Rr.r*it..-.-. .'-.. , "f.t^ UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES THE C A S E OF THE DISSENTING MINISTERS. ADDRESSED TO THE LORDS SPIRITUAL and TEMPORAL. By ISRAEL MAUDUIT. To which is added, A COPY of the BILL propofed for their Relief. THE FOURTH EDITION. LONDON: Printed for J. VVilkie, at No. 71, in St. Paul'* Church- Yard, mdcclxxii. ^ ^ 5ZOZ Mffa ^ ADVERTISEMENT to the First Impression. ook, to fuffer Laws to ftand there, which ought never to be executed ? In the two Reigns preceding the Re- volution, the penal Laws were the chief Inftruments ( 7 ) Inftruments in the Hands of a popllh King and popifh Minlfters, to divide Proteflants, and make them hate one another worfe than Papifts : and the Severities of them were made Ufe of or^ Purpofe to force the Diflenters to petition for a general Toleration ; and to prepare the Nation to receive fuch a one, as fhould include both Papifts and Diflenters. Is it not then the mofi: natural Method of expreffing our Regard to Protejiant Chrijlianity^ to abollfh thofe fevere Laws, which were made Ufe of by Papifts on Purpofe to deftroy it ? Might we not appeal to the fpiritual Part of our Legiflators, whether it be agreeable to the Precept of our great Mafter, to bind thefe grievous Burdens, and to retain thefe Terrors over others, which cannot poflibly be of any Benefit to the eftabllftied Church, and v/hich all Men would fo heavily feci when laid upon themfelves ? Is ( 8 ) Is it confiftent with the Spirit of Law- making, or did any wife LegiOature ever alledge as an Argument for the continu- ing of a Law, that it is fo very unrea- fonable that there is no Danger of any one's putting it in Execution ? Shall theii^ it may be alked, profit gate and vicious Men be allowed to preachy find corrupt the ManJiers of the People f Vicious and profligate Men doubtlcfs ought, if pofliblc, to be kept out of every Church, but Subfcriptions will keep them out of none. What Hold can be had from Principle on Men, who are void of Principle ? Or what Security in the Truth of Men, who deny or dc- fpifc the facrcd Obligations of it ? Make as many Articles as you will, tbcy will fubfcribe them all. Shall then Deijls or profane Scoffers be fuffcrcd to preach ? and from the Pul^ pit undermine the Chrijlian Religion ? deny ( 9 ) 4eny the I'rinlty ? cr revile the Service of our Liturgy ? A Deist upon Principle would never wifh to be a Preacher of the Gofpel j and he that has no Principle will cer- tainly go into the Church, where there is the moft to be got by it. As to the Dodrine of the Trinity, that is fufEciently guarded by the loth of King William: An Ail, which needs no additional Severities to protect a Dodlrine, concerning which good Men in all Ages have been of different Opi- nions, and which many great Div^ines of the Church of England have not thouglit to be of fo much Importance. They, however, who think it of the moft Im* portance, will fmd themfelves by that A€l armed with all the necelTary Powers for its Maintenance. Nor will any one, who reads the A£l, fmd iiimfelf in the leaft Degree more dii'pofcd to impeach that Doctrine after the pafliug of this Bill, than he was before, " An ( 10 ) " An Incapacity for any Office eccte- *' fiaftic, civil, or military, in the firft *' Jnftance, and an Inability to plead any " Action at Law, to be a Guardian, or *' Executor, or Legatee, and the fufFer- " ing Imprifonment for three Years, in *' the fecond Inftance," are Terrors ■which are abundantly fufficient for the Purpofe, but which nothing fhort of Infallibility canjuftify. As to the Liturgy, that is abundantly fecured by the ift of Elizabeth^ which ordains, that " If any Perfon fhall in " Plays, Songs, or Rimes, or by other *' open Words declare or fpeak any thing ** in the derogation, depraving, or de- ** fpifmg of the fame Book, (of Common " Prayer) or of any thing therein con- " tained, or any Part thereof, he fhall *' for the firft Offence, forfeit a Hun- •• dred Marks, or fuffer Six Months *' Imprifonment ; for the fecond. Four *' hundred Marks, or fuffer Twelve ** Months Imprifonment; and for the •* third, Ihall forfeit all his Goods and ** Chattels, ( !■ ) " Chattels, and ftiall fufFer Imprifonment «* for Life." But Jhcill Enthujiajls of all Sorts be fuff'ered to get into Pulpits ? Men ivho dejpije the written Word of God^ and pre^ tend to peculiar Infpiration ? If any fuch jJjould arife, in vain will human Laws oppofe their Authority againft Men, who think that they ad: under the divine : And human Prudence will judge it much wifer to fufFer wild Enthufiafm to vent itfelf in its own Way, and evaporate fo much the fooner. But, in Fadt, who are the reputed £nthufiafts of the prefent Times ? the Enthufiafts, againft whom many, of our Bilhops have fo earneftly engaged ? Are we not dircdlcd to feek for them among tlic Methodifts ? Men, that arc fprung out of the Churchy and not from the Di^f7ztcrs\ and Men, who, of all others, arc the grcatcft Zealots for the thirty- nine Articles ? C Should ( 1= ) Should any diftcmpcred Imagina-^ tion, or monadic Gloom, ftill raiic up to itielf Spe6lres of I know not what Hcrefies and Schifms, and fancy that unknown and untried Evils are to arife out of this Exemption ; even fuch ima- ginary Terrors may well fubfide, when it is confidered, that the DiiTentcrs preach- ing without fubfcribing is not a new Experiment to be made now ; but is a Practice, which has already fubfiiled for thefe forty or filty Years pa ft, and no evil Confequences have arifen from it : And furely their making the folemn Declaration, v/hich is now propofed, is at leaft a better Security, than their making none at all. WirATFVER Strefs the prefent Right Reverend Bench may lay on enforcing o Subfcription upon Diilcnters, tlicir learn- ed Predecedors in King JVi/Hnni^ Time did not judge it a Matter of quite fo mucli I ni porta nee : tor the Toleration Bill, as framed by the Pifhops and judges in the linufc of Lords, .'ind lent down to the other, did not enjoin it : and the Cbliga-- ( '3 ) Obligation to fubfcribe, was inferted by the Commons. By the prefent Toleration Ad, the Quakers are not required to fubfcribe any one of the Articles of the Church oi England. The Makers of that Ad, therefore, could not have thought it criminal to doubt of any of the thirty- four doctrinal Articles, nor have thought it necefiary to prevent from preaching Men, who did not fubfcribe them. Even that fmgie Declaration, which the Quakers do make, had never been thought of by the liCgiflaturc, if • they themfelves had not voluntarily offered it. ^od impnidens Faciiwi, fays IVIr. Locke '■% 7?mlti inter illcs, ^ Cordatiorcs^ valde dolent. If the Church was not injured, nor the Confciences of Churchmen vio- lated, by the allowing of one Set of DilTcntcrs to preach, wiihout any Obli- gation to fubfcribe tiu Ariiclcs ; how then can cither of thcfc be affected, by C 2 allow- ^ Letter to Limhyrchj 6th June, 1609. ( H ) ^. allowing the fame Exemption to the others ? The Toleration in Scotland requires no Subfcription to the Articles of the eftablifhed Church of Scotland, But what Is decifive upon this Point is, that the Toleration in Ireland requires no Subfcription. If the Church has been fafe in Ireland, ever fince the 6th of George I. though the Biflenters there do not fubfcribe the Articles, may not the Church be juft as fafe in England as it is in Ireland f In fbort. Men may fearch for what diftant Pretences they pleafe ; but the common Scnfe of Mankind will ever be againfl tlic Law as it now ftands. Is there any Man fuch a Stranger to the Right of private Judgment, as to fay, that the not being able to give a folcmn AfTent and Confcnt to all and every one of the doctrinal Articles, is a Crime merit-- ( '5 ) meriting a pofitive Punifhment from the State ? Is there any Man fuch a Stran- ger to the firft Principles of Toleration, as to fay, that a diifenting Minifter's preaching a Sermon in his own licenfed Place of Worfhip is a Crime dcferving the pofitive Punifhment of the Magi- flrate ? If then neither of thefe Things are Crimes in themfelves, can two in- nocent Adions put together make a criminal one ? Yes ; perhaps it may be replied, as the Lav/ now ftands, he fhould not preach without having fub- fcribed. True, it does fay fo, and that is the very Evil we complain of : that the Law, not intentionally, but acci- dentally, makes an innocent Adion criminal, and punilhes it more feverely than Actions, which are really criminal : which is the very Evil, which the Tole- ration Ad: meant intentionally to rcdrcfs, and which we now ail?: to have adually redrefTcd. But f/ji" Diffhitcrs^ we liavc been told, are not the fame ^loi-y^ ti:at tLr; zccrc jor;;:crly ; ( «6 ) formerly ; for they have chajigcd their Opinions. The Diflenters are not chang- ed from their Prcdeccfibrs, more than the Clergy of the Church of England are changed from theirs. But in Fad:, both of them, by ftudying the Scriptures more carefully, have found Reafon to alter their Opinions as to many dodrinal Articles. The Clergy of the Church of "England changed firft, and many of the DifTcnters have fincc. Sec the Account which the learned Biflaop of Winchcjier gives of this Matter ; who certainly was w^cll acquainted with tlic State of theEngr- lifli Clergy*. " ThcQucftion ncvv^ before " us may foon be refolved, by r.fli'ng, " Which is the bcft and fecureftWay of *' knowing cxa(flly, what the Doctrine ** of any particular Church, fuppofe the *- Church of England, delivered at the *' Time of the Reformation. Whether " by confulting the W^ritings ofparticu- " lar Divines many Years after that *' Period, or from authentic A£ts and " Decla- ^ Hoadly's Sermon on contending for the Faith. ( 17 } *' Declarations made and recorded at tho " very Time ? For this Inftancc is ** very proper to clear up what I have *' been faying ; as it will prove to us, " beyond all Contradiction, that the Doc- " trine, even of a particular Church ; and " a Doftine recorded and fet down in as *' accurate a Manner, as was thought *' neceifary for the avoiding Diverfity of " Opinions ; that even fuch a Dodrine *' may, in jQfty Years Time, come to un- *' dergo fome Alterations ; and in a fcv/ " Years more, to be entirely cha-nged, in " the Writings and Difcourfcs of mod of *' the Members of the fame Church. I " mean particularly the Points of Doc- *' trine, called tlic Five Points, relating " to Jullilication, and God's Decrees, *' and the like : Which were at firft " efteemed as Fundamental, and even " Eflential to the Church of C.brif^ as *' any others can be ; and yet have been " at length much changed by gradual ** Alteration?." Flave the DilTcntcrs made anv crreatcr ChauQ-c in their Onr- nions, than what this wife Biiliop tells us lus been made by the Clergy ? or do cither ( >5 ) either of us merit Fine and Tmprifon- ment for our underftanding theholyScrip- ture better than our Forefathers ? If under the prefent State of the Law the pious Bilhop oiWinchefier did not think proper to reprehend his Clergy for fubfcribing the fame Articles, though he knew that their Faith was changed ; furely his Suc- cefTors will not hold us punifhable, who do not fubfcribe the Articles, becaufe our Faith is not the fame ? But it has been faid. If we grant the 'Diffenters thisy they may afkfor fomething more^\ If this Meafure be wrong, there muft be fome good Reafon to be urged againft it : but if inftead of alligning any, we only allege, that it may lead to fome- thing elfe which is wrong ; is not that Allegation a tacit Acknowledgment, that this Requeft, at leaft, is not unreafon- able ? And is not the granting that which is reafonable, the beft Preparative for, * The Repeal of the Tcft-Aa. ( '9 ) iPofi and the mod folic! Juftlfication of our refufing that which is unrcafonable ? Can it be expcfled that other Men will give themfclvcs the Trouble of precifely marking out the Diflin^lion between rea- fonable and unreafonableRequefts; when thofe, who are the beft able, decline it, and choofe to give an indifcriminatc Re- fufal to them both ? Not to add, that the exempting of their Preachers from Penalties, and the entitling of their Laity to Plonours, are very different Things. Is then this Application particularly neceffary at this Time ? Or do a?iy incline to put the Laws in Force againjl them .^ No, they do not. But that is the very Reafon which makes this the proper Time for them to apply for Relief. Such is the unhappy Situation of the Dillen- ters, that, as the Law now ftands. Men always have it In their Pciver to perfe- cute them : they have an entire Confi- D dcnce ( 20 ) detice in the Lenity and Wifdom of (5cP* vernment, that they have not the ff^ili to do it ; and it is this favourable Difpo- fition, which makes the prefent the only proper Seafon to afk to be fecured againft future Danger. Should there arife an- other Race of civil or ecclefiaftical Go- vernors, who fhould have the /^/// ta perfecute them, it would be to little Pur- pofe for the DifTenters to afk of t^em to give up the Power to do it. They be- lieve that every Lord of Parliament is convinced of the Equity and of the Benefit of Toleration : They thankfully acknowledge the Felicity of the Age, and are fatisfied that no Part of the Legifla- ture would defire to fee thefe fevere Laws put in Force againft them : They are fure that no Lord of Parliament is fo far diverted of Humanity, as to become hhnfclf their Perfecutor : They believe that none would wifh to fee any one elfe perfecute them ; and it is that very Per- fuafion which makes them now apply to the Equity of the Houfe, and beg that their Lordihips would not leave it 2 in ( 21 ) in the Power of any one elfe to perfecutc them. *Ti8 from Friends only they can afk for Security ; they well know that they muft not hope for it from their Enemies. There may be Bigots flill left in the Kingdom, who may Tecretly wifli for an Opportunity to put thefe Penalties in Force : But even fuch Men know that the Principles of Perfecution in this en- lightened Age, are fo extremely odious, that they dare not openly avow them. Such Men, therefore, at prefent, will only fay, " ^.bat Jiced of altering the Law, fmce we don't intend to make Ufc of it ?'