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McKINNEY, Editor and Proprietor.
-IN ADVANCE.
Originalc c upttetrg.
To a Pastor.
My kind find much loved pastor,
I often think of thee,
With kindness and affection,
For interest took in me.
When I was going to ruin,
A. message came from God,
'You were the honored bearer,
You brought the holy Word
ion told me of my danger,
Exposed to wrath of God,
Yon pointed to that Saviour
That cleanses in his blood.
For n while I'd take no warning,
Led by my pervese will,
I Bought with earth's false pleasures
My unhappy BDUI to till.
But God, in tender mercy,
His Spirit sent to me;
He heard the Saviour's pleadings,
He remembered Calvary.
He brought me to that Saviour
That shod his precious blood,
To ransom rebel sinners,
And reconcile to God.
Your hand applied the water,
As ordered by his Word,
And I received baptism,
And the supper of the Lord.
May God, in tender mercy,
Reward you for your word,
May you and I in heaven
Sing praises to the Lord.
For the Presbyterian Banner and Advocate
Hints on Sabbath Schools.
NO, 11.
have already shown that Sabbath
)Is, properly understood, sustain a most
:tent relation to the Baptismal Cove
and furnish, in the hands of the
mh, a most eligible facility for church
ling according to the duties assumed by
membership toward the children of the
lnant. We have shown that such a
of this institution, points to something
,or than the chance, haphazard way of
lath School instruction, as commonly.
dsed; and to something higher than
voluntary system of operating in this
irtment; that it demands the special
ration and oversight of Pastors and El
1, as an Institution of the. Church.
Vhile, as a de domination, we have made
fable efforts in the direction of Parochial
ools, on this principle of Church oblige
t to the children of the Covenant, we
'e paid too little 'regard to the officering
management of this weekly school,
ich alri ady belongs to the• Church. And
haps according to the common tendency
!neglecting the means at hand to look al
something out of reach, we have failed
keep before the churches the immense
eney to be employed and elevated in the
iekly church instruction of our youth.
A. us propound
A FEW QUESTIONS.
How far is the instruction of the Sabbath
lhool looked after and directed by the
iritual officers of the Church ? How far
the study and exposition of the Catechism
Tied on under well-selected instructors?
iw far are the Library.books examined
11 by competent persons, before they are
iwed to go into circulation among the
ldren and families of the Church? How
do the Parents concern themselves to
w who are the teachers of their chil
i in the Sabbath School, as they would
tire and care who are their teachers in
school ? How far is the unappropriated
it of the churches brought out in this
trtment ? or is it only the less competent
are the teachers, while the more intel
it hold back ?
give my testimony that in a twelve
3, pastorate, the enterprising, pious part
oe membership, wit,. would always be
id at the prayer-meetings, and ready for
.y good work, were the same persons as
e found working in the Sabbath School.
I many a one who should have divided
labor with these, held back. So it of
happens with the good in this world,
"he more they will, the more they may."
t the duty of the membership ought to
set forth in this respect. And if they
old be made to see bow a duty here
rings out of the Covenant relation, they
mold be brought to a share in this work,
lie& would also interest them more in the.
ptized children of the Church. Why is
that so often the pastor finds his young
ople growing up outside of the Church,
ing over to other denominations, utterly
norant of the doctrine and polity of the
march, so far as proving or defending it is
Incerned ? Doubtless, because the Church
cars bi.ve failed to lay earnest and effec
e plans for their thorough instruction :
RST, By inquiring into the practice of
e Parents in regard to the Catechetical
in
ruction of their Children at home, and
FAT, by seeihy to it that the parental la
yrs shall be aided and supplemented by the
ithful tuition of the Church. Our Gen
ral Assembly has within the left two
'ears, recognized the Sabbath School Insti
ution, by furnishing a column for the eta
,istios, so far as the number of children in
Sabbath Schools is concerned. They have
also recognised it as something to be pro-
vided for by suitable issues of the Board of
Publication But, can nothing more be
done ? Is it not a great department of our
educational system,? Might it not even
pertain to the Board of Education to take
this matter in hand ? May it not even de
serve their best attention and effort along
with the Parochial School, and'the Synodical
College, and the Theological Seminary ?
Who is responsible for the important corps
of teachers in the numerous Sabbath
Schools of our Church ? and does the sub
stance or the method of their teaching suf
ficiently engage the chief bureaus of our
Home Department ? Blessed be God, that
in some well-conducted Sabbath Schools we
find the Covenant promise constantly illus
trated in a steady stream of accessions to
the Church from this,_ that is properly THE
NURSERY Or Tut UHURCII, where they
spring up as Willows by the water courses;
and many came forward, (as if naturally,)
to subscribe with their names—"to Jehovah,"
"thc Lord's."
We are promised from the Princeton .Re
view of this month, some startling disclo
sures us to '" the neglect of Infant Baptism."
But it is probably , not as bad as would seem
from the very minty and defective Reports
in this department, and from other reasons
that might be named. Bat doubtless where
a single screw is loose, a wheel may be in
poor running order, or even more than one.
