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any intention of sanctioning such an interference as would lead to dissension and disunion among the subjects of a friendly state. As for Henry, his conduct is of the most base description; and whether we consider the motives by which he was actuated, or the mischievous consequences which his treachery may produce (on the supposition that war between this country and America is the result of the disclosure), we must rank him among the worst enemies of his kind, In the mean time, the American Government has imposed an embargo on all American shipping, to continue for three months, so as

GREAT

ASSASSINATION OF MR. PERCEVAL.

The assassination of Mr. Perceval within the walls of Parliament, which happened on the 11th instant, as he was entering the lobby of the House of Commons, produced a sensation throughout the land beyond any thing which we remember to have witnessed on any former occasion. The horror which the foul deed itself could not but inspire, the space which Mr. Perceval from his high situation naturally filled in the public eye, his distinguished talents, his private worth, his large family, the critical state of public affairs, our foreign dangers, our domestic discontents, our financial difficulties, our uncertainties as to the future; all combined to give a deeply painful interest to this event. And when to these considerations was added the recollection that Mr. Perceval was a man who feared God, who loved his worship and his word, who was zealous for the honour of religion, and was ready to promote every good work, the Christian ob. server, in deploring the sudden extinction of such a light, could only turn in submission to Him by whom the hairs of our head are numbered, and without whom not even a sparrow falleth to the ground. What purposes this affecting dispensation of Providence may be intended to answer, it were perhaps vain to inquire. As far as it respects Mr. Perceval himself, it cannot be viewed by those who knew the piety of his mind without the most consolatory persua sion that he has exchanged "the miseries of this sinful world," this scene of anxiety. debate, and contention, for a state of rest and peace, of joy and felicity. His widowed partner, and his twelve orphan children have indeed been called to drink of the cup of sorrow. But we trust they will find it mingled with those consolations from above which can alone mitigate its bitterness,

to afford time for the return of such of their merchantment as are abroad.

Since the appearance of our Declaration respecting the Orders in Council, Bonaparte has promulgated a Decree, which he has thought proper to date in April, 1811, pronouncing the Decrees of Berlin and Milan to be repealed as they relate to America. This is most manifestly a mere trick. For where has the decree lain for the last twelve months? or where was it when he recently declared, that his Berlin and Milan Decrees were in full force?

BRITAIN.

We trust they will be enabled to reduce to practice those lessons of resignation to the Divine will which they used to receive from his lips; and that the value of a well-founded hope in the Divine mercy, which it was one of the cares of his life to impress on the minds of his offspring, will be impressed there with double conviction by the stroke which has torn from them the guide and instructor of their youth, their friend and father.

The effects of this melancholy event on the political state of the empire, it seems hardly possible to anticipate. The great variety of large and important questions which are at issue before the supreme council of the nation will naturally be influenced in their decision by the views of the government which may now be formed by the Prince Regent. The dispute with America, the Orders in Council, the Catholic question, the conduct of the continental war, the various questions of financial reform, the future government of our Indian Empire, &c. &c. are points which may be considered as undetermined, or at least as in some degree unsettled, by the death of Mr. Perceval. At the moment we are writing (May 26), we cannot learn that any government has yet been formed. We understand, however, that to the Marquis Wellesley has been entrusted the task of forming one.

We have purposely abstained from detailing the particulars of Mr. Perceval's assassination, because they must by this time be well known to every individual in the country. Of the murderer, it may be proper to say a few words. His name was John Bellingham. He was a native of Huntingdonshire, and was engaged in mercantile pursuits at Liverpool. He was led some years ago to visit Russia, and having a dispute with a Russian house on the sub

ject of their accounts, the matter was referred to the examination and decision of two British merchants chosen by Belling ham, and two Russian merchants named by the other party. The award of the arbiters made Bellingham a debtor to the amount of two thousand roubles; but he refused, notwithstanding the award, to discharge this debt. He had also been arrested On a criminal charge, of which he was acquitted; but previous to the termination of the suit he had attempted to quit Russia, and having resisted the police which interposed to prevent him, he was committed to prison, from which he was soon after liberated on the application of the British Consul. He was again, however, taken into custody with the view of enforcing the award of the abitrators, which, on an appeal from Bellingham, had been confirmed by a decree of the senate; but was per mitted to be at large under the care of a police officer, and was frequently supplied with money by Lord L. Gower, then our ambassador in Russia. Though his lordship could not interfere officially with the proceedings of the Russian courts, he nevertheless expressed a wish to the Russian government for his liberation, as there seemed to be no prospect of obtaining from him the money which he owed; and subsequently to the departure of Lord L. Gower, he appears on this ground to have been discharged from confinement.

