Henry Alton, D.D. By the Rev. W. Hardy Harwood. (Cassell
and Co.)—In this volume we have a memoir, occupying about a a third of the whole, with some sermons and addresses delivered on various occasions. Dr. Allon was a man of considerable force. Twice he was President of the Congregational Union hnd his position as editor of the British Quarterly marked him out as representing the culture of the community to which he belonged. He was not extreme in his hostility to the Established Church, though he wrote an article on Disestablishment which, if our memory does not deceive us, savoured strongly of confisca- tion; but on this subject very few men can be fair. He did good service also to Congregational psalmody. Mr. Harivood's memoir is interesting and, on the whole, judicious, though we venture to think that he is somewhat uncharitable when he says that the clergy of the earlier years of this century were, "with some great and notable exceptions, drunken, racing, and non-resident." This is about as sweeping and merciless a condemnation of a mul- titude of men—for the "great and notable exceptions" cannot number more than a few scores "—as we have ever seen. Not the most fervent zeal against Establishments can excuse it. Dr. Allon's sermons are excellent, and his addresses show a liberal and statesmanlike temper and mind. "The Christ, the Book, the Church" may be specially noticed for the wisdom and moderation of its utterances.
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