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exact coincidence between which and the Romish doctrine of intercession of saints has been proved by Mede. What other forbids to marry, and commands to abstain from meats? (1 Tim. iv. 3.)

Consider the fearful condemnation denounced on all who do not come out of Babylon, (Rev. xviii. 4,) and the danger of believing a lie, and thereby subjecting yourself to a strong delusion. (1 Thess. ii. 11.) It is my firm conviction that nothing but a strong delusion proceeding from ignorance can induce any one to enter the Church of Rome. In studying the subjeet, my strongest impression has been that of surprise at finding every one of her claims and assertions so easily overthrown. Those on which she especially rests her claims and builds her authority, as unity, holiness, apostolicity, and catholicity, require nothing but a few simple and undeniable historical facts completely to overset them. With earnest prayer that you may be enabled to draw nigh with boldness to a throne of grace, (Heb. x. 19,) to seek that precious gift of the Holy Spirit which Christ purchased for his people with His own blood until it is vouchsafed to you, not to teach you anything new, but to enable you to understand and receive his own word,

Believe me your sincere friend,

HER MAJESTY'S SPEECH.

OPENING OF PARLIAMENT.

MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,-It is with the deepest concern that, upon your again assembling, I have to call your attention to the dearth of provisions which prevails in Ireland and in parts of Scotland.

In Ireland, especially, the loss of the usual food of the people has been the cause of severe sufferings, of disease, and of greatly increased mortality among the poorer classes. Outrages have become more frequent, chiefly directed against property; and the transit of provisions has been rendered unsafe in some parts of the country.

With a view to mitigate these evils, very large numbers of men have been employed, and have received wages, in pursuance of an Act passed in the last session of Parliament.

Some deviations from that Aet, which have been authorized by the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, in order to promote more useful employment, will, I trust, receive your sanetion. Means have been taken to lessen the pressure of want in districts which are most remote from the ordinary sources of supply. Outrages have been repressed, as far as it was possible, by the military and police.

It is satisfactory to me to observe that in many of the most distressed districts the patience and resignation of the people have been most exemplary.

The deficiency of the harvest in France and Germany, and other parts of Europe, has added to the difficulty of obtaining adequate supplies of provisions.

It will be your duty to consider what further measures are required to alleviate the existing distress. I recommend to you to take into your serious consideration, whether by increasing for a limited period, the facilities for importing corn from foreign countries, and by the admission of sugar more freely into breweries and distilleries, the supply of food may be beneficially augmented.

I have likewise to direct your earnest consideration to the permanent condition of Ireland. You will perceive, in the absence of political excitement, an opportunity for taking a dispassionate survey of the social evils which afflict that part of the United Kingdom. Various measures will be laid before you, which, if adopted by Parliament, may tend to raise the great mass of the people in comfort, to promote agriculture, and to lessen the pressure of that com

petition for the occupation of land which has been the fruitful source of crime and misery.

The marriage of the Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain to the Duke of Montpensier has given rise to a correspondence between my Government, and those of France and Spain.

The extinction of the Free State of Cracow has appeared to me to be so manifest a violation of the Treaty of Vienna, that I have commanded that a protest against that act should be delivered to the Courts of Vienna, Petersburgh, and Berlin, which were parties to it. Copies of these several papers will be laid before you.

I entertain confident hopes that the hostilities in the River Plate, which have so long interrupted commerce, may soon be terminated; and my efforts, in conjunction with those of the King of the French, will be earnestly directed to that end.

My relations generally with Foreign Powers inspire me with the fullest confidence in the maintenance of peace. GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS,

I have directed the estimates to be prepared with a view to provide for the efficiency of the public service, with a due regard for economy. MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,

I have ordered every requisite preparation to be made for putting into operation the Act of the last session of Parliament, for the establishment of local courts for the recovery of small debts. It is my hope that the enforcement of civil rights in all parts of the country to which the Act relates may, by this measure, be materially facilitated.

I recommend to your attention measures which will be laid before you for improving the health of towns, an object the importance of which you will not fail to appreciate.

Deeply sensible of the blessings which, after a season of calamity, have been so often vouchsafed to this nation by a superintending Providence, I confide these important matters to your care, in a full conviction that your discussions will be guided by an impartial spirit; and in the hope that the present sufferings of my people may be lightened, and

that their future condition may be improved by your deliberative wisdom.

ISLINGTON.-ST. PAUL'S, BALL'SPOND DISTRICT.

A LECTURE was delivered here by JAMES LORD, Esquire, on the subject of Popery.

The Rev. T. H. WOODROOFE, M.A., presided.

The Meeting was well attended. On the platform, were Pitman, Esq., Marshall, Esq., Dean, Esq., and Rev. J. Nalson.

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The proceedings having been opened with prayer, the Rev. Chairman briefly pointed out the object had in view in the formation of the Islington Protestant Institute, and the spirit in which this, and similar proceedings should be carried on.

