try, that they may erect upon their ruins their wished for Republic. Is it not, then, the imperative duty of every Englishman, who "Fears God, and Honours the King,"who loves his Country and its Constitution, to use his utmost endeavours to expose the villainy of faction, whose political and religious principles have ever been defended by impudence, reproach, clamour, and falsehood, and whose zeal for the aggrandizement of their own sect, will never cool till they have blotted out the very names of Church and King from under heaven. It was wisely observed by King James, "No Bishop, no King," and the remark contains a great deal more truth than many people are willing to acknowledge. The Scriptures imperatively and unconditionally command and enforce, and Episcopacy naturally generates, loyalty to the King, and submission to the powers that be. It is just as absurd to talk of a disloyal Episcopalian, as it is of a religious Atheist. If people are disobedient to their Spiritual Governors, they will never be obedient to their Temporal Governors. Episcopacy and Monarchy will ever stand or fall together. On the other hand, Dissent and Monarchy can never coalesce or stand together. Dissent is naturally opposed to Monarchy, and cannot be otherwise. Its very principles naturally generate, and ever must generate disloyalty and disaffection to a King, and insubordination and rebellion to any form of Government that does not square with the Dissenting notions of Democracy. Dissenters do sometimes, to be sure, boast of their loyalty, but just as a criminal asserts his innocence-in such a way that the very manner of doing it is only calculated to confirm suspicion. But actions always speak louder than words; why do not Dissenting Teachers, in Sermons from their pulpits and otherwise, enforce the duty of loyalty upon their followers? I have heard hundreds of Sermous preached by Dissenters, but never one upon that subject. But both in public and private, I have heard numerous anecdotes, observations, and insinuations,

tending directly to disloyalty, and the breach of that positive command, "Honour the King." And why do they not obey the injunction of St Paul, and pray "for Kings, and for all that are in authority" under him. The late Mr. Abraham Booth, an eminent Dissenting Teacher, at London, would never pray for the King (George the Third,) at all. And it is a well known fact, that a great many Dissenting Teachers follow his example, and those who act otherwise, only do so occasionally, which manifests their disinclination to obey the Apostolic command at all. And, indeed, nothing of this kind can be surprising, when we recollect that they teach their Disciples that insurrection and rebellion are pious duties-that they may "piously lift their hands against the Government of their country." This is the very same infernal doctrine that prevailed in the time of the Dissenting rebellion under the pious Cromwell.

The sum of the whole matter is simply this, Churchmen believe, according to the Scriptures, that the fountain of all power and authority is God. Dissenters believe that it is the people. In this lies all the difference. For as faith is the foundation of all works, these two opposite points of belief, influence their respective adherents to the performance of contrary actions. And whenever Dissenters boast of their loyalty, they only proclaim their own inconsistency, and encourage the belief that they do so merely for the purpose of lulling suspicions, and thereby forwarding their ambitious projects. And from what I know, from abundant experience of the political principles of Dissenters, I would, for my own part, just as soon hear an Atheist boast of his religion, or a libertine of his virtue, as a Dissenter of his loyalty.

I am, Sir, your's, &c.

L. S. E.

LETTER XIV.

ON THE PRETENDED PRINCIPLE OF DISSENT -THAT THE WORD OF GOD IS THE ONLY RULE OF FAITH AND PRACTICE.

SIR,

THIS letter, which shall terminate my present correspondence with you, shall contain a few remarks in reference to your perpetually reiterated assertion, that "the Word of God is your only rule of faith and prac tice,"—that "the Scripture is your only standard in all matters of religion." I need not produce quotations in proof of this-it is well known, that scarcely a publication is put forth by any one of your sect, but what abounds in assertions to this amount in almost every form and variety of which the English language will admit. So much, indeed, is this the case, that persons neither acquainted with the subject nor with your characters and modes of proceeding, as Dissenters, except through Dissenting mediums, are apt to suppose that you are the only persons on the face of the earth who pay any regard to the Word of God; and that the Church of England rejects the Scriptures altogether, and receives as her Articles of Faith, nothing forsooth but a few crude legendary notions culled from the nonsensical writings of some old doting Churchmen, called " Fathers," who never even dreamt of "this

enlightened age," or of " the march of intellect." And this is not only craftily insinuated, but as much is sometimes even asserted, although those who assert it are well aware of its falsehood, unless they have heard and repeated it so often that they have themselves been led to believe it.

The Church declares openly to the world in her sixth Article, that the "Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation; so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an Article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation." And to say that the Church does require any man to believe as necessary to salvation some things which are neither read in Holy Scripture nor can be proved thereby, and that she thus violates her own Article, is a malignant and wilful falsehood, fabricated in the true spirit of" KEEN HATRED and round abuse of the Church," for the pure purpose of “keeping up pure attachment to Dissenting principles." That some few practices of the Church, in themselves merely simple and non-essential, are not expressly commanded in the Word of God, is freely acknowledged, but that they are forbidden by it, or are in the least degree contrary to it, remains yet to be proved. As the Word of God does not furnish us with express and specific directions for every particular necessary to uphold religion and the worship of God, the Church is absolutely obliged to appoint and ordain such ceremonies and circumstantials as are necessary for that purpose, taking care, as she most scrupulously has done,

that nothing be ordained against God's Word,"* and that" all things be done decently and in order."+ And besides, although you condemn the Church for adopting some few indifferent things not expressly commanded in the Scriptures, you yourselves, as will presently be shewn, do the very same, and thus con

demn yourselves out of your own mouths. And to this you add the wickedness of positively denying it, continually and falsely affirming, as you do, that "the Word of God is your only rule of faith and practice ;" thus "beguiling unstable souls,"*" and by good words and fair speeches deceiving the hearts of the simple."†

Moreover also, where is even the common honesty of those Dissenters who are continually insinuating, that the Church does not take the Word of God as her only rule of faith and practice, which they, with their tender consciences, know perfectly well to be a malicious falsehood? Mr. Scales, of course a very pious man, insinuates this wilful and impudent falsehood in many places in his hollow and declamatory book. I call it a wilful falsehood, because he could not but know it to be false. This is undeniably evident, from the quotations which he has himself given from the works of standard Churchmen: for those very quotations at once condemn him, by flatly contradicting his own wicked insinuations. The first quotation he has given, is the authorised and unanimous voice of the Church. It is from the sixth Article, and is this. "Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation, so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an Article of the Faith, or be thought necessary to salvation." He then gives the following annotation of Archdeacon Welchman:"The Holy Scripture contains all things which relate either to faith or practice, beyond which God requires nothing of us." With these positive avowals of the Church before his face, with what conscience or decency could he insinuate that the Church believes to the contrary? What honest-hearted upright man does not detest such pious fraud and holy tricking? I know that Dissenters confess, that " A KEEN HATRED, and now and then A LITTLE ROUND ABUSE OF THE CHURCH,

* 2 Peter, ii. 14.

+ Romans, xvi. 18.

+ Scales, p. 46.