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erection of the chapel at Altringham. For on the 6th. of November following, the persons above alluded to, being trustees to the chapel in this place lately occupied by an Unitarian minister, and having a legal right to appoint to the situation, chose an evangelical minister, of the Calvinistic persuasion, in opposition to a young man proposed by the Unitarian trustees of Warrington, and therefore suspected of being tinctured with the Unitarian heresy. But this, Sir, is not the only triumph which the friends of orthodoxy expect from the happy and glorious change produced on the persons above alluded to. They are some of the leading persons in the Altringham and Hale congregations, and the leading trustees at Cross Street Chapel in this neighbourhood, and we may therefore anticipate that when these places become vacant, gospel ministers will be introduced into all the three situations. I trust to your impartiality for the insertion of this letter, and am,

Sir, Your obedient servant, A Friend to the real Gospel of Jesus Christ.

SIR,

PERHA

Bristol, Dec. 1814. ERHAPS you have heard the story of the English sailor, who finding an unarmed enemy, presented him with one of his pistols, saying, "Now let us fight fair"!

Nor can you be ignorant, if you would, nor insensible of the contrary nature of the Christian's address to his supposed enemy, the infidel; he first binds his hands behind his back, threatens him with fine, tortures, imprisonment and perhaps death if he utters a syllable, thrusts a great gag in his mouth, and then exclaims now let us hear what you have to say"!

And don't tell us that this conduct is contrary to the precepts and spirit of Christianity: what my Lord Ellenborough, Lord Erskine, Sir Vicary Gibbs, and Sir William Garrow, are undoubtedly christians you cannot deny it, or if you should, you will not be believed, for we know them by their fruits.

SIR,

CHIRON.

Trowbridge, Dec. 9, 1814. Ou must have seen in the papers

You

VOL. X.

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ing; on such a day Mr. Such-a-one was condemned to pay to the King a fine of two hundred pounds and to be imprisoned in Newgate for the space of two years for writing a book called “ Ecce Homo".

You must have seen too, I suppose, the speeches of Mr. Whitbread and others about the Spanish Inquisition, and have noticed the universal silence about the English one.

I can hardly tell which of these circumstances appears to me most shocking, nor am I going to express to you my deep detestation and horror at such proceedings, for that is impossible. Also, I do not wish to give occasion for refusing the insertion of this.

But what I wish you to notice is, the cruelty and baseness, the detestable cowardice, while things are in this situation, of writing defences of the Christian Religion, of challenging its adversaries, provoking them to the combat, when it is known the more strong and unanswerable their arguments may be, the more certain will be their personal ruin.

The only reply that I can think of, and I hope and believe that Unitarians generally are able to make it, is, that they are not more approvers than parties in such transactions; but even' this will not be sufficient, since, (not to mention that they make no exertions to remedy this case, nor to notice Mr. Smith's declaration, that as Christians, they have no further toleration to wish for,) the charge of cowardice cannot be got over whilst they continue to provoke their fetter'd antagonists.

I am sure that any man of a free and generous spirit must scorn such conduct when seen in this light, which I'till better informed, shall continue to think the true one. I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, THOMAS.

Natural Arguments for a Future
State.

we admit the belief of an infinitely wise, powerful and good Being presiding over the universe and super-. intending the affairs of his creatures, we must, I think, see reason to suppose that this life is not intended as the termination of our existence. Independently of the revelation which God

kind, in which we are assured in the most express terms of the resurrection of the dead, and of a future state of retribution; independently I say of this revelation, there are many appearances in the present system which seem strongly to countenance the hope of futurity.

If we consider the powers of the human mind, and the situation and circumstances of man, we must clearly perceive that his present limited sphere of existence can never afford sufficient exercise for those noble faculties of mind which give him such a distinguished superiority over the lower or ders of creatures. Is it not then highly reasonable to suppose that those powers have been conferred on him in order to qualify him for a much higher sphere of action than is at present allotted to him? Of all the various tribes of beings which inhabit this lower world, man alone seems capable of becoming a subject of moral discipline, and of being made acquainted with the attributes, will and perfections of his Creator; and does not this peculiar trait, this characteristic feature of the human mind, strongly indicate some striking peculiarity in our ultimate destination? All other beings appear to answer the end for which they were created; they attain their utmost perfection in a short space of time. Man alone is in a state of continual progression, without ever being able to arrive at the summit. Is it not then highly reasonable to suppose that in some future period of his existence, his faculties also shall have room to expand themselves, and that a degree of light and knowledge shall be poured in upon him, suitable to his exalted capacity?

