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effecting the work which the former Whig ministry attempted, but failed in. Conciliation, concession, expediency, are evidently the great principles of action on which the Premier is directing the destinies of the nation. We had occasion to be in the House of Commons some nights ago, and were forcibly struck with the evident animus of the proceedings. A strange, anomalous scene presented itself-Sir Robert lavishing the most unmeasured encomiums and panegyrics on his inveterate opponent, Mr. Hume-the most violent speeches against the Premier, which we heard, coming from the benches behind him! Mr. Hume may have been occasionally serviceable as a blistering plaister on the Government; and his financial industry is unquestionable. But surely if the Premier had not forgot all the lamentable disclosures of Mr. Hume's laxity of moral and religious as well as political principle, he would, at all events, have deemed it more prudent to have withheld his praises. We hail, with the sincerest welcome, any honest and healthy manifestations of a spirit of conciliation, from whatever quarter they proceed, but Sir R. Peel will find it no very satisfactory labour to conciliate foes with the sacrifice of friends; and, moreover, however blessed and desirable conciliation is, truth and godly principle are still more so.

Our limits this month prevent our referring so largely as we wished to an important subject connected with the welfare of our Church; and that is the exclusion of Trust Livings from the scheme of augmentation. We must, however, give our readers an admirable article on the subject from the Morning Herald. It puts the case very intelligibly and convincingly in its true and real light. Any of our readers who wish for further information on the subject, will find it in a small pamphlet which they will see advertised on the cover for this month.

"We perceive that a minor Church question, to which we adverted a few weeks back, has just been named in the House of Commons. Mr. Childers two or three nights since begged

to ask Sir Robert Peel whether he intended to grant a Royal Letter this year to the Society for building and Enlarging Churches and Chapels, 'a society which contravened the law?"

"This was a harsh and hostile statement: it would have been more accurate to say, 'a society which did not fully carry out the spirit of the law.'

"The matter in dispute is that of patronage. The society in question has heretofore refused all aid to churches or chapels, the patronage of which is vested in trustees.

"This, said Mr. Childers, is a contravention of the law. We should rather say, that it is a slight departure from the spirit, and even from the letter of the law.

"It is most certain that the statutebook contains divers enactments, all placed there within the time of our present excellent Primate, which expressly declare that persons building or contributing to build new churches or chapels, may, if they please, vest the nomination to those churches and chapels, on certain terms, in trustees of their own appointment. one of these acts has been framed under the eye of the present Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop of London; and without their full concurrence, they could never have become law.

Every

"The society for building new churches and chapels, however, has chosen to withhold its assistance from cases of this kind. We do not know that this can be called a 'contravention of the law;' for the society must be allowed to be free to choose its own course. Its funds being limited, it has, of course, been at liberty to limit its operations in such a way as it thought best. But the result of the line it has taken is this, that a new society has recently been formed, especially to assist those cases which were excluded by this rule of the original society.

This new effort has, we perceive, been vehemently assailed in some quarters. Into this controversy, in a controversial way, we shall not enter. All we shall assert is this-that the trustee system, whether a good or a

bad system is one permitted by the Church. It is one which is distinctly recognised in recent acts of Parliament. Those, then, who dislike itand there are many such-should content themselves with offering their reasons for preferring Crown patronage, or any other of the various systems which the law permits. But let them not go beyond these legitimate bounds, and rail at Churchmen who take another view, and claim the right which the law concedes. The wants of our population are still far too great to render it wise for us to reject any species of lawful co-operation. Half-a-dozen parishes, within half a mile of the spot in which we write, have still their twenty, thirty, or even fifty thousand people, with only two or three churches! In this state of things, there are liberal and zealous Churchmen, who say, 'We will make an effort to supply a part of this necessity, if we may select the minister when we have raised the church.' The law concedes them this privilege-is it wise in any body of men to contend against its exercise?

"We are aware that it is sometimes alleged that trust-patronage is private patronage. But this is an obvious error. The patronage held by the Crown is trust-patronage, and so is that held by the bishops. All official persons who have the right of presentation to benefices possess that right only as trustees for the Church at large. The test of private patronage is its saleability. That which a man can sell, putting the purchasemoney into his own pocket, is private patronage.

