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IN ADVANCE,
Original oetrg.
What is there in Heaven 7
there in heaven, the home of the blest,
in the wanderer, sad and distress'd ?
•ospect so cheering to pilgrims below
blessed in glory no sorrow e'er know ?
in those regions each want is supplied,
:e is the Sariour who once for us died;
things possesses, and shall he refuse
s to his ransom'd what there they shall
Loose ?
to them rest from their labors and cares,
blessed freedom from dangers and snares;
es in white raiment, without spot or
him in glory enthroned they shall reign
there, sweetest music e'er floats on the ear,
s of blest union, melodious and clear;
no jarring discords—but harmony sweet,
;Bed inhabitant ever shall greet.
•owns of ineffable glory are worn,
lems of victory ever are borne;
nor sin can e'er reach that abode,
he ransomed still live in the presence of
pry's the sun that enlightens the place,
e saints are still blest with the smiles of
s face!
language fails when we try to portray
peakable joys of eternity's day!
h we may know, that the presence of
gh to make heaven a blissful abode!
pward, press onward, the prize is before,
L I. eternity's ages his love we 'II explore.
Y. E.
lesville, February, 1857.
For the Presbyterian Banner and- Advocate
Baptism.--No. 11.
"ONE BAPTISM."
ph. iv : 3-5, St. Paul writes thus :
ideavoring to keep the unity of the
in the bond of peace. There is one
and one spirit, even as ye are called in
hope of your calling; one Lord, one
, one Laptism."
Baptist brethren assume that the
le is here speaking of water-baptism,
hat his meaning is, "One Lord, one
one dipping." But this is begging
lestion. We have already shown that
ire baptism does not at all imply dip
" But," say they, "as there is one
118, then, if immersion is right, pour
sprinkling is wrong, and is no 'bap
' I answer, so might the Dunker
:en say, "'if we are right in dipping
times, then dipping but once is wrong,
is no aptism at all." So might ,Epis
tans say, " there is but one Church of
t, and if we are right in having dio
bishops, floe who are without them
and are no Church bf Christ."
At the Roman Catholics say, " there
ordinance of marriage, and if we are
in using the Popish ceremony, all
are wrong, and have no valid mar
among them !"
Baptist friends have a wonderful fa
in finding water where we can find
We see none in the passage under
tration. The Apostle is discussing
lime doctrine of the Christian uni
id it were amazing if, while soaring
such lofty themes, he should sudden
down to the water. We think,
ire, that it will agree better with the
t to suppose that by the " one bap
he means the baptism of the Spirit.
view, his words may be paraphrased
" One Lord Jesus Christ in whom
(eve, one faith by which ye are saved,
)rk of the Holy Spirit by which ye
sized into one body."—See 1. Cor.
HISTORY Or IMMERSION.
At writers fondly assert that korner
. practiced in the Church at a very
kod. But the truth is, no anthem
_
MIA
4ow
g
Ant can be produced of its existence
the first two hundred years after
On the other hand, there is a well-
I case of baptism by effusion in the
century. Islicephorus, in the gg Mag-
Centuries," relates that a Jew,
ag through a desert in company with
Christians, was converted; and being
sick, requested baptism. Having no
they sprinkled him with sand, (con
%) He unexpectedly recovered, and
,en to Alexandria, and his case laid
the Greek bishop, who decided that
Jew was baptized, provided only
should anew be . perfused, or sprin
ith water," aqua denuo perfundere
-Cent. 11., a. 6, p. 110.
milieu, who flourished during the
of Severna and Camelia, in the be
of the third century, is the' first
:es any distinct mention of firmer
.nd then it is found in very bad
; for it is associated with the doe-
tat baptism cleanses from sin. To
.tent immersion was practiced in
mtury, we ham) not the means of
Ag. At all events, it was far from being
'elusive node. We are told of Lau-
baptiziOg a soldier, and having
3r of water brought for that purpose ;
of five martyrs of Samosata sending
the prison for a Presbyter, requesting
to bring a vessel of water and baptize
t.—( Wall's Hist. of Bapt. and. Ana
. Act. Mart.) Even atter immersion
become the prevailing practice bap
! by effusion were uniformly regarded as
. On one occasion, Cyprian and the
.sia bishops who were with him, were
Ited on the question, whethbr those
had been baptized on sick beds, by
ton only, ought to be re-baptized if
recovered. ai.His decision was, " that
'ater of aspersion is purification; from
it appears that sprinkling is sufficient,
d of immersion; and wbensoever it is
if there be a sound faith on the part
giver and receiver, it ie perfect and
tete." This seems to have been the
mous sentiment of the.ancient Church;
t the Baptists of modern times are the
body of Christians that ever existed,
on the assumption that immersion is
del to baptism, have excluded all oth.
from their communion. The. Rev.
'rt Hall, the greatest light that Church
produced, says of his close communion
\ren, a that they have violated' more
maxims of antiquity, and receded farther
from the example of the : Apostles than any
class of Christians on record."—Hall on
COMM. ) p. 74, 75.
ORIGIN OF IMMERSION.
