The Sun. — London, England, 1827-10-24 00:00:00

the color inch 1100 revered' nay be 'id' e so to :rofessil t ro ore IC's ; o bserv e ;hristial fair 01! sj c , aul is t But, 0 bq no t he I, on b e o f ,uranceB ler oreapolla •easoning'' . cie never wit or e'°' me and a ll ' tllat all 4 1 : the reader' c his jag: tsoever , 6 .. bo n WWI scion t i l e t a ?, and ty forthel e with th I state Is. vo Tay lor d nglancl, ll ect v If I ant ll° 'ore me not' e Attorney cl, , as here f e l? Sun'W' 7 ,1 Nieev 1' ! ' n e The'7, 4 l c tef The of Christ,' as published by the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge. The Rev. Orator will deliver a Philippic in exposure of the atrocious villinies that characterise the Jewish Vampire, v am pire - -Gentlemen, who is the Jewish Vam pire,? You will find from the sequel that he deno minates the author and founder ,of our holy re ligion, under that appellation—. and in respectful challenge of his Ministers to come forward and shew if they theta selves are not ashamed of him. th" The HOLY LITURGY, as performed every Sunday, and e Ninetieth Oration del' red by the Rev. Orator, in irre- Futahle demonstration of I t ' ll: Forgery and Imposture of the c °7 ol "P!ls, are to be had of the Printer, J. Brooks, 421, a-street, and at the . Areopagus every Tuesday even ing, 86, Cannon -street. ur en tietnel " `r,kyLoa, 17, Carey-street, Lincoln's Inn." sense of ,if the . Reverend Orator had the least decency or - regard to the laws of his CotiPtry, which have hitherto protected him, he would ii;l be aware that the very use of the term Pi PP ic, in the advertisement, is inconsistent with the subject of discussion. A philippic is a :°rd borrowed from certain orations by a'cele rated auth or o f antiquity, in which he attac k s, by every Pow er a n d acu t eness h e cou ld p ossess , j le for con duct of the Ki ng o f Macedon. It or tos a t erm either for the h i g h est pra i se, t h e shperate se verest censure ; not for that discussion with which religion sould be reviewed, so that in the very advertise ment, he com mences bi s t . that enees y stating, that his object U c°l*nrneece a ferocious attack, not to pursue ration a l meeting, discussion becoming a Christian shall Gentlemen, I shall say no more, nor O I -bite to you a singl e word this Reverend motor has written,—you will hear it• read t° , Y°Ll,--and when you have heard it, I sna il do no more than appeal to you to say, whether the Magistrates of the _city of London t°l - 1 1 d hav e done otherwise than take this'last 'no de ; all reasonin g , a ll persuasion, having bee n thrown away —nay, whether they could have e n justified in forbearing t o t a k e thi s course, the purpose of removing a nuisance so detes table and of getting rid -rof an individual from their jurisdietion—an individual who was sur rounding himself with nests of vermin, for the purp ose of 8 91)6 , and destroying the very foun dation b 3 of all our best hopes and happiness. Tho ma ,. Collins was then called and examined by t . h " e SOLICITOR -GENERAL.—I am a beadle, res idi ng Wallbrook. On Saturday, February 3 d, I went t 0 Place- in Cannon-street, and saw what appeared bto a bil l against the door : it was the late Salter's Hall a h g Meetin g House, then called the " Areo pang -°r ' the Christian Evidence Society." I took t r il b ill dow n . Afterwards I con verse d w i t h th g rila Ylor on the subject of that bill. At o' c l oc k e I took it down, it was about twelve I in the day, and after p as ti ng i t on paper , -°' it to th e Ald erman o f t h e W ard. In the 4ft e call ed of th e same d ay, t h e R ev. M r. T ay l or b eetl e ' 1 . O n rile, and aft er as ki ng my name, sa id, h e h a d doo r , -14 rnled th at I h a d ta k en a p a p er f rom o ff hi s d e , t ' I repli e d t h at I h a d ; h e t h en sa id, w h y did you woi t : l Y : n y property ? If you had wanted on e , I Osyh n ''' /V e given it you with pleasure. The bill in d ja the same bill. The bil S O LICITOR. GENERAL here requested that the to ~"'l g ht b e read . • tiord TENTERDEN asked the defendant if he wished :P t an y questions to 'this witness. 411 (,411 4i n- O R—I am very anxious that the bill be read 1 1 . • e : bill was t h en read as follows 4111 rESTO OF THE CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE SOCIETY, T o ESTABLISHED, NW:EMBER 12, 1827. all Protestant; and Members of Protestant Con gregations. "IT aN D BRETURRN, . °ll ar e he brinvited to attend the Discussions of the Nen re •' • which are held every Te a e t 4 of the Christian Religion, si,,etf,Y tvening, in the Society's Areopagus, 86, Cannon of th e ' ":„„ it Lom which all respectable persons, upon observ ance l " 4, pet e „ary regulations, are admissible : and where al in teAti --: T lB -4 i ; u p on a previous . notification of their t ftPie of di s c us meowed to deliver their sentiments upon the Ilia thsetic'aima. the Pra p io n, _s only to promote the love .of Truth, Pev o i e c -88 of Virtue, and the influence of . Universal Be ,f reii n . e, a , ,„ opposed to foolish and contradictory sy . stems a ges ! --43 faith.. —derived from the ignorance of bat barons (ii, en % d craftily imposed upon the many, for he ag a g w i. a tn r - e of th. ent 01 the Power and influence of a few,wh o , yo u '," Buspicious origination of their pretended Divme _Re inaiteo., have shown themselves afraid and ashamed to 1, 1 tam the same, where they might 'be answered b y hb t i e td and able men, andmight have their accuracy esta 'tam O-, or th e ir errors corrected. n,. ii n • (lai n - R EVEREND ORAroR, a reg ,illecl clergyman of the Established * Church, bath publicly ular and canonically 0r th,,414,21ged all Ministers and Preachers (and hereby repeats to'litcnsoenge )_-to come forward and show, if they can, the % e •%IT of the FOUR GRAND Pitorosrrioxs, which in the D 'etril Alanifesto, " To all Clergymen, Ministers, and , c' "ners of the Gospel," are declared to have b een , as f ar e 8 appea re d, fully and unanswerably demonstrated. THIS PROPOSITIONS are , r ~,t t "AT THE SCRIPTURES OF T N% THE NEW TESTAM ENT , AE,,,, "T WRITTEN BY THE PERSONS nosr. NAMES THEY W ill' TH AT THEY DID NOT APPEAR IN THE TIMES To lit 1 :141. REFE R . ) (14.. ttb. HAT THE PERSONS OF WHoit THEY TREAT, NEVER IV. ~,, hAptt (R AT THE EVENTS WHICH THEY RELATE, N EVER l'Ill". " . " - Of these Propositions, I. 1. T WERE NOT , r evidence, that ! . .