
which many zealous Baptists, in this country, faithfully
denounce. Mr. Thompson held, also, a debate with
Mr. Breckinridge, an American minister, who at-

INTERNAL STATE. 341
tempted, in vain, to defend, or palliate, the charge
brought against his country, for persisting in the
practice of holding their fellow men as slaves. " The
Baptists in America," was the title of the work which
the second deputation from this country published, on
their return.
The Congregational and Baptist Unions held fra
ternal intercourse, during the meetings in May, 1838;
and a proposal was, soon after, made for a further step
to be taken in the autumn ofthe same year. But this
may be considered as the happy fruit of a prior co
operation, in more directly devotional exercises. For,
in the year 1834, the members of the Baptist Board,
and of the United Secession Presbytery, joined, by
invitation, with the Congregational Board, in their
special meeting for prayer, at the opening of the year.
It may, however, be deemed, by some, an exception
to these acts of fraternization among Christians, that,
on a proposal being made in 1834, to admit to a seat
in the Congregational Board, certain ministers who act
on the principles of Congregational churches, except
that they use the Liturgy of the Establishment in their
public worship, it was resolved that this was inexpe
dient. But by a subsequent vote, such ministers
were at length admitted. Thus another barrier that
separated Christians was thrown down ; and an ad
ditional proof was given that Dissent is not synoni-
mous with dissension.
The interest that Dissenters took in the great ques
tion of the abolition of slavery, which was effected in
1834, proved them the genuine friends of the human
race. The martyrdom of Smith, their missionary to

342 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Demerara, had sharpened the edge of their zeal against
slavery, as irreconcileably opposed to Christianity, as
well as humanity. In this, the Quakers took an
honourable interest ; and many pious members of the
Establishment lent efficient aid. It was the united
force of the religious public that effected the abolition
of slavery. To celebrate this grand act of national
justice, unparalleled in the history of the world, Dis
senters held a day of devotion, on the 1st of August,
1834, when our slaves were by the law declared free.
Thanksgivings were presented to the God of justice
and of mercy, for his interposition in behalf of the op
pressed ; and prayers were offered, that the negroes
might, by the Gospel of Christ, " be made free, indeed."
Sermons were preached on the occasion, to animate to
those efforts which were required to render the eman
cipation an eternal, as well as a temporal blessing.
Bibles were appropriated to the negroes, and additional
missionaries were sent to the colonies. This triumph
of liberty included the slaves of South Africa, who had
attracted little attention, and the aborigines of that
land, who had been treacherously robbed of the rights
of freedom. Dr. Phdip, an Independent minister, who
had been appointed to superintend the South African
stations of the London Missionary Society, had stood
forth as their defender, and at great personal risk and
sacrifice, had fought their battles, both with the autho
rities at the Cape of Good Hope, and with the govern
ment at home. His triumph in this cause was
rewarded with another opportunity of becoming the
benefactor of the oppressed. For when the Caffres
had been most unjustly exposed to a cruel war, and

INTERNAL STATE. 343
despoiled of their country, which was formed into a
new colonial district. Dr. Philip's energetic represen
tations induced the ministry of Britain to rescind the
infamous act, and restore to the injured people
their native land. In this affair, which places Dr.
Philip among the most intrepid friends of man, the
liberal spirit of the Dissenters stands out in prominent
contrast with the selfish, slavish temper of some other
missionaries. But as what was termed the apprentice
ship system had been adopted, under pretence of pre
paring the slaves for freedom, the termination ofthe
apprenticeship of the non-predial, or domestic slaves,
in 1838, roused the friends of the Africans to urge the
government to extend the same blessing to the predial,
or field slaves, whose bondage, which had, in many
cases, been aggravated by a mock emancipation, was
to continue four years longer. The effort, though
powerful, and headed by the ex-chancellor, Lord
Brougham, failed ostensibly, but really succeeded ;
for the government was impelled to such measures as
induced the colonial authorities to grant immediate
and unlimited emancipation. This measure will
greatly facilitate dissenting missions, and reward their
benevolent zeal by extending their usefulness.
If, in a review of the religious state of any people,
even-handed justice demands the mention of those
things which are a deduction from the spirit of piety,
what can be more serious than that which is called
Antinomianism? This, where real, is the essence of
irreligion. That the theology of Calvin, which is
charged by its opponents with Antinomian tendencies,
prevails among Dissenters, is well known, and is

344

HISTORY OF DISSENTER'S.

abundantly proved by those defences of this creed, which
have been noticed in the Chapter on Controversies.
But the Genevan system prevails, also, among those
clergymen who are called evangelical, and who will
not be pronounced by any candid observer less pious
than the anti-evangelical class in their own church.
The modification of the Calvinistic scheme, which is
known by the term modern, or moderate Calvinism,
has latterly prevailed among Dissenters ; and has
brought upon them the charge of Arminianism from
those who are called Ultra-calvinists. These are,
in general, obscure, illiterate men, who have contrived
to make themselves the idols of a faction, usually com
posed of men of doubtful character, thrown off as
refuse from the churches which were sound in the
faith, and pure in communion.
One exception to the obscurity of these preachers
might have been mentioned in the biographical depart
ment of this work, if a bad eminence could have en
titled any one to a memorial among the excellent of
the earth. No one succeeded Wm. Hunt, alias Hun
tington, in the same style ; and the spirit of Antino
mianism walked chiefly among the established clergy.
The south of Devon was the principal seat of this
worst of heresies, of which Dr. Hawker, Vicar of Charles,
Plymouth, was the Heresiarch. He poisoned the sur
rounding region with bad principles, and a vulgar
taste ; and although he lived and died within the
Established Church, he gave birth to many little
coteries of dissenting Antinomians, Against this
spirit, Mr. Joseph Cottle published a protest, entitled,
"Strictures on the Plymouth Antinomians," of whom he

INTERNAL STATE. 345
says, " Imputed sanctification is the spring of all their
errors." His quotation from the eloquent Robert Hall,
deserves a place in the history of this blot upon the
religion of Dissenters. "As almost every age of the
Church is marked by its appropriate visitation of
error ; so, little penetration is requisite to perceive
that Antinomianism is the epidemic malady of the
present ; and that it is an evil of gigantic size, and deadly
malignity. It includes within a compass which every
head can contain, and every tongue can utter, a system
which cancels every moral tie, consigns the whole
human race to the extremes of presumption or despair,
erects religion on the ruins of morality, and imparts
to the dregs of stupidity all the powers of the most
active poison. The author will ever feel himself
honoured by whatever censures he may incur through
his determined opposition to such a system." In this
declaration of war, the great body of the dissenting
ministers concurred ; though the communion to which
the author himself belonged, was the one most troubled
with the foul plague spot ; while it has also furnished
the most powerful antidotes to the disease. Among
these should be recorded, Mr. Burt's vindication of the
moral government of God ; " Observations on the System
of Theology, taught by the Rev. Dr. Hawker."
But in that part of Kent which lies nearest to the
metropolis, a beneficed clergyman long sustained an
unenviable rivalship with Dr. Hawker, and spread the
virus of his heresy, not only in his own denomination,
but also among the Dissenters, who are but too sus
ceptible of impressions from such of the clergy as are
deemed evangelical. In Leicester, also, the pulpit of

346 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
the Establishment dealt forth the most shameless
declaration of God's decrees and operations being the
source of evil, equally with good ; as if it were consi
dered a piece of religious heroism to give the lie direct
to the inspired apostle, who said, " Out of the same
fountain proceed not sweet waters and bitter." The
indulgence which these antinomian ized clergy gave to
error, occasioned much mischief among Dissenters, for
the infected men usually migrated into other commu
nions, where they spread the fatal plague.
While, in London, Antinomianism was driven into
the obscurest haunts of Dissent ; the prize essay against
covetousness was assailed by two clergymen, in a
book which bore the counter title of Anti-mammon,
written, if not in the true spirit, at least, on the prin
ciples of the Antinomian school, that the decrees of
God supersede the efforts of his people, and com
mand us to sit still, that, in the language of this party,
God may do his own work. The discerning reader
will naturally ask, if these men believed their own doc
trine, why did they not sit still, and leave God to write
Anti-mammon ? But to men of this creed, contradic
tions present no difficulties; as extremes meet, the
most furious Antinomians, often prove themselves real
Arminians. The consequence of the Antinomian taint may some
times be seen among Dissenters, in the prejudice
entertained against the invitations of the Gospel, and
exhortations to those who are considered as dead in
sins. That this is not the result of genuine Calvinism,
is well known to those who are famihar with the
writings and practice of the great Reformer ; but the

INTERNAL STATE. 347
error has been grafted on his system by those who
have been more eager to espouse certain parts, than
studious to understand the whole. But where the
heresy of Antinomianism prevailed, the ministry of
the Gospel has lost its generous benevolent character,
and has been cursed with the barrenness which the
perversion of the truth deserves.
But the faults of Dissenters are not all on one side ;
for even the Ultra-calvinism, which has checked the
usefulness of some, has not rarely been the offspring
of -a tendency to' Arminianism in others. The theo
logy of such men as Owen, has been sometimes ex
changed for that of Baxter. The abuse of God's
decrees has deterred many from putting them to their
proper use ; and while the universal call of the Gospel
has been maintained, the election of grace has not,
indeed, been denied, but passed by in silence, as
unsafe, if not pernicious. This has grieved the Spirit
of God, who revealed that truth ; has deprived be
lievers ofthe edification it was intended to afford ; and
left men to learn it, not from wise expositors, who
would direct to its proper use, but from crude inter
preters, whose imperfect knowledge has naturally been
accompanied with defective practice. Rhetorical, in
stead of theological preaching, has seriously injured
many dissenting churches of the present day. The
idolatry of talent, to which the popularity of a few
splendid men has given rise, exalts tropes to the place
of texts, prefers oratorical declamation to theological
instruction, and the fascinations of imagination to the
edification of the soul. This fatal taste throws truth
so much into the shade, that painted error may easily

348 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
lead away the unwary ; for, where the doctrines of the
Gospel are not kept prominently before the mind, the
sense of their value and importance is so far lost, that
opposite opinions excite little horror, and no alarm.
It has been the opinion of some severe censors, if
not sagacious observers, that Dissenters have declined
in other virtues for which their predecessors were emi
nent. The ministers have been charged with neglect
of pastoral inspection, which is supposed to have led
to the decay of many of those private and domestic
duties, which are the brightest ornaments of individuals
and families. " There are no pastors now," exclaim
some, who ask, " What is the cause why the former
days were better than these ?" But, perhaps, the wise
man would again say, " Thou inquirest not wisely con
cerning this." That ministers are more eminently
public men than theywere formerly, must be admitted;
but who will venture to affirm, that this is a crime ?
or to deny that it is an advance beyond the excel
lences of the first Dissenters ? Persecution drove our
ancestors into privacy; and the narrower limits of their
charge rendered a closer inspection possible and natu ral ;
but our greater liberty has opened to us new fields for
exertion ; and the extension of our flocks requires that
the labour which once excelled in depth, should
expand into breadth. But as zeal is infectious, the
private members of the churches, who once expected
every thing to be done for them, now learn to do much
themselves. This is unquestionably inculcated in the
apostohc letters to the churches. That ministers
should regard themselves according to their master's
charge, as " the lights ofthe world, and the salt ofthe

INTERNAL STATE. 349
earth," is surely not to be deplored ; and as they are not
omnipresent, or omnipotent, they cannot, at the same
time, be labouring for the conversion of the world, and
the edification of the church ; except as the latter party
should feel itself edified, when Christ's kingdom is
extended. To address public meetings of bible and tract
societies, and to travel and preach for missions, as
well as to keep in motion for these objects that
mighty modern engine, the press, consumes more time,
and thought, and energy, than those who merely look
on and read, or listen, would imagine ; while the ordi
nary services of ministers in the church are not dimi
nished, but considerably increased. If, therefore, the
pastors of the present day have, in some instances,
relinquished the useful toils of their predecessors, it
has been to undertake more onerous and more con
suming labours. Should any say, " These things ye
should have done, and not left the others undone;" it
may be replied, that it is only by a figure that a
minister can be made a host, a system ; and the dis
appointed hopes of those who would convert bold
figures into grave facts, prove nothing but their own
decline in the wisdom and kind consideration which
the limitation of human powers demands.
Our merciful and faithful high priest has, in his
wisdom and grace, provided a substitute for some of
those private, pastoral labours, which a more expanded
benevolence has rendered impossible. If ministers are
not so frequent and minute in catechising the young,
the Sabbath schools, in a great measure, supply that
defect ; and by occasional addresses to them, the

350

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

pastor does, once in a quarter of a year, what his pre
decessors did every week. The efforts to which he
urges the private members of the flock, preserve them
from the evil consequences that might otherwise arise
from the comparative infrequency of his pastoral
visits ; for, by teaching, we learn ; and we have an
inspired promise, that " he who watereth others, shall
be watered also himself." Whde, therefore, we hazard
nothing in affirming, that dissenting ministers have now
less leisure than formerly, for, in fact, the greater part
of them have none at all, the churches, if they wisely
keep pace with them, lose little by the change from
duties more private, and more anxiously minute, to
those which are more public, more expensive, and
more beneficial to the world.
To another accusation of diminished piety, it is
necessary to pay the most serious attention. For it
has, of late, become common with members of the Es
tablishment to accuse Dissenters of having become
political, departing from the pure spirituality of their
excellent Puritan and Nonconformist fathers. Re
crimination is the worst species of defence; but to
show the insincerity of accusers, may take off the edge
of an unjust accusation. How, then, has it happened
that the excellences of our forefathers were never dis
covered, or, at least, never confessed, till they were
deemed necessary to serve as a foil to those who in
herit their principles ? And if good trees do not bear
evil fruit, why are the founders lauded as the excellent
of the earth ; while the edifice for which they laboured)
suffered, and bled, is denounced as an unreasonable
and pernicious schism ?

INTERNAL STATE, 351
But facts are more within our province than motives.
As the transition from night to day is gradual ; neither
the first Reformers, nor the early Puritans, saw at once
all the evds of the system from which they emerged,
or all the consequences to which their separation would
lead. The Presbyterians, who led the march of Dis
sent, were so far from being hostile to the principles
of an Establishment, that, in their zeal to substitute
their own system for that of the Episcopacy, they
stained the cause of Dissent with the foul blot of in
tolerance. But the Independents, who rose out as
quickly from the Presbyterians as these sprung from
the first Protestants, were, in their essential principles,
opposed, from the first, to an Established Church in
terwoven with the state. While the older body has
dwindled almost to annihilation, the younger, includ
ing the Baptists, who are as much Independents as
those who bear that name, has so multiplied and ex
tended, as to become the Dissenters by emphasis.
This has necessarily given a new character to the body,
which the smaller numbers of the original Indepen
dents could not impart. But as zeal without know
ledge, like a man running hastily in the dark, stumbles
upon that which exposes it to ludicrous falls, they
who are eager to accuse Dissenters of apostacy from
the spirit of their fathers, charge them with Socinian
ism ; the spot of a minute fraction composed of those
who, professing to be Presbyterians, have this single
point of resemblance ; a lurking desire for the endow
ments, and the power, which may place them above all
dependence on the popular Will.
The opposition of the Independents to all state

352 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
churches, is but the necessary consequence of their ad
herence to the principles they have derived from the
Scriptures, by the aid of Ainsworth and Goodwin,
Owen and Howe. If those celebrated men were more
quiescent under the overwhelming force of opposing
systems, whether Episcopalian, or Presbyterian; so
were the witnesses for truth, who lurked in the desart,
before the Reformation, less stirring and efficient than
Latimer, Ridley, or Hooper. To sigh in secret may
be the duty of an evd time ; though, in more aus
picious days, it may be imperative on us to " lift up
our voice like a trumpet." That which is patience
and prudence, when activity could produce nothing but
ruin, is cowardice and sloth, when zeal would secure
triumph. Do the clergy of the present day, especially
those who are termed evangelical, limit themselves to
the methods and the measure of their predecessors ?
Yet, who would be allowed to accuse them of apostacy
from the spirit of their fathers ?
If any blame must attach to the present conflict,
between established and voluntary churches, with
whom did it commence ? It is not attempted to be
denied, that the voluntary, not to say the Independent
churches, may plead prescription ; so that being first
in the field, they could have supplanted no others, and
there could have been no contest, tdl Constantine
superseded the original system, by the power of the
state. If, after this, there has been a perpetual
struo-gle, let the blame fall on the first meddlers
with things as they were, and as they ought ever to
have been.
But, to descend to later times, in order to award een-

INTERNAL STATE. 353
sure where it is now due, have the established clergy
ever ceased to condemn Dissent as schism ? Would
that we were not constrained to ask, have they ever
intermitted the arts of persecution as far as it was
within their reach ? We are compelled by justice, if
we were not induced by love, to say, that all are not
included in this censure ; for there are still, as there
have always been, even in the worst times, members
and ministers of the Establishment, who have possessed
so much ofthe spirit of Christianity, as to be zealous
dissenters from the high church spirit of persecution.
But these, unhappily, are the exceptions, not the rule ;
and they have been left to deplore and condemn what
they could not prevent.
If it be said that Graham's work on Ecclesiastical
Establishments gave the first blow that led to the battle
which is now raging, it may be replied, that this work
crept quietly through the press, and produced little
effect, till the Society of St. David's elicited, by a
premium for the best defence of Establishments,
Mr. Wilkes' work on that subject. The premiums
by which Dissenters have called forth prize essays,
have been offered for works of a more catholic
character. The Society for Promoting Ecclesiastical Knowledge,
has given great offence ; but its " Library" consisted
principally of works on the defensive ; for so numerous,
and so oppressive were the impositions ofthe opposite
party, that they left littie leisure for any other tactics.
Personal abuse, and imputation of evil motives, were
dealt out with no sparing hand against the writers ;
but they confidently appealed to their tracts to prove
A A

354 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
that they never forgot that men might differ from them,
without forfeiting the respect due to purity of charac
ter, and sincerity of motive. The Voluntary Church
Society of Scotland, and its ephemeral offspring in
England, might appeal to their vocal or printed ad
dresses, to prove that they studied to speak the truth
indeed, but in love. As we cease not to be men and
citizens when we become Christians, politics, like arts
and sciences, commerce and manufactures, may be the
proper province of a disciple of Christ ; and it is very
possible to mistake timidity for spirituality, when we
shrink from the discharge of the duties required of us
as members of a free state which governs itself. Are
the institutions of society to be brought into conformity
with the law of the Supreme Ruler, by men who
neither know nor approve it; or by those who are
enlightened to see, and sanctified to do " that good, and
perfect, and acceptable will of God ?" When Satan
said of the kingdoms of the world, " They are mine,
and 1 give them to whom I please ;" some deem it a
proof of high spirituality to believe him ; but others
think it more spiritual to believe the faithful and true
witness, who, as prince of the kings of the earth, said,
"All power in heaven and in earth is given to me."
That the exercise of political duties is fraught with
danger, is true ; but to escape that danger, by neglect
ing the duty, is a sin. Dissenters, in general, what
ever their censors may say, have erred most on what
would be called the safe side; but it is safer stdl to
err on neither side. We know him that condemned,
as hypocrites, those who threw upon other men's
shoulders burdens which they themselves would not

INTERNAL STATE. 355
touch with one of their fingers. If the relations of man
with man require that the duties of civil government be
discharged by some of the inhabitants of our country,
we ought to produce a clear dispensation from some
one higher than the Pope, before we presume to throw
all civic burdens upon others, and refuse to take any
share of them ourselves. A cowardly piety that fears
to encounter the common duties and dangers of life,
was the parent of monachism, which, in the end,
brought forth more sin than sanctity.
In attempting an estimate of the whole body of
Dissenters, every sect has been included ; but if each
communion were separately reviewed, the Presbyte
rians, as the oldest denomination, would demand the
first attention. Those who have called themselves
English Presbyterians or Unitarians, and are generally
termed by others, Socinians, have, to say the least, not
shared in the increase which has been the lot of almost
every other sect. They have become more absolutely
identified with the creed of Priestly, and have now^ no
connection with the other denominations. Should the
endowments to which they cling, be finally restored
to their proper objects, it may be hoped that, thrown
upon the people for support, the ministers of this body
might furnish materials for a future historian to employ
in a chapter on the state of religion.
At present, the dying state of their congregations,
the extinction of some, and the rarity of the instances
of the creation of others to supply their place, prove
that there must be something wrong in this body. Dr.
Priestly ascribed his serious spirit to his Calvinistic edu
cation, in which, no doubt, many could have joined him;
A A 2

356

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

but as that generation died away, and another arose
under the undivided influence of Socinianism, the spirit
of the ancient Dissenters was exchanged for that of the
world. This alone can account for the inefficiency of
Unitarianism. For it is not destitute of men of edu.
cation and talent ; it has large funds, if not properly
their own ; and it now has an open field. Why, then,
does it effect nothing? Its own principles, of the
attributes of Deity, the moral government of God, the
mission of the Saviour, and the resurrection of the
dead, might, in the hands of able and zealous men,
produce considerable effect on the public mind. But
it seems that, for want of the vital doctrines of the
Deity and atonement of Christ, the influences of the
Spirit, and the regeneration of our nature, all other
principles are like the limbs of a Samson without the
animating soul. The oldest and most powerful body
of Dissenters is, therefore, a nonentity as to any efforts
for the salvation of the poor neglected part of our
population ; while almost every other body is making
accessions to its numbers in this most honourable way.
The benevolent attempt would probably lead the Eng
lish Presbyterians to perceive, that they have aban
doned the vital principles of Christianity, by which it
spread through the world, and by which the original
Presbyterians once extended their denomination tid
they became the Dissenters by emphasis. Their duty
would thus prove their interest ; for, by relinquishing
endowments, to which they have no just claim, they
would be made to feel how weak are their own proper
resources ; and, by labouring in the true vocation of a
religious body, for the salvation of the world, they

INTERNAL STATE. 357
would discover the practical value of those evangelical
sentiments which they have rejected as the excrescences
of a scholastic theology.
The other part of the Presbyterian body, which may
be termed Scotch, has exhibited, during the last thirty
years, very satisfactory proofs of a more healthy state.
One specimen of its ministers will be given in the
biographical department ; and it is believed, that no
exception to the prevalent orthodoxy of the body
exists ; while its unity has been advanced by a very
auspicious event. The Burghers and Antiburghers
were divided upon a question that strangers find it
difficult to understand ; and when they have overcome
that difficulty, they ask, why cannot those who agree
on all other points, exercise mutual forbearance on
this ? The two bodies have, at length, come to this
conclusion. For as a union had been effected in Nova
Scotia and in Ireland, the efforts that were subse
quently made for the same object, in Scotland and
England, succeeded ; and the Burghers and Anti
burghers are now the United Secession Presbytery.
Of this, both the cause and the effect are good ; for it
is an approximation towards the answer of our Re
deemer's prayer for his disciples, " that they all may
be one."
The catholicity of this body in England, is proved
by the union of its ministers and leading members with
other denominations, in the various efforts that are
made for the extension of the kingdom of Christ. He
must be more than a cursory observer, who has dis
covered the difference between these Presbyterians

358

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

and the Independents ; for they often officiate in each
Others pulpits, and are of one heart, if not entirely of
one mind.
Of the Independents it is not necessary to say
much; for, as they form the larger body of Dis
senters, they have furnished the principal materials
for the general review. Their excellences and faults
have, therefore, been exposed to notice ; and if any
thing more should be added, it would be censure,
rather than praise. The tendency to conformity to the
world may be charged, both upon the ministers and the
congregations. A foolish imitation of the established
priesthood in some, makes it no matter of surprise
that a few others have absolutely conformed ; while
many, as preachers, lead us to think they have taken
for their model, Saurin, rather than Owen, or Howe,
Baxter, or Whitfield. In the members of the churches,
conformity to the world, in dress and company, and
eagerness for gain, leave more occasion for discipline,
than disposition to study and obey its wholesome
restraints. If men of other communions can discover
a counterpoise to these evds, it would be a balm to
the heart of the historian to learn the welcome truth.
A tendency to rivalship in the churches, instead of
regarding the prosperity of each one as the gain of the
whole, may, perhaps, be said to be the natural fruit of
Independency ; but those who regard this form of
church polity as the appointment of the Sovereign
Lord of all, will rather say, that this fault is but a
confirmation of the maxim, that the corruption of the
best things produces the worst. The co-operation in

INTERNAL STATE. 359
labours of benevolence, which has, of late years, greatly
increased, is the best, perhaps the only, cure for an
evil so much to be deplored.
Among the Baptists, the increase of numbers has
happily been equalled by the diffusion of sacred learn
ing. New academical institutions have increased the
demand, as well as the supply, of well educated
ministers ; and thrown into the shade, the crude men,
who have, even when not Antinomians themselves,
created a taste for that worst of heresies. The grow
ing liberality of this body, and the efforts of many of
its best ministers to break down the wall of separation
between them and Psedobaptists, have been the result
of improvement in Christian piety and charity, and in
that high preference for the essentials of religion
which mourns over the alienation of Christ's disciples
from each other. The labours of Mr. Robert Hall to
diffuse, what may be called, catholic communion, were
crowned with distinguished success ; for many were
induced to adopt his views ; and others, who had
previously thought with him, were emboldened to
break through the hindrances which hitherto prevented
their acting on their more liberal sentiments. In
Bristol, a very beautiful and impressive scene was
exhibited, in 1833, where the Lord's Supper was cele
brated by a Baptist and Psedobaptist church, united
for this service; the pastors of each denomination
sharing in the exercises, and contributing to the gene
ral joy. As the Independents and Baptists differed
but on one point, which had been long debated with
out converting either party to the opinions of the
other, it was most highly desirable that they should

360

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

come to this conclusion ; that their difference should
no longer prevent their unity in the bond of those
greater principles in which they agree. This consum
mation, so devoutly to be wished, has furnished one
of the most refreshing instances of the improved spirit
of the times ; and, as the Psedobaptists had persever
ingly acted on the catholic principle, its more general
adoption by the Baptists must be recorded as a proof
of their advance in that charity, which is greater than
faith or hope. A disposition to swell their numbers
by proselytism from other evangelical communions,
instead of the more honourable effects of their ministry
in making converts to the faith of Christ, has been
charged upon this body ; but it is hoped that this evd
has, of late years, rather diminished than increased,
which is a good omen for the religious prosperity of
the body ; for proselytes are not usually gained from
the best elements of other societies ; while the real
advancement ofthe kingdom of Christ is, in this course,
little or nothing. To this body of Dissenters it is a
serious disadvantage, that a single rite is pushed into
undue importance ; and even that rite of baptism is
itself made an element of strife, which destroys its devo
tional effect. On the other hand, it must be admitted,
that their peculiar opinion opposes a strong barrier to
the general tendency to confound the church with the
world. A proposal to unite the Secession churches with
the Congregationalists, was not followed with the
desired results, and' perhaps the authority necessarily
involved in Presbyterianism, to say nothing of its
looser terms of communion, renders impracticable, at

INTERNAL STATE. 361
present, any other union than that which already
exists in their frequent fraternal intercourse and co
operation. Of the Quakers it is difficult for those who are not
of that body to speak with accuracy. They are, to a
great extent, a mystery to other Christians, who can
not, however, observe their co-operation in the Bible
Society, and in the British and Foreign schools, and
occasionally in other benevolent and religious under
takings, without cherishing the hope, that the vital
spirit of true religion has been stirring among them,
and making an effort to advance. To those who regard
evangelical truth as the seed of all holy affections and
good works, the sentiments of any religious body
appear of the utmost consequence. This stamps with
value and importance the " Letter to a Friend on the
Authority, Purpose, and Effects of Christianity, espe
cially on the Doctrine of Redemption ; by Joseph
John Gurney." If the extensive sale of this work
indicates its welcome reception among those for whom
it was written, and to whom its author belongs, its
superiority to the former standards of Quakerism
would be a proof of their improvement.
But a great schism has arisen in this body, hitherto
so compact. We notice it here, because it was solely
a question of personal religion, and of adherence to
these doctrines, which are essential to salvation.
Many valuable members of the Society of Friends,
first in Manchester, and afterwards in London, and
other places, becoming dissatisfied with its doctrine
and ministry, withdrew from the communion. The
causes appear to have been two, doctrinal and prac-

362 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
tical. Elias Hicks, an American Friend, having gone
to fearful lengths in Deism, drew great numbers after
him. Many of the more serious and reflecting Quakers
in this country, however, took the alarm, and began to
suspect a tendency, in the doctrine of the light within,
to alienate the mind from the revelation contained in
the Scriptures. Some very serious and sensible tracts
were written by this party, to prove that the Society
had departed from the doctrine of the prophets and
apostles. From such reflections, it was easy to pass to others,
on the practical working of the Quakers' system.
Some of the Society, therefore, affirming that the .
ministry among them was barren and inefficient, ap
pealed to facts, to prove that the genuine effects of
the Christian ministry were not to be found among
them. What must have been noticed by every dis
cerning auditor, was now affirmed by some among
themselves, that different and contrary doctrines were
delivered by the speakers in the same assembly ; to say
nothing of the prevalence of sdent meetings, which,
however they may be defended, as edifying occasion
ally, and to the better informed seniors, could not, as
a standing rule, be instructive to any, and especially
to the rising race. Others were grieved to see various
bodies of Christians actively employed in labours of
benevolence for the salvation of the irreligious, in
which the Society of Friends took no share. This
produced " An Appeal to the Society of Friends, in
behalf of Missions, by a Member of the Society ;"
which was followed by the voyage of Daniel Wheeler
to the islands in the South Seas.

INTERNAL STATE. 363
This expedition was, however, more creditable to
the intentions than the judgment of the body. For
what could be done by a man who could not speak the
language of the people, to whom he fancied himself
sent ? He must have merely looked on, had not the
missionaries from other bodies of Christians acted as
his interpreters. If he had no other message than
that which is contained in the doctrines of our common
Christianity, it was already delivered to greater advan
tage by those who had gone more rationally to work,
by devoting years of self-denying labour to the acqui
sition of the language ; but if he wished to disseminate
the peculiar sentiments of Friends, he was dependent
on interpreters, who could not fairly be expected to
assist in propagating among their converts, doctrines
opppsed to their own. This was, therefore, as might
have been expected, as nugatory as it was expensive.
Hannah Kilham, the widow of the founder of the
Kilhamite Methodists, having joined the Society of
Friends, devoted herself with a noble, if not a discreet,
heroism, to a similar mission among the natives of the
western coast of Africa ; but it is not known that she
accomplished her generous object. These efforts, how
ever, may do good to the Quakers, if not to the
heathen ; for persons of sense and education, as the
Friends unquestionably are, cannot fail to discover a
radical defect in their system, by perceiving that it is
not fitted to accomplish the object of Christianity,
which is, to subdue the world to the faith of Christ.
Their ministry cannot even secure the continuance of
their own body ; and is utterly powerless for all the
greater efforts which Christians are bound to make for

364 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
the expulsion of idolatory and false religion from the
face of the earth.
In the Friends' Monthly Magazine, towards the end
of 1829, Mr. Davis, of Taunton, discovering the duty,
advocated the cause of missions, and was supported
by several anonymous correspondents.
The withdrawment of many of the most valuable
members from the Society was naturally deplored ; but
their peaceable spirit, and their activity in the cause
of religion, evinced the purity of their motives, and
appears to be a proof, not of the decline, but of the
revival of religion in the Society. Could they have
produced the reform for which they pleaded, the
seceders would have preferred retaining their old
connections; but, failing in this, they either stood
alone, or joined other communions, in hope of obtain
ing among them those religious advantages which
they deemed it their duty to seek. At their annual
meeting, in London, 1837, the quarterly meeting of
Westmoreland stated, that some of the Society had
received Baptism and the Lord's Supper, according to
the views of other Christian societies ; and it was
discussed, whether such persons were exposed to ex
clusion. The journals of the day announced, that the
Evangelical Quakers held meetings for worship on
Sunday and Wednesday, at the Paul's Head, Cateaton
Street. Mr. Tuke, in a very temperate and charitable
pamphlet, attempted to show that the deistical senti
ments of Elias Hicks are not those of the Society of
Friends ; and even those who are not quite satisfied
with his statements, must be pleased to see how much

INTERNAL STATE. 365
nearer he approaches to the faith of all orthodox
Christians, than to what have been usually supposed
to be the principles of Quakers. He observes, " that a
secession from the Society has taken place in America,
by Elias Hicks and his adherents, and more recently
another, but much smaller division, in England, by
John Wilkinson and others. The views of these two
classes, though both opposed to the Society from which
they have separated, are not less at variance from each
other ; while the latter class is again subdivided into
smaller sections ; some, with Mr. Wilkinson, going to
the Establishment, (but occasionally holding religious
meetings, the service of which he himself conducts,)
some have joined the Irvingites, some the Methodists,
and some the Independents, or Baptists, while others
are hesitating what course to take."
This contest seems to have sprung from a good
cause, and to promise good effects. The radical evil
of the constitution of the Society, what is called birth
membership, by which men in a state of nature join
in administering the affairs of a religious body, has
been detected by some of the dissentients, and their
separation appears to have arisen from a just dissatis
faction with the paucity of religious truth, exhibited in
the meetings of the Friends, and the want of those
spiritual effects which should accompany the services
of the church of God. As there are many striking
excellences in this community, its improvement rather
than its extinction is to be desired. But its own
laws appear to stand in the way of much hope, as they
are little else than a substitute for those of Jesus
Christ. Instead of an immediate appeal to the Scrip-

366 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
tures, the Friends quote the testimony of their
founders ; and their book of discipline, which is a
remarkable specimen of a people, most opposed to
Popery, quoting the fathers and the canons. But they
have been set a thinking ; and though the secession of
those who have discovered some of the evils of the
system, may seem to leave these evils to operate
uncontrolled, there are others left who may still accom
plish the object so much to be desired, the purification
and advancement of a society which has borne a noble
testimony against the popery of a Christian order of
priesthood, against the authority of human govern
ments in.the church of God, and against the unchristian
and inhuman practice of war.
In 1837, was published the following demi-official
document. " For some time past, there has been a
division among the Friends, or Quakers, in America,
which has terminated in a separation from the body.
The seceders from the faith of the original Friends,
and who are the minority in point of numbers, have
embraced sentiments, in many respects, coinciding with
those of the Unitarians ; but as they would fain per
suade the public that their faith is the same as that of
the original Friends, the Society in this land have
thought proper to disclaim any connection with them,
or unity with their opinions. Hence the last yearly
meeting, held in London, issued the following official
document, which, while it refutes the misrepresenta
tion of some, will correct the misunderstanding of
others, respecting the real opinions ofthe Friends."
Then follows a kind of confession of faith, chiefly
composed of texts of Scripture, in which the most

INTERNAL STATE. 367
important points of Christianity are clearly avowed,
and all who contradict them, disowned. To most it
wdl appear so much more orthodox than the writings
of the first Quakers, as to prove that the Society,
who naturally study those documents, understand
them in the best sense, and though this is often
really misunderstanding them, the mistake is a happy
one. Isaac Crewdson, of Manchester, having published
" The Beacon," in which he delivered a faithful warning
against the American heresy, called " Hicksism," his
book, instead of being hailed as a faithful testimony to
truth, was discountenanced by the Society, and the
author was urged to suppress the publication. He
very justly demanded that its errors should first be
pointed out ; but this was refused. The consequence
of his being removed, along with another friend of
kindred sentiments, was the resignation of many
esteemed Friends, at Manchester, of their membership
in the Society. Their letters of resignation were most
honourable to them, for the benevolent spirit which
they breathe, and the clear declaration of scriptural
truth which they contain. They protest against the
unscriptural views of Quakerism concerning the Scrip
tures, and the inward light ; and plead for the apostolic
testimony to justification by faith alone. It is painful
to observe, that a meeting, held by the most evange
lical Quakers, for the reading of the Scriptures, was
denounced by what may be called, the authorities in
the Society, as unauthorized.
It is vain to attempt to conceal the fact, that the
Society, while condemning Elias Hicks, never suffered

368 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
itself to investigate the most interesting question,
whether his errors were not the genuine offspring of
the sentiments of the earliest Friends. These, how
ever, were always assumed to be true, and were
appealed to, along with tbe Scriptures, as standards
of doctrine. The Church of Rome will admit the
authority of Scripture, if we will admit the authority
of the fathers, and councils, and popes, whom she
associates with the word of God. " Earlv Friends
and Dr. Edward Ash," was the title of a work, which
showed, by large quotations from the earliest writers
among the Quakers, that their principles were utterly
unscriptural, and the genuine fountain from which
Elias Hicks drew his bitter waters.
At last, a separate body, called Evangelical Friends,
has been formed. It published, at the close of the
yearly meeting ofthe Old Society, in 1837, an address
to evangelical Friends, and to all those who love our
Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Its first paragraph
will show its spirit and design. " The comfort we
have derived from Christian communion with each
other, during the course of the time we have been in
London, has led us affectionately to remember and to
sympathize with those of our dear friends who are
scattered about in places, lonely as regards the blessed
privilege of Christian fellowship. Being greatly en
couraged by the agreement which we find to exist
amono- us on those fundamental doctrines which the
Gospel recognizes as the unity of faith, and also
respecting the origin and tendency of those views in
the writings of the early Friends, from which we are
constrained to dissent, we think there is good ground

INTERNAL STATE. 369
to hope, that, being thus united, the great Head of the
church may have a work for us to do in the various
localities where he has been pleased to place us."
After recognizing the Scriptures as a complete reve
lation, they " affirm a belief, that any professed sub
sequent revelation must, of necessity, be a delusion.
The sentiments of evangelical Friends having been
painfully misrepresented on the blessed doctrine of
the Holy Spirit, we consider it due to ourselves, and
to you, and to the Christian church generally, empha
tically to declare our firm and unreserved belief in
this doctrine, in all its scriptural extent and fulness.
Whilst renouncing the notion of a universal, saving,
inward light, as utterly destitute of a scriptural foun
dation, we believe that it is by the operation of the
Holy Spirit that man is convinced of sin, and enabled
to believe in and lay hold on a Saviour ; that regene-
tion is the communication of vitality to the soul, which
before was dead in trespasses and sins. We accept
the great foundation doctrine of faith, and justification
through faith alone, as understood by the great body
of evangelical Protestants. Under a painful sense of
the incalculable loss many of us have sustained from
perverted views on the subject of prayer, we venture
most earnestly to entreat you to enter upon a scrip
tural examination of this duty and blessed privilege.
There are those, who, in this, as in other instances, have
put the guard on the wrong side; and, by surrounding
the throne of grace with a Sinai -like awfulness, have,
we fear, ministered but too fatally to the indifference,
indolence, pride, and unbelief of man's naturally hard
heart ; and contrary to the general tenor, and in oppo-
B B

370 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
sition to the express language of Holy Scripture, have
inculcated the idea that none should pray without a
perceptible supernatural motion thereto. We should
very earnestly exhort one another to a practical ap
plication of Scripture principles, by family devotion ;
and, moreover, by meeting together for the purpose
of presenting our supplications to the God of all grace.
We should, of course, recommend the reading of por
tions of Holy Scripture, at all devotional meetings.
This leads us to remark on the large amount of indi
vidual blessing which, we believe, has resulted from
meetings for the sacred study of Holy Scripture."
This document, from which we have taken, only such
detached sentences as express the points of variation
from the original Society, contains also an assertion of
one important truth, to which that Society has ever
borne a faithful testimony, that Christ, being the sole
high priest of the church, there is no order of priests
among Christians, though there are evangelical minis
ters ; and that all Christians are equally " a royal
priesthood." This separation in England seems on the verge of
being imitated in America ; for Elisha Bates, having
maintained a contest with Friends there, chiefly on the
resurrection of the Lord, and the last judgment,
coming over to this country, exchanged the views of
the Quakers, on Baptism and the Lord's Supper, for
the ordinary opinion on those rites, and was baptized
by a dissenting minister. His own society, on his
return, adopted measures which led him to publish
" his resignation of his right of membership in the
Society of Friends." It were much to be wished that

INTERNAL STATE. 371
the new infusion of evangelical sentiments and spirit
into a people distinguished for thoughtfulness, pru
dence, and firmness, may produce an effect, not only
beneficial to themselves, but also auspicious to the
world. The evil of multiplying sects may, in a great
degree, be obviated, by a spirit of candour and charity
towards all other communions who hold the essential
truths of the Gospel ; and by a determination to learn
by their former mistakes, to keep themselves open to
conviction and improvement, which may still further
diminish the distance between them and others. Nor
is it unreasonable to expect, that the evangelical
Quakers will bring with them benefits to other deno
minations, who have something to learn from them, on
principles and practices, essential to the highest in
terests of the Christian church.
The best friends of the original Society may justly
fear the consequences of the withdrawment of so many
of the most enlightened and spiritual members, who
have, in some instances, been succeeded in office by
those who are most remote from scriptural views. The
only hope for the body lies in the thoughtful character
of many of its members, and the influence of divine
grace on some, who, though still lingering in a com
munion to which they have been long attached, are
not satisfied that all is right, but are thrown into
deeper search after truth and duty, by recent events.
A second effort for reformation may terminate more
happily than the last, and may be aided by the in
creased piety and usefulness of the evangelical sepa
ration. Nothing, however, will eflPectually serve the
cause of religion among the Quakers, but unpre-
B B 2

^72 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
judiced examination of the writings of early Friends,
and a consequent abandonment of the deference paid
to them, by placing them almost on a level with the
Scriptures, as standards of orthodoxy and piety.
The present position of the Friends is critical and
perilous, for they have lost many of their evangelical
members, which has left the Society under the uncon
trolled influence of its worst elements; whde these
are under the gudt of having opposed a noble effort
for their welfare, and doomed their communion to a
perseverance in pernicious error. Some who have left
them, say the whole system is too corrupt to be mended ;
but others hope that the apparent failure of the effort
for reform wdl lead to ultimate success. Dr. Wardlaw,
of Glasgow, has contributed to the triumph of scrip
tural truth among the seceders, by a publication, in
which he showed the radical evil of that doctrine of
inward light, which leads the Quakers away from the
guidance of the inspired Scriptures.
The Moravians are, from their quiescent character,
in danger of being overlooked, did not their missions
solicit notice and support from other denominations.
But it is not easy to form an accurate estimate of the
religious state of a people that seldom attracts
others within its sanctuaries, or presents itself to public
notice by aggressive efforts. If we judge of hfe by
growth, we could scarcely form a high estimate of those
who seem to be stationary ; and if it be said that this
rule can be applied only to youth, the Moravians are,
• as an English sect, of the same age as the Methodists ;
but how different has been their progress ! This may,
perhaps, be ascribed, in part, to a peculiar circumstance,

INTERNAL STATE. 373
that their ministers have been, in many instances,
Germans, whose imperfect knowledge of English, or
defective pronunciation, has impeded their usefulness.
It may, however, be asked, why any religious society
should unnecessarily employ men that cannot attain all
the ends ofthe Christian ministry? If foreigners edify
the Moravian congregations, this is only 07ie of the ob
jects ofthe Christian church ; and the other, which is
to convert the world, cannot be neglected without injury
to the church.
Their missions, however, are considered the glory
of the Moravians, who deem themselves specially
called to this work. But nothing is more fallacious, or
pernicious, than judging of calls to duty by any other
rule than that of the divine word. A mission church
is a fine figure, when employed to save Christians from
the sin of neglecting the souls of the heathen; but,
like all other figures, is apt to mislead, and should be
tried by sober reason, in proper speech. The Christian
church became a grand missionary society, by first
spreading the truth all around its immediate locality,
by which it was furnished with the men, and the means,
for more distant missions. The Moravians, instead of
this, derive much of their resources for missionary en
terprises from others. A mission church, in the fullest
sense of that figure, is not known to Scripture, and
could scarcely exist ; for it must be wholly divided
into missions, which would then have none to support
them. There must be some reason to suspect an un
healthy state of rehgion in any church, in the present
day of activity, ifit is not diffusing the Gospel in every
direction; and ministers should not locate themselves or

374

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

be located by others, in any country where their
speech forbids the hope of one most important branch
of usefulness.
But the English ministers among the Moravians,
are little known by their labours, or usefulness, in our
country, from which they derive considerable supphes
for their missionaries, by the favour of other denomina
tions, especially the Independents, whose ministers
travel and preach, and make collections for the Mora
vian missions. There must be serious reasons for alarm,
in this body which is doing so little for the population
around, which is in a state scarcely less heathenish than
those for whose salvation it has sent out messengers to
the ends of the earth. If other denominations were not
more active and useful, they would not have, either the
inclination, or the ability, to furnish those aids on which
the Moravian missions chiefly depend.
Of the Wesleyan Methodists, it is not necessary
to speak ; for as they sometimes disclaim the title of
Dissenters, so their activity and increase prove that
they have not lost the spirit derived from their founder.
The separations from their body have naturally been
accompanied with charges of departure from their
original principles and practice ; but this, if true,
may not be a fault ; and some of the changes in this
body are manifest improvements. A better informed
ministry, and more intellectual preaching and writing,
may have rendered them less fitted for the class of
persons among whom they originated ; but these are
provided for by the Separatists; and a higher grade of
society is edified by the advancement of what is now
the Old Connection.

