spect and attention, which belonged only to the father; and having their minds selfishly occupied with the father's comforts and gifts, or how they shall use them among each other, than with gratitude to the father who clothes, and feeds, and sustains them all?

And when a season arrives in which to do some honour to the parent and master, they should adopt for this purpose, a plan in direct disobedience to his commands, and which he has declared is most insulting and degrading to himself, and which will surely draw forth his greatest grief

and anger.

What spectator would behold such scenes as these without the utmost indignation and abhorrence? Can we be surprised that Paul and Barnabas, on a similar, rent their clothes, and rushed among the people, crying out, "Sirs, why do ye such things? We preach unto you, that ye should "turn from these vanities to serve the living God."

And what shall we say of that subject, or child, or servant, who, instead of being overwhelmed with grief when beholding such outrages, should be induced by any circumstances, or by the request of the principal actors in such scenes, to assist them in keeping up so melancholy an infatuation, in respect to the object they think they are reverencing, and in cheering them on in their madness, and to their own destruction, as we were required to do.

If you have a parent, or king, or friend, whom you delight to see loved and respected, and can suppose them treated by their children, subjects, or servants, as I have drawn above; if your faith enables you to see him, who is ever present, ever sustaining his own great works; and if your gratitude enables you to look to the Author of all your mercies with any emotion of adoration, thankfulness, or love; the parallels I have used may enable you to judge of what I think and feel when called upon to partake in rites, whose real effect is to insult, degrade, and despise our God.*

Expunged.

| Who then, wishing to keep a conscience void of offence towards God and towards man, can become accessory to so great evils, as those to which I should have been accessory by fulfilling the order and instructions of the 9th August. I had to choose whom I would serve; God, or those who are rebelling against Him. Could I turn my back on Him who is always nigh unto every one of us, who has given and now preserves to me every blessing I ever have enjoyed or do enjoy, and who alone can give all I hope for; who never leaves Himself without a witness on

Being much pressed for time in drawing up this Defence on the first trial, I had omitted to write out this passage when I was called into Court. I added it when I forwarded the Defence to the Judge Advocate General, for the reasons mentioned in my Letter to him inserted further on.

Expunged.

jour consciences of what we owe to Him. Could I, while professing to love Him and to acknowledge His daily mercies, continue to live a rebel against Him, proving that mine is that dead faith, which believes, but which acts as if I did not believe; or more like that of the devils, who believe and tremble, and continue to carry about with me a wounded and evil conscience? Keep in view that I had experienced this state of mind through my former sinful and weak line of conduct respecting the salutes. -Could I, under such circumstances, neglect what is said to us all, "Let

the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and "let him turn unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him, and to "our God, for He will abundantly pardon?" I had experienced the efficacy of that repentance which forsakes sin, looking at the atoning merits of our great and dear Redeemer, when He gave me grace to break away from other sins; and I know that it brings a peace of mind and comfort of heart which indeed passes all understanding. For He that cannot lie has said to all who turn to Him through the great propitiation of His Son, Your sins and your iniquities I will remember no more; I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my children, saith the Lord Almighty.-Can any one be surprised then, that with such information, such principles, and such feelings, as those which I have necessarily had to bring under your notice, I should wish to be faithful to my God, and leave the contingencies to which my worldly affairs would be subject to his Hands?

Now, Gentlemen, these are my private principles and feelings on this momentous subject: but as I cannot claim protection in the present case on the score of mere private opinion, but only on that of the National faith, it is necessary to shew that what I have stated is consonant to the principles of the Established Church of England which maintains the following doctrines.

As to the idolatrous opinions of image maintainers, what are such saints with us to whom we attribute the defence of certain countries, spoiling God of his due honour herein, but Dii tutelares of the Heathen. Expunged.

To make images, and publicly to set them up for the service of religion in Churches, is against God's command,-thou shalt not make to thee any graven image,-thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them; and it is proved that our images are used in the same manner that the Heathen used theirs. From which it is evident that images in churches have been, are, and ever will be, nothing less than abominable idols.

As the Heathens had no less than 30,000 gods, it is supposed there were no fewer saints to whom they gave the honour due to God.

What is the meaning that Christians, after the example of the Heathen,

Expunged.

go on pilgrimages to visit images, when they have similar ones at home; were it not that they have a greater opinion of holiness and virtue in some images than in others, like as the Heathen had?

As an awowed doctrine of those who use images, it is declared that the faithful in the Church do not worship before the image as some Christians speak; but that they worship the image itself without any scruple or doubt at all, with the same kind of worship wherewith the being represented is worshipped.

So it is horrible to think laity and clergy, learned and unlearned, of all ages and sects in Christendom, have at once been drowned in abominable idolatry; of all other vices most detested of God, and most damnable to man.

I refer you for these sentiments to the Homily of the Church of England, on the peril of idolatry, marked as numbered (in a copy laid before the Court) between pages 204 and 221; and to the 35th Article of the Church of England, which says, this, like the other Homilies, contains good and wholesome doctrine; to that doctrine I subscribe, as a member of the Church; and in the practice proceeding from that doctrine, I claim your protection.

