y / /j-cu^u^ ^£Y'.z^. _ ^ol'n^^^h COIGEEdATIOML HI CONTINUATION TO 1850. WITH SPICCIAL REFERENCE TO %\st lUs^, (Sroiutlj, antJ Jnflurnre of Institutions, ilepr^sentatib^ ilUn, anb X\\t llnner ICif^ of tijr Cljurclj^a. JOHN WADDINGTON, D.D. AUTHOR OF Congregational History," 1200—1567; " Congregational Historv," 1o67— 1700 AND "Congregational History," 1700 — 1800. lonbon : LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO 1878. ^c, "iJvC^ London : Ppintkd hy Simmons k Bottkn, Shoe Lane, E.G. PEETACE. In closing tlie inquiry which has occupied our continuous attention for more than twenty years, it may not be out of place to refer briefly to the circumstances under which it has been steadilj pursued. The materials for the early history of English Congregationahsm, so far as they consist of original manuscripts, are scattered in widely distant places. To collect them we have travelled thousands of miles in England, America, and Holland. When dis- covered they were sometimes almost illegible — the prison papers, in particular — written in dark and filthy cells — the sentences were often broken, im- perfectly-formed, and disconnected. No Congrega- tional Church in existence possesses a line of these original Martyr memorials. When we began our work of exploration, the men most conversant with our history as derived from printed books insisted that no other sources of information could be found. We spent many months at the beo-in- ning in fruitless and, therefore, disappointing re- search. IV PEEFACE. The Fiiz jMpers, we had the good fortune to find, were written in the prison of the Bridewell in the year 1567. Richard Pitz and his company were known to the Pilgrim Fathers, and notices of them occm' in the writings of John E-obinson, but for three centuries they had been lost to view. Our first publication of them led one of our historical writers to go in quest of the originals to the Record Office. Not finding any clue to them, we received from him a sharp rebuke as if some imposition had been practised in the matter. It was explained that we met with them in a mis- cellaneous bundle in the care of Mr. Lemon. After his death they were left unnoticed, but happily known to Mr. Kingston they again came to light. Another paper of unique interest we met with was an undated petition of the " people falsely called Brownists."* A copy of this interesting document we sent to America, and it was printed for the first time in the Editor's preface to " New England's Memorial," in 1855. Several years after this, Mr. Drake published it in the " New England Historical and Genealogical Register " as a remarkable dis- covery of his own. Taken alone, the petition was unintelligible. Mr. Lemon desired us to ascertain its proper date. By a careful examination of the books of the Privy Council we ascertained that it was presented in 1597, but no mention was made of the parties by name who were " falsely called Brownists." The account of their voyage in the Bopewell and Chancewell given in " Hakluyt," makes no reference to them as passengers, but, in a book *Coiig. Hist., 15G7— 170U, pp. 113, 114. PREFACE. V written by George Johnson (a copy of wliich is in Sion College Library) we made out the entire transaction, and ascertained that the people falsely called Brownists were the precursors of the Pilgrim Fathers in Holland. These examples may serve to illustrate the mode of articulating the " parts " of a carefully-connected history. To prevent all cavil and dispute we obtained facsimiles of the letters of Udall, BarroAve, Penry, and of the more remarkable papers, and had them lithographed at considerable expense. A series of such documents we deposited in Dr. Williams' Library. When, from the pressure of engagements in New England we could not find leisure in different localities in the daytime for copying original manuscripts, we sat up the greater part of the night to transcribe them, so that no fragment of value for our purpose might be lost. We give these items only to show that we have not been wanting in care and diligence. No work ever published in connection with Congregational History, we may say without hesitation, has cost a tithe of the labour bestowed on these volumes. The toil was the greater in that we were never in a position to employ agents to make the transcripts. In preparing the third volume we examined all the Sta.te Papers for the eighteenth century. Home, Colonial and Foreign. The papers used in the present volume in many cases were not known to be in existence even by those who had them in their possession — laid aside and forgotten in bundles and closets or in boxes, the locks of which were too rusty to be opened by a key. VI PREFACE. We have been careful tlirougliout to follow the track of evidence and to avoid giving a complexion to the narrative in order to a practical bearing on present discussions or arrangements. There is a curious coincidence between the New Scheme of Church Aid and Home Missionary operations, and that proposed in the following resolution framed by Mr. Wells in 1840. " That this Society, in furtherance of its objects, shall act in connection with ' The Congregational Union of England and Wales ; ' and to render such connection influential and permanent, the officers of the ' Home Missionary Society,' chosen at its general annual meeting, shall be ex officio members of the Committee of the Congregational Union; and the officers of the Union shall be, in like manner, members of the Board of Direc- tion of the Home Missionary Society. This Society will also co-operate with other county and disti-ict associations. And a brief statement of the combined Home Missionary labour shall be annually laid before the assembly of the Congregational Union." The outline we have given of the change at that time we deemed sufficient to indicate its general character. The result of our investigation shows, without a shadow of doubt, that our fathers "kept the faith." They never hesitated to make the declaration of their views, in private or in public, and the fi'uit of that living faith is seen in the churches planted in every region of the globe. Holding doctrines sometimes decried as narrow and harsh, their practical philan- thropy has been almost without parallel in modern times. .ToiiN Howaed, the first to seek prison reform ; John Townsend, the founder of the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb ; and Dr. Andrew Reed, who sought to relieve human misery in more manifold forms, were PREFACE. vii Congregationalists. The fruits of Christian missions in the transformation of the cannibals of the South Seas, the savages of Africa, and in the sublime devoteclness of the martyrs of Madagascar, may well render us indifferent to the sneers of those who affect to despise our Evangelical principles. The personal examples of piety, genius, and eloquence given in the course of this history, are amongst the most beautiful and noble that ever adorned the Church of God, and their " Memorial " will not perish. It must be well known that we can derive no personal advantage from the work now completed. We trust, however, that in the denomination we have attempted to serve there is pubhc spirit enough to make practical use of the historical testimony it has been our business to collect and to record. To some of our contemporaries we have no doubt it will be pleasant to revive their recollections of their former companions in faith and labour. We hope also that our younger brethren will make a profitable acquaintance with their character and work. It remains only that we once more render our grateful acknowledgments to those from whom we have received cordial and generous co-operation. Whatever our desire or effort to accomplish this sacred task, we should long ago have had to relinquish the hope of its completion, but for the continued con- fidence and spontaneous help of Mr. JMoeley. The appreciation of the press has greatly cheered us, and the willing and effective aid given in our researches and literary work by T. S. Raffles, Esq., stipendiary magistrate, the Rev. Principal Newth, D.D., Rev. W. Farrer, LL.B., Rev. F. J. Falding, D.D., Vlll PREFACE. Rev. Dr. Mullens, Rev. Dr. Kennedy, Rev. Dr. Clemance, the Editor of the Ganadimi Independent, Dr. Wilkes, Rev. G. L. Turner, M.A., Rev. George Orrae, Rev. Joseph \Yaddington, Mr. Collins and Mr. E. Smith, Mr. John AVilkinson, Miss S. Thodey, Miss Goldsworthy and others, will ever be remem- bered by us with grateful pleasure. Above all, it behoves us to acknowledge the Divine source of help in all its varied forms at home and abroad, and in seasons of trial, difficulty, and bereavement. We have found in this work its own reward. In loneliness it has been an habitual companion, and, in tracing the course of men of whom the world was not worthy, we were brought into communion with them., and learnt to labour and to wait. More recently we seemed to live again with the beloved and honoured friends of former days, — Dr. Hamilton, Richard Fletcher, Dr. McAll and Dr. Raffles, Hstening to the tones of their cheering voice, feeling the renewed force of their example, the charm and comfort of their presence, and the precious remembrance of their prayers. '* They are all gone into the world of light, And I alone sit ling'ring here ; Their very memory is fair and bright And my sad thoughts doth cheer. It glows and glitters on my breast Like stars upon some gloomy grove, Oi* those faint beams in which this hill is drest After the sun's remove." 9, Surrey Square, London. Ma;/ lOth, 18?8. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Academies and Christian Missions. James Scott. Heckmondwike. Samuel Bottomle}'. Honley. Joseph Cockin, the Apostle of the West Riding. William Schofield of Lockwood- Church at Kipping. Jonas Smith. Origin of church at Bradford. Mr. Cockin at Halifax. Robert Sin)pson. Academy at North owram. Benjamin Boothroyd. Conversion. Pontefract. William Vint. Church at Idle. Thomas Taylor. Decline of the Academy at Northowram. Letter of Mr. Fuller. Circular of Mr. Moorhouse. Meeting at Leeds. Proposed New Institution. Difficulty in finding a Tutor. Special Prayer. Correspondence of Mr. Kennedy and Dr. Williams. Rotherham chosen. Church at Masbro. Opening of the Academy. First Report. Variation in 1804. John Pye Smith. Idle Academy ........ 1 — 32 CHAPTER II. Homerton Academy. Thomas Paine and Republican Supper. Invitation to Mr. Pye Smith. Disorder in the Academy. Thomas Wilson. Letter of Dr. Waugh. William Roby. Early life. At Trevecca. Reads Sermons to Lady Douglas. Worcester. Letter of Guy Fairfax. Reply of Mr. Roby, Sen. Crafty schemes of Lady Huntingdon. Difficulty in obtaining Ordination. First thoughts of Manchester. Preaching at Wigan. George Bui-der. Opposition by Wesleyans and Unitarians. Invitation to Cannon Street. Origin of the Church. Mosley Street Chapel. Sliding scale of Elders. Thomas Kennedy. Joseph Smith. Sketch of Mv. Roby, by Mr. Turner ........ 33—57 CHAPTER III. David Bogue. Sermon at Salters' Hall, on Missions to the Heathen. Meeting at Warwick. Conference at the Bristol Tabernacle. Appeal to Congre- gational Churches. Response. Meeting at Dr. Williams' Library. Con- CONTENTS. fercnce at " Castlo and Falcon." Resolutions at Stretton. First Meeting f)f the London Missionary Soniety. Mission to the South Sea Islands. Itinerant Society. Correspondence of Mr. Eyre and the Itinerants. James Bennett. Riots. Tumult subsided. Mr. Boguo and the Ilaldane movement. Circular to Religious Societies. Letter of Directors of the London Mission- ary Society to the East India Company. Minutes of the Court. Letter of Mr. Cowie to the " Three Denominations." Letters of Mr. Bogue to Mr. Burder and Mr. Hardcastle. Disasters of the South Sea Mission. Sudden retreat of the Missionaries. Letter of John Eyre (the Missionary). Settlement of Fugitive Missionaries in New South Wales. Murder of Clode. Report of the Colony Chaplain. William Shelley . 58—91 CHAPTER IV. Congregational principles in Scotland. John Morison and tlie Church at Aber. deen. Dying experience of George Moir. John Campbell, of the " Gi-ass- marlcet," and Sunday Schools. Preaching at Gilmerton. Joseph Rate, Haldane, and Ail;man. Preaching Excursions. Visit to Banff. English Congregational Preachers at the Circus, Edinburgh. Church formed. Itineracy of Mr. Roby in Scotland. Pastoral admonition against vagrant preachers. Church meeting at the Circus. Letters of strolling players to Mr. Roby. Haldane Seminary. Mr. Greville Ewing. Economical plan of Education for England. William Alexander. Efforts of Mr. Roby to promote itineracy. Job Wilson. Mr. Roby's missionary sermon. Lan- cashire itineracy. Mr. Roby importuned by Mr. Haldane to leave Man- chester. His determination to remain .... 92 — 118 CHAPTER V. Origin of Hackney Theological Institution. Thf.mas Lewis. Union Chapel. Itinerant Academy at Manchester. Trouble with lay preachers. Trying churcb meetings. Union of Independent churches. Lancashire Union. Jonathan Scott. Church at Chester. Job Wilson. Northwich. Cheshire Union. Kmgsbury's Apology for village preachers. Bishop Horsley's Charge. John Townsend's defence of Sunday Schools. Reply of Robert Hall to Horsley. Perilous times. Cautions of Mr. Edward Baiuos. William Bengo Collyer. Church at Peckham. Sermon to volunteers. Lectures on Scripture Evidences ..... 119 — 142 CHAPTER VI. The Congregational pastor. Joseph Fletcher. John LeifchilJ. Fletcher and Payne sent to Glasgow. Ralph Wardlaw. Mr. Wilson's Letter to Greville Ewing. Letter of Mr. Payne to Mr. Wilson. Mr. Fletcher at Blackburn. Letter to "Wardlaw. Robert Morrison. Work in China. Mr. Roby and Grosvenor Street Chapel. A few seeds at Cannon SLroet Impudent letter. Mr. Roby's reply. John Campbell of the " Grassmarkct." King.-^land Chapel. Youth's Magazine and Teacher's Offering. Oiigin of the Tract Society. First meeting of the Bible Society. Thomas Rallies. Letter of CONTENTS. xi John Aikenhcad. Letter of Dr. Collyer. Preparation for Homerton. Popularity of Mr. Raffles. Commencement of Hackney Theological Semi- nary. Andrew Reed. Arthur Tidman. Speddiug Cur wen. George Redford. John Angell James ..... 143—179 CHAPTER VII. Death of Dr. Williams. Joseph Gilbert. Thomas Spencer. Robert Stephens McAIl. Exclusion from Axminster. Doubtful reception at Hoxton. Withdrawmeut. Minutes of Sub Committee. Guest of Dr. Collyer. Letter of Mr. McAll to Mr. Raffles. Mr. McAll in Edinburgh. Tour in the Highlands. Course at the University. Spencer at Liverpool. Last sermon. Death. Funeral. Invitation to Mr. Raffles. Letter of Mr. McAll to Mr. Raffles. Jleply of Mr. Raffles. Letter of Mr. McAlI to Dr. Collyer. Homerton students. Mr. McAll invited to Macclesfield. Letter to Rev. S. Thodey. Letter to Mr. Broadhurst. Robert Philip. William Urwick. James Sherman ...... 180 217 CHAPTER VIII. General union of Congregational Churches. Frantic nonsense of Mr. Sedgwick. Mill Hill Grammar School. Refusal of Wickes to bury a Dissenter. Legal Validity of Dissen ers' Baptism. Lord Sidmouth's Bill. Mace- donian cry from Upper Canada. Application of students in Audover to Missionary Society. Letter of Ad oniramJudson. Samuel Nott. Samuel Newell. Letter of Dr. Worcester. Mr. Judson at Gosport. Letters of Mr. Newell and Mr. Nott. Missionaries admitted to Bengal by East India Directors. Richard Winter Hamilton and John Ely. Under discipline at Hoxton. Minutes of the Committee. Mr. Hamilton at Leeds. Origm of Congregational Union of Scotland. James Kennedy. Story of Robert Moffat. Letter of Mr. Roby to Mr. Burder. Services of the young gardener not wanted " at present." Mr. Moffat at Duckinfield. John Williams. Letter of Mr. McAll to Mr. Thodey. " Sublime preachers" wanted at Stockport. Visit of Mr. Thodey to Mr. McAll. Preaching excursion of Mr. Roby. Ashton-under-Lyno. Oldham, ^^^ ■ ■ . . . 218—252 CHAPTER IX. Irish Evangelical Society. Leaf Square School. Blackburn Academy. Dr. William Hendry Stowell's account of the methods of Mr. Fletcher. Dr. Pye Smith's Defence of Homerton. Gossip of Mr. Brooksbank! Troubles at Wymondley. Letter of Mr. Buckham to the Rev. James Bennett, tutor at Rotherham. Meeting of Coward Trustees. Account given by Mr. Buckham. Thomas Binney. Withdrawmeut fromWymond- ley. Meeting of Mr. Binney with Mr. Fletcher in North Shields, at the Ordination of Rev. W. Hendry Stowell. Thomas Morrcll at Wymondley. His Suggestions accepted by the Trustees. Improvement. Letter of Xll CONTENTS. Mr. Binney to the Trustees. Letter to Mr. Gibson. Re-admission to Wymondley. Restlessness of Orthodox Students. Freethinkiug Chris- tians at Hackney. Unitarians and Cliristian Missions. State of Congre- gations. James Strattcn. Thonins Stratten . . 253 — 278. CHAPTER, X. Trial of faith in the South Sea Mission. Tidings of success. Political excite- ment. Peterloo massacre. Castlereagh's Six Acts. Mr. Baines and political spies. Letter of Mr. Alexander. Duchess of Kent. Princess Victoria and Mr. McAU. DilRculties in Macclesfield. Opposition of Churchmen. Ordination of Mr. McAU. Mr. Urwick and the Easky Dis- cussion. James Parsons. John Smith, the Martyr of Demerara. Pro- ceedings in Parliament. Insurrection of the slaves. Mock trial of Mr. Smith. Condemned to Dea<:h. Letters from prison. Speech of Brougham. Last speech of Wilberforce. Death of Mr. Smith. Funeral. Letter of Mrs. Smith. Effect of the martyrdom of Mr. Smith on the cause of Negro Emancipation ..... 2/9 — 309 CHAPTER XL Meeting of Unitarians at the "Spread Eagle." Speech of Mr. Harris. Con- troverted by Mr. George Hadfield and Rev. James Turner. Robert Halley. Description of Homerton Academy. John Harris. William Thorp. Conversion of his father. His Death. Robert Vaughan. Thomas Sharp. State of North Devon Origin of the Home Missionary Society. Congregational Union merged in the New Society. Dr Collyer in the shade. Correspondence with Robert Hall. Last days of Dr. Bogue. Sermon of Rev. John Angell James at the opening of the Hoxton Missionary Academy. Dr. Henderson. Mr. McAll invited to Manchester. Sketch of him by Rev. James Griffin. Progress of Rev. R. W. Hamilton at Leeds. Rev. Robert Vaughan at Kensington. Rev. Thomas Binney at the Weigh House .... 310 — 335 CHAPTER XII. John Camphell, of Kirriemuir. At Kilmarnock. First visit to London. Second appearance. Matthew Wilks. The Tabernacle. Mr. John Wilks. Death of Matthew Wilks. Rev. John Burnett, Rev. John Leif child, and Craven Chapel. John Kelly. Proposed Congregational Union. Action of the Dorset Association. Congregationallibrary. Con- gregational Lecture. Rhodomontade of the World newspaper. Letter of Henry Rogers. Spirit and aim of the founders of the Congregational Union. First meeting of Provisional Committee. Plan of the Union. First General Meeting. Declaration of Faith and Order. Organization opportune. Reform Bill. Irish Church Bill. Alarm of the Clergy. Plans of Acaster, Henley, and Dr. Arnold. Origin and Design of the Tractarian Movement 336-370 CONTENTS. Xlll CHAPTER XIII. Deatli of Mr. Roby. Mr. Vint and Airedale College. Rev. Walter Scott. Pro- posals for rendering Dissent respectable by Act of Pai-liament. Mr. John Neale and Moderate Episcopacy. Managers of the Whitfield Societies at the Tabernacle. Reformation attempted by Mr. Campbell. Opposition. Conflict, and practical ibsue. Mr. Binney's address at the Weigh House. Famous sentence in the "Notes." Mr. Binney's defence. British Critic. Unitarian controversy and its eifects. Imputation by Lord Brougham. Rpply of Dr. Pye Smith. Dr. Lee and Dr. Pye Smith. Separation of Unitarians from the Three Denominations. Controversy on Church Establishments. Mr. Binney's conscientiousness and charity. Dr. Chalmers and Dr. Wardlaw ..... 371— 39G CHAPTER XIV. McAll in Retirement. Meeting for Conference and Prayer. Letter to Dr. Raffles. Meetinir in Grosvenor Street Vestry. Attachment of Ministers to Dr. McAll. Trials at Mosley Street. Serious Illness of Dr. McAlI. Last Sermon. Letter to Rev. John Waddington. Letter of Rev. Richard Fletcher to Dr. Raffles. Last conversation of Dr. McAll. Death. Ser- mon of Dr. Raffles. Funeral Obsequies. Cliaracteristics of Dr. Raffles. Lancashire Independent College. Correspondence of Rev. John Sutcliffij and Mr. John Blackburn. Mr. Samuel Lees. Letter of Mr. Samuel Fletcher to Mr. Hadfield. Note of Mr. Hadfield. Reply of Dr. Raffles. Dr. Halley invited to Mosley Street. Experience in his now position. Speech of Dr. Raffles at the opening of the New Chapel, Great George Street ....... 3)7—131 CHAPTER XV. Colonicil missions. St. John'?, Newfoundland. Letter of Mr. Ward to Rev. S. Collison. Halifax, Nova Scotia. Chebogue. Liverpool. Mr. AUine. Mangerville. Stanstead, East Canada. Southwold, Ontario. Joseph Silcox. Letter of Mr. Climie to Mr. Leslie. Canada Home Missionary Society. Rev. Henry Wilkes. Mr. Gibbs. Mr. Parker. Rev. John Smith. Appeal for Help in England. Rev. Richard Miles. First Con- gregational Church in Montreal. Adam Lillie. Congregational Union. Deputation to America. Conference with Canadian Missionaries. Report of Mr. Miles. Visit of Dr. Reed and Dr. Matheson to Canada. Report of Dr. Matheson. Conference with Directors of the London Missionary Society. William Hayden. David Dyer. Appeal from Australia. Sydney. Hobart Town. Minutes of Congregational Lnion. Meeting at the Mission House Mr. Binney and Settlers in Australia. Minutes of the Union. Procrastination. Formation of the Colonial Missionary Society. 432-467 XIV CONTENTS. CHAPTER XYI. Dr. Philip and the African Witnesses. Speech cf John Williams. Queen Victoria. Rev. Joseph Ketley. Instructions of Missionary Society. Regu- lations of Committee of Control. Objections of Mr. Ketley. Resolutions of the Church at Providence New Chapel. The Rev. Thomas Quinton Stow. Mr. Wells' farewell address. Rev. John Roaf. First service at Toronto. First letter from Mr. Stow. Landing in Adelaide. First anniversary. Rev. Joseph Beazley. Van Diemen's Land. Rebellion in Canada. Letter of Mr. Roaf. Letter of Mr. Wilkes. Ordination of Mr. Climie. Mr. Krepps, the Colonial Student. Sydney and Dr. Ross. Mr. David Jones. Melbourne and Mr. Waterfield. Letter of Mrs. Hopkins. Fu-st religious service at Melbourne. Letter of Mr. Water- field. Australian Congregational Union. New Chapel . . 468—512 CHAPTER XVII. Coward College. University manners. Theological studies. Negative theology. Divinity of man. Counsel to students by Dr. Harris. Spring Hill College. Frenzy of the times. Letter of Rev. John Ely to Mr. Baines. Mr. Baines on Christian profession. Letter of Dr. Pye Smith to Mr. Baines. Home Missionary Society and the Congregational Union. Letters of Mr. Thompson. Speech of Rev. George Smith at Birmingham Conference. Resolution of the Congregational Union. Irish Evan- gelical Society. Appeal of Dr. Urwick. Prompt action of Mr. Tidman. The Irish Controversy. Letter of Rev. J. Jennings to Dr. Vaughan. Reply. Rejoinder. Letter of Mr. Jennings to Dr. Urwick. Letters of Rev. Noble Sheppard to Dr. Vaughan. Letter of Dr. Redford to Mr. Wells. Letter of Mr. Wells to Dr. Urwick and Mr. Cooper. Letter of Rev. J. A. James to Mr. Wells ..... 513—5-16 CHAPTER XVIII. Mr. Josiah Condor. Ecclesiastical Knowledge Society. Mr. Condor's visit to Leicester, The " Angel " James. Laying the foundation-stone of Lancashire College. Catastrophe. Rev. Edward Miall and the " Non- conformist." Dissenting ministers arraigned. An alarm sounded. Mani- festo of the Congregational Union. Anti-Corn Law League. Gossiping Letters of Dr. HaUey on the Conference. Distress at Stockport. Sir James Graham's Bill. OHve branch. Anti-State Church movement. Dr. Pye Smith and Homerton Committee. Conference at Leicester. Its religious character. Defended by Dr. Price. Objections of the editor of the "Congregational Magazine." Dr. Vaughan and the pro- jected " Quarterly Review." Letter to Mr. Blackburn. Opposition of Mr. Iladfield. Letter to Dr. Raffles. Reply. Decided course of Mr. Kelly. Aims of Dr. Vaughan and Dr. Price . . . 547—578 CONTENTS. XV CHAPTER XIX. Dr. Campbell in Bolt Court. Bible Printing Monopoly. Visit of Dr. Adam Thomson to Manchester. Letter of Mr. Hadfiold. Letter of Mr. Childs. Mr. Baines and the Committee of the House of Commons. Printer's view. Success of Dr. Campbell. Embarrassment of Dr. Thomson, the pioneer of the movement. "Christian Witness." Death of T. S. Guyer. Refused a grave by Philip Hewett, Rector of Binstead. Dr. Hamilton's address at the Cougi-egational Union. Death of Rev. John Ely. Distress of Dr. Hamilton. Funeral of Mr. Ely. Last days of Dr. Hamilton. Letter to the Church. Funeral. Mr. Binney's notice of Mr. Baines and Mr. John Morley. Sketch of Mr. Morley by Rev. James Parsons. Mr. Samuel Morley, M.P. Giving and working. Chapel Building. Mr. Green and Mr. Seth Smith. Chapel building societies. Rev. Samuel Martin. Rev. Caleb Morris. Sir Elkanah Armitage. Sir Titus Salt, Bart. Sir Francis Crossley, Bart. . . 579—611 CHAPTER XX. Relations of Churches in Canada with America. Letter of Mr. Roaf on conduct of parties. Palmer's charges. Mr. Roaf's Defence. Report of Mr. Clarke. Letter of Mr. Binney to Mr. Wells. Economy enforced by necessity. Scheme of Mr. Gallaway. Mr. Wilkes criticized in Deme- rara. Case of Fearn in Berbice. Embarrassing position of Mr. Roaf. Mistakes of Colonial Secretaries. Case of Mr. Geikie. Mr. Wells' resig- nation. Valedictory letters. Complaints of agency system. Letter of Mr. Wells to Mr. Wilkes. Death of Mr. Wells. Mr. Binney's tribute to his memory. Letter of Mr. Binney to the Church at the Weigh House. Resolutions of the Church. Reply of Mr. Binney. Agency system abolished. New order of tilings. Dr. George Smith. Rev, Robert Ashton. Scepticism. Address of Dr. Harris . . G12 — C52 APPENDIX.— Declaration of Faith and Order, etc. ... 653 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. CHAPTER I. The remarkable interest felt by Congregational Churches in Christian Missions (Home and Foreign) at the close of the last century, was largely the result of the earnest spirit and sound instruction of theological tutors, who devoted themselves to the training of pious young men in various academies formed for the purpose. A society in London, established in 1756, re- solved to support an institution of this kind at Heckmondwike, in the West Ridino- of ^j. ^ James Scott lorksnire, uader the care of James Scott, and Heck - pastor of the Congregational Church in that AcTdtmy! village. Mr. Scott was educated at the ^^°^' University of Edinburgh, and had acquired much experience in ministerial service— first at Stainland, near Lancaster, and afterwards at Horton-in-Craven, and Tockholes, near Preston. He knew well the character and habits of the people; and what was required in the Christian teachers it was intended to supply. Little is known of the early history of the insti- tution. Among the first students were Priestley, 1 2 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. I. Prattman, Lambert, Toothill, Armitage, and Galland, who occupied important positions in the denomina- tion, and were much esteemed as faithful preachers and nseful pastors. Mr. Venn (the EvangeHcal clergyman) sympathized with Mr. Scott in his efforts to meet the spiritual destitution that existed in the Northern Counties, and recommended Samuel BoTTOMLEY to his care.* In the course of this young man, we have an example of the zeal and tomiiy at^ activity fostered in the students of Heck- 1796^'^' mondwike by their devoted tutor. In the spring of 1796, Mr. Bottomley felt a strong desire to introduce the gospel into Honley — a place much addicted, at that time, to bull-baiting. The house of his cousin, John Bottomley, was kindly opened for religious service ; but as the room would not hold a tenth of the people assembled to hear the juvenile preacher, he mounted a table placed at the door, and John GiLL,t a fellow student, gave out a hymn. Some of Mr. Venn's people attended to sup- port the movement. A woman in the crowd, struck with the boyish look of Bottomley, cried out, " Is that bairn come to be christened ? " Unmoved by the interruption, he read the words of his text (John hi. 36) ; but before he had fairly entered on his discourse, he was confronted with Haslam, the clergyman of the parish, who came with a party oi " roughs," hired at a neighbouring public-house, for " three shillings to be spent in drink." The noisy intruders began their annoyance by singing a set of anthems. The supporters of Bottomley, in turn, * Memoir of Rev. Joseph Cockin. By his son, John Cockm. t Afterwards minister at Hull and Market Harborough. CHAP. I.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 3 sung a succession of hymns, and in the unseemly contest exhausted their opponents. The discom- fitted "parson," with his boisterous retainers, re- turned to the " ale-house " to find that, in their absence, the man intrusted with the drink-money had already spent it in potations on his own account. The sermon, in the meanwhile, was preached to the villagers, who remained without further disturbance. Jonas Wimpenny, one of the hearers, was so much interested in the subject that he invited Bottomley, on the spot, to preach in his house at j^^^^^^ Holmfirth. Joseph Cockin,* who became cockiu, the ' _ Apostle 01 the "apostle" of the West Riding, with the West his excellent mother, were among his first converts. In a retrospect of his early Christian experience, Mr. Cockin says : — " However slender my acquaintance witla the ' Cross of Christ ' at this time, I felt the ' offence ' of it very severely. The whole town where I lived was at rest and quiet — no innovation had disturbed their repose for many years. They were ' like people, like priest,' going every one his own chosen way — and all the downward road. The Lord's-day was literally a day of sports, and religious worship was only a pretence to assemble the people for their commencement. As I had been a volunteer in the same cause — and, according to my age and opportunities, as active as others in these unhallowed scenes — my secession, and the cause of it, soon became known. The old ' hue and cry * raised against me was, that I had ' gone mad ;' and when I have walked along the road, I have seen people looking after me, as if I had been an object uncommon in the creation of God. They who live in more enlightened times, and in larger places, where different modes of worship prevail, can have little knowledge of what it is to be the country's talk in an ignorant, stupid village, bewildered with superstition, addicted to foolish customs, and sunk in wickedness. Whatever malevolence could invent, or * Memoir of Cockiu. 4 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [OHAP. J. virulence could utter, I had to encounter ; and wbat made it peculiarly trying, there were very few either to encourage my spirits or to bear part of the burden." Cockiii was violently opposed by his father ; but his mother, by her affectionate sympathy, and inge- nious management, helped him in his Christian course. " As divine service," he says, " was at that time kept by Mr. Venn, in Huddersfield Church, on Thursday evenings, I made a point of attending, though I was at the distance of four miles, and had to go alone. To facilitate my escape, my mother, in the course of the afternoon, carried my clothes into a private place in the fields. I went at the proper time and changed those in which T worked, that I might appear in decent trim. I reir emter once being way-laid by my father, and there was no way of escape, but through a river, which I was just able to ford. To this place I repaired, put off my clothes, carried them over my head, and thus effected my purpose." The troubles of the young disciple increased, and, though not fourteen years of age, he was banished from his father's house. Led as he felt „,.„. convinced, by the unseen hand, he found William '' Schofieid, of shelter, employment, and excellent counsel in the house of William Schofield, of Lockwood, near Huddersfield — "a tall, elderly man," who, on returning home from church, often " spoke to him with much affection of the things of God." " Under his roof," he says, " I eontiniied the space of a year, without exception the happiest and the most improving year I ever spent in my life. A new and pleasing scen«} now opened before nie, different from any I had ever beheld before. The opposition I had met with, the fears and taunts that had been thrown upon me, had made such an impression on my mind, that I thought 1 was certainly like no other person in the world. As CHAP. I.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 5 there were in Honley, at that time, none besides my mother, another persecuted woman, and myself, who made any profession of reh'gion out of the common coarse of things, I was not aware that our way prevailed to any extent in any other part. But here I found many others diligently pursuing the same course, who encouraged and directed me in the things of God, who put good books into my hands, and who instructed me in the knowledge of Christian principles. We had a meeting for prayer and reli- gious conversation in the house on a Monday evening, at which upwards of sixty people attended, and which was one of the most respectable for knowledge, experience, and gifts that I ever knew, or perhaps ever must. From this meeting in a Meeting at private house, and in a small country/ village, several Lockwood. very able and useful ministers went out, lolio are notv filling eminent stations in the Church of Ood. "At Lockwood I became acquainted with gracious people, who taught me the fear of the Lord, and formed my lips for social prayer. In their company I felt my inability, and began to wonder at my ignorance, and to be surprised that I knew so little of those things which appeared so familiar to them. The very words they used were new. I was possessed at that time of few more than such as were necessary to communicate ideas about provision, work, and clothing. I do not believe there were three men in Honley at that time who knew the meaning of one word which is peculiar to auy doctrine of the gospel, and there- fore how was it possible that I should? When I heard a word in preaching or in private discourse, which I did not understand, I wrote it down, and laboured to find out the meaning of it as well as I could, or waited until I got the information from some person. I continued this practice a long time, and collected two or three hundred words before I knew that there existed such books as dictionaries. When I first saw one, and that a very poor one, I thought it an inestimable treasure." Cockin was brought under the notice of Mr. Ryland (curate to Mr. Venn), who directed him in a course of mental and religious improvement. After the absence of a twelvemonth, he was recalled home by his father, and commenced a prayer- meeting at 6 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAF. I. Honley. Anxious to introduce Evangelical preach- ing, he went with a young friend to hear Mr. Atley at Nether-Thong Chapel. On their own account, they invited him to preach at Honley, and from that time pubhc worship was kept up there by the Con- gregationalists. At seventeen, Cockin returned to Huddersfield in search of employment. Mr. Venn, before this time, had left the town, the " flock " gathered by his faithful ministry being driven out by the oppo- site course of his successor, had formed themselves into a Congregational Church under the pastoral care of William Moorhouse. Amongst the eighteen members whose names are entered, Feb. 14, 1772, in the Church book, that of William Schofield stands first. " Joseph Cockin, Honley," is recorded, as admitted November, 1772. The time spent by him on this second visit to Huddersfield was " very gloomy." He had to pass through the disciphne of trial in various forms. His master and fellow-work- men were " loose and dissolute characters." When it was known that he went to the " new chapel," he was subjected to their constant ridicule and reproach. Though imder age, he was compelled to enter the militia, and marched ofi" with his company for a month to Leeds. There he attended White Chapel in his regimentals, and met in Mr. Edwards, the minister, a faithful friend and judicious adviser. At his recommendation, he was received into the Academy at Heckmondwike, September 29, 1774. Kipping, On leaving the institution, September, 1777. 1777, he accepted the pastoral charge of the church at Kipping, and entered on a remarkable CHAP. I.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 7 career as preacher, pastor, evangelist, and diligent student of theology. Beginning with a home circuit, he preached in houses, in barns, in schools, or in the open air, that all the villagers round might have an opportunity to hear the gospel. He then ex- tended his sphere of operations, and in conjunction with Jonas Smii'H, a congenial friend and jo^^a zealous co-worker, he raised a congrega- Smith. tion at Eccleshill, and afterwards at Idle, where he was cordially welcomed by Joseph Robinson, preach- ing in winter in a spacious dwelling-house, and in summer in a barn. His next attempt to form a Christian society was made at Bradford — preaching on Sabbath evenings in the street. Friends were gained to the ^ . . ^ '-' Origin 01 cause who had received the " truth " the Church under the ministry of Mr. Stillingfleet, an Evangelical clergyman at Bierley Chapel. John Smith, a bookseller, Mr. Garnett, and Mr. Hodgson lent their cordial help. A plan for regular preaching was arranged, and the congregation so increased, that a minister was wanted to form a church and take their pastoral oversight. The Rev. James Crossley, of Booth — a self-educated man of great native talent —accepted their call, but preached only one Sabbath, and died suddenly on the ensuing Sabbath (May 18, 1782). He was succeeded by Rev. Thomas Holdgate, for whom a new chapel was built in Horton Lane. For a time, ten or twelve fami- lies went regularly from Idle to hear him preach. From Kipping, Mr. Cockin, ripe in ex- cretin at perience, and " well instructed in the mys- Halifax, teries of the kingdom," removed to Halifax in 8 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. I. 1792. Aided by Mr. Kershaw and Mr. Hodgson, two admirable deacons, he gave himself "wholly " to his work, and laid the foundation of the institutions connected with the first Cong'reo-ational Church in Halifax,* that made it a centre of influence, powerful and lasting as it has been beneficial. For thirty- eight years in succession, Mr. Cockin preached as a stated supply at the Tabernacle in London, and his counsel was sought in the great religious movements of his time. Robert Simpson, another student at Heckmond- wike, was received in 1776, on the recommendation of his pastor, Mr. Prattman, of Cotherstone, Robert r^ Simpson, near Barnard Castle. On leavmor the 1778 Academy, he went, in 1780, to preach at Haslingden, in Lancashire, and at the Midsummer following, to Elswick, in the same county. After spending about twelve months at each of these places he removed, in 1732, to Bolton-le-Moors, where he laboured for nearly nine years with considerable success, and then accepted the office of tutor to the Evangelical Academy at Hoxton, which he fulfilled with credit for nearly twenty-seven years. At the death of Mr. Scott, in 1783, the students Academy p i • atxorthow- deprived of his care were transferred to Northowram to be instructed by the Rev. Samuel Walker. * Sion Cliapel, Halifax, was obtained for tlie denomination b_v the Trustees of Square Chapel, with the concurrence of Mr. Cockin. On the 5th of September, 1815, it was resolved "that the edifice be engaged in co-opera- tion with the present interest for two years. On the 21st of July, 1816, it was resolved that Sion Chapel be now conducted as a separate interest, and upon independent principles." — Jubilee Memorial by Rev. Bryan Dale, M.A. CHAP. 1.] (CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 9 Benjamin Bootheoyd* (born at Warley near Halifax, October lOtb, 17G8), was one of Ins pupils. His career in youth had been chequered Binjamin and attended with no smaU anxiety to his Boathroyd. friends. Unsettled in his position he ran away from home, and for a time found employment on the borders of Lancashire, leaving his parents in the most painful suspense as to his condition and place of abode. The story of his return we have in his own words : — " On my arrival I found no one in the house but ^my father ; he was much affected. When my mother returned, I thought that she would have fainted away. She fell upon my neck, and I believe we both wept till we could weep no more. The vehemence of our feelings soon abated, but the remembrance of the scene, and its great resemblance to the affecting parable of the prodigal son, has often very much affected me." Though the conduct of young Boothroyd was improved in some respects after coming back to his father's house, he remained a stranger to vital religion, until he experienced a decided change under the following circumstances : — "After having attended service," he says, " at the old church at Halifax, the singers retired, as they were accustomed, to an ale- house, where the conversation was unusually profane and sinful, in which I joined, and was perhaps worse than any of my com- panions. With the suddenness, almost of a flash of lightning, my mind was struck with horror under a sense of my sin and guilt. A trembling seized me to such a degree that I believe the chair shook under me. A thought darted into my mind that I was a suitable victim for the misjeries of hell. Without saying a word to my sinful companions, I rose and set off to walk home, through a long solitary lane, on a dark night. I had not proceeded far, at a slow pace, before I felt compelled to kneel down by the * Centennial Memorial of Highfield Chapel, Huddersfield. 10 CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. [CHAP. I. road-side, and confess my sins, and implore mercy. This I often repeated before I reached home. When I got thither I retired to my own room to bed, as soon as possible ; but the feelings of my mind were such as to allow me little repose. The great inquiry in my thought was, ' What must I do to be saved ? ' From the general knowledge which T had, I was satisfied there was no salvation without application to Christ. I then formed a reso- lution to break off my connection with my old companions, and to apply myself diligently to all the means of grace." In the perusal of Docldrige's *' Rise and Pro- gress," Bootliroyd found light and comfort. The minister and members of the Church at Warley welcomed him to their communion, and gave him every encouragement. In his first attempt to speak or pray in the pulpit, he was considerably embar- rassed ; but gradually gained more confidence, and was sent to the Academy, in the hope that he would prove a useful minister. His first pastoral charge at Pontefract, was one of peculiar difficulty. The people were extremely Church at poor, and the prejudice of the townspeople Pontefract. g^ gtroug, as to lead them to acts of vio- lence ; but the young minister persevered in his work, and in 1796 (two years after his ordination), anew chapel was erected; but so encumbered with debt that the stipend of the pastor was little more than twenty pounds. To provide for his livelihood he added to his profession, as preacher of the gospel, the business of printer and bookseller, and published some of his sermons — a " History of Pontefract," written by himself — ^and other works. Though his education had been very imperfect, he resolved to master the Hebrew language, in order to prepare a more correct edition of the Old Testament, in the CHAP. I.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 11 original text. To accomplish this arduous task he worked six hours a day at the printing-press, assisted by his devoted wife, who, without knowing the meaning of the words, pronounced the entire Bible, letter by letter, while her husband kept his eye upon the proof-sheet. Shortly after this he translated the entire Scriptures, and, on publishing the work, received a diploma,* as Doctor in Divinity, from the University of Glasgow, in addition to the degree of Doctor of Laws, previously conferred. Dr. Boothro3^d was then invited to the pastorate of the Church at Huddersfield, as assistant and suc- cessor to Mr. Moorhouse, retaining his position with honour to himself and advantage to his people to the close of life. William YiNTf (born 1st of November, 1768), another student at Northowram, was a native of High Thrunton, in the parish of Whitting- wiuiam ham, Northumberland. His parents were ^^°*' exemplary for piety, and careful to bring him up "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." That he might enjoy greater educational advantages, he was sent to live with his uncle, Captain Arnot, of Alnwick. Returning to his father's house, he gave himself to the diligent study of divinity, some- times to the neglect of the flock he was sent to watch in the fields. At the " diet of catechising," the answers of young Vint were the most correct and full, and giving evidence of personal piety, he * His degree in diviuity made no change in his preaching. After hearing him, one of the plain, country people said, " Whr, they sen he's a doctor, but I understood every word he said." f Turner's Nonconformity in Idle. 12 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. T. was admitted, in his fourteenth year, to the Church at Branton. Mr. Somerville, the pastor, gratified with his progress and consistent conduct, enter- tained sanguine expectations of his future success as " a good minister of Jesus Christ." The Northumbrian shepherd did not disappoint the hopes of his friends. In his eighteenth year the Church at Sion Chapel, Alnwick, earnestly entreated him to become their pastor, offering him permis- sion to study six months in the University of Edinburgh ; but he decided to remain at North- owram, ' that he might be better furnished for ministerial work. In 1790, he was invited by the trustees of a chapel at Idle, to succeed Joseph Dawson, a minister Church at w^o ^^^^ lapscd iuto Arianism, and having, Idle, 1790. jj-^ consequence, lost his congregation, volun- tarily resigned his office, and founded the Iron Works at Low Moor. The Trustees, anxious in some way to bring people to fill the empty pews, looked out for a preacher with a good voice, and one likely to inte- rest an audience. Satisfied with Mr. Vint in these particulars, they offered to him the Chapel with the endowment. The little congregation previously collected by Mr. Cockin in another part of the village, found a permanent home in the hitherto deserted Meeting-House, and a minister who cared for their spiritual welfare, and whose mind was not " somewhere else." The place soon became too strait, a Church was organized, and in 1791, a new chapel erected to afford the necessary accommo- dation. CHAP. T.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 13 Thomas Tatloe,* the friend and companion of Mr. Vint, followed him to Northowram. He was born at Hambleton, near Wooler, in Thomas Northumberland, in the year 1768. His ^^y^°^- father, Andrew Taylor, was a farmer. Both his parents were members of a Presbyterian church, and dihgently instructed their children in the Word of God. Every Lord's-day he and his two sisters accompanied their father and mother to the meeting- house at Wooler, a distance of five miles, and he would sometimes state that more than a hundred persons walked that distance every Sunday, and several families travelled eight or nine miles to attend the faithful preaching of the gospel. At the age of fourteen he was admitted to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, having passed the usual scriptural and catechetical examination with so much credit that the minister stroked him approv- ingly, and said to his parents, " Your son will live one day to be a preacher." According to his own judgment, however, he was not at that time the subject of vital religion, and not until he had passed through deep convictions of sin, and obtained peace and joy in believing, did he feel assured that he had become a true disciple of Christ. Not long after this change he became a member of the Church at Branton. Of good parts, and fond of learning, he found willing help in his studies from Mr. Kennedy, the pastor of his parents, who instructed him in the classics. He then studied three years with Mr. Somerville, and afterwards spent a short time at the * Funeral Sermon hy Rev. Jouaihan Gljde. 14 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CEAP. I. University of Edinburgh, becoming a private tutor at the age of sixteen. In 1792, assured of his " call " to the ministry, he was sent by Mr. Somerville to the Academy. Unhappily, Mr. Taylor and his fellow- students derived little advantage either from the teaching or the example of Mr. Walker, their incompetent and ir- regular tutor, but they seem to have become the more diligent on that account in their private studies. The institution languished to the verge of extinc- tion. A change of some kind became imperative. The subscriptions dwindled, and the society in London withdrew its patronage and support. In a letter addressed to Mr. Joshua Walker, of Rotherham, and dated " London, January 27, 1794," Mr. Wilham Fuller, the treasurer, writes — " Yesterday, tlie Society, tbat has supported the Academy at Northowi-am, had a general meeting. On examining my ac- counts, it appears tbat I am in advance £545, and in consequence came to a resolution that it was no longer practicable to continue the Academy in its present state, the finances being so much reduced, therefore Mr. Walker could be no longer William considered as tutor to that seminary. The way is Fuller, now open for gentlemen in the country to show their ■*■ zeal to establish an Academy in the neighbourhood of Halifax, or in some other populous part of the country. The support and conduct of it must depend upon the contributors in the country, as well as the choice of a tutor, in which I hope they will be happily directed, and I hope there are gentlemen in London who will contribute towards the expenses of such an important institution. —I am, with great esteem, " W. Fuller." * Circumstances were greatly changed suice the formation of the Academy at Heckmondwike. * Rotherham Paperp. CHAP. I.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 15 Churclies had been planted in districts before neg- lected and left in ignorance and vice. The ministers and deacons representing them were alive to the necessity of making permanent provision for the continued snpply of preachers properly trained for their work; and though some retained strange prejudices on the subject of "Academies," the men of greatest influence had no hesitation as to their duty in the matter. A tutor might prove inefficient, or unworthy of support, but the object sought in such institutions lost none of its importance. Soon after receiving the communication of Mr. Fuller, therefore, Mr. Moorhouse went to a meeting of ministers at Holmfirth to communicate its contents to the brethren present. At their request, he wrote the following circular : — " HUDDERSFIELD, July 12, 1794. " Rkv. Sie, — I ara ordered to inform you that at our monthly lecture, held at Holmfirth, on the 9th inst., several letters from Mr. Fuller, of London, positively declaring that Mr. cfi-ouiar Walker had been dismissed from being tutor of the of Mr. Yorkshire Academy, and requesting the country "'^^ "^^^^' ministers to take the matter into their own hands. It was, therefore, resolved to call a general meeting of ministers and gentlemen to deliberate upon the choice of a proper person to fill up that important ofiice, and also to form a general judgment, so far as can be done, respecting the prospect of supporting the above declining institution, by contributions from the several congregations in this country and adjacent parts, the meeting to be held on Wednesday, the 30th inst., at Leeds. Your attend- ance, sir, if possible, and a friend with you, is earnestly requested, but if not, then your letter, previous to the meeting, will be grate- fully acknowledged by, etc., " W. Moorhouse." * * Rotherhura Minutes. M Leeds 16 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. LOHAP. I. At tbe general meeting held at Leeds, July 30, eetingat 1794, consisting of twenty ministers and twelve lay gentlemen, the following reso- lutions were adopted : — " Tliat an Academy, established upon a respectable footing, in such a situation as shall be judged most eligible, will be of the greatest importance to the promotion of religion. " That it is the opinion of this meeting that so much of a plan, read by the Rev. Mr. Kennedy, as respects the appointment of two tutors for the proposed Academy, be recommended. " That the students shall be put under the care of the Rev. W. Vint until the- plan of the proposed Academy be finally arranged. " That a Committee, consisting of ten persons, five of whom to make a quorum, be appointed for the purpose of collecting and receiving propositions from the representatives of any churches, and holding correspondence with them, or any others, whereby the design of establishing an Academy upon a respectable plan may be best promoted; and to report these proceedings at a general meeting of the representatives of churches to be held at Halifax on the eleventh day of September next. " That it be recommended to all the gentlemen present to lay this business before their respective congregations and friends, to solicit their assistance in promoting a plan of the said Academy, and to attend the above meeting in order to arrange the business of this institution. " That it be recommended to the Committee (to be appointed) that such parts of the proceedings of this meeting as may be thoui^ht necessary be immediately printed, and sent to the churches in connection, requesting their sentiments upon the same, addressed to the Kev. W. Moorhouse, Huddersfield, on or before the 3rd day of September next ensuing." * At this meeting a committee was formed, con- sisting of two ministers and five other gentlemen, who were " requested to take such steps, and bring forward such a plan, at the general meeting, as may * Rotherhaiii Minutes. CHAP. I.] CONGEBGATIONAL HISTORY. 17 tend to bring the business to a speedy issue." The committee so appointed held a meeting at Huddersfield, on the 15th of Auo-ust, ] 794, and prepared a memorial, in which they state : — . " When this part of the kingdom was almost covered with gross darkness, and very little evangelical preaching, or know- ledge of the truth, was found in this or the adjoining counties, it pleased the Merciful Parent of the universe, so to order, in the course of providence, that an Academy should 'be instituted, for the purpose of educating pious young men for the ministry. This institution, which has continued for near forty years, has, by the blessing of God, been a special service to the Churches of Christ, and, in the general, answered all the designs and wishes of the benevolent supporters thereof. Useful, laborious minis- ters have been raised up and called forth to preach the gospel in many places where no such thing had been heard for many years — perhaps for ages ; so that not only we, but numbers of the Churches have cause to be abundantly thankful for the gracious event. The above Academy being now vacant, and the present age requiring as much, if not more than ever, that ministers of the gospel should be acquainted with the different branches of literature, we judge it our indispensable duty to come forward and exert all our abilities— trusting that our friends will gladly afford their assistance, both with their advice and property — not only to preserve, but also to enlarge an insti- tution of such importance to the cause of Christ, and the spiritual welfare of souls in future ages."* On September 11th, 1794, the proposed general meeting was held at Hahfax. After receiving the report of the Committee, it was resolved — " That this Academy be considered as a New Institution, f " That it appears to this general meeting highly expedient to the interests of religion, that an Academy should jsj^^ ing^j. be established in some adjoining part, to instruct tution. serious young men with a view to the ministry, in different * Printed_document. f Original Minutes. 2 18 CONGEEGATIONAL niSTORY. [CHAP. T. brandies of literature and divinity ; that they may come foi'th with a prospect of being acceptable to the public, and more useful in the Lord's vineyard than otherwise they could be. "That, convinced of the superior advantages to be expected from two tutors, the meeting- adopt this enlarged plan. That the election of both tutors shall be made by a majority of ministers and gentlemen, at a general meeting to be held for that purpose, who shall have become subscribers for themselves, or their respective congregation. That no person shall be chosen tutor* or sub-tutor, but such as are of most approved piety, learning, diligence, fidelity, and Calvinistic Independent Dissenters ; and if they who are chosen should afterward depart from their once professed Calvinistic principles, the subscribers, on being con- vinced of this change of sentiments, shall, at their Annual Meet- ing, called for that purpose, be at liberty to dismiss them. That the intention of the subscribers be fully carried into execution, they shall choose out of their own number a Committee ot' twenty-four (twelve of whom shall be ministers, and twelve laymen), to whom the management of the Academy shall be entrusted." At the next meeting, held at Huddersfield, October 8, 1794, it was reported that funds suffi- cient for the support of the Academy were promised, and a deputation was appointed to accept the office of principal tutor. Disappointed in their applications for this purpose, the Committee issued the following circular, addressed individually to the pastors of the Churches, requesting that prayer might be offered for divine direction : — "Manchester, October 27, 1794. " Rev. Sib, — The Committee appointed by the friends of the Academy, to look out for a proper tutor, have, hither- to the to? been unable to prevail with Mr. Bennet, and the Chivrcties application to another quarter has been equally un- pi-aver successful, nor have they heard of any who appear suitable to the charge of so much trust, whose cir- cumstances give much encouragement to hope that tliey may be induced to accept it. CHAP. I.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOrtY. 19 "Deeply convinced, however, of the vast importance of the charge itself, and the difficulty of securing a person properly qualified to fill with advantage and satisfaction to the public, the Committee, as having the interest of religion and of the in- stitution at heart, feel themselves called upon to solicit the assistance of the friends of religion at large, to aid them, hy their M^^V(^c^ prayer in the business entrusted to them. We, therefore, desire that you will please to lay this, our request, before your people, and to entreat them in all their meetings for social and public prayer, and at any particular season which they shall set apart for this express purpose. They will look up to the Great Head of the Church, beseeching Him to direct us to a suitable person, and to dispose him to comply with our solicitations to engage in this honourable, but arduous employment. Though our way, at present, be shut up, we trust that the Great Hearer of Prayer, will, in due time, grant the desires which His own waiting people offer up to Him, for the advancement of His own kingdom in the earth, and lead us to a person suited to the great undertaking. " In the meantime, the public may rest assured that no dili- gence nor exertion shall be wanting on the part of the Committee, in discharging the trust reposed in them ; and that as soon as they obtain any reasonable prospect that a person likely to com- mand the public confidence, will accept of the charge, they will call a general meeting for his election. Your serious attention to this, our request, in which- the interests of religion are so deeply concerned, will much oblige." " The directions of providence," says Mr. Cockin, "have been wonderfully seen in the several stages of the business. Where to turn our thoughts, or "upon whom to fix as tutor was difficult. Being much pleased with the correspondence of Dr. Williams, with his general character, and the great reputation with which he had discharged the office before, our friends mentioned him as a person eminently qualified, if he could be obtained. The proposal was universally approved. 20 CONGEKGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. I. In his reply to Mr. Kennedy, of Manchester, Dr. Wilhams wrote, December 30, 1794 : — " Some things 1 must own, that you say, have weight on my mind, though the difficulties of acceding to the proposals of a removal would, be great. In one thing, I believe I 1 ^^ ^^M- cannot be wrong, namely, in setting ai^art a day for Kennedy fasting and prayer on tlie occasion, which I purpose ^^^n-^''- to do on Thursday next. vV illiams. •' " After ten years' laborious employment, sincerely intended, though marked with many imperfections, in the work of education at Oswestry, a confluence of cares and trials, at last from different quarters, bearing hard upon my spirits, together with Mrs. Williams' growing ill health, made me seriously appre- hend that we both must needs, continuing there, fall victims to the situation. My healtli, at times, has been but indifferent since we came to this place, bat, on the whole, it is better. Yet I have been able to do comparatively little, beside m.y pastoral work, and recriaiting my small measure of health and spirits, " My soul often has longed for the company of pious young men for the ministry, and pined in secret for the loss, like that of a mother for her children ; insomuch, that I have had serious thouglits of announcing my design of taking two or three under my care, if such as are truly promising could be procured ; and have been treating for a house with that view. You will not wonder, therefore, if I compare your letter to the sounding horn of the huntsman, and myself to a horse, which, though overdrawn, and ready to drop dead with a former chase, yet is still eager for another; but the halter is on his head, and he is locked up in a stable ; nothing must be done without the master's permission and interference, I therefore wait His pleasure with absolute resignation, " Permit me now to specify what are some of my chief diffi- culties in the way of a removal hence. The unanimity and friendly conduct of the people, my short stay amongst them, three years to-morrow, Mrs. "W.'s debility, and the distance, part- ing also with some very valuable persons, who are the fruit of my ministry here. To which, I may add, above all, the difficult nature of tlie undertaking which you point out. Notwithstand- ino", if the Lord called me, and I was satisfied it was His call. CHAP. I.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOliY. 21 metliinks, I could go and settle among the Hindoos, or at Otalieite, or any where else." In a letter dated Manchester, Jan. 3, 1795, Mr. Kennedy explained the views of the committee. " At the last general meeting, held 8th October, it was proposed (for the Academy) to be at Eotherham, and by others to be at Northowram, where it had been for several t> r Keason for years. The majority were for the latter, but as selecting many of them were convinced they were wrong, -t^ot'ierham, there is reason to believe the next meeting will fix it at the former place, as it is still vacant and in every respect highly eligible, as immediately under the patronage of so many worthy respect'able families as the Walkers. If so, ministerial acceptance and usefulness might be more than ordinarily ex- tended. But, if otherwise, we are determined to have it where a congregation may be annexed to it, agreeable to the tutor that he may have opportunity of exemplifying on the Sabbath his own rules delivered through the week. Nor can we be at any loss, as the congregation which Mr. Cockin left at Kipping, beside Halifax, is still vacant, as also another at Ossett, beside Wakefield, and thei^e is no room to doubt that whoever the county fixes on for a tutor will be acceptable to them. " At our first meeting, you were mentioned as most desirable, but fear of not succeeding we turned our attention to other quarters. No persuasion could induce Mr. Beunet, owing to his bad state of health. Mr. Lambert, of Hull, has a numerous con- gregation and cannot undertake additional labours. Mr. Bogue, of Gosport, is not to be moved by any considerations. From all the inquiries we have been able to make over the kingdom, we have heard of none any way qualified whom we could in conscience propose except yourself. Finding our way blocked up we deter- mined to write to you in the open manner we have done, con- cealing nothing, as we know you will not make any wrong use of our candour. Let me assui'e you that in all probability it will be utterly lost unless you undertake it. There is no person so likely to meet general acceptance and cement all the parties con- cerned in London and the country. In as far as I know them, there would not be one dissenting voice, nor one who would not be highly pleased. Respectability to a new institution is of great 22 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [onAP. I. importance. The Divine blessing upon your publications has given you a celebrity, the extent of which will never be known to your- self, and it is highly probable it was given for this very purpose. Though I be about to leave this part of the country, I am clearly of opinion, as a friend to you and to religion, that you ought to accept it, as it will open a door of usefulness, much more than any at present, among the Dissenters in the kingdom. Your . labour will benefit the churches while you live, and be a blessing long after you are gone. Whereas your labours are in a congre- gation, and their effect must end with your life." In writing from Manchester, January 16, 1795, Mr. Kennedy gives further particulars respecting the course of the negociations : — " Nearly three years ago I ivas api>lied to hy many gentlemen, who ivtshed to see the ministry on a more respectable footing, to draiv up a scheme on which a nero Academy might be instituted. I did, but the stagnation of trade prevented its public appearance. When the London people, last summer, wished the country gentlemen to take it into their own hands, /ira.? again ttrged to exhibit my plan, that instead of two, there might he one truly respectable, sitpported by and designed to serve the whole of the North of England. The propriety of this scheme is now generally perceived, and the monies promise far beyond conception. " That it might not fall into improper hands, Mr. Walker, Mr. Whittenbury, and myself were aiipoiuted to inquire for proper tutors, and to call a general meeting, when we had reasonable hopes of success, llotherham will, in all probability, be the place ; the commencement as soon as convenient, us several lads are ready to offer themselves for admission, Mr. Walker has been longer away than he expected, and therefore the general meeting is deferred till the 5th, or, if he please, the 12th, of February. Yesterday I wrote a circular, which Mr. Whittenbury and I signed, and enclosed to Mr. Walker for him to sign and send to Mr. Moorhout-e, of Huddersfield, the secre- tary, to be printed. Mr. Walker will insert the 12th, if the 5th be inconvenient for him. The committee are to meet the evening before, to arrange the plans they mean to offer to the general meeting for iheir approbation and adoption, and we hope to meet CHAP. ].] