The Sun.
London, England, 1848-01-07 00:00:00

T 11

DR. HALUPDEN and PERSECUTION.

TO THE EDITOR OF• TIIP SUN.

SIR,--I am generally a warm approver of the
sentiments, spirit, and conduct which you endeavour
to propagate, infuse, and recommend. But if Ido •
not take exception to one point in your leading
article of this morning it is at least necessary toguard
against its wrong application.
In reference to the Dean of Herefords objection
to act in agreement with the 6w, you ask, " 7s it in
accordance with the gewerous spirit of our constitu-
tion, is it in fact consonant with the doctrines en
joined by our religion, that a men should he subjected
to the cruel penalties of prcenzunirc because he
not declare that he is willing to aid in taisinp;• ah in-
dividual to the august end holy respOnsibilities of a
bishopric, whose opinions hu believes in his conscience
to he heretical and blasphemous ?" Now, Sir, to the
conclusion at which you aim I most religiously
assent, end am astonished that in the nineteenth
century, and in a land were the circulation of the
New Testament is so general, that any person pro-
fessing Christianity cats be round foolhardy enough to
contend that a Chlistian should obey the law when
such ebedience is in opposition to his conscience.
But, Sir, the point to which I with to tall yotir at-
tention is this—ls the J3can of IhrtiOrd ih only man
that shall he allowed to 0134 l'r'edom of conscience ?
Shall he be allowed to evade or escape from the
demands and tolli m ands of the civic power, while
the rest a the community are told by these very
dess'ns and bishops, and men in holy orders, that they
must submit to the demands of the law whatever may
be the dictates of their religious; consciences? Shall such
men be allowed to coerce the Dissenters (as they do
in the case of church rates), but themselveS evade the
like authority and obligation'? Shall they, in their
oppcsition to the consciences of others, gird on the
sword of tivdi power, and raise the standard of
" HonnUt the King," but in their own case trample
that standard under foot, and wrench that weapon
from the hands of sovereignty itself? Sir, lam not
writing in favour of coercing the Dean, but in favour
of fair play, common justice, and common sense.
But one thing I do say, that if any man or men
should he forced into acting contrary to their con-
sciences, it ought to be those who contend that such
compulsion is right; if any men are made to submit
to civil authority, it ought to be these who compel
others to submit. Why should the magistrate, the
constable, the auctioneer, and the gaol be used against
the conscientious Dissenter, while sympathy and re-
spect be paid to the resistance of the Dean ? You
cite his words of being in God's temple and in his
sight, and performing the priestly office, &c.
Let not the glowing language, and the delusive
though imposing circumstances which attend the case
of Dr. Merewether, mislead our judgments. He
may be a most worthy man, but what matters it to
me that he was in a cathedral, or that he spoke feel-
ingly and solemnly ? When I hear any conscientious
disciple of Jesus declare, in the presence of that God
" who dwelleth not in temples made with hands," that
he cannot subscribe to such temples—when I see him,
under a deep sense of the presence of Him " in whom
we live, and move, and have our being"— solemnly aver
that he can support no other priest but He who bath
" entered once and for all into the holy of holies for
us"— when with this awful solemnity, and under this
deep impression of the omnipotency of religious prin-
ciple, I hear such a disciple exclaim, I must " obey
God rather than man," the fact of Dr. Merewether
being in a church, and thinking himself a priest,
ought to have only its due weight, which with me
amounts to this, that he may be a very sincere man,
but most terribly mistaken.
Sir, let me call on you to place the sentiments I
have herein imperfectly expressed clearly and plainly
before the public, with that ability and honesty for
which your paper has justly acquired so high a cha-
racter, for I, in the midst of many other business
engagements, have only time to subscribe myself
yours, DALETH.
Gloucestershire, Dec. 29, 1847.

P.S.—lt must be acknowledged I write impartially,
for I pay church•rates, believing it not wrong to give
the Church its mere mammon when the State de-
mands it. But there are others who conscientiously
resist, and the question is, should the Church make
the State supreme over conscience i Let the Dean
answer !

[This letter having been addressed personally to a
gentleman who has ceased to have any connexion
with the office, did not reach us until some time
after it was written. All ccmtnunications should be
addressed to the Editor.—ED. Sun.]