In 1768, Archdeacon Blackburne published Eon sider ations on the present State of the Controversy between the Protestants and Papists of Great. Britain and Ireland, particularly on the guest ion, how far the latter are entitled to toleration on Protestant principles." His against Popery manifests it ielfin most of the works which he produced ; _and it is certainly t6 be regretted, that, with all his be nevolence and liberality, he 'should have been too much disposed to assimilate the Catholics of his own with those of a very different age. It is, however, to be remarked, that Blackburne resided in a part of the country where they were numerous. and power ful ; and that he had witnessed some imprudent dis plays of their spirit, at a time when their hopes were animated by the first events of the rebellion in 1745.
Blackburne published many other tracts on theo logical subjects ; and, as he was always distinguished for the faithful discharge of his clerical duties, his life must have been spent in complete activity.. For the first twenty years of his ministry, he composed a new discourse whenever he officiated. His archdea conal visitations he endeavoured to render as' useful as possible, by plain and serious charges, delivered with' dignified earnestness ; and his annual appear: ance,generally attracted a large and respectable au.: ditory. In the year 1767, lie accepted the office of commissioner to the commissary of the archdeacon ry ; by virtue of whick he presided in the spiritual court at Richmond. By his integrity and know ledge, he restored to this court a respectability not always attached to ecclesiastical jurisdiction of his country ; and his merits were very handsomely recognized. by Mr Eden, now Lord Auckland, on his appointment to the commissariat. As the eccle siastical law had not previously formed a part of lzIs study, it has been mentioned as a proof of the vi gour of his understanding, that he should make such proficiency in it as to pronounce decisions which were seldom, if ever, reversed, on appeals to a higher. Court.
At an advanced period of life, lie formed the plan of writing copious memoirs of Martin' Luther ; but when he had proceeded so far as to collect a consi derable mass of materials, he relinquished his under. taking in order to commemorate the patriotism and philanthropy of a deceased friend. On the death of Thomas Hollis, he was induced by Mr Brand Hob. lis, , the friend and heir of .that gentleman, to corn. pile an account of his life. ,The Memoirs of.Thomas 'Mils, Esq., which were printed at London in •to, in the year ai•e usually bound in two volumes, but only one series of pages. The book was not originally published ; but, atter the death of Mr Brand Hollis; some copies have come into the mar. ket, and are sold at a high .price. Thomas Hollis was an English gentleman of considerable fortune, .sornzwhat eccentric perhaps in his character, but di stinguished by an ardent spirit of philanthropy. He did not himself aspire•to the fame of authorship ; but he was, liberally anxious to promote every lite scheme :of a. laudable tendency ; ,and, in parti.
cular, he expended considerable• sums ,in reprinting some of earlier English writers on politics.. Blackburne's Memoirs of his Life, form a very curi ous and entertaining production ; . and every-page breathes the manly and liberal spirit pf a ,genuine Whig. A,portion of this work was published in a separate form, the title of Remarks on John- • son's Life of Milton. Lond. 1780, small .8vo.
lgackburne was equally attached to the principles of civil and of religious freedom. He wrote several short pieces in favour of political liberty, which were inserted in the public prints ; and was a large contributor to a collection of letters and essays on this subject, published in 1774, in 3 vols. 8vo. He also appears as a correspondent in the excellent Mr Wyvill's Political Papers, vol. iii. p. 133.
When we recollect that the memoirs of Mr Hollis were finished in the 75th year of the author's age, the vigour of his mind will not fail to excite some degree of surprise ; but the death of his second son Thomas, a physician of rising eminence in the city of Durham, affected him so severely as to relax his ardour for all literary pursuits. His sight soon af terwards began to fail, and he was obliged to em ploy an amanuensis. The increasing infirmities of age did not, however, prevent him from performing the duties of his profession ; and it was on a visita tion circuit that he was seized with his last illness. He died at the parsonage house of Richmond on the 7th of August 1787, after he had completed the 82d year of his age. " Mr Blackburne,' says Dr Aikin, " was of an athletic make, and by constant temperance preserved great firmness of mind and body to the very last. His recluse mode of life gave him the appearance of much austerity ; but, with the few friends with whom he associated, he was cheerful and unreserved. In mixed conversation he never introduced his own speculative opinions, and experience had made him wary of answering any interrogatories on the subject." The same respec table author remarks, that his theological opinions did not so far deviate from those of the church of England as to throw him into the class of Socinians or Unitarians. He declared himself in confidence to be a moderate Calvinist ; and such a declaration might indeed have been anticipated from various passages sc his writings.• Some time before his death, he ex. plicitly asserted to his relation, the Rev. Mr Com ber, his belief in the divinity of Christ. It has been considered as a testimony of his general esteem for the established church, that he educated one of his sons for the clerical office.
The works of Blackburne are generally of an ex cellent tendency, and are always distinguished by their intelligence and vivacity. Few writers have discussed topics of theological controversy with equal decency and animation, and in a manner so entertain ing to the general reader. See Dr Aikin's General Biography, vol. ii. p. 173. (e)