decide upon their future measures with regard to Italy. For the government of Naples the king has issued a decree appointing an ordinary council, and a council of state. The first is to be composed of six ministers of state; the latter of thirty members, who are all to be named by the king. Such seems to be the result of the promises of a free constitution so readily given while the subjugation of Naples was still doubtful Even the decrees of the council of thirty are to have force only when they concur with the opinions of the ordinary council, who may decline acting upon them. Sicily is to be governed in a similar manner by a council resident at Palermo, under the juris diction of a lord lieutenant. The Sicilians will of course be obliged to submit to this arrangement, as a large Austrian expedition has embarked to bridle the country. TURKEY, &c.-The reports which arrive from Turkey are still too vague to allow of our forming a correct estimate of the real state of affairs in that country. One point, however, is unhappily sufficiently clear, that the Turks are so far victorious as to have effected the most inhuman massacres of the Greeks, and other Christians, almost with impunity. In Constantinople, alone, the Greek patriarch, with several bishops and priests, and many thousands of native Christians, are stated to have fallen victims to the fury of the Turkish populace and soldiery. The government seems unable, and is apparently not very anxious, to repress these scenes of barbarity. The Christian churches are profaned, and numbers of them destroyed. Even the subjects of the various European powers are stated to have been in many cases massacred, and their ministers and ambassadors grossly insulted; so much so as to render it necessary for them to quit Constantinople to avoid the rage of the Turks. The insurgents in the provinces appear to have been generally unsuccessful, though by no means finally vanquished. These scenes of cruelty and blood, which are not however confined to one side, may possibly do much towards unit ing them in a common cause; and some explanation may also be demanded by the Christian powers whose subjects have been murdered or insulted. The Turkish government appear to be becoming alive to the various dangers which surround them, and are collecting a powerful army, and pressing on with it towards the insurgent provinces. DOMESTIC. The Coronation is fixed for the 19th of July, and great preparations are being made for conducting it with solemnity and splendour. The occa-, sion calls upon Christians to redouble their intercessions for the peace of the realm-the temporal and eternal welfare of the monarch-and the happiness and religious prosperity of his subjects. We trust that many of the prejudices which have for some time been too current may die away, and give place to that best popularity which is earned by personal character and public conduct; and which his majesty cannot fail to attain, if he pursue what is said to be his determination-namely, to tread in the steps and to emulate the virtues of his revered parent and predecessor. May God enable him by his grace to fulfil, to the end of a long and happy life, this honourable pledge! We regret to state, that Sir J. Mackintosh's Forgery-prevention Bill was lost in the House of Commons. The Marquis of Londonderry, after the third reading, took the unusual step of dividing the house, when some of the friends of the bill having gone away, it was lost by a majority of six. The other bills abolishing the punishment of death for stealing in dwelling-houses, and on rivers, &c. which had passed the Commons, have been rejected in the Lords. Mr. Scarlett's bill is proceeding through its stages in the House of Commons, though not without considerable opposition; but there seems no likelihood of its passing into a law, Our own chief objection to the bill is not that it does too much, but too little. The attempt, however, though now unsuccessful, may be a prelude to a general system of more enlightened policy with respect to the poor, which shall include their moral and religious, as well as their temporal condition. Government, finding the sense of the House of Commons against them, have consented to Mr. Curwen's bill for the repeal of the duty on horses used in husbandry-The committee appointed to consider the state of agriculture have made a report, the result of which is, that nothing can be done by the legislature on the subject with a view to relieve the embarrassments which at present affect it. The remedy must be left to time. A subject has been submitted to the House of Lords, which, though at first sight apparently only of an ecclesiastical kind, has, we are persuaded, when viewed in all its bearings and tendencies, an aspect which ought not to be overlooked even by political men-we mean the Bishop of Peterborough's Eighty-seven Questions. It was brought before the house in consequence of a petition from the Rev. W. Neville, who holds two livings in the diocese of Peterborough, to one of which he nominated as his curate the Rev. J. Green, a clergyman, it appears, of unexceptionable character and principles. Mr. Green however declined either giving or subscribing the required answers to the Bishop of Peterborough's Questions, and was accordingly refused a licence. The archbishop of the province was appealed to, who stated, that there could be no doubt of the bishop's right to examine. His grace has since denied that he had any jurisdiction in the case. Thus circum stanced, Mr. Neville felt it his duty to lay the subject before the House of Lords. The Bishop of Peterbough defended his Questions on the ground that they were not a new standard of faith; though in reply to Lord King's objection, that they were not calculated to ascertain the ability of the candidate, his lordship maintained (we quote his words from the Morning Post) that "his questions were not intended to be a test of abilities but of doctrines." This is exactly the point we have always urged in objection to them-namely, that they are "a test of doctrine," and that no clergyman is bound to submit to any other test but that of Scripture and the Thirty-nine Articles. His lordship also stated, what will be novel