Jesuits. Having attained a reputation for great learning, he was elevated to the bishopric of Seguia, and afterwards to the archbishopric of Spalatro. At Venice he made the acquaintance of bishop Bedell, became a convert to the reformed faith, and ultimately fled to England. In 1616 he was made dean of Windsor, Master of the Savoy, and Rector of the West Isley. The Spanish ambassador Gondomar, however, by craftily playing upon his ambition, induced him to recant his adopted opinions and return to the church of Rome. He was ultimately imprisoned in the castle of St. Angelo, where he died, or was put to death by poison; the church of Rome declared him a heretic, and burnt his remains in the Camp of Fiori.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

Ar length the prospects of Europe seem to brighten. The year which began with Napoleon's rupture with Austria, ended with his rupture with the Pope. On the last day of December, a remarkable pamphlet appeared at Paris, entitled "The Pope and the Congress,' by M. de la Gueronnière, which had of course passed under the eye of the Emperor. It announced his final policy. The Pope must renounce the Legations, and be satisfied to restrict his petty tyranny to Rome itself. The Duchies and Central Italy are to be let alone; that is, they are free to place themselves under the sceptre of Victor Emmanuel, or to proclaim themselves independent states, if they think proper; for the Emperor of France contemplates no armed interference. As a proof of the sincerity of his intentions, the Emperor has dismissed M. Walewski, the minister of Foreign Affairs, who is succeeded by M. de Thouvenel; the tendencies of the former were favourable to the Pope and Austria, those of the latter are in the opposite direction. His Holiness is very angry in consequence, and happily very impotent. He denounces the pamphlet in a sentence worthy of his own Irish bishops, and such as no potentate in Europe, except himself, would stoop to make use of in a state paper: "It is a monument of hypocrisy, and an ignoble tissue of contradictions." And withal he will not condescend to be present, by himself or by his legate, at the Congress. Victor Emmanuel has taken heart, and Cavour, his patriotic minister, is reinstated in office. So far, all is well. Napoleon seems at length convinced that it is beyond his power to distribute kingdoms after the fashion of his uncle, and the treaty of Villafranca may be said to have become waste paper. The Austrian dukedoms will not be reestablished; the Pope will not be the protector of an Italian confederacy.

This change of policy has perplexed our political writers for several weeks. Her Majesty opened her parliament on the 23rd, and the speech from the throne explained the mystery. England, it now appears, had received a formal invitation, both from France and Austria, to send a plenipotentiary to the Congress, to consult, "among other matters, on the means best adapted for the pacification of Italy, and for placing its prosperity on a solid and durable basis." Desirous to maintain the peace of Europe, and at the same time, as her Majesty graciously informs us, "to obtain for the people of Italy freedom from

foreign interference by force of arms in their internal concerns," Eng. land accepted the invitation. But on these terms the Congress seems to us unnecessary. Italy, left to herself, manages her own affairs; other nations of course will do the same. On what, then, must the Congress employ itself, especially in the absence of his Holiness the Pope? We are not surprised to hear from her Majesty's lips that it is in fact postponed, " without any day having been fixed for its meeting.' In all probability it will never meet; but whether or not, the attitude of England well becomes her greatness and her love of freedom. The pamphlet of M. de la Gueronnière proposes to give up Rome to the Pope's tender mercies, and to deprive him of the Romagna. England can be no party to such a compact. We cannot consent to buy the independence of the many at the cost of the happiness of the few. Those detestable enormities of the bishop of Rome, of which our ancient Liturgy makes mention, are just as detestable to us exercised within the walls of Rome as in the papal provinces. If mal-administration and total incapacity, and the most appalling tyranny, conducted for ages with systematic vigilance, secrecy, and cruelty--secrecy such as the Vatican only can maintain, cruelty such as only the Inquisition can display,-if these be sufficient grounds for a forfeiture of empire, then, as a civil power, the papacy ought at once to be swept away as a nuisance from the earth; and swept away it will be, though perhaps the time is not yet.

