the Apocalyptic visions is our duty and our privilege; for a blessing is pronounced on those who hear, and those who read the words of the prophecy. To compare the remarkable series of predictions in Daniel with those of St. John, and to illustrate the fulfilment of both by the unerring voice of Providence in the history of the church and of the world, is doubtless a noble and most animating study. A proportionate regard to these parts of the inspired books, chastened by deep humility and fear, will oncourage the Christian to effort, relieve his mind during the heat and burden of the day, cheer him with the prospect of the termination of the captivity and pilgrimage of the Christian church, point out to him the permissive will of God in the Western and Eastern apostacies, direct him to the especial sins which these apostacies were sent to punish, and strengthen his faith in the nature and ultimate triumph of the Gospel of truth. A proportionate study of prophecy, in a day like the present, may also, perhaps, include a somewhat larger share of time than it would have done a century or two back, when we were struggling, in the infant days of Protestantism, against the pressing danger of the anti-christian tyranny. Yet even then we observe that Luther was checred by the voice of prophecy. The brand of the Apocalyptic beast was infixed on the Papacy by the Reformed preachers. The stone cut out without hands, and filling the earth," was the spring of hope and confidence; and the command to CL come out from the mystic Babylon, and not be partaker of her sins," was not issued in vain. Still more then should we now study the word of future revelation, when three centuries have been unrolling so much more of the book of God, and the labours of Mede, and Sir Isaac Newton, and Bishops Newton and Hurd, and Scott and Faber, and various other writers, have shed so much light on its interpretation.

But having stated thus much, we feel it our duty to add, that there is great danger of too much attention being attracted to the study of prophecy, important as it is, so as to draw off the minds of Christians from the vital and fundamental truths of salvation. There is danger of the imagination being inflamed, and the sound exercise of the judgment suspended;there is danger of private interpretations directed to immediate and exaggerated objects, superseding the true import of what was spoken by holy men of old as they were moved by the Holy Ghost;-there is danger of some such doubtful and unestablished interpretation so occupying the mind as to be elevated into an article of faith or inculeated with unbecoming warmth and pertinacity-there is danger lest the mind, greedy of future knowledge, and weary of ignorance, should so seize on the supposed fulfilment of passing events as to render us prophets ourselves, and inflate us with notions of self-importance, and lead us to imagine we can solve the actual state of the dispensations of God's providence in the events around us.

In proportion as the study of unfulfilled prophecy verges towards such evils, it becomes a dangerous snare. The miserable follies of the prophets of Germany in the sixteenth century, and of those of France in the seventeenth, with Rel. Mag.-No. 1.

the scandals and hindrances to the Gospel which those pretenders occasioned; had their origin in perhaps a commendable study of prophecy, but, carried to excess, allowed to heat the fancy, and tending to lift up the mind, from humble watchfulness and obedience, to enthusiastic visions and pretensions.

To all scriptural purposes, the restrained and cautious development of the roll of prophecy, as events clearly conspire to unfold it, is sufficient. Such a proportioned and enlightened perusal of the prophetic books, when connected with a consideration of the aspect of the world and the church, and the general promises of God's grace and blessing, is all we need for our encouragement, and all we are capable of using aright in our present state of conflict and darkness. It is not for us to pretend minutely to know" the times and the seasons," which the Father hath put in his own power. Such a prescience would unsettle our minds in the attitude of dependance, and might indispose them for the duty of penitence and prayer. Taken generally, and in their broad features, the prophecies are "a light shining in a dark place;" they are the harbingers of the Redeemer's coming; they are the anticipations of the overthrow of anti-christ; they are the songs of praise tuned for the day of conquest; and they are the assurance and pledge of the ultimate and glorious triumph of the eternal Saviour. In this blessed consolation, let us pursue each our course of labour, and, it may be, of suffering. Like Luther and his noble colleagues, let us hope for every success in the name of our great Captain; let us imitate the reformers as they followed Christ; and let us, in the spirit of courage, wisdom, meekness, humility, and singleness of heart, exert every effort to propagate the kingdom of God, first in our own circles, and then in our country and in the world.

