On other branches of the oath, such as its pretext of defending the
King's person, while it justified raising armies to deprive him of his
lawful rights, and accusing the faithful adherents of the King as being
malignant incendiaries, and the cause of the nation's misfortunes, Dr.
Beaumont forbore to expatiate; as a clergyman, he was required chiefly
to look at the ecclesiastical tendency of this obligation, and on that
account he preferred poverty, bonds, or even death, to subscription.
Barton acknowledged that his party had gone too far, and hoped time
would soften their asperity, and reclaim those who had so loudly
complained of persecution, from continuing to be persecutors. He
enlarged on the beautiful simplicity of primitive worship, as described
in Scripture; talked of the mistakes which had proceeded from a
misapplication of the word Bishop in our translations, and complained
that the church was profuse in her ceremonies; that her forms were too
copious, redundant, and evidently copied from the Romish missal; and
that her terms of subscription were too minute and galling to tender
consciences.
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