time, in 1838, when the existing Code of Canons underwent a thorough revision, and several new rules were added to meet exegencies which had been growing up with the progress of time, and the brightening prospects of the Church. It is pleasing to find that the business has been carried on and completed with calmness and deliberation, without sacrificing to the popular prejudices of the day, or compromising any of the great principles of Catholic doctrine and polity.

The Canons seem naturally to come under five heads:-1. Relating to bishops; 2, to the inferior clergy; 3, to divine service; 4, to Synods; 5, to other matters. The first head comprehends five Canons, for preserving the Episcopal succession, regulating the election and office of the Primus, supplying vacant sees, appointing coadjutor bishops, and regulating the jurisdiction of bishops in a particular case. Upon which it may be only necessary to remark, that the Primus, in some respects, corresponds to primate, or archbishop, though without metropolitical powers, and derives his title from the primitive practice of the Scottish Church, in which, before the institution of archbishops one of the prelates was chosen to preside over the rest, for the sake of order, under the title of Primus, or Maximus, Scotorum Episcopus.'

Coadjutors are allowed only in the case of the age or infirmity of a bishop. They must be elected by the clergy of the diocess, and have the right of succession. Can. 5. while it enjoins, in all practicable cases, the residence of a bishop in his own diocess, exempts him and the priests and deacons assisting him from the jurisdiction of another bishop, in whose diocess he may reside, thus rendering his chapel and place a residence, for the time being, a Peculiar. The second head contains eleven Canons, relating to the qualifications, ordination, institution, residence, conduct, &c. of the clergy. All candidates for orders must have passed through the curriculum of some university, attended the lectures of the Pantonian Professor of Divinity, have attained the age of twenty-three for deacons, and twenty-four for priests, (unless dispensed,) have a bonâ fide title, and submit to an examination by two or more presbyters appointed by the bishop. Ordinations must be held at the Ember seasons, unless reasons of necessity prevent. Clergy are required to reside on their cures, and apply themselves diligently to the study of the Scriptures in the original languages, and of the writings of the Fathers. No strangers, unless clergymen of the Church of England and Ireland, the colonies, or of the United States of America, or Episcopally ordained clergymen conforming to the doctrines and discipline of these Churches, are permitted to officiate either permanently or occasionally, nor they without proper testimonials; and before they can be capable of institution to a charge, they must prove that they have been regularly educated in some university.

The third head comprises fourteen Canons relating to divine offices, public worship, administration of the sacraments, and other sacred rites and matters connected with them. Can. 17. requires

1 Spottiswood, p.

24.

2 See Burn's Eccles. Law.

godfathers and godmothers to be communicants, and permits, while it disapproves of, the irregularity of administering public baptism in private houses. It provides that persons leaving the sectaries and coming over to the Church, if they express any doubt about the reality of the baptism, or pretended baptism they have received, shall be baptized in the form of words prescribed by the Church of England, in cases of doubt; "If thou art not already baptized, I baptize thee, &c." We do not very well understand whether this part of the Canon be intended to transfer the power of judging, in such cases, from the Church to the individual who seeks, and who ought to be guided by her instructions. At all events, it appears to us to betray a strong inclination to give an obnoxious question the go by. We very much doubt whether the hypothetical form was intended to apply to such cases at all.-Is lay baptism merely doubtful? In Can. 22. a friend has just pointed out to our attention a singular mistake, which has found its way in, we suppose, under the notion of being an improvement. It requires that the holy eucharist be celebrated so often, and at such times, in every congregation, that each member of it may have an opportunity of communicating at least three times in the year, "whereof the feast of Easter, or of Pentecost, or of Christmas shall be one." The Rubric, in the Liturgy, enjoins every parishioner to “ communicate at least three times in the year, of which Easter to be one;" making it imperative upon all to receive at Easter, whatever other times they may choose to observe or to omit; some discretion is allowed them, but at the Paschal-feast they must communicate, and this has been the rule of the Church in all ages, even the worst, since Christ our Lord rose from the dead. But this Canon requires neither the priest to administer, nor the parishioner to receive at Easter. If the clergyman so arrange the times of communion as to have it at any one of the three festivals, he satisfies the letter of the canon. It was intended, it is likely, to enlarge the elective power of the communicants, which was in itself contrary to all rule in the Church; but in doing so the Canon has unfortunately opened a door to the discretion or indiscretion of the clergyman, which was probably not contemplated.

