(Acts. i. 25.) which applies it to Matthias rather than to Judas, and interprets it to express the province in which Judas was to have exercised his apostolate, and to which Matthias was to succeed; it is clear from the passages already cited from St. Paul (Rom. xv. 20. 2 Cor. x. 13, 14,) that the Apostle considered himself as having a " measure,"-a definite tract of country, which, he says, God had distributed to him for the exercise of his ministry, and that beyond this he was not to stretch himself unless God should be pleased to enlarge his borders; and that other men, his brethren in the apostleship, had each their respective foundations, upon which he was not to build. And though the several boundary lines were not actually traced at this early period (as they could not be till the work to which the Apostles were separated was complete,) yet it further appears (Acts xiii. 2, 3,-xvi. 6, 7,) that all invasion of each other's province was prevented by the continual superintendance of the Holy Ghost, who both selected the individuals, and sent them forth to the countries in which they were to labour, and also checked them when they were ignorantly trespassing beyond the limits to which their commission extended.* Neither antiquity nor yet scripture then (as far as I am at present instructed) supply any precedent for the mission which Dr. Luscombe has received, but both, on the contrary, testify against it; and thus the proceeding is shewn to be anomalous in all its parts;-in the appointment itself;-in the manner of conferring it ;-and in the powers conveyed: and there appears but two methods of drawing a veil over it, and retracing, as far as possible, the mistaken step which has been taken-Either the translation of Bishop Luscombe to one of the vacant Sees in Scotland, or else the appointing him Suffragan to one of the existing Bishops whom he may eventually succeed. And with reference to the religious necessities urged as a warrant for sending a Protestant Bishop into France, the conferring upon the Ambassador's Chaplain the temporary office of Commissary, would provide equally well for them all, Confirmation excepted; for obtaining which, if duly valued by our emigrant countrymen, a visit home would surely not be felt as an unreasonable requirement. Your obedient Servant. P. S. If your correspondent W. F. H. will reconsider the case of Martialis and Basilides, he will find that he has mistated that part of it which bears upon the question at issue. These Bishops had been synodically deposed, and their places had been filled-not by "the orthodox Bishops of a neighbouring nation sending one of their number to preside" &c.; but by the appointment of a successor upon the spot, "who was unanimously chosen by the votes of all the people, and the approbation of the Bishops who were assembled." And with respect to his other precedent," the famous Eusebius of Samosata," he might equally to the purpose have cited the famous John Wesley, who, upon the severance of this country from the United States of America, in The authorities to be adduced in support of this interpretation, are St. Chrysostom, Ecumenius, Dydimus, (as cited by Hammond in loco, who prefers that rendering himself), Dr. Thos. Jackson, vol. iii. p. 334. Mason, and Knatchbull. vested two gentlemen with the episcopal character, and sent them thither to "his poor people," as he called them," in the hope," as he expresses it, "of preventing further disorders," (Bishop Horn's Life, p. 157);-or the famous Archdeacon Corrie, of Calcutta, who, upon Bishop Middleton's refusal to ordain Abdool Messeeh, took him to his own house, and calling in the aid of some German missionaries, dubbed him Reverend by Lutheran ordination; for the negative circumstance of not being "visited with the censures of the Church," affords all warranty" which belongs to it equally to all three cases. the " If I know the signature of your Correspondent, I highly respect both his general knowledge and his theological attainments, nor do I less value him for his Church principles-for the zeal with which he maintains them-or the ample justice which he does them, in the assiduous discharge of all pastoral duties; but when principles which appear to me vitally important are at issue, the question must be debated on its own merits, unshackled by personal respects. LETTER FROM BISHOP LIPSCOMBE. Rio Bueno, Trelawney, Jamaica. DEAR SIR, I have very sincere pleasure in announcing to the Society a growing disposition for the establishment of schools. Institutions of this kind have been lately placed on a better footing, in the parish of St. Thomas in the East, where the exertions of the clergy have been zealously seconded by the laity. I am here on my return from a visit to the parishes of St. James and Trelawney, and I am happy to say every attention has been paid to my suggestions. Every day's experience convinces me that the adult must be instructed through the instrumentality of the young. I have succeeded in following the Bell system of instruction on some estates where quick Negroes, under the direction of the clergy, impart to a class what they know themselves. The Lord's Prayer, the Belief, the Commandments, Duty to God and our Neighbour, are broken into short questions, and repeated over and over