these facts in their memories, they will quietly stand by, and hear themselves represented as active persecutors, and the Clergy as their gentle, unresisting victims.

Much in the same strain the British Critic remarks, in noticing the volumes of Mr. Scott and Dr. Curteis :

"The latter volume" (the "Report") "throws great light upon our present position. It is becoming daily more evident, that what is called the toleration of Dissenters, involves the non-toleration of the Church. Here are men dissenting from the Church, and conspiring for her overthrow, on the ground of her want of discipline; and then doing all they can to prevent this alleged offence from being remedied."

Here are almost as many mistakes as lines. It is a mistake to say, that the Methodists have dissented from the Church on this or that ground; for, as yet, we believe they have alleged no reason for the position they occupy with reference to her, than the simple fact, that they were driven out of her pale. It is a greater mistake still to represent them as striving to prevent the "offence alleged " against the Church "from being remedied;" for they are, in fact, as we have already said, striving to secure the observance of the law of the Church, and to prevent the arbitrary substitution of the opinions of private persons for the authoritative expositions of the Judges. And we take leave to tell our learned contemporary, that the charge of "conspiring for her overthrow" comes with a bad grace from him, who, in the same Number which contains this notice, advises Churchmen to wait in patience, till monasteries can be restored in England; and who, moreover, is constantly lauding and quoting from the writings of one who avows his conviction, that the Church cannot be "righted without a blow up," and rejoices in being banded together with other "conspirators," to effect this desirable object. But thus it has always been:

Dat veniam corvis, vexat censura columbas.

Archdeacon Goddard, however, is more candid towards the Methodists. He thus concludes his remarks on the subject under discussion :

"With every disposition to do justice to the large and respectable body of Dissenters who are here especially in question, and, indeed, as the result of those dispositions; I have sought, in vain, to understand how those who have lately, in a most important instance, shown that neither sectarian bias, nor the influence of power, nor personal considerations, could hinder their contributing to assert the claims of the country to a proper Christian education for its people, as the only solid basis even of useful secular instruction, should, on the present occasion, feel so little respect for the religious principles and feelings of the Minis

ters of our Church, as to desire to entail upon them a legal burden which is at variance with our discipline, at least, if not, in some degree, with our doctrines. It is in regard to discipline mainly, that the members of the body in question are said to differ from us: why, then, in the name of that charity which is above rubrics,' (even were our baptismal rubrics and our Canons more favourable to the claim in question than, in an equitable construction of them, they can be shown to be,)-why raise a question which creates an uncalled-for occasion of bringing the disagreements between ourselves and them into view, and making them wider ? Unless (which I will not suppose) a trial of strength with the Church of England be intended, no apparent reason exists why those who are baptized upon system, in a state of separation from us, and who continue in that state till death, should not also be buried on a spot and with forms suitable to such separation. No burden is thus imposed on the consciences or sentiments of the Dissenter; while, in the other case, a very oppressive one would be induced on those of our Ministers."

(Pages 38, 39.)

This passage appears to us to betray a strange inaptitude for distinguishing things that differ. We are glad that the Archdeacon is disposed to do justice to the exertions of the Wesleyans on the question of National Education. But we cannot imagine what inference can be justly deduced from these exertions to shut them out from seeking redress in the Case before us

:

They set themselves to oppose a latitudinarian measure of the then Government, not out of deference to the feelings or opinions of the Clergy, but from a jealousy for the interests of religion at large; which must needs suffer when the "truth as it is in Jesus" is compromised. This was their only motive. But does it follow, that because they hate latitudinarianism, they must love bigotry and wink at injustice? Even if the Educational movement had been specifically a movement in aid of the established Church, (which it was not,) we cannot see that it should preclude them from seeking a reformation of abuses in that Church. As to "entailing a legal burden" upon her Ministers, it is quite beside the question. The law forbids Ministers to refuse burial if this is felt to be a burden, let those who feel it to be so resign their preferments, or procure an alteration of the law. These are honest courses; but it is scarcely honest, in men who have entered the Church since the law was so fully declared as it was in 1810, and who are so constantly boasting of the excellent constitution of the Church, to set up the plea of conscience against law, and call for an equitable construction of a welldefined legal enactment. If it is 80 very oppressive a burden on the consciences of the refusing Clergy, why do they not take constitutional means of obtaining redress? Will their consciences allow them to put aside judicial decisions, that they may act upon private impression and individual opinion? When Dissenters have urged this plea of conscience, against payment of church-rates, they have been exhorted again and again to submit themselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: and the reply of the Dissenter to this argu

*The Archdeacon in this very Charge speaks in this strain. "Once admit," says he, "the conscience of individuals to determine to what part of the public burdens they shall exclusively contribute, and whether the object for which any specific burden is imposed be one which they, on the exercise of their own private judgments, approve, and neither governments nor social order could possibly subsist."-Page 13.

