acknowledged most gratefully, the kindness ington, and Yorkshire district was opened of their Yorkshire friends, and likewise the for Divine worship in October last. Brethen very generous assistance received from the Butler, and Pike; and Messrs. Giles, and committee for the Derby and Castle Doning- Scales, of Leeds, were engaged. The atton district, in money and ministerial tendance was cheering, and the collections contributions. They likewise acknowledge encouraging. their entire dependence on these sources for their future existence and prosperity, and humbly beg that they may be continued. 4. Mr. R. Ingham informed the meeting that he had preached and baptized three persons at Denholm, the new missionary station connected with the Church at Queenshead. 5. On the application of those who have left the Church at Hailey Hill, Halifax, it was agreed that the conference cannot admit the case for want of information. 6. The statistics of the Churches are as follows. At Burnley the aspect of the cause is encouraging. They have baptized thirty-eight since last conference-their chapel to be opened next Lord's day. At Shore about the same as when they reported before they have baptized four at Lineholm since the last meeting. At Heptonstall Slack they have baptized twenty nine. No material change at Birchescliff. A little improvement has taken place at Halifax: they have baptized one, and invited Mr. Smith of Beeston to become their minister. At Queenshead they have baptized three, and three at Denholm. At Clayton they have baptized twenty four, and have many inquirers. At Allerton they are in an improving state, they have baptized eleven, and have many hopeful inquirers. At Bradford they have baptized eight, and the congregations are increased. At Leeds they have baptized four, and they expect some hopeful individuals will soon unite with them. 7. Next conference to be held at Hepton. stall Slack on Monday, Dec. 25, Mr. Thos. Gill to preach. LEICESTER. Re-opening of the General Baptist chapel, Carley Street.-This chapel, situated in the midst of a dense population, and but ill provided with accommodation for a Sunday school, has been considerably en larged, and provision made for more than two hundred scholars. It was re opened for divine worship on Tuesday, Nov. 7th, and on the following Lord's day. The preach ers on Tuesday were the Rev. I. Stubbins, missionary from Orissa, and the Rev. J. G. Pike of Derby; and on the Lord's day Revds. J. Goadby and S. Wigg, of Leicester. The congregations at all the services were good The collections amounted to £33. 3s. BYRON STREET, LEEDS.-This place of worship, purchased by the Derby and Don INVITATIONS. REV. F. SMITH.-The General Baptist Church, Halifax, has invited Mr. F. Smith, of Beeston, to be their minister, which he has accepted. Mr. Smith entered upon his labours at Halifax on Lord's day Nov. 5th 1843. May the Great Head of the Church bless his labours abundantly. D. W. DERBY, Sacheverel street.—On Lord'sday Oct. 29, 1843, nine were added to our number by baptism. In the morning Mr. Smith preached and baptized, and in the evening the Rev. W. F. Poil, P. B., Agard. street, received the candidates into the Church and administered the Lord's supper. On both occasions the chapel was full. MELBOURNE.-On Lord's-day, Nov. 5th, three females were baptized by Mr. Stanion. CASTLE DONINGTON.-On Lord's-day Nov. 6, eight persons were baptized and added to the Church. LONFORD, Union-place.-On Lord's-day Nov. 5, 1843, six persons were publicly baptized, two males, and four females; on which occasion Mr. Shaw preached from Acts xvi. 13-15. In the afternoon our esteemed minister delivered a very suitable address to the members of the Church, and to the newly-baptized, after which the candidates were received into the Church, and the Lord's supper was administered. FLECKNEY-On Lord's day Nov. 5, 1843, ministered to two young persons, one male, the ordinance of believers' baptism, was adand one female, at the General Baptist Chapel, Fleckney, by brother W. D. Smith, of Leicester, after which brother J. Hawley, of Leicester, preached from Acts x. 47; in the afternoon brother J. Riley, read the scriptures and prayed, and brother T. Sutton, of Leicester, preached from Gal. i, 18, latter part. At the close of the service, the newly baptized were received into the church in the usual way, and the ordinance of the Lord'ssupper, administered by brother Hawley. It was good to be there. In the evening brother Smith read, and prayed, and brother Hawley preached a most solemn and alarm. ing sermon, to a large and attentive auditory, from Luke xvi, 25; thus ended "a day of feasting and of good things." We are thankful to the Great Head of the Church, that our prospects are brightening; we have 66 peace within our walls, and some degree of prosperity within our palaces." Our Sabbath-school, too, is in a flourishing state, and we rejoice that our school rooms (for want of which we have long suffered much inconvenience) are now in the course of erection, and we expect will be completed before the close of the present year. G. COLTMAN. ST. MARY'S Gate, Derby.