trine of the real presence," and that that doctrine, as propounded by Ritualists, "is the life of the Church of England.' Let it be remembered that "already there are 2000 churches which have lights on the altars" that even now the position of the Ritualists is deemed almost "impregnable," and that they ask only for two years more to make good their ground against the bench of bishops and both Houses of Parliament. With these facts clearly in view, we anticipate confidently the full concurrence of our readers in the weighty words of warning with which we conclude:

"Looking at the lengths to which the Anti-Reformation party has gone, and its evident determination to go further, and the means of carrying out this purpose which it possesses, I cannot resist the conviction that at no time since the Reformation did the church stand in such danger of corruption or division, or rather of both,-of being first deeply corrupted, and then rent asunder."*

Σ.

ART. II.-The Eastern Question-Its Religious Bearings.

SOME

OME little time ago, London had a duty to itself and to the empire to perform-in other words, the obligation was laid upon it of giving a befitting reception to quite an array of guests, who came seeking its hospitality. First, there was the Viceroy of Egypt, with his retainers; next, there arrived two thousand and more Belgian volunteers; and last, though very far indeed from being least, Abdul Aziz, the Sultan of Constantinople, appeared, with his son and a distinguished retinue. So old flags were brought from the places where they had been carefully folded past, and new ones were manufactured in large numbers: the special demand being for the Turkish colours-a white crescent, partly enclosing a star of the same hue, all on a background of red; and those of Belgium-a tricolor of blue, yellow, and red, reminding one of the French flag, but differing from it in this respect, that its central compartment is yellow, where that of France is white. The interior of Charing Cross railway terminus, at the advent of the Sultan, was quite a spectacle, beautifully decorated as it was with shrubs, and flowers, and red cloth, with the monotony of its colour relieved by glittering crescents and stars. Outside, among the numbers numberless that stood around, might be dis

"Charge" of the Bishop of Ossory, 1866. Macmillan.

Visits of the Sultan and Viceroy.

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cerned Mussulmans in as thoroughly oriental dresses as any that could be seen at Grand Cairo or Aurungabad, who had crept forth from their ordinary lurking-places to witness the reception given to the head of their faith. For more than a week thereafter, it appeared as if London were keeping high festival, and had turned all its great talent for business. in the direction of joy and festivity. They have gone those visitors now, one and all of them, carrying, we hope, and really believe, favourable impressions of this country to their respective lands. As is natural, public attention will for some time be turned to the affairs of the regions whence they came, and specially to Turkey, whose history has at all times been of world-wide interest; and for whose sake, at a period comparatively recent, we waged a terrible war.

Even if the Sultan and the Viceroy had not thought of visiting our shores, the eastern question would still have forced itself anew on public notice, owing to the events which have, for so considerable a period, been transpiring in Candia. For a long time after the Crimean campaign terminated, the British mind, which had had quite a surfeit of Russian and Turkish affairs, would hear no more of the subject; and, to superficial observers, it might have appeared as if, notwithstanding all that had occurred, the great struggle would soon be as completely forgotten as an ordinary nine days' wonder, and would point a moral in regard to the transient influence of even the most Herculean efforts put forth by our race. But, when reflection is brought to bear on the subject, what stands prominently forth is not the vanity, but the exceeding importance, of man's affairs. There is an eternity about the consequences of human action; and though one, thoroughly fatigued by the length of time a great historic drama may have occupied in enacting, may for a little banish the whole subject from his mind, yet, sooner or later, it will be sure to recur; the actors will again present themselves, and anew excite attention; and the topic, of which one wished to hear no more, will stand forth as fresh and fascinating in its interest as at the first.

It is the object of the present article to examine the religious bearings of the Eastern question, now again beginning to loom large; and if we find it difficult in all cases to disentangle the political from the religious element, and therefore feel it necessary, to a certain extent, to treat of both, happily the subject is one which does not much divide parties in England, and which, therefore, there is less impropriety in taking up as part of a missionary inquiry in a theological review.

