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A Memoir of the Life, Letters, and Pulpit Recollections, of the late Alexander Waugh, D.D. composed from materials furnished by his Family, Friends, and numerous connexions, by Henry Belfrage, D.D. and James Hay, A.M. is in the Press, and will appear early in January.

Dr. John Hennen has in the Press, and expects shortly to publish, Sketches of the Medical Topography of the Mediterranean; comprising a Description of Gibraltar, the Ionian Islands, and Malta. By the late Dr. Hennen, Inspector of Hospitals, and Author of a Work on Military Surgery.

The Scripture Diary, with Improvement in the Selection of Texts for Daily Reading, by J. Whittridge, will be ready in the beginning of the present Month.

Mr. Britton's History and Antiquities of Bristol Cathedral, with Eleven Engravings by Le Keux, will be ready at Christmas. On this occasion, for the first time, the Author prints a List of Subscribers, to shew the Extent and Character of Local Patronage. The same Gentleman is prepared to Publish, his Illustrations and History of Hereford Cathedral, in the course of next Spring. Among the Engravings will be two from very choice Drawings by Hearne and Turner.

In a few days will be published, Brief Memorials of Mrs. Innes, who died at Norwich, May the 20th, 1829. To which are added, Christian Sympathy Directed; a Sermon delivered June the 7th: and an Address to the Inhabitants of the City of Norwich. By the Rev. John Boutet Innes.

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THE

ECLECTIC REVIEW,

FOR DECEMBER, 1829.

Art. I. The Church in Danger from Herself: or the Causes of her present declining State explained. Dedicated to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. By the Rev. John Acaster, Vicar of St. Helen's, York, and Domestic Chaplain to the Right Hon. the Earl of Mexborough. 8vo. pp. 172. Price 6s. London. 1829. EAGERLY to catch at Mr. Acaster's book as the text of a

dissenting diatribe, would accord neither with our notions of argumentative fairness, nor with our personal dispositions; and certainly not, with our feeling of what is due to the present momentous conjuncture of religious parties. Let it be left to the factious, to the malignant, to those who have party interests to serve, to those who look not to the future, or who are regardless of its issues,-in a word, to inferior spirits, to seize every occasion for stirring the bile of ecclesiastical discord. We profess to have better and higher purposes in view. We have fears for our country, in which the partisan cannot sympathise, and indulge hopes, the accomplishment of which would for ever dash his selfish expectations.

There may be room to wish that the important and very delicate subjects treated of in the volume before us, had fallen into the hands of some Churchman who, with not less of honest courage and simple-minded energy than the Author displays, should have possessed a degree or two more of that intellectual power, and of that felicity of expression, which, in our day, seem indispensable qualifications in those who undertake to move the public mind. Nevertheless it is very true, that men not of the highest ability, have sometimes successfully given breath to the clarion of reform; and it is also certain, that minds of the first order often stand by silent, in selfish caution, while those whose powers they contemn, and whose courage they admire, are setting an intrepid foot on ground that heaves with muttering perils. We shall treat Mr. Acaster with all the respect to which 3 c

VOL. II.-N.S.

his book seems to entitle him, (of his personal merits we know nothing,) and use the statements he advances, for the purpose of bringing authentically before our readers, matters of high moment, relating to the state and the prospects of the Established Church. On the present occasion, we claim the liberty to speak, not as Dissenters, but as Christians; and less as religionists, than as Englishmen.

To state it in a few words, the Author's object is, to complain of capital and fatal deviations, on the part of those high in office, from the obvious intentions and explicit enactments of the Founders of the Church, authenticated by Parliament; and while he solemnly asserts the guilt of whosoever shares in such abuses, he foretels the ruin that must ere long terminate the course of declension upon which the English Church is, as he thinks, visibly proceeding.

The deviations,' says Mr. Acaster, in his Dedication to the Archbishops, from the original designs of the Fathers of the Church, which I have ventured to point out, and the abuses which are suffered to prevail in the regulation of her affairs, are so glaring, as to be universally acknowledged; and tend, more than any thing else, to destroy her usefulness, and to render her unpopular with the great body of the Community.

Should you be induced to consider these matters in the way their importance demands, and to exert that power with which you are invested, to remedy the crying evils of which the nation at large has such great reason to complain; the church may yet recover the ground she has lost, and again draw back to her the hearts of the people.

But should this opportunity be neglected, and nothing effectually be done to render her efficient for the purpose intended; the day cannot be far distant, when the affections of the people being entirely estranged from her, she must fall; nor can all the power of the state preserve her from destruction.' pp. iii, iv.

