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what may be called the harlequin style, that is, it affected strong colours and strong contrasts. This taste belongs to rude ages, and has passed away very much with the progress of civilization. The military dress alone has escaped the reform. The military man is the

only harlequin left us from ancient times. It is time that his dazzling finery were gone, that it no longer corrupted the young, that it no longer threw a pernicious glare over his terrible vocation.'

B. C. S.

THE PREACHER AND HEARER.

THERE was, some years ago,' says Dr. Krummacher, of Elberfield, in his work entitled "6 Elijah the Tishbite," 'there was, not far from this place, a very gifted preacher, who, for several years, preached with great earnestness and success the doctrine of the cross; but who, on that very account, was violently opposed. One of his opponents, a well informed person, who had for a long time absented himself from the church, thought, one Sabbath morning, that he would go and hear the gloomy man once more, to see whether his preaching might be more tolerable to him than it had been heretofore. He went; and that morning the preacher was speaking of the narrow way, which he did not make either narrower or broader than the Word of God describes it. A new creature in Christ, or eternal condemnation,' was the theme of his discourse ; and he spoke with power, and not as a mere learned reasoner. During the sermon, the question forced itself upon this hearer's conscience. • How is it with myself? Does this man declare the real truth? If he does, what must inevitably follow from it? This thought took such a hold upon him, that he could not get rid of it, amidst any of his engagements and amusements. But it became, from day to day, more and more troublesome, more and more penetrating, and threatened to embitter every joy of his life; so that at last he thought he would

go to the preacher himself, and ask him, upon his conscience, if he were convinced of the truth of that which he had lately preached. He fulfilled his intention, and went to the preacher. Sir,' said he to him, with great earnestness, 'I was one of your hearers, when you spoke, a short time since, of the only way of salvation. I confess to you that you have disturbed my peace of mind, and I cannot refrain from asking you solemnly, before God, and upon your conscience, if you can prove what you asserted, or whether it was an unfounded alarm.' The preacher, not a little surprised at this address, replied, with convincing certainty, that he had spoken the Word of God, and consequently infallible truth.

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What, then, is to become of us?' replied the visitor. His last word, us, startled the preacher, but he rallied his thoughts, and began to explain the plan of salvation to the inquirer, and to exhort him to repent and believe. But the latter, as though he heard not one syllable of what the preacher said, interrupted him in the midst of it, and repeated, with increasing emotion the anxious exclamation, If it be truth, Sir, I beseech you what are we to do?' Terrified, the preacher staggers back. We,' thinks he, 'what means this we?' and, endeavouring to stifle his inward uneasiness and embarrassment, he resumed his exhortation and advice. Tears came into the eyes of the visitor; he smote his hands to

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gether, like one in despair, and exclaimed, in an accent which might have moved a heart of stone, Sir, if it be truth, we are uudone.' The preacher stood pale, trembling, and speechless. Then, overwhelmed with astonishment, with downcast eyes and convulsive sobbings, he exclaimed, Friend, down on your knees, let us cry for mercy.' They knelt down and prayed, and shortly afterwards the visitor took his leave. The preacher shut himself up in his closet. Next Sabbath, word was sent that the minister was uuwell, and could not appear. The same thing happened the Sabbath following. On the third Sabbath, the preacher made his appearance before his congregation,

worn with his inward conflict, and pale, but his eyes beaming with joy, and commenced his discourse with the surprising and affecting declaration, that he had now, for the first time, passed through the strait gate. You will ask what had occurred to him in his chamber, during the interval which had elapsed? A storm passed over him, but the Lord was not in the storm; an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; a fire, but the Lord was not in the the fire. Then came a still small voice, on which the man enveloped his face in his mantle, and from that time knew what was the gospel, and what was grace."

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Review of Books.

REMARKS ON THE PRESENT POSITION OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. Occasioned by the publication of a Letter from the Dean of Faculty to the Lord Chancellor. By THOMAS CHALMERS, D. D. and L. L. D. 8vo. Pp. 130. Collins. 1839.

