plea of liberty of conscience; a plea which, as applied, was a felo de se, and had it then been acted upon, would inevitably have led to the overthrow of all true liberty." But by what evidence is this established? Would not punishing men for their political offences, and requiring from them submission to government in all affairs of a civil nature, have answered every good purpose for which religious tests were devised? Whom could such tests exclude but the conscientious? The hypocrite, the ambitious, the man from whom real danger was to be apprehended, would comply with any test. The only effect which such tests can have, is to drive honest men of the persecuted opinions into dislike of the government. We would recommend to the notice of Dr. M'Crie, and of all those who favour the persecuting laws against the Catholics, the following admirable remark of Mrs. Hutchinson's in her memoirs of her husband, Colonel Hutchinson: "In zeal to reduce the land from their idolatrous practices, some Puritans procured laws and invented oaths to suppress Popery, which they little thought, but we now sadly find, are the bitterest engines to batter down the pure worship and destroy the pure worshipers of God; which I have often looked upon as an evidence that God is not pleased with the conversions that are enforced by men's laws. We have spiritual weapons given us for spiritual combats, and those who go about to conquer subjects for Christ with swords of steel, shall find the base metal break to shivers when it is used, and hurtfully fly in their own faces."

By the violent conduct of some of the ministers, and especially by a tumult in Edinburgh, on Dec. 17, 1596, which, however, was very trifling, and was suppressed without any force, entirely by the influence of some of the most moderate ministers, within an hour after its commencement, the court gained an opportunity of attacking the friends of liberty, and, by a combination of corruption and violence, restored the title of bishops, and procured them a seat in Parliament. This should serve as a warning to all the friends of liberty, never, by any imprudent warmth, to afford any pretext for calumniating them. "While James remained in Scotland, the scheme

of introducing Episcopacy, though never lost sight of, was cautiously prosecuted." When he had ascended the throne of England, he proceeded with bolder and more tyrannical steps. After exposing very well the servility of the Scotch bishops, Dr. M'Crie says, "Candour demands the acknowledgment that a Presbyterian church must also fall into state-subserviency in proportion to the power which the crown obtains in the appointment of its ministers: although this patronage is necessarily limited by the want of preferments in such an establishment, and checked by the freedom of discussion which takes place in its different assemblies." The evil, indeed, is inherent in establishments, and would alone be a sufficient ground for dissent. In order to carry on his obnoxious measures, the King procured some of the ministers to be condemned for having held a General Assembly at Aberdeen without his permission, though it was perfectly legal for them to do so, and they had only elected a moderator, and then adjourned. Most of them, however, were banished, and never suffered to return to Scotland. With the Melvilles he proceeded in a still more tyrannical manner. He invited them and some other ministers to England, and then prohibited them from returning to Scotland, and compelled them to attend on the sermons of some English bishops. Melville wrote an epigram on the royal altar. Being overheard reading it, by a court spy, he was called before the Privy Council of England, who had certainly no right to try a native of Scotland. Here he spoke with noble spirit. The Archhbishop of Canterbury, Bancroft, insinuating that he was guilty of treason, "My lords," exclaimed he, “Andrew Melville was never a traitor. But, my lords, there was one Richard Bancroft, let him be sought for, who, during the life of the late Queen, wrote a treatise against his Majesty's title to the crown of England."-He was sent to the Tower, and his nephew was confined to the town of Newcastleupon-Tyne. At this time, by violence and bribery, the court got the sanction of a packed General Assembly to their measures. "It was opened by Law, Bishop of Orkney, with a sermon from these words, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. None are so loud in their

praises of peace as those who are pursuing courses which directly tend to violate it, and, in their dialect, those are the men of peace who yield a tame submission to all the impositions of authority, or who obsequiously follow in the train of a ruling faction at the expense of abandoning principle, and sacrificing the public good." After four years' imprisonment in the Tower, Melville was released at the intercession of the Duke de Bouillon, and appointed Professor in the Protestant University of Sedan, where he ended his days on earth in 1622.

As a just specimen of this work, we extract part of the animated character of Melville, which concludes it: "Melville possessed great intrepidity, invincible fortitude, and unextinguishable ardour of mind. His spirit was independent, high, fiery, and incapable of being tamed by threats or violence; but he was, at the same time, open, candid, generous, affectionate, faithful. whole tenour of his life shews that his The mind was deeply impressed with a sense of religion, and that he felt passionately attached to civil liberty. The spirit of his piety was strikingly contrasted with that compound of indifference and selfishness which is so often lauded under the names of moderation and charity. The greater part of his writings consists of Latin poems. But his reputation does not rest on his writings. It is founded on the active services which he performed for his country, on his successful exertions in behalf of its literature, and his activity in rearing and defending that ecclesiastical polity by which it has long been distinguished. To it Scotland was indebted for that public spirit which has resisted manifold disadvantages in her political situation and institutions; disadvantages which otherwise must have reduced her to a state of slavery, and made her the instrument of enslaving the nation with which she became allied by

the union of the crowns."

