Scott, Esq. Hugh
The Scottish new generationor the Reaction,
London, 1848,

YALE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

SCOTTISH NEW
GENERATION

THE

SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION

THE REACTION.

THE

SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION

THE REACTION.

BY HUGH SCOTT, ESQ.
a-

LONDON
SAUNDERS AND OTLEY, CONDUIT STREET.
1848.

THE

SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION

THE REACTION.

Fifteen months have elapsed since the " Churchman
in Scotland " made his solemn appeal to his Country.
He expressed his doubts as to his qualifications for the
obtrusion of his peculiar principles upon a community
so fearfully divided in religious opinion as the people
of Scotland. He feared, likewise, that that small frac
tion of the community to which he more particularly
addressed himself, would derive but little benefit from
his instructions. Amidst the din of party strife, the
sound of peace is peculiarly uppleasing. The com
batants conjecture it is the voice of a foe, or, what
is worse, a lukewarm friend. His opinions are deemed
eccentric. He is supposed unpractical and theoretical.
The writer does not deem it necessary to refer to the
verdictwhich the country has pronounced upon his small
and unpretending work. He felt, from the first, as though
he was leading a forlorn hope; that he was advocating a
B

2 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
cause in regard to which the great majority of Scotland
was quite indifferent; that the faith which he enunciated
was suri-ounded by many hostile associations ; that he
preached a revolution of the most radical character ;
that he had to contend with prejudice, with religious
bigotry, with national enthusiasm ; that he had interests
arrayed against him which would daunt the most
enthusiastic, and deter the most resolute ;— he felt all
this, but he felt what counterbalanced whatever ob
stacles might thrust themselves in his way. He felt,
that he was advocating the cause of the King of Heaven ;
that he was pointing out the only way in which Scot
land could be rescued from the social, political, and
religious evils, which are at present tearing her very
vitals. He felt that, unless a movement was brought
into play, so as to counteract the influences which were
at work in every part of his native land, a social revo
lution would, sooner or later, rend it in twain — nay,
dissever it into atoms; that moral and religious Scot
land would become a mighty and a dreary waste. He
felt, likewise, that he was advocating the Cause of the
Poor — that class of the People which, since the time of
the disastrous Reformation, since the downfal of the
Feudal System, has been treated worse than the felons
of the land — has been driven into democracy and
crime, by those appointed as its hereditary guardians.
With such ennobling objects, with views so vast and

OR, THE REACTION. 3
comprehensive, grasping as he did at a Future, whereby
the Past fearful defalcation of Scotland might be atoned
and blotted out, the writer dismissed all idle fears of
success. He could not but rise with the difficulties
which on all sides beset him. He was young in years ;
life was but opening upon him ; the prospects of the
church were brightening ; division was less rife ; chapels
were rising up on all sides ; bishops were appointed,
powerful in intellect, men of piety, of holy enthusiasm,
of bold resolve ; the college was establishing a character
of usefulness even beyond the precincts of the church ;
but, above all, a religious feeling was spreading amongst
the members of the church — a new generation was
springing up, slowly but surely — a new Scotland, pos
sessing all that national pertinacity of purpose which
is to be dreaded only when it is contaminated by error.
The work is, indeed, going on bravely. Ere a few
years elapse, chapels and schools will be planted
in almost every parish in Scotland. The New G-enera-
tion, educating under the auspices of a Wordsworth,
will be brought to bear upon the Masses. Never were
the prospects of the church so bright: not a cloud
darkens the horizon.
Whilst we thus express our sanguine hopes of the
ultimate as well as present success of the movement
now going on, we yet cannot conceal from ourselves
tjiat dangers are impending — that there are a few dark
B 2

4 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION:
spots in the back-ground, which it behoves the Church
anxiously to mark and to beware of. These dangers
consist — firstly, in the communion office controversy ;
and, secondly, in the Church'swant of regard forthePoor.
It is not our purpose to discuss the theological prin
ciples which are supposed to be involved in this office.
We do not contrast it with the Anglican office. We,
indeed, admire it for its antiquity — for the traditions
with which it is connected. We love it as the office
which the church has used in her hour of need and of
persecution — as the office which has consoled many a
dying confessor — as the seal and testimony which she
has in every age of her disastrous history borne to the
truth. We cannot too deeply express our regret, that this
office should have ever been allowed to fall into disuse.
But still we have to deal with a fact. This office has
now become the war-note of a party; it has become
identified vsith those who are supposed to have popish
tendencies. We do not wish to discuss the question,
how far this assertion is borne out by facts. Of this we
are convinced, that the office is anti-popish, both in
letter and spirit. We conceive, that the sole reason
why it has ever been accused of such tendency is in
consequence of opinions having been expressed in its
favour by Dr. Pusey, and others of his school in Eng
land. But of this enough : it is quite clear that a

OR, THE REACTION. 5
national church, as the church in Scotland, should
have the same office in every chapel within her juris
diction. Even granting that there be no doctrinal dis
tinction between the offices, of which we ourselves
feel assured, the simple fact of there being two offices
leads unavoidably to schism. Different services are
established in two chapels adjoining each other. Both
services are indirectly, or I should say directly,
sanctioned bythe church. A difference of opinion arises
between the ministers of these chapels, be it upon a
minor point or an important subject, a schism must
unavoidably be the consequence. We are not, of course,
alluding to the Drummond secession, which, without
entertaining any feelings of ill-will towards that reverend
gentleman, we have ever considered as the most
fortunate occurrence which has taken place in our
church since her noble act of self-denial, in her strenuous
adherence to the unfortunate James, in 1689, as we do
not conceive the doctrinal question involved in that
secession as of any importance at all; but we are
merely supposing a case, which may take place at any
hour, so long as the present system prevails. It is, in
a word, contrary to the practice of the church in any
age, and contrary to common sense.
What course, then, it may be asked, should the
Church pursue ?
We have already said, that no one values the Scot-

6 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
tish communion office more than we do, yet we cannot
conceal from ourselves that the retention of it by the
church is wholly unnecessary. A strong and influen
tial party — a party formidable in numbers, distinguished
for piety, churchmen in the true sense of the word —
entertain invincible prejudices to this office — not so
much from the doctrines which it is asserted to contain,
but from a repugnance to change. This office has been
so imprudently intruded upon the church, at the time
when Romanizing works were spreading, through the
breadth and length of the churches both in Scotland
and England, their pestilential principles, if so they
could be called, that the popery cry will always be
raised against this venerable and innocent office ; and
so sensitive is the public mind upon this head, that the
Scottish church will unavoidably be identified with
popish tendencies ; and thus serious damage will be
done to the working of the church, without any one
point being gained by her, and much valuable time
expended upon a needless and senseless controversy.
It may be said, indeed, " Why, succumb to a popular
cry got up without reason — founded, by your own
account, upon prejudice or ignorance ?" To this we
answer, that in the present state of Scotland, whe
ther in its social or religious aspect, every moment is
valuable — every instant lost only gives strength to the
enemy. We are engaged in no ordinary labour. A

OR, THE REACTION. 7
country is to be regenerated— a nation revolutionized ;
a sterner task is ours than tliat of agitating for an
" office." Did we conceive that any essential principle
was involved in the Scottish communion controversy,
none would be more resolute than we in standing by
that principle, even though our church were dashed
into as many pieces as the protestant system around
us ; but as no principle at all is involved in the ques
tion — as, on the contrary, it is admitted that the An
glican office is identical with our own — that the only dis
tinction lies in the form of phraseology, — we consider it
sinful on our part to insist on this office, after so long a
suspension of its use. Besides, what a noble part would
ours be, in thus showing our anxious desire to conci
liate those who have regarded us as their enemies, as
papists in disguise, " in returning good for evil," — in
responding to their bitter taunts by an act of love and
of mercy ! We cannot too loudly hail with delight the
refreshing sentiment, expressed so beautifully by Dr.
Pusey, which has appeared in a late number of the
Scottish Magazine — " I am, however, more and more
convinced, that there is less difference between right-
minded persons on both sides than these often sup
pose ; that differences, which seem considerable, are
really so only in the way of stating them ; that people,
who would express themselves and think each other's
mode of expressing themselves very faulty, mean the
same truth under different modes of expression."