"But how came immersion into use at so
early a period, if it was not the Apostolic
?" The answer is not difficult. A
very large proportion of the first converts to
Christianity were Jews, many of whom re
tained a strong attachment to the Mosaic
ritual.—See Acts xv. That ritual compre
hended " divers washings," which seem to
be referred to in Heb. vi : 2, where the sa
cred writer specifies "the doctrine of bap
tisms," as one of the subjects. of dispute
among the Hebrew converts. They were,
moreover, familiar with the custom of the
Jewish Church, to require the proselytes
from • Paganism to be thoroughly washed,
previously to being circumcised. With all
their violent . prejudiee in favor of the an
cient ritual, it is not surprising that in some
ohurches, where their influence was para
mount, they should insist that the converts
from heathenism should be cleansed from
all filthiness of the flesh, previously to bap
tism. An addition, not important in,itseV,
thus made to the simple rite administered
by the Apostles, easily gained ground in an
age of ; Anperstitious formalism. When in
after-times the doctrine was inculcated that
baptism cleansed from sin, this preparatory
bathing acquired immense importance, and
during the dark ages gained an almost uni
versal prevalence. At first the bathing,
styled by Justin Martin a " washing,"
(loutron,) was kept separate and , distinct
from the baptism, which was by pouring.
But in process of time the two were, to -a
great extent, confounded ;.and then we read
of three , immersions, (kataduses) with the
further addition of exorcisms—two anoint..
ings—the use of salt, milk, and honey,
clothing the •newly baptized in white rai
ment, and other ceremonies.
DIPPING OF PERSONS NAKED.
But the preparatory immersion WaS• never
administered to any one in his clothing;
that is a novelty of more modern times.
The ancient immersionists never dreamed of
washing the body of the candidate through
two or three thicknesses of clothing. They
would no more attempt such a thing, than we
would set about washing bands or feet without
removing gloves, shoes, or stockings. The
truth in regard to this matter, though for a
while denied or cbncealed, is now generally
admitted.' The Baptist historian, Robinson,
who wrote by request'of the Baptist minis
ters of 'London, says expressly : " The
primitive Christians baptized naked. Nothing
is easier 'than to give proof of this, - by quo
tations from the authentic' writings of the
men who administered baptism, and who
certainly knew in what way they themselves
performed it. There is no ancient historical
fact better authenticated than this. The P. S.—l beg leave to offer corrected
evidence dees-net , go-ofrlthe meaning of the •-,.statementterespecting-the-usmof.the.preposi
single Word nnk,edi for then a reader Might tier; ape, by St. Matthew. He employs•the
suspect allegory; but on many facts 're- Word Just onnhundred and nineteen times,
ported, and many reasons assigned for the of which it is translated from, sixty-three
practice. Chrysostom ariminates Theophilus times, and out of, only ten times. Of these
because be had raised , a disturbance without, ten times, there are six , in which 4is pre
which so frightened the women in the bap- fixed' to the verb, apparently :giving to apo
tistery, who - had just stripped themselves in the - force of a' double ek. In 'one instance,
order to bebaptized, that they fled naked out alsb, meta is prefixed, with a similar effect.
of the room, without having time to consult The three remaining passages are, Chap ;
the modesty of their sex." xiv : 1.3—" followed him out of the cities;"
Wall, in his History of Baptism, states verse 29, "Peter was come doWn out of the
positively that " the ancient Christians, ship;" and Chap 16—" went up (anebe)
when they were baptized by immersion, straightway out of the water," There is no
were all baptized naked, whether they were ; other instance in Matthew of anabaino fol
men, women, or children." lowed by apo ; but there is one in Songs
viii : s—an abainousa ape creniou; ." com
eth up 'from the Wilderness." '
IMMERSION AND BAPTISM DIFFERENT RITES
These Writers might have stated an,addi
tionul fact of great importance. The Chris
tian females of that period were =not so ut
terly regardless of common 'decency, ,a 0 to
appear disrobed in• the , presence of men.
Many of them, as we know, carried their no
tions of modesty , to such an extreme, as not
even to allow their faces to be seen by any
of the other sex, out of their own families.
Can any one imagine, then, that they would
suffer the priests to come near them while
in a state of perfect nudity 2 Let those
believe it who can I It is quite plain that
the candidates could not have been seen by
the minister officiating till the ceremony of
bathing was over. This is 'made to
appear from the testimony of Epiphanius,
bishop of Constantia, who wrote in
the fourth century. " There are," says
he, "also deaconesses in the Church;
but this office was not instituted as a priestly
'function, nor has it any interference with
priestly administrations; s hut it was insti
tuted for the purpose of preserving a due
regard to the modesty of the female sac,'
especially at the time of baptismal washing,
and while the person of the woman is
naked; that she may not be seen by the
men performing the sacred service, but by
her only who is appointed to take charge of
the : woman - during the- time.-, that she is
naked."—( Taylor's .Apost. Bapt, p. 168.)
This quotation proves that so late as the
fourth • century, the baptism proper, by the
priest, did not take place till after the cere
mony of immersion, from which it was sep
arate and distinct.
EXISTING TRACES OF THE DISTINCTION.
Deylingius, as quoted by Mr. Booth, •in
his "Pedobaptiam Examined," writes: "So
long as the Apostles lived, as many believe,
immersion only was used; to -which 'after
wards, perhaps, they added a kind of effu
sion, such as the Greeks practice at this day,
after having performed the trine immersion."
The fact that the Greeks do practice a kind
of effusion 'after immersion, is quite to our
purpose. Whether the pouring or the im
mersion is the human Addition, 'we have a
right to decide for ourselves.
