upon this-whether the great landed proprietors, and whether the affluent Clergy and Laity throughout the kingdom, will understand the signs of the times, and be ready, like their own zealous ancestors, or, like David, and his princes, and great men, (1 Chron. xxix. 3,) to say-" Because we have set our affection to the house of our God, we have of our own proper good, of gold and silver, given to the house of our God." To their hearts and consciences doubtless the appeal ought to be sounded, and that not in two or three dioceses only, but throughout all the dioceses of the kingdom. But here is the problem to be solved. How can such an appeal be made with sufficiency both of unity and extent of operation? Must we not answer again by the ConVOCATION, and by the CONVOCATION alone?

In regard to supplying more ministers, correspondently with the increase of places of worship,-I mean faithful and devoted ministers,— omitting other obvious topics, I would confine myself to one peculiarly important source of supply; namely, ordaining on some reasonable conditions well-approved applicants from among the ministers of Dissent ;-a practice in which there is a double gain, recovery from error, and accession to the standard-truth. The impediments, almost always unhappily opposed to it at present, are not only of great mag

nitude, as might fairly be expected, (in order to exclude hypocrites, and to secure the encouragement of preference to candidates, nourished from their birth in the bosom of the Church,)— but physically and absolutely insuperable.

A Dissenting minister of good repute, of real learning and piety, applies for Ordination; states his conscientious conviction of the scriptural character of our Doctrines, Services and three-. fold ministerial Orders, wants no revision of the Liturgy, (I am not merely supposing a case, it has actually occurred,) avows his belief that dissent, under existing circumstances, is schism, or unlawful separation, produces unexceptionable testimonials, is willing to cease his ministration among Dissenters for many months. He is told he must keep his three years' residence at one of the Universities. He He urges his advanced time of life, his large family, his total inability, on resigning his present charge, to support himself and them for three years. It does not signify; there is no help for it; his academical residence he must keep. He goes back in the face of conscience, (who will cast the first stone at him?) through sheer family-necessity, to his former yoke ;-a hard case, surely, in many points of view, and in the main not of rare occurrence. But is there no alternative, short of the academical residence? Might not the CON

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VOCATIONS (and who else could ?) discuss and decide upon some fair scrutiny and probationary course, sufficient to secure, without inviting, an increased supply of faithful clergymen from the very ministers of Dissent?

We have necessarily omitted many subordinate topics, which would naturally come under the heads of this chapter. We cannot however close it without remarking, in reference to the Commutation of Tithes, that however desirable the object, every thing turns, as far as the just attainments of that object is concerned, upon providing a real equivalent; real in respect of security, (which our forefathers, says Burke, made as firm as the ground we tread upon,) as well as in respect of the estimated value. We would just advert also to a plain truth, little understood, or little attended to, that amidst all the violent objections generally raised I am sorry to say, even by respectable Dissenters, against paying Church-rates, THE FACT IS, THEY PAY NOTHING; unless a man may be said to pay away that which does not come out of his own pocket; for the church rate was allowed for in the tenant's agreement for his lease with the proprietor. It is simply a perpetually transmitted rent-charge upon lands and houses. Nor does the proprietor in fact pay any church-rate, for his property was

inherited or bought by him, subject, as he well knew, to this charge. Now who so fit as the CONVOCATION, duly and wisely conducted, to express the honourable and upright sentiments, (for such I believe them to be,) of the Bishops and Clergy on these subjects; and at the same time to assist the civil power in any really safe and righteous adjustments?

CHAPTER IX.

The Church's own consultations a principal mean of promoting internal union among her members.

How could an increase of internal union among all orders in the Church of England-or, lest we should be supposed to be contemplating union for any purposes of party, or for narrow church-interests, or for dominion over any man's faith, we would rather say,-how could a general "unity of the spirit in the bond of peace" be promoted, and a general earnestness of sympathy and prayer excited, under God, among our Bishops, Clergy, and Laity? The answer naturally occurs, "By means of the exhortations and example of a well-ordered deliberative assembly of the chief representatives of the Church, met together in order to obtain full episcopal guidance, and for comprehensive mutual infor