much offended both parties, and so much grieved those who wished well to the Church.

With respect to his conduct among his clergy, it must be allowed that it is very variously represented. Acts of individual oppression without number have been laid to his charge; but, in many cases, the facts have been greatly misrepresented; in others, the mischief has been speedily repaired; and in most the offence or provocation was probably greater that it was generally imagined to be. And, after all, there must be reckoned, on the other side, a long list of generous and noble, if not always judicious, acts of kindness and charity. The worst charge ever brought against the bishop is, that he was no exception to a general rule;—those who are usually governed by impulses, either benevolent or vindictive, look, in the latter case, rather to the end than the means by which these impulses may be gratified.

But we now turn willingly to a more pleasing subject, and cheerfully admit the great merit of the bishop in his active promotion of church and school building. His twelve churches in Bethnal Green, not to speak of more than a hundred in other parts of his diocese, will perpetually attest both his activity and his munificence, for he was a liberal subscriber to them all, and he took care that they should be tolerably well endowed, feeling that in so poor a neighbourhood, an impoverished clergy would be comparatively useless. On the whole it may be said, that Dr. Blomfield retires from his see under circumstances which entitle him to the general respect of the Church, and we hope that some years of tranquil enjoyment may be granted to him, so that he may see some at least of that fruit ripen which he has sown for the benefit of the Church.

Of Dr. Maltby there is less to be said. He has distinguished himself as a learned, liberal, and enlightened prelate; his charities have been princely, and he has been, during a very long life, a lover and seeker of peace. There may have been occasions when the absence of sectarian feeling, and a great desire of unity among Christians, have led him into acts of indiscretion, which have even occasioned doubts as to his orthodoxy. It must be remembered, in forming any estimate of Dr. Maltby's episcopal rule, that for many years he has been in a great measure incapacitated for public business; and it becomes necessary to carry back our thoughts to the period when his great abilities and profound learning, his noble munificence and his splendid hospitality, kept up

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the hereditary dignity of the palatinate see.

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He will be

followed in his retirement by the kind feelings of his clergy, and his loss to Durham will long be regretted whoever may succeed him in his seat.

NEW BISHOPS OF LONDON, DURHAM, AND RIPON.

We have now before us the names of the new Bishops of London and Durham. Dr. Tait, the Dean of Carlisle is, it is said, to come to London; and Dr. Longley, of Ripon, to go to Durham. We must however remember that the announcement is made precisely on the same authority as that which informed us that Mr. Trench was to have the see of Gloucester, and it may be now as then, that the appointment had no other grounds than the imagination of the editor of the "Times." Supposing, however, that the case be as it is generally believed, we have no reason to speak otherwise than favourably of the choice. Dr. Longley has had twenty years' experience, is learned, rational, mild, gentlemanly and pious. Dr. Tait is an excellent man of business, such as the see of London requires, and is evangelical without being fanatical. It seems probable that before many months are past there will be one if not two more vacancies on the episcopal bench, without mentioning that of Ripon, to which as yet we have heard of no successor: we should be glad indeed to see Mr. Trench placed there. It is understood that the bishopric of London is now to be divided, and the see of Westminster reestablished the one see comprising the City, the outlying parishes to the east and in Kent and Surrey, hitherto belonging to the City of London-the other, the city of Westminster, and that portion of the diocese lying west of the City of London. The delays consequent on this arrangement have prevented any appointment as yet to the Deanery of Westminster. We presume that each bishop will have £5000 per annum, and patronage to a large amount.

OPEN AIR PREACHING.

SINCE the appearance of our last number, this means of attracting the attention of the multitudes of non-church goers to religious truth has been to a large extent organised. Hundreds of sermons are now delivered, both by clergymen and dissenting ministers, all over the Metropolis every Sunday, not to speak of numerous places in the country where the same work is carried on. The general demeanour of the congregations has been most satisfactory; no interruption worthy of note has taken place, and the greatest

encouragement is thus given to persevere. At one place in the Metropolis alone has the plan experienced any opposition; and this, strange to say, came not from the mixed multitudes drawn together often by no higher motive than curiosity, but from the Government, as represented by Sir Benjamin Hall. It appears that in Victoria Park, a number of ministers of all denominations had organised a series of regular services; the Rev. G. T. Driffield, the Rector of Bow, being at the head of them; and the consent and co-operation of the other incumbents in whose parish the Park is situated having been obtained. For a while all seemed to go on well; but after a few Sundays, some infidels set men to preach blasphemy and sedition; complaint was made of this, and Sir Benjamin Hall at once interfered and stopped all preaching whatever in the Park. Now, on this proceeding we have to remark, first, that it lays down as a rule for future guidance, that those who wish to stop open air preaching, which seems likely, by God's blessing, to be one of the most effective agents for good in our days, have only to set up a rival preaching of Satan and both will be put down together. That is, that two sermons for God and one sermon for Satan will be suppressed at the same time; and in the meanwhile all the hindrance to evil, which the proclamation of the gospel may occasion, will be removed out of the way. Nor is this all, Sir Benjamin Hall has attained an unhappy notoriety by his determined endeavour to get up open air concerts in the Parks on the Sabbath-day. has now suppressed, so far as in him lay, the preaching of the word of God. His maxim seems to be-music, as much as you like, but no gospel!