1 From a detailed view of the rites of the
Greek Church, drawn up by an Archbishop
of their own, and published by Kromayer,
(Scrut. /?ctig.,) it appears that they . fre
quently dip' their infants only to the breast,
and then pour water ou the head; thus clear
ly showing, that the immersion andlhe bap
tism are not regarded as the same thing :
Mr. Daniel Huber, of Kentucky, in a
letter to the editor of The Pedobaptisypub
lished at Danville, writes : "I resided up
wards of three years in the capital of the
Grand Seignior's dominions, in a •Greek fam
ily of the first respectability. During that
time, I was present at four baptisms—two in
,thelamily, and two in the immediate neigh
borhood. The company were all seated
on the ; sofas around the room. A table
stood in ; the middle, with a basin of water
on'it. The kapa, or Priest, 'was then sent
for,, who, upon entering the roOm, was re-
MatebllMj.tUltE2.4.UiWlMOikftNl4ll4‘o:ll.lolDoilffluliLlkitiltoolD3Omimm:iiv,t):oo
FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, APRIL 1151857.
ceived by the father of the child, and led to
the baptismal water, which he consecrated
with a short prayer and the sign of the cross;
then the mother presented her babe, which
he laid on his left arm ; and in the name of
the Father, Son and. Holy Ghost ) . he thrice
dipped his hand into the •'water, and drop
ped some of it On the child's forehead, giv
ing it a name. I may here remark, that I
never heard, daring my stay in Constanti
nople, of adult baptisms, • nor of the ordi
nance being performed by immersion in a
single instance. '
The ' Greeks of 'Constantinople do cer
tainly pra'otidel immersion ; and -yet Mr.
Huber was honest in his statement. He
witnessed only the baptism proper, and was
not aware that a preparatory washing, or
immersion, had taken place in another apart
ment, before the , arrival of the priest.
BAPTISM IN ABYSSINIA.
But the practice of the Abyssinian Church
places the question beyond dispute. That
people were converted to Christianity, and
received their 'ritual from the jndaizing
Church of .Egypt, about the middle of, the
fourth century.' They still receive their
Bishop from Alexandria. 'They retain cir
cumcision, and other Jewish obserianees, in
connexion with Christianity; and owing =to
their entire seclusion -from) the Teat of the
world, have, in all probability;, preserved
their religions rites unchanged for fifteen
centuries. Mr. Salt, an English conSul t who
visited that country, has furnished a minute
account of the baptism ;of a'Mohammedan
boy, at which he-was present. He tells' us
that they first stripped the lad of all his
clothing, and " washed him all over very
carefully in a large basin of water," which ,
Stood' outside of the church. He' was then
taken to another place,. , wherei was a smaller
font. Here ." the head priest laidlold of
him, dipping his own hand in, the water,
Etna crossed him over the forehead, pro
nouncing at the same moment, George, I
baptize thee in the name of the Father,' Son
and Holy Ghost! -Themhole company then
knelt down, and joined in reciting the Lord's
Prayer;" p._152.
Here in all probability is the precise
1 mode of baptism which existed in the Church
of Alexandria, in the fourth century. It is
seen -at once, that the Jewish 'ablution was
a mere , preparation for the baptism, which
was administered by a different person, from
a different font, and with different words.
Mx. C. Taylor, to whom the writer of this
i.article is indebted for some valuable sugges-
Wong, concludes his investigation of the
subject as follows: " Therefore, whoever
adopts immersion without pouring, may cer
tainly - claim; all the'credit due to the revival
of an ancient Jewish ceremony, signifying
[ death; but Christian baptism, signifying
: life, they do not practice.'' p. 186.
L. 'N. D.
For the Presbyterian Benner and advocate
Religion: , ,
OR, LETTERS TO A plump ON , rgE DOCTRINES AND
DUTIES OF THE BIBLE
,
Letter 1111—Necessity of I?egeneration,.
Ye must be born again.—Jonil ur.: 7.
MY DEAR FarEND:-- 1 -My last •letter in
troduoed the necessity of regeneration. In
this, I promised to give some of the reasons
of this necessity. One of them'hae already
been hinted ;, and , it is given by the Saviour
himself, in his conversation with Nicodemus,
as recorded in John iii-: 1-12 It is be
cause' we are by nature, or- the first birth,
sinners; that which is born of the flesh-is
flesh'; and that •which is bora of the Spirit
is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee,
ye must be born again.—John iii : 6, 7.
To be born of 'the Spirit, is to be born-again,
regenerated; and this is necessary, because
that which is born of the flesh, or according
to nature, is flesh, is depraved, sinful.
Hence, it is written, They that are in the
flesh, unrenewed, cannot please God, be
cause the carnal mind is enmity against
God.—Rom. viii : 5-8. Our natural birth
is of the flesh, for we are conceived in.sin,
and shapers in iniquity.--Ps. li :5. Hence;
we. go astray , as soon as we are born : and
'hence, the whole - race' is corrupt; - and all
'need' the washing of regeneration. This is
expressively taught- in the 14th Psalm,
where it is, written,They are corrupt; they
have done abominale works- there is none
that doeth good. The Lord looked down
from heaven upon the children of men, to
see if there 'were -any that did understand,
and seek God. They are all gone aside ;
they are all together , become filthy; there is
none that death good, no, not one.—Ps.
xiv : 1-3. ObserVe here the scrutiny,
The Lord looked down to see. Observe the
general , survey, The Lord-looked upon the
children of men, to see if any did under
stand. And observe the result; he found
none ; they are all gone aside ; 'there is
none that doeth good, no, not one All are
sinners ; and this general corruption is a
proof of native depravity—of a nature de
praved ; and hence the necessity of the ren
ovation of our nature by Divine grace.
Ye must be born again !
