nister. Mr. Hill replied, "My dear sir, it is nothing to us in what dress you choose to appear in Surrey Chapel. It appears to me, that such as esteem it their duty to renounce their connection with the Established Church, should renounce her livery also." This is not amiss for good Mr. Hill, who was a bit of a bigot in his way, and not always so tolerant to his Dissenting brethren. About, and for some years subsequently, to that time, the Doctor did a good deal in the field of controversy on a variety of subjects, and he was generally victor, although in some cases he received considerable damage in the fray. In 1831, being then in the fifty-seventh year of his age, he came boldly forth on the subject of Total Abstinence, in the preface to the republication of an essay on the subject by the late Professor Moses Stewart, of Andover. Mr. Medway's account of the matter is full of interest, and also of instruction. Subsequently to this, and for a number of years, we have again a large amount of important controversy on subjects touching divers aspects of the kingdom of Christ. As we previously intimated, Dr. Smith was eminent as a patriot, and ready upon all occasions, by tongue and pen, or suffrage, to support what he deemed the best interests of his country. In this respect he might be said to be a model man. While liberality was a most conspicuous feature of his character, he was the inveterate foe of injustice and oppression. As a man of Science himself, he took a very deep interest in the progress and labours of the British Association, subjecting himself to no small portion of expense and labour from time to time to attend its meetings. It may be supposed that for such a man as Dr. Smith, Geology would present a peculiar charm; and such was the fact. On being solicited to deliver a series of Congregational Lectures, he selected for his subject Geology, and, notwithstanding the comparatively unprepared state in which he appeared on the occasion of the delivery, the work when finished assumed a superior character, and commanded general approbation. The manner in which it was gone about, however, supplies a beacon rather than an example. The Doctor undertook the Lectures only in February, and actually commenced the delivery at the rate of two a week on the 12th of the following March, and this for four successive weeks, while busily engaged with his multifarious pastoral, collegiate, and literary duties! It may be doubted if there is any similar fact upon record, except the case of Bishop Watson. None but a man full of knowledge, and with a ready command over his resources, and who was more intent upon matter than upon manner, and whose standing with the public could enable him to take liberties, could have dared, with impunity, to make so perilous an experiment. His philosophy and his patriotism were alike illustrated in 1836, when the 620 ministers met in Manchester, to hold an Anti-Corn-Law Conference. Notwithstanding, he was then in the sixtyseventh year of his age, and so afflicted by deafness as to be incapable of participating in public engagements, yet so enlightened were his conceptions, and so intense his convictions as to the evil of the Corn-Laws, and the necessity of their abrogation for the good of the Empire, that he thus wrote to his son at Sheffield: "In my note from Plymouth, I could not, from want of time, mention my intention and promise to go to Manchester. To my conviction, it is an imperative duty, of very high obligation. I would sell my books even most highly prized, or undergo any other supportable self-denial, rather than be wanting to God and my country at this crisis. This I say under the humiliating consciousness of my great disqualification: but how could I lift up my face unto God,' if I were not to do what I can ?'" Who will deny that this is noble-high moral heroism? The good man did not require to live to see the results as they appear at this moment. With his mind's eye he perceived them in the future; and there is reason to hope that his highest expectations will be realised. In 1838, when in his sixty-ninth year, the Doctor entered a second time into the Marriage Union, which proved one of great happiness, and one of the special comforts of his later days. A curious section occurs relative to an individual whose name we had rather not cite, but who took to himself a number of degrees of divers sorts, and made a great blaze of his academic honours. Dr. Smith's last appearance in the Eclectic Review, in 1845, was to expose "the falsehood and the forgery of this man," which was done with great warmth of indignation. Mr. Medway seems not to be aware of the fact that the poor man has long since become a confirmed lunatic-a circumstance which, had he known it, would have materially tempered his observa tions. While his sanity was supposed, his conduct was severely reprehensible; but after his calamitous condition came to be understood, he ceased to be an object of contempt, and changed into one of compassion. In the next edition it might be well to exclude the whole passage. In 1846, in his seventy-second year, the Doctor was happy in receiving an excellent colleague in the person of the Rev. John Davies, a union which proved alike satisfactory to himself and to the church, and which fully prepared them for the bereavement they were ultimately to sustain. The review with which the volume closes is discriminating and just. Three features particularly present themselves to the biographer-the Doctor's sense of