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to this, 30,585 books have been sold in the depository.

notwithstanding they have been impeded by the unhappy state of the country. The Committee have published twenty-five new tracts, either original compositions, or compilations which have never before been presented to the public in the form of tracts. To supply the demand for publications formerly in circulation, the Committee have re-printed sixty-four of their own and other tracts, several of which have comprehended editions of 10,000 copies, making a total of 522,000 printed during the last year. The books published in the French language are intended chiefly for the benefit of the children of the higher classes. The Committee state, that the publications of the Society meet with general approbation, not only in Ireland but also in England and Scotland. They have been the means of inducing those to read the word of God, who had, probably, never before perused its sacred pages; and have been made the means of turning the wandering and almost hopeless sinner from the evil of his ways to serve the living God; have smoothed the pillow of affliction, and cheered the dying hours of many a child of poverty. In proof of the necessity for such an institution, the Committee advert to the evidence adduced before the Commissioners of Inquiry into the Revenue of Ireland. In their Report, ordered to be printed by the House of Commons, on the 26th of July, 1822, one of the witnesses states, that there is " prevalent scarcity of books in all the considerable towns of Ireland;" and another informs them, that "eleven counties are actually without a single bookseller's shop, and that generally the trade is confined within narrow limits, and to a few hands." With the exception of the capital, there are not more than fifty-three booksellers in Ireland. Nearly one-third of the kingdom is completely destitute of such establishments, and the supply of the others, is deficient in a melancholy degree!

The Committee are happy to find, that the Society's suggestions, with regard to Lending Libraries, have met with considerable attention. Besides those mentioned in the last Report, twenty have been esta blished during the past year, together with seven depositories, in addition to those formed by the Ladies' Tract Association; making a total of thirty-eight libraries and ten depositories. They also report, that 443,686 tracts have been sold at full or reduced prices, and that 18,983 tracts have been issued gratuitously, making a total issue of 462,669 tracts. In addition

We have not seen a set of the Society's publications; but we have a list of them up to the close of last year, including not much short of four hundred books, tracts, and broad sheets, among which we recognise many well-known and truly valuable publications, admirably adapted to the Society's purpose. The Committee state, that having experienced, in the course of their labours, much difficulty in selecting religious books which can be safely placed in the hands of young persons, they were anxious to form some standard for their own guidance,and for the assistance of their friends, in the composition of such publications. They have accordingly issued the following hints, not as perfect, or perfectly satisfactory to their own minds, but as forming some ground for a more complete and regularly digested system for this species of composition. Their suggestions appear to us so judicious and useful, that we feel great pleasure in transcribing them for the benefit of our readers. They deserve to be maturely weighed by all who undertake to minister to the public edification, whether from the press or the pulpit.

"The title of the tract or book should be short, simple, and as far as possible, explanatory of the design of the composition. When the subject will admit of it, the work should open in the narrative or descriptive style, that at first view it may attract the attention of the reader. Religious reflections should be short, animated, and forcible. They should not be placed entirely at the commencement, or entirely at the end, but should be interspersed throughout the work. The essential doctrines of the Gospel, together with all the practical principles flowing from them, should be boldly and pron:inently put forward. No direct or indirect oaths, even as quotations, no light or familiar use of the name of any of the Divine Persons in the Godhead, no fanciful or irreverent use of Scripture language should be introduced. All expletive language, needless repetitions, indecent and vulgar sentiments or allusions, or affected phrases, and all overstrained metaphors should be omitted. The names of fictitious persons should be such as are in common use, not such as Mr. Gracious, Master Sensible, &c. &c. The language of the composition should be simple, chaste, pious, and striking, and adapted to the character and circumstances of the person represented. Advice should be expressed in earnest,

