object to this answer to the question,-" What is the hinderer?" Do facts agree to this answer? Did the imperial power hinder the wealth and the corruptions of the bishops, especially at Rome? We trow not. Did not Constantine and his successors nurse, cherish, enrich, and ennoble the bishops of Christianity with the spoils and revenues of paganism, till the poor heathen,-Jesus being misrepresented by his ministers,-thought the benevolent Emmanuel more avaricious than all the gods he had supplanted ? Did wealth hinder the Son of Perdition to become the Man of Sin? But the Emperor gave him wealth till, without the name, he became a Cardinal Prince, and could feed and feast, and sway the human poultry at Rome in the style of the former nobles. These poor plebeians, idle and dissolute, were ready to be whatever their feeders chose to make themPagan or Semi-Pagan, Christian or Semi-Christian, Arian or Athanasian, as the case might require. But notwithstanding all these facilities for growth and development, one thing did hinder the assumption of the distinctive epithet or title which was destined to mark out the Man of Sin. That hinderer we do hold to have been the SPIRITUAL SUPREMACY of the Emperors, which is not exactly, and certainly not essentially, the imperial power. The hinderer, then, was the spiritual supremacy, as vested in the Emperors, and claimed and exercised by them, from Augustus to Gratian. But this hinderer was completely taken out of the way when, in 367, Gratian rejected the Pagan title, Pontifex Maximus, or Supreme Pontiff. We say, that the rejection of this heathen title by Gratian was the grand removal which was necessary. And this is equal to saying that this supreme priestly power vested in the Emperors, and claimed by them from Augustus to Gratian, was indeed that which hindered, and would hinder, till taken out of the way. This power was a legal hinderer. It would have been treason in any subject, lay or clerical, to claim this title or power so long as the Emperors chose to retain it; for the Cæsars well knew the maxim, scribere est agere,-to write is to act. So long, then, as this power was held in the imperial right, and supported by the imperial arms, no subject could obtain it.* It could not possibly be vested in and exercised by two parties at the same time. Just as the Pope could be no longer Pope in England, when Henry VIII, in 1533, assumed the supreme pontificate himself, which, in England, had been claimed and exercised by the Bishop of Rome so early as the year 594; which spiritual supremacy, or legal power, were the present justly popular Sovereign to resign, the hinderer, in the legal sense, would, in the British empire,

* In a synod held at Rome in 494, Gelasius, the Bishop of Rome, succeeded in getting for the decretals or letters of the Bishop of Rome the same authority as that attached to Canons of Councils. The effect of the decretals, thus introduced, was to overthrow, in the first place, Church law, and in the second, all law. It gave the Bishop or Pope, whoever he might be, absolute and unbounded power. It created an endless number of appeals to the venal justice of the Court of Rome. It placed the Pope above all law, and all the clergy above all civil law except the Pope's. But even the first faint formal attempt at this grand ultimatum was not made, even over the clergy, till after Gratian rejected the spiritual supremacy.-(See Fleury and Waddington.)

be taken out of the way, and Pio Nono would get, so far as the law is concerned, all he so arrogantly claims. Indeed, except on this principle, the principle of the supreme pontificate, -however strangely it may sound, the British Sovereign, though the most powerful on earth, has no legal power against the Pope's pretensions. We have referred to this merely for illustration.

The fourth thing in our analysis is the manifestation of the head of that iniquitous system which is described as the Mystery of Iniquity. Now, while many of the above dates prove secret, gradual, and systematic corruption, one of them fixes the public appearance of one claiming to superintend that system in which those very errors and corruptions are embodied. Boniface III. was revealed, made publicly manifest, with the supreme pontifical power, in 607, under the usurped title of Universal Bishop. How slight the disguise! How identical the thing! But not long is even the name changed. How soon is the pompous Pagan title to find a place in the page of corrupted Christianity! The " Supreme Pontiff" will soon be heard above all that is called God." In 709, so high, so haughty was the Universal Bishop grown, that it was a great favour to be permitted to kiss his toe! See that portly figure there. It is one of royal mien, holding a mule, and waiting to hold the stirrup of the Supreme Pontiff,-that is Frederick Barbarossa. He came to Rome to celebrate his coronation, and "to moderate the increasing insolence of the Pope and his clergy."* He is the haughtiest prince in Europe. He is at the head of a powerful and obedient army; but yet he is ordered to that menial office, and he obeys. Does this prove, or does it not, that the head of the Mystery of Iniquity has exalted himself "above all that is called God?" We understand this phrase distinctly of kings or other chief rulers, to whom the epithet is applied in Psalm lxxxii. When, therefore, a power arose, claiming the homage of kings, and declaring that a kingdom was a gift (beneficium) at his disposal, we think no mind can be mistaken as to the identity of that power with that foretold by Paul, and by him denominated the "Man of Sin."

