can entertain; and if there are any in the Free Church (as
I doubt not there are some) who seceded, not so much from any dislike to
the just supremacy of the law, as from a belief that the law in these
ecclesiastical matters was applied unjustly, I know well that you will
be most eager to receive them back again; I know well that you will not
let any petty vanity, any scruple of worldly dignity, stand between them
and their honourable return. If, therefore, there were no more to be
done than to display to these voluntary exiles the deep sense of your
respect for their position, this appeal would be unnecessary, and you
might be left to the guidance of your own good feeling.

But it seems to me that there is need of something more; it seems to me,
and I think that it will seem so to you also, that you must go even
further if you would be equal to the importance of the situation. If
there are any among the Dissenters whose consciences are so far
satisfied with the provisions of the recent Act that they could now
return to your communion, to such, it must not be forgotten, you stand
in a position of great delicacy. The conduct of these men you have so
far justified; you have tacitly admitted that there was some ground for
dissatisfaction with the former condition of the Church; and though you
may still judge those to have been over-scrupulous who were moved by
this imperfection to secede, instead of waiting patiently with you until
it could be remedied by peaceful means, you must not forget that it is
the strong stomach, according to St. Paul, that is to consider the weak,
and should come forward to meet these brethren with something better
than compliments upon your lips. Observe, I speak only of those who
would now see their way back to your communion with a clear conscience;
it is their conduct, and their conduct alone, that you have justified,
and therefore it is only for them that your special generosity is here
solicited. But towards them, if there are any such, your countrymen
would desire to see you behave with all consideration. I do not pretend
to lay before you any definite scheme of action; I wish only to let you
understand what thoughts are busy in the heads of some outside your
councils, so that you may take this also into consideration when you
come to decide. And this, roughly, is how it appears to these: These
good men have exposed themselves to the chance of hardship for the sake
of their scruples, whilst