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that period , and within a quarter of a mile of this place , he visited the consecration of a Roman Chapel , the ceremony of which was attended by the magistrates of the city of London , and several peers of the realm , both Protestant aud Catholic . Iii conjunction with several gentlemen whom he was then addressing , he adjourned from that scene to a neighbouring tavern , where they celebrated their good cause , and paid the tribute due to those that ministered to
their instruction in the morning , separated ouly by one door from their Roman Catholic friends , who had just arrived to rejoice in the opening of the chapel . He had lived to see Dissenters restored in one year to the enjoyments of those privileges of which they had been deprived one hundred and fifty years before . He had lived to see Protestant Dissenters
acknowledged among the loyal subjects of the realm , and restored to that station which for forty years he had argued their right to occupy . He now had the additional satisfaction of witnessing the triumph of civil and religious liberty , and almost every person put in possession of its enjoyment . That was a
consummation which , however devoutly he might wish for , he never expected to see realized . He agreed with the sentiment uttered that evening , that this event would confer more honour upon George the Fourth , than all the victories which had been obtained over surrounding nations . He hoped that Protestant Dissenters would now consider themselves
so far upon a level as not to break in upou the good fellowship iii which tliey ought to regard their neighbours . With respect to the Marriage Bill , he sincerely trusted , that measure would be carried unanimously during the next session , of Parliament . From the Prime Minister an assurauce has been given , that whatever interval was allowed him before the
next Session should be employed in removing those scruples that remained in the minds of others , so that there might oe removed from Unitarians the last badge of degradation under which they lived . He understood that one of the brethren from the New Continent was
present that evening ( applause ) ; a country to which England was bound not merely by-the ti 4 s of language but of government * and in the enjoyment of all the blessings of Civil and Religious Liberty ., Aftei > paying a tribute of gratitude to Dr . Channing , for his exertions in the cause ot CJuitarianism , and complimenting tU © Doctor upon his learning and piety , the honourable member con-
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cluded by thanking the company not only for the honour conferred upon him by drinking his health , but for the patience with which they had heard him . { Cheers . ) The Chairman said , he was about to introduce the name of a gentleman to whom the cause of Unitarianism in Irelaud was under great obligations : he proposed the health of the Rev . Henry Montgomery , and the liberal Dissenters of Ireland .
The Rev . J . S . Porter said , that his acquaintance with the friends of the Institution in I re laud , would authorize him to say a few words on their behalf . With respect to Mr . Montgomery , the Association had done nothing more than it was their duty to do ; for if to be the bold and determined advocate of the principles conscientiously believed by the members of it—if to embark in a cause
with that euergy which even talent could not always give , entitled a man to the notice of the company , Mr . Montgomery had all those claims . He ( Mr . Porter ) would mention a circumstance that particularly entitled Mr . Montgomery to the approbation of the company . He ( Mr . M . ) had not confined his views of civil and religious liberty to the sect to which
he belonged , but had entered the arena as the advocate of the rights of all mankind ; and had held out the hand of brotherhood to every man who was under oppression for the rights of conscience , whether he was Catholic or Protestant , Unitarian or Trinitarian . It was easy for a Uuitarian minister in London to
be bold in defending his views , because he knew that he spoke in the presence of comparatively enlightened meu , who , though they might not agree with him in every point he introduced to their notice , would , nevertheless , give him credit for his zeal . It was very different , however , in the North of Ireland . If a minister
in Ulster was bold enough' to maintain the sentiments which he believed to be founded on the Scriptures , he might meet with a few kindred minds who were desirous of co-operating with him as far as it was in their power ,, but the great majority would be against him , and he would have to bear against a torrent threatening to sweep down , every tiling to which he was most attached . The
Dissenters of the North of Ireland had opposed that torrent , they had put a bold hand to the work , and had every prospect of ultimate success ; Whatever were the result of the Synod now sitting , one thing might be calculated upon , namely , that the Unitarian ministers would never submit to any , regulation which would
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614 Intelligence . — Unitarian Association .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1829, page 514, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2574/page/66/
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