In December last, DANIEL RUTHERFORD, M. D., Professor of Botany in the University of Edinburgh. He was the discoverer of Nitrogen, which was first discribed by him in his Thesis de Aere Mephitico, in 1722. 1820. Jan. 14, at St. Andrews, the Rev. Dr. HENRY DAVID HILL, Professor of Greek in that University. Jan. 24, at Naples, Cardinal CARACCIOLO, Bishop of Palestine. Diegna Ignatius Caracciolo was born on the 16th of July, 1759, at Martin. Having entered the prelacy, he followed Pope Pius the Sixth into France, and was with that Pontiff when he died at Valencia. It was in honour of his attachment to the Head of the Church that Pius VII. made him a Cardinal, August 11, 1800. This was the first hat given by the present Pope. - 26, at Royston, Herts, in his 76th year, Mr. HENRY ANDREWS, the Editor of "Moore's Almanack." He was an able astronomer, and was for many years engaged by the Board of Longitude to compute "The Nautical Ephemeris.” March 16, at Paris, 76 years of age, M. RABAUT POMIER, late one of the pastors of the Reformed Church at Paris. [See our last Number, p. 135, and Vol. XIV. p. 700. The Annales Protestantes, from which we extract this Obituary notice, promises a further account of this excellent man: we shall probably give a translation or abstract of it.] March 28, aged 36, after most acute sufferings, with a disease of the heart, Mr. HENRY RIXON, at Albany Road, Camberwell. He was much respected and esteemed, and is deeply lamented by all that knew him. Never was there a more painful or mysterious dispensation of Providence than his death, under all its circumstances. His mother, a truly excellent woman, died only six days before him, worn out with maternal anxiety and grief; and two days after his decease, his amiable widow was delivered of a daughter, their first child. April 1, at the house of William Wilberforce, Esq., M. P., Kensington Gore, the Very Rev. ISAAC MILNER, D. D. F. R. S., Dean of Carlisle, President of Queen's College, Cambridge, and Lucasian Professor of Mathematics in that University. 8, at Staines, Middlesex, the Rev. JOHN YOCKNEY, aged 67, upwards of 30 years minister of the Independent congregation in that town. 14, at Mitcham Common, after à short illness, the Rev. C. T. Heathcote, D. D., Rector of Little Wigborough, Essex, and lately master of the Hackney School, now dissolved, which flourished so long under the family of Newcome. Lately, at his palace, County Cork, at a very advanced age, Dr. BARNETT, Bishop of Cloyne, being the senior bishop of Ireland, since the death of the late Archbishop of Tuam. Lately, at Palparrow, in Cornwall, ROBERT JEFFERY, commonly known throughout the kingdom by the name of Jeffery, the seaman; who, some years ago, was left on the desolate island of Sombrero, where he was eight days and nights without support, except a few small limpets: he was fortunately rescued from his perilous situation by an American ship, which took him to Connecticut, whence he got a passage to England, but has been in a declining state of health ever since. REGISTER OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. Resolutions of Protestant Dissenting Ministers on the Death of the Duke of Kent. [The following Resolutions were presented to her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, March 24th, by a Deputation, consisting of the following Ministers arranged, as they were introduced, according to seniority,-Rev. Dr. Rees, Dr. Rippon, Dr. Morgan, (the Secretary,) Dr. Winter, Dr. Lindsay, Dr. Waugh, Dr. Newman, and Dr. Collyer. Her Royal Highness, supported by her brother Prince Leopold, received the Deputation with the most condescending politeness and affability. While the Resolutions were reading she shewed much feeling, and shed tears. When the Chairman had concluded, Prince Leopold, after apologising for his sister's inability to answer in English, assured the Deputation, with polite and appropriate acknowledgments, of her deep sense of the attention shewn her by the Dissenting Ministers. They had then the honour of kissing the Duchess's hand. On their expressing a wish to see the infant Princess, Alexandrina, she was brought forward from an apartment, of which the folding-doors were thrown open, and they kissed her hand also. When this unformal ceremony, in which the Duchess and her brother mingled with the Deputation as amongst friends of long standing, was over, Dr. Rees seized the occasion, as they were about to retire, in his own name, that of his brethren present and absent, a of thousands and millions of his Majesty's subjects in different parts of the kingdom, to express the most earnest wish, that his Royal Highness and his beloved sister the Duchess of Kent, allied to our country by several endearing and interesting connexions, might enjoy a long and prosperous life, for administering happiness to each other, and to all over whom their influence should extend, and for training up in principles