144 and acknowledged in their various develop-rally walked alone. His Bible was his ments the hand of God. At It Towards Christians of other evangelical denominations he manifested much charity and brotherly kindness, the arms of his Christian love being always expanded to embrace all that bore the image of God, and loved the Lord Jesus Christ. prayer-meetings he was no stranger. mattered not to him that these meetings were in connection with the Baptists, the Secession, or the Free Church. Often did he lead the song of praise, and mingle Christian sympathies in the other devotional exercises of these different departments of Christ's professing church. It was always to him a source of happiness to mingle with those who met to worship, honour, and enjoy the God of their salvation, whom he so decidedly loved and served. Still he was warmly attached to his " own people," and although his distance from his own place of worship was nine miles, seldom was his place empty in the circle of his brethren, in the house of God on the Lord's day. On the morning of that hallowed day, three hours before the hour of meeting, (for that was the time which he allowed for his journey,) pilgrimlike, with his staff in his hand, he began to move in the direction of the Lord's house. So punctual and regular was he in these sabbath days' journeys, that the people of the district through which he had to pass were accustomed to regulate their timepiece by his passage across a certain bridge on the road. On these occasions he gene only companion, which was always near to During the closing period of his life, his attendance at his own place of worship was not so regular, owing to the growing infirmities of upwards of fourscore years; but for nearly forty years the above was the undeviating course which he pursued, serving God according to the dictates of his conscience, and enjoying the consolations of salvation in his own soul. The time of his "departure" now drew near, and it found him ready. During the few days previous to his death, he kept his bed; but scarcely experienced any pain; no heavy affliction lay upon him, his body rested comparatively at ease, his mind was full of the hope of a glorious immortality, so that he would say, "Can this be dying?" He was thus waiting at the gate of the holy city, until his Lord should bid him enter. His latter end was all that could be desired, both in reference to body and soul. At length the wheels of life, "weary, stood still," and his spirit winged its flight to the land of the saved, with which his mind had long been familiarized, and upon which he On the 24th of April, had longed to enter. 1848, at the age of eighty-four, he entered into the joy of his Lord. Home Chronicle. REV. J. J. WAITE'S NEW WORK ON DE VOTIONAL PSALMODY. WE hail the appearance of Mr. Waite's Second Part of his Hallelujah with great joy. He has been assisted in its composition and arrangement by Henry John Gauntlett, Mus. Doc.; and we are thoroughly satisfied that it will realize public expectation. We believe that there is a blessing in this book to the Churches, and that, with the aid of Mr. Waite's Lectures, it will produce a most salutary Reformation in our Congregational Psalmody. We are of opinion, from our examination of the work, that there is not one objectionable Tune in it. It is verily a musical gem, which is destined, we trust, to shed its brightness on our families and churches. We wish Mr. Waite great success in his noble enterprise. He has roused a spirit in the midst of us, which will not be permitted to subside till there is not a single Congregation not innoculated with his sober and enlightened views of "Devotional Psalmody." This is a happy phrase; for much of our Psalmody seems to have been constructed upon the principle of excluding all idea or possibility of devotion. WORKING MEN'S PRIZE ESSAYS ON POPERY. THE Conditions upon which three Prizes -the first of Twenty Pounds, the second of Ten Pounds, and the third of Five Poundswill be given, are the following: 1. That the Essays shall be written by persons belonging to the working classes, Male or Female. 2. That they shall clearly show the benefits of Protestantism, as opposed to Popery, to Nations viewed in their Social and Political aspects. 3. That no Essay shall exceed one hundred pages Duodecimo. 