unassuming, and affectionate language. The prevailing taste, feelings, and prejudices of the different ranks of society should not be needlessly offended. No composition should contain fairy tales, or dreams, or stories of ghosts. Care should be taken to avoid the light style of novels or romances. A preference should be given to matter of fact above fiction. Every composition should be entered upon with some definite object in view-to illustrate, perhaps, some doctrine, as the corruption of man, faith, good works, or to improve some class of individuals, as masters, servants, or children. Decency, propriety, and simplicity should be studied in such pictures as may be attached to publications, and all representations of the Deity should be avoided. Quotations from authors of profligate character, or of anti-Christian principles, should not be used, without great care, lest it should appear to the ignorant that thereby a sanction was given to their works. Animadversions on the political institutions of the country should be avoided; and all reflections which may tend to bring persons in authority, and the higher orders, into disrepute with the lower orders, should be guarded against. No reflection should be made on living characters, especially ministers of religion; and all necessary disapprobation should be expressed in the language of Christian charity and forbearance. Dedications of a work to God, or to deceased persons, addresses or apostrophes to saints or to the dead, and all fulsome or adulatory eulogiums on the living, should be avoided. In works of controversy, a mild and charitable spirit should be preserved. In all compositions, particular delicacy should be studied in making mention of sinful actions. If it is not deemed adviseable to omit altogether stories and facts relating to seduction, it should be plainly intimated in the name or title of the work, that such matter is contained in it. A strict guard should be placed upon the fancy, lest the writer, while seeking to check the progress of vice, should become inadvertently the means of increasing it. Lastly, whoever sits down to compose a work to promote the honour and glory of God, ought above all things to seek His direction and blessing, and proceed to the conclusion in a continued spirit of prayer."

AMERICAN EPISCOPAL COL

LEGE.

Our readers are already apprised of the plan now in progress for the formation of

an Episcopal College in the State of Con necticut, for which Mr. Wheaton, a clergyman at Hartford, in that State, has been deputed to this country to procure donations. From a circular letter, explanatory of the nature of the object, we select the following particulars, which, besides their primary reference, will be found interesting, from the information which they contain relative to the history, the present condition, and the prospects of the AngloAmerican Church.

"Before the event which severed the United States from the mother country, a number of churches had been planted there by the missionaries of the Society in England for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. These were of course withdrawn, when the dependence of the States on the parent country ceased, and the church in America was reduced to a languishing and precarious state of existence. The attachment of its members was, however, too deeply rooted, to suffer them to witness its decay without an effort to arrest it, and their first care was directed to the provision of a valid ministry. In the year 1784, the Rev. Samuel Seabury was appointed by the Episcopalians in Connecticut, to proceed to England, to solicit consecration at the hands of the English bishops; but as no civil provision had then been made for the consecration of bishops out of his Majesty's dominions, and as the necessities of the American Church were pressing, he was induced to apply to the bishops of the Scottish Church, where, it was understood, no obstructions of a civil nature existed; and was set apart to the Episcopal office by Bishop Kilgour, of Aberdeen, assisted by Bishops Petrie and Skinner. Three years later, when the obstructions in England had been removed by an Act of Parliament, the Rev. Dr. White of Pennsylvania, and the Rev. Samuel Provost, of New York, both of whom had been ordained in England, were consecrated at Lambeth, by the Archbishop of Canterbury; and in 1790, the Rev. Dr. Madison, of Virginia, was also consecrated, by the same authority. Bishop White is now the only survivor of those who received their consecration in England, and the remaining nine American bishops have all been consecrated by him. These circumstances are related, that it may be seen how directly the American Church is descended from that in England. The former claims to be considered as a genuine branch of the holy, catholic, and apostolic church; and it gratefully ascribes its existence,

under God, to the unwearied efforts and maternal care of the Established Church in England. Its formulary of public worship is almost identically the same: it believes in the same Articles of the Christian Faith; and acknowledges the same Book of Homilies to contain sound expositions of Christian doctrine and practice.

"Such is the civil constitution of the United States, that neither bishops nor clergy derive the least assistance from the Government: they are in every case supported by the voluntary contributions of the people over whom they preside. The largest salaries of the clergy do not exceed 7001. sterling; while the average of their incomes may be estimated at 1201. or 1301. The bishops are also rectors of churches, and generally derive their support from that source.

"The number of organised Episcopal congregations in the States falls but little short of six hundred; while the clergymen engaged in actual parochial duty do not, at present, exceed half that number. It is pleasing to record the gradual extinction of those inveterate prejudices against Episcopacy which distinguished the first settlers of the country, especially in those parts where the church has been advantageously made known by her more intelligent ministers. The candid and moderate belonging to the various sects, appalled at the enormous strides of heresy, are visibly becoming more reconciled to a church whose temperate doctrines, consistent government, and edifying mode of worship, present a common ground of union, not to be found within the pale of any of the classes of Dissenters. Nothing indeed seems to be wanting to a general extension of the Episcopal Church, but a body of zealous, well-educated clergy, far more numerous than, with her present advantages, it is possible for her to possess.

