author of "Letters on the Septuagint," "An Enquiry concerning Philofophy and Theology," &c. and JULIUS BATE, A. M. author of "Critica Hebræa;" "Difcourfe on Similitudes," &c. &c. Thefe skilful Hebræans were the executors of the celebrated Mr. John Hutchinson, and the editors of his works. I am, your conftant reader, and humble fervant,

PURITANISM THE FRIEND OF SEDITION.

IOTA.

TO THE EDITORS OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCHMAN'S MAGAZINE. GENTLEMEN,

is well known that the Methodifts profefs the greatest veneration for the writings of the Puritans, especially of those who lived in the time of the great rebellion, and through whofe efforts, principally, not only the Church of England became defolate, and her bishops were reduced to beggary, but the nation itself was deprived of its king. The bulky volumes of thofe trumpeters of fchifm and rebellion, which once fold for waftepaper, now fetch an exceeding high price; and many of them have been either entirely reprinted, or abridged, and circulated with no ordinary zeal. A correfpondent, in your former volume, has noticed a new edi tion of the Nonconformists Memorial, in which the works, merits, and pretended fufferings of the ejected minifters, are depicted in glowing terms, to invigorate and spread the diffenting intereft. To corroborate the affertions of that correfpondent, I beg leave to offer you a few felections from the public fermons of fome of the most eminent of those same ejected minifters, by which it will appear, that had it not been for their rebellious orations, the Church of England would not have loft her hierarchy for a feafon, nor have been fuperfeded by the Genevan difcipline.

As Mr. Edmund Calamy's name has been mentioned on the occafion of the difpute between your correfpondent and the editor of the Nonconformifts Memorial; and, as in that work, he is praifed for his loyalty, as well as for his learning and piety, I shall begin with a quotation or two from his fermons before the Houfe of Commons.

The first I have met with was preached Dec. 22, 1641, in which year the rebellion began; and to fanctify their oppofition to the beft of kings, the parliament, hypocritically, appointed a faft to be kept on that day; on which occafion, the loyal Mr. Calamy preached this fermon, the pacific tendency of which may be gathered from the following paffage: "But now mark the doctrine; when God begins to build and plant, if that nation do evil, God will unbuild what he has built, and pluck up what he has planted, and repent of the good, &c. For you must know, that God repents as well of his mercies, as of his judgments; when God made Saul king, and he proved ftubborn and disobedient, he repented, that he had made him king."

Again, in his faft fermon, before the fame house, in 1644, when the king was at Oxford, he spoke in these high terms:

"If there be found any amongst you that drive on the defigns of Oxford, and are found at Weftminster only to betray their country, the Lord unmafk fuch, and the Lord give them repenting hearts: this is to build up houfes with the blood of three kingdoms; this is to fell your fouls for preferment, and it is just with God, that fuch not only lofe their fouls, but lose their preferment alfo, as Judas, that fold his mafter, hung himself."

Vol. II. Churchm. Mag. Feb. 1802.

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Was

Was this man a loyal fubject, who could give fuch advice to a Judas-like. affembly, then acting in open rebellion against their king?

But what think we of the famous Dr. JOHN OWEN, who, in a fermon preached before the Houfe of Commons, the very day after they had imbrued their hands in the blood of the fame virtuous king, uttered these bold expreffions in vindication of that horrible murder.

"When (fays he) kings turn feducers, they feldom want good store of followers; now, if the blind lead the blind, they shall both fall into a ditch. When kings command unrighteous things, and people fuit them with willing compliance, none doubts but the destruction of them both is just and righteous."

I know that the Prefbyterians have taken to themselves the merit of having been friends to the king, and have thrown the blame of that dreadful crime on the Independents, of whom Owen and Goodwin were the principal leaders. Mr. Baxter afferted this with his cuftomary boldness; and all the apologifts for nonconformity, in fucceffion, have echoed the declaration with confidence. But the truth is, that the Presbyterians were as zealous in promoting the rebellion as their brethren, the Independents; and of this we have an evidence, whofe veracity no perfon can doubt, and whofe knowledge no one can queftion. What then says the celebrated MILTON, Who moved with no common activity in all those turbulent fcenes? These are his words: "The Prefbyterians were moft zealous to take arms against the king, to diveft and difanoint him of his dignity; nay to curfe him in all their fermons and pamphlets over the kingdom, whereof there remain numerous monuments ftill to be produced.*"

I might greatly have added to the number of inftances by quotations from the writings of the Nonconformists, but these may fuffice to convince every candid and intelligent perfon, that those men, who are reprefented as having been either martyrs or confeffors, were not fuch immaculate characters as they have been delineated by their apologifts. I am, &c. EUSEBIUS.

DECIMUS ON TITHES.

