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Lay Delegates and Visitors.

Hardy, W. H. C., Letheringsett.
Harmer, Thomas, Norwich.
Irvine, S. D'Arcy, London.
Jarrold, T., Norwich.
Lincolne, W., Halesworth.
Lock, M., London.

Monteith, G. T., Norwich.

Murrell, T. R., Surlingham.

Middleton, James, Norwich.

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Nash, John A., Wymondham.
Peachey, James, London.
Priest, Richard, Harleston.
Pigg, Joseph, Norwich.
Pigg, Frederick,
Pedder, W.,

Pike, James, Yarmouth.
Rutt, W., London.
Rose, George, Norwich.
Robertson, W., Stratton.
Storey, J. H., Bradfield.
Starling, E. A., Norwich.
Starling, James,
Shalders, H. A.,

Share, T. S., Lynn.
Shelly, J. W., Yarmouth.
Tyler, Wm., London.
Towler, Abel, Norwich.

Tolson, Richard,

Took, J. H., Trinity College, Cam

bridge.

Venning, John, Norwich.

Wilson, Joshua, London.

Westwood, H. F., Lynn.

Youngman, S. W., Norwich.

The first meeting was held in the Old Meeting House, on Wednesday, Oct. 16th, when the Rev. Dr. BURDER, the chairman, presided, and having conducted the usual devotional exercises, opened the proceedings with the following address :—

I rejoice, my beloved and honoured brethren, that we meet this morning under circumstances of great encouragement. Steady, if not rapid, has been the progress of the Congregational Union; and these autumnal and provincial meetings are peculiarly adapted to swell the tide of fraternal love and of united effort. I am happy that we meet this morning in a sanctuary, in a city, in a county, in which the records of the past combine with the impressions of the present to encourage our perseverance, our prayers, and our hopes. It was not under circumstances equally auspicious that our fathers made an attempt to promote Congregational union seven-and-thirty years ago. It is true, the effort was vigorously made, and made by many of those distinguished men who had roused the churches and the ministers of our country to the noble enterprise of foreign missions. But, notwithstanding their success in that glorious work; and notwithstanding their weight of character; and notwithstanding the influence they had acquired by their missionary fervour, they failed in the attempt; they did not succeed in convincing the churches or their pastors generally, that the object itself, Christian union, was valuable; neither did they succeed in

convincing them that an extended union of churches was in full harmony with the principles of our Congregational polity. I rejoice, dear brethren, that, notwithstanding the respects in which we may be very inferior to many of those honoured, and now sainted men, yet that, on this one point, there is amongst us greater light, and I think more scriptural views. I rejoice, therefore, that in this respect there has been obvious, considerable, and very encouraging progress. May the progress of our Union be greatly accelerated by this autumnal convocation; and may there be now a powerful impulse given to our entire machinery for conveying the treasures of Gospel truth throughout Britain, Ireland, and our colonies! "God be merciful to us, and bless us, and cause his face to shine upon us," and upon our churches, "that his way may be known upon earth, and his saving health to all people." Let the people praise our God, let all the people praise him. Brethren, I have too much respect for you, and for the important purposes for which you are assembled, to detain you at all from the business which has brought us together. Many important subjects of consideration will require your attention, and will now be brought forward by our valued officers. I believe the first business which comes before us regards the deputation that visited South Wales in June last. Mr. Richard will, I believe, give us some account of their visit.

DEPUTATION TO SOUTH WALES.

The Rev. JOHN BLACKBURN said-I may just mention that Mr. Richard and myself were appointed by your Committee to visit South Wales, and to attend the meetings of associations there; that we fulfilled our mission, and having conferred together upon the subjects of our report, my brother and companion has been kind enough to embody the results of our visit in a document, which, I believe, will be heard with interest by our brethren present.

The Rev. HENRY RICHARD, of Marlborough Chapel, then read the following paper:

Report of the Rev. Messrs. Blackburn and Richard, of London, who visited South Wales in June last, as a Deputation from the Committee of the Union; presented and read by the Rev. Henry Richard.

This

The Deputation to South Wales originated in a request sent to the Committee more than two years ago, on behalf of the Western Assembly of the Congregational churches in that part of the Principality, including the counties of Cardigan, Pembroke, and Carmarthen, earnestly desiring the presence, at their annual meeting, of brethren from England, as representatives of the Congregational Union. meeting was held at Carmarthen on the 12th and 13th of June. To that assembly therefore, strictly speaking, the deputation were delegated; but, finding on their arrival, that the Eastern Assembly, which comprises the other counties of South Wales, namely, Glamorgan, Brecknock, Radnor, and Monmouth, was about to hold its annual meeting also, within little more than a week of the former, one of the deputation, in deference to the judgment of his colleague, yielded to the importunities of the brethren in that district, to prolong his stay in the country, so as to attend their assembly at Merthyr Tydvil, on the 26th and 27th of June. By this means the deputation had an opportunity of laying the objects of their mission before the representatives of all the Congregational churches of South Wales, including at both conferences about 150 ministers, together with a large number of lay delegates. Besides which, they spent nearly a fortnight travelling through the country, visiting the churches, and holding such meetings, public and private, as they thought best adapted to promote the objects of their mission. During that journey, they had considerable opportunities of personal inquiry and observation, as to the religious state of the community in general, and especially of our own deno

