30 JOSEPH PRIESTLEY i 



The second reform suggested is the equalisa- 

 tion, in proportion to work done, of the stipends 

 of the clergy ; the third, the exclusion of the 

 Bishops from Parliament ; and the fourth, com- 

 plete toleration, so that every man may enjoy the 

 rights of a citizen, and be qualified to serve his 

 country, whether he belong to the Established 

 Church or not. 



Opinions such as those I have quoted, respecting 

 the duties and the responsibilities of governors, 

 are the commonplaces of modern Liberalism ; 

 and Priestley's views on Ecclesiastical Establish- 

 ments would, I fear, meet with but a cool re- 

 ception, as altogether too conservative, from a 

 large proportion of the lineal descendants of the 

 people who taught their children to cry " Damn 

 Priestley ; " and with that love for the practical 

 application of science which is the source of the 

 greatness of Birmingham, tried to set fire to the 

 doctor's house with sparks from his own electrical 

 machine ; thereby giving the man they called an 

 incendiary and raiser of sedition against Church 

 and King, an appropriately experimental illustra- 

 tion of the nature of arson and riot. 



If I have succeeded in putting before you the 

 main features of Priestley's work, its value will 

 become apparent when we compare the condition 

 of the English nation, as he knew it, with its 

 present state. 



