THE TRACT SOCIETY. The Society has attained, this year, the jubilee of its existence. The total receipts of the year, including the sales, have been £59,495, 3s. 3d. The total circulation of tracts and books at home and abroad, in 100 different languages, amounted, last year, to the astonishing amount of 500,000,000 copies ! CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY. The ordinary income for last year, amounts to £101,003, 85. 5d. Upwards of £9000 has been raised, and expended by the Missions abroad. In addition to the above sum, the jubilee fund (which is not yet closed) amounts to upwards of £53,000. At Kisnagur (North India) the whole number of converts is 4500. In Jinnenelly (South India) the number of communicants is 2634, while the number under regular Christian instruction, amounts to 23,373. WESLEYAN MISSIONS. The income for the past year has amounted to £104, 126, 19s. 7d. We extract the following from the summary of the Report : "The cheering picture which is presented of the Society's Mission in New Zealand, viewed in connection with the confirmation of the Treaty of Waitangi, appears sufficient to awaken the hope, that New Zealand may, at length, exhibit the delightful spectacle of a noble aboriginal race, rescued, by Christianity, from the desolating effects hitherto produced by colonization, and elevated to the condition of a Christian and civilized community. The narrated triumphs of the Gospel in dark and cannibal Fejee, appear calculated to give new impulse to Missionary zeal, by furnishing proof, that no portion of the human family is sunk so low in degradation and crime, as to be placed beyond the influence of Gospel grace and mercy. The feeling of discouragement which had been created by the violent interruption of the Society's plans and labours in South-Eastern Africa, resulting from the last Kaffir war, is dissipated by the intelligence communicated in the Report, that the Mission in that country has been favoured with a gracious visitation from on high; that there has been an almost unprecedented religious awakening in the native congrega tions, and a consequent net increase of nearly 400 church members. The renicants at the Society's Mission in Sierra ported addition of more than 700 commuLeone, must be especially cheering to those who are accustomed to regard that deeply-interesting spot as the nursery of Christianity and civilization, where the Great Head of the Church appears to be preparing His chosen instruments for the more general extension of His truth, and its concomitant blessings, throughout Western Africa. Every great division of the globe, in fact, furnishes its quota of encouragement, and cause for gratitude." We shall give additional information in our next number. ROME. THE INQUISITION. The following horrible details of the Inquisition at Rome, appeared in the columns of the Daily News, and has since been copied into various newspapers. The Italian Correspondent of the Daily News is understood to be Mr. Mahoney, an Irish priest; but better known to the readers of periodicals as "Father Prout." We recommend it to the careful perusal of all who "detest the Reformation," and "long to throw themselves at the feet of the venerable Pontiff, and ask his forgiveness." "Talking of excavations, I visited this morning the works going on in the subterranean vaults of the holy office, and was not a little horrified at what I saw with my own eyes, and held in my own hands. "Though I have been familiar with everything in and about Rome for a quarter of a century, I confess I never had any curiosity to visit the Inquisition, taking it for granted, that everything was carried on there fairly and honestly, as I was led to believe, by people worthy, in other respects, of implicit trust. Besides, the place itself is out of the beaten track of all strangers, and in a sort of cul de sac behind St. Peter's, where it naturally retired to perform its blushing operations, and do good by stealth.' I was struck with the outward appearance of civilisation and comfort displayed by the building, which owes its erection to Pius V., author of the last creed; but, on entering, the real character of the concern was no longer dissimulated. A range of strongly barred prisons formed the ground floor of a quadrangular court; and these dark and damp receptacles, I found, were only the preliminary stage of probation, intended for new comers, as yet uninitiated into the Eleusinian mysteries of the establishment. Entering a passage to the left, you arrive at a smaller court-yard, where a triple row of small barred dungeons rises from the soil upwards, somewhat after the outward look of a threedecker, 'accommodating' about sixty prisoners. These barred cages must have been often fully manned, for there is a supplementary row constructed at the back of the quadrangle on the groundfloor, which faces a large garden. All these cellular contrivances have strong iron rings let into the masonry; and in some there is a large stone firmly imbedded in the centre, with a similar massive ring. Numerous inscriptions, dated centuries back, are dimly legible on the admission of light, the general tenor being the