mination, among both the mining districts of Glamorganshire, and the purely agricultural districts of Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire. The objects which the deputation endeavoured to promote, both in addressing the conferences at Carmarthen and Merthyr, and in all their private intercourse with the Welsh brethren, are thus correctly described in one of their periodical publications: “They explained the nature, designs, and usefulness of the Congregational Union; showing how it promoted general acquaintance with the operations of the Congregational body, fostered Christian sympathy and brotherly love, and facilitated co-operation among the churches, without in any way interfering with their strict independency. They furnished information likewise as to the efforts that are made to extend the Gospel, in connexion with our principles as Congregationalists, by means of the Home Missionary, Irish Evangelical, and Colonial Missionary Societies; and invited the cooperation of the Welsh churches, in advancing the same objects. They spoke also with great earnestness as to the urgent necessity that Wales should be roused to the work of securing a good education for the rising race; and especially exhorting the Welsh churches to unite in the general movement excited on this subject by the late bill of Sir James Graham."

As to the result of their mission, they have to report in general, that, as far as their observation extended, they found the churches of the Principality, on the whole, in a healthy and prosperous condition; that they were welcomed by the Welsh brethren with great cordiality and affection; that the desire they expressed, on behalf of those who sent them, for a closer union between the Congregational churches of England and Wales, was everywhere warmly reciprocated; and that the several county associations were strongly recommended by those present at the two assemblies, to furnish a practical proof of that desire, by sending in without delay their adherence to the Congregational Union. The deputation believe also that they succeeded in creating considerable interest on behalf of British missions, among the churches of the Principality, as a strong disposition was everywhere manifested, to admit the claims and sympathise with the difficulties of these important institutions. And although the great poverty of the people forbids the expectation of our receiv ing from them any very large reinforcement to the revenues of these societies, yet the deputation do not doubt, that if suitable means were taken to bring and keep the subject before the attention of the Welsh brethren, they would be willing, to the extent of their ability, to contribute to the maintenance and efficiency of those denominational operations, in which the prosperity and honour of our body are so deeply involved. With regard to the state of education in South Wales, it is not necessary at present to enlarge; as the deputation have already, at the request of the Central Committee on Education, presented to them a report on that subject, which may perhaps at some future time be published among the documents of that society. With this general history of their proceedings, the deputation might perhaps have closed their report. As they cannot, however, but regard the religious condition of the Principality as one of deep and very peculiar interest, especially to the friends of evangelical truth, nonconforming principles, and voluntary Christianity; and as they believe, moreover, that society in that country is, at the present juncture, in many respects in a critical and transitionary state, demanding immediate and serious attention from the friends of religious truth and sound ecclesiastical principles; they ask permission to trespass a little longer on the patience of this Assembly, while they respectfully submit a few additional remarks and suggestions, founded on the obser vations they made, and the information they gathered, during their recent visit to the Principality.

The first point which they deem deserving of notice and admiration among the Welsh churches, is the extraordinary zeal and liberality they have displayed in

providing the means of spiritual instruction for the great mass of their countrymen. Little more than a century ago, there was, besides the parish churches, and a few scattered Baptist and Presbyterian chapels, the latter of which have mostly, since that time, passed into the hands of the Arians and Unitarians, scarcely any accommodation provided, where the people of Wales could enjoy the privileges of religious worship. At this time, however, there cannot be much fewer than 2000 chapels belonging to the different denominations of evangelical dissenters. Of these, more than 630 have been erected by the Congregational body alone; and we have the testimony of the Rev. David Rees, of Llanelly, than whom a more competent witness could not be found, that 500 out of this number have been either built or enlarged within the last forty years. In comparing this account with the depressed and impoverished condition of the great majority of the people, it is impossible not to feel, after all allowance has been made for the generous aid they have frequently received from England, "that their deep poverty hath abounded unto the riches of their liberality." Few things, indeed, arrest the attention of the Christian traveller more, in passing through Wales, than the number of chapels which present themselves, in every part, to his observation; sometimes standing on the brow of a hill, or in the corner of a valley, in the remotest heart of the country, with scarcely a house or habitation within sight, and yet, on the Lord's-day, filled with crowded and decently-attired audiences, who, early in the morning, may be seen repairing thither for miles, from every part of the circumjacent region. And thus it often happens, contrary to the auguries of those who doubt the efficiency of the voluntary principle, that the thinly populated agricultural districts are precisely those for which the most ample spiritual provision has been made. True it is, indeed, that these humble edifices possess little that can satisfy he taste, much less awaken the admiration, of those who are lovers of picturesque and elegant architecture. But surely they are not devoid of a deep moral interest to those who reflect that they are the evidence, as they are the affecting symbols, of the simple and spontaneous piety of a people proverbially, and, in many cases, almost incredibly poor; and that within their walls the great and vital verities of the Gospel are constantly proclaimed in fervid and powerful, if unpolished, strains, in the hearing of multitudes, who receive there the only influences adapted to form their religious character, and direct their moral education for eternity. When it is remembered that in London, with its vast population of nearly two million inhabitants, the Congregational body has provided only about 130 places of worship; while in Wales, with a population scarcely amounting to the half of that number, our brethren, of the same faith and order, have erected 636; we cannot avoid the impression, that the powerful and wealthy churches of the metropolis have yet, in this respect, something to learn from the simple mountaineers of Wales.

