Star.
London, England, 1816-09-03 00:00:00

DISCOVER?" OF THE mix CROSS.

An article in the French Papers, dated Rome, the
6th ult. says `..
" The festival of the discovery of the Holy Cross has been
celPbrated here with all the pomp usually observed in the grand
solemnities nt the Church. During the sacred office a crowded
orchestra periorrnal a piece of inn* worthy of Angels. The
Diplomatic Rudy, a great number of Cardinals, all the Prelates,
and a number of Foreigners attended mass. The Royal Family
of Spain was also present."
The festival here alluded to was instituted in corn.
memoratien of the supposed discovery by St. Helena,
in the year 526, of the cross urn which our Saviour
actually suffered. Some of the Catholic fathers relate
that her Saintship, being admonished by divine
visions. proceeded to Jerusalem, where she ordered
excavations to be made amidst the litins on the spot
where the crucifixion was ascertaifika to have taken
place. The workmen, after (Rights to some depth,
found three crosses. This 'rcumstance occasioned
considerable perplexity, as iley were afraid, to use
the words of Sulpicius Sever ir, si lest through human
error they should cocsecrate the gallows of one of the
thieves instead of the cross of the LORD." The pro-
vidential passing of a funeral sugoested an expedient
for relieving them from this dilemma. 'lwo of the
crosses were applied to the corpse without producing
any effect, but on its being touched by the third the
dead body instantly started into life. This latter was,
of course, denominated the true cross, and was con.
seamed with great pomp. Others of the fathers tell
us, that the miracle by which it was ascertained was
the instantaneous recovery of a sick female upon her
melting it; and St. Ambrose says, that the finders
were enabled to distinguish it from the other two by
the inscripiion on it remaining entire. However this
may be, St. Helena is said to have carried a piece of
it to her son,. Constantine the Great. A portion of
this fragment was enclosed in a statue of the Erupt.
-tor, and the remainder was transmitted to Rome.
According to the ancient fathers, Constantine also
received two of the nails with which oer LORD was
fixed to the cross, one of which he converted into a
bridle bit, and with the other he lined his diadem.
Sr. Gregory of Tours, however, asserts, that four of
the nails were brought to Constantine; two of them
were superadded to his bridle-bit ; the third decorated
his helmet; and the fourth was thrown into the
Adriatic, which has ever since been less tempestuous
than it had been in former times. By the latter end
of the fourth eentfsry, there was scarcely a church ns
Christendom but had been supplied with pieces of
the true cross from Jerusalem, though most of them
sears to have been subsequently lost ; but notwith-
standing these incessant spoliation", if St. Pauliuus of
Nola is to be believed, the cross sustained no ditni.
nudes', being miraculously endowed with a perpetual
1 power of renovation—s' yuutidit thriduars sumentibul,
Id dolor iota:a wadi:nab:Jr." Pauimus himself had a
chip of it sent to him by John, tf:e Bishop et Janus.
Ihem, by which he extini;uished an extensive:confias
gration at Nola, when he found his own habitation
endangered by itt progress. St. Louis, whose festival
has just been celebrated ivitii so flinch eclat at Paris,
had the merit of procuring far the Gallican Church
the crown of thorns, oar Saviour's robe, sword, the
lance, the sponge, and a great piece of the true cross,
which he purchased from the Emperor of the Latins.
With regard to the latter article, the President He.
molt .ays." It is believed that this fragment of the
genuine cross is the same that was brought, trona
Jerusalem by St. Helena to her son, Constantine the
Great." If thii Oiniou be correct, the piece that
was inclosed in Constantine's statue must have been
as miraculously gaited as that which was left at
Jerusalem; for, as we have above stated, the greater
part of what St. Helena carried off was sent to
Rome.—Such is a sketch of one of the °metope
legendary absurdities which, in consequence of the
re-establishtnent of the Papal hierarchy, are agaig
to be imposed on the credulity of the igaoratzt aid
superstitious.

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10; X4IOIS4SM:—No:r.
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....4.1._
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TO THE MEMBERS OF THE OLD, METHODIST
CONNEXION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.
(In Continuation from the STAR of August IHt.) "

• I now proceed, agreeably termy promise, to state
what appelrs necessary to enable you to form a cor-
rect opinion respecting the Conferences, by the signi-
Scant method of question and answers and I begin
with an extract from Mr. Valentine Ward's Pamphlet,
being the description of an Old Methodist Conferences
__ 4' Q Wnat is the mehod wherein we essay proceed In our
• Cinferenees ?
" 1. Elect a President and a ?meter?.
" 2. Inquire what Preathers have died the preceding year.
" 3. What Preachers have deviited from travelling. ,
' el 4 What Preachers aretu be admitted.
0 S. Who remain on trial, and who are to be lltintitted on WA
' . " G. 'lnquire into the olltetions which may be prOdecedaplas4
any of the Preachers, who are to be examined one by one. •
ee 7 Appoint the Preachers to their respective stations 62 the
ensuing. year.
" 8. What =dithers are in the Societies. • ' •
m 8. Wl.at Is the Kingwood collection. •
*6 le. What boys are to be received into tbs School, and what
girls an, to he assisted.
" li. What 14 th, yearly collection, and hew this is expended,"
• " 12. W hat is contributed to the Preachers' Fund, andwhe
lAN to be relieved out of it.
" IS. How many Preachers' wives are tab* provided for, and
by what :iodates.
" 14. Where and when may the next Conference bet"
Such is Mr. Ward's description of a Conference ;
but the fallowing additions appear necessary, in order.
to have a right understanding of its proceeding's: .
Q. I. Of whom is the Conference colnposed t.-A. The
. Preacher,. •
2. Who make the Laws P—A. The Preachers.
3. Wha money is received by the Conference ?.-A. Fer the
BAlesions. about . - aC15,000
Ter the Kingswood School, Sec. 4,500
For the Ifeirly Collection . .. 4,500
For the Merciful Fund - - 3,300
For the Book Room (uahnewu) - 3,000
For the Preachers' Fund - • 1,400
Fur Legadee (unknown) . • . 1,000

