English Church Missions. They have been given to those who labour in various spheres-in different districts of London, in crowded provincial cities and country towns; engaged, some of them, in incessant conflict with Popery, or liable to come into frequent and sudden contact with it in the discharge of the ordinary duties of houseto-house visitation. They would labour under great disadvantages if unprepared for the conflict. Some are far more competent than others to wield the weapons thus supplied with discretion and effect. All, we may hope, are benefited; and enabled to supply deficiencies they had felt and deplored, yet knew not how to obviate. Follow one of these labourers to his district. See of what good service the grant proves to be. Does he desire, after the devotional exercises of the morning, and before entering on the duties of the day, to qualify himself for meeting with calm and forcible arguments, quibbles which might stagger an unprepared reasoner? He has at hand, in a volume of "Serious Dissuasives from Popery," the pious and learned writings of Archbishop Tillotson, Bishop Hall, and Bishop Jeremy Taylor. He has undertaken to bring the testimony of history to defend his position, and his influence will suffer with the shrewd knot of mechanics who

expect to meet him in the evening if he is not provided. Patrick Flanigan denies that his Church is idolatrous, and our Scripture-reader or mis

sionary, having neither time nor opportunity to search large books, is glad to find his proofs arranged in the Rev. A. S. Thelwall's volume on the "Idolatry of the Church of Rome," at hand. Again, some one has become entangled in the meshes of Tractarian error. Another of the Association's volumes, "Faber's Letters on Tractarian Secessions to Popery," may help to extricate the unfortunate victim from the toils in which the arts of Jesuitry had ensnared him. This leads us to observe, that the benefit of the books is not confined to the persons to whom they are given. They are lent, and, what is more, read, here and there; and a grant to an individual has sometimes led to an application for one for a library, where hundreds have the opportunity of perusing them; and experience has shown that many a reader has been influenced in private by arguments which he scorned or evaded in the excitement and pride of a public or family debate.

Various extracts from letters of thanks have been given in former numbers.* A few are added below.

The following, from a district of rapidly rising importance, will illustrate what has been said as to the usefulness of the works for lending purposes:

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"These works will be most useful to me in my dealings with the Papists. I pray God to abundantly bless and prosper the efforts of the Protestant Association, that many may be delivered from that soul-destroying system of Popery." The following is from a Scripture-reader engaged in the city of London:

"I beg to acknowledge the receipt of a parcel of books, presented to me by your Committee, to whom I feel greatly indebted for so kind a present. I shall value them much, and hope to be enabled to read and digest their

contents."

Others, writing from the extreme east and the extreme west of the metropolis respectively, thus express themselves :

"I beg to offer you my grateful thanks for the volumes you have been so good as to award me, and which I shall highly prize, and, I trust, diligently and carefully peruse."

"I trust the perusal of them will be profitable to the understanding and the heart. It will afford me great pleasure to render

any information in my power which may at any time subserve the interests of your valuable Society."

Meanwhile, new applications Committee are most unwilling are constantly received. The to pause in so interesting a Work; but they cannot, with justice to the general resources of the Association, already inadequate to the claims upon them, continue a special work without special aid. It is not that the particular volumes in question are in themselves costly that they lay such stress upon the importance of these grants, but that there is a continuous stream of applications for them from those whom the Christian public have not placed in a position to make frequent purchases of books. Nay, the very cheapness of the volumes is an argument for help in their distribution. The Protestant Association made them cheap, and incurred pecuniary risk in doing so. They are reprints or compilations of recognised value, well printed, neatly bound, and carefully edited. Who will not help when so much good may be effected at so small a cost?

A city missionary, engaged in the extreme eastern portion of the metropolis, thus writes in applying for a grant of publications to aid him in his work:

"July 27, 1857.

"Dear Sir,-Permit me to inform you, and through you the Committee of the 'Protestant Association,' that the neighbourhood of and have been infested for some years back, par

A Scripture-reader, in making an application for grants, thus writes:

"July 16, 1857. "Dear Sir,-Having heard I would be likely to obtain some assistance in my work of labour in the Lord's vineyard from the Protestant Association by sending an application, and as my district requires it much, I would feel obliged if you would be so kind as to favour me with such publications as would meet the requirements of the parishes in which I am engaged as Scripture-reader. My district consists of the parishes of and In the latter there is a nunnery, and nunnery schools, into which many of the children of my district are decoyed, with the approbation of their parents, and the effect has been that many children of Protestant parents have become Romanists, and Romanists of a dangerous stamp, for they have been trained up by the nuns in the controversy, so that they are able to meet and to confound the Protestants they come in contact with, and they are by no means inactive in seeking out and leading to the nuns as many as they can.

"Parents are easily led to consent to send their children to the nuns' school, for they are generally quite ignorant of the character of what Rome teaches, and consequently do not know its danger; and even when the nuns request the parents to permit the priest to rebaptize the child, and when the child commences to attend the Romish chapel, the parents generally behold the matter with the most perfect indifference, and say, 'I have no doubt but the Catho

Protestants; and my child may as well be brought up in one as the other. The extent to which this has been the case is lamentably great, and the necessity of using every counteracting means is very evident. My district is large, and is inhabited by about 9,000 individuals.

I find it exceedingly difficult to reach all of those that are visitable, and they are a greater proportion than is usual; and I feel that some good anti-Romish books and tracts would be a great assistance to me. I could lend them to the people, and am sure they would be generally read with care."

Another Scripture - reader, engaged in an important manufacturing town in the country, in asking for a grant, thus writes:

"July 27, 1857.

