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    of Dissent and to raise a considerable alarm within the bosom of the National Church . The consequence has been , that the clergy in some places havq put forth more zeal and industry ;

    whilst others , less prudent and less enlightened , have betrayed symptoms of that intolerance which always attaches itself to a richly-endowed and lordly hierarchy . Their apprehensions , however , may be stayed ; for the tolerated sects are too much disunited both in

    principle and in affection to admit of any coalition for the purpose of procuring the downfal of the Established Church . Whenever such an event may take place , it will be the work of society at large . From the foregoing remarks , it may be inferred that a reference to the

    number of edifices devoted to religious worship , and to the crowded congregations that attend them , will afford but little clue to the real state of the Dissenting interest . If we extract from the general mass those who

    conscientiously dissent from the doctrines , discipline or constitution of the Church of England , the number of such persons will probably be found much smaller than is generally apprehended ; probably much more so than at the period of the Revolution . If the question be viewed with reference to the

    increased population of the country , the gain has been decidedly in favour of the Church of England . But the declension of Nonconformity has been most visible in the quality of its adherents , it having been deserted bv almost rentsit having been deserted by almost

    , every family of rank or influence in society . It is true , that in cities and large manufacturing towns the cause is still supported b j a few opulent merchants and tradesmen , and here

    and there by a professional man ; but \ t is undeniable that dissenting congregations are generally composed of persons in humble life , and this is almost wholly the case in small towns and villages . It has been often remarked as a

    subject of regret , that when Dissenters # row rich or succeed to an inheritance , they commonly go over to the Church . To whatever cause it may be owing , it is certainly a curious fact , that a wealthy dissenting family is but rarely known to continue stedfast ia the principles of Nonconformity for xnor $ than two generations . Singular ! how-

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    ever , as this may appear , and injurious as it > s to the prosperity of the Dissenting interest , a little acquaintance with mankind will furnish us with sufficient reasons to account for it . Here , let it be remembered , that

    Dissenters are made of the same sort of materials as other people , and that there is nothing so peculiar in the nature of their principles as to detach them from the rest of society , or to prevent them from taking that station

    in it which the accidents of life may have assigned to them . When Dissenters acquire property , their intercourse with the world most usually becomes enlarged . If they have children , they feel a laudable desire to introduce

    them into society , and they naturally select that class of it which is best adapted to their improvement . Having received an ornamental as well as a useful education , they find but few associates to their taste in dissenting congregations , and are soon disgusted by the familiarity and rudeness of

    lowbred persons , who presume upon their supposed spiritual attainments . This aversion is farther strengthened by the unnecessary austerity assumed by many religious persons , espec 4 ally when advanced in years ; so that , upon the earliest opportunity they throw aside the fetters that restricted their

    youthful enjoyments . It being the fashion amongst wealthy persons to train their children to learned professions , similar pursuits bring them in contact with persons belonging to the Establishment ; and rising in life they are called to fill stations which are

    incompatible with the profession ot dissent , or which , at any rate , render them unfit associates for the bulk of persons who compose dissenting congregations . Others are brought

    together by the concerns of business , which occasion the formation of private friendships ; and the desire which peop le usually manifest to form alliances jn the same station of life , only ag £ ra '

    vates the evil . A farther obstruction to the profession of Nonconformity may be referre d to the qualifications of its teachers , to the mode of their teaching , arid to the quality of the religion that is taught in many congregations . Upon a subject surrounded by » o ipu ^ h combustible matter , J shall be very brief ; but the importance wfeicli it tears npou

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    39 £ An 4 & */* y on the Causes of the Decline xjf Nonconformity .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1823, page 392, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1786/page/24/