insert the chapter and let the reader judge for himself, of the necessity of such observations forming a part of a holy book. "And the Lord spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying, speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them when any man hath a running. issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean. And this shall be his uncleanliness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness.Every bed whereon he lieth that hath the issue, is unclean; and every thing whereon he sitteth, shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And he that sitteth on any thing whereon he sat that hath the issue shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And if he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And what saddle soever he rideth upon that hath the issue shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth any thing that was under him shall be unclean until the even; and he that beareth any of those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken; and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water. And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue, then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean. And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, and come before the Lord unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and give them unto the priest: And the priest shall offer them, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord for his issue. And if any man's seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even. And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even. The woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even, And if a woman have an issu and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even. And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean. And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean. Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her separation: and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her separation. And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before the Lord for the issue of her uncleanness. Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them. This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed goeth from him, and is defiled therewith: And of her that is sick of her flowers, and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and of the woman, and of him thrat lieth with her that is unclean." What a pretty chapter this is to be read by children in schools. Yet I have seen it publicly read in a country school, in which there were girls, upwards of fourteen years of age, and young men of sixteen, eighteen, and sometimes above that age. It was a matter of course, that the boys should endeavour to taunt and confound the girls on such an occasion, and those who were sensible of its meaning, I have seen in the greatest distress and perplexity to read it, which they were compelled to do aloud, and forming part of a circle. The Jewish and Christian religion cannot fail to sow the seeds of vice in the minds of youth. I feel something approaching to anger, when I reflect that I am locked up in solitary confinement for publishing a book, which was deemed offensive, because it said, that this and such like chapters were ob scene. The sixteenth chapter mentions, the ridiculous farce of the scape goat, which signifies, that a man who had committed any sin, or fancied that he had, should bring two goats to the priest, who was to draw lots which of them was to die, and the one which was not to die, was to be loaded with the sins of the offender, and turned loose into the wilderness, by which it obtained the title of the Scape Goat. There was a similar custom to this adopted in Hindostan, only an horse was substituted for the goat, and I verily believe, that the soil of Hindostan has produced all the superstition that is either extant or on record. According to the Jewish laws, a man might commit the most heinous sin, and absolve himself by some trifling compliment to the priest. The indulgences of the pope and Romish clergy was just the same, only, the Jewish priest received food, and the Romish priest its value in money as more agreeable to the change of the times. Yet we are told, that the Old Testament forms an essential part of our religion, as established by law, and Judge Abbott vitiated his robe, by covering this foul, this abominable book with it, and saying, it was good and too holy to be examined. 6 The seventeenth chapter has the following curious instruction, in verses 6 and 7. And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the Lord at the door of the taberna'cle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the Lord. And they shall no more offer their sacrifices 'unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout, their gene'rations.' Has not this chapter all the appearance of having been written after the Babylonish captivity, after the miseries of the Israelites had been attributed to their idolatry? We have heard or read of no charge against them hitherto, of having gone a whoring after devils,' if any one can define such an uncouth expression. In the twentieth chapter and sixth verse, are the following words, And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, "to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against 'that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.' Jehovah is painted as being not only jealous of, but dreadfully alarmed at the powers of devils and witches. Many a poor old woman, who has had the misfortune to be ugly and deformed, has been cruelly murdered, in consequence of the horrid and idle notions founded on this book, of being wizards and dealing with devils. I will here venture to amuse the reader with a Devonshire tale, of what constituted a witch. A woman was to present herself to the priest to receive the sacrament, and not to eat the bread, but to bring it away. It was then necessary that she should walk round the church three times, and at the end of the third round she would meet the devil, to whom, it was incumbent on her, to present this piece of sacrament bread, alias the body of Jesus, and in return she was invested, with all the solemnity imaginable, with the power and qualifications of a witch! This ceremony must be as solemn as a king imposing the different orders of knighthood! I have seen many a cottage threshold embellished with an horse shoe, as a charm against the power and influence of witches! In the twenty-fourth chapter, we have an anecdote of the crime of blasphemy, and the Jewish law relative to it. It is as follows, beginning with the tenth verse. 'And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman, and a man of Israel strove together in the camp. And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the Lord, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:) And 'they put him in ward, that the mind of the Lord might be "shewed them. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let 'all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all 'the congregation stone him. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God 'shall bear his sin. And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the con< gregation shall certainly stone him as well the stranger, as 'he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name ' of the Lord, shall be put to death.' Take a lesson Lord Chief Justice Abbott, Mr. AttorneyGeneral Gifford, and ye secret members of the Vice Society.. This is the only effectual way of proceeding against blasphemers! This is the proper method to silence all religious notions that do not correspond with your own! What a charge resteth upon you, when it is known, that you have only-incarcerated what you call a blasphemer, and robbed him of all he possessed, when your Holy Scripture enjoineth you to put him to death! How can you satisfy your own consciences, when you reflect on being so very merciful in direct opposition to the instructions of Jehovah? Jehovah had no mercy but for his chosen people, and why are ye so merciful. (To be Continued.) Printed by JANE CARLILE, 55, Fleet Street. The Republican. No. 12, Vol. 3.] LONDON, FRIDAY, JULY 14, 1820. [PRICE 6D. PROCEEDINGS AGAINST THE QUEEN-PROBABLE RESULT. On Tuesday the 4th inst. the Lord's Committee made the following report on the examination of the Green Bag. "That the Committee have examined with all the attention due to so important a subject, the documents which have been laid before them, and they find that those documents contain allegations supported by the concurrent testimony of a great number of persons in various situations of life, and residing in different parts of Europe, which deeply affect the honour of the Queen, charging her Majesty with an adulterous connexion with a foreigner, originally in her service in a menial capacity, and attributing to her Majesty, a continued series of conduct, highly unbecoming her Majesty's rank and station, and of the most licentious cha racter. "These charges appear to the Committee so deeply to affect, not only the honour of the Queen, but also the dignity of the Crown and the moral feelings and honour of the country, that in their opinion, it is indispensable that they should become the subject of a solemn inquiry; which it appears to the committee may be best effected in the course of a legislative proceeding, the necessity of which they cannot but most deeply deplore." There is not a word in this report, but what the ministers have taken care to circulate all over the metropolis, for the last six months, by the breath of slander: we heard of the particulars even in October last. Every one, of course, expected, that the report would have specified the places where the alleged offences were committed, and the credibility of the persons who have deposed to them: but no, it contains not one single word, but what was known to every man, woman, and child, in London; that such reports had been circulated about her Majesty. In consequence of the motion of General Ferguson in the House of Commons, to have the particulars of the Milan commission laid before the House; it has come out, that Printed by JANE CARLILE, 55, Fleet Street. |