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Intelligence-Manchester College, York.

Manchester College, York.

account of this Institution.
Collection at Stannington Cha-
pel, near Sheffield, by the
Rev. P. Wright,

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moving it, stated Mr. Joyce's claims to the gratitude of the Society, and availed him- The following sums have been received on self of the opportunity to express his own personal esteem; and Mr. Kentish observed that he had for a long series of years had the pleasure of calling Mr. Joyce his friend, and that he never knew the bosom in which glowed a warmer or a kinder heart.

In the evening Mr. Bransby conducted the devotional service and the Rev. James Yates delivered an eloquent discourse from Ps. civ. 81: The Lord shall rejoice in his works."

J. H. B.

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Do. at Wakefield Chapel, by
the Rev. Thomas Johnstone. 30
Do. at Upper Chapel, Shef-
field, by the Rev. Dr. Phi-
lipps.

Do, at Plymouth, by the Rev.
Israel Worsley.

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Do. at Norwich, by the Rev.
Thomas Madge
Do. at Newcastle, by the Rev.
William Turner.

Thomas Jervis.

Do. at Leeds, by the Rev.
Two Collections at Gainsbo-
rough, by the Rev. N. T. H.
Heinekin. In 1815.
In 1816.

Benefaction from the Rev. Mr.

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Southern Unitarian Society. On Wednesday the 24th of July, the Annual Meeting of the Southern Unitarian Society, was held at the Unitarian Chapel in Newport, Isle of Wight. The object of this Society is to promote the knowledge and practice of evangelical Christianity, by the distribution of books. Mr. Aspland preached a sermon adapted to the occasion of the meeting,. from Rev. xiv. 6, 7. The Society voted thanks to Mr. Aspland for his sermon, with a request to be allowed to print the same. They re-appointed Thomas Cooke, Jun. Esq. the Secretary; voted several new books; and determined that the Society shall meet next year at Poole, in Dorsetshire, and that Mr. State of the Finances of the Oldham Bennett be requested to preach. Afterwards a numerous and respectable company met to dine at the Bugle Inn, in Newport, when Mr. Samuel Parkes was unanimously called to the chair. After dinner several appropriate addresses were delivered by different gentlemen; and the afternoon was spent in a truly pleasant and harmonious manner,

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ing the attention of the Unitarian public to the present state of their firances, they by no means wish to trespass upon that liberality in which they have so largely participated. They merely desire it to be known, that their own resources are very. inadequate to the provision which they are called upon to make, and that the smallest donations with which they may be favoured will be most thankfully received.

W. HARRISON.

Any persons disposed to contribute to the assistance of the Oldham brethren, may transmit their donations either to the Rev. R. Aspland, Hackney, or to the Rev. W. Harrison, 20, Brazen-nose Street, Manchester.

and Dr. Marsh being known as its warm opponent. We can hardly suppose that the Professor has been rewarded with the mitre for his political publications tending to promote the war against kepublican France: the results of that war are now so clearly seen and so strongly felt, that even the Pitt party must, one should think, look back upon its promoters with senti= ments very different from gratitude. We can still less imagine, in these times of professed orthodoxy, that Dr. Marsh is advanced to his present dignity on account of his services to Biblical Literature. Those services are in the eye of a true Churchman of very questionable merit ; since they have contributed (in spite of Dr. Marsh's own protestations) to take away the supports of some of the fundamental doctrines of the soi disant orthodox church. Whatever be the cause of the new Bishop's creation, it will be honourable to him and gratifying to the lovers of Dr. Herbert Marsh, Margaret Pro- Biblical learning, if he proceed in the fessor at Cambridge, is promoted to the course which he has so successfully entered See of Llandaff, vacant by the death of upon, and lay open the road to a thorough Dr. Watson. This appointment is proba- knowledge of Scriptural divinity. He has bly designed to preserve an equilibrium on displayed on some occasions an independthe Episcopal bench; the last gentlemanence of mind and a spirit which are an raised to this dignity, Dr. Ryder, Dean of Wells, made Bishop of Gloucester, being a zealous member of the Bible Society,

For particulars of the different contribu tions to the Oldham Chapel, vide M. Rep. for Feb. 1816, p. 123.

DOMESTIC.