again, till they make the proper impression. The result of the lecture is immediately communicated to the adults, and I feel convinced that no pains of the most zealous and indefatigable clergymen can be attended with half the success of this simple and obvious method. By the provision of a consolidated clergy act, which has just passed into a law, full powers are given to the vestries in each parish to tax themselves for the erection of chapels, the purchase of burial grounds, building schools, &c. All fees are abolished as far as the slave population is concerned. The stipends of rectors are raised to 600l. per annum, subject to the Widows' and Orphan Fund; and all certificates for their quarterly payments, as well as of island curates, are to be signed by the bishop instead of the vestry. A register office is established, and certified copies of all parish registers will be transmitted annually to the registrar. I anticipate much benefit to the Church from this act, and already perceive the good effects of it. At our last meeting, the whole sum of 5001. granted by the Society, was appropriated to the use of schools, which I am striving hard to establish in every part of the diocese. I purpose visiting Honduras and the Bahamas about the middle of next month. I remain, dear Sir, Your faithful and obedient Servant, ON CONFIRMATION. MR. EDITOR,-Allow me to suggest that the manner in which the ancient and holy rite of confirmation is generally administered in this country is open to some objections: and surely there is no one of our Church ceremonies which requires more peculiar solemnity than this. I cannot, indeed, conceive a more important act, or a more awful moment of our lives, than that in which we ratify the engagements entered into in baptism: I cannot imagine an occasion better calculated for making a deep impression,--not only upon the minds of those who are the more immediate objects of this rite, but upon all who are present at its administration,-than that which confirmation presents; and a reference to the service appointed for this rite will suffice to shew, that every precaution has been taken to render it as personally impressive as possible. When duly administered, there are few, I am persuaded, who would not feel the awful responsibility under which the admission into the Christian covenant has placed them; or who would not be led to reverence the delegated authority of him by whose official act this responsibility, and, consequently, their interest in the covenanted privileges of the gospel, are established. Unhappily, however, from the manner in which confirmation is now generally administered, it would be vain to hope that these beneficial effects will result from it. From the protracted time which (contrary to the sixtieth Canon) is now permitted to intervene between the episcopal visitations, and from the immense numbers who are, consequently, candidates for confirmation at the same time, instead of being accompanied by a correspondent solemnity, these are commonly scenes of confusion, where it is utterly impossible for the Clergy to preserve even decency or order; and, hence, far from producing the fruits which might otherwise be expected to spring from it, a contempt for the ordinances of the Church is not unfrequently the unhappy consequence which results from it. I say this from personal knowledge that such has been the case; and I most fervently trust, that among the ecclesiastical improvements now so zealously promoting by our Bishops, some method for conducting this rite will be proposed and adopted, which may secure the Church against that discredit to which she has thus frequently been exposed through its mal-administration*. And remain, Sir, your's sincerely, D. G. Since writing the above I have been informed, that the delay in the admi nistration of confirmation, beyond the time assigned by the Canon, has been remedied by the Bishop of Chester. It may possibly be also the case with other dioceses. May the praiseworthy example be followed in this-the diocese of Norwich. We gladly avail ourselves of this opportunity to notice "A Method of Preparation for Confirmation," just published by Messrs. Rivington. This little work, consisting of about twenty 24mo pages, seems to us to comprise every necessary direction for a young person about to be confirmed. After stating the doctrine of the Church respecting Confirmation, the rule of preparation prescribed is laid down." With the letter of it," the author observes, "there is a very general compliance; but how little will such compliance avail, if we are unmindful of the full purport and spirit of the command!" Then follows an address to persons about to be confirmed, and directions for a due preparation. The meditation upon Confirmation, and the forms of self-examination, are well calculated to give the young person a clear idea of the nature and extent of what is required of him. The " form of resolution" we will extract; for we are sure that all who have been confirmed may profit from reviewing the obligations which arise from their baptismal vow. A FORM OF RESOLUTION. "O Lord, I am now about to renew those solemn vows, which were made for me at my baptism, and which, alas! I have so often broken. I do therefore resolve, by the aid of thy Holy Spirit, to