* This was the Language of narrow Minds at the Time of paffing the Toleration Ad:. So/?ie propofed^ fays Bifhop Burnet *, that the Aci Jhould be only temporary ; as a necejj'ary Kejiraint upon the Dijjhtters : That they might de- mean themfelvesfo as to merit the ContinU'^ anee of it., ivhen the Term of Tears now D 2 offered " Hift. Vol. ii,p, lo, ( 22 ) offered might be expired. But this was reje^lcd : There was now an univerfal In- clination to pafs the Aci ; whereas there might net ho the fame good Difpofition at another Time. That Houfe of Lords was too wife and generous to adopt any of the Pretences for Perfeciitlon. We have lived to fee the Wifdom of it : And muft have experienced the Benefits of Toleration for fo many Years fince to very little Purpofe, if in this more enlightened Age our Sentiments are not as liberal as theirs^ and if the prcfent Houfe of Lords is not at leafl as generous as that was. This Pica of Non-Intention to exe- cute them, is not a new Argument, but has been the Pretence for the continuing: of all penal Laws. It docs not indeed •give UG the mod favourable Opinion of this Argument to ccnfider, that it ope- rates in juft the contrary Way to all other Rcafonlngs. The dircbl Rule of civil Politicks is : the more abfurd the Law, the more Rcafon for repealing it. But the [ =3 ] the Rule of ecclefiaftlc Politics runs inverjly\ the more abiurd the Law, the lefs Reafon for repealing It. The mod cruel and abfurd of all penal Laws, was the Writ de Hceretico comburcndo^ The Marian Perfecutlon and Blfliop Bon^ ner\ Fires had put It out of Countenance, and the Argument of Non-Intcntlori in that Cafe was flrongefl: of all. It Is not necelTary to fliy how It was ufed in the Year 1677, when that Writ was taken away. In the prefcnt Applica- tion, which la only for taking away the Writ de Harctlco imprifonandoy this Argument is not quite fo ftrong. The Diilcnters for their own Sakes don't wifh to weaken it. But the Statute which came the ncarcft to that for Burning them, was the 35 th of Blizabetb : by which the Puritans were condemned to abjure the Realm ; and, if they returned, to fuffer Death. In the Year 1681, when the Eyes of the Nation were opcn'd, ^nd it was fcca tliat the Defign of tho Court { 24 ) Court was to bring in Popery, under the Cover of executing the penal Laws againft the Diflenters, a Motion was made in the Houfe of Commons for the Repeal of this very fevere Ad. The Bill paft eafily there : But, fays Bifhop Burnety " It went heavily in the Houfe of " Lords ; for many of the Bifhops, tho* '• they were not for putting that Law in " Execution, which had never been " done, but in one fingle Inftance ; yet ** they thought the Terror of it was of *' fome Ufe ; and that the repealing it *' might make the Party more infolent. ** On the Day of the Prorogation, the *' Bill ought to have been offered to *' the King; but the Clerk of the ** Crown, by the King's particular " Order, withdrew the Bill. The King " had no Mind openly to deny it ; but ** he had lefs Mind to pafs it," In the Morning, before they were prorogued, " two Votes were carried ♦* in the Houfe of a very extraordinary *^ Nature ; the one was, that the Laws " made r 25 ) ** made againft Recufants ought not to " be executed againft any but thofe of " the Church of Rome, That was in- ** deed the primary Intention of the " Law : yet all Perfons who came not " to Church, and did not receive the *' Sacfament once a Year, were within " the Letter of the Law. The other " Vote was, that it was the Opinion *' of that Houfe, that the Laws againft *' DiiTenters ought not to be executed *." Yet how much foever the Nation was then alarmed with the Danger of Popery, and how averfe foever to Severities againft Diflenters, no fooncr had the King dif* folved his Oxford Parliament, but Addref- fes came up to Court from all Parts of the Kingdom ; " fome of which refleded ** feverely on the Non-Conformifts; and *' thanked the King for his not repealing *' that Ad of the 35th of Elizabeth^ which " they prayed might be put in Execu- " tionf." Whatever generous Sentiments for * Burnet' %Y{\'^. Vol. i. Fol. 494, t Ibid. Fol. 500. ( =6 ) for Liberty of Confcience may at j5refent prevail, have not the Diflenters juft Rea-* fon to be apprehenfive, that the Tide of popular Opinion may not run always the fame Way ? But ijohy could not they have kept their" own Council and not have difcovered this their weak Side A^^the World? They have kept their ov^n Council for fifty Years together, and few Secrets relating to large Bodies of Men have; been kept longer* TilEY were nov/ called to this Appli- cation by the Voice of the Publick, and muft have been ftrangcly wanting to their own Safety to have ncgledcd it. Without their KnoTjkdge, but not tvithout their thanks, tlicir Cafe was publiflicd '^, and brought under the im- mediate * l>y the learned and very ingenious Dean o'i Gkucjhr. ( 27 ) mediate View of the Legiflature. In the Houfc of Commons many Gentle- men on both Sides of the Queftion then before them, vohmtarily declared their Senfe of the Hardfhip laid upon the Diflenters, in being obliged to fub- fcribe the Articles of the Chuich, to which they did not belong, and in which they did not feek Promotion : and fignified their Readinefs to confent to a Bill for their Relief. Could they refuib to liften to fuch an Invitation ? Tii^ Event has proved that tl^.ey judged rightly of the Occafion, that that was the real Senfe of the Houfe, and that one Part at leaft of Government was not againfl them : but nine Members having on any Day been to be found to vote againft this Bill. Now therefore fincc this publick Notice, their Toleration itands upon ten- derer Ground