The Central Beard for vindicating the rights of Scottish Dissenters,

have addressed a memorial to Lord John Russell, complaining of the ]arse proportion of Churchmen on the Scottish Church Commission. I he following are extracts .from this document which has just been delivered with some Parliamentary papers : we think that even zealous Churchmen can scarcely deny that there is much reason and fairness in what the Dissenters have to urge.

" Your memorialists, as it is well known to sour Lordship, apposed the ap- plications for a grant of public money', which have led to the appointment of this Coinniissiou, both on the ground that such grants to one sect if Christians were impolitic in theniselvis and unjust towards others not belonging to the communion of the favoured party, who yet coutributed to the general taxation; amid also, because, in their opinion, such a grant was wholly unnecessary ; for if there existed in any districts a deficiency of church aecommodation and reli- gious instruction, the voluntary exertions of Christians were fully able to supply them.

" These grounds, however, were not considered by your Lordship and the Govet muent sufficient to induce you to refuse to entertain the subject, and the Commission was proposed as a preliminary inquiry. In this measure the Dis- senters of Scotland and other opposers of the grant acquiesced, without how- ever departing from any of the objections they had stated, in the caravan that the Commission would be constituted on liberal principles ; and if not composed wholly of impartial men, that their opinions and interests would be fairly represented in it by the appointment of equal numbers of Churchmen and Dissenters.

" When the names of the Commissioners were announced in the Gazette, the memorialists were somewhat disappointed to find, that out of the highly-

respectable eleven gentlemen who compose the Commission, only one was a

Dissenter. The gentleman referred to (Mr. Dick) is besides one of the junior members, who, it is understood, will visit the different districts of the country, and in his absence Dissenters are wholly unrepreseuted in the section of the Board who will be stationary in Edinburgh, and whose duty it will be to clas- sify the evidence furnished by the travelling members, and to frame the report

thereon. This. disparity in the numbers of Churchmen and Dissenters is the

more objectionable, when it is kept in view that the Commission is intended to report un the means of religious instruction furnished by Dissenters as well as

by Churchmen, and that there arch!' Scotland about 800 congregations of Dis- senters, while ;here are nut more than 1100 of Established churches and chapels of ease. Hence a fairly.constituted Commission ought to have consisted of eight Dissenters to eleven Churchmen."

The Dissenters, however, would not have complained of the com- position of the Commission, bad not the Churchmen exerted them- selves to render it still more objectionable-

" The memorialists have,'however, learned that the Committee of the Gene- ral Assembly on Church extension have memorialized your Lordship, or other members of Government, and that the Commission of the General Assembly

now sitting have it in view to do so 'likewise; and that the object of these memorials is to obtain some alteration in the composition of the Commission, by the removal of some of the Commissioners already appointed, on the ground of their holding Voluntary principles, or by the addition of some others who bare already taken a decided part in favour of the grant. In consequence of this step on the part of the Church, your memorialists consider it their duty to bring the views and feelings of Dissenters, in reference to the Commission, be- fore your Lordship, iu the confidence that if any alteration whatever is made

upon it, it will be to the effect of adding gentlemen of Dissenting. principles both to the stationary and to the travelling sections of the Commission, but particularly to the forokr, in which, as already said, there is not a single Dis- senter.

" As suitable members of this section, the memorialists take the liberty of suggesting James Douglas, Esq., of Covers, and William Ellis, Esq., solicitor, before the Supreme Corot.; such an addition would tend very much to remove the objections of the Dissenting past of the community, and to secure a full and accurate report being ultimately made."

This memorial is dated 12th August 1835 ; and on the 31st day of the same month Lord John Russell addressed a letter to Lord Minto,

the head of the Commission, expressing regret at the dissatisfaction avowed both by Churchmen and Dissenters with respect to the Com- mission, and laying down some general rules for its guidance. His Lordship says- " Serious misapprehensions have taken place respecting the terms of the Commission. It has been supposed, most erroneously, that the Commissionets were to inquire into the kiwi of pastoral superintendence given by the clergy, instead of its amount. The words are used both with respect to the clergy of the E.tablislied Church and of other denominations, and it is evidently not in- tended with regard to either the one or the other to interfere with discipline or internal arrangements. " Another misapprehension is, that the Commission may interfere with pri- vate property. Your Lordship will, of course, carefully guard against any sup- position of this sort; and not allow it to Ire for a moment supposed that we mean to disturb those Acts of the Scottish Parliament which transferred the tithes from the Church to the lay proprietors of Scotland ; but you will en- deavour to ascertain what is the property which may yet, by existing laws, be made available for the purposes of the Church.

" In the heated state of men's minds upon this subject, your Lordship will,

I am sure, be particularly cautious in your manner of conducting local inquiries; I should advise that, keeping the terms of the Commission in view, you direct your first attention tot cases where it is alleged that there is any want of the opportunities of public religious worship, and the means of religious instruction and pastoral superintendence.' In such cases, I should recommend that two Commissioners, or one Commissioner and one Assistant-Commissioner, should be sent to make fell inquiry into the circumstances of the district, and that you should select the persons in such a manner that in every case one of them should be a person of unquestionable attachment to the Church. They may report either together or separately to the general body, and any three or more of you may transmit these reports to the Home Office from time to time, to be laid before his Majesty. " I need not say, as I have already explained, that it is not desired or expected that the relative numbers of Churchmen and Seceders in all Scotland should be ascertained ; but where it is alleged that new churches and new ministers are required, it will be necessary to obtain an account of those who attend Dissent- ing chapels, in order that the void not filled up by any religious sect or worship may be measured and defined."

His Lordship concludes, with expressing a hope that the labours of the Colin fission. r, would be completed within six months from the date of his letter.