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 23 the. unanimous, hearty consent of all the churches which shall be present by their- ministers and representatives on that occasion. The result shall be conveyed to you in course. Permit me, dear six", to ask one plain question, which I do not for my private satisfaction, but that I may meet the country prepared to give decided answers to the numerous questions which will be put to m.e. It is this — Is &, pastoral charge essential to your acceptance of the academical charge ? I could not be certain, from your letters on this delicate point, but I tell you, as a private friend, oar principal reason of asking this blunt question is, there is no congregation at Northowram, as the former unliappy tutor keeps the endoved chapel. If, therefore, a congregation be essential, it is a good reason why it should be fixed where there is a congre- gation vacant, and where the pastoral charge may be added to the academical, which I formerly hinted the general wish. For my own part, I have warmly supported the union of offices all along, and am convinced of their reciprocal advantage. U, how- ever, you would rather devote your time entirely to education, for the sake of such a tutor so entirely to my mind, I, and all the friends with whom I have acted in this business, will most cordially fall in with you. Let me still urge your acceptance by pleading, as before, that it is to be lost otherwise. I know the present committee will not act if deprived of the third person, nor will they now choose to have another substituted whom they can but ill trust. But I shall not allow one gloomy thought to reach my mind. As to pecuniaries, you may trust the friendship of the committee, who will do their utmost to arrange matters comfortably." In reply to the pointed question in reference to the double office, Dr. Williams wrote, July 29, 1795:— " My answer is direct and plain — it is essential y and I will assign my reasons If the Lord has given me two talents, I could not satisfy my conscience, nor think of my future account with comfort, were I, without pressing necessity, to hide one of them. And one argument to the conviction of my own mind, that I am bound to continue the work of the miuistry, as a talent to be improved, is, that in every place where I have steadily laboured, 24 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOEY. [CHAP. I. God lias been pleased to own my attempts for the conversion of sinners and the comfortable establishment of His people. Bsides, one principal argument which I might urge towards disengaging myself from my present charge, would be weakened by having no church to go to.. A few persons here have intimated their readiness to raise a private fund towai'ds supporting four students, if I wished it ; and it will be forcibly urged by them, that the two objects united here would more than counterbalance the single one elsewhere." At a general meeting, held Marcli 12, 1795, it was resolved — " That this meeting is highly pleased with the correspondence and character of Dr. Williams, and unanimously appoints him to be the principal tutor in these institutions." After the usual course of probationary service and correspondence, Dr. Williams accepted the pastoral care of the church at Masbro, and he intimated to Joshua AValker, Esq., of Clifton, near Rotherham, his compliance with the wishes of the committee of the Academy : — " Birmingham, August 20, 3 795. " Dear Sir, — To you, as the secretary of the committee appointed to manage the Yorkshire Academical Institution, I send my final answer. Sensible of my own insufficiency Letter of without Divine aid, and relying on the God of grace Acceptance. . ' ./ o o for supplies, I think the way of duty seems plain for me to accept, in the name of the Lord, the important office to which I am invited at Rotherham. " Permit me to say, that one of the pi-incipal circumstances that encourages my compliance is the persuasion that the churches and ministers in Yorkshire, and especially the com- mittee, are peculiarly intent on the religious qualifications of the young men whom they mean to recommend as students. This, I hope, they will never lose sight of, as I am fully assured that an unconverted ministry is the bane oj" the Ghri.^tinn cause, and the dead loeight of the churches. The evil occasioned thereby is CHAP. I.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOKY. 25 beyond calculation. It is a jirolific cause of scepticism and infidelity J it grieves the godly, and corrupts the rising generation ; it hardens formal professors, and keeps in countenance, to their own destruction, those who slumber and sleep in the Church of Christ. " It is, therefore, in the hope that the utmost attention and assiduity will be exercised in recommending young men, without being unduly biassed by inferior considerations, such as the obliging of parents and friends, that I now engage ; further hoping, that thereby God will be glorified, the kingdom of God advanced, and many of the fallen race of Adam now living, and thousands yet unborn, essentially and everlastingly benefited. " I sincerely and earnestly solicit your prayers, and those of my brethren, for me, that I may obtain ability and strength, according to my day and difficulties, in so arduous an under- taking ; and that the Lord will be pleased to support me under the present very weighty domestic trial, in the loss of my dear partner. Her last illness and death, and some other important circumstances, have been the cause of your not receiving my final determination sooner. And I must further add, that owing to the present state of my family and flock, it will not be in my power to be at Eotherham to receive the students before the 1st of October. In the meantime, I remain, my dear sir, your very afi'ectionate friend and brother, "Edward Williams." Mr. Joshua Walker was instructed to erect a suitable building, receiving interest for his pecuniary outlay. The Academy was opened on November 5, 1795, and a short time after o/Thi"^ ten young men entered as probationers. ^^'^^^^^' The " pecuniaries " were attended to by the committee to the best of their power. Mr. Walker, in addition to his subscription, returned the yearly interest of the sum expended, and subse- quently gave the building to the committee. But the resources of the managers were limited, and in the pressure of the times after the wars of the 26 CONGKEGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. I. French Revolution, the tutors found their salaries insufficient, and Dr. Williams, in particular, was sorely straitened. Severe economy was practised. " We supply two candles," says Mrs. Jane Williams, " for the dininof-room ; other candles for their studies or lodging-rooms they find themselves." The stu- dents " propagated reports," and a committee was appointed to " hear the complaints made by them respecting their provisions." On special inquiry, Dr. Wilhams was vindicated, but he " candidly declared his inability to board the students unless some retrenchments were made." It was resolved accordingly— " That Dr. Williams be recommended to discontinue the allowance of butler to the bread and milk given to the students to tlie breakfast, and to make such other reasonable retrench- ments as he may think necessary ; and that a letter be addressed to the students to admonish them cheerfully to submit to such necessary regulations." This stringent rule, it must be said, was only temporary, and intended to meet the " present neces- sity." The yearly reports given of the conduct of the Academic family were favourable : — "We meet," Dr. Williams says, June 1, 179G, " in the morn- ing at seven o'clock during winter, and Lady-day at six ; begin- ning tlie day with singing, reading the' Scriptures, ^nl^R ^^P'^'"*^' and prayer, by the students in rotation. Three exercises in Latin and Greek, produced and examined. After this, all retire for sonie time. Our family devotion begins at eight. Then breakfast. From half-past nine to twelve (and sometimes later), all the classes are lectured in transla- tions. Every day, at dinner, a question is produced by the students in turns to be discussed— either critical, casuistical, or doctrinal, or any useful subject. The afternoons have been CHAP. 1.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. 27 devoted to exercises in Englisbj reading, logic, algebra, and preparations against the next day's work. "As to their moral conduct and behaviour in the family, I must do them the justice to say their deportment has been res- pectful, exemplary and agreeable to their situation and pro- fession." In the report, given June 27, 1804, we observe a little variation : — " As the primary object of all our literary pursuits is to administer subsidiary aids to gifts and godliness, so our ultimate aim should be to promote the life and power of re- ligion. I wish it were in my power to say that the yfriation past year has been characterized by this distinguish- ing feature. With one exception, which is but too well known to the present company, the deportment of the students has been, generally speaking, circumspect. To dwell on a few slight indiscretions, which the reins of discipline have been sufficient to check, or expostulations to correct, would be equally unpleasant and useless ; but I must frankly acknowledge that my greatest discouragement at times arises from the hacJcwardness of the human heart to cultivate a spiritual aifd experimental sense of divine things amidst literary engagements. This, respected brethren, above all things, calls for your prayers and aid, that God may be pleased to preserve both teachers and learners in a humble, devotional, and spiritual frame of spirit, as well as valiant in the truth, sound in the faith, and circumspect in their conduct- Eemember, I beseech you, that we are men of like passions with you. Our only support and preservation is from above, and all our success and prosperity must proceed from the Lord's bless- ing. Pray, my dear brethren, that Grod may shine upon us, and cause us to revive as the corn, and grow as the vine — that the religion of Jesus, as to doctrine and spirit, may be found with us the power of God, and not mere form, and that the salt here may not lose its real savour ! The longer I live, the more T am convinced that pure Christianity consisteth not in word, but in power; that the spiritual temple is to be built 'not by might, not by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord of Hosts.' Those whom He blesses are blessed. The proud He evermore dislikes 28 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAr. I. and resists ; but He giveth more grace to the humble, and fiUeth them with good things." John Pye Smith, the son of a respectable book- seller in ShefReld (born May 25, 1774), was one of John p e ^^^® ^-''^^ students at Eotlierliam. After the Smiiii. removal of many difficulties in his course, he was recommended by the Church under the pastoral care of Mr. Brewer, to the Committee of the Academy ; but some hesitation was felt by them in receivinof him, from the circumstance that in the temporary charge of the Iris newspaper (when the editor, James Montgomery, was in prison for com- menting on the needless severity of the magistrates, in a case of local disturbance), he had expressed his own sentiments with similar freedom. Party feeling at the time was strong, and the committee were anxious to avoid the odium that might be cast on the new institution from political strife. Dr. Wil- liams gave young Pye Smith a preliminary hint to this effect : — " The committee approve of your coming ; but the idea lias been suggested, that too great openness and decision in political sentiments would be improper in this situation, and in a theo- logical student. For my own part, I am satisSed you are before- hand with them in this opinion. The grand object of your studies will be those things which pertain to the souls and everlasting interests of men." * It was deemed advisable that the transparent politician should go into quarantine before he entered on his course as a student of divinity. f The cautious committee, after serious delibera- tion, resolved, January 4, 1797 — * Rotberham Piipers. f Medway's Life of Dr. Pye Smith. CHAP. I.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 29 " That Jolin Pye Smith be admitted to the benefits of the institution for the term of four years, ending at the vacation of 1800; but on account of some imprudent conduct, *, • • ' '■ Admission on which the committee cannot but pass censure, deferred, also with a view to prevent any reproach from being ■'•797. cast on the institution, that he is suspended from the public benefits of this institution until the nest vacation." * . Pye Smith appears to have conferred as much benefit, when admitted to the Academy, as he received. He volunteered to give his feilow-students lectures on anatomy, pneumatology, natural theo- logy, and philosophy, and his help was gratefully appreciated. In conformity with the resolution adopted at the general meeting at Leeds (July 30, 1794), Thomas Taylor and Charles Ely were placed under the care of Mr. Vint, at Idle, in 1795. Mr. Taylor idieAca- accepted an invitation from the church at *^®'"y- Ossett, in 1796. During the twelve years he spent in that village pastorate, he received thirteen invita- tions from other churches, and finally consented, at the urgent re'quest of his ministerial brethren, to take the oversight of the church at Bradford, as successor to Mr. Holdgate. After the practical experience of a few years, it was found that the vacancy occasioned by the dis- continuance of the Academy at Northowram, was not filled up by the students at Rotherham — at least, the churches in the vicinity of the former institution complained of a serious deficiency. Mr. Asquith, of Northowram, represented the case of the neg- lected districts of his native county to Mr. Edward Hanson, a member of the church at Broad Street, * Rotherham Minutes. 30 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [tHAP. T. London, with whom he had formerly lived on terms of intimate friendship. Mr. Hanson resolved, in comphance with his request, to estabhsh an Academy at Idle, and encouraged in the step by the Rev. John Eyre, he bequeathed an annuity to make the institu- tion permanent, though only on a small scale. A local committee was formed in 1800, and Mr. Vint, with the special approval of Mr. Hanson, chosen as tutor. Mr. Cockin threw his energies into the movement, and laboured incessantly to obtain the necessary funds. In 1803, only four students were admitted, and there being no building appropriated for the insti- tution, the tutor received them into his owm family. Disinterested in the last degree, he was willino- to make any sacrifice within his power to accomplish the object in view. During the first few years, he would accept only a salary of fifty pounds, with twenty-five pounds per annum for the board of each student. To add to this scanty income, for some time he kept a general boarding-school. When the number of the students increased, and additional accommodation was required, the Trustees of the Idle Upper Chapel gratuitously accommodated the patrons of the Academy for twenty years with the premises in their possession. In 1810, an Academy House was built, and the number of students rose to fourteen in 1817. The devotion of Mr. Vint to his work was extra- ordinary. To quahfy himself for tuition in all the branches required, he consumed days and nights in careful study, with brief intervals for sleep or relaxa- tion. His sympathies were warm and lively, and CHAP. I.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 31 his solid acquirements were veiled in his unaffected humility. The strong attachment of his students was blended with a grateful sense of obligation for his uniform kindness, and his self-sacrificing efforts to prom.ote their welfare. The Churches regarded him with confidence and admiration, and his minis- terial brethren held in the most affectionate esteem. The institution under his care, though almost insig- nificant in its beginning, grew in piiblic estimation, and received the increasing support of a sincerely attached constituency. The students were constantly employed as preachers. The general result of their labours is reported in the following terms : — " In the course of two or three generations, after the first Nonconformists finished their course, the appearance of circum- stances among Dissenters was completely changed, many of their congregations were become nearly extinct. The doctrines heard with pleasure by their ancestors had not been preached among them ; their meeting-houses were forsaken — in some cases shut up — and the silence of the grave reigned without disturbance. But not a few of those places of worship, deserted, or almost . deserted by the previous attendants, were recovered by the instrumentality of our students, and the ploughshare of ruin was prevented from being drawn over t'.em. The people around were attracted by the gospel of salvation. The sanctuaries of the original Dissenters were filled with attentive hearers, and were incapable of accommodating those who flocked together to hear the words of eternal life, they were rebuilt on a larger scale, and have been honoured with the presence and blessing of the God of Zion. Thus originated, tlie congregations at present assembling at Idle, Pudsey, Bingley, Kipping, Mixenden, Eastwood, Ossett, and Hopton, and others. There are also other places, though not of so long standing, where the congregations had fallen into mournful declension, but have been raised again to a greater or less degree of prosperity, in consequence of the efficient assistance 32 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY, [CHAr. I. furnished by the Academy. In this class, Honley, Brighouse, Keighley, and Skipton may be reckoned. " Besides, our institution has been the means of establishing interests where none of the Independent denomination ever existed before. The students have been instrumental in col- lecting congregations at Grassington, Pateley Bridge, Ripon, Wortley, Stainland, Elland, Otley, and Tadcaster." CHAPTER ir. The picture given of the leading Metropolitan Academy at the close of last century, -vviUiam by one of the students, is not the Waiford, • -TTT TTTT Homertoii most nattermg. William Walford, a Academy, member of the church at Carr's Lane, Birmingham, who was admitted to Homerton in 1793, says : — " Unfortunately for my progress, I found in a few months after my admission to the College, that I must not rely too much on assistance from my classical tutor, wlio, besides his want of energy in stimulating his pupils to exertion, was by no means a scholar of eminent scholastic attainments. His mode of teaching Latin was certainly very defective ; and as soon as I had made a little progress in Greek, I found that he was still more deficient as a guide to that noble, but extensive and difficult, language." * The colleague of the classical tutor, Walford adds, was " regular and punctilious," but wanting in "ingenuity, adroitness, and presence of mind;" and " altogether unqualified to teach theology in a way adapted to call forth the diligence and energies of his pupils." The temper of the Homerton students was such at this time that it must have required considerable * Autobiography of Rev. W. Walford. 3 34 CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. [CHAP. 11. *' ingenuity " to direct their tlieological studies. Some of them seem to have forgotten entirely the object of the Institution, and were more inclined for revolutionary politics than sacred literature in any form. "It was my lot," continues Walford, "to enter Horaerton College at the earlier part of the first revolution in France, not very long after the execution of Louis XVI. At that extra- ordinary time politics pervaded every cii'cle, to the exclusion of every other subject. The majority (of the students) vv^ere enamoured of Danton, Robespierre, and other heroes of the mountain, while a small minority employed its utmost efforts to counteract proceedings so extravagant." The students of the neighbouring Unitarian College at Hackney not only admired the politics of the French philosophers, but also cordially adopted their sceptical principles. One of the college friends of Mr. Wellbeloved gives an account of one of their meetings with the author of the Age of Reason. " Last Sunday but one, and some others observed that it would be a good opportunity to have a republican supper, and „ ^ . invite Paine. I left a note for him accordingly ; Thomas Paice ^ , -r -,, , ■ , ■ t i . i i invited to a and when I called m the evenmg, Johnson told Republican jjjg ^;,}jr^{; Paine was much pleased with our invi- Suppcr by the , . , , i •, ttt i i Unitarian tation, and would wait upon us. We asked Studeiits. George Morgan to meet him, and had the most glorious re^>ullican party that the walls of the College ever contained. We sat down to supper, eighteen or nineteen, and were agreeably disappointed to find Paine as agreeable and striking in conversa- tion as in his writings. No man, I should think, abounds so much with anecdotes of Washington, Fayette, Burke, or lias so striking a mode of expression as this apostle of liberty. His very countenance points him out a great man. He breakfasted with us, and before ho went, expressed great satiislaction at our CHAP. II.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOKY. 35 spirit, and promised to call upon us wlienever he came to Hackney." * Robert Hall, in reference to this institution, says: " I have the highest authority for aflBrming that a great pro- portion of the students became sceptics and unbelievers, and of none more than those who attended the theological lectui'es. Had that institution continued, it bid fair to become the most prolific bed of infidelity this country ever hneio.'^ f On the 16th of January, 1801, at Homerton there was a change in the system of culture. John Pte Smith then began his career in London. An incidental visit to tlie house ^^^it^^'/o of Mr. Ebenezer Maitland, Clapham, at F^^''^'^^^' ^ 1801. a time when Dr. Winter and Mr. Brooks- bank were in consultation respecting a suitable person to fill the office of tutor, brought him under their notice, and led to his appointment. His spirit and aims we learn from his inaugural discourse : — "In the present age," he says, "of such universal and suc- cessful attention to the branches of natural knowledge — the study of natural and experimental philosophy — more than in any past period, forms an object of real importance and necessity. This necessity is rendered still greater by some other peculiar circumstances of the times. The facts of physical science by many who arrogate the style of fhilosophers are perverted and abused to support the cause of materialism and infidelity. By no means can we fairly demonstrate the futility of this false philo- sophy and vain deceit, and detect the corrupt sophistry and disingenuity of its advocates, than by the honest investigation and the satisfactory deductions of a just and solid philosophy. Thus we may snatch the usurped weapons out of the hands of impiety, and using them according to their native intent, rise through nature up to nature's God." * Biographical Memoir of the Rev. Charlps Wellbeloved By John Keii- rick, M.A., P. A S., pp. 22, 23. t Works, vol. v., i>p. 37, 38. 36 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAF. ]I. With the most touching simphcity and humility he referred to his own comparative youth, and with affectionate earnestness entreated the prayers of the students on his behalf, and practical concurrence in their common aim in seeking the advancement in the glory of God in the diffusion of the gospel. "We take it for granted," he said, "and we have a just right to do so — that you are living Christians, the real subjects of regenerating and sanctifying grace. But it is of infinite import- ance, not only that you enjoy the full influence and comfort of yonr faith, but also that the evidences of your sincerity be clear and bright. No evidence will be found safe and happy, but the impression of God's image on your souls. Your situation is truly momentous. The eyes of all men are upon you. The prayers of God's people are daily rising to His throne of grace on your behalf. The hopes and reasonable expectations of the Churches are upon you. That you may fully answer and exceed them for tiiis supremely desirable purpose, cultivate, by every scriptural method, the spirit of universal, vital, and active holiness ! " To the admirers of Danton and Robespierre, senti- ments of this kind were perfectly strange and un- welcome. Acting upon the first impulse in their minds, whilst listening to the earnest young- President, it would only have been natural if they had instantly retired. Soon after, we are told — " Dr. Smith discovered in a number of the students, indica- tions of levity, indolence, and irreligion, which excited the most serious apprehension and pain, and after he had vainly Disorder in endeavoured to awaken them to a just sense of the Academy. responsibilities and duties of their position, their cases were reported to the governing body, and eight of them were deprived of the patronage of the Institution. Of these, five soon after avowed themselves to be Unitarians."* * First Lines of Ciiriatiaii Theology." Bj J. Tye Smith, D.D., p. 235. CHAP. II.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOIiY. 37 The spiritual interests of the students at Hoxton Academy, were watched over with tender solicitude. Mr. Thomas Wilson, the guardian and Hoston a^enerous benefactor of the Institution ^^^^^^^y 0 and llioinas formed in the house of his father, gave his Wiison time, property, and personal service to promote the welfare of the students and tlie prosperity of the churches subsequently committed to their pastoral care. As to their mental culture, there was room for improvement. In a letter, dated Salisbury Place, Marylebone, July 3, 1802, Dr. Waugh says, after an examination of the students : — " In regard to the progress they have made in the knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages, when we recollect that on their admission into the Seminary ^ their minds, in Letter o'[ aeneral, were totally unfurnished even with rudimental 'Dr. Waugb, ^ "^ 1 So'' instruction, and that there are other and the most important objects also to be attended to — namely, the acqui- sition of scriptural and connected vieivs of tlie mystery of godli- ness, and a capacity to impart these views with perspicacity and ease to tlie ignorant and unlearned. When these circum- stances, I say, are considered, the proficiency of the higher classes, and indeed the lower too, have made in the short space of four years, was such as filled my mind with the most pleasing satisfaction. " If they diligently pursue the path on which they have successfully entered, they bid fair to rise in Biblical knowledge above mediocrity, and, by the blessing of heaven, will become, 1 trust, guardians of the oracles of God, and men qualified for the defence of the gospel. Thus affectionately do I congratulate the tutors (whose unwearied industry deserves the gratitude of all the lovers of Evangelical truth and useful science), and the supporters of the seminary on the fair prospects which open before them. Allow me to suggest to them, however, that luere the students initiated at a grammar school before they entered the 38 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [OHAP. II. Academy, much toilsome labour would be saved to the tutors, and additional time afforded to enlarge their acquaintance with other branches of science eminently subservient to Divinit}'."* Of AViLLiAM RoBY,t the most efficient promoter of Congregational institutions in Lancashire, we must give a more detailed account. He was born William March 23, 1766, at Haio^h, near Wigan. JKob} s ' *- eiiriv life, jjis father was a respectable schoolmaster, and paid great attention to his education, intending to send him to one of the English Univer- sities, that he might be prepared for " Holy Orders " in the Church of England, under the patronage of Lady Bradshaw, widow of Sir Eobert Bradshaw ; but from the influence of " dissolute company " he was " alienated from the clerical profession," and resolved to devote himself rather to the study of medicine, greatly to the disappointment of his father, who felt that his fondest hopes were " blasted." Separated some time after from worthless com- panions, he retired into the country, and experienced in his nineteenth year, a " radical change," but felt a conscientious difficulty in accepting " orders " in the Ano-lican Church, and determined not to attend parochial worship where the Ninth, Tenth, and Seventeenth Articles of the Church were not preached. His father, regarding this decision as mere stubbornness, was much chagrined. Giving up thoughts of the clerical profession, he sent him in the autumn of 1785 to be examined as a candidate for a school, and was elected as master at Brother- ton. Finding that according to the original regula- tions of the institutions, it was his duty to give * Original Letter. t Roby Papers. CHAP. II.] CONGREGATTONAL HISTORY. 39 relisfioiis instruction, lie established a catechetical lecture, and on Sabbath evenings held meetings for prayer. Dr. Masters, rector of Croston, was much opposed to these proceedings, and exerting his influence with the trustees, Mr. Roby was dis- missed. Still inclined in many respects for the Church of England, he would now have conformed, but for his objections to the form of Baptism and the Burial Service. With the approval of his father, he johied the Connexion of Lady Huntingdon, and after a "trial of preaching" at the house of the Rev. John Johnson, in Wigan, and being recommended by him to Lady Huntingdon, he went, in the spring of 1787, to her College' at Trevecca. From that institution he says, he reaped " no advantage." The At Trevecca, authorities of the college being quite ^^^^• satisfied with his talents and acquirements, sent him out to itinerate for six weeks ; in this service he suff'ered great pecuniary embarrassment, and in preaching before the students lost his ideas. His recollections therefore of Trevecca were far from pleasant, and at the command of the Countess, he was not sorry to remove to Malvern, in the summer of the same year; "though" he writes, "I thought 1 must have set out on a journey of near sixty miles with half-a-crown in my pocket, but just before I went, I had half-a-guinea given to me." At Malvern, he met with an excellent friend and helper in Lady Douglas. In a letter to his " Honoured Father," dated " Great Malvern, Sept. 4, 1787," he says :— 40 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [OHAP. II. " You will be surprised that I date this from Malvern, and at the foot of Malvern Hills. Lady Douglas, an intimate acquaintance of the Countess of Huntingdon, being kf ^787."^' come here for the benefit of the wells, which are of great fame, desired she might have one of the students from the College to serve as a chaplain for her during the time other stay. One was sent, but his health not permitting him to make his intended stay, T was desired to supply for him ; considering it as the providence of God, I could not but comply. Every indulgence that I could expect from the most affectionate mother, is shown to me by this truly gracious lady. I think I may truly say of her, she counts all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord. I hope she will be a good school to me. I sit at the same table with her, she makes me acquainted with her experience, and acts with so much condescension, that I am treated more like her son than otherwise. She fails not to further anything that may seem to make me more comfortable. May the God who thus taketh care of me give me the reward oJ" grace. I have to-day been studying a discourse which, God willing, I must speak before her to-morrow, from Heb. xi. 2." In the beginning of Januaiy, 1788, Mr. Roby was desired by the Countess of Huntingdon to take the charge of Worcester, till she should send some Worcester, Other supplj. His Salary was forty guineas 1788. pgj. annum ; the smallness of the income was not, however, a trial to him, so much as the Antinomian sentiments broached in different con- gregations by two of her Ladyship's preachers, and the practical difficulties he found in obtaining scrip- tural ordination. He was removed from place to place at the shortest notice ; writing from Reading, March 16, 1788. He says :— " I still hold to my text, that if the Worcester people would allow me bread and cheese, I would prefer being there what- ever may be the salary here." CHAP. 11.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 41 Mr. Roby's father at this time removed to Wigan, and attended the ministry of Mr. Johnson. In so doing he offended the rector, who addressed to him the following angry epistle : — ■ "Wigan, April 1, 1788. " Mr. Roby, — It has given me concern on being informed that since you came to reside at Wigan, you have attached your- self to y® sect of Independents by frequentins' Mr. T 1 , • T 1 , -, , Letter of Johnson s conventicles ; and as that ■ sect do much Guj mischief in this place, and are likely to do more Fairfax, by gaining to their sect one who is entrusted with the education of youth, I think it my duty to consider y^ conse- quences which may result to yourself as a schoolmaster by con- tinuing to attach yourself to them. However, I shall rejoice in being assured by you that my information is groundless, and I shall wait your answer. " I am your well- wisher, " GlTY Fairb^ax. " Mr. Roby, Schoolmaster, Wigan." Mr. Roby, senior, replied: — " Ret. Sir, — I received yours, but my daily employ pre- vented me from giving an immediate answer. With respect to the information given you of my attaching myself to -^^ , / the sect you are pleased to call Independents, it is Mr. Roby, certainly ti'ue, and I have great reason to praise the senior. Lord that I was brought to that attachment, because it- was not my own doing. On the contrary, I was much adverse to all their proceedings. However, it pleased the Lord to give me a desire of giving them an impartial hearing, and searching the Scrip- tures, to prove their doctrine ; and the more I examined, the more I found them to unite. In their preaching I found the Scriptures were laid open, the scheme of salvation explained, and coming by Jesus Christ, and by Him only, are we to expect that salvation, as' the Articles in our Common Prayer Book and the Homilies do make mention of, which are the standards of the true Church of England, and to which you have yourself sub- scribed. But all these things I was a stranger to before I was 42 CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. [CHAP. II. attached to this sect. This sect may be justly named the true Church of England, for reasons I have just mentioned. Such freedom of speech from an obscure person may not be pleasins?, but if it please the Lord to tiirn your mind to the Hihle, you will then changs that concern ^ou- express for me to yourself and num- bers of your poor ignorant and deluded creatures who are still seeking their eternal happiness in their own works, but, alas ! nowhere to be found but in Jesus Christ our Lord. " I am, Eev. Sir, " Your well-wisher and humble servant, "Aprils, 1788. ■ "K EoBT." Commenting, a few months after, on this spirited reply of his father to the dictatorial rector, Mr. Roby says : — " I suppose he scarcely knew, when he called us Independents, as we cannot rightly be termed thus, because there is the most conformity to the Establishment here (in the Countess of Huntingdon's Chapel, Wigan) of any place I have been in. By ' the consequences to himself,' I suppose he (the rector) meant that my father's attachment would terminate in the loss of boarders, thinking, perhaps, that religion is to be followed no further than as it is conducive to our temporal good. Of this golden god, how many cringing, base worshippers it has among those who pretend, in a public character, to be concerned for the glory of the God of heaven. Mr, Fairfax has long been digging a pit for Mr. Johnson, almost resolving to drive him out of Wigan. Now he has fallen into the midst of it himself, for the rectorage is taken from him." The letters of Mr. Roby reveal his growing uneasiness in the dubious position he held as an unordained minister under the capricious direction of his Lady Superior. He writes from Reading, April 22, 1788 :— " I think I never knew one so crafty in her schemes as Lady Huntingfdon. She knew I had an aversion to Bradford and Taylor, and conceived that I should not choose to be ordained by CHAP. II.] CONGKEGATIONAL HISTORY. 43 them, and her enmity against Mr. Wills will not at present suffer him to ordain. She therefore, without mentioning a word of ordination, proposed my going to Bath and Bristol to get known amongst the people. Forwarned by fdumea of Lady D. that Bradford and Taylor were there, I saw J^^^J Hunt- what she was obscurely driving at, and therefore declined going ; but she grew more positive, intimating that my preaching to such congregations would be a means of conquering my timidity, etc. But, however, she has not given me positive orders ; when she is positive, I must begin to be positive too. Mr. Best, her Ladyship's secretary, told me she would wish me to be ordained at Bath. After preaching on Wednesday evening, she sent for me, and professed herself much pleased with the sermon; and by what she told L. D., I am in high favour ^too high, I am afraid, to last long." "London, Mmj 21, 1788. "I left Reading on Monday last by her Ladyship's orders. She desired me to go through Bristol and be ordained by Taylor. I refused, and am now on my way for Ashby- Difficulty in de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire. Her Ladyship has obtaining been very kind to me. I suppose she is afraid I °' ' shall not stop in the connexion if she presses anything upon me . contrary to my feelings. She promises everything satisfactory if I will continue with her." " ASHBY-DE LA-ZOUCH, May 31, 1788. " Mr. Wills has been, and promises still to be a great friend to me as far as lies in his power, but all his authority in her connexion is now deposed till her Ladyship is reconciled to him. " I have of late had Manchester very much ionpressed upon my mind. I wonder if there would be any opening there. I wish vou would consult Mr. Johnson a little on the subiect. ,, ^ ^ Mr. Roby 3 I believe there are many of Mr. Wesley's people there, firstthougbts but very few zealous professors of any other denomi- of Manches- nation. If there was an opening, I dare say at Mr. Johnson's desire Lady Huntingdon would let me come there. Tou might bear Mr. Johnson's expenses to Manchester if he had an opportunity to go over and see. If a work could be carried on there, and I were sent there first, perhaps I might be settled over them as Mr. Johnson is over them at Wigan, which I should 44 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. IT. like very much, tbough I should not mind moving a little some- times if I had some settled ])lace and people that I could call my own. " I hear there is a new meeting-house in building, hui if it is the Lord's ivill I shall go; if not, we neither of us can desire it." On the 1st of July, 1788, Mr. Roby visited his father at Wigan, and began immediately to preach to his former companions. He writes : — "Wigan, J«?y 5, 1788. " On Wednesday evening I stood up for the first time in Wigan, where I had an opportunity of addressing myself to the Preachinc i^ost part of my old acquaintances (from 2 Cor. v. 20) first time in who complimented me with a sneering sort of a ^'^^°* laugh, but I desired them to be serious, assuring them that whatever they might think or whatever might be their motive for coming, I intended to be serious. Towards the latter end of the discourse a kind of solemnity seemed to set upon them, and one of them has defended me since." The conferences he had with his father and Mr. Johnson having no immediate practical result in obtaining a more settled appointment, Mr. Roby returned to Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and from thence was sent, as a sort of forlorn hope on the part of Lady Huntingdon, to unite a divided people at Gainsborough. Ultimately, with the reluctant con- sent of her Ladyship, he accepted an invitation to Unsettled, bccomc the colleague of Mr. Johnson, and 1788. ' returned to Wigan, Oct. 4, 1788. Still unsettled as to his ordination he writes : — " WfGAN, November 3, 1788. " Mr. Johnson has just received a letter from Lady Hunting- don. She tells him great things respecting the connexion, that the trials she has lately met with from false brethren will end in its good and her own. She strikes at me in a way of jealousy, pity, and prayer, and seemingly in a way of warning to Mr. CHAP, ir.] C0NC4EEGATI0NAL HISTORY. 45 Johnson to beware of me, to take a little pains with me to teach me in the way she calls truth. After speaking a little concerning false brethren, as she calls them, she says, ' I am sadly afraid lest . Bohy should have been carried away with their dissimulation, but may God set His seal upon him and mark him for His own and keep Him faithful. You (meaning Mr. Johnson) have hitherto been so found.' But faithful to what, 1 would ask her ? Faithful to the connexion ? Rather let the connexion fall to the ground than one of God's truths suffer loss ? It would be awful to sacrifice truth to a connexion, or to establish a connexion on falsehood. I don't suppose though, that she was aiming her arrows wholly at me ; I think she is sadly afraid of Johnson as well as Roby. Her sad fears respecting Johnson and Roby are too well founded. He is resolved to take the chapel out of the connexion rather than be obliged to submit to Bradford's creed, or have it broached in the least among his congregation." Soon after his settlement in Wigan, Mr. Roby was urgently entreated by Lady Douglas to go to Falmouth. His people as earnestly entreated him to remain. In his first answer, Mr, Roby declines on the ground that he did not think himself capable of " undertaking the congregation, as they are stiff Dissenters." The distance of Falmouth from his native place was a serious objection : — " Falmouth," he says also, " being a seaport, and smuggling is carried on I hear as a trade, and winked at by the serious, as it is impossible almost to trade with theai, this would make it uncomfortable. "j\Iy being brought up in Wigan," he adds, "gets down much prejudice, which might otherwise take place respecting my education, as ignorance and malice are apt to fasten what ignominy they can upon a Methodist parson. Poor Mr. Johnson has been reputed a tailor, and every trade they could think of, and esteemed destitute of learning, though he is well versed in it ; and we are certain that when prejudice of this kind is in a great measure done away there is a greater likelihood of getting them under the means, which most certainly is a thing very desirable." 46 CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. [OHAP. II. Mr. Roby resolved to remain at liis post, and entered upon liis work with uncommon ardour. He writes : WiGAN, March 7, 1789. " They seemed to be stirred up inthe villages round about us. I suppose I had a congregation of upwards of an hundred people T-,. . assembled to hear the word on Monday evening, in a Itinerant _ ^ c preaching house belonging to a farmer, who seems to be very at Wigan. -warm-hearted in the things of God, and consequently encomages the Gospel with commendable zeal. I hope this summer every villagie within ten miles round about will have to say of us as they said of the Apostles, ' They who have turned the world upside down are come hither also.' I am thinking it w ill fret the devil and his members mystical to find houses con- verted into tabernacles for the worsliip of God, and the highway ringing with the sound of salvation by Jesus." The ordination question yet remained unsettled. In a letter dated Wigan, May 9, 1789, he says : — " The thing in question now is ordination. The people will submit to any plan I propose on this head ; but I am entirely at a loss how to mana-^e it. Mr. Taylor and Bradford I don't choose to be ordained by. I do not know whether Mr. Wills would ordain me now, and if he would, I do not know whether it would not bring an inconveniency upon the congregation, because then if I were to leave them at some future period, Lady H. would not supply them with ministers. They could not prevail upon Dissenters to read the Form of Prayer, and consequently their plan would be broke. I would not willingly be a means of bringing them into embarrassing circumstances, and how to avoid it I know not. I have sometimes thought of being ordained by some other of her Ladyship's ministei's,as I t^hould not be ordained, but after giving a declaration of my sentiments respecting the truths and doctrines of Christianity, which I should do in as plain a manner as I was capable." Lady Huntingdon's people appear to have had rather confused notions respecting ordination. Mr. Roby writes : CHAP. II.] GONGliEGATIONAL HISTORY. 47 WiGAN, Juhj 25, 1789. " Messrs. Lions and Swan seem to wish me to be ordained by one in Lady H.'s connexion, as tliey esteem it onlij a matter of ceremony ; and as I shall have the liberty of declar- Confused ing my own sentiments, I am in such a strait I know notion of not what course to pursue. The mutual prejudice which lies between Lady H. and Mr. W. runs so very high, that it is impossible to favour one without offending the other. " In my last I informed you that they threatened to make disturbance at the barn where 1 usually preach. The minister of the parish has begun first by distributing some pamphlets entitled, ' An earnest and affectionate Address to the people called Methodists,' wherein the parishioners and others who have followed those whom he calls Methodists, are exhorted to forsake all such erroneous enthusiastic preachers as are followed by the unwary, and return to their church again. We have the Bishop here to-day making a great stir about consecration. Alas ! when I take a view of the Church of England in its present state, what reason have I to say- — how is the mighty fallen ! how is the gold become dim, and the fine gold chano-ed ! Some who are to be confirmed to-day, and who have passed their examination and are approved, cannot as much as repeat the Lord's Prayer." At the beginning of Lis active itinerancy in the country, Mr. Roby found sympathy in his work from the Rev. Geobge Burdek, then pastor of the George church at Lancaster. This apostolic man ^^^-'der. (born in London, June 5, 1752) was the son of Mr. Henry Burder, for many years a deacon of the church in Fetter Lane. His mother — one of Whitfiekl's con- verts— was remarkable for her simple piety and chas- tened zeal ; and though she died on the tenth birthday of her son George, he never forgot her counsels and her prayers. Young Burder often heard Whitfield preach, and was deeply impressed with his last two sermons. He joined the church at the Tabernacle 48 GONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. II. in his twenty-third year, and from that time began to read the Scriptures in the original language. When on a visit to Mr. Fletcher, of Madeley, in the month of June, 1776, he was asked to join in prayer with a little circle of Christian people who met in his house, and on the evening of the same day made his first attempt to expound the Scriptures, at the " house of his friend, Mr. York, at Sheriff Hales ; and on the next day preached with much acceptance from Luke iv. 18. After earnest inquiry, he resolved eventually to join the Congregational body, and entered on the pastoral charge in 1778. At the close of the year 1780 he writes : — " On a review of my journey, I find I have ridden on horse- baok about 2,-500 miles, and have preached 254 times, besides a variety of exhortations at prayer meetings and church meetings. In April, 1781," he says, "but two days I returned from a preaching journey of 500 miles. I vras in company more than once with Mr. John Wesley. I heard him four times. I like him much, a few things excepted. He has the ear and heart of such numbers, that one might hope great things from his dili- gence. I hope I have learnt something from him. He is con- cise, very logical and regular, yet not formal. He illustrates almost every particular with an anecdote. He keeps up great attention. He rises very early, and preaches at four o'clock. He preached much of love. In whatever he is wrong, he is surely right in preaching love." Mr. Roby gained much from the example and rich experience of Mr. Burder. Mr. Johnson, in 1789 removed to Tyldesly, and left Mr. Roby in sole charge of the church at Wigan. Opposition His manifest success provoked opposition byWes- from various quarters. " Calvinism " was leyatiB and ^ Unitarians, ^ged as the most clastic term of reproach by Wesleyans and Unitarians. CHAP. II.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 49 " WiGAN, /«/?/, 4, 1789. " Mr. Wesley's people are our greatest enemies, who envy our prosperity, and go to the greatest lengths in blas- pheming our doctrine. They have repeatedly given them- selves the trouble of going over the neighbourhood where I preach, in the barn, to warn the people against hearing me, and to say their horrid things of Calvinism — assur- ing the people that I repeat whatever they are pleased to put into my mouth, and then leave them with ' and he is a very bad man.' The last time I preached, one of their preachers — an occasional one — and another or two who think themselves some- thing, came to hear, or rather to carp ; but I disappointed them by saying nothing about doctrines, but preached an alarming discourse from ' Prepare to meet thy God ;' but, however, they were determined to find fault, for I said man had not by nature a free will to do good. This served them to begin with, and then they lugged in the doctrines, and stayed with the poor ignorant people who had been hearing till twelve o'clock at night, spoiling their mouths, which are apt to speak lavishly of ' love ' with the blackest aspersions on the poor preacher and his doctrines." The Unitarians made a more systematic attack in tlie institution of a weekly lecture. Mr. Roby rose early one morning, and wrote a pamphlet containing a clear and temperate statement of Trinitarian doc- trine, which effectually checked his opponents. The ordination question at length was abruptly settled. Mr. Roby writes, September 5, 1789 : — " I am informed I may be ordained next Sabbath ; but to- morrow, September 13, as her Ladyship opens another q a ■ a chapel in London on that day, 1 must set off from at last in Wigan to take the mail from Manchester on Tuesday London, morning, and hope to be in London about six or seven o'clock on Wednesday morning." "London, Septemher 11, 1789. " Through a disappointment her Ladyship has met with in regard to the chapel being finished, at which I should have been ordained, my ordination is again postponed till next Sabbath, when it will certainly be opened, the Lord willing." 4 50 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. IT. Enofaofing: to serve the connexion in an annual visit to London, of six or eiglit weeks, lie was ordained in Ebenezer Chapel, September 20, 1789. After the Ordination Service he returned to his work in Wigan with renewed vigour. On one occasion he preached to three persons, two of whom joined the church. It was reported that he had become a " sectarian." To show his true position, he gave a series of lectures on the doctrines of the Church of England. He might have continued with his people at Wigan but for troubles that arose in the Church from the followers of William Hunting- don. " For upwards of two years," he says, " I scarcely ever preached a sermon which was not re- proached by one part as Arminian, and by the other as Antinomian." This was not alL In the loose system of Lady Huntingdon's Connexion, it was impossible to preserve the decent semblance of order. " Persons came," he says, " to the Lord's Table whom I had seen intoxicated during the week." This led Mr. Roby to examine more carefully the New Testament on the subject of church pohty. His views having changed in consequence, he offered to resign ; but the people were unwilling that he should leave them. A Congregational church was duly organized, but he found it difficult, from the previous habits of the people, to maintain to Cannon propcr discipline. Amidst the perplexity Manchester. ^^^^^ arosc in liis miud, he received an invitation from the church assembling in Cannon Street Chapel, Manchester, July 12, 1795, which he cordially accepted July 31, 1795. The antecedents of the church at Cannon Street CHAP. I[.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 51 were not of an encouraging nature. Congregational principles were imperfectly understood in Man- chester, and only partially applied. The original church, from its formation, was enveloped in a " Scotch mist." Some of the members had a slight craze on the question of "ruling elders." The following account is given of its origin and subse- quent course by Mr. Elijah Arraitage : — " Cannon Street, or, as it was first called. Hunter's Croft Chapel, was erected in 1761, under the superintendence of Messrs. Arthur Clegg, John Spear, Henry Hope, and others. Mr. Warehurst, the first minister, who, with tir^Ch" 1 the congregation, had withdrawn from Cold House Lane, after having laboured under a consumption for a consider- able time, died in the year 1765. He was buried at the foot of the pulpit, and over his grave was placed the following inscrip- tion : — '• ' Here resteth the remains of the Rev. Caleb Warehurst, a servant of Jesus Christ, by whose labours under God this place of worship, together with the first church assembling in it, had its rise ; who departed this life Nov. 5, 17C5, in the forty-third year of his age.' " In the year 1764 he published a form of Church Government deduced from the Holy Scripture, drawn up for the use of the Church of Christ worshipping in the meeting-house, Hunter's Croft, Manchester. " 1. Of the constitution of a church. " 2. Of the officers of a church. " 3. Of the ordinances, rules, and orders of a church with a church covenant. " He speaks of a ruling elder, who assists the pastor in ruling and government. '• From 1765 to 1768 this church appears to have remained without a pastor. At the latter period the Rev. Timothy Priestley, from Kipping, in Yorkshire, brotluer to the celebrated Dr. Joseph Priestley, succeeded Mr. Warehurst, and occupied the situation about nineteen years. Probably he was one of the 52 CONGREPxATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. II. most important men Manchester now contained. Eminent as a preaclier, indefatigable as a pastor, being universally beloved for the urbanity of his manners, and for his active concern for what- ever tended to the public good. His habits were industrious, his information extensive, and his benevolence unbounded. " He was unfortunate, however, in suffering his love of science to involve him in pecuniary difficulty. He repeatedly became embarrassed in his circumstances through his connection with others in his chemical and philosophical researches. On one occasion his pecuniary responsibilities were discharged by his people, but afterwards, from the same cause, he was obliged to retire. He first removed into Ireland, and then to London, where he became the pastor of the Independent church in Jewin Street. He died at Islington about 1814, within a few weeks of the age of eighty. " He was the editor of the ' Christian Magazine,' and the author of a Commentary on tlie Bible, besides other book^ which were highly recommended at the time at which they were published. " While he was at Cannon Street, the chapel was enlarged by the removal of two cottages which stood at the front. " Upon Mr. Priestley leaving Manchester, he was succeeded by the Rev. David Bradbury, from Ramsgate, who had received his education at Homerton. He was an able preacher, and much esteemed by his friends, whilst at the same time he possessed an independent spirit ; and having come to Manchester with high expectations, which were in some respects disappointed, a division took place, accompanied by no small degree of acrimonious feeling. "It would appear from a small pamphlet printed in 1788, entitled ' The Cause and Manner of the late division in the Church of Christ in Cannon Street, Manchester, stated on both sides,' that the Society possessed something of the Presby- teiian form of church government It was a sort of halfway society, by having lay elders as well as deacons. The discon- tented officers were as follows : John Spear, Arthur Clegg, John Hope, John Steward, A. Houghton, James Fisher, elders ; Henry Hope, James Dinwiddie, and John Mitchell, deacons. " The officers who adliered to Mr. Bi-adbury, were John Jones, John Leigh, and Thomas Livesey, deacons. CHAP. II.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOET, 63 " Among other things alleged against Mr. Bradbury, was his endeavour to remove the elders from the office, and to break up that form of government under which they had been admitted as members. While on the other hand, Mr. Bradbury contended that, ' urged by the necessity of the measure, he and the church had only exercised the power with which Christ had invested them, and which all Independent churches claim by His authority of removing, as well as choosing their own officers.' " "If," he conteDded — " The members of the church had been misguided to create such officers, when they were convinced of their mistake, and that such an officer belongs not to the Church of Christ, they had power, and a right to annihilate the officer, as a mere crea- ture of their own, or such as they had unwillingly adopted."* The discontents, after their dispute with Mr. Bradbury, assembled for pubHc worship q^. .^ ^^ in a warehouse in St. Andrew's Lane, Mosiey Street near Church Street, where they procured Ch-tpei, -I '7QQ the assistance of several popular ministers. Afterwards, in 1788, they built Mosley Street Chapel. The minutes of the church at Mosley Street contain a large confession of faith ; the articles on the disputed question of eldership are to the follow- ing effect :— •' A Teaching Elder. Such may be either a pastor, who goes before the church in the administration of the word, prayer, and seals, and the kejs, according to the gospel siidine constitution ; or a teacher, who, though he dispense scale of other ordinances, yet is especially to give dilig-ence ^^^' to, and wait on teaching, or ruling elder immediately under Christ, the Head of the Church, and constituted by Him in an ordinary way to preach the Word, or administer the sacraments, and maintain due order and discipline in His house according to His Word." * Papers of Rev. E. Artr.itfige. 54 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. II. " A Ruling Eldeb who assists the pastor in ruhng and government, or in maintaining a diligent watch over the con- gregation (or in case of the want of the paster or teacher) to go before the church in receiving, in admonisliing, or casting out, or in other matters of order as the case may require. Although these overseeing officers are not absolutely necessary to the due organization of a church. But where there is a pastor and a deacon, that church is fully organized for its full edification ; the pastoral office containing all teaching and ruling charge, and if the pastor is able to discharge the ivhole, he undouhtedhj may ; but if through his weakness, or the increase of the church, there is need of further help, it is the duty of the church to call or ordain such assisting officers." According to this sliding official scale, a strong pastor might assume all the authority for governing the chm^ch, and elders, according to circumstances, might be dispensed with, if the deacons were fully competent. The practice of the church was as peculiar as its principles. " A committee, formed February 20, 1797, resolved — That we, under the circumstances in which we are now placed, it was Peculiar thought desirable every seatholder should have a voice ; regulations, especially as there is no present ground for fear lest a minister not confessing the i'aith agreeable to the Westminster Confession would be approved, on which account your Com- mittee have agreed to recommend that ihe mode be adopted as our next choice. But that the officers of the church insert it in the church book, as an allowed deviation from the general and approved mode, on account of the present difficulties which do and will attend the support of the Gospel ministry here ; but not to be urged as an example upon like future occasions in this church or elsewhere. " On the motion of A. Paterson, it was unanimously resolved — That the present choice of a minister be with the Froprietor, the church members, and the seatholders, " On the motion of A. Paterson, it was unanimously resolved CHAP. IT.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 65 — That the minister whose conduct is unbecoming, the members of the church shall have the sole power of discharging him from his office. ''March, 1, 1797. " Eesolved — That Mr. Spear be requested to furnish the sup- plies which maybe wanted, until the election of a minister." Before this arrangement, however, Rev, Thomas Kennedy, a mhiister of the Chm^ch of Scotland, was settled as their pastor — a solid and able Thomas preacher but not popular, and having re- """*" ^' ceived a presentation to a church in his native country, he returned thither. The two churches (Cannon Street and Mosley Street), unhappily, were violently opposed, and Mr. Roby tells us that " each of the ministers," prior to his acceptance of the invitation to Manchester, " resigned on the same day, without knowing each other's intention." The first object which the new minister at Can- non Street sought to accomplish, was to effect reconciliation between the two congregations. His genius was that of prudence ; but his caution did not chill the ardour of his zeal. His congregation, at the commencement of his pastorate, seldom exceeded more than one hundred and fifty persons, but he entered on his work with courage and resolution. On the Sabbath he usually preached thrice in his own chapel, and once at the New Cross, in the open-air. On the week-day even- ings, he held prayer-meetings in various parts of the town, and by his twofold attention to his own people, and to the surrounding population, the in- fluence of the gospel was widely extended. The church was knit together in affection, and prepared 56 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. II. to welcome with earnest sympathy the converts gained by his evangelizing efifbrts. On the 18th of September, the Rev. Joseph j^^p ^^ Smith, fi'om Coventry, was ordained pastor Smith. of the church at Mosley Street. Mr. Smith had not been educated for the ministry, but went from mercantile pursuits to his new sphere in Manchester. He was popular as a preacher ; but having ruptured a blood-vessel, and acquired con- siderable property, he returned in a few years to secular business. As an illustration of the kind feeling cherished by Mr. "Roby towards his brethren, it may be men- tioned that when the new minister of Mosley Street, on the occasion just referred to, was seized with hemorrhage from the lungs, and was unable to go through with the service, the intelligence was con- veyed to Cannon Street before the communicants had sat down at the Lord's Table. Mr. Roby took his people with him to Mosley Street Chapel, and administered the ordinance of the Lord's Supper at the same time. Both the churches, as well as the ministers, were deeply affected by ^ the incident. The Rev. James Turner, of Knutsford, in a sketch of Mr. Roby, says :— *' My first knowledge of Mr. Roby was about the year 1798. I had come a youth into Manchester, and having been brought up with a partiality to the denomination of which Sketch o J ^^^ ^ minister, I attended, somewhat carelessly, JVlr. itODV by Rev. ' at Cannon Street Chapel for a year or two before I Jani(8 ^^^ _^ introduction to him. He was then, it seems, Turner. '' about thirty-four years of age ; but from my recollec- tion of his solidity and gravity, I cannot but be surprised to CHAP. II.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 57 think that he was no older. He seemed to have the prudence and wisdom of his later years. At this time, his church and congregation consisted almost entirely of very plain people, to whom he was a most appropriate pastor. He might be truly said to have the oversight of them. I remember his affectionate and anxious concern and attention to cherish the first appearance of religious feeling visible in any among them, and the deep interest he took in the spiritual prosperity of the meanest of the flock. He frequently attended meetings for conversation, which were held among his people, where his counsels were eminently conducive to their establishment in the truth and comfort of the gospel. "At this time the strain of his sermons was very fervid, and the style remarkably plain. His doctrine was prominently Calvinistical ; yet in my view this was not the most visible and striking quality of his discourses. I should rather fix upon the faithful and searching delineation of character by which they were distinguished. I well remember the sermons and the texts in which the self-righteous moralist, the legalist, the formalist, the worldly, the votary of unlawful pleasure, the philosophical despiser of the Gospel, and various other characters were all weighed in the balances of the Divine Word and found wanting. Indeed, I have reason to remember it, for if ever preachino- was made useful to me, this was undoubtedly the time ; the deep convictions of my sinful and erring state, with which I often departed from hearing him are never to be forgotten, and my case was not a singular one. His ministry was remarkably blessed at this period, particularly to a number of young people. The deep sense of religious things which then extensively prevailed among his people was such as I have never been favoured to witness in any other instance. Mr. Roby's preaching at this time, and I believe at all times, turned much upon topics calculated to illustrate in all its bearings the great doctrine of justification by faith alone. As Luther considered this principle of the greatest importance to the standing or falling of churches Mr. Koby thought it equally so to the standing or falling of individual men." CHAPTER, III. In the ranks of Evangelical Nonconformity, none stood higher in his day than David Bogue.