ledged practice, and which, surely, in the absence of any professed standard of faith, must be considered as the best evidence of their opinions. With respect to America, Mr. Colton shows clearly that the idea of a succession is equally entertained by the Presbyterians and Congregationalists; and that the latter have adopted the high notions of the ministerial character and office which are held by the Presbyterians, and, therefore, go very far beyond the English Dissenters in these matters, although a true Presbyterian will not allow of the validity of the ordinations of the other sect; whence follows this curious corollary, which we give in his own words: "If it be admitted that Presbyterian ordination is valid, and Congregational not, the former in the United States is to a considerable extent vitiated by the fact, that Presbyteries have been erected and composed of Congregational ministers, if not exclusively, yet principally; so that it may have happened, and in all probability has happened, that ministers imposing hands, as Presbyterians, for Presbyterian ordination, were every one of them ordained as Congregationalists. Though I cannot affirm, yet I suspect that such was the case in my own ordination by the Presbytery of Niagara in 1817."-(Note, page 34.)

We think that by showing the opinion and principle of succession in the ministerial office, to be one which is not peculiar to Popery or High Churchmen alone, but one pervading every sect which bears the name of Protestant, we have cleared the way for its more general reception. Once let us admit the notion of a succession, and we are immediately committed to the necessity of tracing the links of the chain up to its original, and the authority of those who originated it. The Dissenters wish to claim the authority of the ministerial office for their societies, but shrink from an investigation into the evidences of the source from whence such a claim can be substantiated. After all, however, the real question as between them and ourselves is this; shall every man, who thinks himself qualified, or who can gain the approbation of half a dozen others to his assumption of the office, be thereby vested with the right and authority of administering the sacraments, and of keeping up the visible Church of Christ by the admission of men to a participation in them? If, as the Dissenters do, we once admit the distinction between minister and layman, we are bound to define in what the distinction exists; and then the validity of their ordinations, by which, in practice at least, this authority is conferred among them, comes into discussion. Out of this discussion they can only escape, by an acknowledgment that their ordinations are a mere nullity; that they confer no spiritual authority and power. If a mere recognition of the pastoral relation between a minister and his flock be all that is intended, why should the power of ordination be confined to acknowledged ministers from other congregations, who, on the principles of Independency, can have no right of interference with other churches? If this be all intended by a Dissenting ordination, the people of the congregation ought themselves to ordain their minister; as otherwise they acknowledge that there is not a full power of spiritual authority among themselves, which is directly opposed to their principles.

C.

CHURCH SOCIETIES.

MR. EDITOR,-In the paper respecting Church Societies, which you did me the favour to make public in the REMEMBRANCER for February, I remarked in effect "that the spirit of charity infused by devout attendance in holy places, and upon divine ordinances, ought on no account to be suffered either to misdirect itself, or to grow cold and languid for want of encouragement and proper guidance; and that a large share of error on one hand, and of indifference on the other, might fairly be attributed to an insufficient practical attention to these two particulars." In reference to the same subject, I beg to send you an extract from the conclusion of Mr. Le Bas's Life of Archbishop Laud, which eloquently and forcibly points out the course which, under present circumstances, it becomes Churchmen to pursue. The extract is an elaborate one, but as the force of the argument would be weakened by curtailment, I hope you will be able to make room for it.

"But can the Church itself be preserved? the Church, considered as a great national institution, with all the rightful precedency and honour which, in that character, belong to it. And, when we are considering this tremendous question, it cannot, surely, escape our observation, that there is, at this day, a spirit on the wing, which is ready to combine itself, either with Popery, or with Dissent, in all its manifold varieties;-with any society, in short. or with any interest, which may be supposed to contain, within itself, the seeds of discontent or disaffection. It is a spirit which is ready to become all things to all men. To the Nonconformist, it will become as a Nonconformist: to the Romanist, it will become as a Romanist. To the weak, it will become as weak; and will use the accents of candour and of moderation. To the daring, it will show itself full of hardihood and strength; and will speak openly of the things which pertain to anarchy and demolition. Its secret object is, to banish all fear of God, and all reverence for the powers that be. But, nevertheless, it can take the form of an angel of light; and burn, like a seraph, when pointing to the glories of that period, which is to witness the regeneration and the perfection of the human race. It is a spirit, too, which is constantly labouring to enter into the herd, and to possess them and if it should be suffered, the end would be, that they must be driven down the steep; where, at last, they would struggle and perish.