INTERNAL STATE. 375
If the Calvinistic Methodists have not much in
creased in England, they have furnished additions to
the Independent churches, as the two bodies, agree in
doctrine ; and many of the ministers, educated in the
Countess of Huntingdon's College, have become
pastors of Independent flocks. Whole congregations,
also, have made similar transitions. An improvement
in theology has been observed ; for the tendency to
Ultra-calvinism, which arose out of the separation
from the Arminian Methodists, has yielded to more
just views of the system which derives its name from
the Reformer of Geneva.
The co-operation of this communion in all the
efforts that are now making for the spiritual welfare
of mankind, may justly be regarded as a proof of the
continuance of Whitfield's spirit, in the body of which
he was the chief ornament. In Wales, these are the
parties meant when the Methodists are mentioned;
and they deserve to be highly esteemed for their
works' sake, as they have spread the knowledge and
spirit of religion where heathenish ignorance and vice
before reigned.
Of the spirit of religion among the Sandemanians,
little is known beyond their own circle, which seems
not to have been enlarged, during the last thirty years.
As a body of English Dissenters, its birth was as
inauspicious, as its history has been inglorious. It
contended for no great truth, as Luther, for justification
by faith ; nor for any important principle in Christian
fellowship, as those churches which made regeneration
essential to a member of a church; for those from
whom the Sandemanians separated, held the same

376

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

doctrines, and the same discipline, in all their essential
features, as the new communion maintained. But
what may be termed the metaphysics of faith, fasci
nated Sandeman ; and, for the sake of this refinement,
he recklessly divided Christians, and treated all from
whom he differed, with bitter scorn. The first appear
ance of the sect was bold and active ; but the roaring
cataract was a summer flood, which passed away,
leaving nothing behind but desolation and slime ; and,
during the last thirty years, they have scarcely been
heard of in England. In Scotland, they have been
divided between the original body and a modification
of it, which has adopted the principle of the Baptists ;
but in Ireland, the spirit of Sandemanianism has
infected many who have quitted the Establishment,
and has been imparted to the Plymouth brethren in
this country. Here Millenarianism, engrafted on the
crab stock, is producing strange hybrid fruits. A pro
fession of extraordinary Catholicism is combined with
the sectarian pride of the old Sandemanian school;
and an auspicious study of the Scriptures is neutra
lized by the fanaticism of Millenarianism,which is nearly
allied to Irvingism. The better features of this body
are seen in the works they have undertaken for the
illustration of the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, and
in the aid they have lent to the missions of other
Christians in the East ; to say nothing of the proofs of
sincerity they give, in the sacrifice of property to a
kind of community of goods ; but the conceited fond
ness they show for the exhortations of the brethren,
sinks the pastoral office, which Christ instituted, into
the shadow of a great name. This communion is,

INTERNAL STATE. 377
however, too young to have either a fixed character,
or a rehgious history ; and while it furnishes little
aliment to hope, it exhibits much to awaken fear. A^
large proportion of its members have recently emerged
from the Establishment, ignorant of the character of
that sect on which they are engrafted ; but supposing
that it is new to all the world, because it is new to
them. The Millenarianism, which is not ostensibly a
term of communion, is as restless as it is fanatical, and
gives to the body a character which is most ominous
for the future.
The Swedenborgians adopt a phraseology, which is
not sufficiently intelligible to others to afford the
means of pronouncing a sentence on their religious
improvement or decline ; but this communion is not of
such extent as to demand any lengthened comment.
The attention paid by them to Immanuel Swedenbourg's
pretended revelations, must neutralize the effects of the
Scriptures, like the Quakers' attention to the inward
light; while the Swedenborgian notion ofthe person and
redemption of Christ, seems to be any thing but what
would lead to the attainment and ad vance of true religion.
To a pious member of the state church, this review
of the religious state of dissenting communions may
appear alarming, especially on account of the divi
sions exhibited among Christians, whose unity is their
glory. But he may not be aware, that the Act of
Uniformity, passed by the parliament of the second
Charles, that disgrace to the British throne, was not
ratified in heaven; and -that, under its iron rule, many
of the varieties of Dissent lurk within the established
pale; where an additional principle of disunion pre-

378 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
vails to an alarming extent, in the tendency to Popery,
proclaimed by the Oxford Tracts. If their authors
declare unambiguously their expectation of conquer
ing the sectarian tendency of the times, by securing
the predominance of the old Popish figment of the
unity of the church ; the toscin of alarm has been
sounded in the pulpits of Oxford itself on the threat
ened revival of Popery. Nor should it be unnoticed,
that the sister university of Cambridge exhibits the
picture of a divided church, by congratulating herself
on her freedom from the Oxford leaven. That the
Oxford Tracts will create a powerful reaction in favour
of Protestantism, cannot be doubted. The Establish
ment of our country is not so destitute of men embued
with the spirit of true religion, as to leave the papis
tical party to pursue their journey towards Rome,
without felling trees and digging fosses, to obstruct
their march.
The conflict is, indeed, begun; and, therefore, the
only difference between sectarianism within the Esta
blishment, and that which exists among Dissenters,
lies here, that, in the former case, a profession of
uniformity is belied by a real variety ; and in the
latter, the diversity is honestly avowed. The integrity
of the two thousand Nonconformists, who suffered the
loss of their livings, because they could not honestly
declare their unfeigned assent and consent to every
thing in the Book of Common Prayer, is set off to high
advantage, by the contrast with the conduct of those
who unblushingly condemn what they have professed
to approve, holding the emoluments of a church which
they are labouring to betray to its foes.

INTERNAL STATE. 379
But as the faults of one party are not rendered vir
tues by being equady shared with another, the reli
gious state of die Dissenters is still deteriorated, in
proportion as it is marked by disunion, not to say,
ahenation of heart. The perfection of union is, how
ever, not to be hoped for, but by the perfection of
holiness in heaven. That the church of Christ was,
only for a short time, of " one heart and one soul,"
we know, by the Acts of the Apostles, and by the
Epistle to the Galatians, which was written to coun
teract the efforts of a party ; nor can we expect, among
myriads of men, of different capacities and education,
absolute uniformity of sentiment and practice. The
boasted unity of the Church of Rome is known, by
all who are in her secrets, to be hollow and hypocri
tical ; and her priests are obliged to have recourse
to the distinction between articles of faith and opi
nions of individuals. There never was, then, and
never will be, on earth, and, perhaps, we may add,
heaven too, any other union among Christians, but
that of affection, springing from common faith in a
very small number of essential truths. To us, the
doctrine of justification by faith, appears to be that
vital principle in which all Christians are one. In
this, there is more harmony among evangelical Dis
senters, than is to be found in the Established Church.
They " love one another, for this truth which dwelleth
in them all." But this is not enough. They are
bound to love all who hold this truth, and to regard,
as Christian brethren, Churchmen who maintain this
doctrine, rather than Dissenters who deny it. This
they unquestionably do, whatever their struggles with

380 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
the Establishment may seem to say in contradiction.
Many of the evangelical clergy have done much to
destroy this feeling ; but it still lives among Dissen
ters; and they, therefore, rejoice in every evidence of
its existence among those from whom they differ.
That it has not been weakened by the contentions of
the times, is not asserted ; but many of the most pro
minent advocates of the voluntary principle are re
luctantly goaded on by a sorrowful conviction, that
the opposite system is essentially hostile to the union
of Christians, which is founded on their being all
alike brethren.
To conclude. Who, but the omniscient Searcher of
hearts, is adequate to pass a just judgment on the spi
ritual state of such an aggregate as the Protestant
Dissenters of England? The principal bodies which
form the mass, hold all the great truths for which the
founders of their churches struggled and suffered,
laboured and bled. But the Calvinism which charac
terized their creed, is somewhat lowered ; partly, in
theory, by an avowed rejection of reprobation, which
was an unnatural excrescence on the system, as pro
pounded by the great Reformer in his youthful days ;
but, more in practice, by an infrequent and less zealous
inculcation of the divine sovereignty, aud the election
of grace ; though without any abatement in the asser
tion of the utter depravity of man, the regenerating
work of the Holy Spirit, and justification by faith in
the finished work of Christ. The great principles of
ecclesiastical communion have been maintained and
acted upon ; but not inculcated as earnestly as in
former days; and, consequently, not so generally under-

INTERNAL STATE. 381
stood, or so strictly enforced. For the Methodists
have had a powerful, if an insensible effect, on the
older communities.
The depth, and vigour, and wisdom of personal reli
gion, and the ancient glory of family worship, it is to
be feared, have declined ; so that it would be difficult
to produce such specimens of eminence, in either
as formerly adorned our communions ; though no one
would be deemed worthy of Christian fellowship, who
was known to neglect the worship of God in the
secret closet and in the family. But religion has, in
later days, come out, more than formerly, from the
closet to the stage of public life ; and the mul
tiplication of schemes of usefulness has left Christians
less time, and it is to be feared, less inclination, for
that secret communion with God, without which the
soul cannot prosper.
The character of the ministry has undergone a simi
lar change. From being the mere shepherd of a single
flock, the pastor finds himself one among many who
are "striving together for the faith of the Gospel,"
and the conversion of the world. This is made a
theme of accusation by one of the younger sects, as if
the edification of the church were sacrificed to the
interests of " them who are without;" but that must
be a selfish church, a contradiction in terms, that does
not find itself edified by the exhibition of the same
truth which called it out of the world. That the
alteration has been an improvement, may be known by
its effects; for the additions of converts have been
much greater than in former times ; and there are few
churches that have not doubled or trebled their num-

382 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
bers, during the last thirty years, except where the
circumstances of their localities have rendered this a
physical impossibility.
But as prosperity has its dangers, in the increase of
numbers, the fellowship of the saints has declined.
In large towns, the members know too little of each
other, and of their pastor; and the poor are not
always provided for with sufficient liberality, nor
favoured with that intercourse with their brethren
for which our theory contends. There is, perhaps, no
remedy for this, but by associating with the elder
pastor a younger one, as the French Protestant
churches introduce their ministers to the pastoral
care ; or by maintaining an evangelist to do many of
those things which now devolve on one man. A more
deeply devotional spirit, in preaching and hearing, is
required, to banish the love of display from the pulpit,
and of critical amusement from the pews. On the
whole, the Dissenters have much cause for gratitude-
to the God of all grace ; for humiliation, that they have
not made a greater improvement of circumstances
which place them so far above their forefathers ; for
trembling, lest it should be said, " the prosperity of
fools shall destroy them ;" and for supplication, that
they may find the cause which is dear to them, as
much improved in depth, as they see it extended on
the surface.

383

CHAPTER VII.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF DISTINGUISHED
DISSENTERS.
This chapter will, in some measure, enable the
reader to judge for himself of the character of the
whole body, and of each separate communion. If
civil history becomes interesting and instructive
by the sketches it gives of the celebrated men who
stamped their character on their times, it is also ren
dered, in a great degree, independent of them, by the
records of political revolutions, and physical conflicts,
which fill its pages; but as an ecclesiastical history
is destitute of these, it depends almost entirely on an
exhibition of the mental and moral character of the
men who form the churches of Christ, and constitute
its prosperous or adverse fortunes.
Glancing over the whole body of Dissent, we were
embarrassed by abundance ; for we were presented
with a host of men, who, highly distinguished in their
own sphere, were fitted to instruct posterity; while
each separate communion could urge claims for its
own ornaments, to which the historian of the whole
could not respond. As the head of the church bestows
his gifts with high sovereignty, it was necessary to
determine that a constellation in one sect should not

384 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
exclude those who might advantageously make another
known. Only two or three of each communion, there
fore, could be introduced ; but some of the minor
bodies have furnished none of sufficient eminence to
interest or instruct the whole.
The Presbyterians, as the elder branch, are first
noticed ; and those of England having retained little
or nothing but the name and the endowments, we had
to introduce men who give a false impression of that
communion, "t;o correct which, we have exhibited one
of a Scotch sect, who passed his life as a Dissenter n
England. The Independents have so increased in numbers
and influence, that a larger space is allotted to them ;
chiefly by introducing a missionary of that body, who,
though he spent his life, and met his death, in a foreign
clime, having been educated in an Independent col-
leo-e, and maintained his connection with the denomi-
tion, was worthy to be exhibited as a specimen of its
character and spirit.
As the Baptists still maintain their ancient distinc
tion, by furnishing very eminent men, so they are entitled
to have one of their missionaries, who died in a foreign
field, placed on the list of those who have done honour
to the dissenting churches of this land .
Among the Quakers, ministers are not so prominent
as in other societies ; but they have furnished those
who have not only adorned their own communion, but
have attracted the attention, and won the esteem, of
every class of our countrymen.
If no Sandemanians, or Swedenborgians, or Mora
vians, are introduced, these smaller, and less active

BIOGRAPHICAL KOl'ICES. 385
bodies, have presented to our view none whom we
could deem calculated to edify the public mind.
Of the Calvinistic and Arminian Methodists, we
could have mentioned distinguished men, whom we
have omitted, because their episcopal ordination and
attachments, seemed to forbid tiieir insertion among
Dissenters. The Rev. Rowland Hill is, therefore, not
placed among the Calvinistic Methodists, with whom
he laboured ; nor Dr. Coke among the Wesleyans.
But each of these communions has furnished other
names worthy of distinction.
What are called laymen, must form the mass of
every church ; and though they are less prominent
than public speakers, their example is so much more
generally useful, that it would have been injurious to
the interests of religion to pass them by unnoticed.
As the inspired history of Christianity puts high
honour on Christian women, we were desirous that the
records of their piety and zeal should render our history
not only interesting to their own sex, but, through
them, a blessing to the rising generation, which is
so powerfully influenced by their fostering care.
But where so many had indefeasible claims to
notice, perpetual regret was excited, that so small a
space could be assigned to each one ; though it would
have been to them delightful to think of being lost
amidst the blaze of numerous " burning and shining
lights." ABRAHAM REES, D.D. F.R.S. F.L.S
We should have preferred commencing with a
Presbyterian who adhered to the ancient faith of that
c c

386 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
body, but these are so rare, that we now present a
biographical notice of an eminent man who belonged
to that class which have retained the name after they
have abandoned the creed of the Presbyterians.
Abraham Rees was the son of the Rev. Lewis Rees, a
dissenting minister of Wales, who contributed, during
an almost unexampled length of active life, to the
prosperity of the Nonconformist churches in the prin
cipality. The great grandfather of Dr. Rees was a
Welch clergyman ; and his ancestor, by the mother's
side, was the celebrated Penry, who was a martyr to
Nonconformity, under Queen Elizabeth. Abraham
Rees, having been well educated in a grammar school,
entered on his studies for the ministry in the academy
over which Drs. Jennings and Savage presided. His
father had dedicated him to the ministry from his
birth, with more zeal than wisdom; for it does not
appear that the personal piety of the youth was well
ascertained, to say nothing of inquiring whether itwas
the will of God to call him into the ministry.
H e was, however, distinguished for success in study ;
and he became so eminent in mathematics, that a vacancy
occurring in that department, during his academical
course, he was chosen to succeed the tutor. In this
office he gave so much satisfaction, that he was ap
pointed resident tutor, which situation he filled, for
twenty-three years. On his resignation, the institution
was, to his great regret, dissolved. He afterwards
officiated as an occasional preacher, till he was chosen,
in 1768, to succeed Mr. Read, as pastor of the con
gregation in St. Thomas's, Southwark. The congrega
tion is said to have flourished under his care, during

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 387
fifteen years, at the end of which he quitted it to take
charge of another in the Old Jewry, formerly under
the care of Dr. Chandler, whose memoir is given in
the third period of the History of Dissenters.* The
flock, which had much declined, Dr. Rees was the
means of reviving ; for he was in high repute for learn
ing and talents, was amiable in disposition, and highly
respectable in character. To this people he preached,
from 1783 to the time of his death, though the place
of worship in the Old Jewry, was exchanged for a new
one in Jewin-street. During several years he was
engaged with Mr. Hugh Worthington, in an evening
lecture at Salters' Hall. • These were the two most ce
lebrated men of the school which had abandoned ortho
doxy, and advanced towards Socinianism; but though
they may both have been pronounced Socinians, they
were rather Arians, or men of doubtful creed. Their
distinguished abilities, however, attracted attention,
and sustained the falling cause of heterodoxy, by learn
ing and energy, if not by theology. When his associates
made a bold effort to regain, by science and literature,
what they had lost by error, Abraham Rees was made
Professor of Hebrew and Mathematics, in the New Col
lege at Hackney. This appointment, as well as some
others in that institution, was judicious ; and the tutors
might have said, if our cause could have been revived,
it would have been by us ; but the splendid attempt
proved abortive, while new academical institutions,
though less pretendiqg, were rising among evangelical
* Vol. ii. p. 590. Second Edition.
cc 2

388 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Dissenters, and advancing to extensive usefulness and
enduring strength.
But Abraham Rees, who was obliged to relinquish
the effort to give celebrity to a lifeless divinity, gained
great distinction for himself in the department of
secular learning. In 1781, appeared the first number
of Rees' Edition of Chambers' Cyclopaedia, which was,
in 1784, completed in four volumes. The success of
this undertaking encouraged him to attempt a more gi
gantic work ; and the first volume of Rees' Cyclopsedia,
having appeared, it was completed, in 1802, in forty-
five quarto volumes. Never before had an individual
achieved such a task ; for other works of that title
had been the result ofthe united labour of many ; and
though Abraham Rees had able assistance, it was to so
small an extent, that his work stands as a noble monu
ment of his own industry and power. It was natura
that such a man should be crowned with academic
honours. At the recommendation of Dr. Robertson,
the historian, the degree of D.D. was conferred on him
by the University of Edinburgh, and he was made a
fellow both of the Royal and Linnsean Societies.
Whde rising into literary fame, Dr. Rees published
a great number of single sermons, preached on par
ticular occasions, which show his good sense, superior
learning, and chaste composition ; but the chief charm
of a sermon — direct and powerful tendency to promote
the salvation of men — was precluded by his creed,
or rather by his want of a creed ; for his heresy was
rather negative than positive. In the two volumes of
sermons which he published, he appears, by no means,

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 389
the advocate for all the errors of those with whom he
chiefly associated ; for he contends against materialism,
and what is called the soul-sleeping hypothesis ; and
makes a nearer approach to evangelical sentiments,
than those who knew him, only by his connections,
would have expected. He used to say, that while he
thought for himself, he agreed most, not with Priestly,
but with Price, to whom, indeed, he bore, in many
points, a strong resemblance.
With great dignity of deportment, and suavity of
manners, he combined a steady and laborious zeal in
behalf of the liberties of mankind, and the temporal
interests of his brethren. He was, for many years, a
distributor of the Regium Donum, or Parliamentary
Grant ; and was long a chief manager of the Presby
terian fund, of which he was, for almost half a century,
the secretary. In the Widows' fund, he took a lively
interest ; and in all these benevolent schemes, he was
the advocate of the needy, and especially of those who
belonged to his native country, Wales. Many in that
region of poverty and simple manners, revere the
memory of the man who pleaded with good effect their
cause, and proved himself a brother born for adversi
ties. After preserving, to a great age, the vigour, both
of his body and mind, and standing as an interesting
monument of a former generation, he was called, in
his eightieth year, to appear again at Court, where he
had often addressed the throne ; for, on the accession
of George the Fourth, he was able to say, that he had
appeared, on a similar occasion, to address that prince's
father, who had reigned sixty years. The accom
plished monarch, who was then succeeding to the

390 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
throne, addressed Dr. Rees as the author of the cele
brated " Cyclopsedia," and evinced great interest in
one who might be pronounced the father of the lite
rary and scientific men of our nation. Not long after
this, he was removed, by a short illness, from his
earthly labours and honours. He died January 9,
1825, in the eighty-second year of his age. At his
own request, his funeral sermon was preached by Dr.
Thomas Rees, who was not, as might be supposed,
his relative; but the deceased expressed his confi
dence that the preacher, though differing in senti
ments, would do justice to the memory of him who
requested of him this last act of friendship.
Dr. Abraham Rees attracted attention even from
strangers, by a remarkably fine person, a venerable
and intelligent countenance, and dignified neatness of
dress and manner. His philosophical calmness and
amenity were enlivened by a slight play of intellectual
pleasantry; and while his independence of mind was
maintained with great firmness, he displayed a deli
cate attention to the rights of others. When some of
those who may be deemed his own party, betrayed
an inclination to succumb to Lord Sidmouth's scheme
for limiting to educated men the right of preaching,
Dr. Rees declared, that if the rudest labourers chose
to preach, their right should not be disputed. This
just and liberal sentiment was the more noble and
effective, because it came from the man whose literary
celebrity raised him above the suspicion of ignorant
contempt for learning; while his years gave to his
words the weight due to the oracle of the ancients.
In him the theologian was spoiled by the mathema-

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 391
tician. He seems never to have lost all reverence for
his father's orthodoxy ; but the love of science and
literature made him lean towards that class of Dis
senters over whom the philosophical Priestly acquired
an unhappy ascendancy. With a mind too indepen
dent, however, to bow to any other, he resisted the
tendency to which almost all the men of that school
yielded ; and Dr. Abraham Rees stood almost alone,
as Price, his favourite thinker, had done, at the half
way house between Geneva and Racovia. His mi
nistry, therefore, was about equally devoid of the views
of Socinianism and the balm of the Gospel. His ser
mons were intellectual, but not evangelical, aiming at
that morality which can be inspired only by true piety ;
and while they are calculated to set the mind a think
ing, they never make the heart throb with the pangs
of repentance, or the joys of faith. Apart from his
theology, or neology, he was such a man as every
communion would be glad to call its own.
If the Socinians had any right to claim him, ihey
might justly place him on the summit of their Par
nassus, and hail him as their great Apollo. But he
belongs to that very small class who departed from
the evangelical creed, without becoming decidedly
hostile to it ; and having lost the power to do good in
the pulpit, never made it their ambition to do mischief.
No one can take up the great work of Dr. Rees, with
out being inspired with respect for his talents, es
teem for his character, and admiration for his gigantic
labours. His name will go down to posterity as one
who conferred literary honour on the dissenting
body, whose cause he espoused.

392

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

THOMAS BELSHAM.

This successor to Dr. Priestly was born at Bed
ford, April 15, 1750. His father, James Belsham,
who was minister at Newport Pagnel, had, while re
siding at Bedford, married a daughter of Sir Francis
Wingate, and a descendant of the first Earl of Angle-
sea. Thomas Belsham was, when young, placed under
the tuition of Dr. Aikin, at Kibworth, and afterwards
under Mr. French, at Ware, from whom he passed, in
1767, into the seminary for the ministry at Daventry,
where Dr. Ashworth had succeeded to the office which
Doddridge once held. Here young Belsham seems to
have begun to think seriously of that religion which
he was preparing to teach ; and all his future aberra
tions may be traced to the fatal error of admitting
unregenerated men to study for the ministry. He kept
a Diary, which shows, at once, his seriousness and
his ignorance of the way of salvation. By reading
Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion, he was
induced to enter into the covenant there recom
mended ; but his own account of the transaction, shows
that it was slavish and joyless, as such a transaction
must be, when it is made a substitute for the faith
which receives righteousness and peace through Christ
alone. With this manufactured religion, he came to
the Lord's table, for the first time, while a student for
the ministry. Who can wonder that a seminary, con
ducted on such principles, furnished the churches with
Socinian pastors? A ministry that begins at the
wrong end is likely to be all wrong.
In the same spirit of seriousness and ignorance,

Biographical notices. 393
Mr. Belsham dedicated himself to the ministry, and
preached his first sermon, in the pulpit of Mr, Bull, at
Newport Pagnel. The classical tutor at Daventry
having resigned, this student was chosen to succeed
him, and spent the fifth and last year of his academic
course in the double capacity of student and tutor.
He was afterwards appointed to teach mathematics,
logic, and metaphysics. In the year 1773, he agreed,
with some other preachers, to use none but scriptural
doxologies, the first intimation of his change of creed.
By a remarkable coincidence we find, in his Diary, at
this time, the following record : " Instead of advanc
ing in religion, I wish to God I knew whether there
be any real religion at all." O that he had abandoned
all thoughts of the ministry till he had settled this,
which was surely the previous question !
Dr. Ashworth dying, in 1775, Mr. Robins succeeded
him, and Mr. Belsham retained his office tid 1778,
when he removed to Worcester, where he entered on
his pastoral charge, by preaching a sermon on" Coming
to them in the fulness ofthe blessing of Christ." On this
sermon he afterwards commented in a strain of censure,
which he closed, by saying, " Being blind, I now see."
The former blindness was too true, but it was ex
changed only for deeper night. At Worcester he
seems to have adopted Dr. Priestly 's system of phi
losophical necessity ; but he became rather popular
with a certain class, for he set up an evening lecture,
which it was fashionable with the inhabitants of the
town to attend, during the winter ; though, in summer,
his hearers found greater attractions elsewhere. This,

394 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
however, is too common to be regarded as any proof
of the inefficiency of heterodoxy.
He was, in 1781, invited by Coward's trustees, to
succeed Mr. Robins in the superintendence of the
academy, to which was added, the care of the congre
gation. The number of students was small, and they
were not all intended for the ministry. They seem
to have been left to walk in their own ways; but
Mr. Belsham, who censured the laxity of his prede
cessors, restored discipline and order. Two years
after, we find him debating about quitting the orthodox
camp ; and in the next two years he had made such
progress in that direction, as to propose to a friend
the questions, " Whether it is right for a minister,
who is not a Trinitarian, to continue with a flock, the
majority of whom are, and who invited him, supposing
that he was ? and whether such a person should con^
tinue at the head of an academy to which the dissent
ing congregation look for supplies ?" Mr. Belsham
was, at this time, an Arian ; but he retained his post,
for two years longer. What a melancholy display is
here afforded, not only of Mr. Belsham's advance in
error, but also of the loose manner in which others
held the truth !
The effects of heterodoxy began to appear ; for that
Spirit who teaches how to pray, being denied and gone,
the students requested to be allowed to write their
prayers, which each one offered, in his turn, in family
worship. This privilege the trustees refused to con
cede, as inconsistent with the intentions of Mr. Coward,
the founder. They had not, then, quite forgotten their

biographical notices. 395
founder. In the year 1766, Mr. Belsham avowed his
adoption of Socinian sentiments ; and, like an honest
man, resigned his offices in the congregation and the
academy. He might have taken refuge in the vague
ness of Mr. Coward's trust deed for the academy ; but
much to Mr. Belsham's honour, he interpreted the
words according to Mr. Coward's well-known senti
ments, and scorned a disingenuous subterfuge. It has
been asserted, that the congregation would have re
tained him as their pastor, after they knew his senti
ments ; but it is probable that this was true, only of
that part on which he had successfully operated, while
his errors were rather suspected than known. If it
were true of the rest, their orthodoxy was a mere
theory. Here, also, Mr. Belsham deserves credit for
being too honourable to profit by the injury he had
done to a flock which he found professedly evange
lical. Two honest men. Priestly and Belsham, show what
a host of others might have done for the honour of
morality, even when they quitted, what appears to us,
the higher walks of evangelical piety ; for had many
of the Socinian ministers been as moral, much of the
property that is now perverted, would be answering
the design of the donors.
Mr. Belsham was almost immediately appointed
tutor of the new college at Hackney ; but he soon
foresaw the ruin of the institution, which as speedily
followed. But when Dr. Priestly was driven to
America, by the disgraceful riots at Birmingham, Mr.
Belsham was chosen to succeed him in the congrega
tion at Hackney, of which he was, after a time, elected

396 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
the sole preacher. He wrote an answer to Mr. Wil
berforce 's Practical View of Christianity ; and, by a
second stroke of his pen, instructs us, for he now
recorded in his Diary, a struggle with a tendency to
scepticism, though, on the whole, the evidences of
Christianity preponderate. Mr. Wilberforce had de
nounced Socinianism as the half-way house to Deism ;
and an infidel, Dr. Priestly pronounced not far from
himself ; and Mr. Belsham saw the balance trembling,
when Christianity and scepticism were weighed.
In the year 1805, Mr. Belsham resigned his charge
at Hackney, to accept an invitation to preach in Essex
Street, London, the site of the cathedral to which the
elite and the titled, among those who are termed Uni
tarians, resort. He now became the principal editor of
what was called, " The Improved Version of the New
Testament," and was zealous in its defence. He pub
lished, in 1811, his " Calm Inquiry into the Scripture
Doctrine ofthe Person of Christ." A Translation and
Exposition of the Epistles of St. Paul were his last
works. After suffering from an accident, he died at
Hampstead, Nov. 11, 1829, in the eightieth year of
his age.
This leading man, in that class of Dissenters who
.sometimes call themselves Presbyterians, and some
times Unitarians, is given as a type of that body, in
this period of the History of Dissenters, as Dr, Priestiy
was exhibited in that which preceded. The readers
of Mr. Belsham's biography will probably be sur
prised to find so much of a devotional character ; but,
on a closer inspection, they will observe, that this is
the result of his former sentiments ; and as these are

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 397
exchanged for the faith, or rather the unbelief of his
latter days, the devotion tapers off" to nothing. But
even his early religion was essentially defective; for, to
exhibit him as a trophy of the triumph of Socinianism
over Calvinism, betrays inconsideration or ignorance.
He never was a Calvinist. He went to the seminary for
the ministry without religion. Common sense taught
him that a minister ought to have personal piety ; and
his honesty made him confess he had it not. The
Assembly's Catechism, and Doddridge's Rise and
Progress of Religion, he had been taught to consider
as the standards of doctrine and devotion ; but his
attempt to bring himself up to this mark was a failure.
He seems never to have been even theoretically sen
sible of his fallen state, of his need of regeneration
by the Holy Spirit, or of justification by faith in
Christ. The formal rehgion that he substituted, being
joyless and unblessed, left him exposed to the stings
of his professed creed, but destitute of its balm. To
such a man, Socinianism appeared a refuge that pro
mised deliverance from pains and fears ; while, to real
believers in those doctrines, which he is supposed to
have renounced, infidelity, under every form, appears a
murderer that inflicts death on their dearest hopes and
purest joys. Mr. Belsham, therefore, during the
course of his transition, recurs again and again to the
theme, seeking closer and still closer approximation to
Dr. Priestly, like the moth that contracts its fatal
circles tid it falls into the flame. Every one that
watches the process, as recorded in Mr. Belsham's
life, must see that he felt as one that had nothing to
lose. To him, therefore, Socinianism appeared great

398 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
gain. For it will always be a relief to pass from a
cold attempt to -possess what we do not love, to a
hearty declaration of attachment to what better suits
our taste.
While we drop a tear over him, and severely cen
sure many of his first associates for their spurious
candour, and their real unfaithfulness to him and to
truth, we honour his memory for the frank avowal he
made of his change, and the voluntary relinquishment
of posts which he was never qualified to fill. In his
best days, we can scarcely discover even a passing
thought of the great end of the ministry, the calling
of the chosen, and their regeneration and justification,
by " the Gospel preached, with the Holy Ghost sent
down from heaven." If such ministers cannot be said
to do more good, they certainly do less harm, when
they avow themselves Socinians, than when they fancy
themselves orthodox. The praise bestowed on the
frank avowal of his change, is a satire, if not on
human nature, at least, on the party to which he
became a proselyte ; for what honourable mind ever
thought it a wondrous stretch of honesty, frankly to
declare itself a convert to an opposite creed? Mr.
Belsham's relinquishment of his living at Daventry
was no martyrdom ; for that which was never a couch
of ease, must, after his Socinianism was avowed, have
become a bed of thorns. But as the highest compli
ment to the integrity which refused to employ the
bequests of Calvinists for the propagation of Socinian
ism, has been paid by those who have shown that it is
too lofty for them to imitate, it is gratifying to observe,
that he who rewarded Nebuchadnezzar for his service

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 399
against Tyre, by the conquest of Egypt, gave Mr.
Belsham something better for this world, than that
which he had relinquished. Why has not this en
couraging example produced its appropriate effects ?
The true character of Mr. Belsham's unhappy con
version was displayed in the prominence he assumed
among his new friends. Though never distinguished
by anything that could be called genius or eloquence,
he exhibited, in behalf of the negation of Socinianism,
a zeal which was in perfect contrast with his apathy
towards the positive truths he once professed. To
gain the souls of the poor to Christ, had for him no
excitement, compared with the glory of being at the
head of a party in Essex Street, where, amidst a line
of carriages, he might see the coronet of the Duke of
Grafton. Such are the consequences of an unregene
rate ministry. Happily, Dissenters have taken the
warning, and are entitled to hope for exemption from
many of the pains which such men as Belsham have
inflicted. As Mr. Belsham's administration was not the last
instance of the misapplication of Coward's funds, it
was natural that a respectable minister of the Esta
blishment should take occasion from thence to plead
in favour of subscription to articles, in order to pre
serve the universities from the inroads of error.* But
it should be observed, that Mr. Belsham became a
Socinian, after he was a tutor; and had he pre
viously subscribed to a creed, it would still have
depended on his honesty whether he would quit the
* The Dean of Peterborough's Review of the Principal Dissent
ing Colleges in England.

400 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
station or not. Besides, men interpret the same words
very differently ; and they who can think they believe
the Bible, whde they are Socinians, can persuade
themselves that they honestly subscribe to scriptural
articles, while holding, what to others appear, directly
opposite sentiments. Other dissenting colleges have,
without requiring subscription, continued orthodox ;
though many institutions that are fenced round with
creeds and declarations, have, in the most unblushing
manner, been perverted from their manifest design.
The true source of the evil lies in admitting to semi
naries for the ministry, men who give no evidence, and
even make no profession, of having so " believed on
the Son of God, as to have passed from death to life."
Previously to this, the best creed is not really under
stood, and there is no security that it may not be
exchanged for the worst.
It is, however, consolatory to know, that the per
version of Mr. Coward's Trust is now remedied, and
that there is good, if not the best, evidence, that it
will not be repeated. That Unitarians should be at
liberty to educate ministers for their congregations,
by expending their own funds, is manifestiy just ; but
it is high time that they should cease to dishonour
their own creed, by perverting the liberality of the
orthodox to purposes which their souls would have
abhorred. ALEXANDER WAUGH, D.D.
This most estimable divine is introduced here as a
specimen of the orthodox Presbyterians ; for, though
he was not, strictly speaking, an English Dissenter, as

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 40l
he belono-ed to the Scotch Secession, he was a Dis-
senter in his own country ; and as he was one of the
Presbyterian body in London, he may fairiy be ad
duced to show that the whole of that denomination
did not deny its ancient faith.
Alexander Waugh was born, on the 16th of August^
1754, at East Gordon, in Berwickshire, of pious
parents, who belonged to the class of small farmers.
His father was induced, by his love of the truth, to join
the first ministers who formed a secession from the
Church of Scotiand, in order to resist the effects of
lay patronage, which was, at that time, forced upon the
people. Much of the subsequent excellence of the
subject of this memoir, may be clearly traced to the
primitive piety, not only of his father, but of his
mother too, who used to conduct the worship of the
famdy in the absence of her husband. Alexander,
the youngest of their chddren, was educated at the
school of his native parish, till nearly twelve years of
age, and then placed, for five years, at Earlstown, a
neighbouring seminary, celebrated for its success in
imparting the knowledge of Latin and Greek. Here,
in the Arcadia of Scotland, he imbibed that poetic
love for natural scenery, which gave a strong and
beautiful tinge to his future eloquence. He was
marked for his early rambles ; and when asked, at
breakfast time, where he had been, he replied, " I
have been seeing Foxy, and hearing the linnets."
He was even then the leader of a prayer meeting,
under the shade of an elder tree, where he poured out
such supplications, as, being overheard by his parents,
induced them to consecrate him to the ministry. He
D D

402 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
was admitted to the communion of the Secession
church, at Stitchell, when he was but sixteen.
As the Scotch universities, by their liberality, put to
shame the exclusive spirit of Cambridge, and espe
cially of Oxford, Mr. Waugh prepared for the dissent
ing ministry in Scotland, by spending four years at
the university, before he entered on his theological
studies. He distinguished himself most in Latin, and
least in Hebrew, though he had the advantage of such
a professor as Dr. James Robertson. He was admitted
as a student of divinity, in August, 1774, under the
celebrated John Brown, of Haddington, author of the
Annotations on the Bible. This good man, at first,
feared that Mr. Waugh had been " spoiled by philo
sophy and vain deceit," under Dr. Ferguson, Professor
of Moral Philosophy, at Edinburgh; but salutary
warnings produced, on the mind of the pupil, the
happy effect designed by the pious tutor. In 1777,
Alexander Waugh attended, for one session, the
lectures of Dr. Beattie, and Dr. Campbell, at
Marishal College, Aberdeen. He was licensed to
preach, by the Presbytery, in June, 1779; and two
months after, was sent to supply the place of the
deceased minister, Mr. Archibald Hall, in the Seces
sion congregation, at Wells Street, Oxford Street,
London. Though this society was desirous of obtain
ing his permanent services, as other congregations
had expressed the same wish, he was first settled at
Newton, near his paternal abode, but he removed to
London, in June, 1782.
Here he laboured with great diligence, till called to
his eternal rest, lecturing or expounding every Sab-

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 403
bath morning, and preaching, in the afternoon and
evening. He confined himself, at first, to his own
charge, and spent much time in retirement and study,
passing through that second education, without which
the first is littie better than nugatory. He was married,
on the 10th of August, 1806, in Scotland, to Miss
Mary Nedl, whose brother, Mr. Neill, of Surrey Street,
London, proved an affectionate and generous friend to
the young couple. Having been, sometime after, over
taken by a storm at sea, on his return from Scotland,
when he reached the shore, he went into the church
yard, and kneeling behind a tomb-stone, poured out
his thanks to God. Then observing, on a newly-
erected tomb, the inscription, " He died in Jesus,"
he found out the house where the family resided, and
was, by their kindness and hospitality, revived, after
extreme exhaustion, and enabled to pursue his journey
to London. This incident, which beautifully exhibits
the affinity of all Christians to each other, equally
displays the combination of the romantic with the
devotional, which threw an inexpressible charm over
Mr. Waugh's character.
In the year 1806, he was detained from the pulpit
by illness so severe and protracted, that it created great
alarm among his friends ; but he was restored to them,
who so much valued his labours that they afterwards
rebudt their chapel, by an exertion, which, considering
their means, was highly creditable to their liberality.
He received, in 1815, the degree of doctor of divinity
from Marishal College, Aberdeen. But the most
important events of his public life were those which
D D 2

404 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
brought him into connexion with the great benevolent
institutions of his day. With an avowed ardour ot
attachment to his own communion, he had always
combined the most generous Catholicism, which eariy
introduced him to affectionate intercourse with Mr.
Newton, the venerable rector of St. Mary Woolnoth ;
and when the Evangelical Magazine was projected, he
joined the Independents, who were its principal pa
trons. In the distribution of the profits of that work
to the widows of ministers, he took the Scotch widows
under his especial care, always pleading their cause as
a friend and father, with an ardour that was delight
fully amusing. When the Missionary Society was
formed, in 1795, he was one of its founders, and entered
into its labours with all the force of his chivalrous and
benevolent soul. He always spoke of himself as a
debtor to this society, for the vast sphere of useful
ness it opened to his exertions ; for the many valuable
friendships of great and good men to which it admit
ted him ; and for the high respect he enjoyed from
the religious public, which, with his characteristic
modesty, he was ever ready to acknowledge was far
above his deserts. Prior to the rise of the society,
he was little known beyond the circle of his own reli
gious connexions ; and, like many other good men,
might have lived and died without attracting public
notice, had he not come into contact with an object
peculiarly calculated to excite to the utmost powers of
exertion, the energies of a mind fitted for noble deeds*
He preached, at the second annual meeting of the Mis
sionary Society, a sermon admirably calculated to

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 405
promote, among the different denominations associated
for the great work, the harmony essential to their
success. As the society had originally detremined to send
the Gospel, not only to the heathen, but also to other
unenlightened nations, France attracted its attention,
during the short peace of Amiens, and Mr. Waugh
accompanied Messrs. Hardcastle, Wilks, and Bogue,
on a visit to that country, in the autumn of 1802. Of
this tour he gave his friends a very lively description,
which proved how ardently he entered into the bene
volent project of reviving a sense of religion in the
most important part of the European continent. He
went, in the summer of 1812, to Ireland, on a mis
sionary tour, in company with Dr. Jack, of Manches
ter. During this journey, he vanquished the prejudices
of many, and greatly promoted the interests of the
missionary cause. It was natural that he should visit
his native country, on the same errand, on which occa
sion he observed, " Since I came to the south of Scot
land, I have felt as a man walking among the tombs.
What a blank does every village present to my view !
I myself must soon add to the number of those that
are missing." He brought home to the treasury of
the Missionary Society upwards of fourteen hundred
pounds, codected chiefly from the Secession churches.
He made, in 1819, his second and last visit to the land
of his fathers; for though he projected another jour
ney, an accident, which he met with, by the fall of a
scaffold, in laying the foundation of an Orphan House,
at Clapham, was his warning to prepare for the end of
his race.

