and that Herculeum, Heraclea, Heracleum, Herculaneum, &c. head-lands of Italy, will not be found in the sun,

moon, nor stars.

A. B.

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine.

SIR,

SHALL be obliged, if you will have the goodness to enquire, by means of your extensively circulated Magazine, the mode used by Mr. Nicholson, the artist, of laving or erasing the strong lights in water-coloured drawings.

An early attention to this will much oblige, AN AMATEUR.

Exeter, March 16, 1811.

P.S. If I do not mistake, Mr. Nicholson had a premium awarded him by the Society of Arts for this discovery, and of course the receipt is no secret.

For the Monthly Magazine.
On the DEFECTS in the CHURCH GOVERN

I

MENT of the QUAKERS.

HAVE read with much pleasure the two letters of your correspondent, "Common Sense," on the self-annihilating spirit of close corporations. Every public body, or religious society, in which the superior officers, or rulers, are elected by the rulers themselves, without the choice of the majority of the members at large, might derive much benefit, if they would read these letters at every general meeting, or public dinner, as a part of the regular service of the day.

The poet Akenside was much im pressed with the pernicious effects of the self-elective system of the magistracy in Holland; on his return from Leyden, he adverts to it in the following lines:

"Ye too, the slow-eyed fathers of the land, With whom dominion steals from hand to hand,

Unown'd, undignified, by public choice, &c." The selfish torpor of the Dutch cha racter, which contributed to the debasement and the destruction of their state, may fairly be attributed to the selfelective system of their government. The pages of your Magazine have never been stained with illiberal abuse of any corporate body, or religious society; but public bodies and sects, like individuals, have their easily besetting sins," and he who endeavours to point them out, and to trace the causes which have led to them, and the means by which they may be removed, is a real friend to the

best interests of those societies; even if he may sometimes have to disclose unpleasant truths. The members of the religious society, called Quakers, though are generally considered as being more in many respects highly commendable, and more attentive to their own perstrongly influenced by a desire of gain, sonal interests, than those of any other society, except the Jews. They are also supposed to possess, what in religious language is called, a narrow spirit," in not prohibit, they certainly look with a judging of other societies; and if they do jealous eye on science and literature, and on such of their members as are suspected of having a hankering after human learning,' or what they call "the flesh-pots in Egypt."

Many of the best informed members of the society are ready to admit, that their community." It would not be difsuch are the "easily besetting sins of ficult to trace the cause of these defects to their true source. They arise from an imperfection in their form of church government, which produces the moral rations, so well described by your corand intellectual poverty of close corporespondent "Common Sense." erroneously believed, that the QuakerIt is form of church government is purely representative, and that the deputies elected from the smaller districts, to their quarterly meetings, and from the latter to their general annual assembly, held in London, transact all the business of the society, and decide by a majority of voices. But the really-effective part of their government is exercised by the members of the "Select Meetings." The business of these meetings is transacted themselves, without any interference of secretly; the members are elected by the society at large; they are called, "Elders." The acknowledged preachers continues for life, unless some notorious are also members. Their appointment inconsistency should require their expul sion. It is the highest honour which the society can bestow.

which this appointment is supposed to The degree of sanctity and authority confer, the awful mystery and secrecy of their transactions, and the title of Mimister, or Elder, which the members are invested with, give to these select meet. ings the real government of the society. The common uninitiated members, forming the body of the society, know less of the particular business transacted in these

secret

secret meetings, than the journeymen taylors in London know respecting the discussions in the cabinet council.

The business of the "select meetings" is never made the subject of conversation by the members, except amongst themselves. In public meetings of discipline, to which all members are admitted, I am well informed, questions are not decided by the majority, but, in general, the recommendation of a few "weighty friends" members of the select meeting, will silence all opposition. They are, in fact, the self-appointed rulers of the society. The motive of preference in the elec tion of the members of the select meetings, to fill up vacancies, is not known; but must of course vary in some degree, according to the temper and character of the electors. In general, judging from the choice made, we may infer, that the member must be a weighty friend; which implies, that he must have much solemnity of manner, and an obsequious deference to the opinions of the ministers and elders; he must not have a cape to his coat, his pockets must be inward, and if they be thought weighty too, it is so much the better. It were, however, injustice to assert, that more regard is had to wealth than uprightness of character, in the appointment. He must not be known to have committed any gross act of immorality; and he must be regular in his attendance on meetings of worship on week days. Such are the real rulers and legislators of the society, they are in fact a close corporation or chapter electing their own members. Every unprejudiced mind, who contemplates the exclusive spirit of such a system, will not be surprised to learn that the members of this select religious corporation are jealous of their own power, alarmed at a spirit of free inquiry, and hostile to the progress of knowledge. Like the superiors of all other close corporations, they are generally the most ignorant and prejudiced part of their own community.

Persons not acquainted with the society, suppose that the ministers are selfappointed, or have no other call to the office, except a real or imagined call of the Spirit. When a member has, or supposes he has, such a call, he is for a time permitted to obey it; but he never becomes an acknowledged minister, until he has received a notice from the select meeting, appointing him a member of their body, or signifying their approbation of his mistry. Should he per

sist in preaching, after they have desired him to be silent, he would be publicly admonished; however desirous the majority of the society at large might be, that he should "exercise his gift."

It cannot be doubted, that a mysterious exclusive system, which operates without any known or definite law, has a tendency in every religious society, to destroy openness and sincerity of cha. racter, and substitute a servile obsequious deference to the members exercising this undefined priestly authority; thus producing at artful, evasive, cunning, habit, in the members at large.

