lute power of the Popes was raised in the middle ages, has irretrievably lost its empire in the hearts of men.

"These confessions of faith particularly afford us a proof, as strong as it is encouraging, of what it is to deliver ourselves up to the very dangerous illusion of thinking that external means of power are able to stifle the convictions of the mind. These confessions ought completely to refute those who believe in the lasting duration of such dogmatic theories, because men preserve silence and do not dare to oppose them. The Pope was under such an illusion when he lately reckoned on the Catholics' ancient hatred of heresy and the Protestant Church; the Bishop of Trèves likewise, when he made the display of the holy coat before the thousands of pilgrims who thronged his cathedral. The collection of the confessions of the German Catholics ought to shew to Rome, as well as to Trèves, how little they understood the spirit of our times, and how much wiser it would have been to abandon the ancient track, and undertake the task of Church Reform, or at least lend a conciliatory ear to the wants of the new spirit. The affirmations which these confessions contain shew us that there exist important differences in their religious views, which could hardly be otherwise; but we also see that, excepting the articles of Schneidenmuhl, which are separate, and appeared several months before the others, the majority of these communities approach in their creeds the declarations of Breslau and of Dresden, as well as of the council of Leipsic. If we were to adopt a custom which was formerly considered quite necessary,-that is to say, if we were to force ourselves to reduce even the minor differences of our religious opinions to a positive definition, then we should assuredly produce more confusion and discord than order and unanimity. But such definitions are not necessary. It was the grand error of the early ages of Christianity, and one which did much mischief, to suppose it to be necessary to oppose the most trifling variations in religious opinions: these variations are, nevertheless, inevitable. As soon as a difference of opinion was manifested, the whole world was put into motion in order that the doctrine in dispute might be reduced to a positive definition, or rather to declare that one idea was the only legitimate one, and to heap anathemas on the other. But too often has experience

shewn the inutility of common tests. Let us call to mind what was the nature of that Saxon formulary of concord' now so completely disused and forgotten its anathemas of the Calvinists, against whom its formularies were directed, have not prevented their union with the Lutherans. We ought, finally, to learn how wise and humane it is to tolerate the differences of belief which spring up in the consciences of Christians, how necessary it is to leave the care of their settlement to the action of time and of theological science; we ought to learn to content ourselves with those general articles of belief which constitute the essence of Christianity. If long declarations on all points of faith had been considered necessary by Jesus Christ and his apostles, they would have promulged them. That, however, was not done. Jesus himself has declared (John xvii. 3), that whoever wishes to follow him, must believe in God, in that God who is the only true God; this will suffice to assure the Christian against the polytheism of ancient nations. The Christian must also believe in Jesus, that he is the Messiah; this will guarantee him against Judaism. Finally (John iii. 3—5), by baptism, his moral nature must be rendered perfect by the Spirit of God, which elevates his spiritual being and introduces him to the kingdom of heaven. This is the reason for which Christ has ordered his disciples to baptize only in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Such was the degree of simplicity in the declaration of faith with which Christ and his disciples were contented. However, there may now be reasons for enlarging the foundations of the creed, as the ancient confession called 'the Apostles' Creed' has received many additions to the foregoing propositions. But it is proper, in the articles of affirmation, to confine ourselves to what is essential, which consists in the expression of the religious idea of Christian truth. In all cases in which a passage of the New Testament is capable of several different interpretations, it is right to accord full liberty to the Christian, that he may follow the sense and light which best suit the state of his own mind. There is a striking example of this in the perseverance with which J. Czerski requires in his confession the recognition of Christ as the Son of God,' because in this expression is implied his divinity (divinity, Athanasian, Nicean, LutheroCalvinistic, expressed in scholastic forms

unknown to the evangelist); but it is not so; for in the phraseology of the Bible, kings and chiefs of the people are also called sons of God. Moreover, the Messiah was also called 'the Son of God,' and this epithet is sometimes extended to those who represent the divine image in their moral life. A great number of the confessions of the German Catholics treat in detail of the forms of divine service, and of the constitution of churches. To avoid prolixity, I shall not speak of these subjects. At the time of the first German Revolution, the princes of Saxony, of Hesse, and of Brandenbourg, placed themselves at the head of the movement. By this intervention, the ecclesiastical power fell into their hands, and this circumstance was of great advantage to them, as it greatly consolidated their power in the interior of their domains. The present Reformation has not hitherto met with any temporal protector, and in the actual posture of affairs, it is not likely to find any; it will have to maintain itself. It is not, however, for us, but for our statesmen, to decide whether the new Catholic Reform can procure for princes advantages sufficiently great in the interior of their kingdoms for them to constitute themselves its protectors. They ought, however, to consider whether a separation from Rome would not be so great an advantage to the independence and power of Germany, as to make it proper to favour it with a view to the common interests of the country. They will, above all, reflect, that we have been now well able to convince our selves of the falsity of that detestable insinuation, that the Catholic Reform is born of the intrigues of socialists and radicals. This supposition is without any foundation, and the confessions of faith of the German Catholics suffice to furnish a complete refutation of it."

