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Intelligence . —Protestant Society : Lord Holland ' s Speech . 489
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the admiration , the honour , and the praise of mankind . It was not a sufficient excuse to say , that acts of outrageous oppression were not now committed . It should be remembered how nearly oppression was allied to insult , Shakspeare , the great master of humau passions , next to
c The oppressor s wrong . In the classification of words , ills , and liuman calamities , had placed " The proud man ' s contumely . And sorry am I to perceive the Church of England seek , as a means of defence , to place Dissenters in a degraded
situation , or adopt , as a mode of security against those who may differ from her doctrines , a denial of natural rights . It is because I am anxious for the security of the Church of England , that I think this degradation of others most impolitic and unwise . It is with these sentiments that I readily accepted the invitation ,
which I received at the end of last week , to attend this meeting , with a view of testifying my approval of its principlesprinciples which I feel to bej honourable to the best sympathies , and inseparable from the dearest rights , of Englishmen . I agree with my honourable and most eloquent friencl , Mr . Wilks , that there is
a power somewhere which overcomes the opinions of Right Reverend Prelates , and of Ministers , and even of leaving the Prime Minister ( Lord Liverpool ) even where a Prime Minister is very seldom to be found—in a minority- For the Prime Minister of England I have a very sincere and high respect ; I stand with him on terms of private friendship ; and
although at variance with him on political questions , I must admit that he brings great abilities , great information , and great force of argument , to the description of the question . Perhaps , on the occasion to which I allude , I may be of opinion that he was more eminent in the
contribution of these resources than he usually is , from the very rare and singular circumstance of my agreeing with him . I valued his co-operation much , not only on account of the talent he possesses , but also on account of the majority which usually declares in favour of the side on which they are exercised ;
illltl . WlfrSl"lllt liioininrr onir < -Vtit * nr n »» ~ K «» » - » f \ and , without meaning any thing unhandsome lo the Noble Lord , I must say , that , on a question of national benefit , I would prefer to have the majority on my side than even his talents . However , on the question of Unitarian Marriages , it was
niy fortune to have my preference reversed , and to have lost the former , although 1 had the advantage and support of the latter . Let not , however , a partial discomfiture induce this Society
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to abate in their efforts for the accomplishment of the wise and useful purposes they have in view ; and I repeat , that there are in the aspect of affairs , both abroad and at home , renewed and augmented inducements for the steady main , tenance and support of the principles which distinguish and characterize this
Institution . Men will and ought only to be contented with the full enjoyment of freedom of opinion in religious matters . I do not approve of the fine-drawn distinctions which some persons make between political power and persecution . The absolute and unrestricted possession of
political power is to be recognized ; the real possession of power alone is to be valued — but circumspribed with conditions , and encumbered with restriction , it degenerates into persecution . If the persecution be for religion , it is aggravated in a tenfold degree , for it becomes a persecution of conscience . 1 will
advert to one topic more , into which I am the more induced to enter , as none of the Reverend Gentlemen who preceded me dwelt upon it—the stability of the Established Church . This , to be sure , is a topic to which I am not at all surprised they have not adverted , for it is not their business to look after it . But
as I am myself deeply interested and anxious for its stability , I may be permitted to say , that , in my opinion , its stability is best guaranteed and provided for by the diminution of the restrictions which it places on other communities ; for in proportion as those restrictions
are found necessary , in the same proportion will people be persuaded that an endowed Church is altogether unnecessary . For ' tis clear to a demonstration , that inasmuch as any institutioa relies not on its own merits and services , but fences itself round with penalties and
restrictions , and exclusive privileges , in the same degree will the support of public opinion be withdrawn from it , in the same degree will its claims to respect be questioned and doubted ; and as the hardships it imposes for its security increase , so will a confidence in its benefits
diminish . In supporting this Institution , I am not , and cannot be understood to be , the espouser of any particular opinions , or the approver of the tenets of one set of men or another , but simply to be the advocate of the broad principle of the right of every person to judge for himself in matters of religion . The extent to
which I may carry this principle may exceed that to which others would goat least we would all extend it to all classes of professing Christians , and by Christians I would understand all those who made the sacred writings the rule of their faith and the regulation of their
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vol . xix . 3 r
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1824, page 489, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2527/page/41/
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