OUR attention has been called, by the publications referred to at the head of this article, to one of the most important subjects that have lately engaged the notice of the Public of these Islands. The REFORMATION IN IRELAND, as it has been called, and as we think it deserves to be called, is one of the most remarkable events of modern times. There was no part of the world where the religion of Rome had entrenched itself more strongly, than in Ireland. Its position in Italy itself did not appear half so secure. In the latter country, it was exposed to the danger of being crushed by the weight of the Establishment which was reared for its ornament and support, or of perishing of the corruptions and the moral malaria that infest Courts and Cabinets. In Ireland, the case was different. There, the languid and debilitated superstition of Rome acquired a considerable degree of strength and vigour: it wore a countenance of health and an appearance of robustness, derived from the political struggles in which it had been engaged for a series of centuries.

The small mixture of Protestantism which existed in Ireland, served, not to impede or to check the growth of Popery in that country, but, by pruning the luxuriancy of superstition, and lopping off its rank and unsightly branches, to recommend it more strongly to the favour and affections of the people, and to extend and sustain its power. It is well known to those who have paid any attention to the features of Popery on the Continent and in the Sister Island, that, in the latter, the religion of Rome presents itself with a much more mitigated and decorous aspect. Its softened lineaments and subdued tone, we attribute to the mixture of Protestantism which has prevailed in that country; and, accordingly, we may observe, that, in the north of Ireland, where that mixture is greatest, the Roman religion assumes the least corrupt and least objectionable character, and preserves the most quiet and respectable demeanour.

seldom induced to surrender their opinions, by blows, or by injuries inflicted upon their property or their privileges, as subjects of a free state. If the political machinery contrived for the conversion of the Catholics failed altogether, the failure of the religious system was still more remarkable. So absolutely did the Protestant Establishment in Ireland rely for its security upon the arm of the State, and upon the penal laws, that it neglected making any religious effort whatever to defend itself against the encroachments of the Church of Rome. The decline of Protestantism in Ireland seems to have commenced with the enactment of the penal laws in the reign of Anne, or perhaps earlier, when William was compelled to an infraction of the treaty of Limerick. As the penal code swelled in the reign of the first and second Georgo, Popery increased in bulk, and Protestantism faded away; until, at length, the flesh dropped from its bones, and it appeared before the world the crowned and sceptered skeleton that astonishes the present age.

In many parts of the South of Ireland, the church-books inform us, that, about the period we refer to, there were large Protestant congregations. The list of communicants at Easter are full and closely written; and the names are the same as those of the present inhabitants of the parishes, all of whom are now zealous professors of the Romish religion. In some of the parishes we refer to, the parish clerk now enjoys the double office of clerk and congregation.

The fatal support, if such it can be called, which the Protestant Church derived from the penal laws, took away competition, and acted as a premium upon neglect of duty. What had the Church to lose by the defection of its congregations? Nothing. Was there any thing which it might gain? We answer, there was much. The Church lost nothing of income by the defection of its congregations: on the contrary, it gained income; and, what many churchmen value more,-it gained leisure. The clergy, having no congregations, were able to attend to their own pursuits, to the labours of the farm, to the refinements of literature, to the enjoyments of society, to the duties of the magistracy; sometimes to the military discipline of the yeomanry; frequently to the construction and superintendence of the roads; as well as to rural sports, and to all the pleasing occupations of the rich and idle.

perhaps, more than one; and where much is to be done, the curate must be a man of some capacity, who will require a decent maintenance. A man kept only for form's sake may be had cheap; but a man capable of actual business is often a dear article.

Protestant congregations sometimes pay their tithes grudgingly and with much grumbling. They consider that they are entitled to receive value for what they pay; and where they are

dissatisfied with the value received, they are reluctant payers. The clergyman cannot discharge the transaction altogether, as far as relates to his own congregation, of this character of quid pro quo; nor can he always proceed to extremities with men between whom and himself the relation of pastor and flock is to be maintained. He must yield frequently, and take what he can get.

His position is different with respect to his Catholic parishioners. He deals with them upon the footing of the act of parliament. He has no argument but one, and that is a short one: he refers to the armed police. He collects his tithe upon the high ground of a government tax, which saves a world of trouble, and permits no diminution or defalcation. If harsh measures are to be proceeded to, the parson will not be placed, the next sabbath, under the awkward necessity of expounding a law of forgiveness, and of insisting upon maxims that require as indispensable the abandonment of right, and the relinquishment of property, for peace's sake.

