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    BubfcCt , and 'ftiiiy-prepared tfr discTjarge their duty , as in the presence of 'Almighty "God . IPiiey \ $ 11 h <* t , 'however , we ^ el assured , deem a friendly address from us upon a topic of common interest , unseasonable or obtrusive ; especial ^ since It Cannot have escaped the . notice di any that have bent their minds to this great question , that the , peculiarly religious and Christian view of it has not received all

    the consideration which it merits , from some of the Protestant Dissenters . We entertain a deep and unalterable sense of the injustice , impolicy and uucharitableness of-the-Fest Laws;—which deprive a very large portion of the people of this kingdom of the common rights of subjects ; treat a conscientious religious profession as a civil offence ;

    disable His Majesty from availing / himself of the services of many who mightefFectually promote the best interests of his kingdom ; divide a people , born to be united , into two parties—the one a favoured , the other a degraded party , ; and thus plant . a root of bitterness where all the considerations "both at civil expediency and of religious duty call for mutual respect , esteem and kindness .

    We tio not overlook the operation of the Animal Indemnity Acts in arresting the penal consequences of the Test Laws ; but were these Acts a more certain protection of Nonconformists than we { ire instructed that they are , we could not rest satisfied with receiving a pardon where we are conscious of no crime , and with being connived at , instead of standing justified to the eyes of our countrymen , in the exercise © f our civil and political rights and privileges .

    With our views , which we are happy to believe that we hold in common with all Protestant Dissenters , we could not submit , without remonstrance , to auy Religious ( Pent of fitness for civil office ; because ; every such test has a tendency to secularize the religion of our Holy Redeemer , ' whose kingdom is not of this world , andis , besides , an assumption of infallibility on the part of such as impose

    it , aud of a Tight to dictate to the consciences of those on whom it is imposed . But < it is not upon this branch of the subject that we are most anxious to address you ; and , indeed , it is unnecessary to dwell upon the civil and political view of our case , which has been so amply and satisfactorily explained , in the " Statement * 'published by the " United Committee / ' * and in the " Petition' * of our •¦ " Statement of the Case of the Protestant IHssfcnters - under the Corporation

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    Iteptitfes * to * tfte Htoose off Cw&inons ^—documents which ' have ' been very widely circulated , and which , in our judgment , must carry conviction to the mind of every dispassionate reader , that the present application of the Protestant Dissenters to the Legislature is founded on the solid basis of fact and argument , and is pre eminently entitled to the grave consideration oTPar ! iament .

    Our principal design , Christian Brethren , is to call your attention to the scandal thrown upon our holy religion by the Sacramental Test . The ordinance of the Lord ' s Supper is the most solemn institution that was ever established , and its ends are the most momentous that

    were ever contemplated , even in the scheme of the Divine dispensations . Our Saviour , in commending the Supper to hrs disciples , said , Do this in remembrance of me ; and the faithful Apostle who received it in command from the Head of the Church to guard aud vindicate and enforce the ordinance , has explained , that as often as we eat this bread arid

    drink this cup , we ^ oshew forth the Lord ' s death till he come . It is manifest , therefore , that the celebration-of this sacred rite with any other than serious and purely spiritual views , must be a gross perversion of it , a dishonour to the reiigum of which it constitutes so vital a part , and a high indignity to its great Institutor , " the Lord of all . " Yet , by the Corporation Act , < no person . can hold

    Office in any Corporate Town or Borough , and , by the Test Act , no person can hold any place of trust or emolument under the Crown , or exercise any function of -Magistracy , without qualifying himself by receiving the Sacrament of the Lord ' s Supper according to the rites of the Church of England , under very heavy mulcts and ruinous penalties . No account is taken by these Acts of the faith or the character of the communicants .

    The Sacrament * is to be received in all cases , without distinction ; and hence , of necessity , many are driven by the Law to the Lord ' s 'Fable , of whom it is no and Test Acts , published for the United Committee appointed to conduct their Application for Relief . " Third edition . $ vo . Sold , price 6 rf , by Hunter , Holds * worth , and Wightman and Cramp , London .

    ? This Petition" is expected to appear in an early number of * ' The Test-Act Reporter , a monthly publication by the '" United Committee , " announced as forthcoihitig on the 1 st of January , 1828 .

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    » $ 2 . IntoU ^ Mei ~ &tf > mH' 1 Cforpwatitm i # ete .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Jan. 2, 1828, page 62, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2556/page/62/