ground it. This latter text has in reality nothing to do with literal sisters, but forbids the marriage of any wife in addition to the first, so as "to vex her;" i. e. by doing it without her consent at the time, or vexing her afterwards, the marriage, in short, of a rival woman, yvvaīka avričnλov, as the LXX. express it. Not, however, but that it may also be considered (as Hammond considers it) as a prohibition of any polygamy to mankind in general, a laying down of the general law, from which the Jews and the patriarchs appear to have been exempted by a special permission; if not, where is polygamy prohibited at all in express words? Dr. Adam Clarke is quite mistaken in saying that the LXX. understand Lev. xviii. 18 as he does: they translate literally, and (together with our own and the other versions) must be explained by the Hebrew idiom, in which the terms brother and sister belong as properly to any fellows, even to the fellow-curtains of a tent, as to the children of common parents. See, however, the whole question admirably handled, and settled with overwhelming evidence, in Dr. Hammond's "Resolution of Six Quæres." Beyond the correction of these leading mistakes, I will only observe that the primitive and universal Church of Christ having stigmatised such cohabitations as scandalous and incestuous, and that on the strength of the scripture prohibition,-omnipotent though we presumptuously boast our parliament to be,-no act of parliament will clear the incestuous in the day of judgment, or give the "unclean person" "any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." Because of "these abominations even the earthly Canaan "vomited out her inhabitants," spued out" even the uninstructed heathen ;-and shall the heavenly Canaan better bear to be "defiled?" "They committed all these things, and therefore I ABHORRED them," is God's declaration: "Defile not ye yourselves in ANY of these things," is God's command: and therefore, whatever parliament may decide, incest will still be "abomination" in the sight of God, and "the abominable," defended in vain by parliament, still "have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." A PRIEST. ON SAINTS'-DAY SERVICES. MR. EDITOR, Can any of your clerical readers point out the rule to be observed in the case stated below? Suppose, as frequently happens, that a saint's day falls on a Sunday. The saint's day has a collect, epistle, and gospel, and appointed lessons, as well as the Sunday. The epistles and gospels and lessons for both, of course, cannot be read: which, therefore, takes precedence-the saint's day or the Sunday? I can find no directions in the Prayer Book, and the clergy in my neighbourhood observe no fixed rule; some giving the saint's day precedence, some the Sunday. My own custom has been to give the Sunday precedence, because many of the saint's day lessons are taken from the Apocrypha; but I always read both the collects. Very possibly I am wrong, but I wish to do right if I knew how. Now, if there is no actual rule in the Prayer Book to guide us in this case, there may be some 491 ancient custom of the Church, which may have almost the force of a T. M. MONTHLY REGISTER. SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. THE Standing Committee have given 1000l. to be placed at the disposal of the Bishop of Australia for the purposes of the Society in his Diocese. SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL. THE Society have received from Lower Canada (July 22d) a very interesting document from the Bishop of Montreal, being the journal of his Lordship's visitation of the districts of Montreal, Three Rivers, and St. Francis; by which it appears that he held thirtyeight confirmations, at which more than 1100 young persons were confirmed, held one ordination, and consecrated several new churches. Extract of a letter from the Rev. T. Watts, Chaplain on the Codrington Estate, dated May 23d, 1840:— "I witnessed on Sunday last a circumstance which struck me forcibly, and which will be as gratifying for the Society to hear as it is for me to communicate. On looking round the Sunday School, which contained on that day 119 adults, all from the neighbouring estates (except two from our own) I reckoned nine teachers NATIONAL THE Meetings of the National Society this month were attended by the Abp. of Canterbury; the Bps. of London, Durham, Bangor, Lincoln, Llandaff, Chichester, Gloucester and Bristol, Lichfield, Salisbury, and Norwich; the Lords Kenyon, Sandon, M.P.; the Dean of Chichester; the Revs. H. H. Norris, T. T. Walmsley, H. H. Milman, John Jennings, J. Sinclair; T. D. Acland, M.P.; W. Cotton, W. Davis, G. F. Mathison, R. Twining, S. F. Wood, and Joshua Watson, Esqrs. On the 15th inst. his Grace the President informed the Committee that his negociations with the Com people belonging to our own estate, with large classes, who were young who had been born, bred, and schooled on the property, and who now came forward willingly and cheerfully to assist their minister in forwarding the great and important work of religious instruction. Indeed, without their assistance, and that of four young men from the college, it would be impossible for me to give due and proper attention to so large a school as we now have, the names on the list being about 200." The Bishop of Jamaica is extremely anxious to introduce into his Diocese graduates from the Universities, and has requested those gentlemen who are desirous of becoming candidates for the Curacies which he has to offer, to make immediate application to him. The stipend is about 400l. per ann. SOCIETY. Inspection had come to a satisfactory "1. That before any person is re- of Inspector, and that no person be appointed without their concurrence. 