with continuance of its present support-for the Report, made by Mr. Bullock, the Missionary at Trinity, demands more than ordinary attention, detailing, as it does, an account of a new school, opened at that place, under the auspices of a Society in London-the Newfoundland School Society.

Of the proceedings of the Society, Mr. Bullock thus records his judgment: "If there be no deviation from the present system, the school must not only be a very eligible source of instruction to the poor, but a certain advantage to the Established Church. The Master is a young man, of regular and pious conduct, brought up in the principles of the Church of England, and scrupulously attached to her doctrines and discipline. The books introduced, are no other than those supplied by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; and the whole is conducted as nearly as possible on the plan laid down by Dr. Bell."We happen to have before us the first three Reports of the Society thus alluded to, and we have diligently examined them in hopes of finding some friendly notice of the labours of our venerable Society; but our search has been attended with disappointment. We have looked at the names of the Presidents, Vice-Presidents, and Committee; and from the list, as well as from the rules of the Society, we conclude that the Society intends to be considered as aiding the promotion of Christian knowledge according to the doctrines and discipline of the Church of England. If it be a Church Society, whence then comes it to pass that it is so totally distinguished from the venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, that though it actually has planted itself upon ground already, as we imagine, occupied by the ancient Society, it takes no notice of the exertions of that Society, to which it must practically be either an assistant or a rival?

The Archdeacon Coster complains that the schools of the venerable Society have not hitherto attained, generally speaking, a very prosperous state. He says, "We have been under a disadvantage in having no central school in the island, in which the teachers we

employ might be instructed on the Madras system." The Newfoundland Society has just established a central school at St. John's; but so long as that Society has the appearance either of opposing or being opposed by the venerable Society, the measure will not be productive of one half the good which either Society would desire to see produced; and unless the two Societies can become identified, the Society for propagating the Gospel will be placed in this situation-she must either establish (which is impossible) a second central school at St. John's, or elsewhere or she must go on upon the old system of education, with the certainty that wherever the new Society establishes a National School, the ancient Society will be supplanted in one of her most important functions, of instructing the youth in the principles of our religion. It requires not the spirit of prophecy to predict, that every year which passes without witnessing something like an union of the two Societies, will set them at still greater distance from each other. It is impossible but that differences of opinion, or rather perhaps of feeling, should exist at home, and we must all lament that infirmity of human nature to which these evils are attributable; but experience ought to have taught us that it is a sin to carry these feelings into our colonies; the evils of division at home, where the Church is well established, may, under Providence, find some counterpoise in the exertion and vigilance which it produces but when it exists abroad, the seamless coat of Christ is torn into a thousand pieces, and we look in vain to have the Church admired for her form and comeliness, where her existence is scarcely capable of being identified. The advice then we would give to the Newfoundland Society is this:-Let her title denote boldly what the Churchmen who belong to it intend as its design-let her name be the Society for Educating the Poor of Newfoundland, according to the National School System, in the principles of the Established Church. Let that needless caution of giving offence, by teaching the Church Catechism generally, be hereafter forsworn; and let not the Society create offence at home, by

an ungrounded fear of giving offence abroad: in the Report, let zeal breathe in every line, but let not such enthusiasm find a place as is expressed p. 39, line 3-5. Report 1826.

Let the schoolmasters and the schools be put under the authority of the Archdeacon and of the Bishop-in short, let the Society be a really Church of England Society, and we feel persuaded that even if the Wesleyans or Presbyterians withdraw their support, it will be more than doubled to the Society by the increased subscriptions and confidence of Churchmen. Let the members of the Church of England be united as one family, and there will be no need of courting the favours of those who differ from her either in discipline or doctrine. She is strong enough, by God's blessing, to stand alone, and they are only treasuring up disgrace and discomfiture to themselves, as well as conspiring against her welfare, who place props

under her, which will be allowed to remain no longer as buttresses to her venerable fabric, than until they have grown imperceptibly to that importance as to be indispensable to her support. We, however, hope better things of the Newfoundland School Society, than that it will in future allow its advocates to make, ignorantly no doubt, the most unjust and disparaging statements respecting the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. We refer not to rumours, but to facts. We refer to a statement made from the pulpit in Warwickshire,that in Newfoundland there is but one school connected with the Establishment, except those supported by this (the Newfoundland School) Society*, when the Report of the Old Church Society, now before us, numbers twentyfour schoolmasters and catechists supported, and 1375 children taught, at the annual charge upon its funds of 3251.