Let the Church awake to this mighty agency
in her bands; and now, when secular teach
ing is more and more godless, let her use this
grand apparatus to the best account.
A remarkable debate on this subject has
lately sprung up in " the Free Presbytery
of Edinburgh,"in which such men as Drs.
Begg, Hetherington, 'Burns ; and Elders
Nisbet, Balfour, Milroy, and others, took
part.
A hint of it may be gathered from a pas
sage of the late lamented Hugh Miller,
which was quoted by Dr. Russell, as follows :
' " There was a Sabbath class taught iii the
Parish church at the time, by one of the
Elders. But Sabbath Schools my uncles
regarded as merely compensatory institu
tions, highly creditable to the teachers ; but
very discreditable, indeed, to the parents
and relations of the taught; and so they, of
course, never thought of sending us there."
We shall refer, in our next, to this de
bate, and to the Overture to the General
Assembly adopted by that Presbyters, :T.
.
Fc%the Presbyterian Banner and Advocate
Relieion;
OA, LETTERS TO A FRIEND ON THE AOCTRINEB AND
DUTIES OF THE BIBLE.
Letter V.—Answer to a Letter
Look unto me."—lsA. xlv : 22
E.
MY DEAR FRIEND :—Yours is just re
ceived. I thank you for the freedom with
which you have written. Write to me
often, even if it be but little at a time. It
will be gratifying to me; and it may also be
some relief to you in your loneliness. But
as you are weak, do not try to write much
at once. It may weary you. Better to write
little, and often.
No doubt it is "the will of God" that
you should "be confined at home, and sep
arated from your companions," at present;
and you "must try to be resigned." Re
member that God does all things well ; what
he does is right and best. I have do doubt
it is " truly a great trial for you to be de
prived of going to the house of God ;" but
even in this, be submissive to his blessed
will. You can read the Bible at home, and
make good books your companions; and a
throne of grace is accessible to you. Henci3,
solitude may be cheerful and pleasant.
Though alone, you are not alone I
My child, you are not "without. God in
the world ;" you believe that he is ; you
know and believe in his existence, person
ality, and perfections ; ,and you acknowledge
him as your lawgi;tcr. 7 —' Ise. xxxiii : 22.
You may be as yet '4ety, " without "
sensible interest in " Christ, and without
hope in the world ;" and you ask
whether it is "because you have not'
come, as his Word directs, in faith, be
lieving that he is able to do all things !"
And you pray, " May God take from me
this heart of unbelief, and give me one of
faith." Now, remember, Christ is both
able and willing to save ; he is ready to re
ceive you; and he invites you to come to
him just as you are, and to come now, say
ing, " Look unto me and be saved."—lsa.
xlv : 22. I fear you are waiting to make
yourself better—waiting till you have faith
before you come. This is all wrong; it is
entirely wrong. In this way you may wait
for ever and perish. Coming to Christ is
believing; I say coming is believing; and
you may come now, may come just as you
are ; and thus coming, you may have
" hope."
Let me here give you an extract from one
of Dr. Spencer's
sermons : " One poor sin
ner, now I trust redeemed, said to me lately,
I never knew, till you told me, that I
might fly to Christ now, and just as I am.
That amazed me. I was such a stranger to
him. You told me to give God my heart
just as it is. That surprised me. I thought
you did not know me. Fly to Christ just as
lam ? To Christ now ? Such a stranger
to him? Give God my heart just as it is?
I had never thought anything about Christ
He had always been last in my thoughts, as
one to resort to after I was religions; and fly
to him first ? Fly to him now ? Stop try
ing, and he do all? Impossible 1 You did
not understand me l My powers seemed
stunned ! It was entirely new truth to me!'
So she thought then. But she has learned
better now. Before she believed, she says,
cannot describe my ineffectual efforts to
grope and feel after Christ, through thick
darkness. I could not find him. I could
only cry, Jesus, Master, have mercy on me,
and ask him to take, my heart, for I could
not give it to him, and make it for me what
I could not make it myself. I never knew
the promises were for me, until you told me.
I thought they were not for me.' Not for
you!' said I; 'it is the lie of the devil !
They are for you, if you want them. It is
the very act of faith to take them, and trust
Christ to do all he, has said.' "
Yes, my friend, Christ is for you, if you
want him; his promises are for you, if you
want them. Christ offers himself to you
now; he premises to receive you now, if
you come to him ; take Christ at his word,
yes, take Christ at his word ! Believe his
promises; and trust in him to do for you
all that he has said—to take away your sins,
cleanse your heart, and save your soul !
Yes, take Christ at his word, and trust in
him for salvation ; trust in him for time and
for eternity. Read Lea. lxv., Act xvi., and
2. Cor. v. Hoping to hear from you again
soon, I remain, as ever,
YOUR FRIEND.
