5. Specific Evidences of Unsoundness in 'Essays and 'Reviews.' By the Rev. Dr. Jelf. 1861. 6. Statements of Christian Doctrine and Practice. VII. Autobiography, Letters, and Literary Remains of Mrs. Piozzi (Thrale). Edited, with notes and an introductory account of her Life and Writings, by A. Hayward, Esq., Q.C. 2 vols. London: 1861, 1. Babrii Fabulæ Æsopeæ cum Fabularum deperdi- IX. Iceland; its Volcanoes, Geysers, and Glaciers. By Charles S. Forbes, Commander, R.N. London: 2. Travels in the Slave States. By Frederick Law Olmsted. 2 vols. New York and London: 1857, 3. The Great American Revolution of 1861. A Speech delivered by the Hon. C. L. Vallandigham, of Ohio, in the House of Representatives, February 20, 1861. 4. A Disquisition on Government and a Discourse on the Constitution and Government of the United THE EDINBURGH REVIEW, JANUARY, 1861. No. CCXXIX. ART. I.-1. Lights and Shadows of Church Life in Australia, including Thoughts on some Things at home. By T. BINNEY. London: 1860. 2. The Speech of Lord Ebury in the House of Lords, 8th May 1860, on the Revision of the Liturgy. 2nd thousand. London: 1860. 3. Liturgical Purity our Rightful Inheritance. By J. C. FISHER, M.A., of the Middle Temple. 2nd edition. London: 1860. 4. The Liturgy and the Dissenters. By the Rev. ISAAC TAYLOR, M. A., of Trinity College, Cambridge, Curate of Trotterscliffe. 3rd edition. London: 1860. 5. Thoughts on the Liturgy. The Difficulties of an honest and conscientious Use of the Book of Common Prayer, considered as a loud and reasonable call for the only remedy, Revision. By the Rev. PHILIP GELL, M. A., some time Rural Dean and Minister of St. John's, Derby. London: 1860. 6. A Letter to the Lord Bishop of Norwich, from the Rev. C. N. WODEHOUSE, M. A., Canon of Norwich. London: 1860. 7. Church Questions. Practical Methods for the Arrangement of an abridged Morning Service, &c. &c. By the Rev. C. ROBINSON, LL.D., Incumbent of Holy Trinity Church, Blackburn. London: 1860. 8. Liturgical Revision illustrated and vindicated on Orthodox Principles. By the Rev. C. H. DAVIS, M. A. London: 1859. 9. Thoughts on the proposed Revision of the Liturgy. VOL. CXIII. NO. CCXXIX. B A Charge delivered by RICHARD WHATELY, D.D., Archbishop of Dublin, 14th and 15th of June, 1860. London: 1860. 10. A Charge delivered at the Triennial Visitation of the Diocese, September and October, 1860. By CHARLES, Lord Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. London: 1860. 11. A Charge delivered to the Clergy of the Diocese of Llandaff, at his Fourth Visitation, September, 1860. By ALFRED OLLIVANT, D.D., Bishop of Llandaff. London: 1860. 12. Revision of the Liturgy. Five Discourses, with an Introduction. By CHARLES JOHN VAUGHAN, D.D., Chaplain in Ordinary to the Queen, and late Head Master of Harrow School. London: 1860. THE HE book which stands at the head of the foregoing list is a remarkable one, not only for the intrinsic interest of the. matter which forms its principal topic-the Church of the Future-but on account of the parties between whom the correspondence originated, the theatre on which it was carried on, and the spirit which was manifested throughout the discussion. The Rev. Thomas Binney, the well-known Independent minister of the Weigh-house Chapel in London, having been laid aside for a while by ill health, was induced in 1858 to make a voyage to the Australian colonies, where he remained for about a twelvemonth. The presence of so eminent a preacher naturally excited a feeling of regret among the Churchmen of those colonies that ecclesiastical differences should prevent him from ministering in their congregations; and hoping that restrictions of this kind might be somewhat relaxed under Colonial laws, many lay members of the Anglican Church in South Australia, and at the head of them the Governor himself, petitioned the Bishop of Adelaide that Mr. Binney might be invited to occupy the pulpit of some of the episcopal clergy. To this request the Bishop declared himself unable to accede. But so far was he from withholding his sympathy from the memorialists, that he had already, of his own spontaneous impulse, addressed a letter to Mr. Binney, in which he set forth elaborately and at considerable length his own views and proposals for a fusion of the Protestant Evangelical Churches; and invited the cooperation of his correspondent in promoting so desirable an end -invited at least the friendly interchange of sentiments and suggestions with the view to eventual co-operation. The subject thus started engaged a large portion of public attention for some time in the Australian colonies, both among Churchmen and Dissenters; and the volume before us shows us to what issues the discussion was brought. This book is principally composed of the Bishop's letter, mentioned already, and a minute examination of it by Mr. Binney in reply, embodied in an address delivered before the Tas'manian Congregational Union,' over which he was invited