PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION. A History of the Roman Empire under Constantine the Great, by Mr. M. BRYDGES. -An 8vo. vol. of Biographical Notices of the Apostles, Evangelists, and other Saints, with Reflections adapted to the Minor Festivals of the Church, by the Lord Bishop of Down and Connor.-A Second Series of Selections from the Papers of Addison in the Spectator and Guardian, by the Rev. E. BERENS.-A volume of Parochial Sermons, by the Rev. R. DENN HAMPDEN. A Monthly (or Periodical) Work is, we are informed,now in progress, in which it is intended to comprise the whole of the Sacred Scriptures. In addition to Marginal Notes, Parallel Texts, Elucidations of Passages less obvious in their meaning, and Devotional Reflections, the apostate tenets of the modern Church of Rome, with the Socinian-Unitarian, Antinomian, and other Heresies, will be discussed and set forth wherever they come into collision with the Sacred Text. To which will be added, a Comparative View of the distorted texts of Scripture, adopted by Roman Catholics and Socinian-Unitarians, in support of their respective dogmas; arranged in the following order,-1. The Greek Version; 2. The authorised English Version; 3. The Roman Catholic Version; 4. The Unitarian Version. The whole upon a plan which, it is believed, is entirely new. NEW PUBLICATIONS. BRASS'S Greek Gradus, 8vo. 17. 4s.— STEWART'S Bible Gems, 12mo. 8s. bds.KING'S Sermons, 8vo. 10s. 6d. bds.— Enigmatical Entertainer and Mathematical Associate for 1828; containing a number of Philosophical and Mathematical Inquiries.-PARRY'S Voyages, 5 vols. 18mo. 11. bds. WHATELY'S Elements of Rhetoric, 8vo. 128. bds.-TODD'S Historical Tablets and Medallions, royal 4to. 17. 10s. bds.-SCOTT's Seven Sermons, 18mo. 28. bds.-BARLOW on Justification, by Bickersteth, 18mo. 3s. cloth.-BLOOMFIELD'S Eschylus, English Prose, 8vo. 8s. bds.-Dunbar's Inquiry into the Greek and Latin Languages, 8vo. 8s. bds. -SANDFORD'S Greek Exercises, 12mo. 6s. bds.PORSON Vindicated, 8vo. 11s. bds.-CASSAN'S Sermons, 8vo. 12s. bds.-PUGIN and LE KEUX'S Architectural Antiquities of Normandy, No. IV.; the work complete : medium quarto, 61. 6s.; imperial 4to. 10. 10s.-ELMES on Architectural Jurisprudence, 8vo. 12s. bds.- -MATTHEWS' Collection of Anthems, 8vo. 58. bds.Essays on Chronology, 12mo. 6s. bds.Pitman's Second Course of Ser nons, 2 vols. 8vo. 1. 1s. bds.-Walker's Corpus Poetarum, 8vo. 21. 2s. bds. POLITICAL RETROSPECT. PARLIAMENT is summoned to meet for the despatch of business on the 22d of this month, before which time it is understood Lord Goderich will have finally retired from office. PENINSULA. The British troops continue to occupy their cantonments in the neighbourhood of Lisbon, and remain healthy. The reports of the retreat of the French troops from Spain are revived, and particularly that Cadiz will very speedily be relieved of the garrison occupying that fortress. This measure is said to be very urgently recommended by the British Govern ment. The state of public affairs at Lisbon has undergone little change since our last. There seems to be a more tranquil feeling than ordinary prevailing in the city; not from the adoption of wiser or more decided measures by the Regent, or a less interesting state of the parties there, but from the expectation of the arrival of the new Regent, and the uncertainty of the mode of govern ment which he may wish to adopt. It is asserted that since his dismissal from Madrid, his political sentiments have undergone a very considerable change, and that he returns to Lisbon a more enlightened statesman than he left it. We wish it may be so, but the change might have been more reasonably expected had he resided in a less arbitrary and bigoted Court than that of Vienna. He is expected to pass through this country in his return, and preparations are made for his reception: the motives for this visit of course are unknown, but we are confident they must be weighty, or he could not be induced to lengthen his journey so greatly, and at a season so unfavourable for travelling, and especially to a Court that views and is viewed so jealously by the apostolical party of the Peninsula. The activity of Ferdinand has been employed in a new direction. The Apostolicals are now freely partaking of that punishment which, a few months since, they so gladly directed against the Constitutionalists. In Catalonia alone more than six hundred of the former have been arrested, most of whom had surrendered to Ferdinand upon the faith of his proclamation: a large proportion of these are priests and monks, and many have suffered capitally; others have been transported to Ceuta and the African fortresses. To an application from the prelates of Spain for the pardon of some of these, Ferdinand is said to have replied, that he had no mercy for the crime of high treason; a fact evident