not one who could, and would, declare to the people in their own tongue, the wonderful works of God? Can it be believed that there was not one such? No, my Lord, there were many such. The diocese of St. Asaph is not devoid of good and faithful ministers of Christ, suited to the people and esteemed and beloved of them. But the Bishop could not see the fitness or the claims of such; he could not recollect that his patronage was a trust for his own clergy and his own people; he could not perceive that the cure of souls' requires a knowledge of the people's tongue, an ability to address them in language that they can understand and feel, and not in a tongue that is to them barbarian.' He could not see any of these obvious truths. Why? Because his brother-in-law wanted, or wished for, eight hundred pounds per annum with prospective dignities and increased emoluments. He was not fit for the place (that's notorious), but the place was fit for him."

Deans and Chapters fare little better.

"From the returns of the revenues of 26 Cathedrals and two Collegiate Churches, contained in the first Report of Her Majesty's Commissioners, appointed November 10th, 1852 to inquire into the state and condition of the Cathedral and Collegiate Churches in England and Wales, presented to Parliament and published in 1854, I learn that there were at that date (1852) no less than 660 Rectories appropriate' to those establishments, that is, having their whole rectorial tithes alienated from them, directed from their original and rightful purpose, the 'cure of souls,' and applied to the maintaining and enriching of the officers of those 28 institutions, who, in return for those tithes undertake no parochial cure either in those parishes or anywhere else, and the sum of the tithes thus abstracted from their proper and only legitimate purpose amounted to £297,960 9s. 10d., together with 105 acres of land, which I suppose I may call £210, i.e., £298,170 9s. 10d.

"The amount of evil inflicted upon the Church and country by the abstraction of so large a sum from the proper means of providing for the 'cure of souls' I need not explain. Spiritual neglect, and an impoverished, and therefore inefficient, parochial ministry, have been the necessary consequences, and the natural results are seen at the present hour in the alienation of about one half of the population of England, and seventenths of the people of Wales from the Church, some resorting to dissent for that spiritual care which episcopal and capitular rapacity deprived them of all possibility of obtaining from a Church ministry, others sinking into a state of barbarism,

VOL. XLII.

H H

which renders it almost, if not altogether, a falsehood to call them Christians, and the remaing multitudes renouncing even the semblance of a Christian profession, and becoming, both in principle and practice, infidels and atheists. This is no exaggerated statement of the condition of the great mass of our community at the present day."

The remedies which a "Pauper Clergyman" would propose for the evils are as follows:

66 PRESENT:

“1.—A graduated rate upon all dignities and benefices (or upon all over £300 a year) for the augmentation of the poorer livings. Such rate to come into immediate operation.

"2.-A rate of about ten per cent. on impropriate tithes. "3.-A sale of the patronage in the hands of the Lord Chancellor, and the Duchy of Lancaster, and the Cathedrals; and, if necessary, of other 'public' patronage.

4.-A restriction of episcopal patronage to the clergy of the diocese, with a certain limitation in respect of standing, as provided by the Act 3 and 4 Vic., c. 113, in the case of Chapter Patronage.

"5.-A retrenchment of the expenses of the Ecclesiastical Commission, to be enforced by an official auditor of its

accounts.

"6.-An amalgamation of the Queen Anne's Bounty Board with the Ecclesiastical Commission.

"7.—The removal of all the Bishops and Deans from the Ecclesiastical Commission.

"8.-A prohibition of all sales of patronage, except for the purposes of Church extension and endowment.

"1.-A reduction of the incomes of Bishops to £2,000 a year, and of Archbishops to £4,000 a year.

"2.-A reduction of the Cathedral staff to a Dean and one Canon, and the assignment of a parochial charge to them, as rector and curate, with £800 a year to the former and £500 to the latter in England, and a proportionate payment in Wales.

"3.-The restoration to all parishes of their original and proper sources of income now held by other ecclesiastical bodies or persons.

"4.-Every chapelry to become a parish, and have all ecclesiastical income arising out of its own area; subject, in common

with all other parishes, to a rate for the general work of the Church.

"5.-That all leases of Church property be allowed to fall in, and no new leases to be granted upon any terms-or sales be permitted-unless with the consent of the Lord Chancellor.

To these I will add, though I know some good men will differ from me,

"6.-A reformed Convocation, with Diocesan Synods, duly representing all orders and classes of the Church, lay and clerical, and having power to pass resolutions to be submitted to the Crown and Legislature, but no power to enact, to judge,

or to censure.

The Commentary wholly Biblical: an Exposition on the Old and New Testaments in the very words of Scripture. Parts 6, 7, and 8. London: Bagsters, 1857.

This Commentary, which requires and indeed permits of no comment, is making satisfactory progress. When complete it will be one of the most valuable works which have emanated even from the Messrs. Bagsters' press.

