the needy have not a farthing more, than if nothing had been given

for them.

I know it is not always eafy, perhaps not always poffible for you, to remedy thefe ill practices. But a great part of the blame will be laid on you, right or wrong, unless you try to remedy them. And it may prove lefs difficult than you imagine., Church-wardens and overfeers perhaps are ignorant, or going on thoughtlessly, and would be thankful to you for good advice: or however would be ruled by it, on your representing to them the heinousness of robbing God or the poor; and the honour it will do them, and the confolation it will afford them, to have put things into a right channel. Or fuppofing them backward to comply, you may be able to get confiderable perfons in the parish or neighbourhood to fe cond you. At least you will get the reputation of a moft laudable zeal, and if you conduct that zeal aright, of difcretion alfo: and these togemay produce unexpected fuccefs; efpecially where the abufe is not yet become inveterate. But if nothing else will do, and the cafe be plain, and the object of fufficient importance: recourfe fhould be had to the authority of the law; and you fhould be willing to bear a pro. portion of the charges, if it be requifite and you are able; only tak ing the strictest care to proceed with mildness and fairness.

I have now finished the courfe of directions to you, which I began 15 years ago. And as I can truly fay, that in this and every part of my behaviour as your Bishop, I have, through the Divine affiftance, diligently laboured, to do my duty with uprightnefs, and promote your good and that of your parishioners, prefent and future; fo I hope you will accept my endeavours with candour, and ftudy to profit by them; excufing my failings, which I know have been many, and will now be too likely to increase. I am advancing apace into the decline of age. Three of my brethren (), my oldest and best friends, have gone before me in less than twelve months. I muft expect to follow them foon. Whether I may live, or, if I live, whether I may be able, to meet you thus again, God only can forefee. May he grant us to meet in a better world.

But before I conclude, permit me to fubjoin, to these general admonitions, a few words concerning two particular occurrences.

In the first place I return you my hearty thanks for the pains, which you have taken in behalf of the Society for propagating the Gospel. The collection hath upon the whole been made very fuccefsfully throughout the kingdom; and amounts to almoft 19000/. if not more: whereas ten years ago it fell fhort of 15000l. But I believe the contribution of this county hath been in proportion the largest of any. The laft time it' was barely 300l.; nor was that to be accounted fmall; and now it is very near 500l.: I mean in both cafes exclufive of the University: which diftinguished itself very honourably then, and I doubt not, will at prefent. May God increase, and blefs, and reward the zeal of all his fervants every where for fupporting, and enlarging the kingdom of his Son, and making the confeffion of his Name effectual to the falvation of mankind.

The other fubject, on which I would speak to you, is the conteft about reprefentatives (1) Bishops Butler, Benson, and Berkeley. E

VOL. VI.

representatives for this county in the next Parliament. Let no one be alarmed. I need not, and I do not mean, to give you at a meeting of this nature, my opinion which of the candidates you ought to prefer of that I fay no more here than that you ought to regard, in the firft place, the infeparable intereft of the excellent church we are members of, and, its only human fupport, the juft and gracious government we live under; then other fubordinate confiderations. My purpose is merely to exhort you, (and I beseech you, brethren, fuffer the word of exhortation) (m) that on this occafion, your converfation be fuch, as becometh the Gospel of Chrift: in doing which, I have neither one party, nor one perfon amongst you, more in my view than another: but, if I may ufe the Apoftle's words, am jealous with a godly jealousy over you all (n). I I cannot indeed fuppofe, that any of you would be guilty of the groffer faults too common at fuch times, or any wilful wrong behaviour. But in the midst of fo many clafhings, provocations, and difappointments, as will happen, fo many mistakes and mifreprefentations as arife one knows not how; the incitements to uncharitable and contemptuous thoughts, to unadvised and injurious words, in anger or in mirth, nay to unkind and hard and even unjust actions, are very great, and the beft of us all should be continually fuggefting to our minds proper cautions for avoiding thefe dangers. Elfe we fhall fall into fin against God and our neighbour: we shall lofe the esteem of part of thofe whofe improvement by us depends on their efteeming us; and fet a bad inftead of a good example to the reft. Let every one of us therefore be very watchful over our conduct: or if we have not been fo, let us amend it: and if we find preferving our innocence difficult, let us meddle the less with these matters: for indeed being over bufy about them is not very fuitable to our function. But while we are strict with ourselves, let us be very mild in regard to others, whom we think to have done amifs: we may blame them without caufe; or if we do not, it is eafy to err; and we, amongst others, are fadly liable to faults. But let us be efpecially mild towards our own brethren. For why fhould we diminish our little remaining strength by inteftine diffenfions, and teach yet more persons to think ill or meanly of us, than do already? Surely the common caufe of religion and virtue, which we are jointly intrusted to support, fhould have infinitely greater force to unite us, than any thing else to divide

us.

