NEW SOUTH WALES.

WE are glad to hear that, in this country, where the gospel is so much Reeded, a commendable effort of Christian zeal has been manifested. In the district of Portland Head, on the banks of the river Hawkesbury, several of the settlers have come forward, by a subscription, to erect a chapel and schoolhouse. One of the settlers has given four acres of ground for the purpose; and about 200l. was subscribed. The spot, which is delightfully situated, is now called Ebenezer Mount. The in

stitution is named 'The Portland Head Society, for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge, and the Instruction of Youth.' Mr. Massal and Mr. Youl, who were formerly missionaries' at Otaheite, dispense the word of life ataong the people, and with encouraging prospects of success. A supply of Bibles, Testaments, Watts's Psalm and Hyan Books, and School Books, will be very acceptable. Persons disposed to contribute such, are requested. to send them to the Secretary of the Missionary Society, 53, Hatton Garden.

LON DON.

TOLERATION ACT.

Having promised to pay a respectful attention to Hints which may be suggested by our Correspondents, on the proposed limitations in granting Licences to Dissenting Teachers, we insert the following, as the most comprehensive among those which we have received. Retaining, as we still do, the opinion, that if any restrictions were admitted, the distinction proposed by Eusebius between Protection and Privilege would furnish the least exceptionable ground, we heartily concur with the writer of the following article, in judging that the religious liberties of Dissenters will be best secured by leaving the Act untouched, without the alteration of a single syllable; and that Dissenters and Methodists of all descriptions should unite to resist, by every lawful and peaceable method, the least infringement of their constitutional rights,-being, froin the best information, fully assured that the complaint so strongly urged, of abuses of the Act, by a few unprincipled persons, is merely a pretext for the purpose of effectually preventing Itinerant or Village Preaching.

To the Editor.

Sir, - YOUR readers are obliged to Eusebius for a concise view of the sufferings of the Dissenters prior to the Revolution, and for an abstract of the. Act of the 1st of William and Mary, usually denominated the Act of Tyleration, together with his observations upon it, in your Number for September.

Lord Sidmouth's motion, at the close of the last session, was founded on a supposed fact, which Eusebius admits to be indisputable; namely, That some base persons have availed themselves of the Act in question, and have entered their names at the Quarter Sessions as preachers, who never did preach, nor intend to preach; shamefully assumed the character of ministers, merely for the purpose of obtaining an easy exemption from serving in the militia.'

but

Having, for more than half a century, been intimately acquainted with the Dissenters, without recollecting one instance of the kind, and having enquired of several respectable ministers, whose sphere of information far exceeds my own, to whom no such fact

had ever occurred, I cannot but hesi tate, and must suspend my decision until the assumed and admitted charge be fully substantiated.

Should any satisfactory proofs of such an abuse be produced, it will probably be found that the culpable parties are neither members of any Dissenting or Methodistic Society, as no society of these descriptions can be supposed capable of conniving at such gross duplicity in their communicants; and should they appear to belong to the Established Church, to the discipline of that Church I must leave them. I also expect that the number of such abuses, if indeed any can be proved to exist, will be found too diminutive to claim the interference of the Legislature, or to be urged as a reason for abridging our religious liberties. Were an effectual remedy for the supposed abuse of the Toleration Act the sole object of the Returns moved for by the Right Honourable Viscount, we should have no serious ground for alarm; but when we advert to the contemptuous and malignant sirit of some recent publications, the hostile and threatening tone of Visitation Charges, and particularly to the

propositions said to have been communicated to the Dissenting Delegates, one of which is, as I am informed, That Itinerant Preaching be limited or suppressed,' we can be at no loss to decide upon the real object which intolerant zeal is exerting its arts and its energies to attain. It is not from any apprehension that parish-offices will be unoccupied, that our military musters will prove inefficient, or that the hair - powder duty will be diminished, by the number of persons who, under false pretences, qualify themselves as preachers: no; this is merely a plea, magnified greatly, as I suspect, in its extent and importance, for the purpose of introducing restrictions upon, and checking the progress of the Dissenters and Methodists.

The rapid increase of these Separatists from the National Church is, in the estimation of their opponents, the real cause of complaint; and their

mitation or suppression the actual specific which is to be attempted, and, if obtained, no doubt, to be rigorously applied.

