of spiritual life; as the ungodly are ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, so the Christian should be ever improving, though never arriving at final improvement until the body of his humiliation is changed. It is impossible to compose a form to suit every individual; it is therefore the business of the Church to assume a high standard, and of private members to endeavour to reach it. Thus, by the Liturgy, as well as by our Lord and his Apostles, we are taught that, "forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth to those that are before, we should press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God."

Again, we believe that Mr. Noel holds the direct influence of the Holy Spirit as essential to the right exercise of the Christian ministry; yet he severely condemns the part of the service where the bishop says, "Receive the Holy Ghost for the exercise of the office of a priest-whosesoever sins thou dost remit they are remitted unto them.' As the expression is our Lord's, the objection is not to the words but to their application. The compilers of the service evidently adhered to the scriptural words in order to avoid objections. If the Holy Spirit be necessary for the fulfilment of the office, the gift is to be sought and received from Him who is with us always even unto the end of the world. The question at issue then is simply this, Did our Lord intend common ordination, or did He intend to convey the miraculous gifts, including the discerning of spirits? We see no reason to doubt that He intended the former; and if ordination were to be administered by the people, Mr. Noel would think so too. He evidently strains at the passage from his fear of a bishop. The extraordinary gifts were twice given from heaven (see Acts ii. and Acts x.), once by the visible appearance of fiery tongues, and on the other occasion by some sign equally perceptible. For these, the Apostles, after being ordained and sent, were desired to wait at Jerusalem: and though the Apostles could confer some of these gifts on those whom they ordained, it is plain that the ordinary gifts and graces of the Spirit were usually conveyed along with them. Timothy was to stir up the gift, and to commit what he had heard to faithful men by laying on of hands after due consideration; and Titus was to ordain elders. The distinction here seems to be, that while miraculous gifts died with the immediate successors of the Apostles, the ordinary gifts were to continue to the end. The Church of England therefore cannot be far wrong in using the words of our Lord Himself, when intending to do what He manifestly appointed as the duty of the Church in all ages of the world. We really think, according to God's arrangement, the examination and solemn laying on of the

hands of the bishop is quite as good a guarantee to the Church of the fitness of a candidate, as the call from the male heads of families for which our republicans contend.

Whole chapters are devoted to the subject of discipline and the Court of Arches, assuming, as before, that the court will always throw a screen over the drunkard and the immoral presbyter, and will suspend, fine, excommunicate, and imprison the over-zealous and irregular. All these faults would be rectified by placing the judicial and executive power in the hands of the congregation. Now, as in modern mathematics we often see the analytic method applied to prove the truth or absurdity of a given proposition, let us just "suppose it done;" suppose Mr. Noel's theory were carried out into practice, and that the system has had a trial for thirty years. Let our readers imagine the following to be an extract from the "Nonconformist" newspaper, published on the 1st of April, 1880:

"Trial of the Rev. Noel Noncontent before the members of the united congregations of Free Church and Laputa, on sundry charges brought against him by Thomas Muggs, Esq., of Eatington, and Mr. Puddingbag, of Řeform Grange.

"We cannot help congratulating our readers on their emancipation from the unscriptural incubus of the Establishment from which they have providentially escaped. The events of last week demonstrate the evils of the union of Church and State, and will prove an era in the annals of religious freedom. They will show that England is now taking the lead in the progress of social reform, and will no longer allow herself to be a mark for the finger of scorn, or the scoff of our enlightened neighbours on the continent. A meeting of the male heads of families was convened at the parish church of Laputa, to consider certain charges against the Rev. Noel Noncontent, for drunkenness, neglect of duty, and brawling in public, which had been preferred against him by two gentlemen of his congregation. John Easyman, Esq., M.A., of the ci-devant University of Oxford, was called to the chair. A slight murmur on the part of some of the people followed, as it was feared that some of the antiquated prejudices of a university education might bias his judgment or mislead his decision, but from his many good qualities and great popularity, the objection was at once overruled, and he addressed the meeting as follows:—

"It is now more than thirty years since the publication of a celebrated book by the late Rev. Baptist Noel, which led, as you are aware, to the separation of Church and State in England and Ireland. Many of our ministers of that day feeling the power of his arguments, consented to forego their legal rights, and to take as he advised a salary of 1307. per annum, as pastors of their

several congregations. As he objected to some of the Thirtynine Articles, and several of the formularies of the Anglican Church, we thought it better to protest against the Prayer Book; and as some form of subscription was necessary, and Mr. Noel's admirable treatise was our guide, we agreed to subscribe to his book instead. This my friend the Rev. Noel Noncontent was the first to propose; and though it is exceeding painful to me to be called upon even indirectly to reflect upon his conduct, I feel it my duty, in presiding over this meeting, to carry out the letter and the spirit of the rules to which we have all agreed; I shall, therefore, as chairman, confine myself to examining witnesses, summing up evidence, and taking the sense of the assembly, irrespective of any private feelings.'

"Mr. Muggs then stated that he felt it his painful duty to accuse Mr. Noncontent of drunkenness, as he had seen him drinking in a public-house at the fair of Alesop, on the 20th of February last; that after the fair Mr. Noncontent had used very violent language to him; and that for more than two years he had neglected his spiritual duties, as he had been engaged in cattle jobbing and other secular pursuits; and that he had lately taken twenty acres to add to his farm, which was already too large. Though Mr. Noel's book allowed secular pursuits, it was only where a sufficient maintenance was not given. Mr. Puddingbag corroborated the above statement, adding that Mr. Noncontent had beaten his (Mr. Puddingbag's) children with a cane; and that when called upon for an apology he had refused to make it. The chairman then asked Mr. Noncontent how far he would admit these facts, or if he should wish to explain them; and the Reverend Gentleman then rose and spoke to this effect:"It is now nearly forty years since I first held a curacy in the diocese of ; being afraid of the Bishop of that day, Dr. ... and sympathizing with some of his clergy whom I supposed to be oppressed, I went to London to consult the Rev. Baptist Noel, who was my godfather (signs of disapprobation from the meeting). I know that all spiritual relationships are now done away as "a grossly erroneous assumption, and habituating children to falsehood." I beg leave to say that I merely speak of things as they were. Mr. Noel convinced me of the unscriptural nature of the union of Church and State, and I took

...

