Irtsbotrian Nnutr,
P/TTSBURUN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 1861.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church in the United States of America will hold
its next meeting in the First Presbyterian
Church in the city of Peoria, Illinois, at eleven
o'clock A. M. on Thursday, the 21st of May,
and will be opened with a sermon by the Rev.
Charles C. Beatty, D.D. I Moderator of the last
Assembly.
say. The CessitAttee of Commissions will meet
in the Lebtllre•'toom of • the church on the
Wednesday evening preceding, at eight o'clock,
to receive commissions, and on Thursday morn
ing, the day of the meeting, at nine o'clock, for
the same purpose.
ALEXANDER T. MCGILL, Stated Clerk.
WILLIAM E. SCHENCK, Permanent Clerk.
The Art of Preaching.—For some excel
lent thoughts on this noblest of all arts,
see the letter of our European corres
pondent.
A Name Wauted.—We have a letter from
Illinois, enclosing two dollars for the
Banner. It
. has neither name nor Post
Office address, and the Postmaster's stamp
is illegible.
Prof. Green on the Prntateneh.—We give,
on our first page a notice of this excellent
work. It is from the pen of an esteemed
correspondent. Ordinarily our book notices
are from our own pen.
A kaftan preparing for the ministry,
and who has a family to support, desires
emplcyment in or near Pittsburgh or Alle
gheny City. He has had experience in
teaching, writing, and other labor. Ad
dress " R. T.," box 486, Allegheny Post
Office.
The Next General Assembly.-- Stated
Clerks of Presigteries, and of other bodies
sending delegates to the Assembly, are re
quested to send in the names of delegates
immediately on their appointment, with
the Post Office address of each one. i3y
so doing you will assist and oblige us.
Address J. BOYD HEADLEY,
GEO. H. MOILVAINE,
for Committee of Arrangements.
Peoria, April 4th, 1863.
The Fast and the Presbyteries.—Several
of the Presbyteries have their meetings ap
pointed for the week in which the Fast
day will occur. A venerable brother sug
gests that the day should not, on• this ac
count, be changed.
.In some easel, though
the pastor may necessarily be absent,
another minister may be obtained, to con
duct the worship, and when a minister can
not be had, the elders may lead the exer
cises of, the sanctuary. Let the Clay, and
the same day, be observed throughout the
hind, by all the people.
The Christian Commission.—The Pitts
burgh Branch of the U. S. Christian-Com
mission held a meeting of much interest
on the evening of the 16th inst., in the
Penn. Street Methodist church. Addiesses
were delivered by Rev. GEORGE. A. MIN-
Qum, a Delegate from the Parent Society;
by Rev. S. J. WlLson, D.D., of the Wes
tern Theological Seminary; by Rev. W.
A. PASSAVANT, D.D., of the Lutheran
Church; and by the President, Rev. H.
JOHNSON.
The interest taken by, our citizens in the
welfare of the soldiers, both as to their
temporal and spiritual welfare, indicates
the happy influence of the Gospel in Pitts
burgh.
NeW ClUttch.—On Tuesday evening,
the 14th inst., a new chireh war organized
in Allegheny City, embracing forty com
municating members and three ruling el
ders. The people had belonged, mostly, to
the Central church. For some months the
enterprise had been contemplated, and wor
ship had been conducted in the Seminary
Hall. A..very fine lot for the site of an
edifice has been obtained by the generosity
of that valuable citizen, Gen. Wst. Ens
-
=SOIL The name of the organization is
The'North 'Church. The prospect is'fair
for a large congregation, and great useful
ness
A. CHURCH FOR' ONE DAL
That regiment of veterans, the 10th
Pciumylvania Reserves, supposing them
selves to he 'stationed, for a. time, near
Washington, had got diligently to work • to
prepare a
. place for worship. The chaplain,
in a private letter, thus speaks of the Te
ak :
* * * " Our church was finished on
yesterday, and occupied to-day and this
evening. The men worked at it yesterday
and put.it in nice order. It will seat about
ninety, and was well filled in three minutes
after 'the church call was beat. A more
attentive audience cannot be found any
where. I preached very plainly. They
appeared delighted to have such a nice
place to meet in; and I •assure you I felt
the emotions and tittered the words - of grat-'
iinde to God last night and"'this morning,
fOr this favor. I took a walk in the woods
this pleasant morning and • had happy
&tights of the future in our log-cabin
church, having had so much to encourage
me in lily personal intercourse with the
men lately. Probably you can conceive of
my feelings when, on my return to my
'teht,`One 'of our active'men called to return
Amok: :te` the library, and said, 'We have
orders to be -ready to move to-morrow
mornings': 'I was terribly cut down by
this news but it is - so. And it is but a
Ample of soldier life. God's ways are
not 'our ways in the army any more than,
elaiwhire. We have been waiting and
working to get this house, and now 'before
•sjo'had pie worshipped his holy: name in
ii°we are' ordered. to leave it. But he has
tie to haVe one good day's use of
it, and as I said to the men, if when we
meet together again, as , we shall- at the
judgment-seat .of phrist, it shall be foind
that ( .this day's service has brought one
pod*, lost sinner to Christ, or induced one
a:FAAsalvation, it will be seen not to have
Veen' labor and money spent in vain. One
or the' men said this evening : I don't
grera thiliglii3 'have dorie. lam glad it
iiitefinialied'and used" evenfor one day.'