ment will not suit the Churchman; for the latter recognises the right to make "ordinances" in such a case, which the former denies. Again: the separation of the Wesleyans from the national Church is not, as the Archdeacon states it to be, so entire and universal as to require that, in consistency therewith, they should be buried on a spot and with forms totally different from Churchmen; for some, perhaps we might say many, of them still are at least occasional communicants with her. And, finally, the " occasion of bringing such differences into view" is not "uncalled for." Methodists have the feelings of men; and in seasons of bereavement, it is deeply distressing to have to carry on a controversy which may, perchance, end in having the object of their affections "buried with the burial of an ass," without a word of hope, comfort, or prayer uttered beside the grave. Methodists are, generally speaking, a poor people. To many of their chapels no burial-grounds attached; and they have not the means, in all cases, of removing their dead to the nearest buryingground of their own community. It is monstrous to say, that "no burden is imposed on their consciences or sentiments," by refusing them burial; while the Report + be

are

The Queen's Advocate, in his reply, urged this point, and another nearly connected with it, as follows:-"My learned friend says, Why not take the body to Wisbeach, and bury it there with other Dissenters?' The obvious answer is, that by the removal of the body to such a distance, very great inconvenience and expense would be incurred by the parents, who are poor people; that they very naturally and properly wish, that its remains should be deposited as nearly as possible in the same spot as those of other friends and relations, who may have been heretofore buried in the churchyard of Gedney, their native parish.........It should also be borne in mind, that, in many parts of the country, the Dissenters have no burial-places of their own within distances much greater than that of the parish of Gedney from Wisbeach. Neither should it be forgotten, that the authorities of the Church require payment of rates from all parishioners, whether they belong to that Church, or whether they are Dissenters from it; and that these rates are applied, not merely to the reparation of the fabric of the church, but to keeping in proper defence and order the very churchyards in which my learned friends say the bodies

will be read with great advantage by young people, as a powerful and seasonable antidote to infidelity, the direct and unavoidable consequence of which is ruin, both in this world and in that which is to come. It cannot be too widely circulated among young people, especially in manufacturing districts, where infidel publications are often rife.

A Report of the principal Speeches delivered at the Formation of the Methodist Missionary Society for the Leeds District, on the Sixth Day of October, 1813. By James Nichols. Fifth Edition. 8vo. pp. 47. Mason. This pamphlet can never lose its interest while the Missionary spirit continues to actuate the Wesleyan community. It contains the speeches that were delivered at the first Wesleyan Missionary Meeting ever held; and furnishes data from which the greatness of the work, then auspiciously begun, may be correctly estimated. Of the fourteen speakers, whose addresses are here preserved, only four now survive. The rest are gone to their reward. It is gratifying to observe how exactly the spirit of a modern Wesleyan Missionary Meeting corresponds with that of the first ever held; and how strictly the facts and reasonings then adduced are applicable to the present times.

A Wesleyan Minister's Address to the Members of Society in Tunbridge Wells: being a Reply to "A Clergyman's Address to the Wesleyan Methodists in his Parish." By the Rev. Samuel Romilly Hall. 12mo. pp. 36. Mason. -This publication is an answer to one of those impudent and semi-Popish tracts against the Wesleyan Methodists, with which some parts of the country are at present inundated. Their character is discreditable, in a high degree, to the parties by whom they are compiled and distributed; for by a careful concealment of truth, in connexion with the facts which they profess to relate, they answer all the purposes of direct falsehood. Mr. Hall's pamphlet is honourable to his spirit and abilities; and was called for by the circumstances in which he was placed. It is respectful to the established Church, but administers a just rebuke to some of her intolerant and unfaithful sons, who, to get rid of Methodism, would sacrifice the greatest benefits of the Reformation.

Who is my Neighbour? an Essay on Christian Missions. By John B. Melson, A. B., M. D., &c. 12mo. pp. 354. Hamiltons: sold by John Mason.A discursive range over a wide subject, with the chief points of which, and their

relative bearings, the author shows himself to be well acquainted. He writes, too, on what we think are just principles; and not only brings to his subject a mind stored with information, but a heart influenced by the feelings which such a subject demands. We confess, that we begin to look rather impatiently for the Prize Essay. If a really good one, like that before us, was cessful, we are justified in anticipating, for ourselves and our readers, an addition to the stock of religious literature for which the churches will have to be thankful.

unsuc

Stories in Rhyme, for Children. By Eliza Weaver Bradburn. The Profils will be given to the Wesleyan Missions. 18mo. pp. 33. Mason. This small volume contains five stories in easy verse. They are not only unexceptionable in respect of sentiment, but are of admirable moral tendency.

Eight Letters concerning the blessed Trinity by John Wallis, D.D., formerly Savilian Professor at the University of Oxford. A new Edition, with the Author's last Revisions and Corrections together with a Preface and Notes, by Thomas Flintoff. 8vo. pp. 262. Rivington.-Dr. Wallis was one of the most acute and powerful reasoners of the learned age in which he lived. His design in these Letters is, to prove that the scriptural doctrine of a Trinity of Persons in the Unity of the Godhead involves no contradiction. He has discussed the subject with singular moderation, judgment, and dispassionateness, as became his high character. The book has long been very scarce. The Editor, having met with a copy containing corrections in the hand-writing of the venerable author, has reprinted the whole, and thus given the world the benefit of his discovery. He has executed his responsible task in a very creditable manner. The volume is correctly and elegantly printed, and is enriched with several valuable notes. It justly deserves a place in every well-selected theological library.

