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the moft profound? Have you, during the investigation, kept ftrict watch over your minds, and preferved that reafon which God gave you to be the guide of life, free, firm, and erect, against the fubtil artifices of fophiftry, and the ftill more delusive logic of your own paffions? If you have done all this, and are convinced, nevertheless, that apoftacy and difloyalty are your bounden duty, it is well. Forfake your king. Difown your God."

ART. XXIV. A Sermon preached at the Parish Church of St. Mary, in Beverley, on Wednesday, March 12, 1800. Being the Day appointed for a General Faft. By the Rev. Robert Kigby, Vicar. Svo. Pr. 20. Scatcherd.

IT is a very juft remark of Mr. Rigby's, "that days appointed for public humiliation are well adapted for reproving prevailing vices ;" and his reproofs are urged with the true spirit and temper of a minifter of Chrift. He infers from the continuance of the calamities which, for the feventh time, we have been called upon to deprecate, that it is owing to the infincerity of our repentance, and to our perfeverance in finful practices. He, therefore, with peculiar propriety, admonithes his congregation to rend their hearts and not their garments. He notices and condemns, as characteristics of the times, "an impatience of difcipline," and "the want of a religious principle;" and he offers fuitable admonition and advice.

"Let magiftrates be careful to put the laws in force against offenders, and exert their authority to fupprefs all immorality and debauchery, which tend to fap the foundations of public fecurity. Let all masters of families not only regularly attend their duty at church on the Lord's day themselves, but require the fame from their children and fervants; and not only reftrain them from fpending that facred day ill, but, to the best of their ability, encourage and affift them to spend it well."

and re-echoed from the gardens of Fernay to the groves of the Palais Royal, and thence through all the affiliated focieties of Europe. The fame note has gently vibrated on the public ear from the walls of St. Stephen. Not fo the venerable Hooker. Eafier a great deal is it for men by law to be taught what they ought to do, than inftructed how to judge as they should do of law: the one being a thing which belongeth generally unto all, the other fuch as none but the wifer and more judicious fort can perform. Yea the wifeft are always touching this point, the readieft to acknowledge that foundly to judge of law is the weightieft thing which any man can take upon him.' Hooker's Ecclefiaftical Pol. V. 1. P. 282. Oxford edit. Eft fenatori neceffarium noffe rempublicam; idque late patet :-genus hoc omnes fcientiæ, diligentiæ, memoriæ fine quo paratus effe fenator nullo pacto poteft. Cicero de leg.

eft;

3. 18."

ART.

ART. XXV. On the prevalent and enercafing Neglect of the Holy Communion. A Sermon. To which is added, An Appendix, containing an Account of the Number of Communicants; at the Quarterly Sacraments, in the Parish Church of Sheffield, for the last Twenty Years. By George Smith, M. A. Curate of the faid Church, and formerly of Trinity College, Cambridge. 8vo. PP. 27. 6d. Mathews. London. 1800.

WE have long been accustomed to confider the neglect here noticed as one of the moft apparent causes of the encreafe of immorality, irreligion, and vice; and our clergy, we are perfuaded, cannot do better than frequently to enforce the neceffity of regular attendance on the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, which would do more to reform the morals and manners of the age, than the most forcible admonitions, or the moft reftrictive laws. By Mr. Smith's account it appears, that, at Sheffield, within the last five and twenty years, but more particularly within the last five years, the decrease of Communicants has been confiderable. This is, indeed, a ferious evil; and, in the difcourfe before us, which is able and impreffive, the preacher takes great pains to convince his congregation of the fatal effects of fuch a fcandalous neglect of duty.

ART. XXVI. A Letter to the Inhabitants of Sheffield, on a Subject which bas lately made, and is likely to make, much noife in the Town and Neighbourhood; or, a Short Peal on the New Bells. 18mo. Pr. 20. Price 3d. or 2s. 6d. per dozen. Gales.

Sheffield.

