Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

the Rev. George Smith. On Sunday, May 31st, 1846. 12mo. pp. vi, 64. Snow. - Trinity Chapel, Poplar, we learn, was built at the sole expense of George Green, Esq., of Black wall, with a view to the spiritual advantage of the large and rapidly-increasing population, in the midst of which it is situated. The inadequacy of the previously existing religious instruction, and the prevalence of Puseyism in the neighbourhood, prompted to the erection of this house of prayer, which, we are glad to find, has prospered beyond the most ardent expectations of the individuals connected with it. The sermons to which the attention of our readers is directed, were preached by Mr. Smith on the Fourth Anniversary of his settlement as the Minister of that sanctuary. We must, indeed, be hypercritical to find fault with them; inasmuch as they abound in evangelical truth, delivered in a plain, practical, and telling manner.

Christian Fellowship: or, the Church Member's Guide. By John Angell James. Tenth Edition, abridged. 16mo. pp. vi, 119. Hamilton. This work requires no eulogy from us: it has long spoken for itself in most unmistakeable terms, and has accomplished great good. The author is imbued, strongly imbued, with the spirit of" unity and godly love;" and is a living example of the power of divine grace in leading individuals of different persuasions to imitate the character of the great Apostle of the Gentiles, who endeavoured to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." In Mr. James we fancy we behold a personification of the principles of the "Evangelical Alliance," and fully sympathize with him in the expression, "We want more union, more compactness, more order, more sympathy, more of the influence of collective wisdom and experience upon individual decision and conduct; and less, far less, of that jealous independence, anti-social isolation, and selfish individuality, by which too many churches and their Pastors seem to be infected." "Let us unite," says Mr. James, "with an intelligent profession, and an uncompromising maintenance of our non-conformity,-a spirit of Christian charity towards those who differ from us. Let us not confine our views to our own denomination, and make that exclusively the scope of our religious sensibilities, and the circle of our fellowship; much less uphold it, in the tone and temper of sectarian bitterness. Let us adopt as our own, among other articles of what is

called 'The Apostles' Creed,' that noble confession, I believe in the Holy Catholic Church, and the communion of saints.' Of that august and extended community, our denomination, or rather the true believers which it contains, are but a small fraction; and to permit our love to be shut up to the few that stand related to us within the inner circle, to the exclusion of the many that we are also related to in the outer and wider circumference, is the very essence of sectarianism. We live in an age, of which it is one of the brightest signs, that Christians are trying the grand experiment of uniting denominational preferences with the spirit of universal charity. Blessed effort! May the God of light and love give it success!"

Euclid's Elements of Plane Geometry, as corrected and improved by the late Alexander Ingram Leith; with the Elements of Plane Trigonometry, and their practical Application. Adapted to the use of Schools, &c. By James Trotter. 12mo. pp. 232. Oliver and Boyd. He is a bold man that comes forward as the emendator of the editions of Euclid, which have obtained precedence among us. The most valuable of these was that of Dr. Robert Simson. His critical knowledge of the Greek language, and his intimate acquaintance with the ancient geometry, fitted him in a peculiar manner for being the editor and expounder of the Greek geometer. Notwithstanding the acuteness of Dr. Simson, errors escaped his attention, the correction of which was the principal reason which induced the author to undertake the work before us. In a considerable degree he appears to have been successful; and useful definitions and theorems have been added, while several, which were comparatively useless, have been discarded. Be that as it may, the work is now before the public, and they are the best judges.

