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Untitled Article
they in England , because a few persons differed from the general feeling and opinion , withhold from those individuals the benelit of that principle which was so liberally , adopted elsewhere ? He thought that Christianity had stood too long and
too scrupulous an inquiry to be shaken in the present day . When men of the very first abilities had attempted to impugn it and had failed , he entertained no apprehension of the attacks of men who possessed neither talent nor education .
Christianity had marched on with rapid strides , notwithstanding the efforts of men of powerful minds . When this was so , why should they dread the assaults of ^ a few ignorant persons , who , of late years , had excited public attention ? It was impossible that they could state any -arguments , or adduce any facts , which
could endanger the tenets of the Christian religion , when assailants infinitely more powerful had formerly attempted the same thing without effect . The end of discussion was the attainment of truth ; and he agreed with those who believed that the more the Christian religion was -examined , the more firmly it would be
axed , and the more seriously it would be followed . Those who prosecuted persons for promulgating opinions hostile to that religion , did not check , but aggravated the evil . He would quote the opinions of some of the most learned and pious men that this country ever produced , in support of freedom of discussion . Tillotson , Taylor , Louth , Warburton , Lardner ,
Campbell , ChiJlingworth , and many others , had placed their opinions on record with respect to the propriety of allowing the freest investigation of the Christian religion . Tillotson said " that the Christian religion did not decline trial or examination . If a church opposed itself to investigation , tha . t circumstance would be no light ground of suspicion , since it would seem like a distrust of the truth . "
The Honourable Gentleman then went on to quote the opinions of the several divines whom he had mentioned in support of the principle , that the utmost latitude should be given to discussion .
He alluded more particularly to the writings of Dr . Lardner , who , in speaking of the work of Mr . Woolston , said , that the proper punishment for a low , mean and scurrilous way of writing , was neglect , scorn apd detestation . That learned divine added , that the stream of resentment would always turn against the prosecutor , where opinions were made the subject of complaint , especially if the punishment happened to be severe . In this w ^ y , continued JVlr . Hume , the writings pf Carjiie ought to have been treated . He believed that they were scurrilous in a very high degree . He had , never read
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one of his publications uritil he had presented his petition , and he had then perused a few numbers-of the Republican in order to judge . He there found some calm argumentative writing ; and some articles so exceedingly offensive , that if Carlile had the smallest idea of the feelings of mankind , he would not have pub .
lished any thing so revolting . He had howeveiy been most severely dealt with ' and the consequence was , that the stream of feeling had been changed ; resentment had been kindled against the prosecutor , and compassion had been excited in favour of the prisoner ; but for those prosecutions few people would have known
the thousandth part of his writings . The Attorney and Solicitor General saw the thing in its proper colours . They had not proceeded against Carlile , because they felt that such a course would be to spread abroad the very poison which they wished to eradicate . But the Society for the suppression of Vice and the Bridge
Street Association took the matter up , and became parties to the charge of disseminating those publications . They brought forward prosecution after prosecution , until the individuals who were the objects of punishment left the court of justice , after being sentenced to fine and imprisonment , with the characters
of martyrs to the cause which they had espoused . So much was this the fact , that if fifty persons more were in dupgeons on account of these opinions , twice that number would be ready to come forward for the same purpose . Carlile , with all his efforts , never could have sold
Paine ' s works to the extent he had been enabled to do in consequence of these prosecutions . When Hone was prosecuted for his Parodies , 20 , 000 copies were sold , which never would have been the case if they had not been brought into notoriety by legal proceedings . In the same way the poem of € l Wat Tyler , "
which was written by Mr . Southey , the Poet Laureat , in early life , and which he ( Mr . Southey ) wishing to suppress , had applied for an injunction to restrain its publication , became , in consequence of that step , most widely disseminated , no less than 30 , 000 copies of it having been
sold immediately after the app lication . The Honourable Gentleman then proceeded to quote Bishop Watson , who hela that the freedom of itfqujry , which haa subsisted in this country during the present century , had been of irreat benefit to
the cause of Christianity ; and he referred to Dr . Campbell , who held " that that man coul ^ iiqt . be a friend w Christianity wha wquW punish auotner for expressing bte dpubU . Every m » n wfco doubts fidipuld b $ invited \ o discus sion , that the objectlonfa « tight be an-
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488 Intelligence . —Christians' Petition against fheProsecutidftof Unbelievers .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1823, page 488, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1787/page/56/
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