felf of the clamours and machinations of the other. The author avows himfelf "what it is fashionable to term a prejudiced man, a preacher of the Gofpel and a Monarchift, that he looks upon the Protettant faith, as established in England, to be the pureft worship on earth; that he esteems the Conftitution of England the beft of all polible confiitutions; that he regards Jacobinifim with execration, modern Republicanifm with contempt, and French politicks with diftruft; that he views the wavering believer with Chriftian pity, but the corrupting infidel with horror." Though he difapproves and condemas lukewarmnefs on any fubject of great intereft or moment, he admits that the forbearance of the Clergy in thefe latter will ever reflect the higheft credit on them as minifters of the Gofpel. When the repeal of the Teft Act was generally agitated, did a fingle meeting of that body take place? did an individual line iflue from the pen of Churchman? He anfwers, No. Has any declaration, any attempt to bias the public judgment, appeared on the part of the Church? No. "I wish, however, to be underflood as by no means applying thefe obfervations to the Diffenters or fectaries of other, deno minations, exclufively or generally. Not generally; for, though a few interested zealots among them dave been active and indefatigable in their efforts against the Established Church, I am not to prejudiced a being as to attachother criminality or ingratitude of à small proportion of the body to the body at large, which boats many loyal, virtuous, and useful members of the community. Not exclunvely; for, though the cause is made a common one against a common enemy (our Church), the means, plans, and hopes of the Jacobin are very effentially different from thofe of the Diffenting party. The one, by an over zeal for its own interefts, would fupplant the Establishment to promote its own Church; the other would overthrow all churches. Religion may be adopted as a veil in the first inftance; but avowed Infidelity is admitted by the latter." (p. 16.) "Among the men of talents who have ranged them felves on the fide of Oppofition, I have to notice a writer who has made his appearance within these last two months *. His name is utterly unknown to me; his manners, however, are urbane; and his ftyle, fuch as it is, entitled "The Neceffity of the Abolition of PluTalitics and No-rifluence, &c.;" which our Obferver fhall here review for us., EDIT. † Report gives it to fome of the fchool of PARR. EDIT. to every refpect and attention, even from thofe who differ in opinion from him. T nevertheless could wish that he had employed the hours that must neceffarily have heen devoted to an octavo volume of near 400 pages in a work of more general utie lity, and of a lefs inflammatory tendency«* For his work I yield him all credit; to the, fubfcribe. He has varied the language, approval of his matter I cannot fo readily and refined the diction; but at the fame time it must be confeffed he has very clofely purfued the fpirit and bent of a Prefbyterian fon of the Church who wrote about the middle of the last century, with fome novelties of his own. After having, by his fiat, difpoffeffed every pluraluft, and enforced indifcriminate refidence, te ftigmatizes, though he would appear the champion of, the order of curates; he deplores the infufficiency and inadequacy of their ftipends to their labours; but in the fame breath divides them by lo palpable a line from their beneficed brothret, that they might fairly be mistaken for a different fect. Surely, in the eager nefs of bis zeal, he forgets that the curate has received as regular an education, his produced to the bishop as well-certified teftimolate, and (if he be a priest) has been admitted into the bofom of the Church under the famé forar as his heigh bour the vicar or rector as bufety itan hirufelf. Nay, farther, if he take all the beneficed clergymen of the Establishment, the dignitaries of the Chich, and the bishops at their head, I verily believe he will find (with very few exceptions) that they have all, at one period of their lives, ferved the office of curate; and yes, were any foreigner, ignorant of the nature of our Church polity, to perufe the treatile before us, he must neceffarily conclude the office of curate to be at leaf like that of the early deacons, a fort of attendant in the temple and upon the fuper or clergy, whofe humbleness may be fuited to his employment, but who could never be preferred to the facred office of reading or preaching the word of God.” (p. 17—196) "Pluralities indefenfible," &c. "A moft fevere and illiberal attack on our Church Establishment, and a violent Philippick, in particular, against Commendams, Pluralities, Non-refidence, &c. But, as a glorious feather in the cap of partyconfittency, this high-flown and immaculate reformer, when difcovered, proved to be a man who, though in potletion of a benefice with cure of fouls, had never refiled on it, or performed any part of his minifterial office, for 20 years!. He had reafon, indeed, to complain of the laxness of our Church difcipline! and the lenity of his Diocefan met with a very just reproof: Tibi exemplo, fatis