to embark in any kind of crusade, are labours beneficial to the whole mass of society. This is true in England, but is still more true in Ireland. Neither angry polemics nor hostile legislation will bring any better moral influences to bear upon the Irish peasant than those which he derives through the Church of Rome. Consider, then, what must be the effect in that country of a systematic warfare upon an institution which has such deep root in the soil, while almost every other has been either blighted or pulled up. There is no doubt much in the demeanour of the Irish clergy to repel the English people, but the aspect which the Irish priest presents to England is his worst. Combative, perhaps, he is, and full of angry violence in his language; but see him amongst his flock, and you see another For them, he is the friend in perplexity-the protector in danger the pastor and consoler in sickness and desolation. On all the joyful and sorrowful occasions of life the priest and the people are together. Sympathy, sweet to all, but longed for even to weakness by the Irish, is found by the people in the priesthood, and is sought elsewhere in vain. Such is the class whom English statesmen at this crisis of European affairs think it wise to exasperate by insult. Such is the class whom others, in the name of interests far higher than those of policy, think it consistent with Christian prudence and Christian charity, even at this great exigency in the history of society, to cover with the most odious imputations.

man.

Comprehensiveness not Latitudinarian.

It does not involve, as to many it may appear to do, a lax or latitudinarian principle, to admit that the spirit of Christianity may work powerfully in connection with theological error. It does not lead to the conclusion that one iota of what is regarded as truth is to be surrendered or slighted, but merely that the energy of each Christian body should be turned against that mass of practical heathenism, the christianization of which, in the comprehensive view of Chalmers, seemed to

be the greatest and most urgent of all works required by humanity. The two things cannot, or at all events will not, be effectively done together. If the energy goes into angry polemics, it will not go into works of Christian love.

Here, then, is the great want of the present time. The rise of a new spirit in all the churches-a spirit which would lead them to see their chief antagonists no longer in each other, and to direct their united energies against that large, menacing, and aggressive mass of moral evil, with which Christian organization alone can effectually cope. Not one of those churches can be spared. The sympathies of the great majority of the English people are, in my opinion, with that form of the Christian faith which is commonly known as Evangelical Protestantism, and, viewed upon a large scale, there is none of which the morality is purer, or the humane and benevolent energy more conspicuous. But it is in vain to imagine that it is, or can be, the exclusive type of English religion, or even the exclusive religion of the Establishment. Anglo-Catholicism, however inconsistent it may be in not becoming Roman Catholicism, does still abound in the most beautiful traits of Christian excellence. The claims of some of the Tractarian clergy to an exclusive control over popular schools cannot, indeed, be admitted; but, on the other hand, no policy could be more unwise than that of an attempt, by narrowing the present terms of ecclesiastical communion, to drive that party into the Church of Rome. Even in the estimation of the mere political moralist, the zeal shown by the Tractarian section of the Church for the furtherance of popular education ought to seem too precious a thing to be thrown away, if such waste can possibly be avoided. That great work, which must be the foundation of all social improvement, cannot be accomplished except by the force of religious impulses, and this fact is too apt to be overlooked or denied by those friends of education who find their plans and wishes obstructed by religious differences. Very moderate concessions, however, would now be sufficient to warrant a great legislative measure, and in the

working of such a measure all the religious zeal and energy that exists in England might find an ample sphere of activity.

Of the Tractarian theology it may further be said, that although to me it appears both logically and historically less consistent than that of Rome, it is morally much superior. It is free from some of the worst practical errors of the Roman Church. If, therefore, Tractarians can remain in their present position without dishonesty, as only extreme intolerance or want of charity can deny, it is infinitely better that they should continue insensible to their own happy inconsistency, than that legislation, less merciful than logic, should strip them of the chief part of their social utility, and condemn them to the melancholy disenchantment, and the bitter and hopeless repinings, which must often, though they may not always, follow conversions from the Church of England to the Church of Rome. Whilst hoping for the ultimate removal of all error, we should, for the present, rather be glad that Tractarianism, such as it is, is found practically to satisfy the spiritual wants of some minds, which are repelled by the popular manifestations of the simpler and purer evangelical theology; and if the inward religious life which accompanies that form of faith may be judged of by poetical manifestation, it must be acknowledged that the "Christian Year," and the "Lyra Apostolica" are in no respect inferior to the best utterances of Herbert or Heber. Again, at the opposite extremity of the theological pole are also to be found minds of the highest spirituality. Let those who doubt it read the "Endeavours after the Christian Life" of James Martineau, or the "Religious Life of England," by John James Tayler. The creed of such writers may err by defect, as that of the Church of Rome does by excess; but in spirit they are as Christian as Fenelon and Pascal; and all those varied classes of minds, devout, sincere, and disciplined by the Gospel, and strengthened by those aids which are practically found to be imparted to men wherever there is faith in the person of the Redeemer, form collectively the great force by which the social evils which menace England are to be checked and overcome.

