As to your duty towards

I make no doubt that effects nation. I shall offer you my¿ somewhat similar must have opinions very freely; but, at the i been produced, in the same same time, wishing to give noi way, in several parts of this offence to those who differ ind kingdom; and, as I look upon opinion from me. drunkenness as the root of much more than half the mischief, your priesthood, I have pever: misery and crimes with which been able to discover, not only society is afflicted, I can never any obligation upon you to pay speak of the Methodists, as a any money at all to a priest, body, otherwise than with re-but any reason, even the smallspect; and, indeed, it must argue est, for so doing. I am sure great perverseness, to call it by that you find no precept for it no harsher name, to view the from the lips of Jesus Christ or ardour, the zeal, the industry of those of his apostles. On the the Methodists to reclaim dis- contrary, you find quite sufficient solute persons, with feelings to convince you that a Christian short of admiration and grati-priest is to perform his ministry' tude. without pay and without reward

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Thus feeling, as I sincerely of any description. do, with regard to your sect, 1. You will say that the Minis cannot, nevertheless, refrain ters of the Church of England from frankly stating to you receive reward, and pretty large my opinions with regard to two reward, too. But, pray bear in points; namely your conduct mind, that those gentlemen rest with regard to your priesthood; their claims upon law, upon and your conduct with regard ancient usage, ratified and conto your King and country. firmed by Acts of Parliament. These are matters not at all Stupid as the Dissenters look connected with doctrines of re- upon us Churchmen to be, we ligion. There is nothing my-are not so stupid as, at first stical about them. They are sight, we may appear to them. things that plain men may clear- We render largely to the priestly understand; and they are hood, but we render nothing things, having an immediate voluntarily. What we pay to the connection with those causes priest, we should have to pay which affect the interests of the to a landlord if we did not pay

it to a priest. The book of the minds that, to dissent is your law is open before us. Accord-duty; and, like honest men, ing to that law we act, and no-you perform that duty. Thus body can accuse us of being far, I have nothing to object over eager to do even that. to; but, the moment you pay We obey the law, we render a farthing to a Priest, that moaccording to law; but we givement my objections begin. I do not a farthing. And, the good not care under what pretence of it is, that all you Dissenters the money be paid; I set at render to these same priests of defiance all evasions; all tricks, ours just in the same measure all contrivances; and I broadly that we do; and voluntarily assert, that, for a Dissenter to maintain priests of your own pay a Priest, is always a foolish, into the bargain! I appeal to and, in many cases, a wicked your judgment, then, which of act. the two act the most stupid part, we Churchmen or the Dissenters. Whatever other charge may be brought against us, we are not, on this account, chargeable with stupidity.

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Your answer to this is, that

If either of you were asked for the reason of your dissenting from the Church, you would be at no loss to answer. You would say, in few words, that the teaching of the Church did not lead to salvation. Now, beyou are aware, that you render fore you could, with any deto the Church, though you are gree of justice; with any deDissenters; but that, not apgree of modesty, or of common proving of the teaching of the decency, give such an answer, Church; not believing that that you must have well and pateaching will bring you to sal-tiently examined and considervation, you quit the Churched the nature and tendency of you forego all the possible bene- the teaching of the Church. fits to be derived from a con- You must be a competent judge nexion with her; you become of the matter. You must, in dissenters from her, and you your own mind, have decided have your own priesthood. Thus points of faith, with regard to far, I have nothing to say. You which points, thousands upon follow the dictates of your con- thousands of learned men have science. You satisfy your own lived and died in disputation.

Taking the Holy Scriptures for according to the degree of my your guide; taking them as the own importance in society, cast standard by which to try the a slur upon the body which I opinions and teachings of mortal quit. Now, this is no slight men, you must have become matter, even in this worldly experienced in the inquiry and concern; and such a step ought examination; and you must, at not to be taken by me without last, have looked upon yourself my being able to give good as competent to decide between reasons for it. I must be able whole universities of disagree- to show that my former assoing Doctors. Having arrived ciates were in error, or enat this point of knowledge and gaged in some wrong pursuit. of judgment, how is it possible This is requisite to justify me in that you can stand in need of a the eyes of the world. How Priest? I repeat my question; much more weighty are the how is it possible that, compe- considerations connected with a tent to measure all doctrines by the standard of she Scriptures, you yourself can stand in need of the teaching of any other mortal man?

