thus degraded, insulted and punished, for no other crime than that of mere difference in opinion, is a spectacle that would wound even the feelings of an Infidel! Nevertheless, it af fords one consolation—it demonstrates how greatly the benign and liberal influences of our most holy religiou have diffused themselves since the last century, and that the unchristian spirit of persecution is now almost wholly extirpated." The history was published about the year 1790,, in quarto, but the copy before me wants the title page. the invitation of being their Pastor." P. 355, Note. "When Mr. Emlyn came first to Lowestoft, (in 1689, he had not adopted those religious principles which afterward proved to him a source of the heaviest afflictions." P. 359." It was during his residence there that reading Dr. Sherlock's piece upon the Trinity, he first began to entertain some scruples concerning the received doctrine in that point of faith." Ib. Note. "Here also he contracted a close and intimate acquaintance with Mr. William Manning (there were several of that name in Suffolk, as the Rev. Samuel Manning, of Walpole, formerly of Emanuel College, Cambridge), a Nonconformist Minister, at Peasenhall, in this county, and corresponded with him during Mr. Manning's life. As they both were of an inquisitive temper, they frequently conferred together upon the highest mysteries of religion, and Dr. Sherlock's book upon the Trinity became a stumbling block to both. Manning even became a Socinian, and strove hard to bring his friend into those opi· ·Brief History of the Dissenters from nions, but Mr. Emlyn could never be made to doubt either of the pre-existence of our Saviour, as the Logos, or that God created the material world .by him." P., 361. "We have an account of one Mr. Mauning, who was an occasional preacher at Lowestoft, in the latter end of the reign of Charles II., or in the time of his brother James, but who this person was does not appear. - I think it not improbable but he was the Rev. Mr. Manning, of Peasenhall, mentioned above, (see note, p. 359,) who was the intimate friend of Mr. Emlyu." Mr. Gillingwater was a native of Lowestoft, and settled in business at Harleston, in Norfolk, where he died a few years ago. He was a man of research, ingenuity, good sense, and liberality towards those who differed from him in sentiment and mode of worship, (he being strongly attached to the church by law established,) as his history evidences, which is more free from a party spirit than the generality of local histories. Many quotations might be adduced in proof of it, but one may suffice. After relating the sufferings of Mr. Emlyn, for conscience' sake, p. 360, note," To behold a learned, sensible and pious divine Mr. G. carried on a friendly debate with the Rev. Thomas Harmer, of Wattesfield, in this county, on the time Jesus continued on the cross, which, through the favour of a mutual friend, I had once an opportunity of perusing. Mr. G.'s account of the Dissenters at Lowestoft might prove an acceptable article for your valuable Miscellany.* S..S. T. the Revolution. [Continued from p. 203.] QUT to return to the history of Dissenters. The last event relating to religion in the reign of Queen Anne, was the bill to prevent the growth of schism, by which all Dissenters were prohibited from teaching any schools, and it was enacted that if any schoolmaster or tutor should be willingly present at any conventicle or assembly of Dissenters for religious worship, he should suffer three months' imprisonment, and be disqualified from teaching school for the future. This was brought in by the tory ministry, who now, under the direction of Lord Bolingbroke, had gained possession of the government, and who were endeavouring to take measures for placing the Pretender on the throne. These measures, however, were frustrated by the death of the Queen, on the very day on which the act to prevent the growth of schism was to have been carried into execution, and by the succession of George I., the first of We shall be glad to receive this account from any correspondent possessing the work and willing to extract the pas. sage. 1. ED. tled For the Suppression of Blasphemy and Profaneness, but containing many persecuting clauses, and re-enacting the worst parts of the bill against Occasional Conformity. It was supported by several bishops, but was rejected. On this occasion the Earl of Peterborough said, that he was for a parliamentary king, but not for a parliamentary God, or a parliamentary religion; and should the House declare for one of this kind, he would go to Rome and endeavour to be chosen a cardinal, for he had rather sit in the conclave than with their lordships upon those terms. About this time the disputes about the Trinity, which had been excited by the writings of Whiston and Clarke, began to shew their effects among the Dissenters. While they had been carried on in the church, whose ministers are confined to an established liturgy and to established articles, they had had little effect, but among the Dissenting ministers, who were not under these restraints from freedom of inquiry, their effect