a

TO THE EDITO2.
SANCE
ANCTIONED by a motto which adorns moft Courts of Justice,

viz. “ Audi alteram Partem," there requires no apology for intruding the present subject on your notice. Cbserving in your Number of Jatt month a letter under the signature of “ Moses GREENSOD" (by the bye a very applicable name) in which he affects to be wonderfully surprised at his wife's not being able to pu: chase a prayer book at a circulating library, I must confess myself

. somewhat astonished at the illiberality of the writer, in endeavouring to attach a stigma, wholly unmerited, on one of the most respectable, and at the same time desirable, institutions in the metropolis.—The reply of the “ Shopman” that they " never kept such books” was perfeâly correct, and I will venture to affert, there is not a circulating library in London that does k ep such books—in the first place, circulating libraries have nothing to do with selling of books; and secondly, it is to be hoped, that notwithstanding Mr. Moses Greenfod's “ frigbt" at the “ sad change in the times,' all families are in poffeffion of at least a prayer book, if not a bible, without applying to a circulating library for the perufal of a book which every body is supposed to know by rote.

In order to quiet Mrs. Greensod's apprehensions as to the “ faut change in the times," permit me to observe that the very house at which the fo “involuntarily threw her eyes upwards," is pofTeffed, for the diffusion of religion and morality, of a collection of books in divinity that would form a very complete library of itself ; and whenever Mr. Greensod can spare an hour from“ measuring a yard of tape" it will be found also th the same house can furnith him with the WHOLE DUTY OF MAN, wherein he will learn that canDOR TOWARDS OUR NEIGHBOUR is firongly urged among the salutary doctrines which it enforces.

A particular stress appears to have been laid upon the manner in which the apswer by the “ Sbopman' was conveyed--perhaps this lady, piqued at the trouble in applying to several thops in vain, to meet with a type suited to her infirmities, converted the features of çivility into the outlines of contempt, and the language of coin, plaisance into the tone of derifion. I should be sorry to rate Mr, Greensod among that order of beings who

Traduce by custom, as molt dogs do bark ;
Do nothing out of judgment, but disease ;

Speak ill, because they never could speak well :
I would, however, advise him in future to investigate before he
writes, and to feel convinced ere he decides.
London, 25th Feb. 1801.

PHILALETHES,
I cannot dismiss this letter without expressing the satisfaction I
have frequently derived in contemplating your unvaried exertions
in the cause of religion.- May those exertions be perpetuated ;
may you fill continue to promulgate those doctrines which aid the
cause of Christianity, by promoting a spirit of virtuous emulation,
and inculcating the precepts of morality in the minds of your
countrymen.

.

SIR

In your critique on." Citizen Ripand's Report of the Commiflion of fine , 274, , “

,

we

think that he has treated Norden with too much severity, and, indeed, with injustice.” In reading, lately, “ Observations on divers Paffages of Scripture,” published in 1764 anonymously, but since known to be written by Harmer, I found (P. 444.) a reference to

- Norden's Travels in Egypt,” published by Templeman, 1757, P. 150, Vol. II. in which a Mahometan Prophecy seems to bear some resem. blance to that of Fleming, which has been lately brought forward to public notice.

· The Caeheff said " I know already what sort of people you are; I have consulted my cup, and have found out by it, that you are those, of whom one of our prophets has said that there would come Franks in disguise, who, by little presents, and by foothing and in. sinuating behaviour, would pass every where, examine the state of the country, go afterwards to make a report of it, and bring at last a great number of other Franks, who would conquer the country, and externinate all.”

If this should be applicable to Messrs. Savary, Volney, and Co. perhaps Citizen Ripaud may have had his reasons for not being partial to Norden.

CHURCH MUSIC.

TO THE EDITOR.

SIR,

a

AVING observed the unmeaning, if not profane, way in which

the organists of our churches and chapels generally perform their dusy, I trouble you with a few lines to suggest a regulation which might be attended, I think, with useful consequences ; I mean, that Jet pieces of Church Music foould be printed by authority of Parlia. ment, Were this the case, the organ might allist to lift our minds up to God, instead of bringing to them the recollection of dances and ballads.

I am, Sir, your humble fervant, Feb. 14, 1801.

