He has no hope, because he has no sincere intention in the matter. It is well known that I never entered upon or threatened "legal proceedings," and the writer is not so weak as to believe that I would, by any thing he might say, be goaded into any such measures. He has no hope of pleasing me. Verily, I never expected or wished to be personally gratified by his adoption of my suggestions, I merely instanced some of the irregularities which had occurred, and were apparent to myself and others, and which by the bye, he never attempts to disprove or invalidate, except by a sneering quotation from my Letter, and a feigned and blustering allusion to some asserted "threat of legal proceedings," which he well knows I never contemplated, and which cannot be found in any part of my Letter, or in any part of my conduct from beginning to end. This pugnacious Treasurer's moral feeling is indeed of a curious kind, it deals in assertions without proof, and rises in wrath, when it should rise in argument; it fights with unhallowed weapons, and pleads the cause of what we must charitably suppose he believes to be truth, with the tongue nevertheless of misrepresentation and deceit. As Montesquieu observes in a similar case, "he is perpetually taking for granted the points in dispute, and as constantly substituting plausibilities for facts," making his own suppositions and fancied admissions stand in the place of arguments and proofs, and then on the faith of such a Babel-structure of false principles, drawing other suppositions, consequences, and false conclusions.

Here I may well suspend this unpleasant discussion of the sixth article of the Treasurer's Letter, and will proceed in my next to examine the remaining parts of it, containing, if possible, still more reprehensible and indefensible matter, than any thing which has preceded it.

I remain, etc.

G. D.

LETTER XI.

"What an absurdity it is to be dogmatical!

We naturally recoil from opinions that are thrust down our throats!"

DEAR SIR,

IF I could succeed in convincing myself that the affirmations of our Treasurer were verity and fact,-viz. That the official accounts of his Treasurership were the "principal business in hand,"-I might well be surprised at its quick dispatch in less than three lines of his Letter, as compared with the fifty or more of this prosy, inconclusive Epistle, which, with the able assistance, I guess, of V. P. Rowntree, he had drawn up on the occasion, to answer the purpose of misleading or preventing me from all further opposition to them or their subtle schemes, and as the readiest and least expensive mode they could hit upon. It could not, however, deceive me, knowing the sort of men I had to deal with; nor will it be likely to deceive others, who may not have had the same opportunity of knowing them as I have. As a general rule, it is much safer to judge of the intentions of men by their actions rather than their professions; and surely, if the matter of accounts was indeed the "principal business in hand," three evasive lines, or less, was but a slovenly notice of it; and all the other fifty, or more, quite a surplusage, and entirely irrelevant to this "principal business," must be considered rather a dexterous display of the inventive faculty of the writer.

In this temper and spirit, he ventures to give us another example of his logical skill and critical acumen, as follows:

7. "Granting, for a moment, that the Committee and a large and open Meeting of the Subscribers and others were ALL of them mistaken," etc.

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Observe, I pray you, the studied construction of this seemingly candid admission of the writer-only instead of "granting" read supposing; there is nothing in it real or substantial-it is purely hypothetical and visionary, being but for a moment." What follows? "That the Committee and a large and open Meeting of the Subscribers and others were all of them mistaken." This is evidently an allusion to the Exhibition at the Town-Hall, which has been before amply described, and its ludicrous effect fully descanted on in Letter II., and need not be repeated. "And that he and his RESPECTED FRIENDS' are right; but who those respected friends are, and in what TERRA INCOGNITA they may dwell, I cannot tell, but I have never yet had the pleasure of meeting with one of them." So, then, Mr. Treasurer is much inclined to doubt whether there are any "Respected Friends” out of his immediate connexion; or if there are any, then, whether your friend, the writer of this, has any "respected Friend," whom he can justly call his own. Some idea of this sort may possibly have given rise to the abrupt, not to say rude, and discourteous commencement of his Letter. Be this as it may, he adds, "in what unknown country they may dwell, he cannot tell, he has never yet had the pleasure of meeting with one of them." I doubt much whether such meeting would be mutually pleasant; or even, if he were told their respective names and residences, he would be likely to meet with a very welcome reception, if they were as well acquainted with, or had had as long experience of, the clique of Scarborough Quakers as I have. But independent of all this, the presumption of this vain-glorious sentiment may, I think, be fairly reckoned the acmé of his Quaker impertinence. No doubt, he and his colleague V. P. Rowntree may be considered wonderfully clever in a retreat, but not always so happy or successful in an attack; their arms are powerless and their

