And the Quakers are so strict
upon this point, that if a person has paid ten shillings in the pound,
and his creditors have accepted the composition, and the law has given
him his discharge, it is insisted upon that he pays the remaining ten as
soon as he is able. No distance of time will be any excuse to the
society for his refusal to comply with this honourable law. Nor will he
be considered as a full member, as I observed before, till he has paid
the uttermost farthing; for no collection for the poor, nor any legacy
for the poor, or for other services of the society, will be received
from his purse, while any thing remains of the former debt. This rule of
refusing charitable contributions on such occasions, is founded on the
principle that money, taken from a man in such a situation, is taken
from his lawful creditors; and that such a man can have nothing to give,
while he owes any thing to another.
It may be observed of this rule or custom, that as it is founded in
moral principle, so it tends to promote a moral end. When persons of
this description see their own donations dispensed with, but those of
the rest of the meeting taken, they are reminded of their own situation,
and of the desirableness of making the full satisfaction required. The
custom, therefore, operates as a constant memento, that their debts are
still hanging over them, and prompts to new industry and anxious
exertion for their discharge.
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