OREDIENCE.—God allows many things to
remain mysterious, partly, I believe, that be
may in this way test the obedience of our
minds ; for he requires 'obedience of mind
from us, as much as he does obedience in
action.
IN contests among men, the party doing
the most wrong is commonly harder to be
reconciled than he who has suffered the most
wrong. The reason is, he has a quarrel
with himself, which makes him doubly
irritable.
PUBLICATION OFFICE, GAZETTE BUILDING, FIFTICSTREET, ABOVE SMITHFIELD, PITTSBURGH, PA.
FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7,1857.
Western Correspondence.
D. WKINNEY :—ln two or three of my
last letters I have called the attention of
your readers to the important subject of edu
cation in the West, in connexion with our
Church. 1 wish still further to notice it,
although it may subject me to the charge of
baying chosen that as my speciality. Be
lieving, however, as I do, that, if not now,
within a few years every lover of our Zion
will be prepared, with me, to say this is one
of the most important, yet most neglected,
of our duties as a Church, I venture still
to present the matter for their consideration.
I have endeavored to submit to your readers
two propositions. Ist. The Institutions we
now have, or which are now projected,
should be fully and immediately endowed,
and that, too, by the encouragement and co
' operation of 'Eastern friends of our Church;
and 2d, New Institutions should be project
ed in the rapidly growing States and Terri
tories, if we would not see others do the
work which is confessedly a part of our duty
as a Church, and for the discharge of which
God has manifestly given us some peculiar
qualifications. The first of these proposi
tions I discussed in my last, and presented
some thoughts which I trust may not be re
garded as unnecessary. I desire in this,
briefly to make some suggestions regarding
the second.
There can be no question, there is no
question among us here in the West, that
the very best time to move in educational
matters is while the country is yet new, be
fore it has filled up—almost before anything
else is done. This, by , our friends in the
East, way be regarded as a utopian theory—an
idea so thoroughly "Young American" as to
be utterly unworthy a moment's thought.
Let them not, however, turn away too hastily.
Let two facts be considered. Ist. The en
tire experience of educationalists in the
West has proved that it is almostimpossible
to commence these enterprises too early; and
2d, that all thoQe Institutions which have
been late in starting, require a far larger
amount of absolute endowment, and strug
gle with, difficulties which to the others
are unknown. Permit me to explain these
two facts ; for in that explanation will be
found the reason for an immediate awaken
ing of our Ciurch to her duties in this
matter.
It is almost impossible to begin the work
of founding colleges and institutions of
learning in the Western country too early,
from the fact that the population increases
so rapidly that before you are aware almost,
a demand exists for them. I have not at
present the means of ascertaining the num
ber of inhabitants in the State of Illinois when
the College at Jacksonville was founded,
bat I venture the assertion that it could not
have been more than a few thousands, and
those principally confined to the Eastern
portions of the State. 6o far as
,inhabitants
were concerned, both it and the InstitutioeL
at Galesburg were planted in the - Wilder
ness; yet how long was it before, by an ac
cession of the teeming thousands to the
population of the country, they were abso
lutely demanded Whilst Old SChool
Presbyterians were waiting for the country
to fill up, their brethren of other Churches
were doing their work, and now Old School
Presbyterians have not a college in the
State. Our Institution at M'Comb forms no
exception to this remark, for it cannot be
said ever to have been established, in the
proper meaning of that term. The colleges
which were projectedd, here at a very early
day, and sustained as they should have been,
are now the Institutions which arc found
resting upon a firm basis, prosperous, and
doing the higher work of education for the
State; Whilst Old School Presbyterians, and
those who acted upon a similar policy, are
just now laboring to build their Institutions
beneath the shadows of these, met perhaps
at every turn with the discouraging remark,
" You are not needed." •
The fact that colleges founded late in the
history of our States require a larger amount
of actual endowment than those established
early, is easily - understood. Ten thousand
dollars, or twenty thousand, invested as,
funds can be, in the early settlement of the
country, give to the Institution so favored, a
very large endowment of the most valuable
character, when it comes to need such an
endowment. Galesburg invested in lands,
fifteen or twenty years ago, a few thousand
dollars, not, perhaps, to exceed fifteen or
twenty thousand : and she can now boast of
an endowment of from three to four hun
dred thousand dollars, and this so invested
as to be rapidly rising in value, promising
to make her in time one of the wealthiest
Institutions in the land. Let funds be
raised by the enlightened friends of educa
tion in our Church, to be invested in Min
nesota, in Western lowa, in Kansas, in Ne
braska—wherever there is an opening, and
a prospect of futare growth. Let Institu
tions be established and sustained for the
first few years by foreign aid,, and a few
years will show the wisdom of our course.
This whole matter might be entrusted to
our excellent and efficient Board of Educa
tion. . Calls might be made for twenty
thousand dollars for each of the newer
Statesaand for each of the Territories of the
Union, to be invested to aid ultimately some
Institutions which should be at once char
tered, if possible, and put into operation, and
sustained. In an almost incredible short
space of time it would be seen that the In
stitution 'was needed. It would attract
around it a population of its own, and would
begin to send forth its benign influence.
