CHAP. III. 1811-12, PART II. nious coalition. This topic was adverted to with equal feeling and propriety by the Chairman, in acknowledging a vote of thanks for his conduct, which had been respectfully and affectionately moved by his political and parliamentary opponent. I cannot refrain" (said Mr. Baker) "from expressing the delight I experience in seeing, at the close of a long political life, one meeting of unanimity. It has been my lot to witness many of dissension: I have been opposed to gentlemen near me on questions of great interest to public men, when both sides considered themselves as engaged in the right cause. It rejoices my heart to find, at last, that there is one subject on which we can all agree; and that this subject is the dispersion of the Scriptures. They are" (added Mr. Baker) "the only solace of affliction in this life, and afford the only ground of hope for the life to come." Next to that which has been described as forming, by its peculiarity, the most interesting feature in the Hertfordshire Meeting, was the brilliant display of sound argument and impressive eloquence, on the part of Mr. Dealtry, upon being appointed Secretary to the County Auxiliary Bible Society. In the course of this Speech, Mr. Dealtry combated, with great seriousness, and with irresistible effect, the various objections against the principles of the Institution. The author regrets the necessity he is under of confining himself to the following extract: "To me, indeed, the whole range of argument for the dispersion of the Scriptures, whatever else we distribute, appears to lie within a very narrow compass. If these records are indeed the revelation of God, and expressly intended to make us wise unto salvation, where is the Christian that shall dare to arrest their progress? The pretence, that the free circulation of the Bible can do harm, what does it amount to? That, in the most important of all concerns, Infinite Wisdom has devised means ill adapted to their end! That man is wiser than his Maker! That God is not to be trusted with the declaration of his own will, in this world, which his hands have made! "Are we commanded to make the Gospel known to every creature? Let us have the Christian courage to do so, and leave the consequences to God. Is there a member of the Church of England, who can reasonably entertain apprehensions for the Establishment from the widest dispersion of the Scriptures? As a Minister of that Church, I beg leave to say that I fear not the test; she is not built upon a foundation of sand, but upon the firm basis of the everlasting Gospel. She has no need to hide herself in darkness: her goodly proportions are then best PART II. CHAP. III. 1811-12 PART II. seen to the fairest advantage, when reflecting back the full blaze of the light of truth.” CHAP. 1811-12. III. At the Meeting for the establishment of the Huntingdonshire Auxiliary Bible Society, under the Presidency of His Grace the Duke of Manchester, Viscount Hinchinbroke occupied the Chair: and considerable interest was given to the transactions of the day by a sensible and animated address in favor of the cause in general, on the part of Lord Carysfort. His Lordship, after the business had proceeded a considerable length, rose, and expressed his desire, that this Meeting should not separate without his stating his cordial approbation of the measures proposed for adoption. "The circumstances of the world," he observed, are " such, at present, as to promise more success than has hitherto attended endeavors of this kind. The scourge of war, the destruction of many kingdoms, and the dangers which threaten those that remain, must impress the minds of thinking men with the vanity of human greatness, the folly of its wisdom, and the inefficacy of its counsels. This nation has long stood on a lofty eminence; it has resisted the gigantic usurpation of the enemy, not so much by force of arms, as by maintaining a reverence for God, and a reliance on his protection; not presuming to boast of strength and merit, but ever looking to him to dispose all our affairs according to his wisdom. Not to go into all the topics which this occasion would naturally suggest, permit me to make one observation--that no policy is so good as true religion. We are all children of one common Father: he has not given to his children different rules for their direction; no, he has given but one, and that for all mankind; the Bible contains a code of laws for the whole human race. The undertaking, which we are met this day to patronize, seems to be dictated by the true spirit of charity, by which the Saviour of mankind -wished to connect all the world. What can be more pleasing than to see the Bible held out, without distinction of parties, in all languages? What can be a higher aim than to connect men in brotherly love? May the time soon arrive when all those disputes, certainly not proceeding from the spirit of religion, which have so long agitated the minds of men, shall for ever cease, and harmony and peace prevail!" From the rank which York holds in the British Empire, as an Archiepiscopal city, the capital of the north, the second city in the kingdom, and a county of itself,-justice requires that its Auxiliary Bible Society should not be overlooked in that selection to which the author is, by the limits of his History, confined. The Meeting at which this Society was established, took place on the 19th of January, 1812, It had been convened by the Lord Mayor, the PART II. CHAP. 1811-12. CHAP. III. PART II. a Requisition to that effect, signed by thirty-one clergymen and laymen: and his Lordship, who had agreed to accept the office of President, 1811-12. testified his further respect for the Institution, by occupying the chair on the occasion. The sentiments expressed by various speakers of high respectability were congenial with those principles of piety and liberality which form the basis of the Parent Society and all its Auxiliaries. It was pleasing to observe the exertions of the clergy, and members of the Establishment, sustained, as they were, in this benevolent work, by two distinguished members of the Society of Friends, the one in an oral, the other in a written and transmitted address. "You are now convened" (wrote Mr. Lindley Murray)" on one of the most interesting subjects that can occupy the attention and labors of men who are concerned for the happiness, both here and hereafter, of their fellow-creatures. To be instrumental in conveying to the dwellings of ignorance and prejudice, of vice and superstition, of hopeless poverty and distress, the light, and efficacy, and cheering hopes of Christ, are surely objects of incalculable moment, and worthy of our most serious and ardent exertions. By the Institution proposed to us, we shall not only convey the truths and supports contained in the. Gospel to numbers in our neighbourhood, but extend them, perhaps, to many in the remotest |