prophesy who it was that smote him, we discover what St. Matthew intended to communicate, namely, that they proposed this test of his divine mission, whether, without the use of sight, he could tell who it was that struck him. Such an oversight as this in St. Matthew it is difficult to account for on any other supposition. than the truth of the history itself, which set its author above all solicitude about securing the reception of his conclusions by a cautious display of the grounds, whereon they were built.-Blunt's Veracity of the Gospels and Acts, p. 47.

In Markland's Preliminary Observations, published in Bowyer's Critical Conjectures, &c., the following, among other instances, is adduced to prove that the four Gospels are to be read, compared, and supplied from each other, there being many places in one evangelist which could never have been understood, had they not been explained by that of another.

"Again, Matt. xxvi. 67, 68, according to our version,' and others smote him with the palms of their hands (éþþáπioav), saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, who is he that smote thee?' One would think there should be no room for prophesying, or even for guessing, in this case; for if a man was not blind, he could not but see and know the persons who struck him; whether it were with the palms of their hands, or with sticks or wands, as others interpret éppárioav. Now in reality Jesus at that time was blind; for they did and said this to him after they had blindfolded him, Mark xiv. 65, and Luke xxii. 64; without the knowledge of which circumstance this part of their derision could not have been understood and yet the circumstance of blindfolding is omitted by Matthew; the Holy Spirit, at the time of Matthew's writing this, knowing that the blindfolding would be mentioned by two other evangelists. The thing alluded to is kept up to this day in the sports of children, one of whom is hoodwinked, and the others buffet or strike him till he tells or guesses (poonreve) the person who struck him; though I suppose there is a burlesque sarcasm in the word προφήτευσον (as likewise in χριστέ with a sneer at Jesus's being accounted a prophet; which could not have been so strongly expressed if the word λέξον had been put instead of προφήτευσον; as if they had said, Ο thou Messiah, thou great Prophet, tell us by thy Prophetic Spirit who it is that struck thee! These are strong proofs of the necessity of comparing the evangelists; and it looks as if these omissions were made with the design to excite our diligence."-P. 371.

LITERARY REPORT.

A Charge, delivered to the Clergy of the Archdeaconry of St. Alban's, by WILLIAM HALE HALE, M.A., at his Visitation, May 20, 1840; and published at their request. London: Rivingtons. 1840. Pp. 24.

WE are rejoiced to see this Charge in print, for various reasons. In the first place, it is always gratifying to find the higher functionaries of the Church so delivering themselves, on solemn occasions, as to induce their Clergy to desire the perpetuation of their words. And we are satisfied that no one can be more worthy of that mark of confidence and esteem, than the present Archdeacon of St. Alban's. In the second place, we are glad of the opportunity, afforded us, by this publication, of transferring to our own pages the Archdeacon's tribute of affection and respect to the memory of his truly venerable predecessor, Doctor Watson.

It is impossible for me to allude to my own appointment to the honourable and responsible office of Archdeacon, without recalling to your and to my own mind the loss which we, in common with our Church and society at large, have sustained in the death of my deeply lamented and beloved predecessor; and I should not do justice either to your or my own feelings, were I not to pause awhile to pay to his memory that tribute of veneration, to which virtue, and services, such as he displayed and performed, demand at our hands. Were I then permitted to trace and to record the character of the late Archdeacon Watson, I would remark, that his public as well as private life, and the success which attended his course, present a most interesting and encouraging example of the power, which virtue and goodness and christian meekness possess over the minds of men, and the course of public affairs. With a disposition which tempted him rather to avoid than court observation, and health so

precarious as to preclude him from laborious exertion, he yet exercised a strong and commanding influence over all the places and persons with which he was officially and privately connected; and whilst, according to his humble judgment of himself, he seemed unfit to encounter the strife and contention of public life, his patience subdued opposition, and the meek yet firm expression of his opinion won not only the consent of his friends, but the respect of those who differed from him. How well he employed the worldly means which Providence had placed in his power, was evidenced not only by public acts of munificence, but by private bounties; how kindly he listened to every statement of difficulty, how mildly he tendered his counsel, yourselves well know. I doubt whether he was conscious of the good which his Great Master was working by his means; unless, perhaps, the kind co-operation of his parishioners, in those schemes which he had on foot for increasing the number of churches in the parish of Hackney, and which, under the mysterious dispensation of Providence, proved the instrumental cause of his death, had enabled him to perceive, how God had blessed his exertions and his prayers. In the service of Christ's Church he looked indeed to far higher rewards than the praise of man; but being firm in conduct, consistent in principle, charitable in censure, peaceable in demeanour, he exemplified the truth of the apostle's confirmation of the Psalmist's doctrine, that even in this world there is a reward for the righteous: "He that will love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile; let him eschew evil, and do good, let him seek peace and ensue it; for the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers." -Pp. 5-7.