It would be a great improvement in the church government of the quakers, if the members of their select meetings, or in other words their elders, or rulers, were chosen every year by ballot in their public "meetings for discipline," every member of a certain age, and of irre proachable character, having a vote. The effect of such a change would soon be perceptible, it would infuse new life and spirit through the whole; sincerity would take place of formality, and a more direct, more manly, and generous, tone of feeling, would characterise both the individual members and the society as a public body. If such a change were to take place, the more enlightened members would no longer have to deplore instances of ignorance and bigotry, which would disgrace the darkest periods of papal superstition. The following circumstance was communicated to me by a highly respectable member of the society. It occurred whilst he was at the place, and from it we may infer that the American Friends have need of the same reformation in their church government, as the Friends in England. proved female preacher, and very amiable woman, was reading the Scriptures with her husband, who was also a preacher, and both of them members of one of the select meetings in the United States. The part which engaged their attention was the book of Jonah: the husband expressed his astonishment at the extraordinary deliverance of the prophet; when his wife unfortunately said, she had always considered the swallowing of Jonah by the whale, as a figurative expression, implying that he had been thrown into deep distress for his disobe dience, and afterwards relieved from it by divine appointment. An opinion so reasonable, and so modestly expressed, if it did not excite approbation, night have been expected to escape censure:

An ap

such

plenary an influx of the holy spirit as any CUR

of his followers. He informs us in his Journal, that he was one day passing through a field, in which were several old women seated round a fire, when the spirit of the Lord came upon him, and ordered him to go another way, for these women were witches. "Ex pede Herculem !"

From this we may judge whether the spirit by which he was inspired, was the unerring spirit of truth or no. Some

may perhaps be more inclined to believe that the man who supposed himself in, spired to discover these old women were witches, was himself no conjuror.

sist in preaching, after they have desired him to be silent, he would be publicly admonished; however desirous the majority of the society at large might be, that he should "exercise his gift."

such was not the case, the husband whose admiration of the marvellous would probably have been better pleased had Jonah swallowed his deliverer, was so much shocked at his wife's impiety in doubting the personality of the whale, that he informed the members of the select meeting of her erroneous opinions on this important article of faith; she was immediately suspected of being tainted with the heresy of Hannah Barnard, she was degraded from her rank as minister, her fair character and peace of mind were wounded, and, if I am rightly informed, she narrowly escaped public expulsion from the society, for thus daring to exercise the right of private judgment. The circumstance is of recent date. Were the reformation I have suggested to take place, respect for liberty of conscience and honest independance of mind, would prevent such illiberal persecutions from disgracing the proceedings of a society, whose genuine doctrines are mild and tolerant.

I am well aware that the attempt to sound an alarm in their spiritual Zion, to turn out the Pharisees and money changers who defile the sanctuary, and thus to reform the church government of the Quakers, will be considered by many of their self-appointed rulers, as an act of daring impiety. They will immediately cry out, "Our forefathers were directed by the unerring spirit of truth, to adopt the form of church discipline which we now enjoy, and we have measurably been influenced by the same spirit to preserve it to the present day. Shall erring and finite creatures oppose the dictates of that divine light with which we have been so highly favoured as a people?" It may, however, be right for all who have such high pretensions, to examine well the foundations on which they rest. George Fox, the founder of the society, laid claim to as

It is an invidious task to expose unnecessarily the weakness of a good but mistaken man (for such I conceive George Fox to have been); but it becomes

sacred duty to detect the errors of individuals when they retard the progress of truth, in any class of our Christian brethren. Amidst all the eccentricities of this extraordinary man, he had one excellent object in view, which was to lead mankind from the superstitious observance of external forms, to the operation of religious principle upon the mind. In pursuing this object, however, he frequently appears to have mistaken his path and exchanged superstition for enthusiasm; and, as an elegant historian has well observed, "the road from enthu siasm to imposture is short and slippery." Was it the unerring spirit of truth, by which he professed to be invariably guided, that dictated this account of his miracles? A withered arm immediately healed by his potent command, "Arise and stretch it forth"; a stone in the bladder dissolved by the efficacy of his prayer ; a broken neck 'set straight; and, as Elwood, his revisor, observes," many more things did he which would not be believed in that unbelieving age."* After the lapse of one hundred and fifty years, we may presume the present generation is not more credulous than that which witnessed with disbelief such astonishing manifestations of supernatural power. These miracles of George Fox will now be considered as proofs of the weakness and presumption of all modern claims to the guidance of an infallible spirit. They are more suited to impress the minds of his followers with humility than to enliven their faith. Verus.

For the Monthly Magazine. APHORISMS relative to PUBLIC CURRENCY and CREDIT. 1.

AURRENCY is the medium by which

plenary an influx of the holy spirit as any exchange of commodities is

of his followers. He informs us in his Journal, that he was one day passing through a field, in which were several old women seated round a fire, when the spirit of the Lord came upon him, and ordered him to go another way, for these women were witches. "Ex pede Herculem !"

From this we may judge whether the spirit by which he was inspired, was the unerring spirit of truth or no. Some may perhaps be more inclined to believe that the man who supposed himself in, spired to discover these old women were witches, was himself no conjuror.

effected, and, being intended to pass as the representative of property, it ought to be of intrinsic value, and always worth the property which it represents.

2.

The stability and intrinsic worth of currency is the foundation of the commercial system, and the basis of public confidence in all transactions and con siderations relative to property.

Vide Fox's Journal; consult the Index under the head "Miracles."