sharp and severe as that which he has recently been engaged in, the exertions of himself and his friends proved unsuccessful; and he lost the election, on a poll, by more than 150 votes. The animosity and ill-blood produced by that contest; the party spirit which it engendered, (the fruits of which continued to disturb the peace and harmony of the parish, to the very eve of the recent election, notwithstanding the lapse of 14 years,) induced Mr. Foster to declare to his friends, that he never would again be concerned in another contest of the same kind, That he made this declaration, is capable of the clearest proof; the circumstance, however, of his having been charged by Mr. Lendon's committee, in the printed communications of those gentlemen, with having made it ; and this having never been so much as called in question, by Mr. Foster, or his friends, to the present hour, must be considered ample evidence of the fact:-this fact, too, derives confirmation from the additional circumstances, that Mr. Foster was set up as candidate at the recent election, without solicitation, on his part, his friends being able to say no more in their public recommendation of him, than that, " if the parishioners should elect him as Minister, they had no hesitation in saying, that his time and talents would be devoted to their service;" and that Mr. Foster continued absent from London, until a few days previous to the election; and when he did arrive in town, even then declined all sort of personal canvas. This singular conduct of Mr. Foster's, can only be reconciled with the idea of his wishing to obtain the living, though at the price of a contest; but, at the same time, being desirous of preserving an apparent consistency, It is impossible he could suppose that there was no real inconsistency between such a line of conduct, and his former declarations; when it was fully in his power to decline being a candidate, even after he was proposed; and thus to have put an end to the contest. His being proposed by others, necessarily made him as much a party in the contest, as if he had publicly solicited votes, and personally exerted himself in furtherance of his interests, as a candidate. It must, therefore, appear evident, that the part which Mr. Foster has taken in the election, as coupled with his express determination, never again to be concerned in a contest for the living, amounted to a forfeiture of his word, and must induce every man of common understanding to withhold from him

that

that credit, which he, as well as his friends, have at all. times so eagerly sought to obtain for him ;-of his being an enemy to strife and contention, and a lover of peace and quietness. But it will be said by the friends of Mr. Foster, why did Mr. Lendon persist? Had he retired from the contest, an end would as effectually have been put to it, and all the heart-burnings and agitation which it has given rise to, would never have had existence. It is true he might have done so; but whether he ought, must depend on a comparison of the personal pretensions of himself, and Mr. Foster. What were those personal pretensions of Mr. Lendon? They were 14 years faithful services, as Curate; his talents in the pulpit; the strict orthodoxy of his principles; and, what certainly is to be taken into consideration, his having a wife and three young children to bring up, educate, and provide for in the world. What were Mr. Foster's personal pretensions? We will take it on his friends' report ;-his popularity as a Preacher, and the goodness of his private character, and his residence in the parish for 20 years, as a mere inhabitant: was he badly provided for in the Church?-No: He was Minister and Proprietor of Long-Acre Chapel; Evening Lecturer of St. Swithin, London Stone; Thursday Morning Lecturer of St. Peter, Cornhill; Friday Evening Lecturer of St. Antholin, Watling-street; and Sunday Evening Lecturer of Christ Church, Spital-fields. Had he a wife or children?-Neither one nor the other; but there are other grounds which decidedly establish the superiority of Mr. Lendon's claims over those of Mr. Foster. Mr. Lendon had long been accustomed to the duties of a Parish Priest, while the only duties of an official rival, as a Divine, which Mr. Foster has been in the habit of pursuing these many years, was that of a Preacher; and every body knows, that there are many other most essential offices, beside that of preaching, to be performed (particularly in a large and populous parish) by those who have the care of souls; and which can hardly be properly attended to, by one who has been long out of the practice of them; and who cannot be capable of the bodily exertion, which the due discharge of them require, when advanced in years, and of a corporeal habit, naturally inactive; which is Mr. Foster's case. The age of Mr. Foster is also a circumstance which must be admitted to form a strong objection to his appointment. Mr. Foster is in his 65th year; and can, therefore, in the

