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 w^ho put 
charity behind the pii^pit, 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. 