Bellingham, conceiving himself to have been unjustly treated in Russia, had repeatedly applied to our Ambassador and Consul for redress, which they uniformly declared their inability to afford. On his return to England, he presented memorials to government, claiming a pecuniary compensation for the hardships he had endured and the losses he had sustained, through the injustice of the Russian government, and the supineness of Lord L. Gower and the British Consul iu vindicating his rights. Such a claim, however, was, in the highest degree, absurd. Our government have no right to interfere even with our own courts of civil or criminal judicature, much less with those of Russia. Would this country for one moment have tolerated the interfer ence of a Russian ambassador, in a case of the legal arrest for debt of a Russian subject, in this metropolis; or in a case of the apprehension of such a person for a breach of the peace? Lord L. Gower, and afterwards our government, refused, with the most perfect propriety, to take cognizance of such a transaction, or to admit a claim to pecuniary compensation on account of it. This refusal, in the propriety of

which Bellingham appears to have found an universal concurrence on the part of all to whom he applied, among whom were the two members for Liverpool; and to the propriety of which it is impossible not to give an unqualified assent, even at this moment, with all the fatal consequences of the refusal before our eyes:-this refusal so exasperated Bellingham, that he resolved, as he termed it, to do himself justice, by taking away the life of Mr. Perceval. And under this impression, he at length found means to perpetrate bis criminal design.-The murder was committed on the 11th; Bellingham was tried on the 15th; and his guilt being clearly proved, he was condemned to suffer the awful sentence of the law, which was executed on the 18th. He conducted himself with great calmness and composure during his trial, and at the place of execution; and to the last maintained the perfect propriety of the act for which he suffered : furnishing a most striking exemplification of the degree in which self-interest, and passion, are capable of perverting the reason, and hardening the heart, of the man who yields himself to their guidance.

We are the more anxious to express a distinct opinion on this part of the extraordinary case which we have been considering, as an insidious attempt has been made by some popular journalists, to exalt this wretched assassin into a hero; and for no other reason that we can discover, but because the man whom he murdered was a minister of state, and because (for this, also, seems to raise Bellingham in their estimation), he murdered this minister without feeling one sensation of remorse for his crime. We cannot regard the representations to which we allude, in any other light than as giving encouragement to similar atrocities. But our limits will not permit us to pursue this subject at present. We will only, therefore, remark, that if there be Englishmen capable of exulting in blood,-capable of almost canonizing the deliberate assassin, who aims the unprovoked blow at the heart of his victim, provided only that victim stand high in the councils of his sovereign; we must attribute such a perversion of right feeling to this cause chiefly, that the writings to which we have referred, are familiar to our population*.

We understand that the Rev. Mr. Wilson, minister of St. John's Chapel, Bedford Row, will publish, in a few days, the substance of a conversation which he had with John Bellinghain, the assassin, on the day previous to his execution: to which will be added, some general remarks.

Parliament have voted an annuity of 2000 a year to the widow of Mr. Perceval; 1000l. a year to his eldest son; and 50,000l. to be applied to the use of the large family he has left behind him.

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

On the death of Mr. Perceval, an effort was made to form an administration, with the aid of the Marquis Wellesley and Mr. Canning, which should embrace all, or nearly all, the persons who had been associated with Mr. Perceval. Written communications passed between those two statesmen and Lord Liverpool on the subject, which had scarcely been made, before they appeared in the newspapers. Considering the delicate and confidential nature of the discussions involved in such a correspondence, we find it difficult to frame to ourselves a sufficient justification of such a proceeding. It was probably done without much consideration; but it certainly looks too much like a trap to catch an adversary; especially as it must be admitted, that the party publishing make a more advantageous appearance on paper than the minister does. This, however, was naturally to be expected in compositions intended for the press.

