when we look in the house of God, and behold the regularity of their attendance, the seriousness of their deportment, and their apparent earnestness in hearkening to the doctrines of salvation, we cannot but believe that they "have put their hand to the plough:" but of whom, again, when we track their course through the world, and take into our reckoning their practical inconsistencies-their excessive and absorbing ardour in the pursuit of mere worldly things-their frequent and perhaps habitual addiction to those gaieties and vanities and fashions of a world lying in wickedness, which confusedly unfit the soul for communion with God; of whom, we are constrained to fear, yea, to judge, that they are still "looking back." Of such, indeed, unhappily we can do no more than pronounce that, if it be so, they are at this present time unfit for the kingdom of God." Surely, then, when there are so many counterfeits, so many of whom the leafy but fruitless fig-tree was a striking emblem, the young Christian should diligently examine himself whether he be in the faith, should prove his own heart, and test the character of all his actions, and, therefore, I earnestly entreat every one to consider carefully whether ball going is consistent with the law of Christ. (To be continued.) THE CLERGYMAN'S PARISH BOOK, or THE VINEYARD IN ORDER. London, published by Hamilton, Adams, & Co. Seeleys, Hatchards, Nisbet; This book is intended for the study table of the Clergyman, and it is dedicated with permission to the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Chester, and to the Rev. Henry Raikes, M.A. Chancellor of the Diocese, and Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of Chester. The author had it in contemplation for some years to publish this volume, and it is now respectfully offered to his brethren in the Ministry who have undertaken the charge of a parish. According to the system which it contains it will be found, he hopes, that the whole of a parish may be arranged in order, and an account of its state and management kept constantly before the eyes of its Pastor. There is a page for the plan of the whole parish; the plan to be marked into the districts which the parish contains, with a general register opposite for all the districts. The fourteen pages, which then follow, are allotted for the plans of seven districts and their accompanying registers; the pages which come next contain various headings and tables for the account of the state of the parish, such as number of inhabitants, schools, communicants, clubs, societies, &c. &c. and the following one hundred and forty four pages are prepared for a diary, extending throughout the year. The Appendix contains a few articles drawn from public and private sources, namely, a general account of the division and the district-visiting of the Parish of Tarvin, by the Vicar and his Curate; Details respecting the Parish of W-n; on Loan Funds without a Premium; Remarks of the Rev. H. Raikes at the Annual Meeting of the District Visiting Society, and Christian Alms giving. The whole is introduced by a few general remarks on the nature of the volume, and blank pages are left at the beginning and end for drawings or plans of the Church, Parsonage-house, &c. for more District Registers, for statements respecting the Poor, Poor Laws, &c, SOME ACCOUNT OF THE CHURCHES CONSECRATED IN THE DIOCESE OF CHESTER, IN THE YEAR 1839. statement. RE We have been so interested by the account of the Churches consecrated in the Diocese of Chester during the last year-the facts are so encouraging, and the narrative is written in a spirit at once so cheerful and so cheering, that we intend to give the whole of the Had we not known that the modest initials at the end were those of the Bishop of Chester, we think we should have discovered the writer-froin this distinguishing peculiarity, that the account is evidently given by one who more than most inen JOICETH IN THE TRUTH," and "HOPETH ALL THINGS." In this immense Diocese, in times of unusual difficulty and danger, when Chartists are laying their plots, and Socialists are building their Halls, and sending forth their vile and filthy publications, it is a source of unfeigned gratitude to God, and of great delight before Him, that many true hearts are to be found resolutely to seek the glory of God in the midst of every discouragement. The instances recorded of private liberality ought to be made widely known that men whom God has made stewards of His earthly stores may be led to consecrate their sacred trust in His service. We were particularly pleased with the beautiful tribute to the excellent Mr. Slade, the well known and highly esteemed Vicar of Bolton. It is due to those who have taken a lively interest in the increase of Church-accommodation in the Diocese of Chester, to supply them with a slight sketch of what has been accomplished in that way during the present year. This I shall briefly proceed to tell, with such few remarks in passing as may be suggested by the matter in hand. On June 21st was consecrated a Church at Rainhill.