of piety, virtue and liberty, civil and religious, those who, according to the order of Providence, may possibly, at some future period, dignify the throne, At an extraordinary meeting of the general body of Protestant Dissenting Ministers of the Three Denominations, the Rev. A. Rees, D.D., F.R.S., F.L.S., Soc. Amer. Soc., in the Chair, Resolved,-1. That this body, deeply affected by the irreparable loss which the cause of truth and humanity has suffered in the recent death of his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, cannot deny themselves the melancholy satisfaction of thus publicly expressing their grief on an event which has taken from the Royal Family one of its brightest ornaments, and from the nation one of its best hopes. 2. That whilst the character of the illustrious deceased commanded the esteem of men in all ranks, and of all religious persuasions, his Royal Highness was endeared in an especial manner to Protestant Dissenters, by the enlarged opinions which he entertained and avowed on the subject of religious freedom, and by the cordial support which, in connexion with his illustrious brother the Duke of Sussex, he was ready to give to those charitable establishments with which Dissenters were chiefly interested; and that this body admired, above all, the ardour with which he espoused, and the diligence with which he promoted, that comprehensive plan for the education of the poor which his Royal Father had sanctioned with his approbation, and which is not confined to classes or sects, but adapted to the general exigences of human nature, and to the general improvement of rational and immortal beings. 3. That this body, partaking of the same Catholic spirit, and anxious for its wider diffusion, look back, with a mingled sentiment of pleasure and regret, to those public meetings at which it was so beautifully exhibited in the benevolent countenance, and so powerfully recommended by the appropriate and winning eloquence, of a King's son; that, under this impression, they cannot but feelingly lament that a Prince so greatly honoured and so deservedly beloved by the wise and good, and who, in thinking for himself, had risen superior to all partial interests, and become the enlightened advocate of all liberal views and all useful institutions,, has been withdrawn so soon, by the inscrutable decree of Providence, from the labours of love, as pleasing to himself as they were to the best interests of mankind. 4. That, painful as this deprivation is, the body of Protestant Dissenting Ministers bow in humble acquiescence before Him who giveth and who taketh away; and their resignation is rendered the more cheerful by the assurance, that such an example as that which has been left by the Duke of Kent cannot be lost to the world; that it will continue to be remembered, admired, and imitated, especially among the great; and that not this age only, but a grateful posterity, will have reason to say of him, "though dead, he yet speaketh." 5. That, in testifying their own grief, the members of this body are desirous at the same time of expressing their heartfelt sympathy and unfeigned condolence with the illustrious and amiable Princess, so unexpectedly bereaved of a husband, who was as remarkable for tenderness and affection in his private relations as he was distinguished in his public capacity for every princely quality and every social virtue; and it is their fervent prayer to Almighty God that he would preserve to her Royal Highness that pledge of love which her honoured consort has left her, and continue with her all those consolations of religion, and all those attentions of fraternal kindness, which are so needful and so precious to the widowed heart. 6. That a deputation of eight members of this body be appointed to wait upon her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent with a copy of these resolutions. (Signed) ABRAHAM REES, Chairman. Address of British and Foreign School Society to the Duchess of Kent. [This address was presented March 16, by a Deputation consisting of Sir Thomas Bell, Mr. Wilberforce, Dr. Schwabe and Mr. Millar. With it the Deputation presented the Resolutions of the Committee and also of the Committee of Ladies, on the melancholy event to which it refers. Her Royal Highness received them very graciously, and expressed her gratification in particular on meeting Mr. Wilberforce, of whom she had heard so much. The Deputation had also the honour of seeing the infant Princess on that occasion.] May it please your Royal Highness, The General Committee of the British and Foreign School Society venture to present to your Royal Highness the accompanying resolutions, unanimously adopted at a special meeting. And they respectfully entreat that your Royal Highness will graciously receive these feeble expressions of the sincerest gratitude and veneration with which the Committee must ever cherish the memory of his Royal Highness