LONDON CITY MISSION.

Register of Events.

THE PARLIAMENTARY SESSION has been-virtually at least—at an end, since the 9th of August. On the evening of that day notice was given by Lord Wharncliffe, that the House of Lords would be adjourned to the 2nd of September, and by Sir R. Peel, that the House of Commons would be adjourned until the 5th of the same month. The adjournment is for the purpose of allowing the Judges to return from their circuits, and give judgment in the case of the Irish writs of error, in order that that tedious business may be finally settled before Parliament is actually prorogued; and thus the strictest justice may be done to O'Connell, and his worthless fellow-prisoners now located in the Richmond Bridewell, while the next Session may be undisturbed by the intrusion of the truly wearisome process connected with the richly deserved punishment of some of the most flagrant malefactors with whom the law has ever had to deal.

There is much in the EVENTS OF THE SESSION, and particularly of the latter portion of it, which call for sincere regret in every considerate and christian mind; while at the same time it would ill become us to be ungrateful to that merciful Providence which has provided us with a government in many respects so well fitted to manage the intricate affairs of this mighty empire. With the allowances always to be made for the defects and infirmities of the wisest of men, we feel no hesitation in avowing our conviction that it is long indeed since rulers have been set over us so well qualified for conducting that department of the affairs of this country, and its dependencies, which most strictly come under the head of political economy. To the talent, judgment and experience of Sir R. Peel, and most of his fellow-ministers, it would be difficult to pay too high a tribute of respect. But alas! we cannot but most painfully feel the glaring deficiencies to be found in him wherever questions of moral and religious principle are at stake. It is true that we look in vain to any other quarter, whence a government is likely to arise, for any superiority on such subjects; and the only results accruing from a change in one direction or the other, would resemble the substitution of the beam for the mote which now dims the moral vision of our political rulers. Semi-papists or whig-radicals would form a sorry substitute for our present government, and only serve greatly to expedite the progress of affairs in one or other of the diverging roads of error and peril in which we seem already to be taking alternate strides. It is marvellous to observe the kindly patronage at present afforded to the antipodes of error-Popery and Socinianism;-and that by men who would shrink to be suspected of the slightest inclination to either! The grievous mistake committed in these matters by the wisest of men-in the world's esteem-may serve effectually to convince us of the imperative necessity that the balance of the sanctuary should be made use of, if we hope to legislate with anything like propriety where moral and religious principle are at stake. For want of this, we see eminent statemen, like Sir R. Peel and his compeers, one day bestowing an unhallowed boon upon the followers of the awful heresy of Socinus, and another holding forth golden hopes to the members of the apostate Church of Rome! All this indicates a state of mind anything but alive to the vital importance of the insuperable barriers which separate genuine Protestant Christianity from Socinian heresy on the one hand, and Popish idolatry on the other; and manifests an attempt to make that the subject of mere political expediency, which cannot fairly and scripturally be ranked under any other head than that of religious principle.

It will be obvious that while we allude in the first place, to the Socinian endowment bill-which we have already expressly and repeatedly noticed -we have reference, in the next, to the INCREASED GRANT FOR IRISH EDUCATION in the highly objectionable manner in which it is attempted to

be carried on by the government scheme for that purpose; and also to the threatened increase of the grant to Maynooth College, which-even to its present limited extent-ought never to be tolerated by a Protestant Legislature, unless it can be proved that the good faith of the country is pledged to its continuance in the articles of union with Ireland. For its augmentation nothing can apologize. It is greatly to be feared, however, that the Conservative government is prepared with some proposition to this effect; and no doubt the Whig-radical party will be as ready to aid in this, as in the other unprincipled measures which have already been carried through by the government. Among these may be classed the increased grantalready alluded to-for Irish education, from £50,000 to £75,000 per annum. However this system may be disguised or palliated, we regard it as nothing less than a deliberate grant by a christian and protestant country to educate the youth of Ireland as Papists upon principle, instead of leaving them to grow up as Papists through ignorance. Which is the most objectionable of these, we leave to any enlightened christian to decide. Meanwhile the various societies for the diffusion of sound scriptural and protestant christianity are left to work their way, as best they can, through the agency of voluntary support. To all alike any government aid is denied. From one it has actually been withdrawn, ever since the introduction of the present obnoxious scheme. Our readers need scarcely be informed, that we allude to the Kildare Place Society. The language of the Premier on all these subjects, indicates a mind tossed to and fro on the restless ocean of religious expediency, without the compass of spiritual perception to point out his way, or the rudder of scriptural decision to steer his course ;-utterly uncertain in what quicksands of delusion he may be swallowed up, or on what rocks of error he may be dashed in pieces. Would that his attention were effectually directed to the simple but all-important direction of St. James, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

