CHARLES WATERTON, ESQ. Ixxix 



which professes to be the most tolerant of all go- 

 vernments in things appertaining to religion, should 

 have visited millions of its subjects with the severest 

 penalties, for two long centuries and a half, merely 

 becaue they refused to abandon the creed of their 

 ancestors. Neither can I comprehend how a go- 

 vernment can have the consummate assurance to 

 enforce payment to the church by law established, 

 when it is a well-known fact in history (see the act 

 of parliament 1st and 2d of Mary, chap. 8.) that the 

 very founders of this law-church did confess, in full 

 and open parliament, that they had declined from the 

 unity of Christ's church, and had a long while wan- 

 dered and strayed abroad ; and that they acknow- 

 ledged their own errors, and declared themselves 

 very sorry and repentant of the schism and disobe- 

 dience committed by them in this realm against 

 the See Apostolic. Again, can any thing be more 

 unjust and despicable than the custom of preaching 

 an annual sermon against us on the 5th of No- 

 vember? This year it fell on a Sunday; and, upon 

 that sacred day, many were the persons who put 

 charity behind the pulpit, and then, in front of it, 

 held up the bugbear popery, in so terrific a point of 

 view, that numbers of old women were nearly fright- 

 ened into hysterics. However, I think I may ven- 

 ture to assure their reverences that I, for one, will 

 never use gunpowder in an unlawful way. I had 

 much rather see them walk soberly along, and keep 

 possession of their usurped pulpits for a little while 

 longer, than hear of them being blown up sky-high 

 by the unjustifiable application of prepared charcoal 

 and saltpetre. 