* He David was born at Hallydown, in the parish of Bogue. Coldingham, Berwickshire, February 18, 1760. At twelve, he "was sent by his parents to study for the ministry in the University of Edinburgh, where he spent nine years. After taking his degree in 1771, he was licensed to preach, and expected to enter upon the parochial charge of his native place ; but from umbrage taken at the opposition of his father in a controversy respecting patronage, he was excluded from the preferment, and made his way to London. In 1772 he preached his first sermon in the pulpit of Mr. Muir, a Scotch minister in Wapping. For a time he was engaged as assistant to the Rev. William Smith (who gathered a congregation in the "Mansion House," Camberwell), and in a lecture at Silver Street. He was invited in 1776 to take the charge of the Scotch church at Amsterdam, but after a visit to Holland, he declined the appointment. In the following year he accepted the pastoral care of a Congregational church at Gosport, reconciling parties who had before been painfully divided. Shortly after his settlement, at the request of Mr. George * Dr. Bennet's Life of Dr. Bogue. CHAP. III.] CONGEEGATTONAL HISTORY. 59 Welch, of London, lie undertook the care of young men to be educated for the work of the ministry. During their detention with the fleet at Gosport, Captain Robert Haldane and his brother Alexander (also a naval captain) made his acquaintance, and were directed by him in the choice of books. A warm friendship was formed between them, which led to important results. Massive in form, in intellect and in character, the influence of Mr. Bogue was naturally commanding; his genial disposition rendered him equally attractive. His ministerial brethren of the county were deeply impressed by the first sermon that he published, on " The great importance of having right sentiments in religion," preached before them at Ring wood in 1778, and from that time recognized him as a leader worthy of their confidence and esteem. His grand aim was to secure a wider and more active dissemination of the gospel. Whilst stimu- lating Christian effort at home and on the Continent, he proposed plans of operation limited only by the extent of the globe and the entire mass of its popu- lation. He reminded the churches of the words of the Divine Redeemer, " The field is the world," and of His last command. In a sermon preached at Salters' Hall, London, in Saiters- 1792, he contrasted the rapid spread of "^^^''i^^^. Christianity in former ages with its slow progress in his own time, and attributed the miserable condition of the human race to the sad and culpable neglect of those who had been put in trust with the gospel, and urged the necessity of immediate effort to make it known to the ends of the earth. The words of the 60 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. III. preacher were not suffered to fall to the ground. The Warwickshire Association began in earnest to consider tlie matter, as we find in the following minutes : — " Warwick, June 27, 1793. — At a meeting of ministers held this day in Warwick, this question was proposed and debated. — ' What is the duty of Christians with respect to the at Warwick, spread of the gospel ? ' After some conversation, the following resolutions were agreed to : — "1. It appears to us that it is the duty of all Christians to employ every means in their power to spread the knowledge of the gospel both at home and abroad. " 2. As ministers of churches solemnly engaged by our office to exert ourselves for the glory of God and the spiritual good of man, we unite in the determination to promote this great design in our respective connexions. " 3. We will immediately recommend to our friends the formation of a fund for the ahove puiyose, and report progress at the next meeting. " 4. That the first meeting of every month, at seven o'clock in the evening, be a season for united prayer to God for the success of every attempt made by all denominations of Christians for the spread of the gospel." ]\Ir. Bogue, whilst supplying the pulpit of the tabernacle at Bristol, in conjunction with Meeting ^^^ Steveu, of Loudon, was invited by Tabernacle, j)y. Kyland to hear the letters read which Bristol. '' he had just received from Carey and Thomas respecting their missions in India. A con- ference was held at the Tabernacle house, at which the ministers present resolved that public attention should be called to the subject. To stir up the Congregational churches, Mr.- Bogue sent a letter to the " Evangelical Magazine," dated August 26, 1794, in which he says : — ■ CHAP, in.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. 61 " All other bodies of professiug Christians have done, and are doing, something for the conversion of the heathen. The labours of the Church of Rome have been far more abundant than those of all other sects whatever. Oh, that M'V^^^ to ' Oongre- thej had but conveyed Christianity ^jwre to the gational blinded Pagans. The Church of England has a f^^^''^'^'' society of considerable standing for the propagation of the gospel. The Kirk of Scotland supports a similar institu- tion. The Moravian Brethren have, if we consider their num- bers and their substance, excelled in this respect the whole Christian world. Of late the Methodists have exerted themselves with a most commendable zeal. An association is just formed by the Baptists for this benevolent purpose, and their first missionaries have already entered on their work. Tf^e alone are idle. There is not a body of Christians in the country but ourselves, but have put their hand to the plough. We alone (and it must be spoken to our shame) have not sent messengers to the heathen to pro- claim the riches of redeeming love. It is surely full time that we had hegiin ; we are able ; our numbers are great; the wealth of many thousands of individuals is considerable. I am confident that very many among us are willing, nay, desirous, to see such a work set on foot, and will contribute liberally of their substance for its support. Nothing is ivanting hut for some 'persons to stand forward and begin." The response of the associations in the country was prompt and cordiaL The Warwickshire Asso- ciation resolved — " That Dr. Williams be desired to draw up a letter, to be inserted in the ' Evangelical Magazine,' approving of a letter in the last number of that work, recommending that the Independents should tmite in sending missionaries Country abroad to preach the gospel to the heathen, and Associa- expressing their readiness as an associated body to concur with our fellow-Christians in such a measure when it shall be brought forward." A series of letters on the subject of missions was then published by Melville Horne, an Episcopal 62 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. III. clergyman. Dr. Haweis, rector of Aid winkle, was SO impressed by his statements, that he offered £500 " for the equipment of the first missionaries that should be sent." At a casual meeting of ministers in Dr. Williams' library, John Eyre, a clergyman at Homerton, and principal editor of the " Evangelical at Dr!°^ Magazine," called the attention of Alex- WiUiams- ANDER Waugh, John Love, and James library. ' ' Steven, ministers in London, to the *' Letters on Missions." On leaving the library, Mr. Eyre called on Matthew Wilks, minister of the Tabernacle, to talk over the matter. They agreed to meet again, and each engaged to bring a friend. Their numbers increased to seven or nine persons, when it was determined to hold a meeting once a fortnight for prayer and reading of Scriptures, on the subject, at the " Castle and Falcon," Aldersgate Street, kept at the time by Mr. Dupont, who, with his family, attended Spa Fields Chapel, or the Tabernacle. In the beginning of November, Mr. Bogue visited London, and on the 4th of that month attended a meeting at Baker's Coffee House, in Change Alley, Cornhill, the place to which the Dissenting ministers came for an hour or two every Tuesday forenoon for general conversation on any public question. It was agreed by the brethren present, that for the purpose of greater convenience, a suitable room for con- ference and prayer should be engaged at the " Castle and Falcon." The first meeting held there by them, on January 8, 1795, was attended by Eyre, Wilks, CHAP. III.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. 63 Steven, Simpson, tutor of Hoxton Academy ; Love, of Artillery Street; Williams, of Rose Lane; Nicholson, of Chesbunt ; and Cockin, of Jt°"^caTtie' Halifax. Conffreg-ationalists, Evangelical anci Falcon," 1795 Churclimen, Presbyterians, and ministers of tbe Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion were thus brougbt into fraternal association. A fortnight afterwards they prepared a declaration of their desire to promote the organization of a Missionary Society. George Bueder, pastor of the church in Vicar Lane, Coventry, also prepared an appeal on the subject, of which fifteen thousand copies were distributed. The *' declaration " was approved at a meeting held on the 17th of February, and signed by the ministers present, and others by whom it was adopted. Earnest as the promoters of the design appear to have been in London, we learn from the minutes of the Warwickshire Association, held at Stretton, April 1, 1795, that their progress was not deemed altogether satisfactory. " A printed address to the ' serious and zealous professors of the gospel,' respecting an attempt to evangelize the heathen, having been sent from a committee in adopted at London, who are attempting to form a society for S'l'etton, that purpose, a number of the same were distributed among the ministers, and it was recommended to them to pro- mote a general distribution of them among friends. " The following question was also canvassed : ' What can be done to encourage a foreign mission ? ' After some conversation it was resolved to open a correspondence with the committee in London engaged in that design, and particularly to inquire into the present state of the business, and what is the cause of the present delay, a general meeting in London having been expected daily in the spring or summer. " Thursday morning, met exactly at six. The ministers gave 64 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. III. a general account of their respective churches and congregations. There appeared to be on the whole an increase. Some encourag- ing circumstances were mentioned ; but a general revival, a greater pouring out of the Spirit, seemed to be much needed. " They also gave some account of their personal experiences, which was very edifying. " Resolved — That our brethren, Sir Egerton Leigh, Little, and Burder, be desired to attend at a general meeting in London, September 22nd, next, as delegates from this Association, to assist in jnomotlng a Missionary Society, to attempt the spread of the gospel among the heathen.'' At the time appointed, the representatives of the churches assembled in the Metropolis, not free from solicitude, but animated with hope and moved by a common impulse. Matthew Wilks, to prepare his people for the great occasion, preached a sermon on the previous Sabbath from the words, " Oh, send out thy light." A preliminary meeting was held on Monday evening, the 21st of September, 1795, in the large room at the " Castle and Falcon " (at which ^ir Egerton Leigh, Bart., presided), to receive from Mr. Eyre the plan and constitution of the proposed society, and to read the applications from the persons offering themselves as missionaries, and other correspondence. A spirit of unanimity prevailed, and the proceed- ings of the committee were cordially approved. On the following day, the public solemnities commenced at the Countess of Huntingdon's chapel, First Meet- ^P^ Fields, then called Northampton ingofthe Chapel. The people flocked with eager- London ^ ■"■ . ^ Misfiouary ncss to tlic meeting, and multitudes were °"^ ^' unable to gain admission. The excitement was extraordinary, but tempered by the wisdom CHAr. III.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 65 and prudence of the ministers who conducted the service. When the hymn composed by Heber — " O'er the gloomy hills of darkness, Look, my soul — be still and gaze," etc., was sung, the emotions of the assembly were over- powering, and the strain was interrupted by the sobs and tears of the congregation. After a sermon from Dr. Haweis, from Mark xvi. 15, 16, those desirous of forming a Missionary Society were requested to occupy the body of the chapel ; but the crowd, unwilling to retire, scarcely allowed any change of place. Mr. Byre stated the plan of the proposed society, which was at once adopted by the assembly. At the closing service held in Tottenham Court Chapel, Mr. Bogue, in a masterly discourse from Haggai i. 2, met the objections of the opponents of Christian missions seriatim. Difference of opinion existed amongst the directors of the society, as to the best field for the first mission. Mr. Bogue pleaded Mission to earnestlv for India, but Dr. Haweis con- *^*' ^°^^^ , with Mr. Church, whom I accompanied to Petersfield, in Hamp- shire, and Mr. Griffin, who went to Midhurst, in Sussex — a place about ten miles distant — where he preached in the morning, and at Shotover Mill in the evening. The week he spent in Conversing with several pious people, with a view to his arrange- ments for future operations. On the succeeding Sabbath he preached again at Midhurst in the morning and in the evening at Radford, where he sickened as soon as he came out of the pulpit — the small- pox, which were of the malignant kind, made their appearance on the day following; and that day se'enniglit, the 29th of August, at ten o'clock in the morning, he died. His prayers were remarkably serious and fervent, and his preaching was so well received that the expectations of the people were raised very high. From the beginning of his illness he thought he should die, and expressed a desire that he might, if it were the will of God, but wished to be satisfied with his disposal either to live or die. His reason to the last was unimpared by the disease, and perceiving his end fast approaching he blessed God, and told a serious friend who attended him in liis illness, he desired to depart and to be with Jesus, and soon after this the Lord granted him tlie desire of his heart." * The mission began with this apostolic simpHcity, and brotherly affection was continued in the same spirit. Mr. Eyre, though a clergyman of the Church of England, was anxious, after the example of Mr. Simeon, of Cambridge,t to form religious societies, bearing some resemblances to churches of the Con- gregational order. Of the preliminary work in collecting congrega- tions we have full particulars in the correspondence of the itinerants. The letters of William Church were brief and simple. Writing to Mr. Eyre froui Petersfield, the 29th September, 1796, he says : — ■ * Hacknej MtilS. f -Pratt's Ecclectic Notes, p. 490. 70 COKGEEGATIOXAL HISTORY. [CHAP. IN. " I speut all last week in the neighbourhood of Shotter Mill and Radford, as you will see in the monthly account when I send it. I believe the Lord will do great things on that side. Yesterday, four or five of the friends met me in order to consider the temporal affairs of the place. "Feb. 21, 1797. — The work is going on in a very pleasing manner in my little circuit. Last night I preached for the first time at Priorsdean, about six miles from here. I had a very comfortable opportunity. I walked there and back, and was here by ten o'clock. I believe I shall continue to preach at Eastmeou. I had the last time about a hundred people to hear me. They behaved tolerably well. AVheu at your house you desired me to have a place for every night in the week; the Lord has made my way clear to obtain your wish, as you see in the little plan of my circuit, which I have drawn on the other side. I assure you, sir, I do not labour in vain. " Aug. fith, 1797.* — Please God, I hope to be in town next Monday and Tuesday se'enight, then I'll accept your invitation to ordain me." Cbristoplier Lee, wlio is mentioned in the church book of Haslemere as the first convert of the mission, testifies to the usefulness of Mr. Church. " He is a very active pious man," he says, " and though some may exceed him as a speaker, yet few in zeal and concern for the good of souls." EiCHAEi) Densham, another itinerant, was a man of "all work." His reports are ample and varied. He says : — * ''The Congrogationa] Society for ppreading the Gospel in England liad lately been instituted; Treasurer, Ebenezer Maitland, Esq., No. 13, King's Arms Yard, Coleman Street, is appointed treasurer, and the Rev. Joseph Brooksbank secretary for the present year. A committee is also chosen, con- sisting of seven ministers and seven other gentlemen, to conduct the business. The ministers are the Rev. Drs. Fisher and Stafford, and Messrs. Baron, Clayton, Humphrys, and Wall." — Missionary Miigazine, Vol. ii., 1797, p. 423. The first meeting of the Surrey Mission was held at Tootinu, August 1, 1797. The London Itinerant Society was fora.ed, and the Reading Evangelical Society, in the same ear. CHAP. III.] GONGREGATIO.NAL HIST()R\\ 71 " Petersfiekd, Fehfuanj 8, 1798. " The people still attend with great attention and seriousness in all my round, and at Petersfield the meeting still continues to be crowded. Last Sunday evening the place was R,it.hard filled before tbe time, and numbers could not get in ; Densliam at altliough the night was cold and dark, many stood out-of-doors and round the windows in the field. The appearances are pleasing, but we must not be too sanguine. T trust my chief prayer is that God miy bless His people." As tlie work prospered it became important to provide preaching-room. Densliam secured the sites, found materials, and became " clerk of the work." At Haslemere he writes : — " The people appear very anxious to have the place open ; agreeable to your directions, I ordered what was necessary for the decent accommodation of the people in the _. , Haslemere. cheapest manner. The walls white- washed and made decent with some small reparations, the forms sufficient to seat about one hundred and fiftj people, of oak slabs, which come very reasonable, and the pulpit moveable, something similar to those used by the Itinerant Society in the villages ; the whole of the expense will be little ; and suppose it shcmld not be continued, which I think there is no reason to doubt, it might be all removed. I expect to see it all completed on Saturday, except the windows. I cannot get old sashes of the size. I am informed that new lead lights will be nearly as cheap as old sashes. I think three windows for the present might be sufficient ; the size of the frames is 4 ft. 6 in. by 3 ft. 6 in. at one shilling per square foot; everything is ready but the glass. The place is registered as a place of worship in the Bishop's Court in London. Mr. Shotter was so kind as to get it done ; it is a very decent room. It is supposed that a great number of people will attend the opening ; many who have never heard the gospel have signified their intention of being there. It is much to be desired that you, sir, would, if possible, favour the people with your assistance ; and as it might be, probably, too much for you to attend to yourself, probably you might get some other minister to accompany you. Mr. Rowland Hill is, I believe, 72 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [OHAP. III. willing to forward the Lord's work as far as possible, and the people wish much all round to have the opportunity of hearing him, I trust I am not too extravagant in my requests, as I make no doubt you would have very large congregations, and I have promised the people, agreeable to their requests, to inform you of their wishes, not doubting if you judge it right, and it is con- venient, you will gratify them. The sooner it is opened the better, the place being so much more convenient than S hotter Mill.' Densham was expected with all liis " bodily exercise" to give attention to the improvement of his mind, but he had as many interruptions almost as a popular preacher in London. He says : — " I can give you a very poor account of my progress in grammatical acquirements, my time is so very much taken up in preacrhiuff, etc. Some weeks employed every day, Giammati- r e>' i ii i cal acquire- besides other necessary concerns and calls, and my ments. j^^^ round deprives me of many advantages which I mioht derive from my being nearer home, the accommodations in o-eneral being very unfavourable to mach study in that respect. My acquaintance with Claude * is by no means so extensive as I could wish : the former part of the week when I am at home, would willingly attend to Mr. Wesley's rule, never to be in bed after four in the morning ; but my constitution not being very strono-, I find I cannot well do it. I hope I find the Bible more and more precious. I am thankful, too, for your kind and salutary advice ; I hope the Lord will enable me to attend to it ; shall be always exceedingly glad of your directions ; hope you will com- municate to me tho.'^e things which by experience you have found necessary and essential in the work of God. Would it be proper for me to drop a few weeks entirely to the study of grammar, etc., provided a supply could be obtained for me ? " t Mr. Bogue kindly offered to give the earnest worker and student a little instruction in the Assisted by mystories of grammar during the period Mr. Bogue. ^ylien lie had more leisure. After this brief term he writes from Gosport, April 10th, 1799 : — * Claude on PreacLing. t Hackney MSS. CHAP. III.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 73 " The season of the year is now nearly come to renew our eiforts for the introduction of the Gospel in the villages, which will oblige me very soon to leave Gosport, my being with Mr. Bogue has been a great service to me. I shall finish ray lectures on preaching this week. I have gone through the different parts of speech, which will enable me to make iurther improvements in the English language at my leisure." Tlie chief impediment to his work, Densham found in the opposition of the clergy, who stopped the out-door relief of some poor people who attended the meetings. The Rev. Robert Hardy. M.A. (Curate of AYestbourne, Vicar of Stoughton and East Marsden, in Sussex, near Harting, and Chaplain to tlie Prince of Wales) published a pamphlet entitled " An Address to the Loyal Volunteer Corps of Great Britain," to warn them against seditious designs of the village itinerants, which was " much approved by some of the genteel people of Petersfield." Densham not yet " perfect" in English grammar, was no match for the royal chaplain, but at this juncture, James Bennett (born in London, james 22nd of May, 1774), one of the students of ^'"'''''■ Dr. Bogue, who had settled as pastor of the church at Romsey (in 1796), came to his help. He was quite prepared to meet any clerical pamphleteer, though as we shall soon see he had to flee from their physical-force auxiliaries. Densham reports to Mr. Eyre from Petersfield, October 2, 1800 : — "In my last I gave you a statement of our procedure up to Wednesday, August Gth, and informed you that I was to preach the same evening, Friday 8th, for the first time, in , 1 1 • , nr A 1- V Densham'3 a barn belonging to Mr, Ayhng, a young farmer jjeport of who haa lately come out, about two miles from Preaching, Radford ; which I did to about one hundred attentive ^" ^ ^° ' hearers, many of whom had never heard before, and we have reason to hope that some good was done, at least towards 74 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cilAP. 111. removing prejudice, as one man said lie had heard sufficient in one sermon to discover the falsehood of the remarks made by the clergyman of his parish on the Methodists. The farmer and his wife were both grieved and disappointed at her father and mother not attending, as they live very near them and promised to come ; but the parson the Sabbath day before told them that we were the false teachers, which prevented tlieir attendance. I have since written a letter to the clergyman on the subject, but he has taken no notice of it, nothing having transpired ; but I pray that it may have an effect on his own mind. Saturday, 9th, went to Harting. Sabbath, 10th, morning, 7 o'clock, preached at Harting from Romans viii. 28, to a very attentive congregation (^f about eighty persons ; from Harting I went to Rogate, accompanied by several friends ; and a good number of people belonging to the parish and other places assembled, but the opposition was so violent and the noise so great, as to render it impossible for me to preach. 1, however, remained on the spot the whole of the time I should have taken for the service. The rioters continued walking to and fro by us in procession, with bells, horns, and other rough instruments, and kicking and throwing up the dust in an awful manner ; only one egg was thrown, owing, I suppose, to our situation rendering their throwing any thing impractic-able without being detected. This was continued till the bells rung for church, when tlie churchwarden came and obliged them to desist, which they were no doubt glad to do, as they must be quite exhausted with fatigue. I then went into the church, and read- ing some Scriptures which were written on the walls, furnished me with some suitable matter to address the people. On going ao-ain into the churchyard I found the people collecting for church, and endeavoured to distribute some tracts among them, but it was with great difficulty I prevailed on any of the people to accept them ; but after reasoning with a man on the impropriety and dishoutsty of rejecting and condemning per^ons or things without proper investigation, and exhorting him to read it with candour, I prevailed, and he assured me he would. After which many more of them followed his example. By this time the number of people was increased very considerably, and I addressed the whole of them in the most suitable manner 1 could ; and afterwards the rioters, who stood very quiet before me, p(nuting out to them their awful state, and the danger of obeying CHAP. ITJ.] CONGiiEGATIONAL HISTORY. 75 those wicked farmers who were their employers, in persecuting the truth of Gijd, I then addressed the churchwarden who just made his appearance, and expressed my regret that the clergyman was not come to see the state of his flock and the necessity of obeying the coTumand of God written upon the walls of the church, Isaiah Iviii. 1, 'Cry aloud, etc' I waited till half-past twelve o'chock hoping to see the parson, but he did not come. I can only say if we can pi^ocure a place it would be well to go to their assist- ance. " Went from Rogate to Westmeon, thirteen miles, and preached at half-past two to a large attentive congregation out of doors, from Rom. i. 16. Nothing particular transpired there. Many expressed by their countenances, and others by their words, their thankfulness for the services. Went to Eastmeon, three miles, and preached at six o'clock from Ezek. xviii. 27, to a good number of attentive hearers. Monday, 11th. Went to Alresford. Met 2Ir. Bennett of Homsey, Mr. Grriffith of Alton, and Mr. Adams of Winchester, with several friends from diffe- rent places. At half-past six, we commenced the service for the first time. After singing, I prayed, and Mr. Bennett preached from John iii. 36. A good number of children came into the room ; but the grown persons who were there stood at the door and the windows, and a few appeared to hear with attention. After Mr. Bennett concluded, I addressed the people from the windows, stating to them our motives for going there, assuring them that we had no intention or desire to oppose the Church, but only to recommend to them the very truths they profess to believe, and that they might judge of our principles. We would after service distribute some little tracts which contain the substance of our religious principles. I then reminded them of our religious liberties, that every person had a right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and entreated the same candour from theia which we wished to show to others ; but lest there should be any inclined to act otherwise, we thought it our duty to apprize them that the place was licensed according to the laws of the country. After reading the licence, I dismissed the people with the blessing, and gave notice that there would be preaching the next week. We gave away a good number of tracts, and the greatest eagerness was manifested to obtain them by young and old. The harvest now 70 CU>iGREGAT10NAL HISTORY. [CHAP. III. prevented our further exertions on the week days. Preached on Wednesday at Petersfield as usual. Sabbath, 17th, morning, preached at Petersfield from Phil. iii. 13, 14. In the afternoon went to Westmeon, nine miles, and preached at two o'clock from Acts xvi. 30, 31. A large congregation assembled with serious, ness ; but whde I was in prayer we were distuibed by several men, who came with flutes, etc., to the place, purposely to interrupt us. Finding it impossible to proceed with the worship, I immediately withdrew into the house, but the room would not contain one-third of the congregation. I, however, endeavoured to make as many hear me as I could, notwithstanding they con- tinued their music during the whole service. Went in the evening to Eastmeon, and preached to a good attentive congrega- tion from Acts xxvi. 28, and returned to Petersfield after preach- ing. Monday; 18th, according to appointment at Alresford, Mr. Bennett prayed, Mr. Griffith, of Alton, preached from Rom. X. 1, and I concluded with prayer. More people attended than before, and were quiet during the service, and we published preaching there again next week ; but when we came into the street the whole town appeared to be in arms, they had placed the engine in our way to the inn, purposely to play on us as we passed ; and after I was on horseback, they insulted me in the most shameful manner, not only by playing the engine, but by hissing, and even stoning me out of the town. Mr. Bennett and his friends, who tvent the contrary road, escaped without much in- sult; but Mr. Griffith and the Alton friends le.^t the town literally at the hazard of their lives. They took one gentleman's horse out of the stable and cut the bridle in pieces, and it was with difficulty he got his horse, and was obliged to ride home with a halter. Mr. G. with his friend, who came in a chaise, were obliged to leave the town incog., and send their chaise a mile before them. Many stones were thrown at them, but they were all mercifully preserved. But notwithstanding the persecution, it v\as our wish to persevere, had not several circumstances occurred in the course of the week unfavourable, and which we thought would warrant our declining it at present. The gentle- man whose room we preached in, sent me a very polite note expressing his sorrow at the treatment we had met with, and the improbability of our success, and wishing us to give up the room, as he intended immediately to tell the premises, and the CHAP. III.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 77 innkeeper also entreated that we would decline going to his house, on account of the threats of the inhabitants ; these things, together with indisposition, made me decline going the next week, though I am persuaded, that could a room be procured for a loHger time, it would be our duty to make a further effort, not to suffer them to insult us and triumph, when we are equally protected by the laws with themselves, and particularly as there are many respectable persons who would attend, could it be estab- lished. I have been informed that since we left, the parson has preached a sermon on the occasion, and a general meeting of the inhabitants was called in order to pyevent our coming. Sabbath, Sept. 7, I preached for the second time in Mr. Ayling's barn, by particular desire, from Heb. x. 23. It being the same text on which the clergyman preached, to prove the Methodists to be the false teachers." The tumult at length subsided. The clergy found that acts of open violence created Tumult sympathy in the more thoughtful of their subsided, parishioners. Mr. Densham made a more favourable report : — " Petersfielu, October 20, 1800. " Dear Sir, — It is with much pleasure, I can assure you, that our places are well attended, and that the number of hearers in several of them increase. " According to your request, I will give you a brief statement of our present circuit. Its extent is about twenty miles ; we regulai'ly attend eight places, and preach to about seven hundred hearers, on an average, weekly. Besides these, we have occa- sionally preached in nine other places to good congregations, some of which promise very fair of success, if proper rooms could be procured for preaching, and regular attention be paid to them. "We have seven schools, each of them attended regularly every evening and on Sabbath mornings, in which about two hundred children are instructed ; and besides the persons who are employed and paid to instruct them, many of our serious friends have agreed to attend alternately to assist also. "Our societies consist of about seventy persons who are 78 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. _ [CHAP. III. communicants at the Lords Table; and we Lave reason to believe that many more who have not yet come forward to declare what God hath done for their souls, and are under serious impressions that God is eminently at work in the midst of us. '' I cannot refrain from expressing our gratitude to God for His great goodness towards us. The change is truly wonderful in this country since I came here, now three years ago. The prejudice, which was very strong against the Methodists, has in a great degree subsided ; and many who were in total darkness are now rejoicing in God their Saviour ; while others are seeking the Lord, and inquiring their way to Zion." The work of the Itinerant Society was followed up by the Hampshire Association and the Surrey Union . Though deeply interested in the itinerant work, the heart of Mr. Bogue was in India, and he readily accepted a noble and generous offer of Mr. !^Ki u^r'' Haldane to accompany him (with the Rev. dane move- Grrcville Ewlug aud others), at his expense, to establish a mission in Bengal. In their repeated applications to the East India Company for permission to go out to India, they had the active and zealous co-operation of the Nonconformist churches throughout the country. A circular in the following terms was sent out to the secretaries of the various religious societies, asking their support : — "Rev. Sir, — Believing you and your brethren deeply inte- rested in the propagation of Christianity, and desirous of being , ^ instrumental in sending the gospel to the uttermost Circular to i • i , ^ i i i Religioua parts of the earth, and especially to those whom Societies. Divine Providence has placed under the British Government, we take the liberty of addressing you upon this occasion. " We are associated with some other ministers and stewards of Jesus Christ, and are ready and desirous to go out to Bengal CHAP. Hi.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 79 with our families, and spend our lives'in instructing the nati\e3 in the principles of true religion, We have a sufficient fund among ourselves to enable us to execute our plans, and all that we want is the leave of the India Company to go out. " For this purpose we have addressed a letter to the Board of Directors, requesting their permi.-sion and acquiescence. This letter was presented to them on Tuesday last, and was read to the court, and referred to a committee of correspondence for further consideration. In this state of things, were a letter respectfully written to the Court of Directors stating the interest you take in the business, and which you are persuaded the whole Christian world will also feel in it, and recommending the matter to their serious attention, to be presented and signed by your denomination, we are persuaded it would have a very powerful effect. We beg, therefore, that you, sir, will endeavour to meet your brethren as soon as possible upon this business, and lay this letter before them. When we consider that the question is not whether a few individuals shall he alloived to go to India to propagate the religion of this countrtj, hut whether twenty-four merchants are to exclude the gospel of Jesus Christ from ten millions of our fellow-subjects, we are persuaded you and your hrethren tvill feel the most lively concern in the business, and that nothing further need be said to stimulate your zeal. It is a common cause — the cause of God and the Redeemer of the souls of men. You will see the necessity of losing no time, lest our application should be rejected, and before your letter be sent. Should you wish to correspond with us, direct to the Rev. Mr. Bogue? Gosport. " We are, Eev. Sir, " Tour most obedient servants, " Greville Ewing, " Robert Haldane. '• London, December 22, 1796. " P.S.— When you write your letter to the Court of Directors, please enclose it to Mr. Hardcastle, Ducksfoot Lane, who will have the goodness to give it to the secretary in the India House." * * Dr. Rippoii's MSS. so CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. III. In compliance with this request, letters were sent like the following : — '■ To the Honourable Court of Directors of the United Company of Merchants trading to the East Indies. " The Directors of the (London) Missionary Society, deeply affected by the interests of humanity, and in a more special T.etter of manner solicitous to impart the blessings of revela- Directors of f.Joj^ to tlie heathen, cannot but express their earnest ]\Iis8ionary ^"pe that the design of sending the gospel of Jesus Society. Christ to the millions which the Divine Providence has placed under the dominion of the Honourable Company, will meet with the approbation of the Directors. " It is iDi essential principle in the constitution of the Mission- ary Society, that iio views, commercial or political, can enter into their plans ; and it cannot hut conduce to the safety of every state, as well as the good of individuals to inculcate the duties of Chris- tianity so jmiverfully connected with its doctrines and promises. " We conceive that every government which can communi- cate these inestimable blessings, owes them in the highest manner to its subjects. And we hope the purity of our inten- tions will plead an apology for our application in support of the request for this object, which now lies before the Honourable Court, from Eobert Haldane, Esq., and others. Fully persuaded of the excellency of their motives, and the probability of their usefulness, we beg leave strongly to recommend the request of the above-mentioned members of our Society to the favourable attention of the Honourable Court. " By order of the Directors, James Neale, Chairman. " London, December 27, 1796. John Love, Secretary." * Turning to the Minutes of the East India Com- pany, we learn their decision on the subject : — " At a Committee of Correspondence, 11th of January, ]797 — 'Pursuant to reference of Court, of the 28th ult., the committee considered a letter from Messrs. Robert Minute ot t /-, n n • East India Haldane, David Bogue, and breville Jliwing, request- Court, iyg ^Q proceed to India with their families, and reside in the Company's territories, for the purpose of making * Loudon Missionary Society's M?S. CHAP. III.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 81 the gospel knowD to the natives. of India; and the committee having hkewise considered the reference of Court of the 30th ult 4th and 10th instant, from the Directors of the Missionary Society m London, and from several of the ministers of the gospel, resident in London, or in connexion of the late Rev John Wesley, from several Dissenting ministers resident in ilampshire and Warwickshire; also an address from the Stirlino- Society m Scotland, for propagating the gospel among heathens" recommend to the Court's attention the above application The committee have prepared an answer to Messrs. Haldane Boo-ue and Ewmg, which they submit to the Court for their approba- tion ; and m the event of the said letter receiving the Court's sanction, they recommend that a copy of the same be sent by the secretary to the several other societies who have recom- mended Messrs. Haldane's application to the Court's favourable ^°^^^^-' "David Scott. " Read m Court. Id. die. " John Manship. " William Bensley. " George Tatem."* Subjoiued is the letter sent in accordance with the Minute :— " East India Hodse, Jamianj, 12, 1797. " Gentlemen,— The Court of Directors of the East India Company have had under consideration your letter of the 29th ultimo, requesting permission to proceed to India with your fomilies, and reside on the Company's Reply of territories, for the purpose of instructing the natives -^'rectors, of India in the knowledge of the Christian religion ; and I have received the Court's commands to acquaint you that how- ever convinced they may be of the sincerity of your motives, and the zeal with which you appear to be actuated, in sacrificing your personal convenience to the religious and moral purposes described in your letter ; yet the Court have weighty and sub- stantial reasons which induce them to decline a compliance with your request. -I am, gentlemen, your most obedient, humble «^^^a^t' "William Ramsay, Secretary. " To Robert Haldane, Esq. ; the Rev. David Bogue ; the Rev. Greville Evving:." * No. I., 83. Minutes of Correspondence, 82 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. III. After the election of new Directors, a further petition was presented : — The friends of the Haldane Mission, connected with the " three denominations," anxious to learn the result of their memorial, in answer to an inquiry of the chairman, received the following communica- tion : — "Keveeend Sib, — In reply to your inquiry respecting the Letter of memorial of the Board of Dissenting Ministers, in Mr. Cowie ^^^ about London, presented a considerable time back Den'ominr *« ^^^ Directors of the East India Company, I, as one tions. " of the committee chosen by Messrs. Bogue and Haldane, and the other gentlemen, to assist in conducting their application for leave to proceed to Bengal, beg leave to state the following particulars : — " The Directors of the East India Company having suddenly declined the first overture of the above-mentioned gentlemen, without entering into the merits of the case, and without assign- ing any reasons for withholding their support of so truly good and benevolent a plan, it was judged prudent by Mr. Bogue and his worthy associates to enter at large into the subject, and to back this their second memorial, with applications from all the religious bodies of men in the United Kingdom, that felt the importance and acknowledged the necessity of convening the inestimable blessings of the gospel to the extensive and populous territories of the British Empire in Hindostau. In consequence of this plan of procedure, the memorial of our fiieuds was not presented until May last, seconded by that from the reverend Board which you inquire after, and a very great number of petitions, memorials, letters from various Synods and Presby- ters in Scotland, all the Missionary secretaries of that country, and from associations of ministers in many towns and countries in England, also from the ministers in Dublin. But to these numerous and respectable applications the India Directors have not yet thought propi r to return any answer. Nor have they come to any final decision on the proposition of Messrs. Bogue, Haldane, and the others, which they have, also, not yet answered. CHAP. II J.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 83 " We understand that the subject has been under discussion, and they have requested one gentleman of their own body, who has for some years teen endeavouring to obtain free admission for ministers of the Qospel to their territories in India, to arrange his sentiments on the suhject in a general point of view, and print them for the use and consideration of the Directors.''^ " Thus stands the matter at present, and from all that has taken place our friends can only draw this conclusion — that the Court of Directors are not disposed hastily to reject or approve their application; but, on the contrary, to give it a fair hearing, "which, indeed, the chairman engaged for previous to the presen- tation of it to the Court. " I am, with much respect and esteem, rev. gentlemen, " Your faithful humble servant, " ROBEET CowiE.* "Highbury, 2nd April, 1798." The East India Directors made no sign. Wearied out with the suspense and toil, Mr. Bogue returned to the north. Writing to his friend, Rev. Greorge Burder,t from Hallydown, near Berwick, July 5, 1797, he says : — " The aflPair in which 1 am engaged is still uncertain. The memorial, which has been followed by a petition ^ ^^ ' 1 Letter of supported by a number of letters, has had such Mr. Bogue weisrht, that on waiting; on Mr. Inoflis, the chairman jf ^'■• D ' Burder. of the directors, he professed to Mr. Haldane and me, that it was a matter of very great importance both to India and this country. * It demands,' he said, ' very serious con- sideration.' They were deliberating on it ; several of them had not yet made up their minds ; but they would determine in the space of three weeks. AV^e informed them of our determination to persevere, and to apply to the House of Lords, and to the King, and the House of Commons, and then to lay the whole before the public ; that we did not think we had done our duty to God and to the souls of men till we bad taken all these steps in order to open a door to the heathen. He heard all with good * Minutes of Three Denominationa. t Life of Rev. George Burder. By his Son. .84 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. III. temper, and treated us with great politeness. You will be sur- prised to hear that Mr. P- , a man of religion in the estima- tion of the evangelical clergy, is an enemy to the mission to Bengal. What a dreadful thing it is for a disciple of Christ to be an enemy to the advancing of His kingdom in the world ! I am now on a journey to Scotland for my health, and have already found it of sohie benefit to me. I was so indifferent for some time before I set off, as to be unable to do more than the abso- lutely necessary business of the pastoral office, or you would have heard from me.'' The Directors still remained silent, and Mr. Hardcastle, the treasurer of the London Missionary Society, intimately acquainted with Grant, Wilber- force, and Thornton, advised the suspension of the design. Mr. Bogue yielded to his judgment, and wrote from Gosport, April 27, 1798 : — " Your kind letter, relative to our India business, I received, and immediately communicated the contents to Mr. Haldane, -J- , r recommending him to postpone application to the Mr. Boffue Company till they had leisure to attend to it, and to Mr Hard- ^^^ ]^,jj. Q^ant had dehvered all his remarks on the business. The proposal met with his approbation, and he expressed himself willing to wait for a considerable time. I have some hopes that he will be at the meeting of the Missionary Society, when we shall have an opportunity of consulting per- sonally on the business. Perhaps the state of public affairs may prevent the rulers both of England and India from attending to such things at present. Events succeed each other so rapidly as to leave us at utter uncertainty even to conjecture what God is going to do." The missionary "associates," however disap- pointed in their plans, did not indulge in vain regret. Their obligation to serve the cause of Christ re- mained in all its force, and their desire to labour was only increased by the temporary check. Mr. Haldane invited the Rev. Rowland Hill to accompany CHAP. III.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 85 him to Scotland as an evangelist. As theyjourneyed northward Mr. Hill preached in various towns and villages — in churches, in chapels, or in the open air. At Gosport, Mr. Haldane entered into serious con- ference with Mr. Bogue respecting his future opera- tions for the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom. Mr. James Haldane had for some time been engaged amidst great opposition, in itinerant preaching, and he was now to be reinforced with additional pecuniary means and new Christian agencies. The faith of the churches interested in Missions w^as severely tried by the sad tidings received by the Directors of the new society from the South Seas. On the 31st of March, 1798, o/the South eleven of the missionaries in Tahiti left ^^* ^'^' • 8ion. the island in the ship Nautilus for Port Jackson, in South Wales. Six only remained at their post. Three missionaries escaped from Tonga- taboo on the 24th of January, after the murder of their companions (Bowell, Gualton, and Harper), and returned to England. The ship Duff, on her second voyage with twenty-nine missionaries and their wives, was captured on the 18tli of July, 1799, and all on board made prisoners of war, pillaged, and then left destitute on a foreign shore. A suc- cession of terrible disasters like these naturally pro- duced a feeling of doubt and consternation in the minds of some ; but the mystery of providence was gradually cleared up, by a better acquaintance with the circumstances, and by the over-ruling of the events that had occurred to the furtherance of the gospel. John Jefferson, Thomas Lewis, John Harris, 86 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. III. Henry Bicknell, Henry Nott, and John Eyre, in a joint communication to the Directors, dated Otaheite, Matavai District, March 29, 1798, state : — "The change that has taken place in our situation, by the sudden resolution of the major part of the Society of Missionaries to depart from this island of Otaheite for Port Jackson in New „ ,, Holland, we trust will nothino; hinder that work, Sudden re- , . , „ . , -, , m ' • j. xi, treat of the which first induced us to otter our services to tJie Missionaries, Directors of the Missionary Society, supported us under the heavy trial of forsaking parents, brothers, sisters, friends, etc., and still encourages us patiently to abide the will of God concerning us on this island. We can only assure the Directors of tlie Society, our confidence is in the strength of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose aid we dejjend upon, and whose servants we desire to manifest ourselves to le. We also humbly request the Directors of the Missionary Society not to forget us, either in their prayers or revisiting us, if any favourable opportunity of so doing should occur. We do not expect, nor solicit, that the Missionary Society should put themselves to any further expense on our account ; but if the Directors should judge it prudent and find it convenient to set out a few presents for those who have or shall show themselves most friendly towards us — such as knives, scissors, a few axes, and such like aiticles — they will be gratefully received. Experience has taught us, the more we are cumbered with worldly things, the less con- cern we have for the conversion of the heathen ; and the more we are detached from secular employment, the more, we trust, our minds will be attached to the propagation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Otalieite affords food and raiment suitable to its climate, and sufficient to answer the great end of providence in granting us these blessings ; and havmg those things, we hope the Lord will teach us to be content." * Mr. Eyre (the Missionary), in a letter dated Matavai, December 27, 1799, manifests the same ■ spirit of deep submission to the divine will, and concern for the conversion of the natives. * Missionary Magaziue. CHAP. III.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. * 87 " Oh, wliat a blessed thiug it is for the soul to be kept in an even poise, and steadily endeavouring to diffuse the savour of the knowledge of Christ, when disappointments are multiplying upon us. It is true, He sometimes suiFers Jq^^^ jj^j.^ our imaginations to have a little scope, and our (*lie Mis- hearts to be somewhat elated with a prospect of 17*99'^^ success upon our labours, when a few concurring events seem to favour our designs. But does He not often send a nipping east wind, whereby many buds and blossoms, yea, young and tender fruits, are blighted, so that our hope and patience are put to the trial ? What unwarrmitaUe expectations were in the minds of many, perhaps, in England, when thirty missionaries left England for the South Sea Islands; yea, how husy were some in lifting them up upon the pinnacle of imaginary honours, whereas we had not yet buckled 071 our harness. God hath been sweeping us and sifting us, and what He hath still farther to do with us, He only knows ; but sure I am, He will make both the heathen and His own know that He is the Lord who sanctifieth Israel, when His sanctuary is in the midst of them. What will be the issue in England from these unexpected events which have already taken place, and which may still occur, con- cerning us and the poor heathen, time will manifest. But I do earnestly entreat of the Lord that Directors and Missionaries may evidence to an ungodly world their honest, holy, increasing afection for Christ and His cause, by persevering through all discourage- ments; sousing the sacred sword, that their hands and hearts may be well employed, and their knees kept from waxing feeble. " It is likely it will add to your disappointment to hear that I am far from being able to preach Christ to these poor heathens ; but shall I through pride and impatience, withdraw and forsake them ? What becomes of my name and reputation is of no con- sequence, when compared with the dishonour which may fall upon the name and interest of our blessed Lord, from such con- duct. What knowledge of it I have through grace obtained, the hope He hath given me, not only in His word in general, but some particular promises, with my private and public de- votedness to the service of Christ among the heathens, and my obligation to the Lord, and to the Directors. I judge each to be an indisputable argument for my perseverance in the name and strength of Christ. 88 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. IN. " The eye and hand of God have been so constantly on us for good, that our mercies have been more numerous than our moments. Notwithstanding my situation here is peculiar, my loife heing the only ivoman on these heathen shores that left our native country, yet I have observed, I think, that the Lord hath been crowning our unworthy heads with such tokens of His loving kindness and tender mercies, as to give us to understand we are in that situation wliich He is best pleased with. Cease not to pray for us, though unworthy the blessing, while we remain, yours in the Lord, " T. and E. Eyre." The retreat of the missionaries to Fort Jachson brought them into important relations ivith Netv South „ , , Wales, (so called by Captain Cook, from its Settlement ' ^ J r ' ofFugi- supposed resemblance to Sontli Wales.) tive Mis- , . , -i i sionariesat When the great Circumnavigator sailed NeviTsouth along tlic coast, he discovered a small vs^uieB. inlet, which he named Broken Bay, and which he regarded as a mere boat harbour. Captain Arthur Philips, who conveyed the first settlers to those shores, explored this remarkable inlet, and found to his surprise, that it was one of the noblest harbours in the world. Leaving the lono: swell of the ocean for the smooth waters of the bay, a scene of refreshing beauty and magni- ficence opened to his view ; the rocky shore on each side stretching from heights of two hundred feet to the waters, with a frame to the picture of well-wooded hills in the distance. On the 26th January, 1788, the midsummer of those regions, he landed and hoisted the British ensign in this bay, which he named Sydney Cove. He found the coast thinly wooded, and abounding with kangaroos. The silence and solitude of the forest were soon broken in upon by the resounding of the woodman's CHAP III.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 89 axe. The ground was cleared, tents were pitched, live stock was landed, stores were deposited, and the little colony was established. Botany Bay was selected as a place for a penal settlement. Para- matta was the seat of the governor, and the free emigrants were first located there, soon to be out- numbered by the discharged convicts. The Rev. Richard Johnson, on the recommendation of Wilber- force, was appointed first colonial chaplain, and was followed by the Rev. Samuel Marsden in 1794 ; these excellent clergymen of the Church of England rendered the most valuable service to the London Missionary Society; and Mr. Marsden, who for twenty-five years acted as agent to the Society, lent the most efficient support to every association formed in the colony for the religious instruction of children and the extension of the gospel. The fugitive missionaries from the South Sea Islands received on their landing at Port Jackson, the greatest kindness from Mr. Johnson. Three of their number, " James Fleet Coote, William Henry, and Rowland H. Hassell," report from Paramatta, New South Wales, August 25, 1799, that the depravity of the people was of the most awful character. "We commenced preaching," they ^dd, " in different parts of the district situated in the northern boundary, and opened an eyening lecture in Paramatta ; the latter, in the month of December, we were under the necessity of ^""i* „ . . , o Letter of discontmumg, as the person who favoured us with Coote, the use of his house removed to his farm, and no Henry and other place could be procured. We, however, con- tinued to preach in the northern boundary ; bat our hearers beginning to decline in their attendance, add to this the distance and excessive heat of the summer, filled us with discourage- 90 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [OHAP. III. ments : and the enemy took occasion from these circumstances, to suggest the improbability of success ; but in perseverance the prospect brightened, their numbers increased, and our preach- ing has produced tlie following effect, which we are induced to look upon as the harbinger of good — viz., twenty-two of the settlers in the district called Kissing Point, voluntarily offered to build a place for public worship, requesting us to continue among them, and use our interest with the governor to appoint them a schoolmaster to instruct their children. This request was made, in consequence of a rumour that we were about to leave the colony. We accordingly applied to Govei*nor Hunter, who imme- diately appointed them a schoolmaster of our recommendation (a person whom we believe to be a sincere convert). His Excellency also gave them some materials towards erecting the building, which we expect will be finished in the month of November, when the Bev. Messrs. Johnson and Marsden promised to open it. We have also recommenced the Sunday evening lecture in Paramatta, which is well attended, and like- wise opened a place for preaching at Toon Tabbe, where we have about an hundred hearers. These favourable appearances, we hope, will not be ' like the morning of early dew,' but prove the dawn of a bright and glorious day to these poor bewildex'ed souls, who are lying as outcasts in a forlorn condition ; but at present we cannot communicate any further information respect- ing them, that would prove satisfactory, but shall seize the earliest (and every) opportunity of transmitting such accounts as relate to the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom in this colony of Corinthian degeneracy. " We are sorry to add, that on the 2nd July last, brother Samuel Clode was inhumanely murdered in the dwelling-house of one Thomas Jones, at the brick-kiln, near Sydney, a little before sunset. The said Jones was a soldier, and being a towns- man of brother Clode's, he had given him some pecuniary assist- ance, and was desired to call that evening for payment, when the said Jones, instead of paying him, beat out his brains with an axe, and afterwards concealed the body in a sawpit. " The conduct of brother Clode, since his arrival in this colony, has been such as may be said to adorn his profession (the writers wish they could say the same of all the other brethren who came into the colony with him) ; his death is regretted by all who CHAP. III.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOEY. 91 knew liim. The governor and several officers followed his corpse to the grave, as a testimony of their respect. A tomb is about to be erected over him." Mr. Johnson reports favourably of Mr. Henry, Mr. Hassellj and Mr. Coote, and Mr. Clode, in a letter to Mr. Hardcastle, dated Sydney, New South Wales, October 18, 1799, but adds : — ■ " If I may be allowed to give my sentiments, I may say that I believe that some of those first sent to Otaheite, and who have left it since are much better away, and hope their secession will turn out for the further- Report of „ , . . , , , „ , Mr. John- ance of the pious wishes and endeavours oi the ^ou the Society. My friend, Henry, has repeatedly ex- Chaplain pressed the same opinion ; and I hope, upon his Colony. return, he will find his friends left behind, living in love, and unite hand and heart with them in the work in which they are engaged." William Shelley, a "faithful brother" in Sydney, waiting for the signal to move, writes from Paramatta, October 24th, 1801 :— " I hope we shall soon see a reinforcement at Otaheite, com- posed of such men as will willingly sacrifice their all to be made useful to their fellow-creatures. Such as bring forth the fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, long-suff"ering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance ; such as provoke not envy and vainglory, but to love and good works." The position of the Directors of the London Missionary Society was extremely trying, but they were well sustained by the confidence, prayers, sym- pathy, and enlarged, contributions of their friends throughout the country. CHAPTER IV. Congregational principles in Scotland had been obscured by eccentricities in the opinions and prac- The"King ticc of somc of their advocates, but a of Martyrs." ^.^j.]. ,^f j^j-^j^ (^j^g^ entitled the " King of Martyrs," was read with avidity in small societies scattered throughout the country, and led to further inquiry. Some who had been scandalized with the conduct and teaching of the kirk, desired a simpler form of Church pohty and greater spirituality in Christian professions, and asked for more light. A striking example of this Berean spirit we have in John Mokison (father of Dr. Morison, of Chelsea). Letter of John I^ reply to iuquirics addressed to some Morison, 1798. Christian friend at Aberdeen, he received the following communication : — " To John Morison,* and all others who love our Lord Jesus in sincerity. "Aberdeen, ^/>r27, 1798. " Dear Brethren, — We have lately been favoured with the perusal of your letter to our excellent brother, and cannot help expressing our joy to find that there are several around you who love the Saviour, and wish to see vital gorili)iess axd Primitive Christianity freed from the fetters and ordinances of men everywhere prevailing and everywhere influential. As your letter intimates a desire to learn something about us — a little society, forming ourselves upon the Congregational plan — we shall very briefly * Memoir of Mr. John Morison, Millseat. Bj John Morison, D.D., p. 116, et seq. CHAP. IV.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 93 mention the outline of those princi{)les which we hold and practise. " Some of us have long been Independents or Congrega- tionalists in principle, although we saw no probability of suc- ceeding in any attempt publicly to avow our principles till the present moment. Others of us have only of late begun to investigate the matter, and were first led to do so by observing that party spirit and the traditions of man swallowed up the zeal and attention of too many professors, and that debates about some speculative subjects prevented weak and uninformed minds from attending to the weightier matters of the law, and instead of being a help was a real hindrance to the success of the Gospel. " We belonged to dififerent communions, in all which we found a rigid strictness in demanding submission to human standards of orthodoxy ; but a lamentable neglect in seeking sound experimental knowledge of Jesus Christ, and a life becoming His holy gospel. In short, we saw much zeal about many things indijferent, and much coldness about the " one thing needful." By conversing together occasionally, although belonging to different communions, we found that we agree, in all the leading doctrines of the gospel, and that the Lord had fashioned our hearts alike, and were led to conclude that the love of Grod shed abroad in the heart is a far more scriptural and steady principle of union than a constrained belief in human creeds and confessions when genuine love is wanting. And when we consider the luke- warmness and bigotry of many parties, we regard this as a suitable time for making a humble attempt to unite ourselves upon their principles of love and mutual concord. Accordingly, in the month of October, 1797, we formed our.