thing to do with the concerns of heaven or Deity, contends that Deity and heaven are a monied concern.

"The poor of the earth have but an indifferent chance of success under such a system. Then, again-if the poor can be saved without money, why should others pay for salvation? The idea of going to heaven through the aid of priests, places mankind at once in a state of dependence and inferiority! When once accustomed to this state, they are prepared for all those degrading concessions and compliances, which constitute the condition of master and slave. Firmness and nobleness of mind is gone; men become dastards in character, and recreant in nature. The designing and hypocritical, who believe nothing of the imposition, join in the practice of it, to carry their own worldly schemes; some of pride, some of power, others of gain; like all schemes of tyranny, the burthen of paying and fighting for them falls invariably on the common mass. It is impossible that the honest portion of the community could for a moment maintain this system, if once brought to see its falsity. The whole system has been believed and adopted without a particle of proof; and that under the most unaccountable circumstances of absurdity and contradiction. Why do not honest men first demand the proof of it before they become its slaves? It is true that all systems of faith and religion are got up by man, to impose on his fellow; or it is true that one or more of them are instituted by deity; if any one be instituted by deity, which one is it? When was it instituted? where was it instituted? and why was it instituted? No mark is put upon any known system by which it can be distinguished as coming from deity on the contrary, all bear the mark of the folly and imperfection of man. If deity has designated any one system, he has done a vain thing, inasmuch as no man has yet discovered this divine designation; all pretend to have it, however much opposed to each other, which is sufficient evidence that none have it. If some have it and others not, then deity has pointed out a system for a part of mankind only, in exclusion of the remainder. This is a sort of freemason system, in which deity is made to admit a few favourites, and none others; is it the rich or the poor he admits -the learned or the ignorant? Certainly such an admission or designation is directly opposed to all his known laws and regulations. The whole compass of Nature contradicts every supposition of any special designation or revelation. No instance can be adduced throughout the vastness and variety of God's wonderful words, where he has evinced any partiality or preference for one race or sect over another. His bounties, his riches, his providence his care, his mercy, his rain and sunshine, are equally over all; the high, the low, the savage, the civilized, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air. Who dare or can contend that deity has reserved for a few priests, some secret conjuration, by which, like magicians, they can conjure into or out of heaven just whom they please. No! the absurdity is a libel upon his nature. Heaven is open to all. Deity is open to all, alike and on the same conditions. One man was never trusted with one of those conditions in exclusion of other men.

:

God never constituted one man his agent or attorney, and kept himself from others. It is impossible that he could act so partially and unjustly. He trusts and confides in all alike. If all do not possess God's revealed will, and his secret will, alike, then no one possesses either. If all are not to reach heaven, then none will reach it.

"Now what is the value or worth of priests and priestcraft? Ah, but are not

priests necessary to keep up morality? Yes, if they would practice it, they are just as necessary as others who practice it. They seldom inculcate morality, or consider it necessary to their system. They generally hold that men can do nothing to merit the seal of the divine black art: this discourages and renders men desperate. Their system is one of division, separation, distrust, and mystery; totally unfit for the social state. It conciliates and elevates the rich; it extends favours to one sect, and leaves or abandons all others; it changes the general philanthropy and affections of the human heart into one of a contracted and clanish character. It makes the human breast the seat of darkness, distrust, coldness, jealousy, envy, bigotry, and desolation. Instead of brothers and neighbors, it makes enemies and tyrants; instead of friends, it makes foes; instead of men of feeling and charity, it makes hypocrites and intolerants. The world has never seen, imagination has never painted, a monster so replete with desolation and ruin, as is found in the mock divinity of the present system. Against its disgraceful tyranny, had I a thousand tongues, they should be raised; had I million pens, they should be ceaselessly employed. Ye who profess to have the least share of philanthropy, look abroad and point out a single corner of the earth not made desolate by it-one which is not stained by the blood of its deluded martyrs! It raises the father's hand against the son; brothers against brothers; child against parent; country against country; and arrays God against all. Is this a fit system for rational beings, for freemen, to build up and sustain by a tax of twenty millions per annum ?-by an avaricious and wrangling priesthoodby a few bungling fables-by a perversion of common sense-by an abandonment of all respect for themselves?

