ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

Wellington Independent, Volume I, Issue 45, 7 January 1846, Page 3

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

To TUB Editok, ike. \ (Concludedfrom page I.) Unhappily for England, as we think, the puri"ns were crushed in their noble efforts fur the reformation of tho Englisll Churcb . U)e c " m »n»ter standards were, never fully established England, and the blessings they were calculated o secure Wolcnuver re they have a'.waya been recognised, and where

this e.uu Limit on L1iH;,,,!;,! of t| lo ,1«,,,| | |118 b reri curried out hi iI H if not also to i!s ve,y hitter, its cfra:« havb;''*,,, n \\ that its frames could luvb wiahc.l f,ori,.w]b.. ut evincing any t,„. doncy whatever to asiiprrsVitiou* veneration, ,t :n ,y he affirmed without fear of contradiction, that then-, is no people on the f„. c () r Uie e , obe that (ay more respect V) the lumahs of the r'eud than thf inhabituns of Scotia-.,). ThU profound respect is, seen in everything cotinee-«d wiih those that urc deceased.—lt is seen in the s. l.mn sblSness thut prevades the chamber of the dead 5 scarcely a word is heard above a whisper, the vcy household clock is often stopped, and business if practicable is generally suspended .ill the funeral is past.—lt is seen in the efforts which the very poorebt make to appear dressed in respectable mourning apparel,— it is seen in the largo and solemn procession that accompany the corpse from the hou-e to the pl<ice of public burial,-in the unbroken sil.-nee observed by the company while six of the nearest relatives lower the coffin iufj the grays,—till tbe earth hos closed over the dead. —till the green sad has been adjusted over tlu " narrow house," and the chief mourner has expressed his obligations to the company for their attendance,—it is seen, not only in the costly monuments ot the rich, but in the neat,, elegant, tombstones of the, poor, with which almost every burial ground is ornamented,—and'it is seen in the thrill of horror th.t was felt by the entire community, when it was discovere] that the retting places of the dead wera violated (a system now happily at an end) to procure subjects for medical class rooms. Tbe want of a burial service has, tj say the least of it, had no ii jurious effects upon the minds of the Scottish Presbyterians, and lhe principle they have acted upon has prevented many of those unseemly and painful scenes, and those unhappy litigations, that, e-pecially of late, have occurred in the sister kingdom of England, and seem to threaten us even here at the aniipodes. But it is object:d, and that too by Scottish Presbyterians, " th-t t!:e ccu:se adopted by tbe Scottish Reformers might be necessary thtn, bat the limes are altered. The English service moreover is so benutiful, the leading of it at the gr-tve has such a fine, solemning effect, and it is calculated so much to soothe and comfort the minds of mourninurelatives, and besides there is n.ithinir aaaii,st it in scripture, so that th* hostility di>plijed against this service by the Presbyterians setms after all grea.ly misdirected." It may be repiid to such objectors, that the service is admitted to be i eauii fu\ the 39t'a and 90ib Psalm?, the 15th chap, of 1 Cor , thf. Lord's prajer, the apostolic benediction, and lh- other scripture extracts, like &'■; scrijiture, are beautiful, and are Certainly as appropriate for that occasion as any that could be eeUcted, though perhaps not more so. And as for ibe rest of the service if it were employed only over those whese salvation there ccnld be no reasonable doubt, what ver duneer there might be that tbe effect would be diminished byeveiysuc cessive repetition of the same service, a.-.d the delicate poriiion the officiating mii is er woul ■} find himself cciupying, in deciding upon the s'-ate of the deceased:—were it employed only in th se cases, less objection Cuuld be found against it, although tbe practice still be wi.h int scrip u.-e authority, and the principle of introducing religious observances, simply becau>e they are not forbidden in tcripture, is fraught with the greatest danger, and has led to almost all the superstition with which the church has burdened, disfigured, and enslaved ; but when the pith and marrow of that service is cent-fined in such passages as the following, no beauty or solemnity will warrant is indiscriminate use. "Forasmuch as it bath pleased Almighty God of his grkat mercy to take unto himself the soul cf our dear brutber bee departed, we therefore commit his body to the ground ; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, IN SURE AND CERTAIN HOPE OF THE REsUKRF.CTION 10 ETERNAL LIFE, 1k.0." "Almighty God, we irive thee hearty thanks fur tint it hath ple-ised thee to deliver this ot.r brother, out of the miseries of this sinful world, bis.e.hing thee of thy gracious goodness shortly to accomplish the number of thii c elect, &c," evidently Hssuov.ng that tbe brother or sister interred is one of the elect. " We metkly beseech thee, O Father, when we shall depart Ibis life we may rest IN HIM (Christ) AS OUR HOVE IS THIS OUR br'ither. doth, ccc." How any cmcicncious uiinisttr can use this service indiscriminate.ly over all who are ntither unbapiized, nor rxeomesunirated tven "her. the>e termsare modified by the most rigid Episcopal interpretation, how he enn deliberately addic-.s his feliow-iimi and his Maker with such language, respecting multitudes of whom in the judgement of tbe warmest charity th re is no ground for bilieving that " God <.f his great me cy has taken their soul to himself." that they are his elect servants, or that they are resting in Christ, in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life. How the minister can use this language, or how an intelligent conscient ous oouipmy of men can say amen, to such sentiments, over the remains it mny be if some notorious ungodly sinner, who while alive would have sp.irued the i lea of being even thought icligiaus,—ibis is a pnblem 1 do not attempt to sAve, I leave it between God and their own consciences; but that conscientious ministers should decline t'nsolice. in all doubtful cases, when not compelled, is matter of no surprise. After what I have stated above, it is scarcely necessary to my that tbe relink us exercise which I conducted at the, iuneral of Mr. M'Uod on Tuesday hist, was not a substitute, for the Episcopal burial service, is it np| ears I y some to Imve been viewed. It wns no riligious privilege to thedea". It was no put of the last rites of humanity. It waß adapted and inteiuled Minply and exclusively for the living, mid as I stated to ihecompany before commencing, to prevent misconception, would have been peiformed nt the place where tbe company met, but ns that w.w r, r and convenient it

