that you will pay a visit to my poor flock, for whom I am sorely grieved in my absence from them; and can only be comforted. in the sweet hope that you will not neglect them in your travels. You are heartily welcome to my church, if you please to make use of it; and I hope you will be truly welcome to the ears and hearts of all the people.

I hope my time at was not passed unprofitably. I had many serious conversations with Lady, who afforded me a more favourable attention than I could have expected. There is a certain nobleness of heart, and a love of truth so deeply ingrafted in her, that surely she must come right at last. She was pleased to allow what I said to be highly reasonable; and I trust that when her poor heart feels the wretched want of those comforts which the realizing of these truths can only give, she will recollect the remedy which God enabled me to point out to her, and that a due application of it will be made to the healing of her wounded spirit, through the precious Balsam of the atoning Blood.

I preached three times at Moira; and find the people there ready enough to acknowledge the truth, but very backward in embracing it. On my return home I preached at Mr. Piers's church at Killeshee, near Longford; and (as I am told) a young woman received grace under the word. In short, I find my excursions are more blest than my labours in my own parish: this is a great grief to me: I am nevertheless not discouraged, but wait God's time, in humble expectation that he will visit this people, and give me to see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied.

In the mean time, dear Sir, let me entreat yoù neither to for bear warning nor reproof, if you hear any things of me you deem blameable; and be persuaded, that your ingenuous frankness on such occasions, will be ever acknowledged best proof of your love and esteem for me.

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Above all things, I request your earnest wrestlings with God in my behalf, that I may not be found an unprofitable servant in the day of the Lord; but that I may rejoice with you and the saints of God in glory, both I and the children whom the Lord God shall give me.

May the ever blessed and eternal God prosper you and the work of your hands! May he continue to bless and endow you with the riches of his unsearchable wisdom, and permit you to be with us many years, for the furtherance of the ministry of his glorious gospel, and for the enlargement of your own everlasting reward, eternal in the heavens. Amen and Amen.

Your most unworthy,

yet ever affectionate Brother in the Lord, WALTER SHIRLEY,

November 1, 1760.

Evangelicana.

CONVENTICLE ACT.

THE spirit of persecution having recently revived, and a person hav ing been prosecuted merely for praying in his house, it is proper that the detestable statute on which such conviction took place should be generally known. We, therefore, present our readers, from Neale's History of the Puritans, with an Account of the Conventicle Act, which still remains one of the laws of England; and to which persecutors may resort, whenever they choose to disturb their pious neighbours, who have not been licenced according to the Act of Toleration. We sincerely hope that the time is not far distant when this cruel statute shall no longer disgrace this land of freedom.

This Bill received the Royal assent April 11, 1670. It was to the following effect:-That if any persons, upwards of sixteen years, shall be present at any Assembly, Conventicle, or Meeting, under colour or pretence of any exercise of religion, in any other manner than according to the Liturgy and practice of the Church of England, where there are five persons or more present, besides those of the said household, in such cases the offender shall pay five shillings for the first offence; and ten shillings for the second; and the Preachers or Teachers in any such meetings shall forfeit twenty pounds for the first, and forty for the second offence: and lastly, Those who knowingly suffer any such Conventicles in their Houses, Barns, Yards, &c. shall forfeit twenty pounds. Any Justice of Peace, on the oath of two respectable witnesses, or any other sufficient proof, may record the offence under his hand and seal; which record shall be taken in law for a full and perfect conviction, and shall be certified at the next Quarter Sessions. The fines above mentioned may be levied by distress and sale of the offender's goods and chattels; and in case of the poverty of such offender, upon the goods and chattels of any other person or persons that shall be convicted of having been present at the said Conventicle, at the discretion of the Justice of Peace, so as the sum to be levied on any one person, in case of the poverty of others, do not amount to above ten pounds for any one meeting,-the Constables; Headboroughs, &c. are to levy the same by warrant from the Justice, and to be divided, one third for the use of the King, another third for the poor, and the other third to the Informer or his assistants, regard being had to their diligence and industry in discovering, dispersing, and punishing the said Conventicles. The fines upon Ministers for preaching are to be levied also by distress; and in case of poverty, upon the goods and chattels of any other present; and the like upon the house where the Conventicle is held; and the money to be divided as above.

And it is further enacted, That the Justice or Justices of Peace, Constable, Headboroughs, &c. may by warrant, with what aid, force, and assistance they shall think necessary, break open, and enter into any house or place where they shall be informed of the Conventicle, and take the persons so assembled into custody; and the Lieutenants, or other commissioned Officers of the Militia, may get together such force and assistance as they think necessary to dissolve, dissipate, and disperse such unlawful meetings, and take the persons into custody.'

