fubfcribed the Oaths above appointed, and fhould at any Time after, during the Time of his, her, or their keeping any Publick or Private School or Seminary, or inftructing any Youth as Tutor or School-Mafter, in Reading, Scholaftick, Academical, or other Literature, knowing or willingly refort to, or be prefent at any Conventicle, Affembly, or Meeting, within England, Wales, or Town of Berwick on Tweed, for the Exercife of Religion in any other Manner than according to the Liturgy and Practice of the Church of England; or ' fhall knowing or willingly be prefent at any Meeting or Äffembly for the Exercife of Re ligion, altho' the Liturgy be there ufed, where Her Majefty (whom God long Pre* ferve) and the Princets Sophia, or fuch others as fhall from time to time be lawfully appoint'ed to be pray'd for, fhall not there be pray'd for in exprefs Words, according to the Liturgy of the Church of England, fhall

Provided always, That any Perfon who 'fhall find him or themfelves aggrieved by any 'fuch Judgment of the faid Juftice or Juftices, may appeal to the general Meeting of the Ju'ftices of the Peace of the next Quarter Seffions, to be held for the County, Riding, City, or 'Town Corporate, where the Offence shall ' have been committed; who are hereby impowered there and then finally to hear and determine the fame,and noCertiorari shall be allowed " to remove any Conviction, or other Proceedเ ing for or concerning any Matter or Thing in this Act contained, but the Juftice of Peace

fhall

• fhall proceed thereupon, any fuch Writ or Writs of Certiorari notwithstanding. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Perfon licenfed as aforefaid thall teach any other Catechifm than the Catechifm fet forth in the Liturgy of the Church of England, or an Expofition thereof allowed, or hereafter to be allowed by the Bishop of the Diocess, the Licence of fuch Perfon fhall from thenceforth be and fuch

• Perfon fhall be liable to

And be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That it fhall and may be lawful to and for the Bishop of the Diocefs, or other proper Ordinary, to cite any Perfon or Perfons whatsoever keeping Schools or Seminaries, or teaching without Licence as aforefaid, and proceed against and punish fuch Perfon or Perfons by Ecclefiaftical Cenfure, this A&t or " any other Law to the contrary notwithstan'ding. Provided always, That no Perfon offending against this Act fhall be punished twice for the fame Offence.

There has not, ever fince this Bill was first talked of, any Definition or Description been made of what this fame Schifm is; nor has it been thought fit to explain whether the Word is to be taken in a Religious or a Political Senfe: But as the Bill is proposed in a Parliament, and not a Convocation, we must receive it only in a Civil Confideration, and underftand that the Schifmaticks marked out in this Bill, are fuch as do not conform to the Church as it is established by Law, and not as they are Perfons who live in an erroneous Way with Regard to Faith or Piety.

The

The first Thing that occurs to me on this Occafion, is, That by the Act of Union, the Churches of England and Scotland are equally exempted from any Innovation. The Schifm feems to be too Geographical, for as the whole united Kingdom is equally under the Care of the Parliament, it feems a great Omiffion, that Diffenters in the North Part of Britain should not be as much difcouraged as they are in the South: According to Juftice, Epifcopal Clergy fhould be under the fame Disadvantages in Scotland, as Diffenting- Teachers are in England. But let us, according to the Bill, keep to Schifm on this Side the Tweed,

was

By this Bill, without Regard to any thing done in favour of the Diffenters in the Reign of King William, (who by the Way as much King of England as King Charles) this A&t of King Charles the Second, of Pious Memory, is profeffedly fupported, and certain Breaches against it urged as a Reafon for bringing in this. In the first Year of King William and Queen Mary, of ever bleffed and glorious Memory, an A& paffed to exempt the Proteftant Subjects diffenting from certain Laws; among which certain Laws, is recited this of the 13th and 14th of King Charles the Second.

This A&t therefore, in a stealing and too artful a Manner, takes away the Toleration of Diffenters; for the Force of it is directed to take place in Confirmation of a Law which they are exprefly defended againit by the faid A&t of Toleration. Is this done like Neighbour to Neighbour? Like Englishman to En glishman? Give me leave to tell you, Sir, you Senators may do what you pleafe to one ano

ther,

ther, may do what you pleafe with the Perfons of your own Members, we without Doors know you to be only our Attorneys, and that you are not fent thither to impofe your Angers, Paffions, or Prejudices, upon particular Perfons or Parties, but to propofe calmly and impartially, according to the Rules of natural and civil Right, Matters which may be for the Benefit of the whole Kingdom. Now, Sir, I fay, if the Purpose of this Bill be to deprive the Diffenters of the Liberty of receiving Inftru tors into their Families, or publick Schoolmafters or School-miftreffes but under the abovementioned Restrictions, this Bill is to deprive them of all Right, both Natural, Religious, and Civil.

It is inconfiftent with the Natural and Original Right of Mankind; for it is an undoubted Truth, that Men have as much Right to the Means of Knowledge as to the Means of Life: To abridge Men (where there is no Guilt) of a Natural Right, by a fmall Penalty, is as unjuft, tho' not as cruel, as to abridge them of fuch Right by a greater Penalty. And you may, with equal Juftice, take away the Lives of the Diffenters, as punish the Diffenters in their Liberty or their Estates for instructing Children their own way.

This is a Step of the highest Degree of Violation, and there can be no Progrefs further but cutting their Throats; it is going much fafter than our Neighbour Nation went in the like Defign. By the Edict of Nants in France, the Hugonots had Liberty of Confcience and Toleration; by that Edit they had Universities of their own, namely, Sedan and Saumur. Thefe

fabfifted

fubfifted till a little while before the Revocation of the Edi&. Private Schools fubfifted to the laft. Proteftants might breed their Children with Papifts if they would, but Papifts. were difcouraged if they fent their Children to Proteftants; but still Proteftants might educate their Children their own way; fo if you please it may be here. It is enough for our Church to let Diffenters educate no Children but their own, and if they will fend their Children to us for Education, they may be wellcome; further to go is against all natural Justice.

As to Religious Right, our Bleffed Saviour and his Apoftles neither ufed or directed any Other Means against Gain-fayers than Evidence; and we are often told from the Pulpit by our beft Divines, that in the first Centuries, all Apologies for the Chriftian Religion conftantly infifted on this as a Fundamental Truth, That it was unlawful to reftrain Men from the Means of Inftruction in the different Forms of Religion. It is against the Intereft of the Church of England, as it is a Proteftant Church in general; for it is the Characteristick of Proteftant Churches to admit with all Candour the Liberty of studying the Scriptures, and confequently of teaching and being taught them. The Scriptures (by being open to Men who are not allowed to Commune with others upon them, and learn from whom they please with all Freedom) may ferve only to aggravate their Guilt in conforming to what they in their Confciences may think Criminal. The Defign of the Toleration Act was to give Eafe to fcrupulous Confciences; that fuppofes there are Men who think they cannot in Confcience Commu.

nicate