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sacrifice and self denial,) we must not shut our eyes to the fact, that the subscription lists of our societies both indicate and encourage the opinion, that a man does enough when he gives that of which he does not feel the want. Because a mighty river results from the union of innumerable drops, therefore is it deemed enough that each should afford but a drop out of the abundance wherewith God has caused his cup to overflow. Far nobler and more Christian was the temper of those ages, when these societies indeed, of which we boast so loudly, were unknown; but when innumerable and most costly works arose, each as the spontaneous offspring of some high mind, the fruit of individual love, and gratitude, and self-denial.

A more miserable developement of the same vicious principle, is presented by our charity sales, and charity amusements. These are devices to effect the great results which are the natural fruit of genuine self-denying Christian beneficence, by means of our meagre and niggard rule of giving that which we shall never miss. As if to ensure the absence of self-denial, and to poison more thoroughly the very fountains of charity, we must be bribed to give to God even that which we do not want. We have ceased to give for the love of Christ, that we may learn, even in devoting our substance to His Church and to the poor, to be influenced by the love of worldly pleasure.

And yet one step farther have we gone. Having established the principle that charity consists in giving without self-denial, without sparing anything which we want; and finding after all our expedients, that such a principle will not supply all that is wanted; we have now set ourselves to devise methods of serving God without any expense on our part at all. No sooner are the urgent needs of their poor neighbours pleaded, than men meet them, not with liberal, large-hearted, self-denying donations of that which is their own; but with sordid, grovelling, debasing calculations, how the evil may be remedied by new-modelling one fund, and creating a surplus in another, and appropriating a third. Insomuch that now it is scarcely proposed or even treated as conceivable, that existing evils should be remedied at our cost; but when they have become intolerable, they are to be met by laying our hands on the gifts devoted by our ancestors to some other work of piety or charity. Such is the result of giving only what we can afford; such is the fruit of our maxims; they end in SACRILEGE'. We must overthrow the founda

1 The writer is aware that this is a strong term; but he does not know how to qualify it without suppressing the truth. It is often urged that there is no sacrilege in confiscating the gifts of our forefathers, if we apply them to other religious purposes. He is unable however to perceive the distinction between confiscation to enrich ourselves, and confiscation that we may not be obliged to spend. There is a vulgar proverb which shows that English common sense has long ago decided, that a

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tions made by our fathers at their own cost, for which they toiled and laboured and denied themselves; because there are other good works to be done now, and we do not choose to sacrifice anything for their accomplishment. We have suffered a half-heathen population to arise among us, for want of churches and parochial endowments, and we hope to remedy the evil, by violating the sanctity of those other endowments whereby men who had carefully provided churches and ministers for every portion of the existing population, went on to secure the perpetual daily intercessions of the cathedrals, and the maintenance of a learned clergy, who, secluded from the cares of a parish might be, and have often been, the de

saving however small is the same as so much gain. The only reason for the confiscation of the cathedral property, for instance, is that we may gain about 120,000l. per annum, to extend the parochial system, i. e. that we may save the necessity of spending so much. This measure therefore is wholly different in principle from the suppression of the monasteries and other similar acts; the cathedrals are to be suppressed, not because they are deemed injurious or useless, but solely that we may seize their property. In discussing a principle, the author of course does not presume to censure those venerable prelates who form the minority of the ecclesiastical commission; who are but instruments in the execution of a scheme, of which the most distinguished among them has publicly expressed his disapprobation; (see the primary charge of the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury,) and for which another has declared that they do not consider themselves responsible; as they were appointed, not to consider whether it should take place, but only to put it in execution. (See Letter of the Lord Bishop of Lincoln to his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury.)

fenders of sound doctrine and the champions of the Church. And again because numbers of our parochial endowments are miserably small, there are not wanting men, honest and respectable in other parts of their conduct, men too of whom we cannot but hope that they fear God, and desire his favour; who (having abundant wealth and opportunities of setting the example by augmenting one or more of these endowments, and securing at their own cost an adequate hire to one labourer or more,) have deliberately proposed plans for rectifying the abuse, by seizing, without colour of justice or equity, the funds solemnly devoted of old, not to the general purposes of the Church, but to the benefit of the other specified parishes, with which the donors were connected. They have thought it a sufficient defence of such schemes, that the funds on which they purpose to lay hands, are more liberal than appears necessary to the economists of our day. Nay, to crown the whole, such projects have often found favour with the very men who are actually holding and "nourishing their hearts'" day by day upon the spoils of those parishes which they propose to indemnify at the expense of others.

Such have been the results of our measure of charity. By its fruits let it be known. Tried by this rule; can we think that we have even been desiring to reach the mark proposed to us

1 St. James v. 5.

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UNIVERSITY

THE DEMANDS OF THE GOSPEL

haveRNIA.

by our Lord? What our aim ought to
been, must be determined by a more particular
appeal to Holy Scripture.

And first:-What is the true nature of property? Let us hear the words of our Lord. "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return; and he called his ten servants, and delivered unto them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.-And it came to pass that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be brought unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading1." It need not be said, that although worldly property is not exclusively represented here, it is certainly one of those talents which we are thus to hold for a while, not as our own or given to us by God, as we are wont to say, but as His still, and only entrusted to our care and stewardship for a while, as part of our moral trial and discipline, to show whether we will be faithful to our trust or not. So that property ought not to be accounted a gift of God in the common sense of the word, but rather a species of office, with which some of His servants are put in charge, as others are entrusted with the ministry of the word, and others with political or sovereign

1 St. Luke xix. 12.

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