123
PRESBYTERIA.N BAWER ~.&' „ADVOCATE
7resbyterlan Banner. Vol. VI. Noe 12.
?r•Sb7torlaa Advocate. Vol. XM ) N o . 7.1
DAVID NicKINNEY, Editor and Proprietor.
ERNb.--IN ADVANCE.
Pastoral Letter,
vF TH E CONVENTION OF SYNODS AT PITTS
BUILOII TO THE CHURCHES WITHIN THEIR
BOUNDS.
DEAR BRETHREN :—We address you from
a solemn Coevocation—from a great Prayer
meeting of udnisters and elders, (represent
ing these four Synods of the Presbyterian
Church.) who have come up hither to wait
for the promise of the Father, which we
have healed of Christ We trust you have
looked anxiously for the results of this Con..
vention, and have earnestly supplicated
God for his blessing upon its proceed
ings. We have met our brethren, and we
have met our God here. A. large assem
blage, representing giant three hundred.
Ministers and one thousand Ruling Elders,
from the Synods of Pittsburgh, Ohio, Wheel
ing, and Allegheny, with fellow-laborers
from other Synods, and Ministers of Christ
from other denominations, have convened,
and taken sweet oouisel together. Bles
sed be God, his promise has been proved
good to us, and the risen Jesus has been
here in the midst of us. We are not worthy
of the least of all the mercies and of all the
truth which our father.? God has showed
into his servants, for with her staff the ven
erable mother Synod passed over these
emtains less than sixty years ago, and
now she has become four bands I A large
proportion of your churches were born in
revivals of religion— revivals as remarkable,
perhaps, as any th t have marked the his
tory of the Ohara . "Oh ! that it were
with us as in days that are past." "Lord !
where is thy zeal and thy strength, the
sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies
toward us ? Are they restrained ?" , "Oh I
the hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof
in the time of trouble, why shouldest thou be
as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring
man, that turneth aside to tarry for a
night?"
Brethren, " We have heard God's speech,
and are afraid." In his providential re
bikes—deranging the commerce, and scat
tering the wealth which the Church has too
devotedly pursued—even sweeping away, at
a stroke, the mission property which our
stinted contributions had given, and threat
ening to take our candlestick out of his
place if we repent not. "We have heard
his speech," and we are afraid." How
should we tremble, if the Springtide did not
succeed to the dreary Winter, and if no soft
breath of God should breathe upon the ice
bound earth and rivers, to melt away the
frozen bands, as no fires of our kindling
could ever do? Therefore we pray, "0 LORD,
REVIVE THY WORK " This is the great
burden of our cry—for a revival of , God's
work, as our fathers saw it, and have told us;
as some of us have known in these very re
;ions, and in these very churches,,, We cry,.
that " in the midst of the years," after so long
an interval, God would make known—in the,
midateof ,the„yeare .of deoleueton, - mud thEr
yekrafief relitike, and the years of revival in
the work of Satan,, God would make known
his power and grace for men's salvation; and,
" in wrath, remember Mercy."
We need not remind you that a revival of
God's work among any people, implies
a work of God which has declined; that
a revival of religion pre-supposes some
life of religion to be revived. First of all,
then, let each• Minister and Elder, each
church and member, ask anxiously before
God, whether there be in him any vitality
of religion at all; whether God's work—his
regenerating and sanctifying work—has re.
ally been begun at all in his heart.
We seek for a revival which shall impart
a new spiritual animation and vigor to the
living, and which shall also give life to the
dead; that it may occur again as on the day
of Pentecost, when " fear came upon every
soul," and " the Lord added to the Church
daily, such as should be saved" We would
alit dictate to the Holy Spirit, nor limit the
sphere or manner of his blessed agency.
lie worketh when, where,. and how he
pleaseth. Yet if he come sometimes as the
dew on the grass, he comes also as showers
that •water the earth, and as floods on • the
dry ground. He has bidden us to look fur.
" times of refreshing from the presence of
the Lord," and, like the Apostles, we are
even to use this as a motive with men to
repent, namely, that these promised glorious
times of refreshing may come, and in order
that Jesus may be sent, whom the heavens
must receive until the times of the restora
tion of the kingdom to Israel, according to
the true purport of the ancient promises.
Such a reviving there was in the times of
Seth, when men began to call upon the
name of the Lord; in the days of. Joshua,
when he read all the words of the law to all
the congregation, and when the'lieople came
forward, as one man, in the spirit of a most
lively zeal for God's word, and a most de
voted unanimity for the' maintenance of
God's service Such a season there was,
also, in the time of pious King Josiah, a
a great national reformation followea the
faithful reading of God's covenant, and the
solemii vow of the people to be the Lord's.
So also under King Asa, and King Hezekiah,
and in the times of Nehemiah and Ezra.
And so it has been in the whole history 'of
the Church, under both dispensations. At
Pentecost, three thousand were converted
under a single discourse. The great Prot
estant Reformation, in the sixteenth cen
tury, was such a revival of the true re
ligion, when the Word of God was unbound
in Germany, Switzerland, and Great Britain,
and its fruits are filling the earth. In 1630,
at the Kirk of Mutts, about five hundred
persons were converted, chiefly by means of
a single sermon of John Livingstone And
blessed be God, the great revivals in our
own land, under the ministry of Whitefield,
and of President Edwards, and of David
Brainerd, and of Nettleton, are on record,
asethe mighty demonstrations of God, the
Holy Spirit, and as proofs that Jesus lives
on high to sh d down such things, which
we may see and hear. But why need we go
back with yru to ancient days ? There are
Cross Creek, and Upper and Lower Buffalo.
and Cross Roads, and Three Springs,, and
Chanters, and Pigeon. Creek, The Flats,
West Liberty, Upper Ten Mile, Lower Ten
Mile, and a bright e,roup of other places,
made forever ineumr...bie and precious in our
rre,ollectiou by the labors of McCurdy, and
McMillan, and Patterson, and Thaddeus
Dodd, and others, the fathers of our West
ern Zion. .