8 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
It is only by the constant application of this great
fundamental trath of Christianity — charity and bro
therly love — that the church has, in any age of her
history, been enabled to weather the storms which on
all sides and at all times rage around her. It is not by
invective and sarcasm, it is not by denunciation nor
anathema, that our enemies are to be gained over. No
principle is thereby compromised — no retractation
made — no wavering nor vacillation demonstrated. It
is the surest test— the most indubitable note of the
Christian. None hold stronger opinions than we do
on the errors of what is termed evangelicalism, yet it
is not by the constant repetition of these opinions that
we make any advance in the Christian course, nor that
we benefit the cause of the church. Did we conceive
that our co-operation with them involved us in their
opinions, as contradistinguished from those of the
church, we would throw such co-operation to the
winds — we would denounce it as Jesuitical, as false, as
antichristian ; but, as we said before, we conceive that
there are many points upon which we and the descend
ants of the Generation of Wilberforce can agree, without
in any way involving us in the subtleties of doctrinal
disputation ; and we feel assured, that if this section of
the church be addressed by us in tlie manner we have
prescribed, there is little fear of the constant collision,
of the angry recriminations, of the unceasing warfare,
which are supposed, by the rival parties of the church.

OR, THE REACTION. 9
to constitute the foremost part of their cardinal duties.
In this act of self-denial we propose the use of the
Anglican office in every chapel in Scotland, and the con
sequent proscription of the Scotch; thus a foundation
would be laid for the development of this catholic feel
ing. Those who are heated with controversy — who
may feel that by such an act of self-denial, the charge
of inconsistency might be brought against them — who
have so engrossed their minds with what is, after all, a
mere form, that they attach an importance to the sub
ject which it does not deserve, — may for a time harbour
misgivings as to the justice of such an act; but once
that that act has been done— when the benefits arising
from it are made evident — when Peace spreads its
genial influence around, where once was War and Deso
lation — when, above all, the individual is permitted to
tear himself from scenes which embitter his feelings,
and make him diverge from carrying out the great
scheme of his own redemption — when his zeal is turned
into the legitimate channel, the promotion of the wel
fare of those entrusted to his care ; — when these are the
consequences of such an act, who would dare say he
repented of the deed .'
We confess, indeed, it is not without a pang that we
renounce what is endeared to us by so many historical
associations. The Scotch communion office reminds us
of much of our ancient Scotch nationality. It brings
B 3

10 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION:
back to our recollection many of the deeds of our fore
fathers, replete with heroism — examples of piety. It
creates within us thoughts which inspire, which humi
liate ; yet, for the sake of peace, for the sake of saving
our lost Scotland, we say concede what is asked —
abandon the office.
In entering upon a consideration of the second
danger, which we say impends over the church, we
premise by confessing most humbly our utter incom
petency to deal with it in anything like a satisfactory
way. We feel that, in undertaking the task of inquir
ing as to the best means of regenerating the Poor of
Scotland, we are proposing the solution of a question
truly gigantic, yet we do not on that account shrink
fi'om the enterprise. It is a question which must be
determined sooner or later.
In almost every country in the habitable globe, the
question of the Poor is just now the subject of agitation.
In Paris, in Berlin, at Vienna, all other questions hold
a secondary place. If we would avoid the scenes which
have lately disgraced these cities ; if we would avoid
the subversion of social order, — we will use our endea
vours to rescue the manufacturing towns of Scotland
from their present degraded and polluted condition.
As we said, in a former treatise,* " Infidelity stalks
abroad in Glasgow. She who once stood forth as an
* ChuTchmau in Scotland, p. 53.

OR, THE REACTION. 11
exemplar to Scotland, is now polluted with immorality
and crime. Like a lazar-house she communicates her
pestilential atmosphere around ; she regulates, as it
were, the movement of immorality in Scotland. Eighty
thousand souls know no God. Alas ! is a nation re
sponsible for this } Is not this a field for the church's
labours ?
" Then Edinburgh, with which we are more imme
diately acquainted, what a boundless mine might be
excavated from her ! Traverse the Cowgate, the Bow,
— nay, penetrate into the alleys which lead from the
High-street, and the most unreflecting, the most super
ficial, the most worldly, will witness facts which will
make him quail. He will, indeed, witness, if he has
eyes at all, the signs of the times."
Where are the churches for the Poor in Edin
burgh .'' One church indeed has sprung up — St. Co
lumba. It has had to contend with difficulties of no
ordinary kind. In the very teeth of a loud and ram
pant no-popery cry, it has raised itself aloft, fearless,
intrepid. It has pronounced itself the apostle of a
New Faith. It is the true symbol of the difficulties of
our church. It advocates the cause of the poor. Will
our church never rouse herself? Has not painful
experience convinced her that, unless her foundation
is laid upon the poor, the despised, the trampled on,
her basis is rotten ? She conceals the first dogma of

12 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
her creed — she neglects the great object of her mission
— one Church ; and this, in spite of obstacles which few
others than Mr. Alexander, and that noble band who
rallied around him, could have encountered and over
come, has been all that our church has done for the
Poor. This is not the time for despondency. When so
much is doing around us, we have no desire to sound
the note of discontent ; yet still we cannot forbear
stating the fearful fact, that unless in the cases of
Jedburgh and of Dalkeith, we in vain look for any,
even ordinary regard for the Poor — we in vain look for
any, even the smallest index of any one following in
the footsteps of Mr. Alexander.
But then it will be said, " Why build chapels for the
poor until you can guarantee their being attended by
the poor } Our church is composed of almost exclu
sively the higher, and a feW of the middling classes.
The Poor have a natural antipathy to our church. The
whole tenour of historical traditions is against us. Is
it not reasonable to build chapels for those who are
really members of the church, instead of those whom
you assume will in the course of years become so .?"
We admit there is a certain show of reason in this, but
that is all. It is true the church is composed almost
exclusively of the Higher orders, and partially of the
Middling classes : but this we conceive to be the great

OR, THE REACTION. 13
blot of her system. It is quite necessary that chapels
should be built where there are members of the church ;
but it by no means follows that we should rest satisfied
with this, the most necessary of duties ; it by no means
follows that we should not do something for the Heathen
in our land. But even taking the matter on the
ground here laid down, let us take one instance, and
refer to a few facts.
We will take Glasgow. What has the church done
for her ? The church here is not composed merely of
the wealthy, or even of the middling class. The great
bulk of her members are the artizans — in many in
stances Protestants from Ireland ; and yet 30,000
are unable to enter a church. Not one church has been
built, in any sense of the word, for the poor. They
are deemed quite unworthy of a moment's con
sideration ! " Provide for the spiritual wants of the
wealthy ; and it will be time enough to talk of
the Poor !" We deem it quite needless to refute
such false reasoning. It is not the reasoning of a
Christian. We fear this picture we have drawn is not confined
to Glasgow : that on the contrary it is the picture of
every one of the manufacturing and large towns in
Scotland- We trust that, ere many months are over,
this fearful blot will be erased from off the annals of
the church's history.