MISCELLANEOUS.

earnest to his friends that the See of Llandaff will still be eminent for the public virtue as well as talents of its bishop.

MONTHLY RETROSPECT of PUBLIC AFFAIRS;

OR,

The Christian's Survey of the Political World.

A great fleet is gone out to chastise it is said the Algerines, for their mode of war fare, which differs from that pursued by the states which call themselves Christian. The papers are in consequence full of bitterness against the Corsairs, not reflecting how very little superior to theirs is the conduet of more civilized life. Some allowance is also to be made for those wretched men, who have not the advantages which we possess of more improved instruction from the Scriptures, from the liberty of the press, and a better system of government. It is to be recollected also what cause of hatred to the Christian name they inherit from their ancestors; for they are the descendants of the Moors, whom the wicked policy of the Spaniards drove with unexampled barbarity from the country in which they had been settled for several hundred years. Besides, if the Christians complain of slavery in Africa, it is to be recollected that the Africans in their turn, when taken slaves, have been subjected to a very great degree of hardship on board the Christian gallies.

Far be it from us to vindicate the Africans, or to deny the propriety of bringing

them if possible to a superior line of conduct. It is a beautiful traît in the history of the Romans, that in a treaty with the Carthaginians, they insisted on the abolition of human sacrifices. We may readily conceive what influence the religion of Moloch must have had on the temper and manners of his worshippers. Traces of it may be seen in the writings of St. Augustine, whose divinity was warped by the feelings of his country; and we are not to be surprised that Calvin should have beheld with joy the torturing of Servetus, without reflecting that this inhuman sentiment sprang from the Carthaginian_Mo-* loch, not from the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is distinctly proclaimed to us under the endearing epithet of a loving Father. This reflection merits to be impressed on every mind subjugated to Calvin; for the same cause produces the same effects, provided the circumstances are the same and however meliorated by the spirit of the times is the Calvinistic spirit, yet its basis remains the same, derived from Moloch, not from him of whom it is said→→ God is Love.

This new warfare will lead to many re

:

State of Public Affairs.

flections on the conduct of Christians towards each other. For nearly a quarter of a century they, who profess this holy name, have been living in a state, which is the direct opposite to what the name implies, Every Christian is directed to address his heavenly Father in a prayer, that his kingdom may come but this is a kingdom of peace, and it cannot be conceived that, if this prayer which was repeated so frequently by so many millions of tongues, had really come from the heart, the nations of Europe could have lived in the state of warfare, which it has been our melancholy fate to experience. We know that it has been and is urged continually, that war has existed from the earliest times, and will continue as long as there are men on earth. True it has existed for too long a period, and will exist as long as the spirit of the firstborn Cain, the first murderer, continues to be the theme of general applause. But let it be recollected, that this spirit is entirely opposite to the spirit of Christianity: and as real Christianity makes a progress in the world, the spirit of Cain will give way to it, and at last be entirely subdued. In the mean time it is the duty of Christians to oppose it to the utmost of their power, and to hail with satisfaction every attempt to bring men to a just knowledge and abhorrence of war, and at any rate to endeavour to alleviate as much as possible its horrors. The events of the last years shew how little is to be gained by blood: conquerors and conquered on calculating their respective gains and losses, have reason to regret that the voice of religion had not its due effect on all parties.

Let us hope that the new Christian treaty, as it is called, may have some effect. The eyes of Europe are turned to the congress of sovereigns united on this occasion. Mankind has been so often deceived by professions, that apprehensions are entertained that under cover of religious zeal greater inroads may be made on civil liberty. Yet who knows whether God may not have turned the hearts of sovereigns towards their people, and reflecting on the miseries which they have occasioned to each other, and to their subjects, too often upon frivolous occasions, they may be led to embrace a system, which shall prevent in fature unnecessary effusion of blood. The page of history bears too ample testimony to the poet's exclamation

Delirant reges plectuntur Achivi: and the converse is also true

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Delirant Achivi, plectuntur reges. The hurts of all parties must be changed; and if they have rendered themselves up as servants of iniquity to iniquity, it is an encouraging thought that the time is at hand when they will render themselves up as

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servants of boliness to the perfecting of human life. At any rate it is now the time for all men of enlightened minds and liberal dispositions to forward the designs of these sovereigns, and to encourage their undertakings. As they express their determination to act upon Christian principles, too much care cannot be taken to place those principles before them in their proper light; and one of the first objects should be so to regulate the relations of states to each other, that they may not hereafter rush heedlessly into war, but take every previous step which prudence dictates and religion requires, before they run into the danger of calling upon themselves or their subjects the Avenger of blood.»

