by Dr. Hutton. The sermon, marked by sound judgment, accurate reasoning, and religious feeling, was preached by the Rev. H. Acton. After the service, the congregation was addressed by Dr. Carpenter and Mr. Aspland, and the business of the Association transacted, none but members being present.

The Eighteenth Half-Yearly Meeting of the Bolton District Unitarian Association was held at the Meeting-house, Moor Lane, Bolton, on Thursday, April 30th. The introductory services were conducted by the Rev. Franklin Baker, and a discourse on the Raising of the Widow's Son at Nain, characterised by simplicity and beauty, was delivered by the Rev. William Tate. After the religious services, the ministers and their friends dined together, Mr. C. J. Darbishire in the chair, and the afternoon was passed in social discussions respecting the general prospects of the body, and the particular condition of the several societies in the district. The next meeting of the Association will take place on the 1st of October, at Rivington, when it is expected that the Rev. James Whitehead will preach, and the Rev. Mr. Hutton will undertake the devotional part of the service. F. BAKER, Sec.

The friends of Unitarianism at Astley held their Anniversary Meeting on Friday, June 12th, in their small Meeting-house. The Rev. J. R. Beard presided; and the meeting, consisting of about sixty-five persons, were addressed on a variety of moral and religious topics by several persons; among others, Mr. Winstanley, formerly a preacher amongst the Independent Methodists, with the warmth and energy of expression peculiar to that people, illustrated The Nature of Unitarianism.' 'In allusion to the expression- Why, Winstanley has not half the zeal and animation he used to have!'-he thanked God that he had more than ever, and stated that the great doctrines of the Unity and Paternity of God so harmonised with all the nobler feelings of his moral nature, that they could not fail to cheer his heart, and arouse every latent energy of his soul. He earnestly exhorted his hearers to vigorous exertions in the diffusion of those views which were to emancipate and purify the mind of man. The meeting commenced at three, and concluded at about eight o'clock. After the conclusion of the meeting, fifty of the persons present took tea together; and as the small charge for tea left a balance on hand of between nine and ten shillings, this sum was added to the Children's Clothing Fund recently established. F. D.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

We acknowledge with thanks the receipt from Boston, U. S., of several numbers of the 'Christian Register' and the Boston Observer;' also from the Rev. H. Ware, Jun., the receipt of Dr. Parker's Sermons; 'Sober Thoughts,' several tracts; A Memoir of Frances Fowler, Scenes and Sketches,' No. 1 and 2. The Memoir and the Scenes will, we hope, be republished.

Five years hence, J. C. will thank us for not having published his verses.

We thank our respected friend, Mr. Hone, for his words of encouragement. The Christian Teacher shall not be less Christian than it has been. The more we see of life, the less we care for sects and the more for Christianity; but were we disposed to identify ourselves with any body of professors, it would be with a Society like that in North America, called Christians,' the establishment of which Mr. Hone states some of his friends to wish, G. L., J. H., A Layman,' J. B., S. Y. W., and some anonymous communications, have been received.

T. Forrest, Printer, Manchester.

UNITARIANISM IN AMERICA.

DR. JONATHAN MAYHEW, OF BOSTON, N. E.

