the divine light, it is evident that the guide which they follow is their own be nighted reason. Elias Hicks says: "In those things which relate to our moral conduct, we all have understandings alike, as reasonable beings; and we know when we do wrong to our fellow creatures; we know it by our rational understanding-WE WANT NO OTHER INSPIRATION THAN REASON AND JUS TICE." Again: "If we transgress against God, or even against our fellow creatures, the act hath its adequate reward, and it will make us sorry for what we have done that is we shall be losers by it, and gain nothing, for no man shall gain by doing evil." "He [the Almighty] has set good and evil before us, and left us to elect for ourselves." Quaker, vol. II. pp. 258-9. As regards morality, they want no other revelation than reason and justice, and when we transgress against God, the act will make us sorry for what we have done, that is we shall be losers, and gain no. thing. While they speak much of the necessity of divine revelation, reason is held up as the "balancing and comparing principle," by which we are to test those revelations, and decide whether they are "imprudent," or "counterfeit."* A simple and child-like reliance upon that faith which is of the operation of the Holy Spirit of God is thus disregarded, and the proud reason of man exalted into the seat of judgment. We need not therefore be surprised at the unsound opinions which they entertain, the contemptuous manner in which they treat the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, contained in the scriptures of Truth, and the very irreverent and unworthy sentiments respecting the blessed Saviour and Redeemer of men, with which their discourses and writings abound, as if it were a chief object, to decry the Holy Scriptures, and to degrade the Lord of life and glory. The contrast between the Christian principles of our religious Society, and those held by the Separatists, who have adopted the anti-scriptural sentiments of Elias Hicks, must be strikingly obvious to every unprejudiced mind. The sorrowful effects of these principles in deranging the order and subordination necessary to the well-being of our religious Society, the disunity and discord produced by them in meetings and in families, have been very fully developed in the last five years, not only within the limits of this Yearly meeting, but also in many other parts. We believe it right to bear our decided testimony against such principles, as tending to destroy all faith in the fundamental doctrines of the Christian reli *N. Y. and Phil. Ser. p. 90, 93, 208. gion, and to break asunder the bands of civil and religious society. And we further declare, that as such who entertain and propagate them, have departed from the teachings of the Holy Spirit, which would have preserved them in the doctrines of Christ Jesus and his apostles, we cannot unite with them in church fellowship, nor own them to be of our communion; neither can we correspond with any meetings or associations, holding those principles, and set up in violation of the excellent order, which has been instituted among us in the unfoldings of Divine wisdom. While we believe it to be a religious duty, thus to stand forth in the defence of the gospel of Christ, against the spirit and principles of libertinism and infidelity, we have no doubt, that many who have joined in the present schism, have been led into it, by the influence of mis. representation and unfounded prejudice against their brethren, and without a full knowledge of the principles of their leaders. For such as these, we feel deep re. gret and tender solicitude: and it is our fervent desire for them, and for all others who have departed from the right way of the Lord, that he may be pleased to renew the visitations of his love and light to their souls, and in his own time, gather them to the fold of Christ's sheep, where they may go in and out, and find pasture. In contemplating the merciful extension of divine help with which Friends have been favoured from time to time, enabling them to endure many close conflicts, and to stand fast in the support of our Christian principles and discipline, we desire to commemorate the Lord's goodness, and to place our confidence in him alone, firmly believing, that as this be comes the living concern of the members of our religious Society generally, he will more and more exalt and glorify the name of his beloved Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in and amongst us; to whom with the Father be ascribed all honour and praise now and forever. Amen. Signed by direction and on behalf of the Yearly Meeting. SAMUEL BETTLE, Clerk. Discord and strife will always be subjects of regret to benevolent minds, wherever they may occur, or from whatever cause they may arise. Yet it should be recollected that truth and purity are more precious than peace itself"The wisdom that is from above is "If it first pure, then peaceable." be possible, as much as in you lyeth, live peaceably with all men," is the even Divine injunction-plainly intimating that it is sometimes not possible, not in our power, to do our duty and yet to live in peace. And if ever Christian duty required the better part of a religious society to sacrifice peace to a good conscience, we think the case had occurred in the Society of Friends, when the pamphlet before us was issued. For some years past, we have, with great pleasure, observed in the yearly epistles of this Society in England, a more open and explicit