Williams, Rev. John, of Brian Loch, Llanferras to Miss Bailey, of the

Wauchope, Rev. D. Rector of Warkton, Co. Northampton, to Miss Dick, Prestonfie d. Sept.

Wickham, Rev. J. W. Rector of Horsington, to Miss Bennet, of Cadbury House, Somersetshire. July.

Wilkinson, Rev. J. C. Rector of All Saints, Stamford, Co. Lincoln, to Miss E. Porrett, second daughter, of R. Porrett, Esq. of his Majesty' Office of Ordnance.

DIED.

York, Hon. James, D.D. Lord Bishop of Ely.

MARRIED.

Zouch, Rev. Dr. Prebendary of Durham, to Miss Brooke of Wakefield. August.

Agreeably to the wish of a most respectable Correspondent, tve submit the following letter to the attention of the Clergy of the Establishment; at the same time referring our readers to what has been inserted relative to the burial of children not regularly baptized, p. 221, diocess of Peterborough.

MR. EDITOR,

I hail your publication as the first channel of commmunication and intercourse that I have seen to be opened to the Clergy of the Church of England, and avail myself of it to give them notice of a plan for attacking them by a legal contest, and with a subscription purse, a thing justly formidable to persons in their isolated situation.

That the methodists or independents, as a body, have established societies all over the kingdom, with regular correspondence amongst one another, is known to most persons; but it is not so generally known, that they have formed in London a committee, called by themselves "A committee for supporting the civil rights of the dissenters;" and that they have books of resolutions, and a secretary in constant activity; not indeed, as appears, for any such purpose as their title indicates, (no dissenters finding need of any such protection or support, nor the methodists themselves, with all the provocations they can give, being able to arrive at the honours of martyrdom or persecution;) but, as they themselves openly shew, for the purpose of harassing the parochial clergy with prosecutions. It is understood that there are now two prosecutions going on in the dioceses of Gloucester and Peterborough; and one has been threatened in the diocess of London, but not yet commenced, all on the same ground of complaint, viz. that the clergy have refused to read the burial service over children dying in their parishes without having been baptized by themselves, or any other lawful minister, but which children the parents assert to have been baptized legally by regular qualified dissenting ministers." This "legality, regularity, and qualification," are denied by the clergy of the establishment, who contend they are to take cognizance of the administration of this sacrament, and of the rights it confers, only when performed in the

manner stated in the rubrick prefixed to the form for the ministration of public baptism, or that to private baptism, where it is expressly said, that it shall be done by the minister of the parish, or in his absence, by any other lawful minister that can be procured; but that the baptism of infants, not in the absence of the minister of the parish, but by the choice of the parents, and performed by persons avowedly not ordained by any bishop, bears no such character; and, therefore, that those who chuse to have their children christened by such persons, ought to procure them to be buried by the same. This not only common sense dictates, but the constant practice of all sects besides this, confirms it. These methodists have in most, or in many places, cemeteries of their own, where they prefer in general to bury their dead; but they apparently take the occasion of the funerals of these infants, to attempt establishing the lawfulness of their ministers, and the putting them on a footing with the regularly ordained Clergy of the Church of England; and in this they will have succeeded in a great measure, if not entirely, in case they should gain this point; since it is declared in the rubrick that such baptism as is valid to the effect of burial in the form of the church, is likewise so for the reception of the child into the congregation, without any repetition of the ceremony. If, therefore, the baptism of a dissenting minister, as they call him, or a person in pretended holy orders, is good for the one purpose, it is so for the other; and this being granted, all further distinctions would be at an end; nor would there remain any reasonable ground to prevent such persons from performing all the offices of the church, and finally taking possession of it. There is no reason to doubt but this is the point on which they have fixed their view, and if it continues to be permitted to single out the parochial clergy, and assail them with an aggregate fund, right or wrong, they must sink under it in the end, however resolutely they may defend themselves. Such a practice. would, in case the proceedings were carried on in a common law court, be considered as a conspiracy or maintenance, and the plaintiffs not only be non-suited, but heavily mulcted. This just maxim of law does not seem to obtain in the Ecclesiastical Courts; and, therefore, the only method that

presents itself for the clergy to adopt in their own defence, is to enter into similar associations for their mutual support, which, although they have not as yet any such general and circular correspondence as is established among the methodists, they might give a commencement to in their meetings in the different visitations; and if it be found necessary, they might easily afterwards establish a central and standing committee in London. It has long been noticed with regret by the friends of the establishment, that a want of unity among themselves has left each individual, and by consequence, in the end, the whole body, exposed to be attacked to infinite disadvantage, which it is hoped the present occasion may

remove.

Ut jugulent homines surgunt de nocte latrones,
Ut te ipsum serves non expergisceres.

As soon as any farther progress is made in these hints, it shall be communicated to you; in the mean time it is fit to inform the clergy, that such of the bishops as are known to have been applied to on the occasion, have thought the refusal was legal, although one has seemed to recommend compliance, apparently from a fear of exposing the minister to an expensive contest.-Perhaps most people will think it would better become the diocesan to give his support to such minister. The present opportunity seems not only to incite, but to call on their Lordships to step forward with firmness and dignity, to mark out a reasonable and clear line of conduct to those who are supposed to act under their orders, and indemnify them in the maintenance of such conduct; but if there really exists any ambiguity, then to obtain a clear and plain definition from the legislature, which is the more necessary, because these sectaries have attempted to avail themselves of a bill which passed in the 25th Geo. III. c. 75. repealed 34th Geo. III. c. 11. which, by requiring a stamp duty on their registers of baptism, gave them a semblance of legality; but this neither did, nor could, add any thing to that legality, which was already allowed them in a civil point of view, and for the purposes of succession to inheritance, nor in any way could extend beyond their civil rights, nor impose any fresh duty on the clergy of the national church, which was not at all in the purview of the act,

The following Index to the English Rectories, Vicarages, Curacies, and Donatives, is as accurate as the nature of the case will allow; but since, in common with every other description of property, that of the church is liable to partial changes, the names of patrons in some instances will, not improbably, be found not strictly correct. To remedy any defect of this nature, we shall consider ourselves under peculiar obligation to any gentleman who will remit to us the names of the patrons of such benefices as may chance to have a wrong patron subjoined.

In forming this index we have consulted and compared most of the works that have been published on the subject, from the time of Willis and Bacon, to the late most valuable publications of Mr. Carlisle and Mr. Capper, whose topographical dictionaries are the most accurate and official that have ever been published in this country.

In our next volume will be given an Index to the Protestant Benefices in Ireland, arranged under the respective dioceses, with the names of the incumbents, and the number of parishioners.