established Church, have on that account, been deprived of many important rights and privileges, both civil and political, or permitted to enjoy them on conditions and compliances inconsistent with any just measure of religious liberty. One is astonished and disgusted on reading in Judge Blackstone's commentaries, the long catalogue of vexations, penalties, disabilities, and degrading disqualifications imposed by numerous laws on the different sects of dissenters, under which they were tolerated in worshiping God according to their consciences. These penalties, disabilities, and disqualifications in a civil and political point of view have been mitigated and even removed since the commentaries were written. But still, while there remains the establishment of the national Church, so regarded by law, the dissenting sects enjoy their religious liberty under the idea of toleration, which is in itself sufficiently degrading. Indeed a national establishment of religion, however necessary it may have been thought in former times to the support of the established government, had its commencement in error, in bigotry, and superstition, which are always exclusive, always intolerant. It is at best, inconsistent with a full and just measure of rational religious liberty.

However demonstrable the existence of the Supreme Being, his extensive attributes, and the duty of all to obey his will, and to serve and worship him, may be to common reason, the mode and manner of that worship which will be most acceptable to him, is not equally demonstrable. This is left to the conscience of every man, upon the best information he is capable of attaining; and was doubtless so left for the moral benefit of mankind. The different sects feeling a deep interest in approving to the world the superior excellence of their particular religious tenets, manner of service, and worship, are set as watchmen on the moral conduct of each other. This situation always, as men, where they are not involved in the ignorance of bigotry, or led astray by the delusive visions of enthusiasm, judge of religious opinions and modes, and the sincerity of those who profess them, by the good effect on their lives and conversation in society, excites a moral emulation among the different sects, beneficial to them and to mankind. Of this we have full proof in the history of the sixteenth century, which includes the

commencement of the great reformation from popery. While the whole christian world was involved in the ignorance and bigotry of that superstition; when the Pope, as the head of the Church, was held to be infallible and the character of the clergy was held too sacred to be submitted to the judgment of the profane laity; when the Pope assumed the power of pardoning past sins, however enormous, for the sums at which he had severally rated to them; of selling dispensations from the most solemn engagements, and indulgences for future crimes, and none dared to hint a censure of these things, the profligacy of the clergy and the universal corruption of manners was such as to render an impartial history of those times almost incredible at this day. The contest that ensued with a powerful hierarchy, excited a spirit of enquiry among the reformers, invigorated their minds, and opened to them the stores of learning which had lain buried for centuries, under the rubbish of a vain philosophy and scholastic jargon. This enabled them to rend the veil of ignorance, under which the world had long been enveloped, and to expose the errors and corruptions of the Church of Rome with an intelligence and force, that threatened the final subversion of the hierarchy. The learners of the reformers could no longer be resisted by ignorance, nor the arguments be opposed by disregarded thunders of the Vatican. The Romish clergy were compelled to become learned in their own defence; and, to prevent a total defection of their followers, they found it necessary to reform their lives, so strongly contrasted with the sober demeanor and strict moral lives of their opponents. Each party noted with severity the conduct of the other. Among the protestant reformers themselves, differences of opinion, modes of worship, and discipline, to which was added a zeal for gaining proselytes, although they sometimes ran into excess, contributed to the same moral end. These are justly to be considered as the first and principal causes of the great improvements, in moral knowledge, in literature, and science, in the European world during the two last centuries.

In these United States religious liberty is secured, and the rights of conscience enjoyed to their full extent. No state establishment of religion, no religious test is permitted by the

constitution. All the different sects enjoy equal prvileges and equal rights natural, civil, and political. The only restriction which operates equally on all is that no one in the exercise of his liberty, shall infringe the liberty of others, do any thing to disturb their rights, or to the injury of society. All causes of jealousy, civil and political, being removed, moral emulation operates without envy, and the different sects live in peace and charity with each other. In elections by the people, and in appointments to office, no enquiry is made what are the religious tenets, but what is the fitness, what the talents and integrity of the candidate.

To violate the rights of others, to disturb the peace and good order of society under pretence of conscience, or of religious duty are acts equally criminal as though perpetrated under any pretence whatever. They are equally prohibited by the laws of nature; they are prohibited by the Supreme Being, the Author of religion, and the object of all religious worship, and justly punishable by the laws of society. Το punish the abuse, instead of being a restraint upon liberty, is in fact, its greatest surety.

