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REVIEW.
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Art . I . —A Char a e delivered to the Clergy of the Diocese of London at the Primary Visitation of tliat Diocese in the vear 18 14 . By William , JLord Bishop of London . 4 to . pp . S 4 . Payne and Foss . IB 14 .
PTpHE Bishop of London ' s Charge . is creditable to him as a writer j it is in a style of stateliness which always approaches and sometimes rises into eloquence : but we cannot compliment his lordship or congratulate pur readers upon the spirit which it breathes . We have not indeed to
accuse the bishop of grossness of language or vulgarity of manner ; our complaint is of a more serious naturethat , insensible to the character of the times , he asserts claims on behalf of
the church and the priesthood which liave been long exploded , as inconsistent with common sense , civil liberty , and , above all , evangelical simplicity and truth .
The prelate opens his charge with an elegant eulogium upon his predecessor in the see of . London . Dr . Randolph was known to be a high dnirchman , and the following sentence shews that the present bishop inherits the same character :
" From the period of his first entrance on the higher departments of the Church be opposed a determined resistance to the spurious liberality , which in tlie vain desire of conciliation increases division and multiplies heresy , hy palliating- the guilt of schism , ' or by diminishing * the number and undervaluing the importance of doctrines essential to Christianity . ' P . 1 .
"We suppose that the Bishop here refers to the " liberality' * and " conciliation" proposed and certainly extiibited in the Bible Society . Who can help lamenting that a Christian
bishop should refer to such an institution in such a manner ? " The guilt of schism , " too , is a phrase which , unexplained , is little suitable to a Protestant minister . The schism effected
T > y the Reformation constitutes the true glory of that splendid aera . In the course of his panegyric , the Bishop also praises his predecessor for ** his endeavour to replace ecclesiastical discipline mi its ancient footing-, to recover the rights and assert the legitimate authority of the Spiritual
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Governor . " P . 2 . This is lofty language . We know not what measures the late Bishop was taking to " replace ecclesiastical discipline on its 1
a ,: > unt footing , and to < c recover the rights and assert the authority of the Spiritual Governor ^ whether he sought to revive the Con vocation , whether he reckoned antiquity of
discipline to be posterior to the times of . Archbishop Laud , who was an eminent disciplinarian , or whether he only intended to hold a tighter rein over the clergy , and especially that class of them who assume the title of
Evangelical ; but we confess that we startle at seeing a panegyric on a Christian minister founded upon his being or wishing to be a rigid governor A . considerable proportion of the Charge relates to temporal affairs ,
parliamentary regulations affecting the Clergy ; such as Noli-Residence laws ( pp . 4—7 ) , Stipendiary Curates Bill ( 7—9 ) , repeal of the acts for burying in Woollen ( 10 ) : nor do we know that this is improper ; but we have been a little surprised at the introduction of such matters , amidst others
of so much greater and higher concern , and we have amused ourselves for a moment , we hope innocently , in fancying the apostle Paul called up from the dead and hearing , in the Church bearing his name , the
passages above marked delivered , by one asserting himself to be his successor , to an audience composed of Christian teachers * and in speculating upon the surprise that would be depicted in that apostle's countenance . decla
There is not much political - mation in the Charge , but the following reflection appears to us to be decidedly erroneous and unjust : "The-French Revolution was not an accidental explosion , a hurst of momentary passion or frenzy , hut a deliberate ami premeditated rebellion against authori y human and divine : It was the strugg le of
desperate wickedness to shake of ! the s ~ lutary restraints imposed l > y religion en law on the worst passions of human n <" ture . " P . 12 . How long , as Bishop G regoj ^ complains ( M . ttcpos . x . J ° ) ' * fjj £ French Revolution to be misreprefleir
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Review.
REVIEW .
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" Still pleased to praise , yet not afraid to blame . " Pom
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1815, page 576, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1764/page/44/
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