*''' * .9nite a number of themen are
seriously' seekhigiilvation."- • •
HUMILIATION, FASTING, PRAYER
The President of the United States has
set apart the last Thursday of April (30th
inst.) as a day of Humiliation, Fasting,
and Prayer. The Proclamation was issued
at the request of the Senate, which is the
representative of the States in their organ
ized capacity. It may hence be considered
as a distinct National recognition.of the
being and providence of God, of his justice
and placability. The sentiments of the
Proclamation are excellent, and we trust
it will be read in all the churches, on the
day appointed. In its language it comes
not quite up to the Christian standard. It
clearly recognizes the Divine origin of
the " Holy Scriptures ;" but it mentions
not the name of Jesus Christ, nor does it
direct the mind to his mediation. The
people are to approach God, each congre
gation in accordance with their own faith.
Christians will pray, having faith in Him
who is " the way, the truth, and the life."
The Proclamation was published in the
Banner of April Bth.
Christian ministers will have a very im
portant duty to perform, in directing the
sentiments and leading the devotions of
the assembled people, on the day appoint
ed; Christian editors have their service to
render, in 'preparing the public for the oc
casion. We attempted a commencement
of this service when wepublished the call,
and would now further prosecute our task.
In speaking of public humiliation, a dif
ficulty meets us, at the very outset. How
shall we attain to the thing enjoined ? It
is not a "voluntary humility," that is, a
mere volition, a form, a ritual, a ceremony.
There must be a sense of sin, a deep con
trition, a confession, a justifying of God, a
deprecation of the Divine anger. How'
shall a people reach this depth of emotion,
this sense of ill-desert, this intense desire
for mercy ? Not by the demand of a ruler,
nor yet alone by the contemplation of dis
tress and danger. The preparation of heart
to approach God, is, one of God's gifts ; a
gift of grace.' How helpless poor sinners
are ! They need grace 'to ask for grace.
May God bestow the needed grace upon his
needy people!
It is a deep shame, an indelible disgrace
to this nation, that' we have a civil war,
that is, a war among ourselves. Enemies
from without might attack us in their own
wickedness, either from a desire to plunder,
or because they hated. our virtues. But in
a civil war, the wickedness is within—the
hatred, the provocation, the spirit of re
venge, the desire for plunder, the mutual,
slaughter. We boast that we have the
best government on earth; but how can it
be the best, both theoretically and_ practi
cally, when under it, such a war has sprung
up 7 Is the family well governed, where
there are bickerings, and reproaches, and
provocations, till one-third thereof rises in
rebellion; and the remaining two-thirds
denounce, reproach, and vilify each, other
as reptiles, and demons, and a loathing;
and so cherish dissentions as that the head
is able neither to command pea7ce, nor stay
the destroyer's hand ? And what is to be
come of that family?
Now, we have thought, and still think,
that our government is, theoretically, the
best on earth. Under it, 'God long blessed
this nation beyond all other nations. Why_
then has he given us up to one of the
deepest of calamities? Why does blood
shed by the hand of brothers, flow in riv
ers, year after year. Why this wasting of
property ? Why this accumulation of debt.?
Why the home divisions, the reproaches
and revilings of each other, and the ill'
success of our arms? Has' God given us
over to an invincible folly, leading to de
struction % We hope yet to discover that
.he has not forsaken the land. We trust
still in his mercy. .Let us look at our sins,
in all their numbers and aggravation, and
confess with true sorrow ; and let us con
template the justness of God's displeasure,
and the imminence of the danger, and the
fearfulness of his wrath, that we may pray
with true desire.
Of the duty of fasting we have several,
times spoken. Fasting should be real, that
we may feel our feebleness and dependence,
but not carried to such an extreme as to
disqualify us for duties which'God require&
May the Lord give to his ministers words
of reproof and instruction, and bring us
all to a true and deep humiliation, that in
earnestness of soul ministers and people
may confess sin, and plead for pardon, and ,
obtain the blessing of national peace, to
the Divine glory through Christ Jesus.
THE WILBEEFORCES.
WILLIAM WILBER.FoucE, of England,
the philanthropist; was ' an Evangelical
Christian, and one of the most eminently
good men of his day. But, in one thing
he failed greatly thatis, in the religious
education of his sons. Alas, hoi often do
pious parents come short of securing the
covenant blessing to their offspring qod
is faithful, but they are ,faithless. They
omit the seal; or, they affix the - seal but
neglect to keep their vow. The medium of
blessing they emit, and hence 'do not reap
the promised benefits; the due use : .of the
means being a part of the contract. If
child is really trained in the way in which :
he should go, there is no reason to doubt
but* that, he Willabide therein. God is
good..
A eorrespondent , to the New-York' Meth
.
odist, writing from Paris, says':
‘!
By the way, I told you a fee? weeks
ago, that the Tiin6l, in',its notice. of the
Exeter Hall demonstration, asked,' Where
are the Niriinxicsoiona 7', The ingenious
and ingenuous journalist 'meant thereby to
insinuate that :the WititERPOROES- are
really representatives of their honored
father's opinions, and that if the Atherican .