-elves into a society for this purpose, and wrote letters to several Independent ministers and tutors requesting their advice and influence. With- out going into a full detail of particulars, suffice it to say, that they all advised us to preserve our fellotoshif, and promised to befriend the design ; but none seemed more anxious for our success than the Rev. David Bogue, an Independent minister and tutor at Gosport. Being himself a Scotsman, he seemed to retain a regard for our countrymen. " Our next step was to look out for some place in which to observe the ordinances of Christ, but no one could be found ; 94 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOEY. [cHAP. IV. and an application for the use of any of the churches in the city would have been in vain, for ministers and sessions of all sects are our greatest opponents in this affair. We were under the necessity of attempting to build a small place of worship ourselves. But as we were only men in moderate circum- stances, we felt the propriety of commencing on a very small scale. We received a letter, hovvever, from 3Ir. Bogue, on the very day on which we proposed entering into terms for the ground, advising and requesting us by all means to make the house large enough to contain a thousand or twelve hundred persons, adding that there was no fear whatever in such a cause. This induced us to engage a larger plot of ground, and to deter- mine to erect a place sulBcient to contain seven hundred. On the very day on which the first stone of the building was laid, we received a letter from Mr. Haldane, requesting us to make it larger ; for he was persuaded we should never repent the enlarge- ment. Accordingly, we enlarged a second time, and the house, when finished, will seat a thousand persons. Thus have we been led on, step by step, and we think providentially ; but we feel the weight of our undertaking, and sometimes axe ready to apprehend consequeiices, for the sum necessary to complete our design will be about eight hundred pounds, and we have but little prospect of any considerable assistance. But the earth is the Lord's, and men's hearts are in His hands ; and if He has any work to accomplish in this place, the weaker the instruments the more glory will redound to Him who helpeth those who have no might. Into His hands, then, we commit the one important concern. He knoweth what He will do ; and we desire to be resigned to His will in this and in all otlier undertakings. ' Brethren pray for us.' "According to your request, we intend sending you a few publications, in which you will see something respecting the doctrine and discipline of the people called Independents. They are not yet ari'ived, but we expect them in a few days or weeks, "As to our views of the leading truths of the gospel, we shall transcribe for your satisfaction, the account ive sent to Mr. Bogue^ which is as follows : — (( ( Man is a fallen, corrupt being — cannot help himself; never seeks God till sought out by Him : yet, as the Lord invites, and sinners refuse, it is entirely their own blame if they perish.' CHAP. n\] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 95 " We believe that men are justified by faith only, -without the deeds of the law. This faith is the free gift of God, and uniformly produces good works, which works are not a title to, but a qualification for, the heavenly inheritance. In short, we believe that salvation, in its commencement, progress, and com- pletion, is the free, unmerited gift of God, meritoriously secured by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, and applied by the Holy Spirit. " Had we time, we should have transcribed a particular account, from a letter we received some time ago, of the maimer in wliich members are admitted into societies of our order. We shall very briefly state to you the methods upon which ive have acted. Having no pastor as yet, we are under the necessity of doing the best we can in a matter of such importance. When any person intimates a desire to unite with us, his name is mentioned at our weekly prayer-meeting ; the brethren then take some time to consider the matter ; and, in the interim, make all prudent inquiries as to his moral character, etc. After this the name of the candidate is mentioned a second time ; and, if no objection is urged, two of the brethren are appointed to converse v.'ith him on all matters touching religious belief and Christian experience. His views of the grand doctrines^ of the gospel, and his reasons for wishing to associate with us, are strictly investi- gated. At the next meeting the two brethren thus appointed to converse with the candidate give in their report of the inquiries they have been enabled to make. If their account is favourable, the person is desired to attend the next meeting; he is then informed that before he can be admitted three things are ex- pected of him : 1. A short account of the way in which he was led to true concern about the state of his soul ; 2. A brief state- ment respecting the leading doctrines of the gospel ; 3. A satisfactory account of the reasons which have induced him to leave his former religious connections, and to unite himself with us. Some person may think tliat we have made the door too strait ; but we have no room to discuss that matter at present ; we see as much care, however, as this, to be absolutely necessary. " You will be glad to know that the mason work of the new chapel will be completed in three weeks, the side walls being now at the extreme height. The whole will be accomplished some time in June, about which period we expect a minister, 96 CONGKEGATIONAL H [STORY. [cHAP. IV. though we have no absolute certainty. 0 Lord of the harvest, send forth to us one of Thy servants ; and may he be a labourer vpho will not only preach to us, but also bear the cross ! " From what is said above, you will be able to form some idea of our religious affairs. But we wish it particularly to be understood, that although we be of a party, we are not party men. We rejoice in the late union of various denominations in attempting to spread the gospel. We are firm friends to all Missionary Societies. We have our views of essential doctrines, to which we desire most resolutely to adhere ; but in all minor and non-essential matters we agree to differ. We ivish nothing to be made a term of church fellowship} which has not been consti- tuted such by Christ Himself, for there is enough of opposition to the humbling doctrines of Jesus in every sinner's heart, without additional bars of men's devising. Alas ! we had too much already in Scotland of mere human legislation in matters per- taining to the fellowship of the Church. " Now, dear brethren, we know somewhat of your difficulties, by what we have ourselves suffered. Both you and ourselves are still as sheep without a shepherd : we wander from mountain to hill, and have no resting-place. But if providence smile on our feeble attempt, may not you as well as we reap some advan- tage? If our plan of procedure and terms of union meet your approbation ; and if your experience, views, and conduct be such as the brethren approve, what could hinder you from being members with us, notwithstanding your distance ? You might occasionally get a spiritual meal, by which you might be helped on your way to your Father's house above. Elijah once travelled forty days and forty nights on the strength of one meal, until he came to the foot of Horeb. " These things, however, we only just hint at, upon the sup- position that you feel yourselves destitute of church privileges, and would think a change of religious connection desirable. As for us, though ive are poor, and no doubt would rejoice to receive such as have first given themselves to the Lord, unless a inan thinks it a privilege to be among us, we do not desire his accession, loere he as wise as Solon or as rich as Croesus." " And now, brethren, we commend you to God, and to the word of His grace. May He strengthen, stablish, settle you, and in due time provide you with the regular, stated, power- CHAP. IV.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 97 ful preaching of the glorious gospel, free from all traditions of men. " Signed in behalf of the brethren by Geokge Moir, and Al Inines." The new chapel in George Street, Aberdeen, was opened on Sabbath, the 2nd September, when the Bev. James Bennett, of Bomsey, preached three times to crowded audiences. On the follow- Congrega- ing Sabbath, he formed the church con- church at sisting of nine members, and explained at ^^"'"i^^"- length the principles of Congregational Church polity ; the building was in an unfinished state ; the galleries were not erected, only the benches had been fixed, and there was no division of seats ; but the novelty of the occasion attracted the multi- tude, and the melodious voice of the preacher, then in his youthful vigour, riveted their attention to a discourse on Christian holiness, that produced on the minds of many, a deep and lasting impression. John Watson, afterwards pastor of the church at Musselburgh, from that day cast in his lot amongst them, and began to seek the purity of heart and life inculcated in the sermon. Five and forty years after this opening service. Dr. Bennett revisited the chui^ch, and found the whole space of a large floor covered with the communicants, where the original nine had stood, each of whom was pointed at afterwards in passing along the street, as one of the " sanctified nine." "I found," he said, "only two of the nine living; one was the widow of George Moir, the man, who took the lead in the movement. He was one of the best men I ever knew, the most devoted to God, and the most diligent student of the 7 98 CONGEEGATTONAL HISTOET. [CHAP. IV. Scriptures. His latter end was eminently 'peace.' He had long been languishing, when his wife said to him, ' Your coun- tenance is altered, it indicates the approach of perience of death.' ' Does it,' said he, ' bring me a glass, let George me see.' She brought him a glass ; he looked at his countenance, and smiling as he returned it to her, he said, * Ah, death has set his mark upon my body, but Christ has set His mark upon my soul.' This most cool and sublime triumph over death, marks the man." John Campbell* (born at Edinburgh, Marcb, 1766), "ironmonger of the Glrassmarket," Edin- burgh (afterwards the missionary traveller), Campbell a little mail, active, with an intelligent Sunday counteuance, and a dark, quick eye, while ''^*'°*' conducting his secular business, busily occupied himself in tract distribution, and the estab- lishment of Sabbath schools, encouraged and sus- tained in these operations by the Countess of Leven and Melville. He was specially interested in a school at Loanliead, a collier village, near Edin- burgh, and invited Mr. James Haldane to accom- pany him on one occasion to see the children, and learn the extent of their spiritual destitution. The interest excited in the work of instruction by this visit, led to an excursion through the west of Scot- land, and the immediate formation of sixty Sabbath evening schools. At Gilmerton, a larger village of the same charac- ter, Mr. Campbell was anxious to introduce the "■ospel, and aiDplied " to the ministers in Preaching . at Gil- Edinburgh for preachers, but without merton. -.^ . ._ ^^ -\r t i success. Meeting accidentally Mr. Joseph Eate, a student from the academy at Gosport, he * Life, Tiir;e8and iritsiorarj Enttrpri^es of the Eev, John Campbell. By Kobert Phjlip. CHAP. IV.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 99 enofaofed Lira to undertake the service ia a thatched town-house. Mr. Haldane and Mr. Aikman (a student), were present to hear his first sermon, and were deUghted to witness the thoughtful attention of the people, and Mr. Rate was announced as the preacher for several succeeding Sabbaths ; circumstances, however, prevented his and , . , T\/r TT 1 Aikman. commg, and m the emergency, Mr. hLal- dane volunteered to follow Mr. Aikman, if he would preach the next Sabbath. The growing interest of the people impelled them to continue in the work. "A remarkable degree of excitement," says Miss Aikman, " arose out of the preaching at Gilmerton, and some even of the evangelical ministers in Edinburgh became afraid of the con- sequences of lay preaching. But the two preachers (Aikman and Haldane) increased in boldness, and hearing of the deathlike state of the North of Scotland, and the Excursions. carelessness and immoralitij of the ministers, resolved to make a tour and examine personally into the state of religion, and to preach the gospel i)i the streets of the differed toivns and populous villages visited. They made it the subject of prayer and consul- tation ; and when it was fixed that they should go, each of them wrote an address to the congregation at Gilmerton, and got a large impression printed fur distribution on the road. They also reprinted a tract, written by the Rev. Charles Simeon, of Cambridge, entitled, ' An Advice to all to whom it may Concern ;' and these tracts they gave away at every place where they preached, to all who would receive them. On the evening before their departure for the north, there was a special meeting for prayer held in David Block's house, North Richmond Street, for the work in which they were about to engage." * This was the beginning of a series of such excursions, in which Mr. James Haldane, accom- panied by Mr. Aikman, afterwards by Mr. Innes, * Autobiography of Campbell. PhilipV Life of Campbell. 100 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. IV. and again by Mr. Campbell, during a period of nine years preached in almost every town or populous village in Scotland — from Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Solway Frith to John o' Groats, and the northern islands of Orkney and of Shetland. Crowds everywhere came to hear the "Captain." Mrs. Morison (wife of Dr. Morison, of Brompton), gives an account of his visit to Banff : — "In the summer of 1797," she writes, "Captain Haldane, as he was then called, visited my native town in company with one Mr9.Mori8on or two other gentlemen whose names I do not reniem- and the Cap- ^er. By the uf-ual mode of advertisement, the tack tain at Bantf. r ^ j j. i. i.u ot a drum, a sermon was announced, not at tne usual place, the Battery Green, but at a neighbouring village, on the green banks of the gently-flowing Dovern. The reason for the selection of this spot was the fact that the Battery Green had been previously engaged by a company of equestrians. I was then a very little child, and I well remember I had been invited by a schoolfellow to accompany her to see the eques- trians. " We had actually set out to go to the place, but before reaching the spot, a worthy lady, who knew us both, met and accosted us, ' Where are you going, my young friends ? ' My companion replied, ' To the Battery Green, to see the horsemen.' 'Oh,' said she, 'you had better go with, nie to the green banks, and hear Captain Ilaldane ; it will do you more good.' My companion said, 'No ! I can hear a sermon at any time, but I cannot see the horsemen.' She determined to execute her purpose, and went to the Battery Green ; and so far as I have heard, she never entered on the narrow path. Young as I was then, T was influenced by an Unseen Hand to accept the pressing invitation to go to the sermon on the green banks, and quitted my companion. Captain Haldane arrived on horseback at the place where the people were assembled to hear him. He dis- mounted, and gave his horse to the charge of another gentleman, who stood by. He was then a young man, under thirty years of age, and had on a blue great-coat, braided in front, after the CHAP. IV.] CONCxREGATIONAL HISTOEY. 101 fashion of the times. He also wore powder, and his hair tied behind, as was then usual for gentlemen. And I can never for- get the impressions which fell on my young heart as, in a distinct, clear, and manly tone, he began to address the thoughtless multitude that had been attracted to hear him. His powerfal appeal to the conscience, couched in such simple phrase, at the distance of more than fifty years, are still vividly remembered, and were so terrifying at the time, that I never closed an eye, nor even retired to rest that night. I cannot be sure what was the text, bat from the frequent and pointed repetition of the words, ' Except ye reiJent, ye shall likewise jyerish,' I have reason to believe that these must have been the subject of discourse. One thing I know, that the impression produced by what I heard was never effaced from my mind ; for though I did not fully embrace the gospel for years after, yet 1 never relapsed again into my former state of carelessness and indifference to eternal things.''* As the work of evangelization in Scotland advanced and assumed larger proportions, it became needful to make further efforts to meet the wants of the people who were willing and anxious to hear the Gospel. The circus in Edinburgh was engaged and turned into a Tabernacle. Mr. Hill preached at the opening of it for stated pubhc worship. ^.^IT^^' In the first instance only three ministers preaching in •^ Edinburgh were obtained from England, but as other circus. places were secured more helpers were required. As Mr. Haldane met with no sympathy from the Presby- terian ministers of Scotland, he was compelled to look to Ur. Bogue and other friends to furnish preachers. James Bennett of Romsey, Edward Parsons of Leeds, James Boden of Sheffield, John Griffin of Portsea, Joseph Slatterie of Chatham, * Lives of Robert Haldane, of Airthey, and of his brother Jamea Alex- ander Haldane. By Alexander Haldane, Esq. 102 CONGl^EGATIONAL HISrORT. [CHAP. IV. Egbert Simpson of Hoxton, Thomas Taylor of Ossett, and George Burder, all Congregational ministers, were amongst the " Tabernacle supplies." A Congregational churcli w^as formed, of which Mr. James Haldane was ordained as pastor, Feb. 3, Church ^ ^^^* "^^ ^^^® request of the people the formed, services were conducted bv Mr. Tavlor of Ossett, Garie of Perth, and Ewing of Edinburgh. Mr. Burder, in a letter to his son, describes his visit to Edinburgh. "Perth, June btli, 1799. " My dear Henry, — The good providence of God 2Dermitted me to begin and prosecute my journey to Scotland at the time Letter of proposed. Two serious friends from Birmingham ac- G-eorge companied me in a post chaise all the way, which ren- dered thejourney very pleasant, and gave me oppor- tunity to preach in the evenings at Derby, Leeds, and Alnwick. I got to Edinburgh on Friday night. On Sabbath, May 2Sth, preached to immense congregations at the circus, which is a large and complete theatre ; the pulpit is on the stage, with the curtain and scenes behiu'd, and the assembly in the boxes, pit, and two rows of galleries, holding between two and three thousand attentive hearers. This, and the method now adopted of preaching in many parts of Scotland, by English and other itinerant preachers, has greatly alarmed the Genei'al Assembly of the Church of Scotland, whose sittings this year I attended. They have now made a law that no preacher shall be permitted to preach in any of their parish churches or chapels who has not been educated or ordained in their Church ; so that 7ioiv neither Episcopal nor Dissenting ministers of England and Scotland can preach in the churches, which before %vas frequently allowed. But they have gone much further ; and, with a view of crushing the cause, have ordained that a '' pastor alletter of admonition^ shall be read in all the churches, warning people again t^t vagrant teachers (of whom I am one) and Sabbath schools, which they artfully insinuate are for seditious purposes. There is a preface, stating the miseries of France, and strongly intimating that these methods have the very same design and tendency. The.v CHAP. IV.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 103 have also authorised their commissioners, if itineracy continues to make an alarming progress, to apply to His Majesty for assistance, or take such other methods as they see good. The bad spirit with which all this is conducted cinnot be described ; bat I trust that the civil powers will not permit persecution, and that the Toleration Act will prevent it. The Established clergy who do not preach the gospel are already much deserted, and I apprehend a hind of new secession, in the Independent waij, will take jylace. This is what they dread, as I heard complaints in the Assembly against Fanaticism arid Indepeudentism. Thus we see that even in a church that has long been famous for religion, that carnality of mind and a spirit of persecution discover themselves."* Mr. Burder sent to one of the newspapers a spirited protest against the intolerance of the Kirk, avowing for himself and his brethren the determina- tion " to teach and preach Jesus Christ." Mr. Roby followed in the itinerant plan, June 27th, 1797, and was received by Mr. Haldane with much affection. After a pleasant stroll itineracy of with him through the city and an evening's j^Jscotknd, talk over their Christian work, Mr. Roby 1799. set out next day for Perth, and greatly enjoyed the surrounding scenery. " On the Sabbath," July 2nd, he writes to Mr. Eoby, " I opened my commission in the north, to a very numerous and lively congregation. The preachers from England and the Scottish brethren, who labour in connection with the society formed in Edinburgh, are distinguished by the name of missionaries, so that I am h.moured with the title at small hazard and expense. I find it, however, laborious employ. The ministers are accus- tomed to itinerate and preach through the various districts successively four days in the week, besides the labours of the Sabbath. Both the kirks and meeting-houses are shut against us by the solemn orders of the General Assem- bly and Synods of the secession, so that we are obliged * Life of Rev. George Burder. By his Son. 104 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. IV. to preach in the open air, except the weather force us to take shelter in a tent or in a barn. When the course of my itineracy for this week is completed, I shall have preached ten times in five days, riding on an average about twenty miles each day."* Everywhere the "Pastoral Admonition" was read, accompanied with a fiery harangue against the " Vao-rant Teachers " by the clergy. Some Admonition of the pcoplc wcro " exceedingly intimi- Vagrant dated," othcrs felt an irresistible curiosity Teachers ^^ ^^^ ^^iq preacliiug " vagrauts." One poor man in a neighbouring parish hearing an awful denunciation of them by his minister came to Perth to hear for himself. At the close of the service he gaid to one of the attendants, " I never had such a gospel day in all my life, liere is sixpence for the support of the house, I wish it was ten times as much." Mr. Roby notes in his journal : — " July 4. Preached at Leslie at the time appointed, upon a green just behind the town. About two hundred people assembled before me, and the backyards down the whole length of the street were so lined with JSicodemus hearers, that it was impossible to say how many had heard on this occasion. After the sermon, rode tliiough a heavy shower of rain to Dunfermline and preached there in the evening in a field close by the town. It rained heavily through the whole of the service ; they had kindly provided a tent for me. I felt much for the congregation who were exposed to the weather, and was really ashamed to be sheltered whilst they were suffering. Though the rain was so heavy, not less than between four or five hundred people assembled. I could not promise such firmness in our English congregations. " July 5. Keturned to Edinburgh, rather fatigued by week's excursion. " On Friday evening," he adds, " after my return, I had an * Robj Correspondence, copied from the original by Mrs. Mackcllar Wood. CHAP. IV.] CONGKEGATIONAL HISTORY. 105 opportunity of attending the cliurch meeting here. For liveliness and solidity of judgment united,! think the members ^^^^^_^^ of this church exceed any I have met with. Their Meeting at government is essentially the same as our own. ^^^^^j^^nacTe. Their mode of admitting members differs a little. Any person desirous of communion with them applies to the minister. If he approve of them, he proposes them to the church, and appoints two of the most experienced members to visit them in the course of the moTith. At the next meeting they report the particulars of the visit to the church, and what their opinion of them is. The other members are then asked if they know anything respecting the person proposed, and after dis- cussion, it is determined by the lifting up of hands. If only one member wishes the person to be delayed a little longer, I believe it is an invariable rule to grant it. Mr. EwmG,* who has left the Established Church in consequence of the arbitrary proceeding of the General Assembly, administered the Lord's Supper to them, and a very solemn and affecting time it was. He is a most excellent man, and an admirable preacher, and is just going to open the circus (in Glasgow) on the same plan as adopted here. As to myself, I was much straitened in preaching here .yesterday, the crowd of people is immense. The place is very easy to speak in, but appears awkward, as a place of worship. I forgot to say that on Friday evening, not less than twenty members were admitted: nearly as many were proposed; and after the first formation of the church they frequently admitted twenty, and at one time forty, in the course of a week." In home letters Mr. Roby gives in detail the report of the work of each day and the obstacles he had to surmount. Sabbath-school teachers were threatened with prosecution for holding unlicensed meetings. The sagacious English itinerant recom- mended them to take the prescribed oath of allegiance, to put themselves under the protection of the law. The reception of Mr. Roby at the different towns was of varied character. At Haddington he was dis- * See Life of Rev. Greville Ewing. Bj his daughter, Mrs. Matheson. 106 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAR. IV. • appointed and at Prestonpans, but his most peculiar experience was at Culross, where he found a company of comedians who had made preparation for a theatrical performance at the time appointed for his preaching. The mayor and magistrates attended, and the people behaved civilly ; but before entering on the service the following letter was put into his hands : — " John RicnARDSON to the Rev. Mr. Eobbie, shortly in Culross. " Culross, V?th July, 1799. " Sir, — It is with considerable Concern I find myself under the disagreeable necessity of intruding on your more serious medita- tions, by an application of this nature, but I trust a a Strolliug ^are narrative of the reasons which have induced me Player to to trouble you, v/ill, with you, prove a sufiicient 1799 "''^' apology. I have, at a very considerable expense, brought a Company of Comedians to perform in this Town for three or four nights, one of which is only elapsed, and the receipts did not reimburse the considerable expense of the night; consequently my dependence is on the Tragedy of Douglas, written by the Reverend Mr. Home, to indemnify me for the loss I have sustained, and to enable my Company to sub- sist, which is given out for Representation this Evening, and at which, if consistent with your Established principles, it will give me real satisfaction to find you are present, as that will sanction an amusement, confessedly rational and instructive, however much it may be held in disrepute by the unenlightened, but which unjust opinion of the Drama owes its origin more to the bad conduct of a few Individuals in the profession, than to the profession itself, which Candour will allow to be an useful vehicle for conveying Instruction, and for imprinting them deeply on the youthful mind. The inference meant to be drawn, your Judgment will at once suggest, and I am confident your natural Feelings, aided by Charity, will, without hesitation, comply with my Request in not exercising the office of your Function this evening, as it will most assuredly be the means of distressing a Body of People who have no other dependence ; whereas your Compliance will be discharging at least, a moral Duty ; exclusive CHAP. IV.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 107 of the heartfelt satisfaction to be derived from doing a benevo- lent action ; and of this be assured, it will impress me as well as my Company with Sentiments of Esteem and Gratitude. — I am, Sir, your most obedient, "John Richardson."* "This address," Mr. Roby says, "diverted me, though I really pitied the poor man. To see the vagrant player crouching before the vagrant preacher, was, I thought, an unusual, perhaps an unparalleled occurrence. I could not notice the letter. The gentlemen were, therefore, obliged to postpone the hour of open- ing of the doors. They attended the preaching— cutting a most miserable figure in point of dress, and with mortification most strongly depicted on their countenances. The people seemed much impressed under the sermon." The comedian, in a letter of rebuke, adopted a tone almost tragic :■ — • " To the Rev. Mr. Rodbie. " CuLHOSS, 17ih July, 1799. " Sir, — I have waited impatiently foryour answer to my letter of this date, but to no purpose. It gives me pain to retiect on the public or private Character of any Individual, particularly on one of your sacred Function, but where much is given much will be required. You will allow that without a liberal Educa- tion, you are as unable to instruct us in the most serious Con- cerns of our Life, as a Player, who, knowing not the meaning of his Author, substitutes nonsense for sterling sentiment. This self-evident proposition granted — what is the inference ? That you must either be grossly ignorant of every requisite necessary for the due Exercise of your Function, or that, knowing it, you have wilfully perverted your knowledge, sacrificed every preten- sion to Decency, Politeness, Morality, or in short, any other orna- ment of civilized Life, to a narrow, bigoted, and unchristian principle. Had you returned an answer of some kind, you would have saved yourself from all these imputations, and me the pain of making them. " But as I am convinced that you are equally incapable of * Copied from the original by Mrs. Mackellar Wood. 108 CONGREGATIONAL HTSTOEY. [cnAP. IV. being moved by the strongest ai'gument, as of conductirg your- self in the affairs of life, with that liberal, candid disposition, which alone distinguishes the Man from the Brute, I shall leave you to your self-importance ; and so ' to supper with what appe- tite you may.' — I am, Sir, your most obedient servant, " John Richardson, " At Mr. Melville's, ' Red Lion.' " On the 80th of July, Mr. Roby completed his engagements in Scotland, and returned to Man- Haidane chestcr. Mr. Robert Haldane was anxious Seminarj. ^^ tliis time to cstablisli a Seminary for the education of ministers. Originally it was proposed that the intended institution should be placed under the care of Dr. Bogue ; but objections were raised to his appointment. Willing, nevertheless, to show him personal respect and kindness, Mr. Haldane generously, at the instance of Mr. Bennett, gave a subscription to the Gosport Academy, to provide for an additional number of students. John Angell James was one of the " Haldane Students," ad- mitted on the occasion. • Mr. Greville Ewing, who left Lady Glenorchy's Chapel on the 1st of December, 1798, to work in conjunction with Mr. Haldane, commenced with a class of twenty-four students, in Edinburgh, and in May removed to Glasgow, to take the charge of a class, and to become pastor of the congregation at the Tabernacle. Other classes were formed in different parts of Scotland, and in a letLer to the Secretary of the London Missionary Society (April 9, 1799), Mr. Haldane suggested that his plans might be adopted in England. CHAP. IV.] • CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 109 " It strikes me," he says, " that each of the county associa- tions, or rather three or four of them joining together for the purpose, should immediately turn their attention to ^ J.1 J X- f ■ ■ T IT Economical tne education oi ministers. 1 would not propose to plan of set up regular academies, but to send as many estab- Education lished Christians as can be got, and as funds can be ja^nj) raised, to be educated, suppose twelve or twenty to one of the district ministers well qualified for the purpose. Let them have two years' education, and a sum of money to support themselves during that time — say AJ20 for unmarried and £30 for married men per annum. Let the minister who educates them have £50, taking the number of married and unmarried at an average, and at the above proportions of £20 and £30, main- tenance may cost about £23 each. For ten students this would be £230, and £50 to the tutor, and £20 for each year to buy books, which should belong to the Association; and, on the whole, the education of ten candidates for the ministry would cost £600 in two years, and at the end of that term there would remain £40 worth of books. Let me know what you think of this plan. I do imagine the money might be procured for so great an object." In some parts of the country, self-taught evan- gelists were diligently at work. William Alexander preached at four places. " Starting from Lancaster, early on the Sunday morning, he preached in the forenoon at "Wray, a distance of ten miles. Li the afternoon he preached alternately at Lowgill and Bentham, about tix miles further ; and in the evening at Caton. But on some of these Sundays he had an additional service William at Melling ; and whenever his attention was directed Alexander, 1 • • 1799 to a place in which there was no gospel, he endea- voured to make such arrangements as would enable him occa- sionally to visit. This rate of extraordinary labour was uninter- ruptedly continued during the two remaining years of his residence at Lancaster. After working six days at the car- penter's bench, his ' Sabbath day's journey ' was at least thirty -two miles, every step of which he walked, often in the midst of wind and rain, and in the course of which he preached 110 CONGREGATIONAL TTISTORT. [CHAP. IV. at never less ttan three, and frequently at four, different places. At every service, too, he read the Scriptures, prayed twice, and gave out the hymns. In conducting these services, his manner was very energetic, especially in preaching ; and as he some- times preferred preaching out of doors, he then especially spoke with a loud and distinct voice, so that he might be heard by persons in the distance who did not like to be seen mingling with the congregation. During these journeys he had but little time to partake of food. But as he carried his dinner with him, he ate it either while walking or in some house, and he took tea at Caton when he had time. " He found a most willing and efficient helper in Harr^ Ewer, Esq., who had recently left London, and fixed his resi- dence at Leigh. As Mr. Ewer had leisure, as well as Christian character and theological knowledge, Mr. Alexander urged and encouraged him to be his companion in visiting the various preaching stations around Leigh, and occasionally to take part io the service. In a short time he began to preach.'' * Mr. Roby, on resuming his pastoral work in Manchester, earnestly sought to establish a system of itineracy for Lancashire. In 1786 an Mr!^Roby association was formed for preserving a to promote proper ministerial roll, and tlie removal of Itineracj'. ^ ' any member who might " err from the truth," or become immoral in conduct. Two or three counties were comprehended in this fellowship, and at the annual meeting the ministers in turn exercised their gifts in a " double lecture," and after a superabundance of talk, returned to their respective homes without thought or concern for the ignorant population around them. This inertia of the pastors and churches did. not commend itself to the zealous ministers of Cannon Street, At the first meeting be attended, it was proposed * Life of Rev. Williain Alexander. Ev his Son, Re?. Jolin Alexander. CHAP. IV.] CONGEE GATIONAL HISTORY. Ill that itinerants should be employed, and the following notice appeared in the " Evangelical Magazine " : — "On tbe 20th of April, 1796, at the Rev. Mr. Blackburn's, at Delph, on the border of Yorkshire, the annual meeting for the double lecture, Mr. Roby, of Manchester, and Meeting at Mr. Wilks, cf London, preached on the occasion. Delph, After dinner, the Lancashire ministers present held ' ' a conversation upon the propriety of employing two itinerant preachers within their own county; and being convinced of the expediency of the measure, opened an immediate subscrip- tion among themselves, and agreed to recommend it to their respective congregations, and also to the attention of all their brethren at the next general meeting of the Dissenting ministers in that county." At the following annual meeting, Mr. Roby sub- mitted a few queries for consideration, to the follow- ing effect : — " Being associated for the purpose of promoting the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom, in the counties where we reside, ought ive not to devise some plan of introducing the Mr. Roby's gospel into those towns and villages ivhere it is not Queries. preached .f* Is it not advisable for this purpose that tJie ministers of this Association should exert themselves to preacli in all such places alternately, within six miles round their respective situations, and by encouraging their more serious and steady people to hold prayer meetings, to read sermons,* and to distribute religious tracts among them on other occasions, and especially on Sabbath ? " As these exertions would still be insufficient, leaving a wide space in many parts of these counties where the gospel is not preached within fourteen or twenty miles, might not an ITINERANT SEMINARY, under the direction of a committee chosen out of the members of each church, be a means of qualifying some pious and zealous young men to go forth as itinerants ? * Rev. George Burder wrote thn e volumes of Village Sermons, admirably adapted for this purpose. ]12 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. IV. and would not this form a temporary institution, that would most effectually answer the design of this Association ? " Should such an institution be formed, would it not be best to confine the students to their own language ? And might not young men of tolerable capacities, by close application, and under proper directicm, make such improvement in the course of fifteen months, as would enable them to speak with correctness and propriety ? " Resolutions were adopted b}^ the ministers of the Association, and repeated at their successive meet- ings, but they were slow in action, and Mr. Roby had to proceed cautiously. To anticipate the objection sure to be raised at the forthcoming meeting of the Association, Letter to Nov. 6, 1799, the want of suitable men. Job Wii- jvir. Roby wrote confidentially to Job Wil- SON, a young minister in Cheshire, to ask if he would be willing to undertake the services for three months or less. "We intend," he said, "to make the person who may be employed, comfortable as we can, in every respect. We have a meeting on the business this day fortnight, the 20th inst. Let me have an answer before then. No person knows of this letter, and I beg you not to mention it to any one. — Yours affec- tionately." Mr. Wilson did not feel at liberty to leave his people, and Mr. Roby being invited to preach the missionary sermon in London, under circumstances that absorbed all his thoughts, the matter was a little deferred. In a letter dated Spitalfields, May 14, 1801, he says : — " The burdensome service of the Missionary service is now completely finished. Within the course of eight or nine days preceding, I spent some sleepless nights and painful sighs in CHAP. IV.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 113 the business. I heard Mr. Mends in the morning, and though I had given him my plan, he entered by an inappropriate, or at least a needless introduction on my ground. He anticipated my ideas, and threw me almost into a burning Missionary fever. I ventured, however, to proceed as I in- Sermon, tended, and after a light dinner, I went to the Tabernacle House, where I had the opportunity of retirement. " I need not attempt to mention the agitation of my mind as the hour approached. But I hope I shall never forget the astonishing interposition of God on my behalf on this solemn occasion. Almost half an hour before the sermon commenced, all my agitation was removed, and I never entered upon a sermon with more composure in my life, than I did upon this. I am perfectly amazed and overwhelmed with gratitude, whilst I reflect on this circumstance. My friends advised me to take my sermon into the pulpit with me, as it might be the means of keeping ray mind from embarrassment. I put it under my Bible, but God did not leave me to the want of it. The atten- tion of the immense and heated congregation was kept up through the whole in the liveliest manner, though I preached an hour and forty minutes. I am hajjiiy to say iliat tJiougJi the disasters which have happened to the Missionary Society have occasioned the triumphs of their enemies, dampt the intemperate fervour of sanguine expectations, and shaken off some ivho were never very hearty in the cause, yet I think there was never more solid missionary zeal than there is now. Nor was the Society, I think, ever in a more promising state. The congregations are this year as large as on former occasions, and contrary to all expectations, the assembly of ministers more numerous than ever." Mr. Roby on his return to Manchester had the satisfaction of taking part in the formation of a new county itineracy (July 1, 1801). At this interesting juncture, when with his calm iudg^ment, earnestness of purpose and _ '' ^ . . . . ^ ^ . Formation unremitting diligence, he was prosecuting of County his ministerial work, Mr. Haldane impor- tuned him to leave Manchester for more important service, as he judged, in Scotland. 8 114 OONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. IV. In a lengthened correspondence he urged the matter with extraordinary pertinacity. At first he Mr. Koby did not specify the service intended, but importuned • | ,, statiou of uncommou usefulness tu leave ' Manchester, prescuts itself, indeed there is not its equal in this country, or I beheve in Britain ; the salary will be £200." " At present I cannot think," replied Mr. Roby, " it would be right for me to leave Manchester." " Let me again repeat," rejoined Mr. Haldane, "that there is not one situation in Scotland, nearly of the same importance, I may add with safety, in Britain. Before I wrote to you I was aware of the importance of Manchester, but I assure you they are not in my opinion at all balanced.' Come immediately." Mr. Roby did not yield. " I expect the voice of Providence," he said, " to speak at home as well as abroad. If I am mistaken in this expectation, may the great Head of the Church pardon and teach me better. Impressed as I am with the idea that Man- chester is my present sphere of duty, I cannot conceive that a visit to Edinburgh would alter my opinion." Mr. Haldane now disclosed the important secret. "I now mention," lie writes, December 21, 1801, " that fAe instruction of the seminaries under us in this county teas the object I had in vieiv. Messrs. Innes and E wing at present instruct the two classes — their course being but two years. They consist of eighty students.* Both these gentlemen, however, decline taking any more classes ; their churches increase so fast, and of course their pastoral duty, that they find it impossible properly to attend to both. I asked Mr. Little to take one, but chiefly from the same cause he has also declined it. As it is of the utmost * Forty or ilfty in a class urc just as easily instrucfed ue eight or ton. A lurgo library is provided. CHAP. IV.] CONGREGATIONAL HTSTOKY. 115 importance to carry on this plan of educating a number of pious young men yearly for the miuistry, indeed, the chief means of spreading the gospel at home and abroad, we have resolved, if the Lord will, to continue it. " For this purpose we wished you to come to Edinburgh to have no pastoral charge, but to preach, at the Tabernacle twice every Lord's day (that is once ia Mr. Aikman's building near the College, and once in the other near the Circus, and to have no other public duty whatever. In this way we are persuaded, having so many students under you, you would be in a situation of greater usefulness than any other pastor in Britain. Nor would the task be difficult. Teaching these young men is not like going through the whole circle cf the sciences, it is merely instructing them in things that are very plain — such as English grammar, geography, directing them in reading history, and teaching them Greek, and leading their minds in the study of divinity. With the help one might have in Edinburgh there would be very little difficulty in this, and after two years would be the same thing over again. Surely were you at the end of a few years to return to the pastoral offii'-e, nothing could better fit you for it than such an exercise. I think it not unlikely that you may deem yourself not sufficiently qualified for such a situation ; but I am persuaded had I conversed with you and pointed out the whole, or if you can yet give me an opportunity of doing so, I could easily remove your difficulties by more fully explaining our views. I now leave the matter with you, hoping to hear something from you in a few days. May the Lord direct you. There is a large house just going to be built at Dumfries, where there seems a great and effectual door opened for the preaching of the gospel. There is hardly any gospel preached fifty miles round it. My brother was there all last summer, and they leave it tn him to provide a preacher from England ; would you cnme to that station if you do not like the other ? " The alternative proposed was ceriainly curious. Mr. Roby replied : — " I fully agi^ee with your estimation of the vast importance of the situation proposed. I must say that, were I otherwise dis- engaged, I cannot conceive a situation that I should prefer to occupy with honour. The reasons, however, which I have already 116 CONGEEGATJONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. IV. partly assigned, convince me that it is my duty to remain at Manchester, and the more I consider them the more conclusive they are in my mind. Providence has placed me here ; the sphere of usefulness is in very many respects considerable ; there is nothing in my present situation that providentially dictates the propriety of a removal ; a«, apparent revival of religion at this time in my congregation seems to say abide with us ; many hurtful consequences would prohaUy result from deserting them; should this be the case, the recollection would exceedingly distress my mind." Mr. Haldane replied (Jan. 13, 1802-) :— "I am glad you perceive the importance of the situation. If thirty or forty young men should be sent out annually to preach the gospel, I must think that there is not at this moment a situation of equal importance in Britain ; and if this be admitted, it must follow, at present not in the ivorld. The effects of so many preaching must be great indeed, as a savour of life or of death ; and it is of the utmost consequence that a proper style of preach- ing be adopted. "Thepe-iple of Scotland are just beginning to open their eyes in regard to the value of scriptural discipline and Christian separation from the world, both of which were much less under- stood here than in England. The demand for preachers from all parts is very great, besides which the situation of America, Ireland, and other places, calls loudly for an increased number of labourers. This business, then, is surely of the utmost conse- quence. I have no doubt that your friends at Manchester will be desirous of your continuing there. I cannot help thinking, however, that when an opportunity, in the course of Providence, offers of occupying a station evidently of far greater importance, it ought to be embraced after due deliberation. Nor do I see that we are warranted from Scripture to expect a corresponding providential intimation at home of the propriety of a removal. " I understand your place of worship is very small, and that your church does not consist of much more than one hundred members. When I compare this with the work proposed, and consider the number of people you might preach to every Sabbath here, I cannot but be persuaded that to continue in Manchester would be to bury many of your talents; or, at least, to occupy them in a way far less profitable, according to every haman probability, than you could do here. CHAP. IV.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 117 " I am tbe more earnest about this business, because we can- not, after mucli consideration, recollect another person whom we consider in all respects fit for the station. And the loss may be great indeed, and irreparable, if we are obliged to wait a year or two before such a one be found. There is a great demand at present for preachers, both in this country and Ireland as well as in America: and I am unwilling, if it can be avoided, to lose one year. My plan is to receive and to send out annually. " I trust, then, you will continue to make this matter a sub- ject of prayer and consideration. It is not necessary for you to answer this letter ; but some time hence I mean to write you again on the same subject.''* Mr. Roby, in his reply, said : — " There are several circumstances which no person can esti- mate so fully as myself, that convince me of the impropriety of yielding to the thoughts of a removal. " Our chapel is indeed small. Had it been possible, our friends would have enlarged it some time ago. Before I received your first letter, they had conversed on the subject of disposing of it, and huilding a new one. But as several bodies have been interred in it, I know not whether this would be prudent. Tour information respecting the number of our members is rather incorrect. It has induced me to count them. I find they amount to about two hundred. Since I came to Manchester — which is six years ago — there have been upwards of one hundred and fifty added to the church. For some time past — I may say, nearly since I came here — we have received more or less at every church meeting. There are several now who are under serious concern, and whom we expect to come forward in a little time. Were you fully acquainted with all the circumstances of the case, I think you would conclude that I ought not at present to move. I hope the Lord will point out in due time a person to whom you may commit the important trust which so earnestly and laudably occupies your attention." * Mr. Roby recommended Mr. Vint for the office ; but he could not restrain his importunate cor- respondent. * Haldane Letters, copied from the originals by Miss Alice Palmer. 118 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CIIAP. IV. Mr. James Haldane visited Manchester, and preached for Mr. Roby ; but some of the congre- gation were so displeased with the persistent efforts to remove their minister, that they would not come to hear him. On receiving from his brother a report of the interview, Mr. Robert Haldane wrote : — Jidy 2nd, 1802. " I hope yon shall see it your duty to come. I cannot help thinking if a station of the first importance by far in Britain, and to which no private church whatever can compare, that all around you in Manchester should advise you to remain there is not surprising ; self-interest may bias their judgment, and their vieivs may not he so comprehensive as they ought to he, to decide on such -a questimi. Surely it interests the prosperity of Zion more than any loss the church at Manchester can. sustain, admitting it to be great." To be the first man in Britain — consequently in the " world " — to an ambitious man would have been a great inducement. Mr. Roby, more modest, still refused. "I have the clearest evidence," he said, "that a gracious providence brought me here at first, has continued me here ^. , , hitherto, and has not given me a single intimation Fiual de- . . , -r ° cision to from my present situation that J ought to remove; remain. ]3^^^ ^^ i\^q contrary, presents many hurtful eftects as to the probable result of a removal. Had no other circum- stance occurred to confirm my opinion respecting the path of duty, I should not have desired to leave Manchester ; yet I prayed that still clearer evidence might be given on one side or the other. I conceive that an answer to prayer was given by an intimation which / unexpectedly received last Saturday, that an important institution would he formed in Manchester, in ivhich my services would be requested. I hope it will not be so difficult to provide for the situation in Edinburgh as has been imagined. I feel much interested in it. I shall not cease to pray that the great Head of the Church may graciously direct and succeed you in providing for it." CHAPTER V, Failing to obtain tlie services of Mr. Roby as tutor to his Academy, Mr. Haldane invited the Rev. George Collison, of Walthamstow, to spend a month with him in the summer of ]802, and after mutual consideration of the subject, the proposal was made that he should accept Hackney the offer. Mr. Collison, on his return inXuSon. home, consulted his friend and neighbour, Mr. Eyre, in the matter. " This is most surprising," he said, after hearing his statement ; " I have been planning something of the same kind on a smaller scale, for the Christian ministry in England, and what is remarkable, you are the person {Independent though you are) that I had fixed upon to assist me in effecting my plans ; but as I think you must go to Edinburgh, give me two or three names, out of wliich I may select a suitable tutor." Mr. Collison de- ferred his reply to Mr. Haldane; and in the mean- time Mr. Eyre had communication with Mr. Charles Townsend, of Homerton, who immediately offered £10,000 to found an Academy, on condition that Mr. Collison would become the first tutor. It was so arranged. Such was the simple origin of the Hachney Theological Institution. 120 CONGRECxATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. V. Whilst these efforts were being made, to provide for the churches an educated ministry, here and there were men who had not enjoyed the advantages of an Academy, who were eminently successful in raising congregations. Thomas Lewis* (born at Ludlow, October 27, 1777), so long esteemed for his Christian worth and Thomas instructivc ministry, was originally a local Lewis. preacher in the Methodist Connexion. In a letter to his aunt Cooper, 23rd December, 1801, he says : — " I have my days engaged in business, and my evenings in making preparation for the Sabbath ; for the Lord sees good to continue me, though less than the least as a labourer in His vineyard. Indeed, I have a pressing invitation to take the charge of a Dissenting congregation, but know not how to act. I implore heavenly wisdom, which alone is profitable to direct. It is an important work, as I am now engaged ; and to be wholly and exclusively devoted to it-— doubtless more so. I feel myself all loeakness ; and when I look back upon the year which is now so near its close, I lament the little improvement I have made, and the little use I have been in the world. " The Lord continues to smile upon us, and respects tem- porals. We only w^ant an increase of love to Him, and faith to assist us to pass through things temporal, so as never to lose sight of those that are eternal." The biographer of Mr. Lewis relates the circum- stances under which he received the invitation to the pastoral charge : — " The moral condition of the parish of Islington at this time was most deplorable. Keligious restraints were either unknown, or utterly disregarded. Under this sad state of things State of j^ ^g^g evident that nothing was so much wanted as Jshngton. ^• ^ ■ ■ %^t- an Lvangelical ministry. With a view, therefore, to that privilege for themselves and their neighbours, a few Chris- * Burrell's Memoir of Eev. Thomas Lewi;'. CHAP, v.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 121 tian men amongst them, of both denominations, Episcopalian and Congregational, took the chapel in the Grove, which con- tinued for a time without any stated minister. These zealous friends of the truth, acting on the principle of Christian union, saw it advisable to organize themselves into a church form, which having done, they invited Mr. Lewis to take the over- sight of them in the Lord. After much prayer for direction, and some consultation with his friends, he abandoned all secular employment, and accepted their call. He was the more im- pressed with the conviction that this was the post to which the Lord had appointed him, from the fact that he had earnestly desired, and made it his prayer to God, that if He should see meet to call him out into His vineyard, He would be pleased to assign him a spot not previously cultivated by ministerial labour^ that he might not build upon another man's foundation. In his call to Highbury Grove, he felt that his prayer was answered in a graciously visible manner. His ordination took place at Orange Street Cljapel, in 1804." The Clmrcli formed at Highbury Grove, when he took it in charge, consisted of only twenty members. " His ministry was greatly blessed, not to his own small church and congregation only, but to the neighbourhood around him. It was soon found needful, from the increase of worshippers at the Grove, to procui-e a larger and more commodious house. To effect this object, the friends of the good cause, Episcopalian and Nonconformists, readily united their efforts, and a handsome place of worship was erected in Compton Terrace, Islington, to which was given the appropriate name of Union „ . Chapel. To this chapel, capacious enough to accom- Chapel, mddate from one thousand to twelve hundred persons, 1^^^- Mr. Lewis and his people removed, in about two years after his ordination. It was opened for regular service on the 29th of August, 1806, by tlie Rev. H. Gauntlett, Vicar of Olney, Bucks, who began in the morning with the Church Service, and preached from Haggai ii. 9. In the evening, the Rev. Dr. Ben McDowell of the Scotch Church, Mary's Abbey, Dublin, prayed, and Dr. Bogue, of Gosport, preached." 122 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. V. In his diary, under date of October, 1806, Mr. Lewis writes : — " The remarks made by some people on our new chapel, on what they call its finery, and on so much money being expended on one place, when so many parts of the country are destitute of even a comjnodious house, are things which pain me. Jesus Christ does not, indeed, require it. A plain building would have been better. Pity that the advice of some judicious person had not been sought ! Yet, I love my friend C , and doubt not he aims at the divine glory. " The Grove, I confess, suited me better. I was less exposed, and more at home. I feel my insuflaciency. Oh, how ill-fur- nished, how unqualified am I to appear before so respectable a congregation. But I am in the Lord's hands, and, I hope, where He would have me. It was not my seeking. I was dragged forth. May His grace be ever sufficient for me, and His strength be made perfect in my weakness." To his Deacons, he writes : — " No great revival of true religion may result from the efforts we have already made ; but the time may come when Union Chapel shall be made the spiritual birthplace of thousands. Other reflections may console us. The chapel was not erected trom motives of ostentation, opposition, or bigotry. It was the subject of much deliberation, and frequent fervent prayer. " April, 1807. I am pained under the consideration that it is presumption in me to continue to occupy the ground which might be better filled up. I doubt not the good wishes and prayers of many. I doubt not the will of God in placing me at the Grove ; but I fear whether I am doing right to remain at Union Chapel. Surely it is a station wherein others (rncn of literature and talent) might fill to greater advantage. Yet, God hath chosen the foolish things of the world, and weak things, and things that are despised, hath He chosen, to work His own good ends. Oh, my wayward, unbelieving heart. T}ie salvation of souls, I trust (Lord, to Thee, I make this humble appeal), not a piece of bread, is my object. I would much rather labour with my hands, than remain here to be useless." CHAP, v.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 123 Pending^ the discussions in the Lancashire Asso- ciation Meetings on the Itinerant Mission, Mr. Eoby was encouraged by his friend, Mr. Robert Spear, to begin an Academy in January, Acade'Ji?y, 1803, in the vestry of Mosley Street ChapeL Manchester, James Turner was his first student. The services of the tutor were given gratuitously. The students were required to sign an engagement to Robert Spear, Esq., that they would not relinquish the work of the ministry, except compelled by abso- lute necessity, be content with the allowance for their support, and submit at any time to an examination respecting their religious sentiments and conduct. Everything being settled on a good mutual understanding, the young men entered on their course of education and village preaching. Desirous as Mr. Roby was to employ the gifted members of his church, he found reason in a short time to modify his plans from the trouble that arose by the conduct of a lay preacher, who attempted to impose his services as a regular minister on an unwilling church. Other occasional preachers felt aggrieved that they were superseded by the students. Party feeling arose amongst the members of the church at Cannon Street. Whilst preach- rp^oubie in^ in London, the report of the dissension with Lay ° T • n T Preachers. caused Mr. Roby some sohcitude. in a letter " to Mr. Turner, to be left at the vestry of Mosley Street Chapel, Manchester," and dated Spa Fields, London, May 17, 1801, he says : — "My dear Friend, — Not calling at Mr. Williams', I did not receive your letter till last night. I had not requested any of our people to write to me on the business to which you refer, 124 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. V. because it concerned myself, and the request might have been misconstrued by some. I am, however, obliged by your unso- licited attention. By the bustle of London ray mind has been occasionally withdrawn from those unpleasant circumstances, which had preyed very much on my mind, and T hope that what- ever direction the providence of God may give them in future, I shall be enabled to say, ' The will of the Lord be done.' As to the meeting at which the disaffected members have to give their account, it is not material to me whether it be before or after my return. My only wish is that it may be conducted in a proper manner. I still fear that the consequences of this affair will be ultimately unpleasant. I wish my apprehensions may prove unfounded. " How swiftly do evil reports circulate ! The disturbances which have taken place among us have reached Loudon. They have been mentioned to me in two or three circles. We have great need to walk circumspectly. " I am glad that you went through your services at Cannon Street with comfort. May you all be diligent in study, and become eminently qualified for the ministry of the gospel ! I wish my abilities to instruct you were, for yoursakes and for the sake of the Church of Christ, an hundredfold greater. I entreat all of you to pray both for yourselves and for me. " My time is so closely occupied by my friends and my preaching, that I have not time to give you a long letter. Give my love to your brethren in study, and to all the members of the church and congregation whom you have an opportunity of seeing. " May the Lord be with you and bless you is the prayer of yours in the service of Christ." Mr. Turner was evidently a favourite with his tutor. He left the Itinerant Academy for Rother- ham, and there received letters of excellent counsel from Mr. Roby on his studies and the questions of the day. Mr. Roby, on his return from London, found, as he anticipated, the church in a ferment. " Offences must needs come " with the weakness or wickedness CHAP, v.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 1'25 of human nature. 'No care, discretion, or diligence of a conscientious pastor can prevent them when the leaven of error or of mischief begins to work. The troubles of a church, moreover, like those of a family, are such that no one outside the fellowship can fully understand. The Congregational pastor may appear, therefore, to be left helpless and liable to misrepresentation, without the means of correc- tion. All this may happen at the beginning of his career, or in the midst of apparent prosperity. But with personal consistency, self-command, fidelity to the truth, and faith in God, he will not be forsaken. Mr. Roby, the self-denying, prudent, and affec- tionate pastor, for a time seemed to stand alone. One of the members says : — " A few troublers threw the church into great confusion. We had most distressins: church meeting's. The pastor, m • oil one occasion stood upon liis feet four or five hours, Church without intermission, assailed in the most uncourteous -Meetings. and the most unchristian manner. After the meeting, on his way home, he gave vent to his grief. " At length the church was roused to action. Mr. Eoby said, in a mild though decisive tone, ' We have no prospect of peace, and without peace vre cannot expect prosperity. I shall, there- fore, resign my charge.' " It is impossible to describe the sensation we felt when those words were uttered. We all retired in silence, like so many persons under sentence of death. Soon, however, a church meeting was called. Every member was present (except the few troublers), including the aged, the infirm, the diseased, and the lame, and, luith only one dissentient voice, came to the conclu- sion of separating the troublers, and gave our minister an affec- tionate invitation to continue with us. Peace was restored, and prosperity followed." The Itmerant Association, notwithstanding the 126 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. V. encouragement received by the favourable report of several stations, remained in a feeble condition. In their last " Circular Letter " they state : — " We have done soniething for the salvation of our ignorant neighbours, for we have formed and held county associations, and in Lancashire, of late, we have supported one of Inde- itinerant preacher. Alas ! such feeble efforts serve pendent rather to reproach us for criminal indifference than to commend us for fervent zeal. May our past shameful neglect provoke us to holy diligence for the time to come. " We think that one principal cause why we have not done more to spread the gospel around us is the want of a well-adjusted union of our churches. This deficiency several individuals among us have long lamented. Whilst the Methodists have raised respectable interests in the most unpromising places, we, being insulated, and not acting properly in concert, have attempted, and of course effected, but little in the enlargement of Christ's empire. However, we hail it as a most conspicuous orhen, that many of our ministers througJiout the Icingdom are firmly convinced of the importance of a union of Independent churches. For the purpose of considering this subject, a meeting was called in London in the last missionary loeel: An animated address on the objects and desirableness of such a union was then circulated. Some of us, being present on that occasion, were deeply impressed with the undoubted expedience of the object. At our Annual Associa- tion, held at Manchester, June 18, the matter was impartially discussed, and so greatly did it interest all the ministers present (of whom we never recollect so many at any former meeting), that the two subsequent resolutions were unanimously passed: — " ' That a General Union of the ^ninisters and congregations of the Independent denomination, in, order to promote the spread of the gospel, appears highly desirable. " ' That a committee, composed of Messrs. Spear. Heron, Smith, Lees, W. Kay, Bradley, Blackburn, Evans, and Koby, Union be appointed to prepare a plan of Union. The rules formed, drawn up hv the Committee had been read and approved at two district meetings, a general meeting was held in the vestry of Mosley Street Chapel, Manchester, Sept. CHAP, v.] CONGEECxATIONAL HISTORY. 