But that Wicked stops not yet. Heaven, too, must yield to his ambition,-he must be styled God; he will pretend that he is God. Can history produce this blaspheming monster? Yes, it can. The minions of the blasphemer have made his title good. They have established his claims beyond example and beyond dispute. Like Teneriffe or Atlas, he stands alone; there is not another like him.

The corruptions of earth are exhausted in making him complete; the policy of hell is puzzled to support him. Another was impossible. History proves, with a cumulative certainty, that a party did arise equal to that in the text. We have only too much evidence; we give a few samples:-That the Pope ought to be called Universal Bishop,-that his name alone ought to be recited in the church,-that he ALONE ought to wear the tokens of IMPERIAL dignity, that all princes ought to kiss his feet, -that he is to be judged by none,-that he has power to depose emperors and kings (Dictatus Papa). The church has the power of exalting * Waddington, vol. ii., p. 312.

the greatest princes; emperors and kings ought to obey and serve her.-(Bull, Clem. V.) Cardinal Damiani, writing to Victor II., makes Christ thus speak of himself: "I have appointed thee to be as the father of emperors; I have delivered into thy hands the keys of the whole church universal, and placed thee my vicar over her.... And if these things were small, I have also added monarchies to them; yea, . . . have granted thee the rights of the whole Roman empire, now vacant." Innocent II. says: "The church, MY SPOUSE, hath given me a dowry beyond all price, the plenitude of spiritual things, and the WHOLE EXTENT of things temporal. . . . That men may say of me, Out of his fulness have we received." (!!) The same Innocent said to King Richard, "I HOLD THE PLACE OF GOD UPON EARTH."-(Gervis, Chron., 1623.)

...

Martin V. thus speaks of himself: "The most holy and the most blessed, who is invested with heavenly power, who is Lord on earth, the successor of Peter, the Christ of the Lord, the Lord of the Universe, the Father of Kings, the Light of the World, the Sovereign Pontiff, Pope Martin."-(Reynold, A.D., A.N. 1422.)

Angelus Politianus thus writes to Alexander VI: "We rejoice to see you raised above all human things, and exalted even to the divinity itself. . (Sextus regnat Alexander ille vir, inde Deus)-Alexander Sixth reigns not only man, but God." (1492.) Clement VII. tells King Charles VI., that there is but one God in the heavens, and there ought to be but one God on earth.-(Frosard.) "Tu pastor, tu medicus, tu gubernator, tu custos, tu denique alter Deus in terris."-Thou art pastor, thou art physician, thou art governor, thou art guardian, thou art, in short, another God on earth. "Universis populis adorandus (Julius II.) Deo insuper simillimus."-By all the people Julius II. is adored. Moreover, he is, in the highest degree, like God. "Ne fleveris, filiu Zion, quia ecce venit Leo de tribu Jude, radix David,. hominum non alter Rex tantum, sed Rex Regum."-Do not weep, O daughter of Zion, because the Lion of the tribe of Judah cometh,-the RooT OF DAVID, not only king of men, but KING OF KINGS. And even so late as the year 1844 the same style is retained: "OUR MOST HOLY LORD GREGORY XVI., POPE." "The Pope is judge instead of God, and can himself be judged by no mortal. We behold in thee Christ's substitute,-a judge appointed in the place of Christ." The framers of the canon law make it say, "It is evident that the Pope was called God by Constantine, and it is clear that God cannot be judged by men. The angels were subject to the Pope, and obeyed his commands. As Christ was God, the Pope was Vice-God." "Romanus pontifex non puri hominis sed veri Dei vicem gerit in terris;" that is, the Roman Pontiff rules on earth, not instead of mere man, but of TRUE GOD. The Pope is the most vigilant Conservator of PONTIFICAL OMNIPOTENCE. The honour which is due to Christ, as God, is due to the Pope; because it is due to power; and Christ's power, as God, is the same as that of the Pope; to Paul III., the High Priest and God upon earth. The people think of the Pope as the one God, that has power over all things in earth and heaven (blasphemous application of Scriptures appropriate to the Lord Jesus Christ *A title of Jupiter.