Government were'really engaged in putting'
down slavery, they would be among the
foremoit to'praise and support it. But
alas'! fat the honored name. The Wit-
IiERFOROES of the'ikeeene day are no more
like the man who has made' that nand) im
mertali in atita-slavery sentament, than in
religious opinions.
PRESBYTERIAN BANNER.---WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 1863.
FORCE was an Evangelical Christian—a
Methodist, in fact, in the language of his
day, which called every earnest• and prac
tical Christian a Methodist. Of his four
ions, SAMUEL, Bishop of Oxford, (com
monly known as Slippery Sam,) is the only
one that remains in the Church of Eng
land; and be, as you are well aware, leas
gone just as close to Rome as he could
without sacrificing his high position.
Another son, formerly Archdeacon in the
Church of England, joined the" Papists,
and died at Rome five years ago, while pre
paring for orders. Another gave up a
benefice in the Church of England, but
being a man of family, he could not become
a Romish priest, and is now editor of the
Weekly Register, a Romanist journal.
The eldest son has just now followed his
brothers in apostasy from Protestantism;
his perversion was yesterday announced in
the Monde, a Romanist journal of Paris.
The question of the Times, 4 Where are the
WILBERFORCES 7 1 is answered."
The answer is a sorry one. It reveals an
awful defection. We put it on record- as
a warning to parents.
THE BATTLE AT THE ENTRANCE OF
CHARLESTON HARBOR.
This contest, of April 7th, is variously
criticised. One newspaper correspondent
speaks of the failure as due entirely to the
timidity or fearfulness of Admiral DUPONT.
He writes to the Baltimore American, and
is extensively copied. He says :
" On the:morning of ;the Bth, after the
fight, the.seven Monitors were all examined,
and found in as good condition for service
as they were upon going into action on, the
7th.. Half-past one o'clock was the hour
fixed upon fora renewal of the bombardment,
and the officers of the different vessels were
all in readiness and most of them anxious for
a renewal of the conflict. The order for the
movement was momentarily waited for, but
the order.never came. At 3 o'clock it was
ascertained throughout the fleet that the
Admiral had decided that 6 .Charleston is
impregnable, that Sumpter cannot be taken
with the vessels and appliances placed at
his disposal by the Government.'
" The reason why Charleston has not
been destroyed by the iron-clad fleet, even
if Sumpter had not been taken, is the
dreadful fear that overshadowed the fleet
authorities, of rebel torpedoes?'
Two days after the battle; he writes
" Last evening I visited the iron-clads on
the steam-tug Dandelion, and a more brok
en-hearted set of men I never had the mis
fortune to encounter. Each man appeared
to regard himself as personally disgraced
by the act, of his superiors, ancl aboard the
Ironsid es the state of feeling among the
younger officers and crew was that of su
preme disgust".
A correspondent of the . Boston Journal
takes a view of the case very similar to the
above. -
The correspondent of the H. 1. Times,
on the contrary, so describes the battle,
that the editor says of it :
It added to the glory of our navy, and
involved no serious loss either of life or
material. In the annals of naval' warfare,
no instance can be found of a serious attack
upon a place a hundredth part so formida
ble. Considering the tremendous calibre
an'd scientific construction of the guns, and
the fact that three hundred .of them-simul
taneously belched their concentric fire upon
the little fleet at the distance of only fa*
hundred yards, and considering, too, the
infernal agents of destruction that lay he
neath the water, as Well as the curbs and
the snares and the traps,. all former at
tempts. of the kind now , seem but mere
child's play. Such a Titanic job was nev
er before undertaken on the planet. It is
almost a miracle that it was carried so far
with so little harm, And we have greater
reason to rejoice over the escape than to
grieve over the failure." - •
This is, dclubtless, somewhat' extrava
gant; but still it is most manifest that the
task entrusted to Admiral DUPONT . was.ut
terly beyond the power of the foree with
which he was furnished. He had all told,
but thirty-two guns, while the enemy had
over three hundred which could bear upon
him. Then, the enemy's protection in
forts and casemated batteries was so com
plete that all our firing, for two hours,
killed , but one of his men. and wounded a
few others. Also the channel by which
our vessels advanced was so narrow and
tortuous that they could not be manceuveied,
and some of them could not be got into po
sition ; and . their way was blocke4:l up by
piles, cribs, chain - cables, and rafts, so that
they were checked right under the guns of
the'principal forts. The Admiral did well
in bringing off'his vessels, losing only one
of them. •
It is stated that the rebels fired over
three thousand five hundred rounds of
ponderous 'shot at our iron -clads, and that
ours threw one hundred and fifty , balls at
the rebel works. Much damage is said, to
have been done to Fort Sumpter; but there
was no approximation toward its destruc
tion ; and then it, was only one of a num
her. And if our vessels had got within
the harbor, they.would then.have met with
still greater obstacles than what were found
at its*entrance.
The lronsides suffered the loss o£ one of
her port-doors, and had a.few.shota in„ her
forward part where she was not plated.
The Keokrick was a less substai , ttial ves
sel than the others. She 'drew 'less,iater
and ran closer to the enemy. She Was
struck ninety times, and was completely
riddled, theshot from rifled guns piercing
her turrate, and also her - hull both 'above
and below the water surface. She, retired
from the fight, and sunk the nest,morning.
The ilTahant received thirty wounds,
some of them bad fractures .of the 'deck
and sides , below and above the water line.