The country, the Church would' feel its
power, and unborn generations would arise
to bless the projectors of so wise a policy.
Such an Institution would not long depend
upon the bounty of its founders. Five,
eight or ten years might see it leaning upon
their friendly arms for support; but its
funds by the rise of lands would soon prove
sufficient for all its wants, and it could in
turn impart of its surplus to aid in planting
new Institutions in the still rising republics
of the West. 'This is 'actually being done
already, by some colleges founded here upon
the plan I designate.
Mr. Editor, I propose these plans with
diffidence, inasmuch as so much is said
about the West, and so many pleas put in
for her by persons having their various
schemes to further, by appeals to Eastern
Christians. I am, however, sustained by a
consciousness, that I have but one object in
.view—the glory of , God. I would stimulate
to duty the beloved Church with which we
,are both connected.- God -is here giving us
a nobleefield-of labor and usefulness. Let
us not be negligent of I duty. I perceive by i
this week's papers, that the citizens of Law
rence, K. T., have resolved upon having a
College for that neirlerritory, and have
decided upon Lameßip - as the place. Let
none of our conierva te friends say they
are premature in thei action. We live in
a fast age; and in thi country, what we do
must be done quicki ,' . The Old School
Presbyterian Church', 'Mild to-day have a
College located in th Territory ; and not
less than $20,000 sh d. now be invested
there, as the foundati of a noble endow-
meat. Who' will do he work ? What
wealthy church, or 43 ps of individuals in.;
New
New York, Philadelp ' ,:or Pittaburgh will
give the funds, and do work which cannot
be done, however mire e may wish it,i ten
years, or even five Y a hence ? Then -1
others will have the g d:': .We may then I
feel the need of .an.l tp,tion; hut it will
require not lesEl than- 00;f0.69to„do what')
I
now can be done with:: that, sum.
But this matter, muti lie dropped for the
present.
I see by the organs -. f r the M. E. Church,
that at the meeting o the General Confer
ence the past year, a° h was taken defining
the relation of bap d
_children to the
Church, and prescribing the manner in
which they are to be, treated. In the main,
the action is the same_ .taken by our own
Church in years past. ~ I t seems to me that
this awakening of Oktothes to this subject
augurs good to the futte generations of our
people. One of the Most prolific sources of
vice, irreligion, and crime in this and in
other countries, is the fneglect of the moral
and religious training of the young. They
might 'with justice briitg against thtise who
should look after theittinterests, the charge,
"" No man careth for our souls.", Let, how
ever, all Pedobaptist Oliurches heartily unite
in caring for them, watching over them, and
guarding them from temptations, so far as
man can. do; and tliiiii' accusation will no.
longer ,apply to this Wench of the'Chnrch
of Christ. Whilst wo, 7 tio doubt, are guilty
here in the West of aping many of the fol
lies of Eastern cities, and fall into many of
the old ways of corruption adopted by them,
it cannot be denied that we are imitating
them in much that is good, and most praise
worthy. -I may, from-time to time, refer to
some of the things in Western towns, in
which we do,- both that which-.is good and
also that which is evil, in imitation of our
older ensamplers upon-' the sea-board. In
concluding this letter, ,-I will mention but
one. The West is beginning to publish her
own books. Time wastwhen New York, or
Boston, or Philadelphia did everything of
this kind for us; but now our weeklies and
dailies come to us with their regular, adver;
tisements of books, good and bad, , pnblished
by houses in Chicago, St. Louis, Galena,
and Milwaukie. • So may it be. Only give
us good books—books ! imbued with, the
spirit of the Bible---and we will rejoice that
•" , of-makinganary-boolkthere is-no end;"
and that the West has resolved to do her
own work in this regard.
We still continue to hear of revivals of
religion. The Churches blessed are Metho
dist, Baptist, Old and New School Presby
terian, and Congregational. Is there not
an increase of revivals this= year over other
years last past ? If so, is it not due in part,
at least, to the lull in the political world
sine:: the election, giving men time to turn
attention to the most important of all sub
jects ? May the Lord further the good
work. Yours, &c., NORTH-WEST.
From our London Correspondent.
Irish Presbyterian Almetnac—Portiaits—Nutiaber
of Ministers—,ltissione--Associate, Seceding, and
Covenanting Synods—Deathbed Reconciliation—
Establi?hed Church. of Scotland—Choplains in
• India—" English Synod" and Dr. Cumming—
Presbyterian Church in Holland—lrish Wit and
Royal Harriages,=Evangelism and the Bishop of
London—Dr: 11lonufeld and "Stone Broth"--
„AssassinatiOn of 'the' Archbishops :of ' Paris—
Prussia and Switzerland—The Conference=Lord
Napier, Ambassador to the United States—Testi
monial to Dr. Livingston—Particulars of the
Death of Hugh Hiller—His Career—ti arning
to Literary Men.
LONDON January 6, 1857.