406 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Having presided, for twenty-eight years, as chair
man of the Committee of Examination of the Mis
sionary Society, in the most admirable spirit, he was
revered and loved as the parent of the missionaries
who came before them for acceptance. To the British
and Foreign Bible Society, he was, from its com
mencement, a devoted friend. The Religious Tract
and Hibernian Societies, also, found in him an elo
quent advocate, as did the Scottish Hospital, and the
Society for Propagating the Gospel in the Highlands
and Islands of Scotland.
These various labours had been, for some time, pur
sued under the pressure of illness ; and in November,
1827, he caught a severe cold; but he went and
preached at Albion Chapel, on a sacramental occasion,
upon the words, " Christ died for us." He exclaimed,
with astonishing effect, " Lay your hand on this, my
brother, ' Christ died for us !' Show it as your answer
to all the accusations of conscience ; present it to the
king of terrors as your security from his sting, and
hold it up at the bar of judgment as your plea for the
enjoyment of life everlasting." On reaching home,
he said to his wife, " I am much better, my dear ;
preaching is the best cure for a cold." That evening
he indulged all the kindness of his heart in his inter
course with his friends ; and the next morning, would
have gone, contrary to the advice of his friends, to see
one under distress of mind ; but while the affair was
under debate, he was seized by the symptoms of ap
proaching dissolution. On being assisted to bed, he
held out his hand to his daughter, and said, " Let me
talk to you, my lamb ; for I am very ill, and shall

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 407
never get up any more." She begged him to try to
sleep, saying, he would then be better, and work very
hard yet for his Master. He replied, " No, no, my
child, my work is done. Let me talk to you, while I can.
I have very littie time." When his family assembled
round him, he poured out the prayers of a dying
patriarch for the interests of all whom he was about
to leave. When reminded that he was going to his
reward, he exclaimed, " Reward ! no, no ; I am going
to receive mercy, mercy." Being asked, if he knew
he was dying, he answered, " Yes, and my mind is as
much composed, at this moment, as any man's in
London." After commending his partner in life to
her children's care, and them to each other's love, he
fell asleep in Jesus, December 14, 1827, in the seventy-
fourth year of his age.
The most marked honour was paid to his memory in
death; and he, who had never concealed his attachment
to his own denomination, was bewailed by men of other
communions, as if he had been removed from their
own. His person was tall and large, venerable in
appearance, and singularly interesting, by the fire of
an eye that beamed intelligence and love. He was
eminently national in his tastes and attachments ; but
his Scotch accent, which he cherished rather than con
cealed, was rendered intelligible to all by the tones of
a heart which uttered all the Christian philanthropist.
In prayer, as well as in preaching, his bursts of elo
quence were accompanied with figures that were not
only romantic, but youthful, to a degree that would
have exposed any other man to the suspicion of puerile
display; but in him they were welcomed as the genuine

408

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

utterance of a soul in which imagination was the hand
maid of piety, zeal, and love. After the specimens we
have given of the lifeless and erroneous Presbyte
rianism of England, it is consoling to be able to pro
duce one, though from another country, which exhibits
the ancient spirit that still pervades a communion
which formerly overspread our land.
THE REV. THOMAS TOLLER OF KETTERING.
Thomas Northcote Toller was the son of an attorney
at South Petherton, in Somersetshire, who had married
Miss Northcote of the same town. The parents were
as eminent for piety as their son afterwards became
for ministerial ability ; for their house was celebrated
for the strictness and fervour with which family
worship was maintained, amidst the urgent claims of a
large professional practice. The subject of this bio
graphical sketch was born at Petherton, in 1756 ; a
period in which the most pious among the Dissenters
had not been awaked to the necessity of decided
separation from the errors which were creeping in
among them. Thomas Toller, like many other eminent
men, ascribed his first religious impressions to his
mother's faithful care, which was so early successful,
that he was sent, at the age of fifteen, to study for the
ministry, at Daventry, in that day the most distin
guished seat of learning among the Dissenters. The
reputation which the institution had acquired from
the ability, and piety of Dr. Doddridge, was, at that
time, fuUy sustained by Dr. Ashworth, who was first
assisted, and then succeeded by Mr. Robins, whom
Mr. Toller used always to pronounce the wisest and

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 409
best man he ever knew. The concurrent testimony of
other competent judges excites regret that one so
distinguished was early compeded, by ill health, to
retire from the charge of the seminary into private
life ; and that he has left behind him none of those
finished productions, which excited the admiration of
his most able contemporaries, of whom several ascribed
to him their first taste for the sublime and beautiful
in composition. The institution afterwards fell into inferior hands ;
and was, whde Mr. Toller pursued his studies, in a
state extremely unfavourable to his best interests, as
a Christian and a minister. Dr. Priestly, indeed, says,
that while he was a student there, the best oppor
tunities were afforded for coming to the knowledge of
truth ; for tutors and students were equally divided
between orthodoxy and heterodoxy ; but, though Mr.
Toller never adopted the Arian, or Socinian theology,
his mind was so far warped, that the early part of his
ministry was rendered comparatively inefficient, by the
loose and vague manner in which he stated the doc
trines of the Gospel. In the school of affliction, he
afterwards learned a better lesson; but, to the last, the
influence of Daventry diminished the effect of his
fine powers. The mixture of orthodox and heterodox
students, and of men destined to civil life, with those
who were studying for the ministry, and the total
absence of all examination into their personal piety,
deprived Mr. Toller of the advantages which young
men should enjoy from Christian fellowship with their
compeers, whde preparing to preach the Gospel of
Christ.

410 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
After studying four years, Mr. Toller was sent to
preach to a vacant congregation at Kettering, where
Mr. Boyce had formerly enjoyed the reward of his
able and faithful labours, in a flourishing and affec
tionate charge. But he had been succeeded by a
Mr. Fuller, who, appearing to disadvantge after such
a predecessor, had been compelled, within two years,
to resign, leaving the congregation injured and divided.
Mr. Toller, therefore, had little hope of being more
than tolerated in his first efforts here ; but, to his sur
prise, he was invited, with great unanimity, to take the
pastoral charge. He saw the hand of God in it, and
accepted the call, not without that anxious fear
which was a presage of his final success. He was
ordained in May, 1778 ; and through life, he blessed
God for placing him, when young, among a people
whose judgment and piety were as great a blessing
to him at first, as his abilities and fidelity were to
them at last. For as the church is the conservative
and immortal body, while ministers change and die,
the character of a people is of the highest importance
to that young man who is entering into the labours
of those who have finished their work, and gone to
their rest. Mr. Toller repaired, at Kettering, the
injuries he had received at Daventry.
He devoted himself, with great decision of character,
and affection of heart, to a charge which became to
him every day more dear. He was seldom absent from
his own pulpit ; for the distracting avocations, which
now so frequently interfere with pastoral watchfulness,
were then, in a great measure, unknown. The danger
of satiety, from perpetually hearing the same man, his

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 411
flock happily escaped ; for he gave himself to reading,
as the apostie commands the young minister to do ;
and Mr. Toder always condemned the folly of those
preachers, who merely prepare for each service as it
returns, which is sure to create a wearisome same
ness, both of thought and diction. With such dili
gence he watched for the improvement of his own
mind, by its richness to furnish continual supplies of
novel information and illustration, that one who knew
him and the ministry well, affirmed " he was always
listened to with the intense interest that a stranger
would suppose was the effect of hearing him for the
first or the last time. From the commencement of his
residence at Kettering, the attachment of his flock
went on still increasing till it arrived at a point beyond
which it would have been idolatry." It wiU easily be
perceived, that this could not have arisen solely from
the mental wealth and power which he consecrated to
their edification ; and all who knew him agree, that he
excelled in the qualities and the conduct which win
esteem, and fix the heart. There was in him a rare
combination of all that force of intellect which instructs,
and awes, and fascinates the mind, with that loveliness
of spirit, and dignified benevolence of conduct which
kindle the loftiest affections of the soul.
It was considered by contemporaries, that his per
sonal and ministerial excellences were promoted by
Mr. Fuller's settlement with the Baptist congregation
at Kettering. Two such men were scarcely ever
before found in one small country town, each at the
head of a very different order of preachers ; and each
sufficiently wise and good to exchange esteem without

412 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
rivalship. Mr. Fuller's/or^e was accurate distinction
in doctrines, with an uncompromising defence of truth,
the very qualities which Mr. Toller most needed ; while
he excelled in that amiable inclination to discover
excellence amidst defects, and that power of giving to
truth a charm that commends it to the heart, in which
Mr. Fuller was most defective. Mr. Toller was the
fairest specimen of a cultivated mind, devoted from
childhood to religion and learning ; while Mr. Fuller
exhibited the noblest example of mental power, by force
of religion, working its way out of ignorance and rude
ness into theological eminence, and extensive useful
ness. The Independent was formed to adorn the
doctrines, which the Baptist was fitted to elicit and to
prove ; the former swaying the heart, the latter com
manding the intellect ; so that, if we could have had
the excellences of both, without the faults of either,
we should have seen a perfect exhibition of him who
is presented to us under the opposite images, of the
Lamb of God, and the Lion ofthe tribe of Judah."
Mr. Toller married, in 1793, a lady whose worth
rendered her early removal, by a consumption, a
severe trial to him. He was left with two children,
one of whom now succeeds his father in the pastoral
charge at Kettering. In 1803, he married again, and
had a second family, who, with their mother, were left
to bewail his loss. Having been invited, in 1799, to
assist Mr. Taylor, at Carter Lane, London, with an
offer of an income, for one service in the day, superior
to that which he received at Kettering, he gave an
immediate refusal ; but, shortly after, the congrega
tion at Clapham, joined with that in Carter Lane, each

• BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 413
requesting one sermon on the Lord's day; and both
wishing to offer a handsome salary. The congregation
at Kettering, therefore, alarmed at these efforts to
deprive them of their pastor, addressed to him such
assurances of their attachment as led him to declare,
that he would not leave them. They, afterwards, gave
substantial proofs how highly they appreciated both
his own worth and the pecuniary sacrifices he had
made for them, by raising an annuity, to which he at
first objected, but which relieved his mind, when,
affliction having shaken his frame, he expected to
leave behind him a widow and family.
Mr. Hall, while at Cambridge, was invited to preach
with him, at Thrapston, what is called a double lec
ture ; at which, one preacher immediately follows
another, in order to afford the congregation, which is
collected from distant parts, an opportunity of hearing
both, without being detained for a second service.
The pastor from Cambridge, who was himself so dis
tinguished in the pulpit, said, " Never shall I forget
the pleasure and surprise with which I listened to
Mr. Toller's expository discourse, on 1 Peter ii. 1 — 3.
The richness, the unction, the simple majesty, which
pervaded his address, produced an effect that I never
felt before. It gave me a new view of the Christian
ministry. But this was not to be compared with
what I felt, a few days after, on hearing him preach,
at an association of ministers, at Bedford, on 2 Peter i.
12 — 15. The effect of this discourse on the audience,
was such as I never witnessed before, or since. It
was, undoubtedly, very much aided by the peculiar
circumstances of the preacher, who was judged to be

414 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS. •
far advanced in a decline, and seemed to speak
under a strong impression of its being the last time
he should address his brethren. The aspect of the
preacher, pale, emaciated, standing, apparently, on
the verge of eternity, the simplicity and majesty of his
sentiments, the sepulchral solemnity of a voice which
seemed to issue from the shades, combined with the
intrinsic dignity of the subject, perfectly quelled the
audience with tenderness and terror, and produced
such a scene of audible weeping, as was, perhaps,
never surpassed. Every sublunary object vanished
before ' the powers of the world to come.' It will
always be considered, by those who witnessed it, as
high a specimen as can easily be conceived of the
power of a preacher over his audience ; the habitual,
or even frequent recurrence of which, would create
an epoch in the religious history of the world." He
was invited by Mr. Hall to Cambridge, where his
health received a happy turn ; and where his celebrity,
as a preacher, was greatly increased.
The only object that drew out Mr. Toller from the
strict routine of the preacher and pastor, was the
British and Foreign Bible Society, of which the simple
majesty of the design, and the unlimited catholicity
of the principle, exactly suited his turn of mind, and
waked up all the fires of his impassioned soul. He
became, therefore, a secretary to one of its auxiliaries,
and threw the whole force of his intellect and his heart
into his office. At the first meeting, in Northampton,
the Duke of Grafton was in the chair, and Mr. Toller
took the bold and delicate step of departing from the
usual plan of speaking to the audience, and addressed

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 415
himself solely to the chairman. With such effect he
contrasted the position of a peer when in the senate,
and when at the head of a bible society ; that, while
others were astonished and delighted, the Duke was
melted into tears ; and, acknowledging the magic
power of the speaker, doubled his contribution to the
society. It is to be regretted that such a mind as Mr. Toller's
should have been prevented from giving to missions
the aid of his character and his eloquence, by the
strange fancy, which was, however, at that time, too
general, that the heathen could not be converted but
by some new and miraculous dispensation of Provi
dence. He was, indeed, shaken from that position by
the force of delightful facts, which would never have
been elicited but by a better faith. While others were
labouring to produce the effects which slowly altered
his sentiments, he was himself descending into the
grave, where " no man can work."
Through life, subject to fits of depression, the fre
quent companion of continual mental efforts, he was,
at last, overpowered by a very severe attack, which
has been attributed to the sudden cessation of the
profuse perspirations into which he used to be thrown,
by preaching. He was now rendered incapable of
performing his ministerial duties ; and, by the over
powering sense of the holiness of God, was led to
question the reality of his religion, and almost to
despair of obtaining the divine favour. But the effect
was salutary, for, to use his own words, he spent a
whole year in weeping and prayer; and being, at
length, restored to peace of mind, his ministry was

416 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
eminently improved. The vagueness of his views, or,
at least, the indefiniteness of his statements of doc
trine, disappeared, and he became as decidedly evan
gelical as he had always been serious, benevolent,
eloquent, and impressive.
He began, however, to be apprehensive of an attack
of palsy or apoplexy, on which he remarked, "though he
did not fear suffering, or death ; he shrunk, with alarm,
from the prospect of being a mental v/reck, thrown
aside, useless to the church, and a burden to his friends."
The attack of apoplexy justified his apprehensions,
but was not followed by the consequences he most
dreaded ; for he was, after preaching on the Lord's day,
found dead, on the 26th of February, 1820, in his
sixty-fourth year.
He was an instructive specimen of a country pastor,
formed in the worst days of Dissent, and emerging into
the spirit of the best. He and Dr. Priestly came from
the same school, and exhibited the two parties into
which it was divided. The celebrated philosopher
showed whither heterodoxy tends ; and the pastor of
Kettering warned the church of the entanglements
which evangelical piety wdl experience from evd
associations. The clearness, the richness, the evange
lical unction of Mr. Toller's mature ministrations,
might, by a happier education, have attended his
earliest efforts, and blessed ad his days. A great
part of his life was spent in working out the evil
leaven received at Daventry, where his better senti
ments were perplexed and enfeebled, without being
abandoned. His pre-eminence, as a preacher, was not merely a

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 417
phenomenon, but an enigma not easily solved. From
notes in short hand, he read his sermons, a practice
odious to evangelical Dissenters, by which the hete
rodox students from Daventry almost invariably dis
persed their audiences ; while Mr. Toller contrived to
give, with the accuracy of reading, the freedom, and
force, and pathos, of extemporary preaching. It has
been said, that this arose, in some degree, from a pecu
liarity in his vision, which enabled him, at once, to
glance at his manuscript and yet appear to be looking
at his audience; and it is remarkable, that there have
been numerous instances of eloquent speakers, such as
Whitfield, who had a cast in the eye. But as Mr. Tol
ler's written compositions fall far short of accounting
for his sway over the minds of his hearers, we are led
to conjecture that we have in print little more than
the skeletons, which he clothed with forms of beauty,
and inspired with vital warmth and energy by the
promptings of his heart, at the moment of delivery.
As this, however, does not accord with the oreneral
testimony of his living auditors, we are left to conclude
that a modern .Slschines might have said, on reading
Toller's sermons, as the ancient, on reading Demos
thenes' orations, " If you admire them from mj'^ lips,
what would you have said, if you had heard the thun-
derer himself ?" That Mr. Toller's heart gave a magic
force to his voice, we can easily believe, when we are
told that, after melting his audience into tears, being
asked by one of them, how he could go on uninter
rupted by such emotions, he replied, " Ah ! I had my
weeping time, yesterday." His style, therefore, betrays
no labour, but having all the artiess freshness of first
E E

418

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

thoughts, never interposes a necessity for such mental
efforts as interfere with the affections. His figures are
those of passion, rather than of fancy ; and his illustra
tions are drawn from nature, the book that lies open to
all. This accounts for the entreaties of the poor, that
they might not be deprived of the instructions of him
whom the rich and the cultivated were anxious to
obtain ; and is itself accounted for, by his habit of stu
dying his sermons in the open field, amidst that school
of eloquence, the works of God.
There was, indeed, wherever he preached, but one
voice expressive of unmingled, exalted delight. After
hearing him, on one occasion, Mr. Hall was said to
have been so wrapped in admiration, that he could
think or speak of nothing else ; and he used to say,
there was but one reason why any other man besides
Mr. Toller should preach, and that was, because all the
world could not hear Mr. Toller. It will, in the esti
mation ofthe most intelligent Christian, be honourable
to Mr. Toller's character, that he made preaching,
in which he so much excelled, subordinate to the
exposition of the Scriptures. In this engagement he
abounded, giving to it one service on the Lord's day,
and going through a large portion both of the Old Tes
tament and the New, to which his felicitous method of
illustration gave the finest effect. Some of his most
splendid and affecting discourses, delivered at distant
places, on public occasions, were, indeed, specimens of
the happy combination of the peculiarities of preach
ing, with those of exposition. Let young ministers,
who have been favoured with exemption from his
early disadvantages, learn by his example, what may

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 419
be done by the heart of a preacher exclusively devoted
to the improvement of his hearers ; and how superior
is the effect of a simple style and natural imagery, to
all the laboured efforts of a gorgeous and affected
declamation. THE REV. WILLIAM ROBY, OF MANCHESTER.
Wdliam Roby was born, March 23, 1766, at Haigh,
near Wigan, in Lancashire, of parents who were firmly
attached to the national church. His father was a
respectable schoolmaster, who gave his son a more
careful education, in consequence of having destined
him to the clerical profession. But neither the parent
nor the child had any just idea of the ministry ; for
they were utterly ignorant of the Gospel. Lanca
shire, which abounds in Roman Catholics, was, at that
time, deplorably destitute of Protestants acquainted
with the principles of the Reformation. In the Esta
blishment, an evangelical minister could scarcely be
found ; and, among the Dissenters, Socinianism had
desolated the churches founded by the Puritans and
Nonconformists. There were, however, several Inde
pendent ministers preaching the Gospel in that county,
and a few Calvinistic Methodists, of the connection
of Lady Huntingdon. The venerable Mr. Scott had
sent forth some faithful men from his seminary at
Heckmondwike, in the West Riding of Yorkshire ; and
Lady Huntingdon's College, at Trevecca, had done
much to add to the labourers in the Gospel.
Mr. Johnson, who had come forth from the latter
school, was living at Wigan, when Mr. Roby was
directed by Providence to listen to his ministry. But
E E 2

420 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
the instructions and impressions that imparted to him
the Christian character, made him shrink from his
original purpose of becoming a minister, for which
he now saw himself unfit. He, therefore, accepted
an appointment as classical master of the endowed
school at Bretherton. There his increasing serious
ness, and personal devotion, led to enlarged acquain
tance with the doctrines of Scripture, and kindled a
benevolent zeal to impart to those around him the
principles of which he saw them alarmingly destitute.
Discovering that the trust deed of the school required
the master to give his pupils religious instruction on
the Lord's Day, he deemed it his duty to comply;
and his compassion for the parents induced him to
invite them also to attend. As he added to the routine
of catechizing the children, such extemporaneous ad
dresses as were suited to persons of riper age, this
soon gave offence and alarm to the clergyman of the
parish, who first remonstrated, and, when this did not
avail, threatened to withdraw the children from the
school. As Mr. Roby's firmness was not to be shaken
by threats, they were put in execution, and he was
compelled to resign the situation. What will they
have to answer for who take away the key of know
ledge, not entering themselves, and hindering those
who would? Conduct so unworthy of a Christian
minister towards one who was sincerely attached to
the Church of England did not shake that attachment ;
but as Mr. Roby could find none in his own commu
nion with whom he could hold Christian fellowship,
he stepped aside to those, who, without professing the
principles, adopted many of the practices of the Dis-

BIOGRAPHICAL NOllCl.S. 421
senters: He went, probably at the recommendation
of Mr. Johnson, to Lady Huntingdon's College at
Trevecca, still intending to adhere to the Establish
ment, and to seek orders in it, on the completion of
his academic course, which was not contrary, either to
the principles or practice, of that institution. But,
with change of scene he experienced also a modifica
tion of his views ; for he was now brought into asso
ciation with some who adopted dissenting principles.
He was, therefore, induced, after two months, to go
forth to preach. It may naturally be asked, what
could he have learned in that time ? But as the stu
dents were admitted at Trevecca, on a profession of
regeneration, all were deemed qualified to preach
who could tell fluently what they had known and felt ;
and Mr. Roby's previous education and employment
soon marked him out as possessing that qualification.
He commenced his ministerial labours at Malvern,
and preached, for some time, in the city of Worcester,
where Lady Huntingdon had erected one of her chapels.
He had not been thus employed, more than five or six
years, when he was called to assist Mr. Johnson, his
first spiritual instructor, who was preaching at Wigan,
in the connexion of the Countess of Huntingdon,
though not in her chapel ; and such was Mr. Roby's
acceptance and success, that he was, on Mr. Johnson's
removal, shortly after, invited to take the charge.
Here the new pastor was far from confining himself to
his own pulpit; for he became a zealous village
preacher, and besides three sermons every Lord's day,
in Wigan, preached every night in the week, except
Saturday, in the surrounding country. On one occa-

422

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

Sion, he had but three persons to hear him ; but two
of these are said to have been converted to God by the
discourse. The Socinianism which had prevailed in Wigan
was so seriously shaken by his faithful preaching,
that a lecture was set up to stop the progress of Cal
vinism; but Mr. Roby, instead of returning railing
for railing, rose early one morning, and wrote an excel
lent tract on the Satisfaction of Christ. The pam
phlet was rendered useful, not only in the neighbour
hood, but at a distance ; for a lady sent to him, from
London, a letter of thanks for the benefit she had de
rived from the work. By these labours, Mr. Roby
was marked out for a more extended sphere, and the
study of the Scriptures, with an experience of the
working of Congregational or Independent principles,
had rendered him a firm convert to that system of
ecclesiastical polity.
He received, therefore, in 1795, an invitation to
become the pastor of an Independent church at Man
chester. Mr. David Bradbury had been the minister
at Cannon Street, where the congregation was much
reduced by the withdrawment of the greater part to a
recently erected chapel in Mosely Street. Mr. Roby
was not the man who could merely enter into the
labours of others, but was fitted to create his own
sphere. He preached three times every Lord's Day,
and instead of waiting quietly tdl the deserted place
should be gradually filled by the ordinary course of
labour, he went forth and preached in the street, after
the afternoon service, embracing this opportunity of
announcing to strangers his evening service in the

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 423
chapel. Nor did he spend all his strength in preach
ing, but abounded in private pastoral labours.
It is scarcely necessary to say, that such zeal,
accompanied, as it was, by sound judgment and purity
of character, was crowned with distinguished success ;
for " every man shall receive his own reward, accord
ing to his labour." From a hundred and fifty hearers,
his congregation rose to a thousand ; and the church
to three hundred and fifty. It became, therefore,
necessary to build a larger place, and the spacious
chapel in Grosvenor Street was erected, to hold about
twelve hundred persons, in which Mr. Roby laboured,
till within a few days of his death. Here might be
seen the most gratifying proofs of the efficiency of
evangelical truth, preached with seriousness and
affection, without meretricious ornament, without
extravagance, and without display. The attention
paid to the young, and to the sabbath schools, pro
duced the happiest effects on the rising generation ;
and Mr. Roby saw around him, at last, another gene
ration, formed by himself, to perpetuate his usefulness.
He was, as might naturally be expected, one of the
first and most zealous advocates of the cause of mis
sions, when the church of God woke up to its great
duty towards the heathen world. He paid an annual
visit to London, at the anniversaries of the Missionary
Society ; and his presence was always hailed with
delight, as a pledge of the attachment of one who was
ready to do every good work. He had, indeed, become
well known in London ; for, after quitting the Countess
of Huntingdon's connexion, he annually filled the
pulpit of her principal chapel in Spa Fields, where his

424 HISTORY or DISSENTERS.
ministry was held in the highest estimation. In the
county of Lancaster, he gave full proof that zeal for
foreign missions, is not the rival, but the. parent, of
efforts for the heathens at home. " The County
Union," which he cherished, is one ofthe most efficient
home missionary societies. For his spirit and de
portment were exactly what is most calculated to
obtain and secure co-operation. Every one felt, that,
in him, they had a friend and father, whose wisdom
guided and cherished the efforts which his zeal had
prompted. He was, therefore, engaged by Robert Speare, Ersq.,
of Manchester, to give instruction to young men, whom
that liberal merchant supported, while they were
preparing for the ministry of the Gospel. In this
service, Mr. Roby exhibited his usual ability ; for,
while he was anxious to do much, he was equally
careful to do it well. His theological and biblical
lectures are said, by competent judges, to have been of
a superior order, and some valuable ministers went forth
from under his tuition. In this unostentatious labour,
he showed his disinterestedness; for he was a gratu
itous tutor, Mr. Speare's liberality being whody applied
to the support of the students. But other Christians,
in this vicinity, at once rich and generous, projected
something more extensive in the w^ay of education,
and a seminary was erected at Leaf Square, Manchester,
which, at last, terminated in the academy at Black
burne, of which the Rev. Joseph Fletcher was ap
pointed tutor ; for, though Mr. Roby would have been
chosen, his numerous pastoral engagements, and his
important charge, precluded all hope of his being able

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 425
to give that time and attention which the higher aim of
the new institution required.
In these numerous services Mr. Roby laboured with
untiring zeal, tdl an asthma, contracted in the service
of his Redeemer, broke down his frame, before that
period to which all who knew him hoped his life
would be spared. He struggled against the difficulties
which it opposed to his ministry, with eminent Chris
tian patience and cheerfulness ; but, on the morning
of the new year's day, 1830, he went out to a prayer
meeting, at seven o'clock ; and though the deep devo
tion of that service left a lasting impression on his
flock, the severity of the weather made theni regret
this effort, which severely shook his enfeebled frame_
V/ith great difficulty, he administered the sacred sup
per, on the following Lord's day, when his remarks
indicated his anticipation of speedy removal to a
happier world. In the evening, he preached his thirty-
fifth annual sermon to the young. In vain his friends
attempted to dissuade him from the attempt, which
was manifestly hazardous; but he preached on the
hopeful youth falling short of heaven, and then went
home to die, breathing out his life in a gentle and
peaceful manner, on the 11th of January, 1830, in the
sixty -fourth year of his age.
His person indicated the finely balanced mind, in
which judgment bore the sway, and passion supplied
exactly what was necessary to give energy to his
efforts. His self-knowledge employed his talents in
the most efficient direction ; and his purity of prin
ciple and character more than supplied the place of
those splendid qualities to which he never pretended.

426 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
His influence, which was almost unrivalled, was the
legitimate effect of the improvement he made of all
his opportunities for the Redeemer's service ; and
while the liberality displayed at the Manchester mis
sionary meetings is celebrated through the kingdom,
these were, to a great extent, the monuments of Mr.
Roby's influence and worth. He was a fine specimen
of that race which swelled and adorned the ranks of
the Dissenters, during this last period of their history ;
men who were not descended from the Nonconformists,
but called out from the Establishment by the power of
evangelical preaching, which made them, first Chris
tians ; then, by a slow process, Dissenters ; and, at last,
successful propagators of Dissent, for the sake of its
connexion with the salvation of men, and the honour
of Christ. THE REV. GEORGE BURDER, OF LONDON.
This eminently useful minister was born in London,
on the 5th of June, 1752. His father, Mr. Henry Bur
der, was, for many years, a deacon of the Indepen
dent Church in Fetter Lane. This honoured son stu
died Latin at a grammar school, from ten years old, at
which time the parent availed himself of the birth-day
of his child, to urge upon him most affectionately, the
care of his soul. How happy were the effects, we
learn from the private diary of the son, who wrote
thus ; " Then, I trust, sincerely and earnestly, and as
far as I can recollect, for the first time, I poured out
my soul to God, beseeching him to give me an interest
in Christ, and desiring, above all things, to be found
in him."

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 427
Would, that all parents were thus labouring for their
chddren 's salvation, and that all children thus profited
by their parent's care !
As George Burder early displayed a fondness for
the art of design, he was placed under Mr. Taylor, an
engraver. While advancing towards maturity, he heard
the celebrated men who were then restoring the light
of the Gospel to the Establishment, which had been
under an Egyptian night, almost ever since the eject
ment of the two thousand Nonconformists. He was
much captivated with the eloquence of Whitfield, and
with the preaching of faith by Mr. Romaine, rector of
St. Anne's, Blackfriars. He has left on record these
reflections. " My judgment was before informed, but
I now found my heart affected, and became much more
fond of that sort of preaching which is termed Metho
distical." At the age of twenty-one, he entered on the busi
ness of an engraver, with prospects of success ; but
secular pursuits were rendered distasteful, by an in
creasing solicitude for the eternal interests of his fel
low creatures. He, therefore, joined a kind of Home
Missionary Society, and having, when about twenty-
four years of age, taken a journey into Shropshire, he
was persuaded by a Christian friend to make a first
attempt to preach, in the cottage of a peasant, on one
of his father's estates. " I was much assisted," he says,
" and had more boldness and liberty than I expected.
The people were all attention : some wept much. O,
Jesus, friend of sinners, make me so happy as to hear
of some turned to thee ! " On the evening of the first
Lord's day afterwards, finding that the house could not

428 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
contain those who came to hear, he took his station
under an old oak tree, and preached on a spot where,
many years after, he opened a chapel, built at his own
expense. On his return to London, he began to preach
in the suburban villages, and at length in the city,
with much success.
He was now called to decide on the sphere of his
future ministry ; and though he was attached to the
Calvinistic Methodists, and admired some of the Evan
gelical clergy, he decided on taking his lot with the
Congregational Dissenters, on which he afterwards
reflected with devout satisfaction, though he always
maintained a catholic affection for real Christians of
other communions. He accepted a call to the pastoral
care of a church at Lancaster, where he laboured six
years, not only in the town, but in the surrounding
country, which owed to his faithful ministry many ot
the congregations that now exist. In some years, he
preached two hundred and fifty times, and travelled
between two and three thousand miles.
He was next called to the care of a church in
Coventry, where he continued nearly twenty years,
extending his itinerant labours into the counties of
Warwick, Stafford, and Nottingham. In all the great
movements for the revival and advancement of religion,
he took an active part; and when the Missionary
Society was formed, in 1795, he joined the sacred
band. The first two volumes of his " Village Sermons,"
he published while at Coventry, though he afterward?
extended the work to eight volumes, which were made
eminently useful.
He removed to London, to aid in the great under-

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 429
takings which now engaged the Christian public, and
became pastor of the church in Fetter Lane, where his
father had been deacon. For, on the decease of the
Rev. John Eyre, of Homerton, an episcopal minister,
Mr. Burder was solicited to be his successor in tho
office of gratuitous secretary ofthe Missionary Society,
and in that of editor of the " Evangelical Magazine."
" I ventured to accept these appointments," he says,
" I trust, with a sincere desire to glorify God, and
edify his church." After having spent ten years in
the numerous and laborious engagements for which he
came to London, he made the following reflections : —
" When a traveller gets near his journey's end, he
notices every hour of time, and observes every mde-
stone which he passes. So, when a man reaches the
age of sixty-one, it is high time to consider what pro
gress he has made, and how near he is to home. I
hope I am not insensible to these things. I have
greatiy to admire the goodness of God in continuing
so great a degree of health as I now enjoy — greater
than at almost any former period of my life. I am
inclined to think, the Lord thus favours me, that I
may more fully devote myself to his work, which,
blessed be his name, is my delight ; and I think myself
highly favoured in being permitted, not only to preach
his Gospel with acceptance and success, but also to
engage daily, in promoting his cause among the hea
then, by the Missionary Society. To God be all the
glory ! As to myself, aware of my time of life, I wish
to work while it is day, and to watch while I work,
that 1 may be found ready for death and heaven, when
soever the Lord shall call."

430 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
In the year 1827, the infirmities of age compelled
him to resign his office of Foreign Secretary to the
London Missionary Society ; in which he had rendered
essential service to that institution, by carrying on its
correspondence with missionaries in various parts of
the globe. The wisdom, piety, and kindness of his
character were displayed in this service, as well as in
the editorial department of the Evangelical Magazine,
over which he watched with anxious care. On the
18th of June, 1826, he observes, "It was fifty years
since I preached my first sermon ; and this day I have
preached to my people, at Fetter Lane, on the same
text, (Luke iv. 18). 'This is a day of humiliation;
enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord, but
graciously accept my very imperfect attempts to serve
thy cause. Accept them through Jesus Christ, through
whom alone I can hope for the acceptance either of my
person or my works.' This must also be a day of
thanksgiving. Half a century have I been spared to
serve the Lord in his sanctuary, whilst multitudes of
younger ministers have finished their course. I sup
pose I may have preached nearly ten thousand sermons,
and, blessed be God, some of the seed has been pro
ductive. To God be all the glory, for ever and ever.
Aqien." He obtained rehef in his pastoral charge, by the
election of the Rev. Caleb Morris, to share it with him.
On his birth-day, June 5, 1829, he wrote his last
reflections in his private diary. " Seven years ago,
when I concluded my seventieth year, I called my
family together, prayed with them, gave them some
advice, and read a paper, which I committed to their

BIOGRAPIIU'AI. NOTICES. 431
care. Of the domestic circle, which then surrounded
me, no less than four are gone to the grave ; my dear
wife, my two dear daughters, and my dear daughter-
in-law, the beloved wife of my son Henry — all gone ;
and I, who am older than any of them, still spared,
and complete, this day, my seventy-seventh year. A
few days ago, I visited the spot where the mortal
remains of the above are deposited, and in which this
frail body must soon be laid up. O that, with them,
I may have a joyful resurrection to eternal life ! The
disorder in my face, of ten years' standing, continues
gradually, though slowly, to increase, and with
increasing pain, which I endeavour daily to bear with
patience. My chief complaint is the weakness of my
faith." Though his sight, which had been long failing, was
finally lost, he continued to preach with great anima
tion and effect, till the month of March in that year
in which he died. But his last public service was
rendered peculiarly affecting by his text : " A man of
sorrows," and the natural association of the sufferings
of the servant with those of his Lord. For the last
two months of his life, he suffered much from debility,
but was kept in peace — looking for the mercy of our
Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life, into whose hands he
resigned his spirit, on the 29th of May, 1832, and was
buried in Bunhill Fields, on the eightieth anniversary
of his birth-day.
Though he had not regularly studied for the ministry,
he was far from being an illiterate man ; for the advan
tages of his early acquaintance with the classics, he
had so improved by a life of study, that he surpassed^

432 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
many who had gone through an academical course.
His good sense taught him the value of learning ; his
high principle impelled him to do every thing that
could render his ministry most effective, and his
industrious improvement of time, enabled him to
pursue studies which, amidst his abounding labours,
might have been thought impossible. His Village
Sermons, therefore, evince athorough acquaintance with
the subjects on which they treat, and their style is all
that the occasion requires. They obtained an unpre
cedented sale ; for they were employed, not only by
itinerant village preachers, for whom they seem to
have been intended, but by the clergy of the Establish
ment, to an extent that would to many seem incredible.
Numerous were the instances in which they were
crowned by that Divine blessing which rendered them
the means of salvation. As their .spirit is truly catholic,
many who preached or heard them, were not aware
of the connexion to which the author belonged, but,
under the dominion of strong prejudices against Dissent,
received eternal benefit from the instructions of a
Dissenter. For Mr. Burder was much more decidedly an
Independent, than those who viewed him on the other
side of his character, would have supposed or believed.
Though he loved rather to dwell upon the harmony
than on the differences among Christians, and never
lost his early attachment for the Calvinistic Methodists,
and the evangelical clergy ; when the zealots of any
other communion attacked that to which he belonged,
he surprized his most intimate acquaintances by the
decision and energy of his defence. Of this, abundailt

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 433
proof was furnished by the Evangelical Magazine,
while it was under his management. His first care
was to render it conducive to the interests of evange
lical religion ; his second, to preserve its catholic
character; and his third, to make it a defence against
all attacks on religious liberty, or the rights of
Dissenters. He maintained a wise and vigdant super
vision, corresponding with ministers all over the
kingdom, to obtain from them contributions on every
subject that might render the magazine a public
blessing. In a similar spirit he watched and laboured
for the London Missionary Society, as its foreign
secretary, and to his character and conduct it owed
much of its prosperity and success. Few men have
so faithfully improved the talents with which they
have been entrusted as George Burder.
THE REV. THOMAS SPENCER, OF LIVERPOOL.
As some apology may be required for giving to a
youth, who had but just commenced his ministry, a
place in the list from which many who died full of
years and usefulness are excluded ; we plead his
unparalleled celebrity as a preacher, which would
have rendered the omission of this memoir a fault, in
a history designed to record whatever is most worthy
of notice among Dissenters.
Thomas Spencer was born at Hertford, July 21st,
1791. From the earliest childhood his precocious
talents were developed, and when five years old, having
lost his mother, he made, on the event, reflections which
produced an effect far more lasting than is usual with
children of that age. A combination of sweetness of
F F

434 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
disposition, with mental vigour, early won to him those
attachments, which afterwards rose to unbounded
popularity. But his greediness of books led to the
reading of novels, and other works, which tainted his
mind, and gave occasion to bitter regrets. It is ob
served by his biographer, that " from the deep waters
of spiritual distress, through which he was called to
pass, his soul imbibed an air of humility, and a habit
of watchfulness, which enabled him to meet, with firm
ness, the dangers of popularity, and to maintain a
steady course, notwithstanding the press of sail he
carried." With poetry in general, and particularly with that
of Kirk White, a kindred soul, of kindred fate, he
soon became enamoured. But, for preaching he seemed
to be born, and this became the darling passion of his
childhood. He gathered around him an audience of
children, and exhibited, to their astonishment, ad
dresses, sometimes borrowed, indeed, but not unfre
quently the fruit of his own genius. Tidings of
his preaching soon circulated beyond his domestic
circle, and many who flocked to listen to this infantile
orator, regarded him as the " parson in miniature."
A gentleman from Manchester, who had visited Hert
ford, described to a friend, an exhibition of singularly
appropriate preaching, on our Lord's sermon to Nico
demus, by this little boy when he was but about ten
years old.
This furnishes, however, a useful warning to partial
and admiring friends ; for if it be inferred, that a chdd
who could thus preach on regeneration, must have
been regenerated ; be it known, that it was not till two

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 435
years after, that the change, essential to the Christian,
and the minister, was produced on his heart. This
naturally heightened, as well as purified his desire for
the Christian ministry, and led him to bow with
meekness to some disappointments he endured. By
Mr. Ebenezer White, then minister at Hertford, but
afterwards called away, by an early death, from the
care of a church at Chester, young Spencer was intro
duced to an acquaintance with Latin. His father, who
had nobly struggled to give to the child of such hopes
a good education, was afterwards induced to take him
into his own business.
After having been placed in trade with a pious
citizen of London, he was introduced to the Treasurer
of Hoxton College, who sent him for preparatory in
struction, to Mr. Hordle, of Harwich, when scarcely
fifteen. To this sojourn has been ascribed his pre
mature fitness for the work of the ministry, so that he
had, when a student, the grave reflections of a pastor;
and the earliest exercises of the pulpit indicated the
hand of a master rather than a learner. After making
considerable progress in Latin, he commenced the
study of Hebrew, to which he became so much devoted,
that he wrote out, in a small pocket manual, an abridg
ment of Parkhurst's Lexicon. His religion improved
equally with his learning, and he won, as usual, the
hearts of all his acquaintance. But the appointed
time being arrived, he was received, though not with
out objections to his youth, into the College at Hoxton.
His letters, and skeletons of sermons, at this time, are
beautiful specimens of all that we could wish to see in
the youthful aspirant for the ministry. Diligence in
F F 2

436 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
study gave those promises of future excellence which
are seldom belied, and his first vacation was spent in
village preaching, in which he was compelled to
abound, by the admiration and delight of the hearers.
A preacher of sixteen drew many to witness the
phenomenon, who soon pronounced him a " man of
God, mighty in the Scriptures."
On his return to his father's house, at the Christmas
vacation, he preached, for the first time, at Hertford,
where the companions of his youth were his delighted
auditors. His choice of subjects displayed equal judg
ment and seriousness, and his style was free from the
usual faults of his age. Having been requested to
read the chapter, and pray before the sermon, at Hox
ton chapel, his appearance led some to think, that a
little boy had, by mistake, gone into the pulpit ; but
such was the effect, that he became, from this time,
the great magnet of attraction to the place. He was,
therefore, invited to preach ; and instead of the embar
rassment which too often arises, not from modesty, but
from thoughts of self, he exhibited all the composure
and earnestness that result from being absorbed in the
subject, and carried away by solicitude for the hearers.
Now commenced his greatest perils; for his fame
drew around him flatterers, and applications for his
services, from all parts. It is, however, dehghtful to
record, that he was saved from those injudicious
friends, who are the most dangerous foes. His letters,
during the rising gale, or rather storm of popularity,
breathe the same humility as had marked his earlier
correspondence. Judiciously held back by his real
friends, he preached chiefly in the workhouses of the

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 437
metropolis, in which the students at Hoxton were
accustomed to try their wings. In the surrounding
country, however, he preached not less than sixty
times, during the next half year. After this, he offi
ciated again at Hoxton, with increasing popularity;
and being sent to Brighton, excited such interest in
that gay watering place, that the public prints, aban
doning other news, were occupied with his merits,
while he wisely avaded himself of the youth which
gave him such advantages to win the hearts of the
young to wisdom's ways. But his efforts were beyond
his strength, and the symptoms of disease induced his
friends to send him to Dorking, as a quiet and less
exciting field of labour. Being restored to health, he
returned to London, and preached frequently at Jewin
Street, for Mr. Timothy Priestly, the brother of the
philosopher ; and the increase of the congregation led
them to ask that he might become their minister. For
declining this invitation he has been blamed ; but a
Christian friend, who knew his heart, says, " It would
be unjust to his memory, not to declare that he was
free from blame. I claimed the whole of his time,
between, and after, the services When going to preach,
no one saw him. I used to knock at his door, give in
his refreshments, and watch the time for him. It was
from the mount of communion that he always went to
the pulpit, and this caused his services to shine glo
riously. Frequently, in passing to the house of God,
we kept perfect sdence, while his mind has been so
entirely absorbed, that I have found a necessity of
guiding him ; and, after worship, he tried to stop as
long as he convenientiy could, that he might pass away

438

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

unnoticed. I must confess, that I should have found
great difficulty in giving our fallen nature credit for
the excellences which, from the closest inspection, I
saw resident in that truly illustrious and holy youth."
He was appointed to spend his Midsummer vaca
tion, in 1810, at Liverpool. Being prejudiced against
the place, he reluctantly submitted ; but his biogra
pher, who was also his successor, testified, that " the
impression produced by the labours of his first Sabbath
has not subsided to this day. The report of his
extraordinary powers prevailed, and all classes pressed
to witness them. The chapel soon became thronged
to excess ; and not alone the thoughtless and the gay,
whom the charms of a persuasive eloquence and an
engaging manner might attract, but pious and expe
rienced Christians sat at his feet with deep attention
and delight. A divine unction evidently attended his
ministry; and such were the effects produced, that
every beholder exclaimed, with astonishment and
admiration, ' What has God wrought ! ' "
On his return, he received a unanimous invitation
to succeed Mr. Bruce, the former pastor of the con
gregation at Newington, Liverpool. After seven
weeks' consideration and prayer, he accepted the
charge, on condition of being expected to preach but
twice on the Lord's day, as he had found his consti
tution injured by more frequent labours. He deli
vered his last sermon, at Hoxton, to an immensely
crowded audience ; and commenced his ministry at
Liverpool, Feb. 3, 1811, when he was just twenty
years old. To a friend he wrote, " O what a memo
rable day to me was the first Sabbath I spent in this

