when once a desire to stand upon good terms with God is awakened, seeks eagerly for some way to establish its ownrighteousness; Satan, a creature of boundless experience, is well aware of this, and if he can once succeed in fixing the persuasion, that man's supposed merit has a share in man's justification before God, he counts upon gaining his point, the withdrawing of the sinner's confidence from the Lord our righteousness. This is the basis of, popery; this the source of all the gross errors in the Nicene age, which led to its establishment: a perversion of the Gospel of Christ by the introduction of a something else, as a means of acceptance with God, which receives more of the heart's confidence than the blood and righteousness of Christ. This has been from the beginning one of Satan's most successful devices, and so it remains to this day. The Oxford Tract high Church system, resting its claims to respect upon the authority of the Fathers, seems to me nothing more than Satan's accommodation of the same fallacious principle, to the spirit and circumstances of our times. It is the introduction of another Gospel,' under a new disguise, or what seems to be so, though it be as old as those days in which certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, insisted upon having all Christians circumcised after the manner of Moses.

Once admit an erroneous principle for inspired truth, and there is no knowing into what extremes of delusion one may be led. Nor are we justified in supposing, that we of the nineteenth century, are more free from danger than our Christian brethren of the fourth and fifth, if we refuse to take warning from their infatuation: if we adopt any of their false principles, however specious, it is reasonable to expect that we shall, sooner or later, have our practical judgment equally perverted.

I cannot conclude my letter, long as it is, without presenting your readers with a short notice of two more of Theodoret's worthies. I do so for the sake of showing this ancient bishop's consistency. He had no doubt of the superior merit of such a life as the ascetics led, and had therefore his argument ready to meet any charge which might be brought against even their most palpable absurdities. There was among Theodoret's numerous friends, one Thalileus, who had fixed his abode in a wild pagan district. This man had contrived for himself a curious box, or nest, in which he might, as he told the bishop, expose himself to voluntary sufferings. And what was the object, think you, of these voluntary sufferings? They were undergone, as the poor fellow avowed, in the hope of mitigating at least, if not of avoiding, those involuntary sufferings which he might justly expect for his sins. His nest was made of two wheels, two cubits in diameter, and one cubit apart. Between these was a wooden frame, so formed that he might coil himself up with his knees to his chin, his back being completely curved. The frame was made of a sort of lattice work, to admit wind, rain, and sun. And there had he been sitting on the top of a mountain, slung between the two wheels, for ten years! Theodoret went to consult him, and was highly pleased with his reason for this strange procedure. Of course a man like this could do miracles. Theodoret says he did.

There was another poor creature of the same school, named Baradotus, who shut himself up for many a long day in a wooden case, where he might sit still and be exposed to all the annoyances of the weather. Now, in his preface to a biographical notice of this man, Theodoret, evidently with a view to meet the objections which men of ordinary sense might urge against

that of godly well-informed divines of our own day. We, Sir, have had the opportunity of scanning well the errors of the early church writers, and have witnessed the melancholy results of them. What will our Lord say to us if we throw away all the benefit of such painful experience as the church has had during centuries that are past, and receive again and act upon, the very principles from which incalculable mischiefs have ensued? Justly may He abandon us to the consequences of our own perverseness if we do. I remain, Mr. Editor, Your's very truly,

Z. A.

MANY persons have of late assailed this Society both in public and private. When our conduct is attacked, it is lawful, in a spirit of meekness, to defend it, or at least to state the grounds on which we act, and to request those who censure us to examine the principles of our conduct, and then to instruct us in the truth, if we be in error, and if they are able.

On this ground, in the hope of promoting truth and peace, and in discharge of what he believes to be a duty to Almighty God and his fellow Christians, the author of these remarks adopts this mode of stating his reasons for subscribing to the funds of the Church Missionary Society.

I am, then, a subscriber to the Church Missionary Society, because it is the will of our Blessed Lord that the Gospel should be preached to all nations, as we learn from St. Matthew's Gospel, xxviii. 19, and xxiv. 14, and from many other passages of Holy Scripture.