recognition of some of the leading doctrines of the gospel than we had seen before. We have also remarked, in some of the other writings of the members of this society, not only a statement, but an illustration and defence of evangelical truth, that has given us much gratification. In the publications of Joseph John Gurney, with the exception of what relates to the sacraments of the Christian church and a regular gospel ministry, we know not to what we could object; and he is unquestionably one of the ablest writers of the day. In the Quaker system there are, in our judgment, two deficiencies, inseparably connected; namely, the want of early systematick instruction in religion, and a publicly acknowledged formula of faith and church orderand to these deficiencies the late disturbances, as well as several in former times, may, we think, be fairly traced. The youth of this Society, male and female, are, in many respects, well educated; perhaps, in some places, they are better educated, so far as literature and general mental culture are concerned, than those of other religious communities. But it is admitted in the pamphlet before us, that, of late at least, early religious education has been neglected. In assigning the causes of the heresy which has recently become so rampant among them, it is said But one of the most fertile sources of evil, has been the neglect of many of our members, in not bestowing upon their offspring a guarded religious education; minds with the saving truths of the gos labouring to imbue their susceptible pel, and habituating them to frequent reading of the Holy Scriptures. For want of this godly concern on the part of parents and teachers, many of our youth those all-important subjects, as well as of have grown up in great ignorance of the history and principles of our ancient Friends; so that many have fallen an easy prey to the cavils and sophistry of design- For ourselves, we much doubt whether the sacred scriptures (certainly the only infallible standards of faith) will be read and regarded as they ought to be, by any description of associated Christians, who have not a digested summary of the cardinal truths of revelation, which they teach to children and youth, and regard as articles of faith, by which all the members of the association are to be discriminated. We have heard of no Bible classes among Friends; and we are persuaded that if there had existed in the Society any publickly acknowledged symbol of faith, to which an appeal might have been made, Elias Hicks could never have gone to the length he did go, before he was arrested. In the pamphlet under review, we find an appeal to the writings of early Friends, and a reference to "a declaration of faith," made by the Society in the year 1693; and beyond a question, the quotations given show, that the Separatists hold doctrines inconsistent with what is alleged from these accredited writings. But we mistake if any of these writings have been regarded by the Society as authoritative; or as containing a standard of faith and order, to which an assent of members was ever required, and by which, of course, they might be tried. We also mistake, if there have not been other writings, which have been much esteemed and cir culated among Friends, from which the Separatists might make quotations, which would afford at least a plausible countenance to some of their pernicious errors. Whether the late schism will lead to a supply of the deficiency to which we have thus adverted, we know not. Our chief concern is not with Quakers, but with Presbyterians-We have among ourselves a number of no creed advocates; and if our church needed a solemn warning to beware of them, she certainly has had it, in what has lately been witnessed in the midst of us. Literary and Philosophical Intelligence, etc. serviceable. The Asiatic Society of London has and the dauw, he urges, would be highly opened communications with numerous learned and scientific bodies, from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge to the London Mechanics' Institution, with a view to procure every species of information and assistance for promoting oriental knowledge and improvement. Returns laid before Parliament state, that between Nov. 1826 and Jan. 1828, there was paid into the Savings Banks in England 1,391,000l., and paid out 317,000. In Ireland, 316,000l., and paid out 148,000l. An elaborate memoir was lately read by M. Cordier, before the Academy of Sciences, in Paris, to prove, that the temperature of the earth increases rapidly towards the centre; that only the external crust is cooled; but that at about fifty leagues deep, the whole mass is in a state of fusion. The largest volcano, M. Cordier considers, would be a mere bubble of this mass of liquid fire. This ancient hypothesis, thus attempted to be proved by the inductions of modern science, is stated to be widely received as probable by the French geologists. M. F. Cuvier, in an essay lately published on the domestication of mammiferous animals, urges, that many animals hitherto useless to man, might be rendered of great service to him. After deducting all those which are too weak, or too stupid, or unsocial, or mischievous, for domestication, he enumerates others which he thinks might be employed with advantage. The seal, he thinks, might be trained for fishing, just as the dog for the chase; the tapir, which is at present destroyed whenever found, he says, would be preferable to the hog for food, with the advantage of greater