In fact, we have known parishes in Ireland preferred for having few or no Protestants. And we know that there are now clergymen in that country, who shudder at the thought of the increase of labour, and the diminution of income, which must be the effect of any great extension of the Reformation.

The clergy of the Church of Ireland have been rendered unfit for their duties by the wealth of their livings. Before the ancient Church of Ireland had submitted to the yoke of Rome, the country was divided into very small parishes,-so small as to prove the existence of a very high degree of advancement and population. After the Danish and British invasions, the country declined in civilization and population, and it became necessary to enlarge the parishes in order to furnish an adequate maintenance for the clergyman. The Reformation, misinanaged under Elizabeth, having produced a new series of wars, created a further necessity for enlarging the parishes, inasmuch as the country had suffered a still greater degree of impoverishment and depopulation.

For a considerable time after the Peace of Limerick, the Clergy of the Reformed Church had congregations,-sometimes small ones, but generally enough to give them occupation. The country was poor, and the clergy were not over rich, and they performed the duties of their offices respectably. As the condition of the country improved, the clergy began to rise into an unsuitable degree of affluence. But, as the dominion of the law was, as yet, but imperfectly established in Ireland, their incomes were still in a great degree dependent upon personal influence and character. It was necessary that they should be something more than magistrates and country gentlemen; and, accordingly, there were at this period many excellent and pious country clergymen in Ireland.

The largeness of the parishes, which had been occasioned by the depopulation of the country and the poverty of the people, began to be felt as an evil, as population increased, and as some degree of wealth accumulated.

The clergy were in danger of being too rich, and the congregations of becoming too namerous. As far as the former evil was concerned, it was checked by the agistment law. The act of agistment, passed by the Irish Parliament, has been much abused; but there is no doubt that, as far as it went, it was a substantial benefit to the country. It was a remedy for an evil, not well applied, nor directed exactly to the seat of the disease, but still, it was a remedy, and its effects were remedial. The law of agistment relieved grass-lands from the burden of tithe. It has been objected against this measure, that it was a relief to the rich, while it left the burden undiminished on the shoulders of the poor. Between the tithe of grass, and the tithe of corn and potatoes, we imagine that the Church would not elect to take the former; but the complaint was, that they had not all. It seems, indeed, that the title of the Church to the tithe of grass was never clearly settled in Ireland. There is reason to think, that the ancient Church of Ireland did not claim it, and that the agistment law was founded upon a tradition which denied the title to this tithe. The effect, at all events, was beneficial. It checked, in a small degree, the rapidly increasing wealth of the clergy on the one hand, and the more rapid increase of population on the other. The latter effect resulted from the restraint it imposed upon tillage, and the encouragement given to pasture.

But the astonishing improvement which took place in Ireland under Mr. Grattan's constitution of 1782, gave an impulse to tillage and population, which in spite of the law of agistment, doubled and trebled the incomes of the clergy. These were still further increased by the corn-laws, which laid open the trade in grain between the two British Islands. The effect of the latter law was immediate and surprising. It swept away the flocks and herds which had covered the country, and turned the green pastures into corn-fields. As tillage requires many hands, such a change necessarily operated as a premium upon population; and the free export of corn to Great Britain, accelerated very much the progress of population at that period in Ireland.

All these circumstances contributed to raise the condition of the Protestant Clergy,-to transform them from devout and laborious clergymen into a class of country gentlemen, possessing a taste for the elegancies and refinements of society. There was a double process going on, that upon the land and population, and that upon the clergy; and the effect was, to separate and alienate the population from the Church. But, together with this double process, other changes were in operation. Tillage does not bring wealth into a country, unless the corn grown in it be consumed there also. The increase of tillage in Ireland had the effect of sending wealth out of the country. The absentee system had been an old disease of the land; and the Union, which occurred about the time that this free trade in corn was established, contributed of itself, and concurred with the corn-law, to aggravate the evil. Both measures augmented the number of absentees.

The increase of rents which was derived from the increase of tillage and population,

enabled great numbers of the smaller gentry to quit the country. The Union, by removing great numbers of the higher classes, and changing the seat of power and influence, created an attraction which the minor gentry could not but obey as soon as they were in possession of the means. And their removal from Ireland had the effect of impoverishing the country, both by the withdrawment of their expenditure, and by leading to the exaction of high rents, to which men living in a more expensive country, would soon be compelled to have recourse, and would have the less compunction in so doing, while at a distance from the scene of the exaction, and removed from all knowledge of the distress it might occasion.

