but it leaves untouched the real source of the evil. The establishment principle empowers the king to send whomsoever he may choose to represent him in the church's judicatories. It is true, that the civilisation and refinements of society may make it expedient that the commissioner be a man of decent outward deportment; but where church and state are incorporated, there is no law to prevent an irreligious man from occupying that high station. "The magistrate hath authority, and it is his duty to take order, that unity and peace be preserved in the church, and that the truth of God be kept pure and entire.” "Yet infidelity, or difference in religion, doth not make void the magistrate's just and legal authority." Such is the law. Consequently, when Lord Scoon rose in wrath, and uttered profane and threatening words, and when the worthy men around him stood appalled, and felt that they were in bad company, they were certainly in very perplexing circumstances; for they had no security against such company, but by severing the connexion between church and state.

That the purity of the Scottish Church has suffered by her connexion with the state, may be illustrated by another fact taken from a later period of history. "The whole scheme," says Dr M'Crie, speaking of the Revolution settlement, "was one of mere expediency; and, as might have been expected from the various conflicting interests that had to be consulted in its formation, it was a piece of compromise from beginning to end." Its influence, accordingly, on the purity of the church, was most pernicious. The Court was exceedingly anxious for the introduction, into the Presbyterian Church, of the whole body of the Prelatical incumbents. And, because it was the wish of the Court that they should be admitted, we find the Commission of the Church of Scotland thus addressing Queen

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Anne- "We cannot but lay before your Majesty this pregnant instance of our moderation, that, since our late happy establishment, there have been taken in, and continued, hundreds of dissenting (Episcopal) ministers, upon the easiest terms." Now, the character of these ministers may be learned from the Sketches. "The curates," says Dr M'Crie, were of all others the most obnoxious to the common people. In many cases they had acted the part of spies and informers to the government, and aided the soldiers in the harassing and bloody persecution: few of them preached the gospel, and not a few of them had disgraced their profession by their lives. They were regarded, therefore, in the light of hirelings and intruders, filling the place and eating the bread of those faithful ministers whom they had driven into the wilderness, and whose blood was to be found in their skirts." Such were the men whom the church, at the bidding of the state, admitted into her fellowship. If this do not prove that the Church of Scotland suffered from her connexion with the state, it is impossible to establish any fact.

Should it be said that this, like the other evils to which we have referred, sprang not from the establishment principle, but from the abuse of that principle; and that it is easy to modify the principle so as to prevent the evil, then it may be asked, Why was not this done? How came it that the great and good men of former days failed in accomplishing an object so easy to be effected, yet so important? To say that it was easy for the church, while incorporated with the state, to preserve herself from the contaminating influence of the Court, is a libel on the memory of these worthy men; for, if any could have done it, they would have done it. But the truth is, that it could only be done by dissolving the copartnership, and giving up the temporal advantages that flowed from it.

Secondly. The Establishment of the Scottish Church disturbed her Peace.It has been justly remarked, that the sufferings of the Church of Scotland are a tale of sanctified heroism, in which there is much to praise, and not a little to blame. Now, without palliating, in any degree, the cruelties that were perpetrated at the instigation of the Court, we are warranted in saying, that if our worthy ancestors had been voluntaries, these harassing and distressing scenes would never have had place. The members of the church, differing about her doctrine, or worship, or government, might have had their mutual jealousies, and heart-burnings, and strifes, arising from imperfections that are inseparable from humanity; but we should never have heard of their unsheathing the sword either for the propagation or defence of religion, nor should we have heard of fines, or imprisonments, or banishments, in furthering the cause of the Prince of Peace. And, though the most interesting passages in the church's history, in our native land, be a record of her struggles for what she considered to be Christ's royal prerogatives; yet all will be ready to admit, that it would have been tenfold better for church and state, if these painful struggles had not been necessary.

But were not these struggles necessary for the maintenance of truth, and the preservation of the church's rights and privileges? Why, seeing that the church was established, and that her rights and privileges were thus exposed to danger, these struggles did become necessary. But it should not be forgotten that they sprang chiefly from the establishment of the church, which gave to the king an undefined and undefinable power about things sacred. In other words, when the church was established, she conceded to the king the power of "calling Synods, of being present at them, and of providing that whatever is trans