renounce in future the devil and all his works, those sins of the mind, pride, malice, envy, all lying revenge, and cruelty, all tempting others to sin, all hatred of religion. I utterly renounce the pomps and vanities of this wicked world, all sinful excesses in things lawful, all evil customs, all evil companions, all that friendship with the world which is enmity with thee, all things that may estrange my heart from thee. I utterly renounce all the sinful lusts of the flesh, all the inordinate desires of my own corrupt nature, all fleshly lusts which war against my soul, sloth, idleness, intemperance, lasciviousness, all filthiness of flesh and spirit, which render us unclean in thy sight. O Lord, I utterly renounce all things that may in any way displease thee, and pray thee to deliver me from them. "I know that sin is an abomination to thee, I therefore desire grace to abhor it. I know that sin exposes us to thy wrath, and sets the sinner at a distance from thee; I know that I cannot love thee unless I hate sin; I therefore pray thee, give me grace to loathe and forsake it. Thy love shall be hereafter the sole rule and guide of my life: I will try to love what thou lovest, and to hate what thou hatest. I will believe all that thou hast revealed in thy word, and attend to all that thou hast commanded, and walk in the same all the days of my life. All this I own myself bound to believe and to do; and though of myself I am unable to perform it, yet by thy help I will strive to keep these my Vows. O Lord, send the spirit of adoption into my heart, to instil into me true filial affection to thee my heavenly Father, that I may again be owned by thee as thy child, and call thee Father, and share the blessings which thou impartest to thy children, and for my Saviour's sake, be admitted to an inheritance with him in the kingdom of heaven. O Lord, accept my imperfect repentance, compassionate my infirmities, forgive my wickedness, purify my uncleanness, strengthen my weakness, and let thy love ever rule in my heart. These prayers I humbly offer, and pray thee to accept and hear them, for the sake of the merits and sufferings of Jesus Christ thy only Son. Amen." The "Directions for the day of Confirmation," with which the manual concludes, are excellent ;-we, however, will not extract them, but heartily recommend the work to the notice of all whose duty it is to feed the Lambs of Christ's fold. DEAN ANDREWES. Ir is the misfortune of the Church of England that she does not sufficiently make known the good qualities of her sons, and set them forth, as an example to the rest, and a means of glorifying God. In the course of last year, the excellent Dean Andrewes was called to his long home-coming to his "grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in, in his season," full of faith, full of piety, and, above all, full of Christian humility. Unnoticed by the Church, which he had so usefully served for nearly half a century,-unthought of by many, who owe it to him, under the divine blessing, that they ever thought of religion,-did this meek and lowly Christian depart in the same unobtrusive manner in which he had so long lived. No notice was, we believe, ever taken of his decease,-(a decease, which to him was gain, but to the Church loss unspeakable,)—except by the publication of two or three sermons, which do not supply the defect we lament. We might, indeed, take shame to ourselves, that no memoir of this excellent and truly primitive Christian appeared in our pages: but circumstances, over which we had no control, prevented it; and we were unable to persuade his family or his friends to give us the requisite assistance. He is, indeed, gone to reap his reward: but the fervour of his impressive eloquence-the simplicity and singleness of heart, which shone so conspicuously in all his actions, and so peculiarly in his preaching, will, it is to be hoped, long live in the memory of all who had the advantage of being improved by the piety of his conversation, and the impressive force of his preaching. By these, he being dead, will yet speak to many. It is well known that Dr. Andrewes was remarkable for his natural and impressive delivery; and that his discourses were celebrated rather for plainness of diction than elegance of expression. He pretended to no originality whatever; and could never be induced to publish his discourses. To this rule, we believe, he strictly adhered, except in one or two instances, in which custom was almost compulsion, or its neglect, at least, very uncourteous. A sermon, which he preached before the House of Commons, on general Fast Day, forms one of these exceptions; and as it is by no means inapplicable to the present day, we are sure our readers will excuse our calling their attention to it by the following extract: "The character of a nation must in reality be such as the characters of the individuals which compose it; and, therefore, every man must look principally to himself, and not to his neighbour, for the amendment of the public character. It is most evident, that men of the best moral and religious conduct naturally prove the greatest blessing to a nation; for the practice of piety, charity, truth, subordination, justice, temperance, chastity, obedience, and repentance for having offended |