ant part of this volume consists of "Extracts from Sermons of Elias Hicks," with copious citations of Scripture, and apposite remarks and arguments subjoined, for the refutation of the dangerous sentiments which those "Extracts" contain. The general topics which this portion of the work embraces are,

"Hicks's Attempt to supersede the Gospel,-Atonement and Reconciliation, -On counting the Blood of the Covenant unholy, Perverting the Scripture,-Setting Scripture in its right Place,-Jesus the only Saviour,- Preaching an ap pointed Means,-Authority of Scripture, -Blood of Christ,-Evidence of Miracles.' That Christ did emphatically direct to Himself,'-Quietism unauthorized by Christ and his Apostles,-On Man in his natural State,-Way to Reconciliation,-Works, Grace, and Faith; Resurrection of the Body, State of the Heathen,-Christ the Saviour of all who Believe,-Way to the Knowledge of God, Repentance, Remission of Sins, &c.,-Mystery of Godliness,-On human Agency in the work of Salvation,— Law written on the Heart,-Only begotten Son of God,-Worship,-On Quietism às the Means of Redemption,- Prayer,On the Use of a Form of Prayer,-On the Name of Jesus. That True Ministers preach the Gospel,-Order itself no sufficient Bond,- Creaturely Exertions, Stillness, Waiting, The Authority of the Apostles,-Spirit given to every rational Creature,-Belief and Unbelief,- Quietude sometimes Delusive,Quietism, as regards Works,-Quietism, as regards Desire and Thought,-Adam's Transgression,-Can Man preach the Gospel? That Christ paid the Ransom,'-thatThe letter killeth,'-that We must believe on credible Evidence, -Disguised spiritual Pride,-First Principles,-Some Tests for Self-examination, -Emptying the Mind,-Translation of the Bible,-Unscriptural Views of divine Influence, The primitive Disciples disparaged,' That Papist and Mystic decry the Study of Scripture,-Christ the Redeemer, -Cannot Man believe that which he does not understand? -No Salvation but by Christ.'

(Pp. 29-153.)

Under each of these topics, the author gives extracts from Elias Hicks, which supply affecting proofs of the gross errors into which that professed teacher of truth had fallen; to confute these errors, he alleges a

rich collection of some of the most appropriate and striking citations of Scripture that we ever saw adduced on any similar occasion; and he freely intersperses notes and interpretations which cannot but be valuable to every class of readers. We regret that our limits will not allow us to indulge in quotations from this invaluable part of the volume: but the concluding sentences we must insert.

"To Ministers, and all others in the Society," says the author, "we would heresy, with an raise a warning voice against this deadly earnestness which the and we would affectionately intreat every safety of the never-dying soul demands; one to examine, whether the rule of Christ and his Apostles be really his rule. Let us then cast aside prejudice, the influence of the Holy Spirit, whereby and reject human authority, and pray for we shall be induced thankfully to accept the written revelation; and in the sim

plicity of little children, let us seek to be taught of God, by the means which his perfect wisdom has provided."

(Page 155.)

Some persons may think that the author has dealt too largely in extracts which must be offensive to every pious mind, and that he has polluted his pages with passages which ought to be consigned to the But grave of perpetual oblivion. we would earnestly and honestly ask, In what other way could he have accomplished his object? Errors have arisen from the misapplication of terms and phrases in frequent and familiar use; they have advanced with a progress fearfully rapid; and they have at length assumed a form the most dangerous and appalling; What can an advocate for sound and wholesome doctrine, in such cases, do? If the spots of a "pestilence that walketh in darkness," and the signs of a "destruction that wasteth at noon-day," appear, shall he attempt to cover them with the vail of an affected delicacy? If “a thousand fall at his side, and ten thousand at his right hand," shall

The author cbserves, in the commencement of his "Address," that the "desolating heresy in the United States of America has swept thousands after

he fold his arms in silence, and think only of his own individual safety? Shall he not rather sound an alarm, expose the awful devastations of the plague, and employ his utmost efforts to abate its ravages, and check its progress?

The ancient servants of our God knew nothing of this mawkish sensitiveness. "Cry aloud," ran the terms of their commission, spare not; lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sin." Our author, in his sphere of life and action, has courageously essayed this unwelcome task. We admire his Christian boldness, and fervently pray that his "labour" may not be "in vain in

the Lord."

It ought also to be remembered that by far the largest part of his volume is filled with the precious antidotes of scriptural truth, admirably selected, clearly presented, and skil fully applied; and that he invariably discovers, not a spirit of indiffer ence, malignity, or disregard for vital Christianity; but, on the contrary, a spirit eminently kindly, affection ate, and pious. His attachment to the holy Scriptures includes a sincere love for their spiritual and saving truths, which he consistently explains, and strongly enforces. We thank him for his advocacy of the Bible, and we cordially join with him in it. Let our readers value the book of God: it is the transcript of his mind, the revelation of his will, the "testimony of Jesus," the charter of our privileges, and the infallible directory of our conduct. Let every one" hide it in his heart," and humbly ask, that, by the teaching and agency of the Holy Spirit, and the healing application of Scripture to his mind and heart, he may be made "wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

We trust that the excellent Society of Friend's will read this publication with candour, and weigh its contents with care. They may possibly find

thousands of our small section of the Christian church, into the gulf of Hicksism and Deism." (Page 5.)

some of their customary phrases placed in a startling connexion, and may feel the pre-occupancy, we do not say, the prejudice, of old attachments. But "is there not a cause?" We are persuaded that, if they peruse Mr. Crewdson's work with the candour and impartiality for which they have long been even proverbial, they will perceive that his warnings are not groundless, and that his Christian admonitions deserve the most serious and attentive regard. That some of them are of this opinion, appears from the following beautiful letter, addressed to Mr. Crewdson, and now circulated in print, at the request of several who have seen it. With it we conclude our present observations.

