motes candor and good-will, and must prepare the mind for the reception of that truth, which every one perceives to be no less the object of those who differ from him than his own. From such a communication, the Church of England has nothing to fear, and every thing to hope; as holding (in our judgments at least) that middle line of truth in which all opposite opinions have a natural tendency to coincide. And is that truth more likely to be acknowledged and embraced by minds embittered by mutual jealousy and aversion, or by such as have been previously softened by conciliation?

The existence of dissent will perhaps be inseparable from religious freedom, so long as the mind of man is liable to error; but it is not unreasonable to hope that hostility may cease where perfect agreement cannot be established. If we cannot RECONCILE ALL OPINIONS, let us endeavour to UNITE ALL HEARTS.

I ought, perhaps, to apologize for troubling you with arguments, which must probably have been already brought before you, as I know your opinions are not taken up hastily and lightly. But I have thought it necessary to state such as have chiefly induced me to consider my taking a part in the concerns of the Bible Society, not only as consistent with, but as a proof of the sincerity and warmth of my attachment to the Church of England; and which still, on reflection, seem to me to have so much weight, that, far from repenting of what I have done, I feel convinced I shall least of all repent of it, as I approach THAT STATE IN WHICH THE DISTINCTION OF CHURCHMAN AND DISSENTER SHALL BE NO MORE.

(Signed)

I am, &c.

Great George Street, 4th Dec. 1811.

N. VANSITTART.

Inquiry

INTO THE CONSEQUENCES

OF

NEGLECTING TO GIVE THE PRAYER BOOK WITH THE BIBLE.

AN INQUIRY, &c.

WHOEVER objects to the British and Foreign Bible Society is invariably asked, Where is the harm of giving away a Bible? I will answer therefore by saying, None whatever. On the contrary, the more widely the Scriptures are disseminated, the greater in all respects must be the good produced.

Having answered this question, and, as I hope, to the satisfaction of every member in the society, I beg leave to ask in my turn; Where is the harm of giving away a Prayer Book? Of course I propose this question only to those members of the Society, who are also members of the Church. For I have explicitly declared, both in the Sermon at St. Paul's and in the Address to the Senate, that I have no desire to interfere, either with the religious opinions, or the religious conduct of the Dissenters. An attempt to impose the Liturgy on men, who from principle reject it, would be a violation of that religious liberty which I sincerely hope will ever be maintained in this country. 1 neither expect therefore, nor desire, unless it is their own voluntary act, that Dissenters should either give or receive our Book of Common Prayer. I am addressing myself to Churchmen in their intercourse with Churchmen, such as the Clergyman of a parish has with his parishioners. And, as the Liturgy is the Book which distinguishes Churchmen, I may certainly ask of them, Where can

be the harm, when we give away a Bible, of giving also a Prayer Book? As I think no real Churchman would say that there is, hẹ cannot consistently object to those, who recommend their joint distribution. Secondly, I ask the Churchman, whether it is not useful, when we give away a Bible, to give also the Book of Common Prayer, not as a Corrective, a name lately given it by the Dean of Carlisle,' but as a proper Companion for the Bible? Does it not contain devotional exercises composed in the true spirit of the Scriptures? Is it not the Book, which we hear constantly at Church; and is it not equally designed for our meditations in the closet? The usefulness then of this book to every Churchman, I think, no Churchman can deny. He cannot therefore, at least not with consistency, complain of those, who object to the withholding of this usefulness; who object to the omission of giving the Liturgy; or, in other words, who object to the distribution, on the part of Churchmen, of the Bible alone or without the Liturgy. Thirdly, I ask the Churchman, whether it is not necessary, when he gives Bibles to the poor, (I do not mean among Dissenters, as I have repeatedly declared) to provide them at the same time with a Prayer Book? Ought it not to be used by every Churchman? and can he join in the service of the Church without it? Can it therefore be a matter of indifference, whether the poor of our establishment are provided with Prayer Books? Do we perform our duty, do we properly provide for their religious instruction, if we provide them only with the Bible, and leave them-unprovided with the Prayer Book? In this case, the Rubric and the Canons have very unnecessarily enforced the learning of the Church Catechism. When we further consider, that there is at present hardly a town, or even a village, which is not visited by illiterate teachers, who expound the Bible with more confidence than the most profound theologian, it becomes doubly necessary, if we would preserve the poor of the establishment in the religion of their fathers, to provide them with a safe-guard against the delusions of false interpretation. And what better safeguard can we offer than the Book of Common Prayer, which contains the doctrines of the Bible, according to its true exposition; in

In his speech at the Town Hall, on Thursday the 12th of December.