4. That they shall be delivered, free of expense, sealed, at Messrs. Ward's and Co., Booksellers, Paternoster-row, on or before the 1st of Oct., 1849: the words, Prize Essay, written upon them. 5. That the initials of the writers shall be written on the title-page of each manuscript, and that a sealed letter shall ac company the manuscript with the name and address of the author. N.B. The adjudicators' names will be announced next month. CONGREGATIONAL LECTURE, FOR 1849. We have much pleasure in announcing that the Congregational Lecture for the present year will be delivered at the Congregational Library, Blomfield-street, by the Rev. William Hendvy Stowell, Theological Tutor of Rotherham College, on the momentous subject of the work of the Holy Spirit. The Lectures will commence on Tuesday evening, the 20th of the present month, when we trust the London Churches will afford decisive proof of the interest which they take in this series of an admirablysustained course : The following will be the principal topics discussed: Capacities, Condition, and Wants of Man as a Spiritual being. Man conscious that his capacities are adapted to know the true, to admire the beautiful, to choose the right, and to enjoy the good. The general doctrine of Scripture relating to the Holy Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit in the Salvation of Man. Distinction between the teaching of Scripture and that of Theological Systems. Theories on the work of the Spirit, Ecclesiastical, Mythical, and Philosophical, The Consciousness of Spiritual Life. MEETING OF THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION. AN interesting meeting of Sunday-school Teachers, connected with the four London Auxiliaries, took place on Tuesday evening, the 13th Feb., at Exeter Hall; Mr. Lloyd in the chair. No distinct object, as connected with the meeting, was announced in the previous advertisement; but from the resolutions and the addresses, we gather that the aim of the Committee, and of those who were invited to speak, was to draw the Sunday-school into closer sympathy with Pastors and Churches. We believe this will mainly depend on superintendents and teachers themselves. We have not been able to satisfy ourselves that there is a real lack of proper feeling to the Sunday-school, where Teachers seek, in a right spirit, the aid of pastors. We deprecate every influence, no matter from what quarter it proceeds, that would tend to disturb the relation of the Sunday-school to the Church. That relation we shall always contend for, oppose it who may. There are schools not connected with Churches, and not sustained by them; but where it is otherwise, all Sunday-school movements must be conducted with the concurrence of the Pastor and office-bearers of our churches. BOYS' MISSION SCHOOL. THE Committee of the Institution for the Education of the Sons of Missionaries, have requested the Rev. J. E. Richards, No. 2, Copenhagen-place, Limehouse, to act as Secretary during the absence of the Rev. J. J. Freeman. The Committee will by the remittance of their subscriptions by feel obliged to their friends in the country Post-office order, made payable to the Rev. John Edgcome Richards, at the Post-office, Limehouse. There are several Missionaries' sons, now in this country, waiting to receive the benefits of the Institution, who cannot be admitted, unless the funds at the disposal of the Committee are increased. ARBITRATION INSTEAD OF WAR. [WE wish success to the movement for Arbitration instead of War. It is by no means a doubtful enterprise. Let a public sentiment be created in its favour, and it must ultimately triumph. May the God of peace smile upon the effort! - EDITOR.] Mr. Cobden has engaged to bring before the House of Commons at an early period of the next Session of Parliament, a motion in favour of Arbitration Treaties between England and Foreign countries, binding them, in case of future misunderstanding, to refer the subject-matter of dispute to the decision of Arbitrators. But as the subject is somewhat new as a matter of popular discussion, it may be necessary, in a few plain sentences, to explain the nature, object, and manifold advantages of this proposed method of Arbitration. By Arbitration, then, it is intended to apply to nations the same rational principles for the settlement of differences, as have been long ago adopted between individuals in all civilized communities. There was a time when in this and other countries, not only were criminal cases decided by wager of battle-that is, by the accused asserting his innocence by fighting with his accuser; but even civil cases, such as related to disputed property, &c., were adjudicated by a similar appeal to brute force. This preposterous method of seeking justice has long been exploded, as between man and man; and any person M who would propose it now would be laughed out of society for his absurdity. But what is War but the perpetuation of this folly in regard to nations,-an attempt to decide questions of right by violence and blood, which nothing but the inveterate power of habit could have so long saved from the reprobation and contempt of mankind? If it be said that this project of settling international disputes by Arbitration is impracticable, we can confidently appeal to history and fact, in proof of the contrary. It has been tried in a large