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Mr . Montgomery thinks it unjust to deprive air Arian minister of the emolument arising from his office , because he has a family . I will put to him a question on this subject . Suppose that , in his capacity of Head Master of the English School in the Institution , he employs a writing master , whom , upon trial , he finds totally incapable of teaching writing ; will he continue him in office because he has a wife and
children ? Or , suppose the man was at one time aa elegant writer , but , by some accident , loses all the fingers of his hand , and is rendered incapable of forming a letter—the man and his friends may plead his large family and utter helplessness , if he be turned off , but the parents of the children , and Mr . Montgomery , will speak only of his incapacity ; and is the salvation of souls of less value than to teach writing ? The Orthodox believe that the salvation of
souls is endangered by an Arian ministry ; and when the Orthodox discover that it has committed the care of souls to an Arian minister , there is surely no injustice in doing in the church what Mr . Montgomery would do in his school —dismiss what they believe to be the incompetent member . My learned friend
charges the overtures with injustice , because they will prevent his and other Arian congregations from obtaining , in case of vacancy , a member of their own religious views ; and he alleges , that should they get one from a distance , they would be deprived of the Regium Donum . I am again unwilling to charge him with
disingenuousness , but certainly he could not be ignorant that the bounty is granted to the ' Synod of Ulster and Presbytery of Antrim , and that were his , or any other congregation , to withdraw from the Synod , and connect themselves with the Antrim Presbytery , the bounty would flow to them through as direct a channel as when in connexion with the
Synod . Government have the one agent of the bounty for both bodies , and the change would never be by them observed . He thinks it wrong that young men should be called upon to express their religious views . ( " No , no , " from Mr . Montgomery , " I think they should all let their opinions be known . " ) Mr . S .
—1 am glad to hear it . It shews that even Mr . Montgomery can be farther informed . At Strabane , last year , he opposed the measure of the members of Synod stating publicly and openly their views , with all his might . He fought « very inch of ground , and was only overcome by a majority . He was then wise ,
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superlatively wise 5 ye * now he is wiser ^ he is the Greek superlative made more than superlative . If it be Mat wrong to call upon young men to express their religious opinions , it is easy to justify the overtures , if they are intended solely to shew to young men , during the early period of their education , on what principles they will be admitted members of
the Synod of Ulster . They will see ia these overtures the reKgious opinion « £ the Synod ; and if theirs be different , they will be prevented from wastingtheir time , and euabled to direct their attention to some other pursuit . Mr . Montgomery says that religion is a concern between a man and his God , 1 admit it most fully ; but , as I have
already stated , there is a difference between private judging and public teaching . The Synod do not propose to interpose between any Arian and his God ; to his own master they leave him to stand or fall ; but they feel called upon to interpose between him and their people , and prevent him from leading them , as they think , astray .
My eloquent friend has made a most extraordinary proposal . He says that he believes what an orthodox minister ( suppose Mr . Carlile ) preaches to be poison , and that Mr . Carlile believes what he preaches to be poison , and he proposes that they should exchange and circulate each other's poison . I have read of two French hair-dressers who
magnanimously challenged each other into the field to decide some quarrel in mortal conflict ; but when they met aud beheld the instruments of death , each was seized with such a tremor , that the humane seconds , who were Irishmen ,
said it was impossible that they should perform their parts in person . They therefore kindly agreed to do the work for them , and each pro-posed to shoot his friend ' s opponent . Now the chivalry of my eloquent friend is something like the conduct of these Irish second » . " I
think your doctrine poison , " says he , " and you think mine poison ; I will therefore make an agreement with you ; poison you my people , and I will poison yours . " I must inform my learned friend , however , that the cases are not equal . In the orthodox system is included all that Arians believe to be
essential to salvation , and something more ; but in the Arian system , what jthe orthodox consider of the greatest value is wanting . The Arian in the exchange would get all he wished , and could easily lay the overplus aside ; but the orthodox would get nothing that lje
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724 Intelligence . —Synod of Ulster .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1828, page 724, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2565/page/68/
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