ledge, as well literary as strictly professional, may be got over by attention, and an orderly arrangement of our time, insomuch that there is not perhaps a studious person who hears me this day who does not recollect seasons of urgent business and unavoidable distraction, which have not through increased vigilance and better management, been seasons also of considerable improvement in the different pursuits in which he has been engaged. And in estimating a clergyman's character, the labours of the study are highly to be esteemed, not only on account of the acquirements sought after, but also on account of the healthy state of mind which they produce, and the aptitude for the due discharge of the higher duties of our profession to which they so directly lead. For without strict and regular application to study, I do not understand how 'the priest's lips can keep knowledge,' nor how the people can with success seek the law at his mouth.' In the early times of the Reformation, the want of this knowledge amongst the reformed clergy was a great hindrance to the spread of protestantism; and, moreover, was the cause of that sectarian spirit which then sprung up, and still continues to divide and disturb the peace of the protestant church; and it was the great proficiency in the various branches of learning amongst the regular orders of the Roman-catholic clergy, which kept up the reputation of their numerous religious institutions long after their ill effects were plainly perceived, and their dissolution eagerly sought after. When, therefore, to uprightness of life and true Christian humility such stores of knowledge are united, how brightly does the character of such a teacher shine, and how great will be his influence in turning many unto righteousness!" FIFTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF HIS MAJESTY'S COMMISSIONERS FOR BUILDING NEW CHURCHES. In their last report, His Majesty's commissioners stated, that 208 churches and chapels had been completed, in which accommodation had been provided for 279,049 persons, including 153,568 free seats, to be appropriated to the use of the poor. They have now to state, that four churches and chapels have since been completed at the following places, viz. :-At Bollington, in the parish of Prestbury, in the county of Chester; at Norbury, in the parish of Stockport, in the county of Chester; at Cross Stones, in the parish of Halifax, in the county of York; and at Spotland, in the parish of Rochdale, in the county of Lancaster. In these four churches and chapels accommodation has been provided for 4,506 persons, including 2,370 free seats, to be appropriated to the use of the poor. Thus, in the whole, 212 churches and chapels have now been completed, and therein a total provision has been made for 283,555 persons, including 155,938 free seats, to be appropriated to the use of the poor, the number of sittings being estimated according to the scale laid down by His Majesty's commisonsiers. His Majesty's commissioners beg leave further to report, that five churches and chapels are in the course of building, at the following places, viz. :—In the parish of St. Mary the Virgin, Dover, in the county of Kent; at North Shields, in the parish of Tynemouth, in the county of Northumberland; at Carmarthen, in the county of Carmarthen; at Tredegar, in the parish of Bedwelty, in the county of Monmouth; and at Habergham Eaves, in the parish of Whalley, in the county of Lancaster. The state of the works in each of these churches and chapels, on the 10th day of July, is fully detailed in the schedule accompanying this report, marked (A.) His Majesty's commissioners have further to report, that plans for four other chapels have been approved of, to be built at the following places, viz:At Sheerness, in the parish of Minster, in the county of Kent; at Lough borough, in the county of Leicester; at Newport, in the parish of St. Woollos, in the county of Monmouth; and in the parish of St. John the Evangelist, Westminster, in the county of Middlesex. The buildings, in the two first cases, will be commenced as soon as the contracts have been entered into for the performance of the works; and in the two last cases, as soon as the subscriptions promised are paid to the board. His Majesty's commissioners have further to report, that they have proposed to make grants in aid of building churches and chapels at the nine following places, viz.:-At Dawley, in the county of Salop; at Oldbury, in the parish of Hales-Owen, in the county of Salop; in the parish of St. George-in-theEast, in the county of Middlesex; at Bridgewater, in the county of Somerset ; at Staley-bridge, in the parish of Ashton-under-Line, in the county of Lancaster; at Duckinfield, in the parish of Stockport, in the county of Chester; at Tipton, in the county of Stafford; in the parish of St. James, Westminster, in the county of Middlesex; and in the Wilderness, in the parish of Halifax, in the county of York: the plans for which have not yet been laid before the board. His Majesty's commissioners annexed a schedule to their last report, containing a list of applications which had been made to them from various places for pecuniary aid towards building new churches and chapels; a copy of which, and of the applications which have since been made, accompanies this report, marked (B.) Since the last report, the parish of Wrockwardine, in the county of Salop, has been divided into two distinct and separate parishes, under the provisions of the 16th section of the act of the 58th George III., c. 45. Ecclesiastical districts, under the 21st section of the same act, have been formed out of the respective parishes of St. Philip and Jacob, in the city of Bristol; Wantage, in the county of Berks; Alfreton, in the county of Derby; and district chapelries have been assigned under the 16th section of the 59th George III., c. 134, to St. Peter's chapel, St. James's chapel, St. Margaret's chapel, St. Paul's chapel, and Shaw chapel, in the chapelry of Oldham, in the parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham, in the county of Lancaster; to St. Paul's, All Saints, and St. John's chapels, in the parish of Portsea, in the county of