fum." The The author ftates that poverty is the caufe of that catalogue of evils which he has enumerated; again he maintains that the curate is, ex officio, poor and dependant. Ergo-what? the eurate is neceffarily ignorant, fervile, and incapable of enforcing the precepts of the Gospel. "Let my negatur then prove me the real fupporter of that refpectable class of men, by denying that fuch a deduction is just, or founded in fact; and I have no hesitation in affirming that (independent of thofe bigher powers who have paffed through the poverty fricken order of a curacy, to whom he will not deny all merit or talent) every principle which is deemed requifite in the clerical character is to be found in the body of curates. Many have proved themfelves, in the more public capacity of authors, to be men of no mean attainments; more have rendered themfelves reIpected, by their piety and well-regulated conduct in their parochial duties; and few have ever been held forth as degrading themfelves from the rank of gentlemen, or as unprofitable brothers of a "chofen genevation and a royal prisfibood.” (p. 21.) the ingratitude of those who, left to pursue their own tenets as they pleafe, would infringe upon the eftablished religion of the land, and undermine the very power which tolerates and protects them. If they were men of principle, however impelled by and opinions, the fatal effects of this intheir zeal to propagate particular doctrines temperate ardour, which has drawn the blood of fo many thousands of our brave predeceffors, would furely check them in their wild career. But, fo far from this, they have stooped to means which Religion must blush to think on; and, joining the hot of infidel and atheistical revolu tionists, are content to tamper with avowe ed licentioufnefs in order to fupport a de fperate caufe." (p. 36.) We add our regret, that not only fectaries but minifters of the Eftablish ment itself have fuffered themfelves to be infected with this revolutionary fpirit; and, while they eat the bread of the Eliablishment, which is too often their inducenient to enter into its pale, neglect its duties, and defert its doctrines, adopting a heterogeneous mix? ture of principles as conveniency and caprice impel them. To the objection, that many bene fices have been fo confiderably aug"Hume, fpeaking of the zealots of mented by Queen Anne's bounty as to Queen Elizabeth's time, fays, they barbecome a competent fubfiftence for reboured a great antipathy to the Epifcopal fident minitters, Dr. Warner, in his order, and to the whole Liturgy, and were Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, will answer, that obliged, therefore, to conceal, in a great it would require 500 years to raife.every meature, their fentiments, which would living to 601. by the operation of the have been regarded as highly audacious and roval bounty. (p. 23.) criminal; and they confined their avered By incloture many livings have un-objection to the furplice, the confirmation queftionably been augmented, but not in a fufficient ratio to affect the whole as a body, or to produce that alteration in the fate of the Church which objectors fuppofe should neceffarily be the cafe. of children, &c. So, in our day, not daring abfolutely to talk of overthrowing the Epifcop.cy or our established forms, they are content with afperfing the Clergy in a circuitous manner, and pointing out fome high-coloured abuses, as their avorved ob It will not be objected that Pluralitions; and, whilst they mean Dilenda ties obtain at this time to the fame excefs as they did at or after the Reformation. "The laft ftruggle at the Revolution has finished the work which the Reformation began; and the controverfies and perfecutions for opinions, which difgraced the Church for so many centuries, have at -length given way to general toleration and a fyftem of liberality unknown to other ages, and unpractifed by other nations. How deplorable a circumftance then is it, when at length in the haven, and fecured from the horrors of the tempeft, that landfqualls and eddies fhould burft forth to derange our veffel, and blast the advantages of a long, perilous, and laborious voyage! I cannot indeed fufficiently express my regret, and, I mult add, my indignation, at Carthage, whine out, in hypocritical lamentations, Emenda! Emenda! Your commendams, pluralities, and non-refidence, are ftains and blots upon your Church. I have claffed our opponents, firf, as bigots; fecondly, as infidels; a ftrange incongruity, but, nevertheless, indifputably correct in point of fact. There is, however, a third clafs, who are equally injurious to the canfe of Religion and the peaceable conduct of our Establishment; I mean thofe who, having contemplated fome imaginary perfection in their studies, stumble upon one of thefe fectarian productions, and, difgufted with the glowing portrait of Epifcopal corruptions, Church errors, faulty discipline, and the delinquency of our Prelacy and Presbytery, fit down, glowing from their reflections, and fired with public spirit, to expose and hold up 1 to contempt the Church, its functionaries, and adherents. This third clafs may be exempted from the charge