"When the constitution of my country is violated; when oaths are violated, and political minions are trampling alike on civil and divine justice; what says this modern magog of divinity to these crying abuses? Our memhers, our sect must be supported; the discipline of the church must be supported; conversions, crying, and praying must be supported; the state must take care of itself; we have no jurisdiction over civil crimes; that is, we kuow of no crime against the state which our members can commit, provided they pay well. With this recommendation they are sure of a passport to heaven. Ask for reform, ask for the correction of frauds and abuse; the church answers, Our sect support each other; we pursue, we prosecute only when our dogmas are disputed, or our fees refused. He who says that the right and power of the church are not divine, is an infidel, and not ft to live. He who defrauds and overreaches his neighbour, or betrays his country, is a favourite, a second David-provided he pay well at the church treasury.

"When civil power is to be obtained for civil oppression and tyranny, then the body and soul of the church are active in its advancement, as all history fully testifies. The principle is amply illustrated by the fact that this paper, which has been devoted to the rights of man, to the furtherance of his moral and social virtue, to his mental independence-has been every where attacked and proscribed by the church, for the reason that it would not sanction and proclaim the divinity of its dogmas. The question is therefore fairly made: we must put down the tyranny of the church, or yield up our civil rights and liberties. What! say the bigots and deluded, will you burn the Bible, extinguish hell-fire, and destroy all our beautiful religion— giving us nothing in their stead. Oh no! we will give you a system of real

religion, in the room of an imaginary one. We will substitute practice for profession. We will demand morals and good conduct, to be substituted in the room of mystery and hypocrisy ; simplicity and universal benevolence, instead of sects, oppression, and taxation. As an example familiar to all, take that of the good Samaritan; cxempted, entirely exempted, of and from the contamination of all and every system of divinity. Systems of divinity! a name inseparable from distraction, disorganization, and tyranny. These are the curse of the earth, the fables of delusion and imposition. These, and these are all, against which an eternal war is proclaimed; not against virtue, piety, or goodness. The man who says, lo! here is God; there is God; come you this way; follow me; I will lead you to him; this is the true, the orthodox, or the divine way or system-is an impostor, a knave, or fool! He who says to all men, do as did the good Samaritan, I will aid you-is already as a God.

"These remarks are addressed to the true and honest lovers of man's liberty and equality; if not clothed in language sufficiently simple and explicit to be understood, it will be cause of regret the intention of the writer is good; let that of the reader be the same.

"The friends of liberal principles feel at times as did those veterans who commenced the glorious struggle for our civil independence. The morning will sometimes lower, heavy clouds will hang upon the horizon; the hosts of delusion will seem to gather in overwhelming force; discouragement and doubts will of course arise; the feigned devils and fabled orthodoxy cast their malignant forms upon the path of light and science, as if its sun were about to be extinguished. Cheer up, thou brothers of the good Samaritan! Earthly powers cannot prevail against you; thy triumph stands upon the mountain's base; the eternal sun, as he flies on his empyrean wing; the ceaseless round of laws eternal, are thy unfailing eloquence and untiring argument. The ocean speaks for thee; the mighty tempest uttereth great things for thee; the bow, the blue and starry vault, the times and seasons,— yea, all the vast profound of nature, counsel for thee. The ways of deluded men, themselves, bear testimony of thy victory. Theory after theory fall by their own absurdity. In less than half a century, the orthodoxy of witchcraft and the trinity have received a fearful check; where it was once death to whisper, the voice is now audibly heard, and often without alarm. Ten years ago there was not a single journal in the Union, now there are eight or ten, in favour of liberal principles. Even in the legislatures of New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, some public movements have been made to restrain the rapacity of church tyranny: our numbers are gradually increasing; our good conduct, our perseverance, is necessary to induce inquiry. Inquiry, candid inquiry, will lead to a perfect conviction of the corruption and falsity of the fabled systems.

