The National Register. — London, England, 1811-05-26 00:00:00

very existence their Creator we .y .ristian Church is safe, and consequently abandoned of 1-leaven, when for ' years it has remained exposed to the secret undermining attacks of wily enemies, who, under the cloak of' modern philosophy, have taught men that blasphemy is wit, incredulity wisdom, nt happiness, futurity a dream, and God a shadow, strung from fear and superstition ? Have we not seen in a neighbouringeountry, the fruits of this Anti-Christian doctrine ? Have not the altars fallen before reviving Heathenism, and the blood of ancient persecutions flowed anew ? No ;,my Lord, let us not deceive ourselves. Greater dangers lower over Chris tiatiity at this very period, than perhaps during the first ages of the Church. Conscious that his time is short, Satan rages among the nations, and gathers all the powers, wit, and genius of men in, let us hope, his last tremendous effort against revealed reli gion. And shall we, for a moment, suppose that at such an awful crisis God would desert his own cause, and, when Hell and Earth have joined their might against his faith, would leave it without inspired defenders ? Would his unerring wisdom at the hour of en creased dangers and necessity, withdraw the assist ance of his unconquerable Spirit from his Church ? May not even the very supposition appear in his eyes, an offence obnox ious to punishment ? And yet, what could he a clearer expres sion of such a belief on our part, than to forbid the very Minis ters whom his Providence may elect, to preach his saving word, because they have not been educated by, and in the learning of, the world ? Especially when we know that with " the foolish ness of preaching" and the weak things of the earth God con .-counds the wisdom of men and the pride of the mighty. ). I am too wAll acquainted with the fervotir and sincerity of your • Lordship's Christian faith, not to be convinced that you are in the number of those who still believe that Heavenly inspirations are no strangers to the earth. I therefore trust, that should you think the few argameuts 1 have hastily thrown together, con vincing as to the hitherto unnoticed tendency of the alterations proposed by your Bill, you will not think it y our duty to perse vere in bringing it forward, " lest haply ye be found even to fight against Gad."--1 remain, Your Lordship's obedient humble servant, May 16th. A FRIEND TO TOLERATION. • • We received this Address to Lord Sidmouth last week, and regret it came too late for insertion in our last Paper. As it places the subject in a new li,lit, we have thought it important enough to be made public, although the fate of the Bill has al ready been decided. - IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS. MONDAY, MAY 20. The 4,000,0001. Loan Bill, the Malt Duties Explatatlnu BM, and the Inland Coal Bill, were read a third time and passed. The Chtitte Ports Justice Bill, and the Bank of Ireland Se curity 13111, passed through Committees and were reported. The Sout!iern Whale Fishery Bill, the Irish Militia EXplatlia eon Bill, several Local and Private Bills, were brought up from the Commons, anti read a first tintc.—Atournt:d. TIYEStAI', MAY 9, TOLERATION BILL. Earl STAN HOPI, presented Petitions, signed, as Ms Lordship stated, by a number no ie•:s than 2912. respectable persons, who conceived, that the Bill before their Lordships concerning relk.l gioul "roloration, was calculated to infringe on their rights, and on the conscientious discharge of their duties. The F;irl nf LIVE it POOL professed a firm and thorough Conviction of the purity of motive, as well as of the wisdom inforination whi.:ll Lad guided his Noble Frieild in the pre paration aid prtagress of the measure tlien under discussion. lie knew that his Noble Friend's motives and measures had balm misunderstood by many persons, and especially by u .ay , Woull .s he , distinct, doing, ~ that the eiti o te n rier , jects of religious belief or prej light ground, or without a Noble Friend would be indi Bill's being committed. Lori SIOIKOLYTII expreved some surprise at the suggestion of his Noble Friend. He was fully sensible of the sincerity with whieli Chit suggestion was delivered, acid was no less aware of the powerful effect which the opinions of his Noble Friend, aided as he must expect they wautel b. by his NI • t . s ars y•sMinis ters in general, would have in the decisions of the.: Lord hips. He must, however, in justice to his feelings, and what he cone ceived to be his duty, en leavour to explein to the House what the real merits of the Bill which he had the honour to prepare were. . Eal STANHOPE then demanded, that according to the rights and t:iagei of toe Hote:e, the