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Tien. fri leave the city; and nothing was more does the same life perva tamp perriir.‘
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the living pastures grow;
within that heavenly home,
' sorrows never come.
false, deceitful friends,
eir friendship never ends;
bid my spirit come,
.ry—take me home.
Presbyterian Banner and Advocate. •
it Baptism.--No 3.
seceding Nos. we have shown
tptism of infants dates from the
,ge. Let us now see if it was
led by the practice of the Apes
cres. This, we doubt not, oan be
'pear from the record of their
sayings, from the instructions
red from the Saviour, and from
ct comprehension of the essential
f the Church of God under all
FAMILY BAPTISMS.
IGS of these holy men are re
:fly in the "Acts of the Apostles." .
.ed book gives us a brief history
rch, from A. D. 33 to A. D. 63.
ie thirty years, many thousands
must have submitted to baptism.
many of these are named or in
specified in the Acta of the .
There are the Ethiopian Eunuch,
is, Saul of Tarsus, Cornelius,
,he Jailer of Philippi—six. To
add Crispus of Corinth; for
iistorian, tells us that "Crispus,
ler of the synagogue, believed
with all his house, and many
titian s, hearinF, believed and
id;" Acts xviii : 8 ; It seems
al in this passage, that Crispus
ieving family, as' Well as the
ithians," submitted to the holy
Here, then, we have just seven'
named or specified in the Ada
ties, as having received baptism.
many of these seven oases are
; the whole family was baptized,
lead 7 In no less than four;
that of Cornelius, Lydia, the .
Crispus. What means this
of the seven only individuals
pecified in the record of baptiains,
whole families admitted to , that
Did the sacred writer mean "to
air average of these occurrences
in will deny it. The Spirit of
no doubt intended to make a
reksion on our minds, by a wise
facts. Four out of seven, then,
ken as about the proportion of
doh baptisms of whole families ,
Now how many individuals are
o Acts of the Apostles as con
istiaoity ? I have lying before
just forty.eight persons. Sup
eEe to have been baptized, the
f four in every seven will give
baptisms of entire families,
heads. And if the Apostles
cany as twelve thousand adults
thirty yea's, the same proper
near seven thousand family
resemble the doings of our
Area ? Have their missionaries
len, or to our frontier settlements,
ted any thing like a counterpart
of the Apostles? During the
hat the Baptist Church has ex
rth, have they ever produced a
:ven converts whose baptism is
tially related, and four of the
ized with their whole families?
low often do they baptize a whole
with its head? In one ease in
a hundred ?in a thousand No
w often they may have immersed
taking the several members
Thrent successive periods. Snohi
ot in point.
t, however, that there have been
n which they have baptized a 1
ly at one time; and such events
I do occur, are very apt to be
Iron l Maine to Georgia, as signal
Yet in most of these oases it
on inquiry, that the family con•
inly two or three, and those, per
t persons. Not so in the primitive
Iposties baptized large households.
essions, "all his house," "all
3e," and he and all his," inti
the families to which they are
ere of considerable size. Rarely
le such language with reference; to
or two children, without some
g word, as "all his little family.,,
APOSTOLIC RULE OP BAPTISM.
mother view of this subject. We
I that four out of the seven bap
ove specified, were- baptisms of
Jilies. But we must not overlook
that two of the seven,. Saul and
Dian Eunuch, were without fami
l9 to a third, Simon Magus, we
Id that he bad any. This much
that every one of the seven !he
ed as having a family, has than
tmily baptized. This is another
sod significant fact, leading to.this .
conclusion; That so far as the
'es whenever the Aposttes adminis 7
!ism to the head of a fam,zly, they
his whole family to that ordi-
Does this look like a Baptist Church?
imagine a more perfect contrast to
irm practice of all Baptist
can now readily account for tAto
Pressed with the diffienities of their
scheme, our opponents resort to the bold
assumption that the four baptized families
consisted exclusively of adult believers. As
though it were credible that in four ordi
nary, good sized household, there should not
be a single child, too young , to be baptized
on his own profession of faith ! Now I
have never beard 'of the Baptist brethren
ever admitting to baptism, children under
the age of nine or ten years, and, admissions
even at that tender age, are regarded by
'them as extraordinary, and of every ques
tionable propriety. And will they assume
that there are none below that age in four
ordinary families respectable for numbers ?
Let any one take an account of eight,
twelve, or sixteen of the nearest families in
his neighborhood, omitting those which
have fewer than four or five members be
sides the head, and he will find that in
every four such families, there will be, on
an average, six or seven children, quite too
young to be received into the Church on
profession.
