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"Hooker is an enemy to all unlawful power, ufurped, oppref. five, or tyrannically exercifed. A noble spirit of liberality runs through his work. He is an advocate for the rights of mankind; and the precious fpark of liberty," which Mr. Hume fays was kept alive among the Puritans," glows in his pages with a clear. nefs and fervour that have never been exceeded. He ufes fuch ex. preffions as thefe," to live by one man's law is the cause of all men's mifery;" "utterly without our confent we are at the command of no man living;" "every nation or collective multi. tude has naturally no fuperior under God:" the opinion is con ftantly inculcated that power originally refts with the body of the people, and is derived from them to one or more rulers, according to their choice, and that "there can be no lawful government without confent of the governed, given by themfelves or their re prefentatives." Whoever turns to Mr. Locke's Effay on Govern. ment, will find that the fentiments of this celebrated writer are an edifice avowedly built on the foundation which Hooker laid; whofe words he continually quotes. Thus the "Ecclefiaftical Polity" is one of the fountain-heads of thofe principles which produced our free and happy conftitution. To do full juftice to the author's enlightened views, we must consider that he lived a century before Mr. Locke, and under the government of Eliza. beth." Pref. p. xxxv.

The fubftance of each of the Eight Books is neatly given, and a correct outline of the whole work appears in a few pages. At the end of the Preface is fubjoined the Contents of the original, and of the Analyfis. Such fections in the former as are omitted in the latter, are marked with an afte rifk, but of these there are not many. It is juftice to add a fpecimen of the mode of execution."

"The next thing is to impute all faults and corruptions, with which the world abounds, to the exifting ecclefiaftical government: and thus they obtain a character for wifdom. But in fact the vices of the Jewish commonwealth might with equal reason have been afcribed to that polity of which God was the immediate author. Abufes, fpringing from the work of human frailty, have been, and always will be, matter of complaint, whatever be the form of go

vernment.

"Having gotten this hold on men's hearts, the third ftep is to propofe their own form of difcipline, as the fovereign remedy of all evils; and to embellifh it with the most glorious titles.

"The people in the weaknefs of their understandings, like men difeafed in body, fly for remedy from their prefent uneafinefs to any thing that is recommended. That most they covet, which they leaft have tried.

The fourth degree of inducements, is by giving men's minds fuch bias, that in reading Scripture, they may fancy every

thing founds in favour of that difcipline, and to the difgrace of the contrary. Thus Pythagoras fo impreffed his fcholars with ideas of numbers, that they afterwards involuntarily applied them, in a , most abfurd manner, to the works of nature. Thus the "family of love" believe Scripture authorizes them to fuppofe that Chrift fignifies not a perfon, but a quality. And thus the minds of the multitude are foreftalled and prepoffeffed by you with an opinion, that an Elder fignifies a Lay-governor in the Church; a Doctor, one who may teach, but not preach, or adminifter Sacraments; a Deacon, one who has charge of the alms-box; and to fuppofe that by myftical resemblance, Mount Sion and Jerufalem typify the churches which admit, Samaria and Babylon thofe which oppugn, the faid difcipline, &c.; as if the Holy Ghoft had purpofed to pre-fignify what the authors of admonitions to the 'Parliament, of fupplications to the Council, and of petitions to her Majesty, fhould do or fuffer for their caufe.

"They then advance to a higher point, and perfuade men, credulous and yielding to thefe pleafing delufions, that it is by fpecial illumination of the Holy Ghoft fome men are enabled to difcern in Scripture what others cannot. "Dearly beloved, (fays St. John) give not credit to every fpirit." Only by two ways the spirit leads to truth; the one extraordinary, given to few, the other common to all the people of God, viz. revelation and reafon. If revelation has difcovered to them the fecrets of this difcipline, they must be all prophets, men, women, and children: if reafon," they must be able to fhew fome ftrong ground of perfuafion for each particular article.

"When opinion is framed by paffion, men are much more earneft in defence of error, than found believers are in the maintenance of truth, embraced according to the evidence of Scripture. Scripture is in fome things plain, as in the principles of Chriftian doctrine in others, as in matters of difcipline, it is more dark and doubtful; and God's holy Spirit frameth their affent correfpondently to this his inftrument. It is not therefore fervour of perfua. fion, but foundness of reafon, which muft prove their opinions to have been wrought by the Holy Ghoft, and not by the fraud of that evil spirit who is ftrong in his illufions.

"When the common people have imbibed the notion that the fpirit is the author of the perfuafion they feel concerning this dif cipline, they are then taught that this is the feal of their being God's children; and that this very perfuafion and affection is a fure fign of their being thus favoured above others. Hence are bred high terms of feparation: they are named the brethren, the godly, &c. and the reft of the world are called time-fervers, pleafers of men, and fo forth.

"That this good fpirit may not be quenched in their hearts, they use all means to ftrengthen it, and make it manifeft to others. They are diligent in hearing and converfing with thofe of the fame perfuafion; they make them their counfellers and directors in

8

affairs

affairs of moment, in making wills, contracts, &c. Through defire of receiving inftruction from the mafters of their company, they neglect their own concerns, and think they have then, like Mary, chofen the better part. Finally, this makes them ready to charge and overcharge themfelves for the fapport of fuch perfons, left their zeal fhould by any means be unwitnessed.