assertion of innocence:- Iddio ci liberi di lingua calumniatrice;' ‘Io domenico Gazzoli vissi qui anni 18;' Calumniatores mendaces exterminabuntur.' I read another, somewhat longer, the drift of which is,The caprice or wickedness of man cannot exclude me from thy Church, O Christ, my only hope.' The officer in charge led me down to where the men were digging in the vaults below; they had cleared a downward flight of steps, which was chocked up with old rubbish, and had come to a series of dungeons under the vaults, deeper still, and which immediately brought to my mind the prisons of the Doge, under the canal of the Bridge of Sighs at Venice, only that here there was a surpassing horror. I saw imbedded in old masonry, unsymmetrically arranged, five skeletons, in various recesses, and the clearance had only just begun; the period of their insertion in this spot must have been more than a century and a-half. From another vault, full of skulls, and scattered human remains, there was a shaft about four feet square, ascending perpendicularly to the first floor of the building, and ending in a passage off the hall of the chancery, where a trap-door lay between the tribunal and the way into a suit of rooms, destined for one of the officials. The object of this shaft could admit of but one surmise. The ground of the vault was made up of decayed animal matter, a lump of which held imbedded in it a long silken lock of hair; as I found, by personal examination, as it was shovelled up from below. Why or wherefore, with a large space of vacant ground lying outside the structure, this charnel-house should be contrived under the dwelling, passes my ken. But that is not all; there are two large subterranean limekilns, if I may so call them, shaped like a beehive in masonry, filled with layers of calcined bones, forming the substratum of two other chambers on the ground floor in the immediate vicinity of the very mysterious shaft above memtioned. I know not what interest you may attach to what looks like a chapter from Mrs. Radcliff; but had I not the evidence of my own senses, I would never have dreamt of such appearances in a prison of the holy office, being thoroughly sick of the nonsense that has for years been put forth on that topic by partisan pens. But here the thing will become serious, for to-morrow the whole population of Rome is publicly invited by the authorities to come and see, with their own eyes, one of the results of entrusting power to clerical hands. Libels on the clergy have been manifold during the last four months, and have done their work among the masses. But mere talking is nothing to the actual view of realities. "Segnius irritant animos demissa per anres Quam quæ sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus. "The archives (wanting the very recent ones only) have been overhauled, The cases are of the most intense interest, and a selection will be forthwith published. dern days; and here most disgraceful reaching from Galileo's time down to moletters from the Sardinian and Neapolitan courts, including a choice correspondence from the Duke of Modena, will be given verbatim, in extenso. Latterly the concern had become almost exclusively political, and only busied itself with 'carbonari' and 'freemasons,' under stitutional form of government, which terms, every aspirant after a conthought fair game, and hunted out secun dem artem. was "It is quite possible that the Croats of Radetski may force back on the population of these territories clerical rulers again; but no friend of the Roman Catholic Church, acquainted with the present sentiments of the Romans, can view such an event without deep alarm." THE QUESTION OF THE AGE. "THE struggle of our English Christianity, will not be with bodies of men, whether Romish or infidel; but with that ominous tendency of the human mind, too clearly indicated, as it is at this moment, from end to end of Europe; which, while it relieves us from anxiety regarding the mischievous agency of individuals or of parties, inspires a deep awe, if not alarm, as it announces the final conflict of first principles, touching religious belief."-ISAAC TAYLOR, (Loyola, p. 341.) Foreign Correspondence. We are most anxious to interest our readers in the state of religion upon the Continent. By the marvels of steam, we are brought into close neighbourhood with our brethren upon the other side of the channel. It is now possible to worship, one Sabbath among the mountains of Scotland, and the next among the mountains of Switzerland, or in the capitals of France, Prussia, or Austria. Scotland, from her geographical position, has been hitherto more isolated than any other European country from the Continental nations. This has affected our national character more than is generally suspected. But we can remain separated no longer; for good or evil, according as we love either, we must now influence, and be influenced by the Continent. In the great battle which, we believe, is now about to be fought, with intense earnestness, between truth and error, every portion of the army of the living God should, if possible, be acquainted with each other, and be drawn together by the bonds of love