A Letter to Lord John Russell on the Admission of Jews to Parliament. By Rev. T. R. Birks, A. M.-We have not any time to enter into a subject which has been lately publicly and pretty fully discussed in Parliament and out; but we acknowledge the sound and strong reasoning that is brought to bear upon the question in the present Letter, and which we earnestly recommend to the attention of all who wish to see it discussed in a manner which shows, under a temperate view of the whole argument, a most correct and conscientious feeling of its importance.

The Memorial and Case of the Lay Clerks of Canterbury Cathedral, &c. By Charles Sandys.-While the canons of Canterbury, in addition to their other pursuits, are drawing revenues of nearly a thousand a-year each, and go on their way rejoicing, the lay clerks, whose attendance is much more constant and laborious, are dismissed with the pittance of 407., and this in the case of some after more than thirty years' service; and well may they say that this "is a very insufficient remuneration of their services, inadequate to provide a competent body of well-educated persons to sustain the characteristic choral service of the Church, and offers but a very slender and insufficient means for the decent maintenance of themselves and their families ;" and the very reasonable petition of these memorialists goes on to pray "that the revenues of the prebendal stalls already suppressed, and of those hereafter to be suppressed, in this cathedral church, may in the first instance be applied to the decent maintenance, support, and remuneration of the ' clerici laici' of this the metropolitan church of England." Well, indeed, may these gentlemen say, "that much still remains to be done before the ecclesiastical revenues, duties, and patronage can be placed upon a basis satisfactory alike to the clergy and the people." It must be recollected, when we are urging attention to the claims of this neglected branch of our Establishment, that "almost the whole duty of the choir devolves entirely on the minor canons, the lay clerks, and the choristers, and without their united and constant service our cathedrals would at once assume the aspect of mere parochial churches." The author of this very judicious and able exposition of the claims of the lay clerks says, "The scanty and miserable stipends are so wholly inadequate to their labour, skill, and daily service in the church, that they were induced to send their memorial for redress to the First Minister of the Crown, in the humble

hope that their case would have been taken into consideration. But, as in all old countries those who labour the most are generally the most scantily remunerated, so it appears that those who serve in the Temple form no exception to the general rule." It is hardly necessary to say that the minister answered the petitioners by saying that he could not appropriate the profits of the suppressed stalls to their advantage, and thus bowed them out of the Treasury chambers. We think that if they now put their case in Mr. Horsman's able and honest hands, they will have a better chance of success: and we advise them to prosecute their claim till it is heard, acknowledged, and conceded; for, as an old Puritan writer expresses himself, "The cathedral men look like ghosts now their mouths are stopped, and they can sing no longer."

Christian Conscience; a Sermon preached on the laying the First Stone of the Alms House, Chiswick. By W. Sewell, B.D.

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This excellent discourse is worthy of Mr. Sewell's name, and the spirit in which it is written is exactly that which is so loudly called for to meet the formidable and increasing evils of our social system. "What," he says, 66 are those means, what are the provisions and commandments, of Christ for saving a nation from that most fearful of all ends, the array for deadly battle within the same city, on one side of wealth-inordinate, selfish, luxurious, ungodly wealth-and on the other side of famished, reckless, brutalized, and ungodly poverty, it would occupy too much time to describe They may be summed up in a few words; They are—to bring all the tithes of our increase into God's storehouse, that there may be meat in his house not to despise the poor: to visit the sick beds, and widows in their affliction to honour God with our substance: not to withhold the pledge: not to spoil with violence: not to oppose one another when we are buying or selling, that is, never to act upon that wicked maxim, now propounded as the ruling maxim of this great empire, to measure the wisdom of our traffic, and the greatness of our gains, by buying always where weecan buy the cheapest, and selling where we can sell the dearest; that is, where in every instance we can extort for ourselves the utmost possible amount from the cravings and necessities of our neighbours." We could, had we room and time to spare, make many other important and admirable extracts from this discourse, in the spirit and sentiments of which we fully agree.

