But the church of England herself does not believe this to be a saving ordinance, however much the parsons wish the people to believe that it is in order to keep them in the church. The twenty-fifth article of the church of England says, that confirmation is, among other things, "Not to be counted for sacraments of the Gospel, being such as have grown partly of corrupt following of the apostles," and "have not like nature of sacraments with baptism and the Lord's Supper, for that they have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God." Archbishop Cranmer says, "There is no place in Scripture declareth this sacrament to be instituted of Christ." Why, then, should any man, woman, or child, be called to observe it? For, as Bishop Hopkins says, "We ought not to worship God with any other external worship than what he himself hath commanded and appointed us in his holy Word;" and Bishop Taylor says, such a person is "superstitious, or a will-worshipper;" and the sixth article of the church of England supports these views. Now the bishops and the articles being judges, is not a man not only safe, but doing his duty, when he declines being confirmed by a lord bishop? No. 8.-Printed and SOLD by J. F. Winks, LEICester." No. 2. "TO THE INHABITANTS OF THE PARISH OF ALFORD. Dear Brethren,—If you value the church into which you have been baptized, and wish to hand it down unimpaired to your children, you are invited to join with your brethren throughout the kingdom, in signing the following petition to Parliament. It is hoped that, with God's blessing, we may yet be able to preserve, uninjured, that apostolic church which our fathers shed their blood to defend, and have handed down to us. Surely it is time to speak out, when "the Corruptions of the public establishment of the Christian religion by law" is complained of as a grievance. I am your sincere Friend, A Loaves and Fishes Man." "To the Right Honourable and Right Reverend the Lords Spiritual (followers of the meek and lowly Jesus) and Temporal in Parliament assembled. We the undersigned Minister and Inhabitants of the parish of Alford, in the county and diocese of Lincoln, beg leave most respectfully to approach your Lordships for the purpose of imploring your protection for the National Church, which is arraigned by common sense and condemned by Scripture. We are reluctantly compelled to appeal to your Lordships, by very numerous petitions, which have of late been presented to both Houses of Parliament, complaining of the gross and glaring abominations in the public Establishment of the Christian Religion by Law. Firmly believing that, without the corruptions of such an Establishment, the blessings and obligations of religion would be soon lost to the people at large, we earnestly call on your Lordships not to give ear to the prayer of those petitioners who have Reason and Scripture to support them, and who would thus seek the overthrow of Easterdues and other good things. We should gladly see every concession made which can consist with the existence and continuance of the Loaves and Fishes to our National Church, with the maintenance of the rights of conscience, and the rights of property; but we earnestly implore your Lordships to resist all those demands by which the safety of the Church, with its corruptions, may be impaired. And your petitioners, the Minister and Inhabitants of the parish aforesaid, as in duty bound, will ever pray; but take away our Loaves and Fishes, then we wont pray at all-Mind that!!! N.B. The words in Italics are added by a staunch friend of the Church. VOL. VI.-Nov. 1834. 4 c THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH IN THE CHANNEL ISLANDS, JERSEY, GUERNSEY, &c., IN 1832. (From the "Channel Islands," by H. D. Inglis.) "THE Dean of Jersey, who is named by the crown, is at the head of the insular church, and holds a spiritual court, from which there is an appeal to the see of Winchester. The dean is always one of the twelve rectors; but no pluralities are admitted. The clergy of Jersey are poorly paid: they are entitled to little more than the small tithes, which do not average to each above 120l. per annum. It would undoubtedly have been more just, if a part of the great tithes, which belong to the crown, had been appropriated to a reasonable augmentation of livings, rather than to the payment of a salary to a sinecurist; and since this bad appropriation of the crown revenue appears to be destined for change by the retrenching spirit of the present government, it is to be hoped that the claims of the under-paid clergy will not be forgotten. It is possible that these claims may not be advanced; but at a time when there is a disposition to afford something like adequate remuneration to the working clergy of England (and all the incumbents of Jersey are working clergy), it is almost to be expected, that when a large sum is about to be released from the grasp of a sinecurist, a part of it may be appropriated towards the moderate augmentation of the miserable livings of Jersey. "It is much to be regretted, that, by the constitution of the island, the clergy have seats in the legislature. I do not at present speak of this as a political flaw in the constitution, but only as it affects the usefulness of the clergy, which necessarily depends greatly upon their moral influence over their respective flocks. In an island such as Jersey, where subjects of local interest are every day springing up, great diversities of opinion must continually exist as to the course most proper to be pursued by the legislature in the various matters brought before it; and thus the clergy are necessarily brought into ill odour with a part of their parishioners. It is impossible that men who have witnessed (or think they have witnessed) the fallibility of of their minister's judgment in temporal matters, should trustingly confide to them their eternal interests."