The Law of the Land, regarding the Independent Jurisdiction of the Church of Scotland, as expounded in the Opinions of the Minority of the Scottish Judges in the Stewarton Case. Edin. 1843.

There is little that remains for us to do with reference to this pamphlet than to recommend it as apparently a full and faithful record of the speeches of these eminent judges, who formed the minority on that mighty question then argued before them. Perhaps some may think that all such questions are laid to rest. In this past form, no doubt, they are; but in their new form they are gathering strength every day; and such a pamphlet as this in future will form a most valuable historical document of reference.

Ecclesiastical Republicanism, or the Republicanism, Liberality, and Catholicity of Presbytery in contrast with Prelacy and Popery. By THOMAS SMYTH. Boston. 1843.

Presbytery, and not Prelacy, the Scriptural and Primitive Policy, &c. By THOMAS SMYTH. Boston. 1843.

These two works have reached us too late to allow us to enter upon a discussion of their merits in this Number. If God will, we shall notice them at length in our next. We are sorry also, that peculiar circumstances have disappointed us of the lengthened review of Dr Smyth's former most elaborate work on Apostolic Succession, which we hoped to have been able to present to our readers at this time. Our next, we trust, will not go to press without it. We thank Dr. S. for his friendly letter, and shall attend to his requests.

RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.

PRAYER UNION. This season is now over, not without blessing, however, to many in different parts of the land. Its results remain yet to be experienced. Meanwhile, let no Christian's hands hang down as if the answer were delayed. It will come in its due season. "Men ought always to pray and not to faint." It has been suggested to us that the winter season is a very unfavourable one, especially for the poorer classes, who, having no retirement for prayer at home, and being prevented in winter from following the Master's example, and betaking themselves to the hill, or field, or wood, are shut out from the enjoyment of such an opportunity, at least in private. Should the proposal be renewed next year, we trust this hint will be attended to.

CONTINENTAL JEWS.-We give the following summary of the operations of the London Jews' Society on the Continent :

"Brussels.-Mr Saul has diligently endeavoured to improve the oppor tunities afforded by intercourse with the Jews in Brussels itself, as well as by visiting the numerous Jews in Holland. On his journeys to the Hague, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp, and other places, he has generally been very well received, and has circulated great numbers of Scriptures and tracts. He has also been successful in endeavouring to excite an increased interest in the cause of Israel among the Christian inhabitants of Belgium.

"Creuznach.-The letters of the Rev. J. Stockfeld bear ample testimony to the increased interest now taken in the Jewish cause by Christians in his sphere of missionary labour, more especially by the clergy; many of whom take an active part in circulating the Scriptures among the Jews in their respective neighbourhoods. Mr Stockfeld has been instrumental in introducing the Hebrew and German editions of the Scriptures published by the Society into the Jewish schools in Westphalia and the Rhine countries, where they are now in very general use. Many Jewish teachers have studied the New Testament diligently; and not a few have expressed their full conviction of the truth of the Christian religion.

"Metz.-The Rev. P. J. Oster having, after fourteen years' labour in the service of the Society, expressed a desire to undertake a pastoral charge, your Committee, in taking leave of him, heartily wish him the blessing and guid ance of a gracious God throughout his future life.

"Mr Oster has completed the translation of The Old Paths' into French. During last summer, he visited, in company with Mr Hausmeister, several places in Alsace, where Jews reside.

"Strasburg-The Rev. J. A. Hausmeister and MrJ. P.Goldberg have continued their labours in this station, amid many encouragements. Of the Israelites instructed by them, six were baptized during the past year. The number of Scriptures and tracts circulated by them has far exceeded the demand of former years.

"Your Missionaries have also borne testimony to the increasing interest in the Jewish cause among the Christians in their neighbourhood. The friends of Israel at Strasburg have lately appointed a converted Israelite to labour among the numerous Jews of Alsace. Several missionary journeys have been undertaken by your Missionaries into Baden, Wurtemberg, and Alsace, beside frequent excursions into the immediate neighbourhood of Strasburg.

"Frankfort-on-the-Maine.-The Rev. T. E. Hiscock has, during the past year, made frequent journeys in the neighbourhood of Frankfort. On the Jewish Sabbaths it has been his principal object to visit every synagogue in the surrounding country; and the kind reception with which he almost everywhere met has been a source of great enjoyment to him. His journeys are the means of causing the Jews to visit him in Frankfort, and of spreading a spirit of inquiry far and wide.

"The numbers of Jews who have called, and the long and earnest discussions which have taken place, have not been without an injurious influence on the health of your Missionary; but though frequently suffering, he has been hitherto spared to continue his labours. Mr Hiscock has had the assistance of Mr H. Poper, one of the students in the Hebrew College, whose removal to Frankfort was rendered advisable by the precarious state of his health. Mr Poper has, as far as his strength would allow, taken an active part in the missionary work. One of those who have attended a course of regular instructions was baptized by Mr Hiscock on the 8th of January.

