he infers that the Tracts will always teach the same thing, and always inculcate the principles of the Church.

To settle this point to our mu tual satisfaction, I will refer to the single doctrine of regeneration. The Friend to Safeguards, whatever be his view of the subject, will admit that this is a doctrine of radical importance. Are the Clergy of the Church then agreed upon the subject of regeneration?

Some of them believe that baptismal regeneration necessarily implies spiritual regeneration: and that every person baptized is of course regenerate. Some maintain a distinction between that regeneration which is baptismal, and that which is spiritual; and contend that they do not necessarily accom pany each other.

The Society for promoting Christian Knowledge has been very impartial in the business, and has inculcated each of the doctrines.

First. The Society has maintained that regeneration is a bless ing, for which baptized persons may reasonably pray, and that it is spiritual as distinguished from baptismal.

In a Tract containing an Alphabetical Table of the weekly Collects in the Book of Common Prayer, reduced under proper heads; I read as follows:

66

'Regeneration. A Prayer for it. Collect for Christmas Day." My Copy was published in 1795.

I find the same words precisely in a Prayer-book issued by that Society in 1812.

The Collect runs thus:"Almighty God, who hast given us thy only begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and as at this time to be born of a pure Virgin: Grant that we being regenerate and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit through the

See also Wheetly on the Liturgy; Nelson on Fasts and Feasts.

same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee, and the same Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen."

There is likewise in the form of a Tract, a Discourse written by Bishop Bradford, " concerning Baptismal and Spiritual Regenera, tion," which speaks to this effect:

"I proceed to the next general head I proposed; which was, to shew that the washing of regenera, tion may be separated from the renewing of the Holy Ghost; and that if it be so, the end for which it is used, namely, our salvation, cannot be obtained, the latter be ing absolutely necessary in order to our being saved in the complete sense of that word.

"It is the way of the Scriptures to speak to and of the visible members of the Church of Christ, under such appellations and expressions as may seem at first hearing to im ply that they are all of them truly righteous and holy persons. Thus the Apostles style those to whom they write in general, saints; speak of them as sanctified in Christ Jesus, chosen of God, buried with Christ in 'baptism, risen again with him from the dead, sitting with him in heavenly places; and particularly St. Paul in my text says,

they were saved by the washing of regeneration,' &c. The rea son of which is, that they were visibly by obligation and by profes sion all this; which was thus represented to them, the more effec tually to stir them up and engage them to live according to their profession and obligation. But yet is too evident from divers passages in their writings, and experience has confirmed to us the same thing, that both in their times and ever since, there have been many who have enjoyed the washing of regeneration, whose tempers and

manners have demonstrated that they were not also renewed by the Holy Ghost. Simon Magus was a notorious instance to this purpose, who, though the text tells us that

he believed and was baptized, yet was soon after told by St. Peter, that he had neither part nor lot in that matter,' (namely, the gift of the Holy Ghost) forasmuch as his heart was not right in the sight of God; and that he perceived that he was in the gall of bitterness, and in the boud of iniquity.' Acts viii. 13, 21, 23. I take it for granted, that I need not insist upon any proof of this matter; but only farther observe, that baptismal regeneration, when separated from the renewing of the Holy Ghost, must necessarily be ineffectual to the salvation of men's souls. St. Paul in my text joins them together, as concurring in the work of our salvation; and our Saviour, in the place before cited, makes the being born of the Spirit, as well as of water, necessary to the entering into the kingdom of God. St. Peter, in like manner, where he mentions baptism as saving us, adds, to prevent all mistake, 'not the putting away the filth of the flesh,' (not that merely) but the answer of a good conscience towards God;' 1 Pet. iii. 21; that also is necessary to salvation; namely, when the baptized person's heart, and consequently his life, agree with his profession and obligation. What St. Paul says of the Jews may be repeated with respect to Christians also, with a little variation of the words; He is not a Christian, which is one outwardly; neither is that regeneration, (namely, such as will be effectual to 'salvation) which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Christian, which is one inwardly; and regeneration is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. Rom. ii. 28, 29. Many of those, who were not only baptized in the name of Christ, but also received excellent gifts from him, and by virtue thereof prophesied, and had done many wonderful works in his name, yet,

as himself declares, will be rejected by him at the last day, for having been workers of iniquity. Matt. vii. 22, 23.

"Nor can it be otherwise conceived, that God should accept of men ́ only upon account of their having complied with some external and ritual institutions, whilst they had no regard to the design of them. The institutions of Christ do not work like charms: but being appointed to be used by reasonable creatures, there is a disposition of mind in the person using them, necessary to the rendering them effectual."

"Whereas it is to be feared, nay, it is evident, that many who have had the washing of regeneration,' are not yet renewed by the Holy Ghost, of which their tempers and their practices are a manifest proof; the present inquiry is, how such persons may attain this inward renovation. The answer to which is plain: they can be directed to no other method than that which the Gospel of our Saviour hath marked out; namely, to make a faithful and diligent use of all the other means of grace and salvation instituted by our Lord aud his Apostles. Let them seriously study the Divine oracles, those sacred books which are left as records by the Spirit of God, for the opening men's eyes, and the awakening their minds; in the use of which they may hope to feel the power and efficacy of the same Spirit, Let them earnestly and frequently pray to God, that he would please to bestow his Holy Spirit upon them."

How zealous was the Society at that time for a spiritual as well as baptismal regeneration! How strongly did they press the neces sity of it; and what excellent rules did they furnish for the attainment of it!

Secondly. The Society has main tained, that regeneration is a blessa ing, for which it would be absurd,

that baptized persons should pray, since we were all assuredly regenerated in baptism.