of want of principle; but, by admitting false data, their conclufions are distorted, through the medium of as falfe enthusiasm, and a spu rious fort of zeal." (p. 38.) "As fo much has been urged with respect to original intention in the foundations of endowments, and won the primitive system of parochial inftitutions, it will not be amifs to enquire a little into the canfe and origin of Plurality, fo groffly perverted in fucceeding time. Before the Clergy quitted their conventual state and religious communities, or became parochial refidents on their benefices, a perfect (or nearly fo) equality obtained among them; little or no diftinction was obferved. The revenues of each Church were paid in to a general exchequer of the dio cefe; and the ftipends or allowances to each parochial officiary equally diftributed. But this cuftom foon fell into difufe; and, when the priests came to maintain them felves upon the produce and profits arifing out of their individual benefices, that inequality of endowment which has exifted to the present hour immediately took place. The extent and boundaries of the parishes depended upon the property of the first founders of the Church, and varied, neceffarily, with their poffeffions; fome embraced a very large territory; Whilft others were confined to a mere hamlet. This naturally produced a fenfation of difcontent in the minds of thofe who were appointed to the inferior endowments, and as naturally awakened a defire in them to obtain redress or remu neration for this evident though unavoidable injuftice. Injuftice it must be acknowledged in the first inftance; for, where a community of interefts, and, in fome degree, of talents, had exifted, fo difproportionate an allotment could not in equity be defended. No reafon, no pretext can evale the charge, though we may admit it was in a great measure unavoidable. If our modern reformers will but concede this (and, for my part, I do not fee how they can do other wife), they must admit that a remedy (whatever that might afterwards turn out to be) was justifiable, nay, founded in strict juftic. That remedy then was moft clearly PLURALITY-the annexing a living within a certain diftance of that already poffelfed, and the readering two benefices, under certain reftrictions, tenable with each other This was the canfe and origin of the long-deprecated evil; and are we, because the indulgence was afterwards carried to an unwarrantable height, and engendered corraptions by holding out temptations to men of inordinate or ambitious views, to pull down the auftum, which, truly purged of its excels, in its reformed, in its prunitive reftared ftate (which it may now fairly be esteemed), and deprive the Church of the power of rewarding merit or piety, or dispensing, in its wisdom, those benefits to whom the may owe her brighteft ornaments? Justice would be violated by the abolition of plu ralities, restricted by the wholesome regu lations which obtain in the prefent practics of the Church of England. It might, it is true, be better to have an original good than a remedy for the lofs of it. A more equal valuation of church-livings may, for aught I can urge to the contrary, be defirable; but, in the prefent matured ftate of the Establishment, that is impracticable, and more particularly fince the fpoliation of the church-revenues by Henry VIII. But furely we are not called upon, on this account, to shut our eyes and ears to the claims of Equity. Malum bene pofitum non eft temere removendum. The removal of a decided evil requires caution; and, though a State maxim, applies equally to the govera'ment of the Church, to which it is unalienably allied; but, where the evil is doubtful, and the confequences of its removal ftill more fo, our caution fhould be doubled." (pp. 47—49.) "The Church of England, as a great exception to a general rule, indebted to the pious zeal of fome great and principled reformers, found her equilibrium without ever having been overbalanced. Nor can I be led to think thofe men fincere who difpenfations as if the whole fyltem were cry out against fome few indulgences and corrupt, and would deny to the preachers of the Gofpel thofe marks of preference and diftinction which tend to excite emulation, and draw forth their talents and exertions, and which are enjoyed by men in every other profeffion and pursuit of life. The revenues of the Church are not fufficient for the decent maintenance of her clergy, as, by the computation of their equal diftribution, is eafy to be afcertained *. Oppreffive laws are in force against corruptions in former periods, they have the Clergy; and, though enacted to oppofe been permitted to remain unrepealed to the prefent day.” (P, 53-) To the charge of Non-refidence our author replies, that, "as a general rule, it would indeed degrade the Church; as an exception †, it must be admitted, and, under certain reftrictions, can never, I fhould conceive, be done away." (p. 54.) "An equalization of the church-revenues would not produce, to every beneficiary, 100l. annually.” "Such are, the want of parfonagehouses, and unwholesome fituations." (p. 55) "Let «Let the reform begin by restoring to the Church her