THE Annual Meeting of the Subscribers to these Institutions was held at the Guildhall, on Tuesday, the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop in the Chair.

SO

His Lordship observed, that it was thought expedient to hold only one meeting for the two Societies, in order to prevent inconvenience to those country gentlemen who kindly gave their attendance on occasions of this nature. His Lordship proceeded to read the Report of the Committee of the first-named Society. The Bishop added, that as gentlemen might not be in possession of the Report of the Parent Society, he would take the liberty of drawing their attention to its most prominent contents. The first on the list of stations to which the exertions of this Society had been directed, was Newfoundland; and he was particularly desirous to call attention to this fact, because from a report of proceedings which took place at a public meeting some five or six weeks ago, it might

VOL. VIII. NO. XII.

be inferred that this Society made no provision for the religious instruction of the population of Newfoundland. It was not his intention to reflect in the slightest degree on the members of the Society to which he had referred; as it was not to be expected that they would mention the labours of this Institution, when urging their own claims on the benevolence of the public. He did not question the purity of the motives of those who made that appeal; but he was anxious to shew that the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts had for many years past turned their attention to Newfoundland. It appeared, by an abstract of the Report, which he held in his hand, that this Society had seven Missionaries, and 24 Schoolmasters and Catechists, in that colony, at an expense annually of 2075l. His Lordship wished it to be perfectly understood, that he had no intention of reflecting on the persons

See also a Sermon by Rev. Edward Cooper, prefixed to Report for 1826, P. 24. 5 E

in question, his object being merely to remove an erroneous impression. His Lordship then detailed the number of Missionaries and Catechists at the other stations of the Society.

Motions were respectively moved and seconded by Sir T. D. Acland, Archdeacon Moore, Mr. Northcote, and Archdeacon Bull.

The Rev. Dr. G. Barnes, late Archdeacon of Bombay, then rose to move a vote of thanks to the Treasurer and Secretary, and hoped he might be permitted to trespass a little on their time, particularly as the subject of the British Colonies had been alluded to by more than one gentleman who had addressed them. As members of and sincerely attached to the Church of England, it must be at all times their wish that in whatever part of the globe its children should be scattered, there should exist the means of observing and performing all the duties enjoined upon them as Christians, according to the pure forms of our Holy Church; and this not only to preserve among them all the blessings derivable from the Gospel, but also as a means, and a very principal one, of calling the attention of the heathen to the superiority of the Christian religion, over those false and degrading systems and opinions that prevail among themselves. In the East Indies, he (Dr. B.) had been personally conversant with these things, and would say it was the duty of the English not merely to look to that vast country with an eye to commerce, but to consider themselves as instruments in the hands of Him who ruleth over all, to effect their moral redemption in this world, and their eternal salvation in that which is to come; nothing could be more erroneous than the assertions sometimes made, that the Hindoos, in point of moral rectitude, were not inferior to the inhabitants of this country; as equally inconclusive was the application of the passage, so frequently quoted by the cold and lukewarm, from Holy Writ, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" or, that every man will be judged by his own law-it was impossible to doubt but the Christian religion, that best gift of God to man, was intended for all, or that in

