fluence of the Holy Spirit, and a personal application of the merits and death of Christ by living faith. Where there is no recognition and experience of these, a man may be a moralist, but is not a Christian; and a catechism which does not contain them may be a good grammar of ethics, but it is not a book of religious instruction. No system of education is religiously complete which does not enforce regular attendance on public religious worship. The national system of education for Ireland is defective, as the Scriptures are only read in mutilated portions, and as an attendance on divine worship is not compulsory, and as no catechism is used. Most public and private schools are defective on one or all these grounds. In many the Scriptures are not read; in many more the catechism is disused; in not a few the masters have neither the inclination nor the ability to communicate religious instruction. Sunday-schools are free from these defects, and are therefore most important, as religious institutions; and the good effects they have produced furnish a striking illustration of my argument, that it is not mere education, but religious education, which tends to the well-being of nations. The subordination, respectability, and good conduct of the lower orders are to be attributed, not to their learning, but to their religion. The claim of Sunday-schools to be considered as literary institutions, is of the most humble order; for, although some persons of good education have devoted their time and talents to the working of this stupendous moral machine, it is notorious that the majority of the Teachers employed are themselves uneducated men, totally destitute of the talents and accomplishments of the regular schoolmaster; while the time allotted to instruction (a small portion of one day in seven) is insufficient for the acquisition of any tolerable education, even by the most precocious pupil under the most able and successful tutor. It is an utter mistake to suppose that the beneficial influence of the institutions can be increased by increasing the amount of mere education given in them. The small modicum of knowledge which they can communicate under any circumstances will never give them extensive influence in society; but the amount of simple religious instruction they communicate has already placed them among the important facts of our national history. He who wishes to study English character on a large scale, must not omit the consideration of our Sunday-schools. A proper acquaintance with the sacred Scripture leads us to contemplate all things in reference to their great First Cause, and reconciles us to many obscure events by showing their beneficial results. To the rich man, it points out his responsibility, and thus humbles him. To the poor, it shows that he is not less than others the object of the divine regard, that his poverty is no impediment to his salvation; and thus blesses him with contentment and peace. Society itself it inspires with the truest patriotism. The religious man loves the laws and institutions of his country, and submits himself to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake. The interests of the Jerusalem in which he dwells are dear to him, and many and earnest are his prayers for her peace. Nor does he view his own condition and relations as fortuitous. God, he believes, has chosen his inheritance for him; and therefore the duties which specifically grow out of it, he views as pointed out to him by an authority to which he loves to submit. Sobriety, frugality, industry, uprightness, benevolence, are with him divine virtues. If he be a master, he rules as knowing that he also has a Master in heaven; if a servant, with good-will he does his service, as serving the Lord Christ. Eternity, with all its solemn realities, is open to his view; and these, either as rewards or punishments, are connected with his conduct while a dweller upon earth. He is thus rescued from the despot ism of any master-passion, and saved from the capricious rule of temper, and external circumstances, by being placed under the dominionand the yoke is easy-of well-known, fixed, and elevated principles. Couceive of society as made up of such materials as these, and you conceive of a state in which crimes would be indeed infrequent; while virtues, equally ornamental to the surface of society, as beneficial to its whole mass in its deepest recesses, would be of regular occurrence. But what produces it? the knowledge that such and such sounds are indicated by such and such characters, the knowledge of latitudes and longitudes, the knowledge of atoms in their solitudes and combinations? All this may be known, and no crime be restrained, no virtue produced. Is it, then, the knowledge that this action is criminal and that virtuous? Who does not know, who has not experienced, the existence of the struggling which, we might say, is so pathetically described in the seventh chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, but which we rather choose to extract from a source which even the infidel professes to admire, and which shows the feeling to spring from the general workings of our nature: "Were I able, I would