This argument will acquire a much greater degree of force, if we consider the case of those exalted characters who, from a principle of love to their Creator, and of the purest benevolence and good-will to their fellowcreatures, have devoted their time, their talents and their property to the promotion of those objects which they conceived to be the most eminently subservient to the welfare and improvement of the whole human race: and this, not only without the least prospect of any remuneration in the present state, but often at the hazard of every thing dear to them in i fe; and have even encountered death

itself in its most horrid forms, rather than commit the smallest deviation from what they believed to be the will of their creator. In the case of Jesus Christ, of the Apostles and primitive Christians, as well as of innumerable others of the best and wisest of men in all ages since, we see such examples of disinterested piety, virtue and benevolence, and such fearless sacrifices in the cause of truth and integrity, as it seems impossible to suppose can be intended to go without an appropriate and distinguished reward. And as we have seen in fact that their portion here consisted of little more than a life of suffering, terminated in a violent and a painful death, it seems perfectly agreeable to all our ideas of the wisdom, justice and goodness of the Creator to suppose that at some future period, they will not only be restored to existence, but will be placed in circumstances suited to their distinguished excellence and merit. For can we for a moment suppose that the worthiest, the most amiable, and the most truly valuable of human characters were formed, only that they might pass through this life, in a state of the most extreme suffering, and then to be for ever buried in oblivion, and no further notice taken of those highest instances of virtue which would have reflected honour on superior beings? The desire of immortality has been evidently implanted in the human breast by the Creator of all things; is it not then the highest reflection both on his wisdom and goodness to imagine that he should have afforded such hopes to the wisest and best of men only in order to deceive them into acts of virtue so exceedingly painful to themselves, and which in this case do not appear to be of the least utility to the world?

That Almighty Being who at first called us into existence, who has given us bodies fearfully and wonderfully made; and who has adapted every part of our frame with the most consummate wisdom and the most exquisite skill to the purposes for which they were designed; who has bestowed on us powers of mind whereby we are made capable of admiring and imitating his.divine perfections; this same almighty power, we cannot doubt to be equally competent to restore the existence he at first be

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stowed, at any time, and in any way, which to his infinite wisdom shall seem fittest and best; and surely it is much more agreeable to all our natural ideas of the divine benignity, as well as wisdom, to suppose that he will do so, than to imagine that after having trained up his rational offspring in habits of piety and virtue, by the hopes of immortality which he has implanted in them, he should afterwards leave them to perish in the grave, and their memory to be blotted out from the creation. The higher we advance in intellectual and moral attainments, the stronger in general is our desire of a future existence beyond the grave; and this alone seems a very considerable argument in favour of its reality. All the other propensities of our nature have objects suited to their gratification; we cannot then suppose that "the noblest want which nature knows to raise," the most exalted and animating hope that can enter into the mind of man, that hope which is the main spring of every thing great, good and amiable in the human character, and without . which we should be but little supe. rior to the brute creation; we cannot, I say, form the supposition that this hope alone should have been destined by the Creator of all things to perish in eternal oblivion.

The many pleasing analogies of a future state which are furnished by the contemplation of nature cannot but be highly gratifying to the serious and contemplative mind. The wonderful changes which many of the insect tribe are destined to undergo; from the state of a crawling, groveling reptile, intent upon nothing but gratifying the sensual appetites, it gradually decays, sickens, and spins itself a tomb, in which it wraps itself up, and remains without the least appearance of motion or animation; but after a while it bursts the enclosure, and breaks forth with new life and beauty, with powers of action and enjoyment unknown before; and from a crawling reptile on the earth becomes a winged inhabitant of the air. What a beautiful and striking emblem does this afford of our own revival at some future period! The revivifying effect of spring both on the animal and vegetable creation, after the torpor and death-like inactivity occasioned by the