Then follow two extraordinary clauses: That if any Justice of Peace refuse to do his duty in the execution of this Act, he shall forfeit five pounds.' And be it further enacted, That all clauses in this Act shall be construed most largely and beneficially for the suppressing Conventicles, and for the justification and encouragement of all persons to be employed in the execution thereof. No warrant or mittimus shall be made void, or reversed, for any default in the form; and if a person fly from one county

or corporation to another, his goods and chattels shall be seizable where ever they are found. If the party offending be a wife cohabiting with her husband, the fine shall be levied on the goods and chattels of the husband, provided the prosecution be within three months.'

The wit of man could hardly invent any thing, short of capital punishment, more cruel and inhuman. One would have thought such a merciful Prince as King Charles II. who had often declared against persecution, should not have consented to it; and that no Christian bishop should have voted for it. Mens' houses are to be plundered, their persons imprisoned, their goods and chattels carried away, and sold to those who would bid for them. Encouragement is given to a vile set of informers, and others, to live upon the labour and industry of their conscientious neighbours. Multitudes of these sordid creatures spend their profits in ill houses, and upon lewd women, and then went about the streets again to hunt for further prey. The law is to be construed in favour of these wretches, and the power to be lodged in the hand of every single Justice of Peace, who is to be fined five pounds if he refuses his warrant. Upon this many honest men, who would not be the instruments of such severities, left the bench, and would sit there no longer.

Great numbers were prosecuted on this act, and many industrious families reduced to poverty. Many ministers were confined in gaols and close prisons; and warrants were issued out against them and their hearers, to the amount of great sums of money. In the diocese of Salisbury the persecution was hottest, by the instigation of bishop Ward, -many hundreds being prosecuted with great industry, and driven from their families and trades. The act was executed with such severity in Starling's mayoralty, that many of the trading men in the city were removing with their effects to Holland, till the king put a stop to it. Informers were everywhere at work; and having crept into religious as semblies in disguise, levied great sums of money upon minister and people. Soldiers broke into the houses of honest farmers, under pretence of searching for conventicles; and where ready money was wanting, they plundered their goods, drove away their cattle, and sold them for half price. Many were plundered of their household furniture; the sick have had their beds taken from under them, and themselves laid on the floor. Should I sum up all the particulars, and the accounts I have received (says Mr. Sewel) it would make a volume of itself. These vile creatures were not only encouraged, but pushed on vehemently by their spiritual guides; for this purpose Archbishop Sheldon sent another circular letter to all the bishops of his province, dated May 7, 1670; in which he directs all ecclesiastical judges and officers “to take notice of all non-conformists, holders, frequenters, maintainers, and abettors of conventicles, especially preachers and teachers in them, and of the places wherein they are held, ever keeping a more watchful eye over the cities and greater towns, from whence the mischief is for the most part derived into the lesser villages and hamlets; and wheresoever they find such wilful offenders, that then, with an hearty affection to the worship of God, the honour of the king and his laws, and the peace of the church and kingdom, they do address themselves to the civil magistrate, justices, and others concerned, imploring their help and assistance for preventing and suppressing the same, according to the late act in that behalf made and set forth; — and now, my Lord, what the success will be, we must leave to God Almighty; yet, my Lord, I have this confidence, under God, that if we do our parts now at first seriously, by God's help, and the assistance of the civil power, considering the abundant care and provision the act contains for our advantage, we shall, in a few months, see so great an alteration in the distractions of these times, as that the seduced people returning from the seditious and self-seeking teachers to the unity of the church, and uniformity of God's worship, it will be to the glory of God, the welfare of the church, the praise of his Majesty and government, and the happiness

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of the whole kingdom."-Can this be the language of a Christian and Pro testant bishop? or is it not more like a father of the Inquisition, or the dragooning commission of Lewis XIV, when he revoked the edict of Nantz ?.

The reader will perceive, that, according to this act, any persons meeting, under colour or pretence of any exercise of religion, in any other manner than according to the Liturgy and practice of the church of England, where there are five persons present besides the family resident in the house, is liable to the penalty. Consequently, every meeting for prayer, and every exhortation to a Sunday School must be illegal. We trust that the liberality of this enlightened age and country will soon obliterate this inquisitorial law from the statute-book.

Should you think the efforts of an individual to spread the Scriptures deserving of being recorded in your Evangelicana, I should be glad to see the following passage, in the Life of the Hon. Mr. Boyle, who died in 1691, inserted. Yours, &c.