Reasons for refusing to continue a Member of the Church of Rome, and joining the Church of England, addressed to his Children, on removing them from the Roman Catholic Place of Worship, and taking them to the Church of England. By Francis Duval. 12mo. pp.

xiv, 295. Hamilton.-There are confessedly several points in this volume on which we should hesitate to avow our agreement with the author; nevertheless, viewing the subject as a whole, it is a move in the right direction, which cannot fail to influence every evangelical and Protestant heart. It appears that the volume was first written without any view

Im

to publication; but the manuscript having been read by some confidential friends, Mr. Duval was induced to publish it. His Roman Catholic friends observed, that it was upon a worn-out and stale subject, which had been handled in all its ins and outs by men far more capable than himself. For the sake of conversation and argument, let this be conceded. portant truths are elicited, and prevalent and soul-destroying errors are refuted. We wish our author success in his wellmeant endeavours to do good. The volume is written for plain people, who have not the ability to try the verity of, or to investigate extensively, the dogmas of the Church of Rome. It will therefore be more useful.

Two Sermons, preached in MareStreet Chapel, Hackney, in consequence of the Decease of Mrs. Cox. I. The Funeral Sermon; II. The Tribulation of St. Paul. Published by Request. By Daniel Katterns. 8vo. pp. 36. Snow. Mrs. Cox was a truly pious and useful woman in that sphere in which Providence called her to move; and her mental and moral excellencies rendered her a valuable acquisition in every circle of Christian society. These Sermons, now on our table, give certainly a faint impression of what the character of the deceased was when a sojourner in this vale of tears; but the half is not told.

Additional Remains of the Rev. Robert Murray M'Cheyne; consisting of various Sermons and Lectures delivered by him in the course of his Ministry. 12mo. pp. 532. Johnstone. This

[ocr errors]

volume consists of Sermons and Lectures delivered by Mr. M'Cheyne in the regular course of his ministry; and, not having been prepared by the writer for the press, as might be expected, they present a varied aspect with regard to pulpit talent and theological acumen. The chief excellence of the collection is the vein of piety which marks all the productions of the lamented author. They are in some instances strongly imbued with Calvinian sentiments; but the earnestness and zeal which are every where to be recognised, show that the salvation of the soul was the leading subject, and to this great object everything else was subservient. His ministerial fidelity, and communion with God, rather than any literary talent he possessed, were, we think, the grand secret of his successes in the pulpit. May these qualifications be more extensive amongst us !

Memoir of the late Mrs. Ann Johnstone, Willow-Park, Greenock. Second Edition. 12mo. pp. 168. Hamilton.

An account of instructive and thrilling interest, and adapted for extensive usefulness. Mrs. Johnstone was a person of no ordinary character, and in her relative duties was highly exemplary.

The African Wanderers; or, the Adventures of Carlos and Antonio. Embracing interesting Descriptions of the Manners and Customs of the Western Tribes, and the Natural Productions of the Country. By Mrs. R. Lee. 12mo. pp. xi, 373. Grant and Griffith.-We have perused this volume with feelings of unmingled interest and pleasure, as unfolding to our view some of the most important of the manners and customs of the Western tribes of Africa, and of which we have heretofore been comparatively in the dark. Our fair author honestly states how far fiction in her pages extends "With the exception of the field of battle, the finding of the two boys, the journey to Santander and Liverpool, the history of Carlos has been invented as a vehicle for carrying the reader into scenes which have hitherto been but faintly described. Antonio is only an imaginary personage after he lands in Africa. Every production, every character, is true; and most of the circumstances are drawn from the personal experience of the author or her friends. Among the latter she has to thank Captain William Allen, R. N., for allowing her to extract materials from his graphic description of Fandah: also Mr. Freeman, whose conversation and Report (the latter supplied by the kindness of Mr. Beecham) have afforded her statements of recent occurrences." We cordially recommend the book to all who are anxious to become better acquainted with the natural history, teeming population, and moral destitution of Africa.

