WORCESTERSHIRE. The Dean and Chapter of Worcester have given one hundred pounds towards the rebuilding of St. Peter's Church in that city. An elegant silver inkstand has been presented to the Rev. J. R. Bloxam, Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, "as a small tribute of sincere respect from his friends at Bromsgrove and its vicinity," where he has resided during the last three years, as second master of King Edward's School. Among the contributors were the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Worcester, the Right Hon. and Rev. Lord Aston, the Rev. J. N. Harward, the Rev. G. F. Fessey, &c. &c.-Oxford Herald. At the quarterly meeting of the general committee of the Worcester Diocesan Church Building Society, held at the Guildball on Nov. 7th, the following grants were made:-600l. towards rebuilding the parish church of St. Peter's, in that city; 201. (in addition to 100l. before granted) towards completing a Chapel of Ease at Broadheath; and 50%. (in addition to a former grant of 501.) towards renewing and enlarging St.Helen's Church, Worcester.-Worcester Journal. YORKSHIRE. Dr. Longley was on Sunday, Nov. 6th, consecrated Bishop of Ripon, in York Minster, by the Archbishop, assisted by the Bishops of Lincoln and Chester. The ceremony created much interest, and the Lord Mayor, and a great portion of the aldermen and council, were present among the spectators.-York Gazette. The Rev. Samuel Gamlen, M. A., of Balliol College, Oxford, and Official of the Archdeacon of Durham, having been preferred to the Rectory of Bossal, Yorkshire, the parishioners of Heighington, of which parish the rev. gentleman has been twenty years vicar, have presented him with a piece of plate, in testimony of their admiration of his conduct as their spiritual pastor during that period, previous to his taking bis departure for his new living.Durham Advertiser. The inhabitants of Barnsley have petitioned the Rev. R. Willan, M.A., to relinquish the living to which he was lately appointed, and to remain amongst them. The Archbishop of York has expressed himself to the same effect.-Leeds Intelligencer. A Church Pastoral Aid Society has been formed at Bradford. HUDDERSFIELD PARISH CHURCH.-This beautiful and commodious structure, which has been entirely rebuilt and restored at an expense of about 8,000l., was opened for public worship on the 27th Oct. The first sermon was preached by the Rev. John Lowe, A M., of Wentworth, who was inducted Vicar of Huddersfield fifty two years ago. The collection amounted to the handsome sum of 165l. 19s. 8d. The sermon in the evening was preached by the Rev. Hugh Stowell, M. A., of Mauchester, to an immense congregation, there being at least 3,000 persons present. The collection amounted to 124/. At the closing of the service the vicar read a letter from the Bishop of Ripon, much regret. ting his inability to attend, and enclosing an order for 501., as his subscription to the building. Manchester Courier. The ladies belonging to Christ Church, Bradford, have presented to the Rev. Joshua Wood, B.A., assistant minister of that church, a handsome silk gown and cassock, as a token of grateful respect for his valuable services.-Ibid. WALES. (From a Correspondent.) We sincerely congratulate the friends of the church in the principality upon the good effects already produced by the St. Asaph Diocesan Society for promoting the building and enlargement of churches and chapels, and feel confident that by the liberality of the public it will be enabled to extend its usefulness. The church at Rhyl, in the parish of Rhuddlan, and the church at Pont Blenddyn, in the parish of Mold, built with aid from this excellent society, were consecrated by the Lord Bishop of St. Asaph in the course of the last summer. Additional churches are being built at the following places: Connah's Quay, in the parish of Northop; Gwernafield, in the parish of Mold; Cefu, in the parish of Ruabon; Brymbo, in the parish of Wrexham; and in the town of Oswestry. And aid bas been granted to build churches in two other parishes. The attention of the reader is called to the great want of church room in many parts of the principality. In many cases, parts of the parish are at a great distance from the church-in some instances, eight or ten miles; and this, of course, almost compels the inhabitants to frequent the meeting houses, which are built at a cheap rate, and supplied with itinerant preachers. The great and almost insurmountable dif ficulty which we experience in increasing the number of our churches in this part of Wales, is the endowment. If any plas could be devised to obviate this difliculty, it would, in truth, be a real blessing to the Welsh, whose peaceable and quiet de. meanour entitle them to every attention; for it is a fact, that in the whole of the dioceses of St. Asaph and Bangor, there is not a single soldier