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granted tor stopping the trial of a cause appertaining to a personwho is in the king’s service, till his majesty’s pleasure be fartherknown.

Non Pros. Tf the plaintiff in an action at law neglect to delivera declaration for two terms after the defendant appears, or is guiltyof other delays or defaults, against the rules of law, in any subse-quent stage of the action, he is adjugcd not to pursue his remedyas he ought; and thereupon a non-suit, or non-prosequitur, is en-tered, and he is then said to be non prosed.

Non Residence, is particularly applied to spiritual persons,who wilfully absent themselves for the space of one month toge-ther, or two months at different times in the year, from their benefices; for which they are liable to penalties, by the statute of non-residence: but bishops, the king’s chaplains, &c. are excepted.

Non Residents pro Clericis Regis, is a writ directed tothe bishop, charging him not to molest a clerk employed in theking’ s service, on account of his non-residence.

Non sanje Memori*, is an exception taken to an act, declaredto he done by another, importing, that it was done at a time whenthe party was not in his right senses.

Non suit, signifies the dropping of a suit or action, or a re-nouncing thereof by the plaintiff or defendant, which happensluost commonly upon the discovery of some error in the plaintiff'sproceedings, w hen the cause is so far proceeded in, that the juryis ready at the bar to deliver in their verdict.

Non sum Informatus, I am not Informed, a formal answermade by an attorney, who is not instructed what to say in hisclient’s behalf; on which he is deemed to leave the cause unde-fended, and therefore judgement passes against Uis client.

Non-Tf.nure, is a plea in bar to a real action, by which thetenant insists that he does not hold the lands, &c. mentioned inthe plaintiff’s count, or at least some part of it.

Non-Term, the time of vacation between term and term, which'Was formerly called the days of the king’s peace.

NONCONFORMIS TS, ill England (says Blackstone,) are oftwo sorts. First, such as absent themselves from divine worshipm the established church through irreligion, and attend the service°f no other persuasion. These, by the stat. 1 F.liz. c. 2, 23 Eliz.c -l, and 3 Jac. c.4, forfeit one shilling to the poor every Lord’s daythey so absent themselves, and 20/. to the king if they continuesuch default for a month together. And if they keep any inmatethus irreligiously disposed in their houses, they forfeit 10/. permonth. The second species are those who are supposed to otlendthrough a mistaken or perverse zeal. Such were esteemed, bythe English laws enacted since the Reformation, to be Papists and“rotestant dissenters: both of whom were supposed to be equallyschismatics, in not communicating with the national church ; withthis difference, that the Papists divided from it upon material,though erroneous, reasons ; but many of the dissenters upon mat-ters of indifference. “Yet certainly (says Sir William Black-stone) our ancestors were mistaken in their plans of compulsiona »d intolerance. The sin of schism as such, is by no means them>ject of temporal coercion and punishment. The civil magis-trate has nothing to do with it; unless their tenets and practice are?ucli as threaten ruin or disturbance to the state. He is boundnrteud to protect the established church ; and if this can be betternetted by admitting none but its genuine members to offices ofrust and emolument, he is certainly at liberty so to do ; the dis-posal of offices being matter of favour anil discretion. But thisP 0| nt being once secured, all persecution for diversity of opinions,nowever ridiculous or absurd, is contrary to every principle ofounff p 0 \i C y ant j c j vi j f ree( i om . The names and subordinationH, lec l < ' r Sy> the posture of devotion, the materials and colour ofe minister’s garment, the joining in a known or unknown form< P ra J' t ‘ r ’ and other matters of the same kind, must be left to thePtion of every man’s private judgment.” With regard therefore) en , i° t(s tant dissenters, although the experience of their turhu-r disposition in former times occasioned several disabilities andthei rU:ll0, ' S I shall not undertake to justify) to be laid upon

mtv ’ ^ et at ‘he legislature, with a true spirit of magnani-

them’s '■''at indulgence to these sectaries, which they

ami 1 . es > "d'em in power, had held to be countenancing schism,timin'"™ lo church of England . The penalties are condi-^Binti.?' ^P. en:,e, l by the statute 1 W. & M. st. 1, c.18, “ for ex-S thelr Majesties Protestant subjects, dissenting from theot> IV --~nq. lbo.

church of England , from the penalties of certain laws,” commonlycalled the toleration-act; which declares, that neither the lawsabove-mentioned, nor the statutes 1 Eliz. c. 2, § 14, 3 Jac. I. c.

