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33. Swift, Jonathan, 1667-1745.

"A letter from a member of the House of Commons in Ireland to a member of the House of Commons in England concerning the sacramental test. 1708." In Swift’s Miscellanies in prose and verse (London : Morphew, 1711)

33. Swift, Jonathan, 1667-1745. A letter

First published in 1709, when Swift was still a Whig, this indicates one of the issues over which he shifted his allegiance. The Test Act required people to receive Anglican Communion before being eligible for public positions. The Whigs depended on support from the Dissenters and favoured the removal of the Act. Swift felt that such a decision would have dire consequences in Ireland, where the Presbyterians were strong, particularly in the north.

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