than it did before : Their Danger is increafcd by its Notoriety, and they are put under the NecefTity of flying to the Judice of Parli.m^iCnt for Safety. E They ( =8 ) They are row compelled to hj-aloud^ what before they always faid to thcmfclves: that, as innocent Subjeds, they have a Right to owe their Security to the Pro- tedion of the Laws of their Country, and not merely to the Favour of its Go- vernors. And though they thankfully acknow- ledge, that hitherto they have been fliel- tered from Profecutions by the Favour of Government, yet, that is a Screen, which is now feen through, and may not hereafter prove fufficient for their Pjro- tecftion. Should evil minded Perfons take up the Trade of informing againft them, ■what is it, which can be expected ? Men may wifli, as much as they pleafe, that the Dilfcntcrs would fubfcribe the Articles ; and they may condemn their Minifters, as much as they pleafe, for not fubfcribing ; but is there any Lord, Temporal or Spiritual, who will fay, that ( 29 ) that he wlflies to revive the Severities of the Bartholomew-day^ 1662 ; when two thoufand diflenting Minifters were turned out of their Livings ? If no one will avow this, what good End then can be anfwered, by letting loofe Informers upon them, and running the Rifk of creating Uneafinefs in every County in the Kingdom? merely for the fake of forcing the Articles of the Church upon Men, who do not belong to the Church, and who therefore have nothing to do with them ? TiiEV who arc Icfs aftcdcd by religi- ous Confiderations, may perhaps be more diipofed to attend to the Subjed:, when confidered in a political Light. Whatever we may tliink of the prefent Times, there may come a Prince, and a Set of Miniiters, Laymen or Eccle- fiailics, who may form a Dcfign to en- flave us. Should fuch an evil Day come, is there anyone Thing-, wiiich they would more delire, or which would be a greater Furtherance in the lixccuti-jn of their E 2 Dcfign, ( 30 ) Defign, than their having large Bodies of Men all over the Kingdom, obnoxious to penal Laws, and fubjed:- to their Mercy ? Would any good Englijknmn then wifh to leave it in the Power of fome future bad Minifter, to be able to intimate to the diflenting Teacher in any Borough in the Kingdom, Sir, give your Vote for my Candidate, and ufe your Intereft for him wuth your People in the Corporation Town where you preach, or expe(!it to be banifhed out of it, and to be fent to the County Jail, if ever you come within five Miles of it. But this, it has been faid, is a new Attack upon the Churchy added to fcveral others ?nade in the fame Scllion. The taking innocent Men out of the Reach of Informers, and delivering them from a Liablcnels to Fines and Impri- fonment, an x-\ttack upon the Church ? Does the Church then live by the Power of perfecuting other Men, that do ( 31 ) do not belong to it ? or can the rendering innocent Men unhappy tend to its Edifi- cation ? Do Men wifh to retain the Power of perfecuting as a Support to the Church \ or as an Ornament to the Church ? They cannot furely pay it a worfe Compliment than to fuppofe either. Is our holy Religion the fafer, or are Churchmen the happic for their having a Power of harrafRng Diflcnters ? Far be it from me to fuppofe, that the Members of any Chriftian Churcii fhould wifli to indulp:c fo unchriflian a Pleafure, as that of h.jldi ng other Men at their Mercy. But i- r': :re ilioukl be any fuch unhappy Difp 'tirin, it is iurely fit that innocent Men ihould be put out of the Reach of it. But ive cannot in Confcience ajjent to this, has been the Language of fomc. The Judgment of Confcience doubt- lefs is facrcd, and every Man is bound to ( 32 ) to obey it : but if Coiifcience will not permit our Legiflators to allow the free Liberty of preaching to Men, who make the folemn Declaration in this Bill, will not Confcience much more oblige them not to leave this Liberty of preaching to Men, who make no Declaration at all ? So far therefore as Confcience is con- cerned in retaining the Obligation to fubfcribe, Confcience mufh be concerned in enforcing it : and if the Plea of Confcience be brought for keeping up this Sword of Juftice ftill hanging over their Heads, furely the DiiTenters have juft Caufe to tremble, left the fame Plea of Confcience may be hereafter urged for the letting it fall on them. The bcft Argument, which the Op- pofcrs of this Bill have hitherto offered for the Continuance of the Law in its prcfcnt State, is, that they never intend 10 make Ufe of it : but the Plea of Con- fcience fuperccdes all thefe merciful Dif- pofitions. And when the retaining of this Law is confidered as the Caufe of God, which it muft be to make it a Matter of Con- ( 33 ) Confciencc, the exerting it may but too eafily come to be thought doing him good Service. Charity itfelf therefore mufi: didate to every lay Lord the Amendment of the prefent Law, in order to preferve the Confciences of Church- men from being entangled in the Ex- ecution of it. But, we have been told, a Heathen^ a Deiji^ or eveji a Mahometan, might fubfcribe the Declaration in this Bill, The Declaration propofed is in the fol- lowing Form: / A. B. declare, as in the Prejence of Almighty God, that I believe that the holy Scriptures of the Old and New Ttjlament contain a Revelation of the Mind and Will of God, ami that I receive thejn as the Rule of my Faith and Prac- tice, Whatever may be the Language of Ignorance, the Dillenters hope that their Chriftianity will not be qucflioned by thofe, who fliould better undcriland the rt)lemn Nature of this Declaration, and the exprtls determinate Import of thcfe Words. If it fhould be, all wliich they ( 34 ) they have to reply is, they hope that they fhall ever tremble at the Thought of committing fo grofs an Adl of Infincerity and Impiety. Will a Ma- hometan renounce his Goran, and fay that he receives the New Teftament for the Rule of his Faith and Pradice F If they had been capable of fuch Prevarication in the Sight of Almighty God, they needed not to have come to Parliament to be relieved from Sub- fcription. But in as much as fuch uncharitable Suppofitions have been made, they beg Leave now to add, as the uniform and avowed Principle of the DilTenters, that, as they believe the holy Scriptures to be the Word of God, fo they receive them with that fuprcme Reverence, which is due to thcni (is the Word of God, and which is Hue to no other Writing but the Word of God. That they hold it their Duty to believe all which they fnd in the Word of God, and that no Man is bound to believe, and ( 35 ) and much lefs has any Right to compel them to profefs they beheve any