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The House was called on , not with reference jto this particular case , but' foi * the sake of all clergymen , and all patrons , to examine what powers had been exercised on this occasion , and to consider the propriety of passing some law to restrain in future the exercise of that discretion . The learned Prelate had assigned no
reasons for the course he had adopted , but had stated that , on his afterwards communicating to the testifying clergymen the facts which had come to his knowledge , one or two of them —( the Bishop of Exeter , " All , all , " )—well , all of them were disposed to withdraw their signatures . But at the time the learned
Prelate refused his counter-signature , these clergymen had not withdrawn their signatures . ( Hear , hear . ) The statement of the learned Prelate amounted only to this , that subsequently to his fixing that mark of disgrace on the petitioner , these clergymen withdrew their names from the testimonials which they had formerly
signed . It was a hard case that the petitioner should first be condemned , without knowing on what grounds , and then , In consequence of the sentence , be looked on as a man unworthy of a certificate of character . The learned Prelate had , however , informed their Lordships on what grounds the signatures had been withdrawn : he had told them that it had
been done when these testifying clergymen learned that the petitioner had said nine-tenths of the clergymen of the Church of England disapproved of the damnatory clauses of the Athanasian Creed . Was it then the opinion of the learned Bishop , and of those Reverend Gentlemen who had withdrawn their
signatures on this account , that more than one-tenth of the clergy approved of these clauses ? ( Hear . ) He had not heard the Right Reverend Prelate say , and the ordinary courtesy of the House would not allow him to put the question , whether he himself approved of these clauses . If the noble Prelate did approve of them ,
he would say that he might be a good member of the Church of England , but that he was not a good Christian . It did so happen that one of the Right Reverend Bishops , ( the Bishop of JLincoln , ) by whom institution had been
refused to this individual , and necessarily refused , because he had not been able to obtain the requisite certificate- —it happened that this very bishop , who was certainly One of the most worthy , as well as one of , the most orthodox on the
bench , had expressed his disapprobation of . these clauses in the most unequivocal language . That Right Reverend Prelate had said , that the Athanasian Creed denounced damnation on all who did'not believe that the Catholic faith was the
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dtfhf true faith , and had impressed his regret thar ^ uch language' should have beeti used in 5 % hthnah composition . In another place he had said ; tK £ t though he believed all the doctrines contained in that Creed , h ^ cbuld not but think it too much to denounce damnation against all Who did ndt'lfeep theiri entire . And so this individual was to be sacrificed for
saying that riiiie-tenths of the clfcrgyand he did not even say that he himself was one of them—held o ^ intonis in common with the Bishop who was to have given him institution . ( Hear ?) He should not trespass on their Lordships * attention by pointing out all th £ mischief , all the difficulties , and the incalculable evils
which the present case , if allowed to become a precedent , would produce both to the Churcty and to patrons , affecting as it did , in the most alarming manner , the independence of thef clergy . Even if he had not had the pleasure of listening to the luminous speech of his noble friend , ( Lord Holland , ) if he had heard nothing but the answer of the learned Prelate
opposite , he should have thought that there were sufficient grounds for inquiry . The Marquis of LAnsdowne . —After what their Lordships had heard , and in the absense of any explanation of his extraordinary conduct , as stated by the learned Prelate himself , he thought that ho doubt could remain on their minds as
to the necessity of same farther investigation . He would briefly call the * Attention of the House to the authority claimed by the learned Prelate over the clergy of his diocese , arid to the manner in which he had exercised that jurisdiction . The
learned Prelate contended that he was authorized to receive accounts respecting an individual within his jurisdiction , not from persons residing in the same quarter with that individual ^ nor respecting' the manner in which he discharged his professional duties , but from persons in distant parts , and relative to matters of fact « _ AM Mi « B M . • .
* and words , said to be used , perhaps inadvertently , by that individual ; and , on this testimony , collected from persons not acquainted with the general habits of the individual in question , and not impeaching his general conduct or his moral character , the learned Prelate thought himself warranted to inflict a punishment which nwtot inevitably be attended with ruin of character ' and fortune . Persons
in the exalted situation of the Bight Reverend Prelate iraght overlpok all views of farther promotion fVtetfr , he ^ r ); but they need not be surprised tftat a poor curate should eitertaiti % otn&' ^ jftbitfeHis aspirations after professional prete ^ ment . The Right ) tt&vferettd Prelate ititist not wonder at * the ? >* eomplatttf * . of - the " pf tftioner , whenV from aiiil ») ttfdutunattt MeiC '
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44 Q Intelligence . —Parliamentary .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1820, page 440, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2490/page/60/
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