It is not without an effort that the mind withdraws itself from these stirring scenes, to fix attention upon events which in more quiet times would be of absorbing interest. The Spanish war in Morocco scarcely occupies a thought. Each army fights bravely, much blood is spilt, and little progress made; Spain sends out fresh troops, and the Moors contend with all the courage of their Carthaginian ancestors; but in England the contest scarcely fills a paragraph in the newspapers. Even our own Chinese expedition passes almost unnoticed. And yet who can contemplate its possible consequences, either to ourselves or China, without serious anxiety? It is undertaken in alliance with France; and who can foresee what complications may arise from this connection? France smiles again; but we confess we are not prepared all at once for a very warm embrace. We cannot forget how we were overreached in the Russian war. We cannot again afford to play the part of the cat, in the fable of the monkey and the roasted chesnuts. The expedition itself must be full of hazard; and righteous though it be, who can forbear the wish that we had entered upon it with cleaner hands as regards the opium question? We mark with satisfaction the hope expressed in the Queen's speech, that the moderate demands which will be made by the plenipotentiaries shall obviate the necessity of force. Then there are the United States. There have been four more executions at Harper's Ferry; two of the victims were white men. "The excitement," we are told, ". was immense beyond anything that has yet occurred;" a large military force occupied the ground, or the prisoners would probably have been rescued even on the gallows. The whole Union is now convulsed from north to south upon the slavery question. Vast meetings are held even in New York; where Dr. Cheever and others boldly express their sympathy with the slaves; and through the Free States the executions are denounced as wicked and murderous, and the sufferers are described

as martyrs in a glorious cause. On the one side, there seems to be all the determination, the solemnity, and the silent passion of a deep religious enthusiasm; while nothing can exceed the violence and fury on the other. The slave states are frantic with passion, shaded down with fear. In Michigan a law has actually been passed reducing every free man of colour-and there are said to be 60,000 of them-to the alternative of quitting the territory, or being at once enslaved again; and a similar measure is proposed in other slave states. The rush of coloured emigrants into the free states may be imagined, as may the irritation which all this occasions. In short, nothing could have contributed more to the anti-slavery cause. The question of a disruption of the northern and southern states begins to be seriously discussed. The President's message betrays the general anxiety; it is evident he would conciliate both parties-the slaveholding states by a lame but laboured defence of their "domestic institutions;" the anti-slavery party by a vigorous denunciation, not of slavery, but of what is horrible enough-the Cuban slave trade. America is not yet ripe for the crisis which Wilberforce long since foretold but the alternative before her at no remote period is a dissolution of the Union, or else the abolition of negro slavery. We fear this is a case in which English arbitration will not be sought, or English counsel listened to. We can only look on in sorrow. Our own slave-trading and slave-holding sins are not yet blotted out, even from the fading book of our national remembrance. We do not feel disposed to say a word in aggravation of the sins of other nations; and yet, wishing America prosperity, we wish her, in the name of humanity, a riddance of the plague, worse than the plagues of Egypt, which already overshadows her with darkness, and threatens to deluge her with blood.

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With joy and, we hope, with devout thankfulness, we read in her Majesty's speech that the last embers of disturbance in her East Indian dominions have been extinguished. And now surely it is time to ask, in the words of the sweet singer of Israel, "What shall we render unto the Lord for all his benefits?" What is to be our Indian policy in the affairs of religion? There is, we are told, to be a large measure of reform at home; we hope it will prove a safe and wise one; but what is to be the measure of reform for India with regard to the introduction of Christianity? This is a far deeper question-it affects our national happiness, our character before the world, our position in the sight of God, to an extent which makes the comparison ridiculous when we begin to talk of a six or a ten pound franchise. Yet the latter question will soon absorb the attention of parliament, and the former, we are afraid, will be hurried over with impatience.

