The Assizes opened on the 6th of August, 1842, but my case did not come
on till the 15th, Mr. Knight Hunt (the author of the 'Fourth Estate')
was the gentleman engaged to report my trial. As the judge was informed
that I intended to defend myself he resolved to take my case last. This
caused the assizes to extend into a second week. Saturday came before
the calendar was exhausted, and as there was no knowing whether my trial
could be gone through in a day, the fear of trespassing on Sunday led to
the court's being ordered to open on Monday, to the annoyance of javelin
men kept there unexpectedly, to jury men who had left tills, ploughs,
and orange baskets unprotected--and not least to my prosecutors, who saw
with some consternation some L200 added to the county expenses, for in
Cheltenham bigotry is greatly preferred when it is _cheap_.
If ignorance would look upon its own degradation, let it spend a few
hours in an assize court. One trial I witnessed was of two men for an
offence which indeed arose out of depravity, but the depravity arose out
of bad training and vicious circumstances. The oldest man, between forty
and fifty, was sentenced to transportation for life to Norfolk Island,
the most ferocious sentence an English judge can pronounce. When the man
heard it, he bowed in genuine and awkward humbleness, and said, as
he made a rustic bow to the bench, '_Thank'ee, my Lord!_' Such abject
humiliation of spirit I had never conceived before. Ignorance never
appeared to me so frightful, so slavish, so blind, as on this occasion.
Unable to distinguish a sentence passed upon him from a service done
him, he had been taught to bow to his pastors and masters, and he bowed
alike when cursed as when blessed. The measured contempt with which the
words were spoken by the judge which blasted the man's character for
ever--the scorn with which he was thrust out of the pale of society,
never again to know freedom or reputation, made no impression on his
dark and servile soul. That appalling weight of infamy falling on his
head and on the heads of his children--for which he might justly
have cursed society--only elicited from him a 'Thank'ee, my Lord!' If
ignorance would see its own degradation, would feel the incalculable
depth of its abjectness, let it sometimes sit for instruction in an
assize court.
The preliminary proceedings at the trial I shall render as Mr. Hunt gave
them, in the third person--adding what, from various causes, was omitted
at the time.
On the morning of the trial the Court-house at Gloucester was very
crowded. Many ladies were present from all parts of the county: the
wives of clergymen, and some of the nobility, were among them, attracted
by curiosity, and by the opportunity which might never occur to them
again of hearing, without loss of caste, a little heresy defended in
person. The audience continued undiminished till ten o'clock at night.
As the name of George Jacob Holyoake was called, he advanced and entered
the dock. Mr. Ogden, the turnkey in charge of prisoners, directed him
with the usual air of official impatience to take his place at the bar.
Mr. Holyoake. Do not be in a hurry. First hand me my books.
Mr. Ogden. (Looking indignantly at a large corded box lying outside the
dock.) You can't have that box here. You must go to the bar and plead.
Mr. Holyoake. Nonsense. Hand me the box.
It being reluctantly handed up, Mr. Holyoake applied to the judge, Mr.
Justice Erskine, for the use of a table.
Mr. Justice Erskine. There is one. (He referred to some boarding behind
the bar), and there Mr. Holyoake proceeded to arrange his books and
papers--although the situation was not advantageous, it being lower than
the bar where the prisoners usually stand. Mr. Holyoake employed twenty
minutes in this operation, and when he had done, the dock resembled,
a young bookseller's stall. Mr. Holyoake then advanced to the bar and
bowed to the court.
Mr. Justice Erskine (who had waited with great patience). Are you ready?
Mr. Holyoake replied affirmatively, and the clerk proceeded to read the
indictment as follows:--
[Gloucester to wit.]--The Jurors for our lady the Queen, upon their
oath, present that George Jacob Holyoake, late of the parish of
Cheltenham, in the county of Gloucester, labourer,* being a wicked,
malicious, and evil-disposed person, and disregarding the laws and
religion of the realm, and wickedly and profanely devising and intending
to bring Almighty God, the Holy Scriptures, and the Christian religion,
into disbelief and contempt among the people of this kingdom, on the
twenty-fourth day of May, in the fifth year of the reign of our lady
the Queen, with force and arms, at the parish aforesaid, in the county
aforesaid, in the presence and hearing of divers liege subjects of our
said lady the Queen, maliciously, unlawfully, and wickedly did
compose, speak, utter, pronounce, and publish with a loud voice, of
and concerning Almighty Gog, the Holy Scriptures, and the Christian
religion, these words following, that is to say, 'I (meaning the said
George Jacob Holyoake) do not believe there is such a thing as a God; I
(meaning the said George Jacob Holyoake) would have the Deity served as
they (meaning the government of this kingdom) serve the subaltern, place
him (meaning Almighty God) on half-pay'--to the high displeasure
of Almighty God, to the great scandal and reproach of the Christian
religion, in open violation of the laws of this kingdom, to the evil
example of all others in the like case offending, and against the peace
of our lady the Queen, her crown and dignity.
* It was pure invention that described me as a' labourer.'
It was a term of degradation in the county, and therefore
employed--my profession was that of a Mathematical Teacher.
Mr. Holyoake pleaded _Not Guilty_, and applied to have the names of the
jury called over singly and distinctly.
Mr. Alexander, counsel for the prosecution, said the offence being only
a misdemeanour, the defendant had no right to challenge.
Mr. Justice Erskine. Of course not, unless reasons are given in each
case.
Clerk. The name of John Lovesey is first.
Mr. Holyoake. I object to Lovesey. He sat on the bench when I was before
the magistrates at Cheltenham, and approved the proceedings against me.
He is not disinterested in this matter.
Mr. Justice Erskine said that was not sufficient reason for challenging.
Loresey declared he 'shuddered at the crime of the prisoner,' and after
some further conversation, the judge having observed it was 'as well to
go,' Lovesey left the box.
Mr. Holyoake. In the case of Mr. Southwell he was allowed to challenge.
Mr. Justice Erskine. I am not bound by the Recorder of Bristol.
