word it is concluded If a National Establishment is any way defective or unfound in Faith Worship or Discipline the Magistrate is to endeavour a Reform in a Regular and Canonical Method and this I 'm confident was never declined by the Established Church of England but if nothing of this Nature can with any force of Argument or Reason be charged upon Her then the Magistrate ex officio is bound to protect and defend Her in the Purity of Her Faith and Worship and in Her just Rights and Immunities exclusive of all other Sects and Parties especially where the Publick Peace and Unity is attempted by ' em If therefore the Liberty of the Press is apparently prejudicial to Her Interests Rights and Immunities or the Purity of her Faith and Worship I cannot find how the Magistrate can fairly be supposed to discharge that Trust GOD has laid upon Him without laying a publick Restraint upon it SECT IX But further The Restraint of the Press is necessary if we consider the pernicious Influences it casts upon Religion in General as 't is the direct Inlet to Scepticism Heresie and Infidelity It 's certain the Attempts of a Licentious Press are almost infinite and inconceivable Error as well as Vice is extreamly prolifick and even as numerous as the sand of the Sea the most virulent Poison may be gilded over and Varnish and Colour may be laid on the foulest Cause and consequently the Press may be the Parent of the grossest Errors under the Mask of Innocence Zeal or Charity And truly if Experience and Matter of Fact must decide the Controversie we are convinced that the Lewdest Notions that ever entered the Heart of Man have been of late advanced from the Press And moreover the Mischiefs that are this way propagated are much more fatal than any other First Because 't is the most Effectual way of Communicating ' em A Transient Harangue or Discourse tho' never so malignant cannot be so entirely lodged in the Memory as totally to infect the Judgement and after this it passes not much beyond the Present Audience But the Press is a standing Monument and Record that not only communicates the whole Poison and leaves it to rest upon the Mind or Judgment but conveys it to Posterity Again as the Mischief is more Successfully propagated so 't is more difficulty removed The Men of Learning Judgment and Probity may be engaged in Matters of too great Importance to be at leisure to obviate the Mischiefs of every Poisonous Libel but if it happens to receive a just Confutation it's odds it either reaches not the deluded Reader or loses its just Efficacy by not presenting it self before the Infection is rivetted and the Defence of the Error become a Point of Interest or Honour But that which is more fatal than all this is an Unrestrained Press gives a kind of Imprimatur to every thing that comes from it As the Case stands the Generality of Mankind are scarce able or at leisure to detect the false Colours of an Artificial Harangue much less enter into the Merits of any particular Controversie and in these Cases where a right Judgment cannot be made every thing that appears in publick must pass for Orthodox unless it has some publick Note of Distinction fixed upon it So that the most Heterodox Positions in this Case rest upon equal Authority with the most convincing Truths till they have received a Censure from the Government either in Church or State And Since Paradoxes are capable of receiving a plausible Dress and Downright Contradictions may be advanced under a shew of Argument what fatal Consequences may not we justly dread when Religion is the subject of both The Injudicious and Illiterate Reader is exposed to the Rack and left to be divided and torn in pieces between contrary Opinions and either hangs so long between both till he commences Sceptick or Infidel and Believes Neither or at least follows the Biass of Lust and Corrupt Nature and is carried away with Declamation and Harangue the Usual Artifices of a Bad Cause and consequently is inevitably plunged into Heresie and Error But further the Mischief rises higher yet for it 's concluded An Unrestrained Press is often the most familiar with the Established Religion and never spares in bringing Disgrace on any Branch or part of it It 's the Publick Mark of Envy or Malice and consequently never wants the most Furious and Envenomed Assailant But then this is the direct Method to usher in the most fatal Consequences for it will not only sap the Foundations of an Establishment by bringing Her Authority into Contempt it being the Moving Principle of all such Attacks but it strikes at the Reputation of Religion in General and makes way for resolving the whole into Sham and Imposture For when the Government suffers the Press to attack a Received Article of the Established Religion without the least Censure or Controul an indifferent Judge must conclude that both cannot be true And because Authority does not proceed to Assert and Vindicate its own Establishment or upon a fair Estimate establish and determine for the Truth he 'll conclude there 's no real Difference between Truth and Falshood and that Religion it self is nothing but a Set