* The Vicar of Prescot built this Church by subscription, £500 of which was given by Mrs. Sherbourne, and intended it for a Chapel of Ease. The pews were so eagerly taken by the inhabitants, and the Curate found the sphere of labour so interesting, that his father desired to endow the Church under the Act of 1, 2. Will. IV. c. 38. and possess the patronage in return. Thus a district has been taken out of the unwieldly parish of Prescot, and 2000 inhabitants, to whom before it was impossible to give regular spiritual superintendence, have a Church within their reach, and the constant ministration of a Clergyman residing amongst them. One is at a loss to know on what principle any jealousy could have been entertained, as was at first entertained, on the subject of the Act of Parliament which authorises the endowing of a Church under such circumstances. Granted, that the Patron and the Incumbent have a vested interest in the parishes within which the Church is raised. What can it be except clear gain to the Patron and Incumbent of Prescot for all future time, that the Vicar should have 2000 or 3000 fewer persons under his charge? The present Vicar has the satisfaction of knowing that by the zealous exertions through which he endeavoured to provide * Rainhill is a township of the parish of Prescot, containing nearly 2000 inha bitants, and three miles from the Parish Church. G for this unmanageable portion of the immense flock committed to him, he has been the means of relieving himself and his successors from a burthen which must always have been too heavy for them. The Church is plain and unpretending, with seats for 400. It cost £850. On the same day was consecrated a Church at Halewood, as a Chapel of Ease to Childwall, or rather to Woolton in the parish of Childwall, also available to the district called Tarbock in Huyton parish. This Church is built with such successful exercise of architectural taste, that like its predecessor in the same neighbourhood, the Church built last year by Mr. Taylor at Eccleston, it may be recommended as a model to those who have a similar design in view. The cost was £900, with seats originally for 250; but it has been already necessary to increase them to 370, and there is still a demand for room. The Vicar of Child wall has settled £15 from the tithes on this Chapel. The Earl of Derby grants an annuity of £20.* The rest of the Minister's income is supplied by the pew-rents and a surplus of subscription. Another call to this neighbourhood was occasioned in October by the consecration of the New Church (St. Thomas's) at St. Helens, built at the sole expense of P. Greenhall, Esq. Its construction is ornamental, and somewhat singular, being a cross, with a gallery in each transept, and an organ gallery in the front. The whole roof is arched, without pillars. The Communion table and pulpit are especially well contrived, and the position of the minister is very favourable both to himself and the congregation. A school, in character with the Church, is already in operation, and a Parsonage house is in progress. The church which holds 850, cost £3200; but the whole expense of endowment, School, and Parsonage, must exceed £6000. A noble example of wise employment of fortune. And not the first which has been shewn by the same family, as is testified by the Church at Wilderspool. The congregation attending on this occasion showed their sense of the liberal example set them, by a contribution of £254. Two years ago St. Helens, with a population far exceeding 15,000, had only a single Church. The Church was capacious and the clergyman indefatigable. Still it was impossible to meet the wants of such a population. The licensed Chapel at Parr has been since opened on the outskirts of the town, where a Curate's salary is supplied by the Pastoral Aid Society: which likewise makes a grant to the Curate of the Parish Church. St. Thomas's, with its Minister, provides for another district. Four clergymen unite their labours: and four thousand persons may be accommodated in the three Churches now existing in the town. Still a body of many hundred welldressed men, who marched with us in procession to the Church, but were unable to follow beyond the doors, remained to show that the system which has been so liberally begun must be followed up by further exertions in this rapidly increasing neighbourhood. * Of the subscription, amounting to £1304, the Vicar of Huyton and his family furnished £300, and the Incumbent £150, and the Communion Plate. So great is the desire of accommodation, that 2:30 sittings are let at an average of 10s. It is, however, a matter of thankfulness to know that the last two years have witnessed the erection of five New Churches,* and the settlement of five additional clergymen, within a diameter of five miles. These five Churches contain at every season of public worship 2500 persons of which number not a fifth, we may confidently affirin, had any opportunity before of attending the Established Church. The next duty was at Emmanuel Church, Bolton. The origin of this Church gives it peculiar interest. Two years ago a general anxiety was felt among the inhabitants of Bolton to show some token of respect and gratitude to their Vicar, who for more than twenty years had laboured amongst them with indefatigable zeal, and with diligence truly disinterested. They raised a large subscription, which was to be laid out in a service of plate, and furnish a memorial to Mr. Slade's