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of the Most High , we Have become , and we still contiriue , objects of derision , aversion and reproach . If , indeedj we were called upon to suffer for offences against our superiors , our laws , or our civil obligations , we should have reason to humble
ourselves before God , and to acknowledge the justice of the hatred which pursues us . But what reproach can be deservedly cast upon us in these respects ? When have we failed in the duty of respectful and faithful submission to the authority of 'your
lordships ? Wherein is our demeanour as citizens more open to reproach ? To whom have we done wrong ; or wliom have we led astray ? Have we shrunk from bearing our share of the public burdens ; or have We disturbed the peace , or violated good order in any respect whatever ?"
To these protestations of M . Malan I beg leave to add a passage from a pamphlet which the voluntary Dissenters from the Church of Geneva were obliged to publish in their own defence .
« — What then are we reproached with ? With being the cause of various troubles which have agitated the whole city , and particularly a considerable number of families . We
are , indeed , the occasion , the pretext , of these troubles : but we are not their cause . The persons to whom this reproach might rightfully be addressed are those who , wishing to assume over the conscience of their
fellow-men a right which does not belong to them , and seeking to compel others to conform to their rule , employ for this purpose the combined forces of violence and intrigue . " ( Address o the Members of the Church lately formed at Geneva , to those of their Fellow-Citizens who have taken
part , directly or indirectly , in the Acts of Violence which have been perpetrated upon them . 1818 . Pp . 5 , 6 . ) These acts consisted of personal assaults , attacks upon habitations , pursuits with outrage and insult in the streets , interruptions of public worship , and such outcries as Down with Jesus Christ ! Down with
the Moravians 1 To death ! To the lamp-post ! In consequence of these horrid tumults , the peaceable victims were obliged , for a season , to desist from solemnizing public worship .
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These are my reasons for disbelieving the accusation of turbulence and proceedings inimical to the good order and peace of society . In fact , this is the very charge which was brought against Jesus and his
disciples ; and has been always reiterated against all opponents of evil and reformers of corruptions , against the best men in all ages . " There be , '' says our incomparable Milton , €€ who
perpetually complain of schisms and sects , and make it such a calamity that any man dissents from their maxims . > Tis their own pride and ignorance which causes the disturbing , who neither will hear with meekness
nor can convince ; yet all must be suppressed which is not found in their Syntagma . " ( Areopagitha , Archdeacon Blackburne ' s ed . pr 332 . ) V , M ? Cheneviere more than once affirms that money has been employed to make or bribe converts from the
Established Church of Geneva . ( Pp . 1 , 4 , 65 , 130 , of this Volume . ) He represents those whom he is pleased to call " itinerant commissioners , men , women , girls , —well attired , loaded €
with guineas , " going * about * to labour for the salvation of others : " and , concerning M . Malan , he asserts ttat " the gates of fortune have been opened before him . " It would be too painful far me to write the proper designation of these
statements . 1 appeal to you , Sir ; I appeal to every man who is not the slave of bigotry or the dupe of most pitiable credulity , whether these allegations can be believed . It is , indeed , true , that the calumniated Christians
of Geneva ( scarcely any of whom can obtain , by the hardest exertion , more than a bare and poor livelihood for themselves and their families ) have , according to their feeble means , both contributed to the temporal relief of some of their poorer neighbours , and aided the circulation of the Scriptures and other works of the noblest
beneficence . " Their deep poverty hath abounded unto the riches of their liberality : " and he who blessed the poor widow ' s mite has
unquestionably accepted their offerings . It is , also , very probable that some of the pious travellers who are honoured with M . C / s generous notice , have readily contributed to the relief bt any casual diptresg which they might
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406 Dr . J . Pye Smith in Reply t <> Professor Chenetolire ,
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1824, page 406, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2526/page/22/
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