Can. 21. recognizes the paramount authority, and provides for the continued use of the Scotch Communion Office, wherever it is received, enjoining it to be used at all consecrations of bishops, and at the opening of all general or national synods. Can. 28. prescribes uniformity in divine service, enforcing a strict adherence to the words and rubrics of the English Liturgy in the performance of morning and evening service. It may be necessary to observe, that the Church in Scotland, having adopted the Liturgy of another church, was at perfect liberty, and had a perfect right to adopt it, either in whole or in part, or with such change in matter or in usage as she thought fit. Previous to this Canon therefore the sole rule was the custom established by each bishop in his own diocess; neither the rubric nor the custom of the English Church, (which by the way are two different things,) was or could be any rule farther than either was recognized in practice. By the Canons of 1811 and 1828 the Scottish bishops so far abridged their liberty as to require strict adherence to the words of the English Liturgy, but still leaving local customs as the

rule in other matters. The present Canon abolishes all customs, whether local or general, so far as they are inconsistent with the rubric, the strict directions of which it makes, henceforth, the sole rule, quite independent or in defiance of custom. This is a most important canon, and, if acted up to, will do more to revive the spirit of the Church system than anything that has been attempted within our recollection. We need not now point out how much of that spirit is wrapt up in the rubrics; but will the Canon be acted up to?

The fourth head, containing six Canons, relates to the legislative and judicial power of the Church in synods, diocesan, general, and episcopal, and prescribes several useful rules for conducting proceedings in cases of accusation against the clergy, or of appeals from the inferior tribunals of the Church to the bishops in synod assembled. In appeals it is wisely provided that the appellant shall pledge himself to hold the decision of the bishops final and conclusive.

Under the fifth head there are five Canons, prohibiting the clergy of one diocess from interfering in the concerns of another, providing for the occssional issue of pastoral letters by the bishops, on the state and prospects of the Church, appointing the mode of forming new congregations in places where a congregation already exists, obviously with a view of discouraging useless speculations or divisions, and establishing a society in aid of the Church, to be called the "Scottish Episcopal Church Society." The society we perceive is already constituted, and when in full operation will contribute greatly, we doubt not, to the prosperity of the Church, its objects being to provide for aged and infirm clergymen, to assist in the building of chapels, to provide schoolmasters, aid students, &c.

The Canons, upon the whole, we consider as greatly improved, reflecting no little credit upon the wisdom and steadiness of the Church in Scotland, who, amid the universal rage for experimental legislation, has stood firm upon the ancient land-marks, and endeavoured to remedy defects in her system, without first pulling it to pieces, and then making a bungling attempt to unite the disjecta membra on a new principle.

THE ORIENTAL KEY TO THE SACRED SCRIPTURES, as they are illustrated by the existing Rites, Usages, and Domestic Manners of Eastern Countries, with a short Account of the different Books and Writers of the Sacred Volume. DE CORBETT. London: Mortimer, 1837. 18mo. pp. 336.

By M.

THE introduction to this pleasing little work is written by the author of the Oriental Annual, who states that its object is to elucidate passages of Holy Writ by extracts from the writings of modern travellers. The manners and customs of the Hindoos are of the highest antiquity, many of which are precisely the same as those of which we read in the narratives of the sacred penmen. Their customs and manners, therefore, illustrate in no small degree many passages of Scripture, which, when compared with our Western manners, are almost unintelligible. Any work tending, therefore, to elucidate Eastern manners and explain their customs, must be hailed as valuable, not only to the rising generation, but even to the old. This excellent little book is exclusively

devoted to this purpose, and the stories are compiled from the writings of those who have explored the Eastern countries, whose customs are exactly the same as when the prophets and apostles wrote the sacred Scriptures. Among many interesting and beautiful illustrations, we select "the chief rooms at feasts," being the words of our Saviour.1

"In Persia this custom is rigidly attended to. When a Persian enters a mejlis or assembly, after having left his shoes without, he makes the usual salutation of Salam alukum (Peace be unto you,) which is addressed to the whole assembly as it were, saluting the house; and then measuring with his eye the degree of rank to which he holds himself entitled, he straightway wedges himself into the line of guests, without offering any apology for the general disturbance which he produces. It may be conceived that among a vain people the disputes which arise on matters of precedence are numerous, and it was easy to observe, by the countenances of those present, when any one had taken a higher seat than that to which he was entitled. Mollahs, the Persian scribes, are remarkable for their arrogance in this respect, and they will bring to mind the caution that our Saviour gave to the Jews against their scribes, whom, among other things, he characterizes as loving the uppermost places at feasts. The master of the entertainment has, however, the privilege of placing any one as high in the ranks of the mejlis as he may choose; and we saw an instance of it on this occasion, for when the assembly was nearly full the governor of Kashan, a man of humble mein, although of considerable rank, came in, and had seated himself at the lowest place, when the Ameen-ad-Dowlah, after having testified his particular attentions to him by numerous expressions of welcome, pointed with his hand to an upper seat in the assembly, to which he desired him to move, and which he accordingly did.