Of the four baptized families , above
specified, that, of Crispus is described as
consiSting wholly of believers.. In, that
respect it stands alone among,all the house
holds baptized by the Apostle& 'Oar Baptist
friends indeed claim for
CLAJIABELLA.
that they too were all believing adults,
because we read that," he believed in God
with all his house ;" Acts xvi: 84. And it
is true that our EnOish version' seems, to
convey that idea, though, that could not
have been intended, by, the translators, for.
it is not in the original. They doubtless
meant the words, believing. in God, to, be
understood as though included in .a paren
thesis, thus : "and rejoiced (believing in
God) with all his house." The words of
the - 'original are, kai egalliasato panoiki,
pepisteukos to ,Theo • Literally, " and, .re
Joiced with'. all his house, he having,„be-„
lieved in .God;" -0r.." having believed,
God, he rejoiced with
,all his house,.f,' ; .,
This, so , far as I, know, is not disputed ,
by any respectable Baptist , writer. Our
opponents, however, tillage that since.,
the Jailer's family rejoiced with him, they
must all have been adults. But if so, then
the little children who rejoiced,inthe,ternzp,
pie, crying Hosanna to the ,Son of - David,
must have been adults too, though described
by our Lord as "babes and sucklinger
We learn from 2. Chronicles loud :14-16,
that children of " three years old and
upwards," entered into the house of the
Lord, and ate of the free will offerings with
their parents. And in Dent.. sly: 26, is,:
this injunction upon the parents : "and.
thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy
God; and thou shalt rejoice, thou and thine
household ? So also in Chapter ail.: ,7,
parents and households are commanded to
eat before the Lord and rejoice together.
Here, children of " three years old", are
%represented as rejoicing "before the , Lord,"
with their parents; which is rather more
than is affirmed of the Jailer's family.
Equally futile is the argument that the
Jailer's family consisted of adults, because
the Apostles spake the word "to all that
were in his house." For that is the very
language usually adopted when any one
addresses a congregation. We say, "
he
exhorted the whole assembly;" " he spoke
to all in the house." No rational man
infers from , such expressions that there are
no little children present in 'the congrega
tion. In Josh. viii 35, we learn that
"there .was not a word of all that:Moses
commanded, which Joshua read not before
all the congregation of Israel, with the
women and , the little ones." Among these
little ones there must have been thousands
who understood not a word of what was
read.
That a part of the assembly convened at
the house of Cornelius were adults, we
readily admit. But our opponents contend
that all his fetidly were of that class, be,
cause we read that he was "one that feared
God with his house."—Acts x : 2. But that
is no more than may be affirmed of any
household distinguished for piety, though
it may contain infants. It is usual in, such
cases. to say, "It is a God fearing family ;"
or, "They area very religious. family."
Nor indeed, can it be denied that children
of ;we or three years old, under propel;
training, do commonly become impresse4
with a salutary fear of God. When Josh*, ,
says, "as for me and my house, we will
serve the Lord," we do not conclude the/
his family was composed exclusively o
i
adults because no others are capable o
serving the Lord. Neither when we art
told that "all they that dwelt in' Lydda
and Baron turned.-to the Lord," do wc
argue that, these' cities were without infanti t
because infants Cannot turn to the Lard i ,
—Acts ix :35.
Nor can it avail our °pimento that " thr,
Holy Ghost fell on all them that, heard thc
Word," in the house of Cornelius. For the
same thing may. be Arai of any assembly,
`when there is , a remarkable out.pouring o*
tha.Spirit.! In such cases, bow often is it
said "the Spirit descended upon the whole
assembly." " The whole audience was deep
ly moved.",. Those who use this languag
never mean,to be understood as denying tha, ,
little children were present. Children of
three or four years old, may, to some ex
tent, share the emotions of a wiirshippink
assembly, though two young to make a pub
lie profession of religion. That Cornelia;
bad called together " his kinsmen and neat
friends;" and that these were a part of: th•
assembly on whom the Spirit . descended, , ii
plain enough. It is equally plain that be
had a, family of his own, AO I shall show. in
another place.
It :ib - next argued, that the family .
Lydia were all , adult believers, because tle
Apostles, When releasd from 'prison, "enter`
ed iutoherhouse," and when theyhad seen tit(
hrethrenitheyomuifortedlthel rand, -depitio
THE FAMILY 'OF THE JAILER _
THE FAMILY OF CORNZLIIIS.
TIM FAMILY OF INDIA
ed." Wonderful logic The Apostles saw
brethren at the house of Lydia ; therefore
all Lydia's family were believing adults I!
