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"we decree all fuch to be rightly, orderly, and "lawfully, confecrated and ordered."

It should feem, therefore, that it was the first edition of this book, printed A. D. 1549, that is even now afferted to contain nothing fuperftitious; and it is faid that no copy of this edition is to be found in the libraries of Oxford or Cambridge, or in the British Museum. But by favour of the Rev. Mr. Jofiah Thompson, whose property it is, I have one now in my poffeffion, as it was formerly in that of Dr. Furneaux, who gave an account of it in the second edition of his Letters to Dr. Blackstone, Note, p. 89, &c.

In this book the oath of fupremacy, to be taken by the person ordained, contains a folemn promise, to obferve all the Acts of Parliament that were then made, or to be made," in derogation of the autho"rity of the bishop of Rome, and in corroboration "of the king's power, as head of the church ;" concluding with " fo helpe me God, all faintes, and the "holy Evangelift." See p. 8, 9.*.

If, therefore, this be the edition approved of by the thirty fixth Article, the clergy who fubfcribe it do, in fact, declare their approbation of any Acts of Parliament that may ever be made on the subjects above specified;, and, that there is nothing superflitious in fwearing by the faints, and the holy evangelift, which ever of the four was meant.†

* At the end of this edition is,

RICHARDUS GRAFTON

typographus Regis excudebat
Menfe Martij

A. M. D,XLIX.

Cum privilegio ad imprimendum folum.

+ This is probably a mifprint for evangelifts. The form of an oath in the Roman Pontifical, published at Venice, in 1710, is Sic me Deus adjuvet, et hæc fan&ta Dei evangelia. So help me God, and these his holy gofpels. p. 55, and other places. I have not observed in it any fwearing by the faints.

It

It is true that the Act of Uniformity enacts, that "all subscriptions to this Article fhall be conftrued "to extend to the book of Charles II. in fuch fort "and manner as the fame heretofore extended to "the book of Edward VI." But if the approbation of both the books was not intended, why does the Article, as now fubfcribed, make any mention of the book of Edward VI? If the fubfcription does not extend to this also, why is it not ftruck out, and that of Charles II. put in its place?

It appears, however, from Bishop Burnet's Hiftory of the Reformation, Vol. II. p. 189, that an act of parliament was made in 1552, to authorize a new Common Prayer Book, according to some alterations that had been agreed on the year before, and to this was annexed the form of making bishops, priests, and deacons, but without the intimation of any alteration being then made in this office. If these objectionable paffages were then left out, it will not be fo evident that every thing in the former edition is now to be approved, though perfons confecrated according to it be declared to be rightly confecrated. It certainly behoves all who fubfcribe the thirtynine articles to inform themfelves how the cafe really stands.

How dangerous and enfnaring a thing is this bufiness of subscription, and how little care has been taken by the legislature to prevent even uncertainty with refpect to it. I mention this circumstance in order to apprize those who have subscribed, but efpecially those who intend to fubfcribe, of their situation; that they may fatisfy themselves what it is that their fubfcription really implies. I mean those who wish to fubfcribe bona fide, and not with any of the fourteen miferable fubterfuges which I have enumerated at the close of my Defences of Unitarianism for the Years 1788 and 1789, which imply no A 4 belief

belief in any of the articles. To fuch it must be a matter of perfect indifference what is implied in any of them. They are ready, for the fame emolument, to fubfcribe any thing, even unfeen. For what fignifies seeing, or reading the articles, if, after all, they are to be fubfcribed without being believed?

Many perfons into whofe hands these Letters may fall, especially at fome diftance of time, will hardly be able to understand what is faid in them of my comparison of the progrefs of free enquiry, to the action of gunpowder; and it makes me fmile to think there fhould be any occafion to explain it. It may be of use, however, to fhew how ready fome people are to cavil at the most innocent things, when they have a previous, though ill-grounded, fufpicion of a man's intentions. The almoft incredible number of times that this fimple comparison has been quoted, or alluded to, by the enemies of the Diffenters, fhews alfo how tremblingly alive they are to the apprehenfion of danger to their fyftem, and gives me an idea that I own I had not before, of the weakness of it. To us this affords no unpleasant profpect, and it may tempt us to sport with their fears on other occafions.

To my Sermon on Free Enquiry, preached Nov. 5, 1785, I added fome Reflections on the prefent State of it in this Country, and in them may be feen the following unfortunate paragraph, which, when I read to a friend before it went to the press, he prophetically told me would make much noife; but I believed him not.

"Let us not therefore be difcouraged, though, "for the present, we fee no great number of "churches profeffedly unitarian. It is fufficiently "evident that unitarian principles are gaining

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"ground every day. Every attempt to fupprefs "them, by writing or otherwife, has hitherto been "favourable to their spread, and we may be con"fident it ever will be fo. We are now fowing "the feeds, which the cold of winter may prevent "from fprouting, but which a genial fpring will "make to fhoot and fpring up; fo that the field "which to day appears perfectly naked and barren, may to-morrow be all green, and promife an " abundant harvest. The prefent filent propagation "of truth may even be compared to thofe caufes in "nature which lie dormant for a time, but which, "in proper circumstances, act with the greatest "violence. We are, as it were, laying gunpowder, grain by grain, under the old building of error "and fuperftition, which a single spark may here"after inflame, fo as to produce an inftantaneous explosion; in confequence of which that edifice, "the erection of which has been the work of ages, CC may be overturned in a moment, and fo effectually, as that the fame foundation can never be "built upon again." Difcourfes, p. 184.

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Let the reader now judge whether any thing violent was intended, or in the most distant manner alluded to by me; and yet this very paragraph did I hear Sir William Dolben (prompted, no doubt, by fome of those bishops, whose fears our magnanimous prime minifter acknowledged that be alfo had caught) read with great folemnity in the house of Commons, as an unquestionable proof of the dangerous defigns of the Diffenters with refpect to the conftitution of this country. Rifum teneatis

In addition to my vindication from the malicious defamation of the author of Theodofius, furnished me by the narrative of Dr. Bancroft, it is now in

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my power to add the following teftimony voluntarily offered to me by Mr. Dexter, a Baptist minifter, who was on board with Mr. Deane when he died. It will appear as follows in the next Gentleman's Magazine.

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MR. URBAN,

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Canterbury, July 18.

Seeing the extract from Theodofius in your Magazine for May laft, relative to the ' death-bed converfation of Silas Deane, I have to 'observe, that, on the 22d of September last, about ' nine o'clock in the morning, Silas Deane came on 'board the Boston packet, with the captain, the ship lying off Gravesend, which failed immediately. In about an hour's time, Silas Deane was taken ill, and in a few minutes quite fpeechlefs, and con'tinued so near four hours, and then died. I was 'the only cabin-paffenger then on board, and the only perfon perfectly at liberty to attend Silas Deane, and was much with him from the time of 'his going on board till his death. I am confident no fuch clergyman as mentioned by Theodofius

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was with Silas Deane during his illnefs, and that the relation of Theodofius is a palpable impo'fition on the publick.

Yours, &c.

• MATTHEW Dexter.'

In my Letter relating to this fubject I intimated a fufpicion that the author of Theodofius was "a "clergyman of the church of England, who formerly " wrote me a confidential letter." Left any person fhould fuffer unjustly in confequence of this hint, I fhall now fay that I meant DR. WITHERS, who lately died in Newgate. I am of opinion that he was the writer, because the author of Alfred and Caffandra was not incapable of it, and the hand writing of the Note I received figned Theodofius,

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