Look around you Though not sparent,
you. have seen many children:; and low,
soon depravity manifests itself in the child!,
That little innocent, as the fond mother calls
the babe upon her bosom, how soon it ex
hibits its' temper, and shows that it , has
lunruly passions in its heart I You have
seen many children ; did you ever see a child
which did not in some way begin to act out
its depravity about as soon as it began to act
at all ? How is this, and'why is it, but be
! cause all' children are partakers of a fallen
nature ; beetinse all are corrupt,' and all have
depraved'hearts ? So we all'-=-,for we werec
all children oncewe all=` `began. to sin as
1 coon'as we did' any thing; andrwe allure
sinners by nature, and hence, needs'neui
Jej••t' • 'r
tures. Ye must be born again.-4ohn
iii: 7.
There are, as you , know,several concur
rent witnesses to the depravity of man—wit
nesses that testify to his corrupt and fallen
nature, and which,, therefore, prove the
necessity of regeneration. ' There is
the. testimony of Your -. own experience.
You cannot recollect 4 period in . your
whole existence when. you were not sin
ful ; and you have „seen, and felt, and ex
perienced enough if the workings of ,your
own heart to know.that you are fallen and
deiiiived. Your own 'experience witnesses
to the dePravity of Your nature.
And, then, this, J view of. yourself is con
firmed by your obseryation of others, around
you.. You have seen enough of men every
day of your life ap e deacitsueceeding day's
'observation deepene•yobr conviction on this
point—you witness enough:daily•to convince
you that .the hum race is a sintnl f ram;
that all alike have c' - , r. :a, 4*(1. 1 g,
are possessed of a . re.:l3iiifis fiwza,Flr
have hearts full of y taption.
t t
And what yoria
~,thus taught by experi
ence and observatiola, :is confirmed by the
testimony, of -history. The history of -Matt
is the history of a .sinner. The, historic
page is crowded with the description of
bloody and stied`with the"records of
the darkest oritnes. 3 "t'Tracethettrinals of the
'nee' from: the: falltiif the first pair in Eden
:down to the:Treats*, day ; and with the ex
ception of here an there a bright spot, like
a green island in in ocean of 'sand, all is,
dark and gloomyz-a record, not of noble
deeds and self-ascrifteineefforteto bless the
world, 'but a record of orimes,ef, cruelties,
and pppressions, , a44 blood. , ,
And with perf i ent accordance to this-his-
I toric testimony, is the "record of the news of
every day. Notle paper comes to yorir
)hands but contai some-record - of human,
or inhuman crimes, all , confirming - this one
point—man is a siltner, acting out in his life
the deep depravity of his nature, just as the
serpent, or the 141 beast of the - forest, acts
out its nature. 4 - -: ;-
And what is thus taught-by experience,
and observation, and, history, is confirmed
by the inspired mord. The Bible speaks
of men as sinners nature,
having wicked
hearts, born of tht flesh, carnal, , sold under
sin ; and it askeli Who can bring a clean
thing out of an tinclean ? iAdani was made
in the likeness 0f404.; he fell, and then it is
said he begat a son in his. own likeness, after
his image, fallen 'lind' &prayed like himself.
—Gen. i:26 ; dud' v:1, 2: He .repre
sented the nee yiin his fall, all fell"; end as
the guilt of his sic , is imputed, all inherit
from him a corrupt nature; , for by this one
man's disobedience,. many were made sin
ners--accountedrid treated as sinners, and
in .consequeneex'they" inherit corrupt na
tures
.;- they , aresmioners—they have sin in
herent as w,ellip,s imputed. Hence the
names given, th iwielled in the Bible—they
are enemies= of' ' ; hate of dody-without
God, or atheists in. the world; wicked, un
righteous, unjust, - unholy, unclean, filthy
dreamers ; because :the carnal mind is en
mity, against ,God ; . for it is not subject:to
the law of God, neither indeed can be.—
Rom. viii : 5-6. Hence the natural man,
the unrenewed - man, ae he is born and: lives
in the world, receiveth not the'things ofthe
Spirit of .God; for they are foolishness unto
hint ; neither can he. know them, because
they • are, spiritually discerned.-1. Car. ii :
14. He is blinded by sin - his understand
ing is'darkened;' he "is - alienated from the
iife.of God, through the ignorance that is
rin 'him. His , Will is .enslaved; he, is the
servant of sin, acting out in,his life his in-,
herent, his inborn and inbred eorruption.—,
Sec Rom.; Chips. i. to ii. ; and vi : 20, 21.,
Also, Eph. ii : 1-3; Jer. xvii : 9; John
iii : 1-8 ; Rorn. - -vii :- 13, 14 ; Job xiv : 4;
Gen. i : 26, and v : 12; -Rom. .i : 28- , - - .32,
and viii: 7; Eph. 2 : 11--13; 2. Cor. iv:
3,4; Eph. iv : 18; and Jude, verses 7-23.
Such is thelestimony of tirod's Word in
'regard'to man's nature ; and this teitimony
is corroborated by your own experience and
observation, by history and by, facts ; and it
all. goes to show, the;: absolute necessity of
the new - birth. There is no hOliness in
man's nature; this - want of holiness is sin;
there is also'aleridency or disposition to sin;
yea, he is , corrript i , depraved, sinful, as is
manifestin his life.;;and as without holiness
no.man shall see the ! Lord, he must be cre
ated anew, or remain for ever an enemy of
God, and be for ever an heir of hell. Ye
must. be born again.—John iii: 7; .Heb.
xii : 14. •
This, my chiltl, as God's,Word is true,
this is your condition; by nature a child of
wrath, born of , the flesh, corrupt, sinfg;
and you must be born again, or perish I
Yes, this change is fleeces:try ; you;mnst be
born again. Ye must. , be .born again,!---
John iii 7. ,Read John iii. ,; Psalm tiv.;
Row. ; and also
Hymn 44 of the Presbyteriim' Psalms and
Hymns.
r'Fuither -reasons mai my neat. In the
meantime, look up to the Saviour, and trust
in, him. He will eustain you in your weak
ness. He is our life, our light, and our
joy; yea, he is our salvatiow ant our all.