Various other measures have also been recently passed by the legislature; some to say the least-of a very doubtful nature. Among these we may mention the ROMAN CATHOLIC PENAL ACTS REPEAL BILL, whereby various laws for the discouragement of Popery have been erased from the statute-book; and also the LECTURERS and PARISH CLERKS BILL, the object of which is twofold. 1. To allow the Bishop of the diocese, with the consent of the Incumbent, to impose parochial duties upon all lecturers who shall in future be appointed; and 2. To provide that the funds hitherto dedicated to the maintenance of parish clerks, may be available for the support of assistant curates in the parishes to which they pertain. This is effected by providing that clerks in orders may henceforth be employed in the stead of the lay agents who have hitherto discharged that office. With respect to the former of these bills, it is certainly true, that most or all the statutes concerned, were virtually obsolete, and many of them utterly absurd in the present state of the country; and, as to the latter, there is no doubt that the funds hitherto appropriated for the somewhat useless-and often very mischievous appendages of lay parish clerks, might be much more profitably expended in the support of well-selected clerical assistants for the overgrown parishes of our towns and cities: but, notwithstanding this, we perceive dangers which may be very easily incurred by these somewhat sweeping changes; and we cannot but decidedly deprecate the unwarrantable haste with which such important measures have been hurried through Parliament, at the close of a protracted session, when neither time nor inclination allowed of their being canvassed in the manner which such bills imperiously demanded. We forbear, for the present, to speak further on the objectionable portions of them-which, however, we greatly fear are neither few nor small-especially in the case of the proposed additions to the duties of lecturers in parish Churches, at the almost uncontrolled will of the Bishops of the dioceses in which they are placed.

The infamous AGGRESSION OF THE FRENCH ON TAHITI has created

a great sensation in the country. The Queen's being compelled to retire to an English vessel for protection, and the imprisonment of the British Consul-Mr. Pritchard-are events of no ordinary occurrence, and demand prompt and firm measures on the part of this country. We trust, however, that the government are prepared to act a decided part in the matter, as the affair has been denounced in the strongest terms by her Majesty's ministers, both in the Lords and Commons. May it prove to be the will of Providence, that the design of the abettors of war between this country and France shall be frustrated, and " peace be granted in our time," while justice and equity are at the same time, effectually secured both for ourselves and other nations—and more especially for the helpless and oppressed. We deeply regret to find that the MURDER of COLONEL STODDART and CAPTAIN CONOLLY by the Khan of Bokhara, has at length been too clearly proved, through the agency of the Rev. Dr. Wolff. We earnestly hope and pray, that that enterprising and devoted man may be preserved from a similar fate, which seems too likely to be his portion at the hands of the same bloodthirsty tyrant, by whom, we deeply regret to say, he has been most unwarrantably detained in custody. The government at whose instigation the two officers went out, appears to be compromised in the matter. What course they ought to take, we pretend not to say; but we view with horror and dismay such infamous treatment towards the brave officers of the army of our beloved country.

Notices and Acknowledgements.

OUR respected correspondent near Kettering is informed, that the work to which he refers has never reached us, and has thus been necessarily prevented from being reviewed by us. We are much obliged by the friendly tone of his letter, whether or no we entirely accord with his view of the subject on which it treats.

We think a Dissenters'' second letter is written in a fair and candid spirit. Time and space forbid us at present entering far into the points to which he alludes. We never doubted that numbers of the Dissenters were well acquainted with the doctrinal tenets of Popery. We still think that their actions too often migh seem to indicate, that they were far from sufficiently aware of its actual workings,' We allude especially to the lengths they have gone in uniting with Papists for the subversion of the Protestant Church in this country. As an instance of this, we might refer to the Ecclesiastical Knowledge Society,' and its infamous publications, some ten years ago. Unless our memory much deceives us, O'Connell was present-and even took the chair at one or more of those meetings, while surrounded and extolled by Dissenting ministers of almost all persuasions! We confidently ask any candid Dissenter whether this is the way to discountenance Popery ? or whether it is not lending it the most effectual helping hand? Can Dissenters be so very blind as to believe that Papists have any real feeling of regard for what they absurdly term 'religious liberty?" They merely rejoice to make them a stalking-horse for the establishment of spiritual despotism, which would be easily accomplished, if the Protestant Church of England were once subverted-despite all the efforts of all the Dissenters in the land-who would then awake in vain from the slumber in which they had so long been lulled by the wiles of Papists, and bigoted prejudice against the Church of England. 'A Dissenter is much mistaken if he imagines that we are of those who 'insinuate' instead of openly expressing their sentiments, when the proper season offers for so doing. It is scarcely necessary to say that our remarks apply only to modern political dissenters, and not to the genuine followers of Owen and Henry, Watts and Doddridge, and others of a similar stamp-for whom we entertain a sincere christian regard, however we may disagree with them on minor points.

We are obliged by the communication of 'G. T. Senior,' which, however, we do not think suitable to our pages.