"But when a body of subscribers build a church, and place the nomination of the minister in the hands of a body of trustees, those trustees have no power of selling that patronage for their own advantage. Hence it takes its place in the class of public trusts, and ought to be dealt with as such by all the authorities of the Church.

"We end, therefore, as we began; not as advocating this or that system, but as maintaining that the Church ought willingly to avail herself of the aid of all her sons, upon any reasonable footing of encouragement."

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS, &c.

The Editor is anxious to devote a portion of his pages to brief notices of God's faithful
people who have recently departed this life in his faith and fear. He will be thankful
for any help in this department, as well as for longer and fuller Biographies.
The communications of "M. N." are very welcome: and the Editor will be greatly
obliged to him for a Biographical Sketch of the Rev. J. Jones, of St. Saviour's,
Southwark.

The Editor is obliged to "the Rev. W. Orger" for his letter.
The sentiments of "E. H." good, but the Poetry defective.

THE CHRISTIAN GUARDIAN,

AND

CHURCH OF ENGLAND MAGAZINE.

MAY, 1845.

LIGHT AT EVENTIDE.

MR. EDITOR,-I believe there are
" who,
many children of God
through fear of death, are all their
life time subject to bondage." For
the comfort of such, I will give
some account of a dear old lady,
from whom this long-settled fear
was wonderfully removed, and who
was favoured with such a bright
sunset, that it may well strengthen
the faith, and encourage the hope,
of the weakest believers. It may
be well to give an outline of my
dear friend's early history, as it
shows how the Lord takes " one
out of a city, and two out of a
family, and brings them to Zion."

Mrs. O. had been married many years, but she had no family. Both she and her husband were particularly fond of young people; and their nephews and nieces always found a happy and cheerful home beneath their roof. Particular circumstances led to my being placed under their care, and although I was not so nearly related to them, yet, out of kind affection, they desired me to call them uncle and aunt, and this I did from my childhood till their death.

Mr. O. was a man who had MAY-1845.

some fine points of charactergenerous, open-hearted, and public spirited-yet he had a warm temper;

was a very bigoted highchurchman, a true pharisee, and very bitter against real religion. Mrs. O. was a most fascinating woman, in mind and manner; she had seen a great deal of the world, and her natural good sense taught her to reject much of its froth and folly. Her influence over her husband was unbounded, and the lion became a lamb in her hand; yet so wonderfully did she manage him, that he was never himself sensible of her power, and common bystanders would not observe it.

When my mind was first awakened to serious views of religion, some of my nearest connexions were uneasy at the decided line I was induced to take; and knowing my attachment to Mr. and Mrs. O., and the high opinion I had of their judgment, they sent me to them on a visit, under the hope that these dear and early friends might, by their advice and society, bring me back to a more rational mode of thinking. I am speaking now of many years back, when a profession 2 B

of religion, and the pure Gospel preached from. our pulpits, was much more rare than it is now. Few young persons of the present day can enter into the many trying circumstances I was placed in during this visit to my dear aunt and uncle. Their residence was at a fashionable watering-place by the sea-side, and they kept open house. Mr. O. never lost an opportunity of endeavouring to draw forth my religious opinions; and knowing that I was an occasional hearer, when in London, of the late Dr. Buchanan, and other faithful preachers, he made a point of turning the Evangelical clergy (or Simeonites, as he called them,) into ridicule, in a way which called forth all my patience and selfcommand to bear with. Mrs. O. would proceed on more quiet, but on not less dangerous ground :taking me aside, she would converse with me, mildly and kindly, upon the folly of my new opinions, and this with an earnestness of manner almost irresistible. Mr. O. would never hear an answer, nor had he temper for an argument; but his dear wife would listen to my replies, and sometimes allow me to read her a religious Tract, or a few striking texts from Scripture.

