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ing to them, I found that a tenth would amount to nearly twelve hundred pounds; and I now found that instead of a larger annual supply than a thousand pounds, which

if they could, the strong points of re' not having been then published, and accordsemblance. But the honest truth is, we have strong doubts whether this or other passage in particular was floating in the Doctor's mind. For our satisfac- ¦ I knew was inadequate to the present wants tion, we have been favoured with a sight of the stations, while the expence of them of these minutes; and though we have was continually increasing as the divine carefully read them again and again, blessing might enlarge them, I had now to and had even fixed upon another part, expect a supply far below that sum." Statement, p. 11. not as being more like, but as agreeing rather better in point of time, we are This statement contains an inuendo, constrained at last to come to the con- which we confess we did not expect— clusion, that there is not any passage that the Committee scarcely dealt howhich bears even a tolerable resem-nestly with the Doctor, but were guilty blance to the conversation which, by of a species of concealment rarely to be inverted commas, Dr. Marshman has invested with all the show of exactness. Most assuredly, there is not the least appearance of the sentences imputed by him to the gentleman whom he describes as "an aged member who is often in the chair.” We have laboured to find the alleged opening speech of that gentleman; but really we cannot discover it, or any thing like it, from the beginning to the end: and as "that which is crooked cannot be made straight," so "that which is wanting cannot be numbered."

After the discussion of various other points, in which the Doctor's memory appears to be equally at fault, the Committee resolved, that one-tenth of the Society's income for general purposes should be annually remitted to Serampore, in aid of their missionary stations, Thus, once more, every thing desired, except the right of independence, was fully conceded; and not only did Dr. Marshman agree to receive" the tenth, as he somewhere shrewdly expresses himself, but hailed it with apparent satisfaction, as the sum total of his own proposition. How long this feeling continued, we shall see.

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found but among worldly politicians. And yet a very slight attention to the facts of the case will show, that if blame attach ary where, it is to the Doctor himself, and to him alone. He states that he had examined the Reports for the two former years, but that the Report for the current year was not

then published. Now this is the fact, but what is the implication? Why, that he had not an opportunity of ascertaining the amount of receipts for the current year-which is not true. The balance-sheet, (the only part of the Report which was necessary) besides having been read in his hearing a month before, had been actually “submitted to his inspection!" The only " astonishment," therefore, becoming the occasion, would have been at his own deficiency. If, with the means of information in his hands, he still remained in ignorance, the Committee are clearly exonerated.

We approach, with some degree of trembling, the last of these official interviews between Dr. Marshman and the Committee-simply because it is the last. We have no hesitation in expressing our decided conviction, that the result, as far as the Committee are not do otherwise than they did. Still, concerned, was inevitable. They could the dissolution of a connexion, endeared to us, as this was, by early and delight, ful associations, cannot be contemplated without feelings of the deepest regret.

"When the greater part of the Committee were gone (says the Doctor), I came up to the table with the Secretary, and one or two of the members who still remained. The Secretary then said to me, According to the accounts of the year just closed, this tenth will be eight hundred and forty-five pounds.' At this I was perfectly astonished. I had examined the accounts in the Reports Dr. Maishman's object in procuring of the two preceding years, the only Re- this meeting, was to obtain, in aid of ports I had seen, that for the current year the Serampore stations, an annual sti

pend of a sixth, instead of a tenth, ofprinciple of absolute independence.

the Society's income for general purposes, or such a proportion of 2,4001. as the Committee might feel justified in granting, with the understanding that he should apply to the public for the remainder. The ostensible reasons for this application were two-his own disappointment in the amount of the tenth, and the additional burdens at Serampore. To the first of these, we have already alluded: the last may deserve a brief recognition.