FOREIGN EDUCATION.

He

IT has long been a practice with many English parents to seek what they consider the advantages of foreign education for their children, sending girls chiefly to France and boys to Germany. We have always looked on this practice with regret, because while we admit that the education afforded in an English boarding-school is rarely of much value, that afforded in a foreign "pension" is usually very inferior, and the attainment of the language, if accomplished, is only secured at the expense of much which we in this country usually and rightly hold as of far higher value. A circumstance has recently taken place in the diocese of Arras, which may probably tend to check what we cannot help regarding as a pernicious custom. The bishop of that diocese (which

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extends to Calais and Boulogne,) Monseigneur Parisis, has lately published a pastoral, in which he inveighs against those keepers of schools, especially ladies, who allow to Protestants the use of Protestant books, permit them to be visited by Protestant clergymen, and to attend Protestant services. He intimates that he shall be careful in admitting to the sacrament those who thus act; and the object of" His Grandeur" (this is the title of a French bishop) is, without doubt, to force a system of proselytism on the ladies in question, which ought to weigh much with English parents before they trust their daughters to the religion of a foreign country. We have heard that some ladies so situated have announced their intention to become Protestants themselves, but the greater number will probably give way to the commands of the bishop.

AFRICAN DISCOVERIES.

We learn from reliable sources of information, that our Government have wisely resolved on a course of proceedings which will undoubtedly win for them the good-will and approbation of all archæologists and scientific men. They have sent out the Rev. N. Davis, well known as an African traveller, and as a writer of no small abilities, to make excavations on the site of ancient Carthage. They have been liberal in their mode of support, as well as wise in their selection of an agent, for they have given Mr. Davis carte blanche as to expenses. As they have to do with a conscientious as well as an able man, we have no doubt whatever that the result will be satisfactory. The Royal Geographical Society, with its usual liberality, have given their aid; and we may probably have, before long, a rectification of the coast line of Northern Africa, which, strange as the assertion may seem, is wrongly laid down even in our best charts, to the extent, in some places, of nearly one hundred miles!

EARLY CLOSING AND WEEKLY HALF-HOLIDAYS.

THIS important cause is making rapid progress; every week brings some new accessions from the ranks of the great houses of business, and strengthens our hope that before two years the system will be universal. system will be universal. At the same time it must be borne in mind, that while we contend for the time we must contend also for some mode or modes of rightly employing and enjoying it. That our object is not to take a young man from the counter and the desk and to turn him into the streets to amuse himself as he may, virtuously if he

pleases, but viciously if it be more agreeable to him-this is not our object, but rather to engage him in the exercise of his intellectual faculties, and to bring before his mind that he has moral, and social, and religious obligations. For this purpose it will become necessary either to provide means to these ends, or to make use of those already provided. These are the evening classes for young men, which we can cordially recommend; there are various literary and scientific institutions; there are, for those musically inclined, good and cheap concerts; and all these ought to be made subservient to the great object of improving the minds and condition of the young men in our great cities. And here a word as to music. It has great charms, and is capable of being so applied as to bring great benefits. At all events, if it be looked at solely in the light of an amusement, it is at once innocent and delightful; but it often happens that the accessories are most hurtful-questionable adjuncts, objectionable company, places hardly to be approved-all these may tend greatly to neutralize the beneficial effect of the music, and make what would be a desirable relaxation one of the most decidedly objectionable. It is said that the attempt made lately, under the superintendence of M. Jullien, in the Surrey Gardens, to supply to the "million " operatic music of the highest class, and by the most eminent performers, both vocal and instrumental, is only partially successful-quite so, indeed, as to paying; but eliciting the somewhat humiliating fact, that a very well dressed audience may be lamentably deficient in good behaviour, may take into their own hands the direction of the concert, insist on slight pieces being repeated, and thus render the time too short for the proper performance of those which were more important. In all cases such as these it might be an universal rule never, under any circumstances, to permit an encore; this rule would tend more to secure good behaviour than a score of policemen ten times repeated. Lectures ought to be encouraged. It would be possible for every clergyman in London to get up a series of lectures in his school-room, and it would be found not only to attract young men to his church, but to interest the public in his favour. A short time ago a most malevolent article appeared in the "Times," setting forth that the only real reason for distress among the clergy was, that they were the idlest and most incompetent class in the kingdom, and that no one would be willing to contribute towards their support till they were subject to daily inspection, and made to give an account of how they employed every hour of the