"The Elms, near Taunton. "MY DEAR FRIEND,-I feel that, as an entire stranger, some apology is required for thus addressing thee; perhaps the best I can make will be found in the object I have in writing, which is, that as a sincerely attached member of our Society, I feel constrained to offer thee my warm thanks for thy judicious and scriptural publication.

Thou hast lit up a

Beacon,' which will, I trust, under the enlightening influence of the Holy Spirit, prove a salutary warning to the unthinking and unwary, of the awful tendency of mere traditional notions and conventional formality in matters of religion. I cannot but hope that it may awaken some, who, if they entertain sound views of evangelical truth, do themselves infinite injustice by their mystified and unscriptural mode of stating them. I trust it may awaken such not only to their danger personally, but also to that of proving false guides to those over whom they profess to believe the Holy Ghost hath made them spiritual Pastors. I am naturally enough the more pleased with this publication, sentiments which I have long because it states, upon many points, entertained, and frequently pressed.

ex

"I think the idea is a correct one, that every religious community has its periods of excitement, collapse,

and revival. The age in which our little section of the Christian church was established was one of peculiar excitement, and our early friends partook largely of the prevalent feeling; and are not some views and peculiarities, which cannot, as I think, be supported on New Testament authority, justly attributable to this

circumstance? How natural therefore, if I am at all correct in my opinion, that those who attach undue importance to these peculiar views should endeavour to place traditional interpretation above the authority of the written word itself! When the church' admitted the authority of tradition,' error and heresy came in upon her like a flood, and gross darkness gathered around her and what dispelled that darkness, but the study of the Bible, and the diffusion of scriptural truth? What bayed back that flood, but the establishment, at the Reformation, of the paramount authority of holy Scripture? Our period of collapse is over, and I trust we are entered upon that of real spiritual revival. What the dark middle ages' were in the civil history of Europe, was, to our Society, as I believe, that dark middle-age period, out of which it began slowly to emerge some twenty years back; and the effects produced by the press upon civil society were, in my humble judgment, similar to those which the Bible Society, with its reflected influence, has produced upon our church, imperceptibly bringing about an increased value for, and consequent study of, holy Scripture: this study has been, as it always will be, if entered upon in a prayerful spirit, eminently productive of clearer views of Christian doctrine. Those clearer views have inevitably thrown into deeper and more obvious shade that mystified and unscriptural mode of expression, which probably has resuited less from unsound principles, than led to a distorted perception of the great and glorious doctrine of the gift of the Holy Spirit; in consequence of which, many have gone so far as to elevate their own fallible judgments into the seat which the Holy Spirit himself has assigned

to the written word of God. Thy book very clearly points out the frightful tendency of these fundamental errors: and as errors similar in kind, though not in degree, do undoubtedly prevail to some extent in our Society in this country, I esteem it to be a matter of the most vital importance that we should maintain and defend the paramount authority of holy Scripture; for, without this, where is the barrier to any degree of error, or extravagance, or fanaticism?

"Friends, as a body, in common with all other Christians, undoubtedly regard holy Scripture as of paramount authority in all matters of faith and practice, and hold that no doctrine or practice is to be taken as binding upon Christian men, which is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby. They hold, also, as I conceive, that all human writings and traditions must, of necessity, partake of the fallibility incident to human nature. It follows, therefore, that neither this publication of thine, nor any other on religious opinion, must be tested by the traditions or writings of fallible men, but by the written word of God. I, for one, would say, in reference to The Beacon,' Let it pass through that ordeal;-if it be sound, it will come forth scathless,-if it do contain any thing not according to sound doctrine,' we, my dear friend, shall, I trust, rejoice at the refining process, and unite in humble thankfulness that this infallible test has been so miraculously preserved to the Christian church through successive ages, and be led to a still more earnest and prayerful study of the lively oracles of God.'

