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REVIEW.

The Supernatural in Relation to the Natural. By the Rev. J. M'COSH, LL.D., "Author of "The Method of the Divine Government," etc. (Cambridge: Macmillan and Co.)

THE Essays and Reviews" controversy is perhaps not likely to be much advanced by direct answers to the several articles contained in that notorious volume. There are, however, certain questions common, more or less, to all the Essays; such as the reality of supernatural operation, the historic evidences of Christianity, and the inspiration of the Scriptures. These require to be discussed without the specialities and limitations the assailants would impose on the controversy; and by men having peculiar fitnesses for the subjects they individually undertake to treat. Dr. M'Cosh has most fully recognized this; and has taken up one single question raised by the Essays," etc.; and that one lying within a department of thought and inquiry, in which he has long been accustomed to labour, with great honour to himself, and with great serviceableness to philosophical and religious truth. The first division of his work investigates "The Natural in Relation

to the Supernatural;" the second, "The Supernatural in Relation to the Natural." The closing chapter, on "The Analogy be tween the Natural and Supernatural Systems," is one of great argmentative force; and the whole work is distinguished by remarkable breadth and clearness of thought, sustained by rich scientific knowledge equally with philosophical culture. It seems to us to do more for the elucidation of the problem it discusses than any work that has dealt with it; and, whatever may be the immediate effect of the "Essays" controversy, it will at least have occasioned the addition to our literature of a work that faith and philosophy will agree to preserve as one of the great performances of the present age.

In an appendix on "Bunsen and German Theology," Dr. M'Cosh gives us some very interesting particulars of a visit of some days to that great biblical scholar; and vindicates him from such imputations as are founded on "the scoffing assertions put into his mouth by the Rev. Rowland Williams;" remarking, "he never scoffed, but was de. vout and loving, notwithstanding the empti ness and inconsistencies of his creed."

LANCASHIRE INDEPENDENCY AND ITS WORKS.

GOOD FRIDAY was a stirring day among the Independents of Lancashire, and proved that they were commencing their Bicentenary work in good earnest. They have never intended that the season should be devoted to a mere enunciation of principles, or a recital of the deeds of the past. The works and sacrifices of the men of 1662 must be commemorated by practical manifestations of a spirit like theirs in 1862, and to this the Independents are addressing themselves. Of the thirty chapels for Lancashire, three are already commenced, and the foundation stones of two more, one at Bolton and the other at Clitheroe, were laid on Good Friday. Bolton has many sacred associations in connection with early Nonconformity, and it is well that it should have some memorial of the great nonconformist secession. The town has grown very rapidly, and those who know it best will feel that there is abundant room for the two Bicentenary chapels proposed to be erected there. The first, of which the stone was laid on the 18th of April, by Mr. Barnes, the member for the borough, is intended for the congregation of the Rev. W. H. Davison. The ceremony appears to have created considerable interest in the borough, and it is to be hoped will communicate a fresh and healthy impulse to the enterprise itself. The chapel will cost about £5000, and will present a striking contrast to the old structures at present possessed by Independents in Bolton.

The chapel at Clitheroe, the first stone of which was laid on the same day by R. S. Ashton, Esq., of Darwen, is intended to meet the wants of a population more mixed in its character. For some time the need of more extended accommodation has been felt, and

the work has now been commenced under encouraging auspices.

On the same day large school-rooms were opened in connection with the churches at Cannon Street Chapel, Preston, and Albion Chapel, Ashton-under-Lyne. The latter may claim to be the noblest undertaking of the kind ever attempted by a single congregation. Their cost will be upwards of £10,000, and it is conceded by all that no buildings could be better adapted to the purpose for which they are designed, and despite the severe pressure of the times, the collections on the opening day and the Sabbath following realized more than £1000, a sum which will be considerably augmented before the close of the opening services.

There are thus evidences of vitality and liberality, and if happily the present fearful condition of the cotton trade shall soon be succeeded by a return of prosperity, there is no reason to doubt that more than the thirty chapels originally named will be erected in connection with the Bicentenary movement. Surely none need regard it with jealousy. There is work enough for all, and if their efforts be the means of stirring-up others to love and good works-if Evangelical Churchmen will build more churches, and Wesleyan Methodists more chapels, none will rejoice more heartily than the prominent actors in this Bicentenary commemoration. Meanwhile our own work is great, and we need zeal, self-sacrifice, and the spirit of prayer if we would do it well. We cannot shrink from the maintenance of our own earnest convictions, and the refutation of the calumnies with which we have been assailed; but we must never forget that our grand work is the diffusion of the Gospel of Christ.

NORTHERN MONTHLY.

JUNE, 1862.

DR. MILLER AND THE SINS OF CONTROVERSY.