just rights and poffeffions; and, when her revenues are no longer in lay-hands, let the reformer exclaim upon the heinoufness of pluralities and non-refidence, and the corrupt practices of our Clergy, from the mitred prelate down to the humble curate. Till then, why thould he tolerate or fanction fuch partial indul gence or why fhall the lay-impropriator be permitted quietly to receive the emoluments, &c. while the whole duty to which they were originally appropriated is performed by a fubititute ?" (p. 57.) "I am neither by intereft or inclination led to defend non-refidence or the unne ceffary ufe of fubftitutes in a general point of view. I argue on the grounds of public utility, not of private duty. I maintain that the indulgence of abfence from a preferment, on juft and equitable pleafure, and on a refiden', able, and upright curate being appointed during abfence, the evil confequences, fo infifted on by the rigid cenfors of our ecclefiaftical conititution, are neither evident nor to be apprehended. An idle clergyman, or one, who is averfe to the performance of his religious duties, who abftains from preaching the Word from indolence or apathy, is a drone, difgraceful to the hive, and worthy to he expelled the facred community *. But if a man fedulously employ himfelf to propigate, explain, and fet forth the precepts of his Maker, and have talents, and the powers of perfuafion, to fecond and temper his zeal, he may be of infinitely greater utility and benefit to the church and country at large, by preaching in large focieties or towns, than if he were to be excluded by the strict letter of the statute, and sent to an obscure village, where talents of a lefs prominent nature would answer every neceffary purpose †. Had fuch a rigid law heen exforced to its extent, how many luminaries, who are now an ornament to li terature, and the fupport of piety in the prefent age, would have been lost to fo, ciety! how many a gem, of pureft worth, would have been buried unknown! which the tribute of an improved and benefited community has brought to light, and, plas ced in fituations of enunence and importance." (p. 58.) The ftatute against Non-refidence was framed when the cry of Reform against Church licence and corruption was at the ftrongeft, both from the King and the People, and in a Parlia ment entirely devoted to Henry's will. The diffolution of religious houfes gave his courtiers the first choice of appointments and patronage; and what remained were fold to the beft bidders at low rates. "On this review of the motives § and principles of the first reformers, and the provocation which roufed the people to fecond their exertions, Itruft we have found a fufficient anfwer for those who accuse the Church and her Clergy, in the prefent period, of error and corruption. If they are unwilling to admit a pofitive merit, they muft, perforce, yield a comparative preference; and hence the policy and expediency of laws which bear hard upon a particular body of men, whofe character and fituation are totally reverfed fince they were framed, muft be difputed on every *If the diocefans had power thus to punish, we should not hear of clergymen wafting their time and fubftance in field-fports, and then publishing splendid inftructions on the fubject; or lounging in Bond street, and at routes, the greateft fribbles of fociety; or dangling on frivolous parfaits till they get into goal. Do ecclefiattical cenfures extend only to crimes? EDIT. How rare are the instances where talents are difcriminated! Kiffing goes by favour in the Church as well as in the State; and how many ingenious clergymen, quali-" fied to thine in the pulpits of London and fimilar reforts, are buried in villages, without fociety or notice! Or, if now and then they are drawn forth, the merit of their advancement redounds as much to the credit of the patron as to their own. The obvious remedy for this inequality is, for the diocefan to acquire a more intimate knowledge of his flock, and apportion the incumbent to the parishioners; and not bury alive men and their families who were made for, and would enliven, if not adorn, faciety." "How differently was the diffolution of Monarchy conducted in France! It was a diflolution of Religion. Parifb-priests and cures were involved in the general maffacre; and, after the churches had lain in a state of profufion and waste ten years, they are now permitted to be filled, not with profeffo.s of pure Cbriflianity, but with thofe of the old corrupt fyftem, of which the Pope is the nominal head, a tool to execute the congés d'elire of the Chief Confol, who, like another Jeroboam, may make priests of the Joweft orders of the people, which are not of the fons of Levi;' and both prelates and -priests are the tools of Government; a restoration of Idolatry and Ignorance, only to make its fall more striking, as foretold in the Apocalypfe." "The whole provifion for the Church of England," fays the Bishop of Landaff (Letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury, p. 419), "is as low as it can be, unless the State will be contented with a beggarly, illiterate Clergy, too mean and contemptible to do any good, either