Memoir of William Knibb, Missionary to Jamaica. By John Howard Hinton, M.A. 8vo. pp. x, 562. Houlston and Co.-One of the important benefits conferred on the church by the Missionary efforts of the age, is the increase of a biographical literature calculated to excite, enlarge, and strengthen the aggressive spirit of Christianity. This reflex influence of foreign Missions is felt by every reader of well-written Missionary biography. Who, that has the love of God shed abroad in his heart, and seriously contemplates the state of the heathen world, can rise from the perusal of the memoirs of Brainerd, Martyn, Coke, Ward, Fisk, Williams, and other distinguished Christian Missionaries, without a feeling of self reproach, and determination to take a more decided

interest in the great Missionary enterprise ? On this ground we hail the appearance of Mr. Hinton's Memoir of William Knibb as a valuable accession to this class of our religious literature. Whether Mr. Abbott, the fellow-labourer and attached friend of Mr. Knibb, would have executed anything better, we are not prepared to say; but of this we are sure, that Mr. Hinton has admirably succeeded in sketching the portrait of one of the most remarkable men connected with the Baptist Mission in the West Indies. But, while we admit this, we think that the high pre-eminence given to Mr. Knibb by his biographer, above all other labourers in that important field, may be justly questioned by those who are better acquainted, than Mr. Hinton can possibly be, with the duties and labours of many other good men in Jamaica. Who, with any knowledge of Missionary operations, can read the following sentence without some feeling of indignation at its manifest injustice?" No Missionaries, but those of the Raptist Missionary Society, ever took the part of the slave." Did Mr. Hinton know, when he penned this, that, for taking the part of the slaves, several Wesleyan Missionaries had suffered severely? Ratcliff and his family, as our author himself records, had been exposed to a mur derous attack while in their beds in the dead of the night; Williams, Campbell, Whitehouse, Orton, Greenwood, Box, and Rawden, had been thrown into jail, and barely escaped with their lives. The sufferings of the Baptist Brethren have been as nothing, compared with these and others that might be named; and, if the Baptist name has, of late years, been especially obnoxious, it is notorious that they gloried in it, and took no small pains that it should be so. Many of their speeches and proceedings were calculated to exasperate, rather than enlighten and subdue, their opponents. We hope Mr. Hinton will soften this assertion, in justice to many noble Missionaries, who, though less noisy, were by no means less self-denying and zealous, in behalf of the oppressed African. We feel disposed to do justice to the memory of Mr. Knibb, but not at the expense of the character of others, in no degree less deserving of the admiration of all right-hearted and rightminded Christian people. It is to be expected that different views will be taken of the spirit, opinions, and proceedings of the subject of this memoir, by those who read it, as was the case during his lifetime. His movements were of so deVOL. III.-FOURTH SERIES.

Now

cided a character, that the ranks of both friends and foes were enlarged at every step he took; and the feelings of attachment or opposition were correspondingly warm towards or against him. that the silence of the grave, and the softening shadow of death, have thrown their influence around his character, his infirmities recede from the eye; while his virtues are brought forward, and appear with increased lustre. By those who were personally acquainted with Mr. Knibb, this volume will be read with deep interest, while others will regard it as a boon to the church. On the whole, we think highly of the spirit and manner of the execution; and, notwithstanding our difference of opinion on some points, both with the subject and writer of this memoir, we cheerfully recommend it to the attention of all who feel interested in the spread of the glorious Gospel throughout our sin-suffering world.

The Use of the Body in relation to the Mind. By George Moore, M.D. 8vo. pp. 431. Longman.-We have been edified in the perusal of this instructive and entertaining volume; and recommend it to our readers, as containing much that ought to be known by all classes of the community, to preserve them from superstition on the one hand, and enthusiasm on the other, especially in reference to those facts and observations to which publicity has been given respecting mesmerism, temporary hallucination of the mind, dreaming, and the effects of disease upon the mental powers. But what, in our estimation, enhances the value of the volume is, that it is so written, as to be comprehended by those who have not been educated for the medical profession; and also the high religious feeling with which it universally abounds.

