do believe there is yet a redeeming spirit in the Synod of Ulster, and that if any calculate upon disunion and strife, they will be signally disappointed.

6

"But it may be otherwise. The page of history and our own experience amply testify, that there is no assumption too arrogant for fallible and sinful man-no act of tyranny too gross to be perpetrated under the hallowed guise of religion. The Synod may, therefore, forsake its first love'-it may forget the very rudiments of those great principles upon which it stands as a Protestant and independent Church-it may expose conscientious men to inconvenience, whilst it retains hypocrites in its bosom-it may disseminate hatred and division, in the blessed name of Him who hath so frequently commanded us to love one another;' but it cannot arrest the progress of Christian toleration. Its late efforts have given much pain to the sincerest friends of the principles which it endeavoured to advance; and should further aggressions be attempted, I am persuaded that many distinguished men will say to those engaged in pressing them forward: We have preserved inviolate, the faith which we pledged on entering the Church; we have given you all that we dare to give―our Christian love, our civil courtesy, our most cordial co-operation in all plans of general usefulness; but we will not give up, what you have as little right to demand, as we have to surrender-the free exercise of our immortal minds, the inestimable privilege of diligent inquiry, and unrestricted judgment, and the unalterable allegiance which we owe to the great King and Head of the Church; we will adhere to our Bibles, and let you hold by your creeds; we will endeavour to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free; we will place no human authority in his room, neither will we become accessaries in setting a snare for the feet of our brethren, by demanding a uniformity of opinions which we know to be unattainable, under the impious assumption of an infallibility, which we know to be absurd.' And should they, in the maintenance of such sentiments, be shunned by the intolerant, or misrepresented by the designing, the present scene affords ample proof, that they will be cheered in their onward course, by the cordial esteem of the liberal and generous of all denominations. Many of them, I am aware, may be placed in perilous situations, where they will really require the constant exercise of that moral fortitude and intrepidity, for which you have given me a degree of credit that I by no means deserve. In taking the course which I pursued at the last Synod, my duty and interest were perfectly coincident. It is my pride and happiness to be the Pastor of a truly Christian people, who have uniformly cherished in my breast those kind sentiments which animate their own. Had I been dastardly enough to conceal any opinion which I entertained, or base enough, in opposition to my conscience, to join in any act for the curtailment of Christian liberty, I might then have incurred a risk; for, I firmly believe, that, in such circumstances, there is not a member of my congregation, from the humblest to the most exalted, that would not have looked upon me with coldness and disapprobation.

"I entirely concur in your desire, not to impugn the motives of those who dissent from our views of Christian liberty and universal toleration. We think them wrong-we consider their principles and conduct as detrimental to the cause of truth, by checking free inquiry, as calculated to ensnare the consciences of men, by holding out temptations to dissimulation, and as injurious to the well-being of society, by sowing the baneful seeds of contention and disunion; but the charity of the Gospel, which 'thinketh no evil,' teaches us to hope that they are perfectly sincere. Of this, however, I am convinced, that if they be sincere (and I firmly believe that many of them at least are so) they will gradually become more humble-minded, and more charitable to their brethren; so that in the end, we may be all brought as children of one gracious Parent, and expectants of salvation, through one common Lord, to forbear one another, and to forgive one another, as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven us.'

"I feel the total inadequacy of language, to convey a just conception of the deep sense of gratitude which I entertain for your kind expressions of approbation respecting the manner in which I have discharged my humble, but arduous duties as a public teacher, and the delicate terms in which you so flatteringly advert to my private walk and conversation. Such expressions of regard from those who have seen my goings out and comings in,' during the principal part of my public life, and especially from those who are themselves so much distinguished for all the virtues that can grace individuals or benefit society, are not only truly gratifying, but most deeply affecting. I trust for pardon to the honest sympathies of your own bosoms, when I say that, much as I prize your splendid gift, and highly as I value the other portions of your eloquent and Christian address, I do, as a husband and a father, thank you for the cordiality and kindness of that short paragraph, more than for them all. 'So long as memory holds her seat,' I shall treasure up the most grateful recollection of your kindness; and when the heart, which now swells with emotions which the tongue cannot express, shall have ceased to beat, I trust that I shall leave those behind me, who, from generation to generation,' will cherish the lasting remembrance of this day. Your Address, with the honourable names affixed to it, I shall transmit to my children, with more honest satisfaction than I would hand down the title-deeds of an estate: and to the names of all the contributors, which are engraved upon your bequest, I shall often turn their attention, that they may learn to respect the benefactors of their father, to cherish sentiments of Christian liberality, and to maintain the path of integrity, as that of safety and honour, amidst all the seductions of the world.

