30

Mr. URBAN,

T

Jan. 13. HOUGH I am none of your “ Law Readers," and therefo e not quaJed to give a proper anfwer to the que7:1, in your Magazine, vol. LXIV. p. 767. refpecting his "claim upon the executors of the late Bishop of L. for a maintenance," hope you will indu ye me with a corner in your valuable 21cellany, to exprefs my furprize at the manner in which that gentleman delivers his fentiments, because it apme equally unbecoming his pears to character, either as an epifcopal clergyman, or a British fubje&.

The Ufages of the Scotch Epifcopalian Church explained. [Jan.. ral or not. For my own part, I never heard of any wiges peculiar to the Search epifcop dians, which are not perfedily agreeable to Scripture, and drawn from the practice of the pureft part of the primitive church. And, if it be the Scotch Communion Office which your Quent has in his eye, he ought to know, that this office is the fame in. fubftance with that which was authorized by the first reformed Liturgy of Edward the VIth in England, and af terwards by Charles the Ift in Scotland, and has been fully approved of by many of the most learned and eminent divines of the Church of England; to which I night add, as a farther teflimony in its favour, that the moft material part of the fame office is at this day used in the Proteftant Epifcopal Church of the United States of North America, as may be teen in the Prayer-Book published, by the Convention at New York, in October 1789.

Prefiding in Scotland, as an epifcopal ciereymun, and enjoying in that cha

a handfomer filary than generally falls to the lot of the inferior clergy in England," it might have been expected, that he would have treated the Scorch epifcopsey with a degree of cardour and decency fuitable to his profefiion, and to the advantages he de-4 Fives form a Scotch congregation. But I need not fav, how app lite to this are des uberd and dl-founded affertions, ahor, without the aid of fuch as be, * the Ein bish Liturg, mut in a few arr blared in Scot15s be totally bond," and that thofe he cals" the bglah enico, d was will never conjent to embrace the unfcriptural ufiges of the Scorch epifcops ans." I believe it as prosty well known, that the Engadh

• doms iu depatag bon h. rubrical #inc's which the English Latu gy re13, to any of the Scoren epifcopal egy de, in perforating the daily for

the church; and it is equally certain, the, were it not for the unnewing damour which the prejudices et your Quena and his bedren have refed phout unforytural ujuges, there would be ung dicu.ty in reconciling the two o ders of epiícops is in Scotland, and uniting them in one regular body, whofe religious principles, in all the flential plants of faith, would be found in palect unddon with thofe of the Church of England. As the Querif has thought proper to feek a folucion in your Magazine, which must fall into the hands of many who probably know lts of the #te of epifcopacy in Scot hind, it would have been but fair and candid in him to have told what thofe be when he has cholen to datinguith the Scotch epifcopaitaps, and fo have allowed the public to judge for themselves, whether they are wafcriptu

egis are,

But your Querift, perhaps, is accuftomed to affix the word unfcriptural to every thing which he diflikes, juft as a cervain & of felf-denominated Chaiftians cal Baptifm and the Lord's Sunper unferiptural ufages; and many popalar preachers, with tome of whom no doubr the Querit is acquainted, fpcak of a Tinity in the Godhead, and the Deity of our bie fled Redeemer, as zxferiptural doctrines. So cafy a matter is it, when men et hold of a cant word, to apply it on every occafion which fuits their purpose.

I have only to remack farther, that, if the Quent has loft fight of that propriety of conduct which might have been expe&ed from an epifcopal clergyman in his fituation, he fe:ms to have been equally inattentive to his duty as a good fubject, by infinua irg, in a frange uncouth manner, that the Britith leg flature, by their different arts (1 fuppofe he means artifices) have been only impofing upon, that is, deinding or decerving, a certain clafs of his Majefy's fubjects," an infinuation not very feafonable at this tim nor becoming a minifier of that religion which forbids to" defpife government and fpeak evil of dignities." Befides, it would be difficut for the Querift to fhew what particular encouragement, more than toleration and protection, the legislature has ever held out to the members of that communion, whofe cause he efpouses; and, if they find themfelves, as he fays, in a "fituation very fingular indeed,

per

ry,"