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In his first chapter, Mr. Acaster undertakes to shew the Necessity of a Church Establishment to maintain and per'petuate the Christian Religion through successive generations, ' and to meet the religious wants of the nation.' In the second, he endeavours to prove, that the Church of England, as by law established, is, if properly and efficiently administered, pecu'liarly adapted to maintain and perpetuate the Christian religion, and to meet, in every way, the spiritual wants of the 'nation. These two chapters we pass over in silence; partly because, if disposed to enter upon the discussion of these difficult points, we should think it fair to look out for some abler statement of the affirmative side of the question than the one we here find; but chiefly because we intend, in the present instance, scrupulously to avoid all disputable topics,-all matters of mere opinion. In truth, the Author's first and second chapters ought

to be viewed merely as a caveat against the anticipated calumny, that he is a Dissenter at heart, or a man not thoroughly attached to the Church in which he ministers.

His object in the third chapter is to shew, that' Deviations from the adjustments and regulations of the Founders of the 'Church, are the cause of her present inefficiency, and of dis'sent throughout the land.'

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The fact of this inefficiency, and of the actual spread of Dissent, will no doubt be thought by many Churchmen-perhaps by most-to be over-stated by Mr. Acaster; and some, while they admit to the full the alarming' increase of 'sectarianism', and methodism', and so forth, will utterly deny that this extensive defection is attributable to the negligence or unfaithfulness of the clergy generally, or of ecclesiastical dignitaries. We need not stay to adjust these differences of opinion. It is enough for all purposes of argumentation, to insist upon the notorious fact, that, though population has rapidly increased, our parish churches are not, with very few exceptions, crowded; and that the great mass of the people, from whatever cause, are not habitual attendants upon public worship as by law established. It is therefore of little consequence to our Author's argument, or to our own, whether or not his calculations are precisely correct, or his inferences invariably just.

Full half of the population,' he affirms, it is calculated, have already left the church, and joined the ranks of dissent. Of the principles, conduct, and character of more than half the remainder, it is not required to give an opinion: but this I will say, that should they depart in the same proportion which the rest have done within the last thirty years, and there is no reason at present to think that they will not depart in a still more rapid way,-it requires no superior foresight to predict, without pretending to be a prophet, that thirty years from hence, the religious establishment of the country will be totally forsaken, if not completely overthrown; and I will leave those who are wise in politics to say, what will then have become of the civil government and constitution of the land.' pp. 24, 25.

These facts being, as the Author deems, unquestionable, he is certainly right in affirming it to be a matter of the highest moment, to trace the evil to its source, and to devise, if possible, a remedy. The infinite importance of the question, he thinks, and justly thinks, should be held to excuse the boldness he uses. And he complains, not less justly, of the pusillanimity or selfish caution of some individuals, who, though their private sentiments on these matters are pretty clearly ascertained to be in unison with his own, yet, to screen themselves from 'the odium of disclosing the real facts of the case, shrewdly 'disguise their sentiments, by pointing only at the effects; judg 'ing it easy for those whom it most concerns, if so disposed, by

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tracing these effects, to find out the cause. But this,' he says, 'is only trifling; and to trifle on such a subject, and when the danger is so imminent, and stares us in the face, is a sad indi'cation, if not of want of principle, yet, of making light of that which, if left without a remedy, will soon make the heart of 'the stoutest sad.' Entertaining these views, the Author thinks it behooves him to speak out, regardless of the consequences which may affect his personal interests, and which may destroy every prospect he might have any reason to form'. Every honest man will applaud his determination; nor do we perceive that this approval can be withheld on the ground of any apparent acrimony of spirit, or sinister intention, which might be imagined to have prompted the Author's accusations against the rulers of the church. Of the facts of his private history we know nothing; but assuredly, he does not write like a man irritated by neglect and disappointment.

Mr. A. begins by complaining of the obstructions which lie in the way of those who would fain employ faithfully the high powers entrusted to them, arising from laws enacted in bad times', and, as he fears also, for bad ends'.

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But whatever hindrances of this description may have been thrown in the way of that authority which was originally conferred on the bishops, for the due administration of their important and responsible office, there is one part, the power of ordination, still left free and unfettered by any restrictions whatever. This being the case, it behooves them with all seriousness, diligence, and care, as they regard the favour of God, the salvation of men, and the safety of the church, to make that improvement in it which its vast importance demands, and to take heed that they lay hands suddenly on no man. Carelessly to ordain, or, under the influence of fear, favour, friendship, rank, or a misdirected kindness, to admit ignorant, worldly, inefficient, and unworthy persons, (who, instead of being moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon them the holy office of a minister, have no higher end in view than to seek a piece of bread,) will be found, not only a sad perversion of their sacred office and authority, but a partaking of other men's sins. Nay, more; it is to become responsible for all the mischief they may do, and for the ruin of all those who, through their negligence or false teaching, may die in their sins. That there has been in every age a great and fearful laxity in this respect, is beyond dispute. Had not this been the case, the church would never have groaned under such a swarm of insufficient and worthless creatures, as Hooker quaintly observes; and who, besides endangering the souls of millions, have brought the priestly office into much contempt, and tended more than any thing else to alienate the minds of men from the ecclesiastical establishments of the land.' pp. 31, 32.

Here is our Author's strong ground; and he insists, that the laws of the land, not less than the requirements of Christianity, and the dictates of sound sense and good policy, make it im

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