In Germany, where every thing passes through the hands of the State, the civil powers experience great difficulty on all occasions to keep aloof from any movement which assumes a decided character; and it must be confessed the habits of the people are such as to render the interference of Government easy, if not indispensable; for as soon as any new power is born among them, men's eyes are turned to Court, some in hope of aid, some in fear of suppression, but all in the conviction that the Prince will interpose his authority. In by-gone times, that interposition was

The

almost as arbitrary as it was decisive. But the spirit of the age has changed. The mutual relations of the Continental, and especially the German states, are complicated and very delicate. people have been educated, and have learnt to know the import and efficacy of the term "rights." There is in consequence an uncasy feeling existing between Prince and people. The latter want much, and demand something. The former has promised a little, and given nothing. Recently, the King of Prussia has been reminded of his unfulfilled promises. He replied with more temper than prudence, and so left the wound rankling in the body politic. This social conjuncture, however, makes him and other princes cautious how they interfere with the great religious movement of the day,--whose power they know, of whose tendencies they are afraid, and whose results they can neither calculate nor seriously modify. In this state of anxious indecision, Prussia and Hanover resolved to procrastinate, and yet appear to do something, under the pretext of inquiry. They appointed two divines high at Court, Dr. Snethlage and Dr. Rupstein, to confer on the subject of the new religious movements, with a view to suggest some plan for what is termed "a free settlement of the Evangelical Protestant Church of Germany." Their report lies before us. Its tone is conciliatory and moderate; no hard words, no imputations, no reflections on freedom of inquiry, no suggestion of restraints. If put forth in this country by our Episcopal Bench, it would occasion all the world to declare that the Bishops had been converted to the religion of the New Testament, and to the advocacy of the rights of conscience and the claims of brotherly love. The result of their conference the two deputies convey in three general heads, of which the first and most important runs thus: -"Christian instruction should be conducted as a gospel service, a scriptural faith, with the preservation of the liberty of individual conscience and toleration, and with peace amid diversities of opinion. With a view to the culture of Christian teachers, preference in the appointment to theolo gical professorships should be given to such persons as unite to a love of the gospel and the church, solid learning and independent thinking, who may form in the minds of candidates for the ministry a love of truth, free inquiry, a sense of the value of Christianity, an

attachment to the church, and a devotion to their important office."

This preliminary conference has led to a general meeting, in Berlin, of divines from nearly all the German states, appointed by their respective sovereigns, and representing all shades of theological opinion. The convocation excited considerable anxiety on the part of those who united a scanty creed to an intense love of liberty. But any direct interference with religious freedom is in Germany an impossibility. As little is it possible for "the powers that be" to gain acceptance for any modified form of a metaphysical orthodoxy. However well-disposed the King of Prussia may be to the English Episcopal Church, and however uncourteous may be his bearing towards the advocates of religious progress, he cannot, with all his power, nor can the united princes of Germany, recal the days of creed-religion. It has, however, been maintained that there was no reason to distrust the Berlin synod. We believe this claim of confidence in its temper has been warranted by the result; but as we have not yet seen any formal declaration of its determinations, we reserve the point for another paper.

Meanwhile, the good cause is gathering strength. The press is busily at work. The new ideas are rapidly spreading. The number of "German Catholic communities has received, and is receiving, constant increase. The "Friends of Light," forbidden to meet in public, have concentrated their energies on the press, and are producing great effects. The reform finds able and learned advocates among the laity, no less than in Christian ministers and professors of theology. The old creeds are quickly passing into deserved oblivion. One or two out of a hundred proofs may be given. The Free Church of Scotland lately addressed a letter to the clergy of Holland, with a view of bringing them to a union in the avowal of a Calvinistic theology. An assembly of divines and laymen took place, embracing men of all shades of opinion, and presided over by M. Groen van Prinsterer, a devoted admirer of the Synod of Dort. The convocation applied themselves to the task of drawing up a creed which should satisfy all parties, but failed. An admonition of a similar kind has been given to the narrow minds of the leaders of the "Free Church" (like Cicero's lucus a non lucendo); for their address to "the German Catholic Church" has had for