14 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION:
What, then, should be the plan of the Church's
operations .?
To this we answer by referring to the page of Scrip
ture ; and we read thus. Acts, chapter the sixth : — " In
those days, when the number of the disciples was mul
tiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against
the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in
the daily ministrations; then the twelve called the
multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, ' It is
not reason that we should leave the Word of God and
serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among
you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost
and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and
to the ministry of the Word.' And the saying pleased
the whole multitude : and they chose Stephen, a man
full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and
Procaorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas,
and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch : whom they set
before the apostles : and when they had prayed, they
laid their hands on them. And the word of God in
creased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in
Jerusalem greatly ; and a great company of the priests
were obedient to the faith."
In no respect have the churches in England and
Scotland departed more widely from the Scriptural
ideal of a church than in regard to the institution of the

OR, THE REACTION. 15
order of deacons. Their essentiality to the well-being
of the Church, we deem it needless to adduce any
arguments to demonstrate. To the neglect of this in
stitution may be traced the rapid progress of the
Voluntary systems. The voice of the Holy Scripture
is never heard unheeded with impunity. Societies
must be established in exact accordance with the plan
here so distinctly and simply sketched out, ere the
Church will be enabled to make any sensible impres
sion on the vast oommiinities whose cause we now so
anxiously, almost despairingly, advocate — societies of
young men of the poorer classes, well educated in the
principles of the Church, who, from their early acquaint
ance with the peculiar habits of the people, would be
best adapted to operate upon them. Subscriptions
should be raised in every chapel in Scotland. Assist
ance would be rendered by the Church of England.
Endowments would be procm'ed from the more zealous
members of the Chm-ch. The frmds necessary for their
daily support would be quite insignificant. Their own
experience of the struggles of poverty would inure them
to the undertaking. A parent society should in the
first instance be instituted at Edinbm-gh. Under the
able direction of St. Columba's Priest, the best test of
the working of the diaconate system would be pre
sented. In all cases the society should be subject to
the control of the clergyman of the district to which

16 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
they belong. In no instance should a collision be
rendered possible between the parochial and the
diaconate principles. Thus will the order of deacons
have early habits of complete obedience to the su
perior office of priest. They are useful only in so far
as they furnish him aid and co-operation. So soon
as their independence is conceded, party spirit is en
gendered, petty jealousies are harboured, — feelings
wholly at variance with the character of a Christian
missionary. We shall not enter upon the delicate questions-
delicate upon account of the suspicious temperament
of many, whose co-operation we earnestly court, and
whose esteem and good opinion we highly value — as
to whether these young men should be restricted by
the vows of celibacy. We do not conceive that this
question is one of any importance. We think, indeed,
that so long as they were engaged in their arduous
labours a single state would be preferable. Should
they desire to marry, the church might discover some
other field for their labours, better suited for the
married state. What a noble band of missionaries
would these be ! What a new light would be thrown
upon our national history ! The future historian
would not disdain to chronicle the results of these
great undertakings. It would open a new era in our
social history. The church in Scotland would bC'

OR, THE REACTION. 17
come the beacon light of Christianity — the foremost in
Catholic movement.
Every street, every house, every family, every in
dividual would be visited. As the number of pro
selytes increased, new societies might be instituted,
until not one particle of the Scottish soil would be left
untrodden by the churchman ; not one individual should
remain in a position of being ignorant of the gospel
truths. Wlien we consider the paucity of funds required for
this undertaking; when we consider the inestimable
advantages to be derived from it ; and when we con
trast with this the immense sums collected for various
purposes by the Free Kirk of Scotland, we cannot
despair of seeing the hopes we have expressed realized.
We are proposing no Utopian scheme; we are raising
no visionary expectations. No project can be more
simple, or more reasonable. Let the experiment be
tried, at least partially.
When a sufficient number of proselytes are procured,
a school might be established. This, it is tme, would
require more funds than could be easily procured ; but
in this the Government might be induced to interpose ;
and there are hundreds in the church who would not
be backward in rendering corresponding pecuniary aid.
Dr. Chalmers was truly sensible of the monster whom
we are cherishing in our bosoms. Sad experience told

18 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION:
him how hopeless it was to contend against the in
creasing power of this second Frankenstein, unless
some great comprehensive scheme was set to work
which would at once crush him. Years have rolled
on — the great Apostle of the Poor is no more. His
counsel was rejected. His eloquence roused for a
time, but increasing years rendered him unfit for the
task. The scheme was pronounced impracticable — it
was regarded as the beautiful creation of a powerful
imagination. It was revered by some as a legacy of
the Departed, but it soon sunk into oblivion. Men's
minds loathe to hear of a great danger. They do not
believe it. The scheme which he proposed is an out
line of our own. Indeed, considering the ignorance of
the learned doctor of catholic truths, we are quite
amazed at the kind of second-sight which he has in
this instance, as in many others, demonstrated.
Societies, according to the form we have presented,
possess advantages almost incalculable ; they are uni
form and consistent ; they can act in concert ; their
movements are electrical ; they can combine against a
common enemy without allowing him time to offer an
effectual resistance. Their acts of mercy and of love ;
their stern, unbending front ; their freedom from all
interested motives ; their poverty, their sorrows, their
heroic purposes, — can alone be appreciated by the Poor.
The Poor discern the true and living emblem of their

OR, THE REACTION. 19
own lot ; they discover an order of men whom no ob
stacles can deter — whom no defeat can daunt — making
a sacrifice of their all to ameliorate their condition ; to
save them from the abyss of eternal ruin into which
they are about to fall ; to raise them to the moral and
intellectual eminence to which they were originally des
tined. They discover at length their only friends in
this world, their resolute, uncompromising protectors,
the only ones on earth who thoroughly understand
their wants, sympathize with them in their misery, ap
preciate their true character, foresee their future destiny.
Little must that man know of the Masses, short-sighted
must that politician be, who would undervalue the in
fluence of such a society over the minds of the future
generation. Without any of the degraded objects of
the secular politician, without any of his short-sighted
projects, without any views of self-aggrandizement, with
the sole and all absorbing idea, that idea so grand and
gigantic, so comprehensive in detail, so large in its
future consequences — of regeneration of the masses, the
humble and despised deacon might do more to restore
our social fabric — to render our nation great, glorious,
and free, than the legislation of a century. He would
point out the true course which a nation should pursue ;
he would avert all the horrors of a civil war, and strike
a death-blow at the Communist movement.
In advocating this great undertaking, we do not

20 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
address ourselves merely to the members of the church.
We address ourselves to all those who have the public
weal of Scotland at heart; we address ourselves in
especial to the Middle Classes. We are not those
who throw the whole blame of the present degraded
state of the manufacturing towns upon them. We
think, indeed, that much of the hostile position of the
Lower Orders is attributable to the neglect and want
of interest with which they have been treated. Society
seldom becomes so radically diseased, unless the leaders
in that society to a certain degree participate in the
general evil. The schism which divides the two classes
is wide ; nay, it is widening every hour. Two Nations
are subjects of the same Queen, possessing nothing in
common — each proclaiming the other its most inveterate
enemy. The danger is increasing — is becoming more
and more imminent. It is not to be removed by legis
lative enactments ; nor is it to be reinedied by applica
tion to the maxims of political economy ; nor is it to
be subdued by bayonets. Until the great principle be
inculcated in the minds of the Middle Order that they
are responsible for the moral, social, and religious con
dition of the Class which constitutes their real wealth, and
by whose industry alone they have risen to their present
position, the cancer will grow till it eat up the very
vitals of the land. That there are many of the Middle
order against whom this accusation cannot be justly