Is it possible that Paul, and Silas, and Luke,
and Timothy, were "many days" in Philippi,
and that Lydia's family, besides the Jailer,
were the only, converts made during their
stay ? What are we to think of a system
that requires so absurd a supposition to sup
port it ? Look at Paul's Epistle to the Phil
ippians, written at Rome. There it will be
seen that that Church was, from the first, a
flourishing One. Paul and Silas were about
to leave the city; and nothing was more
natural than "to hold a farewell-meeting at
the residence of the hospitable Lydia, where
Luke and Timothy. had still remained.
Here the two former delivered their parting
exhortations, in which they sought to com
fort and strengthen the , new converts, and
to, commend them to. God and the Word of
his grace. -
Luke, with his accustomed accuracy, des
ignates Lydia as the only believer in the
family, gf whose heart," says he, " the
Lord opened, that she attended unto the
things which were spoken of Paul." Not
one word does .he say about her family, till
he tells us that "she was baptized and her
household." The same caution is apparent
in his account of her kind invitation to
the Apostles; She desired those holy men,
to whoin, under God, she owed her conver
sion, to share her hospitality; and would
naturally urge every proper consideration
adapted to persuade them. If she could
have said, " We are all believers, therefore
come in and abide .with us," that is the
very plea; she would have urged. Instead of
this, she says, "If ye have judged ME to be
faithful, come into my house and abide
there."
A MODEL' MISSIONARY .REPORT
St. Luke's account of the first planting of
the Christian• Church may= be regarded as
an-inspired missionary report. In that re
port he mentions the baptism of four whole
families. Of one.of those families he relates
as an interesting fact, that they were all be
lievers. Of the other three he does not say
this; nor does he tell us any thing from
which we can fairly draw such an inference.
But he does tell us that they were all bap
tized. How far do reports of Baptist mis•
sionaries agree with that of the imspired
"Luke? If, St any time they have the eitraor
dinary good forfune to baptize a Whole fami
ly at once, do they ever fail to mention ex
pressly, that they were "all believers? We
need no more convincing 'proofs that the
Apostles were not Baptist missionaries.
AN OBJECTION ANSWERED
" But why,"' say our opponents, "did not
theinspired writer tell us in so many words,
that the apostles baptized infants?"'l an
swer: had , he done so, our good brethren
Would have exclaimed, 41 o . yes . ; metaphor=
real infants I babes in Christ, but still be ,
lieving adults I' l This is exactly what they
do say, when we press them with arguments
drawn from Christ's language„and conduct
toward little children. The sacred writer,
forseeing that all such language Would be
the subject of cavil, chose a different method
of conveying the truth, and one less. liable
to misconstruction. In his thirty years' his
tory of the Church, he mentions just
,seven
individual baptisms. Of these seven, four
were heads of considerable families, and
each one of the four, he tells us, was bap
tized with all his family. Nor can we find
in the record an account of one believing
head of a family, who was himself beptized„
unaccompanied with the express notice of the
baptism of his whole household. In this
manner the inspired, writer has commtinica
ted to us the belief and practice of the Aios
ties, in terms stronger, - and more' unequivo
cal, than if be had said in so many words,
The Apostles baptized infants..
L. N. D.
Narrative of the State of Religion in
the Presbyterian Church in the
United States.
The General Assembly of the Presby-:
terian Church in the United &States, met in
Lexington, Kentucky, to ! all under its care,
and supervisien, greeting:.
Of the One hundred and fifty Presbyteries
in organic connexion with this General.
Assembly, and entitled to representation in
its councils, one hundred and, ten have
furnished accounts; more or less fall and
specific, of the pregiess of their work
during the year closing with • their' Spring
meeting, and of the prospects with which
they enter upon another year of labor for
God and' humanity. These reports have
been submitted to careful examination, and
the aggregated results are hereby sent back
along the line of the widening battle-field.
The pulsations of spiritual life are here felt
flowing in from all parts of .this wide land,
and from distant continents. Nationalities
and races widely diverse are here repre
sented, and the . strong sympathies of a`
common faith, and love, and destiny,' low
out from here along all the avenues of
spiritual life, bearing vigor, and growth, 'and
health to the moat reMOte.eXt4Blll.leS. , This
that we address to you, therefore, is, not ,an
empty form, nora graceful, customary
ceremony, but a deliberate utterance of the
High Court of Jesus Christ, met and bear
' log rule, and taking oversight in his name.
It is intended to'carry down to all the ex
tremities the consciousness of the unity of
that life of the spirit of which the outward
unity embodied in this tieneral 'Assembly,
is the visible symbol. '
With singular uniformity; the opening
tones of the official statements from the
Presbyteries are of cheer and thanksgiving,
' and in most of the cases of exception, it
has been found, on examination, that the
difference was rather in the order -of:pre
sentatiOn, than in fact. - And the discour
agements and, obstadeß .to the work were
found to be rather the work to be done than
that which rendered it impossible to do
faithfully the
. proper work of the Church.
