Read Ebook: A Letter to Sir Samuel Shepherd Knt. His Majesty's Attorney General Upon the Subject of His Prosecutions of Richard Carlile for Publishing Paine's Age of Reason by Anonymous

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"The peace and good order of society." This is to obtain a submission to tyranny; which submission Jesus in his religion inculcates by his Apostle Peter, 1 Cph. chap. ii. ver. 13: "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man." And this will account for zeal of the ruling authorities to support Jesus's pretensions:

"Individual and public welfare." This, after what has been shewn, must be all rant.

"The happiness of their fellow-subjects here and hereafter." This can never be promoted by suppressing argument and stifling inquiry.

"Arrest the fatal poison." Here the fair and free investigation and examination of propositions is called poison. Yet, who but the wicked can have any thing to dread from inquiry?

I apprehend, Mr. Shepherd, that you and the self' styled Society for the Suppression of Vice carry on separate prosecutions, but I have classed you both together, because you are both of you aiding, abetting, and assisting in the same design. Of what individuals that Society is composed is not known to me, but as the Bishops of Durham and Rochester are the presidents, I conclude, that many priests of Jesus are among the number, and that, at any rate, the parsons are the chief instructors in this business. That free inquiry should not generally take place is much their interest, for thereby their "gains would be gone." They would much wish that the ignorance of ancient days, so profitable to parsons, could be brought back; and I send you a verse or two upon a desire expressed in the Gentleman's, or as it ought to be called, from its treating so much of ecclesiastical matters, and expressing the wish of the parsons, the Parson's Magazine, that the level near St. Andrew's church should be filled up.

"Priests, who through fiats their trade sustain Wish level Holborn Hill; And wish the world were flat again As erst when it stood still." 1

The self-styled Society for the Suppression of Vice, are zealous to substitute useless or absurd observances as parts of religion, instead of real true morality; and have taken great pains to prevent amusements, and produce a gloom throughout Sunday, the only holiday for many people. There are not less spirits drank on amount of a sabbatical gloom; for harmless chearfulness is rather a preservative of innocence. I have therefore sent you, Mr. Attorney-General, a song, which I beg you to deliver to the parsons of that Society, and to any other parsons, to help them to keep up their spirits.

SONG,

To the tune of "Come, bustle, hustle, drink about, and let us merry be," of George Alexander Stevens.

Since Paul affirms that Heaven has chose The thoughtless foolish things, 1 And bless'd with Paradise all those For paying priests and kings: 2 Then a preaching we will go, will go, will go, Then a preaching we will go.

Fanatic herds, as if with strings At their nose, by priests are led; And know not that the knavish things Made that choice in God's stead. Then a preaching, &c.

As crowds believe the heavens reject The prying, shrewd, and wise, No fear lest he our fraud detect, Whose faith has closed his eyes. Then a preaching, &c.

Now Sion is rubied, gilt, and pearl'd, As the seat of blockheads' bliss; Our flocks may take that future world, Give us the joys of this. Then a preaching, &c.

Our muttons, gulled and ignorant, Dare never close inquire, Lest if they disbelieve our cant, They fall to Hell's hot fire. Then a preaching, &c.

Thus dolts suck in through panic dread The Gospel's milk 1 and crumbs, And with all nonsense fill their heads, Lest Hell should scorch their bums. Then a preaching, &c.

March 2,1810. PHILALETHES.

LETTER TO MR. CARLILE,

London, 28th February, 1819.

Sir,

You are about to be placed in a situation, and to perform a part, which will interweave your name in the page of history:--not, however, in that species of history which records the wars, bloodshed, or misery of nations, as opposed to one another; but in that which exhibits the cruelties of governments towards individuals among their own subjects, who seeing, or thinking they see, their fellow men suffering afflictions through the ignorance, prejudice, and misrule of their governments, endeavour to remove the causes of such oppressions and misery, by disclosing them, and setting their fellow-men to think for themselves. You have had the virtue and intrepidity to engage in this honourable career, and are, consequently, a prominent object in the public eye. Every friend to the progress of knowledge, reason, and truth, as well as of sincere humanity, is warmly interested in the nature and result of those severe proceedings instituted against you. They devoutly hope that your character as a man and a neighbour will afford no handle for disparagement of you and your conduct; that your moral principles are good, and your integrity unquestioned; that your deportment in the relations of private and domestic life is amiable: and that conscious of the purity of your motives, you will not shrink before the threats of your adversaries; but, on the contrary, display that manly firmness of courage which will enable you to encounter and defeat the numerical, though not formidable, superiority of force to be arrayed against you. If, however, contrary to our hopes and expectations, the abettors of persecution in church and state should, by their arts and machinations, succeed in obtaining a verdict for the persecutor, be you assured that the respect, sympathy, and support of every enlightened, liberal, and benevolent mind, will follow you, wherever your oppressors may convey your person. Yet, I cannot but cherish anticipations of a very different termination of these proceedings, engendered as they are between religious bigotry and political folly, when submitted by both sides to a jury of our countrymen. I trust that impartial justice will guide their decision.

