Mr. Middleton afcribes to the ignorance and fuperftition of the times the appropriation of the tenth of the produce of land for the fupport of the Chriftian priesthood, and which he allows they have enjoyed nearly a thousand years; but they who can trace the right of the priesthood to that claim no farther back than a thousand years, have not fully examined the matter. Many there are who confider it as a remains, and a very cenfurable remains of the Jewish difpenfation, whereas, on the contrary, the payment of Tithes under the law of " Carnal Ordinances," was borrowed from the difpenfation of grace, in which falvation was by promife through faith in the feed of the woman; and the defcendants of Abraham knew that this root and head, had himself, as "the lefs to the better," paid Tithes to Melchizedek; and we have an indifputable authority as Chriftians, for acknowledging that Levi himself paid Tithes in Abraham. The Jews knew that this Meffiah was to be a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek-that is, as we know according to the difpenfation of grace, a priesthood without reftriction or limitation, and after the power of an endless life, re-uniting the two difpenfations of the Gofpel, the Patriarchal, expecting a deliverer, and living by faith upon the promife, and that of the Christian æra, believing in the Redeemer revealed, the temporary difpenfation of the law being for ever annulled. The Sacred History is brief, containing no particulars to gratify curiofity, but quite fufficient to fatisfy the judgement; and it appears to me, that we may learn from what is ever fo briefly faid, what was the church of the Patriarchal times? that there were establish ments, ordinances, and a priesthood, a priesthood intirely Chriftian, founded on the promifes of falvation made to Adam, and to whom Tithes were paid even by Abraham and Levi. It is, then, upon record, that fo far from the origin of Tithes to a Chriftian priesthood being founded on Monkih ignorance and fuperftition, they were actually paid upon the principles of the Gospel, near two thousand years before Chrift was born, and above four hundred years before the promulgation of the law; and few, I fuppofe, will venture to affert, that, although this is the firft inftance upon record, it is not the first instance of Tithes being paid; they were then paid to a priest of the most high God, to the King of Righteoufnefs and Peace, being by name and abode a figure of him, who after the fame order, was made an high prieft over the houfe of God for ever. Under the Law of Mofes, the priesthood was changed, not firft ftablished: it was then confined to a tribe and family: pedigree was effential to the office: it was a priesthood after the law of Carnal Ordinances, and not after the power of an endless life, like the priesthood of Melchizedek, and the high priest of our profeffion. God will take care of his own church, and whenever, in his providence and his judgements, he permits, in particular places, inroads to be made on his own eftablishments, confufion and defolation foon fol low. I wish, the intirely mistaken mén well to confider this; against the fubtle and defigning Infidel and Jacobin, may our rulers and lawgivers be upon their guard. Submitting thefe few hints, haftily committed to paper, to any al teration or correction; I remain, with great refpect, your's, &c. Though enough has certainly been faid, by our able correspondent, to confute the untenable pofitions of Mr. Middleton; the grofs ignorance and profligate mifreprefentations of him and his Reviewers are carried to fuch an extreme, and the fubject itself is of fo much importance, at the present time, that we have determined, in our next Number, to expofe them more fully, and hope that the caftigation which they have already received, added to that which we have yet in ftore for them, will operate as a caution to the author not to venture out of his depth in future, and to his critic, to adopt fome more fpecious means, than the vulgar outcry against Tithes, for aiming a blow at the established church. SIR, WHILE TO THE EDITOR. WHILE the account with which you favoured us in the preface to your laft Volume of the fearful progrefs of the minifters of Satan in Germany fhocked me, I must own, that I was quite at a lofs to difcover what the Atheistical profeffor could mean by "the Relations of Nature." Nor can I raife in my mind any idea to correfpond with thefe words. When I am told, that there is an Almighty and perfect fpirit, which created, upholds, and governs all things, I feel a consciousness of the reality of fuch a being, and experience affiance in his power and his goodnefs: if I look around me, I fee proofs of his existence in the heavens and in the earth; my own faculties affure me of it; and I enjoy it in my profpects. But the jargon of the Relations of Nature" only ferves to bring to my recollection an obfervation