able body of them was pofted at about five miles diftance. The extraordinary, diet was actually opened the 5th of October, when the King made a pathetic fpeech, exhorting to concord. This was followed by another from the Bishop of Cracow, which concluded with an obfervation, That it was not fuf. ficient for his Majefty to bear the title of an Orthodox King, but that he fhould be fo in reality. The diet fat that day and the next; but the affair of the Dillidents, which was first brought on the carpet, met with fuch oppofition, as induced Pr. Radzivil, in quality of Marshal, to adjourn the next meeting to the 12th. That interval was employed in using every expedient for bringing thofe into a favour able difpofition who had oppofed Pr. Radzivil's plan; which was, to appoint a commiflion furnished with full power to enter into conference with Prince Repnin, the Ruffian ambaffador, concerning the affairs of the Diflidents. Notwith standing fuch pains, the meeting on the 12th proved extremely tumultuous. The Bithops of Cracow and Kiow, fome other Prelates, and feveral Magnats, declared they would never confent to the eftablifhment of fuch a commiflion; and at the fame time spoke with more vehemence than ever against the pretensions of the Diffidents. Some of the deputies anfwered them with great warmth, which bred fuch animofity as occafioned another adjournment to the 16th. On the 13th, the Bishops of Cracow and Kiow, the Palatine of Cracow, and the Starofte Dolmiki, were arrested and carried off by detachments of Ruffian troops. The crime alledged against them, in a declaration publifhed next day by Prince Repnin, was, That they had been wanting, in their conduct, to the dignity of her Imperial Majesty of Ruflia, by attacking the purity of her intentions to ward the republic; though he was refolved to continue her protection and affiftance to the general confederacy, united for preferving the Polith liberties, and correcting all the abules which had been introduced into government, contrary to the fundamental laws of the country. Mean while those members were not permitted to return any more to the diet. There was another turbulent meeting on the 16th; but the day after that Pr. Radzivil's plan was approved, and commiflaries were appointed for the purpofe pilt. The next fitting of the diet was alfo fixed to the 1ft of February this year.. Before the end of October the Rullian troops had all, except one fmall body which remained in Warfaw, gone into winter-quarters, the greater part of them on the territories of the nobility who had moft opposed the scheme relating to the Diffidents. The minifters of all the other foreign powers interefting themselves in the affairs of the Diffidents, as well as Prince Repnin, were prefent at the conferences; and by the 21ft of November, some of those matters were settled in the commiffion. Several particulars of the agreement were mentioned in the public papers, which we fhall not meddle with here, hoping to have ere long an opportunity of giving the whole in an authentic manner, when all is confirmed by the diet. It does not feem eafy, from all that appeared in the British public papers, to form a precife judgement concerning the pretenfions of the Diffidents. The things which have turned out greatly to their advantage, however their claims may be founded in ancient constitutions and trea ties, are, their having been joined by fo remarkably great a confederation of their fellow-citizens, who at the fame time, as appears from an observation made by the King in one of his fpeeches, had even prefled for the alliftance of the Ruffian troops; their affairs being put under the determination of an extraordinary diet, where the liberum veto does not use to take place, but resolutions are taken by plurality of votes; and their having the united protection of all the foreign powers who have hitherto claimed any interest in the cafe. There were intimations, towards the end of the year, that great numbers of peasants, who are all abfolute flaves in Poland, had entered into a confederacy; that they do not pretend to rid themselves of all fervice to their lords, but require, that the bondage under which they groan be abolifhed, and their fervice restricted to three days in the week; also that, like the order of pealants in Sweden, they be admitted into the diet, and enjoy the fame privileges in it. We may recollect here, that, in 1766, the Emperor of Germany and the Emprefs-Queen fo far gratified a deputation from the peasants of Hungary, as to ifue an ordinance, according to which no farmer or hulbandman there can now be obliged to perform for for his lord more than one day's work in a week. [xxix. 5.] The Emprefs of RUSSIA, amidst her regards to the affairs of Poland, has not loft fight of what concerns the country under her own dominion. A scheme having been fet on foot fome time ago, for profecuting inquiries to the north east, we received advice from Petersburg in the beginning of last year, that four natives of Kamtfchatka had arrived there, after a journey of several months; and that they were to be accompanied in their return home by fome geographers appointed by the Emprefs, for making difcoveries of the freight which feparates Afia from America. Another object of her Imperial Majefty's care for a confiderable time, has been a revifal of the laws of the empire, and the compofing of a new fyftem for the further civilization of her people. A commiffion of 460 deputies, chofen out of the feveral provinces, for affifting in the formation of the new code, made a folemn opening of their fellions the 10th of Auguft, at Mofcow, in prefence of the Emprefs, who favoured that ancient capital with her refidence