As it is notorious that now the Scotch clergy are little less subservient than the English, it is incumbent on the friends of freedom in England to prevent the otherwise inevitable consequence by lending their assistance to remedy the political defects in the constitution of Scotland, and especially by vigorously supporting Lord Archibald Hamilton's efforts to procure a reform of the Scotch boroughs.

The language of this book is in general pure, though not quite free

from Scotticisms. "If we will follow the warrior into the retreats of peace, we may find him displaying all the gentler and more amiable features of human nature; and we will be confident that he was incapable of wanton and unmanly cruelty." The "will" should evidently have been either "shall" or "may." This mistake is frequent in almost every Scottish writer. We wish that custom would authorize us in introducing, as Dr. M'Crie often does, the verb to behove instead of the awkward circumlocution of to be needful.

We heartily recommend the work to all who are interested in the study of ecclesiastical history, though we must advise them, as a corrective to the prepossessions natural to Dr. M'Crie, the minister of a congregation of Presbyterian Seceders, to read also the History of the Church of Scotland, by Dr. Cook, a minister of that church. will be inclined to wish that Dr. M'Crie We fancy too, that most of his readers had shortened the long antiquarian details in which he indulges. One note we must notice. "Melville proposed to read 1 Tim. iii. 15, 16, thus: These things write I unto thee-that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God. The pillar and ground of the truth, and great without controversy is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, &c.' This reading has been adopted by several distinguished modern critics." Who are these distinguished critics, and what comparison will their names bear with those of Wetstein and Griesbach? Or why has Dr. M'Crie taken no notice of the fact, that the true reading of this passage, as established by the last really distinguished critic, is not God," " but " he who was manifest in the flesh"?

hundred sixty and nine years; and he died," Dr. Evans makes some serious observations on time and eternity, and then describes the character of the deceased monarch. He professes to avoid merely political reflections, and confines himself chiefly to the King's private virtues, in proof of which he collects a few of the anecdotes, which he says very truly "have been multiplied to excess." Amongst the pleasing traits of the late reign, he includes the abolition of the Slave Trade, but as this measure was contrary to the private sentiments of his late Majesty, it can scarcely be considered honourable to him, personally. (See our last Number, p. 118.) On the wars of the reign Dr. Evans drops a tear of regret, (p. 21,) but he might have expressed himself more strongly.

A well-deserved eulogy on the late

Duke of Kent follows. One passage

merits transcription:

"A much-esteemed friend, (the Rev. Edmund Butcher,) residing on the spot, assures me that the dying bed of His Royal Highness was all composure and resignation. Amidst the tears and sorrows of those about him, they must have been soothed with that pious acquiescence in the will of God, which enabled him to say more than once, I am quite prepared. It seems the last words he was heard to utter, was a prayer for his Widow and Fatherless Child."-Pp. 35, 36.

In an Appendix, the author inserts an account of his late Majesty's Walks on the Terrace of Windsor Castle, in an extract from a former work of his, entitled "An Excursion to Windsor."

cutions, and assisted and defended their worst measures against the press and public assemblies. To some readers this will appear sufficient to justify the writer's censures; but others may think that so heavy an accusation should have rested upon firmer ground.

The Letter displays ability and smartness, familiarity with the tutelary writers on old English liberty, and an ardent love of the principles of the Revolution of 1688, which in the late long reign were wholly out of fashion, and indeed banished, and which the new reign is not likely to recal from exile.

ART. VIII.-The Touchstone of Reputed Evangelical Doctrine; or the Gospel Glad-Tidings from God to Men. By Richard Wright, U. M. 12mo. pp. 12. Eaton. 1820. 3d.

Tract proceeds upon the principle

HE sensible author of this little

that the very idea of the gospel as gladtidings is a test of truth. By this "touchstone" he examines "reputed evangelical doctrine," and finds it unsound. The tract is well adapted to plain readers and young inquirers.

ART. IX.-The Trial of the Rev. Robert Wedderburn, (a Dissenting Minister of the Unitarian Persuasion,) for Blasphemy, before Sir Charles Abbott, Knt., Lord Chief Justice, and a Special Jury, in the Court of King's Bench, Westminster, the Sittings after Hilary Term, 1820; containing a Verbatim Report of the Defence. Edited by Erasmus Perkins. 8vo. pp. 24. Sold by Mrs. Carlile, Fleet Street. 1820.

words uttered in a room called Hopkins'-Street Chapel, near Windmill Street. This room was, we have heard, taken and registered as a Dissenting meeting-house for the express purpose of promoting Atheism. The Jury found Wedderburn guilty of the blasphemy, but strongly recommended him to mercy, in consequence

66

of his not having (had) the benefit of parental care." The poor unhappy creature is evidently a tool in the hands of others, who are wicked enough to wish to overthrow religion, but who have not sufficient courage to come forward and avow the nefarious design.