size and docility; the alpaca and vicugna, would answer both as beasts of burden and for their admirable fleece, besides, being double the size of sheep; all the solipeda might be domesticated, as well as the horse or ass: the zebra, in particular, with the quagga, In a late official report, by Captain Herbert, on the geology of the Himalaya mountains, it is stated, that they present no fewer than twenty-eight peaks which overtop Chimborazo, in the Andes (one of them being 25,000 feet in elevation;) forty-four which tower above the second height of the South-American summits, and a hundred above the third. The geological formation is Gness. There is no trace of volcanos. Coal has been dis. covered at the foot of these stupendous altitudes. A deposit of fossil plants, containing, it is stated, nearly fifty species, all different from any genera now known in England, has lately been discovered in a coal stratum near Scarborough. The inhabitants of Lutterworth, have entered into a subscription for a bronze statue of Wickliff, to be erected in that town. He is to be represented with a Bible in one hand and his staff in the other. It has been found inexpedient in practice to attempt to give to steam vessels much more rapid velocities than those usually employed, in consequence of the accelerated increase of the resistance of the water, which is as the cube of the velocity. If a twenty-five horse power give a motion of five miles an hour, it would require a two hundred horse power to give a motion of ten. By one-horse power is meant a force equal to the impulse given by 40 cubic feet of water falling through 10 feet; and so on for higher powers. The number of Gipsies in England was estimated, sixty years ago, at 40,000, and it is not thought to have since decreased. They are every where the terror of the peasantry; and it is stated that, within ten miles of London itself, a tribute, not unlike that formerly exacted in wild parts of the country under the name of black mail, is paid to them by farmers, to protect their property from their incursions. An indefatigable phrenologist, M. Vimont, has been labouring six years "with out the loss of an hour," and at an enormous expense, in collecting and prepar ing twelve hundred remarkable skulls, besides numerous casts and models. Among others mentioned, is, "that of the last man who was racked at Rouen," with many more of "the most interesting objects." M. Arago, the French astronomer royal, lately presented to the Academy of Sciences, some specimens of sand, vitrified by lightning. Large masses of sand thus vitrified, have been found in different parts of the world. The number of schools on the plan of mutual instruction in Denmark, has greatly increased within the last few years. At the conclusion of 1823, there were in all Denmark only 507 schools of this description. At the end of 1824, there were 1017, in 1825, there were 1707, and in 1826, no fewer than 2007. The Russians have, in Count Alexander Pusckin, a poet, whom say the foreign Journals, they cannot unjustly compare to Lord Byron, in originality, power, genius, and immorality. When a student at Zarskozela, he composed an ode to Freedom, for which he was ordered to a distant province, by the Emperor Alexander. The Emperor Nicholas, soon after his ac cession, recalled the young poet, and is reported to have said to him, You possess great talents, which will soon develop themselves. Follow freely the bent of your genius, and if you find any obstructions from the censorship, come to me. The celebrated traveller, Edward Ruppel, is on the point of setting out to Abyssinia, with the purpose of exploring those parts which have not hitherto been visited by any European. The Senate of Frankfort, by an unanimous resolution, come, for the ensuing seven or eight years, has granted him 1000 florins of annual inas well in acknowledgment of his former services, as to enable him, agreeably to his wish, to continue his scientific travels and researches. We lament to see it stated, that young Park has become another victim to AfriCastle, to Mr. Secretary Hay, announces can enterprise. A letter from Cape Coast that he died in the Akimboo country, a little to the south-east of Accoa, some time in October. A very complete French and Arabic sor of Arabic, in the Ecol Royale des LanDictionary, by Ellicis Boether, late Profesgues Orientales, at Paris, is now publishing under the patronage of Clermont Tonnère, by Cocassin de Percival. The Rev. F. A. Cox, LL.D., is preparing a Translation of the chief works of the celebrated Massillon, to be issued in parts, at moderate intervals of time. DOMESTIC. Religious Intelligence. STATISTICAL REPORT OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Prepared by the Rev. Ezra Stiles Ely, D.D. Stated Clerk of the General Assembly. The General Assembly of the Presby terian Church in the United States of America, on the 1st of June, A.D. 1828, had under its care, Sixteen Synods, viz. I. The Synod of Albany, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Londonderry, 2. New. buryport, 3. Champlain, 4. St. Lawrence, 5. Ogdensburg, 6. Oswego, 7. Oneida, 8. Otsego, 9. Albany, 10. Troy, 11. Cokimbia. II. The Synod of New York, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Hudson, 2. North River, 3. Long Island, 4. New York, 5. New York Second. III. The Synod of New Jersey, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Newark, 2. Elizabethtown, 3. New Brunswick, 4. Newton, 5. Susquehanna. IV. The Synod of