The publishers are Grant & Griffith, St Paul's Churchyard, London, by whom it will be forwarded to you easily by post. The clearness and brevity of this little work-for it can scarcely be considered as a volume-will amply repay a perusal on your part, and I would therefore very earnestly recommend you to procure and give it an attentive consideration.

There is another work of much larger dimensions, and a more learned character, on whose perusal I have been recently employedHora Apocalyptica' (or a learned exposition of the Apocalypse), by the Rev. E. P. Elliott,' which has, I confess, given a new turn to my views on the subject of that mysterious book, and in opposition to my former wishes and half-formed opinions, compelled me to admit that Popery is none other than the Antichrist of Scripture, as the long-predicted 'Man of Sin,' and 'the lawless one,' on whom (ie. the Papal system of nearly 1300 years' duration) the most fearful judgments are very shortly impending. Were you disposed to read this very learned, very able, voluminous, and most extraordinary and convincing work, you could procure it probably through the medium of some of your friends, as I have also myself done in the first instance, as it is probably more voluminous and expensive than you would wish to possess, till, at least, you have become in some measure acquainted with its contents.

I do not exactly recommend you at present to add these four large volumes to your already considerable list, but hereafter, if you are so disposed and have leisure, you might do so with very great interest and advantage. This, however, I may tell you, that the impression made by this elaborate work on my own mind is that the Romish system fully exhausts the long train of Old and New Testament predictions relating to Antichrist,-that the period of its duration has well-nigh expired,—that Rome, and probably a great portion of the Papal territory (forming anciently the Roman empire), will, like Sodom and Gomorrah, be destroyed by some great and sudden volcanic eruption, previous to the re-establishment universally of the true religion of Christ,—and that it is therefore the bounden duty of all those who are desirous of being the true servants of God, instead of connecting themselves with that apostate communion, to come out of her, lest they be partakers of her sins,'—and this without delay, 'before the great and terrible day' of her destruction come, so awfully and so repeatedly foretold in the Word of God.

With these few additional remarks, and most serious warnings, I

now again entreat you to consider, with all the solemnity which the question demands, the awful step which you seem to be meditating; and belonging as you do to the Reformed Household of Christ, which admits no human admixture, or erroneous inventions with the pure and undefiled Revelation of God, beware of declining from the faith; for how can you, so highly privileged by your connexion with God's Church, expect to escape if you neglect (or despise) so great a salvation ?—I am, my dear -, very truly and faithfully yours,

NOTE BY THE EDITOR.-We have inserted these Letters, as agreeing with the learned writer as to the grievous sin of apostatizing from the pure faith and practice of the Reformed Catholic Church; but we cannot suffer them to pass without expressing our dissent from his opinions in several points, especially on the state of the hereditary members of the Romish Church, and also on the interpretation of the Apocalyptic prophecies with reference to that Church.

Ecclesiastical Entelligence.

SYNOD OF ABERDEEN.

The morn

ON Wednesday, August 9th, the Annual Synod of the Diocese of Aberdeen was held in St Andrew's Church, Aberdeen. ing service was said, and the sermon preached, by the Rev. Arthur Ranken, Incumbent of Deer. The preacher took for his text the 8th, 10th, and 11th verses of the 33d chapter of Deuteronomy, from which he demonstrated that the christian priesthood is the spiritual perpetuation of the Jewish. After service, the Synod was solemnly constituted by the Right Rev. the Bishop. There were present twenty-two clergy, and two were absent on account of sickness. The business of the Synod was important and interesting: among which was the case of the Rev. John Taylor, late Incumbent at Cuminestown, whose license to minister within the Diocese of Aberdeen had been withdrawn at the Synod of 1844, on account of certain charges against him impugning his orthodoxy, and held as substantiated at

that Synod. The Bishop read to the Synod a declaration he had received from Mr Taylor, which the Synod carefully compared with the several counts of the Indictment on which his trial was founded. The Synod was unanimously of opinion that Mr Taylor had now renounced the very grave errors on the several points of doctrine and discipline which had been proved against him; and, therefore, recommended to the Bishop, that the sentence of inhibition pronounced against Mr Taylor be now withdrawn. To this cordial and unanimous recommendation the Bishop was pleased to listen, and forthwith issued a declaration annulling the sentence of inhibition; thus restoring the reverend gentleman to the clerical status which a four years' suspension,-the just punishment, according to his own confession, for the errors proved against him, had deprived him of.

The Bishop reported the gratifying fact, that three new stations for the performance of divine service had been opened within the Diocese in the course of the year, viz., Banchory-Ternan, Fisherford in the parish of Auchterless, and Strichen.