127 23rcl, 1806, when tlie Lancashire Union of Independent churches was formed.' " Six ministers from the neighbouring county of Cheshire joined the Union, but in a short time after a separate union was constituted in that county, the train of incidents leading to this combination of the churches may be thus briefly related. The spiritual interests of the county had been grievously neglected, when Jonathan Scott, known as Captain Scott, directed his attention to the towns and villages left in a state of chronic ignor- Jonathan ance and vice. Mr. Scott, born at ^^■''"• Shrewsbury in 1735, was the second son of Captain Richard Scott. He entered the army in his seven- teenth year, and rose to the rank of captain. He continued in the service seventeen years, and was at the battle of Minden, August 1, 1759. Deeply impressed with a sermon preached by Mr. Eomaine, he became a most zealous Christian worker, hold- ing meetings amongst the soldiers at his lodgings in 1766, and preaching at the several stations to which his regiment moved. His brother office)-s advised him to sell his commission in 1769. On leaving the army, he went to reside at WoUerton, and began to itinerate. He organized a church at Drayton and collected congregations at Newport, Stoke-upon- Trent, Whitchurch, Newcastle, Newburgh, and other places. He then rendered seasonable and valuable help to a small company of Christian people 1 , • . ^T Church at who met m an upper room m Chester, Chester, who, on the introduction of Arianism into ^^^^' the congregation meeting in Matthew Henry's Chapel, 128 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. .[CHAP. V. seceded, and were formed into a Congregational Church on the 30th of January, 1772. AYilliam Armi- TAGE, born at Huddersfield in 1738, and educated at Heckmondwike, became their pastor in October, 1772. Captain Scott, anxious to secure an evange- Hst, applied to Mr. Walker, of Northowram, for a preacher, to act in this capacity. Job Wilson, Job a student there, who had been in the insti- Wiison. tution only a few weeks, was recommended, and willinof to undertake the service. Mr. Wilson was born at Sowerby, a village near to Halifax, on February 16th, 1765. His parents were Dissenters, but the ministry they attended was tinctured with Arianism. Sometime after. Job went with his father to hear Dr. Fawcet, who delivered lectures on Sabbath evenings in a large room at Brearley, but his heart as yet was not opened to receive the truth. When about twenty years of age, he became a confidential clerk in the house of Peel, Yates, and Co., and removed to Ramsbottom, near Bury. Here he remained about two years, highly respected, especially by one of the partners, Mr. Henry Warren, who expressed great esteem for him. In his occupa- tion he travelled through many parts of the country, and gained a large acquaintance with men and things, which he afterwards turned to the best prac- tical account. His mind for a long time was un- settled by Arian opinions, but in 1788 he was deeply impressed under the ministry of Eev. W. Mann, in the chapel at Dundee, near Ramsbottom, and by the judicious counsel of Abraham Hamer, one of the congregation, he became " settled and grounded " in the truth. He then began to give brief exhorta- CHAr. v.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOliY. 120 tions at prajer-meetings, and to preach occasion- ally in the neighbouring villages. His Christian simplicity, warm affection, cheerful countenance and sparkling eye, secured for him a hearty welcome amongst all classes. At his first coming into Cheshire (in the spring of 179 i) he did not imme- diately settle down at any particular place, but "went about doing good." He had a word for the children, young people clung to him ; his advice on all sub- jects was sought by the older people, and to all he showed practical kindness to the utmost of his power. He paid a visit to Northwich of four or five weeks, in the summer of 1794, but he did not com- mence his stated ministry there until nearly twelve months after. Part of his time was spent at Town- ley Street Chapel, Macclesfield, and part at Nant- wich, and other places. In 1795 he made his home at Noi'thwich. The chapel was small, Northwich, damp, inconvenient, and only reached by ^^^^• a flight of steps. The people were so poor that for twelve years they could only raise twenty pounds a year for everything, but he had a small store re- served from his savings as a clerk, and with severe economy he kept out of debt. In October, 1797, he was ordained and gave himself to the pastoral care . Knowing from personal experience the difficulties and trials incident to the cause of Evangelical Non- conformity, he could sympathise most sincerely with any faithful brother who had not only to " labour " but to " suffer reproach." Throughout the county were many small struggling churches without pastors, who by men of another spirit would have 130 COxNGREGATlOKAL HISTORY. [cHAP. V. been stamped out, in order to prevent the shame of their weakness. In other places he saw httle asso- ciations of sincere and humble Christians, who might with care and encouragement become the seeds of future churches, and cheered them on by his friendly visits and affectionate counsels. In his diary he writes : — " During the following three months I preached seventy- five sermons, and travelled about nine hundred miles, mostly on foot. This was my ordinary cour&e for sevetal years, and I have great reason to be thankful to God for the health and strength it pleased Him to grant to such an unworthy rambler. We certainly were at some of them favoured with times of refresh- ing from the presence of the Lord." Mr. Wilson's self-denying labour and quiet per- severance were crowned with success. One obstacle was removed after another, and mainly by his per- sonal effort a new chapel was erected at Northwich, and the ministers and friends who came to the opening services, charmed by his affection and catch- ing his spirit, began to think of an association for their mutual support and the diffusion of the gospel around them. "On the 25th of September, 1806," he writes, "our new chapel was opened. In the afternoon of that day the idea of a County Union loas suggested. It is utterly impossible for me to express the feelings with which I attended our firfrt countj-^ meeting, which was held at Macclesfield, on the 6th of Novem- Cheshire ''^'^''' ^^^6. By the labours of the Union some Union, thousands have been brought to hear words by ^^^^- which they may be saved, and about twenty houses for prayer and praise have been erected." These diversified plans and operations for the religious instruction and spiritual welfare of the CHAP, v.] CONGEEGATlUNxVL HISTORY. 131 people were at every stage vehemently and bitterly opposed. Mr. Kingsbury, of Above Bar Chapel, South- ampton, published a pamphlet in 1798, entitled " An Apology for Village Preachers," with a view to moderate the violence of the clergy. " With regard to the clergy of the Establishment," he says, " I hope I have said nothing throughout these sheets disre- spectful of those who fulfil their ministry. It has ^. . . Kingsbury 8 been ray happiness, in common with others of Apology for my brethren, to be acquainted with some of tillage the order, whom we have loved and honoured. We have read the writings of the clergy on various sub- jects with delight and improvement. We cordially pray for and rejoice in their success in promoting the know- ledge of the pure gospel. Glad should we be to see incumbents and their curates going forth on the afternoons and evenings of Sundays, and on the week days, in those villages and hamlets within their own precincts, where there are no parish churches; to preach faithfully, and to teach from house to house, the soul- reviving and soul-sanctifying truths of their Articles, Homilies, and Liturgy. Let them, be the leading labourers in this abundant harvest, and gather in as many sheaves as they can ; we will folloio them as gleaners, to pich up ichat they leave. Nay, vie will go into another part of the wide field ivhere the husbandmen are few, or negligent. It is not our aim to make pro.>;elytes to a party, by preaching about ecclesiastical, nny more than civil politics. It is not our wish to bring one man from the Church of England to become a mere notional rigid Dissenter. We are not such bigots as to confine salvation within the pale of a church ; but we long for the disobedient to be turned from the error of his way. And, might I be permitted to offer a hint to the clergy of the Establishment, as to the means most likely to be effectual to suppress village preaching by Dissenters, and to revive real religion in the Church of England, and through- out the land, I would say, it is not to misrepresent, malign, and persecute men ; but to exceed or equal them in labour, and to render their assistance unnecessary." 132 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. V. Samuel Horsley, one of the most eloquent of the Anglican prelates, was not inclined to ac- HorXy's eept the pacific counsel of the meek Non- Charge. couformist. In a charge to his clergy on his second visitation, he fiercely denounced the Dis- senters. After a review of the course of the leaders of infielity in France, he said : — " In this country, I believe, they know very well that bold, undisguised Atheism, proceeding directly and openly to its horrid purpose, will never be successful. They must have re- course, therefore, to cautious stratagem. They must pretend that their object is not to demolish, but reform. And it was with a view of giving colour to this pretence, that the impudent lie, for such I have proved it to be, has been propagated in this country of their reverence for pure Christianity, and for the reformation. In their first attempts in this way, we trust they have been foiled. The Patriarch of the sect is fled, and the orators and oracles of Birmingham and Essex Street are dumb ; or if they speak, speak only to be disregarded. " Still the operations of the evening are going on— still going on by stratagem. The stratagem still a pretence of reforma- tion ; but the reformation, the very reverse of what was before attempted. Instead of divesting religion of its mysteries, and reducing it to a mere philosophy in speculation, and to a mere morality in practice, the plan is now to affect a great zeal for orthodoxxj ; to make great pretensions to an extraordinary measure of the Holy Spirit's influence ; to alienate the minds of the people from the Established clergy, by representing them as sordid worldlings ; without any concern about the souls of men ; indif- ferent to the religion which they ought to teach, and to which the laity are attached ; and destitute of the Spirit of God. In mm\y parts of the kingdom new conventicles have been opened in great number, and congregations formed of one hnoxvs not lohat denomination. The pastor is often, in appearance at least, an illiterate peasant, or mechanic. The congregation is visited Qccasionnlly by preachers from a distance. Sunday Schools are opened in connection with these conventicles. There is much reason to suspect that the expenses of these schools and conven- CHAP, v.] OONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 133 tides are defrayed by a^sociafiotis, formed in different places for the preachers, and schoolmasters are observed to engage in expenses for the support and advancement of their institutions, to which, if we may judge from appearance, their own means must be altogether inadequate. The poor are even bribed by small pecuniary gifts from time to time, to send their children to these schools of, they know not what, rather than to those con- nected with the Established Church, in which they would be bred in the principles of true religion and loyalty. It is very re- markable that these new congregations of nondescripts have been mostly formed since the Jacobins have been laid under the restraint of those two most salutary statutes, commonly known by the names of the Sedition and the Treason Bill— a circumsttmce which gives much ground fo?' suspicion that sedition and Atheism are the real objects of these institutions, rather than religion. Indeed, in some places, this is known to be the case. In one topic the teachers of all these congregations agree : abuse of the Established clergy, as negligent of their flocks, cold in their preaching, and destitute of the Spirit. In this they are joined by persons of a very different cast ; whom a candour, of which they, on tlieir part, set but a poor example, is unwilling to suspect of any ill design ; though it is difficult to acquit tiiem of the imputation of an indiscretion in their zeal, which, in its consequences may be productive of mischief very remote, I believe, from their inten- tions. It is a dreadful aggravation of the dangers of the present crisis in this country, that persons of real piety should, without knowing it, be lending their aid to the common enemy, and making themselves accomplices in a conspiracy against the Lord and against His Christ. The Jacobins of this country, I very much fear, are, at this moment, making a tool of Methodism, just as the illuminees of Bavaria made a tool of freemasonry ; while the real Methodist, like the real freemason, is kept in utter igno- rance of the wicked enterprise the counterfeit has in hand. '• What measures it may become the wisdom of the legisla- ture to adopt to stop the growing evil, is a point on which I shall not touch in this assembly." To this furious and indiscriminating diatribe, a sensible reply was given by John Townsbnd, pastor of the church at Jamaica Row, Bermondsey, and 134 OONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. V. founder of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum. In a calm, but vigorous manner, he showed the true Towiisent^'s character of Sunday Schools, and the Chris- Defence of . n ^ 'J • J 1 Sui.dMy tian aims of the itmerant preachers so Schoo 8. strangely caricatured by the angry prelate ; but Robert Hall dealt more directly with the vile in- sinuations of the " right reverend " calumniator:-- " The only shadow of argument," he eays, " on which Bishop Horsley founds his accusation — that village preaching has a political object, is, that it has been chiefly prevalent Robert gince the Pitt and Grenville Bills, as they are styled, Halls Reply t • ' i to Horelej. were passed, which put a stop to pohiical naeetings. Hence, he infers, that it is only a new channel into which the old stream is directed. Here, however, he is entirely mistaken. The true source of this activity is to be found in the missions, the first of which was established some years before the Grenville Bills were passed. The attention oj the religious ptMie ivas strongly excited on that occasion to the indispensable necessity of 'preaching the gospel to every creature,' and the result was a resolution to exert more zealous and extensive efforts to diffuse the knowledge of saving truth at home, than had be- fore been employed. Agreeable to this, it will be found, on inquiry, that those who most distinguished themselves in political delates, have had the least share (if they have had any), in promoting these meastires ; and that the invariable effect of engaging in those plans has been to diminish the attention bestowed on political objects. This, indeed, could not fail to be the consequer.ee ; for as the mind is too limited to be very deeply impressed with more than one object at a time, a solicitude to promote the interests of piety, must insensibly diminish the ardour for everything that is not necessarily involved in it ; not to say that the spirit of devotion, which such designs imply and promote, is peculiarl}^ incompatible with the violence and acrimony of pi)litical passions. The pious of every age have been among the quiet of the land. " I will not say that men of real piety have never been betrayed into factious enterprises, or have not, on some occasions, pushed their opposition to government too far ; but it may be safely affirmed, that whenever they have done so, it must have CHAP, v.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 135 arisen from an extraordiuary concurreuce of circumstances, gene- rally from the oppression which makes a wise man mad ; that it is most foreign to their genuine character, and that nothing is a more effectual antidote to political disturbance than the prevalence of piety." The times were exceedingly critical. From the restrictions imposed on the press and the prohibition of public meetings, the overtaxed and critical oppressed people were in danger of being driven to desperation or lured into excess by- designing men, ready to take advantage of social disorder. Clandestine meetings were appointed, and all who attended them subjected themselves to betrayal by false friends, who went as spies. Conscientious and patriotic men alive to the danger that misfht arise to the cause of freedom, felt impelled to raise distinctly the note of warning. Edward Baines, who had just entered upon the proprietorship of the Leeds Mercnrij, and the responsibilities of sole editor, cautioned cautioned'' the people not to incur these risks by ^l^t^'^ taking part in the meetings at Hartshead Moor, and other places in Yorkshire, which were believed to involve a conspiracy against the govern- ment. "We are surprised," he said, "that any set of men at all capable of reasoning, will hazard their own personal safety and the happiness of their families and connections by such danger- ous practices, which can produce no national or individual good, but must, if persevered in, issue either in their own or their country's ruin. If there be grievances to complain of (and that there are we are not inchned to deny), why not oppose them with open constitutional holiness, and not shrinh into lurking holes like a latdess banditti ? this is rather the conduct of the assassin 136 CONUKEGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. V. of his country's peace, than of men solicitous for its welfare. These proceedings would at any time be ill advised ; but at the present, when a povv. rful enemy is menacing us with threats of invasion, it is absolute maduess." While contempt was poured by Horsley on Dis- senting ministers, a young Congregational minister came into notice, who excited interest in all classes of the community. William Bengo Collyer, the object of this popular enthusiasm, was born at Deptford, April 14, William 1782. His parents, on their removal from ^engo Dorking to Peckham, attended the evan- gelical ministry of Dr. Conyers, of St. Paul's, Deptford. In the days of the Rev. Roger Bentley, the vicar of Camberwell, they frequently went to hear him, though often pelted through the village by the enemies of the gospel, and often saw the windows broken when they attended his lectures at the vicarage. On the death of Dr. Conyers they attended tlie tabernacle at Greenwich, then supplied by such preachers as Rowland Hill, Matthew Wilks, and Torial Joss. The earliest recollections of Collyer were associated with these devoted servants of Christ. He was sent to school at a tender age, to avoid injurious association with his father's work- men. His religious principles were established by parental instruction and example. As a precocious boy he was encouraged to speak at Sabbath afternoon prayer-meetings, and accom- panied by his father, he went out to preach. At the recommendation of the Rev. Joseph Brooksbank, he was admitted at the age of thirteen to the Homerton Academy, to pursue a preparatory course of study ; CHAP, v.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOKY. 137 and at sixteen he was enrolled as a student of theology. Whilst in the Academy he preached to the poor people of Shoreditch workhouse, and fre- quently met about a dozen of the inmates of the almshouses belonging to the Haberdashers' Company at Hoxton. The managers of a small Presbyterian congregation at Peckhara having applied to the Academy for a preacher, on Lord's Day, Sep- tember 21, 1800, he was sent to occupy the pulpit. Mr. Jones, the minister of the chapel, had drifted into Arianism, and at the age of seventy-three was laid aside by the illness of which he died nine days after. In a retrospect of his life, Dr. Collyer says : — " Called to occupy the pulpit here, on a sudden emergency — all applications to other quarters having failed — a lad scarcely passed my eighteenth year, and with a year of aca- Invited to demical studies yet before me, I little imagined that Peckham, 1801 my services would extend beyond that Sabbath day; uwll knowing the kind of doctrines ivhich had obtained dicring a period of thirty years, I resolved to avail myself nf the only oppor- tunity that miijht he afforded to assert the divinity of our Lord Jesus Chr'ist, from the testimony of the Psalmist to the majesty of Jehovah (Ps. cii. 23, 27), and the application of these words to the Messiah in the Epistle to the Hebrews (i. 10 — 12). There was nothing inviting either in the place or people. The chapel had sunk into a state of dilapi- dation. Some of the gallery windows were broken, and an old shutter thrown up to keep out the wind, imparted to it an air of still deeper gloom. An old woman — "a sparrow alone upon the house-top " — occupied the gallery, whilst in the body of the place not more than forty persons might be counted, and even of this number only twelve were stated hearers ; 138 CONGKEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. V. but the congregation steadily increased, and gratified by the manifest improvement, a strong desire was expressed for the continued service of the Homerton student. After a probationary labour of fourteen months, during which the congregation had reached more than five hundred, Mr. Collyer received an invitation to the pastorate, which he accepted, December 1, 1801. Receiving an honourable letter of dismission from Homerton, Mr. Collyer was ordained, December 17, 1801, and in answer to the usual questions, gave a clear and full statement of his doctrinal views in twenty-nine articles. On the first Sabbath in January, 1802, he administered the Lord's Supper for the first time. The number of church members was ten, and five were added on that occasion, including his father and mother. On the Tuesday following, a public prayer meeting was instituted and also a Wednesday lecture. The usual services on the Sabbath were morning and afternoon, affording the eloquent preacher an opportunity to su})ply the Metropolitan pulpits in the evening. Two of the discourses first published by Mr. Collyer were addressed to a company of volunteers, permonsto ^ue ou entering the service in "defence Volunteers, ^f ^^q^j, couutry," and the other on the " day appointed for general thanksgiving for the victory obtained over the combined fleets of France and Spain." The whole country was agitated in the prospect of invasion. " Could you see us just now," Jane Taylor writes to her mother in 1804 from Lavenham, " [ cannot tell whether you would most CHAP. V.1 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOKV. 139 laugh at or pity us. I am sitting in the middle of the room surrounded with beds, chairs, tables, boxes, etc., and every room is the same. But our brains are in still greater confusion, not knowing what to do. Have you heard this new alarm. It is said that the French are aduallij emhai-Jciiig.'" In the homes of England, hitherto peaceful and enjoying the sense of security, the fear was entertained that scenes of tumult, confusion, and cruelty, like those of the continent would soon be witnessed. The name of Napoleon was a word of terror to old and young. Many who deprecated the policy of the war with France, held in utter detestation its impious ruler. " A man," said Robert Hall, " bred in the school of ferocity, amidst the din of arms and the tumult of camps ; his element, war and confusion, who has changed his religion with his uniform, and has not spared the assapsination of his own troops ; it is easy to foresee what treatment such a man will give to his enemies, should they fall into his power ; to those enemies especially, who, saved from the shipwreck of nations, are preserving as in an ark the precious remains of civilization and order, and whom, after destroying the liberties of every other country, he envies the melancholy distinction of being the only people he has not enslaved. Engaged with such an enemy, no weak hopes of moderation or clemency can tempt us for a moment to relax in our resistance to his power, and the only alternative which remains is, to conquer or die." * The tidings of victory were received with emotions of transport mingled with tears of sympathy for those who had lost their fathers or sons in the conflict. Mr. Collyer gave the first utterance in his oration to his own feelings, and well expressed the sentiments oi his excited hearers. * Works, Vol. i— p. 185. 1-10 CONGREGATIONAL HISTOET. [CHAP. V. " In the struggles of the last and present contest," he said, "England has been deeply involved. Her liberties and her prosperity have been regarded with the most determined hatred by her proud neighbours ; and their object is to destroy, if possible, the tranquillity to which they themselves are strangers. ISIarked for destruction as she has long been in the hopes and the hearts of her enemies, her share in the general calamity has been comparatively small. At this moment her situation is the most enviable of all the nations assaulted by the violence of the present conflict. War has shaken the powers of the continent for years, with little intermission ; for some time past it has also menaced our fields and cities with desolation. But it has only menaced us ; while it has penetrated the very heart of other countries, and raged at the very gates of the capital of their enemies. " The power of France has swept with the rapidity and violence of a hurricane, from the verge of the sea, through the southern circles of Germany, marking its progress with ruin and desolation. The shout of victory among her destructive legions has rolled from the Rhine to the Danube ; and their waves with those of the Adige and the Inn, have been stained with the blood of the slain. From the shores of the British Channel, and down the sides of the Alps, the torrent has poured with resistless impetuosity even to the walls of Vienna. In six weeks the armies of France have passed in a line almost the whole extent of the German Empire, to the very borders of Hungary. And we, have we felt the shock ? While providence has permitted the ambition of our adversary to riot in indulgence almost unlimited, it has covered his arms with sliame and defeat, when levelled against the liberties of Great Britain. And to the thunder of war has been added, on the continent, the scourge of famine and of pestilence. Spain has suffered from ail these dreadful plagues, and has felt combined horrors. Her inhabitants have been thinned by hunger; her cities depopulated by fevers; and her navy destroyed in battle. Tne vintage has failed also in Germany ; and her people, oppressed by a foreign enemy, pine in the most distressing want. They have been reduced to the necessity of baking bran for bread, of using grass for vegetables, and in some instances, of plundering the places where dead horses are thrown, for the purpose of feeding upon their flesh. Saxony, Lusatia, Silesia, Bohemia, and Austria, are all thus visited. What in the CHAP, v.] CONGEEGATIONAL HTSTORY. 141 meantime is the state of these happy islands ? At this moment our arms are vicrorious by sea to an extent unparalleled in any history, by any country, at any period. Our harvest has been uncommonly productive, so that there is abundance of ])rovision in our land, and no complaining in our streets ; our kingdoms are filled with tranquillity and unanimity. The scourge of war is felt only in our taxes, and in the loss of the brave men who devoted themselves for their country. And while the balance of Europe is destroyed for the present, Great Britain alone weighs down the enormous preponderance of French [lower, and checks the prodigious strides of French ambition. " We have stated these wonderful facts, and pointed out the contrast subsisting between ourselves and the other nations, not to minister to pride, neither to boasting, but to excite your gratitude, and to convmce you of the decency and propriety of a day sC". apart for thanksgiving to Him who alone maketh empires, as well as individuals to differ. As were the Israelites of old, so is Great Britain chosen, ' not becau.se we are more in number than any people, but because the Lord loved us.' We should blend humiliation with our thanksgiving, because we have in so small a measure loved in return the God who has been in all generations our ' glory and defence.' " In pleading for contributions on the behalf of the wounded, and the widows and orphans made desolate by the stroke that preserved the domestic tranquillity of others, he said : — "I appeal to ijou, my friends, as Protestant Dissenters. You do love your country ; you are fervently attached to the govern- ment under which you live. You have ever been ready to prove that attachment. You are sensible of the privileges which you enjoy, and you prize them highly. I call upon you once more to give a public testimonial of your patriotism ; that whereas, some ' speak of you as evil doers,' you may by actions more powerful and decisive than language, ' put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.' " The ministry of Mr. CoUyer was peculiarly attractive to young people. From the seminaries in 142 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. V. the neiglibourbood two hundred and fifty pupils attended the chapel. In his visits to them he sought to improve their minds and especially to Lectures on , '■ , . i TT Scripture intcrcst them in Evangelical truth. He was not less attentive to the children of the poor. In 1802, he commenced a course of lectures on Scripture Evidences. The interest of these discourses increased as they went on. A request was made for their repetition in London, and the importunity for their publication increased. Lord Erskine expressed his decided approval of their scope and aim. Ultimately they were issued from the press in seven volumes. In a long list of subscribers we find the names of Lord Grenville, the Premier ; Lord Moira, Master of the Ordnance ; the Bishops of Loudon (Dr. Porteous), Peterborough (Dr. Spencer Madan), Llandaff (Dr. Watson), the Dean of Windsor (Dr. Legge), with many of the nobility ; and in addition to these, William Wilberforce, Ambrose Searle, Robert Southey, and other celebrities in the learned professions. What- ever blemishes and defects the critic might find in the series of volumes as they appeared, or in the earlier productions of the young Dissenting divine, he had won for Nonconformity a large amount of admiration and respect, and for the cause of truth, a greater gain. At the close of the series of lectures, a diploma was sent to the author from the University of Edinburgh by the hands of the Duke of Kent, who became his sincerely attached personal friend. CHAPTER VT. The colleges continued to supply the churches in the principal towns and villages with " able ministers of the New Testament." Failures, from various causes were inevitable, and the progress of the truth under the most favoured conditions was not unin- terrupted. The " night of weeping " was alternated with the " morning of joy." But the position of the faithful Congregational pastor, under all Honour- circumstances, thouo-h not the hio^hest in f.^'^ P^'i- ' ° " tion of the social rank, was truly honourable. Con- faithful tinning in the same sphere for fifteen, or gationai fi-l , , -I • • Pastor, ve-and-twenty years, and, m some in- stances, for half a century ; his name was associated with the name of the place in which he was known and respected by the local community as a peaceful and useful citizen, always ready to take his part in the service of philanthropy in any form ; in his own congregation he was the friend and adviser of all, and their willing servant in everything that might contribute to their welfare. The members of the church honoured him with their confidence, and he moved in the tide of their sympathies and prayers. He was with them in all seasons, welcomed to their hospitality, valued for his excellence of character, 144 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. VI. and endeared hy the tenderest associations and recol- lections. This sincere and fervent attachment was not secured by servility or flattery, but by fidelity in the work to which he was called of God and by the people of his choice. For their instruction, estab- lishment, and preservation it was his delight to pre- pare for the ministrations of the Sabbath with dili- gence and care. His library might be scantily fur- nished, but " mighty in the Scriptures," he found in them an " exhaustless mine." The " old divines " he read not with slavish and narrow deference, but because of their elucidation of the sacred text and the extensive range of their Biblical research. He was not deluged with miscellaneous literature, nor bewildered with speculations changing every day, but had leisure for " meditation and prayer," until the " word of Clirist divelt in him rlclily in all wis- dom." The people expected something from him in the pulpit to meet their wants, and they were not disappointed. " Our dear minister," they would say, "has been in the mount to-day;" they ^^ sat together in heavenly ijlacen in Christ Jesus." As those who came from a distance took their simple meal at noon in the vestry, they talked over the morning's " discourse," and at eventide wend- ing their way home through the narrow lanes, they sang together in companies, and not unfre- quently as they " communed and reasoned," the unseen Redeemer went with them ; years after they would repeat the text on which the minister had preached, and in the dying chamber, tell with thank- fulness of the light and comfort they had found. Perhaps it may be said with truth, that pastors CHAP. VI.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 145 and cliurches least known to fame, were the happiest and the most useful; and in the final review no doubt, the unwritten history will be found to be most worthy of remembrance. It is only the more conspicuous in office or in public engagements, that we can briefly notice, and for the present only in the earlier stages of their career. Joseph Fletcher* (born December 3, 1784) was the son of Robert Fletcher, citizen and goldsmith at Chester, and a member of the church under t u the pastoral care of Mr. Armitage. His Fletcher. first eff'orts to speak at religious meetings were made with great difiidence ; but Job Wilson took him out to village stations and encouraged him to go for- ward. On his application for admission to Hoxton, April, 1803, he gave a statement of his religious experience : — " A review of my conduct marked with much folly and sin, affords abundant cause for mourning and sorrow. Some bright spots in the retrospect are recollei-ted with gratitude, when the ' candle of the Lord slione upon me.' Past enjoyments of the Divine favour, and dependence on all-sufficient grace encourage me still to go on in the strength of Jesus, and invigorate my fainting hope. May it be my constant prayer, that in all things I may act as ' becometh the Gospel of Christ,' and adorn the doctrine of God my Saviour. Eespecting my views of divine truth, I cordially subscribe to the system usually termed Cal- vinistic ; the doctrinal articles of the Church of England and the Westminster Confession of Faith, declare those truths which will, I trust, be the joy and rejoicing of my heart." John LEircHiLDf (born at Barnet, Herts, in 1780) had a different training. * Memoir of Dr. Joseph Fletcher. By his son, Rev. Joseph Fletcher, t John Leifchild, D.D., his Public Ministry, etc. By J, E Leifchild A.M. 10 146 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. VI. " In 1797, I removed from my father's house," be says, " and entered upon a new epoch of my life in the town of St. Albans. I went there to perfect my business ; but God's object Leifchild ^^ sending me thither was to complete the foun- dation of my religious character. My entire feel- ings were different from what they had ever been before, for I was now put upon my own resources. I was indeed with rela- tives, and this took off from the feeling of isolation and irksome- ness in labour. " After my week's work, I strictly observed the Sabbath, and was regularly in the Abbey Church on the Sunday morning, where I was pleased with the impressive and eloquent discourses of the Eev. Samuel ISicholson. I often repeated his sermons in private, and endeavoured to imitate his almost matchless elocu- tion. In the evening I attended at the little Methodist Chapel, near the north end of the abbey ; and occasionally at the Inde- pendent meeting in Sweetbriar Lane. " On the evening of a week day, I went to a prayer-meeting at the Wesleyan Chapel, two of the persons who usually took part in the service, were present, and the minister, resident in the town, knowing my father and myself from very frequent attendance, called upon me to take a part. I was surprised and confounded, for though I had often repeated discourses of my own composing, as well as those which I had heard from others, during my journeys on business, in lonely or private places ; and though I even repeated imaginary prayers, one of which I had recited that very day, the suddenness and unexpectedness of the call abashed and confused me. In vain, however, did I object ; the hymn book was put into my hands, and opened at some lines which exactly expressed what my feelings should have been. I was affected as I gave out these words : — " ' Oh, that I could my Lord receive. Who did the world redeem, Who gave His life that I might live A life concealed in Him. " ' Oh, that I could the blessing prove, My heart's extreme desire, Live happy in my Saviour's love. And in His arms expire.' CHAP. VI.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 147 " I was affected to tears, and the prayer that followed was most earnest and pathetic, in which I have no doubt I was helped by the expressive and hearty ' Amens ' of those around me. " I went home and retired to my chamber, there I reflected on what had passed, and felt that I had entered upon a course which mast be pursued, or I should be counted a deceiver and hypocrite. I fell on my knees ; my mouth was opened, my heart was enlarged. Never shall I forget that chamber, that spot, that prayer ! I believed that all the petitions I then uttered were subsequently fulfilled in my experience, there was but little change outwardly ; there could not be much, but from that time the inner man \yas a different being. It seemed as if unshaped and partially dormant feelings had assumed their proper form, and arrived at a vigorous maturity." For a short time young Leifchild joined the Methodists, and was permitted to preach, but changing his views, he intimated this difference of sentiment to Mr. Jabez Bunting, Dr. Adam Clarke, and Mr. Benson, and withdrew from the Society. "I received a note," he sajs, " from Mr. Thomas Wilscn, the treasurer of Hoxton Academy fcr the training of young men for the Independent ministry, inviting me to meet him that day at his office in Artillery PJace. There he received me kindly, and there I first became acquainted with him, and found him to be placid and mild, yet prompt and decisive. "'I hear,' said he, 'that you object to become a Wesleyan minister on account of a change in your sentiments ; permit me to offer you a place in Hoxton Academy.' I replied that I was hardly a Calvinist, having a strong objection to the doctrine of reprobation. ' Well,' said he, ' can you conscientiously subscribe to the doctrinal articles of the Church of England ? ' 'I think I can, in general terms,' was my reply. ' Then go,' rejoined he, ' dispope of your business at once, and prepare to enter Hoxton.' Accordingly, I broke up my establishment, and became a theo- logical student." In his application for admission to the Academy, 148 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. VI. Mr. Leifchild gave a very full and elaborate confes- sion of f'aitb. " In 1804," he says, " I was admitted in the Hoxton Academy. I now applied myself diligently to my studies in order to make up for lost time. I employed myself studiously in the mornings and evenings, very early and very late, in making out a body of divinity from the works of the old divines which I found in the library. " On leaving the Academy, Mr. Leifcliild in 1808 accepted the charge of a small church at Hornton Street, Kensington, which he raised to a state of great efficiency, and then removed, 1824, to Bridge Street Chapel, Bristol. Mr. Wilson, desirous of obtaining for some of the promising students at Hoxton the advantages of University training, applied to Dr. Rees, one of the trustees of Dr. Williams' fund, for a grant to send two of them to Glasgow, and reported to Sd$a7r,e ^hc Committce (April 13, 1804), their sent to favourable reply. Joseph Fletcher and Glasgow ^ -^ ^ , University, Gcorpfc Pavue werc nomniated for the exhibition. The decided course of Gkeville EwiNG * in Glasgow warranted the expectation that the young English brethren would find in him a steadfast friend. Ralph Wardlaw f (born at Dalkeith, December 22, 1779), with equal decision had avowed his Con- Bai h gregational principles after reading Camp- Wardiaw. \)q[Ys " Lccturcs ou Ecclesiastical His- tory." He began to preach in 1800. Visiting Edinburgh in 1801, at the request of Mr. Haldane, * Life of Greville Ewing. By liis daughter, Mrs. Matheson. f iMemoir of J^r. Wardlaw. By Dr. W. Lindsay Alexander. CHAP, VI.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 149 he preached iu Perth and other places in succession. Returning to Glasgow, a new chapel was built for him, which was opened February 16, 1803. He was then ordained as pastor, and, full of zeal, he preached in the streets of the city, cross-roads, fields, barns, and kitchens of the neighbouring villages. The faithful coadjutor of Mr. Ewing, he was no less disposed to give the Hoxton students a cordial welcome. Mr. Wilson introduced them in the fol- lowing letter to Mr. Ewing : — " Dear AND Rev. Sir, — Accept my best thanks for the present of a copy of your lecture by the hands of Mr. Campbell. I have always read your publications with much pleasure, and hope you will meet with encouraecement to pro- ; , ':" , '' . * ^ son 8 letter ceed in that way of doing good. It was suggested to Greville by the Rev. Mr. Greathead to me that it would be l'^«"'^. . 1804. peculiarly desirable if a selection was made of one or two young men, who had made the greatest proficiency at Hoxton Academy, in order to complete their education in one of the Scotch universities, that by receiving such advantages, they might be more fitted to defend the truth against the attacks of learned infidels and sceptics, and to become able tutors as well as writers. By inquiry, we learnt that the late Dr. Williams had left a fund to maintain several English students at Glasgow. This led us to apply to the present trustees, who, though in general of opposite sentiments, were willing to grant exhibitions to two of our students, to enter the University of Glasgow at the commencement of the next session. We have fixed upon two of great piety, much sweetness of temper, and possessing taste and abilities for making progress in the various branches ot literature. We wish to prepare their way by recommending them to your favourable regard and attention, particularly because they will necessarily be exposed to new trials and temptations at a great distance from us. Indeed, our Society would have been unwilling they should have gone at all, but from the hope that you would, as a father, watch over their spiritual as well as temporal con- cerns. I am sure, dear sir, you will agree with me, that unless 150 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. YI. the life and 'pov;cr of religion in the soul are onaint allied, as tcell as a fixed determinadon to preach tJie truth with the titmost simplicity, affection, and fideJili/, we shall only he the instrument of putting tools into their hands, ivhich may do mischief to that cause tve desire loith the greatest anxiety to sei've. *' We understand thej must board in a private family ; bow im])ortant, tben, is it tbat it sbould be a pions one, wbere tbey "will bave opportunity to exercise in family worsbip and in reli- gious conversation, and live in a plain but comfortable way, witb every facility for uninterrupted study, and in sucb society as would be suitable. Perhaps you will be able to learn, before the time it will be needful they should go, of some respectable family who will be willing to take them in ; and I shall be obliged to you to inform me of the particulars. " While they diligently pursue their studies, it appears to me peculiarly desirable they should have opportunity for attending prayer meetings, preaching in rooms, etc., among the fioor, either in the town or adjacent villa<;es, and catechizing ; the latter may be the most important, as it will give an opportunity of talking, and explaining in a familiar manner, and with close application to the heart and conscience ; and this will habituate them to the work in England, where it is shamefully neglected. " Doing good to the poor, to the most ignorant, and to those who are out of the way, will, I conceive, have a happy tendency to counteract the evils naturally arising from progressive attainments in scieyice and literature. " I should mention that a sou of the Rev. G. Burder, who has been studying the last year at Hoxton, will accompany them. Perhaps it would be desirable they should be either in the same house, or near together, but of course his father will be consulted, and direct the future steps of his son. " I sincerely wish you increasing success in your great work, and that your life may be spared for many years to come. If I should live, perhaps I may visit our young friends in Scotland, but I find great difficulty to leave home. The concerns of the chapel at Hoxton (which is lately considerably enlarged) and the Academy lie heavy on me. — Believe me, Dear and Rev Sir, youra in much affection, " Tnos. Wilson. * "July 21, 180k" * Original Letter, copied by Mrs. MacKellar Woo J. CHAP. VI.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 151 Payne and Fletcher went to Glasgow, and from time to time reported their progress to the com- mittee at Hoxton. The following letter may be taken as a specimen of their correspondence : — "Glasgow, December 10th, 1804 " Dear Sir, — I should not have delayed writing so long, had not the necessary preparation for the Blackstone examination, together with our other studies, prevented. This formidable examination talces place to-morrow. The G-eorge students in the Lootc class are examined bv Mr. ^^y^^ ^ -o- J_^ n n r^ , . -. ,, Mr.Wilsou. loung, the professor of Grreek m the authors they read with him the preceding session, or in any other which they may select. If found deficient, they are dismissed from the Logic class with disgrace, and compelled again to join the Greek class. We intend to profess the First Book of * Homer's Iliad,' and two or three chapters of 'Xenophon's Memorabilia.' In answer to your inquiries, I may say we are united in supposing our present advantages of great importance, and hope to derive much benefit from them. The professors are men of eminence, and not only equal, but much exceed our expectations. We have, hitherto, chiefly attended Mr. Ewing, and Dr. Balfour, and Mr. Wardlaw, minister of an Independent church in connection with the Taber- nacle. We have requested occasional communion with Mr. E wing's church, which they have allowed us. By this means we shall be at liberty to hear Dr. Balfour more frequently, with- out subjecting ourselves to the charge of irregularity which might, perhaps, have been alleged against us, had we entered into full communion with them. During the session we shall find it impracticable to engage much in preaching. Our studies will prevent it, and our friends, particularly Dr. Balfour, think it most prudent to decline it. Mr. Harley, one of the deacons at the Tabernacle, has introduced us to a Sunday school, consisting of between two and three hundred children, which we regularly attend every Sabbath evening. We hope, by this means, we may be made instrumental in doing some good to the cause of Christ, in a less offensive* way than that of preaching would be. Sabbath schools, in Scotland, are more exclusively appropriated * Offensive to the ministers of the Kirk. 152 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. YI. to religious instruction than in England. Almost all who attend are able to read the Bible and common books. "We sometimes appoint the children to learn a portion of the Bible by heart, and always inform them where they will read the next evening, when we endeavour to explain, as simply as we can, and impress their minds with the importance of the truths they read The persons at whose house we lodge are not, I fear, acquainted with the gospel. We have introduced family prayer, at which they generally attend, and, since we came here, have sometimes heard Mr. Ewing. We have lent them a few plain sermons, with which they have expressed much satisfaction, and requested us to lend them others. It is God ahme who can render these means effectual to the salvation of their souls, and I trust it is our constant de.sire and prayer that He would bless them, and make us the instruments of bringing them to the knowledge of the truth. The kindness of our fi-iends increases. Our obligations to Mr. and Mrs. Ewing, and to other friends with whom we are acquainted, are indeed great, and, I hope, will not easily be forgotten. Be so good, sir, as to express to the committee, the sense we entertain of their kindness in so readily complying with our request. If the honour of the Redeemer be at all promoted by it, I am persuaded those gentlemen will think themselves amply rewarded for the kindness they have shown to us. Let me then, sir, earnestly beg an interest in your prayers, that this may be the case ; that we may be properly qualified for the important work of the gospel ministry, and rendered eminently useful in bringing many wandering sheep to the Shep- herd and Bishop of souls. Mr. B. and F. join in respectful compliments to yourself and Mrs. W. — I remain, dear Sir, your obedient and obliged servant, " G. Payne." * During the vacation at Glasgow, Mr. Fletcher received an invitation to the pastorate of the Church at Chapel Street, Blackburn, and accepted Mr. Fletclier ^ -ir.rv/»TT n A\ at Bhi.k- it August J, 1806. He returned to Grlas- gow, and took his degree of Master of Arts, preached frequently, and wrote a series of letters to the Church at Blackburn. In the end of * Hoxton MSS. CHAP. VI.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 153 April, 1807, he entered uponliis charge. His youth- ful dignity, the penetrating glance of his dark eye, his benevolent and intellectual countenance, lighted up by the earnestness of feeling, the play of sym- pathy, or the ardour of passion, his appropriate gesture, his distinct enunciation, the varied modula- tion of a full-toned voice, and his polished diction, ail contributed to the attraction of his preaching. Sound in doctrine, but versed in the topics selected for the instruction of the .people, he gained their confidence as a faithful minister. The impres- sion produced by the services of his ordination on the L6th of July, was deep and abiding. The pro- erress of the Church was steadv and assur- P "^ Letter to ing^ for the future. In a letter to his Wardkw, friend, the Rev. R. Wardlaw, September 7, 1803, he reports his success and the progress of the denomination. " The number of churcTi memb< rs increases, and I am not witliout peculiar reasons for gratitude and perseverance. In the course of this summer we have had several ordinations in Lanca- shire, and the success attending the operations of the County ' Congregational Union,' lias been unusually encouraging. Several entirely new interests have been raised, and churches regularly formed. I preached last Sabbath week at Colne, about eighteen miles hence, vrhere, till within this year, there had never been any Independent Church ; and there were nearly a thousand hearers, who assembled in the Cloth Hall of the town. The usual congregation is about five or six hundred, numbers of whom before never went to any place of worship I am sorry to my very heart, at the divisive courses of Messrs. Haldaue and Co. How will all the corps of Presbyterianism exult in such whirling and trifling, such religious Quixotism and windmill fighting — instead of serious and dignified opposition to the world, the flesh, and the devil ! It seems as debasing a prostitution of time and talents, as it would have been in our ministers quarrelling about the paint- 154 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. VI. ing and colouring of the transports that were to convoy the expedition to Spain, when all their energy should be employed in the great cause of patriotism and liberty. But, alas ! the men of this world are wiser in their concerns than the ' children of light.' It ought to be our wisdom to form just estimates of the comparative importance of controversies. I have long been im- pressed with the conviction, that whatever doctrine, or practice is ESSENTIA Fi to Christian faith and holiness, must depend for its authority, not on circuitous reasonings and long-winded and far-fetched inferences (even allowing them to be legitimately drawn), but on the direct and explicit statements of divine revela- tion; otlierwise tlie main design of such a revelation, purporting to he a discovery of truth and of duty, loould never he effected; for the interpreter must, indeed, be one of a thousand, who could find out some things lately made known by the northern lights. If the principle of this statement be correct, then we may easily ascertain the relative importance of questioning, and should reo-ulate our conduct in reference to such inquiries, according to the just laws of scriptural proportion. And so the ' kiss,' the established symbol of affection, is become the signal of division ! What a monstrous violation is this of everything like those laws of proportion to which I have alluded, I wish this kissing busi- ness may not still farther betray the sacred cause, and be the pi^elude to further mockei'y ! "* The controversies to which Mr. Fletcher refers, arose from a change in the rehgious views of Mr. James Haldane, and his brother Eobert, which we may notice later on. Mr, Payne, on leaving the University, accepted the charge of a church in Edinburgh. In 1822, he succeeded Mr. Fletcher as Theological Tutor at Blackburn Academy, and in 1831 became President of the Academy at Exeter. For a year Robert Morrison (the distinguished Robert Chinesc scholar), was a student at Hox- MorriBou. ^^^^ jj^j entered January 14, 1803. This eminent missionary was born at Morpeth, January * Meiuoir of Dr. Fletcher. B^ Lid son, Rev. Joseph Fletcher. CHAP. VI.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. 165 5, 1782. When he was three years old, his parents removed to Newcastle, and he was sent to school, under his uncle, Mr. James Nicholson, and, at the usual age, bound apprentice to his father, as a last and boot-tree maker. At the age of sixteen he became decidedly religious. He writes to a friend : — " The instruction which I received in my father's house, and from the ministers of religion, in connection with the S-cotch churches, terminated in leading me to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and happiness. I found joy and peace in believing the truth. The hope and anticipation of heaven yielded me unspeak- able delight ; and I longed to make others as happy as myself. I desired to ivin souls to Christ, that they might heoome the heirs of everlasting bliss. Study now became my delight ; and, with slender means, and great physical efforts, I saved hours from labour and sleep. I made some ineffectual and discouraging applications to ministers for direction, and my aged mother wondered to what this zeal and assiduity would lead." He was delighted at the anticipation of entering on active ministerial work at Hoxton. " I remember shedding, in secret, tears of joy," he says, " when, with feelings of deep responsibility, I was sent, for the first time, to preach concerning Jesus to some poor people in St. Luke's workhouse. The first pulpit I ever preached in was that in their chapel." From Dr. Fletcher we learn something of his habits in the Academy : — " In the year of Dr. Morrison's entrance at Hoxton, I had the honour and happiness of being admitted to that institution, and of being his daily associate in his classical studies, and I refer to the circumstance, because at that period, some of the prominent features of his character were developed, not so much in his ordinary intercourse, as in the more private circle of his Academic friendships. There was a deep seriousness of spirit, 166 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [OHAP. VI. an unobtrusive devotion, without the slightest approach to dis- play, that proved the reality of his communion with God. His interest in the cause of missions was manifest, rather by the impression he felt of its claims, than by his conversation. He seemed to be far less excited by the movements designed to produce impression on the public mind, than by the calm and retired contemplation of the subject, and I well recollect a con- versation in which he spoke of his own personal obligations to become a missionary, in a tone of most fervent and impressive conviction. The early development of his mental character was marked by no predominant feature, except that of intense and continued application, and all that his future life and labours effected, may be traced under the divine blessing, to this untiring perseverance.^' In May, 1804, he devoted himself to the cause of missions, and was accepted by the Directors of the Loudon Missionary Society. He be- Missiouary , • ,i p l^ Student came a student at (iosport lu the lollowmg o^por. g^^j-^gj,^ under the venerable Dr. Bogue. In 1806 he returned to London, to study Chinese with Yong Sam Tac, medicine under Dr. Blair, and astronomy with Dr. Hutton of Greenwich. He was then ordained to the work of missions at Swallow Street Chapel, on the 8th of January, Ordained 1807. To cscapc the opposition of the 1807. Ea^g^ India Company, he went out as the first Protestant Missionary to China, by way of the United States. Landing at Macao on the 4th of September, he proceeded to Canton, where he was accommodated with lodgings in the factory of the American agents, Messrs. Milner and Bull. The jealousy of the Government compelled him Seclusion at to kccp himsclf private, spending the day Canton. ^j^j^ j^jg dnnese teacher, with whom he took liis meals, studying and sleeping in a room CHAP. VI.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOKY. 157 under ground, that he might form the habit of tliinking, as well as speaking, in Chinese. He reported to the Society, at the close of ] 808, that he had completed a grammar of the Chinese tongue. On the 21st of February, 1809, the supercargoes of the East India Company— to whom he had ren- dered valuable assistance in translating their Chinese correspondence— appointed Grlmmar him, as the most perfect Chinese scholar, ^"°*''^- their secretary and interpreter. His grammar of the Chinese language was printed at the expense of the East India Company. In the year 1813, he completed an edition of the New Testament in Chinese, of which large editions were published and circulated in China. To this the Court of Directors IZ^^T'"' was decidedly opposed, and ordered that ^^iT''' ns services to the factory should cease. But his skill as an interpreter was too important to be dispensed with, and he was retained. With the co-operation of Mr. Milne, he pro- ceeded to the translation of the Old Tes- tament, in nineteen volumes, published o/theoir November 25, 1819. On the 5th of April, Sir""' 1822, he completed his Dictionary of the Chinese language, a stupendous work, in six quarto volumes, published at the expense of the East India Company, amounting to Dictionary, nearly fifteen thousand pounds. ^^^^' The emoluments received by Dr. Morrison as a translator, were consecrated to the missionary cause. In conjunction with Dr. Milne, he founded the Malacca College, contributing a thousand pounds 158 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. VI. at the commencement, and a hundred pounds a Malacca 7^^^ ^^^ ^^6 jcars. His object, simple and CoUege. supreme, was the salvation of the heathen. At Canton, and at Macao, he made his house a chapel, usually preaching four times on the Sabbath — twice in English — to such of his countrymen as would attend, and twice in Chinese to the natives. Returning to Mr. Roby, as the event proved, he had no reason to regret his decision to remain in Man- Mr Rob Chester. The increase of his congregation and Gros- rendered s^reater accommodation necessary, venor Street '=' ,.,._, o/-v-7 m Chapel, and a new chapel was built m 1807, at Grros- venor Street, to which the Church removed, intending to use Cannon Street Chapel for a time, as a branch station. Five members, however, with the connivance of the Trustees, met in it for worship, with a hope of raising a separate congregation. In a letter dated 3rd January, 1808, they applied to Mr. Roby, as their " late minister and father in Christ," and state "that they now constitute the Independent Church of Christ in Cannon Street," though, " being left without a stated minister and congregation," they are no longer "like a tree in full bloom, in the reviving spring in the year, but like a tree in autumn, stripped of its beauty and glory, and left naked and bare." In this desolate condition, they send " a few lines in peace of mind . , , and Q:ood-will towards their late minister," A few seeds ~ . at Cannon to tcU him that they look upon themselves " as a few seeds," hoping that he will lend his loving assistance. After this poetic intro- duction, they ask him plainly that when a minister calls upon him, he will recommend them, and advise CHAP. VI.] CONGKEGATIONAL EISTORY. 159 him to give them a sermon as often as he can, while "in an infant state." Moreover, as the power is in his own hands, they request " tlie quiet mid peaceable possession of the Chapel, and premises thereunto helo7iging,'^ and conclude in the following terms : — "We are in expectation of the same being given up unto us in the same peace of mind and good- will as that in which we ask for it. If so, it will kindle a flame of Christian love, unity, peace, and concord, that will be to the Impndent glory of God and the comfort of all our minds. Hope we give no off"ence in laying this thing before you, but rather rejoicing, in seeing the Lord hath inclined a few of us to set our shoulders to the work, to promote the pi^eaching of his Word in our empty Jwuse at present. And we whose names are hereunto annexed, subscribe ourselves the Independent Church of Christ in Cannon Street, and your servants in the Lord. So be it. Expecting your answer as soon as possible. Yours, as subscribed, " Philip Booth, John Hadfield, Richard Barlow, Thomas Greenlees, John Chudson." To this canting and impudent epistle Mr. Roby sent the following reply : — " Deae Brethren, — Could I believe that the affectionate good will which your letter expresses did really prevail in your minds, I would most cordially concur, so far as my influence goes, in promoting the object you have in view. But -0^*1 ° ^ ® your conduct in the matter gives me reason to suspect the sincerity of your profession, and obliges me to remonstrate with you. Your names stand as members ivith us, yet you call yourselves a distinct church, though you have never consulted with us on the sub- ject, nor so much as expressed your intention or wish to secede from us for this purpose. Is this done decently and in order? You would adrait that the gracious providence of God called loudly for a larger place of worship to accommodate those who wished to hear the word of life. Have you duly attended to this call by encouraging the undertaking and co-operation with us according to your ability ? After the very extraordinary 160 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [OHAP. V[. exertions that have been made by the body of the church and congregation, a debt of three thousand pounds or upwards devolves on the new ch^ipel, the principal and interest of which, together with the ground rent of £70 per annum, must be deducted from the annual income of the place. In order to lessen the burden it was unanimously determined at a chtirch meeting that our chapel {Cannon Street) sJiould be regularly supplied, and the income arising from it applied to the reduction of one-third of the debt. After which it should be given up freely to any congregation of Independents wishing to occupy it ; or that any such congregation desirous of possessing it sooner should do so on condition of advancing a moderate subscription towards the defraying of our debt, which might easily have been done by various ways. Now, instead of concurring with the measure which the church had adopted, or advising with your brethren respecting some other place, you have begun to receive seat rents, and have thus formed yourselves into a party against the Church, and this, too, under the influence of promised aid of .persons ivho were neither members nor seatholders with us. Is this treating the church with proper respect ? or acting with that peaceful subordination which the law of the Prince of Peace requii^es ? You know, at least some of you are aware, that on account of some circumstances during Mr. Bradbury's ministry, of which Mr. Joule can inform you more particularly, I have been in arrears for the last quarter ever since I came to Manchester, and consequently that the seat rents from Sept. 25th to Dec. 25th, 1807, amounting to £50, are now due to me from Cannon Street. Is it equitable that I should lose the debt ? or that they who profess to be the members of the Church of Christ in Cannon Street should throw off this burden from them- selves upon others. If we had not designed to keep the place open and regularly supplied with a gospel ministry, or if one third or fourth of her members and congregation had wished to continue at the old place and desired us to give them the peace- able possession (this might have been done). But is it reason- able that a few members should act in op>position to more than two hundred without asking the church any question at all ? You request from me the peaceable possession of the place, but if you were not aware that I have a legal right to retain it, you ought to have had a little respect to me in this business as also to the CHAP. VI.