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Artegall," or Remarks on the Reports of the Commissioners of Inquiry into the State of Education in Wales.-ARTEGALL is the indignant advocate of the claims of his injured country against the reports of the commissioners, who, he says have done his people a double wrong, by traducing their character and threatening an infringement of their social rights. The reports they made, he says, are only "the partial inferences of advocates, the special pleadings of counsel for the prosecution in the cause of Shuttleworth versus Wales." Artegall has gone through different portions of the evidence (II. Evidence), has

proved in many cases that their reports are contradictory of the evidence, in many respects very imperfectly formed, and often in opposition to the opinions and sentiments of the best informed and most intelligent of the wealthy proprietors and gentry of that part of the kingdom.

Time," he says, "that great revealer of truth, will surely subject the reports of the Education Commission to the same stern censure as it did the delusive statements in the Report of the Children's Employment Commission, and prove that they have borne insufficient testimony to Wales."

KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON.

The Council of this college have appointed professors to give evening lectures, open, not only to regular students of the college, but to all gentlemen who may feel disposed to attend. The opening lecture was delivered on the 20th Feb. by the Rev. Dr. Jelf, Principal of King's college, and canon of Christ Church, "On the relation which Scientific Pursuits bear to Religion." On Monday Feb. 5 the regular course commenced, and will be continued without intermission every evening, Saturday excepted, until Friday, March 30. The lectures appointed for the present term are "Manufactures and Machinery," eight lectures, by Professor Cowper; "Public Health," eight lectures, by Professor Guy; " Chemistry," eight lectures; by Professor Miller; "Natural History," eight lectures, by Professor T. Rymer Jones; "Physical Geography," five lectures, by Professor Ansted. Three evenings are to be devoted to the illustration, by the oxy-hydrogen microscope, of the structure of the lower animals.

JUBILEE OF THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOT

ING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE.

This beneficent Society is about to observe its 150th Anniversary with peculiar solemnity. His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, its President, has undertaken to preach a Jubilee Sermon in St. Paul's Cathedral, on Thursday afternoon, the 8th of March; and his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge has signified his intention of being present. It is anticipated that the several Diocesan and District Committees will generally mark the jubilee by services and collections in their districts on the same day.

The first meeting of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge was held in London on the 8th of March, 1698-9,

when five persons were present: namely, Francis Lord Guildford, Sir Humphry Mackworth, Mr. Justice Hook, Colonel Maynard Colchester, and the Rev. Dr. Thomas Bray. Of the five original members, to whose Christian zeal, courage, and judgment the Society owes a large debt of gratitude, the most eminent, as well as the most active, in this labour of love was Dr. Bray. His means were small but he cheerfully devoted himself and his worldly substance to the diffusion of Christian truth, and the extension of our ever-blessed Redeemer's kingdom. He laboured for the promotion of schools for the poor.

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He crossed the Atlantic, at his own cost, though under a commission from his Diocesan, Dr. Compton, Bishop of London, to advance religion in Maryland, then one of our American settle. ments; and he was afterwards mainly instrumental in establishing The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. He laid the plan of setting up lending-libraries in destitute districts in the Colonies, fixing and arranging depositories of books for poor clergymen ; and he wrote some valuable treatises, which were adopted for these collections. He died poor; and the general title of a memoir, written after his death, well describes the leading feature of his character. "Public Spirit Illustrated in the Life and Designs of the Rev. T. Bray, D.D. 8vo. 1746."

These five were the only members of the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, as it was then styled, until the 19th of April, 1699, when Mr. John Chamberlayne, who afterwards became the Secretary, was elected a member. Other members soon joined the Institution, including the Bishops of Bath and Wells, Chester, Chichester, and Worcester; Robert Nelson, Sir Richard Blackmore, Sir

John Philipps, Sir Edmund Turner, Sir George Wheler, William Melmoth, Dean Kennet, Dean Manningham, Archdeacon Stubs, Dr. Gideon Harvey, Dr. Slare, &c. But at the first eight meetings of the Society the five founders, and they only, attended. There are now 17,140 members; the Queen being the Patron of the Institution.

