The works of the Rev. William Thom, late minister ... - waughfamily.ca

Z^6LETTERS, TRACTS, i^c\detected, except In one inilance, wlien indeed one ofus, as you would hear, was fo hard put to it, that hewas forced to acknowledge part 'of the truth, uponoath, in a civil court. "We have lately procured anact: of parliament, with refpeci to fome of our burfaries,by which it is made lawful for us to touch themoney ourfelves.When young men, who we fufpeclwould not pay us, apply for burfaries, we uponexamination find them ignorant, and take care thatthofe be preferred who we forefee will expend thevalue of their feveral burfaries in payments for our k»private claiTes. "When, by old deeds of mortification,we feem obliged to bear the third part expence of repairingcr building a parlfli church, we fet our feeta-fpar, and aver folemnly tliat we are not obliged tobe at any expence at all ; but if people be clamorous,v/e fiing them a fev/ guineas, which we tell them is aprefent to them. Demands of that kind are now *.pretty rarely made •, becaufe, having all the originalpapers and extracts of them in our cuftody, the peopleknow not whether they have a title to demandany thing or not •, though in a late inftance, after aflout and fuccefsful battle to fave our mon^y, we werein fome danger •, for, by an a£i: of faculty, we hadmet with fix gentlemen, and bargained to give to- ^wards building their church a very coniiderable fum,which, by another final a£l of faculty, we decreed tokeep to ourfelves; and fliortly afterwards they werevery near fingering papers which would have taughtthem more than we intend they fliould ever learn ;but by an extraordinary and well-timed diligence that«langer was happily warded off. Thefe are a few- initancesof our improvement in practical philofophy.Nee fumus attent'tores ad rem quam fat ejl. We needall that we can get hold of; and all that vine do, orhave done, is fair and perfeftly juft. In fa61:, we findthat we have fhill by far too little, which puts us upuninventing means of getting fomewhat more. ^U