- c---- tie ll4l 7 " SCRIPTURES OF OFIS' are, Til N. _ . . , ~'"ey tv t .,, et4 %, it cannot be shown by any nesr ; ' . -e `` Written by the persons whose names externaill,beca.use it can be shewn by evidence Per sons n ''' internal, that they were written by acts and --- evidence external, I n the formal edi et ,, of y other for 4 t• Christian Emperors, Bishops, and Council 9 lia i n i ; v atic, 11 , i f e ta t time, for the general alteration, or total re (Q) a inratlrle Scriptures, according to their own caprice d Divine s -` n th th e admissions of the most learned Critics an l on ' time s t t o o . _e alterations which the Scriptures have the immortaire uaderg"e (b).—Byevidence int e r na l, 0 o,ao Pktaages tnerein rernai ll*l,ll.ose onl ' y drift' isvictoi°ll4eismtina• k d wic e . nd by the liner i . . tendencytn of of many l i t , s ts (c). ~.... THAT nifty DID hence the power of Kings and Thte ß - ''' D NOT APPEAR IN THE TIMES TO !ale)", THEY REFER; is demonstrable,—By evidence ti,,.:a4 In the express admissions of Ecclesiastical Histo ; of their uinability to shew WHEN, or WHERE / 7 Ivßom this collection of writings was first made (d.) 1 11 ( e a o ) d4 4 .. c_b 'were .those of the Emperors Constantine and Ate,, ala "I f and this of the Emperor Anastasio!. " When ton, b , Was consul (that is in the year of Christ, 506) at l isly ilini"ple, by order of the Emperor A NASTASIUS, the r kait i ,l e Pe l 4, as bein written by illiterate Evangelists are 13 4 0 - '" and corrected!" Victor 7'ununensis, an Afri ca n . ,ktit P o f". °te d by Lardner, vol. 3, p. 67. See also at -4,,1„..; " general alteration ' of these Scriptures, 'to cm 'it,,,,,i'ctge them to the faith of the orthodox," byby __LA.Nu-- Pkbre; Archbishop of Canterbury, as recorded Be (0 Ristoire de Manichee, vol. 1. p. 343. 1 5t. ' AbMISSIONS OF THE MOST LEARNED CRITIC u S-- N. tkt:,rAhe" Were in the MSS. of the N. T. 9 , NE , H .t.a "ty, 7.,,nu TIHRTy THOUSAND various readings. . LAI; r. Ithi, ), version, p. 22. 2d. " The Manuscripts . rom V„kli t , - a „ tl ',,e received text was taken, were stolen by the libra 'lrbert-'" s old to a sky-rocket maker, in the year 1749."- 4 e. p or k arsh, Bishop of Peterborough, vol. 2. p. 411— ( 44 re l e , 1, 1, : ati t a h ll e , b b o u o t k ,, o ß f rtentveulaetlieonro,tethietre was no original himself in Switzer (e) ;tile year 1516." Bishop Marsh, vol. 1, p. 3 .„ 20 . . , d° (e) \I ;",IKssoitaL, &c. See Romans, iii. 7.—LPls.t'. . 10...-Heb. xii. 29 —Heb. xiii. 17—Romans, 1111 (4eter, ii. 13—Luke xiv. 26, Ste. 2,.e. Ike: ' Sett Alosheim's Eccles. Hist.--Jones on the Canon, Passim. (e) Rxcalvan TEXT, &c. " The Received Text rests on the authority of no more than twenty or thirty manu scripts, meet of which are of little note." Unitar. Version, Introd. 10. "It was completed by the Elzevir edition of 1624." ib. Mark well 1 the retaining therein, and cir culating as the Word of God, with consent or connivance of all parties, several passages known and admitted by all to be Forgeries and Lies. 1 John, v. 7.-1 Tim. iii. 16. —Excellent Morality this! ! ( . 0 COMPARATIVELY MODERN, Ike. See 2 Epistle of John, 9.-1 Tim. iii. 3.--James, v. 14.—Matth. xviii. 17.-1 Corinth. xv. 7, 32.-1 Peter, iv. 6. (g) HOBGOBLINS. See Acts xix. 15. (h ) VISIONARY HYPOSTASIS. See Luke, ix. 2.anu -9.— Mark, ix. 2.—Luke xxi v . n 81.-1 John, v. 6 . and merable other Passag es , i n perfect accor d ance w ith xx!E TRUE AND GENUINE GOSPELS of the most primitive Chris tians, which taught that he was ninety-eight miles tall, and twenty-four miles broad ; that he was not crucified at all ; and that he was never born at all; that by faith only are wo saved, &c. &c. ; all equally indicative that Christi anity had no evidence at all, but was a matter of mere conceit, fancy, or superstition, from first to last. journ the meeting to Tuesday next, when there will be a discussion, the subject to be taken from a new work, and advertise& in the Examiner of next Sunday. The company, upon this an nouncement, retired. The examination in chief having, concluded, Lord TENTERDEN, addressing the defendant, said. —Do you wish to put any questions to the witness ? Mr. Taylor. " Certainly." . (Tt 'ming to the wit ness.) " What book were you sworn on ?" Lord TENTERDEN.—The New 'Testament, to be sure. _ _ _ Mr. Taylor—Do you believe in Lila book ? Lord TENTERDEN-I'll not allow that question to be put. Mr. Taylor—lt has been asked on other occa sions, and very invidiously. Lord TENTERDEN—I can't allow it to be put— we must conduct this trial in the same manner as others. Indeed, I think, I heard the witness say that he does believe it. (The witness had said so in an under tone.) Mr. Taylor—Had you any acquaintance with me before the occasion to which you alluded? Wit ness.—Yes, I saw you on the subject of taxes, and you said that you were a servant of the Society. Who has employed you ?—Alderman John Atkins employed me as the superintendent of the Police. Has he ever attended at the Areopagus ? Not to my knowledge. Did you not tell certain persons that your's was a bad job, and that you wished you had not been em ployed on it ?—Often : I thought it hard to be obliged to attend for four or five months on Sundays and other days. Upon your oath, Thomas Collins, what are y ou ?"—Nothing, be paid for this " bad job ?"ZNothing, and I have no promise of anything. What, honest Thomas Collins, have you got no sort of encouragement to support you in the pro gress of this bad-job ?—None ; I merely obeyed the command of my superior officer. When you first went to the Areopagus, was it out of mere curiosity, not knowing the subject matter of the entertainment ?--I went there to take down all I heard, without reference to the subject-matter; I was ordered there in consequence of having showed the manifesto to the Alderman. Did you take notes the first time you went there ? —I believe so. Upon your solemn oath, did you, Thomas Collins, ever, in the course of your life, before, take notes of any discourse ?