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enacting < that persons not going to church for a month , should forfeit 20 L and find security for good behaviour for a year , but that the penalty , though tendered might be refused , and the party forfeit one third of his lands , tenements and hereditaments . At the present
moment it was physically impossible for a large proportion of his majesty ' s subjects to go to church , for it appeared from the diocesan returns , printed by order of the house , that 4 , 000 , 000 of persons in England had not the means of attending church , there being that number more than all . the churches
could contain . This bill , he contended was peculiarly called for , inasmuch as it appeared by the same returns , that whilst the number of places of worship of the
Established Church in England , were 2533 , those of the Dissenters were 3454 , thus proving that the majority of the people were nonconformists ; and taking into the
account the church of Scotland , to which the greater part of the inhabitants of that country belonged , and the Catholics of Ireland , forming a large majority of the population of that country , it was evident that a very large majority of the population of England , * Scot , land and Ireland were
nonconformists . He trusted , therefore , that he should not hear one argument against this bill used oh former occasions , that the majority aught to bind the minority in matters of religion . Proceeding in the
quotation of old statutes , ; his lordship dwelt much upon the injustice and oppression of those enactments , the object of which , to compel persoqs under a heavy penalty to ^ U ^ nd church on Sundays and holidays , and not merely this , but
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- persons were rendered liable to a penalty of 10 / . for every servant in their house that did not go tp church , for every visitor also , and for the servant of every visitoi * . After quoting several other enac ^ ments in various old statutes , enforcing still more oppressively tRe other provisions on the same sub - ject , he proceeded to adduce a variety of instances of absurd
enactments in old statutes , amongst others some in the reign of Elizabeth , that certain kinds of fish should be eaten on particular days , and that the fish should be all
eaten before tasting meat , without fraud or cozenage . It was also enacted , that flesh should not be eaten on particular days without a licence . In the . reign of James the First , it was enacted that no
person should entertain evil spirits , or feed them with fish , flesh or vegetables . Another curious enactment was , that a man should be deemed guilty of bigamy who married two wives , or one widow . Another enactment instanced was .
to prevent women from leaving this country , because they Were popishly inclined . His lordship also dwelt much upon the subject of excommunication , instancing a variety of enactments and canons of church , respecting it , for the
purpose of shewing their absurdity and injustice . He thought that the repeal of the enactments he had mentioned would do no gt »> d , whilst the power of the EcfcfFs'as * tical Court remained with respect to excommunication . He related
an anecdote of a noble lord , going to an eminent painter to desire him to paint a fool , and the ' manner proposed was this , to paini a man getting over a park palrng j >« t with tenter-hooks , whilst an opea
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* S S Jjord Stanhope ?* peech ~ an the Second Reading of ^ Ms -Bill . 4 £
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1812, page 453, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1750/page/45/
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