Steadman, the highly-respected tutor of the Baptist College at Bradford, by whom he was shortly afterwards baptized, and admitted to the church under his pastoral care. While under the roof of his uncle he entertained serious views of devoting himself to the work of the ministry. For this purpose he entered Bradford College, where he remained nearly four years. After an extended probation, he was ordained pastor of the Baptist church, Hemel Hempsted, Herts, the 8th day of July, 1823, where he faithfully "served his generation by the will of God, till he fell on sleep." It would have been a pleasing task to trace the history of a beloved friend and brother, from the period above specified to the close of his honourable career. This, however, is rendered impracticable from the circumstance of his having left no memoranda of his religious experience; also from the fact, that the life of one so situated abounds with few incidents, as well as from his extreme modesty, which induced him rather to avoid than court publicity. Although unable to do this, it is gratifying to be able to present to the religious public a sketch of his character drawn by the Rev. Will. Payne, of Chesham, by whom his death was improved in a solemn and impressive discourse founded on the 13th chapter of Hebrews, 7th verse:

Re

"I wish it were in my power to do justice to the character of your late revered pastor. It is not, however, easy so to trace the intellectual and moral features, as that every characteristic shall be faithfully embodied; and this is the more difficult when the individual was distinguished not so much for any one virtue as a union of excellences. garding our late friend in his intellectual character, my own impression is, that his mind was distinguished for solidity rather than acuteness; the reasoning faculties were more developed than the imaginative; at the same time he seemed to delight in the practical rather than the speculative; his mind, moreover, was distinguished rather for the tenacity of its than the velocity of its movegrasp ments for strong masculine good sense, rather than striking original conceptions; in him the predominant qualities were the sound, the good, the useful, not the brilliant, the dazzling; in fine, to borrow the words of a living writer, his mental constitution, though not uncommonly strong, was remarkably sound; his intellectual capabilities, if not vast or bril

liant, were very substantial in their character, and adapted for general usefulness; his mind was naturally capable of a much higher elevation than it ever reached, of a mightier action than it ever put forth.'

"Mr. Hopley was eminently the Christian. The graces of the Spirit were as beautifully blended in his life, as the primary colours of the rainbow. He was emphatically a good man;' an 'Israelite indeed, in whom was no guile.' His moral excellencies could hardly be exaggerated-profoundly did he sympathize with the religiously true, the morally beautiful,—he was, indeed, a choice specimen of Christian virtue-there seemed to be no deformity in his moral character, it was beautifully symmetrical. There was not the slightest tinge of envy in his nature, not even a taint of sectarian bigotry; he was remarkably free from selfishness, conscientious in the highest degree; who of you has not been struck with his humility and modesty ?—who has not admired his transparent sincerity? But humility in him was not dissociated from independence, and his catholicity never degenerated into latitudinarianism. It has been said of some, that they never wrote a line which they needed to blush for, or wish to erase; so I may say of your late pastor, he hardly ever uttered a word he would wish on his dying bed to recall; what Rogers said of Howe may be applied to Thomas Hopley: 'It is not more evident that the sculptor intends those little strokes and delicate touches by which his chisel operates on the marble to the complete development of that image of beauty, which as yet only exists in his imagination, than it is that our friend intended to subordinate to the purpose of moral discipline, all the Occurrences of life.' In him were blended conscientiousness, that had respect to little, as well as great things, benevolence, catholicity, devotion, that was the habit of the soul, rather than an occasional practice-in a word, his mind was fully dedicated to God. God's will was the law that presided over his affections and actions. God's love was his sanctuary of repose, and God's word his habitual study and delight.

"As a preacher I have had little opportunity of forming a correct judgment of him; I know it was with him a fixed principle never to offer to God that which cost him nothing. His sermons were, I should say, carefully studied-they were the fruit of research, thought, prayer, as

such they were good, if not great; they must ever have impressed you with the purity of his motive, the sincerity of his feeling, the singleness of his aim, that his absorbing desire was to please God, and commend himself to every man's conscience in the sight of God. From all I can learn, his pulpit discourses were judicious, discriminating, instructive, richly impregnated with gospel truth, and imbued with Christian feeling; adapted to profit the heart, rather than gratify the fancy, to make the hearers think of the truth, not of the preacher; and whatever might be his theological opinions, one thing is certain, he went to the Bible for a creed, not with a creed. 'He was a believer in the Scripture doctrine of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit, in the divinity and atonement of Christ, in the regenerating, sanctifying, and perfecting influences of the Holy Spirit.' These, and their correlative truths, were the theme of his ministrations.

"As a pastor he was 'gentle among you. Even as a nurse cherisheth her children.' Ye are his witnesses and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably he behaved himself among you that believe; and ye know he exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, that ye should walk worthy of God who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.'