He exerted himself particularly in advancing works of charity and schemes of improvement. As a Director of the East India Company, he was the principal instrument in procuring their charter; for which he only required, as a return, that they would do something towards propagating Christianity in their settlements; to which end he had printed at Oxford 500 copies of the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, in the Malayan tongue. He was also at the expence of translating into Arabic, and printing Grotius de Vitate Religionis Christiana; which was sent to the Levant. He likewise was engaged in promoting the propagation of the gospel among the Indians of North America.'

GIVE ME A BIBLE!

THE Rev. Joseph Patterson, of Washington county, state of New York, fixed up a box in his church, with this inscription, O give me a Bible! At the end of three months the box was opened, and found to contain 32 dollars and 50 cents, which were therefore immediately forwarded to the Bible Society of Philadelphia.

New York Christian's Mag. June, 1810,

Nor, I apprehend, the sixth hour of the day (i. e. after the rising of the sun) but the sixth hour of the preparation of the Passover peaceofferings, which began, according to Lightfoot, from the time of cockcrowing, and without controversy, before the day dawned; and might, therefore very well agree with St. Mark's account of its being the third hour of the day, when he was led away to be crucified. This only supposes the preparation for sacrificing these peace-offerings began about three o'clock in the morning, as we reckon the hours; but if Lightfoot be right, might be earlier, since the cock crowing was the third watch of the night, from midnight till about three in the morning.

This appears to me the most simple and natural solution of a difficulty, which has perplexed many of the learned, arising from a seeming contradiction between St. Mark and St. John, as to the time of the beginning of our Lord's crucifixion. St. Mark had said nothing of this day's being a day of preparation before the Sabbath, when he mentions the third hour, nor for several verses after; he must therefore have meant the hour of the day; but St. John mentions the preparation of the Passover immediately before he speaks of the sixth hour; which therefore expresses as naturally the sixth hour of the preparation (if not more so) as the hour from the sun's rising.'-farmer's Observations, No. 40, vol. 3.

MRS. MARTHA PAUL,

OF PORTADOWN, ARMAGH.

Dbituary.

MRS. MARTHA PAUL was born in Dublin, in the year 1788. She was blessed with a religious educa tion, through which she obtained a reverence for God, his ordinances, and his people. Nothing can be said of her early impressions. She was to outward appearance blameless; and made choice of God's people for her constant companions, at all times and in all places, avoiding the company of the world, and shanning every appearance of evil. In the course of divine providence, she was married to Mr. Moses Paul, and settled with him in Portadown. Mrs. P. bore a respectable character for many years, but remained destitute of the saving knowledge of Christ till a short time before her death.

It pleased the Lord to afflict her about the month of November 1809, with a severe cold, which consider ably weakened her bodily strength. During her affliction, the Lord drew out her soul in an unusual manner to seek him, and continued to deepen her convictions through the course of the week, at which time ber husband was in Dublin. After his return home, on the ensuing Sabbath night, after all the family were gone to rest, the Lord who has his way in the whirlwind, and can work with or without means, began to operate powerfully by his Spirit on her soul, and caused her to tremble before him, on account of her sin. On Mr. Paul's enquiring what was the matter (and purposing to go for a medical gentleman, thinking her trouble arose from a natural cause) she said that she had been very poorly during his absence, and was afraid she was going to die; and that if she did, she would go to hell: she then broke out in an agony, and cried to the Lord for mercy. Her husband stated the promises of the gospel to

her, and afterwards went to prayer, when, glory be to God, who is infinite in mercy unto all those that call upon him, and never said to the house of Jacob, Seek my face in vain, he heard her cry, answered her supplications, pardoned all her sins, shed his love abroad in her heart, and caused her to rejoice with joy unspeakable.

The change indeed was very apparent, for naturally she was timid and bashful; but all her fears fled away, and now she could proclaim the loving kindness of the Lord to her soul with confidence and courage. Her constant practice was (from the time she tasted that the Lord was gracious, until weakness prevented her) every morning to read the Scriptures upon her knees, and to continue in prayer for a con siderable time. All her conversation was truly spiritual and relating to the things of eternity.

Her disorder increased rapidly, though she had every medical aid; and though many times in great pain, she never repined, nor did the feast murmuring word ever drop from her lips. She was supported by the divine presence, and retained a comfortable sense of the love of God in her soul. When the physician who attended her pronounced her, in his judgment, past recovery, her mother and husband informed her of it. At this intelligence she appeared unmoved, and perfectly resigned to the will of God, saying, she was enabled, through divine grace, to give up her children and friends; knowing to depart and be with Christ was far better.'

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At all times when asked the state of her mind, she blessed God that she found Christ precious to her soul! To her brethren and sisters, who frequently visited her, she expressed her strong confidence in God. That religion, whose blessed influence sustained her own soul, she earnestly recommended to those who came to see her. Most ten- ́