France appears to be approaching to a more settled state. It has been said of the Bourbons, that they neither learned any thing nor forgot any thing during the years of their adversity. But whatever might be their state, whether that of dreaming, or dozing, or attending in some degree to the changes in their nation, they cannot avoid the general rule; they must submit to circumstances. They cannot bring the nation to what it was before the Revolution, and they must accommodate themselves to the change. One great point has been submitted to by them. The Legion of Honour formed by Buonaparte has been adopted by them, and the consequence is, that the flattering distinctions of ancient nobility will bend to the new honours, more suited to the present times. In fact they now find that it is impossible to restore the nobility and the clergy to their ancient privileges, The minds of men are so changed in this respect, that the deference formerly exacted would now appear ridiculous. But it must be long before the French can adapt themselves suitably to the new order of things. The court now sees that in governing twenty millions of people, used for twenty-five years to a freedom of sentiment, unknown in the times of the Bourbons, cannot be ruled by the few that were devoted to their cause. The old Royalists may be offended, but the necessity of the case requires that men in office should be selected from other parties; and whatever may be deemed the crimes of the Revolutionists, some of them must be admitted into the management of public affairs, or there will be no rule at all. By degrees party spirit may subside. Each party should look a little more to its own faults, and not to the faults of their neighbours and of all spirits, that which is the most dangerous to the kingly authority is the military. Happy will it be for all nations and for all sovereigns, when they see this subject in its true light. A sovereign, who is despotic by means of the military, is only a slave to the military, and holds his throne on a very precarious tenure.

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Such contradictory accounts arrive from Spanish America, that it is impossible to form a decisive opinion of its state. One event in the Northern part seems fatal to the Spanish power. It is said, that General Humboldt, with a great body of French of ficers, has entered into the service of the insurgents of Mexico, and with such instructors in the art of war, they will find no great difficulty in overcoming their op ponents. In the South, apprehensions are entertained for the independence of Buenos Ayres; and the kingdom of Brazil is reported to have sent considerable forces to wards La Plata, if not to attack the rising republic, to secure at least the territory North of its banks. Enough is to be done by the court of Brazil in its own kingdom, without interfering in this contest; for by looking well to its own internal government, it may soon become a power of far greater consequence than it can be by a return to Europe.

At home a great gloom overhangs the country, from the distresses of the agricultural, commercial, and manufacturing interests. This was foreseen by those who considered the artificial state in which we lived during the war; and it must be some time before things return into their natural channel. A mistaken policy gave way perhaps too much on the alarm, and a strange alarm it was, on the comparative cheapness of provisions; but the hopes raised by their becoming dearer have been falsified. The evil took its rise from another source, which no prohibitions could remedy. We had lived with an artificial circulating medium, which could not bear the sudden shock that was given to it by the peace. The restoration of payment in gold will put things on a proper footing; but in the return to it, the sufferings of individuals must be great. Notwithstanding the unfavourable season we have experienced, we may yet look to a plentiful harvest; and it is fortunate for us that government need not be apprehensive of any financial difficulties.

The riots in the Isle of Ely terminated in the execution of five of the ringleaders, and a few more were subjected to inferior punishments. The conduct of the unhappy men in taking leave of the world, and the solemnity which so judiciously took place upon the occasion, will, it is to be hoped, prevent a recurrence to similar interpositions of the law. An extraordinary course was taken by some of the persons employed in collieries. They dragged heavy waggons along the road, laden with coals, moving very peaceably, but bending their course to the metropolis. They were bappily prevented, but in a mild way, from arriving to the end of the journey, which could not but

have been productive of riot and tumult. There seems to be a general disposition on the part of the higher to attend to the wants of the lower classes; and as long as this is cultivated, however we may feel for the present calamities, we may rest confident that time will do much towards the relief of them. There has been distress at the end of every war, but peace brings healing in its wings. Only let us not be wanting to ourselves, nor think too slightingly of its blessings.

