Protestants. My Lord, I recollect one time, on my return home, falling in with a banditti who attempted to get me down. But the hairs of my head were numbered. One man, who stood in front, discharged a musket at me. I knew that to fall into their hands would be instant death; so I put spurs to my mare, and, with God's blessing, escaped them. The next evening, I went again into the same neighbourhood to preach, calling on my friend the Rev. George Hamilton, of whose hospitality I had frequently partaken. Mrs. Hamilton said I should partake of an early dinner, and return home before dark. I urged, that the people would be disappointed. "No," said she, "they shall not be disappointed; for George shall go and preach to the people." Mr. Hamilton undertook to do so; and taking a Bible and a Wesleyan Hymn-Book, he stood behind a chair, in a house in his own parish, and preached to those who were gathered together, Christ and him crucified. Think you that did any injury to the cause of Christ? Think you that it alienated the affections of the people from their Pastor? Think you that the people of his own flock were injured, by witnessing such an example of kind and Christian oneness? of blessed ministerial benevolence? No, no, very far from it: and this was not a solitary instance; for if, on any occasion, I found it inconvenient to go, I had merely to write to Mr. Hamilton, who readily undertook to preach to my congregation. Ireland wants such kindness of feeling at the present moment.

"That this Meeting contemplates with great satisfaction the improvement which has taken place in the financial affairs of the Society, and more particularly the advance in the income from the ordinary sources, arising chiefly from an improvement in the receipts from Ireland, and from the Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, London, and other Districts, which have considerably redeemed the pledge so kindly given at the Committee of Review, at Birmingham, in the month of July last; and also from the increase in the Juvenile Contributions in the form of Christmas and New-Year's Offerings: -this Meeting has moreover heard with thankfulness the progress which has been made towards the reduction of the debt incurred by the extraordinary expenditure of the Missions at the Gold-Coast, &c., in 1841, 1842, 1843, amounting to £7,935. Os. 9d., in response to the Statement,' which was published in the Missionary Notices for December, 1844; —and, while gratefully acknowledging

the past valuable services of the officers, Local Committees, and Collectors, throughout the country, and the support derived from the contributors to the Society generally throughout the past year, this Meeting expresses its earnest wish and expectation, that in every District, and in each separate locality, and from every Collector and Contributor, the Society will derive that continued and additional aid and support, which will place it in a position for the vigorous and free prosecution of its great work."

The REV. FRANCIS A. WEST, of Leeds, in seconding the Resolution, said, -If I had had any choice as to the position I should take in so large a Meeting as this, I certainly should not have chosen a Resolution which refers entirely to the financial affairs of the Society; but should have chosen one that referred more especially to the great principles of our Missionary enterprise, as most suited to the peculiar turn of my own mind. But, my Lord, I rejoice to say, that there is a recognition in this Resolution of the efforts that have been made by those amongst whom it is my high privilege and honour to exercise my ministerial functions. Leeds is not the last amongst the towns enumerated in the Report, as having endeavoured the improvement of the funds of our great Missionary institution. I rejoice to find, that, in making up the accounts of the different Districts, Leeds stands at the top. I hope this is an index, that the hearts of Methodists in Yorkshire beat strongly towards the best of all causes; and that the friends of evangelical religion, under the denomination of Methodists, are pledging themselves to more extensive and liberal exertions, and giving an earnest of more fervent supplication for the blessing of heaven upon our great Missionary work. My Lord, we live in times, perhaps the most extraordinary that have ever been known in the history of the world; and my great hope, I confess, in reference to those darkening clouds that appear to hang over our prospects, is in the principles established among us by our Missionary institutions especially; and in that warmth of Christian feeling that is brought out on these great public occasions. The safety of the church of Christ is in her expansive and aggressive efforts; and the moment the church shall cease to extend, by every means, her conquests upon the world, that moment will she be a falling or fallen power. When hope and fear seem to be so mingled, and painful apprehensions arise from that want of unanimity

which has hitherto been found within the church, our great hope is in our vital Christianity. Our agreement ought to be, that, in everything that is not essential, we shall be willing at once to forget all points of difference, and rally round our common standard of Christianity, simply under the name of British Protestants. My Lord, when I see the extensive efforts that are made by these and other kindred institutions, for the enlargement of the boundaries of Christianity throughout the whole world, I have at once a pledge that there exists in this land, and amongst our various churches, a spirit of zeal that has been kindled by fire from heaven, and is sustained by the prayers of those who belong to the true church of Christ. God's truth has had a high sanction put upon it; and nothing but divine truth, accompanied by the energetic operations of the Holy Ghost, could have produced the beautiful effects detailed to us this morning, both in the Report which has been read, and in the speeches which have been uttered, and which are the surest indications of the righteousness of our cause, and the presence of our Master. I trust we shall devote ourselves, and more especially the youthful part of the audience, to this great enterprise, which has but one common object, the spread of the Gospel of Christ throughout every land. It is upon the rising church of Christ that this work must soon devolve. Our fathers are passing away. The wisdom and experience of age will very soon be laid in the dust; and it must devolve upon others to carry out this great and noble work. And I pray on behalf of those who entertain the same sentiments with myself, and those who are yet younger than I am, that a double portion of the spirit of our fathers may rest upon us. I feel that this matter is one of increas

