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thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them nor any heat. There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor sighing, neither shall there be any more pain. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

To be with Christ is to be removed out of the reach of temptation, as well as sorrow; for into the city in which they dwell there shall in no wise enter anything that defileth, neither whatsoever

worketh abomination, or maketh a lie;
but they which are written in the Lamb's
book of life. From such a place, from
such society, from such enjoyments, who
could have the cruelty to wish to with-
draw them? Oh, let them enjoy their
bliss. We shall go to them, though they
shall not return to us:

"A few short years of evil past,
We reach the happy shore,
Where death-divided friends, at last,
Shall meet to part no more."

"Wherefore, let us comfort one another with these words."

G. P.

CHURCHES AND CHAPELS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM; OR, THE POWER OF VOLUNTARY RELIGION.

[Ar a meeting of the Anti-state Church Society, held at Leeds, on Wednesday, the 27th October, Edward Baines, Esq., delivered a speech on church statistics, which we deem it our duty to lay before our readers, as it contains a record of facts which both Churchmen and Dissenters are interested in knowing. In addition to which we cannot but regard it as next to a demonstration of the power of Voluntary Christianity depending exclusively on its own resources.]

The comparative numbers of Churchmen and Dissenters in the United Kingdom are a matter of considerable interest, and even importance. Very erroneous statements are often made on both sides: the materials for forming a comparison are scattered: it will therefore be of utility to make any nearer approach than has hitherto been made to an accurate estimate. In the course of remarks at the Anti-State-Church meeting at Leeds, on Wednesday, Mr. Edward Baines, Jun., adduced the number of places of worship built and maintained by Dissenters as one among many proofs of the power of the Voluntary principle. From the statement made by him, and from subsequent examination, we arrive at the following results:

From the Clergy List of 1845, we find that the number of churches and chapels

of the Establishment in England and Wales in the year 1844, was about 12,100. Allowing for subsequent increase, we may suppose them now to be about 12,500.

From the authorized publications of the Wesleyan, Independent, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Unitarian, Wesleyan Association, and other bodies, as well as from other sources, we draw the following results as to the number of their places of worship:

Chapels in England.

Wesleyan Methodist
Independent

Quaker

3000

1800

Baptists.......

1435

Primitive Methodist

1421

Roman Catholic................................................
Bible Christian

540

391

387

Wesleyan Methodist Association
Methodist New Connexion.
Unitarian.....

316

277

220

Orthodox Presbyterian....

77

Lady Huntingdon's Connexion
Inghamites

30

New Jerusalem Church supposed 500 and Various ..........

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It would appear, then, that there is a greater number of places of worship belonging to the Nonconformists than to the Established Church, even in that part of the kingdom where the Establishment is the strongest. It does not of course follow that there is a greater number of of Churchmen. Nonconformists than There are many places where the great bulk of the population attend the Church, and where the Dissenting chapels are small, and scantily attended. churches would in general accommodate much larger numbers than the chapels. But, on the other hand, many of the churches are in parishes of very small population. Of 14,453 parishes and townships in England, no fewer than 9181 have a population below 400 persons each. Many of the churches which abound in cathedral cities, and other old towns, as well as in villages, have very scanty congregations. The Dissenting chapels exist in the greatest number where the population is the most dense; and in the manufacturing districts at least, the Dissenting congregations are larger than the Church congregations. On the whole, however, we do not doubt that the number of Churchmen exceeds that of Dissenters in England and Wales; and, of course, in point of wealth, the Church has an immense superiority. But the above figures lead to the belief that the numerical majority of the Church is much smaller than many writers have assumed. And it is surely a fact which most strikingly demonstrates the power of the Voluntary principle, that the Nonconformist bodies of England and Wales, besides contributing to the support of the Church, and in the face of many discou

ragements, have built, and are maintaining no less than 12,700 places of worship, and support their ministers and service, without the aid of sixpence from any public funds.