Not

one jot or one tittle of interference in the management of the stations in aid of which he solicited support, would the Doctor concede! From the circumstance of four of these stations having been already transferred to the Society, by Dr. Carey and Mr. John Clark Marshman, the Committee, in the hope of an amicable adjustment of all differences, proposed to take the whole ten on their own funds, and resign them to the management of a Corresponding In the first place, we may inquire, Committee in India, comprising all the What has rendered it necessary that Bengal missionaries, with Dr. Carey as application should be made to the Com- their President. That Dr. Marshman mittee of the Baptist Missionary So- should object to the latter part of this ciety, to support, wholly or in part, arrangement, may not appear wonderstations, which have hitherto been chiefly | ful; nor, highly as we esteem the Calsupported by their missionaries at Serampore? Not a diminution of income; at least this is not pretended. Nor an inadequacy of funds either, for all missionary and private claims. Nor, indeed, the establishment of new stations; for this is entirely prospective. But neither more nor less than just this the diversion of twenty thousand pounds from objects purely missionary, to the erection and endowment of a magnificent College! This, and this alone, is the omnivorous vortex which has absorbed the funds hitherto applied to missionary purposes, produced poverty in the midst of riches, and created a melancholy dearth in the land of abundance.

Without, however, disputing, in this place, the propriety of this application, in itself considered, we may further inquire, whether, under all the circumstances of the case, the Committee could, on Dr. Marshman's own showing, Have granted him the supplies he requested. It is, we all know, a favourite maxim with the Doctor, that "control is commensurate with contribution, and follows it as the shadow the substance." Very well just let this be recognized as a correct axiom, and the conclusion is inevitable that the Committee could not have decided differently than they have; for the sun in the firmament is not more notorious, than Dr. Marshman's determination to receive the contributions of the Society, only on the

cutta brethren, do we feel the slightest disposition to impugn the wisdom of his determination; for "how can two walk together except they be agreed?" And however desirable, in itself, such an arrangement might appear to the Committee, no sooner was this inconvenience pointed out, than they immediately proposed to commit the entire management to Dr. Carey and Dr. Marshman during their lives, reserving only to themselves the choice of successors. Had they not made this proposition, we think they would have merited all the obloquy which has since been heaped upon them, in reference to this transaction, by Dr. Marshman and his advocates; for, just as we certainly esteem the former arrangement, we do think, that the very eminent services of both Dr. Carey and Dr. Marshman, in the cause of God, demanded every possible sacrifice short of a surrender of principle. That the Committee have all along sympathized in this feeling is evident; for so numerous have been their concessions, that, except the right of absolute independ ence, they have nothing left to concede. And it ought to be universally known, that the very length and breadth of their proposed interference with the Corresponding Committee, consisted in this-that they should not form new stations at the expense of the Society, without previous consultation as to their ability to raise the necessary funds!

This is all. And is this the interference | whom he would enter into such a solemn, and domination which is to be "resisted responsible, religious connexion, but the as the solid rock resists the wave!" Dr. venerable Dr. Carey.” Marshman's maxims, it seems, are not of universal application. Whether he contributes, or whether we contribute, control, and exclusive control too, is his peculiar prerogative!

From the whole, then, it is evident, that the true cause of the separation consists in this-Dr. Marshman's resolute determination, whether he contributes, or whether he receives contribu

That the Doctor should refuse to re-tions, to establish at Serampore a system cognize a transfer formally executed by the powers at the seat of government, appears passing strange. But who will deny, after this, the superiority of his pretensions to the management of Serampore? Whether on the spot, or at a distance of fifteen thousand miles, it is all one-he, and he alone, it seems, has 66 'power to decree, and power to reverse ecrees !"

of absolute monarchy. Had the Committee voted any proportion, or even the whole, this was his sine qua non ; and the only advantage to be derived from granting the whole, would have been the non-establishment of a rival Institution: and even this exemption would, in all probability, have been only temporary; for, as their burdens increased, either the Committee, or the public by means of a distinct appeal, must have borne the whole. "Where, then, (we may ask, in his own words,) does the blame of this disruption rest? Surely, in this, the God of righteousness will judge between the Committee and him."