It must be needless for us to add one syllable to the above memorial; which will, doubtless, find an echo in the heart of every one who had the good fortune to know the righteous, benevolent, and holy man, whom the Church has recently lost.

But, lastly, we are happy in being enabled to call the attention of the public, to the wise counsels, and the hopeful views of Archdeacon Hale, relative to a subject of no ordinary interest, at the present day,-the maintenance and reparation of the sacred fabrics. We most of us, probably, on witnessing the decaying condition of a venerable pile, have been tempted to wish for some mighty and sudden effort of pious beneficence, in order to its complete and effectual restoration. But the Archdeacon has now entirely convinced us of the folly of such impatience; and has shown that the accomplishment of the wish would eventually be most injurious to the buildings we are so anxious to preserve. The following are his reasons for this view of the matter :

If in the course of the next year every Church in this Archdeaconry were to be at once placed in that state, as to its ornaments and furniture, and decoration, which we might deem proper, such an effect, not being one resulting from habit, would produce but little comparative good; in a very few years every thing would fall back into its former neglected condition; and the parishioners, seeing the Church again requiring these renewals, would account that expenditure needless, which was made over and over again in vain. But let them see that the cost which they bestow upon the building and its services is not thrown away, that every year produces some little permanent improvement, something that adds to the decency of the structure, or their personal comfort and the benefit of their neighbours; in short, that due care is taken of the funds raised for the service of God's house, and there then will be little need to encourage them to liberality: their own sense of duty will tell them, and their own conscience bear them witness, that as the care of God's house ought to be their first duty, so no expenditure produces such heartfelt pleasure, as that which is devoted to the public honour of God.-Pp. 14, 15.

There is so much sound good sense in this advice, that we heartily recommend it to the consideration of all who may feel most deeply solicitous for the beauty and stability of our sacred edifices. But, here it may possibly be alleged, that the subject is now beset with difficulty and discouragement. The state of the Church-rate question, and more especially the recent decision of the Court of Queen's Bench, in the Braintree case, has grievously weakened the hands, and saddened the hearts of zealous churchwardens, and of faithful parishioners! Archdeacon Hale, however, sees no cause for all this dejection and alarm.

With respect to the decision lately pronounced by the Court of Queen's Bench, in the Braintree case, I confess myself unable to sympathize with those who consider that the rights or interests of the Established Church are weakened by that decision. I see little in it which, on the part of the Church, we need regret; and certainly still less that can be cause for rejoicing to our opponents. I have formed this opinion, not from newspaper reports or doubtful authority, but from a careful perusal of the judgment itself, a copy of which I have procured. The point which the Court decided was this: it had been held, that since the churchwardens were liable to be cited into the Ecclesiastical Court, and to be punished for not doing the necessary repairs of the church, they had, therefore, authority, if the parishioners should refuse to make a rate, to make a rate themselves; for otherwise, if the churchwardens were punishable for not repairing the church, and the parishioners were to escape from the obligation which the law lays upon them, there would be a wrong without a remedy. The question, then, was simply this,-Can the churchwardens make a rate when a majority of the parishioners refuse it?

