nonconforming world, a clear and unmistakeable representation of the principle to be henceforth contended for. By a solemn assertion of the unscriptural character of national religious establishments-by an unequivocal and emphatic protest against the wrong inflicted by them upon the rights and responsibilities of man, and the affront they offer to the prerogatives of Godby a faithful and unshrinking exposure of the terrible evils, spiritual, intellectual, civil, and social, which they create and maintain-this assembly may be instrumental in impressing upon the minds of nonconformists an entirely new view of their duty, and of rousing within their hearts a new train of emotions in reference to it. It may call off dissenters from what they have too much regarded as their cause, and induce them to espouse what they may be taught to believe is the cause of Christ. It may divert attention from grievances, brooding over which they are apt to be fretted, and direct it to great religious benefits which it devolves upon them conscientiously to work out. It will elevate their motives, and greatly refine them, by exhibiting that as the duty of a christian, which has, until now, been supposed to be only the right of a citizen. The object of the movement may be so defined-the end aimed at may be so precisely marked out-and that principle, the legislative embodiment of which will constitute the terminus of the agitation, may be so accurately delineated-that thenceforth neither friend nor foe shall be held excused for misapprehending their drift, and all shall be compelled to see that this warfare is in the behalf of truth, not for the increase of merely secular privileges. The conference will necessarily attract towards it considerable attention-its decisions will carry with them a weight of influence which no individual, however eminent, could, under any circumstances, exert. Its acts will be referred to by many dissenters as very high, if not unquestionable authority, in this controversy. As such, it will bid fair to secure an unanimity of judgment and feeling such as all of us have deplored 'as being wanting in this matter; and if, with these advantages, it proceeds, as we devoutly trust it will, to mark out as the goal of all future effort, the complete emancipation of Christianity from state bondage, we cannot hesitate to expect as the result of its deliberations, a movement worthy of enlisting all the energies of enlightened patriotism and sincere piety-a movement, moreover, which the Head of the church will smile upon and bless.

But this, important as it is, is not the only topic upon which the conference may be expected to act as a luminary to the dissenting world—(we say luminary, not in an invidious sense, for we do not anticipate from it a more correct expression of principles than have already been propounded by individual

authority-but we use the term to denote our expectation that the circumstances under which it will meet, the numbers composing it, and the publicity which its proceedings will necessarily ensure, will radiate its light to a greater distance, and dispel darkness from many quarters which no individual effort has yet reached.) There is another matter upon which the promulgation of clear views is much to be desired. Take any half-dozen dissenters indiscriminately, and ask them what they understand the separation of the church from the state to involve, and you will probably discover that the notions of no two of them exactly correspond. Nothing can be more vague and misty, than prevailing opinion on this head. The unscrupulous abettors of state-church principles have not failed to profit by this defect in the knowledge of their opponents, nor grossly to misrepresent the ultimate aim of nonconformists. By some they have been denounced as seeking the extirpation of the episcopal form of church government from the land-by others, as grasping at that wealth and power which law has assigned to the now dominant sect. Sometimes their hostility has been supposed to be directed against the buildings in which the liturgy is duly read, whereupon pathetic appeals have been made to the people, to protect from destruction those houses of prayer which are said to be at once the ornament and glory of our empire. Now their object is represented to be a selfish one,--then again it is designated as malignant. Stunned by all this clamour, and having no very clear view of the practical import of the phrase 'the separation of church and state,' multitudes of dissenters turn away from the controversy as one in which they can take no religious interest. The end aimed at appears to them, solely because they have never yet gained a distinct apprehension of it, either questionable in point of morals, or impossible in point of practice-or if, abstractedly they regard it as 'a consummation devoutly to be wished,' they feel towards it as they would towards any other abstraction, no strong and irresistible affection. Surely, the gain would be no trivial one, to instruct not only uninformed dissenters, but statesmen of both houses of the legislature, clergymen of every religious and political party, and thinking men of all classes of society, in the interpretation which we put upon this phrase, and in the meaning in which we deliberately employ it. Now the proposed conference may do this with peculiar advantage. It may set forth explicitly what are those changes in the constitution and the laws of this empire which the dissolution of the union between the church and the state would involve. It may put the whole matter into so definite a shape, as that any man of common sense might understand it, and any lawyer

tolerably skilled in his profession, might embody it in a hill to be submitted to parliament. And this simple act will sweep away at once the rubbish which has been accumulating in the public mind for ages. We hesitate not, indeed, to declare our conviction, that a formal and authoritative statement of the practical meaning of separation, will do more to enlist the energies of the dissenting world in this cause, than myriads of lectures upon the beauty of abstract principles. But such a statement can come with due weight from none but a body fairly representative of all denominations of dissenters.