acted in them be according to the mind of God.". This is the law. Now, if men distinguished by learning and piety have been unable, even amidst calm reflection, to define this power, and to draw the line of distinction, surely it is not surprising that the king and church, in the days of old, were unable to "rid the marches ;" and that there could never be peace, as James was wont to say, till the marches were rid between them. To illustrate this, take the following case: It is well known that the church in this part of the kingdom preferred Presbytery, and refused to bow the neck to Prelacy. But surely it was not wonderful that James and his successors disapproved of this choice, and thought it incumbent on them, as guardians of the church, to insist that she should be under the dominion of bishops. Now, if both parties were conscientious according to their light, both would become strenuous, jealous, contentious, and bloodshed would ensue. The Sketches are little else than a detail of such struggles. And truly such struggles are more wonderful, and more unnatural, than any thing in the early history of the church. It was not very wonderful that Nero persecuted the followers of Jesus; for Nero was a heathen, and the Saviour had said with regard to his disciples, "Because ye are not of the world, therefore the world hateth you." But that the nursing-father should have risen up against his own children, and should have sought to destroy them, and that there should have been incessant strife between him and them, seems passing strange, and says little for the sacred relation in which they stood to one another.

To this reasoning the following objection may be started :-If the establishment of the church was the cause of these unhappy contentions, why do not similar contentions still prevail? The reason is obvious. The magistrate has found it necessary to

pass an Act of Toleration; though it virtually condemns the establishment principle, and goes far to extract its sting. Yes: acting in accordance with the establishment principle, the magistrate says that he must take means for preserving truth and for suppressing error. But, by the Act of Toleration, he relinquishes his duty, says that he is no more a guardian of the truth, and that he is determined to wink at those who withdraw from the church which he has established, and who condemn the creed which he has sanctioned. If this be not a felo de se, there is nothing deserving of the name. It is not surprising that some of the worthy fathers saw the inconsistency of this course, and loudly denounced it. But if we must have a civil establishment of religion, it is better that we have it with the inconsistency of a Toleration Act, than with the horrors of a persecution. Had it not been for this act, which virtually destroys their favourite principle, our friends of the Free Church might have had something to complain of more formidable far than the refusal of sites, or any worldly privation to which they have been subjected.

Thirdly. The Establishment of the Scottish Church stripped her of her Independence.-Christ, as the King and Head of the Church, has given her full power to regulate her affairs, without being answerable to any earthly ruler. But her connexion with the state, as we have already seen, involved her in many struggles for her rights, and, being the weaker party, she was almost always the loser. Her sons on many occasions made a noble stand; but it was impossible to bear up against the power that opposed them. Sometimes they were subjected to fines and imprisonments: sometimes they were banished and sometimes their fidelity cost them their life. And not unfrequently the whole church was borne down, constrained to succumb to

royal authority, and to make the best of her unhappy connexion with the great ones of the earth. The Sketches abound in illustrations of this; but, for the sake of brevity, the following must suffice :-In 1592 the Parliament formally restored presbytery. "But the Church of Scotland," says Dr M'Crie, "did not long enjoy this civil establishment in peace. She soon became involved in troubles arising from the dubious and vacillating policy of the king." What a pity that the church, the kingdom of Christ, should have been placed by its own subjects in such a position as to be shaken by the vacillating policy of a man, who is represented in the Sketches as practising deceit, as interlarding his speech with profane vocables, and as bringing himself under the suspicion of having been guilty of murder! Let us look at the consequence. James, having succeeded to the throne of England, prosecuted with redoubled ardour his scheme for reducing the Church of Scotland to the English model. In this he was opposed by many individuals distinguished at once for talent and integrity. "But what avail innocence and eloquence," says Dr M'Crie, "against the arts of corrup tion and the influence of terror? The Earl of Dunbar had been sent down for the express purpose of securing the condemnation of the ministers: the jury were packed, and a verdict was at last obtained at midnight, finding the prisoners guilty of high treason." They were banished, accordingly, to a foreign land. This, however, was not all; for, at an Assembly held in Glasgow in 1610, James had recourse to bribery and intimidation, and in this way succeeded in accomplishing his object. Strange as it may appear, it is nevertheless true, that the guardians of truth and purity offered a bribe, and the ministers of religion accepted of it. "Evil communications corrupt good manners;" and the ministers of

Christ, through their connexion with worldly and unprincipled men, were prepared for this outrage on morality. Adverting to this, the author of the Sketches thus expresses himself "Those who were mean enough to accept of the bribes, returned home in disgrace, self-condemned, and taunted by their brethren, for having sold the liberties of the church, which they had solemnly pledged themselves to defend, before their departure. Altogether, it must be owned, this Assembly is a blot on the escutcheon of the Church of Scotland." "It is lamentable to think that so many ministers could be collected out of the parishes of Scotland, weak enough to yield to the threats, or base enough to take the bribes of a despotic government, bent on overturning the liberties of the church."