stationed. The corner stone of a new parish church at Glasbury, Brecon, was laid on the 3d of October by the Right Hon. Lord Viscount Hereford. A beautiful new church has been opened for the performance of divine service, near Alltyrodyn, in the parish of Llandyssill, in the county of Cardigan. This beautiful ecclesiastical structure has been raised principally by the contributions of two gentlemen in the neighbourhood, aided, however, by the willing co-operation of the farmers of the parish. The new church of St. Paul, Newport, was consecrated on Thursday, 10th November, by the Lord Bishop of Llandaff. The church is an elegant structure, very neatly fitted up, and is calculated to contain at least 1,500 persons. More than half the sittings are free. IRELAND. THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSIONERS.--In a new Roman-catholic periodical just published, entitled, " Kennedy's British and Irish Catholic Magazine, and Journal of Miscellaneous KnowledgeGlasgow, Oct. 1856," I have found the following paragraph at page 54, under the head of "State of Religion at Home and Abroad:" -A Curiosity. The Rev. Andrew O'Connell, the respected parish priest of SS. Michael and John's, Dublin, bas purchased the old altar so long used in St. Nicholas Church, Nicholas-street. It is said that this venerable piece of antiquity was used as a catholic altar before the gentlemen of the reformation got it into their hands, we suppose, by Act of Parliament. By a curious turn of events, it now comes back to its old parent, to be used as a select common altar, in the new catholic church, South Exchange-street." -Correspondent of the Dublin Evening Mail. [Qu. What is the real history of this altar-piece? Who sold it? How long has it been out of use in St. Nicholas? Can any Irish friend give information about it?-ED.] The success which has attended the efforts to instruct the Irish peasantry in the Holy Scriptures through the medium of their own language, has induced many eminent individuals to attempt the establishment of a professorship of Irish in the university of Dublin. The heads of the university have given their consent to the measure, and agreed to allow the chambers and commons to a professor. In order to provide for the salary and other expenses consequent upon the undertaking, six trustees have been appointed: the Earl of Roden, the Provost, the two members of the university, and the two secretaries of the Irish Society. Considerable subscriptions have already been received.—Oaf. Herald. It is said that the mother of the heiress presumptive to the Protestant throne of Great Britain has given 201. more towards the completion of the Tuam Mass-house.Dublin Record. [There is probably some mistake about this.-ED.] COLONIAL. UPPER CANADA.-The fifth report of the Society for the Conversion of the Negroes, and Propagation of the Gospel in Upper Canada, printed at Toronto, has been kindly forwarded by Archdeacon Strahan. It appears that great exertions are being made by Sir John Colborne, the governor, in concurrence with this society, to establish a mission on the Great Manitoulin Island, in Lake Huron, for the purpose of assembling under its instruction the Indians frequenting the northern shores of that lake. The report contains memoirs and statements from Captain Anderson and the Rev. A. Elliot, who have been exerting themselves in that quarter, as well as from Messrs. M'Murray and Harper, &c. It is hoped that next month some statements may be extracted from these valuable documents, so as to give a sketch of the operations of this society in propagating the gospel in these parts. * A correspondent, on whom the editor can entirely rely, states, with reference to the clergy reserves, of which it is feared that an attempt will be made to deprive the church, in some measure at least, that "Our colonial church is increasing most rapidly, and were the provision (moderate as it is) which is guaranteed to us by our constitution to be left, we could provide for the religious instruction of the whole population, as it would increase gradually as the services of more clergymen became necessary; but, if we are deprived of our vested rights, the church will fall into abject poverty, and its extension be seriously impeded." *This excellent correspondent is entreated to write again. If he will from time to time transmit a brief account of the state of things in Upper Canada, it will be received with thanks, and always used. The difficulty is, for one, not on the spot, to select, even from documents fur. nished, what is most essential and valuable. Doca's New Italian Triglott Grammar. 12mo. Ronna's Dictionnaire Francais Italien et Italien- Abbott's Way to do Good. Royal 32m. 1s. 6d. Wordsworth's Poetical Works. Vol. I. 5s. cloth. The Sacred Casket. 