enlightened liberty, his love of all valuable knowledge, and his eminent Scriptural piety. A variety of interesting occurrences attended the closing years and months, and, indeed, weeks, of Dr. Smith's life, all of which are here detailed with great minuteness. Enough has been said to show our sense of the value of this performance. The Family have paid no ordinary compliment to Mr. Medway, in passing by all the Doctor's own friends, comprising men of Letters and experience in practi cal Authorship, and fixing on him, confessedly a Tyro in such matters. The result will, nevertheless, sufficiently vindicate the choice. Much might, doubtless, have been done which he has not attempted. The whole path through which the Doctor moved might have been rendered more luminous, and accompanied with facts and anecdotes, opinions and sentiments, relative to the men and the things of the last half century; and thus the work might have been additionally enriched with truth, beauty, and fascination. Something, for example, might have been furnished resembling the Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon, in which that magnificent woman moves in state throughout almost the whole of her benevolent and beautiful career, always at tended by a troop of the great and the good. Some such thing as this might have been very well; but, as in the case of the Countess, it would have ceased to be the Biography proper of Dr. Smith, who would have then been but one of a multitude, although the chief in character and position. As it is, the volume forms a narrative which will be extensively read, and every where with pleasure and with profit. We consider it a valuable addition to our Biographical Literature. Essays, Extracts, and Correspondence. LORD RUSSELL'S SCHEME OF STUDY. HUMAN nature is such, that, with adequate wisdom, it may derive benefit from exercise of an intellectual nature. The great thing is to command attention, and secure perseverance. There is reason to fear that, in respect of these two points, the great number are sorely wanting. It is utterly in vain to expect improvement without labour; labour conducted on right principles, and industriously prosecuted. There are few persons so defective in understanding, that very respectable attainments are not within their reach, if they will only set about it. People, however, who are reasonable in everything else, are quite unreasonable here; they look for a sort of moral miracle, effects without causes, reaping without sowing, fruit without trees. It deserves particular notice, that, in the days of the Puritans, and amongst the Nobility of England in early times, the subject of intellectual culture occupied a large portion of their attention. We have a number of publications, of various size and merit, both from lords and ladies, to sons and daughters, nephews and others, on this subject. We know not if such is the case still, among our existing Nobility. There seems reason to question it; the last publication we remember of the sort, in the times of our fathers, was the Letters of Lord Chatham to his nephew, a highly valuable production. An excellent example of this description may be found in the Appendix of the Life of William Lord Russell, by Lord John Russell, the fourth edition of which is just issued. It is in the form of a Letter by William, Earl of Bedford, to his sons, Francis and William. The noble earl, after incul cating the duty of attending to the Gospel of Christ for the salvation of the soul, proceeds to inculcate duty to parents; loyalty to the Government; affection to brothers, and sisters, and kindred; after which he becomes spe cially specific on the subject of study. He dwells on the subject of manners, saying much that is calculated to benefit all classes, even the humblest. We cannot withhold the following sample: "Whether you stand, sit, or move, let it be with such a becoming, pleasing gravity, as that your very behaviour may commend you, and prevail for a good opinion with the beholder. Before you speak, let your mind be full of courtesy ; the civility of the hat, a kind look or word from a person of honour, has brought that service which money could not. And he that can gain or preserve a friend, and the opinion of civility, for the moving of the hat, or a gentle look, and will not, is sillily severe; spare not to spend that which costs nothing; be liberal of them, but be not prodigal, lest they become cheap." He next proceeds to descant on the subject of language, in which there is a great deal that is adapted to be useful. To this succeeds employment, in which he gives eighteen directions, containing much that is valuable. He urges mental hunger as one of the conditions of progress, adding, "He that has no stomach to his book, will very badly thrive upon it." He urges digestion. "After you have read a little, make a stand upon it, and take not more in, nor that down, till it be well chewed and examined." Again: "In your reading, you ought often to invert, and apply that which you observe applicable to some purpose." Again, he says: "After reading, remember, as from the table, so you rise from your book with an appetite; and being up, disturb not the concoction, which is infinitely improved by a rumination or chewing of the cud. To this end, recollection with yourself will do well, but a repetition with another far better: for thereby you will get a habit of readily expressing yourself, which is a singular advantage to learning; and by the very discoursing of what you