A considerable interruption here arose from some persons at the end of the room, claiming a right to be heard either then or before the close of the Meeting, in favour of the Church of Rome. The Chairman, however, replied, that the Meeting was not assembled for the purpose of controversial discussion, but to hear a Lecture.

Mr. LORD, being then called on to commence the Lecture, observed that with reference to those who were making the interruption, he would only remark that individually, he did not care for it, as he should not be driven by it from accomplishing the work he had in hand. He was anxious, however, on behalf of those who attended these Lectures, that there should be no disturbance.

He desired at all times to be extremely accurate in his assertions, but did not ask any one there present to believe any statement put forward by him, merely because he made it. If so, why did he come prepared with the pile of documents then before him? Works of authority or instruction in the Church of Rome, or different Romish Institutions ?

He would quote from the creed of Pope Pius. Would any Roman Catholic present come forward, and deny his creed? He would cite different quotations from the Canons of

the Council of Trent. Would any Roman Catholic then present, deny that he received the decrees of that Council? That he received them as infallible; that he regarded them as binding upon his conscience as the Word of God?

If so, let him come forward. Let him deny the Council-Let him prove that he, the Lecturer, misquoted or mistranslated; but if he would not deny his creed, nor his belief in the Council, nor assert any misquotation or mistranslation, let him not find fault with him for truly representing Popery-nor with you, Sir, for disapproving of it, as an evil, unsound, unscriptural, dangerous, and ruinous system.

He would say, that if any one there could disprove his statements, or invalidate the facts brought forward, it should be open to him to do so.

Mr. Lord then proceeded to observe, that he could not enter immediately on the subject of the Lecture, without noticing a very crafty and insidious paper, signed, "A FellowParishioner," and addressed "To the Protestant Inhabitants of Islington."

The attack made personally upon him, by the anonymous writer, he would not stop to notice, as the questions at issue, were not between himself and any other individual, but between the Churches of Rome and England-Protestantism and Popery. The paper to which he referred, was craftily written. Some, perhaps, might think it put forward by a Protestant, disgusted with the proceedings of the Institute, and taking a liberal view of Popery. Such, however, was not the case, as he believed, for the paper bore internal marks of being written by a Roman Catholic, as he was prepared to prove.

[Some amusement was here excited, by a person starting from the midst of the assembly, and exclaiming, "No doubt of it. I wrote it myself, and here is my card, if you require it."]

Mr. Lord expressed himself gratified, that his inference as to the authorship of the production was correct; and proceeded to observe, that as he was prepared to make certain remarks on the paper, without

knowing he should be favoured with the presence of the writer of it, he was sure that Gentleman would not think him needlessly personal, if he pursued the same course as if he were absent.

He was glad, at all times, to meet his Protestant friends, still more to see Roman Catholics in the room; and he felt convinced they might there hear truth, to which they had before been strangers.

He could assure them it was in no spirit of bitterness, the members of the Islington Protestant Institute wished to carry on their operations. They were desirous of waging no fierce crusade against Popery, as the paper insinuated, much less against Roman Catholics. No. Their object was to defend and promote the cause of truth.

He was met, however, in the very first page of the paper, with a palpable and glaring inaccuracy.

The writer describes the Church of Rome, as one embracing within her fold, "a decided majority of your fellow-subjects in the United Kingdom, and the Colonies." Such was not the case. Where could the writer have gleaned his statistics from? The statement was notoriously untrue. A large majority of the United Kingdom, and of the Colonies, were Protestants.

Such, however, was the nature of the facts brought forward, and the arguments sought to be employed against him. He did not mean to say that the writer had knowingly hazarded an assertion so unfounded in fact; it might arise, as the other errors of the paper might, from want of informa tion; but then he must admonish the writer to be somewhat more careful in future in using the too well adapted weapons of even unintentional false. hood, to advocate the cause of error.

The assertion that there were many faiths existing amongst Protestants, and even two opposite faiths established by law within this island, viz., Episcopacy in England, and Presbyterianism in Scotland, deserved a remark. The writer seemed to confound faith, and the mode of teaching, or transmitting that faith.

Now amongst the vast body of

Protestants, the difference was not so much in matters of faith, as in matters of discipline, and Church government. Their faith was one-their mode of Church government and discipline, various. They had one standard-Holy Scripture-a standard which Rome repudiated, because it condemned Romanism.

The writer of the paper was not more happy in his similes, than he was accurate in his facts, or logical in his arguments; he had asked, which of you, "if you were about to purchase bales of goods of any kind, and the vendor were to refuse to allow you carefully to inspect them, would you not imagine that some fraud was intended, and either insist on a more careful and minute examination of the articles, or else you would reject them altogether?"