They are not so much evils in the Church,
and her organic workings, as evils without
the Church, which she is set to wrestle
with.
1. In a Church, covering so vast a field
of operations, it cannot be expected that ,
every part and subordinate organization
will ba alike prosperous, no more than we
can, expect every company and regiment of
‘a vast army to Neap) loss in *a: 'catepaign,
with pitched battles and skirmishes, and
sieges constantly going on. Th'e fortunes
of the'Church-mould . he naturally expiated
to vary fremuMassachusetts and the
ticfEltatesooverithe great sweep .of the Ceu.
goeth forth with them.
2. The special disc( .
stacles most generally ed are the
increasing use of int( eating drinks, the
spirit of speculation *ending from the
world to the ChurchM . and the want of
vigorous spiritual life,iii i the Church, mani
festing itself in the v,aripus forms of world
liness and neglect off ty. To these are
added in some cases ; tlywant of numbers,
both in members andAjpisterial laborers.
Intemperance is represented to be on the
increase in many as " stant portions of
the country, but ra .outside of than
within the Church, 'ipin herefore is a form
of evil for the Chad), tb address itself to
abate. The eager /166 be rich is awide
spread and increasing' I, but the Church
is set to teach men thiP(the use of wealth,
as of poverty. And tliti is, another form of
evil to which she niialiddress herielf in
earnest work. The want' of °deep, earnest
piety is an evil within:her own bosom which
can only be removed b4the 'spirit of prom
ise. If this great wank' o,niaole,up, all the
rest will be made up i their 'lime. The
ministry will be more ii merous and better
and more justly supported; churches will be
strengthened, houses= of worship will be
supplied, and the school bouse.and ,the col
lege will be found where
. they are needed,
and the means of sustaining the agressive
and missionary operaiions, of the whole
Church will be supplied in streams of con
secrated alms.
3. Of the one hundred and ten Presby
teries, from which accounts , have been re
ceived and examined, th6ie. from ninety.five
are on the whole encouraging, and mast of
them decidedly so. Of .the fourteen others,
it may be said that they are in regions of
peculiar difficulty. They, are- such as mis
sionary Presbyterians mayile exPected often
to furnish, while' yet thfQltiurehes are few
and feeble, and. the ministers widely dis
persed. The fasts which ;are furnished as
warianting this cheering and thankful tone,
and are evidences of advance: and. pros
perity, are such as these. (a) In. ,
creasing numbers and Aigider
amiii on •the ministrations of the: 'Gospel.
(b) increasing attendance of yoUth upon
the instructions of Sabbath' Schools and
Bible Classes. (c) Harmony and = peace
'prevailing ,among churches and congrega
tions, and in many cases• the healing of .old
divisions, and. the making . up .of quarrels.,
(d) Increasing efforts to secure suitable
houses of worship, to build parsonages, to
afford a more competent and ; just support to
ministers, not as charity, but of love and of
right. (a) Efforts in behalf of the people
of color in the portion of the country where
they live in a subordinate condition; and
also in behalf_ of the Germans as such r and
other foreign emigrants. (f) The in
creasing attention to the, matter of -giving
to the work of God, as a matter of principle
and uniform duty. (g) Increasing atten
tion to the whole Matter of •education, in in,
its departments. (b) In additions to'
the communion• of ; the churches by: profes
sion of faith in the Lord Jesus; and in re
vivals of religion of :a 'more or less gentle or
extended character, some among the.- peo
ple of color, some among our infant German
churches, and, some in our own institutions
of leirning of various - grades. Some . of
these the Presbyteries do not venture to call
by the name of revivals, but still they.were:
very delightful visitations of God's Holy
Spirit, converting sinners and fusing to
gether the hearts of God's children in joy
and lop. Of these seasons, the Presbytery
of ; Louisville mentions several, giving no
numbers; of Concordi some; of Newton,
some; of Chillicothe, one; of Knoxville,
one; of Ohio, some; of Sangamon, one;
of West Lexington, .four; of Zanesville,
Most of its churches of Beaver, one; .of
Montgomery, four, affecting in some meas
ure the people, of color ; of Indianapolis,
some ; . of of Dubuque, some ) among, the Ger;
mans; of Carlisle, sixor', seven; ef , Runt ,
ingdon, .. two.;.of . Marion; some'; Of. Ric
hland, two • of New Brunswick, some :' ; : of
White Water, five; of .Georgia r -ene ; of
Allegheny City, . one; of , Manry t _ i four ;_.'of
•Redstone,_four; of , ".North River; two`; of
Lake; two; of. :',Washington, seven; of
-Hocking, ,some; Philadelphia, some; in
Burlington, one; in Lexington, five; in Pas-
saie,.one ; in St. Louis, three; in Indiana,
a generalone resulting in one hundred and '
thirty three additions. o the communion •of
the Church; in Miami, some " almost re
vivals ;" in Charleston, two, extending in
one case among :the colored people, and
bringing about sixty to the profession of
Christ; in Transylvania, Aight ; in Albany,
some; in Newcastle, .above , three hundred
added on profession of their faith ; i n w es t
Hanover, some; of • Steubenville, two;
Ebenezer, several; and of Ningpo, in
China, constant" - evidences of the presenoe
of God's Spirit. Besides these, some of the
Presbyteries report additions in encouraging
numbers to nearly - or quite all their churches.
