grasps at power and patronage at home, and loosens our power abroad; like some black cloud, which spreads itself over the horizon, surcharged with pestilence, misery, and death, it wafts its poisonous influence on our ancient institutions, and on all that we hold dear. Dissatisfied with the fearful amount of past and present evil wrought, it directs the subverting process to the future; and, lest the Church should arise with renovated glory from these troubles, and array itself in honour through succeeding generations, which will have been warned by the now-existing state of things, a scheme of national education, pointed as an infernal battery against us, has been prepared.

In this plan, with the honourable exception of the Wesleyan Methodists, the Dissenters have concurred; pretending to train up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, they have assented to that which will train them in the nurture and admonition of popery or infidelity. In what will they not concur, which is adapted to make breaches in our Zion, through which they might march to the storm and to the sacking? In what will they not concur, which has the semblance of political or sectarian advantage to themselves? Their acquiescence is on a par with the unhallowed league which has been established: in their strugglings for pre-eminence, what care they for the evil which leads to it?

We may not inaptly compare the opposition of these men to our Church to that symbolical vision (Zech. iii. 1), in which Satan was represented resisting Joshua the high priest: it is no less than an intrusion of Satan into the sanctuary; it is a second abomination of desolation aspiring to stand in the holy place; it is the Man of Sin labouring to overthrow the altars of the Most High. The worldly spirit by which the whole is influenced has nothing in common with Christianity; not the promotion of God's truth, but the acquisition of power and distinction, is sought. If the plan ever be unfortunately executed, Popery, as the projectors evidently design, will be advanced, but not, in our opinion, to the extent which is desired; for the contempt of restraint, and the absence of religious principle, which characterise a large faction in these our times, are too rooted and prolific of mischief for even Popery itself to subdue; the refractory are too domineering to be ruled by any system, too great mockers of Christianity, too confident in their physical force, to be alarmed by its terrors. We grant that as far as Popery offers a plea for the execution of political purposes, the outward profession of it would be adopted, and that numerous converts to it would be made in the schools which have been contemplated; but we argue, on the other hand, that infidelity

VOL. VI.-U

would predominate, if ever the Church shall be shorn of its dignity and authority. In the present state of superficial education, in which the lower orders have been trained since Lord Brougham sent the schoolmaster on his tour, nothing else can be expected; a smattering has been imparted which can only generate doubts and cavillings; enough of education has not been given to enable the recipient to reason closely, and analyse and examine causes and effects; and where the Bible is concerned, no aid to its proper interpretation has been afforded. By men thus superficially instructed, conceited as all such men are, the process which they would apply to sciences, of which the mere outline has been shown to them, would be applied to religion, whenever it might become a question; to imagine, therefore, that men of such habits and opinions, so self-important and disputatious, would subscribe to Popery, with its exactions on their credulity, is a positive absurdity: the attempt would have a re-action on religion itself, and the minds of the intended converts would be plunged into an abyss of infidelity.

Such consequences of the system of national education are self-apparent; they must be obvious to all who will deeply reason on the subject. The collision which must continually take place between the authorised and Douay versions, can produce no other effect; for what will the pupils know of an original? or, if they should know that there was such a thing, how would they be able, or how would the masters be able, to prove the correctness of the authorised version? The Protestant would claim the Hebrew and Greek as his sources; the Romanist would sneer at them, and maintain the claim of the Vulgate what but a chaos could be the subsidence of these discordant elements? Moreover, the Douay version is accompanied with notes of a most objectionable character, and no provision has been made for their exclusion; should then the Protestants, by an equal right, introduce annotated Bibles, the discordance would be centuply increased, as each party of Protestants would select his own commentator. Thus, in whatever way we consider the scheme, mischief and irreligion alone can result from it.

Let us, however, suppose that this scheme having been executed, the Papists will obtain many converts, and acquire a formidable strength-such may be the event as long as bad men support and co-operate with them for their own bad purposes; but let Popery collide with these purposes, as it infallibly would from its nature, the refractory mass would throw off their disguise, and infidelity would unblushingly be revealed. To those who have studied the history of Popery, it will be apparent that the Papists would make the most of their union with Sectarians,

Infidels, and Demagogues; but that it would not be long ere they would endeavour to exclude the authorised version altogether from their schools. In such a case, would the Dissenters complacently coincide with them? The times have developed nothing to persuade us that Popery is changed: Ireland has proved, in blood and in flames, that as it was, so it now is; our assertion, therefore, has a demonstrable certainty as its basis, and the experience of ages conspires to satisfy us, that in these schools our version would not be allowed to continue, and that as this apostate Church, when not under compulsion, keeps the word of God from the people, the Popish version itself would give place to the mass-book and the biography of pseudo-saints. We cannot believe that the Dissenters are ignorant of these things. We know that many of them abominate the Papists; the more unprincipled then are those who, hating them, support them. The anomalous confederacy, in which they are parties, must be dissolved by its own discordance; and perhaps the day is not far distant when the Dissenters will discover that they have been jackals providing for the lion, or, to sink the comparison lower in the scale of creation, indiscreet glow-worms lighting their destroyer to his prey.

