George Birley, St. Ives, to Dan Taylor, London, 12 February 1790.

Letter contains an MS. copy of the Resolutions of Huntington Dissenters at a Meeting for the Repeal of the Test Acts on 2 February 1790 at Huntingdon. Taylor responded on the back of this letter the following day and returned the letter to Birley. For Taylor's letter, click here.

Dear Sir,         

         As M.r [Panting?] & I, at ye request of several respectable dissenters in ye county, have ventur’d to call a meet.g of deputies fm ye several dissentg congregats in ye county, wh.ch is to be held at Huntingdon next Tuesday; & as I am obliged to have a hand in preparing Resolutions for ye alteration, approbation &c of ye deputies, I’ve taken ye liberty to send ye inclos’d for your inspection, & correction & I earnestly request you to sift ym wth all your power to morrow, & to alter, add, curtail &c &c as you think proper, just as if yy were your own: & to return y.m by to morrow evening post, without fail, w.th your corrections &c for w.ch purpose I’ve left you a blank side.  I hope you will take pains as ye resolut.s are to be printed in different Newspapers in town & country if adopted.

         Your’s w.th ye paper &c came to hand ys morning.  I am sorry ye print does not meet w.th your approbation.  All has been done yt c.d be done in present circumstances.  I am quite overwhelmed w.th business.  Do you know of a suitable Assistant w.m you c.d recommend?  I hope to send your w.k by Newman on Thursday next.

                                 I am

                                             most respectfully your’s,

                                                         G. Birley

St. Ives

Feb. 12. 1790

These resolutions are not properly placed.  ye 8th must be ye 6th, ye 6 ye 7th ye 9th & where must ye 9th be placed?  Be free in adding, altering &c &c

                                                         Huntingdonshire.

         At a meeting of the deputies of ye different congregations of Protestant Dissenters in ye county of Huntingdon on ye 2d Feb. 1790, at ye town of Huntingdon, for ye purpose of obtaining a repeal of ye Corporation and Test Acts, ye following resolutions were adopted.

Resolved

1.st That it appears to us y.t religion is a concern solely between God and a man’s own conscience, in wch Government has no right to interfere.

2.  That our obligations to Almighty God being prior and superior to those of civil society ye Magistrate cannot enforce his own mode of worship on ye conscience of others.

3.  That when ye Magistrate does attempt to enforce his own mode of worship by ye help of penal laws, or endeavours to seduce men from ye conscientious worship of their Maker by worldly interest, yt he acts contrary to ye  purpose for which civil society was instituted, and violates ye dearest privileges of man, and yt such conduct appears to us oppressive and antichristian.

4.  That ye continuance of a penal law against ye English Protestant dissenters for mere matters of religion (wch law was originally enacted against Papists only) appears to us a most ungrateful return for our unshaken loyalty to ye family of Brunswick, who ought to reflect yt of all British subjects we and ye Quakers are ye only descriptions of ym, who never yet have rebelled against their government.

5.  The flourishing aera of ye Church prior to ye passing of the Test Act, ye present state of ye Church in Ireland, where it is repealed, ye late establishment of Popery in Canada, ye establishment of Presbyterianism in Scotland, of Lutheranism in Hanover (all of them in ye opinion of ye Magistrate ye true religion in their respective countries) and all of them without a Test Act, demonstrate yt such an act is not necessary for ye well being of an establishment.

6.  That ye thanks of ys meeting be given to Henry Beaufoy, Esq. who made, and to Sir Harry Hoghton, who seconded ye motion, on ye 8.th of May, 1789, for ye Repeal of such parts of ye Test and Corporation Acts as affect ye Protestant dissenters.  Like wise to ye Right Honourable Charles James Fox, & to ye other Members of ye House of Commons, who divided in favour.

7.  That whereas it has been proposed to unite ye countries of Cambridge, Bedford and Huntingdon into a province, we give our entire concurrence to ye above proposal and in hopes of its being carried into execution do appoint M.r —— our delegates to ye said meeting, and to be a standing county committee to correspond w.th ye delegates of other counties, and to report proceedings when it shall appear to ym necessary.

8.  That ye thanks of ys deputation be given to ye Chairman and Committee of ye general Body of ye Protestant Dissenters in London, for their updated Applications to Parliam.t for ye repeal of ye Corporation & Test Acts; — & yt ye s.d committee be requested steadily to persevere in pursuit of ye important object, till it be obtained.

9.  That ye ordinace of ye Ld’s Supper, being a matter purely of a religious nature, and appointed by our blessed Saviour only for ye remembrance of his death, no power upon earth has any authority to constitute it a defence of ye State, for w.ch it is both unnecessary and absolutely insufficient.

Text:  D/Hus 1/6/18, Hughes Collection, Angus Library, Regent's Park College, Oxford. Both Birley and Taylor were General Baptists (New Connection) ministers.