ness to the well-regulated machine of government. Never, perhaps, was the working of our ecclesiastical system, in these relative offices of bishop and archdeacon, exhibited in a more favourable or a more pleasing view.

During the later years of the bishop's life, few persons shared more largely in his regards than the accomplished layman whose words I give below. They form part of an extended notice that appeared in the public prints soon after the bishop's deatha notice prompted by the regrets of a kindred mind, and doubtless, also, by the recollection of many an Attic hour spent at Hardwick House, when the bishop delighted to pursue with his young friend some subject of classical or historical interest-all the intellectual ardour of his earlier days rekindling as the subject warmed. Age, conscious of declining power, is wont to shun, rather than to court the challenge of younger minds; and, as I have remarked elsewhere, this inclination of the bishop, not merely to sit a pleased spectator of the prowess of others, but himself to take up the cestus of argument, is a very noticeable point. Having remarked that the bishop's literary career has hitherto received very inadequate notice, Mr. Bruce proceeds thus:

'He seems threatened with the fate of those inert yet powerful minds which are rarely roused to action but by the stimulus of some temporary excitement, and then lavish the stores of long study and severe thought on subjects too ephemeral to command the attention of succeeding

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generations. Yet surely few writers of his day have clothed manly sense, sound philosophy, and various learning, in a style at once so polished and vigorous, or have furnished, within the same space, so many specimens of pregnant thought, compact reasoning, and felicitous illustration. His unassuming manners while among us made us forget that he, who seemed so ready to listen, and so desirous to learn, who smiled at our sallies, and encountered our arguments on equal terms, had quelled with his single arm the united efforts of the Edinburgh reviewers, and had been pronounced, by no less an authority than Sir James Mackintosh, to be the only writer of our time who has equally distinguished himself in paths so distant from each other as classical literature, political economy, and metaphysical philosophy.''

From the time of his elevation to the bench (1827) to his death, the bishop ceased to apply his mind to any subjects but those involved in his sacred office; and his published works henceforth consisted entirely of Sermons and Charges. Both bear the impress of undiminished vigour― of tempered earnestness of affectionate solicitude for the welfare, both of the pastors and their flocks; but the Charges derive a sort of historical interest, from the peculiar position of the church in Wales during the eventful period his lordship presided over it. This may be called a period of transition,-transition from almost utter inefficiency to a state of importance and influence, destined, we hope, ere long, to produce visible and permanent effects on the scattered and neglected population of the diocese. They are, one and all, imbued with the spirit of toleration-of manly hope and cheering exhortation, befitting the peculiar position of the church, among an overwhelming majority of dissenters.

And here we must conclude a sketch, the imperfections of which none can feel more strongly than ourselves; but,

great as were his abilities, immense his attainments, and noble and beneficial the use made of them, it is not for his learning, his genius, or his intellectual power, that the memory of the departed prelate will live longest in the hearts of those who had the happiness of knowing him; it is for the unaffected kindness of his nature,-it is (to use again the words of Bruce Knight) for his 'unbounded charity, ministered with so unsparing a hand, and in streams so copious, as to create a wonder from whence such large supplies could flow,'-it is for that sunshine of benevolence which warmed everything that approached it,-for the manly uprightness and noble sincerity of his character,-for the humility with which he bore his honours and exerted his superiority,-for the constancy and tenderness of his friendship, and his eagerness to honour virtue and cherish merit wherever found, it is for those qualities of goodness, rather than greatness, that Dr. Copleston will long be 'loved, wept, and honoured' by hosts of mourning friends and disinterested admirers.

It would be superfluous to repeat here what I have already said in the preface and in the body of the work, with regard to the value of Sir Thomas Phillips's contribution. As it has been kindly submitted to my own revision, I can with the greater confidence commend it to the best attention of the reader; who will consider that, although it has the appearance of appended and unessential matter, it is, in fact, a complement necessary rather than auxiliary.

PAPER CONTRIBUTED BY SIR THOMAS PHILLIPS,

Sa lay member of the church in the diocese of Llan

daff, of which the late Bishop Copleston was the ruler and chief pastor for more than twenty years, I yield to the wish you have expressed, that I would prepare such a sketch of his episcopate as will place before the student of his life, the principles by which he was actuated in the government of his see, and the effects of his ministry and rule on the condition of that portion of the church of Christ which was committed to his charge,

In order to the due appreciation of the bishop's position, I propose to take a rapid survey of the social and religious condition of the diocese before his appointment, and to indicate the peculiar difficulties by which his path was obstructed.

The diocese of Llandaff comprises the entire county of Monmouth, as well as that part of the county of Glamorgan which lies to the east of the Neath river. The western portion of the latter county,-which remains annexed to the see of St. David's, notwithstanding the recommendation of the church commissioners that it should be added to the diocese of Llandaff,-includes the town of Swansea, and an extensive district called Gower, stretching along the sea-coast. Within the area of the see is a central chain of high moorland, forming at its upper extremity rugged mountains, and presenting at its sides numerous ravines or precipitous acclivities, from which valleys descend towards the estuary, or inland sea, known as the Bristol Channel. This moorland and those mountain valleys, formerly the dwelling-places of

scattered shepherds and small farmers, have been colonized, within living memory, by an active and energetic population; and numerous iron-works, each supporting from 2000 to 10,000 persons, occupy situations where a few mountain sheep browsed undisturbed at the close of the last century. Men were lately alive who recollected Merthyr a small hamlet of some half dozen cottages, and that parish now numbers 50,000 persons. The population of the entire diocese, which was only 95,549 in 1801, amounted in 1841 to 259,852, and now exceeds 300,000. This population is most unequally distributed, so that four-fifths of the increase, or 160,000 persons, have been added to eight mountain parishes and two shipping ports, and in some parishes the increase has been forty-fold in fifty years.

The iron works, collieries, and shipping ports, around which this population has been congregated, may be regarded as colonies, where the native population is outnumbered by immigrants from England, Ireland, and Scotland, speaking a language strange to the original inhabitants, and requiring the ministrations of religion in a different tongue from that spoken by the native race. Whilst the duties of the church have increased with a rapidity of which there are but few other examples, the revenues of the clergy have been wholly inadequate to meet the wants thus rapidly created: and there have been other hindrances to the extension of the ministrations of the church, which must be now described.

The see of Llandaff was occupied, from 1782 to 1816 by Bishop Watson, from 1816 to 1819 by Bishop Marsh, from 1819 to 1826 by Bishop Van Mildert, and it was then held for a short period by Bishop Sumner, on whose translation to Winchester, in 1827, Dr. Copleston was consecrated bishop of Llandaff. From the time of Bishop Kitchen, in the reign of Elizabeth, until subsequent to the death of Bishop Copleston, there was no episcopal residence, and neither Bishop Watson nor Bishop Marsh lived in the diocese.