Dissenters then in being, (some of whom are yett alive) should, (if Alterations are now thought needfull) be revised again, by the body of our Clergie? And ought not that to be done in Convocation, before this bill of Union pass?

The Lre says ;

"We have lost one juncture already, at the returne of King Charles "the Second, That we have now another favourable season; And that "such as was never yett offer'd to us, by reason of the League at this "time between the Protestant Princes and States ;"

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Of ye present favourable Season, I will not now say any thing, it being more proper for Discourse, than a Lre. But as to the Juncture at the returne of K. Charles the Second, I hope it was not totally lost; I know a great deal of the transactions of those times; and tho' many things might have bin done, w were omitted; (such has bin, and ever will be the fate in publick Revolutions). And tho' perhaps some of our Clergie had not then soe healing a temper of mind, as was to have bin wish'd; the reasons whereof need not be remembred; no men are without some faylings; Yett it can be proved, that the extravagant unreasonablenesse of the Dissenters, at that time, was the true cause y' no more was done, upon that glorious opportunity, towards a Union with those, who pretended to hold the same Doctrine with the Church of England.

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I shall now end your present trouble, because I will not enter too farr into a matter out of my sphear; I hope you will not thinke, by any thing I have sayd, that I doe not heartily concurr in the designe of the Letter, that is, a perfect union among Protestants; wch ought to be endeavour'd by all good Men, how improbable soever the obtaining it may prove; and for w my most fervent prayers shall never be wanting. Whether this Bill, now depending, be the best method, or this the proper season to obtain that desirable Union, is the question, w ch must be the busines of the wisest men to determine. My wishes are, That in the endeavours of bringing People into the Church, we may not shutt a greater number out, than are likely to come in; for there are weake Brethren of all sides.

S', I aske your pardon for giving you the Trouble of this too long Ire, and give me leave to say, 'tis your duty to correct my errors, and Ĭ expect it from you; there being no man under your charge, who hath greater Reverence for your person, and abilities than

MR. EDITOR,-IN that hour of treachery and delusion, when mistaken men proposed to remove the disabilities of the Papists, they endeavoured to allay the fears and smother the convictions of those who withstood this fatal violence to our Protestant Establishment, by the promise of a full and sufficient security. That security was an

oath. In vain experience raised her voice; history was appealed to, and all her ample evidence, to no purpose; the warning, the protesting voice was unheeded; and the security of an oath was taken from men infamous for evading, in jesuitical subtilty, all such obligations, or for breaking through them with ruthless outrage.

The fulfilment of these apprehensions is accomplished before our eyes. The Papists have been admitted to sit and vote in either house of parliament on taking and subscribing the oath, of which the following is the conclusion :—

"I do swear, that I will defend, to the utmost of my power, the settlement of property within this realm as established by the laws; and I do hereby disclaim, disavow, and solemnly abjure any intention to subvert the present Church Establishment, as settled by law within this realm ; and I do solemnly swear, that I never will exercise any privilege to which I am or may become entitled, to disturb or weaken the Protestant religion, or Protestant Government, in the United Kingdom; and I do solemnly, in the presence of God, profess, testify, and declare, that I do make this declaration, and every part thereof, in the plain and ordinary sense of the words of this oath, without any evasion, equivocation, or mental reservation whatsoever. So help me God."

Yet, notwithstanding, on a motion made in the House of Commons, on the 13th of March, 1834, for leave to bring in a bill, “To relieve the Archbishops and Bishops of the Established Church from their legislative and judicial duties in the House of Peers," or more truly, to deprive the Protestant Religion and Protestant Government of their counsels, and thereby disturb and weaken the said religion and government, the Papists voted in favour of this motion, on the ground, as one of them had the hardihood to state, "that there was nothing of religion involved in the question before the house;" and that “if it were a question whether the continuance of Bishops was or was not an advantage to that form of religion which they professed, he should not interfere in it."