OR, THE REACTION. 21
preferred, I gladly allow, but these we fear are the ex
ceptions. We conceive that no great regenerative
movement to restore Scotland to her former position,
as moral and religious, can be undertaken, unless an
anxious and strenuous co-operation be rendered by
the middle order. It is not enough, that crime be
punished ; it must be prevented, not by the strong arm
of the law, but by the irresistible power of moral
opinion. We might address the middle order on the
ground of expediency. We might tell them, that if
they wish prosperity to bless our land — if they wish to
see plenty and happiness to reign over Scotland, instead
of want and misery — if they wish our ports to be filled
with ships, and foreign merchandize to enrich our soil
— that they will join with us in our crusade — that they
will render us a hearty hand in expelling immorality
and irreligion fi'om Scotia's shores — that instead of
looking upon us with eyes askance, they will run with
us the .arduous race of "doing good;" but we shall
refrain from reasonings so unworthy — from expecta
tions so contracted and miserable. We address them
as holding a position second to none of any grade in
Scotland — as the leaders of a People once moral and
religious — once the admiration of Europe — once the
exemplars of piety, of holiness, of Christianity, — once
directing the religious movement of the day: and we
ask of them not to hold back in the great work in which

22 THE SCOTTISH NEVS^ GENERATION :
we are engaged — to dismiss all idle fears of future con
sequences, and to throw themselves into the breach,
ere it be too late, — ere the fiery wheel of revolution
roll over the ghastly ruins of a once Great People.
Their glory has not yet departed. Our present defici
encies do not arise from any degeneracy of the nation ;
they are to be ascribed to the evils of a system. The
Spirit which remaineth is immortal. Its death-like
silence speaks volumes. Let us be up and doing, ere
we lose it altogether.
The societies which we propose to institute, as the
propaganda, not merely of the great principles of the
Church, as distinguished from Protestant error, but as
likewise of the new creed — the reciprocal relations
which exist between the Middle order and the Lower
class — the responsibility which exists on the part of
the former for the moral, social, and religious condition
of the latter, so far from having what may be called in
the cant of the day a revolutionary tendency, advocate
principles the very opposite. Their avowed object is
to inculcate Faith and Obedience amongst those who
hitherto have been devoid of all moral and spiritual
directors — to strike at the very root of that barren and
senseless Conservatism, which is never capable of dis
tinguishing between necessary and unnecessary re
forms. It is impossible to deny, that the system which pre-

OK, THE REACTION. 23
vails in the manufacturing and large towns is a National
Calamity, and can only be averted by a National Effort.
It is too late now to speculate upon the causes which
have created it — we have barely time to remodel it.
The whole principle upon which it is based must be
uprooted, ere any effectual stand can be made against
the evils of which it is the source.
We have, indeed, to congratulate ourselves on the
general movement which manifested itself upon late
occasions in favour of order. No soil has as yet proved
so unfruitful in Chartism as that of Scotland. The
political agitation which followed the passing of the
disastrous Reform Act, has worn itself out. Great as
have been the endeavours to rouse the masses at the
period when trade was nearly stagnant, and labour
deficient, when Europe was the scene of universal
commotion — a decided repugnance has been evinced
on the part of the labouring population to any such
counsels. Those who attended the meetings were
mostly Irishmen, and those of the lowest class.
Democracy is foreign to the Scotchman. Popular
institutions he cannot abide. We believe that the
desire to re-establish the feudal system is becoming
more and more general ; but yet the evils which are
at present developing themselves in our manufacturing
system, on which we cannot lay too much stress, are so
truly alarming as to demand immediate and compre-

24 THE SCOTTISH NEVP GENERATION :
hensive remedies. We accordingly again propose, for
the consideration of the Middle order, our plan of pro
ceeding. We assure them that we harbour no vain
desire of personal aggrandizement ; that our sole un
divided object — which object we shall consistently and
boldly carry out — is the regeneration of the lower
classes — is the development of their moral and intel
lectual powers — is the annihilation of a system which
is a scourge upon our once highly-favoured land.
Societies such as we have faintly sketched out are, it
may be alleged, got up for purposes of proselytism —
for swelling the members of our church. To this we
answer — we have no monopoly of the vast field open
to us. If the establishment, free kirk, or any other
body, can operate upon the masses in a con-esponding
manner, let them do so. They will meet with no
opposition from us. We are only filling up the gaps
which their systems have created.
If they cannot remedy these evils we have de
scribed — if they cannot render the manufacturing dis
tricts moral and religious — if they cannot make any
effectual stand against socialism and its attendant vices
— if they cannot stay the progress of the crater which is
forming within our social fabric, let them not, if they
entertain any regard for the temporal and eternal wel
fare of that class in whose behalf we now plead, let
not them, I say, throw any obstacles in our way. Our

OR, THE REACTION. 25
object is not aggression: it is Christian love — Chris
tian mercy — and we feel assured that sectarian jealousy
will not be brought to bear against our philanthropical
design. Not only, then, do we address ourselves to the Church,
not only to the Middling Order, we address ourselves
to every denomination of Christians in Scotland.
To the established Kirk of Scotland we would
fain speak. We are sensible that the members of that
community regard us as their most bitter and deter
mined opponents. They appeal to the history of their
church — they appeal to our own principles — in proof
of it. The sentiments of the " Churchman in Scot
land," are already announced on this head. He be
lieves he advocates the opinions of the great mass of
his communion. So far from looking with hostile eyes
on the establishment, he deems it his paramount duty
— subordinate only to his obligations to the church* —
" to support it, as being the only authority which the
country can appeal to, consistently with the present
character of its institutions — the only bond which can
connect Scotchmen together."
t"We defend it as being the great bulwark against
disorder and revolution ; we defend it as being the
form of Christianity which it has pleased Provi
dence to deliver to Scotland ; and as such we re-
"¦ Churchman in Scotland, Page 32. f Page 48.
C

26 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
gard any attempt against it on our part as a violar
tion of a sacred obligation — as a gratui'tous infringe
ment of the moral law." The establishment has, both
individually and collectively, acknowledged her incapa
bility of effectually operating on the masses. She has
again and again published to the world, in the reports
of her annual assemblies, the increase of immorality
and crime, the spread of Socialism, the rapid advance
of open and avowed infidelity. In her hour of need
and embarrassment, we, on the part of the church to
which we belong, stretch forth our hands, and offer to
co-operate with herin her works of Love and of Mercy;
to battle with her on the common ground, and repulse
the inroads of our ruthless and unscrupulous adversary.
In tendering this offer, we do not in any way compro
mise our principles. We do not for a moment reco
gnise her claims to be the national church of Scotland.
We have already said, *" We firmly believe that there
can be but one true church. It must be complete in
machinery — complete in the various tests by which the
church in all ages has been identified — complete in
ideal." We merely recognise her as a fact. We have
described her history. We believe that she possesses
many spiritual graces ; that she has conferred many ad
vantages upon Scotland. We thank her for her unrivalled
system of education ; for the spiritual character which
* Churchman in Scotland, page 26.

OR, THE REACTION. 27
she has imparted to our fellow-countrymen ; but we dis
cover in her great and fearful deficiencies : but of this
enough. Our co-operation should rather be defined
under the head of an avoidance of collision. All we ask
is neutrality. Let her not use her influence against us.
Let her not rake up historical traditions and feuds of
bygone times. Let her not reject our earnest petition.
It conceals no hollow purpose. Let us contend in the
noble strife of " doing good." Let there be an emula
tion worthy of the Christian.
But not only do we address ourselves to our histori
cal opponents — the members of the establishment — we
address ourselves to the Free Kirk. Our sympathies
with the Free Kirk have been already avowed.* We
have been charged with inconsistency by many. Glad
however were we to read the comment of the reviewer
in the Oxford a.nd Cambridge Review.f We hailed it as
the harbinger of a better feeling springing up amongst
the English New Generation as regards the character
of the Free Kirk movement. We freely acknowledge
that, during the whole course of the non-intrusion con
troversy, we wished all success to the cause. It began
to operate at the same time that the Church of England
first showed symptoms of resuscitation. The two move
ments, though opposed in nature and design, yet re-
* Churchman in Scotland, page 17.
t See Oxford and Cambridge Review, May, 1847.
c 2