TO THE EDITORS OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCHMAN'S MAGAZINE. GENTLEMEN,

IN a popular newspaper for Jan. 9th, 1802, the following reprehenfible paragraph appears: "Two inftances have come to our knowledge of clergymen, who, taking advantage of the late dearness of corn, have demanded ten fhillings per acre for the tithe of corn. Only five fince the average rental of all England was not more than fifteen fhillings

per

acre."

years

Gentlemen, although no other comment is made on the above statement than that of the average rent of lands in England a few years fince, it is very easy to discover that the intention of inferting fuch paragraphs as the above in the periodical publications of the day is to hold up the clergy of the Established Church, in the light of oppreffive grafping MISERS, who are more attentive to "things temporal, than to things eternal;" and thereby to bring them into contempt with the laity. As the profeffed intention of your laudable publication is, to defend the Established Religion, and every

* Milton's Life, prefixed to his profe works, p. 24.

thing that is connected with it, it occurred to me, that a few observations on the above extract would exactly fall in with the fpirit of your mifcellany.

The scheme of ftriking at religion through the fides of its MINISTERS, has been fo old and stale a device of its adverfaries, and has been so often refuted by able and excellent pens, that it can now only have an effect on those who have an intereft in depreciating our moft Holy Religion, and very little time or opportunity to read these able refutations. The payers of tithes, being mostly farmers and illiterate men, come exactly under this defcription, and must ever be a very numerous body in a country like this, where agriculture is fo greatly patronized*, and fo productive of emolument to those who purfue it: and fuch perfons moft easily imbibe this fubtle poifon, which frequently produces in them the most pernicious effects. The obfervations I am about to make, are calculated to prove, that in the inftance just quoted from the above-mentioned periodical publication, no blame whatever can attach to the clergymen, who are faid to have demanded ten fhillings per acre for tithes. In the estimate I fhall make, to prove this pofition, the value of tithes, at this time, fhall be taken rather below than above the fair average value, that there may be no poffible room for cavil or doubt.

The laft harveft is univerfally allowed to have been more than commonly productive, in all the different species of corn, and on almost all kinds of land. The average quantity of wheat, throughout the kingdom, has been thought to exceed, rather than fall fhort of twenty-five bushels per acre†; but, to avoid difpute, fay twenty bufhels. The price has hitherto been fo high, that twelve fhillings per bufhel is greatly below the average value: but to avoid cavil, fay ten fhillings per bufhel. According to this statement, evidently below the real average value, the clergymen, had they taken their tithes in kind, would have made twenty fhillings per acre; inftead of which, they compound with their parishioners for half of what they were intitled to receive, both by human and divine laws and are vilified, and held up to public contempt, for such conduct!!

:

Let us now take up the queftion upon other ground. I affert, then, that let a clergyman be ever so defirous of exacting more than his due, it is not in his power to do it; it is abfolutely impoflible, in the present state of things, that he can do it. Let us fuppofe these clergymen demanded twenty, thirty, or forty fhillings, instead of ten fhillings per acre, for their tithes, the farmer was not obliged to agree to this demand, unless he thought proper fo to do. The farmer might agree to the parfon's demand, or he might fuffer the parfon to take his tithes in kind. If the farmer thought his tithes worth ten fhillings, or even twenty fhillings per acre, and under that perfuafion, agreed to pay either of those fums, as circumftances might be, he could not complain of injuftice, for an agreement into which he had voluntarily entered, with the best advice and coolest deli

I am aware that of late years royal and noble agriculturists have brought this ufeful art into fashion, but the public mind is much divided on the question whether thefe great patrons have done à fervice or differvice to their country by practising agriculture themselves; the poor, who find they give double for a pound of meat that they did a few years fince, are all diffentients to a man, and the middle claffes who feel the burden must join in the fame opinion.

A farmer in this neighbourhood in a mixed company lately faid in my hearing, that he knew feveral places where land at ten fhillings per acre rent had last year produced twenty five bushels per acre of wheat.

M 2

beration,

:

beration. If the farmer thought the demand too high, his remedy was at hand let the parfon take his tithes in kind, and then neither party could be poffibly injured. Thus the cafe in queftion, which, doubtless, was produced as an aggravated one, when eftimated by the rules of truth and impartiality, will be found to have nothing of the spirit of extortion or op preffion; which idea the infertion of it was doubtless intended to excite.

With regard to the estimated value of the rental of England five years fince, I fhall not here enquire whether it is a correct statement or not, but for the fake of argument I will grant that it is. The intent of making this eftimate, doubtlefs was, to draw an odium on the clergymen who had demanded as much money for the tithe of land in 1801, as was paid for the rent of moderate land five years before, and two-thirds as much as the average value of all the lands in England at that period. Well: allowing this to be a juft ftatement, what can from thence fairly be deduced unfavourable to the character of the clergymen making this demand? The clergymen did not demand ten fhillings for the tithe of lands, where fifteen fhillings was the rent of them; and if they had done fo, the farmer might have avoided the unjuft demand, by giving up the tithes in kind: but now, in 1801, they demand ten fhillings per acre for their tithes, when the true value of them was more than double that fum. Such is the true statement of this cafe, which is put in fuch an invidious light in the aforefaid periodical publication of the day.