Thing, vi^hich they do not find to be contained in the Word of God. That they wil- lingly read any human Compofition pro- felling to help them to the Underftanding of the Word of God ; but that they feceive no human Compofition as an authoritative Interpretation of Scripture ; becaufe that is an exalting of that human Compofition abo'-oe the Word of God : it is the making the Compofition of Man the Teft of the Word of God, whereas they have ever learned to make the Word of God the Tefl of every hu- man Compofition. They believe that the holy Scriptures are the only and the fiifficient Rule of Faith and Pradlicc, and can fubmit to the Authority of no human Decifions as a fupplemental Amendment to them. They believe the holy Scriptures to contain the Whole of that Revelation, Vv'hich God has been pleafed to make to us, and dare not acknowledge any fiich Defeifts in that Revelation, as to need the Ailiftance of human Wiidom to fupply them. They F iee ( 36 ) fee that all the Works of God are perfe£t in their feveral Kinds, and they believe that God never gave his JVord for Man to mend. These have been the unvaried Senti- ments of the Diflenters, and they are confirmed in them by the concurrent Senfe of the greateft Writers of the Church of England, from the Refor- mation to this Day. At the Time, when the EngliJJj Government, and other proteflant States, feparated themfelvea from the Church of R(?nie<, the authori- tative Interpretations of Scripture, and the Decifions of the Church, vv^ere all againft them. T/jey were then the Schif- matics and the Heretics. The firft Re- formers therefore all appealed from thefe Decifions to the Scriptures themfelves, and acknowledged t/jc/n as the only Rule of Faith. ** By the Religion of Pro- ** teftants, (fays the great Chillingworth) " 1 do not undcrftand the Dodrine of " Luther^ of Calvin^ or Mclan^on^ or " the Confcfilion of Augiijla or Geneva^ *' nor the Catechifm of Heidelberg^ nor " the { 37 ) ^^ the Articles of the Church of England; •* but that, wherein they all agree, and *' which they all fubfcribe, as a perfe(ft *' Rule of their Faith and Adions, that « is the Bible, the Bible, the Bible, I " fay, the Bible only is the Religion of ** Proteftants — In a Word, there is no " fufficient Certainty, but of Scripture *' only, for any confidering Man to *' build upon. This therefore, and this ** only, I have Reafon to believe : this " I will profefs : according to this I *' will live, and for this, if there be '' Occafion, I will not only willingly, " but even gladly lofe my Life ; though *' I fhould be forry that Chriftians fhould " take it from me. Propofe me any *' Thing out of this Book, and require " whether I believe or no, and, fcem *' it never fo incomprehcnfiblc to human *' Reafon, I will fubfcribe it with Hand " and Heart, as knowing, no Demon- " flration can be ftrongcr than this : " God hath faid (o, therefore It is true. " In other Things, I will t:ikc no Man's " Liberty of Judgment from him, ncl- " ther fhall any Man take mine from jr /> " me. ( 38 ) "** me.' I will thiak no Man the worfc " Man, nor the worfe Chriflian : I will " love no Man the lefs for differing in ** Opinion from me ; and what Mea- *' fure I mete to others, I expedl from " them again. I am fully affured, that " God does not, and therefore that Men " ought not, to require any more of " any Man than this, to believe the " Scriptures to be God's Word, to en- ** deavour to find the true Senfe of it, ** and to live according to it." The pious and very learned BiHiop of Winchejler^ Sermon on contending for the Faith is wholly employed upon this Argument. " There are fomc Chriftians, (fays " he) and a very numerous Body of *' Men they are, who know no other " Guide but the living Guide of the *' prcfent Church, and acknowledge no " olher Faith for the Faith c?2ce delivered *' to the Saints about feventeen hundred " Years ago, but that which is now de- '* livered to them by their prefent Rulers " as ( -39 ) " as fuch. The greater ^art of thefe " take a very fhort Method of eftablifh- i* ing this Point, and that is, by laying ** down the Infallibility of the prefent f' Church. " But this is a Point fo grofs, and fo •** utterly void of all Proof, that a great " Body of the Chriflian World have •*' broke loofe from the Power of this -" Monfter. And, in Order to this, they ** had no other Way, but to declare for •" the New Teftament itfelf, as the only ** Guide, or Rule of Faith ; the only ♦' Deliverer of this Faith to us of later *' Ages. And this is the very Rule, I '* have now laid down. But when this ** comes to be put in PracSlice ; too many " of the fame Perfons, who have fet it " up as the only Guide, turn round on " a fuddcn, and let us know that they " mean by it, not thofe facred original ^* Writings themfelvcs, but the Intcr- *' pretations, or Senfe put upon them ** by our fpiritual Superiors : To which *' we are fometimes fliid to be obliged, !' and bound in Duty to fubmit ; and '* fomc- ( 40 ) " fometimes are allowed a Liberty of " Examination : But in efFedtj put under " an Obligation to find that to be Truth, *' which is taught by thefe Leaders. ** But ought we not to pay a Regard ** to thofe whofe Bufinefs it is to find out " the Truth, and to difpenfe it to us ? *' Yes undoubtedly : The Regard of feri- *' ous Attention, and the Refped: of a due " Examination ; but not the Submiffion ** due only to Infallibility. Shall we *' not fubmit our low Underftandings to *' the higher Underftandings of others ? " Or fhall we pretend to oppofe our " Judgements to thofe of our Superiors ? ** Let thefe, and the like Queftions be •' afkcd concerning the chriftian Laity in " all the popifh Countries ; and thofe " of our Church will unanimoufly an- ** fwer, No : The Rule is quite other- " wife.' Nay with regard to the Refor- '* matlon, it has been long ago with one " Confent faid, that it was a glorious " Thing not to fubmit to the Voice of " any Men, but to referve that Regard for ** God and for Chriji in matters of Faith. *' I CAN- (( ( 41 ) " I CANNOT but obferve, that, in order ** to preferve this Faith, delivered in thofe " antient Books, entire ; the moft fccure, *' as well as the moft chriftian Way, is to preferve the old Words, and the old " Language, of thofe Books, as unvaried '* and unchanged as pofTible. The Rea- ** fon is plain, becaufe they are the " Words, in which it pleafed God it " fhould at firft be delivered. And there- " fore, though many Perfons may mif- " take in their different Apprehenfions '* concerning the Senfe of thefe Words ; " yet we may be fure, whilft we retain " thefe Words, that we retain what God *' himfelf has feen fit fhould be delivered " and tranfmitted to us, as the beftCon- *' veyance, all Things confidered, of the ** Faith required of us. " I AM fenfible it is faid, that Herefies '* arofe^ i. e. that fome Men differed " from others, in their Notions fouiidjd " upon thefe Words : And therefore, it " was thought ncccflary to cLunge the " L^'i.