28 Tt:E SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION:
tained many notes of identity ; and undoubtedly exer
cised a powerful influence over each other. When the
Secession took place, deeply as we deplored it on many
accounts, we made no scruple of bearing our testimony
to the nobleness and heroism of those who cast three
millions of public money to the winds, when, conscience
told them they could not be retained with honour and
in consistency with the obligations of the gospel. It is
true, we deplored the consequences of the secession.
Religious opinion was thereby the more divided ;
society was for a time unhinged ; families were split
asunder. A sectarianism of tone, a bitterness of
feeling, were propagated; angry recriminations, pulpit
anathemas, were the order of the day. A fratricidal war
was waged throughout the breadth and the length of
the land. A revolutionary spirit was abroad, which,
had it not been subdued by Christian influences, might
have endangered social order, and struck a blow at the
first rights of property. By a concurrence of unfortu
nate circumstances, it became identified with political
principles : and for a time threatened to be immersed
in a wild and rampant democracy. The tempest has
now subsided ; calm and sober reason has regained its
wonted influence. The Establishment is no longer
threatened with subversion. Higher principles and
higher motives sway the leaders. The evangelizing of
the heathen, the regeneration of the poor, have become

OR, THE REACTION. 29
the two polar stars which guide the Kirk of the
People in its onward march.
The sacrifices which the Free Kirk has made in
behalf of what she believes to be the truth, require
from us no eulogy. The self-denial of her members ;
the catholic phenomena which she collectively pre
sents; the potent, almost magic, influence which she
possesses over the Christian section of Scotland ; the
firm and daring front which she at all times has shown
against the growing evils of the day ; all these are
matters for the future historian to chronicle — for the
Christian of whatever sect or denomination to admire.
We cannot but feel, likewise, that we are addressing
ourselves to the historical descendants of our old
enemies, the Covenanters. We are addressing noble
foes. Every inch of ground have we contested through
out broad Scotland— every mountain, every glen, every
hamlet, has been the arena of our combat. Success
has been various — fierce has been the conflict : both
have had their Martyrs and dying Confessors ; both
their Saints, their Fathers, their Devotees. At length the
Stem and Gloomy Covenant triumphs. She becomes
the national creed : the Church becomes a small and
insignificant minority : yet She retains her nationality.
She loudly and clamorously protested against the Act
of Union. She raised the standard of revolt against
usurped authority in glorious fifteen. The blood of

30 the SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
Her sons fertilised the field and drenched the scaffold.
She burst like a torrent of the mountain in FORTy-FiVE ;
She yielded alone to numbers. The last charge at
Culloden was Her death-knell. She fell, but She fell
gloriously — true to Her country and Her king — true
to the Nationality of Scotland. She in the nineteenth
century preaches a new creed — a creed which Her
Fathers knew not — a creed more ennobling in its in
fluences than all the honours of war; majestic in its
character ; ancient in its pedigree; lofty in conception;
replete with proud aspirings and noble daring ; con
necting the broken links of Scotland's history ; adorned
with all the pageantry of the Past ; shedding a bright
ray over the most disastrous epochs of our national
history ; and telling us what a Future will be. The
creed, indeed, is childishly simple — Peace, Mercy, and
Truth. Let us banish the seventeenth century from
memory ! Erase its records for ever ! Let us no
longer talk. The steeds are prancing, the bugle is
sounding the advance. The Crusaders, varied, indeed,
in guise, under various leaders — speaking different
tongues, yet animated by the same hopes — the Cru
saders are there. Their mission is no earthly one. It
is no earthly Jerusalem they desire to conquer. It is
to rescue their fallen country from the iron rule of a
foreign usm-per. The infidel is trembling ; he feels his
doom is sealed ; his reign is over. His fate is written

OR, THE REACTION. 31
on the walls of the Capitol. His foes have united. In
the agony of despair he awaits the last charge. He
wavers, he sinks, he flies ; he seeks a foreign shore ;
he looks for a stranger's land to confiscate, to devastate,
to ruin. Scotland is free.
We earnestly supplicate the free Kirk to cease
the angry strife in which we have been so long engaged.
Let no sectarian jealousies any longer divide us. We
ask for no unworthy compromise — no hollow union.
Our principles are already known ; we cannot retract
them. Amidst the raging of the storm, even the lion
and the tiger seek shelter in the same lair. The storm
not only now is at its height, but it threatens immediate
destruction. Our very existence as Christian bodies is
at stake. We cannot exaggerate. Forward then on the
Masses. The day may yet be retrieved.
There are various denominations of Christians to
whom we might appeal, who in their social spheres
have done whatever could be, for the unhappy thousands
who are congregated in our industrial towns, but space
forbids. It may be that we do not clearly understand
the peculiarities of doctrine which separate them from
the Presbyterian communities which we have already
specified ; but we assure them it is not from any un
worthy desire of procuring their co-operation, that we
return them our most sincere thanks for the good work
in which they have been, amidst so much discourage-

32 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
ment, engaged. The United Secession, the Baptist,
the Independent, have been the true instructors of the
ignorant and degraded population, in whose behalf we
are now pleading. Whatever there is Christian amongst
them is attributable to their indefatigable exertions.
So far, then, from depreciating such intrepid mission
aries, so far from raising a battle-cry against such men
as these, we will feel peculiar pride in rendering them
our most strenuous assistance, to complete what they,
from inadequacy of means alone, have been unable to
finish. We do not of course conceal for a moment the
wide gulf which separates us. We trust we maybe enabled
in God's providence to convert them from the fearful
errors into which they have fallen, and direct them in
the true path which leadeth to eternal life. Such acts
as they have done shall not be without their reward.
Oh, that we could perfect the faith which has accom
plished so much already !
A new element has been introduced amongst the
population, whose sufferings, whose wrongs, whose
shameful treatment by a government calling itself a
Christian one, we are now doing our earnest endeavour
to bring under public consideration — Irish Roman
Catholics. This sect musters some tens of thousands
in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The differences which
separate us from the Church of Rome are well known.
We see at present no prospect of an amalgamation.

OR, THE REACTION. 33
The Church of Rome has taken a ground so arrogant
and so lofty, that, until the end of time, we despair of
seeing any approach to a reconciliation. We have
already treated of the Reformation. We have deplored
its consequences. We think it might have been
avoided. Schism in any church is the most heinous of
sins — ^the most irreparable of evils. In the Church
Catholic it becomes an European calamity — a judgment
on the world at large.
The Reformation, however, has taken place ; the
Rubicon has been crossed; the Church of Rome has
legalized what before was only tolerated ; has declared
of obhgation what was formerly a matter of indulgence.
The fatal decrees of Trent have shut out all hope of
Catholic union. It becomes a positive sin to indulge
in expectations which can never be realized. With the
Anglican Romanisers we disavow all sympathy. We
regret the fall of the great Newman ; for the remainder
of the seceders we entertain but little regard. We
always viewed them as equivocal friends — as furnishing
a handle for a cry both irrational and false. We con
ceive that they never appreciated the value of being
members of the Catholic Church of England — that they
were never loyal to Her interests, nor tme to Her cause.
Their opinions were vacillating and fantastic ; their
feelings were distorted ; they tampered with principles ;
they made terms with Error. Their religion became a
c 3

34 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
Superstition more clouded than that of the Romanist, —
more sectarian in its tendency. Their imaginations were
powerful, their judgments weak. Their casuistry, their
idiom, their logical refinements, excited strong prejudice
against them in the public mind, in which prejudice we
freely confess that we, to a certain extent, participated.
We rejoiced at their exit on public grounds, however
much we lamented it individually. They have done
more damage to the Church's cause than all the thunders
of Exeter Hall, or the writings of Isaac Taylor.
In offering this co-operation, then, to our Romish
brethren, we in no way mean to deviate from the course
we have prescribed for other Christian communities. We
do not wish to enter upon an inquiry as to the precise
differences which exist between us. Our object is not
controversy: it is earnest labour. We ask of them not
to contravene us in our operations. Our object is not
proselytism ; it is Christianising those without the pale
of Christian influences. The conversion of the Poor
has ever been the great fundamental dogma of the
Romish creed. They have presented us in this, as in
many other respects, with an important lesson, which
we trust will not be without its fruits.
Church societies, according to the plan we have
proposed, bear a strong assimilation to the Monastic
bodies which have conferred upon the Church of Rome
the greatness and catholicity which she possesses.