family hereafter of the esteem in which he had been held. The Vicar heard of their purpose, and saw at once that an opportunity was now given which he had long desired, of increasing the Church accommodation in the vast town under his charge. He begged to divert the honour intended for himself, and devote it to the glory of God and now the Church of Emmanuel, Bolton, will remain for ages a monument of his disinterestedness, as well as of the grateful feelings of a flock towards the shepherd who has long "ruled them prudently with all his power." The Church contains 700: is handsomely built, with a well proportioned tower; cost £2200. From Bolton we proceeded to Adlington, a part of the extensive parish of Standish, three miles from the Church, and containing 2000 inhabitants. Here we find a Church built with great economy: holding within a small area six hundred persons, by means of frout and side galleries. This mode of building though not ornamental is very popular; such a Church is easily warmed, and all are within easy reach of the clergyman. The Church has been inconveniently crowded from the time of the first opening, and every pew is taken. The Church cost £1560. Her Majesty's Commissioners furnished £400. Chester Diocesan Society £300. The late Sir Robert Clayton £500. Tho rest was obtained by subscription. Sir Robert Clayton also gave £100 for a bell and other requsites; £200 towards a Schoolroom; and £500 towards endowment. He has since entered into his rest; but the good which he has done lives after him. On the following day St. Thomas's Church, at Preston, was consecrated: being the fourth Churcht built by the present Vicar within the last four years, by means of funds which he has been the sole agent in raising, amounting in the whole (together with the endowments) to more than £20,000. The expense of this Church was furnished from * Parr and St. Thomas in St. Helens, Eccleston, Rainhill, and Halewood. + One at the village of Ashton, 3 miles from Preston. In the town, Christ Church, St, Mary's and St. Thomas. Besides which, a Chapel originally built by some Dissenters, has been purchased, and makes a very useful place of worship for 1000 persons. These Churches are no less ornamental to the town, than they are valuable for higher reasons. They display great architectural taste and knowledge, and are in imitation of the pure Norman style. the fund called Hyndman's Trust. The late Miss Hyndman left her fortune, more than £60,000, for the purpose of building Churches. Owing to some informality in the will, it might have been set aside. But her brother, on whom the fortune would have devolved, refused to take the advantage which the law gave him, and carried his sister's design into full effect. When "the world shall have passed away, and the lust thereof:" when all that an ample fortune could have provided shall have lost its value, if value it ever had: the blessings which have been thus produced will remain, and that approval duly appreciated which the Most High has recorded for our encouragement, "That it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, it is well that it was in thine heart.” Each of these new Churches provide for different districts of the town of Preston, and have an average of 5000 persons attached to them. But how great is the effort which is required, and the resolution which must be exercised in order to give any adequate supply of pastoral superintendance to a population so rapidly increasing! And yet the consequence is certain, if such exertions are neglected. The population then left to itself must either grow up without any sense of religion, or receive whatever instruction it enjoys from those who are opposed to the Established Church in practice and in principle. Now they are attached to the Establishment by ties least of all likely to be broken by the regular superintendence of one appointed to watch over them by daily acts of kindness and assistance: by the education of their children: by the spiritual benefits arising from domestic and public instruction. If these things had been attended to earlier, the present generation might have witnessed a very different state of religion throughout the land. Let us be thankful for the spirit which bas now, though late, been roused. (To be continued.) The principal parts of Bishop Butler's Analogy of Religion, abridged. A DIALOGUE* BETWEEN A MINISTER AND HIS PARISHIONER. Minister. I am glad to meet with you, Neighbour. Ere this, I hope you have got rid of the scruples infused into your mind by the infidel pamphlets which have been lately circulated with so much mischievous industry, respecting the inspiration of Scripture. In our former conversation, you appeared to me to be forcibly impressed by the united evidence, external and internal, in its favour. Parishioner. So I was, Sir; yet still to my great concern, I often feel myself harrased with new doubts, or rather with certain old objections of my evil companions. But I am almost ashamed to mention them to you. M. O pray produce them, and put them in the strongest way you can. I never debate with cavillers; but, as I believe you to be a *These Dialogues are given from the "Pleiad" of the Venerable Archdeacon Wrangham, who has kindly permitted us to reprint them, |