only), to Leo X. at his election:-" Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy, in whom all nations shall be blessed;" (Leo) the lion of the tribe of Judah, the King of Glory, has come forth, beaming forth the insupportable lustre of Divine majesty,-a God to weak mortals,-the fountain of Divine grace and mercy; in thy hand (Leo) I behold the empire of earth, sea, and heaven. The Lord our God is God no more; he has resigned all his power to the Pope." (Tetzel). "We cannot tolerate men uttering blasphemies against OUR CHRIST, OUR LORD GOD THE POPE." But why proceed? Here is a counterpart for the character of the sacred text,-it is produced from history; that history is written and banded down by friends. We could produce ten examples for one of a similar kind, and still find admirers. The evidence given can be proved,—and will, if it be denied. We have now only to ask, Where are the above corruptions to be found? In what system? Popery? Yes, it contains them all,it defends them all,-it determines the question, -it precludes debate, and by infallibility prevents change. It tolerates no rival. It is THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. Its head answers to the text as accurately as a letter to the type, or the paper to the steel plate. The Pope is THE MAN of SIN. He claims every epithet, and the whole description of the sacred text, and of history, to himself. They are all found in him. There is no other head of a system in whom they all meet. It is in vain, therefore, for his devotees first to utter their blasphemies in adoration of the Pope, and then say to us, "You must not use this evidence. We will not tolerate men to apply the evidence of history in determining the question, Who is the Man of Sin ?"" "WE CANNOT TOLERATE MEN UTTERING BLASPHEMIES AGAINST OUR CHRIST,—our LORD GOD THE POPE." Well, then, produce us another claiming and receiving the homage of kings, exalting himself above all that is called God, claiming and receiving the titles of God, sitting in the temple of God, and showing himself that he is God, and we will readily admit that other, WHEN PRODUCED, to be the "Man of Sin ;" and allow the Pope to proceed through "the Garden of the Soul," along "the Path to Paradise," and we will even recommend his Holiness to take "the Key of Heaven"* in his hand, lest Peter be absent, asleep, or on a visit to purgatory; or, what is still more likely, of the very same mind as Paul, and therefore no way disposed to misplace the "Son of Perdition."

POPISH RELICS.

Horace Walpole, in one of his letters, has the following: "'Tis a curiosity, and worthy to be laid up with the relics which we have just been seeing in a small hovel of Capuchins, on the side of the hill, and which were all brought by his Majesty from Jerusalem. Among other things of great sanctity, there is a set of gnashing of teeth, the grinders very entire; a bit of the worm that never dies, preserved in spirits; s crow of St. Peter's cock, very useful against Easter; the crisping and curling, frizzling and frowning, of Mary Magdalene, which she cut off on growing devout."

*These are names of books in common use among the Papists.

POPULATION.

The population, which was 3,929,327 in 1790! 5,305,925 in 1800; 7,239,814 in 1810; was 9,638,131 in 1820; 12,866,920 in 1830; 17,100,572 in 1840; had reached 23,225,000 in 1850. At the end of each of the six decades which have passed since 1790 (and there was no census of the whole country taken before that epoch) the increase of the population has been ascertained. In the first, that increase was 1,376,598; in the second, 1,933,829; in the third, 2,398,317; in the fourth, 3,228,789; in the fifth, 4,233,652; and in the sixth, 6,124,428. Even at the ratio of the last decade, the increase of the nextfrom 1850 to 1860-will be 8,346,872; and that of the decade from 1860 to 1870, will be 11,341,700. This calculation gives us some idea of the rapid growth of the population of the country, and of the greatness of the church's responsibility, and of the work to be done in that country. At the ratio above stated, the population will be 50,712,999 in the year 1875, and far more than 100,000,000 in the year 1900. The period under notice, from 1815 to 1851, was one of great spiritual as well as material progress. During that time, the increase of our churches and means of religious instruction were wonderfully augmented. There were many instances of the outpouring of the Spirit in all parts of the country. It was the era of the formation, or of the principal growth of our societies for spreading the Gospel at home and abroad, for increasing the staff of the ministry, for the promotion of temperance, for the reforming of the criminal-in a word, of great progress in all that concerns the moral and religious, as well as the material, interests of the nation. The immigration from foreign lands increased within this period, from some twelve or fifteen thousand per annum, up to 315,000. During the present year, it is expected that it will far exceed 400,000-probably come, but little, if at all, short of half a million! And whilst, on the one hand, the immigration from the Old World has been steadily and rapidly advancing, on the other, the tide of our population has been rolling in immense volume into the valley of the Mississippi, and is even now spreading along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. The entire population of the States and territories west of the Alleghany mountains now exceeds ten and a half millions; in 1775 it did not exceed 100,000; and was not half a million in the year 1800. These figures show the wonderful increase of the population of the United States, and the rapidity with which it is expanding itself over the immense central and western regions.

