Iftistellaneons.

Dr. Hampden has at length come forward to defend himself against his various assailants, in a pamphlet letter addressed to Lord John Russell.;

It is a painful trial, he says, to have to encounter groundless but most unre- lenting enmity. After a devoted service in the ministry of the gospel for more than a quarter of a century, of which the last twelve years have been divided be- tween the labours of the Divinity chair and parochial ministrations, he is required to deny the having impugned the vital truths of our holy faith, which it has been his constant study to uphold. He deplores the jealousies and hearthernings of polemical spirit. " The promotion of certain views, or the depression of an anta- gonist, is too often regarded by the corrupt human heart as a warrant for any ex- cess of uncharitableness, and even for untruth."

The present time offers a temptation to this offence: the Church has now for many years been grievously troubled by what is familiarly known as the Trac- tarian movement; many having openly seceded to the Church of Rome, and others being deeply infected. "In such a state of things, no one's theological or pastoral character is safe. Any one who is adverse to the designs of the party, and whom it may be worth while to attack, cannot expect to escape." " Nor is it anything strange or novel which is now happening. From the Scriptures we learn how the Apostles themselves, following their Lord in his persecutions, were reviled and evil-entreated by their brethren." In our own country, 'Bishop Bull had to com- plain of a charge of Socinianism; the excellent Hooker had to defend his opinions; and Archbishop Tillotson complains of the evil tongues of his days—" Every one," Dr. Tillotson exclaims, "that offers to give a reasonable account of his faith,

and to establish religion upon rational principles, is presently branded for a So- (Aldan."

Dr. Hampden, however, calmly addresses himself to the objections which his importunate adversaries, "with all the vehemence of an electioneering contest," are recklessly throwing out against him.

"First, then, my Lord, I most solemnly deny the scandalous imputation. As an honest man, I say I do not, and never did for one moment of my life, in thought or word, hold or maintain any other doctrine respecting our Lord's most holy Person and His blessed Work of Redemption, than that which is plainly set forth from Scripture in the Articles and Formularies of our Church. I hold, too, and have ever held most firmly, the full doctrine of the Holy Trinity, as elated on the same authority and in the same documents of the Church.

" Nay, I go on to say, with the utmost confidence of my sincerity, that I have on every occasion exerted myself to defend these holy truths, which I believe not with a mere assent, but really love and delight in. My conviction has been, that no sermon, no.exposition of religions doctrine, or exhortation to religious conduct, could have any unction of spintual instruction, any living power to teach or to persuade, which did not derive its strength from these holy and lovely truths, which describe to us God the Father giving his only begotten Son, his coequal in majesty and power, ' to the end that all that believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life'; God the Son giving Himself in love, taking on Him our nature, and born into the world, living and dying for us men and for our sal- vation; God the Holy. Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, the third person in the blessed Trinity, sent down with holy comfort from the Saviour to instruct and guide the Church through all ages.

" Those great revealed verities—no mere opinions collected by speculative ma- soning, but the manifest indisputable teaching of Scripture, without which Scrip- ture would not be what it is—I have, then, ever taught and enforced both as most certain and as most necessary to be believed.

"It is not my teaching, whatever may have been attempted to be shown by pre- judiced adversaries, that the doctrines of Scripture or any other of its great fun- damental truths-10h as original sin, justification by faith, preventing and assist- ing grace, the efficacy of the two sacraments instituted by our Lord—are nothing more than theories formed by the human mind on the text of Scripture. It is a very great mistake to suppose that I have ever meant this, in what I said of the forte of theory-, in my Hampton lectures or elsewhere. It is one thing to endea- vour to unfold the theories on which a particular phraseology employed in the systematic statement of divine truths has been framed and adapted to its purpose, and quite another thing to state that the truths themselves which that phraseo- logy expresses are mere theories, or mere opinions, or probable conclusions, having no positive certainty in them. This latter misconstruction belongs to those who have taken it Up. It is not mine; it has no warrant in anything that I have said in theological discussion. My Hampton lectures, indeed, were not written for po- pular reading, but for such as should come to the study of the subject with some previous knowledge both of theological questions and of ancient philosophy. It is no wonder, then, that they should be open to misrepresentation to ordinary readers. I should be much concerned if, from any unskilfulness in the use of words r should have given rise to misapprehension. I would not assert, however, that I have always succeeded in conveying my thoughts exactly. But I am not, at any rate, to be blamed for some mistakes or rather perversions of my meaning. For this I know, that arguments which I have advanced in support of the truth, have in many instances, by an artful selection of detached words, been represented RS upholding the very errors which they refuted. • • •

