certain that it was fhamefully abufed. The advantage of correfponding with the most distant parts of the country, at fo fmall an expence, was fo great, that he thought no perfon ought to refufe to pay for it. Befides, it was almost always for the benefit of the rich, and thofe who could well afford to pay, that the privilege was exercised.

Mr. Huffey declared, that the privilege of franking was a Mr. privilege of which he was afhamed, and had rather be with- Huffey. oat. He could not, he faid, agree to accommodate the rich at the expence of the poor.

The Houfe divided;

Ayes, 38; Noes, 52.

Tuesday, 10th May.

Sir Gilbert Elliot moved that the petition from the General Sir Gilbert Affembly of the Church of Scotland, and the act of 25th of Elliot. Charles II. cap. 2. might be read; and they were accordingly read; upon which he rose, and begged to itate the origin of the petition, in order to do away every opinion that the prefent application had arifen from party or political views: it had originated, he faid, from the fuggeftion of an individual in Scotland, a private character, but highly refpected, who was a man of learning, of abilities, and efteemed for his private worth; he was a Minifter of the Kirk of Scotland, biaffed by no party motive, but liberal and unprejudiced, attached to toleration and to religious liberty, who had been induced to fubmit the propofition he had made to the General Affembly of the Kirk of Scotland, in confequence of an obfervation on the laft debate for the repeal of the teft act. In that debate he had obferved, that the objection to the repeal was most forcibly urged, upon two grounds, which appeared to him to be conclufive in favour of an application from the profeffors of the doctrines of the Kirk of Scotland, to be relieved from the Englfh teft; and thinking it a favourable opportunity to be embraced for an application, he communicated his opinion to another clergyman of the kirk, and with him drew up an overture, and prefented it to the General Affembly. That overture met with the reception it merited, an ample difcuffion; the refult of which was, as might be expected, an unanimous approbation of referring it to the General Conimittee to carry into effect the application the Houfe had just heard read.

The honourable Baronet argued from the unanimity of the General Affembly; which he ftated to be a conclufive proof that the queftion was not a queftion of party, but that it refted wholly on its own merits. The application was couched in the most respectful terms; and though they had

had

"

had many opportunities to join their caufe to the cause of perfons of a different defcription, they had avoided fuch connection, and confined their reprefentation to their own grievances, conducting their application with as little agitation to the public mind as poffible. He was aware that it might be urged against the application, that the Affembly of the Church had travelled out of the ftrict line of their duty, in representing what might be confidered a civil grievance; but he contended that it was a religious, as well as a civil grievance; for both could not be enjoyed by profeffors of the Kirk; if they enjoyed the civil, they must abandon the ecclefiaftical; and if they enjoyed the ecclefiaftical, they must abandon the civil, or render themfelves liable to the penalties of not complying with the teft. Their application for redress of this civil grievance, interwoven with the ecclefiaftical grievance, was, in his opinion, a preferable mode to the convening county meetings to co-operate with them, fince it fhewed their moderation, and was an additional proof that they were not urged on by party motives.

Sir Gilbert ftated, that the Committee had applied by letter to the Minifter, and to another right honourable gentleman in the House (the Lord Advocate) but had not from the former received any anfwer, though from the latter they had received a difcouraging one; this difcouragement he did not expect to hear urged against their preffing their application, as offenfive to the Houfe, for the right of any of His Majesty's fubjects to petition against a grievance, depended not upon the approbation of Minifters, or any man.

Having thus adduced convincing proofs that the petition had not its origin in party, the honourable Baronet next begged to affure the Houfe, that he himself had not undertaken the conduct of it from any party motives; for though he was not ashamed of avowing his attachment to those gentlemen with whom he had the honour to act, in the present inftance he was actuated by no party views whatever. He lamented that the fubject had not been taken up by fome other gentleman, that it might have been handled with greater ability than he could pretend to; but having taken it up, he would exert himself to the utmoft, being a wellwisher to that part of the country from whence the application came. It would be unneceffary, he said, for him to enter, at any length, into arguments in fupport of the motion he should fubimit to the Houfe, as a fimilar subject had been fome time fince fully difcuffed; and it was lefs neceffary now to enter into any length of argument, fince, in the prefent feffion, by a bill that had gone through that House (the Roman Catholic bill) a proof had been given to the world. that they poffeffed tolerant and liberal opinions. He would

there

therefore, in what he had to fay, confine himself to two principles, which he fhould lay down as the foundation of his motion; in fupport of which principles he was almost afhamed to offer argument, they being in the present enlightened day, univerfally admitted. The principles were, first, that religious perfecution was now difclaimed in all parts; and fecondly, that pain, or restraint, was unjust for religious opinions, merely confidered as fuch. Thofe few, he faid. who ftill retained any particle of the fpirit of religious perfecution, were obliged to fhelter their opinions under civil policy, and the public good; for the true fpirit of religion was now too well known to fuffer the fpirit of persecution to appear; and the attributes of the divine goodness were alfo too well known for an idea to be entertained that merit would be found in his fight by our afflicting each other. By authority, men might be induced to difguife their opinions, but authority had no hold over the mind. Perfecution, he obferved, had made hypocrites and martyrs, but never yet made a convert. Open perfecution was now unknown, but its fmaller branches were juftified occafionally under a provifion for public fafety, into the juftice of which principle he would not then enter, as it was immaterial to his object; on the contrary, he would admit, for the fake of argument, that it was a right in Government to lay them under civil reftrictions for religious opinions; in return for which he should ask to have granted to him, that a government had no right to perfecute for religious opinions, but where thefe opinions were known to be dangerous to the State.

