Equally clear is it, that by the deeds of the laws shall no flesh living be justified." But while these things are so, it is no less true that a man of the most licentious life the Lord;" that the faith which is Again must I unfeignedly lament my inability to do justice to this subject, or to convey so fully as I could wish my sense of the perilous and fearful responsibility which, in my judgment, attaches to certain modes of teaching, as applied more particularly to the case of condemn-. ed criminals, Having, however, been called to witness much of the evil which I deplore; and having in vain endeavoured elsewhere to institute what I conceive to be some better feeling upon the subject, I should consider myself wanting in'a plain and obvious duty, if I neglect I am well aware, that many visitors of the jail in question will consider the views of the writer as carnal and legal; will imagine that he is living below his privileges, and wishes others to do the same; in fine, that he is himself "out of the way," and only "a blind leader of the blind." They will contend, in reply to all that has been said respecting the Law, that we are "not under the law, but under grace;" that there is no time for a condemned to notice it in every way which ed criminal to work out his own salvation if he were so disposed; and that to expect he should be able to do so, if he had the time, is to betray an ignorance of the nature of the Gospel. Assuredly, sir," the reward is not to him that worketh, but to him that believeth." Certain it is, that it is not too late to be saved, even at the eleventh hour, and that the equality of pay which the labourers in the parable received is a sufficient proof that not their merit, but the Saviour's was the only procuring cause of their reward. may appear likely to be useful. On the other hand, I desire to feel most deeply the value of that blood, "which cleanseth from all sin;" the sufficiency of that righteousness which justifies the sinner; the indispensable necessity of that faith which applies these benefits, and the fulness and freeness of that grace without which I am most sensible that I, for one, must for ever renounce all hope of mercy and of heaven. But, on the other hand; I humbly conceive that it will avail me little, if with all this light ie my head, I have yet no love in my heart; if," naming the name of Christ," I do not at the same time "depart from iniquity:" nay, that although it could even be shewn of me that I were myself, in the main, observing the commandments of Christ upon evangelical principles, yet, if it could be at the same time established, that I were virtually leading others to slight and to think meanly of the necessity of a vital change of heart, and of that pers sonal and practical obedience which follows it, I apprehend that I should be failing in one, and that fnot the least essential, of the qualifications of "a guide to the blind," and an instructor of them that are "ready to perish." I am, &c. CAUTUS MISCELLANEOUS. The extraordinary progress which the cause of the Catholics of Ireland has made within the last few years, through the talent and prudence of its leaders, has incidentally brought forth the Catholics of England to public notice. This body of men has not yet thoroughly recovered from the languor and depression inflicted by the penal laws; and their apparent inertia may be accounted for by the habits of despondency, which frequent insults and aggressions had wrought upon them. Events, however, are now dissipating this gloom; and the approaching session is likely to render their movements a subject of general attention. Our anxiety to procure useful and authentic information for our readers, upon every subject connected with the cause of religious freedom, has led us to a diligent inquiry into the present condition of the English Catholic body; and we have been fortunate enough to ob tain, through the channel of a cor respondent in Liverpool, of eminent character and intelligence, the following statement, upon which we can perfectly rely. The subject is somewhat new and original, the ground hitherto unbroken, and the matter various and detailed. "The total number of Catholics in England and Wales is computed to exceed 300,000. The principal Catholic counties are, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Northumberland. These, with Durham, Cheshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent, and Worcestershire, (the next in number), contain about 200,000. London, and its suburbs, with Surrey and Middlesex,are rated at 50,000. The remaining 50,000, are thinly scattered throughout the other counties and cities; but chiefly in Bristol, Bath, Portsmouth, Ply mouth, Southampton, Exeter, Glou cester, and a few watering places. Some compute the total number at 400,000, and this we cannot positively contradict; but we rely with more confidence, upon the propertionate population of the respective districts, as above given, than upen our computation of the aggregate amount. Their classes are three;' clergy, nobility, and commoners; and each forms a venerable, though " in partibus," as it is termed, as cashire alone counts upwards of In Manchester In Preston ..... 800 1000 1200 Hence some estimate may be formed of the Catholic population of England. 11. PEERS. The Catholic peers are seven in number, viz. Earl of Shrewsbury, Premier; and 1. 2. Earl of Waterford and Wexford, Created. 1442 1448 1603 1605 1615 Viscount Fauconberg.......... 1643 3. Baron Stourton 4. Baron Petre ...... 5. Baron Arundell .... 6. Baron Dormer 7. Baron Clifford 1672 The presumptive heir to the dukedom of Norfolk is also a Catholic. In Scotland there are two Catholic earls, Traquair and Newburgh. The Catholic baronets of England, are seventeen in number; namely, Sir William Gerard, Lancashire 1611 1611 1612 1621 1628 af. 1641 Edward Hales, Kent...... 16421 1643, 1643 1644 9660 1661 Thomas Massey Stanley, Chesh. 