tlemen of different religious denominations. The health of the Dissenting ministers of the town was proposed by a clergyman of the Established Church; a Dissenting minister proposed the health of the Catholic priest; and the latter adopted all the liberal sentiments that had been previously suggested. But the most extraordinary occurrence of the day was the generous retractation by Mr. Burn, an aged clergyman, of the hard things which he had written against Dr. Priestley thirty-five years ago: this disavowal of unkindness towards the illustrious dead is so honourable to the living speaker that we feel it to be a duty as well as a pleasure to put it upon record." In the school of Christianity," said Mr. Burn, "they were taught that the man who was acting in accordance with the spirit of the gospel, was deserving the friendship of his Christian brethren, however different their sentiments might be. That church to which he belonged inculcated feelings of cha. rity to all mankind, and though there might be things in which they differed, they had no prerogative to assume the right of directing the consciences of others.

"He could only say, that whatever might have been the defects of his own conduct in the early periods of his life,

he now felt himself better established in

the principles of his religion than at any former period; yet had he to live his past life over again, he should have to correct the asperity of feelings and expressions which it was his misfortune to use in his controversies with a late respectable and highly talented individual (Dr. Priestley).

MISCELLANEOUS.

Ir will be seen by the following resolution, adopted on Monday, the 28th ult., by the General Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society, to whom a Special Committee appointed for considering the question of circulating the Apocrypha with the Bible had made a report expressive of strong disapprobation of such circulation, that the Apocrypha is to be henceforward absolutely excluded from all the Society's Bibles:

"That the funds of the Society be applied to the printing and circulation of the canonical books of Scripture, to the exclusion of those books and parts of books which are usually termed Apocryphal, and that all copies printed either entirely or in part at the expense of the Society, and whether such copies consist of the whole, or of any one or more of such books, be invariably issued bound, no other books whatever being bound with them; and further, that all moneygrants to societies or individuals be made only in conformity with the principle of this regulation."

What effect this resolution will have

1824,5.

Bible Societies.

ciety remains to be seen. In some minds it may possibly give birth to other questious which the most zealous Biblists would be slow to entertain; as for example, whether it be consistent with reverence of the sacred volume, with a love of truth or with honesty, to continue in the New Testament the Three Witnesses' Text, 1 John v. 7, which we believe nine scholars out of ten regard as decidedly spurious.

The Catholic Question.-A deputation from the Roman Catholics of Clonmel lately waited on the Earl of Donoughmore (late Lord Hutchinson) to present an address of condolence upon the de. cease of his brother, the late Earl, who had for nearly half a century been the steady and consistent advocate of their claim of eligibility to civil rights. The

It

answer of the present Earl to this address conveys very wholesome and necessary advice to the Irish Catholics, for the future management of their cause. comes, too, from a nobleman who mixes little in the politics of the hour, and whose advice must be considered as disinterested as it is sagacious. The Earl of Donoughmore, in that part of his answer to which we allude, says, "Your call for the repeal of the restrictions which still affect you, may be loud, unanimous and unceasing; but allow me to express a hope that it will be made with that moderation which becomes the justice of your cause, which will deprive misrepresentation of its most formidable weapons, and reconcile many just and upright men to you, who, from the effects of early habit and education, now look upon all your proceedings with jealousy and suspicion. Convince such men that they have nothing to apprehend, and that their fears are imaginary-the contest is over-the battle is won-your triumph is certain. You have been destined to live in most enlightened times, when it is impossible for any alliance, holy or unholy, to prevent the spread of knowledge, and the amelioration of the condition of man, or to prevent the progress of human affairs towards rational liberty, civil, political and religious. It is your good fortune to be united, I trust with indissoluble ties, with a great, a just, and a reasoning people, amongst whom liberal principles of every kind continue hourly and daily to gain strength. Convince their reason, cultivate their good opinion and affections, aud you will not have long to complain that you are not placed on the footing of other subjects. In my opinion your cause is in your own keeping-nobody can ultimately defeat it but yourselves."