I he thought of the two Tears in Mr. Reynolds's Comedy reminds

us of two MS. Stanzas which are not less elegant.
CUPID
NUPID in sport a dart had thrown,

Which hit by chance his mother's breast;
He heard her sigh in piceous moan;

He caught her weeping and distress'd.
She dropt a tear upon his hand-

He dropt one too, by pity guided-
They mix'd--and since we understand,
Love and distress are ne'er divided.

HISTORY

SUMMARY OF FOLITICS. MEL ELANCHOLY and painful as the task of recording pafling

events has frequently been, since the first commencement of our labours; full-fraught, as the times unquestionably are, with occur, rences of importance, almost unprecedented, to the present wellbeing and future existence of mankind; yet, compared with the cir. curitances of the moment, in this kingdom, they lose much of their relative consequence, and our concern for the calamities with which Europe in general is afflicted, is almost loft in the dismal apprehensions which the peculiar situation of our own country is calculated to excite. Sceptical and incredulous, indeed, must he be who can with. hoid his belief from the manifest interposition of the Deity to produce this strange, this unlooked-for, this unnatural state of things ; a ftate of things, which bafies all the vain speculations of human forefight, and sets at nought all the confident predi&tions of human wil. com. The ability to connect caufe with effect, in the ordinary oc. currerces of common life, is alone requisite to discover fin and punish runt, in these most awful infiiations of Divine Providence. To what other source, indeed, were it possible to trace that wayward. nefs of mind, which, on the one hand, has engendered the disposition to treat friendship as enmity, and to embrace enmity as kindness ; and, on the other, has operated, like a temporary blindness obscur. ing the most acute and the most found judgment, perverting the most splendid, and the most solid abilities, and counteracting the most vir. tuous and most honourable principles, and so stimulating the most upright and bet-intentioned patriots to the commission of an act of political suicide ? Thus we behold ourselves, at once, threatened with a hostile combination of all the naval, and nearly all the military, force of Europe, a combination alike without example and without excuse, unprincipled in its motive and criminal in its object; and with a dreadful schism in our own councils.

Our high opinion of Mr. Pitt, the estimation in which we hold his talents and integrity, the gratitude which we feel towards him, for his eminent public services, and particularly for his fuccessful efforts to ftem the torrent of Jacobinism at home, and his laudable, though ineffectual, exertions to arrest its progress abroad, have been too strongly, and too repeatedly, avowed by us, to admit of a doubt at the present moment. For EARL SPENCER, Mr. WINDHAM and the other noblemen and gentlemen, who have participated in his labours and supported him in his principles, we feel the same sentiments of esteem and gratitude. The feeble afistance which we have been enabled to afford them, in extending the propagation of those principles, has been given, with lincerity and zeal, from a high and predominant sense of duty to our country. It that fame sense of duty which now leads us to deplore, most deeply, the resignation of their respective offices and the consequent loss of their services in the cabi. net, and, at the same time, to deprecate, most strongly, the adoption of those measures, the rejection of which, by their Sovereign, occasioned that relignation. The firit of these measures was the se

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pea!

peal of all the penal staia es, that still remain in force against the Roman Catholies, which would place them on the same footing as the members of the established church ; the fecond was the repeal of the tent and corporation acts; which would, indeed, be a neceffary consequence of the first, as it would scarcely be possible, after opening the doors of power and of parliament to the Roman Catholics, to ph:ut then against other Dilleniers, of whatever denomination. Our re ders cannot have forgotten the repeated declarations, which we have had occafion to make, of our fentiments on these two grand questijns. We have long considered them, attentively and deeply, and the result of that conlideration has been a firm conviction in our minds, that the almost unavoidable consequence of their adoption, would be the absolute subversion of the constituted order of things in Church and State. Ii is not, then, in times like these, which put men’s principles to the test, that we are disposed to shrink from the duty, which impels every honest man to proportion his efforts to the exigences of the moment ; all our feeble powers shall be exerted in resitance of measures which, to us, appear pregnant with the most deftructive effects to that conititution which we stand so folemnly pledged to support.

