adopted; so that now the whole Archdeaconry of Bath will petition the Crown for the restoration of this important article of church discipline. This example will, we have no doubt, not be lost upon the Clergy at large, or indeed upon the laity. "To the King's Most Excellent Majesty. "We, your Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the Archdeacon of Bath, and the Rural Dean and Clergy of the Deanery of Bath and Wells, beg leave to assure your Majesty of our sincere and undiminished attachment to your Majesty's royal throne and person. "We most humbly represent to your Majesty, that the holding of Synods, General, Provincial, and Diocesan, for the settlement of matters ecclesiastical, has, from the primitive, and in all succeeding times, been deemed to be an inherent and inalienable right in the Church catholic, as well as in each of its particular branches. "That the holding of such Synods is manifestly essential to securing, under God, the due efficiency of the Church, as a Divine institution, ordained for the maintenance and extension of Christ's holy religion in all ages, by adapting its circumstantials to the varying exigencies of successive times. "That by the peculiar constitution of these realms in Church and State, the Convocation of the Clergy has now, for upwards of a thousand years, been constantly held and allowed to be the legitimate synod of the Church of England; and that from its free deliberations and decisions, in due subordination to the royal supremacy, in matters ecclesiastical, and the civil prerogative, great and manifold advantages did from time to time accrue to this Church and nation. But we humbly submit unto your Majesty, that since the year of our Lord 1717, although the Convocation in each of the provinces of Canterbury and York has been duly assembled under the Royal Writs at the commencement of each new Parliament, the Royal License, without which no "canon can be enacted, nor put in use," by authority, from such Convocation has been constantly withholden. "That in consequence hereof, many matters of pressing necessity to the Church have been neglected and postponed, and much of anomaly and irregularity has invaded the Establishment, to the great detriment of its moral and religious influence upon the community; which evils and necessities can alone be adequately and legitimately remedied by the deliberation and decisions of this the constitutional assembly of the Church. "We therefore humbly pray that it may please your gracious Majesty, in your wisdom and fatherly care, as Defender of the true Protestant faith, and of the Church by God's providence established in these realms, to grant the Convocation of the Clergy the license (formerly accorded by your royal predecessors) to consult upon, and propose to your Majesty, such measures as, by Divine assistance, may tend to rectify abuses, supply defects, and conduce to the efficiency of the Church, as the sacred instrument of upholding and diffusing the pure religion of the gospel, and thereby of most effectually securing the safety, honour, and welfare of your Majesty and your dominions." POLITICAL RETROSPECT. His Majesty opened the Session of Parliament, on the 4th of February, with the usual formalities. On His Majesty's arrival at the House of Peers, he was conducted to the throne, with the usual ceremonies, and in a firm and distinct voice delivered the following most gracious Speech:- "My Lords and Gentlemen, "It is with great satisfaction that I again meet the great council of the nation assembled in parliament. I am ever anxious to avail myself of your advice and assistance; and I rejoice that the present state of public affairs, both at home and abroad, is such as to permit you to proceed without delay or interruption to the calm examination of those measures which will be submitted to your consideration. "I continue to receive from my allies, and generally from all foreign powers, assurances of their unaltered desire to cultivate with me those friendly relations which it is equally my wish to maintain with them; and the intimate union which happily subsists between this country and France is a pledge to Europe for the continuance of the general peace. "Desirous on all occasions to use my friendly endeavours to remove causes of disagreement between other powers, I have offered my mediation in order to compose the difference which has arisen between France and the United States. This offer has been accepted by the King of the French; the answer of the President of the United States has not yet been received; but I entertain a confident hope that a misunderstanding between two nations so enlightened and high-minded, will be settled in a manner satisfactory to the feelings and consistent with the honour of both. "I have still to lament the continuance of the civil contest in the northern provinces of Spain. The measures which I have taken, and the engagement into which I have entered, sufficiently prove my deep anxiety for its termination; and the prudent and vigorous conduct of the present government of Spain inspires me with the hope that the authority of the Queen will soon be established in every part of her dominions; and that the Spanish nation, so long connected by friendship with Great Britain, will