In order to neutralize this heavy charge, the friends of establishments will remind us of a very different Assembly held in Glasgow in 1638, where the church nobly asserted her independence. Honour be to the eminent men who stood forth on that occasion, maintaining and defending the prerogatives of Christ. But, it should be remembered, that the civil power was then distracted and weakened by domestic commotions, and was therefore unable, though willing, to crush the independent spirit of the church and it should be remembered that the civil power was no sooner relieved from these incumbrances, and restored to its native place and vigour, than it rose indignant and took vengeance on the church, branding her reformation as a course of rebellion, and trampling it under foot. In short, if there was an act of the church in 1638, asserting her freedom from state usurpation, there was an act of Parliament in 1661, rescinding what had been done by the church. And, lest the Scottish Church at any future period should raise her head and speak proudly of her independence, history reminds her, that under

the humiliating brand of the Act Recissory she still lies. And strange as it may appear, none of her friends have had the will or the power even to attempt to free her from this odium. The words of Dr M'Crie, referring to this doleful state of things, are very remarkable, and should sink deep into the mind and heart of all who expect that the church will gain much either of purity or of influence from her connexion with civil rulers. "Middleton himself seldom came sober to the House; and it is wellknown, that this infamous act, which still stands unrepealed in our statutebook, and which no modern reformer has ever proposed to repeal, was proposed by the miserable junto at a debauch, and carried in the midst of drunken acclamations."

On the last topic to which we proposed to advert, there is scarcely room for a word. When we glance

at the state of religion in Scotland, previous to the Reformation, our eye rests on a very dark picture, and we naturally exclaim, What shall be the end of these things? And when we find the reformers asking and obtaining the aid of Parliament to enable them to burst those fearful bonds that enslaved the souls as well as the bodies of men, we are ready to say, this is as it ought to be: this is one of the happy effects of civil interference in behalf of religion. But we forget that the chains to which we have referred, were forged by politico-ecclesiastical power; that the deplorable state of things previous to the Reformation, could never have existed but for that power; and that

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agency which the reformers asked and obtained for putting down an enormous evil, would never have been necessary, had not this agency previously set it up. In other words, popery owes its origin to the principle of a civil establishment of religion; and, without the operation of this principle, it could never have existed. When, therefore, the friends of this

principle exult in its mighty achievements, more especially in humbling the Man of Sin, and when they speak lightly of the voluntary principle, as unable to effect so glorious an object, -let them go back into history-let them look at the true state of things, -and let them remember that this voluntary principle, with all its perverse and mischievous propensities, could never have fabricated the mystery of

iniquity. And, instead of seeking favour, and honour, and influence, as is the case with many in the present day, by identifying themselves with our reforming ancestors, who struggled and fought for a proper establishment of religion, they would do well to seek favour, and honour, and influence, by identifying themselves with the Church in the first ages of christianity. B.

A VERY pleasing and instructive volume has just issued from the press, containing a memoir of the late Dr Duncan of Ruthwell.* It is so seldom the life of a christian minister yields the kind of material required for an interesting biography, that, in opening a volume professing to record such a life spent in a remote country parish in Scotland, the reader is apt to anticipate only a dull repetition of the story which Goldsmith tells of his amiable Vicar, ere the era of the family misfortunes had arrived, and when the grand event of the year at the vicarage, was the periodical migration from the blue bed-room to the yellow, followed in due time by the return from the yellow to the blue. If any should, under such an apprehension, throw aside the memoir of Dr Henry Duncan, we can assure them they will stand very much in their own light. It is long since we have reaped more pleasure from the perusal of a personal memoir.

There is here none of that lack of matter which both writers and readers of clerical biography are accustomed to complain of. Indeed, not only

*Memor of the Rev. Henry Duncan, D.D., minister of Ruthwell, founder of Savings Banks, author of the "Sacred Philosophy of the Seasons," &c. By his Son, the Rev. G. J. C. Duncan, North Shields. Edinburgh: Oliphant & Sons.

were the elements of an instructive and entertaining sketch furnished to the author in the history he was inditing; but these lay to his hand so distributed by the great Disposer of Events, as to make the record increase in interest, spiritual and historical, as it advanced. The progress from cold moderatism to earnest spiritual religion, keeps awake the attention of an evangelical reader; while the disruption, with its hardships and tribulations, to which it is probable the subject of this memoir fell a victim, throws a kind of halo around the closing scene, and represents the veteran soldier falling on the field of battle.

The history is not without that which must, it seems, according to law and precedent in such cases, occupy an early page in every complete biography-the exhibition of a genealogical tree. And, if the author can say nothing of a noble ancestry, and finds no room to descant upon the coming in of the Normans, he makes up for the want by a welltraced clerical lineage, up through four generations (with but one break in favour of an Aberdeen merchant), and an ultimate connexion, not quite so clearly established, with the " wardens of the western marches." Henry Duncan, the son and grandson of ministers of Lochrutton, in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, was born at