We observe the Scots, in our northern parts, to be a brave, industrious people, extremely devoted to their religion, and full of an undisturbed affection toward each other. Numbers of that noble nation, invited by the fertilities of the soil, are glad to exchange their barren hills of Loquabar, by a voyage of three hours, for our fruitful vales of Down and Antrim, so productive of that grain which, at little trouble and less expense, finds diet and lodging for themselves and their cattle. These people, by their extreme parsimony, wonderful dexterity in dealing, and firm adherence to one another, soon grow into wealth from the smallest beginnings, never are rooted out where they once fix, and increase daily by new supplies besides, when they are the superior number in any tract of ground, they are not over-patient of mixture; but such, with whom they cannot assimilate, soon find it their interest to remove. I have done all in my power on some land of my own to preserve two or three English fellows in their neighborhood, but found it impossible, though one of them thought he had sufficiently made his court by turning Presbyterian. Add to all this, that they bring along with them from Scotland a most formidable notion of our church, which they look upon at least three degrees worse than Popery; and it is natural it should be so, since they come over full fraught with that spirit which taught them to abolish Episcopacy at home.

Then we proceed further, and observe that the gentlemen of employments here make a very considerable number in the house of commons, and have no other merit but that of doing their duty in their several stations; therefore when the Test is repealed, it will be highly reasonable they should give place to those who have much greater services to plead. The commissions of the revenue are soon disposed of, and the collectors and other officers throughout this kingdom are generally appointed by the commissioners, which gives them a mighty influence in every county. As much may be said of the great offices in the law; and when this door is open to let dissenters into the commissions of the peace, to make them highsheriffs, mayors of corporations, and officers of the army and militia, I do not see how it can be otherwise, considering their industry and our supineness, but that they may, in a very few years, grow to a majority in the house of commons, and consequently make themselves the national religion, and have a fair pretence to demand the revenues of the church for their teachers. I know it will be objected, that if all this should happen as I describe, yet the Presbyterian religion could never be made the national by act of parlia

ment, because our bishops are so great a number in the house of lords, and without a majority there the church could not be abolished. But I have two very good expedients for that, which I shall leave you to guess, and I dare swear our speaker here has often thought on, especially having endeavored at one of them so lately. To convince you that this design is not so foreign from some people's thoughts, I must let you know that an honest bellwether of our house1 (you have him now in England; I wish you could keep him there) had the impudence some years ago, in parliament time, to shake my lord bishop of Kilaloo by his lawn sleeve, and tell him, in a threatening manner, "that he hoped to live to see the day when there should not be one of his order in the kingdom."

These last lines perhaps you think a digression; therefore to return: I have told you the conseqnences we fully reckon upon from repealing the Sacramental Test, which, although the greatest number of such as are for doing it are actually in no manner of pain about it, and many of them care not 3d. whether there be any church or not, yet, because they pretend to argue from conscience, as well as policy and interest, I thought it proper to understand and answer them accordingly.

Now, sir, in answer to your question, whether, if any attempt should be made here for repealing the Sacramental Test, it would be likely to succeed? the number of professed dissenters in this parliament was, as I remember, something under a dozen, and I cannot call to mind above 30 others who were expected to fall in with them. This is certain, that the Presbyterian party, having with great industry mustered up their forces, did endeavor one day, upon occasion of a hint in my lord Pembroke's speech, to introduce a debate about repealing the Test clause, when there appeared at least four to one odds against them; and the ablest of those, who were reckoned the most stanch and thorough-paced Whigs upon all other occasions, fell off with an abhorrence at the first mention of this.

I must desire you to take notice, that the terms of Whig and Tory do not properly express the different interests in our parliament. I remember, when I was last in England, I told the king, "that the highest Tories we had with us would make tolerable Whigs there." This was certainly right, and still in the general continues so, unless you have since admitted new characteristics which did not come within our definition. Whoever bears a true veneraSupposed to be Mr. Broderick.

1

2 Dr. Lindsay, afterwards lord-primate.

tion for the glorious memory of king William, as our great deliverer from Popery and slavery; whoever is firmly loyal to our present queen, with an utter abhorrence and detestation of the pretender; whoever approves the succession to the crown in the house of Hanover, and is for preserving the doctrine and discipline of the church of England, with an indulgence for scrupulous consciences; such a man we think acts upon right principles, and may be justly allowed a Whig and I believe there are not six members in our house of commons who may not fairly come under this description. So that the parties among us are made up, on one side, of moderate Whigs, and on the other, of Presbyterians and their abettors; by which last I mean such who can equally go to a church or conventicle, or such who are indifferent to all religion in general; or, lastly, such who affect to bear a personal rancor toward the clergy: these last are a set of men not of our own growth, their principles at least have been imported of late years; yet this whole party put together will scarce, I am confident, amount to above 50 men in parliament, which can hardly be worked up into a majority of 300.