learn, you again teach yourself: besides, something new, and of your own, must of necessity stream in." The noble earl next proceeds to descant on the choice of books; and here he lays down a principle which deserves great attention. He says: "You should not have above one or two, at the most, in every science, but those very choice ones." There is a great deal in the principle here laid down. The reader will find a discussion of our own upon it, issued VOL. X. now ten years ago, in the first volume of the CHRISTIAN WITNESS, in which it is shown that nothing can be more erroneous than to suppose, that in order to understand any particular subject, it is indispensible to read all that has ever been written upon it. The illustration we took was this; that, in order to become an expert optician, or artizan of any kind, it is not necessary that a man should have wrought for a given period in every optician's shop in London; it is enough that he has been thoroughly drilled through a sufficient period in one of the best establishments of the kind. After this, he may gain a little by a sojourn in other workshops, but only a little. Just so it is with students. Let a young man secure one of the best books in every class, and they will amount altogether to only some two dozen, and he has, for educational purposes, an encyclopædia. The noble earl next enforces the division of the day for several employments, strongly insisting on adherence to something like a plan. He gives eight hours for sleep, dressing, and undressing; eight for devotion, food and recreation, in which he comprehends visits and so forth; and the other eight are to be given to studies. He urges, that nothing shall be suffered to "make a breach upon the daily exercises of piety, but evident necessity can dispense." He is urgent on the subject of constancy, adding, "He that can but creep, if he keeps his way, will sooner come to his journey's end, than he that rides post out of it." On the subject of high aims, we have the following: "Endeavour at the highest perfection, not only at your studies, but in whatsoever you attempt; strive to excel in everything, and you may perform many things worthy of praise, nothing meanly. He that aims further than he can shoot, and draws with his utmost strength, will hardly shoot short, at least deserves not to be blamed for short shooting." The noble earl next interdicts night studies as injurious alike to the body and the mind. We have the following fine passage on memory: "Suffer not thy memory to rest; she loves exercise, and grows with it every day commend something notable to her custody; the more she receives, the better she keeps; and when you have trusted anything to her care, let it rest with her a while, then call for it again, especially if it be a fault corrected. You must not 2 I err twice; and by this frequent calling her to account, she will be always ready to give you satisfaction; and the sooner, if what she was intrusted with was laid up orderly, and put, as it were, in the several boxes of a cabinet." This is admirable counsel. It is difficult to say to what extent memory may be cultivated, and the value of high attainments in this direction, to studious and literary men, it is impossible to overestimate. VAN DIEMEN'S LAND. THE modern Periodical Press, to an extent it is difficult to conceive, compensates the impotence of the creature, man. He may sit in the little Isle of Great Britain, and there hold communion with his species throughout all her Colonies, and every part of the habitable globe. As from month to month we toil, create, and cater for the public, it is impressive and cheering to reflect that we are preparing food for men under every sky. We are already privileged to speak largely in all the Colonies, and not to speak in vain. Hints and suggestions, made in London, are not lost even in Van Diemen's Land, as will appear from an interesting communication from an esteemed Christian minister, the Rev. Mr. Miller, of which the following is an extract: Hobart Town, Van Diemen's Land, SIR, I have often thought of addressing you, with reference to Christian movements in this part of the world. The deep interest which you have evinced in the Australian Colonies, as well as the growing attention which is given to them in Britain, cannot but be cheering to one who has long laboured in the colonial field, and who, in earlier years, had reason to lament the scanty amount of sympathy which was then extended. When I arrived here, there was no other Congregational minister in this island, or in the neighbouring colony of New South Wales. Additional ministers have entered on the work from time to time; but still, the supply has been scanty and inadequate. It is to be hoped, however, that now Christians at home will readily co-operate with our churches here, in extending ministerial and missionary agency in all these colonies. The goldfields ought to be occupied by men of great earnestness, activity, and self-denial; but many other localities demand aid. Moreover, we want everywhere working Christians, who will go about doing good, and co-operate with ministers in labouring to win souls to Christ. Why should not men emigrate with this object in view, as well as to improve their temporal condition? Why should they not come to this island, which has peculiar advantages as to climate and agricultural capabilities, and which offers a fair prospect of remunerative occupation to all who are fitted for colonial life? It may be, that many have been