due time "The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea”—therefore, (said Dr. B.) it availeth nothing that this or that faileth, we are to persevere and go on, we rest our claims on a purer faith, and feel no surprise that an Abbé Dubois should return to Europe in disgust at the hopelessness of his task, for he (Dr. B.) was enabled to to say, the converts to the Romish Church from among the natives of India could scarcely be called converts at all, as in a great number of cases they attended on Christian, Mussulman, and Hindoo rites indiscriminately; and though he doubted not the fact of the Missionaries of the Romish Church having baptized thousands at once, yet he would boldly say, they had not followed up the performance of that rite, by teaching and inculcating all those moral duties which so raised the character of man in intellectual importance, in every country where Christianity was really known. Others then having failed, it became the imperative duty of this country, connected as it was with India by ten thousand endearing ties, to effect this great good, to carry into every part of civil society in that country, the blessings, the maxims, and the precepts of the Gospel ;-this would be a work of labour and of time, and the foundation must be laid, as had been judiciously stated by the Right Rev. Chairman, in allusion to another subject, in the Native Schools; with this view, the College at Calcutta had been founded by Bishop Middleton, whose plans had been followed up by the judicious and excellent Heber;-the want of proper Schoolmasters had been in its early stages much felt,-natives, for obvious reasons, could not be employed, and frequently there was much that was objectionable in the class of persons most willing to have gone from this country --many of those difficulties had happily been got over, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel had lent itself sedulously to the work, and had it no other claims, this alone entitled it to the powerful support of the wise and good in this country. The plan now pursued, was to receive the Society's Missionaries, Catechists

observed that it was very satisfactory that the Society had been enabled to accomplish so much real good, particularly in providing free sittings for the poor, who, but for the aid thus afforded them, would be prevented from joining in the service of the church of which they were members.

The Rev. Dr. Bull said, that it appeared to him the deficiency in the subscriptions arose from its being considered that the object of the Society was a temporary instead of a permanent one. It was quite obvious that the Society would not be able, for some years, to meet the demands on their funds, and it was therefore imperative on members to add to their former donations in the way of annual

subscriptions. The funds of the Parent Society, and also the liberal grant appropriated by Parliament, under its Commissioners, were now almost exhausted; and it was not likely, from present appearances, that Government would be enabled to afford further assistance; so that they could only rely on individual subscriptions through the Society.

The Rev. Archdeacon Moore said, the benefits conferred on the community by this Society were manifest, from the fact that even for every 18s. a free sitting was provided for the poor for ever; from which fact they were enabled at once to calculate on the proportionate good arising from the subscriptions.

ST. MARY DE LODE, GLOUCESTER

SHIRE.

THIS church was opened on Sunday, November 12, upon which occasion a sermon was preached by the Lord Bishop of the diocese, from Hag. i. 8, "Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord."

ST. NICHOLAS, LEICESTER.

THE inhabitants of this parish have resolved to rebuild their church, instead of repairing it as was proposed. The Rev. Richard Davies, vicar, at a public meeting of the inhabitants, after shewing, from the amount of the rental of the parish, that any attempt to raise 3500l. (the sum required to rebuild the church) would reduce nine-tenths of the inhabitants to pauperism, and materially diminish the property of the remainder, observed,

"I shall briefly add what first induced me to attempt this important undertaking. About four years since I represented to the Society for Rebuilding and Enlarging Churches, that the present Church, from the increase of the congregation, was inadequate to accommodate the numbers applying for room in it, and in consequence of its ill-constructed form and contracted

dimensions, was incapable of seating more than about 230 out of a population of nearly 3000. Upon this fact being represented to this benevolent Society-a Society which from private subscription within the last seven or eight years, by voluntary grants to 400 parishes, have aided in providing 200,000 free sittings for the poor in different parts of the kingdom; a Society never to be named, but with respect and veneration-whose private contributions to this cause are not noised abroad, whose operations are unostentatious, and whose labours in securing free admissions to the poor at divine worship have been unremitting:-having represented to this benevolent and admirable Society, the insufficiency of the Church of St. Nicholas for the accommodation of the parishioners, they munificently awarded 1500l. towards the rebuilding of it on an enlarged plan; having previously required to have before them two plans from different architects, affording the greatest possible accommodation for the poor at the least possible expense. The least expensive was approved; the cost of which, built in the plainest but substantial manner, and without a steeple, is estimated at something less than 3,500l. exclusive of the materials of the old church.