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 439
place! Every circumstance that took place afterward is
worthy of attention and big with events. Never before
had I entered a pulpit with those awful, solemn feel
ings with which I was impressed that morning. The
idea of appearing in a new character, and of entering
on a station which I have no view of relinquishing till
the day of my death; the weight of responsibility
which attaches to the ministerial character; the dread
lest I should act, in any way, unworthy of my sacred
office. All these things would naturally impart unu
sual solemnity to the mind. On that day, heaven is
my witness of the resolutions I formed. O that God
may ever enable me to put them in execution."
The chapel was soon crowded to excess, in a town
which had been remarkable for its indifference to
religion. Happily, however, he who had the honour
of changing the whole scene, was not elated by his
popularity ; but, in proportion as he rose in public
estimation, he sunk in his own esteem. The necessity
of providing greater accommodation for those who
pressed to hear him, induced the congregation to
build, in an eligible spot, a noble place of worship,
capable of containing two thousand hearers. On his
return from a visit to Brighton, he laid the foundation
stone, April 15, 1811, and addressed a congregation
of six thousand persons.
Mr. Spencer now became, every day, more entirely
devoted to his ministry. His character advanced to
maturity with astonishing rapidity ; and he seemed,
like his Lord, to " grow in favour with God and man."
Loveliness and seriousness were so happily combined
in him, that, while he was absorbed in his pastoral

440

HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.

duties, he won the hearts of all by the spirit with
which he discharged them. Having been called to
deliver a funeral oration over the grave of his friend,
Mr. White, of Chester, he observed, in a letter to
his college patron, Mr. Wdson, of London, " I think
the world has lately appeared to me in its true light :,
' it passeth away,' " In this spirit he was ordained to
the pastoral charge ofthe church, on the 29th of June,
when his delicate frame was almost overwhelmed by
the deep devotion which he felt. Mr. Hordle, of
Harwich, gave him a charge which contained a pas
sage scarcely less than prophetic : " You, my dear
young brother, must die and stand at the bar of God.
Your ordination service may be only a prelude to your
funeral service: 'for what is man? He is but of
yesterday, and his days are as a shadow.' How often
have we seen the sun go down while it is yet day ;
and while the church has been pleasing itself with the
prospect of enjoying the pious, fervent labours of an
endeared minister, for years, an unexpected stroke has
separated them for ever. Mourning survivors have,
wondering, said, ' Verily thou art a God that hidest
thyself, O God of Israel the Saviour.' "
On the first Lord's day in July, he administered the
Lord's supper in such a spirit, that the impression of
the scene was retained by the church, for years. On
the last sabbath of that month, he preached a coUec-
tion sermon for the new chapel, on the words of Ezra,
" And now for a little space grace has been shewed
from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to
escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that
our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 441
reviving in our bondage." Having exerted himself
greatly, he complained of a pain at the heart. The
following day he spent in deliberation with his friends,
on the state of the church, and in a conversation with
some candidates for admission to the communion. He
visted a sick person, and attended the prayer-meet
ing, recapitulating a sermon preached the preceding
day, by Mr. Davies, of London, with an exactness that
astonished every one who heard him. He then went
out to engage in numerous services for neighbouring
churches, and on the 2d of August wrote to a friend,
" I found growing pleasure in my ministerial employ
ment. This evening I have to admit eight new mem
bers to church communion. When I accepted this
situation, I never conceived that I should have half the
engagements or duties to attend to, which I now find
must be accomplished ; if I would merit the character
of an active, useful, minister of religion. I think my
recent afflictions, and the solemn duties which now
devolve upon me, have, in a considerable degree,
chastened my character, and imparted, perhaps, a seri
ousness to my general deportment, which may prove
highly advantageous to me in future life. How long
this will last, I cannot tell." He then wrote, like a
pious son, to his afflicted father, and having closed his
correspondence with distant friends on earth, he went
out to renew his pastoral visits to those who were to
be received into the church. At the church meeting,
that evening, he gave them an affectionate welcome
accompanied with most appropriate counsels. The
duties of a pastor, he discharged with an ease, a grace,

442 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
and a wisdom, that are not always acquired by the
experience of years.
The following morning he spent in the study, pre
paring for the pulpit, and writing to one of those whom
he had just received into the church. On the last
Sabbath that he spent on earth, August 4th, he rose,
with unusual health and spirits, and preached on Jere
miah, xxxi. 3. " I have loved thee with an everlasting
love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn
thee." The divisions of the discourse were adapted
to the occasion — the celebration of the Lord's supper,
by a number of new communicants. — " I have drawn
thee, 1st, To the cross ; 2d, To the throne ; 3d, To
the church." His spirit was so fervent in devotion,
that he said, I thought I could have prayed and
prayed, and mounted up to heaven ; so that an aged
Christian remarked, " Mr. Spencer seemed, that morn
ing, seventy years older in experience than he really
was." In the evening, he addressed an immense crowd,
hundreds being unable to gain access. He commended
to the young, Mary's choice, and urged them to choose
the good part, with a most persuasive earnestness, say
ing, " Very soon I shall meet you at the bar of God."
Those who were best able to judge, pronounced this,
which was his last sermon, the best fitted for useful
ness of any he had ever preached. The event con
firmed the sentence. His successor observed, some
time after, " Instances are still perpetually occurring
of the deep impression produced by that discourse,
and not a few of those who are now members of the
church over which he presided, have dated their first

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 443
serious thoughts, from that evening. His conversation
afterwards was on death. He spoke of the transport
and surprise in which the disembodied spirit would be
lost, when first admitted into the immediate presence
of God. He enlarged on the blessedness of putting
off the garments of mortality, in a moment, and being
caught up unexpectedly and instantaneously to heaven.
His friends could not escape the unwelcome presenti
ment of his early removal.
" The next morning, he expressed his intention to
bathe, which he had found conducive to his health ;
and having just repeated the first verse of Cowper 's
beautiful hymn —
' God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform :
He plants his footsteps in the sea.
And rides upon the storm :'
a friend reminded him, that it was time to go, if he
wished to bathe ; for it would soon be high water.
He said, ' I cannot tell how it is ; but I do not feel
so much inclined to go, to-day, as usual.' He went,
however, and was drowned.
" The body was soon found ; but every attempt to
restore animation failed. The tidings spread through
Liverpool instantaneously, and produced an effect
equal to the death of a king. On the Exchange, this
was the sole theme of discourse. Those who knew
him, bewaded him as a brother, or an only chdd ;
and those who knew him not, sympathized with the
general grief The public prints of Liverpool, bore
the most honourable testimony to his worth, observing,
that it scarcely ever before fell to the lot of any indi-

444 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
vidual, at so early an age, to have diffused religious
impression through so extensive a circle of hearers.
His funeral produced, in Liverpool, the effect of a
national calamity ; and, indeed, the sad catastrophe
spread over the kingdoni lamentation, mourning,
and woe."
It has been judiciously recorded by the pen of the
most eloquent of writers, that " his eloquence consisted
less of any one quality requisite to form a public
speaker, than in an exquisite combination of them all."
His natural abdities were good, rather than great ;
for, while they who heard him imagined that his
dominion over them was the effect of transcendent
mental force ; nothing that he has left on record would
justify that conclusion. Paradoxical as it may seem,
this mediocrity, if it should be so called, contributed
in a high degree to his unrivalled popularity. For
those rare and vigorous combinations of thought, and
felicitous forms of expression, which blaze on the pages
of recorded eloquence, must, while they strike and charm
a few minds of the highest order, be lost upon the mass,
for want of correspondent associations. But Spencer's
eloquence was, in the noblest sense, that of the heart.
Every sentence he uttered was judicious, if not bril
liant or profound ; and his language was exactly that
which the pulpit demands, simple, clear, and fitted,
like light, to hide itself, in order to show every thing
else. Piety, exalted and mature, far beyond his years,
was the secret charm that gave him unrivalled sway.
His youthful appearance heightened the loveliness of
his countenance, which was rendered doubly effective,
by a voice of so much sweetness and distinctness, as

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 445
produced the happiest combination of persuasion and
strength. His manner was in harmony with the
whole ; for, while he sometimes stooped, and leaned
over the pulpit, in famdiar converse with the audi
ence, he usuaUy maintained a commanding dignity,
that spoke all his own sense of the grandeur of his
theme, and its importance to the eternal interests
of men.
The God who lent him to the church, had evidently
designed to indulge him, in a few short years, with
the usefulness of a long life. Of this he felt the pre
sentiment, though his end was hidden from him ;
and the ardour of youth, with the solemnity of one on
the borders of eternity, produced an effect so rare,
that it seemed almost miraculous. Never disposed to
spoil by affectation, or vanity, the exquisite impres
sions he imparted, he escaped the envy which usually
hovers round the popular favourite ; and while he was,
perhaps, idolized by the young, he was loved, and
even revered, by the more experienced Christians, who
were alive to the dangers of youthful popularity. An
elderly minister, whom all the churches esteemed for
his wisdom and sanctity, being told of one who was
so popular, that, when he preached, it was difficult to
get into the place, exclaimed, " Get into the place !
When Spencer preaches, you cannot get into the
street." His popularity was felt to be that of religion,
rather than of the man, and therefore all who loved
the cause enjoyed its triumph. The concentration of
his powers, and their entire consecration to the salva
tion of men by the Gospel, gave him his decided
superiority in the pulpit ; for the half of such a man

446 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
as Spencer is more than the whole of any other man.
And where is the preacher to be found who equalled
him in the entireness of his zeal for the great work of
the ministry ? Those who are intended for length of
days, are called to serve Christ in various ways, and
this division of their forces, though conducive to
greater ultimate usefulness, precludes that intensity of
effect which results from converging every ray to one
common centre. The Sovereign Lord has shown us,
in Spencer, what might be done for religion in a little
time ; for his usefulness was not transient as his life,
which created a new era in Liverpool ; and the noble
edifice built for him who was never to occupy it, is
filled by the labours of a successor, who proves the
inexhausted resources of him that employs one servant
to " lay the foundation, and another to build thereon."*
ROBERT MORRISON, D.D. F.R.S. MISSIONARY
IN CHINA.
The celebrity of this Chinese scholar, claiming for
him a distinguished place among eminent Dissenters,
affords, also, an opportunity of giving to one of the
missionaries of Christ the honourable memorial which
is their due. Robert Morrison, the youngest child of
Mr. James Morrison, of Perthshire, in Scotland, was
born at Morpeth, January 5, 1782. As his parents
removed to Newcastle, when he was three years old,
having been placed under his uncle, Mr. James Nichol
son, a respectable schoolmaster there, at the usual age,
he became an apprentice to his father, as a last and
boot-tree maker. At the age of sixteen, he became
* Dr. Raffle's Life of Spencer.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 447
decidedly pious ; and, on the first day of the year
1799, he began to keep a journal of his religious ex
perience, and to devote himself to study. His father
appears to have taken an honourable share in the for
mation of his intellectual and religious character, of
which, in old age, the venerable man reaped the most
gratifying fruits. But Mr. Laidler, the minister of
the Presbyterian church, not only promoted by his
public ministry the piety which afterwards produced
effects so important to the Christian church, but also
imparted to young Morrison some knowledge of Latin,
Greek, and Hebrew, systematic theology, and short
hand. Having become a member of a society for the
relief of the friendless, his zeal attracted the notice
and esteem of the inhabitants of the town, and marked
him out as one who, " fathful in a few things, was to
be made ruler over many."
Deprived of his mother, by death, in 1802, he was
received, at the commencement of the following year,
on the recommendation of Mr. Laidler, into the dis
senting seminary for the ministry at Hoxton, near
London. Here, having pursued his studies little more
than a year, he offered himself to the London Mis
sionary Society, to go to preach Christ to the heathen,
and being accepted, was sent to their Mission College
at Gosport, to be educated under the Rev. Dr. Bogue.
Robert Morrison made choice of China as his future
field of labour, and, from that moment, his decision of
character was displayed in full force, by the entire
consecration of his existence to this most magnificent
sphere of Christian enterprize.
He returned to London, therefore, in the summer of

448 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
1806, and obtained the assistance of Yong-Sam-Tac,
a Chinese, as his preceptor, who laid the foundation
of that knowledge of the language of the Celestial
Empire, in which Dr. Morrison surpassed all Euro
peans. Having procured from the British Museum a
manuscript version of the four Gospels in Chinese,
and another work in that language, the property of the
Royal Society, he devoted himself to the labour of
transcription, by which he made important acquisitions
in the calligraphy, and vocabulary, and idioms of the
language. Taking a useful hint from the Catholic
missionaries in China, he laboured to acquire all that
science by which they obtained so much influence
over the Chinese. He was assisted by Dr. Blair, who
introduced him to a knowledge of medicine and sur
gery, admitting him to his course of lectures, and
giving him the privilege of walking St. Bartholomew's
Hospital. Dr. Hutton, of Greenwich, co-operated in
the same benevolent work, by aiding him in the study
of astronomy.
Having taken these important preparatory steps, he
was ordained as a missionary to China, at the Scotch
church. Swallow Street, January 8, 1807. He em
barked, on the 31st ; but, to the disgrace of our coun
try at that time, it must be recorded, that he was
obliged to go by way of America, because the East
India Company resisted the attempt to evangelize
the heathen, over whom God had given this empire an
extensive sway. Landing at Macao, on the 4th of
September, 1807, Mr. Morrison proceeded to Canton,
where he was accommodated with lodgings in the
factory of the American agents, Messrs. Milner and

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 449
Bull; SO that to the citizens of the United States must
be awarded the honour of having introduced into
China the first translator of the Scriptures into the
most extensive language on the globe.
In his earliest efforts to acquire the complete com
mand of the tongue, Mr. Morrison adopted the native
costume, wishing to become perfectly Chinese ; but
finding that this gave offence, he returned to the
European dress ; for he constantly made it his study
to concdiate the Chinese by every legitimate means.
The first sixteen months of his residence in China, he
passed amidst many trials and privations; for the
jealousy of the government made it necessary for him
to keep himself private ; and his zeal for the acquisi
tion of the language induced him to spend the day
with his Chinese teacher, vvith whom he took his meals,
studying and sleeping in a room under ground, and
foregoing the pleasures of intercourse with Europeans,
that he might form the habit of thinking, as well as
speaking, in Chinese. Nothing but such devotion to
his noble object can account for his acquiring, in
eighteen months, the reputation of the best Chinese
scholar in the factory ; and informing the Missionary
Society, at the close of the year 1 808, that he had, in
little more than a year, completed a grammar of the
Chinese tongue ; that his dictionary of that language
was daily advancing to perfection ; and that he had a
manuscript of the New Testament in Chinese almost
fit to be printed. The latter, however, he delayed, till
he should have made still further advances in the
language ; wishing to render his translation, on its first
appearance, as perfect as possible. The grammar of
G G

450 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
the Chinese was not what Europeans would naturally
imagine ; for, in the ordinary sense, the language has
no grammar ; but even this was necessary to be known
by those who commence the study, that they might
confine their attention to that peculiar collocation of
words which is made to supply the place of the in
flexions in other tongues. The dictionary was, of
course, the work of every day and every hour, being
enriched by each new word that was met with in con
versation and books, or by each new application that
was discovered to belong to terms already known.
His sohtary life, with its numerous privations, was
happily relieved, on the 20th of February, 1809, when
he inarried Miss Mary Morton, a young lady of eighteen,
the daughter of the surgeon-in-chief to the Royal
Irish Artdlery. The memoir of this lady, written by
her husband, proves that in her, a kind Providence had
given him a rich reward for his previous sacrifices and
toils. The letters she wrote to him, when called every
season from Macao to Canton, display all that is esti^
mable int he Christian woman, the wife, and the mother;
Suffering under a serious and painful nervous affec
tion, she found relief, during the unavoidably frequent
privation of her husband's society, in books ; though
her attempts to acquire the Chinese language, were
rendered abortive by illness. In one of her letters^
she observes ; "I am a Christian on the broad scale,
and feel good will towards all Christians of every
Sect. I think no one can lay to our charge any party
spirit ; we have nev6r shown it in our conduct ; be
cause we did not feel it."
The rewards and facilities for his work were now

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 451
poured in abundantly upon the devoted missionary ;
for, the very day after his marriage, he received the
gratifying information, that the supercargoes of the
East India Company, to whom he had rendered
valuable assistance in translating their Chinese cor
respondence, had resolved to appoint him, as the most
perfect Chinese scholar, their secretary and inter
preter. Their correspondence with the natives had
previously been conducted with great difficulty by a
circuitous route : — the Portuguese padres, or priests
of the College of St. Joseph, rendered the papers, that
were to be translated from English into Chinese, first
into Latin, and then gave them to their native assis
tants to be translated into Chinese. It is obvious
that this process must have given rise to much im
perfection in the ultimate result.
Mr. Morrison justified to the Missionary Society,
his acceptance of a civil employment, by displaying
the facilities it would afford him in the prosecution
of the object of his mission, and the saving which it
would occasion to their funds. He, in fact, after this,
supported himself while labouring for them. He early
came to the conclusion, that the ordinary means of
introducing Christianity, by entering a country and
preaching the Gospel, could not, at that time, be em
ployed in China ; but that his field of labour was
the press. He had studied carefully the people to
whose eternal interests he had devoted his life, and
found, that, whde their jealousy utterly excluded
resident or itinerant foreigners, they possessed a
literary character, in some respects, superior to that
of any other nation in the world ; for their written
G G 2

452 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
language, which was a medium of communication to
one- third of the humau race, was cultivated with a
zeal that was the natural result of making it the road
to distinction in society, and elevation to posts of
honour and power under the government. Mr. Mor
rison determined, therefore, to avail himself of this
singular and important fact, to attack the strongholds
of Paganism, and furnish the Chinese, by means of the
press, with a Christian literature that would ultimately
convey the knowledge of the Gospel to three hundred
and eighty millions of our fellow creatures.
He commenced his operations, in 1812, by printing,
at Canton, in the Chinese manner, from wooden
blocks, an edition of the Acts of the Apostles. In
the same year, he forwarded to Lord Minto, the Go
vernor-General of India, his grammar of the Chinese
language, to be printed at the Calcutta press ; but
difficulties arising, it was not till the year 1815, that
it issued from the Serampore press, at the expense of
the East India Company, with types prepared for it
in England.
Amidst the highest honours of usefulness, and of an
important civil station, he was exposed to the insults
which were, at that time, poured upon Christian Mis
sionaries. " These slights," Mrs. Morrison observes,
in one of her letters to him, " should be indifferent to
us ; they will not take any thing from our happiness.
Yet, one cannot help being hurt at the marked inatten
tions to which I am frequently exposed. But I believe
the Chinese doctrine, of bearing insults, is the wisest
plan to follow. They reason very simply, and very
well. It is certainly the person who causelessly insults

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 453
us, that ought to be ashamed, and not ourselves, for
bearing patiently with them. As Christians, also, we
have a much higher motive for being humble and
peaceable." There was, at this period, a systematic
effort made, by many influential persons in the service
ofthe East India Company, to crush all missions to the
heathen; but patience and perseverance, and the mani
fest good effect of the labours of the despised men, at
last turned the scale in their favour.
In the year 1813, Mr. Morrison completed an edi
tion of the New Testament, in Chinese, of which he
forwarded a few copies to Europe. Large editions of
this most important work were published in 1815,
1819, 1822, and 1827, and were extensively circulated
in China. He printed, also, a Catechism, in Chinese,
with a tract on the Doctrines of Christianity, of which
fifteen thousand copies were circulated. But, in the
following year, he thought of giving up his situation in
China, and retiring to Java, or Malacca ; for so serious
was the opposition he endured, that the Court of Di
rectors ordered that his services to the factory should
cease. It was pretended, that his translation of the
Scriptures was opposed to an edict of the Emperor of
China, which prohibited the Chinese from consulting
certain Christian books published by the Jesuits. Mr.
Morrison addressed, therefore, a letter to the super
cargoes, in vindication of his conduct; reminding
them, that, when he accepted a civil office, he had not
consented to abandon his religious character as a mis
sionary. He observed, that it was the temporal autho
rity claimed for the Pope by the Jesuits, which excited
the jealousy of the acute Chinese, and called forth the

454 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
imperial edict ; while the quiet unobtrusive circulation
of theological writings among a highly literary people,
was not liable to the same objection. These explana
tions being deemed satisfactory, his services to the
factory were retained.
The first number of his Dictionary of the Chinese
Language, was printed on the 29th of December, 1815,
at a press, established for that purpose, at Macao.
The first part, containing the Chinese and English,
arranged like the native Chinese dictionaries, acco?'ding
to the Radicals, fills three quarto volumes, each con
taining about nine hundred pages. This systematic
arrangement removes the difficulty, which, till then,
had been found insuperable by Europeans, in their
attempts to learn the speech and writings of the Chi
nese. The second part, which occupies two volumes,
contains the Chinese and English, arranged alphabe
tically; and the third part consists of English words,
with their correspondent Chinese. This stupendous
work, which it would be difficult for the Christian or
the philosopher to overrate, was completed on the
5th of April, 1822, when he had been absent fifteen
years in China. Worthy to be the labour of a life,
it stands as an imperishable monument of the author's
diligence and ability ; and we cannot wonder at the
complaints he made, at this time, of the severe head
aches under which he was labouring. The dedication
to the Court of Directors of the East India Company,
was an honour well deserved; for by its orders the
Company's funds were charged with the entire ex
pense of its publication, amounting to about twelve
thousand pounds. After directing the distribution of

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 455
a hundred copies, the Court generously presented to
the author, the remainder of the impression, for cir
culation among his friends, or for sale on his own
account. After Mr. Morrison had completed his translation
of the New Testament, he obtained the co-operation of
Mr. Milne, who had been sent to Malacca, by the
London Missionary Society. This valuable man, who
was worthy to be the coadjutor of Morrison, would
have claimed a distinct memoir in the History of Dis
senters, if his predecessor had not engrossed the whole
space that could be afforded to this department. Mr.
Milne was a native of Scotland ; and having, very
early in life, devoted himself, with uncommon ardour,
first to religion, and then to missions, he was educated
at the Mission College, in Gosport, under Dr. Bogue.
In China, entering into most cordial friendship with
his senior fellow-labourer, Mr. Milne acquired, with
surprising rapidity, a profound knowledge of Chinese,
and translated into that language the book of Deutero
nomy, the latter historical parts of the Old Testament,
and the book of Job. With this aid, a Chinese
version of the Old Testament was published, Nov. 25,
1819 ; and thus the whole inspired Scriptures were
published, for a third of the human race, in nineteen
octavo volumes. Other editions of this invaluable
work have been subsequently printed, at the expense
ofthe British and Foreign Bible Society; and Morrison
prepared, previously to his decease, a revision of the
vast undertaking. It is most gratifying to record, that
Leang-a-fa, a native Chinese, converted to the faith of
Christ by the labours of Milne, assisted in carrying

456 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
through the press the sacred volume, destined to be
the instrument of salvation to his countrymen. But
Mr. Milne, after exciting the loftiest hopes, and
receiving from his native land a doctor's degree, fell
a sacrifice to his labours among the Chinese, in 1822.
Mr. Morrison published, in 1817, a quarto volume,
entitied "A View of China, for Philological Purposes,"
containing a sketch of Chinese chronology, geography,
government, religion, and customs, for the use of
students of the Chinese language. In the same year,
he was called to accompany, as Chinese interpreter.
Lord Amherst, on his embassy to Pekin. In this
important enterprize, he made the ambassador ac
quainted with the fact, that the presents from the
King of England were forwarded, on the great canal,
in boxes, which bore flags announcing that this was
tribute from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor
of China. Of this embassy, which had a mortifying
termination, Mr. Morrison wrote a memoir, which was
afterwards published in this country. At the close of
this year, the Senatus Academicus of the University
of Glasgow, conferred on him the degree of Doctor in
Divinity. Dr. Morrison now carried into execution a project
which he had long cherished, — the establishment of
an Anglo-Chinese college, at Malacca, for the culti
vation of the language and literature of the two
countries, with a view to the introduction of the
Gospel into China. The Missionary Society had
previously obtained a grant of land, for a mission-
house, on which, with some purchased in addition, the
college was erected. Dr. Morrison generously gave

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 457
a thousand pounds towards the object, and a hundred
per annum for five years. He drew up a code of
laws for its government, on Christian principles ; and,
in 1827, Mr. Fullerton, the Governor of Prince of
Wales' Island, gave a sketch of the history of the
college ; and after recommending the East India
Company to afford it pecuniary aid, as useful to their
servants, he added, " I do not contemplate any inter
ference in the direct management of the institution,
being perfectly satisfied that it is now in better hands."
Dr. Morrison visited it, in 1822, and entered into
arrangements for the formation of another kindred
institution at Singapore ; but when Sir Stamford
Raffles, the liberal patron of the new college, left tbe
East, the whole scheme failed. The Malacca College,
however, still exists, a flourishing monument of Dr.
Morrison's wisdom, liberality, and zeal. Its patrons
are Sir George Staunton, Col. Farquhar, the Hon. E.
Phillips, and the Hon. J. Erskine. It is, at present,
under the tuition of Messrs. Evans and Dyer, mis
sionaries, from the London Society, and has seventy
students, Chinese and Malays, some of whom discover
a decided and enlightened attachment to the Christian
religion ; and a Christian church is there rising, com
posed of converted Chinese.
Having lost his excellent wife, in 1821, Dr. Mor
rison, some time after, embarked for his native coun
try, whither his son and daughter had preceded him ;
and, in March, 1824, he arrived in England, after an
absence of almost eighteen years. He was received
with distinguished attention in the several religious
and literary circles in England aud Scotland, and also

458 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
in Paris, where he spent part ofthe summer of 1825.
He Was enrolled among the members of the Royal
Society ; and presented, by the President of the Board
of Control, at the levee, to the King, to whom he
presented a copy of his version of the Scriptures in
Chinese, with some other of his Chinese works.
To promote the study of the Chinese language in
this country, he brought with him a valuable library,
consisting of several thousand works in that tongue.
He founded, with the aid of friends, what he called,
" The Language Institution," for the study of those
tongues which missionaries would need to acquire,
that they might not be obliged to commence, in an
unfavourable climate, the very elements of languages
which they might, to a considerable extent, learn at
home. This, like all Dr. Morrison's projects, was of
the most catholic character, being open to all mis
sionaries. Under his own personal superintendence
it flourished, and afforded the most valuable aid to
some who are now labouring among the heathen ; but,
on his return to China, it soon declined, and in two
years expired. For, though it was, at once most
useful and most economical, as Professor Johnson, of
the East India College at Heylebury, and other literary
gentlemen, gave their valuable services gratuitously ;
it was found that there was no regular supply of stu
dents, even from all the missionary societies combined.
Dr. Morrison deeply lamented the failure of the
scheme ; but the gentleman above named, has dimi
nished the evil consequences, by generously affording
his services to those missionaries who are destined to
the East.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 459
During his residence in England, Dr. Morrison
published " The Chinese Miscellany ; " consisting of
extracts from Chinese authors, in the native character,
with translations, and philological comments. In this
work, he had recourse to lithography, which he recom
mended as peculiarly adapted to the multiplication of
copies in the Chinese character, and which he subse
quently introduced into China.
Having, in 1824, married Miss Armstrong, of Liver
pool, he returned, two years after, to China, under the
auspices of the Court of Directors of the East India
Company, who had consented to the temporary sus
pension of his services in the East. He was accom
panied by his wife, and their infant son, with his two
elder children. After the termination of the Com
pany's charter. Lord Napier arrived at Macao, with
his Majesty's commission for a new administration of
the British affairs in China. But the Chinese, refusing
to receive him, his lordship determined to proceed to
Canton, without their consent; and commanding the
services of Dr. Morrison, whose superior knowledge
and judgment in these affairs should have been con
sulted, the two lives were sacrificed to a most dis
astrous expedition. Dr. Morrison, though at that time
in declining health, could not refuse his services, as
Lord Napier had, in pursuance of his instructions, ap
pointed him Chinese secretary and interpreter to the
commission. Proceeding with his lordship, in an open
boat, they were exposed to a storm of rain, in Canton
river, on the night of the 24th of July, and did not
arrive in Canton till the following morning. From that
time, disease made rapid advances on the exhausted

460 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
frame of Dr. Morrison, and he expired in the arms of
his eldest son, John Robert Morrison, on the first of
August, 1834, in the fifty-third year of his age. His
remains were carried, from his residence in the Danish
Hong, to Macao, and followed to the water side, by
Lord Napier, and all the Europeans, Americans, and
Asiatic subjects of Britain, then in Canton. He was
buried, on the fifth of August, by the side of his first
wife, and one of his children, in the private Protestant
burial ground, at Macao, attended by the most respect
able inhabitants of the place.
The magnitude of the loss sustained by his removal,
was best known, if not most deeply felt, in that part
of the world to which he had consecrated the labours
of his life. " Countless millions of the human race,"
it was there observed, " may have to rejoice in the
effects of his toils ; and, when the attainment of the
Chinese shall have become an easy task, a succession
of Chinese scholars will owe to him the means whereby
they acquired it ; and long, very long, will it be before
there shall be found among them one whose know
ledge of China, and of Chinese literature, shall be as
extensive and solid as his — one, whose mind shall be
as thoroughly saturated with Chinese lore."
His superior knowledge and judgment are admitted
to have been, on some trying occasions, of immense
value to the East India Company. He was more than
once called into council at Canton ; and whenever his
advice was followed, the result proved his wisdom.
In what was called the Lintin affair, he was the only
person at the factory capable of opposing argument
to the claims of the Chinese, over whom he triumphed.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 461
Had his advice, which was always that of the Chris
tian philanthropist, been followed on some occasions,
great inconvenience and loss would have been avoided.
There are but few among the Company's servants,
formerly on the Canton establishment, who were not
indebted to him for their knowledge of Chinese ; for
which, indeed, he was allowed, till nearly the time of
his death, to draw largely on the Company's funds.
It is well known in the circles of British India, that
Dr. Morrison was the first European who prepared
documents in the Chinese language, which the Chi
nese authorities would consent to receive ; and that his
first attempt being mistaken by them for the produc
tion of a learned Chinese, means were employed to
discover the author, who was regarded by the Chinese
laws as guilty of treason, for employing such talents
in the service of foreigners. It was this inquiry which
proved and published to the world the high character
of Dr. Morrison, as a Chinese scholar. But, amidst a
multitude of facts, the following is selected, because
it exhibits his literary eminence, in combination with
exalted Christian benevolence. A party of Chinese
navigators, among whom was one Teal-Kung-Chaou,
were, in 1829, sailing near the coast, with fourteen
passengers and some property, when the majority of
the crew rose, and, for the sake of the property, mur
dered the passengers, with the exception of one, who
escaped to land. Teal-Kung-Chaou, far from being a
partaker, had endeavoured to prevent the crime ; but
the survivor having, on reaching the shore, given
information to the magistrates, the whole of the crew,
including the innocent man, were arrested and con-

462 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
victed on evidence, which was, afterwards, shown to
be insufficient by the law of China. The court was,
however, opened for identification, which was all
that remained to be done, previously to execution.
Foreigners of distinction were admitted, and the pri
soners being brought into court in cages, all were
identified as partners in the crime, except Teal-Kung-
Chaou, who, on stepping out of his cage, was eagerly
embraced by the survivor of the murdered passengers,
with grateful acknowledgments for saving his life,
amidst the slaughter of his associates. But the Chi
nese, with their characteristic selfishness and apathy,
made no attempt to reverse the unjust sentence passed
on the innocent and meritorious man. Leang-a-fa, who
had accompanied Dr. Morrison into the court, ex
pressed his desire to do this act of justice and kind
ness, but could not command sufficient attention. Per
ceiving that there was no other hope for the injured
man, Dr. Morrison stepped forward, and eloquently
pleaded his cause, in Chinese, with so ample refe
rences to Chinese legal authority, as procured the
release of Teal-Kung-Chaou, and obtained for the Bri
tish advocate the highest compliments from the chief
judge, and the applause of the whole court. The
captive rescued from death presented, according to
Chinese usage, a formal letter of acknowledgment to
his deliverer, at whose feet he could not be prevented
from performing the peculiar act of homage called,
Knocking head, or striking the forehead nine times
against the ground.
But Dr. Morrison paid the usual tax for being emi
nent, by enduring the envy of rivals. Even in this

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES, 463
country, he was grudged, by one portion of the press,
the honour that was his due ; but, on the continent of
Europe, a formal, though abortive attempt, was made
to rob him of the fair fame, which he deserved the
more, as he sought it not. An English gentleman,
who had received instructions from Dr. Morrison in the
language, was requested, in return for some literary
favours, to eulogize a certain continental professor of
Chinese, at Dr. Morrison's expense. The answer must
gratify every lover of justice, of Morrison, and of his
country. " I cannot help regretting that you should
indulge in such hostility to Dr. Morrison, concerning
whom I must declare, (and I could not without the
greatest baseness do otherwise,) that I agree with Sir
George Staunton, in considering him as confessedly
the first Chinese scholar in Europe. It is notorious in
England, that he has, for years, conducted, on the part
of the East India Company, a very extensive corres
pondence with the Chinese, in the written character;
that he writes the language of China with the ease
and rapidity of a native ; and that the natives them
selves have. long since given him the title of Le Docline
Ma. This testimony is decisive, and the position
which it gives him is such, that he may regard all
European squabbles about his Chinese knowledge as
mere Batrachomyamachia. What Mr. Majoribanks
stated in relation to a Japanese version of Morrison's
Dictionary, is perfectly correct. The Japanese were
so well pleased with the alphabetical arrangement of
the second part, that they have availed themselves of
Dutch interpretations, and convert it into their own
vernacular language."

464 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
But it is as a Christian, and a missionary, that Dr.
Morrison demands special notice in this history. His
devout deference for the command of Christ, " to
preach the Gospel to every creature," first directed
the energies of his mind, and the benevolence of
his heart towards China. For this, he forsook his
native land, and encountered a host of difficulties on
a foreign shore. The concealment to which he was at
first doomed in China, and the solitary abstraction
from every thing but Chinese which he wisely
adopted, and the habit of continual opposition to
heathenish notions and practices, which his mission
enjoined upon him, gave him, in the view of strangers,
an air of reserve and repulsiveness, which, however,
a further acquaintance dispelled ; leaving on the mind
of a Christian a high admiration for benevolence upon
principle. All his conduct was so wisely conciliatory,
as to prove that he loved the people for whom he
laboured. By the liberal course which the East India
Company finally adopted towards him, he was enabled
to develop a Christian superiority to the love of gain ;
and to prompt, by his own princely example, the libe
rality of others towards that one magnificent object to
which he consecrated his life.
His Chinese translation of the Scriptures, to which
also Dr. Milne eminently contributed, proved his
fidelity in the most delicate and important charge that
can be committed to a mortal, the transfusion of the
revealed mind of God into the language of many
millions of our race, hitherto unacquainted with the
inestimable treasure. That there should be differences
of opinion on the version was almost inevitable ; but

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

465

it is gratifying to reflect, that, if Morrison and his
coadjutor erred, it was by excess of fidelity. To
biblical scholars it is known, that there are two
schools of translation, which may be denominated
the close and the /ree ,• the former exemplified in the
Vulgate and the Peshito Syriac; the latter, in the
Latin version of Castellio, and, perhaps, also, in the
French of Maitre de Saci. The close version aims, not
only to impart the thoughts of the Divine Mind, but
also to retain as much as possible of the very manner
of the sacred writers ; while the free translators endea
vour to give to the sentiments the air of an original
work in the language which they employ. Each school
has its advocates ; but antiquity and piety plead for the
close version. The Septuagint translation of the Old
Testament into Greek, which was first in the field, and
which may plead apostolic sanction, is certainly not
in the manner of a composition by native Greeks, who
must always have perceived, that it was a translation
from the Hebrew. The Greek Testament itself, though
originally written in that tongue, bears the character
of the Septuagint, rather than of Xenophon, and on
this depend some of its most convincing evidences
of veracity. The earliest versions by the Christian
church, such as the Itala and the Syriac, derive a
great part of their value from their close fidelity ; and
cannot but exert great authority over subsequent
translators. That the works of the inspired writers should be
read by men of other nations, as productions by their
own countrymen, is not desirable, ifit were attainable ;
for this would mislead. But it is not possible ; for
u H

466 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
every page would dispel the illusion. He who made
choice of one people to be the depositories and organs
of revealed truth, intended that all other nations
should know it. By translations which yield to this
design, we not only convey the Divine Mind, in the
divine manner, and thus, as far as possible, guard
against any alteration in the sentiments ; but we have
found that we create, also, in every nation, a style of
thinking and speaking on sacred subjects, which gives
to its inhabitants some portion of the advantage which
they enjoyed to whom revelation came in their native
tongue. If this produces, as must be admitted, some
literary disadvantages ; the opposite system is liable
to stdl more serious objections. It is, therefore, a
cause of rejoicing, rather than of regret, that Dr. Mor
rison's Chinese version has taken the safe side in this
disputed question. Ifit has been said, that, by being
less free and idiomatic than he could have made it,
the book is almost sealed and useless to the Chinese ;
it may be replied, that we have attempted to do what
never yet has been done, and probably never will be, —
to convert a nation by what might, in a good sense, be
called the dead letter, rather than by the living voice.
The argument of the Catholics, that the word was
preached before it was written, is, though misapplied,
true, and may furnish us with instructive reflections.
The Bible was intended to be unfolded by the living
teacher ; and where the latter is wanting, in how many
countries, not to mention our own towns and villages,
does it lie a sealed and neglected book ? That the first
attempt to render a volume, so peculiar as the Bible,
into a language so peculiar as the Chinese, may admit

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 467
of improvement ; and that there are cases where it is
difficult to decide between the free and the close
version, which are often separated by a very delicate
line, cannot be denied ; but a late attempt at a more
idiomatic version in Chinese, has led the Bible and
London Missionary Societies to award the palm of
preference to Dr. Morrison's translation.
The life of this missionary, honoured by usefulness
beyond that of almost any other man, since the Apostles'
days, was terminated by what may be called an early,
and a painful death. Engaged in a hostile conflict
with the Chinese, which his better judgment could not
approve, he was called away from the field, just when
we might have hoped he was about to reap the fruit
of his toils, in the conversion of those for whom he had
lived, to the faith of Christ. But He who does all
things well, apportions the labours and joys of his
servants by a plan too comprehensive for our grasp.
The faithful missionary had made it an invariable
practice to teach religion by example, as well as by
discourse ; and deeming the Lord's day a most impor
tant and beneficial part of the Christian institutions,
he always kept it sacred, and filled it up with devotions
and benevolent labours. At Canton, where he was
obhged to spend the portion of the year devoted to trade,
though he had only a lodging, he made this a chapel ;
but in his own house, at Macao, he enjoyed better
opportunities of rendering his dwelling a temple for
God. In both places, he usually preached four times
on the Sabbath ; twice in English, to such of his
countrymen as would attend, and twice in Chinese, to
the natives. By the latter services, several were con-
H H 2

468 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
verted to Christ, and a few of them have been destined
to the missionary service. His last service seemed to
give a mournful presentiment of his speedy removal to
that rest from which those who long for the conversion
of China to the Christian faith, would have wished
long to detain him.
Of his large and commanding person, which was
rendered interesting by a full and piercing eye, a very
just representation is in the possession of both hemi
spheres ; for, at the request of the India Company's
servants, a painting was taken by Chinnery, at Canton ;
and the house of the London Missionary Society, in
Blomfield Street, contains a portrait, taken in this
country. The habit of economising time, without
which he could not have achieved his numerous works,
prevented much of that social intercourse which he
would otherwise have enjoyed ; and, whenever con
versation became unprofitable, he withdrew. With
his own children, when they were young, he was very
sportive ; and to the enlargement of their minds, he
devoted his unerring attention. As they grew up,
they became his companions and correspondents, which
naturally rendered them his affectionate friends. The
letter, in which his eldest son announced to the
Missionary Society his death, was a beautiful and
touching exhibition of fine sense and filial piety.
Having been himself a good son, — for he devoted a
portion of his income to the comfort of his father's old
age, — he was honoured by the attachment of a son, in
whose arms he expired.
As usefulness was his grand aim, in pursuit of
which \ie lent his powerful aid to the Temperance

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 469
Society, in Canton ; he opened a floating chapel, for
the Seamen's Friend Society, and kept a school for
Chinese children in his own house, employing Chinese
teachers, and giving presents to the parents, to induce
them to send their offspring. His memory has been
honoured in a way that he did not anticipate, but
would most highly have prized ; for, when it was
found that his family was not so amply provided for
as to justify the Missionary Society in accepting the
present he had made of his Chinese library, which cost
him many thousand pounds, a subscription was raised
to purchase it, and an arrangement made to render
it most extensively useful. The London University
College accepted the grant of it, on condition of pre
serving it under the title of the Morrison Library, and
appointing a Chinese professorship for five years.
Thus our country is in some measure rescued from
the disgrace of doing less than some other European
nations, for the language and literature of the Chinese,
in whom we, more than any other nation on the globe,
have a deep interest ; and Mr. Kidd, formerly a mis
sionary of the London Society, at Malacca, is now
Professor of Chinese.
Should this memoir be deemed disproportionably
long, it may be justified, not only by the importance of
its theme, and the influence which it is hoped Dr. Mor
rison will have in directing the attention of his country
to the conversion of China, but also by the considera
tion, that this is the only record of an Independent
missionary which our history contains. Morrison,
therefore, must stand for a class, which contains many
a name worthy to be recorded among the Congrega-

470 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
tional Dissenters, who have quitted their country, to
make known our holy religion to those who are
worshipping idols.
THE REV. ANDREW FULLER, OF KETTERING.
Andrew Fuller was born at Wicken, a village in
Cambridgeshire, February 6, 1754, and educated at
the free-school of Soham. His early days were spent
in the labours of agriculture, his father being a small
farmer ; and the son was, at first, not remarkable for
any thing but folly and vice. At the age of fourteen, he
began to think seriously of religion ; but as the minis
ter whose instructions the family attended, never
addressed any but believers, the youth was set on
asking himself what faith could be. These reflections,
however, were dismissed, till, in the midst of the sports
of his vain companions, he thought himself addressed
with the question, "What dost thou here, Elijah?"
which made him quit them, though with murmurs
against God for disturbing his sinful pleasures. By
reading religious books, he was often melted into
tears ; but his heart being unchanged, he returned
again to his sins. At length he discovered the evils of
his heart, as well as of his life, and saw that if God
would give him the kingdom of heaven, on condition
of forsaking sin, he should not accept it on those
terms. This greatly alarmed him, and made him
exclaim, " Iniquity will be my ruin." But now the
apostle's words, " Sin shall not have dominion over
you," came forcibly to his mind, and having been led
to believe, that promises thus suddenly occurring were
spoken immediately by God, he was filled with delight.

