contents himself with alluding to a few private vices of individuals, which are prevalent in certain ranks in all countries; and this allusion seems to be made principally for the futherance of the grand design of his discourse and had the administration of Mr. Fox, and Lord GRENVILLE, been turned out by his Majesty only a few days sooner, we are persuaded the slave trade would have continued to this day, as the majority of the present cabinet have ever been distin- flattering our "good and gracious guished as its uniform and zealous supporters. The long continuance of the trade is, however, we are convinced, principally to be attributed to the hypocrisy of that most unprincipled minister, who is gone to the bar of God to answer for his numerous crimes-WILLIAM PITT! The preacher attempts to blind the eyes of the nation by his flatteries, on account of the missionary, and other societies, which he deems sufficient to render us the favourites of heaven. "Whilst my country," be exclaims, "maintains the character of the grand apostle and missionary of the world, my heart ne"ver shall tremble for her security!" However laudable may be the endeavours of these societies, and although the liberality of the public have enabled some of them to amass large sums in the public funds, we are fearful, whilst the people in general by their sins, live down the gospel, little good is to be expected; and if the societies alluded to are to be made the means of puffing us up, and reconciling us to that system of crimes which deform the nation, we are somewhat apprehensive that they may, although unintentionally, effect more mischief at home, than good abroad. We most sincerely hope, that the heathen will examine christianity by the new testament, rather than by the conduct of its professors! 66 26 We were not without hope, that when the Doctor recommended to his hearers to "mingle humiliation with their praises, on account of our national sins," he would not have so utterly neglected his duty as a preacher of righteousness, as to pass over all those sins which may justly be called "national." He however, "king," by comparing his private character with that of others. Such a discourse, in which almost every public event is misrepresented, or distorted for the purpose of preventing the nation from becoming sensible of its present dreadful situation, has the direct tendency to accelerate its ruin! How Dr. Collyer, as an evangelical minister, and an honest man, could possibly thus preach and publish, is to us a mystery! We lament the circumstance the more, when we recollect, that a considerable portion of the popularity of the Doctor, has by most of his sermons and writings, been well earned; but after all, something more is required of the consistent christian than preaching or writing well, on " Prophecies, "Miracles, and Scripture Facts." If christianity does not influence our conduct as citizens of our country, we do not possess that "pure reli"gion," which is" without partiali"ty and without hypocrisy," and it will be well for our Jubilee preachers, if at that great day, when they must render an account of their own sermons, they should escape the awful demand, respecting their recent disgraceful effusions of court and national flattery-Who hath required these at your hands! By the following extracts from the hymns selected for the occasion, we leave our readers to judge, whe ther the ordinance of singing was not equally prostituted with that of preaching! "Europe beholds th' amazing scene, "And when thou dost his soul receive, Britain's Jubilee; or the duties of subjects to their King; and the blessings of liberty; a sermon preached at the chapel of the Rev. Rowland Hill, London, on Oct. 25th, being the 50th year of the reign of his present Majesty. By John Griffin, Portsea. The text of this discourse is 1 TIMOTHY ii. 1-3.-I exhort therefore that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and gi ving of thanks be made for all men ; for kings and all that are in authority, &c.-In the introduction to the discourse the preacher makes some suitable observations on the union between religion and politics, and the duty of christians and christian ministers on public occasions, who, he justly remarks, ought to be such politicians as to know how, rationally and scripturally, to guide their own devotions, and those of their families, relative to the affairs of the nation." He with equal justice adds" The day invites investigation, that what we see afflictive in the state of our country we may lament, and carry our praise for the 66 The preacher then proceeds to the discussion of his subject--the nature of that honour which we owe to the king, and which, he remarks should be scriptural-and always to be directed, limited, and regulated by the fear of God. In the apostolic injunction, fear God, is mentioned before honour the King, to teach us that the second is to be in subordination to the first; and that all our feelings, words, and actions, respecting him, should comport with this injunction." After some farther remarks on the manner in which this honour is to be expressed, he proceeds to consider our "next duty-to pray for the kingbecause divine authority commands, it-because the arduous and complicated duties of his office, and the importance of the trust, render it necessary." On this part of the subject we have the following excellent observations. "We should pray for the King, be cause the welfare of so many millions of the present, and even of future generations, depends on the wisdom of his ceuncils and the righteousness of his actions. Not to pray for him and his constitutional advisers,is to be indifferent to the interests of society, the prosperity of the nation, the welfare of our chil dren, and the happiness of the church. On his will often depends the life or death of many of our fellow-subjects. A decree to enter into war, assigns thousands and tens of thousands of individuals to the sword, and thousands of families to misery, while the establishment of peace may embrace the