winter's cold, if not a direct argument, is surely calculated to suggest a hope that such may be the case with respect to ourselves. The warmth of the spring no sooner returns, than we behold myriads of living creatures starting into activity and enjoyment, which before lay motionless without any appearance of life or sensation. The trees which of late had the appearance of dry sticks of wood, now put forth their leaves, are adorned with blossoms and loaded with fruit. Plants and vegetables are every where springing up, of which perhaps a short time before we could hardly have discovered the least traces. Can we then behold these glorious instances of the divine wisdom and benignity so strikingly displayed in the renovation of the lower orders of nature, and not be tempted to exclaim in the beautiful and emphatic language of an elegant poet, Shall I be left abandoned in the dust,

When fate relenting lets the flowers revive?

Shall nature's voice to man alone unjust, Bid him, though doomed to perish, hope to live?

Is

it for this fair virtue oft must strive With disappointment, penury and pain ?-No; Heaven's immortal spring shall yet arrive,

And man's majestic beauty bloom again, Bright thro' th' eternal year of love's triumphant reign.

SIR,

Newport, Isle of Wight. In the memoirs of the generous and independent Mr. Hollis, it is related that during his visit to Naples in 1751, having received information from his steward, that one of the livings in his gift was likely to become vacant, he took occasion to express his opinion respecting the qualifications which every clergyman of the Establishment should possess, in order properly to discharge the duties required of him in the pastoral office. These qualifications appearing to me no less reasonable than necessary, I am induced to submit to you an extract from one of Mr. Hollis's 1 tters.

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an advocate for the civil and religious rights of mankind, without being actuated by the narrow views of a party; fifthly, that he should consider his parish not only as a place that is to procure such an annual income, but also as a place to which he owes a duty, and that of the highest nature; and consequently, that he will do his ut most of himself, and not by any substitute, to introduce, maintain and cherish in it, whatever is virtuous and good; sixthly, that as to his age, he be neither old nor young; as to his person, that he be rather of an agreeable aspect; and that he has a clear and sweet voice.

"You know the living of ..... is...... a year; this income, to my idea, is a sufficient, nay, a handsome and ample provision for a clergyman, and may, if I may so say, command a good one.

This being the case, 1 shall expect of the person, whom I shall present, the following things: First, that he resigns all other livings that he may have, and content himself with this alone; secondly, that he shall reside upon the living, and constantly serve it himself, except in case of sickness; thirdly, that he shall promise before his being presented, verbally upon his honour, in the presence of some people of character, and in writing by a letter to me, that if at any time hereafter he shall choose to accept any other living, sinecure, or church preferment, in that case he will directly resign back the living of——”.

I will venture to give you one other extract from a letter written to Mr. Hollis by one offering himself as a candidate for the living before mentioned; the sentiments it contains are alike honourable to the patron and the writer, and deserve a more general diffusion.

July S1st, 1754.

"As I am sensible, Sir, it would be the highest presumption in any one to offer himself to you on such an occasion, whose principles and notions were such as you could not approve of, I would beg leave, therefore, here to declare, that as to my political sentiments, I am an entire friend to the liberties of my country, upon the principles of the last happy Revolution; and do believe, that the exereise of arbitrary and tyrannical power in a state is an infringement of the

natural rights of mankind, and productive of intolerable mischiefs and inconveniences. And as to points of religion, it is my firm and settled opinion, that every man has an undoubted right to think and judge for himself, and ought to be tolerated in that way of worship which in his own conscience he believes to be right; and I look upon a spirit of persecution on account of differences of opinion in matters of religion, as odious, inhuman and unchristian, and as utterly unjustifiable upon any terms whatever.

And whereas, Sir, I am informed that the living of. is of considerable value, and may be deemed. a very fair and ample provision for any one clergyman, without any additional preferment; and also that the parish there, being of large extent, may well demand all the care and application of any one man; upon these considerations I do think it my duty, and it is my sincere resolution, that if you shall vouchsafe to present me thereto, immediately to quit the living of . . . . . . which I now enjoy, and that part of the cure of.

