of the Church; and the liberties of the Church, howsoever they may be embodied in some particular cause in debate, resolve themselves ultimately and necessarily into these two principles, or axioms of faith: the one, that no human authority whatsoever of kings, princes, legislatures, or human laws may come between the soul and God; the other, that this perfect liberty of the soul in faith is derived from God, and has for its witness, guide and guardian, the Divine Authority of His Church. The English people have long professed the former of these truths. Even the established religion, the whole history of which is at variance with this principle, perpetually asserts it. One half of the English people have vindicated it by suffering under penal laws, unto bonds and death. It is this profound conviction which has helped to abolish the State Church in Ireland. The accumulated action of the colonies, of Ireland, and of half the population of Great Britain, will inevitably, and before long, abolish the state religion in England. The British Empire then, both in its political and its religious life, will have burst its bands, and will reconstitute itself upon a wider base than the area of our four seas. What faith, and what unity then, will be commensurate to such an empire, it is not difficult to foresee. Even the Russian despotism is powerless to maintain the unity of the Greek Church. Half the Russian population dissents from the established religion. If liberty of faith were granted, no church would long stand but that which is the fountain, guide and guardian, of the liberty of faith. To manifest this to the world, the Divine Head of the Church seems so to order