Trust in him. Farewell !
From our London:Correspondent.
China, and its Population—Sii J. Botoring's Report
to the Registrar General—Waste of Population—
Infanticide a Systern—Vommissioner Ye. 5., and his
• Crueltgralmerston; .and 'his Prospects—Popu
larity with the . Country—His Bnemies—Pre,scrip
lion for Nur' Hea' lth—Latest from Claina—Gpin
'ioni of :Missionaries as to the Quarrez_:-The Irish
Unitariani.and Creeds—lnconsistency andits Con
trast—The Great Tobacco Controversy--The Lan
cat, and the Ladies—Bagged 'School Union, and
Prizes to Servants—A Clergyman filavrying Him
self—The Baptist Controversy—An. _Exclusive
Spirit—.Postecript. '
LONDON , March 13,1857.
An interesting document, with regard tol
CfrrNA AND us - -POPULATION , addressed I,
nearly two yeara ago, by, Sir J. Bowring, to
the British. Registrar,,General, has just ap
peared. He estimates the population at
from three hundred. 'and fifty millions to
four hundred millions. The population is
divided into four classes, in Government no
menclature : 1. Scholars; 2. Husbandinen;
3. Mechanics ; 4. Merchants. There is a
numerous class considered almost as social
outcasts, such as stage players, and proles-.
sional gamblers, beggars, convicts, and out
laws. To ,every, ,deeade of life, a special
designation, is ,applied„ , sThe .agp., of, ten la,
called "the,opening degree ;" 'of twenty
":youth expired ; '.' of thirty, '" strength any?
marriage ; of. forty, "officially apt ;" of,
fifty, " error-knowing ;" of sixty, " cycle
closing ;" of seventy, "rare bird of age;"
of eighty, " rusty-visaged ;" of ninety,
" delayed;" of one. hundred, "age's ex
tremity "—all most• expressive and applica
ble to every country. Severe punishments
are' decreed for those who will not assist the
aged poor.
The excess of 'population has driven the
Chinese, to cultivate- almost every inch of
ground; .and very-many of them live on the
water, because they can find no standing
room Ott-Shore.
.
The:ihaste' cif-population, lowever,- is ter
.-rible,';by .faminet4 I mundations,' hurricanes,
and rcivil
_ws,rs, , which last, alone cost -millions
of lives.— Nothipg is ;said ahOut
.. epidemic
diseases 'Ent Infanticide is. feerfitlly preva
. lent, and that on system. Initeadof -Found
-. ling. fiospitals, as in: Christianianda, we are
told 91. there . are' towers _ofi-hrick and.stene,
h
where, I.Bothysel--ei * fenelft---0011-
...c.,... t . h t ,
dreiwt,etaretorp. A. , _
'if MiViVeltiftie Jr i tte rr il . ' '
Sir Johii Bowring, *hose recent: conduct
,has been so vehemently condemned by the
Derbyites, and others, in Parliament, betrays
in :this ,document no bitter ,feeling toward
the Chinese. On the contrary, he writes in
his natural_ characters of •ar scholar; and an
:antiquary: Thee only do strong expres
sions escape him—once in reference to the
mortality of Chinese emigrants, and, again
when, speaking of military., executions, of
which, in the provinee of Kwang Tung alone,
"it is believed from four hundred to five
hundred fall daily by the hand of the•heads
man." This province is that of which Can
ton is the capital.; and. the " headsman "
does this work under the orders of Commis
sioner 'Yeh, *hose moderation has been so
eloquently contrasted by Cobden and his
backers, with that of the British officials.
Every'day, the PARTY CHARACTER Of the
'vote Which lid Palmerston to resign, is more
and .more impressed on the minds of the
people, ,was. a grand coup,. and well put
by the coalition;"but it will, in the end,
damage them seriously." Lord ' Palmerston
has been asked to Stand for the City of
London; and",while==he .declinesciiiifavor of
his " old loye," at Tiverton, yet the moral
certainty of his election, coupled with the
fact that Lord John Russel retires from the
representation of the City, is very great.
He seems, politically, to bear gg a charmed
.The Despots of Europe hate and
fear him; the Tractarians abhor him, be
cause thew!. party, (of whom Lords Derby
and Gladstone promoted eight to the Bench
in' less than two years !) is discouraged and
frowned upon. The " Peace-at-any-price"
men necessarily oppose him ; but still, elas
tic, and, scatheless as a life-boat in the furious
breakers, he survives the elemental war.
Punch!s carricature for the week repreSents
John Bull and .Palmerston—the latter seated
rather sickly in a chair. The kindly John
taw him,he has been , sitting up too late:with
the ,Cobdenites; and now he (John) is about
to send him down "to the country?' to
recruit; and no doubt that will completely
mire him ! "To the country" Palmerston
" goes," with great confidence.
•
The Nnws MOM CHINA tells of `the de
struction, by the , British, in the way of re
prisals, of the Western .suburbs of Canton.
Ahead baker, and nine others,, were, under
arrest, for .attempting to poison the English
HOng Kong.