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Now, it is the rooted conviction of many sober-minded persons, that there is, also, an antagonist spirit abroad, able, and more than able, to encounter this minister of evil; in other words, that there pervades the general mass of the British community, a principle of religion broad and deep, which will keep it safe from the assaults and the artifices of the tempter. Let us allow this persuasion to be just. Then there arises the consideration-how is the National Church to demean herself, in order that she may contribute the amplest contingent towards the moral preservation of the empire? And this question involves another; how can the Church labour most hopefully for the preservation of her own life and vigour? How can she best strengthen the things that yet remain unto her? Is she to concentrate her own

powers, and to occupy her own ground, and to do her own work? or is she to descend from her own position, and to learn other tactics than her own, and to carry on the warfare against Popery, or infidelity, or vice, under the banner of what is called our common Protestantism? "We would gladly hope, that by far the greater portion of her ministers, and the most intelligent of her laity, will be at no loss for a reply to this question. But, still, there seems to hang a sort of fascination over the spectacle of a holy and catholic league, between christian men of every denomination-all banded together as brethren, against the hosts of ungodliness, all prepared for a charitable oblivion of their subordinate differences, and all resolved to know nothing but Christ and him crucified. There is no man, whose heart is right with God, but must, occasionally, have felt the difficulty of resistance to the power of this majestic vision. But, nevertheless, when we are brought back to the "sober certainty" of our waking thoughts, the question will intrude itself,-whether this vision ever can be realized, without a virtual surrender of every thing that constitutes the life and essence of a national and Protestant catholic church? whether the peculiar efficacy of such an establishment must not be lost, from the moment when it consents to number itself merely among the multitude of sects, which form the extended line of the Protestant battle? and whether the day on which it abdicates its apostolic post of honour would not, likewise, be the day, from which might be dated the decay of its influence and power, as the grand conservative element of our social system? We might go still further than this, and ask, whether the Protestant cause would not, in the end, be fatally weakened and endangered, throughout its whole length and breadth, by such a compromise on the part of the Church of England?

"We regret that our space forbids us to work out these thoughts to their conclusion; because it is much to be feared that those conclusions are by no means so familiar as might be desired, to many of the most active members of the Church. And, if this fear be just, we would beseech of our brethren to keep in mind, what are the views, and what the persuasions, of those very parties, in whose alliance they are seeking an accession to their strength? Are they aware, or are they not, that the same spirit which once animated the Puritanical body, and impelled it to the destruction of the hierarchy, has transmigrated, through successive generations, into the ultra-Protestant body of the present day? Are they aware, or are they not, that among the men who are calling loudly for a promiscuous array of the whole Protestant levy, against the thickening force of Popery, there are numbers who stigmatize episcopacy as a remnant of popish imposture and corruption; and who denounce the Clergy of the Establishment, as little better, for the most part, than traitors to the principles of the Reformation? Are they aware, or are they not, that the clamour which brought Laud to the scaffold, is, even now, vehement and fierce against that very cause for which Laud counted not his life dear unto him? If they are aware of these things, and yet are impatient for catholic coalition and confederacy, nothing is left for us but to pray that they may be brought to a safer and a better mind. If they are not aware of them, then let them give their days and nights to the study of those annals which record

the temporary predominance of the ultra-Protestant principle in these realms; and let them read there the perils of a treaty, offensive and defensive, with it. Let them ponder on the fact, that the parties who then were raving incessantly for the extirpation of Popery, were also the parties who rested not till they had laid the Church in ruins.

