WATSON. 



minion over the faith of other men, exclHfion from privi- 

 leges poflefled by themfelves, and a difpofition to the exer- 

 cile of power without right, were in the hearts of a great 

 part, probably of a majority of the people of Great 

 Britain." 



In reply to a letter, in which the writer exprefTes a wifh, 

 that the bithop would anfwer Mr. Malthus's book, intitled 

 " An Effay on Population," and in which, as he reprefents 

 it, the author endeavours to eftablifh a code of morality in 

 oppofition to the morality of the gofpel. Dr. W. obferves 

 that Mr. Malthus appeared to him to be " endeavour- 

 ing to (hew the utility of bringing down the population of 

 the earth to the level of the fubfiftence requifite for the 

 fupport of man," (a propofition wanting no proof, fince 

 where there is no food, man muft die, ) " and that in his judg- 

 ment, his time and talents would have been better employed 

 in the inveftigation of the means of increafing the fubfiftence 

 to the level of the population." He fays, however, that 

 after having looked into this book, he was juftified in neg- 

 lefting to perufe it, as it thwarted the ftrongeft propenfity 

 of human nature, and contradifted the moll exprefs com- 

 mand of God, " Increafe and multiply ;" more efpecially as 

 he was perfuaded, " that the earth had not, in the courfe of 

 6000 years from the creation, ever been replenifhed with any 

 thing like one half the number of inhabitants it would fuf- 

 tain." 



The biftiop might indeed well regret, as he frequently, 

 perhaps too frequently does, the inattention to his merits, and 

 daims on higher preferment than a poor Wel(h bifhopric, 

 which he had long experienced, after a long courfe of lite- 

 rary labour and public fervice. Mr. Pitt profefled himfelf 

 well difpofed towards him, but alleged " that z certain per f on 

 would not hear of it." " Notwithllanding this anecdote," 

 fays the bifhop, " I cannot bring myfelf to believe that the 

 king was either the firft projeftor, or the principal aftor in 

 the forry farce of neglefting a man whom they could 

 not difhonour, of diftrefling a man whom they could not 

 difpirit, which has been playing at court for near 26 years." 

 Acquitting Mr. Pitt, though he knew that no minifter 

 would be very zealous in promoting a man who profefled and 

 praftifed parliamentary and perfonal independence, from the 

 charge of forgetting either obhgations or conneftions in the 

 purfuit of his ambition, he lays the blame on a more exalted 

 perfonage. " As to the king's diflike of me, unlefs his 

 education had made him more of a Whig, it was natural 

 enough. My declared oppofition to the increafed and in- 

 creafing influence of the crown had made a great impreflion 

 on his majefty's mind." 



Of the bill, introduced into the houfe of commons by 

 the chancellor of the exchequer in 1808, for making more 

 effcAual provifion for the maintenance of ftipendiary curates 

 in England and Wales, and for their refidence on their cures, 

 he exprefled his difapprobation, with the reafon of it, in 

 letters addrefled both to the archbilhop of Canterbury and 

 Mr. Percival. He rejoiced, however, in the grant of 

 100,000/. a year by a vote of parliament in 1809, in lieu 

 of queen Anne's bounty ; but in his charge of that year, 

 referring to a letter previoufly written to lord Hawkef- 

 bury on this occalion, he renews his complaint of the man- 

 ner in which he had been neglefted, alleging that he never 

 had any place of refidence amongft his clergy, nor a church- 

 income fufficient to enable him to attend every year his par- 

 liamentary duty. Having, in the year 1809, and during 

 an extenfive .vifitatioii of his diocefe, held a confirmation at 

 Merthyr-Tydvil, he was hofpitably accommodated at the 

 houfe of the late Mr. Crawfhay, a well-known iron-mafter, 

 jffhofe hofpitality the writer of this article has experienced ; 



and before he left the diocefe, Mr. C. came to LandafF to 

 take leave of him. On this occafion, taking the bilhop by 

 the hand, he faid to him, " If ever you have occafion for 

 5 or 10,000/. it (hall be wholly at your fervice." Of courfe , 

 declining to avail himfelf of this generous offer, he never- | 

 thelefs declares, " I was more delighted with this fubftan- 

 tial proof of the difinterefted approbation of an iron-mafter 

 than I (hould have been with the poffeflion of an arch- j 

 bifliopric acquired by a felfifli fubferviency to the defpotic ' 

 principles of a court." 