was great. It was, however, principally apparent among the Presbyterians. The Dissenters who went under that denomination, which in England was a mere name, had no church-government among them, and no one was excluded from them on account of thinking more freely than the rest of the congregation; but among the Independents, any one who should express doubts concerning the truth of orthodox opinions was prevented from attending at the Lord's supper, or from having any share in the concerns of the congregation. This church-government, by which they certainly forfeit their claim to the title of consistent Dissenters, still remains among those who call themselves Independents, but who are in fact, on this account, far less independent than those who are styled Presbyterians, and it has had the effect of restraining freedom of religious inquiry both among their ministers and people, and of keeping them strict Calvinists. The first place where the effect of doubts concerning the Trinity began to appear among the Presbyterians, was at Exeter, where Mr. Pierce left the old chapel, and established a new congregation on Arian principles. The Devonshire the present royal family. One of the first acts of his reign was to repeal the persecuting laws, which had been passed in the reign of his predecessor. In the second year of his reign the Tories raised a rebellion in favour of the Pretender. On this occasion the Dissenters stinguished themselves by their attachment to the present royal family. Two of their ministers in Lancashire particularly deserve to be mentioned. Mr. Wood, minister of Chowbent, and Mr. Turner, minister of a chapel in Walton, near Preston, who placed themselves at the head of the young men of their respective congregations, and joined the royal army, to the easy success of whose operations their efforts very materially contributed, and for their exertions they received the thanks of the general. Many other Dissenters took commissions, and contributed very much to the ease with which the rebellion was suppressed. By these acts, however, they had rendered themselves liable to all the penaltics of the Test Act, but the government passed an act of indemnity for them: an act of pardon for having assisted in suppressing the rebellion; an act of pardon for having been main instruments in preserving the government! Can any argument prove more clearly than this simple fact, the folly and absurdity of the Test Act, and the injury which it must produce to the country? Whenever that law is executed, it deprives the nation of the benefit which it might derive from the exertion of the talents of some of 'the best men in it; and if on this occasion it had been put in force, these men must have been punished for having assisted the government, and rendered the suppression of the rebellion much more easy and speedy than it otherwise would have been. In the year 1717, Dr. Hoadly, Bishop of Bangor, a great favourite with George I., having published a Sermon on the Nature of the Kingdom of Christ, which was very favourable to Dissenters, the Lower House of Convocation censured it in very severe terms. The King put a stop to their proceedings by a prorogation, and since that time no more Convocations of the clergy have been called in this country. In the year 1721, a bill was Brought into the House of Lords, inti ministers at that time held a kind of annual synod, which assumed great authority, and disowned Mr. Pierce from all connexion with the other ministers. Now, however, both these chapels in Exeter are occupied by Unitarians, as are most of the congregations whose ministers formed that synod. At the same time with Mr. Pierce, a few other Arian ministers were obliged to leave their situations. Among them was Mr. Foster, who removed to London, and was afterwards celebrated by Pope in the well known lines, "Let modest Foster, if he will, excel Ten metropolitans in preaching well." He has left behind him four volumes of very admirable sermons. From this period the Arian doctrines spread rapidly among the more learned of the Dissenting ministers. The doctrine of the simple humanity of Jesus had yet but few supporters, but among them must be reckoned the learned Dr. Lardner, himself a host. The last year of George the First's reign was distinguished by the trial of Mr. Elwall, for publishing a book intitled, A True Testimony for God and his Sacred Law, being a plain honest Defence of the First Command. ment of God against all the Trinitarians under Heaven. Thou shalt have no other Gods but me." For this he was prosecuted at the Stafford assizes, in the year 1726. No copy of the indictment had been given him, and the judge offered to put off the trial, if he would give bail, but he refused and desired liberty to plead. This being given, after pleading many texts from the Old Testament, he told them that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Prophet like to Moses, held forth the same doctrine that Moses had done, and particularly mentioned, as very remarkable and worthy of all their observation, the words which are recorded in John xvii. S, that Christ used in