to a common Lord and a common cause. The state of the Continental Protestant churches cannot-ought not-be a matter of indifference to us. burden should be our burden,-their joy and success, our joy and reward. It was so in other days of trial and difficulty. The Church of Scotland always expressed her deepest sympathy for her "sisters in trouble,” and more than once made splendid contributions to aid them,―at a period, too, in her own history, when she was, comparatively speaking, a poor church. One collection-amounting, we believe, to upwards of £82,000 Scots-was sent to the Church of France in the 17th century; and we understand, that a receipt for the money is now among our Assembly Records. A collection was also order ed (in 1750) to be made in every parish in Scotland, to endow a church and school in Breslau, the capital of Silesia,-"a church which," to quote the words of the act, is surrounded by Popery, and rears up its head as a bulwark against the errors Their of that idolatrous religion,—a church which is situated in the capital of an extensive country, a large trading city, and, therefore, by the blessing of God, may be of service to the truth as it is in Jesus, to give a check to Popery, and to bring many souls out of darkness to the light of the Gospel!" These are noble sentiments, and worthy of a National Protestant Church. The result of this appeal was a collection of £900 sterling. In this day of Gospel light and revival-in this day of combat with the gathering powers of darkness-in this day of more intimate acquaintanceship with the state of churches abroad-shall the Church of Scotland manifest less catholicity, less sisterly interest in foreign churches, than she did a century ago? This would be, indeed, an alarming evidence of degeneracy, which, we hope, may never be witnessed. With the desire to excite an interest among our readers in behalf of foreign churches, we shall continue to give, from time to time, such information as can be relied upon. Our present notice regards FRANCE. The position of the National Protestant Church of France, is every day becoming more interesting. After the Revolution of February, a Synod of the National Church assembled at Paris, to seek a restoration of her Presbyterian polity, by preparing a draught of a Church constitution to be laid before the Government, with a petition, that they would request the National Assembly to pass it into law. The Synod was composed of two parties-the Latudinarians and the Orthodox. The former embraced men holding doctrines bordering on orthodoxy, to those holding opinions bordering on infidelity. The opposite party were shaded, from the most fervent piety, down to the coldest orthodoxy. The Latudinarians numbered, in the Synod, about 43; the latter, 37. In the great question regarding a confession, which was debated for five days, the Latudinarians argued, against all confessions. No member of the Synod expressed his willingness to sign the Rochelle Confession of Faith, which was the old Calvinistic Confession. M. Adolphe Monod protested only against its being declared abolished. MM. F. Monod, De Gasparin, and Jules Bonnet, proposed a confession declarative of their actual belief. It was finally agreed, that, at present, no Confession of Faith should be adopted, but that an address should be issued to the churches. This address acknowledges the Divinity of Christ, and orthodox views seem implied throughout. If its words have, in France, the meaning which we attach to them in Scotland, the orthodox party have gained, and the Rationalistic party lost everything by this declaration sent forth by the Synod. In the meantime, as we formerly stated, MM. F. Monod, De Gasparin, and one or two others, have seceded from the Church. We do not think the declaration sufficient, and long to see a positive confession which, in some form or other, is essential to the very existence of a visible church. In the meantime, we have much pleasure in laying the following communication before our readers, (as the first of a series,) from a highly talented and much esteemed correspondent, a pastor of the National Church : shew, to impartial minds, that he tries It is not sufficiently known in Scot- It is not as a divine to a divine,-a pretension above your modesty, and my own capacity, it is merely as a friend to a friend, that I mean to offer you a plain, unadorned, but, I trust, grounded, and sober statement, of the present state of the Reformed Church of France, together with some ramifications, indissolubly connected with the subject. The literary refinements of an essayist, you must not expect from me; it is doubtful whether I would succeed in my own language; it is certain I could but fail in my poor, broken English. But plain truth you have a right to; and that you shall have, as far as careful inquiry, extensive acquaintance, numerous readings, frequent travels, and disinterested views, may secure. I know love truth, and you know I do love it also. And since readers of a like spirit are the only ones you care, and I write for, the ties of intellectual relationship must soon be formed between us. In the very outset, your correspondent will The