Though religious libertj' now prevails in Britain, it must be confessed that the great subject of noncon- formity remains still to be agitated, and the great ques- tions which it has provoked cannot be considered as yet finally settled. The Puritans, under the Tudors, be- came Nonconformists under the Stuarts, and Dissenters under the family of Hanover. They have been men of the same principles substantially throughout. In maintaining the rights of conscience, thej' have con- tributed more than any other class of persons to set limits to the power of the crown, to define the rights of the subjects, and to secure the liberties of Britain. They have wrested a rod of iron from the hand of des- potism, and substituted in its place a sceptre of right- eousness and mercy. Thc}^ have converted the divine right of kings into the principles of a constitutional government, in which the privileges of the subject are secured by the same charter which guards the throne. The history' of the principles of such a body ought not, therefore, to be regarded as unimportant by any friends of British freedom. The Nonconformist controversy contributed greatlj' to ascertain the distinct provinces of divine and human legislation ; to establish the para- mount and exclusive authority of God, and of the reve- lation of his will, over the conscience of man ; and to define the undoubted claims of civil government to the obedience of its subjects in all matters pui-ely civil. To the same controversy we are indebted for the cor- rect and scriptural sentiments which are now exten- sively entertained respecting the unsccular nature of the kingdom of Christ. The intermixture of heavenly and earthly things does indeed still prevail, and its per- nicious tendency is yet imperfectly estimated by many ; but consider.-ible progress has been made towards the full discovery of the entire spij-ituality of the Messiah's kingdom. Its independence of secular support and de- fence; its resources both of propagation and mainte- nance; its uncongeniality with the principles, si:irit, and practice of earth-born men, are now much more gener- ally admitted than they once were. In fact, the ablest defenders of ecclesiastico-civil establishments have now entirely abandoned the doctrine of divine right, and boldly avow that they are no part of Christianity, but only a human expedient for its propagation.
A conference of the leading Nonconformists of Eng- land was held in London Feb. 15, 1876, for the purpose of expressing their views upon several questions which are to come before the present Parliament, namely, the
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Burials Bill, the legality of clerical fellowships, and the administration of the Endowed Schools Act. Mr. Osborne Morgan stated that this was the seventh time he had brought a bill for amending the burial acts be- fore Parliament. He advocates giving the English dis- senting minister full privilege to officiate at funerals in the parish churchyards, just as the Episcopal ministers in Scotland, who are Dissenters in that country, are al- lowed to read their service in the Presbyterian grave- yards. The extent of the grievance is seen in the fact that there are 13,000 parishes in England where the only graveyard is that attached to the Church of Eng- land parish, and under the control of the parochial cler- gyman. In none of these can any one be buried unless the English Church service is read at the grave. The Hon. Lyulph Stanlej', in an address upon clerical fel- lowships, said that there were 171 such fellowships in the University of Cambridge, and 108 at Oxford. Kes- olutions in support of the Nonconformist positions upon all these subjects were passed. In the evening a large public meeting, presided over by Mr. McArthur, M.P., was held at Exeter Hall. There is evidently a strong move in England for separation of Church and State.
There is a society in England called " Central Barthol- omew," which is busy with a defence of nonconformity, and aims to bring about the final and full separation of Church and State in Great Britain. In 18GC it brought out a Bicentenary volume,\\'\\\c\\ includes, besides the pub- lic documents bearing on the ejection of '-the Two Thou- sand," an " Introduction" to the documents, written by Mr. Peter Bayne, and entitled Puritanism, its Charac- ter and History. Then we have Jlr. Binney's two Bi- centenary sermons, lectures by the liev. Thos. Adkins, of Southampton, and the Rev. R. A. Redford, of Hull; the Canadian Bicentenary Papers, No. 1, History of Non- conformity in England in 1662, by Rev. W. F. Clarke; and Reasons for Nonconformity in Canada in 1862, by Rev. F. H. Marling; a sermon by the Rev. W. Kirkus, preached on St. Bartholomew's day, on The Nature and some of the ProhaUe Consequences of Perfect Religious Liberty ; The Church of Christ in England, by the Rev. C. Stovel. The Society has also published the follow- ing: (1), Tract Series— r/ic First Protest, or the Father of English Nonconformity, by Edward Underbill, Esq. ; The Book of Sports, by the Rev. R. Halley, D.D. ; The Star Chamber and High Commission, by Peter Bayne, Esq., A.j\I. ; The Ejection of the Episcopalians, by the Re\'. J. G. jNIiaU; The Savoy Conference, by the Rev. Dr. M'Crie; The Act of Uniformity and the Subsidiary A cts, by Peter Bayne, Esq., A.i\I. ; The Farewell Sun- day, by Rev. Charles Stanford; The Effects of the Eject- ment, by Rev. A. jNIackennal, B.A. ; On the Prayer-book, by Rev. J. H. Millard, B.A. ; On Clerical SubscrijMon, by Rev. \V. Robinson ; The A ct of Toleration, by the Rev. Dr. Lorimer. (2), Lecture Series— T/ie Story of the Ejectment, a lecture by the Rev. Thomas M'Crie, D.D. ; Fidelity to Conscience, a lecture by the Rev. A. JM'Laren, B.A. ; Nonconformity in 1GG2 and in 1862, a lecture by the Rev. R.'w. Dale, jM. A. ; The Design of the Act of Uniformity, a lecture by the Rev. Robert Halley, D.D. See also Bogue, Charge at Mr. Knight's Ordination; l^eale. History of the Puritans; De Laune, Plea for the Nonconformists; Palmer, Nonconformisfs Mem. ; Price, Hist, of Nonconformity ; Conder, Fletcher, and Dobson, On Nonconformity ; Martin, Letters on Non- conformity; Dr. Calamv, Life of Baxter ; Pierce, Vin- dication of the Dissenters ; Bogue and Bennet, Hist, of the Dissenters, i, 78; Bickersteth, Christian Student, p. 252; Christianity in Great Britain (Lond. and N. Y. 1874) ; Stoughton, Eccles. Hist, of England (Church of the Restoration), vol. i and ii; Skeats, Hist, of the Free Churches of England, p. 75-97 ; Brit. Qu. Rev. April,