258 self, but for all who "love the appearing" of the righteous Judge. Encouraged by these glorious promises, let us, "by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, honour, and immortality." Let us cast off the works of darkness and . put on the armour of light for, "behold, now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." T. L. S. MISCELLANEOUS. To the Editor of the Remembrancer, As you have frequently pointed out On the 10th of August the King set out upon his journey to the north; and the members of both Houses, fatigued with a stormy session of nine months, began to retire into the country. "This," says Lord Clarendon, (Book iv.) was the advantage looked for; those persons continuing, especially in the House of Commons, to whose care and managery the whole reThey formation was committed. now entered upon the consultation of the highest matters both in Church and State; and made attempts and entries upon those regalities and foundations, which have been since more evident in wider and more notorious breaches." The first attempts of these worthies in parliament (as they mo. destly called themselves) was to get The public rid of the Liturgy. mind, however, was not ripe for so violent a measure; and it was voted that "the Liturgy should be duly observed." But the next day, "contrary to all rules and orders of parliament, very many being absent who had been active in that debate, they suspended that order;" and resolved that the standing of table in all the Communion churches should be altered; the rails pulled down; the chancels leman should velled; and that no presume to bow at the name of Je"And having digested these an order, godly resolutions into they carried it up to the Lords for their concurrence." The Upper House treated this order with becoming indignation. They not only refused their assent, but re-pub. lished a former order of their own House, that the divine service should be performed, as it is appointed by the acts of parliament sus, 1824.] of this realm; and that all such as as," says Clarendon," the order 1. As it is ordered by the Honourable Assembly, it shall be lawfull to set up Lectures or Preaching, where it is wanting. "This Reformation is so necessary, That it is even the very way to bring People into the state of salvation; it is the way to save their soules, Rom. 10. 13, 14. "Preaching is the declaring of the will of the Lord God, what His pleasure is, to have done by Others; as also what Himself will doe, and that by the voyce of the Mini ster, who comes to the People of God, as an Embassador to publish and spread abroad the mind and message of God touching Mans duty, and salvation; and to instruct the Church of God. Mark i. 39. "The Bishops sought to overthrow Lectures, prohibiting it as unlawfull to Preach twice on the Lord's Day; what a Misery was then comming upon us, likely to befall us! "But the provident care of these Wor thies in Parliament assembled: in opposition to those ungodly Prohibitions, labour for a supply of faithfull Preaching, where it is wanting; that so the people may be instructed, in the feare and worship of God. and Wales. "As King Artaxerxes made a Decree, that all they of the People of Israel, and of his Priests, and Levites in his realme which were minded of their own free will, to go up to Ierusalem, to worship the Lord, should go. Ez. vii. 13. "Thus have the Honourable Assembly The firmness of the Upper House seems for a time to have checked the encroachments of the puritans. They contented themselves, therefore, for the present, with appoint-2. It extends to all the Parishes in England ing the 7th of September as a day of thanksgiving for the peace between England and Scotland; when "the factious ministers in all pulpits took occasion to magnify the parliament and the Scots, and to infuse as much malignity into the people, against those who were not of that faction, as their wit and malice could suggest."-"After the solemnization of that day," adds the historian," and their making their declaration against the Lords about the order above-mentioned, and the recommending some seditious, unconformable ministers, to be lecturers in churches about London, whom the incumbents were compelled to receive, on the 9th of Sept. 1641, they adjourned to the 20th of October following." On the day which intervened between the thanksgiving and the adjournment, the following precious specimen of legislation passed the House. I copy it verbatim from an original document, printed at the time by B. Alsop, dwelling in Grub Street," and stamped like an Act of Parliament, with the King's arms and initials. ordered, that all the People of any Parish, within the Kingdoine of England and Wales, that will, where they want, shall set up Preaching, and blessed be the Lord God of our Fathers, which hath put such a thing as this into the hearts of those Worthies, to beautifie the House of the Lord, by Preaching, and hath extended Mercy unto us before the Kings Counsellors, Verse 27, 28. "3. It is ordered to be lawfull for the Parishioners, to set up such Lectures. "When the Gentiles intreated the lewes to let Paul Preach to their Congregation, at Antioch, it was granted to them. Acts 13. 