2. That the Inspectors of such Schools shall be appointed during pleasure; and that it shall be in the power of each Archbishop at all times, with regard to his own province, to withdraw his concurrence in such appointment, whereupon the authority of the Inspector shall cease, and a fresh appointment take place. "3. That the instructions to the Inspectors, with regard to religious instruction, shall be framed by the Archbishops, and form part of the general instructions to the Inspectors of such Schools; and the general instructions shall be communicated to the Archbishops before they are finally sanctioned. "That each Inspector shall, at the same time that he presents any report relating to the said Schools to the Committee of the Privy Council, transmit a duplicate thereof to the Archbishop, and shall also send a copy to the Bishop of the Diocese in which the School is situate, for his information. "4. That the grants of money be in proportion to the number of children educated, and the amount of money raised by private contribution, with the power of making exceptions in certain cases, the grounds of which will be stated in the annual returns to Parliament. "5. That a Minute embracing these points be laid before Parliament." When the above Minute had been read, the Committee of the National Society unanimously agreed upon the following Resolution : "That the best thanks of the Committee be conveyed to his Grace the President, for the trouble he has taken in conducting the negociations with the Committee of Council, and for concluding an arrangement by which the National Society is enabled to resume its recommendation of cases for aid out of the sums voted by Parliament for education. CHURCH BUILDING SOCIETY. A SPECIAL Meeting of the Committee was held June 29th.- Present, the Bp. of Bangor (in the chair); the Bps. of Exeter, Ripon, Norwich, Ely, and Llandaff; Lord Kenyon; the Dean of Chichester; the Revs. Dr. Shepherd, J. Jennings, T. Bowdler, J. Lonsdale, and B. Harrison; Sir T. D. Acland, Bart. M.P.; W. Cotton, N. Connop, jun., Joshua Watson, W. Davis, W. Gladstone, J. W. Bowden, and A. Powell, Esqrs. building the Chapel at Newcastle, Emlyn, Carmarthenshire:-building a Church at Sheepscar, Yorkshire :building a Chapel at Cwmumman, Llandilofawr, Carmarthenshire; at Luton, Chatham, Kent; at Woodsetts, Yorkshire :-enlarging the Church at Fulham, Middlesex; at Church Oakley, Southampton; at Tweedmouth, Berwick-on-Tweed:-erecting galleries in Hatherop Church, Gloucestershire; at Penllech, Carnarvonshire:- building a Tower and new roofing the Church at Asmanhaugh, Norfolk:-building a Gallery in the Church at Llansamlet, Glamorganshire, and repewing the Church at Horley, Oxfordshire. ADDITIONAL CURATES FUND SOCIETY. Among other business transacted, Grants were voted towards rebuilding the Church at Rawcliffe, Snaith, Yorkshire; at Romford, Essex; at Robeston Wathan, Pembrokeshire : - re THIS Society is in very great need of support. Its funds are all appropriated. Since our statement in April, 30 fresh incumbents have applied for its assistance; and only four have been enabled to receive it. PASTORAL AID SOCIETY. THE income for the year ending March 31, 1840, was 16,1777. 6s. 10d. being an increase of 56531. 2s. 5d. on the preceding year. At a meeting of the Committee on May 8, twelve additional grants were voted. 196 clergymen and 36 lay assistants are now supported at a charge of 17,1841. per annum. 27 grants, amounting to 1471. have been made towards the building, purchase, and fitting up of Chapels and school-rooms, to be licensed for public worship. LONDON DIOCESAN EDUCATION BOARD. THE first Annual Meeting was held on July 16, the Bishop of London in the chair. His Lordship spoke at some length on the objects of the Board, and the importance of carrying them out efficiently; and after stating that one main purpose which they contemplated was an efficient inspection of schools, and thanking the Judges and others who had kindly undertaken the office, the Bishop proceeded : "I would here allude to a circumstance which I trust will be hailed by the Clergy as an omen of a better understanding between the Church and Government of the country upon the subject of education. The Church have at length concurred with the Committee of Privy Council in a plan of inspection of those schools that shall receive any portion of the Government money. That plan has been submitted to the Bishops of the Church, acquiesced in by the National Society, and I trust will be readily accepted by the Clergy at large. The terms will be embodied in a Minute of Council, and laid before Parliament. Those terms relate principally to the subject of Inspectors. The Inspectors, who may visit schools in connexion with the Church receiving any part of the Government grant, are not in any case to be appointed without the Archbishops being previously consulted, they (the Abps.) having the power of recommending such Inspectors themselves, and of objecting to them if recommended by the Committee of Privy Council; and the Archbishops, if they have reason to disapprove of any Inspector appointed, can withdraw their sanction of the appointment. This, I think, is as much as can be expected by the Church. The instructions to be given to the Inspectors are to be drawn up by the Archbishops and the Privy Council; the portion respecting religion exclusively by the Archbishops. Grants will be made to schools in connexion with the Church in proportion to the number of scholars and the amount of subscriptions; with a reservation, however, in favour of cases of poor districts, where the amount of subscriptions may be quite inadequate to the wants of the poor. In those districts the distributors of the public grant are to have the power of granting money on a different principle, but every such exception, with the reasons of it, is to be stated in an annual return to Parliament. I think we have as much security as we could. reasonably demand, and therefore we may look to get our proportion of the public grant