re-construct Christianity on the right basis. What this new basis is to be, neither Mr. Clarke nor the other speakers at the Convention seemed quite able to tell us. But, in one thing they were fully agreed; that there shall be no Creed, nothing to be believed, in the New Christianity." Their scheme reminds us of a new definition of Religion, which appeared some time ago. It was when the famous Fanny Essler was turning the heads of all the cockneys with her marvellous pirouettes. On one occasion, an adorer, overcome by an extraordinary gyration, exclaimed, in the ardor of his devotion; "This is poetrythis is religion." The late Mrs. Browning, said; "modern thought in matters religious was developing two great classes of thinkers; those who tolerated everybody, because they believed nothing; and those who tolerated nobody, because they believed something."

In the Convention, a Mr. Low read a long preamble, affirming the necessity of agreement in certain doctrinal statements, in order to secure associate and efficient action; and offered, as such Doctrinal Basis, the following:

1st. Belief in the Holy Scriptures, as containing a revelation from God to man, and, as deduced therefrom.

2d. Belief in one God, the Father.

3d. Belief in one Lord, Jesus Christ, our Saviour; the Son of God, and His specially appointed Messenger and Representative to our race; gifted with supernatural power, "approved of God by miracles, and signs and wonders, which God did by Him," and thus, by Divine authority, commanding the devout and reverential faith of all who claim the Christian name.

4th. Belief in the Holy Ghost, the Comforter.

5th. Belief in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection from the dead, and life everlasting. The Convention, however, promptly laid all this upon the table.

A Committee on the general subject subsequently reported, that any doctrinal views which might be brought forward in the Convention, or be approved by a majority, should not be obligatory on those who might choose to dissent from them, and that the largest exercise and development of a liberal faith, on the basis of Christianity, should mark the action and deliberation of the Committee. A Preamble and Resolutions, of which the following is the substance, were then read :

Whereas, The great opportunities and demands for Christian labor and consecration at this time, increase our sense of the obligation of all disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, to prove their faith by self-denial, and by the devotion of their lives and possessions to the service of God, and the building up of the kingdom of His Son;

Therefore, the Christian churches of the Unitarian Faith here assembled, unite themselves in a common body, to be known as the National Conference of Unitarian Churches, to the end of energizing and stimulating the Denomination with which they are connected, to the largest exertions in the cause of Christian faith and work.

The debate which followed, beggars description. In the course of debate, Rev. Dr. Bellows, of this city, the originator of the movement, and its leading spirit, announced the only proposition in which the Convention was so unanimous that no one questioned it. He said :"We ought to labor for the elevation of the heathen around us with as much zeal as if we thought they are in danger of going to hell-which, blessed be God, we do not believe."

Mr. Town said he considered Mr. Clark had made a rare spiritual mistake in his remarks. There were in that Convention men of every opinion, waiting to come in, and they should open their doors to them. Let the Universalists, the Independents, let the Spiritualists, let all be lievers come into their body, and unite with them. He believed the title Lord Jesus Christ was not the title which they should acknowledge, for he was the servant of God.

Rev. Mr. Burleigh, a regularly accredited delegate from Florence, Mass., said he should like to see a house of refuge for the whole liberal faith of the country, even though it should not be called Unitarian. He should favor a system by which they could all unite together, and act as Jesus Christ had acted to benefit the world. Some had called Christ "Lord," but he believed they were wrong. He should be in favor of calling him Master Jesus Christ, or Mr. Jesus Christ, in order to explain his character.

Rev. Mr. Watson, of Connecticut, said, for one, he could not call Jesus Christ "Lord." He could not accept the word Lord in that connection. Jesus Christ came to benefit the race; but place him over the head of any man, and he would object to it; Christ did not come to be a Lord over them, He came to emancipate mankind, and he (the speaker) did not want any one to be a Lord between himself and God.

