worship in Dundee, all of them, we believe, well attended. The Independents have three; the congregation of the late Dr. Russell being a host in itself. There are also Baptists, &c.

EDINBURGH.-The following is a general view of the average attendance at the various places of worship in the capital:

I. ESTABLISHED CHURCH.

From the report of the Religious Instruction Commission, in 1836, it was ascertained that there were seats let in the churches of the city to the number of 11,503; and, according to the same returns, the attendance in these churches amounted to 13,401. By the return of the Town Council, March 1848, the number let is reduced to (including hospital sittings) 6,010; and adding for Greenside and St. John's 1,279, the number is 7,289; which, on the same proportion which the sittings in 1836 bore to the attendance, will give of attendance now 8,448.

Besides these churches, there are others connected with the Establishment in Cannongate and Westchurch parishes which, by the returns to the Commissioners, contained let sittings to the amount of 6,817, and were attended by 8,100. Assuming that the sittings and attendance in these are one-third less now than in 1836, which is a very moderate supposition, there will now be in them 4,545 let sittings, and an attendance of 5,400, making the total attendance in the Established churches 13,848.

II. DISSENTING CHURCHES.

1. Free-church.

Of this religious body the Religious Instruction Commission gives no information, it having reported years before the disruption. But a statement of the numbers of the sitters in these churches has been obtained, which is equivalent to the attendance in the others, and gives us the total 19,001.

* See Lefevre's Report on the Annuity Tax, p. 95.

2. The United Presbyterian Church.

The churches belonging to this body were found in 1836 to be attended by 14,000, and to have 12,698 sittings let.

Parties having an intimate knowledge of the present state of these churches know that some increase has taken place, but it will be assumed at the same figure.

3. Episcopalians.

The seats let in them in 1836 were reported at 3,332, and the attendance 3,100. One of these churches has been discontinued, but three new ones have been erected, and it is supposed the seats let may now be stated at 4,500, and the attendance at 4,200.

4. Other religious denominations.

These, including original Seceders, Congregationalists, Baptists, Jews, &c., were in 1836 ascertained to be attended by 8,180, and they may now, it is believed, be stated at the same number; giving as attendance in other churches than the Establishment, 45,381; while in the Establishment, as above, there are only 13,843; or considerably less than one-third, although more than one-fourth.

The above returns do not include Roman Catholics: their church attendance is not ascertained, and is not to be estimated on the same principles. Bishop Gillies returned the Roman Catholic population in 1836 at 14,000, and it will not now be less.

GLASGOW.-The following statement submitted to the Town Council on the 15th August of the present year (1850), regarding the Established churches of this city, will suffice, without further detail, to show how small a fraction of the people avail themselves of their services:

There are several quoad sacra churches in Glasgow, and the attendance on them is equally small. In the "Return of all Churches, commonly called Quoad Sacra' Churches, built by private subscription, and belonging to the Establishment," ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, 7th May, 1850, we find the following information respecting them :

Besides the above, and four more in the neighbourhood of the city, there are twenty-eight other quoad sacra churches within the bounds of the Presbytery, but from these no returns can be obtained.

PAISLEY.-The population here is 48,000. The number of parish-churches is four; but as one of them is situated in the New Town, and comprehends a country district, it is not included among the town churches. The sittings in these are, to a considerable extent, private property, and hence it is difficult accurately to estimate the attendance. The following statement may be regarded as near the truth:

Thus, out of 2,861 sittings set apart for the public generally, there are only 449 let. Even if we regard the whole of the private property in the light of let sittings, still we have only a total of 2,788, a trifle more than one-half of the entire Church accommodation.

The quoad sacra churches belonging to the Establishment in Paisley stand thus :-(See Parliamentary returns.)

Here things are still worse; accommodation for upwards of four thousand, and an attendance short of four hundred! So that, even if we allow for the Abbey parish church an attendance of 500, we find that the adherents of the Establishment in this town constitute but a small part of the population.

In Paisley there are six Free churches; six United Presbyterian churches; Baptists, Methodists, Roman Catholics, &c., who, it is calculated, comprehend fully three-fourths of the population.

The following are the sums raised by the Established and Free churches severally in this town for educational and missionary objects :

Thus the Free churches alone raise nearly four times more than the Established churches for educational and missionary objects; while, in addition, they raised during the past year no less than £4,751 8s. 4 d. for building and sustentation funds, and congregational purposes.

From the foregoing statistics three things evidently appear:-First, that the Kirk has suffered prodigiously in numbers and in character from the disruption. Secondly, that it is no longer entitled to call itself the Church of the people, not having more than, if so much as, one-third of the population adhering to it. And, finally, that the Church of Christ never thrives so well, nor does so much, as when left to its own resources, and the blessing of its Divine Head.

They

The population of the country no longer belongs to the Establishment, nor looks to it for spiritual supplies. Nor is this all. They are asking in earnest why it is that they, who are the majority of the nation, should be required to support the Church of the minority? The injustice of the thing is apparent, and to men in power it is becoming every day more embarrassing. cannot defend it; they do not pretend that it is their duty to endow truth, and frown upon error. They laugh at the idea of their being arbiters on questions of divinity. Expediency, if not justice, demands that, when they endow, it shall be the religion of the majority they prefer; and hence, with Presbytery endowed in Scotland, and Episcopacy in England, modern statesmen would, if they dared, endow Popery in Ireland.