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inarry according to the rites of tht ir < VVyn cownuinions ; for they were excepted in Lord Hardwicke ' s Act . Now cotdd any man assert that fcbe doctrines of the Unitariaiis were more at variance with the nriuciples of Christianity than those of ? The Unitariandenied
the Jews were s the divinity of Christ ; but the Jews denied the truth of Christianity altogether they blasphemed and crucified him whom we adored . The same argument would apply to Mahometans and various other persuasions , if the members of them
were sufficiently numerous -in this country - Bttt how did the law stand at present ? In some cases marriage , according to the rites of the Church of England , was not necessary even amongst members of the Church of England itself ; for they might go to France and be married by a Roman Catholic , or to Scotland and be
married by a Presbyterian , and in both cases the marriage , was good and binding . He believed that if , in a country where a priest could not be had , a marriage was performed by a civil person , that marriage was also valid by law : and the reason
was , that every possible facility might be given tct marriage , in order to prevent immorality . He would now advert to the ground of expediency . The strongest argument which he had heard against the bill , was that which had been urged by a Right Reverend Prelate , who said if the concession were to be made to the
Unitanans , why not extend it to every other sect ? The answer was , because it was impracticable . When a bill had been brought in for that purpose by a Noble Lord , he ( Lord Liverpool ) voted for it ; but he afterwards stated , that he could not give it his support in the committee
having been convinced , by the speech of a Noble Friend of his , that it would be impossible to frame a general act to meet the object in view . They had an example for the present measure in the case of the Quakers . He thought , that where there was a sincere and conscientious
objection entertained , it ought to be respected . A Jew could not , a Quaker could not , a Unitarian could not , submit to have the ceremony performed by the Church of England , or , if he could , it was only by casting a slur on that Church ; for their Lordships constantly saw iu the papers statements of protests , which must
Jwre hilcd them with disgust . The Church had a right , and it was her duty * to compel marriage according to her own rites * amongst her own members ; but aa she < M not assume to be an infallible church , he did not see why she should look with a jealousy pa fchp doctrines of those who were of a different commuhiou . tte therefor e saw no objection to the :
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present bill , and on these grounds fee woaild give , it his support . The Bishop of Chester would trouble the House with a very few observations There could be do question -as to the im * portance of this subject to the Unitari&B& .
If they were sincere in their belief ( as he had no doubt they were ) against the divU nity of the Trinity * and if they reafty considered that fey . submitting to the ceremony of marriage in the Chnrdh of En * gland , they were brought to worship the Trinity , he certainly thought them
entitled to relief . While the Noble Marquis opposite defended the sincerity of the Unitarians , he had thought proper to cast au unmerited imputation on the body of the English clergy . ( " No , " from Lord Lansdown . ) He certainly understood his Lordship to allude to them .
The Marquis of Lansdown said , he had not made any such allusion . The Bishop of Chester was ready to admit the sincerity of the Unitarians , but they were spurred on to their present complaint by the sneers of a sect who called themselves Free-thinking
Christians . Here his Lordship read an extract from the Free-thinking Christians * Magazine , in which the writer animadverted upon the marriages of the Unitarians by ministers of the Established Church , As , however , there was no very
great grievance imposed upon the consciences of the Unitariaus , he thought that , after having submitted so long , they might submit for one year longer to the privation of what he considered a right . He aereed with the ftight Reverend
Prelate ( the Bishop of Lichneld ) that the present measure would afford not only relief to the Unitarians , but also to the clergy of the Church of England ; and he would , therefore , put the former on the same footing with the Quakers , and all the other Dissenters , before the passing
of the Marriage Act . He was not for imposing the doctrine or the discipline of the Church of England upon those who could not conscientiously entertain them ; but the Unitarians were not prepared at present io give the necessary securities
against clandestineness , and , consequently , he was impelled to oppose this bill . He had no objection to give the Unitarians the same privilege which was enjoyed by Jews and Quakers , but nothing further ; at the same time , that he would provide effectual barriers against
clandestine marriages . Lord Redesdaub opposed the bill . Lord Galthorpb supported the bill , on the ground that it was a measure ot " relief to the Church mther than to the Unitarians . He also contended , that it was unfair to place the Unitarians on the
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Intelligence ^ —Parliament ( try : Unitariart Marriage BiTL 437
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1825, page 437, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2538/page/53/
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