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far from fufficient for the purpofe of inftructing youth in the faith of the Church. Mr. Lancaster intimates, indeed, that the Apostles' Creed, with the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, are received in his fchool. But the Church has other creeds befides that of the Apoftles; fhe has alfo a Catechifm: and thefe, though the learning of them is excluded from Mr. Lancafter's practical fyftem, muft, I conceive, be taught where education is carried on as a national concern. I am forry to fee in this publication of Mr. Lancafter fome very malignant and indecent fneers against one of the creeds of the Church (the Athanafian), on account of what are called its damnatory claufes; which at the fame time he mifreprefents, by applying the penalty expreffed in thofe claufes to the not comprehending or believing the whole of the creed. For what appears to me a most satisfactory explanation of the claufes in queftion, and one calculated to remove all the objections which have ever been urged against them, I refer Mr. Lancaster to the Orthodox Churchman's Magazine, for February 1807."

The prefumption of Lancafter feems to increafe with the coun tenance which, unfortunately, he receives; but the impudence of this ignorant mechanic, in daring to cenfure that venerable guide to the Church, Dr. Daubeny, his capacity to appreciate whofe writings is about equal to his inclination to infufe true religious principles into the minds of the rifing generation, would aftonish us beyond measure, if we did not know how eafily a low and little mind is inflated by adulation. As to Mrs. Trimmer, if any thing which fuch a man could fay could affect her in any way, The would feel herfelf honoured by his cenfures. We have not feen this curious reply of Mr. Lancafter's; but if he intimate in it "that the Apostles' Creed, with the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments," formed any part of his plan of religious inftruction, he has intimated a falfehood; for the writer of this article went to Mr. Lancaster's fchool, in St. George's Fields, where he faw one of the monitors whom he particularly queftioned on this very fubject, and by whom he was pofitively affured that neither the Lord's Prayer, the Belief, nor the Ten Commandments, were ever ufed or repeated in the fchool. Indeed, confiftently with Mr. Lancafter's original principle, that the ufe of Creeds only tended to introduce a fect-making fpirit, they could not be ufed. It is poffible, however, that policy may have induced him to depart from principle, and that the reproaches caft upon him by others, as well as by ourselves, may have induced him to tolerate what he condemns. It is really a difgrace to the country, that a man fo totally unqualified for the task of juvenile inftruction, by whose plan it was intended to bring up the rifing generation, without the leaft knowledge of the fundamental doctrines of the Chriftian faith, and indeed without any one fixed principle of religion whatever, thould have received fuch fignal and extenfive encouragement. And we cannot but deeply deplore the mif

guided zeal of thofe who, after the eyes of the country have been opened to the mifchievous consequences of this pernicious fyftem, have advifed our benevolent and moft religious Sovereign to continue his bounty, even after he has withdrawn his countenance. Such conduct will afford a pretext for afferting that his Majesty's countenance has not been withdrawn from Lancafter; and as a regular donation is generally confidered as the moft infallible proof of continued approbation and protection, the affertion will obtain univerfal belief; and, confequently, all the effect of the Royal countenance will be fecured. As to the mechanical parts of Lancaster's plan, they were ftolen from Dr. Bell, who is now in England, and who has introduced his fyftem into the parochial fchool of Whitechapel, where its beneficial effects may be contemplated, with heartfelt fatisfaction, by every fober Chriftian, and real friend to his country, who will not fail to remark the infinite pains which have been taken to infufe found religious principles into the minds of the children.

"But," continues our author, "turning from a theory fo pernicious, and a practice fo defective, let us look forward with pleafing confidence to the protection which, it cannot be doubted, the Legislature is about to afford the Church against the danger to which he was expofed by the incon fiderate benevolence of Mr. Lancafter and his fupporters. I truft, Sir, that effectual means will now be taken to fecure the full operation of the principle, the neceffity of an invariable adherence to which has, I flatter myfelf, been fufficiently proved; that when education is made a national concern, youth must be brought up as members of the national Church. The neceffity of a ftrict adherence to this principle is, at prefent, the more urgent, on account of the alarming fuccefs with which a wild and fanatical fpirit is endeavouring, by the groffeft abuse of toleration, to draw away the lower claffes of the community from the established Church. The genuine fpirit of toleration confifts in a full allowance, by the fupreme authority in the ftate, to all perfons of whatever religious perfuafion, to worship their Maker according to the dictates of their own confcience : but the most complete enjoyment of this allowance does not require that perfons, however unqualified, fhould be permitted to exercife the important functions of preachers and teachers. By the Toleration Act, 1. W. and M. c. 18, the magiftrates are bound to license all persons who apply to them at the quarter feffions for permiffion to exercife those functions. The confequence is, that many illiterate perfons, in the very lowest stations of life, fome of whom cannot even write their names, are fo licensed; and they not only, by their fanatical rant, feduce great numbers from the Church, and from every other place of worship where fense accompanies devotion; but alfo, by their mifchievous fuperftition, they not unfrequently drive their deluded followers to defperation, infanity, and even fuicide. This evil has of late years been rapidly increafing, and to check its progrefs is an object which demands the ferious confideration of the Legislature. As the abufe of whatever is excellent tends to its deftruction, every true friend of toleration must be anxious to fee fo grofs and mifchievous an abuse of it restrained by efficient remedies. What re