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOEY. 161 church. You say you ask it in peace of mind, and expect that it will be given up in the same peace of mind and good will as that in which you request it. Suppose I were to reply that I request you in peace and good will to let it be as the church had determined, and expect that you will with the same peace and good will consent, would you be likely to fulfil my expectations ? Persons may show me much good will when they asked a favour who would manifest as much of the opposite if refased. The request for the peaceable possession of the place implies that if this be not granted you will take it by force. If this is its import I shall yield, and I hope the members of the church will submit. Knowing who has said, ' If it be possible as much as with in you live peaceably with all men,' and viewing your proce- dure as I do at present, I cannot justify, encourage, or aid you ; and at the same time I promise that I will not attempt to molest you, or in any way to impede you except by stating the case as represented above. I assure you that whilst I feel it my duty to address you as I have done, I feel no animosity against you. If Christ be preached in Cannon Street Chapel, as I believe He will, and sinners be converted to Him, I hope I shall rejoice. I wish prosperity to your professed design in this respect, though I do not approve of your measures. " I remain, etc., " William Roby. " To Mr. Philip Booth, etc." In this admirable letter we see the characteristic firmness and discretion of Mr. Eoby. Litigation in such a case would have devoured the property for no good purpose whatever, the church at Grosvenor Street would have been diverted from its proper work, the peace of its members embittered, and the gospel hindered ; but with forbearance and judicious con- cession, Mr. Eoby gained a moral victory, and the link of connection was preserved in the evidence of his letter with the mother Congregational Church in Manchester in a manner creditable to their Christian profession. 11 162 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. VI. John Campbell, iromiionger, of tAie Grass- market, Edinburgh, left Scotland for the south in T- 1803. His abundant and varied labours John Campbell ]yi different departments of Christian service of the Grass- ^ . market, had prepared him to uudertake the pas- torate of a settled Congregational Church. Disencumbered of patrons and advisers, he entered upon ministerial service on his own responsibility. Jn a letter to his aunt, dated London, October 31, 1803, lie reports his safe arrival in the Metropolis, and his kind reception from all his friends. Visit to _^ n ^ • n • • • i i John One 01 his nrst visits was paid to the venerable John Newton, who had dis- couraged the Bengal Mission, and warned him against joining the associated Missionaries — Bogue, Ewing, and Haldane. " I dined with Mr. Newtou on Saturday, and had a long walk with him hanging on my arm, in Moorfields. I am full taller than the old man ! He is much feebler since I saw him last, and seems not far from Jerusalem that is above. He does not appear sorry that the journey of life is nearly done, but waits calmly for the Master's summons. I preached three times at Kingsland Chapel yesterday. It was quite crowded, forenoon and evening ; in the afternoon they do not come so well out in London. They have got a gallery since I was here, rh"^^l*° part of which is allotted to boys and part to girls, who sing in the most enchanting manner you can conceive. I never heard anything like it. I meet with much kindness from all connected with the chapel, and all wish me to continue with them, but the Lord reigns over me. The chapel is so grand and glaring, and so full of rich people, that I should almost wish to be seen in it by some of my Scotch friends. They would almost think I had turned Roman Catholic ; but God has some very dear saints in it." Mr. Campbell was ordained in 1804. CHAP. VI.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 163 " Soon after my ordination," he says, " I felt desirous to have a magjizine entirely devoted to young people." After communicating his intentions to Miss Rutts, at Hackney, a number of friends and co- workers met at Mr. Burchel's, of Doctors' ..Youth's Commons, and agreed to publish the Magazine " "Youth's Magazine." It was edited by "Teacher's Mr. Campbell ten years. After this peri- odical was fairly established, he started a magazine for children, entitled, "The Teacher's Offering," the circulation of which reached fifty thousand monthly, and might have continued at that rate, but for the boasting of the publisher, who unv\^ittingly called forth a host of competitors. Mr. Campbell soon found occupation in his own line of things. His friend Burder, formerly de- nounced by the Kirk of Scotland as a vagrant teacher, was now pastor of the Congregational Church at Fetter Lane, in the City of London, editor of the " Evangelical Magazine," and Secre- tary of the London Missionary Society. As might be expected of the author of the "Village Sermons," he was much interested in tract distribution. Re- ligious books had been printed before at Leeds and in other places for gratuitous circulation, but it was now proposed to establish an institution on a more extended scale. Mr. Burder, after a sermon at Surrey Chapel, in 1799, announced from the pulpit that he ^ . . . . Origin of wished to form a society for the publication the Tract and sale of religious tracts, and invited the ministers present, who were favourable to the object, 164 CONGREGATIONAL HTSTOEY. [CHA?. VI. to meet next morning at St. Paul's Coffee House.* Mr. Thomas Wilson took the chair, and the Society- was formed. Mr. Joseph Hardcastle and his jmrtner, Mr. Joseph Reyner, both from the neighbourhood of Leeds, and now conducting a large mercantile business in London, accommodated the committee formed for its promotion in their counting-room. Mr. Reyner was treasurer, and the animating soul of the movement. An incidental conversation arose at a committee meeting, December 7, 1802, over which 'Mr. Alers Hankey (a member of the Con- gregational Church at Stepney) presided, on the Bible necessity of a greater supply of Bibles. Society. j|^ ^^s suggcstcd that a distinct society should be established to meet the growing demand. Mr. Campbell lent his active assistance, circulars were issued at the expense of Messrs. Hardcastle and Reyner. Great hesitation was felt on the part of many who might have been expected to help, and considerable doubt as to the form the intended institution should assume. After much discussion, it was determined to call a public meeting, and to invite as chairman some person of high station and great repute, in whom Christian people would have confidence. Wjlliam Wilberfoece was the only man of his order that gave the committee his atten- tion. At the request of a special deputation, he appointed an interview with the committee on the 1st of April. Mr. Alers Hankey, who presided on the occasion, explained to him the object, and it was resolved : " That it is expedient to adopt measures for obtaining information respecting the want of * Leifchild's Memoir of Joseph Hughes, p. 180. CHAP. VI. ] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 165 Bibles in this and other countries." The pubUc meeting was appointed for the 1st of March, but postponed till the seventh. No little difficulty was met with in obtaining a member of the Established Church for chairman. The venerable GrRANViLLE Sharp (the man who first proposed the abolition of slavery and the slave-trade) on the recommendation of Mr. Hughes,* was at length applied to and accepted the appointment. The meeting was held in the London Tavern, in Bishopsgate Street. About fifty persons assembled in one of the minor rooms. The business was introduced by a brief state- ment of the provisional proceedings from Mr, Robert Cowie, and while he was speaking, the Rev. John Owen entered the room, as he said, " to see what you Dissenters were about." All eyes were directed towards him, and some anxiety felt as to the part he might take, in sinking or in supporting the cause. He took a chair next Mr. Hankey, and asked him various questions without declaring his views. Rising after this private chat, Mr. Hankey explained openly, and in detail, the objects of the intended Society. In the course of his speech, Mr. Owen asked on what authority he gave the state- ments he had just made, and received a suitable reply. After Mr. Samuel Mills had introduced the plan of the Society, Mr. Steinkopfi* riveted the attention of the meeting by a touching account of the interest felt in Germany. There was now an ominous pause ; the gentlemen who were to speak and move resolutions were all fixed upon, and had * Life of Rev. J. Hughes. By Rey. John Leifchild, D.D. 16G CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [OHAP. VI. engaged to do it some days previous to the meet- ing, that they might have time to prepare it. On coming to the next resohition, and the name of him who had engaged to take it being called, he was found to be a defaulter, and no one present seemed to be prepared to take his place. Mr. Owen then rose and gave an energetic and thrilling address in support of the object. The Society was instantly formed. Mr. Reyner, who sat next to Mr. Campbell, was in an ecstacy of delight. When papers were handed to a few gentle- men to take down the names of subscribers upon, he received one and began operations. A respectable Quaker came to him, who said : " Friend Keyuer, what should I give ? " Looking to see who he was, he said : " A hundred." " That's too much, put me down fifty." Another came to ask the same question, with a similar result. So the roll of sub- scriptions was opened, from which millions of copies of the Word of God have been sent into all lands. To return to denominational affairs. Among the youthful members of the congrega- tion at Peckham, Avere seventy pupils from the academy (opposite the chapel) under the care of the Rev. Martin Ready, a member of the Baptist Church in East Walworth. Thomas Thomas IUffles* (bom 17th of May, 1788), one Raflies. Qf their number by the natural eloquence he displayed in the recital of a " piece " at the annual meeting of the school, attracted the notice of * Memoirs of the Life and Ministry of the Rev. Thomas Raffles, D.D., LL.D. By Thomas Raffles, Esq., B.A., of the Inner Temple, Stipendiary Magistrate. CHAP. VT.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 167 Mr. Colly er. He was the son of Mr. William Raffles, a solicitor in Princes Street, London. His mother was a Wesleyan. In a relation of his experience, he says : — " Soon as reason had dawned within me, the first impressions I remember to have received, were of a serious kind. At that time I was accustomed to attend the chapels in the connexion of the late Rev. John Wesley, and to the public instruction there received, enforced with unwearied and unremitting diligence and care by a pious and tender mother. I cannot express the deep and lasting obligations under which I lie, for neither were the public preaching of the gospel, nor the private and affectionate prayers and admonitions of the parent in vain. Often when in the house of God, I have been melted into tears ; even at that early age, I delighted in secret prayer, and I well recollect that the interesting parable of the Prodigal Son, w>:n 1 fil 1 abuses of the Act of Wilham and Mary, and that of the 19th of George III., and to move for leave to bring in a Bill for " Amending and explain- ing the same as far as they apply to Dissenting ministers." " In the Bill I propose to mtroduce," said his lordship, " I sball propose, that in order to entitle anj man to obtain a quahfica- tion as a preacher, he shall have the recommendation of at least six respectahle householders of the congregation to which he belongs, and that Tie shall have a congregation willing to listen to his instructions. With regard to preachers who are not stationary, but itinerant, I propose that they shall be required to bring a testimonial from six householders, stating them to be of sober life and character, together with their belief that they are qualified to perform the functions of preachers." This " amendment " of the law, of course, would prevent any person from preaching for the first time, since the "six householders" could only judge of his fitness by the trial of his gifts, and this exercise could not be allowed without a previous " testimonial." The plausible measure called forth powerful and effectual resistance from Lord Holland, Earl Stanhope, Earl Gray, Lord Erskine, and other Liberal peers protested against its intolerance, and the floor of the House was flooded with petitions from Nonconformist and Wesleyan congregations in 222 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. VIII. every part of the country, so that the noble lord was too glad to beat a retreat, and to explain that he had been greatly mistaken in his benevolent intention. Mr. Belsham, the Unitarian minister, quite approved of the Bill, but standing alone his help availed nothing. The Archbishop of Canterbury said : — " It appeared to him that there were only two objects which the Bill had in view : the first was to produce uniformity in ex- plaining the Act of Toleration ; and the second was to render the class of Dissenting ministers more respectable by the exclusion of those who were unfit for the ofBce. These objects seemed laudable in themselves, and calculated to increase the respectability of the Dissenting interest. At the same time, the Dissenters themselves were the best judges of their own concerns; and as it appeared from the great number of petitions which loaded the table of the House that they were hostile to the measure, he thought it would be unwise and impolitic to press this Bill against their consent," Foiled in this attempt to make Dissenters "respectable" by Act of Parliament, some of the clergy ferreted out old persecuting statutes, and prosecuted a number of poor people for speaking at prayer meetings, but the convictions were quashed by royal authority, and the obnoxious laws formally repealed. The Macedonian cry for help came from all Macedonian quarters when it became known in dis- cry from ■* Upper tant British settlements that a society 1810. "' had been formed iu London for sending the gospel to the heathen. One hundred and twenty settlers in the province of Upper Canada united in a petition to the London IMissionary Society, April 9th, 1810, in which they state : — CHAP. VIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 223 " We have been loug destitute of the public means of salva- tion, the natural consequences of which is declension, lifeless- ness, carnality, and carelessness about spiritual concerns. A number of us came to this country in 1784, when it was literally a howling wilderness, being for many hundred miles without an inhabitant, excepting the savages, who roam about in the woods like wild beasts in quest of prey, without any stated home, and a small garrison at the east end of Lake Ontario, now called Kingston. We have, with the blessing of God, been enabled to surmount the hardships and difficulties inseparably connected with the settling of a wilderness at a great distance from any inhabited country, and we have reason to be thankful that our lands, when cleared and cultivated, produce the necessaries of life plentifully. But, alas I to this day we continue destitute of the greatest of all blessings — gospel ordinances. It is true we have had a few transient visits of some Missionaries from the Reformed Dutch Church in the state of New York, who led us to believe that we could be supplied from their body. Having been repeatedly disappointed in former applications to other denominations, and on examination, finding they were sound in the faith, we gladly turned our attention to them, but we have been kept as it were hanging between hope avd despair these twelve years, and they have not been able to supply us yet. Nor are they likely to be able to. The distance from Montreal to this place is about 145 miles. The extent of a minister's charge will have to be determined in a great measure by his own judgment or the Society's discretion, as the country is very extensive, at all events this district would be sufficiently large even for two if the Society could send them, but even one would be an unspeakable blessing. The district contains about sixteen townships, three of those fronting the river St. Lawrence are each nine miles in front and twelve in depth. The others are about six in front and twelve in depth. Those back from the river are about nine miles square." The same story of spiritual destitution and of the danger of lapsing into semi-barbarism came from other colonies. Some of the returned mis- sionaries from the South Seas sent out were 224 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. VIII. incompetent, and therefore inefficient, the reUef afforded in consequence was only partial and tem- porary, as they advanced to distant stations the cry still came for help from regions yet beyond them. The hearts of many young men yearned to be employed in the mission field, but they needed Application Suitable training for the work. Dr. of Students goo-ue reccivcd applications for the service in Andover " i i •at to Mission- from four of the students m Andover ary Society, rpi^g^j^g-g^^ Seminary in New England ; one of them writes : — " Divinity College, Andover, " Mass., April 23rd, 1810. " Reverend Sir, — I have considered tlie subject of missions to the heathen about one year, and have found my miud gradually tending to a deep conviction that it is my Adoniram duty personally to engage. Several of my brethren Judson. ^^ ^j^.^ college may finally unite with me in my present resolution. On their, as well as on my own behalf, I take the liberty of addressing you this letter. " My object is to obtain information on the following points, wliether there is, at present, such a call for missionaries in India, Tartary, or any other part of the eastern continent as will induce the Directors of the London Missionary Society to engage new missionaries ; whether two or three young un- married men, having received liberal education and resided two years at this divinity school, wishing to serve their Saviour in a heathen land, and indeed susceptible of a ' passion for missions ' ; whether such men arriving in England next spring, with full recommendation from the first characters in this country, may expect to be received on probation by the Directors, and placed at the t/ospel seminary, if that be judged expedient ; and whether, provided they give satisfaction as to their fitness to undertake the work, all their necessary expenses, after arriving in England, shall be defrayed from the funds of the Society, which outlay, it is hoped, will be ultimately re- imbursed by supplies from the American churches. CHAP. VIII.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 225 "We have consulted our professors on this subject, par- ticularly Dr. Griffin, professor of oratory. He intends writing to several in England, and perhaps to Dr. Bogue, but his engage- ments being such as will prevent his immediate writing, and wishing myself to receive a letter immediately from you contain- ing the desired information, I close with an earnest request that you will please to transmit me an answer as soon as possible, and a prayer to God that your answer may be favourable to my most ardent wishes.— Tours respectfully, "Adoniram Judson, Jun. " P.S.— I shall deem it a great favour if you do not con6ne your remarks to the points which I have proposed, but are pleased to give such general information and advice as you may think will be useful to me and my brethren." The Directors of the London Missionary Society encouraged the appHcation, and suggested that according to their rule a statement should be given of their rehgious sentiments and motives for desiring the missionary work. Papers were immediately sent in from the American candidates in the usual form. Samuel Nott, in a letter to Mr. Burder, dated Andover, Mass., January 7, 1811, says : — " The communication which you had the goodness to make to my brother, Judson, in answer to his to the Eev. Mr. Bogue, was a source of much satisfaction, and excited g^^^^^ my grateful acknowledgment to Him who directs ^^^^ the steps of those who put their trust in Him. I could not but consider it as the voice of the Lord, for which I had long, and I trust prayerfully, listened, declaring my duty more distinctly than before, and inviting to greater confidence in Him. My prayer has long been that the Lord would make my way plain, if it be His will that I should go to the heathen, and I rejoice in your communication as an opening of it before me." Samuel Newell writing from Boston, January 10th, 1811, said:— 15 226 CONGREGATIONA.L HISTORY. [CHAP. VIII. "It is above a year since I contemplated the subject of missions to the heathen. When I first took the subject into consideration I knew not that any other person on Newel*! *^^^ ^^^^ °^ *^® Atlantic had any idea of engaging in the business. I knew that no Missionary Society in this country had power to employ nie as a Foreign Missionary Society ; and as I was unacquainted with the provisions made in England for sending the gospel to the heathen, I thought it impossible at present to carry my wishes into effect. About this time I found that several of my brethren in the Divinity College were seriously contemplating the same subject. We conversed freely together from time to time." Gordon Hall wrote to the same effect. Mr. Judson was delegated to visit England to make all needful inquiries, but was captured Dr. Wor- on the voyage by the French, as we learn from the letter of Dr. Worcester, dated May 6th, 1811. " Rev. and dear Ste, — About the 10th of January last, Mr. Adoniram Judson, Jun., of whom you Lave some knowledge, sailed from Boston in the ship packet of that port for England. On the passage the ship was taken by a French privateer, and afterwards recaptured by an Englishman, and carried into Cork, where we learn she was liberated on paying salvage. Mr, Judson, however, with the other passengers, was taken on board the Frenchman, and carried to Bayonne, where he was first thrown into close confinement, but afterwards obtained his liberty. Whether he will be able to get from France to England is very uncertain, and if he should it is very uncertain whether he will have with him his credentials. I therefore take leave to forward to you, together with this, a copy of an official letter, which I have the honour to address to you as secretary of the London Missionary Society, by Mr. Judson, and alsoa copy of the letter of instruction which he carried out with him. " These letters will explain to you the object for which Mr. Judson was sent out ; and which I would devoutly hope will meet the kind attention of yourself and brethren. ****** CHAP. VIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 227 " It affords me, dear air, peculiar pleasure to be able to in- form you that by the very bappy revivals of religion which have recently taken place, and are still taking place, in difierent parts of these States, and by the uncommon number of plom young men in our coUerjes and schools, the friends of the Redeemer are much encouraged in the hope that He is ahout to send forth amongst us many labourers into His harvest. But the harvest truly is great, and we have abundant reason to pray. In this eventful day of ' distress of nations with perplexity,' the people of God surely can find no rest but in Him, and can feel no security or satisfaction any further than their interests and their hopes are placed in that kingdom which cannot be shaken. It is, therefore, a matter of everlasting thanksgiving and praise that, in such a day, that glorious Jcingdom is rising and spreading, and extraordinary exertions are making for its advancement. Oar blessed Eedeemer lives and reigns upon the holy hill of Zion, and the promises of His word will not fail. Most cordially, sir, can I reciprocate the sentiments so freely expressed in your favour by our friend, Mr. Codman. Most devoutly do I wish and pi ay that Great Britain and these States may * always be one, united by one language and religion, and by mutual interest.' But what is to be the event is known only to Him who has all nations in His hand. At present the aspect of our national affairs is gloomy, and I have many fears. God in His mercy grant we may not be leagued with the terrible emperor. Permit me to subscribe, very respectfully, Rev. and Dear Sir, your brother in the Gospel of our common Lord, " Rev. George Burder. " Samuel Worcester." Mr. Judson, after his liberation in France, came to England and spent six weeks chieflj as the guest of Dr. Bogue. On his return to America Mr. Judson the design of going out to the East as "' ^"'p^''- Missionaries, supported by the London Missionary Society, was entertained. The proposal from America was that all four should be assigned to one station, and that, though supported by the English Society, they should be under the direction of a society to be formed in America. Mr. Burder, in a 228 CONGtEEGATIONAL HISTOEY. [CilAP. VIII. friendly letter, said this might cause some difficulty in arrangement. He offered the suggestion that they should go out according to the apostolic plan, two together, and that the matter be reconsidered. Meanwhile a legacy left to a Missionary Society in America — disputed in a court of law, was settled — and the American brethren were enabled to send out the Missionaries by their own funds. Mr. Judson explained the case in a letter to the Directors, and Mr. Newell wrote a note from Port Louis, Isle of France, December 11, 1812, to Joseph Hardcastle, Esq., London, in which he says : — " I am one of the four American Missionaries, who had the honour to be conditionally appointed by the London Society to labour under their direction. But during Mr. Judson's tour in England, liberal donations were made in America for Mr. Newell ^^^ support of Foreign Missions, and the American to Mr. Hard- Board were thereby enabled to take us into their service. cas e, ■^. -^1^^ Judson was requested, in behalf of us, to make this known to the Hon. Directors of the London Society. On our arrival in India, we were all ordered away hy Government. Where Mr. May will go is uncertain; the seat of American Missions will probably be Madagascar." Mr. Judson a few weeks after wrote to Mr. Campbell in Africa, in reference to another sphere of Missionary labour. Mr. Nott and Mr. Hall sailed to India in another vessel. On the arrival of the Harmony, Mr. Nott says : — " As to ourselves, remaining in connection with the American Board of Missions, it is sufficient to say, that when all hope of Letter of escape from being sent to England had vanished, Mr. Nott. after we were forced to see and feel that God only could deliver us, we were delivered, as it seemed to us, by the hand of the Almighty. Our names had been already published in the Calcutta papers as passengers on the fleet, which we saw CHAP. VIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 229 under sail at the mouth of the Hooghly, twelve miles in advance of the ship on which we had embarked for Bombay. On our arrival at Bombay, in February, one year after our ordination, we were met by an order from the general government that we should be sent to England from thence — an order which, after friendly delays on the part of the Governor of the Presidency, was upon the point of being executed, when Providence favoured our escape with the intention of joining brother Newell in Ceylon and giving up the attempt at Bombay. The same good Provi- dence prevented the carrying out of this purpose, as it appeared afterward, that it might accomplish our original design. Arrested at Cochin, brought back to Bombay, detained under surveillance for several weeks in order to be sent by the next ship, we were delivered again, after all hope had passed, after ail arrangements had been completed, and even after our baggage had been made ready for the ship, and the coolies were assembled to carry it to the boat, this deliverance, it appeared afterward, was due, under God, to the appeal to the Governor of Bombay, prepared in the last extremity by Mr. Hall, and as it seemed to me at the time divinely fitted for the occasion. This, and all the communications of the Missionaries with the Governor of Bomhay, were sent to the Court of Directors by the ship ivhich was to have carried ourselves, and the result was permission from the highest authority for the Missionaries to remain ; but again, not without the utmost hazard and the most marked deliverance from J^issionanes aaiuitted to utter defeat, the Court of Directors, on reviewing the Bengal by papers of the Missionaries, were on the point of ^ourtof P • ■ ■ x- ^y. ^ ■ ■ ■ Directors, reiasmg permission tor them to remain, requiring their removal, and censuring all their servants who had aided them, when Mr. Charles Grant made an elaborate argument from the documents, which turned the vote in their favour." Mr. and Mrs. Newell were already gone to the Isle of Prance, and Mr. Judson was under engage- ment to follow. The entrance into Bengal by Chris- tian Missionaries sought so earnestly by Messrs. Haldane, Bogue and Ewing at length was made. Applications for admission to the Congregational Colleges in England were made in constant succes- 230 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAF. VIIT. sion. PiiCHAKD Winter Hamilton* (born in Pen- , , tonville, in July, l794),t the son of tlie Rev. Richard "^ . „ Winter Erederick Hamilton, of Brighton, one or ami on. ^^^^ most promising pupils at the New Grammar School, at Mill Hill, after an interesting correspondence with Mr. Wilson, was received into the Academy at Hoxton, in the summer of 1810, and soon after was joined by John Ely, who became his most intimate companion and life-long friend. Youns: Hamilton was in advance of his fellow students, and with his exuberant spirits, he had too much leisure for his own profitable occupation, or the quiet of his more easy-going brethren. Yielding to natural inclination, he with a few others made provision for convivial parties in the house that interrupted the evening meditation of other students or kept them awake. A symposium in a college at one of the universities would scarcely have attracted attention, but in a Dissenting Academy, if un- Haniiiton chcckcd, scaudal would arise fatal to the and Ely credit of the institution. It is interestino^ under _ _ " discipline. therefore to observe the mode in which discipline was maintained in a case of this nature. A special meeting was held on Tuesday, March 29, 1814, of which we have the following minutes : — " Messrs. Moore, Pethrick, Blackburn, and Morison were called into tl)e Committee on the subject of some resolutions, dated the 5th inst, which had been entered into bj the majority of the students expressive of their disapprobation of certain societies said to exist in the house." * Dr, Andrew Reed, when a boy, was present at the baptism of Richard Winter Hamilton ; he says, " I remember my mother saying, as tlie infant passed mir pew, " God make him a Richard Winter, indeed." t Memoir of Rev. R. W. Hamilton, LL.D., D.D. By Dr. Srowell. CHAP. VIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 231 At the wisli of the complainants, the whole body of the students, who had united in passing the reso- lutions, were called in, and plentifully related the offences committed with the most circumstantial details. When the plaintiffs withdrew, the un- happy culprits, Hamilton and Ely, with their fellow- delinquents, were summoned before the Committee, and the indictment was read in their hearing. No opportunity was given for cross-examination. In reply to the accusation, they stated that the noise complained of had not been made solely by them, and they " seemed united in supposing the business originated from the prejudices of their fellow- students against them, and that it ivas a combination to ruin their characters" Hamilton and Ely, however, sorrowfully admitted that there was some ground for the charge made against them, and it was resolved by the Committee : — *' That under the whole of the circamstances, which have been brought before the Cummittee, regarding Messrs. Hamilton and Ely, it is the opinion that their conduct has greatly violated the economy and laws of the house, and has been connected with frequent levities ; but as they have expressed much sensibility and contrition, together with apparently serious promises of future amendment, the Committee feel disposed to make trial of the reality of their feelings and sincerity of their promises, that they shall be inhibited from preaching until the midsummer vacation, be put at the hotiom of the table, and shall not go out under the patronage of the institution, till, by a continued course of conduct, both as students, and as professed Christians, they shall prove to the tutors and this Committee, the reality of their repentance for past indiscretions and improprieties, and their re-establishment in character and conduct, both as men and as Christians. Resolved— That a most serious reprehension and admonition be given to Messrs. Hamilton and Ely, in the presence of the Committee, and that the foregoing resolutions 232 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHA?. VIII. be then communicated to them. Mr. Tliodey having expressed a wish, to leave the chair, Mr. Mills, at the request of the Com- mittee, took Mr. Thodey's place. " Messrs. Hamilton and Ely were then called in. The Chairman addressed them in a very serious and appropriate manner, and then read to them the resolutions which had been passed by the Committee on their conduct. After they had withdrawn, all the other students then in the house were called, and the Chairman acquainted them with the result of the above proceedings. " May 6, 1814. Letters having been read from Messrs. Hamilton, Ely, and Wright, expressing dtep penitence for their past conduct, and favourable testimonies been given by the tutors, it was resolved that their situations as seniors in the house be restored to them, and that the interdiction as to preaching be removed at the end of six weeks, instead of three months." The preaching of Mr. Hamilton, we are told by Mr. Urwick, " set Yorkshire on a blaze." Mr. Ely, of more even temperament, and of different talents, fulfilled his course with less brilliancy, but with conscientious diligence, and uniform success. Mr. Hamilton, in the spirit of unaffected hu- mility, accepted the charge of a small congregation M H Mt i^^^ obscure chapel (Albion Street, Leeds), at Leeds, in 1815, passing through many vicissi- tudes, but, with growing attachment to his flock, unremitting diligence in his studies, the steady development of his mental powers, and the consecration of them to the noblest service — denominational and more general, gained, eventu- ally, the highest position, notwithstanding his early difficulties and a certain measure of detraction that lingered nearly to the close of his career, and only CHAP. VIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 233 yielded for very shame when his merits were recog- nized by universal consent. In Scotland, though greatly in the ecclesiastical minority, the Congregational Churches became a more compact body. We have the following account of the formation of their Congregational Union :— " In the neighbourhood of Musselburgh, and close adjoining the pleasant and salubrious village of Inveresk, there is a quiet dell, formed by the descent of the elevation on which Origin that village is built, to the level of the river Esk, of Congre- and bearing the name of the haugh. In this fj^'o'^^in retreat a few Christian friends were strolling, one Scotland, evening in the month of September, 1812, enjoying the beauties of nature, and the pleasures of Christian intercourse. The company consisted of Mr. Arthur, pastor of the Congre- gational Church, Dalkeith ; Messrs. Hae and Leyden, members of the same church ; Mr. Watson, and Mr. William Tait, one of the deacons of the church at Musselburgh. Deeply interested in the state of the churches with which they stood connected, their conversation turned upon the prospects which lay before these churches ; and, perhaps, the shadows of evening deepening the already sombre tints of autumn on the surrounding scenery, somewhat disposed their minds towards desponding views. At length, Mr. Tait, one of those sound-hearted and happy Christians from whose nature despondency is altogether alien, exclaimed, ' What is to prevent the churches forming a union, for mutual support, whereby the strong may help the weak? ' 'The very thing, my dear friend,' exclaimed Mr. Arthur, with his usual quickness, ' the very thing ! Come, let us talk it over.' " The suggestions of Mr. Tait were discussed, and it was agreed that he should bring forward his plan at an Association Meeting on the 9th of September, at Dalkeith. A circular, at that meeting, was prepared, to be sent to the churches, and committed to the care of Messrs. Payne and Watson, ^-^^^^ to be printed; and it was also agreed to summon Meeting, a general meeting at Edinburgh, the first Wednes- ^®^^- day of the ensuing November, to deliberate upon the proposed scheme, and to form the Society. The meeting was held at 234 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAr. VIII. Thistle Street chapel, of which Mr. Payne was minister, the Society formed, Mr. Watson and Mr. Payne appointed Secretaries, and the first Annual Meeting held on the 6th of May, 1813." The work of evangelization, in some parts of Scotland, was carried on with remarkable vigour. James Kennedy, born in 1777, at Cluny, near Aberfeldj, one of the Haldane students, was one of the most zealous of the itinerating pastors. He was the means of a great awakening at Glenlyon, extending along the banks of the river Lyon for some thirty miles, so narrow, and enclosed with hills so high, that for three months in winter some parts of it are unvisited by sunshine. In this dreary region the people were found in the deepest gloom of spiritual ignorance, as in the valley of the shadow of death. Some of the people crossed Benlawers, in 1816, to hear the Kev. John McDonald preach at a communion service at Loch Tay~side. In September a vast congregation, supposed to amount to 4000 or 5000 persons, from all the hills and glens around, assembled, and were deeply affected by the sermon. The Glenlyon people, on returning home, conveyed their impressions to their neighbours. Mr. Kennedy visited them, and found them prepared to " receive the word gladly." Day after day, night after night, crowds assembled in barns, and under the shelter of woods, to listen to those strange things which had been brought to their ears, sometimes amid bleak winds and drifting snows, with their lamps suspended fairy-like from the fir-trees which shel- tered them, preacher and people were so overcome that the service was interrupted by the strength of their emotions. CHAP. VIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 235 Mr. Kennedy continued in Glenlyon, preacliiug every Sabbath and week day ; sometimes three sermons a day, for two or three months (not quite SO long), and scarcely a sermon was preached but some new case of awakening occurred. On some occasions the whole congregation was moved— the moaning and sobbing like that of a fold of lambs when separated from their dams. One doleful shout, as of bleating, ascending from the most of the hearers. However busy at their lawful avocations the people might have been, when the ' hour of prayer ' — Mr. Kennedy's fixed hour to begin the sermon — was come, all work was thrown aside, and a rush to the barn, hamlet, or hillside, might be seen from every corner of the glen. The preacher would stand some- times almost knee-deep in a wreath of snow, while at the same time the snow was still falling — drifting in his face all the time he was preaching, and the people gathered round him patiently and eagerly, listening to the fervent words that proceeded from his lips. With deepening interest in the truths of the gospel, a fine spirit of fraternal affection and of Christian hospitality was manifested. "Well do I remember," says Dr. Kennedy, "the scenes which the village and my father's house presented on summer Sabbath days. Large numbers of persons used to come ' from the east and from the west,' from Loch Tay-side, Glenlyon, and Strathardle, a distance, in some instances, of from fifteen to twenty miles. Leaving home sometimes at four o'clock in the morning, some on foot, some on horseback, some in carts, they would reach Aberfeldy long before the hour of service, and enjoy the humble hut hearty hospitaliti/ of the village discijjles. After two sermons, one in English, and one in Gaelic, which were preached without an interval, followed by the Lord's Supper (which was observed weekly), these travellers were supplied 236 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. VIII. with food before tliey began their homeward journey. Chief of all the houses open for their entertainment was my father's. We children were pushed out of the way into any corner. Every table in the house was surrounded by strangers. My mother never sat down. She flitted from place to place, working with her own hands, and making herself literally the servant of all. It was often midnight before the most distant travellers reached their homes ; but the way was lightened by the songs of Zion, and the joy of the Lord filled their hearts." Robert Moffat (born at Ormiston, East Lothian, on the 21st of December, 1795), as yet RohLt unknown to the churches, sought, at this ^°^'*^' time, to enter the service of the London Missionary Society. His story, though rather long, is too interesting for abridgment : — *' I was scarcely sixteen," he says, " when, after working in a nursery garden, near my parents, for about a twelvemonth, I was engaged to fill a responsible situation in Cheshire. The day arrived when I had to bid farewell to my father, mother, brothers, and sisters. My mother proposed to accompany me to the boat which was to convey me across the Firth of Forth. My heart, though glad at the inviting prospect of removing to a better situation, could not help feeling some emotion, natural to one of my age. When we came within sight of the spot where we were to part, perhaps never again to meet in this world, she said, 'Now, my Robert, let us stand here for a few minutes, for I wish to ask one favour of you before we part, and I know you will not refuse doing what your mother asks.' " ' What is it, mother? ' I inquired. " ' Do promise me, first, that you will do what I am now going to ask, and I shall tell you.' " ' No, mother, T cannot, till you tell me what your wish is.' " ' Oh, Robert, can you think for a moment that I shall ask you, my son, to do anything that is not right ? Do not I love you?' " ' Yes, mother, I know you do; but I do not like to make promises which I may not be able to fulfil.' CHAP. VIII.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 237 " I kept my eyes fixed on the ground, I was silent, trying to resist the rising emotion. She sighed deeply. I lifted my eyes, and I saw the big tears rolling down the cheeks which were wont to press mine. I was conquered ; and, as soon as I could recover speech, I said, ' Oh, mother, ask what you will, and I shall do it.' " ' I only ask you whether you will read a chapter in the Bible every morning, and another every evening.' " I interrupted by saying, ' Mother, you know I read my Bible.' " ' I know you do ; but you do not read it regularly, or as a duty you owe to God, its author.' And she added, ' Now I shall return home with a happy heart, inasmuch as you have promised to read the Scriptures daily. Oh, Robert, my son, read much in the New Testament. Read much in the gospels — the blessed gospels. There you cannot well go astray. If you pray, the Lord Himself will teach you.' " I parted from my beloved mother, now long gone to that mansion about which she loved to speak. I went on my way, and ere long found myself among strangers. My charge was an important one for a youth ; and though possessing a museular frame, and a mind full of energy, it required all to keep pace with the duties which devolved upon me. I lived at a consider- able distance from what are called the means of grace, and the Sabbaths were not always at my command. I met with no one who appeared to make religion their chief concern. I mingled, when opportunities offered, with the gay and godless, in what were considered innocent amusements, when I soon became a favourite ; but I never forgot my promise to my mother. " I had, like most Scotch youths in those days, the Bible in two small volumes. These I read (remembering her last words), chiefly in the New Testament ; but it was only a pleasing duty I owed to her. I thus became familiar with the gospels, notwith- standing my inattention to what I read. At length I became uneasy, and then unhappy. The question would sometimes, even when my hands were at work, dart across my mind, ' what think ye of Christ ? ' which I dared not answer. A hard struggle followed. I could have wished to have ceased reading, but the very thought would raise the image of my mother before me. I tried hard to stifle conviction, but I could not help reading much 238 CONGEEGATIONAL HTSTOEY. [CHAP. VIII. in the Epistles, and particularly in the Epistle to the Romans. This I did with an earnestness I tried in vain to subdue. I felt wretched, but still I did not pray, till one night I arose in a state of horror from a terrific dream. I fell on my knees, and felt as if my sins, like a great mountain, were tumbling down upon me, and that there was but a step between me and the place of woe. Then followed the struggle between hope and despair. I tried to reform, not by avoiding grossly immoral conduct (for I had never been guilty o^ that), but by forsaking foolish and worldly company, vain thoughts and wicked imagiDations. " For many weeks I was miserable. I wished to feel that I was converted, but I could not believe I was. I thought I had the faith required, and that I had repented or turned to the Lord, and could adopt the words, ' To whom shall I go but to Thee, O Jesus ? ' but still my soul was like a ship in a tempest. At last I made a resolve to become as wicked as I could make myself, and then if converted, 1 should be so sensible of the change, that all doubts would vanish. I looked over this awful precipice, over which I was about to leap, and trembled at the thought that I might perish in my sins. I turned anon to my Bible, and grasped it, feeling something like a hope that I should not sink with it in my hands. I knew of no one to whom I could unbosom the agony that burned within. I tried to pray fervently, but thought there was a black cloud between me and the throne of God. I tried to hear Jesus saying to my soul, ' Only believe,' but passages from which I sought comfort only seemed to deepen my wounds. " Living alone in a lodge in an extensive garden, my little leisure was my own. One evening, while poring over the Epistle to the Romans, I could not help wondering over a number of passages which I had read over many times before. They appeared altogether different. I exclaimed, with a heart nearly broken, ' Can it be possible that I have never understood what I have been reading ? ' Turning from one passage to another, each sending a renovation of light into my darkened soul, the Book of God, the precious undying Bible, seemed to be laid open, and I saw at once what God had done for the sinner, and what was required of the sinner, and to obtain the Divine favour and the assurance of eternal life. I felt that, being justified by faith, I had peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ ; and that He CHAP VIII.] CONGKEGATIONAL HISTORY. 239 was made unto me wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. " ' 0 to grace how great a debtor, Daily I'm constrained to be.' I had undergone a great change of heart; and this, I believe, was produced by the Spirit of God, through reading the Bible, and the Bible only ; for my small stock of books consisted chiefly of works on gardening and botany. Beyond visitors to see the gardens, and the men in daily employ, who returned to their homes after the labours of the day, I saw no one. I occupied my leisure in studying the Scriptures, and when opportunities offered I did not fail to try to convince others of the necessity of repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. I thought I had only to tell them what Christ had done for them, and what was required of them to be saved. I wondered they could not see as I saw, and feel as I felt, after explaining to them the great truths of the everlasting gospel. On the contrary, I was treated by some as one who was somewhat disordered in mind. " Having a desire to visit Warrington, a town about six miles from where I lived, to purchase a trifling article which I required, I went thither. It was on a calm, beautiful summer's evening. All nature seemed to be at rest, not a breath of wind to move a leaf. In the clear blue expanse of heaven was to be seen a single cloud passing over the disc of the sun as it hastened towards his going down. I seemed more than usual to feel admiration of the handy works of God. I imperceptibly was led to a train of thinking of the past, how much of my life I had spent serving the world, and not Him who died for me, that I had really been living to no purpose. I thought of the present, how little I could do. It was more pleasurable to contemplate the future. The prospects of ere long being put in possession of a situation of honour and trust had, of course, a charm to one who was yet in his teens, besides the hope of ha,ving it in my power to do good. Little did I imagine that this bright picture I had been painting of future comfort and usefulness was in the course of an hour to vanish like a dream, and that I should be taught the lesson that it is not in man to direct his steps. " With thoughts like these I entered the town, and passing over the bridge, I observed a placard. I stood and read. It 240 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAr. VIII. was a missionary placard, the first I had seen in my life. It announced that a missionary meeting was to be held, and a Rev, William Roby, of Manchester, would take the chair. I stood some time reading it over and over again, although I found that the time the meeting was to be held, was past. Passers-by must have wondered at my fixedness. I could look at nothing but the words on the placard, which I can still imagine 1 see before me. The stories of the Moravian Missionaries in Greenland and Labrador, which I had heard my mother read when I was a boy, which had been entirely lost to memory, never having been thought of for many years, came into vivid remembrance, as if fresh from her lips. It is impossible for me to describe the tumult which took hold of my mind. " I hastened to obtain the trifle I wanted in town, and re- turned to the placard, and read it over once more, and now wended my way solitary homewards, another man, or rather, with another heart. The pleasing earthly prospects I had so lately been thinking of with pleasure, had entirely vanished, nor coald any power of mind recall their influence. My thoughts became entirely occupied with the inquiry, how I could serve the mis- sionary cause. No Missionary Society would receive me. I had never been at college or at an academy. I, however, began to devise plans. I had been for a short time a young sailor, and I resolved to go to sea again, and get landed on some island or foreign shore, where I might teach the poor heathen to know the Saviour. " Soon afterwards, having heard that a Wesleyan Conference was to be held in Manchester, I proposed to a young man with whom I had become intimate, that we should go thither. Daring our few days' sojourn, hearing first one and then another, I resolved on hearing William Roby. His appearance and dis- course, delivered with gravity and solemnity, pleased me much. In the evening, the lady of the house where we lodged, remarked that he was a great missionary man, and sometimes sent out young men to the heathen. This remark at once fixed my purpose of calling on that great man ; but hoiv and where was a very serious matter to one of naturally a retiring habit. I thought and prayed during the night over the important step I was about to take. There was something like daring in the attempt, which I could not overcome. Next morning when I awoke, my heart CHAP. YIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 241 beat at the prospect before me. I had told my beloved com- panion, Hamlet Clarke, what I intended doing, and asked him to go with me. This he decidedly objected to, but he wished me to go, and promised to wait within sight till I should return. " Though the distance we had to walk was more than a mile, it seemed too short for me to get my thoughts in order. Reach- ing the end of a rather retired street, I proceeded with slow step. On getting to the door, I stood a minute or two and my heart failed, and I turned back towards my friend, but soon took fresh courage. The task of knocking at the good man's door seemed very hard. A second time I reached the door, and had scarcely set my foot on the tirst step, when my heart failed. I feared I was acting presumptuously. '' At last, after walking backward and forward for a few minutes, I returned to the door and knocked This was no sooner done than I would have given a thousand pounds, if I had possessed them, not to have knocked; and I hoped, ob, how I hoped with all my heart, that Mr. Roby might not be at home, resolving that if so, I should never again make such an attempt. A girl opened the door. ' Is Mr. Roby in ? ' I inquired with a faltering voice. ' Yes,' was the reply ; and I was shown into the parlour. " The dreaded man whom I had wished to see soon made his appearance. Of course, I had to inform him who I was, and my simple tale was soon told He listened to all I had to say in answer to some questions, with a kindly smile ; I had given him an outline of my Christian experience and my wish to be a helper in the missionary cause ; I did not tell him that his name was on the missionary placard which had directed my steps to his door. He said he would write to the Directors of the Society, and on hearing from them, would communicate their wishes respecting me." After this interesting meeting, Mr. Roby, in a letter to Mr. Burder, mentioned the case of the young gardener. " Manchestee, JSlovemher 8th, 1815. " Mt dear Sir, — "When your letter was delivered, I was from home, on the business of our County Union. I have 16 242 COKGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. VIII. ■written to Mr. Senior respecting Mr. George Piatt, requesting him, if he thinks him a promising candidate, to fix the Application . -tit of Mr. Roby time of his coming over to Manchester. Another to Directors application which requires your immediate advice, of London . . ,.. ^, i.rnr Missionary obliges me to write without waiting the result ot Mr. Societj, Piatt's examination. A Mr. Eohert Moffat, a North Briton, is earnestly desirous of becoming a mis- sionary. He is something more than twenty years of age ; is a gardener in a gentleman's family, and I am informed is very well acquainted with his business. His engagement with the gentle- man terminates the latter end of this month, and he has the offer of another desirable situation, but be cannot tliink of accepting it if the Missionary Society would in any way accept his ser- vices. His present abode is so distant from any place of worship excepting the Wesleyan Methodists, that he has been under the necessity of meeting generally with them. He appears to be a truly serious man of promising talents, but as he lives seventeen miles from Manchester, and is not immediately connected with any of our churches, I cannot speak of him so decidedly as is requisite. I therefore proposed, if possible, to obtain for him a situation in this neighbourhood, that I might have an oppor- tunity of proving both his character and his talents, to which he acceded with much satisfaction. But I have not been able to succeed, and I fear I shall find some difficulty. I write, there- fore, to have your opinion respecting the matter. If the first glance of Mm strikes you as it did me, I will persevere in endeavouring to obtain a situation for him. I thought that his business might render him useful in some parts of Africa, tvith- out spending much on his education. Let me intreat an imme- diate answer, as it would be a pity by delay to deprive him of the situation which invites him, except there is at least a proba- bility that he might be employed as he wishes, in cultivating the heathen. He appears to have no choice of place, and expresses his earnetit wish, which he has cherished for some time past, of labouring among them in any character, if it would afford him an opportunity of testifying among them of the Saviour's love. — I remain, yours truly, " Rev. George Burder. " W. IIoby." The Directors hesitated in the case, notwith- CHAP. VIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 243 standing Mr. Moffat's excellent cliaracter and horti- cultural qualifications. "Minutes of Committee of Examination, p. 410 ; Nov. 17,1815. • " Read a letter from Rev. Roby, of Manchester, respecting Mr. Robert Moffat, who is desirous of becoming a missionary. Resolved — That the secretary inform Mr. Roby that „ . , . •' . '' Services of the Society did not need his services at present, but Moffat not that his name will be kept on the list of candidates, wanted at Read a letter from Mr. Bradley, of Manchester, respecting Mr. James Kitchingman, who appears to be a superior man, containing an account of his experience, faith, etc. Resolved — That he be referred to a committee at Manchester for examination." The sequel we learn from Dr. Moffat : — " I returned to my charge, and after some weeks was re- quested to visit Manchester, that Mr. Roby might get me placed in a situation, which would afford him the opportunity of examining me as to my fitness for missionary work. m ff- 1 On my arrival, Mr. Roby took me to several of his at Duckin- friends to obtain, if possible, a situation in a garden, ^^''^• a mercantile house, or a bank ; but all failed, there being no opening for any one at the time. Mr. Roby then remarked, ' I have still one friend, who employs many men, to whom I can apply, provided you have no objection to go into a nursery garden.' " I replied, ' I would go anywhere or do anything for which I may have ability.* Very providentially Mr. Smith, of Duckiufield, happened to be in town, and at once agreed that I should proceed to his nursery garden. Thus was I led by a way I knew not for another important end ; for had I obtained a situation in Manchester, I might not have had my late dear wife to be my companion and partaker in all my hopes and fears for more than half a century in Africa. As it was, Mr. Smith's only daughter, possessing a warm missionary heart, we soon became attached to one another ; but she was not allowed to join me in Africa till nearly three years after I left." Mr. Moffat, under the watchful care and in- struction of Mr. Roby, remained in the nursery 244 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. VITI. garden for nearly a year, visiting him only once or twice in the week. He was then sent to meet the Directors in London, and there met John Williams. Mutually attached, they requested that they might be com- panions in missionary labour. " They are ower young to gang th'gether," objected Dr. Waugh. Williams was appointed to the South Seas, and Moffat to Africa, and both were ordained on the same day in Surrey Chapel, October, 1816. Mr. McAU had now entered on his work in his peculiar sphere at Macclesfield, and invited Mr. Thodey to visit him. " Macclesfield, March Ihtli, 1815. " ]\Iy deae. Friend, — You will wonder, I doubt not, that I should not have answered your kind letter until now, but the T , ^ p fact is I did not arrive in Macclesfield till the Mr. McAU night before last, or rather yesterday morning at ^, ,''• four o'clock, so that I could not get your letter till after noon, and as no post went last night for London, I had been somehow led into a mistake, supposing that none went to the north ; whereas, in fact, it was only to London that there was no conveyance. However, I could not well have written even had this mistake not been made, because of preaching last night at six o'clock — it being Good Friday. I have only a moment or two to say that having read your letter and weighed over all the considerations I can think of in the case of your remaining at Stockport, I think you had better not remain there unless some alteration has taken place iti the circumstancos of the place and its engagements since you wrote. It seems they do not wish your services otherwise than those of an acceptable supply, if so, do not let them trifle with you in this manner. Tou will see whether they have any ulterior views; but if they have not I shall certainly wish you rather to leave them immediately than to afford them the slightest ground for supposing that you are glad to accept of a casual invitation from them or any one else. When I mentioned your name it CHAP. VIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. 