"To every contributor, I return my heartfelt thanks, for the individual compliment bestowed upon myself; but, more especially, for his setting his seal to the great cause of the rights of conscience. To the members of your Committee, I owe a debt of gratitude, which I am as unable to express as to repay; and were it not invidious to particularise individuals, where all have been so courteous and so kind, there are some to whom I would personally,

and by name, pay the public tribute of my unfeigned gratitude and esteem. I am well aware, however, that none of you have descended from your elevated rank, or neglected your important avocations, to mingle in this affair, with any other view than to give the weight of your character and names to the support of Christian toleration; and the general and cordial approbation by which your views have been seconded, must be as satisfactory to you as it is truly gratifying to me.

"Whilst I have endeavoured to avoid a brevity of reply, which might have been construed into disrespect or insensibility, I fear that I have run into the opposite extreme. But if a good motive be any apology for an erroneous act, I am not without excuse; for, in trespassing so long upon your patience, my sole aim has been to give, as far as words can give it, adequate expression to the feelings of my heart. That I have not succeeded better in my object, is chiefly owing to the situation in which your unequalled kindness and generosity have placed me, by conferring upon me a gift, which, I joyfully admit, is well suited to the respectability of the donors, but altogether disproportioned to the very humble merits of the receiver.

"That the genuine spirit of the Gospel of peace, which breathes nothing but charity and forbearance, may speedily acquire more influence in our native land—that 'the strife of words' may soon be changed for the hallowed accents of brotherly love-and that the ample blessing of a benignant Providence may rest upon you and yours-is, my much esteemed friends and benefactors, the fervent prayer of,

"Your truly obliged, and sincerely grateful,

"H. MONTGOMERY."

THE following Resolutions were unanimously approved at the Annual Meeting of the Kent and Sussex Unitarian Association, held at Tenterden, on the 25th June. They would have been inserted in our last Number, had there been room. We deem them too important not to be recorded. They were moved by Mr. C. Ellis of Maidstone, and seconded by Mr. Joseph Munn of Tenterden, an excellent and truly estimable young man, who, a few years since, nobly refused a lucrative office, rather than prostitute the dying memorial of his Saviour's love, by making it "the picklock to a place," and who, amidst temptations before which older persons have fallen, preserved a conscience unseared by the mammon of unrighteousness.

"That this Association most cordially congratulates the Protestant Dissenters of the United Kingdom, upon being happily rescued from the unmerited opprobrium and galling restraints imposed upon them, for a century and a half, by two Statutes commonly called the Corporation and Test Acts.

"That this Association cannot conceal its regret, that the Bill for the Repeal of the above Acts, should impose a Declaration relating to ecclesiastical matters, that may be construed into an interference with the rights of conscience, and an infringement on religious liberty.

"That this Association being of opinion, that it is the duty of every man to worship God agreeably to the dictates of his conscience, considers, that no individual ought to be debarred from the possession of civil rights on account of his religious creed; and, that to exclude, on this ground, any of his Majesty's subjects from the full enjoyment of civil advantages, is alike dangerous and injurious to the stability, power, and happiness of the British Empire.

"That this Association, feeling grateful to many individuals and collective bodies connected with the Roman Catholics of Great Britain and Ireland, for having so nobly aided and encouraged the emancipation of the Protestant Dissenters, gladly seizes upon the present opportunity, to impress upon all the Societies in connection with it, the duty of immediately petitioning the Legislature, to grant to his Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects, a full and complete participation in all the blessings and privileges of the British Constitution."

