Certain Persons of the Town of MINCHIN-HAMPTON, in the faid County, Defendants. IN A LETTER to a FRIEN D. And when the town-clerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephefus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephefians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter. Secing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rafhly. For ye bave brought bither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blafphemers of your goddess. Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, bave a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies; let them implead one another. But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it fall be determined in a lawful affembly. For we are in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourfe. Acts xix. 35-40. A BRIEF ACCOUNT, &c. My dear Friend, London, March 12, 1744. N Thurfday evening I came hither from the Gloucester affizes, where I have been engaged in a trial between some of those who are called Methodists, and some violent rioters. Perhaps this news may a little startle you, and put you upon enquiry (as it hath done fome others) "How we came to go to law with our adverfaries, when it is our avowed principle to fuffer patiently for the truth's fake?" I will tell you, my dear friend: though perhaps there is nothing in the world more abused than the law, and there are very few that go to law out of a proper principle; yet we hold, that there is a proper use of it, and the law is good, when used lawfully. Whether or know we have used it lawfully in the present case, I shall leave my friend to judge, after I have told him the motives that induced us to engage in it. The Methodists, you know, are every where accounted enthusiasts, in the worst sense of the word; but though they are accounted fuch, yet they would not be enthusiasts in reality. Now we look upon it to be one species of enthusiasm, to expect to attain an end, without making ufe of proper means. We also think, that believers should be very careful not to be fond of fuffering perfecution, when they may avoid it, by making application to the high powers. We are likewife of opinion, that good chriftians will be good subjects, and consequently it is their duty, as much as in them lies, to put a stop to every thing, in a rightful way, that may prove deftructive to the king or the government under which they live. Chriftian minifters, in particular, we think, ought to confider the weaknefs of people's grace, and, in pity to precious fouls, do what they can to remove every thing out of the way, that may G 3 dif courage courage or prevent poor people's hearing the everlafting gofpel. Thefe confiderations, my dear friend, for fome time paft, have led me to examine whether the Methodists in general (and I myself in particular) have acted the part of good fubjects, and judicious chriftian minifters, in fo long neglecting to make an application to the fuperior courts, and putting in execution the wholefome laws of the land, in order to prevent those many dreadful outrages which have been committed against us. I need not defcend to particulars. Our Weekly Hiftory is full of them; and before that came out, several of our brethren, both in England and Wales, have received much damage from time to time, and been frequently in great hazard of their lives. Withire has been very remarkable for mobbing and abufing the Methodists; and, for about ten months laft paft, it has alfo prevailed very much in Gloucesterfhire, especially at Hampton, where our friend Mr. Adams has a dwelling-houfe, and has been much bleffed to many people. This displeased the grand enemy of fouls, who stirred up many of the baser fort, privately encouraged by fome of a higher rank, to come from time to time, in great numbers, with a low-bell and horn, to befet the house, and beat and abuse the people. About the beginning of July last, their oppofition feemed to rife to the highest. For several days they affen.bled in great bodies, broke the windows, and móbbed the people to fuch a degree, that. many expected to be murdered, and hid themselves in holes and corners, to avoid the rage of their adverfartes. Once, when I was there, they continued from four in the afternoon till midnight, rioting, giving loud huzzas, cafting dirt upon the hearers, and making proclamations, "That no Anabaptifts, Prefbyterians, &c. fhould preach there, upon pain of being first put into a fkinpit, and afterwards into a brook." At another time they pulled one or two women down the stairs by the hair of their heads. And on the 10th of July they came, to the number of near a hundred, in their ufual way, with a low-bell and horn, about five in the afternoon, forced into Mr. Adams's house, and demanded him down the stairs whereon he was preaching, took him out of his houfe, and threw him into a skin-pit full of noisome things and ftagnated water. One of our friends, named Williams, asking them, "If they were not afhamed to 7 ferve ferve an innocent man fo?" they put him into the fame pit twice, and afterwards beat him, and dragged him along the kennel. Mr. Adams quietly returned home, and betook himself to prayer, and exhorted the people to rejoice in fuffering for the fake of the gospel. In about half an hour, they came to the house again, dragged him down the ftairs, and led him away a mile and a half to a place called Bourn-brook, and then threw him in. A ftander-by, fearing he might be drowned, jumped in and pulled him out; whereupon another of the rioters immediately pufhed him into the pool a fecond time, and cut his leg against a stone, so that he went lame for near a fortnight. Both the constable and justices were applied to, but refused to act; and feemed rather to countenance the mobbing, hoping thereby Methodism (as they called it) would be put a stop to, at leaft, at Hampton. For a feafon they gained their end. There was no preaching for fome time, the people fearing to affemble on account of the violence of the mob. Upon my return to town, I advised with my friends what to do. We knew we wanted to exercise no revenge against the rioters, and yet we thought it wrong that the gospel fhould be ftopped by fuch perfons, when the government under which we lived countenanced no such thing; and also, that it was abfurd to thank GOD for wholesome laws, if they were not to be made use of. We knew very well, that an Apoftle had told us, that magiftrates were ordained for the punishment of evil doers; and that they bear not the sword in vain. We were also fearful, that if any of our brethren fhould be murdered by future riotings (as in all probability they might), we should be acceffary to their death, if we neglected to tie up the rioters hands, which was all we defired to do. Befides, we could not look upon this as allowed perfecution, fince it was not countenanced by the laws of the land, and we might have redress from these rioters and inferior magistrates, by appealing to Cæfar, whofe real friends and loyal fubjects we judged ourselves not to be, if we fuffered his laws to be publicly trampled under foot by fuch notorious rioting, and which, though begun against the Methodists, might terminate in open rebellion against King George. For these and such like reafons, we thought it our duty to move. for an information in the King's-Beuch against five of the ring |