by precept or example." ground." ground.” (p. 69.) ; ..."The prefent actual income of the Church is (for certainly the Universities and their colleges fhould not be confidered) little more than one million, or one-fourth of what it is in fact and equity entitled to. Let this statement then be duly weighed; let the cafe ftand fair and unclouded before the publick; and, if they find no reason to think their Clergy corrupt or negligent in their profeffional avocations; and if they perceive none of the foul fpirit of intrigue or cabal among them in the picture which has too juftly been attributed to the Church in many antecedent periods; I know the English character too well, and have too great confidence in the justice of its decifions, to doubt that they will give a verdict of acquittal." (pp. 72, 73.) It is farther to be confidered, by thofe who cry out for the repeal of the Teft Act, and an enlargement of their privileges, that, fince the Reformation, the Legislature has not feriously taken up the caufe of the Eftablithed Church, to refcue her from poverty, or to foften the rigour of certain ftatutes in their operation upon her minifters. In a curious note in p. 75 the author fiates, from Prynne, that, from the time of Edward I. the Clergy fat in parliament, being elected and fent with procuratorial letters from the Chapter and Clergy of each cathedral, to give them power to act in their names, and on the behalf of the electors. "The Judges in the reign of James I. determined that the Canons of the Church, made by the Convocation and the King, without a Parliament, shall hind, in all ecclefiaftical matters, not less than an act of Parliament; and, as a medium to prove this, they affirm that the Convocation was once part of the Parliament; and, fince the Clergy were parted from the House of Commons, they carried their share of the Legiture along with them into the Convocation. A law of fo antient a foundation, and continued før fo long a period of our hiftory, and a privilege of fuch importance, has paffed away without any expreffion of difcontent, or one fingle murmur, on the part of the disfranchifed Clergy; whilst the various fects and religions which come under the operation of the Teft are inceffant in their moanings, wailings, and gnashing of teeth, at a deprivation certainly not more irksome, reframing, or inconvenient.”.. "Among the abfurd paradoxes which characterize the fyftems of our modern reformers, it is a curious but undeniable fact, that, with Infidelity in their mouths, and an avowed contempt for all Religion, GENT. MAG. July, 1802. they should be the foremost, on every occafion, to cenfure the dereliction of the Church of England, for omitting certain outward forms of mortification, and the hypocritical mummeries of affumed piety; and, by a fide wind, a charge of too great fecularity is leveled against the Clergy My firm opinion is, that more has been done to recommend the practice of religious virtue by the decent and orderly commixture of the Clergy and Laity, than by any event in our Church revolution.-Religion, in our days, is Reafon; except, indeed, where Reason would ufurp the right of Religion; and then, like all other ufurpation, the very fhadow of right is loft, and its power must be maintained by fophiftry, fubtlety, or impofture. A man is not withheld from the commiffion of a crime by the mere dread of civil vengeance, as when he could procure indulgence from the impious manufactory of Rome; he feels that he is amenable to another judge; and herce we may trace the reduction of the more atrocious crimes and violations of the law in our day, when compared with the excelles of former times. All this I impute, in a great meafare, to the increafed fecularity of the Priesthood and religion of the Laity.” (p. 78.) The objections of deferted churches, and the indecorous inattention to religious duties, and the increase of fectaries, as fo many proofs of the "Church's decay," are next adverted to. "I cannot believe that we are defenfible in preferring virtue to vice, or in flying from the fimple and beautiful tenets of the Gospel to cali forth the paflions of mankind, or to frighten a poor trembling wretch into a belief and worship of a Deity whofe attributes are mercy, charity, and loving-kindnefs. Let us, for instance, contraft a preacher of this fpecies with a certain venerable, learned, and pious prelate of our church, from whofe lips we have heard the mild and primitive doctrines of Christianity laid down and enforced with a fimplicity and a perfuafive eloquence that, whilst they carried unhesitating conviction to the mind, captivated without rousing the feelings, and entered the heart through the medium of the understanding. He does not anathematize, but holds out the lights of the Gospel to the wanderer å he talks of no gifts, no graces of his own; but, an humble follower of our Saviour, pleads the efficacy of belief, and exemplifies, in himself, the peace of mind which Let the clustering multi flows from it. tudes, of every rank in the nation, from the peer to the meanest artificer, which regularly fwarmed in one of the largest churches of the metropolis, prove that, though |