of the (I think I may venture to fay) much more learned and able Dr. South, with which, for the fake of any of your readers who may be inclined to liften to the preachers of " the Relations of Nature," I will close this note-"If it is imaginable, that there can be any mifery greater than damnation, it is this, to be damned for being a fool." I am, Sir, -Your conftant Reader, March 1, 1800. And humble Servant, HISTORY HISTORY. SUMMARY OF POLITICS. HE renewal of hoftilities between the Belligerent Powers not having yet taken place, and the refpective combatants being folely occupied with the bufinefs of preparation, of a nature fo formidable and extenfive, as feems to announce a determined resolution to render the enfuing campaign decifive of the conteft, no new event has occurred, fince our laft, to effect any change in the political state of Europe, or to call for any particular notice. The accounts from France, refpecting the internal state of that country, are fo different, and even fo contradictory, that they afford but little information that can aid the formation of a juft and accurate opinion on the subject. The emigrants, however, return from all quarters to their native country; fome, under the exprefs authority of the Confular government, others by means of a purchased paffport, defcribing them by a feigned name, and a falfe defignation. We have feen fome of these paffports (lately granted by the Provincial departments) which were printed in the time of Robespierre, and, in filling them up, the pen was drawn across the Executive Council, and the Confuls written over the place. The officers, by whom they were figned, understood as little of grammar as of orthography, and, in fome of them the invitation to refpect the bearers began thus "J'invitent!" It is a fact, not lefs ftrange than true, that the return of the emigrants is not only encouraged by the Firft Conful, but the means of recovering their property facilitated! What is the object of this policy? Does Bonaparte really mean to ftrengthen his government by the adoption of an honeft and upright fyftem? Or does he only wish to induce the emigrants to return, that he may have them under his immediate inspection and controul, and, whenever his intereft or caprice may ftimulate him to an exertion of his absolute power, be enabled to crush them at a ftroke, by subjecting them to the execution of those tyrannical laws, which, being unrepealed, are ftill in force against them, and fo feize upon their newly recovered property, which will then have been collected into a comparatively fmall compafs, and more eafily attainable than it is at prefent? Thefe are queftions which we have not the prefumption to anfwer, but which all emigrants, who have it in contemplation to return to France, ought attentively to confider. As to the real fentiments of the Conful, with refpect to Great Britain, he has so often delivered them, without disguise, in the fincerity of his heart, that no one can be at a loss to appreciate them. But left any perfons, misled by the hypocritical profeffions in his late prefumptuous note to our Sovereign, fhould be induced to doubt his hoftility, we tranfcribe the following paffage, from an official journal, published by the authority of Bonaparte after reprefenting this country as in a state of famine, the writer fays, "Let the people of England rife against their tyrannical government, and they will find in I : Frenchmen Frenchmen deliverers and friends!"-Such is the Anti-jacobinical language of that faunch royalist and Anti-jacobin, Bonaparte! The French government has, at length, published the Convention concluded between the Grand Vizier and general Kleber, by which it appears, that the French army is to be permitted to return fafe to France, under a Turkish efcort, with arms, ammunition, and baggage. Such a termination of this expedition is, indeed, fufficiently difgraceful to the Republican philofophers and heroes who planned and attempted to execute it; but it is fraught with tenfold difgrace to the Ottoman government, a government which, from the firft landing of the Gallic maurauders on the fhores of Egypt to their final departure, has betrayed fuch a total want of energy, and vigour in action, and of all thofe means and refources, political and military, which are effential, not merely to the well-being, but, to the very existence of a ftate, that, it is eafy to perceive, the fpeedy diffolution of the tottering fabric can only be prevented by the various interefts of the dif ferent powers of Europe. Indeed, to accident alone, is the government of Turkey indebted for its prefent exiftence; had Sir Sidney Smith arrived ten days later at Acra, (and had he liftened to the Turkish miniftry, his departure from Conftantinople would have been delayed to a much later period) that City would have been taken by the French, the crowds of inhabitants of the neighbouring