An interesting publication, " M'Comb's
Presbyterian Almanac" for 1857, has just
been issued, which throws much light on the
presentconditionpf the Presbyterian Church
: inilreland. This Almanac has had a wide
circulation, especiallyin Ulster, fora series
of years, and has' been marked from its out
set by the industry and:the good taste of the
author of f‘ Lays of, the Sabbath." Each
issue has prefixed to ite title page alikeness
of some distinguished son of the Irish As
sembly. Thus the lineaments of Cooke,
Morgan, Edgar, and many others, including
Dr. James Glasgow, missionary in India,
and Rev. R. Allen, Superintendent of Home
Mi§SiODS and Schools in. Connaught, have
appeared in succession. This year we have
a portrait of Dr. Wilson, the present Mod
erator of Assembly, and Profesior, of Bibli
cal. Criticism in the Presbyterian College,
Belfast,
" Whose portrait, at a single glance,
Shows mind within, in far advance.
Look on his face and you'll descry
The critic's dark and searching eye.
He loves our Church, of banner blue,
He loves and can defend her, too."
So sings Mr. M'Comb, with truth for his
warrant. The allusion to Dr. Wilson as a
defender of his Church, has reference to
an attack made upon the Irish Presby
terians, a year or two since, by Mr.. Bright,
M. P. He is strictly opposed to their re
ception of Reghign. _Donlon from the State,
but, in his zeal, he made use of statistics
which had been furnished from a hostile
quarter, and Dr. Wilson handled him very
severely in consequence:
It is not improbable that in some years
the Royal Bounty may be withdrawn from
the Irish Presbyterians. The sgitation on
the subject has meanwhile been overruled
for good, and, as detailed in the first letter of
my weekly series, (written in July last,) vig
orous measures were resolved on by the last
Assembly, for the increase of stipend paid
to ministers.
But, returning to the "Presbyterian Al
manac," its editor gives us "A Series of the
most Chronological and Biographical Notices
in the History of the Irish Presbyterian
Church," and unites both rhyme and reason
in declaring :
tell of years of olden date,
Of men who braved a martyr's fate,
Of fields where once our sires did Plant,
The banner of the Covenant."
Besides these, we have an alphabetical list
of the ministers and'of their post-towns, in-
formation as to the Assembly's Home, For
eign and Jewish Missions; of Weather,
Time, Tides, Eclipses, Fairs, as well as
"Enigmas new, obscure, sublime,
For bards to solve in flowing rhyme ;
With many strange and wondrous cracks
Not found in other almanacs."
We find that the General Assembly on the
Ist of July, 1856, comprised thirty-seven
Presbyteries, five hundred and forty-two
ministers, and five hundred and twenty-six
congregations. It has two Clerks, six Fra
fessorslaf the Theological Faculty, six mis
sionaries to India, and four to the Jews.
The Home and Foreign Missions have
Honorary Secretaries, and a paid Secretary for
both. There is also a Colonial and Conti
aental Mission, an Incidental FUnd, Church
and Manse Fund. The Asiembly has also
a Law Adviser, a Solicitor, and an Agent
for Regis= Dot um. The number of li
eentiates,and of ordained ministers,--without
chargeti, is , seventiosven,a.prop,extion o mm t
paratively small. Probably. many Of. these
have been absorbed, FO to speak, since the
Asseinbly in July. The Colonial Mission
sends some of the most efficient licentiates
to Canada and Australia.
M'Cowb's Almanac furnishes accurate in
formation with regard to other Presbyterian
bodies in Ireland, besides the General As
sembly. There is the " Associate Presby
tery of Ireland," which consists of six min
isters and five small congregations. This
originated in a dispute with the old Seces
sion Synod, early in the present century,• by
a Mr. Bryce, on the subject of the accept
ance of State support. There is also the
. so-called "Seceding Synod of Ireland,"
another small body, (having nine ministers
and congregations,) which refused to coalesce,
like their other brethren, with the Synod of
Ulster in the memorable and happy union
of 1840, which, like "the meeting of the
waters" in the "sweet vale of Avoca," of
which the Irish bard sings so sweetly, united
two separate streams into one noble, deep,
and majestic river, whose fertilizing volume
has blessed not Ireland only, but the world.
As in the United States, the Reformed
Presbyterians are broken up into two par
ties, the one adhering to the principles of
the " straitest sect," and thoroughly Came
ronian, called "the Reformed. Presbyterian
Synod of Ireland," and the other, of more
liberal tendencies, entitled the " Eastern
Reformed Presbyterian Synod." The latter
is much the smaller body. It has six min
isters and eight congregations. The former
numbers twenty-four-ministers, and twenty
seven congregations. For both I cherish
great respect. They were long witness
bearers for the "truth," when, in Ulster, it
" had fallen In the streets," and by its social
prayer-meetings,its strict discipline, and its
able and well educated ministry, has been a
blessing to very many. The differences in
principle which led to a separation, still re
main. The controversy between Dr. Paul, of
Carrickferges, on the liberal side, and Dr.
