pupil that he should signify his assent and consent by subscription, at an age so early that his understanding cannot be supposed to have any share in the transaction. In embracing the doctrines of the Church which thus receives him into her maternal bosom, he arrives at once at the utmost boundaries of divine knowledge, all farther inquiry is superseded, and he has only to conduct his examination of the Scriptures and his other theological studies upon the prescribed model. Thus qualified, he becomes one of the appointed number, out of whom the people, if they are permitted to choose at all (which is not always the case), must take their spiritual guide and instructor; and, according to all the rules of probability, both pastor and flock will continue to walk in the good old track which has been marked out for them so carefully, and under the awe of those salutary severities from the courts above which would be the consequence of their deviation. Is this then that knowledge of the truth which Jesus declared should make them free who were his disciples indeed? Can that he truth which would keep the minds of men in a state of perpetual pupilage, and which would resist those appeals to the understanding which our Lord and his apostles, divinely inspired as they were, did not disdain to make? Or shall we, as Christians, contentedly wear such trammels, as in the capacity of citizens we would indignantly shake off? The liberal and enlightened spirit of this age and this country will not much longer submit to such unworthy restraints. I rejoice when I see religions societies, of the lowest order, exercising their undoubted right in the choice of their ministers, as the first step towards the knowledge of the truth, and the building up the universal Church of Christ upon its proper foundation. The people only ought to be the judges of that man's qualifications who may serve them most acceptably. They may take him from any condition or occupation in life they think fit, and their choice is a sufficient passport to the exercise of his office. The connexion maturely and judiciously formed, he is entitled to their respect, to their" high esteem in love for his work's sake," and, if necessary, to a comfortable and honourable maintenance. But the authority, which in some cases he may be called to exercise, is not his own but theirs, and to be used for their credit and advantage. Harmony is most likely to be lasting, when people and minister meet upon terms of reciprocal freedom when it is perfectly understood that they are not to be lords over his faith, any more than he of theirs-when he lays before them the result of his inquiries, not to supersede their own, but to incite and assist them, and that they may approve or dissent as mature consideration shall warrant. If there arise any difference upon points, by either party deemed essential, there are but two proper ways of settling it-either by mutual concession or peaceable separation. But the words of the late excellent Mr. Lindsey, on the opening of his place of worship, are so apposite to my purpose, that I cannot forbear to quote them.. "Your minister," said he, "claims not any spiritual powers, more than belong to every one of you. He considers himself only as one whom you have chosen for your instructor in the gospel, on the good opinion of his diligence and probity, but to whom you. are tied no longer than he shall discharge his office with fidelity and to your approbation. His province will be, not to speak any thing of himself, or dictate aught to you of his own authority, but to lay before you the words of Christ and the mind of God as revealed in the Sacred Writings, with such interpretation as may seem to throw light on that inestimable book, “ and afford the most powerful motives to a holy life, which is the prime endof all instruction." That such may be the dispositions and views of the man who shall sustain the office of pastor in this society-that such may he the temper and spirit to be found among us--and that the time when they shall all be called into exercise may soon arrive, is my most de vout and earnest wish. Blessed be God, we walk at perfect liberty; we are in bondage to no prescribed system of doctrine; the Bible is our only rule of faith; with that in our hands we are free to pursue divine truth wherever it leads us, and according to that (when thoroughly understood) infallil le guide, to amend our mistakes and rectify our misconceptions. Equal as all are in point of privilege, there will still be, as among any associated body of men, a disparity in other respects. Even the miraculous gifts imparted to the early Christians were given in different measures; and the proper, the designed use of them was, when every one knew how to make a sober estimate of his own, and applied them faithfully to the common advantage. So it is now with respect to the difference between one and another in abilities and ac. quirements which are as truly the gift of God, as were the powers of speaking with tongues, prophecy, healing and such like, and such ought to be their application. But if instead of all "submitting themselves one to another in the fear of God," there should appear in some a forwardness to intrude into departments for which they are manifestly unqualified, or in others who are really distinguished by superior talents, to set at nought and overbear those whose advantages and attainments are less conspicuous;-if the harmonizing, equalizing spirit