(1) Another. token of the.ierygeneral fa
vor of God,' during the closing year, is in
the preservation of life among ministers and
people, and especially freedom from the
visitations of pestilence and deadly' epi
demics.
The whole year, then, may justly be re
garded as one of more than, usual and sen
eral progress, and• that of such a naturu as
to involve enlarged preparation for the work
of the future.
4. It, is proper to add, in this connexion,
that those departments of the general ag
gressive' work of the Church which are
managed by the General Assembly through
agents of its own appointment, have all
been signally favored by God during the
year now closed.' Not only , are the opera
dons of - ill . these departments enlarged, and
their work prosperous, but the true -
Plei on Which - .the ciCatid
•
through these directed to the mil 'cots
embraced in extending his kingdom. Let
all your alms and offerings be in this spirit
of worship, and let the measure of your
liberality be the measure of your, love to
Christ and to the souls he loves. In this
way the spiritual life of the Church is made
a power among men, for their salvation; the
Saviour, through his loving Church, going
forth conquering and to conquer.
5. Let us, then, address an earnest and
faithful word to you in closing this commu
nication. It is manifest that the measure
of blessing and success granted you is in a
high sense the measure of increased obliga
tion for the work in the time to come. There
is much increase of power for the work
of the Lord, and that power is itself from him.
Arise, then, brethren, and gird yourselves
with new alacrity in his name and strength,
to the conflict in which he leads Employ
with increasing energy, and constancy, and
prayer,all the old means of aggression.
Let those who are ready to faint in weak
ness because they are few, feel that they be
long to the one great band, and labor in
their appointed lot, as in-the strength of the
whole; and let those whom "God bath
blessed not stop to, rejoice over their victo
ries, but be, humbled that they have done
so little when ,there was so much to be
done, and, the *tole land lay before them.
Remember the words of the Lord Jesus
Christ, as he sent forth his infant Church
upon her work. As thou hast sent me into
the world, adz so have I also sent thgm into
the world. The mission of his Church
and his children iirthe world is the seine in
kind with , histown. As he was sent forth ,
as the great teacher of the truth, 'as the
great 'healing' worker among , men, and as
the self-sacrificing . sufferer, so she must ,
wear herself out im teaching men , the given.
words of God, in;heafing the diseases and
soothing the sorrowsr-of and- in
giving her own blood as a living sacrifice
for the redemption oft the ).world. ,4 1,Fie
,prayed b s eet that t lpvetk !lest!? Works for
giving for,Christ,.` and t his"service,
must attend prayer, °tit is accounted avain
oblation. Let the march of this Church,
henceforth be the extension of that
life of Jesus Christ upon the earth,
which was fitly inaugurated by the song of
the Angels on the
,plains of Bethlehem,
"'Glory' . to God' in the highest, on earth,
Peace, good will toward Men and which in
'the same spirit'was closed amidst the dark
ness and the 'agonies of the 'crucifixion—
let it be the path to triumph and glory.
C. VAN RENSSELAER, Noclerater.
From our Loudon Correspondent.-
May Meetings, Continued--The Church and Wei
/cyan Missionary Societies—Mr. Onken in Ger:
many:--The Sunday School Union—The Queen's
Speech; and the New Parlianient—The Grand
Duke Canatantine—The Czar • and 'the Bible
Society—Anniversary of the Latter—The Bishop
of London's Speech—His attitude toward the
Tractarians—Their alarm and anger. The Union
.Newspaper aid its Desi.qns—Probable
tion, and its Causes—ConvoCation, and the
Bishop otQxford--Struggle• of Church 'Parties
-The EvangelicakAlliance—The ;King of
_l4ms
. and Religious .sta and Religious Liberty--i'ostseript.
LONDON 7 May 15, , 1857..
