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of worship without recollecting a man who must be most dear to those who think most correctly and feel most purely , not only in this metropolis , or in our native land , but throughout the world , and to the very end of time ! To none are we more indebted for the moral
improvements in this snreat metropolis , and he has indeed displayed a liberality , of which princes never have conceived , nor by man has ever been surpassed . Need I invite you to accompany me to Hoxtony
—then to Islington > ~ then to Paddmgton and to Somers Town , with other parts in those suburbs of the metropolis , where noble edifices rise sacred to the worship of the Supreme Being , thronged by persons assembled to listen to those sweet
strains to those important truths which mate them better here , and meet for an eternity hereafter ! These were all reared by a man who groaned under the impression as he passed through the dense population of this metropolis—that thousands might seek for places of
spiritual instruction , but might seek in vain In TVestmin 8 tery he has expended 11 , 00 ( M . in the erection of Craven Chapel . There he perceived the necessity of such a structure ; and with an avidity and a zeal exceeding all powers of description , he prosecuted his plan , and refused to receive any interest for the money thus
expended ; and readily consented that his capital should be returned by instalments of 200 / . per annum : and yet , Gentlemen , it was this very man who was to be considered by the officers of the opulent parish of St . James ' s , Westminster , as a beneficial occupier , forsooth , of a chapel , from which he never received one
farthing profit , and on which he had benevolently expended the sum of 11 , 000 / . i On the assessment of the chapel , that gentleman , Mr . Thomas Wilson , attended at-the vestry , and I was his companion . Little did we expect to be met , as was actually the case , by nine
magistrates , by some Peers , by Members of Parliament , and even by a Counsel , for the purpose of demonstrating to Mr . Wilson that he was a beneficial occupier of the chapel they were anxious to assess , and ought therefore to pay an animal sum of 45 / . ! The Learned Counsel
argued indeed at considerable length—but he argued to little purpose . It appeared that an error had been made—its nature I shall not divulge , as it is not unlikely that it may occur again . For that year , therefore , it was decided that Mr . Wilson
was not to pay the rate ; and happy am I to state , that I ha \ e since been informed by some Members of the Jlriti . sh Parliament that , in consequence of their representation , and especially that by my old and kind friend Mr . Bvng , much wood
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has been effected , and that the chapel will not be assessed for the present year I now advert to another stage of our proceedings . Disturbances have again occurred—disturbances that are described by the Quarterly Review as inoffensive missiles ! At Elstead , near Farnham , in Surrey , a prosecution was threatened on the recommendation of Lord Middleton
who found it necessary to bind over several individuals ; among whom were his own servants , and who , being unable to procure security , were committed to prison till the sessions had commenced . But need I inform you , that there exists a great spirit of intolerance abroad among
the clergy among the gentry- —and among the farmers of the land ? Nor need 1 tell you of the difficulty we find in obtaining , even in courts of law , that justice , which , if we were the aggressors , would speedily be obtained . Notwithstanding the circumstances of the ease , and the recommendation of the Noble
Lord to whom I have alluded , and who displayed a liberality much to be admired , the Grand Jury ignored the Bill ; and the offenders were permitted to escape . Ou the whole , however , I cannot but be pleased with the result of the struggle that occurred . A few days since , the minister of the place came to me and
said , " Why , Sir , we have gained the most noble triumph ! Why the very man now attends our place of worship—the very man rejoices in the erection of that building which he endeavoured to prevent . He there sits humbly listening to the truths he once despised . 1 know he is benefited , and I trust he will be saved , "
A case has occurred , of which 1 find it difficult to speak , but which it would be also difficult to omit . It is a case where an individual was apprehended for out-door preaching . The aggressor on this occasion was , I regret to say , a clergyman of the Establishment . Mr . Clavill is a
clergyman with whom the Society has heretofore found it necessary to inter fort He is a man of wealth , a Hector , a possessor of three livings , a magistrate , and is a lord of the manor , as well as the parson of the church . The influence of such an individual , if exerted to beneficial purposes , of course , is great ; but all will
feel , that if exercised in opposition to that which is wise and good , he becomes an antagonist with whom it is fearful for the humble to conteud . This clergyman had formerly refused to perform the burial service over the child of a Dissenter
we then interfered , and compelled ' liiiu to apologize for his conduct , liut the case , to which I am about to refer , is one of a different nature , and occurred at Kenneridge , in Dorsetshire . Au individual , connected with the Weslcyau de-
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630 Intelligence . —Protestant Society : Mr . Willis ' s Speech .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1825, page 630, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2541/page/54/
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