The points of difference chiefly respected the Catholic question, the conduct of the war on the Peninsula, and the precedency of power in the government. On the first point one party was for modified concession to the Catholics, and the other against any concession. On the second, the Marquis and Mr. Canning were of opinion, that the war in Spain should be prosecuted with increased vigour; while Lord Liverpool thought that our efforts in that quarter were already pushed to the utmost extent of our means. With respect to the third, it appeared to be the wish of those in power that Lord Liverpool should be Premier, and should lead in the House of Lords, and Lord Castlereagh in the House of Commons. Lord Wellesley and Mr. Canning did not seem willing to accede to such an arrangement.

We should have rejoiced to have seen this attempt to strengthen the Government suc

ceed, if it could have been effected without any undue compromise of principle. On its failure, the Earl of Liverpool was appointed first Lord of the Treasury, and Mr. Vansittart Chancellor of the Exchequer; the former being to be succeeded in the Colonial Office by Earl Bathurst. When this arrangement came to be known, a member of the House of Commons moved an Address to the Prince Regeut (this was on the 21st instant), praying that his Royal Highness would be pleased to form a strong and efficient administration. The Address was carried by a majority of 174 to 170. The answer of the Prince Regent was favourable to the prayer of the Address; and it is understood that he requested the Marquis Wellesley to take measures for forming an administration. The Marquis appears to have experienced more difficulty in effecting this object than was at first auticipated, for to the present hour (May 29), it is not known that any definitive arrangement has yet been made. We do most sincerely wish that a strong and efficient administration may be formed, which, uniting a competency of talent with tried public virtue, may afford us a rational hope of union and conciliation at home, and vigour and success abroad.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

A French 74 gun ship has heen captured in the Mediterranean, by one of our ships of equal force, after a severe action.-Two of our gun-brigs had got on shore on the coast of France. One was burnt by the crew, who made their escape in boats. The other, the Apelles, was taken with the captain and a few men on board; and was afterwards got off by the French. But no sooner had she been launched than she was attacked by a party of our men in boats, and carried off in triumph, notwithstanding an incessant fire from the batteries on shore. A small French squadron sent out, as it would ap pear, merely for the purpose of cruizing, has captured and burnt upwards of thirty vessels, of which about half are English, and the rest Americans, Swedes, &c.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

J. M. W., we are of opinion, requires too much from us, in requiring us to state reasons for declining to insert a particular paper.

AFFABILITATIS AMATOR; T. D.; R. H.; F. T.; C. B.; THETA; CAROLINE; CLER. EBOR.; S. S.; and LYDIA; have been received, and shall be considered.

We

e assure a SHOPKEEPER, that if we had received any communication on the subject to which he refers, worthy of insertion, we should have been anxious to have brought it forward. But we have not received any, either good or bad.

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ACCOUNT OF THE REV. HENRY
SCOUGAL.

(Continued from p. 279.)

MR. Scougal, at

less, was anxious to have his parishioners punctual and constant in their attendance upon public worship; and lamented that many, who professed and called themselves Christians, lightly regarded the solemn services of the church, and evidently shewed by their conduct that they considered the worship of their Maker of little importance compared with the sermon; an error which unhappily too much prevails in our own days. Our Liturgy is a truly Christian service; and we cannot be sufficiently thankful for the great blessing of having a ritual so truly evangelical established amongst us. It is much to be lamented, however, that by too many professing Christians, the desk is less valued than the pulpit; and it is matter of serious concern to every pious clergyman, as it was to good Scougal, that "the invocation of Almighty God; the reading some portions of the Holy Scriptures; making a confession of our Christian faith, and rehearsing the Ten Commandments, should be looked upon only as a præludium for ushering in the people to the church, and the minister to the pulpit *." In preach

Gairden's Sermon. The above extract may serve to give us an idea of the mode of conducting public worship at that period in the episcopal church, at least in the diocese of Aberdeen. Dr. Gairden remarks, that Scougal always joined with his congregation at the beginning of the service; from whence CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 126.

