riable things, and this the more so, since the reformation from Roman Catholicism, since the Bible has ceased to be a treasonable possession, and since criticisms upon its contents have ceased to lead men and women to the stake and burning faggot. To make common law, lex non scripta, immemorial usage, the spirit of our Judges, or common sense, to have a standing guardianship over religion, it is necessary that such religion be a fixed and definable thing, which it has never yet been; and the statutes that allow a variance in forms and ceremonies have undermined the only religious guides, or legal gujdes to religion, that were attainable. It is therefore quite clear, that there is no common law applicable to the protection of religion from criticisms, and that all the modern prosecutions of myself, family, and friends, have been illegal proceedings. Every sect is heretical and blasphemous towards every other sect, and every century towards the last. On what shall we fix, to be certainly safe? Nothing but silence. Ought we to be silent? and why?

RICHARD CARLILE.

TO MR. R. CARLILE, DORCHESTER GAOL.

DEFENDER OF OUR RIGHTS, Wisbeach, June 24, 1824. I FEEL pleasure in remitting the inclosed sum of £2. 12s. 6d. though it would give me and the subscribers in general still greater pleasure to see you in a situation not to need it. That a man should be subject to fine and unlimited imprisonment for the publication of mere opinions is unwarrantable in the eye of reason and of justice, and contrary to the natural rights of man; we, therefore, cheerfully contribute our mites to assist you in the glorious and patriotic cause you so ardently labour to promote. Free discussion we hold to be essentially necessary to the cause of truth, and the only means of erasing from the mind the dreadful effects of fanaticism, and of restoring it to a state of moral purity. History affords no proof of the infallibility of any of the Gods; we, therefore, presume, that no person in the present day will lay claim to any such a qualification. It is asked then, upon what authority can restrictions on the press be made? Is it from reason, from sound policy, or from any regard to the morals of society? No: it is from self interest, and from a love of arbitrary and despotic power, that such restrictions are made: and to support an insolent and extravagant priesthood, together with a profligate and servile

administration of government. Until mankind can divest them-
selves of their prejudices, reason freely upon matters of the high-
est importance to their well-being in life, and leave off trusting to.
their imaginary deities, they must not expect to enjoy unmolested
the fruits of their own labour. We congratulate you on the re-
lease of your amiable sister, and assure you, that the news was
highly gratifying to us, though we are satisfied, that she was
not liberated from any love of patriotism; but from a fear of the
disgrace that would befal her most Christian persecutors, if her
imprisonment had caused a premature death. We hope her health
will soon be restored, and she in the full enjoyment of that liberty
to which her exertions in the cause of freedom so justly entitle
her. We hope the happy period will soon arrive, when persecu-
tions shall no longer disgrace the annals of British history, but
that all will be at perfect liberty to write and speak their senti-
ments without the fear of subjecting themselves to the most exor-
bitant fines, and imprisonment, without limitation. If there were
no other circumstance that warranted our objections to Christian-
ity, the cruelty exercised towards you, and those connected with
you, by what are called the ornaments of the Christian religion,
would be sufficient to satisfy our minds, that their conduct gave
the lie to their boasted professions; but this, their conduct, is quite
original; for no sooner did the primitive Christians get into power,
than they became the most zealous and intolerant persecutors to
all who dared to differ from them. We, therefore, allow them to
be true and genuine Christians, and hope the time is not far dis-
tant, when you will have no need of men to combat something
more powerful than infuriated bigots, and when the throne of rea-
son shall not be usurped by the combined efforts of kingcraft and
priestcraft. That you may live to carry on your glorious war-
fare with the enslavers both of body and mind, and bring about
that glorious revolution, which is so essentially necessary to the
happiness of all, is our ardent wish. Hoping you will soon re-
ceive a better recompense than a prison for your unremitting ex-
ertions, in a cause which has for its object the general emanci-
pation of mankind, and which will ultimately bring about the great-
est of all blessings, UNIVERSAL LIBERTY. Accept our thanks
for the noble stand you have made against the enemies of every
thing that is noble and virtuous, or that is at all calculated to
better the condition of mankind. Wishing you a speedy release
from that place where you are held by despotism, insulted by bi-
gotry, and tortured by wanton cruelty,

I remain, yours, on behalf of the subscribers,
And have the honour to be,

*W. C., one who wishes

every Tyrant King and No. 1, Vol. X.