"What will not poor beguiled fouls do through fo powerful incitements? It is obfervable, that most care is taken to win those whofe judgments are commonly weakeft by reafon of their fex. We do not confider them as women loaden with fins,” but dif pofed to devotion and holinefs: yet it feems unlikely that, if the caufe was fupported by ftrong and found evidence, the greatest induftry would prevail in making profelytes among those who have leaft ability of judgment. The female fex are fitter inftruments to further this caufe, from their natural eagernefs of affection, which makes them, whatever way they purfue, earneft to draw with them hufbands, children, and friends, from their difpofition to pity, which makes them bountiful in fuccouring diftreffed preachers; from the various opportunities they have of procuring encourage ment to the brethren; and lattly, from the delight they take in giving large and particular intelligence of the state of all about them." P. 13.

Two abridgments of Hooker's have before appeared, but upon a plan different from the prefent. Of the great merit of this by Mr. Collinfon, we should conceive there can be no difference

opinion. The ftrong good fenfe of the Preface must demonftrate to every reader his qualification for the undertaking; nor will the powerful language, profound learning, and excellent judgment of the original, appear to have fuffered any deterioration in this excellent analyfis.

ART. VIII. A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland; exhibiting the Names of the jeveral Cities, Towns, Parifes, and Villages, with the Barony, County, and Province, to which they refpectively belong.— The Valuation and prefent State of the Ecclefiaftical Benefices.-The Diflunce and Bearing of every Place from the nearest Poft-Office, and of the Post-Offices, from the Metropolis.- Fairs.—Members of Parliament, and Corporations.-Charter Schools.—And Affizes.-To which is added, Mifcellaneous Information refpecting Monaftic Foundations, and other Matters of Local Hijlory-Collected from the most authentic Documents, and arranged in Alphabetical Order, being a Continuation of the Topography of the United Kingdom

of Great Britain and Ireland, by Nicholas Carlife, Fellow and Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries of London. 4to.. 21. 12s. 6d. Miller. 1810.

AT p. 877 of our 32d vol. will be found an account of this author's fingularly ufeful work, A Topographical Hiftory of England. To that account we are now enabled to add, that the work has been found especially ferviceable to Juftices of the Peace, in making orders of removal; having probably prevented fome expenfive appeals against such orders, and thus contributed to a diminution of the poor rates. When it is confidered (for inftance) that there are more than four core parithes of the name of Sutton; many of them in the fame county; it will be found no eafy matter to afcertain, from the pauper's account, which of them is the place of his fettlement, without reference to a book of this fort, But this book, by ftating the exact diftance and hearing from the neareft pofl-town, effectually obviates any mistake. in fuch matters.

We proceed to the work immediately before us. This volume, being complete in itself, is fold feparately; but it is alfo intended to form a third volume to the Dictionary of England, and is executed upon the fame plan. But,

"The kingdom of Great Britain having been recently united with Ireland, a perfect uniformity with the preceding volumes is not to be expected; particularly in that kind of information which arifes from return, ordained by law, or directed by Government, or either Houfe of Parliament. Of this kind are the poor-returns of 1803, arifing from the legal provifion for the maintenance of the poor."

Mr. Carlifle having ftated accurately, in his preface, the feveral objects of his enquiry, and the means by which he has attained them; we thall draw from that statement the proper information for our readers. No "authentic inquiry into the population of Ireland has hitherto been inftituted'; though a Bill to that effect was introduced into the House of Commons in Febrnary 1806; which was filently abandoned by its author." From a Valor Beneficiarum Ecclefiafticorum in Hibernia, compiled between 1538, and 1630; and from authentic ecclefiaftical information, recently obtained by Government, the ftate of the church of Ireland is better known, and is here more fully detailed, than that of England. in the former volumes of this work,

BRIT. CRIT. VOL. XXXVI. OCT. 1810.

In the month of June 1805, the Houfe of Commons ordered certain returns to be made from the feveral diocefes of Ireland; and thefe returns were ordered to be printed in February 1806. They are figned by the registers of the feveral diocefes; and contain the names and number of parishes comprised in each union of parishes; the period of time when fuch parishes were united; and the authority under which fuch union was effected; the number of acres of glebe which appertain to each parish; whether any glebe houfe for the refidence of the incumbent is erected thereon; and the distance at which united parishes lie from each other, when fuch parishes are not contiguous; and whether any and what number of churches, in which Divine fervice is performed, are now feverally thereon, or were at the time when fuch parifhes were united. But the fpirit of inquiry, fo fuccefsfully begun, did not reft here."

Earl Spencer, in a dispatch to the duke of Bedford, then Lord Lieutenant, ftates his Majefty's commands to direc his Grace to write to the

"Lord Primate, and the three other Archbishops of Ireland; defiring that they will, with as little delay as poffible, procure in their respective provinces, and tranfmit for his Majefty's information, the most accurate accounts that can be furnished, of the actual fituation of the established church of Ireland.” “In con fequence of thefe inftructions, the Lord Lieutenant addressed a circular letter, dated the 16th of July 1806, to the feveral arch. bishops of Armagh, Dublin, Cafhel, and Tuam; communicating to them the foregoing difpatch, and expreffing his fulleft reliance on their earnest affistance and zealous co-operation in forwarding the King's intentions; and, at the fame time, fubjoining a lift of Queries to be fubmitted to the feveral bishops within each province."

Thefe Queries being excellent and exemplary, the author. was induced to fubjoin them in a note; and we doubt not that our readers will think them deferving to occupy a few lines in our Review.

QUERIES; to be addreffed by the feveral archbishops of Ireland, to the bifhops in their respective provinces.

"I. 1. What is the number, and what are the denominations, of the benefices in the diocefe of - ? 2. How many parishes are comprehended in each benefice? and what are the denomina. tions 3. Are the parishes contiguous to, or how far diftant from each other? 4. What is the eftimated extent of fuch as are contiguous? 5. When were the parishes united into one benefice refpectively, and by what authority? 6. Should fuch unions be continued or diffolved? or would any other diftribution of the

parishes,

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