PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

THE more we consider the affair of Bishop Trower, the more serious it appears. The Crown lawyers, it seems, have determined that the appointment is legal; and what is still more painful, our correspondent Veritas, who is but too well informed, assures us that our most eminent prelates have sanctioned the choice of the Colonial Minister. The business has gone too far to be reconsidered; and Bishop Trower goes out in a few days to preside over the diocese of Gibraltar, which extends to Malta, and indeed to the whole of the Mediterranean Sea. Until the Bill of Rights becomes a sheet of waste paper, England is a Protestant kingdom-"this Protestant kingdom;" but Bishop Trower is not a Protestant. The sovereign, in the Coronation Oath, is sworn to maintain inviolate the Church of England both in her rights and doctrines. The appointment of Bishop Trower appears to us a serious inroad upon our National Church, in both respects; and we believe Her Majesty to have been ill advised. The Scotch Episcopal Church, within the last few years, solemnly repudiated the imputation of being a Protestant Church. It retains at this hour, and glories in, an office for the administration of the Lord's Supper, which seems to us scarcely less than blasphemous, in the same sense in which we hold that the mass is blasphemous; and it is only within the last year or two that the force of public opinion has compelled her to allow her clergy to choose whether they will use the superstitious office, or that of the Church of England. Again, we object to the appointment, on the ground that, granting it were not in the highest degree impolitic, it is ungenerous to our own clergy thus to dispose of the most desirable of her foreign bishoprics to a stranger. How many of them are men of great learning, great zeal, and great piety, whose health, broken down in England, would be at once restored by a residence in the genial climate of the Mediterranean, and on what plea are all of these passed over? What are the distinguishing merits of Bishop Trower? If he be the excellent man whom Veritas describes, he will surely be ashamed of the honours thus thrust upon him, which he must feel in common justice belong to other men. But these are points of inferior moment. The consideration which is of most importance, is the very doubtful nature of the whole transaction. Its lawfulness is at present an open question: we have the opinion of the crown lawyers confronted, on the other hand, by that of civilians quite as learned and less biassed than themselves.

It has long been the wish of a certain party to have the Scotch Episcopal Church acknowledged as in "full communion" with the Church of England. For the present they have gained their object. The Colonial Minister has a wide field; he may choose his bishops either in Scotland or America, and force them on our colonies, and

why not upon an English diocese ? For, let it be remembered, an American bishop, if he will take the oaths of supremacy and allegiance, stands precisely on the same footing with Dr. Trower, bishop elect of Gibraltar.

But the highest legal authority has not yet been invoked; and for our own part, we are far from conceding that the appointment is a legal one. The facts are simply these. While Dr. Travers Twiss, Sir Hugh Cairns, and Dr. Archibald Stephens, have pronounced decidedly against the appointment, Dr. Phillimore, and the law officers of the Crown, have pronounced in favour of it. Whatever the ground on which their opinions rest, the question has not been discussed in open court. It is not a judgment given in the presence of both parties, with the full detail of the reasons, arguments, and precedents on which that judgment was founded; and we incur no charge of presumption, when we say, that, on eccesiastical questions, the opinions of Dr. Twiss, Sir Hugh Cairns, and Dr. Stephens, are probably entitled to as much weight as those whom the Crown, or rather the colonial minister, has called to his assistance; some of whom, it is well known, are of extreme opinions, more in accordance with those of the Episcopal Church of Scotland, than with the Church of England. To say the least, the question is still an open one.

But, even supposing the appointment were legal, is it wise, is it even just? Is it a wise or prudent step thus publicly to affront the Established Church of Scotland, the only church of which we knew anything until 1840, when the Bishop of London's Act was passed, authorizing the English clergy to offer their pulpits to the Scotch episcopal clergy for two Sundays in succession, but not without "the bishop's permission in writing." The only Scotch Church legally recognized was the Established Presbyterian Church, for which we were then, and still are, bound to pray, whenever we make use of the bidding prayer; a circumstance which some churchmen are apt to overlook, for we have heard them use the bidding prayer a hundred times, omitting the Church of Scotland altogether. Nor will the appointment be less offensive to moderate English churchmen of the laity who care anything for Evangelical doctrine or Protestant liberty in spiritual things. Is it wise, even if the law were clear,-which we are not at all prepared to concede, -to take advantage of some legal loophole, some omission, or ill-constructed clause, in order to thrust a non-Protestant bishop upon a Protestant Church?

The Church Congress is to be held this year at Manchester, on the 13th of this month. "It is the desire of the Committee that the Congress should include churchmen of every shade of opinion. Free discussion will be invited, but no vote will be taken, nor any formal decision recorded." We notice with pleasure on the Executive Committee the names of several of our friends, and begin to entertain the hope that these annual meetings may be something better than a mere palaver. Among the subjects appointed for discussion we perceive the following: "Colonial Church (a) Law of; (b) Supply of Native Ministers."

We may reasonably expect, then, that so important a question as Bishop Trower's appointment will receive a full and calm discussion.

We shall wait for it with anxiety; and if any of our friends who may be present will send us a report of the proceedings, we shall be prepared to lay it before our readers. It is a question of such magnitude, that it cannot possibly be slurred over in any assembly which has the slightest pretension to be called a Church Congress.