was permed at thr. grave. F rm ;|.- ; number, ihfi the sicliviiy, the rnoial worth, and 'lie general it fiwetice of the Scottish I'rcihytcrians ■>f tlis colony,-from their well known and enattachment to religions as well as civil liberty,— from their bring b/ought into juxta-pori-tion with a church,'that from its wealth, rmoibers, and sfite influence, is every where powerful, and on these accounts under strong temptations to be haughty,— and where its principles are not properly understood, likely to be at times a troublesome neighbour.— I fe 1 snr y that in these circumstance, any of my countrymen,—for the feeling I am certain is not general,—should be disposed to abandon, should se*m in tbe slightest degree to be ashamed of any of the simple, rationat, common sense,scriptural institutions cf the church o f their fathers, so completely removed from botb scepticism and su; erttition,—that they should on ahy occasion descend from the high vantage ground of scripture princip'e,—that they should loose any proper opportunity of exhibiting before their fellow.celonisU, in this infant empire, for their c onsideration and adoption, those principles and institutions which by the blessing of a gracious provideme, have contributed so largely to rane .Scctfand in despite of all her natural disadvantages, to be, in proportion to her extent and resources, the most valuab'e portion of the British Empire, and have fitted her sons by their intelli gtnee, actiwty, and trustworthy character to occupy stations of honour, emolument and usefulness in every quarter of the globe. Truly it is enough to make a Scotchman blush for his country and his church, to ccc any of his fellow countrymen; seemingly more clamorous to obtain the honours of religion for the dead, than tamest to secure its ble.-sings for the living, and more eager to see it paraded at lhe grave, than ex. h.bited in the church ;-to see the descendants of those men *ho smuggled, as men never struggled, for a hundred long years to get quitcf a high handsd prelacy, and ra he than tubrait to have their con-seieric.-s enslaved, cheeiful'y sacrificed their earthly all, and met sufi";rirg and death in their most appaling forms,—to see the descendants of these men working themselves iivo a boiling passion, and fulminating forth censures ar.J tbreats-irngs azairut a highly respectnb'e Episcopalian minister, because he «iil not do what ?—riiow them to bury their dead in the choke of t'se sepulchres, and in what manner th.iy please ? -Not at ill. Pat, because forsooth, be will not at their lidding, bind them bin I and fad, :k the u.il stone of a superstitious l: - ur;y a ound their nti k, and ess: them into the of n ligious bondage ! Truly one would suppose tba" Laving come to tb.3 antipodes, thar heads as well as their feet are tx ned, aud that they see every heavenly object like the constellation of Orion in an inverted position. I am, Sir, Yours &c , John Inglis. Wellington, December 29, 1545.