CONTROVERSY, and especially religious controversy, is seldom a pleasant thing. Its tendency is to arouse feelings that had better be repressed, to separate men who ought to be united, and often to expose the most sacred interests of truth to injury. To merely superficial observers it sometimes would seem as if its result were always evil, and evil only; and those who engage in it must prepare not only for the severe assaults of adversaries but also quite as often for the carping criticisms of timid friends, who are ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of peace. But it is well to remember that right things are not always pleasant, nor pleasant things always right. No one can have studied the history of Truth without learning that its real power has never been less and its advance slower than at those times when every voice of opposition has been hushed, and that the very vehemence of discussion has often been an evidence of that earnest attachment to principle which is the first condition of spiritual power. We are not, therefore, alarmed by the fierce controversy into which the Bicentenary movement has hurried us. It is not pleasant, certainly, to hear or read the bitter things that are constantly being said by men from whom we looked for something very different. It is sad to encounter the scoffing sneer of infidelity, and to see how its organs gloat over these dissensions among Christians. It is somewhat mortifying to mark the Puseyite No. 6.-VOL. I.

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withal we do not doubt that the ultimate issue will be good. Principles must be discussed before they can be properly understood or generally accepted; and believing that those we, as Dissenters, hold dear are derived from Scripture and suited to the exigencies of the Church, we cannot regret that they should be thoroughly sifted. Every party, too, has something to learn from its opponent, and though in the heat of discussion prejudices may appear to be strengthened, yet when the excitement has subsided, it is hoped that both may have gained a greater breadth of view. This, we expect, will be the result even of the present hot strife. The contending principles may remain the same at its close, but the combatants, we feel sure, will have a clearer understanding of each other's position, and so may have learned lessons of mutual respect. The platform of Christian union, at present apparently ready to fall, may become both firmer and broader from being placed on a more substantial foundation, and infidelity may find that it at least has no reason for self-gratulation, since the very ardour of the combatants only

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indicates the strength of these religious convictions, and so proves the vanity of their assertions that Christianity had lost its hold on the minds and hearts of this generation.

Such consequences can only be reached however as the result of the most thorough and unfettered discussion of the questions at issue, carried on in a Christian spirit. Sir Culling Eardley, the chairman of the Evangelical Alliance, who seems to think it his special mission to promote the cause of Christian union, has been so troubled about the aspect of affairs, that he has thought it necessary to pay a visit to Birmingham and spend some days in throwing oil upon the troubled waters of controversy in that town. Of course, it was from the Dissenters that he expected and asked concession. "Sufferance is the badge of the tribe," and has so long been so that we are not very much surprised that he should have cherished such an idea, but as little are we astonished to find that he has been signally disappointed. The attempt to heal the breach was well meant, but it has ended just as any one might have predicted. Dissenters will not owe much gratitude to Sir Culling while the English Churchman, on the other side, describes him as that "well-meaning but somewhat meddling and obtrusive baronet, who may be described in Hibernian language as half a Churchman, but wholly a Dissenter." sibly the relations he has sustained at different times to both parties may have led him to regard himself as a suitable mediator; but his vacillations rather indicate to us that he is scarcely alive to the extent of difference, and to the strength of feeling by which men on both sides are influenced. The controversy is one with which sentimentalism can never deal. It has been gradually forcing itself into prominence, and is evidently destined to become the question of the day. It is simply hopeless to expect that men will be silent on

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points they deem of such vital importance merely to gratify the desires of those who, in their zeal for charity, forget that peace is solid and enduring only when it is the effect of righteousness.

Is it, however, too much to hope that the discussion may be conducted in a spirit more worthy of the grandeur of the issues at stake, and more fitting the professed character of those engaged in it? Surely the relations that ought to exist between the religion of Christ and human governments is a topic demanding calm and thoughtful consideration, and Christian men should be able to enter on it without renouncing all regard to courtesy, to say nothing of charity. The imputation of bad motives, the employment of ugly names, the bandying of reckless accusations, the fostering of bitter personal animosities, are not the necessary concomitants of such a discussion. There are other weapons which may be used,

and which are likely to contribute much more to the settlement desired.

If, however, we are to believe Dr. Miller and his friends, we are the sole transgressors in the matter. Perhaps more than any other man he has given a character to this controversy. He was the first to take umbrage at the Bicentenary movement, and to point out its probable result in dissolving the union between the Evangelical clergy and the Dissenters. The way in which he has followed up his original declaration by withdrawing from the committee of the Bible Society, and urging the same course on others, indicates how thoroughly he intends to separate himself from his quondam associates. Nor can he be regarded as a mere individual actor; although, happily, it is evident that he does not carry all his party with him. Yet his high character, his extensive influence in that section of the clergy to which he belongs, and the jubilant exultation of the

High Church over his proceedings, all prove the significance attaching to his words and deeds. We may be wrong, but in our judgment he has not done any real service to his cause or his friends. Able, devoted, zealous as he unquestionably isperhaps one the most useful clergymen in the country-he is too sensitive and impulsive for the position into which circumstances, possibly as much as his own choice, have forced him. His ardent feelings have hurried him into expressions and acts which we trust his better judgment will disapprove. Indeed we wonder even now that he is not somewhat startled by the strange company in which he finds himself, and that the very praises lavished on him by a party which hitherto has had nothing for him but contempt or censure, do not make him doubt the propriety of much that he has said and done. Dissenters are certainly disappointed in him— perhaps too much so. There are few men in the Established Church whom they regarded with more respect, confidence, and even affection, and they perhaps had not made sufficient allowance for his strong Church sympathies. They surely had a right to hope, however, that though he was not likely to adopt their opinions yet he would have judged their conduct in a more just, if not a more generous spirit. In his view the fault is all with us, and as he must be taken as a representative man, his views being shared by numbers of his brethren, it is not too much to inquire how far his allegations have been sustained, and whether Dissenters ought to meet the requirements he makes.