In Scotland there is a decided majority against the Presbyterian Establishment. The following numbers of churches and chapels approach to correctness :

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Thus the Nonconformist chapels exceed the churches of the Scotch Establishment by 823. But when it is remembered that great numbers of the churches of the Establishment were abso

lutely emptied by the secession of the Free Church, it will be obvious that the numerical majority of Dissenters must be much greater than in proportion to the number of their places of worship.

In Ireland the Establishment has only about one-ninth of the population attached to it, whilst the other eight-ninths are Dissenters or Roman Catholics. The fol

lowing are the numbers given by the commissioners appointed to inquire into the state of religious and other instruction in Ireland, in the year 1834:

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The Established clergy, therefore, are much more numerous in proportion than their flocks; not a few of the clergy have not a church to preach in, and not a few of the churches are without congregations. At least 3000 chapels must have been built, and are now upheld, by the poorest part of the population, entirely without Government aid, except the allowances made under the name of Regium Donum to the Unitarian and other Presbyterian ministers of the north of Ireland, the benumbing and deadening effects of which have lately been exhibited on official authority.

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It would seem, then, that the other re.

It would appear from the above that the places of worship belonging to the ligious sects outnumber the Establish

Established Churches and the Nonconformist bodies in the United Kingdom are as follows::

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ments as follow:

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The proportion against the Establishments is about as three to two.

The object for which Mr. E. Baines made these calculations, on Wednesday, was simply this,-to prove that the Voluntary principle had POWER and EFFICIENCY, amply sufficient for the support and propagation of religion. To us the proof of fact is perfectly demonstrative. This view of the state of our population was only one of several illustrations given of the power of the Voluntary principle; and this single branch of the subject was chosen as that on which there is the greatest ignorance, and the most erroneous impression. The scriptural, moral, and social objections to Establishments were treated with distinguished ability, and not less moderation, by the reverend Chairman and other speakers.

THE ANTAGONISTIC TEST;

OR, DIVERSITIES OF OPINION AND PERSECUTIONS AMONG CHRISTIANS NO ARGUMENT AGAINST THE DIVINE CHARACTER OF THE GOSPEL.

(Continued from page 647.)

PERSECUTION is the sin of our apostate nature, and all history confirms the assertion. But before Christians could either persecute heathens or each other, Christianity must have established itself, and obtained rank and importance among the religions of the earth. The means which raised it to such eminence we can easily supply, and from the most authentic sources of information. They were neither policy nor power. Fishermen-the sons of fishermen, the very refuse of a people, themselves universally despisedwere the insignificant agents that planted the standard of the cross in every region. They conquered, not only without the aid of this world's mightiest thrones, but when those thrones set to work the most formidable engines to crush and destroy them. Christianity triumphed when the whole course of natural causes was opposed to it. The reason is to be found alone in the omnipotence of truth, and especially the truth of God.

From the reasonings and evidence thus hinted at, and which might easily be drawn out into an elaborate treatise, it may, we think, be clearly established, that Christianity, though the subject of such diversity of opinions, and the occasion of so many bitter persecutions, cannot fairly be charged with producing them; that its divine origin, high pretensions, and immaculate purity, rest on their own basis, untouched and unaffected by the mistakes, prejudices, and weaknesses of its genuine friends, as well as by the flagitious spirit and outrageous wickedness of its pretended disciples.

But here an important question presents itself, the discussion of which will still further remove from Christianity the reproach we have thus far combated.

The question is, what are the probable designs of Heaven in permitting the evils which we have stated and deplored, to

co-extend with the progress of a religion

divinely revealed and attested?