The pilot house was struck, and a bolt
started which : wounded the Captain and
two men, one of them fatally.
The Passaic received -about• the same
number of ,ounds. One' - Ives made` by a
,
large ten-inch 'rifled projectile, which
struck the top, of the ,turret, scooping out
a huge portion of the iron, breaking all of
the eleven plates of an inch thickness, and
spending its forde on the pilot 'Ovhich
is placed on top of thoturret,j iT'VAich it
made a crater three inches ,deep,,a,nil pro
ducing such a shocknn the pilot house as
to' Start -its trip and laiSo it. UP th the' inches.
Siintheir Shot 'Wit' tUriet; the
plate inwards, and producing a big swell
on the interior. The same shock disabled
the carriage of the eleven-inch gun, while
portions of the interior iron casing fell
down, and lodging in the groove of the
turret, stopped its revolution.
The Nan tucket, besides receiving a num
ber of wounds, had her turret so jarred that
the cover of the port could not be opened,
and consequently the fifteen-inch gun could
not be used.
The English have, latterly, been experi
menting largely' ith projectiles, and have
boasted that they could penetrate any iron
casing which a vessel could carry. Some
of their beat improvements had reached
Charleston, and this battle shows that their
boast was not vain: Five of our nine iron
clads were badly damaged ; one being Sunk,
one rendered useless by the injury to the
turret, one endangered by the injury to the
pilot house, one exposed by the loss of a
port-shutter, and one crippled by damage
to its eleven-inch gun. We have not yet
attained to invulnerability in building ves
sels of war. It is true that against the
old style of cannon, our Monitors would be
a perfect'defence; but science has done as
much for attack as for defence, and hence
the repulse of our noble little fleet
We had heard much of the formidable
army which was to unite in the attack up
on Charleston ; but we now leirn that Gen . .
IiNTER, had-moved but seven thausand
men, a force utterly inadequate for any at
tempt against the fifty thousand which pro
tected that city. Secretary STANTON and
Gen. HALLECK must do Vetter, if they
wish to maintain Our country's cause and
honor. Why , was there not a combined at
tack ?
• The Sabbath in PittSbltrgl—Efforts are,
now madei by the proper officers, to enforce
the State laws against the selling of liquor
on the Sabbath. Their success is cheering,
and it indicates that if the people will
choose upright and energeticinen for their
municipal magistracy, we may have a quie.t
and orderly city. The Chronicle, of the
20th inst., .says YesterdaY WU one of
the quietest Sabbaths- ever passed in Pitts
burgh.. There was not a. single drinking
house opened in the city, and there was
consequently none of that drunkenness or
disorder;which in times past have so often
disgraced the Lord's. day. This is a most
satisfactory state of affairs, and we trust it
may continue. There is no excuse what
ever for liquor-selling on Sunday, and we
hope never again to see it tolerated in
Pittsburgh!' • '
This is well for the present; but still
there may be a motive not quite as high as
a love of sobriety and reverence for law.
Now is the time for •tho Tenewal of tavern
and grog-shop licenses. Respectable names
are wanting as signers to petitions. The
Courts are to be prevailed upon. It is not
the first time that
. quiet Sttlabaths have
been enjoyed in April.. Perhaps we have
given our municipal officers more credit
than they . deserve. . Well, the fact ataxia
demonstrated, that it is possible for' the
liquor dealers ,to close their doors on the
Lord's day.; and hence the law should be
enforced. - - : : -
EASTERN SUMMARY.
NiW-ENGLAND.
A CoRRESPONDENT of the Congrega
tionalist, after giving a detailed historical
Recount of Presbyterianism in- New-Hamp
shire, makes the folldwing, among other
Summary remnrks, in conclusion:
,
" The above sketch presents a list of
twenty-eight Presbyterian churches that
have been organized in New-Hampshire,
only seven of which are now in being. ,01
these, five are among the strongest and best
Calvinistic churches of the, State. The
other two are small and feeble. :The whole
number of Presbyterian ministers that
have been and still , are pastors of, the above
nained churches is sixty-seven. As a gen
eral
,fact the decline and extinction of,
so many Presbyterian churches in this"
State is no evidence of the decline of re
ligion and morals in the towns where they
existed:, in most instances Presbyterian
ism was nbsorbed by . Congregationalism,
which his maintained and propagated the
same system of religious doctrine an,dorder
on the same fields. In no case has a Pres
byterian church changed its polity, or be
come extinct as such, because the policy it
erected in its,place had a'greater claim for
its favor and support, but because it was
more,in accordance , with the, early habits,
training and syMpathies of the people gen
erally. Had not, the noble Scotch-Irish
element been introducedinto the. original
population of many . towns of ileckingham
and , counties, it doubtful
whether there would ever have been tiPres
byterian church 'established in the State;.
and, it is equally doubtful whether Congre
gationalism would have flourished to any
considerable , extent had Presbyterianism
beep the form of church governinent em
braced by ern. Puritan fathers."