-(Vol. i. pp. 159-161.) "The ecclesiastical government of Guernsey is very similar to that of Jersey. The clergy are poorly paid; the small tithes only, with a small tithe of champart and novals, being all that remain to them. Novals are tithes of land brought under cultivation since the time the monasteries possessed the church revenues. Champart, as the word itself implies, a part of a field, is the whole produce. Quail, in his Agricultural Report, says, 'The feudal right of champart is here frequently payable, and is a branch of the royal revenue. It is let by the receivers to the same person, and collected with the tithes. In most cases it is the twelfth sheaf.' "The condition of the church in Guernsey certainly calls for consideration. With the exception of the town parish, the rectories of the island are scarcely equal to the smallest English curacy. The great tithes of all corn and flax, the growth of the island, are king's revenue; and these are appropriated to The government of Jersey is a sinecure office. The whole crown revenue of the island is, with certain deductions, appropriated to the governor, and consists of the corn-tithes of ten of the (twelve) parishes. As the disposal of this revenue has been brought under notice by a Parliamentary Commission, I will state that the amount in. 1818 was £2840. 12s. 7d.; of which sum, the governor, after the several appropriations had been made, received £1428. 10s. 44d. Since that time the amount has decreased about £300.-(P. 147.) the governor. To take a part of these for the island clergy would, I think, be nothing more than justice. The clergy of Guernsey are hard-working men; and there would certainly be nothing inconsistent with the spirit, and meaning, and object of Church Reform, to transfer emoluments from a sinecurist to those who perform duties, when these duties are now inadequately paid. I would fain hope, however, that if any alteration should be judged requisite in the condition of the clergy of these islands, government will see the propriety of effecting a separation between clerical and legislative duties. This, I have reason to know, is desired by many of the clergy themselves."-(Vol. ii. p. 97.) "In Alderney, the clergyman is paid by a salary from the crown-the only tithe to which he is entitled being a tithe of fish-which, however, is always compounded for. The church embraces almost the whole population of Alderney, the only exception being a few Wesleyans, who have a meetinghouse in the town. The island belongs to the deanery of Guernsey, and the diocese of Winchester (p. 179). The population of the parish of St. Anne's may be stated at 1100."-(Vol. ii. p. 176.) "The people of Serk (amounting to between 500 and 600-p. 214) have few temptations to immorality, and are rather a religiously disposed people; -this at least is certain, that they are regular attenders of public worship. The incumbency of Serk is a perpetual curacy, in the nomination of the seigneur, who, however, has no power of removing a minister whom he has appointed. There is no fixed stipend,—this being a matter of agreement between the minister and the patron, who pays him. The present incumbent receives 801. per annum, and a free house. The church, erected in 1820, is a very neat and commodious building."-(Vol. ii. p. 220.) 1 "The lord of Serk is the sole lay impropriator of tithes. The tithe paid to him is the tenth sheaf of wheat, barley, oats, beans, &c,, as well as the tenth of wool and lamb."-(P. 224.) DOCUMENTS. ADDRESS FROM THE BISHOP OF QUEBEC TO THE BRITISH PUBLIC IN BEHALF OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND IN CANADA. FELLOW CHRISTIANS,-The peculiar circumstances of the church of England in the diocese of Quebec at this juncture, from the spiritual destitution of many people, and the diminished support afforded to the clergy, make it incumbent upon me to use every exertion to remedy the evils, and to supply the wants which press upon us so heavily. A brief, plain, and simple statement of these circumstances will, it is believed, be sufficient to command attention, and to procure the assistance from a generous public which is so much needed. The protestant population of the Canadas, owing partly to the scattered situation of the people in this extensive country, and partly to the ignorance of Christian Benevolent Societies as to their real condition, have never, at any time, been well supplied with the services of the ministers of religion. But of late years, the number of those who are destitute of the public means of grace has greatly increased, in consequence of large and continued emigrations from the mother country; and numerous bodies of emigrants are now living in settlements near to each other. Their great need of the ministrations of the church, and their increased facility, from these circumstances, to make improvement of them if within their reach, are manifest; but, in many instances, these settlements are quite remote from the residence of any clergyman. We have long felt the want of clergy in these provinces; and a principal cause of this want has been a deficiency of means for their support. Those who have at different times come out from England or Ireland, or who have been ordained in this country, have hitherto been maintained partly by his majesty's govern ment, and partly by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. But at the very period when the services of the church are more than ever needed, the usual annual grant to that Society from the imperial parliament has been withdrawn. In consequence of this measure, they have been obliged to reduce the scale of their allowances, one-half; and their missionaries, upon the most favourable footing, will now receive only 1001. a year; in addition to which evil, severely felt by many deserving men and their families, the Society are compelled to abstain from the establishment of any new missions. It is obvious that these measures throw a heavy burden upon the ministers and people in these colonies; a weight of loss, and expense, and distress, more than they can bear, and justify them in calling on their friends and neighbours to help them. If the people upon the spot have not fully done their part, they have at least done much, and are, I trust, willing to do more. They have generally made exertions and sacrifices for the erection of churches, several of which I am necessitated to leave very imperfectly supplied, and a few altogether unserved. In some instances, they have built parsonage-houses, or otherwise provided a residence for their minister; and they are about to be called upon, according to their means, to make immediate and stated contributions towards the main tenance of the clergy. But there are few places in which they can do more thas a very little for their support, especially in the settlements still unprovided with ministers. Although I would hope