CHURCHES AND CHAPELS.
ABOUT four months ago, a meeting was held at London House to set on foot a subscription for building fifty new churcl.ei in the Metropolis, in order to provide spiritual edification for 900,000 destitute souls. The funds raised, or rather promised, in pursu- ance of the recommendation of this meeting, amount to about 100,000/. 'We learn from the Standard, that the Dissenters, sti- mulated by the zeal of the Churchmen, have determined to equal, perhaps to outvie them, in the good work of building places of worship. " The Apostle of the Gentiles could rejoice to know that Christ was preached, even though "by some out of envy and strife;" and we doubt not that the Bishop of London, with the 900,000 unprovided souls of his diocese in his mind, will hear with feelings in which satisfaction will have a large prepon. derance, that his late exertions to provide church-room for his people have ex- cited the Dissenters to a correspondent movement. " Provoked (by him) unto good works," they have lately, as we hear, had several meetings, with a view to bring out a scheme for fifty new chapels in the destitute parts of the Metropolis ; and their list of subscriptions already exceeds 60,000/. It is headed by a long array of City merchants, of the second and third class, it is true, but who show both their zeal and their ability by donations of 10001. each. We shall be glad to see such an example followed by some of the weal- thy Churchmen of the City of London ; for we have observed names in the Bishop of Londou's list, both noble and mercantile, for two hundreds and one hundreds, which ought not to have been coupled with smaller donations than two thqusands and one thousands."
Well done the Muggletonians, Southcotites, Independents,. Ranters, Quakers, Anabaptists, and the other " irregOar " wor- shippers of God, on whom the Times a few days ago emptied its coarse spite I We would wager now, notwithstanding the start got by the Churchmen, that at the end of five years from this time, there is more new Chapel-accommodation than Church- accommodation in the Metropolitan districts. Rat, be this as it may, the Dissenters' subscription-list is not a bad answer to the imputations of Infidelity, and worse still, of poverty, with which they have been so liberally taunted by the Tories,—for the late attempts to blarney them, by some who fancy that the return of PEEL to power is near, have not blotted out the systematic inso- lence with which the Nonconformists have been treated by the Tot his for benturies together. The Dissenters, said the Chairman at the Colchester dinner on Tuesday, aim at destroying the Church and restoring Popery : the reply to this is the subseriptioa of 50;00e/. for the building of Protestant chapels. The Metro- politan population will soon have the choice of Church or Chapel : a friendly contest is going on between the "Established" and the Nonconformists—we shall soon see which the " poor" prefer.
In the mean while, it is observable that dissensions have already sprung up among the Churchmen as to the patronage of their new churches. Many a subscription has been put down in the hope of procuring preferment for some son or crony ; and great is the disgust at the attempt of the Bishop of LONDON to dispose of the presentations to the projected livings,—for the new churches are to be endowed. Here the Voluntaries will have a decided advantage over their opponents: they will choose their own pastors, without consulting any Bishop. By and by, sensible people will for the most part be convinced that there is no need of a compulsory support of religion in this country. We see that within four months 160,000/. has been raised by voluntary subscription, in London alone, for erecting places of worship. Where such a spirit prevails, there is surely no risk of our becoming heathens, were the Church separated from the State, and no man forced to pay the cost of his neigh- bour's religion.
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