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Although ill health compels the editor to retire, for the present, from a weekly publication, his feeble aid, while life continues, shall be cheerfully lent to the support of the great cause-that of universal truth and benevolence. Arrangements are expected to be made, by which the Tiller can be thrown into other hands for publication."

Printed and Published by RICHARD CARLILE, 62, Fleet-street, where all Communications, post-paid, or free of expense, are requested to be left.

The Lion.

No. 8. VOL. 2.] LONDON, Friday, August 22, 1828. [PRICE 6d.

JOURNAL OF MR. CARLILE'S TOUR THROUGH THE COUNTRY.

(Continued from page 199.)

NOTTINGHAM.

ONE fault that I have to expose in particular, in connection with the name of Grosvernor Henson, is, the encouragement of that bad passion, which induces the workman to look at his employer as a tyrant that monopolizes an unfair share of the profits of trade. I find that bad passion very rife in Nottingham, and I have not failed to raise my voice against it in some large companies. That the wages of the working man are too low in this district, employed either in the manufacture of stockings, or of the very ingenious fabrics of lace and net, is an unhappy circumstance that we must all deplore; and I am charitable enough to think so far well of mankind, as to think, that the masters must deplore it. The question in relation to the masters is, not as to whether they pay enough for subsistence, but whether, under all the present political arrangements of the country, they can pay more. The master is as much entitled as the man to the reward of his industry, and he can no more be expected to occupy his capital, and to labour for nothing, than the man can be expected to work for nothing. He who knows anything of the principles of trade, knows that the tradesman, acting under the influence of full competition, will do the largest possible amount of business at the smallest possible amount of profit, so as he be sure of profit and secure from loss. In cases of pecuniary difficulty, he is compelled to come below the point of profit, and to make a sacrifice of his capital. I doubt if we

Printed and Published by R. CARLILE, 62, Fleet Street. No. 8.-VOL. 2.

have a coin in the country that will represent the average profit per yard to the manufacturer of common calicoes, by which I mean to say, that I doubt if the profit be a farthing per yard. That state of things is not the fault of the master, he cannot regulate his own prices, and take his share of business; he must run with the stream, and take his common chance, owing his profits to his industry, his economy, and his inadvertent or uncertain, though desired success. The workman, instead of calling his master a tyrant, should calculate his profits, and reason with him on the necessity of a joint appeal to the legislature, or to the formation of a legislature, that shall so far equalize the burthen of taxation, as to give the manufacturer of this country, his fair chance of competing with the manufacturer of another country. But even under such a desired state of things, even if the government were as good as a government could be made, there is this frightful evil always recurring to the labouring man, in any and every trade, that the number may be too many, that the supply of labour may exceed the demand for labour, and that, through the multiplicity of labourers, they may do what they in some measure now do, compete with each other to the reduction of wages.For this state of things, and, it is a natural state, there is no remedy, but, in the best possible check upon accumulating numbers. It is a very delicate question for consideration under the present customs of this country; but it is the most momentous political and moral question that has yet been presented to the human race. We find it necessary to keep down the numbers of many other animals; man without the means of useful industry, is as mischievous to man as any other animal, why then not keep down the number of mankind to the point at which they may be well employed? The time will come, when the legislature will prescribe by statute, the number of children that each couple may produce; and from such a statute we shall be able to date the more rapid improvement in the condition of the labouring people. For the present, I would entreat them to consider well, whether they can improve their condition by every bad feeling and every act of hostility toward their employers. I give it, as my opinion, that they injure themselves by so doing: that the hostility toward the masters naturally produces a re-action, and must necessarily keep away that sympathy and union of feeling, which must, or should on proper grounds, always exist between the same persons with mutual interests: and there is a mutual interest, in the aggregate, between the master and the man, the employer and the employed. Mr. Cobbett may say what he does say, that two persons cannot trade together and both gain; but out of Mr. Cobbett's little world, and he has a little world of which he is the creator, a world of error, every person knows better, and that it is the principle of trade, as it is the principle of industry, that all shall gain who are employed or engaged in it. I have had various discus