Concordat, also called sometimes the Organic Law, contains three parts, or chapters. The first relates to the general dispositions concerning the whole of French Protestantism. The second relates to the Reformed, and the third, to the Lutheran Churches. These very heads suggest some elucidation, which, in fact, are indispensable, and which had better be given along with the articles of the law themselves. My first remark, then, is, that Lutheranism, properly speaking, is limited to the parts of France which were formerly German, and which, having been conquered by Louis XIV., were added to the French territory, but yet retained with the German language, what one may call the German form of Protestantism, that is, the Lutheran doctrines and ecclesiastical institutions. For this, and other motives, I will limit myself to the Reformed Churches, which may be emphatically termed French Protestantism. Now, the first chapter of the Organic Law having enacted the general condition of the ministerial capacity, such as, the quality of Frenchmen-the regular studies in a school of Divinity-submission to the political power, &c., proceeds to two important articles; the first obliges the Church to look for the approbation of the authorities before any change can take place in her teaching, preaching, or discipline, a circumstance most important for the clear understanding of our present difficulties, the second binds the State to provide for the maintenance and support of the ministers. If an impatient reader wishes to know what is the teaching about which no change is to take place without the Government's approbation, let him wait patiently for explanations, which he is sure to find in the course of my letters, but too long to be given here, seeing they must interrupt the exposition of the Concordat. Its second chapter is entirely devoted to the Reformed Church. "The Reformed Churches of France are It says:composed of pastors, local consistoires, (or presbyteries,) and synods." Thus, the organic law, having found our historical churches Presbyterian, left them, and recognised them as such. It is a remarkable fact, that Congregationalism on the one hand, and Episcopacy on the other, never obtained amongst us. not blame, nor do I praise; I merely state I do the fact. It is also impossible not to perceive thus far the good will of the legislator, already visible in the distinction made between our communion and the Lutheran one, thus leaving entire the character of our Presbyterian Reformed Church. 69 I do not bears upon the qualifications of the church The next stipulation of the organic law, officers, together with their attributions, duties, or privileges. It expressly places in their hands the keeping of the old evangelical discipline; and it also states the conditions and the mode of their apppointevil; for while the discipline is, on the ment. This has been the main cause of whole, admirably faithful, the Concordat does not sufficiently mark faithfulness to Christian doctrine and practice, as the condition of eligibility to the office of elder. It merely says, that the twelve elders, forming, with the minister, what is called a consistoire, are to be chosen highest taxes.' Justice requires that it 'amongst the Protestants paying the should be distinctly stated, that it does not follow, as it has been often and falsely said, that the twelve richest men of the only the law mentions the obligation of Church are, ipso facto, the elders; but choosing amongst the members placed in a certain class of society, as more likely to offer the qualifications desirable for the welfare and respectability of the flock. In fact, this vague provision has never bound any of our churches. know one single consistoire, in which are to be found only the richest members of in one single instance-objected to the the Church; and the State has never-not election of our church-officers. Indeed, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, elders come to, and go out of office, without the knowledge of our authorities. Their very name never comes under the Government's eye, except in extraordinary occasions, such as public addresses, or collapses, &c. The documents transmitted to the political magistrates, are signed only by the consistoire's chairman, who is always a clergyman. Thus, practically, ously than it could have been expected. the law has been working far less injuriYet the contradiction cannot be justified: hands of those whose character is not to place a whole body of discipline in the requirements, is an implicit violation of explicitly described as agreeing with its that very discipline for the support of which they are elected. astical solecism can be attributed only to This ecclesithe levity with which careless, infidel mand of Napoleon, the constitution of a legislators, framed, under the rude comChurch perfectly insignificant in their eyes, since it contained but an impercep tible handful in the nation. The wonder is not how they did so, but rather how they condescended to do anything at all! I confess, for my humble part, that I cannot but see the hand of God in a mea |
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