places promoted the public utility. For, by drawing up artcles, creeds, and confeffions of faith, enjoining fubfcriptions to things incredible, abfurd, unscriptural, or plainly false, and requiring uniformity in public worship, the progress of truth, he fays, hath been hindered, a narrowness of thinking contracted, hypocrify countenanced and encouraged, charity deftroyed, and hatred and variance taken place. He adds: Till toleration, limited and confined toleration, was granted, every iniquity was practifed, under pretence of bringing men to the knowledge and practice of what, for fafhion's fake, was called orthodox religion; and thousands of families were deprived of their ease, and the fruits of their induftry, for fear they should become impious, and go to the devil. In fuch circumftances, we may well fuppofe government to arrive at power and greatness, and the happiness of the community greatly to be advanced! witness the annals of the Stuarts! And even now, Sir, you cannot but know, that there are many mischiefs arifing from the present establishment, many hardships put on honest men, and a variety of things enjoined, which have no other tendency than to take men off from the practice of piety and virtue, and make them rely on things very foolish and ridiculous. You will easily suppose I mean confirmation, abfolution, ordination, &c. &c. But I forbear. I mean not hereby to condemn the English establishment alone. The establishments in Scotland, in Geneva, in Germany among the proteftants, and in the Northern kingdoms, are all of them very exceptionable, and have been, and are productive of many mifchiefs. Who knows not the evils excited by the magiftrates authorizing the decrees of the fynod of Dort? Who is ignorant of the miferies different establishments of religion, in different times, have caufed in NorthBritain? What squabbles have there been between Lutherans and the Reformed in Germany, what quarrels between Lutherans and Lutherans, Calvinifts and Calvinifts? The establishment of particular tenets as religious, and the countenance and encouragement given by the magiftrate to the profeffion of them, have occafioned all these woes, and will be productive of the like in all places. For as long as men think, they will differ; and, unless honefty wholly takes her flight from amongst men, there will be thofe who will fpeak their fentiments, whatever may be the confequence. Let the magistrate be filent, no hurt to fociety will accrue; but the moment he interferes, and becomes a party, peace vanishes, and religious hatred, the worst and most bitter hatred, takes place.' The author harangues on the corruptions among Christians, and asks, "what good in fact the establishment of the Chrif tian religion, in the manner it has hitherto been established has done? But the advocate for establishments may with equal reafon demand, where Chriftianity would have exifted, if it had not been established? We may venture to fay, it would have been totally neglected, or have appeared under a thousand fantastic forms, according to the various humours and caprices of every individual. This is a lively and ingenious writer; but we apprehend that a zeal for liberty carries him into excels. 34 The Power of God, deduced from the computable inftantaneous Productions of it in the Solar System. By Samuel Horfley, F. R. S. 8vo. Pr. is. 6d. Wilfon. We cannot give our readers a clearer idea both of the merit and defign of this extraordinary performance, than in the author's own words. • While I was engaged, fays he, in confidering the foregoing problem *, I fell into a very fingular, and perhaps a whimfical, fpeculation. It occurred to me that the determination of the fun's distance wou'd not only fettle the whole extent and dimenfions of the folar system, but wou'd likewife enable us to compute the quantity of new moving force that is every inftant produced therein by the mutual gravitations of the bodies that compose it, which may fairly be confidered as the inftantaneous efficiency (in one article) of that mighty caufe, whofe power produced, and whofe inceffant activity maintains, this great and beauteous fabric: the investigation of this feemed a curious enquiry, and I thought it might be ufeful, as it might afford a new evidence, of the power of the firft caufe, of a very striking kind. I therefore determined to fet about the computation, fuppofing the fun's ciftance to be no greater than we may fafely conclude it to be from obfervation. Indeed it is not right to adopt the conclufions of theory till verified by obfervation, when fuch verification can be attained.' It appears afterwards, that what he calls a new moving force,' is an imaginary impulfe. which he fuppofes to be impreffed every inftant, by the great firft caufe, upon the planets in the folar system, to counterbalance the force of gravitation. We always thought it agreed upon among philofophers, that the planets are kept in their proper orbits by two forces acting in oppofite directions, viz. the centripetal and centrifugal. For what reafon the author is filent concerning the force laft mentioned, we shall not pretend to determine. Perhaps it was, that he might fubftitute in the room of it the immediate A computation of the diftance of the fun from the earth. agency agency of the Deity, and thereby furnish an object for the numerical computation he has made of the exertion of the Divine Power in the preservation of the folar fyftem. This power he makes to exceed 34465820cooooooooooooo lb. Troy, or 255260400000000000000 hundred weight Averdupoife. I have taken fome pains to accommodate this enormous number to my own conception. The reader would perhaps be furprifed, fhou'd I only tell him, that if he would attempt to count this number of hundred weights, and would spend ten hours at it every day, and were to count 100 in every minute, he could not hope to finish it within the compass of his life. But, perhaps, he will hardly credit me, when I affure him that were the work tranfmitted from father to fon, it would employ many millions of generations; as at the rate I have fuppofed (which is exceffive) it cou'd not be brought within the compass of 11647700000000000000 Julian years -Such, at the lowest estimation, is the inftantaneous production of moving force, fuch has been the production of every fucceffive inftant ever fince the heavens and the host of them were finished; and fuch must be the inceffant production of every inftant to come, fo long as they fhall fubfift in their prefent form.' We