ing importance to me. I think I never knew any period when my soul was more deeply humbled, in reference to various causes and circumstances, than it has been during this Missionary Anniversary; and, if I may be allowed to say it, never more resolved, by the strength of God's grace, to consecrate any power that I may have, any influ ence that I may ever possess, to this greatest and best of causes. My Lord, in the silence of midnight it shall engage my most painful consideration; and in the hours when I have the nearest access to the throne of the heavenly grace, in pleading for blessings upon myself and my family, I trust to remember the cause of Christ, that on it the

richest and most effectual blessing of heaven may rest. Your Missionary Report vindicates our conduct. As was said by Dr. Barth, but a few moments ago, having engaged in this cause, we must go forward. We are perfectly free to say, we will move forward at the command of Christ; but woe be to us, as a Christian church, if we shall ever take one retrograde step. The glory will begin to depart from us; and instead of those bright tokens of the divine presence, with which our church, blessed be God! is still favoured, we shall see but the paleness of the lunar rainbow, the type of no spiritual blessing, and containing no promise of covenant mercy to the world. I am glad to know that there is among us an increasing desire to extend pure and undefiled religion, both at home and abroad. I trust, my Lord, the funds of the Society will never lack the supplies which are rendered so specially necessary, since our position has been so greatly altered. The time was, when we lacked men, and had money; but now God has laid his hand upon the heads and hearts of numbers of men every way qualified, intellectually, physically, and spiritually, for any part of the world where Providence may open the door. We have the spirit of aggression, but want the means of carrying the war into the enemy's camp. I trust the appeal that is to be made to you today will be as productive as the appeals were at the last Anniversary in Leeds, where we raised upwards of £1,000 in small Meetings compared with the mass of persons that I now see before me; and I trust that we shall ever be disposed, as God has prospered us, to contribute whatever we possess to the advancement of his kingdom.

The RIGHT HON. Fox MAULE, M.P., said, Ladies and gentlemen, I did not intend, when I came here, to do more than be a silent witness of this vast assembly, and of the feelings which emanate from it; but I have been requested to address you upon the subject. of this Resolution; and I should be ungrateful indeed did I refuse to comply with so moderate a request upon the part of those to whom, as a member of my Church, I am proud to bear the public testimony of owing a deep and heavy debt of gratitude. I cannot forget, and my friends right and left of me never can forget, the interest which the Wesleyan body took in our endeavours, when freeing ourselves from that to which, in conscience, we could not submit. We preferred severing our connexion with the State to severing

ourselves from the sole and only government of the great Head of the church. In grateful remembrance, then, of your kind sympathies upon that occasion, I come forward to-day to congratulate this interesting and large assembly of Wesleyan Methodists upon the increasing and flourishing state of their Missionary funds. Belonging to a Missionary Church myself, I feel the great benefits which are to be conferred upon mankind in general by institutions like yours. I believe I may say that you take the lead in Missionary efforts; and I am quite sure that, in the hands of the Wesleyan body, nothing but truth will ever be disseminated in any one of those four quarters of the world in which their Missions are to be found. Your funds have increased this year. They cannot fail to increase from year to year; for I discover, in the Resolution which I hold in my hand, a principle of the induction of benevolence to which, I believe, your institution lays a sole and an original claim, and which I wish my Rev. friend, Mr. Guthrie, would endeavour to carry into our Free Church; I mean that early induction of benevolence which you instil into the minds of the juvenile members of your community. It grows with their growth, and, as the excellent father of our Church, Dr. Chalmers, says, "it imbues them with a habit of giving,—a habit which they never afterwards can shake off." With benevolence so early trained, it is impossible that a system such as this can fail from prospering year by year; and much need you have, too, of all the funds which you can raise. Christianity is not yet so widely spread, that Missions may be dispensed with. It is not until the whole world shall be evangelized, that Missions can cease to be necessary. In all quarters of the globe we find your presence, in its most wholesome shape, under the burning sun of India, amongst the snows of Canada, fighting with idolatry in one place, contending with Jesuitism in another. We