intelligence to the defenders as well as the impugners of the Eighty-sevenQuestions, that it was not hisintention in imposing them to reject Calvinists, as they were not levelled at Calvinistic opinions particularly, but at all deviations from the true faith of the church. In one sense we think his lordship right in asserting, that they are not aimed exclusively at Calvinistic doctrines; for some at least of the principal doctrines which the Questions are intended to impugn are certainly not in any exclusive sense Calvinistic: they are the great doctrines of the Bible, of the Church of England, and of the Protestant Reformation in general. But, in the sense intended by the bishop, we can only marvel at the assertion; for if his lordship's questions are not levelled at Calvinism, how happens it that the idea has so widely gone abroadan idea which it now seems was wholly unfounded-that his lordship had himself stated that such was the intention of his Questions? How happens it that all, without a single exception, of his lordship's defenders have maintained the same point, agreeing with the Layman*, in his Reply to" the Legality of the Questions" (p. 18), that the whole of the Questions proposed by Dr. Marsh bear directly on the Calvinistic tenets, and enable that prelate to prove to the very bottom the belief of the candidate on those doctrines;" and with another Layman, in his "Refutation of the Rev. Joseph Wilson's Remarks" (p. 40), that "It is to stop the progress of such doctrines, (namely, "Calvinistic tenets "), that Bishop Marsh has instituted his examination;" and, to mention but one authority more, with the "Christian Remembrancer," who speaks of them, in his Number for January 1821 (quoted in the Christian Observer for March, p. 189), expressly as 66 a test of Calvinism," nay, with an implication that they are nothing more than a test of Calvinism, and that they are defective on that very account? But we leave these points for his lordship and his friends to settle; and shall only state further, that though it was not thought expedient for Mr. Neville's petition to be received, as it might lead the House to commit itself on subjects beyond its natural jurisdiction, the inexpediency of the Bishop's Questions was strongly felt and generally admitted. Several noble lords-among others, Earl Grey, Lord Calthorpe, the Earl of Harrowby, and the Marquis of Lansdowne-were clear and explicit in reprobating them; and we are happy to say, that not one of his lordship's episcopal brethren saw fit to urge a single word in their favour, either as respected their propriety or their theological character. We trust that after this the Questions will • See list of pamphlets on the Peterborough Questions reviewed in our last three Numbers. not long survive to distract and divide the church. Mr. Buxton has moved for the "Returns of the number of women who have been sacrificed upon the funeral piles of their husbands in India during the last four years." We trust, that even should no legislative measure immediately follow upon their production, the discussions and the expression of feeling to which the subject has given rise, will do much eventually towards abolishing this barbarous and inhuman practice; a practice which there is abundant testimony to prove might be effectually checked without any risk or inconvenience whatever. The Chancellor of the Exchequer calculates that the excess of the expected revenue above the estimated expenditure for the year 1821, will amount to about four millions, which sum is therefore available towards the liquidation of the public debt. Of this, however, nearly a million and a half consists of contingent resources; so that there is little more than two and a half millions of regular surplus, which is nearly half a million less than the estimated amount of the new taxes imposed in 1819. The repeal of the agricultural horse tax will still further diminish this sum. It is, however, so far consoling, that there is an actual, though not large, surplus of revenue above expenditure; and we would hope, that by means of retrenchment on the one hand, and an improved state of our commerce on the other, this surplus will gradually increase so as to become a really efficient sinking fund. We must defer till next month an account of some interesting proceedings on the subject of the Foreign Slave Trade, which took place in Parliament on the 25th and 26th instant. ECCLESIASTICAL PREFERMENTS. Rev. Samuel Butler, D. D. Head Master of Shrewsbury School, to the Archdeaconry of Derby. Rev. Dr. Lawrence Gardener, St. Phillip's R. Birmingham. 16 Rev. W.H.G. Mann, B. A. Bowdon V. Cheshire. Rev. J. Mayo, M. A. Ozleworth R., Gloucestershire. Rev. J. Townsend, Taunton St. James's Curacy, Somersetshire, v. Luxton, deceased. Rev. H. W. R. Birch, Yoxford V. and Bedfield R. Suffolk. Rev. S. M. Westhorp, Sibon V. with Peasenhall Chap. Suffolk. Rev. F. Corsellis, M. A. Fingrinhoe V. Essex. Rev. W. Jennings, Baydon Chapelry, Wilts. Rev. M. Barnett, North Willingham V. Lincolnshire. Rev. C. Musgrove, A. M. Whitkirk V. Yorkshire. Rev. James Giffard, M. A. (Vicar of Wootton), Cabourne V. Lincolnshire. Rev. Henry St. John, Pultney Perpetual Curacy, Surrey, on the nomination of the Dean and Chapter of Wor ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. R. S.; G. F. H.; N. C.; and a Paper on the Seneca Indians, will appear. We thank another "CONSTANT READER" for his favourable opinion of our re view of the Peterborough Questions, but we do not think it necessary to reprint it, as he proposes. The Numbers containing the review are readily accessible. The passage from Dryden, sent for insertion by E. S. has already appeared in our : work.. We are much obliged to VOLENS for his offer, but shall not have occasion to give him the trouble he proposes. ever arouses us from this spiritual lethargy, even though the means THE CAUSES, USES, & REMEDIES employed should be of an afflictive OF RELIGIOUS DEPRESSION. (Continued from page 338.) kind, is in reality a blessing; and nothing usually produces this effect in a more powerful manner than those salutary apprehensions which Iject, some of the frequent lead us anxiously to examine our causes of religious depression