! 
1824, 
azetive and vivacious candidate has 
peared monthly, under the title of 
the ‘Critical Gazette ;” the object of 
which is to notice every book publish- 
ed, without those sinister selections 
which,under plausible pretences, abuse 
the public confidence, and destroy the 
very purpose of a Review. The two 
first numbers are very ably executed, 
and the independence of the work of 
all bookselling influence has created a 
feeling which public spirit ought to 
resist; fon public convenience is evi- 
dentiy consulted in the plan of sucha 
perfect mirror of cotemporaneous li- 
terature. 4th. We have lastly the 
gigantic project of a five-shilling 
monthly production, under the title of 
the European Review, a work which 
appears to be most respectably con- 
ducted, and likely to prove a great 
acquisition to the literary world. 
—Notices of the progress of these 
will be given, from time to time, under 
the head of the present article. 
—=_—— 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SER, 
HE recent rejection of the Unita- 
,/ rian Marriage Bill, by the House 
of Lords, is perhaps the only result 
which could be expected from. the 
present state of, parties, and the ex- 
treme jealousy with which every inno- 
vation, either in’ temporalities or doc- 
trine, is regarded by the. Established 
Church. Our ‘‘ Lords spiritual and 
temporal”’ have read us another lesson, 
borrowed from the barbarous policy of 
past ages, of which this is. the tenor,— 
that,when voluntary submission cannot 
be obtained to the religious forms of 
existing establishments, coercion is 
better than toleration.. The “ dignity 
of the! church,” which has been so 
much insisted on, it would seem is. in- 
compatible with that spirit of liberality 
and reform its friends have been called. 
upon to practise. I trust, however, 
that the growing influence of public 
opinion, aided by the enlightened and 
praiseworthy exertions of those who 
supported the principle of the Bill, 
will ultimately effect that relief which, | 
in this instance, Unitarian dissenters, 
have prayed for in vain. 
In this country, every triumph over, 
thé many antiquated abuses which 
exist, must be preceded by asense of 
iis importance. Aslong as ignorance, 
apathy, or indifference, prevails, the 
work of reformation will make butsmall 
progress. It is with this conviction I 
Montury Mac. No, 399. 
On the Celebration of Marriage. 
33 
am induced to address you. My ob- 
ject is to offer a few considerations on 
the general bearings of this question, 
with the view of exciting towards it, 
through the medium of your pages, 
that degree of public interest which it 
justly merits, but has yet only partially 
received. 
It is not my purpose to defend solely 
the provisions of the Bill introduced by 
the Marquis of Lansdowne. They 
embraced but a part of the evil, and 
that only which ailected the peculiar 
tenets of one class of | dissenters. 
There are other points in which it bears 
as heavily on every part of the com- 
munity. I propose a total revision of 
the present practice: it is antiquated, 
and unworthy of the present age. It 
was adopted in times when a spirit of 
enquiry had but just struggled into 
being, and is helow the standard of the 
nineteenth century. 
According to the present usage, 
marriage is rendered. a religious cere- 
mony, and included in the ritual of the 
church. This forms my first objection, 
Marriage is essentially a civil act: it is 
a contract between two individuals for 
their mutual happiness, and is usually, 
on their part, wholly independent of 
every religious consideration. There 
are two things in which the laws of the 
country are interested in this act; the 
one is to bind the contract, the other to 
guard against its violation. I can see 
no reason why a minister of religion 
should supersede the magistrate; or 
why this act should be solemnized ina 
church instead of registered in a pub- 
lic office. Perhaps at no period of life 
are individuals less susceptible of de- 
votional feelings, or less likely to re- 
ceive spiritual edification; supposing, 
sir, such might. be obtained from the 
present service. Neither is it fitting 
that religion should be made subser- 
yient to the furtherance of this object; 
the handmaid to the wishes of all par- 
ties, and every. description of charac- 
ter. I like not to see the careless and 
indifferent, the profligate, the sceptic, 
and the sincere believer, compelled to 
pass through the same solemnity; or 
to hear the blessing of God invoked, 
indiscriminately, on all who enter jnto 
this engagement,—whether rashly or 
pradentl ,—whether from the most 
mercenary and interested views, or 
from the purest motives of affection. ~ 
In the commencement of this ser- 
vice, we are told that ‘‘ the holy estate 
of matrimony” was instituted of God 
y in 
