goodness of heart. "Charity," we know," believeth all things, and hopeth all things;" and he who neither wills nor works ill to his neighbour, is slow to believe that the dispositions and practices of others differ from his own. These, therefore, conceiving that the distribution of the word of God must in itself be a good work, and dazzled with the prospect of the wide and extended scale upon which that distribution was to be conducted by the British and Foreign Bible Society, hastened to contribute to its support. Meaning well themselves, they never suspected evil in others; still less could they bring themselves to believe that evil could be intended by a body so warm in its professions of good, and appearing so eager in its prosecution of a work, in itself not only unexceptionable, but praiseworthy; not only laudable, but necessary. They were as unwilling to allow that mischief couid be done or meditated by a Society for the circulation of the Bible, as that the knowledge of the Bible could itself be prejudicial; and they were early taught to confound the opponents of the newly constituted body with the enemies of divine truth, and the advocates for keeping the lower orders, more particularly, in a state of blindness and spiritual ignorance.

The same honourable zeal, therefore, which first impelled them to join the Society, thus artfully directed against all who should presume to gainsay its infallibility, effectually operated to prepossess their minds against the admission of any arguments which might have tended to remove the delusion under which they laboured.

It was, however, foreseen that, as the Society was to be composed of persons of every persuasion, who acknowledged the truth and divine original of the Scriptures, a question would arise as to the right interpretation of the sacred volume, and the jaring opinions of the various individuals, now for the first time associated, but mutually jealous of the promulgation of the peculiar tenets held by each, would quickly dissolve their ill-cemented union, and reduce the composition to its original elements. A device, therefore, was invented to satisfy the scruples and to lull the fears of all parties; and as it was found impossible to decide which of the various interpretations given to the Scriptures should be adopted by the Society, as the common standard of truth, it was determined to distribute them without any interpretation at all; aud it became a fundamental law of the Society, that the copies of the Scriptures which it circulated should be unaccompanied by any note or comment.

The success of this device perhaps exceeded the expectations of its contrivers, for while it quieted the apprehensions of many Churchmen, who, though dazzled by the splendour of the object to which they were invited to contribute, had perhaps felt some

scruples about connecting themselves so closely with Dissenters, fest they should unwarily be giving their aid to the promulgation of dissenting tenets. It also furnished the advocates of the Society with a theme of unceasing panegyric; it enabled them to declaim upon the liberality of the plan, upon the advantages which might be expected to arise from thus inducing all classes of Christians to associate, and upon the cordiality, peace, and union, of which it might probably be the harbinger.

Still farther to conciliate Churchmen, they were assured that effectual measures had been taken to secure to the Church a majority in the Society; and that, although dissenters of all classes were invited to contribute to its funds, yet, in fact, the disposal of these funds would remain wholly in the power of the Church, as the very frame and constitution of the committee threw the sway into her hands, whenever she might be disposed to excrt it.

It is not to be doubted that much of the success of the Society, among Churchmen, must be attributed to these representations. The omission of notes and comments bore, at first sight, a semblance of candour and fair dealing; and while it seemed to remove one great cause of apprehension, namely, that this Society would be an engine in the hands of dissenters for disseminating false doctrine, it so far lulled the vigilance of those who were, perhaps, by their laudable anxiety to circulate The Scriptures, pre-disposed to favour it, that they wholly overlooked the danger of neglecting to propagate the truth. While their eyes were thus directed exclusively to one possible source of evil, by those who assumed that they had contrived an infallible protection against it, they were averted from the true mischief, which that very contrivance carried with it, and were unfortunately induced to regard that as the distinguishing merit of the Society, which is in fact its radical defect.

The belief, also perseveringly inculcated, that effectual provision was made for the predominance of the Church in the management of the Society, prevented the individuals, on whom it was impressed, from endeavouring either to realize the assertion, or to detect its fallacy. Their time and attention being wholly devoted to other duties, of paramount importance, they were satisfied with seeing the names of many respectable Churchmen upon the list of the Society's officers. This appeared to them evidence sufficient that its advocates had spoken truth, and that farther investigation was needless.

If, however, any Churchmen of distinguished rank were occasionally induced to attend the meetings, every thing was then conducted in the most decent and, to them, complimentary mauer: their suggestions were listened to with the greatest

respect,

respect, and they were induced to believe that all was as they wished it. All this was easily done; such instances of attendance were not likely to be frequent, and it was accurately foreseen, by the real managers of the Society, that while every thing was to be gained by apparent submission to authority on these occasions, nothing in fact could be lost; for the real business and direction of the Society would still remain in those hands to which it had been committed from the first.

Considering then the specious object of the Society, its constant endeavours to quiet the fears and awaken the confidence of all the Churchmen who could be induced to join it, and its plausible devices for the purpose, it is not to be wondered that many very excellent persons, though zealously attached to the Church, and ready to stand among the foremost in her defence against an avowed enemy, were induced to give their cordial aid and support to the British and Foreign Bible Society. All good men are enamoured of peace, and eager to adopt any expedient which promises to advance it. All sincere Churchmen, in particular, have ever felt this desire. Moderation has been her unvarying characteristic: it has led her to go farther in her attempts to conciliate the wandering separatists from her communion, than any Church ever went before her; and it perpetually influences all her true members to follow after peace themselves, and to listen with favourable ears to every proposal for securing it.