As rents rose in Ireland, as tillage extended, as population increased, the country became poorer and poorer, and every day added to the number of absentees. This increasing poverty of the country, together with the increasing tillage and population, and the constant diminution in the number of resident gentry,-all tended to lift the clergy out of their proper sphere, and to give them, more and more decidedly, the air and character of mere gentry. That which impoverished the country, (the increase of tillage and of prices,) enriched them. The great extent of the parishes, which had been laid out upon a scale suited to a thin population and to pasture-farms, converted them into a kind of extensive landholders, and raised them into a position in society above the class of small gentry, who still lingered in the country, only because they were too low in the scale of income to quit it.

Having reached this point, the consequences were obvious. The clergy might have been, and perhaps were, valuable as gentry, but they ceased to be clergy, except in name. Their congregations quitted them; and having no other choice, they joined their neighbours, and were incorporated in the congregations of the Romish clergy. In this process, it is apparent that the clergy left their congregations before the congregations left them; and such was the fact. Where the remedy of this great evil is to be found, or how it is to be applied, are now become questions of immense importance. That the great extension of the Romish religion in Ireland which has taken place within the last century, the utter extinction of the Protestant congregations in many places, and their lamentable decay every where, is an evil, even in a political point of view, of a very serious nature, will hardly be disputed, except by the partizans of Popery. It seems indispensable then, in the first place, that the Protestant clergy should be brought back to their original vocation of ministers of the gospel. To this end, they must renounce their secular pursuits, and forego their magisterial functions and dignities, together with the profits and other advantages of road-making, and grand-jury jobbing. They may credit their Bibles, that they cannot be men of this world, and ministers of the next; they cannot serve two masters. But this can hardly be accomplished to any extent, while they enjoy the large incomes and extensive parishes of which they are now in possession. The amount of the income would be a temptation in the way of a pious and sincere

man; and the extent of the parish would make it impossible for the rector to perform his duty well, or conscientiously, towards his congregation, if it were to increase so as to embrace any considerable proportion of the inhabitants of the place. At present, every thing is opposed, in the case of the clergyman, to a conscientious performance of his duty: his pecuniary interest, his ease, and his importance, are all adverse. If he would convert men to a new faith, he must deal with them, perhaps, with less strictness when he comes to treat for his tithes. He must abandon the presentment, must leave the correspondence with the Secretary at the Castle, and similar matters of dignity and emolument, to other men, and he must take up a life of labour and privation.

There are some men in the Church of Ireland who are capable of all this, and of more if it were necessary; but it is not to be expected that they should be a numerous class. The best thing, undoubtedly, that could be done, would be to identify the interest and the duty of the clergy, by making, to some extent, their incomes dependent upon the numbers of their congregations. Various plans might be suggested for this purpose. For instance: the Rector might be entitled to a full tithe from the members of his own congregation only, and to no more than one-half or two-thirds of the tithe of Catholics or Protestant Dissenters; the remaining portions of the tithe of such persons to be applied to charitable purposes, or to the payment of their own clergy, if thought proper. Besides this, it might be necessary, perhaps, to divide the parishes, and to reduce them to a reasonable size; or to secure, by some means, a sufficient number of curates with reasonable salaries. Probably, the latter would be the best arrangement.

In the mean time, it is consoling to find, that a considerable improvement has taken place within the Church of Ireland. A number of pious and zealous men have appeared in her ranks, and in spite of all the temptations and disadvantages that beset their path, have proved themselves true soldiers of the gospel.

It is some years since several good and reflecting men, both in the Church and out of it, began to perceive that Protestantism was disappearing fast from every rank and class of society in Ireland, except the highest. Hardly a vestige of it remained among the peasantry, or the poorer population of the towns. They saw, too, that the extension of the Catholic religion had not improved the habits or morals of the people. Connected with that religion also, there was found to exist a degree of political discontent, arising naturally out of the poperylaws, which threatened the Church as a religious establishment, and was not unattended by danger to the State. This view of the matter created alarm; and the aların soon spread, and reached other descriptions of persons.

There were three classes of the community who were excited into considerable activity by the views that were now presented to them. The first were those whose motives were purely religious, and who were sincerely concerned for the spiritual welfare of the people. The second looked solely to the safety of the Establishment, its wealth, power, and predominance.