to preside. These two documents are followed by letters exchanged between the principals in the discussion, and a few supplementary papers, the most remarkable of which is a letter addressed to Mr. Binney by the Governor of South Australia, Sir Richard McDonnell. The controversy, as we have said, is one of the deepest interest; and it is carried on, not only with very high ability and remarkable clearness of statement, but with a courtesy, a generosity, and a spirit of large-minded charity which it is most agreeable to observe. We speak of the temper of the principal controversialists; for there is not lacking evidence, even in this volume, and doubtless there were many more instances on the spot, of the existence and utterance of very different feelings on either side. But as far as the principals are concerned, the temper and tone maintained throughout is most creditable to both of them; and if we add, especially to the Bishop, this is because the circumstances of his position imposed upon him greater difficulties than those which beset his correspondent. The topics upon which the Bishop enlarges most earnestly, are the advantages, the blessings, and the duty of union between professing Christians-union outward as well as inward; the necessity of mutual concessions to insure this end; and the new and favourable opportunity which a colony presents for effecting it. The terms on which he proposes to conclude the desired union are, A. The acceptance in common by the Evangelical Churches of the orthodox creed. B. The use in common of a settled Liturgy, though not to the exclusion of free prayer. C. An Episcopate freely elected by the United Evangelical Churches. Mr. Binney, on his side, maintains that, however beautiful such a dream may be, it is a dream only, hopeless of realisation. And, justifying in great measure what he feels to be inevitable, he urges the unsatisfactory nature of the contemplated union, which after all would be a nominal union only, and would involve embarrassments which all parties at present are able to keep clear of. How, for instance, could it be expected that the ministers of other denominations should avow or imply their present status to be unauthorised and schismatical-an avowal which would tacitly be made by accepting their commission, or a renewal of it, from the hands of a bishop? Or that those denominations should so far waive their own distinctive points of doctrine, as to make themselves, by a formal act of union, responsible for what they believe to be grave and noxious errors in others? Would it not be at once a more practicable and a more excellent way to accept the present state of things as inevitable, and then proceed to make the best of it? to look upon a diversity of denominations as a necessity following from the imperfect spiritual apprehensions of men, a necessity designed perhaps to minister to the diverse needs which that imperfection produces; while by co-operation in good works, and by acts of joint worship, Christians, whether in their individual or their corporate capacity, recognise the other branches of the universal Church; and wait for time and Providence to evolve the conditions of a more complete union, whenever that shall be possible? Such are the visions of the Church of the Future, in which the Bishop and the Nonconformist minister respectively indulge; and to the realisation of which, on either side, they show the first steps. Both prospects are delightful to contemplate. Either of them is a cheering contrast to the actual state of things at home or abroad. And the boundary lines of either vista converge perhaps eventually to the same point. But it is obvious that at first starting they are widely divergent. At this divergence the Australian controversy joins issue; and at this issue it is left. Will either vision prove to be prophetic? and if so, which of them will it be? We cannot but think that in Australia at least the best prospect which the circumstances of the case allow us to entertain is that which is indicated by Mr. Binney. The pre dominance of the Episcopal Church, imperilled even in England, is at present in Australia virtually lost. When we read the statement of the Governor himself, that of the Protestant denominations in South Australia the Church of England, with all its old associations and prestige, only numbered as its mem'bers one-eighth' of the inhabitants in 1858*; while in one of the sister colonies the result, taken from authentic Government statistics, is shown to be this:- At a specified time the Episcopalians are one-fifth of the Protestant population; a 6 little time after, some of the other bodies are found to have doubled, while the Church has gone back; and yet, during that 'period, the Immigration Reports show that the accessions to it, according to the tabular classification of arrivals in the colony, 'exceeded by nearly a hundred per cent. those received by all 6 6 *Lights and Shadows, Appendix, p. 80. |