Houston,' on the -Old School Covenant
ing side, was very keen. But 'while Paul
was a most formidable and unsparing op
ponent as a writer, his hears was full of
kindness; and nothing could be more beau
tifully illustrative of the man's character, or
more honorable to the memory of the dead,
or the character of the living, than to find
the good man sending for Houston in his
last hours, and after they had conversed and
prayed together, bidding him an affectionate
farewell, in the blessed hone of meeting,
ere long, without a = shadow of difference,
and seeing eye to eye, in the land where
love reigns eternally.
Turning away, for the present, from Ire
land, let me say a few words about Presby
terianism inother (wafters.
As to the ESTABLISHED CHURCH or
SCOTLAND, it appears that gross partiality
has been shown, by the British government,
in reference to the appointment of Chap
labs in India. In the three Presidencies,
the, Church of Scotland has only six Chap
while the Church of England has one
hundred and twenty ! It Is no wonder that
the last'General Assembly complained of
this in a memorial to uovernment, The
Scotch intellect is seen everywhere among
the influences which give dominance to
England in India. In the Army, in 'the
Council Chamber, in the person of the late
Governor General, (Lord Dalhousie,) in
Judges and Magistrates, old Caledonia as
serts her claims bravely and _successfully.
As to Chaplains, I believe the present race
will be superior to those of the olden time,
when thorough "Moderates," such as Dt.
Bryce, (who came home to support patron
age "through thick and thin,") were the
nominal representatives of Scottish Evan
gelism. Some of these men were either
opposed, or indifferent to the work of Mis
sions !
As to the party in England connected
with the Scottish Establishment, it is
extremely small. Tfiere are three or, four
concregations In London, Dr. Cumming's
alone large and prosperous. There is one,
"°a shadow," in Manchester; another, a
skeleton, at Liverpool. There are several
others in the North, the religuice of those
Free Church sympathizers (English Pres
byterians) who, on points of law, as at Ber
wick-on-Tweed, were hustled out of the
churches where their fathers had wor
shipped. Doctor Cumming stated to the
last, General Assembly at Edinburgh, that a
meeting of the Synod to which he belonged
had been lately held in Liverpool, and that
the attendance was "unusually numerous?'
As to this " Synod," it might be called a
" Presbytery" but that its " diVecta mem
bra " are scattered over a wide space. I have
heard of such a body being constituted a
few years ago, but' question if a list of it
has ever been published. The truth is, that
" an attendance unusually numerous" means
very little, and that Doctor Cumming is
very much'himself the Church of Scotland
in England, just as Bonaparte used to say,
"I am France !"
The Established lanzssrrEntArr CRIMOH
IN HOLLAND - seems At present very much in
the same state in which the Synod of Ulster
was about the end of the last century. It
has a Calviuistio Confession, as you are
aware, and the people, generally, are favora
ble to orthodoxy; but - a cold Neology has
taken possession of Many of the pulpits, and
much apathy prevails on the subject of re
ligion. The Neologians have much ecclesi
astical power, and have resisted attempts to
enforce ufidelitY' to their professed creed by
, ministers. Still, a revival has begun. Let
us pray that ,it may grow mightily, and
prevail.
An Irish Presbyterian , writer, (Dr. Killen,
I believe,) with native humor says, in refer- .1
enee to a rumor that the heir apparent of
the kingdom of Holland is to be married tr:
to one of our Princesses : " This match is
quite to our mind, for we entertain a pro
found respect for the House of Orange ; and
we feel happy in the prospect of being able
to report from year to year, that the daughters
of Her Majesty are going over to Presby
terianism. At a time when so many
Countesses and •Duchesses are turning to
Popery, the Royal family will thus be an
example to be imitated by all the ladies of
the Court."
Charles IL used to Say, that "Presby
terianism was no religion for a gentletnan; '-
and certainly that was a high compliment to
it, viewed in the light of his polluted habits,
and measured by his rakish cavaliers and
courtiers: But here is a prediction, '(an
Irish prophecy,) that Presbyteiianism will
soon become...fashion : Wel iNe„tdmillisokel4
The Princess Royal lads the
Dr ; Krummacher,as the King's con
fidential friend, and as a Court preacher, will
tell her all that is in his full and honest
heart.
EVANGELICAL EPISCOPACY is making
such progress in England, that the Puritanic
element may, ere long, so override the
Prelatic, that, some approaches may be made
to that state of good , feeling, which Dr.
McCrie, in his Inaugural Lecture, so vividly
described, as having prevailed between the
English and Foreign Reformers. At all
events, let us thank God'for such good men
as the new Bishops. The Bishop of London,
in a sermon before the >ordination of. minis
ters in St. Paul's, on a recent Sabbath,
brought out thd Evangelical aspect of the
Christian ministry, as holding up the Saviour
before sinners,in contrast with " priestly"
and "Church" notions, with great faith
fulness and power. We have got .a better
man than Dr. Blomfield, in every respect.