Thus apprized of the real intention of a high-spirited party in the Establishment, who would gladly, were their powers adequate to their inclinations, silence every preacher, both in the Church or out of it, whom they chose to denominate an enthusiast, a fanatic, or an evangelical minister; the Dissenters and Methodists are forcibly called upon to unite in asserting and defending, with decency and firmness, their legal privileges, and to hand them 'down, if possible, unimpaired to their posterity. An attempt is made to obtain their acquiescence in projected restraints upon themselves! yea, to insinuate the propriety of their proposing such restraints! - but their liberties are too precious to be bartered away for the gratification of those whose aim it is to suppress every zealous effort to Christianize the world; and who would, if it were practicable, withhold the Book of Life from mankind. Let us, like St. Paul, plead our privileges, and, if the Civil Powers judge it right to in fringe them, let us submit as far as conscience permits us, and patiently endure as seeing Him who is invisible;

-

but let nothing be conceded, nothing voluntarily surrendered; let not artifice triumph over our misplaced confidence; let us not be made instrumental in shackling ourselves, nor assist our adversaries in forging our own chains.

persons admitted to qualify as minis ters, by taking the oaths, and subscribing the Articles, or the Declaration, prescribed in the statute of the 1st of William and Mary, and the th Geo. III. c. 44. I have myself no doubt that the several terms employed in those statutes, were meant in their most comprehensive sense. It is not, as I conceive, likely that the Legislature, at either of the periods, entered into the minute differences which oċcur in the organization of Dissenting Churches; or intended to discriminate between a pastor and an assistant, a fixed and an erratic minister, or a teacher who was supported by the liberality of his hearers, and one who maintained mself by his labour or his business. After the lapse of a century, during which the meaning of the Toleration Act has not, as I believe, been disputed, what good rea son can be assigned for -novel 'and ingenious glosses, which only serve to affix limits, which it does not appear were intended by the act, and to exclude from its privileges persons of exemplary merit and extended usefulBess?

Different opinions have recently been formed of the several descriptions of

I am concerned to observe that your correspondent Eusebius, seems disposed to admit these distinctions be tween ministers, and to concede the privileges of one class, so that those of another may be secured. There are some churches. that remain, for a considerable time, without a pastor, and are supplied by a succession of minis ters: would Eusebius consent to the exclusion of these rotatory preachers from the benefit of the act? Are not the numerous societies of Methodists thus accommodated? - and are not their preachers as frequently engaged in the duties of their calling as any settled pastor whatever? Are there not many Dissenting churches who have among them gifted brethren, who are very much occupied ? —and would it be desireable to see one of these, going to supply a distant and destitute congregation, summoned on a coroner's jury, or charged with conveying a drunken riotous fellow before a magis trate, or to place him in the stocks?

What

These supernumerary ministers are of great importance, and their labours appear to be indispensable. with acting as substitutes when occasional indisposition, or temporary relaxation, renders the personal discharge of duty impracticable or incon venient to their pastors; what with calls to other churches, that need occasional assistance; and what with the

attention paid to village preaching, the services of these good men are, in many instances, as constant as, and sometimes much more fatiguing than those of the resident pastor. Nor can there be, in my humble judgment, any valid argument alleged, why the curate, who does so much of the work, should not be equally protected and exempted from civil claims, incompatable with his religious services, with his rector, or even his diocesan; unless we are disposed to admit, that there shall be no public worship where there is not a fixed minister, and no fixed minister, unless the congregation can support him; and uuless we can also contrive that the settled pastor shall, on no occasion, absent himself, or be subject to disease or death!

His

My father, Mr. Editor, was a tradesman, and the happy instrument of forming and establishing the Baptist congregation in this city. His time and attention were as much devoted to that interest as those of most ministers, not in trade, with whom I have any acquaintance; and, although he was diligent in business, he was fervent in spirit, and so arranged the claims of the former, as not to interrupt his hours of retirement, or his official duties. As it affected the state, it could be a circumstance of no imaginable consequence whether he maintained himselt, or was maintained by the people. Satisfied with a very moderate competency, he receded from business, but never from his beloved employ this he persisted in, and with eonsiderable success, to the end. claim to protection and exemptions was founded on the religious office which he sustained, and the duties it involved, with which some of our civil obligations were inconsistent, and from which, therefore, the Legislature had released him. Mr. Sloper, of Devizes, was many years in business; so were the late Mr. Marshman and Mr. Clark, of Trowbridge; and so are many now living, both pastors and occasional preachers, whose characters and usefulness will not suffer by a comparison with those of their brethren, who are exclusively devoted to the ministry. On the side of Liberty, we cannot be too tenacious, nor too scrupulous of conniving at innovation. Were ministers exemplary for their industry as well as for their pious zeal, precluded from the exemptions hitherto enjoyed, we know not how far the disfranchising code might be interpreted to extend. Many of the clerical order are already in the -Commission of the peace, the number

may, considerably increase, and appli cations for licences may frequently be made to Magistrates, who will have a right to interrogate the claimants, and who will probably be, by profession, inimical to their success. Perhaps they may deem book-making to be a trade or business, and thus involve in unforeseen difficulties some of our preaching authors. When the line of demarcation is ence formed, it will require no great degree of discernment or ill-will to draw it some what closer.

My principal object in these observations is, to promote, by means of your widely-circulated Magazine, an unanimity of opinion and conduct amongst the Dissenters and Methodists, sincerely hoping that they will cordially unite in resisting every attempt to seduce them; and in a steady resolution to abandon no part of those religious privileges, which they now legally possess, until compelled thereto by the authority of the Legislature.