MATERIAL PROSPERITY.

In proof of the material prosperity of the country, it may be stated, that the tonnage employed in the foreign and coasting commerce of

the country (including the fishing and whaling vessels) was in June, 1850, 3,681,469. That of the lakes was 167,137 tons. The exports were 136,946,912 dollars, and the imports 173,308,010 dollars. The number of steamvessels of all descriptions was estimated, at the commencement of this present year, to be 2,000, and their tonnage 500,000; and it is calculated that on the 1st of January, 1852, the aggregate length of railroads will be 10,618 miles, built at the cost of about 350,000,000 dollars. These facts may be taken as indices of the advance of the United States in what concerns its material interests.

EDUCATION.

In connection with this topic, we may state that the cause of education has made great progress, particularly within the last forty or fifty years. Public school systems have been established by law, securing the advantages of education for all classes in at least twelve of the States in the northern and north-western portion of the country, and the subject is waking up much interest in almost all the others. There are now 120 colleges and universities, most of which are in the hands and under the direction of religious men, and a solid instruction is imparted in the principles of a Protestant Christianity. There are thirteen Roman Catholic colleges, and two or three may be said not to have any decided religious character, although I know of none that have an infidel character. In the year 1801 there were but twenty-five colleges in the country. There are thirty-seven medical schools and twelve law schools. Many of the colleges are new and very imperfectly endowed; but many of the old ones may be said to be well established and supplied with efficient teachers. In founding these institutions, the State Governments have usually given more or less aid; but their greatest assistance, in the way of endowments, has come from the benevolence of individuals.

RELIGION.

We come now to the consideration of the Progress and Present State of Religion in the United States, so far as it can be ascertained and determined by statistical inquiry. On this subject it is very difficult to obtain all the data which are desirable, but I think I shall be able to reach a reasonable approximation to the truth.

Episcopal Church.

The oldest branch of the Protestant Church in the United States is the Protestant Episcopal. Its history commences with the planting of the colony of Virginia, in the year 1607. For a very long period this church laboured under many disadvantages. One of these has been alluded to-the difficulty of obtaining ministers from England, where all had to be consecrated. Another and very serious difficulty arose from the

disputes which occurred in relation to the manner of their support. And, to complete the catalogue of hindrances, at the commencement of the Revolution, a large number of the ministers of this body, being Englishmen, felt constrained, by their views of duty, to return to the mother country. It was not till years after the Revolution that the real prosperity of this church commenced. From the most authentic accounts which I have been able to find, I think that there were in the year 1800, 320 churches, 16,000 communicants, 260 ministers, with 7 bishops. In 1819 there were 17 bishops, about 500 churches, and 25,000 members. In 1850, there were 28 bishops, 3 missionary bishops, 1,504 ministers, 1,550 churches, and about 73,000 members. During the first half of this century, the Episcopal Church in the United States has, therefore, more than quintupled its members. The population of the United States has increased during the same period something less than fourfold and a half, it being relatively, at the epochs of 1850 and 1800, as 439 6-10ths to 100.

Congregational Church.

The Congregational branch of the one true Church of Christ may be taken next; for though the Reformed Dutch Church may have had some preachers on the ground before 1620, it is not certain that there were any churches of this body before 1624. The increase of this body has been steady, almost from the first. I have no means of knowing what were its statistics in the year 1800. But, in the year 1850, there were 1,971 churches, of which nearly 1,400 were in the six New England States, and the rest in the other States, chiefly Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa. The number of ministers was 1,687, and of the communicants, or members, 197,196. In this statement no churches are included but those which are now called Congregational in America.

Baptist Church.

