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Perhaps fome may fay, that the lucrative places in cathedrals are made fubfervient to the public good as penfions for learned and able men: but why? is not cathedral fervice really capable of producing the nobleft and beft effects on the heart of man? does it not elevate the foul, when rightly conducted, above all other kinds of worship? is there any thing peculiarly popish in acquiring the most lofty ideas and feelings of omnipotence, omnifcience, and infinite goodnefs, that our prefent imperfections will allow?-A part of the zeal which built cathedrals, might be very rationally continued, furely, to deriving from them all poffible utility. If their lucrative offices are only penfions, the continuation of cathedral service must be a vile profanation. Nor could the theory of their being pensions be allowed as any apology, if they were, on any occafion, made political penfions, and not fimply encouragements to moral, religious, and literary merit. The ftatutes of chapters not being made public, no remarks can be made upon them, or upon obedience to them. -If any one was to propofe making offices in the artillery penfions for men who had faithfully ferved a minifter of ftate, or, if you please, for men of military merit, but not engineers; what would be the answer? No; we want the pay of thofe offices for fuch as are useful in actually ferving in the artillery. A very reasonable anfwer; make it general, and it will stand thus: no emoluments annexed to offices are to be made penfions, unless thofe offices are incapable of doing good according to their original inftitution. The application of this to cathedrals is very easy, if our idea of cathedral worship is a juft one.-Before I quit the fubject of cathedrals I would offer one more remark; that the profits or ftipends of different offices in them should always continue to bear the fame proportion to each other that they did originally: what does it fignify whether thofe profits or ftipends arife from lands, or from fums of money? the intention most clearly was, to furnish a certain portion of the conveniencies of life, to each officer, in proportion to his rank. If the rents of the lands must be raised in order to procure that portion of conveniencies, there cannot be any thing plainer than that money fhould be fo managed as to answer the fame purpose. The neglect of this duty, caufes feveral places, I apprehend, to be indifferently filled.

When this fubject was begun, cathedrals and colleges were mentioned together; but by dwelling on the former we Xx

Vol. XIII. Churchm. Mag. for November 1807.

have

have paffed over the latter: yet Patronage in colleges, exerercifed in right and confcientious elections, is of very great importance if I enter into the particulars concerning them, it will be from a firm perfuafion, that offices and honors are no where conferred more uprightly; with a more pure and unadulterated attention to the real purpose of their foundation, than in colleges. When men of merit quit colleges and go into the world, they find a great and mortifying difference in the means neceffary to attain honor and advance

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If any one should perfift, either for the fake of evasion, or on grounds deemed reafonable, to reject the notion that every Patron is a Trustee, ftill it would be eafy to fhew that the right ufe of Patronage is an important duty, on account of its utility, and of the very great mifchiefs refulting from the abufe of fuch a power. Place a good man at the head of any department, and he will appoint others like himfeif, who will each of them follow his example; fo that the whole fys tem will be good; and therefore irresistible:—whereas, if a bad man were placed at the head, from corrupt, or only indirect motives, or from mere carelessness, he would be almost under a neceffity of procuring fubalterns of his own character, fuch as would attend to duty juft fo far as would be wanted for continuance in office, and no farther: all their views would center in felf. The corrupt principal would not dare to appoint any more worthy men, or better cipled, becaufe they would thwart his plans, and expofe his felfishness. For the fame reafon each of thefe fubalterns muft provide unprincipled underlings, ready to comply and accommodate, without reftriction; and fo on, till the whole department became a mafs of moral or political corruption: the public good would be only an object of decifion, and all the property dedicated to promote it would be fhared by a gang of cheats and plunderers. In fome cafes, wrong ap pointments bring on their pernicious confequences fo quickly and in fo ftriking a manner, that they meet with fome oppofition, and are, in a degree, prevented; but in the Church, the poifon operates more lowly, though as furely, and its baleful effects are not fo vifible as to be acknowledged, for fome time. This flownels occafions neglect in the unthinking and inattentive; fo that before any antidote is fought for, the malady is got to fo great a height, that oppofition is often ineffectual.-Neither do the good effects of right appointments fpring up and fhew themfelves in the church fo

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foon as in fome other departments; which makes many men the more carelefs about them. The feeds of virtue and ra, tional piety may be fown in the heart, by minifters rightly appointed, and yet, if the convert is free from fpiritual pride and oftentation, a confiderable time may elapfe before occafion brings out the plant, fo as to make it attract general notice; (for as to inftantaneous converfions, I own they have no weight with me):-and on the other hand, tares may be fown a confiderable time before they become vifible: an illappointed and unworthy prieft, whether he be ignorant, or negligent, or worldly, or in fome degree intemperate, may fcandalize many attentive members of the church, may loofen their good principles, and damp their devotion; and yet through general respect for religion, thofe who are in the habit of going to church, may continue to attend divine worship; and things may for fome time feem to go on much as ufual: but in the end, the feed fown in the good ground will be fure to bring "forth fruit; fome an hundred fold, fome fixty fold, fome thirty fold," and in the other cafe, the good principles will grow continually more feeble; the devotion more cold; excufes for non-attendance will be more readily adopted; fceptical doubts and quibbles will be en-. couraged, vicious indulgences justified; and the final result of abufe of Patronage in the church will be, infidelity with regard to God, and evasion of every substantial duty towards

man.

