every newspaper of the nefarious deeds of the midnight incendiary. Would it then be wise or just to plant in the fertile soil of Ireland such an Upas tree of moral pestilence, when the very evils against which patriots and philanthropists must toil and struggle, are the want of independence, the recklessness of character, and the low standard of enjoyment prevailing among its peasantry? No doubt it is out of kindness to our unhappy countrymen, that sanguine politicians propose the establishment of poor-laws, as a panacea for the miseries of Ireland; but let the boon be rejected as another Pandorus-box, which contains the seeds of national degradation and ruin. The various schemes which benevolence has devised to meet the imperious demands of that portion of the community who are thrown adrift on society, without employment, or any certain means of support, are more or less objectionable, according as they approach to or recede from the principle of voluntary relief, inasmuch, if we assist all who are in want without discrimination out of a public fund, we speedily swallow up the property of those who stand on the verge of independence, and in process of time we make serious encroachments on the means of those who have abundance, but who will be taught, by sad experience, that there is a moth and rust at work upon their riches, which will soon corrupt and destroy them. Again, if we confine parochial assistance to those only who, by sickness, or bodily infirmity, or old age, are unable to provide for their own necessities, we then leave as it were, outside the pale of charity, that turbulent and dangerous mass who are the ready instruments of evil in the hands of factious and unprincipled politicians, because men, when placed at misery's lowest ebb, become reckless at once of their lives and of their fortunes.

What, then, are we to do with not the mass but the mountain of wretchedness in this land? The height of it can only be reduced by a gradual process of national amelioration; and those dark and ominous clouds which lower upon its summit can only be dissipated by the combined rays of a sound moral and religious education. Instead, then, of forcing poor-laws on Ireland, the great object of the legislature should be, to conduct the people through their present distresses, in the hope and prospect of better times. The present redundance of the population is merely relative; she could, with ease and comfort, support double her present children, were resources brought fairly into operation, and the fertility of her soil made to undergo the stimulus of good husbandry. She is gifted

with a soil luxurious and inexhaustible; with a climate so far removed from the extremes of heat and cold, as to ensure perpetual verdure to her fields, with many noble rivers and capacious harbours; in short, with a singular assemblage of all the requisites for becoming the great emporium of the commercial world, and the successful rival of all other countries in opulence and power. Why then does she present the sad anomaly of a land richly endowed with all natural advantages of situation, soil, and climate, bantered, and almost overcome, by a population rapidly increasing in numbers, without any corresponding change or improvement either in its character or condition.

It would be irrelevant, in this place, to go through the unpleasant details of the circumstances in the history of Ireland which led to this melancholy result. Suffice it to say,

that for ages the religious animosities of the people, kept alive and fostered by various means, were the bane of all successful industry and national prosperity. But Ireland, we trust, is now on the eve of a great and glorious moral revolution, which may be greatly advanced and cherished by wise and conciliatory measures towards all classes of its inhabitants who have been hitherto divided into contending factions; all of them, we fear, too regardless of the peace and prosperity of the fair island which gave them birth. Let us hail the ap

proach of better days for our country. Ages of misrule and misfortune have rolled over her, yet still her energies are unbroken, and the warm-heartedness of her children gushes forth as free and as gracefully as ever. Erin is not the land where this gross libel upon human nature should be penned; that spontaneous relief will not flow in abundance upon the helpless and the indigent; and that it requires the force of legislative enactments to compel Irishmen to do justice and to love mercy. God has so formed his intelligent offspring, that we need not many arguments to excite our pity and 'compassion. The chief difficulty is to restrain the impetuosity of man's benevolence, and to direct his bounty towards the most worthy objects. Now this never can be rightly done unless the poor are obliged to cultivate the friendship and attentions of the rich, and then the rich will never want inclination to relieve the distresses of the poor.

But, Sir, whilst I have endeavoured to exhibit the baneful consequences of any system of poor-laws in this country, as tending to increase and perpetuate misery, by holding out a premium to idleness, and making fearful inroads on private

property, there is one aspect of the question, in reference to the Presbyterian Church, which must not be overlooked. It has been argued, that the radical defect of all plans or systems for the compulsory relief of the poor, and one which is inseparable, be it remembered, from their operation under all circumstances, is, that they tend to depress the condition of those not receiving parish assistance, the class next that of paupers, or two or three grades above this, and to create more poor by the inducements held out to marriage and improvidence. Now, Sir, the great mass of the people belonging to our church in Ireland, would be at once materially affected by the imposition of a poor-rate. In general they are blessed with neither poverty or riches; and it is not too much to say of them, that they are virtuous and independent men, who are careful to educate their families in the fear of God, and to provide for their subsistence things necessary and honest.