Brethren, WO STO IN PRESSING NEED OF A
Revival,. For the honor of Uhriet's cause,
which suffers, SISS, so much reproach in its
ministry and elarahip, and membership-7-j-
for the maintenance of his truth, which is
alighted, and its authority disparaged, and
its purity corrupted, so sure as God with
draws himself from our midst—for the sake
of our own souls, that while we preach to,
others we be not castaways—for the sake of
these worldly families which will perish,
both parents and , children, if God come not
speedily—for the sake of our own baptized
sons and daughters, who, must grow up in
sin, and be lost, if the Holy Spirit come not
for their' regeneration—for the sake of the
whole cominunity, who are hardening in
worldliness, and becoming more unbelieving
on account of the deadness of religion in the
Church—for the sake of our Academies,
Colleges, and. our Theological Seminary,
that the ministry may be' adequately ;rein
forced, and that that ministry, may be kept
pure, while increasing bands. of our young,
men shall go forth in the true spirit of the
Master. Brethren, are you sensible of this
urgent necessity for a revival of religion in
your own midst? Contemplate, we pray
you, the awful- consequences of continuing
longer in this declining state.
But there are serious HINDERA.NCES in the
way of this work., How far have we fallen
into a dull routine, both Ministers and
members, keeping up a round of outward
services, and' satisfied with the form of god
liness without the power, until, as with the
ancient Jewish• Church, Gad cries oat, "To
what purpose is the multitude of your sac
rifices unto me ? Bring no more vain ob
lations." Thus he blows upon our preaching,
and our praying, and •our giving;.and,. at
the moment that we- think we haver done
well for the heathen world by our /tontine
offerings tot our Boards, with no adequate
care for the work, and with no earnest
prayer for it, he sweeps ,it all away at, a
stroke, and asks, to what purpose is your
$200,000 to me—your printing-presses and
your property, offered as a dull ritual ? I
am weary to bear them. Will I eat the
'flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats,
or be beholden to you , for mere money
" Sacrifice unto God thanksgiving, and pay,
your vOws—your covenant vows—unto the
Most,High, and CALL UPON'ME in the day
of trouble ; I WILL deliver thee and THOU
SHALT GLORIFY ME
If only there could be - amused. among us
such: an intense anxiety for this revivieg, as•
now exists for a revival of commercial con
fidence; if only the whole commitnity , .could
be moved for ,our spiritual declensions as
they are for this, monetary depression.; if
there could be any. such : lively zeal to over
come the embarrassments, and, to restore
the former prosperity in our Zion; if there,
could be equal interest in the first symptoms
of reviving religion , as in the indications of
'reviving trade 7 how speedily and gloriously
'the blessing would come. Alas I if your
anxiety for such a commercial recovery
shoUld possibly be at this , moment diverting
'srnrir a risek;os,_ from the reviving of true
`piety in your' own hearte—
There are hinderances to thier - viOik - of
from ministerial unfaithfulness. We con
fess our deadness; our lack in the measures
of personal piety; our frequent neglect
in pastoral visitation; in Catechetieal in
struction; in personal labors'with the wan
dering and 'careless; in ' ministerial inter
cessions; in plain ' direct, 'earnest, faithful
preaching of-the Word of God; and in a
fearless Church discipline. We confess our
temptations to ambition,; to self-seeking; to
secularity and love of ease. If we have
failed in ministerial courtesies, in loving
fraternal intercourse and interchanges with
our brethren, we confess with shame. We
have sinned in that We have not properly
been eoeamples to the flock over which the
Holy Ghost hath made us overseers. We
have not shown our devoted love to the
Master, by feeding his lambs, and shepherd
ing his sheep as we ought: We that are
Baling Elders, take confusion of face to
ourselves that we have not properly watched
over the flock, and aided the Pastor in. his
arduous parochial work; that we have not
faithfully visited the sick, and .sought to.re
claim the erring whom we have met in our
walks of life. 13retkren, pray for us, that,
the Great .Head of the Church may purify
the sons of Levi, and purge them as silver
is purged. •
But, dear brethren, are there no hinder
ances frem the Church, membership? • Have
you not sought popular preaching mast of
all to fill your houses, and pay off your
church debts ' and lighten the- burden of
sustaining; the .ministry . ?:Have you not
been carried away with the flood of worldli
ness, so that cupidity; and grasping, and un
holy greed of gain, hive characterized you?
Have you not thus withbolden from God's
treasury what he has justly claimed, until
he has smitten your idols of 'silver and gold
before your eyes . ? Have you not sadly con
formed to the world—loved its pleasures,
followed its examples, adopted its maxims in
your business, in your families, in your pri
vate living ? Have you habitually recog
nized God's claim to all you have and are ?
Are you cultivating personal piety ? Are
you faithful in family religion? Do you
seek for your sons the honor of preaching
Christ, and of serving him in the Gospel min
istry, as far superior to the highest honors
of the .world ? Are you educating your
daughters.under Christian influences, whether
at home or abroad; and are you training
them according to your baptismal covenant?
Has the social prayer-meeting been witness
to your zeal for souls, and has the monthly,
concert of prayer found you one of the
praying ones of the church'.. And does the
secret closet daily find you, as one of the.
true Israel, wrestling with God ? If your ,
minister has seemed to have become secular,
how far is it due to your inadequate pro
vision for his wants ?
Ye ask and receive not, because ye
ask 'amiss, that ye may consume it upon
your lusts. Know ye not that: the friend
ship of the world is enmity with' God ?"
"Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house,
and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord
of hosts, if I will not open you the windows
of heaven, and pour you a blessing that
there shall not be room enough to receive it:
And now, dear brethren, let us look at tbe
S ' ORIPTIMAL MEANS that are more especially
requisite for securing a revival of God's
work. As we have • sinned, and as tiod
could not do many mighty works among us,'
bs;Cause of our unbelief, our first business is
to return to our God with fasting and with
praying, and with weeping. a T he Lord's
hand hi not shortened, ,that he can
not save, neither his ear heavy, "that
he cannot''hear ; but our iniquities have
"ONE THING IS NEEDFUL:" "ONE THING HAVE I DESIRED OF THE LORD:" "THIS ONE THING I DO."
PUBLICATION OFFICE, GAZETTE BUILDING, FIFTH STREET, ABOVE SMITHFIELD, PITTSBURGH, PA.
FOR THE . WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1857.
separated between us and our God." Let
us come with a lively, faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ, and in the all-sufficient power
of the Holy Spirit ; for it is " not by
might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith
the Lord." We propose to you no new
means, bat an earnest, believing resort to
the Scriptural methods. God is
,the same
God, and his Word is the same, as when
thousands were born to him in a day. And,
Ist. Individual self -inspection as to the ,
state of piety in our own heart; .the:nature
and causes of our declension; the sins which
so easily beset us. No one of us can do this for
his brother. This Convention can only
charge you that the great .business lies. be- .
tween your own 'soul and the. living God.
There mustrbe deep, honest, earnest .heart
searchings, by Pastors and people, in their
closets. There must come a reviving; of. the
spirit of grace .and of supplications.. ; We
must have the personal, inward preparation
for the Holy Spirit's mighty coming 'among
We say, then, 2dly, There must be, at the
threshhold of this great, work, a wrestling,
with. God in secret •prayer. No public ser
vices ought to overshadow this , great, first,
essential requisite. As it is God's own work—
as he is to be supplicated—each Putor, and
Elder,. and. Member, must .come up to this
work of private, individual prayer , to God.
Ass. as of living, personal being ;as man
asketh, of man,; nay, as `a 'son asketh of a
father;., nay,,as.a sinner Wrath Of the great
Saviour:--,-"and Ye shall receive." Sixic., as
for,some definite thing.. Seek earnestly, as
for this great: thing, "and ye shall find."
KNOCK, as at a door of entrance,accordine•
to the appointed way, coming, by Him who
is ,himself,the.way, "and it shall be opened
unto you."
idly. Let us hasten, to put all hinderances
out of the way. If there . be bickerings and
alienations. morig,the members; if there be
coolness and distance toward the Ministers
or Elders:;:: if there be habitual absence
from the. prayer.meeting and the closet; if
there be a lack of family religion ; if there
be formality in prayer; if there be grievous
withholding' of .means - lot', labors from
Christ's cause; if th.ere be`...ta dull routine
work among us in the ministry; and cape
eially if we have failed to come together.
Pastors, Elders, and people, in . a lively sym
pathy ; going from house to house, and
speaking often' one to another; watching for
souls as they= that must give acconnt—ret us
hasten at the outset to put away all these
stumbling-blocks. Brethren,, let us not
grieve the Spirit of Go l d, nor quench the
Holy Spirit.
In the judgment of this- body, an ire
portant means, not duly estimated by the Min
istry nor by many of the people, is Expository
Preaching. yet, if the hearers have be
come fond of orations from a text, or elah
oorr_a lriao_thera
ateessa t ys, withl_ p ,d as uh sag4o .te f God's
need d'sW ord
f of
returning to. .the
,moire Soria, -
Though our blessed Lord once preached
from a single text, (Luke iv : 18,) his more
common pfactice was to, " ExpouNt, unto
them in all the Scriptures the things con
cerning himself, beginning at Moses and,
all the Prophets."—Luke xxiv :, 27. And
it was the talking by the .way, and. opening
to them, the Scriptures, that made their
hearts burn within them: 'Peter, Peter, at Pente
cost, gave a simple, pungent exposition of
a whole paragraph. in. Joel's prophecy,
and 'behold the result.. Paul, "as his man
ner was, went in unto the Jewish Syna
gogue, and three Sabbath days, reasoned
with them out of the Scriptures, opENING
and alleging (setting forth,) that Christ
must needs have .suffered.--Acts xvii : 3.
If: it seem not so popular in any quar
ters, or if lt appear to any to trammel
the oratory 'of the speaker, yet •we must
all the more earnestly ; look Ao God, to bless
his own word, as he has promised. And so
far from expOsition being inconsistent with
eloquence ' the true pulpit eloquence is the
earnest and adequate opening of these lively
oracles. Apollos .was." an eloquent man and,
mighty in the Scriptures." Our business
with the people is to "preach' the Word,"
"rightly dividing," (with surgical exact
ness,) " the Nord of s truth,"--*---" bringing
out of, the treasure, things, new and old, '--
if any novelties, yet always Scriptural nov
elties. And if any declaration or exhortation
of this body, be requisite to enforce.,this
high duty, we solemnly exhort to this prim•
tiee of expository preaching, as in our
judgment, a great want of the times and an
important means for a revival of true religion
among _us. -
And: closely connected : with this, as a
Scriptural meanyfor 'revival, is the, work of
Oatecheticalinstruitson. ''Lovest thou me ?"
smith 'the Master. • Then the first charge,
and: also the leading test of ministerial fidel
ity to the fIock"FEED MY LAMBS."