It is interesting to observe, that the five original members entered fully upon the three important objects which have since, for a period of one hundred and fifty years, been the Society's great and leading designs, and under which all its plans may be classed :

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I. The Education of the Poor.

II. Aid in behalf of the Colonies and Dependencies of the British Empire.

III. The Preparation and Circulation of Books and Tracts.

This is shown very satisfactorily in a "Jubilee Tract," which has been prepared by the Secretary, the Rev. T. B. Murray, M.A. who has traced in the early records of the Society the operations of its first members, and has then proceeded to relate how earnestly and how nobly those objects have since been pursued and carried out. It is a narrative of persevering effort to which in this fainting and flagging world it would be difficult to exhibit a parallel.

In following up the first object, the Society has recently made large grants in behalf of national education, and gives every week books to necessitous schools.

The second object is consulted by the liberal outlay for the religious well-being of the Colonies, the Society having more than once voted its 10,000l. at a time, and contributed upwards of 44,000l. towards church building in distant places.

And, as a proof that the third design has not been lost sight of, 4,184,428 publications, including bibles, prayer-books, and tracts, have been issued by the So

ciety during the year. The great Churchill, and Admiral Benbow, and Sir G. Rooke, 150 years since, and more recently Mungo Park, Sir John Franklin, and Sir James Brooke, have been the Society's almoners, in the distribution of its works.

THE FINE ARTS COMMISSION.

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The eighth report of the Commissioners on the Fine Arts has been published. It appears that three frescoes have been painted for the House of Lords, in addition to the first executed by William Dyce, R.A.; namely, Religion," by John Calcott, R.A.; Spirit of Chivalry," by Daniel Maclise, R.A.; and "Edward the Black Prince receiving the Order of the Garter from Edward III." by Charles West Cope, R.A. The commissioners consider the works highly satisfactory as examples of fresco painting. Two subjects remain to be depicted, Justice," and "Prince Henry, afterwards Henry V. acknowledging the authority of Chief Justice Gascoigne." The commissioners propose to commit the subject of Justice to D. Maclise, R.A. and the other to Charles West Cope, R.A. As considerable time will be required for the preparation of the cartoons, it may be found necessary to postpone the execution of the paintings till the next year. The commissioners are prepared to conclude an agreement with Mr. Dyce to decorate her Majesty's drawing room, chiefly in fresco, according to which he undertakes to complete certain stipulated work within a period not exceeding six years, commencing on the 1st of July, 1848, and for which it is proposed he shall be remunerated at the rate of 8001. a year. The expenditure now recommended will be 1,6007. for the two remaining frescos in the House of Lords, and 8001. a year to Mr. Dyce, for which expenditure the commissioners request the sanction of the Queen.

INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS.

Dec. 4. Mr. Bellamy in the chair. Mr. Billings delivered a discourse on the Infinity of Geometric Design as regards Tracery. He commenced his observations with some remarks on the present, practice and position of architecture; objecting to the unwise use of gaudy colourings, and condemning the mode in which the Temple Church had been disfigured. In its original state it was the artificial nfinite realised: now the whole was con

tracted and brought down on the head of the beholder. There were other buildings to which the remark would apply. Look to the House of but no; he was one

of those who would rather run a mile than fight a minute, and he would not provoke a controversy. Only a short time ago the idea of geometric principles in Gothic architecture was laughed at; but now the fact was well understood and generally admitted. Why should modern architects be content with simply copying? why