answer cold thanks, accompanied by an emphatic assertion that its friends intend to maintain the great interests of freedom of conscience. But the most satisfactory and promising event of recent days is the reconciliation of Ronge and Czerski. Ronge having received an invitation from the "German Catholic" community of Tawitch, which had followed the guidance of Czerski, repaired thither with his fellow-labourer Theiner. "Arrived there," says Ronge, "we found Czerski and his colleague Post; both of whom offered us the hand of brotherly friendship, and declared in the name of those whom they represented, that, while retaining their own views, they united themselves with the other communities, in order to labour in common with them for the welfare and salvation of man." The desired union was then ratified on the liberal conditions established at the great Leipsic meeting. It was further agreed that a circular should be addressed to all the churches, in which a special exhibition should be given to the principle of non-exclusion and mutual tolerance, and enforcing the necessity of chiefly engaging to secure the realization of the religion of Jesus Christ. Ronge terminated the proceedings by a touching address in which were these words: "Dear brothers and sisters, you also will join hands with us and with one another; and you will rejoice to see that the true Christian spirit, which knows no damnation, is extending more and more, and that the nineteenth century is realizing the true Christian idea, and emphatically these words-By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one towards another.' We may then hope that sectarian hatreds and scholastic disputes will not embarrass the German Reformation. It is consolatory to see that the excellent Czerski and his associates have resisted the intolerant letters that the orthodox Churches of Scotland addressed to them, in which the latter urged on them the necessity of placing themselves under the yoke of a very dogmatic and very exclusive confession of faith. Thus we see more and more brought into relief the predominant characteristic of this movement, such as the learned Bretschneider has recently set it forth, namely, a great generality of view, combined with an entire Christian tolerance. The ministers of the German Catholic Church have done well in not listening to the superannuated counsels of En

glish and Scotch orthodoxy, whose aim seems in the present day to consist in blowing all over the Continent the flames of theological discord and separation."

AMERICA.

Great Britain and the U. S.-At the present moment, when the question of peace or war between England and America is the question which is anxiously occupying many minds on both sides of the Atlantic, and when much is said and more is written in America on this subject discreditable to the inhabitants of a civilized and Christian land, it is most gratifying to learn that there are many Christian men in that country who are as anxious for peace as ourselves, and who have honestly and courageously stood forward to rebuke and stem the popular feeling for war. A great Convention has been held at Providence of the friends of peace, at which many excellent addresses were delivered and resolutions deprecating war were passed. Many of the Transatlantic pulpits, too, have resounded with earnest admonitions to the preservation of peace. We rejoice to find that many of our Unitarian brethren have been foremost in this good work. At Boston, the Rev. F. D. Huntingdon, the pastor of the South Congregational church and the Editor of the "Religious Miscellany," preached a very eloquent sermon, in which he laboured to correct and Christianize the popular sentiment, and to give such a direction to public opinion, that the American executive may not dare to involve the republic in a foreign war until every possible expedient shall have been employed to prevent it. What the spirit of this discourse was, our readers may judge from the following extract, for which we are indebted to the Boston Christian Register: "Unless, then, you are willing to see every good cause of humanity arrested in its progress; to see education abandoned, institutions of learning deserted, the holy efforts of philanthropy and benevolence blasted; to see whole continents turned into an aceldama,-for none can tell where the fire of this conflagration would stop when the torch was once applied; to see all hopes of human advancement stricken down, and the heart of humanity itself sickened by the disgusting spectacle of two enlightened nations, foremost in the march of civilization, throwing themselves

into the cock-pit of low contention,— you will not be satisfied to forestall the evil in this instance alone, but you will lift your solemn protest against the abomination henceforth for ever. You will declare as responsible citizens, that it shall not be,-that this waste of life and treasure and happiness shall never be again; for when all the dreadful sacrifice is made, the nations will stand, with reference to the little question that happens to be at issue, just where they stood before, not one step advanced; and must then resort to that compromise or negociation which is the only honourable and Christian resource now. Christianity utters clear, loud remonstrance. Let it be heard and obeyed. Be true patriots, true lovers of your country, by loving its peace.'

At Philadelphia, the Rev. Mr. Barnes, and at East Cambridge, the Rev. Henry Lambert, have also preached, and we believe published, sermons on this important subject. May the efforts and prayers of these righteous men be crowned with success, and the misery and infamy of war between the inhabitants of two Christian lands, bound together by a thousand ties, speaking the same language, sprung from the same stock, be now and for ever kept far from us!

MONTREAL.