They constitute, at this moment, the bond of British connexion, and a very influential body in the preservation of the public weal; but if their bold and free spirit be now crushed by a worse than Egyptian bondage, and this land of their adoption, so beauteous and romantic, be converted into a vast lazar-house of paupers, where virtue must languish beneath a load of misery, and the energies of her sons be crippled in their very source; then it were better, by far, to fly to the land beyond the Western ocean, where our persecuted fathers found a secure habitation and a home.

B.

N

N.

THE SYNOD OF ULSTER AND THE

SECESSION SYNOD.

[It will be interesting to our readers to know that a large and influential meeting, composed of ministers and laymen of both the Synods, has been held in Belfast, for conversation upon the subject of the following letter. It was agreed to make it matter of earnest and united prayer to God. And a devotional meeting has been appointed to take place shortly in Belfast, at which members of the two Synods are to officiate. -EDIT.]

TO THE EDITOR OF THE ORTHODOX PRESBYTERIAN,

SIR, I HAVE been rejoiced to find that your Number for February contained some observations respecting a union of the Synod of Ulster and the Associate Synod. Allow me to

say, that your brief hint upon such a subject was most refreshing to my mind, like the dew that falleth on the tender herb. For the last two or three years, few subjects have engrossed my mind so much as this; and the more I reflect upon it, I am the more convinced, that the sooner it can be accomplished, it will serve the best interests of both bodies, and more extensively promote the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ in this country.

If, however, the accomplishment of such a measure required from me, or my brethren in the Secession Church, the relinquishment of any fundamental principle of our holy faith, I would by no means give it my countenance. The truth of God is not to be sold at any price; and no object can be good that requires such a sacrifice. But on the other hand, if such an object could be effected, without giving up any of the truths of Scripture, then it is most criminal to delay-opposition to it becomes sin-the want of it must act as a barrier to the usefulness of our churches-our divided state be gratifying to the great adversary of all true religion-and when we are joined together as one staff in the hand of the Lord, we would present an object of the highest interest to God-to the spirits around the throne, and to all good men on the earth.

The great question that presents itself in the consideration of such a subject is-Do both bodies in their public synodical capacity hold the same fundamental doctrines? Union, to be lasting, and beneficial, and comfortable, must be based on unanimity and soundness in "the faith that was once delivered to the saints." The question is not, I conceive-do certain ministers, or members of our churches, hold, in all minute particulars, exactly the same views of every portion of the word of God, with regard to doctrine, and discipline, and government. Unless the human mind is coerced to think in a certain way, by an inquisitorial tribunal, it cannot be expected, by any reasonable person, that there will be perfect sameness of thought on every minute theological subject. There are for instance, I doubt not, differences of opinion amongst good men in both synods, regarding the doctrine of the millennium-not that any deny that there is a scene of millennial glory drawing near to us; but they may lawfully differ respecting the character of that interesting dispensation, and the character, whether personal or spiritual that may be sustained by our blessed Lord during that period. All the brethren in both churches believe that Popish and Mahometan errors will be destroyed by the brightness of divine truth; but

it seems perfectly legal, that they should differ in their specu lations respecting the time and the mode of the downfall of these erroneous systems. Many other minute particulars I might specify, respecting which every Christian should be at perfect liberty to speculate, as long as in his speculations he does not advance any thing contrary to (Rom. xii. 6.) the proportion of the faith, i. e. its analogy, its broad fundamental principles.

Are we then, as public bodies, agreed about those essential principles upon which alone a union could safely be formed, and on which the Lord Jesus Christ founded his church? I rejoice, that without hesitation, I can answer in the affirmative. The ministers of both bodies must subscribe the same standard, the Westminster Confession of Faith. Both Synods testify to the world, at the present moment, their belief in the doctrine of the holy Trinity-original sin-the impotency of the unregenerate to do what is spiritually good-justification by the free grace of God-the necessity of the Holy Ghost to regenerate and sanctify the mind-that there is one Mediator between God and man, the Lord Jesus Christ—that his salvation is free and effectual to all who believe in his finished righteousness-and that the judgment of the world is committed to him, "that all men might honour the Son, even as they honour the Father."

Can

Both Synods are perfectly agreed in their theological views respecting baptism and the Lord's Supper-that infants and believing adults may receive the former-and that none but professing believers should be admitted to the latter. Both are agreed that there should be perfect equality amongst all ministers, and that by kirk sessions, presbyteries, and synods, the affairs of our Zion should be guided and governed. didates for the holy ministry in both bodies are educated in the same manner-taught the same catechisms-pass through the same collegiate curriculum-and by taking part in the same Sabbath-schools and missionary societies, are trained up alike for active exertion in the Church of Christ. And in the present time, when there is so much noise respecting civil and ecolesiastical politics, it is of considerable importance, that as far as our connexion with government is concerned, both are agreed in their politico-ecclesiastical tenets. The private members of our respective churches are as completely intermingled as if they belonged to the same communion-the nearest and dearest relations are, in hundreds of instances, connected with both Synods-the intermarriages that are daily