happiness of millions! Let us therefore pray for the King, that he may be the last who shall be willing to make war, and the first who shall be desirous to make peace! Let our ardent prayer be so offered up for the King, that the olive branch of peace may soon be placed on every fortification in the kingdom, displayed on all the standards of our army, and on every ship of war! May this year be a jubilee to our men in arms, to the prisoners of war, and to our impoverished manufactures! May it be a peaceful Jubilee to Europe as well as to Britons!" ... "We should pray that the King may be under the influence of those principles which are essential to salvation; for he too, as well as his subjects, must stand before the prince of the kings of the earth! His family likewise should have a share in our supplications. They need to be prayed for!... Let us there fore do as Cyrus desired the jews to do, 'Pray for the King, and the King's sons!” Our prayers should likewise express our earnest wishes that his Majesty may at all times be wisely directed in the choice of his confidential advisers! In their principles, opinions, and actions, all the great interest of the nation, and of posterity, are often involved. The fulers. and the people are so blended in socie ty, that their interests and their sufferings cannot, and ought, not to be separated. The sins of the government are the sins of the nation, and the sins of the nation are the sins of the government ; for God deals with the head,and with the body, as forming but one person. Let us therefore pray for Kings, and all in authority, that we may lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty." To these sentiments and prayers, all good subjects will add their hearty Amen! In the first particular mentioned by our author, he has fallen into the common error of our jubilee preachers, namely, that" the act by which the judges were made independent of the crown was passed in the present reign."-We need not repeat what we lately remarked on this subject; but we observe with pleasure, that under this head is reprobated one of the acts passed by Lord Grenville and Mr. Pitt, by which the "spirit and design of the constitution have been infringed during the present reign."-The war with our American colonies, and the establishment of a sinking fund are next considered; the former, although an event to which we can look back, with no other feelings than those of regret, except that we have reason to be thankful to God, that he has made that prove a blessing to Britain which was predicted would prove an irreparable injury to her," The necessity of a wise and generous policy towards America is suggested; and it is predicted" that her inde pendence must cherish and invigorate in our own land the best principles of the English constitution." On the subject of the last war we have the following important remarks. "The next thing which presents itself in this review is, the war with the French; which, to distinguish it from that since the peace of Amiens, is called the war with republican France. To affirm that we can take a review of this important event without having something to regret, would be the vilest sycophancy, and the most daring inconsisknown facts and common experience. tency; it would be confronted by No one who loves the constitution,-is jealous for the honour of his country, and possesses a benevolent heart towards his fellow-creatures, can help lumenting that our conduct then was in direct op opsition to the spirit of the British constitution! Assistance has been readily and profusely afforded, to support the sinking governments and families on the continent; but never to support the peo ple against their ancient oppressors! This has led us, as a nation, into very unnatural and unsuccessful alliances! We have united with those whom Provi dence and the people had resolved to bring down;-whom prophecy and promise had engaged should be removed out of the way of the progress of the kingdom of Christ;-whose principles and actions had been for ages the plagues of the continent, and the scourge of Britons; and whose civil and politi cal destruction had employed the earnest prayers of the best men among our ancestors. Our physical energies have been for years exerted, in a variety of instances, in opposition to the opinions of the greater part of the religious com munity, the express sentiments of the word of God, and the distinct and reverberated voice of Providence, till at length we are forced to bow, saying, Righteous art thou, O Lord!-just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints! "The French war exhibited a fruitless attempt of one nation to interfere with and direct another, in the choice of its government. We wished to re-establish monarchy in France, and we have accomplished the object; but in a way vastly different from what we desired or expected. Recently, indeed, one in high office is reported to have publicly to assist any nation that would throw declared, that the government was ready off the yoke of their oppressors; and if it be intended that, when they have done this, they may choose their own governmment, we wish them prosperity; but if it be meant that they should return to their old rulers and old principles, there are not a thousand liberal minded men in Britain that would wish them success. Bad as their rulers and laws now are, they are far better than were their old ones! With as much propriety might Britons wish to return to the principles and family of the house of Stuart, as that they should desire that the nations of the continent should again be placed under the influence of the families that have oppressed them for ages!" The next thing regretted is the increase of the public burthens, in which the preacher enters into some detail, at the same time he suggests those considerations which may tend "to moderate our feelings on this subject." We are concerned to find that Mr. Griffin, after expressing himself with such fidelity on the injustice of the last war, declines" offering an opinion