JUBILEE OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL.

April 17th.

SIR,-With you I heartily trust that the Jubilee may be "the evidence of a determination on the part of the Church to act more fully up to her commission and obligation than in times past ;" but wishing, and taking every possible means to make it so, are two different things; and I cannot help throwing together a few remarks, on points which may well occupy our thoughts while endeavouring to carry out efficiently and successfully this coming demonstration of the Church's willingness to throw herself into her duty, of aiding, each one of us to the utmost of our ability, the Propagation of the Gospel by means of our Church's teaching beyond the seas.

Now the first point which strikes me in reading the Circular of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Committee, containing the programme of the Jubilee, is this,—a total absence of any united declaration or action of the President and Bishops in the proceedings which form the basis of this third commemoration. And see how the absence of any public demonstration on their part operates. There is no doubt that a large section of our Church is so exclusively pledged in favour of the younger sister, the Church Missionary Society, as to ignore in very many parishes the claims of this ancient Church Association, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, altogether. They overlook the great work it has in hand. Even in some of our metropolitan parishes the Society has no standing at all. Under these circumstances, therefore, nothing would tend more to place the duty of aiding the Missions of the Church before Churchmen in a positive light throughout the country, than a recommendatory letter on the part of the Bishops on the occasion of this Jubilee.

2d.-The absence of any declared intention of bringing the subject of this great duty before the Church on one day throughout the provinces, must cripple the efforts of individual Churchmen in the cause. So far as the Circular is concerned, it would appear as if the independent "Queen's Letter" fashion, each Incumbent at his own time or not at all, was to be adopted.

3d. The absence of any allusion to a general communion.

4th. The timidity exhibited in asking for contributions generally on the 22d of June," in consequence of the recent collections under the Queen's Letter," as if the offertory, if duly observed, would not, under God's blessing, bring its own special return.

5th. The practical want of "unity" of purpose, which will be exhibited by extending the Jubilee from June to June, infusing into it a cold and deadening spirit of separate and independent collection. If there is any weight in these objections, then I would suggest an opposite course, such as this :

1st.-An episcopal adhesion to the cause.

2d.-Provincial or diocesan days of commemoration on an appointed festival, for united action, with holy communion, so that all might feel that they were engaged in the same good office to their brethren, Churchmen over the seas; at the same time, on the same day, carrying into practice a communion of love and sympathy in the one communion of the body and blood of our blessed Redeemer, whose glorious name and merits we desire to proclaim to the people sitting in darkness, in the very corners of the uttermost parts of the earth.

There is one other point upon which I wish to touch before I conclude, also alluded to in your last number under the signature of "Ilex," viz. the appointment of Colonial Bishops. "Ilex" has cited a passage from Lord Grey's evidence before a Committee of the House of Commons, on official salaries and the patronage of the Crown in Colonial Bishoprics, in which he (Lord Grey) states that all Colonial Bishops since he became Secretary of State have been recommended by the Archbishop. True; but was the last appointment named by the Archbishop to Lord Grey, or by Lord Grey to the Archbishop? There is a vast difference between the two. There is a vast difference in saying to the Archbishop, "Recommend to me the fittest man, the most devoted and capable man for missionary work to fill such and such a vacant Colonial Bishopric"-the Church finding the endowment, and saying, "Have you any objection, my Lord Archbishop, to Mr. So and So, whose name I intend to give in to her Majesty, to fill such and such vacant post in the Colonial Church?"

I say, there is a vast difference in these two ways of doing things, for in the one case the Archbishop may have the best man ready to fill the office, and in the other the Colonial Minister may have pledged himself to an appointment, good, bad, or indifferent-politically influential at home, or politically influential in the Colony-and yet so mediocre in point of experience and general qualifications for ruling in the Church, as to disappoint every Churchman who desires to aid in finding the necessary endowment, (all this without respect of persons.)

But further, it is a question also of veto on the part of the Church to objectionable appointments. The Secretary of State holds the patronage, it seems, on behalf of the Crown; the Church the pursestrings. The Archbishop is the referee on qualifications. Is such a state of things satisfactory to the Church? Nay, is it not highly the reverse? For look what may eventually happen. Why, a sectarian may be Colonial Secretary, and yet the Church which finds the endowment must accept his nominee, or the Colonial Bishopric remain vacant. Either then this system must be changed and the Church acquire a power of concurrent nomination, or the appointment should be left in the hands of the several Colonial Churches.

Now, I say, this is a question which materially affects the success of the Jubilee appeal, and I commend it to the serious consideration of the Church at large.

I remain, Sir, your obedient Servant,

C. W. S.

Reviews and Notices.

What is the Working of the Church of Spain? A Tract, by the Rev. FREDERICK MEYRICK, M.A., Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford. Oxford: J. H. Parker; and 377, Strand, London.

