Allen, "William, a member of the Society of Friends, and a distinguished Christian philanthropist, was born, in 1770, at Spitalfields. He founded, in 1797, with Mr. Philips, the "Spitalfields Soup So- ciety," exerted himself for the abolition of the slave- trade, and of capital punishment in the case of minor offences, for the improvement of primary schools and prisons, for the establishment of saving funds and other similar purposes. From 1816 to 1833 he visited four times the principal countries of Europe in behalf of his philanthropic enterprises. Many years before his death, Mr. Allen purchased an estate near Lind- field, Sussex, and withdrew from business. Here, while still zealously engaging in public schemes of usefulness and benevolence, he carried out various philanthropic plans for the improvement of his imme- diate dependents and poorer neighbors. He erected commodious cottages on his property, with an ample allotment of land attached to each cottage ; and he established schools at Lindfield for boys, girls, and in- fants, with workshops, out-houses, and play-grounds. About three acres of land were cultivated on the most approved system by the boarders, who also took a part in household work. The subjects taught were land- surveying, mapping, the elements of botany, the use of the barometer, rain-gauge, etc., and there was a good library with various scientific and useful appa- ratus. He died at his house near Lindfield, Decem- ber 30, 1843.— Sherman, Life of William Allen (1857, 8vo) ; English Cyclvpadia, s. v. ; Allibone, Dictionary <>f A uthors, i, 54.
Allenites, the followers of Henry Allen, born at Newport, R. I., June 14, 1748, a man of natural capacity but undisciplined mind, who, about the year 1774, jour- neyed through most parts of the province of Nova Sco- tia, and, by his popular talents, made many converts. He also published several treatises and sermons, in which he maintains that the souls of all the human race are emanations, or rather parts, of the one Great Spirit, but that originally they had individually the powers of moral agents — that they were all present with our first parents in the garden of Eden, and were actually in the first transgression. He supposes that our first parents in innocency were pure spirits; that the ma- terial world was not then made; but, in consequence of the fall, mankind being cut off from God, that they might not sink into immediate destruction, the world wag produced, and they were clothed with hard bod-
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ies ; and that all the human race will in their turns, by natural generation, be invested with such bodies, and in them enjoy a state of probation. He main- tains that the body of our Saviour was never raised from the grave, and that none of the bodies of men ever will be ; but when the original number of souls have had their course on earth they will all receive their reward or punishment in their original unem- bodied state. He held baptism, the Lord's Supper, and ordination, to be matters of indifference. Allen died in 1784, after which his part}' greatly declined. — Adams's Did. of Religions ; Gregoire, Hist, des Sectes, v, 110 sq.
Allestree, Richard, D.D., an eminent English divine, born at Uppington, Shropshire, 1619, and edu- cated at Oxford. In 1(541 he took up arms for the king, and, after the royal downfall, he took orders. In 1660 he was made regius professor of divinity at Oxford and canon of Christ Church. In 1665 he was elected pro- vost at Eton, where he died 1680. He was a laborious scholar, and did a great deal for Eton College. He published Forty Sermons (Oxf. 1684, 2 vols, fol.).— Hook, Eccl. Biog. i, 142.
Alley, William, bishop of Exeter, was born about 1512 at Great Wycomb, Bucks; he,was edu- cated at Eton, from whence, in 1528, he went to King's College, Cambridge ; after having taken his degree of A.B. in that university, he removed to Oxford. At this time the contest between the Romish and the re- forming part}' in the Church of England was carried on with much violence on both sides. Alley attached himself zealously to the reformers, and, on the acces- sion of Queen Mary, thought it expedient to conceal himself, and earned an honorable maintenance in the north of England by practising physic and educating youth. When Queen Elizabeth came to the throne, he returned to London, and read the divinity lecture in St. Paul's. He is said to have discharged this office with great ability ; and he is also distinguished as the translator of the Pentateuch for Archbishop Parker's Bible. On the 14th of July, 1560, he was consecrated bishop of Exeter, and discharged his duties faithfully until his death in 1571. He published an exposition of 1 Peter in The Poor Man s Library (Lond. 1565, fol.).
Alliance, a confederacy formed by treaty between two nations for their amicable intercourse and mutual advantage. Compacts of this character are designated in Scripture by various terms, e. g. league ; cove- nant ; TREATY, etc.
1. History of Jcicish Treaties. — Anterior to the Mo- saical institutions, such alliances with foreigners were not forbidden. Abraham was in alliance with some of the Canaanitish princes (Gen. xiv, 13) ; he also en- tered into a regular treaty of alliance with the Philis- tine king Abimelech (ch. xxi, 22 sq.), which was re- newed by their sons (ch. xxvi, 26-30). This primitive treaty is a model of its kind ; it leaves all details to the honest interpretation of the contracting parties. Abimelech says: "Swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son ; but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee thou shalt do unto me, and unto the land wherein thou hast sojourned." Even after the law it appears that such alliances with dis- tint nations as could not be supposed to have any dangerous effect upon the religion or morals of the people were not deemed to be prohibited. Thus, in the case of the treaty with the Gibeonites, Joshua and the elders are condemned for it only on the ground that the Gibeonites were in fact their near neighbors (Josh, ix, 3-27).