the Synod of Ulster in 1783, and preached a sermon on the second day of its meeting that year at Lurgan. He removed to Usher's Quay, Dublin, where he was installed on the 9th of April, 1785. He died in that charge, 9th June, 1807. His son, Rev. James Wilson, D.D., was a Fellow and Professor of Trinity College, Dublin, and became Rector of Clonfeacle in County Tyrone.

29. PHILIP TAYLOR of Dublin (1777- ).

1. A Sermon on the death of the Rev. S. Thomas of Eustace Street. 1786.

2. A Catechism.

He was a grandson of Dr. Taylor of Norwich, and a pupil of Dr. Priestley. He succeeded his father-in-law, Dr. Weld of Eustace Street, in 1777.

30. THOMAS M'KAY M.A. (1788-1822), Minister at Brigh.
1. Six Addresses proper for Sacramental Occasions.

Belfast, 1786.

pp. 36. 2. A Sermon from Psalm cxii. 6, preached at Bray before the Orangemen of Killyman, Cookstown, Pomeroy, and Coagh Districts, on the 1st of July, O.S. 8vo, pp. 22. Dungannon, 1799. M. C. D.

Mr. M'Kay was ordained minister of Ballyclug, after-
wards called Brigh, on the 1st of August, 1788. I have
not seen his Sacramental Addresses, and cannot say why
they are set down for 1786, two years before his ordina-
tion; but I suspect there must be some mistake as to
the date. He was father of the Rev. William Kennedy
M'Kay of Portglenone. He died on the 19th of Decem-
ber, 1822.

31. MOSES NEILSON, D.D. (1767-1823), Minister at
Kilmore, County Down.

Whether the Light of Nature be sufficient to Salvation; con-
sidered in a Discourse delivered at Lurgan, June 26, 1787, at
a General Synod of the Protestant Dissenting Ministers of
Ulster. [1 Cor. i. 21.] 12mo, pp. 26. Belfast, 1788. A. C. B.
Dr. Neilson became minister of Kilmore in 1767.
His sermon before the Synod in 1787 on the Light of

Nature is the production of a Christian philosopher. He died on the 23d of April, 1823.

32. JOSEPH HUTTON of Dublin (1788- ).

1. A Volunteer Sermon.

2. Family Prayers.

3. Character, Duties, and Privileges of the Christian, 1829.

He was a native of Dublin, studied at Trinity College, and was ordained in Eustace Street, 21st March, 1788. 33. HUGH HAMILL (1784-1803), Minister at Donagheady. Ministerial Responsibility; considered in a Sermon preached before the Rev. Sub-Synod of Derry, May 8, 1787. pp. 35. Strabane, 1788.

Mr. Hamill was ordained at Donagheady on the 4th of March, 1784, and died on the 7th of December, 1803.

34. WILLIAM TAGGART, M.A. (1788-1805), Minister at Dunmurry.

Sermons [12 in one vol.] pp. 268. Strabane, 1788. A. C. B.

Mr. Taggart succeeded Rev. Robert Jackson of Dunmurry, who died 5th of September, 1788. He probably was minister previously of some congregation in the north-west, for in the year Mr. Jackson died he published a volume of sermons printed at Strabane. The discourses are not so dry as most of the New Light sermons, but I have searched them in vain to find any decisive testimony to the Deity or to the atonement of Christ. He does not deny the pre-eminence and dignity of the Redeemer, but it is the human side of Gospel truth which has most attractions for him, and on which he dwells at length.

When Mr. Taggart settled at Dunmurry he carried over the congregation, which was one of the oldest in connection with the Synod of Ulster, into the Presbytery of Antrim. On the 14th of May, 1805, the Presbytery disannexed him from the charge, whereupon the congregation returned to the Synod.

35. WILLIAM LAING, V.D.M., Newry (1780-1816).

Philemon's Letters to Onesimus on the subject of Christ's Atonement and Divinity. 8vo, pp. 432. Newry, 1791.