again enjoy the blessings of internal tranquillity and union. "I have given directions that there be laid before you the treaty which I have concluded with the queen of Spain for the suppression of the slave-trade. "Gentlemen of the House of Commons, "I have directed the estimates of the year to be prepared and laid before you without delay. They have been framed with the strictest regard to well-considered economy. "The necessity of maintaining the maritime strength of the country, and of giving a dequate protection to the extended commerce of my subjects, has occasioned some increase in the estimates for the naval branch of the public service. "The state of the commerce and manufactures of the United Kingdom is highly satisfactory. I lament that any class of my subjects should still suffer distress; and the difficulties which continue to be felt in important branches of agriculture may deserve your inquiry, with the view of ascertaining whether there are any measures which Parliament can advantageously adopt for the alleviation of this pressure. "My Lords and Gentlemen, "I have not yet received the further report of the commission appointed to consider the state of the several dioceses of England and Wales; but I have reason to believe that their recommendations, upon most of the important subjects submitted to them, are nearly prepared. They shall be laid before you without delay, and you will direct your early attention to the ecclesiastical establishment, with the intention of rendering it more efficient for the holy purposes for which it has been instituted. "Another subject which will naturally occupy you is, the state of the tithe in England and Wales; and a measure will be submitted to you, having for its end the rendering this mode of providing for the Clergy more fixed and certain, and calculated to relieve it from that fluctuation, and from those objections, to which it has hitherto been subject. "The principles of toleration by which I have been invariably guided, must render me desirous of removing any cause of offence or trouble to the consciences of any portion of my subjects; and I am therefore anxious that you should consider whether measures may not be framed which, whilst they remedy any grievances which affect those who dissent from the doctrine or discipline of the Established Church, will also be of general advantage to the whole body of the community. "The speedy and satisfactory administration of justice is the first and most sacred duty of a Sovereign, and I earnestly recommend you to consider whether better provisions may not be made for this great purpose in some of the departments of the law, and more particularly in the Court of Chancery. "I trust that you will be able to effect a just settlement of the question of tithe in Ireland, upon such principles as will tend at length to establish harmony and peace in the country. "You are already in possession of the Report of the commission appointed to inquire into the state of the municipal corporations in Ireland, and I entertain the hope that it will be in your power to apply to any defects and evils which may have been shown to exist in those institutions a remedy founded upon the same principles as those of the acts which have been already passed for England and Scotland. "A further Report of the commission of inquiry into the condition of the poorer classes of my subjects in Ireland will speedily be laid before you. You will approach this subject with the caution due to its importance and difficulty, and the experience of the salutary effect produced by the Act for the Amendment of the Laws relating to the Poor in England and Wales may in many respects assist your deliberations. "I rely upon your prudence and wisdom, and upon your determination to maintain, as well as to amend the laws and institutions of the country; and I commit these questions of domestic policy, to which I have deemed it my duty to direct your attention, into your hands, persuaded that you will so treat them as to increase the happiness and prosperity, by promoting the religion and morality, of my people." UNIVERSITY, ECCLESIASTICAL, AND PAROCHIAL TRIBUTES OF RESPECT, REV. C. E. KENNAWAY.-A beautiful silver vase, tea-urn, and a very elegant silver inkstand, of above the value of 100 guineas, was presented to the Rev. Č. E. Kennaway, Vicar of Campden, by the inhabitants of that place, as a proof of their affection and esteem for their much-respected pastor, "and to commemorate the pecuniary aid and assistance afforded by him in the recent new pewing of the parish church." REV. G. A. BROWNE.-The Rev. G. A. Browne, late Vicar of Chesterton, upon taking leave of his parishioners, was presented by them with a handsome silver teakettle and lamp, in testimony of their approbation of his services. REV. WILLIAM HARRISON.-On New Year's day last, the ladies of Fareham presented the Rev. William Harrison, Vicar of the parish, with a rich silk gown, cassock, and scarf, as a mark of their esteem and regard. REV. A. BASSETT.-The Rev. A. Bassett, on his relinquishing the curacy of Erlestoke, after a zealous and faithful discharge of his duties for a period of more than twenty years, has been presented with a handsome piece of plate. REV. J. A. COTTON.