dissent from the Church! How clear and how strong ought the reasons to be! You quit the Church, because her teaching does not, in your opinion, lead Why, therefore, hire a Priest, to salvation. Mark well, there any more than hire a man to is no medium between salvateach the you use of your eyes, tion and damnation. If the your ears, or your teeth? You teaching leads not to salvation, will bear in mind, that to dis- it must lead to damnation! sent from the Church, even Therefore, when you quit the without assigning any reason at Church to become a Dissenter, all, is, in fact, to pass a strong though you give no reason at censure upon the doctrines of all in words, you do actually the Church; and this is, in fact, declare, in deed, that those to treat contemptuously the who remain in adherence to whole body of those who ad- the Church, are, in your opihere to the Church. If I with- nion, in the road to everlasting draw myself from one body of perdition.

politicians, for instance, and

This is a necessary conclu-, join myself on to another, I do, sion; and I am not blaming you

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sure you have passed upon her, and the slur you have cast upon your neighbours, are unjust; and you need not be told that every species of injustice is criminal.

Were society begun anew; were there no form of religion at all existing in it; were there nothing but a gleam of religious light making its appearance; were there no settled system of religion. In short, were there

for it. It is your conscientious | cide between the Church and conviction. But, suffer me to the word of God; and, then, say that such conclusion is ex-your separation from the Church tremely hasty, not less arrogant is not justifiable, and the cenand cruelly uncharitable in any person who himself stands in need of the teaching of any human being. A man who comes to a conclusion like this, with regard to his brethren, left behind him in the Church; a man who comes to a decision like this; who thus makes himself a judge in so important a matter, and who, the very next day, acknowledges his feebleness, his incompetence to be a judge at all, by the hiring of a Priest to no religious establishment in teach himself, does, in my opi- existence. Then, indeed, a man nion, act a part to which it might reasonably hire a priest would be difficult to affix suitable to instruct him. He might think terms of reprobation. himself incompetent to interpret It is not your separation from the word of God. But, when the Church that I find fault there is already a religious estawith. Your separation may be blishment; and when a man perfectly conscientious; totally dissents from that establishment, free from all petulance, captious- he ought to be in a situation to ness and arrogance. You may require no interpreter or inbe convinced that the teaching structor; and if, for the purof the Church is not according poses of communion; for the to the word of God, and there- purposes of keeping alive in his upon, you act uprightly in sepa-nrind the religious feelings rating from her. But, if you which he is desirous to cherish; immediately afterwards go and if, for these purposes, he chuses pay a Priest to teach yourself, to meet his brethren in assembly, you, by that act, acknowledge and if they chuse to listen to the your own incompetence to de-discourses of the more eloquent

mote..

amongst them, what can be so interest they have taken special monstrous as to suppose it to care to watch over and to probe the duty of this man to pay money to the persons who speak In all ages, and all countries, upon such occasions? Nay, if and under every description of such man submit to regular pay-religion, Priests have been disments of this description; and tinguished, above all other men, especially if he bestow, in this for cunningness and for indefaway, any portion of his sub-tigable attention to their worldstance, which is necessary to the ly interests; and, perhaps, support of his wife, his children, amongst all the sets of Priests his kindred, or his poor neigh- that ever existed in this world, bours, he does, in my opinion, none have surpassed in cunning, commit a great offence against that set which is the subject of God.! these observations. Ispeak not of individuals. I know that

But, in your case, the evil of

such contributions is not con- there are many most excellent fined to injury done to indivi- men amongst the Methodist duals. It extends itself to the preachers. I know, as I have producing of national injuries. before related, how much good By this system of payment, you such men have done. Perhaps have created a body of men, it would be difficult to find, wholly unknown to the laws, amongst any class of mankind, possessing great power, and in proportion to the numerousemploying that power as we ness of the class, so great a shall by and by see, to no very number of persons so purely disgood political purposes. Doubt-interested and devoted to the less the great body of the Metho-good of others. But, numerous dists have never been aware, as these individuals undoubtedly that, by their contributions, they are, they can bear but a small were doing mischief to them- proportion towards that body of selves and to the country; but priesthood, who command and that this is really the case is as controul the whole of the Meclear as daylight. Their Priests thodist population; and which have found out, that they have body I regard as one of the an interest separate from that of chief supporters of a system of their congregations; and this political sway which has re