Such being the Saviour's will, it must be a duty and a blessed privilege of all his disciples to contri

bute, as far as their station and abilities permit, to the carrying on of this holy work. If no proceedings of the kind were in progress amongst us, if individual members of the Church of England had no opportunity afforded them of discharging this duty, I, in common with thousands of others in that Church, should mourn the deficien

cy, and pray for its removal. When that opportunity is afforded us, we thankfully and joyfully avail ourselves of it.

In this, at least, it will be granted that we are not in error. It will be acknowledged that to desire to contribute to the propagation of the Gospel is an honest and a Christian wish; and that to hear and tell of those wonderful works which God does in the conversion of the Heathen, is a great privilege to every sincere Christian; a privilege very dear to his heart, and which he does well most thankfully to avail himself of. "the

But then it is objected, Church Missionary Society is not conducted on strictly Church Principles, and therefore you ought

not to join it.' This sort of objection is made, I believe, by many who do not very well know what they mean by Church Principles, and probably different persons object to the Society on very different grounds. But, so far as I am able to learn, the more influential and numerous class of objectors are those who ground their censure on this principle, that the Society did not originate with the Archbishops and Bishops, and that it does not recognise their right absolutely to controul all its proceedings in their respective provinces and dioceses.' In order to ascertain whether there is any weight in this objection, we should call to mind what is the real nature of the Society, and what are its pretensions and proceedings.

The society is a voluntary Association, the object of which is to raise funds for the support of missions, to superintend the education of missionaries, and to correspond with them when sent out. It originated in the zeal of pious members of the Church of England, at a time when no attempt had ever been made by that church to discharge the great duty of preaching the gospel to the heathen. Its committee are all members of the Church of England; its missionaries are ordained by the Bishop of London; and in whatever part of the world they are stationed, they conform to the regulations of their beloved church,

the glory of the reformation, aud the chief bulwark of Christianity in Europe.' They teach the heathen to worship God according to the forms of its liturgy, and whenever their spheres of labour lie within the dioceses of its bishops, they rejoice to be under their protection and to pay them true and canonical obedience in all lawful and honest commands.' To ex

press that it acted on these principles, the society adopted the name of the Church Missionary Society.

But it has never claimed for itself any spiritual authority whatsoever. It is a Church Society, because the members of it desire, by God's grace, to do nothing contrary to the principles of his church, and to act in conformity to all the regulations of that branch of his visible church on earth, which it is their chief earthly privilege to be members of. But it does not pretend to be founded by the church, nor to have the church's authority. And I humbly conceive that no society can claim such authority, or can be called a Church Society in any other sense than that which applies to the Church Missionary Society, except the Church itself. Every other society is a voluntary association. I conceive, therefore, no valid objection can be taken to this society from its not being governed by the archbishops and bishops, until it is proved that members of the church cannot lawfully form any associations amongst themselves except at the bidding of the superior clergy. cannot find this principle in God's word, nor in the regulations of our own church, and I must excuse myself from believing it until something like proof of it is given. In the mean time I content myself with observing that it never has been acted upon in the Church of England. Those societies which our opponents acknowledge to be church societies, had their origin, not in their authoritative interposition of our rulers, but in the voluntary zeal of private and obscure persons. The labours of those servants of God have been largely blessed, we trust, by him, and the societies which they formed are now regarded as the most useful auxiliaries of the English Church, doing what many think its convocation ought to do, but what our gracious Lord and Master is pleased to effect by means which he knoweth to be best, though they may not easily find a place in

human theories. But let it not be forgotten that if the want of episcopal government render the Church Missionary Society schis matical now, then the Societies for Promoting Christian Knowledge and Propagating the Gospel, have also been schismatical, during the greater part of their existence. And, indeed, on this principle, they are so now, for at this day neither of them is governed by the archbishops and bishops, but the former, by all its subscribing, the latter by its incorporated members. The truth is, that none of these societies does any thing which any private layman might not lawfully do, if he had the funds and the will.