3 Lest this should be thought exaggeration, we remind our readers that Methodist preachers subscribe the three first volumes of Wesley's Sermons, a much worse test than articles or forms carefully considered by a number of divines.

* One of the objections to the Church Catechism which we have seen is, that it teaches every child to lie, as it obliges them to put godfathers and godmothers in the plural; whereas, a boy has only one godmother, and a girl only one godfather. We are happy to say this arrow comes not from Mr. Noel's quiver, he is quite above such quibbling on words.

VOL. XI.NO. XXII.-JUNE, 1849.

X

5

an active part in producing the explosion which soon followed. The parish of Freechurch was then united to my former parish of Laputa, and instead of 1007. a year which I received as curate, my stipend was fixed according to Mr. Noel's plan at 1307., while my duties were more than doubled. That salary, Mr. Chairman, you know, I have never fully received; but feeling that my first duty was to gain the good will of my congregation, I never was strict in enforcing my claims, knowing that my legal right was taken away, and that I should be obliged to entreat as a pauper. As I have nine children, I was obliged to add to my income by cultivating twenty acres of land, which has been my principal support; and latterly as my eldest son is nearly grown up, and I have been unable to educate him for the ministry, as I had intended, I applied to Mr. Muggs for his farm adjoining, as he had advertised for a tenant. We could not agree upon the rent; so when Lord Lofty's tenant, Mr. Busybody, passed lately from patriotism to the Gazette, I wrote to his Lordship, stating my long services, and requesting his consideration. I received a very kind letter in reply, allowing me to choose twenty acres at a reduced rent. To stock this new ground, I called on several of the gentlemen present for the arrears of stipend which they had promised, but which, like the Levites, I have no legal means of recovering. Some of them I found very unwilling to pay; others told me 66 preaching was become dear stuff in the days of free trade;" others said I was too much of a Calvinist, and they must join the Methodists, where the preachers charged less. In all, however, I received about 107. of arrears, and went to the fair of Alesop, where, I must admit, I spent the day in the unclerical employment of bargaining for a cow and two goats. Towards evening, not being able to afford the accommodation of the principal inn, I called for bread and cheese and a glass of porter at the sign of the "Jolly Farmers;" Mr. Muggs and Mr. Puddingbag were then in the house, and did not leave it for some time after me. As I was walking home these gentlemen overtook me, and began to find fault with my preaching, saying at the same time that I beat their children and neglected my spiritual duties. I merely replied by requesting them to ride on, and when they were in a more reasonable condition, I should tell them my mind. As to the second charge: Mr. Puddingbag's children have been constantly in the habit of taking the fruit out of my garden, and throwing stones at my daughters; when reproved, they have said that I dared not say any thing against them, as their father

5 Following the example of the Free Church, we like a good long word and a strong one; they always talk of "the disruption," coining an excellent translation of the honest Greek word schism, of which they seem afraid; disruption, however, s more expressive.

is the leading member of the congregation, and the parson is afraid of him. After many threats, I admit, I used my cane upon the boy; he says I left a mark upon him, but I contend that he scratched his face and hands in escaping through the hedge.'

"The chairman then said, that there appeared to be no doubt as to the grounds of the charge; but if it be as Mr. Noncontent states, the gravamen is explained away. It is therefore better to call two or three witnesses, and see whether the statements of the accusers are at all coloured.' The landlord of the Jolly Farmers, Mr. Tipple, was then examined. Mr. Noncontent had been at his house on the fair-day and had drunk a pint of porter. This was not an uncommon occurrence, but he believed Mr. Noncontent had never sat down for ten minutes at a time. Cross-examined by the chairman. On the fair-day, Mr. Muggs and Mr. Puddingbag had been in his house for three hours, and had dined together in a private room; does not know how much they drank, but they paid for five quarts of ale; does not think they were at all drunk, but Mr. Puddingbag, who is a stout gentleman, had some difficulty in mounting his horse, and Mr. Muggs might be said to be just comfortable.

"The next witness was young Jack Puddingbag, a boy about ten years old. The chairman examined him as to his knowledge of truth and falsehood, and as to whether he had been taught that God would punish liars. The boy looked rather puzzled, and did not seem quite to understand him. The chairman then, after again charging the boy to tell the truth, elicited from him that Mr. Noncontent had struck him with his cane, but that he himself was in the habit of taking his apples, and had been caught in the fact; that Mr. Noncontent had not hurt him much, but that he cried very loud because he wanted to make his father angry. The chairman then put some questions which we consider unfair, but to which he insisted upon answers, though several times called to order by Baillie Mucklewhame, late of the Free Church, Glasgow. He asked the boy what his father had said of Mr. Noncontent at any time he could recollect. To this the boy answered, Father says, minister means a servant; that the deacons were servants in Acts; and that our parson should be the servant of the parishioners. He told me again not to mind what Mr. Noncontent would say, for he was once an Anglican, and that is all one as a Puseyite. That when father was young, Mr. Noncontent taught him to say he was a child of God and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven, and he is sure it is not true.' Here the chairman exchanged glances with the accused, and was again called to order by the meeting. Mr. Easyman then told the boy that he was sorry he was not better instructed in the more important