There is another very learned schismatical pamphleteer[1], who, in answer to a malignant libel, called The Presbyterian Plea of Merit, &c. clearly wipes off this aspersion, by assuring all episcopal protestants of the present church, upon his own word, and to his knowledge, that our brethren the dissenters will never offer at such an attempt. In like manner, the catholicks, when legally required, will openly declare, upon their words and honours, that as soon as their negative discouragements, and their persecution shall be removed, by repealing the sacramental test, they will leave it entirely to the merit of the cause, whether the kingdom shall think fit to make their faith the established religion or not.
And again, whereas our presbyterian brethren, in many of their pamphlets, take much offence, that the great rebellion in England, the murder of the king, with the entire change of religion and government, are perpetually objected against them both in and out of season, by our common enemy the present conformists; we do declare, in the defence of our said brethren, that the reproach aforesaid is an old worn out threadbare cant, which they always disdained to answer: and I very well remember, that having once told a certain conformist, how much I wondered to hear him and his tribe dwelling perpetually on so beaten a subject, he was pleased to divert the discourse with a foolish story, which I cannot forbear telling to his disgrace. He said, there was a clergyman in Yorkshire, who, for fifteen years together, preached every Sunday against drunkenness; whereat the parishioners being much offended, com-
- ↑ Vindication of the Protestant Dissenters.