repelled from our shores by the peculiarities of our social condition, and by inaccurate impressions concerning it. It may be conceived that life and property are here exposed to constant hazard, and that those who have subjected themselves to penal bondage, are generally incorrigible offenders. But, instead of this, social order is commonly realized, while instances are numerous of those who have been in bonds attaining a respectable position in society; some, without doubt, being truly converted to God. It is to be regretted, indeed, that but little solicitude for the spiritual welfare of this class has been evinced by British Christians. Why, while in by-gone times, they cared for slaves in the West Indies and elsewhere, did they forget their own countrymen; who, banished to these distant shores, were held in a two-fold bondage? It is to be presumed, however, that under existing circumstances, transportation to this island will soon cease; so that this painful topic need not to be further discussed. Having now laboured here more than twenty-two years, and having had occasion, during that period, to visit New South Wales, Port Phillip (or Victoria), and New Zealand, there are obviously many topics on which I might offer some remarks; but I will refer particularly to one, which ought certainly to be noticed in this communication. An article which appeared in the CHRISTIAN WITNESS in May, 1847, entitled, "Financial Economy of Churches," led the church of which I am the pastor to adopt the primitive plan of Christian contribution. Since January, 1848, we have dispensed with seat-rents and quarterly collections; and the support of the ministry, and of public worship generally, has been dependent on the weekly offerings deposited in boxes fixed near the doors of the chapel. The result has been highly encouraging; many changes and removals (so common in colonial life) have been realized among us; no fixed contributions have been demanded. Free-will offerings only have been received; and no account has been, or can be, taken by man, of the amount contributed by each individual. It has been left to conscience to suggest the sum, and to a sense of duty to supply it, and the result proves, that, from week to week, and from year to year, God has put it into the hearts of many to be faithful. We have reason to be thankful, too, that, as the first Congregational church in these colonies, was the first to adopt this plan, so other Congregations, in this island and Port Phillip, have subsequently been led to pursue a similar course, in most instances, with satisfactory results. Another fact, of a cheering character, I may briefly notice; and that is, the growing conviction in the public mind generally in favour of the Voluntary Principle. Its practical recognition in the year 1836, by a refusal of a Stategrant, was accounted by many a strange thing; but the views that were then discountenanced, have since been advocated in various circles, secular and ecclesiastical, with great force. In South Australia, as you are aware, the question has been settled; while, in the legislative councils of New South Wales, Victoria, and Van Diemen's Land, sentiments have been avowed which tend to the same result. Thus, in a periodical published in Sydney by the Free Church, it is remarked, with reference to a recent refusal of the legislative council of New South Wales to augment the stipends of the State-paid clergy,-" It is very certain that the tide of public opinion is flowing strongly in a direction opposite to that of augmenting the salaries of ministers of the Gospel, by funds derived from the public treasury; and there is reason to expect that the course of future legislation on this subject will be in the same direction." This witness I believe to be true. There are thus hopeful and encouraging movements realized amongst us; but we have also peculiar difficulties and temptations, especially since the discovery of the neighbouring gold-fields. So many minds are unsettled, so many homes are broken up, and so many worldly cares and entanglements exer Addressed to the Deacons of Independent Churches. DEAR BRETHREN,-You occupy a post of honour and responsibility. The suffrages of your fellow-members have borne testimony to the confidence they repose in you. Your office is not a sinecure; you have been appointed to serve. Where your church is blessed with a pastor, you stand midway between him and the people; and you have it in your power to contribute to the comfort and welfare of both. Where you are without a pastor, your duties are increased and your responsibility is augmented. In this case, you have to make arrangements for pulpit supplies, and for an ultimate pastoral settlement. No one thing that you have to do is pregnant with more weighty consequences than this. A false step here may blast the finest prospect, and wreck the most hopeful of causes. Some of your brethren in office have been precipitate in this matter, and, for want of proper caution and inquiry, have introduced to churches men who wanted all the attributes of ministerial efficiency, if not many of the elements of Christian character. To avoid a course so unwise and fatal, you cannot be too cautious. Every appropriate means of gaining information should be adopted; and where these fail, it would be far better to leave an unknown minister unsuited, than to run the risk of introducing to the people a man who might only disturb their peace and betray their cause. But there are two ways of seeking in |