with satisfaction to the sentiments recently expressed by the Duke of York, respecting the obligations of the Coronation oath. These are the principal points touched upon in this Charge; but, before we close it, we must extract the following passage, in which the various offices of the minister of religion are most pleasingly depicted.

"Such, then, my Reverend Brethren, are my sincere and matured opinions respecting the appropriate duties of the Clergy in this our day. Your lot is cast on times of trial. You have, however, one thing alone to look to the straight-forward path of duty. Then, truly ennobling and godlike is the office to which you have dedicated your lives and ministry. It was the office of the great Saviour of the world. The ties which bind the Pastor to his people are of a sacred and a hallowed nature. The connexion between them begins at their birth, and ends but with their death. Before they know what is done for them, they are initiated by him into the fold of Christ; are thus made the children of God, and may become inheritors of the kingdom of heaven. As their reason expands, his care of them grows with their growth; instructs the child, and forms the future man. From his hands they afterwards receive the tenderest of human connexions, sanctioned by all the ceremonials of Religion. Through life his precepts tell them what they should do; whilst his example shews them how it may be done. And when at length, as all things must, their years are drawing to a close, when the soul is fleeing away to Him who gave it, then, the Messenger of the Gospel attends with healing on his wings; commemorates with them the last Supper of our Lord, and offers up the dying prayer of penitence and hope. Nor does his

mournful office end here: when earth is to be returned to earth, and dust to dust, the Minister accompanies their remains to the last receptacle of all the living, and repeats over them the sublime service of our Church, in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life."-Pp. 28, 29.

We pass on then to the diocese of Chester, and proceed to give some account of the Charge delivered at the primary visitation of the present Bishop.

His Lordship opens his Charge with some observations on the mode of inquiry which it is become necessary for Bishops to adopt, by application to the Clergy themselves, in order to learn the state of their dioceses, from the unsatisfactory manner in which the Articles of Inquiry are generally answered by churchwardens. He then remarks the satisfaction which he had experienced, from finding his diocese "one of the best conditioned in the kingdom," in respect of residence and the performance of duty. To this last particular, indeed, the fact subjoined in a note sufficiently attests; there being, of about 620 churches and chapels in the diocese, not more than sixty in which only single duty is performed on Sunday, and this number yearly decreasing. His Lordship expresses the encouragement to do his own duty which he derives from the

state of his diocese, as well as from the example of his predecessor; and thus comments on the high importance of mutual support and co-operation on the part of a Bishop and his Clergy.

"By an uncompromising determination to do our duty, in that station which is assigned to us by the great Head of the Church, and by a desire to encourage and support one another in the execution of our arduous task, we may hope, under the Divine blessing, to secure to ourselves the highest recompense we can receive in this world, the consciousness of having made our calling available to the good which it was intended to produce. The good which may be produced by faithfulness in the ministry of the Gospel, is beyond all calculation; and beyond calculation also is the mischief, which is done by unfaithfulness and negligence. But there is this difference between the two cases; that while the diligent labourer in the Lord's vineyardenjoys the delightful consciousness of being an instrument of good in the hands of his Heavenly Master, and sees all around him the blessed effects of his labour; the profligate and the careless workman, who has no knowledge of the value of men's souls, no deep feeling on the question of other men's salvation, or his own--is utterly unconscious of the mischief and misery which he is causing to others, and of the dreadful responsibility which he daily accumulates upon himself." Pp. 8, 9.

His Lordship proceeds to state the friendly candour and explicitness with which all his communications with his Clergy would be regulated, and he urges the most unanswerable argument for such plainness, in saying—

"I entreat you to bear in mind, that although the relation, in which I stand to you, as a fellow-servant, whom the Lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season,' obliges me to watch over your interests, and to promote your comfort, after the example of Him, who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister;' yet my first duty is, to look to the spiritual welfare of those who are committed to your care; and to guard, by every means in my power, against their suffering either by the neglect, or the errors, of their appointed teachers and guides." P. 10.