powder worthless, but then they "measure themselves by themselves;" and they need not be told that such as do so are not wise," however shrewd and amusing they may fancy themselves, or be thought of by others-proh pudor! I will only add a word more on this head; viz. That for every one of their " Respected Friends," whose written testimony of approval of their conduct they are able to produce, I think I might engage to produce at least half-a-dozen really "Respected Friends," and of long standing-many of them thirty, forty, or fifty years-who, having perused "The History and Mystery," have expressed a clear, full, and unequivocal commendation of its contents; indeed, I have heard of no dispassionate person who, on calm consideration of it, has yet found anything which can be gainsayed or disproved; and if there had been, no doubt it would have been replied to long ago.

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I have before alluded to the conduct of the truly "RESPECTED FRIENDS" of London and Tottenham in the management of their Lancasterian Schools; and in conclusion of these remarks on this Seventh Division of the Treasurer Stickney's Letter, I propose to state, in opposition to his hypothetical case, one of real and recent occurrence, and as an introduction to it. I will likewise suppose that I had been altogether mistaken in my views of the original constitution of the Society here, and could have produced no facts or original documents" in support of them; I will further suppose, that the Quaker body, with Vice-President Rowntree and Treasurer Stickney at their head, conld clearly substantiate such mistaken views, etc. Yet, if I really understood and intended only to lend the money, and not to give it, or if they chose to appropriate it in any other mode than that originally contemplated and settled; in either case I insist that, upon their own Quaker principles, I am justified in reclaiming my advance of money; and I am founded in that opinion by the following analogous instance. It occurred at York about two years ago, and was reported in "The Yorkshire Gazette of

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23d May 1840: the facts were simply these (omitting the political colouring of the editor) viz. :-Mr. Joseph Rowntree, a grocer there, and a brother of our V. P. Rowntree, also a grocer here, had been induced to subscribe 37. in aid of a General Subscription, raised at York, to celebrate the marriage of Queen Victoria-which he alleged he had paid on the faith of a certain resolution,' “that the subscription be laid out in provision tickets, to be given to the humbler classes, so as to enable them to rejoice with their families in a sober and orderly way, at their own houses." A respectable Committee was appointed to carry this "resolution" into effect, and subscriptions entered into accordingly. Mr. Joseph Rowntree heard, however, that some departure from the strict letter of the "resolution" was likely to take place, by the substitution of divers district meetings in that large city, for the entertainment of the humbler classes, in a frugal and cheerful manner, by admission tickets, and under the superintendence of the members of the Committee appointed for each district;-the alteration of the original plan, having, as appears, arisen entirely from the insufficiency of funds to carry out the first intention and "resolution." Mr. Joseph Rowntree, however, without much inquiry about the matter, felt disappointed, and immediately printed and circulated a hand-bill (a copy of which is given in the Gazette), very forcibly and rather furiously complaining of the alteration, and addressed his said hand-bill to the Secretary pro tempore. You will perceive therefore, that in this nice and exact adherence to rule, observed on this occasion by one of our native Scarborough Friends! how very inconsistently and insincerely his relatives and connexions here have been acting, in giving currency to an unsigned, unsanctioned resolution, as to our Scarborough School; and thus by a side wind endeavouring to get rid of the all-important one originally entered into. Mr. Joseph Rowntree, it seems, thought it right to complain, and with some uncalled for asperity of language, of the alteration of detail. The letter or hand-bill so printed and circulated, was immediately noticed by the