number of instances; and it is evident from these, that whenever fairly applied, it is equal to any emergency that national affairs can present. Iceland and Norway have preserved peace between their respective countries for 600 years, by Arbitration alone; and by the same just and rational method, the Helvetic Union preserved peace among its different members for more than 500 years. A disputed question between Great Britain and America, was decided by the Arbitration of the Emperor of Russia; and another, between the same nations, was submitted to the Arbitration of the King of the Netherlands, and finally settled without War. A difficulty that arose between Britain and France, was satisfactorily terminated by the Arbitration of the King of Prussia. The dispute on the "Sulphur question," between Great Britain and Sicily, was also adjusted by the Arbitration of Louis Philippe, then King of France. To these many others might be added, but the instances adduced are sufficient to prove that Arbitration can decide great national disputes without War; and all that is now required is, to adopt this as a fixed and regular law of nations, instead of leaving it to be uncertain and occasional. The advantages of this method over War are so obvious, that they must strike the common sense of every man that has the courage, for a moment, to think for himself. It is more rational.-War is the proper resource of brutes, not of beings endowed with reason. It reduces men to the level of tigers, it tramples right under the foot of might, and yields the victory to the strongest alone. History abounds with example, where the superiority of mere brute force has triumphed over justice, humanity, patriotism, and liberty. But Arbitration, calmly weighing contending claims in the scales of equity, and by the light of reason, will decide the question in harmony with their dictates. It is more humane.-The horrors and cruelties which War perpetrates are unutterable. Destroying the fruits of the earth, laying waste cities, towns, and villages, burning the hearths and homesteads of the poor, and without pity or truth, involving in one indiscriminate massacre, all ages, sexes, and conditions, helpless childhood and venerable age, creating widows and orphans by thousands and tens of thousands, deluging the earth with blood, and filling the air with wailing voices of agony and terror, Arbitration will avoid all these atrocities, and leave the people in peaceful possession of the fruits of their industry, and the quiet happiness of their homes, while the quarrels of their rulers are settled by an appeal to reason and justice. It is incomparably cheaper than War.The enormous taxation which War entails is absolutely crushing the industrial energies and resources of the people, hindering the development of commerce, and exhausting the earnings of labour, and not unfrequently endangering Government itself, by making it the instrument of its own rapacious demands. In Great Britain it takes away 17s. 6d. out of every 29s. paid in taxation; and this year (1848) it will absorb the almost incredible sum of fortyseven millions sterling of the people's money, in paying the interest of its past and the cost of its present exorbitancy. Arbitration, by a far more economical mode of adjusting disputes, will effect an all but incalculable saving, and thereby diminish in every way the burdens of the country. It is more consistent with the spirit of Christianity.--War involves an inversion of all the principles of morality, a perpetual outrage and affront to the genius of the Gospel, an insolent and contemptuous disregard of the temper inculcated, by precept and example, by Him who came not to destroy men's lives but to save them. Arbitration, on the other hand, by appealing to Truth, Justice, and Mercy, is in strict acordancy with that benignant system which pronounces its choicest blessings on the meek, the merciful, and the peacemaker. Such, then, as compared with the custom of War, is the method of settling the disputes of nations to which Mr. Cobden is about to direct the attention of the British Legislature. But Mr. Cobden can do nothing effectually without the support of the public. The people must determine whether the absurd, wicked, sanguinary, and costly system of War is to last for ever; or whether Arbitration shall take the place of the sword. To them, therefore, do the friends of Peace appeal, and say, Unite, without delay, earnestly to petition Parliament to substitute Arbitration for War. Let your petitions for this purpose be signed universally, and send them to your own Members for presentation, accompanied by a respectful, but decided, request to support their prayer, as well as the motion, whenever it shall be brought before Parliament, The Electors, especially, should remember that they have in their hands