92 Underhand accusations allowed only by Bishops.

evil-doing in the hands of powerful plotters. Big people, or those in power, cannot get on without secrecy, underhand proceedings, and plots; but their soul is degraded, grovelling, and unhappy. Like the fox, they get caught at last, for remember my text says all that is covered and hidden becomes known.

Bishops get Rural Deans and palace-visitors to report secretly even the food we eat, in order that their lordships may know all things in dealing with laity as well as with clergy. Formerly, men were paid for finding witches who could not be found, when the law against them was done away, and when the pay for finding them was stopped. This proves that there were no real witches at all. Men would not be as bad as they are represented to be, if secret proceedings were made public. People were treated as witches who never pretended to use witchcraft; and vicars are treated as worthless to suit the ends of bad men. When the accused is not heard, three-fourths of the remarks, or accusations, are wilful lies. It is the glory of the English law that every man must hear his accusation, and see his accuser. But as the Romans, by their law, without a Bible, were in public as good as the English and better than the Church Dignitaries, in this, we should not listen, to any remark, from the greatest man, against the worst character, however true it appears, without calling in the accused. The keeper of secrets can never become great, honourable, or learned. But the revealer can, as the life of Joseph, the Zaphnath-paaneah, ("the revealer of secrets,") proves (Gen. xli. 45). Truth, like wheat, remains ours and feeds us, but lies, like chaff, travel over the whole

Protestants oppose secrecy for progress.

93

world. Ferrets, and underground animals, are only fit for one kind of work, and they love dark places. Even mother earth vomits out of her stomach her contents, or what grows out of her; and there is not much secrecy about the irruption of a volcano.

When you come to Christ for salvation, He requires you to throw out all your bad secrets and sins, that He may wash them in His blood. Confess all things to God, and keep nothing back from Him. But avoid King Pope and his secret doings, if you want to get on. Like Saul, the new king, he will turn you into horses, and make you lose your health in dragging him and his priests about the country without pay, because, you would be in his power through the secret confessional. This is what the silly Israelites did to Saul and to his retinue, whom they had to support for the sake of grandeur. Protestants are not so easily imposed upon; for they strengthen their minds and make friends by telling their thoughts to all. These are God's instruments for fulfilling the truth of my text; for they unravel things, and they expose openly every secret evil thing. Here ends my sermon, which is to show that secrecy is dangerous; and that, in the end, it is impossible for anything to remain secret, as God, Nature, and his Protestant subjects make all things public.

Every man gets all he can pick up. But a clergyman gets the credit of being disagreeable and quarrelsome, if he is so just as to claim his rights and legal protection. For my own part I encourage people to treat me at pleasure; for it gives me a chance to preach to them about well-doing. The hedge of my

94

Injuries from Popish gossiping.

garden became injured, and in consequence of this, I had to tie my old pony to broken chairs, old kettles, and broken boxes, to keep it in the garden. The noise made in the dark, in this way, caused people to report that our house was haunted. So with our poverty no servant would come to us. The result of gossiping and tale-bearing, therefore, was, that my wife had to turn servant. This was trying to her, and we both had to give up all pastoral visits. So the souls were left to go to hell headlong. The bishop seemed to like her and me for our industry and usefulness. Gossiping and tale-bearing can never be stopped so long as the Pope continues to make these things necessary matters for salvation. The Pope says none can go to heaven who is not guided by tradition, or the gossip and stories of old women. Therefore, all are scandal-mongers, except the real Protestants.

All Irishmen are attached to the soil, and Englishmen are growing like them in this, for they are coveting clergymen's glebe lands and gardens. All Christians care little for land, as they have an estate of their own in the Land of Canaan, Heaven itself. The Pope's subjects, unlike Christ's members, are eager for land to give them power, and to extend the Pope's territory. This accounts for their being attached to the soil. The Irish are for fighting and land; the English for law and right; the Scotch for logic and cunning; and the Welsh for tact and palaver. But give me honest John Bull, and Convocation need not put a clause in the Litany to be delivered from Popery, poverty, and privacy.

CHAPTER XIV.

The need of re-distributing Church revenuess-The motive and the corruption of overpaying some ministers, and starving others— Reformation emanating from Church dignitaries fatal to their elevation-Having grades of clergy, and starved ones, suitable to Royalty and Episcopacy-The motive for having begging societies for feeding and clothing starved clergymen, and their widows, and orphans.-The danger of delaying Church reform.

C

ONSCIENTIOUS people have always held that some of the money of rich livings should be applied toward increasing poor ones, so that all vicars might have £200 a year at least. There would be good prizes left, after doing this, to encourage the pious ambition of aspiring Church chiefs. When a rich living in the patronage of the Government, or of its religious officer, the Bishop, becomes vacant, it could hurt no one, before putting a clergyman into it, to give some of its money to a poorer one. Too much money tempts a holy clergyman to carry on the pomps and vanities of this wicked world, which he had hitherto renounced. Giving £1000 a year nett to a minister of religion, whatever his population may be, or whatever position in society he is required to keep up, even if he be a holy bishop, is tempting him to gratify his passions, and to destroy his spiritual character. Therefore, much money ruins or endangers souls as well as too

96 Over-paying some ministers, and starving others.

little. It is out of place here to mention cases in which enormous church revenues are taken by clergymen for doing very little or no work at all. Every one knows, without referring to individuals (a thing which I study to avoid in these pages), that there should be a re-distribution of the Church revenues, so as to give every vicar £200, and every curate £150 a year at least.

If

Without doing all in our power to reform what we own is wrong we are parties to it. Ours is a Parliamentary church, under the control of voters, and, therefore, the people deserve blame for allowing what is wrong, in her worldly affairs, to continue. Church money is for political grandeur, and for making worldly princes, who are labelled religious, by sticking aprons upon them large enough to hold several thousands of pounds, while others are starving in the same service, then the present arrangement suits this object. It must be admitted, however, that this business is not altogether for saving and edifying :souls, since too much money is given to some of them to injure them, and too little to others to leave them destitute. I hold that people should not be imposed upon, if it is pretended that a stipend of £1000 a year for a few souls, or for no souls, in the case of sinecures, is all necessary to salvation; while it is conscientiously declared that many souls are saved or cured upon less than £100 a year. Is it not inventing reasons, and :setting up excuses which tend to deceive people, to say that all this is not the fault of the system or the Church? By the term "Church" we are taught to understand Church authorities, such as bishops,