Another of that form of religion made a display of tenderness of conscience on the validity and efficacy of oaths, and expressed himself not only as "bound not to injure the Protestant Establishment as now existing by law, but that he was also bound to afford it—not indeed as a religion, for from its religion he conscientiously dissented, but as an institution which the State thought necessary-that support which the members of it deemed essential to its security and preservation."

Whether this declaration was made from an honest and good heart, or whether the Jesuits have felt it incumbent on them to put forth their SI NON to mitigate the odium which they anticipate in the dog-faced audacity of some of their disciples, I leave to the determination of Him who knows what is in man; our suspicions are aroused, and although we forbear to judge, we refuse an easy acquiescence in Popish candour and moderation.

Another of the same form of religion asks with infinite sang froid, how, "after the house had made no scruple to sacrifice* twelve Irish bishops, it

"If the Church of Ireland was sacrificed to the Roman Catholics, the hierarchy of England might tremble in their Sees."—Lord Farnham, Debate, April 3, 1829.

could be deemed sacrilegious (injurious to the Protestant Religion and Protestant Government) to propose the reduction of some little incidents attached to the dignities of the English bishops?" *

Sixty members of the House of Commons have been mustered and arrayed against the Protestant Church, out of an assembly of 658; a party composed of all sorts and denominations, and judged so contemptible as to deserve no serious answer in Parliament: but I would have the facts of this case plainly and distinctly set forth and circulated in every city, town, and village, in every house of this Protestant country; and I would set up once more the old English watchword— "No Popery ;"—and I would encourage and assist the people to send in their petitions, calling upon the willing legislature to repeal the bill intituled, "An Act for the Relief of his Majesty's Roman Catholic Subjects;" and I appeal to you, the champion of our Church, to assume your place amongst the foremost of our christian warriors in this most righteous cause; proclaiming and demonstrating the interminable and deadly animosity of Papists to all that we hold dear, and the inevitable necessity of conquering in this strife, or of being again subdued to that tyranny and slavery from which our ancestors have once delivered us.

BRITANNICUS.

March 17, 1834.

* "I am certain that if we admit sixty or seventy Roman Catholic members into this house, the next measure that will be demanded will be, the upsetting the Protestant Establishment in Ireland. In what a situation shall we then be? If we object to the new proposals, we shall be told, that as we have gone so far, we must go farther," &c.-Sir Charles Wetherell, Debate, March 18, 1829.

"Those with whom we are dealing are too wary to apprise you, by any indiscreet conduct, of the dangers to which you are exposed. When those dangers shall have arrived I shall have been consigned to the urn, the sepulchre, and mortality; but that they will arrive I have no more doubt than that I yet continue to exist. Notwithstanding this sad conviction, I pray to God to avert the dangers that I foresee. You hear the words of a man who will soon be called to his great account. God forbid, therefore, that I should raise my humble warning voice did I not deem this measure a breach of every notion that I have of a civil contract-a breach of every article of the constitution, and contrary to the spirit of those oaths I have taken to my king and that constitution. Pardon, my lords, a man far advanced in years, who is willing to give up his existence to avert the dangers with which all he loves, all he reveres, are threatened. I solemnly declare that I had rather not be living to-morrow morning than on awaking to find that I had consented to this measure; for, after all the consideration that I have given to it, I feel it is impossible that I could concur in it, believing it, as I do, to be an abrogation of all those laws which I deem necessary to the safety of the Church: a violation of those laws which I hold as necessary to the preservation of the Throne as to that of the Church, and as indispensable to the existence of the Lords and Commons of this realm as to that of the King and our holy Religion. Feeling all this, I repeat that I would rather cease to exist than upon awaking to-morrow morning to find that I had consented to a measure fraught with evils so imminent and so deadly, and of which had I not solemnly expressed this, my humble but firm conviction, I should have been acting the part of a traitor to my Country, my Sovereign, and my God."-The Earl of Eldon, Debate, April 10,

QUESTIONS GIVEN AT EXAMINATIONS FOR DEACONS' AND PRIESTS' ORDERS, JULY, 1833.

DEACONS.

