larger during the last than they were in the previous year-from London somewhat less, from Scotland larger, and from Ireland not quite so large. They had, on the whole, to report a balance in hand of £401 9s. 8d., but out of that they had to replace certain funds which had been collected for the erection of a new chapel in Belfast, which would leave it not very large.

Mr. MIDDLEDITCH wished it to be understood that after payment of the amount owing to the Belfast chapel the balance in hand would not be more than about £30.

In offering to the meeting the resolutions which it had been agreed to present Brethren Hands, of Luton; Best, of Leeds; S. G. Green, of Rawdon College; and C. Clark, of Maze-pond, spoke on the general objects which the two Societies have been occupied, and in time to come will be unitedly occupied in prosecuting. The first thing to which he, Mr. Hands, would call attention was, that among the changes which had been determined upon, no alteration had been made in the specific designation of the Society. It was the Baptist British and Irish Home Missionary Society; and he was glad that the Committee were not ashamed of the distinguishing name by which they had hitherto come before our churches. He was as liberal as most people in his opinions and feelings, and had as little denominational bigotry as most men. At the same time he was glad they still retained the word Baptist in the designation of their Society. If that name had any significance; if it represented any principles worth holding; if it kept before the mind certain points of great importance and he believed it did all this-it was wise, notwithstanding the tendency in certain quarters to drop denominational designations-to retain that name so long as the necessity existed for maintaining their present position. This Society was not sectarian because it was called the Baptist Society, for they might maintain all their denominational distinctions and designations without one particle of sectarian feeling or bigotry. But he believed denominationalism was of great value in the Church, and must for a long time be maintained; that there was a peculiar work for everyone to do which could not be done effectually except by denominational organisations; and the tendency of the present age rendered it most important that they should be maintained. Again, these Societies were proposing to do work at home. Looked at in this respect, they had a peculiar claim upon our attention. Great things had been accomplished in the foreign field, and like the founders of that mission, they were still prepared to expect great things and to attempt great things therein. They were called upon to labour among men everywhere, just because the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ was the only thing that could meet the wants of mankind. They looked abroad upon millions perishing for lack of knowledge, and felt bound to do all they could to lift the heathen from the deep degradation into which he was sunk, and lead him to a better life on earth and to a nobler and happier life hereafter. But when our Lord sent His disciples to preach the Gospel, He told them to begin at Jerusalem. They were sometimes taunted with being actuated by a telescopic benevolence which looked at things at a distance, and overlooked those close at hand; his reply was that it was the very people who did the one thing who did not leave the other undone. They who cared for the heathen abroad were caring also for the heathen at home. He commended these Societies, therefore, because they specially directed their attention to home work. But it might be asked, is it necessary for societies of this kind to work in England and Ireland? Necessary! They had heard from the report that some of the operations of the Society were in London. Was it necessary to have their sympathies and liberality called forth on behalf of London, or that anything should be done besides what was being done by existing churches in the Metropolis for the evangelisation of the people of London? He would ask them only to consider the condition of the people physically and morally in London over the Border-to go into some of the great parishes of London, only to look at the condition of the people in Bethnal-green and all around that neighbourhood-of hundreds and thousands who live down alleys and in courts in the neighbourhood of the palatial residences, and splendid chapels, and churches which strike the eye of the stranger as he passes through the main streets. He asked them to consider the solemn and painful fact that there were men and women in this Metropolis who knew next to nothing of the God who made them, and of the Saviour who died to redeem mankind. There was at once an answer to the inquiry whether it were right that this Society should spend any of its funds in labours in London. All those connected with that place of worship, and all who reside in London, knew full well that there was the greatest necessity for such operations. It was not the same if they went to the villages and hamlets all over the country. It was perfectly astounding what was the extent of ignorance on religious matters in various parts of this land, not only