The

WE heartily with that every inhabitant of Sheffield would not only read this little tract, but closely attend to, and implic tly follow, every admonition which it contains; for it is evidently the production of a good Chriftian, a loyal subject, and a fenfible man. author's reflections on the neglect of public worship are juft, his remarks on the ufe of bells are both amufing and inftructive, his exhortations are pious and impreffive, and there is not a fentiment in the book " to which every true Briton and Churchman will not anfwer with a hearty Amen."

POLITICS.

ART. XXVII. A Narrative of what paffed at Killala, in the County of Mayo, and the Parts adjacent, during the French Invafion in the Summer of 1798. By an Eye-witness. 8vo. Pp. 148. 2s. 6d. Stockdale. 1800.

HIS is a well written account of the transactions which it THIS profeffes to record, having, unquestionably, the great merit of authenticity, and being interfperfed with fuch reflections as would naturally occur to a perfon whofe feelings and whofe inte

reft

reft had been materially affected by the events. It seems to have been written either by the Bishop of Killala himself, or by fome one of his family. His Lordship's houfe was the head-quarters of the French during their stay at Killala; and he pays a very just tribute of applaufe to the three officers who were left there, after the departure of General Humbert, Charoft, Boudet, and Ponfon, whofe conduct was highly honourable and praiseworthy.

It appears certain from this statement, "that enmity to the Proteftant religion entered into the motives of the devaftation in Connaught, fince it is notorious, that, except during the indiscriminate plunder which took place at the capture of Caftlebar, very few inftances occurred, throughout the province, of the house or property of a Roman Catholic being injured by the rebels," The condemnation of the Orange Society, in P. 83, is pronounced in a very dictatorial manner, and without any adequate reafon.

ART. XXVIII. Speech of the Right Hon. John Beresford, on bis moving the Sixth Article of the Union in the House of Commons in Ireland, March 27, 1800. 8vo. Pr. 39. Wright. London.

MR. BERESFORD enters into a comparative statement of the advantages which would have resulted to Ireland from the famous Commercial Propofitions of 1785, had they paffed into a law, and of thofe which the articles of the Union are calculated to fecure to her. The arrangement of his subject is perfpicuous and methodical; his adduction of facts ftrong and pofitive; and his conclufions, in favour of the provifions of the Union, are incontrovertibly juft.

ART. XXIX. Proteftant Afcendency and Catholic Emancipation reconciled by a Leg flative Union with a view of the Tranfactions in 1782, relative to the Independence of the Irif Parliament, and the prefent political State of Ireland, as dependent on the Crown, and connected with the Parliament of Great Britain. With an Appendix. 8vo. PP. 141. 35. Wright. 1800.

THE difcuffion of this momentous question has fet the character of our political writers in a very favourable point of view; for it has certainly called forth a very unusual display of knowledge and ability. If any doubt ftill remain in the mind of any individual refpecting the finality of the adjustment of 1782, let him read the tract before us, in which a series of historical facts, fupported by authentic documents, are adduced to prove, not only that it was not final, but that the very propofition for eftablishing a final adjuftment was indecently rejected by the Irish Parliament, at the time, and that too, at the inftigation of Mr. Grattan himfelf, who has fo recently and fo ftrenuously contended for its finality. This point is not merely argued, but demonftrated, eftablifbed, on a bafis not to be fhaken by affertions, nor overturned by effrontery. The correfpondence between the Duke of PortLand, the Marquis of Rockingham, and the Earl of Shelburne,

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(given in the Appendix) are completely decifive on the subject.→ The following obfervations on the fickleness of popular opinion, and the erroneousness of popular judgment, are too judicious to be omitted here.

