and his friends held and advocated; and if they are true men, they will either recede from their present ground, or else they will declare themselves, what they really are, Romanists. Now, it will be said that the Tractarian party should not be held responsible for the conduct of these men; that they acted upon their own responsibility. But what would have been said if Simeon, and Pratt, and Bickersteth, and the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the Bishops of Winchester and Manchester, and scores more in England; and Griswold, and Bedell, and Milnor, and McIlvaine, and many others like them, in America, had all turned Presbyterians; and not only so, but had publicly declared that their principles compelled them to do it; what would have been said? What would now be said? Does not every one know that the whole Tractarian press, without an exception, would have thundered forth-and justly too-its denunciations both against these leaders and their principles? If Evangelical principles drive men, necessarily, out of the Episcopal Church into Presbyterianism, then are those principles inconsistent with the Episcopal Church. And so, if Tractarian principles drive men into the Church of Rome, then are those principles inconsistent with the Episcopal Church. And that they do thus drive men, we know, from the fact that most of the great champions of those principles have already gone to Rome. THE BISHOP OF MORAY AND ROSS. A case has arisen in the Church of Scotland, which strikingly illustrates the doctrine of Episcopal Prerogative, as held by bishops not only in Scotland but in America. Some time since, the Bishop of Moray and Ross, (Dr. Eden,) having taken up his residence in Inverness, took possession of the desk and pulpit of the parish church, and proceeded to regulate all parochial matters, without the previous knowledge or consent of the regularly-instituted Rector, the Rev. James Mackay. The ground upon which the Bishop claimed this power, was not that of laws or canons giving him the authority, but that the Bishop is, by virtue of his office, the pastor of his diocese; and that wherever he might be, there, for the time being, the power and authority of the presbyter ceased. Against these assumptions, Mr. Mackay appealed to the College of Bishops, of the Scottish Episcopal Church. They "find (to use their own lauguage) that while each Bishop in his own diocese has an undoubted right to claim the use of any church on occasions on which he acts in his Episcopal character, and performs offices which can be performed by a Bishop only, he has not an undoubted right to displace an instituted minister in the ordinary exercise of his presbyterial functions. The Bishops can not conclude their finding without expressing their regret that a question of this kind should have arisen in their Church. It is most desirable that, in the relation between bishop and presbyters, there should be the affectionate confidence, which renders it an occasion of mutual satisfaction, when a bishop is able to take any part in the ordinary services of any church in his diocese." Thus common law and common-sense triumphed over the vague and dangerous notion of "inherent rights." THE REV. JAMES HALDANE STEWART. This eminent servant of Christ died at his residence, October 22, in the 79th year of his age. Mr. Stewart was well known in this country as a staunch advocate of Evangelical principles, and as the author of an annual Tract, calling upon Christians throughout the world to unite on New-Year's day in prayer to God for the special outpouring of his Spirit. We take the following from a notice of him, which appeared in one of the English periodicals: "The exalted place which Mr. Haldane Stewart occupied in the Church was not so much the result of brilliant talent or extraordinary acquirement. Weight of character was his chief distinction. On hearing of his departure, it was said by one who had known him long, 'He had not left behind him a better man.' His last publication was a most appropriate preparation for his approaching change, and beautifully describes the frame of mind in which we ought to be waiting for the coming of our Lord." NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. I. History of the Origin, Formation, and Adoption of the New WE are glad to see a beginning in this great and most desirable work. Mr. Curtis has given years to the study of the subject, and is well qualified to do it justice. Until Mr. Webster's death, there was a hope and even expectation that he would write a history of the Constitution. And without disparagement to any other person, it is not too much to say, that no man has lived under our government better fitted by education, by experience, and by compass of mind for such a work than Mr. Webster. But with his death, all hope and expectation of this sort came to an end. We can not but deem it fortunate that the old and intimate friend of the great statesman should have undertaken to supply this desideratum in our political history. We have had histories of our country-of the different States—and faithful biographies