"This, we believe, is the chief and governing motive for braving public opinion by the avowal of such revolting sentiments 'as those we have quoted. Wherever they gain entrance, and produce any effect, they must greatly change the aspect in which the Church of Rome is regarded. They must tend to place her in that light in which the Tractarian school delight to behold her-as a Church not indeed faultless, not altogether right in the controversy with Anglicans, but still a holy and venerable Church, more holy and venerable than our own; a Church with whom reunion would be a great privilege, and which is marked with no such desperate faults or heresies as should lead us to consider a reunion as quite impossible."The Record.

APOSTOLICAL SUCCESSION.-The Sermon of Dr. Hawkins, Provost of Oriel, preached in Lambeth Chapel on the consecration of the Bishop of Chichester, has been published" at the command of the Archbishop of Canterbury." The subject is the apostolical succession of Episcopally ordained ministers, and its supposed necessity to the validity of the Christian ministry and efficacy of the sacraments; and the preacher maintains, that the succession "is a point of ecclessiastical history which cannot be proved," and that the necessity of it is without any warranty of Scripture, and was therefore purposely omitted to be inculcated in the standards of the Church of England.

ARE DISSENTERS PART OF CHRIST'S CHURCH ?-In some sermons just published, the Bishop of London thus speaks :-" And this naturally leads us to consider the question, whether the Episcopal form of Church government, being undoubtedly apostolical in its origin, and universally prevailing for so many centuries; having possessed in short for fifteen hundred years that characteristic of truth, the being held of Divine authority always, every where, and by all men, is so obligatory upon Christians, that no congregations of believers, not being under this form of government, can be a true branch of Christ's holy Catholic Church."

66 Although none of the excuses which have been urged, for the want of apostolical government in some national Churches, can be pleaded in justification of those who separate from our own Episcopal Church, I would not pronounce even upon them, the sentence of absolute exclusion from the Church of Christ, nor declare that they are beyond the pale of salvation. I think them in a state of great uncertainty and hazard; I am sure that they want many spiritual privileges and advantages which I am thankful for possessing: but I must leave the work of judgment to Him, who readeth the hearts of men, and knoweth them that are His; and I will content myself with praying for them, and labouring to convince them of the duty and the rewards of unity. I remember that it was to a Samaritan leper, who was an alien from the elder Church of God, one of an heretical community, that our blessed Saviour said, 'Thy faith hath made thee whole.'”

The Bishop speaks more at large, and more favourably of the foreign reformed Churches, concerning which he adds

"I cannot consent to speak of those communities as being altogether aliens from the Church of Christ, nor to deal with them as though they were entirely destitute of the privileges which belong to it. I pity and lament their want of some of those privileges; and I pray that they too may feel that want, and that the great Head of the Church may bring them into the full perception and enjoyment of those privileges; but I dare not think of them, still less speak of them, as heretics, or schismatics; I dare not pronounce them, as such, excommunicate; and I tremble at arrogance and uncharitableness, which presume to deal out anathemas against those, who deny no one fundamental point of faith, but who are defective (it may be questioned whether by their own fault), in the form of their government, and, as connected therewith, in the clear and indisputable succession of their ministry."

the

A CHRISTIAN COMPANION FOR THE CHAMBER OF SICKNESS.

pp. 276 cl. bds.

Religious Tract Society.

By A MINISTER.

It would be no discredit to this "Minister," be be who he may, to affix his name to his book; and we can hardly conjecture any likely cause for the concealment, but a fear that the volume might be banished from some sections of Christ's one Church, if he confessed himself to belong to another of its denominations.

So torn with many dissensions now is the family of God on earth; and deeply convinced are we of the peculiar value of those religious Societies, which strive to combine in the work of "winning souls" all who "hold the Head," recognising as the bond of union in this "dispensation of the Spirit," not adherence to even the purest form of Church government, but membership in the invisible Church scattered throughout the world.

The tone and style of the book before us are altogether suited for a sick chamber. There is a tenderness, simplicity, gentleness, and a quiet cheerfulness, that prove the Author to have thoroughly thrown himself in imagination into the situation, for which he is writing; whilst he has caught an earnest "speaking" manner, that gives a peculiar interest to the series of short papers, composing the volume. He has endeavoured, he tells us, to address himself to the varieties of feeling, usually connected with lingering disease, with the view of leading the spirit in any and in every case to the great Physician. It is hardly enough to say that he has succeeded; his book will become a favourite.

THE HOLY BIBLE; containing the authorized Version of the Old and New Testaments, with nearly twenty thousand Emendations, With Maps and Tables.

Longman and Co., Paternoster Row.

