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will not produce benefit to that class of the community, who are chiefly to be commiserated; we mean, the labouring class. We re cur, however, to our doubt, whether even that relief which is here supposed will accrue from the measure, and for this reason, that in the present state of the money market no person possessing such securities as will avail to procure for him a loan of exchequer bills, would find any difficulty in raising money by the ordinary means. He must have exhausted all his good tangible securities, before he could find it no longer possible to obtain the necessary accommodation, -In another point of view, the inconvenience of the present measure strikes us as very great. One of the chief evils which we have to contend with, at present, appears to us to be an excess of circulating medium. It is to this excess that we think may principally be referred, the increasing tate of foreign exchanges, amounting now to from 30 to 35 per cent. against this country, the advance of about 25 per cent. which has taken place in the market-price of gold and silver above the mint price, and the consequent disappearance of our coin. The evil, in fact, as it appears to us, is nei ther more nor less than this, that the circulating medium of the country, in other words bank-notes, are depreciated in value, not from any doubt of the solvency and stability of the bank, but simply from their excess. The present measure of issuing exchequer bills to the merchants, we fear, will only serve to aggravate the evil. We have no intention, however, of entering further into this question than merely to give our readers a cursory view of our impressions respecting it,

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price was 14 or 15 per cent. above the mint price of silver, has served to confirm the views which we are disposed to take of the state of our paper currency as labouring under a depreciation. There appears to be no reason for raising the price of a dollar to 5s. 6d. which would not be as strong a reason for raising the price of the guinea to 26 or 27s.; this being in fact its intrinsic value, when measured by paper at the present moment. But our limits will not allow us to pursue the subject.

We mentioned in a former number that Mr. Finnerty, who had been prosecuted for a libel on Lord Castlereagh, had pleaded guilty to the charge. He has been sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment for his offence, and at the end of that time to give surety for his good behaviour for five years, himself in five hundred pounds, and two sureties in two hundred and fifty pounds each The affidavits which he produced in mitigation of punishment were so offensively expressed that Lord Ellenborough with great forbearance allowed him time to amend them, On their reproduction, however, they were still deemed by the court to be rather an aggravation than an alleviation of his offence; and in the speech which he made for himself, it became necessary for the judges frequently to interfere in order to repress his irregularity and to confine him to the point in hand, which was simply to produce such circumstances as might operate to mitigate punishment. Mr. Finnerty's cause has since been taken up by Sir Francis Burdett and his friends, who have held a meeting for the purpose of raising a subscription to indem nify him from the expenses of his prosecution, and to support him while in confinement. In the Baronet's speech on this occasion at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, where he presided, he represented Lord Ellenborough's adherence to the customary rules of the court, in preventing Mr. Finnerty from wandering from the point at issue into the wide field of unsupported assertion, as an arbitrary and unauthorized violation of the liberty of the subject. This is in the true spirit of Jacobinism, whose object it is, per fus et nefas, to degrade the constituted_au thorities of the state.

The selfish and mercenary spirit which actuates some of the journalists of the present day was curiously exemplified in another recent trial for a libel, which was published in the newspaper called the Day. In the course of the proceedings in this case, it was given in evidence, that during the discussions which preceded the commitment

of Sir F. Burdett to the Tower, a general meeting of the proprietors of this paper, (the whole number of whom is said to be three hundred) was held to determine what should be their line of conduct as to Sir. F. Burdett, and it was resolved to adopt the popular side of the question; not, as it would appear, from a conviction that it was the side of truth and justice, but because such a course was likely to increase the sale of the paper. We could easily have supposed that an in

MISS BAYLEY.

dividual might act from such a motive; Dř that two or three individuals might combine on such terms, but we could hardly have imagined beforehand that a considerable body of men, some of them moving in respectable lines of life, could have been found in this metropolis who would unblushingly avow to each other, at a public meeting, that they meant to pursue a line of conduct, so little consonant to honesty and fair dealing, to say nothing of patriotism.

OBITUARY.