"Minifters will fee from this on what a flippery bafis public opinion refts; how evanefcent in its duration, how giddy in its decifions. The people, if they were neither mifled by mifreprefentation, nor agitated by national paffions, early prejudices, and local habits, are incapable of forming any rational judgment on great conftitutional questions and political arrangements. Was there ever yet an inftance of any great improvement in agriculture, of any useful discovery in manufactures or the arts, that, (which) if it deviated from the established routine, did not meet with the moft obftinate and inveterate oppofition from the very perfons for whose benefit it was intended? What riots and disorders has not the introduction of machinery occafioned among our manufactures? What national benefits and improvements had not been loft, if popular clamour on thefe occafions had prevailed over more enlightened ideas? Man is the creature of habit, and the flave to prejudice; and where these are thwarted, time alone can reconcile, and experience convince. What reason has the minister to expect that county-meetings, town-halls or corporation dinners, are competent to decide on the refults and bearings of a question of fuch magnitude as the Union? But, if all the exertions that (which) have been used to influence their predominant paffions of national pride, to aroufe their deep-rooted prejudices of jealousy of Great Britain, and the English miniftry, have created a far lefs agitation and ferment than a variety of unimportant objects have continually produced; he may fairly conclude, that the fenfe of the Irish nation is not adverfe to the measure; though nothing but its actual effects can prove to them the manifold benefits and bleffings with which it will be attended.”

In the" third part" of this tract the author fuccefsfully combats an affertion advanced by Dr. Duigenan, that the Irish Romanists, in the late rebellion, "were vanquished and completely fubdued by the Proteftant power of the nation, without any affiftance from England, in the course of about fix weeks-To this he anfwers

I am far from (harbouring) a wish to detract from the merits and good conduct of the Proteftant power of Ireland, by reminding the Doctor of what is due to the English and Scotch fencibles, whofe example, discipline, and fervices, had no fmall influence on the good behaviour of the Irih militia; and who by their exertions kept down and fmothered the rebellion, particularly in Ulfter, and faved the country from ruin."-The fact itself is of lefs confequence than the inference drawn from it, that, if Ireland was feparated from England, the Proteftants muft of neceflity be overpowered by the Catholics. He again differs not only from Dr. Duigenan, but from many other refpectable writers, concerning the nature of the late rebellion, which, he contends, "was begun, planned, and contrived by the diffenting republicans of Belfaft; and was purpofely

formed

formed to unite all religions against British connection." But no fooner had it broken out" than the principle was overpowered by the majority of the Roman-Catholics, whofe deep-rooted prejudices led them to direct their vengeance on the churches and the clergy; as the Proteftants have fince retaliated by burning chapels and deftroying cottages, in fpite of every precaution which has been used to prevent fuch exceffes."

In his conclufions refpecting the religious tenets of the Catholics, as they tend to affect their political duties as fubjects of a Protestant Prince, the author is much too hafty and decifive, not to say that he is at direct variance with that moft competent judge, Lord Clare. His obfervations refpecting the property of the church are, to say the leaft of them, inconfiderate. We are furprized that so able a reafoner should not be aware of the dangerous lengths to which fuch a principle might be carried. The comparifon between the state of France, previous to the revolution, and the actual ftate of Ireland, is incorrect; and the representation of the public measures immediately preceding the revolution in France is very far from accurate. On the whole, however, this is a very able and a very useful tract, as well for immediate information, as for the purpose of reference.

ART. XXX. Union, Profperity, and Aggrandizement. 8vo. Pr. 88. 25. Weft and Hughes. 1800.

" WHOEVER," fays the author, "attentively investigates the caufes of the great political calamities, which in every age have afflicted our unhappy race, will find that they have all originated in delufion. The world has feen the torrents of blood that (which) have flowed, and the tortures that (which) have been inflicted, on account of fuch words as heretic, infidel, papists, aristocrat, and federalift; the diabolical wickednefs that (which) has been committed in the name of religion, and the favage defpotifm that, (which) under the pretext of liberty and equality, has defolated realms; but it was a fpectacle reserved for the astonishment of the present day, to behold a people, politically nothing, dead to renown, deftitute of power, freedom, or protection, oppofing with fiery zeal, under the delufion of the word, the mere word, independence, a generous offer to convert their fervitude into freedom, their abalement into confideration, their poverty into opulence, their subjection into equality, their political annihilation into imperial power."

There is certainly a great deal of truth in this obfervation, though we cannot venture to vouch for the accuracy of the melancholy picture here drawn of the Sifter Kingdom. The author, however, has ftudied the fubject deeply, and he treats it ably. The justice of the following remarks cannot be denied.

"The blunders notoriously committed by a great part of my countrymen, within a fhort time, are, indeed, most extraordinary: they wanted independence, and they fought the alliance of a power

that

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