The Unitarian church at Montreal asks the pecuniary aid of the Unitarians of Great Britain and Ireland. They state in their appeal, that after many fruitless efforts, repeated from time to time, the few avowed Unitarians in Montreal have succeeded in organizing a respectable congregation, and in building a chapel in an eligible and commanding part of the city, at an expense of about £2500. Towards this they have contributed nearly £1000, and have been assisted by their brethren in the United States, who, with a liberality that does them honour, contributed thereto nearly £1000.-The first great object being attained, the next was attempted-the obtaining of a legal existence. A Petition was prepared, and a Bill introduced at the last session of the Provincial Parliament, which confers upon Unitarians all the immunities and privileges of other Christian sects. That object also, under the blessing of God, has been attained. Untoward and unexpected events have made the cost of building the chapel greater than at first intended, and the consequence is a debt which will

be embarrassing and onerous, and will very materially diminish the usefulness of the first church of our faith in Canada in spreading the truths of Liberal Christianity throughout this appendage of the British Crown. They therefore ask their English Unitarian brethren to assist them in their present difficulty, that they may soon be free from embarrassment.-Contributions may be transmitted to Benjamin Holmes, Cashier of the Bank of Montreal, through any of the Agencies of that Bank in the United Kingdom, viz. J. Langton, Esq., Bank of Liverpool; Messrs. Glynn, Halifax, Mills & Co., London; the Bank of the British Linen Company, or Branches, Scotland.

A private letter from an English gentleman residing in Montreal, dated Nov. 21, 1845, says, "The Unitarian society is growing steadily, and may be of great use to other infant societies when once fairly out of debt itself. Indeed, although in debt, a few of its members have guaranteed to the Toronto society £50 towards the support of the Rev. Mr. Adam for one year; and seven gentlemen lately subscribed £200 to pay off the debt for current expenses. Four of that number had previously paid £100 each to the building fund. The zeal and liberality of the few who are in comfortable circumstances are above all praise. Mr. Cordner, too, is remarkably zealous and very popular. The evening service is generally well attended by strangers, and occasionally the church has been filled in every part. Nothing can exceed the cordiality that reigns in the society; and those who have not money to give, make up in usefulness in other ways.'

DOMESTIC.

Interesting Legal Decision. Vice-Chancellor's Court, January 20,

before Sir James Wigram. Shrewsbury v. Hornby, Treasurer of, &c. Richard Cooke, Esq., of Brompton Square, Middlesex, by his will gave and bequeathed to his wife, Mary Ann Cooke, a Government annuity of £300, purchased by him-originally for twenty years, to hold the same during her life, with liberty to dispose of the first dividend (£150) which would be payable after her decease. At her decease, he appointed Thomas Hornby, Esq., Treasurer of the Unitarian Association, trustee of the said annuity, with a request that he and the Committee of

the said Association would give to the Unitarian chapel at Devonport £100 a-year during the continuance of the annuity, and that they would apply the remaining £200 a-year towards the assistance of respectable Unitarian congregations standing in need of it. The testator likewise, after giving a life-interest to his wife in certain leasehold property at Bath, and charging upon it certain legacies, gave this leasehold, subject to these bequests, to Mr. Hornby, in trust for himself and the Committee of the Association, to be converted into money, and the produce thereof to be applied in support of an Unitarian missionary on something of the like plan of the late excellent Mr. Richard Wright; and the testator directed that, should these bequests be attacked as illegal, they should be declared void.

Mr. Cooke died in the life-time of his wife, and upon Mrs. C.'s decease, Mr. Hornby claimed the benefit of the bequests on behalf of the Unitarian Association; but the legality of the gifts was called in question by the residuary legatees.

The objection being taken, the Association offered to waive all claim to the leasehold property, being advised that in law this bequest could not be insisted upon; but the beneficiaries contended that both legacies were void; and hence the present suit, to determine this and other points of dispute between other parties interested under the will.

Messrs. Romilly, Spence and Wray appeared for several parties; Mr. W. P. Wood and Mr. John Evans appeared for Mr. Hornby; Mr. Maule for the Crown; and Mr. Schomberg for one of the residuary legatees.

Since this suit was instituted, the answers of the Judges to the questions submitted to them in the Lady Hewley case had been given, and none of the counsel in this cause ventured, on the hearing, to question the legality of the bequest to Mr. Hornby of the Government annuity, excepting Mr. Schomberg, who raised an objection on the ground that Unitarian objects were illegal objects at common law; and he further contended that the gift practically was "for the Unitarian chapel at Devonport," and not to the congregation of such chapel; and that if such gift were to be laid out upon the chapel, it would bring the bequest within the Statutes of Mortmain, and render it void. Mr. S. also availed himself of the clause