In the following pages are submitted to the unbiassed judgment and
consideration of my fellow-citizens and the Christian public, the
various documents connected with my deposition and excommunication.
It is not therein my aim to vindicate my conduct in the eyes of the
_so-called_ national teachers, or priests, or of the _so-called_
Catholic Christians who are notoriously hypocrites, and who only
follow religion for a livelihood, or as a means of attaining power
and eminence: to attempt my vindication before such as these would be
degrading to myself and to the nation. I desire a verdict of acquittal
from those alone, who either have, or long to have, religion dwelling
in their souls, and who are earnestly striving after light and truth,
Christian love, and moral freedom. All such will acknowledge that I have
fought a good fight, and not for myself alone; they will grant me their
confidence, that we may devote our united strength to the accomplishment
of that great and desirable end, to the achievement of which we are
called, as well by our holy profession, and our sense of duty, as by
our care for the moral and temporal well-being of existing and of future
generations. The Author.