the erection of the Gospel-ministry, and were unmixed with the inventions of men. They were founded on the genius and spirit of Christianity, and not on the genius or spirit of the world. The Quakers, therefore, looking up to these as to the surer foundation, have adopted the following tenets on this subject:

They believe, first, that it would be inconsistent in them as Christians to make a pecuniary payment to their own ministers for their Gospel-labours. And they regulate their practice accordingly upon this principle.. No one is ever paid by them for the performance of any office in the Church. If a minister lives at home and attends the meeting, to which he belongs, he supports himself, as St. Paul did, by his own trade. If he goes on the ministry to other meetings, he is received by the members of the Society as he travels along, and he finds meat and drink at the houses of these. His travelling expenses also are generally defrayed in this particular case. But he receives no reward, or fixed or permanent stipend, for his services on these or on any other such occasions.

And as the Quakers cannot pay their own ministers, so it is a tenet with them that they cannot pay those of other denominations for their Gospel labours, upon the same principles; that is, they believe that all ministers of every description ought to follow the example, which St. Paul gave and enjoined them, of maintaining themselves by their own hands; they ought to look up to God, and not to men, for their reward: they ought to avoid the

character of false teachers, and the imputation of abusing their power in the Gospel. And to these they add a particular reason drawn from the texts quoted, which is not applicable in the former case; namely, that ministers are not authorized to take meat and drink from those, who are not willing to receive them.

SECTION II.

Other reasons why Quakers cannot pay ministers of the Gospel of other denominations from themselves—these arise out of the nature of the payments made to them, or out of the nature of tythes -history of tythes from the fourth century to the reign of Henry the Eighth, when they were definitively consolidated into the laws of the land.

BUT the members of this Society have other reasons, besides the general reasons and the particular one which have been given, why, as Christians, they cannot pay ministers of a different denomination from themselves for their Gospel-labours, or why they cannot pay ministers of the Established Church. These arise out of the nature of the ments, which are made to them, or out of the nature of tithes. But to see these in their proper light, some notion should be given of the origin of this mode of their maintenance. I shall therefore give a very concise history of tithes from the

pay

fourth century, to which period I have already brought the reader, to the reign of Henry the Eighth, when they took a station in the laws of the land, from which they have yet never been displaced.

It has already appeared, that between the middle and the close of the fourth century such ministers of the Gospel, as were able, supported themselves, but that those, who were not able, were supported out of the fund for the poor. The latter, however, had no fixed or determined proportion of this fund allotted them, but had only a bare livelihood from it, consisting of victuals served out to them in baskets, as before explained. This fund, too, consisted of voluntary offerings, or of revenues from land voluntarily bequeathed. And the principle, on which these gifts or voluntary offerings were made, was the duty of charity to the poor. One material innovation, however, had been introduced, as I remarked before, since its institution; namely, that the bishops, and not the deacons, had now the management of this fund.

At the latter end of the fourth century, and from this period to the eighth, other changes took place in the system, of which I have been speaking. Ministers of the Gospel began to be supported, all of them without distinction, from the funds of the poor. This circumstance occasioned a greater number of persons to be provided for than before. The people therefore were solicited for greater contributions than had been ordinarily given. Jerom and Chrysostom, out of good and pious motives, exhorted them in turn to give bountifully to the poor,

and double honour to those, who laboured in the Lord's work. And though they left the people at liberty to bestow what they pleased, they gave it as their opinion that they ought not to be less liberal than the ancient Jews, who under the Levitical law gave a tenth of their property to the priesthood and to the poor. Ambrose, in like manner, recommended tenths as now necessary, and as only a suitable donation, for these purposes.

The same line of conduct continued to be pursued by those, who succeeded in the government of the Church, by Augustine bishop of Hippo, by pope Leo, by Gregory, by Severin among the Christians in Pannonia, and by others. Their exhortations, however, on this subject were now mixed with promises and threats. Pardon of sins, and future rewards, were held out on the one hand; and it was suggested on the other, that the people themselves would be reduced to a tenth, and the blood of all the poor, who died, would be upon their heads, if they gave less than a tenth of their income to holy uses. By exhortations of this sort, reiterated for three centuries, it began at length to be expected of the people that they would not give less than tenths of what they possessed. No right, however, was alleged to such a proportion of their income, nor was coercion ever spoken of. These tenths also were for holy uses, which chiefly included the benefit of the poor. They were called the Lord's Goods in consequence, and were also denominated the Patrimony of the Poor..

Another change took place within the period as-signed, which I must now mention as of great concern. Ministers of the Gospel now living wholly out of the tenths, which with legacies constituted the fund of the poor, a determined portion of this fund, contrary to all former usage, was set apart for their use. Of this fund one fourth was generally given to the poor, one fourth to the repairs of churches, one fourth to officiating ministers, and one fourth to the bishops,* with whom they lived. Hence the maintenance of the ministry, as consisting of these two orders, and the repairs of churches, took now the greater part of it; so that the face of things began to be materially altered. For whereas formerly this fund went chiefly to the poor, out of which ministers of the Gospel were provided, it now went chiefly to the Church, out of which there came a provision for the poor. Another change must be noticed with respect to the principle, on which the gifts towards this fund were offered. For whereas tenths were formerly solicited on the Christian duty of charity to the poor, they were now solicited on the principle that by the law of Moses they ought to be given for holy uses, in which the benefit of the fatherless, the stranger, and the widow was included. From this time I shall use the word Tithes for tenths, and the word Clergy instead of ministers of the Gospel.

* In process of time, as the bishops became otherwise provided for, the fund was divided into three parts for the other three purposes just mentioned.