all day, with scarcely subsistence enough to keep themselveves alive. Such has been, and such is the case.

Look at John Mainwaring's case. For being a few moments after the ringing of the bell, he was summoned before the worthy and unpaid magistrates, not allowed to plead for himself, nor have a counsel, whilst his employer had a long private conversation with the mayor, and the magistrate. The consequence was, that John was ironed, dragged through the streets, sent to Wakefield tread-mill, there to live on bread and water; at the expiration of fourteen days, stript naked, his hands tied up with such severity, that it made the blood come from his wrists, and flogged with such cruelty, that he will carry the marks to his grave. The Lord help poor John, they have made him humble enough to eat straw quietly.

When any of those poor creatures happens to be unfortunate enough to get the displeasure of their employers, or even of the superintendents, the consequence is persecution through this life, and the devil and everlasting burning in the life to come! Those old superanuated creatures, worn out by making their tyrants rich and powerful, are recommended to the workhouse. There they meet with flint-hearted overseers, churchwardens, and governors. I believe that numbers of the feeble prefer to die by the road side of hunger, rather than face the turnkey of an inquisition. Look at Maria Sleddin! She actually died for want in one of our most populous and flourishing towns in Yorkshire.

Englishmen may behold this, and boast of the glory of their much envied constitution, and of the genuine British liberty!

but thinks it an honourable name; for he has known a Priest to be both Sodomite and Swindler

Jonas Crabtree

Abel Hellowell, a Friend to Discussion, at Elland

Joseph Hanson, do.

Abraham Hanson, do.
Joseph Ingham, do.
George Archilage, do.
William Firth, do.
Thomas Holstead, do.
Samuel Holstead, do.
Joseph Holstead, do.

CITIZEN, Dorchester Gaol, July 6, 1824 AFTER thanking those good friends, in Halifax and its neighbourhood, who are neither afraid nor ashamed to trust their notions of truth to the test of free discussion, I have also to congratulate them on our renewed triumph. It is now evident that we can beat the Christians at prosecutions; and I am informed that the whole gang in power are right sick of what they have been so long doing, and doing to their more speedy and more complete discomfiture. The moment it was seen that we bad little companies of men rushing from the country to defy prosecutions, they ceased to arrest; so that, the greatest punishment and dissatisfaction on our part has been, that so many have been disappointed in the honour of a prosecution, and have to return to the country after a journey to no purpose, for the want of perseverance in the enemy. I have not a doubt, but that I can bring more

men and women into my shop, to defy these Christian prosecutions, than all the lawers in the country would find time to prosecute. The system of prosecution would go ou to make new converts, until there was not a disinterested Christian left; and the number to stand prosecution would increase in the ratio, of two or more, to one of the prosecuted. This has been the case hitherto. The men in Newgate, who have but six months imprisonment to fill out, are neither so happy, nor in such good spirits, as those who were sentenced to three years and count their months of imprisonment as you would suppose they would count sovereigns, had they been so unequally distributed for an equally good conduct. There have been no arrests since the end of May, though they were so rapid in the last three weeks of that month. I cannot see with what consistency a Government can renew such prosecutions at intervals, and after long cessations. They ought to go right on and prosecute all, or none. Is it not abominable that I should suffer five years imprisonment for the sale of books which have been on sale, almost every hour that I have been in prison? What law, what justice, what utility can there be in such prosecutions? If the Christians cannot stay the sale of those books, (and they cannot,) why is any person imprisoned? to what gain on their part? No persons see their own faults and characters in a true light; but the future historian will see the Government of this country at this moment to be most contemptible of all that have infested it. Here is a Canning, a wit and a scholar, combatting with fury and vengeance a few mechanics, whose only crime is a desire to obtain and communicate knowledge. Here is a Peel, taken from the cotton factory and made a minister, waging a malignant war with all his fellow cotton spinners and weavers; because they have more knowledge and honesty than the members of that foul aristocracy, amongst whom he desires to rank, losing sight of his father and the cotton mills. Here is a Scott, an Eldon, who has changed the coal sack for the wool sack, afraid that his old companions will overthrow that craft by which he has accumulated such vast riches, and spoil all his idols. Here is a whole body of religious men, with all the powers of absolute Government, boasting of the protection of omnipotence, and trembling with terror at what they designate, in the most contemptuous manner, as impotence and wickedness itself! In coming into contact with, and triumphing over such men, such a religion, such a Government, what ought to be our pride, our consequence, our dig