countries only waited for its reduction to flock to their standard, and no impediment would have remained to prevent their march to the metropolis of Turkey, and to avert the confequent fubverfion of the empire! Amidft the ferious reflections which thefe events fo naturally engender in the mind, one obvious inference moft forcibly obtrudes itfelf upon the attention, viz. the extreme importance of fecuring for Great Britain, by an amicable arrangement with the Porte, which, during the existence of the prefent treaty, and before the restoration of French influence over the Councils of the Divan, might, it is conceived, be eafily concluded, fuch an establishment in Egypt as will be fufficient to maintain a direct communication with our poffeffions in India, and to prevent any future invafion of that country by a foreign enemy. But notwithstanding the importance of expelling the French from Egypt, we fhall regard the evacuation of that country, at the prefent moment, as a misfortune, if Kleber and his troops are allowed to return to France. In that cafe, at a period when the neceffity of ftrengthening his armies by every poffible means has induced the French Conful to delay the renewal of hoftilities, the Allies will, by the capitulation, in Holland and in Egypt, have fupplied him with a body of veteran troops, amounting, at leaft, to 23,000 men ;-and when to these are added the troops which have been allowed to return to France from the different fortreffes of Italy, we shall find that he will have been indebted to his enemies for a complete army, compofed, too, of his best foldiers! The neceffity of fuch conceffions, if, indeed, they were neceffary, muft furely be lamented as a ferious calamity. Some perfons, however, are difpofed to confider the return of Kleber and his his followers as a happy circumftance for the Allies; and a correfpondent, who reproves us for entertaining a different opinion, expreffes his fervent hope, that they may reach France in fafety, in the full con fidence, that they will, upon their arrival, go to loggerheads with Mr. Bonaparte for deferting them fo infamoufly." But this confi dence is founded in a total ignorance of the French Republican character, a very clofe attention to which impels us to hazard a prediction, that Kleber will accept the first employment that shall be offered him by the Conful, and that his foldiers will, without a mur mur, join either of the armies which they shall be ordered to reinforce. We fhall be lefs forward in rifking a conjecture as to the ultimate views of Bonaparte. Those will be decided by the events of the enfuing campaign;-fhould his arms prove fuccefsful, he will have recourfe to every practicable means for the perpetuation of his power;but fhould he experience defeat, fear and intereft may, poffibly, com. bine to infpire him with a fenfe of duty, and lead him to avert deftruction by a timely fubmiffion to his lawful Sovereign. · We are reluctantly compelled to poftpone the conclufion of our flatement refpecting the conduct of the American Commiffioners and Go2 vernment relative to British debts, to our next Number. We are happy, meanwhile, to have it in our power to announce that our obs fervations on this important topic have already had the effect of inducing fome British holders of American flock to bring it to market, and the information which, fince our laft, we have received from America, through a moft refpectable channel, urges us to prefs upon our countrymen the expediency of imitating this example. At Phila delphia, the fpirit of Jacobinifm, under the foftering care of his Excellency Governor M'Kean, thrives with wonderful rapidity. A regular facrifice has been made, more antiquo, to the Goddess of Liz berty. Thirteen Priefts, (all butchers of Philadelphia,) clothed in white, and wearing the Red Cap, ornamented with garlands and fillets, brought the victim, a white.ox, alfo crowned with garlands, to an altar, on which were poured folemn libations of red and white wine; and after this ceremony, the victim was flain, the entrails were in fpected, and the carcafs was divided into 1,024 pieces and diftributed to the fpectators who had previously been luftrated and fufflated! Amidft these appropriate offerings of Jacobinifm, the fect already exult by anticipation, in the election of Jefferson to the office of Prefident of the Congrefs; and they still continue to exert every effort to procure the difbanding of the troops and the reduction of their fleet to a ftate of inactivity. Meanwhile, it is openly affirmed, that the Bret fleet is deftined for America, where the French will be received with open arms! Whether they who make this affirmation seek to deceive others or are deceived themselves we shall not pretend to decide; but we think it fcarcely poffible that Bonaparte will be induced to risk the fmall remnant of the Gallic navy in fuch an expedition. LITERARY |