"Berlin. The Rev. C. W. H. Pauli has, during the past year, administered the sacrament of baptism to twenty-five children of Abraham-seventeen males and eight females; among whom there are some of the greatest respectability, and distinguished for their high attainments in science and literature. The public services have been continued, and are attended by overflowing congregations; among whom there are great numbers both of Jews and Jew esses. It has been found necessary to erect a new chapel, which has lately been opened for the purposes of the mission. Mr Pauli says, 'Many Jews have already bespoken their places, and some would be willing to pay rent for their pews.'

"Your Missionary has always some Jews under regular instruction: many come secretly, like Nicodemus, for fear of their relations. But, notwithstand

ing all opposition, the spirit of inquiry is spreading irresistibly, especially among the young. I am sure,' writes Mr Pauli, were it not for fear of their parents and relatives, we should see them in crowds, rushing to our baptismal font.'

"Breslau.-Dr Neumann, who has continued his labours at this place, states that seventeen Israelites were admitted into the Christian Church by baptism, in the province of Silesia, during the year 1842, seven of which number were baptized in Breslau itself.

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Königsberg.-The mission has sustained a heavy loss in the death of the Rev. J. G. Bergfeldt, who, after fifteen years' faithful and devoted labour in this station, was called to his rest on the 5th of April. He entered the service of the Society in the beginning of 1825, and laboured, previous to his removal to Königsberg, for a short period at Posen and at Warsaw. His extensive opportunities for preaching the Gospel, and distributing the Scriptures among the Jews, added to the peculiar talent which he possessed of impressing his words on the minds of his hearers with equal mildness and earnestness, were not given him in vain, and an evident blessing rested on his labours. He has left a widow and seven young children to mourn his loss.

"Twenty-four individuals of the house of Israel were, during the year 1842, admitted into the Church of Christ by baptism, in the provinces of East and West Prussia.

"Mr C. Noesgen has continued his labours in this station, and meets with ready access to the Jews. The number of those who apply for the New Testament is continually increasing; while many by their questions show an intimate acquaintance with it. Six Jews have applied for baptism.

"The number of copies of the Scriptures circulated by your Missionaries at Königsberg, during the year, was 1850; of which 756 were Bibles, and 337 Testaments.

"Dantzic.-Mr Moritz's missionary labours have been chiefly confined to the circulation of the Scriptures, and intercourse with Jews from other countries, great numbers of whom continually come to Dantzic; but on the extensive missionary journeys undertaken by him in the province of West Prussia, he has, in very many instances, found ready access to Jewish families, as well as to the teachers in the Jewish schools, to whom he particularly directed his attention. Many individuals thus visited have afterward called on him at Dantzic, and borne testimony, that the words spoken by him had not been in vain. Two Israelites were baptized here during the year.

"Mr Moritz is now undertaking another journey previous to his removal to Gothenburg, where the Committee have fixed his future station, with a view to his resuming his connection with the Jews in the Swedish and Danish dominions; among whom, many years ago, he found a very encouraging opening. In Sweden, his attention will be principally directed to the Jews of Gottenburg, Stockholm, Norköping, and Carlskrona; and it is intended that he should spend the summer in travelling among the 11,000 Jews of Denmark.

"Poland.-Seventeen Israelites have been baptized, after having been instructed in Christianity by your Missionaries in this country during the past year, while seventy individuals received instruction for a longer or shorter period. Of these, several are about to be baptized, beside those who have already been admitted into the Church of Christ; and twenty-five were admitted into the Institution for Proselytes in connection with the mission at Warsaw, where they are taught the trade of bookbinding and printing. Missionary journeys have been made among the Jews in various parts of Poland from each of the three stations occcupied by your Missionaries. Great excitement has occasionally prevailed among the Jewish population, when individuals of their community have taken refuge with the Missionaries; and they have frequently done their utmost to prevent the public confession of those convinced of the truth of Christianity.

"Your Committee have received information of the baptism of nine Jews having taken place in the Lutheran Church, in the consistory of Moscow, during the year 1840.

"Prussian Poland.—In this important district your Missionaries have been greatly encouraged, and have also found that success is not without its accompanying trials. Many have been convinced of the errors of Judaism; many are now adorning the doctrine of God our Saviour by the meekness of a holy life; and many also have been called on to witness the truth of their profession by their patient endurance of privation and pain. The Jews have unhappily not been prepared, in many instances, by their early education, for earning their livelihood by trade. As long as they remain among their own nation, they can obtain employment as teachers of the Talmud, or in some of the different offices connected with the services of the synagogue. When, however, they join the Christian Church, most of these employments cease; and as they no longer obtain help from their relations, they have to walk in a new path, which is strewed with peculiar trials.

"Your Missionary in Posen, the Rev. R. Bellson, has had many visits from Jews, especially teachers, among whom a spirit of inquiry is spreading very widely. The cases of several Israelites, who were regularly instructed by Mr Bellson, caused such a sensation among the Jews that the Rabbi of Posen was induced to issue an interdict against any Jew sending his children to the schools of the Society.

"Mr Bellson superintends the schools in the Duchy of Posen, which are supported by the Society.