of the gospel, which exalts the humble and humbles the exalted, be lost; then enters the fell spirit of party, and in its train, discord, envy, strife, confusion and every evil word and work, to the disgrace of Christianity and the grief and shame of all its real friends. My brethren! may we ever keep our doors fast closed against such a train of destructive intruders. I conclude with this general observation. Upon a correct view of the. principle of equality, and as it affects the state of the world at large, it seems perfectly to coincide with the equitable and impartial tendency of the divine dispensations. Whether we look back through the history of all past ages, or attentively consider the events of our own time, we shall find that the grasp at any exorbitant degree of pre-eminence has always carried in it the seeds of its own disappointment and final overthrow. We see clearly that the extension of commerce, of civil liberty, of the useful arts and of knowledge of all kinds, is lessening the dis tance between the several nations and classes of mankind; while the religion of Jesus, in proportion as it is delivered from the corruptions which have stained its purity, and from the disgraceful and unnatural bondage in which for ages it was held, is gently wearing off asperities, uniting jarring interests, reconciling discordant opinions, and opening the way for that kingdom of righteousness and peace of which the MOST HIGH alone shall be Sovereign-in which his name shall be one and his praise one. For thus spake the herald who proclaimed its approach, agreeably to the sure word of prophecy" Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert an highway for our God. Every VALLEY SHALL BE EXALTED, AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL SHALL BE MADE LOW, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, AND ALL FLESH SHALL SEE IT TOGETHER, for the mouth of JEHOVAH hath spoken it."-Amen! So be it! PRAYER. Almighty Creator, and Universal Sovereign! Who hast made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and who hast not left thyself without witness, in that thou doest them good, giving them rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, and fillest their hearts with food and gladness. We esteem ourselves happy that we are subjects of thy just and equal government-that we are members of that great family who are all objects of thy parental care. We believe that all thy judgments are according to truth and uprightness; and that those dispensations of thy Providence which are beyond our limited comprehension, proceed upon such principles as are best calculated to secure universal order and happiness. If we appear to be distinguished by privileges which are not vouchsafed to many others of our race, let not our hearts be lifted up on account of that which we owe solely to thine unmerited grace and favour. If we are intrusted with ten talents, let us not despise our brother who hath received but one, and with whom we are to stand or fall before the same Master. Mindful of our own frailty and fallibility, may we never presume to usurp that province which is thine alone, nor sit in judgment over the faith of those, whom their humility and sincerity, whatever may be their involuntary errors, may render acceptable in thy sight. We pray, in faith, that the truly fraternal and charitable spirit of thy Son's gospel may go forth conquering and to conquer all pride and envy, all emulation and strife-that from the lowest and most depressed moral condition, thy children of mankind may be raised to a participation of the high privileges it bestows; and that it may cast down imaginations, and every high thing which would exalt itself in opposition to the sacred cause of liberty, civil and religious. May all our fellow-citizens, duly sensible of the invaluable advantages of this nature which they possess, act worthy of them, by cultivating a spirit of mutual toleration, harmony and concord; and heartily unite in endeavours to promote that general order which is founded on the basis of equal rights. Blessed be thy name for the unrestrained privilege which we of this Christian society enjoy of worshipping thee according to the dictates of our consciences, and the prescriptions of thy holy word. While we stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, may every grace and every virtue which his gospel enjoins, both personal and social, he found among us. Thus adorning the doctrine of God our Saviour may we shine as lights in the world, and be fitted to join the general assembly and church of the first-born whose names are written in heaven-which shall be gathered from all nations and tongues and people, and unite in grateful adoration and joyful thanksgiving before the throne of Him who liveth for ever and ever. The Spaniard's Letters from England. SIR, I May 1, 1817. HAD employed myself the other day in reading Wat Tyler and the Quarterly Review and a Letter to Villiam Smith, Esq. M. P. from Robert Southey, Esq. when being com•pletely wearied and disgusted, I turned to my book-shelves for some work that would amuse and instruct me and recover me to a good opinion of human nature. My hand was led almost without a motive to three little vo-lumes which I had not looked into since their first publication in 1807, I mean "Letters from England: by Don Manuel Alvarez Espriella, Translated from the Spanish:" and I am happy to say that this ingenious work fully answered my purpose. I