The names of the other jurors having been called over, Mr. Holyoake
objected to one on the ground of his being a farmer, and from his
profession not likely to be acquainted with the nature of the question
at issue.*
Mr. Justice Erskine said he could not sit there to listen to such
objections. Mr. Holyoake saying he had no objection to urge which his
lordship would allow, 'seven farmers, one grocer, one poulterer,
one miller, one nondescript shopkeeper, and one maltster, were then
impaneled to ascertain whether one George Jacob Holyoake had had a
fight with Omnipotence, whether he had done his utmost to bring the
Deity into contempt, whether he had fought Omnipotence with force of
arms, and had spoken against it or him with a loud voice.'**
* A poulterer is called upon, under oath, to decide this
great theological and philosophical question that has
agitated the world for so many hundred centuries.......To
make a poulterer a sovereign judge of theology is on a par
with making the Archbishop of Canterbury a judge of
poultry.--Weekly Dispatch, August 18. 1842. [It has been
objected to this that very likely his Grace of Canterbury is
a very good judge of poultry.]
** 'Publicola's' second letter to Judge Erskine.--Weekly
Dispatch, Sep 18, 1842
The following is the list of the jury:--
Thomas Gardiner, grocer, Cheltenham, Foreman.
James Reeve, farmer, Chedworth.
William Ellis, farmer, Chedworth.
Avery Trotman, farmer, Chedworth.
William Mathews, poulterer, Cheltenham.'
Simon Vizard, shopkeeper, Oldland. Isaac Tombs, farmer, Whitcomb.
William Wilson, maltster, Brimpsfield. Edwin Brown, farmer, Withington.
Bevan Smith, farmer, Harescomb. William Smith, miller, Rarnwood. Joseph
Shipp, farmer, Yate.
Mr. Holyoake. Can I have a copy of the indictment?
Mr. Justice Erskine. I had one made for you in consequence of your
application to the court last week.
Mr. Holyoake. Yes, my lord, but after I had thanked you for your
courtesy in so doing, I was asked 8s. 6d. for it by (not being able to
call him by his name, Mr. Holyoake said) that sour looking gentleman
there, (pointing to the clerk of the court, an individual as dusty
and as forbidding as an old penal statute, and who always spoke to
Mr. Holyoake like one. The court laughed, the judge frowned, the clerk
looked indignant, but before censure could fall, Mr. Holyoake escaped
into the next sentence, adding), after the numerous exactions I
was subjected to at the sessions, after being brought here by the
magistrates and then not tried, I did not think myself justified in
paying any more, and the clerk refused it me.
Mr. Justice Erskine. I ordered a copy to be made for you, but did not
think it necessary that you should have it on any other than the usual
conditions.*
Mr. Holyoake. Can I be allowed to read the indictment against me?
Mr. Justice Erskine. Certainly.
The clerk then handed a copy to Mr. Holyoake, who on observing the
counsel for the prosecution rise, left the bar and placed himself where
he could face Mr. Alexander, with a view to take notes. The judge very
courteously asked if Mr. Holyoake desired note-paper and pens, which he
accepted, and:
Mr. Alexander said--Gentlemen of the jury: The defendant at the bar is
indicted, not for writing, but for speaking and uttering certain wicked
and blasphemous words. This person is not, as in the case previously
brought before your attention,** the _vendor_, but he is the _author_
of the blasphemy. From the coincidence of words, he is the editor-Mr.
Justice Erskine. You must not proceed in that way. You must not assume--
* This copy of Indictment occupied not quite one sheet of
paper, for which eight shillings and sixpence were asked!
**That of George Adams.
Mr. Alexander. I am aware, my lord, that I may not assert the identity
of the defendant with the work alluded to--I was only going to draw the
attention of the gentlemen of the jury to the coincidence of the words.
But I will proceed with my case. The defendant, on the 24th of May last,
issued placards for a lecture to be delivered in Cheltenham. In these
placards he announced, not the diabolical, the dreadful topics which he
descanted upon, not anything which would lead the reader to imagine or
expect what really took place--but he gave out his subject as a lecture
upon Home Colonisation, Emigration, and the Poor Laws. Mark this,
gentlemen of the jury. Had he given in his announcements any hint
of what was to take place, his end might have been defeated, and no
audience attracted to listen to the blasphemous expressions you have
heard set out in the indictment. But he did obtain an audience, a
numerous audience, and then declared that the people were too poor
to have a religion--that he himself had no religion--that he did not
believe in such a thing as a God; and--though it pains me to repeat the
horrible blasphemy--that he would place the Deity upon half-pay. I shall
call witnesses to prove all this, and then it will be for you to say
if he is guilty. It may be urged to you that these things were said
in answer to a question, that the _inuendoes_ must be made out.
_Inuendoes!_ I should think it an insult to the understandings of
twelve jurymen--of twelve intelligent men--to call witnesses to prove
inuendoes: but I shall place the case before you, and leave it in
your hands. I am sure I need not speak, I need not dilate upon the
consequence of insulting that Deity we are as much bound, as inclined,
to reverence. He then called James Bartram--who said: I am a printer at
Cheltenham, employed upon the _Cheltenham Chronicle_; attended the
lecture of defendant, just after nine o'clock; there were about one
hundred persons present of both sexes; the placard announced 'Home
Colonisation, Emigration, Poor Laws Superseded;' heard a man put a
question to Mr. Holyoake; he said,' The lecturer has been speaking of
our duty to man, but he has said nothing as regards our duty towards
God.' Prisoner replied, 'I am of no religion at all--I do not believe in
such a thing as a God. The people of this country are too poor to have
any religion. I would serve the Deity as the government does the
subaltern--place him on half-pay.' He was the length of the room off;
I heard him distinctly; he spoke in a distinct voice.
Cross-examined by Mr. Holyoake. You say I said the people were too poor
to have any religion; will you state the reasons I gave? Witness. I can
give the substance, if not the words; 'you said, 'The great expense of
religion to the country.'
Mr. Holyoake. I will thank you to state the other reasons?
Witness. I don't recollect any other reason*
Mr. Holyoake. Now, you have sworn the words are blasphemous--
Mr. Justice Erskine. No, he has not.
Mr. Holyoake. Will you state if the words are blasphemous?
Mr. Justice Erskine said such a question could only be put through him.
He then put the question--do you consider the words blasphemous?
Witness. I do.
Mr. Holyoake. Why do you think them blasphemous?
Witness. Because they revile the majesty of heaven, and are calculated
to subvert peace, law, and order; and are punishable by human law,
because they attack human authority.
Mr. Holyoake. Who has instructed you to define blasphemy thus?
Witness. I have not been instructed, it is my own opinion.
Mr. Holyoake. At Cheltenham, during my examination before the
magistrates, you did not appear to have these notions. Will you swear
you have not concocted that answer for this occasion?
Witness. I did not expect such a question would be put; I did not expect
to be catechised.