have a healthier mind; but a strange power draws me, reluctant as I am. My wish leads me one way, my judgment another. I see, indeed, the better, and I approve it; but I follow the worse." and to depart from evil, that is understanding." This is the way in which the man ought to go, in which if he be trained while young, he will not depart from it when old. The education which would most essentially tend to raise the human character, and to promote the wellbeing of society, would perhaps be one, in which a constant course of religious training should be combined with the best system of literary and scientific instruction. We should then see all the other sciences subordinated to the great science of salvation. Philosophy would bring all her discoveries as evidences of the truth of Scripture; all creation would find a voice; nature, from her inmost recesses, would be eloquent in attestation of the truth. The heavens would declare the glory of God, and the firmament show forth his handy work. Day unto day would utter speech, and night unto night would show knowledge. Such an education it is designed to give in the Wesleyan Proprietary Grammar School, now in a course of erection at Sheffield, for the sons of the higher and middle classes of society among us; and an education upon similar principles, but of course far inferior in a literary point of view, is provided for the sons and daughters of our poorer people in our day-schools. From similar establishments among ourselves, and the Dissenters, much good might be expected; while a more sedulous attention of the Clergy to the national schools would soon render them all that is needed in character and effectiveness. Every encouragement should be given by Government to the establishment and support of schools under the direct supervision and religious influence of every denomination of Christians; and although this might tend to perpetuate the individuality of sectarianism, it would perpetuate with it distinct and practical views of religion and morality; and, by forming individual character on the best plan, and most powerfully promoting individual integrity and enjoyment, would thus promote the happiness of the country. The well-being of society is only the aggregate sum of the well-being of its members; and as well-being is indissolubly connected with well-doing, any education which does not secure the one will not be able to secure the other. Religious education, therefore, as that which alone effectually secures individual integrity and happiness, is necessary to the well-being of a nation. Sheffield. SAMUEL D. WADDY. SELECT LIST OF BOOKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED, With occasional Characteristic Notices. [The insertion of any article in this List is not to be considered as pledging us to the approbation of its contents, unless it be accompanied by some express notice of our favourable opinion. Nor is the omission of any such notice to be regarded as indicating a contrary opinion; as our limits, and other reasons, impose on us the necessity of selection and brevity.] An Inquiry into the Doctrine of the Eternal Sonship of our Lord Jesus Christ. By Richard Treffry, jun. 12mo. pp. 508. Mason. It is our intention, at no distant period, to lay before our readers a somewhat extended review of this very important publication; and, in the mean while, we recommend it to their attention, as by far the most elaborate and comprehensive discussion of the question of our Lord's divine Sonship that has yet appeared in the English language, and as exemplifying the principles upon which all theological inquiries ought to be conducted. Memoirs of Mr. John Edwards Trezise, of St. Just, Cornwall: consisting principally of Extracts from his Diary. With some Account of Methodism in St. Just. By Richard Treffry, jun. 18mo. Mason. Mr. Trezise was pp. 224. born in 1811, and died in 1835. He was a young man of superior sense, of somewhat peculiar character, and of deep piety. His own account of his religious experience, during a very long affliction, is one of the most interesting and instructive records of the kind we ever read; and presents, in a very striking and impressive manner, the power of Christianity to cheer and sustain the mind of man under the pressure of disease, and in the prospect of the grave and eternity. The remarks with which the diary is introduced and elucidated are very judicious and valuable, and show a deep acquaintance with the work of God in the human heart. The history of Methodism in St. Just contains many stirring facts, connected with the progress of religion, and illustrative of the provi dence and grace of God. The volume cannot fail to command general attention, and to be extensively useful. It exhibits to great advantage the calm triumphs of a believer over death; a triumph obtained by faith in the sacrificial blood of Christ. Essays and Correspondence, chiefly on Scriptural Subjects. By the late John Walker, sometime Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, and a Clergyman of the Establishment. Collected and prepared for the Press by William Burton. In Two Volumes, 8vo. pp. 590, 669. Longman. The Principles, Objects, and Plan of the New-Zealand Association examined. In a Letter to the Right Hon. Lord Glenelg, Secretary of State for the Colonies. By Dandeson Coates, Esq. 8vo. pp. 44. Hatchard.