The aspect of this Convention, as it appeared to a looker-on, was as remarkable as its doings. We are tempted to sketch pen-and-ink portraits of at least three distinct and strongly marked types of physiognomy, as represented in the Convention,-each, of course, gradually shading off into the others. But the entire absence of that seriousness, dignity, and reverence, which became a body of men, met to discuss matters of infinite moment, was specially noticeable Again and again, the debates of this Convention, and the tone of the speakers, recalled to mind the Tiers Etat of 1789. We see here the cropping out of that Materialistic School which Herbert Spencer and his followers are trying to found among us. It is not Christianity alone which is at stake. Give to such a body of men and women the requisite influence and power, and a leader like Mirabeau, and the horrible scenes of 1792, and a Robespierre, will not long be wanting. In this Convention, the Boston element, of course, was predominant. It ought to be added, that this Convention, instead of beginning or ending their Session with the Holy Sacrament, terminated their strange doings with an oyster supper at a Music Saloon.

It is proper to say, that not a few of the leading men of the Convention, such as the Rev. Dr. Osgood, of New York, evidently not only had no sympathy with the ribald blasphemy which was poured

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forth, but saw at a glance the inevitable effect of such horrible language upon the community, and shrunk from it with that disgust which becomes a Christian and a gentleman. And yet, they are to be held responsible for all this, so long as they are in "ecclesiastical" fellowship with its abettors and advocates. In consequence of such opposition, we find the following subsequent action, on the part of the above named Mr. Burleigh, which is worth preserving.

"Mr. Burleigh, and his free Congregational society at Florence, Northampton, have passed the following Resolutions concerning the late National Unitarian Conference in New York:

66

Resolved, That the dishonorable, arrogant, and unchristian conduct of certain members of the late Unitarian Convention, exhibited in low blackguardism towards the delegates which this society had sent, pursuant to the invitation extended to it in the call for said Convention, and, after the Committee on credentials had duly admitted said Delegates to seats in the Convention, shows how difficult it is for a man to be a priest, and have, at the same time, a tolerant, enlarged, and magnanimous soul.

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Resolved, That we see in the priestly arrogance and intolerance of the majority of the Convention towards that class of persons who have concluded to do their own thinking, another evidence of the tendency of a hierarchy to stand, as it has stood in all ages, an obstacle in the path of human progress.

"Resolved, That the action of said Convention tends to confirm the wisdom and necessity of such organizations as the Free Congregational Society of Florence, which combines the advantages of associate effort, without ecclesiastical trammels, and a platform without a creed, for the utterance of human thought without a fetter."

VALIDITY OR INVALIDITY OF NON-EPISCOPAL ORDERS.

In preserving, in our department of Domestic Intelligence, a record of important movements touching the Church, we had prepared a full statement of recent acts of gross irregularity and violations of Rubrics and Canons, on the part of a few of our Clergy, holding important positions in this city and Diocese. We had also indicated certain results which were sure to follow a repetition of such acts. The publication of the Pastoral on the subject, by the Rt. Reverend, the Bishop of New York, however, leads us to withhold, for the present, the statement prepared, and to reserve comment for a future occasion.

ASSASSINATION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

On the evening of Good Friday, April 14th, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States, was shot by an assassin, at about halfpast nine o'clock, He lingered, apparently unconscious and insensible, until twenty-two minutes after seven o'clock, on the morning of the next day, when he died. An attempt was made, at about the same hour, to take the life of the Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, by stabbing, which, happily, was frustrated. The names of these

conspirators and assassins we will not give. Let them sink into oblivion; the infamy of their dastardly deeds will live forever. The President, at the hour of his death, had a large place in the hearts and confidence of the American people, which he had won, not more by his personal virtues, than by the new attitude of Peace-Maker, to which the events of the last few months had elevated him. The pen of the historian will do justice to his life and memory. The outward, visible manifestations of sorrow and mourning throughout the country at his death were universal. In this great City, whose population is peculiarly susceptible to impression, the scene was one never to be forgotten. The Funeral Services were performed at the Capitol, on Wednesday, April 19th, and the remains were conveyed from Washington to Springfield, Ill., by way of Baltimore, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, New York, Albany, Buffalo, Cleaveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, and Chicago, attended everywhere with the most signal demonstrations of national grief and sense of bereavement.