1. Upon what grounds do you unfeignedly believe all the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments?

2. What evidence of the divine authority of Christ as a teacher is afforded by his discourses themselves?

3. What proof does the Old Testament afford of the Deity of the Messiah?

4. What are the leading offices sustained by Christ, as Mediator? Adduce scriptural proofs under each head.

5. Explain distinctly, and illustrate by reference to the Mosaic Law, the christian doctrine of the Atonement?

6. Point out from Scripture the nature, the office, and the operations of the Holy Spirit, and shew the relation which this subject bears with christian ministers in particular.

7. Delineate the ministerial character of Christ as a pattern for Christ's ministers.

8. In what sense and for what reasons do you think that you are called to the ministry of the church, according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, and according to the due order of this realm ?

9. What is the doctrine of Scripture and of our Church respecting the state of man by nature?

10. State distinctly and prove from Scripture the doctrine of the Trinity.

11. State your views of the pastoral office and of the qualifications necessary for its due discharge.

12. Prove the divine mission of Jesus Christ.

13. Give a particular account of the ceremonies observed on the day of atonement, with an explanation of their typical import.

14. Sketch the history of David, both before and after his accession to the throne, giving the dates of the more remarkable events.

15. Give a brief account of the origin and principal transactions of the Maccabean family, with the dates.

16. What notices do we meet with of Egypt in the historical and prophetical writings of the Old Testament subsequent to the Exodus, and what light does profane history throw upon the subject?

17. In what order of time were the four Gospels written, and with what immediate design?

18. Give a short abstract of the history contained in the Acts of the Apostles, with the dates of the principal events.

19. Mention the principal predictions by our Lord and his Apostles, and point out their fulfilment.

PRIESTS.

1. Point out the evidence of the truth of Christianity derived from a consideration of its nature and effects.

2. What evidence do we possess that the Apostles acted and wrote under a divine inspiration?

3. State the peculiar and distinguishing features of the Patriarchal, Mosaic, and Christian dispensations respectively.

4. State briefly and distinctly the leading doctrines of the christian system.

5. What do the Scriptures teach respecting the priesthood of Jesus Christ?

6. Shew that the system of religion taught in the Old and New Testament is substantially the same.

7. State you views in regard to the authority, obligation, and due observance of the Sabbath.

8. What do you understand by receiving the Holy Ghost for the offices and work of a priest in the Church of God?

9. Give a synopsis of the Epistle to the Hebrews.

10. At what times and on what occasions are the Apostolical Epistles supposed to have been written?

11. Trace the historical evidence from the fourth century to the apostolical age (backwards,) by which the canon of the New Testament is established.

12. Describe the state of the Christian Church, in regard to doctrine and discipline, at the close of the third century.

13. Trace, from the accession of Constantine, the gradual introduction of Papal corruptions in the Church of Christ.

14. By what eminent individuals, or bodies of men, was testimony borne against the prevailing corruptions in the Western Church (i. e. Roman), prior to the Reformation?

15. Give a succinct account of the origin, progress, and establishment of the Protestant Reformation in England.

16. Upon what grounds do you vindicate from the charge of schism, the separation of the Protestant Churches from the See of Rome ?

17. Give your reasons for entering the ministry, and your preference of that of the Established Church?

18. State your views of ministerial duties, public and private, and of the character and deportment required in clergymen.

19. State and prove the doctrine of the Trinity, as opposed to Arius. 20. Prove the divine origin of Christianity.

21. Shew that the Scriptures are divinely inspired, and their sufficiency as a rule of faith.

22. What do the Scriptures and our Church teach us respecting the state of man by nature? Proofs.

23. Prove the Deity and incarnation of Jesus Christ.

24. What is the scripture doctrine of the atonement? Give some proofs.

25. Prove the personality, godhead, and office of the Holy Ghost. 26. What is the scripture doctrine of regeneration? Proofs. 27. What are the marks of a living and true faith? Texts.

28. What is your opinion of the pursuit of lawful recreations, whether as Christians, or ministers of the Word?

29. What reception ought a faithful minister be prepared to meet with from the world?

30. When do you consider a man as unconvinced of sin? How would you proceed in order to convince him of sin?