I cannot take leave of this fubject without remarking, that, notwithftanding the farcasms of this writer, and other adverfaries of the Eftab lifhed Religion, the great body of the clergy are so far from being of an avaricious or oppreffive difpofition, that they are remarkable for the contrary conduct. For the fake of peace, for a tender feeling for the diftreffes of the poor; and for a variety of other reafons, the clergy of the establishment will be found more remarkable for remitting fomewhat of their just demands, and in many inftances, of doing fo wholly, than for infifting upon the utmost of their juft and legal dues. I can affert this from my own perfonal knowledge, and I doubt not but the penner of the above paragraph, might alfo do the fame thing, if his prejudice would allow him to declare it. But if we admit, for a moment, that the conduct of thefe two clergymen was deferving of all the blame which this writer would with throw upon it, is it candid or liberal, by expofing fuch blameable conduct of two folitary individuals, to endeavour thereby to caft an odium on an whole body of men, whofe characters and perfons fhould be treated with the utmost reverence, and whofe general conduct is most truly deferving of it? Nay, I might ask, if it be honourable and just to fink all the noble inftances of generofity, forbearance, and liberality, of piety, charity, and true religion which they exhibit, and produce to our obfervation the blemishes only, and the faults which may attach to their characters, in common with all the fallen fons of Adam? It furely is not! Such conduct can be attributed only to a rooted enmity and hatred against our holy religion, and to a defire of wounding it moft effectually, in the perfons of its minifters. In the estimation, however, of the liberal and candid, the calumniators themselves are the juft objects of reprehenfion, and not, as they would endeavour to prove, the perfons who are calumniated by them.

In proportion as our indignation is excited against those whofe efforts are employed to bring religion and its minifters into contempt, our esteem rifes

rifes towards those who reverence and respect both the one and the other. And it is a matter of fincere exultation to the friends of religion, that there are many individuals, even amongst the laity, who truly deferve this latter praife. Tithes being that provifion which the wifdom and piety of former ages, hath fet apart for the maintenance of the minifters of religion, and which the government under which we live, hath confirmed by innumerable laws; it is the duty of every perfon honeftly and confcientioufly to pay them to thofe that are intitled to receive them. And, if many are to be found who fet themselves obftinately against the payment of them, and take every undue and difhoneft mode of evading fuch payments, others are fometimes met with who freely and liberally pay to the very "uttermoft farthing."* Such conduct cannot be too highly appreciated. Tithes, however, are fuch a bone of contention betwixt LAITY and CLERGY, that it is a great defideratum to procure a lefs objectionable substitute in the place of them. Volumes have been written on this interesting fubject, and a thousand difficulties have always arifen to prevent the defired exchange. For my own part, I candidly confefs myself friendly to the scheme of fubftituting a fair proportion of the lands which are fubject to tithes, in lieu of all the tithes which have formerly been collected from them; and then for ever afterwards exonerating all fuch lands from the payment of all tithes whatfoever. From my own experience, I am enabled to fay, that, in fome inftances, which have come under my observation, this plan has been actually carried into effect, with every advantage that could be defired; and, therefore, it is fair to fuppofe, that it might be equally advantageous in all and I cannot but think, that fome plan might be ftruck out of this kind, which would both promote the cause of true religion, and enhance the mutual happiness and confidence of a paftor and his flock.

I beg your pardon for troubling you with this long epistle, and remain, Gentlemen, your most obedient and very humble fervant,

Jan. 18, 1802.

DECIMUS.

P. S. Since writing the above, I have had a converfation with a very refpectable and intelligent neighbour of mine, on this topic, which he says, has, for fome time paft, been the fubject of his ferious and most particular attention; and the result of his reflections is as follows :

My friend highly approves of the idea of a COMMUTATION OF TITHES, chiefly for the reafons advanced in this letter; and thinks the most likely plan of carrying it into effect would be, for PARLIAMENT to take the fubject into confideration; to draw out fuch rules and regulations as its wifdom might fuggeft; and to appoint certain COMMISSIONERS to carry them into execution. My friend thinks, fuch perfons as are defirous of purchafing their tithes, fhould be allowed to pay fuch fums of money as they are estimated at, into the hands of the coMMISSIONERS, to be by them laid out in the purchase of the CROWN-LANDS (and I add, or any *A friend of mine informs me, that, within thefe few weeks, a perfon refiding out of his parish, called to pay him for tithes arifing on fome lands in my friend's parish. My friend had valued those tithes at one pound, four fhillings, and the payer not only agreed to this valuation, but tendered my friend one pound, eleven fhillings, and fix pence, requefting, not to have any change; as he had rather pay too-much than too-little to the church, and my friend, he faid, might poffibly have undervalued his dues. The fum of one pound, four fhillings, was accepted, and my friend retains the highest opinion of the gentleman's conduct on. the above occafion.

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