To the great grief of her parents, died on the 25th of October 1810, Jane Norton Rayley, aged 23 years, daughter of the Rev. Dr. Bayley of St. James's church, Manchester. This amiable young person obtained, in very early life, a deep acquaintance with the most important truths of Christianity.-the necessity of repentance towards God; and faith in our Lord Jesus Chsist, of the fruits of the Spirit, and holiness of heart and life. She also felt the power of them in her own soul, and adorned them by an hum ble and faithful conduct. Her modest, re tired, and unobtrusive turn of mind, tended to conceal many of her most valuable qua lities. While others were seeking their hap piness in worldly amusements, her delight was in devotional exercises, and in searching the Scriptures in the original tongues. She was considered by those who knew her well, as a critic in Hebrew, and could read the Greek Testament with ease and fluency. At all times she manifested a high regard for divine ordinances, and had a peculiar

pleasure and delight in attending on public worship, and at the Lord's table; and thoughi always fully employed, she generally con trived to devote some time for attending the daily public prayers at the church. From her earliest years she had been remarkable for an affectionate and unreserved submission to parental authority, and during her last tedious affliction, she evinced the most exemplary patience, and suffered the paintful sensations incident to it with such pious resignation, that many of her acquaintances were scarcely apprized of her illness, before they were astonished at her death: she died, as she lived, in the love of God. After re= ceiving the holy sacrament from the hands of her beloved father, and intimating the peace and consolation which she enjoyed, it might truly be said she fell asleep in Jesus: with a smile expressive of the most exalted affection and delight directed towards her father, she gently reclined on her sister's arm, and, apparently in a tranquil slumber, expired almost imperceptibly.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

MARITA; OMMA; T. A. M.; THEOGNIS; and ANTI-JULIANUS, are under consideration.

We have received TALIB's letter, which we shall defer inserting, until he shall have an op portunity of considering Mr. Faber's paper in the present number.

We were aware of the difficulties which T. W. R. has pointed out, as standing in the way of the ordination of Missionaries by our Bishops. But what we complain of is, that the difficulties are not removed, even by a legislative provision, if that be neces sary. Why could not men be ordained for foreign service, without deriving from such ordination any legal title to exercise their ministerial functions in the United Kingdom?

H. N.; T. S.; H. T.; the account of the Spitalfields Benevolent Society; and AN EXECU TOR, will appear.

On the subject of T. Y's; two communications, we shall take the liberty of addressing him privately.

We do not conceive that the passage mentioned by DISCIPULUS is liable to the miscons ception which he supposes.

We would advise A DISTRESSED READER to state her case to some pious Minister,

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For the Christian Observer.

ON THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTI-
ANITY INTO GREAT BRITAIN, BY
THE PREACHING OF ST. PAUL.
Nimia et incerta vetustate obscuras, non a

coævis et antiquis scriptoribus, sed fallacibas conjectaris erutas rerum gentiumque origines respuo: figmenta, et ridiculas suspiciones odi: denique omnis, nisi indubitatis atque incorruptis fulta documentis, facessat Historia.-BARTHOLINUS.

In perusing, some time since, a valu able work, written by a most respectable minister, I was a little surprised to meet with an unqualified assertion, that "St. Paul first planted the tree of life on our own shores.t." The same assertion, though somewhat restricted in its force, recurs in some of the subse quent essays.

Having been accustomed to consider the fact as extremely doubtful, if not improbable, I was induced to examine such sources of informa tion as were within my reach (and which, perhaps, include as many as may be necessary), in order to obtain further satisfaction. The result of my inquiry has been the confirmation of my original opinion, which I have found sanctioned by the best authorities. To the connecting of these authorities, and the opposing of them to those on the contrary side, my remarks will be chiefly confined. And although they may tend to deprive the EngPractical Essays on the Collects, &c. By the Rev. T. T. Biddulph.

Essay on the second Collect for Good Friday.

Collects for Whitsunday and the Con

Tonion of St. Paul.

CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 112.

lish church of the honour which some have assigned it, of an Apostolic foundation, we may truly appropriate the words of an author*, whom I shall hereafter have occasion to quote: "Our church has no necessity for surreptitious claims to distinction and antiquity. Traditionary honours are valuable, only when founded upon truth; which, as Tertullian observes, neither the lapse of time nor the influence of authority can destroy."

As it may be proper to exhibit a general view of the subject, I cannot do it better than in the words of Bishop Gibson+; who, it will be perceived, espoused the affirmative side." Many have been the opinions concerning the first plantation of Christianity in Britain, and great the differences of learned men concerning them. The latter end of Tiberius Cæsar, i. e. about thirtyseven years after the nativity of our Lord, is the time which several of our writers have fixed on (Stillingfleet. Orig. Brit. p. 2.), upon the authority of a passage in Gildas, who was a Briton, and therefore to be credited in British affairs. the mean time, Christ, the true Sun, displaying his glorious rays upon the whole world, in the latter end of Tiberius Cæsar (as we are assured), did first vouchsafe his rays to this cold frozen island, situated at so vast a distance from the visible sun. But, not to observe that this disagrees with the account which Scripture gives us of the

M. De Chiniac.

In

+ Camden's Britannia, by Gibson. Introd. p. 84. 2d edit.

2 E

propagation of the Christian faith, viz. that after the martyrdom of St. Stephen, the disciples for some time preached the word to the Jews only, and that Cornelius (six years after) is said to be the first fruits of the Gentiles (before which time, according to this supposition, there would be Gentile converts in Britain);- not to observe this, the above passage of Gildas has been evidently misunderstood, and misapplied. For he speaks of a double shining of the Gospel; one more general to the world, in the latter end of Tiberius Cæsar; the other more particular to this island, at the time he is then speaking of, about the middle of Nero's reignt. So that what he affirms concerning the first preaching of the Gospel, has been unduly applied to the particular preaching of it in the island of Britain. It is affirmed (Stillingfl. Orig. Brit. p. 35), upon very good evidence, that a Christian church was planted in Britain, during the times of the apostles. To this purpose, it is alleged, that Eusebius (Demon. Evan. 1. iii. c. 7.) expressly says, that some of the apostles passed over the ocean to those which are called the British isles:' -that Theodoret as expressly names the Britons among the nations converted by the apostles; and saith elsewhere, that St. Paul brought salvation to the islands that lie in the ocean:'-that Clemens Romanus saith, that St. Paul preached righteousness through the whole world,' and, in so doing, went to the utmost bounds of the west:' which Britain was at that time understood to be, and is therefore called by Catullus, Ultimam occidentis insulam;' as by Arno

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bius it is made the bounds of the Gospel to the west. From these authorities (especially that of Clemens Romanus) it follows, not only that the Gospel was preached in Britain in the times of the apostles, but that St. Paul himself was the preacher of it. This is further confirmed by observing:-that from the time of his being set at liberty, in the 5th year of Nero, to bis return to Rome, were eight years; which, the ancient writers of the church generally agree, were spent in the western parts:-that, having taken his solemn leave of the eastern parts, and assured them, that they should see his face no more,' it cannot be supposed that 'he returned thither, but that he employed his time in planting the Gospel elsewhere:-that Gildas saith, the Gospel was here received before the fatal defeat of the Britons by Suetonius Paulinus,' which was the seventh or eighth of Nero; i. e. the third or fourth of those eight years, which, ancient writers say, St. Paul spent in the western parts:-that the traditions about St. James, Simon Zelotes, and Philip, as preaching the Gospel here, are all destitute both of ancient testimony, and of probability."-Upon this long quotation (which seems to comprehend all that can be advanced in favour of the opinion in question), I would be permitted to make three observations.