Mr. Holyoake. Who advised you to attend as a witness? Witness. The
magistrates sent for me.
Mr. Holyoake. Did you not know before the day of my commitment something
of this matter?
Witness. There was some 'chaff' in the office about it; that's all I
heard of it; a policeman was sent from the magistrates for me to give
the names of witnesses who were to appear. Don't know why the policeman
came to me; don't know his name; no clergyman has spoken to me, that I
recollect, upon the subject of this prosecution; not sure of it; several
persons have spoken to me, cannot say they were clergymen; I do not know
the parties who got up the prosecution, or sent the policeman to me; the
report was furnished to the paper I work on by another person; I saw
the reporter's notes, but not the editor's observations till the galleys
were pulled. Mr. Justice Erskine. What do you mean by galleys pulled?
Witness. Brass slides, my lord.
Mr. Justice Erskine. You mean, I suppose, till all the types were up?
Witness. Yes, my lord.
Cross-examination resumed. Do not know of my own knowledge who made the
report; have been ten years in employment at _Chronicle_ office; know it
was said in that paper that three witnesses from that office could prove
what had occurred at the lecture; the name of reporter of our paper is
Edward Wills; I heard your lecture, you said nothing against morality.
Mr. Holyoake. Will you state your opinion of morality? Mr. Justice
Erskine. The question is irrelevant. Mr. Holyoake. Did you think I spoke
my honest convictions? Witness. I thought you spoke what you meant; you
spoke straightforwardly.
The judge here interposed, to stop Mr. Holyoake from asking as to
witness's opinions.
Cross-examination resumed--Witness. I should not have lost my situation
if I had not come forward in this case; in my opinion you spoke
wickedly, as stated in indictment; I did not notice that you spoke
contemptuously when using the word _thing_, but you used the word; there
were other words between those used in indictment; they did not, is
in that document, follow one another; I do not remember the words; you
spoke of the enormous sums of money spent upon religion, and the poverty
of the people, and afterwards, and in connection with that, said you
would place Deity as government did the subalterns--on half-pay; I have
been a preacher.
Re-examined by Mr. Alexander. I have been uninterruptedly ten years in
the same employment; do not give evidence from fear or reward; but from
a sense of duty.
Mr. Alexander. That is the case for the prosecution, my lord.
Mr. Justice Erskine. Now is the time for your defence.
Mr. Holyoake. I am not a little surprised to hear that the case for the
prosecution is closed. I have heard nothing, not one word, to prove the
charge in the indictment. There has been adduced no evidence to show
that I have uttered words _maliciously_ and _wickedly_ blasphemous. I
submit to your lordship that there is not sufficient evidence before the
Court.
Mr. Justice Erskine. That is for the jury to decide.
Mr. Holyoake. I thought, my lord, as the evidence is so manifestly
insufficient to prove _malice_, you would have felt bound to direct my
acquittal.
Mr. Justice Erskine. It is for the jury to say whether they are
satisfied.
Mr. Holyoake. Then, Gentlemen of the Jury, it now becomes my duty to
address you on the nature of the charge preferred against me, and of the
evidence by which it is attempted to be supported. When I stood in this
court a week ago, and saw the grand jury with Mr. Grantley Berkeley at
their head as foreman--when I heard his lordship, surrounded by learned
counsel, deliver his charge in the midst of persons distinguished for
learning, for eloquence, for experience, and for literary attainments--
I then thought, as I now do, that this court could find nobler means
than the employment of brute force to counteract anything I could
attempt--which I never have done--to bring the truly sacred into
contempt. I thought I never should be called upon to stand in this dock,
with all its polluting and disgusting associations, to answer for mere
matters of speculative opinion. I did think that such persons possessed
a sense of the powers of the human mind that would have prevented the
interposition of penal judges upon such subjects.
But to Mr. Grantley Berkeley, as foreman of the grand jury who found
a true bill against me, I beg to draw your attention. Mr. Grantley
Berkeley, as you are aware, is brother to the member, Mr. C. Berkeley,
who attempted to vindicate the conduct of the Cheltenham magistrates
from the allegations against them by Sir James Graham in the House of
Commons. In the recent case of Mr. Mason, who was taken from a meeting,
as I was at Cheltenham, by a policeman, illegally, without a warrant,
the doctrine was laid down by a cabinet minister, in the House of
Commons, that if the person so arrested was subsequently found guilty by
a jury, the illegal apprehension was justified. See how this applies
to my case. I was taken from a public meeting a week after the
objectionable words were spoken; was taken by a policeman at near
midnight; without a warrant. This was justly deemed illegal. I sat
in the gallery of the House of Commons when the Hon. Member for Bath
brought forward my case, and when Sir James Graham, in reference to
the correspondence which had taken place with the magistrates, had the
frankness to say, 'there had been serious irregularities and unnecessary
harshness used in the case of Holyoake.' In this country four thousand
applications are annually made to the Secretary of State for the Home
Department, and out of that four thousand my case is spoken of as one
in which serious irregularities had occurred, and unnecessary harshness
been employed. And that amid the numerous affairs of this great empire
it should have received this distinct notice is presumptive evidence
that it contained much that should be corrected. On Thursday, July
21, the Hon. Mr. C. Berkeley, addressing the Speaker of the House of
Commons, said, 'I wish to ask the Right Hon. Baronet the Secretary for
the Home Department a question, but in order to make it intelligible to
the House, it will be necessary for me to refer to what took place on
Tuesday last. It appears that upon that day the Hon. member for Bath
stated, "that as a person named Holyoake had been committed to prison,
at Cheltenham, in an improper manner, he wished to know whether the
Right Hon. the Secretary for the Home Department had any objection to
produce the correspondence which had taken place upon that subject"--to
which the Right Hon. Baronet replied that, "he felt called on in
the discharge of his duty to inquire into the circumstances of the
commitment in question--he found that serious irregularities had been
committed, and he expressed his opinion to that effect--but as legal
proceedings were likely to result out of what had occurred, he did not
think it would be judicious in the Hon. and learned Gentleman to press
for the production of the correspondence."...
...The Right Hon. Baronet knows, or at least ought to know, that no such
imputation could with propriety be cast upon the magistrates, for by the
3rd section of the 2nd and 3rd of Victoria, commonly called the County
Constabulary Act, no magistrate or magistrates, in petty sessions
assembled, can interfere with or control the chief constable, or any
sub-constable, in the discharge of their duties, as the rules and
regulations for these all emanate from the office of the Right Hon.