No ministerial or parochial labors can dis
pense with this., A training to, the West
minster Catechism is the high privilege of
the children of - our 'beloved Presbyterian
Church---their-Christian birthright. Alas,
for the families and
,the churches where it is
not "vigorously` presecuted; where any other
Sabbath. School literature crowds out these
precious formularies of doctrine, and . where
any miscellaneous teaching dispenses with
these_Seriptural rudiments. Luke professed,
in his Gospel narrative, ally to assure The
ophilus of those things wherein he bad been
already catechised.—Luke i: 4. Iles this
practice of our fathers fallen into disrepute and
disuse among any of.you? We, exhort you,
return to it with keen relish. Is not this
neglect a reason why they, who, for the time
they have lived• in our. Church, ought to be.
teachers, "have need that one teach them
again which be the first principles of the
°moles of God," and are unskillful • in the
doctrine of justification.--Eleb.eiv
We recommend, most earnestly, for our
selves and for the churches, whatever meas
ures shall bring us to special, private, and
social supplication for this great blessing.
Let us search the Scriptures. Let.us •ex
amine the. warrants. Let us-look well to all
the 'precedents in the Worker God, and in
our own 14otory. Let us remember the
precious times of reviving through which
we have • passed, and in which some of us
have been converted to God. Consider the
infinite worth of the immortal soul, and the
cost of its redemption. Let us put supreme
honer upon the blessed Spirit, as tbe
glorious Third Person of the adorable Trinity,
and let the whole people , come together, as
in the days of Joshua, and, as at Pentecost,
4 ‘
with o r n.acc9ru;> /1
• And brethren, we beseech you, to WAIT
NM
upon God. Let not this great work termi
nate in some special occasion. Pray, and
pray again. Pray and not faint. "Praying
al ways with all- prayerrand supplication in
the Spirit, and watchidg thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints,
and for us." importune Him who has said that
he is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to
them that ask him, than parents are to give
good gifts to their children. 'Shall not God
avenge his• own elect, who cry day and night
unto him, though he bear long with them?
We tell you that he milt avenge them speed-
ily. Yet the great per t sonal question with
eaeh one of us is, When the Son of Man
is ready, anUis just waiting to come, shall
heind faith on the earth
Dearly ., beloved brethien, let us, q confess
our‘faults one tO another, and pray one for
another, that we maAe*paled." 4 ' Sanctify,
a fast, call a solemn asimble:.,pkg.- -, ,
ders, gather the peoPl46enetifithe - eengre- -
fil i
,gation; gather the ohtl mi. Let th'e Priests, '
the Ministers of the.: ord, - weep between
the4oreh and the alta i ~and let them say,
, Spare thy - people, 0 Lord, and give not thine
heritage to reproach" , We promise On our,
part a greater fidelity to your souls ; we' en
gage, God helping us,'Co speak to
,yon plainly
and tenderly, and to tell you the whole truth
—the whole counsel' 41 God, whether you
will hear or whether you will forbear. We
engage to pray for you, and to pray with
you more earnestly titan we -have hitherto
done I And, brethretb-pray for us, that the
Word, of the Lord May have free'course and
be, glorified. 1 .
We have ample cIENOMMAOEMENT 40
wait: and hope for, this blessing. Because.
it is the Lord's work;lbecause he has.'insti
toted the ministry atil ; Lall-the means of grace
for this very end; be' 'use he has predicted
and promised humeri outpourings 'of the
Spirit upon all flesh;, - because he has carried
the Church thus far
,t 'rough perils and trials
and will not desert li , ow; because the Say-
A i n
iour has his reward cured to him for the
travail of his soul; liiiranse his intercessions
are prevalent'; becauSfrGod loves the sou's
of men infinitely more than we - can _think;
because he is soveillign and_ can do as
he pleases 'beyond , ,)'he
_power of Satan tohinder,
hinder, and because he will do as he has said;
therefore, this work%i the chief, dear, in
alienable work of '0; ' -.Godhead. , Ele will
not. give, it up thong -' we be faithless; he
will only carry it .o y other instrnments,
b and after we have fa i n in the . wilderness.
`Therefore,.dear broth ti, we may use these
pleas" with God, aiM ising far aboVe them
4
all,shall be this plha a TRINE OWN RAISE'S
SAKE! to make g'thy word, to glorify
thy name, to, gladd4l6thine own heart, to
gather jewels for t ) elltedeemer',ls crown, to
accomplish thine onpreper work beyond
all the glories of tq t Id creation, and se
cording.to a Nivel:m with David, thy ser
vant, greater and.W , than tb_ —covemint....
with, tht_day... sic -Thria.t*_.om.lx:_am. , . , # Bider,
near breanren, wnat would be the blessml
ness of a mighty outpouring in this whole
region of country. The proper power of the
Church would be brought out to -confront a'
scorning world. The avariee and.cupidity, of
her, members would relax its grasp upon
,gold,
and the treasuries of our Boards would be
speedily supplied in their - 'present pressing
emergencies, ' and' the glorions' cause
would: go forward. Hoar blessed wouldiit be
if Pastors and people should be found moved
by a fervent, desire, for this work, and the
churches should be humbled before God, and
the careless professor should be m ard`died, -
and the backsliding should be found coming
back, with heart-smitings , and confessions ;
if the poor. prodigal SODS among us should,
arise and return to their rather.; if parents
and children together should break out in
rejoicings at having salvation come to their
house; if aged sinners should be brought to
bow their hoary heads in the first nets of,
penitence and prayer,,and if our, own dear .
children and youth Should come to us, asking
us, Father, Mother, what shall I do to be
saved? Oh, brethren, would not this be
blessed indeed ? ' Would there not be great
joy in our cities and in our whole region ?
Woigd not heaven and earth rejoice together,
at new born souls flying as a cloud, , and
as'doves to their windows ? Then would
come the: blessing that is yet waiting to be'
bestowed, when our sons and our daugh
ters,shall, prophesy, our young men shall see
visions, and our old men shall dream dreams,
and When upon the servants and 'handmaids
God will pour out of his Spirit' and they
shall prophesy,' and' in Mount Zion there
shall be deliverance as the Lord bath said.