By

Chemistry of the Four Seasons. Thomas Griffiths. 8vo. pp. 495.-A useful exposition of the chemistry of nature in vegetation, and in the weather and its effects, illustrated by experiments, which are so simple as to be within the reach of all; and so satisfactory and convincing, as to render others almost needless. The following important facts are stated, which we record in our columns : -It is calculated that the air contains the enormous sum of five trillions, two hundred and eighty-seven billions, three hundred and five millions of tons of carbonic acid gas, of which one man exhales in twenty-four hours fifteen hundred cubic inches. This carbonic acid is mainly taken up by vegetables. Sudden condensation and compression produces heat; if the atmosphere were suddenly 2 M

compressed by adequate might, the earth would melt by fervent heat." Twenty thousand pounds of phosphorus are said to be consumed in a year in lucifer matches. Of the protective power of snow it is said, that in Holland, during the cold winter of 1776, the surface of the earth was frozen to the depth of twenty-one inches on a spot of gardenground kept free from snow, but only to nine inches on an adjacent spot covered with four inches of snow. As a volume abounding with interesting scientific information, it is invaluable, and would furnish an important vade mecum to the juvenile library and in domestic tuition.

The German Reformation of the Nineteenth Century. By the German Correspondent of "The Continental Echo." 12mo. pp. 469. Snow.-The volume before us contains a comprehensive and important discourse on the religion of Germany at the present time, and in particular the recent secession from the Papal Church. A full-length representation of the leading actors is given; namely, Ronge, Czerski, Theiner, Post, and others, of many of whom we confess we knew but little. As a record of past events the book is useful, and will furnish the future historian of the eventful period to which it relates with abundant and faithful information. As far as we have been able to discover, impartiality and truthfulness characterize its pages.

The

Works of the Puritan Divines. Rev. Thomas Adams, Minister at Willington Bedfordshire. With Introduction by the Rev. W. H. Stowell, Independent College, Rotherham. 12mo. pp. lxiii, 284. Thomas Nelson.-Little is known of the author. He was one of the Preachers at Paul's Cross in 1612, and his collected works were published by himself in 1630. The Calvinistic Divines were patronized by James I. until the Synod of Dort. But the Court Clergy were distinguished soon afterwards for their Arminianism; and all the Preachers who adhered to the earlier theology of the Reformers, and of the Monarch, were branded by the name of Doctrinal Puritans, among whom Thomas Adams is to be classed. Few writers excelled him in rich, though quaint, imagery, and in strong, fervid piety.

Histoire du Méthodisme Wesleyen dans les Iles de la Manche. Par Fran

çois Guiton. 8vo. pp. vi, 312. John Mason. We hail the appearance of this volume with mingled sensations of pleasure and gratitude; of pleasure, that a work which has long been considered a desideratum in the religious history of the Norman Isles, has at length been present

We

ed to the public; and gratitude, that at this comparatively distant period, an individual has been raised up by divine Providence, every way qualified to call to the remembrance of the present generation, and of generations yet to come, those former days when the early Methodists had to endure a great fight of afflictions in the maintenance of liberty of conscience, and the right to worship the Holy and True God in the way which they judged the Scriptures peremptorily required. With great propriety, therefore, has M. Guiton laid hold of the following emphatic passage from the Book of Psalms as a motto to his volume:-O Dieu, nous avons oui de nos oreilles, et nos pères nous ont raconté les exploits que tu as faits en leurs jours, aux jours d'autrefois. have lately visited the principal islands in that interesting group; and from the inquiries which we were enabled to make while there, we are bound to say that M. Guiton has discharged the duty which as a historian he had imposed upon himself, in a manner highly creditable to his industry and zeal: the volume is universally recognised as a faithful and impartial record of a work of God, chequered in earlier times with much persecution and suffering. Upwards of seventy years ago, Wesleyan Methodism was introduced into the Channel Islands through the instrumentality of Messrs. Peter Le Sueur and John Pentin, natives of Jersey, who, during their sojourn in Newfoundland, had been converted to God under the ministry of the Rev. L. Coughlan, who had been sent thither as a Missionary by the Rev. Mr. Wesley. At this period Methodism had been known upwards of thirty years in the mother country, and when first introduced into Jersey it met with no better treatment than it had received in England. Ignorance, superstition, and irreligion, combined with the worst passions of which fallen nature is possessed, were arrayed in violent and determined hostility against the first "Preachers of the new doctrines," as they were then called by those who had yet to learn the first principles of scriptural Christianity. Notwithstanding the spirit of persecution which was exhibited, with the view of obstructing the work of God, and of silencing his Ministers, nothing daunted by the cruel treatment they received, not only from misguided mobs, but also from the authorities of the country, who had recourse to the banishment of the Missionaries from the island, and the imprisonment of several private members of the society,—the word of God grew and prevailed. Our industrious author then proceeds to notice