"As a citizen, you must not suppose my dear brother was a recluse; he had no sympathy with the childish dogma, that Christians have nothing to do with politics I rejoice that he was universally respected, but sorry should I be if that respect had been purchased by truckling to the great; or by the abandonment of high and holy principles-respect on such terms is a badge of degradation, rather than an ornament. He was as firm and independent when principle was at stake as he was kind and courteous in its maintenance; he proceeded upon the axiom, ""Tis only noble to be good;

Pure hearts are more than coronets,
And simple faith than Norman blood."

Whatever has a tendency to develop the intellect, improve the heart, and elevate the character of his countrymen, had his best wishes, and as far as practicable his earnest support. After this, I need hardly say, that the deceased was the friend of education, the foe of oppression; a true patriot, and while he loved his country, he regarded himself as a citizen of the world.

"Such are the opinions I entertain of your late respected and revered pastor. May we possess his spirit, imitate his devotedness, receive his reward. 'Such

men never die; it needs no spices to embalm, no monument to perpetuate their memory; their deeds live-their very names are fragrant as the morning breath, and sweet as the flowers of spring.'

It may be thought by some, to whom Mr. Hopley was unknown, that the above sketch is an over-coloured statement of his excellencies; I can, however, bear my humble testimony to the contrary. There is not a sentiment or expression in the whole of it to which I do not heartily subscribe. After an intimate acquaintance of upwards of fifteen years, I am prepared to say, with my esteemed brother Payne, that he was indeed a "choice specimen of Christian virtue"-a more upright, holy, conscientious man I never knew; one so entirely free from envy, so thoroughly divested of bigotry. Although belonging to another denomination, I well remember my dear brother saying to me, on a certain occasion, "I should question my piety, if I did not rejoice as much in the prosperity of the cause in your chapel, as in my own."

In the latter years of his life this eminent servant of Christ was called to suffer the will of God. The religion, however, which made God's service in health perfect freedom, enabled him magnanimously to endure affliction; indeed, had the alternative been proposed, whether he would cheerfully do, or patiently suffer, it is my firm belief his response would have been," Here am I, do with me as seemeth thee good;""Not my will, but thine be done." Just as every season has its beauties, so the mellowed, chastened beauties of meekness, resignation, and patience were strikingly developed in his last affliction. A change of air having been recommended, he went to Dover in February, 1845; he, however, appears to have been fully persuaded his end was approaching, and that whatever means might be employed they would be ineffectual. On the first sabbath in the year he preached his last sermon, from Job xvi. 22: "When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return;" and, contrary to the wish of his friends, who kindly offered to provide a supply for twelve months, resigned the pastorate, believing his work was done, and being unwilling, as he expressed himself, "to

stand in the way of another's usefulness." He then set his house in order; and amongst other things sent for the writer to take his last farewell of him, remarking, in the course of conversation, “ What a comfort it is, brother, we have no differences to settle!" The result, alas! has proved that his anticipations were too well-founded; for after having suffered excruciating pain with exemplary patience, he breathed out his soul into the hands of the Redeemer on the 11th of April. I learn from her who is now his sorrowing widow, that during the last few weeks of his life, expressions indicative of deep humility, his consciousness of the Divine purity, and of unwavering confidence in God, fell from his lips. His corpse was brought from Dover to Hempsted, and there deposited in its final resting-place. On that occasion the greatest possible respect was shown to his memory by persons of all

classes, and of all the religious persuasions in the town, vast crowds attending the funeral procession to the place of interment. How mysterious are the ways of Divine Providence! We think it highly desirable that such a one should have been spared to bless the world by his blameless life and faithful preaching; "but God's thoughts are not our thoughts:" under circumstances like these, it is our happiness to know, that though "clouds and darkness are round about him, righteousness and judgment are the habitations of his throne.' Let it be ours to emulate the virtues, and profit by the example of this man of God; and that we may do so, let us remember that what he was, he was by the grace of God; and if we seek, as he did, that grace, like him we shall be enabled to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things."

J. P.

REVIEW OF DEBATE ON THE BISHOP'S

BILL.

THE close of the last Parliament was signalised by a discussion fraught with instruction and encouragement to the friends of truth and justice. An able senator showed that, within a short date, the enormous sum of £249,000 had been laid out by the Commissioners to advance the comfort of the bishops. No less than £143,000 have been spent on the Episcopal palaces of Ripon, Bath and Wells, Exeter, Oxford, Worcester, Gloucester, Rochester, and Lincoln,-the average expenditure on six of that number being £23,000. Happy regions which are the seats of such magnificence! Happy clergy who are under the care of Chief Shepherds whom the munificence of the empire has clothed in robes of gold! Not quite so happy: the position of a prelate is a doubtful index to that of a parson. In those eight bishoprics there are actually 2,971 benefices under £150 a year,-502 under 100 a year,-861 under £50 a year, and one even under £10! While £143,000 have been laid out on palaces to the prelates, 4,537 clergymen are actually without parsonages! The of many pay of these parsons, men of genius, learning, and piety, is under that of the masons employed on the

VOL. IV.

palaces of the Right Rev. Fathers in God! Eight of these Evangelical labourers receive just 13d. a day, and one 64d.