"Most sincerely, then, and most firmly, do I believe that there is but one catho- lic faith—one invariable standard of orthodox truth; and that all departures from this, consequently, are errors of doctrine and corruptions of the faith, and not that form of sound words' which God has set forth to us in his revelation. I chal- lenge my impugners to disprove this assertion of my belief. * • • •

"But, any Lord, whilst 1 fully believe that there is but one catholic faith, I am not required by this persuasion to treat disrespectfully or uncharitably all that differ from us, or that conscientiously declare that they, for their part, cannot learn that faith from the Bible. I would do nothing to encourage dissent from the Church. It grieves me whenever I see it But at the same time, I am for a full toleration, if dissent be only open and avowed; a toleration, that is, extending not only to the grant of civil privileges to Dissenters, but to the equitable and kind consideration of their statements and arguments, as well as of their feelings. I would try to win them over; I would not exasperate them. I would not pre- sume to surrender God's truth, which is not mine to give away, or to call error and falsehood by the sacred name of troth. But as for candid and indulgent con- sideration for the persons of those who are in error, this is in every mans power, and is every Christian man's bounden duty togive. This, then, I would not with- hold even from those who have departed the &rt,. t from the true faith.

accordingly, on any occasion I have ventured to oall Unitarians Christians, surely this must be understood in the wide charitable sense of the term—not in that strict sense in which it belongs to a believer in the divinity and the blessed atonement of our Lord, but in a sense not unlike that in which it is need in our Liturgy, when we pray far 'all who profess and call themselves Christians,' that they may be led into the way of truth,' &c. What I may have said, then, in charity of the persons, or of the modes of reasoning, of misbelievers, cannot in any fairness be understood as indulgence to their tenets. I repeat, I not only regard the doctrines of the Holy Trinity, and of the incarnation and atonement of our Lord, and the salvation of man through faith only in him, with the truths arising out of and closely connected with these great doctrines, as most certain, but, fur- ther, as vitally important to be believed in order to a saving faith and a right practical religion." He has insisted, indeed, on the supremacy of Scripture as our ride of faith; and the assertion has been taken up by some as if he rejected alto- gether the authority of the Church. This can by no means be justly alleged. "But unless the Church can pronounce infallibly, the Christian cannot be re- quired to receive its decisions as divine truths obligatory on his faith." Dr. Hampden adverts to the hollow pretence of those who rest their objections to him on the statute of the University passed in 1836. That statute has been vittually repealed by two subsequent proceedings of the University. " In the first place, by the new theological statute of 1842, which placed me, as Regius Piofessor, at the head of a newly constituted board of Theological Examiners; and then, in the same year, by the just act of the chief authorities of the Univer- sity, with whom rests the initiative of every measure, the Board of Heads of Houses and Proctors, who unanimously proposed a form of statute for rescinding it. So far, then, as the chief responsible body of the University is concerned, I am relieved of the burden of that statute; though the Tractarian party succeeded, with a very reduced majority, however, in throwing out the measure in Convoca- tion." The statute referred to no opinions or doctrines whatever, but only to the manner of treating theological subjects.