W. C.

2 6

Priest as cold as his
Lapstone

A Friend, who took the trouble to send our address to Peterborough,

has remitted to me the following sums:

*

s.

d.

The above subscription was commenced several months since, by Mr. John Blanchard, who, before it was completed, fell from the top of a large pile of timber, which caused instant death. In consequence of this melancholy accident, its completion was unavoidably delayed. Mr. B., was a firm supporter of the principles you labour so incessantly to promote, and was always active in circulating such books as were calculated to enlighten the mind, and reform the conduct. Though the bigoted may say he had no soul; his character for honesty, sobriety, industry, and his habitual good naturedness, will far outlive the immortal souls of the most superstitious and illiberal. We can have no greater proof of his filial affection, than by his denying himself the pleasures of the conjugal state, to support an aged and afflicted mo

ther: not only providing for her during his life, but left his property to be appropriated to her use after his death. If man has a soul, where is a nobler soul than this.

P. S. The above subscription would have been forwarded a few weeks sooner; but for the unexpected prosecutions of your noble and spirited shopmen, it was deemed expedient to defer its remittance until your affairs were in a more settled state. Whilst we admire the manly and energetic manner in which Campion conducted his defence, together with his brother shopmen, we cannot but condemn the worse than brutal conduct of the reptiles in power, who could thus violate common sense and common decency, by trampling under foot the natural and inherent rights of man. To your shopmen we give our most hearty thanks, for their great and noble exertions, in endeavouring to establish the right of free discussion; and hope they will live to see the period, when the banners of Republicanism shall stand for ever unfurled; and to their prosecutors that shame and disgrace that must naturally result from such inhuman and despotic actions.

Note. Thanks to my Wisbeach Friends. To say more to all, I must convert my publication into a daily

one.

R. C.

TO MR. R. CARLILE, DORCHESTER GAOL.

SIR,

I was present on June 7, at the ascension of Graham's balloon, and being of a religious turn of mind, it brought to my recollection, by an association of ideas, the ascent of our blessed Saviour from the Mount of Olives into heaven, and induced me to consider and compare the circumstances of each. The balloon, which was of an immense size, was exactly twelve minutes before it became immersed in the upper regions of the atmosphere; for clouds they could hardly be called in the common acceptation of the term, being only the usual mass of density, that dwells there, far above the flight of any fowl of the air. It was curious to observe how quickly, yet imperceptibly, this vast machine lessened to the sight, though by no means ascending in a right line, till it seemed a mere speck, and entering the cloudy atmosphere, became invisible. Now, being, I say, of a religious turn, and having ar

rived at an age when all I see and hear in this vain world derives its chief interest and delight from being compared with, and referred to the Holy Scriptures, it was impossible for a mind like mine to avoid so obvious an analogy, and the questions that naturally arose from it.

We now know that heaven, wherever it is placed, lies at an immeasureable distance beyond the remotest fixed Star; and we likewise know, that if a cannon ball were discharged from the nearest fixed star, six millions of years must elapse before it could reach this earth. Supposing therefore, that our Saviour proceeded merely at the same rate as the balloon, which was not half so rapid as a cannon ball, he would be twelve millions of years, before he got to the nearest fixed star; and how far beyond that heaven lies no mortal can tell. According therefore, to this plain reasoning, it is clear, that, unless a miracle were wrought at the moment when "a cloud received him out of their sight," he cannot have arrived there yet; but must be as it were, in transitu, with an immense part of his journey before him.

I should, therefore, be obliged to any religious philosopher for informing me what progress the divine areonaut has possibly made, or to what distance from the earth it may be safely calculated that he has by this time arrived.

A THINKING CHRISTIAN.

THE FOLLOWING LIST CAME TOO LATE TO BE ADDED TO THE SHEFFIELD SUBSCRIPTION.