Such was the awakening and uncontradicted statement of this fearless senator in the House of Commons, a statement confirming to the letter the dissertations of the CHRISTIAN WITNESS, which has called forth so much wrath from Mr. Seeley, Dr. M'Neile, and many other gentlemen of the Established Church.

In the course of the debate Lord Sandon, ever faithful to the mitre, declared he "would never be content until he saw a bishop in every county of England." This would give us a mighty increase of spiritual lords; but the liberality of Mr. Horsman exceeded that of his Lordship; he the creation of SIXTY! proposes It is important to inquire into the duties of this class of functionaries whose importance is held so paramount, and whose remuneration so far exceeds that of all other men. Sir James Graham, a most unquestionable authority, in the course of the debate, specified them as follows:

"There is the ordination during the three 'Ember weeks' in the year; the visitationwhich, even if it be annual, is facilitated by the rapid means of travelling; the ceremony of confirmation; the control and regulation of the clergy; and finally, the consecration of churches, 2 E

-though if a bishop has two or three churches to consecrate in the course of a year, he is fortunate. He had known all the duties which he had enumerated, performed by an Archbishop whose age exceeded eighty years; and the duties in the two sees of Salisbury and Bath and Wells, had been performed for a considerable time by Dr. Denison, bishop of Salisbury."

This is worthy the best days of Sir James Graham, when he was "a Whig, and something more." On the same occasion, the brilliant Baronet declared he thought it was the part of wisdom "to make a stand now, by declaring that there shall be no more bishops!" This counsel, however, was too wise to be well received by men who have come to look upon bishops as the essence of religion, and upon more bishops as the only hope of the country. Sir James was aware of this, and solemnly reminded the House, that "gifts are often fatal to those who ask them." He declared his belief "that the heads of the church generally, if not unanimously, desire this augmentation of the number of bishops." There can be no doubt of this; it is the prelates who have prompted the Premier to the work of making bishops. The following view of the general question taken by Sir James, is specially deserving of atten

tion :

"I feel strongly that it is not additional ornament that we want for the temple, but we require buttresses to sustain the Church against all her enemies. Above all, I think it dangerous to propose such changes at a time when there has been raised such a steady and uniform opposition towards the Church by the various Dissenting bodies."

Such is the general case in the view of the Right Hon. Baronet, and we doubt not he has the concurrence of all sensible men. The bishops overworked, forsooth! This is by far the most magnificent imposture of our times! We will undertake to find one hundred men, any one of whom will undertake to do the entire bishop business of the nation for £1,000 per annum. This one man shall do all that is now done, in the way of ordination, visitation, confirmation, and consecration, and preaching by the entire bench of bishops, for this £1,000 per annum! Nay more; we engage that he shall preach double the number of sermons, and make three times the number of speeches, and do both in a far more masterly manner, and all for this £1,000 per annum. The life of such a man would, after all, be a holiday_compared with the labours of Luther. From 1516 to 1526, the first ten years of the Re

formation, the number of his publications was three hundred; from 1527 to 1436, the second decade, the number was 232: and from 1537 to 1546, the year of his death, the number was 183. His first book was published in November, 1517, and he died in February, 1546, an interval of twenty-nine years and four months. In this time he published seven hundred and fifteen volumes, an average of more than twenty five a year, or one a fortnight for every fortnight of his public life. He did not go through the manual labour of all this writing, it is true, for many of his published works were taken down from his lips by his friends; and it is also true that several of the volumes were small

enough in size to be denominated pamphlets; but many of them, also, are large and elaborate treatises. In the circumstances in which he wrote, his translation of the Bible alone would have been a gigantic task, even if he had had his lifetime to devote to it. To all this must be added, sermons, speeches, conferences, and correspondence without end. speak the plain truth, the Episcopacy, as an institution, may be defined the MONSTER SINECURE of the whole earth.

To

In the course of this important debate it came out that "for eight months out of twelve, last year," the bishop of Ely was resident in London! "He even obliged the young candidates for ordination (at an expense most of them could ill afford,) to come up from town for that rite!" The Lord Bishop of Worcester, too, "had been seven long months absent from his post,-in the early spring, in the Isle of Wight, in the season, in London, and in the autumn at the Lakes!" Such are the men whose overwhelming labours render necessary the increase of their numbers to the extent of sixty more! The thing is a mystery; how a great, a wise, and a practical nation can endure it, is to us wholly incomprehensible. Upon this

point people are still foolish and ignorant; the senate is stupid and blind. During this debate, good and faithful things were said, and some heavy and merited blows were dealt upon the "order;" but still there were wanting two or three master hands to have directed a cannonade, on New Testament principles, against the entire institution. What a field was opened for such men! But it was unoccupied. To such men, Henry Brougham, in the days of his glory, on general principles, would have proved an all-powerful auxiliary. How well the following from his famous speech in behalf of

Williams, whom the clergy were persecuting for libel, in August 1822, would have closed the array.