—I was never similarly employed ; indeed, I don't recollect that I ever did. What induced you to come prepared to take notes P—The command of Alderman Atkins. In what part Or m tbe Areopagus did you place your self P—ln the body of the chapel ; about twelve feet from you. Was there any noise or shouting in the Areopa gus that could have distracted your attention ? None after you began. After some other question, of no importance, the defendant asked.—Are you sure you heard all I ut tered ?—I have already sworn so.—You spoke this distinctly, and I am certain of what I took down. Was there any part of it in Greek or Latin ? You said that it was Greek. Do you know the difference between Greek and Latin P—No—Yes, if I saw them written (a laugh). The notes which I now read from are the same which I produced at the Manion-house. Were you not shocked at the things you heard ? I was. Frightened out of your wits, perhaps ?—Not quite—no. Upon your oath, how great a portion of my dis course is contained in your notes ?—You spoke about an hour, and I can read all that I have written down in five minutes. Then you have only a twelfth part ; there was a great portion which you omitted, what guided you in your selection ?--I took down those parts, which, in my judgment, were the worst. I understood that you took down only the shock ing parts ; was there nothing of a (Efferent character to c.,plain thi.t portion which shocked you ?—There was nothing to c:.plain, nothing which appeared to me to do away the meaning. If you heard any thing calculated to explain what was shocking, would you also have put down that ? —Certainly. Did you not hear me utter a single just. or vir tuous sentiment in the whole course of my oration ? —I can't say; it did not attract my attention. You were taken up with the shocking, and of course had no taste for the good and the virtuous ? —I can't recollect; I may have heard some such thing, but there was, in my opinion, nothing to ex plain what I have now read. Did I make any quotations from infidels P—l can't say; I heard you so many times. From the Christians! eh P—l cannot possibly say. Now, on your oath, Thomas Collins, could you ascertain when I made quotations, or when I spoke in my own person ?—Certainly. You are a learned man. Do you understand the principles of ratiocinative argumentation ? Loud laughter, during which the witness appeared not in a very slight degree puzzled—after a pause he answered " No—l don't understand you." The defendant—All was so plain and intelligent to you before, bow comes it that you are so dull now ? 'Was my discourse hypothetical or dogma tical ?—Part of it was very learned, I know, and above my comprehension. Are you sure that these most shocking words which I delivered were in propria persona, or hy pothetically, as the words of another ?—I know that the words which I took down were all delivered by you; and I believe they were positive. Am I to understand, Thomas Collins, that the general style of my argumentation was above your comprehension ?—No. What ! not parts of it ?—Certainly, some parts of it were in Greek and Latin, which you afterwards explained. Come, show those notes of your's to the Jury, that they may have a specimen of your scholarship. Lord TENTERDEN—When the Jury are consider ing their verdict—that will be the time for their seeing the documents, unless you have a particular object for their inspecting them now. Mr. Taylor.—No; I merely wish that they should know what sort of witness they had in the box. He then proceeded with the cross-examination. When had you read the Manifesto ? was it before yon tore it down ?—I read the four propositions. Are you a member of the Church of England ? I am. Are you in the habit of attending to the discipline of it ?—I am. Do you remember the 34th verse of the sth chap. of St. Matthew ?—Yes ; I have read the New Tes tament through. Then repeat the words.--(A laugh.)—Witness (after some hesitation)--I—l—know I have read all the Testament through. Do you remember the words ?—No. Are they not " Swear not at all; neitherby heaven, for it is God's throne ; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool ?"—I believe so. Then I have no more questions to ask you. Mr. Taylor then sat down. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL—Had you not the full opportunity of taking down distinctly what you had heard? —Yes. But no other part of the discourse explained or qualified those passages which you have read to us ? —Certainly not. What was the general scope and tendency of the discourse ?—lt went to state that the whole of the New Testament was false. Lord TENTERDEN.--DO you call any other wit nesses ? The ATTORNEY-GENERAL.---NO, my Lord. Mr. TAYLOR then proceeded to address the Jury. He would not deny that he felt peculiar difficulties in his present situation. In almost any other case but the present, a defendant coming into this Court, might expect justice with certainty; but in the present ease, he knew he had much to gar. He had not only to fear that the rode of defence he should adopt, would not be the most judicious—that the ar guments he should use, would not be the most palatable—that the reasons he should adduce would not be the strongest ; but he had also to tremble for the character of those whoM he addressed. He had to fear that their minds were barricadoed by preju dice, and cased in adamant against the progress of conviction. At different periods the supposed interests of religion had forbid the exercise of impar tiality, and' the wisest and best men had fallen victims - to misguided zeal. In all ages, there had been men, and good men too, who were 'perverse enough to think it a duty to injure others,and thought by persecuting God's creatures, they did God a ser vice. He did not compare himself with those to whom he referred, nor his prosecutors to their perse-' cutors ; but if he addressed persons of congenial minds—men with minds congenial to his prosecu tors, and he might add, to that of the Learned Counsel, who had characterised him ag a nuisance, and his friends as a nest of vermin. This was not respectful nor decent language, perhaps; but be that as it might, if he addressed persons of congenial character, he