made by Parliament. The Inspectors are to make their report not only to the Privy Council, but to the Bishop of each diocese, and to the Archbishops. Let the Clergy now bestir themselves to raise subscriptions. for the erection of schools, for the greater the subscriptions the more extensively will they partake of the Parliamentary bounty." A very able Report was then read by the Secretary, the Rev. J. S. Boone, upon whom, in the course of the proceedings, the Bishop passed a high and well-merited eulogium, which was warmly responded to by the meeting. We extract some of the most important parts, and hope on a future occasion to give the substance of the Inspector's Report, and of the valuable remarks on Sunday Schools. "It had long been matter of regret, that the Clergy, as well as other persons interested in the advancement of popular education in connexion with the Established Church, enjoyed few or no means and opportunities of mutually receiving and imparting information on the subject;-of comparing their several plans, the working of them, and the results,-the methods adopted and the books used :—that they had no facilities for becoming conversant with the most recent improvements or experiments :-in short, that they were unacquainted not merely with the general process of instruction pervading the Diocese, but even with the system followed in the neighbouring parishes. It was thought, therefore, that much good might accrue from establishing some regular organization, in some fixed spot to which intelligence might converge, and from which it might issue; where periodical meetings might be held; where each might have easy access to the knowledge possessed by others; and where a person might be in attendance to afford any explanations which should be expedient :-in other words, by establishing a central board in the Metropolis, having branches in the rural portions of the Diocese. The construction of this machinery has already given a fresh impulse to the exertions in the cause of education, both in London itself and in the metropolitan counties; but the results cannot fail to become more and more apparent, in proportion as the formation and locality of the Board shall become better known, and its aims and proceedings more generally understood. An ample schedule of queries, relating to the numerical and financial parts of educational statistics-as, for instance, the amount of schools, and the funds by which they are supported-has been sent round to the Clergy of the several parishes or districts. The number of copies circulated amounts to about 850; the number of returns to between 700 and 750. Probably it will be always an impracticable attempt thoroughly to collect, by the mere circulation of printed queries, however carefully devised, the extent of education as compared with the population of a parish or district, and the obstacles which impede its extension and efficiency. The work, which is one of extreme importance, as bearing upon the physical, the intellectual, and the moral condition of the people, their habits, their tastes, their standard of comfort, and the value which they set both upon religion and upon knowledge,seems to require a special and personal investigation for its proper and adequate performance. But if district visitors, or paid agents of visiting societies, could, under the sanction of the Clergy, connect themselves with this Board, by gathering such information, and forwarding it as to a common centre, an example might be set by the Metropolitan Diocese which the whole kingdom would follow; the actual state of things might be ascertained on the one side, the possible and the desirable on the other; a strong light might be thrown on the social economy of the country at large; and a vast benefit might be eventually effected. 242 schools have been al ready received into union with the Central Board in London; fresh notifications, in which the printed forms are filled up, arrive from day to day; and in the great majority of answers from the incumbents of the various parishes, a willingness to enter into such a relation has been expressed, although a formal union may not yet have taken place, in consequence of some local and temporary impediment. With regard to the important business of inspection, the whole matter has been of the Bishop's express appointment; and the Inspectors are to be considered as reporting to the Bishop through the Board. "His Lordship has nominated as Inspectors five of the Judges of the land, with five other laymen, and eleven clergymen. Several meetings of the Inspectors were held, that they might proceed upon their office after due deliberation, and with a competent knowledge of each other's views; and an Inspector's Paper was drawn up, in order to give a specific direction to the inquiries, and to secure uniformity in the manner of the returns. No inconsiderable portion of the Christmas vacation was devoted by the learned Judges and their colleagues to this interesting task. The method employed was, for a clergyman and a layman to visit a school together, the consent of the managers having, in every instance, been previously obtained. Remarks were inserted in the spaces left for them upon paper; and when all the schools, at the time open to inspection, had been examined, the Inspectors collated their several opinions, and put forth the joint Report which appears in the Appendix. the "In Essex a Branch Board has been established for the county; and Local Boards, or District Committees, are likely to be formed in each of its rural deaneries. The funds of the Essex Board already amount to 12621.; and in addition to the five objects which the Central Board has been hitherto enabled to pursue, it proposes to devote immediate attention to middle schools, and to assist in the erection and maintenance of schools in poor districts. "The Board has placed itself in |