"His Majesty, almost at the time in which I am speaking, is about to make a progress through the northern provinces of this island, accompanied by certain of his chosen counsellors, a portion of men who enjoy unenvied, and in an equal degree, the admiration of other countries and the wonder of their own,-and there the prince will see much loyalty, great learning, some splendour, the remains of an ancient monarchy, and of the institutions which made it flourish. But one thing he will not see. Strange as it may seem, and to many who hear me incredible, from one end of the country to the other he will see no such thing as a bishop; not such a thing is to be found from the Tweed to John O'Groats: not a mitre; no, not so much as a minor canon, or even a rural dean,-and in all the land not one single curate,-so entirely rude and barbarous are they in Scotland,-in such outer darkness do they sit, that they support no cathedrals, maintain no pluralists, suffer no non-residence; nay, the poor benighted creatures are even ignorant of tithes. Not a sheaf, or a lamb, or a pig, or the value of a ploughpenny do the hapless mortals render from year's end to year's end! Piteous is their lot! What makes it infinitely more touching is, to witness the return of good for evil in the demeanours of this wretched race. Under all this cruel neglect of their spiritual concerns, they are, actually, the most loyal, contented, moral, and religious people anywhere, perhaps, to be found in the world. Let us hope that his Majesty may return safe from the dangers of his excursion into such a country; an excursion most perilous to a certain portion of the church, should his royal mind be infected with a taste for cheap establishments, a working clergy, and a pious congregation."

By far the most striking feature in connection with this and similar debates, is the entire absence of all action, on the part alike of the People and the Clergy. To whatever hand we look, all is silence, quiescence, death! They are not only prostrate; their spirit is crushed,—their manhood gone! It was reasonable to look for at least some few thousand petitions, bearing the signatures of some two or three hundred thousand reflecting men. But no: not one! Statesmen

were left to find facts and arguments as they best could by the Clergy, who, one and all, seem to have put off their manhood when they first put on their surplice. Sir James Graham testified that he "knew in his northern neighbourhood that there were many poor working clergymen living on £50, £60, and £70 a year." Where were the complaints, the petitions, the remonstrances of these distressed and injured men? Not a breath was heard! Well said Milton, that a Churchman commences his education by subscribing-Slave!

"When the Ecclesiastical Commission was established, in one-third of the parishes of England the income of the clergyman was under £150 a year; yet, during the last ten years, almost as large a portion of the surplus revenues of the church had been expended in augmenting the revenues of a few bishoprics as had been bestowed upon the 3,500 poor benefices of England! Nearly one-half of the parishes of England were without parsonages in which clergymen could reside; yet, during the last ten years, more than three times nearly four times-as much money had been expended out of the surplus revenue of the Church of England upon building or repairing the palaces of eight prelates as upon the 4,600 parishes without suitable parsonages. In fact, upon one see alone-viz. Lincoln-more money had been spent upon the residence of one single bishop than upon all the homeless clergy oj England! Could they deny those facts?"

What a spectacle! what a record! Even were the principles of an Established Church conceded, who, with the slightest sense, not of religion, but of justice and decency, would stand forth in defence of such an institution? This is, beyond all controversy, the most hopelessly indefensible, the most cruelly inequitable, the most monstrously disproportioned, the most grievously oppressive, and, in proportion to its mighty means, as to moral ends, the most miserably unproductive Ecclesiastical Establishment on the face of the earth. Compared with this, the most deformed is beautiful! the most reprehensible is meritorious! Compared with this, the Scottish Church is a Goshen, a paradise, a temple of justice and purity! Not a minister of that Church but has a decent parsonage, with glebe lands, while in social value the minimum salary of the Scottish is above the average of that of the English Church. Neither the Scottish clergy nor the Scottish people would for a single year, nor a single day, endure such an institution, without adopting means to adjust or to demolish it. Were the entire revenues of the Episcopal Body-not to speak of the other class of clergy, whose province is not to tend the flocks, but to fleece them-united, and distributed among the poorer clergy, it would suffice to bestow upon them all a decent livelihood. Sir W Molesworth, in the course of his noble speech, inade the following important statements:

"What would be the cost of a Bishop of Bodmin? If he were to be a peer of Parliament, to live for six or eight months of the year in London, to have a town and country establishment, to dispense hospitality, to subscribe libe