We shall not here enter into any enquiry respecting the nature of the pledge which has been said to have been exacted by the friends of the Union in Ireland, as the condition of their support, and the anxiety to redeem which was the alledged cause of the resignation of Mr. Pirt, We fhail, no doubt, have frequent opportunities, in the discharge of our duty as Critics, of fully discussing that fubject. In the mean time, it is sufficient for us to know, and we state the fact with confia dence, in order to remove some very false impressions which have been made on the public mind by a different statement, that the King never gave his cabinet minifters the smallest reason to believe that the measures in question would have his function and support ;--on the contrary, nearly three years ago, his MAJESTY declared his firm refolution never to give his content to acts, which consent his sense and his conscience told him would involve a violation of his coronation oath. To this must be imputed the memorable recal of Earl FitzWILLIAMS ; and to this must be ascribed his firmness in rejecting the propositions, and resitting ihe persuasions, of his late Ministers. It is indeed, to us a matter of extreme surprize, that, under such circumlliances, those Miniiters Mould have ventured to give a pledge in the first inttance, and afterwards, for the purpose of redeeming it, to introduce the subject of it into his Majesty's Speech. The reception which such a propofition experienced was such as surely they had good, reason to expect; and his Majefty's explanation, when they foretold the consequences which would result from his refusal, FIAT JUSTITIA, RUAT CÆLUM! was such as, most undoubtedly, we should have ex. pected from a previous knowledge of his sentiments and his character. His Majesty's conduct, and it is important to have it clearly un. derstood, has been steady, uniform, coniiftent, and decisive ; and he has, in all respects, proved himself truly worthy of the honourable title which he enjoys, Of the united Church of England and Ireland on earth fupreme head,

An

An attempt has been made by a respectable catholic, Mr. Butler, (a gentleman who has, we believe, acted, more than once, as agent for the Catholics,) the fallacy of which we have expofed in the critical department of this number, to persuade the public that the coronation oath can be no poflible bar to the king's acquiescence in the meatur.'s proposed; but, thank heaven! Mt, BUTLER is not the keeper of his Majesty's conscience, whoever may be the keeper of his own; and unless he have the ability to prove, (not merely to assert) that the established church of thefe realms would not be endangered by the adoption of fuch measures, all his argunients will be nugatory. We have never been deemed adverse to the Roman Catholics ; we have, indeed, been accused, by the Methodists, of being fav. urably inclined to their principles; but the truth is, as our readers will easily believe, that we are decidedly adverse to some of the fundamental articles of their faith, and very favourably disposed towards themselves. We with them, therefore, to enjoy all the advantages of toleration, in its fullest extent, and to grant thern every indulgence which is compatible with the safety of the establithnient; but, when an attempt is made to remove the line of distinction between toleration and encouragement; when, not contented with demanding as a right that which they have hitherto received as an indu'gience, they aspire to grasp the reins of government, and to acquire that consequence and power, which lead, by a sow but certain progress, to afiendancy and conmand, duty and inclination combine iri opposition to an endeavour, hte succets of which would, we are convinced, prove the ruin of that establishment.

In the fifth volume of our work (Pp. 67, 65) we assigned some strong reasons in support of our opinions on this important topic; but, instead, of refering our readers to the passage, we shall briefly recapitulate then. Doctor Troy, the Romish Archbishop of Dublin, and, of course, a man of weight and authority with persons of his own persuasion, and, be it observed, deriving his power immediately from the Pope, published, in the year 1793, a pastosal letter, ihe object of which was to demonstrate the nature of xtie Papal supremacy, and to shew, that all Roman Catholics were bound to pay implicit obedience to the authority of general councils. The following is an extract from that letter.

• It is a fundamental article of the Roman Catholic faith, that the Pope or Bishop of Rome is successor to St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, in that See; he enjoys by divine right a spiritual and ecclesiastical primacy, not only of honour and rank, but of real jurisdiction and authority, in the universal church. Roman Catholics conceive this point as clearly established in the scriptures, and by

the constant tradition of the Fathers in every age, as it is by the express decisions of their general councils, which they consider as infallibk authority in points of doctrine.'

It being thus clearly proved, by competent authority, which has never yet been questioned or impeached, though the letter has been published more than seven years, that the Roman Catholics are bound to abide by the decisions of General Councils, we shall now