Obrazy na stronie
PDF
ePub

ligion at all; and as to his other qualifications, they are fatisfied with the report of perfons as carelefs and ignorant as themselves.

It is this general indifference, which emboldens fo many broken tradefmen, and difcarded fervants, to fet up as the inftructors of youth; and goodly teachers, no doubt, they must prove, who have had neither prudence nor virtue enough to govern their own actions.

But there are other claffes of fchoolmafters, against whom, the members of the Church of England in particular, ought to be on their guard.

Many of the licenfed preachers, it is well known, keep fchools, and are very affiduous to bring the children acquainted with the peculiar tenets of their feet. The confequence is, that the parents are oftentimes induced to attend the conventicle of the fchoolmafter, and thereby become either wholly converts to his persuasion, or loose and indifferent members of their own.

At a large city in the weft of England, a carpenter who belongs to the fociety of Wesleyan methodifts, having failed in his business, was enabled by his brethren of the meetinghoufe to fet up a fchool; though miferably qualified for fuch a fituation. By the powerful means of recommenda tion, however, he fucceeded, and to the office of fchoolmafter, he added that of occafional preacher in the neighbouring villages, taking with him fome of his pupils to lead in the pfalmody. For the purpose of qualifying the boys for this fervice, he had an organ erected in his fchool capable of grinding a certain number of popular methodistical tunes. This pleafing device answered the purpose exactly as could be wifhed; and the number of his pupils increased to fuch a degree, that the teacher and preacher has made a good fortune.

Some of the conventicles in and about the metropolis, have the liturgy read in them on Sundays, to make the ignorant believe that they are chapels belonging to the Church of England, or at least, that they are perfectly conformable to the Establishment. The readers, however, are mere laymen, and fome are low mechanics, but the generality are fchoolmafters, who without any license, except what is given them by their fanatical employers, affume the furplice and band, and profane the fublime offices of the Church for twenty pounds a year!

As one remedy for this increafing evil, I would advise the parochial clergy to make the fubject of education a mat

ter

ter of public inftruction; and to lay down explicitly the duties both of parents and teachers, in refpect to religion and morals, but particularly the former, because, where found principles are fown, good fruits may naturally be expected. In the next place, I would recommend, that all qualified perfons, by epifcopal licence, caufe their names as fuch, to be publifhed in their respective churches and chapels, and printed alfo, for general information; to affift which, let the clergy and other perfons, whose weight and influence will be found of confiderable effect, give their public fanction to those perfons, and to them only. When fuch a distinction as this has been once made, the eyes of the people will be opened to the importance of a fubject which they never before confidered; and many will be as cautious how they fend their children to an unlicensed and unqualified teacher, as they would themselves be to risk the intire loss of their health, by employing an impudent and ignorant quack, in preference to a regularly bred practitioner.

I am,

&c. VERAX.

TRIAL OF MR. STONE..

[ocr errors]

N Friday, May 13, came on to be heard in the confif. torial court of the bishop of London, the cause inftituted against the Rev. Francis Stone, clerk, rector of the parish church of Norton, otherwife Cold Norton, in the county of Effex, on the charges of having preached on the 8th of July 1806, a Vifitation Sermon in the parish church of Danbury, in the faid county, before the archdeacon and the clergy; and afterwards of printing and publishing the faid fermon, in which he exprefsly denied the miraculous conception, the doctrine of the Trinity, the divinity of our Lord and Saviour, and the atonement by the death of Christ. In fupport of these charges, the teflimonies of Dr. Gretton and four other clergymen who were prefent at the preaching of the fermon, and alfo of Jofeph Johnfon, of St. Paul's Church-Yard, and Mr. Staines, of Chelmsford, booksellers,

were

were read to the court, proving the printing and publishing of the fame. Thefe evidences having been gone through, Mr. Stone was called upon for his defence, on which he read a long paper that occupied the attention of the court near two hours. In this paper, he admitted the facts alledged, but contended, that he was juflified in what he had done, by virtue of the engagement entered into by him when ordained prieft. He alfo afferted, that he had regularly conformed to the Church of England, and was not confcious of his having offended against the ftatute of the 13th of Elizabeth.

Sir WILLIAM SCOTT, the judge, declared that the charges were abundantly proved, and that the defence was infuffici ent; but he deferred pronouncing fentence till the next fitting of the court, in order that Mr. Stone might have time to revoke his errors.

On Friday morning the 20th, an immenfe concourse of people were collected in the court-room and the avenues adjoining. At half paft nine o'clock Sir WILLIAM SCOTT took his feat, and Mr. Stone placed himself at the bar. Mr. Stone, upon being called upon, produced a paper, which was read, and which he offered as a revocation of the doctrine which had given offence.

It ftated in fubftance, that he was unawares of having.contravened any Act of Parliament relative to religion, but that he had always made the Holy Scriptures the rule of his belief. He confeffed, that at an early period of his life he had fubfcribed the 39 Articles, and that he had fince uniformly fupported their spirit.