there during a great part of the last year. Attentive allo to the promotion of learning, her Imperial Majesty has already charged the academy of fciences to obferve the paffage of Venus before the body of the Sun, which has been calculated to happen in June 1769; and for obferving which, resolutions have also been taken in other countries. The Ruffian obfervations are to be made at eight different places in that great empire; and as the inftruments in the obfervatory at Petersburg are not fufficient, her Majefty has ordered more to be procured from England and France. [21.] According to accounts from SWEDEN early in the last year, a resolution had been taken in the diet which ended a few months before, that the treaty of alliance and friend hip then lately renewed with G. Britain, fhould not in any respect alter or infringe on the alliances and treaties formerly concluded with other powers. In fummer we were informed, that a treaty of alliance and fubfidy between Sweden and G. Britain was thought to be near a conclufion, the fundamental articles being actually agreed on, namely, That the former fhould furnish the latter with 6000 men, or a proportionate uumber of war-fhips, whenever required; in confideration of which the latter fhould pay 50,000 1. Sterling yearly. The difficulty then remaining unfettled was, that Sweden demanded the fubfidy fhould commence from the time of ratifying the treaty, whereas G. Britain inclined that it thould be due only from the time of requiring the fuccours. Mean while there was a numerous party in Sweden of opi nion, that it would be better to renew fuch engagements with France. Next advices imported, that the court of Verfailles had remitted another million of livres to Stockholm, to account of old arrears of fubfidies due, and had promised to pay at the rate of 500,000 livres every fix months, till the whole fhould be cleared. This gave the afcendant to the party in the intereft of France, so that before the end of the year a treaty of fubfidy was renewed with that power; by a private article of which, as advices from Stockholm bear, Sweden is to furnifh his Moft Chriftian Majefty, as foon as poffible, with a certain number of war-thips of the line built there. The His Majesty of DENMARK, for the encouragement of commerce and manufactures, iffued an ordinance early in the year under review, for reducing the intereft of money to four per cent. With an extensively bumane and patriotic view, he had formed a design, upon his first acceflion to the throne, for delivering the peafants from that flavish vaffalage be which, throughout his dominions, they were fubject, almoft in every respect, to the proprietors of manor-lands. King and Queen themselves fet the ex ample, which has been followed by a good many of the nobility. His Majesty has appointed a commiffion to deliberate on the most proper expedients for emancipating that opprefied order of people. Towards the end of the year, he caused the privilege which the officers of the militia in Norway had, of employing the private men inlifted into that body in all forts of fervices and vaffalages, to be annulled. Of the not very numerous articles of advice we had from GERMANY, few need to be taken notice of here. The Jefuits at Vienna, fearing the fame treatment their order had met with in feveral other countries, applied to the Emprefs-Queen, imploring her protection. The aufwer fed to have been given them was, That if they preferved an irreproachable conduct, faithfully difcharging the duties of their ftate, and not meddling in affairs which which did not concern them, they should fuffer no harm. We were also informed, that the Pope fent a brief to the Emperor, exhorting him to grant his protection and aflistance to the afflicted fociety. Mean while the Imperial Court called the Jefuits at Prague to an account, and demanded their title to a benefice they poffelfed there, for not having performed, during a century paft, the conditions on which they had obtained it, namely, the maintaining of fome schools, and appoint ing a certain number of masters to teach in them. The Emprefs-Queen caufed an edict to be published at Bruffels, prohibiting the admiffion of any Jefuits expelled from Spain, or exiled from France, into the Austrian Netherlands, whether they had been born her fubjects or not. On the 4th of October laft, the Prince of Orange, hereditary Stadtholder of the UNITED PROVINCES, was married, at Berlin, to the Princess Frederica-SophiaWilhelmina, his Pruffian Majesty's niece, and fifter of the Prince-Royal. All the provinces teftified great joy on that occafion feveral ways, particularly by making valuable prefents to the Princefs. That made by the province of Holland, was a refolution of the States of it, to pay her yearly 20,000 florins. It should be here recollected, that early in the year 1766 the Pruffian monarch fent a memorial to the States-General, requi ring the fettlement of a claim for above four millions of florins, as old as fince 1672, which his subjects of Cleves, Wefel, Emmerick, and Orfoy, had upon their High Mightineffes, and which then gave them confiderable uneafinefs. We may now fuppofe that affair has been, or foon will be, amicably compromifed. Accounts were received of a treaty being on foot, for the Dutch granting to his Pruffian Majefty certain tracts of territory in the Eaft Indies, towards extending the commerce of the new Afiatic company established lately at Embden. We were also told, that the ftates of Holland had ordered fe veral hips of the line to be built. [To be continued.] This root feems to be firft parboiled, or fome how exposed to the steam of hot water, (in the manner, perhaps, in which the Chinese prepare