Have we not, therefore, reason to animadvert severely on those members of our Church who join in fellowship with our enemies, and who seek to degrade its high veneration by assimilating it by means of their extemporising habits and twang, by their dull monotony and tediously distressing toil in quest of an idea to the insipidity of the meeting-house? The scriptural reproach respecting Hymenæus, Alexander, Philetus, and others, the first Dissenters on record, should have some influence on the conduct of those who have been regularly ordained; and as St. Paul, quoting from the LXX. the words used by Moses concerning Korah, applied them to Hymenæus and Philetus, thereby suggesting a comparison of them to the company of Korah, we are warranted in the censures in which we have indulged. Traitors are they, who throw down the barriers which have been erected round the Church; traitors are they, who invite the spoiler within the fence. As there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, there should not be diversities of opinions; we should conjointly in thought, in word, and in deed, labour "for the good estate of the Catholic Church, that it may be so guided and governed by "God's' Holy Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians, may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life;" and he who destroys that unity, and disturbs that peace, has nothing of the CHURCHMAN, but the misapplied name.

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ART. II.-The Authenticated Report of the Discussion which took place in the Chapel of the Roman Catholic College of Downside, near Bath. Subject-"The Rule of Faith."

PROTESTANT SPEAKERS:

Rev. EDWARD TOTTENHAM, M.A., Rev. JOHN LYONS, M.A.

ROMAN CATHOLIC SPEAKERS:

Rev. T. J. BROWN (Professor of Theology in Downside College), Rev. T. M. MACDONNEL, Rev. FRANCIS EDGEWORTH.

London Rivingtons, and J. Booker. 1836.

OF all the points of difference between the Churches of England and Rome, there is, perhaps, no one of more importance than that which relates to the Rule of Faith. If the Romanists could succeed in establishing the position, that their unwritten traditions are of equal authority with the Inspired Volume, and that, consequently, they form a portion of the revealed will of God, if they could lead men to believe, that whatever their Church authorises, is a portion of divine revelation, they would find it easy to establish all the other points of Popery, since a show of support from their traditions might be furnished for any notions, however absurd, and for any doctrines, however unscriptural. We use the expression, their traditions, because, as we shall presently show, the traditions of the universal Church are conclusive against all the errors of Popery; and it is only by pretending that their Church is catholic, and their traditions universal, that any colour of support can be derived for those monstrous perversions of reason and Scripture, which are the peculiarities of the Romish system. It is our intention, therefore, in this Article, to discuss the question relative to the Rule of Faith nor do we hesitate to avow our conviction, that we shall succeed in proving to all reasonable and dispassionate minds, that the Popish view on this subject is destitute of any support, either from Holy Scripture or primitive antiquity.

At a period like the present, when every effort is made by the supporters of the Church of Rome to prop up a system, which is destined sooner or later to be swept away, it behoves Protestants of all parties to exert themselves in the holy cause -the cause of truth-the cause of God. One of the most powerful engines in operation, either for good or for evil, is the Press; and especially the Periodical Press. Feeling, therefore, the importance of the work in which we are engaged, we intend to prosecute our plan, in several successive Numbers, of exposing the main errors of the apostate Church of Rome.

The work at the head of this Article has been some time

before the public: we think, however, that it has not yet obtained that notice and approbation to which, from its instrinsic excellence, it is entitled. The principal disputants were men of no ordinary talents; and the utmost that can be said on the side of Popery, was alleged on this occasion by Mr. Brown. The work, embracing two very important questions--questions, indeed, which may be viewed as the main-pillars of Popery, namely, The Rule of Faith and Transubstantiation, merits the attention of all Protestants. Few disputants are so clear in their statements, so powerful in their arguments, or so fair towards their adversaries, as Mr. Tottenham. It was admitted by Mr. Brown and other Romish priests, at the close of the discussion, that the Protestant advocate, Mr. Tottenham, had managed the dispute in such a manner as to secure the approbation of all the members of the Church of Rome who were present. It rarely happens that a subject is more clearly stated, than was the question under discussion on this occasion by Mr. Tottenham. There is no mystification, no obscurity; but every statement is so lucid, that the reader has never to pause or to peruse a particular passage a second time, before he can discover the meaning of the author, as is frequently the case in many works, and especially in controversial works. Mr. Tottenham carries us on, step by step, in his argument, until the conclusion, at which it is his intention to bring us, appears irresistible. There is nothing extraneous to the subject under discussion; no attempt to evade the force of an adversary's argument; but the case is met, whatever it may be, fully and fairly so fully, indeed, that little remains to be said on any question which Mr. Tottenham handles. We really deem it an act of justice to make these observations in the outset. Our plan, in this Article, precludes us from reviewing the book in the ordinary way; but its merits will occasionally be noticed as we proceed.

In the last Dialogue, it was arranged that The Rule of Faith should form the next subject for discussion: and to this subject we now proceed.

The parties are supposed to meet at the usual place, and the discussion to proceed in the following manner:

Rom. Cath. Priest.-It was determined, at our last meeting, that the question for discussion on this occasion should be The Rule of Faith.

Prot. Clergyman.-Yes; and perhaps the best way will be for you to commence, by stating the views of your Church on this very important subject.

Rom. Cath. Priest.-Probably it may be desirable, before we