"In the range of States to the westward of the Alleghany mountains, whose population is already computed by millions, a large portion of whom are attached from principle to the forms of this church, it is a melancholy fact, that but fourteen Episcopal clergymen are employed! Nor is there the least prospect of their receiving a supply for years to come, unless a more adequate provision is made for the education of ministers. The churches in the States bordering on the Atlantic, where all the literary institutions of note are found, are only supplied in part; and while they labour under their present privations, all missionary efforts for the bene

fit of their western brethren must be suspended. This lamentable deficiency in the numbers of the Episcopal clergy is to be ascribed principally to the fact, that there does not exist in the United States a college generally accessible to students, where they may receive a classical education, without danger to the religious predilections in which they have been brought up. It ought, however, to be mentioned, that Columbia College, in the city of New York is conducted principally by members of the Episcopal Church; but such is the expense attending a four years' residence in a large city, that the benefits of the institution are in a great measure confined to the city itself. The theological institution lately established in the. same place, is devoted to the object of preparing young men for the ministry, who have first received a classical education elsewhere.

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Unhappily for the cause of religious truth, the best endowed literary institution in the country, the Harvard University, near Boston, is wholly Unitarian. Few young men of talents leave that institution, without having imbibed more or less of the spirit of bold religious speculation, which has already spread to a most alarming extent among the opulent and intellectual, particularly in the eastern part of the Union. Yet it is highly gratifying to reflect, that in no instance has an Episcopal clergyman been known to abandon the faith of his fathers, and lead his people over to the ranks of Unitarian heresy and dissent. The Liturgy has hitherto proved, under God, an effectual bulwark of the faith once delivered to the saints;' and hence it has been lately made the object of repeated and severe attacks from Unitarian pens. The Harvard university is in possession of funds to the amount of more than half a million of dollars-principally the accumulated donations of individuals, and enjoys moreover a large annual stipend from the State treasury: it has a library of 30,000 volumes; and the various branches of science, and classical literature, are taught by twenty professors, aided by a number of tutors. With means so extensive, it must operate a material change on the religious views of the community; and particularly so, as its professors occupy the first rank among the learned in América. The North-American Review may be adduced as a specimen of their literary ability.

"The other important classical institutions also, without exception, are controuled by denominations not Episcopal; and in all of them, the peculiar principles

of their respective sects are more or less inculcated. The consequences to the church may easily be imagined. Many young men of fair promise have been annually lost to the church, who might have been dedicated to the service of her altars, had they not been compelled to seek a classical education in institutions unfriendly to her government and mode of worship.

"The second place among American colleges is occupied by Yale College, which is exclusively directed by Congregationalists. It is worthy of remark, that its library is not a little indebted to the munificence of members of the Established Church in England. Soon after its foundation, many authors, then living, enriched it with donations of their works; and Mr. Dummer, the agent for the colony, presented it with 800 choice volumes. But it found its most munificent patron in Dr. Berkley, Bishop of Cloyne, who added near 1000 volumes, 260 of which were folio editions of the best authors. The college is also indebted to him for a valuable tract of land in the State of Rhode Island, the annual rent of which is appropriated to the encouragement of classical learning. A Baptist college, lately organised in the district of Columbia, has also derived essential aid from England, in donations of money, and books for its library.

"Thus has it happened, that, while the literary institutions of other denominations in America have been essentially aided by the liberality of English Episcopalians, the Episcopal Church in that country remains destitute. Its members in the State of Connecticut have been endeavouring, for the last twelve or fifteen years, to obtain from the Legislature a charter for an Episcopal College; but so powerful has been the operation of popular prejudice, that their efforts have been without success till the present year. This difficulty being at length overcome, they have now to contend with the evils of poverty; while their scattered situation renders even the support of their clergy burdensome.

aid beyond what lies in their own resources, particularly in the provision of a library, and apparatus for experiments in natural philosophy, many years must elapse, before the church will experience any material benefit from the institution. Under these embarrassments, the trustees are induced to turn to that enlightened body in England, from which it is the boast of the American Church that she derives her origin. They rely on a simple exposure of their circumstances, their wants and their prospects, to procure them a favourable hearing. They do not wish to appear in the character of suppliants for charity; they only desire to be put in possession of the means of emulating, though with humbler efforts, the career of their brethren in England, in extending and building up the cause they love."-Subscriptions, donations in books and philosophical instruments, will be thankfully received by Messrs. Rivington, St. Paul's Churchyard, and the Rev. Dr. Gaskin, at Stoke Newington, near London.

