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tions on the subject have been so frequently received ; for their watchful and anxious regard to these important interests ever since Lord Sidmouth announced his intention respecting the Toleration Act ; and especially for the unshaken firmness wi A which they have maintained the linalie ' nable
rights of conscience , and deprecated the interference of magistrates m matters of religion , as a violation ' of those sacred principles which ( in their judgment ) human laws oughtnever to Control .
'Resolved That the folio wing addfess ^ to jhe Protestant Dissenters of Enitdhd and Wiles , now read , b < b ap ^ fovefl * Resolyeci , Thhat the said address be signed by the chairman , and printed for general circulation .
To the Protestant Dissenters of England and Wales , THE ADDRESS OF THE DEPUTIES . When , in the years 1787 , 1789 , arid 1790 ; the Dissenters applied to the Legislature for a repeal of
the Corporation and Test Acts , it was not surprising that , on a subject so deeply interestingto them , considerable warmth should have
exhibited itself both in discussion ^ nd in ' &ctidh . Disappointed at last in Expectations which they thought reasonable , ' iaind therefore dissatisfied , in their own opinion justly , thfe ^ Kiive jtet forborne since that Jp eKod 4 a renew their application , 11 x 1 willing uselessly to revive
anitaositjes j and preferring to wait till time and reason should have overcome prejudice and fear . In this ihtetfViil , instances of local intolerance and vekation have
freqiiently happened ; which , when 'without legalreniedy , as in some * # Afeesiliat ^ beeii patidtttl V fehdured ;
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or ^ as in far the greater number by the attention and interference j » i the deputies , have Be 6 n quietly and legally suppressed ; but , a * no general or prevailing disposition to abridge * the religious liberties
or disturb the peace of the Dis » senters has been manifested , no . thing has occurred affecting them as a body to excite much general interest , if We except a late pertinacious attempt to withhold the rites of burial frbm allstxch as had
not been baptized according to the forms 6 f thfc establjihmeht ; which , by the same interposition , liaving been brought to trial in the court of Arches where it was decided ' in their favour , has been laid before the public .
And much longer might this state of things have lasted , but for the recent proposal of Lord Sidmouth ; which indeed excited a very gr ^ at and general alarm , the reasons for which will appear
when we advert to the previous situation of the Dissenters , and examine the provisions of his Bill as offered to the House of Lords . The amendments \ vhich it might have received in its subsequent
stages , are here out of tfae question , because however they might have improved the original measure ; or how far Soever they might have exculpated the noble mover from having been disposed
intentionally to infringe on religious liberty , it was impossible to calculate on such alterations : nor could they , even in their gr eatest extent , have prevented all violation 01 the first , great , and leading
principle qn which all Dissenters fouhd themselves , and which they nevet can cion 6 ede , the rig ht ot every niah to teach to others thos « r ^ li ^ ious opinions AVhicli K him "
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34 © Toleration Act .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1811, page 350, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2417/page/30/
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