AUCHTERARDER CASE. Revised Speeches of George Cook, D. D. and Robert Wigham, Esq. in the General Assembly, on Wednesday, May 22, 1839, and of the Earl of Dalhousie, next day, on retiring from the Assembly. With the various reasons of dissent from the decision of the Assembly, and list of Dissentients. 8vo. Pp. 24. Longman. 1839.

OUR attention has been repeatedly called to the present state of the Church of Scotland, and we have been strongly urged to bring the existing controversy before our readers, on the especial ground that the question to which it relates has an immediate bearing on the concerns of our own Church, and is now proposed for decision to the British Parliament.

We comply with these calls with some reluctance. To talk about things which we imperfectly understand, may sometimes be the means of obtaining clearer views; but to write on imperfect information does not admit of any very satisfactory defence. Yet under existing circumstances we shall endeavour to state the case as clearly as we are able, to make such observations upon it as appear to us important, and to throw ourselves upon that kind indulgence of our readers, which we have so often experienced for any errors or imperfections which our statement may contain, and which we shall, when pointed out, be most ready to

correct.

The ground of the present dispute appears to be, whether a patron can introduce a particular individual as the minister of a parish, against the will of the major part of the male communicants of that parish; but the result of this dispute has been to place the civil and ecclesiastical authorities of Scotland in direct opposition; FEBRUARY, 1840.

K

nor is it easy to say how this important schism may be remedied.

The government and discipline of the Church of Scotland is conducted by kirk sessions, presbyteries, provincial synods, and general assemblies. The patronage of vacant livings is at the disposal of the crown, of corporate bodies, or of individuals: but it is stated that from an early period, down to 1733, cases occurred where the general assembly refused to induct or ordain a minister regularly presented by the patron, on the sole ground of the unwillingness of the people to receive him. That from 1768, the wishes of the people were entirely disregarded, and that such disregard of the popular voice led to the secession of 500 congregations from the Scottish Church, who agreed in all respects with the Scottish Confession of Faith, but differed solely on this one point of patronage. To obviate these evils, and if possible, reunite a divided church, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland after two years deliberation, enacted in 1834—

That no pastor shall be intruded on any congregation contrary to the will of the people; and in order to carry this principle into full effect, the Presbyteries of the Church shall be instructed, that if, at the moderating in a call to a vacant pastoral charge, the major part of the male heads of families, members of the vacant congregation, and in full communion with

the church, shall disapprove of the person in whose favour the call is proposed to be moderated in, such disapproval shall be deemed sufficient ground for the Presbytery rejecting snch person, and he shall he rejected accordingly.'

Since this enactment of the General Assembly, one hundred and fifty presentations have taken place; of these, ten have been objected to; in nine of these cases the patrons have given way; but in one, the case of Auchterarder, the legality of the General Assembly's act has been disputed. The case is as follows.

The church and parish of Auchterarder having become vacant in August 1834, the Earl of Kinnoul, as patron, issued in September, a presentation in favour of the Rev. Robert Young. The presentation having been sustained by the Presbytery, opportunity was afforded to the male heads of families to give in dissents, when a majority having dissented, Mr. Young was rejected as presentee. On this rejection the Earl of Kinnoul and Mr. Young instituted in the Court of Session a process against the Presbytery of Auchterarder-the Presbytery were defended by a commission of the General Assembly-but the case being decided in favour of Mr. Young, an appeal was carried to the House of Lords, who, on May 3, 1839, affirmed the right of Mr. Young. The General Assembly having received this adverse decision, conceded that by it the Rev. Mr. Young was entitled to the civil rights and emoluments secured by law to the church of Auchterarder; but that he was not entitled to ordination as minister of the said church-but that the spiritual and pastoral care of the parish should be intrusted to some other minister, for whom voluntary remuneration should be provided; and this decision has been followed up by suspension and threatenings of spiritual cen

sures against any who should proceed to the ordination of Mr. Young; who, together with the Earl of Kinnoul, is proceeding for pecuniary damages in the civil

courts.