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THIS eminent man may justly be regarded the first preacher of Unitarianism in Boston, as he was also an able and fearless advocate of civil and religious liberty. He was born in 1720, and was the son of the Rev. Experience Mayhew, who, though he possessed uncommon powers of mind, and might have ranked among the first worthies of New England,' devoted a long life to the service of God, among the Indians on Martha's Vineyard, a settlement in a distant part of Massachusetts. His son early discovered proofs of genius and an uncommon strength of mind. His compositions, both in verse and prose, while yet a young student at the University, were supposed to be the productions of a maturer age. He graduated at Cambridge, in 1744, and was ordained as Pastor of the West Church, in Boston, in 1747. He early discovered,' says one of his biographers, who was well qualified to pronounce a judgment concerning him, a liberality of sentiment and boldness of spirit, which excited surprise in some, and dissatisfaction in others. He spoke with glowing sensibility against every priestly usurpation over the consciences of men, and with peculiar earnestness in favour of truth and religion. He was especially a steady and able advocate of civil and religious liberty, and refused to preach for doctrines the commandments of men.' His discourses upon the difference between truth and falsehood, right and wrong,' and 'on the natural ability of men to discern these differences,' which were among his earliest printed works, gave him at once a distinguished rank among preachers, and were welcomed as the sure indications of his future fame. No sermon of his, however, attracted more attention than one which he preached on the 30th of Jauuary, in 1750, which he entitled 'Reflexions on the resistance made to King Charles.' This discourse gave offence, not only to the Episcopalians in New England, but to some moderate Dissenters, who thought it discovered more playfulness of fancy and severity of satire, than is consistent with the gravity of a clergyman, or the gentle spirit of Christianity. It was, however, greatly admired by all the determined lovers of freedom, and passed through several editions in England. It procured for him the friendship and correspondence of Lardner, Kippis, Archdeacon Blackburne, and, specially, of Mr. Hollis, the distinguished patron and benefactor of Harvard College. The honorary degree of doctor of

divinity was also conferred on him by the University of Aberdeen, the year after it was published. In another discourse, preached before the Governor and Council of Massachusetts, he speaks eloquently of the nature and value of civil liberty, and in praise of the British constitution, as settled at the Revolution. He never hesitated to utter the convictions of his mind upon any subject that engaged him. He was a Whig,' says his biographer, ' of the first magnitude.' Having been initiated,' he said of himself, in a sermon on the Stamp Act, in my youth, in the doctrines of civil liberty, as they were taught by such men as Plato, Demosthenes, Cicero, and other renowned persons among the ancients, and such as Sydney and Milton, Locke and Hoadley, among the moderns, I liked them; they seemed rational. And, having learned from the Holy Scriptures, that wise, brave, and virtuous men were always friends of liberty; that God gave the Israelites a king in his anger, because they had not sense and virtue enough to like a free commonwealth, and that "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty;"-this made me conclude, that freedom was a great blessing.

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It would be altogether natural to infer, that such a spirit as is here expressed, would be not less impatient of religious than of civil restrictions. Dr. Mayhew, accordingly, was always distinguished for the freedom and impartiality of his inquiries into Christian truth. He was the principal means of the republication of Emlyn's Inquiry,' which, as is well known to all who are acquainted with the ecclesiastical history of our country, excited much attention at its appearance, and to which an answer was written by President Burr. Mayhew also wrote, himself, many things relating to the doctrine of the Trinity, which sufficiently showed his own disbelief of it; and sometimes, it must be confessed, in a spirit of severity and sarcasm, which his best friends could not approve, and which he himself found reason afterwards to regret.

Yet there have not been wanting some, since the death of Dr. Mayhew, who, unwilling to relinquish so great a name in support of their own favourite doctrines, have undertaken to call in question his Unitarianism. It might be sufficient to refer to his writings to show how utterly groundless are such denials. But, in addition to these, the Rev. Dr. Freeman, of King's Chapel, in Boston, among several interesting notes, appended to a volume of his discourses, has adduced the testimony of Mrs. Wainwright, the daughter of Dr. Mayhew, a lady of unusual intellectual power, who, in a letter addressed to her venerable friend for the purpose, thus puts the question for

Respecting my father, there is no doubt that the clearest evidence may be given of his having asserted the Unity of God, in the most plain and unequivocal manner, as early as 1753. I have many sermons, from which, it appears to me, no one could for a moment question his belief. I have a set from the text"Prince of Peace." In the first head he inquires how Christ came by this title. He speaks of independent and derived authority, and says, "The former belongs to God alone, who exists necessarily and independently. The Son of God, and all beings who derive their existence from another, can have only a derived authority." After speaking of various sources and kinds of authority, he says, "Lastly, another source of authority is the positive will and appointment of God Almighty, the supreme Lord and Governor of the World; and this is indisputably the source of all that authority our Saviour is clothed with. His designation to royal power and exaltation to the throne was from his God and Father."

