only two have yet presented themselves who belong to the Church of England. It seems, indeed, utterly impossible, that under the chilling influence of such a system, the Church of England should take any but a secondary part in the glorious work of evangelizing the world. Her members may give their money for the support of Lutheran, or Moravian, or Baptist, or Methodist Missionaries; but she never can hope to see her own sons entering on this field of service, marshalling for this " good fight of faith" and love, while things continue as they are. This, we repeat it, seems to us, in the nature of. things, impossible. What then is What then is the remedy? Mr. Cunningham's project is simply this: "That an Act be passed, empowering the Archbishops or Bishops to admit to the erder of Deacon or Priest, persons offering themselves as Missionaries; provided always, that persons thus ordained shall be subject to the inspection of the chief officer of the Establishment in India; and shall not be entitled, in virtue of this ordination, to exercise the office of Deacon or Priest in Great Britain or Ireland; nor be admitted to exercise such office, unless on re-examination his competency for the same be determined. "Let the advantages and alleged disadvantages of this scheme be for a moment considered. "The advantages are these. By connecting the Missionaries in a regular manner with the Establishment, this scheme would assist to remove any sectarian or enthusiastic impatation now adhering to them; "By providing a distinct way of approach to ecclesiastical offices for a peculiar object, it would admit into the missionary body a class of men qualified for that office, though not always for the instruction of a highly civilized society; "By subjecting them to the general inspection of the resident ecclesiastical authorities in India, ali dangers from irregular zeal would be checked; "By denying them any title to ecclesiastical functions in this country, all the apprehended evil of a deteriorated order of Clergy would be removed; "By vesting in the Bishops a discretionáry power of admitting the ex-missionary, on his return, upon re-examination, to ecclesiastical functions at home, a refuge would be provided for that part of the body home, and whose inherent claims were the whom various circumstances might bring strongest to such privileges. "As to the disadvantages of this plan, it must remain for those who discover them to point them out. It is indeed not impossibi that the measure should at once be con emned as an innovation. But to this objection it might be sufficient to answer, that time is the greatest of all innovators; and that new circumstances demand au enlarged, or even a different, economy.” PP. 35-37. "But the fact is, that a strictly analogous measure to that now proposed presents itself in the history of our own Church. It is not generally known, that an Act of Parliament was passed in the year 1784, the object of which was the very same with that projected in this essay-viz. the extension of the Church of England in foreign countries--and which has a considerable correspondence with the projected measure. The Act is thus worded: An Act to empower the Bishop of London for the time being, or any other Bishop to be by him appointed, to admit to the order of Deacon or Priest, persons being subjects or citizens of countries out of his Majesty's dominions, without requiring them to take the oath of allegiance as appointed by law. 66 6 Whereas, by the laws of this realm, every person who shall be admitted to holy orders is to take the oath of allegiance in manner thereby appointed: and whereas there are divers persons, subjects, or citizens of countries out of his Majesty's dominions, inhabiting and residing within the said countries, who profess the public worship of Almighty God according to the Liturgy of the Church of England, and are desirous that the Word of God, and the Sacraments should continue to be administered unto them according to the said Liturgy, by subjects or citizens of the said countries ordained according to the form of ordination in the Church of England: Be it enacted by the King's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal and Commons in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, that, from and after the passing of this Act, it shall and may be lawful to and for the Bishop of London for the time being, or any other Bishop by him to be appointed, to admit to the order cf Deacon or Priest, for the purposes aforesaid, persons being subjects or citizens of countries out of his Majesty's dominions, without requiring them to take the oath of allegiance. II. Provided always, and be it hereby declared, that no person ordained in the manner herein-before provided only, shall be thereby enabled to exercise the office of Deacon or Priest within his Majesty's dominions. « ‹ III. Provided always, and be it further enacted, that in the letters testimonial of such orders, there shall be inserted the name of the person so ordained, with the addition of the country whereof he is a subject or a citizen, and the further description of his not having taken the said oath of allegiance, being exempted from the obligation of so doing by virtue of this Act.' "Now, in this instance, it is obvious that pro not merely university degrees and local designation are dispensed with, but the oath of allegiance; and that the sole check vided for any contingent evil, is the refusing to persons thus ordained, all title to exercise ecclesiastical offices in this realm. With this Act, then, the proposed measure com pletely harmonises; and Parliament is supplied at once with a precedent and a model All objection, therefore, grounded on the novelty of the scheme, is removed; and no other objection of any moment appears to have been adduced." pp. 37-40. any clergyman in his diocese, whose "Zeal" might to him appear to be 'irregular" or excessive*. If by inspection" be meant no more than the establishment of that species of subordination, already existing in every department of our AngloIndian administration, by which the heads of each department åre empowered to inquire and report to the Government, respecting the conduct of all subordinate officers, who nevertheless are finally responsible not to their immediate superiors but to the supreme governing power in India, we should think such an inspection highly salutary. When the whole proceedings, both of the inspector and inspected, must appear in writing, and be submitted to the view of an enlightened government, acting on its responsibility and by fixed rules, accustomed to look to facts and to weigh evidence with minute