"Dear Sir,-Having been informed that the Protestant Association has occasionally made grants of books for the use of Scripturereaders in their combat with Popery, I beg to ask if you would be pleased to confer such a benefit and privilege upon me.

"I have been engaged in this district for more than three years, which comprises the parishes of

and contains upwards of 1,000 visitable families, amongst which Romish priests and nuns have made great and unceasing efforts to pervert by every means in their power. One method is to invite females to converse with the nuns, which they do through the perverts and others; and it is a sad fact that nearly every female has, at some time or other, been induced to attend the nuns.

"Our combined exertions have done much to stop this evil, yet now there is a great necessity for

"I pray that God may avert this dread evil, and, in the meantime, stir up Protestants to a sense of their duties. I think your efforts will do much to enlighten them on the vile doctrines and practices of that system of iniquity, by books upon the subject; and such would greatly assist me, both in my own reading, and also by judicious lending to teachers and others. I am often at a loss for books of the kind, which meet the Romish arguments in a popular manner. Should you be able to accede to my request you will greatly assist."

Another circumstance of great interest remains to be noticed in connexion with this portion of the Society's proceedings. In the "Protestant Magazine" for June, 1856, page 119, it is mentioned that publications had been voted by the Committee for the use of the library of the American and Foreign Christian Union in New York. The receipt of those publications has been acknowledged in a gratifying way, accompanied with a supply of books extensively circulated by that active body in the United States. An extract from the letter of the Rev. Dr. McClure, the Clerical Secretary to the Board, in which he enclosed the Resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors on the 15th January, has been already brought before our readers.

The quotation, with the Resolutions of the American and Foreign Christian Union, appeared in the "Protestant Magazine" for June, 1857, pp. 82, 83, together with the Resolutions of the Protestant Association in reply.

EFFORTS TO LEGALIZE THE SAYING OF MASSES FOR THE DEAD. THE Roman Catholics are busily engaged in endeavours to have the law altered, so as the more to favour their own superstitious practices. A Sclect Committee of the House of Lords has lately made a Report with reference to certain Bills, &c., and a Petition referred to them praying for amendment of the Roman Catholic Charities' Bill. Neither the Report nor the minutes of evidence are of great length, though containing much interesting matter.

The following three paragraphs constitute the substance of the Report, and show with what striking perseverance and determination Romanism has been working its way, and is still doing so, to remove everything which is a bar or hindrance to its own aggrandizement in this country :

"The Committee accordingly examined Mr. Bagshawe, who is an Mr. Harting, a very respectable solicieminent Queen's Counsel, and also tor. Both these gentlemen are Roman Catholics; and the result of their evidence is, that all or very nearly all the Roman Catholic charities in this country are mixed up with what has been decided in the Court of Chancery to be a superstitious use; and that

therefore they are, in all probability, absolutely void and illegal. A bequest of money to be paid to a priest for saying prayers and celebrating masses for the soul of the testator was decided by Lord Cottenham, in West v. Shuttleworth, to be bad, as a superstitious use. "The evidence taken before the

Committee shows that a condition to

pray for the soul of the founder of a Roman Catholic charity is sometimes expressly, always implicitly, annexed to every charitable foundation. The petitioners, whose Petition is referred to your Committee, point out that it is part of the devotional practices of the Roman Catholic Church to offer up prayers for the dead, and that such prayers are offered up daily in all prayers, and at all masses, forming always a part as well of private as of public devotion. The petitioners therefore urge, that as the exercise of the Roman Catholic religion is now freely tolerated, the doctrine of superstitious uses, so far at least as relates to the praying for the souls of the dead, ought not to be held to attach to their charities, so as to affect their validity, and therefore that the Bill ought to go the length for which they contend, namely, to make all their charities valid where their invalidity consists solely in their having infringed the law relative to superstitious uses.

"The Committee, without expressing any opinion on this claim, yet feel that it is one entitled to a grave and deliberate consideration, which, at the present advanced state of the session, it would be impossible to bestow upon it. They therefore recommend that the Bill should not be proceeded with in the present session, but that in the next session of Parliament the subject should be inquired into, when there will be full leisure to investigate it."

AMERICAN LEGISLATION ON THE SUBJECT OF POPERY.

THE following quotation is of so important and interesting a character, as indicating the course pursued by Romanists in the United States of America,

that it cannot fail to gain the attention of our readers. American Protestants are becoming more alive to the aggressive spirit of the Papacy, and to its increased and increasing the evils likely to result from influence. In their Eighth Annual Report, recently issued, the American and Foreign Christian Union thus express themselves on subjects which have, before now, agitated the States of Europe :

"LEGISLATION.-Far be it from us to ask for any special legislation in disfavour of Romanism. The law, and the administration of it, should deal as impartially with this system of religion as with any other.

"There are, however, some peculiarities in Popery, which make it necessary that other forms of belief should enjoy legal protection against the inequitable and wrongful working of those peculiarities.

"We specify three points, on which it is of the highest importance that the statute law of the land should guard the rights of the citizen, no matter what his religious belief may be. These points are, THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM, THE TENURE OF ECCLESIASTICAL PROPERTY, AND THE DUE INSPECTION

OF CONVENTS.

"THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.The Romish clergy in this country, as everywhere else, is utterly opposed to popular education. This opposition relaxes, and that very unwillingly, only when the process of popular education shall be under their control as to its extent and direction. As they cannot acquire this control, they have made desperate efforts to break up the whole system. First, by their clamours, they try to get the Bible excluded from the schools. If they succeed in coaxing or frightening the school-administrators into shutting the Bible out of a school, the latter soon find that they have gained nothing by this unholy comset up a second cry, Behold, a pliance; for the priests immediately godless school! an infidel school!