the destinies of their country, and to a great extent those of the whole world! Let them see to it, that by a faithful discharge of the trust reposed in their keeping by possessing the franchise, none may have occasion to charge them with supineness, indifference, or neglect on this great occasion. Christians of Great Britain! You surely have at heart the cause of peace and humanity; let not the present opportunity of forwarding that cause pass away unimproved. Let a petition be prepared in every Christian congregation throughout the land, and signed universally by those who bewail the portentous insult and wrong which the continuance of the War system inflicts on Christianity, and who desire to advance the kingdom of Peace upon earth. The British Public at large! You have now a solemn duty to discharge, and a proper opportunity for discharging it. You groan under heavier burdens than any other people on earth; and unless by timely, earnest, and united exertion, you use the means to effect a change, your children will have to groan and suffer too. As you would relieve your country from a weight of taxation, which is hurrying us to the verge of national bankruptcy,-as you would advance the interests of truth, justice, and humanity,-as you would discharge your own consciences from bloodguiltiness, by participation in the iniquitous system of War, rally around Mr. Cobden, and let the House of Commons be deluged with Petitions for Arbitration. THE MINISTER'S FRIEND. To the Editor of the Evangelical Magazine. MY DEAR SIR,-An instance of Christian benevolence and self-denial has lately come to my knowledge, which deserves to be put upon record, and held up to the imitation of others. I have no knowledge of the party, nor has she any knowledge of the use I am about to make of her benevolence; but the friend whom she employed as her almoner, applied to me for information respecting certain ministerial brethren requiring pecuniary aid, and from him I learned this fact, that a Christian female, determined "to do good while it was in the power of her hand to do it," had appropriated 100%., to be given in small sums, to the most needy and deserving ministers of Christ's holy gospel; and this she had determined to do, though it would only leave her 40l. per annum to live upon, -saying she could do with that, and it might be of some service to them;- and so indeed it has proved; for small as the sum given to each case has been, amounting to 31. and 5., the expressions of gratitude for the timely aid afforded that have been elicited, are really overwhelming. Oh! that the wealthy would learn the luxury as well as the duty of doing good, and endeavour to be found" rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing "to communicate." Some distribute a little out of their abundance, a few pounds out of their hundreds and thousands, and that not in all cases with a willing mind; but here is a Christian female, denying herself, if not of the absolute necessaries, certainly of the comforts of life, to do good to others. Some may question the prudence of such a step; but surely this was laying up treasures in heaven; and who will call in question the propriety of that? We have one Society, indeed, formed expressly for the purpose of helping those ministers whose incomes are inadequate to their support, and great have been the benefits afforded by it; but some of the cases are usually declined. [Some of those declined at the last Annual Meeting have been helped by this Christian female.] Oh! how I should rejoice to find others stirred up to follow such a noble example. Let those whom God has blessed with the means, appropriate some portion to this purpose. And though we do not call upon them to make the same sacrifices, we would invite them to remember the admonition of the wise man: "Whatsover thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might," &c. I once knew a Christian lady, whose income amounted to about 1,200l. per annum, who gave up housekeeping, and put down her carriage, to devote one thousand per annum to benevolent purposes, while she lived comfortably upon the remaining two hundred; and enjoyed it more, from the delight afforded by helping so many in time of need. I say not that all, or any, are called to give up the comforts and conveniences of life, when Providence has cast them into their lap,-but I cannot but think that most of us might do with much less than we commonly do; and that a little retrenchment, to say nothing of sacrifice, would enable us to do far more good than we usually do. The apostolical maxim is: "While we have opportunity let us do good unto all men, especially unto them of the household of faith." Islington. Yours truly, J. L. CONGREGATIONAL SCHOOL, LEWISHAM. THE following Report of the Christmas examination of the pupils in this establishment, has