245 was in a very different connection from this, and I am not a little vexed that they should so soon have forgotten the remarks then made. You must recollect, however, that Mr. Jackson was not present when that conversation took place, nor when the invitation was given me for you ; he, therefore, was less culpable in inviting the ' sublime ' Mr. Davies to supply them for ten weeks, I suppose this same 'sublime Preacher, preacher ' is also the sublime translator of an ode of Horace you and I laughed at when I saw you here. If such be their taste — if none but great men will suit them — nonebut sublime and metaphysical geniuses — none but those whose souls are cast in the mould of Mr. Phillips — then my excellent and judi- cious friend Thodey will not suit them, and he may as well not spend his time in filling up a vacancy that would perhaps other- wise be filled up by one of this extraordinary fraternity. Come over here on Monday, and then we will talk all about it, and if you have made them no promise do not make one now ; but even if you have, the journey will not be long, and the consequences, perhaps, very pleasing. I am pretty well, and the people here all esteem and admire you. I am glad to find they have not got the Stockport mania for great and sublime and metaphysical geniuses. I have several things for you, but shall not risk sending them till you come, which I hope will be on Monday. — " Believe me, your very sincere friend, " R. S. McAll. " The Rev S. Thodey, at Mrs. Evans's, Stockport." The visit of Mr. Thodey was extremely pleasing to himself, and most instructive. The work of Mr. McMl was peculiar: he had to preach on the Sabbath in tlie large room of the school, at half-past seven in the morning and at three in the afternoon. " I had ample opportunities," says Mr. Tnodey, " of seeing the nature of the impression which his ministry produced ; and it is difficult to say whether his preaching did not produce as much impression upon the least-instructed as among the best educated classes. This arose from the cir- Mr. Thodey cumstance of his being so plain and powerful upon ^° ^''• the turning points of religion, and the full and ample stress which he uniformly laid upon the leading doctrines 246 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. VIII. of tlie gospel, the practical duties of life, and the manner of a sinner's acceptance with God. We were perpetually together during the fortnight I was with him. I visited the sick with him ; was with him at his social interviews with his friends, and in the cottages of the poor ; and was exceedingly impressed with his entire devotedness to his work, his influence over other minds, and his facility in adapting his varied powers to the different capacities of those with whom he associated. The signal respect he commanded, and the kind of homage he received from persons of almost every station in society, could not but be highly flattering to so young a man ; and was evidently occa- sioned, not more by the eminence of his intellectual endowments, than by the general conviction that obtained of his moral worth, and that liigh tone of honour, and manly feeling, and religious principle, which appeared to pervade and regulate all that he said and did. " His mind appeared to be fully occupied and engrossed with his pastoral duties ; and the deep interest that he took in all that related to the progress of religion amongst his hearers, might have led you to lose sight of the man of science, the accomplished scholar, and the eloquent orator, in witnessing the quiet exertions of the painstaking and considerate divine. I certainly never received from any individual, before or since, so full an impres- sion of the importance and responsibility of the ministerial character and work, as in the intercourse which, at those seasons, I was favoured to hold with him. The entire subject of his ministerial duties, as the guide and director of his people, was as familiar to him as though he had studied nothing else. " Among other things, his remarks upon visiting the sick indelibly impressed themselves upon my mind, and have since been of no little service to me. He much lamented the slight and perfunctory manner in which this part of the sacred office is often performed , viewing it as one which tried the resources of a minister to the utmost, and which required a nice attention to the internal economy and working of the human mind. He thought that many were faulty in not making a direct prepara- tion for this part of their work. If they go to preach, or even to deliver an address at a prayer-meeting, they find they are not competent to do it properly without some previous forecast, fixing their line of thought and their leading illustrations. But CHAP. VIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 247 they go into a sick-room wholly unprepared for a much more difficult undertaking, depending only upon a few floating recol- lections of common-place truths, which they are content to utter without any adequate mental effort to develope the character of the individual, or to adapt their communications to his real state, as the key is fitted to the wards of the lock. The consequence is, that little good is done compared with what might have been expected with a deeper consideration of the case previously, and a more skilful adjustment of means to ends. " One circumstance he related to rue, connected with his own ministration among the sick, which awakened considerable inte- rest in the neighbourhood. A pious person, residing at some distance from Macclesfield, had suffered for many years under the influence of religious despondency, partially resembling the melancholy case of Cowper. As he was held in much esteem, his mental sufferings created much sympathy. Many Christian friends, and eminent ministers of different religious persuasions, visited him, endeavouring to kindle anew the spark of life in his bosom, and restore to his mind those religious consolations which he formerly possessed. These efforts proved wholly in vain, as he possessed, like many others in similar circumstances, that kind of preternatural acuteness which led him to convert all the arguments and topics of consolation into the occasion of deeper discouragement and gloom. It was natural for me to inquire, ' Did you go ? ' ' Yes,' he said, ' I did, though without any hope of a beneficial result ; but I went to express my sympathy with a disciple of Christ under one of the severest afflictions which could befall a good man, and to deepen ray own impres- sions of the importance of spiritual things. You may suppose,' he added, ' I was not very forward to speak ; but I listened, with unwearied attention, to the sad detail of his doubts, his difficulties, his gloomy temptations, and his utterly desponding forebodings and fears. Meantime, my eye was not silent, and I noticed every circumstance, however minute, which might assist me to place myself in his state of feeling, and to go along with the processes of his mind ; and I was exceedingly anxious to detect any little discrepancy which might arise between the facts he advanced and the conclusions to which he came. At last, looking towards the head of the bed, I observed upon the curtains several pieces of paper carefully pinned here and there, and 243 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. VIIT. apparently written upon. Though I suspected what might be the nature of their contents, I said, with apparent surprise and abruptness, ' What are these papers ? ' ' Oh, sir,' said the burdened man, ' the}' are texts of Scripture.' 'But what texts ? ' I quickly rejoined. ' Sir,' be added, with a slow and faltering voice, ' they are promises.' ' Promises ; but what business have they here ? You say you are a cast-away from God's favour, an utter alien from His friendship ; that all your religion was a delusion, that you have no interest in the pi'omises, and can look for nothing but to be an etei^nal monument of the divine dis- pleasure. Why, then, should you have these texts and promises perpetually around you, when you have no sort of interest in the religion they represent, or in the Saviour they reveal ? The two things do not agree together. Either your despondency is excessive and undue, or these promises have no business there. Let me take them away.' ' No sir, wo sir,^ said the sufferer ; ' do not tal-e them away. I love to see them. I had an interest iu them once, and they are still precious ; the memorial of them is sweet, though the enjoyment of them is wholly gone.' Uj^on this, said Ah'. McAU, I altered my tone, and said, with the tender- ness I really felt, ' But, my dear friend, are you not aware that the truths are the same as ever, and your mind clings as tena- ciously as ever to those truths, and the Author of those truths is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever ? All the difference, therefore, arises from your diseased apprehension of things ; and you are confounding the decay of consolation with the decay of piety. Recollect, that while these truths ai'e precious to you, the emotions with which you still cherish the remembrance of them are precious in God's sight; and, whilst you have your memorials of the past, God has His memorials, too ! He says, * Yea, I have graven thee on the palms of my hands ; thy walls are continually before me. The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed : but my loving kindness shall not depart from thee ; neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee ! ' " It pleased God to bless this conversation (whicli has been too briefly and imperfectly sketched) to the afflicted man. His mind recovered its trust and consolation, and he shortly afterwards died in peace. CHAP. VIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 249 While the younger Congregational ministers were passing through the disciplinary process needful to prepare them for their future position as leaders in the denomination, veterans in the service were exploring neglected districts, and preparing the way for the establishment of new congregations. Mr. Roby, matured in experience, judicious in counsel, and energetic in action, entered upon a preaching excursion, July 16, 1816, in a f::^;iZ\{ circuit, including the populous towns and Mr. Roby, villages within a distance of eight or ten miles from Manchester. In his journal we have the record of his movements during the continuous work of a fortnight, in which, as the pioneer of Mr. Pridie, an itinerant who was to follow in his steps, making arrangements for his accommodation, finding suitable rooms, and giving notice of the services to be held in each place. The details are interesting, as illustrative of the readiness of the self-denying pastor-evangelist to attend to any service, however humble, and to encounter every form of difficulty or annoyance. On July 20 he rested, and entered the following particulars : — " I spent this day in preparation for the Sabbath, and in con- sidering the prospect which Ashton, the centre of this week's active itineracy, i^resents to view. The population of this circuit is very great. There is great need of ^ °°' more labourers, and from present appearances I hope that the great Head of the Church intends to make the itineracy now commenced an eminent blessing to Ashton and its neighbour- hood. Orders were given this afternoon to take down a partition in the place in which the people are accustomed to assemble for public worship. By this means a congregation as large again as 250 CONGREGATIONA.L HISTORY. [OIIAP. VIII. usual may be accommodated. This afternoon the principal beams were laid on the new chapel, which, when completed, will be a very commodious place of worship. • " July 21. On this Sabbath I have preached at Ashton three times — in the morning from Eph. i. 13, 14, after which I adminis- tered the ordinance of the liord's Supper ; in the afternoon from Rom iii. 23, 24 ; and in the evening from James i. 18 ; after which I baptized a child publicly. The congregations were much larger than I had expected. The place was comfortably filled in the morning by about two hundred and fifty attentive hearers. In the afternoon and evening it was extremely crowded, considerably more than three hundred assembled. As different strangers attended on different parts of the day, I calculated that at least four hundred individuals heard me in the course of the Sabbath. " It appears that an alarm is sounded by various individuals to prevent persons from attending, but I hope it will not produce any bad effect. The generality of the hearers appeared to receive the word with eagerness and happy effect. " July 22. Left Mr. Smith'a, where I have received the 7)iost hospitable entertainment during the past week. He, Mr. Buckley, and others of the friends at Ashton, have attended at the various places for preaching in the neighbourhood during the week, and I hope they will continue to use all their influence on behalf of my successors." The site question presented great difficulties. The dull and diugy room in Crickett's Lane, where Mr. Roby met the friends in Ashton, had no outward attraction. Upon it was placed the inscription, " Can any good come out of Nazareth ? Come and see." There a church of twenty-seven members, including Maey Smith, of Duckinfield nursery, held their first communion service in 1816. The people would gladly have obtained a more favourable posi- tion for their new chapel, but the Earl of Stamford and Warrington, the Lord of the Manor, would not consent to sell them a piece of ground. They had CHAP. VITI.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 251 to content themselves with another plot in an alley off Crickett's Lane, now Albion Street. The new Eefuge Chapel cost about a thousand pounds, and was opened on April 8, 1817. Mr, Roby found willing helpers in Mr. Galland of Greenacres and ]\Ir. Ely of Rochdale. "July 25, This afternoon under storms of rain went from Rochdale to Heyside, where I preached in the evening from Matt. xix. 25. About one hundred and fifty persons attended. " July 26. This morning, Mr. Galland went with me to reconnoitre Oldham. " For the prospect of preaching in Oldham in a convenient place next Sabbath, I am indebted to the exertions of Mr. Robert Ray, one of the deacons of our church, and to the _. , kindness of the people styling themselves Indepen- dent Methodists, who have promised the use of their commodious place of worship in George Street. Had not this been granted, I see not that we could have provided any other, and I know not where we can be accommodated in future as all our inquiries this morning were fruitless. " After our visit to Oldham, I went according to appointment to Clayton Bridge, where Mr. Chadwick, one of our members received me very graciously. He had provided a convenient room for preaching in. About one hundred persons assembled, to whom I preached from 2 Cor. v. 21. This congregation wore a very promising aspect, but it is so distant from Oldham that I think the itineracy must select some nearer spot — Hollinwood, if possible, for Friday evening. After service, was obliged to go home in order to attend the examination of some missionary students and candidates to-morrow. "July 27. Spent most of this day in attention to the young men who had devoted themselves to missionary labour. " July 28. Preached on this Sabbath in the morning at nine o'clock at Heyside, from 2 Cor. viii. 29, to about two hundred persons, and published Mr. Pridie for the next Thursday evening but one, at seven o'clock, when Mr. Buckley will give him some private information respecting the arrangement with the proprietor of the chapel as to preaching in future. Preached in 252 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. VIIT. the afternoon at Oldham, from 1 Cor. iii. 2, and from 2 Cor. ii. 14. The place was crowded to excess. I suppose that not less than seven hundred persons pressed in, and I am informed that half as many were obliged to return, unable to get in, all seemed to hear with great attention and several were much affected. After the latter sermon, I informed the people that preaching would be continued if a suitable place could be found. "July 29. Went this evening to Middleton, but found that preaching had not been announced, and was therefore obliged to return home and finish a course of labour rendered toilsome and dangerous by wet weather. From the review I perceive that I have preached during the fortnight to upwards of three thousand persons. The population of the circuit includes at least forty thousand." CHAPTER IX. In the month of May, 1814, a few friends of religion of various denominations met in London and formed the Irish Evangelical Society, and in ^ . , Irish connection with it the Dublin Theological Evangelical Institution for training native young men of approved character for the work of the ministry in the Sister Island. The Rev. Thomas Loader, invited from Fordingbridge, Hants, was appointed first tutor in the year 1815. Declining in health, he soon resigned, and was succeeded by Dr. Cope, who had been pastor of the church in Launceston. Though the support of the institution was inade- quate, and for a time discontinued, many efficient ministers were sent from it to labour in the arduous mission field allotted to them. After a temporary extinction it was revived in 1832 under the care of Rev. William Haweis Cooper, Rev. Dr. Urwick, and Mr. Owen Connellan of the Royal Irish Academy, who taught the students the Irish language. The institution was mainly supported by the Hoxton Hibernian Association. The Itinerant Academy under the care of Mr. Roby, was merged in an institution at Leaf Square, Manchester, intended to combine the course Leaf Square of a young gentleman's boarding-school ^ °°" with the gratuitous instruction of young men 254 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. IX. intended for the ministry. The experiment ended in a mortifying failure. Isaac Lowndes, one of the students rose to eminence for his attainments in modern Greek, and went as a missionary to Corfu. An Academy on a more solid basis was Blackburn , . ^ , . AcMdemy, uistituted at BJackbum, and opened m December, 1816, under the able superin- tendence of the Rev. Joseph Fletcher, M.A., the Theological Tutor. William Hendry Stowell * (who became in succession Principal of Rotherham and of Cheshunt Academies), after an interesting account of Mr. Fletcher's methods of teaching, adds : — " We were trained to love and reverence ascertained truth. Whatever was clearly taught in the inspired Scriptures, -was regarded as certain, final, authoritative. There was Methods no shrinking from difficulties ; no dread of mysteries ; Fletcher "^ attempt to dilute iJivine truth }>y philosophical speculations; or to fetter the sublime revelations of God by presumptions of human systems. He was studiously careful to pause with religious veneration on topics which the Scriptures left in silence. Avoiding rashness, patiently submitting to difficulties, he pretended not to penetrate the depths of a science so deep and comprehensive as revealed theology ; but reposing tranquilly and devoutly on the authority of supreme wisdom, he bowed, adored, and waited for the clearer light of a future world. It was highly instructive to observe the simplicity and integrity v>\i\\ which he marked the boundaries of the human understanding, successfully checking the superficial impatience with which the inexperienced student is prone to accept of plausible solutions of very profound and difficult questions." The tutors of the Dissenting academies were not exempt from trials and difficulties. Dr. Pye Smith * Life of Dr. Stowell. By his son. CHAP. JX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. 255 from some severe reflections made by four or five ministers in London, who had listened t. , JJefeiice of to the misrepresentations of refractory Homerton. students, published a pamphlet in 1813, containing a successful vindication of the course he had pursued. The hostility seems to have been kept up for two or three years. Mr. Brooksbank, who often gave to Mr. Raflaes the gossip of the town, refers to these trials at Homerton, in a letter dated February 28th, 1815. " There is not tJie most distant Iwpe of a reconciliation between Br. Smitli and the gentlemen that have seceded from the King's Head {Society). I saw a letter from John Clayton, junior, to a friend of mine, full of the severest in- M^Brooks- sinuations against the two brethren who possess bank to Mr. Transatlantic honours. They were so bitter that ^^^®^- Satanic inspiration could not make the smallest addition to their bitterness. Mr. Gore has deserted the monthly meeting list, on account of the expense, but the truth is, his heart was not with us. As a preacher, his loss is his own purely, and not ours. We have had two additions, that will estimate the import- ance of the connexion, and be more acceptable and able in bear- ing their part of the public service— I mean Henry Burder and Mr. Innes, of Camberwell. Do you know that the expenditure of Homerton far exceeds their income ? Can you procure some new subscribers ? Some of the brethren must be sent out soon as beggars, east, west, south and north." The Academy originally established at Northamp- ton, under the care of Dr. Doddridge, and after- wards removed to Daventry, and perverted from its original object by Mr. Belsham, was now located at Wymondley House, in Hertfordshire, and supported by the "Coward Trust." The care of the institution, entrusted to the Eev. William Parry, sat upon him very hghtly ; unsuspecting evil 256 CONGREGATIONAL HTSTOEY. [CHAP. IX. in any form, he went tlirougli tlie ordinary routine of " duty," as the patient animal set to turn a wheel. The Trustees were satisfied with his steady pace. At length his associate in the work of academi- cal tuition, was requested to inform the treasurer that trouble existed amongst the students, of which he had remained hitherto in peaceful ignorance. He writes from Hitchin, 11th April, 1816:— " Sm, — At the request of my highly-respected colleague, Mr. Parry, I write to inform you of an impleasant occurrence „ ,, among the students at Wymondley House. We Wymond- ivere not apprized of it till yesterday. So far ley, 1816. from apprehending there was any dissatisfaction, we both of us considered the family harmonious and Jlourishiwj . One of the students met me on my way to the Academy, and informed me of several of his brethren loho were uncomfortable — had thoughts of quitting the seminary, and that some had actually applied to other institutions for admission to them. " On asking the grounds of disquietude, the following were mentioned as of principal weight — i.e., that the seminary was very generally characterized as a Socinian one, because persons were admitted from that connexion, and who themselves were hostile to Evangelical truth, both during the course of their studies and when entered into the Christian ministry; that in consequence of this unfavourable character, the churches applied not to Wymond- ley for supplies, therefore there was not opportunity afforded them for exercisiiKj themselves in ministerial services, nor for introduc- ing themselves to the religious public. That they had none to recommend them to congregations when they had finished their studies. Therefore, this circumstance, in connection with the prejudices against them, rendered it highly improbable that they should be engaged and settled as ministers of the gospel, that several had such difficulties of a pecuniary nature to struggle witl), as they could not surmount ; their supplies being so inadequate to their unavoidable expenses, that they could not with the most rigid economy avoid contracting debt, which they had no prospect of paying ; and, finally, some ventured to say they CHAP. IX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 257 had not been attended to in their studies hy my invaluable friend and' brother, as they ivished. The above is an outline of their objections, and I believe the number of students dissatisfied is seven or eight. But some of these pecuniary embarrassments appear to be their sole difficulty. We have our surmises that unfair methods have been practised from without to influence and disturb the young men. Mr, Parry thinks it of high importance for one of us to have a personal interview with Mr. Coward's Trustees, for that besides the difficulty of conveying by a letter a just idea of existing circumstances, there is a case of an individual not noticed here, which Mr. P. conceives it important to bring before you. It is his opinion it would not be prudent for him to be from home at the present time. Therefore he has requested me to wait upon you. It is then my intention, if spared, to be with you at Great St. Helen's, next Tuesday, April 16th, at 11 o'clock, if practicable. I hope to meet Mr. Coward's Trustees the same day, at what place may be convenient." From the correspondence of the seceding students, we learn the causes of their dissatisfaction. In a letter to the Rev. James Bennett (tutor at Rotlier- ham), dated Wymondley House, March 20th, 1816, after expressing the reluctance he felt to offer any statements that might prove injurious to the insti- tution, James Buckham states that he is compelled to seek a change. " What I consider to be our great objection against the mode in which the Institution is conducted," he says, " is that the students are seldom or never introduced to any scene of useful- ness. You will perhaps be surprised when I inform you that there is not a single congregation connected / ^^f'' with this Institution, except a small one at Stevenage. Buckham The consequence of this is the students are but very *o ^^''• seldom called to preach. I believe the two senior 1816. students have not been sent out above twice since Midsummer, and no other but the seuior class is allowed to preach. Thus we are so excluded from all possibility of doing any good, not being permitted to preach in the villages around 17 258 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. IX. us, wlicre there are many perisliing ' for lack of knowledge,' None are permitted to preach till their fifth year, and even then it is but seldom that they make themselves useful. The students are suspected by many to be Socinians, and consequently are dreaded by most of the congregations to which they may he sent. Many, therefore, after they have spent five years in making preparations for the ministry, are compelled to give it up entirely." The atmosphere of the institution was not favour- able to the growth of piety. " Serious subjects," adds Mr. Buckham, " and of course serious persons, are but too often the sub- jects of ridicule." The Coward Trustees met to consider the matter on the 16th of April, 1816, and appointed a con- ference to be held on the 22nd, of which we have the following report : — " Mr. Gibson, accompanied by the Rev. Mr. Phillips, repaired ,r ■• f to Wymondley House. They entered very fully Coward into all the subjects adverted to by Mr. Bailey in his Trustees. letters to, and in his interviews "with the Trustees. This discussion took place in the presence of Mr. Parry. " Nothing could be more ingenuous or respectful than the behaviour of the students, with whom it was found necessary to converse, and every point tons settled to the satisfaction of the Trustees and the studtnts^ except so far as related to Mr. Cor- bishley and to Mr. Buckham, who had, without communication with Mr. Parry, or with the Trustees, applied to Rotherham and to Hoxton Academies, to be admitted. Without discussing the propriety of the conduct of others, the Trustees were very decided, in their opinion on the unbecoming nature of their application, and therefore informed. Mr. Corbishley and Mr. Buckham, that they must abide by the consequences of their ouni act, and leave Wymcndley House with the least possible delay, as Mr. Coward's Trustees tvould not wait the result of their clandes- tine and unbecoming nr.yotiation. In the meantime, though they would not for a few days withhold the accommodation of the CHAP. IX.] CONGllEGATIONAL HISTORY. 259 house, they were no longer to consider themselves members of the Academic family." Mr. Buckliam communicated the result of the meeting to Mr. Bennett : — " Dear and Honoubed Sir, — It is with pleasure I acknow- ledge the receipt of your letter of the 18th inst. It arrived in very good time. The Trustees did not come till ^gp^y^j- last night, when we were called upon to state our giren by reasons for wishing to leave the Academy. Ten of ^^J^^'^'''^' us, in the presence of Mr. Parry and the Trustees, stated the same objections which I did to you. They ackyiowledge the force of the objections, and admitted that theif really did exist. They informed us if we were not satisfied with the Academy, we were at liberty to remove. The truth is, sir, the funds are more than sufficient to defray the expenses of the Institution, and they disregard the ojnnlm of the religious world. After having stated the reasons which inclined me to apply to Rotherham, the Trustees asked me if it was still my intention to leave Wymondley ? I replied it was — that I had not acted merely from the impulse of the moment, but I had made it the subject of lono- and serious consideration, before I had come to the determination, and that I was now convinced it was my duty to withdraw. They saw, since this was my determination, it would be most advit^able to put it into execution as soon as convenient. This, they thought, would be most comfortable both to Mr, Parry and myself. I said since this was their opinion, I should leave the house in the course of a week. Those who had- not applied to any other Academy, by the advice of the Trustees, came to the determination of remaining here till Mid- summer, to see whether affairs ivould take a different turn. If they do not, I am authorized to say that it is their intention also to withdraiv. I am then, sir, no longer to be considered as a student in Wymondley Academy ; and, of course, you will be enabled to proceed with less hesitation in my admittance at Rotherham. It is unnecessary for me to dilate on the uncom- fortable circumstances in which I have been for a long time past, I am convinced you feel them. Any enlargement, therefore, would be as unnecessary to you, as it is painful to me. I have, 260 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP IX. I trust, from the purest and most disinterested motives, dedi- cated myself to tlie service of God in the work I have in pros- pect. I hope I can say from the heart, that I am willing to spend, and be spent in the service of Him who has done so much for me. By committing all my affairs to His direction, and being found in the path of duty, lam convinced that all shall be overruled to the promotion of His glory, and to the good of my soul. I shall most likely be here all Tuesday morning. If you have anything to communicate previous to that time, you may direct as usual; if not I shall subjoin my address, that you may be able to inform me as soon as anything is decided upon, respecting me. Mr. Corbishley desires me to give his kind respects to you. As you desire, he has written to his father, desiring him to send a testimony in his favour. His circum- stances are similar to mine. It is his intention to leave Wymond- ley in a few days. Hoping that I shall soon have the happiness ot calling myself your pupil, 1 beg leave, at present, to sub- scribe myself. Your much obliged and humble servant, " James Buckham. " Wymondley House, April 22nd, 3816. "Please to direct care of Mr. Currie, Swan Inn, Kelso, Roxburghshire." * The causes of internal disquietude still re- mained, notwithstanding the peremptory course of Thomas ^^^® Coward Trustees. Thomas Binney Binney. (bom at Ncwcastlc-upon-Tyne, 1895), on entering Wymondley, found the house divided against itself. As a studious youth of promising talents, he came under the notice of the Rev. "William Turner, a Unitarian minister, in his native town, who sent him for a short time to be under the tuition of his son, who was then one of the tutors at " Manchester College," in York, not, however, as a student on the foundation, but tentatively that he might afterwards decide on the course he should ado})t. Mr. Binney finding his views not in unison * Eotherham MSS. CHAP. IX] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 261 with those of the Unitarian professors, returned to Newcastle, and on the recommendation of Mr. Atkinson, a Congregational minister at Morpeth, he was accepted as a student at Wymondley. Frank, independent, and of generous spirit, but having at that time no very decided theological opinions, he met with little in the " academic family " to give him religious stability. We are told, on the authority of a Unitarian gentleman (though the fact does not appear on the records of the institution), that Noah Jones, a student, who afterwards became a Unitarian minister, exerted a powerful influence on the minds of his companions, " He (Mr. J.) had not been long engaged in his theological studies before he began to question some of the doctrines of the Orthodox Creed, in the profession of which he had been brought up. His mind could not be satisfied with the views which were expounded by the tutors, and which the students were expected to adopt and to preach. Exercising the right he claimed of free thought and speech, he soon brought upon himself the suspicion of heresy. This suspicion presently assumed the form of a more definite charge of preaching ' Socinianism ' in his sermons, and unsettling the minds of other students."* No charge of this kind appears, however, on the "minutes" of the trust. His case as there re- presented was one of " disrespectful " conduct, for which he was expelled, and the application for his re-admission declined. Allegations of various kinds were made by the students against each other, which ended in the removal of some of them, in order to the restoration of peace. The cause of Mr. Binney's retirement is thus stated in the Minutes : — * Christian Reformer, 1861. 262 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. IX. "15th December, 1820. — A paper from Mr. Biuney to the Withdraw- Trustees was read. It appeared that Mr. Binney mentfrom ^^^^ j^j^. grown had withdrawn themselves from v\ jmond- . ley, 1820. Wymondley in consequence of the exclusion of Mr. Bohson and Mr. Nicholson." Mr. Binney was again cast upon his old Unitarian friends, and met them in London ; but there was still a divergence in his views, which he was too honest to conceal, and he returned to Newcastle. Whilst in this state of perplexity, and straitened in pecuniary means, he attended the ordination of Meeting of thc Rcv. W. Heudry Stowell,* at North IkhM""'^ Shields, February, 1821, and heard the Fletcher. charge given to him by the Rev. Joseph Fletcher, M.A. In conversation with Mr. Fletcher after the service, Mr. Binney referred to the non- recocrnition of Divine Providence in Unitarian families, and to other kindred topics. " We shall not be able fully to discuss these points now," said Mr. Fletcher, " come and spend a little time with me in Blackburn." Mr. Binney accepted the kind invitation, and spent a fortnight at the Academy there. When asked soon after his arrival to conduct the usual family worship, the students noticed that in his prayers there was no confession of sin, but an eloquent description of the divine attributes and a tribute of general thanksgiving. At the close of his * Dr. Eaflles says : " We had a most interesting service. I delivered the introductory discourse and received bis confession of faith ; Mr. Atkinson, of Morpeth, prayed the ordination prayer, with imposition of hands ; and Mr. Fletcher gave him a most impressive charge. Mr. Stowell's account of him- self was deeply interesting, and we may judge how much I was affected, when in the presence of that vast assembly, he acknowledged my poor labours in the pulpit as the means, in the hand of God, of his saving conversion." Mr- Stowell was the favourite pupil of Mr. Flttcher. CHAP. IX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 263 visit a marked change was observed in ins spirit and tone, and earnest supplications were offered by him for pardon and renewing grace. Long and earnest conversations with Mr. Fletcher had given a new direction to his thoughts. In the meantime changes had been made in Wymondley. Mr. Parry died in January, 1819, and the Eev. Thomas Mokell, after some delay, was invited by the Coward Trustees to accept the care of the students. On a former occasion the same offer had been made to Dr. Pye Smith, but he declined the office from the unwillingness of the Trustees to adopt a better reo^ulation in the form of a ^ •*• ^ . . Stipulation veto that would prevent the admission of of Mr. unsuitable candidates. Mr. Morell, on entering upon his duties at Wymondley, stipulated for some improvements. He says : — " On the subjecb of the annual stipend (£200), and other pecuniary arrangements, I feel perfectly satisfied with the propositions made on the part of the Trustees, and a full reliance on their liberality. There still remains, however, considerable difficulty on my mind relative to the mode of admitting students to the henefits of the Institution. I have no wish that any specific plan which I may have suggested should be adopted, because I have not the presumption to suppose that the dictates of my judgment are superior to the combined wisdom and expe- rience of gentlemen who have long superintended an academical institution, and who are as intent npon securing the main object as myself. Yet trembling as I do at the very thought of being instrumental in obtruding upon the churches a cold, ineffi-- cient, anti-evangelical and unconverted ministry, and feeling that no inconsiderable part of the responsibility must rest on the tutors of the Institution, I cannot comfortably, or even con- scientiously, undertake the office without understanding more 264 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. IX. clearly what specific resolutions are likely to be adopted and acted upon in this case. " I must own I cannot perceive the force of the objections which the Trustees seem to have felt to the plan of prohation, nor am I aware that the anticipated difficulties have occurred in the other Institutions, such as Homerton, Rotherham, Gosport, Newport, etc., in all of which it has long been adopted. But even if some such practical difficulties were to occur in a few instances, it is surely far better that some violence should be oifered to private feelings, than that so great a, public evil should he produced as that of the introduction of irreligious and pernicious characters into the Christian ministrif. But it appears to me that the principal advantage of such a plan would be that it would be likely to deter those from presenting themselves for admission, or being presented by their friends, who enter upon the ministry merely as a professional employment, while conscious to themselves that the great essential is wanting. I feel persuaded, too, that the result might be that a far less number would be dismissed after probation than have been expelled for misconduct in former years."* On the 9th of April, 1821, the Trustees took the suggestions of Mr. Morell into consideration, and addressed to him the following communication : — " Immediately on your leaving the Trustees, we took into consideration the important point on which we had all delibe- rated— the best means of securing to the Academy Suggestions . i , n i • i -, accepted ^^ Wymondley students ot personal piety and pro- by the mising talents. The importance of the subject is admitted by us all, and the wish for allowing it is proportionably strong. We perfectly concur in the suggestion respecting certificates from other than the members of the family, whether in addition or substitution of the applicant. "Some difficulty, however, presents itself to the rule by which the pupil is liable to be recalled, and within three months, and being professedly in a state of probation, and it arises very much from the extremely unpleasant circumstance of rejecting a youth, perhaps without any positive charge against his moral * Wymondley Papers. CHAP. IX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 265 character. This difSculty is not removed even bj the example of other academies, especially when such example is opposed by this important fact, as relates to the Academy under Mr. Cov?ard's trust — that the rule has never existed under Dr. Doddridge, Dr. Ashworth, Mr. Robins, Mr. Belsbam^ and Mr. Parry. " The Trustees are exceedingly anxious to secure, as far as they can, all that has been suggested by a sort of previous probation elsewhere, or by any means that may suggest them- selves on further conversation with you. Rather than relinquish so important an object, they would adopt the proposed suggestion. Still, if any other of equal security could be adopted, it would be preferred." On further consideration of the subject, the Trustees adopted the following resolution : — " The Trustees, taking into consideration the unhappy disputes that have recently occurred within the Academic family, and being not only desirous, but determined, so far as they could, to devise the means to prevent their recurrence, — " Resolved, That each student, on his return to Wymondley, be put on probation for three months, and if at any time during that period he shall act in a ivay to disturb the peace of the family/, he shall he at once dismissed ; and that the same rule be adopted previous to the admission of any new student. That the same rule be applied to the admission of any new student. It is, how- ever, well understood that the present students are to be readmitted to the same rank of standing in the Academy as they had before the vacation, supposing they so conduct themselves as to remain there." * There were now some signs of an improvement. Mr. Morell says : — " Wlien 1 tahe into account the previously disorganised state of the establish ment, the habits of indolence which had been acquired, the domestic feuds with which the house had -, . . •' . . Improve- been agitated, the insubordination which had prevailed, ment in the and the rancour cherished by some students agai^ist Institution. their brethren — all of which I had scarcely a conception of before entering upon the office of a tutor, I do feel that it is a matter of * Minutes of Coward Trust. 266 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [OHAP. IX. thanksgiving that the session has passed away in unbroken harmony, if we except the low murmurs and the whispered discontent of two or three restless spirits, who, if they had been attended to, would soon have re-kindled the flames of discord ; but whose insinuations— and, I fear I must add, calumnies — being disregarded, only recoil upon themselves. With this exception, we have been favoured with an uniform course of domestic harmony and reciprocal kindness. The students in general have manifested a commendable diligence in study, insomuch that I have found it necessary to check, rather than urge them on. Their literary ardour, and the interest they felt in the subjects brought before them, prompted them to devote more hours to study than consisted with the preservation of health."* The report of this pleasing improvement reached Mr. Binney at a time when his own views and feelings had been essentially altered. In the following communication, honourable and deeply interesting, he applied to the Coward Trustees to return as a student to Wymondley. " To the Honourable the Trustees of William Coward, Esq. " Morpeth, May 8th, 1821. " GrENTLEMEN, — It is with feelings of no common anxiety that I submit to your notice the present communication. Since I felt myself necessitated to resign that patronage Letter of -which I considered it an honour to enjoy, I have not to the ' ceased to look to Wymondley with a sort of filial Tnintees, regard, though, from circumstances which I now wish to forget, I found her in many respects to be anything but an Alma Mater. Yet her supporters were always the objects of my respect and my gratitude ; and, I trust, while I have a heart to feel or a mind to remember, their attention to me will neither be depreciated nor forgotten. The important changes which, 1 understand, are about to be made in the govern- ment of your Institution, have excited in me the wish again to enjoy its advantages; while the changes lohich I trust have passed upon myself, 'uiduce me to hope that I shall neither he considered * Wymondley Papers. CHAP. IX.] CONGKEGATIONAL HISTOKT. 267 ineligihle to your fatronnge, nor he found an umcortJnj object sliould I enjoy it. You may possibly think it requisite to refer to a consideration of the circumstances under which I left Wymondley, to judge of my eligibility to return. I am happy in the reflec- tion, gentlemen, that it is fully understood that my resignation was not dissatisfaction directed to TfOU. After my return to Newcastle, in writing to Mr. Turnbull, I mentioned that I could not resist the conviction that my friends had been injured, but not hy the Trustees. The object of this communication to Mr. T was to explain my feelings respecting the recent occur- rences after the effervescence had subsided, without attempting to defend what was indefensible, or to palliate what had been improper ;' and, at the same time, to express my acknowledgments for that solicitous attention which Mr. Turnbull manifested during my residence at "Wymondley. Of Mr. Morell I have no personal knowledge ; but what I know of his character — by his writings and by report — prompts the wish to enjoy his instruc- tions in the prosecution of my studies. From such considerations I certainly do hope that my re-admission to Wymondley will not be opposed by any serious objection. You intend, gentle- men, I am informed, on the admission of students for the future, to be particularly strict in ascertaining not only tlie possession of intellectual competency and the respectahility of moral hahit, hut the indication of that piety which is something superior to external correctness — a devout disposition, arising from a rational attach- ment to Christian truth. I do not know what may be required from those who now become candidates for the advantages of your seminary — whether you expect any statement of doctrinal sentiment, or any exhibition of experimental piety by certain individuals. Both these may easily be given, and, in most cases, hoth may be required. " If any man wishes to become a Christian minister hecause he hnows the importance and has felt the blessings of the gospel, then,SiS he must be acquainted with religion before he can value it, and as religion consists in truths admitted by the understanding, and feelings influencing the character, he may find little difficulty in stating the propositions he admits as true, and achnoivledging his consciousness of the mode of their operation. There are other cases, however, when peculiar circumstances may require a peculiar procedure. With respect to myself, by our recent 268 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. IX. connection, you are already acquainted with my character and talents. You have been pleased to honour both with a portion of your praise. In making the present application T shall be very holiest and very ojjen in stating those particulars of my mental history which I hope will render me a more valuable member of your academic Institution than I should have been tvithout the experience derived from my late aherrations. " When I left Wymondley, I felt scrupulous ahout jointing the Unitarian party, from my consciousness that I did not decidedly adopt their opinions. I did not, however, accede to the plan proposed by Mr. Belshara for my continuance in London to pursue my studies. When I mentioned this to Mr. Taylor, he frankly told me, in his judgment, I was capable of doing much ill or much good, and therefore he affectionately advised me to be cautious how I formed particular religious connections. I confess that till that moment I had not seriously reflected on the vwmentous moral influence of a Christian instructor, in connection ivifh his adoption of particular opinions — I mean I had not brought this to hear impressively on myself. From this suggestion, how- ever, I was led to consider the propriety of my continuing in London, and the inquiry, aided and influenced by serious circum- stances, resulting in a decision to leave it immediately. My state of mind was such, that I actually communicated to Mr. Belsham my intention of quitting the Metropolis. I returned to New- castle, under the promise, however, to reconsider the subject. I did so, but every review I took confirmed me in the correctness of my determination. I wrote to Mr. Belsham, explicitly stating my reasons for not forming new connections ; and though I had then no prospect before me of comfortable subsistence, I deter- mined to decline that patronage which I could not conscientioiishj receive, and I have not yet seen reason to rejjent. Permit me, gentle- men, to lay before you a part of that mental process which the personal examination — my peculiar circumstances induced me to institute — compelled me to undergo. I am not a visionary enthusiast (though I have no notion of that religion tvhich is so occupied with the head, as never to descend to the heart). The subject which first occupied my attention when I began seriously to reflect, was the consideration that Christianity, as a develop- ment of mercy, must be founded upon the fact of man's yuilty character and dangerous condition ; and hence a person impressed CHAP. IX.] CONGEEGATIONAL HTSTOKY. 269 with this sentiment will peruse the Scriptures with the single wish of discovering a foundation of confidence and hope towards Grod. I felt persuaded religion must commence with the question, ' Sow must I escape the coming wrath ? ' But then I was equally- persuaded that I had too much neglected this inquiry, and I certainly do suspect that the liberal system of modern theology is too little adapted to promote this solicitude. The religion of an angel and the religion of a man appear to T0KY. [cHAP. X. that the clergymen had to escape for their hves through the church windows and over walls. The recollection of these cir- cumstances added not a little to the perturbation which the messenger and the letter had occasioned, and a parallel was at once drawn between the two discussions, which was not improved by the difference of place, being, instead of a Protestant church a Roman Catholic chapel, situated a mile from the town, and surrounded by an entirely Roman Catholic population. " There was no time, however, for indulging in gloomy fore- bodings. It was a cold night, and the rain fell in torrents. The messenger and horse were drenched, and must be sheltered. The stable being filled with the winter stock of fuel, hospitality suggested that both man and horse should be accommodated in the kitchen, where a good fire was provided, and suitable refreshment for the man, and a mess of oatmeal for the horse. Meanwhile, arrangements were being made for his return. By the assistance of a friend, who was called up for the purpose, a reporter was procured, and, before daylight, all were on the road to Easky. As soon as the morning dawned, the friend, before alluded to, went round among the members of the church to inform them of the circumstances, and request them to attend a meeting for special prayer at eight o'clock. As many attended as the shortness of the notice would admit of; and truly it was a service to be remembered — a ' Peniel,' both as to its present enjoyment, and the result of prayer. "The six disputants at Easky met in a small room to make the necessary arrangements, and while they vveie debating on preliminaries, Mr. Urwick unexpectedly walked in. At once the scene changed. On seeing Mr. Urwick, the priests insisted that he should take part, which he agreed to do. A chairman was then chosen — a man of higli standing as a magistrate, and of good sound sense and influence, who, being a lay churchman, was partly a neutral between the Roman Catholics and the Nonconformists. " The next morning, Nov. 2'S, 1&24, at ten o'clock, the chapel was filled with a large concourse of people, all in eager, yeb silent, expectation to see and hear. The chairman sat before the altar. Each speaker stood on the steps of the high altar when he addressed the multitude ; and a capital position it was for doing so. One on each side spoke in succession. The priests CHAP. X.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 293 urged the Protestants to open the debate. The speakers on the side of the Roman Catholics were the Rev. Messrs. Devins, Hughes, and Lyons. " At the close of the discussion the crowd dispersed without disorder or tumult, convinced, as they said, that the Protestants 'had the best of it.' Numbers went home grave and thoughtful, pondering what they had heard. Some felt somewhat sore, regretful, and disappointed ; and many others returned with joyful hearts, praising and blessing God. Mr. Urwick called upon the Easky priest the next day, who preferred hospitality. On his return to Sligo, he found that his people had been engaged in prayer for their absent pastor, morning, noon, and evening each day; and now they had one gathering more to render thanks, and to seek God's blessing upon Ireland." Another " burning and shining Hght " had now appeared in the Congregational ministry. James Parsons (born 10th of April, 1799) was the son of the Rev. Edward Parsons, for fortj-eight years a Congregational pastor in Leeds. In early youth he had felt the impulse of a strong ambition to james attain to eminence in the legal profession. P^'-sons. Wei] conducted, and having received a superior education, he was encouraged in the practice of oratory by Mr. Baines, and often rehearsed in his domestic circle the speeches of the most eloquent leaders in the senate or at the bar. When for the further prosecution of his legal studies he went to London, this passion for fame and pre-eminence increased, but suddenly the current of his desires and aspirations was completely changed. Sum- moned to the dying bed of his beloved mother, to listen to her last counsels, and then to look into her open grave* — he yielded his heart to God, and * Dr. Raffles, in his diary, sajs : "February 13,1820, Suuday. Preached at Salem Chapel in the morning from 2 Cor. iv. 17. The congregation was 294 CONGREGATIONAL EISTOKY. [CHAP. X. resolved to consecrate his life to the work of the ministry, confirmed in this resolution by the ministry of the Rev. John Davies, of Hare Court, London. He was admitted to the Academy at Idle, in 1820, and took his full share in the preaching excursions of that institution. His fame as a preacher spread rapidly, and during his course of two years at the Academy he was invited to preach at the Tabernacle and Tottenham Court Chapel, in London. Amongst other places he received invitations to the pastorate from Lancaster and York, and decided to accept that of the cathedral city, at that time one of the most torpid in religious service and discouraging that could be named. The church meeting in Lendal Chapel was few in number and feeble in its resources, but he entered on his work in simple faith and earnestness of purpose, and was ordained on the 24th of October, 1822. In the absence of outward encouragement he found the most powerful incentive in the truth he had to proclaim, and in the grand object of the Christian ministr}^ Higher emolument or greater local prominence he often declined, that he might promote the interests of the church first committed to his care. His confidence in the gospel increased with his ever-growing- personal experience, and his sense of its infinite importance impelled him to give the most earnest very large. In the afternoon the press was very great. We founr] the chapelyard and the street filled with the people when we went., and I was obliged to get in througii the window of the vestry. I preached, according to Mrs, Parsons's desire, from ' Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.' Many hundreds were unable to obtain admission. The deep atten- tion of the people continued during the whole sermon, which, with the reading of an interesting account of Mrs. Parsons, drawn up by her son, Edward, occu- pied an hour and a half." CHAP. X.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 295 testimony, and all felt the directness, force, and tenderness of his appeals. His visits to London were anticipated by thousands as seasons of hallowed interest and of spiritual profit; and wherever he went, the impression produced was the same. Power from on high accompanied the message, and many hastened homewards when the service closed to pour forth their penitential supplications at the footstool of the divine mercy. Multitudes had to testify, in the open profession of their faith and in the consecration of their lives to the service of Christ, that he had been far more to them than the " eloquent orator." Great excitement was caused in 1823-4 by the martyrdom of John Smith, in Demerara.* This devoted missionary was born at Rowell, in Northamptonshire, June 27th, 1790. His l^^l^l^^^ father was slain in battle in one of the of Deme- •• o , rara. plains of Egypt, and he was leit at a tender ag-e to the care of a widowed mother, who was too poor to send him to a day school. What instruction he received was obtained from the teacher of his class on the Sabbath. At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to Mr. Blundel, an army baker, in the city of London. Finding him deficient in education his employer kindly offered to instruct him, and he made great improvement. On the retirement of Mr. Blundel from the business, Smith continued with his successor, Mr. Davies. Up to this time he had little acquaintance with the truths of religion, and united with the men in the Establish- ment in acts of insult and annoyance intended to * The Martyr of Demerara. By Edward Angel Wallbridge. 296 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [OHAP. X. provoke a fellow-workman wlio was a member of the church at Silver Street. The forbearance and con- sistent conduct of this good man won the confidence and respect of young Smith, and led him to serious reflection. In the spring of 1809, when nineteen years of age, restless and unhappy, he roamed from one place to another until he heard the Rev. John Leifchild preach at Tonbridge Chapel, Somers Town, from Isaiah Iv. 6, 7. When the preacher commented on the words " He will abundantly pardon," Mr. Smith says " it was life from the dead, it dispelled ray fears, it eased my conscience and gave me confidence in the mercy of God." After this he suffered for eleven weeks a serious illness, which deepened his convictions ; and on the Stli of Novem- ber, 1810, he joined the church at Tonbridge Chapel, under the care of Mr. Rayson, and became a teacher in the Sabbath School. Cherishing a strong desire to make known to others the truth of which he increasingly felt the preciousness, he addressed a letter to the Rev. George Burder, offering himself for the service of the London Missionary Society. After examination, the Directors were satisfied as to his fitness, and placed him under the tuition of the Rev. Samuel Newton, of Witham, in Essex, orrhomas and in 1816, he was sent out to Demerara, Fovveii, where he laboured at the station near ijuxton. George Town with great assiduity and success. On the 15th of May, 1823, Mr. Thomas Fowell, Buxton, moved a resolution in the House of Commons to the effect : — " That the state of slavery is repugnant to the principles of the British Constitution and of the Christian religion, and that it CHAP. X.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 297 ought to be abolished gradually throughout the British colonies with as much expedition as may be found consistent, with a due regard to the well-being of the parties concerned." Mr. Canning, in reply, contended that if slavery was repugnant to the principles of the British Con- stitution and of the gospel, it ought to be instantly abolished. Nevertheless, it had been sanctioned in the colonies for centuries, and its abolition would, in consequence, be impracticable. He proposed the following resolutions : — " That it is expedient to adopt effectual and decisive measures for ameliorating the condition of the slave population in His Majesty's dominions ; that through a determined and perse- vering, at the same time judicious and temperate ° , , ji • TT 1 1 r Resolutions enforcement of such measures, this House looks tor- of Canning. ward to a progressive improvement in the character of the slave population, such as may prepare them for a partici- pation in those civil rights and privileges, which are enjoyed by other classes of His Majesty's subjects. "That this House is anxious for the accomplishment of this purpose, at the earliest period which shall be compatible with the well-being of the slaves themselves, with the safety of the colonies, and with a fair and equitable consideration of the inte- rests of private property, that these resolutions be laid before His Majesty." After a long debate, the resolutions of Mr. Canning were carried without a division. A circular from Downing Street, dated the 24th of May, was sent to the colonial official, who received it as the death-knell of slavery. The ire of the planters was roused to the highest pitch, and the Govem- vague report of the despatch excited in the q^"*!^^ slaves groundless expectation of immediate deliverance. The concealment of the contents of the 298 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. X. document awakened suspicion of a design to prevent their emancipation. The negroes, under the care of Mr. Smith, had been trained to order, peace, regular industry, and comparative contentment in their bondage. Marriage had become almost universal. But in this time of excitement they lost self-control. The governor, before the changes caused by the cir- cular, had issued a prohibition to all the negroes to attend public worship, except by means of a pass from the owners ; these owners being under no obli- gation to grant such a pass. Fearing increased severity in their servitude, the slaves rose against their masters, not, however, to inflict personal violence, but to put them in prison until their rights were secured. The rising took place on the 18th of August. On the 19th, martial law was tioiiofthe proclaimed. On the 20th, all public dis- turbance was at an end. No white person was injured, but two hundred negroes were killed and wounded in the first instance ; forty- seven were executed ; and in some cases the victims of the planter's rage were sentenced to receive a thousand lashes. On account of this insurrection, the colony was kept for five months under martial law. Mr. Smith, to whose counsels and pacific example, restraining the negroes under their burst of passion, the planters owed their lives and the preservation of their property, was charged with inciting the slaves to revolt, concealing their intention to rise, and refusing to serve in the militia after the revolt was suppressed. His trial was a shameful mockery ; negroes CHAP. X.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 299 under the severest pressure were compelled to give evidence, which they afterwards confessed, in the bitterness of remorse, was imtrue, and all the circumstances of the case pointed, not Trial of simply to the innocence of the mis- ^^' ''^™'*^- sionary, but to his admirable conduct throughout. The planters relied upon the testimony of Mr. Austin, an Episcopal clergyman, to substantiate the charges against Mr. Smith, but too honest to lend himself to their murderous design, he declared that : — " JSTothing but those religious impressions which, under Providence, Mr. Smith has been instrumental in fixing —nothing but those principles of the gospel of peace which he has been proclaiming — could have prevented a dreadful effusion of blood- shed, and saved the lives of those very persons vrho are now, I shudder to write it, seeking his." Notwithstanding this noble protest, Mr. Smith was sentenced to die ; but his persecutors hesitated to proceed to his execution, without the sanction of the British Government. An ex-parte report of the trial was transmitted in haste, and every precaution was taken to prevent the communication to Eng- land of any counter-statement. In the meantime, the prisoner was committed in a delicate state of health to a dungeon, so filthy and wretched, in George Town jail, that in any legal issue of the case the object of his persecutors would be accomplished in his certain death. Letters, notwithstanding the efforts of the colo- nial authorities to intercept them, reached the Directors of the Missionary Society. Mrs. Smith, in a communication addressed to the 300 CONGREGATIONAL HISTOllY. [CHAP. X. secretary, dated Demerara, December 4th, 1823, said : — " You have, no doubt, heard of the trouble which has befallen Mr. Smith and myself, and the temporary ruin of the missionary cause in this colony, in consequence of the revolt of the negroes on the East Coast. You would have been fully informed MM^Smith ^^ ^^^- Smith of everything relative to the mission, had not the severe nature of his imprisonment precluded the possibility of his writing to any one. The reason I have not written to you before is, that I myself have been hut a few days liberated from a rigorous imprisonment with him. Ou the 2l8t of August, the third day after the revolt, Mr. Smith commenced a letter to you, in which he intended to point out the real causes of the revolt ; but before we could finish it, we were, in a forcible and brutal manner, taken away from our house by the militia. Jt is impossible to detail the unnameable grievances to which the slaves generally were (and, for aught I know to the contrary, still are) subject. But it teas their religion that in general occa- sioned them the most vexatious treatment. There was no redress for them. The burgher officers of the district were noted for their aversion to the religious instruction of the slaves." Mr. Smith, writing to the secretary, from the Colony Jail, Demerara, December 12, 1823, says : — "You will have heard, ere this comes to hand, of the trouble that has befallen me, and of the desolated state of the Demerara Mission, both of which are occasioned by the revolt of the negroes on the East Coast. Of my own j)ersonal sufferings I sliall say nothing further, than that the close and solitary nature of my imprisonment, with the disease under ivhich I labour, and have laboured for more than twelve months, have pressed very heavily upon me. I have, hoivever, much consolation from the consideration of my innocence of the crimes with which I have been charged, and of which I 7101V stand convicted. 1 am bold to affl,rm that I never gave uttzrance to anything that could make the slaves dissatisfied with their condition in life. Indeed, I could have no motive for so doing. I refer you to the evidence for the prosecution, by which it is attempted to be proved that I endeavoured for a long CHAP. X.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 301 time to drive tbem to revolt, with this observation, that the wit- nesses, brought forward to prove the charge, were prisoners, on account of the revolt, under the power and authority of the fiscal, who teas the judge-advocate on my trial, and who can order negroes to he fioyged without any previous trial. What thej have stated that bears on the charge, is either wholly false, or grossly mis- represented. " I was determined to exoaerate the Society from blame, whatever might be the result of the trial in regard to me. I, therefore, laid over my instruction from the Directors to form part of the pro- ceedings of the court-martial. Many of the colonists have roundly asserted that the Society and its missionaries were in alliance ■with the African Institution,* and that our chief object was, under the mask of religion, the emancipation of the slaves. But having examined all ray letters and papers, and found nothing to support their suspicions, it is to be hoped they will, henceforth, be silent on that subject. For the last twelve or eighteen months pi'evious to the revolt, the negroes attended the chapel in such numbers as alarmed, it seems, some of the pilanters, or rather, I sup- pose, aroused their enmity against God, at seeing religion prosper. Some of them gave orders that none of their slaves should leave their respective plantations on Sunday without a written pass. It was, of course, a matter of option with the planters whether they would give them passes. Those who insisted on this regu- lation would not give passes, or at most, would give them to very few. The negroes, it appears, came to chapel without them. They ivere punished (flogged) and put in the stocks till their wounds were healed ; if they complained, they were punished again J" After further details, Mr. Smith adds : — " I must not forget to mention the kindness of the Rev. W. S. Austin. I am under the greatest obligations to him ; and I doubt not when the Directors are informed of the conduct of this excellent clergyman, they will feel that they owe him at least a respectful acknowledgment of his kindness to me, and of his zeal in my cause. " I have been two days writing this, and now feel so ill that * A mild kind of institution for ameliorating the condition of the negrot-s, under the patronage of several of the nobilitj. 302 COXGREGATIONAL HISTt)iiY. [CHAP. X. I must come to a close. I am satisfied that I am in the Lord's hands, aud there I wish to be. Oh, my dear sir, pray for me.'' In a note to Mr. Davies, bis old friend and em- ployer in London, he wrote : — "I feel pretty happy in my mind. I know not what judg- ment awaits me. Sometimes I thinlc my decaying frame will not hold together long for it to affect me. I am in the Lord's hand, and quite willing He should do with me as He pleases. Indeed, I often feel anxious for the period to arrive when I shall inhabit a house not made with hands. Pray for me, " John Smith. " Colony Jail, December 16, 1823."