of Maxims calculated according to the several Aspects and Interests of Government This is so great a Truth that I 'm highly perswaded those publick and repeated Attacks made from the Press of late Years upon the Faith Authority Worship and Discipline of this Church so many Articles of Religion having been so professedly questioned and rejected is the Great Cause of that Scepticism and Infidelity or at least Contempt of Religion which so visibly reigns in this Nation Give me leave to represent the Force of the present Arguments in a single Instance It 's already concluded that the Press has appeared in a Line of Contradiction to two of our Publick Offices of Worship the Anniversaries of that Glorious Martyr King Charles the First and the Restauration of King Charles the Second They are by Royal Authority as well as Statute-Law made part of our Publick Service The whole Body of the Clergy are indispensibly bound to Celebrate them and the whole Legislative Power in a Solemn Manner joyns in the Celebration of 'em and yet we have Books published in Contradiction to 'em published in the most open and audacious Manner For the Press has not done its Duty by sending 'em into the World but they are publickly sold in the Shops and exposed to sale from our Publick Prints and Term-Catalogues Now what dismal Consequences can we imagine must attend such vile Practices Our Law-givers piously declare That By the Murder of Our late Dread Sovereign the Protestant Religion hath received the greatest Wound and Reproach and the People of England the most insupportable Shame that was possible for the Enemies of GOD and the King to bring upon us 12. Car. II. c. 30. But pardon me if I
pronounce the Liberty of the Press to have advanced some Degrees beyond this For the Fact with its Preliminaries is now not only levelled against the Authority of Law and consequently that Blasphemy and Reproach that is due to it is renewed and heightened but a manifest Blasphemy and Reproach is entailed on the very Cause of Religion Such Allowances as these must cause the Enemies of GOD to Blaspheme and tell us that we either Worship we know not what or that our Worship is a Solemn piece of Mockery or at least a piece of Lip-Devotion or rather that the whole of Religion is Cheat and Imposture For if these things be reconcilable there can be no Truth nor Reality in Religion and this or that Profession is no longer a piece of Religion than it runs with the Tide and Bent of a Community But now when things discover such a fatal Tendency as this is if there be any such thing as a Guardian of the Church of CHRIST and if the Magistrate by Divine Designation is invested with the Character it must be an Indispensible Duty to exert with Vigour and Resolution The whole Case will turn upon a short Issue if upon a Due and Regular Examination these Religious Offices are Materially Evil and Unwarrantable let 'em be set aside and abolished that GOD may be no longer trifled with and blasphemed nor His Pastors loaded with Hatred and Contempt by being bound up to the Observance of things that are not Warrantable But if notwithstanding the utmost Efforts of Malice and Declamation they appear to be a Pious and a Just Institution the Magistrate if ever must be obliged to endeavour a speedy Redress and since these Mischiefs apparently derive from the Liberty of the Press certainly the Trust of a Guardian can never be discharged without destroying the Evil in its Cause and consequently without laying a Powerful Restraint on it When a Mischief is thus dangerous and destructive it becomes the proper subject of a Law and is to be suppressed with all the Ensigns of Authority and Power And now Sir I hope I have in some measure answered Your Demands and discovered the Necessity of Regulating the PRESS and that too with Regard to the Ecclesiastical Establishment of this Nation and therefore I 'm inclined to perswade my self the Argument will have its just Weight and Influence on Your Zeal and Affection for the Publick Good as well as Judgment But that nothing may intervene to cause a Miscarriage I shall endeavour a short return to the most Considerable Objections that have been advanced against it SECT X. And first It may be objected That the Mischiefs of the PRESS may be effectually obviated by Particular Laws and that a Restraint of the PRESS from the Experience of former Times has not prevented ' em Now it must be confessed That the Law produced in the last Parliament may serve as a Bridle to the Deist Atheist and Anti-Trinitarian but this can by no means obviate the Mischiefs of a Licentious Press For there are other Truths and Doctrines set forth in the Christian Religion and this Established Church which if publickly oppugned must prove highly Injurious to the Main Design of the Christian Religion as well as the Peace of the Present Establishment such as the Doctrine of CHRIST'S Satisfaction by the Sacrifice of Himself the Doctrine of Grance or Divine Assistance How these have of late suffered the Publick has been too lately made a Witness if not a Judge But certainly the Mischiefs of the Press can never be fully obviated