225 —~OW 
lows from the language of the histo- 
rian, Burnet mentions the practice of 
secret confession as a peculiarity in his 
character of the Duchess of York ;” 
from which the natural inference is, 
that such confession is not a part of the 
general discipline of our church. 
_ However, not to press your corre- 
spondent so closely, I will proceed to 
answer each of his questions, for the 
more clear apprehension of the whole 
subject, previously giving a concise ac- 
count of the rise and progress of par- 
ticular or secret confession. 
In the early ages of the church, no- 
torious offenders were excluded from 
the Lord’s table till they had made 
public confession, and given public tes- 
timony of repentance. In process of 
time, the Greek Church abolished this 
discipline, leaving all men to their own 
consciences. The Western Church, on 
the other hand, proceeded so far as to 
make it imperative on all Christians to 
confess once a-year to a priest; at the 
same time making absolution indepen- 
dent of any evidence of repentance, 
thus nullifying their own discipline. 
Such was the practice of the English 
Church till the Reformation, when this, 
with other corruptions, were thrown 
off. At present, our Church does not 
require particular confession from any: 
of her members: yet, of course, leaves 
every one at liberty to consult the spi- 
ritual physician; and does indeed, in 
two instances, invite such confidence. 
First, encouraging those who feel de- 
terred by scruples from approaching the 
Holy Saerament, to “open their grief 
to some minister of God’s word ;” and, 
secondly, “ moving the sick to make 
special confession of his sins, if he feel 
his conscience troubled with any weighty 
matter.” 
As to absolution, it does not neces- 
sarily follow such special confession 
-(which is very rarely made); it is left 
to the discretion of the minister, who 
is not authorized to pronounce it with- 
out satisfactory tokens of inward re- 
pentance, The authority of absolving 
being expressly defined by our Church, 
in her most explicit form, to be a power 
to absolve only those “ who truly re- 
pent and believe in Christ.” 
As to the difference between the 
doctrine of the Church of Rome and 
our own on this subject, the former 
holds special’ confession necessary; we 
do not require it. The former holds 
that “no one having sinned after bap- 
tism can be pardoned without the ab- 
Apple Trees. 
[Oct: I, 
solution of a priest.”—(Bellarmine de 
Penitentid, b. 3, ch. 1.) We, that * ab- 
solution doth but ascertain us of God’s 
pardon.” —(Hooker, Ecc. Pol., W. f) 
The force of absolution is only consola- 
tory; a declaration for the comfort of 
the humble and troubled soul, that the. 
priest, so far as he can judge, deems 
him truly penitent, and, as such, en- 
titled to the promises of God to for- 
giveness, and actually forgiven. To 
conclude, in the words of Hooker— 
“We teach, above all things, that re- 
pentance, which is one and the same from 
the beginning to the world’s end; they, a 
sacramental penance of their own devising 
and shaping. We labour to instruct men 
in such sort, that every soul which is 
wounded with sin may learn the way to 
cure itself; they, clean contrary, would 
make all sores seem incurable, unless the 
priests haye a hand in them.” 
PrespyTeR ANGLICANUS. 
—<>— 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
Sir: 
OUR Correspondent, T. T., in the 
Monthly Magazine for August, 
page 27, is perfectly right in supposing 
that other apple-trees besides the cod- 
ling, having protuberant knots, may be 
propagated by slips. I have planted 
many of different sorts, and have found 
them to grow without difficulty. Not 
only slips but cuttings of considerable 
size will grow, and come to maturity 
earlier than such as are grafted on crab-. ~ 
stocks ; but their prosperity is of shorter 
duration. Ihave repeatedly tried, but 
could never succeed with any but such 
as produce fruit of a sweet flavour: the 
codling excepted. In some parts of” 
Dorsetshire, I have known orchards al- 
most ‘entirely raised in this way; and 
many times have refreshed myself with 
the wholesome beverage produced there- 
from: “ A liquor,” to use the language 
of one of our best writers, and an ex- 
emplary divine, “ little inferior to the 
juice of the grape;” but, I am sorry to 
_ Say, scarcely attainable in London,* 
unless procured from a friend at or near 
the place where it is produced; the 
composition retailed in London and its. 
Vicinity by the name of cider, being no 
more genuine than what is called port- 
wine, manufactured at *#** comes from 
Oporto. 
w. O. 
Charles-street, Hatton Garden. 
* We believe positively unattainable ; but 
by the means pointed out by our corres- 
pondent.—Epir. $ 