their genseng); it is then dried; and will keep for any known length of time. This root is of a tough, folid texture, and incapable of being dried to such a degree of brittleness, as to be reduced to powder, without confiderable labour. The common way of using this powder is, to mix a tea-fpoonful of it with a quarter or half a pint of hot water, stirring them well together; adding a little wine, fugar, and fpice of any kind, to the perfon's taste. It is become the practice of most attendants on the fick, to give them this preparation, in all circumstances and conditions, but more particularly to the feeble convalefcents, as a restorative and ftrengthener. Salep in powder is almost infipid; and mixed in this manner in hot water, foon becomes a vifcid, glutinous, taftelefs mefs, thicker or thinner as the proportion of water and powder are more or less. Wine, fugar, fpices, give it any tafte that is defired. But ftill it is glutinous, vifcid, in many ftomachs quite indigeftible, and to moft disagreeable. The following is the manner in which it is prepared in the Eaft. Let a fpoonful of the fine powder of falep be well mixed with a quart of cold water, and then fet upon the fire. It must be kept inceffantly stirring, and gently boiling, till a little of it when cool appears a perfect jelly; thicker or thinner, according as it is defired. Before it is taken from the fire, either a little mace, or cinnamon, or lemonpeel, is put in, or none of them, at the patient or prefcriber's option; fugar and wine are added likewife ad libitum. Prepared in this manner, the falep feems to be no improper addition to the diet of convalefcents, or in hectic cafes ; but to give it promifcuously in all cafes, is fcarcely prudent. The powder mixed with warm water, in a weak stomach, is utterly indigeftible. Boiled in the manner above mentioned, it may stand on a level with other glutinous preparations of the like consistence. It is a variety, and may be to fome perfons, and in fome cates, a pleafing variety; but in refpect to real ufe, I think it fhould be rated very low in the fcale of benefits to this country or its inhabitants. A LICENTIATE. To SIR, Fanuary 1768. To the author of the SCOTS MAGAZINE. gion, which were objected to; this would probably have been attended with no other confequence, than perhaps fome counter-realoning, by thofe who differed from him, in defence of their own views of fuch matters. But how can the judi catories of the church fit fill with indolence and unconcern, while they fee the most important and effential doctrines of that golpel which is committed to their truft, fo avowedly and publicly arraigned of falfehood and abfurdity, by one who is under their inspection, and whofe office and duty it is to teach, maintain, and defend them? As you have publifhed an account of the proceedings of the fynod of Glaf. gow and Air, in relation to a letter which feems to have, violently indeed, and contrary to your declared inclina tion, forced its appearance in your collection, and likewife have given a place to two letters, [one of them] containing reflections upon the conduct of the fynod [xxix. 171. 524, 33, 53.], it is hoped you will not refute to infert a fmall attempt in vindication thereof. Had the doctrine of the church of Scotland, and (I may fay) of all the reformed churches, been attacked with any degree of modesty, it is probable, that in the present ftate of religion, and fituation of ecclefiaftical affairs, it would not have drawn the fame attention from any church-judicatory, as it might perhaps have done within the memory of fome yet living. But furely the orthodox intereft must be fuppofed very low indeed, if the doctrine, and difcipline too, of the church of Scotland, muft put up with fuch a flagrant affront from one of its own minifters, without the leaft motion in its favour. If the Rev. Gentleman had, in imitation of every one else that has been profecuted for error in this church, fo much as pretended the confiftency of his doctrine with that which is established and profeffed among us, and to which a fojerrn afsent was given by himself at his ordination; or, in other words, had he vented nothing but what was capable of fome fort of reconciliation with it; the attack would, at least, have had the appearance of being less direct and barefaced; and this circumftance would have helped, in fome measure, to fave the blushes of his fuperiors in palling it over unnoticed. But fo far from allowing them the benefit of any fuch pretence for their lenity, he cannot abstain even from abufing and railing against his brethren who believe what they have fubfcribed their affent to. But of all others, the confideration of greatest weight arifes from the importance of thofe doctrines which are the object of his contempt. Had they been only fome uneffential circumstances of religion, or modes of expreflion, or even fome propofitions that did not directly affect the very substance of revealed reliVOL. XXX. If there is any thing in revealed religion more than what the philofophy of the Heathens could fuggeft, it furely is, That mankind being now in a fallen ftate, can only be faved by the facrifice. of the Son of God in our ftead, and by the influence of the Spirit of God in regenerating our corrupt hearts, which Son and Spirit are not different and inferior Gods, but the fame in fubftance with the Father. It was in order to ascertain this as the doctrine to be taught, and the religion to be maintained and inforced, by the minifters on our establishment, that the Westminster Confeflion was first agreed to, and afterwards, by the higheft authority, both civil and ecclefiaftical, required to be fubfcribed by all the minifters and