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Lord ' s side , " but " those whom the Lord hates . * A Trinitarian minister who is roughly handled on account of his " having more respect for Mr . Aspland than he has for" Mr . Ivimey , waited upon him with such an
unmanageable exposure of certain incorrect statements in that part of the pamphlet , that Mr . I . promised to cancel and burn the offensive pages . This minister facetiously recommended to the Body that every calumniated member should follow his example , in which case , supposing them alike successful , the whole book must speedily find its way into the fire—a consummation which seemed generally to be devoutly wished .
The author has taken the trouble to indicate very plainly the rank he holds in the estimation of his Trinitarian brethren in the ministry , by recording the fact that his pamphlet , in its first form , designed to prevent the adoption of the Petition then under discussion , and to effect the separation of the Trinitarian from the Unitarian members of the body , was •« sent to
each and every of them by the twopenny post , about one hundred and twenty copies , for which not one of either denomination has yet thanked him . " ( P . 72 . ) He would have been more likely to receive their thanks for keeping his tongue and his pen quiet . But that is a lesson which such men are long in learning .
Ihere has seldom , been so barefaced a scheme of plunder , for the Divine glory and the good of souls , as that suggested in this book for wresting Dr . Williams ' s estate from the control of its legal , responsible , unimpeached , and we hesitate not to add , unimpeachable administrators , the Trustees , and making " the appropriation of all this property to Trinitarian modes of propagating the glorious gospel of the blessed God . " By reprinting the Will , Mr . 1 . has shewn the hopefulness and the morality of this undertaking , in the same way as by quoting Sir H . Parnell's abstract of the penal laws against Catholics , he has illustrated his favourite position that Emancipation was not a question at all affecting Religious Liberty .
The breaking up of the General Body , although the subject does appear to have been broached at the separate meetings of the Independents and the Baptists , is yet , we trust , so abhorrent to the feelings of the more liberal , enlightened , and influential of all parties , as not to need the serious and earnest pleading upon which we should otherwise enter . The privilege which the united ministers enjoy , in common with but about four or five other bodies , of personally addressing the Sovereign , would probably be lost by such a division , and emergencies may arise in which that loss would be a serious evil . It is a power held in trust which the present generation has no ri ght to forfeit , or put to hazard , merely to appease the clamours of bigotry . The divisions of party , now levelling in every direction , would become more formidable than ever among Dissenters , enfeebling them in the State , disgracing their avowed principles , embittering their intercourse , and impairing their resources for purposes of common charity . And we should
be loath to lose the only bond which holds together the teachers of different creeds , presenting from time to time a sight more gratifying than even America , the land of religious freedom and equality , can ever boast , and suggesting the hope of that coining period when the gradual correction of their peculiar errors by all parties , and the closer approximation of all to the spirit of the gospel , shall exhibit the disciples of Christ in their original unity of mind and heart , loving as brethren . No , we cannot afford to lose this union . Would that it were strengthened , and rendered more efficient for the promotion of Religious Liberty and Christian Charity . Nor can the better portion of the Trinitarians , dangerous as they may deem our opinions
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The Body . 433
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VOL . III . 2 If
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1829, page 433, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2573/page/65/
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