OR, THE REACTION. 35
They also avoid much of the evils which have almost
universally developed themselves in these bodies. The
same self-denial, the same holy poverty, the same great
idea, the same unqualified obedience, characterises
them. They avoid also all dependence on the Poor.
They steer clear of the dangers of Voluntaryism. Un
scrupulous mendicancy, the zeal of agitators, lofty
ambition, secular gain, ai"e provided against. Con
strained vows, extravagant asceticism, sanctified idle
ness, and vagrancy, are sins into which they cannot fall.
Away, then, with that cant so anxious to create diffi
culties, so fearful of imaginary dangers, whose micro
scopic gaze is so prompt to discover faults !
A system so solemnly proposed, whereby great benefit
will be bestowed upon districts of Scotland, which,
from negligence and incompetency, have relapsed into
the fearfiil abyss of heathenism ; whereby the glorious
light of the gospel will be diffused. Who is so false
as to gainsay it .? — who so lost to Christian feeling as
for a moment to start a doubt ? No ; Scotland will
now "own such an one as her true son. Forward, then,
crusaders ! " for the day is far spent."
But whilst we earnestly supplicate the church to direct
her most strenuous efforts for the regeneration of the po
pulation of the manufacturing districts and large towns,
as the part of Scotland in which the most imminent
danger resides, where the combat will be the fiercest and

36 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
the longest sustained ; and whilst we propose for her
earnest consideration the large scheme of organization
of church societies, we by no means desire that she
should confine her operations exclusively to them ; or
that from a too fastidious apprehension of ranging her^
self in hostile array against the Presbyterian establish
ment, she should for a moment pause in the national
movement in which she is engaged.
There are hundreds of her children without the
means of spiritual instruction in the rural districts of
Scotland, who, having unconsciously fallen into the
fatal habit of attending the Presbyterian establishment,
have wofully retrograded in their Christian advancer
ment. In this, we fear, the church has' to a certain
degi'ee to blame herself. It is true, many of them re
tain their attachment to her as their mother church ;
and attend the festivals of Christmas and Easter, aud
partake of the adorable eucharist ; yet still, from con
stant attendance on Presbyterian churches, they have
become tinctured with their principles, and have adopted
latitudinarian views. Such equivocal members as these
must be provided with chapels and missionaries ; and
the evils of attending upon a church which their own
communion has pronounced to be in a state of schism
must be explained to them.
When the rank and position of these quasi-members
of the church are taken into consideration, the advan-

OR, THE REACTION. 37
tages to be derived from their support and reconversion
are inestimable. They almost exclusively consist of
the Aristocracy of the country, recognised as the Here
ditary Leaders of the People for centuries ; identified
with local traditions, and all the associations of the Past,
which exercise so powerful a command over the feelings
of the Scottish people. Families such as these would
prove a ready constituted propaganda of the principles
of the church. Every castle and manor would
become the rendezvous of the chm'ch's movements ;
over almost every Scottish acre opportunities would
present themselves of inculcating the holy doctrines of
Christianity. The Scottish Aristocracy would thus be
come Christian instructors and Christian missionaries ;
the Ancient Faith would be presented to the People, not
by obscure and insignificant teachers, but by those
whose best interests are promoted by their earthly wel
fare ; who have been associated with them and their
forefathers down the stream of centuries ; who have
fought and bled on the same battle-field ; who come be
fore them, not in the form of interested agitators, but
as the apostles of Peace and Good Will to men ; illus
trating their doctrines by habits of self-denial and cha
rity; entertaining no other desire than that of the spi
ritual advancement of those for whose social and moral
condition they are responsible to their heavenly Father.
The benefits which would be thus conferred upon

38 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
the Scottish aristocracy themselves would be even
greater, if such be possible, than on the Scottish
people. Their feudal powers, so long dormant, would
thus silently and unconsciously be revived. The
people in Scotland are shrewd and calculating. They
penetrate into the motives of those above them by a
kind of instinct. They cling with pertinacity to those
who advance their interests, whether temporal or eternal.
Their admiration for those who adhere to high principles
is proverbial. The power of the church, if thus fully
brought into play, would prove irresistible. Scotland
of the Past would emerge from her ruins. The Church
would place itself in the van of a radically national
movement. Her principles would be silently pro
pagated to the remotest corner of the country ; and She
would be based upon the true foundation — the People.
The charge, indeed, might be brought against the
Church, that not only did she propagate peculiar
theological principles, but likewise that she was the
promulgator of political principles.
To this we answer, that Religion cannot be disjoined
from Politics. We object quite as much to the politics
as to the creed of the preshyterian. Democracy forms
quite as necessary a portion of his religion, as the denial
of apostolical succession, and the efficacy of sacraments
to the salvation of the sinner. This baneful principle
has subverted and debased the Scottish mind. The

OR, THE REACTION. 39
ancient characteristics. Faith, Obedience, fidelity to his
Feudal Chieftain, adherence to time-honoured customs,
love of his Church, Loyalty to the Crown, leave but a
wreck behind. A wrangling, disputatious, sententious
spirit has gained ascendancy over him. A self-
opinionated dogmatism has been substituted for
obedience to the Voice of the Church. A hatred to
priestcraft, as it is called, has rendered it necessary that
he should invest himself with all the functions of the
mediatorial office. This self-love has been thereby
greatly increased. The self-devotion which formerly
distinguished him has departed. The levelling prin
ciple has gradually worked itself upon him : the vul
garity of democracy has corrupted his nature — has
contaminated his finest feelings — has degraded the
national character. Charity has lost its power ; Mercy
has been replaced by stern, uncompromising calcula
tion. Love has been superseded by sectarian hatred
and party jealousies. The noblest national instincts
have been blunted and filed away. The great Protestant
heresy — Self, reigns supreme ; and the Scotchman has
become a bye-word among nations for defects which
the Protestant systems have unconsciously created.
The Calvinistic polity is radically democratic and re
volutionary. The preshyterian ministers are democrats
both from policy and creed.
No democracy is so withering and demoralizing as

40 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
the balmy Conservative principle which is the rallying-
word of the Establishment. No democracy so loud
and clamorous as manifested in the free Kirk.
Democracy is the corner-stone of Presbyterianism,
under whatever guise it may be concealed. Unless the
church carries on a vigorous and unceasing agitation
against this fundamental Protestant dogma — unless she
fall back upon the great principles on which she has
always been based — unless she adhere to the fallen
cause of the Stuarts, as represented in thefr political
creed — she will be false to her mission : her hold over
the Scottish mind will be uncertain and hollow : she
will tamper with that glorious destiny that awaits her.
Presbyterianism has been ever the resolute opponent
of the Feudal principle. It dreads any power being
retained by the aristocracy. Its constant aim, however
it may adapt itself to the various form of opinions with
which it has been thrown into collision, has been to
revive, through popular agency, all the pretensions,
even the most arrogant, of the Church of Rome. For
the same reason, it has ever been the determined enemy
of kings, unless so far as they advanced its interests.
Loyalty is a feeling foreign to the soul of the Calvinist.
Equality is the very essence of the system. It is only
when men are equal, that a despot can enthral. Spi
ritual tyranny, under a popular guise, is a convertible
term for the church of John Knox.