'I can quote many-very many passages,' continues this lady, expressive of the same sentiment; so that I have not the shadow of a doubt, that my father was full and explicit in his avowal of this opinion from 1753; and perhaps I may get positive proof from an earlier date. I will continue my search, and shall with pleasure supply you with any proof in my power, of the faith he was happy enough to enjoy, and courageous enough to avow, at the risk of his temporal comfort.'

That

To prevent misconception, it may be proper, as Dr. Freeman, in the conclusion of his notices, candidly remarks, to state, that when we call Dr. Mayhew an Unitarian, it is in the sense in which the word is commonly understood in America, as denoting those Christians who deny the doctrine of the Trinity, whether they believe the pre-existence of Christ or not. exclusive, and, as it has always appeared to us, equally unnecessary and unwarrantable limitation of the term to those who believe in the simple humanity of Christ, for which Mr. Belsham, with others, so strenuously-not to say strangely-contended, and which, to a large extent, was the acceptation of the term till within a few years since in England, has never been admitted in this country. Among us, whoever is not a Trinitarian, has a right, if he chooses it, to be called a Unitarian. The term, accordingly, embraces every variety of faith among Arians, as well as Humanitarians; and when applied, as here, to Dr. Mayhew, it must be understood as denoting one, who was a Unitarian of the school of Dr. Samuel Clarke, or of Thomas Emlyn, and who admitted, not only the pre-existence, but-in a sense not Calvinistic-the atonement of Christ.

It was during the latter part of Dr. Mayhew's life, that the English Ministry, at the suggestion of some of the prominent

leaders of the Church, entertained the project of sending Bishops to America, with the manifest design of extending here the faith and influence of the Episcopal Church. This awakened the jealousy of the friends of congregational liberty, and provoked a controversy, in which several eminent men engaged. It did not fail to call forth Dr. Mayhew. He wrote a book On the character and conduct of the society in London for propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts,' exposing the tendency of their measures, and what he deemed their unauthorized interference with the religious liberties of New England. Dr. Thomas Secker, the Archbishop of Canterbury, undertook, with others, to reply to this work; and it is impossible not to perceive that his Grace felt he was contending with no ordinary antagonist. Among Secker's works, few exhibit more ability or a better spirit than this; and he did not fail to avail himself of the advantage which, it must be confessed, the ardent temper of his opponent occasionally gave him. Indeed, Mayhew himself acknowledged that his temperament was warm; and his readers must remember how rare and difficult is the union of gentleness with uncommon vigour of mind, to excuse the asperity which some of his writings betray.

But the same ardour of spirit which made him formidable to those whose errors or conduct he opposed, made him, on the other hand, tender and generous in his friendships. He was behind none in affection to those whom he thought deserving of his esteem, or in general acts of benevolence to mankind. Öne who professed himself religiously careful neither to flatter the dead nor deceive the living, having said of his mental powers, that few surpassed him either in quickness of apprehension, clearness of perception, readiness of invention, brightness of imagination, or soundness of judgment, thus sums up his domestic and social character: Those acquainted with Dr. Mayhew must have observed his amiable behaviour in the several relations of life. As a husband, he was faithful and kind; as a father, tender and affectionate; as a master, just and equal, knowing that he had a Master in heaven. As a friend, he was true to his professions, and to be trusted with confidence. As a neighbour, he was ready to all the offices of love and goodness; instead of being deficient, he excelled in acts of liberality and charity.'

His piety, though it had been uncharitably questioned by some, whose exclusive faith gave its hue to their views of personal character, was, before his death, very generally, if not

* Dr. Charles Chauncy, who was for sixty years Pastor of the First Church in Boston, through several of which he was the cotemporary and friend of Mayhew; and whose numerous works are monuments, not more of his patient industry and theological attainments, than of his love of freedom and devotion to rational Christianity.