The imperative call to usefulness in the ministry, which the nature of the times suggests, is next placed by the Bishop in a conspicuous point of view. He urges, that however strong the claims of the Church may be on the attention and respect of individual Christians, and on the support and protection of the State, on other grounds; yet, if there be a failure in activity and zeal on the part of the Clergy, the Establishment must sink beneath them. He adds, that, amidst all the obloquy with which the Clergy have been assailed, there is a strong general feeling in their favour, which it only needs a faithful discharge of duty on their part to improve to their advantage, and points to the fearful responsibility which that minister incurs, who is neglectful of his holy calling.

VOL. VIII. NO. II.

Having thus insisted on the necessity of useful exertion on the part of the Clergy, he observes, in continuation, that their usefulness will depend upon their influence with the people, and that their influence will be proportionate to their personal sanctity of character;-more being expected of the Clergy than of the laity, and that not unjustly, since it is regarded as part of their profession to set an example of Christian holiness and purity to others.

"Allowance ought indeed to be made for the different tempers and circumstances of different men, more perhaps than the world in general is disposed to make; but no allowance is surely to be made for him, who perseveres in conduct which he knows to be a cause of scandal and offence: nor is there to be found, in the circle of civil society, a character less entitled to regard and respect, than that of a Clergyman, who habitually forgets, or throws off, the decorum of his profession; and by his dress, his language, his manners, and his pursuits, makes it manifest to the world that he is ashamed of his order, as his order has good reason to be ashamed of him." P. 16.

At the same time, the Bishop further observes, he is far from recommending an entire seclusion from the world; this would be productive of evil both to the Clergy themselves and to society. He only insists on the necessity of caution in the choice of pursuits and amusements; of moderation in the use of them; and an habitual recollection of their profession, wherever they may be found.

He then passes on to suggest some hints as to the effectual mode of officiating in the congregation.

"With regard to the public ministrations of the Church, the limits, to which I must confine my observations, forbid me to do more than briefly to recommend a devout and serious, yet simple manner of reading our admirable Liturgy; a plain, unaffected, earnest enforcement, and particular application of Gospel truths and duties. Let it be seen that your hearts are engaged in the great work which you have in hand, the salvation of souls; and you will infallibly touch the hearts of those who hear you. An indifferent voice and mode of delivery, whether in the pulpit or the desk, will soon be overlooked by the congregation, if the manner of their teacher be such as to make it visible, that he is deeply interested in their eternal welfare; and if his doctrine, his exhortations, his encouragements be all built upon one foundation, Jesus Christ, and him crucified.' With regard to those natural impediments which are sometimes pleaded in excuse for a deficiency in this particular, I would remind you, that no one can tell how much may be done in the way of improvement, till he has tried all the various aids of advice, and practice, and careful study, with prayer for the assistance of God's Holy Spirit." Pp. 18, 19.

The important duty of catechizing, as preparatory to the rite of confirmation, is next touched. The Bishop here expresses his regret, that some Clergymen had thought it sufficient to catechize the children of their flock for a few

Sundays previous to confirmation; whereas, it ought to be a work continually going on, either in church or in school: and he explains the office of catechizing, as consisting, not merely in hearing the children answer the questions of the Catechism by rote, but in examination of their proficiency in the knowledge of Scripture, and in explanation to them of the texts upon which the Catechism is grounded. In furtherance of this duty, he recommends a diligent attention to the National and Sunday Schools

"Closely connected with this branch of the clerical office is the superintendence of your National and Sunday Schools; of which I have only time to remark, first, that whether the vast experiment of universal education, which is now in progress, shall be productive of incalculable good or evil, will depend, under God, upon the vigilance and activity of the Clergy: and, secondly, that where the circumstances of a parish, or chapelry, are such, as to render hopeless the attempt to institute a daily National School, a Sunday School at least may be opened in every place, and taught, in the failure of other resources, by the Clergyman himself, or some part of his family. And I cannot too strongly express my conviction, that the existence of a National School is so far from doing away the necessity of a Sunday School, that it renders it still more indispensable." P. 20.