We have already referred to the apparently unconnected and partially obscure method in which it has pleased Infinite Wisdom to convey the doctrines and discoveries of the scriptural revelation to mankind. Satisfactory reasons for this method, in preference to one more regular, logical, and systematic, may be found in the salutary employment which it affords to the human mind, and its beneficial operation upon the human character-thus harmonizing with the general plan of Providence in the moral government of the world. It is evidently not an accidental circumstance, but a deliberate and pre-ordained purpose. It was the intention of the Divine Majesty to speak unto men at sundry times, and in divers manners by prophets and holy men themselves perhaps frequently unconscious of the full extent of their message, even while they sought diligently to understand what the Spirit could mean, when through them he testified of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. The command of the Great Author of Christianity to "search the Scriptures," and which is of universal extent, implies that even the essential truths which they contain are not to be discovered by a hasty perusal, but by close and persevering industry; that they can only be known by diligent and patient inquiry, and by the cultivation of dispositions diametrically opposed to indolence, pride, and self-sufficiency; that the elements of a Divine philosophy do not lie on the surface of the field of revelation, but are deposited in recesses which must be explored, and concealed in mines which must be wrought; that its treasures are not poured in glittering profusion at our feet, but that we must go forth, and penetrate the hidden places of the earth,

we know not by what we know ; still closing up truth to truth as we find it, (for all her body is homogenial and proportional,) this is the golden rule in theology, as well as in arithmetic, and makes up the best harmony in a church.

before we can make them our own. Truth | Milton expresses it) still searching what is the reward of labour and deep research. This arrangement of its Divine Author is as wise as it is benevolent. It is adapted to our nature, and promotes our happi- | ness by a moral process which secures the highest improvement of our character. Thus it preserves our mental health, raises us to the dignity of thinking beings, and opens to us a scene of interminable progression. While it invigorates all our powers, it affords us the satisfaction arising from the discovery of some new feature of beauty or sublimity. It is precisely that toil that charms with anticipated delight, and which is ever and anon accompanied with the joyful Eureka of the philosopher-"I have found it-I have found it;" and as far surpassing the pleasures of mere human science, as the glories of the midnight heavens tran-happiness have existed in the world? scend in worth and splendour the dewdrops of the morning.

The Author of Nature has given us the book of many worlds; but he has not classified its subjects, nor reduced its multiform contents to a system. We must study its ample page, and decipher its mysterious characters according to our best ability.

The Author of Christianity has given us a volume of another kind, but bearing in this respect a near analogy to that of the visible universe. Every line of it is radiant with instruction. God is everywhere seen in the majesty of his infinite perfections; but distinctly to understand what he has written, we must apply ourselves with intense interest to all the varied sublimities by which we are dazzled, till the sense of obscurity induced by excess of light passes away, and we are enabled to contemplate the scene without confusion, in all its separate portions of grandeur and magnificence, by the telescope of faith bringing distant objects near, and by the microscope of inquiry discovering a world where a superficial glance might have detected only an atom. With the Bible in our hands, it is surely the noblest employment of our intellectual and moral nature to be (as

Can it be an objection to Christianity that the Scriptures, by which it is revealed, demand such a labour as this, and that the knowledge of its principles must be attained precisely in the same manner as we acquire all other sciences in nature and in religion. If the Author of our being had forced upon the whole species a uniform knowledge and belief of all the truths that each contains, and thus had released every man from the toil of thinking-equalizing all minds and levelling all moral distinctions,-could virtue or

The wise and the good, the devout and the humble, receive nothing but advantage from the constitution of the Divine government, as it is displayed in His works and in His word-while all the evils that arise from its abuse and misapprehension, are the portion only of the proud and the vicious, the indolent and the impious! Philosophy and natural religion are not the less true and certain in their principles, because the most contradictory doctrines have been palmed upon the one, and atheists, idolaters, and sceptics have failed to perceive the existence of the other. The universe and the Bible, regarded as the organs of the Divine manifestation, experience the same treatment. They proclaim a God who is adored by his holy worshippers, but contemned and rejected by those who desire not the knowledge of his ways. On whom does this reflect disgrace? On the Deity, who thus condescends to reveal himself to his creatures-or upon those rebels who proudly exclaim, “What is the Almighty, that we should serve him; and what profit shall we have if we pray unto him?"

No kind of revelation, even though the very one they should prescribe were vouchsafed to them, would conciliate such

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