The civil and ecclesiastical authorities of Scotland are thus brought into actual collision, and application to Parliament is now making to change the existing laws-though tolerably plain intimations are given, that should Parliament reject the application, the objectors would still persevere. Were the Scottish church united, we apprehend some concession must be made, but as it appears from the votes of the general assembly that the numbers were in one case 197 to 161, and in another 204 to 155, it is obvious that with so large a minority, the Parliament may see fit to refuse the Assembly's application.

The

The cause of the veto is ably argued by Dr. Chalmers, and its beneficial results strongly pointed out. Much light is also thrown, in his discussions, on the moral and religious state of the Scottish church, and on the bearing of the veto question on the important cause of church extension. Doctor also urges the subject powerfully on the dignitaries and ecclesiastics at large of the Church of England. It is however, obvious, that the general feeling of ecclesiastics in this country is adverse to the Scottish claim; and while fully alive to the evils of the existing system, we cannot but fear that a parochial veto might in some cases be attended with equally unfavourable results. If, for instance, Socinian, Antinomian, or other antichristian principles should unhappily be introduced into any parish, the parochial veto might be exercised to the rejection of every minister who might faithfully testify of Jesus Christ and his salvation; and thus the very means adopted for the securing of

a purer faith might be no need for the establishing of heretical pravity. Should indeed the present claim of the general assembly be established, namely, that while the temporal advantages of the parish of Auchterarder are enjoyed by Lord Kinnoul's nominee, the spiritual concerns should be entrusted to another minister, for whom maintenance should elsewhere be provided, it is obvious that a door would be opened to worldly-minded ministers desiring the fleece rather than the flock, to seek to ingratiate themselves with the patrons of the wealthier livings, and to rejoice rather than mourn, if by offending the male communicants, they might secure the wages, and be exempt from the work; while similar evils to those connected with our own impropriations, might on a smaller scale arise in the Scottish Church. The whole question therefore appears to us pregnant with difficulty; and though we are fully convinced that Dr. Chalmers and the majority of the general assembly are actuated by the most conscientious motives, yet we feel that they are proceeding on somewhat questionable grounds.

Dr. Chalmers especially argues that the ordination of a minister at the requirement of any civil authority, is unjustifiable; and that therefore such requirement is firmly to be resisted; and he appeals to our ecclesiastical dignitaries on this point, and shews that our diocesans invariably claim and exercise an independant authority in all cases of ordination. But as it appears to us, the cases are not strictly similar, and therefore the argument from analogy will not exactly apply. Perhaps it may not be amiss to attempt a fuller explanation of this difference.

In the Scottish Church, the candidates for the ministry pass through a certain course of education, attending lectures, &c. for a prescribed term; they are then sub

an

jected to probation, preaching, trial, sermons, &c., and if approved, receive a licence or certificate from some presbytery or other authorized persons. This licence enables them to preach, and to perform many, if not all ministerial offices wherever opening may present itself; they can thus act as assistant ministers, though they are not admitted to the pastoral charge of a parish, until nominated by some patron, and ordained by a particular presbytery. Yet still they must, we conceive, be regarded as endued with the primary qualification of the ministerial office, viz. the authority of preaching the word of God, for however important pastoral duties may be, and most important they are, they are rather secondary and consequent on the faithful preaching of the gospel. The Scottish licentiates, intrantes, or claimants, have thus we conceive an ecclesiastical ministerial character; and the calling, upon a given presbytery, to admit one who possesses this character to a specific charge, is a very different thing from requiring a bishop among ourselves, to ordain a particular candidate.

The unbeneficed clergy therefore, in the two divisions of the island, differ less in their position than at first sight might appear. The Scotch licentiate and the English priest, possess a certain ministerial character, though they may at the moment be destitute of ministerial employment. A patron on either side of the Tweed, may nominate one of these unbeneficed clergy to a vacant living, and the court of session in the north, or of King's Bench in the south, will secure to the person so nominated, the temporalities of the benefice; the only difference is that the General Assembly in Scotland may question the licentiate's right to be recognised as the spiritual pastor of the parish; while in England the

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