Dr. Marshman lays great stress on the circumstance, that his younger associates, Messrs. J. C. Marshman, Mack, and Swan, were not included in the management with himself and Dr. Carey. The simple truth, then, is this since it must be told-that however estimable the former of these gentlemen may be, he is not a missionary, and the principle by which the Committee were governed was, that missionary stations should be superintended by missionaries. It may be replied, that Messrs. Mack and Swan sustained this honourable character. True, they did: but to have selected them to the exclusion of his son, would have been exceedingly wounding to Dr. M. as a parent; and this consideration, and we believe this alone, induced the Committee to limit the management to the senior missionaries. Dr. Marshman knew this; but we presume when he wrote his Statement, it had escaped his recollection: at least, we hope so; for otherwise, he surely could not have requited this Christian Marshman's Statement. delicacy in the manner he has. For Mr. Swan, he will now perceive his commiseration might have been spared; he himself declaring he should "tremble" to form one of the Serampore diously-pointed epithets which Union, because, as at present constituted, it appears to him so little adapted to promote the great spiritual objects to which he had devoted his life;" and that "there is no individual there, with

Before we dismiss this article, we are compelled, in rigid justice, to notice another accusation, eminently calculated to produce an unfavourable opinion of the Committee: we refer to the charge of personal rudeness to Dr. Marshman. Mr. Foster supposes, from the information afforded him by some of Dr. Marshman's friends, and from a sight of the minutes of this meeting, that "there must have been a very copious exhibition of magisterial interrogatory, snappish remark, affected supercilious compassion, and vituperative intemperance." Now, this is a very grave accusation; and advanced, we are constrained to add, with peculiar infelicity by the writer of the Introduction

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to Dr. For whatever strong expressions were uttered in the warmth of debate, they were mildness itself, compared with some of the cool, and deliberate, and stu

dis

tinguish that elaborate production.~ Still, the deeper delinquency of an accuser will not justify the accused. And we must, in candour, admit, that one veteran did express his dislike of “car

rying on a farce." Another member | nagement of missionary stations to an did conceive (nor was his opinion sin-ex-officio irresponsible College Council? gular) that the Committee had been Could they permit an accumulation of "insulted and hoaxed;" and therefore expenditure, without requiring consulhe plainly said so. And a third did tation as to their ability to meet it? Or complain of "evasions and prevarica- | could they, in the simplicity of their tions"-the latter expression being im-hearts, vote away a proportion of their mediately withdrawn, with an amende funds to a party who would instantly honorable, which found no parallel on make a distinct appeal to the very indithe other side. But these are all the viduals who had supplied those funds? uncourteous expressions we have been True, they might have done this, and able to discover. And we might ask, more. They might have acknowledged suppose there had been no appearance the supremacy of Serampore, and beof carrying on a farce, suppose the come tributary to their former agents. Committee had not apparently been They might, indeed, have assumed the insulted and hoaxed, suppose there had position of the Gibeonites-have made been no shiftings and evasions, still, are a full surrender of their liberty, be the harsh, and in that case unfounded seeching their more powerful rival to expressions of three individuals, to be" do with them as seemed good and visited on a whole Committee? Is this right to him," even though, in the even-handed justice? But, as Mr. Fos-clemency of his heart, he should make ter has seen the minutes, he must know that appearances, at least, were such as fully to justify every one of these expressions, save and except that which was instantly withdrawn. We hope it will not be pretended, that on such occasions men are to assume a disguise, and repress the feeling of honest indignation. We are no advocates for invective, but we do love ingenuousness, and esteem it a thousand times more manly, and more Christian too, than the flimsy show of politeness. "Open rebuke is better than secret love." How incomparably superior, then, must it be, to that disguised antipathy, which, having been, by an effort, suppressed in public, flows with the greater free-efforts, to promote equally the interests` dom and depth through the private channels of confidential intercourse? Were we disposed, we could write paragraphs of recrimination as long as those under review. But strong expressions from any party, in the warmth of debate, are mere bagatelles, compared with the deep-rooted feeling which lurks beneath the surface of a placid and unruffled countenance.

them "hewers of wood and drawers of water" to the Serampore College! But how, then, could they have met their constituents? How, then, could they have rendered an account of their stewardship? How, then, could they have made any pretensions to probity, to honour, to wisdom, or to self-respect? At present, unsuccessful as have been their efforts, disappointed as are their fondest expectations, they may retire from the controversy, pained, indeed, and sorrowful, but certainly without self-reproach. They may appeal alike to God and their brethren, for the purity of their motives, and for the intensity of their desire and the zeal of their

and the honour of the Society and Serampore. In common with their fellow Christians, they cannot but deplore the separation; but never, in our opinion, could any body of men declare, with more perfect sincerity than they-" We have not desired the woful day, (O Lord,) thou knowest!"