medies thould be applied for that purpose, this is not the place to inquire. It may not, however, be useless even here to obferve that one of the moft operative caufes of the evil complained of is itinerancy. For the dif courfes of most of those rhapfodifts, who, by their vehemence and vociferation, draw together immenfe numbers, and eflrange a large proportion not only of the lower, but even of the middle orders, from the established Church, are fo frothy, fo extravagantly wild and abfurd, and at the fame time fo deftitute of variety and comprehenfion, that the uniform nonsense of a fingle preacher could not keep together a congregation for fix weeks in any one place. Care is therefore taken, by an inceffant change of thefe illiterate declaimers, to gratify the idle curiofity of their deluded followers with novelty of face and of gefticulation. This ftatement obviously fuggefts the expediency, and, indeed, the neceffity of impofing fome reftraints upon itinerancy, by reftricting licenfed preachers to particular congregations. This could not be confidered as an hardfhip, fince it would only place fuch preachers, with regard to the exercife of their functions, upon the fame footing with the minifters of the established Church, and, indeed, with all educated minifters who officiate out of the Church. The right of confcience would in no refpect be violated by a legislative requifition, that each congregation thould have its regular officiating minifter, who fhould be required to make it appear, by proper teftimonials, that he is defired to fill that station before he be permitted to affume it. And if, in addition, fome evidence were required of a fuitable education, and of a good moral character, before any one be permitted to become a religious inftructor, fuch a regulation would evidently be for the benefit of thofe who are inftructed, without any infringement upon the right of toleration.

"It ought also to be remembered that the usefulness of the Church is greatly circumfcribed, becaufe care has not been taken to make the establishment keep pace with the population of the country. The latter has increased in an astonishing degree, with fcarcely any increase in the number of churches belonging to the former. The furplus population, which, in many places, cannot be accommodated at church (where, indeed, the accommodation of the lower orders is, alas! but little confulted), must be expected, if there exist any sense of religion, to attend irregular places of worship. To fupply this lamentable deficiency no mode would, perhaps, be at once fo fafe and fo efficacious, as the erection, under the fuperintendance of the Bishop of the diocefe, of free churches, upon the model of that called Christ Church, at Bath; the whole area of which is allotted to the reception gratis of the lower orders, and which has the happiest effects in drawing away multitudes of that defcription from the empty and unprofitable declamation of fanatics. By the building of churches of this defcription, wherever they are wanted, a moft effectual ftep would be taken at once to promote the genuine influence of religion, and to attach the mafs of the people to the established Church."

The author's fentiments refpecting itinerant Diffenters, and the neceflity of erecting more churches, with ample accommodations for the poor, on the plan of the new Church at Bath, are perfectly confonant with thofe which we have, on various occafions,

expreffed. And fully convinced we are, that unlefs our prelates and clergy are roufed to fome fpirited exertions in order to attain thefe defirable objects, the number of fectaries will continue to increafe, fchifm will spread on every fide, and the established religion of the country will gradually fink into contempt. These are not times for torpid apathy; they are times that call for fpirit and activity; fince they are times in which all the great bodies of Romanifts and of Diffenters have combined for the purpofe of enforcing measures the adoption of which would shake the eftablished Church to its very foundation.