1661 Thomas Gage, Suffolk ..... John Lawson, Yorkshire 1662 Henry Macre Lawson, Yorksh.1665- To the Editor of the ChristianObserver or conformity, have been those of neighbours, (or churchmen, as they Howard, Duke of Norfolk; Browne, are called.) Here, the broad feaLord Montague; Roper, Lord tures of distinction almost disap-. Teynham; Vavasour, Curzon, Ac- pear. Industry, association, neceston, Mannock, Gascoigne, Fleet- sity, obliterate the characteristic wood, Swinburne; all peers or ba- traits. Generally speaking, they ronets. Amongst the English Ca- are little farmers, shopkeepers, arttholics are many ancient families of ists, and labourers; decent, humname and renown in English his- ble, timid, shy, and careful. It is tory. Their present heads are supposed, that they are rather more mostly country gentlemen, retired, moral, regular, submissive, and inreserved, of sedentary and nearly offensive, than their neighbours; secluded habits of life. Such are and also, of a more sedate and the names of Constable, Clifford, stationary habit of life. Emigrations Weld, Howard, Plowden, Townley, from their parishes, pauperism, and Jones, Stapleton, Carey, Stonor, crimes, are said to be rare amongst Eyre, Heneage, Stanley, Turberville, them." Selby, Browne, Tunstall, Eyston, Errington, Chichester, Chomley, Giffard, Tasborough, Biddulph, Eccleston, Huddleston, Berrington, Charlton, Dalton, Sheldon, Ferrers, Canning, Berkley, Manby, Rid. dall, Darrell, Fermor, Trafford, Weston, &c. &c. &c. There are about five hundred of these Catholic families, not inferior to many in the British peerage, in ancient, pure, and noble lineage; some who can boast the legitimate, Plantagenet blood; several, who enjoy landed estates, lineally transmitted since the Norman days, and even the Saxon era. These, though not now titled, may be classed by the herald amongst nobility. The heads of these families, mostly live retired, upon patrimonial incomes, varying, in annual value, from 1500l. to 25,000l. It may appear curious to those who know the name of Giffard in Ireland only, that the parent stock in England is wholly Catholic: the Giffards of Chillington, in Staffordshire, possess landed estates of 8000l. a year and upwards; and of this family is Sir John Throckmorton's lady, the elegant and ac. complished correspondent of the pathetic poet Cowper. "III. COMMONERS. We have spoken of the clergy, nobility, and higher classes of the English Catholic body. The inferior orders are little distinguishable from the corre sponding classes of their Protestant In your last Number (for October), I read the remarks of your corre spondent T. with the attention they deserved, from the motive be as. signed for addressing you: and though I am far from presuming on the hope of being able to furnish him with a satisfactory "solution of his doubts and difficulties," yet the following remarks may possibly be not altogether uninteresting to him. Should they appear to you consist. ent with the objects of your publication, you will oblige me by inserting them. It is impossible to do otherwise than concur in T.'s opinion respect ing the several societies to which he alludes, whose claims to support are now laid before the public; that, 66 every churchman, before he can conscientiously obey their call, is bound to inquire how far they may or may not be capable of an application injurious to the principles of the Established Church." T., however, appears to have formed but an inadequate conception of the objections to the Bible Society, when he considers its result to be much the same, as if more booksellers' shops were opened, and the duties upon paper taken off." In this comparison, the principal arguments against the Bible Society are mani festly overlooked: which rest, whether justly or not is another question, upon the construction and fundamental principles of the Society, and likewise upon the peculiar mode of its distribution. Nor does your correspondent, I conceive, assign to the Prayer-book and Homily Society any advantage which the Society for Christian Knowledge does not in effect possess: though his objection to the latter Society, as expressed in the concluding part of his letter, would insinuate the contrary. It is in reply to this objection, therefore, that I venture to request his attention, whilst I submit the following observations to his reflection. pre-eminent advantage over all others of the same nature, it would be that of its judicious "securities and limitations." In the first place, it requires to be assured of every new member before he is proposed, as an indispensable step towards his election (the cases of persons of the Royal Family, and bishops, alone excepted), that he is well affected to his Majesty King George, and his government, and to the united Church of England and Ireland, as by law established:" and in the next place, it provides the additional "security and limitation" of a personal ballot. "But the latter of these two regulations seems to be what T. principally objects to: for I conceive him to allude to this when he says, "The admission of members is conducted upon a principle of selection and exclusion, in order, doubtless, to prevent the introduction of any persons whose sentiments are supposed to differ from those of the existing members of the Society." But, I would ask, is not election by ballot the general mode of admission (and that for very obvious reasons) into most societies? And what better security can T. devise for the preservation of the doctrine of the church, than that of "preventing the introduction of persons differing in sentiment from the existing members of the Society." Those members (be it recollected) having been already certified to be "well affected to the united Church of England and Ireland, as by law established." Truly, if it is in the power of "securities" to guard the doctrines of our church, as far as they are affected by this Society; the regulation of the ballot seems calculated, above all others, to produce this effect. Your correspondent observes, that his laudable intention of becoming a supporter of the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge was interrupted by reading an extract from that Society's Report, stating, "that in the course of last year, it had circulated no less than 488,710 small tracts, and upwards of 49,000 bound books of various descriptions;" upon which T. adds, "I own I was startled." I confess, sir, with all possible deference to your correspondent, the feeling which results in my mind from the statement, is that of pure unmixed de light and gratulation. In it, I contemplate, the laudable and pious endeavours of a most important and beneficial Society, co-operating with the Church of England to a very considerable extent, in diffusing the principles of true religion and sound morality. T., indeed, justly requires, that a Society so extensive in its circulation of religious books, should be guarded by securities and limitations," lest" it become a medium for circulating principles inconsistent with the Articles and Homilies of the Church." And such The case supposed, of a member's securities, it appears to me, pecu- changing his opinions after his adliarly to possess. Indeed, if I were mission, is one against which no to name any one circumstance" securities or limitations" can which, in my mind, gives to the guard. If a Trac Socie y is to exSociety for Christian Knowledge a ist at all, connected with the doc |