42. And when they had heard him, they were glad and they glorified the Lord, and as many as were ordained to eternall life beleeved. Verse 48. "But our Prelates have bin more cruell unto us; not permitting Congregations to heare such Orthodox Ministers preach unto them, as they have set up. "But these Noble Senators have relieved us out of this Bondage, and set us free to give this priviledge to each Congregation, to maintain such a Minister, whom themselves shall chuse; for which let us be glad, and glorifie the Lord, and pray that the Lord will go on to perfect this worke, for the establishing of an able Ministery, and a glorious Church, through the whole kingdome. Was it not to be lamented, where an able Orthodox Minister was set over, and did preach to his Congregation, over which he was set, faithfully, and painfully, which wrought upon the Peoples affections, and moved them to worship God in Truth, and sincerity; Was it not lamentable, when such were removed, and such as were wild Oates, Drunkards, and Hunters after Whores, put in their places, and roomes, or else none at all? "But let us blesse God that hath put into the hearts of the Worthies in Parliament Assembled, to reforme these Grievances, by taking Order for each Congregation through the whole Kingdome, to be provided of such Ministers, as shall prevaile with the people to bring them unto God, even such as shall move their affections. "4. It must be to maintaine an Orthodox Minister, such as shall serve them in administering the Gospell of Christ, 1 Cor. 4. 1. "That is, such a one, who being furnished with meet Gifts, and duly called, doth serve God and his Church, by dispensing and giving forth faithfully, and wisely, the word, Sacraments, and other holy things, to the gathering of the Saints, and for the Edification of the Congregation. Esay 4. 11, 12, 13. Now, because, though there be great diligence used in the Election of Ministers; yet all things, shah prosper ill; except the Lord take upon Him to governe those that are chosen, and to endue them with necessary gifts. Therefore we should not forget, after the Example of Christ, to begin with prayer, and to go on in Faith at the chusing of the pastors for our Churches: Otherwayes, whatsoever we attempt, no wonder though it prosper not. 6. Lastly, This Order doth not onely allow, such Preaching on the Lords Day, but upon one day in the week besides; that so the word might be preached, both in season, and out of season, as Paul charged Timothy to doe. 1 Tim. 4. 2. "This is a violence that brings us to God. would tell us that it is enough to heare one in 8 dayes, another lesse; they think one Sermon in a week enough, and too much too: this ariseth from the Corruption of our Nature. "We should rest ourselves every minute of an houre, and sit down at every place we meet, and tumble in the grasse, and in the shaddow. Our motions to Heaven, are of no long continuance, one minute of an houre will make us weary; though we suffer some blasts, yet wee are streightwayes irkesome, and there we lye, unlesse we be pricked forward, unlesse we be forced. "So that experience teacheth us sufficiently, how necessary this importunatenesse is for us; and therefore let us not think it strange, that we should be awaked by often Preaching, and spurring us to goe on; for if they leave us grovelling, it will be to our Destruction, it will be a deadly sleepe. And therefore let us suffer ourselves to be stirred up, and let us blesse God, who hath by this happy Parliament wrought such wonders for us. Laus Deo: Nobis Prospectum est. Such were the taste and temper of that wretched age; such the measures, by which a desperate faction laboured to undermine the Church of England, to defame her dust. It is our happiness to live rulers, and to lay her honour in the in better times; but still from every page of history some grave and useful lesson may be drawn. The Annals of the Great Rebellion are of particular value in this way. We need not fear, indeed, that a factious parliament should again deprive the Crown of its prerogative. Such a catastrophe, in the present state of our constitution, is, God be praised, almost impossible. There are, however, some features of resemblance between the age of Charles the First and of George the Fourth. In the language and conduct of the old puritans, we may discover many popular opinions of the present day; and if we are not admonished by so alarming a fact, the fault will be our own. I remain, Mr. Editor, "If we should follow some indeed, they April 10, 1824. A Letter on the Unitarian Marriage Act, now before Parlia. ment, to the Marquis of Lansdowne. My Lord, SINCE I first heard of your Lordship's introduction of the Bill, now pending in Parliament, respecting Unitarian marriages, it has been the subject of my serious consideration., The step which I now take of publicly addressing your Lordship then occurred to me. But I thought it more proper to wave any public appeal of this sort, till I had learnt the opinion of the Rulers of the Church on the subject. The recent discussion, on the second reading of the Bill, in the House of Lords, has tended greatly to encrease the general anxiety respecting the measure. The speech of the Archbishop of Canterbury, as reported, though partaking largely of that spirit of moderation which is known to characterize all his Grace's public proceedings, appears to me, I must confess, to have a greater degree of compliance than the occasion either called for or warranted. The declarations of the two other Prelates, who addressed the House upon the subject, come nearer to my mind. But considering the great alteration proposed by the Bill in the law of marriage, and the immediate result to which, if it passes, it cannot, in my mind, fail of leading; I own, since reading the debate, my anxieties respecting the measure have become deeper than before and, under these impres sions, your Lordship will perhaps excuse me, if I take the liberty of addressing a