That these doctrines form an integral part of the British Constitution will be shewn under the last head of this Defence.

Having shewn that I had been applied for to assist in a Religious Service entirely, and in the rites for the celebration of an idolatrous object; and that I must necessarily have co-operated with the priesthood in their ceremonies; having also shewn my own conscientious principles and feelings as to the idolatrous nature of tutelar saint and image worship, and that the principles of the Church of England are in accordance with mine; as I claim protection only as far as my principles are in accordance with those of the Established Church.

I have in the third place to shew, that if I had taken any part in the sinful acts to which I objected, I must have been accounted an accessory and participator in the crime in the sight of the Almighty, with aggravated guilt; also in the sight of every well informed Protestant Christian.

That Government, and not myself, is responsible for the results which attend the execution of its military orders arises from a just principle, necessary for carrying on the routine of any lawful service, civil or military, or in any establishment where men are acting in subordination to an acknowledged head. But it is a rule of no moral application, it is only a good rule for carrying on the routine of lawful duties; and

cannot have the least application or binding power when the violation of the law is in question: because, as I have before proved, in a military point of view, authority is given and submitted to, only to support order, not to break it; and the rule has evidently no force when extending to matters BEYOND THE AUTHORITY of the master, or the ENGAGEMENT of the servant

When any service is lawful, a Christian can heartily receive, and promptly carry into effect, any of its requirements. He is not responsible for any results which the orders of the service may produce; he is only responsible to God and his superiors, to execute the part assigned to him in a proper manner. But though he is not accountable for the orders which he receives, his personal feelings are equally alive to the CONSEQUENCES of his own actions in the service. When a man is conscious that he is employed on a legal and honourable duty, he feels his actions are legal and honourable; and, according to their importance, he expects his share of honours and rewards. But if orders through the usual channel should require him to perform an illegal or dishonourable act,—who is there that would not feel that, although he might not be in any way responsible for the order which had been handed to him, he would not be less sensible of the stigma which would lay on him from being concerned in such an affair? And when the laws which had been broken came to be executed, he would feel from his own personal responsibility, that dishonour and punishment awaited him, according to the importance of his actions in this illegal act.

If it is denied that a man is to have any personal feeling of disgrace, or liability to punishment when executing an illegal order, he must be denied any personal feeling of honour or claim to reward when executing a lawful service. The principle acted upon would be very right if I had remonstrated against an ACKNOWLEDGED duty of the SERVICE: but it is manifestly a great mistake, and not the less unjust, to apply the rule when the order objected to was for a religious, not a military, service; and when the terms of the order called on me to renounce private rights which the Government is bound to protect, and must not violate. And nothing shews more the weakness of the argument supported by those who are for placing all responsibility on Government, than this truth; they who are now urging that I am not responsible when carrying illegal Government orders into effect, would not allow the same plea from a man in the military service who had been induced by the influence of his superiors to oppose any of the orders of Government.

As to our personal responsibility before God and man for every thing we do, allow me to shew, that man being a free agent, and his will and actions invariably going together, as long as his actions are not under the

constraint of a superior force, he is never allowed to plead, when any wrong is charged against him, my heart and will did not go with my actions, I am not responsible for my actions, because his actions always arise from the state of his will at the time he acts.

Our responsibility is the most serious subject which man can contemplate, as it extends to every thing we do, or say, or think. It is equally so from a consideration of the unlimited and eternal consequences of what we do. The effects and consequences of a man's words and actions are not confined to the first simple act; their consequences are in active operation through the instrumentality of other men, when the soul which first set the evil in motion has no longer any control over what it has done. Man may view the mischief which proceeds from his own actions and tremble, for he has no controul over their consequences when the act is fulfilled and departed from him. The consequences do not cease to operate even when the man has ceased to breathe; they continue their course as long as this world lasts, and their guilt adheres to him throughout eternity; adhering to that never-dying soul which set the evil in motion. Expunged.

The Almighty does not admit the principle of an irresponsible agent, or one acting for another in respect to His LAWS; He shews this by addressing every man individually," Thou shalt have no other gods "before me ;-Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image ;"Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them;" and calling for all our best affections, He says, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy

heart and all thy soul." After having commanded the subordination of the son to his parents, He yet declares,-" Behold, all souls are mine." The soul that sinneth it shall die; the son shall not bear the iniquities of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquities of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. Every man shall bear his own burden." As the law is addressed to every soul personally, so it pronounces a curse on every one who breaks any one of its requirements. Every man must fulfil every part; the declaration is," Cursed is EVERY ONE who continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the Law to do them."

That a man will be judged by his actions, and not by what his fellowcreatures command, we may learn from this declaration,-" He will ren"der unto every man according to his deeds." "I the Lord search the heart; I try the reins even to give to every man according to his 66 ways, and according to the fruit of his own doings." And to shew that the orders of others, or their influence, will not take away our