The latter boasts of his churches built; but
he cannot appeal to many real ministers of
Christ put into them. The Examiner caus
tically calls that Bishop's churches, (for
which Archdeacon. Sinclair, and other syco
phants, have lately been beslavering him,)
"stone broth!" Certainly no nourishment
can be got from boiling a stone or a "stick
in the pulpit," either!
Touching the new Bishop of London, I
have to report what is known to a few, and
told to me some days ago by a pious Church
layman. Unlike his predecessors, he has
dealt very closely and affectionately whir
each of those candidates who were recently
ordained. He took them one by one apart,
and talked to them in a most earliest man
ner, as to personal piety, responsibilities, and
duties. He deals with them as a father,
and a friend, to whom they may always re
pair for counsel.
The ASSASSINATION OF THU BISHOP OF
PARIS, by the dagger of a priest, while en
gaged in giving the benediction froui the
altar steps, after a procession in honor of
St. Genevieve, has excited feelings of horror
all over Europe. The murderer had "been
suspended from his office; and it is said he
declared that his act was a protest against
the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.
By this, I presume, was meant,, that he had
been placed under interdict, and thus
avenged himself.
It is very remarkable, that this is the
second Archbishop of Paris who has been
murdered. The predecessor of the recent
* victim was M. D'Affre, who perished in at
tempting to Hiediate between an infuriated
mob,and the exasperated, soldiers, at the bar
ricades, In the revolution of 1848.
What minister of the Gospel, scripturally
enlightened, but must look with horror on a
man* thus cut off in the midst of an idol
atrous procession in honor of a dead woman,
who is constantly invoked as the patron
saint of Paris I I have been in the church
where her relics lie ; I have seen the 'de
graded devotees kneel before her tomb:; and
the little candles which, having first been
brought in contact with her bones,, were
then sold to the worshippers, and by these
lighted and left burning on her altar.
The crime is truly horrible. Had a
a Protestant been chargeable with it, what
denunciations should we have beard of
heretics and their faith ! It is said in one
account, that the assassin, as he plunged his
dagger into the side of his victim, ex
claimed, "No goddess !" He is believed
to be 'insane.
As to POLITICS, the quarrel between
Prussia and Switzerland will, ere long, be
arranged. The Conference at Paris is proba
bly meeting at the moment I write. England
and Austria object to the evacuation of the
Principalities,
and the leaving, by our fleet,
of the Black Sea, till the boundary line is
actually marked out and settled.
Lord Napier, a practised diplomatist, goes
as British Minister to Washington.
A meeting was held yesterday, the Lord
Mayor in the Chair, to raise a testimonial to
Doctor Livingston. The Bishop of London
was one of the speakers.
The DEATH OF HUGH MILLER, to which
I alluded in my last, continues to excite a
most painful interest. For some weeks pre
-
vim, his mind, overtasked by long-contin
ued and intense study, geye evidence of
disorder. He became the prey of false or
exaggerated alarms. He believed, - and
probably in this he was correct, that his mind
occasionally broke down.
The work on which he was engaged was,
The Testimony of the Rocks," on which
he put forth all his strength, intending it to
be, as it doubtless will prove, his magnatm
°pis. But it was the completion of this
that cost him his life. He fancied that his
Museum was in danger, and that an actual
attempt bad been made to enter it. To the
revolver he added a broad bladed dagger;
and at his bed head, was a Highland clay
more. He was seized with the idea that his
mind was hopelehsly diseased; and• at inter
valsehe feltus if a stiletto suddenly passed
through his brain. Then he imagined him
self to have been out aura% the 'night,
carried, or rather dragged for miles by an
irresistible power. He was also seized with
paroxysms, during which he became uncon
scious. "Last night,'! he said on one occa
sion, "_I felt as if I had been ridden by a
witch for ftfty miles, and rose far more
wearied in mind and body, than when I lay
down."
The physicians were consulted in the fore
noon of Monday, and found his pulse quiet,
but the tongue 014. They prettclibe e 4
continuance , of work, bed akeleiencecloCk
Philadelphia, 27 South Tenth Street, below Chestnut
By Mail, or at the Office, $1.50 per Year,
,PROSPECTUS.
Delivered in the City, 1.75
thinning the hair of the head, sponging with
a warm bath at bed time, &c. An hour or
two afterwards, the servant going into the
room, "another 'of the paroxysms`was upon
him. His face was such a picture'of horror,
that she shrink in _'terror from the
He flung himself on the sofa, and buried
his head as if in agony, into the cushion.
Again, - however,`the visionlitte& by, and
left - him - in perfect health." '
During the evening, spent quietly.with
his family, he read Cowper's " Castaway,"
and other pieces, for fore the pleasure :oViiia
children. He retired. to his room. There;
the paroxysm must have returned—the hor
rible trance; and, next morning, half dressed,
his body was fourid lifeless on the 'floor, the
feet upon 'the study rag, and the chest
pierced by the ball of the revolver pistol,
which was found lying in the bath close by.
