WATSON. 



happen, in which the eftabhnied religion of a country may 

 be the religion of a minority of the people, that minority at 

 the fame time pofreffing a majority of the property, out of 

 which the minifters of the eftablifhment are paid ; and if this 

 fhould occur, our author feems to be undecided in his judg- 

 ment. His fentiments as to the expediency of requiring from 

 the minifters of the eftablifhed church a fubfcription to the 

 prefent articles of religion, or to any human confeflion of 

 faith, further than a declaration of belief in the fcriptures, 

 as containing a revelation of the will of God, may be col- 

 le€lcd from his two pamphlets, fubfcribed " A Chriftian 

 Whig," and "'A Confillent Proteftant." 



In adverting to thefe trails, our author reflefts with 

 fatisfaftion on the coincidence of his fentiments, on many 

 points civil and religious, with thofe of bifhop Hoadly, 

 though he has been farcaftically and injuridufly called " A 

 republican bidiop." 



On th'; 2ift of December 1773, Dr. Watfon married 

 the eldeft daughter of Edward Wilfon, efq. of Dallum 

 Tower, in Weftmoreland ; and the conneftion was a 

 fource of uninterrupted fatisfaftion and felicity. Hav- 

 ing obtained, by the intereft of the duke of Grafton 

 with the bifhop of St. Afaph, a fmecure in Wales, he ex- 

 changed it, by the fame intereft, on his return to Cam- 

 bridge, for a prebend of Ely ; and this favour was granted, 

 though the duke and Dr. Watfon held different political 

 opinions. Tliey afterwards differed alfo in their religious 

 fentiments ; the duke having avowed himfelf an Unitarian. 

 Referring to him under this denomination. Dr. Watfon, 

 with laudable liberality, declares, " that lie is happy in 

 feeing a perfon of his rank profeftlng with intelligence and 

 fincerity Chriftian principles. If any one thinks that an 

 Unitarian is not a Chriftian, I plainly fay, without being 

 myfelf an Unitarian, that I think otherwife." 



Dr. Watfon's pohtical principles are well known. From 

 his earlieft youth to his dying day he was a Whig, in tliat 

 fenfc of the term which is well underftood, and need not 

 here be explained. In 1776 it came to his turn to preach 

 the reftoration and acceflion fermons before the univerfity ; 

 and they were both printed. The firft was entitled " The 

 Principles of the Revolution vindicated." Although it was 

 written with great caution, a report was circulated in Lon- 

 don that it was treafonable ; but when Mr. Dunning (after- 

 wards lord Aftiburton) was aflced what he thought of it, 

 he replied, " that it contained fuch trcafon as ought to be 

 preached once a month at St. James's." However, it gave 

 great offence to the court, and, in Dr. Watfon's opinion, 

 continued to be an obftacle to his preferment. The author 

 was much abufed, in confequence of the publication of this 

 fermon, by miniftcrial writers, as a man of republican prin- 

 ciples ; but by Mr. Fox, and others of his clafs, it was 

 very highly commended. 



In the fame year, 1776, Dr. Watfon published his 

 •' Apology for Chriftianity," in reply to Mr. Gibbon's 

 obnoxious chapters in his " Hiftory of the Decline and Fall 

 of the Roman Empire." His treatment of the hiftorian 

 was liberal and conciliatory, and was acknowledged with 

 great courtefy and refpeft. In February 1780, Dr. Wat- 

 Ion preached, at the requcft of the vice-chancellor, the faft 

 fermon before the univerfity, which became very popular, 

 and was widely circulated. In May of this year he pub- 

 lifhed a charge to the clergy of the archdeanery of Ely, at 

 his firft vifitation ; the primary objcft of which charge was 

 to recommend an eftabliftimcnt at Cambridge, for the ex- 

 prefs purpofe of.tranflating and publiftiing Oriental MSS., 

 wherever found. Dr. Keene, biftiop of Ely, exprefted his 

 approbation of this charge ; but as he reflefted on the 

 Vol.. XXXVIII. 



