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170] ANNUAL REGISTER

Dec 28. The celebrated Count Bryon, Duke of Courland, at Mittag.
Mrs. Skinner, lady of William Skinner, Esq; of Grosvenor-square, second daughter of the late Sir Peter Warren, knight of the Bath.
Mrs. Jennetta, Barton a maiden lady, who acquired a fortune of upwards of 50,000l. in the South Sea scheme, by means of a near relationship to one of the then directors, whose own fortune was taken away by parliament, and he afterwards lived on the bounty of his sister, who purchased him an annuity of 1000l. per annum for life.
31. At his house at Whitehall, after a few days illness, Sir Richard Glyn, Bart. member for Coventry, alderman of Dowgate-ward, London, and president of Bridewell and Bethlehem hospitals.

For the YEARS 1772. [171

APPENDIX to the CHRONICLE.

Copy of the Petition of the Clergy, [[?]]. relative to the Subscription to the 39 Articles, offered on Thursday the 6th of February to the Houfe of Commons.
To the Honourable the Commons of Great-Britain, in Parliament assembled.
The humble Petition of certain of the Clergy of the Church of England, and of certain of the two Professions of Civil Law and Physic, and others, whose names are hereunto subscribed,
Sheweth,
THAT your petitioners apprehend themselves to have certain rights and privileges which they hold of God only, and which they hold of God only, and which are subject to his authority alone. That of this kind is the free exercise of their own reason and judgement, whereby they have been brought to, and confirmed in, the belief of the Christian religion, as it is contained in the Holy Scriptures. That they esteem it a great blessing to live under a constitution, which, in its original principles, ensures to them the full and free profession of their faith, having asserted the authority and sufficiency of Holy Scriptures in--" All things " necessary to salvation ; so that "whatsoever is not read therein, " nor may be proved thereby, is " not to be required of any man " that is should be believed as an " article of the faith, or to be thought " requisite or necessary to salva- " tion."  That your petitioners do conceive that they have a natural right,and are also warranted by those original principles of the reformation from Popery, on which the church of England is consti-tuted, to judge in searching the scriptures each man for himself, what may or may not be proved thereby.  That they find themselves, however, in a great measure precluded the enjoyment of this in- valuable privilege by the laws relating to subscription; whereby your petitioners are required to acknowledge certain articles and confessions of faith and doctrine, drawn up by fallible men, to be all and every of them agreeable to the said scriptures.  Your petitioners there- fore pray, that they may be relieved from such an imposition upon their judgement,and be restored to their undoubted right as Protestants of interpreting Scripture for them- selves, without being bound by any human explication thereof, or required to acknowledge, by subscrip-tion or declaration, the truth of any formulary of religious faith and doctrine whatsoever, beside Holy Scripture itself. 
That your petitioners not only are themselves aggrieved by subscription, as now required, (which they cannot but consider as an encroachment on their rights, competent to them both as men and as members