LETTER XII.

Of the Ecclefiaftical Conftitution of Ireland.

My Friends and Neighbours,

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HE pretences for civil establishments of religion, which were the subject of fome of the preceding Letters, have not always been the fame, but have changed with the times. For if a thing must be fupported, and one buttress is found to give way, another must be provided to supply its place. Now till of late years it was always maintained to be the duty of the civil magistrate to support the cause of God, and of truth, without any regard to the numbers that might be for or against it. But as all religions were maintained to be true, and therefore this maxim would furnish a pretext for continual hoftility (the partifans of each pretending to fight in the cause of God) it has of late years been held by all the friends of these establishments, that they are to be supported not because they are founded on truth, but because they favour the religion of the majority of the inhabitants of any country. Confequently, they acknowledge that, if a majority of the inhabitants of any country were Mahometans, Catholics, or Prefbyterians, these ought to be the perfons favoured by the state; and that, in order to preserve peace, all the rest should be tolerated; meaning that as many privileges fhould be granted them, as shall be neceffary to keep them quiet.

Now it so happened that the establishment of Ireland was fettled before this new principle was thought of. At least, no regard was then paid to it. For the great majority of the people of Ireland are Catholics, and yet the establishment is that of the church of England, the members of which are not so numerous as even the Presbyterians. To

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defend the establishment of Ireland, therefore, on the new principle of the established religion being that of the majority, is evidently impoffible, and yet the old principle of establishments has been long given up; and as the attention of the clergy has not been called to the subject, they are utterly at a lofs what to fay about it. Since, however, I have started the subject, Mr. Madan feems to have thought it incumbent upon him to say something; but (perhaps, not having exactly fettled his own judgment) it is not easy to develope his meaning.

"Should you be difpofed," he fays, p. 34, "to argue "that by the fame mode of reasoning, the number of Roman "Catholics should establish popery in Ireland (because the "majority are Roman Catholics) you must first prove the "pope to be a member of fome proteftant fect of chrif"tians." From the turn of this curious fentence, it should seem to be intended for wit, or humour; and, as such, it may, for any thing that I know, have great merit; but what I am looking for is argument, and of this, as Mr. Madan has not thought fit to explain himself, I do not find the faintest trace. And as this is unfortunately his final reply, we must guess at his deep meaning as well as we can. For my part, I must own myself to be entirely at a loss. I cannot even imagine on what principle the establishment in Ireland ought to be protestant when the people are Catholics; but fuch as would make it equally proper that the established religion of Scotland fhould be epifcopalian, when the people are Presbyterians; or that the establishment in England should be presbyterian, when the majority of the people are Epifcopalians.

If there be any act of parliament (for such things it seems are reasons with Mr. Madan) which makes it wrong to establish the popish religion in Ireland, it must be unjust, and ought to be repealed, as well as every thing else that is violent and tyrannical. For what is an act of tyranny, but that which is forced upon a people against their will? And were the people of Ireland fairly polled upon the fubject of establishing

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establishing some fyftem of religion, the votes would certainly be in favour of the catholic, and not that of the church of England.

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Suppose a catholic prince, the late pretender for example, should by an armed force expel the present reigning family, and in all the forms of an act of parliament, establish the popish religion in this country, fhould we not pronounce this proceeding to be tyrannical; and fuch as ought to be resisted, whenever we should have the power of doing it? and should this be deferred till we had "proved the pope “to be a member of fome proteftant fect of christians?" Should we not laugh at fuch a propofal? Such, therefore, must be the cafe of the people of Ireland. But when any fyftem is established, and a particular fet of men derive advantage from it; be it ever fo contrary to reason and common sense, it will by them be fupported, as this is by Mr. Madan. There can hardly be a more evident case of the kind than this, of the church establishment of Ireland being proteftant, when the great bulk of the people are Catholics.

If the people of Ireland were fairly at liberty to determine for themselves, as all men, and all nations, naturally wish, and have a natural right, to do, they would never submit to maintain at the public expence a fyftem of religion that was profeffed by not more than one in ten of the inhabitants. But if not more than one in an hundred were Epifcopalians, the present fyftem would, no doubt, be continued; and for the same reason, whatever it be, this might be the case even if there was not one. For in a great number of the parishes in Ireland there is not a single protestant; and yet all the tithes go to the maintenance of the clergy of the church of England, who have nothing to do for it. This is a crying enormity, and public injustice; and it is poorly palliated by Mr. Madan's faying with a fneer, that it cannot be remedied till the pope become a member of some proteftant communion. It is adding mockery and infult to oppreffion.

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As Mr. Madan's reasoning is fo manifeftly inconclufive on this and all other fubjects which he has touched upon, or glanced at (for he has done nothing more either in his Sermon or Letter) and I have fo clearly pointed out the inconclufiveness of his reafoning, you may wish to know upon what principle he makes himself so easy about it. It is, p. 36, because I have charged the apoftle Paul with inconclufive reasoning; as if it was enough for him to be put upon a level with Paul, even in what is faulty in him. But whether I be right or wrong in thinking that Paul may have sometimes reafoned inconclufively (and he himself does not pretend to be exempt from error) will this be any juftification of Mr. Madan? May I not be wrong in cenfuring Paul, and yet right in cenfuring the rector of St. Philip's. He will hardly pretend to inspiration. If he do, he fhould give fome proof of it. This, however, he threw out not by way of wit or argument, but merely artifice, to prejudice you against my reasoning, as if because it has no force against St. Paul, it can have none against himself.

Another ftroke of artifice in Mr. Madan is his infinuating, p. 18, that I have a low opinion of your understandings. But if that had been the cafe, fhould I have thought of addreffing these Letters to you, so as to submit to your judgment important articles of religion and of government, with respect to which I and Mr. Madan hold different opinions, making you the umpire between us? I cannot confider the aggregate body of any town, Birmingham or London, as confifting of perfons of learning or education; but they have not, on that account, the lefs good fenfe, or the less capacity of judging on fuch fubjects as I am bringing before you.

Your judgment and good fense were never so much called in queftion as by your clergy, when they made the violent oppofition that you have heard of to the introduction of my publications on theological fubjects into the public library in this town, when the funds of it were amply fufficient for the purpose. The pretence was that

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they

would not have your minds disturbed with these subjects; as if you were not qualified to read and judge for yourselves, and at the fame time preserve your good temper with respect to those who should think differently from you. This, however, was only a pretence, and a very fhallow one. They with you not to read or think on these subjects at all, left you should entertain opinions different from those which are established, and which it is their intereft to keep up; and in confequence of this, left their fyftem, and themselves, should eventually be disturbed, and not you. But I trust that, in defiance of them, you will fhew the free spirit of Englishmen, and that you will think and act for yourselves, following truth wherever you find it, and respecting it alike, whether it be discovered in a church, or in a conventicle.

I am, &c.

My good Friends,

MR.

LETTER XIII.

Of Controversy.

[R. Madan fays, p. 45, that I have "difgraced my "talents" which he is pleased to call (whether ironically or not, I cannot tell) "fuperior," to unworthy and disgraceful purposes, and he defires me to "remember "the higher point of view in which my profeffion as a "minifter has placed me."

With respect to this, let Mr. Madan inquire of my congregation. They will inform him, that I never trouble them with discourses of a political nature, except on a fifth of November, and then never fay any thing that tends to exasperate them against their neighbours of the establishment, but to make all due allowance for the prejudices of their education; whereas Mr. Madan's Sermon, which

has