of the principal actors in the scenes of the Revolution and of the earlier period of the Republic. But we have never, till now, had a full history of the origin, formation, and adoption of that immortal instrument under which we have lived and become one of the mightiest powers on the globe. The framers of the Constitution had no models after which they could copy. They were obliged to take the circumstances which existed, and from these originate a form of government which should set forth and protect that liberty for which the Colonies had contended, and at the same time be practically adapted to the state of things in which they found themselves. This wonderful work they accomplished, and so accomplished as to secure all that was hoped for by the people, and to challenge the respect and homage of mankind. It is the history of the beginning and completion of this work that Mr. Curtis has prepared, and we can not but feel that he has done a good service to his country. The plan of the work is simple. The first volume embraces the Constitutional History of the United States, from the commencement of the Revolution to the assembling of the Convention of 1787, together with some notices of the principal members of that body. The second volume is devoted to the description of the process of forming the Constitution, in which the author follows the Record of the Debates preserved by Mr. Madison, and the official journal of the proceedings. Mr. Curtis writes with great precision, sacrificing nothing to ornament, but laboring to give a clear view of the subject under discussion. We take a few paragraphs from the third chapter, where he speaks of the legal and political effects of the Declaration of Independence, as specimens of his general style: "This celebrated instrument, regarded as a legislative proceeding, was the solemn enactment, by the representatives of all the Colonies, of a complete dissolution of their allegiance to the British Crown. It severed the political connection between the people of this country and the people of England, and at once erected the different Colonies into free and independent States. The body by which this step was taken, constituted the actual government of the nation, at the time, and its members had been directly invested with competent legislative power to take it, and had also been specially instructed to do so. The consequences flowing from its adoption were, that the local allegiance of the inhabitants of each Colony became transferred, and due to the Colony itself, or, as it was expressed by the Congress, became due to the laws of the Colony from which they derived protection ;* that the people of the country became thenceforth, the rightful sovereign of the country; that they became united in a national corporate capacity, as one people; that they could thereafter enter into treaties and contract alliances with foreign nations, could levy war and conclude peace, and do all other acts pertaining to the exercise of a national sovereignty; and, finally, that in their national corporate capacity, they became known and designated as the United States of America. This Declaration was the first national state paper in which these words were used as the style and title of the nation. In the enacting part of the instrument, the Congress styled themselves the Representatives of the United States of America in General Congress assembled.' And from that period, the previously United Colonies' have been known as a political community, both within their own borders and by the other nations of the world, by the title which they then assumed." The publishers deserve great credit for the handsome style in which they have brought out this work. The paper, type, and binding are befitting the great theme discussed. * On the 24th of June, 1776, the Congress declared, by resolution, that "all persons abiding within any of the United Colonies, and deriving protection from the laws of the same, owed allegiance to the said laws, and were members of such Colony; and that all persons passing through or making a temporary stay in any of the Colonies, being entitled to the protection of the laws, during the time of such passage, visitation, or temporary stay, owed during the same, allegiance thereto."-Journals II., 216. II.-Memoir of the Rev. Gregory T. Bedell, D. D., Rector of St. Andrew's Church, Philadelphia. By Stephen H. Tyng. Second edition, enlarged and improved. New-York: Protestant Episcopal Society for the Promotion of Evangelical Knowledge, 11 Bible House, Astor Place. 