In conclusion, we would just observe, that we cannot sympathize with our friends who feel alarmed and dismayed, lest this unhappy disruption should essentially injure the cause of missions in general, and our own Institution in particular. We have no such appre

We think we may now appeal to all reasonable judges, and inquire, What could the Committee have done, that they have not done? Could they formally consent to the alienation of the Society's property? Could they commit the ma-hensions. The cause of missions is the

cause of God; and in proportion as | Jeremiah, “an iron pillar and a brasen they are conductel with singleness of wall." purpose, with a steady aim for the promotion of his glory, renouncing all crooked policy, concealment, and evasion, in that proportion will they be crowned with the Divine blessing. More beautiful than the sun, and majestic in her own simplicity, Christianity disdains alike the hood of concealment and the imposing paraphernalia of secularized establishments. Only let Missionary Societies emulate the spirit of their Divine Founder, whose kingdom is "not of this world," and their success is certain. Institutions founded in worldly ambition, and conducted on worldly principles, contain the seeds of their own dissolution; and they must pass away. But these shall stand; not, indeed, in their own strength, but in the strength of God. When they pass through the flames, he will preserve them, and the waters shall not overwhelm them. Their cause is his own: and while the merchants of the earth are bewailing the dissolution of their pomp, and their grandeur, and display, the humble followers of the Lamb, whether individuals or communities, may anticipate the song of ultimate triumph, and shout "Alleluia! the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!"

The Life and Opinions of John de Wyeliffe, D.D. illustrated principally from his unpublished Manuscripts; with a Preliminary View of the Papal System, and of the State of the Protestant Doc trine in Europe, to the Commencement of the Fourteenth Century. By RoBERT VAUGHAN. Holdsworth. 1828.

If we are among the last to notice this admirable work, it must be ascribed to circumstances over which we had no control: we have been among the first to read and admire it.

After a long, dark, and dreary night, the morning star is hailed with joy. So the student in Church history rejoices when he comes to the age of Wycliffe, whom God raised up and made like

Wycliffe was born in a village from which he derives his name, about six miles from the town of Richmond in Yorkshire, in the year 1324. Of his juvenile history much cannot be told now, but that he studied at Oxford, at Queen's College and at Merton, is well known. There he paid attention to canon, civil, and municipal law, and to the philosophy of the schoolmen; but his veneration for the sacred writings was the most prominent feature of his character. He was called "Gospel Doctor," and in the thirty-second year of his age his religious character was fully disclosed. In 1361, he was elected Master of Baliol, and afterwards of Canterbury Hall. His opposition to the secularity and the vices of the clergy, exposed him to much danger; yet in 1372, we find him Professor of Theology at Oxford, a station of high and commanding influence, which his piety and zeal prompted him to improve to the uttermost. In 1375, king Edward the Third promotes him to the prebend of Aust, and to the rectory of Lutterworth. Not long after this, he is accused of teaching dangerous opinions, and appears before the bishop of London. His chief patron is John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster.

The Reformer proceeding in his high career, letters are sent from the pope London, and the university, requiring to the king, the primate, the bishop of the immediate suppression of his tenets. Great discussion is elicited at Oxford by the papal mandates, and Wycliffe appears before the papal delegates at Lambeth.

Mr. Vaughan, after referring to seve ever-memorable reply to the friars who ral of Wycliffe's tracts, gives us his thought him dying, which we here insert.

"But the labour of producing such compositions, and the excitements inseparable from the restless hostilities of his enemies, so shook his frame at this period, as to threaten foundation of the malady which a few years his speedy dissolution, and in truth, to lay the later was the occasion of his death. Such also was the force of religious prejudice in

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