It was not his intention, Sir Gilbert faid, to enter into a difcuffion of abstract rights; on the contrary, he should carefully avoid fuch difcuffion: he was warranted, however, in contending, that no citizen whatever ought to be abridged of his rights in any cafe but of abfolute neceffity; when that neceffity ceafed, the reftriction becomes oppreffion. It was not the bufinefs of any one to prove that he ought not to be reftricted in his right, the onus lay on the other fide, for the neceffity ought to be proved by thofe who impofed the reftriction. On the two propofitions which he had ftated, he rested his caufe, and would only affert, fhortly, that Scotland was reftricted of rights without any ground to prove that the poffeffion of thofe rights were dangerous to the ftate; and that he was abridged of the privileges without any ground of neceffity. By law and by treaty, Scotland had a feparate church, and a feparate religion, effentially dif ferent from the church of England; by the Treaty of Union the fubjects of both countries were to have a free communication of right throughout the whole united empire: but

how

how had they fuch free communications of right? If the test act was fuffered to apply to the Members of the Kirk of Scotland, they were injured in both their civil and religious rights, for they could not enjoy both. Here the honourable Baronet faid he ftood upon ground, and called upon his adverfaries to prove that Scotland had not a right, both by treaty and by law, to enjoy her civil and religious privileges in equal participation with the fubjects of England. It was a natural and a laudable ambition, he said, to be defirous of taking a part in the affairs of our country; it was an ambition that ought ever to be encouraged, for by that ambition was produced the activity and energy effentially neceffary for the public good. Where, he asked, was the juftice or the policy of any government to require of a whole people, a facrifice of fuch ambition? Where was the policy of prohibiting a whole race of men from fighting our battles, or taking an active part in our Councils? But fuch was at prefent the cafe; and gentlemen who were members of the kirk, after having ferved their country with fidelity and honour, and after having bled in her caufe, were liable, upon their return home, to be ruined by fines, and to be fubjected to punishments fit only for felons.

He would not, however, Sir Gilbert faid, wafte the time of the Houfe by ftating what might happen, but would remind them of what had actually happened; he then stated the historical fact of the defenders of his late Majesty's caufe in Scotland, who had bled in that caufe, having been under the neceffity of being included in the general pardon to the rebels. The injuftice he had already ftated, he said, in his opinion, entitled him to fay he had made out his cafe; but he would proceed fomewhat farther, and look for every objection he conceived likely to be made to his motion. It was, he faid, chiefly depended upon in oppofition to the application of the Diffenters; first, that a religious establishment was neceffary in the conftitution of the country: and, fecondly, that the fafety of the conftitution depended on the maintenance of that establishment, and that it was dangerous to admit thofe to places of power who held opinions contrary to the established religion. Neither of thefe objections could apply against the prefent application; they had the direct contrary tendency. Sir Gilbert profeffed himself to be a hearty friend to the establishments in hoth countries, and declared, he would ever oppofe an attack on either, being convinced, that they could not be fuccessfully attacked without danger to the conftitution, and injury to both countries. But in agreeing that religious establishments were neceffary, he contended that the establishment of the Kirk of Scotland,

was

was a part of the religious establishment of this country: if, therefore, those who were employed in the fervice of England, and profeffed its establishment, were called upon to take the teft of their church; thofe who were members of the Kirk of Scotland, and likewife in the fervice of their country, ought not to be called on to perform an act of departure from the forms of their church. The argument against the Diffenters of the danger of admitting thofe into power who were of opinions hoftile to an establishment, could not be urged against Scotland, they having an establishment of their own; if it was neceffary for the fafety of the established church of England, that none but its profeffors fhould be admitted into office, the fame fafeguard might be claimed with justice for Scotland; and her established church being part of the eftablished religion of the country, a teft to that establishment ought to be deemed equally fufficient. The objection made to the repeal of the teft act in favour of fectaries, namely, that they would be attempting more and more for the purpofe of overthrowing the establishment and erecting another, could not, Sir Gilbert faid, apply against Scotland, for if the toleration they prayed was granted, they could afk no more, having already an establishment by law. He faid, it might be argued that the hands of the House were tied up, by the treaty of union, from granting the prayer of the application, but this he denied, declaring it to be left open by the act of union to the wifdom of future time; he fhould, however, if the articles of union had been explicit upon the point of eftablishing the teft, deny that in confequence it must remain fo, when a cafe of juftice and advantage to Scotland was made out, for it not to be fo continued; his propofition however was, that there was nothing in the treaty precluding the House granting every thing now afked, to prove which he would read the particular claufes. Sir Gilbert having read three or four claufes to prove that the matter was left completely open, entered into a detail of feveral hiftorical facts of the proceedings of the Scotch and English Parliaments, from which he drew a conclufion, that the exemption from the test was confidered to be contained in the treaty. Propofitions were made, he faid, in the Scotch Parliament, prior to the union, to infert in the articles, provifion for an exemption against the teft act, which propofitions had been. negatived: An exemption was however made in Scotland, from all future tefts: by which it was plain they did not mean to renounce the exemption from tefts in other parts: The delicacy of the times rendered it advifeable for them to abftain from explicit declarations, but it was evident and clear to him that they had left it open to the conftruction of future VOL. XXIX. reafon

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