, This ,Cenvention do, therefore, recom
mendo all their within these
. , t.churches
bounds—
lst. That this Letter be read before the
congregation on the first Sabbath after the
reception of it, _by the ,Minister :or Elders.
2d. That, a special. meeting of each Ses
sion be held at the earliest convenient peri
, .
od, to take these topics into prayerful con- ,
sideration.
3d. That a general Pastoral visitation, be
carried out, as promptly as possible, in which
all the Elders,, shall, co : Operate, with the
Pastor, going two and two from house to
house. ,
4th. That the' Pastors preach during this "
month, on topics immediately bearing upon
the great subject of; the Revival of God's
work.
6th. That especially on the First Sob.
bath in January, all the Pastors preach, if
possible, on the practical aspects of this
subject.
6th. That the-First Thursday in. January
be observed throughout the bounds of these
Synods, as a day of Fasting, Humiliation,
and Prayer, for the Reviving of God's work
among us, speedily.
Resolved, That the concurrence and co
operation of any Ministers, Churches, or
Syuods, in the views andaction commended
in the foregoing paper, will greatly encour
iage the hearts, and strengthen the hands of
the Ministers and, Elders composing this
Convention.
IP ELECTION, EFFRCITUAL CALLING, and
§axx.knotv be, inseparably linked together,
then by any one of them a man may hold upon
all the rest, and know that his hold is sure.
* * He that loves may be sure that he was
loved "first; and he that chooses Godlor his
Oelight and portion, may conclude confidentli
that God hath chosen him to be one of, those
who Shall enjoy him and be happy with him
forever;, for that our loive and electing of
hint, is but the return , and repercussion of
ththbolams of his love,l3biniug upon us.
From our Loudon Correspondent.
Occupation of Delhi, and Relief of Lite/mow—
Deaths of Nicholson and Neill—Capture of the
old Sing of Delhi, and execution of his Sons and
Grandson—Mercy and Judgment—The Commer
cial Crisis—Suspension of the Bank Act—Sana
tory Statistics—Remarkable Healthfulness in Loot •
don City, and its Causes—Diseases of Different
CiaBBe3 Literature Fi.ourishing—Livingatone'
Tournal—The Schoolmaster lifer Abroad—Two
Remarkable November Days :in. London—The
Gunpowder Plot . and the TesuiA—The
Mayor's Day and Pedmierston's Speich—A .frisit to
Park. Street Chapel—Mr. Spurgeon—His Preaeht
tiny s and Prayers—llia New Book—His - Calvinism,
and Converts-The Roman Character and East
.
ern Languages—iffeeting at Ettinbttrgh--Ezeter"
Hatt .Preaching &open(led. ,
• • LormoN -November-13 i 1857. ,
DELst: COMPLETELY: OCOUPPED?
sixtyrone
and pleyen hundred aad : seyeotkeighk
gone °QI/ 0 B i2filigiAtirtePgk ) , l l },
or wonted itati - elasault o i former, and
four hundred andltfty phied /Lori combat
in the latter, and the capture of the entroneb-
ment- r -sueh was the ,news flashed fq,us frofd
Cagliari, on Wednesday last. A t great :weight
is lifted off the Natien's heart, in knowing
that the brave band, with the helpless women `
and children, who held'out for four •months
at Lneknow, was relieved by Haveloek's
force, and that in the last:extremity, when,
the mutineers were just about , explode
their mines underneath the Residency.
But a remnant, I fear, 'of the 'original tire"
hundred °or six hundred oemipants"remain,i
from disease and hardship,.and the incessant;.
shot of ,their blood thirstyfoes. The fost,
o victory, both at Lueknow and Delhi, was
heavy. My 'former tears as to the extent 'i)e,
the slaughter at the' latter, have Eseeit:sadEr
confirmed. Among-the fallen is the , brave
awl able General Nicholson; . a young,County
Down
_lrishman, only thirty-five years,,o)d,
who died of his wounds, two days afterAte v
capture of the city. At Lucknow, General
Neil, a Scoteh officer of great merit; Probe-'
bly the ablest of all the Indian genera.s, was
killed. , •
The Old King of Delhi, his wife, and his
family, were overtaken,
_wl.en fleeing, from
Delhi. The' aged'parents were spared, but
their two eons and a grandson were shot' on
the spot, and their bodies exposed , publicly
in Delhi.. The, rebels had fled in , . different
directions, with "flying columns" in their
Eursuit. Nena Sahib was busy in endeav
oring to unite the Dinapore and G-walior
mulineers into one body. There were some
disturbances in the Panjaubi bat they were
pat, down. Madras native troops had at
tacked a rebel
~Bencial regiment and killed
oue hundred and fifty of them. At BeMbay
a native officer and §epoy, being 'edavieted
of treason, 'were blown frijol the guns. This
kind of punishment is a:very awfal one: It
is,rec , arded with peculiar, horror bythe na
tives. The following, from Blackwoocrs
Magazine, will give year readers a thorouc;ll
The Beene at Peshawur was awfully imposing:'
All troops, European and nativec armed and (Bs- ,
armed, loyal; and disaffeeted, were drawn ;up on_
parade, fOrming three 'sides of a sqUire ; and
drawn very carefully 3rt:iu may' be sive, so that
any attempt•on the part, of 'the disaffected, to
resone the doomed, prisoners would haye been
easily 'checked `Forming the fourth side' of the:
square, were drawn up the guns (nine pounders,)
ten in number, which were to be used for-the ex
ecution. The Pristniers,nnder a strong Enropean
guard, were: then marched into the -,square their
crimes and sentences read aloud to them, and at:
the head 'Of each regiment. They were then
marched into the square, and up':to the guns.