. REV. CONVERS FEANCIB, Piro;
fessor of Pulpit Eloquence and Pastoral
Care in the Diiiinity School at Cainbridge,
Maas.; died at his residence'in that city, on
the 7th lust,' aged sixty eight years. He
was the :brother
. of Mrs. Lydia.. Maria
Child. , , • •
Pam' FAGEiIIT C. Smrru, of BowdOin
College, has been elected to fill the
ORO° of Professor 'Shedd - ire the chair of
Ecclesiastical History at Andover Theolog—
ical Senßinary• -
RKV:;llEinty JACKSON, D.D: a Baptist
minister of Newport, recently deceased,
left $8,009 to University for 'Bohol ?
afakips; $4,000, aftei the death. of his,
wife, to ; the Abode "Island'Baptist State,
COnvention ' and libiarY to . Newton
Theological Institution.
THE Masi , CHUROO in Hartford ; Dr.
Heard and R 6% Wolcott Calkins' pastors;
was the : first Congregational church organ
ized in *Connecticut, and the eighth in
New-England: It .has , had ten pastors.
None were dismissed, and'nine of;theth lie
in the graveyard with their people.
THE Providence Annual Conference of
the Methedidt - Episcopal Church„ln'seiiien
at Warren , adopted' lately' an outspoken re
pert upon the state of, the country, em=
Bracing :resolutions expressing cOnfidena
in;:audiappreiik of thii i itumer Of a: 4
the
Ministration, thanking the Congress `of
United States for including the clergy in
the conscription act, and sending words of
greeting to the ministers and members now
in the army.
THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH from an
address recently delivered in Ecrston by
Hon. Edward Everett, breathes forth the
purest patriotism, and suggests truths of
the most momentous importance respecting
our country's future :
" And now the great question which
we have to settle is, Shall this mighty
aggregate of prosperity perish, or shall
it endure ? Shall this imperial heri
tage of blessings descend unimpaired
to our posterity, or shall it be igno
miniously, profligately thrown away ?
Shall the territory of the Union, late so
happy under the control and adjustment of
the National and State Governments, be
broken up into miserable fragments, sure
to be engaged in constantly recurring bor
der wars, and all lying at the mercy of
foreign powers; or 'shall•it preserve itBllo
- integrity under the mgis of the National
Government? Admit the right of these=
ceding States to break up the Union at
pleasure, nay, 9f each and every State to
do so, and allow them to enforce' that right
by a successful war—deny the - authority of.
the Central Government to control its mem
hers, and how long -will it be before the
new. Confederacies created by the first dis
ruption shall be resolved into still smaller
fragments, and the continent become a vast
theatre of civil war, military license, an
archy, and despotilim ? . Better, at what
ever cost, by whatever sacrifice, settle- the
question at once, and settle it forever"
THE Boston Transcript notices the death
of Mrs. Lydia Nickerson, at the advanced
age of ninety-nine years and six months.
She attended the School Street Pnrish
from its foundation in 1817 but was not
received into communion with the church
until her ninetieth year. •
NEW-YORK.
WE LEARN from, the Examiner that, at a
late Conference Meeting of Baptist minis
ters in this city, an interesting'communica
tion was received from the so-called " Strict
Baptists" of England, asking for counsel
and sympathy in the trying position in
which the latter. seem to be plaSed. The
Examiner mentions the following facts as
having been brought to light by the read,
ing of the communication and the discus
sion which ensued in the Conference
" The Strict Baptists, as they are called,
in distinction` from the Open-CoMmunion
Baptists, are in danger of being lost and
swallowed up in the Open-COMERMII.OI3 ele
ment. This party, led by Rev. Mr. Spur
geon, Rev: Baptist Noel, and men of that
stamp, are ready to complete the coalition
proposed among the Independents, Congre
gationalists, and other dissenting bodies,
and so form one denoinination. Mr. Spur
geon admits members from Pedobaptist
churches, on certificate, without baptism,
and he has hundreds of Members who have
not been baptized. Baptist Noel does the
same thing, - and one of his leading deacons
has not been baptiZed, and has been and is
now an Episcopalian. Churches built by
Baptists, _who lint - in the deed that' the
church was to be used only by 4 Particilar
Baptists,' or Strict Baptists,' have been
taken by Open-Communion Baptists, and
held under a decision of the Courts, that
Open-Communion and`Strict Baptists mean
the same thine'
A letter, in reply was unanimously adopt
ed by the Conference, taking the ground
" that all the regular Baptist churches in
the country arestriet-cOrrimunionists; that
the other element has no place or footing
in the ehurakes; and from numerous and
unanswerable statistics proving that in the
practice of strict-communion vigor, prosper
ity and expansion were found."
AT A' ' RECENT Fulton Street Prayer-
Neeting, allusion baying - been made to the
revival et Hamilton College, a speaker re
marked that he had witnessed many revi
vals in college, and he had always found
that the Aons of praying mbtheis were sure
to • be among the earliest mil:oas of a work
of grace. Let mothers be importunate in
prayer:
THE FINANOTAL year of the Ametieen
Bible Society closed on the
,31st of March.
The receipts of the year were *422,588.
The 'whole issues of the year, including
Bibles, Testaments, and parte of the Bible,
were 1,257,249. The friends of the Bible
have reason to rejoice at the prospetity and
extensive usefulness of the~ SoolOy..