Baronet. It therefore was exceedingly unfair that these imputations
should go forth, and I have therefore now to ask, on behalf of
the magistrates, whether the Right Hon. Baronet objects to the
correspondence being printed and circulated with the votes of the house,
and in case he should object I shall offer it for the perusal of the
Hon. Member for Bath.' Sir James Graham, in reply, said, 'I had no
intention whatever to cast any imputation on the gentlemen, who that day
formed the Petty Sessions. My observation more properly applied to
the capture of Holyoake, and the unnecessary harshness used in his
conveyance from the magistrates' office. At the same time I shall object
to the printing of the correspondence with the votes, as no good result
would come from it. Of course the hon. member is at liberty to offer it
to the Hon. Member for Bath if he chooses--but I repeat, that as legal
proceedings were pending, I think such course not advisable.'
This is a most flagrant attempt at justification. The Act the hon.
member quoted related to Petty Session magistrates, before whom he knew
my case had never come, and of whom, therefore, no complaint could
have been made. But Mr. Berkeley had a friendly purpose to serve. The
magistrates and their friends have the strongest motives for finding
a true bill against me--and they have motives equally powerful for
desiring that your verdict should be 'guilty,' inasmuch as that
verdict will justify all these 'irregularities'--all the 'unnecessary
harshness'--will remove from their shoulders all the responsibility
which they incurred by the course they have pursued towards me. Bear in
mind, gentlemen of the jury, if the rights are to be enjoyed about which
we so much glorify ourselves, cases of this kind must not be allowed
to pass unnoticed. 'Serious irregularities' demand serious notice.
Arbitrary infraction of the liberty of the subject must not receive
the sanction of a jury. Recollect that the same course may be pursued
towards any one of you, and that if it receives your sanction it will be
made a precedent of law--and pernicious may be its influence.
But I would draw your attention to a printed report of remarks, made by
his lordship, in his charge to the grand jury upon my case, I do not for
a moment believe that his lordship had other than fair intentions, but,
unfortunately, his remarks will have a contrary effect on those who
have to judge my case. I have in my hand the _Cheltenham Chronicle_, of
Wednesday last, August 10th, from which I will read. 'These offences,'
he said, referring to the cases of blasphemy, 'lay at the root of all
the crime which prevailed, and a consideration of the causes out
of which they sprung pointed to the only efficient remedy for their
removal. In the case of Holyoake, his lordship observed that a work
called the _Oracle of Reason_ had been printed and circulated containing
language which he did not think it right to repeat; language in which
the writer traced all the evil which existed in the world, not to the
real cause--the evil passions of the human heart--but to the existence
of Christianity itself. This was followed by the most opprobrious
language'--
Mr. Justice Erskine (interrupting). I never said anything of that
kind--that printed report is entirely incorrect.
Mr. Holyoake. I will read some notes of your lordship's charge, taken
at the time of its delivery by a reporter. But whether the report in the
_Chronicle_ is correct or incorrect, it has had its influence in leading
the public, and probably this jury, to a prejudgment of my case.
'There are other charges which seem at once to lead the mind to the
consideration of the root of all the evil which forms the subject of our
present consideration. I allude to two charges of blasphemy. In one the
accused is said to have sold and published a paper called the _Oracle of
Reason_ containing language which I shall not think it right to read, in
which the writer traces the evils at present existing, not to the evil
passions of man, but to the existence of Christianity, and follows it
up with the most opprobrious language to the Saviour and his system,
charging him with being the occasion of all the crime and misery which
prevail. The second charge is against a man who gave a lecture, in the
course of which he discussed the proper way of teaching man his duty
to his neighbour. A person _suggested_ that he had said nothing about
teaching man his duty to his God. That led to a statement which shows
the folly of the person; and he followed it up by making use of such
language that, if you believe it was intended to have destroyed the
reverence for God, he has subjected himself to punishment. There is
another thing--he does not appear to have intended to discuss this; but
if you are convinced that, by what he has said, he intended to bring
religion into contempt, he is guilty of blasphemy. If such addresses had
been directed to the educated classes, it might have been thought they
would remedy themselves; but when they are delivered among persons
not educated, the greatest danger might be expected. It is not by the
punishment of those who attempt to mislead the ignorant that we can
hope to cure the evil. If we feel that it is from the ignorance of those
persons to whom the addresses are delivered that the danger is to be
apprehended, it becomes our imperative duty to teach those persons. Some
persons have said, "Instruct the poor in reading and writing, but leave
them to learn religion at home." But what would you say to a man who
would manure his land, and leave it to find seed for itself? It would
produce nothing but weeds. I know there is great difficulty in arranging
any national schools; but, as we are all individually sufferers, I hope
we shall join in extending a national religious education, so that all
may learn to do right, not from a fear of punishment, but from a far
nobler motive--the knowledge that offences against the laws are contrary
to the precepts of the word of God, and hostile to the best interests of
society.'
I fear his lordship may not give me credit for sincerity; but I
do assure you, gentlemen of the jury, no one heard _some_ of those
sentiments with more pleasure than I did. I did not expect so much
liberality. If such advice had been followed, I should not now be
standing here to defend points of a speculative nature. Such errors
should be corrected by argument, in the arena of public opinion. Where I
uttered these words, they should have been refuted. The witness against
me says he is a preacher; had he no word in answer? could he say no word
for his God? No; he, and those who employ and abet him, shrink from the
attempt, and seek to punish in this dock opinions they cannot refute. Is
this a course becoming those who say they have _truth_ on their side?
His lordship said 'emissaries are going about.' I am no emissary, and
the term as applied to me is unjust. I might, even by the admission of
Mr. Bubb, 'undermine' men's religion, go about secretly disseminating my
opinions, without danger of standing here. But I spoke openly; and you
who usually have to punish _dishonesty_, are now called upon to punish
its non-committal, for a little lying would have saved me from this
charge. I have infringed no law, injured no man's reputation, taken no
man's property, attacked no man's person, broken no promise, violated no
oath, encouraged no evil, taught no immorality--set only an example of
free speaking. I was asked a question, and answered it openly. I am
not even charged with declaring dogmatically, 'There is no God.' I only
expressed an opinion. I should hold myself degraded could I descend to
inquire, before uttering my convictions, if they met the approval of
every anonymous man in the audience. I never forget that other men's
opinions may be correct--that others may be right as well as myself, I
have put forth my own opinions openly, from a conviction of their truth;
and the sentiments I cannot defend I should scorn like my prosecutors to
invoke an attorney-general to protect. I seek a public place, where any
man may refute me if he can, and convict me as wilful or ignorant. I
should think myself degraded if I published secretly. What can we think
of the morality of a law which requires secret inquiry, which prohibits
the _free_ publication of opinion?
