that we feel the weight of a large debt of gratitude for his disinterested and gratuitous ministrations among us during a period of nearly 13 years. That, under the influence of these sentiments, we offer him our most respectful and sincere thanks, accompanied by our warmest wishes for his present welfare and future happiness. That a copy of these Resolutions, attested by the Chairman and Secretary, be presented to Mr. Eddowes, and that Mr. William Hulings and Mr. Guy Bryan be a committee for that purpose. True extract from the minutes. WM. TURNER, Secretary. In his reply, Mr. E. expressed his deep sense of the kindness of the Society in given him by Mr. Sparkes, in his little periodical publication, has been attacking us in a style of asperity worse (some say) than Dr. M. himself. "There is a strong movement among the Catholics about the choice of a priest for St. Mary's-the clergy on one side and the people on the other contending for the right of appointment. Some personal violence has been used, and both parties are resorting to the law for the confirmation of their claims. These things seem to portend a revolution in favour of religious liberty, in the end no less successful thau that which has given us the full enjoyment of our civil rights.” SIR, Ross, April 10, 1822. passing these Resolutions, and his obliga-SEND you a few remarks on the tions for the politeness of the gentlemen who presented them; but that, being as little expected as merited, he had been prepared to find his only reward in the consciousness of having discharged the duty, however imperfectly, to the best of his ability. Extract of a Letter from Philadelphia. "Dr. M has retired from his In Deut. xxxiv. 5, it is said, "So Moses not only many Jews, but some good Christian fathers, think that he died not, but was snatched up to heaven alive." This, however, he says, "is not the common opinion of modern commentators;" himself amongst the rest, I should think from his manner of stating this opinion, and asking the question, who wrote the account ministerial office at New York, having been chosen President of Carlisle College, Pennsylvania. In his farewell Sermon to his flock, he took occasion to pour of the death of Moses and of his burial? forth a torrent of the most bitter invec-It is clear, however," he adds, "that tives against the Unitarians, imprecating it must have been written after, and curses upon, and consigning them to some considerable time after Moses, damnation, although he said that their from this expression, unto this day doctrine was too coarse and abominable no inan knoweth aught of his sepul for hell itself. The Sermon being printed, chre." Now, from the proneness of came under review by Mr. Walsh, who the Iraelitish nation to idolatry, of publishes a daily paper in Philadelphia. which Moses has given us many inHe, though a Catholic, in an article headed stances, it might be concluded, that Intolerance, warmly reprobated this un- this concealment of his death, if it inchristian and illiberal conduct of the Doc- deed took place, and the place of his tor's, and very handsomely did justice to the character of Unitarians as a body, burial, was intended to prevent the mentioning an individual among them as Jews from deifying their great legisla the foremost in every plan of public bene- tor, after the manner of the Heathen volence and utility. The Sermon has been nations. And this might have been remarked upon by one of the New York the case, had they known of his being Unitarian congregation, and Mr. Taylor translated alive to heaven, in their has taken the occasion to defend the then circumstances. cause before a numerous audience at our regular evening service, so that we seem in a way more than ever to attract the public notice. Indeed, the Presbyterian clergy do all they can to help us; they cannot refrain from venting their spleen in sermons and publications. Dr. formerly of New York, but now of Princeton College, sore from the castigation Now the Scriptures of the New Testament have revealed this mystery to us Christians. The gospel, I say, informs us that Moses, as well as Elijah, was translated from earth to heaven without undergoing the law of our nature. Indeed, the historian infers as much when he informs us, Daniel De Foe, with a view to publi- that "his eye was not dim, nor was The Unitarian Mourner comforted. on the Death of her Daughter, aged 20. MY DEAR MADAM, Sept. 28, 1819. to the heavenly state. And this satis: ADOPT this method of addressing factorily accounts, why his sepulchre was not to be found. This is called a vision by the sacred writers, but it was also a real transaction, as St. Peter affirms, from what they both saw and heard in the Holy Mount. (See 2 Epist. Peter i. 16-18.) It is rather singular, that neither John in his Gospel or Epistles, nor James, who were eye and ear witnesses with Peter, should make any allusion to this transaction of the transfiguration; but we have sufficient evidence of the historical fact. PHILALETHES. - P.S. At p. 