the introduction of Wesleyan Methodism into Guernsey, and also into the islands of Alderney and Sark, and enters into a detail of the progress of the work of God in these respective places. M. Guiton does not omit to notice, with suitable reflections, the bitter opposition with which the Wesleyan Ministers had to contend, while prosecuting their works of faith and labours of love; the number of chapels also, erected at different periods, and the establishment of Missionary Societies, Sabbath-schools, with other religious and charitable institutions, all of which are noted in chronological order. Very honourable mention is made in this history of the firm and decided part taken, at two different times, by the late Rev. Edward Gilbert, Rector of St. Andrew's, against Sunday drilling, on behalf of the members of the Church of England, although his efforts did not prove successful, having been opposed

by the military, civil, and ecclesiastical authorities of the island. This abominable wickedness was removed about the year 1809, when that disgrace of the Channel Islands was abolished by the entire extinction of drilling and other portions of military duty on the Lord's day. It may also be stated, without any fear of contradiction, that this happy change was effected chiefly by the inflexibility, perseverance, and good character of the Wesleyan society. We leave this work with pleasurable sensations of its utility and interest. By English Methodists it will be read with deep feeling; and to the Wesleyans resident in the Channel Islands it will be an invaluable record, read again and again with increasing delight and profit. Cela sera enrégistré pour la génération à venir, et les descendans de ce peuple loueront l'Eternel.

RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.

I. GREAT BRITAIN.

DOCUMENTS RELATIVE TO THE GOVERNMENT PLAN OF EDUCATION, AND THE WESLEYAN METHODISTS.

IN consequence of the Prime Minister having given notice of his intention to move the Vote for Education, on Monday, April 19th, which was considerably sooner than was at first expected, it was agreed, in conformity with the urgent representations of many friends, that the adjourned Meeting of the United Committees, originally fixed for the 8th of April, should be held on the 31st of March. The Draught-Statement of objections against the measure was prepared as directed, and submitted to the Committees on their re-assembling. While they were engaged in considering and deliberating upon this document, they were most unexpectedly, and without any solicitation on their part, put into possession of most important information, which, on subsequent inquiry, appeared to be authorized, if not official; and the effect of which was to place the whole question before them in an entirely new position. Under these circumstances, the United Committees felt that to take immediate action, which would commit the entire Methodist Connexion on the large and very important questions arising under the "Minutes of the Committee of Council," would have been to incur a

responsibility for which they were not at all prepared. They therefore resolved to hold another adjourned Meeting in Manchester, on Friday, April 9th, in the hope that they should then be able to reach a final decision.

Before this Meeting separated, it came to a resolution empowering the Parliamentary Sub-Committees, with such other members of the United Committees as could render their assistance, to complete the Draught-Resolutions which had already been considered in part, and to lay them before the Committee of Council, together with a suitable Letter of explanation and inquiry.

A correspondence then commenced between the Sub-Committees and the Government; the result of which our readers will learn from the subjoined Documents.

Committee of Council on Education,
Council Office, Whitehall,
April 7th, 1847.

GENTLEMEN,—

-Your Letter, dated April 6th, has been under the consideration of the Lord President of the Council. His Lordship has informed you that he has communicated with Lord

« ZurückWeiter »