The Bishop of Victoria, as well as the
Missionarieslo China generally, seem all to
think, , whiladeploring recent events, and the
interruption to their work,.:that a rapture
with ; Canton. was
. inevitable; and indicate
that on acdount of their hatred to foreigners,
and their• pride, there has been hitherto no
real missionary access to thamassess. What
earnest. prayer should now ascend,, that
14 1,hese ,things that have happened so unex
pectedly, may prepare the way of the great
Conqueror and King."
The hum INITARIAfie have held an ad
journed special meeting of Synod, in order
to .consider the Revision" of • the Code of
` Dr. Montgomery, as I indicated
in one off my letters, had , previously pro
posed that ~definite questions should be ad
dressed to candidates for ordination, with a
view to ascertain their recognition ,of the
inspiration of the Scriptures, and their faith
in "the DiVine mission and authority of
the proposition; that Jesus Christ is the Son
of .God, and the Saviour of the world;';
their„ ",obligation ",obligation faithfully to understand
themselves, and to expound to others the
principles of the religion of Jesus ;" and,
finally, their-belief " in the aiding and sanc
tifying Influences of God's Holy Spirit."
:since 'the last, meeting, •a strong feeling of
opposition to the apparent stringency of
these inquiries has shown itself, and has
'found expression in the London Inquirer, a
Unitarian' publication, as well as •in a,pub
lished sermon of the Rev. Mr.,Magennis, of
Belfast. Doctor Montgomery was charged
with gross incensistency . in, that while in the
the. Synod of niter, in his youth, he Vad
been a leader of the opposition against Dr.
Cook's policy' of Tests and Creeds;• now:in
his old age, he had :actually turned round
.upon his former opinions., That gentleman
delivered, last week, a lengthened explana
tion and defence. It seems to me, that
while he carried the votes of the majority
with him, he was, and is, happily incon
sistent with his former position; and that
he. virtually
. recants, (even while , he denies
it,) his original opinions as to Creeds and
Confessions., The truth is, he is a high
Arian; believing in the pre-existence- of
Christ, and in the ipersonality of. the Holy
Spirit;"while the English, Unitarians, (to .a
man, I believe,) deny both. The younger
ministers of the , Irish Remonstrant Synod
spmpathize with the latter, and are thor-
oughly tainted with those false " religions
liberty" 'notions which will leave a man to
teach almost any thing he pleases. True,
they, too, are iuconsistent with themselves;
for in their "amendment," they propose
that the candidate should "adopt the Scrip
tures as a written revelation of God's holy
will, and - profess themselves disCiples of
Jesus Christ." - Both parties are unsound;
but the one has reached well nigh the bottom
of the precipice, in the proclivity which
error always brings 'with it. Neither recog
nize the Atonement of Jesus Christ, nor the'
Deity of ?the" Spirit; and , thus they make:
fatal omissions; Dr. Montgomery, in his
old, age, begins to see the• need, of " the,
aids" of Grod's,Holy Spirit. But, then, e. l
repeat', - heir ineonsiitent are all men of tiis
clue, - in' `lively' part of the ivorld
Hof •I;Carriokfergusp aiddreisedi 'name
Yarns, &C
twenty-five years ago, letters to Henry
Montgomery, the Arian leader, on "Creeds
and Confessions," which, with trenchant
logic, cut to pieces all the declamation about
the tyranny of imposing tests, showing that a
creed was the• expression and exposition, of
a mutual agreement s and absolutely neces
sary for Church organization. Now, Dr.
M., while declaring that "he mould not,
impose human creeds," yetsays it is "neces
sary they should have something to, believe;
and he seeks to frame a creed in Scripture
language, and containing Scriptural doc
trines, in order to preserve the laity from
being over-ridden by, men who preached
false doctrines; from infidels—frommen, in
fact, who preached any thing."
But may,we not modestly ask those who,
like Dr. Montgomery, call Christ "the Son
of God and the Saviour of the world,"
'what do you mean by. His Sonship ? Is it
Irn MAtai4e,..erctd the
„,40 r . :10cb'Ag.Or
himself . equal With .ftftie Ood ; and ihe Sa
hedrim light, in declaring that, (in their
recognition of him not as the Messiah, but
an,impostor s ) when he said He was the Son
of God, he .was • guilty of the death, ad
judged -to the.blasphemer? And, again,
we ask, In what sense do you consider
Christ aa "the Saviour of the world?" Is it
only as the medium of blessings; or as
bringing , life and immortality to light, and
furnishing, motives for acceptable obedience;
or as a, substitute for the guilty .0
The Synod. affirmed Dr,. M.'s proposals,
with an -important'omission ; namely, the
recognition-of the personality of the Spirit,
which he did not press, although he declared
it was a doctrine which all must believe,
if they took , the Scriptures at all. They
next resolved to give power to a congrega
tion to turn out their minister, (if his`doe
trinal teachingehanged after his ordination,)
by : a vete embraeing.two thirds of the male
and female, members.
The length of this notice will be justified
by* the light which it throws on the melan
choly= condition of Greediest 'churches ; on
the absurdity of indefinite proposals, or
bastard _creeds;.on the wisdom of that
policy which in the old Synod of Ulster made
the position of concealed Arians " too hot"
to be maintained; and on the duty and
privilege, as well as thi Christian honesty,
of holding fast .to our , own amble Confes
sional 'Tests and Standards.