The history of the statute is perfectly understood; and those who pot it forward now are implicating themselves in the spirit of its chief promoters. The editors of the Tracts were the greatinetruments in the work of calumny; and a pamphlet of Mr. Newman's fall of gross misrepresentations of Dr. Hampden's writings was circulated throughout the country. " Where is Mr. Newman now, let ins ask, the principal mover then? What are the rest doing—his old associates whom he has le but training others to imbibe the sp rit of their great leader, reluctant as they may be to follow him throughout?" The statute, however, has been practically a dead letter: Dr. Hampden has continued to preach and lecture; and no Divinity Professor has been better attended. And if further witnesses are needed, he appeals to his parishioners for testimony as to his life and conversation dating twelve years paat.

The Dean of Hereford has presented the following memorial to the Queen, through the Premier.

"TO THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MMES Y.

"May it please your Majesty—We, your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal sub- ject, John Merewether, Doctor in Divinity, Dean of the Cathedral Church of Here- ford, most humbly lay before your Majesty the assurances of our deepest and most heartfelt attachment to your Majesty's sacred person and government. " We thank your Majesty for having graciously granted to us your Royal li- cence to elect a Bishop of our Church, in the place of the Right Reverend Father in God Thomas, late Bishop thereof, and for ' requiring and commanding us, by the faith and allegiance by which we stand bound to your Majesty, that we elect SUCH A PERSON AS MAY BE DEVOTED TO GOD, and useful awlfaithful to your Majesty and your kingdom.' " We also dutifully recognize the goodness of your Majesty in accompanying this your Royal licence with letters missive, graciously announcing to us that out of ' your princely disposition and zeal you are desirous,' as we cannot doubt, to prefer unto the sane see a person MEET THEREUNTO: " And we further acknowledge your Majesty's gracious intention towards US in NAMING and RECOMMENDING unto us,' by the same letters missive, Dr. Rena Dickson Hampden, your Majesty's Reader is Theology in your University of Ox- ford, to be by us ELECTED and CHOSEN unto the said bishopric.'

But we most humbly beseech your Majesty to permit us, as in duty bound,

and in obedience to your Majesty's gracious command touching the qualities of the person to be chosen by us, to represent, (and, if it be deemed necessary, by sufficient documents to prove,) that somewhat more than eleven years ago the said Dr. Henn Dickson Hampden, then being the lite King Williams Reader of Theology, the said University did, as by its laws, rights, and privileges, and by the law o the land it is empowered and on fit occasion bound to do, judge of the published writings of the said Dr. Hampden; and did solemnly decree, and by a statute in Its House of Convocation duly made did enact, that the said Dr. Hampden should be deprived of certain weighty functions, importing the right of judging of sound teaching and preaching of God's word, which had been specially annexed by for- mer statutes of the said University to his office therein; to wit, 'that he be in the number of those by whom are appointed the select preachers before the Univer- sity,—and, further, that his counsel be taken in case of any preacher being called (as by the statutes of the said University every preacher who may have delivered any unsound or suspected doctrine in any of his preachings is liable to he called) into question before the Vice-Chancellor.' And such deprivation of Dr. Hampden was expressly declared in the said statute to have been decreed, ' because in his said published writings he has so treated matters theological, that in this reaped the University path no confidence in hits.'

" Furthermore, six years afterwards, the Convocation of the said University

having been called together to consider the question of the fitness of repealing the said statute, so that the said Dr. Hampden might be restored to the functions of which he had been as aforesaid deprived, the said -Convocation did thereupon so- lemnly decree that the statute should not be repealed, but should still be (and, ac- cordingly, it still continues to be) in full force and vigour; whereby the said Dr. Hampden stands to this day denounced by the judgment of-the said University as devoid altogether of its confidence in matters theological, by. the reason of the manner en which those matters have been treated by him in his published writings.'