unless by the Restraint of it or at least by such a Law as makes it highly Penal to publish any thing in Writing that is level'd against any Branch of the Established Religion for since National Establishments appear to be absolutely Necessary for the Carrying on the Ends and Designs of the Gospel that which is amiss is to be regularly corrected and after this is done nothing is to be suffered that any-wise invades the Peace of such an Establishment But after all Penal Laws of this Nature are not so apt Instruments to prevent the Mischiefs that usually spring from the Press as an absolute Restraint of it when the Authority of a License or Imprimatur is wanting Such a Restraint destroys the Mischiefs in its Seeds and Principles it stops the Contagion in the very Spring or Fountain whereas such Laws take place at a Distance it may be when the Infection is propagated to a considerable Degree There is a solemn Process and a great many Formalities and Steps to be made which may serve as so many Advantages or Chances to escape the Force of the Law The Author is not only to be discovered but an Information given in and received too according to the Genius and Temper of the Magistrate and consequently the Undertaker must have Courage enough to bear the Title of Informer an Office which as the World goes neither the Justice nor Merits of the Cause can secure from Ignominy and Contempt Again there must be a Prosecution by course of Law and the Case examined and tried whether it falls within the Penalty of the Law and all this perhaps without the least Recompence to the Prosecutor for Expences or Attendance In a word a Verbal Recantation after the Labour and Difficulties of Conviction may render the Author Rectum in Curia and after this he may under Disguise go afresh to work at the small hazard of the least of Punishments I wish some Provisions of this Nature had not been wanting in the late Act against Profaneness and Immorality whereby a Pious Design may become Insignificant and Useless For upon this bottom while the Press is open I 'm afraid the Enemies of our Establishment will publish their Notions with the Satisfaction of secret Smiles and Triumphs But now if the Press were shut till an Imprimatur is obtained the mere want of one is a Competent Evidence for Conviction and tho' some may be so daring to expose their Notions at the hazard of their Safety yet such a Restraint of the Press gives this considerable Advantage That whatever comes forth without Authority carries its own Mark in the Title-page and consequently gives an Alarm to the incautious READER of Infection and Mischief SECT XI But Secondly it is objected That such a Restraint of the PRESS is a giving up the Consciences and Judgments of Mankind to a Party and a condemning them to an Implicit Faith and is a direct Method to involve the World in Ignorance and Error As for the First part of the Objection If an Orthodox National Church is the Party intended I may safely affirm That as it is the Duty of every Person within her Communion to conform to her Faith Worship and Government so I hope it already appears that it 's a standing Duty in the Magistrate as well as Church Governours not only to enforce all Gospel Means to bring every Soul into the Pale of it but
Corrupt and Restless Spirits If such Decrees or Injunctions are not to be imposed as Essentials of Faith or Terms of Communion yet they are in the Language of our Church to be received as Injunctions for the avoiding Diversity of Opinions and for establishing Consent touching True Religion Or in one word as Articles of Peace so that whosoever publickly oppugns'em is at least to be censured as a Breaker of the Peace of the Church But further as to the Duty of Publick Worship it 's undeniably evident the great Circumstantials of Worship are no where determined in Scripture such as the Time Manner and Place and yet these are Moral and inseparable Circumstances without which'tis impossible the Duty can be performed And therefore it 's absolutely necessary they should be committed to the Determination of those Powers and Authorities GOD has constituted in his Church For tho'this or that Particular Determination be not necessary till'tis settled yet it 's absolutely necessary they should be determined some way or other And this demonstrates the Necessity of Publick Establishments in the Duties of Publick Assemblies and Publick Worship Again as to the Case of Discipline how can that Decency Order and Uniformity which the Word of GOD so passionately recommends be maintained without the Establishment of Districts and the Settlement of Time and Place how can the Manners of Men be animadverted on or their Neglects or Irregularities in the Publick Worship of GOD be censured what must become of the Publick Duties of Admonition and Reproof and Exclusion from the External Means of Salvation to the Correction of Offenders Removing of Scandal and the Deterring of others These are such clear and uncontroulable Evidences of the Necessity of Publick Establishments that we find them in all the Churches of the Saints or Christian World and the Civil Government