Mr. Justice Erskine. You must have heard me state the law, that if it be
done seriously and decently all men are at liberty to state opinions.
Mr. Holyoake. Whatever the law says, if an informer can carry the words
to persons interested in their suppression--if policemen can be sent
to apprehend, without warrants, the man who publicly expresses his
opinions--if he can be handcuffed like a felon, and thrust into a
gaol--if indictments can be brought against him, and he be put to
ruinous expenses and harassing anxieties, however honest the expression
of opinion may be--then, I say, this 'liberty-law' is a mockery. But by
the word 'decent' is meant 'what those in authority think proper.' There
should be no censorship of opinions; but I am told that because I spoke
to ignorant people, I am criminal. To educated persons, then, I might
have said what I did with impunity--
Mr. Justice Erskine. I only, after speaking of education, said that an
honest man, speaking his opinions decently, was entitled to do so.
Mr. Holyoake. There is no evidence to show that my audience were unable
to distinguish decency and propriety. But it must be already clear
enough to you, gentlemen of the jury, who have been employed during the
past week determining violations of the law, that I am placed here for
having been more honest than the law happens to allow. I am unaccustomed
to address a jury, and I hope to avoid the charge of presumption or
dogmatism. I have no wish to offend the prejudices of any man in this
court, and have no interest in so doing, when his lordship is armed with
the power of the law to punish it. But, while I profess respect for your
opinions, I must entertain some for my own. There are those here
who think religion proper, and that it alone can lead to general
happiness--I do not, and I have had the same means of judging. You say
your feelings are insulted--your opinions outraged; but what of mine?
Mine, however honest, are rendered liable to punishment. I ask not
equality of privileges in this respect; I seek not the power of
punishing those who differ from me--nay, I should disdain its use.
Christianity claims what she does not allow, although she says 'All men
are brothers.'
It is from no disrespect to the bar that I did not give my case into the
hands of counsel, but because they are unable to enter into my motives.
There is a magic circle out of which they will not step; they will argue
only what is orthodox; and you would have had no opportunity from them
of learning my true motives, or seeing the real bearings of this case.*
* From what subsequently appeared in the _Cheltenham Free
Press_, I learned that some of the bar took offence at these
remarks; and one revenged himself by describing me, in the
_Morning Chronicle_, as 'a wretched-looking creature,
scarcely emerging from boyhood, whose wiry and dishevelled
hair, "lip unconscious of the razor's edge," and dingy
looks, gave him the appearance of
The author of the paragraph which led to this day's proceedings applied
to me the epithets of 'wretch,' 'miscreant,' 'monster'--represented me
as one who discoursed 'devilism.' The _Gloucester Chronicle_ laboured
to prove that I was a _malicious_ blasphemer, a low German student,
is evidently, from his pronunciation and language, a most ignorant and
illiterate character, and no doubt courted the present prosecution tor
the sake of notoriety.'
The Cheltenham Examiner--the editor of which, I understand, is Mr.
Jelinger Symons--draws a parallel between me and the reputed regicide,
who has recently shot at the Queen. These are the words:--'Akin to the
offence for which Holyoake has been committed is the crime for which
Francis, also a mere stripling, is likely to forfeit his personal
liberty, if not his life. The crimes of blasphemy and treason have many
points of great similarity, and frequently result from the same causes;
and it would not be an uninstructive task to trace out the progress of
those causes which lead the minds of the unguarded to the extreme points
when they become dangerous to society. Holyoake, the bold assertor
of the non-existence of a God, did not become an infidel at once; and
Francis, the would-be regicide, did not level his pistol at oar beloved
sovereign without his mind having been acted and prepared by previous
circumstances.... In both cases a morbid imagination, an affectation
of superiority, a contempt for and a dissatisfaction with existing
institutions, and a craving after notoriety, are the primary incentives
to action,' This ungenerous and offensive parallel was drawn out through
a long leading article. The effect, if not the object, of all this is to
prejudge my case, to awaken all the bitter prejudices which lurk around
religion, and to secure my condemnation before my trial.
Another paper,* in which justice was done me in some respects, called me
a 'bigot.' I am not a bigot. I do not assume that I alone am right; nor
did I speak of Deity, declaring dogmatically his non-existence. I spoke
only of my own disbelief in such an existence. Of all _isms_ I think
dogmatism the worst. I do not judge other men by the agreement of their
opinions with my own. I believe you consider Christianity a benefit.
I regret that I feel it is not so, and I claim the privilege of saving
what is true to me. I have ever been ready to acquire correct notions. I
have publicly called upon parties whose duty it was to teach me--and who
were well paid for teaching--to assist me in sifting out the truth. But
they have chosen the strong arm of the law rather than strong argument.
Jean Jacques Rousseau says in his 'Confessions,' 'Enthusiasm for sublime
virtue is of little use in society. In aiming too high we are subject to
fall; the continuity of little duties, well fulfilled, demands no less
strength than heroic actions, and we find our account in it much better,
both in respect to reputation and happiness. The constant esteem of
mankind is infinitely better than sometimes their admiration.' As the
world goes there is much good sense in this, and I have read it to show
how fully I accord with these sentiments. I am not aiming at sublime
virtue, but rather at the continuity of little duties well fulfilled. It
is enough for Me if I can be true and useful.
* The National Association Gazette.
I was greatly surprised to find the learned gentleman engaged as
prosecuting counsel had so-little to say in reference to the case
entrusted to his charge, but I presume it must be attributed to the fact
that little could be said upon the subject. All his ingenuity, all his
legal skill could not discover an argument at all tenable against me.
I certainly expected to hear him attempt to prove to you that these
prosecutions were either useful or necessary, but he could only tell you
that my sentiments were very horrible, without adducing proof that his
assertions were true. He dealt liberally in inuendoes, particularly in
reference to the placards exhibited previous to the lecture, and the
motive for issuing them. But you have been able to glean from his own
witness the truth of the matter. I had completed my discourse, which
was of a secular character, and was preparing to return home, when one
Maitland questioned me on the subject of my opinions. I did not get up
a meeting under one pretence to use it for another. I employed no scheme
to allure an audience to listen to what I did not openly avow, although
it has been unfairly insinuated that I did so.