It is not necessary that any ecclesiastical organization should be broken up or disturbed. What is wanted is not a change of mechanism, but a change of heart. Such a change, indeed, might lead, as an ultimate result, to unions which are now impracticable. But it is not the least that can be said in its behalf, that it might tend to realize the aspiration of one of England's greatest men-of him whose early departure is not to be regretted, since it enabled the image of his earnest and inspiring life to be brought home as a stimulus and a sustainment to so many fainting souls. That would be a great day, indeed, for England, in which such a change should take place in her various religious organizations, that, if not led into the way of perfect doctrinal agreement, they might, at least, "hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life;" and that the harmonizing power of Christian love might at length make it possible for all to come together in the comprehensive church of Arnold'.

A personal statement respecting the religious position of the writer of these pages is here added, solely because the worth of any opinion on these much disputed subjects is always estimated with some reference to the circumstances under which it has been formed. An early education in the Roman Catholic Church, though connected with every circumstance calculated to inspire respect for the tenets of that church and for its teachers, was not sufficient to prevent the creed of childhood from falling to pieces-for that is the only true description of what occurredduring the years spent at the university of Dublin. That result happened without the least effort on the part of any one to bring it about, and in spite of strong efforts made by the individual chiefly concerned to prevent it. In the year 1834, Channing's "Essay on Fenelon" distinctly presented a view of Christianity which seemed to include what was essential in the faith of Channing and of Fenelon, and that view, subsequently enlarged and corrected, more especially by a study of the writings of Neander, became permanent. The opinion then embraced led in 1836, or within about a year after the attainment of the age of manhood, to a formal connection with the Unitarian body, which has since continued, notwithstanding some differences from the views commonly held by Unitarians. The consideration, however, which appeared strong sixteen years ago appears equally strong now, that the Unitarians are the only religious body in which very wide diversities of speculative opinion are held to be consistent with Christian communion and fellowship.

APPENDIX.

NOTE A.

Nature of Money Capital.-Mr. Hodgskin's Pamphlet.

The following are extracts from the pamphlet called "Labour defended against the Claims of Capital" which has been referred to in the preface. The italics and small capitals are given as in the original.

"The only advantage of circulating capital is, that by it the LABOURER is enabled, he being assured of his present subsistence, to direct his power to the greatest advantage. He has time to learn an art, and his labour is rendered more productive when directed by skill. Being assured of immediate subsistence, he can ascertain which, with his peculiar knowledge and acquirements, and with reference to the wants of society, is the best method of labouring, and he can labour in this manner. Unless there were this ASSURANCE there could be no continuous thought, no invention, and no knowledge but that which would be necessary for the supply of our immediate animal wants. The weaver, I admit, could not complete his web, nor would the shipwright begin to build a ship, unless he KNEW that while he was engaged in this labour he should be able to procure food. A merchant certainly could not set out for South America or the East Indies unless he were CONFIDENT that during the period of his absence he and his family could find subsistence, and that he would be able at the end of his voyage to pay all the expenses he had incurred. It is this assurance, this knowledge, this confidence of obtaining subsistence and reward, which enables and induces men to undertake long and complicated operations; and the question is, do men derive this assurance from a stock of goods already provided, (saved from the produce of previous labour,) and ready to pay them, or from any other source?

"I SHALL ENDEAVOUR TO SHOW THAT THIS ASSURANCE ARISES FROM A GENERAL PRINCIPLE IN THE CONSTITUTION OF MAN, AND THAT THE EFFECTS ATTRIBUTED TO A STOCK OF COMMODITIES, UNDER THE NAME OF CIRCULATING CAPITAL, ARE CAUSED BY COEXISTING LABOUR.

"The labourer, the real maker of any commodity, derives this assurance from a knowledge he has that the person who sets him to work will