ing, the great aim of Mr. Scougal was to approve himself unto God, as a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word

pulpit, as became an ambassador of Jesus Christ, the only ends he had in view were the glory of God, and the salvation of souls; he adapted his sermons not to the humours of his hearers, but to their necessities. He laboured to render his style plain and intelligible to the meanest capacity, without giving disgust to the well educated. He was careful to avoid foolish questions and strifes of words, and only to speak the things becoming sound doctrine; in other words, to inculcate those great truths of the Gospel, whose direct tendency is to promote the divine life in the soul. His reverend eulogist, who has been already so often, quoted, thus describes him as a preacher:-"The matter of his discourses was always so useful and seasonable; his words and expressions so plain and proper, and well chosen; his deportment so grave and unaffected; his manner of utterance so affectionate, and expressive of the passionate love and concern he had for men's souls, accompanied with such an act of sweetness and mildness as charmed men's spirits; and all was so full of light and heat, that I think I may say, in the words of the disciples concerning our blessed Saviour, Did not our hearts barn within us, while he opened

it may be inferred, that in those days there were clergymen, as well as laymen, who looked upon the worship of God only as a præludium to their public exhibition.

2 X

Scougal of their brows, without the toil and distraction of their spirits."

unto us the Scriptures?" Scougal revived the expository mode of preaching, which had produced such happy effects at the auspicious era of the Reformation, and which experience hath evinced to be most conducive to general edification. This useful practice, which in Scotland is called lecturing *, forms a stated portion of the morning service in the established church of that part of the United Kingdom; and I have often wished that the same practice had been enjoined by authority in the Church of England. Scougal was no less assiduous in catechising than in preaching. He discharged that important branch of the clerical office not in the common cursory way, which is little better than an exercise of the memory, but by instructing the young and the ignorant in the plain, impressive method of familiar and affectionate conversation. 66 Catechising," to use Mr.Scougal's own words, in a sermon preached before the synod of Aberdeen, is a necessary but painful duty. It is no small toil, to tell the same things a thousand times to some dull and ignorantpeople,whoperhaps shall know but little when we have done. It is this laborious exercise that does sometimes tempt a minister to envy the condition of those who gain their living by the sweat

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* I am informed, that the Scots clergy, in lecturing on Sundays, generally confine themselves to the New Testament, but without uniformity in the method; some giving harmonical expositions of the Evangelists, others regularly expounding the Epistles, and many commenting on detached portions or chapters, without any attention to order or method. The late Bishop of London, in his lectures on the Gospel of St. Matthew, gave a good specimen of this mode of communicating religious instruction, which it is to be wished were generally adopted by the parochial clergy, especially where two sermons are usual. I have heard that the clergy of the Lutheran Church generally expound, one part of the Sunday, the Gospel or the Epistle for the day. Arch bishop Leighton's Commentary on the first Epistle of St. Peter, is an admirable model for an expositor of the Epistles.

Scougal was not satisfied with performing the public duties of his functions, but, in imitation of St. Paul, he went from house to house, "testifying repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ." He availed himself of those domiciliary visits to study the various tempers and dispositions of his people; to warn the unruly; to comfort the feeble minded; to convince the gainsayers; to heal the blacksliders; and to confirm the faith and animate the hopes of those who had received Christ Jesus the Lord.

"He was deeply sensible" (L. borrow the words of Dr. Gairden) "of the little sense of religion that generally appeared; and when he' saw any spark of goodness, how strangely was he cheered with it! He more valued the humble innocence, the cheerful contentment and resignation of one poor woman in that place, than all the more goodly appearances of others, having oft in his mouth indocti cœlum rapiunt."

His situation at Auchterless, as to external comforts, was very discouraging and trying; but he submitted with equanimity and patience to the inconveniencies of coarse fare, of a mean lodging, and a total seclusion from the enjoylearned the divine art of contentments of literary society. He had ment with his lot under every disagreeable circumstance; he maintained an uniform serenity and cheerfulness of mind; and he used to say,

"that as he blessed God he was not naturally melancholy, so he thought an acquired melancholy was scandalous in a clergyman."

We now come to the last stage of this excellent man's life, a period of not more than four years, during which he filled a conspicuous and important station. The chair of divinity in King's College, Aberdeen, had been vacant since the year

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