were enumerated, and traced up to certain general sources. We shall now proceed to consider the ends for which God may often permit doubts and fears respecting their spiritual state to distress the minds of his servants. We shall thus perceive, that as these afflictions are not without cause, so also they are not without important uses, which may convince us of the wisdom and the love of our Heavenly Parent in suffering them to befal us. 1. They tend to foster a spirit of vigilant self-examination. The present world is not a state of security, but of danger; and requires continual watchfulness and prayer, in order to prevent even those "who have tasted of the heavenly gift" relapsing into sin, and making shipwreck of their hopes for eternity. But, far from being naturally inclined to this perpetual vigilance, we are too apt, even after we have made some progress in the ways of religion, to subside into spiritual indolence, and to content ourselves with past evidences and attainments, instead of "forgetting those things which are behind, and pressing forward towards those which are before," in order to attain "the mark of the prize of our high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Now whatCHRIST. OBSERV. No. 235. selves whether we are in the faith, and to try ourselves, lest we be reprobates. When doubts and fears thus press upon the mind, we cannot shake off religious reflection as at other times; we become earnestly solicitous to ascertain the validity of our faith; we are fearful of self-deception, and dare not pacify our consciences with those dubious or fallacious evidences which, in a less susceptible frame of mind, are often taken up as satisfactory proofs of conversion and sanctification. Thus we learn to employ more diligently the means of spiritual improvement; with deeper attention; we examine we read, we pray, we meditate ourselves with stricter scrutiny; and, like a man whose title to an estate is disputed, we institute such inquiries as we might never otherwise have thought of, or taken the trouble to pursue; and thus obtain in future, should our investigation prove favourable, a satisfaction of mind which we should never have equally enjoyed but for this previous process. Those who from never having felt any serious apprehensions respecting their final security, have never gone through much of this painful and humbling but highly useful probation, are in general far less powerfully armed 3 H against sudden attacks of spiritual despondency, than those the earlier stages of whose religious career was less uniformly serene. The more fully our spiritual armour has been tried, the more confidently, though humbly, shall we advance to the contest; the more frequent and furious have been the tempests which have beaten upon the house with out shaking it from its basis, the more fixed and justifiable will be our trust that it is founded upon a rock. And thus doubts and fears, however distressing to the mind of a Christian at the time, have a tendency to produce the salutary effect of exciting him to that vigilant self-examination which is not only beneficial in its immediate consequences, but may prove throughout his future life a source of peace and satisfaction. 2. Again, such apprehensions powerfully tend to check self-confidence and spiritual pride. It is said of the wicked, that, "because they have no changes, they forget God." So weak is our nature, so prone are we to vanity and selfdependence, so imperfect, even in the advanced Christian, is the process of sanctification, that we need a constant check upon our inherent tendencies towards a state of mind inconsistent with the humility which comports with our holy profession as disciples of Jesus Christ. We can scarcely enjoy for any long period an uninterrupted state of prosperity, even of a religious kind, without being in danger of becoming puffed up with pride and selfsufficiency. So beset are we with temptations, and so feeble are our hearts to resist them, that even our very virtues are too often made to minister to our pride; and our spiritual graces themselves are in danger of being perverted to the exaltation of the creature, instead of being viewed exclusively as themes for gratitude to the all-dispensing Creator, who works both in us and by us to do of his good p easure. That eminently devout and humble Christian, the great Apostle of the Gentiles, found that his admission into the third heavens, which we might naturally have conceived would have bowed him to the dust in self-abasement, served, alas! only to foment spiritual pride; so that he immediately required the severe discipline of "a thorn in the flesh," to prevent his becoming exalted above measure. A similar benefit is frequently produced by means of the distressing apprehensions under consideration, and which constitute a powerful instrument for repressing that unsafe elation of mind which is too often the forerunner of presumption, and of which satan never fails to take advantage, in order to plunge us into what is emphatically called "the snare of the devil." The beneficial effects which tenderness of conscience and a scriptural jealousy over ourselves are calcu lated to produce, may be negatively inferred from the case of those who are most confident in their assertions that they have long been strangers to all apprehension respecting their final state. For do we not usually perceive a strong infusion of spiritual pride blending itself with such declarations? Do we not almost uniformly observe in such cases a spirit of self-sufficiency, which is not the less inju rious to the soul for being veiled under an evangelical instead of a legal garb? And may we not often be led, in Christian charity, to wish the confident proclaimer of such a boast in the place of the deeply dejected and distressed penitent, of whose safety no one doubts but himself, rather than on so dangerous a pinnacle, from which, if he fall, it will probably be into despair on the one hand, or gross apostacy of life on the other, and on which, while even he remains, he is sup ported in his hazardous elevation rather by the buoyancy of a presumptuous confidence, than by a scriptural examination and just application of the evidences of |