author's politics, he retorts it by obferving in a letter to his 

 lordfhip, " My politics may hurt my intereft, but they will 

 not hurt my honour. They are the pohtics of Locke, 

 Somers, and Hooker ; and in the reign of George II., 

 they were the politics of this univerfity." In February 

 1781, our author was prefented by the duke of Rutland 

 with the reAory of Knaploft, in Leicefterftiire ; and as he 

 was juft then printing the firft two volumes of Chemical 

 Effays, he availed himfelf of this opportunity of dedicating 

 them to his grace. In 1782, Soame Jenyns publiflied his 

 Difquifitions on various fubjefts, the feventh of which ad- 

 vanced principles very oppofite to thofe which were con- 

 tained in the " Principles of the Revolution vindicated," 

 with occafional glances at that fermon. Although our 

 author was fcarcely recovered from a dangerous illnefs, he 

 drew up, in the courfe of a few hours, " An Anfwer to the 

 Difquifitions, &c." Upon a change of miniftry, lord 

 Shelburne was induced to confer the biftiopric of Landaff 

 on Dr. Watfon ; and on the 26th of July 1782, he kiffed 

 hands on his promotion. But he was not very much gra- 

 tified by this advancement ; becaufe lord Shelburne had 

 expreffed to the duke of Grafton his expectation that he 

 would occafionally write a pamphlet for their adminiftration. 

 The duke, however, did the new prelate the juftice to affure 

 his lordfhip, that he had totally miftaken the charafter of 

 the biftiop ; for though he might write as an abftraft quef- 

 tion, concerning government, or the principles of legiflation, 

 it would not be with a view of affifting any adminiftration. 

 " I had written," fays the independent and high-fpirited 

 biftiop, " in fupport of the principles of the revolution, be- 

 caufe I thought thofe principles ufeful to the ftate, and I 

 faw them vilified and neglefted. I had taken part in their 

 petitions againft the influence of the crown, becaufe I 

 thought that influence would deftroy the conftitution, and 

 I faw that it was increafing. I had oppofed the fupportcrs 

 of the American war, becaufe I thought that war not only 

 to be inexpedient, but unjuft. But all this was done from 

 my own fenfe of things, and without the leaft view of 

 pleafing any party : I did, however, happen to pleafe a 

 party, and they made me a biftiop. I have hitherto fol- 

 lowed, and fliall continue to follow, my own judgment in 

 all pubhc tranfaftions : all parties now underftand this, and 

 it is probable that I may continue to be biftiop of Landaff 

 as long as I live. Be it fo. Wealth and power are but 

 fecondary objefts of purfuit to a thinking man, efpecially 

 to a thinking Chriftian." Lord Shelburne feems to have 

 courted an intimate acquaintance with the biftiop ; alleging 

 that he had Dunning to aflift him in law points, and Barry 

 in army concerns, and expreffing his wifti to confult him in 

 church matters. The biftiop availed himfelf of this over- 

 ture, and propofed to the minifter a plan by which fervice 

 might be done to religion and to the eftabliftied church. 

 Being invited to dine with his lordftiip, he put into his hand 

 a paper, containing the following fcheme of reform, com- 

 prehending the doftrine, the jurifdiftion, and the revenue 

 of the church of England. The two following hints on the 

 fubjeft of the revenue he fubmittcd to the confideration of 

 his lordlhip : — " Firft, a bill to render the biflioprics more 

 equal to each other, both with refpeft to income and pa- 

 tronage ; by annexing, as the richer biflioprics became va- 

 cant, a part of their revenues, and a part of their patronage, 

 to the poofer. By a bill of this kind, the biftiops would 

 be freed from the neceflity of holding ecclefiaftical prefer- 

 ments in commendam ; a praftice which bears hard on the 

 rights of the inferior clergy. Another probable confe- 

 quence of fuch a bill would be, a longer refidence of the 

 biftiops in their fcveral diocefes ; from which the beft con- 

 A a fequences 