-A splendid service of plate, weighing upwards of 400 ounces, procured by the contributions of 452 of the parishioners, has been presented to the Rev. J. A. Cotton, Vicar of Ellesmere, who has for nearly half a century zealously discharged the duties of a christian minister in that parish. CHARITIES IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE.-The annual income of the charity estates in Gloucestershire is 19,457.; of this sum 45107. is applied for education in endowed schools, and 8741. for other purposes connected with education. OXFORD PETITION.-The following is a copy of the Oxford Petition, signed by 73 resident Fellows and Tutors, headed by Dr. Routh, President of Magdalen College, the Archdeacon of Oxford, and the Regius Professor of Hebrew: "WE, the undersigned, beg to approach your Majesty with every sentiment of loyal and devoted affection, and to acknowledge with thankfulness the benefits which we have derived from the appointments made by your Majesty's predecessors to the important office of your Majesty's Regius Professor of Divinity in this University. "We would anxiously disclaim all wish to interfere with the exercise of this prerogative, which has been of so great benefit to our ancestors, and recently to ourselves. "We would, however, humbly submit that those who, as has been reported to us, have recommended to your Majesty Dr. Hampden, Principal of St. Mary Hall, for this important office, cannot be sufficiently acquainted with the theological character of the individual whom they have recommended. "We regret to say, that from the statements of his opinions put forth in his published works, we should apprehend the most disastrous consequences to the soundness of the faith of those whom he would have to educate for the sacred ministry of the Church, and to the Church itself. We beg also to submit to your Majesty, that it is very essential to the discharge of the duties of the Regius Professor of Divinity, that he should possess the full confidence of the several persons engaged or interested in the education of young men in this place; which confidence we, unhappily, cannot repose in Dr. Hampden. "We would humbly implore your Majesty to be pleased graciously to listen to such representations as may be laid before you by the heads of our Church, some of whom have themselves discharged the office of Regius Professor of Divinity. "We shall rely most confidently upon your Majesty's known attachment to the Church, and to the interests of religion, that your Majesty will appoint a fit person for this weighty office; and we shall wait cheerfully your Majesty's decision in a matter which so deeply concerns the spiritual and eternal interests of so many of your Majesty's subjects." Notwithstanding the above, the appointment of Dr. Hampden has been confirmed; since which a very numerous meeting of the Doctors, Professors and Tutors, have unanimously resolved to petition the Vice-Chancellor, to convene a meeting of the Heads of Houses, for the purpose of laying some measure before the Convocation, to the condemnation of the false principles of Dr. Hampden, and also to request the Archbishops and Bishops to accept testimonials from the Lady Margaret's Professor only. SINECURE PREBENDS.-A circular has been addressed to the members of the Church Commission, by their secretary, announcing that the sinecure prebend of Welton Rivall, Lincoln; the sinecure prebend of Waltham, Chichester; and the sinecure rectory of Ashbury, in the diocese of Salisbury,—all of which have recently become vacant,-are placed at the disposal of the commissioners, by the several Prelates in whom the presentations to them are vested. "The Bishop of Norwich is a singular instance of a Protestant Bishop married to a Roman Catholic lady; and the lady constantly enjoys the privilege of having her confessor resident in the Bishop's house."-If this be true, it is a kind of liberality we do not understand. ARCHBISHOP WHATELY.-The signatures to the protest against Archbishop Whately's plan for settling the church now amount to 400, including beneficed. clergymen from every diocese in Ireland. CHURCH OF ENGLAND CHAPEL AT ATHENS.-Contributions are now being solicited for the erection of a Chapel, with a view to procure for the English visitors and settlers a regular supply of the services of our Church. THE BISHOPRIC OF BRISTOL.-There is a rumour that Bristol will be deprived of its see. It was contemplated in the last Session of Parliament to unite the see of Llandaff to that of Bristol; now it is rumoured that Bristol is to have no see, and that it is to be divided between the dioceses of Gloucester and Bath and Wells. WORCESTER MUSIC MEETING.-It is fully determined that the Festival shall commence on Tuesday, the 27th of September, and we understand some novel features will be introduced, which it is hoped will much increase the attraction. ORDINATIONS.-1836. CONSECRATION AT LAMBETH PALACE.-The ceremony of consecration of Archdeacon Broughton to be Bishop of Australia, and of Řev. Dr. Mountain to be Bishop of Montreal, was performed on Sunday, February 21, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, at Lambeth Palace. The Bishops of London, Winchester, and Gloucester were present; and Rev. Mr. Molesworth preached a sermon on the occasion. |