perfeally unique in ecclefiaftical hifto-
," which I verily believe is the cafe,
the fault must be wholy their own, and
the legiflatur
ture is no more concerned to
mend their fituation than that of any
other clafs of diffenters from the efta-
blished religion. Epifcopal clergyinen
connected with no bistop, and epifcopal
Jairy belonging to no diocefe, will al
ways be liable to the inconveniences of
which the Querift complains, and can
only get rid of them by placing them-
felves in a fituation, and acting in a
manner, more confiftent with their pro-
fellion; a hint, which, I hope, they
will take in good part from one who is
a friend to order, civil and ecclefiaftical,
and not ashamed to avow bimfe f

A SCOTCH EPISCOPALIAN.

Mr. URBAN,

Jan. 17.

ERMIT an obfcure individual to

PERM leveral gentlemen who have lately written in your mifcellany on the fubje&t of the Scotch bithops ard the English clergy in Scotland *. beir letters,taken together, convey information which was much wanted by fome who knew not where to obtain it. How ufefu', Mr. Urban, how extremely ufe ful, would a lide moderation be to both parties! Perhaps it has been too generally believed in England, that a fpirit of extreme bigotry has prevailed among the Scotch bithops. It appears from your Magazine, that the English clergy in Scotland are fully equal to them. I obferve, with pleafure, fome marks of candour in the former, in their permitting the ufe of the English li turgy, where it is preferred. In England, by long cuftom, we are apt to view thofe appendages, which a connection with the ftate has attached to a bishop, as effential to his office. But, if the Scotch epifcopalians have kept up an uninterrupted fucceffion from the RevoJution, the English clergy in that part of the kingdom ought to acknowledge their bishops as the real bithops of Scotland. It is lamentable that there fhould be any difference or difusion among them. Time, I hope, will make them completely one people. In the mean while, it will not be foreign to the purpofe, if I call the attention of your readers to a ftrange kind of notion advanced in a recent publication, which, I am perfuaded, epifcopalians in every part of the world will difapprove. Speaking of the formation of feparate religious foci.

This time, to close the fubject. EDIT.

eties, on the meft difcordant and oppo-
fite principles, Dr. Aikio adds, "The
ancient compariton, ot religious infirac-
tion to grain fruitying in the earth.
wili aito apply in this refpect, that, like
the roots of coin, the fpirit of religion
becomes more productive_by-divino,*”
"el.gaut fentiment," as the
If this
Analytical Reviewers term it, be juft,
then all the exhortations to union, and
all the cautions againft divifions which
we find in the New Tellament, are
founde in miflake; and the best method
of advancing the caufe of religion is to
multiply feets, and promote the feparate
interefts of contending prities. On fuch
a fubject, an apole would fay, I Chrift
divide it? Mark them who coufe dier
fions an i‹ffences contrary to the doctrine
which I have learned, and avoid them†,
An union with the Gallican church,
Mr. Urbar, would be a very good thing,
But the writers in your Magazine on
his head feem to me to have overlooked
the great bone of contention. It is cer.
tainly to be found in that oath which wẹ
call the oath of fupremacy, and which
ends in these words: "I do declare,
that no foreign prince, perfon, prelate,
fate, or potentate, hath or ought to have
any jurifdiction, power, fuperiority, pres
eminence, or authority, ecclefiaftical or
Your
fpiritual, within this realmn ”
readers may reft allured, that the Briti
government will neither repeal nos mo
dify this oath. An entire deacament
from Rome muft form the pee'aminary
to union. This was the group' on which
the Reformation began-it was the point
at which Archbishop Wake aimed in his
correfpondence with the doctors of the
Sorbonne, and it is the fine que non at
this day.

い

A large majority of your readers are, I believe, convinced that, epifcopacy, perhaps nearly fimilar to th of Scotland, was the original and pri gi-. tive mode of government in the church of Chrit. It is therefore pleafing to fee it reviving in different parts of the world. While America was fubject to t of Great Britain, the inhabira not fulfer a bifhop to refide ar Jong them.