We turn to other subjects; and that which weighs most heavily on our own minds is the alarming state of public morals. The surface of society has of late years been more decent than was perhaps ever known. But the current has been running dark and foul underneath. At length, suggestions are made, even in the most respectable of our newspapers, of a nature which no modest eye can read, and no unpolluted ear should be compelled to listen to. It is proposed to legalize in England immoralities of the vilest description, which have always been spoken of hitherto (where it was allowable to speak of them at all) as the disgrace of foreign governments. It is, in comparison, a venial offence, though still both hateful and disgusting, that prizefighting is publicly advocated. For some time past, the newspapers have ventured to insult their readers with long accounts of these brutal and disgusting combats. It is now proposed to open amphitheatres where these lovers of "sport" may witness it in all its perfection. After this, what Englishman shall dare to speak of the ferocity of a Spanish bull-fight, or to condemn our ancient pastime of bull-baiting? We do not at all believe that Englishmen are at present prepared for either of the outrages on public decency to which we have referred. It is degrading enough that our public writers have dared to break ground upon the subject; and, as far as we know, we are the first to utter our solemn and indignant protest. And this we now do in the name of public decency-aye, and in the name of a holy God!

But however vile man may be, the goodness of God endureth yet daily. He has again "opened his hand, and filled all things living with plenteousness." One of the most abundant harvests ever known is completed. Almost every kind of produce is yielded by our soil, not only in rich abundance, but in great perfection. We appreciate the motives which have prevented our Government from appointing a day of thanksgiving which would be with the vast multitude a mere holiday. Several of our bishops have written pastoral letters, or, through their archdeacons, have made public their wishes, to the effect that, in every parish, some devout acknowledgment should be made, and that thankofferings, according to Scriptural precedent, should accompany the sacrifice of praise. We have no doubt but that these suggestions will be received in a right spirit, and acted on universally.

The state of the continent of Europe has undergone no great changes. The Polish insurrection continues. Russia returns only polite apologies to the remonstrances of the Great Powers; indeed, as her prospects of success improve, her rejoinders become less and less courteous. It seems probable that the Poles will be again crushed, but that the peace of Europe will not be otherwise disturbed. The infatuation of the king of Prussia continues, but we still hope that it will give way before the constitutional means which are at the disposal

of his subjects. Prussia again threatens interference in the internal affairs of Denmark. We can scarcely believe that she will, with or without the assistance of the German States, presume, in the face of the indignation of the rest of Europe, and chiefly of England, to persist in her present course. In America, no great change has taken place. Each party becomes more embittered. And the war, as it becomes more hopeless, becomes at the same time more ferocious. The Federals have evidently exhausted their resources in men, and have equipped several black regiments. The Confederates threaten to retaliate by arming 500,000 negroes; instead of wages, they will give each man fifty acres of land, and his freedom at the end of the war. After the example set them by the Federals, we cannot blame them; we think we can even see the hand of Providence, and the termination of slavery, at no remote period, as the consequence of this desperate measure. In other respects the Confederates have suffered no serious defeat. Charleston still holds out; and General Lee, with his army of 100,000 men, bides his time on the Rappahannock. In the Federal States civil government seems to be falling to pieces, and the empire of the sword fast approaching. An army of 25,000 men has been encamped in the parks and squares of New York, and gunboats anchored in the harbour so as to command the streets, while an additional force occupy the surrounding heights. Under this protection, the President has been able to enforce the conscription; but the recruits are no sooner impressed than they are bought off at an enormous price by the corporation of the city; the result is, that very few have really been enlisted. In Ohio, the government has not even dared to enforce the conscription. Yet luxury, such as was unheard of before the war began, riots; for speculators, war contractors, and gamblers in the funds are making enormous fortunes; and as the paper money is abundant, the war has yet produced no real suffering, except in the mourning households of brave men who have perished in the war, and who meet with little sympathy amidst this general madness.

We take it as a very conclusive testimony to the impartiality of England, that President Davis, in an angry letter, has recalled Mr. Mason, the Confederate representative in London; being satisfied, he says, that the English government has no intention to recognise the independence of the Southern States. Thus, both parties seem alike disposed to quarrel with us; and for the same reason, that we are not disposed to quarrel with either of them, but, if it were possible, to persuade both alike to give up a contest equally dreadful and unnecessary. In this instance, we may surely hope that the blessing of the peacemakers will be on our side.

IN Holy Scripture great truths are often taught incidentally. They lie as it were in the path, like jewels dropped by an overladen merchantman. We pick them up and examine them, perhaps with greater interest on this very account, and find them pearls of great price. Such a jewel we have in the sentence which forms the title to this paper. It was dropped by the apostle in offering to the Christians at Rome the assurance that they were continually remembered in his prayers. Having appealed to God as a witness of this fact, the idea of reverential homage due to Him spontaneously presented itself to his mind, and found expression in words which in no way interrupt the flow of his thought: "Whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of His Son." (Rom. i. 9.) Rather, a tributary stream was thus added; for to know this fact, must have enhanced in their minds the value of his supplications on their behalf.

This parenthetical sentence, which reveals the secret of Paul's personal religion, is highly suggestive, presenting topics of the greatest importance.

I. It suggests that the Christian life is a service.

The writers both of the Old and New Testaments, even those who rejoice most in the privileges and dignities of God's people, speak of themselves as servants. None seem to delight in this title more than the apostles, and among them no one more than St. Paul. Relating to his ship-wrecked companions the vision which he had he seen, 66 There stood by me says: this night the angel of the Lord, whose I am, and whom I serve." James and Peter begin their Epistles as the servants of God. In the Apocalypse we are told that God had given the revelation "to show unto His servants things which must shortly come