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stand still and exhibit no invention? use of glass and iron ought alone to have led to an entirely new style. The fact was, they succumbed to lay and clerical masters, who positively would not let them design. Why was this permitted? Architects too readily gave way to amateur pretenders. When he first introduced the system of squares for tracery he had been laughed at; but these squares, like the British squares at Waterloo, had never been broken. Pursuing the same train of thought, he had been striving to discover the means by which the Gothic architects achieved such infinite variety of design, and he had succeeded, he believed, to a great extent. On one fixed design, namely, a circle divided into eight compartments, with four smaller circles wthin it, placedi around the circumference, and each onethird the size of the inclosing circle, he had constructed 100 different panels of tracery, not one of which could be called vulgar Gothic. They were all purely geometric; no rule of thumb in them, and any one could draw them,-when he knew how. Geometric forms he thought the most graceful of all forms. An entirely new field was opening to the designer, and would doubtless be well worked. The lecturer then explained the construction of a large number of these panels, which displayed extraordinary variety and beauty; -the variety was caused simply by varying the position of the connecting curves. He said he was most anxious that others should get on the same scent, with a view to other branches of design. These designs, forming a book, would be published at a low price, and he looked for general support.

Dec. 18. Amongst the donations was a MS. volume from a Dutch architect, containing notices of 100 Dutch architects, from the middle ages to the present time.

Mr. Burn commenced a discussion on the merits and defects of sea-sand in the formation of mortar, and expressed his opinion that an analysis then laid on the table bore out his own feeling, that blown sea-sand was not a cause of damp in houses. Mr. W. W. Pocock mentioned, that in two houses in the Isle of Wight near the sea, built simultaneously on sea sand, covering a stone foundation, saline to taste, one finished with pit sand was perfectly dry, while that in which the ceilings were worked out with sand brought from the sea-shore gave water out to the extent of dropping. A chemist supplied a powerful wash, applied boiling hot, which at once removed the evil.-Dr. Dickson mentioned that sulphuric acid in an earthen vase placed in a damp room

would soon absorb the vapour : and Mr. C. H. Smith suggested alum might be employed. Mr. Donaldson pointed out that sea-sand could be considered useable only in cases of blown sand, i. e. when well washed by the rain.

The hon. secretary then read a communication from Messrs. J. and T. Smith, of Darnick, on the use of Whinstone rubble in construction of bridges, with details of one lately built over the Tweed at Ashiestiel, price 1,2007., 131 feet 6 inches span, 16 feet wide in the middle,— versed sine in proportion: usual construction, except 40 feet in middle solid.

Jan. 8. Sydney Smirke, esq. V. P.

Mr. C. H. Smith read a paper "On the various Qualities of Caen Stone," compris. ing analyses of the stone, and experiments on the ability of the different beds to resist compression, and on their powers of absorption, It has been published in "The Builder."

The Chairman said nothing was more important to the architect than the proper choice of materials; he was like the painter in this respect, but was worse off, because cost must always be considered. This question of cost had aided the introduction of Caen stone. In one building erected under his own direction the use of Caen stone instead of Portland involved a saving of 1,2007. or 1,4007.

Jan. 22. Mr. Bellamy in the chair.

Mr. Francis Dollman presented several original drawings for Greenwich Hospital, with the signature of Nicholas Hawksmoor upon them. One is particularly interesting, as shewing a plan for the completion of the centre. Mr. Bailey,

hon. secretary, read in illustration several extracts from Evelyn's Diary, written during the progress of the works.

Read, A description of the malleable ironbeam bridge constructed in 1839 over the Polloc and Govan Railway on the Carmunnock road, near Glasgow, by Mr. Andrew Thomson, engineer.

Feb. 5. Mr Poynter in the chair.

A valuable present of twenty folio volumes on architecture was received from Mr. Henry Garling, Fellow.