was in truth so much pleased as I went through the Letters that I made several extracts of choice passages which I thought might be worthy of a place in your Repository. You will perceive that they breathe a mild spirit of liberty which in the present day is rare. They were happily written before the Quarterly Review was set up to digest slavery and corruption into a system, and before Mr. Southey had applauded the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act and hallooed on the government to the curbing of the liberty of the press and the punishing of free writers. The inquiry frequently broke from me as I read, who was this Don? for, it is clear, Mr. Editor, that this is an assumed name, taken no doubt for the sake of saying without inconvenience more spirited things than the author could have uttered in propria persona. Perhaps you can furnish me with a satisfactory answer. On the negative side, I can affirm that the Spaniard was not the Poet Laureate of that day; and on the positive, I think I hazard little in asserting that he must have travelled in Spain and have been conversant in Spanish literature, that he must have had what are called Jacobin connections in early life and have been "a good hater" of Mr. Pitt, and that he must have been somewhat attached to the literary Dissenters and in no slight degree disaffected to the Established Church. Esteeming him as I do, I should not point him out by these marks or insti tute any public inquiry concerning him, if I did not surmise that he is defunct; for were he living, how would it delight some anonymous ministerial scribe in the Quarterly to worry him with foul accusations and then how eagerly would the Poet Laureate set the Attorney General upon him! His silence for so many years proves indeed that he is out of the reach of Lettres de Cachet and Letters from Robert Southey, Esq. and therefore I proceed with the extracts, premising only that they are in the order of the Letters and that the writer in order to maintain his fictitious character sometimes speaks as a good Catholic. RENEGADE NORTHEY. 1. Gilbert Wakefield. When J passed through this town on his way to Spain, he visited Gilbert Wakefield, a celebrated scholar, who was confined here as a favourer of the French Revolution. One of the bishops had written a book upon the state of public affairs, just at the time when the minister proposed to take from every man the tythe of his income; this the bishop did not think sufficient; so he suggested instead, that a tenth should be levied of all the capital in the kingdom; arguing, that as every person would be affected in the same proportion, all would remain relatively as before, and in fact no person be affected at all. This curious argument he enforced by as curious an illustration; he said, that if the foundations of a great building were to sink equally in every part at the same time, the whole pile, instead of suffering any injury, would become the firmer.""True," said Wakefield in his reply," and you, my lord bishop, who dwell in the upper apartments, might still enjoy the prospect from your window;--but what would become of me and the good people who live upon the ground-floor?" Wakefield was particularly obnoxious to the government, because his character stood very high among the Dissenters for learning and integrity, and his opinions were proportionately of weight. They brought him to trial for having in his Answer to the bishop's pamphlet applied the fable of the Ass and his Panniers to existing circumstances. Had it indeed been circulated among the poor, its tendency would certainly have been mischievous; but in the form in which it appeared it was evidently designed as a warning to the rulers, not as an address to the mob. He was, however, condemned to two years confinement in this prison, this place being chosen as out of reach of his friends, to make imprisonment more painful. The public feeling upon this rigorous treatment of so eminent a man was strongly expressed, and a subscription was publicly raised for him which amounted to above fifteen hundred pieces-of-eight, and which enabled his family to remove to Dorchester and settle there. But the magistrates, whose business it was to oversee the prison, would neither permit them to lodge with him in his confinement, nor even to visit him daily. He was thus prevented from proceeding with the education of his children, an occupation which he had ever regarded as a duty, and which had been one of his highest enjoyments. But, in the midst of vexations and insults, he steadily continued to pursue both his literary and Christian labours; affording to his fellow-prisoners what assistance was in his power, endeavouring to reclaim the vicious, and preparing the condemned for death. His imprisonment eventually proved fatal. He had been warned on its expiration to accustom himself slowly to his former habits of exercise, or a fever would inevitably be the consequence; a fact known by experience. In spite of all his precautions it took place; and while his friends were rejoicing at his deliverance he was cut off. As a polemical and political writer he indulged an asperity of language which he had learnt from his favourite philologists, but in private life no man was more generally or more deservedly beloved, and he had a fearless and inflexible honesty which made him utterly regardless of all danger, and would have enabled him to exult in martyrdom. When J had related this history to me, I could not but observe how far more humane it was to prevent the publication of obnoxious books than to permit them to be printed and then punish the persons concerned. "This," he said, "would be too open a violation of the liberty of the press." 