Another week of the “May Meetings ; ":
has passed 'away, and afresh one has begun
to run its course. Those of the past week
have been, generally of a highly interesting
character. • •
The dlitraoll MISSIONARY SOCIETY held
its Fifty - Eighth - Anniversary, and reported
a revenue forthe year of L 128,174. Be:
sides this, a friend of the Society had Made .
the magnificent donation of £19;000, be
aides money in the %tide - amounting to
£1 000 - per annum' for the extension of the
missionary Work.: The Bible is now, for
the first time, translated into the language
of New - Zealand. The Society has now
131 stations,-218 clergymen, 88 European
Jaymen,.l,l European , female teachers, (be
sides missionaries' wives,) and 1,872 native
born catechists and teachers of all. classes.
Number, of communicants, 18,724. ;The
-Bit:4AT of London was the first speaker, on
behalf of this, great Evangelical Society,
and was received with extraordinary enthu
siasm. Amid all the excitement, he:keeps
calm and speaks with , clearness and ,delib
eration. He appealed to : " the, ministry at
home," to send forth from their ranks mia r
sionaries to the heatimn. It is a gratifying
fact that both the English Universities are
furnishing volunteers for the noble enter
prise.
The Bishop of Victoria (Dr. Smith,)
dwelt on China, avowed his conviction, of
the inevitable nature of the struggle, at
Canton, expressed his fears of a great, mor
•
tality among our troops in that climate, and
deprecated most earnestly the idea of France'
and England interfering •oni-behalf 'of -the
old Tartar dynasty, which was. falling ,before
an insurrectionary party, whichi•with great
faults and errors,• are mnemiea idolatry•iff•
every form. He 'also expressed , his , sus
picions that .the instigating cause , of the
French sending ships and troops to• China,
wies, to protect and abet the Jesuit Propa
ganda, as at Tahiti. "The Revolutionists,
at the breaking out of the Tae.Ping
lion, had confounded Roman Catholic im
ages, with those of Bhudda," (very natu
rally I) and in their having mutilated and
destroyed them, " he saw sufficient to ac
count for the hostility of the FreDoh
Catholic missionaries against - the ,dhinese."
• The WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOOIETYi
which has its agents : in almost every part of
the world, reports as, follows : 1 Central Sta
tions, 458 ; Chapels ,and preaching places,.
3,624; mtnisters,,Bl,o`., ; 632 ; pther,
agents, .8864 unpaid agents,. ,9,834 full
Church 'members -i14 , 62 ( 8 - on trial ;:for
'membership • 0 887 - 'chola= d ,92,6 " 19;;,
more• extreme
many of his brethren here would approve.
The SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION Anniver
sary is always crowded to excess, mainly by
leachers and their friends. The new De
ository in the Old Bailey, (the laying of
he foundation stone of which I noticed
c ome time since,) has been opened, and the
:Ales of the Depository have been, during
,he year, upwards of £12,000. The result
g the canvass of London had been, that
core than 120,000 houses had been visited,
which were of children 240,186. Of
hese, 123,794 attended Sunday Schools.
the numbers promised to be sent were 34,-
.4;11 ; those actually sent, 13,345 ; or a pro
)ortion of 38i per cent.
Turning away, for a little, to other topics,
.st me state that PARLIAMENT HAS. BEEN
11 PORMALLY OPENED, by a Queen's Speech,
) lelivered by Commission. There are prom
ises of legislation on the subject of Testa
;.nentary and Matrimonial Divorce matters,
Repealing or altering obnoxious Ecclesiasti
laws. Nothing was said in the speech
bout Electoral Reform ; but in the speeches
"ni. the Address, Lord Palmerston gave what
Was considered, and accepted by Mr. Roe
buck, a pledge to bring 'a bill for the exten
lion of the popular franchise next session.
The GRAND DUKE CONSTANTINE is Still
in Paris, where he no faiorite ; but now
;bat the Queen has recovered, will soon visit
England. No doubt he • will be politely re
ceived, and every thing which he may de
sire to inspect will be thronn open to hie'
keen eye, either in the military or naval de
partments: ...While the, &widen Railway
loan, is a complete . failure on the 'London
Stock Exchangehand - while he has been
sneering at the French for allowing Eng
land to use them as a cat'&paw,-. as allies in
the Chinese quarrel for pulling the:chest
,.
nuts out of.the fire'.'—still England will,`
without, bitterness or apprehepsion, retseive
on t hershores the mini who represents the
old Muscovite spirit of aggressioni and non ;
n O , Ol . nr' .4lll 9iitlelin •
fo, Sir, Robert Peel , I believe, has, been de,
fared to resign his post as .one of the Lords
of 'the Adminilty, (as he did last, week,) ;; as
kintrof amends to Russia for his rash and,
foblish speech, or lecture; ,last Winter, in
which he abused the privillges.of hospital-.
ity, by turning men and thingsin that coun
try into ridicule: The Grand Duke is re
ported- to have said, that as long as Sir
Robert was in office, he could not and would
not come to England: For my part, I
think be had a right to complain, and "that
18ir Robert is justly set aside: .