as to the necessity or the justice of the present," except, that "as a well wisher to the temporal and spiritual welfare of men, he cannot refrain from lamenting the frequent recurrence, and long continuance of war; which gives a sanguinary tinge to the annals of British history!" Judging from the principles laid down in various parts of this discourse, we are persuaded he must in his conscience pronounce the present war, to be equally unjust and unnecessary as the last. Why was he then backward to declare, the whole counsel of God, and to the British people their most prominent national sin, the present abominable war in which they have so long, and obstinately persevered! But our limits prevent us from following the preacher through a variety of heads, treated in a very desultory manner (which need not however excite surprise in Mr. RowJond Hill's pulpit) and which though not free from the prejudices, and follies of our jubilee sermons, con Mr. Griffin has made a singular mistake in describing Mr. Windham's army bill as "one of the principal features of the present reign," for which we ought to be thankful. The principle he admires is—“ the admission of soldiers enlisting for seven years, instead of for life;" but he seems to have forgotten that by Lord Castlereagh's bill since passed, the odious principle of enlisting our thoughtless youth "for life," is adopted. The manner in which the preacher reprobates "the petition of 250 of the national clergy in the year 1772 for relief from subscription to the doctrinal articles of the church of England," too plainly discovers his imperfect ideas on the subject of religious liberty; and is indeed very inconsistent with his remarks on the 66 blessings of a free press, and free dom of discussion." It was not, as he suggests, "a Socinian party,” by whom the application was exclu sively made. The subscription of unfeigned assent and consent, &c. is the peculiar scandal of the English church, and we are persuaded no clergyman can make it but upon principles derogatory to common sense, and common honesty, One of the most zealous of the petitioners was Archdeacon Blackburne, who was no more & Socinian than, Mr. Griffin. We indeed are very much surprised how men who profess sentiments pecu liarly evangelical, can either make the required subscription themselves, or utter a syllable in defence of so vile an imposition. But notwithstanding the mistakes and inconsistencies which are con spicuous in several parts of this discourse, and although the preacher, as is common with the dissenting methodists, does not appear to understand the genuine principles of dissent, and considers those princi ples, comparatively speaking, of tri fing importance, the sermon abounds with liberal and enlightened sentiments on the subjects of civil and religious liberty, and the preacher discovers much christian zeal for the best interests of his fellow creatures. We could with pleasure transcribe several other passages, but our limits oblige us to conclude with one short extract, the sentiments of which deserve to be engraven on every heart. "There can be no just reason for discountenancing a cool and rational attention to the affairs of our country: the more enlightened the people are, the less liable they are to be hurried into improper conduct, or to be misled by the interested and designing. Mr. Locke says,—' The science of politics is only common sense applied to the affairs of a nation.' The more then of common sense a nation possesses, the less liable it is to hurried into anarchy or crushed by despotism. We therefore hail the blessings of a free press, and a free pulpit." The discourse gave so much pleasure when preached, that the publi cation of it was requested by "many respectable" persons; a circumstance which affords us reason to hope, that the congregation of methodists at Mr. Hill's chapel, are on the subjects of civil and religious liberty, more enlightened than some of the congregations of their more regular dissenting brethren, whose pastors have recently insulted them, and the public at large, with so much corrupt and adulatory trash under the name of Jubilee Sermons! FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. FROM THE LONDON GAZETTE. Downing-street, Dec. 30, 1809. A Dispatch, of which the following is a copy, was yesterday morning received at Lord Liverpool's Office, addressed to his Lordship by Lieut.Gen. Don, dated his Majesty's ship Casar, off the Duerloo Passage, Dec. 23, 1809. MY LORD-Although I have regularly communicated to your lordship the principal (circumstances which have occured relative to the army under my command, yet I have judged it advisable to postpone my detailed report on the evacuation of the island of Walcheren until the troops were withdrawn, and the fleet had sailed. On the receipt of your lordship's dispatch of the 13th of last month, conveying to me his Majesty's commands to evacuate the island of Walcheren with the forces under my orders, and further signifying the determination of his Majesty, that previously to the evacuation, I should take such measures as I might deem most effectual for the demolition of the Basin of Flushing, and the naval defences of the island, I made the necessary preparations for the removal of the sick and convalescents of the army, and the arrival of a division of transports afforded me the means of completing their em barkation on the 26th ultimo. On the same day the new frigate that was built in the dock-yard was got out of the basin, and which enabled me on the following morning to commence the demolition of the sea defences, basin, dock-yard, arsenal, magazines, naval store-houses, &c. of the town of Flushing, the total destruction of which was completed on the 11th inst. These services were conducted under the immediate direction and superintendance of Lieut.-Col, Pilkington, Commanding Engineer, assisted by a strong party from the navy, under the command of Captain Moore, and for the particulars, I beg leave to refer your lordship to the Lieut.-Col's. report, a |