Turning., away to social, matters, an -eager
discussion has been : going forward in the
_Lancet, a Medical Journal, on the SMOKING
QUESTION, or as . it is .eallect, The
,Question
of the Day. In other words, the pro's and
con's have been urged, week after week, in
answer 'to the inquiry,. if Is. s mo ki ng I n _
juriens ?" On the: affirmative side of •the
q,upstion, tae writer—who, from his standing
and reputation as well as the, fullness of his
reasons, is'the most weightyis Dr. Roily,
physician to the London and Bt. Thomas
Hospitali, and in extensive' Practice. In a
lecture to, students on paralysis, he adduced
the ease .of 4 man•who had tried to make up
for the waste of mind and body, created by
the hard working of both; by taking a large
quantity of wine. Mental activity, he
maintained, thus =stained, was, sure :to be
broken down. "Country gentlemen of the
old. school" (the ". Bucolor ' gentlemen, as
the Times calls the Tory. Squires,) " might
drink their wine, their brandy, and their
heer,- with comparative impunity, for their
brains were dormant," (I) " and these •were
the only stimulants .their brains • received;
but w,oe,to the man of intellect, who has to
live by 'the sweat of his brain, if he at
tempts to supply,.by fermented liquors, the
loss occasioned by mental' labor." He then
goes. on;to tell how his patienthad been als I
a great smoker, and ,says he.knows of "no
single vice which does so much, harm. It
is a snare and a delusion. It soothes the
excited nervous system at the time, to ren
der it more feeble and , irritable , ultimately.
* * can always distinguish, by , his
complexion,. a man who • smokes much,, and
the appearances which the fences present is'
an unerring guide to the habits of such a
man. I believe that cases of general
•paralysis are more frequent in England than
they used to be, and I suspect that smoking
tobacco is one of the causes of that increase."
Then comes the following remarks in reply,
which I give in full :
Stu :—I was much pleased with :a. lecture -by
Mr. golly on " Paralysis," reported in . The Lancet,
but I was a little surprised at the frightful pic
ture which he drew of the evil effect's of smoking.
Ile says, "he knows of no single -rice which
does so much harm as smoking." Without wish
- ing to advocate the practice, I think it is a de
batable subject whether the effects of smoking
are so very bad. I have spent some time in Tur
key, where tobacco is used far more extensively
than in this country, and I never saw anywhere a
greater number of haleold men than amongst
the Turks—men who had been smoking from
their childhood ; and in' greater quantities daily
I C= lilt Willa'. here. -It is true, Turkish -tobacco
is milder and purer than the
_tobacco used ,in
England, and one is inclined to ask—Are the evil
effects of smoking caused by to tobacco, or by the
adulteration-of that plant ?
J. A. hi'Dosaou,"l4.R.C.S.
Albert Street,•Regent's Park. .
It is-curious enough that a friend of mine,
an officer who not long since .returned from
Turkey, had expressed, previously, the same
opinions; and while disclaiming, from his
own obEervation, the necessarily bad effects
of 'the ;use of tobacco in a pure state, main
tains that the evil rises from adulteration
and from excess. He Imes horror, also, of
the, common "Pigtail," " Cavendish," and
other strong tobaccosi ,has even abandoned
almost altogether the use of Havana cigars,
and• confines himself either' •to . cigarettes,
'with pure .Turkish tobacco, (very mild;)
or an occasional .use of .the Turkish water
ie
As to intemperance and smoking being
necessarily unitedithat also is denied, not
only from the aobriety of the Turks, but
from the experience of many pemons. Last
year I had frequent intercourse -with two
young Russian gentlemen here, and they,
were remarkably sober. Indeed, 'smoking
• frequentlyiand Iwould say to excess, they
drank water after the use of the cigar.
The: discussion, :boweveryllAti: embraced
many writers on botl,eides. , One,saYa.that
Dr. Webster declares dolt in the post mor
tem 'examinations of ' inveterate smokers,
cretinism is always present. He also thinks
heStzkds in this -thatrne „cause of,,consump
don, and asks, " Is not the habit becoming in.
tike ;United States , small „by degrees, and ;
beautifully less I' and ends in declaring ,
that "it is suicide to the . sedentary.'n
Whereupon • a -writer comes- forth, , signing
:himself "Sedentary ~ Suicide,".- and vex=
Philadelphia, 27 South Tenth Street, below Chestnut
By Xail, or at the Office, SLSO ,pqr I SEE :PROSPECTUS.
Delivered in the City, 1.75 "
presses his surprise at the charge that "for
the last forty years he has been committing
a series of murderous attempts upon his
own existence I" He grants,that the im
moderate use must be :injurious; but to
"attack smoking in tote," is another matter.
He also denies that drunkenneis is the off
spring of the pipe or, the cigar. And what
will your clergy and literary men ay to
this ? How stands the ease as to America?
The Lancet • has at length-closed •.the• con
test, as I am. informed, by „pronouncing in
favor of the moderate use of tobacco.
Some say the tobacconists of London
paid medical, men to write on their side,
and they will probably say that the Laacet
is bribed also. Meantime, much has been
elicited as to the extensive adulteration of
tobacco, the bad quality of what is common
ly used, and the temptations to, young peo
ple,-from vanity and selteonceit,.to acquire
vthabitl mayolead Ahem Astor 0 evil
in a second letter, mentions that after- ten
years' moderate use of tobacco, he has aban
doned it altogether, and that Lord Raglan
and Sir C. Napier, taking the com
mand, the one of the Crimean army and the
other of the Baltic fleet, gave up smoking.
may` be mistaken, but I believe that all our
greatest men, I mean intellectually, statesmen, law
yers, warriors, physicians, and surgeons, have
either not been smokers, or, if smokers, that they
have died prematurely."
I may add that the chewing of .tobacco is
little practiced, and is held by our medical
men to be more injurious than smoking.