^uage, in which this Faith was " delivered to us. Ijui did not Alnugbly - g'aI { 4^ ) " God forefee this great Evil of Difference *' of Opinion, in the Points in which " Men have fince differed ? He did : " And yet he left our Farth delivered irt '* thofe Words, w^hich are faid to have ** been the Foundation of thofe Diffe- " rences. Or, are we wifer than Gody in *' chufing more effectual Words to this " Purpofe, than thofe in which the '* Perfons commiffioned by him delivered «* his Will? Who will fay this ? Or did " he appoint, that in After-ages the " antient Language fhould be totally *' changed, for a new Syftem of Words ; •' and that the Faith of Chriftians fhould " be delivered over again in Novel Ex- *' preffions ? If he did, let a plain Text *' be produced ; and not fuch a confe- " quential Argument, of the Ufefulnefs " or Fitnefs of it, as may be urged, " even for the Popifh Infallibility itfelf. *' BtJT when new Language has, " by the help of fuch an Argument, " been introduced ; what has been the " Effed ? Good and honeft Men alofic " have ( 43 ) ** have been the SufFcrers. Thefe have '^ been cramped and dlfturbcd, and, pcr- '* haps, deprived of all worldly Privi- " leges by it. The difhoncfl:, and un7 *' thinking, and flavifli Minds have " always rejoiced in fuch an earthly ** Peculiiim, as this Method fecures to " them. And, if we confult Experience, " the new Words invented for the Secu- " rity of the Faith, with regard both to *' learned and unlearned, have been gene- " rally fuch as have increafed, and not '* diminifhed Herefies and Schifms : hard *' Terms, mctaphyfical and abflrufe " Expreflions, ambiguous themfelves, " though introduced under pretence of *' avoiding Ambiguity ; utterly unintel- ** llglble to the Unlearned, who yet are *' to be faved by Faith as well as others ; *' and eternally debated amongfl the ** Learned. And thus it will always *' be, when Men become wllcr in their " own Conceit to prevent Evils, than " God himfelf." T II Es K are the Sentiments of one of thegreatcft Writers of the Church of Fng- G land ; { 44 ) land : And we believe that no greater Writer of his Order will arife to contra- dict: them. One of the greateft of them, to his Honour, has, in his Writings at leaft, declared for as liberal a Toleration, as Biiliop Hoadly himfelf has. Under thefe Authorities may not the DilTenters make their Appeal to Heathens, Deifts, and Mahometans, to whom they have on this Occafion been fo very injurioufly compared, and afk even of them to judge. Whether, as Chriftians, they can in any better Manner prove their Reverence to Chriji^ their great MaRer and Lawgiver, than by acknow- ledging no other Authority but his ? Or better cxprefs their Belief of his Gofpel, I II an by recei'i-i?7g it as the Revelation of the JSIinda-'id WillofGod^ arid as the Rule cf their Faith and Prctdlice^ and by ad- mitting of no human Additions to be made to it ? But whatever may be the Pradiceof other?, upon which they donotprefume to ( 45 ) jucige, thefe are the Principles, 16 \Vhicltf as Chrillians and as Proteftants, they think themfelves bound to adhere. And they humbly hope that none of the Servants of Chrijl^ their common Lord and Maf~ ter, whofe Coming to publifh his Gofpel Was announced by the Declaration of Peace and Godd Will to Mankind^ and at whofe fecond Coming we muft all account for the Ufes we have made of it ; they hope that no Proteftant Profef-^ for of the Gofpel of Peace will think, that that Gofpel can be a Warrant for their obliging other Chrifiians, not be^ longing to their Church, to violate their Confcicnccs by fublcribing to human Articles of Faith, which they do not fee to be contained in the Word of GWj or for their holding them fuhjcdt to Fines and Imprifonments, if they do not. But what are the DiiTcntcrs r nnd Vrhat have been their Doings, that they Ihould fo often hear themlclvcs treated as Deifts, or as Enthufiai^s ? Their Prede- ceflbrs of the laft Century ail fubfcribcd G 2 the ( 46 ) the Articles, and are therefore beyond Exception. And as to thofc of the pre- fent, let the Writings of the late Lord Harrington and of Sir Richard Ellis ; let the Commentaries of a Pierce, a Benfon, a Doddrige, a Lowman, and a Taylor, upon the different Parts of the New Tef- tament ; let the numerous Sermons print- ed by others ; let the learned labours of a Jones or a Lardner, the manly Devo- tions of a Grove or a Watts, the com- prehenfive Views of a Prieftley, the judi- cious Writings of a Farmer or a Bouruy the Works of an Amory, a Price, or a Furneaux, with other Members even of the prefent Committee ; let thefe all teftify, whetlier the Diflenters are not ca-* pable of fpeaking the Words of 'Truth end Soberncfs as well as other Men. And upon wlrat Ground are they to be charged with Deifm ? The Number of" DifTenting Minifters may not perhaps- amount to more than a Tenth Part oF t^he Clergy of the Church of England^ Nor liave we at our private Academies- the- ( 47 1 tl>€ Advantage of fuch Libraries, as are td be found at the two public Univerfities ; Yet, as ofien as our common Faith has been attacked; the Diflenters have taken their full Share in the Defence of it. When Mr. Collins attempted to under- mine the Grounds and Reafons of our Faith, the various Anfwers written by Diffenters did not difcover any Want of Zeal for our holy Religion. And when Chandler the Bifhop wrote his Letter of Thanks to Chandler the Prefbyter, fof his learned Defence of it, he furely would not have wiflied that his fellow- Labourer in the comfnon Caufe, Ihould have all his Lifetime remained fubje^t to Imprifonment for preaching a Sermon, and enforcing the Duties of that Gofpcl, the Truth of which he had fo ably maintained. After this, when our Rcli':;ion was again attacked by Mr. '7'yndrJ in his' Cbrijliajiity as old as the Creation^ the Diffenters were again as ready to appear fn its Vindication. We willirrgly ac- knowlcge ( 48 ) knowlege the Merit of all : but ma^ w£* not without being chargeable with Pre-* fumption, afkj whofe Anfwers were mor^ read, or better approved, than thofe of Mr. Simon Brown and of Dr. Fojier ? When Mt, Pope faid of this latter. Let humble FoJler^ if he will, excell Ten Metropolitajis in preaching well,- We know how to afcribe One-half of this to his