been presented to the Committee: "We, the undersigned, in compliance with the request of the Committee, conducted the examination of the Congregational-school at Lewisham, at Christmas, 1848. The examination was entirely classical. The attainments of the pupils were tested in Ovid, Virgil, Cæsar, Sallust, Greek Testament, Thucydides, and the grammatical elements of the Latin and Greek languages. Of the seven classes into which the whole school was divided, we feel constrained to affirm, that while the middle classes call for no particular expression, either of regret or of commendation, the advantage appeared less on the side of the juniors, and more with the seniors than on former occasions. The accuracy and readiness of the first class, in the construction and analysis of difficult passages, both in Latin and Greek authors, afforded us much satisfaction. Signed, "GEORGE ROGERS, ROBERT FERGUSON, LL.D." CHISWICK, MIDDLESEX. MY DEAR SIR,-Perhaps you will call to mind the fact of my having consulted you a few years ago, on the subject of pulling down an old building in this village, and erecting a new chapel in its place, and that you advised me to proceed, and leave results with God. Your advice was taken, and a neat and commodious house was erected, with a good school-room over it. You will doubtless remember that you opened the chapel more than seven years ago, in conjunction with the Rev. G. Clayton, when you addressed a goodly company, from that passage in Nehemiah, iv. 6. "The people had a mind to work." Since then, the debt, amounting to several hundred pounds, has been paid off; and of late the cause has much increased, for which fervent praise is offered unto God. I was much cheered lately, by a gathering of the church and congregation in the schoolroom to take tea together; after which they presented me with "Scott's Commentary,' in six vols. quarto, and "Kitto's Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature," in two vols. octavo, the whole most elegantly bound, with a printed statement in each volume, setting forth the affectionate feelings of the donors towards their pastor, after ten years' labour amongst them. I am anxious that this token of love and esteem should be placed upon record in your valuable Publication, to express my gratitude to my friends, as an example for other churches to follow, -and also to show that the labours of God's servants are appreciated in some measure by those whom they serve. I am, dear Sir, Yours sincerely, EDWARD MILLER. SUFFOLK CONGREGATIONAL UNION. THE Spring Meeting will be held at Hadleigh, during the first week in April. The Introductory Sermon will be preached on Wednesday evening, April 4th, by the Rev. S. A. Browning, of Framlingham. On Thursday morning the Union Sermon will be preached by the Rev. J. Whitby, of Ipswich, on "The Scriptural Doctrine of Spiritual Influence," after which the Lord's supper will be administered. The Conference of members will be held at three p.m., and in the evening the concluding public service, when addresses will be delivered by the Rev. Messrs. J. Rogers, of Rendham; T. James, of Debenham; and J. Ross, of Woodbridge. J. C. BODWELL, Secretary. CALL ACCEPTED. THE Rev. John Harrison, of Northwich, Cheshire, has accepted the charge of the Infant cause at Isleworth, Middlesex, where a beautiful place of worship, erected chiefly by the West Middlesex Congregational Association, was opened in September last. Mr. Harrison commenced his labours on Lord's day, the 24th December. STANSTEAD, NEAR WARE, HERTS. DURING the period of last summer, the Rev. J. Raban, of Hackney, was unexpectedly invited to preach for a few sabbaths in this village, where there is a population of more than a thousand souls; and where sabbath profanation, and other vices, are too fearfully prevalent. Mr. R.'s services becoming increasingly acceptable, he was urgently requested to continue them; and under the auspices of the Cheshunt College Committee, (to whom the chapel belongs,) he has persevered with disinterested zeal and success, until it was thought very desirable to organise the church. This work he has happily effected at a special meeting, and two worthy deacons were chosen, to whom, and to several more friends, he administered the Lord's supper, on Feb. 4th. A sabbath-school, also, has been re-established by the ladies, and other respectable individuals, with every prospect of success. These cirumstances, with a full attendance on public ordinances, inspire the hope of a permanent revival, and lead to the devout utterance of the Psalmist: "Let the people praise thee, O God! let all the people praise thee !" TWO HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FORMATION OF THE INDEPENDENT CHURCH AT WRENTHAM, SUFFOLK; AND ORDINATION OF THE REV. JOHN BROWNE, B.A. ON Thursday, Feb. 1st, 1849, the fol |