1854. DR. BEDELL! How many hallowed associations cluster around this name! In how many hearts is the memory of the being who bore it enshrined! What multitudes now in glory-what multitudes still upon the earth have had occasion to thank God that they ever knew him. We doubt whether the Episcopal Church in this country has produced a single clergyman, who, in so brief a period, accomplished so much. He died at the early age of 41. And yet what a monument of his worth, his energy, and usefulness did he leave behind! With him commenced St. Andrew's Church, Philadelphia. Under his care it grew in a few years to have the largest congregation, the largest Sunday-school, and the largest communion of any Episcopal Church in our country. When he died, he left every thing in a full tide of prosperity; and what is remarkable, the same prosperity has continued ever since. St. Andrew's is still a happy, hallowed place, whither the children of God love to repair. Multitudes throng her courts! Strangers visiting the city feel that they must visit that Church; for it was there the sainted Bedell preached the Gospel. The living form they may never have seen, but his memory has been handed down from parents to children; and this is the homage grateful hearts love to pay to exalted worth. The memoir which Dr. Tyng has prepared is a faithful exhibition of the man, the preacher, the pastor, and the Christian. He keeps the living and acting Dr. Bedell ever before the mind of the reader, so one comes to feel perfectly acquainted with him. We consider it one of the most successful and interesting biographies we have ever read; and we hope our clergy and others will aid in giving it a wide circulation. It makes a handsome volume of some 400 pages, and is offered at a most reasonable price. III.-Memoir of Alexander Viets Griswold, Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Eastern Diocese. By Rev. John S. Stone, D.D. Abridged by Rev. Dudley A. Tyng. New-York: Protestant Episcopal Society for the Promotion of Evangelical Knowledge, 11 Bible House, Astor Place. 1854. WE are glad to see this abridgment of the Life of Bishop Griswold, not that the larger work contained too much, far from it, but because a smaller and cheaper book will undoubtedly find a wider circulation. And we can not but think that the more the character and daily life of Bishop Griswold are known and studied, the deeper will be the respect for the man, the warmer the attachment for the Church in which he was born, and nurtured, and labored, and the more commanding the homage to the religion which could so elevate, polish, and adorn human nature. Bishop Griswold was a great man-great in the depth and breadth of character-great in symmetrical proportion-great in his simplicity and humility-and great in his heavenly walk and conversation. We doubt whether the American Church has produced another example of so much that should be studied, and respected, and admired, as is to be found in the life of Bishop Griswold. He was a most faithful and successful pastor, a model Bishop, and a Christian nobleman. In the abridgment we are glad to find that the portions left out refer mainly to his official life; and such portions of that life as possess but little interest to the general reader. Nearly every thing relating to his common life that every-day life which alone reveals the true character of a man, has been preserved. Our only regret is, that we have not more of the incidents, anecdotes, and sayings, which so remarkably illustrated his character and displayed the keenness of his wit and his knowledge of human nature. But we have a treasure in the volume before us, and hope it may find a place in every Christian family. IV-Memoirs of Celebrated Characters. By Alphonse de Lamartine, author of "History of the Girondists," etc., etc. In two volumes. New-York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, Franklin Square. 1854. THE learned and widely-known author of this work introduces his characters by some striking observations upon the subject of History. We quote a single paragraph, as illustrative of his general style, and the earnestness with which he writes: "We are of opinion that History is, of all human studies, that which contains the greatest amount of instruction of principles, and of ideas, in the facts that it relates; because narration is the most popular and most attractive form of persuasion; because humanity, viewed as a whole, is the most interesting subject for man, and because the spirit of the world itself is but a great and unending tale, repeated from age to age, the poem of God, the source of human inspiration." In order to give a vivid impression of the spirit and tendencies of different periods and different nations, our author has selected certain representative characters and given us their memoirs. A few such characters are, in his judgment, "sufficient to bring all known time in review under the eyes and imagination of the living races of men." Among the characters thus introduced are Nelson, Heloise, Columbus, Bernard De Palissy, Roostam, Cicero, Socrates, Jacquard, Joan of Arc, Cromwell, Homer, Güttenberg, and Fenelon. The biographies of these persons are brief but well drawn, and calculated to leave a strong impression upon the mind of the reader. We give an extract from the life of Oliver Cromwell, which presents the view he took of that wonderful character: "We have sought to describe the true character of Cromwell, rescued from romance, and restored to history. This supposed actor of sixty becomes a veritable man. A great man is ever the personification of the spirit which breathes from time to time upon his age and |