Jerown

ats would

Japs. Two

But now America has its bif
have alfo been fent by our
government
to Nova Scotia and Canada
and, if ano-
ther was placed in our We Atadia illands,
he might afford fingular flance to the
caufe of religion. If a
permanent fa.
lary is wanted, fabfcriptions in England

32 A Biblical Criticifm corrected.-Queries to Correspondents. [Jan.

formation or Revolution; the former

Mr. URBAN,

Manchefter, feems very inveterate against the iffuers of modern provincial coins; and has in a very defultory manner thrown together fome loofe thoughts upon the fubje&; amongst which, with fome truth, there is a great deal of error.

Jan. 19. might have been calculated from Eton's me, who dates his letter from YOUR correfpondent, in your laft Thefaurus, and the latter fupplied from the tithing rate, or collector's books. There is a particular famenefs in the defeription of the churches, the towers belonging to which we are told ftand at the Weft end. It, however, contains, upon the whole, fome good matter, and might be confidered as rich materials for fome future hiftorian, It alfo abounds with fuch a number of errors refpecting the titles to the property, as well as the defeription of it (not corrected in the errata), that I fear the tranfcribing of them would be trefpaffing upon the patience of your readers. In your Magazine, vol. LXIV. p. 951, it is faid, the baronetage of Fitch is not extinct. To prove it, we are told that the prefent Henry-William Fitch, of High Hall, in Dorfetfhire, is the great grandfon of John Fitch, who was in early life a merchant in London, afterwards of High Hail, and a younger brother of Sir Thomas Fitch, th. firt baronet of that family, created Sept. 7, 1688, and whofe iffue both male and female are totally extinct.

If the patent, granted to Sir Thomas Ftch, the first baroner, was not entailed upon his younger brother John:he merchant (of which no mention is made), his great grandion cannot be entitled to it, although he might to his freehold eflates not otherwife difpofed of.

I cannot fee the degree of relation hip between this Sr Thomas Fitch, the firft baronet, and Robert Fitch, of Danbury Place, efq. grandfather to the late wife of Lewis Difney, of Flintshim, in Nottinghamshire, efq. We ought to hope it was not introduced to aufwer the purpofe of telling the publick that Mr. Difney has two daughters, who

are the fole coheireffes of the two rich brothers, ftyled the Nabob Fitches, as well as the whole elder branch of the Fitch family.

Your correfpondent is mistaken in faying that the eldeft fifter of the late Mrs. Fitch (p. 862) married the Rev. John Sandford, a clergyman, of Monkton. It was the Rev. Athford Sandford, the fon of John Sandford, to whom this lady was married. See Hif. tory of Somerlet, vol. III. p. 73.

*Our correfpondent has fent a fpecimen of feveral errors: but we forbear to trouble our readers with them. EDIT.

GENT. MAG. January, 1795.

It is a well-known fact, that, previous to the introduction of thefe coins, there was a very great deficiency of copper currency; a matter of very great inconvenience to trade, and hurtful to the poor, whofe payments are chiefly made in copper. No cinage of halfpence at the mint having taken place fince the year 1773, much the greater part of the copper in circulation was of that fort called Birmingham halfpence, villanous counterfeits of the Tower coinage, of a bafe metal, and extremely deficient in weight. Thefe were fometimes taken, and fometimes refuted, by the traders throughout the kingdom, according to the plenty or fcarcity of halfpence in the place; and, whenever the fhopkeepers thought proper to weigh their halfpence, and in confequence reject the Birmingham ones, the poor were conflerable fufferers.

In confequence of this, the Paris mine company were the fift (as I believe) to ftrike a coin for the ufe of their miners*, and their penny and halfpenny were of fuch weight as to be fairly current in any place. Mr. Wilkinfon next ftruck fome heavy ones for his own ufe at his varions Iron-works; and from this t me they have become fo numerous as to tire the patience, and elude the fearch, of the colle Bors, who are every where eager to obtain them. Of thefe first coins, and of all which have been fince ftruck by Mr. Bolton, your correfpondent very properly makes no complaint; and I will readdy agree with him, that the great influx of counterfeits fince that time has become a confiderable evil, but furely not to the extent that he infinuates, as every perfon is at liberty to take or refuse them, and the quantity is trifling in

34. Provincial Coins of general Utility and Convenience. - [Jan.