Southampton; to St. Mark's and Hanover chapels, in the parish of St. George, Hanover-square, in the county of Middlesex; to St. James's, Holy Trinity, and St. Nicholas's chapels, in the township of Whitehaven, and parish of St. Bees, in the county of Cumberland; and to the chapel at Saint Day, in the parish of Gwennap, in the county of Cornwall. er; His Majesty's commissioners have, since their last report, and without any aid from the parliamentary funds, afforded or expressed their willingness to afford facilities for obtaining additional burial grounds for the parishes of St. George, Stamford, in the county of Lincoln; St. Peter the Great, in the city of Chichester; Banbury, in the county of Oxford; Upton-upon-Severn, in the county of Worcester; Ashton-under Line, in the county of Lancaster; St. Ives, in the county of Cornwall; and Hinckley, in the county of Leicester and also for obtaining sites for new churches and chapels, at Harlow, in the county of Essex; Shildon, in the parish of St. Andrew-Auckland, in the county of Durham; Eling. in the county of Southampton; Brightlingsea, in the county of Essex Brentwood, in the parish of Southweald, in the county of Essex; in the parish of St. Sidwell, in the city of Exeter; in the parish of St. Giles, in the county of Oxford; Hampstead Norris, in the county of Berks; Hadlow Down, in the parishes of Mayfield and Buxted, in the county of Sussex; Appledore, in the parish of Northam, in the county of Devon; St. Botolph, Colchester, in the county of Essex; Upton-cum-Chalvey, in the county of Bucks; Shirley, in the parish of Croydon, in the county of Surrey; at Sarisbury, in the parish of Titchfield, in the county of Southampton (also for a parsonage-house and glebe); and at Aveley, in the county of Essex, for a parsonage-house. His Majesty's commissioners have also to report, that, under the powers vested in them by the Church Building Acts, they have, with the necessary consents, re-united the rectorial and vicarial tithes of the parish of Orwell, in the county of Cambridge, and formed the same into a rectory. Several applications have been made to the Board by persons who have built or who propose to build and endow chapels under the act of 1 and 2 William IV., c. 38; and in the following cases, being within the jurisdiction of the board, His Majesty's commissioners propose granting the perpetual patronage to the person or persons respectively building and endowing the same, their heirs and assigns,-viz., At Bude, in the parish of Stratton, in the county of Cornwall; Fareham, in the county of Hants; Mincham, in the parish of Gnosall, in the county of Stafford; Levens, in the parish of Heversham, in the county of Westmoreland; Ivybridge, in the parish of Cornwood, in the county of Devon; Ettingshall, in the parish of Sedgeley, in the county of Stafford; Brathay, in the parish of Hawkshead, in the county of Lancaster; Southend, in the parish of Prittlewell, in the county of Essex; and Edgbaston, in the county of Warwick. The Exchequer-bills issued to this day, amount to 1,500,000l. W. CANTUAR. Church Commissioners' Office, July 28, 1835. J. LINCOLN. G. O. CAMBRidge. H. LICHFIELD & Cov. CHURCH BUILDING SOCIETY. MR. EDITOR,-Should you think the following statement of the sums contributed, by our nobility and clergy, to one of the most excellent, (but nevertheless one of the worst supported,) of the societies in connection with the established church, worthy of insertion in your Magazine, you are welcome to it. It is drawn up from the Report of the Church Building Society for 1834, and you may depend upon its general accuracy. The whole amount of money spent by the society, from its establishment in 1818 to March 1834, is 168,4127. Out of this the nobility of the land have contributed, in donations, 10,9051. 13s.: nearly one-fifteenth of the whole. The private clergy have given, in donations, 14,824l. 148. 10d.: nearly oneeleventh of the whole. The dignitaries of the church, (under which name I include bishops, deans, and chapters,) have given, in donations, 13,8521. 16s.: nearly one-twelfth of the whole. And taking these two last items together, the clergy, collectively, have contributed 28,677, 10s. 10d.: more than onesixth of the total sum expended since 1818. And, in addition to this, the two Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and the Royal Colleges of Eton and Winchester, have bestowed upon this society, in their corporate capacity, no less a sum than 83821. 10s. :-most of which comes, of course, from the clergy, who form a large majority in these collegiate bodies. The amount of annual subscriptions received during the year, ending in March 1834, was only 3677. 178.: out of which the nobility have contributed 247. 148.: the private clergy 1937. 19s. and the dignitaries 271. 6s.: leaving no more than 1214. 188., arising from other sources. And when we remember that a large proportion of the sum still unaccounted for, under the head of donations, was furnished by a King's Letter, sent round to every parish, in 1828, we shall see that we have not yet ascertained all that the clergy have done towards the good work of supplying the poorer classes with better and more adequate accommodation in our churches. Out of 41,3931, 13s. 2d., collected on that occasion, no one, who knows how such collections are made up, especially in country-parishes, can accuse me of overstating the case when I assign one-twelfth of this sum to the contributions of the clergy and their families. And besides all this, as the above calculations only comprise the contributions made to the Parent Society, whatever clergymen have contributed through district committees still remains unnoticed. Surely there is here discovered by far too great a disproportion between the efforts of the clerical and lay part of the community, and that, too, in furtherance of an object, which is undoubtedly a popular one,-one, too, which the zeal now everywhere displayed in building new churches, proves to be not altogether contrary to the "spirit of the age," which, whatever evil tendencies it has, is certainly, in this respect, well-disposed. For my part, I am convinced that the comparative want of support, of