The churchwardens of Braintree had made such a rate under such circumstances; the Court of Queen's Bench has decided that they have no such power, and that a rate so made is illegal. But it must be observed, that the Court of Queen's Bench, in pronouncing this judgment, took pains to show that its decision would not, as our opponents would gladly discover, unsettle the law of Church-rate, or leave it to the caprice of the parishioners, to determine whether they would have their churches repaired or not. For the Court of Queen's Bench has laid it down in the plainest terms, and as a truth, which no one ventured to dispute in the course of the argument, that by the law of England the parishioners are bound to repair their churches. And so far is that Court from acknowledging, that when the parishioners refuse to repair a church, there is no power to compel them; that one chief ground of their judgment in the case appears to me to be, the admission that the Ecclesiastical Court has, by ancient law, the power to compel the parishioners, either by interdict or excommunication, to do their duty. It was, indeed, intimated by the Court of Queen's Bench, that possibly these powers might have lost their effect; that the people might probably be no longer awed into obedience by being deprived, through an interdict, of all the public and private ministrations of religion; and that the sentence of excommunication might pass unheeded upon them. It must be confessed, that if in the present age the power possessed by the Ecclesiastical Court were only a spiritual power, there might be some reason to fear that it would be ineffectual. Accordingly, I cannot but feel some regret that the Court of Queen's Bench should on this occasion have couched its judgment in terms apparently calculated to perpetuate the erroneous idea, that the Ecclesiastical Courts are powerful only towards those who dread the spiritual censures of interdict and excommunication. It did not come, perhaps, within the duty of the Court of Queen's Bench, in pronouncing the judgment in the Braintree case, to explain the manner in which contempts of the authority of Ecclesiastical Courts, formerly punishable by excommunication, can now be punished by imprisonment; still it would, in my humble judgment, have strengthened the grounds of the decision of the Court, had the Court intimated, that the Ecclesiastical Court has the power, through the instrumentality of the Court of Chancery, to punish by imprisonment those who disobey its decrees; and that, therefore, the liability of the parishioners to repair their churches, was a liability which the law has still the power to enforce. I believe that I state the case correctly, in saying, that supposing the Ecclesiastical Court were now to admonish parishioners to repair their church; that whereas, under the former state of the law, before the passing of Lord Stowell's Act, they would have been excommunicated for a disobedience of the decree of the Court to repair their church, they would, under the existing law, be liable to imprisonment under the writ issued from the Court of Chancery, "De Contumace Capiendo." Thus, though purely spiritual censures may now be powerless, it is not so with the decrees of the spiritual courts; it being an acknowledged rule of the law, (as lately proved in Thorogood's case,) that the temporal court is ready, when called upon, to lend its aid to enforce the judgment of the spiritual court, and thus the very same punishment awaits the contumacious parishioner, who neglects to do what the spiritual court decrees, as would happen to him if he ventured to disobey a mandamus of the Court of Queen's Bench. The process may be expensive, and technical difficulties may be raised, to cause delay, but still it is true, that disobedience to the spiritual court is punishable, as certainly as a contempt in Chancery, or a refusal to obey the orders of the courts of law.

The judgment of the Court of Queen's Bench in the Braintree case, may possibly undergo revision, by appeal to a higher court. But whether this be the case or not; it is manifestly the duty of the heads of our Church, to take every measure which is necessary, in order to ascertain the state of the law upon the matters of Church-rate, and the methods by which it may be enforced. It is only by such a course, that the defects or hardships, if any, of the existing law, can be duly discovered, as well as the means of remedying them by fresh enactments pointed out.

I would add, that it is the duty of the State also, to aid and assist the Church in vindicating the power of the law, and checking the unconstitutional combination which is made to overthrow and to change it. Conscience is put forward as the plea for non-payment of Church-rates by Dissenters. The State would do well to look to it; it being manifest, that when once the principle is acknowledged, that private conscience justifies disobedience of public law, the whole frame of civilized society is dissolved. It was private conscience, binding itself by the solemn league and covenant, which overthrow the monarchy in the person of Charles I. The progress of the power of private conscience upon the power of the State, ought always to be watched with jealousy; for it may at last be found too strong for those, who for the sake of temporary popularity have taught it to know its strength; it may again have power to dry up all the resources of the State, and to overwhelm the country in disorder and destruction.-Pp. 18–23.

We have here only to express our regret, that the venerable judges did not think it expedient to lay down the law, as fully as it is here laid down by the Archdeacon. It might have had a salutary effect, and have tended to the suppression of much factious and contumacious resistance. Where multitudes have virtually excommunicated themselves, mere spiritual censures must, of course, be next to powerless. But, we apprehend, that if Lord Stowell's Act should be fearlessly resorted to, martyrs like Thorogood, would not be very numerous; or, if they were, they would hardly find martyrdom quite so profitable an adventure as he is supposed to have found it!

We close our notice with the parting words of the Archdeacon to his Clergy.

I have to thank the Clergy and churchwardens for their attendance, and for the patience with which they have listened to these statements. I will only add, that though we live in troublous times, as regards the relation between the Church and State, we ought not to be dismayed or alarmed for the result. The minds of men are being opened, to consider whether the Church of England, connected as she is with the State, be not the greatest blessing to the country and people at large. The Church is willing to abide the event, conscious of her Divine origin; and that her existence is independent of the will of man. The State may dissolve the alliance; but the separation would destroy not the Church but the State: the Church tied still closer to her Lord, and leaning for support upon her Great Head, would stand unscathed amidst the storm which would rend our vast empire into a hundred fragments, and lay the throne of the Sovereign in the dust.-Pp. 23, 24.