attention, and elevated above the personal jealousies and prejudices which cloud the judgment, and lead to dissension among persons placed more nearly on the same level, and Perfectly concurring with Mr. coming more frequently into contact Cunningham in the expediency and with each other; we should rest even necessity of such a parliament- satisfied that the ends of substantial ary enactment as he has proposed, justice would, in general, be well there is nevertheless one part of his secured. But we should not have plan which seems to us to require the same confidence that this would a guard. It is very properly intended be the case if the inspector were that all the Missionaries of the com- also the judge;-if the man who munion of the Church of England discovered, or thought he had disshould be subjected to the inspection covered, a delinquency, instead of of the chief officer of the Establish- having to prove his charge before ment in India," with the express an impartial tribunal, which would view of checking the "dangers require from him satisfactory evifrom irregular zeal." Now in con- dence of its truth, and also patiently veying to the chief ecclesiastical weigh all the exculpatory evidence officer in India this right of inspec- the accused might produce; had tion, we conceive that it would be merely to consult his own discretion highly important to direct and limit in passing a sentence of suspension it by precise and definite rules. We or removal on the supposed delin. know how widely different is the quent. We have no reason to apestimate which, even in this country, prehend that Mr. Cunningham well-meaning and intelligent men would not fully agree with us in will form of irregular zeal ;" and these views of the subject; but not we should think we were entrusting knowing how soon the proposed a most hazardous discretion in the hands of a bishop, if we gave him the power of silencing or suspending See much which in principle applies to this subject in our Volume for 1803, pp 212, 256, 289.. measure may be carried into effect, we feel anxious to point out to the promoters of it the importance of framing, with the most provident care, so material a clause as that which goes to vest in an individual the superintendance and controul of all our missionaries in India. Much as the Church of England is indebted to Mr. Cunningham for having brought this subject before the public, and anxious as we are to see the above plan carried into full and immediate effect, we should feel that we were only deceiving them and ourselves, if we regarded it in any other light than as the removal of an obstacle in limine as a preliminary step to farther measures. It will avail but little, comparatively, that a way is thus opened for sending Missionaries of the Church of England into heathen lands, if pains are not also taken to excite a missionary spirit in the Church. This can be effectually accomplished only by the instrumentality of the Bishops and Clergy. If they, and particularly the digniLaries of the Church, should manifest the zeal which becomes them for the great object of evangelizing the world; if episcopal charges and pastoral addresses should so far partake of the spirit of primitive Christianity, as to be employed in exciting amongst us that love to perishing souls which, for their sakes and for nis sake who bought them with his blood, shall impel many to become the heralds of the everlasting Gospel to remote regions; if those who thus devote themselves to their Master's cause,— For him cross cheerfully tempestuous seas, Forsaking country, kindred, friends, and ease, are no longer regarded by their su periors with suspicion and distrust, but are held in the esteem they merit, as the "messengers of the churches and the glory of Christ;"then may we hope that the United Church of England and Ireland will take the place to which she is in every view entitled in this honourable warfare; and that, waking from her long slumber-from her state of opprobrious indifference to the commands of her Great Head, and to all the affecting motives by which those commands are enforced -she will buckle on her armour, and mingle in that better crusade which is to give to Christ "the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession.' We confess, it does grieve and astonish us to think that there should be those who profess to believe in Christ, and to be actuated by a regard to his authority, and especially within the pale of our own apostolical church, who, nevertheless, are cold, and hesitating, and doubtful, with respect to the obligations they are under to make known the glad tidings of salvation to all the kindreds of the earth. What was the end of His coming into the world whom they call their Lord and Master? What was the end of his life of toil and suffering, of ignominy and degradation? What" of his agony and bloody sweat, his cross and passion, his glorious resurrection and ascension, and the coming of the Holy Ghost?" Was it not expressly that he might redeem a world of perishing sinners from all iniquity; that he might rescue them from the power of Satan; that he might introduce them into the liberty of the children of God here, and exalt them to everlasting life? And how is this great object-that object for which apostles, and saints, and martyrs have laboured, and agonized, and died— to be effected? Is it not by the preaching of the everlasting Gospel? For "how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe on him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent ?" If, then, we partake in any degree of the Spirit of our Blessed Master, and "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his ;" if we feel a single spark of the charity which glowed in the hearts of the Apostles and Evangelists; if we feel any gratitude for the blessings conferred on our favoured land by the communication of the Gospel; if we experience a becoming sense of the worth of our own souls, or any love for those of others; we shall no longer be lukewarm and indifferent to this great object, but shall unite our hearts and hands, our purses and our prayers, our time and our thoughts, in carrying it into full effect. In reviewing a pamphlet, the main scope and tendency of which we so entirely approve, and which we are disposed so cordially to applaud, as this of Mr. C., it is painful to us to meet even with an incidental observation in which we cannot concur. In considering the causes he has assigned, and very fairly assigned, for the low state of Church-ofEngland Missions, we cannot help thinking, that the whole is simply resolvable into a want of Christian zeal and charity; and that