As a friend to the universal freedom of mankind, civil and religious, I take leave to address you, for the purpose of contributing my sincere congratulations on the honours that await you, and the fine opportunity presented to you of benefiting mankind. I regret that the nature of my situation constrains me to conceal my name. To disclose it would, in all probability, prove my ruin in worldly circumstances, and thus both my present and future usefulness in this very cause be destroyed. I know many individuals, eminent for public and private virtue, who entertain the same sentiments as myself, who, by the prejudices so assiduously kept up, are equally obliged to be silent.

I have felt desirous, too, of sending you a few unconnected thoughts which have occurred to me on your case. It is very likely that they are quite common, and may have been much better expressed by others; yet, nevertheless, I shall state them.

You cannot have a better ground-work for your defence than the theological works of Paine, which, indeed, settle the question about the inspiration of the scriptures and the divinity of Christ. On the subject of religion generally there is a book which every lover of truth must regret is not so well known as it will infallibly be in no long time--I allude to a work entitled "Principles of Morality," by George Ensor, Esq. It displays the most extensive research and erudition, combined with good sense and an amiable disposition; the subject is pursued with much perspicuity of order, and expressed in an easy, neat, appropriate style. The book forms a very useful companion to Hume's ingenious and philosophical Essays on the Natural History of Religion.

I have now to advert to what you will doubtless consider the most valuable part of this communication. At the period of the late Mr. Eaton's cruel and abominable treatment under the chief persecutorship of Lord Ellenborough and his high priest, Sir Vicary Gibbs, a letter appeared in the Morning Chronicle on the subject of that unfortunate gentleman's unmerited punishment. It purported to be written by one who believed in the Christian religion; but it evinced sentiments so liberal, reasoning so just and forcible; it placed the right of conscience, even as good policy, in so striking a point of view; arguing the subject in such good temper, and with such conciseness, as to appear to me a masterpiece of its kind, and a standard to which every member of the Christian church ought to be referred. I preserved a copy of it at the time, and now send you one transcribed, believing that it may be useful to you, or that it may at least be interesting to you in the perusal.

The public mind has, of late years, been making rapid progress towards a true knowledge of its rights. Priestcraft and bigotry must and will be destroyed. Once trampled upon by man in the energy of his wrath, these monsters can never again rear their Gorgon heads. Like the Apollo represented by the Grecian sculptor, in the act of destroying the Pythian serpent, man will then stand as God created him, the impress of his own image, erect, free, noble, and grand. We have seen the glorious result of the attempt to crush, not Hone, but in him the spirit of a free press, and it is not permitted us to doubt that a similar triumph and reward awaits you.

I am,

Your sincere friend,

A FELLOW-INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH.

To the Editor of the Morning Chronicle.

Sir,

I was one of those who saw Mr. Eaton stand in the pillory for what has been called an attempt to overturn the religion of his country. The manner in which the spectators behaved during the execution of this severe punishment, was, in my opinion, highly creditable to the liberality of the age. I think I may venture to say, there was hardly an individual present who did not sympathise with the unfortunate man; he was cheered by numbers during the whole time of the punishment; and many efforts were made to convey various kinds of refreshments to him.

As one of those who wish well to the interests of the Christian religion, I own I was shocked upon this occasion. I have always conceived this religion to be perfectly independent of the arm of authority for its support, and to require only to be heard and examined to bear down every species of opposition. I cannot but consider that it has made its way against power, learning, and philosophy, united to destroy it; nor can I refuse to draw from this the deduction, that it will equally withstand all the efforts of abuse, sophistry, and calumny. When I see any set of men resort to punishment, instead of argument, in its defence, I can with difficulty conceive they are serious in the belief of its doctrines, for the smallest reflection might convince them, that such a course is the most effectual method they could take to lower its estimation, and to cover it with discredit. It betrays that diffidence and fear for the result which a man thoroughly impressed with the truth of the Christian doctrines would surely not be the most likely to entertain. I cannot bring myself, therefore, to believe, that those who manifest a zeal to crush the enemies of Christianity by the arm of the law, are themselves acquainted with that religion. I imagine them, on the contrary, to be men whose time and attention have been completely ingrossed by secular affairs, and who believe the Christian religion as they would believe the Mohammedan, merely because their fathers believed it before them.

Let those cruel persecutors reflect for a moment on the injury they are thus doing to the very cause they are pretending to support. Let them consider that religion can be defended only by argument, or by force; and that it cannot be defended by the union of both; for it is in vain to say, it may be defended by argument, when the reasonings on one side only can be heard aloud, while those on the other draw down on the head of the user of them pillory and imprisonment. It is certainly a very unequal conflict when one of the combatants may make use of an argument or a halter at his discretion. It is like a battle between a pugilist and one armed with a stiletto, which, though he may not use at first, he knows he can use if hard pushed. Such defenders of Christianity would do well to remember, that the means they are resorting to are those which so successfully promoted the cause of infidelity in France. Had the same pains been bestowed in refuting the productions of Rousseau, Diderot, and Voltaire, which were employed in burning their books and punishing the authors, France and the whole of Europe might, at this day, have exhibited very different spectacle.

The progress of liberal opinion has been very rapid, indeed, of late years; and though Judges and Attorney-Generals, whose daily pursuits, certainly so unfavourable to liberal and comprehensive reasonings, are generally among the last persons to shake off antiquated prejudices, yet they too, however slowly, will, unquestionably, at last, be borne down by the tide of public opinion.

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