knew that any defence he could make would be of no avail. If he proceeded to prove that the language he had used was innocent in itself, that, probably, would lead him into a mode of defence which the Court would not endure, and by persisting in which, he would aggravate his punish ment. He could assure .the Jury that he would not utter a single sentiment which any conscientious man could feel offended with. If any offensive expression should fall from him unintentionally, he hoped for patience and forgiveness.. He-called upon .the Jury to dismiss from their minds the disgraceful and ab surd slanders which his theological, and it might be his legal, enemies had propagated against him. He had been called a monster, an Atheist, a sot, and a madman; that was'not his character. lie was not an Atheist, he was not a Christian, he was not a hypo crite, but he was a Deist; and for his devotion to Deism he had suffered what in another cause would be considered martyrdom. He had lost his natural friends, his fortune, and his liberty, for his belief in the common God of nature, and his desire to rescue the name of God from the foul and dis gusting calumnies with which it was too often associated; and to enlighten a priest-ridden and fanatical people, lie had suffered every descrip tion of contumely, cruelty, and inhumanitt,— He was not brought into his present, not at .all en viable situation—by any foolish heroism of character. Though he could bear with fortitude punishment the severest,—nay, even death, if such were to be his lot. He cared not for the result of this trial, so much for himself, as for the principle which it would destroy. His conviction, he feared, would be fatal to the exercise of free speech, and free discussion, and if the jury lent themselves to the wishes of his enemies they would ratify by their verdict, the deeds of sanguinary persecution which had been perpetrated in former ages, and would sanction like persecutions for the future. That verdict might crush him and the noble insti tution •he had founded, but it would also crush liberty of conscience, and give great influence to Popery and arbitrary power, or, what was the same thing, to Methodistical tyranny and arbitrary power. —The present prosecution was got up under the auspices of the Lord Mayor, who was himself a Dissenter from the Established Church, and now claimed and ianjoyed that liberty of conscience he (larded to others. He hoped to be able to prove that there was no reason suggested by the law, of the land, or the customs of the City of London for the measures adopted against him. He should trespass on their attention for a short period whilst he stated to them the nature and objects of the institutions he had founded, for if these were inno cent, he was innocent. The Society of universal benevolence was instituted the Ist March 1824, and he present building since called the " Areopagus," was taken the 26th July : since when Divine Service was regularly continued until the period of his unjust capture. He had formed at some expence and labour a compilation from the Liturgy of the Established Church, which was read in that place of worship, and which his friends conceived, and he had a right to assert, was more consonant to the principles of true religion, and more grateful to the Almighty, than any other form of prayer. Upon the establishment of the Christian Evidence Society, which, as its name imported, was founded for the purpose of religious discussion, lie delivered an inaugural address, which was published and widely circulated. (Mr. Taylor was here about to hand the Jury copies of the address, but was informed by Lord Tenterden that the Jury could not be permitted to see any papers which were not proved). Mr. Taylor continued, two years ago he waited on the then Lord Mayor and requested, not his allowal for the school, for that most important object—the discussion of re ligious topics, but for his Lordship's patronage and sanction. During two successive Mayoralties he had delivered discourses to thousands of persons without any interruption—without knowing, or con ceiving that he was ofiending against any law— and without any of that persuasion, advice, and remonstrance, to desist, which the Learned Counsel stated had been unsuccessfully em ployed towards him. The Attorney--Ge neral had also stated that his discouises were dia racterized by ribaldry and grossness : but amongst the numbers who had visited his Chapel for the in dulgence of curiosity, he defied any of them to say that they had ever heard any sentiments fall from him which could bear the interpretations put on them by the Attorney-General. If those who visited his Chapel were Christians, they must blush for that cause in which it had been found necessary to resort to such means to convict him. He appealed to the ladies who had been in the habit of visiting tho Areopagus, and who, he was confident, were as pure and as much above suspicion as the wife or daughter of any maul in that Court—he appealed to those ladies to say,l whether they had ever heard a word of grossness, which could offend the most chaste and delicate ear, fall from him. On the contrary, those passages of the Old and New Testament which could bear a coarse interpretation, were carefully exclud e d.— Indeed it was unreasonable—it was libellous on the public, to say, that a Society should take a house, and assemble con stantly to hear the discourses of a man which were destitute of argument and reason, and, as described by the Learned Counsel, abounded in grosnesS and ribaldry. He came now to the gravamen of the charge against him, which was the mischievous effect of such discourses on the minds of the young. This charge against him came badly from those who propagated their principles in the nurseries of in fancy,„„ or the chambers of debility, and who sent_ Missionaries amongst barbarous nations, amongst vdothreesppaClsga aed, ritbe a system eesand Catabaucs, and the Hotte n tots , to of religion which was secretly or publicly abjured, by the most virtuous and intelligent men in civilised society. Lord TENTERDEN indignantly.