Hatred of EngliJIj Bifliops^ and to give a great Part of the reft to the Warmth of his new-made Friend- jQiip. But fhall Proteftant Divines wifh the Continuance of a Law, by which this great Defender of Ghriftianity was liable at any Time to be fent to Jail, whom Papifts themfelves have treated thus relpedfully ! I MENTION not the impudent Attack of Wooljion^ nor the more fubtlc one made by the Author of Chrifiianity not founded in Argument : In anfwering which, Ben/on and Lardner again diftin- guiihed { 49 ) j^uifhed themfelves. But let it not bq told in the foreign Languages, into which the Works of Dr. Lardner have been tranflated, that the learned Author of the Credibility of the Gofpel Hiftory, was by the Laws of England held all his Lifetime fubjedt to Fines and Imprifon-. ment ; and that, though the late Arch- bifhop, in the moft friendly Correfpon- dence, frequently acknowleged his Me-f rits, yet his Succeflbrs all wifh to main-? tain the Force of a Law, by which he might at any Time have been fent to Newgate. When the Works of Lord Boling^ hroke, that great Apoftate from all the Principles of his Education as a Difl'en- ter, a Proteflant, and a Chriftian, were publilhed after his Death ; what Divine is there in this Kingdom, who will fland forth and fliy, that the Work of Dr. LelcUhi would not have done him Ho- nour ? But Leland, though a Proteflant Difientcr, was happily removed out of the Reach of Penal Laws, to which other;^ arc ( 50 ) are fubjeded. So too was Ducbal m the latter Part of his Life, and fo was Abernethy^ whofe Sermons having been preached in Ireland, gained him Honour and general Efteem only, without the Panger of Imprifonment. Under anAccufation of fo reproach- ful a Nature as that of Deifm, the Dif- fenters hope, that they may appeal to their Writings, without incurring the Charge of Vanity or Prefumption. They wilh.not to compare themfelves with the Numbers of great Men in the Eftablifii- ment : but what is there to be found in the Works of thefe their departed Friends, or what was there in their Condud:, which could afford any the leaft Ground to bring their Chriftianity into Queftion ? Some of thefe fpent long laborious Lives in the Defence of our holy Religion *. The reft were employed in preaching the Duties of it to their feveral Hearers ; and * Dr. Lardner was Writing to near his Eightieth Y^ar. ( 51 ) all of thefe we truft lived and died in the Faith of Cbriji, though they would never fubfcribe their Aflent to any thing but his GofpeL When we heard well-meaning High Church Country Gentlemen let us forth as wild Enthufiafts, and Fifth-monarchy Men ; when People that died a hundred Years ago, Anceftors of we know not whom, were raifed to Light again, to fit for our Pictures, and we were drawn with all the Attributes of Fanaticifm ; we thought the Painter injudicious in going fo far out of the way to make his Pidlure unlike ; but felt no Difpofition to be offended at the meer Effect of the nar- row Prejudices of Education, and a pro- found Ignorance of every Thing re- lating to us. But when Men of Read- ing, who pretend to know fomething of us, when Divines, v/ho from their Sta- tion fhould be Examples of Chrillian Charity, when thefe have given Indul- gence to the moft injurious llcflecClions ; we have then furcly a Right to maintain H our ( 52 } our Integrity ; and to appeal to the more impartial Judgment of the Public, to de- termine whether our Writings have been fuch, as to mark us with the Charad:er of Deifts, or to fct us fo much below the common Standard of Mankind. But whatever may be the Defeats of our Minifters, or how far foever they may fall fhort of other great Divines in their Learning or their Preaching, in their Faith or in their Lives, Fines and ^ Imprifonments are not the natural Means to make them wifer. Nor are thefe furely the proper Powers, which Gentlemen and Scholars, valuing themfelves upon a liberal Education, would wifh to re- tain over fuch as happen to differ from them ; or fit Punifhments, to which they can think, that other Gentlemen of a liberal Education ought to be fubjedled. Leaft of all are they the Cbrijliaft Means of Conviction, or exprcffiveof that Spirit cf Mc chiefs^ which the Gofpel prefcribes, as the Method of inflru^tlng and reclaim- ing thofe that be in Error. Upon ( 53 ) Upon the whole, Men fond of Pow- er over others, may weave as many po- litical or theological Cobwebs as they pleafe ; but Truth and Right will eafily pafs through them all. Party Rage and a fudden Frenzy of the Times may prac- tile it ; but the cool Scnfc of Mankind will never warrant, the committing a Chriftian Divine to Jail for preaching a Chriftian Sermon. If no Man*s calm Reafon will juftify the Pradtlce, then what can be the Ground of retaining a Law for it ? A Law, which originally was a Law of Tyrants ; founded only on Revenge, and tending only to Oppref- fion ? a Law, which being dirccflly con- trary to the Spirit of Chriftianity, and originally made ufe of for the Deftruc- tion of Proteftantifm, muft be a Difgrace to the Church inflead of a Support to it, and what every good Churchman there- fore ouglit to wifli to fee removed. H 2 POSTSCRIPT. A Very miftaken Reprefentatlon of the Proceedings of the DilTenting Minifters upon this Affair, makes it neceffary to relate the following Parti- culars. Immediately after the Debate in the Houfe of Commons upon the Petition of the Clergy of the Church of England, fome of the DilTenting Minifters, who heard that Debate, conlulted with others of their Brethren, whether they ought not to take the Benefit of the prcfent Difpofition of the Houfe, and petition for that Relief, which they had fo long defired, and had been waiting for a pro- per Opportunity to obtain. In thefe Confultations it foon occur- red, that there was not Time to take the Affiftance of their Brethren in the Country, and make it fo general a Con- cern as they wifhed it to be, before the laft Day of receiving Petitions would be over. ( S5 1 over. They therefore laid afide thfe Thought of applying during the prefent Seflion : but refolved to call a Meeting of the Di (Tenting Minifters in and about Londoriy to take their Opinion on pre- paring a Petition for the next Seflion : And agreed that, Summons's (hould ac- cordingly be iffued for the following Thiirfday, In this Interval, fome others of the London Minifters appointed a Meeting for the V/ednefday. At that Meeting fome new Intelligence was given of the favourable Difpofition of Government j with the Hope that my Lords the Bi- fhops might not oppofe them, and with the Offer of a Perfon in high Station to bring in their Bill by