few words to you on the Bill now pending. My wish is to trespass on your Lordship's valuable time only for a few minutes. Indeed the Bill is in such a stage, that what I have to offer must be said shortly and REMEMBRANCER, No. 65. promptly. I will, therefore, briefly. and respectfully submit to your Lordship my opinions first on the nature of the evil complained of, and the remedy sought, by those whom the measure is designed to relieve, and next the effect to be anticipated on those not connected with the prayer of the petition. By setting these in opposite scales, I cannot help thinking justice and truth may be determined. The evil complained of is the offence done to Unitarians, by requir ing them to participate at their mar riage in a ceremony, at portions of which their consciences revolt. The remedy proposed is to enable them to marry at their own places of worship, and in their own way: regard being had and provision made, for publicity before marriage and registry after it. Now in ascertaining the quantum of evil to be redressed, I cannot but think it very small. Only three expressions, I believe, occur in the whole Service calculated to offend their peculiar views. The two first, where the male party to be married himself says:-"With this ring I thee wed, &c. in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" and where the Minister says of the contracting parties, "I pronounce that they be man and wife together, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." The third, where the Minister of the Church says to the parties who have contracted, "God the Fa ther, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, bless, preserve, and keep you," &c. Now allow me to ask your Lordship, how can the two first of these be said to furnish cause of offence; seeing that the very same words are directed to be used by our Saviour himself in the initiatory act of Christianity? And if in the initiatory act these words are to be used, and the Unitarian himself does in point of fact so use them, M m surely it can be no just cause of complaint to him, that he should be required to use them in any other religious rite? With regard to the third passage, the being obliged to be present to have the words of that addressed to him, may appear somewhat more hard. And it would unquestionably be so, if the Unitarian under the circumstances of his religious creed, were compelled to utter them himself. But this is not the case. They are addressed to him. In this particular, a noble lord (Holland) who took the same side of the question in the debate with your Lordship, (if his speech be correctly reported,) mistook the matter, when he said, "the Unitarian was called on, contrary to his conscience, to speak of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost." This is not the fact. He is not called on to speak thus himself: the Minister, on the part of the Church, says so to him. The Minister too, or rather the Church, whose voice he is, means it in charity; he speaks it in charity. He means to offer to the Unitarian, as far as he can accept it, the best blessing the Church can pray for. I really think, if I were an Unitarian addressed with this form of bene. diction, I should say Amen to it with all my heart. I should argue thus, "True it is that my conscience forbids my owning the Son and the Holy Ghost to be God, as they are here called: true it is, that I hold their being so called to be idolatrous. But what of that? I am come here not to perform an act of religious worship of my own choosing but to comply with the law of the land in making a contract of a mixed nature: viz. partly civil, and partly religious. Even though the language that is addressed to me be, as I view it, false: the Church and its minister who address it to me have pure intentions in offering it. I will therefore accept what I hold true in this form, and reject what I hold false. I know that the Son and the Holy Ghost are in some way or other ordained to be instruments of good to mankind; I will therefore receive this good wish as far as I think it capable of being fulfilled. Yea, as far as this goes, I will say with all my heart and soul' Amen, so be it."-If this be fair reasoning in the mouth of an Unitarian, it is evident that he has no great evil to complain of: none at least but such as a good citizen may in the necessary imperfection of human affairs acquiesce in and submit to, consequently, if there is no great evil, the remedy is hardly worth inquiring into on his part. But as respects others, it may be far otherwise. I will therefore proceed, Secondly, to consider how the remedy proposed would act on others not parties to the Petition on which this Bill is founded. That it would operate directly to the injury of the Established Church; and indirectly, and by probable consequence, to the abridgment of dignity, solemnity, and publicity in the performance of the rite of matrimony, I do not hesitate to declare my opinion, Farther than this, if the newspaper report can be depended on, a doubt has been suggested from the highest legal autho rity whether such a provision is in strict consistency with the common law of the land. This is a point that I do not feel myself either competent or required to dwell on. But I will take the two other considerations in the order I have placed them. First, I say, it would operate directly and very materially to the injury of the Established Church: a component part of the state, which it is the duty of Parliament to sustain. For, not to mention what was very fairly adverted to in the course of the debate, |