On the fubjeftof Lancafterian fchools and bible focieties, 

 he declares his opinion to be, " that certain zealous men in 

 the eftablifhed church have fuffered their apprehenfions for 

 its fafety to outftrip all probabihty of danger ariiing to it, 

 from the inftitution of either Lancafterian fchools or auxi- 

 liary bible focieties. The church is in no danger from Pro- 

 teftant or Cathohc Diflenters ; but the ftate muft ever be in 

 danger from difcontent breeding difaffeftion, whilft a large 

 portion of its members is looked upon by government with a 1 

 jealous and repulfive eye." On another occafion, in a letter ( 

 to Mr. Wyvill, Oft. 21, 1813, he exprefles fentiments of a ' 

 iimilar kind : " the ftruggle for the liberty of Europe has 

 been moil nobly fuftained by Great Britain, and might it ! 

 not at this period be fuccefsfully terminated by our govern- I 

 ment granting emancipation to the Catholics, and a repeal sf 

 the Teft and Corporation afts to the Diflenters I Thefe 

 conceffions would be more powerful means of defence tiian 

 all the confcriptions of our enemy can ever be to the con- 

 trary." We cannot forbear fubjoining a paragraph from 

 Mr. Wy vill's reply : " Mr. Fox proved the fincerity of his 

 attachment to liberty, civil and religious, by the long fer- 

 vice of 30 years, almoft wholly fpent in parliament, under 

 the frowns of power : your lordfhip, I believe, has given a 

 fimilar proof of your attachment to that beft of caufes. 

 You have endured a fimilar profcription from men who 

 afted on the fame unworthy motives, and the confequence 

 has been almoft the fame : you have at Landaff^ been fo long 

 Ihut out from the road to the higher honours of the church. 

 But how much higher have you rifen by having obtained the 

 undifputed dignity of virtue, benevolence, patriotifm, and 

 the true fpirit of Chriftianity !" Well might the bifhop re- 

 ply to Mr. Wyvill, " I am proud of your honourable tef- 

 timony to that pohtical confiftency of principle, which 

 unites my name to that of Mr. Fox." 



From this period the health of the bifliop rapidly de- 

 clined ; and though his mental faculties continued unim- j 

 paired, yet bodily exercife and literary compofition became [ 

 irkfome to him. He expired on the 4th of July, 1816, in 

 the 79th year of his age ; illuftrating, as the publifher of his 

 Memoirs fays, in death the truth of his favourite rule of 

 conduft through life : " Keep innocency, and take heed 

 unto the thing that is right, for that fhall bring a man peace 

 at the laft." 



Having availed ourfelves of the work now before us, we 

 make no apology for extending this article beyond the ufual 

 limits of our biographical (ketches. From the honour of 

 an early acquaintance with the fubjeft of this article, and 

 from a full conviftJon of his uniform integrity, as well as 

 his pre-eminent talents, we felt a peculiar intereft in the pe- 

 rufal of the memoirs of his hfe. Diftinguifhed by mental 

 powers of a fuperior order, and by public fervices which 

 have feldom been paralleled, we pay this tribute of refpeft to 

 his memory. His charafter needs no dehneation befides the 

 " Anecdotes" which his own pen has furnifhed. In every 

 department which he occupied, firft as a ftudent, and after, 

 wards as a tutor and profeflbr in the univerfity of Cam- 

 bridge, as a prelate and a member of the legiflature, and in 



the 



