sense of the danger which they are preparing for themselves and their country, by thus drawing multitudes of the poor and ignorant around them, without providing for their moral culture and religious instruction. We know that splendid examples of a better spirit may be produced; and of such examples we would speak with all the respect and reverence which they deserve: but, comparatively speaking, they are rare; and their effect upon the great fermenting mass of ignorance, and vice, and disaffection, which is spread around us, is so confined as scarcely to be felt. In districts thus circumstanced, the weekly returns of the sabbath, instead of producing the gratifying spectacle of assembled thousands of intelligent, civilized, and contented beings, offering up their prayers and praises at the throne of grace for the aids they want, or the blessings they enjoy; pour forth upon the surrounding country herds of pallid and scowling artisans, in all the tattered filthiness of the manufactory, or reeling from the midnight debauches of the ale house or the ginshop, to spend the sabbath of rest in idleness, in mischief, or in plunder. A sight so appalling as this, might be supposed sufficient to arouse the most listless and indifferent from their dream of security; and force them to consider the danger to which they must sooner or later be exposed, if such a state of moral depravation is suffered to continue. But such, unfortunately, is not the fact: The scene has lost its monitory virtue from its frequent recurrence; and even in such a district, scarce a few perhaps will be found to solicit the aid which a liberal government has provided: and when it is spontaneously offered, the indifference of some, or the selfish cupidity of others, will interpose obstacles in the way of its acceptance. May we not say of such places, dum tacent clamant? Their silence is more eloquent than words; and it proves the effect of an evil, the existence of which is too notorious to be denied. It shews that men may live without the visible forms and ceremonials of religion before their eyes, until they cease to think of its obligations; and forget that it is the best remedy for moral evil, the surest consolation under physical calamity, the most efficient safeguard of property, the harbinger of industry and peace, of cheerfulness and content. But we have wandered from our subject. The remarks of the Bishop of Llandaff upon one pressing case within his own diocese, brought the general evil so powerfully before us, that we could not restrain our pen. We trust that the body of idence now before Parliament, a small portion only of which might be produced, will induce the Legislature

to persevere in the good work which it has so munificently begun. Thousands will bless those who have already bestowed upon them the means of attending upon public worship; and if the pious labour is completed, posterity will reap its benefits in all those advantages which the bounty of Heaven is wont to dispense to a religious nation. For, if from time to time, as opportunities may serve, and the returning prosperity of the nation may warrant, new grants are made to the Commissioners, until every proper application has been duly attended to; we shall not be deemed too sanguine if we anticipate the gradual, but complete restoration of that temperate, orderly, and religious character which was once the honest boast of Englishmen ; and under Providence will ever be the best support, as it has been the greatest glory of their country.

From the state of the churches in his diocese, the Bishop proceeds to speak of the houses of residence for the clergy. And here deficiencies present themselves the more lamentable, because, under the circumstances in which the clergy are at present placed, little hope can be entertained of their being supplied.

"More than two-thirds," the Bishop says, " of the livings in this diocese have no glebe-house whatever: and of those which have any, a large portion are so mean, and so unimproveable, as to afford but too good a plea for non-residence. I am well aware, that the poverty of the benefices, in most instances, opposes an almost insuperable obstacle to an effective application of the provisions of the Legislature in this respect; since much can neither be done by raising money upon the mortgage of such benefices, nor by the friends of the individual incumbents." P. 9.

At a time, when many of the public journals are endeavouring to awaken the vilest passions of the needy and unprincipled against the church, by descriptions of its opulence as false as they are mischievous; it is always desirable to oppose them by a plain tale, told by the voice of authority.

The view which the Bishop of Llandaff has taken of the accommodations of the clergy in his own diocese, but too truly describes the situation of a very large portion of this calumniated body, in every diocese in the kingdom. Few incumbents perhaps in English dioceses are quite so scantily provided in this respect as those of whom he speaks; but the general state of glebe houses throughout the kingdom is, we believe, accurately represented by the terms " mean and unimproveable;" and is such as affords but too good a plea for non-residence. Could the worst enemies of the Estab

lished Church but know, how ill provided the clergy are with residences during their lives; and how sore and crushing a burden these "mean and unimproveable" residences entail upon their families after their decease; they would scarcely think it worth their while further to embitter their unfortunate lot, by taunting them with riches which they neither possess nor covet; though it might still serve their purposes to dwell with malignant exaggeration upon a few striking instances of ecclesiastical opulence, (instances which are most valuable as they often afford remuneration to learning and talent, and always hold out motives for their exertion) that they may the more easily inflame the covetous, or incite the plunderer.

It has been a frequent practice with such writers, to compare the presumed humility and poverty of the Scotch establishment, with what they are pleased to call the lordly splendour of the English Church. And when a Presbyterian Minister in his humble manse and quiet retirement is contrasted with the Palatine Bishop of Durham, the difference no doubt is apparent; and with those who will admit the justice of the comparison, it may answer the malignant purposes for which it was framed. But if the parallel is fairly drawn, by placing side by side the average situation of the parochial incumbents of the two establishments, the result will be widely different. It will then, we suspect, be found, that the balance of income inclines somewhat in favour of our northern brethren, and that in all which constitutes comfort, they have greatly the advantage of us. Indeed, this single fact, that the manse of the Scotch Minister is repaired by the landholder, and that he is thus happily exempted from such a burden while he lives, and his family from the fear and penalty of dilapidations after his death, would alone turn the scale in his favour.

