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gfbn ^ C ail that made her the grace , hope and consolation of her followers . While , therefore , lie respected the merits of the Uuiiaii ^ ns , he could not help
remembering that they held opinions at variance with what the English Church considered as constituting the very essence of Christianity . The Church of England had marked those doctrines in a distinct and
authoritative manner ; and she considered those truths not merely in the light of speculative opinions , but as active and fruitful springs of action . But though fee spoke of the Unitarian doctrine with pain , he did not wish to speak of its professors with harshness ; for that was not consistent with the true Christian
mildness oti which all the articles and institutions of the Church of England were founded . It did seem to him , that the Church owed to herself , to her supremacy , and to the high and important truths which she taught , to mark in this Bill , her total dissent from the opinions of the Unitarian Dissenters . He had no
apprehension , that such a step as the granting of the present Bill would lead to an injurious degree of indulgence , nor to a rash and indiscreet spirit of surrendering all the privileges of the Church . At the same time that he said this , he
could not refrain from applauding the conduct of those Prelates , who had deprecated any alteration whatever in the Liturgy . He Could not but rejoice , that the Bench of Bishops had refrained from setting a precedent so full of danger . He admired the service of the Church of
England ; he particularly venerated the Liturgy , which : he looked upon with an affection almost equal to that with which he viewed Holy Writ itself ; and he thought the Bench of Bishops deserved the thanks of every supporter of the Church of England , for having offered their fair and open opposition to the principles of such a Bill . He was not afraid this relief
would afford a means for the further extension of Unitarian doctrines ; for , in his opinion , human nature itself happily furnished in its infirmities an antidote to their diffusion : man , amidst the sorrows
and cares of this life , required something more consoling , more heart-sustaining , than their cold and precise doctrines . He did not think that such of the Bishops sis supported this Bill could he accused of
nconsistency , because they had spoken and voted against granting any further concessions to the Catholics . On the contrary , he could easily conceive thai they might oppose one , and conscientiously vote in favour of the other . He thought this to be a measure not only of justice to the Unitarian Dissenters , but
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to the Church' itself . He should give his cordial vote that the Bill be committed , though , with the view . he had of the question , he should have thought it better for the Church itself tp have asked for the relief which this Bill would give them , than thus to have accorded it as a boon
to the Dissenters , He called it a relief to the Church , for the clergy must have felt uneasy in doing that which nearly amounted to profane-ness : namely , calling on the Unitarian Dissenter , when appearing at the altar , to do violence to
his conscience , in professing sentiments which he positively disavowed , or in using expressions that obliged him to screeu himself under mental equivocation and reservation . For these reasons he should give his support to the Bill .
Lord Westmoreland opposed the Bill upon the general principle . Hetwould not alter the laws of the land and the establishment of the Church in this particular . If any exception was made , it
should be general , not specially for the Unitarians . He objected , also , to the Church being made subservient to such purposes , and to its being paid for what it was not thought fit it should perform .
The Bishop of London said , at so late an hour of the night he would not take up much of their Lordships' time , but succinctly state what were the grounds upon which he would vote for this Bill going into a committee , where it might be discussed and be put into a better form . He thought the policy which had
induced the Legislature to place the solemnization of marriage in the hands of the Church , was a very wise one . It contributed to that publicity which was so desirable in its celebration ; and protected parties from having their ignorance or credulity practised upon by the designing and the vicious . It secured the decent
aud solemn performance of that which the law held to have been , in its origin , a civil more than a religious contract . —This might not be indeed a primary view of the subject , but * it went to shew the wisdom of the policy which the Legislature had pursued , in conferring a
certain distinction upon the Church by confiding to it the care of marriages . It was in this view of the matter that hethoughfc no alteration ought to take place in the law , except upon very weighty reasons indeed . Now it . appeared to him that
general dissent from the discipline of the Church of England was not a sufficient ground for effecting such alteration . It was only when the objection attached to a particular doctrine , recognized by the service itself , that he thought the party entitled to relief * For when a person
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In telligenee ^ Parliamentary : Un itarikm * Marriage Bill . 24 7
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1824, page 247, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2523/page/55/
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