‘32.7u0
4. -By whom ts this rum distributed ?—A. The PrWebers.
& Who audit the disbursements The Preachers.
0. Who examine the Preachers u to their talents and moral
IiDeSS for tl.e Ministry I—A. Themselves!
These are a few or the many qitestions and answers
Which I conceive the author would have thought it
bis duty to have stated, it he had not been more de-
. areas to mislead than to inform his readers.
Yet, with the com:nand and legal right of occu-
pancy et upwards of thirteen hundred chapels, many
of which are either out of debt, or reduced to such
*sum, that the old materiah would, if sold, liquidate
the remaining incumbrance ;—with a fund in hand
of above £IOODOO ; invested with authority to legis.
late tor 200,000 people; in the receipt of above
5e30,000 per annum, the disbursement of which is
entirety by, and among themselves; with a Book
Establishment which produces at least thousands per
annum ; who have also the entire management of
the Magazine, and who will not admit, of course,
any thing for insertion, calculated to throw any light
upon these things ; with annual subscriptions to the
Merciful Fund, adequate to meet all reasonable
claims which can be made, either upon that, or their
own (Preachers') Fund; with a host of clamorous
suitors at the beck of Conference, who will roundly
declare that they are in a state of bankruptcy ; which
makes them as persevering in their calling as the
Syrophceiiician woman,- and oftentimes as successful;
while nine-tenths of their flocks are either too incons-
petent, too indifferent, or destitute of fortitude and
perseverance, to unravel these transactions. or expose'
their unreasonable proceedings; with incomes far
greater than a majority of the Ministers of the Este-
blishmtnt, or those of any body of Dissenters, and a
fund which will in a little time render them indepen-
dent ; with the sole right to order collections to be
made for such Chapels (their Chapels I would say)
as in their opinions are too heavily herniated; and,
above all, connected with a people, many of whom
are more accustomed to exercise their charity, even in
temporal things, than their judgments. Yet with all
these things before our eyes, we are told by a certain
great itefitica/ Divine, (a strange amalgamation to be
sore) that a Geverasecest.ci Priests is to be preferred to
one composed purely of the Laity we will grant the
position for the sake of the argument ; but with due
deterence to so high authority, I am led to think it
does not require very extraordinary abilities, to dis-
cover the fallaciousness of such a position : it must
strike every careful observer. that before a govern-
ment of priests can be scripturally established,
the authority ought to be produced to sanction it;
'ut to fail is this, would be a standing satire en the
Methodist Government. But let it be observed, that
the people never were advocates for so unlimited a
"tower, as that of governing the Preachers without
their assent; and it is base to insinuate, but much
more so to broach such misrepresentation and calumny
*hen it is known to be false. It is that kind of men-
tal duplicity which no honest matt cm either practise
or commend ; and it is lamentable then great talents
employed to dazzle and confuse, rather than to cor-
rect and inioem.
I shall conclude my ilbservations for tbepreent in
the words of Demosthenes. as applicable to the sob.
ket before you. They were delivered by him in the
Forum, at Athens. when the country oft Athenians
was threatened to be overrun by Philip of Macedon :
40 But now Philip bath only conquered your supine-
ness and inactivity; the State he bath not conquered.,
You cannot be said to be defeated, for your force
bath never been exerted. He knows the dominions
of the absent naturally devolve to those who are in
the field ; and, animated by these sentiments, be
• overturns whole nations. But, if you, my country-
men, will now be persuaded, to entertain the like
sentiments p if each of you will be disposed to ap-
prove himself an useful citizen, to the utmost that
his station ant abilities enable him; if the rich will
contribute. and the young take the field ; in a word,
if you ail be yourselves, you may chastise the into.
lence of this mau—(These few Preachers who miff
rule) —What I is there a man of a rizht mind, who
would judge of peace or war by wards, and not by
«finis ? It any man take that for a peace which is
only a preparatioa for hit leading his forces directly
upon us, after hex ether elope" I hold that man's
mind to be tfistredared." PHILO-011SRAVIR.
• P.S. Some general observations, arising out of the
foregoing remarks, will appear is the STAn of Tues-
day, September 10.
Euenrow in No. IV. (published In the STAR of the frith
skinao)-.-Line des fur flitignos." r. wig:lases.

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i7/2 $4l/1 /71Q MIKE.
Mn. Ellires—The togiliquake that happened
lately in Scotland will, no doubt, cause a good deal
of speculates respecting the physical cause of Earth•
quakes. tam acquainted iiith nearly every inch of
the country where the Zerthquake was felt, and I
can assure you that many of the bills sad mountains,
particularly one in the parish of Auchendore and
Presbytery of /Word, hate all the marks of volcanic
origin. On the surface in many parts of the course'
.of the Earthquake, I have Observed lava. and vitrified
masses; anti I think there is not a doubt but that
the immense depth of many parts of Lochness is
owing to the sinking of the earth to fill up the im•
mew vacuities caused in those parts by the torrents
of volcanic matter thrown up, and partly the cause
of the mountains' on both sides of it.
Your's, &c. JAM HALL.
Long Mature°, WarwleAshirs An

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