In matters religious, men had not the breadth of thought which we, now, happily possess. For instance, on May 5, 1813, was introduced into the House of Commons a Bill, which, afterwards, became law, "For the further relief of persons impugning the doctrine of the Trinity." The Acts of 9 and 10 William III. had not been repealed, and by them, persons who, in writing or in conversation, denied the existence of any of the persons of the Trinity, were disabled, in law, from holding any office, civil, ecclesiastical, or military, on conviction; and, if a second time convicted, they were disabled to sue or prosecute in any action or information, or to be the guardian of any child, and liable to be imprisoned for three years.
This may appear extremely intolerant, but it must be borne in mind that, well within every one's memory, an atheist, avowing himself to be such, could not give testimony in a Court of Justice, nor sit in the House of Commons. Tardily, nous avons changé tout cela.
The Roman Catholics, too, felt the yoke that galled them, and made strenuous efforts to obtain its removal. On April 30, 1813, Mr. Grattan presented to the House of Commons his Bill "to provide for the removal of the Civil and Military Disqualifications, under which his Majesty's Roman Catholic Subjects now labour." At that time a Roman Catholic had no vote for Members of Parliament, nor could he sit in the House, and he could not hold any office, either civil or military.
On May 24th, the House of Commons having resolved itself into a Committee on Mr. Grattan's Bill, the Speaker protested against the admittance of Roman Catholics into Parliament, the Privy Council, and the Judicial Bench; and concluded with moving that the words, "to sit and vote in either House of Parliament," in the first clause, be left out of the Bill. After a long debate, a division took place, the voting being, for the clause 247, against it 251, so that was lost only by the small majority of four. Mr. Ponsonby then said that, as the Bill, without this clause, was neither worthy of the Catholics, nor of the further support of the friends of concession, he would move that the Chairman do now leave the Chair, which was carried without a division, and thus the Bill was lost.
The Catholic Emancipation Bill did not receive the Royal Assent until April 13, 1829. Cardinal Wiseman was made Archbishop of Westminster, September 30, 1850. Roman Catholic Chaplains were permitted in gaols July, 1863. The first Roman Catholic Judge that sat on the Bench since the Reformation, was Sergeant Shee, who was made a justice of the Queen's Bench, December, 1863. We have even had a Roman Catholic Lord Mayor, Sir Polydore de Keyser; and on November 3, 1884, Lord Petre, a Roman Catholic priest, took his seat in the House of Lords, so that justice seems to have been done at last.
Of the strength of the Nonconformists we gather something in the following, August 28, 1815: "At the annual conference of the Wesleyan Methodists, held at Manchester, it appears that the number of persons in the Connection amounted to nearly One hundred and ninety thousand."
On December 29, 1814, died a remarkable religious impostor, one Joanna Southcott, who was born, of humble parents, in Devonshire, somewhere about 1750. In the year 1790, she was employed as a work-woman at an upholsterer's shop in Exeter. The shopkeeper being a Methodist, his shop was frequently visited by Ministers of the same persuasion, and Joanna, possessing what is termed "a serious turn of mind," did not pass unnoticed. She had frequent discussions in the shop with these Ministers, and was regarded as a prodigy. Indeed, so sensible was she of her own importance and superiority, that, with the aid of a few dreams, and some extraordinary visions, she began to think herself inspired.
But what confirmed her in this belief, was the realization of a circumstance which she had been forewarned of, in a dream—it was finding the Miraculous seal. One morning, in sweeping out the shop, she found a seal, with the initials I.S., which could mean nought else but Joanna Southcott. From this moment she bid adieu to the upholstering trade, and set up in business for herself as Prophetess. In her first prophecies she states that in 1792 she was visited by the Lord, who promised to enter into an everlasting covenant with her, and told her that a vision would be shown her in the night. It accordingly appeared, sometimes in the shape of a cup, then like a cat, which she kicked to pieces, but was very uneasy, until she was told that it was nothing more than a trick of Satan, with a view to torment her.
On the appearance of her first prophecies, the Methodist preachers, already adverted to, endeavoured to convince her of the diabolical nature of her doings, and attributed them to Satan himself. She then appointed an interview with as many as might choose to attend, in order to put the question at rest. The discussion was warm, but it ended in all present signing the following document:—
"I, Joanna Southcott, am clearly convinced that my calling is of God, and my writings are indited by His Spirit, as it is impossible for any Spirit, but an All-wise God, that is wondrous in working, wondrous in power, wondrous in truth, could have brought round such mysteries, so full of truth, as is in my writings; so I am clear in whom I have believed, that my writings came from the Spirit of the most high God.