The Baptist branch of the Church of Christ comes next in order of time. For a long time the Baptist ministers encountered much opposition, owing to the intolerance which prevailed both north and south-an intolerance which was a vice of the age. They often suffered imprisonment in Virginia, from the hands of the civil government, and they were banished from the Massachusetts, and compelled to found a colony on Rhode Island. At length, however, better views prevailed in both portions of the country. In Pennsylvania and New Jersey they never experienced opposition, so far as I know. In the year 1791, there were 1,150 churches, 891 ministers, and 65,345 members. In 1850, what are called the "Regular," or "Associated" Baptist Churches were believed to be 10,441, the number of ordained ministers 6,049, and that of the members 754,652. If we add to these the Seventh-Day Baptist (Sabbatarians), with their 60 churches, 46 ministers, and 7,000 members; the Free-will Baptists (who are Arminian in their theological views), 1,154 churches, 823 ordained ministers, and 49,215 members; the Six Principle Baptists, and one or two other small branches, who have about 200 churches, 100 ministers, and 11,000 members; and the "Disciples of Christ," or "Reformers," as they call themselves-a large body embracing, in 1850, about 1,600 churches, 1,000

ministers, and 127,000 members-who have adopted the sentiments of the Rev. Dr. Alexander Campbell, which have been considered too speculative and cold, and not sufficiently operative to the renovation of the heart and life; we shall have an aggregate of 13,455 Baptist Churches, 8,018 ministers, and 948,867 members. This is an immense increase since the year 1791-sixty years ago. In the year 1750, one hundred years ago, there were only 58 Baptist Churches in the whole of what is now the United States; and in the year 1768, there were but 137. It appears, that in sixty years the Baptist Churches have increased tenfold, their ministers ninefold, and their members more than thirteenfold !

Presbyterian Church.

The next of the large Christian bodies which arose in the United States was the Presbyterian. The first ministers of that body were from Scotland and the North of Ireland, and were joined by ministers from New England, who came into the Middle and Southern States, where Presbyterianism first gained a foothold. In the year 1705, a presbytery, consisting of seven ministers, was formed: from this beginning the body has steadily grown, until it now ranks among the most numerous and powerful of the land. In the year 1800, it is believed, the number of ministers of what is now called the Presbyterian Church, was about 300, churches 500, and communicants 40,000. This is, at all events, as exact as we can make the statement, and it cannot be far from the truth. The two great branches in which it now appears for a division took place in the year 1838 -stand thus: The Old School General Assembly has 23 synods, 134 presbyteries, 2,027 ministers, 618 licentiates and students, 2,675 churches, 210,306 members. The New School Assembly has 21 synods, 104 presbyters, 1,489 ministers, 204 students (in theological schools only) and licentiates, 1,579 churches, and 140,060 communicants. Taken together, the two branches of the Presbyterian Church name 44 synods, 238 presbyteries, 2,516 ministers, 822 licentiates and students, 4,254 churches, and 350,366 communicants. From this it appears that this body increased nearly twelvefold, so far as the ministry is concerned, eight and a half fold as to the churches, and nearly ninefold as regards the members. But if we add the smaller branches, none of which amounted to much in the year 1800, and the largest of which did not exist at all, the increase in the Presbyterian body becomes still more striking. They are as follows:

1. The Associated Presbyterian Church, which had, in 1850, 1 synod, 16 presbyteries, 120 ministers, 214 churches, and 18,000 communicants.

2. The Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church, with 4 synods, 20 presbyteries, 219 ministers, 332 churches, and 26,340 members.

3. The Reformed Presbyterian Church, with 2 synods, 7 presbyteries, about 80 ordained ministers, 100 organized churches, and 12,000 communicants. These three bodies have at least 160 students and licentiates.

4. Reformed Dutch Church, which is only Dutch in name at present, for the English is used in all their pulpits, and spoken by all their people. This body had, in 1784, only 82 churches, and 30 ministers. In 1850 it had a general

synod, 2 particular synods, 24 classes (or presbyteries), 293 ministers, 292 churches, and 33,553 communicants. It has also 32 students in theology.

5. The Cumberland Presbyterian Church. This body arose in 1810, in the State of Kentucky. In polity it is Presbyterian, with the addition of the itinerating system of the Methodist Church. In doctrine it holds a sort of medium ground between Calvinism and Arminianism. It has a general assembly, 12 synods, 45 presbyteries, 350 ministers, 480 churches, and more than 50,000 members. This body is most numerous in the South-Western and Western States. It has but few churches eastward of the Alleghany Mountains. From this it appears the Presbyterian family of churches, speaking the English language and having a British origin, except the Dutch Reformed, consist of 4 general assemblies, 65 synods, 360 presbyteries, 4,578 ministers, 1,014 students and licentiates, 5,672 churches, and 490,259 communicants. And almost all this is the growth of 50 years, or the era from 1800 to 1850. During that period, the Presbyterian Church may be said to have increased nearly elevenfold.