Meetings have been held in town and in several parts of the country, for the relief of the poor. One at the London Tavern was presided over by the Duke of York, accompanied by two of his brothers, the Archbishop of Canterbury, several other members of the Houses of Lords and Commons, and a very respectable body of members and tradesmen of the city of London. The purport of the meeting was to raise subscription, but the framers of the motions gave an erroneous statement of the causes of the distress, which led to a sharp discussion, ending in the alteration of the motion and the withdrawing of the amendment, The latter entered into a political disquisition, in which a very great majority of the room concurred, censuring the lavish expenditure of the public money, and calling for reform in various particulars. There was much truth in the assertions of all parties, for it is to a complication of causes that the present distress is owing, among which the injudicious act, under the name of the corn-bill, is apprehended by many to bear no inconsiderable share. The fact is, that whatever may have been the causes, the distress actually exists; and though a society of this kind can go but little way towards the general relief, yet the spirit of benevolence which it engenders cannot be too highly commended, and in many instances its assistance will be efficacious. A Common Hall has also been held, which has determined on a petition to the Prince Regent on his Throne, a resolution which requires the assent of two parties before it can be carried into execution. A strong objection was made to the petitioning of the House of Commons, from an evident disapprobation of the proceedings of that House. But perhaps it is not duly considered, that the right of petitioning is a very great advantage possessed by the people of this country; and that if petitions were general, and they are not likely to be general unless a strong case is made out, it is not likely that the House of Commons would resist the unanimous feeling of the nation. At any rate, whatever may be our political differences, Charity is not of a party.

Various Articles of Intelligence, &e, stand over for insertion next month.,

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Estimate of the Philosophical Character

of Lord Bacon.*

[From Dissertation I. by Dugald Stewart, prefixed to Supplement to Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol. I. p. 48-59.]

HE state of science towards the

Tclose of the sixteenth century, presented a field of observation singularly calculated to attract the curiosity, and to awaken the genius of Bacon; nor was it the least of his personal advantages, that, as the son of one of Queen Elizabeth's ministers, he had a ready access, wherever he went, to the most enlightened society in Europe. While yet only in the seventeenth year of his age, he was removed by his father from Cambridge to Paris, where it is not to be doubted, that the novelty of the literary scene must have largely contributed to cherish the natural liberality and independence of his mind. Sir Joshua Reynolds has remarked, in one of his academical Discourses, that "every seminary of learning is surrounded with an atmosphere of floating knowledge, where every mind may imbibe somewhat congenial to its own original conceptions." He might have added, with still greater truth, that it is an atmosphere, of which it is more peculiarly salutary for those who have been elsewhere reared to breathe the air.

The remark is applicable to higher pursuits than were in the contemplation of this philosophical artist; and it suggests a hint of no inconsiderable value for the education of youth.

The merits of Bacon, as the father of experimental philosophy, are so universally acknowledged, that it would be superfluous to touch upon them here. The lights which he has struck out in various branches of the

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philosophy of mind, have been much less attended to; although the whole scope and tenor of his speculations shew, that to this study his genius was than to that of the material world. It far more strongly and happily turned, was not, as imagined, by sagacious anticipations to have of particular discoveries afterwards to be made in physics, that his writings have had so powerful an influence in accelerating the advancement of that science. In the extent and accuracy of his physical knowledge, he was far inferior to many of his predecessors; but he surpassed them all in his knowledge of the laws, the resources and the limits of the human understanding. The sanguine expectations with which he looked forwards to the future, were founded solely on his confidence in the untried capacities of the mind; and on a conviction of the possibility of invigorating and guiding, by means of logical rules, those faculties which, in all our researches after truth, are the organs or instruments to be employed. Such rules,” as he himself has observed, "do in some sort equal men's wits, and leave no great advantage or pre-eminence to the perfect and excellent motions of the spirit. To draw a straight line, or to describe a circle, by aim of hand only, there must be a great difference between an unsteady and unpractised hand, and a steady and practised; but to do it by rule or compass it, is much

alike."

Nor is it merely as a logician that Bacon is entitled to notice on the present occasion. It would be difficult to name another writer prior to Locke, whose works are enriched with so many just observations on the intellectual phenomena. Among these, the most valuable relate to the laws of memory, and of imagination; the latter of which subjects he seems to

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