We should add, that whilst his Lordship thus earnestly recommends the system of gratuitous teaching, he cautions the Clergy, in a note on the passage, against the mischief which such a system may produce, unless it be under their immediate controul. He instances the Sunday Schools at Bolton-le-Moors, and at Stockport, as specimens of the happiest effects of the system.

The Bishop of Chester then proceeds to consider the peculiar obligations enforced upon the Clergy, as members of a National Church established by law. Under this point of view, it is shewn, that the rubrics and canons of the Church are the rules by which the Clergy are bound to regulate their conduct. To adopt a liberty of private judgment in opposition to these prescribed rules, would not only introduce confusion and discord, but "the very object of an Established Church would be defeated, were its congregations thus to be left to the uncertainty of private opinion and caprice." But the course of his Lordship's observations on this view of the clerical office, contains admonitions so just and so needful in these times, that we must stop to transcribe them at length.

"A strict and punctual conformity to the Liturgy and Articles of our Church, is a duty, to which we have bound ourselves by a solemn promise, and which, while we continue in its ministry, we must scrupulously fulfil. Conformity to the Liturgy implies, of course, an exact observance of the Rubrics. We are no more at liberty to vary the mode of performing any part of public worship, than we are to preach doctrines at variance with the Articles of Religion. If

there be any direction for the public service of the Church, with which a Clergyman cannot conscientiously comply, he is at liberty to withdraw from her ministry; but not to violate the solemn compact which he has made with her. It is true, that you are bound to promote, to the utmost of your power, the honour of God, and the growth of your Saviour's kingdom: but in your ministerial capacity you have engaged to do this in a certain way, and according to certain prescribed rules. Our zeal for the interests of Christ's universal Church is to be shewn by the punctual discharge of our duties, as ministers of one particular branch of it. It should never be forgotten by ministers,' says an able and sagacious writer, that they are subject to higher authority; that they are to execute law, not to make it. They are to embrace every opportunity of doing good, within the limits prescribed to them: without those limits they can do no good. For no accidental advantage can stand in competition with the main end of all government, the support and establishment of settled rules.'

"This fundamental principle of our ecclesiastical polity, to which, under Providence, it has been hitherto indebted for its stability, is too much overlooked in the present day. There are many pious and excellent members of our profession, who seem to forget that the sphere and the direction of their pastoral labours are distinctly marked out by that authority, which assigns to them the oversight of a particular congregation; and who regard the Christian Church at large as the object of their special concern. I think I am justified by experience in remarking, that next to carelessness on the part of the parochial Clergy, hardly any thing is more likely to make the people undervalue the importance of uniformity in religious offices, and to smooth the way to open secession, than unauthorized deviations from the ritual of the Church, and uncalled for intrusions into the spiritual charge, which has been committed by lawful authority to the keeping of others. In the sacraments, more particularly, it seems to me to be reprehensible in private Clergymen, to deviate from the prescribed forms, where there is no absolute necessity for such deviation; and by a capricious, a careless, or a hasty mode of administering them, to impair the opinion, which their congregations ought to entertain, of the sanctity and importance of the ordinances themselves. Still more applicable are these remarks to the practice, which I fear is too prevalent in large towns, not only of administering Private Baptism without inquiring into the necessity which alone can justify it, but of using the service for Public Baptism in private houses, an anomaly for which, under no circumstances, can an absolute necessity be pleaded.” P. 22-25.

We have already noticed the Bishop of Gloucester's condemnation of an irregularity, which comes under this head of remark, ---the practice of itinerant preaching in behalf of particular charities. The Bishop of Chester also expresses his opinion against it, as "injurious to the quiet of the Church," and "adverse to the spirit of her constitutions."

The subject of residence is next briefly adverted to, and here his Lordship only expresses his hope to see the number of