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Farell and the Corporation of the City of London ; " and remarked , that it was owing to Mr . Favell that the petition in favour of the repeal of the late obnoxious Acts was carried in the CorDoration .
M Mr . Favell rose amidst applause , which continued for some time . When it subsided , the Hon . Gentleman said , that he felt himself both honoured and flattered by the kind manner in which his Honourable Friend , the Chairman , had brought forward the toast , and by the equally kind manner in which it had been accepted . He ( Mr . F . ) felt particular pleasure in having acted as a
co-operator with the Chairman in the repeated exertions he had made in the cause of civil and religious liberty . It also afforded him high satisfaction to meet him on the present occasion . They had acted together in the days of strife , but they stood upon a high principle , and he rejoiced that they were now beginning
to enjoy the harvest of their labours . ( Cheers . ) The shadows of the evening were upon himself and the worthy Chairman , but he trusted that his youthful friends would behold a great deal more than they had witnessed . Though he did not belong to the Unitarian
denomination , yet he felt great pleasure in meeting the present assembly , for he always held t ) iem in esteem , on account of their advocacy of the great principles of civil and religious liberty . He was proud to say , that in the early part of his life he had co-operated with many distinguished and brave men of renown of the Unitarian
denomination . Dr . Jebb had often cheered him when he was discouraged ; the frequent remark of that great man was , " Every good effort , founded upon good principle , will ultimately succeed . " He had had the pleasure of being intimately
acquainted with Dr . Priestley ; the last night that distinguished divine spent in London , previous to his voyage to America , was in his ( Mr . F . ' s ) house . ( Cheers . ) Whatever difference of opinion existed between them on different points , there was one common
brotherhood—they were brethren under persecution . ( Hear , hear . ) Dis . Towers , Price , and Rees , were his warm and constant associates . With some of them he celebrated , in that room , the centenary of the glorious Revolution of 1688 ; for whatever differences of opinion might exist amongst them , they all denied the right of human authority over conscience . When he spoke q ( the rights of conscience , ; t brought to his recollection the late Mr . Robinson , of Cambridge . In conversing with him upon that subject ,
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Mr . Robinson told him , that being intimately acquainted with one of the heads of Houses at Cambridge , with a view of arguing on some disputed points between Churchmen and Dissenters—^ ' * Before we begin , " said Mr Robinson , " let us settle one point—all questions on matters of conscience are to be decided between God
and a man's conscience I" " Graated , " said his friend . " Then , " said Mr . Robinson , " I have nothing left to argue . " ( Laughter and cheers . ) He begged to say a few words with regard to the Corpora * tion of the City of London . Whatever faults might have been attached to them formerly , their late conduct had exceeded his most sanguine anticipations . If the resolution passed by that body in 1790 had been founded in truth , the British nation at the present moment would have been
in the most deploiable situation ; for at that period the Corporation declared , that not only were the Test and Corporation Acts the bulwark of the Coustitution , but they also , declared , that their removal would produce civil anarchy . If this be true , the country is now ac * tually in a state of anarchy ! ( Laughter . ) Subsequent to that period- mauy gratifying circumstances had transpired , and not the least of these had been the
triumph of civil and religious liberty . Upon that question he need not state to the company how warmly he had felt . He trusted that they would all feel that it was not the triumph of a mere party , but that it was the triumph of a great principle . It had removed one of
the foulest stains from the national code one of the most unjust blemishes on the Christian name ; it was therefore the dawn of a great day , and relieved Dissenters from the stigma of being pointed out as men who were labouring under certain civil disabilities .
The next toast , said Mr . Smith , would be connected with the name of a veteran in the cause of liberty , Mr . Sturch . After some observations on the state of Ireland , the Chairman proposed , The health of Mr . Sturch , and may no intolerant distinction remain between Roman Catholics and Protestants to disturb the peace , to tarnish the fame , and impair the greatness of the United Empire . "
Mr . Sturch , in thanking his ,, worthy friend and the company for thus noticing him , observed , that he was partial to Unitarianism , not only because he believed it to be the truth , bat because it was friendly to civil and religious liberty . He would retract the former words , and would say , to liberty , for in thai word
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Intelligence—British and Foreign Unitarian Association . 501
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1828, page 501, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2562/page/69/
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