Page:Essay on the First Principles of Government 2nd Ed.djvu/235

 As to the confusion that is occasioned in congregations, when they happen to be dissatisfied with their ministers, it is not to be compared, for its pernicious effects, to the almost perpetual squabbles, between the established clergy and their parishioners, about tythes. Few parishes in the country are without disputes upon this subject, which create a standing opposition of interest between the people and their spiritual guides.

Lastly, What inconvenience can be pointed out, as having actually taken place among Dissenters for want of a standing confession of faith, that can be named with the dreadful mischiefs that have arisen from enforcing subscription in the church of England. This precludes all free inquiry upon subjects of religion, and entails every error and abuse from generation to generation, so that a reformation can hardly take place without violence and blood.

If the emoluments of church livings be considerable, the temptation to