the late Duke of Kent, the warm and generous patron of their Institution. The high place which the British and Foreign School Society occupied in his Royal Highness's esteem and favour was one of its most valuable distinctions, and has been peculiarly evinced by the zeal with which he was pleased so early to recommend it to the gracious attention and patronage of your Royal Highness. The continuance of this patronage, so valuable and dear to the Society for its own sake, will ever possess in the estimation of its sincere friends an additional importance as a sacred bequest of its late illustrious and revered protector. It is some consolation, under the deep sense of the irreparable loss which the cause of universal education has sustained, to know that the noble sentiments which actuated his Royal Highness in so warmly espousing it, are and will be perpetuated in the breasts of those who were the nearest to his heart, and then descend to posterity in the members of a family which is become so dear to the friends of religion and virtue. That it may please God long to preserve and richly to bless your Royal Highness is the ardent wish and prayer of the Committee. INTELLIGENCE. DOMESTIC. RELIGIOUS. Anniversary of Unitarian Society. THE Annual Meeting of the Unitarian Society for the Distribution of Books was held at the City of London Tavern, on Thursday the 20th instant. WILLIAM SMITH, Esq., M. P., in the Chair. The company was small, but few of the anniversaries have been more interesting. There were laid upon the table two new "Letters from William Roberts, Teacher of the Native Unitarian Congregation near Madras," printed and done up with the Rules of the Society. These will probably appear in the Christian Reformer. The Chairman gave the usual liberal sentiments, with interesting prefatory remarks. The Rev. J. Rowe, the Treasurer (Mr. Gibson), the Secretary (Dr. T. Rees), and other gentlemen addressed the meeting, on topics with which their names had been connected. The health of Mr. Smith was drunk with great applause: the meeting shewing a lively pleasure in doing honour to a senator, who for the last 36 years has been in Parliament, who during all that period. has been connected with all the distinguished champions of freedom and humanity in the House of Commons, who himself has taken an active part in every public question affecting the liberty of England and the general cause of humanity, whose name has appeared on every great division amongst those of the friends of liberty and reform, and the appearance of whose name indeed has always been a pledge that the party in which it was found were the supporters of good principles and liberal measures. Mr. Smith was sensibly affected by this heartfelt tribute of gratitude and respect.-The interest of the meeting was not a little kept up by the circumstance of there being a large company in the next room on the same floor, parted from the room in which the Unitarian Society met by only folding-doors, consisting of Roman Catholics, who were met to celebrate the opening on that day of the new chapel in Moorfields. Of this coincidence the Chairman made a happy use; congratulating the meeting on the wonderful improvement in the public mind since the year 1780 then, he had borne a musquet to protect the Catholics from brutal violence, and had seen the smoking ruins of their chapel near to the spot where the new and handsome edifice has arisen ; now, they were not only unmolested, but were allowed to assemble in public festivity to recognize and promote their religious objects. They and the Unitarians had been both formerly proscribed, but both were at length in the enjoyment of liberty. He hoped and expected that what remained of intolerance would be done away, and that speedily; and that he should live to see the Roman Catholics and the Protestant Dissenters acting together for the attainment of their comtheir united' success.-On the subject of mon liberty, and rejoicing together in the amelioration of the criminal code being brought forward, attached to the name of Sir Samuel Romilly, Mr. Richard Taylor, as one of the Committee of the Society for improving Prison Discipline, recommended that Society to the patronage of the friends of humanity: We were sorry to learn from him that its finances are very low.