The first ten were picked out r —their eyes ; were
bandaged,: and they were bound to the guns, their
backs leaning against the innzzles and.-their arms
fastened to the, .wheels,, The port, fires were,
lighted, and at a signal from the Artillery-,majOr
the guns Were fired: It wail a horrid sight that'
then met the eye,,—a -regular shower of human
fragments of, heads, of arms, of.legs, appeared in
the air through the smoke, and when that cleared
away, these, fragments lying; on _the ;ground—
fragments of Hindoos and fragments of. M 17.831117,
mans,' all mixed together—were all that remained
of those teremritineers. 'Three times`more was thia
scene repeated; -but so. great is the disgust - we all
feel for the atrocities committed by the rebels,
that we had- no room for any feeling of pity.
Perfect callousn.ess was,depieted on every Enro
pean face; a look of grim satisfaction could even
be Seen in the countenances of the gunners serv
ing at the guns. . But far different-was the; effect
on the native, portion of the spectators. Their,
blaCk faces grew gliaitly. pale as they gazed
breathlessly at the awful spectacle. -
The public feeling here now is, that .the
Indian mutiny is virtually suppressed. The,
troops, p nixing into India, will, in a few
months, sweep predatory bands before them,
and, reduce the country to subjection': ()DIY
one English battalion of the supplies' from•
England or the- Cape had been in time to
take. part in, actual -fighting. So that the,
memorable,_ fact, remains, that a , ham:lint:of
British carried the day against Countless
odds, and against Skilled and trained foeti, ,
Thus the English character for valor and
endurance shines forth as gloriouslyas ever;
and if 'any shadow,was cast over our`military
reputation by the failure 'ate the Kam, in
the Crimea, 'now= Continental` nations are
compelled to• admire, and extoll.
The BANK-Aor CIIARTEIi was suspended
yesterday, by a Government letter, addressed
by the , Premier and the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, to the , mentors of, the Bank.nf
England. A similar, suspension took pla§C
at 'the last erisis,ln 1837. Notes will now
be issued &gond the Metallic reserve legally
required to be in the vaults of the Bank, of
England. ,- • ,Panie. had begun atGlasgow by
tremendous Bank failures. Tile millions,
sterling Of gold had been sent ,to Scotland
and Ireland alone. The ten per gent. for die
counts rennin. Still the relief' will be great
and speedy. .Parliament will be summoned
in a fortnight, to pass an Act , of Indemnity
for the Government.
SANATORY, STATISTICS are always valua
ble. Great results have accrued from meas
ures vigorouslY carried out by Dr. Letheby,
in the City of London. (As contrasted
with the metropolis generally, the city
proper, is here ~to be understood.) it
is scarcely credible, yet• it is true, that
the average of health there is higher
than the average throughout all England.
The deaths in the latter are 22.8 in every
1,000 of the population; in the city of Lon
don they are only 22.3. The, usual
yearly death roll in the city, a few years
ago, was 3,763, and this has been gradually
reduced to 2,763. Under the great'disad
vantages of being, as the Times says, " ae
tually walled , irr from • all :the vivifying ins
fluonces of the country, by miles of obdik
rate brick; incarcerated in a maze
~of
houses, shops, and factories, as cunningly
contrived as , any Cretan Labyrinth ; .our river
still polluted' our streets narrow and confinecl;
our houses—bnilt when there was a tax on
every brick; on every nail, on every pane of
glass—badly deficient in light and air; every
inch of ground so valuable that the people
are huddled together, with the dingy smoke
above them, and the London fog around—
yet here the bills of mortality tell that the
attempts at reform have been crowned with
success. Spill greater resuits are expected.
A vast system of thorough drainage is new
being carried out all over the metropolis,
and a gigantic scheme, at the cost of
£5,000.000. is seggestecl, for the entire elear r
ing of the Thames from pollution.
''The peculiar diseases of different Classes
come out strikingly •in Letheby's reporti as
well, as the proportionate' unirtality: Con
sumption is the malady of printers and
bakers,;'fever, of domestic servants and cab-.
men ;, bronchitis, of painters, butchers, and,
.eigiertWageibj b*irediagat*
bargemen;'andt liver diseases, oz.
'=I:ITERATtEtE, notwithstaricimsharu
is flourishing. The great publisher, Mr:
Murray, bas ihad a trade sale most success-
ful. The great book, of, the season" t is Dr.,
Livingstone's travels, of which the trade,sale.
Was thirteen thensand eight hundred. Of
this - noble -work, I enclose some Specirriensi
for.: separate insertion in your columns.
Other books ,went ofl,• : with,, proportionate
The following WEST OP ENGLAND (m
ouLttu wilt r amup )our readers. It it is
prodnetion, it proves - that the,
schoolmastersi 4g not abroad," in'some - rural
districts • •
Roger; Miles, surqohn parish Clark and Skule-,
master reforms ladys.and gentlemen that h dress,
teeth withene Waiting a 'moment, blisters on - the
lowest, terms, and,viziks for tb,penny a peace.. He
Zells Godfathers Cordei, huts kerns, and under
'
takes to keep everybodys Nayles by the lyea,i; or
so on. Young ladees And gentlemen lamed there
qui:timer, language, in the purtiest manner, also,'
gurt hare, taken Off their morals and Spellin,'
also zone, zingibeteeching the base vial and all
sorts- of , pliancy Work. Queer drills, pokere,
Weazils, and all other contrary dances tort at
hoam and abroad at Perfekshnn. Perfunieu and
snuf, in all its branches. As times be cruel bad,
lie begs to tell that he is just begun to sell all
sorts of tashuary wares, Koi, Hens, foles, elm;
Poltry, 'Making bauls,,herrings and coles,'skrnb
bin brushes, trakel,Godly bokos and Bibles, Gim
lets, tided-traps, brick-dust and Whisker 'seed,
and all sorts- of sweet meets, including tater%
sassages, and other garden stuff, also, plarute,
hats, songs, lioYle, ratan' bukets, 'and other eat
ables. Korn and butiyad serve, and all hard
wares. lie .also < performes
,fleabottomy on the
shortest notice ; and fathermore in patickeler he,
has laid in' a large assortment of type, dog's meet,'
lollippops and other pickels—Atioh as Hapsom
Zalts, hoyters, windzer Zoap, oid rags bort
and sold heir and nowhereshelse, new laid eggs
every day_by me Roger Giles.