It tends very much to clear the way for accurate reasoning, if one, in mathematical fashion, first define his terms. And oft is it found that, when he attempts to do so, he discovers that apparently simple words almost defy clear explanation. The late Sir Robert Peel is reported to have asked doubtfully, "What is a pound ?" on which the multitudes, who thought they knew, felt it very difficult to give an answer. The Times recently asked, "What is an average ?" and felt puzzled what reply to render. And when one wishes precisely to define the term Turkey, unexpected obstacles present themselves in his way. We have no doubt that some will sneer at the assertion; as, for example, that Londoner of prosaic mind whom, at the first coming of the Viceroy of Egypt, we observed to have hung out of his window a flag, with a representation of the bird called a turkey sewn upon it; but others will wait till they learn the nature of the doubt. It is with regard to the extent of the Turkish empire,-what countries formerly overrun by the Ottomans are to be considered as still belonging to it, and which are to be held as now entirely independent of its sway. A year or two ago a person sent a letter to the Times newspaper drawing attention to the enormous area which a geographical work of reputation which he had consulted assigned to the Turkish dominion, and asking some correspondent to explain to him the reason why. No notice was taken of his letter, on which he again came forward and repeated his inquiry, yet still all was in vain. The explanation sought so fruitlessly was really simple. Its principle should have been stated in some such language as this:-That just as the Papacy still considers itself to possess a claim upon every square mile of territory, of which the inhabitants at any previous period acknowledged allegiance to the "Successor of St Peter;" or just as in front of some Bibles we find "the Most High and Mighty Prince" James styled "by the grace of God King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland," though our temporary occupation of the north of France had centuries before come to an end; even so does Turkey claim as its own most of the territories conquered by the Ottomans, at the period when their warlike spirit was at the greatest, even though the inhabitants of those lands may have long since been successful in either wholly or partially achieving their independence. When France shewed a not unnatural jealousy of our establishing ourselves on the Isle of Perim, in the straits of Babel-Mandeb, suddenly a third party appeared upon the scene; in other words, Turkey, of whom no one had seriously thought in connection with a spot so far from Constantinople,

Statistics of Turkey.

31

intimated that the Isle of Perim really belonged to her. Some years previously a similar claim had been made with respect to Algeria, the French occupation of that part of northern Africa being regarded as an invasion of Turkish rights. In these circumstances there is the same difficulty in stating the precise area of Turkey as there is in estimating the dimensions of a cloud, which, defined enough in certain directions, in others shades gently away into the azure of the sky. We think geographers are right in giving Turkey a very extensive area; and no error will arise if it be remembered that while, in some provinces in or near the original seat of the Ottoman empire,-Asia Minor, its rule is substantial as a yoke of iron; in other places more remote from that centre, it is thin and impalpable as a summer cloud. In the new edition of Dr Keith Johnston's "Gazetteer,' revised to August 1864, from which we have taken a considerable portion of the statistics in this article, the area of Turkey is stated to be 1,834,669 square miles, that is, about the same as that of Russia in Europe, considerably more than that of all India, or about fifteen times that of Great Britain and Ireland. No wonder that the inquirer already spoken of was startled on encountering a half civilised. dominion of so portentous a magnitude. The population of this vast region is, comparatively speaking, but small, amounting only, by the census of 1844, to 37,430,000; that is, about the same as that of France, and only 7 millions more than that of Britain. A brief abstract of Dr Johnston's elaborate statistical table may be presented:

When these numbers come to be studied, the area of the empire ceases to present the very formidable aspect it did at first. Nearly one-third of it is taken up with the valley of the Nile, in which, if we except the Delta, there is little more than a narrow belt of vegetation along the river bank, with barren rocks and sands, relieved here and there by a solitary oasis; a territory, in short, which, though it may figure imposingly when its extent in square miles is stated, must yet be less important than it looks, inasmuch as only a limited portion of its wide expanse can be properly inhabited by man.

The geographer already quoted thus states the division according to creeds in European and Asiatic Turkey:

It will be perceived that this table is not taken from the same source as was the census, for it makes the population of European and Asiatic Turkey somewhat greater than did the statistics formerly given. Nor can the figures, even of the most careful and conscientious statist, be depended on with complete confidence, when the science to which he devotes himself has made so little progress as it has in Turkey up to the present time. It is needful, before proceeding further, to add the numbers professing the two creeds, now mentioned, in Egypt, the chief African possession of Turkey. There is a remarkable unanimity of opinion in regard to the number of the Copts in Egypt. It is generally stated at from 150,000 to 200,000, in other words, there are that number of native Egyptian Christians among perhaps 2,700,000 Mahomedans. Presuming that the numbers professing Christianity or Mahomedanism in the leading provinces of Turkey, are stated with at least a faint approach to accuracy, they lay the basis for a correct understanding of the probable religious future in store for Turkey. Let us pass in review the various races professing the two great antagonistic faiths.

And, first, let us glance at the Turkish race and history. Away in Central and Eastern Asia, ethnographers have long recognised the existence of a variety of mankind to which the name of Mongolian or Turanian has been applied. The Chinese belong to it; so do the Tartars, the low castes of India, and many other nations or tribes. Though the Turks