Mr. Scholes read a paper," On the Topography and Antiquities of the City of Jerusalem :" and entered into a discussion with Mr. Fergusson (who was present) with regard to that gentleman's published theories on the Mosque of Omar and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Mr. Fergusson's opinion is, that the mosque is, in truth, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre : and that the building which now bears the latter designation, and which was burnt in 1808, was a building not older than the 12th century. His principal reasons for

the former conclusion are,-that the socalled Mosque of Omar is unquestionably a circular Christian building of the time of Constantine, and is built over a rock standing up 15 feet from the floor, with a cave in it; further, that its shape and arrangements are contrary to the requirements of the Mahommedan religion. In reply to the question, At what period was the truth lost sight of, and the title of Church of the Holy Sepulchre given to the edifice which now bears it? Mr. Fergusson said, about 150 years before the crusades. Mr. Scholes did not believe that the (so called) Mosque of Omar was of the age of Constantine; the main arches are slightly pointed. He had never seen a pointed arch so old as Constantine. He considered that the columns used were from a more ancient building, but the structure itself of a comparatively recent period.-Mr. Fergusson contended that the arches being pointed in no way weakened his opinion; he had shown that the pointed arch, from 800 years B. C., had been the arch of that country,-i. e. the horizontal arch bracketed inwards to a point.

OXFORD ARCHITECTURAL SOCIETY.

Jan. 31. Rev. W. Sewell, President, in the chair. The Report of the Committee announced the immediate commencement of a course of practical elementary Lectures on Architecture; and mentioned the increase to the members of the Heraldic Section, which was formed at the end of the last term, with a view to supply in. creased means for studying a science so intimately connected with ecclesiastical architecture, and to prove that the Society does not neglect the objects which the Heraldic and Genealogical Association, on its dissolution, bequeathed to it.

Mr. Robinson Thornton, B.A. of St. John's college, then read a paper on Symbolism, as the distinctive character of ecclesiastical architecture. He traced a hidden and symbolical meaning from the metaphysical character of art, a character distinctly perceptible in the view staken both by Aristotle and Plato-that of its being an exhibition of truth and beauty in a material from modified by the artist's mind. The peculiarity of Christian symbolism is that such esoteric meaning is applied to purposes of instruction. It is alluded to in the works of early writers, St. Clement, St. Barnabas, Tertullian, Socrates, and is traceable in ecclesiastical buildings from the Anglo-Saxon time till the renaissance. Christian symbolism may be divided into two kinds, proto-symbolism and deutero-symbolism. The latter is more metaphysical, and is not capable of

being guided by rules, but must be left to the architect. The former is the designed introduction of some feature calculated to give Catholic instruction; such as those of the Cross, or the numbers 3, 8, and 12. For this kind of symbolism we may give four rules those of harmony of the symbolical features with the whole edifice, leading to the omission of grotesque or secular features; constructivity, forbidding the introduction of any architecturally unnecessary ornament; aesthetic, beauty; and, preference of symbols of easy interpretation. By observing such rules will our ecclesiastical edifices be "built as a city which is at unity in itself." The President returned the thanks of the Society to Mr. Thornton, and alluded to some remarks made by him relative to the grotesque representations so often found in the internal decorations of Middle and Third pointed churches. Though used formerly as a means of conveying a symbolical meaning to the mind of the devout but illiterate worshippers, in the present age of civilization and improved education, they were no longer needed, and in modern structures might be well omitted.

Feb. 14. The Report stated that the Committee had been called on to examine two designs for some proposed additions to Llangorwen Church, N. Wales; and had, with the suggestion of a few alterations, approved the design given by Mr. Butterfield. They had also received a communication from the New York Ecclesiological Society, expressing their thanks for the publications of this Society, which have been presented to them, and their sense of the interest taken in England in their progress.

Mr. Parker then read a paper which formed the first of a course of four elementary Lectures on the History of Architecture in England and the charactistic features of each period. He began with the Roman Basilica, as the original type, which was imitated in the earliest Christian Churches; took a rapid survey of the period prior to the eleventh century; dwelt at some length on the early towers supposed to be Saxon; gave an outline of the history of the principal Norman buildings, dividing them into early and late; and described the mode of distinguishing the buildings of each of these periods, bringing down the history to the 'year 1175. The lecture was illustrated by a large number of drawings and engravings.

A Meeting of the Heraldic Section of the Society was held on Feb. 8th. A very valuable collection of heraldic books was presented by the Rev. Dr. Bloxam, of Magdalene college, Chairman, including