When I was first apprehended my papers were taken from me. They would
not even leave me the papers necessary for my defence, and I do not
know what use was made of them, or that this day the information thus
unfairly obtained may not be employed against me. I will read the
memorial on this subject, which I forwarded to the Secretary of State.
'_Memorial of the undersigned George Jacob Holyoake, prisoner in
Gloucester County Gaol, on the charge of Blasphemy, to Sir James Graham,
Her Majesty's Secretary of State,_
'Shewith,--That your memorialist was committed to this gaol from
Cheltenham, on the vague charge of blasphemy, on June 3rd.
'That in consequence of representations made to him by the police
authorities in Cheltenham, your memorialist brought with him to the gaol
some private papers, hastily selected, for his defence--and that, on
arriving here, the said papers were seized, and the visiting magistrate
refused to allow your memorialist the use of them, or to give them up to
his friends to be used for his advantage.
'That, as these papers were brought in confidence that your memorialist
would have been allowed to consult his own thoughts in his own
defence--and as they are no man's property but his own--and, also,
as without them your memorialist will not have a fair chance of
defence,--he trusts you will order them to be restored to him without
delay.
'The offence with which your memorialist stands charged occurred as he
was journeying homeward, in a town where he was a comparative stranger.
Consequently, and owing to great bigotry on religious subjects, your
memorialist has been unable to obtain bail, and has suffered fourteen
days' imprisonment, which time he has spent in fruitless applications to
the authorities here for proper books and papers to prepare his defence.
Out of a list of thirty-one books submitted for that purpose only
thirteen are allowed.
'That, as the trial of your memorialist is to take place at the next
sessions of this county, to be holden on the 28th inst., and he is
without the means of defence or hope of justice, and has a wife and two
children dependent on him for support, he is placed in circumstances of
peculiar anxiety.
'Hence your memorialist earnestly hopes that you will direct that his
papers, seized as before mentioned, be immediately restored to him, and
also that he be allowed free access to such works and papers as he may
deem necessary for his defence, and that without further delay.
'(signed) George Jacob Holyoake.
'County Gaol, Gloucester, June 14, 1842.'
The papers were _afterwards_ returned; but, had it not been for friends
in the House of Commons, and in various parts of the country, I should
have been deprived of the materials for my defence. Public opinion did
for me that which Christian charity refused.*
* At the Gloucester Trinity Sessions, Mr. R. B. Cooper
stated, in contradiction of the prayer of this memorial,
that 'as soon as I mentioned that my papers were necessary
for my defence they were returned to me.' Mr. S. Jones said
he 'took my papers home, and _every one_ I wanted for my
trial on the morrow I had given to me.' Both these
statements were untrue, and I stated so at the time in the
_Cheltenham Free Press_, and my assertion was never
impugned.
Strong prejudices exist against me as being a Socialist. Your local
newspapers have denounced me on this ground. To show that I deserve no
condemnation on this account I shall draw your attention to the nature
of Socialism. I have here a little book, stated to be published by the
'Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.' If it had been stated to be
a 'society' for disseminating 'malicious knowledge' the title-page would
have been correct--for a more gross series of misrepresentations were
never strung together. If what it says of Socialism were true, then I
might be abused; but Socialism as I have learned or explained it, would
never lead to the injury of peace or the disturbance of public order.
The first paragraph of Godwin's 'Political Justice' is an epitome
of Socialism as developed in this country hitherto s it is 'an
investigation concerning that form of political society, that system
of intercourse and reciprocal action extending beyond the bounds of
a single family, which shall be found most conducive to the _general_
benefit--how may the peculiar and independent operation of each
individual in the social state most effectually be preserved--how
may the security each man ought to possess as to his life, and the
employments of his faculties according to the dictates of his own
understanding, be most certainly defended from invasion--how may
the individuals of the human species be made to contribute most
substantially to general improvement and happiness.' But I shall
not content myself with one authority; and to avoid the charge of
presumption, I have gathered much of my defence from other men's
writings, and shall make them speak for me.
Socialists have been declared to have dangerous metaphysical notions.
The whole question has been expressed by the poet-philosopher Goethe in
four lines, translated by Ebenezer Elliott, thus--
How like a stithy is this land!
And we lie on it, like good metal
Long hammer'd by a senseless hand;
But will such thumping make a kettle?
Meaning that senseless hammering and senseless legislation could
neither make the dull iron into a kettle, nor a vicious people into
an enlightened nation. Socialism says, all men have in them the true
metal--the elements of goodness, which all governments are responsible
for moulding. Socialism proposes to substitute other means than
punishments for the prevention of crime, and that you may not think
these chimeras of my own, I will read you the opinion of a Lord Cardinal
to a certain High Chancellor of England, Sir Thomas More, who, in his
'Utopia.' says, 'When I was in England, the king depended much on his
councils....
One day when I was dining with him there happened to be at table one of
the English lawyers, who took occasion to run out in high commendation
of the severe execution of justice upon thieves, "who," as he said,
"were then hanged so fast that there were sometimes twenty on one
gibbet!" and upon that he said, "he could not wonder enough how it came
to pass, that since so few escaped there were so many thieves left, who
were still robbing in all places." Upon this, I (who took the boldness
to speak freely before the cardinal) said, "there was no reason to
wonder at the matter, since this way of punishing thieves was _neither
just in itself nor good for the public_; for as the severity was too
great, so the remedy was not effectual; simple theft not being so great
a crime, that it ought to cost a man his life: no punishment, how severe
soever, being able to restrain those from robbing who can find no other
way of livelihood. In this (said I) not only you in England but a
great part of the world, imitate some ill masters, that are readier to
chastise their scholars than teach them. There are dreadful punishments
enacted against thieves, _but it were much better to make such good
provisions by which every man might be put in a method how to live and
so be preserved from the fatal necessity of stealing, and of dying for
it._"' Socialism would try to obtain a remedy for the evils which judges
go round year by year lamenting; Socialism would suggest a means of
affording employment, and thus mitigate the crime which judges and
juries are called to punish.
Such objects may be declared chimerical, but surely it is not criminal
to hope that they can be carried out, and to feel that they ought.
I could read many other passages to show that under no circumstance
Socialism merits that character which has been ascribed to it But I do
not deem it necessary, as I think I have said enough to prove that. Nor
do I want to instil my sentiments, but merely to disabuse your minds of
a prejudice which has been disseminated to my disadvantage.