216, Vol. VI. of Theol. Repos., I beg to correct a passage relating to the Prince Michael, who is there represented as the leader or great prince of the children of Israel, to restore them to their country, &c., as foretold by Daniel. (See x. 13-21 and xii. 1.) It does not necessarily follow that this temporal prince was to spring from the stem of Jesse, as is supposed in the paper referred to; I rather think now, he may be of Gentile race, as Cyrus was, who was the great deliverer of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity. And should the war between Russia and Turkey take place, as in all probability it will, we shall soon discover to whom this high destiny belongs. SIR, you, in the hope of being able to express my sentiments on the subject of the recent painful visitation of Divine Providence, more fully and with better effect than can be done in conversation. If it be any solace of your grief to know that others feel with you, I beg to assure you, for my own part, that I have been deeply affected by your loss, and that the other mem bers of our society with whom I have conversed on the subject, sincerely sympathize with you. But happily it is not in the sympa thy of our friends alone that we can find consolation in seasons of distress. With no better support than earthly friends can afford, the heart would sink under its burthen of grief. You will allow me to attempt the fulfilment of what I conceive to be the most important part of the office of the Christian friend and the Christian minister, by directing your thoughts, as well as I am able, to those everlasting sources of consolation which the sacred volume unfolds. I doubt not it will be often before you, for every other book is poor and meagre in comparison with these living oracles. Let me particularly recommend to your attention the following passages, as affording interesting subjects for meditation, under the loss of friends, and more especially the loss of children: 2 Sam. xii. 15-23; 2 Kings iv. 8-37; 1 Kings xvii. 8-24; Job i. 18-22; Ezekiel xxiv. 15, 16; Luke vii. 11-16, viii. HAVING been engaged for some 41, 42, 49-56. time in making collections for a History of the Life and Times of Your eyes will, perhaps, be dim med with tears, when you read of the happy lot of the widow of Zarephthah, the Shunemmite, and the wife of Jairus, who had their beloved offspring restored to their longing arms, just as the gates of death appeared to have closed upon them for ever, and contrast their lot with yours. But your grief will be greatly moderated when you recollect that these events are recorded instances of the power of God to raise the dead to life again. And, upon further reflection, you will find that what seemed at first sight to be calculated to aggravate your sufferings, is in fact adapted not only to soothe them, but to change the voice of wailing into songs of thanksgiving and joy. Happy were these favoured mothers, although they were doomed shortly to part company again, and their intercourse with their children, thus snatched from the grave, might be interrupted by distance, or embit tered by vice. But far happier will virtuous parents one day become, when rising from the slumbers of death, they shall run to embrace those whom God hath given them, and be re-united in eternal friendship. No selfishness shall cool the ardour of their attachment, no sorrows shall cloud their intercourse, no follies and imperfections shall call for the voice of admonition. Whatever in this world has given pleasure, shall be heightened and perfected; whatever has caused momentary pain, shall be eternally banished. Allow me to remind you that the hope of a resurrection is the main pillar of Christianity, "for this is the word of faith" preached by the apostles, "that if thou wilt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." This great truth the Unitarian doctrine places in the clearest point of view. While other systems disguise the fact of his death, and perplex the evidence of his resurrection, by representing him as God who can not die, and as rising by his own inherent power and immortality from the grave, the Unitarian believes him to have been precisely what the apostle's argument to the Corinthians supposes him to have been-simply a man. If he were any thing more, his resurrection could be no proof of the possibility and pledge of the certainty of ours. "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead." Whatever therefore others may tell you of the barrenness of this doctrine, you will, I trust, find it fruitful in the richest sources of consolation. You view the Saviour of the world in the most interesting light possible, as tempted in all points like his brethren, yet without sin; as having, not figuratively, or nominally suffered, but as having really undergone all the piercing griefs of this state of trial, and set us an example at once of feeling them acutely and bearing them manfully. And when you meditate on the character and perfections of God, your thoughts of him will be full