intention of violating its obligations. A man may feel objections to the law, as it stands, and may pursue every constitutional mode of procuring its repeal; but while the law remains, he must obey the law for conscience sake.' And I would ask, can that be a pure and enlightened Christian conscience, which will justify or excuse any persons, whether Churchmen or Dissenters, repeating, or affixing their signatures to, this declaration, in the presence of the archdeacon or his official- We do solemnly and sincerely declare, that we will well and truly perform the office of churchwardens within our said parish;' and, having thus pledged themselves, acting in a spirit and manner altogether irreconcilable with their most solemn and recorded engagement? Should, however, such deviations from the faith of honour and integrity occur, there is no difficulty in enforcing the obedience of the churchwardens to the laws of their office. Their duty is thisas soon as their appointment to the office is completed, by their making the declaration enjoined by law, they are to institute an examination into the actual condition of what is entrusted to them, to ascertain what repairs are necessary, and what is required to be supplied for the ministrations of the church; and, having made an estimate of the expense, to lay it before a vestry meeting duly called for the purpose, and then to propose a rate. Should a majority of the parishioners then assembled refuse to make a reasonable rate, proceedings must be instituted in the Ecclesiastical Court, in the criminal form, by articles, against all or any of those who voted against a rate for necessary expenses; and if the articles are proved, the Court would pronounce them to be so, would condemn the defendants in costs, and admonish them not to offend again. A few examples thus made of the leading offenders, would probably deter them from exposing themselves to additional expenses and punishment, by a repetition of the offence.*

"I have dwelt at length on this subject, not presuming to add anything to the information which you, my reverend

It may be added, that parishioners, who remain contumacious after such admonition, may be pronounced in contempt, and not only condemned in costs, but, under 53 Geo. III., chap. 127, committed to prison for six months, or till they shall have purged themselves of their contumacy.

brethren, already possess, but with the hope that you will kindly assist me in explaining these matters to the churchwardens of your parishes, and solicitous myself to impress upon their minds, that the law of church-rates has ever been satisfactorily pronounced by the solemn and united decision of the Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and seven other judges, who are the constitutional interpreters and expounders of the laws and statutes of our country; and that the Spiritual Courts possess the power of carrying that law into effect. In speaking of the eight judges, I ought to add that it is also well known that the other judges entirely concurred with the judgment thus pronounced, but could not be present to take part in the decision, inasmuch as their own judgment, before deli vered, was then before the court, to be tried by a writ of

error.

"

The Venerable Archdeacon, after referring to and explaining the oppressive effect to the clergy of Mr. Shaw Lefevre's Act for the regulation of Parochial Assessments, closed his charge as follows:

"My reverend brethren, in a charge addressed to you some years ago, I quoted the authority of the great critic of the sublime, who recommends to those who cultivate the arts of poetry and eloquence, when the occasion calls for loftiness of style and sentiment, to reflect how Homer, or Plato, or Demosthenes would have thought or expressed himself, that, by placing those illustrious patterns before them, their souls might reach the same heights of the sublime. This advice I applied to ourselves, and observed that we might be led to conceive the sublimest ideas of our office, as ministers of the Gospel, and to aspire after all the excellence we can attain in the pastoral character, if we would contemplate steadily the brightest examples of ministerial fidelity that have shone forth for our imitation from the first days of Christianity to the present time. It is an ingenious addition of the great critic to the precept I quoted, when he further advises an author to consider how Homer or Demosthenes, if present, would receive, or how be affected, with what he is saying. Give me leave, in conclusion, to draw this precept likewise into an application to ourselves. It could not fail, I think, of

a good effect upon the general turn of our lives and conversation, did we occasionally reflect what such excellent men as Ignatius, and Polycarp, and the great luminaries and martyrs of our own Church, would think of us, and how they would be affected, were these departed saints again upon earth, and witnesses and critics of our sentiments and behaviour. Did we imagine apostles and evangelists to be our spectators and judges, the theatre would be still more solemn and august, and our ambition to excel would rise higher in proportion. But, above all, how should our hearts burn within us, acting as we are in the real, not the ideal, presence of Christ, now our witness and spectator, hereafter our impartial Judge, to whom we must give account of our ministry in the presence of men and angels?"

In a charge recently delivered by the Venerable Archdeacon Wilberforce, he enlarged upon the question of church-rates, and, having referred to the decision in the Braintree case, said

But, besides these modes, the researches of the present laborious Archdeacon of Middlesex (Hale's 'Prece dents') suggest another, and, in some cases, still easier course. A careful examination of the act-books of the Ecclesiastical Courts of the Archdeaconries of St. Alban's, Lewes, and London, has brought to light a series of precedents, from the year 1557 to the year 1736, which seem distinctly to establish, that when the necessity of repairing a church, or of providing the necessary ornaments for divine worship, according to the rites of the Church of England, has been proved by presentment, either in the Consistory Court of the diocese, or before the bishop or archdeacon, or their officials or surrogates at their visitations, judicialiter sedentes, the ecclesiastical judge, in such a case, whether bishop, archdeacon, official, or surrogate, has power to authorize and command the churchwardens to call a meeting of the parishioners, and at that meeting to make a rate, or cause it to be made, with or without the consent of the majority of the parishioners. For many reasons, this would be, in some cases, a more convenient mode of acting than any hitherto suggested, where it becomes needful to enforce by law

the granting of a rate. No decision of the civil courts. has as yet thrown any doubt on its legality. The case will speedily be brought before them, and, I cannot but hope, with the result which all true Churchmen must desire but, in the mean time, after carefully examining the precedents adduced, I am perfectly prepared to proceed by such monition against any parish which is now duly presented to me as having refused to grant a necessary rate.

"One word may be needful on the cessation of these precedents a century ago. They seem then to have ceased only because resistance to the law had been at that time overcome, and so no such measures were any longer needed for its enforcement."

The Archdeacon then expresses his readiness to come forward to enforce on reluctant vestries the performance of the duty of making a rate, when proven necessary; and giving, as his reason for his willingness, his conviction that a sure and lasting peace was never yet purchased by any timid concession of the Church's rights to the clamour of her enemies!"

CHURCH RATES.

TO THE

INHABITANTS OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF THE CITY OF EXETER.

LETTER I.

[Extracted from Woolmer's Gazette, April 8th, 1837].

BROTHER CITIZENS,—A question of the most vital importance to all ranks and denominations of the people of England-a question affecting our best and dearest privileges, individually and collectively a question involving the national profession of the Christian religion in this country, and the continuance of our Protestant monarchy and constitution, in Church and State-has recently excited much interest, and undergone much discussion within the walls of our ancient city. Permit me, then, as an Exonian, proud of my native city, and anxious to uphold its loyal and Protestant characteras an Englishman, who will not yield to any man in the sense I entertain of the inestimable value of the civil liberty and religious toleration we enjoy-but, above all, as a member, a voluntary member, of that matchless Christian institution, the "last best gift of God to man," the Protestant Episcopal United Church of England and Ireland established in this country-respectfully to claim your attention while I state the grounds upon which I rest my uncompromising opposition to the measure proposed by his Majesty's Ministers for the abolition of church-rates. I take this mode of doing so, because large public meetings, unless both parties will consent to keep order, are not calculated for the discussion of such questions as these, which require calm and deliberate investigation. I shall appeal, not to your prejudices-not to your excited passions-not to your pecuniary interests; but to your reason and common sense-to your honest and impartial judgment, as rational and accountable beings, answerable for your conduct in this matter to your country and your God.