office-bearers in this church. And to teach the contrary of all this, fo far from being indifferent speculations, that may be indulged with fafety to the substance of that doctrine, is really to overturn the very foundations, and to fubftitute a quite different religion in the place of that which hath hitherto obtained, and heen established among us. Yet there is not one of thefe important articles of our religion, against which there are not at least the plaineft infinua tions in the letter which you was induced to publifh. If there are any of them concerning which this is not obvious at first view, it must be the two last, relating to the neceffity of grace, and the divinity of Chrift. But if we only attend to the account he gives of the prefent state of human nature, as being in no need of any change, and to his pleading for an alteration in the text Rom. ix. 5. the matter will be as manifest with refpect to these articles as the rest. And that no doubt might remain what system of doctrine the letter-writer adopted, Dr Taylor's labours in defence of Pelagian B and and Socinian errors are proposed as the standard of true theology; infomuch that to pretend to understand the fcriptures better than he did, is branded with arrogance and conceit. Nay, fo fenfible is the man himself of the direct inconfiftency of his fyftem of divinity with the doctrine of this church, that, for the fake of fuch avowedly opposite tenets, a fense is, by him, put upon the fubfcription of ininifters to the Confefiion of Faith, fo grofsly and obviously deceitful, that even a Jefuit would be ashamed openly to elpoule it. All this was fo far from being done, or intended to be done, in a corner, that, on the contrary, a fort of trium. phant avowal of it feems rather to have been affected. This appears from feveral circumstances which it would be tedious to mention, most of which may be gathered from your Magazines: as if an experiment was making, how far the church of Scotland could yet bear to see her whole doctrine of revealed religion trampled upon, by her own minifters, in the most ignominious manner. Whether the Socinian fyftem of doctrine, or that commonly called the Orthodox, be most agreeable to the word of God, and most confonant to right reafon, is a question for a full difcuffion of which there feems to be a prefent call in providence. But as this cannot be done, without exceeding any bounds that can be demanded or obtained in your collection, I fall only obferve upon this occafion, that, let the truth lie where it will, the difference between them is so great, that, in reality, they are quite different religions. It is true, the efpoufers of both profefs to receive the Bible. But fo do the Papifts; and yet, I believe, there is no body who will pretend to fay that Popery is the fame religion with that which we profefs. Soci'nianifm and Popery have been usually regarded as the two opposite extremes. But as the learned Profeffor Jamiefon, in his Roma Recoviana, has fhewn, that there is, at the bottom, a greater conformity between the two fyftems than what is commonly imagined; fo it is certain, in fact, that, in proportion as men have approached to the firft, fo have they appeared to be favourers of the laft; as in the examples of the Arminians in HolJand, and the Laudean faction in England, with their abettors in Scotland. But what I chiefly infift upon is, that the Socinians do not only differ in fmaller and merely fpeculative points of little importance, but that theirs is a quite different religion from that which is established, I do not fay in Scotland only, but in all the reformed churches, which appears from the collection, intitled, Corpus et Syntagma Confeffionum, &c. This I prove from two considerations. 1. Thofe fyftems of doctrine which directly influence the practice, and point out very different methods of avoiding everlasting mifery, and obtaining eternal happiness, are, in the most important and interesting view, quite different religions: But fuch is the cafe, where the one reprefents mankind as funk in fin and mifery, needing a Saviour and a Sanctifier; while the other reprefents them in a state of integrity, where there is no neceflity for either the one or the other. 2. Of all the errors in divinity, none do more effentially change, and more effectually vitiate the nature of true religion, than fuch as lead to idolatry, the fin which is always mentioned in fcripture as most highly provoking and displeasing to God, putting the infinite God upon a level with the nothing of a creature. Such, however, is the Socinian creed, which teaches, that our Saviour is a mere creature, and yet allows him to be the object of religious worship. When to thefe confiderations is added, the utter demolishing of that fence which the wildom of the nation, both in church and state, had railed for the preservation of our religion, and guarding it against the very errors vented in the letter, by the fenfe put upon fubfcribing the Confellion of Faith, which abfolutely annihilates, and reduces it to the most palpable abfurdity; how could the churchjudicatories let fuch a letter pafs unnoticed, without the following pernicious confequences? 1. The first is an entire furrender of all the advantages which the orthodox religion has hitherto been thought to poffefs by our prefent establishment. I know how obnoxious the word orthodox is. But may I not be allowed the use of the term without a fneer, only to avoid circumlocution, when I have declared, that (not having room here to justify the application) all I mean to fignify thereby is, that fyftem of doctrine, whether true or falle, which has commonly passed among us by that denomination, as being profefled |