Now, Mr. Lord contended, this remark must apply more to Popery than to Protestantism. The bale of goods (to carry out the simile) which we Protestants have, is the word of truth-the pearl of great price. We ask you to receive nothing that is not agreeable to it. Rome is the merchant who has the heap or bale of vain and useless traditions, which she is afraid to have inspected, and therefore hides from public scrutiny. Protestants rejoiced in the light, and gladly came to it; Rome seemed afraid of it, seeking to hide herself under the shadow of tradition. Protestants worshipped the Triune God through one Mediator-Roman Catholics devised many mediators, and like the Jews of old, corrupted the Word of God by their traditions, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. The writer says "Go to the fountain head." This, again, is what we say as Protestants. But where is the fountain head? The writer proceeds, "Were any of you anxious to ascertain the salubrious properties of a river, the Thames, for instance, would you test it at Billingsgate, where it receives all the filth and refuse of the metropolis? or would you not rather prefer testing it at the spring head, where it rises in its pure and original state?"

He could quite agree with the writer in asking the question, though

the reply would be somewhat different. This simile was still more unfortu. nate than the former, and he would admonish the writer that similes were not always the best arguments. They sometimes, like a two-edged sword, cut the party using them, as well as his opponent. It was so here. No doubt the water of the Thames at Billingsgate was not the purest, but it was not much better at Londonbridge. It had lost its crystal clearness and native purity long before reaching down so far. What, then, would the simile prove, illustrate, or convey? He did not wish to appear too hard upon the writer, but he felt the best place for the Church of Rome was Billingsgate. (Great laughter, in which the opponents of the lecturer seemed to join as heartily as the rest.) He placed the Church of Rome at Billingsgatetradition no higher up the stream of time, than London-bridge was up the course of the river; and he called upon all, if they required what was pure, not to go to Billingsgate, or Popery; to London-bridge, or Tradition; but to the fountain head, the written records of inspired wisdom.

Each one must answer for himself hereafter; no one could rid himself of that grave responsibility, by relying upon a Church, however pure or ancient. It was a matter between each man's soul and his Maker. The Word of divine truth was given as man's guide, and what must be thought of that Church which, professing to be infallible, would take away that holy volume, and leave man in darkness, to grope his way to ruin!!

Mr. Lord then proceeded at much length to point out what had been the progress and encroachment of Popery in this country, especially during the present century. He referred to the unchanged nature of Popery, and described it as a system at utter variance with the purity of our faith, the Protestant Constitution of the country, and the maintenance of our civil and religious liberties. Romanists sometimes plumed themselves on account of numbers, but numbers were no criterion of truth; and the progress of Popery was re

ferrible to our neglect—not the goodness of her cause.

In the course of the lecture, the Roman Catholics admitted, in reply to questions put by the lecturer, that they did not acknowledge the Scriptures as a sufficient and perfect rule of faith and guide to heaven, without tradition.

This drew from almost all present, an expression of surprise and astonishment.

The Lecturer observed, that his opponents were the best lecturers. He wished for nothing more than that. He desired to see brought home to the conviction of the whole of the Evangelical clergy and laity, and population of the country, a knowledge of the progress and nature of Popery, and the objects after which Popery was grasping. Thus would there, he felt persuaded, be one unanimous determination that they would no longer aid in supporting the cause and emissaries of the Church of Rome. Why, indeed, should they? What could be more impolitic? what more inconsistent than doing so?

The Protestants now subscribe and collect, with much pains and labour, large sums of money to send out missionaries with the Holy Scriptures for the conversion of Pagan nations to Christianity, and at the same time educate in college, and support abroad, those who would take away that Bible-deny its validity and sufficiency as a rule of faith—and seek to gain over Pagan nations from the idolatries of heathenism, to the idolatries of Popery.

At the close of the lecture the writer of the paper was allowed to address the assembly. He strongly vindicated tradition. He asked if there were not many things said and done by our Saviour, of which the Protestants had no written account? If all those deeds, not so recorded, were useless, and all his sayings not worthy to be preserved? But where were they? The Protestants had them not, they were preserved by tradition in the Church of Rome.

Mr. LORD, being called on by the Chairman, replied that Scripture was the best expounder of Scripture, and the best vindicator of itself.

Our cause had suffered from using other weapons than those of Scripture, from resorting to instruments of carnal expediency and worldly wisdom, rather than the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Plausible as the objection now raised appeared, it was easy to be met. It was but a trick. Like the boast of the coward when there is no adversary, was this great parade about tradition. But he would call on the speaker who had just addressed them, or any one of his communion, from the Pope to the priest or curate, to bring forward and prove, from tradition alone, one single parable spoken, doctrine delivered, or miracle performed, by our blessed Saviour, not contained in the Holy Scriptures.

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They could not do it. Their so often boasted of traditions, like the teaching of the Church," and the "unanimous interpretation" of discordant Fathers, are no where to be found-are but inventions to deceive the vulgar, and draw off the ignorant and unwary from the simplicity of the true faith. But if our friend, if so he might permit himself to be addressed, and those around the chair, would turn to the last verse of the last chapter of St. John's Gospel, they would find the following very remarkable and apposite words:—

"And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written."

So that those who had interrupted had informed the Meeting of nothing which they did not know before, and if they would further turn to the thirtieth and thirty-first verses of the preceding chapter, they would find the following yet more remarkable words, which would at once set at rest the question: "And many

other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.'

Here then was presented to us the inspired Apostle and Evangelist

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