of consolation and joy. You do not consider him as having required of you a sinless obedience which he made you incapable of yielding him, or as making you the subject of his everlasting, implacable wrath for the guilt of another which you had no part in incurring; but as love, infinite and essential love, revealing itself in the works of nature, but more fully in the dispensation of grace, the free gift of pardon and eternal life, to every sincerely repentant offender. It is my earnest hope, that while you and Mr. H. meditate on these things in the "multitude of your" troubled "thoughts within you," the lations of God" will still "delight your souls." conso Had you this morning consigned to an untimely grave a froward, ungrateful, or vicious child, I might have been at a loss to know in what language of consolation to address you. But to the parents of an amiable, pious and dutiful daughter, a thousand pleasing topics for reflection will readily occur. To have been the authors of her birth, instead of being thought of with pain and shame, is a subject of pride and congratulation. A thousand instances of dutiful attachment to her earthly parents, and of reverential love to her heavenly Father, will rush into your minds in your hours of retirement and meditation. And even the last sad scene of suffering which brought her an early victim to grace the triumphs of death,—when it is recollected that disease and approaching dissolution seemed as it were to unlock the treasures of the pious heart, which modesty had kept concealed, and to convince her sorrowing relatives how well Letter on the Unitarian Edition of Penn's “Sandy Foundation shaken." 271 the sufferer was fitted, through the mercy of God, for that immortality to which she was hastening-will be contemplated with a species of tranquil satisfaction. Not to mourn under such circumstances would be unnatural and unchristian. But you will weep, I trust, "as though you wept not." Time heals our wounds, how ever deep and painful they may be; even the face of nature to a contemplative mind appears to forbid us to indulge in immoderate grief; the fields dressed in the gay attire of spring, or smiling with abundant harvests, inspire our hearts with joy and thankfulness. The blue arch of heaven, decked with stars all bright, serene and tranquil, silently persuade the troubled breast to a similar composure. But, above all, religion is calculated to give us "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and garments of praise for the spirit of heavi ness.' With sentiments of respect and friendship for yourself and Mr. H., believe me to be, Dear Madam, G. K. A GOOD deal has lately been said on the supposed coincidence of opinion among some of the original leaders of the Quakers, and that main tained by Unitarian Christians. The subject lately formed a part of a conversation at which an intelligent lady of the former persuasion was present, and who was requested to peruse "Penn's Sandy Foundation Shakey." A copy, as published by the "Unitarian Society,' was presented to her for that purpose, which was afterwards returned, accompanied by the following letter, which I have permission_to send for insertion in the Monthly Repository, and shall be glad to see satisfactorily answered. The subject is rather an important one, both as respects fair and candid dealing, the I. p. 36, there is a full account of the In Clarkson's Life of Wm. Penn, Vol. circumstances which caused this pamphlet to be written, the substance of which is this: two persons of the Presbyterian congregation in Spitalfields, went one day to the Meeting house of the Quakers, merely to learn what their religious doctrines were. It happened that they were converted there. This news being carried to Thomas Vincent, their pastor, it so stirred him up, that he not only used his influence to prevent the converts from attending there again, but he decried the doctrines of the Quakers as damuable. This slander caused William Penn and George Whitehead, an eminent minister among the Quakers, to demand an opportunity to defend themselves publicly. This, with a good deal of demur, was granted, and the Presbyterian Meetinghouse fixed upon for the purpose. When themselves at but to themselves at the door, but Vincent, to of the Meeting-house with his own secure a majority, had filled a great part hearers, so that there was but little room for them. Penn and Whitehead, however, with a few others of the Society, pushed their way in; they had scarcely done this, when they heard proclaimed aloud "that the Quakers held damnable doctrines." Immediately George Whitehead shewed himself, and began to explain aloud what the principles of the Society really were; but Vincent interrupted him, contending that it would be a better way of proceeding for himself to creed. Vincent, having carried his point, examine the Quakers as to their own began by asking the Quakers whether they owned one Godhead subsisting in three distinct and separate persons. Penn and Whitehead both asserted that