The next great object which in our view the proposed conference will be adapted to accomplish, is the organization, consolidation, and permanent direction of nonconforming strength. For want of this we have suffered various encroachments upon our liberties, and have uniformly failed to command that attention to, and respect for, our principles, which their intrinsic worth deserves. The opponents of national religious establishments have been strangely divided into petty sections, and various societies, springing up at intervals one knows not how, have appealed to them for aid, have professed to represent their interests, and, by their very multiplicity, have done little else than distract their counsels, and fritter away their exertions. We question not, indeed—we have no right to do the motives of those with whom such societies originated; but we deplore the result to which they have conduced. Unity of purpose or of action among dissenters there is, at the present moment, none. No leaders have yet appeared upon the stage, endowed with abilities so commanding, or filled with zeal so unquestionable, as to gather about themselves the strength of the dissenting community. On this subject, and in this sphere, we have had no O'Connell-we cannot even boast of a Cobden or a Bright. It is, perhaps, as well that it should be so. Implicit faith in the competence and the integrity of leaders, would be very apt to draw off the mind from a due dependence upon Him, in whose name, and with a simple regard to whose honour, we should enter upon this arduous enterprise. Some central authority, however, is absolutely essential, to conduct it to a successful issue. No serious movement for the liberation of the church can be either planned or carried on without it. As well might a crew venture to sea without captain or helm, or an army appear on the field of battle without a commander and staff, as an aggression upon the state church be commenced without a council and officers enjoying the confidence of nonconformists.

Now we are unable to discover by what other means than by a conference, such a central executive body can be fairly constituted. It is obvious that the members of it, if at least it is

to exert any influence for good, must be selected by a wide constituency, and must be vested with an extensive representative power. Introduced under the auspices of the conference to their sphere of trust and responsibility-their functions clearly described their powers defined-their work mapped out with accuracy to their hands-they would supersede at once and for ever, all those minor and self-constituted bodies which have divided amongst them the attention of nonconformists, and whatever, within the range of their prescribed duties, might emanate from them, whether in the shape of instruction or of appeal, would tell with peculiar power upon our various churches. We shall not pretend to enumerate the advantages which the existence of a body thus chosen would probably secure. Some of them will thrust themselves, unsought for, upon our readers' minds. The ultimate object at which we aim, will require that every step towards it be taken with the utmost caution. We must begin at the beginning. We have much ignorance even amongst dissenters to enlighten-many misconceptions to rectify -strong prejudices to remove-plausible objections to answer. The press consequently must be put into requisition. Tracts adapted to various classes of readers must be circulated. Lecturers well qualified to expound, defend, and enforce the truth at stake, must be selected and sent forth. Parliamentary constituencies must in due time be gauged and watched. And all this, and much more which we might add to this, will demand unity of counsel, unity of will, unity of effort. The work before us is one which is not likely to be accomplished in a summer's day. Years of protracted labour will, in all probability, be required to bring it to a peaceful and successful termination. Ere any serious impression will be made upon the state church, dissenters of every name must be familiar with their principles as household words, must be thoroughly disciplined, and must be ready at any given moment to act as one man. To such a state of organization, however, they can only be brought by comparatively slow degrees, and by a series of exercises adapted to their condition and their strength. Hence, the necessity for foresight-hence, the call for calm, mature, and repeated deliberation-and hence, the importance of creating a permanent machinery for regulating, controlling, and giving effect to the movement.

It will be seen from the foregoing observations, that we regard this project as one calculated to produce a beneficial effect chiefly upon the dissenting community-to attract their regard to their own professed principles-to impress their minds with a sense of their responsibility-and to construct a platform for united effort in the diffusion and advancement of the truths they hold. Such is the avowed object of the gentlemen who have

taken the lead in this important enterprise. We are well aware that in some quarters they have been misunderstood. Designs have been imputed to them which they never entertained, and ridiculous expectations have been called by their name, of which they were not the parents. Owing to whatever cause, whether to the source in which the idea originated, or to the uncompromising tone in which it has been enforced, or to the pertinacity with which it has been kept before the public, or to the reluctance felt in many quarters to commence an aggressive warfare which must needs demand at the hands of those who take part in it large and painful sacrifices-it has undoubtedly fallen out, that the proposed conference has provoked a great deal of censure which, to characterise it by the mildest term, is at least premature. We are not surprised at this. No great undertaking was ever entered upon, without having been subjected to this ordeal. Nevertheless, we deem it but common justice to parties labouring to attain a great public good, that they should be allowed to explain their own intentions, and that such explanations, and not the surmises of those opposed to them, should be received as the true interpretation of their conduct. If this were to have been a demonstration of strength-if it had been proposed as a means to intimidate the government, or as a coup-de-main for effecting the immediate overthrow of the church, we should not have ranged ourselves with its advocates. But no such wild and visionary scheme has yet appealed to public favour. They who describe the conference as such, have either been strangely remiss in seeking information, or have allowed their perceptions to be marvellously distorted by their prejudices. 'Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?' is not, perhaps, an unnatural inquiry-but surely the answer is reasonable-Come and see.' We feel convinced that if the real views and motives of those who have devoted themselves to the furtherance of this project be diligently inquired into, and candidly discussed, there will remain no insuperable bar in the way of any earnest-minded nonconformist which should prevent him from giving in his hearty adhesion to the cause.

For what, after all, is the gist of this proposal? What, in few words, does it aim to accomplish? To commence a serious and decided movement for the abolition of an evil, which all enlightened nonconformists admit to present the most fearful impediment to the effective promulgation of divine truth-to enter upon a course of labour and self-sacrifice, with a view to reduce the actual state of things in this country into unison with the mind of Christ-to take measures for the fulfilment of His revealed will-to concert plans for bringing the faith, love, zeal, and energies of His people to bear upon the final settlement of a ques