In his last moments, when his penitence was as great as had previously been his infidelity and his vices, Lord Rochester, laying his hand on the Bible, exclaimed with emotion, "Ah! here is true philosophy: here "is the wisdom that speaks to the heart. A bad life is "the only grand objection to this Book."

"There is no book," said Seldon, (who on account of his extensive acquirement was called by Grotius, The Glory of England)" there is no book, upon "which we can rest in a dying moment, but the Bible."

Edward the VIth, seeing a person once in the Council Chamber, take a Bible and stand upon it, for the purpose of reaching some paper then wanted, was much displeased with him for making such a use of so sacred a book; and, rising from his seat, the King took up the sacred Volume, and having kissed it, in a very reverent manner, put it in its place again.

"The Bible is a matchless Volume," said the learned Boyle; "it is impossible we can study it too much, "or esteem it too highly."

"It is" said the profound Locke, "all pure, all sin"cere, nothing too much, nothing wanting. Therein "are contained the words of eternal life. It has God "for its Author, Salvation for its end, and Truth, "without any mixture of error, for its matter."

"Young man, said the learned Dr. Johnson, in his last illness, to a gentleman who sate by his bedside, "attend to the advice of one who has possessed some "degree of fame in the world, and who will shortly "appear before his Maker-read the Bible every day "of your life."

Ponder, my parishioners! in your hearts, these deliberate and disinterested opinions of eminently-learned men; before whose names, those of unbelievers fade into nothing-opinions given upon the fullest consideration. Some of them on the bed of death, when

disguise is the least likely to take place: and observe, these are all the opinions of laymen; whose honourable host might easily be enlarged by such distinguished characters as Grotius, West, Lyttleton, Bryant, Beattie, Cumberland, laymen also; and from that profession whose province it is to act as the conservators of Divine Truth, the sacred witnesses in behalf of the Bible might be multiplied an hundred-fold. To the flippant sarcasms of unbelievers, oppose only, with dispassionate minds, the authorities here laid before you; and, concerning the result, I have no apprehension. The pages of infidelity, as "works of darkness," you will "cast away" from you with contempt, and press the Bible to your hearts, as the best gift of a gracious God, to prepare his creatures for endless glory. Believe only its immutable truths; attend only to its sacred counsels; and go on, even unto death, relying on the merits of that Saviour whom the holy volume so clearly reveals; and, whatever your condition may be in this world, you will be eternally blessed in the next.

Your faithful Pastor and Friend,

LUKE

Dudley Vicarage, Jan. 1, 1820.

BOOKER.

THE SUBSTANCE OF A SPEECH,

Lately delivered in the House of Lords, by the RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD LILFORD, ON THE

BILL FOR SUPPRESSING

BLASPHEMY and SEDITION.

-After other observations alluding to the statements delivered by preceding speakers, in the debate, Lord Lilford said:

"A noble Earl has proposed, that this bill should have no more than temporary operation;-If I could think that the necessity which calls for its adoption depended on temporary or accidental causes, I might listen to the noble Earl's proposal: but what are those causes? I attribute them, first to the appetency of the human mind to imbibe poison of this description; and, secondly, to the increased facility which is given to the diffusion of this poison, by means of universal education. Now, my Lords, are these causes temporary or accidental? The first, .I fear, is one which no human legislation can reach; the latter, is a cause of danger, which will, by the continued exertions of pious and benevolent persons, go on to increase; unless you fence it round by these provisions of safety. But I have been astonished this night, as heretofore, by an attempt to disguise the existence and real extent of the danger. Now I will ask, have the noble Lords looked at the evidence on your table? I have applied to it all the rules by which men are usually guided in judging of evidence: namely, as to the number, the credit, the want of interest to deceive, in the witnesses who furnished the testimony;

*This speech of Lord Lilford enters so fully into our own views on the same subject, that we present it to our Readers without any comment; it being the very object of our work to give publicity to observations founded on such pure Political and Christian principles.

EDIT.

་་

and I confess, that if any man can rise from the reading of that evidence, without a conviction of danger, he has a stronger understanding, and stronger nerves than I can boast of. But let us look at the papers: (here Lord Lilford referred to various parts of the evidence, from different quarters:) Upon a review of the whole, the evidence is but too abundant and melancholy. I say then, you have primâ facie evidence of the insufficiency of the present law; uit less indeed, as a noble Baron, in the rapidity of his eloquence, has been pleased to say, "the King's Minis "ters have wickedly connived at the mischief," for what purposes he did not stop to explain, nor have I sufficient ingenuity to suggest. But one word, on the subject of connivance,-What, if it were charged upon these noble Lords, that they are conniving with the disaffected and ill-disposed throughout the Country, attributing their calamities, not to any events which cannot be controlled, but to the general measures of Government and Parliament-They would reject the charge with indignation, and with justice. Let them then, but deal equal measure to us.-But, my Lords, we have also evidence in the nature of things themselves. Need your Lordships to be reminded of THE INDIS

SOLUBLE CONNECTION BETWEEN

INFIDELITY

AND ANARCHY? Are they not both derived from the same source-THE IMPATIENCE OF RESTRAINT UNDER LAWS EITHER HUMAN OR DIVINE? But if this were not sufficient, we have even had ocular proof of the connection.. Whom have we seen as the Assessor and Coadjutor of a convicted Blasphemer, but the Professor and Champion of Anarchy ? But it is said, that with the conviction of one man, all danger has ceased. What then is become of the three thousand copies of the book, which that bold blasphemer boasted to have sent out before his

conviction? What has become of that appetency for evil which has been, and always will be ready, for that poisonous food? True it is, that the surrounding croud did revolt from the horrid abominations uttered by that man: true it is, that the dignified and impregnable forbearance of the Judge who presided, did disarm the scoffs and taunts of the multitude: true it is, that the feeble lance of Infidelity was shivered against the Ægis of Truth and of Law:-But, my Lords, if this spirit be still surviving in the people, it becomes us to nourish, to foster, and protect it: It has been said, that we, who think it our present duty to support the measures of the Government, are the friends of restrictive policy that we forget all the maxims and safeguards provided by our ancestors, for the liberties of the people. My Lords, this is not so-nor is this the character of the Religion which we uphold. This character is well described by Paley in his view of the Evidences of Christianity. Here Lord Lilford read the following passage from Paley's Evidences; vol. 2. p. 65, 66. 67.)

"Amongst the negative qualities of our Religion, as "it canie out of the hands of its Founder, we may "reckon its complete abstraction from all views either "of ecclésiastical or civil policy; or to meet a language "much in fashion with some men, from the politics "either of priests or statesalen. Christ's declaration, that His Kingdom was not of this world,' recorded by St. John; His evasion of the question, whether "it was lawful or not, to give tribute unto Cæsar, "mentioned by the three other Evangelists; His reply to an application that was made to Him, to inter"pose His authority in a question of property; Man! who made me a ruler or a judge over you'? "ascribed to Him by St. Luke: his declining to DVOL. I.