18mo. 2s. 6d. cloth. Burn's Marriage and Registration Acts. 12mo. Hoppus's Sketch of the Continent in 1835. Two vols. Post 8vo. 21s. boards. Sir Thomas Lawrence's Cabinet of Gems. 4to. 218. cloth. The Keepsake. 1837. 8vo. 21s.; large paper, 52s. 6d. silk. Heath's Book of Beauty, 1837. 8vo. 21s.; large paper, 52s. 6d. morocco. Fisher's Drawing-Room Scrap Book, 1837. 4to. 21s. cloth. Fisher's Juvenile Scrap Book, 1837. Svo. cloth. 85. 15s. morocco. Christian Keepsake, 1837. Svo. 18mo. 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Part 1. 4s. cloth. Leslie's (Miss) One Hundred and Fifty Receipts One Hundred Sketches and Skeletons of Ser- Portugal and Gallicia. By an English Noble- The German Tourist, 1837. 8vo. 15s. morocco; Morison's Family Prayers for every Morning Wiseman's Lectures on the Doctrine and Prac- 12mo. Carleton's Traits and Stories. Vols. IV. & V. 18mo. 5s. each. cloth. Flowers and Fruits from the Old English Garden. cloth. By Mrs. Godwin. 18mo. 2s. Basil Harlow. 12mo. cloth. A Translation from the Hebrew of the Rabbi The Americans, in their Social, Moral, and Poli- The Life and Correspondence of the Rev. Charles At the Office of R. W. Moore, 5, Bank Chambers, Lothbury. [N.B. This first notice ought to have been inserted in the last number. ] THE Editor is very sorry that "L. M.'s" letter, dated, and put into the post, October 18, has only reached him this day (October 25.) It is, therefore, too late to insert it. Indeed it could not have been in London till the 20th, five days after the time when it is desirable to receive any pressing communication. Perhaps "L. M." will, on consideration, see that this is of the less consequence, as his principal doubt as to the Celebration of Marriages on the Registrar's Certificate in lieu of Banns is virtually brought under notice in the short article in the last Number, to which he alludes. There would, certainly, appear to be some doubt how the matter is; and it is very likely that, as he suggests, in the hurried and confused system of legislation to which (since the Reform Bill has made every member a speaker) we are reduced, the framers of the Bill were driven out of their first plan, and have not made their new one consistent with itself. But it is for the lawyers to settle, as far as the law and its penalties are concerned, what the Bill directs. "L. M." has doubtless often heard that a lawyer's opinion given without his fee is worth nothing. And it would be vain to expect that any lawyer, on whose opinion it would be safe to rely, would publish in a periodical his opinion, when not called on to do so. Perhaps some of the bishops will be so good as to call on the crown lawyers to state how the case really is, for the benefit of the clergy. The real doubt is this-The new Act says, (Sect. 1,) that when by any Law or Canon in force before the passing of the Act, it is provided that any marriage may be solemnized after publication of banns, such marriage may be solemnized in like manner on production of the registrar's certificate as hereinafter provided." Now two questions arise on this. (1.) As no part whatever of the old Marriage Law is repealed, except what relates to registration, and as this very Act directs that everything in the rubric respecting marriages shall still be observed, as the rubric directs that in all cases banns must be published except a license is given, and the canons provide that a person celebrating marriage without banns or license shall be suspended for three years ipso facto, is it, notwithstanding the words of the new Act, safe for a clergyman to celebrate a marriage on a registrar's certificate? There can be little doubt that the Act intends that it should; but whether the words are strong enough to carry this, is another question, which lawyers (properly consulted) and only lawyers can settle. (2.) Even supposing that it is safe, is it compulsory to celebrate marriage on a registrar's certificate. The clergyman may celebrate the marriage, but must he? Correspondents will be so kind as to observe that no religious question respecting this matter is here touched on. The legal point is the only one here raised. Many thanks to "Anti-Recorder" (who conjectures that the writers in the Record are papists in disguise, trying to set churchmen against one another) and the other friends who, by letter or otherwise, have offered proofs of the system of evasion practised by the Record at all times and on all occasions. But there is really no use in pursuing any controversy with a journal, about the good or bad opinion of which every respectable man is quite indifferent. There is no use, because where there is no regard for candour or plain dealing, no progress can be made. The writers will do just as they always have done. They will not answer one single argument which annoys them, and they will most carefully answer a great deal which they know that their adversaries neither did say nor ever meant to say. They know, for example, that