صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

mitigate or extinguish the rage of intolerance. In different countries of Europe, tolerant laws were introduced, not so much by a juster sense of duty among the ministers of religion, as by the prevalence of a wiser policy among the magistrates. In Holland, first commercial prudence, rather than the spirit of Christian candour and equity, seems to have persuaded the Dutch republicans to put a stop to persecution. In more modern times, intolerance has been suppressed, in three great monarchies of Europe, in the Prussian and Austrian; and after that in the French empire: but the motives for this just restraint, were neither Christian duty nor commercial policy, but the lust of military power and glory, in despots who would be conquerors; who at once despised Christianity and enforced toleration, as the means of uniting their population, augmenting their armies, and aggrandising their states.

In the British empire, the struggle between the friends of religious freedom and the powers

Under

of intolerance, has been long; and in different reigns attended with various success. the government of Cromwell, who probably was influenced chiefly by political considerations, a toleration was maintained for a few years, against a decided majority of almost every sect. In the reign of the first of the restored Stuarts, protestant intolerance seems to have prevailed against the will of the monarch; and in that of his bigot brother, popish tolerance was insidiously displayed in proclamations against the laws, and against the wish of the established church. Under the tolerant William, the famous but imperfect act of toleration passed; but in about ten years the same prince was obliged, also, to consent to laws enacting fresh severities against anti-trinitarian and Roman Catholic Christians. In the reign of

Anne, the new toleration was scarcely maintained; and under the two succeeding sovereigns religious rancour was abated, but no legal diminution of those, or of similar severities was effected in England; and fresh severities were enacted by the Parliament of Ireland. But in the present reign, a melioration of the temper and principles of the nation, in that respect, has been proved by successive relaxations in the code of persecution in England and in Ireland. These concessions in favour of the rights of conscience were considerable; and they were obtained, in the Parliament of England, chiefly by the efforts of a most distinguished patriot*, and of a great philosophical statesmant, now no more ; and in that of Ireland by an illustrious

* Sir George Savile.

The right honourable Charles James Fox.

and still surviving benefactor * of his country men, to whom the friends of humanity and li berty are deeply indebted, and cannot sufficiently express their feelings of gratitude and respect. By the influence, or with the approba tion, of those generous and enlightened men, applications were addressed to each Parliament, at different periods, for relief from some of the pains and penalties of our intolerant code; and those applications were grounded, not on the principles of duty, but on considerations of policy, or on the feelings of humanity. At that time, when government was disposed to repeal some of the most injurious statutes of that code, it was wisely done not to press a principle too extensive for the subsisting prejudices of the public, or of the legislature; but rather to

[blocks in formation]

propose, on narrower grounds, some partial concession, which they might hope to gain, by the assistance of government, from the imperfect candour of the times. By attempting more at those periods, by insisting on a complete restoration of the rights of conscience, immediately and at once, our excellent patriots would have lost those opportunities to raze to the ground some of the bulwarks of persecution. By availing themselves, with their accustomed wisdom, of those favourable moments, they lost nothing in principle; they gained every thing in practice, which it was possible then to gain; and upon the whole, by their partial successes, an important advance was gradually made towards the extinction of intolerance..

[ocr errors]

But since those concessions were secured by

K

« السابقةمتابعة »