of the business of the General Comgiven-that "mittee (from a time not discoverable), every "branch had been prepared for them by their Sub"Committees."

And thus it is-that, for a General Committeewhich, though meeting "in weekly meetings" throughout the whole year, meets not at any time or place, the business is with equal regularity prepared by a set of Committees,-number unascertainable, of which the meetings could also have been held, had it happened to them to have been held at any time or place.

Following this course is what, in the same passage (Rep. II. p. 5) is termed "following the same "course which they" (the Committee) "had pre"scribed to themselves last year.

Under

In regard to Sub-Committees, to the truth of this state of presumable non-existence, one exception indeed, but one exception alone, is to be found. This is The Sub-Committee for Building, more briefly and familiarly The Building Committee. both these names, in Report I. Appendix, No. I. p. 23, mention may be seen made of it, with not only year (1812) and month (May) of its operation, but also day of the month (9th), place (London House), and Members, five in number, all of them with names-of whom, as might well be imagined, the Right Reverend occupant-not the present Lord of London, it is believed, but his immediate predecessor—was one.

In this Report, and in that same page of it, (p. 23.) mention may, moreover, be seen, not only of the existence of the Sub-Committee, of which it is the Report, on that day, but, moreover, of its existence at a former day, viz. “26th "December, 1811:" its operations on that former day having been performed "in consequence of "instructions received from the General Commit"tee."

Of these tokens of existence,-which, in this one instance out of so indeterminable a multitude, were producible, we see the display that has been made. And why made? Even that, from the existence of the sort of bodies in question, in this one instance in which they had existence, their existence being demonstrated by these tokens,their existence might be inferred in all that variety and multitude of instances in which, they not having existence, no such tokens of existence in relation to them could be displayed.

Such being the motive, by what ulterior interpretation shall the mode be adumbrated? Let experiment be made. On this important day a dinner was given at London-House: and there it was that, at an altar covered with at the least a decent assemblage of those elements, of which Churchof-England decency is composed,-with or without other communicants,-members of the General Committee of the National Society, in a number which was found or deemed competent to the formation of a Sub-Committee for the purpose in

question, found themselves assembled and met together. Whether it was the idea of the Sub-Committee that gave birth to the dinner, or the dinner that gave birth to the idea of the Sub-Committee, this is among the secrets to the revealing of which the hypothesis dares not aspire. Be this as it may, here was a number, which,-to judge from appearances, as above, was greater than the greatest which were chosen, and at the same time chose, to be assembled for the meeting, afterwards mentioned as the General Annual Meeting of the Society: meaning the whole Society, composed of so many thousands, of whom the members of the General Committee, fifty-two in number, formed a part.

Of so many of which mention is made, this being the only Sub-Committee that, it should seem, was ever fortunate enough to possess the attribute of existence, no wonder it should thus have been made the most of.

But even of this one Sub-Committee, the existence could not hold out long. Metamorphosis is the work of fable. This Sub-Committee had not long been in possession of that distinguishing attribute, when, for lack of other appropriate matter, it was (Rep. II. p. 6) turned into a Finance Committee: thus was it turned, and, as it was turning, its existence vanished: for neither at any place, nor at any time, nor by any person or persons, was the metamorphosis performed.

The following are the only Sub-Committees, of which, either in Report I. or in Report II.,-after

-

a careful search, mention is found made, as if they had had existence:

I. In Report I.

1. P. 14.-A Sub-Committee, in that place without a name, mentioned in Appendix, No. I. p. 23, under the title of The Sub-Committee for Building; and in the body of the article, "The Building Com

mittee."

2. P. 15.-A Sub-Committee, styled a "SubCommittee of Correspondence."

3. P. 14.-A Sub-Committee in that place also without a name, but of which the Report, printed in the Appendix, No. VI. p. 54, is styled, "Report "of the School-Committee."

These are all the Sub-Committees, of which any mention has been found in Report I.

Now, as to Report II.-In this Report, mention has been found made of the two following additional Sub-Committees-or at least names of SubCommittees.

4.-1.-P. 6.-A Finance Committee.-In the page next preceding, (p. 5) The Committee for Building had re-entered upon the stage. Now then comes in a metamorphosis, and thereupon a question of identity. In page 6, "This Committee," (it is said)" was then turned into a Finance Com"mittee," for a purpose thereupon mentioned. This is as who should say-at that time. What was that time? Answer, no time: for none is to be found.

5.-2. ib. PP. 15, 16. A Committee of Ladies: -of which the institutions and functions are thereupon stated: the same having been established by acts, that is to say, by "Resolutions of the General "Committee,"-come to at one of its inscrutable meetings, held in their usual manner,-present nobody, at no time, and in no place.*

§ VII. Proofs of the System of Imposition continued -III. Acts spurious.

III. Thus much as to the meetings or non-meetings of the General Committee,-and the existence or non-existence-meetings or non-meetings-of Sub-Committees: now as to the existence or nonexistence of certain instruments, represented as having received the sanction of these several non-existent or non-acting authorities. Of operations and instruments taken together, mention has already, and that of necessity, been made,--viz. on the occasion, and for the purpose, of shewing the non

* Under these circumstances, we have the satisfaction of being informed (p. 16) that "The Dowager Countess of Spencer, and "other her Colleagues" (she herself being one of them her said Colleagues)" have been so kind as to undertake this charitable "work, and have executed their task much to the benefit of the "school, and to the satisfaction of the Committee." Since that time, the Dowager Countess is gone to receive her reward in heaven as to "other her Colleagues," they not improbably still continue-where, not improbably, they have been from the first --in nubibus.