Way of Mo- tion, which can be done at any Time of the Seffion. This Intelligence was flated in llich a Manner, as to leave no Ground of Blame on thofe who gave it, nor :iny Imputation ot Failure of Promife in thofc to v/hom it related. But it was fuch Intelligence, as prudent Men would juflly A(fl:\ipon,in aMattcr of this Nature. And ( 56 ) And many of the Miniflers thought, that they fhould be wanting in the Duty, they owed to Themfelves, to their Brethren, and to their Succeflbrs, if they did not improve the prefent favourable Conjunc- ture. It was accordingly put to the Vote : and of Fifty prefent, all agreed, except one only, to the following Refolutions : T^hat the taking off the Subfcription re^ quired of Frotejiant Diffenting Minijlersy and the obtaining Relief for tutors and Bchoohnajiersy are very defirable and im- fortant Obje5ls : That Application jhould be made to Parliament for thofe Pur- fofes: and that a Committee JJjould be chofen to manage the Affair^ ivith Pow- er to fummon the general Body as they fhould fee Occafion. A Committee of Fifteen out of the three Denominations was immediately chofen. And about Twenty other Minifters, who were not prefent at the Wednefday\ Meeting, came on Thurfday to the Chairman, and all •g^nified their Approbation of the Defign, From ( 57 ) ■ From the Circumftances of this Tranf-^ »dion, the Reader fees, that none but the London Minifters could have been concerned in this AppHcation : the Sud- dennefs of the Refolution affording them no Time to inform their Brethren in the Country of the Motives to that Determi- nation. The DifTenting Laity are not affected by this Bill, any otherwife than as they wifti well to their Minifters. The whole of this Application, there- fore, refted originally with the Londofi Minifters, and with them only. The Lift of allowed Minifters of the three Denominations in and about Lon- don^ confifts of Ninety Five. Seventy of thefc had declared their Opinions, with only one diflentient Voice. In the fubfequent Meetings, the greateft Num- ber of Hands, held up againft any one Queftion propofed, was only Six: nor did any one of thefc at any Meeting declare the leaft Difaj")probation of the above Vote, ( 58 ) Vote, except the fingle One before men- tioned, who yet attended at them all. Whatever, therefore, may have been fuggefted to the contrary ; or how hardily Ibever fome Things may have been af- ferted, no one Meafure has been adopted by the Body of London Minifters, for thefe Fifty Years part, which has been undertaken and profecuted with a more general Concurrence, A BILL BILL, INTITULED An AB for the further Relief of His Majejly^s Frotejlant Subje6ls^ dijfenting from the Church of England. WHEREAS by an A61 made in the Firft Year of the Reign of King William and Queen Mary, intituled, " An Ad: for exempt- *' ing Their Majeities Proreftant Subjefts, dif- '* fenting from the Church oi Eyigland^ from the *' Penalties of certain Laws," Perlbns diflent- ing from the Church of England, in holy Orders, or pretended holy Orders, or pretending to holy Orde s. Preachers or Teachers of any Congre- gations of dificnting Proteftants, are required, in Order to be entitled to certain Exemptions, Benefics, Privileges, and Advantages, to declare their Approbation of, and to fubfcribe the Arti- cles of Religion mentioned in, the Statute made in the Thirteenth Year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, except as in the faid Act, made in the Firft Year of the Reign of King JVtliiam and Qiieen Mrtry, is excepted: ^iriD tUfjCtCaCi many liich Perfons fcruple to declare their Ap- I probation ( ^o ) probation of, and to fubfcribe the faid Articles, not excepted as aforefaid •, for giving Eafe to fuch fcrupulous Perfons in the Exercife of Religion, A% // fleafe Tour MAJESrT, That it may be cnaftcti ^ HntJ be it cnaftcu by the King's Moll Excellent Majefly, by and with the Advice and Confcnt of the Lords Spi- ritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this prefent Parliament aflembled, and by the Autho- rity of the fame, That fo much of the faid Adt made in the f'irfl: Year of the Reign of King IVilliam and Queen Maiy^ as relates to the faid Articles, or to any of them, fhall be, and the fame is hervrby repealed. SnnbC it furtbCr CnaftCtl by the Authority aforefaid, That every Perfon dilfenting from the Church oi England in holy Orders, or pretended holy Orders, or pretending to holy Orders, and every Preacher or Teacher of any Congregation of diffenting Protefcants, who (hall take the ] Oaths, and make and fubfcribe the Declaration againd Popery, required by the faid Ad: made in the ririt Year of the Reign of King JVilliam and Queen Mary^ to be taken, made, and fub- fciibed by Protcltant difTcnring Minifters, and fiiall alio make and fubfcribe a Declaration in the Words, or to thv,' Efied:, following ; videlicet^ y A B declare^ as in the Prcfcnce of Almighty Ccd, that I believe that the Holy Scriptures of the CM ^nd Nezv Tefi-cdnent contain a Revelation of the ( 6i ) the Mind and IVillofGod, and that I receive them as the Rule of my Faith and Pratlice, Shall be, and fuch Perfon is hereby declared to be, intitled to all the Exemptions, Benefits, Privileo;es, and Advantages, granted to Protc- ftant diflt-nting Minifters by the faid Afl, made in the Firft Year of the Reign of King William and Queen Mary -, and by an Act made in the Tenth Year of the Reign of Qiieen Anne^ inti- tuled, ' An Aft for preferving the Proteftant ' Reli£;ion, by better fccuring the Church of * England as by L:nv edablifhed, and for con- ' firming the Toleration granted to Protcllant * Diflenters, by an Act, intituled, *' An Acl for " exempting Their Mai^fties Proteftant Sub- " iefts, dilTen ting from the Church of England^ *' from the Penalties of certain Laws, and for *' fjpplying the Defcfls thereof; and for the " further fecurino; the Proteftant SuccefTion, by *' requiring the Praftilers of the Law in North " Britain to take t ie Oachs, and fubfcribe thvi *' Declaration tlierein mentioned -," and the Juftices of the Peace, at the General SelPions of the Peace to \>t liolden for the County or Place where any Proteftant diUcnting Pvlinifter fliall live, are her^^bv required to tender and admi- nifter the fiid laft-menrioned Declaration to fuch Minifter, upon his offering himfclf to make and fubfcribe the fanic, and thereof to keep a Re- gifter ; and fuch Minifter fliall not give or pay as a i-'ee or Reward, to any Officer or Officers belonging to tiie Court aforefiicl, above the Su n of Sixpence fjr his or their Kn:ry of fucli Minifter's making and rubfiribing the faid laft- I 2 'n-.cn- (