BIOGRAPHICAL NO'J'ICES. 471
But the speedy vanishing of all his religious impres
sions showed him the fallacy of that fanatical notion.
For a long time after, he hved in carelessness and
sin; but at length his alarms returned, and he was
constantiy haunted on his bed with dread of God and
eternity. Fdled with the false notion which prevailed
among the religious people around him, that he must
have some special warrant for believing, beyond the
invitations of Scripture, he was compelled by his
distress to fly to Christ, as appeared to him, " con
trary to law," like Esther going into the presence of
the Persian king. He found peace, however, and was
led by these conflicts to take the course which after
wards distinguished him as a religious writer. He
was publicly baptized, in his seventeenth year, and
endured with meekness the scoffs of his former
associates. The pastor of the Baptist church now became his
bosom friend, whose love of reflection and reading
gave a happy direction to the mind of the young con
vert. But some exercise of church discipline having
given rise to disputes concerning human ability in
religion, the pastor resigned his charge, and the
church was for some time without a minister. Mr.
Fuller, who was much tried by that event, having been
thrown into successful meditations on a text of Scrip
ture, as he was going to a neighbouring place, was
there induced to address an assembly on that theme ;
and thus commenced a course in which he afterwards
became distinguished. The deacon of the church
which he had joined, had, during their state of desti
tution, preached to the people ; but being, one day,

472 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
prevented by an accident, Mr. Fuller supplied his
place ; and so unfavourable were the impressions made
by his first efforts, that the deacon said, " It is of no use
to try him, for he will never make a preacher." Hav
ing, however, once added to the good sense which he
always exhibited, considerable fluency, and being ren
dered the instrument of saving benefits to some of
the hearers, he, at last, accepted an invitation to be
come the pastor.
He was ordained in May, 1775, and Mr. Hall, of
Arnsby, being one of those who took a part in the
service, Mr. Fuller was introduced to the friendship
of that wise and good man, who, finding how his mind
was embarrassed, recommended him to read Edwards
on the Freedom of the Will. But so unacquainted
was Mr. Fuller with theological literature, that he pro
cured Dr. Edwards' " Veritas Redux," and wondered
that he found there no solution to his doubts. He
afterwards found, by reading the works of Dr. Owen,
that there was one who harmonized with Bunyan in
invitations to sinners, rather than with Gill and Brine,
the oracles among his Baptist friends. Thus he was
led into what was called the modern question, and by
reading the American divines, was induced to adopt
so decidedly their views of man's obligation to obey
the Gospel, that he published, in 1781, when he was
but twenty-six years of age, his treatise entitled, " The
Gospel Worthy of all Acceptance." Being introduced
to the acquaintance of Mr. Sutcliffe, of Olney, and
Dr. Ryland, of Bristol, with whom he formed a friend
ship for life, he drank still more deeply into their at
tachment for the Edwardian school of theology.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 473
He married, in 1776, Miss Gardner, of Soham, by
whom hehad several children, which made it necessary
for him to attempt something to add to his narrow
income ; for he had relinquished his secular employ
ment, finding it incompatible with his ministerial
duties : but the school which he opened did not suc
ceed, for he was formed for a far different sphere, and
was, therefore, suffering under embarrassed circum
stances, when a kind Providence opened for him a
field more suited to his powers. The Baptist church
at Kettering, being without a pastor, was advised by
Mr. Hall to invite his friend Fuller, who, on receiving
the invitation, was so touched by the entreaties of his
first charge, that he was twelve months before he
could find resolution to leave them. At length, how
ever, he settled at Kettering, which was thus favoured
by the labours of two of the principal men of their
day. With Mr. Toller, the Independent minister,
Mr. Fuller formed a friendship that was never inter
rupted by jealousies, and was not terminated even by
death. The Baptist Mission now rose to engage the at
tention, and elicit the zeal of Mr. Fuller, who was, at
length, said to have died a martyr to the cause.
Having struggled through great difficulties, theolo
gical and pecuniary, and being now placed more at
his ease, his ardent mind and devoted heart demanded
just such an object to call forth his noblest powers.
His pastoral charge, also, was soon rendered more
easy and more efficient, by the extinction of a separa
tion in a way most pleasant and honourable. Another
Baptist church in Kettering, finding in Mr. Fuller a

474 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
pastor fitted to promote its edification, proposed a
union, and was accepted, with its pastor, Mr. Satchel,
who was the author of an interesting religious novel,
entitled, " Thornton Abbey," to which Mr. Fuller con
tributed to give considerable celebrity.
Mr. Fuller, having become well-known across the
Atlantic, as an able advocate of the American school
of Calvinism, was announced in the periodicals of the
day as honoured with a diploma of D.D. , by one of
the colleges of that country ; but he declined the
honour, questioning both the propriety of such distinc
tions, and his own claim to academic honours. About
this time, one of his village degrees, having lost a son,
Mr. Fuller went to preach his funeral sermon ; but
the place of worship was inadequate to the assembly
convened, and, on application to the vicar, the paro
chial place was lent to him ; nor was any episcopal
censure passed on the hazardous irregularity. Mr.
Pearce, the Baptist minister of Birmingham, being
called to his rest, in the noon of life, and amidst the
most exalted course of ministerial labour, Mr. Fuller
performed the painful, but useful task of giving his
memoirs to the world. The subject, and the biogra
pher, have contributed to furnish the most valuable
life that a young minister can read.
Mr. Fuller reversed the usual process of popularity ;
for, while the distinction of the preacher usually leads
to that of the author, he was brought into notice by
his writings, and thus became at last popular in the
pulpit. He had, indeed, studied to supply the want
of education for the ministry, by carefully reading
Claude's "Essay on theCompositionof a Sermon;" and

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 475
though his manner was not attractive, those who had
been instructed by his books, were anxious to hear his
living voice, and overlooked external defects, for the
sake of the superior wisdom that was manifest in all
he said, as well as in all he wrote. He wisely im
proved his own proper talent, without affecting what
was to hira unattainable. The unity of his discourses
was coraplete, and every defect was supplied by vigor
ous thoughts and solid argument, which never failed
to leave the desired impression on the heart. Popu
larity, in its most vulgar sense, was precluded by what
may be deemed more massive excellences, and his
own church never consisted of more than two hundred
members, though his place of worship was enlarged to
contain above a thousand hearers.
But that species of celebrity which he acquired,
exactly fitted him to serve, most effectually, the cause
to which he devoted his life: for the mission to
India may be said to have been his darling child. In
an association of ministers, held at Nottingham, in
1784, he preached a sermon on the nature and import
ance of walking by faith, which he afterwards pub
lished, with an appendix, persuading to a monthly
union in prayer for the revival of religion. This
struck the spark which Mr. Carey afterwards blew
into a flame. In the Spring of 1791, Mr. Fuller'
preached at Clipston, on the pernicious influence
of delays in religion, which produced a most happy
and powerful effect. By these efforts he gave birth
to that valuable mission which the Baptists have
established in India, and which he spent his subse
quent life to cherish and extend. For this purpose,

476 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
he travelled, not only over a great part of England,
but also into Scotland and Ireland. As he had lived
much in little time, he was, in the commencement of
1805, greatly reduced by illness, which he bore like
one who was willing to suffer as well as to act for
God. His dying colloquies displayed the most edify
ing union of deep humility, and firm reliance on the
grace of Christ ; so that his friend, Mr. Toller, said,
in a funeral sermon he preached for him, " He died just
as I could wish to die, as a penitent at the foot of the
cross." He entered into his rest, on the morning of
the Lord's day, May 7th, 1815, in the sixty-first year
of his age.
His printed works, which are the basis of his fame,
would lead some to say that controversy was his
element. But while he was indeed fitted, by nature,
and called by circumstances, to grapple with error, his
contention was always for important truth, in the spirit
of piety. His " Comparative View of the Calvinistic,
and Socinian Systems, with regard to their Moral Ten
dencies," which made him most popular among evan
gelical Christians, seizes only on important points, and
is not enfeebled by special pleading. His works against
Sandemanianism, and the scheme of universal salvation,
bear the same impressions of zeal for the " doctrines
that are according to godliness." The style of all his
works is simple and perspicuous, with sufficient vigour
of composition to accomplish their object. They show
how much more he might have done with a better
education ; and how much more may be done by five
talents, faithfully improved, than is usually effected
by ten, when they are idolized and perverted. For he

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 477
was the most distinguished blessing to his own com
munion, and through it, to the church of God, by
giving rise, or at least prevalence, to a new school of
divinity, denominated, whether by friends, or by foes,
Fullerism. This diminished, if not destroyed, the
excessive influence of Dr. Gill in his own communion.
Others, and among the Baptists too, had attempted to
stem the torrent of a distorted Calvinism which outraged
Calvin, but Mr. Fuller coming into the field, fresh
from secular pursuits and a discarded creed, brought
with him a zeal that always contributes powerfully to
attain its own end, and a simplicity that was better
adapted than any literary apparatus to instruct the
class with which he had to contend.
ROBERT HALL, A. M.
That the honour which the Baptists early enjoyed of
seeing in their ranks, men of the highest order of
intellect, has continued to follow them, this eloquent
writer is a proof He was born May 2nd, 1764, at
Arnsby, a village near Leicester, where his father was
the Baptist minister, well known by a useful work,
entitied, "Helps to Zion's Traveders," and by his
defence of the doctrine of the Trinity, in a circular
letter to the Baptist churches. His son has but done
him justice, in saying, that " He appeared to greatest
advantage, where the faculties of most men fail them ;
for the natural element of his mind was greatness."
One who knew them both, used to maintain, that the
father was the greater man. The son, however, rose
to higher distinction ; though he was born to a life of
pain, and was, when a chdd, so feeble, that he was not

478 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
expected to ieach. maturity. He was two years old
before he could walk or speak ; but the nurse who
carried him about, took him into an adjoining burying
ground, where, judging from his motions that he was
desirous of learning the meaning of the epitaphs on
the tomb stones, she taught him to read by these
singular books. His tongue, once set at liberty, ran
fast, so that he early acquired the reputation of a great
talker. The love of books made the grave yard still
his study ; for he spread out his little library on the
tombs in that quiet retreat, and stretching himself on
the grass, lay reading till the shades of evening, by
depriving him of light for his literary luxury, com
pelled him to retire into the house.
As he was placed, at six years of age, in a school
at Wigston, six miles from Arnsby, he was soon
found to be unable to walk, in consequence of the
weakness and pain jn his back, from which he suffered
through life ; and being carried by his brothers in
turn, he repaid their kindness, by repeating to them
the interesting passages that he had gathered from
books. His father, however, finding it necessary, pro
cured him a lodging near the school, to which he went,
on Monday morning, loaded with the volumes that
were to instruct, rather than amuse him between the
hours of prescribed labour. The works of President
Edwards were among them ; and before he was nine
years old, he had read the deepest work of experi
mental divinity, the " Treatise on Religious Affections,"
to which he added, the " Inquiry into the Freedom of
the Wid," no mean exercise for the powers of the raost
practised mental philosopher. To these he added,

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 479
" Butier's Analogy ;" and, what is not less remarkable,
he used to ascribe his premature passion for such
studies to his association with a tailor, who was one
of his father's flock. But the formation of Mechanics'
Institutions has brought out to view the interesting
fact, that there are persons in the most obscure
retreats, and the humblest stations, who are successfully
pursuing studies that have been deemed the exclusive
prerogative of those who converse with genius and
learning, in the groves of the academy, by the banks
of the Isis or the Cam. Before he was ten years of
age, Robert Hall had written several essays, chiefly
on religion, -which he read to his brothers and sisters,
whom he often invited to hear him preach.
It is not surprising that, when he had reached his
eleventh year, his father was informed by his school
master, that he could not keep pace with this preco
cious scholar, for it cost half the night to prepare for
the lessons of the next day. These demonstrations of
talent, combined with indications of piety, induced the
delighted parent to dedicate his son to the ministry ;
and after a short abode at Kettering, where his vanity
was injuriously excited, by being called to preach,
though in private, to his seniors, he was placed under
the care ofthe Rev. John Ryland, at Northampton, the
father of the venerated President of the Baptist Col
lege at Bristol. Mr. Ryland was so renowned for
eccentricities, that his more unequivocal excellences
have been thrown into the shade. But he is said to
have taught Greek better than Latin, and mathematics
more successfully than either. His pupils never forgot
his explanations of ratios and proportions ; and they

480 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
who had formed a part of his " living orrery," by
which he introduced the elements of the solar system
into the amusements of the play-ground, ever after felt
how much they owed to the ingenuity and fidelity of
their early instructor. During the year and a half that
young Hall spent with Mr. Ryland, his emulation was
excited ; he improved in composition, and formed an
acquaintance with abstract science, which increased
his thirst for knowledge ! But he attached the greatest
importance to a sermon which he then heard preached
by Mr. Robins, of Daventry, " in language of the
most classic purity, at once impressive and delightful,
which inspired a taste for chaste and elegant compo
sition." After spending some time at home, in reading di
vinity, under his father's guidance, with occasional
helps from the acute village tailor, he entered the
Bristol seminary, to study for the ministry, on Dr.
Ward's foundation, in October, 1778, when he was in
his fifteenth year. Here he enjoyed the instructions
of Dr. Caleb Evans, who was president of the institu
tion, and pastor of the Baptist church in Broadmead.
The Rev. James Newton, was the classical tutor. In
a letter to his father, Mr. Hall expresses the highest
admiration of Dr. Evans; and the habit of early rising,
which the pupil formed, would have enabled him to
derive the utmost advantage from the institution; but
that literary ambition seems to have predominated over
more sacred aims. He received, therefore, the appro
priate and necessary rebuke ; for, being appointed to
preach in the vestry, he suddenly stopped short, and
sat down, exclaiming, " I have lost all ray ideas ! " A

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 481
second trial, in the fodowing week, was followed by a
similar result, on which he observed, " If this does not
humble me, the devil must have me." But when he
returned to his father's house, during the vacation, he
preached at an association of ministers in Clipston,
on " God is hght, and in him there is no darkness at
ad," in a style that excited the admiration of all. His
father, therefore, with the concurrence of his flock,
solemnly devoted him to the ministry.
At the close of his studies in Bristol, he was sent to
King's College, Aberdeen, on Dr. Ward's foundation.
Here, Mr. Hall formed an attachment to a fellow stu
dent, who was afterwards celebrated as Sir James
Mackintosh, and they read Greek together, so noto
riously, that they were pointed at by the other students,
who exclaimed, "There go Plato and Herodotus!"
To Mr. Hall, Sir James ascribed all his knowledge
of principles ; and Mr. Hall used to say, that his college
friend possessed a mind more analagous to that of
Bacon, than any person of modern times. Having
received an invitation to assist Dr. Evans in the pas
toral care, at Bristol, Mr. Hall accepted it with much
doubt and diffidence. His preaching soon excited
extraordinary attention, the place of worship was often
crowded to excess, not only by Dissenters, but by the
most distinguished persons in Bristol, of all denomi
nations, clergy as well as laity. The brilliancy and
force of his pulpit eloquence, at this time, were scarcely
more remarkable than the instructive fascinations of
his private conversation. When, however, he looked
back, in more mature life, on himself at twenty-one,
the idol of the day, he deeply deplored his tendency
r I

482 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
to display, and his defective exhibition of the peculiar
doctrines of the Gospel. Whatever advances he may
have made in learning, at Aberdeen, he seems to have
made none in religion; and though he supposed he
was justified in neglecting evangelical doctrines, at
Bristol, because Dr. Evans dwelt abundantly on these
themes, he afterwards severely condemned himself.
He advanced daring speculations in private, though
he never ventured on such things in the pulpit ; but
his best friends were alarmed for him, and, among
these must be mentioned the excellent Dr. Ryland,
because he wrote to him letters of faithful warning,
for which, as well as for his whole character, Mr. Hall
ever regarded him with profound esteem and vene
ration. When about three-and-twenty years of age, he,
having heard Mr. Robinson, of Cambridge, preach,
was so fascinated with him, as to determine to imitate
him ; but Mr. Hall had too much intellectual pride to
be a permanent imitator, and he soon discovered that
his physical powers unfitted him for the style in which
Robinson excelled. A subsequent interview between
these two master spirits, effectually cured Mr. Hall of
the idolatry into which he had been ensnared, and left
Mr. Robinson in a position which he could ill bear-
that of a defeated disputant.
But Mr. Hall was now called to endure a trial,
that left an indelible impression on his mind ; for a
serious misunderstanding arose between him and Dr.
Evans, which, for two years, destroyed the peace of
both. Mediators, having become partizans, faded in
their attempts at reconciliation, and Mr. Hall quitted

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 483
Bristol. But when Dr. Evans died, Mr. Hall wrote to
his brother-in-law, Mr. James, of Bristol :— ¦" It is truly
affecting to recollect the friendship that so long sub
sisted between us, and that it should end so unhappily
in a breach that admits of no repair, no remedy. Yet
though I feel mofet pungentiy on this occasion, I am
happy to be able to join with you in declaring, that my
conscience is not loaded with guilt. But though, in
justice to myself, I say thus much, there is no one
more disposed to lament the deceased than myself, or
who has a truer sensibility of the real virtues of his
character." Mr. Hall had given pain to his orthodox friends,
and especially to the Baptists ; but, in a correspon
dence with the church in Broadmead, he declared his
firm belief in the divinity and atonement of Christ,
justification by faith, and regeneration by the influ
ences of the Holy Spirit ; though he avowed himself a
materiahst, and, of course, denied a state of consci
ousness between death and the resurrection. He
declared, also, that while he maintained the other
sentiments of the Baptists, he could not approve of
rebaptising those who had received baptism on a con
fession of faith, though the rite had not been admi
nistered by immersion ; because he did not think that
a mistake, with regard to the mode, vitiated the whole
ordinance. Mr. Robinson, of Cambridge, having died, just after
preaching for Dr. Priestiy, to whose views he had
become a convert, Mr. Hall became, in 1790, pastor
of the vacant church. This was an event most happy
for both parties ; for the effects of Mir. Robinson's
I I 2

484 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Socinianism on the congregation created a revulsion in
Mr. Hall's mind; while the splendour of his talents,
and his reputation for daring speculation, gave him
an influence over them which no other man would
have obtained. The death of Mr.'Hall's father, in
1791, rendered the son more deeply thoughtful,
brought to his remembrance some affectionate, argu
mentative, parental remonstrances against dangerous
speculation, which led him at last to say, that he
buried his materialism in his father's grave. Mr.
Hall's first sermon, after taking the pastoral charge at
Cambridge, was on the Atonement, which induced one
of Mr. Robinson's proselytes to say to the new pastor,
" This preaching wdl not do for us ; it will only suit
a congregation of old women." " Do you mean my
sermon, sir, or the doctrine ?" "Your doctrine," " Why
is the doctrine fit only for old women ? " " Because
it may suit the musings of people tottering on the
brink of the grave, and eagerly seeking comfort."
" Thank you, sir, for your concession. The doctrine
will not suit people of any age, unless it be true. It
is not fitted for old women alone ; but is equally im
portant at every age." The objector, with three or
four other persons of influence, and about twenty of
the poor, withdrew, and met in a private house, under
the instruction of the Rev. Mr. Frend, fellow and tutor
of Jesus College, an avowed Socinian ; but a few
months sufficed to disperse them.
The strong political excitement created by the
French revolution, divided Cambridge into parties,
and one of these contrived to draw Mr. Hall into a
promise, which produced his celebrated " Apology for

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 485
the Freedom of the Press," of which he said, " in an
evd hour I yielded. I went home to my lodgings, and
began to write immediately ; sat up all night, and,
wonderful for me, kept up the intellectual ferment
for almost a month, and then the thing was done. I
have, ever since, regretted that I wrote so hastily and
superficially, on some subjects which required touch
ing with a master hand, and exploring to their very
foundation." The public, however, judged more
favourably of the work, of which three editions were
demanded in six months ; but this failed to reconcile
the author to what might be termed his maiden pro
duction. Though Mr. Robinson had prepared for his suc
cessor a bed of thorns, Mr. Hall so conciliated the
pious poor, by condescending pastoral visits, and so
awed the conceited by his mental greatness, that he
soon acquired that influence which is essential to
usefulness. His kindness to children and servants
was very touching, and his rebukes to offenders were
tremendous, because they were always accompanied
by some striking exhibition of moral truth. The
cheerfulness of his temper, and the innocent hilarity
of his wit, rendered his company dehghtful; and
while his conversation was chiefly doctrinal amono-
strangers, he entered most feelingly into experimental
subjects with his more intimate friends. He used to
say, that he visited the poor widows of his church to
learn religion ; when, to repay them for the expense of
his favourite meal, he carried with him a superabun
dant quantity of tea and sugar.
While at Cambridge, he gave himself that new

486 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
education, which neither Bristol, nor Aberdeen, had
rendered unnecessary. He went through the Greek
and Latin classics, the writings of the Fathers and
Reformers, with the most esteemed French preachers.
For this he set apart six hours a day, but often took
eight or ten, and relieved his fatigue by change of
subject every two hours. These efforts were sustained
amidst the severe pains to which he was subject
through life. He revived and increased his knowledge
of mathematics, by the aid of his friend Dr. Gregory,
in such a spirit as to instruct his instructor, and sub
sequently to excite the admiration of Dr. Hutton.
As his religion advanced, and his ministry improved,
his congregation increased, tdl it became necessary to
enlarge the place of worship. Early in the year 1799,
a severe fever contributed to promote at once his spi
rituality and orthodoxy ; for after maintaining the
necessity of divine influence, without admitting the
distinct personality of the Holy Spirit, he was brought,
by experience, to adopt this truth. It was productive
of the happiest effects on his character and preaching,
and may be regarded as the origin of his best fame,
which now reached its zenith : for the publication of
his sermon against Modern Infidelity, brought into
the ranks of his admirers a host of persons who were
unwilling to admit the merits of his Apology for the
Freedom of the Press. He paid, however, the usual
price for his celebrity, in the attacks he endured
from Mr. Benjamin Flower, and others.
About this time, Sir James Mackintosh renewed his
intercourse with his old fellow-student, and Dr. Parr,
coming to Cambridge, to enjoy their society, Mr. Hall

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 487
learned from him the art of smoking tobacco, which
he had previously condemned, but now adopted for
life, finding it, perhaps, soothing to the pain which
he constantiy suffered. Dr. Parr was among the
loudest in praise of the sermon on Modern Infidelity ;
but the panegyric in the notes to the Spital sermon
offended Mr. Hall's modesty, and drew forth the
epithet, " insane !" Now the universal admiration
which the sermon attracted, induced so many mem
bers of the University to attend Mr. Hall's ministry,
that it began to create alarm, and a serious attempt
was made to allure the dissenting Demosthenes into
the Established Church. His celebrity was increased
by the publication of a sermon on the Peace of
Amiens, and especially by one entitled, " Sentiments
proper to the present Crisis," of which the last ten
pages were thought, by Mr. Pitt, to be " equal in
eloquence to any passage of the same length that can
be selected from either ancient or modern writers."
But as he increasingly disliked Cambridge, he with
drew to an adjoining vdlage, and there so devoted
himself to study, that he lost his reason, and was
placed under the care of Dr. Arnold, of Leicester,
who had the pleasure of seeing him recover in about
two months. During this interval, his flock gene
rously procured for him a life annuity, and gave other
proofs of ardent affection. In about twelve months,
his malady returned, and he was removed to the Fish
Ponds, near Bristol, under the judicious care of Dr.
Cox, which again restored him. Change of scene being
deemed necessary, he resigned his charge, and, after
an interval, accepted an invitation to become pastor

488 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
to the congregation at Leicester, -which Dr. Carey had
quitted, to embark in the mission at Serampore. In
his new sphere, Mr. Hall continued twenty years, to
the great enlargement of the flock, which, from two
or three hundred, rose to about a thousand. For Mr.
Hall's religious character was so much improved by
his afflictions, that he deemed them the means of his
first acquaintance with the genuine religion of the
heart. From this time, he was regarded as the cham
pion of evangelical truth, both in the pulpit and in
the press. His sermon on the Death of the Princess
Charlotte extorted universal admiration, and the Trea
tise on Terms of Communion against the Strict Com
munion of the Baptists, contributed powerfully to dis
pose that body to receive Psedobaptists into church
fellowship. The death of Dr. Ryland, of Bristol, led to Mr.
Hall's removal to that place, in 1826, when he was
sixty-two years of age. He felt acutely his separa
tion from a beloved flock ; but went where he believed
duty called him. He was in his element at Bristol,
and was successful in his ministry ; but was followed
by his painful complaint, that made it necessary to
increase the quantity of laudanum, to which, for a long
time, he had had recourse. He pursued his studies,
however, without relaxation, reading the works of
President Edwards, and of Chdlingworth, whom he
used to pronounce more interesting than a novel
writer. When he wished to study a subject that re
quired the knowledge of a new language, he ventured
on the task, and thus acquired Italian, for the sake of
reading Dante. The works of Jeremy Bentham he

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 489
praised extravagantiy, and affirmed that, with these in
his hand, he could go from state to state, with as firm
a step as though he walked on a pavement of adamant.
Of poets, he admired scarcely any but Milton among
the English ; and it is scarcely necessary to say, that
for him, Mr. Hall's admiration approached to idolatry.
But as he advanced towards the close of life, he de
voted himself greatly to the Hebrew Bible and Greek
Testament, and to Matthew Henry's Commentaries,
which he valued as the perfection of works of this
class. He was disappointed if he did not spend his
morning in study, and his evenings in pastoral duties,
or the society of friends. With persons of eminence
he blazed up ; but, at last, cared for little but piety ;
and when that was present, if any complained that the
evening had been dull, he said, " I don't think so. It
was very pleasant. I enjoyed it. I enjoy every thing."
What a triumph of religion over incessant pain ! For
more than twenty years he had not been able to pass
a night without rising, through excessive anguish, and
throwing himself on the ground, or on two or three
chairs, to find relief
In the year 1830, he was obliged to go to Chelten
ham, in search of relief for an additional complaint in
the heart ; and though he returned somewhat relieved,
he soon became worse. The last service in which he
engaged was at a church meeting, on the 9th of Fe
bruary, 1831, when his closing prayer spoke a soul
on the verge of the heavenly world. On the morning
of the following Lord's day, he was found in extreme
distress. The pain in his back had compelled him to
take a hundred and twenty grains of opium. He spoke,

490 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
however, of little else but the unspeakable mercies of
God, and the incessant kindness of friends. His last
moments were as edifying to the humble Christian,
as his most splendid eloquence had been delightful to
men of taste and genius. When asked if he were
comfortable, he replied "Very comfortable; come. Lord
Jesus, come" — and then, his voice failing, his daughter
involuntarily added — "quickly;" and he gave her a
look of most complacent delight. Thus he died, in
February, 1831, in the sixty-seventh year of his age.
Few men have furnished to the church more in
structive warning, or more beneficial stimulus than
Mr. Hall. For his ministry began with splendid faults,
and closed with distinguished excellence. If we adopt
his own views of himself, we must consider him as
adding another to the numerous monitions against
suffering the sons of ministers to adopt their father's
profession, before they have given satisfactory evidence
of being renewed by divine grace, and called of God
into the ministry. The system which prevails in the
Establishment best secures learning ; but departure
from the practice of the Dissenters endangers the
higher interests of religion. In Mr. Hall's conviction,
that his real piety commenced after his first mental
affliction, we are disposed to acquiesce, as well as in
some other of his opinions concerning himself For
in his coolest and most serious moments, his judgment
was sound and much to be preferred to that of his
extravagant eulogists.
To his want of real religion may be traced the early
faults of his ministry, which were calculated to do
immense injury to the church of God. The blaze of

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES, 491
talent, the splendour of oratory, the ambition of as
suming a high rank among the literati of the day, are
not the things for which the Redeemer designed
ministers to be distinguished. The pulpit was not
erected in the church to be the pedestal of literary
or oratorical fame ; nor wdl it be converted to that use,
by those who are eminently endued with the true
spirit of the sacred calling. The amalgamation of the
schools of philosophy with the church of Christ, which
began at Alexandria, and has long reigned in England,
has been the bane of religion, which will always be
more heathenised by this association, than learning
will be Christianised. Let languages, and science, and
the fine arts be cultivated to the highest degree, and
the widest extent; but let them, like commerce, or
agriculture, or politics, keep to their own province,
while religion reigns with undivided sway in the
church. Learning will then be most useful, and least
injurious to the Gospel. All the aids which literature
or science can afford, will find their way into the
church, while the substitution of learning for religion
is excluded.
The overruling providence of God, doubtless, elicited
good, to men of taste, from Mr. Hall's early faults ; but
it was the excellence of the latter period of his life,
that effected the good to which the ministry should
directly tend. It was not when he was enamoured of
Plato, Demosthenes, or Cicero, but when he gave his
mornings to his Bible and Matthew Henry, that Mr.
Hall made full proof of his ministry. By catching the
instructive simplicity, and scriptural piety of Henry,
which appeared true wisdom to Hall, when he was

492 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
himself devoutly wise, the once splendid orator charmed
and edified the humble Christian, whom he had before
dazzled and alarmed. Had the modesty of his better
days permitted him to give us his Autobiography, it
would have been one of the most useful works the
church of God could possess.
The humble estimate he formed of himself and his
own works, was not mere self-depreciation, but the
sentence of sound wisdom. For he was distinguished
for taste rather than genius ; and excelled in the power
of adorning, but not of eliciting truth. Nothing like
discovery in mental, moral, or theological science is to
be found in his works, nor any remarkable proof of
intellectual vigour in the highest sense. Some of his
most splendid passages are imitations, though plagia
risms they cannot be called ; because he so transmuted,
and adorned, and improved what he borrowed, as to
give him a right to call it his own. His exquisite
sensibility to the sublime and beautiful in composition,
induced a lofty ambition to excel, which rendered his
preparations for the press most laborious, but left him,
after all, sincerely dissatisfied with the result ; and
offended, rather than gratified, by the extravagant
praise, which his better judgment told him was not
true. He wrought into his sentences the trains of
thought which led others, as well as himself, to his own
conclusions ; but which strike the reader as new,
because he does not perceive them in the writings of
those who are less ambitious of obtaining the appro
bation of cultivated minds. As a preacher to the
literati, he stood alone ; but this class of hearers is
smnll, and is usually too conceited to be edified.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 493
Consciousness of the true character of his mind, led
to the miscellaneous and fugitive nature of Mr. Hall's
works : for, had he attempted a treatise on any great
and difficult theme, it would have demonstrated that he
was not formed to extricate truth from the involutions
that have embarrassed even lofty minds ; but was the
painter, or the poet, rather than the architect of moral
and religious science. When brought into a happier
state of mind, he abandoned the errors of his youth,
with an ease that showed he had not been entangled
by reasonings of any peculiar force, but had been
superficially acquainted with the evidence which had
long afforded to others the satisfaction that he at last
felt. His writings, therefore, are not destined, like
those of Edwards, whom he admired, or Owen, whom
he despised, to instruct posterity; but if they are not
suffered to lie on the shelf neglected, they will be taken
down to rub off the rust, contracted by dealing largely
in the compositions of those who valued thoughts as
the sons of heaven, and despised words as the
daughters of earth. Thus employed, the compositions
of Robert Hall are of high value, and will accomplish
a useful end. For while he shows what an air of
originality may be given to sentiments that are liable
to be despised, only because they are old ; he
affords one encouraging proof, that religion may be
made attractive, not only to the young and senti
mental, but even to the literary and phdosophical, —
the giants of the mental world.
Such rarities are, however, fraught with as much
danger to the Christian, as benefit to the world. To
the communion of which he was a bright ornament,

494 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Mr. Hall's example would be pernicious, if it led to
imitation ; for, whatever admiration may be extorted
by his printed compositions, it is not in this style that
the Gospel should be preached. The rude simplicity
of their Bunyan, would secure to the Baptists more
effectually the highest honours of usefulness, than the
elaborate eloquence of their Hall.
He was, however, an instructive and delightful
example of the triumphs of religion over the most
dangerous temptations to which the human mind can
be exposed. Here the Gospel, accompanied by the
rod of affliction, in a father's hand, was seen "divinely
mighty to storm strong holds, bringing down high
things, and leading every thought into captivity to the
obedience of Christ." From that which he regarded as
the date of his conversion, his faults disappear, and
Christian excellence of the highest order takes their
place. He that had made Ryland and Fuller tremble
for him, won, at last, their esteem and confidence, and
reached that point of true elevation, — Christian simpli
city and lowliness, — to which, in his Icarian flights, he
seemed to look down as too flat for his superior genius.
While the sufferings of his life extort our sympathy,
and his patient endurance our admiration, we cannot
doubt that he was saved from murmuring, by a con
sciousness that a discipline so severe, was chosen by
infinite wisdom and mercy, as necessary to save him
from the pride of intellect and the path of error. Thus
he was brought to consecrate the araple treasures,
which his vigorous raind had accumulated by the
labour of years, to the honour of the cross ; and to end,
as he should have begun, by saying, "I have deter-

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 495
mined to know nothing among men, save Jesus Christ,
and him crucified."
WM. CAREY, LL.D., MISSIONARY IN INDIA.
This eminent servant of Christ was born at Paulers-
bury, in Northamptonshire, August 17, 1761. His
father was a schoolmaster, who gave him a tolerably
good education, but he was called to work for his
bread in an humble trade. Like many others who
have eminentiy served the church of God, he was very
early impressed with the importance of religion, though
his circumstances in life were unfavourable to this great
concern. Being apprenticed to a shoemaker, his mas
ter was one of those churchmen who can indulge in in
toxication, and employ their servants in business on the
Lord's day, whde strenuously contending for the supe
riority of their church over every other. But a fel
low-servant, who was a dissenter, first awakened young
Carey's attention to religion ; though his bigotry and
his pride resisted all thoughts of quitting his church.
Becoming deeply anxious about his salvation, he
now sought relief to his wounded conscience by
attending three churches on the Lord's day, and a
dissenter's service in addition. At length, by hearing
a sermon on the words of the Apostle. " Let us go
forth to him without the camp, bearing his reproach,"
he determined to quit the establishment, and become a
dissenter ; because he concluded that the Establish
ment was the camp designed to ward off the reproach
of Christ. This curious reason for dissent would
neither have been discovered nor obeyed, if he had
not derived that impression from the dissenting minis-

496 HISTORY OP DISSENTERS.
try which disposed him to interpret every thing in its
favour. But his own subsequent reflection on the
subject shows, that he had no powerful influence ope
rating on the other side ; for he says, " I was brought
off from a carnal, lifeless ministry."
Having taken his lot among dissenters, he was na
turally introduced to an acquaintance with their reli
gious writers, and " Hall's help to Zion's Travellers"
was put into his hands, which, being the first book of
scriptural divinity he had read, opened a new train of
thinking, that set his powerful mind at work, and
gave him great delight. He was now induced to join
the Baptist church, and was ever after a zealous advo
cate of their views. The evidence of ability that he
early gave, induced his new friends to invite him to
preach, which he did, but, as he afterwards thought,
most wretchedly ; though this severe sentence was
perhaps the result of that excessive depreciation of
himself, which he often betrayed when he had risen to
eminence and usefulness almost unrivalled. He took
the charge of a small flock at Moulton, where he was
compelled to keep a school for his support ; but his
worth unfolding there, procured him an invitation to
Leicester, that afforded a better field both for useful
ness and support. Having married, however, and be
ing soon surrounded with a family, he still had to
struggle with poverty.
His mind had dwelt on the claims of the heathen,
when he was thrown, at a meeting of dissenting minis
ters, into the company of Mr. Ryland, who, asking for
a subject of discussion, Mr. Carey proposed, " The duty
of Christians to spread the Gospel among the heathen."

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 497
But the proposal was repelled by Mr. Ryland as
enthusiastic ; for he, more enthusiastically, maintained
that the conversion of the heathen was impossible, tdl
God should restore the gift of tongues to the church.
Mr. Carey, however, pursued his object with his cha
racteristic perseverance, and published a pamphlet on
the Duty of Christians to attempt the Conversion of
the Heathen. He succeeded, at length, in obtaining a
meeting for prayer for the divine direction and bless
ing on the great project; for which, in 1784, a collec
tion was made, amounting to the sum of 13/. 2*. 6d,,
which must make those who are familiar with the pre
sent contributions to missions, smde or weep. But the
Baptist Church at Birmingham, by the hallowed in
fluence of Mr. Pearce, soon gave a pledge of nobler
things, by a contribution of a hundred pounds.
Mr. Carey now showed under what influence he
had urged others to the attempt, by offering himself as
their first missionary. He had early displayed a talent
for acquiring languages ; for a trivial circumstance had
induced him to learn Dutch, and thus he obtained evi
dence that his zeal was not blind, but that He who
had given him the heart of a missionary had furnished
him with at least one of the requisite qualifications.
His flock at Leicester wisely consented to part with
him, and were rewarded for their sacrifice by subse
quent prosperity, and the ministry of such a man as
Mr. Robert Hall ; so that the congregation was greatly
increased, even after another society had branched off
from the parent stock. He was also encouraged by
the unexpected offer of a companion, Mr. Thomas,
who had been a surgeon in India, and therefore knew

K K

498 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
the country in which it was determined to make the first
effort. But all was not smooth and encouraging ; for
Mr. Carey's wife refused to go, and though he reflected,
that many men, Jn the army and navy, and civil ser
vice of the East India Company, leave their wives and
families, for an object far inferior to missions ; he was
afraid lest, incurring the censure of professed Chris
tians, who were shielding their lukewarraness under
specious objections, he should bring discredit on the
cause so dear to his heart. He deterrained, however,
to go, if she who should have been his companion and
helper persisted in her resolution to stay at home.
From the first ship in which Messrs. Carey and
Thomas embarked, they were compelled, by the jea
lousy of the East India Company, to return ; but in
the anguish of their disappointment, they were relieved
by the news of a Danish ship passing our coast, on its
way to India. In this they not only obtained a cheap
passage, but had the pleasure of receiving Mrs. Carey,
who, in the interval between quitting the English
vessel and the arrival of the Danish Indiaman, had
been induced to alter her resolution, and to accompany
her husband. The captain treated them, on the voy
age, as a father and friend, and Mr. Thomas availed
himself of his prior advantages, by making some pro
gress in the language of the people whom they de
signed to teach. They arrived in Calcutta, Novem
ber 11, 1793 ; but as the preparation for their voyage
was fraught with difficulties which terminated in sin
gular comforts ; their first arrival in the field of mis
sions was most discouraging, and the latter days of
Carey were crowned with honour and success.