THE FOLLOWING from the Examiner is
interesting, as bearing on the agency sys
teni :
" Our .[Baptist] Missionary', Societies
havejust closed a year of unexpected pros-
Perity—the Missionary Union having re
ceived: about $15,000 more than in the year
, .
preceding, and the Home Mission Society
about $2,000 in advance of its previous
year's receipts. This is very good, in any
view of the case, and especially good when
it is remembered' that the year now, closed
is the first at rilaking, collections without
collecting agents. Such results ought to
do something toward giving many of our
friends a little more faith . in the churches,
and conaideribly less faith in a worn-out
agency system.
THE N. . T. Evening Post contains a glcw
ing report_ of a ceremony recently per-
formed. in one of the. Roman Catholic
church - ea of the city, - is-headea, "4;4
eeremony. *ee`eicitio;i: of
young Auyes.into the order of tlie, solidity'
of the blessed= Virgin:" The . following.: is
in extract
"At three o!elock the procession 'ente . ted
the church. The young ladies; President,
vice president,-liecretary --and treasurer,
bearingn:' gorgeousbalm er, •i °Labe ',blessed
Virgin, wreathedin gold and bluelstream
ers, surmounted, Eby a cross. 'They. wore
dresses of sky bine, white velvet, scarfs,
richly 'trimmed iitligoiq, long White'crape
veils,•WOrn ala Madonna-litre, but 'fasteried
on the shoulders' with a blue rosetie, and a
cornet of reseS and lilies, with long'stream
ers, ornamented 'the head. The ineinbers
of thenidex•folloivediii the same costume;
Seine of theta, bearing others;
lighted wait torches' wreathed with flevieiN
The . juvenilc - Protestants - shout to be re.; ,
ceived into the_order, excited particular at:
tention. They were dressed 'like Wile
brides, in pure white, wreaths of toses and
peail, and veils reaching to' neail'ilurfeei.
Many: of, theseloung - ladies are the denet
t:64i' of 'most respectable traders and gentle-
Men of the city Cf . New- i gnrie, and hie pyt:
pile of St.!insePh's schoel;l7ho five
hundred` children of iaiiiitoiliges
moral, religious, and useful education, un
der the superintendence of the Sisters of
Charity belonging to St. Vincent's Hospi
tal, West Eleventh Street."
The Boston Watchman, in commenting
on the report, asks : " Are there Protestant
parents in this country so blind is this
statement argues ? If - so, they may open
their eyes too late, when their children
forskke them and call them heretics ; and
when they find this, too, to be the least' of
the evil results of their confidence in the
Sisters of Charity' "
DR. WILLARD PARKER, Professor of
Surgery in the New-York College of Phy
sicians and Surgeons, lately delivered to
the students of the Union Theological
Seminary, at their own request, two lee
tures, on topics connected with the general
subjeet of mental and physical hygiene..
The Indepndent says :
'His purpose was to discos. the brain
as a motive power and, the body as , a
ma
chine and to show how to keep them in
order.
"In his.first lecture, the Professor dwelt
upon the benefits of pure air, and the pois
onous influences of crowded and
ated rooms. And if some of those young
Ministers do not have airy . ehurehes and
wide-awake audiences, it will be because
these lessons are forgotten.
" The , second lecture was in a great part
directed against evil habits; and the use
of tobacco received a full share of denun
ciation. The fact adduced that New-York
city spends Sixteen Theusand Defiers n day
for tobacco and only Twelve Thonsand for
bread, significant as it is, was AO yiade the
most important; but the highest medical
authorities were quoted to shoW the evil
effects of tebacco on the brain and nerves,
its ?rogation to produce physical and men
tal deterioration in the user and' in his de
,
seen dents too." • •
MAJOR- GENERAL GEO. B. MTLELLAN
made a public profession of religion in
New-York, on the first Sabbath of the
present month, by uniting with the Pres
byterian church, under the pastoral care of
Dr. William Adams. Mrs. M'Clellan, and
her mother and sister, were admitted at the
same time by letter.
Tun chief events in financial circles are
the active demand for Government seciri 7
ties by conversions into U. S. five-twenty
bonds, averaging about a million dollars
daily, and the varied movement in the
price of gold.. The receipts of money ,by
Goverinnent from loans, conversions, and
customs and taxation, are estimated, semi
officially, to equal in amount the daily
expenditure for the war.
Money is 'abundant and easy to first-class'
borrowers at . 5 to 6 per cent., and prime
commercial paper is scarce and in demand
at 5 to 7 per cent., according,,, to the dates
of maturity.
On. Saterday, April 11th, sales of gold
were made at 1501 to 1521-, on Monday at
157 to , 1571-, and on `Tuesday at 1551` to
15,51. • • The foreign exchange market
changes with the prices' of gold, and on
Monday and Tuesday bankers' 60-dayi
sterling bills were quoted at 170 to 173.
PHILADELPHIA.
WE ZEMIN from the Methodist ,that, the
• .
Philaclelplia Annual Conference having
taken high: ground in regard to the exami
nation of ministerial - eandidates E an unusu
ally large number were Obliged; in cons&
quence of their inability, to core up to the
required standard, tereview the ".course of
study" for the past.yea,r.- The „Methodist
remarks : " This was a severe, but doubt
less a necessary and salutary impasure:
Like a bitter-pill it may work a raclical and
permanent cure." .
At the same Conference, according a' the
Advocate and Journal, "the case of 'Rev.
