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prevail ; and that the people who are < alout ? able to stay it , are so besotted and blind to their own interests , both spi-r ritual and temporal , that they adhere to their worst enemiesrrather than to those who have unquestionably no other object than their good at heart . If the people were true to themselves , ignorant , beggarly landlords might be laughed at . There are , surely , as many men in Ulster , independent of such trumpery , as would procure homes and Meetinghouses for any few that they would have the hardihood or the ability to eject . I dou ' t know what words to use , to convince vou how much you would oblige me ,
if you would direct me how I might apply , in tens or twenties , up to one hundred pounds , or so , in alleviating the sufferings , or shewing my love for any of those brave , persecuted men . I am not a man at all addicted to personal expense—my pleasures and my pains arise from a
source quite different from the abundance or scarcity of gaiqe , or the qualifications of my tailor—1 have been from my boyhood a hard-working fellow , and I have not , thank God , laboured in vain—but I never desired wealth for the purpose of hiding it in a ditch . "
Mr . Montgomery concluded , by moving the first resolutioi ) . His speech , as it was delivered , was one of the most pathetic appeals we have ever heard ; and the strong expression of feeling , that frequently burst out ; from the numerous and respectable audience , proved the deep iuterest which it excited .
< c Resolved , —That as it is the inalienable right of every Christian to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience , without penalty or privation inflicted by his fellow-man , we shall strenuously exert ourselves , by all legal means , to secure this inestimable privilege to our uufortunate , suffering brother , the Rev . John Watson , and the Congregation of Greyabbey . "
The Rev . David White seconded the resolution , which passed unanimously . The Rev . Fletcher Blakely rose to move the next resolution . He Maid—A knowledge of these late extraordinary occurrences reached me only late last night , and I can assure you I felt so much agitated , that I was quite unable
to sleep . My agitation of mind , together with the effect produced upon me by my friend Mr . Montgomery ' s admirable address , renders me incapable of collecting my thoughts as I should do . I shall , therefore , do little more than move the resolution which I hold in my hand , and which I am sure will meet with unani-
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mous approbation . I art * sorry there exists , in this couutry , no fund for the protection of men who may be exposed to persecution for conscience' sake . Such funds have been of the greatest use elsewhere ; and I hope that one will soon be established in this couutry . I differ , in some respects , from the seutiments delivered by my talented frieud , Mr . Montgomery , of Dunnmrry . I cannot help expressing my thauks to Mr . Montgomery , of Rosemount , for doing what we loug laboured in vain to effect . We eudeavoured to overthrow the abominable overtures of the Synod ; but this gentleman has put his fingers through
them in an instant . He has ordered , that ministers shall not preach those doctrines which it was the object of those Overtures to cause to be preached ; and members of Synod have acted under his injunction . For this we owe him our thanks . ( Cheers . ) It would be presumptuous in me to detain you loug , after the statement which you have already heard . Permit me merely to remind you of the effects of persecution
upon our dissenting forefathers , in the times of Elizabeth , and some of her successors . The blood of the martyrs proved to be " the seed of the church , " and ii partial evil" became" universal good . " It will be so at present . Such occurrences as those which have called us to a gether , will rouse the independent spirit of the Dissenters of the Empire , to guard their interests and their privileges . And when we refer to the case of the two
thousand ejected ministers , we find that they retired to the wilds of America and the hills of Switzerland , and established principles of liberty that will never be overturned . We had expected that the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts would have united us together in good ;
fellowship ; but the contrary has turned out to be the case . I am sorry for this ; but 1 am chiefly sorry for our opponents . I am sorry that any men should have been guilty of such persecuting acts as they have engaged in . Mr . Blakely concluded by moving the following resolution : —
" That we exhort them to be of ' good cheer / to maintain their Christian Inter grity with the intrepid spirit of their Presbyterian ancestors , and to put away that * fear of man which bringeth a snare /"
Captain Stannus , an Elder , secouded , the resolution , which passed unanimously . The following resolution was subsequently agreed to : — " That a Committee be now appointed
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Intelligence . —Meeting- of Remonstrant Presbytery vf Bang or . 213
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1830, page 213, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2582/page/69/
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