Two or three times it happened when Mr. O. entered my aunt's dressing-room he saw me thus engaged, and with an angry tone would say, "I will not allow this, you will make your aunt as bad as yourself!" I was often sadly downcast; and one morning in particular, when my dear uncle had been more violent than usual at the breakfast-table, and before a large party, in his remarks against various pious characters, I retired to my own room and was tempted to this train of thought-" I must surely be deceived in my religious views-I-stand alone in the midst

of a large circle of dear friends and relations, all of whom are against me; and even my dear aunt disapproves of my views, and excepting such and such persons, (two of my distant Christian acquaintances,) I have not a friend who thinks as I do." In this deep distress, I knelt down by my bedside, and prayed to my Father who seeth in secret, that, if I was wrong, I might be led right; but that if I was right, I might be strengthened in my course. I arose, washed my red eyes, and opened my little Bible, to get one text to comfort me, before I left my room. My eye was caught by a passage I had never remarked before, (for I knew but comparatively little of the word of God,)—the text was this-" What if some do not believe, shall their unbelief make the faith of God of none effect? Yea, let God be true, and every man a liar, as it is written." These words seemed sent to me by that gracious God, who says, "Call upon me in the day trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." Thus strengthened in my opinions, I returned to the family party, where my spirit was continually wounded by their indifference upon those subjects to which my own mind was so awakened.

I have felt it rather painful to introduce here so much of my own history, but I have done so, in order to prove to the reader the amazing change which afterwards took place in Mr. and Mrs. O. My sabbaths during this visit were particularly distressing, so much form, without the spirit, pervaded them. The carriage came round after breakfast every Sunday morning, to convey such of the party as could not walk to the parish church-where the pulpit and the reading-desk were at variance.

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On our return, a walk, conversation on worldly subjects, some friends to dinner, tea, or a syllabub on the lawn, occupied the evening; and one of Blair's Sermons," read aloud, by my dear uncle, to the drawing-room party, finished the Sabbath. After some weeks spent with these dear friends, I returned to my own immediate family, and though I occasionally saw my uncle and aunt after that, yet I did not remark much change in their sentiments. Years rolled on, and I was removed to a distant part of England, but I heard from two or three quarters of the surprising alteration which had taken place in the religious views of Mr. and Mrs. O. Their occasional letters to me testified this, and breathed such a new language, that I could almost say of them, with Paul, They preached that faith which they once destroyed." I have understood that this great change was partly brought about by their meeting with a lady and gentleman-very old friends of theirs who had been led, through God's rich mercy, to right views of the Gospel, and that conversation with them helped to soften prejudices. One summer, Mr. and Mrs. O. were induced to go to Tenby, where he became a great invalid. Four pious young students, from Cambridge, were spending their long vacation there, and it is supposed that their conversation (especially that of a Mr. D., who has since then entered glory,) helped on the blessed work in the hearts of this dear couple. I have some valuable letters still by me, of my dear aunt's, written from Tenby. In one of these she says, How I wish we could accept your invitation to visit you. I am happy to say that your dear uncle and I have our inclinations now led to embrace

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every opportunity of enjoying so2 ciety calculated to promote our spiritual advancement; yet the grace of God is sufficient without the aid of man. * * * I almost begin to think, that if we live to go into again, some of our friends there will now be afraid of us." Again she writes to me from Tenby, "I must now tell you how I have been engaged for an hour this morning, with a detachment of twelve young girls belonging to the Sunday-school here, and whom I allow to visit me every Thursday morning, from eleven to twelve. The origin of this occupation was from an idea which crossed my mind on hearing them sing the Morning and Evening Hymn, that it was as so many parrots, without entering into the meaning of the words, which, on examination, I found was the case. Since that, I have given them Watts' Hymns, which I endeavour to make easy to their capacities; and though my expounding qualities are not deep, yet I find them equal to the charge I have engaged in. I often think of you; and, in my mind's eye, can see you still, at the bed-side of poor old Mrs. T., where I used now and then to accompany you, when you were staying with us in former years, and where I used to be much pleased with your proceedings." In another paragraph she says, "Your uncle has been to Bath; there he met our niece Mrs. She was delighted to see him looking so much himself; for she had expected (from all she had heard of our change of mind,) to find him like a Methodist Parson in appearance, which, you know, was never agreeable to her taste. But my husband told a few truths to her and her party; yet, though they heard with the ear, it is plain they did not feel with the heart, nor acquiesce in with the un

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