On the table was .f. ,
to his..wife " • -
"Dectreet Lydia:---11y brain butns. I vthst
have walked ; and a fearful dream arises upon me.
I cannot bear the horrible thought. The God and
Father of the Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon
me. Dearest Lydia, dear children, farewell. My
brain burns as the.recolleotion grows. • My dear,
dear wife, farewell. Ilvalt,MxiALEn."
The press and the public have united in
lamentations over this great man—" the
greatest Scotchman alive, said Chalmers,
"after Sir Walter Scott's death." His
writings were ,alike graceful and powerful.
If any of your readers possess the first vol
ume of the North. British. Review, let them
turn to the first number, and they will find
an article from his.pen, on " Our Scottish
Fisheries," whioh is' a noble specimen of
his powers. AS a Christian Geologist, his
name will live forever. His "Old. Red
Sandstone" drew forth the intense admira
tion of men of science. Buckland, (who
died in an asylum for the insane,) heaped
eulogy upon him. Hie "Footprints of the
Creator"smashed, to use a strong expres
sion, the ."Vestiges of Creation," that in
sidious and plausible work, written, it is con
fidently believed, by one of , the brothers,
whose names will always be associated with
the .Edinburgh Journal.
" His very intellect," says the Witness,
" God's most precious gift, perished in the
great endeavor to harmonize the works and
Word of the Eternal."
But surely his death supplies a warning
to literary men against taxing the brain too
sternly. Fast living - ixnot confined to the
bottle and the,couvivialloarty. It is forined,
too, in the silent study, and, in the wasting
of " the. midnight, oil," Not here may we
think, and cogitate, and reSson, without a
pause ! W.
.14dt:' .. ....* : _ftiatti##$ :
WoE to him who takes up with the fame
of godliness, instead of godliness. ~
EVERY home on earth should be a mina,
tore of heaven.
THERE are few but are sometimes in a
serious fit; but howlew are in serious frame,
and, have an abiding sense of God upon
their hearts ?
IF you follow Satan, yen will find the
tempter prove a tormentor; if you follow
the Spirit, you will find the counselor prove
a comforter.—Ree. John Mason.
OUP. life is a .continual journey toward
the gravp, shorter or longer as God pleas,oth
and many times when we think ourselysts`far
from it, we may be just upon it. '
GOD attaches so much importance to,
,sal
vatima from sin, that in the present moral
constitution of the world, every Man is re
sponsible to him for the spiritual welfare of
his fellow-men. •
As lie who prayeth that he may not be
burned,'ind then rtinneth into the fire; so
is he that saith, " Lead me not into tempta
tion," and then, without neeessity,•subjects
his principles to trial.
LIOIIT IN GEKMANY.—The Univers, a
leading Romish paper in Paris, says :- 44 In
all the Catholic cities, of Germany, the stat
istical returns make it apparent that the num
ber of Protestanti ii increiSing in a fearful
manner." -
THE way of error and sin, is. always down
kill; and once in motion; - ,
~who can - tell
when and where it will 'stop? You You= trifle
with the . Sabbath to-day; to morrow you
profane it. To-day you take a glass to
gratify a friend; to-morrow you may take
one to gratify yourself. You no* enduie
bad company; you will Soon choose it;
so true is it, "They proceed from evil to
evil."
INNOCENOE.—The conduct of innocence
is chasacterized by a remarkable abstinence
froni - eitiaii*ant exculpation, or from ob
durateindifference. Its element is simple
truth, ,and„as : if aware,that no other support
is needed in its hour,oftrial than the firm
column 'of the upright conscience, it exhib
its calumessAltrorighoutall, undisturbed by,
the vacillationa of guilt er passion'.
BFAIITIFUL SililTrki.ENT.---ThiS little
poems worth reading and worth . keeping
is a voice within me,
• And it is so sweet a voice,
That its soft lispings win me,
Till tears start to mine eyes.
Deep from my Soul it springeth,
Like hidden - melodY;
And'everinorelt singeth
This sonpol songs to me t
This worldis
_full of beauty,,
• As other worlds above
And if we did our duty,
It might le full of love r
CONTRIBUTIONS to FOTO ,
ATMingo
Orthodox Churches in Boston, in 1856.
Esse* Street Church, $5,592.54; Mt. Ver
non Church, $5,299 ; Park Street Church,
$3,644.58; Old South Church, $3,502;
Central Church, $3,052.73; Bodowin. Street
Church, $2,184.97 ; Salem Street Church,
$1,003; Sha.wmut Church, $965.19;
Chirch, $509; *Pine Street Church $500.48.;
Mair Mick Church, $465.52; United)Menth
ly Conceri, $386:74; Penitent. .
Romide Re
fugef . ; $12,; Miscellaneonn, , $124.06; -Con
tributions to _kerning Star' $1,147.21 • In-
individuals toward dOb,t, $5,060. Total,
133;449`02..
041 228