¦BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 499
Mr. Thomas had been, for some time, a source of
trial to his companion ; for while the latter was pru
dent, economical, and self-denying ; he trusted to
Mr. Thomas's knowledge of the country, which seemed
to answer no other end but to bring them into diffi
culties. But a mental derangement, at last, explained
the mystery, and proved the wisdom of Mr. Carey's
decision, that Mr. Thomas's heart was right, amidst all
the strangeness of conduct which drew upon him the
censures of the Society at home. Mr. Carey was
ultimately relieved of all his pecuniary difficulties, by
heing appointed to the management of some indigo
works; which, however, created dissatisfaction among
those who had not prevented the necessity for it, by
liberally supporting the mission. But, at that time,
these affairs were not so well understood as they are
after large and long experience; nor had Christians
then learned their duty with regard to giving, of which
we have, indeed, even now, acquired only the rudi
ments. Mr. Carey made his labours in temporal
affairs a source of revenue to his mission, which would
not have been suffered to continue, had he not acquired
civd and commercial influence. He nobly resolved
to send word to the Society, at home, that he needed
no more supplies from them, which could hardly have
been justified, had not new missions been projected.
The vigour with which he applied himself to the
acquisition of the language of the country, and to the
translation of the Scriptures, was all that might have
been expected from one who had so triumphantly
struggled with the difficulties that opposed his entrance
on the field. The work was new, not only to him, but
K K 2

500 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS,
unhappily to the Christian church, and he had to
devise the means of conveying spiritual instruction, in
a language which had no religious terms that had not
been desecrated and perverted by idolatry. But,
within two years from his arrival, he had translated
Genesis and Exodus, and had so employed himself in
preaching, that he could say, " the name of Jesus
Christ is no longer strange in this neighbourhood ;
and I can contrive to preach an hour to the people in
their own language." He wrote to Mr. Pearce, whose
heart burned to join in the work, " I know not how to
advise you ; for you would be two years before you
could with profit preach, and then it is not like preach
ing at home." Mr. Pearce, indeed, yielding to the
intreaties of his flock, had referred the decision to
others, who determined that he ought to remain at
home. They robbed India, without enriching Eng
land ; for this choice spirit soon fled to the skies.
Mr. Carey was, however, joined by Mr. Fountain, and
some others, and in December, 1795, he wrote to
his friends at home, that a Baptist church was formed
in India, for some effects were produced by the preach
ing of the Gospel, In the following year, their trans
lation of the Scriptures was complete, and, in 1800,
they were engaged in printing it, whde, he said, " our
brethren are now able to stand on their own legs, in
preaching the word to the natives in their own tongue."
His heart was gladdened by receiving sixteen members
into the church, which he deemed an abundant reward
for all his previous pains and toils.
His character having been tried for some years,
began to be duly appreciated, and he who had been

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 501
compelled to take refuge in the Danish territory, and
avail himself of the protection generously afforded by
a foreign flag, was, in 1801, sought for, and requested
to become Professor of Bengalee, in the College of
Fort William ; so that, when the neighbouring settle
ment of Serampore was taken from the Danes, in the
middle ofthe night, the mission remained undisturbed.
For now a grand change had come over the public
mind, not only with regard to Mr. Carey, but con
cerning Christian missions in general ; so that what
was at first denounced as a crime, is at last honoured
as a meritorious duty. Mr. Carey's health continued
good, amidst his numerous labours, to which his pro
fessorship made an onerous but useful addition, and,
in 1801, he had outlived four of the missionaries who
went out to his aid.
The British and Foreign Bible Society having begun
to afford essential aids to missions, took the transla
tions of the Scriptures under its patronage, and con
tributed liberally to the expense of printing them.
The Baptist Mission, therefore, enlarged its schemes,
and projected printed versions, in the following eastern
tongues : Sanscrit, Bengalee, Hindustanee, Mahratta,
Oarea, Telinga, Kurnata, Guzzeratti, Persian, Boutan,
Thibet, Assam, Burman, Chinese, and Malay. To
the first language on this long list, Mr. Carey had
paid such attention, as the parent of the eastern dia
lects, that he delivered before Lord Wellesley, the
Governor General, the first Sanscrit speech ever made
by a European. It was translated and sent to Lord
Wellesley, who returned it with these words, " I am
much pleased with Mr. Carey's truly original and

502 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
excellent speech. I would not wish to have a word
altered. I esteem such a testimony from such a man,
a greater honour than the applause of courts and par
liaments." What a change, from the time when Garey
was sent ashore from the British East Indiaman, in
England, and was compelled to flee into the Danish
territory in India !
But honours which Mr. Carey valued more highly,
were awarded to him from above ; for, in 1808, he
wrote thus to his friends, at home. " God has given
me the honour of seeing my son Felix attempt a new
mission ; an appropriate recompense to the father,
who had resolved to leave wife and children for the
sake of Christ's kingdom ; and to the son, who had
determined to accompany his father, when the mother
had refused to go with them. There were, at length,
attached to their mission, twelve churches, and their
Eastern versions of the scriptures, multiplied to forty.
But troubles arose ; for though the damage done by a
devastating fire in their printing office, was repaired by
the liberality, not only of the Baptists, but of various
denominations of Christians at home ; a painful
division arose between the missionaries in India, and
the Baptist Missionary Society. It was a question of
property ; the society thinking that what was acquired
by its missionaries, should be regarded as its own, and
the missionaries judging that it should be theirs, as a
body, for the use of that mission. The Baptist deno
mination was divided on the question ; some of the
most zealous friends of the society taking part with
the missionaries, whom others severely censured. The
pen, as well as the tongue, was largely occupied with

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 503
this strife among brethren ; which ended in the mis-
¦ sionaries, with the property, being separated from the
society. The motives of both parties were good, and
they were too many miles apart to admit of that friendly
conference that might have prevented a separation so
much to be deprecated. The breach is now healed.
Mr. Carey received, in 1823, a fall, which created
serious alarm, and perhaps accelerated his end ; though
he so far recovered that he wrote, on the 17th of May,
1831, "I am this day seventy years of age, a monu
ment of divine mercy and goodness." But though
he had suffered little from the climate of India; his
dysentery, which he had brought with him from
England, frequently afflicted him ; he had been in
labours more abundant, and would, in his native land,
have felt their effects when past seventy. He was,
therefore, observed to become feeble, and after fre
quent painful attacks, he entered into his rest and
reward, June 9, 1834.
Dr. Carey furnishes a study for mankind at large,
and especially for the Christian church. Like another
great man, of a different order, Newton, he disclaimed
all pretensions to superior talent ; for he once said to
his biographer, "If you say any thing of me, you must
say I was a plodder; for I ara nothing else." Nothiug
brilliant seemed to belong to him ; but he was sterling
gold, kept so continually in action, that it at last shone
with splendour most intense. If he was a mere
plodder, what may not plodders do ! But he certainly
gave early proofs of one peculiar talent, that of
aptitude for the acquisition of languages; which,
though not of the highest order, is, to a missionary, of

504 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
first rate importance. It is that by which the Redeemer
now supplies the place of the gift of tongues, with.
which his wisdom endued the apostles, the first Chris
tian missionaries. This faculty has the power of
multiplying itself, so that every fresh acquisition
makes another more easy.
But Carey proved, by facts, that he possessed the
faculty of acquiring science, as well as languages ; for
he took with him to India a taste for botany, which
there so much increased, that he became distinguished
in that paradisaic department of knowledge. If any
suppose that this must have interfered with his proper
business, as a missionary, his works might be left to
defend him ; but there is good reason to conclude that
botany, by leading him on to horticulture, contributed
to the preservation of his health, by saving him from
the ruinous consequences of a life too sedentary. The
distinction which procured him the honour of being
associated with scientific societies, contributed also to
give publicity to missions, in those classes which,
though lamentably ignorant of what the church of
Christ is doing for the benefit of mankind, are, when
awakened to the subject, sometimes generous contri
butors to the expense.
The Christian character of Dr. Carey is now his
blessed inheritance, and should be studied by those
who would obey the voice that says, " Where there is
any virtue, or any praise, think of these things." From
the hour of his conversion to Christ, the obscure village
artizan displayed that conscientious decision of soul
which promises all that is excellent in character,
and all that is great in achievement. He followed,

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 505
with 'firm step, wherever conscience led. Whatever
may be thought of his interpretation of the text which
made him a Dissenter, the spirit with which he took
that step augured favourably, and the ultimate conse
quence verified the Redeemer's words, " There is no
man that forsaketh father, or mother, or houses, or
lands, for my sake and the Gospel's, but shall receive
a hundred fold more in the present life," The same
may be said of his braving pecuniary difficulties, and
resolving to leave his wife, at the commencement of
his mission. For the gentleness of his spirit, when
severely tried by Mr. Thomas, his colleague, shows
that his was firmness, not obstinacy ; not indifference
to the feelings of others, but an overwhelming sense of
the divine authority, and deference to acknowledged
duty. The distinction in society, the exemption from
pecuniary embarrassments, and, above all, the useful
ness ultimately conferred on such a man, furnish a
moral lesson of incalculable value to mankind.
His religious experience, however, was not what
some would have expected. His most private and
confidential communications disclose no raptures, but
often express such a sense of unworthiness, that
against one of his humblest confessions his friend, Dr.
Ryland, wrote " Wild humdity." His motives were too
pure to suffer him to be satisfied with the applause of
men, and his sense of the divine character and claims,
was too deep to leave any thing but humility, on a
review of his best performances. Whatever of morbid
excess there may have been in his self-condemnation,
was doubtless overruled for good, by keeping alive in
his ministry the boldest exhibition of human depravity

506 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
and sovereign grace. It must, however, not be for
gotten, that to push labour, whether civil or sacred, to
the utmost extent of ability, and yet maintain devotion
in all its delicacies and delights, is the most difficult
task] with which the human mind can contend, and
this Dr. Carey constantly attempted.
His improvement of time, therefore, scarcely re
quires to be mentioned. Apart from preaching and
the pastoral care, his translations stand as a perennial
monument of diligent labour, while his professorship,
and his literary publications would have been deemed
sufficient employment for any other man. His San
scrit grammar was a quarto volume of a thousand pages,
and his Bengalee Dictionary was on a similar scale,
though he found time for other works which lie beyond
the province of this history. Such was the founder
of the Baptist Mission in India.
LINDLEY MURRAY.
The Society of Friends, has, in this distinguished
man, enjoyed the honour, to them rather rare, of adding
to the useful writers who have advanced the literature
of our country. Lindley Murray was born in Pen-
sylvania, in 1745, of parents whose attachment to the
principles of the Quakers was accompanied with a
high veneration for the sacred Scriptures, which they
read daily in the family. The deep impression that
the father received from this exercise, produced a
correspondent effect on the son, who, towards the close
of life' published a serious persuasive to the daily
reading of the Scriptures. His frame was so weak in
his earliest childhood, that his mother would have wel-

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 507
comed his removal to another world, as a relief; but as
he grew older, he became not only strong, but ex
cessively sportive and adventurous.
His early infirmities led, it seems, to excessive
parental indulgence, from the bad effects of which he
was, in a great measure, recovered by the judicious
firmness of an aunt, to whom he was much indebted
for subduing his wayward disposition. When his
father determined to place him in his own counting-
house, Lindley showed extreme aversion to business ;
and being chastised for some disobedience, at the age
of fourteen, he fled from home, with a little property
which he had acquired, and adopted the strange plan
for a runaway youth, of placing himself at a remote
seminary to pursue learning, intending, by the ac
quisition of French, to fit himself for making his way
in the world. A singular occurrence inducing him to
return to New York, where his parents lived, he was
discovered, and persuaded to return to their roof His
father finding he had gone too far in restraints, now
favoured his studies, and at last yielded to the son's
wish to give himself to the legal profession. After
studying four years, he was called to the bar, and ac
quired considerable reputation, which encouraged him
to marry an estimable woman, the companion and
friend of all his future days.
But the American revolution deranging all ordinary
business, he retired into the country, to whose sports
he gave himself up, much to the regret of the good
man in more mature age. At length, he returned to
New York, while it was in the possession of the British
troops, and entered into trade, which proved so lucrative

508 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
that he soon made a fortune sufficient to induce one of
his moderate views to abandon all further pursuit of
gain, and live upon his income. His father had visited
England in quest of health, bringing with him his wife,
which induced the son also to come here, but they
returned again to America. A serious illness deter
mined Lindley Murray to settle finally in this country,
in 1784, when he took a residence at Holdgate, near
York, where he resided during the remainder of his
days. For a short time, his health allowed him to go about,
and he attended the Quakers' meeting-house where he
gave exhortations, and was chosen a minister. But
his infirmities increasing, he was confined to his house
for many years. He found alleviations to his affliction,
in attempts to do good ; for literary composition was
to him a species of medicine, by diverting his atten
tion from his complaints. He published, in 1795, his
Grammar, which became very celebrated, and went
through a great many editions. This was followed by
Exercises, and a Key, and other school books, that
brought him into notice. In 1812, he printed a Selec
tion from Home on the Psalms, which was his constant
companion. In his seventieth year, he attempted to
serve the youth of his own communion, by publishing
" A Compendium of Faith and Practice ;" which was
followed, in 1817, by a hortatory volume on the duty
and benefit of the daily reading of the Scriptures.
His "Reader," both French and English, consisting of
extracts from the best writers in these languages, had
been previously given to the public. The popularity of
his works was so great that they produced large sums,

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 509
which he devoted to charitable uses, being extremely
moderate in his own expenses, and, on principle,
opposed to the accumulation of wealth. His house
was frequently visited by those who had been attracted
by the fame of his writings, some of whom published
enchanting accounts of their interviews with the
literary Friend.
His course of suffering, of labour, and benevolence,
terminated on the 16th of February, 1826, when he
was in his eighty-first year. His will spoke the bene
volence of his heart ; for it contained a bequest to the
Bible Society, to which he had been a great friend
during life; and, after his wife's death, his whole pro
perty was given to liberate and assist enslaved blacks
in America. His faith in the Redeemer was attested
in many of his works, and he was accustomed to
ascribe his preservation from scepticism, when a wild
youth, to his having early read the principal writers
on the evidences of Christianity, observing, that youth
was too often exposed to injury from the conversation
of infidels, in consequence of being sent out into the
world unfurnished with the knowledge which parents
should impart. RICHARD REYNOLDS.
In this benevolent man the Society of Friends
enjoys the honour of exhibiting a most impressive
example of religion overcoming the dangers of wealth,
and converting it to a blessing both to the possessor
and to the world. Richard Reynolds was a native of
Bristol, which has been singularly happy in some of
its richest citizens. He was born about the year

-J 10 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
1735, and was apprenticed to Mr. W. Fry, a grocer,
though his fortune was gained in a very different line.
The change in his pursuits was probably the conse
quence of marrying Hannah, the daughter of Abraham
Darby, of Colebrook Dale ; for Mr. Reynolds spent
the middle of life there, in the iron works, which have
made that part of the country so well known. He
rose, by wisdom, and industry, and integrity, to the
head of that branch of our most important manufac
tures. Competition had not, at that time, reduced, as
it has since done, the profits of the iron trade, and
Richard Reynolds never indulged in schemes which
often end in splendid ruin; so that when old age came
on he found himself in possession of a large fortune.
He retired to his native city, when nearly seventy
years of age, not to spend the fruits of his labour on
himself, or to hoard them for his children, but to
scatter them abroad in blessings on the poor. Adhering
strictly to the simple habits of his own communion,
and seeking his pleasures in religion, he seldom went
abroad, though he preserved his health by much walk
ing, and promoted his own happiness by busying
himself in promoting that of others, Foi' his charities,
which were more than princely, were not indiscrimi
nate, as he deemed himself responsible to the Supreme
Giver for the manner in which he gave away. Far from
restricting his bounty to his own religious communion,
he was most liberal where there could be least suspicion
of sectarian bias. He condemned the notion that
charity could be left to be exercised by our executors ;
for he was accustomed to say, " We must be judged
according to the deeds done in the body, and the good

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 511
we do by our will does not cOme under that denomi
nation." To the Infirmary, at Bristol, and other kindred
institutions, he gave with a liberality that surprised
almost as much as it delighted ; and to those who
needed such help, he lent considerable sums, leaving
them to pay according to their convenience. When
the British and Foreign Bible Society presented to him
a grand object, consistent with his principles, though
beyond the bounds of his own comraunion, he came
forward with such contributions as cherished most
effectually the rising institution, and proved that he
was glad to promote the spiritual, as well as temporal,
interests of men of every creed and every clime. He
was deeply interested in the improvement of prison
discipline, and contributed largely to the relief of
those who had been, by misfortunes, brought into
jail. In these works of benevolence he spent his latter
days, not only teaching others by his example, that he
deemed it " more blessed to give than to receive," but,
by argument, urging many to share with him in the
bliss. Though there was no poetry in the constitution
of his mind, he became, by force of benevolence, elo
quent, and even imaginative, in his appeals to the
rich ; and said to one, " When gold encircles the
heart, it contracts to such a degree, that no good can
issue from it ; but when the pure gold of faith and
love gets into it, it expands, so that the last drop of
life-blood will be poured forth in benevolence." He
gave away about ten thousand pounds annually, and
one year, nearly twenty thousand. He once wrote to a

512 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
friend, to say, that, not having given away his income
for that year, he should be glad to be informed of
suitable objects of benevolence. In this way he dis
tributed two hundred thousand pounds. But he used
to say, that his was the meanest of talents ; and when
a mother told him she would teach her chdd to lisp
his name, he told her to teach hira a better name,
observing, " That we do not praise the clouds for
pouring down rain, but ascribe the glory to the Giver
of ad Good."
To fourscore years, he pursued this noble course,
with uninterrupted health, and cheerfulness, and
vigour; but, in the spring of 1816, his friends were
alarmed by appearances of decay. He began to com
plain of weakness and loss of appetite, and after reco
vering from a cold, he was attacked by a bilious com
plaint, and was advised to go to Cheltenham. There
he seemed to rally, and resumed his usual exercise,
but soon relapsed, and took to his bed, to which he
had not been confined, for one day, during many
years. His mind was calm, and his spirit and conver
sation soothed and cheered all around him ; for he
had written to a friend, during his illness, " I have
done with the world, and my hope rests on the raercy
of God through the merits and mediation of Jesus
Christ." In this spirit he departed, on the 10th of
September, 1816, in the eighty-first year of his age.
His death created such a sensation in Bristol, that
no funeral of monarchs was ever adorned with such
pomp as that which accompanied him to " the house
appointed for all living." Instead of attendant nobles,
his corpse was follovjred by long lines of the poor, who

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 513
blessed his memory ; and ministers, as well as private
Christians of every denomination, pressed forward
to do honour to him who had done good to all. A
society was formed under the name of the Reynolds'
Commemoration, to give him, by imitation, the highest
praise which excellence can receive; and to supply, by
the union of many, the loss sustained by the removal
of one. But this combination did little more than
show his single superiority to all.
While the Christian character, and holy motives of
Richard Reynolds, set the stamp of real value on his
charities ; they serve to show to the church, and to
the world, what would be the effect of obedience to
the Divine command, " Lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon earth." The duty of giving away all
beyond what is required for our real wants, is manifestly
not understood, or, if understood, not practised even
by those who profess to live under the influence of
Christian principles ; for one man has, by doing this,
created an era in a city that contains others as rich as
he. He has thus left to his children a better inheri
tance than they could have derived from the sums
which others would have accumulated on earth, but
which he laid up in heaven, " where neither moth nor
rust corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal."
THE REV. MATTHEW WILKS, OF LONDON.
This most distinguished man among the Calvinistic
Methodists, will be best introduced to the reader by
his own words. "I was born at Gibraltar, on St.
Matthew's day, 1746; an incident that originates my
ownChristian name, and the names of all the succeeding
L L

514 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
children of my dear father. To me it is far more
interesting to state, that early in the year 1771, I was
born of God, under the preaching of the Rev. W.
Percy, at West Bromwich, Staffordshire. This was
an event of infinitely greater importance to myself, and
many others, than my birth. From that period ray
religious character became fixed, and I partook the
consolations which real Christianity inspires. My
spiritual father was so much attached to me, that
nothing short of my becoming a minister would satisfy
him. To the Countess of Huntingdon's college, at
Trevecca, I must and should go ; and, though against
ray inclination, I went ; and, being entered, closely
pursued my studies. Other important results attended
the formation of my Christian character. While I was
at college, Robert Keine, Esq., one ofthe managers of
the London Tabernacle and Tottenham Court chapel,
paid Lady Huntingdon a visit in Wales. He heard
me, one Sunday, in the chapel, and said he should be
glad to hear me in their places in London." The
decision of his character may be seen by this sketch ;
and those who knew him in the vicinity of Birmingham
and West Bromwich, bore testiraony to the ardour
with which he espoused the cause of religion, and
laboured to extend its influence, frora the moment
that he felt its power on himself For, though he
speaks of being forced to the Countess of Hunting
don's college, he evidently gave his whole soul to the
ministry. His visit to the Tabernacle, and Tottenham
Court chapels, was productive of extraordinary popu
larity ; for he was distinguished by that bold and
striking exhibition of the doctrines of the Gospel,

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 515
accompanied with a tinge of eccentricity, which was
in high repute among the Calvinistic Methodists. He
was introduced to this connexion by the celebrated
Rowland Hill. Having been chosen to be the resi
dent minister of the Tabernacle, he may be called
the successor of Whitfield. In the autumn of the
year 1775, when he was about twenty-nine, he was
ordained to the pastoral charge, Mr. Berridge, vicar of
Everton, Mr. Percy, another episcopally ordained
minister, and Mr. Joss, usually called Captain Joss,
joining in the ordination service ; for many of the
evangelical clergy, at that time, united with the Cal
vinistic Methodists in their most irregular methods of
diffusing the knowledge of the Gospel.
Mr. Wilks soon acquired great influence, in his own
connexion, for his zeal was ardent, and he abounded
in labours. In the Tabernacles of Bristol, Kings-
wowi, Haverford West, Greenwich, and Mitcham, he
preached frequently ; as well as at Tottenham Court
Chapel, which was considered a part of his own charge.
"His style of preaching," says one of his converts,
" had many excellences ; his plans were all his own,
and frequently discovered great ingenuity : there was,
at times, a quaintness in his manner that gave offence
to some, and occasionally caused regret to his most
intimate friends. As this defect has been mentioned
to his disadvantage, I feel it to be due to his memory
to mention a circumstance which will show the dispo
sitions of his heart better than a thousand apologies.
While under his tuition, I was once with him in his
study, receiving from him the most fatherly and judi-
rious advice, when, among other things, he advised
L L 2

516 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
me, by all raeans, to avoid his peculiarities. I ventured,
on this occasion, to mention some singular expression
that he had introduced in his sermon on the preceding
sabbath. ' Did I say so ?' was the question he pro
posed. I answered in the affirmative. He replied,
' You may believe me when I tell you, that these
things are always unpremeditated and spontaneous.
God is my witness, that if I could atone for them by
shedding tears of blood, I would most gladly do it.'
He added, 'Let us pray,' and kneeling down before
his desk, he humbly begged of God to forgive this and
the other sins of his ministry."
His usefulness was very extensive, and many were
not only called to the knowledge of Christ, by his
preaching, but were induced, by his example and influ
ence, to devote themselves to the ministry. He once
mentioned to a friend the names of nine ministers in
England, and one in Scotland, who were the fruits
of his labours. For he was the kind friend and coun
cillor of young ministers ; and, on every occasion, took
delight to serve those who devoted themselves to the
service of Christ and the church. He contributed to
call into existence several of the great schemes which
are now in operation, and which are destined to
impart the best of blessings to the world. If the
" Evangelical Magazine" did not originate with him,
he was one of its first promoters, and by his wise sug
gestions, greatly improved its original design. Its
catholic spirit, and its benevolent attention to the
widows of deceased ministers, exactly met his views ;
and he lived to see it arrive at a degree of usefulness,
which even his sanguine mind never anticipated.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 517
Those who have been engaged in conducting it, know
how anxiously he watched over it, and how deeply he
felt for the interest of those pious widows who have
shared in its profits.
He was one of the fathers of the London Missionary
Society. He preached a sermon, previously to its for
mation, at Tottenham Court chapel, in the year 1795,
from Psalm xliii. 3 — " O send out thy light and thy
truth ;" in which he set forth the perishing state of
the heathen, and the duty of Christians towards them,
with his usual ability. At the close of the discourse, he
told the congregation that he was going, in the follow
ing week, to meet a few pious ministers and gentlemen,
to confer upon the expediency of sending the Gospel
to those who were perishing for lack of knowledge in
heathen lands; — this sermon was the means of awaken
ing a missionary spirit in the bosoms of many who
heard it. His attachment to this noble institution
continued unabated to the last hour of his life. His
sermon, preached at its annual meeting, at Surrey
chapel, in the year 1812, was the most productive in
its effects of any that has been preached on its behalf.
From that discourse have arisen all the auxiliary and
branch societies in England and America, by which
the funds of the parent institution have been so greatly
increased. He was the father of the Irish Evangelical Society.
A few years before the formation of this important
institution, the Hibernian Society was established,
whose object was to diffuse the Gospel, circulate the
Scriptures, and establish schools in Ireland ; of this
society he became a zealous and active member. But

518 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
when, for reasons which some good men thought expe^
dient, the preaching of the Gospel was left out of their
plans, he could not conscientiously continue to give
his support to an institution which had laid aside one
of the raost important means of converting sinners to
God ; and he, with others who thought with hira^
forraed the Irish Evangelical Society, more especially
for the purpose of educating young men for the ministry
of the Gospel in Ireland. This society has had to
contend with many and formidable difficulties, which
greatly affected his mind, as the interests of the sister
island always lay near his heart. How strikingly
does this appear from the fact, that even in his
seventy-ninth year, he travelled to Dublin, with Mr.
Townsend and Mr. Walker, to arrange the affairs of
the academy, and other important business, which was
accomplished in nine days !
"He was the parent of the Vdlage Itinerancy Society,
over which he tenderly watched, with a father's care,
to the last week of his life. He knew that there were
other institutions for the education of young men for
the ministry, and he rejoiced in their prosperity ; but
he wished to see more attention paid to remote and
destitute villages ; he delighted to remember the for
gotten — to attend to the neglected — to visit the for
saken ; and he thought there was room for another
society, which should attend more particularly to these
objects. He lived to see this society flourish far
beyond his most sanguine expectations. It has planted
the tree of hfe in many a dark village ; it has erected
raany teraples for the living God ; and its students are
labouring in more than a hundred stations in different

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 519
pafts of the kingdom, whilst others are filling important
spheres in London, and in other large towns. Its tutors,
its students, and its committee, will never cease to
cherish the greatest veneration for his memory. The
last day that he was from home, he sat in their council,
and took an affectionate leave of them, as if he wished
them to understand that they would see his face no
more." He paid great attention to his own flock, amidst an
extraordinary pressure of public labours ; and by early
rising secured time for every thing. After a long life
of vigorous health, he sunk under the infirmities of
age, and died in the enjoyment of peace and hope,
January 29, 1829, in his eighty-third year. Mr. Hill,
who had introduced him to the Tabernacle, fifty-four
years before, there officiated at the funeral service, while
he was himself tottering on the borders of the grave,
being still older than the man whom he survived.
Mr. Wilks was a type of that generation which fol
lowed in the steps of Whitfield. Bold, ardent, en
ergetic, and laborious, he lived for the salvation of men.
Not strictly a dissenter in theory, but an ultra dissen
ter in practice ; he loved all good raen, whether in the
establishment or among other communions ; for, like
raost of the Methodists, he seems to have thought
that no church government was prescribed in the
Scriptures, and that usefulness was the only principle
that should guide the church and ministry of Christ.
With an apparent love of rule, Mr. Wilks sought to
rule only for the good of others; under a stern and harsh
exterior, which often offended those who did not under
stand him, he was well known by his intimate friends to

520 HISTORY OP DISSENTERS.
conceal an almost chivalrous benevolence ; and though
he seemed coarse, and quaint, and vulgar in his tastes,
he had a just and quick discernment of the beauties of
thought and composition. His sermon before the An
nual Meeting of the London Missionary Society, which
he read to the surprise of all, as much surprised them
by its beauties ; for though none who knew him
doubted his ability to do any thing of that kind, no
one expected him to show so much inclination.
THE REV. JOHN HYATT, LONDON.
This colleague with the subject of the preceding
memoir, held the post of preacher at Tottenham Court
chapel, which is in close connexion with the Taber
nacle, the scene of Mr. Wilks' labours. Mr. Hyatt
was a native of Sherbourne, in Dorsetshire, and de
scended of a family much attached to the forms of the
Establishment, but destitute of the spirit of real re
ligion. His education was exceedingly defective ;
though his mental power was early developed ; and
as he was put to trade, he soon succeeded to a good
business, which afforded him a prospect somewhat
flattering. As he was one of those men who are born
for distinction ; while he continued ignorant of the
nature and value of the Gospel, he became so devoted
to the world and sin, that his biographer says of him,
" No one could have appeared at a greater distance
from the kingdom of God."
The circumstance which led to a total change in Mr.
Hyatt's character and history, was an attachment he
conceived for Miss Westcomb, the niece of Mr. Vardy,
the deceased pastor of the Independent Church in Sher-

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 52l
bourne. Remote as his character was from hers, no
thing could seem more improbable than that which
Mr. Hyatt always declared, " That it was the striking
exhibition of the graces of religion which won and
fixed his heart." To attain his object, he found it was
necessary to join her in attendance on the preaching
of the Gospel, at the Independent chapel, which in
formed his judgment, while yet his prejudices against
the religion of Dissenters remained in all their force,
except towards his favoured fair one. The library of
Mr. Vardy was now opened to him ; and as he was
passionately fond of reading, a store of theological
works accomplished what the preaching of the word
had not effected ; for he used to say, that his reading
gave birth to that change of views and character which
was the commencement of his religious history.
He married the lady, and avowed his conversion
with a fearless decision, which drew upon him a
flood of persecution from his former connexions and
dearest friends. For though his conduct was said to have
been as amiable as it was decided, he was threatened
with ruin, in a town where the state of religion among
the Dissenters was not at that time such as to oppose
a powerful barrier to the prevailing ignorance of the
Gospel, and love of the world. His temporal circum
stances were, however, not eventually injured by his
joining the Independent chapel ; and his skill and
industry in business vanquished, as usual, the opposi
tion of bigotry, and opened to him a fair prospect of
competency. About this time, he formed an acquaintance with a
Wesleyan preacher, whose piety he esteemed ; but

522 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
whose Arminianism awakened this young convert to
Study the five points. With an increased ardour he
searched his Bible and his theological library, and,
meeting with Elisha Cole's "Essay on Divine Sove^
reignty," he was so confirmed by it in his Calvinistic
sentiments, that its effects were discernible in his
future preaching, and in the warmth with which he
recommended that work to those who are hesitating,
whether they should become disciples of the school of
Calvin or Arminius.
Bilt as hfe maintained his religious friendship for
the man from whom he differed, he went to hear him
in an adjoining village. The time of commencing the
service having elapsed, and the preacher not appear
ing, the farmer, at whose house the meetings were
held, called upon Mr. Hyatt to address the congre
gation ; and this circumstance made Mr. Hyatt a
preacher, as a similar occurrence has made many ano
ther : for when the trembling speaker had finished
his discourse, tbe farmer was induced, by its effects,
to announce the same preacher for the evening of the
next Lord's day. After a severe conflict between his
fears and his zeal, he appeared according to the
announcement, and such was his success, that he con
cluded, that this was the path of duty opened to him
by the hand of God.
But the pastor and the flock to which he belonged
did not sympathise with hira, and a kind of popish
prejudice against lay preaching brought upon him
unkind and discouraging reflections, which were cal
culated to drive him out of the proper course. Instead
of a candid inquiry into the will of God, and a friendly

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 523
offer of aid, he met with opposition or neglect, which
the ardour and determination of his character were ill
fitted to brook.
He persevered, however, and by diligent reading,
amidst the claims of business for the support of his
family, so improved his mind that he became popular,
and was invited, by more than one congregation, to
become a settled minister. His own pastor became
more favourable ; his Wesleyan friend generously
encouraged him to proceed ; he was received into the
pulpits of many dissenting congregations ; he found
that his sermons were not only favourably received,
but followed by the happiest effects ; and to such an
extent was he useful in tbe town of Mere, that he
accepted the invitation to settle there. Soon after,
therefore, he parted with his business, leaving consi
derable property that he had acquired in the hands of
his successor. As this was eventually lost, he was
compelled to accept an invitation to the charge of a
larger congregation, at Froome, where his good sense
and industry were displayed by extraordinary efforts
to render himself equal to his more arduous duties.
He wrote every word of the sermons he preached ;
and his printed discourses show that he must have
read and thought, as well as written. The regret we
feel that he was not advised to pursue a regular course
of preparatory studies, is considerably diminished by
the incontrovertible proofs he gave of power and incli
nation to surmount his early disadvantages, by the
labours of his future hfe^ In fact, he educated himself,
and though the mind that could do this would have
turned to the best account higher advantages, he must

524 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Still be pronounced a better preacher than many who
plume themselves on a college education !
While at Froome, Mr. Hyatt paid annual visits to
the Tabernacles at Bristol and Haverford West, which
are accustomed to depend entirely on a monthly
rotation of ministers; and on one of these visits,
Mr. Wilks proposed to him a similar service at the
Tabernacle and Tottenham Court chapel, London.
His first sermon was so well received that he became
an annual preacher, and the declining health of Mr.
J. A. Knight induced the managers to invite Mr. Hyatt
to become his successor. The friendship of Mr. Wilks
encouraged his younger brother to become his col
league, and as their attachment was never interrupted
by any jealousy, Mr. Hyatt found himself in a sphere
of extraordinary usefulness, in one of the largest con
gregations in London. His ministry was characterised
by singular energy and fidelity; and if it betrayed
the defects which usually accompany self-educated
men, it also exhibited their excellences ; and is said
to have been honoured by more usefulness than almost
any man had enjoyed since the days of Whitfield.
Mr. Hyatt carried his Independent principles into the
Methodist connexion, never hearing the Liturgy read,
and struggling to purify the communion by admitting
none to the Lord's table but on a profession of rege
neration. His zeal was too much for his prudence ; and hav
ing contracted an asthma, he neglected it, tdl he sunk
under its ravages, after twenty years of arduous labour
in London, in the month of January, 1826, in the enjoy
ment of a lively faith and exalted hope. The pulpit

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 525
was the place in which he excelled, and he rendered
it subservient to the interests of Calvinistic theology,
purified from every taint of Antinomianism, and fear
lessly devoted to evangelical truth and holiness.
RICHARD WATSON.
Richard Watson, the best writer among the Wes
leyans, was born February 22nd, 1781, at Barton, in
Lincolnshire. His father, who was a Dissenter, often
took him across the Humber to hear Mr, Lambert, the
venerable Independent minister of Hull, for whom the
son ever after cherished the highest esteem. The love
of reading soon gave promise of the future eminence
of this youth, who is said to have read, at six years of
age, sixteen volumes of the "Universal History," and
to have committed Telemachus to memory. When his
family removed to Lincoln, he entered its grammar
school, and laid the foundation of that knowledge of
Latin and Greek, which afterwards gave hira great
advantage in his ministry. But his father, having a
large family, took him from his studies to apprentice
him to a trade in Nottingham. Here he became ac
quainted with the Methodists, not, at first, in a way
either creditable or profitable to him ; for his character
had deteriorated, and he became a scoffer at religion,
indulging, for the sake of sport, in those petty modes
of persecution by which our country was disgraced,
till the progress of religion covered those reliques of
barbarism with shame.
At length, however, he was seriously impressed by
the preaching of a Methodist, Mr. Sargent, and be
came a preacher of the faith he once attempted to

526 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
destroy. The solemn reflections to which the death of
his grandmother gave rise, induced hira first to attempt
to preach, in a cottage, in the village of Boothby,
when he was but fifteen years old. He afterwards
preached in the open air, amidst riots and insults, such
as he had himself formerly delighted to create. To
obtain a legal defence from these assaults, he applied
to the magistrates, according to the provisions of the
Toleration Act, but was repelled under the pretence
that, as an apprentice, he could not claim this pro
tection. He succeeded, however, in another quarter,
and soon after preached in the Methodist chapel at
Newark, where the intolerance of the high church mob
once burnt the pulpit and forms of the chapel in the
market-place. His master was soon induced to cancel
his indentures, which left him at liberty to become an
assistant to the Methodist preacher, at Newark, and
he was received into the nuniber of the travelling
preachers when he was not much more than sixteen.
But the labours of his first circuit were too much for
a frame never very robust, and he was obliged to
return home and seek recovery by rest.
Recommencing his labours as soon as he was able,
he added to them the fatigue of diligent study, to
which he was ardently attached. But being young,
he was fond of argument, and those who either did not
understand him, or were piqued at his superiority,
represented him as an Arian, and a denier of original
sin. He seems to have been disgusted by the unwise
and unkind treatment of the Methodists, at this time,
and though he had not adopted the sentiments with
which he was charged, he quitted the connexion.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 527
That his creed was unchanged, may be fairly inferred
from his joining the Methodist New Connexion, which
holds the same faith as the body frora which it sprang,
though differing somewhat in discipline. He was soon
admitted to travel as a preacher, and being appointed
to the Liverpool circuit, he joined in an attempt to
establish a newspaper there. As his politics were
like those of the Methodists in general, he engaged in
a controversy with the celebrated Mr. Roscoe, on the
war with France.
But his health failing again, and his mind not being
satisfied with the New Connexion, he resigned his post,
and joined his first friends as a private member. He
was, however, soon restored to the office of a travelling
preacher. As his mind had now become much en
larged, and his style of preaching improved, he soon
became one of the most popular preachers. To the
cause of missions, which was at this time taken up very
warmly by the Methodists, in common with other
bodies of evangelical Christians, Mr, Watson gave all
the ardour of his mind, which brought him into very
general notice and esteem. Being appointed to the
Hull circuit, he preached a funeral sermon, in the
Methodist chapel, for Mr. Lambert, who was, at that
time, called home to his rest, amidst the regrets of all
who knew how to esteem religious worth. Here Mr,
Watson's labours were so popular and efficiept, that
the Methodists being much increased, built one of
their largest and most elegant chapels.
After this, he was called to London, and being ap
pointed to a Metropolitan circuit, he was also made
one of the secretaries of the Wesleyan Missionary

528 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Society. He was now in the zenith of his usefulness;
for his superior preaching was duly appreciated, and
his elegant style gave a charm to the Reports which
he drew up. His discretion and urbanity were highly
advantageous to the cause of missions, and brought
him into intercourse with influential persons of various
religious denominations.
He now ventured on the bold step of opposing Dr.
Clarke, whose reputation among the Methodists was
almost paramount. The attack was published in
1808, in the form of a letter to a friend, in refutation
of Dr. Clarke's notion of the sonship of Christ. Mr.
Watson's pamphlet, which was written in the best
spirit of contention, for truth, rather than victory, is
designed to show that Dr. Clarke's opinion of Christ
being called the Son of God, solely on account of the
miraculous conception of his humanity, cannot be
made to accord with those Scriptures whicb exhibit
the title. Son of God, as a claim to deity. Whether
the Methodists were previously of this opinion, or
whether they were convinced by Mr. Watson, does
not appear, though the former seems more probable ;
but so decidedly did they afterwards adopt Mr. Wat
son's views, tbat they determined to make this ques
tion a test for admission into the rank of travellino-
preachers. When Dr. Southey published the Life of Wesley,
the Methodists deemed it necessary to counteract the
irreligious tendency of that work ; and it is highly to
Dr. Clarke's honour that he pronounced his antago
nist, Mr, Watson, the fittest person to write a life of
their founder. This gave birth to the best biography

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

529

that has yet appeared of that extraordinary man, Of
this life, undertaken in 1820, Mr. Watson, eleven
years after, wrote an abridgment.
For the interests of the Methodist missions, Mr.
Watson was, in 1821, fixed in London, as one ofthe
secretaries. This post was favourable to his literary
labours, which he now pursued with increased ardour
and success. He published, in 1823, his " Theological
Institutes ; or a View of the Evidences, Doctrines,
Morals, and Institutions of Christianity." The theo
logy of the work is, of course, Arminian ; but it con
troverts Dr. Clarke's hypothesis, which would reject
the foreknowledge of God, in order to escape his
decrees. Mr. Watson was now elevated to the post of honour
among the Wesleyans; for, in the Conference that was
held at Liverpool in 1826, he was elected President.
This was an extraordinary testimony to the superiority
of his talents and worth, after he had left the body
under a suspicion of heresy, and had joined a rival
section of the Methodists. But he was now verging
towards the close of his career ; for when tbe cholera
visited London in 1832, he was in that infirm state of
health which rendered him an easy prey to the disease.
After his constitution had been thoroughly broken, he
yielded to the importunities of friends, and retired to
Brighton. There, instead of resting from labour, he
finished his Theological and Biblical Dictionary. Re
turning to London, with little improvement, he made
a final effort to preach for the Methodist school at
Kingswood, after which he rapidly sunk, and died,
January 8, 1832, aged fifty-two. M M

530 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.^
He brought into the Methodist ministry raore taste
and eloquence than alraost any of his brethren. His
serraons on great occasions, and especially on the sub
ject of missions, which was his forte, and the pedestal
of his fame, produced a fine effect. His independence
of mind, which at first drove him from the connexion,
triumphed at last, and gave him the precedence in
theology, and, perhaps, also in influence, over many
who had been long entrenched in the estimation of the
Methodists. As a preacher, he made cautious ap
proaches by an appeal to the understanding, and
closed with bursts of eloquence which carried captive
every heart. As a writer, he was distinguished for
taste rather than genius, and for elegance more than
strength. As a theologian, his reading was extensive
and various, not confined to those who favoured his
own creed, and his judgment was usually just; but
acute and profound reasoning was not his distinguish
ing faculty ; for he shone most when presenting great
moral duties to the conscience, and pressing them on
the heart. His sun went down at noon, when it was,
perhaps, not yet seen what he would have been, and
his early death was a great loss, not only to his own
communion, which needed just such a man, but also to
the Christian church, which saw in him a minister who
won the esteem of those who diftered from his creed.
ADAM CLARKE, LL.D.
Adam Clarke was a native of Ireland, and by the
mother's side descended from the Scotch. Born sorae-
where between 1760 and 1762, at a village nearCole-
raine, he had the advantage of a father who kept the

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES, 531
parish school, and was such an enthusiast for the clas
sics, that he cultivated a small farm according to the
directions of Virgil's Georgics. As the son early im
bibed a kindred spirit, he often wandered, when a mere
boy, to a great distance, to obtain the loan of books
to satisfy his thirst for knowledge, A young neigh
bour, son of the lord of the manor, one day invited him
to go to hear the Methodists, who were just come into
the neighbourhood; and the preacher, Mr. Brettel, en
joyed the honour of producing the first impressions of
a serious nature on the mind of hira who was destined
to be a distinguished ornament to methodism. But a
Mr. Barber, one of the fruits of Mr. Wesley's labours,
was the person whose ministry was most blessed to
young Clarke, who speaks of himself as receiving the
knowledge of salvation by the remission of sins, while
pursuing the labours of agriculture, " Being in an
agony, he prayed more earnestly," and took the king
dom of heaven by violence. " The ground where I
knelt," he says, " was literally like ploughed ground."
Having obtained peace of mind, he was soon induced,
by an eccentric preacher, John Bredin, to attempt to
preach. Recommended to Mr. Wesley as a youth of extraor
dinary promise, he was sent to Kingswood school,
near Bristol, and in 1782 was appointed, though only
nineteen, to the station of an itinerant preacher, at
Bradford, in Wiltshire. This was the commencement
of a course which he pursued for nearly half a cen
tury. He maintained, not merely the ordinary studies
which his daily duties demanded, but as he said of
himself, " Through desire, having separated himself
M M 2

532 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
he sought and intermeddled with all wisdom." A
great economist of time, he spurned many of those
scenes in which good men and ministers often indulge,
with a view, as much to usefulness as to pleasure.
He enjoyed the advantage of travelling occasionally
with Mr. Wesley, to whom, on one journey, he read
the whole of the logic of Crousaz, in French, which
led the father ofthe Methodists to observe, in a letter,
" Adam Clarke is doubtless an extraordinary young
man, and capable of doing much good."
His conscience, however, remained so tender, amidst
the torpifying effects of literature, that, when some
whose zeal was greater than their knowledge, told him
his pursuits of learning would be fatal to his piety, he
vowed he would read no more Latin. But he was
induced to rescind the rash vow, by Mr. Wesley, who
had been informed of his change. He combined a
kind and faithful attention to the poor and the sick,
and to all the minor duties of his ministry, with the
studies by which he afterwards rose to eminence. Of
this excellence, as also of his fervour in sacred devo
tions, some affecting anecdotes are related.
As a preacher, he used to affirm, that his popularity
was chiefly owing to the mighty power of the peculiar
doctrines of methodism : " By constantly hamraering
at these," he said, " I can outcongregation them all."
The spice of vanity that is so strong in this saying,
was often observed in him by those who were not
disposed to admire every thing they saw in a popular
favourite. Nor was this saying true ; for the secret of
his popularity lay in his reputation for extraordinary
learning, which was at that time a great rarity in his

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES,

533

own communion. Accustomed to be addressed by illi
terate men, to be taunted for their ignorance and
coarseness, the Methodists felt themselves flattered by
one whom they deemed a colossus of learning, before
this was as true as they imagined. He had neither
imagination nor eloquence equal to his knowledge,
and the body of the people did not much enjoy him
as a preacher, except when he indulged, as he often
did, in strong declarations of the truth and glory of
their peculiar doctrines. This endeared him to them
as the learned champion of a comraunion to which they
were attached; and induced them to conclude, that
much of his discourse which they did not understand
was superlatively wise and good. The strong confi
dence he felt in his powers and his cause gave him the
air of an infallible oracle, which is very fascinating to
the uninformed ; but the same cause induced him to
slight his preparation for the pulpit, except on great
occasions, when he put out all his strength. He dwelt,
however, more on verbal criticism than is conducive to
general edification. He gave himself, indeed, ardently
to the study of languages, wbich affords a man, who is
so disposed, an opportunity of astounding the illite
rate, who are not aware that languages are but a
raeans, and may lead to no valuable end.
His first knowledge of biblical criticism he owed to
Miss Kennicott, who, hearing of bis thirst for learning,
lent him her brother's valuable edition ofthe Hebrew
Bible. In the Island of Jersey he obtained the use of
Walton's Polyglott, among the books deposited in the
public library of St. Hellier, and thus his attention

534 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
was SO turned to the oriental versions ofthe Scriptures ;
that he set his heart on obtaining a Polyglott, which
was afterwards put within his reach by the unexpected
present of a ten pound note.
Mr. Clarke entered on the London circuit, in 1795 ;
and then commenced a course of preparation for his
" Commentary on the Old and New Testament." He
afforded to the Bible Society valuable assistance in
publishing an Arabic version of the Scriptures ; but
refused the proffered remuneration of fifty pounds.
In the spring of 1808, he received from the University
of Aberdeen a diploma of LL.D.
The fruits of his passion for bibliography appeared
in the publication of his Dictionary, and of his " View
of the Succession of Sacred Literature." These
works, which were calculated, and doubtless designed,
to impart useful knowledge to the preachers of his
own denomination, and to kindle in them a love of
reading, demonstrate the laborious diligence which
he must have exerted to accumulate these stores,
amidst the daily labours of a Methodist preacher. It
is affirmed that he never trusted to the research of his
predecessors in this line, but sought out and examined
for himself the volumes whose titles and contents he
has enumerated.
He published a translation of Sturm's popular Ger
man work, " Reflections for every Day in the Year;"
which was imperfect, as it was founded, not on the
original, but on a French version. He studied, not
only Hebrew, but Arabic and Persian, and acquired
some knowledge of Sanscrit; and to our mother

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 535
tongue, the Saxon, he paid so much attention that he
was introduced to the Commission for arranging our
national records.
The state papers, published in Rymer's Fcedera,
form a valuable collection. They commence from the
reign of Henry I., 1 131, but come not lower down than
six years after the death of Charies I. A royal com
mission pronounced it desirable to complete the work ;
and Dr. Clarke, who drew up an essay on the subject,
was desired to search the public offices, to ascertain
what articles they afforded towards supplying the
deficiencies of Rymer. For this work. Dr. Clarke
asked and obtained a private room at the British
Museum ; but after carrying through the press nearly
four folio volumes, he closed his labours, which ob
tained him great credit. He laboured hard, in con
junction with some eminent men of various commu
nions, to obtain a new and improved Polyglott Bible ;
but though subscriptions were promised, and Joseph
Butterworth, Esq,, bookseller, of Fleet-street, offered
five hundred pounds towards the expense of the first
volume, the Lords, spiritual and temporal, suffered the
scheme to drop. He became, during the year 1808,
principal librarian to the Surrey Institution. The
first volume of his Commentary, which appeared in
1810, attracted severe censure, on account of his
opinion, that it was not a serpent that tempted Eve,
but an ourang-outang. Mr. Scott, the commentator,
maintained a controversy with him, in the Christian
Observer, on the use made of the Septuagint by tbe
writers ofthe New Testament.
As his labours in the Record Commission, added to

