Temperance, Fortitude, and Constancy, which become good Soldiers of Jesus Christ.

"That in order to the obtaining and preserving the said Qualifications, they do very frequently in their Retirements offer up fervent Prayers to Almighty God for his Direction and Assistance; converse much with the Holy Scriptures; seriously reflect upon their Ordination Vows; and consider the Account which they are to render to the great Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls at the last Day.

"That avoiding all Names of Distinction, they endeavour to preserve a Christian Agreement and Union one with another, as a Body of Brethren, of one and the same Church, united under the superior Episcopal Order, and all engaged in the same great Design of Propagating the Gospel; and to this End, keeping up a Brotherly Correspondence, by meeting together at certain Times, as shall be most convenient, for mutual Advice and Assistance."

APPENDIX E. p. 355.

At a Special Meeting of the Society held on the 7th April, 1749, Present-The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and Ten Suffragan Bishops, the following letter from the Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations was read:

"Whitehall, April 6th, 1749. "SIR,-His Majesty having given directions that a number of persons should be sent to the Province of Nova Scotia, in North America, I am directed by my Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations, to desire you will acquaint the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, that it is proposed to settle the said persons in six Townships, and that a particular spot will be set apart in each of them for building a Church, and 400 acres of land adjacent thereto granted in perpetuity, free from the payment of any Quit Rent, to a Minister and his successors, and 200

1 Journal, Vol. XI. p. 105.

in like manner to a Schoolmaster. Their Lordships therefore recommend to the Society to name a Minister and Schoolmaster for each of the said Townships, hoping that they will give such encouragements to them as the Society shall think proper, until their lands can be so far cultivated as to afford a sufficient support.

"I am further to acquaint you that each Clergyman who shall be sent with the persons who are to form this first settlement, will have a grant of 200 acres of land, and each Schoolmaster 100 acres in perpetuity to them and their heirs, as also 30 acres over and above their said respective quotas, for every person of which their families shall consist; that they will likewise be subsisted during their passage, and for twelve months after their arrival, and furnished with arms, ammunition, and materials for husbandry, building their houses, &c. in like manner as the other settlers.

"Their Lordships think proper that the Society should be informed that (except the Garrison of Annapolis) all the inhabitants of the said Province, amounting to 20,000, are French Roman Catholics, and that there are a great number of priests resident among them, who act under the directions of the French Bishop of Quebec.

"At the same time their Lordships would recommend it to the consideration of the Society, whether it may not be advisable to choose some amongst others of the Ministers and Schoolmasters to be sent, who by speaking the French language may be particularly useful in cultivating a sense of the true Protestant Religion among the said inhabitants, and educating their children in the principles thereof.

"I am, SIR, your most obedient humble servant,

"JOHN POWNALL, Solicitor, &c. "Clerk of the Reports."

If to the foregoing list be added

For the Congregations of the

Church of England in France M. H. F. Luscombe, LL.D.

Anglican Church at Jerusalem. M. S. Alexander, D.D.;

the whole number of Bishops of our Communion in other countries amounts to forty-seven; and, singularly enough, the number at home, including England, Ireland, and Scotland, is at present precisely the same—making in all NINETY-FOUR.

SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL.

Before bringing this Volume to a close, it may be well to add a few particulars respecting that Society, which, for a period of fourscore years, so largely contributed to the support of the Church in the North American Colonies.

The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, if it may not in strictness of speech be called the organ of the Church for the department of missions, is at least entitled to the credit of having led the way in this great work-and has, from the beginning, enjoyed the confidence, and been guided by the counsels, of the spiritual rulers of our Church.

The successive Archbishops of Canterbury, from the time of William the Third to the present day, have been the Presidents of the Society, whose proceedings have been uniformly in strict accordance with the spirit of our Ecclesiastical system.

At the Anniversary Festival, which has been celebrated without interruption since the year 1702, the sermon, with rare exceptions, has been preached by a Bishop; and in this way the claims of the Society have been upheld by Burnet, Beveridge, Sherlock, Berkeley, Butler, Secker, Warburton, Newton, Lowth, Hurd, Porteus, Horsley, Burgess, and Van Mildert.'

For the carrying on of its great designs, the Society was dependent upon voluntary contributions, whether by gift or annual subscription. The following table of income and expenditure for the first five years will be read with interest :

From 1710 to 1750, the annual receipts averaged 2,1501.; from 1750 to 1770, the average rose to 4,000l., but rapidly fell soon after the commencement of the political troubles in 1776. At no period was the ordinary income of the Society sufficient to meet

1 A volume containing twelve anniversary sermons preached before the Society, has recently been published. Sharpe: London-1845.