18 Consequence of forbidding 



compact?— By the maintenance and en- 

 forcement ol' laws. r 11 • * 



What are the prhiciples of all just 

 jaws.'— The Holy Scriptures and the 

 rights ol man. 



What oflcnccs are amenable to such 

 laws ?— All hreachcs of the laws of God, 

 and those of society, which, in their com- 

 mission or tlieii- consequences, are mju- 

 rious to the safety and welfare of a 



state. J • • 



To wliom is the executive admmis- 

 tration to be committed?— To persons 

 selected by the liiu{? to assist him m en- 

 forcing the universal protection of the 



What do you mean by the rights of 

 man?— A participation in all the advan- 

 tages of a society constituted as wc have 

 stated ; so long as universal obedience is 

 yielded to the established laws. 



In what does this obedience consist . 



Ih respectful compliance with the 



commands of the lawfully constituted 

 authorities. It consists, further, m pro- 

 rooting constantly, and to the best of 

 our endeavours, the comfort and profit 

 fif every individual in society. 



In what light should we regard the nj- 

 Iiabitants of other countries? — As bre- 

 thren of the family of man, residing in 

 diftcrezit divisions of the earth, and ni 

 other climates ; and governed by other 

 laws and rulers, each according to its 

 own appointment. 



It is not then just for one nation to in- 

 terfere iu the political regulations of 

 another?— It is most unjust so to do; 

 unless the people of one country are so 

 leagued as evidently to endanger the li- 

 berty and existence of another. Such a 

 confederation is a call on the c<mmiou 

 sympathies of other nations to unite, as 

 members of one family, inendcavouis to 

 avert the e\ilj and, on the faihne of 

 temperate remonstrance with the otfend- 

 ing kingdom, to compel them to abolirh 

 and renounce every thing hostile to the 

 integral security and freedom of other 

 countries. 



Are wars then lawful?— With the sole 

 exception of the above case, they are di- 

 rectly opposed to tiic si-irit and to every 

 command of the Christian religion. 

 They are destructive of every good prin- 

 ciple of "file mind ; of justice, charity, 

 the ties of affection; in short, of every 

 feeling that is honourable to humanity. 

 They originate in a lust for power, in 

 Bmbition, pride, and revenge. Wars 

 are conducted at the expense of a na- 

 tion's industry, and are dangerous to the 

 freedoai of a j^ecple Uiat engajfc iu 



the Banna of Marriage. [Aug. 1, 

 them, as they place an overwhelming 

 weight of power and influence in the 

 hands of ambitious princes; and they 

 end in making a nation poor, restless, 

 perfidious, and of a ferocious disposition. 

 What are to be considered as acces- 

 saries of war, and therefore to be con- 

 demned in a well-ordescd society? — All 

 perverted applications of the terms glory, 

 honour, renown, SiC. to the exterminators 

 of mankind; all erections, whether of 

 edifices or of statues, or other monu- 

 ments intended to hold up to admira- 

 tion the carnage of warriors; and all 

 paintings intended to celebrate victo- 

 ries bought with the blood, the tears, 

 and the groans, of millions of the op- 

 pressed children of men. 



What arc wise laws respecting th« 

 religious worship of a nation? — That the 

 birthright and patrimony of each mem- 

 ber of society — to worship his Maker 

 agreeably to the dictates of his own con- 

 science, and to what he believes to be 

 the directions of Scripture, be recog- 

 nized as sacred ; and that the magistrate 

 take cognizance only of overt acts, mili- 

 tating against the peace and order of 

 society. Entire freedom of religious 

 opinion and worship is tise glory of a 

 state. Religion wants no sword — no 

 prison.s— no fetters, for its maintenance 

 or propagation. By protecting the sa- 

 cred rights of conscience, we shall pre- 

 vent the recurrence of those bloody 

 scenes, which fanatic fury, ajid blind 

 and cruel bigotry, have acted in former 

 ages. An intolerant spirit, like the 

 Upas, destroys all life w ithiii the reach 

 of its poisonous eflluvia; and, for the 

 sake of uniformity, surrounds itself with 

 a desert. 



To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 



SIR, 



MAS a clergyman, when tlie banns 

 of marriage arc forbidden in the 

 church, and a good and suflicient cause 

 alleged for his not proceeding to marry 

 such couple; such as the injured party 

 forbidding the banns, producing evi- 

 dence to prove a previous piomise: — un- 

 der these circumstances I wish to know 

 whether the clergyman lias a discretion- 

 ary power vested in him, cither to conti- 

 nue publishing such banns, and ought he, 

 and is it his bomiden duty, to refuse the 

 solemnization of the marriage after such 

 previous interdiction ; even admitting 

 the banns have been published the custo- 

 mary times, according to the ecclesias- 

 tical law. 



As this is a question of cousiderabl* 

 momcat 