We recently made a slight reference to the low state of trade morality. The delinquencies of several confidential clerks and agentsone of them the cashier of the Christian Knowledge Society-have again directed public attention to this painful subject. A well-known writer, the Hon. and Rev. Sydney Godolphin Osborne (for the signature S. G. O. has ceased to be a disguise, and is probably no longer meant for one), in several letters to the Times, has with his usual clearness sifted the accounts of different charitable and religious Institutions. He has done this in a fair and candid temper, and has thus conferred upon the public, as well as upon those institutions, a real service; for the

association, however useful, which shows a sensitive disposition when its accounts are, in naval phraseology, overhauled, forfeits the respect of which it then shows itself unworthy. These letters, however, have been made to furnish occasion for a leading article in the Times in which the old hatreds re-appear. The item charged to deputations in the accounts of the Church Missionary Society, affords of course an easy introduction for the usual sneers. "We are sure," says the Times, "the subscribing public does not grudge its religious rhetoricians their keep or pay ;" and more to the same purpose. We notice this merely that we may have an opportunity of disabusing the public mind of a very general mistake. The deputations in general receive neither keep nor pay. We need not take counsel with the managers, either of the Church Missionary or the Pastoral-Aid, or any other of our great evangelical societies, to be in a condition to inform all whom it may concern, that it is quite possible to have travelled thousands of miles, made hundreds of speeches on behalf of those institutions, and preached hundreds of sermons, without ever having received a single sixpence from their funds beyond the barest travelling expenses. Nor is "the keep" extravagant, though perfectly good of its kind, and the more savoury from the spirit in which it is provided. The deputation seldom sleeps and perhaps never dines at an hotel. Christian families every where afford a cordial welcome; in which the itinerants find, as well as in the work itself, their gratifying and abundant recompense. With regard to the rhetoric of deputations, while we admit that it is often capable of improvement, especially by curtailment, yet it need not flinch from a comparison with what is offered to English ears under the name of eloquence, at the hustings, in parliament, or at the bar. The meetings for social science, and the modern fashion of some of our leading politicians,―a fashion much to be commended,-who travel about "and lecture as they go," has taught thousands of plain English people to compare and judge for themselves; and their decision, after hearing the most eminent men, peers and laymen, who figure on the great stage of politics, has been this, that apart from the prestige of great names and the advantage of an audience predisposed to listen and admire, they are scarcely equal and in no respect superior to the "rhetoricians of the platform;" or rather, in all that constitutes popular oratory, the latter have decidedly the advantage. The sum paid for deputations, need we add, is chiefly the repayment of travelling expenses to those who have freely given their time and service to the cause of missions and the gospel.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

SHORT papers on miscellaneous subjects we shall always be glad to insert, giving the preference to those which are of general interest, and which are not likely to provoke controversy. This last remark we make, not that we think controversy wrong, but because the religious newspapers, which now happily abound, and can publish the reply within a day or two after the challenge has been given, have taken this department off our hands.

We have to acknowledge several valuable contributions on prophecy, fulfilled and unfulfilled; but we cannot give a prominent place to these subjects, though, on the other hand, we are unwilling to observe a total silence.

THE LATE REV. WILLIAM CARUS WILSON.

THE late Reverend William Carus Wilson was born 7th July, 1791, and was the eldest surviving son of William Wilson Carus Wilson, Esq., of Casterton Hall, in the county of Westmoreland; a gentleman whose christian character, cultivated mind, and generous hospitality made his house the resort of a large acquaintance amongst the good and wise, and caused him to be often cited as a Christian English gentleman. He had been amongst the firstfruits of the ministry of the late Mr. Simeon of Cambridge; and always spoke of that faithful servant of God with the deepest reverence and gratitude.

The example and prayers of such a father were not lost upon the son. It is due also to his excellent mother to make mention here of the peculiar love and veneration with which he always spoke of her, as the instrument, in the hands of God, of untold blessings to his soul. Like many others whose after-life has been distinguished by energy and excellence, he felt that he owed much to the early influence of his mother.

It was evident that he was "taught of God," even from his childhood. He has been heard to say incidentally of himself, that from the age of about eight years he was a distributor of tracts; he was a composer also of tracts occasionally at a very early age. It was this habit which seems to have suggested to him the idea of publishing penny religious periodicals, of which he was the first to set the example; an example subsequently followed to an extent and with an amount of success which strikingly shows the justness of the original conception.

After an attendance of some years at the Grammar school in the neighbouring town of Kirkby Lonsdale, he was sent as