the purpose either of reading to the people, or of distributing amongst them, any book or publication but the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament.

4. You are strictly prohibited from preaching, either in houses or elsewhere; and must avoid, altogether, assemblies of the people at fairs, or markets-your bu siness is to be with families and individuals.

5. Carefully avoid giving offence, by harsh or unkind attacks upon the errors of those with whom you have to do; but avail yourself of such opportunities as the passages you read, or the remarks of the hearers may afford, for affectionately setting before them the truth from the Scriptures themselves; or so that their error may appear to be exposed or reproved, rather by the word of God, than by your own words; and that in a spirit of love, and not of controversy. In so doing, you are not to rest satisfied with quoting from memory; but, as much as possible, make it your habit to refer to the Book itself, and to read from it.

6. If you are well received in any place, continue there as long as you find yourself useful, unless your presence should excite violent and public opposition; in which case it will be your duty to depart for a time.

7. On your arrival in any place, or in journeying through your district from place to place, you must leave no house unvisited where there is any reasonable prospect of your being useful.

If every

door is shut against you, do not spend time in endeavouring to overcome opposition, but seek another neighbourhood.

8. If in any place, or with any person', you have been the means of awakening attention to the Scriptures, it will be in the highest degree important to endeavour to keep that attention alive, by frequently revisiting that place or that person.

9. The limits within which you are to travel will be assigned to

you by your superintendant, and your movements within them are to be entirely directed by him. You are upon all occasions to be governed by his advice. You are to consider yourself as under his directions, and every part of your conduct is to be opened to his examination and controul. You will receive from him such copies of the Scriptures as he shall think it right you should distribute; and you are implicitly to obey such instructions as he shall give you, as to the terms upon which, and the places where, you are to circulate them.

10. You are to communicate with your employers only through your superintendant, and not by letter directly; you will receive your salary from him, which will be paid to you by such instalments as he may think expedient.

11. You are directed to keep a regular journal of each day's proceedings, noting carefully the places, and if possible the names of the owners of each house in which you shall have read the Scriptures; and mentioning precisely the portions of Scripture read by you on each occasion. You must not suffer the preparing of your journal to interfere with your more important duties. Let it be a plain narrative of facts, briefly but accurately stated. Trust as little as possible to memory; but, at farthest, note the transactions of each day before the close of the next.

12. Your journal must at all times be open to the inspection of your superintendant, and must be deposited with him at the end of every three months to be transmitted to your employers.

13. Abstain in every part of your conduct, from artifice or misrepresentation; and do not intentionally give occasion of mistake as to your own creed, or profession of religion; and should any change take place as to your views of doctrine, or of church government, you are required to notify the same to your superintendant.

You are called upon to take an

active part in the service of God; let it be your constant effort to shew a pattern of the life of a true Christian-in patience, forbearance, meekness, and true holiness.

And to this end, live in constant prayer, attend on all the ordinances and means of grace used by the denomination of Christians to which you belong, especially be diligent in the study of Holy Scripture, let the Lord be your strength and your dependance; trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding; in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.— Prov. iii. 5, 6.

FANATICISM.-ST. PATRICK'S WELL, COUNTY LIMERICK.

To the Editor of "the Christian Examiner." Mr.Editor,-The affinity between Popery and fanaticism both at home and abroad, is very remarkable. The following fact is mentioned by Madame Campan in her journal, on the credit of an Abbé, a man of distinguished character and of great piety.

The Abbé Bone day told Madame Campan, that during his residence in Italy, he frequently saw in the streets, monks of various orders, mounted on planks or chairs of wood, preaching or holding conferences. When these conferences took place in the churches, a Christ as large as a child, whose head was made to move by means of a spring, was supported by one of the chorister boys concealed within the pulpit. During these conferences, the priest asked the Christ whether he would forgive such things, and by help of the spring which was moved by the boy, the Christ bowed in token of assent, or shook his head in token of disapproval, just as the priest thought proper to determine.

Madame Campan says, "when Monsieur B-told us this, I said, never repeat such a story again. I cannot conceive that the clergy would tolerate things of a

At home, in a Protestant Churchyard, I myself witnessed a piece of superstition, not so knavish, but equally puerile and debasing to Christianity. Three funerals happening to come up at nearly the same time, the greatest emulation arose among their different friends, to see which would be interred first. I asked why they contended SO earnestly about what was apparently so indifferent. They told me that each party was afraid of having their friend put down last; the consequence of which would be, that whoever was last, would be drawing water to the souls in Purgatory, until some corpse was interred.

There is a village about five miles from Limerick, called Patrick's Well. It derives its name from a well dedicated to the titular saint. Over the well a slab is erected with the usual likeness of St. Patrick on it. If you stay in this village for a little time, you will see numbers of people bend themselves in a posture of profound reverence and adoration opposite the slab, when they pass and repass on the road. These are facts to attest what the genius of Popery is: they are mentioned to shew how much a reform is still wanting in the Church of Rome, notwithstanding all we have heard in the present day of her comparative purity.

Limerick.

VIATOR.

ECUCATION IN IRELAND.

In the year 1811, the Commissioners of Education computed the number of Schools in Ireland at 4,600, and that of scholars, at 200,000 in 1824, the former amounted to 11,823, and the latter to 560,549: in both instances they considerably more than dou

bled in thirteen years. In the former year, the Association in Capel-street had but 38 schools, and in the latter 226; and the schools, those of the Kildare Society, the London, Hibernian, and Baptist Society, were in the former, respectively, 8, 0, 38, 0, and in the latter, 113, 919, 618, and 88: the Roman Catholic Schools in the latter year amounted to 422.

There are in Ireland, founded by individuals, and wholly supported by them, 322 schools; and partly maintained by individuals accepting aid, and conforming to the rules of one of the several Societies, 2,332 such schools, containing 138,214 scholars.

Of the 560,549 scholars who attend the above 11,823 schools, 408,285 are of the Roman Catholic persuasion and of these, by the shewing of the Roman Catholic clergy, but 46,963 children attend Roman Catholic schools, leaving to the voluntary education of the Protestants, no less a number than 361,322, almost eightninths of the entire number.

Of the 422 schools immediately under Roman Catholic controul, 87 profess to read the Sacred Volume, while 949 declare that it is not read. How it is used in the other class, we have no means of judging; but if, as directed in Dr.

Province of Ulster

Population in 1821.

Doyle's celebrated pastoral, we fear it will not add much to the scriptural information of the student. In Ulster, there are 1,460 schools under Roman Catholic masters and mistresses. In 1,119 of them, so powerful is Protestant example and influence, the Scriptures are read; while in Leinster, where the number of the same schools is 2,486, but 745 read them in Munster, where there are 2,777 such schools, 497 use the Bible: and in Connaught, out of 1,262 schools, the number ascertained to be using the Scriptures is but 333.

SUNDAY SCHOOL SOCIETY IN
IRELAND.

The following is a statement of the number of Sunday Schools on the list of this Society, in each Province, on the 5th of January, 1827, and which had been assisted with gratuitous grants of Books by the Society since its formation in Nov. 1809 also a statement of the number of gratuitous teachers, and of the scholars, compared with the population at large, as stated in the census, taken by or der of the Legislature, in 1821. The larger table from which this abstract is taken, contains a statement of the population, number of schools, &c., in each county.

Leinster Connaught Munster

2,001,966 1,785,702

1,395

127,548

In connexion with the

Society, March 1, 1826.