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men , but who have taken all they believe upon trust . If such niea were always good , we might the less lament that this was the case $ but unhappily the want of that sound basis on which they ought to stand leads many to set little weight on the most i 111 portaut truths ; they sacrifice
Christianity to , expediency and convenience—their spiritual to their temporal interest . On these grounds I feel a deep interest iu every thing that may promote Christianity . t * y which I mean Unitarian - ism . For this reason I say—let us exert ourselves at home- So far I go with Mr . Young , and I add , let nothing be done with regard to foreign objects tjiat may paralyse our efforts at horiie . With respect to the Calcutta object , four years
ago I declared my opinion that there was something rotten there . If the merchants at Calcutta want a chapel , why should they nptj provide one for themselves ? The case at Madras , howr ever , is totally different . I observed that when William Roberts' letter was read we all smiled at its simplicity ; but let us not forget that he is a native Hindoo , embracing the best form of Christianity ; and is there one that hears me who does
not rejoice that he has become the means of disseminating the light which he has received ? It is true his flock may be but small ; but I remember reading that Paul found but twelve in one place , and yet he did not disregard the day of small things , nor Luke think the fact unworthy of being recorded . How many are tbere in this assembly that out
of an income of six Pagodas would devote three to such an object ? Very few , I am afraid . Are there not many among us who , with their hundreds a year , think that they have done a mighty thing when they have given the Association a guinea ? It is because I think , then , that we have much reason to be proud of what has been done at Madras , that I second this resolution most cheerfully .
The llev . W . J . Fox . If the task , Sir , which has been assigned to me , on the present occasion , d&ea hot enter so essentially into me business of the Unitarian Association as those which have preceded it / yet the resolution which I have ' to propose Is at lea , st one which it
would ill becorhe us to separate without attendrijg to . J \ wong the most pleasant circumstances attending these annual meetings , is the presence of our brethren in the faith from the different parts , not ouly of this country , but of the different countries of the world , and especially from that land of the New Worla which promises to be the most important of all
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countries , when considered as influencing the destinies of all mankind—I mean the United States . At our last meeting we had Mr . Ware with us—doubtless he is now among us in spirit , and I trust that we shall have him bodily with us at our Meeting at Manchester . And now at our present Meeting we have with us an illustrious
visitor belonging to the same cla ^ s of persons . Sir ,. I allude to Professor Kirkland , who is well known to many in this country by his character , his talents , and his productions / , and it will well become us to bid him welcome s among u ^ remembering , at the same time , that the best welcome we can give him is our declaration of a sincere and firm
attachment to those principles which we hold in Common , and the . extension of which , as H is the object of pur earnest desire , so alsp is it fraught vfitfi behest bpth to ou ^ selve ^ an $ to the ^ vrhole human race . Let us / rejoice in tjie , cqi ' itemplatoon of Ifnitarian Christianity— J steals of ifciiot as a sectarian faith , but as cpn sjsjfcing Jin tliose great " principles of mental freedom , and
personal righteousness , and love to God and man , which are , after all , the very essence of Christianity—Jet us , I say , delight to contemplate Unitarian Christianity in the various modifications it receives from national character ; for , like the light of heaven , in . passing through different media , and forming different
combinations , it exhibits many a different hue and tinge of colour , anfl an almost boundless diversity of appearance , although in itself ever and essentially the sanae . But , more especially , let us behold it as it presents itself among our American brethren—men sprung ^ from the same physical stock , and endowed with the same intellectual
inheritancemen who look back to our best literature as their own , whose minds Ve ; e uurtured by it in their infancy , apd found it $ ieir food , and exercise , and strength , in their maturity ; and who will substantiate this claim , in a way which pur own hearts must acknowledge ; for Who among us really delights in the glorious text oi Milton , without also glowing , at the eloquent exposition of t } nnwnne ? To that the
country then must / we ^ urn with most pleasurable feelings , l Oia 41 y would we behold Unitarian Chr ^ tiauity unite d wi th German learning ajid . G&rnian , iinagination- —learning deep ' as yfjeir nimeil 1 — imagination expansive as their forest ^ . Gladly would we see i $ prevalent ; in France—in France made gay by nature , apd deflective by revolution , where the present state of religious opinion reminds one of the pictures of its once formidable Bastile
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488 Intelligence . — Unitarian Association .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1830, page 488, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2586/page/56/
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