Permit me to conclude this protracted letter, with a suggestion that may perhaps merit attention, should the subject be revived in the ensuing Sessions. It may possibly be deemed proper, by respectful addresses to the throne, to assure his Majesty, that the different classes of Separatists will exclude from their societies every person who shall be thus guilty of evading the common duties of a subject, by a flagrant abuse of the Act of Toleration. Such a public assurance from the different associations, conferences, and delegates of the Dissenters and Methodists, might satisfy Government that such abuses are not sanctioned by them; and induce the Legislature to reject restrictions which must operate as punishments upon those who are not guilty. I am, Sir, your very humble Servant, T. P.

Bath.

Theatre.

THE violent dispute which has lately taken place between the Managers and the frequenters of Covent Garden Theatre, has given occasion to the publication of some valuable observations on theatrical amusements, in the public newspapers; by which, we trust, their evil will be exposed to many persons, who before pleaded for their innocence. Nor will the good tendency of such observations be counteracted by the sage remark of the editor of the Morning Chronicle, who says, That the theatre affords to the people an elegant, no

ral, and enlightening entertainment; and may preserve them from a vicious recourse to GIN and METHODISM!' We would humbly recommend this writer to the notice and pay of the Edinburgh Reviewers: he might prove a useful auxiliary in their Theological Department, especially when they again take the vermin (as they call the Methodists) in hand.

It is reported, in a country newspa. per, That the Manager of a theatre in Birmingham has agreed to give Madame Catalani One Thousand Guineas for six nights performance! This is a shocking instance of prodigality; and it is highly disgraceful to Englishmen to purchase their pleasures at so extravagant a rate, especially when the pub. lic burdens and the high price of bread press so heavily on all classes of society.

In a late debate, in the City of London, on the important subject of Having, or not having, a Public Dinner on the 25th of October,' a certain gentleman complained of the hardship there would be coming out of a cursed cold church with an empty stomach.'

The just animadversions which have appeared in the newspapers on this speech, will, we hope, prevent, in future, so flagraut a breach of public decorum.

Provincial Intelligence.

EDINBURGH.

Centenary Anniversary of the Socicly in Scotland for propagaling Christian Knowledge.

Tn Society has now existed for a complete century. Queen Anne's Patent of Incorporation was dated May 25, 1709, which, from the change of style, corresponds to the 6th of June. On that day the Society met, when an excellent discourse was preached in the High Church, Edinburgh, by the Rev. Sir H. Moncrieff Wellwood, Bart. from Col. ii. 1. In the sermon, the general principle of Missions, for extending the knowledge of Christianity, was illustrated and vindicated with great ability. The sermon will be published.

Some gentlemen came upwards of 40 miles to attend the Centenary. After divine service, the Society dined together, Lord Napier in the chair. The beneficial effects of the Society's exertions, in promoting religion, and in civilizing the people, particularly in the Highlands and Islands, during the hun

dred years in which it has been esta blished, are generally acknowledged. Of course, the recollections and prospects suggested by the Centenary Anniversary, could not fail to afford the purest satisfaction to the friends of this benevolent Institution.

July 26. The Rev. Mr. Cotterill was ordained over a small congrega tion at Long Green, near Oldbury, Shropshire. Mr. Whitefoot began the service by reading and prayer; Mr. Hammond, of Handsworth, delivered the introductory discourse, and received the confession of faith; Mr. Grove, of Walsall, offered the ordination-prayer; Mr. Brewer, of Birmingham, gave the charge; Mr. Dawson, of Dudley, preached to the people; and Mr. Griffiths, of Wednesbury, concluded with prayer.

Aug. 22, was opened the New Tabernacle in Dursley, Gloucestershire. Mr. Hill preached in the morning, from Pet. i. 5; Mr. G. Willams, of London, in the afternoon, from Psa. cxxxii. 13-15; Mr. Roberts, of Bristol, in the evening, from Heb. xiii. 17. Mess. Bishop, of Gloucester; Brown, of Ebley; Whitefoot, of Enfield; Winterbotham, of Horsley; Jeary, of Rodborough; and Flint, of Uley, engaged in prayer. The house was literally

crowded: hundreds could not enter. To many it was a good day.-May all remember it with lasting satisfaction! and, in the best sense of the word, may the glory of this latter house be greater than the former !'

Aug. 23. The Rev. John Millar, educated in the university of Glasgow, was ordained to the pastoral office over the church in Union Street Chapel, North Shields. The ordination sermon was preached by Mr. Arundel, of Whitby, from 2 Cor. iii. 18; the questions to the minister and the people were asked by Mr. Robinson, of Blyth; the ordination prayer was offered by Mr. Jones, of Durham, who also gave the charge, on the subject of Ministerial Diligence, from Eccles. xi. 6; and Mr. Arundel recommended to the church a suitable deportment to their minister, from Phil. ii. 29. May the union be lasting and happy! We understand that Mr. Arundel was requested, by a deputation from the church, to publish the Ordination Sermon; which is in a state of forwardness for the press.

Sept. 6. The Middlesex and Hertfordshire Union held their Half-yearly Meeting at Mr. Williams's, Edmon