536 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
those required by the publication of his Commentary,
exhausted a constitution, which had been severely
tried by the Methodist ministry, he retired, in 1815,
to the neighbourhood of Liverpool, where he pur
chased an estate. Here, however, he was not allowed
to rest; for he received an important addition to his
cares and toils, in two Budhist priests, who had come
to this country to learn the Christian religion, and
were placed under Dr. Clarke. For them he drew up
a summary of faith, and, after some time, he had the
pleasure of baptising them in the name of Christ.
To be near his family, he removed to London, but
finding that the metropolis did not suit his health, he
purchased a residence at Eastcott, to which he retired
in 1824. Here he finished the work to which he had
devoted a great part of his life, and on the anniver
sary of his marriage, he took his son into his study,
and said, " This, Joseph, is the happiest period I have
enjoyed for years. I have put the last hand to my
Commentary. I have written the last word of the
work." In 1832, the cholera being in England, among
those who were carried off by it was Dr. Clarke.
Having been accustomed to suffer from dysentery, he
at first took little notice of the attack ; but it soon
put on the malignant form, and terminated his life in
August, 1832.
He was a noble proof of the wonders that may be
wrought by persevering industry. Feebleness and
indolence would have said that the eminence to which
he ultimately attained was beyond his reach ; but to
such determination and diligence as he displayed,

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES, 537
what can safely be pronounced impossible ? The same
dating spirit that overcame the difficulties with
which he had to contend, left its impressions on his
labours, both in the pulpit and the press. He was a
bold and dogmatical preacher, rather than an elegant
or persuasive orator, preaching like one who thought
he had a right to dictate and command. This was
more excusable amidst his own communion, where
he towered so high above them all ; but the sarae
fault appears in his writings, which were addressed to
a wider sphere, that contained his equals, or superiors.
His publications are defective in style, and bear strong
marks of the self-taught genius. He ventures on
bold theories, and disdains to notice the replies by
which they were demolished. His opinion concerning
the instrument employed in tempting Eve, which ob
tained for his Commentary the title of the Monkey
Bible, was as flimsy as it was rash and useless ; and
his doctrine concerning the Sonship of Christ, which,
though no novelty, he cherished as his own child, was
condemned by the Methodist Conference as a heresy
that deserved exclusion from their communion, which
had tolerated it in him. His suggestion of the pro
bable salvation of Judas, was defended by criticism
that serves only to show how that art may be abused.
But the rashness of his raind, and his want of
logical accuracy, appear most conspicuously in his
theory of Prescience, advanced in his Commentary
on Acts XV. When the Calvinists defended the decrees
of God, by showing that his infallible foreknowledge
involved the same consequences, and by charging the

538 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Arminians with virtually denying his prescience, Mr.
Wesley, treated this charge as a calumny, and declared
his unshaken belief in the divine foreknowledge. But
Dr. Clarke, by his attack on the divine prescience, de
fended the Calvinists. He maintained the contradic
tory theory, first, that God could, but would not ; and
then, that he could not foresee free actions. Reck
less that one of these positions destroys the other, he
contends that future contingent events are, from their
very nature, incapable of being foreknown ; without
deigning to notice that all the prophecies show this to
be false ; and yet be argues against the objection, that
this limits the Holy One of Israel, by saying, that as
God's power is not limited because he does not effect all
that he could, so, though he could foresee future events,
he has determined not to exercise any foreknowledge
of future contingencies in order to leave accountable
agents free. This again is, on the one hand, abandon
ing the just plea of Mr. Wesley and the Arminian
school, that foreknowledge implies no control over
the events foreseen; and, on the other, granting raore
than Calvinists ask ; for all they contend for is, that
certain foreknowledge implies absolute certainty in
the events, without determining from whence that
certainty arises, and without supposing that foreknow
ledge interferes, as Dr. Clarke's theory implies, with
the freedom of the actions foreseen. His Commentary,
therefore, devoted to the support of Arminianism, is, to
those who are capable of this difficult investigation,
its most effectual refutation. For of what use is it to
discuss the possibility or exercise of prescience, or its

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 539
consistency with free agency, when we have in the
Bible innumerable predictions of future contingencies
for which free agents wid be judged ?
Similar recklessness of consequences is displayed in
the use which Dr. Clarke has made of Dr. Taylor's
Key to the Romans. Calvinistic divines on the con
tinent, and in England, had maintained, that Armi
nianism leads to Socinianism ; but Dr. Clarke made,
without acknowledgment, large extracts from the Key
of the Coryphgeus of Socinians, and incorporated them
in his Commentary, taking no notice of the refutation
which Taylor had met, especially by the master-mind
of President Edwards, in his work on Original Sin.
His own communion, however, here opposed Dr.
Clarke, some of them observing, that the difficulties in
the Epistie to the Romans were not to be unlocked by
this key.
His Commentary, which is his chief claim to pos
thumous celebrity, displays extensive reading. It is
chargeable with display of learning amassed, rather
than digested, and its tendency is to be deprecated,
especially among those of his own communion, among
whom chiefly it wdl be valued.
But his diligent and faithful discharge of the labo
rious duties of a Methodist preacher, amidst the assi
duous pursuit of various learning, entitle him to high
praise. He never suffered the fascinations of litera
ture to extinguish, or enfeeble, his early devotion to
the most important of all pursuits, the preaching of
righteousness, to turn sinners frora the error of their
ways. In private life, he was aimable and beloved,
generous and noble. His strong sectarianism, which

540 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
offended many who viewed him at a distance, disap
peared when he came into close contact with intelli
gent men of different views. Dr. Clarke was at the
head of a respectable class, who have defended
Mr. Wesley from the charge of degrading the Chris
tian ministry by introducing into it uneducated men ;
for these have furnished striking specimens of the
tendency of religion to seize on the treasures which
learning has placed within our reach. The ministry,
which has been disgraced, not only by the vices, but
by the ignorance of men educated in colleges, has
been adorned, both by the useful labours, and also by
the recondite learning and elegant writings of those
who could say, " We owe nothing to colleges, but
colleges owe something to us."
JOSEPH HARDCASTLE, ESQ.
If Britain, like Tyre, may boast that her merchants
are princes, Joseph Hardcastle displaj^ed a princely
raind, superior to greediness of gain, or love of splen
dour, and consecrated, not only to the best interests of
the church of Christ, but also of the whole human
race. Born at Leeds, he came to London when he
was fourteen, and was introduced by an uncle of the
sarae name into a large mercantile house, and before
he was of age, upon him devolved the whole concern.
Early and decided piety led to that wisdom and in
tegrity with which he conducted his business, and
which gave him a high reputation in the commercial
world, so that for about half a century, he stood a
model for the Christian merchant.
Religion was the basis of his eminence. Thorou ghly

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

541

acquainted with the Scriptures, and with the writings
ofthe Nonconformists, tbe doctrines that are usually
termed evangelical he embraced with a faith as firm as
it was enlightened. He had caught the spirit of Owen
and Howe; and the manner in which he conducted the
worship of God in his family, as well as the skill with
which he solved difficulties that occurred in reading
the Scriptures, proved how much he profited by his
conscientious attention to secret devotion.
The Christian virtues that were well known, and
highly appreciated, by his intimate friends, were called
out to action on a stage worthy of his powers, by the
formation of the Missionary Society, of which he be
came the first treasurer. Of the numerous tokens of
divine favour towards that institution, the promptitude
and zeal with which Mr. Hardcastle was selected, and
consented, to preside over its financial affairs, was not
the least. It was justly observed by Dr. Bogue, in his
funeral sermon, that " The qualifications of Mr. Hard
castle for the office of treasurer were of the highest
order. His intellect was acute and penetrating, and
his judgment was sound, being endued both with
sagacity and profoundness ; his views were compre
hensive, and his principles liberal and enlarged. To
the justness of this sketch, the fullest testimony will be
borne by those who have perused the documents he
furnished, from time to time, for the service of the
society, or listened to him when he delivered his
opinions on questions of importance. With talents
were combined excellences of a stdl higher and nobler
kind. A calm, mild, and amiable temper peculiarly

542 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
distinguished him, and was maintained amidst all the
eagerness of debate on subjects of moment and diffi
culty. In gentleness of disposition and manners he
had few equals. Benignity and affection beamed
forth in his countenance and deportment, and endeared
him to all who were engaged in the same arduous
work. His extensive and continued liberality, from
year to year, entitle him to the rank of the first pecu
niary benefactor to the Society, Over all these excel
lencies was thrown the mantle of unaffected simplicity
and profound humility, which assumed nothing, which
boasted nothing, and made no show, A life of un
feigned piety was the basis on which they rested, and
which sustained the whole. Such was the man we
have lost."
"After filling the treasurer's office for more than
twenty years, with signal benefit to the Society, bodily
infirmities would not permit the mind, which was still
vigorous and powerful, to continue its exertions, but
constrained him to retire from public life. One part
of the earthly tabernacle gave way after another, till
death at last dissolved the whole frame. What his
views and prospects, what his hopes and feelings were
under his affliction, and at the perceived approach of
death, you may naturally wish to know ; and I am
happy to be able to gratify you from documents put
into my hands by his family, containing the expres
sions which dropped from his lips, which carry with
them unquestionable evidence that they flowed from
his heart, and which I here subjoin."
" Lord Jesus, thou hast said, ' He that believeth m

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES, 543
me shad never die ; and he that believeth, though he
were dead, yet shad he live,' I believe this ; I believe
1 shall never know what death is, but pass into life,"
" Thou hast said, < Him that cometh to me, I will in
nowise cast out ;' I come to thee, thou wilt not cast me
out" " Surely goodness and mercy have fodowed me all
the days of my life, and 1 am going to dwell in the
house of the Lord for ever. I am infinitely indebted
to him for his conduct of me, from infancy to the end
of my life. He took me by the hand in a wonderful
manner, and brought me into connection with the
excellent of the earth. Most glorious God, I commit
my offspring to thee ; and I charge ray chddren to
walk in thy fear and love."
" He has drawn me with the cords of mercy from
my earliest days. He gave me very early impressions
of religion, and enabled me to devote myself to him in
eady life ; and this God is my God for ever and ever,
for ever and ever. I said to him, when a young man,
' Thou shalt guide rae by thy counsel, and afterwards
receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but
thee, and there is none upon earth that I desire besides
thee.'" " No principle can enter the mind so sublime as
the doctrine of the cross, which with infinite majesty
speaks peace in heaven, on earth, and throughout the
universe. Let every one of my children glory in the
cross of salvation ; it is the power of God to every one
that believeth — ^the power of God ! What feeble ideas
do I attach to such expressions."
" I ara, in some respects, like the old patriarch

544 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Jacob, on his dying bed, with all his sons about him.
Live in love, and the God of love be with you. This
is my last farewell ; this is our last interview, till we
meet in a better world. My flesh and heart are fail
ing; I hope I have not been deceiving myself My
children, seek for an interest in Christ, seek for an
interest in Christ. I earnestly exhort you to be de
cided, and to be very useful. He is your best friend ;
manifest your regard to the Lord ; avow your attach
ment; he is the glory and ornament ofthe universe."
" I hope I shall be favoured, when my spirit is
departing, with some intimations of approaching glory ;
but I will trust in him, I will trust in him. In the raean-
tirae I possess a sweet peace, calm and undisturbed. I
will go to God, my exceeding joy, as the Psalmist
says. It is an awful thing for a human spirit, deeply
depraved as it is, to appear before the tribunal of so
mighty a Being. He putteth no trust in his servants.
The heavens are not clean in his sight."
" If I am to live, I welcome life, and thank its
giver ; if I am to die, I welcome death, and thank its
conqueror. If I have a choice, I would rather depart
and be with Christ, which is far better."
" My last act of faith I wish to be, to take the blood
of Jesus, as the high priest did when he entered behind
the ved, and when I have past the veil, to appear with
it before the throne."
" I have just finished my course, I hope also I may
say, ' I have fought the good fight, I have kept the
faith, and that henceforth there is laid up for me a
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, will give me at that day.' "

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 545
" Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit ; Lord
Jesus, receive my spirit when it leaves the body ; thou
hast redeemed it ; I have waited for thy salvation."
In addition to his direct contributions to the funds
of the Missionary Society, he accommodated the
directors with a place of business on his own premises,
where he gave tiiem hospitable refreshments ; and at
the close of the annual meetings, his mansion of
Hatcham House entertained the principal friends of
missions, of various denominations, and from almost
all parts of the worid. But any attempt to enumerate
his generous services to this and other kindred insti
tutions, would do more injury than justice to his
memory ; for it would leave tbe greater part untold.
The superiority of his intellect, the ardour of his
piety, the sweetness of his disposition, and his gentle
manly deportment, gave him a happ)'^ influence over
a society composed of various, and as some would
say, discordant elements, which were as yet but being
gathered and formed into a system; while his high
reputation with the government, and with the comraer-
cial and financial world, enabled him to lay the founda
tion of that secular confidence, which is so necessary
to be reposed in an institution that supports numerous
agents in all quarters of the globe.
JOHN BROADLEY WILSON, ESQ.
Of one ofthe most distinguished Christian philan
thropists, who ought to be exhibited for the benefit
of others, we are forbidden to speak at length, by a
modest reserve, which was an ornament to his character,
but is cultivated by his survivors, even to a fault. He
N N

546 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
commenced life at the south-west extremity of the
kingdom, and when at Plymouth, is said to have con
secrated what would be thought an incredibly large
proportion of his income to the cause of religion and
benevolence. But " There is that scattereth, and yet
increaseth;" so that what would have been dreaded
by most, as dooming a man to poverty, was followed
by that wealth which never quenched, as it too often
does, the fire of charity ; but, through life, fed the
flame. Himself a dissenter, and a member of a Bap
tist church, ofwhich Mr. Hughes, one of tbe secretaries
of the British and Foreign Bible Society was the pastor,
the catholic spirit of this excellent minister, who deserves
a niche among the worthies of his own comraunion, was
erainently displayed by Mr. Wilson. He spent his
life in doing good, and was as constantly busy in
attending the meetings of the Bible Society, and other
benevolent institutions, as most raen are in the acqui
sition of riches, or tbe pursuits of pleasure. The
liberality with which he gave away his money to
objects that his sound judgment approved, was ab
solutely astonishing ; and they who judged of his
property, by the thousands he distributed annually,
would have thought hira much richer than he really
was. But he lived under the most powerful influence of
that faith which looks at things unseen, and regards
these as eternal, and all things else as evanescent.
" There was nothing equivocal in his views of salva
tion, or in the way in which he proved his interest in
the blessing." The person who wrote this last sen
tence lived under his roof, and speaks with confidence

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES, 547
of the spirituality, devotion, simplicity, and disinte
restedness by which he was at all times distinguished.
From his munificent distribution of property, he might
have been thought very rich ; but he set up for him
self a far higher standard of duty than is usually
adopted by the rich. He was much distressed by the
love of accumulation which many who profess to be
religious betray ; and, on one occasion, he said of a
person of that class, " he died wickedly rich." His own
habits were simple and unexpensive, and having no
family, he gave away to others, what many think they
have a right to spend upon themselves.
In the midst of a course of unremitting labour for
the interests of religion, which was his element and
his bliss, he was seized with paralysis, and all the
efforts of medicine failing, he expired, on the 16th of
February, 1838, at his residence, on Clapham Com
mon, in the seventy-first year of his age. His will
expressed the same exalted devotion of his property to
the cause of religion, as he had displayed through life.
He was the common friend of Christians in every
communion ; and those who applied to him on behalf
of religious and benevolent objects, were as much
dehghted with his conversation, as they were usually
sarprised by the extent of his donations. If ever
wealth might rationally expose its possessors to envy,
it was when he was seen welcoming the incessant
applications made to his purse; entering, with the
fcpest interest, into the claims of the object, and
finishing the interview by granting liberal contribu
tions, with such a grace as doubled the gift, and proved
that he really believed the words of Him, who said,
N N 2

548 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
" It is more blessed to give than to receive." His
example was worth even more than his princely con
tributions ; for it afforded a most encouraging instance
of the power of religion to triumph over the root of all
evil, and showed what the church of God might do to
bless this faUen world, if its members would put an
end to the insane and impious attempt to prove false
the maxira of the Great Teacher, "Ye cannot serve
God and Mammon."
THOMAS WELMAN, ESQ,, OF POUNDISFORD PARK,
SOMERSETSHIRE.
This gentleman was one of the few descendants of
the Nonconformist confessors who stood out in bold
prominence, to maintain the faith, and exhibit the spirit
of their forefathers. In reviewing his ancestry, he
could reckon up some of the most excellent of the
earth ; and on the maternal side, five successive gene
rations, whose religious principles were decidedly evan
gelical, and whose piety was exemplary. The first of
these was John Strange, an eminent merchant, and
magistrate of Biddeford, in Devonshire. At the time
of the plague, the mayor of the town having deserted
his post, Mr. Strange, who had three times filled that
office, was chosen by the inhabitants to officiate in his
stead, and having paid the most heroic attention to
the sufferers, he escaped the dreadful disease ; though
he died soon after.
The second was Mr. Jonathan Hanmer, who had
married the daughter of Mr. Strange, and was ejected
by the Act of Uniformity from the vicarage of Bishops'
Tawton, and the lectureship at Barnstaple. He was

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 549
one of the best preachers of his day, but through the
remainder of his life was haunted by the demon of
persecution. He became the founder of a congrega
tion of Dissenters at Barnstaple, his native place, to
which he ministered in that secret way which those
unhappy times required.
Next in this truly apostolical succession was Mr.
John Hanmer, the son of the preceding minister, and
like his father, a sufferer by the Act of Ejectment. He
was the second pastor of the dissenting congregation
at Barnstaple. Distinguished equally for piety, for
learning, and for a most amiable spirit, he ministered
with great success, till he was compelled by illness to
retire. Mrs. Tristram, who was the grandraother of Mr.
Welman, was the only daughter of Mr. John Hanmer.
She was a woman of exalted piety, whose ardent love
of the truth for which her ancestors suffered, produced
the noblest fruits, and rendered her dear to those who,
in her day, espoused the cause of the Nonconformists.
Her daughter, Mrs. Welman, was the fifth in the
line of ancestry, of whom the minister that preached
Mr. Welman 's funeral sermon, said, " Her raany excel
lences must still be held in lively remembrance by the
senior part of this congregation, who were, for a time,
her contemporaries."
Mr. Welman was born, about the year 1743, and, as
an elder son, inherited large property ; though he had
three sisters, two of whom passed their lives with him,
as they were never married. His first wife was Miss
Locke, by whom he had one daughter, a lady of emi
nent piety, who died not long after ber marriage to

550 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Mr. Noel, now Lord Barham. After living many years
a widower, Mr. Welman married Miss Noel, daughter
of Lady Barham, wife of Sir Gerard Noel, but a
peeress in her own right. She was a Christian of a
high order, who devoted her hfe to the honour of the
Redeemer, and founded or supported dissenting con
gregations in various places that were destitute of
the preaching ofthe Gospel. Her zeal for the salvation
of others received a recompense most welcome to a
Christian mother's heart — the eminent blessing which
crowned her efforts to bring up her own children in
tbe fear of God.
By his second marriage, Mr. Welman had one son,
Charles Noel Welman, Esq., the present possessor of
the family estates,
Mr, Welman lived to the age of eighty-six, a faith
ful adherent and liberal friend of the principles for
which his ancestors were distinguished, long after
many, perhaps most, of the richer descendants of the
Nonconformists had forsaken the persecuted cause for
the more fashionable conforraity, or for the Socinianism,
which, like a plague, extinguished many dissenting
churches in the west of England. When, to show
the pernicious effects of riches, it used to be said, that
a close carriage never was known to remain to the
third generation, at the door of a dissenting chapel
where the Gospel was preached, Mr. Welman 's was
pointed out as the honourable exception; for he
firmly retained the evangelical sentiments of his Non
conformist ancestors, and exhibited their devotional
and practical effects, deploring the ravages of error
among some dissenters, and by his own example put-

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 551
ting to shame the worldly conformity of others. His
house was the temple of piety : his hall exhibited the
hospitality of the old English gentieman, with the spe
cial regard which the wealthy Puritans showed for
pious ministers who were not within the established
pale; while aged and afflicted worth always found with
him an asylum. What would in the world be called
goodness of heart, he displayed to perfection, some
think to excess, not only towards all with whom he
conversed, especially his own tenants and servants, but
even down to animals and trees. It is, therefore, un
necessary to say that his nonconformity was sufficiently
remote from bigotry to make him, as the friend of all
good men, rejoice in seeing the return of evangelical
religion into that establishment from which his ances
tors had been expelled, while he gave his best support
to the dissenting churches, and especially to that one
of which he was for so many years a member. His
unostentatious habits, which enabled him to do the
more good, saved him from many of the vexations
attendant on the splendour in which most with his
means would have indulged, but to which he preferred
the peaceful pleasures of piety and benevolence. Can
it be necessary to apologize for closing this memoir of
the father, by quoting from his funeral sermon an ad
dress delivered to his son ?
" And now, in turning to you for a raoraent, my
dear young friend, allow me, with the purest affection
and friendship, to speak to you, in the first place, of
your peculiar honour and privilege, in being descended
from such a race of pious and excellent ancestors, as
those to whom you have already heard me refer. There

552 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
are few, indeed, that have the gratification of looking
back upon such an illustrious and honourable line of
succession, as that of the Stranges, the Hanraers, the
Tristrams, the Welmans, and the Barbaras ; and who
have had the advantage of being favoured with such a
truly excellent and honourable parent as you have.
These, all, having witnessed a good confession, and
done honour to the times in which they lived, are now
gone to receive their reward ; and I cannot but ima
gine them, looking down upon you, as their successor,
and as the heir and hope of tbe family, and of the
neighbourhood, with a holy anxiety, (if there be anxiety
in heaven, and surely there may be such anxiety as this,)
to see you become the exemplary follower of them, as
far as they followed the Saviour, and especially to see
you zealously treading in the footsteps of your esti
mable father, and ultimately filling up his place in the
important sphere in which, I trust. Providence intends
you to move. " MRS. REBECCA WELMAN.
This lady was the younger of the two sisters, who
have been mentioned as passing their lives with the
subject of the preceding biographical sketch- Having
been early inspired with the religious principles and
spirit that so distinguished her maternal ancestors, she
possessed that superiority of intellect, and ardour of
benevolence which set them off to high advantage.
Excelling, like so many of her sex, in talents for
epistolary correspondence, she indulged in it, not
merely as a favourite luxury, but as a channel of com
munication with intellectual eminence, consecrated to

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 553
the service of evangelical religion. So extensive was
her correspondence with the principal dissenting
ministers of her day, that it might have formed the
business of a life, and would make many volumes,
illustrative of the history which we are now bringing
to a close ; as, during the latter half of her life, her
letters furnished a periodical treat for its author.
But her principles were too exalted to waste them
selves on the luxuries, either of intellect, or even of
religion. She remembered the charge " to do good,
and to communicate, for with such sacrifices God is
well pleased." In the noblest sense, she made bene
volence a trade, and her apartments were the work
shop of charity. Taught by the sacrifice of the Re
deemer, that the salvation of the soul is the first
object of love truly divine, she laboured to diffuse
the knowledge of the Gospel, by circulating religious
books, instructing the rising generation, and assisting
the ministers of religion, to whom she was a delicate
and generous friend ; but she was so far from being
indifferent to the bodies of her fellow creatures, that a
large proportion of her time and property was devoted
to the furnishing of food, and raiment, and medicine
to the poor and afflicted. In the prime of her days,
she was the ornament and charm of the select circle
in which she moved. To her fine understanding, and
conversational powers, her own family instinctively
gave the lead, which her unaffected humility and
amiable temper, always rendered pleasant, while her
eminent piety turned it into a blessing. Wherever she
had been thrown, she must have become the guardian
genius of the place ; for as nothing but death could

554 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
paralyse her activity, she devoted herself to the service
of others with that fascinating power, that always ends
in acquiring undisputed ascendancy.
Her brother, who so loved and admired her, as per
haps to be proud of her, wisely gave her the ad
ministration of his benevolence, which men may be
better able to furnish, but woraen know best how to
dispense. Her days were, therefore, passed in the
very way that she would have wished — divided between
the exercises of personal and social religion ; the
labours of a generous and multifarious benevolence ;
and the cultivation of friendships, refined by intel
lect, and consecrated by devotion to the interests of
eternity. Having seen her brother die in peace, and his heir
rising up, the object of her most intense devotional
aspirations, she departed, in joyful hope of joining the
ancestors whose memory she fondly cherished, in the
eighty-fourth year of her age.
MRS. REBECCA WILKINSON.
A long life invariably consecrated to the service of
religion, entitles this lady to the grateful remembrance
of myriads. Her father, a respectable merchant of
Dublin, where she was born, in 1753, having died
while she was young, the family carae to England,
which was thus enriched with one of its best bene
factors. At the age of fifteen she was adraitted into
the Baptist church in Unicorn Yard, having been bap
tised by tbe Rev. Josiah Thompson, though the pastor
of the church was Mr. Samuel Clarke, who afterwards
removed to Exeter. In the year 1772, she joined the

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 555
flock in Little Wild Street, which enjoyed the episco
pal care of Dr. Samuel Stennet.
While yet young, she commenced that course of
benevolent zeal which she pursued to the end of her
days. The Establishment of the Sunday-school system
was an event in which she took a lively interest ; and
that gave rise to a correspondence with Mr. Robert
Raikes, the estimable founder. Many a subordinate
institution, identical in its object with the society
formed in the metropolis, in 1785, sprung up beneath
her fostering care. She rightly esteemed the know
ledge of Christianity requisite in training the heart to
virtue and happiness ; nor could she forget that the
stages of human existence, imraediately subsequent to
childhood, offer pre-eminent facilities for rendering
that knowledge permanent and influential. Long be
fore the foundation of the Religious Tract Society, or
the opening of Mrs. Hannah M ore's cheap repository,
she began a series of publications amounting to about
forty articles. The first of which, entdled in sorae edi
tions, " The Great Question," has, with several others,
been discontinued. It was taken, in 1775, from Dr.
Watts's " Humble Attempt towards the Revival of
Practical Religion," in which he grafts a diversity of
wholesome instructions on the words, " What do ye
more than others ?" The whole work is a specimen of
those searching appeals, which she wished to prevail
in all serious writings, discourses, and self-examina
tions, and which characterize the works found in her
adopted list.
Six-and-twenty years before her death, she opened
her residence to a monthly party, consisting of such

556 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
ladies and gentlemen as were known to her before, or
were suitably introduced. The design was, to elicit
important facts and sentiments, such as ought to
engage the children of God, and the heirs of a blessed
immortality. Were the subjects which they considered
to be announced here in the order of their discussion,
it would be seen, that in their bearing on the essence
and power of religion, they were wisely progressive.
The oftener the parties met, the more deeply they
appear to have been convinced that time was precious,
and that in the consumption of it, their minds ought to
be directed to the highest attainable point of Christian
edification. Her course was cheerful, and her end was peace.
For though the decision of her character, and her sys
tematic course of life, sometimes made her appear
abrupt and unaccommodating, those who knew her
best were charmed by her society, and warmly attached
to her person, as one who lived not to herself, but to
God and his church.
The pains of a long illness she never knew ; but
after riding out, the preceding day, she was removed,
in the midst of her usefulness and Christian friend
ships, on the 27th of December, 1828, in the seventy-
sixth year of her age. That she made no noise in the
world, was honourable to the purity of her motives ;
for she possessed sufficient intellect and vigour to
have pushed her into greater notoriety, had she not
studied that concealment, the inculcation of which is
one of the brightest evidences of the divinity of our
religion. The use she made of her fortune places her
in striking contrast with raany of her sex, though, hap-

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 557
pdy, she has sisters who are imitators. In the great
day of account, she will show the truth of the remark
made by another Christian woman, " What I had, I
leave behind me ; but how I held it, I carry with rae."
Numerous schools, instituted for the instruction of
poor children in the way of heaven, and half a million
of publications, to direct her fellow creatures to the
Saviour of their souls, will not be forgotten, when a
cup of cold water given for the sake of Christ, will be
remembered by the Judge of all the earth.

558

COISCLUSION.

If, in bringing this History to a close, we naturally
glance back to the commenceraent of Dissent, whether
in the church of Christ at large, or our own country in
particular, on what period shall we fix ? Soon there
arose parties among the primitive Christians ; and
though the apostles uttered the oracle of the Holy
Spirit on the question concerning the obligation of the
Levitical law, they taught the Christians to exercise
forbearance, till Providence terminated the dispute,
rendering the observance of the ceremonies impossible,
by the destruction of the Jewish temple and state.
Disputes between the eastern and western churches
quickly followed, and either party might have called
the other Dissenters.
But where no state authority, or physical force,
interposes, like " chaos, to end the strife," differences
are comparatively harmless, and will usually, by sti
mulating to increased study of the Scriptures, promote
the cause of piety through the knowledge of the mind
of God. It was not till a civil establishment of reli
gion was gradually created by the authority of Con
stantine, that dissent, in the more modern sense of the
term, arose ; for though sorae have said that Jeroboam
and the ten tribes were the first dissenters, the wor-

CONCLUSION. 559
ship of the golden calves was the established religion
of Israel, and the king was the head of that church ;
while dissent, if it dates so far back, must be found
with Elijah and the seven thousand who had not
bowed the knee to Baal, when the prophet thought
himself the single dissenter from the false religion of
his country. But as Constantine's establishment
ended in all the corruptions of Popery, so it began by
creating dissent ; for which there was too much reason,
as may be seen by the speedy triumphs of Arianism,
that was at one time the established religion, and the
orthodoxy of Athanasius the dissent. Had there been,
from the first, a strong party to protest against the
unscriptural novelty of a state church, the subsequent
corruption might have been prevented ; and had we
the history of the Donatists written by themselves,
we might find that the violence of the dominant party,
which crushed them, inflicted a calamity upon the
cause of religion.
The Nestorian Dissenters from the Greek church,
carried with them into the East many evidences of a
religion as pure, to say the least, as that of the esta
blishment by which they were expelled. But, in
Europe, the Waldenses will be admitted, by real Pro
testants, to have been at once the dissenting and the
true church, though hidden in the wilderness. After
the taking of Constantinople by the Turks, the Chris
tians were dissenters from the establishment of Islam,
of which the metropolitan cathedral was the mosque
of St. Sophia.
But, to turn to our own country, Wickliffe and the

560 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
Lodards were the first dissenters from the state church
of England ; and when Henry the Eighth, after winning
his tide of Defender of the Faith, by writing against
Luther, kept it while imitating him, by warring against
the Pope ; it is difficult to say whether Papacy or the
Reformation were the establishment or dissent. What
had been called by emphasis the church, certainly be
came dissenter, under Edward the Sixth, though Mary
made it again the established religion, and Protes
tantism a dissent.
The Roman hierarchy exulted that the south of
Europe escaped the contagion of the northern heresy ;
for they had quenched the flame of reformation with
blood. But if, by the extinction of dissenters, all was
peace, it was the peace ofthe grave ; and Spain, Por
tugal, and Italy, commenced a career of decay and
ruin, frora which France escaped, by the agitation that
Protestantism, the French dissent, created. To her
religious conflicts Holland owed her greatness, scarcely
less than miraculous.
From the reign of Elizabeth may be dated the rise
of the English dissent. For though the Puritans,
who derived their narae from eftbrts to obtain a more
thorough purification of our country frora the relics of
Romanism, than the rest of the nation desired, had
remained in the bosom of tbe new church ; when
they returned from the Marian exile, confirmed and
increased in their tendencies, by residence among
foreign Protestants, they hoped to find Elizabeth
favourable to their views. Disappointed, they com
menced the raovements which ended in a separation

CONCLUSION. 561
from the Protestant establishment. But the Act of
Uniformity, passed after the restoration of Charles II. ,
may be said to have given a second birth to dissent,
by an attempt to terminate its existence. The Tole
ration Act, under William III., did but yield the
consent of the state to the continuance of that which
itwas found impossible to prevent, or to exterminate.
The hierarchy had stimulated and encouraged the
persecuting authorities, by sagaciously prophecying
that dissent would be the thing of a day ; but we
have now brought down its history to our own times,
through upwards of a hundred and fifty years of legal
ised existence, added to a hundred and fifty more of
legalised tyranny and persecution. The sinister pre
dictions of ruin to our country, if any other than
the religion established by law should be suffered to
exist, have been falsified by a course of improveraent
and prosperity, which has kept pace with the pro
gress of dissent ; and if new prospects are opening
to our country of illimitable advancement, who can
compare the past and present history of dissenters,
without seeing in the distant future the inevitable
triumph of their liberal principles ?
That the history of such a people forms a study for
the church of God, both friends and foes must admit.
For where can we behold a course of events equally
interesting and instructive? In all other countries,
dissent has either been extinguished by persecution,
or has been suffered to exist, because it has been inert
and unprofitable, neither shaming the sluggishness of
an established clergy, nor alarming their fears by
o o

562 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
the zealous propagation of hostile views. The Pro
testants of France, not extinguished by the revocation
of the Edict of Nantz, created littie alarm to the
Catholics, because the reformed religion was too much
like that of the English Presbyterians, which forms,
not the vital principle, but the dead weight of our
dissent ; and if the French Protestants are now
offending and alarming by their activity, it is from our
altars that they have kindled their fire. Taught by
our example, they will not repeat tlieir ancient error, of
forming a political party under princes of the blood,
and will, by improving the spirituality of their churches,
increase their zeal and their power.
The Remonstrants and Menonites of Holland have
never put their liberal government to a severe test, by
the encroachments on an established church which an
active and vigorous dissent must produce; but as
there are recent accounts of the rise of such a party
in that country, so we have reason to fear lest the
government should fling away its noblest reputation by
indulging in a spirit of persecution. Tirae will show
whether the new Dutch dissent, like the English,
inspired with the indomitable spirit of the martyrs,
wdl carry the ardour of youth into combination with
the wisdom, and vigour, and usefulness of an advanced
age. In our own country, the opposite party never exhi
bited any thing that could compare with that history
which we are bringing to a close. The iron hand of
the Protectorate crushed the Episcopalians, under the
insufficient pretence that they were vanquished poli-

CONCLUSION. 563
tical opponents; while Dr. Owen, the independent
Vice Chancellor of Oxford, did honour to his own
communion, by suffering a congregation to celebrate
the liturgic worship opposite to his own door; and
the reservation of a third ofthe livings for the support
of the ejected incumbents, was a noble contrast to the
heartiess persecution that w^ould have starved out the
two thousand Nonconformists. But we are left to
judge of tbe spirit of Episcopalian dissent, not by
their short history during the Commonwealth, but by
the conduct of the Nonjurors, after the revolution.
Though the highest dignitaries assisted to create this
dissent, a short-lived individual might have said, with
Grattan, " I sat by its cradle : I followed its hearse."
The spirit of the hierarchy showed itself unable to
brook trials far inferior to those over which, either
the primitive Christians, or the Nonepiscopalian dis
senters, have triumphed. The Scotch episcopal dis
senting church has dragged on a lazy and unprofit
able existence, which just serves as a foil to the other
dissenters who have alarmed the Scotch establish
ment for its very existence. The liberality that the
descendants of the pilgrim fathers have displayed in
the United States of America, has given to their epis
copal church no opportunity of showing, whether they
could maintain and diffuse their principles, not only
without a state establishment, but in defiance of its
oppressions and exactions. The continuance and
increase of the Irish Catholics can scarcely be
brought into this comparison ; for though the per
secuting spirit of Protestants has torn from their own
brow the crown, to place it on the head of their
o o 2

564 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
opponents, these have been aniraated with the spirit of
an established church, and have been dissenters by
force rather than by choice.
The religious history of our island, not to say of the
world, presents, therefore, nothing so interesting as the
fortunes of dissent. It has survived a long and embit
tered persecution, tbat has, now revelled in blood, now
refused to open the doors of its prison-house, now
yielding toleration with a grudge, and never ceasing
to employ the pride of power and the corruption of
wealth, " to wear out the saints of the Most High."
Emerging into legal security, Dissenters have expe
rienced the usual attacks of error, more dangerous
than persecution, and the original host has become
alraost extinct ; but a second secession, by which the
Independents advanced farther than the Presbyterians
from the Church of England, has preserved the vita
lity of the body, and achieved more than the original
victory, by maintaining Christian purity amidst the
seductive blandishments of peace.
But the activity of Dissenters is their glory. When,
by the fatal peace of Westphalia, Protestants con
sented to keep within their own limits, and leave
others to the sway of a religion which they theraselves
had denounced ; their selfishness defeated its own end,
and the Catholics constantly encroached on the Pro
testants ; but the Dissenters, neither openly nor tacitly
entering into such a compact, regarded the kingdom
as their parish, or rather said, " the earth is the
Lord's," and it is ours to reduce it to his sway. This
spirit of aggression, to use a modern phrase, was at
once justified and promoted by the state into which

CONCLUSION. 565
the Establishment fell, after the ejectment of the
two thousand. That Gospel which they preached was,
for the next century, banished from their former pul
pits, and Christian compassion impelled the inheritors
of their principles, to go into the moral wilderness
and seek after the sheep that were left without a shep
herd. The most zealous of the Dissenters aimed,
indeed, directly at the propagation of pure Christia
nity, rather than Nonconformity ; but the result was
more, rather than less, auspicious to dissent. A man,
ignorant of real religion, is repelled by a direct attack
upon his sect ; but when his heart is won to the
Saviour, he naturally turns towards tbe fold of that
pastor who has led him to the chief Shepherd and
Bishop of souls. It is in this way that the Dissenters
have both won and kept their flocks. Very rare in
dissenting pulpits is a direct assertion of their own
principles, and still more rare a direct attack on the
Establishment ; but the preaching of Christ crucified,
and a constant appeal to the Scriptures, as the only
authority and guide in religion, multiply Dissenters in
the holiest and most pacific way. A member of one
of their churches enters there for the edification of bis
own soul, and remains there, because he has learned
the nature and value of his new principles by practice.
To the rise of the Methodists has been ascribed the
activity and increase of the elder bodies of Dissen
ters ; but with scarcely partial truth. The assertion
reversed would be more near the mark. The Dissen
ters had purchased by their labours, their tears, and
their blood, the open field of religious freedom, into
which the Methodists entered. Nonconformists bad set

566 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
the example of going into the highways and hedges to
compel men to come in to the gospel feast.
That Whitfield learned much by mingling with the
Dissenters of Great Britain and America, and that he
virtually adopted their principles, is well known ; but
it is equally certain, though not generally noticed,
that Westley struck the grand stroke of employing lay
preachers, which has given such extension to his
Society, at the suggestion of his mother, the daughter
of Dr. Annesley, a Nonconformist minister. When,
with the hierarchical spirit of his father, he opposed the
preaching of a layman, she, in the spirit of her father,
said, " John, that man is as much called of God to
preach as you are." He had discernment enough to
see which of his parents knew most of religion ; and
his mother had the pleasure of seeing her son adopt
a system, which has done so much to break down
the monopoly of an established priesthood that had
expelled her father.
That the Methodists have furnished a noble stimu
lus to the Dissenters, we ought gratefully to acknow
ledge ; though Darracott had caught from Doddridge
the spirit that filled the vicinity of Wellington with
the knowledge of Christ, before he welcomed Whit
field to that town with open arms. Numerous were
the scenes in which the old Dissenters were, at that
time, pursuing, on a smaller scale, the career by which
Wesley and Whitfield convulsed the realm. It is,
however, a remarkable phenomenon, that the new
societies, which scarcely acknowledged themselves
Dissenters, should have given the mightiest impulse
to dissent. If the Methodists have narrowed the field

CONCLUSION. 567
of avowed dissent, by preoccupying many parts, they
have not been able to check within their own body
the progress of principles which they are themselves
reducing to practice, while the numerous separations
from the old connexion are swelling the numbers of
those, who, thinking dissent no crime, make it no
secret. In fact, if the vital principles that are essential to
salvation, first gave to the Dissenters the elements of
enduring strength, that no persecution could subdue,
their divisions, which seemed their weakness, pre
served them when error carae in as a flood. Had the
Presbyterians been the only dissenting body, there
was a time when all might have been lost. But the
Independents, among whom the Baptists are included,
not only retained the orthodox faith, but saved some
of the Presbyterian congregations from error. For the
act of fraternisation, which gave to two communions
the name of the United Brethren, exchanged the stricter
spirit of Presbyterianism for much of the liberty of the
Independents, whose orthodox ministers were pre
ferred as pastors for Presbyterian congregations, when
the ministers of their own body became suspected.
Iu some instances, a whole congregation came over to
the Independent body, for the sake of preserving evan
gelical truth.
The spirit of independency has, indeed, gone abroad
through the comraunions that have not adopted the
theory; so that it is difficult, if not irapossible, for any
of them to practice imposition upon conscience, since
the attempt is sure to lead to a virtually independent
separation. That this is no calamity, every candid

568 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
inspector of ecclesiastical affairs may admit. For as
the love of power, which leads to its abuse, is natural
to the human heart, so the domination of a hierarchy
has, in every form, done mischief Waiving all men
tion of Rome, or of the English Establishment, we may
observe, that the Presbyterians, under the Common
wealth, damaged their own cause by intolerance ; and
when merely tolerated theraselves, ruined it by error.
It was, therefore, in mercy that the Quakers were
allowed to create an ultra dissent ; for they airaed a
deadly blow at the papacy of a priesthood, and thus
carried the principles of independency to great lengths
in one direction, while they formed a kind of presby
terianism in another.
Sects are now, however, too numerous to persecute
each other, or be persecuted by the hierarchy ; for the
state never persecutes, except as goaded on by the
church. If rivalship is created, the mischief is per
haps smaller than the benefit ; for it stimulates to
activity, wbich usually finds a raore promising and
fruitful field among the neglected, ignorant, and pro
fane, than among those who are already gathered into
another body. We have seen, indeed, tbat the older
dissenting comraunions are drawn into friendly feeling
and harmonious co-operation.
Religious liberty, then, is so far safe, that what used
to be called the great Diana of the Independents, is
considered the Palladium of all, and is the avowed idol
of philosophers and statesmen. They who broached
the sentiraent, and by their sufferings secured its
triumphs, may well rejoice to see others in the enjoy
ment of its benefits. But tbe old question is thus

CONCLUSION. 569
exchanged for a new one. As it is no longer debated
whether any religion should be suffered to exist sepa
rate from that of the state ; it is now to be decided
whether one church shall continue dominant over
others, or, by the triumphs of religious equality
merged into the common mass, be left, like all others,
to rise by its own excellence, or sink by its dead
weight. The success of this experiment in America will pro
bably decide the question all over the world. For the
spirit with which the persecuted Dissenters founded
that mighty empire, promises, or threatens, as some
would say, to teach mankind great lessons. Mean
while, Ireland at our own doors, and under the sway
of our own government, is on the eve of demonstrating
the impossibility of chaining the ocean, or compelling
the many to submit to the domination of the religion
of a few. There seems no hope of escaping one of
the horns of the dilemma, but by falling on the other
— the Catholic church must become if not the esta
blished, at least, an established one — or the principle of
an establishraent must be abandoned, and all religions
placed on an equality. The dread of the example
furnished to this country may defer the decision, till it is
too late to be beneficial ; but it must come at last.
That the Catholic church should be established, may
seem preferable in the eyes of some statesmen, and
not a few churchraen too ; but it would create oppo
sition so determined, frora a multifarious and vigorous
coalition, that he must be a reckless, rather than
adventurous statesman, who would make the attempt ;
for the horror created by the fires which Mary kindled