My assuming the right of free expression inculcated by Mr. Owen, and
when asked a question, refusing to equivocate, are opposed, it would
appear, to the laws of this country. But this I have learned from
Socialism, that there can be no public or private virtue, unless
the foundation of action is the practice of truth. Passing through
Cheltenham to pay a visit to a friend, I delivered a lecture. After
which the words were uttered which are here indicted. When I had read
the _Cheltenham Chronicle_, in the city of Bristol, I returned to
Cheltenham. If I had been conscious of guilt, should I have returned?
On the night of my apprehension marks of kindness were shown me by the
people. If I had acted disgracefully, would the people of Cheltenham
have met a stranger and showed him marks of esteem and friendship?
I went to the station-house and remained there all night. When taken
before the magistrates, Mr. Capper told me I was not fit to be reasoned
with, because I did not believe in a God, and that it was from a love of
notoriety that I acted: but from the love of mere notoriety I have never
uttered any sentiments, for I hold such conduct in contempt. After I was
taken from the magistrates' office, I was treated with contumely at the
police-station. Surgeon Pinching, finding me completely in his power,
said he was sorry the days were gone by when I could hold up my head,
and wished the inquisition could be put in force against such persons
as myself. I was thrust into a filthy cell, and my hands were bolted
together and the skin pinched off. I was brought to Gloucester on a
sultry day, and should have been made to walk had not some friends
interfered and obtained permission for me to ride, on paying my own fare
and that of two policemen. There was no indication from my manner that
I wished to make my escape, and the company of two policemen was
sufficient to prevent it. It was thought if I was chained like a felon
and dragged through two towns, it would wound my feelings. If these are
the ways in which the truths of Christianity are to be taught, I leave
you to judge of them. Two of your magistrates conversed with me, and
shouted with much rudeness that I was a fool for holding my opinions. I
never could have said this to any man, and yet such treatment I received
from magistrates old enough to be my grandfathers.
Here Mr. Bransby Cooper, who sat upon the left of the Judge, was so
moved by this remark, that he rose and ejaculated something in Court;
but the Judge peremptorily commanded him to sit down.
Mr. Holyoake then read the memorial of the public meeting of the
inhabitants of Cheltenham, before quoted, referring to the conduct, at
the examination, of Joseph Overbury, Robert Capper, and the Rev. T. B.
Newell, D.D., magistrates.
Mr. Justice Erskine. You ought not to read any statement not
authenticated by evidence, which reflects on any person.
Defendant. This is a petition of a public meeting.
Mr. Justice Erskine. It is not evidence.
Defendant continued. I have never been anxious under any circumstances
to obtrude my opinions on the public. I confined myself strictly to
the subject on which I lectured, and should not have introduced my
sentiments on religion, should not have spoken another word after my
lecture, if I had not been publicly questioned. I have held various
situations, and in all secular ones I have strictly kept religious
opinions out of view. It is known that I have taught that and that
only which I have been employed to teach. In proof of this I may cite
testimonials given me upon the occasion of my applying for the
situation of collector at the Birmingham Botanic Gardens. They are from
magistrates and gentlemen of Birmingham, and the post was one requiring
a person of trust, as considerable funds would have to pass through his
hands in a year.
Mr. Holyoake here quoted from numerous testimonials. One of them, from a
magistrate, F. Lloyd, Esq., stated that Mr. Holyoake obtained the first
prize at the Mechanics' Institute, some years ago, for proficiency
in mathematics, a proficiency attained, too, under most discouraging
circumstances.' Another of the testimonials was from the Rev. S. Bache,
one of the ministers of the New Meeting House congregation. Having read
these documents, Mr. Holyoake resumed.
During one of those commercial panics, which a few years ago passed over
this country like a pestilence, my parents were suddenly reduced from
a state of comparative affluence to one of privation. At one of these
seasons my little sister became ill. While she was so the Rev. Mr.
Moseley, M.A., Rector of St, Martin's, Birmingham, sent an order to us
for his Easter due of fourpence. On previous occasions this demand had
been cheerfully and promptly paid; but now, small as the sum was, it was
sufficient materially to diminish the few comforts our house of illness
unfortunately afforded; and it was therefore discussed whether the
demand of the clergyman should be paid, or whether it should be expended
in the purchase of some little comforts for my sick sister. Humanity
decided; and we all agreed that it should be devoted to this latter
purpose. It was; but, I think, the very next week, a summons came for
the Easter due, and two shillings and sixpence were added, because of
the non-payment of "the _fourpence_". The payment of this could now no
longer be evaded, for in a few days a warrant of _distraint_ would have
rudely torn the bed from under her, as had been the case with a near
neighbour. Dreading this, and trembling at the apprehension, we gathered
together all the money we had, and which was being saved to purchase a
little wine to moisten the parched lips of my dying sister, for at this
time her end seemed approaching. My mother, with a heavy heart,
left home to go to the Public Office. The aisles there were cold and
cheerless like the outside this court, and there, all broken in health
and spirits, worn out with watching, and distracted by that anxiety for
her child a parent, under such circumstances, only could feel, she
was kept from five to six hours waiting to pay the two shillings
and ten-pence. When she returned all was over--my sister was dead.
Gentlemen, will you wonder if, after this, I doubted a little the
utility of church establishments?* and if, after the circumstances
I have related, I did not think so highly of church 'as by law
established' as before, can you be surprised? Can you punish me for it?
[At this point many ladies wept, and the Court manifested considerable
attention.]
* I have since learned that Mr. W. J. Fox read this passage
in a Sunday morning lecture on the events of the month,
delivered at South-place in the September following my
trial; and I take this opportunity of acknowledging that Mr.
Fox was the only occupant of a pulpit from whom I received a
friendly line during my entire imprisonment.
I have been told to look around the world for evidences of the truth
of the Christian religion; to look upon the world and draw different
conclusions. It is well for those who enjoy the smiles of fortune to say
so. For them all shines brightly--for them all is fair. But I can see
cause of complaint, and I am not alone in the feeling. Mr. Capel Lofft
had said, 'the sours of life less offend my taste than its sweets
delight it.' On this Kirke White wrote:--
Go to the raging sea, and say
'Be still!' Bid the wild lawless winds obey thy will;
Preach to the storm, and reason with despair--
But tell not misery's son _that life is fair_.