from the tenor of his previous conduct. Their Catholic Majesties remain at Tarragona. The delay which is thus occasioned to the transaction of business connected with the foreign relations of Spain, has excited applications from the ambassadors resident in Madrid, but they have not received any satisfactory reply, nor does the inconveniency seem likely to be removed. The arrest at Rome and delivery to the Spanish authorities of Don Almarez, has excited a great sensation. This divine was confessor to the Prince of Peace, and afterwards to Charles the Seventh and his Queen Maria Louisa. He is described as a man of great talents, and his situation gave the best opportunities of acquiring correct information of the history of his own times. These he is reported to have digested in a work of great interest and merit, and this is his crime, for which he is now immured in the dungeons of Peniscola, unless, even whilst we are now writing, he should have been released by a shorter but severer punishment. As a means of reviving the manufactures in Catalonia, and particularly those of cotton, which have suffered so much from the disordered state of affairs in that province, Barcelona is to be made a free port, and the tax on the importation of raw cotton is to be almost, if not entirely, withdrawn. The seizure of Monte Video from the Buenos Ayrean republic has become the subject of discussion between the courts of Madrid and Rio Janeiro: Ferdinand demands a large pecuniary compensation for the occupation of a Spanish possession. The Havanna affords another instance of his impo litic and unprincipled rapacity. Of all the foreign dependencies of the crown of Spain, none is so valuable nor has been so ably governed as that of Cuba. The insular government had taken measures for the establishment of a public bank, which it was presumed · would very greatly facilitate the improvement of the Island; the arrangements were completed, the directors nominated, and a capital of one million of dollars provided, when a commissioner from Ferdinand made his appearance, and, producing an order, seized it in his master's name, conveyed it on board the frigate La Perta, and carried it away to Cadiz. GREECE. The continuation of peace between the Allied Powers and the Porte, it is feared, is very doubtful. The Sultan still persists in his determination not to yield to their demands, in favour of the persecuted Greeks, though, in other respects, he strictly adheres to the principle he seems to have laid down, as a rule for his own conduct, to be perfectly passive, and not active, in provoking hostilities; and in consequence has withdrawn the embargo laid upon all European vessels in the port of Constantinople, upon the representation of the Ambassadors, that the continuance of it could not be regarded by them in any other light than as a declaration of war. The principal object of the Porte, in adopting this line of conduct, is evidently to gain time for preparing the means of resistance, which are rapidly going forward in all parts of the Turkish dominions. The same motive will likewise account for the prolonged negotiations with the Ministers from the Allied Courts, and the temporising policy, which professes a wish to accept of the mediation of Austria, whilst, in reality, careful to throw every obstacle in the way of such an accommodation. The Sultan intends to undertake the command of his army in person, and will proceed to join it, as soon as the Ambassadors shall have quitted Constantinople. The Pacha of Egypt is deeply mortified at the total destruction of a fleet on which he had expended so much care and treasure, and is represented in the first moments of his disappointment, to have forwarded a communi cation to the Sultan, pressing him to accede to the propositions of the European powers, and acknowledging his utter inability to render him further assistance in the prosecution of the contest. RUSSIA AND PERSIA.-Intelligence has been received, that the Persian court, alarmed at the near approach and manifest superiority of the Russian army, has hastened to conclude a peace with her formidable opponent : the particulars have not yet reached this country. This circumstance leaves Russia at full liberty to turn the whole of her immense strength against the Ottoman empire, a gigantic enemy that it must feel some dread of rousing into exertion. SOUTH AMERICA.