570 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS,
in Smithfield, still lives, and though the most enlight
ened and cordial friends of religious liberty wish to
see Catholics placed on a level with all other Chris
tians, such men are, perhaps, the farthest frora con
senting to unite with the state, a church that has never
abjured the principle, nor, where it possessed the
power, ceased frora the practice of persecution.
The Dissenters, with all their determined Protestan
tism, are not the only enemies to a papal establish
ment. The Catholics themselves, or at least their most
politic and influential leaders, would dread such a
consummation ; aware that they would then exchange
active ministers that have gained the ascendancy in con
sequence of depending on the people ; for a priesthood,
which, leaning on the government, would first render
their prize worthless by indolence, and then let it be
wrested frora their grasp, by some active body of
Protestants, which v/ould win the hearts the Catholics
had lost. Nor should it be unnoticed, that what is
called the Puseyite party in the church of England,
which leans strongly towards Popery, seems, like the
Catholics, to have learned from the Dissenters a
jealousy of a state alliance, which it terms, at best
but an accident, and at worst a upas tree, that poisons
and withers the church.
There is, then, but one course open, the cutting of
the gordian knot, the dissolution of the connexion
between church and state, to leave religion where it
stood in the first and best ages which the church ever
knew. They who dread this as destruction, betray a
suspicion of their own cause. For why must the
church of England expire, not where Dissenters have

CONCLUSION, 571
lived, and flourished, and triumphed (God forbid, she
should ever be placed there), but where Dissenters
behold in prospect their el Dorado, the promised land
of mdk and honey, the fruit and reward of all their
tods? That an episcopal church could live on an
equality with others, is proved by the example of
America, where it is the most determined foe to
a connexion with the state.
But as the mass of mankind is occupied with present
advantages, few of the Dissenters look forward to the
ultimate consequences of that struggle which their
forefathers commenced ; nor do they trouble them
selves about the evils of a state church, till she forces
them to think, by making them feel. They are con
tented to pursue a course of usefulness, which is the
best security against a dominant heirarchy, whether
Papal or Protestant. By their colleges, their schools,
their missions, and their publications, they are chang-
mg the character, and deciding the fortunes of their
country. For, that the original ground of dissent,
the want of a thorough reformation from Popery, was
valid, the body of the Oxford Tracts may be said to
prove ; and what would have been the course of affairs,
had there been no active and vigorous dissent, which
impels the nation in the opposite direction ?
It remains, then, that Dissenters seek the fulfilment
of their imperative duties, and, patiently pursuing
attainable objects, expect the ultimate triumph of their
cause. Their vocation is the defence of religious
liberty, by the practical application of its raost valu
able benefits ; the maintaining of an unflinching
testimony to the sole authority of Christ in the church

572 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
as exhibited in the sacred Scriptures ; the active
exercise of a benevolent zeal for the salvation of our
uninstructed and unchristian population, and the im
provement of the advantages which Britain enjoys for
the evangelization of the world. In the fearless and
untiring pursuit of these objects, of which they need
not be ashamed, and which few will dare to impugn
or despise, they may confidently expect that the
omnipotent Governor of the church, and the world, will
put them in possession of all that they ought to desire.
As our " times are in his hands," so " he that believeth
shall not make haste."
But while we are kept waiting for what we know
to be just to ourselves, and what we ought to desire
as beneficial to others ; our interest, as well as our
duty, calls us to study to "speak the truth in love."
If our opponents are mistaken in their opposition,
they are so much the greater sufferers, that they
demand our compassion, rather than our anger. They
may blame us as the cause of dissention, but we
know that to cease from " contending earnestly for
the faith once delivered to the saints," would leave
our country either to the stagnation of death, or to
be torn with other strifes, that would lead to no good
result. To desist from our pursuit when within sight
of the goal, is impossible ; to become benevolent under
the animation of hope, is as natural as it is desirable.
They who have so far conquered public opinion should
despair of nothing; and whde statesmen have been
taught to admit, tbat, in a new country no rehgion
should be established, but all be left free to avail
themselves of their own resources, we may expect

CONCLUSION, 573
them at length to devise the best way of retracing
the false step which the old governments should never
have taken.
The desiderata that demand the efforts of Dissenters
are numerous ; but not all equally pressing and im
portant. The removal of the bishops from the House
of Lords has been attempted by politicians of their
own church, and is not dreaded, but desired, by many
who are most anxious for its genuine prosperity. To
Dissenters it is of no further importance than as sena
torial bishops are a violation of religious equality, and
their presence among the Lords is a sure pledge for
continued opposition to religious liberty. The extinction
of tithes, by their appropriation to the welfare of the
state, in the relief and education of the poor, may be
expected in Ireland where the war is already begun ;
nor can it be long ere the same course is adopted in
the rest of the empire.
But the church rates are now the apple of strife,
and like the apples of Sodom, they fill those who con
sume them with disappointment and disgust. The
abolition of them in Ireland was accompanied with
prophecies of their speedy extinction in England.
Would that they who uttered the prediction had la
boured for its fulfilment ! For while the erovernment
has at last devised a raode of providing an unobjec
tionable substitute for the unjust and offensive impost,
and the church has spurned this peace-offering ; the
rates are refused in raany parishes ; legal proceedings
are going on in others ; and the goods, not only of Dis
senters, but of Churchraen, are seized for payment. The
strife and irritation created by this contest must be

574 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
deplored by every Christian, but can terminate, only
with the irapost itself
The jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts over
Dissenters Tenders religious liberty a raockery. The
attempt of Lord Brougham to abolish these courts, as
a nuisance, has for the present failed ; but Dissenters
may justiy demand, that if Churchmen choose to con
tinue under the jurisdiction of their own courts, they
who have renounced that church should no longer be
subject to its laws. The most provoking use has
lately been made of these judicatories, so abhorrent
from the spirit of the British constitution, A poor
widow has recently been prosecuted for an inscrip
tion on her husband's tombstone ; and two dissenting
churchwardens are now imprisoned, really for not going
to church, though one was ostensibly punished for not
finding the sacramental elements, after he had called a
vestry, and the parish had refused to find the means.
These cases seem designed to produce the effects that
have followed, a general indignation, and an abhorrence
of the inquisitorial courts, terminating in the convic
tion expressed by the Baptist Board, that an esta
blished church is so essentially opposed to religious
liberty, that it is the duty of all Dissenters to seek the
dissolution of the alHance between church and state.
That the English universities should be open to all,
as are those of Scotland, and of most of the conti
nental states, is justly demanded. The same authority
which transferred these national institutions from the
Catholic to the Protestant establishment, should, now
that the church of England has ceased to be the
church of the nation, open all public seminaries to

CONCLUSION. 575
the use ofthe whole population. A clergyman has pub-
hshed a proposal for allowing the parochial buildings
to be used, at different times, for the worship of the
various religious societies in the parish. But, that the
burying grounds should be equally free to all, with
the use of their own rites, is so manifestly just, that,
when the Catholics of Ireland took this liberty by
force of arras, the government left them in undisputed
possession. Why should the Dissenters of England
be deprived of this privilege ? Is it good policy to
reward a forcible seizure of rights, and punish a pa
tient endurance of wrongs ?
There are minor grievances that we have no inclina
tion to enumerate ; but so various and vexatious are
the violations of religious liberty, by public authori
ties, and private bodies and individuals, that no one
should wonder if Dissenters cannot forget, that the
root of all these evils is the assumption of a right of
one class of religionists to domineer over others, by
enriching its own church from the public revenues, and
arming it with the terrors of law ? For whatever may
be the number and influence of those who would scorn
to use this power to inflict injuries on others, there
are so many still left who think the value of it lies in
the opportunity it affords to persecute and oppress,
that the sufferings of Dissenters, and the heart-burnings
created among those who ought to be friends, are the
smallest part of the evil ; so that philanthropy should
join with Christianity to snatch from hands that are
sure to abuse it, a monopoly that brings upon its pos
sessors incalculable guilt.
All religious parties haVe the mightiest motives for

576 HISTORY OF DISSENTERS.
employing those energies that they have turned against
each other, on the immense mass of ignorance that we
ought to have instructed, and of profaneness that we
ought long ago to have vanquished by force of Chris
tian truth. The restoration of the happy primitive
state of the Church, when it was neither defiled by
secular contact, nor divided in heart by the domination
of one party over another, would indeed advance its
beneficent operations ; but we should still have to
pray for the extinction of all differences of sentiraent
and practice, as far as this is attainable in a world
where knowledge is partial, and can scarcely ever be
equal ; and where religion, being imperfect, cannot
enjoy its consummate triumphs. While we are but
waiting for admission into the imraediate presence of
"God, who is light, and with whom is no darkness at
all," we can no more expect union without differences,
than bliss without alloy.

APPENDIX.

No. I.

A SURVEY, by a former agent ofthe City Mission, which was not
completed when the Chapter on the external state of Dissenters was
sent to the press, is given in the Appendix, as it is known to have
been most carefiiUy made, and to have rather underrated the pro
vision for public worship among Dissenters. It includes the cities of
London and Westminster, and the five adjacent boroughs, a popu
lation of 1,434,868 souls.

Population.

Dissenting Chapels.

Sittings.

City of London

122,709

47

31,814

City of Westminster

202,460

38

21,119

Marylebone

240,294

76

69,247

Finsbury

224,839

58

35,945

Tower Hamlets

355,836

107

55,050

Southwark

134,117

40

20,540

Lambeth

154,613

42

23,943

1,434,868 408 257,658

No. 11.
Schedules APPENDED TO THE report or the commissioners ap
pointed TO INQUIRE INTO REGISTERS OF BIRTHS OR BAPTISMS,
MARRIAGES AND DEATHS, OR BURIALS, OTHER THAN THE PARO
CHIAL REGISTERS.
Schedule A. is devoted to the registers of the French, and other
Foreign Protestants, who have had thirty-seven congregations in
various parts of the kingdom; eighteen of these have been dis
solved, and the rest, we imagine, are fast melting away.
Schedule B. occupies eighty-one folio pages, and contains lists of
P P

578 APPENDIX.
the registers of the three denominations in England and Wales.
This is a highly valuable document, and supplies much interesting
information. 2,252 registers, &c. have been deposited by 168 Presbyterians,
1,200 Independents, and 424 Baptist congregations.
Schedule C. is devoted to the Wesleyan Methodist connexion,
registers, and to those ofthe bodies that have separated from them.
The list of Wesleyan Methodists occupies twenty-nine folio pages,
and unites 707 places in England and Wales, from which 872
registers, &c. have been received.
The New Connexion Methodists have sent fifty-seven registers
from forty-seven places of worship.
The Primitive Methodists have sent ninety-three volumes from
ninety congregations.
The Bible Christians have delivered in twenty-eight registers from
as many circuits.
The Inghamites have sent seven registers from seven chapels in
York and Lancaster.
Schedule D. The Moravians have deposited thirteen volumes of
registers from ten congregations.
Schedule E. The Countess of Huntingdon's connexion have
furnished-sixty three volumes from forty-six congregations.
Schedule F. The Calvinistic Methodists have sent thirty-five
volumes from thirty-one congregations in England, and 390 volumes
from 398 congregations in Wales.
Schedule G. The Swedenborgians have sent in thirty-one volumes
of registers, from twenty-two congregations.
Schedule H. The Red Cross Street registry consists of three
series of certificates; the first, on parchment, from the year 1742
to 1837, inclusive, which are deposited in thirty boxes; all, except
ing two, containing 1000 each, and amounting to 30,417 entries of
births. The second series consists of paper certificates of an im
proved form, from 1828 to 1837; these are bound in thirty-three
volumes, each containing 500 entries, making together 16,500
entries of births. The third series is supplemental, in four volumes,
containing 2,058 entries of births, extending over the year 1837;
making a grand total of 48,975 registers. Besides these there is a
volume which contains the records of 830 baptisms and seven
births. Schedule I. Red Cross Street Library. Seventeen registers of
baptisms, burials, &c., of Dissenting ministers and churches that
have been deposited with the trustees for safety.

APPENDIX.

579

Schedule K. TheGeneral Registry of the Wesleyan Methodists,
kept at 66, Paternoster Row. This extends from the year 1818 to
1838, and contains forty-two bundles of certificates of births and
baptisms, from No. 1 to 10,291. The registrar, Thomas Cordeaux.
Schedule L. Cemetries. Four registers from Ecclesall and Leeds,
Yorkshire ; Everton, Liverpool ; and East Street, Walworth.
Schedule P. Society of Friends, have 1441 volumes of registers
of births, marriages and deaths, belonging to ninety monthly
meetings of the society.
Schedule Q. Bunhill Fields Register Books, of burials in that
cemetery, are thirty-one volumes ; extending from 1st April, 1713,
to the present time.
The result has been the transmission to our board of about 7000
registers from 3,630 religious congregations, viz.
The Foreign Protestant churches .... 37
The Presbyterians, Independents, and Baptists . . . 2,264
The Wesleyan Methodists in their several branches . . 818
The Moravians  10
The Lady Huntingdon's Connexion .... 44
The Calvinistic Methodists  436
The Swedenborgians . . . . . . . 21

Total 3630

No. ni.
An act TO REPEAL CERTAIN ACTS, AND AMEND OTHER ACTS
RELATING TO RELIGIOUS WORSHIP AND ASSEMBLIES AND PERSONS
TEACHING OR PREACHING THEREIN.  52 GcorgC III. C. 155.
29th July, 1812.
" Whereas it is expedient that certain acts of parliament, made
inthe reign of his late Majesty King Charles the Second, relating
to Nonconformists and Conventicles, and refusing to take oaths,
should be repealed, and that the laws relating to certain congrega
tions and assemblies for religious worship, and persons teaching,
p p 2

580 APPENDIX.
preaching, or officiating therein, and resorting thereto, should be
amended ;'' Be it therefore enacted by the King's most excellent
majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual
and temporal, and commons, in this present parliament assembled,
and by the authority of the same, that from and after the passing
of this act, an act of parliament made in the session of parliament
held in the thirteenth and fourteenth years of his late Majesty King
Charles the Second, intituled, "An Act for preventing the Mis
chiefs and Dangers that may arise by certain persons called Quakers,
and others refusing to take lawful Oaths ;" and another act of par
liament made in the seventeenth year of the reign of his late Ma
jesty king Charles the Second, intituled, " An Act for restraining
Nonconformists 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, intituled, " An Act to prevent
and suppress seditious Conventicles," shall be and the same are
hereby repealed.
II. And be it fiirther enacted, that, from and after the passing of
this act, no congregation or assembly for religious worship of Pro
testants (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 or 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-sessions of the peace for the county, riding, division, city,
town, or place in which such meeting shall he held; and all places
of meeting which shall be so certified to the bishops' or archdeacons'
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 archdeacon ; and all such places shall be registered
in the said bishops' or archdeacons' court respectively, and re
corded at the said general or quarter sessions ; the registrar or
clerk of the peace whereof respectively is hereby required to
register and record the same ; and the bishop or registrar or clerk
of the peace to whom any such place of meeting shall be certified

APPENDIX.

581

under this act, shall give a certificate thereof to such person or
persons as shall request or demand the same, for which there shall
bene greater fee nor reward taken than two shillings and sixpence ;
and every person who shall knowingly permit or suff'er any such
congregation or assembly as aforesaid to meet in anyplace 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 discretion of the
justices who shall convict for such offence.
III. Provided always, and be it further enacted, that every
person who shall tea<;h 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.
IV. And be it further enacted, that from and after the passing
of this act, every person who shall teach or preach at, or officiate
in, or shall resort to any congregation or congregations, assembly
or assemblies for religious worship of Protestants, whose place of
meeting shall be duly certified according to the provisions of this
act, or any other act or acts of parliament relating to the certifying
or registering of places of religious worship, shall be exempt from
all such pains or penalties under any act or acts of parliament
relating to religious worship, as any person who shall have taken the
oaths, and made the declaration prescribed by or mentioned in an
act, made in the first year ofthe reign of King WiUiam and Queen
Mary, intituled, " An Act for exempting their Majesties' Protestant
subjects dissenting from the Church of England, from the Penalties
of certain Laws," or any act amending the said Act, is by law
exempt, as fiilly and effectually as if all such pains and penalties,
and the several acts enforcing the sarae, were recited in this act,
and such exemptions as aforesaid were severally and separately
enacted in relation thereto,
V, Provided always, and be it further enacted, that every person
not having taken the oaths and subscribed the declaration herein
after specified, who shall 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 signed by him, take and make and sub
scribe, in the presence of such justice of the peace, the oath and

582 APPENDIX.
declarations specified and contained in an act, passed in the nine
teenth year of the reign of his majesty King George the Third, in
tituled, " An Act for the further 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 afore
said, 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 such declaration as aforesaid,
on pain of forfeiting, for every time he shall so teach or preach, any
sum not exceeding ten pounds nor less than ten shillings, at the
discretion of the justice convicting for such off'ence.
VI. Provided always, and be it further enacted, that no person
shall be required by any justice of the peace to go to any greater
distance 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.
VII. And be it further enacted, that it shall be lawful for any of
his majesty'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 person; and thereupon it
shall be lawful for such justice, and he is hereby authorized and
required to administer such oaths and to tender such declaration to
the person requiring to take and make and subscribe the same ; and
such person shall take and make and subscribe such oaths and
declaration in the presence of such justice accordingly ; and such
justice shall attest the same to be sworn before him, and shall trans
mit or deliver the same to the clerk of the peace for the county,
riding, division, city, town, or place for which he shall act as such
justice of the peace, before or at the next general or quarter
sessions of the peace for such county, riding, division, city, town,
or place.
Vin. And be it further enacted, that every justice of the peace
before whom any person shall make and take and subscribe such
oaths and declaration as aforesaid, shall forthwith give to the person
having taken, made and subscribed such oaths and declaration, a
certificate thereof under the hand of such justice, in the form fol
lowing ; that is to say.

APPENDIX. 583
" 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 maif
be] of do hereby certify. That C. D. of, &c. [describing
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 acf] Witness my hand this
day of one thousand eight hundred and
And for the making and signing of which certificate, 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 sixpence, 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 further enacted, that every person who shall teach
or preach in any such congregation or assembly, or congregations
or assembhes as aforesaid, who shall employ himself solely in the
duties of a teacher, or preacher, and not follow or engage in any
trade or business, or other profession, occupation, or employment,
for his hvelihood, except that of a schoolmaster, and who shall
produce a certificate of some justice of the peace, of his having
taken and made and subscribed the oaths and declaration aforesaid,
shall be exempt from the civil services and offices specified in the
said recited act passed in the first year of King William and Queen
Mary, and from being balloted 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 further enacted, that every person who shall pro
duce any false or untrue certificate or paper, as and for a true cer
tificate of his having made and taken the oaths and subscribed the
declaration 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 act 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 action 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

584 APPENDIX.
no essoign, privilege, protection or wager of law, or more than one
imparlance shall be allowed.
XI. And be it further 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 fas
tened, so as to prevent any persons entering therein during the time
of any such meeting, assembly, or congregation ; and the person
teaching or preaching at such meeting, assembly, or congregation,
shall forfeit for every time any such meeting, assembly, or congrega
tion shall be held with the door locked, bolted, barred, or other
wise fastened as aforesaid, any sum not exceeding twenty pounds,
nor less than forty shillings, at the discretion of the justices convict
ing for such offence.
XII. And be it further enacted, that ifany person or persons, at
any time after the passing of this act, do and shall wilfully and
maliciously or contemptuously disquiet or disturb any meeting,
assembly, 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, as
sembly, or congregation, or any person 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
fifty pounds to answer for such offence, 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 of
fence at the general or quarter sessions, shall suff'er the pain and
penalty of forty pounds.
XIII. Provided always, and be it further enacted, that nothing
in this act contained, shall affect or be construed to affect the cele
bration 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 consecrated or licensed by any archbishop or
bishop or other person lawfully authorized to consecrate or license
the same, or to aff'ect the jurisdiction of the archbishops or bishops
or other persons exercising lawful authority in the church of the
United Kingdom over the said church, according to the rules and dis
cipline ofthe same, and to the laws and statutes ofthe realm; but
such jurisdiction shall remain and continue asif this acthad not passed.

APPENDIX.

585

XIV. Provided also, and be it further 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 religious worship held or convened by such persons ; or in any
manner to alter or repeal or aff'ect any act, other than and except
the acts passed in the reign of king Charles the Second hereinbefore
repealed, relating to the people called quakers, or relating to any
assemblies or meetings for religious worship held by them.
XV. And be it further enacted, that every person guilty of any
offence, for which any pecuniary penalty or forfeiture is imposed
by this act, in respect 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
place wherein such off'ence shall be committed; and that all and
every the pecuniary penalties or forfeitures which shall be incurred
or become payable for any off'ence or ofTences against this act, shall
and may be levied by distress, under the hand and seal or hands
and seals of two justices of peace 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 the informer, and the other
moiety to the poor of the parish in which the offence was com
mitted ; 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 lawful for any such justices respectively, before whom the
offender or offenders shall be convicted, to commit such offender to
prison for such time not exceeding three months, as the said justices
in their discretion shall think fit.
XVI. And be it further enacted, that in case any person or per
sons who shall hereafter be convicted of any ofthe offences punish
able 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
lawfiil for such person or persons respectively, and he she or they
shall or may appeal to the general or quarter sessions of the peace,
holden next after such conviction in and 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 general or cpiarter sessions shall and
may, and they are hereby authorized and empowered to proceed to

586 APPENDIX.
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, npt exceeding forty shillings, as they in their dis
cretion shall think fit.
XVII. And be it further 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 whicli the same is imposed is pro
secuted 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 imprisonment for nonpayment of any
penalty shall thereafter be liable to the payment of such penalty or
forfeiture. XVIII. And be it further enacted, that ifany 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 com
mitted, and not afterwards, and shall be laid and brought in the
county wherein the cause or alleged cause of action shall have
accrued, and not elsewhere; and the defendant or defendants 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 ifit 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 de
fendants ; and upon such verdict, or if the plaintiff or plaintiffs shall
become nonsuited, or discontinue his, her or their action or actions,
or if a verdict shall pass against the plaintiff or plaintiffs, or if, upon
demurrer, judgment shall be given against the plaintiff or plaintiffs,
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.
XIX. 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 specially
pleading the same.

APPENDIX. 587

No. IV.
An ACT TO RELIEVE PERSONS WHO IMPUGN THE DOCTRINE OF THE
HOLY TRINITY FROM CERTAIN PENALTIES.  53 GcOrge III.
C. 160. ilst July, 1813.
" Whereas, in the nineteenth year of his present Majesty an act
was passed, intituled, ' An Act for the further Relief of the Protes
tant Dissenting Ministers and Schoolmasters ;' and it is expedient to
enact as hereinafter provided ;" Be it therefore further enacted by
the King's most excellent majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this
present 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 exempting his
Majesty's Protestant Subjects, dissenting from the Church of
England, from the Penalties of certain Laws, as provides that that
act or any thing therein contained should not extend or be con
strued to extend 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 effectual suppressing Blasphemy
and Profaneness, so far as the same relates to persons 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 pariiament of King Charles the
Second, intituled, ' An Act against the crime of Blasphemy ;' and
another act, passed in the parliament of Scotland, in the first par
liament of King William, intituled, ' An Act against Blasphemy 5
which acts respectively ordain the punishment of death ;" be it
therefore enacted, that the said acts and each of them shall be, and
the same are, and is hereby repealed."
IV. 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.

588 APPENDIX.

No. V.

DECLARATION
OF THE FAITH, CHURCH ORDER, AND DISCIPLINE, OF THE CONGRE
GATIONAL OR INDEPENDENT DISSENTERS, AS ADOPTED AT THE
THIRD GENERAL MEETING OF THE CONGREGATIONAL UNION
OF ENGLAND AND WALES, HELD AT THE CONGREGATIONAL
LIBRARY, LONDON, MAY 7tH, 8tH, AND IOtH, 1833.
Advertisement. — As there is reason to believe that the opinions
of the Congregational Dissenters have been greatly misunderstood
and even misrepresented, and that a large body of their countrymen
suppose them to be either Socinians or Methodists, the attention ofthe
brethren assembled at the general meeting of the Congregational
Union, held in London, May 11, 1832, was invited to the subject,
and they were requested to deliberate on the best methods of disa
busing the public mind. A Declaration of Faith and Church
Order was suggested, and the draught of such a document was
submitted for their consideration. On a business of such moment,
it was determined, however, first to consult the associated Ministers
and Churches of the respective County and District Unions, whe
ther, in accordance with the example of their Nonconformist ances
tors, it be desirable to publish a Declaration of the leading articles
of their faith and practice ; and whether, if it be deemed advisable,
that Declaration should be made by such a statement as that which
had been presented to them.
The proposed Declaration was accordingly appended to the
printed report of the meeting, and in that form submitted for the
consideration of the County and District Associations.
At the last general meeting it was found that the publication of a
Declaration is deemed to be expedient, and that the draught had
" met with the general approbation of the churches," subject to the
verbal alterations that had been suggested in various quarters : an
open committee was therefore appointed for its final revision.
On Friday, May 10th, 1833, it was presented by that committee
in its revised state, to the general meeting, and unanimously adopted
" as the Declaration of the Congregational Body, with the distinct
understanding, that it is not intended as a Test or Creed for Sub
scription," as is, indeed, stated in the " Preliminary Notes." In
accordance with the wishes of that meeting, it is now put forth in

APPENDIX. 589
a brief and cheap form ; but the committee have in preparation a
larger edition, including "An introductory Sketch of their Denomi
national History, with an Appendix, containing a summary View of
the present state of the Congregational Body," for the information
of the churches and the public at large. J. Blackburn, I
W. S. Palmer, I Secretaries.
Joshua Wilson, J
London, August 6th, 1833. declaration.
The Congregational churches in England and Wales, frequently
called Independent, hold the following doctrines, as of divine au
thority, and as the foundation of Christian faith and practice.
They are also formed and governed according to the principles
hereinafter stated. Preliminary Notes.
1 . It is not designed, in the following summary, to do more than
to state the leading doctrines of faith and order maintained by
Congregational churches in general.
2. It is not proposed to offer any proofs, reasons, or arguments,
in support of the doctrines herein stated, but simply to declare what
the denomination believes to be taught by the pen of inspiration.
3. It is not intended to present a scholastic or critical confession
of faith, but merely such a statement as any intelligent member of
the body might offer, as containing its leading principles.
4. It is not intended that the following statement should be put
forth with any authority, or as a standard to which assent should
be required.
5. Disallowing the utility of creeds and articles of religion as a
bond of union, and protesting against subscription to any human
formularies, as a term of communion, Congregationalists are yet
willing to declare, for general information, what is commonly be
lieved among them ; reserving to every one the most perfect liberty
of conscience^
6. Upon some minor points of doctrine and practice, they, dif
fering among themselves, allow to each other the right to form an
unbiassed judgment ofthe word of God.
7. They wish it to be observed, that, notwithstanding their jea
lousy of subscription to creeds and articles, and their disapproval

590 APPENDIX.
of the imposition of any human standard, whether of faith or dis
cipline, they are far more agreed in their doctrines and practices,
than any church which enjoins subscription, and enforces a human
standard of orthodoxy; and they believe that there is no minister
and no church among them, that would deny the substance of any
one of the following doctrines of religion, though each might prefer
to state his sentiments in his own way.
Principles of Religion.
I. The Scriptures of the Old Testament, as received by the Jews,
and the books ofthe New Testament, as received by the primitive
Christians from the Evangelists and Apostles, Congregational
churches believe to be divinely inspired, and of supreme authority.
These writings, in the languages in which they were originally com
posed, are to be consulted, by the aids of sound criticism, as a final
appeal in all controversies ; but the common version they consider
to be adequate to the ordinary purposes of Christian instruction and
edification. II. They believe in one God, essentially wise, holy, just, and
good ; eternal, infinite, and immutable, in all natural and moral
perfections ; the Creator, Supporter, and Governor of all beings,
and of all things.
III. They believe that God is revealed in the Scriptures, as the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and that to each are attri
buted the same divine properties and perfections. The doctrine of
the divine existence, as above stated, they cordially believe, without
attempting fully to explain.
IV. They believe that man was created after the divine image,
sinless, and in his kind perfect.
V. They believe that the first man disobeyed the divine com
mand, fell from his state of innocence and purity, and involved all
his posterity in the consequences of that fall.
VI. They believe that therefore all mankind are born in sin, and
that a fatal inclination to moral evil, utterly incurable by human
means, is inherent in every descendant of Adam.
VII. They believe that God having, before the foundation ofthe
world, designed to redeem fallen man, made disclosures of his mercy,
which were the grounds of faith and hope from the earliest ages.
VIII. They believe that God revealed more fully to Abraham the
covenant of his grace ; and, having promised that from his descen-

APPENDIX. 591
dants should arise the Deliverer and Redeemer of mankind, set
that patriarch and his posterity apart, as a race specially favoured
and separated to his service ; a peculiar church, formed and care
fully preserved, under the divine sanction and government, until
the birth of the promised Messiah.
IX. They believe that, in the fulness of the time, the Son of God
was manifested in the flesh, being born of the Virgin Mary, but
conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit ; and that our Lord
Jesus Christ was both the Son of man, and the Son of God ; — par
taking fully and truly of human nature, though without sin, — equal
with the Father, and " the express image of his person."
X. They believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, revealed,
either personally in his own ministry, or by the Holy Spirit in the
ministry of his apostles, the whole mind of God, for our salvation ;
and that by his obedience to the divine law while he lived, and by
his sufferings unto death, he meritoriously " obtained eternal re
demption for us ;" having thereby vindicated and illustrated divine
justice, " magnified the law," and " brought in everlasting righte
ousness." XI. They believe that, after his death and resurrection, he as
cended up into heaven, where, as the Mediator, he " ever liveth"
to rule over all, and to " make intercession for them that come
unto God by him."
XII. They believe that the Holy Spirit is given in consequence of
Christ's mediation, to quicken and renew the hearts of men ; and
that his influence is indispensably necessary to bring a sinner to
true repentance, to produce saving faith, to regenerate the heart,
and to perfect our sanctification.
XIII. They believe that we are justified through faith in Christ;
as " the Lord our righteousness," and not "by the works ofthe law."
XIV. They believe that all who will be saved were the objects of
God's eternal and electing love, and were given by an act of divine
sovereignty to the Son of God ; which in no way interferes with the
system of means, nor with the grounds of human responsibility ;
being wholly unrevealed as to its objects, and not a rule of human
duty. XV. They believe that the Scriptures teach the final perseverance
of all true believers to a state of eternal blessedness, which they are
appointed to obtain through constant faith, in Christ, and uniform
obedience to his commands.
XVI. They believe that a holy life will be the necessary effect of

592 APPENDIX.
a true faith, and that good works are the certain fruits of a vital
union to Christ.
XVII. They believe that the sanctification of true Chrisrians, or
their growth in the graces of the Spirit, and meetness for heaven,
is gradually carried on through the whole period during which it
pleases God to conrinue them in the present life ; and that, at death,
their souls, perfectly freed from all remains of evil, are immediately
received into the presence of Christ.
XVIII. They believe in the perpetual obligarion of Baptism and
the Lord's Supper : the former to be administered to all converts to
Christianity and their children, by the application of water to the
subject, " in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost;" and the latter to be celebrated by Christian churches
as a token of faith in the Saviour, and of brotherly love.
XIX. They believe that Christ will finally come to judge the
whole human race, according to their works ; that the bodies of the
dead will be raised again ; and that, as the Supreme Judge, he will
divide the righteous from the wicked, will receive the righteous into
" life everlasting," but send away the wicked into " everlasting
punishment." XX. They believe that Jesus Christ directed his followers to live
together in Christian fellowship, and to maintain the communion of
saints ; and that, for this purpose, they are jointly to observe all
divine ordinances, and maintain that church order and discipline,
which is either expressly enjoined by inspired institurion, or sanc
tioned by the undoubted example of the apostles and of apostolic
churches. Principles of Church Order and Discipline.
1 . The congregational churches hold it to be the will of Christ
that true believers should voluntarily assemble together to observe
religious ordinances, to promote mutual edification and holiness, to
perpetuate and propagate the gospel in the world, and to advance
the glory and worship of God, through Jesus Christ ; and that each
society of believers, having these objects in view in its formation, is
properly a Christian church.
II. They believe that the New Testament contains, either in the
form of express statute, or in the example and practice of apostles
and apostolic churches, all the articles of faith necessary to be
believed, and all the principles of order and discipline requisite for

APPENDIX.

593

constituring and governing Christian societies; and that human
traditions, fathers and councils, canons and creeds, possess no
authority over the faith and practice of Christians.
111. They acknowledge Christ as the only head of the church,
and the officers of each church under him, as ordained to administer
his laws impartially to all; and their only appeal, in all questions
touching their religious faith and practice, is to the Sacred Scrip
tures. IV. They believe that the New Testament authorizes every
Christian church to elect its own officers, to manage all its own
affairs, and to stand independent of, and irresponsible to, all autho
rity, saving that only of the Supreme and Divine Head of the
church, the Lord Jesus Christ.
V. They believe that the only ofiicers placed by the apostles
over individual churches, are the bishops or pastors, and the dea
cons ; the number of these being dependent upon the numbers of
the church ; and that to these, as the officers of the church, is com
mitted respectively the administration of its spiritual and temporal
concerns — subject, however, to the approbation of the church,
VL They believe that no persons should be received as members
of Christian churches, but such as make a credible profession of
Christianity, are living according to its precepts, and attest a wil
lingness to be subject to its discipline ; and that none should be
excluded frora the fellowship of the church, but such as deny the
faith of Christ, violate his laws, or refuse to submit themselves to
the discipline which the word of God enforces.
VII. The power of admission into any Christian church, and
rejection from it, they believe to be vested in the church itself, and
to he exercised only through the medium of its own officers.
VIII. They believe that Christian churches should statedly meet
for the celebration of public worship, for the observance of the
Lord's Supper, and for the sanctification of the first day of the
week. IX. They believe that the power of a Christian church is purely
spiritual, and should in no way be corrupted by union with temporal
or civil power.
X, They believe that it is the duty of Christian churches to hold
communion with^ each other, to entertain an enlarged affection for
each other, as members of the same body, and to co-operate for the
promotion ofthe Christian cause : but that no church, nor union of
churches, has any right or power to interfere with the faith or dis-
Q Q,

594 APPENDIX.
cipline of any other church, further than to separate from such as, in
faith or practice, depart from the gospel of Christ.
XI. They believe that it is the privilege and duty of every church
to call forth such of its members as may appear to be qualified, by
the Holy Spirit, to sustain the office of the ministry : and that
Christian churches unitedly ought to consider the maintenance of
the Christian ministry in an adequate degree of learning, as one of
its especial cares ; that the cause ofthe Gospel may be both honour
ably sustained, and constantly promoted.
XII. They believe that church officers, whether bishops or dea
cons, should be chosen by the free voice of the church, but that
their dedication to the duties of their office should take place with
special prayer, and by soleran designation, to which most of the
churches add the iraposition of hands by those already in office.
XIII. They believe that the fellowship of every Christian church
should be so liberal as to admit to communion in the Lord's Supper,
all whose faith and godliness are, on the whole, undoubted, though
conscientiously differing in points of minor importance ; and that
this outward sign of fraternity in Christ should be co-extensive with
the fraternity itself, though without involving any compliances
which conscience would deem to be sinful.

INDEX.

PAOB
Abstinence
.
. 321
Addresses of Dissenters to the Throne : —
To George IV.
. 243
— William IV.
. 248
— Queen Victoria
.
254, 258
America, Deputations tc
) and from
. 339
Antinomianism
.
. 343
Apostles, pretended
. 25
Arminius .
.
. 212
Ash, Dr. Edward .
. 368
Ash, Dr. .
. 392
Ashworth, Dr.
. 408
Baptists
. 359
Bass, Rev. J.
. 236
Bates, Elisha
.
. 370
Baxter, Mr.
23
Bennett, James
. 149
Bible, Centenary of Translation
. 101
Bible Classes
. 311
Bill, Lord Sidmouth's
. 43
B lOGRAPHY : —
. 383
Dr. Rees
. 385
Mr. Belsham .
. 392
Dr. Waugh
. 400
Mr. ToUer
. 408
Mr. Roby
. 419
Mr. Burder .
. 426
Mr. Spencer
. 433
Dr. Morrison .
. 446
Mr. Fuller
. 470
59b INDEX.

PAGB

Biography — continued.

Mr. Robert Hall . . . . -477

Dr. Carey

495
Lindley Murray
506
Rev. Matthew Wilkes .
513
Rev. John Hyatt
520
Rev. Richard Watson .
525
Rev. Dr. Clarke
530
Joseph Hardcastle, Esq.
540
John Broadley Wilson, Esq.
545
Thomas Welman, Esq.
548
Mrs. Rebecca Welman
552
Mrs. Rebecca Wilkinson
554
Bishops, New
101
Bogue, Rev. Dr. ; . . .
143
Bradbury, Rev. David
422
Broadfoot, William
139
Buchanan, Rev. S. C.
50
Bull, Rev. Mr.
140
Burder, Dr.
133
Campbell, Miss Mary
19
Campbell, of America
3
Carlisle, Richard .
229
Case of the Dissenters
93
Castlereagh, Lord
49
Catholic Emancipation
58, 88
Charies, Rev. Mr.
183
Chapels Assessed to Poor Rates
52
Chapels ....
261
Character of Dissenting Ministers
302
Chester, Bishop of
69
Child, Mr., of Bungay
99
China ....
446
Chinese Dictionary
454
. 453
. 99
Church Rates' Abolition
Clarke, Rev. Dr. Adam
. 530
College, Malacca .
. 457
Collison, Rev. George
. 137
Conder, J., Esq.
. 223
INDEX.

597

CongregationsCongregational School
Controversies : —
On Dr. Williams' System
On Calvinism
On the Female Penitentiary
On Socinianism
On Dissent
With Infidels .
On Religious Liberty
On Baptism
On Terms of Communion
On Lady Hewley's Charity
Cooper, Rev. William
Cope, Dr. .
Cowper, Poet
Coward's Trustees .
Cox, Rev. Dr.
Crisp, Rev. Mr.
Cromwell .
Cunliffe, Roger, Esq.
Cyclopsedia
Dale, David
Davis, Dr. .
Declaration of Dissenters
Delegates .
Deputies .
Desiderata of Dissenters
Drummond, Henry
East India Company
Ecclesiastical Courts
Education in Ireland
Education, Mr. Brougham's Bill
Eisdell, Rev. T.
Eldon, Earl
Erskine, Mr.
Eyre, Rev. John
Evans, Dr. Caleb .
Ewing, Rev. Greville
External State of Dissenters

PAan
269 194

. 197
. 207
. 214
. 216
. 221
. 228
. 233
. 236
. 237
. 238
. 187
. 187
. 141
394, 399
. 237
. 172 6
. 155
. 387 9
. 147
74, 82
. 125
. 124
. 573
18,26
. 498
91, 574 95 54
236 74
27
429
480 237
240

598

INDEX.

Favell, Mr. ...
Fletcher, Rev. Joseph
France ....
George III.
 IV.
Gilbert, Rev. Joseph
Glover, Mrs.
Godwin, Rev. B. .
Graham on Ecclesiastical Establishments
Greatheed, Rev. Samuel
Haldane, Messrs. Robert and James
Hale, William, Esq.
Hall, Rev. Robert
Hanbury, Benjamin, Esq. .
Hardcastle, Joseph, Esq.
Harris, Dr.
Harris, Rev. John .
Hawker, Dr.
Henderson, Dr.
Hewley, Lady — Suit for Recovery of her
Hicks, Ehas
Hill, Rev. Rowland
 Rev. Thomas
Holland, Lord
Holroyd, Mr. Justice
Home Missionary Society ,
Hooker ....
Hooper, Rev. John
Hope, Samuel, Esq.
Huntingdon, Lady .
Hyatt, Rev. John .
IndependentsIndia, Religious Liberty in .
Instruction, Christian, Society
Intercourse with Government
Ireland, Independency in
Irving, Rev. Edward
Itinerant Society

Charity

PAOE
. 61
. 154
. 405
. 241
. 246
148, 229
. 160
. 176
. 353
. 140 10
. 214
. 447
. 226
. 540
. 133
. 140
. 208
. 133
. 293
. 364
10, 233, 385
. 129
. 67
. 54
. 326
. 226
. 133
. 177
. 139
. 520
. 358
. 50
. 324
. 240 1317
. 329

Jay, Rev. Mr.

312

iNDEX.

599

Kenrick, Rev- John ....

Key, Thomas, Esq. ....

177

Kidd, Rev. James .....

218

Kidd, Professor .....

469

Kilham, Hannah .....

363

Kinghorn, Rev. Mr. ....

238

Labours of Dissenting Ministers

275

Lambert, Rev. Mr. ....

150

Lancashire .....

419

Language Institution

458

Lewis, Rev. Jenkin

153

Liberty, Religious : —

Extension of, by new Toleration Act

49

5358

History of ..... 40
—148
Invasions of . . .
52
Society for Protection of . . ,
48
Libraries, Congregational ....
305
IJncoln, Bishop .....
75
Literature of Dissent . . . . .
306
Liverpool . . ...
438
Loader, Rev. Thomas ....
186
Magazines .....
314
Mansfield, George, Esq. ....
158
 Miss .....
. ib
 Lord .....
69
Marriage Act .....
277
Marshall, Rev. Mr. ....
226
Mason, Dr. .....
237
Matheson, Rev. Mr. ....
227
Methodists .....
375
Mill Hill .......
280
Milne, Dr. .
455
Milton, Lord Viscount ....
65
Miracles, Pretended ....
20
Missionary Smith, Persecution and Death of
57
Mission, City .....
325
Missions . .....
276
Moir, George . . . ¦ •
10
600

INDEX.

Moorhouse, Rev. William .
Moravians .
Morrel, Rev. Thomas
Municipal Reform .
Murch, Rev. Mr. .
Murray, Lindley
Newman, Rev. Dr.
Noel, Hon. Charles
Number of Dissenters
Oaths, Separatists' Exemption
Owen, Dr.
Owen, Robert
Parkhurst's Lexicon
Parr, Rev. Dr.
Parry, Rev. William
Payne, Dr.
Peel, Mr. .
Periodicals of Dissenters
Persecution
Peterborough, Bishop of
Peter, Rev. David .
PhiUips, Dr.
PlymouthPrayers for Dead
PresbyterianPrinciple, Voluntary
Prizes
Quakers, Evangelical
Rank of Dissenters
Rates, Church
Reformation, Centenary of
Reform of Irish Church
 of English
Refutation of Calvinism
Registration Bill
Regium Donum, or Parliamentary Grant

. 213
. 372
. 135
83, 104
. 168
. 506
. 168
. 53
260—272 102 6
233
435487 135
154 64
314 4856
178181 32
221355 106
292

^

37, 367273 115 5489
ib.
209 94
280

3 9002 00768 9087

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