this Magazine is open to correspondents of all sorts of opinions, that persons carry on controversy in the Correspondence department, that conflicting opinions are consequently delivered in it, and that in every number it is stated that, under such a state of things, the conductors of the Magazine are not responsible for the opinions of their correspondents. Knowing all this, they will, without hesitation, pick out any letter and charge the conductors of the Magazine with holding the opinions of the writers of it. They will identify an adversary with every one whom they hate and hope to make odious to others, or believe to be so. They will select a few lines from a large mass of poetry, of which he has spoken with just and well-merited praise, and having (whether wilfully or from dulness) distorted its meaning, and affixed to it the sense which they take to be most odious and likely to offend most readers, (by the way, why is the Record so very furious at the kirk being likened to Samaria? is it possible that any presbyterians or semi-presbyterians can be connected with that strictly church journal?) will then declare that their adversary adopts this, meaning in its fullest extent, when he has simply praised the collection in which the expression occurs. They will - but what is the us of going on? Every one knows what the usual arts of petty cunning are, whether in literature or trade. They will practise all these arts, and mix them all up with vindictive feelings, loud pretences to piety, and unctuous expressions. This seems to satisfy their own consciences, such as they are, and they contrive to make it satisfy their own small circle of readers. Of what use, then, can it be to pursue any controversy with them? When they endeavour to be more mischievous than usual, it may be well to expose them, but not to have any controversy with them. Besides, any one may see that they cannot last long. Even the heathen knew that "nihil fictum aut simulatum potest esse diuturnum." Their small sphere will therefore become daily smaller, unless simulation and dissimulation be more consistent with Christianity than with heathenism. A correspondent suggests that, as there is usually only one charity sermon in the year in villages, much money might be raised for church purposes by a second, which should recommend the great church societies in turn. It would seem rather desirable that there should be a King's letter annually for these societies in rotation, not only to raise money, but to give a definite occasion for each pastor to remind his flock of the duty incumbent on them, as churchmen, to assist in dispersing the scriptures, liturgy, and useful religious books, at home; in providing more church-room, in bringing up poor children in a knowledge of the truth, and in spreading the same knowledge among the heathen. A long discussion has taken place respecting Archbishop Whately's preventing Mr. Nolan from preaching. With such questions, for many reasons, (among others, because the facts are anything but clear,) it is better not to interfere in this place. But Archdeacon Magee's last letter cannot be passed over in silence. Can he doubt that such a letter must at once set every churchman against him, and injure the church in Ireland? Can he defend his thus openly defying his diocesan, (whether his diocesan has been right or wrong,) and saying that he will, in spite of his bishop, allow whom he pleases to preach in his pulpit? He calls this a protestant principle! Certainly it is not a catholic one. He says that, in these revolutionary times, men must not hesitate. Does he think that a dignitary's adopting revolutionary measures will mend the times? "R. R." on Zaccheus has been received, and shall be used. The Editor must request to wait. He will observe that Alpha's article was not conpleted in the last number, and it would surely be right to see the whole of his argument at The Editor is very sorry to add, that he disagrees with in thinking his reply brief. He is sorry too to appear uncivil; but nearly eight pages of rather close writing, in reply to a small part of an argument, seem to him to be a tolerable allowance. once. Very many thanks to "J. M.*" The Editor will depend on his kindly fulfilling his promise. "Cereticus" states that he both can and will substantiate the statements which "Dyfedensis" has called in question respecting irregular practices in Wales. "T. R. B." will see that his communication has been anticipated. "Canonicus," "H." "A Lover of Ancient Customs," "Plans for School Rooms," "Tarpa," and "J. M." have been received. The Oxford Church Building Fund, and a notice of Mr. Wood's church, are only delayed for want of spice. "Auceps" is thanked for his kind communication and suggestion. For obvious reasons it has not been the practice of this Magazine to notice Bishops Charges in any other way than by extracts. |