-It was understood that an effort would be made at the succeeding anniversary of the Unitarian Society to increase the number of attendants. Unitarian Association. THE Committee have determined on renewing the application to Parliament for relief on the subject of the Marriage Law, early this session, and to adopt the Bill framed and introduced on the former occasion. Any congregations in the country desirous of giving their assistance and co-operation, can forward their petitions (if they should think fresh petitions ad-visable, about which they will, of course, exercise their own discretion), either to the Secretary or through any Parliamentary connexion; but they may be peculiarly useful in the promotion of the cause, in endeavouring to enlist in its support any members of either House, with whom they may be more immediately connected. The form of petition used on the former occasion, may, perhaps, usefully be again adopted. Both this and the Bill as brought in, will be found in our former Numbers. Gainsboro', Hull, &c. Unitarian Asso ciation. The Fifth Half-Yearly Meeting was held at Lincoln on Good Friday. On the evening previous, Mr. G. Kenrick, of Hull, preached on the consolations afforded by the Unitarian doctrine in the prospect of death, from 1 Cor. xv. 57. On the day of meeting, Mr. Higginson, of Derby, delivered a most energetic and judicious address, on the duties of Unitarians in the present crisis, from Matt. v. 14: "A city which is set on a hill cannot be hid." The preacher warmly enforced the necessity of superior purity of heart and life on the part of the professors of a purer faith, in order to vindicate their consistency and recommend their principles, and the sentiment and practice of universal charity, not only towards the different sect of Christians, but conscientious unbelievers in Christianity. Mr. Higginson was requested to publish his Discourse, which he consented to do, and it may be expected very shortly to appear. In the evening, Mr. H. Turner, of Nottingham, preached on the doctrine of Atonement, from Rom. v. 11. Leaving out of consideration the vulgar notion of atonement maintained by the older writers on the subject, in which God is described as a merciless Creditor and a wrathful Master, whose debt must be fully paid, and his anger appeased by blood, the preacher examined the modern notion espoused by Dr. Magee, that satisfaction is the method which God adopts in the pardon of sin, and shewed it to be no less inconsistent with reason and Scripture than the former.The friends of the cause, both ladies and gentlemen, dined together at an inn, and the remainder of the day, unoccupied by the religious services, was spent in the delightful intercourses of friendship. The attendance at the Chapel was more numerous than on any similar occasion, and the prospects of the Unitarians at Lincoln are much brightened. The next Meeting is appointed to be held at Hull, on the last Wednesday in September, and Mr. Madge requested to preach. G. KENRICK, Secretary. Sinking Fund and Fellowship Fund at the Chapel in Bowl-Alley Lane, Hull. The writer of the above article has great pleasure in communicating the establishment of a Fellowship Fund at Hull, having for its objects, the support of Unitarian academies, and affording assistance towards the building of Unitarian chapels, or the relief of congregations encumbered with debt. It is intended that some part of the annual income should be applied to the liquidation of the debt upon our own Chapel. But it was agreed that no demands should be made upon the Funds for one year from its establishment in October last. The Society finding it necessary to do something towards the gradual extinction of a debt of £650 upon their building, have likewise set on foot a Sinking Fund, for which purpose £75 was raised and invested in Navy 5 per Cent. Stock, the dividends arising from which are intended to be regularly invested in the Bank for Savings at Hull, and additions made to the principal as the circumstances of the Society may admit of it, until the whole amounts to £700, by which the debt will be cleared, and £50 more left for another accumulating fund, for the improvement of the Chapel or other similar purposes, amongst the most important of which the present writer accounts the purchase of a piece of burial ground. This plan may be strongly recommended to the imitation of other Unitarian societies throughout the kingdom who may be encumbered with debt, or not sufficiently wealthy to accomplish objects of great importance to the successful promotion of truth by a single effort. Presbyterian Ministers in Manchester. The Spring Quarterly Meeting of the Presbyterian Ministers in Manchester and its vicinity, was held on Good-Friday, at Platt Chapel, near this town. The Rev. AN Unitarian Place of Worship was opened in Woodd Street, St. Paneras, near Somerstown. The Rev. W. J. Fox preached in the morning, from Ephes. i. 20, and the Rev. R. Aspland in the evening, from 1 Cor. iii. 11-15. Respectable congregations attended; in the evening the place was completely filled. The following circumstances led to the opening of this new House of Prayer for the worship of the one and only God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Rev. T. Moore has for some time past held meetings in his dwelling-house, in Somerstown, on Sunday mornings and evenings, and a number of persons have steadily attended, especially in the evening. During the last four months, Mr. Wright, the Unitarian Missionary, has several times delivered Sunday evening |