solemn prayer to his Father, "This is life eternal to know thee the only true God, and Jesus the Christ whom thou hast sent;" and then turning to the priests his prosecutors, he said, "Since the lips of the blessed Can any of your Devonshire correspondents give us a more particular account of this synod? Jesus, which always spoke the truth, say his Father is the only true God, who is he and who are they, that dare set up another in contradiction to my blessed Lord, who says his Father is the only true God?" And here he stopped to see if any would answer, but none of them spoke. He then warned the people not to take their religious sentiments from men, but from God. The judge asked him, if he had ever consulted any of the bishops. He said he had exchanged several letters with the Archbishop of Canterbury, but had received no satisfaction; "for in all the letters I sent to the Archbishop," said he, "I grounded my arguments upon the words of God and his prophets, Christ and his aposreferred me to acts of parliament: and tles, but in his answers to me, he whereas I told him, I wondered he should be so weak as to turn me over to human authority in things of a divine nature; for though in all things of a temporal nature I will be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, yet in things of a spiritual nature, and which concern my faith, I will call no man Father upou earth, nor regard popes or councils, prelates or priests of any denomination, nor conVocations nor assemblies of divines, but obey to the best of my judgment, God and his prophets, Christ and his apostles." The judge wished him to promise not he nobly and spiritedly refused to do. to write on this subject again, but this Then the judge laying hold of some informalities in the proceedings against him, declared him at liberty, and the priests perceiving his boldness and the temper of the bench to favour him, did not choose to renew the prosecution, though certainly Mr. Elwall was legally liable to three years' imprisonment and outlawry. This is the last trial which has taken place on the laws against Unitarians. A few prosecutions of this nature have been attempted since, but they have been The laws, however, on which those frustrated before they came into court. prosecutions were founded, remained a disgrace to the statute book of this country till the year 1813, when they were repealed. Mr. Elwall published an account of his trial, which has been often reprinted and is well known. The beginning of the reign of George the Second was distinguished by the prosecution of an unbeliever of the name of Woolston, for having written a book against the miracles of Jesus. Of all the books which have been written against Christianity, this is the most futile, the most utterly devoid of any reasoning, which can impose for a moment even on the weakest understand. ing. It is therefore a great pity that, by his prosecution and imprisonment, an opportunity was afforded to unbelievers to say, that they have stronger arguments than any that are published, but that they dare not print them for fear of being prosecuted. Such an assertion must indeed appear, as it really is, very absurd, when we consider that such men as Hume and Gibbon have written against Christianity without being molested; but it is a pity that any pretence should have been given for such an assertion, by the prosecution of any unbelievers. The words of Dr. Lardner, the most able and learned defender of the truth of Christianity that has ever appeared, in his answer to Mr. Woolston, are very deserving of consideration :-"If men should be permitted among us to go on delivering their sentiments freely in matters of religion, and to propose their objections to Christianity itself, I apprehend we have no reason to be in pain for the event. On the side of Christianity I expect to see, as hitherto, the greatest share of learning, good sense and fairness of disputation, which things, I hope, will be superior to low ridicule, false argument and misrepresentation. And suppose the contest should last for some time, its effect will be that we shall all better understand our Bibles. Possibly some errors may be mixed with our faith, which by this means may be separated, and our faith become more pure. Being more confirmed in the truth of our religion, we shall be more perfect in the duties of it. Instead of being unthinking and nominal, we shall become more generally serious and real Christians. Each of which advantages will be a large step towards a complete and final victory." These arguments of Dr. Lardner fully prove, that it is a great disadvantage to Christianity for any one, either of any Christian sect or of the opposers of Christianity, to be either prevented from publishing his opinions, or punished for doing so, and that the fullest and freest discussion possible must be most favourable to the real truths of the gospel. In the year 1736, an ineffectual attempt was made in Parliament for the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts. The minister, Sir Robert Walpole, not wishing this attempt to be repeated, sent for some of the principal of the