"Is it then expedient that the Church should at any time be back ward in coming to the rescue of the truth when threatened by the onset of heresy or superstition?-No-not so. But it is expedient,-nay, it is absolutely needful,-that she should fight her own battle with her own forces, and according to her own discipline. Let others be left to prosecute the warfare with the weapons, and the strategy, and the scheme of operation to which they may be most accustomed; and let every impression made by them upon the ranks of any common foe, be cheered by her with generous acclamation But let her columns be compact together, with her own men, -with men of deliberate valour and fixed thought,'-with men 'strong and skilful to their strength.' With this solid mass, let her be prepared to march calmly onward in legionary power and majesty; and, if need be, into the very heart of her enemy's camp: but, if she once shall merge herself in a miscellaneous, irregular, tumultuary force, her strength will be dissipated and gone, and her glory will be lost-and it may be well if she is not trampled down beneath the feet of her allies in the throng and fury of the assault.

"In the meantime, we would invoke whatever there is yet among us of constancy, of virtue, and of devotion, to guard the sacred fire which burns upon her altar. We would call on those who name themselves the friends, the protectors, the children of the Church, as they value the safety and grandeur of their country, to see that the sanctuary be kept from dishonour,-to labour that our Zion may be an eternal excellency,' and 'a joy of many generations.' If they would pray and travail for the prosperity of Jerusalem, that 'peace may be within her walls, and plenteousness within her palaces,' let them remember, that it is mainly for the sake of the house of the Lord that they should seek her good;' that her chiefest glory is, that to her the nations of the world are looking up, as to the fortress, in which is deposited 'the ark of the testimony of Israel;' and that if this glory should depart from her, the abomination which maketh desolate' will probably be nigh at hand."

Now, in order that the "Church may concentrate her own powers, occupy her own ground, do her own work, fight her own battles, with her own forces, and according to her own discipline," her members must gather themselves together, and each one must consider her cause as his own, and be ready to do his utmost to advance it. In the SOCIETIES FOR BUILDING AND ENLARGING CHURCHES, PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE, AND PROPAGATING THE GOSPEL, many of her sons-and none but her sons are already enlisted. It is needful, however, for very many more to range themselves under the same banner, before the Societies can be enabled to render to the full the many important services of which the Church stands in need. I would, therefore, direct special attention to the above sagacious and solemn observations; and connecting, as we cannot but do, the present position and exigencies of

the Church, with the offers of service which her Societies make, I feel extremely anxious that means should be used to render the latter as availing as possible, by concentrating in them the energetic efforts of all the members of the Church. And to this end nothing more is necessary, than the general institution of District Associations, and the fanning the flame of christian charity by a frequent recommendation of the Societies from the pulpit.

X.

ON THE HOLY COMMUNION.-ALMS, OBLATIONS.

MR. EDITOR,―The following observations, in reference to certain usages now in vogue in the course of the administration of the Holy Communion, seem deserving of attention at the present moment; they are taken from an old work, by the Rev. WILLIAM J. E. BENNETT, entitled, "The Eucharist," &c.

"We may as well notice here, that the gifts of the people consisted, in primitive times, not of money, but of those fruits of the earth which each man's situation in the world enabled him to offer, more particularly wine, grapes, corn, and bread. Out of this the priest selected such a portion as he thought necessary for the elements of the Sacrament, and the rest was set aside for those charitable purposes abovementioned. We must attend to this, because there is now a careless and erroneous custom in many of our churches, of placing the bread and wine upon the Lord's table before the commencement of the service, and by the hands of laymen, the clerk or the churchwarden; whereas, the whole intention and spiritual meaning of the oblation is this:-The people make an offering to God, and out of that offering a portion is selected by the minister to be laid upon the altar for the purpose of the Sacrament. The priest, therefore, having received it from the people, should lay it upon the altar with his own hands, as sanctifying the gift in the sight both of God and of the congregation. For it should always be remembered, that the bread and wine consecrated for the Sacrament are the offerings or oblations of the people. And this precisely meets the expression in the prayer which follows, for no sooner are the alms collected than the minister offers a prayer for the acceptance of the alms, and to the word alms, he adds oblations.

"Without an oblation there can be no sacrifice, there can be no prayer or thanksgiving, or any of the parts which constitute the sacrificial nature of the covenant. Not only, therefore, is it necessary that the people should make the offering, but that the priest, and he alone, should present it for them to God. But it is the custom in most churches for the sacred elements to be placed on the altar before the commencement of service, and by this the beauty and design of the whole ceremony is lost.

Namely, for the support of the Clergy, where requisite, and for the relief of the poor, &c.