Long arm of a Scotch Presbytery. Another instance of Scottish Ecclesiastical interference in England has come before the public. Mr. THOм was licensed and ordained by the Presbytery of Glasgow to a Scotch Church in Rodney Street, Liverpool. Complaints have been lately lodged against him for preaching false doctrine, that is, as far as we understand the complaints, high Calvinism. The Presbytery having examined the matter, have declared the charges found, and have accordingly deprived Mr. Thom of his ministry in the above church: they tell him, however, for his comfort, that their finding does not affect his character as a man, nor hinder him from being a minister of the Church of Scotland. In other words, he has only to repent of preaching what he believes to be the true

doctrine of the Church of Scotland, to which he and the Presbytery are equally bound, and to preach what he considers to be error, and then he may be rein. stated. This priestly meddling with opinions is ridiculous; bat Mr. Thom has no reason to complain, for as a member of the Church of Scotland he is supposed to hold such meddling to be right. Our opinions are probably nearer to those of the Presbytery than to those preached by the deprived minister; we cannot, however, help pitying his case, and hoping that in the next religious connexion he may form, he will not give his assent to a system of rule under which a preacher may be punished for his Christian inte. grity. The moral of the story is, that Church Establishments are radically evil : it is still a hopeful sign of the times that Church Power cannot now be exercised to the hurt of an individual without exciting public indignation and leading many to scrutinize the grounds of ecclesiastical claims and to flee spiritual tyranny and to embrace the principle of universal and equal religious liberty.-We had written thus far when we read in the newspapers that the friends of Mr. Thom have had a meeting and resolved to erect a chapel for him. In this way, the intolerance of Established Churches multiplies Dissenters; a good effect, we should say, from an evil cause.

Floating Churches.-The zeal of the Methodists and the Calvinistic Dissenters forces the Church of England to do strange things. The Floating Chapels were at first laughed at; they have however answered; and to prevent the seamen from being sectarianized, it is found necessary to have Floating Churches. His Majesty's Government has agreed to give ships and fit them out for such parts as may require them on the Episcopalian plan, and, where it is necessary, to appoint and pay a clergyman. The two Archbishops and some of the principal Bishops are said to have come into the plan; and the Archbishop of Dublin has licensed a clergyman for a Church Ship and consecrated the said ship. It may be added amongst the other ship-news, that the "Continental Society" entertain maritime projects, and propose to have a Missionary Ship or ships to carry Evangelical preachers from country to country and from harbour to harbour.

THE Rev. JAMES GRAY, M. A., has been unanimously chosen by the United Associate Congregation at Albion Chapel, Moorfields, to be their minister, that place being vacant by the retirement of the Rev. Alexander Fletcher.

LITERARY.

THE Board of the University of Dublin have determined on collecting and publishing, under the superintendence of the Provost, a uniform edition of the Works of Archbishop USHER, many of whose MSS. are in their library. A new Life will be prepared.

THE Seatonian Prize for the present year has been adjudged to the Rev. J. OVERTON, M. A., of Trinity College, Cambridge, for his Poem on "The Building and Dedication of the Second Temple."

MR. HYMAN HURWITZ, author of Vindicia Hebraicæ, &c., has just published a volume of Moral Hebrew Tales, translated from ancient Hebrew works; to which is prefixed a popular Essay on the still existing Remains of the uninspired Writings of the ancient Hebrew Sages.

A MANUSCRIPT of the great Hooker's, the author of the Ecclesiastical Polity, has been discovered in Trinity College Library, Dublin.

FOREIGN. FRANCE.

· FRANCE has just lost by death her first parliamentary orator and one of the most undaunted of her patriots, General Fox. The event has produced a great sensation in France. The funeral was a public procession of thousands of the friends of freedom, chiefly young men. The General died poor, leaving several children unprovided for; and a public subscription has been set on foot for raising a monument to his memory and for portioning his children, which amounted by the last advices to not less than 25,000. This fact proves that there is a stronger feeling in favour of freedom in France than we have been accustomed for the last few years to give our neighbours credit for. And besides this, there have been two decisions lately of the Judges, in favour of persons prosecuted by the Government for libels-so that the French may still boast in some measure of the liberty of the press. In proof of their having this great blessing we may observe that the Revue Encyclopédique, the principal magazine and review of Paris, has been recently very bold in its political and religious strictures. Its writers are we know some of the ablest, and if they pursue their present course they will shew themselves some of the best, men in France.

ITALY.

THE Pope has established a Philological, College for the encouragement of literature in general. Its members are some of the most distinguished literati of Italy, viz. Prince Augustine Chigi, the Abbé Mai, the Chevalier J. G. de Rossi, the Abbé Santucci, the Baron Gilus van de Vivere, the Avocat Guadagni, &c. This establishment is to rank with the other colleges of Rome and Bologna.

Monsignore ANGELO MAYO, (says a letter from Rome,) already celebrated for his discoveries in the "Palimpsestes,"