nity, our importance, and our self approbation? Unbounded. In expressing contempt for Eldon and Peel, I bave been told, that we cannot feel contempt for men who have so much power over us. This has been laid before me as the saying of a philosopher; but I cannot feel it to be sound; for though these men have power over me, they exercise it with so much meanness, so much littleness of mind and purpose, that, in spite of my will, I can feel nothing but contempt for them. True contempt is felt by the virtuous man when injured, oppressed, conquered: that is a base and ineffectual contempt, which such a conqueror might express for such a conquered man. Real and powerful contempt can only be felt by greatness of mind without power, towards littleness of mind with power. The reverse of the case must be pity-cannot be contempt. Greatness of mind with power, cannot feel contempt for littleness of mind without power.

Yours, with contempt for Eldon, Peel, and Canning. RICHARD CARLILE.

TO THE REVEREND H. S. COTTON, D. D. CHAPLAIN OF NEWGATE.

LETTER I.

REVEREND SIR,

Newgate, July 9, 1824, of a declining superstition.

ACCORDING to your request, I have given Archbishop Secker's Lectures, a "calm and serious" perusal, and more particularly the sixth, ON THE BEING OF A GOD, which you are pleased to style, "excellent and admirable;" and, on which, according to your desire, I shall make a few remarks.

No book, lecture, or piece of writing, on an argumentative subject deserves, in my opinion, to be styled "excellent and admirable," except the object of the author, and the tendency of the work be to elucidate truth. In the present instance, whether the author considered himself to be writing for the support of truth, or to support his own easy and profitable trade, I will not presume to say (there may have been such a thing as a conscientious Archbishop, though I believe but rarely;) but the avowed object, or tendency of

these lectures is, to support a false system of theology-to. impose a gross and absurd book, written by illiterate men prompted either by superstition or knavery, on the unthinking mass of society, as the work of an almighty and infallible power-and, to encourage adherence to a useless, mischievous, degrading, and superstitious system of worshipuseless, as it procures no one benefit to the great body of worshippers--mischievous, as it occupies and wastes a great deal of valuable time-degrading, as it lays prostrate man, the possessor of the highest known state of intelligence-and, superstitious, as the object of their worship is but the phantom of their own distempered brains. If such a book, or such an author deserves to be styled "excellent and admirable;" vicious conduct deserves to be styled virtuous and praiseworthy. To you, Sir, who, for aught I know to the contrary, may be a sincere believer, this picture of the Christian religion may appear rather harsh; but I can assure you, that when I look round on the miseries it has entailed on mankind, no language seems to me sufficiently strong to mark its detestable character. But you will perhaps ask me, whether the conscientious supporter is to be, or deserves to be, blamed for the defects in the system, or the unavoidable consequences arising therefrom? I answer, that, to a certainty he is blameable. Every man, before he gives his strenuous support to any particular system or doctrine. should be convinced that it will conduce to the benefit of his fellow men. But, what man can look back on the history of the Christian religion, and say that it has been, or is likely to be, a benefit to mankind? Bloody massacres, and cruel and unrelenting persecutions have ever been the prominent features of the times, when the supporters of Christianity have obtained power; my present situation is proof positive, that the same spirit of intolerance and persecution as governed the Christians of old is afloat amongst the Christians of the present day; and no Christian, either Clergyman or layman, deserves to be exempted from the general charge, till he publicly avows a love of truth and free discussion, and an unqualified detestation of all persecution for matters of opinion.

The Archbishop opens his sixth lecture with a sentence which I shall not dispute: that "the foundation of all religion is faith in God;" but I will add one equally true, that the foundation of all belief in a God, is ignorance: it is man's ignorance of the natural causes of the phenomena No. 5, Vol. X.