But not one
minister concerned in this rebellion ought to be suffered amongst them.
If they have not clergy of their own, men well recommended, as untainted
with Jacobinism, by the synods of those places where Calvinism prevails
and French is spoken, ought to be sought. Many such there are. The
Presbyterian discipline ought, in my opinion, to be established in its
vigor, and the people professing it ought to be bound to its
maintenance. No man, under the false and hypocritical pretence of
liberty of conscience, ought to be suffered to have no conscience at
all. The king's commissioner ought also to sit in their synods, as
before the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. I am conscious that this
discipline disposes men to republicanism: but it is still a discipline,
and it is a cure (such as it is) for the perverse and undisciplined
habits which for some time have prevailed. Republicanism repressed may
have its use in the composition of a state. Inspection may be
practicable, and responsibility in the teachers and elders may be
established, in such an hierarchy as the Presbyterian.
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