-On Lord's. day, Sep. 3, the ordinance of baptism was ad. ministered to thirteen persons, and on Nov. 5, to eleven persons, one of whom was deaf and dumb Being unable to speak, she wrote answers to various questions, which gave pleasing evidence of her having passed from death unto life. Great interest was manifested when the right hand of fellow. ship was given to her, it being the custom of our esteemed pastor, on such occasions, to inquire of the newly-baptized whether they will be faithful members of the Church until Christ shall call them to the Church above? Our friend being unable verbally to reply to such a question, signified her de. termination by assenting to the words of Christ, which she traced with her finger in the New Testament "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you;" and also to the declaration of the apostle, "I count not my life dear unto myself, so that I may finish my course with joy." Our friend, having been convinced of the pro. priety of baptism entirely from perusing the Word of God, confirms us in the belief that the baptism we practice is indeed the "one baptism." W. W. MISCELLANEOUS. CHESTERFIELD. -On Lord's-day Oct. 15th, two sermons were preached in this town by Mr. S. Taylor, of Duffield, on the occasion of the School room, occupied as a Home Mission chapel, being engaged by the General Baptist Home Mission Com. mittee, after considerable improvement. The Wirksworth friends have supplied a very neat pulpit and forms, for about £10, which the committee have engaged; and the place is now very comfortably fitted up for the worship of God. Mr. Taylor preached in the morning from, "The little one shall become a thousand ;" and in the evening from, "It doth not yet appear what we shall be," &c. The collection was £2 12s.. Since the formation of the Church, two have been baptized and two received. The prospects are encouraging. J. P.. BANQUET AT THE MANSION HOUSE. -On Tuesday Nov. 7, the Lord Mayor of London, gave a splendid entertainment to upwards of fifty Dissenting Ministers, The Lord Mayor gave, "Civil and Religious Liberty." Mr. Burnet, in an eloquent and energetic speech, responded to the toast. He said, time was when the individuals then seated at his Lordship's table were forbidden by law to come within five miles of the city. The Mansion House as was well known, had been built with fines levied upon Dissenters on account of their conscientious scruples in refusing to take the tests which were at the time the pre-requisites for corporate offices. They now lived in better times. The principles of religious liberty were now as well understood as they were ardently cherished. The right of every man to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience was the principle upon which they rested the cause of dissent-a cause which could be only subdued by a conquest over the independence of the human mind. Religious liberty was valuable in the same proportion that hypocrisy was detestable, and it was most gratifying to observe the rapid progress the great cause of liberty was making in the public mind. In common with his brethren he felt the greatest gratitude to the Lord Mayor, not alone for the present mark of his favour, but for the manner in which he had exerted himself, to frustrate the education bill, by which it had been proposed to place the education of the poor under the dominion and control, of one of the exclusive classes in the state. Mr. Burnet concluded by proposing the health of the Lord Mayor, which was received with rapturous applause. The Lord Mayor said, his opposition to the measure of Sir James Graham was founded upon the conviction that it was most improper and unjust to give to any one party the right to educate the children of others. He tried the rights of the poor by the test of his own feelings. He could no more sanction the principles sanctioned in that bill, than he could sanction any power in the state pretending to determine what sort of education his eight sons should receive, or what were to be the principles inculcated upon their minds, upon which would depend their happiness in this life, and their salvation in the world to come. The Lord Mayor then gave "The health of Dr. Bunting, and general education." Dr. Bunting, among other things, said, however much the body to which he belonged might have been doubted on former occasions, the conduct of the Wesleyans in the late great struggle for educational free dom, had placed them in the eyes of their dissenting brethren, above suspicion. He considered it was the right of any man to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience, and that it was his privilege to endeavour to prevail upon others to join him in that worship; and if he were exposed to proscription or persecution on that account, it would be at the expense of those principles of religious liberty for which they had a right to contend. In the prosecution of those endeavours, on the part of various denominations of professing christians, to educate the youth of their own community, they ought to extend to each other mutual assistance and co-operation. The time might perhaps arrive in which they might be drawn together by still closer bonds; but in the mean time it was their duty to do as much good as they