Webave two REMARKABLE DAYS- in our ,
London November. „The first is .the, sth,,
Guy Fawkes' day. This isthe anniversary
„
of the Gunpewder riot, for blowing; - up
King, Lords, Commons; Comons, in the reign
=> amna arlu~tn the morni
are hearcfsoneq_an a eers every neigh:
boyhood; and, whetoir - Teox -- dut 7yert
see, carried on.a . banner, or two eheirs, tied
together, and improvised for • the occasion,
the figure of the` notorious conspirator, who
was seized,. with his-dark lantern, when see-.
ing, that the barrels of, gunpowder ; were ,all,
right and, ready, in Ake.. vaults ofSt„,
Stephens. Then, opposite each, doorin 'the
street or square, the boys let down their
Guy, and begin a rapid rhyme, the latit line'
of which is,
Down with the Pope, and , up, with the Queen."
And then follows a volley, of cheers.: in
the Winter of 1859,, when Cardinal :Wise-
Man was so obnoxious ohaceount of hialm
pident-aggression movement, that pprtly
and well-fed• priest was duly represented,'
with Itiwsearlet.robes and red stockings . ; as
the Guy of the. day; .and: as he., , was:,eup., , ,
posed to. be _a consenting, party to all the,
past " cons Piracy "-Pelicy of Rotne. Against
England, the boys "hoisted him ' (the fig.
ure,) on his own petard," when nightfall
came ; or in other words, with poetic ins
dee, blew him up with gunpowder, ,
Curious enough, a barrister has just
,pub,,
lished a ioltinie on the Gunpowder Plot, of
which the 'Times brought out, a seiisonabg
review on the , `fifth of November: From
this;volume it clearly appears, notwitlistand
ing all the denials of Lingard, and. other
Popish writerii,,that that,. the Read of,
the Jesuits, was privy to the plot. Jesuit
teaching, alio, hid succeeded in debauching'
the consciences of *Catesby and his felloivai -,
so, that one, ofthem went so ,far; the.
prospect of the Banff:old,, as to declare;: his.
conviction, that his good intentions in, that
seine plot, corisidered were so,meritOrions,
as to be' sufficient to atone for all the Sins of
his past life ! All the conspirators were
men lof and fortune, but Rome so
denationalised them of English kindliness
by her ; accursed teaching, as, to„ cause them
to glory in that." shame. '
' - But our second, field•day; is the Lord May
or's day—the !ninth of= November. Evee
since the ,time of Whitington, . ("and this:
cat,") and before* this has been the day
when our Chief Magistrate of:t4f3 City goes,
out of office,, and another comes in. Start
ing from'Guildhall, 'the old 'Court of 'COML'
mon Council and Law, a procession, strange
and grotesque, with trumpeters,
armor on horseback, a squadron of dragoons,
banners, and pninuivants, m4ea, its way
thrinigh the' Streets` i :and passes on the
Law Courts, at Westminster.i The Void
Mayor rides in a magnificent gilded' coach,
in, his robes, and with ; a fur•covered i tto,nical
cap, which seems to giye himrather an old ,
Nornfanish appearance; City Officers sit
pesite or beside hini; while -the Sheriffs,' in
splendid carriages, and all ruffles, and glit-
tering in their newly-denned costume, with
Aldermen of wards, in their. blue; gowris
fringed with far, follow after. Vast crnwdk
are in the streets; the pick-pockets make
hay while the sun' shines, or rather While
the fog helps them ; and every windoti along
the line is, crowded with matomas and little,
children, to %ahem the show is a ,great and
memorable affair.
Bl a S c o l i F e t i i in ar e s B ' i ' h' B 'e ri P d r ge c , e ' 'as " ll° t n ak ' w es lie th it ! i'l; w e a i te b r, e ui til
and in splendid barges, rowed inp the
Thames to i.Westminster. There, the new
Lord Mayor is introducedby the, Recorder;
in a flattering speech, to the Judges, and is
sworn iri, the Chief Baron saying mariner
of kind things, and assuring`the timid of the
City. Corporation that al their; rights and
privileges will be jealously conserved by her
Majesty's tintiges.
Then the procession comes boa throng
h
the:Strand, and at-Temple Bar 'joined by
the Queen's' Ministere;:thet . Foreign'Stribas
• , 4 r: i.4:.41
Philadelphia,
,111 South Tenth Street, below Chestnut
By Mail, or at the Mee, $1.50 per Yen t EMBPROSPECTIIBi
Delivered in the City, 1.75 "
WHOLE NO. 272
sadors, and the JadgeF, and all proceed to
; the grand banquet, at the Mansion House;
and a banquet there, I can' assure you, in
the Egyptian Hall, with such lighting, such
plate, such a brilliant gathering, is almost
regal in its splendor.
The Mansion House Dinner, on the 9th
of November, is the time for the Prime Min
ister to come opt with a speech;' and Lord
Palmerston's speech was forthcoming, ac
cordingly, on Monday last. It was a char
acteristic and a telling one. It bore chiefly
on India. He referred specially to the
braverpof.oursoldiers there, which, indeed,
may justly challenge the admiration of the
world.% He• - also, amid the cheers of
•
OW company,' ori.the extraordinary fortitude,
patience, and piety, evinced by our country
women, under such awful trials. "Hence
forth Ale brityeato soldier need z inot be
askamed-lo' be told, that his courage was
eifirditllatit"Of 'EliffshiVoiniii"li India."