As to the house of lords, the difficulty there is conceived at least as great as in ours. So many of our temporal peers live in England, that the bishops are generally pretty near a par of the house, and we reckon they will be all to a man against repealing the Test; and yet their lordships are generally thought as good Whigs upon our principles as any in the kingdom. There are indeed a few lay lords who appear to have no great devotion for Episcopacy; and perhaps one or two more, with whom certain powerful motives might be used, for removing any difficulty whatsoever; but these are, in no sort, a number to carry any point against the conjunction of the rest, and the whole bench of bishops.

Besides, the whole body of our clergy is utterly against repealing the Test, though they are entirely devoted to her majesty, and hardly 1 in 100 who are not very good Whigs, in our acceptation of the word. And I must let you know that we of Ireland are not yet come up to other folk's refinements, for we generally love and esteem our clergy, and think they deserve it; nay, we are apt to lay some weight upon their opinion, and would not willingly disoblige them, at least unless it were upon some greater point of interest than this. And their judgment in the present affair is the more to be regarded, because they are the last persons who will be affected by it: this makes us think them impartial, and that their concern is only for religion and the interest of the kingdom. Be

cause the act which repeals the Test will only qualify a layman for an employment, but not a Presbyterian or Anabaptist preacher for a church-living. Now I must take leave to inform you, that several members of our house, and myself among the rest, knowing some time ago what was upon the anvil, went to all the clergy we knew of any distinction, and desired their judgment in the matter; wherein we found a most wonderful agreement, there being but one divine that we could hear of in the whole kingdom who appeared of a contrary sentiment: wherein he afterward stood alone in the convocation, very little to his credit, though, as he hoped, very much to his interest.

I will now consider a little the arguments offered to show the advantages, or rather the necessity, of repealing the Test in Ireland. We are told, the popish interest is here so formidable, that all hands should be joined to keep it under: that the only names of distinction among us ought to be those of Protestant and Papist; and that this expedient is the only means to unite all Protestants upon one common bottom. All which is nothing but misrepresentation and mistake.

If we were under any real fear of the Papists in this kingdom, it would be hard to think us so stupid as not to be equally apprehensive with others, since we are likely to be the greatest and more immediate sufferers; but, on the contrary, we look upon them to be altogether as inconsiderable as the women and children. Their lands are almost entirely taken from them, and they are rendered incapable of purchasing any more, and for the little that remains, provision is made by the late act against Popery, that it will daily crumble away to prevent which, some of the most considerable among them are already turned Protestants, and so, in all probability, will many more. Then the Popish priests are all registered, and without permission (which I hope will not be granted) they can have no successors; so that the Protestant clergy will find it perhaps no difficult matter to bring great numbers over to the church; and in the mean time the common people, without leaders, without discipline or natural courage, being little better than hewers of wood and drawers of water, are out of all capacity of doing any mischief, if they were ever so well inclined. Neither are they at all likely to join, in any considerable numbers, with an invader, having found so ill success when they were much more numerous and pow. erful; when they had a prince of their own religion to head them, had been trained for some years under a Popish deputy, and received such mighty aids from the French king.

As to that argument used for repealing the Test, that it will unite all Protestants against the common enemy, I wonder by what figure those gentlemen speak who are pleased to advance it: suppose, in order to increase the friendship between you and me, a law should pass, that I must have half your estate; do you think that would much advance the union between us? or suppose I share my fortune equally between my own children and a stranger, whom I take into my protection, will that be a method to unite them? It is an odd way of uniting parties, to deprive a majority of part of their ancient right, by conferring it on a faction, who had never any right at all, and therefore cannot be said to suffer any loss or injury if it be refused them. Neither is it very clear how far some people may stretch the term of common enemy. How many are there of those that call themselves Protestants who look upon our worship to be idolatrous, as well as that of the Papists, and, with great charity, put Prelacy and Popery together, as terms convertible?

And therefore there is one small doubt I would be willingly satisfied in, before I agree to the repealing of the Test; that is, whether these same Protestants, when they have by their dexterity made themselves the national religion, and disposed the church revenues among their pastors or themselves, will be so kind to allow us dissenters, I do not say a share in employments, but a bare toleration by law? The reason of my doubt is, because I have been so very idle as to read above fifty pamphlets, written by as many Presbyterian divines, loudly disclaiming this idol toleration: some of them calling it (I know not how properly) a rag of Popery, and all agreeing it was to establish iniquity by law. Now I would be glad to know when and where their successors have renounced this doctrine, and before what witnesses. Because, methinks, I should be loath to see my poor titular bishop in partibus, seized on by mistake in the dark for a jesuit; or be forced myself to keep my chaplain disguised like my butler, and steal to prayers in a back room, as my grandfather used in those times, when the church of England was malignant.

But this is ripping up old quarrels long forgot; Popery is now the common enemy, against which we must all unite. I have been tired in history with the perpetual folly of those states who call in foreigners to assist them against a common enemy; but the mischief was, these allies would never be brought to allow that the common enemy was quite subdued. And they had reason; for it proved at last, that one part of the common enemy was those who called them in, and so the allies became at length the masters.