petitions be first read. Lord H LLAND gave ample credit to the purity of his Noble Friend's intend nis in the Bill, and could not but lament that the N ,b!e Secretary of State who had that night so pru dentlyoffered hi. advice for Its being wirildrawn, had not. at its first introduction, and the many subsequent occasions which oc curred, expressed a similar opinion. He himself had last year declared h s firm belief tlia! the meddling thus with religious opinions could only be attended with mischief. His Lordship then presented a great variety of petitions from various quarters of the kinglom. Lord HeßnwicKe desired to be informed whether tilt Noble Baro I had reed the petitions, and thereby ascertained the propriety of their content-. The Earl of Liven coot. was averse to the measure of. detaioing the Heuse with the detail of reading the petitions. Lord HOLLAND thought that the best way to put their Lordships in possession of the true merits of the question was to have the petitions read. File petitions already on the 'fable were signed by 4463 persons, and the number was every moment increasing. The Petitions being ordered to be read, The Earl of LAUDERDALE presented a great number front Glouce ter, Dorsetshire, Sussex, Essex, Wiltshire, &c. Earl MolttA delivered various •Petitions on the same side from persons who :‘.e i espectability le stood pledged for. Earl ORk:Y Iln:set:Zed Petitions from no 1e.4 than 1900 most respectable perfons WIIJ disapproved of the i rinciple and ten. dency of the Bill. The Duke of NORFOLK declared his knowledge, that in Bristol a very considerable number of respectable members of the Established Church were hostile to the Bill. The Earl of ROSLYN, Lord ERSKINE, a'nd the Marquis of LANsnowNE presented severa.ly a multitude of Petitions against the Bill. The Order of the Day being read for going into a Committee on the second reading, Lord SlD:ecueet-rose, and in a speesh of great length and eloquence, defended the principle, the abject, i-.nd the pruv ision, of the VIII, the objections to which were chi. fly founded en a rnii• understanding, but in some degree on a misrepresentetion of it. It was no part of his design to infringe on the rights of telera tion ; but, on the contrary, to render effectual the liberal and wise provisions 'of e Legislature on that eubject, to promote the true interests of r th eiigien itself, and chiefly by the means of requiring the Ministers of that sacred office to be dajy qualified for the exercise of it. In all countees, and in all ages, where the v:.lue and influence of religion was duly estimated, the character of the Priesthood was deemed an essential consideretion, not only their meted purity but their intellecteal refinement wile II subject of requisition. It was so in our Ch urch, wherea distinct test was required frern every applicant for holy orders of his proper qualifications. It was so he would venture to Isay, in tile wishes of many of the most eminent and Metito• 1 rious of the Dissenters, who grieved and complained of the Je r e abuses by.,w li i:;norant and often profligate men could gain admittan •• the office Of discharging then sacred functions. ' The ohjectimd principle of his Bill had been grossly mistaken, and he could nut repress an ardent desire that it should t rie into the Committee, and there linden° an/ eorrettionswhich the wisdom of the 1 - 1 )use might suggest. Perceiv;ng, hodtever, s ail he did, from the sentiments and remarks delivered by his 1 . :oble friend (Lord Liverpool), that the MI 'nig tit not receive f. dm hit Majesty's Ministers, that support to which he had cenceivedid was entitled, he should not press it on -their Lordsiiips if.lis should find that any NI: e l e erd was dispbsed to rei:et it, The Archbitliop of C ,eNTERBURY Was fully persuade* Qa the pure and laudable motives *high bad 1 touted the NW* Framer of the Bill, upon which he felt himaelf called Week , say Only a frit wade: Pentad= of *very, hind, juird4o4 l t , THE -NATIONAL REGISTER. .... _. _ . . bosom of every community, inen born under tlieblessedd r isp.e n ... 1 . 111 .. emus and res . pectaLle boll . • his benevolent intentions ova .sation of the Gospel, and heirs to the immortality which it pro- as he could not help doing, claims, rashly and unblushingly renounce futurity, and deny the founded, had taken place on very existence of their Creator ? Can we say the Christian distinctly did, that the late' airno6; y of men, in whose behalf espt daily )uld operate. Neverthele , •, seeing, that a gene: &l al irm, however oh. tte subject, and conceiving, as be rferetice of the Legislature cn sub- rejudce, should never be exerted nn a manifest neceviity, he hoped his aduced to wave the prebsing of the naII