Referring to the • EMPEROR OF RUSSIA,
It is yleasing to' find him-throwing open his
dominions to the circulation of the Hely
Scripture& Large cases , of books, on which
the duty amounted to more than £4oo,were
;allowed to - enter Odessa `duty free.
This leads me to notice the,BEITISH AND.
FOREIGN. BIBLE, SOCIETY, whose anniver
sary was , held last week. It was a noble
meeting to look upon. The report was
trills cheering. The revenue for Ile year,
from all sources, amounted to apwards of.
£137,000. The circulation for the year
has been 1,517,858, and from the com
mencement,. 32,381,759. Assistance has
been given to other Societiei in the circu
lation of twenty-thren millions inore ; so
that the , 'circulation;' by Means of these
combinektSocieties; amount§ to upward of
fifty-twat millions of the Holy Scriptures,
whole. or ,in., part. It is not: too much
,to, say; , that by. the translation, printing,
and circulation of the Bible in rEngland,
America,.and all parts of the world, within
the, present. century, the records of inspired
truth have been rendered. accessible to about
six hundred millions of the. human family.
Would to God that all these reallypos
timed, understood, and received in its power
the grand verities which THE BOOK con
tains The Society. has nine accredited
'agents abroad_—in Turkey, Paris, Malta and
(*recce; Siitzerland, and Northern Italy; in.
Berlin, Rhenish Prussia, and North and
South Germany, and in New. Granada .and
the Braids. It has seven agents constantly
and actively engaged
• in different parts of
England.
' Lord' Shaftsbury presided over a meeting,
vast and varied in`its character. Here was
an American I3ishop (from Kentucky";)
here were. Continentsd Protestants, eaten.:
ished and delighted; 4ierei . too, were the
elite of the Church 'of 'England clergy and
laity, with the. Bishops of =London and Car
lisle, as-well as very many of . the . ministers
and> members of Nonconformist' Churches.
Here, too, were seen THE Fiuntrusi the Bible
Society being very dear to that body, and
one in which they feel.theyeisnconsistently
engage.. The Bishop of London gave a
fine tone to the meeting, , by, a speech most
genial, ,affectionate, and catholic in its
In referenge to TRACTARTANIOM) the.Bish
. op
,of London has taken a decide& attitude
iii two senses .of the -word.-First, in-coin
'then with other Evangelical Bishops,„giving
in his adhesion to-these great Someties, , the
essential element of which is Eyangelical,
Protestantism;'the teaching and preaChing'
of the truth, the recognized means of the
salvation of men. • Olds, prieithood is ab
jured, and sacraments are kept' in their
proper place. - And, secondly, Di. Tait has
acted vigeronsly in reference St Barn's
and other such semi-Popish Churches,
and their ornaments: The'-')Unioh, a new
organ of,-.the- advanced 'Tractariatori , learnai
with considerable ...psurprisepLethat the
Bishop has, forbidden asp eross-being erected ,
at St. Barnabas, either on , thetaltari.or.tdse-t
where; refuseo.49-perwittithq retention-or
..thkeuni.a.4ai;Aind,clainify,fibt direct
~Aridietign 5 4 4 1 .1egiate judgwentitrean aboo,,
4411 1 - - 1 -
--stet:tattb be coerced ha are arbt lVl P t at rf
a.
llegal manner." One writer advises, that
when wooden or stone crosses must be taken
lown,• there should be painted a large red
- -ross, on the East wall. But the inexorable
Aid faithful Bishop " has," says the English,
Clkurclanon, "ordered the removal of a
\ 'aree cross, which had been recently painted
..*A the East wall of a licensed chapel."
" Bravo, Dr. Tait," cries every true
hearted Protestant in the land. Had poor
Dr. Blomfield, who had two faces—ens in
pie West End, strictly Traetarian, and
nother in Evangelical Islington, decidedly
erotestant—had that ex-bishop, now on
~ h e verge of the grave, been as decided, fif
,een or twenty years ago, what incalculable
'zischief might have been prevented !