The position he takes is high and decided. The Evangelical clergy have been charged in certain quarters with "unfaithfulness and perjury," the Dissenters generally must, in some authoritative form, repudiate all sympathy with such attacks, or they must not expect that

the friendly relations which for some time past have subsisted between them and the men thus assailed can continue. That we may not be accused of putting the case too strongly, we quote from his own words "Let the Evangelical clergy, not angrily nor arrogantly, but calmly, demand that this impeachment of their truth be disclaimed by the great body of Nonconformists, or let them, fearless of all consequences, do their duty to themselves, their Church, and to truth; not by rash secession, nor by any introduction of strife on the society's platform, but by the dignified remonstrance involved in withdrawal from active co-operation, until they are recognized as, at least, honest men." This same demand was put forth in even stronger terms in his address at the clerical gathering at Southport, and we suppose must be regarded as a sine quá non, our compliance with which is essential to the renewal of union.

If so, the breach, indeed, must be both wide and lasting, for nothing is more certain than that the Nonconformists will never satisfy a requisition so unreasonable, savouring more of the petulance of a spoiled child than of that calm wisdom which we might have expected to find. Recrimination is but a poor way of meeting such charges as those the canon brings; but it is necessary, in order to indicate to him his own true position, that we remind him of the assaults to which on our side we have been exposed. We will not refer to the light in which a large number of the clergy have systematically represented our churches and ministers, as those who have ventured "on the criminal and tremendous alternative of schism," who have set up little communities of their own, which are not churches at all, and whose preachers have no title to be regarded as ministers of Christ at all. We will speak only of the controversies of the last two or three

years, and especially of that arising out of the Bicentenary, and we will confine ourselves, as far as possible, to members of the Evangelical section.

Assuredly the Cliffords, the Bardsleys, and a host of others less notorious, have not been very scrupulous in their assertions, or very sparing in their reflections on the character of adversaries. It was only the other day that Mr. Miall, who during his whole life has been connected with the Independents, was publicly charged with being a Unitarian, on no better authority than that of the Morning Advertiser, that wonderful paper which seeks to unite the advocacy of orthodox piety with the representation of the licensed victuallers, and which is hardly more notorious for this extraordinary hybrid than for the wretched canards which it is so fond of perpetrating. Yet on such grounds it has been sought to blight Mr. Miall's reputation, by representing him (for to this the charge amounts) of professing attachment to a sect whose doctrines are most diametrically opposite to those which he really holds. This surely tran scends the fair limits of controversy, yet the offence was committed by the man who stands forward as the most prominent and noisy champion of the Church of England in this matter.

This only involves injustice to an individual; but the body of Dissenters and their principles have been attacked in a like spirit. In the "Sussex Tracts," with the signature of "G. F. Chambers" attached, I find the following among other statements: "The Congregational Union has had, mirabile dictu, honesty to confess this much," i.e., that the ejected were friendly to an Established Church. It is thus pronounced to be a wonderful thing that in the Congregational Union there should be honesty enough to confess a simple historical fact, one which they never attempted to con

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ceal. Again, "The plain fact is that, under cover of a great religi ous movement, the Political Dissenters are seeking to palm off on Englishmen a great political swindle. Dissent is for the most part no longer synonymous with spirituallyminded religion, but with REVOLUTION. The last thirty years has (sic) seen the great bulk of English Dissenters (more particularly the Baptists and Independents) transformed into a mob of intriguing political agitators, bound together by no tie but that of envy, hatred, malice, and all possible uncharitableness' towards the Church of England as by law established." An extract taken from the "Christian Penny Magazine," is described as "BLASPHEMY OF THE VILEST KIND." (The capitals are the author's). Dr. Campbell, who has recently become very silent on this Church question, may be gratified to read, "Worthy indeed is the Christian Penny Magazine' of standing side by side with Tom Paine's Age of Reason,' and the many blasphemous works of Voltaire, Hone, Holyoake, and other Atheists of this stamp." Rev. Baptist Noel is described as one of the Church's bitterest enemies; as such let us beware of him." And, finally, the following advice is given, If you have ever subscribed to the erection of a Dissenting meeting-house, under the idea that you were furthering the spread of the Gospel, we entreat you to do so no more. Depend upon it, particularly if you give it to a Baptist or Independent, it has long since been repaid to the world, not in the shape of Gospel Truth, but Church revilement." Even these extracts convey but an imperfect idea of the spirit of the pamphlet from which they are taken. To what party the writer belongs we know not, but the tract issues from the wellknown Evangelical house of Wertheim, Macintosh, and Hunt. Be

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