-A well-timed pamphlet, from the pen of a gentleman qualified to write upon such a subject. As one of the Secretaries of the Church Missionary Society, which has extensive and prosperous Missions in New-Zealand, Mr. Coates is prepared to take a full and comprehensive view of the plan which has recently been proposed for establishing British settlements in those interesting islands. He does not call in question the sincerity of the professions of regard for the welfare of the natives, made by the authors of the plan; but he shows, most conclusively, that their measures will assuredly fail to accomplish the benevolent object which they profess to have at heart. Those measures have been weighed in the balances, and are found wanting in ability and means effectually to promote the interests of the natives, while they secure the interests of the authors of the plan. It is certainly high time that something should be done, either to effect a complete change in the character of our colonization, or to take care that the evil shall proceed no further. Colonization must be based on higher principles, and have a purer aim, than have been hitherto recognised, or its future history will, like its past, be written in the blood of the Aborigines; and every new colony will, under one aspect or another, serve as a visible, permanent memorial of their wrongs. It is our purpose to take up the subject more fully at an early opportunity; and, in the mean time, Mr. Coates has our thanks for his very able letter, which we warmly recommend to the notice of our readers. Bible Quadrupeds: the Natural History of the Animals mentioned in Scripture. With Sixteen Engravings. By S. Williams. 18mo. pp. 271. Tilt.An admirable book for the use of children. It is neatly printed; and the engravings are beautifully executed. The volume is well adapted to create a love of nature, and of the holy Scriptures: two very important objects, to which education should always be directed. The author announces two other volumes: one on the birds of Scripture, and another on its botany. If they be equal to this before us, of which we have no reason to doubt, the whole will be a valuable addition to the juvenile library. Peter Parley's Wonders of the Earth, Sea, and Sky. Edited by the Rev. T. Wilson. 18mo. pp. 336. Darton. Sermons to Young people. By the late Rev. Samuel Lavington, of Bideford, Devonshire. 18mo. pp. 304. Religious Tract Society.-Animated and impressive. The Traveller: or, a Description of various Wonders in Nature and Art. 24mo. pp. 188. Religious Tract Society. The "wonders" described in this volume comprise mountains, volcanoes, precipices, caverns, earthquakes, deserts, rivers, cataracts, whirlpools, whirlwinds, waterspouts, with the most important inventions of art and science. They are given in the form of dialogues, and are well calculated to fix the attention and excite the feeling of juvenile readers. A Course of Elementary Reading on Science and Literature, compiled from popular Writers; to which is added, a copious List of the Latin and Greek Primitives which enter into the Composition of the English Language. By the Rev. J. M. M'Culloch, A. M. Sixth Edition. 12mo. pp. 338. Simpkin. It is not surprising that this volume should have passed to a sixth edition. The selections of which it mainly consists are classed under the following heads:Physical science, chemistry, natural history, geography and topography, religi ous and moral pieces, miscellaneous, and poetry. To those persons who have little money to expend in the purchase of books, and little time to employ in reading, such a volume as this is invaluable; as well as to those who are entering upon the study of science and literature. The Christian's Daily Treasury: a Religious Exercise for every Day in the Year. By Ebenezer Temple, Rochford, Essex. Second Edition, revised. 12mo. pp. 464.-The peculiarity of this publication is, that the several exercises present the leading features and groundwork of a sermon. As three hundred and sixty-five exercises are compressed into four hundred and sixty-four pages, they are, of course, concise; but they contain much sound theology and devotional sentiment. The Benefit of Scriptural Instruction illustrated in the Case of two beloved Sons. By Matthew Morris Preston, M. A., Vicar of Cheshunt, late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. 12mo. pp. 48. Crofts. Lives of Eminent Youth. By Bourne Hall Draper. 48mo. pp. 312. Ward. Letters from an absent Godfather; or, a Manual of Religious Instruction for Young Persons. By the Rev. J. E. Riddle, M. A., Curate of Harrow Author of "First Sundays at Church," &c. 18mo. pp. 205. Longman.