On the contrary, he implied that a religious test was far from being of necessity an evil.

He laid down the sound doctrine that qualifications for office were purely matters of expediency, and then argued that it was wise to remove the religious test because, while its principle would be practically enforced by a Christian community, it was offensive to some persons to have it engrafted on the Constitution.

The speech in which he set forth these views was an able and convincing one, entirely worthy of its author, and the removal of the test was carried by a large majority.

It is an interesting example of the combination of steady conservatism and breadth of view which Mr.Webster always displayed.

But it also brings into strong relief his aversion to radical general principles as grounds of action, and his inborn hostility to far-reaching change.
His two other important speeches in this convention have been preserved in his works, and are purely and wholly conservative in tone and spirit.