—lt is not so, Sir. You must not assume it. A Taylor continued—The head and front of his offending was, that lie desired discussion on religious subjects. Discussion on religion was not an offence against religion, except in the minds of those who considered that religion would not bear di scuss i on . In the U n i vers iity of Cambridge, of which he had the honour of being a member, the students were accustomed to dispute in the Latin tongues for and against the doctrines of the Christian re ligion. This was just what he had done, and it surely could not be said that it was right to speak truths in Latin, but not in Eng lish ;—for what was orthodoxy at Cambridge, was blasphemy in London. By this prosecution, the nominal friends of Christianity did more injury to the cause, anti offended more against it, than he had done; for they admitted by this prosecution, that Christianity would not bear the light of reason ; that public discussion was dangerous to it, and sarcasm , and ridicule fatal. He was an honest unbeliever; he was willing to suffer, for he thought no man could suffer 1 in a better cause, than in generous exertion to re [ claim the minds of his fellow-creatures to reason, and And in the admissions of the most learned critics, as to the infinitely suspicious origination of the present Received Text (e). —By evidence internal, In innumerable texts therein contained, betraying a comparatively modern cha racter, referring to circumstances which did not exist till later ages, and quoting other Scriptures which bad pre viously formed the faith of the first Christian Churches, but which, without any assignable reason, or, alleged authority, have since been rejected (f ). 111. THAT THE PERSONS OF WHOM THEY TREAT, NEVER EXISTED; because demonises, devils, ghosts, an gels, hobgoblins,(g), persons who had once been dead, who could walk on water, ride in the air, &c. such as Satan and Jesus Christ, are the persons of whom these Scrip tures treat . ; and that such persons never existed is demon strable :-Ist, From the utter incongruity of such figments with the immutable laws of sound reason ; 2dly, From the total absence of all historical reference to their exist ence; and 3dly, From innumerable passages of these Scriptures themselves, which fully ad►nit the merely vi sionary Hypostasis of their fabulous hero (h). IV. THAT THE EVENTS WHICH THEY RELATE NEVER HAPPENED, is demonstrable (further thanes a consequence of the preceding proposition), from the fact, that some, many, or all of these events, had I?een previously related o f th e go d s an d goddesses of Greece and Rome, and more especially of the Indian idol CHRISHNA, whose religion, with less. alteration than time and translations have made in the Jewish Scriptures, may be traced in every dogma and every ceremony of the Evangelical Mythology. MEN AND BILETIMEN, If these things can be denied or disproved---Your Mi nisters and Preachers are earnestly called on to do so. Your Missionaries who boast their readiness to carry their Gospel to the remotest shores of the earth, are again and again entreated to become its advocates before assemblies of in. , telligent and learned men, here, in their native land; where, upon due notice of their intentions, and upon the condition of allowing' themselves to be respectfully questioned, and learnedly replied to, they will be received with honor, and heard with attention. By the Assembled Society, ROBERT TAYLOR, A. B. and M. R. C. S. Orator of the Areopagus, and Chaplain of the Society of Universal Benevolence. Areopagus of the Christian Evidence Society, London, Feb. 1827. Tickets of Admission, Terms of Subscription, Seats in the Areopagus, &c. upon application (post paid) to the Reverend Orator, 17, Carey-street, Lincoln's-Inn, or at the Chapel of Universal Benevolence, immediately after the performance of DIVINE SERVICE. After the manifesto had been read, the witness proceeded : I, on a subsequent Tuesday evening, the 6th of February, went to the Areopagus, and paid one shil ling for admission, and got a ticket entitling me to enter the body of the chapel. I delivered the ticket to the person at the inner door; there were present about 100 when I went in ; they afterwards increa sed to 200 ; they were of all ages, from ten upwards. —The pulpit stood in the usual place; in the front of it there was a platform, two chairs and s t table; there was also a pole in imitation of a staff with a crown on the top of it.— at seven o'clock ,Mr. Taylor appeared on the plat form,and was , received with cheers. He was dress ed in the black robes of a clergyman; at the . same time a person named Thomas Rushfield, ascended the pulpit. He was similarly attired. Rushfield is an oil and colour-man, residing in Union street, Smithfield. After the cheers had subsided, Mr. Taylor sat down in one of the chairs. There ma a bell rung by.a person who entered the pulpit. I have a note of what I then heard. I took it at the time in pencil, I have since written it out. The Chair man, I mean the person in the pulpit, after ringing the bell, said," theßev. Orator will speak on the testimony of the subsequent witnesses of the truth of the Christian religion, from a work written by Dr. Chalmers, and published in the Edinburgh Ency , clopadia." Part of the book was read from the pulpit by the Chairman.—Mr. Taylor then rose, and said, if the advocates of Christianity could have produced a more able advocate than Dr. Chalmers • they would have done it. The first words I took down were, " Shall God lay perjury to the soul, and diet for Jesus" and " no, I answered; " that there was no authority for its title page; that the translators rendered the New Tektament falsely," the name was not known for 220 years afterwards. The next words were " St. Paul has denied the miracles of Christ; his ghost appeared to .500 at once, but they were asleep."— (at this expression there was a loud laugh, many other passages were received with loud cheers.)— " He (Christ) rose again, but it is according to the scriptures." Mr. Taylor here asked for a copy of the witness's notes. The witness then proceeded. The next words which I took down were—" The authority of the Gospel is fatal to St. Paul, and the authority of t. Paul is fatal to the Gospel."