The right of propagating a religious opinion stands on the same ground. The propagation of an opinion which does not result in any acts injurious to society, cannot with justice, be subjected to restraint by human laws. But this right may be abused and made the instrument of the most flagitious crimes, destructive of the order, peace, happiness, and of the very being of civil society. Such were the opinions formerly held by the Roman Catholic Church. It was sedulously inculcated as an essential article of their religious creed, that no faith was to be kept with heretics, dissenters from the doctrines of that Church-that it was meritorious in the sight of Heaven to assassinate heretical princes and rulers, and to subvert by any means, every government which rejected its dogmas, and declined its authority. This was not intended to be a mere speculative doctrine and to rest in theory. It was reduced to practice by the ministers and agents of that Church, to the terror of one half of the christian world. Such was the violation of the safe conduct given by the emperor of Germany to Jerome of Prague, who, with his associates was sentenced to the flames.

Such the assassination of Henry IV. of France, by the fanatic Monk Ravaillac, for granting toleration to his protestant subjects. Such the gun powder plot in England in the reign of James I.— a plot for blowing up at once, the king and the whole English parliament. From the same source proceeded the numerous plots and rebellions devised principally by the Roman Catholics in England, down to the middle of the last century, by which, the government and liberties of the nation were exposed to perpetual danger, and sometimes brought to the brink of ruin. So intimately had they connected these pernicious opinions with the most important articles of their religious creed, such their faith in the priest of their order, so submissive were they found to the mandates of the sovereign Pontiff, that no penalties could provide an effectual restraint upon men, who were persuaded they merited the favor of Heaven by the commission of the most horrid crimes.

It became therefore necessary, as far as possible, to prevent the propagation of a religion so inseparably blended with such pernicious opinions. For this end, persons professing the Romish religion, were forbidden to keep or teach any school under pain of perpetual imprisonment. They were forbidden to hear or to say mass, that is, to attend worship according to the Romish ritual.-No person might send another abroad to be educated in the Roman Catholic religion, or contribute to his expenses, while abroad for that purpose, under numerous and severe penalties. Popish priests and bishops were forbidden to celebrate mass, or to exercise any of their functions in England, except in the house of a foreign ambassador, under penalty of perpetual imprisonment. To the same end were imposed many disabilities, and other severe penalties, but generally not of a sanguinary character. Without entering into the question, whether laws less severe might not have been equally effectual, I believe every unprejudiced person will see and acknowledge that the restraints imposed by these laws, were no more inconsistent with true religious liberty, than the laws of society for the prevention of theft, robbery, and murder, are inconsistent with civil liberty. It is due here to observe that if the Pope and the Romish Church have not formally disavowed those pernicious

opinions, they have of late years been generally discarded by the professors of that religion,-that the Roman Catholics of Great Britain have universally renounced them as gross heresies, in consequence of which those severe laws have been repealed and they have been restored to all their rights, civil, political, and religious, as fully as the other sects dissenting from the established national Church had been by the repeal of the test and other laws.

We come now to the second division of our subject, the liberty of political opinion, which is defined to be "the right and liberty of every citizen to discuss and propagate his opinion on every subject relating to the government, institutions, and laws, the measures pursued by its ministers, and functionaries, and to act agreeable to that opinion, with this only condition, that in so acting he violate not the rights of others, or injure the commmunity, of which he is a member." It is unnecessary here to add any thing on the right of private opinion. The right of discussing and propagating political opinions requires further examination, as it comprehends the liberty of speech and of the press-subjects of great importance in a free government. By the liberty of the speech and of the press, is to be understood what is substantially expressed in the foregoing definition, the right of every citizen freely to express, either in conversation, or by means of the press, his opinions in relation to the constitution of the government, its administration, and laws, the conduct, abilities, and integrity of the officers and functionaries, and the tendency, whether good or bad, of the measures pursued,-to an arbitrary government nothing can be more hostile than liberty of speech and of the press. Where that liberty prevails in any considerable degree, nothing is more efficient in the diffusion of knowledge among the people. They of course become enlightened, and by a free interchange of sentiments and opinions, learn what rights they are entitled to claim as intelligent and social beings, and feel more keenly the arbitrary exactions and oppressive acts of the government. They soon discover that the whole physical strength of the community is in their hands and that nothing is wanting but a union of sentiments and action, and a prudent and steady direction of