As your correspondent is a member of the Society, he has of course received, together with his last Repori, "two Tracts intended to convey correct Notions of Regeneration and Conversion." The date of them is 1815. They present us, therefore, with the latest creed of the Society; the creed which, in all likelihood, is acknowledged at pre

sent.

In these Tracts it is distinctly affirmed, as the doctrine of the Church of England, that all persons to whom baptism is rightly administered are regenerated by God's Holy Spirit, whether afterwards they lead a Christian life, or forfeit, by their future conduct, the privileges of their new birth: that the outward washing of baptism is attended by the sanctification of the Spirit; and that we are born of water and of the Spirit when we are baptized: that Bishop Hopkins was under some confusion when he contended for another regeneration independent of the washing by water* that as there is but one bap

The work of Bishop Hopkins to which Mr. Mant refers, is that entitled the Doctrine of the Two Sacraments, contained in the second volume of the edition of that prelate's writings, edited by the Rev. Josiah Pratt. The Bishop's reasoning is to this effect:

"There is an external, relative, or ecclesiastical sanctification, which is nothing else but the devoting or giving up of a thing or person into God, by those who have power so to do.

"There is an internal, real, and spiritual sanctification; and in this sense, a man is said to be sanctified when the Holy Ghost doth infuse into his soul the habits of Divine grace, and maketh him partaker of the Divine nature, whereby he is inwardly qualified to glorify God in a holy life. The meanest capacity," he adds, may, from what had been said, "well apprehend the difference between these two kinds of sanctification." p. 418.

tisin, so there is hut one regeneration in the world: and as we cannot be baptized again, so cannot we be a second time regenerated, or a second time born again: that the Church uniformly teaches us to look back upon regeneration as a thing which is past :-has never bid us desire and pray for it as a thing necessary; has never warned us to expect it as a thing expedient; bas never led us to regard it as a thing possible. That with respect to the Collect for Christmas day, "the petition is exclusively for daily renovation; the notice of our rege neration, and of our adoption as the children of God is retrospective, and is the acknowledgment of a blessing once conferred and not to be repeated."

I do not mean to give an opinion upon the subject, I write with another view; but whatever be the sense of the Collect, was the interthe Bishop proceeds to argue, that "baptism is the immediate means of our external and relative sanctification unto God. But still it must be remembered that this sanctification, regeneration, and adoption conferred upon us

at our admission into the visible church is external and ecclesiastical." p. 423.

His next position is, that " baptism is not so the means of an internal and real sanctification, as if alk to whom it is administered were thereby spiritually renewed, and made partakers of the Holy Ghost in his saving graces." And this point he argues both as it respects adult persons and infants; concluding that it is "unsound doctrine to affirm that baptism doth confer real sanctifi cation upon all infants, as well as upon some adult persons who are made par takers of it" "the baptismal regenera. tion of infants being external and ec clesiastical" and not “ a real and internal regeneration.” p, 425.. ·

8

His remaining positions are, that baptism is not so the means of sanc tification, as if none could be internally and really sanctified, who are necessarily deprived of that holy ordinance," but that it is an ordinary means appointed by Christ for the real and effectual sanctification of his Church.

no subscription is annexed; and these too are persons of consequence, persons, whose sanction it is important to obtain, even if they should only be considered as decoy birds. Among them I observe one duke, one earl, three viscounts, one baron, and two countesses; all admitted in the year

1814.

I am, sir, yours, &c. JOHN BARTLETT.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer. ON the invitation of your correspondent THEOGNIS, who writes in the Observer for January, I beg to trouble you with a few ideas on the improvement of those our un fortunate fellow-creatures denominated Gypsies.

I believe it may be safely, asserted, that no system short of absolute compulsion will be sufficiently operative upon those Gypsies who have arrived at mature age, to change their mode of life for one of sobriety, cleanliness, and regularity. It is not from sheer necessity that these singular beings are the inhabitants of hedgebottoms and miserable tents: there is a charm for them in a life of vagrancy and uncertainty, not to be extinguished by any prospects which civilized life can hold out. I fear, therefore, that any attempts to correct the habits of up-grown Gypsies, will be very unsuccessful; but this does not in any way ap ply to the unformed minds and manners of their offspring.

I would suggest, therefore, that an institution be formed, to receive under its roof the infant children found in gypsy companies; to feed, clothe, lodge, educate, and as completely to superintend them as is done by the children at the Foundling and many other of the ex- · cellent institutions which exist in this favoured land. If this institution were extensive enough, it might embrace all the children which shall from any given period

be born among the Gypsies in England; but as I have no means of ascertaining their number, and their rate of increase, I cannot state what would be necessary for the support of such an establishmeut. I am also presuming that no greater objection would exist among the parents, against the adoption of their children, thau would exist among the labouring classes, who are in general glad to embrace offers of admission into respectable institutions.

The plan I here suggest, even if it extended to noue but infants, would in a few years abolish the whole fraternity, by enlisting its members into the valuable ranks of society. And even should means not be found to embrace the design in its full scope, yet upon a smaller scale it must have the same effect in the end, provided Gypsies are not in the habit of gaining an increase from the lower classes in this kingdom, which I presume is not much, if at all, the case. However, if we cannot do all we wish, and as soon as we would, let us do what we can.

But I would still speculate a little further, and propose, that as to an institution like this there would probably be a church or a chapel of ease attached, the children's parents would occasionally, perhaps, be induced to attend from an attachment to their offspring; which inducement might be further excited by small donations of bread, plain clothing, or other things, which are really serviceable, but not valuable as articles of traffick. To facilitate such attendance, the body of the church, or soine sufficient part of it, should be left open for their reception, with free ingress and egress.

By the above means, those humane persons who took an interest in the object of this institution, would have opportunities of becoming acquainted with and learning more of the characters of these poor creatures, and of selecting