Sylvanus Townsend, who iefnsed to vote
when :his name was called on the xesolution
reaffirming the loyalty of the Conference,
was disrobied of by a 'resolution expieta3ing
the strong disapprobation' of the Confer
ence at his conduct,—and refnsing to, elect
him to elder's orders. The first; clause , of
the •resolution was carried' by 160 votes to
8, and the lait was'adopted: unanimously."
Tun ANNUAL nuPou'r of the Society for
the Employment of the poor in-Philadel
phia, shows th'it, during the year ending
the J3th'inst.„ several thousand prescrip 7
tions were, given to petitions in and
outside
.of, the building, and that large
numbers sought medical advice of
this-institution, and obtained relief, who
othetivise would have `suffered and r b
bly have died 'if this institution hid not
been in operation!!
Gin Ann COLLEGE has within its' wails,
at 'the present tind,about fife hnndred
rcgiAls•
THERE Axe TewUnited States vessels of
war at Ale Philadelphiai Navy Yard.' They
are- eitheiin the 'course of .ehostruction or
repair:- -
• For the PreAhyterlan Banner.
Supplies Appointed by illegberip Presbytery . .
Butler-L-Fourth SAbath of May; Mr.
Harrison. Fifth - Sabbath in May, Mr:
Hall: ;First Sabbath in June, Mr. j.
Boyd.
". Rich Will---Tfiird-Sabbath of 'June, Mr.
Walker ; to administer tile Lord's Slipper:
Also; leave to; 'obtain > supplied' (till' next
Fall meeting:
-Pia-us—Leave to 'obtain " supplies till
Fall meeting-. • . .
North. Butler — Jam es . Coulter, - Stated
Supply for one , year.- --;
• NA() and Pot:tern:Ole—Leav e to oh
tain:. supplies till next - meeting. -1
• '
ECCLESIASTICAL
T• • •
Mr. Cl:A.l3mm M. -PorrEß of the Western
Theological SeSeminary , has been called to
I;lMPreshiterien *ohAreiiefPkiie Creek,
in Allegheny4ieibYierY Mr .'',
WILLIAM -W. - ANNAN,:fiof Allegheny
City, has....beenliomieed . sa,"a Probation
er, for the Gospelsministry,
Mr.' ' TiIt:IXAS ‘013.a-, 1 . dr:the 'Western
Theohigiear Bei:nine:37;lMS boon called' to
thetientral' Presbyteriiul church,
ghenjr'qit,y- ; : , t, p.., ,
Rev. A. 13 . — CLinic., of Altoona :Pa has
resigned, his ,pastoral eharge,,,oniaseount
of ;longre?r 4 inuea, i:l health
Rev:. Ssaitrito.V.: 'Lownis,4 of Alexenaria
Pa:, has been ieleasede from ,hikohargi:
Mr LOwrie (intends maki,nce's tb
fGeniany. - r
MT.lTtitv
tilt'pigtair ehafge e Of 'irengre"-/
gation in Carlisle, Pa., where he is n ow
laboring very successfully.
For the Presbyterian &Mr.!.
Meeting -of the Presbytery of Allegheny city.
MESSRS. EDITORS :—The recent meetin g
of the Presbytery of Allegheny City vas
one of unusual interest, and one, we trust,
whose fruits will be seen and acknowledged
by •future generatiots. I allude to th e
promising movement made at that ineetim,
in the department of church extension.
About a year ago, as many of your read.
err are aware, a division occurred in the
Central church of Allegheny City, of which
Dr. Plumer was pastor. The origin a n d
consequences of that unhappy controversy,
are generally known and need not now be
revived. But one of the good results
which in Divine Providence has flowed
from that troubled source, was realized in
the organization by the Presbytery o f a
new church in the North-western part of
the city, to be . called " The North Presby
terian Church of the City of Allegheny."
Ever since the withdrawal frora th e
Central church, of those who were dissatis
fied with the ministrations of its late p as .
tor, this organization has been kept stead
ily in view, though et times under a dark
cloud of disheartening circumstances.
Public worship was regularly maintained
on the Sabbath, and prayer-meeting during
the week; but the attendance was not en
couraging, and the extremely high price at
which property was held, rendered it al
most impossible to obtain a lot suitable for
the erection of a house of worship. 'Ca_
der these circumstances, the Society did
not feel disposed to apply for a cbureb.or
ganization; and at one time they had al
most coneluded . to abandon the project.
Just at this crisis in their affairs, God put
it into the heart of one of our benevolent
citizens'to offer them a very valuable piece
of ground on the North Common, west of
the United Presbyterian Seminary, for
their church edifice. This put new life
into the project, and the people felt en
couraged to go forward. Accordingly at
the meeting of the Presbytery of Alle
gheny City, on -.the I , lth of this month, the
organization took place in the chapel o f
the Western Theological Seminary, up
waida of fifty members uniting to form the
church, aiid at' the same time three Ruling
Elders were installed over the congrega
tion. By appointment of Presbytery, an
appropriate serinon, was delivered by the
Rev. 'etauies Allison, the constitutional
questions; fter a brief narrative, were put
by Dr. Elliott, and a charge to the elders
and people was delivered by Rev. Dr.
The strtsequent election of a
Board of five Trustees completed the tem
poral, as the installation of the eldership
did the spiritual organization. A Sabbath
School will immediately go into operation;
and with the blessing of God, everything
pronfiles a bright future for this infant
cong•regation.