which this society may justly complain, as far as regards the middling ranks of laymen, arises from no unwillingness or deficiency of zeal. Persons of that class expect the thing to be brought home to their own doors by means of a district committee; and when this is done, many, who would never think it worth while to carry their mite of assistance to St. Martin's Place, will gladly come forward and contribute it in their own neighbourhood. Judging, as far as is possible, from a cursory survey of the lists of some of the diocesan or district committees, the number of laymen contributing small annual sums, or single donations of a trifling amount, seems to be considerable. The Canterbury Diocesan Committee seems particularly well supported. And it is, after all, these numerous, though trifling, contributors, that swell the annual income of a society, and excite an interest generally in its behalf. But then the committees in connection with the Church Building Society are so few. How many wealthy districts, full of zealous clergymen and laymen attached to the church, are as yet without any such establishment? For example, throughout the whole diocese of London, in which I happen to live, there is not one that I know of. Nor was there, in 1834, (as it appears from the report of that year,) one in either of the vast and opulent dioceses of York and Lincoln. How many pounds might be annually collected, in these three dioceses, towards enlarging the accommodation in our present churches, and building fresh ones, which now, for want of some such instrument as district committees, are never applied to any such beneficial purposes! But I shall say no more on this topic, though I do think a few hints from such a Magazine as yours, Mr. Editor, might induce the influential clergy of the dioceses I have named and others to take some steps to remove the reproach, which now hangs upon them, and follow the example set them by the friends of the church in the dioceses of Canterbury, Chester, and Exeter, where so much has been done in the good and holy work of building and enlarging churches for the worship of Almighty God. I remain, yours, &c., W. P. SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR CHURCHES. 1. CAINSCROSS CHAPEL, STROUD, GLOUCESTERSHIRE. THE provision of a church has been undertaken by the inhabitants with exemplary zeal, and in no place is such a provision more necessary. Very great exertions have been made, and extraordinary interest has been taken by the parties concerned, as is evinced by the various offers, on the part of indivi duals in the district, of labour in the work of digging, and of hauling the materials from the quarry. But notwithstanding these aids, a sum of nearly 9001. is yet wanting for the completion of the work. Under these circumstances the building committee have put forth a circular, appealing to the public for assistance. The borough, which contains 40,000 souls, abounds with dissent, on account of the want of accommodation in the church; a strong reason for the support of this measure, with all who have the desire and the means to uphold our holy cause. Cainscross is situated at the extreme points of three parishes, Stonehouse, Stroud, and Randwick, the united population whereof exceeds 12,000.-The churches of these parishes are at considerable distances, and offer accommodation for less than 2800, and of which a very small proportion indeed is open to the poor. The population of the village and neighbourhood amounts to upwards of 1500, and is chiefly composed of the working classes in the clothing factories. A few of the inhabitants have opened subscriptions, and formed a committee for the erection of a church. It is intended immediately to endow the church with the seat rents of the private pews, and to pray the bishop to assign to the church a convenient district. It is a positive instruction to the building committee, to provide an adequate number of free sittings for the use of the poorer part of the population.—The expense (exclusive of endowment) is estimated to exceed the sum of 21007., but the subscriptions amount at present to only the sum of 1100l., and the inhabitants of the village are unable to raise the whole sum required.-The committee, having received so large an amount of subscriptions, have already commenced the building, feeling confident that the work will not be impeded by the want of means in a case of which the necessity must be apparent; they therefore beg leave to lay this statement before the public, and to pray their aid in this very desirable work. Subscriptions will be received in London, at the banks of Messrs. Jones, Loyd, and Co., and Messrs. Ladbrokes, Kingscote, and Co. II. THE following is a very remarkable document : RESOLUTIONS FOR ERECTING A CHAPEL FOR THE POOR EPISCOPALIANS OF GLASGOW. At a meeting of Protestant Episcopalians, held at Claythorn-street infant school room, on Monday, the 5th of October, 1835, to consider the propriety of erecting a new episcopal chapel, the Rev. W. Routledge, of St. Andrew's episcopal chapel, having been called to the chair, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted 1. We, the undersigned Protestant Episcopalians, have long experienced the want of a chapel, where we may worship God according to the rites of the church in which we have been baptized, and to which we are much attached. 2. For the space of three months last past we have attended service, on Sunday evenings, in a school-room, where the Rev. David Aitchison, M.A., of Queen's College, Oxford, officiated; but as we cannot there enjoy the blessings of the sacrament, nor instruction for our children in the Christian faith and the doctrines of our church, we are desirous to have a convenient chapel for the regular celebration of divine worship. 3. Being most of us poor persons, it is not in our power to erect, at our own cost, a sufficiently commodious chapel, but we are willing to contribute something to the utmost of our ability. 4. We earnestly solicit the assistance of our richer brethren, to enable us to obtain for ourselves and our children the benefit of that spiritual instruction which our poverty prevents us procuring by our own means. |