And here we deem it our duty to your Majesty humbly to submit, that not

only by the People and Church of England, but by all your Majesty's Royal pre- decessors, the solemn decisions of either of your Majesty's Universities of Oxford and Cambridge on questions and matters of theology have always been deemed to carry with them very high authority; and that such is the renown of these your Majesty's famous Universities throughout the Reformed portion of Christendom, that everywhere their judgment is heard with reverence and honour. "Neither may we omit dutifully to lay before your Majesty, that to the office of a Bishop, to which we are commanded by your Majesty to choose' a person meet to be elected,' essentially adheres the duty ofjudging of the doctrine of the clews committed to his charge, especially of those who are to be instituted or licensed by him to the cure of souls; which high duty the University of Oxford has decreed, as aforesaid, that Dr. Hampden is, in its judgment, unfit to have confided to him. The distressing and disastrous consequences which mast be expected to result from placing the diocese of Hereford, by the strong hand of power, under a person so characterized by so high authority, we are as unwilling as it would be painful to recent.

"For all these reasons, and not least because, in common, as we believe, with

almost every considerate Churchman, we are desirous and anxious that the pre- rogative of the Crown in nominating to bishoprics should be for ever established on its only firm foundation—the confidence of the Church in the wisdom, the jus- tice, the parity, the considerate and conscientious moderation with which it is exercised,—we must humbly pray your Majesty to name and recommend some other person whom your Majesty shall think meet to be elected by us for our Bishop; or that your Majesty will graciously relieve us from the necessity of pro- ceeding to the election till you shall have been pleased to submit Dr. Remo Dick- son Ilampden's published writings (so judged as aforesaid by the Convocation of the University of Oxford) to the judgment either of the two Houses of Convoca- tion of Clergy of the province of Canterbury, which is now sitting, or of the Pro- vincial Council of Bishops of the same province, assisted by such divines as your Majesty or the said Provincial Council shall be pleased to call, or of some other competent tribunal which your Majesty shall be graciously pleased to appoint In order whereunto, we have appointed for the day of election the 28th day of De- cember instant, being the eleventh day from the receipt of your Majesty a tong& d'elins, and the last which we can lawfully appoint-

" And we are the more emboldened to lay this our humble supplication at the

feet of your Majesty by your known cordial attachment to our holy and apostolic • Church, and by your faithful and uniform observance of the oath made by your Majesty at your coronation, ' That you will maintain and preserve to the utmost of your power the doctrine, discipline, and government thereof.' And even if it could be imagined that these last-mentioned considerations apply not to our case, we should nevertheless confidently rely on your Majesty's experienced regard for that dearest and most sacred right of every class and de- scription of your subjects, the right of liberty of conscience, and on your having at the head of your hlajesty's counsels a noble Lord, the proudest boast of whose illustrious house, as well as of his own public life, it hitherto has been to assert that right for all men against all opponents—a right which would in our persons be trampled to the very dust if, in spite of all our just and reasonable reclamation!, we be coerced under the threatened penalties of prcemunire to elect for our Bishop a person whom we cannot conscientiously believe, so long as the aforesaid judg- ment elands against him, to be ' meet to be elected' to elected' most holy office. " In conclusion, we would add our fervent prayer, as well as our most earnest hope, that your Majesty may long be permitted by the King of Kings to reign the hearts of all your subjects the approved Defender of the Faith," ruling "R- estates and degrees of men amongst us, whether ecclesiastical or temporal,' as in your sacred and undoubted right,—giving alike to all experience of the blessings of your just and beneficent government, and receiving from all the willing homage of grateful and confiding love. In witness whereunto we have affixed our decimal seal this 17th day of December, in the year of our Lord 1847." (L.&) The following answer to the Dean of Hereford has been returned by Sr George Grey— o Whitehall, 200s Dec. 18411. " Sir—Lord John Russell having placed in my hands the petition addressed by you to her Majesty, and transmitted in you letter to him of the 17th instant, I have bad the honour to lay the same before the Queen; and I am to inform you, that her Majesty has not been pleased to issue any commands thereupon. " 1 have, &c., GEORGE GREY." "The Very Rev, the Dean of Hereford."

The clergy and laity of the diocese of Hereford have commenced a counter-movement, in the shape of a petition to the Queen, which is now receiving signatures. They express their "alarm at the efforts which are now made to interfere with the free exercise of the Royal prerogative in the ancient acd undoubted right of appoinment to vacant Bishoprics." They are unfeignedly impressed with the vital importance of maintaining "our Church government" in its entirety; and they therefore deeply deplore the conduct of some of the Hierarchy and inferior clergy. " We are the more alarmed, because the originators and abettors of the opposition to your Majesty's appointment of Doctor Hampden to the see of Here- ford belong principally to a party many of whom have seceded to the Church of Rome" ; whilst those who professedly remain in the Church of England are noted for their attachment to Romish doctrines, rites, and ceremonies. The petititioners therefore humbly pray the Queen not to be influenced by those who seek to " darken counsel by words without knowledge." It appears that Archdeacon Hale has been busy in getting signatures from the London clergy to a circular deprecating the appointment of Dr. Hampden. In two instances the recipients have published their reasons for declining to sign it.

Tuesday's Gazette announces the issue of new letters patent reconstituting the Board of Admiralty on the admission of Captain Alexander Milne. The Board now consists of the Right Honourable George Earl of Auckland, G.C.B.; Rear- Admiral James Whitley Deans Dundas ; Captain Maurice Frederick Fitzhardinge Berkeley; Captain Lord John Hay, C.B.; the Honourable William Francis Cow- per; and Alexander Milne, Esq., Captain in the Royal Navy.

The same Gazette declares the appointment of Lord Sandon as an Ecclesias- tical Commissioner, in the room of Lord Ashley; also, the appointment of Charles Henry Darling, Esquire, to be Lieutenant-Governor at St. Lucia. A good service pension, at the disposal of the Admiralty, has been given to Captain Marryatt, C.B. It is understood that the unrestricted control of the Money-order department of the Post-office throughout the kingdom has been placed in the hands of Mr. Rowland Hill by the Postmaster-General, with a view to its improvement and ex- tension. No step could have been adopted in connexion with this branch of the Government service more calculated to afford satisfaction to the public, while at the same time it furnishes a good precedent, and in England a most rare one, in allowing freedom of action to a reformer, master of his subject, instead of permit- ting his plans to be marred by official pedants, and then complaining of delays or of imperfections.—Times.

The long-expected meeting of the creditors of Messrs. Traeman and Cook took plaCe on Wednesday. The general statement of the affairs of the house, prepared by Mr. J. E. Coleman, Accountant to the Bank of England, showed liabilities amounting to 379,104/. 16s. 5d., against assets estimated to realize 381,8351.8x. 8d. A separate report from Mr. Coleman declares his conviction that the stoppage was an act of great discretion, and one of infinite benefit to the creditors gene- rally. The capital of the firm, which was 127,7551. on the 1st of January 1844, bad increased to 156,4631. at the time of suspension. The drawings of the seve- ral partners were very moderate. Large annual profits were made; but the losses also were very heavy, amounting in all to 154,0001. A statement of the transactions between Messrs. Truman and Cook and Mr. A. A. Lackersteen is given, which appears satisfactorily to refute the rumours current some time since of an unfair advantage having been taken of the latter. The simple fact appears to be, that Messrs. Trueman and Cook had made advances by bills on certain pro- duce; and, to protect those bills, then approaching maturity, they sold the produce, but with the knowledge and consent of Mr. Lackersteen himself. A supplementary statement showed the affairs brought down to the present mo- ment. The liabilities stand at 319,7801., and assets at 326,3241.; the improve- ment in the surplus being occasioned by the omission of the charges for liquida- tion. It was then stated that the house would pay 20s. in the pound,—namely, fis. on the 18th January 1848, 5s. on the 18th May, 5s. on the 18th September, 2s. 6d. on the 18th January 1849, and 2s. 6d. on the 18th April following; the instalments not to carry interest. The estate is to be wound up under inspec- tion; the inspectors being Mr. Joshua Bates, of the house of Baring Brothers, Mr. E D. Blyth, and Mr. Eric Erichsen. Under these gentlemen, Mr. Cook and Mr Windsor, two of the partners, were to be charged with the liquidation; and as the partners would require no allowance daring the period, it was resolved to authorize them to carry on the business of brokers on their own account inde- pendently. The failure of Messrs. T. and J. Sands, of Liverpool, was announced on Wed- nesday. The liabilities are stated to exceed 180,0001.