Referring to the, possible Disiturrrori or
tHE CHURCH OB ENGLAND, it certainly looks ,
somewhat more feasible than I ever consid
ered it before. Not . that the Evangelicals
have any desire to become a " Free Church
of England." Why, they are all;Eraßtians,
if only the State will continue to smile on
them. They are now jubilant exceedingly,
by reason of the recent Ecclesiastical appoint
ments, and will hold all the more' closely, to
',heir hearts, the Church of England. Bat
there are powerful influences at work, which
may, ere long, 'drive out, or else win over.
to Rome, a considerable portion of, the Trac
tarian clergy and laity. The first is the in
; creasing fraterniiation with Dissenters by
the Evangelicals, and the "no"quarter
which, at united meetings; such as those of
Exeter nalli the Low Church bishoprfund •
clergy give to the Tractarians.. riWith what
disgust 'must; the latter hear •afililie Bishop
of ;Rupert's Land, at the Bible: . meeting,
balking , about " his Presbyterian. brothery
i.lre Rev. Mr. Black," in that -country;' or
in his sermon .for the Tract Society, speak-
of " masters , of assemblies,"- publicly
naming Dissenting and Church writersivith
equal , honor, ;: ands some oft the . former: l ' as
awes of 'Birmingham, edit •
=.44A404. T -7
in his amitsittlinitinen. for the
phurch . - .Missionary Seeiiity, denouncing,
•Eth vehemence, the idea that none but
piscopally ordained men were to go forth
to the lbeatheriarorldT this, Intl
more, constitute a terrible"'scandal and
stumbling-blook to the 'Anglo-Catholic party
Secondly:.the Union newspaper is it re-
Markahle sign of the times in itself: ; The
Tractarians had, as, organs, . the English
Churchman - and the Guardian; but these
were too tame and timid, and so out comes
0, new paper, the Union, whose very name -;*
indicates its bold design- to unite with
Rome 1 Not expressly, indeed; for, while ;
it advocates, really, all 'timid' doctrines,
and calls it only "Catholic," and all, or
nearly all, 'tarnish practices, yet it goes on
the principle, that • Rome must come half
way to meet their " Catholic" brethren.
The Dublin. Review and. Tablet, bath
admire the orthodoxy of the teaching, and
exult in the inevitable tendency Of 'these
advanced " Church! principles ;' =big they'
laugh to scorn any idea. ;Of 'her 'who ;is
"sever eadens," abating,one jot or tittle of
her claims.
CONVOCATION is now sitting. The
Bishop
.of Oxfork who had.exercised the
whip most severely, in the matter of the
election of proctors, in his diocese, (eighty
clergymen having gone away-withoutveting,
under' his, watchful eye,) he, the cunning
and Jesuitical bishop, above all his• fellows,
opens, on the first day ,of Convocation, with
a plausible speech to .the intent, that while
Convocation could not, without the consent
of the Crown, give validity to new canons,
yet it could make such canons, if necessary,
and thus greatly benefit the = Church. The
Archbishop of. Canterbury was wheedled not
to dismies the Convocation, hut to allow it
to discuss and; determine : ; and Dr. Sumner
assented accordingly. , The Bishop of Lon
don coming in late to the sitting, objected
to the prolongStion of the discussions • and
deliberations, but was overruled. - ,
Previous to the assembling of the Convo
cations in London, and elsewhere, there had
been fair stand-up fights between Evangeli
cals and High Churchmen, on the ground
of election of representative proctors. The
issues were , various. In ; the London Convo
cation, the ,Prolgentor, Dr. Elliot, Dean of
Bristol, is an uncompromising Protestant.
The EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE held
pleasing 'breakfast meeting last week, at
Freemason's. Hall, at which I was present,
Sir O. E. Eardley, Baronet, in the Chair.
The intended meeting of the Evangelical
Alliance in. Berlin, in September next, was
the special subject of consideration. The
draft of an , address to the king of Prussia
was read and approved , of, thanking him for
his kind invitation. There seems little
doubt but that the Alliance will meet at
Berlin, arid that the king will give them
warm welcome. But the Kirchentag, or
Church Union meeting, has been fixed near
ly about the same time, (home say purpose
ly"). and thus many Evangelical . German
ministate will be kept , away. Besides the
lighCl urchlut
lau-PartYt4eBtahl4
Rengstelbe r twilldailthe l can
o struet; and It i s be se Lwheter free
dom
of speech and discussion, especially on
the question of religions liberty, will be tol
erated at Berrm any more than it was at
Paris, in. 1.865. No real religions ,llbert 3 r
exists ti l i t ci tii i r d b in o pta a a t P b ro in te a s s it t
ia 7
Protestant Gen pain any ft4 . This
an 4
dukradefil., J. W.
nP. B.—l mist- rtisetietootheY a Kay
meetine notices , next. Maim
-raersliiienigthe.llPersiin 4 -GeViiwast daittared
e byAlici British; teftwestifel tris4
of-peitee strived.