-This volume contains eleven letters, addressed to a young man, on the most important subjects of revealed truth, and of personal godliness. It is especially intended for the use of professed members of the established Church, and attendants upon her religious services; but at the same time it will afford much valuable instruction to young people in general. The spirit of the writer is kind and devout; and the principles which he inculcates are those of orthodox Christianity. The Biblical Cabinet; or, Hermeneutical, Exegetical, and Philological Library. Vol. XXI. Billroth's Commentary on the Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians. 8vo. pp. 289. Rivington. Winter; or, the Causes, Appearances, and Effects of the great Seasonal Repose of Nature. By R. Mudie, Author of "The Heavens," "The Earth," &c. 18mo. pp. 276. Ward.— As a writer on natural history and philosophy, Mr. Mudie has acquired a just celebrity; nor will this additional fruit of his industry at all diminish his honest fame. It is a volume which young people in particular will read with advantage, as enlarging their conceptions of the wisdom, power, and goodness of God, manifest in creation and providence. There are also some parts of it which the horticulturist will turn to good practical account, especially at this season of the year. A Memoir of Mrs. Harriet W. Winslow, combining a Sketch of the Ceylon Mission: by Miron Winslow, one of the Missionaries. With an Introductory Essay, by James Harrington Evans, Minister of John-Street Chapel. 18mo. pp. 356. John F. Shaw.-A valuable addition to the stock of female biography; the subject of the memoir being a woman of exemplary piety, and the wife of a devoted Missionary. The interest and usefulness of the volume are greatly enhanced by the details which it contains of the American Mission in the island of Ceylon, concerning which comparatively few people in England possess any very accurate and extensive information. The cause of Christianity among the Heathen, as in the apostolic times, so in the present day, is greatly indebted to the zeal and enterprise of holy women. Selection of Poems, designed chiefly for Schools and Young People. By Joseph Cottle. Fourth Edition. 12mo. pp. 389. Hamilton. It is just to Mr. Cottle to say, that this selection is not only unexceptionable in point of sentiment, but contains much beautiful poetry, which, while it delights the imagination, is well calculated to improve the heart. The pieces are selected from a great number of writers, and present an agreeable variety of style and manner. Seve ral of Mr. Charles Wesley's hymns are given; but some of these are greatly altered. Of this we complain. The poet of Methodism is made answerable for lines which he not only never wrote, but never saw; and which, had they been shown to him, he would have justly spurned. Similar liberties were taken with his compositions, and those of his brother, during their lifetime, which extorted from Mr. John Wesley the following censure; one of the most severe that he ever wrote "Many gentlemen have done my brother and me the honour to reprint many of our hymns. Now this they are perfectly welcome to do, provided they print them just as they are. But I desire they would not at tempt to mend them; for they really are not able. None of them is able to mend either the sense or the verse. Therefore I must beg of them one of these two favours : either to let them stand as they are, to take them for better for worse; or to add the true reading in the margin, or at the bottom of the page; that we may no longer be accountable either for the nonsense or for the doggrel of other men." Pietas Privata. The Book of Private Devotion, a Series of Prayers and Meditations. With an Introductory Essay on Prayer. Chiefly from the Writings of Hannah More. 48mo. pp. 184. Ward. The Pilgrim's Progress from this World to that which is to come. Delivered under the Similitude of a Dream, by John Bunyan. With a Memoir of the Author, by J. A. St. John, Esq. And a Key to the principal Matter, spiritual, and otherwise, by Henry Wood, Esq. A new Edition, with the Scripture Passages. 18mo. pp. lxvii., 310. Joseph Rickerby.-We have seldom met with an edition of Bunyan by which we have been more pleased. The memoir is carefully and evangelically written, and the character of the man and his writings very happily and justly described. The work deserves encourage ment. Comfort in Affliction: a Series of Meditations. By the Rev. James Buchanan, North Leith. Third Edition. 18mo. pp. 254. Nesbit and Co.-Twelve Christian meditations on such passages in Scripture as may be supposed best calculated to lead the mind of the sufferer in a right direction, and to open to him those fountains of safe, holy, and lasting consolation and support which the word of God contains. The volume appears well adapted for purposes of useful ness. A Letter to the Rev. Walter Farquhar Hook, D.D., Vicar of Leeds: on the subject of his Inaugural Discourse. By William Vevers. Second Edition. 8vo. pp. 32.-A spirited, but temperate and respectful, rebuke of that spirit of exclusiveness and bigotry which Dr. Hook expressed in his inaugural discourse. The men of Dr. Hook's school may be very sincere, but they are very much mistaken; and even if they were not, their views are palpably not those which the Church has agreed to teach, and which she is patronised by the State for teaching. The Oxford Tracts and the old Homilies belong to two different schools. The Sunday-School Teacher: designed |