AMERICAN BOARD OF MISSIONS.

The Thirteenth Report of the American Board of Missions states, that the Foreign Mission School now contains thirty-five members; namely, eight from the Sandwich Islands, one Tahitian, one New Zealander, one Malay, eight Cherokees, two Choctaws, two of the Stockbridge Tribe, one of the Oneidas, two Tuscaroras, one Narragansett, two Caughnawagas, and an Indian youth from Pennsylvania, a Chinese, and four youths of the United States. From this list it will be seen, that, of the thirty-one youths of heathen parentage, nineteen belong to eight tribes of the American aborigines, nine are from Polynesia, one is from Asia, one from the Asiatic Islands, and one from Australasia. It is becoming a subject of serious inquiry among the friends of missions in the United States, whether more extensive measures cannot be adopted to educate young foreigners, who are cast upon their shores ignorant and destitute; but who, in many instances, are susceptible of great improve'ment, and might hereafter prove great blessings to their countrymen. Should such a measure obtain the sanction of the public, a selection of the most promising youths would be made for the Foreign Mission School; and thus a succession of well instructed Missionaries might be sent forth to many distant communities now sitting in darkness and the shadow of

"It is the intention of the trustees to render the college, as far as possible, a place of resort for the sons of all the Episcopalians throughout the Union, and a nursery of ministers for the infant church. The patronage of all the friends of the cause will accordingly be solicited; and agents for collecting funds are now actively engaged, with very encouraging prospects of success. But without some death. CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 266. S

A late circular announces, that there are seventy-one persons employed by the Board among the Heathen; of whom twenty-eight are ordained ministers of the Gospel, and seven licensed preachers. Besides these there are fifty-four female assistants.

SOCIETY FOR FEMALE SER-
VANTS.

The Tenth Report of the Society states,, that the Committee have distributed, since the last general meeting, ninety Bibles as rewards to as many servants; as also the sum of three guineas to six servants, instead of a second copy of the Scriptures, in cases where the servant had already received a Bible from the Society. They have also distributed, gratuitously and by sale, at least fifteen hundred copies of the Friendly Hints, and two thousand Maxims of Prudence, among servants, besides a considerable number of useful and appropriate tracts, furnished by a private hand.

With respect to the general state of morals in humble life, as well as the mischiefs that bad principles occasion, when introduced into respectable families, it is most painful to the Committee to state, that a host of females assail the Registrar, so ill clad as indeed to be objects of commiseration; and most of them, apparently, so destitute of character (discovered even from their own description of themselves) that the Registrar would not be justified in sending them to any of the subscribers. It is thought, that not above one female in four that apply for situations is at all eligible to have her name inserted in the books. The Committee deprecate, that the Registry should be viewed by the public, or by any of the subscribers, as an ordinary business con

cern. They wish it should be considered as a kindness to females of good character, and of the required description, by introducing them, without expense, to families of respectability; but on no acccount as the medium of a contract on the part of the Society to provide servants for the sake of the guinea any stranger may de. posit.

During the past year 653 applications have been made by subscribers for servants: and 1262 servants have been registered as wanting situations. Of these, 520 have been engaged.

Since the last Report was made, the Committee have distributed in annual rewards and bestowments the sum of 3947. to 242 servants for long service and good conduct. During the past year, one hundred and eighty new nominations have been made. Six servants during the year have received donations on their marriages.

Reviewing the whole of the Society's be stowments on servants since its commencement in 1813, the Committee report, that upwards of 40,000 tracts of a useful sort have been put into the hands of domestics; that six hundred and twelve servants have been rewarded with Bibles; that one thousand one hundred and eighty rewards and donations have been assigned, to the amount of one thousand nine hundred and twenty-eight pounds six shillings, and 3,919 engagements have been made between subscribers and servants through the medium of the Registry.

Applications have been made by benevolent persons from Newcastle, Edinburgh, and Paris, for a particular account of the Society's proceedings, with a view to consider the propriety of extending the plan to those or other places.

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