THIS publication labours under some disadvantages. In the first place, it would have been well to postpone it, until the completion of the two new translations of the Old Testament, now publishing periodically by Hebrew gentlemen of great learning; one of these translations, the result of many years' labour on the part of the late Solomon Bennett, is likely to be peculiarly valuable, and from both there may probably be drawn the means of improving a future edition of the work before us. Further, we think the authorised version might have been followed in many cases, in which it is not; we have our early associations with it, and they are useful; why should "emendations" be made, which really do not alter the sense? Mr. Bennett, adhering still to the ancient faith, and rejecting the new revelation, has paid more respect to that feeling in his translation, than this Christian version does. And finally, as this is a pocket volume, and not a mere library book, we should have liked to see the emendations in the shape of marginal notes upon the old version, in preference to a new one, assuming altogether to supersede the old.

Still, we consider this a highly valuable production. Without entering at present, into the consideration of any of the alterations in detail, the division into paragraphs is done with superior skill to any thing yet achieved; while the printing of the poetical parts appropriately greatly improves the work. It is admirably correct, as far as the printer is concerned; and in many parts will greatly facilitate the right understanding of the Book of books. We may add, that it appears to be the work of a person of adequate learning and assiduity.

MISSIONARY BOOK FOR THE YOUNG. pp. 120.

Religious Tract Society.

OUR Prize Essays on Missions are well; it is much to bave the greatest enterprise of civilised man argued out and justified before the bar of reason; but we must never forget the young. Let first impressions be in favour of Missions, and accurately grounded; and it will go hard with a man, before they will wear off. Hence we like the undertaking of this writer. And we like too the way, in which he has executed his task. The book is in a narrative and conversational form, which children like; it is full of information, both of our proceedings at home, and their effects abroad,-of the past and of the present state of "the dark places of the earth;" and the requisite details are not made wearisome to the young. It is not at all likely to serve the cause of one denomination at the expence of another, for it is a book for them all equally; but it is very likely to endear to children's bearts the Christians of all denominations who join in this " holy war.' We give our warmest wishes for the success of the volume before us.

1842.

April 6. News arrived in England from India of the utter destruction of the British troops in retreating from Cabul. Of 6,500 soldiers and 7,000 camp followers, only one (Dr. Brydon) had as yet been known to have escaped the Affghans. The retreat commenced on the 6th of January. Daniel Good, Coachman to Mr. Shiell, Putney Heath, being suspected of stealing a pair of trousers, a policeman proceeded to take him into custody and search the Coach-house. In the search the policeman found the body of a female, with the head and arms and legs chopped off; but at the moment of discovery, Good escaped and locked the policeman in the stable. Good then walked to Tunbridge, and soon got employment as a bricklayer's labourer, but in the neighbourhood was a discharged policeman, who had formerly been in the Putney division, and by whom being well known he was forthwith pointed out to an officer.

13. Lord John Russell having, on the 8th inst., moved resolutions rejecting the proposal of an Income Tax, the House of Commons, after four nights debate, divided—

For the Resolutions

Against

Majority

202

308

-106

18. The Income Tax Bill was read a first time in the House of Commons:

18. The Corn Law Bill was read a second time in the House of Lords, after

22.

24.

For Lord Brougham's amendment (for repeal of all duty on the import of corn)

Against

Majority

5

109

-104

For Earl Stanhope's amendment (for resisting even the proposed reduction of duty)

Against

Majority

17

119

-102

The Income Tax Bill was read a second time in the House of

A violent thunder storm. The spire of All Saints' Church, Poplar, and that of Brixton new Church, were both struck by the lightning and much injured.

EVANGELICAL REGISTER.

JUNE, 1842.

THE MAY MEETINGS.

No record is at present furnished, in a convenient form for future reference, even of such remarks made at the May meetings, as seem peculiarly worthy of preservation. One or two Societies publish, indeed, a report of the entire proccedings at their anniversary; but what seems greatly wanted is a selection of the wheat from the chaff, in relation to all these Institutions, collecting what is thus gathered up into one place. To this object we devote the whole of this Number of The Evangelical Register. The order we shall follow, is that which we have adopted for some years past in the Financial Table, with which we propose to close our

extracts.

1. BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.

Thirty-eighth Annual meeting; May 4. Chairman-Lord Bexley. SpeakersThe Bishop of Chester, Lord Glenelg, Lord Sandon, Rev. Dr. Vaughan, Rev. Dr. Tyng (Philadelphia), Rev. T. Waugh, Hon. and Rev. H. M. Villiers, Rev. M. Pritchard, Rev. Baron de Gerlach, Rev. M. Mestrier, The Bishop of Worcester, and Sir T. D. Acland, Bart, M.P. The issues for the year had amounted to more than 800,000 copies of the Scriptures.