ON Wednesday, 9th July, was held at Swansea, the Anniversary Meeting of the South Wales Unitarian Society. In the morning, the Rev. Dr. Rees of StamfordStreet Chapel, London, having introduced the worship by reading the Scriptures and prayer, the Rev. J. James of Gellionen, delivered an excellent discourse in the Welsh language, from Romans i. 16, on the connection between faith and salvation. He was followed by the Rev. R. Aspland of Hackney, who, in a sermon on 1 Cor. iv. 13, explained and eloquently defended the general principles of Unitarianism. When the business of the Society had been transacted, above eighty friends dined togetherMr. Aspland in the Chair. The evening service was conducted by the Rev. H. Bowen of Coventry, and the Rev. D. Davison of Jewin-Street, London, delivered an impressive discourse on Acts xx. 27, and concluded the services of the day; which, by those who were present, will long be remembered with feelings of pleasing satisfaction, and from which we anticipate no small good will accrue, in the advancement of religious truth and Christian liberality.

Unitarianism in India.In this interesting and important portion of the world, the prospect continues to brighten for the diffusion of rational and scriptural views of religion. The labours of Rammohun Roy are producing a part of their merited effect, in

the increased attention to religious and moral reformation. The Rev. W. Adam, formerly a Calvinist Baptist Missionary, is proceeding with zeal and judgment in the prosecution of the Unitarian Mission, aided by the British & Foreign, and American Unitarian Associations. The excellent and indefatigable native teacher, William Roberts of Madras, assisted also by the British & Foreign Unitarian Association, is disseminating, to the utmost extent of his power, the truths of the everlasting Gospel among his countrymen. Ground has been purchased for the erection of a Unitarian Chapel at Calcutta. For some time, there has existed a Unitarian Committee in Calcutta, corresponding with Britain and America; and on the 30th December last, at a General Meeting of the friends and supporters of Unitarian Christianity in Calcutta, a Report of past proceedings was read by the Secretary, the Rev. W. Adam, which concluded by proposing the formation of a more extended Association, for the diffusion of religion and knowledge, by means of lectures to the natives, schools, tracts, &c. The resolutions were generally moved by influential Natives, and seconded by British residents, and the establishment unanimously resolved on, of "THE BRITISH INDIAN UNITARIAN ASSOCIATION." Its mem

bers have our best wishes and prayers for their happiness and success. We are persuaded, that it is alone those views of the Gospel, which are inculcated by Christian Unitarians, that can bring the inhabitants of Hindostan into the fold of Christ; and we do sincerely rejoice, that God has opened a pathway into this wilderness of error, to those who will publish liberty to the captives of superstition, and who will stay the wheels of the idol's chariot, not by prostrating the understandings of their fellowcreatures before similar abominations, but by elevating the human mind, and opening the human heart, and teaching both to aspire to a nearer and nearer resemblance to the all-merciful Father of Creation's habitants. May their plans be founded in wisdom, and prosecuted with benevolence; and may Heaven, in mercy to a benighted land, smile on and bless their holy and righteous efforts for the good of man.

Unitarianism in America.-It is with pleasure we give the following extract from a letter of one of our respected American friends and correspondents. "As to the progress of the good cause in our own country, it is great and rapid. Unitarians are now to be found every where-in every village, and in every orthodox church. Churches are building up in the remoter parts of the country, and the difficulty is, not to procure congregations, but to educate preachers as fast as they are wanted. In ten years, there have been settled from the school in Cambridge, forty-seven Unitarian ministers. It is now supplying twenty parishes with candidates for settlement. The "Christians," who are Unitarians, are increasing with an astonishing rapidity. In Boston, a violent and united effort has been made by the Orthodox, to put down or depress and discourage Unitarianism; but they have been foiled at every attempt, and our cause never boasted before in that place,