Rerthen referred to. the great success of the
IkeW:reOil:W . llE Movement, and declared,
that. after`.. sending,,, away eighty thousand
men we : 4 had,„ tiovir more Armed -,men in the
tufted Kingdom than, hefore -the outbreak
of the Mutiny: , On' this he grounded a
. `,li.friitifg'taCen:tirieilial: nations 'not to m
anic „du. .weakness;
and this part: of his _address awakened the
strongest :enthusiasm. Whatever, the Empe
ror ;Napoleon. may feel,- the French people
are jealous and'erMotis of'England, and the
Jesuits would, gladly on the Conti
nental- despots. If ever they, attempt it, it
.may.be a desperate struggle, but at the end
of it;* by God's helpi England will hold her
crthi„ "and the deith-knell will he rung of
Popish, despotism .in Enrepe.
LerdPalmerston expresses his entire eon
fidence in Lord Canning, and speaks of the
third bein Sneer attend; when j retribtt
tion,must visit the guilty, andgenerosity and
rewards be drown. to the, innocent and the
faithful among the faithless. The latter he
reckons by " millions," the former by
" thousands."
Mn. . u
R. oPURGEON still maintains his popu
larity. I paid Park Street Chapel a recent
visit,.on a week evening, and found a large
congregatibn. His style of exposition and
preaching, is the same as formerly. His
power of analysis is great. His description
of the work of, the „Spirit in giving life to
the dead soul, was very clear and impressive.
He puts special_ honor,. in his ministry, on
the Holy Spirit and his offices. He stated,
in'ponnexion with his subject, that'the doe
trines usually called Caltinistie, were eor
dially embraced by the many young persons
who, week -after week, are joining the
church under his. pastoral care. Doubtless,
in connexion with the Spirit's teaching,
this laic' he largely ascribed to the fullness
of the pastor's pulpit" instructions, and the
trenchant charaeterof his arguments against
oppos , inf . errors which, in many yrofes
oval„,„.,.,.„„byta tar triitl% Mr gnnreml states
the_doetrines of grace in the broadest terms,
and the throng beforehim ” Many peo
ple think a man can convert himself and turn
to God t at anyTtime; but I tell you that he
can% and he wont! Ile can't; • can a 'dead
body make itself live,?" &0., &e. And yet
with conies this freest offer, of Christ
and his salvation to sinners, and special en
eouragetnent to the convinced and trembling,.
*hcarethirsting after life, pardon, and peace.
"Poor sinner, that desire came not fiom
thyself;:God, the Spirit, gave it thee. It
is a sign that you are alive, and as the Lord
my God liveth, I tell thee this night"
(and as he says this, the dark, • liquid eye be r
comes softer, and more 'fiquid,) "that j'esue
died for thee." Arminians, of course, would
call inconsistent preaching, but it is the
_glorious inconsistency ,of, a Paul, an Augus
tine, and .a ' Whitfield..
Mr. SPirgeon, has sometimes been accused
of irreverence in prayer, and of egotiidn too.
'there seem; at. times, to be traces of these,
but I must say that his prayers are gen--
erally very solemn, and what is more,
very agonizing, on his part, with direct (1,34-
nite blessings in view, and a wrestling fer
vency with which the most spiritual present
can thoroughly, syniPathize. , His pleadings
for the unconverted, naming the different
classes, and the worst, some of whom are
generally present, are specimens of what is
meant by the= heaven, suffering "violence."
".The Saint and, his Saviour," is the title
,
of anew book by Mr. Spurgeon—rich in the
utterances, of - Christian experience. The
whole of the first edition he told me, had
gonantl,in a fortnight..;
The introduction of the ROMAN CHARAO
'TERS tin the printing . of. Oriental languages,
is warmly advocated by the Times, in con
nexion with our future Indian policy : This,
it' states, is the mode adopted by missionaries
in the East, and will help more and more to
Anglicize •India. The natives of Persia and
HindObstan cannot read, with, rapidity, their
own written language. The Roman charac
ters *oil& be a mighty advantage, also, to
officers and civilians, in acquiring Eastern
tongues: This is one of the many indications
of future and pregnant changes in Indian ad
ministration. It is stated, apparently on
authority, by the Times, that before twelve
months; th&-East India Company's rale will
.give place to the direct control of the British
Crown and Parliament.
A. great meeting was.held; this week, in
Edinburgh, with,the,•desigmof forming, in
conne*ell.with,t4 pes j e?p Catsis IN . INDIA,
an Association tor the removal of all Govern
ment encouragement of Caste, connexion with
Idolatry, and opposition to the profession,
and promulgation; of Christianity in India.
The, Rey. Murray Mitchell, missionary, from
Bomhay,, gave credit, to the East India CODI
- for having ceased from much that •was
evil. Suttee, Thugzee, and infanticide had
been suppressed. Slairery had vanished.
The payment: l ot pilgrim taxes into the gov
iriimetit treasury—the imposition of oaths
I ,o l fc iMine ,of false g0 4 477-pMyers to them
for rain-,official. attendance at heathen fes
tival S—the direct management of Temple
funds—all had ceased A Neitheris there any
;longer government opposition to missions.
-These received perfeet.toleration, and their
friends asked `no more. In Ceylon, also,
'
patronage of,"devil-dancing." and Budatt
ismibad-e-eitsed. But he says: " There is a
government connexion with idolatry. There
is hardly. a paltry shrine over:Western India,
that does not receive government money,.
the,result et,,old treaties; amounting, in the
134 #i'aX, firesi4en°Yt to 4 7 9)C 160 ., Then
iteie f aro' 'returns of village, expenses,' un
der:l6loi innocent feral' are-theltided par: