3 JULY 1875, Page 23

Life of the Rev. Henry Montgomery, LL.D. (Simpkin, Marshall, and

Co.)—Mr. Crozier has made a mistake ; his book is too heavy, both in size and subject, for any ordinary reader to attempt, and by the simple exclusion of unnecessarily minute details he might have reduced its pages by a clear half. We applied ourselves patiently to see Dr. Montgomery through Mr. Orozier's microscope, and have been rewarded accordingly, by discovering a man who by his life and labours did really serve the cause of civil and religious liberty. And as we feel pretty sure nothing but a stern sense of duty will lead any one to follow our example and wade through these tedious pages, we will help Mr. Crozier to make his hero known by stating, that Dr. Mont- gomery was at the head of the " Remonstrants " who maintained the cause of absolute freedom for religious thought in Ireland for more than fifty years,—namely, from 1818, when he was elected Moderator of the Presbytery at Antrim, till his death. We smile when we find

an almost unknown council summoned by the will of a small body to assemble in a remote corner of a remote island, compared to the great Council of Nice ; yet within that council was fought out one, not insig- nificant battle in the great war for human freedom. That it was fought successfully was doubtless in great measure due to the exertions of the subject of these pages, who never rested till he saw, in some measure at least, established the principle embodied in the words, 'No man is answerable to another for his opinions, and no standard of faith is to be recognised but the Bible."