REVIEW.

Tuapeka Times, Volume II, Issue 89, 23 October 1869, Page 6

REVIEW.

Lancashire; Its Puritanism and Ifon?onfpvmiby. ' V>y Pvoberfc Halley, D.D. 2' vols.'," demy Bvo. IMnnchcsU-r : Tubbs ji»<l J3rook. London : Hoddcr and Stoughtoii'.

The history of opinion is daily assuming a inoro important place in modern literature. Many pf the most profound and erudite thinkers qf.tbe period have devoted themselves -to the study of the rise and progress of the various beliefs which form the religions of the human race. Dr. Halley has confined his atieniion to the, development of a particular mode of religious thought in a particular locality ; hut while he has thus narrowed his re : searches to a comparatively ' limited' field, he has shown such an appreciation of the true canons, of what may be termed psychological histpry, that his work can be confidently recoup - mended as a model and guide for future students of similar subjects. Yet, though the book before us is, in its tone of philosophic candour and patient research, worthy of tho wellearned reputation of its author, it in no way neglects the rich stores of folklore, which appear b,y a law of nature to chrystaliize round ecclesiastical records. The "History of Nonconformity in Lancashire " is, in fact, no less attractive to the general reader than it is valuable and instructive to the student. By the residents of this district it will bo mid. with peculiar interest, as coming from the pen of the father of our respected and talented townsman. Dr. E. Halley, Monteagle House. From Dr. Robert Halley none would expect anything hut perfect fairness — indeed, his liberality and' desire to do justice to both sides often leads him to approve or extenuate i\nat loss amiable and moderate writers would unhesitatingly condemn. Our praise will perhaps bo regarded as more disinterested when we state that in his review of the most interesting and important period of not only the history of nonconformity butalsoofthoEnglish popple, Di\ Halley has displayed a spirit of moderation wo at once regret an d con de mn . The Lan cashi r3r 3 cle rgy , on the occasion of tho execution of Oharle3 Stewart, took an attitude fatal to the cause they had formerly supported. They protested against the just and necessary severity which brought a perjured king to Ul3 blqck. Of their action at this time Dr. Halley approves, and even appears to defend the conduct of the Scotch Presbyterians. Viewing the history of the time from a purely secular an 1 jjolitical point of view,* we cannot possibly sympathise' wibh the feeling which elevated Charles into a martyr and restored his disgraceful so7i to the. throne of England. Further, the danger occasioned by the spread of this feeling, coupled with the sentimental sympathy gvoked by the Eikon Basilike, made Cromwell's supremacy necessary for the 1 safety. of ths Commonwealth, and for that time wrecked tho hopes of a Britannic Eepublic. In this respect the Independents of Lancashire were sinners ; but compared with the Scotch. Presbyfceriaas 1 their fault becomes trivial. "We are not lacking in patriotic enthusiasm, yet we have always held that the roub of D unbar v. r as an infinitely greater blessing to the people of both Scotland and England than the much-valued triumph of Bannockburn. To the stern heroes of the Commonwealth, whose pride it was to do the work of tho Ljord thoroughly, we owe all oar political free.dom. If in their zeal they committed grievous faults, we must confess our

preference to sin in company with John Milton and John Pym than to pursue a middle course of safe mediocrity with " Samuel Eaton and Timothy Eoot," the leaders of the Lancashire Consrrcgationalists. Dis-

seating in toto as we do from ths view t taken of the conduct of these worthies ■ by Dr. Halley, we cannot help expressing our high admiration for the truly Catholic feel i no- in which he reviews ! the events of a period not so far re- | mote from our own times as to do away ' with the feeling of partizanship. It is so rare to find a clergyman so utterly' devoid of the odium tlieologiciim, that we hardly know how to express sufficient admiration when the lusus natures does appear. It must not, however, be imagined from what we hav.o said that Dr, Halley is an apologist and defender of the Uoyalisfc party. No, he is a Nonconformist of the Nonconformists, and a worthy representative of the religious body to which, more than to any other, England owe.s freedom of law, wspeech, and tlnughi. He does lull justice to the worti and wisdom of many of the members of the Established Church, but never_ f jrgets that the Church, as a whole, has been from its origin a determined enemy to all progress : that it is a church, pf compromise, incapable of exciting the stern zeal as necessary to repress, as lit is to conduct, a revolution. In his : pages, the gallant men who charged so ! fruitlessly against the rsombro lines of-pike-uien at Marstcpi Mpor and Naseby •receive their full 'guerdon of r prate(3; 1 indeed 1 , the only class- 'to' whdnfr we r think Di*. Halley does not do 'fullJustice are.the military preachera.,, He has scant consideration for Hugh Peters, Fight-the-Good-Fighfc-of-Faifch Jobson, and the rest of that class. Tet to us these preaching heroes, who " trusted in God and kept their powder dry," appear most worthy of respectful treatment. Their earnestness, honesty, and energy prevented the English lgVs of compromise from marring the perfect consummation of popular emanci-

pation, and dismissed for, ever to Limbo the belief in the " Divine right ol" kings to govern wrong." We have as yet only dealt with* the general tendency of Dr. Halloy's work, and have left too small space to do justice to the quaint humour and dry satire with which many of its pages abound. We cannot refrain, however, from extracting the following exquisite little piece of cba-raeter-painting.- Oui 1 author is. relating tbo history' of the Toxtelh Park Chapel, and proceeds as follows : —