:

find the Missionaries of the Wesleyan Society ever proclaiming the truth and when we look throughout Europe, at the present aspect of the times; when we see that Society which was, even by the Church of Rome itself, put down with a high hand, again rearing its head, and thrusting itself into every community throughout Europe; we are compelled, by a sense of imperative duty, to use every legitimate means in our power to arrest its contaminating and blasting effects. I attribute the increase of Roman Catholic doctrines throughout the land to

the increase of the Society of Jesuits. To the Jesuits, and to their never-failing, undermining efforts, I attribute much of that to which our eyes are unavoidably turned at this time. And I care not what obloquy I may meet with in other places; but both here and elsewhere I shall ever be ready to raise my voice against such measures as shall, in my opinion, tend to injure the Protestant Church of this country. A friend of mine, who addressed you this evening, stated, that, as a Missionary church, you could not stand still: I beg to repeat that opinion. It is like that machine which I have seen working in some manufactories at Manchester, commonly called a self-acting mule. If he who works it would do his work, he must follow the machine backward and forward. If he attempt to stop, the whole work falls to the ground. So it is with Missions. If we follow the good end to which they lead, we must pursue, without ceasing, the path in which we are engaged. If we stop, we not only stop the work which is in hand, but we destroy all the work that has gone before. When we have contended with Heathenism, if we pause a step, Heathenism will soon swallow up all your former endea

vours.

If we contend with Jesuitism, stop but a moment, and you will be swallowed by it. Whatever we contend against, in the shape of untruth, let us continue to contend against it still; and, rely upon it, that in the event will be realized the saying, Magna est veritas, et prævalebit.

The Resolution was then put and agreed to.

The REV. JAMES SHERMAN moved the next Resolution :

"That this Meeting, while approving of the measures of economy and retrenchment which the financial difficulties of the Society have rendered necessary for the last few years, is, at the same time, deeply convinced that an increased number of Missionaries is now indispensably required in some of the most important portions of the Mission field within the Society's sphere of operations, not merely with the view of improving opportunities for usefulness arising out of the success which has attended past exertions, but also for the purpose of raising to a state of vigour and efficiency some of the principal Missions of the Society which are now suffering from the want of adequate support.'

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My Lord, and my Christian friends, I crave the privilege, and hope to have the happiness, of being styled amongst you,

what the poor African who has been described is called, "the Missionaries' man." On that account, I claim the liberty to go free, and speak a few words in Christian kindness to you. I am exceedingly happy to say, that I like "the bray of Exeter-Hall." Yours, my Lord, is a position in which one would delight to see a nobleman of the land,—a nobleman who has had the honour of entertaining Majesty. My Lord, I am very much disposed to think, that if the etiquette of society (and who knows but it may come to that?) would permit our Most Gracious Sovereign to be present, she herself would be gratified with "the bray of Exeter-Hall." O tempora ! O mores! How wonderfully are the times changed! My first impressions of the eloquence of the man who uttered that expression in another house, were, in hearing him stand up upon the platform in Freemason's-Hall, thrilling us with his powerful advocacy of the emancipation of the slave. There is not a great delicacy of feeling in that word "bray," because it is generally connected with a rather inferior animal. But it is quite shocking to think, that a son should ally himself to such anomalies; and remember that, when he uttered the expression, his own venerable and venerated father was the man that raised in this country the loudest cry for Christ, religion, and freedom.

A gen

tleman, who preceded me, stated, that it was to be expected something must bring us together, if we should be divided; and I recollect a tale which Mr. Flavel tells us, of a flood that happened at Dartmouth, while he was Minister there. This flood covered the place to some extent; but there was one little mount, higher than the rest of the land, on which cats and dogs, rats and mice, and birds, had all assembled together, forgetting the common antipathies of their nature, because one single enemy had come,the flood; and though I should not wish to compare all the Christian denominations to cats and dogs, at the same time, if they do scratch one another, and bite and devour one another, they are entitled to that appellation; (hear, hear, and laughter;) and it is high time, methinks, before this flood comes, that we should forget our common antipathies, (if common they be,) and unite together in one common phalanx against the mighty enemy which is appearing amongst us. My Lord, I entered quite fully into the sentiments of the Rev. gentleman who spoke, from Leeds, that the Missionary Societies are, just at this time, a bond

which will unite all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ, in our common Protestantism. We feel that we must make a stand for the word. God raise up many Luthers amongst us! God raise up many John Wesleys amongst us! God raise up many George Whitefields amongst us ! And let the spirit of those men but possess the hearts of those who follow them in their course, and we shall then see that every attempt of the enemy will be beaten back by the ardent piety and love of Christian hearts.