—(A laugh.) Mr. Taylor then took up a New Testignent, and refer red to the 2d Corinthians, 3d chap., Gth verse— " Who also bath made us able ministers of the new tes tament ; not of the letter, but of the spirit ;. for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." After the defendant read these passages, he went on to say, Etat "the excuse of ministers to evade discussio n was a farewell." He said, " The won der-working God—that is the name which the deist never uses but with awe !" The next passage, (continued the witness) which I took a note of was this— The SOLICITOR-GENERAL.--That passage, my Lord, is set out in the indictment. The witness continued—l heard the defendant say, " I Should like to know who was the eye witness between the devil and Christ, when he spent his holidays in the wilderness." The de fendant afterward said, in allusion to the miracle of the pigs, that t , pigs were the first martyrs for Christ ; ' and he went on to ask, whether the devils drowned the pigs, or did the pigs drown the devil. He then said, that " whenever we worshipped the Lamb that taketh away the sins of the world, we ought also to worship the pigs." (At this there was a loud laugh.) Mr. Taylor afterwards declared, that " Johanna Southcote bad more followers in three years tbah the Christian religion had in three hun dred." He then turned to the 2d Timothy 4th chapter, 14th verse, and said, " Alexander the coppersmith, did much evil, and the Lord re warded hi m accor di ng to his works," and then fol lowed " Alexander, the coppersmith, with a ham mer to beat out the Apostle's brass"—(great laughter) —he add e d , " I would have proved them the greatest of liars and scoundrels."—" My reason for abjuring Christianity and their's for continuing it is, it is a religion which cannot stand alone, or they would have come forward in its defence." The next words which I took a note of, continued the witness, were " Christianity is a wicked and mischievous fable, and they know it to be so." When this dis course, which continued about an hour, was over, the person in the pulpit asked, " Is' there any gen tleman willing or able to answer the Reverend Ora tor, let him come forwrqd, and he may depend upon being heard and attended to ?" No person having answered, Mr. Taylor called upon the Rev. A. Fletcher by name, saying that if he presented him self, he should have the use of his rostrum. —There was no answer. Mr. Taylor then said, " I shall ad- their hearts to virtue. With the permission of the Court, he would now ask a friend to read an extract from the speech delivered by him at the opening of the Christian Evidence Society. Lord TENTERDEN.—Ar. Taylor may read the speeches part of his address, but it cannot be read by the officers of the court, unless proved.. Mr. Taylor asked if a friend might read it for him ? Lord TENTERDEN.—You must read it yourself : there is nothing to prevent you. YOu can have a glass of •water if you like. Mr. Taylor then read a long extract from his speech; after xvhich he adverted inure particularly :o the nature of the evidence adduced for the prose attion. If the report of such is person as Collins was to be taken, no public orator would be safe ; without the context it was impossible to understand chose isolated expressions, and it would be impossible for the Jury justly to return an adverse verdict. What reliance could be placed on such a report as was fur nished by the malice and ignorance of the witness? gr. Taylor then dwelt on the advantages which Christianity had sustained by the opposition it had met with, and asked whether the truth of the Gospel was not considered more firmly established by the relation given in it, of him who would not believe that Jesus was crucified, unless he put his hands in his side. If the Jury returned an adverse verdict against him for his conscientious opinions, they would crucify Jesus' again. Was it because a barbarous horde of Goths and Vandals broke into the scat of learning - and science, , that he was to be charged with blasphemy on the evidence of a man who had shown himself a dance and an ignoramus. He had been thrown into the meanest prison of the metropolis for five days, and treated worse than, a burglar and assasssin ; though as 'orthodox as many of the Bench of Bishops. He was no more orthodox than his own Diocesan, who told him on his Ordination that the romance of the CrucXxion was taken from the Prometheus Desmotes of lEschylus, and that if he believed in miracles, he would not ordain him, for that there were fools enough in the Church already, That Doctor Paley too, whom the Attorney-General had so cunningly introduced, admitted that he could not afford to keep a conscience. Mr. Taylor next stated that the lan guage of infidels was extensively quoted by Christian divines; and what grave champions of Christianity they must be who refuse to bear the infidels when they appeared,they would defeat their adversa ries in effigy, but retreat as soon as lie took the field. He called upon the jury in conclusion, to say, wile titer the evidence they had that day heard, was suffi cient to establish any historical fact. Was it not" probable that such a witness pur posely omitted many things that were said, and also put doWn two or three things which he only imagined. He appealed to the gentlemen of the Press, whose noble art required education and many years to perfect, whether it could be picked up at first trial by the Parish Beadle. Why were not accomplished, .and literary men produced against him, or was it intended that he should be made ;the victim, and thOught that any dirty faggot would . serve to destroy him. Hs strongest expressions were according to strict logic, examples of the reductio ad absurdum ; were public lecturers to be ruled with a rod of iron, or to teach nothing, but that the poor should be taught to demean themselves before their betters,_ and teach nothing but rags and righteousness ? Were we for ever to be confined to discourses as stupid as Whit- tingham and his cat ? He called upon the Jury, not as priests and religionists, but as Jurymen, and citizens of the world, to do impartial justice.