he has specified no impediments to missionary efforts by the Church of England, which would not have vanished like the morning dew before the rising sun, had these essential qualities been prevalent and operative. It is under this impression that we are disposed a little, to qualify the opinion expressed by Mr. Cunningham, that the low state of Church-ofEngland Missions cannot be imputed to a general want of piety in the Clergy of the Establishment;" because we verily believe that, disguise it as we may, this is, after all, the real efficient cause of our inactivity. And we think it important that we should understand it to be so, not only that we may humble ourselves in the very dust before God for our past neglect, but that we may pursue the means which are adapted to apply a radi cal remedy to the evil. The propos ed legislative enactment is in deed indispensible; little or no good can be done without it; and we earnestly call on all who have at heart the true interests of the Church of England, to aid in its accomplishment. Still let us keep in mind, that the value of this or any other subsidiary measure of a similar description will be in exact proportion to the piety which prevails in the church-to the strength of faith, the warmth of Divine love, and the expansion of Christian charity which characterize her bishops, her clergy, and her members at large. May the Almighty increase these a thousand fold! And may the glorious period at length arrive, when, through our instrumentality, and that of other churches engaged in the same holy warfare, "the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ!" Although Mr. C. is mistaken in supposing that the Church of the United Brethren is connected with the Lutheran Church for any purpose that bears the remotest relation to missions, yet he appears to us to have formed a just and accurate estimate of the value of their Christian exertions. The following eloquent passage contains his tribute of applause to the missionary labours of these excellent men. "In the prosecution of the great end of converting the Heathen, the Moravian Brethren are now dispersed to the four winds of heaven. In this sacred cause, they have fearlessly and triumphantly encountered ali the perils and privations most formidable to our nature. Uniting the most practical arts with the most spiritual religion, they have, under the Divine Blessing, at once converted and civilized the most barbarous people. They have, as it were, lighted up new suns at the poles; and taught the West-Indian slave to exult in the glorious liberty of the children of God.' Their praise is not only in all the churches' of Christendom, but in many a desert spot, where a little circle of happy worshippers, casting their idols to the moles and bats,' are now worshipping God in spirit and in truth.'” p. 33. We shall extract only one more passage from this spirited and welltimed production: it is that with which it concludes. "Those who believe in the superiority of our Church to every other religious society," -"cannot but devoutly wish that the Church of England should be foremost in the missionary race; that her formularies should be displayed wherever the banner of our country is erected, and her name is known. We cannot be satisfied to have had the fire from Heaven fall on our altars, without endeavouring to carry a torch, lighted there, into the caves and dens of idolatry. We cannot be satisfied that this our manna should enrich only a single plain. But we desire-and would, by all peaceful and pious means, give efficacy to that desire to see our God the God of the whole earth; to see the temples of other hemispheres reared with stones dug from our native cliffs; to hear one song employ all nations,' and from pole to pole one general chorus arise to Him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever."" pp. 42, 43. We cannot but hope that this seasonable effort of Mr. Cunningham, to direct the thoughts of our Bishops and Clergy to an object so momentous as that which forms the subject of his pamphlet, will produce its due, and that a powerful, impression; and, we trust, he will one day enjoy the satisfaction of witnessing the fruits of this energetic and evangelical appeal to his brethren, in the growing prosperity of the Church which he labours to edify, and in the rapid extension, by her means, throughout the universe, of that Gospel which can alone bring spiritual life and light to the nations. Proofs of the Mistatements of Facts contained in an Attack upon the Fidelity and Veracity of the Author of the Tour to Alet, which is inserted in the Christian Observer for January, 1814, illustrated by various Extracts from the PortRoyalists; with an Appendix. LonCHRIST. OBSERV. No. 149. don: J. and A. Arch. 1814pp. 55. price 2s. 6d. THE author of the Tour to Alet, so lately the advocate of exalted sanctity, stands forth to public view, in this new production of his pen, rather in a different character; and could we be so forgetful of what belongs to the office of a Christian observer, as to emulate the spirit which in many parts it displays, an impartial witness might justly apply to both parties, the keen remark of Johnson upon the controversy between Warburton and Louth; that they appeared to be contending which could call names best. To the hard names, however, and harsh surmises, which the author has thought proper to deal out against us, we shall only reply in the spirit of the words addressed by the immortal Hooker to his opponent Travers," To your railing I say nothing to your arguments I reply as follows." was The pamphlet before us destined by its author to appear in the pages of the Christian Observer, as an answer to our Review of the Tour to Alet, which appeared in our Number for January last. Its object is, to convict that article of a mistatement of the facts upon which its criticisms were founded. The author, in a Postscript, expresses great displeasure that this vindication of his work was not inserted; and he even complains of it as an unjust and dishonourable proceeding. But he ought, on every that he wrote a letter to the Editor, which In this Postscript, the author states, must have been received by him on the 20th of February, announcing his intention to reply to us, on the ground of his understanding the remarks of the Reviewer to imply a moral charge. We naturally ex." pected," he adds, " that had no such charge been intended, a few lines at the end of their next Number would have amicably explained their meaning, and have precluded the necessity of an answer. No such explanation, however, appeared."--Now the fact is this: The author of the Tour to 2 T |