To speak only of the Church Missionary Society. What does it which any man might not do? Might not any wealthy individual whose heart was filled with compassion for the poor slaves of Satan in Africa, who are perishing for lack of knowledge; might not such an individual say, without presumption, to the Bishop of London,

If your Lordship will ordain Missionaries to preach Christ to these our fellow-creatures, I will pay all the expenses of the Mission. And in consideration of my doing so, I doubt not your Lordship will allow me the privilege of corresponding with them, and making arrangements as to the stations at which they shall be situated; provided, of course, that all things are done in conformity to the regulations of the Church of England, and provided also that I lay before your Lordship annually a report of their proceedings, with extracts from my correspondence, and am always willing to afford your Lordship any further information which you may require.' Surely if such a proposal had been made, at a time when the church was absolutely neglecting the duty of preaching the gospel to the heathen, the Bishop would have

thanked Almighty God for such an opening, and would have embraced the charitable offer with

joy. This proposal was not made by an individual, but something like it was made by the Church Missionary Society, and accepted. The missionaries, therefore, of that Society, are missionaries of the Church of England, and I cannot but marvel at the feelings of that man who does not wish them well, or who does not desire, so far as in him lies, to afford them every encouragement and support.

But again, it is objected to the society, that when its missionaries are stationed within the dioceses of our Colonial Bishops, they are not placed so completely under the controul of those Bishops as they should be. I cannot now enter at large upon this question, upon which some explanatory remarks will be found in the Report of the Society for the year 1839.

But without entering into the details of the subject, these two considerations seem sufficient to prove that there cannot be any very serious objection to the Society's proceedings in this respect:

1st. The Society's Missionaries in the colonies are licensed and superintended by the Colonial Bishops, in the same manner as are the other clergymen of the Church of England officiating in the same colonies.

2nd. The Colonial Bishops (universally, I believe) express themselves grateful for the assistance which the society renders.

I now conclude this paper, commending myself to the candour of the reader, and to the mercy of Almighty God, and fervently praying the Lord Jesus that he would give peace to his church, a blessing to all his servants, and more especially I would pray and desire my readers to pray for those missionaries whom the great Head of the Church has sent to preach the

gospel to the heathen. May he lift up the light of his countenance upon us, may he " speak peace unto his people and to his saints that they turn not again." And may he bless the labours of those who send forth labourers, or who provide the means of sending forth labourers, into his vineyard.

One of the principal points which I have in view in laying these few remarks before the public is,

To suggest to those who object to this Society, because it has not episcopal government, nor even the patronage of all the Bishops, these considerations :

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I. That as the Society is a purely voluntary association, and claims no power whatever except that which its members possess as individuals, it would be an innocent, and might be a most meritorious Society, even if it did not enrol among its members one single Bishop or Clergyman of any rank; and, moreover, that if it had the support of the whole bench of Bishops, and if that venerable body constituted its committee, and entirely directed all its operations, its character would not be essentially altered, for the Church of England is governed, not by the venerable bench of Bishops, but by a lawfully assembled convocation.

II. I would request of these objectors, (of whom I desire to speak with the greatest respect) to define what they mean by a Church Society, and to show that such a Society exists in England.

III. I would request all persons, but especially those who call this Society schismatical; who treat it with sarcasm, and describe it as not a real Missionary Society; I would

call upon all, but especially on such persons to reflect, that, whatever the Society be, its Missionaries are real missionaries, duly called and sent according to the order of the Church of this realm; that in their censures upon this Society, they are in fact charging divers of the bishops with schism; and that by railing against their brother Churchmen, they are giving great occasion to the enemies of the Lord, I hope not to blaspheme, but at least to speak of many sacred things with great irreverence.

And in conclusion, I am free to own, that while I love the Church Missionary Society for the sake of the object which it has in view, and the regular and prudent means by which it pursues that object, I have an additional ground for attachment to it: I love the men who formed it, and were its first supporters. While the end and the means convince my understanding that it is my duty to pour my mite into its treasury, and then raise the voice which God has given me in its defence, my heart is kindled with I trust a not unholy joy, when I remember that I am treading in the steps of Cecil and of Scott, of Simeon, and Buchanan, and Henry Martyn; and my faith is strengthened by the hope that their prayers and their labours will not be unblessed.

May God vouchsafe his pardon to myself and to my readers, for any wrong thoughts which I have here expressed, or they imbibed, in reading these few imperfect reflections on so great a subject.

The above is abridged from a Tract lately published at Leeds, by the Rev. A. G. Craufurd.