London ministers, and in order to induce them not to renew their application to Parliament, promised them an annual grant of 2000 pounds, which they might distribute as they pleased among their brethren. This grant has been continued ever since, under the title of the Regium Donum. It is given to such of the London ministers as the government choose, and they distribute it according to their own pleasure. A great number, however, of the Dissenters decline receiving any thing from it, considering it, as it certainly is, an abandonment of their principles to receive such a bribe. Very few, I believe, of the Unitarians have disgraced themselves by accepting it. In Ireland this Regium Donum is much greater than in England, and has had a great effect in keeping up the Presbyterian form of church government, and in suppressing free religious inquiry among the Dissenters in that country, where even yet, a zealous Unitarian minister would probably be disowned by every Presbytery in the island, and consequently be excluded from all the chapels which at present exist there. send you copies of two letters from that sufferer in the cause of truth, to Mr. Manning. From their date, I should conclude that they were written in London. I am also favoured with the perusal of some letters written by Mr. Manning, and addressed to his son at Yarmouth; but these being letters of condolence on account of losses by death in his family, I have not thought them sufficiently interesting to have a place here, although valuable for the sentiments of affection, resignation and piety which run through them. Mr. Manning was ejected from the living of Middleton, in Suffolk, and resided afterwards in the adjoining parish of Peasenhall. JOHN TAYLOR. Letter I. To the Rev. Mr. William Manning, Peasenhall.. DEAR SIR, Oct. 10, 1710. I WAS glad to receive yours; I find you were nigh to have put into the quiet harbour and to have landed on the shore of the good land, along with your consort, who rests from her labours but you are put back into this troublesome ocean again a little longer: 'tis probable you lye but at the mouth of the haven, and some favourable gale will soon blow you in, and I hope, with full sails of faith and hope, and then adieu, vain and miserable earth! Inveni portum, Spes et Fortuna, valete. Methinks I read (and I do it often) with great pleasure the words of the ancient Cicero de Senectute at the end; how noble and generous are his thoughts of the vanity of this life, and the excellency of the future state, which in a Pagan, I can't but admire greatly, and find his discourse very pathetick and usefull; and yet all this is much below the triumphant courage and assurance of St. Paul, 2 Cor. v. 1, 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8. Here are no trembling doubts and uncertain ifs. Who that has the treasure of a good conscience, should not be glad to die and to drop these infirmities and bodily necessities and trifling cares, and to shake off a body of death that so depresses and debases the mind! Who that is ambitious of wisdom and knowledge, will not covet those noble and enlarged views which will present themselves when we get out of this dark and narrow sphere; and above all, to taste and feel the satisfying sweets of infinite Almighty Love! I doubt not but your own mind have (has) many more serious speculations about the matter: we all lye at the door of eternity, ready to be called in; may God help us to set our affections on things above. The publick is in great ferment; and violent animosities make all people uneasy. The high church hitherto hath gained considerably in the elections that are over: though in this city, I suppose, the whigs will keep their ground. Our poll is not yet over. Tis well we have better views than this world affords May we come safe, at last, to the general assembly, &c. and to the spirits of the just made perfect. Yours, T. EMLYN. [What follows is in the hand-wriletter is addressed.] ting of Mr. Manning, to whom the "this suited my then case, but with me, and to bring me back again God thought fit to alter the scene on a new trial into this darksome avoidably exposed to a number of tempestuous world, wherein I am undaily cares, detrimental to the concern of my soul: to divert me also, a shattered head and state of body prevents me from a sedate thinking on and pursuit of things above, relating to my change at the door, as it behoves me to attend unto." BY yours of October 18th, I find you are somewhat raised again from your languishing state: I am glad that you are free from acute paius, amongst the other sorrows that do attend old age. You are come to Barzillai's case, who was eighty years old, and could not taste when he did eat, nor hear the voice of singing men; and you enjoy his desired retirement. Wonder not if your affections and passions, even as to spiritual objects, become fat and slow, nor that your impressions from death and eternity should be less than under the thoughts of your late nigh approach to them: all this is natural and almost necessary. I know they are days of no pleasure; but the wise Author and Lord of Life |