The self-control everywhere apparent among the people during these days of intense excitement, the absence of tumult and violence, and, above all, the deep religious sensibility, as witnessed in the houses of Worship, every where thronged to overflowing, are specially noteworthy. They give assurance of the strength and permanence of our National Institutions. Men may die; the Government lives; and is more stable, to day, from the terrible baptism of blood through which it has recently passed.

CONNECTICUT. TRINITY COLLEGE.-The Faculty of the College state that during the past year, to their endowments already, $100,000 have been added. Of this sum, $96,000 were contributed in the State of Connecticut; $55,000 were given by citizens of Hartford; members of the Board of Trustees contributed $38,000. In addition to the above, the munificent bequest of $20,000, by the Rev. N. S. Wheaton, D. D., has become available. In accordance with the terms of the will, $10,000 are set apart for the building of a Chapel. Several additions are already made to this Fund. A member of the Class of '53 has laid the foundation of an Astronomical Observatory Fund by the generous gift of $2500. "The Alumni Library Fund" has been. increased so as to make the aggregate of the Library Funds, $20,000.

PRESBYTERIAN GENERAL ASSEMBLY,-NEW SCHOOL.

This division of the Presbyterian Body held a long session, during the month of May, in Brooklyn, New York. The Old School body held its Sessions in Pittsburgh. The debates in both bodies, especially on political subjects, the spirit of violence, the bad temper, the bitter denunciations, the pharisaical self-conceit exhibited, may well teach Churchmen wisdom, in view of our own approaching General Convention. A very strange illustration of the utter want of fixed principle and definite views on the most important subjects, occurred in the New School Assembly at Brooklyn. There had been presented to this Assembly "an Overture from the Synod of Albany, as to the act

by which members are admitted to the church." It was apparent, in the discussion, that no body seemed to know, exactly, when a person does become a "member of the Presbyterian Church." Dr. Adams thought that a baptized child had some relation to the Church, but what that is, he did not seem to know; certainly he did not try to tell. Some thought the private examination before the Session, and the vote of the Session, gives membership. Some thought necessary a public assent to the Articles of Faith and Covenant on the Sacramental Sabbath." One gentleman, a layman, "Hon. Henry W. Williams, of the Presbytery of Pittsburgh, cited the Confession of Faith, to show that the visible Church consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion, together with their children; and that baptism is a Sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible Church; but also to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace," &c. This, although the language of the Presbyterian Standards themselves, seemed to produce little impression upon the Assembly; and that body finally decided, by a considerable majority, that the vote of the Session "is the essential and final act," by which admission to the "Presbyterian Church" is effected.

LITURGICAL TENDENCIES.-The pastor of a large Presbyterian Congregation in Newark, N. J, has invited the Rector of Trinity Church to preach for him on some Sunday evening, that may be convenient, and to use, on the occasion, the service prescribed in the Prayer Book. It is said that this Clergyman is preparing a Liturgy for the use of his own Congregation, compiled mainly from the Book of Common Prayer.

The following item appears in the Intelligencer :

"Dr. Storrs' Congregational] Church, Brooklyn, has had a second vote on the Liturgy question, and by 58 to 12 have decided in favor of joining, orally, in the Lord's Prayer, and of responsive recitations of Psalms, to be selected and arranged by the Pastor for that purpose."

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF DESIGN.

The new building, recently erected for the Academy, was formally opened, April 27th, with appropriate ceremonies. Mr. Huntington, President of the Academy, delivered an appropriate Address, and Mr. Bryant, the Poet, also a Discourse, full of beauty. His allusions to Cole, Inman, Ingham, Morse and Durand, and other American artists, were very graceful. Of the building itself, and of several of the pictures which adorn its walls, we hope to present a criticism in a future Number, and to offer some thoughts on American Art, the patronage of which is far in advance of any true conception, or correct popular

taste.

ORDER OF ST. BENEDICT.-Under the head of Foreign Intelligence, we had prepared an account of the puerilities and superstitions of which this new Order of Monks are guilty. English authorities