I might dwell in this connexion upon
the vast importance in our great cities, of
the principle of colonization from the large
and wealthy congregations. Is it too much
to,inkgeet; that - the dissentious and heart
burning, which God occasionally permits
tti arise in old and long-established church
es,, are probably intended as a sort of
penalty inflicted for hiding their light
under - a buihel ? He thus, as in the pres
ent' instance, makes manifest how much,
14, a disiribution of their forces, even a
moderately" large church can do when they
have - the will ; and of course what they
oughtin do, toward the extension' of Gos
perinfluences, and thus carrying the cup
of salvation to the perishing thousands of
their' fellew-men. It was Cain the mur
&re!. 'who said , "Am I'my brother's keep
er.?" - A-PRESBYTERIAN.
Commissioners to the General Assembly of
PEZIIWITERDSIS, i , .M.T.WIIIpB., nmuts.
J
PldladelPhia, Dr. Blackwood, , George Junkin.
Mr. Spread, - James Dunlap.
Phila Central, J Dr. A. Nevin, . IM. Newkirk,
IW. B. Work, Robert Graham.
Sangamon, T. M. Oviatt, !. S. G. Malone.
Huntingdon, f George Elliott, Mr. Patterson,
IS. M. Moore, ' jr." Christie,
Lewea, . Pell f; G. A. Parker-
California, Alexander Scett, John Berens.
City; Loats L. . Conrad, E. Nevin,
Blairsville, - Dr. S. McParren, John Barnett.
Allegheny, Di. L. Young, John. Boyd.
Wain in Tinnessee.
Lotrstaran, .
,Graham, on Sat
urday, attacked' the :rebels - near `Celina, Tenn.,
killing seven, antUdestroYing‘th — eir camp.
On Sundayithey crossed. the- Cumberland, at
tacked the rebels there, 'tilling 30, routing the
remainder, and, are now in hot pursuit. The
Federal loss is one killed.
`Riley
Col. attacked the rebels yesterday, at
Creelsboro', in Cumberland, killing one, cap
turing sixteen, 'and are now- chasing the re
mahuler. further casualties..
Affairs itillexiio—Bornbardment of Puebla—
Tho . French Ropnlied.
- 4nAN Fitisexico; April'l9.= 2 -The steamer So
nora, from Acapulco, brings.dates. from the City
of,M.exico
The French bombarded Puebla for text days,
and were.r4ithied thriee.
The fortilinatitms of St. lit-vier were rendered
untenable: .byt froni . "-'rifled guns. The
Mexicans withdreiv, and the: French occupied
them on the 31st of. March, Wei% 150 prisoners.
,The French holdthe outside fortifications all
round the city: -
The bombardment continued at the latest
dates, but the principalfortitioations hold out.
General Forey's. headquarters .were at the
Church of Santiago, inside, the Garita.
ComonfOrt was at Saint Martin, with 10,000
troops.
Ortega its in Puebla. with 26;009 - troiips.
The French have CIA the commiinications be
tween. Ortega antl Oomonfort;
The Erpaeh strength, is P,OIXt,; with 5,000
Mei:leans under Meigne.v. '
Tiebicfo'reements dalky arrive . from Vera Cruz.
There are - . 30,000 bleilean 'troops in the City
of lieitico.v:l
ha Susquehanna Rabsoad.
A bill has passed both branches of the New-
York State .LegislaturA..and,heen signed by the
Governor, which extends aid to the Albany and
Suignehitionailittad,; 'and insures its being
coristructed.,Torthwithi 7, -, Thizilwork, as we have
arready stated, runalfrota
Alban to Bin hamton
in a direct line. At y g
connects with the
New4lnglanik railways-leading to Boston, Port
-11/44" " a n d ; Ober. &UM.- At Binghamton it con
nects.wit4 th4 , NewYork and,Erie Railroad, and
this reaches fAq Iraljt - ifiliont going through
is afforded' bYithe NetV-Ydrk Central,
New-Yoreeity.- armtich shorter cut than
an d when
finished ant brotightAnto !use will operate as a
cut--off,x to reancing the travel through
NeW7Tork,,clty between New-England and the
Weit this - ratite asannects with the
atotakierit Tide etraits f itiyitraierehug the Susque
hannievallei to• Baltimore; - and proceeding thence
to the - national capital, affords a complete and
aYallatdei. route of :travel between New-England
auctWashington, wraidhig,New-York city, with
all'itide,tentions and delay
the Philadelphia
s. At Williamsport
this route alSo connects With
atiof Erie'Railrolid,oand thus af f
ords an avenue
by.whicht:Nevr t f uglandt may communicate with
the 10(q1e, network of, railways; now building is
br,cergit, catern rennsylvania. At Lockhaven this
rou,ciinitecti . With the Bald Eagle Valley Rai'"
roirtti'Vfroite, wheie it joins the Pennsylvani a
ltaalf cad to Pittsburgh; so that all the business
west,
arid. teava , between New-England and the
via the Pennsylvania Railroad, may avoid New"
„ _
York, City by. this short and simple channel. The
iltikertinices of, th e work can 'scarcely be over
reited: i 'liinbit, increase, it, a very large extent
thWiriavisittiver thalleithern Central road, since
albzieltdiWbuld save lime:will ;take this route La
teMellit,ng,-,,t5k and frongoyludkington and the
North.. -