The remaining pages of this tract are devoted to a confideration of the claims of the Irish Romanifts to an equal participation of political power with the members of the Eftablishment. Mr. Bowles here concedes to fome of the advocates of thefe claims two points which, in our opinion, will not ftand the teft of inquiry; 1. That a vast majority of the people of Ireland, not lefs than 4,300,000, are Romanifts; and, 2. that a change has taken place in the principles or tenets of the members of the Romish Church. As to the firft of thefe pofitions, there is fcarcely any fubject upon which fuch different ftatements have appeared, as the amount of the population in Ireland. Lord GRENVILLE, in the Houfe of Peers, rated the Irish Romanifts at four millions; Mr. GRATTAN, in the Houfe of Commons, reduced them to three millions; Sir JoHN NEWPORT, in the laft Houfe, fixed the whole population of Ireland at four millions; while Dr. DUIGENAN, in the fame debate, told the Baronet that he had rated them too high; Mr.BowLES, on fome private authority, but founded chiefly on Mr. Newenham's eftimate, makes the whole population of Ireland amount to five millions, three hundred and ninety-five thousand, four hundred and fifty-fir perfons, of whom only one million and eighty thoufand are flated to be Proteftants; and, on the other hand, Mr. GIFFARD of Dublin (in a fpeech now before us, and which will be found at length in the Appendix to our last volume), who had, of course, feen Mr. NEWENHAM'S publication, and every other eftimate, declares his decided opinion, that the whole population of Ireland does not exceed three millions, of which the Proteftants form twofifths; in which cafe the number of Romanifts would be eighteen hundred thoufand, and the number of Protestants twelve hundred thousand.

As to the fecond point, relating to a fuppofed change in the principles or tenets of the Romanifts, how can fuch a fuppofition, for one moment, be maintained against the folemn affeverations of the Romifh Primate of Ireland Dr. TROY, and the Romish advocate, Mr. PLOWDEN (who, on fuch a fubject, are certainly the most competent witneffes), that the doctrine and principles of the Romish Church are immutable, and that to her the device. of femper eadem is more ftrictly applicable than to any other intitution or eftablishment whatever? But, we conceive, thefe con

ceffions are only made by the author, for the fake of the argument, in order to fhew, that even conceding thefe points to the Romanifts, they have no foundation whatever for their claims, and that the mott incontrovertible reafons may be adduced against their admiffion. Taking, then, their numbers, and the fuppofed change of principles, for granted, Mr. Bowles urges the following powerful arguments against the claims of the Romanifts.

"It is admitted by fome of the most zealous advocates for the allowance of fuch claims, that the restrictions and disabilities, which it is their wish to remove, were neceffary for the protection of the Church, and the quiet of the State, at the time when they were impofed. But it is urged in favour of their removal, that they have ceafed to be neceffary for that purpose, in consequence of the great change which has fince taken place in Popery. Admitting, however, that this religion is materially different from what it once was, in regard to thofe qualities by which it became an inftrument of fuch extenfive mifchief, and that its profeffors have renounced the obnoxious tenets and principles which rendered it effentially hoftile to both civil and religious rights; admitting all this, ftill thofe profeffors are in a ftate of feparation from the established Church; and therefore they cannot, with fafety to that Church, be admitted to a full participation of power with those who belong to it. If the axiom, on which I have fo much infifted, be entitled to that appellation-that the strength, and confequently the fafety, of every establishment, depend chiefly on the relative number of those who are attached to it;-it neceffarily follows that, in proportion to the number of those who diffent from a religious eftablishment, fuch an establishment must be weak and infecure. The mere circumstance of feparation neceffarily fubjects it to danger; for in proportion as the feparatifts from it are numerous, the number of those on whom alone it can rely for fupport must be fmall, while that of those who have no intereft in its prefervation, and who are generally apt to fuppofe that they have an intereft in its overthrow, must be formidable. When this is the cafe, the perception of numbers infpires a confcioufnefs of strength, and encourages a hope for that pre-eminence, which fects always view with jealousy in an establishment, and which, on all occafions that produce divifion, and especially when religion is concerned, mankind are defirous of attaining. But when the ftrength which is derived from numbers is accompanied with the poffeffion of power, the temptation to use that power for the advancement of those who poffefs it, may fairly be prefumed to be irrefiftible; and it would denote the groffeft ignorance of human nature to doubt that they will employ it, in its fullest extent, for that purpose: if they neglected to do fo, they would cease to be men. But when, as is now the cafe in Ireland, a vast majority of the inhabitants of a country are in a state of feparation from the established Church, and when, moreover, they are firmly united in a fect, be it what it may; to affert that fuch a majority may, with fafety to that Church, be admitted to a full and complete participation of power, in common with its members, is to advance one of the most extravagant propofitions that can poffibly be prefented to the notice of the human understanding. I confidently defy the moft expert reasoner now alive, to reconcile fuch a