Sir JOHN NICHOL then made a speech of confiderable length, wherein he animadverted in very fevere terms, on the unaccountable conduct of the Reverend Gentleman, who, inftead of apologizing for his error, after the lenient indulgence that had been granted him, ftill perfifted in maintaining his heretical doctrine, under the plaufible pretext of a revocation.-Sir John begged leave to obferve, that he -would not by any means with to force opinions upon a man which he could not confcientioufly believe, but in conformity to his duty, he could not avoid preffing the prefent profecution, which was founded upon a very important Act of Parliament. That Act provided, that no Minister of the Eftablished Church fhould be allowed to preach any doctrine fubverfive of, or contrary to the 39 Articles of Belief; and as an offence against that ftatute had been clearly proved againft, and admitted by the defendant, it became his duty,

[ocr errors]

in his official capacity, to pray the Court for the fentence which the A&t prefcribed. The Conflitution of the land had left every man the liberty of chufing his own religion, but it had wifely provided against perfons profeffing diffenting principles from participating in the emoluments appropriated to the Minifters of the Eftablished Church.

Dr. LAWRENCE followed on the fame fide. He obferved, that the profecutors were legally entitled to claim judgment on the last occafion the Reverend Defendant appeared before them, but that the Court, in its extraordinary lenity, was averse to fubject the defendant to the penalty prescribed by law to his unpardonable offence. The Court could take no cognizance of the propriety of his tenets; all that was left for it, was to determine whether he had committed the offence wherewith he was charged. With regard to Mr. Stone's affertion, that he was not aware of having preached doctrines contrary to the Act of the 13th of Elizabeth, all that could be faid was, that inftead of making a suitable atonement for his error, he had actually perfevered in, and endeavoured to justify it.

The Learned Doctor then obferved, that it was not his intention to wound the perfonal feelings of the Rev. Gentleman, but he would furnish him with a piece of advice. The offence whereof he was found guilty, fubjected him to forfeiture of his benefice; and fhould he repeat his offence, the law of the land fentenced him to three years confinement in any goal his Majefty fhould appoint, and that without the benefit of bail or mainprife. Dr. Lawrence concluded with praying the fentence of the Court, fhould the Reverend Defendant not make the revocation suggested.

Mr. STONE began by faying, "I conceive the Holy Scriptures to contain all the doctrine and instruction necessary to falvation, through faith in JESUS CHRIST." He then proceeded to flate, that the doctrine of the Church of England appeared to him to have no better authority than that of the Church of Rome. They were both erroneous, but the Romith was worst. They were Pope against Pope, each afferting their respective infallibility. The principle of intolerance was common to both, although their doctrine and practice was different. When he was originally ordained a Prieft, he admitted that the Holy Scriptures were the only rule of his faith, and that he fhould always apply to them in the confcientious discharge of his duty.

Sir JOHN NICHOL interrupted the Reverend Gentleman, and obferved, that the Court did not fit to examine the

merits

merits of his fyftem of belief, but to determine the question which he had been called upon to answer. The law determined that what he had preached and published was "error," and it was for him either to recant it, or fubmit to the fentence which the law had provided for fuch an offence.

Sir WILLIAM SCOTT faid, he had heard the defendant with great impatience. Inftead of a formal recantation, as had been requested of him, he only perfifted in his former error. What confolation the Reverend Gentleman could derive from his conduct, he was utterly unable to say.

Mr. STONE then repeated his former declaration, that he was anfwerable only to God; and bound to preach according to the Holy Scriptures in their own fenfe, though his views of the doctrines differed materially from those of the Eftablished Church. At all events, he should conform himfelf to God's word, and not to any Act of Parliament. He however, requested the Learned Judge would be kind enough to inftruct any perfon, properly qualified, to draw out the form of a recantation, and give him a week to confider of it; he would be happy to fign it, if not contradictory to the dictates of his confcience. He was the more folicitous to retain his living, as he had a wife and feven children unprovided for, entirely dependent on his fupport.He felt it a fevere trial to throw them on the protection of his Creator, but he fhould fooner fubmit to that, than facrifice his duty to his Creator.

Sir WILLIAM SCorr faid, he did not require any formal revocation in writing, of the doctrines he had preached, but to acknowledge them verbally and openly in Court to be erroneous, and to declare his belief in the 39 Articles of the Church of England, as eftablished by law.

Mr. STONE faid, he would not by any means facrifice his duty to God, nor could he agree to the terms prescribed to him by Sir W. Scott, unlefs with a falvo of confcience.

Sir WILLIAM SCOTT faid, the law permitted no falvo of confcience.

Dr. LAWRENCE begged leave to remark, that neither he nor his Learned Friend who conducted the profecution, meant or wished to argue the doctrine themselves. This he wifhed particularly to obferve, left fome of the auditors fhould depart under an impreffion, that they had been hearing a theological argument.

Mr. STONE faid, that he believed God to be the principal Saviour of the World, and Jefus Chrift to be his Agent.

VOL. XIV.

Chm. Mag. May 1808.

3 C

God

« PoprzedniaDalej »