acknowledge, that the author has taken no small pains, when he has accommodated the enormous fum he mentions to his own conception: and it is probable that his curious calculation of the Julian years would coft him no les trouble. But it is furprizing that he should begin fuch a prodigious reckoning without being certain of the principles on which he proceeded; for he tells us, that the rate he fuppofed was exceffive. Nothing can be more absurd than this opinion, that a force of motion is, every inftant, produced afresh in the folar‹ fyftem. For if the force laft impreffed is diminished before the application of the next, it would follow of neceffity, that the planets would be drawn from their orbits by the centripetal force or, on the other hand, if the new force fhould be impreffed before the laft is spent, an additional force would be added to the centrifugal, and the planets would fly off in a tangent. The author certainly spoke the truth, when in the beginning of the discourse he faid, that he fell into a very fingular, and perhaps a whimsical fpeculation.' So far he may be entitled to fome degree of approbation, that his intention was, to dif play the wonderful power of God; but we are of opinion, that he magnifies Omnipotent power at the expence of Omnifcient wisdom; and it is more to the glory of the great Creator to imagine, that the planets continue for ever to perform their courfes, in confequence of the almighty FIAT, and and original impulse impreffed upon them, when first they were drawn out of chaos, than that there is a neceflity of new force every inftant to preserve the fyftem in motion. The following paffage in this work is somewhat extraordinary: God has not left himself without a witnefs.-The words are in the Bible, but the affertion is Newton's.' What! Mr. Horfley, were these words written originally by Newton? Or is the Bible of no authority without his fanction? This is ftrange doctrine: but, in fact, we find, upon examining this author a little farther, that he is no better christian than philofopher. And, fays he, though the faith of miracles is of no fmall ufe, and indeed neceffary to the bulk of mankind (because they can have little other) yet, with the highest sense of the value of that great and general bleffing, I fhall not fcruple to pronounce that the faith of philofophy, as far as it goes, and where it can be obtained, is far fuperior to it, as it approaches many degrees nearer to knowledge.' The whole investigations contained in this piece, were they abfolutely void of all error, would still afford a striking instance of an egregious mifapplication of time and labour; and after the rigor' of calculations, to which the author informs us he has fubmitted, it must be mortifying to think, that, in all probability, this production will, (to make use of his own words) roll down the gutter of time, forgotten and neglected.' 35. Confiderations on the Illegality of presenting such as are unacquainted with the Welch or British Language to Ecclefiaftical Benefices in thofe Parts of Wales where that Language is in general ufed and underfood. By a Gentleman of Wales. 8vo. Pr. IS. 6d, Harris. The author of this pamphlet introduces his arguments on the point in queftion, with the following remarks: It is well known that in the greatest part of the principality of Wales, no other language * is in common ufed and understood but the Welch or British tongue; which the inhabitants of that part of this island have preserved for many centuries with a facred veneration, as an inheritance defcended to them from their ancestors, the Aborigines of this ifland. Attempts have been frequently made to eradicate this language from amongst them; which, as often as made, proved unfuccessful and abortive; excepting amongft fuch of the frontier * Upon the most exact calculation, in the northern counties of Wales, not more than one in forty understand the English Janguage,' inhabi inhabitants as, having an intercourfe with the English, muft of neceffity have adopted fome words of their language, as those of the English bordering on Wales have reciprocally done of the Welch. • In Cornwal*, where the British language was fome years ago used, (as Borlafe in his hiftory of that country informs us) it is altogether loft. The inhabitants of Britany in France, who were a colony from Wales, ftill retain many of the British words, adulterated with an impure alloy of barbarous French. Ireland, the Highlands of Scotland, and the Isle of Man, still retain a dialect of the ancient British or Celtic language. But in particular, so tenacious have been the inhabitants of Wales of their language and customs, that notwithstanding it has been the policy of the English parliament, ever fince the conqueft of Wales by Edward I. to introduce the English language and customs there, both by planting colonies of English, keeping garrisons, giving the Welch encouragement to learn their language, and to inlift + in the English army; notwithstanding, I fay, all these means which the English pointed out as the most effectual to plant their language, and thereby totally to fubjugate the ftubborn Britons; yet they could never prevail upon them to submit to that most ignominious badge of flavery, the language of the conquerors.' Having confidered the state of the Welch language, the author endeavours to prove, that the presentation of perfons unacquainted with that language, to livings in Wales, is illegal, and detrimental to the principality. For this purpose he alleges, that preventing any people from performing their public worship in the language they understand, is a violation of the natural rights and liberties of mankinds and that appointing clergymen to perform divine service in an unknown tongue is, in effect, such a prevention : — that by the 24th article, the clergy are required to read the public prayers and administer the facraments in a language with which the people are acquainted :-that by the 5th of Elizabeth, and the 13th and 14th of Charles II. it is enacted, that divine fervice fhall be performed in the Welch language, throughout all thofe dioceses where that language is commonly spoken; and * Cornwal was formerly a part of Wales, and was called West Wales, as we find by many old authors." This was the cafe of David Gam, and several others, who, though highly extolled by English hiftorians, proved a traitor to his native country, in oppofing Owen Glendowry, who en-. deavoured to rescue his country from the flavery of the Eng lifh.' laftly, |