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    not improbable that the odium which these works brought upon him was the cause of a coolness in the behaviour of his noble patron , which about this time he began to remark ,

    and which terminated in a separation after a connexion of seven years , but upon amicable terms , and without any alleged cause of complaint . By the articles of agreement Dr , Priestley retained an annuity for life of

    was dedicated to his before-mentioned early associate , Mr . Graham , whom he describes as having- lojag * been " a distinguished champion for freedom of thinking in very trying situations . " The second volume , illustrating " the Doctrine of Philosophical Necessity- ' was dedicated to his friend ,

    Dr . John Jebb . Considering the wrong's which Priestley afterwards experienced but could then little expect , the following * passage is striking : " You and I , Sir , rejoice in the belief that the whole human race are under the same wholesome

    discipline 9 and that they will all certainly derive the most valuable advantages from it , though in different degrees , in different ways , and at different periods 5 that even the persecutors are only g-iving" the precedence to the persecuted , and advancing

    them to a higher degree of perfection and happiness ; * and that they must themselves , for the same benevolent purpose , undergo a more severe discipline than that which they are the means of administering to others . "

    The publication of these Disquisitions occasioned a " free , " yet a truly amicable u discussion" between the author and his friend . Dr . Price , which was published in 1778 , dedicated to their common friend , Mr . ¦ John Lee , and appears lo have left

    both the parties in opinion just where it found them . Mr . John Palmer , a dissenting minister , who had been the intimate friend of Dr . Priestley ' s fellow-student , Mr . Alexander , also appeared in favour of philosophical liberty , of which he was considered an able advocate . On the same

    side the learned Jacob Bryant addressed Dr . Priestley , to whom and to Mr . Palmer he published a reply , and to . the latter a rejoinder . 21 Lord Shelburne was at this time a candidate for ministerial power , a situation m which opulence can do little to secure

    a manly independence , such as directed the conduct of Dr . Priestley . It is no wonder that an aspiring statesman declined the further patronage of a fearless ^ former . Yet the manner in which his lordship first proposed tp close the connexion doe * no credit to his memory . He i ntimated to Dr . Price , that he wished to

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    His next removal was to Birmingham , a situation which he preferred on account of the advantage it afforded of able workmen in every branch requisite in his experimental

    inquiries , and of some men distinguished for their chemical and mechanical knowledge . Several generous friends to science , sensible that the defalcation of his income would render the

    expences of his pursuits too burthensome for him to support , jo ned in raising an annual subscription for defraying them . This assistance he willingly accepted , as more truly honourable to him than a pension from the crown , which might have been

    obtained for him , if he had desired it , in the administration of the Marquis of Rockingham , and the early part of that of Mr . Pitt . He had not been long settled in this place , before a vacancy happening in the principal dissenting congregation in consequence

    of the resignation of one of the pastors , he wafs unanimously chosen to supply it . Without interrupting his philosophical and literary pursuits , he entered with great zeal into the duties of his office , especially that important part of it which consists m catechising ;

    and instructing the younger members of the society . Theology again occupied a principal share of his attention ( indeed , it was always his favourite study , ) and some of his most

    elaborate works in this department , as his •* History of the Corruptions of Christianity , " and " History of Early Opinions concerning Jesus Christ /* made their appearance from the Birmingham press . They were a

    ferg-ive his friend an establishment in Ireland , where he had large property . " To this banish ? nent Dr . Priestley preferred the stipulated annuity which was regularly paid , but though Lord S . had wished the separation to be amicable , " he declined the visits of Dr . Priestley when he should

    be occasionally in London . Vet when hi " had been some years settled at Birmingham Lord S— , removed from the administration , by the rising * fortunes of Pitt , gent a common friend to engage Dr . Priestley again in his service "— -a proposal wt | ick was immediately declined .

    ** The first part of the general conclqs ion to the " History of the Corruption * of Christianity , " was addressed to the consideration of ** unbelievers , and especially of Mr . Gibbon , ' from whose Miscellaneous Workt , and aa appeudix to a vj&lujne of

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    Memoir of the lateRev . Joseph Priestley , LL . J > . JF . M . S . fyc .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Jan. 2, 1815, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1756/page/7/