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    At St . Die , in the department of Vosges , the Mayor of the town having consulted the Prefect and the Minister of the Interior , made use of the following terms in his answer to the Protestants : — " Thus then you may meet , as often as you think fit , under the protection of a pastor legally appointed ; and if any worthless persons come and disturb you , ( which God forbid !) I shall be obliged to you to inform me of it immediately . " And at

    Libourne , in the department of the Gironde , the Protestant committee having given information to the proper authorities , and having fixed the day for the opening of their house of prayer , invited the Sub-prefect , the Mayor , and the Commissary of the Police to assist at the ceremony ; and on the appointed day , Oct . 29 , 1826 , these magistrates were seen to occupy the seats which had been prepared for them , in company with many pastors of the department , who wished to sanction this inauguration by their

    presence and their prayers ( pp . 176 , 7 ) . While we are on this part of the subject , we cannot forbear quoting a passage from the Introduction , in which the venerable author expresses feelings of pious exultation , in which we can readily and deeply sympathize .

    " How sweet a satisfaction must it be / ' says he , " to the French Protestants , ( and more especially to the small number of old men who still recollect those days , or rather those dark nights , in which they travelled immense distances to find a sanctuary in some gloomy forest , on the summit of the mountains , or in a cave of the rock , ) to see the glory of our Zion , and to contemplate its walls rebuilt , its altars restored , and the simple , but solemn , gospel worship which was celebrated by our fathers , enjoying * the same advantages as that of the state ! With what sentiments of gratitude and love ought they not to be filled towards their legitimate sovereign when they see their churches arrived at such a degree of prosperity and of consideration as they never enjoyed before , not even under Henry IV . ! Yes ! it is no longer benevolent intercession which lends its assistance ; it is no longer that toleration for which our fathers and some old men still living

    raised to heaven the accents of their gratitude ; it is not even the religious philosophy of the day which proclaims and guarantees the freedom of our worship , and places the children of reform in perfect security;—it is the constitutional chart , it is the fundamental law of the state , which guarantees their rights , and renders them imprescriptible like itself . "

    This account pf the present state of the French Protestant church is followed by the law of April 8 , 1802 , already referred to . From this it appears , among other things , that no change can be introduced in the doctrine and discipline of the church , nor any synod held , without the permission of the government ; and the pastors , who are to be elected by the consistories , must have this choice confirmed by the king ; but this confirmation has , in point of fact , never been refused , except in one or two instances . We have then the discipline of the church , pp . 191—243 , but this is evidently ( as indeed M . Soulier acknowledges , Int . p . iv . ) a little out of date in the present day ; for no one would think , in this age , of hurling the

    terrors of excommunication against even impenitent sinners ( p . 211 , art . xvii . ) ; and it would be as difficult as it would be invidious to put a stop to dancing among so gay and light-hearted a people as the French ( p . 241 , art . xxvii . ) . We imagine , too , that although there is a provision for the holding of conferences and of synods , both provincial and national , these have in fact fallen into desuetude , and that the affairs of the churches are now regulated entirely by their consistories , with the sanction , however ,

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    700 Reformed Churches in France .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1828, page 700, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2565/page/44/