OR, THE REACTION. 41
The alienation which of late existed, and to a certain
degree now exists, between the two classes — the Rich
and the Poor — is primarily attributable to the working of
the Presbyterian system. We do not mean to say, that
it avowedly or even intentionally established this social
schism : we merely say, that, from its constitution, it
became the propaganda of democratic principles, which
were all the more dangerous from being disguised under
a specious Conservatism. Its ministers were exclusively
of the middling and lower class — sympathised with
popular sentiments — sanctified them by their acquies
cence — communicated them throughout the people
through the medium of their office — organized and
controlled their operations. The more ultra and
ambitious of their order professed them to establish
their influence — to keep the aristocracy in check — to
further the political ends of their church.
We do not make these observations from entertaining
any hostile views to the Establishment. We merely
are stating what we conceive to be an historical fact —
that the Establishment, from the character of its insti
tutions, and from other concurring circumstances over
which it had directly no control, has been the machinery
through which democratic principles have been allowed
to acquire a sway over the Scottish popular mind ; and
consequently that the Establishment is morally re-
.sponsible for the unhappy divisions which prevail in

42 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
our social system. Democracy of itself implies division :
it is the effect of social disease : it is the sure symptom
of the fall of nations, or a prelude to despotic rule.
This principle of democracy it is the church's urgent
duty to root out. It has been the source of the most
disastrous epochs in our national history. It laid us
prostrate at the feet of the tyrant Cromwell. It has
been the parent of civil dissensions and religious wars.
Its development is painfully manifested in the gloomy
pages of the seventeenth century. Bloody in its origin
— bloody in its nature — bloody in its ultimate destiny.
Against this national enemy, the Scottish New Genera
tion proclaim perpetual war. No terms must be kept —
no compromise allowed: war to the knife our only
alternative. It is true, that many of the members of the respected
Establishment are as far removed from the snares of
democracy as ourselves ; but this originates in an
ignorance of the system to which they belong.
The restoration of the Aristocracy to their former
privileges will prove the precursor of nationality. It
will stay in its headlong course the movement of cen
tralization, which is the cause of so much mischief in
every part of Europe at the present day. It will impart a
national tone to the country at large — put a stop to-the
hankering after English customs and English fashions,
which has for the last century been degrading the

OR, THE REACTION. 43
national taste. The spirit of imitation, which has been
so long prevalent amongst our Nobility, has been accom
panied with the worst eff'ects on the People. A pro
vincial style has crept in, which, having been moulded
by those totally unqualified to guide, has barbarised
and deteriorated. The National Spirit droops. National
energy itself is weakened. Our morals have been cor
rupted. A feeble and vacillating policy has characterised
our Nation. Scottish interests are neglected to make
way for imperial legislation; yet does the spirit of
nationality animate every breast. Every insult offered
to Scotland stirs to madness. Every triumph her sons
attain is hailed as a national victor}'. Every disaster is
mourned over with all the sternness of national grief.
Past greatness is not forgotten. The struggle for
national independence* is brooded over as if it formed a
part of contemporary history. The Songs of the People
hand down an oral tradition which can never die. These
are not fancies merely for the poet or the antiquarian :
they embody great principles ; and it is only from the
want of national leaders, that they do not constitute an
important element in present civilization.
We do not wish to stir up national prejudices or
unholy passions, which used in days of old to deluge
Scotland with blood. We merely express our severe
animadversion on the past defalcation of the hereditary
* In the year 1311.

44 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
leaders of the Scottish people. From the miserable
desire to place themselves on an equality, forsooth,
with an English nobility, they have made a shameful
sacrifice of national honour : they have lost that posi'
tion amongst their countrymen which their ancestors
acquired : they have surrendered their rights, and bar
tered them, to please English administrations.
Gladly do we hail the college of Glenalmond as the
school not only of church principles, but of nationality.
Too long have English institutions been crowded with
deserters from their country. This, perchance, is the
true origin of our dread of provincialism : this is the
true basis of national tergiversation. In the most
beautiful and richest of Scotland's counties, associations
wUl be acquired, which will be impressed with all the
durability and tenacity of youth. Foreign habits and
foreign scenery will no longer be deemed fashionable.
Friendships will be formed which will create oftheinselves
national predilections and love of home. Academical
honours should be no longer sought for in the cloisters of
Oxford and Cambridge. The Countrytheforemost in lite
rature — Edinburgh, with its European reputation — could
surely afford an intellectual arena where it would not
be ignominious to contend. The Middle class would
be thus thrown in contact with their superiors. Ancient
historical names would figure in contemporary history-
An impetus would be given to the Scottish movement,

OR, THE REACTION. 45
which must sooner or later carry all before it. The
present deserted streets, the very grass which grows in
our ancient capital, would no longer offend the eye and
sadden the heart. ^ Vacancy would be no longer the
fate of Holyrood. National prosperity would not con
sist merely in the development of national industry, in
crowded ports, in stores full of merchandise. The
Spinning-jenny would be no longer the director of our
civilization. The Feudal principle would be brought to
bear upon the masses without any of the mediseval
defects which clogged its working. National prosperity
woifld consist in the union of 'class ; morality would
regain its empire ; religion its harmony ; national
virtue would be no longer a mere name ; shoulder to
shoulder would be a nation's watchword; civilization
would receive a stimulus ; education be invested with
its giant power; native genius would not be drifted
away to a foreign strand; Chartism would no longer
run riot ; the equilibrium of society would be restored ;
English democracy would disappear; a healthy tone
would prevail ; and Property would possess that surest
of all securities — the protection of the People. Is this
a vain and idle dream ? Is it the creation of a disordered
imagination .? Is it an Utopia after which we aspire .'
We leave this question in the hands of the country.
We say that the Feudal movement is rolling on at rail
road speed ; that the want oi the powers to which the

46 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
Aristocracy, by legal right, or by the law of Scotland,
are entitled, has begun to be felt ; that the relations of
society as at present constituted are becoming daily
more and more disorganized ; that the question now
rests with the Aristocracy themselves. Too long have
they withheld themselves from the popular movement.
The extension of the franchise is looked upon from one
end of Scotland to the other as a political clap-trap.
An earnest and vigorous reaction has arisen against
the principles of the Reform act. Democracy is on
the wane, let the aristocracy now strike the blow !
The missionary position which we have assigned to
them may be supposed by some to imply a seriousness
of tone which does not generally belong to their Order.
The growing religious development, however, which is
manifesting itself on all sides around us, tells us, that this
theory of ours is far from visionary. Could the feeling
be imparted, that on them rests the Cause of the Church,
the Regeneration of the Poor, the most careless and
apathetic would be warmed with holy ardom*. Indi
vidual responsibility would be inculcated : the relations
of life, under the influence of the series of duties re
quired of a Feudal Chieftain, would be purified and
ennobled. No love of self-aggrandisement, no aspira
tion after earthly honours, none of the base and calcu
lating notions of the mere politician. The love of their
Order alone would stimulate — the demands of Con-

OR, THE REACTION. 47
science alone would dictate — the love of Country alone
would inspire.
Greatly as we value the Church Societies, which we
have proposed for operation on the masses, we cannot
conceal from ourselves, that the strength of the church
lies in the aristocracy. On the " country " emphatically
does the success of the movement depend. As in '45, our
chief resources are in the Highlands. If the population,
there, does not possess the legal acumen and general
knowledge of the town, they excel them far in point
of morality and Christian development. Ancient tra
ditions exercise an uncontrolled influence. According
to the eloquent description of one of the deputation,
appointed by the General Assembly to inquire into
the state of the Highlands, the great stumbling-block
assigned in the way of his church's advance is the
" superstitiousbelief of the people." They do not, indeed,
appreciate the refined casuistiy of Presbyterianism.
They dislike constant discussion and interminable con
troversies. They prefer hearing the voice of the Infallible
Church. They prefer the beauties of Ceremonial. They
attach a due importance to the efficacy of Sacraments.
What a field for the church's labours ! It is their
natural religion. The Church, whether as preaching
her fundamental doctrines of Obedience and Faith, and
the essentiality of her sacraments to the salvation of the
sinner, or as advocating the revived action of the Feudal