Geneva, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Chenango, 2. Cortland, 3. Onondago, 4. Cayuga, 5. Geneva, 6. Bath. V. The Synod of Genesee, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Ontario, 2. Rochester, 3. Genesee, 4. Niagara, 5. Buffalo. VI. The Synod of Philadelphia, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Philadel phia, 2. Newcastle, 3. Lewes, 4. Baltimore, 5. The District of Columbia, 6. Carlisle, 7. Huntingdon, 8. Northumber. land. VII. The Synod of Pittsburgh, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Allegheny, 2. Erie, 3. Hartford, 4. Redstone, 5. Steubenville, 6. Washington, 7. Ohio. VIII. The Synod of the Western Re serve, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Detroit, 2. Grand River, 3. Portage, 4. Huron, 5, Trumbull. IX. The Synod of Ohio, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Columbus, 2. Richland, 3. Chillicothe, 4. Lancaster, 5. Athens, 6. Miama, 7. Cincinnati. X. The Synod of Indiana, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Salem, 2. Madison, 3. Wabash, 4. Missouri, XI. The Synod of Kentucky, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Louisville, 2. Muhlenburgh, 3. Transylvania, 4. West Lexington, 5. Ebeneezer. XII. The Synod of Virginia, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Winchester, 2. Hanover, 3. Lexington. XIII. The Synod of North Carolina, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Orange, 2. Fayetteville, 3. Concord, 4. Mecklen burg. XIV. The Synod of Tennessee, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Abingdon, 2. Union, 3. Holston, 4. French Broad. XV. The Synod of West Tennessee, containing the Presbyteries of 1. West Tennessee, 2. Shiloh, 3. Mississippi, 4. North Alabama. XVI. The Synod of South Carolina and Georgia, containing the Presbyteries of 1. South Carolina, 2. Bethel, 3. Hopewell, 4. Charleston Union, 5. Harmony, 6. Georgia, 7. South Alabama. The foregoing 16 Synods comprehend 90 Presbyteries, under whose watch and government, are returned Twelve Hundred and Eighty-Five ordained Ministers; 194 licensed preachers; 242 candidates for the gospel ministry, who are pursuing their studies; 1968 churches; and 146,308 communicants, of whom 15,095 were add. ed the last year, on examination, or by certificate. If we subtract the communicants removed by certificate from one church to another, and those removed by death, we shall find the actual increase of communicants in the year ending May 1st, 1828, to be 11,023; and the actual in crease in the year ending May 1st, 1827, amounted to 7793. The increase of the last year was greater than in the year previous, by 3230. The adults baptized the last year were 3389; and the infants 10,790; making a total of 14,179 baptisms; which exceed those of the year ending May 1st, 1827, by 785. From six Presbyteries no returns have been made this year, of additions to the church, baptisms, and pecuniary collections. In the eighty-four Presbyteries which have reported, are included seve. cal hundred churches which have made no returns, last year, to their respective Presbyteries... The funds collected and reported, are $23993 59 for missionary purposes; $2851 36 to defray the travelling expenses of commissioners to the General Assembly; $516 13 for the clerk hire, and other contingent expenses of Presby. teries; $3353 69 in aid of Theological Seminaries; and $8023 29 for the educa tion of poor and pious youth who have in view the gospel ministry. The vacant churches actually returned are 591; but we may safely say, since six Presbyteries are not brought into the ac count, that there are now 636 churches, duly organized in our connexion, which have neither pastors nor stated preachers; nor any but occasional missionaries to break unto them the bread of life. Our licentiates and candidates amount to no more than 436 persons; so that were they all actually settled in our vacancies, 200 congregations would remain destitute of spiritual guides. Before, however, our candidates can be fitted for, and intro. duced to their work, new congregations will be multiplied more rapidly than preachers; unless our lamentable deficiency in the number of our labourers should discourage their organization in the Presbyterian form. Of our ministers, 226 supply 502 churches; being intrusted with from two to four each. Of our mi nisters, thirty are pastors of congrega tional churches, not under the care of any Presbytery. GENERAL ASSEMBLY'S MISSIONS. New York, July 28th, 1828. To the Executive Committee of the Board of Missions of the General Assembly. Brethren In prosecuting my agency, I preached on the 20th of July, in the Presbyterian Church at Cold Spring, Cape May County, New Jersey. This seemed to be a suitable time for visiting that place, on account of the many strangers collected there at the season for bathing, who might, through a divine blessing, be excited on the subject of the Assembly's Missions; and carry some new and favourable impressions into the congregations to which they belong. It was deemed inexpedient to solicit any subscription in the Church at present, in consequence of the commendable effort which they made a few weeks since, to assist the missionary operations of a socie ty in New Jersey, by pledging themselves to pay nearly $800 dollars. This congregation has also within a few years re moved their old place of worship, and erected a new, handsome, brick edifice. the expense of which induced them, for some years past, to omit the annual mis |