The King of Bavaria has spontaneously abolished tha censorship of the press: the decree is dated on the 16th instant, and is to take effect on the lot of Janu- ary 184&

In conformity with the treaty lately concluded between Prussia and England relative to copyright, two editions of the German translation of Bulwees Lucretia have been seized at Berlin, and the publishers prosecuted. A letter from Leipsic, of the 13th December, announces that the new work by J. Venedey, Vorwarts twin Rticktairts in Preussen, (" Prussia, her Rise and Fall,") has been seized by the authorities. A seizure has also taken place at Heidelberg of a work entitled "Transactions of the Diet from the Secret Conferences at Vienna to the year 1843." —Morning Chronicle.

Reports from the North of ;Italy state that the Austrian force on the frontier, under General Radetzky, is to be increased to 60,000 men.

Ciceroacchio, the well-known Roman patriot, has placarded the walls of the Eternal City with the following "protestation"— "I, Angelo Brunetti, better known as Ciceroacchlo, find it necessary to announce, that I have no connexion with place-beggars, and cannot procure situations for needy persons. I am a simple man, earning my bread for my family by honest industry. I do not frequent antechambers or the halls of great people. It Is made known to me that people are going about collecting money by way of tribute to me, as a man who ought to be supported at the public expense. These men are impostors, and traffic on public credulity. My only wish is to do my duty as a citizen, and to forward the in- terests of the dwellers In the noblest land the sun ever shone upon—the land of Pio None I " A fatal collision occurred at the entrance of the English Channel on the night of the 14th. The Warrior and the Emma struck so violently together, that the latter soon went down; part of the crew gained the Warrior, but five perished. The Warrior was obliged to put into Falmouth.

A ship on fire was recently discovered off the Bill of Portland. Boats put off, but no one could be perceived on board. After drifting about for two days, the hull sank. It appears that the vessel was the Robert G. Shaw, of Boston, from Charleston, with a cargo of cotton and rice. On the 6th instant, when about forty-five miles North of Ushant, the ship was struck by lightning, and the cot- ton in the hold took fire. The crew tried in vain to get the flames under; and next day they were obliged to take to the long-boat. The following evening they gained a French port. It is stated that Barber, the solicitor convicted of complicity in the will-for- geries, has received a free pardon, and,that he left Sydney on the 16th of August.

We are authorized to state, that the bank-notes and checks, to the value of 7,8661., stolen from the clerk of Messrs. Strahan, Paul, and Co., in February last, have been sent back to the banking-house, in a parcel, containing the identied bank-notes and checks, with the exception of one country bank-note of the value of U.—Globe.

Results of the Registrar-General's return of mortality in the Metropolis for the week ending on Saturday last—

Number of Autumn deaths. average.

Zymotic (or Epidemic, Endemic, and Contagious) Diseases- 629211 Dropsy, Cancer, and other diseases of uncertain or variable seat Diseases of the Brain, Spinal Marrow, Nerves, and Senses ! 13 i. .... •••• ..• ... Ini

Diseases of the Lunge, and of the other Organs of Respiration Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels .

Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs of Digestion 1; •• •• . •• 7:

Diseases of the Kidneys, &c. 15 • • .. a Childbirth, diseases of the Uterus, Se. 18 Rheumatism, diseases of the Bones, Joints, &c 14

••::: 17 Diseases of the Skin, Cellular Tissue, Sc 2 •. Old Age 110 ...., a

Violence, Privation, Cold, and Intemperance 58 • • • • 29

Total (including unspecified causes) 1946 1046 The lowest temperature of the thermometer in the shade was 27°; the mean temperature by day being warmer than the average mean temperature by 7.9°. The thermometer whose bulb was placed in the full rays of the sun was broken. The general direction of the wind for the week was South.