this, delivered as it was by Vincent, was no "scriptural doctrine." Clarkson, after going more at large into the subject, adds, "it will not be necessary to detail the arguments brought forward in this controversy, in which nothing was settled;" but he describes the great intemperance betrayed by several of the Presbyterians, so that it was impossible to obtain a hearing. This then was the cause for William Penn's writing the "Sandy Foundation Shaken," which gave offence, from its being entirely misunderstood, as his "Innocency with her Open Face" will amply testify. And now suffer me to make some remarks upon the Unitarian preface to the "Sandy Foundation Shaken," wherein there are (excuse me for saying so) two instances of an entire want of candour in the author. He mentions the commitment of William Penn to the Tower, by Lord Arlington, the then Secretary of State. Can we then suppose him ignorant of the letter which William Penn addressed to Lord Arlington, wherein he says, "truly were 1 as criminal as my adversaries have been pleased to represent me, it might become me to bear my present sufferings without the least resentment of injustice done, and to esteem a vindication of my cause an aggravation of my guilt; but since it is so notorious that common fame hath maliciously belied me, and that from invincible testimonies, I stand not guilty of what my adversaries would have so peremptorily fastened on me, confessing that eternal deity of Christ"? Certainly no man will assert this is Unitarian doctrine, the "eternal deity of Christ." And now let me transcribe one of these "invincible testimonies," which William Penn speaks of. They are not isolated passages to be hunted for through his works, but are to be found every where, where he speaks upon the subject; indeed one characteristic stamps both his life and writings, that of being led and guided by the spirit of Christ. But let his letter to John Collynes, dated 1673, speak for itself. "I will tell thee my faith in this matter: I do heartily believe that Jesus Christ is the only true and everlasting God, by whom all things were made that are in the heavens above, or the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth, that he is omnipotent, omniscient, therefore God; this confest by me in two books printed a little before the 'Sandy Foundation Shaken,' viz. 'Guide Mistaken' (p. 28) and Truth Exalted,' (pp. 14, 15,) also at large in my Innocency with her Open Face.' I think I have dealt very honestly with thee; I am sure to the satisfaction of my own conscience, and it is not my fault if it be not to the better information of thine." ་ The other passage in the Unitarian preface is the following: "During this close imprisonment, the loud and general clamours against him reached Penn's eyes or ears, and induced him to write a small tract, which he called an Apology for the former, not with an intention of recanting any of those doctrines which he had so recently professed to lay down on the immoveable basis of Scripture and right reason, but to clear himself from aspersions cast upon him for writing the Sandy Foundation Shaken."" Yet, in this very Apology, which the Unitarian author considers as no recantation of the doctrine which he ascribes to the " Sandy Foundation Shaken," are to be found these unequivocal expressions: “I am constrained, for the sake of the simplehearted, to publish to the world of our faith in God, Christ and the Holy Spirit: We do believe in one holy God Almighty, who is an eternal spirit, the creator of all things, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, his only Son and express image of his substance, who took upon him flesh, and was in the world; and in life, doctrine, miracles, death, resurrection, ascension and mediation, perfectly did and does continue to do the will of God, to whose holy life, power, mediation and blood, we only ascribe our sanctification, justification and perfect salvation. And we believe in one Holy Spirit that proceeds from the Father and the Son, as the life and virtue of both the Father and the Son, a measure of which is given to all to profit with; and he that has one has all, for these three are one, who is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, Ġod over all, blessed for ever. Amen." Now if this be not a recantation, does it not clearly prove to every candid lover of truth, that William Penn's "Sandy Foundation Shaken" was totally miscon strued and wrested from its genuine meaning? But if, on the other hand, the editor's preface is to be regarded as truth, wherein he says, he is "not acquainted with a more manly and able vindication, in that peculiarly fanatical age, of the pure Unitarian doctrine than the Sandy Foundation Shaken;"" then it necessarily follows, that the apology is a recantation, or disavowal of his former sentiments, it being in direct opposition to the principles which constitute Unitarianism. Let any unprejudiced mind read the following vindication of himself, in "Innocency with her Open Face," and then |