THE Annual Synod of the diocese of Brechin was held at Brechin on Wednesday the 2d August. The Morning Prayers were said by the Rev. Leonard Morse of St Mary's, Montrose. There was little brought before the Synod but the ordinary business. The Bishop mentioned several circumstances that had occurred during the year, indicating, we trust, the steady advancement of the Church in this diocese as, the laying of the foundation stone of a new church at Catterline the establishment of a church school at Auchinblae in connexion with the Drumlithie charge-and the opening of a new church at Broughty Ferry.

The Annual Meeting of the Diocesan Association of the Church Society was held on the same day; and we were happy to learn, that the amount of the contributions from the diocese to the Society for the present year is about £30 more than last year. There was an application for a grant to procure the services of a Missionary for Dundee. This, we should suppose, will not be refused by the General Committee, when it is known that, besides the regular congrega

tion there, already about 3000 poor Irish have been found out professing to belong to the Church.

Since receiving the account of the Episcopal Synod of Brechin, we have had the painful intelligence of the death of the Rev. Leonard Morse, who, as we mentioned, officiated there.

This amiable young clergyman had resided exactly twelve months at Montrose, as Incumbent of St Mary's Church. He officiated there for the last time on Sunday the 6th of August, and, on the following day, was seized with an internal complaint which defied all medical skill, and under it, after much suffering, he sunk on Thursday morning. On Wednesday the 16th the funeral took place, which was attended by the Bishop of Brechin, and eight of the clergy of the diocese in their canonical robes. The body was first carried to St Mary's Church, where the portion of the funeral service appointed to be used in Churches, was read by the Rev. Patrick Cushnie. From thence it was carried to the new cemetery, followed by the chief mourner, Edward William Morse, Esquire of Drayton House, near Ealing, Middlesex, the father of the deceased,-by David Scott, Esquire of Brotherton, the patron, and by a large concourse, particularly of those belonging to the congregation to whom he had endeared himself by the mildness of his disposition, and the assiduity with which he discharged every duty of his sacred office. At the grave, the last portion of the burial service, so impressive at all times, was read by the Rev. William Henderson of Arbroath, in a manner most feelingly earnest and touching.

Miscellaneous.

We were for some time watching with curiosity the progress, through the House of Commons, of a bill entitled the Places of Worship Sites Bill for Scotland; and the history of it exhibits a curious specimen of the manner in which this sort of measure is attempted to be wriggled through the Lower House of Parliament. The ostensible parent of the measure was an English Liberal, representative of

the Kilmarnock Boroughs, but one of the real authors, if not the principal one, was Mr Fox Maule. The bill was intended to apply to that body of Schismatics in Scotland, who denominate themselves the Free Church. It has been stated, that 725 Conventicles have already been built by the congregations of that body; but that sites for such edifices have been refused to 35 congregations. Much outcry has been made about this affair, which in these restless times is deemed a grievance sufficient for the interposition of Parliament. Accordingly, a Committee was appointed, which reported upon the case; and in consequence of this, we presume, the bill in question was brought into the House. But the singularity of the matter is, that in the clauses of this bill from beginning to end no mention was made of this self-styled Free Church. Mr Fox Maule explained this. In the Committee he declared, that, being a party to the bringing in of this measure, he had fully reflected, before presenting it, as to the character it should bear. Subsequent reflection had confirmed his first opinion, that had he confined its provisions to the Free Church alone, the first objection to it would have been that it was for the benefit of a particular sect; and, as such, it would have been opposed by almost the whole House.' Thus we see, that a measure intended for a particular sect was brought in under the guise of a boon to general sectarianism; and the Free Schismatics were to enjoy all the advantage without incurring the odium of a particular legislation. And wisely did the honourable member judge; for a measure which might have been treated with indifference, as applying to the new Scotch schismatics only, was warmly supported, when applied to schism generally, by the latitudinarian religionists in the House. The bill itself was read a second time upon what appeared a decisive majority, but this arose from its being brought on hurriedly when many members were absent who would have voted against it. In the Committee it had a narrow escape: an amendment moved by Mr Elliot, to limit the measure to the grievance complained of, was negatived by 58 to 55; and another by the same gentleman, to limit the duration of the act to two years, by 58 to 46. The government seems to have left it as an open question, and the chief opponent of the motion was Sir James Graham. And while it seemed making such progress, we could not but 'ask, where were all the members of the Church of England? Did they consider that the question was a mere squabble affecting matters in Scotland, and not involving any