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among those who were sometimes referred to as the "dull-minded and stolid agricultural poor; but among those from whom you might expect better things. It was painful that there should be the existence of so much vice, immorality, and irreligion. Here, then, was a necessity, and consequently a motive for the operations of such a society. The Rev. S. G. GREEN, President of Rawdon College, said: It was a judicious remark with which the framer of the report commenced, "that this Home Missionary Society is by no means the only agency the Baptists have at their disposal for the evangelisation of our land." The truth was, that every Church which understood its own function, and tried to do its own work heartily and well, was, in some way or another, a Home Missionary Society. All they, in this instance, did, was to gather up the fragments and smaller elements of power which could not so easily find expression in the life and working of individual Churches. The Church was a river of pure water of life, clear as crystal-as it ought to be-which flowed through the land; the Society was a canal, which gathered together the waters of many streams which were not powerful in themselves, and utilised them, and turned them to good account. Never let them undervalue the river because of the canal, or, in other words, sacrifice the Church to the Society. It was said of the celebrated engineer, Brindley, when asked of what use he supposed the rivers of the land to be, that he replied, "To feed canals." He (Mr. Green) should be very sorry for the day ever to come when the practical use of our Churches would be to support societies; and yet societies were very good things for all that, and there was quite sufficient left for them, after the Church had done its utmost, in reaching parts of the country which were not the spheres of Christian labour. There was then quite enough work to do for this amalgamated Society, and most heartily did he urge, with preceding speakers, that, notwithstanding the great and noble things many of them were doing in their own Churches, they would spare some fragments of time and power and money for the British and Irish Home Mission. The resolution he held in his hand spoke not only of this, but tried to prove also that the Baptists were exactly the right persons to do the work: that if this land of ours wants evangelising-and it does-and if Ireland needs evangelisation—as it does -the Baptist denomination were the predestined evangelists. It was to the effect that the meeting saw especial cause for gratitude to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fact that, through the operation of the two Societies, Churches had been formed and maintained both in England and Ireland, in which the indispensable necessity of a personal and intelligent surrender in all things to the Redeemer's law as written in Holy Scripture is maintained-the ecclesiastical tendencies of the present time showing very clearly that in the maintenance of this principle would be found the only effectual guarantee for the triumph of truth over error; and the meeting thereby pledged itself to assist the Society in the support of other Churches of a similar character. The resolution was a speech in itself. He was not going to discuss the ecclesiastical and religious events of the present time. But certain it was, that if Popery oppresses England as it does, and if a false ecclesiasticism was propagated in many parts of our own country, the Baptists were the very antipodes of both. And certain it was, that if Rationalism were very destructive in many parts of the kingdom, they were equally opposed to this. They met Popery by the direct negative of all its principal positions. He remembered that, in one of those racy prefaces with which the late Mr. William Groser used to amuse and interest the readers of the annual volume of The Baptist Magazine, he ventured upon the prediction that the time would come when all professing Christians would be either Roman Catholic or Baptist. That time had not come yet. It might be on its way: perhaps, if people were more logical in the application of their own principles, it would come a little sooner than we could now expect it. Still there was a truth hidden beneath the prophecy, although the prediction itself might remain unfulfilled; people ought to go further from them; or to come nearer to them. The belief they held not merely respecting certain ordinances, but connected belief concerning Christian doctrine and Christian acts, was the great means by which most rightfully and clearly the prevalent evils and errors of the time could be met and overcome. He knew there were difficulties. Look at Ireland, for instance, with its Popery. He protested that sometimes, when he read the reports of Irish Societies, his heart sank within him, and he asked, are we to believe that Protestant Englishmen and English Dissenters will after all do anything for that priest-ridden land? Nor was it Popery alone with which they had to contend; there was also injustice. The ruling form of Protestantisin with which the people were familiar was that of the Establishment, and he did not wonder that the very existence of that Establishment, which called itself a missionary Church, should make almost all true missionary work impossible in Ireland. He hoped their

Denomination would have grace to understand its position, and that, in the maintenance of a spiritual humility, they would take care to make the people of Ireland understand that they had no sympathy whatever with the form which the ruling Protestantism of England has assumed among them. They must do this to be successful with them. There were other difficulties, arising perhaps from among ourselves. He thought our ecclesiastical system wanted more elasticity. We wanted to apply ourselves with greater variety and with quicker sympathy perhaps to the different states of society. We were a little too stiff; our Independency, our Congregationalism, our one-man ministry, as it was sometimes called, was all very well in its place, and in all things we recognised the inheritance and expression of great principles; but we ought to be prepared to modify, and vary, and act according to circumstances, and in the work of evangelisation we ought not to be concerned to set down our Churches, all cut and dried, in every place, as if we could do nothing until we had deacons, and a ministry, and every source of organic action. If we kept to that, the Society would be one for eking out the salaries of small pastors in small Churches, and not a society for the evangelisation of England at all. He thought sometimes they ought to be content without a Church, at least for a time. He was engaged a Sunday or two ago in opening a building in a village in Yorkshire of 200 or 300 inhabitants. The people had built a hall for worship on Sunday, and for educational purposes during the week. Therewas no Church formed, and not the slightest thought of forming one. The Gospel was preached without the slightest regard to any denominational distinction. The people were glad to get supplies from Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyans throughout the country; these preached the Gospel, and when the people were converted they formed their own views as to the Church with which they should connect themselves, and God had greatly blessed the proceedings. This was an illustration of what he meant by evangelical labours. He thought sometimes our churches, like some young people, were a little too anxious to set up for themselves before they were able to keep house-to claim a separate and independent position before they could meet its responsibilities and sustain its duties. They formed a church, and then asked the Home Missionary Scciety to sustain the minister. He should like to see these weak Churches placed under the supervision of some neighbouring Church. He should like also to see the frequent union of neighbouring churches which were too weak to stand alone. He thought the multiplication of little churches was the weakness of Congregationalism in the present day. We should feel it more and more if we let it go on, and moral influence ought to be raised against it, for we sometimes went into a small town and found two Baptist chapels there and two ministers, both of them starving of course, and each of them with not half enough to do. You asked how it could be, and were told, "Oh, there was a secession." Some were higher than the others, and so went up, or others were lower, and so went down; or one of the deacons made himself disagreeable, and some of the young members went away from the old gentleman; or there was a dispute in the singing gallery-harmony was broken, and those who could departed from the nest and went off to a nest of their own. All this was disgraceful to us. But he would not go on with his criticisms. He had said enough to show he believed the resolution to be one of great importance. They might be quite sure that the Baptists were the right people to evangelise England; let them in the name of charity and good sense apply their principles in a large-hearted, a comprehensive, and elastic way.

The Revds. W. BEST, of Leeds, and CHARLES CLARK, of Maze-pond, urged upon the meeting with great eloquence and force the duty of responding to the pledges which the resolutions contained.

We regret that our very limited space prevents the insertion of extracts from the speeches of the other gentlemen engaged at this meeting, which was one of unusual interest.

We are happy to announce that the Rev. C. KIRTLAND has accepted the office of Secretary, and contributions may be sent to him, or to G. B. WOOLLEY, Esq., the Treasurer, at 33, Moorgate Street, until the removal to John Street, Bedford Row,

MAGAZINE.

JULY, 1865.

ARE CHRISTIAN MISSIONS A FAILURE?
BY THE REV. C. CARTER, OF CEYLON.