Next to yourselves, you will ftudy to preferve as many of your parifhioners as poffible, from the fins that fo easily befet them at thele feasons of epidemical unreasonableness and licentioufnefs. Thofe, who are of your own fide, you may counfel and reprove more freely. With the reft you must be extremely calm and patient: take the most favourable opportunities, and use the most perfuafive methods of speaking: but in fome way or other, private or public, all, who need it, fhould be told, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear, that the great Chriftian laws of dutifulness to fuperiors, mutual good-will, forbearance, forgivenefs, equity, veracity, moderation, fobriety, lofe not the leaft of their obligation during the continuance of these disputes: that all virtues are to be chiefly exercifed, when they are chiefly tried: and that therefore

(m) Heb. xiii. 22.

(n) 2 Cor. xi. z.

now

now more particularly, you, as the Apoftle directs, muft put them in mind, and they must keep in mind, to be fubject to principalities and powers, to obey magiftrates, to be ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers but gentle, fhewing all meekness unto all men (o). I end this long difcourfe in the words of the fame Apoftle: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatfoever things are venerable, (for fo the word is rightly tranflated in the margin) whatsoever things are juft, whatfoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praife, think of and do thefe things: and the God of peace fhall be with you (p).

(0) Tit. iii. 1, 2.

(p) Phil. iv. 8, 9.

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A CHARGE

A

CHAR GE

DELIVERED TO THE

CLERGY of the DIOCESE

CANTERBURY,

In the YEAR 1758.

T

Reverend Brethren,

HE Difpofer of all things having permitted his Majesty, by the advice of his faithful fervants, to nominate me for your Bishop: though I faw many reasons to dread this promotion, arifing from the difficulties of the office and of the times, from the great qualities of my predeceffors, and my own increafing weakneffes; yet I thought myself bound to obey his commands, and with the fame gratitude for his favourable opinion, as if I had wifhed to receive them: determining, through God's grace, to perform the duties of my ftation as well as I could; and hoping for the candor, the affiftance and the prayers of good people. To make some amends by diligence for my deficiences in other

respects,

The Archbishop of Canterbury's first Charge, &c.

69

refpects, I refolved immediately to vifit my Diocese: for which purpose we are here affembled.

These meetings were defigned, partly to give the Clergy opportunities of conferring with each other, and confulting their fuperiors, on matters relating to their profeffion; and I am very defirous, that you fhould render them as beneficial in this way, as poffible: but principally, to give Bishops opportunities of exhorting and cautioning their Clergy, either on fuch general fubjects as are always useful, or on fuch particular occafions as the circumftances of things, or the inquiries, made at or against these times, point out; and of interpofing their authority, if there be need; which, amongst you, I am perfuaded, there will not. To provide more fully for your inftruction, I have ordered a Charge to be sent you, which I delivered to the Clergy of Oxfordshire, and printed at their requeft, about twenty years ago. Would God it were become unfeasonable now. But, as unhappily it is not, I earneftly recommend the contents of it to your most serious thoughts: and would have you look on what I fhall at present say further, as fupplemental to it.

Counfels and adntonitions to parochial minifters pre-fuppofe their refidence. The founders of parishes provided them with glebes, and built houses for them, purpofely that they might refide. The laws of the church have from the beginning, and do ftill require, as indeed common equity doth, that this valuable confideration, for which thefe endowments were given, should be faithfully paid. And going over and performing the fervice from time to time, or engaging fome other clergyman to take care of it, or of the occafional part of it, seldom answers the original intention. Your people will not fo readily, and cannot fo conveniently apply to the minifter of another parish: and when they do, his affiftance, for the most part, will be lefs early, or lefs conftant, than it fhould though doubtlefs they, who have undertaken to fupply their neighbours abfence, ought to do it very confcientiously. But befides, even the Sunday-duty, when the incumbent unneceffarily comes from a diftant place to do it, will be confidered as accompanied with fomething like a breach of the Sunday, will not always be kept to the stated hours, will often be hurried over indecently: the catechifm will either not be taught or not expounded, if the distance be at all confiderable; nor probably will the fermon be well adapted to the audience. For it is only living amongst your people, and knowing them throughly, that can fhew you, what is level to their capacities, and fuited to their circumftances; what will reform their faults, and improve their hearts in true goodness. Yet this is your bufinefs with them: and unless you perform it, every thing elfe is nothing. Further, fuch as want your help moft may not come to your fermons, or may not apply them to their own cafe, or may need to have them enforced by confiderations peculiar to themselves, and unfit to be specified in public. Speaking to them feparately, and agreeably to their feveral ftates of mind and life, may have unforeseen influence. And being always at hand, to awe the diforderly and countenance the well-behaved, to advise and comfort the diseased and afflicted, to relieve or procure relief for the neceffitous, to compofe little differences and difcourage wrong cuftoms in the beginning, to promote friendly

E 3

office