"The strong analogy to be discovered here between the manners of the Jews as described by our Saviour in the first of the parables contained in the 14th chapter of St. Luke, and those of the Persians, must be my best apology for quoting the passage at full length, particularly as it will more clearly point out the origin, and more strongly inculcate the moral of that beautiful antithesis with which it closes :-'When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; and he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.'

"In an Eastern feast or ceremony, nothing can exceed the particularity which is observed in reference to the rank and consequent precedence of the guests. Except where kings or members of the royal family are present, the floor or seats are always of an equal height, but the upper part of a room is most respectable, and there the most dignified individual will be placed. Should, however, an inferior person presume to occupy that situation, he will soon be told to go to a lower station. There are also rooms assigned to different guests in reference to their rank or caste, and none but their peers can remain in the place. I was once present at the marriage-feast of a person of high caste; the ceremonies were finished, and the festivities had commenced, but just before the supper was announced it was discovered that one of the guests was not quite equal in rank to those in the same apartment. A hint was therefore given to him, but he refused to leave the place; the host was then called, but as the guest was scarcely a grade lower than the rest, he felt unwilling to put him out. The remainder, therefore, consisting of the first men in the town, immediately rose and left the house."-Roberts, pp. 315-318.

VOL. I.

1 Luke xx. 46.

2 Matt. x. 12.

K

A GENERAL OUTLINE OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. BY THOMAS RYMER JONES, F.L.S., Professor of Comparative Anatomy in King's College, London. 8vo. Parts I. and II. London: Van Voorst.

To the zoologist this work is of the greatest importance, and it comes recommended in the easy form of monthly parts. The wood-cuts with which the work is embellished are superb and numerous. The author informs us in his prospectus that it is intended to comprise a general view of the animal creation, exhibiting the structure and internal economy of every class of living beings, and their adaptation to the circumstances in which they are severally destined to exist. The illustrations will consist of between two and three hundred drawings, to be executed under the author's immediate superintendence, and the whole will be completed in twelve parts, published monthly. We beg to recommend this work to all the admirers of zoology, as from the well-known talents of the author the whole will be produced superior to any work of the sort hitherto published. "Zoology," says Pennant, "is the noblest part of natural history, as it comprehends all sensitive beings, from reasonable man, through every species of animal life, till it descends to that point where sense is wholly extinct and vegetation commences; and certainly none will deny that life and voluntary motion are superior to a mere vegetating principle, or the more inactive state of the fossil kingdom."

THE TESTIMONY OF SAINT CYPRIAN AGAINST ROME. An Essay towards determining the judgment of Saint Cyprian, touching Papal Supremacy, by the Rev. GEORGE AYLIFFE POOLE, B. A., Author of Sermons on the Apostles' Creed, &c. London: James Duncan. Edinburgh: Grant and Son. 1838. 8vo. pp. 250.

THE testimony of such an illustrious father of the Church as St. Cyprian, in our controversy with Rome, is important; and Mr. Poole has conferred on the Church a great benefit, by putting the public in possession of it. The Romanists themselves claim St. Cyprian as their own exclusively; but with how little right a perusal of Mr. Poole's book will show. "Carelessly," says our author, "to set aside any ancient testimony, though it be but the verdict of an obscure individual; nay, though it be only an historical record of the existence of a doctrine or practice, is unwise; but incautiously to resign the testimony of so great a saint, confessor, bishop, and martyr as St. Cyprian, is little short of treason against the cause of catholic truth." The object, therefore, of Mr. Poole's essay is to determine on which side Cyprian's judgment inclines on the long-controverted point of the papal supremacy. Accordingly, he says:"For this purpose I shall examine whatever passages in his works seem to convey a direct and plain judgment on the point in dispute; interpreting his expressions just as common sense teaches us that the expressions of every man, especially of every man so good, so consistent, and so wise as St. Cyprian was, ought to be interpreted: that is, first, according to their plain grammatical meaning, and their logical and argumentative adherence and force in the works in which they occur; and afterwards by a comparison with other less-studied expressions, scattered in various parts of his tracts and epistles, which may exhibit the tone of his thought and feeling on the matter in question; and still more carefully, (since the point before us is eminently a practical one,) by a view of his conduct, when it ought to have been directed