18 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
system, which is entwined with her as the national
church, would become, according to the strictest sense
of the term, the Church of the People. In engaging in
such an enterprise, the church would in no way encroach
upon the boundaries of the Presbyterian establishment
or free Kirk ; for, according to all their reports, the
spiritual destitution which prevails is fearfully great.
The Church Societies are nevertheless essential to the
well-being of the Church. Their extensive and power
ful organization — itheir uniform action, their corporate
capacity, would demonstrate to the country the capabi
lities of the church. Its practical character would be
thereby tested. A popular priesthood would be created,
whose subordinate position would be one of honour, in
so far as they are foremost in the church's movement;
but, above all, the pre-eminence of the Church over
the Christian communities around her would be
strikingly exemplified.
The eyes of the country are now intently fixed upon
the Scottish New Generation. Every movement is
anxiously watched and canvassed — every opinion is
eagerly analyzed — every error they commit is mourned
over. No public were ever so charitable, so leniently
disposed, nay, so enthusiastic in their favour as the
Scottish People. Amongst the ruins which scatter their
desolation around, the New Generation stand forth the
missionaries of that Faith which is contemporary with the

OR, THE REACTION. 49
Apostles — a faith which persecution and the scaffold
could not extirpate — a faith which is inseparable from
Scottish nationality. The cry which John Knox thun
dered forth with all the mad fanaticism of the Calvinist,
" Down with the People's Temples ! down with them
even to the ground ! Lay the ancient abbeys prostrate !
Confiscate the poor man's wealth! Let no cathedral
spires rear themselves aloft !" has been at length met
by the holy shout, " Resuscitate the ruin ! — Re-erect
old Melrose, whose greatness yet remaineth, even though
it be a wreck — Give Elgin a new life ; rescue her from
the inroads of the ivy ; let her no longer moulder to
• decay." Have we no Beresford Hope to give this pious
feeling expression ? Is the Free Kirk the monopolist
of Christian munificence } No : the war is in the
Borders. A new Rienzi has declared himself under
the historical battle-cry of Buccleugh. Melrose's resur
rection is at hand. Jedburgh has placed herself in the
van. The errors of centuries will yet be atoned for.
We bide our time.
The Creed which Robertson could not beautify — the
Faith which Carlyle could not soften — which Chalmers
could not dignity — ^must, sooner or later, succumb to
the Age. Nursed in convulsions, the fruitful parent
of national disasters and national disgrace — which
truckled to the false Elizabeth — drove into exile the
hapless Mary, and feared to avenge her death — which
D

50 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
sold an heroic monarch for English gold, and connived
at the slavery of the Commonwealth — which preferred
the brutal German to the descendants of a long line of
Scottish kings— the determined enemy of nationality —
the leveller in disguise — which has soured the Scottish
temperament and cramped the Scottish mind — which
has contaminated his noblest impulses, and degraded
his finest instincts. The Creed has had its day. We
have not undervalued the good it has accomplished.
We have not over-estimated its faults. We will lend
no hand to its fall. The crisis must arrive, sooner or
later. Scottish New Generation, be ready! Cast
yourselves in the breach. Some bold work must shortly
be done. Be not offended at our candour. Be warned
in time.
We have been charged with stirring up national
antipathies — ^with calling from their tombs unholy pas
sions. If any have been misled by us, we deeply
deplore it. We read with pain the sweeping censure of
the writer in the Oxford and Cambridge Review.* We
are engaged in no anti-English crusade. Our country's
union with England has been the greatest boon Provi
dence in his mercy has bestowed upon us. It has been
the soul of our industrial enterprise — the source of our
national wealth. The Vulgar triumphs of War have
been succeeded by the inspiring glories of Science.
* See Oxford and Cambridge Review, June.

OR, THE REACTION. 51
Agriculture has reached its perfection, from the stimulus
of English competition. In every corner of the habit
able globe our merchants wend their way, protected by
the English flag. In England's vast colonial system
the Scotchman has risen to opulence and greatness.
India, Australia, Canada, are ample compensation for
the disasters of the Darien scheme. Scottish soldiers
have thrown a lustre over British arms. Scottish
statesmen have directed the helm of state in times the
most gloomy, when danger was the greatest. English
literature has been adorned by Scottish names, which
wiU remain till the end of time. The very steam-engine
is the invention of a Scotchman. The advantages have
been reciprocal. We do not deny them. The British
empire is built upon the Two Nations. We are no
advocates for federal parliaments. The history of the
104 years, from 1603 to 1707, we wish we could blot
out. Suicidal wars, wild fanaticism, Druidical cruelties,
brutal murders, are recorded in every line. But whilst
we appreciate the consequences of the Union Act, we
do not lose sight of its evils. These, we say, can be
remedied only by the Nation herself. We are enthu
siastic admirers of union, but we denounce all attempts
at amalgamation. " Unscotch us, if you will, and you
will make us most mischievous of Englishmen," is the
Sybilline saying of one who best knew his countrymen,
who did not flatter their vanity, and did not conceal

52 THE SCOTTISH NEW GENERATION :
their faults — who was himself the apostle of Nationality,
yet stripped it of all the bigotry of party, with which it
is too apt to be confounded. Scotland was^ his theme
to the last : his every thought was of his fallen country.
To resuscitate Her past glory, to carve out Her future
destiny, was the aspiration which followed him to the
tomb. His was no vulgar ambition — no ambition
such as dwells in Downing- street, or swells the
ranks of legislation. Scotland " shall ne'er, see his
like again."
One word more, and we shall have done. The sup
port rendered! to our church by the English New Gene
ration merits our warmest gratitude. They ever have
borne testimony to the truth of our cause. In the dis
astrous struggle of fifteen, a Derwentwater and a Ken-
muir perished on the same scaffold. Carlisle isimmorT
talized as the scene of a common martyrdom. To Lord
John Manners^ and those acting with him, we accord our
warmest thanks. Their eloquence has often cheered
us : their poetry has consoled many a sorrowful hour;:
their munificence wUl not be without its reward : their
deeds are more accomplished orators than their words.;.
With them shall we eagerly co-operate in a vigorous,
agitation against the principles upon which the Revolu
tion Settlement of 1689 is based. Until that fatal act-
that act which justified an usurper's claims, and a
daughter's denial of parental authority — -the act which

OR, THE REACTION. 53
recognised a schismatic communion as the Church of the
People — the act which cast aside the corner-stone of the
Church of England — Passive Obedience — the act which
has thrown back unhappy Ireland in civilization hun
dreds of years — until that act be struck off" the statute
book, we almost feel a misgiving as to our cause ; yet it
may be done. Europe presents an unsightly spectacle.
Democracy is beheld in its awful greatness : Humanity
itself is in peril : the Divine Right of Kings is solemnly
denied — the blasphemous sentiment. Vox populi, vox
Dei, madly proclaimed. Be not faint-hearted. New
Generation of England ! The Reaction will soon come
on. Forward, crusaders, and the day may yet be ours.
The Scottish Tribune* has performed his part. Let
us do ours. Let no idle fears dismay us. The
hour is at hand. Let those who ai"e recreant make
way for their betters. The stern demands of duty
admit of no excuse. Apologies are out of place. Each
man, then, to his post. The foes are advancing. When
we are finally vanquished, it will be time enough to say,
" that all is lost." • Sir Walter Scott.

lONDOiS :
S-iVILL & EDWABDS, PKIKTEB8, 4, CHANDOS STREET,
COVENT GAEDEN.

YALE
BRmSH HISTORY
PRESERVATION PROJECTtt
SUPPORTED BY NEtt

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 04077 3229

¦•I'll'