M. C. D.

Mr. Laing was the first minister of the Secession Congregation of Newry (now Second Newry), from 1780 till 1816. He died on the 22d of July in that year. His only publication, Philemon's Letters, sixteen in number, fill a bulky volume. They answer, from the standpoint of orthodoxy, all the popular objections offered against the atonement and divinity of Christ, and point out the solid basis of Scriptural evidence on which these doctrines rest. The style is lucid, the arguments well thought out, and the spirit is Christian more than controversial. The reader, whether he attach weight to the reasoning or otherwise, cannot well take offence at a writer who traverses the whole ground of debate with so much seriousness and good temper. These admirable Letters must have done much in their day to keep the Secession right at a time when heresy was in the air.

36. JAMES M'KINNEY of Dervock (1793).

View of the Rights of God and Man. [Matt. xxii. 21.]

Mr. McKinney was a native of County Derry, educated at Glasgow, and for some time settled as Reformed Presbyterian minister at Dervock. In 1793 he removed to America, and spent the last years of his life in forming Covenanting congregations in the States of Pennsylvania and New York. The well-known Dr. Alexander M'Leod was converted under his ministry. His only literary remains are the above-named discourse, and a pamphlet on the Perseverance of the Saints. A second edition of the former was published in America in 1833. The author died on the 16th of September 1802. A notice of M'Kinney, with extracts

from the sermon, and a copy of his epitaph, are to be found in the Covenanter (See Nos. for May 1831 and January 1862).

37. JAMES PATTERSON, M.A., of Ballee (1782-1798).

The Right of Kings and the Duties of Subjects explained and enforced from the Sacred Scripture. [Matt. xii. 25.] pp. 20. Belfast, 1793.

M. C. D.

The author of this sermon was ordained at Ballee, 28th October, 1782. The design of his sermon is to point out, on the authority of Scripture, what are reasonable grounds for public discontent, and, when such grounds exist, to show the proper means that ought to be used for preventing the evil consequences. He applies the subject to the state of public affairs existing at the time. It is a sensible and judicious discourse, intended to moderate the keen political feeling of the time, and to warn the people against the movement which resulted in the rebellion of 1798. The author died on the 7th of May, about a month before the movement-in regard to which he had given such faithful warning-entirely collapsed, involving many people, innocent and guilty alike, in very serious sufferings.

38. JOHN ABERNETHY of Ballywillan and Templepatrick (1769-1802).

Philalethes; or, Revelation consistent with Reason: an attempt to answer the objections and arguments against it in Mr. Paine's work entitled The Age of Reason. 8vo, pp. 60. Belfast, A. Č. B.

1795.

Mr. John Abernethy, a licentiate of Templepatrick Presbytery, was ordained at Bally willan, as successor to Mr. Gaston, on the 15th of August, 1769. In 1774 he removed to Templepatrick, where he was installed on the 12th of August. He published his Philalethes in reply to Paine in 1795, in which he shows that nothing said by that clever sceptic impairs the argu

VOL. II.

22

ments for Divine revelation founded on miracles and prophecy. He deals only with the external evidences, and manifests but a moderate acquaintance with the peculiarities of the Gospel salvation. He was so economical in his habits, that he wrote the whole pamphlet on the backs of letters, to avoid the expense of buying paper. He resigned his charge on the 2d January, 1796, but as he continued afterwards, in spite of remonstrance, to celebrate marriages contrary to the rules of the Synod, he was deposed on the 4th of May, 1802. In a poem, written by one Moat of Ballyclare, and published in 1820, the faults and eccentricities of Mr. Abernethy are not spared; he is described as fond of money, addicted to manual labour, able in argument, and acquainted with various branches of science. notice of him ends thus:

"He was a bright and luminous preacher,
A sound and honest moral teacher,
A subtle abstract metaphysician,
A shrewd and able politician;
In controversy few came near him,
It was delightful for to hear him ;
His logic made the clubs to fear him :
He knew the system of creation

Better than most men in the nation :
For few were found so very pithy
As was old learned Abernethy."

39. JOSIAS WILSON of Donegore, County Antrim.

Its

The Guilt and Danger of the Nation. A Sermon from Jeremiah v. 29; humbly inscribed to the People of Ireland. 12mo, pp. 34. Belfast, 1796. A. C. B.

The author was minister of the Secession congregation at Donegore in the end of last century. His fastday sermon, entitled as above, was in its subject well adapted to the occasion, but does not contain anything very striking. He discusses the sins of nations, the reasons why God punishes them, and the manner in which He punishes them. To the sermon he adds an