"The Rev. J. C. Hartmann and Mr J. H. Graf have continued to reside at Fraustadt, and have been principally engaged in missionary journeys in the Grand Duchy, and in visits to the great fairs at Frankfort-on-the-Oder, one of the great marts on the Continent, which are attended by vast numbers of Jews of all classes, beside assisting Mr Bellson in visiting the schools.

"Cracow.-The Rev. L. Hoff and Mr C. P. Behrens have testified the truth of the Gospel to great numbers of Jews. Some of the most learned and respectable Israelites of Cracow were frequent visitors at the mission house; and the discussions which took place were often listened to by not a few of their Jewish brethren. The regular weekly lectures have been well attended. More than thirty persons have applied to the Missionaries for instruction in the course of the year; some of whom, being foreigners, after some time left for their native country; while others, who were inhabitants of Cracow, at length grew weary in the struggle with the persecution and temptations with which they were assailed by their unbelieving brethren. Excommunications have been published in the synagogues against all who should visit the Missionaries, and even personal violence has been resorted to in the public streets. Two individuals were received into the church of Christ by baptism; beside a third, who, after having been instructed for a considerable time, was recommended to your Missionaries at Warsaw, and baptized at that place.

Mrs Gerlach has been diligently employed in the instruction of the Jewish youth; her school has always been attended by some, and on the Jewish Sabbath by from twelve to fifteen persons, with whom she reads and explains the New Testament."

CHINA. GUTZLAFF.-The following letter regarding the operations of that distinguished Missionary will be read with interest. It is a private letter which bas been kindly furnished us by a Christian friend.

Berlin, October 1843.-A happy chance enables me to transmit to you authentic intelligence, the most recent accounts of this, our very remarkable countryman, as his last letter to a friend here, dated Tinghai, 28th January 1843, (forwarded through Messrs. A. Campbell & Co., Rotterdam, Sept. 30,) lies before me in the original. Out of this letter and an earlier one from

Nankin, of 8th September 1842, and from information obtained from the Missionary, Rottger, now here, who is intimately acquainted with Gützlaff, and laboured with him in the Mission at Chetkiong, in the province of Hokkhire, I have extracted the data for the following particulars. Gützlaff's present peculiar position exhibits a union of qualities never till now, nor at present in any other individual to be found combined. Fulfilling with unshaken fidelity his calling as a Missionary in the service of the Evangelical Church, he is at the same time British Consul in China, with a yearly income of from £4000 to £5000 sterling, almost the whole of which is exclusively expended for the advancement of the Chinese Mission, and the evangelizing of China; and lastly, in the year 1841-1842, he was elected first magistrate in the Chinese service, in the very important city of Ning Po,-executing the duties of all these different offices in such a manner that he receives on all sides the most flattering testimonies. The spirit of the Missionary is, however, still predominant, and it was said of him in China, "Were Gützlaff made Viceroy of the province of Canton, or even Emperor of China, yet would he ever be and remain a Missionary." Of his activity in this character, Röttger, as eye-witness, gives the following attractive picture. When Gützlaff was taken as interpreter," says he,“ with the English ships of war, or with the merchants' vessels, along the eastern coasts of China, in search of navigable waters, anchorages, commodious havens, tea plantations, &c. &c., he went among the sailors as minister and physician of souls; and when they landed, as missionary amongst the Chinese. To all the towns, and villages, and tea plantations, his boxes of books and medicines followed him, and everywhere first searching out the sick and the destitute, he at once, in thickly-peopled China drew a congregation around him, to whom he distributed healing medicines for body and for soul." In respect to his other pursuits, Röttger communicates the following traits, amongst others,-" As mediator of the events of war and peace in China in 1840, he zealously exerted himself to convince the Imperial Commissioner, Keschen, that the war with England was no imaginary war, such as that they carried on with pirates, which, in general, began and ended in clamour." As first magistrate in Ning Po, he made it his chief business to instruct the inhabitants of that city, that the English were not their enemies but their friends, whose object was not the ruin of their nation, but its advantage; that they did not make war with the people of China, but with their Emperor. Of the friendly feeling of the English, the inhabitants of Ning Po were soon convinced by their throwing open the corn magazines, in order that every one might obtain the means of livelihood. As the English made no conquests in China, but merely sought after convenient havens, well adapted for the security of their trade and commerce, Gützlaff next exerted himself to banish from the minds of the Chinese all groundless terrors of the English. It was moreover Gützlaff's most earnest endeavour to suppress the system of bribery which he found, and to substitute instead thereof, a system of uprightness and order in business, and particularly in the execution of the offices of criminal justice; and this he attained in so far, that the inhabitants of Ning Po expressed the wish, that in every city in China, the first magistrate of the place might always be a Missionary. Nor was this altogether without result, for the English Plenipotentiary, Sir Henry Pottinger, twice caused application to be made to the Missionary, Röttger, to whom we are indebted for these notices, to come at once to China, and become assistant to the magistrate at Kolang Su, with a yearly income of 500 dollars, which he, however, for certain reasons declined. After this sketch of Gützlaff one must feel much interested in hearing him speak for himself, which he does most characteristically in the above-mentioned letter of 1842. This is as follows:

"Since I last wrote you I received all my New Testaments, and went often amongst the people with them, who received them with great eagerness, and