Another feature in the religious condition of Wales, which the deputation would ask leave to refer to, is the admirable system on which their Sunday-schools are formed and conducted. These schools comprise, at least, an equal, and often a much larger, proportion of adults, than of children; for it is the universal custom, when children have acquired the first rudiments of instruction, so as to read the Scriptures fluently, not to dismiss them from the school, but to transfer them to a higher class, where, under the guidance of the most pious and intelligent among the members of the church, the young people have "expounded to them the way of God more perfectly." Thus it often happens, that a large portion of the congregation, of all ages, may be found assembled at the Sunday-schools, formed into Bible classes, for mutual instruction. In many schools, the same portion of Scripture is appointed to be read in all the classes, on the same day, the teachers meeting an hour beforehand, to read it over among themselves, imparting to each other such

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aids in understanding, and applying the truth it contains, as they have been able during the week to acquire; so that each repairs to his class in possession of the light and information that have been gathered by the intelligence and industry of all. In addition to which, it should be observed, that they carry the system of catechetical instruction to a great extent; for not only have they several excellent little manuals, prepared by Mr. Charles, of Wales, and others, in habitual use; but short occasional catechisms, on particular subjects, composed by their ministers, and others, (scores of which are published, every year, in the Principality,) are constantly learned at the schools by the adults, as well as the children. In these, they are afterwards examined publicly, in the presence of the whole congregation; the catechist by no means confining himself to the printed manual before him, but indulging in a wide range of scriptural and theological questions, which suggest themselves at the time; to which he expects, and, in general, receives, prompt and pertinent replies.

We are happy in being able to adduce the testimony of a disinterested witness in favour of these excellent institutions. Mr. Seymour Tremenhere, who was appointed by the government to make inquiries into the state of education in the mining districts of South Wales in 1841, remarks," The Sunday-schools of dissenting congregations are frequented by large numbers of adults as well as children. It was gratifying to observe so many of the former, both male and female, intermingled with the children, and receiving instruction in classes from individuals often much junior to themselves. Unquestionably, these schools have done inestimable service, in communicating widely among the rising generation the elements of religious knowledge." The influence of these schools has been indeed the saving element for Wales; for, in the absence of almost all other educational advantages, they have been the means of quickening into activity the national intellect, and (in conjunction with the fervid ministry of the evangelical dissenters) of diffusing Christian knowledge among the people, and elevating their moral character, to an extent which entitles them perhaps to be regarded as, on the whole, the most religious population on earth. In many districts where these agencies have been fully in operation, it would be difficult to find an individual who could not read the Scriptures in his own language fluently and intelligently. And that the great bulk of the Welsh people are neither ignorant nor illiterate, may be inferred from the fact, that there are thirteen or fourteen periodicals in their native language issuing from the press every month, most of them possessing a consider. able, and many of them a large, circulation, and all of them supported, in the strictest sense, by the people; for the higher classes know little and care less about the literature of their native tongue. With regard to the moral condition of the people, it is an ascertained and acknowledged fact, that, with the exception of a few districts, where, owing to the rapid formation of the large iron and copper works, a dense and very peculiar population has been gathered together, the average of crime is lower in the Principality, than in any part of the United Kingdom. Maiden assizes are by no means rare in most of the counties of South Wales. This statement is not affected by such events as the Rebecca riots of last year,—a sudden outbreak arising from local and temporary causes, susceptible of an explanation, which does not at all implicate the general character of the people. Indeed, the commissioners of inquiry that were sent down to investigate the circumstances connected with that very outbreak, observe in their report, that "the average amount of crime in the greater part of South Wales is so small, that a large propor tion of the magistrates' duties is of a ministerial rather than a judicial nature." Time was, and that within the memory of some who still live to witness and bless the change, when the inhabitants of Wales were sunk in a state of heathen ignorance

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