Theopneustia. The plenary Inspiration of the holy Scriptures. From the French of L. Gaussen. 8vo. pp. xrii, 444. S. Bagster and Sons.-We shall very likely take an opportunity of calling attention somewhat fully to this excellent work at present we content ourselves with announcing its publication, and recommending its perusal very earnestly. It is not only one of the best works that we know on the subject, but one of the most valuable additions to

theological literature in general that we have for some time seen.

or,

The Martyr of Erromanga: the Philosophy of Missions, illustrated from the Labours, Death, and Character of the late Rev. John Williams. By John Campbell, D.D., Honorary Member of the Literary and Philosophical Society of St. Andrew's, Author of "Jethro," &c. 8vo. pp. 478. John Snow. The title-page describes the nature of the volume. Dr. Campbell, taking Mr. Williams as his text, travels around the comprehensive field of remark furnished by the subject of Christian Missions. The work is composed of fourteen letters, differently addressed. A quotation or two from the "Contents" will show the construction of the volume better than any mere description. Thus, Letter V. is addressed to Sir T. F. Buxton; and has for it subject, "the results of Missionary labour in relation to government, life, and property." Letter VIII. is addressed to Lord Brougham, "on the results of Missions in regard to slavery and education." There is, from beginning to end, a current of powerful writing, bearing along with it cogent arguments and apt illustrations. The duty of Christian churches and individuals is well pointed out.

es

Memoir of the Life of Richard Phillips. 8vo. pp. x, 292. Seeley and Burnside.-Mr. Phillips was an teemed member of the Society of Friends; a man of enlarged and active benevolence, well known among the friends of the Negro, and of the Bible Society. He died in January, 1836, aged eighty, in the spirit expressed by a hymn which was one of his chief favourites,

Sunday-Afternoon Lecturer of the united Parishes of St. Mary, Aldermary, and St. Thomas the Apostle; TuesdayMorning Lecturer at St. Bartholomew, Exchange, London, &c. With Extracts from his Correspondence. By Henry Watts Wilkinson, M. A., &c.

8vo.

pp. xii, 465. Seeley and Burnside.Mr. Wilkinson was a pious Clergyman, of the John-Newton school. His life is very briefly written, the volume chiefly consisting of his letters; for though he lived long, his days were unmarked by any peculiar incidents, but passed along with the uniformity given them by a man who had one object, one business; namely, according to his opportunity and light, to get and to do as much good as he could. The letters are characterized by simplicity, good sense, and Christian devotedness.

The select Anti-Patronage Library: consisting chiefly of Reprints of scarce Pamphlets connected with Lay-Patronage in the Church of Scotland. 8vo. pp. vii, 253. Edinburgh, John Johnstone. A reprint of nine tracts on the Church-patronage question, so far as it relates to Scotland. Some of them are more than a century old. The continued resistance which the Church of Scotland meets, in endeavouring so to modify the exercise of patronage, as not to endanger its existence, has not only strengthened, but encouraged, the AntiPatronage party; and they now openly demand its entire abolition. Men like Dr. Chalmers, who wished to avoid even the agitation of the question, and who warned the opponents of the Church of the consequences of their conduct, can no longer, as formerly they did, oppose the Anti-Patronists; for the Patronists themselves demand the perfect, visible succumbency of the Church, in her most spiritual acts, to the civil power. Patronage now, therefore, (thanks to the recklessness of the Anti-Evangelicals of the Church of Scotland!) is come to be attacked by the Religionists, and defended by the Secularists. The issue may be delayed; but it is unavoidable. In the present volume, the tract No. 5 is a history of the circumstances connected with the passing of the Act of Queen Anne, in 1711, by which the present system of patronage in Scotland was finally established. If the statements of that tract are true, (and we see not how they can be denied,) a more iniquitous transaction never disgraced a Legislature, before or since. It was a portion of the rebellious system of BoÎingbroke, by which, in order to conquer

"Rock of Ages, cleft for me," &c. The Memoir is drawn up by his daughter. It is a beautiful one. Delineations of character are mixed with observations, always Christian, and often very instructive.

A

The Works of William Jay, collected and revised by himself. Vol. I. Morning and Evening Exercises. January to March. 12mo. pp. vi, 587. Longmans. Mr. Jay's Works have been long before the public, and are still, perhaps, as much in demand as ever. uniform edition, therefore, seemed to be called for; and to the venerable author it must be a pleasing task, to prepare it before he goes the way of all flesh. When his living voice shall cease he will yet speak, to the edification and comfort of many.

A Memoir of the Life and Ministry of the late Rev. Watts Wilkinson, B. A.,