— They were asked to convict him on garbled expres sions, Was it to become a precedent in England, that a man of learning was to be convicted for an oratorical discourse on the evidence of the beadle ? Mr. Taylor admitted that many of the principles propounded and acted upon by thnse'who professed Christianity, his understanding despised, his heart abhorred, and his nature revolted at. — They may, he said, break that heart, and destroy that understanding, but they could never reconcile him to the system of Christianity. These were his sentiments. " Dum memor ipse mci, dum Spiritus hos regit artus." Mr' T. concluded by strongly contending, after taking an extensive survey of the law, that the pro secution was untenable on Christian grounds, on mo ral grounds, on legal grounds, and on every ground whatever, but those of ascendancy of might over right, of rancoured hypocrisy, over prostrate virtue, and therefore he called on the Jury to return such a verdict as would reflect immortal honour on themselves, and wipe off from England the stain and reproach of such disgraceful proEecutions, and establish that which he contended for, namely, a right of free-thinking, and of freely discussing, every man his own sentiments. And now, Gentlemen of the Jury, not denying— not compromising—not qualifying, a single senti ment that I ever entertained, or a single expression. that I ever uttered, I call the GOD ALMIGHTY— the GOD of truth and of justice, to witness that of this indictment, I am 'not Guilty. The Reverend Gentlemen then sat down, evidently much exhausted, and for some moments there was a partial expression of applause throughout the Court. Lord TENTERDEN then proceeded to charge the Jury. After reading over and commenting on the expressions, charged as blasphemous, his Lordship said, that if these were intended to to be propositions which the defendant was about to refute, then he certainly was entitled to an acquital ; bur, if, on the other hand, they were uttered for the purpose of procuring the assent and admiration of those to whom they:were addressed, then the defendant was guilty of that with which he was charged. His Lordship said said that he would ill discharge his duty if he did not tell the Jury that the Christian Religion was to be protected by the laws of this Country as much as any of our civil rights. In conclusion, he trusted that the Jury would decide according to the sound dictates of their own reason, and not from any/thing they had heard to-day. The Jury then retired, at half-past three o'clock, and, after an absence of half an hour, returned ; their names were then called over, and nothing could ex ceed the anxiety which prevailed throughout the Court whilst this was being done ; when it was con cluded, the officer asked whether they had agreed to their verdict ? The FOREMAN.--Yes. Officen—How say you—is Robert Taylor guilty, or not guilty ? FOREMAN. --GUILTY. The announcement of the Verdict excited an in tense sensation through the largest auditory we ever recollect to have seen assembled in that Court. LONDON SESSIONS. This morning the London Sessions took place, before the RECORDER, SHERIFFS, and a full Bench of ALDERMEN, in the Court of King's Bench, Guildhall. The RECORDER, in his charge to the Grand Jury, congratulated them that the smallness. of the calen dar would not engage much of their attention. Madame Pasta has made her appearance al the. Glasgow Theatre, and was received with great ap plause. HYDROPITOBIA.—A fresh instance of the fatal effects of hydrophobia occurred in the town of Ca' stlebar on the: 17th inst., when Sergeant Major 'Wallace, of tin 75th Regiment, quartered there, died, in consequence, as it appears, of- a bite received about twelve months ago from his own dog. We have not heard whether the animal was at that time known to be in a rabid state or not. In the long interval which had elapsed since the injury had been received, the unfortunate individual lost all apprehension foi the consequences which now have proved so fatal. We understand he had been sixteen years Sergeant-:Major of the 75th Regiment, an evidence in itself of the orderly and correct manner in which ke discharged the duties of hie situation.—Dublin Evening Post. Per Cptlt .. it f: k , iti6Y 3 ' ''''" WAR 11I014iir,ii4u - -441N0WE41,9" - • - A'large Mal omme4 f yfcce i a :D*s to have :waded the territorieslite liinaK °l on a reli gious crusade, early in the sprin g o f t h e p resen t year. Their numbers amounted t o 100,000, and they were met on the 21st of Feb r u ar y l as t, at the village of Seydoo, on the banks o f th e Indus, by Boodh-Sinh, with 20,000 well dis ciplined troops,' led on by French officers, who, having repelled the wild and repeated attacks of the enemy, cllrged in their turn, and not only defeated but cut the invaders to pieces. We ex tract the accounts of this short war from th e Calcutta Government Gazette of the 16th of April, and add some details from the Native Papers, which show the feelings produced among the Hindoo Princes, and the people, by the news of the irruption. (From the Calcutta Government Gazette. ) By advices from the Punjab, we learn, that the war which has so long been impending between Ra jah Runjit Sinh, and the Afghan-Chiefs, has at last occurred, and actual hostilities have taken place. The Native Papers have for some time past ad rerted,,although indistinctly, to ihe state of affairs in this quarter, and it appears that various causes have contributed to occasion disturbances. In the first instance, some dissension occur.xl between Jay Shill of Atara, and .Raja Seuchct Sinh, commandl ing a force upon the Atek; originating in privato pique, felt by the former against Man Shill; the brother of the latter, some years since, on, which occasion Jay Sinh entered the service of Peshawer, but subsequently returned to his allegiance: the par ties came to blows, in which Sewchet was defeated, but no consequences seem -to have followed the trans action, all other considerations giving way to the in surrection of the Afghan tiibes,headed by a religious fanatic, and secretly encouraged by the Ruler nc Peshawer. The ostensible Chief is Syed Anted Ali, a native of Bareilly, and well known as a turbulent charac ter. Having left India on a pilgrimage to Mecca,he has passed his time, on his return, in Sinh, and