made king's chaplain; and soon after tempted to remain in the Church, by the offer of the bishop, ric of Hereford, which he rejected. And it was owing, in a great degree, to his invincible prejudices against the episcopal Church as then esta blished, that all attempts at accommodation between the Church and dissenting Divines were rendered fruitless. Bishop Morley, who was one of the chief managers of the episcopal cause, complained of the frivolous and false manner of arguing made use of by Baxter on the occasion; that the sceptical length to which he carried his objections against ecclesiastical institutions, took away all legislative power, not only from Church and state, but even from God himself.

The representation, therefore, which our author has given of the cause of the non-conformist ministers, who, he says, were shamefully ejected from the Church, in violation of the royal word, and the clear principles of justice," appears calculated to dispose the unwary reader to give more credit to that cause than it really deserved; and not to do that justice to the opposite one, to which it was certainly entitled.

It was upon the same unsound ground, that Calamy, in his life of Baxter, attempted to prejudice the public mind in favour of his dissenting brethren, by a representation of their extraordinary sufferings; to which we are indebted for a book* by Walker, which will enable every impartial mind to hold the scale of judgment between the case of the persecuted clergy of the Church of * Walker's Sufferings of the Clergy.

England, who suffered for the royal cause, and that of the ejected non-conformist divines, the principal supporters of the opposite party; and determine for himself on which side the balance of justice and charity evidently turns.

There is no pleasure in calling to mind circum, stances, which, it were to be wished, had never found a place in the English history. But as there is always some danger attendant upon giving wrong names to either things or persons, I have thought it necessary to say something in answer to the note here objected to. By the learned reader, should such a one honour these papers with a perusal, that may be passed over, which to a less informed one may be useful.

Had the author to whom I allude represented Baxter and his ejected brethren in their character of pious and learned ministers, the Christian reader would have readily subscribed to the position; and, in common with every well-wisher to the cause of religion, have lamented the existence of those unhappy prejudices, which deprived the Church of their ministerial labours. But when these non-conformist ministers are represented as ornaments and pillars of the Church of England, such a confusion of ideas respecting the Christian Church are introduced, that we feel ourselves obliged to call them,-what Hall, Beveridge, Hooker, Andrews, and every writer properly informed upon that subject must have called them, -separatists from that branch of the Church of Christ, established in this country; and, consequently, schismatics.

Should any additional authority be wanting to confirm this position, it may be taken from the opinion of those who may be considered as impartial bye-standers, during the time that the points in dispute between the episcopal clergy and nonconformist ministers were in agitation.

The Bishop of London, many years after the Restoration, in the charitable hope of bringing back the dissenting ministers into the bosom of the Church, wrote to several of the then most eminent divines of the foreign Protestant Churches, to obtain their judgment of the controversy subsisting between the non-conformists and the Church of England. The answer of all was decisive in favour of the Church of England. But that which was received from the celebrated Monsieur Claude, beside the general good sense which it contains, speaks so fully to the point before us, that the insertion of it will be pardoned by the reader, upon the consideration of its leading to a decisive conclusion upon this subject.

“I could wish (said he, alluding to the independents) that those who fly out so far as to think of nothing less than coming to an absolute rupture, and throwing off all dependence and subordination, in order to give every particular congregation a sort of sovereign government; I could wish these people would thoroughly consider, whether their scheme be not a direct contradiction to the spirit of Christianity, which is a spirit of union and social correspondence, and not of division. That they would consider, that though the principle of the reformed Churches will by no means

suffer men should have dominion over their faith,
and
govern the conscience at discretion; and that
such arbitrary and implicit methods are destructive
to religion; that notwithstanding this, it does by
no means follow, that it is lawful for Christians to
take check at discipline, to throw off the yoke of
government, and deprive themselves of those assist-
ances which are the
consequences of general union;
and that such a subordination in the parts of this
spiritual society is very serviceable to secure ortho-
dox belief, and regular practice. And lastly, I
desire they would consider, that the same reason
which makes them insist upon the independence of
one congregation upon another, will carry them
much further than they desire; and may be made
use of to break the union of particular congre-
gations, and make every single person independent
of each other. For one congregation has no more
right to claim an independency of other congrega-
tions, than one single person has to set up himself
independent of others in the same congregation.
This principle, therefore, must of necessity destroy
all discipline; throw the Church, as far as in us lies,
into a horrible confusion; and expose the heritage
of our Lord to the reproach of the adversaries.”

"As for those among you," continues this celebrated writer," who are called Presbyterians; though, I persuade myself, they are not unfurnished with knowledge, judgment, and zeal, yet I could wish, with all my heart, they had shown more temper in resenting the scandal, they fancy has formerly *been given by the bishops; and that they had distinguished the order from the men. Persons in

public stations are not only liable to miscarriage, but it may happen that the most holy and considerable functions are sometimes managed by ill people; and in this case, both reason and religion will tell us, that the minister and the employment ought not to be intermixt and thrown together. And since at present, by the blessing of God, there is no such pretence for disgust, and that my lords the bishops are remarkable for their piety, their zeal, and constancy to their religion; I hope the advantage of their example will have a good effect upon the generality, compose the minds of those formerly disaffected, and sweeten their disposition. Besides, the Dissenters should please to consider, that if the episcopal government be attended with some inconveniences, as I do not question but it may be; so, on the other side, the Presbyterian constitution is not without very great disadvantages. No order or function, where mortal men have the management of it, is exempt from inconveniences. Equality among the ministry is subject to blemishes and excesses, no less than superiority. The safest and most prudent conduct, therefore, is not to run from one settlement to another, nor to hazard the shaking the whole frame in hopes of a better constitution, though we had both authority and power to make such an experiment. Prudence, justice, and Christian charity, will by no means give us leave to push the point thus far, and venture on such dangerous extremities, only for a different form of government. The best expedient is to endeavour the drawing towards a temper, and lessen, as much as may be, the