WE are constantly surprised or grieved at the announcement that such a clergyman or layman has joined the Church of Rome. We cannot account for these secessions on any grounds of reason familiar to our own minds, and we seek therefore to ascertain from their various letters of explanation, what are the motives which have induced them to take so fearful a step. Mainly they seem to be these:-1. The Church of England' does not answer to a certain conventional and arbitrary definition which they have accepted of a "Church." 2. They require a certain superior authority which shall settle for them many points of doctrine, and supply them with a minute directory of duties and observances; and the Church of England does not perform this function. 3. They are in search of an Utopia; and the Church of England has faults. 4. They desiderate a purely spiritual body; and the Church of England is subject to secular influences. They apply the microscope to examine the Church of England, and use the telescope in looking at the Church of Rome; and discovering fewer deformities in the more distant than in the nearer system, they are tempted to make trial of it. To such persons we strongly recommend Mr. Meyrick's tract. He and his friends have seen the Church of Rome in its undress and in its ordinary operations. They know a good deal about it, and happily being of a communicative disposition, they have told what they know to the world. Doubtless the mode of appointing bishops in this country is open to the gravest objections. Is it any better in Roman Catholic countries? Mr. Meyrick tells us that "in Spain the very form of electing a bishop has vanished. The Queen nominates, and the Pope approves."-P. 6.

Again

"The churches are kept in repair (such as it is) by the State; the education is in the hands of the State; the schools are paid for and the masters appointed by the State; the clergy can only give a little instruction in the schools, and do not catechise in the churches. Even the seminaries where the priests are educated are supported by the State, and the books to be used and the course of instruction regulated by the Minister of Instruction."-P. 8.

Some of our more fastidious friends in this country are in the habit of making themselves merry at the ways and means adopted for building a church, such, for instance, as bazaars, or the card system; but in "Catholic" Spain, the high church organs recount that archbishops and bishops have recourse to bull-fights" and "theatrical performances" for a similar purpose. Perhaps, however, it will be alleged that at all events Rome keeps the deposit of the Faith pure and undefiled. What is Mr. Meyrick's experience and conviction on this point?

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Doctrinally," he says, "it is true, that in the religious regard of the people, the Blessed Virgin does stand in the place of God-it is true, that satisfaction for sin by way of penance is turned into a calculating mechanical process of buying off certain pains, by certain other painful expiatory acts-it is true that the Bible is a closed book to the laity."

We have no room for further extracts, but we strongly recommend all those who may have so much as dreamed of paying a visit to Cardinal Wiseman or Father Oakley, to send for Mr. Meyrick's very well-timed "Tract from Oxford." It may be as well for them, before getting their passports to Rome, to ascertain what will be expected of them when they get there, and this is well set forth under twelve definite heads. If it be the counsel of wisdom and philosophy rather

"To bear the ills we have,

Than fly to others, which we know not of,"

it is only common sense patiently and cheerfully to bear the minor evils and inconveniences which accompany the manifold blessings of the Church of England, than to adopt the known, proclaimed, and most fearful errors and corruptions of the Church of Spain and Italy.

Lectures on the Four Gospels Harmonized. By the Rev. L. V. HARCOURT. 3 Vols. London: Rivingtons. 1851.

MR. HARCOURT has embodied in the shape of 193 Lectures a continuous and practical commentary on the Life of our blessed Lord. The style is fluent and popular, the application often very striking, and the whole composition shows that the best ordinary interpreters and critics have been carefully consulted. The author maintains on all occasions the doctrines distinctive of our Church, and shows a freedom from party bias which is

but too rare in these days. We trust that his labour may be repaid by a wide circulation of so useful a work. It is well adapted for family reading.

Hints on Promoting the Cause of Missions. (Parochial Papers, III.) London: J. H. Parker.

Ir is a long time since we have met with a work of such prac tical utility as this to the great body of our parochial Clergy. The establishment of a Parochial Missionary Association is now generally acknowledged to be a work conducive not only to the extension of our apostolic faith abroad, but to the promotion of true Christian charity and the awakening of a feeling of Churchmembership at home. Let the inhabitants of any remote parish once take an interest in maintaining a Missionary Association, and they at once learn the meaning of the "Holy Catholic Church," and find themselves at once practising the duties which arise from a belief in the "communion of saints." To keep up a Parochial Association in vigour, periodical meetings are generally indispensable: and the burden of providing information for those who thus come together will ordinarily fall upon the parochial Clergyman. And here the "Hints" will come in as a most valuable auxiliary to any one who has not full reliance upon his own ability as a public speaker, or the abundance of his knowledge of Missionary subjects. The little volume contains copious heads arranged for four distinct lectures on the Missions of the Church. They are comprehensive, and full of suggestions. We should think that no Clergyman who has paid a little attention to them can be at a loss for matter to interest a meeting of his parishioners.

Parochial Brotherhoods; or, Charity beginning at Home. A Sermon. By the Rev. A. C. COXE, M.A. Hartford, Connecticut.

1851.

We cannot do better than quote from this excellent Sermon the account of the interesting Society before which it was preached:

"As a pastor, I have long observed with pain, that even among the beloved company who kneel together around this altar, and receive a common Spiritual Food, by the hand of a common spiritual steward, from a common Lord and Father, there is too little personal knowledge of one another, and consequently too little interest in one