agreeable to the Prophetick Character is the professed Guardian and Protector of 'em SECT VII It now remains That we consider the Influences which the Liberty of the PRESS has upon an Establishment And certainly where Men are under an unlimited Allowance to publish their Sentiments of things it 's the Publick Establishment that must suffer the sharpest attack It 's this that bears the shew of Authority and Dominion or stands between its Adversaries and some beloved Interests It 's the only Check to the Ambition Avarice Luxury or Impurity of a Licentious World When this is born down by Calumny and Sophistry and brought into disgrace there 's nothing left to obstruct a general Licentiousness So that the greatest Libertine may plead a Right not only to erect his own Scheme but to do whatever seemeth right in his own Eyes And therefore the common Torrent of Vice will not only bear down upon her but those more active Furies Envy Malice Prejudice and Revenge will unite to form an Indictment In a word an Establishment as such is markt out as a Common Enemy against whom every Tribe and Sect of how different a Make and Complexion soever are prepared to unite and arm and when they may do it at so easie an Expence of Danger or rather under the Banner of Freedom and Liberty no wonder if they shoot forth their Arrows even bitter words and are content with nothing less than reducing the whole Oeconomy to desolation and ruine SECT VIII GOD knows we are not now left to view the force of the Argument in empty Theory and Notion since we may read it in Matter of Fact and Observation What Branch of our Establishment of moment and importance has the Liberty of the Press left free and untouched Has not the Divinity of our SAVIOUR and the whole Doctrine of the Ever-blessed TRINITY as delivered in our Articles been run down and discarded by a whole shoal of Pamphlets Has not the whole Design of CHRIST'S Mission been industriously overturned and the Doctrine of His Redemption and Satisfaction by the Offering up of Himself been peremptorily rejected as groundless absurd and impossible See Atheist turned Deist Sect. 42 43 47. Has not Reason been asserted to be the only Measure of Faith so that whatever cannot be comprehended by it is to be rejected from being an Article of Faith Christianity not Mysterious Has not an Assent to this single Proposition Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah been asserted to be the only explicite Article of Faith necessary to Salvation The Reasonableness of Christianity p. 43 49. 192. Has not Revelation it self been disputed and rejected as an incompetent Rule to Mankind Oracles of Reason Let. 3. 14. Lastly As to our Offices of Publick Worship Has not the Press brought Scandal and Reproach upon two of the Anniversary Solemnities of this Church tho' enjoyned by Acts of Parliament viz. The Martyrdom of King Charles the First and the Restauration of this Church and Monarchy in the Return of King Charles the Second For do we not find it expresly vindicating the whole Scene of Violence transacted in that Bloody War against the King and stigmatizing the great Instruments of the Restoration Nay more we find the very Author applauding himself as having a Point of Honour done him by being chosen one of the King's Judges See Milton's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 falsly pretended to be printed at Amsterdam and Ludlow's Memoirs London Vol. 2d p. 871. These are the blessed Products of the Press laid open and prostituted to the Wit and Malice of designing Men and yet they are but the small Gleanings of that Mass of Filth and Corruption it has brought forth And what can more directly tend to a total subversion of an Establishment and more effectually prepare the World to believe the Truth of their repeated Declamations viz. That Creeds and Systems are only profitable Inventions or rather That the whole Oeconomy of our Establishment is but Secular Policy and the Arts of Priestcraft The Press has already publickly declared thus much and that Coldness or rather Air of Contempt that too generally prevails against that of this Church abundantly demonstrates the pernicious Influences of it But now to improve the Argument It 's already concluded That Ecclesiastical Establishments or National Churches are indispensibly necessary they rest on the Authority of Apostolick Institution and are confirmed from the very Nature and Design of the Christian Religion It 's concluded That the Christian Magistrate is by Divine Appointment constituted a Guardian and Protector of National Churches within his respective Dominions It 's a standing Trust committed to him by the Laws of Natural as well as Revealed Religion If therefore the Liberty of the Press is highly destructive of the Interests of Religion and particularly as 't is cultivated in National Churches If it appears not only in the Nature of the thing but upon unquestionable Matter of Fact the Magistrate who by Divine Appointment is constituted a Guardian and Protector in the cause of Religion is indispensibly bound to remove the mischief by laying a powerful Restraint on the Press In a