4, & 5, nor any other penal laws made against Popish recusants(except the test-acts) shall extend to any dissenters, other thanPapists, and such as deny the Trinity t provided, 1. That theytake the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, (or make a similar af-firmation, being Quakers, ) and subscribe the declaration againstPopery. 2. That they repair to some congregation certified to,and registered in, the court of the archbishop or archdeacon, or atthe county-sessions. 3. That the doors of such meeting-houseshall be unlocked, unbarred, and unbolted; in default of which,the persons meeting there are still liable to all the penalties of theformer acts. Dissenting teachers to be exempted from the penal-ties of the statutes 13 & 14 Car. II. c. 1, are also to subscribe thearticles of religion mentioned in stat. 13 Eliz. c. 12, (viz. thosewhich only concern the confession of the true Christian faith, andthe doctrine of the sacraments), with an express exception ofthose relating to the government and powers of the church, and t®infant-baptism. And by statute 10 Ann. C. 2, this toleration is ra-tified and confirmed; and it is declared, that the said act shall atall times be inviolably observed for the exempting such Protestantdissenters, as are thereby intended, from the pains and penaltiestherein mentioned. Thus, though nonconformity is bv no meansuniversally abrogated, it is suspended, and c eases to exist, with re-gard to these Protestant dissenters, .during their compliance witkthe conditions imposed by the act of toleration : and, under theseconditions, all persons, who will approve themselves no Papists oroppugners of the Trinity , are left at full liberty to act as theirconsciences shall direct them in the matter of religious worship.And if any person shall wilfully, maliciously, or contemptuouslydisturb any congregation, assembled in any church or permittedmeeting-house, or shall misuse any preacher or teacher there, heshall (by virtue of the same statute) be bound over to the sessionsof the peace, and forfeit 20/. But by stat. (5 Geo. I. c. 4,) nomayor or principal magistrate must appear at any dissenting meet-ting with the ensigns of his office, on pain of disability to hold thator any other office: the legislature judging it a matter of proppriety, that a mode of worship, set up in opposition to the na-tional, when allowed by the government to be exercised inpeace, should be exercised also with decency, gratitude, andhumility'. Neither does the act of toleration extend to enervatethose clauses of the statutes 13 & 14 Car. II. c. 4, & 17 Car. II. c2, which prohibit (upon pain of fine and imprisonment) all personsfrom teaching school, unless they be licensed by the ordinary, andsubscribe a declaration of conformity to the liturgy of the church,and reverently frequent divine service established by the laws ofthis kingdom. As to Papists, what has been said of the Protes-tant dissenters would hold equally strong for a general tolerationof them ; provided their separation was founded on!y r upon dif-ference of lopinion in religion, and their principles did not alsoextend to a subversion ot the civil government. If once theycould be brought to renounce the supremacy of the Pope, theymight quietly enjoy their seven sacraments; their purgatory, andauricular confession ; their worship of relics and images; nay eventheir transiibstantiation. But while they acknowledge a foreignpower, superior to the sovereignty of the kingdom, they cannotcomplain if the laws of that kingdom will not treat them upon thefooting of good subjects. The following are the laws that havebeen enacted against the Papists; who may be divided into threeclasses, persons professing Popery, Popish recusants convict, andPopish priests. 1. Persons professing the Popish religion, besidesthe former penalties for not frequenting their parish-church, are 'disabled from taking any lands either by descent or purchase,after 18 years of age, until they renounce their errors ; they must,at the age of 21, register their estates before acquired, and all fu-ture conveyances and wills relating to them ; they are incapable ofpresenting to any advowson, or granting to any other person anvavoidance of the same; they may not keep or teach any school,under pain of perpetual imprisonment; and, if they willingly sayor hear mass, they forfeit the one 200, the oilier 100 merks, andeach shall suffer a year’s imprisonment. Tims much for person*who, from the misfortune of family-prejudices, or otherwise, haveconceived an unhappy attachment to' the Romish church fromtheir infancy, and publicly profess its egrors. But if any evil in-i' dustry