JAMES HEALD, Esq., of Parr's Wood, seconded the Resolution, and said,—My Lord, I give myself credit for being, at least, an undoubted and unquestioned friend of this Society; and as such, I am very much more concerned for the promotion of its interests, than for any personal considerations, in rising on the present occasion: and were it not that this Hall very much exceeds in its limits the power and scope of my voice; and were it not also that we have to-day been treated with such a variety of addresses, the most stirring in their character, and which I hope will prove on the present occasion the most productive in their results; and were I not satisfied, likewise, that I shall have to be succeeded by men eminent for their labours in the service of Christ, and in the cause of this Missionary Society; I have so much on my heart and mind, and have been so deeply impressed with what I have seen and heard since I came to this vast metropolis, that, in spite of any diffidence that is natural to myself, and of any consciousness that is pre-eminent always with me, on occasions like the present, of my want of ability, I might be tempted to address this Meeting at perhaps even an improper length. But I will not so far disregard what is due to this assembly, and what will be far more beneficial to its interests than anything I can utter, as to attempt a speech. And yet, as I am the first Wesleyan layman that has been brought forward on the present occasion, I will look over gentlemen of the other cloth, and address myself to laymen. I wish my lay friends to put themselves in the position of a person who has to rise in the presence of talent and influence, such as that which has, to immense advantage, been exhibited before us to-day; and I claim a word and their indulgence as a layman. I claim not that word for myself, but to say it on behalf of the laymen present, that I trust we are prepared in spirit, in reflection, in prayer, in contribution, in subsequent action, not to say

our

in this Hall, "Yes," and when we get to our respective localities, to act "No." That would be to leave this Meeting under the influence of a spirit, and to pursue a conduct, very unworthy and very irresponsive to those important and powerful appeals which have been addressed to us to-day. My friend Mr. West-if such he will allow me to call him, and I have often had occasion to associate myself in a bond of friendship with him-said, if he had had a Resolution put into his hand more in conformity with the genius and choice of his mind, it would have been one full of principle and full of facts. I thought to myself, "You have just the business sort of Resolution that I should like to have exchanged mine for." My Lord, and Christian friends, there are two things I wish to say before I sit down, and for the sake of saying which, I can justify my standing in this position. This Society wants increased funds. The God of this Society, and the God of the whole earth, whose is the silver and the gold, and "the cattle upon a thousand hills," has given to country, at the present day, a tide of prosperity, that none of us, with the most sanguine hopes and expectations, could have hoped to have seen, pouring itself forth on our land, in every direction. God has furnished us with the means to obey the oft-repeated calls of his church, to come forth to his help against the mighty; and, in my judgment, we are brought to a test, the ques> tion has to be answered; and if ever there was a season favourable to the answer being given, encouraging to the Meeting of this Society, this is the season. The test is, Are you prepared, by increased means, in this professedly Christian country, and after all the conferences we have held during the last week, here and elsewhere, with a disposition and determination to merge all minor distinctions, are you prepared to make Christianity ascendant? are, and I am not speaking without thought or reflection: I have forborne to speak for several years on this point, but I must speak to-day,-if you are, show that you are prepared to submit yourselves to the test, by increased contributions of money, by increased contributions of influence, by increased contributions of advocacy, by increased contributions of interest in your own respective localities, that you are prepared to give the benefit of all that God has so freely given to you to the extension of the religion of our Lord and

If you

Saviour throughout the world. Is it to be believed, is it to be taken as settled and granted, that this and other Missionary Societies are to go no farther, because they have come up to the point of about £100,000 income ?-that that is all that the wealth, the Christianity, and the influence of this Christian country can afford? Let us ask this question, each of us, on the principle, "How much owest thou to my Lord?" Let every one of us in his presence be prepared to come forward,-I do not mean to come forward under the influence of the excitement of this Meeting, but to come forward through each future stage of our individual history, and in every capacity, to help forward the ark of the Lord, and to furnish the means, according to our ability, of multiplying the agencies of the Society, increasing the number of its Missionaries, carrying on its triumph, and so hasten on the millennial glory of the Lord.

The REV. Dr. NEWTON said,-I think I could just tell you, in a moment, how this Society might get an acquisition of £10,000 per annum. No wonder that my friends, the Treasurers, look pleasant at that. I believe you have ten thousand annual subscribers of £1 each I should think, that number at least. Let every one of those just double his subscription, and here you have the sum at once; and I pledge myself that nine-tenths of these £1 subscribers could do it without any inconvenience, and they would not be able to prove, to any man living, that they were the poorer for it at the end of the year. And as our friends here below are recording, they are very welcome to record that. Tell all the Wesleyan community, our churches, and congregations, east and west, and north, and south, that Robert Newton has said in Exeter-Hall, this day, that these ten thousand annual subscribers of £1 must subscribe £2. And there is no maximum,—no maximum. Higher, and higher, and yet higher still. Let your fives be tens, and your tens twenties, and your twenties fifties, and your fifties hundreds, and so on; and more of these splendid donations of £1,000 and £2,000 each. When Providence smiles upon us, and gives us much, Providence expects that we should do something for Him in return. one likes better to witness large assemblies, and to witness large doings in these annual assemblies, than myself, although I cannot depend much upon the collec. tion on these Anniversary occasions.

No