^6 ON THE TEST ACT. May J 8, 



\Vhether with refpedt to thefe, the tefl aft can com- 

 piehtnd Scotch Prefl^ytcrians, I Ihall now briefly in- 

 quire. 



That aft paffed a century before the union was 

 thought of. It had in view, therefore, diffenters only. 

 But, derogating from the rights of the citizen, it mull 

 be rigidly interpreted. A new feft, no doubt, though 

 not exifting, and therefore not particularly in the eye 

 of the legiflature at paffing the aft, will neverthelefs be 

 comprehended, — and juftly ; the teft excluding diffent- 

 ers, not on account of their particular tenets, but on 

 account of what is common to all of them, their devi- 

 ation from the eflablifhment ? But does Prefbyte-' 

 rianifm, eftablifhed by law, and lolemnly fecured in 

 the enjoyment of all its rights and privileges, devi- 

 ate from the eftabliihment ? At common law, then, 

 can the tefl: foundly be conftrued to comprehend reli- 

 gioniils differenced from diffenters by the want of that 

 circumftance which' is common to all diffenters, and 

 ■which makes them obnoxious to the operation of the' 

 teft ? Religionifts, whofe lingular predicament not 

 having been forefeen, could not be provided for ? On 

 the contrary, as the teft aft was framed for the protec- 

 tion of epifcopacy, becaufe it was, at the date of it, the 

 eftablillied religion of the country ; and as at prefent, 

 neither the Church of England, nor Kirk of Scotland,' 

 is the eftabliftied religion o/, but are both of them efta- 

 bliflied religions /« Great Britain, ought not. the teft 

 aft, in common fenfe, not to fay found law, be con- 

 ftrued to ftretch its foftering wings over the latter like- 

 wife ; thus protefting the two legal fcfts from the mul- 

 tiplicity of diffenting feftaries, which law may tolerate, 

 indeed, but does not recognife ? Neither can this con- 

 ftruftion be faid to be contrary to the fpirit of the aft, 

 or opf-nlng the door of offices to Popiih or other difl'ent- 

 ers indifcriminatt'ly, fince all of them, and particular- 

 ly the former, whoni the teft is faid chiefly to ftrikeat, 