L Chronologers have differed so materially in the dates which they have assigned to the various transactions of St. Paul's life (the extreme variation respecting that of his conversion, being nine years), that but little force can be allowed to Bishop Gibson's difficulty of dis-. posing of the eight years after Paul's release at Rome. It is, however, the opinion of Dr. Lardner (who quotes Basnage, Pagi, and Du Pin as holding the same) that the martyrdom of St. Paul took place in the year 65 at the latest, and his liberation in 63; which leaves little more than two years to be accounted for.

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Bossuet and Du Fresnoy fix his martyrdom in 66. Pearson, Percy, Witsins, and some others, in 68. But the largest space of time allowed between these two events, by any (Baronius excepted, whose chronology Stillingfleet chiefly follows), is five years.

when spoken of things future, does not (as it is used by St. Paul) always signify a certain knowledge, or a prophetic certainty; but often means only thus much: I take it for granted: I am fully persuaded : I foresee it highly prolable: I have no other expectation: and the like.' Besides Capellus and Wall, already alleged, I might refer to others, who hesitate not at all to allow, that Paul came again into this country, particularly Le Clerc, and L'Enfant, and Beausobre (upon Acts xx. 25), and Pearson. Not now to mention any more."

II. This space we find thus accounted for by Dr. Lardner*. "I am apt to think that Paul came from Rome to Jerusalem, as soon and as directly as he could. But he made there a short stay only. From Judea I think it likely that he went to Ephesus, and there left Timothy, whom about two years before he Dr. Paley also, in arguing upon had sent for to come to him from this point, adduces the following Ephesus to Rome. From Ephesus, striking instance of the small weight Paul might go to Laodicea and Co- that attaches to the mode of exlosse. And possibly, he returned to pression here used by the apostle. Rome, by Troas, Philippi, and Co-In the first chapter of the Epistle rinth. Some have hesitated to allow, that St. Paul ever came again into this country, because he says (Acts. xx. 25), And now, behold, I know, that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.' But Lewis Capell has well removed that difficulty. I therefore have placed below, a part of his observations†. And says Wall (Notes upon the N. T. p. 255.) upon the place: Eyw oida, I know,

* Hist, of the Apost. and Evang. Vol. ii.

p. 134.

to the Philippians, and the twentyfifth verse, I know,' says St. Paul,

that I shall abide and continue with you all, for your joy and furtherance of faith.' Notwithstanding this strong declaration, in the second chapter and twenty-third verse of this same epistle, and speaking also of the very same event, he is content to use a language of doubt and uncertainty: Him, therefore, I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me; but I trust in the Lord that 1 also

myself shall come shortly.' And a few verses preceding these, he not only seems to doubt of his safety," but almost to despair; to contemplate the possibility at least of his condemnation and martyrdom:

↑ "Sed respondere potest, Paulum non semel ex humana conjectura, atque ex humano spiritu, concilio, et proposito, multa jusmodi cogitasse, putasse, proposuisse, ac dixisse. Quæ tamen postea, Deo ita disponeute, aliter ceciderunt. Itaque mirum vi-Yea, and if I be offered upon the deri non debet, si cum Spiritus Paulum oppidatim moneret vincula et afflictiones graves manere eum Jerosolimis, sentiretque se spiritu ligatum, ut eo nihil ominus profiscere

sacrifice and service of your faith, Ijoy and rejoice with you all."" Hore Paul. Chap. ii.

Bishop Pearson has given us an tur, nesciens quænam essent illic ventura, apostolic Itinerary, nearly similar desperavit de reditu suo ad eos, quos post se to that of Dr. Lardner. We have,

relinquebat, licet Deo ita disponente...
res aliquot post annis ceciderit aliter, quam
ipse tum credebat, Non est itaque tam
validum adversus nos argumentum illud,
ut co subvertatur sententia nostra de Pauli
reditu in Orientem, post soluta Romana ejus
vincula." Lud. Capel. Hist. Apost. illustrat.

p. 34.

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that St. Paul visited Judea, after his however, no authority for supposing liberation, since from the three epistles written subsequently to that event, it does not appear that he either proposed to himself, or had accomplished such a design. "Upon

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