"I trust that every fresh discussion, and every renewed investigation, may tend not only to the eradication of error, but have also the blessed effect of confirming and establishing all, our younger brethren especially, in the truth as it is in Jesus;' and I sincerely desire, that all who are in any way engaged in this necessary work may be directed therein by the meekness of wisdom,' and may be instant in prayer,' that while earnestly contending for the

IRELAND, with her wrongs and their remedies, whether they partake of a political, moral, or religious character, very deservedly engages the attention of almost every man in the empire who feels concerned for the glory of God, the honour of his country, and the alleviation of human misery. It is a fact, as distressing as it is unprecedented, that though the inhabitants of this interesting portion of the British empire have long been blessed with the light of the Gospel, and have ranked among civilized beings, yet among many of them, as evidence too palpable to be denied painfully demonstrates, all sense of moral obligation is extinguished, and crimes, the atrocity of which is without parallel in civil and indeed almost in savage states, are daily perpetrated with deliberation and upon principle. Such being the visible effects, which occupy a very prominent place in public attention, it is highly desirable to ascertain the probable causes from whence they arise. The efficiency of those remedies which are applied for the purpose of redressing the wrongs of Ireland must necessarily depend, under the divine influence, on an accurate knowledge of the sources of those evils which disturb, disgrace, and depopulate that unhappy country.

It is not our intention to occupy our pages with matters which are of an exclusively political character. We leave Irish politics to those persons whose province it is, as our national legislators, to devise and execute plans of human policy. Our fervent prayer is, that He, without whom "nothing is good, nothing is wise, nothing is holy," would graciously direct the Legislature to

adopt those remedial measures which shall the most effectually counteract and destroy every thing that is evil, and produce and foster every thing that is good; and then, and not till then, shall Ireland become a praise in the earth.

The work to which we solicit the attention of our readers partakes of a political and religious character. It is the production of a Popish Priest; whose purpose is, to prove the necessity of making such a legal provision for the Priesthood_connected with the Church of Rome as shall render them independent of the voluntary contributions of the people. The writer is obviously a man of strong sense, and undaunted courage. We honour him for his moral intrepidity, as displayed in the disclosures which he makes respecting the mendacious and nefarious cupidity of the Romish Priesthood, and which demonstrate that the picture of Popery which was drawn by the pen of the late Robert Hall, a man whose Christian liberality was as remote from latitudinarianism as from bigotry, was neither too highly coloured, nor too deeply shaded :-" Popery still is what it always was,-a detestable system of impiety, cruelty, and imposture, fabricated by the father of lies."

Before we proceed to adduce evidence of the correctness of this picture of Popery, which Mr. Croly supplies in the most ample manner, we must do him the justice to state, that he has the wisdom to discern, and the courage to denounce, the motives and purposes of those political charlatans who inflict the greatest curse upon Ireland, by keeping her sons in

In

deed, under the disguise of servants, they are your masters and dictators, stamping their Own doctrines and schemes with your effigy, in order to give them currency. If they pretend a zeal for religion, you should see if their lives be of a corresponding description; if they be really and truly religious men. For, if the case be otherwise, you have reason to suspect the sincerity of their professions; and that religion is employed as a political expedient for the accomplishment of some concealed purpose. Political expediency is quite the fashion of the day; and the mass of the people are treated as children." (Page 4.)

"Endeavours are made to persuade you that you are all-powerful; that to effect any specific object you have nothing to do but to combine together for the purpose; before which mighty combination all opposition must vanish. This idea is very flattering to your self-love; and upon that account the more dangerous to be entertained. But you should learn from experience not to be entrapped by any such deceitful allurement, and to be perfectly satisfied that you can effect nothing in opposition to the other orders of the State; except indeed that you may succeed for a season in deranging the affairs of the community; of which unhappy state of things you yourselves must first and last be the principal victims. The experiment has too often been tried; and such invariably has been the mischievous result. Lend no ear to such advisers,-advisers whose every syllable is fraught with evil to the common weal. Is it possible that these persons are looking to self in all their extraordinary labours? Is their consequence increased? Is their ambition gratified?

Is money brought into their coffers? If the system they pursue be of mighty benefit to themselves, it is no wonder they should adopt it and persevere in it." (Pp. 5, 6.)

"See then the disadvantageous position you occupy, and that too in connexion with matters of great moment. What can be worse than to pay evil counsellors for giving you evil "advice? They have all the gain, and you have all the loss." (Page 7.)

Happy would it be for Ireland if all the Ministers of the Gospel, labouring in that distracted country, possessed the moral courage necessary to enable them to expose the

spirit, and counteract the purposes, of men who, under the pretence of patriotic feeling, increase and aggravate the evils which they loudly and professedly deplore! That some Protestant Ministers have too fully participated in the spirit of political party, is to be deeply regretted. That too many of the Popish Priesthood have become the tools of men whose trade is agitation is fairly admitted by Mr. Croly; and yet he is desirous of securing a legal provision for such gentlemen" have obtained such an men; over whom the "knowing ascendancy, that they can compel them to "act in conformity with their good will and pleasure!" (Page 7.) Though Mr. Croly very properly reprobates this spirit, yet he admits that the agitators "have succeeded so far as to press a considerable number into their service." Is it any wonder that the demon of discord should domineer in a country, in which so many, both laity and Ecclesiastics, combine for purposes the inevitable tendency of which is to engender hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness? It would be much more seemly, and in accordance with those principles which ought to actuate public men, if such members of the Popish Priesthood would divest themselves of their sacerdotal vestments, and take their proper station among the lay agitators of their country.

While we admit the competency of Mr. Croly to communicate correct information respecting the nefarious practices which obtain in the Popish Church, we enter our unqualified protest against his statements re