"and educated, without being forced, (as they have been "hitherto,) to come to England for that purpose, at an ex pense which they can ill fupport, and with the hazard "of their healths and lives in a long fea-voyage, which has "been already fatal to many of them. Till this important "measure is adopted, and carried into effectual execution, "by establishing a proper number of bifhops in America, "with revenues fuitable to the dignity of their office and "station, the church of England (though it is, in point of “right and law, the only established church in America,) 66 may be truly faid to be in fact in a state of perfecution or "oppreffion, while every other denomination of protestants enjoys the highest degree of liberty: which is an event "of a fingular nature, and contrary to the example of all "other governments in the world; as they always take care "to provide fuitable encouragements and fupports for the "feveral religions they think fit to adopt and establifh. It "is fit, therefore, that England fhould, at last, follow the "fame juft policy, and that every encouragement that the "British government can afford to any religion in America "fhould be afforded to that of the church of England. "As to what relates to the perfous who have engaged in "this wicked and unnatural rebellion, we, that are minifters "of the gospel of peace and mercy, fhould, if we were to "follow the inclinations of our hearts, rejoice to see those "offenders discharged, at the close of these troubles, with no "other punishment or reproof, than our Saviour's exhorta"tion to the woman taken in adultery, Go, and fin no "more.' But policy and prudence forbid fo mild a con"duct, and make it neceffary to the future fafety and tran"quillity of the ftate, that many of those who have been "moft guilty in exciting this rebellion in America should "receive due punishment for their crimes by the fentence "of 66 "of thofe laws which they have fo wantonly and atrociously "violated. The members of the Continental Congrefs in "particular, who have paffed the vote of Independance, "and thereby themselves renounced, and inftigated their countrymen to renounce, the allegiance due to the king's "facred majefty, must be confidered as having offended beyond all hopes of mercy; which, if it were extended to "offenders of that deep malignity, might be juftly cenfured "as weak and dangerous, and injurious to the publick wel"fare. For it would counter-act the good effects of the "fucceffes with which God hath been pleased to bless our "arms in this unhappy conteft, and would render precari"ous the future peace and tranquillity of the American "colonies, and the future authority of Great-Britain over "them, (by which alone that tranquillity can be preserved,) "by preventing the exiftence of the ftrongest of all fecu"rities for the continuance of those bleffings, to wit, the "terror arifing from the fight and memory of a fevere and "extenfive execution of the laws against thofe who have fo wickedly overthrown them. These very great offenders, "therefore, together with the principal members of the "feveral provincial affemblies, or conventions, that have ufurped the government of their refpective provinces fince "the general rejection of his Majefty's lawful authority, we must now prepare ourselves to fee punished in the manner the laws direct, in order to infure to future gene"rations the advantages of peace and harmony between "Great-Britain and the American colonies, with a due fub"ordination of the latter to the parental authority of the "former, which, by God's bleffing on his Majesty's arms, are likely now foon to be established.” 66 This I take to be a fair and moderate interpretation of the above-mentioned paffage of the Archbishop of York's fermon. -- fermon. The feven propofitions, or regulations, herein before diftinctly fet-forth in the first part of the foregoing paraphrafe, are those which I conceived, upon reading the faid paffage of that fermon, the archbishop muft have had in his mind at the time he wrote it, and would have fet forth. and avowed, if he had been under a neceffity of pointingout distinctly what those remedies of the political diforders in America were, which, he fays, Neceffity will now at last provide, though Forefight did not. And I am confident that no American that reads that fermon, will conceive it to mean lefs. And, as to the latter propofitions concerning the state of the church of England in America, and the neceffity of establishing tythes there, or fome other legal and general payments, (to be made by all the inhabitants of America, as well as by the members of the church of England,) for the maintenance of the clergy of the church of England, and likewife of establishing bishops there ;-I fay, as to thefe latter propofitions, they are exprefsly contained in the Archbishop's own words, which cannot be made intelligible, or confiftent with themselves, by any other interpretation. Nor can the last paragraph of the aforefaid paffage of the Archbishop's fermon, in which he says concifely, "That the interefts of great flates require fecurities that are not precarious," be well fuppofed to have a lefs extenfive meaning than that which is above afcribed to it. - There is also another very remarkable paffage in that fermon of the Archbishop of York, which relates to a most refpectable body of people here in England itself; I mean the proteftant diffenters. Thefe people have fo far incurred his grace's difpleasure, by expreffing a difapprobation of the measures that have been taken against America, that he treats them as the worst enemies of government, and declares that the fevere laws which were formerly made againft against papists in the reigns of queen Elizabeth and king James I. in confequence of their frequent plots to dethrone and affaffinate the former, and of the famous gunpowder plot in the beginning of the reign of the latter, (by which they designed to destroy at once the king and both houses of parliament,) ought now to be extended to these new, but equally dangerous, domestick enemies. The paffage in which this fentiment is conveyed, is in these words. "When a fect is established, it usually becomes a party in the fiale: "it has its interefts; it bas its animofities; together with a fyftem of civil opinions, by which it is diftinguished, at leaft as much as by its religious. Upon thefe opinions, "when contrary to the well-being of the community, the authority of the ftate is properly exercised. 66 66 66 "The laws enacted against papists have been extremely fevere: but they were not founded on any difference in religious fentiments. The reafons upon which they were "founded were purely political. "The papifts acknowledged a fovereignty different from "that of the state; and fome of the opinions which they main"tained made it impoffible for them to give any fecurity for "their obedience. We are ufually governed by traditional "notions, and are apt to receive the partialities and averfions of our fathers. But new dangers may arife: and, if at any time another denomination of men should be equally dangerous to our civil interefts, it would be justifiable to "lay them under fimilar reflraints.” 66 I prefume it can hardly be doubted that the meaning of the laft fentence of this paffage, when turned into ftill plainer English, is as follows. The prefbyterians and other pro"teftant diffenters of England are at this day as much ene"mies to government, and as dangerous to our civil interefts, as the papifts were in the reigns of queen Eliza beth "beth and king James I. when thofe fevere laws were "made against them. Therefore it is now equally juft and "neceffary to make the like laws against the faid proteftant "diffenters." This is a strange accufation to be brought against that body of men in England who have, of all others, been most uniformly and zealously attached to the government of the princes of the houfe of Hanover, ever fince the first moment of their acceffion to the throne of thefe kingdoms !-and for no other crime but expreffing a difapprobation of the wild and dangerous project of attempting to govern three millions of people, at the diftance of three thousand miles, in a manner they did not like, by means of a great army, composed in part of hired foreigners ;-a project which was likely to be almost equally pernicious to Great-Britain, whether it did, or did not, fucceed. For, if it had fuccceded, it would have increafed the power and influence of the crown (which are already generally thought to be too great,) in fo great a degree as to have rendered the liberties of England itfelf precarious, or dependant on the perfonal character and virtues of the king upon the throne; and it would likewife have occafioned a prodigious additional annual expense to Great-Britain, to maintain the army which would have been neceffary to keep America in subjection, after it had been fubdued ;-an expense which would have far exceeded all the taxes that could have been raifed for that purpose in America, together with all the profits that Great-Britain could have derived from the prefervation and monopoly of its trade. And, if it did not fucceed, (which was much the more likely event, and that which we now fee and feel, has happened,) it was likely to be attended with the total lofs of the colonies of North-America, (which would in such a cafe make themselves independ ant |