About the yeir 1738, Wijlhm Harding, n, pli'e-ln'i-e fanner, ciuloweil wit 11 the gilt of preaching, was invited to become the minister ol the ancient (.^happl. Such sell jements were not frequent ainons; the Nuucohfofmists ol that, time, and Mr Hardii'g's was not, a fortunate one. He sernn to lmvc mictaken his " projier gifr of God U.-ivmg been n--i'ful as an extemporaneous jweiiehor, b-^ became ambitious of 'a 'higher ciisiirction. and \o shew that he w.is no longer a nleiliochsl iiineivmt. but a regular dissenting mi'iistfr, he assumed a clerical circus, wore a becoming wj;*j anJ betoo'k 'himself to Iho reading of i.nng and ehiborate seimons. Tlie congregation, as m ght liaVe been expeete I, speedily declined, and it? pastor was compelled to icsume, in conupciion wiih his ministry, hi* old oceupution of f.irming and grazing Lliuh t"> ilie m'jriiliuation of Ins, royerencp, his daughters had to (Miry ihe milk and butter of his I'iiim io tlie Liverpool maiket. Alihough in his decliiihig'yeai'S hfs ministrations were lorS'tkeri by almost nil the hearers, they confidcred iheins&lvfs as properly beJonginjr to ihe ancient, chapel, and failed it their own. S|any of them attended only on special oecwiuiis, a-> f>l' funerals n;- ani.iversary cele'jralions. Mr Harding, like many of ihe NotieciironnJtt ninii.-HT?, nhv.rvj " n.-muinDeiecl the fiftii of November," o-.i which day he roused himself to give iateieat. to an appropijate and cl< quent M;rniou, and u?uilly attracted' to iho nlherwibo chnpel' a considerable audience. Nothing could bo more perfect in its way. \Yq can picture to ourselves the sturdy Cheshire farmer, iv aJi tho majesty of a bottom-wi^and gown, deeply pondering matter lor hio annual (food sermon. \\ r e can imagine the dignified hauteur of his salutation to mere '' itinerants," and the iinouuetious Jlavoui* he would give even to a discourse upon crops and cattle. Observe, too, the sly satire ot : tho phrase, "as miyht have been expected " — a satire, we cannot help thinking, aimed at the present race of preachers ats much as at tho memory of honest, dignified William Harding. Then we have "f poarson's lasses" tripping to market with kerchiefed heads, and perhaps a ribbon or two extra on account of their ecclesiastical dignity : real Lancashire witches, 110 doubt, who disposed of their wares with a blending of dignity and shrewdness : \A\o could drive a keen bargain and yet never fbnjet their social bore need bad they, we fear, to look after the pence, for their fathers lona; and elaborate sermons had brought toe wolf to tho doqr, and we suspect his grazing and farming did little to repel the grim invade) 1 , pa*j;es of the whole book toom with displays of similar humour to the aboye, all tlie more enjoy ah lo on account of its contrast to the humour of the present day, which is apt to degenerate into a mixture of cynicism and impertinence, To those who admire true humour we can recommend " Lancashire " as heartily as we can to the student of English. History.

A House witii o^'lt o^e Defect. — Tho Russian correspondent of the " Post " writes : — '{ A curious case has just been tried at St. Petersburg, which, is already current as a stock ansi'dote illustrative of Russian dealing, and which at least proves that it is sometimes well to look the purchased, if not the gift, hqrso. in the mouth. A Russian colonel recently sold one of hiss horses to a merchant at a very high price, intimating at the same time that he wa^ very loth to part with it, the animal being so capable and intelligent as ' only to want a tongue in order to bo -perfect.' The merchant's delight at his bargain, however, was somewhat clashed by tho news brought him next day by his groom, that the. horse was incapable of drinking properly, having only half a tongue. At this fatal revelation of the colonel's real meaning, his victim flew into a terrible passion, and at once laid the case before a Magistrate; but the defendant maintained, amid uproarious laughter of the entire Court (including even the presiding judge himself),, that- he had given his customer fair .warning of the, defect, his words being that the horse ' only wanted a tongue to make him perfect,' and he appealed to the plaintiff himself for a confirmation of this statement, which the latter with extreme reluctance and numerous unprintable comments, eventually gave. Th© Magistrate pronounced that nothing could be done, and recommended that . the affair should be compromised, which w:is accordingly done, to „ the infinite chagrin of the victimised purchaser.

The Eoman Catholic Bishop of | Liverpool heir to £80,000. — A. few ! months ago, a Liverpool solicitor, ; named Moretpn, died and left property :valuec\. at £30,000 to the Rev. J)r. jG-asVtiie Roman Catholic 'Bishop' 'o'f Liverpool. This will \vta disputed by Mrs. Moreton, tho~widow of t'^e decease(f;who entered a caveat" against it in tohe local Court of Probate, asaertincj that her husband wag of unsound miad when ho made the will. The widow and the Bishop have now come to terms, the latter agreeing to grant Mrs Moreton £200 a-yeai* and a farm ;near Chester, she withdrawing the 1 caveat and notices she had issued to i the tenants.