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    they could do nothing . Surely it is not necessary to say that the moral and intellectualpower j © f the six-sevenths of the orthodox body are not quite so low , ^^ at / they ^ amst tremble before even the mightiest names of the other classV ^ The reader may consult the list , and form his own opinion . If he believe the persons who appear in it to be such drivellers , it is not worth while to persuade him of the contrary .

    ' * But apart from this view of the matter , my Lord , it may be proper to state that the association of the ministers in this body , is not an association of Unitarians and Trinitarians . The parties know nothing * of each other in this capacity . They assemble and act together simply as Presbyterian , Independent , and Baptist Dissenters from the Church of England . No proceedings of theirs imply union of doctrinal sentiment , or express opinions on the doctrines of Christianity . No acts of religious fellowship take place at their meetings , and no man would be allowed in any of their discussions to express

    hostility to the fundamental principles of the gospel . From causes into which the present subject does not lead me to inquire , one of the parties , namely , the English Presbyterian , is well known to have departed from the doctrinal principles held by their forefathers . But the ministers who meet at Red-cross Street know nothing of this renunciation , and have , for reasons already stated , no right whatever to inquire into , or interfere with it . The parties who do not hold what is considered the truth on great and fundamental subjects stand and fall to their own Master , but it would be both hard and

    strange if their heterodoxy were to prejudice the rights and privileges of others . As for those who object to association with Unitarians for the promotion of the cause of civil and religious liberty , while they know that they are in the practice of holding fellowship in the most sacred ordinances of religion with men of all sorts and sentiments , I am not careful to answer them in this matter . Their objections remind me of some in former times , who strained at a gnat , while they swallowed a camel , who were clear sighted in discovering a mote in their brother ' s eye , while thev forgot the beam in their own . "—Pp . 20—23 .

    It is matter of satisfaction to us that so able a man as the author of this letter thinks and feels as he does upon the subject of Religious Liberty . It is yet more satisfactory to find that the honour of originating and carrying the Petition is worth contesting with the Unitarians . But the plain fact is , that it was moved by an Unitarian minister , and carried by Unitarian votes . But for the " one-seventh" who , " by mere numerical force , could do

    nothing , " the six-sevenths would have done nothing , and the Petition would have been extinguished by the previous question . The Unitarians alone unanimously supported the Petition . It was only for them to have stood neutral , or to have divided , or to have absented themselves , in the same proportion as the Trinitarians , and the cause of Intolerance would , even in the feebleness of dissolution , have gained a victory where it ought only to have encountered the most determined hostility . It would better become

    our orthodox brethren , instead of being so sensitive about Unitarian influence , to come manfully forward , and render honour where honour is due , for the preservation of dissent from a stain so foul and indelible . At any rate it is not for those who created the only peril which existed , as to the

    passing of the Resolutions and Petition , ( for it was evident from the first that there was nothing to apprehend from the strength of the Anti-catholic party *) now to claim from the public the credit of a proceeding which was only adopted inconsequence of the united opposition of the Unitarian members to their own quiescent policy . We shall now give the counter-petition with the Letter-writer's commentary :

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    430 / The Body .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1829, page 430, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2573/page/62/