Thou, who in plenty's lavish lap hast roll'd, And every year with new
delight hast told--Thou, who, recumbent on the lacquer'd barge, Hast
dropt down joy's gay stream of pleasant marge, Thou may'st extol life's
calm, untroubled sea--The storms of misery ne'er burst on thee. Go to
the mat where squalid want reclines; Go to the shade obscure where merit
pines; Abide with him whom Penury's charms control, And bind the rising
yearnings of his soul--Survey his sleepless couch, and, standing there,
Tell the poor pallid wretch _that life is fair_!
Lo! o'er his manly form, decay'd and wan, The shades of death with
gradual steps steal on; And the pale mother, pining to decay, Weeps, for
her boy, her wretched life away.
Go, child of fortune! to his early grave, Where o'er his head obscure
the rank weeda wave; Behold the heart-wrung parent lay her head On the
cold turf, and ask to share his bed. Go, child of fortune, take thy
lesson there, And tell us then that life is _wondrous fair_.
As I grew up I attended missionary meetings, and my few pence were given
to that cause. When told of heathen kings who knew not God, and caged
their miserable victims, I shuddered at their barbarity and prayed for
their conversion. O waste of money and prayers that should have been
employed on Christian men. O infantile fatuity! Do I not reap the
whirlwind for my pains? I learned the accents of piety from my mother's
lips. She was and still is a religious woman. Whatever may be the
dissent I entertain, I have never spoken of her opinions in the language
of contempt. I have always left her (as she to her honour has left me),
to enjoy her own opinions. In early youth I was religious. I question
whether there is any here who have spent more time than I did as
a Sunday school teacher. I have given hours, which I ought to have
employed in improving myself, in improving others. It is not without
giving to Christianity time and attention--without knowing what it
was--that I have given it up. Some lines I contributed to a religious
publication at that time, will show the tone of thought which inquiry
has subsequently changed:--
THE REIGN OF TIME.
The proudest earthly buildings show,
Time can all things devour;
E'en youth and beauty's ardent glow,
And manhood's intellectual brow,
Betray the spoiler's power:
How soon we sink beneath his sway--
He glances, and our heads turn gray.
Though, over all this earthly ball,
Time's standard is unfurled,
And ruins loud to ruins call
Throughout this time-worn world--
Yet from this wreck of earthly things,
See how the soul exulting springs.
And after the archangel's wand
Has wav'd o'er earth and sea,
And Time has stopped at his command,
The soul will nourish and expand
Through all eternity.
Religion--lovely, fair, and free--
Holds forth this immortality.
By all the glories of the sky,
To mortals yet unknown--
And by the worm that ne'er shall die,
The fires that always burn--
By all that's awful or sublime,
Ye sons of men improve your time.*
* 'Baptist Tract Magazine.' Vol. ii., p. 341.
It was stated by one of the magistrates that my being of no religion was
no crime. I may conclude from what I heard this morning that I am not to
be punished for not being religious. It was argued in, the _Cheltenham
Chronicle_ that my expressing my opinions was no crime, and I was at
some loss to know what my crime was. The charge stated I was guilty of
_blasphemy_. In the depositions made against me, it is stated that I
was brought before the Cheltenham magistrates on a charge of felony. I
believe now what I have to answer is the accusation of uttering certain
words offensive to the _Cheltenham Chronicle_.
This paper stated that 'three persons were ready to give evidence on
the matter.' And yet the witness says he knew nothing of it till the
policeman came for him. He says they were 'chaffing' about my remarks
in the office--that is, joking upon them. It does not say much for his
seriousness--reporting these 'horrid sentiments' at night, and the next
morning '_chaffing_' about them. If it was an aggravation of my crime
to have chosen an innocent subject, what would the learned counsel have
said if I had chosen a guilty one? It has been sworn by the witnesses
that I said I did not believe there was such a _thing_ as a God, and an
attempt has been made to make you believe that I used the term 'thing'
contemptuously, but the witness admits that I did not use it in a
contemptuous sense. The same word occurs in some lines by Thomas
Moore:--
Man, in the sunshine of the world's new spring,
Shall walk transparent like some holy thing.
I must have used the word 'thing' in some such sense as it is used in
these lines.
It is laid down by the Common Law, that a person denying the existence
of a God is a blasphemer. It has not been shown that I did this. I
merely stated my disbelief--and disbelief is not included by the law.
There is a great difference between denial and disbelief. If I had said
distinctly 'there is no God,' it would have been stating that I was
quite sure of it. I could not have said that, because I am not sure of
it. I saw reasons for disbelief, but did not assert denial. Disbelief is
all I profess. Those dogmatise who affirm, rather than those who deny a
proposition. Mr. Southwell put this point in its proper light:--
'If God had never been affirmed, he could not have been denied. It is a
rule of logic, and a very sensible rule, that the _onus probandi,_
that is the burthen or weight of proving, rests on those who affirm a
proposition. Priests have affirmed the existence of a God, but who will
maintain that they have complied with the rule of logic?'*
We can only, I think, arrive at a conviction of the existence of a God
by the following modes:--
1. By the medium of _innate ideas_, which we are said by some divines to
possess, and which intuitively lead us to entertain the idea of a God.
2. By the _senses_, the sole media by which all _knowledge_ is acquired.
3. By _conjecture_.--This is employed by those who suppose there must be
a God from their inability otherwise to account for the existence of the
universe, and are not willing to allow it to be inexplicable.
4. By _analogy_.--Comparison is the basis of this argument. Analogy is
the foundation of natural theology.
5. By _revelation_.--In this country the Bible is said to contain the
revelation of a God.
Of these it may be remarked:--
1. _Innate ideas_.--With regard to these, very conclusive reasons have
been advanced by eminent philosophers for disbelieving that we have
any. And human experience confirms this conclusion. Some nations, as
the people of the Arru Islands, have no idea of a God. So this source of
knowledge concerning one is, to say the least, dubious.
2. _Senses_.--'No man hath seen God at any time,' is a sufficient reply
to this--for the same may be affirmed of every other sense, which is
here affirmed of sight.
3. _Conjecture_.--This defies us. We only prove our own inability and
multiply difficulties. For when we suppose a God, we cannot suppose how
he came, nor how he created something out of nothing, which is held by
the learned to be plainly _impossible_.**
* Oracle of Reason, No. 31, p. 251.
** Since this time Mr. Francis William Newman has put this
argument unanswerably in these words; 'A God uncaused and
existing from eternity, is to the full as incomprehensible
as a world uncaused and existing from eternity'--'The Soul,'
p. 36. Second edition.