2. Conduct of the Populace at the Exe cution of Governor Wall. On the morning of his execution, the mob, as usual, assembled in prodigious numbers, filling the whole space before the prison, and all the wide avenues from whence the spot could be seen. been disappointed of their revenge, Having repeatedly they were still apprehensive of another respite, and their joy at seeing him appear upon the scaffold was so great, that they set up three huzzas,-an instance of ferocity which had never occurred before. The miserable man, quite overcome by this, begged the hangman to hasten his work. When he was turned off they began their huzzas again; but instead of proceed. ing to three distinct shouts, as usual, they stopped at the first. This conduct of the mob has been called inhuman and disgraceful; for my own part, I cannot but agree with those who regard it in a very different light. The revengeful joy which animated them, unchristian as that passien certainly is, and whatever may have been its excess, was surely founded upon humanity; and the sudden extinction of that joy, the feeling which at one moment struck so many thousands, stopped their acclamations at once, and awed them into a dead silence when they saw the object of their hatred in the act and agony of death, is surely as honourable to the popular character as any trait which I have seen recorded of any people in any age or country. 3. Martial Law of England. The execution of Governor Wall is considered as a great triumph of justice. Nobody seems to recollect that he has been hanged, not for having flogged three men to death, but for an informality in the mode of doing it. Yet this is the true state of the case. Had he called a drum-head court-martial, the same sentence might have been inflicted, and the same consequences have ensued, with perfect impunity to himself. The martial laws of England are the most barbarous which at this day exist in Europe. The offender is sometimes sentenced to receive a thousand lashes a surgeon stands by to feel his pulse during the execution, and determine how long the flogging can be continued without killing him. When, human nature can sustain no more, he is remanded to prison; his wound, for from the shoulders to the loins it leaves him one wound, is dressed, and as soon as it is sufficiently healed to be laid open again in the same manner, he is brought out to undergo the remainder of his sentence. And this is repeatedly and openly practised in a country, where they read in their churches, and in their houses, that Bible, in their own language, which saith, " Forty stripes may the judge inflict upon the offender, and not exceed." happy island and its enemy were filled up. This will be done sooner or later, for England must become an armed nation. How long it will be before her legislators will discover this, and how long when they have discovered it, before they will dare to act upon it, that is, before they will consent to part with the power of alarining the people, which they have found so convenient, it would be idle to conjecture. Individuals profit slowly by experience, associations still more slowly, and governments the most slowly of all associated bodies. 5. Character of Calvinism. Without doubt, these (May-day) sports were once connected with re ligion. It is the peculiar character of the true religion to sanctify what is innocent, and make even merriment meritorious; and it is as peculiarly the character of Calvinism to divest piety of all cheerfulness, and cheerfulness of all piety, as if they could not co-exist; and to introduce a graceless and joyless system of manners suitable to a faith which makes the heresy of Manes appear reasonable. He admitted that the evil principle was weaker than the good one, but in the mythology of Calvin there is no good one to be found. 6. Evil of encouraging Informers. They talk here of our Holy Office when their own government is ten as a disgrace to the Spanish nation, times more inquisitorial, for the paltry purposes of revenue. Shortly after his last return from Spain, J-stept into a hosier's to buy a pair of gloves; the day was warm, and he laid his hat upon the counter: a well drest man came in after him for the same ostensible purpose, either learnt his name by inquiry, or followed him till he had discovered it, and the next day friend was summoned before a my magistrate to answer a charge for 4. Necessity of arming the People. wearing his hat without a stamp. It But the sure and certain way to was in vain he pleaded that the hat secure any nation for ever froín alarm had been purchased abroad; he had as well as from danger, is to train been in England more than six weeks, every school-boy to the use of arms; and had not bought a stamp to put boys would desire no better amuse-into it, and therefore was fined in the ment, and thus, in the course of the full penalty. next generation every man would be a soldier. England might then defy, not France alone, but the whole contiment leagued with France, even if the impassable gulph between this This species of espionage has within these few years become a regular trade; the laws are in some instances so perplexed, and in others so vexatious, that matter for prosecution is |