ordinary

ordinary course of things, have but a few more years of natural life before him. The infirmities incidental to that advanced period of age, may, we know not how soon, unfit him for the duty of preaching; and, at all events, it is probable, that in a few years his hour-glass will be run out, and the parish again plunged into the same state of confusion and agitation, which characterized the recent contest. These considerations, one should have thought, would have been sufficient to dissuade Mr. Foster from allowing himself to be put up as a candidate; and from standing forward in opposition to Mr. Lendon, to whom these objections, in no degree, applied. After this statement of comparative pretensions, it will hardly be necessary to ask, which of the Candidates ought to have withdrawn from the contest; and which of them came forward on the best grounds? But there is another reason, and one of far more importance than any hitherto adduced, which rendered it an imperative duty on the part of Mr. Lendon, to persevere-resolutely to persevere in the contest, and which ought to have operated with equal force on the mind of Mr. Foster, to deter him from appearing as his competitor; and which rendered his continuing as an opponent of Mr. Lendon, utterly irreconcileable with his duty, as a friend to our Church Establishment. It has been already observed, that Mr. Lendon stood upon the Church Interest, and Mr. Foster on that of the Methodist Sectarists;-that he was almost exclusively supported by this description of people, has never yet been denied; even by his supporters. The contest, from this circumstance, acquired a public character. It exhibited a struggle between the members of the Church of England, and the separatists from that Church; as to who should be the Minister of the Parish. Every one, at all acquainted with its concerns, must know that it is overrun with the Methodist Schismatics, who are rapidly increasing in numbers; and who, from the powerful influence which they systematically employ, bid fair, soon, unless effectually resisted, to get possession (most have they already got possession of) of every office in the Parish, from the Churchwarden down to the Sexton: was it not then the duty of Mr. Lendon to stand by the Church Interest, as long as it stood by him? Was not this the part which became a Minister of the Church of England; who really bad at heart her welfare? Was it not, if possible, still more strongly the duty of Mr. Foster, to have

withdrawn from the contest, the moment that he saw it's complexion and character? Ought he not, as soon as he found that the question was, Lendon and the Church, or Foster and the Sectaries, to have withdrawn himself from all concern in the election? Did he not, by his continuing a Candidate, under the above circumstances, to view it in the most favourable light, furnish a proof to the world, that, notwithstanding his professions of attachment to the Church of England, he hesitated not, to pursue the gratification of his own personal desires; even though they stood in opposition to her and her interests? Has be not, by his conduct, most clearly evinced, that, rather than lose the living, he would strive to obtain it; even though his success should be attended with the certain consequence, of a triumph to a very powerful body of Methodist Separatists; who are clearly aiming, and have been so for many years, at the entire and absolute dominion of the Parish? Can any man in his senses doubt, for a moment, that Mr. Foster has, in this instance, weakened the cause of that Church, which he is, as one of it's sworn Ministers, bound to protect; and that he has, with his eyes open, personally contributed to give increase and confidence, and additional strength to her adversaries?

I will trouble you no further, at present, than to inform you, that the Election is not yet decided; and that though on the poll, Mr. Foster had a majority of 58 votes, it is expected by Mr. Lendon's friends, that the scrutiny which they have demanded, will terminate, as every friend to the Church must wish, in his final appointment to the vacant living of St. James's, Clerkenwell. But let the issue be what it may, I am happy to state, that the violent and unjust proceedings of the Methodist Party, have roused the friends of the Church from a state of supineness and lethargy; and has convinced them of the absolute necessity, if the Parish is to be rescued from Methodist rule and influence, of using every possible means of activity and vigilance, to defeat their views, and frustrate their machinations.

Clerkenwell, Aug. 10, 1804.

EUSEBIUS.

ON

ON THE INTRIGUES OF THE METHODISTS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCHMAN'S MAGAZINE.

MR. EDITOR,

YOUR

YOUR firm attachment to the Church of England, convinces me, that you will learn with pleasure, the exertions which are now making in the parish of Clerkenwell, to defend her interests against the Methodistical party, who are very numerous and powerful in it. This party, which includes all the frequenters of Lady Huntingdon's Chapel, in the fields, and other conventicles in the neighbourhood, have for several years past, been striving to bring the affairs of the parish under their entire management, and have pretty nearly succeeded in that endeavour; having engrossed to themselves almost every situation of trust and authority in the parish. Their influence has generally prevailed at every vestry meeting. This has arisen not so much from their zeal and strength, as from the inactivity of the friends to the Church, who have generally looked on as spectators of which was passing, very rarely taking any active concern in parish business. The recent attempt, however, of the Methodist separatists, to get a minister appointed of their own nomination, in preference to a truly orthodox and able Divine, set up by the supporters of the Church, and, in which they have succeeded so far as to obtain for him a majority of votes on the poll, has convinced the respectable and independent parishioners of the absolute necessity of resisting with all their might, the overbearing influence of a faction, whose conduct is as injurious to the cause of the Established Church, as it is to proper parochial management. It has accordingly, been determined by a very considerable proportion of the inhabitants, to form themselves into a society to counteract the views of the Methodists, and to the independance of the parish, at all elections, for Church or other offices. The good effects which promise to result from this measure, must be too evident to you to require enumeration. Much is to be done by combined exertion, when individual efforts, without concert, and systematic co-operation, can avail little. I am, therefore, in great

hopes,