--No particulars of decisive importance have taken place in this quarter since our last. Many of smaller interest, and such as must be expected to arise in countries, the inhabitants of which have not been accustomed to govern themselves, and where the path of political science is as yet but little known. In Mexico, the Congress met on the 1st of September, and their discussions are principally directed to matters of finance, and the order of the provincial government of Jalixco, which banishes all native Spaniards from that province, till Ferdinand shall acknowledge their independence. COLUMBIA. Bolivar arrived at Bogota on the tenth of September. His reception was most enthusiastic; the next day he took the oaths to maintain the present constitution till a general convention could be safely called to make any alteration which time and circumstances might require. PERU. The departments of Cusco and Pana, have separated themselves from that of Lima, and chosen the Grand Marshal of Ayacucho for their head. The city of Arequiga claims to be the seat of government. ECCLESIASTICAL INTELLIGENCE. THE BISHOP OF PETERBOROUGH AND THE REV. MR. COLLIER. A Copy of a Letter addressed by the Rev. Dr. Wilkins to the Editor of the Morning Herald, but which the Editor of that Paper mutilated and published imperfectly. SIR. As you have lately copied into your columns various articles from provincial papers, reflecting upon the conduct of the Bishop of Peterborough in a matter connected with Mr. Collier, one of the Clergy of his Lordship's diocese,--and as it is known that some of these articles have been furnished by Mr. Collier himself, I feel myself called upon, as one concerned in the transaction, circumstantially to relate what occurred at the Visitation at Oakham, and thus to remove the imputations which have been falsely cast upon the character and conduct of his Diocesan. In July last, the Bishop of Peterborough held a general Confirmation and Visitation throughout his diocese, and upon his coming to Oakham was met, among others of his Clergy, by myself, having recently been instituted to the Rectory of Wing. It happened that his Lordship's Chaplain had been suddenly called away from his attendance upon the Bishop, who, on reaching Oakham, and finding that I had left my Collegiate residence in Nottinghamshire purposely to attend his Visitation, and in consideration of an acquaintance of many years standing, did me the honour of appointing me his Chaplain upon that occasion. Before the duties of the day commenced, accounts were laid before the Bishop that some children of the parish of Braunston had been refused certificates for admission to Confirmation by Mr. Collier, the Vicar,-that others of the same place, with whose parents Mr. Collier had quarrelled, and whose violence of temper and manner made them apprehensive of approaching him, had considered it unsafe to present themselves at his examinations; and also, that children in other parishes, from various causes, had not been able to attend at the examinations appointed by their respective ministers, and consequently had failed in obtaining the requisite testimonial for their admission to the ordinance. In consequence of this the Bishop kindly and wisely, with a view that none might be excluded who, being qualified, were really desirous of partaking of the rite; and with the intention of doing away with all grounds for personal offence, gave a general order, that children of any parish, who had not already been furnished with certificates, might present themselves to his Chaplain in the vestry of the church, for examination; and such as were thus provided with proper testimonial, he should confirm. In consequence of this, several children offered themselves, and, among the rest, those whom Mr. Collier had rejected; and I can conscientiously say that all of them, without exception, acquitted themselves as well and as satisfactorily as persons of their years, and in their respective circumstances, could be expected. A certificate was, therefore, given to each, they presented themselves at the altar, and were confirmed. Almost before the hands of the Bishop were taken from the heads of the children, Mr. Collier rushed up the church to the altar, with the evident intention of stopping the Bishop, or at least of protesting against their admission, declaring that he would "tear the children from the rails;" but finding himself too late for this, he rushed into the vestry in quest of me (whom he had never before seen), and demanded to know if I had passed the children whom he had refused? My answer was,-"I know not who you are, nor do I know to what parishes the children who have appeared before me belong, for I have studiously avoided making any such inquiry; but of this I am certain, that all who have been examined and sent by me to the Bishop, are qualified for Confirmation." He came a second time, in great heat and perturbation of spirit, and said, "Sir, when those children came for examination to me, they could not tell me the meaning of sanctification, and knew nothing of a Redeemer." He then proceeded to the rails of the altar and there told the Bishop that he had confirmed children who were not fit, and whom he had marked down in the written list which he had given in, as being refused. The Bishop demanded of him who they