could by the means they had already at their command. The Lord Mayor gave, "The freedom of the press." Mr. Conder, among other observations in reply, said, it was impossible to overvalue the importance of the press. It was not for the liberty of the press merely, but for its existence we were called upon to be grateful. Had the press existed in the days of Wickliffe, the incipient Reformation of the fourteenth century would not have been arrested and turned back. It was the press that gave permanence to the Reformation of the 16th century. The value of the press must depend upon that degree to which it was at once sustained, upheld, and controlled by that portion of the public who appreciated and were attached to the cause of Scriptural truth, and civil and religious freedom. Recent Deaths. life on Lord's-day, Oct. 29th. The deceased had Mr. Wherry, sen., of Bourne, departed this been for many years an honourable and worthy member of the General Baptist Church in that place. His end was peace. Died, at Wendover, Bucks, Sep. 29th, after a few months illness, Rev. C. B. Talbot. His disease was consumption, but his death was sel. "He was a just man, and feared God above hastened by the repeated rupture of a blood ves many." He finished his course with joy and triumph. His remains were interred in the chapel, tomb by his distressed widow, and a long train on Thursday, Oct. 5th. He was followed to the of members and others, who showed their esteem for departed worth by sighs and tears. There were six ministers as pall bearers. The Rev. S. Ayrton, of Chesham, conducted the solemn and afflictive funeral services. The same brother improved the mournful event in the evening of the following Sabbath. Owing to the Independant chapel, and even the Church, being closed, out of respect to the memory of so good a man and minister, there were hundreds who went away unable to gain admittance. VARIETIES. TRIFLING ERRORS IN DISTINGUISHED WRITERS. Dear Sir,-Will you allow an old man to trifle, for a few minutes, for the amusement of your juvenile readers? The great Dr. Watts, whose various and diversified labours, have all been duly appreciated; and whose hymns, and spiritual songs, will continue to be sung, in public and family worship, perhaps, to the end of the world; has, in one instance, made the most extravagant use of the figure called the hyperbole, to be met with in the whole compass of English poetry. It will be found in the Elegy on the death of his friend, Thos. Gunston, Esq., and is as follows: With flowing eye-lids, and disorder'd hair, Death in your looks; come mingle grief with me, And drown your little streams in my unbounded sea!" author of the Pleasures of Hope, makes The very celebrated living poet, the the following beautiful simile," Like angels visits, few, and far between," which all times, but without any observation upon it. general readers must have seen quoted fifty Now, it appears to me, that "few, and far between," is a tautology. It is surprizing that a great genius, like him, who has no occasion to steal, having such abundant the liberty to transfer it from that charm. resources of his own, should have taken ing, and truly original poem, "The Grave," without acknowledgment, where it reads properly;-"like angels visits, short, and far between." Another great poet, I mean Dr. Parnell, has committed a little blunder, but being an Irishman, is, perhaps, the more excusable, where he says, in his delightful poem, called "The Hermit," Alexander Pope, Esq., for we will not meddle with little men, expresses himself thus: "Immodest words admit of no defence, For want of decency is want of sense." Dr. Franklin, I think, makes the following judicious emendation, "Immodest words admit but one defence," &c. Sir Walter Scott made a slight slip, when he thus wrote: "I deem these nooks the finest shade The sun, in all his rounds, surveyed." David Hume, the historian, in a letter to to Dr. Blair, thus writes: "If these poems," meaning Ossian's, " continue to stand on their present foundation, they must eventually fall to the ground." The notorious judge Page, who hanged everybody, that was ever tried before him, except Savage the poet, once said, in his charge to the grand jury of Middlesex, "I dare venture to affirm, gentleman of the jury, on my own knowledge, that England was never so happy, both at home, and abroad, as she now is." I fear, sir, that you will think this old ruffian degrades the list I have sent you; if so, you can discard him if you please. What crowns the whole is the following couplet, which I once met with, I think, in Boswell's life of Dr. Johnson : "A painted vest prince Vortigern had on, Which from a naked Pict his grandsire won." It is much to be 1egretted, sir, that people in our agricultural districts, are not generally so fond of reading as they are in your great manufacturing towns. They are fond of any pursuits but the pursuits of literature. Amusement, even in your periodical, should be blended with instruction: but your pages are too few: shame on the General Baptists, to cramp the Editor's praiseworthy exertions by confining him to a fourpenny Repository; whilst the Particular Baptist, the Wesleyans, the