Memoirs of the Protector, Oliver Cromwell, and of his Sons, Richard and Henry, illustrated by Original Letters and other Family Papers. By Oliver Cromwell, a Descendant of the Family. (With Portraits.) 4to. pp. 750. Longman and Co.

1820.

The time is almost come when Oliver Cromwell may be spoken of with historic impartiality. Hitherto, we conceive, his memory has been hardly dealt with. Under this impression, we rejoiced at the appearance of these Memoirs, which, however, we must confess, have disappointed our expectations. The " Original Letters and other Family Papers" have scarcely brought to light a single fact of any moment which was not before well known; whilst many interesting facts related in Noble's Memoir of the Protectoral House are here overlooked. The volume is an ill-digested medley of history and biography, and the history is an exceedingly dull compilation. The biographer cites in order to refute the various charges brought against Cromwell, and this vindication of the Protector's character is the best portion of his work.

Cromwell was a brave soldier; a sagacious statesman; and a princely ruler. His ambition and the state of parties around him, made simulation a necessary part of his character. He destroyed the Republic of England; but it is difficult to say whether it would have been possible for the enlightened men that succeeded in dethroning Charles to have preserved the Commonwealth, even with Cromwell's assistance, since so large a proportion of the people were inclined to monarchy. But this must be said in praise of the Protector, that he raised the renown of England to a higher pitch than it had before attained; that

he never sullied his greatness by sanguinary measures; and that, in an age of fanaticism and bigotry, he was the practical assertor and guardian of religious liberty. We may judge of his temper in the last respect by the character of his chaplain, Jeremiah White, the friend of peace and charity, and the celebrated advocate of the doctrine of "Universal Restitution," and by the treatment which the pious Biddle received under the Protectorate, of which the present biographer gives (pp. 613, 614) the following account, gleaned, as would appear, from Dr. Harris's Life of Cromwell:

"His behaviour was also equally humane to such as professed opinions uncountenanced by the many in Britain; in the instance of John Biddle, who was a Unitarian, and the father of the English Unitarians, in his banishment into Scilly, (on account of his religious opinions,) he allowed him a pension of a hundred crowns a-year. Neal says, he was committed to the Gatehouse by the parliament; but that Cromwell, upon its that afterwards he was committed for a dissolution, gave him his liberty; and but that Cromwell thought it best to like offence by the council to Newgate, send him out of the way, and accordingly transported him to Scilly, and allowed him this one hundred crowns. A letter upon this subject to Secretary Thurloe, is in his State Papers: it is dated 24th July, 1658. He (Biddle) says, His Highness was pleased, when I was under restraint in the isle of Scilly, by his letters of privy seal, to allow me ten shilbut since I have been restored to my lings per week towards my maintenance; liberty, as I do with many thanks acknowledge His Highness's bounty towards me, so I should be very loath that the intention thereof should be perverted, and therefore I beseech Your Honour to certify His Highness, that my hope is that I shall be now otherwise sufficiently provided for."

The Glory of Regality: an Historical Treatise of the Anointing and Crowning of the Kings and Queens of England. By Arthur Taylor, F. A. S. 8vo. 14s. (En gravings.)

The History of the Crusades for the Recovery and Possession of the Holy Land. By Charles Mills, Esq. 2 vols. £1. 48.

The Touchstone of Reputed Evangelical Doctrine; or, The Gospel GladTidings from God to Men. By Richard Wright, U. M. 12mo. 3d.

Address to those who may be disposed to remove to the United States of America. By George Courtauld. 8vo.

A Letter of Remonstrance to Robert Gifford, Knight, His Majesty's Attorney General. 8vo. 2s. 6d.

Socinians not Unitarians; or, The Scripture Doctrine of the Name of Christ.

2d. Proceedings in the House of Commons and in the Court of King's Bench, relative to the Author of the Trifling Mistake; together with the Argument against ParDiamentary Commitment, and the Decision which the Judges gave without hearing the Case. Prepared for the Press by John C. Hobhouse, Esq. F. R. S. 4s. 6d.

A Reply to the Rev. Mr. Todd's Vindication of our authorized Translation and Translators of the Bible. By Sir James Bland Burges, Bart. 28.

Christian and Civic Economy of Large Towns. By Thomas Chalmers, D. D. Nos. I. and II. 18. each.

An Attempt to shew that the Education of the Jews will prove beneficial to the Propagation of the Gospel, and be the leading Means of their Restoration. By J. Nicholson, A. M. 8vo. 1s. 6d.

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Remarks upon a late Publication by Mr. Belsham, entitled "The Bampton Lecturer Reproved," in a Letter to a Friend. By H. W. Carter, M. D. F. R. S. One of Dr. Radcliffe's Travelling Fellows from the University of Oxford.

Song to David. By the late Christopher Smart, A. M. New Ed. 12mo.

Sermons.

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