were,-and, upon his stating them, the Bishop looked at the list in which I had given the names of those who had been examined and approved of by myself,-and, sending for me, he asked, in the presence of Mr. Collier, "Have you examined the children whose names you have here sent, and considered them as qualified?" The reply was, "6 My Lord, I have; and I must say that they have all answered in a manner perfectly satisfactory." It was then that the Bishop, calling to mind the representations which the parents of these children and others had previously given him of Mr. Collier's arbitrary and unkind treatment, addressed him in these words: "Mr. Collier! You have withheld, in a most arbitrary manner, certificates from these children. Without attempting to understand what it is that you deem requisite from them, I must tell you that the Liturgy has prescribed a test by which children are to be tried, and by that test these children have been proved by a person well qualified to judge by it. To refuse, therefore, the rite of Confirmation to them, is to play the part of a tyrant in a manner which I conceive to disqualify you for the office of Examiner, and I shall take care in future that you shall not exercise a power which you have abused." Mr. Collier was about to make a reply, the nature of which was pretty well indicated by his actions and appearance, when the Bishop stopped him by adding, "Sir, you are not here to expostulate with your Diocesan." And, upon turning away, Mr. Collier threatened that he would "drag him before the House of Lords;" upon which, the Clergyman officiating with the Bishop, and myself, remonstrated with Mr. Collier upon his unbecoming conduct, conduct rendered more indecent by his afterwards demanding an apology from the Bishop. The terms 66 squabble" and " quarrel," which Mr. Collier has applied to the just reproof received from his Diocesan, show the notions which he entertains of ecclesiastical discipline; and when he asserts that on his entering the Church a second time, the Bishop "broke off the service in which he was engaged, and recommenced the quarrel with increased warmth," he asserts what is utterly unfounded. The Bishop in no instance broke off the Confirmation service; the reproof which he gave to Mr. Collier was given only once, and was then given with proper dignity and decorum. But, Sir, what is most disgustful of all, is, the attempt to throw blame on the Bishop, where blame attaches to no one but himself. The manner in which he conducted himself at the Confirmation has been already noticed. At the Visitation, when the Bishop was about to deliver his Charge, Mr. Collier advanced to the centre of the Altar-rails, in front of all the Clergy, and exclaimed, " My Lord, what have you to charge me with?" The Bishop made no reply, but waved his hand which held the Charge, as a signal to withdraw. He withdrew a few paces, but during the whole time that the Bishop was delivering his Charge, he behaved in so indecorous and so frantic a manner, that he excited general indignation. Yet this is the man who, concealing his own misconduct, and falsely imputing misconduct to his Diocesan, has the assurance to lament that such things should have taken place before "the Altar of GOD!" I am, Sir, your most obedient servant, Vicarage House, Nottingham, Nov. 23, 1827. LLANDAFF.-State of the Diocese of Llandaff, comprising part of Glamorganshire, and Monmouthshire.-(Extracted from the Charge of the Right Rev. C. R. Sumner, D.D. late Lord Bishop of Llandaff. “Many are small farm-houses, many mere cottages, and not a few are so unfavourably circumstanced, from dampness of situation, or other unfortunate causes, as to be unfit for the purposes of residence."-Charge, 1827. "In many instances the population is so small that the personal superintendance of two contiguous cures may, without impropriety, be undertaken by one individual.”—Ibid. NEW CHURCHES. BATH.-His Majesty's Commissioners have approved of plans for the erection of two new Churches in the parish of Walcot. One of them is to be built upon the site given by Miss TANNER, in the rear of Beaufort Buildings, the other upon the site granted by Dowager Lady RIVERS, in the front of Prospect Place. The Commissioners provide two-thirds of the expense, on condition that a large proportion of both Churches be appropriated to free sittings for the use of the poor. NETHERTON.-The foundation-stone of a large Chapel has been laid at Netherton, in Worcestershire, by the Rev. Dr. Booker, Vicar of Dudley. The whole cost of the erection of the building is to be defrayed by His Majesty's Commissioners; but the Earl of Dudley will provide clay for making the bricks and stone from one of his Lordship's quarries, in addition to the gift of a piece of land for the site and cemetery. The building will contain 1500 sittings, 1000 of which will be free. |