Captivated then by the hope that this Society, which apparently united men of all persuasions in one common object, would smooth the way for general good-will and harmony; and still farther confirmed in the pleasing expectation, by the tone and conduct adopted in their presence at its meetings, many excellent persons became strongly attached to its interests, and were induced to look with some degree of impatience, if not of suspicion, upon the first symptoms of opposition to its pro

gress.

Very early, however, in the career of the Society, it met with formidable opponents. Accustomed to deep and careful investigation; versed in the history of those struggles which the Church had formerly maintained against the dissenters from her discipline and doctrines; and in the habit of daily mixing with their descendants, of observing their present conduct, aud estimating by it their present feelings, they were not inclined to augur well of any coalition of Churchmen with them, upon. any terins, short of the paramount assertion of Church principles.

The formation of a Society, therefore, which proposed to unite all Christians, of all opinions, for the furtherance of the

same

same religious object, without obliging any class to sacrifice its peculiarities, was a phænomenon which could not but awaken their attention and no sooner was its plan laid before the public, than it became a subject of their serious and fearful examination. They were aware that the Church could gain nothing by associating herself with separatists upon such terms; and their apprehensions were excited by the anticipation of what she might lose; for their experience had convinced them that the times in which they lived were not those in which dissenters were disposed to conciliate or concede; they knew that it would be folly to expect their assistance in building up the walls of Jerusalem; and they were justly alarmed, lest their proffered cooperation should be intended to impede the work, instead of advancing it. The fears thus excited, by the first appearance of the Society, were not allayed by more attentive consideration of its object or its constitution. They saw clearly that the distribution of the Bible alone, without note or comment, was not the mode in which our Saviour had ordained that the knowledge of his religion should be spread: they perceived that a Society, which bound itself to circulate no interpretation of the Scriptures, because it could not determine which was the right, was not a Society which they, as members and ministers of the Church, could properly support: because, as Churchmen, they professed to know the true interpretation; and, as ministers of the Church, they were professionally bound to maintain and publish it. They were aware also that a public confederation of men of all opinions, to circulate the Bible as the common standard of truth, to which they all claimed an equal right to appeal, led to this very dangerous conclusion, that all opinions are to be found in it; and by fostering the indifference inseparable from such a conclusion, mainly tended to put the truth out of sight, and to bring religion itself into disrepute: they therefore felt themselves obliged to oppose its progress, by those ordination vows, which bound them to "use all faithful diligence to banish and drive away erroneous and strange doctrines contrary to God's word." But their objectious to the Society did not end here: it professed to preach the Gospel, and to make men wise unto salvation, by merely distributing the Bible in the simple letter: thus virtually superseding the office of the priesthood, by inferring that it was not essential to the promulgation and support of Christianity.

As then the great Author of our holy religion had himself appointed that his Gospel should be made known unto the world by his ministers; and as, to enable them to perform their sacred office with effect, he had promised to be with them, in their ministration, unto the end of the world, they could not

admit the claims of a Society which appeared to set aside his appointment, and professed to make Christians by other ways than those which, in his wisdom, he had thought proper to direct. They were also convinced that the fundamental law of the Society, which took away the true interpretation from the Scriptures, eminently disqualified it from assuming the preacher's office they could conceive that such a rule might very possibly produce or encourage error; but how, by keeping truth carefully out of sight, it could be calculated to promote its interests, they could not understand. And as the Saviour of Mankind had not thought fit to leave men to find out the saving truths of Christianity from the mere written word, without guides to lead them to it, so they were assured that it never could become them, the appointed ministers and stewards of his mysteries, to consent to such a measure, on any terms, or for any couside

ration.

To these objections to the avowed intention of the Society they also joined a mistrust of the tendency of its constitution. They were not easily to be persuaded that the dissenters would consent to surrender the whole rule and management of such an Institution to the Church; and when the public declaration, that such must be the effect of its regulations, was followed by no secession on the part of those whose interests were thus avowedly neglected, they were convinced that there must be at fallacy in the statement; for they saw no reason for supposing the dissenters less attached to their own principles than they had hitherto been; nor was there any proof that their natural jealousy of the Church, or their decided disinclination to its preponderance and superiority, had suffered a change. The suspicion, thus suggested by a general view of the subject, was fully justified by a particular investigation of the case before them. They soon found the fact to be at variance with the assertions of the Society's advocates; they perceived that its constitution was so artfully framed, with reference to the characteristic activity of dissenters, that, while the tendency of the whole plan was favourable to their cause, the power of employing the influence of the Association, in any way which they might judge most likely to advance it, was placed entirely in

their hands.

Such were nearly the conclusions which the investigations of those who first scrutinized the "nature and tendencies of this Society" led them to form; and they were laid before the public with a force of argument and language which induced many to pause before they committed themselves in support of an Institution against which such charges were alledged; and not a few, who had joined it, were persuaded to retire from its ranks.

So