Should the idea of this refult be unavailing, nothing that I can offer will be admitted as of any force; I will therefore here close my reasonings and obfervations.

If any man of the world fhould deign to run his eye over thefe my remarks, he would probably take the readiest way of faving himself the trouble of thinking and cenfuring, by this common folution of moral difficulties; "The man who "writes this Utopian stuff, is a discontented man, and writes "only to indulge his fpleen and mortification." If no reply could be made to this folution, without obtruding upon your readers the private hiftory of the writer, it should be left to take its courfe; but as the fame might be faid whoever wrote the fame thoughts, a fort of general reply becomes proper and if without fuch reply all the arguments here used must lose their effect, that will be a fufficient ароlogy for replying with fome care and attention.

In order to hinder the reader from being carried away by mere declamation, let the faying of the man of the world be

X x 2

moulded

moulded into fome fort of general maxim; perhaps thus: when a man is very much prejudiced by his feelings, no attention fhould be paid to his reasonings; he is in a manner infane. Now, fuppofing the fubject important, this rule can only be useful to thofe who are incapable of examining an argument; thofe who are capable, may be expected to point out particular fallacies, whatever may have been the feelings of the writer; at least a fufficient number of fallacies to fhew that the whole is not worth examining.-If it should be conceived that the writer's difcontent prompts him to write, in the hope of ftirring up friends to take his part and affist him; and of throwing blame upon those who neglect him; what has been faid concerning the difference between examining principles and blaming perfons, with the manner, and temper of the whole might obviate fuch a fuppofition: if not, let it be added, that a man's friends cannot know the full worth of all those who are placed above him; nor may they know all their friend's imperfections; or what reports may have been raised against him; or in what light any attempts of his to improve or reform men's religious notions may have been reprefented.

But is it certain, from the nature of the foregoing obfervations, that any one who made fuch, must be difcontented? I do not mean with the abuses alluded to, but with his own lowly fituation. In the first place, is it neceffary that before a man could write fuch obfervations he must be in a low fitu. ation? Is there any of them which a bishop or even an archbishop might not have made? or any other dignitary?-But fuppofe the writer of fuch fentiments were in an inferior fi tuation, does it follow that he is difcontented? Is it impoffible to prefer the life of a rector to the life of a bishop? I think I have known perfons who were fincere in expreffing fuch a preference. If a man has a ftrong relish for literary purfuits (including fuch as illuftrate the facred writings), for the fine arts, and those public affemblies where they are ex hibited, particularly dramatic poetry; if he has as ftrong an inclination for foreign travel as fome men have fhewn; if his mind be fixed upon mathematical researches, or aftronomical obfervations, or on mechanical improvements, he will not defire the cares of epifcopacy; he will rather wish to give large portions of time to leifurely conversations and focial invefti gations, with thofe of his own tafte, Nay, to come nearer to the duties of the clergy as fuch, one may conceive a man more ambitious to fet religion and virtue in a good light, to

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fhew how amiable and excellent a thing it is to be uniformly and unaffectedly pious and worthy; to raise the minds of thofe around him from low felfifhnefs to focial benevolence, from gloomy fufpicion to mutual confidence, from brutal fenfuality and ill-governed paffion to the pleasures and fatisfactions of purity and moderation, than to fuperintend the forms of a diocefe, ftudy the endless bufinefs of legiflation and flate trials, and provide fumptuous entertainments for those who are no friends; entertainments feldom confiftent with health, or genuine cheerfulness. Affuredly, there are men whose aim is rather to rife in the esteem of the worthy, the difcerning, and the pleafing, and to dedicate the chief of their time to fuch advancement, than to be high in office and authority.

There may be others, who would prefer being invested with ecclefiaftical authority, but diflike the methods which are fometimes faid to be neceffary for attaining it. When an ecclefiaftic has a Patron and Friend in a very high fituation in the state, preferment in the church is offered to him of course, and in a manner on his part wholly unexceptionable; perhaps it is neceffary to his Patron's undertaking fome great truf; but when an ambitious churchman has to fight his way through a number of obftacles, there are fome men who would not for the world take those methods which fume perfons, who have enjoyed general esteem, are faid to have taken; these shy mortals would rather join in the affault on a fortrefs, than attack fome flatesman in power. The writer of this paper, be he in what fituation he may, having declared against applications, might confiftently, in his private capacity, treat the common maxim, "what is not worth asking for, is not worth having," as one very pernicious; as founded on wrong conceptions of the nature of church-preferment; as putting it profeffedly on a footing of corruption, and fetting its emoluments above its duties and its ufes. He might think there was impropriety in ever calling thofe emoluments profits, which were only inftituted in order to give clerical exertions their greateft poffible effect. But I do not fee that a man is of courfe difcontented becaufe he diflikes the means of gaining what he would prefer: he makes his choice, and may be contented with it. If men were always to be spoken of as difcontented, because they did not get what they fhould prefer, but never tried for, no man, could be ever fpoken of as contented; for all men would prefer having fome things which they never attain.

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