Tales respecting the alleged ignorance and malignity of the Triers met with extensive currency; and, coloured as they might be by the parties themselves who complained of their wrongs, they were more deeply coloured still by the prejudice or the carelessness of those who afterwards repeated these stories to their neighbours. Hence, after passing from one Episcopalian to another, they assumed the darkest hues and the most monstrous proportions. Some of them, which have been reduced to writing, exhibit the examiners in a ridiculous light--pressing points connected with Election, Perseverance, the Work of Grace, and the marks of the New Birth, after a fashion the most absurd which can be imagined. One clergyman, for instance, declared that he was asked whether Regeneration were a substance or an accident, and in what predicament it ought to be placed? Mystical questions were put touching the life of grace, to which mystical answers were returned, about the breath and the heat and the sense of the soul. It was said, that enquiries of this nature were continued until sacred themes were dishonoured by the merest trifling. But, it must be remembered, these are only _ex parte_ statements made by accused persons and their friends; and such reports, even where there was no intention to deceive, can never be trusted.[100]
To ascertain whether the teachers of religion were truly religious, and acquainted with the truths of Christianity, was the task assigned to these extraordinary Commissioners; and apart from the political relations of the tribunal over which they presided, such a proceeding must be pronounced right and wise. Whether the Triers adopted the best method to arrive at what they wished to know is another question. Unfortunately, the minutes of their meetings have perished, and no records of their proceedings exist endorsed by themselves. Could they be heard in their own defence, what now appears to their disadvantage might, in many cases, be considerably mitigated, if not entirely removed. Constituted as the Commission was, the justice of the conclusions reached depended entirely on the wisdom and goodness of those who pronounced them. We should certainly not congratulate men of intelligent piety, of delicate feeling, and of a wide charity, who happened to fall into the hands of a Cheynell or a Peters; and there were others also who might be mentioned not likely to prove impartial judges. We should conclude, further, that ignorant, wild, and enthusiastic spirits would be very likely to pass muster before certain of the members. Still, the requirement of nine of their number in any vote of rejection operated as a check upon injustice; and the character of such men as Dr. Owen, Dr. Goodwin, and others, afforded a guarantee that nothing dishonourable would be met with at their hands. The fact, too, should be mentioned that the Commissioners, though opposed to Episcopacy, allowed certain clergymen to retain their incumbencies, notwithstanding their Episcopalian opinions.[101]