... in which I am now engaged; and to apply myself wholly and solely to the care of the parish of. and if at any time hereafter I should think fit to accept of any other preferment that may offer, then upon the same considerations immediately to resign the living of. . . . . ., so that another person may be presented to it.

It is, Sir, my further resolution, and I think it my duty, upon the motives aforesaid, if ever it shall happen that I am settled in so large and extensive a cure as that of ...... ..., to keep a constant residence upon it, and personally to attend the service of the church therein as long as it shall please God to enable me so to do. And that I might be more fully at liberty to attend so great a charge,

would engage myself in no other offices or employments whatever, whether ecclesiastical or civil; nor in any school whether in my house or elsewhere; nor in receiving any sort of persons into my family as boarders, or in any other way which might be thought in the least inconsistent with, or an hinderance to the duties of my function to which I should think it my duty entirely to devote myself."

I will only add, that on the death

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of the incumbent, Mr. Hollis presented this gentleman to the living in a most handsome manner.

Perhaps the following epitaph (extracted from Memoirs of Hollis, p. 784,) in honour of Algernon Sidney, may please some of the readers of your Repository:

"Algernon Sidney fills this tomb,
An atheist, for disclaiming Rome;
A rebel bold, for striving still
To keep the law above the will.

Crimes! damned by Church government:
Oh! whither must his ghost be sent?
Of heaven it cannot but despair,
If holy Pope be turnkey there :
And hell will ne'er it entertain,

For there is all tyrannic reign.

more ingenious correspondents, and produce from them some profound disquisitions. I am, Yours, &c.

W. H.

P.S. All your readers must have been sensibly affected with the account of the premature death of Mr. Buckminster. This account, though I do not by any means compare them together, brought the great Crichton to my recollection, who, when he sat for his degree and the question was put to him, Quem librum profiteretur? answered Quem non? And, after the professors had tired him with every book which they thought puzzling, to no sort of

Where goes it then? Where 't ought to purpose, at last put into his hands an

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Dr. Chauncey, after some others who went before him, has given us an inviting description of the new heavens and the new earth, in which the righteous will dwell, when they shall have obtained the applauses of their Judge, supposing this habitation to mean a renovated state of the earth, assimilated to paradise. But, why may we not here, look forward to a new and more glorious world? We must presume that this present world existed thousands of ages before it became a Chaos, from which it was restored and fitted up as a receptacle for the posterity of Adam, and that in its former state, it was the habitation of rational beings, who, after having approved themselves the devoted servants of God, and finished their probationary course, were not annihilated, but translated to some other world, more congenial to their exalted characters, where they might be advancing in perfection and dignity for ever. Why may not this be the case, then, with all the upright children of men? And, as each must be exercised in contemplating the wonders of creation, and be always increasing in divine knowledge, who can say, that the comets are not the habitations of all such, which are so admirably calculated, for animating them with this most sublime knowedge, whilst they are conveying them through millions of worlds? These thoughts may possibly amuse your

illegible book, on which he said, Tu legito domine, et ego exponam. But, the sermons which I reported to you in one of your former numbers, (ix. 401.) as published at Boston almost three years ago, were not written by Mr. B. but were published by Mr. Freeman: some of them, I am persuaded, are his own, though I am not authorized to say that they all or the greatest part of them are really his.

I have been lately reading Dr. Chauncey's book on Universal Salvation. I must confess his arguments to be very ingenious, though I cannot yet say, that I think he has altogether proved his doctrine. His introduction, however, of the pre-existence and incarnation of Jesus Christ, have involved him in great obscurity.

I have also been reading an excellent pamphlet on repentance, by the. late Mr. Mole, and think that he has proved his point, as far as he goes. But, there are some difficulties, to which he has not adverted. A man, for instance, may be influenced by certain predominant passions, until that period of his life, when these passions cease, and may suffer so much from reflecting on what he has done, as to be truly sorry that he had ever transgressed. But, how can such a one be accounted a true penitent, on the supposition that if his passions had not forsaken him he would have proceeded in still indulging them? And, hence the young should be taught to practice all purity and goodness in the prime of life, lest what they may at last be led to consider as true penitence, should be found to be no repentance, but only a bodily infirmity or decrepitude.

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