Shetland and the Shetlanders, or the Northern Circuit; with a Map of the Route. By CATHERINE SINCLAIR. Edinburgh: Whyte and Co. 1840. Pp. 428. THE "Northern Circuit" of this lady is even more interesting than her "Western," which we lately commended. The title of the book betrayed us into expecting more peregrination among the Shetlanders than was the case, yet the little time she passed among them was industriously employed, and she moreover possessed accidental advantages, which made up for the brevity of her sojourn. The tourist herself, being not less merry than wise, though always "within the limits of becoming mirth," cannot but forestall the laugh due to a full account of Shetland after a two days' stay in it. But she was so lucky as to find that the steamer in which she went, was taking back many of the clergy of the islands from the General Assembly; and being evidently one of those persons, who are born with a talent for eliciting as well as communicating information, she learnt more than many a less magnetic traveller would, who has explored the whole territory. Those readers, however, who expect a mere tour

will be agreeably surprised, perhaps, to find this work a different sort of production. It is rather the travelling correspondence of a lady of great natural abilities, whose healthy curiosity, large stores of information, tenacious memory, liveliness, and genial turn for humour, play through her pages, like the hues of shot silk; while a deep substratum of religious principle and knowledge, and the habits of one born and nurtured in good society, preserve her most sportive and brilliant paragraphs from degenerating into flippancy or heartless sarcasm. It is generally, indeed, light reading, but it is the playfulness of one equal to grave discussion, and ready for the expression of serious and reverent feelings, whenever a just occasion calls for them.

In so miscellaneous a record, where the only connecting thread is the line of her route, and where castles without stint, rivers and mountains afford materials for actual description, and pegs for anecdotes of all ages and qualities, it is somewhat chance work to pick out any thing; but as a taste of her sprightliness, we may quote her remarks on a dangerous road made safe.

The Ord of Caithness was formerly pre-eminent for being the most dangerous bit of road in Scotland. Mr. Talford tamed it down, however, into such perfect safety and insignificance, that modern travellers can scarcely credit the difficulty and hazard with which ten years ago it was crossed, unless they are shown the old track, an almost perpendicular line of loose stones at the edge of an airy precipice; on first beholding this mountainous road since its metamorphosis, I felt somewhat like the fairy whose tent was turned into a thimble.-P. 21.

To prove how well a more solemn tone becomes her, we offer her reflections on the pitiable state of the inhabitants of Fair Isle, which she passed in her voyage.

Another destitution of yet greater importance is deeply deplored in Scotland, and it became a subject of serious discussion among the clergy as we approached Fair Isle, a bright green spot, like an emerald on the wide ocean, .... distant twentyfour miles from the nearest shore, being exactly half-way between Orkney and Shetland, and there 400 of our countrymen live and die, without the instructions or consolations of any clergyman. The parish to which they belong lies in a far distant island, whence Mr. Thomson the incumbent, used to visit them once in a season, but now being eighty years of age, he is unable to encounter the fatigue of such a voyage The anxiety of these neglected people for ministerial teaching is so extreme, that they will laboriously row their boat any distance to bring a preacher.... Many rich people disapprove loudly of foreign missions, confidently saying “let charity begin at home;" and for them here is a noble opportunity. Neighbours and brethren of our own, who have little to enjoy there, and no one to tell them of happiness hereafter, suffer the most urgent want, while a small subscription might supply the moderate wishes of some resident clergyman, who would be welcomed with eager and grateful delight, bringing them the knowledge which they seem all to be thirsting for.-P. 110.

....

She does no more than justice to her patriotic father, the late Sir John Sinclair, by incidentally relating some of his benefits to his country, as she passes the localities where they were exercised. His zeal did not always find an adequate return, and her account of the way in which he was so coolly passed over when the new edition of the Statistical Account of Scotland was republished, is any thing but creditable to the managers. The slight may, by bare possibility, have been unintentional, but we cannot but participate in the daughter's feelings, and consider her remonstrance, and even scorn, as well bestowed. When she says, "nothing in D'Israeli's 'Curiosities of Literature,' can be more singular than the origin, progress, and termination of my father's single-handed efforts to collect the Statistical Account,'"-she might have added that another chapter for the "Calamities of Authors," might be formed from the treatment he met with in his old age. After having spent considerable sums, and written thousands of letters to set it going, during a period of seven years, and really accomplished the work himself, and given away the copyright, the reprint never even alluded to him, till his death seemed to remind the conductors that he originated it. However, all parties now receive their meed in Miss Sinclair's spirited comments.