that the clergy of my diocese have learnt how to be abased and to suffer need for Christ's sake, yet surely they out not to be left to struggle with absolute poverty; and I-have no hesitation in say ing, that a clergyman in Canada cannot maintain himself and his family, with suitable respectability, upon an income of less than 2001. a year. This the greater part of the clergy have hitherto received, and uniformly been led to expect as their continued yearly income; and there will be many cases of extreme hardship if the salaries of tried and laborious servants are to be thus reduced in their declining years. There is, I fear, little prospect that the resources of the country, that is, either the proceeds of the clergy reserved lands, or the contributions of the people, will, for a considerable time to come, afford them such an income as I have here stated to be necessary. Notwithstanding the generally flourishing state of the country, the persons are but few in number who have it in their power to subscribe largely for this object; and these again are subjected to constant appeals to their bounty from the distressed portion of the emigrant population, as well as in behalf of the various public institutions and improvements now carrying on in this country, It should be mentioned also, that the increased value of articles of commerce aud agriculture, in consequence of the great emigration, is of no advantage to mere annuitants, and that the calls of the emigrant poor are peculiarly pressing upon many of the clergy. The population of Upper Canada exceeds 300,000 souls, and is rapidly increasing. Of 51,746 emigrants who arrived from the British Isles in 1832, 30,000 settled in that province. The proportion of the church of England to other denominations cannot be stated with precision; it is, perhaps, nearly one-third of the whole population. In Lower Canada, according to the census taken in 1831, the total number of souls was 511,917, about four-fifths of whom were Roman Catholics, (it will be remembered that this was originally a French settlement,) and of the remainder, nearly one-half were of the church of England. In the upper province, the number of clergy is fifty six, who will soon, with a very few exceptions, be entirely chargeable upon the means which can be raised in the province. In Lower Canada there are thirty-six clergymen, of whom twenty-two are paid wholly, and six in part, by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. The population of these provinces is scattered over so large a surface of country (the diocese of Quebec extending 1300 miles in length), that the labours of the clergy, and the want of more ministers, must not be estimated merely from the numbers of the people. Most of the clergy serve at least two congregations. It is proposed that the ecclesiastical resources of the provinces, together with the voluntary contributions of the people, should be applied towards the support of the clergy now resident in the diocese; but it has been here shewn that these are not sufficient for the purpose, and that the want of additional ministers is urgent and increasing. It is particularly for the relief of the numerous emigrants from the British Isles, to provide them with the gospel means of grace, that this appeal is made to the British public. It would be very easy for a more able hand than mine to draw a moving picture of their wants, their claims, and their distresses, and to enlist all your good feelings in their cause; but I shall be satisfied with laying before you a brief and plain statement, confident that it will be sufficient to induce you to give them your present, and, as I hope, you continued assistance. The majority of these emigrants, in leaving their native country and their homes, made great sacrifices, and separated themselves from much that was dear to them. Many of them by their removal have lessened the burthens of their respective parishes, and thus added to the means of their friends and neighbours whom they have left. It is in order also to relieve the people that his majesty's government, in reducing the public taxes, have discontinued the usual annual parliamentary grant to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, one of the principal means for the support of the clergy of these provinces. I shall not question the expediency of this measure, but I will take the liberty to state, that I know one of the reasons upon which it was adopted to have been the propriety of calling upon the people for volun tary contributions in preference to providing for the support of the church in Canada by legislative enactments, and the belief that the sum thus raised, in a manner more satisfactory to all the parties interested, would be larger than the annual parliamentary grant. It is fair to make this representation; and although the expectation it holds out may be disappointed, the appeals to public charity being so numerous, it serves to strengthen our case—and a stronger one cannot well be brought forward. The emigrants, of whose sacrifices in leaving their homes, their friends, and relations, their church and their pastors, I have already spoken, are, for the most part, constrained upon their arrival in Canada, to go into new settlements, or rather to commence making them at a distance, for some time, at least, from the comforts and even necessaries of life, and almost without the means of communication to enable them to procure assistance from those who are in more favourable circumstances. In addition to these privations, a great proportion of them are destitute of the services of the church, of the benefits of public worship, of the offices and consolations of the minister of the Gospel. It is this want, this loss, this distress, aggravated to them by the recollection of former experience, and to be judged of in some degree by you, who at present enjoy these blessings denied to them, which we call upon you to relieve. We ask you to give them means to supply themselves with the ministrations of the church, or to provide for sending them pastors to dispense them; we ask you to contribute, not only by present bounty, but by continued yearly subscriptions to their temporal and spiritual welfare in things most valuable things heavenly and eternal. You must be sensible that no people have a stronger claim on your charity as fellow-christians, on your best sympathies as |