The Annotated Paragraph Bible. Part V. The Four Gospels. London: Religious Tract Society, 1857.

This is a carefully arranged edition, with very good maps, tables, parallels, and references; and rather common-place, and not always correct notes.

SERMONS.

Posthumous Sermons. By the Rev. JOHN NATT, B.D. With a brief Prefatory Memoir. London: Hatchard, 1857.

This volume is a valuable one. There is nothing new in it, but it is thoroughly sound, and in accordance not only with the teaching of the Church of England, but, what is of far higher importance, in accordance with the teaching of the Church of England's Lord. We say, then, that there is nothing new in it; and in this age of strange teaching it is something to be able to say that. Indeed, Mr. Natt himself says:"We clearly are not to aim to surprise you with novelties; for in religion, as it has been well observed by a celebrated bishop of our Church of former days, 'Whatsoever is truly new, is certainly false.'”—P. 120.

We are also glad to see a volume so sound upon the great doctrines of God's election and man's responsibility. We greatly regret to observe that the doctrines called Calvinistic are reviving, and the more so because it has ever been the case that when party spirit runs very high, true religion falls very low. Mr. Natt takes the sound scriptural view of these matters; a view, too, which cannot too often be insisted upon, as strictly in accordance with the Articles and Liturgy of the Church of England. He says, "If we persevere in acting in defiance of our convictions, if we refuse to yield to the salutary motions and suggestions of His good spirit, He may be provoked to declare with respect to us, that His spirit shall no more strive with us;' He may give us over to final impenitence and to judicial hardness of heart; He may swear in His wrath that 'we shall never enter into His rest.' -P. 289. This is a sound and scriptural view of the great truths of the Gospel, in opposition to the party teaching so unhappily revived by Mr. Spurgeon. And we regretted to observe, a short time since, a long letter in the Record, attacking the Bishop of Ripon for just such teaching. We must be permitted to observe, and we do it without bitterness, that High Calvinistic doctrines do not, as a rule, promote amiability or humility. They must certainly tend rather to "puffing up" than building up." We know the Bishop of Ripon is a fallible man and may therefore make mistakes; but what there was in his sermon to be objected to, as likely to tend to foster the heresy of universal salvation we cannot possibly conceive. But the fact is that there are some men who cannot see beyond the narrow prejudices of education; and who are utterly unable to look upon redemption as a whole, in all its effects, in all its bearings: there are some men who cannot bear the idea of God's offers of mercy being extended to all. The head and front of the bishop's offence is just his reiterating the Apostle's statement, that "Christ died for all." For he says, and such a statement will be sure to provoke the hostility of every Ultra-Calvinist, "If I were to hamper, and fetter, and narrow, and confine this truth by saying, though Jesus died in order to cleanse from all sin, He did not die for all men,' where would be the comfort? Where would be the power this statement to bring hope to the poor trembling, penitent sinner? Thanks be to God, I can not only declare that the atonement of Jesus was made for all sin, but I can also declare it was made for all sinners. Do not take my word for it. The word of God declares, the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquities of us all.' That same word declares, that Christ is

of

"the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.' That same word declares, 'He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world.' That same word declares that He, the just, died for us, the unjust and that He tasted death for every man.

Nothing can be more thoroughly scriptural than such a statement. We know we shall be met here by various expressions; such as "Can the blood of Christ be shed in vain?" "when the Holy Ghost strives He must prevail;" "it is putting power in the creature: " but all such party expressions avail nothing against Scripture statements. Is it putting "power in the creature," to say as the bishop does,-"The first gift that the Lord Jesus Christ obtained for man, when He ascended into heaven, was the gift of God the Holy Ghost. God the Holy Ghost is freely promised to every one that will earnestly seek His help and strength. . . . Say not you are powerlessI know it is true; but I know also, that God has provided ample power for all who will honestly seek it."

Let any man show from Scripture that this is wrong, and we recant: until then we must maintain it as right and sound: and call it Arminianism, or any other ism, still it is "the truth." And even had the bishop made some little mistake in any statement, which most certainly he has not, we do not think the success of the Gospel among the thousands who attended at Exeter-hall likely to be increased by an attack upon the bishop's orthodoxy. We greatly fear that, whatever else he may be doing, one part of Mr. Spurgeon's work will be to revive the long dormant Calvinistic controversy, and so add another to the many divisions already existing among Evangelical men.

Sermons by the late Rev. JOHN JAMES WEITBRECHT, Missionary of the Church Missionary Society at Burdwan. Second Edition. London Nisbets, 1857.

WE received, a short time ago, a memoir of the devoted Missionary whose sermons now lie before us. It appears that they have been already published in Calcutta, but that some of his friends have thought that by a wider circulation they might be productive of much good. The sermons themselves are plain, sensible, and practical offering no new views of divine truth, nor any profound theology; but they are calculated to be useful from their evangelical spirit and earnestness of tone.