and bore the significant name of Breast-laws; and bishop Wilson says, in his History of the Isle of Man, which was written after the year 1739, that is, full forty years after his arrival there, that "it is but of late years that attorneys, and such as gain by strife, have ever forced themselves into business; and except what these get out of the people, lawsuits are determined without much charges." He also expresses his opinion of the general character of the people in the following terms:"The natives are in general an orderly, civil, and peaceable people, well-instructed in the duties of christianity as professed in the church of England, more constant in their attendance on the public worship of God, and behaving with more seriousness and decency, than in many other places where there are better opportunities of instruction."

"The inhabitants have a great many good qualities; they are generally very charitable to the poor, and hos`pitable to strangers; especially in the country, where the people, if a stranger come to their houses, would think it an unpardonable crime not to give him a share of the best they have themselves to eat or drink. They have a significant proverb (which generally shows the genius of a people), to this purport, 'When one poor man relieves another, God himself rejoices at it.'

Such was the flock of which bishop Wilson found himself the pastor and patriarch. And considering, as he did, that he was appointed to watch over their souls, and that he was bound by the most sacred ties to use all diligence in building them up in their most holy faith, and to preserve them from the infection of corrupt doctrine and evil practice, he betook himself at once to serious inquiry as to the most likely means of discharging this duty efficiently. After mature deliberation, he

came to the conclusion that the primitive church had exercised a wholesome discipline, warranted by holy Scripture, for the warning of heedless persons to walk more warily, and for the punishment of evil-doers; and he wished that the church over which he presided might be regulated, as nearly as possible, according to that model. Such a discipline appeared more likely to be useful and efficacious, since all the inhabitants of the island at that time belonged professedly to one church, and therefore an offender who might be separated from the congregation would be the more likely to be brought to repentance by that punishment, because there was no other christian communion with which he could take refuge.

Bishop Wilson found some ancient laws in the island which had been framed for this very purpose; and all that he now saw occasion to do, was to revise and arrange them, and to adapt them to the present condition of the church of Christ. This was put into execution in the year 1703, when certain Ecclesiastical Constitutions were at his suggestion adopted by a full convocation of the clergy; and all the official persons in the island, including the lord, subscribed the same, in token that they "found them very reasonable, just, and necessary."

The preamble of this document clearly shows the design with which it was drawn up. It is as follows:"In the name of our great Lord and Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, and to the glory and increase of his kingdom amongst men; We the bishop, archdeacon, vicarsgeneral, and clergy of the Isle, who do subscribe these articles, that we may not stand charged with the scandals which wicked men bring upon religion, while they are admitted to, and reputed members of, Christ's church; and that we may, by all laudable means, promote the conversion of sinners, and oblige men to submit to the

discipline of the gospel; and lastly, that we may provide for the instruction of the growing age in christian learning and good manners; - have formed these following constitutions, which we oblige ourselves (by God's help) to observe; and to endeavour that all others within our several cures shall comply with the same.”

The constitutions, thus prefaced, were in many respects well calculated to repress vice; they would have been free from all exception if they had not authorised the use of temporal restraints for the purpose of enforcing the observance of religious duties. They appear however to have been attended with good in that little society, impeding the growth of evil, and restoring the straying sheep to right paths.

Bishop Wilson saw that under particular circumstances such discipline would only tend to irritate and harden offenders, or to drive them to some other communion; he acknowledged that it could not be maintained in England, "by reason of the schisms and heresies which abounded there." But he felt that no such impediment existed within his own diocese; he hoped that the measures pursued by the church would produce that godly sorrow which worketh true repentance, and in this hope he possessed the sympathies of those who were anxious for the moral and religious well-being of their native island. As for himself, there could be no doubt of his exercising authority with paternal mildness. So pious, kind, and meek a pastor would never rule his sheep in a spirit of severity; and even if other evidence were wanting, we might find it in the love with which the people regarded their bishop, and which proved that he dealt with them tenderly and kindly.

We may perhaps connect his views of church government with his recollections of Dr. Sherlock, his respected

relative. That good man, by his pious exertions, had made his parish a pattern to all around; and while he was singularly humble and devout, he was also bold in rebuking vice, and by the exercise, in extreme cases, of ecclesiastical discipline, kept his people free from gross evils and abuses.

Lord Chancellor King commended very highly bishop Wilson's Constitutions, and observed, that "if the ancient discipline of the church were lost, it might be found in all its purity in the Isle of Man."

But bishop Wilson considered an united and zealous body of faithful ministers as the best means, by the blessing and grace of God, of diffusing holiness and sound religious principles. Lamenting, in one of his charges, the vices and corruptions which were creeping into this once "quiet little nation," he says, "the most effectual way to prevent this will be, for all of us, that are appointed to watch over the flock of Christ, to employ our thoughts, our zeal, and our time, in promoting of true piety; in labouring to make men good; and in converting sinners from the error of their ways, that we may preserve the power, as well as the form of godliness." He therefore encouraged his clergy in all their labours, and led them on to cultivate the Lord's vineyard with renewed diligence and care. From the first, his conduct towards them presents an example which it is more easy to admire than to equal. The kindness and gentleness for which he ever prayed were tempered by a sense of duty in the discharge, according to his ability, of the functions of his responsible office. He had a watchful eye, and a firm hand when it was needful, but his great desire was to be loved rather than feared, to be considered as in all things their equal except in the exercise of his duty as a bishop; he wished rather to be thought of as the cheerful adviser

and faithful counsellor, than as the officer invested with power.

was

"His affection for his clergy," says Mr. Stowell, 6< strong and uniform. He was attentive to all their wants, and laboured incessantly to advance their temporal, spiritual, and eternal interests. He regarded their exigencies as his own, and was watchful to supply them as far as was in his power. He made additions to their glebes, contributed to the repairs and improvements of their houses, and increased their comforts in a variety of ways. There are few, even of the present race of clergy, who do not feel the effects of bishop Wilson's benefactions. Many of the conveniences which they enjoy are the fruits of his beneficence, and part of the bread which they eat is raised from ground purchased by his liberality. He maintained a constant intercourse with his clergy," and took great pleasure in contemplating the unanimity which prevailed amongst them, declaring, in one of his addresses to them, how happy he was in the love and obedience of all his clergy, and that he had lived with them in perfect love and unity for more than three-and-twenty years, and had their interest at heart as much as his own. "He encouraged them to apply to him in every difficulty, he assisted them in the prosecution of their studies, he animated them to more vigorous efforts in their ministry, he sympathized with them in distress, and took a hearty concern in all their affairs. The elder clergy he treated as his brethren, the younger as his children. He considered all of them, in a great measure, as members of his family, and received them under his hospitable roof with the most affectionate welcome. They frequently spent days and weeks at his house, and always returned to their own homes happier, wiser, and better. In all their distresses, whether personal or professional, whether of a