The following address is interesting :

The Rev. Dr. VAUGHAN-The constitution and object of the British and Foreign Bible Society must be good, unusually good. It is now, as we have heard, nearly forty years since its attractions were such as to bring together some thousands of Christians, of different religious connections, all to express their approval of this object, and of the means by which it was to be realized. And we find that, after that long interval, the object has lost nothing of its attraction; and it is but fair to conclude from this fact, that the object it proposes is a good one, and that the ground work upon which it rests is good. Forty years in these latter times, it must be remembered, are found to carry with them changes perhaps as numerous and striking as would be found in some 400 years in many other periods of time. How changed has been the face of Europe during that interval! Once and again we see the sovereigns, and dynasties, and people, have gone, as it were round, and round, or have rushed onward under the influence of impulses which seemed to have allowed them no rest. And though it is so, that the whirl or rush of these changes has been made to pass by our country rather than fall upon it, yet who need be reminded of the changes that have come to pass among ourselves during that period-changes seen in the vast multiplication of our numbers, in the new comipexion and spirit which have been given to not a few of our associations, especially in new modes and objects which tend to characterize multitudes of men amongst us; and last, not least, in the altered state-in the degree of temper, and of influence, and of relations between the different religious parties; yet, amidst all these changes, with scarcely any thing left as it was, we find the Bible Society is as With respect to our foreign relations, the old has passed away, and the new has come wonderfully into its place: but the Bible Society goes abroad with no new aspect. In our own dominions, scarcely any thing remains precisely as it was when looked upon only a generation ago; but the Bible Society remains the same. Why, if experience is good for anything, it would surely seem that the time had arrived when we might speak of the British and Foreign Bible Society as having

it was.

VOL. XIV.

R

been weighed in the balances of time, and as not being found wanting. She has gone through the process of the experiment, and the result has been that the Institution has come forth as gold-as gold, I mean, in relation to its simple but magnificent object, and in relation to the principle on which it is founded. It is refreshing, in a world where we have to mark so much as indicating the infirmities attaching to human contrivances, to see that there is at least something on which the eye can fix that carries with it a spirit of permanence. It is permitted to the imagination to be interested in objects that have in them those elements of duration, which seem, as it were, to lift their heads aloft, like the everlasting hills, above the frail and perishing everywhere around them. Our Society partakes, under the blessing of God, of something of this character.

But the question naturally arises, how are we to account for this? Whence the stability that is found to attach to the Bible Society, amidst such a want of stability almost everywhere else? How comes it, that we meet with the fixed, the unalterable, to so great a degree here, amidst the frailty, and the passing away of so much besides? Did those great and good men, whose names are connected with the early history of this Society, foresee all this, and provide for it accordingly? We think not. Or did they take the part that they did in relation to this object, under the influence of a blind chance, in something of the manner of lucky accident? We think not? The history of science is the history of discovery: and my belief in the providence of God in respect to the affairs of men, is of that nature to teach ine to be persuaded, that each discovery has come in its right place and at its right time. The ancient Babylonians were within a hair's breadth of the discovery of printing. The bricks, of which their walls and colossal structures were formed were printed bricks, as our books are printed books; the only difference being, that they were printed with hollow types, while we print with projecting types. The slightest conceivable movement of thought would have been enough to have placed the printing press side by side with the far-famed tombs of Babylon. But the time had not come for the printing-press; and that slight movement of thought, accordingly, was not to be made till thousands of years afterwards. The same might be said, in effect, concerning the history of the loadstone, and something very like it with respect to the discovery of the pendulum and the great law of gravitation. These things have bubbled up, as it were, to the notice of men; they have come upon them unawares; they have been found by those who sought them not, and that not until the fitting season arrived. They were among the secrets of nature, veiled by the Omniscient; and, when the season came, the invisible hand removed the veil, and sent the discovery forth, to do its work among men. What these discoveries have been in relation to history and to science, I regard the institution of the Bible Society as being in respect to religion. It came in its right time, and at its right place. The men whose minds first became familiar with the idea of it, little thought how much of trea surethere was in it. The simple ideaindeed, all the greater thoughts of men are simple-wes remarkable for the simplicity and felicity of it; viz., that all Christians might combine together for the purpose of diffusing the Book in respect to which all Christians were agreed. The rudiments of thought, or of discovery, come in their time; the developments of things come in their time. We are permitted to possess ourselves of truth, and of the bearing of truth, by little and little, as we are able to bear it. And thus it has been been, that what comes without observation, has opened in its expansive power, and shown its application by degrees, in a manner strikingly in harmony with all that is beautiful in the nature by which we are surrounded, and the providence by which we are encircled. It is interesting to look at the Bible Society in this view, and to be able to feel, that, as in that solitary Bible, which the young monk discovered, some three centuries ago, in the monastery of Erfurt, there were virtually lodged all the mighty changes involved in the Protestant Reformation; so, in that simple idea which we have, embodied in this Society, there was lodged the influence which was to effect a combination of Christians for a Christian object, such as the Church had never witnessed before, and to effect an impression upon the nations of the earth in favour of Christianity, such as had never gone forth from one point before. It tells us to cherish simple