Independents, can all support a sixpenny magazine, and even a newspaper. I shall be very happy, sir, if I live, to see your little work prosper. That it is improved under your editorial management I am sure; and, as far as my little influence goes, I have extended, and will continue to extend the sale of it. I remain, dear sir, Your occasional correspondent. W. Where the sullen bleak winds roar; Minds we see as desolate As the cheerless, barren shore. Them will Jesus not disdain, When he quickly comes to reign. Yet we thank thee, God of might, For the wonders thou hast done, Where has dawned the blessed light, Of thy dear and only Son. May he soon assert his claim, And with power come to reign. Christian let thy duty rouse thee, Do not weary or delay, The breaking of a glorious day, When every land shall join the strain, Jesus comes-he comes to reign. Birmingham. W. B. REV. I. STUBBINS. Ir is with great pleasure we announce to the friends of the Mission the improving state of Mr. Stubbins's health. Mrs. Stubbins also is decidedly improved since she has had the benefit of her native climate. They are purposing to reside at Ibstock, Leicestershire, during their stay in this country; and Rev. J. Buckley, who has been accepted as a Missionary to Orissa, it is expected, will dwell in the same house with them, for the purpose of immediately commencing the study of Oreah. GREAT ACTIVITY OF ROMISH MISSIONS. During the last few years the communications received from Protestant Missionaries, in many parts of the world, have shown that one of their chief difficulties in the prosecution of their work has arisen from the increased activity of popery, availing itself, in some instances, of political influence, to carry forward its designs. In Abyssinia the efforts of the missionaries have been more than once almost wholly defeated by this cause; and in most of the other Missions of the Church Missionary Society numerous proofs have been afforded of the large scale on which the Church of Rome is extending its foreign operations. For instance, the Rev. J. Tucker, writing from Madras in February, 1839, says,— "I cannot close this letter without adverting to the large arrival of Romish priests, with their Suffragan bishop, from Ireland, who are beginning to put forth all their ener. gies in preaching, opening a seminary," &c. About the same time the missionaries in Ceylon spoke of the arrival of a vicarapostolic from the see of Rome, accom. panied by a body of priests, in that island. In December, 1837, a Roman Catholic bishop and two priests landed in New Zea. land. In August, 1839, the Rev. W. Williams wrote "The papists are on the alert. Their establishment now is, one bishop, eight priests, and two catechists; and a French ship of war is expected to bring, it is said, ten more." And in July, 1840, the Rev. H. Williams remarked,— "We hear of thirty being at hand; ten of whom are said to be French, and the remainder English and Irish." In December, 1838, ten or eleven Roman Catholic priests landed in British Guiana. In the preceding July the Rev. D. T. Jones noticed the arrival of three popish priests at the Red River; two of whom were on their way to Colombo, on the Pacific Ocean, to establish a Mission there. Some recent announcements have shown that thase operations are proceeding on a still more extended scale. There are four Romish bishops, and more than sixty mis. sionaries, in the South Sea Islands. A vicar-apostolic and twelve priests have sailed for the coast of Guinea, in Western Africa. There are five distinct Missions from the Church of Rome in full operation in China -two French, one Spanish, one Italian, one Portuguese; and it is said that sixty-two priests lately reached Singapore in one vessel. This increased activity has been, in a great measure, the result of the labours of a society established about twenty years ago in France, called "The Institution for the Propagation of the Faith." Plenary indulgences are granted to the subscribers to this society on certain days!! Such is the system of motives and action by which a fallen and corrupt church laboures to extend its influence, and to oppose the progress of Scriptural truth. From the report of the institution for the year 1842 the following particulars of its financial position have been collected :— The receipts for the year were £127,553; being an increase of £17,458 over those of the preceding year. Of this sum France contributed £65,895, England 1,490, and Ireland £7,289. In the distribution of this fund the sum of £2,934 was appropriated to the extension of popery in Scotland; £209 to Wales; £2,886 to North India; £625 to Bombay; £4,539 to South India; £2,799 to West Africa; and £19,967 to Australia, New Zealand, and the other South Sea Islands. The report also states that 150,000 copies of the "Annals" are now printed; viz., 77,000 French; 21,000 German; 15,000 English; 2,000 Spanish; 3,500 Flemish; 28,000 Italian ; 2,000 Portuguese; and 1,500 Dutch. It is well that the enlightened friends of Missions should know these things, that they may be led to consider the signs of the times, and be stirred up to increased watchfulness, exertion, and prayer.-From the Church Missionary Gleaner. |