The other local topics, to which the Bishop of Llandaff thinks it necessary to direct the attention of his clergy, are the state of the Parochial Schools, and the evident increase of dissenting places of worship. On the first of these subjects, it is with great pleasure that we observe the Bishop employing terms of commendation and encouragement.

"I have peculiar gratification in adverting to what has already been done towards extending throughout this Diocese the benefits of Education upon the principles and plan of the National Society. Incalculable, I am persuaded, are the advantages already felt from the extension of this admirable system; which promises to bring a blessing upon the whole community, by upholding our National Church in its genuine purity, and attaching to it, in the strongest

bonds of affection and of interest, that great mass of the people, upon whose good dispositions the strength and welfare of the State essentially depend. It might appear invidious to select any of these schools in particular for special commendation; although some have more immediately fallen under my own observation, which might be justly holden up as models of excellence. For this they are greatly indebted to the personal superintendance, as well as munificent patronage, of many among the Laity, who are zealous in encouraging every design that may promote the real welfare of their country. Aided by such co-operation, it is for you, my Reverend Brethren, to pursue this object to its fullest extent. But, besides promoting these larger Institutions, your labour will be well bestowed in endeavouring to establish in your respective cures those humbler Village Schools, by which some portion of instruction may be imparted to every individual of your flock. These it will be in your power to take under your own immediate direction; and by so doing you will contribute more, perhaps, to the general diffusion of pure and sound Religion, than by any other exercise of your pastoral functions. I press this the more earnestly, because it appears to me, that the number of Parochial Schools in this Diocese is somewhat less than might be expected. Upon the best calculation I have been able to form, scarcely more than one-third of the parishes are provided with Schools of any description. And great as the advantages may be of those which extend to larger districts, I cannot think that they are such as to supersede the utility of these lesser Institutions.” P. 10,

The great evil under which the Principality now labours, is doubtless the comparative state of ignorance which prevails among the lower classes; an ignorance which their native, and to them only-known tongue, renders it very difficult to remove. This we may, perhaps, consider to be the chief cause of the great increase of dissent among them. The sangine temperament of the people exposes them indeed, in a peculiar manner, to the inroads of fanaticism; which, among them, assumes an extravagance of tenet and expression, of which the more phlegmatic and reflecting Englishman can scarcely form an idea. But, did they enjoy the same opportunities of intercourse with the higher and more educated classes which are possessed by the English poor; and were the stores of religious instruction contained in our printed religious tracts, equally within their reach; this tendency might be counteracted. But, cut off in great measure from these advantages by their ignorance of English*, they fall an

*We are aware that some valuable tracts on the list of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, are translated into Welch: but their number is but inconsiderable, and scarcely sufficient to affect our statement.-Editor.

easy prey to the lowest and most unlettered itinerants, whose only recommendations to their attention, are to be found in a knowledge of their language, a volubility of utterance, and a wild enthusiasm, well calculated to influence the imaginations of a rude, simple, and secluded population. True it is, that this ignorance of all but their aboriginal tongue, renders "the wretched effusions of impiety and sedition, daily issuing from the presses of the metropolis, to them almost, if not altogether, inaccessible." And, in this respect, a great and permanent evil has been, for a time, counterbalanced by an accidental good. But, much as we honour the feeling which induces the educated Welchman to look with pride and affection upon his ancient, and in many respects, we believe, beautiful language, and to be anxious for its preservation; we cannot but think, that the sooner it ceases to be a spoken language, the better. Until that period, a great and almost insuperable obstacle will be interposed to the moral and intellectual improvement of the people: they will not be able to keep pace with their fellow-subjects; nor will the local prejudices and prepossessions be removed, which render them a distinct and separate tribe in the midst of those, to whom they ought to be bound by a community of interests and feelings, as they are united with them by a full participation in constitutional privileges. We wish to see them completely admitted to a share in all the advantages which the progress of education, the diffusion of science, and the cultivation of the best qualities of our nature, is gradually bestowing on the other inhabitants of this favoured island; and this never can be the case, until the whole land is of one language and of one speech.

Having adverted to the several topics which seemed to call for more especial observation, as connected with the state of his own diocese, the Bishop proceeds to make some remarks upon those subjects which are of general concern; inasmuch as the prosperity of the nation at large, and not only the comfort, but even the personal security of each individual has been, and ever will be deeply involved in the struggle between loyalty and disaffection, between sound morals and licentiousness, between the pure religion of the Church of England, and the fanaticism of some, and the scepticism of others, who stand opposed to her Establishment.

On each of these subjects, the observations of the Bishop are worthy of the most attentive consideration by every clergyman, who, in these feverish and unstable times, would know how to guide his words with discretion; and keep steady to that line of conduct which, as a minister of peace, a guide to