the countries on the western frontiers, preaching a cru sade against the infidels of Hindustan, and latterly, in Afghanistan, it should appear, with some success having assembled a force of Yusefieis attd Nur-zeis• chiefly in three divisions, one tinder his • persorial command, and the other two under Maulavi Ismael and Abdul Hye. His movements "were watched (luring the early part of February, by Boodh Sinh, with a Sikh force, and. several petty affairs took place, in the course of which Bdodh Sinh advanced to Akora, beyond the Atek, the Syed being en-. camped at Noshera, a short distance in his front, with between 30 and 40,000 men. Yar Mohamtnea , Khan at first disavowed all connexion with Syed. Amed, but at last threw off the mask and joined him at Noshera. The force with Boodh Sinh was, at first, 4,000 men, but on these occurs encesbecom ing known at Lahore, reinforcements had been scut to him, making his army between- 15 and 20,000 men. The enemy threatening to cut off his eani rnunications, he fell back upon the Indus, near to the village of Seydoo, where ise was attacked by the whole force of the Mahommedans, amounting, according to some- acCounts, to 90,000 infantry, and 10,000 horse, on the 21st February. The greater part of his host being ill-armed, and worse organised, made no impression on the Sikh troops, who, after repel ling two desperate, but disorderly attacks upon thekr position, advanced to the charge with great determi nation, and put the enemy to route. In - the flight, great numbers were sabred by the Rajah's cavalry, and a body that had taken shelter in the village of Seydoo, was surrounded, and entirely destroyed. The Mahommedans lost eight pieces of artillery, awl about one hundred swivels, and their camp was plundered by the victors. It was not known in what; direction the Chiefs had fled. In consequence of the victory, the regular battalions and - feat artillery, Which had been sent off to jain the arniy, had beer remanded, but Monsieur Ventura had been ordered to advance to P' shaver, and occupy the Bulahissar, or citadel, whilst Monsieur Allard, with the cavalry, was instructed to join the Prince Shener Sinh, and remain with his force at Hesht Nagar, near .Peshawer. It was thought probable, that the enemy would not be able to make head against the Raja's troops, the dispersion having been complete. The date of these advices is the beginning of March. At this time the Raja's health continued much the same, and he was unable, to his great regret, to take the field. He was living in tents in the gardens to the east and north-east of Lahore, in which he was frequently shifting his quarters : latterly, they were near the Sumun Burj, on the bank of the small branch of the Ravi, which washes the north-west extremity of the city. Another French officer, we learn, has lately joined the Raja's service, arid one, on his way to Lahore, is still detained at Peshawer. (From the Native Papers.) MAHARAJA RUNJIT the 3d of March, the Envoy of the Governor of Atek reported from his employer, that Maulavi Ismael had suddenly oc cupied the passes, that the Mahommedans from all quarters were flocking to his standard, and that he had expelled all such of the Hindu inhabitants of the country as refused to adopt the Moslem faith— on the receipt of this information, Maharaja sent tor the French Officers, and commanded them to march with their troops to suppress these disturbances, and letters were despatched to the Governors of Atek, Rawel Pincli, and Kheirabad, directing their) to be upon the alert. PRSHAWER.—Yar Mohammed Khan, having •re - ceived intelligence that Maulavi Ismael had assembled about 60, - 000 men, and was committing considerable devastation in the surrounding countries, directed in formation to be sent to Maha Raja Runjit Sinh. He also sent Shehamet Khan to the Maulavi. On an other occasion, letters arrived from Dost Mohammed Khan and Ate Mohammed Khan, stating that the Prince Kamran had quitted Kabul, and proceeded to a: ecommonly Kamran, h or; n d at to Pe shawerteDerreh Jungel, where he expected to be joined by ad e an army from Kendahr. The farce of the Chief of Samarkand was also in motion, and it was known i n that 5,000 men from the troops of Ata whatMo hainmeddireKethiao. It Khan andPwrin assistance of Maulavi SHAH JEHANABAD.—On the 15th of March Court was held in honour of the birth of a son to Prince Mina Baber. On this occasion, Mirza Malz mud Khan, with other Chiefs, being present, re ported from Kubal, that Maulavi Isinaef, with 100,000 men, had engaged the army of Runjit Sinh, and many thousands on both sides bad been slain ; on hearing this, one of his Majesty's followers pre sented a petition, expressing his purpose of going to take a part in the crusade, and soliciting the con tinuance of his salary to his wife, in the event of his being killed, which was granted; orders were also issued, that such of the effects of Azimabadi Be gum, deceased, as yet remained, should be presented to all who were inclined to serve in this war. Mir,:, Baber al so gave money to one of his people , to b e divided amongst the same. R a ja h had Sohun all hav ing reported that five or six persons Tplunteered for the crusade against the Sikhs, orders were given to present each with a matchlock, a shield, a sabre, and five or ten rupees. The heir apparent also distributed money to others professing the like in tention. ELOPEMENT IN HIGH LIVE. -011 Tues. day last, at an early hour, a young heiress of great fortune contrived to escape from the residence of her father, who resides in B-e-street, Manchester -square, and suc ceeded in meeting with her gallant lover, R.. ,of R- Place, Ireland. The happy pair immediately set off in a chaise and four for Brighton, but as she was soon missed after her departure, the road they took was disco vered, and an intelligent tradeturrAn instantly went in pur suit in a chaise and four, the laorses of which being good ones, he succeeded in capturing the fair one near Riegato, to the no small disappointment of her noble. lover. The lady was conveyed back to her father's, who handsomely remunerated the tradesman for his vigilance. The fair 0116 is her 20th year, her lover Os the verge of 40.