Methodist Episcopal Church.

The last in order of time, of the larger religious bodies that arose in the United States, was the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was not till the year 1784 that this church was organised-under the superintendence of the Rev. Messrs. Coke and Asbury. Up to that time those who followed the doctrines and measures of Mr. Wesley remained in connection with the Protestant Episcopal Church. At the date of its organisation the new body had 83 ministers and 14,986 members. In the year 1800 it had 40,000 members. Its subsequent increase has been immense. It now spreads over all the country, and its "conferences," "districts," and "circuits," cover the whole land. Its itinerating system is admirably adapted to the extent and wants of so vast and so new a field. In the year 1844, a division took place in this body, occasioned by the subject of slavery. In the year 1850, the Northern branch, called the "Methodist Episcopal Church," had 4,004 ministers on its regular service, and 666,310 members. The "Methodist Episcopal Church, South," had 1,642 ministers, and 504,520 members; making in all, 5,646 regular ministers, or those on the circuit, besides a large number of local ministers, and 1,170,830 members. There are several small Methodist bodies.

1. In the year 1828 there was a secession from the Methodist Episcopal Church, on account mainly of the exclusion of the lay representatives from the annual and general conferences; and the Protestant Methodist Church was organised. This body had in 1850 a general conference, 22 annual conferences, 1,200 travelling and local preachers, and 62,000 com. municants.

2. There is what is called the Wesleyan Methodist Church, which was another secession, on the ground of slavery and the episcopacy, in the year 1842. It has several conferences, and 20,000 members.

3. There are some Primitive Methodists in America, but their societies are neither large

nor numerous.

4. There is a small Christian body of coloured

people, called the African Methodist Church, which has about 20 circuits, 30 preachers, and nearly 3,000 members.

And, 5. There are some 20 congregations of Welsh Calvinistic Methodists. By combining all the churches above mentioned, it will be found that there are quite 6,000 regular preachers, more than 8,000 local preachers, and more than a million and a quarter of members ! There is reason to believe that the membership of this communion has increased much more than six times as fast as the population of the country has done, since the year 1784.

Churches of Continental Origin.

We come now to a group of churches of continental origin, and which still employ more or less the German language. Hitherto we have been speaking of churches which have been founded by emigrants from the British Isles, and which speak the English language, and employ it, with few exceptions, in their public services. These exceptions are some Welsh churches,-probably not short of 100 in all,-which are mostly Congregational, Methodist, or Presbyterian; a few Gaelic Churches, that are Presbyterian; some Swedish and Norwegian Churches, chiefly Lutheran; and some German Churches, which belong to the Methodists, Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed, Baptist, &c. Whilst

all the earlier emigrants from other parts of the continent, such as the Dutch, the Huguenots. the Waldenses, the Swedes, &c.,-have long since lost their languages, and become merged in the Anglo-American population, those from Germany being much more numerous, and constantly sustained in the use of their maternal tongue by the never-ceasing flow of the immigration from Germany, have retained, in many places, their old language, and employ it in their religious services.

1. The largest of these bodies is the Lutheran, which, in 1850, consisted of a general synod, 19 district synods, 663 ministers, 1,603 congregations, and 163,000 members. The increase of this church since the year 1800 has been very great; but I have no means of measuring it in a statistical manner. Not only has its numbers greatly augmented, but there has been a great resuscitation of true piety and spiritual life.

2. The next German communion, in point of size and influence, is the German Reformed Church. This body, like the Lutheran, has received great enlargement in the United States within the present century, though both existed long before in portions of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. It had last year about 260 ministers, 600 congregations, and 70,000 communicants. This body has been troubled of late years by some speculations, which have been pronounced to be kindred to those of Dr. Pusey; but it contains many excellent men, and is rapidly increasing in numbers.

3. The United Brethren in Christ. This denomination arose in the latter part of the last century, from the union of some excellent people who had belonged to the Reformed, Lutheran, and Mennonist Churches. Their first conference was held in the year 1800. They had last year 9 annual conferences, 4 bishops or superintendants, 250 itinerant ministers, 350 local preachers, 1,800 churches and other places of worship, and about 67,000 communicants. Their doctrines and modes of worship are essentially the