The National Register. — London, England, 1811-04-28 00:00:00

r THE NATIONAL RECISTF,R. etie No. XLL With respect to nur Dissenting' Brethrep this day, RI they have, with a. very few exc.•ptions, laid aside that 73ssionatr invective, that offensive and Jr rimoninus manner, both of writing and of speaking, which they for merly tno mach practised, it is highly ineumheat upon us, iu return, to feel for them, however (lifferin; in the forras of external religious worship, or lo points of doubtful disputation, all that good-will and cordiality which hay seem disposed to chew us; and it is more particularly our duty to do this at the present very serious crisis, when union k so loudly called fcr from all quartets, and is so much wanted—a crisis when we are threitened with invasion, by the common enemy of eAery countr y , whlb has a tern- Ivry worth plundering or a constitutioa worth siiiitertiiv. BI6HOP OF NORWICH. REV. JOHN CLAYTON, Jun. CAMOMILE-SE RECT MEETING-HOUSE. CURISTIANIITY only is the source of vital philanthropy. Al though the interest and importance of revealed religion, indivi dually as well as nationally, may sufficiently account for those diff.:rences of opinion which have prevailed respecting it, yet there are certain maxims as to which the majority of its profes sors, however otherwise divided, are generally agreed, and which, therefore, might reasonably allay much of that acrimony so un happily , to be found amongst the religious societies of this coun try. Differences about discipline should not, at least, degene rate into dissention. Protestant dissenters have he like faith with protestant episcopalians. Doctrine would seem not the first thing in their view, when men so much strive for mere firms of worship.—" I do not say," observes Paley," that modes of worship are indifferent things ; for, certainly, one mode may be more rational, more edifying, more pure, than others : but they are different in comparison with the question whether the heart attend the worship, or be estranged from it." • £xtre•mes appeer to be always hurtful. It is not complaining of " the brood of Methodists, generated by a kind of monstrous productions," within the pale of establishment ; nor stating it as "melancholy to reflect that many of the clergyman of the established church have the abandoned impudence to preach rank rnethodism in the pulpits, to contaminate and shade the pure light of the Gospel • ;"—lt is nut such thinking and writing that will cure the growing mischief of schism in our church.— It is not, on the other hand, describing the impressive circum stance of an established clergyman having, " in the days of his ;iovitia:e, kneeled before a Right Reverend Father in God," as nothing better than " a farce," " the validity of which, its the ena,turity of reason," he might dare "to suspect,"—it is not such thinking and writing as this, t that will induce our elitirch to think kindly of those christians who d ' not comply with her forms and rites. It may with all such firebrands. They may blaze, but they burn. There is death in their sport. Rev. JOHN CLAYTON, (Junior,) is the eldest son of at Rev. John Clayton, who has been for upwards of twenty years Itlinister of the Weigh-House Meeting, Eastcheap ; three of his sons being likewise engage din the ministerial work. Af ter quitting Hoxton Academy, the present preacher settled first at Kensington, over the Meeting now under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Leifehild ; where his preaching was highly prized, and contributed essentially to the augmentation and establish ment of that christian society. On the death of the Rev. Mr. P eynolds, the present preacher was invited to succeed him at Camumile-Street Meeting : he also preaches quarterly at Vetter-lane. * I Memoirs of (Rev.) PercivAl Stockdalt,' written by him- idf. onesimus Examinccr,v,Titten by a Clfrgirnan of the Church of 1:.!)41..x.4.1. Educated and •- the auspicie of one so eminently qualified to train up his sons in the way in which they were designed to go, and not less instructed by his example . than his care, it Is not to be wonder . ed atif the present preacher is found to emulate those' abilities which must continually have caught his observation, and at length, fixed his character. So hi fact it is. The same libe rality of sentiment, the same gentlemanly deportment, the same soundness of principles, the same correctness of conception, the same easiness of distribution and perspicuity of arrangement, the same conclusive style of reasoning, the same appositeness of illustration and' propriety of application, the same mingled feli city and dignity of language, the same manner of preJching, which characterise Me. Clayton, senior, also distinguish his eldest son. Preaching is not the only duty in which the Rev. John Clayton, Junior, is found to excel. ills pulpit prayers have uncoinn4on excellence, conciseness and efficacy; and it is in tlitse devotions exercises that his liberality of sentiment, which soars above all praise, is discovered,—a lilicrality that would t.ave d"awn from one mitred preacher, whose charge has supplied the motto of thig day, an individual application of that motto. /leaven grant us more of such pastors Personability is not wanting to this Minister. His appearance inspires respect, and his department is even clerically dignified; while his look is at once conciliatine, and commanding, his voice full yet clear, and his action .chaste. The Rev. John Clayton would become the pulpits of the church. It is most gratifying to remal k, indeed, that preachers of this order are r.e, idly increas ing amongst those whom the Bishop of Norwich styles our " dissenting brethren;" and that ignorance and illiberality, ignorance still being the parent of illiberality, are gradually abandoning their strong holds. Ignorance is auxiliary to pro selytism. Instruct the people,—give these to dist. urn light fr,,ns dark,—and rational religion will ccat.e to be in danger. Cons'd,Tably entitled as Mr. J. Clayton, junior, is to the cha racter of being an able preacher, still he cannot fairly be placed in the first class of clerical characters. Though his views are sound, still they are not deep. Excellence often exists, however, without any originality. The Rev. John Clayton, junior, has published one or two Single Sermons, the titles of which do not immediately occur to my mind. OsasiruLs. STI?EET MENDICANTS. TO TILE EDITOR OF TILL NATIONAL REGISTER. Sin—As Satire is the life and soul of an essay, nuisances and aht:ses have long been the favourite topics of Essayists, more especially of these who aspire to rank in the first class. rvt.tral ity and religion have certainly been called on pretty often to furni ill the town with reading, and the tnan of letter; with a din,:er, but these (being subjects of minor importance) have generally been treated by writers of genius when hurried for matter, or by certain heavy drones about the hive of literature, who were reg::rd•.:d :is unfit fur any other department. Front this circumstance, or from a natural taste fur that which is se v.re on others, tiv general reader turns at once to the satirical without deigning tt, notice the discussions of " what is the duty of a christian," or the " essays on happiness," which may stand • in the way. In consequence of this, the writer who would be thought clever, must deal occasionally in abuse, as he can only he enter taioity, ;u proportion as he is ill-natured. There is, however, still one.awk ward impe.iintent in his way, namely—the "Law of Libel." He now finds him-elf placed between the Scylla of libel and the Charybdis of dullness. He trembles Least he should sulky on the ruck on the one hand, or fall into the 2ulph on the other. Whatever may be said of the pleasures of solitude, phi losophers have no taste for the retirement of a prison, unless, indeed, lika cirtailt illustrious patriots of the present day, they . ~.. ~:;~