Will that be admitted by the authorities on
your side of the Atlantic ?
Your lady readers will be amused by the
following,, and may guess the source whence
it comes :
"Is SMOKING INJURIOUS?"
-
(The, Answers of a' few Ladies to the above
Question.)
Mrs, grown (of Bloomsbury. Squam)- 0 Most
decidedly. ! Does ni it injure the curtains !"
- Mrs. Jones (Sea-Shell Cottage, Brighton.)
" There can't be a question about it, ; and I am
only surprised how persons can be 80 foolish as to
put_ one ,!. Doesn't stick in the gentlemen's
hair ? and get imbedded in their, whiskers ? and
hangubotit their clothes for hours and;hours, and
sometimes;days afterwards ? So mach so, that
any one can tell a mile off' whether 'the
,nasty
things have been smoking or not: I'm sure it is
downright terrible , to bashut up in a railway car
riage with a party of confirmed smokers—for
though they may not be sinoking at the time, still
the unpleasant smell of - their garments is such as
to make one.regret that Lord Palmerston will not
bring in an act of Parliament ,to make every
filthy smoker consume his 'own smoke."
Mrs. ;Bobinson (1002, Old Gower Street.)—" It
. not s t illy injures the complexions, but the carpets
also. Why, you have only to look at the 'carpet
of a .room in which the . gentlemen have been
smoking over,-night, and your own eyes wig tell
you, whether it is injurious _or not: I have seen
carpets (beautiful carpets,- that must have cost
ss. 2d. a .yard, if they cost a penny,) in such a
disgraceful state that a black beetle, I'm sure,
would eat himself 'rather than walk over them r'
- Mrs. Blue,Stooken (Minerva Hall, Bath.)-4 , 11
it is not injurious, perhaps you would have the
kindness to inform.= the - reason why we ladies
are not allowed to-smoke-?"
Miss .Twentyman (Willow- Lodge, Brixton.)—
,4 It 's all fuss and nonsense, and I quite lose my
temper When persons question me about the inju
riousness of tobacco. Of course, it is injurious !
Does n't it' kill spiders? Does n't it stifle gnats,
and flies, and even earwigs ? Isn't it used in no
blemen's and gentlemen's, gardens, to fumigate
the plants? Are not our hot-houses and Sum
merhouses smoked, when we want to get rid of
the,vermin ? and really I half- wish sometimes
that it would have the same effect on the gentle
men, when they will . persist in injuring them
selves (and annoying its,) .by smoking hours after
hours to the , abominable extent they do I If I
was called upon to . say what a man was, I should
answer it by giving,this definition Man is the
onlyanitunl that smokes.' "
' The RAGGED SCHOOL UNION • last week.
; distributed ;their •annual prizes to old
scholars who had become, servants, and who
bad kept their situations for more than
twelve months The numbers thus rewarded
were lour hundred, and two, of whom two
hundred-and eighty received the sum of five
shit .each, (CO a. 11,) and one- hull
,dred .and twenty-,two had ,cards given to
thdn, signed by . Lord ,Shaftebury and the
r --
Socre.taries, beautifully embossed, and in
themselves a lasting memorial of good con
duct. Let it not be forgotten that these are
young persons from the. lowest class of so
ciety, who ;might have been
_criminals, and
who are now a blessing to themselves and
their country.
A curious case of a CLVRGYMAN ,MAR
RYING HIMSELF, in the case of the. late
Rev. .31r.'Beamish, an Episcopal clergyman
of. Cork, .has heen .before the Mali Law
Courts. It has arisen out of a. dispute
about his, property,, and whether the children
ofthis, his second marriage, were legitimate.
He performed the marriage between a person
of inferior - rank and himself ; reading the
English service; asking himself, as well as
her, the.•usualquestions r and.:giving and re
ceiving the usual answers, in the presence
of a, witness, or witnesses. A narrow ma
jority of the Judges, held the marriage to
be valid, although irregular. The case is
about to be appealed to the House of Lords.
Allow me to express ' the .pleasurt.: with
which I have read the articles on the BAP
TIST CONTROVERSY, in your columns. The
writer, puts old, arguments in a. new light,
and with unusual force, to .say nothing of
many original suggestions of Ma own. I
hope the letters may be put into a more per
manent form.
Here: e have Close. Communion. Baptiste,
and Free Communion, Baptists. The latter
are Catholic, but inconsistent. The true
Baptist must be a ,bigot practice, what
ever he is at heart, and,most men are better
than a bad system. But the narrowness of
the- ImmersionWs is a powerful moral argu
ment against the enforcement of one mode;
and as, to the.subjects, they mislead thought
less people by the sophistical use of the text,
" He that believeth , and is baptized," &c.
The real point as to infant baptism, and the
possibility and, probability of, children being
entitled to the seals of the covenant now, as
_they ! were of old, (and the. religion of Aka
. ham being virtually that of the faithful
mend are ingeniously ignored, or evaded.
Most •of /our- readers are well acquainted
with the ; anecdote of: owland Hill, who,
on a country exenrsion, went on Sabbath to
a strict Baptist. chapel, and when desiring
to. partake of the Lord's Supper, it, was said
to him, " Sir, you cannot do so;" 44 Sir,"- was
the , stingingi -aye,• and argumentative reply,
" Oh, its the : - 4;aptist•,Tahle4sit ? Why I
thought it was the Lord's:Able." J. W.
P. S. My lettere are.dispatched ;regular
ly;; and if they do. not, appea,weekly, it is
from delays on ocean's 'highway, over which
neither you nor I have any control.
0. 237