* The Missionary Society presented a petition in the case to Parh'ament. The matter led to an ani- mated debate in the House of Commons. Mr. Brougham, in the course of a powerful speech, said : — " Many persons who have, upon all other occasions, been remarkable for their manly hostility to acts of official oppres- sion, who have been alive to every violation of the Brouffham rights of the subject, and who have uniformly and most honourably viewed with peculiar jealousy, every infraction of the law, strange to sa}^, on the question of Mr. Smith's treatment, evince a backwardness to discuss or even listen to it. Nay, they would fain fasten upon any excuse to get rid of the subject. What signifies inquiry, say they, into a transaction which has occurred in a remote part of the world ? as if distance or climate made any difference in an outrage upon law or justice. One would have rather expected that the very * While Mr. Smith was djing in prison, he was compelled by his perse- cutors to draw a bill upon the funds of the London Mis-ionary Society, in order to defray the expenses of his so-called trial. Many years afrerwarda. the secretary of the Society, in arranging some old papers, met with this bill. In looking at if, his attention was drawn to one corner of the sheet, and on examining it more carefully, he found, written in a minute hand, the reference (2 Cor. iv. 8, 9), on turning to it he found the text, " We are troubled on e'-cpy side, yet not distressed; we arc perplexed, but not iu despair; perse- cuted, but not forsaken ; cast down, but not destroyed." CHAP. X.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 303 idea of that distance, the circumstance of the event havino- taken place beyond the immediate scope of our laws, and out of the view of the people of this country, in possessions where none of the inhabitants have representatives in this House, and the bulk of them have no representatives at all — one might have thought, I say, that in place of forming a ground of objec- tion, their remote and unprotected situation would have strengthened the claiais of the oppressed to the interposition of the British Legislature. Then says another, too indolent to iuquire, slow to hear, but prompt to decide, ' It is true there have been a great number of petitions on the subject ; but then everybody knows how those petitions are procured, by what description of persons they are signed, and what are the motives which influence a few misguided, enthusiastic men, in preparing them, and the great crowd in signing them. And, after all, it is merely about a poor missionary ! ' I have now to learn, for the first time, that the weakness of the sufferer, his unprotected situation, his being left singly and alone to contend against power exercised with violence, constitutes a reason for this House shutting its ears against all complaints of such proceed- ings, and refusing to investigate the treatment of the injured individual. But it is not enough that he was a missionary ; to make the subject still more unpalatable — for I will come to the point, and at once use the hateful word — he must needs also be a Methodist. I hasten to this objection, with a view at once to dispose of it. Suppose Mr. Smith had been a Methodist. What then ? Does his connection with that class of religious people — because on some points essential in their Christian belief, they are separated from the National Church — alter or lessen his claims to the protection of the law ? Ai-e British subjects to be treated more or less favourably in courts of law ; are they to have a larger or smaller share in the security of life and limb, in the justice dealt out by the Government, accordino- to the religions opinions which they happen to hold ? Had he belonged to the Methodist Society, and been employed by the members of that communion, I should have thought no worse of him or his mission, and felt nothing the less strongly for his wrongs. But it does so happen that neither the one nor the other of these assumptions is true ; neither the Missionary Society, nor their servants, are of the Methodist persuasion. 30i COMGKEUATiUXAL UlSTOUY. [cHAF. X. The Society is composed indifterently of Churchmen and Dis- senters. Mr. Smith is, or, as I, unhappily, must now say, was, a minister — a faithful and pious member of the Independents — that body much to be respected, indeed, for their numbers, but far more to be held in lasting veneration for the unshaken forti- tude with which, in all times, they have maintained their attach- ment to civil and religious liberty, and, holding fast by their own principles, have carried, to its utmost pitch, the great doctrine of toleration. Men to whose ancestors this country will ever acknowledge a boundless debt of gratitude, as long as freedom is prized among us; for they, I fearlessly proclaim it — they, with whatever ridicule some may visit their excesses, or with what- ever blame others — they, with the zeal of martyrs, the purity of the early Christians, the skill and the courage of the most renowned warriors, gloriously suffered, and fought, and conquered for England, the free constitution which she now enjoys! True to the generous principles in Church and State, which won those immortal triumphs, their descendants still are seen clothed with the same amiable peculiarity of standing forward among all religious denominations, pre-eminent in toleration ; so that, althougli in the progress of knowledge, other classes of Dissen- ters may be approaching fast to overtake them, thej/ still ai'e fore- most in this proud distinction." Denman, Liisbington, and other members of the House of Commons protested against the wrong done to Mr. Smith; and Mr. Wilberforce,* at the close of his speech, said : — " Let us not be satisfied with coldly expressing, as our individual opinions, in our speeches, that there were circumstances in the trial which are to be regretted ; but let us do "'f^w^h*^^^'^ justice to the character of a deeply injured man, by force. solemnly recording our judgment in the language proposed by the motion of my learned friend. Let us thereby manifest our determination to shield the meretorious, but unprotected, missionary, from the malice of his prejudiced oppressors, however bigoted and powerful. Let us show the ■* Ilis last Hj'pcaraiice in the House of Cotninotis. CHAP. X.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 305 sense we entertain of the value of such services, and prove that vp^hatever may be the principles and feelings which habitual familiarity with the administration of slavery may produce in the colonies, we, in this House at least, have the disposition and judgment and feelings which justice and humanity and the spirit of the British Coustitutiou ensure from the members of the House of Commons." The British Government rescinded the sentence of the court-martial, as far as related to the sentence of death, but ordered that Mr. Smith should at once be banished from the colony. The decree arrived too late ; the martyr had already passed away beyond the grasp of the oppressor and the help of sympathising friends. He died on the 6th of February, at twenty Death of minutes after one o'clock in the morning — ^''- ^'°'^'^- Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Elliott, and Mary Chisholme, a free black woman, being present. Mr. Padmore, the keeper of the jail, was imme- diately informed of the event, came to view the body, and then went to inform the governor, agreeably to the orders he had previously received. Next day, an inquest was held. The fiscal asked Mrs. Smith what she considered to have been the cause of Mr. Smith's death ? She replied, that he had been for some time past in a very delicate state of health ; but that the false accusations which had been brought against him, the cruel persecutions he endured, and his long imprisonment, had no doubt hastened his death. The words, " False accusations, and cruel persecution," were rejected with vehemence, and one of the members of the Court of Policy said, it was not Mrs. Smith's opinion they wanted, but the cause of liis death. 20 306 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. X. Between eiglit and nine o'clock in the evening, Mr. Thompson, the second constable, came to the prison, and told Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Elliott, that he was ordered to inform them that he should come at four o'clock next morning to demand the body of Mr. Smith for interment. Mrs. Elliott then enquired why they were not permitted to bury Mr. Smith at ten o'clock as they intended ? She asked also, whether any persons would be allowed to follow the corpse? He answered, "No." Mrs. Elhott asked, whether Mrs. Smith and herself were included in that prohibition ? He rephed, " Yes." Mrs. Elhott asked from whom he had received his orders ? He answered, from His Excellency. Mrs. Elliott then said, " Is it possible that General Murray can wish to prevent a poor widow from following her husband to the grave, as they have done to death ? " and " If Mrs. Smith will go, I will go with her. We are not prisoners : we may go where we please." He replied, " It is probable there will be soldiers there, and something unpleasant may occur ; and, therefore, I advise you not to go." Mrs. Smith then exclaimed, in a loud and frantic voice, " General Murray shall not prevent my following my husband to the grave, and I will go in spite of all he can do." Mr. Thompson finding they were so determined, said, " I must go to His Excellency again " He accordingly left them, and shortly after returned, and (as they were informed) told a gentle- man in the pi'ison-yard, that if they attempted to follow the corpse, he had orders to confine them, and begged he would inform them, as he would gladly avoid any violence. The gentleman referred to did CHAP. X.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 307 make this commimication ; and they determined, as there was no order to prevent them leaving the prison, to meet the corpse at the grave. They, therefore, left the jail at half-past three o'clock in the morning, dark as it was, accompanied only by a free black man, with a lantern — and proceeded to the burial-place, where they beheld the mommful spectacle : a beloved husband, and a dear friend, committed to the silent grave. The funeral service was read by the Rev. Mr. Austin. Two negroes, members of Mr. Smith's church, a carpenter and a bricklayer, wished to mark the spot of burial, and began to rail in and cover the grave, but by official orders the rails were broken down and the earth levelled that no trace of the place of burial might remain. On the 12th of February, Mrs. Smith wrote to the Directors of the London Missionary Society: — " The information I have to impart, is no other than the death of my dear husband. His severe sufferings terminated about half-past one o'clock on the morning of February 6th, in the most happy manner. He was perfectly sensible ?f "^^^o"^- , ..■,,. , .„ T -^ Mrs. Smith. to the last moment, and manifested the same resig- nation to the will of his Divine Master, the same unshaken confidence of his acceptance with God, through the merits of a crucified Saviour, and the same ardent love for reading and prayer, for which he has been distinguished since I had the happiness of knowing him. I feel that, in being bereft of him, I have not only lost an affectionate husband, but one peculiarly qualified to be a helpmeet in the highest sense. But I trust that God, who has seen fit to take him from me, and who, I think I may say, in a wonderful manner supported me under the distressing circumstances in which I have, for some months past, been placed, will still be my friend, and lead me in that nai-row path, no matter whether through floods of tribulation or not, till I have the happiness of finding myself on that peaceful shore, 308 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. X. where sorrow and sighing shall for ever cease, and where death shall not part us from those we love." On the 24tli of February, the Demerara slave owners petitioned the Court of Pohcy to expel all Effect of missionaries from the colony, and to pass a the Martyr- law prohibiting their admission for the future. But their accursed system was doomed. Their cruel malignity could no longer be concealed or denied. The cowardly opposition of His Excellency, General Murray, to the defenceless Christian women, and their brave resistance in the depths of their sorrow, touched the heart of Christian people in England. A powerful impetus was given to the Anti- Slavery Agitation. Mr. James Cropper, of Liverpool, and Mr. Joseph Sturge, of Birmingham, entered on their mission through the country with others, demanding immediate emancipation. In 1834 the Act of Abolition was passed, at the cost of twenty millions. The planters received the money, and cheated the negroes, after all, of their hberty. The lash was more freely used than before, and the hard bondage of the apprentices was even worse than the slavery of the former time. Politicians of every grade were reluctant to move, even the old Anti- Slavery Society became supine and inactive, but the people, and the Congregational Churches especially, were neither to be deceived nor turned aside. In Stockport, to mention a case in illustration, the Rev. Wilham Bevan was sent for by a Congregational minister and a member of the Society of Friends to give a lecture. The Anti-Slavery Committee met to discourage the movement and to adopt a resolution expressive of their disapproval. The people came in CHAP. X.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. 309 troops to the largest place of assembly, filled every part of it, and, with enthusiasm never witnessed on any former occasion, adopted a petition for the town, and in every chapel the congregation demanded that a simiiiar petition should be prepared. The Rev. John Angell James rendered invaluable service ; the churches throughout the country were aroused. Nothing could stand before the feelings evoked, and the slaves at length were really set free. CHAPTER XI. In the month of August, 1824, " a body of gentle- men professing Unitarian Christianity, about one ,, . hundred and twenty in number," sat down Meetiau; at "^ _ n ^ the "Spread to a good Substantial dinner at the " Spread "^^' Eagle," Manchester. The cloth being removed, certain complimentary toasts were given, and a silver tea-service was presented to the Rev. John Grundy, for his eminent services in the Uni- tarian cause. Mr. Potter, in presenting " this handsome tribute," was " much affected." Mr. Grundy was also "deeply agitated with emotion" on receiving *' the noble present." Mr. Naylor said, " The death of one of the Roman emperors presented an analogy to the loss about to be sustained by the lamentable departure of Mr. Grundy." These touching expressions of sympathy, app]*o- priate to the affecting occasion, might have passed away without notice on the part of the general public, and afforded no ground whatever for un- friendly animadversion ; but the speech that followed led to a prolonged controversy, terminating in expensive and protracted litigation, which issued in the transfer of large estates known as " Lady Hewley's Charity " from Unitarian Trustees to a new CHAP. Xl] congregational HISTORr. 311 Congregational Trust. The toast given by the Rev. George Harris was drunk with so mucli applause as to cause the " alarm of fire," There was no con- flagration, however, except that enkindled by his impassioned address. " Orthodoxy," he says, " is bound ap in creeds and con- fessions, and articles of faith with inky blots and rotten parchment bonds ; but Unitarianism, like the word of the ever-living Jehovah, is not, and cannot be j^jj. jjarris. bound. Orthodoxy is gloom, and darkness, and desolation; Unitarianigm is light, and liberty, and joy. The influence of this system on human civilization, human liberty, aud human happiness, has already been tried — it has been tried for ages — and its direful and demoralising effects may be read in the history of every nation under the sun. It has been weighed, and has it not been found miserably wanting ? Let the statecraft and the priestcraft, the war and the slavery, by which mankind have been cursed for ages, answer the question. What, then, remains, but that every friend of the species should unite in trying the effect of the other system.''^ These sentiments, so forcibly expressed, were received with enthusiastic approval, and seemed to have dispelled the gloom thrown over the meeting by the departure of Mr. Grundy. But contro- trouble was in reserve. When the report Tf^^l^y A Mr. Greorge of the speeches, published in the public HadfieW, journals, was read, Mr. George Hadfield, the Rev. James Turner, of Knutsford, and otliers, controverted the statements made at the dinner. The Unitarians were reminded that " during the period of the greatest struggles for liberty, they were unknown." Unitarianism had been " tried," and practical proofs were furnished of its " desolation." 312 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XI. "In the four counties of Lancaster, Chester, Dei'by, and Nottingham," the '' Orthodox " said, " the Unitarians possess but six chapels by legal and equitable means ; and that to the remain- ing fifty-six chapels, with all their endowments, they have no legal nor equitable right or title whatever, for the maintenance of Unitarian worship. In Great Britain, the Unitarians possess two hundred and twenty-three places, of which one hundred and seventy-eight— that is to say, four-fifths of the whole — were originally orthodox. In England alone they have two hundred and six chapels, of which thirty-six — or little more than one sixth part of the whole number — were built by Unitarians. In forty places of worship, possessed by Unitarians in Lancashire and Derbyshire, the average number of hearers is under twenty-five." So the discussion began, which terminated as we have already intimated. For every service required in the controversies of the time, or to supply the vacant places in the colleges or chapels, men were raised up admirably fitted for the special work they had to accomplish. Robert Halley (an effective polemic, able tutor, and successful pastor), was born at Blackheath, jiQ\^pj.i August 13th, 1796. His father, originally Uaiiey. ^ Presbyterian, became a deacon of the church at Butt Lane. Robert, in his earliest days, was set to work in the nursery grounds of his father — extensive and ornamental — and received, no doubt, great benefit from this healthy occupation. On the death of his mother, he was sent, for a time, to the care of a maternal uncle at Bere Regis, and, while there, was instructed in the rudiments of a classical education by a curate of the parish. Returning to Blacklieath, his education was continued at a private school in Greenwich. He joined the church at Butt Lane at an early age, and, energetic in all things, he was diligent as a Sunday-school teacher. CHAP. XL] congregational HISTORY. 313 and active in cottage preaching. Mr. Henry Hop- kins, a member of the chm^ch at Barbican, and afterwards of Tasmania, in common with his pastor, urged him to devote himself to the work of the ministry. In his recollections of the " old dissent," he says : — " In January, 1816, 1 became a student in Homerton Academy. At that time nobody thought of calling it a ' college.' When, a few years afterwards, it was resolved at a meeting of Description the subscribers, to call it a ' college,' the resolution of Homerton was carried in opposition to the remonstrances of some good old friends of the Academy, especially of the Rev. Joseph Berry, the minister of Broad Street meeting-house, who spoke severely of the affectation of importance which was becoming prevalent among the young dissenting ministers, who were learning to speak of their academies as colleges, of their meeting-houses as chapels, and of themselves as clergymen. At that meeting, notwithstanding the remonstrance, it was resolved, by a considerable majority, to abandon the old name of the society, and to substitute for it * the Homerton College Society.' That old name—' the King's Head Society '—certainly betrayed no signs of any affectation of dignity or importance prevalent among its founders. The Dissenters of the early part of the eighteenth century, if we may estimate their character by the names of their societies, were very unpretentious people. " The old building in which the King's Head Society fed and educated its pupils had been, I imagine, a genteel country resi- dence, on which two additional storeys had been piled — the lower comprising twenty bedrooms, surrounding a large area of unoc- cupied floor, and the upper, twenty studies, around an area of corresponding size. A stove, fixed in the centre of the upper area, supplied all the warmth which students, in those days, were supposed to need through the severest winters. As no man- servant was employed, and as the maidens were never to be seen near the studies of the young men, the lighting of the fire before six o'clock in the morning, when the students assembled in the area for a short prayer, was the duty and the trouble of the juniors. To each, for a week in rotation, was assigned the office 314 CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. [OHAP. XT. and duties of the fireman. Tf he neglected his duty, especially on a cold morning, be would certainly hear something not very pleasant about it from the shivering lips of his brethren. As soon as a student entered upon the preaching class, and assumed the dignity of an 'Academic,' as he was called, he claimed exemption from all such menial services. " After the brief early prayer, seldom protracted more than five or six minutes, offered by the students in rotation, they were confined to their studies— or ought to have been — every one by himself, until eight o'clock, when the bell summoned tliem to family worship, conducted in the morning by the resident tutor, the Rev. William Walford. " The students at Horaerton were divided into two sets — I can scarcely call them classes— the Academics and the Classics. The former were the more advanced, who attended the course of theological lectures, and were occasionally employed to preach in the vacant pulpits of the old-fashioned congregations which supported the Academy ; the latter did no other work than study Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. " They had during their classical term no intercourse with Dr. Pye Smith. Many of them scarcely ever spoke to him, and passed him in the streets, only touching the front of their hats with the distant respect due to their superior.* Two years of these studies, unrelieved by any variation, were not very agree- able to many students ; and those who loved the monotony usually became better schoolmasters than preachers." Mr. Halley, on leaving Homerton, became the pastor of a small clmrcli at St. Neot's, in Hunting- donshire, and was ordained on June 11, 1822. Greatly esteemed by his flock, he spent four years and a half usefully and happily with them, when he became classical and resident tutor of Highbury College in 1826, prepared for this important position by the service in which he had been engaged in the private tuition of young men preparatory to their entrance into academies. * The tradition of Mr. Ilalley at Homerton is that he was much like his tutor in tliis respect, and often sat alone and would speak to no one. CHAP. XI.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 315 John Haeeis was born on Marcli 8, 1802, in the little village of Ugborougli, in the south of Devon. He grew up a thoughtful, contemplative, jq^^^ and loving child, exceedingly fond of read- Hams, ing. About the year 1815, his *parents removed to Bristol, and took up their abode in the vicinity of the Tabernacle, Up to that time they considered themselves as Church people, and attended the services of the Church of England. Soon after their arrival in the city, a heavy fall of rain, one Sunday morning, prevented their going to the Cathedral. On the suggestion of their son John, they went to the Tabernacle, aad heard, in rotation, the Rev. T. Luke, of Taunton, and the Rev. John Hyatt, of London. In a short time both parents, with five of their children, joined the church. When fifteen years of age, young Harris gave a touching and beautiful address on the death of one of the Sunday scholars at Baptist Mills, on the character of Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life. In the year 1816 his mother died. He now gave himself mind and heart to the study of divine truth, and coming under the notice of Mr. Wills, he was received into the church at the Tabernacle, and began to preach in connection with the Bristol Itinerant Society. His elder sister accompanied him in his excursions to the villages around the city, to assist in singing. Welcomed everywhere from his genial spirit and instructive preaching, his fi:"iends were solicitous that he should be entirely engaged in the work for which he had singular gifts and qualifica- tions. Mr. Thomas Wilson sent him for a year to pursue his studies under the Rev. Walter Scott, at 816 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. XI. Rowell, and he then entered Hoxton Academy. In 1825 he became pastor of the church at Epsom. There he wrote a work of uncommon excellence, entitled the " Great Teacher," which attracted little notice ; but pursuing his ministerial work with noise- less activity, he next published a prize essay, entitled "Mammon," and the denomination found in him a preacher of rare eloquence, an elegant writer, and profound thinker, whose services were in request as President of Cheshunt College, and then of the larger institution, New College, at St. John's Wood. William Thorp, long connected with Bristol, was born at Masbro', near Rotherham, in Yorkshire, William on September 5, 1771. His father, the Thorp. B.ey. John Thorp, was the first pastor of the Congregational Church at Rotherham, a remark- able man as to the means of his conversion and in the strength of his faith. " A party of men," we are told, " were amusing themselves one day at an alehouse in Rotherham, by mimicking the Methodists. It was disputed who succeeded best, and this led to a wager. There were four performers, and the rest of the company was to decide, after a fair specimen from each. A Bible was produced, and three of the rivals, each in turn, mounted the table, and held forth in a style of irreverent buffoonery, wherein the Scriptures were not spared. John Thorp, who was the last exhibitor, got upon the table in high spirits, exclaiming, ' I shall beat you all.' He opened the book for a text, and his eyes rested upon the words, ' Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.' These words, at such a moment, and in such a place, struck him to the heart. He became serious, and preached in earnest ; and he affirmed afterwards that his own hair stood erect at the feelings which then came upon him, and the awful denunciations which he uttered. His companions heard him with the deepest silence. When he came down, not a word was said concerning CHAP. XI.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. 317 the wager. He left the room immediately, without speaking to any one, went home in a state of great agitation, and resigned himself to the impulse which had thus strangely been produced. In consequence, he joined the Methodists, and became an itinerant preacher ; but he would often say, when lie related the story, that if ever he preached by the assistance of the Spirit of God, it was at that time." * Cut off in the prime of life, tlie circumstances of his family at the time of his death, were extremely distressing. An infant was born on the preceding day. The last words of the dying father to the prostrate mother were, " Call the child, Christianne, * All things work together for good,' " etc. As one parent lay dead, and the other helpless, a numerous family of little children were left without the means of immediate succour ; the rivers overflowed their banks, and inundated the homes of the people ; the torrent burst into the cottage of the poor widow, and settled on the floor to the depth of twelve inches ! A few days after the death of the lamented father, the house was robbed, and everything port- able carried away, as also the last quarter's salary she had received. In the midst of these accumu- lated sorrows, one of the children rushed into the chamber, exclaiming " Mother ! the thieves have stolen all we have in the world, will this also work together for good ? " " Yes, my child," she replied, and so it did. William, the sixth son, was about four years old at the death of his father, and remained unacquainted with true religion until his sixteenth year, when he was roused to reflection by a terrible dream. He * Southey's Life of Wesley, vol. ii., p. 85. 318 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XI. now attended the ministry of the Rev. Jehoida Brewer, and in his seventeenth year, receiving counsel and instruction from his pastor, he began to preach, and became pastor successively at Shelley, in Yorkshire, Chester, Thurlstone, near Penniston, New Court, Carey Street, London, Derby, and, finally, he accepted the pastoral care of the church at Castle Green, Bristol, where he laboured twenty- seven years. Dr. Joseph Fletcher, in a funeral discourse, says : — " The furniture of his mind was greatly enlarged by vast and extensive acquisitions. His memory, singularly accurate, and retentive, was combined with a matured and discriminating judgment. His acquaintance with historical, ecclesiastical, and theological literature, was minute and extensive ; and on all the great and interesting points that regard the essential verities of Christian doctrine, he possessed the most Uiminous and compre- hensive views. His power of argumentation was of the highest order ; and he had the rare and enviable faculty of investing an abstruse and complicated train of reasoning, with so much of lucid order and expansive illustration, as to render a polemic discus- sion a source of the richest intellectual enjoyment, as well as conducive to the great end of religious edification. His mind was eminently fitted for discursive efi'orts ; possessing a grasp of gigantic power on any subject that had been long the matter of his thoughtful meditation. He could perceive distinctly all the direct and collateral bearings of each successive chain of evidence ; no link dropped from the chain ; and of all, he was in such complete possession as to bring the entire series of the most prolonged argumentation, without any artificial help, to a satisfactory and convincing termination. At the same time, there was everything that tended to confirm and perpetuate impression, in the manner as well as the matter of his discourses ; a tone of majesty that could awe, and of tenderness that could melt and subdue. His discourses were eminently imbued with evangelical sentiment ; he maintained the harmony and proper- CHAP. XI.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOKY. 319 tions of Christian doctrine ; and exhibited with fearlessness and fidelity " the whole counsel of God." Under this master of argument and of pulpit oratory, Robert Yaughan, of Welsh Robert descent, and humble origin (born October Yaughan. 14, 1795), resident in Bristol, received his training for the Congregational ministry. " When I began my career," he said, on one occcasion, " and decided to take my place as a Congregational minister, making light of suggestions and overtures as to the desirableness of my looking to the Established Church, and not going among the Nonconformists, I chose my place as a Congregational minister, fully aware that that was not the way to wealth ; and, what pressed upon me as a young and somewhat aspiring man, even more than that was, that it was not the way .to the higher order of reputation in this world. At that time, to be known as a Dissenter was to lose caste in a very marked degree. However, I found that in me which told me that I should not be at home in the Established Church. I felt that God Almighty had given me the power to think a little about matters, and had given me also the power to say what I thought. I felt, I can preach if I try, and the man who has Christ's gospel in his heart, and the power to preach it, need never fear making his way amongst Con- gregational Dissenters, and I gave myself to it in the firm con- viction that if I did not get wealth, if I did not get reputation, I should find congenial employment, and do good." In another address, he says : — " I was originally a Churchman ; the thing which determined me against the Church, was the stereotyped form which the clerical character assumed therein. I was then a Whig in politics, and something more, and I saw a Tory clergy in the Church, and thought I should be a black sheep there. I recognized inde- pendent self-government in the Church, and that principle struck me as something noble." On leaving Bristol, he became pastor of the Church at Worcester, where he was held in great esteem. 320 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. XI. We may add to this brief notice of these eminent men the name of Thomas Sharp, of whose origin or Thomas education we know nothing, but who gave Sharp. ^i^g following roport of his labours to the Home Missionary Society : — " North Devon, that is in length, extending from Exmoor on the north to Dartmoor south, a distance of a little more than forty miles, and again in breadth, from W'itheridge eastward to Hartland west, a distance of nearly forty miles. Draw a circle, and all the ground within I call North Devon. As time and opportunity would permit, I had previously visited everij town in the county, and afterwards every village and hamlet in the northern district ; and having carefully consulted Vancouver's survey of Devon, I found that the north of Devon alone contained 600 villages and hamlets, with 130,000 inhabitants, many of whom were from two to five miles from their parish church ; so that on a moderate estimate there were at least 4.0,000, in North Devon alone, who had never heard the gospel ! 40,000 ! I was astounded. This being an unquestionable fact, I was determined to lay this matter before the ministers of the county. "In the year 1814 the Association met at Plymouth; there were nearly forty ministers present, when I laid my statements before them. I told them who I was and what was my object ; that I was not come to ask for any pecuniary aid, but simply to lay before them the fearful destitution of our rural districts. They listened with apparent attention, but it was too evident that they thought it a gross exaggeration, and therefore nothing was done. Soon after the Association was held at Totness. I went there, and again mooted the subject, but with no better success. The next Association was held at Tynemouth. I went there also, and again renewed the subject, and was somewhat cheered on finding that some of the ministers, especially those residing in the north, had been considering it, and hoped some- thing would be done. The next Association was held at Bideford, in 1817, and, to make short of it, something was done. A motion was made and carried to this effect : ' Having examined the subject in question, and being persuaded of its correctness, as referring to the destitution of our villages and hamlets in North Devon, we pledge ourselves to appeal to the churches to enable CHAP. XI.l CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 321 us to provide a fand for the support of a missionary. They engaged Mr. George Moase, at a salary of £40 per annum. His residence was fixed at North Tawton, where the Lord greatly blessed his labours ; but, finding his income inadequate for the support of himself and wife, he ultimately removed to Oke- hampton. The idea that only one missionary was employed for this extensive county was so preposterous, that I could not rest, but wrote to London to my dear old friend, Rev. Ingram Cobbin, who at one time had been minister at South Molton, and after- wards at Crediton. He replied, saying that some great and good men in London ivere contemplating the estahlishment of what would he called a Home Missionary Society, and requested me to furnish certain statistical accounts in reference to this county, to lay before a committee about to be formed there. " The Society was established in 1819. They appointed me one of their agents for North Devon, and afterwards sent Mr. Smith to Comb Martin, Hooper to Hartland, Hardy to North Molton, Pool to Bow and North Tawton, O'Neal to Witheridge, and other agents to villages in other districts around. With this agency at work a great impulse was given, and thousands of the poor villages were and are supplied with the gospel. " At Witheridge, before the missionary went, there was no gospel, no chapel, nor any ground on which to build one ; no, not even for a cottage, except the lessee would agree to have the following obnoxious clause inserted in the lease : There shall not he any preaching, teaching, singing of psalms or hymns, reading the Bible, or praying aloud, save and except hg a clergyman of Uie Church of England. " An old Wesleyan friend of mine, residing at Chulmleigh, who was a mason, and had saved a little money, and with myself had long sighed over Witheridge, came one day to ask my advice, and began by saying, ' What do you think of Witheridge ? Tou know it is my native place ; there is an impression on my mind that I ought to go there, and try to introduce the gospel,' adding, ' there is ground to let for building a cottage. What do you say ? ' My reply was, ' Go, by all means ; and may the Lord prosper your undertaking.' He went, built a small neat house, and soon after it was furnished, announced that Mr. would preach there on the following 21 322 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XT. Sabbath evening. A Wesleyan minister was sent from Exeter, but the hour appointed to commence the service v?as the signal for ten or twelve of the baser sort to leave the public-houses, with their pipes, to be present on the occasion. No sooner had the minister given out a hvmn, than these poor deluded creatures lighted their pipes, and soon filled the room with smoke; and extingaishing all the candles, the people were driven out, when there was a general roar of laughter among the rabble on the outside. Thus the good man's scheme was frustrated, and he paid dearly for his folly, in having signed a deed, without knowing anything of its contents, as his lease was forfeited ; but the devil had overshot his mark, for down came an agent to give battle to the enemies of truth and righteousness. I verily believe, had the committee of the Home Missionary Society traversed the kingdom through, they could not have selected a man better able to combat with such a priest-ridden people than Brother O'Neal, through the Divine blessing on whose energy and perseverance wonders have been accomplished, aided by a blessed man residing in an adjoining village, whose heart and purse have always been opened whenever the cause of God could be advanced thereby. Honour to his name, though I dare not mention it, for he never wishes his ' left hand to know what his right hand doeth.' " The Home Missionary Society, of which Mr. Sharp became an agent, originated in the joint efforts of Mr. TeoMAS Thompson, a successful Origin of oi i the Home member of the Stock Exchange, and Mr, Missionary . t • , • t i -m- Soeiet.y, ABRAHAM, a solicitor m Loudou. Many ^^^^- objections were raised to its formation, too feeble and ridiculous for the most part to enumerate. It was said that the names of some members of the self-constituted committee were unknown, and that no suitable missionaries were likely to be found. From twelve to twenty persons friendly to the object met to discuss the matter for many hours at a time, week after week, and sometimes day after CHAP. XI.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 323 day. Ultimately, on the lltli of August, 1819, the Society was formed, and the first Annual Meeting was held in the City of London Tavern, May 15, 1820. The activity of Mr. Thompson, the treasurer, was unbounded, ready with his purse, his personal services, and above all with his pen, he tried to stimulate his friends to promote the good design ; and the service of his gifted daughters were called into requisition for the same object. Agents were sent out as funds could be provided. A magazine was published, containing the portrait of favourite ministers ; and as the reports of the agents brought to light cases of persecution, they were communi- cated to be dealt with by Mr. Wilks, the secretary of the Society for the Protection of Religious Liberty. The Congregational Union still having a feeble existence, being a little in the way of the new society, it was proposed in 1827 that it should be merged in the Home Mission, and a correspondence was entered into for this purpose. After a long series of committee meetings the matter was settled. The only business the Congregational Union of that date had in hand was that of trying to nurse into existence the cause at Mile End, New Town, with the intention of dropping it out altogether if it should prove too burdensome ; but the officials of the " Union " valued the distinction they had long- enjoyed, and pains were taken to secure for them places of equal dignity on the official staff of the Home Missionary Society, though practically they were only supernumeraries. Dr. Collyer, whose name had been honourably 324 COxNOrxEGATlONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. XI. associated with every important movement in the Dr. Coiijer denomination, now withdrew into the m the shade. gi^r^(je^ j^g j^^d been elected stated preacher at S alters' Hall, and gained over the congregation from Arianism to Evangelical views. His fame had reached its meridian, but in his absence from home a mischievous report was circulated that shattered his nerves so terribly that he could no longer take engagements beyond those connected with his own cono-reofation. A heart affection followed, from which he never recovered. He demanded instant and thorough investigation, which, in accordance with his wishes, was carefully made, issuing in his complete exculpation. One of the authors of the malicious scandal was afterwards tried and convicted, and sentenced to transportation. Dr. Colly er's home ministrations were more than ever acceptable, but he was compelled to remain in retirement. At an early stage of this grievous and protracted trial, Robert Hall, who had indulged in some ungenerous criticisms of Dr. Collyer, wrote to him the following letter of sympathy : — " Leicester, Septemher 8, 1823. *' Rev. and dear Sir, — You will probably be surprised at the liberty I have taken in addressing to you the following lines, ^ , , more especially as I not only cannot claim the honour Sympathy of } our acquaintance, but have to suspect that a irom Robert cgj.f,f^in part of my conduct may have been interpreted as an indication of determined hostility. Permit me merely to say on that head, that, however intemperate and unguarded my language may have been, such a feeling ^las far from mij heart ; and that the censure conveyed in terms so disproportioned to the occasion, arose merely from the appre- hension that certain foibles, the report of which was probably much exaggerated, combined as they were with a brilliant reputation, and superior talents, might exert a contagious CHAP. XT.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 325 influence over a numerous class more prone to copy imperfections than to imitate excellences ; it has been a source of real satisfaction to me, to learn from all quarters that time and experience has corrected these errors and displaced the genuine energy of your character in its proper vigour. Impressed with the sincerest sentiment of esteem, you may judge how deeply I was concerned on hearing of the atrocious calumny with which your character has been loaded, my mind has been agitated to a most painful degree, and not for a moment on account of any suspicion of your innocence, but for the cruelty of your lot. Had your reputation been less established than it is, the statement you have published of the unhappy affair were sufficient to produce in every candid mind a firm conviction of your innocence of the foul imputation attempted to be fastened upon you. " If I ever saw the expression of Christian feeling struggling in indignation necessarily excited by the most false and cruel insinuations, it is in that statement. Let the confidence of your innocence universally felt by the religious world, console you, my dear sir, under this severe trial which your piety will prompt you, I doubt not, to accept as part of that paternal discipline allotted by Him whose ways are in the deep, and whose paths are past finding out. In the conscious integrity of your own breast, and in committing your case to Him who judgeth righteously, and who will never sufi'er innocence finally to be oppressed by calumny, you will find your richest consolation, and if this righteous providence is the instrument intended to brighten your graces, and place shining talents, and almost unexampled success more completely under the safeguard of humility, you will find reason for cheerful acquiescence in the wisdom which has appointed it. With the warmest assurance of my most cordial esteem, and sincere sympathy, I remain. Rev. and dear Sir, your affectionate friend and obedient servant, " Robert Hall.* " Rev. W. B. Collyer, LL.D., F.R.S., etc." To this graceful and honourable communication Dr. Collyer replied : — " 5, Brunswick Place, Deptford, " September 12, 1823. " Rev. and dear Sir, — I could not be surprised at anything which should come from you, either great or good ; but that * Loades MSS. 326 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XT. you should avail yourself of tlie moment of my most cruel affliction to assure me of your friendship, fills me toith gratitude, and inspires me with heartfelt iileasure. Dismiss, and for ever, Dr. CoUver. from your generous bosom, every thought that any trace can remain upon my mind, even of that momentary uneasiness which, I will not conceal from you, I sometimes felt when officious reports were brought to me of some strong expressions which you had at some time employed relative to my public ministry ; but which, be assui-ed, 1 never interpreted into ' hostility.' " I know you to be too just seriously to condemn me unheard, and guarded language can scarcely be expected from a mind so ardent, and genius so extraordinary, as yours. I know of nothing that your fervent spirit has dictated critically, and as a caution to others respecting me, which merits a censure so severe as you have passed upon it, or deserves to be called ' intemperate." " I have had, I am sensible, many errors to correct. / owe much to time, and hope to obtain much more from my present very severe and painful trial. If I shall be able to bear more of the spirit of my divine Master — if I may but imitate, in any degree. His humility, devotion, patience, forbearance, and activity, I shall have reason to bless Him for my almost unparalleled circum- stances. I am anxiously trying my own heart in a situation so extraordinary, and if I have reason to hope that I have derived any benefit from this visitation, it is in some meltings of spirit, which induce me to think that I love my ' enemies,' and can, from my heart, say, ' Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. ' "But I will bear the indignation of the Lord, for I have sinned against Him — not consciously against man, but against Him ; and less than such a hope as this would not have laid me 80 low at His feet as I am now certain I must always be to be at all secure. *' Forgive me, my dear sir, for writing so fully and so freely. I have yet to wait for the termination of His mysterious provi- dence, and, conscious of innocence in intention and in act, except in as far as misconstruction may obtain, I wait the issue with patient hope and Immble faith, and earnest prayer that in all things ' God may be glorified,' and that, whatever becomes of CHAP. XI.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 327 me, His cause may not be dishonoured. With the most grateful esteem and regard, believe me, my dear sir, " Your affectionate friend and obliged servant, " W. B. COLLYEK.* " Rev. Robert Hall, M.A." Some of the more devoted "labourers in the vinejard " were now passing away. Dr. Bogue entered into his rest in 1825. The Eev. John Angell James, in a funeral sermon, preached Nov. 6, 1825, said :— " Sabbath week was the last day he addressed his people. In the morning he preached a funeral sermon for a son-in-law of Mr. Griffin, of Portsea. In the afternoon and -r ^ -, c Last days of evening he preached at Gosport, from Genesis v. 24 : Dr. Bogue, * And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for l^^^- God took him.' The character of the patriarch was exhibited in the afternoon ; his ' translation ' was reserved for the evening's discourse. He was full of his subject, and seemed almost in the heavenly state. This was his last sermon. Like his great Master, he died on the field and fell at his post. The Missionary Society had his last labours and his last prayers. On the Tuesday he went to Brighton, to attend a missionary meeting, at which he was to preach. He was present at the first service, and engaged in prayer, but was soon after seized with an internal obstruction, which yielded neither to medicine nor to skill. Daring his last illness he spoke but little ; but that little was of the very best kind. At first he was not aware of his danger ; but when the solemn announcement was made to him, he immediately said, ' The Lord's will be done.' During the progress of his disease, bis mind, as true to the favourite object of his heart as the needle to the pole, seemed much engaged upon the great subject of the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom, and he spoke several times of his joy in the consideration that there were so many excellent and useful young ministers rising up in support of that great cause. After five days of acute suffering, mortification ensued, and on Tuesday, the 24th of October, he rested from his labours and his sufferings, and entered into the joy of his Lord, in the seventy- sixth year of his age. * Loades MSS. 328 CONCJREGATIONAL HISTOEY. [OHAr. XT. " Every possible mark of solemn respect to his memory, and of deep affliction for his removal, was paid at his funeral. The shops of the town were closed. Between fifty and sixty ministers and students were present. Several hundreds of his congregation, and others, formed a long and melancholy train of mourners, and these were followed by a vast concourse of spec- tators, drawn together more by afiection than curiosity. After an address was delivered by the Rev. John Griffin, over the revered remains of this eminent servant of God, in the chapel, which had been so long the scene of his labours, the funeral procession moved to the parish church at Alverstoke, and the corpse was deposited in the family vault, there to wait, in sweet repose, the honours to be conferred on the just, at the morning of the resurrection." At a sermon preached, " at the opening of Hoxton College as a Missionary Academy," on "Missionary Prospects," October 10, 1826, Mr. James referred to the interesting ceremonies which attended the opening of the "splendid" institution at Highbury, and said : — " Since it has pleased the all-wise disposer of human events to remove by death the late venerable president of our Sermon of Missionary College, we should feel thankful that Mr. James jjg j^^g provided another, so competent to be his opening of successor — a man whose well-known attainments, tlie Hoxton and correct principles in the department of Biblical Academy7 literature, eminently qualify him to be at the 1826. head of an institution of which this is the prin- cipal pursuit, and whose long and extended missionary travels no less fit him to direct the views and form the Dr. Hen- character of missionary students. The appoint- DEESON. „ -.^ „ , ,, . m ■ T 1 V ment of Dr. Henderson to this ottce is, i believe, matter of satisfaction to the friends of the Society in general. " The senseless clamour against the folly of attempting to Christianize before we have civilized is either dying away into the silence of confusion or yielding to the recantation of con- viction. The work has been done, and the opposers who woiild not he convinced ly arguments have been convinced by facts. The Esquimaux, the Hottentots, the Tahitians, all rise up to exclaim , CHAP. XI.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 329 * We ceased to be savages by becoming Christians.' It is a fact, which I received from Mr. Nott, the oldest of the original missionaries to Tahiti, that hy no efforts whatever could they induce the natives to learn to read before their conversion to Christianity, nor indeed to throw off their barbarous customs j but no sooner were they converted than they began at once to rise from the ranh of savages ; the grace of God, when it iooTc possession of their hearts, planted in their nature all the germs of civilization; and, at the first bound of their soul towards heaven under the neio impulse of religion, they shook off and left behind them many of the most disgusting deformities of a barbarous state, " My brethren in the ministry, I call upon you, and I include myself in the number, to lend all your energies and your influence to the great cause, which seeks, as its ultimate object, the moral renovation of a world. A minister who is destitute of concern for the spread of the gospel through the world, and who has no sympathy with the present time, whom neither the groans of creation nor the call of the church, nor the command of Christ, can draw out from the circle of his own congregation, or from the retreats of his study, seems not to belong to the age in which he lives ; he has come into the world a century too late, and exposes himself to the woe denounced on the selfish and indolent inhabitants of Meroz. The fathers of uur cause have entered or are entering upon their eternal repose. Hawies and Greatheed, Eyre and Hardcastle, Townsend and Bogue, are gone ; though, indeed, their illustrious names and honoured sepulchres and glorious deeds remain. Other veterans, hoary with years and rich in honours, are about to retire from the field. Burder and Waugh, Hill and Wilks, like ministering seraphs who have almost finished their embassy on earth, are turning their views to heaven, and pluming their wings for celestial flight. But let them not fear for the cause ; we, into whose hearts they have breathed their own spirit, are ready to swear before the shades of the mighty dead and the venerated forms of the living, that we will never desert the institution which was dearer to them than their lives. Honoured and honourable men, who yet remain, let no anxious care disturb your last days, peace to your departing spirits ; around you are those, who after watching your radiant passage to the skies, will seek for your mantle, imitate your example, and perpetuate your labours." 330 COiVGREGATlONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XI. As tlie veterans were removed by deatli, or retired from age and infirmity, their places were filled by the men who had been long trained for their responsible position. Mr. McAll received an urgent call from the church and congregation at Mosley Street, Man- Invitation chestcr, and entered on the stated duties M^Aiito ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ sphere in January, 1827. He Manchester, prcachcd his first scrmou from Numbers 1827 xxiv. 13, " What the Lord saith, that will I preach." The eclipse under which he had been so long hid passed away in a sermon preached by him at Surrey Chapel in 1826, to which his old friend. Dr. Collyer, listened with ineffable delight, and as an indirect result silencing for ever the detraction and wicked misrepresentation that had followed him to that hour. The honour of the appointment, as the anniversary preacher, so mucli exaggerated, and so often coveted from the vainest ambition, was an insignificant circumstance in com- parison with the demonstration of sanctified genius and Christian fidelity, of which it proved the memorable occasion. Dr. McAll was never at home in London, but it was his felicity in Manchester to be associated with ministerial brethren (when he had fairly entered on his work), who could appreciate his worth. The younger men who came after him to their several spheres in the same locality, rightly estimated his intellectual powers, and delighted to witness their marvellous development and ex- tending influence. The Rev. James Geiffin, the successful pastor of the church at Rusholme Road Chapel (and afterwards at Hastings), in an able CHAP. XI.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY, 331 sketch, after a careful description of Lis character, mental endowments, and acquisitions, says : — " There was everything combining to place Dr. McAll among the most distinguished orators. A mien gracefully majestic, a voice mellifluous in the extreme, yet full-toned and gi. + u f strong, and flexible to all varieties of intonation ; Rev. James elocution natural, easy, commanding diction. Who GrnlEn. shall describe it ? its richness, its copiousness, its precision, its splendour, its endless variety ; considering him whether in the pulpit or on the platform, his eloquence embraced every style of oratory, and with equal mastery in each — didactive, descriptive, argumentative, hortatory, pathetic, terrific, playful, sarcastic, and sometimes, when the place and occasion allowed scope for the exercise of his varied powers, the commingled emotions pro- duced in the audience by one address rose to a tempest of excitement. The topics of the Christian ministry seemed alone fitted to fill his capacious and lofty mind, and to kindle the ardour of his seraphic soul." With all this. Dr. McAll might have been only an object of popular admiration, a meteor seen at a dis- tance, but the most interesting peculiarity about him was the charm that increased the nearer he was approached. The pulpit was the seat of his more than regal sway, but in the prayer-meeting^ and on the simplest occasion, he spoke in tones subdued, tender, and earnest, as one filled with glory of the celestial vision. And when he spent the evening with a friend, discoursing with freedom and fervour on sacred themes, there was an in- describable consciousness of communion with Him who said, "I am in the midst." The presence of Dr. McAll in all religious associations of the Con- gregational Churches in Manchester, came to be essential to the completeness of their interest, as his absence caused a disappointing blank. In the circle of 332 CONGKEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XI. liis ministerial bretliren, the gentleness of liis manner, the radiance of his smile, diffused pleasure from the moment of his appearance ; the sincerity, depth, and activity of his sympathy, the fulness of his information, the refinement of his taste, the purity of his sentiments, and genial humour blended in his conversation, gave to every fraternal meeting an attraction and a value to be found in no other circle. When present on public gatherings, he was always expected to give utterance to the views and feelings appropriate to the occasion. The " Missionary breakfast " with the " deputa- tion," the returned missionaries, and their simple, touching, or cheering tidings, reached the climax of hallowed delight, when the Doctor was called by the assembly to speak, and the best and highest effect was given to all the proceedings by his crowning address. Soon after he came to Manchester, he gave a splendid address in vindication of Dr. Philip, of South Africa, when the Colonial Government tried to suppress the missions, extirpate the native tribes, to enslave the Hottentots, and then to injure and silence their noble champion. The current of public opinion was turned in the north on the side of the emancipator, by the eloquent and earnest defence of the Congregational minister at Mosley Street. The Kev. Kichard Winter Hamilton in Leeds, by his firm adherence to principle, the force of his genius, and the influence of his noble gene- Progress of . • • I» 1 Rev. B. w. rosity, also won his way m spite oi the admitted defects of his style. In every department of service he gained signal distinction and received recognition from the seats of learning, com- CHAP. XI.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOEY. 333 pelling the archers who had shot him, to stay their arrows, and acknowledge, for the sake of their own credit, his transcendant abiHty. The Rev. Robert Yaughan, after an efficient pas- torate at Worcester, of six years, commenced his ministry in London, in 1826, and was annomiced in the following terms : — * " Mr. Vaughan has lately entered on the pastoral office in reference to the Church and congregation, late under the care of the Rev. John Leifchild, at Kensington. He is by many years Mr. L.'s junior, but evidently a young man of considerahle powers. He is, we understand, a pupil of the celebrated W. , _ mi r Ti • , 1 1 1 • •, , ^ Mr. Vaugh- Inorpe, ot rJristol, whose manner he imitates much an at Ken- too closely, especially as is the case with most imitators, sington, because he resembles Mr. T. in the most faulty pecu- liarities of his delivery. It will contribute much to Mr. Vaughan's usefulness to be less declamatory than he was on this occasion. The congregation was remarkably small, and Mr. V. became tedious towards the close, when the greatest anima- tion was necessary. Declamation, when accompanied by so much action is sure, in almost every case, to weaken its own effect, and to pall upon the attention of the hearer when it is pro- tracted to an undue length. But these are defects of style and manner which age and experience generally prune. We have no doubt but it will be so in this case, that he will prove both an acceptable and useful preacher in his own congregation, and in his occasional ministrations in other places." This hot and cold critique may be taken rather as an exhibition of the writer's impertinence, than as a correct portraiture of Mr. Vaughan, but in the innocent prediction of future acceptance he was more than justified. The introductory sermons of the young Kensing- ton preacher might create no great popular sensa- * Pulpit, vol, V. 334 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XI. tion, but tliey satisfied his congregation. Mr. Vaughan was a model of dignified pi'opriety, a dili- gent student and careful thinker, commending him- self by his intelligence, moderation, and courtesy to the higher circles of society in the vicinity. His people wisely left him to follow his own bent. In 1834, he was appointed Professor of Ancient and Modern History in University College,* and ac- quitted himself creditably in his inaugural discourse. He became intimate, in consequence, with the Whig statesmen of that institution. The Duchess of Sutherland, the Earl of Carlisle, and other persons of rank ventured into that modest conventicle at Hornton Street, not simply as strangers out of curiosity, but frequently and from the interest they felt in the teaching of the rising professor. The Rev. Thomas Blnney came to London in 1828. His experiences on leaving Wymondley had been somewhat diversified. At Bedford, where as assistant to Mr. Hillyard, he was unsettled, and left abruptly. He was then invited to become the minister of the congregation at St. James's Chapel, Newport, where he remained five years. He did not trouble himself here to keep any church record, and took comparatively little interest in denominational matters. Here on a splendid night he wrote the Mr.Binncy l^J^n, " Eternal light ! Eternal light." A ?t*!'^ course of lectures given at the close of his House. ministration in the Isle of Wight, were subsequently published under the title of " Illus- trations of the practical power of faith." It may be * The first stone of tho University Buildings was laid by the Duke of Sussex, April 30, 1827. CHAP. XI.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 335 inferred that at this period he was not known as a very pronounced Dissenter. As the successor of John Clayton, the elder, anything extreme in this direction might have caused a degree of alarm. That excellent minister with his three sons, evange- lical preachers, and assiduous pastors, had given a rather Conservative character to City dissent. They were exceedingly courteous, and particularly so to dignitaries of the Church of England, and to clergy- men in general. Mr. Clayton was a member of the "Eclectic Society," and sat patiently amongst his clerical brethren when they discussed the evils of Dissent. But Mr. Binney belonged to no line of ministerial succession. With his ministry in London there was a break in the Claytonian regime. His native independence would brook no restraint. Eor some time he tells us after coming to the Weigh House, he did not know even of the existence of the Congregational Board. He is represented at this time by Dr. Cooke, one of his deacons, as " tall, thin, eloquent, natural, with a feeble voice, and very rapid." Domestic and other cares pressed heavily upon him for a time, but it was soon found that he was no common man, and would not be repressed by ordinary difficulties or troubles. Young men espe- cially were attracted by the vigour, freshness, and originality of one who understood their entire case, and earnestly sought to do them good. CHAPTEU Xn. Another original preaclier, who hailed from a place further north than Mr. Binney, now made his appearance in a different part of London. John Campbell* (born October 5, 1795), was John Cam - ^^^® ^^^ ^^ Alexander Campbell, surgeon, bell of Kirriemuir, near Dundee. His father died Kirriemuir. when he was young, and he was lett to the care of his widowed mother, who, as far as her means would allow, secured for him opportunities for mental improvement. Erom a child he was a great reader, and was sent to the parish school. No thought was entertained of training him to any learned profession, for we find him as a youth *' working at a blacksmith's shop in Crichton Street, Dundee," and noted as "a first-rate hand in shoeing horses ; " and afterwards, when promoted in his business to the East Eoundry in the same town, — impetuous and daring — he resisted " with a red-hot bar of iron " the interference of the manaorer. He then tried a sea-faring life, but at a great risk escaped from the ship in a boat on the coast of Norfolk. His remarkable energies were wasted or misdirected until he approached early manhood. * Mmioirs of Jolin Campbt'lJ, D.D. By ])r. Fergusdou and Dr. Morton Brown. CHAP. XII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 337 " Until my eighteenth year," he says, " I scarcely ever thought for a moment of divine things. My relations were much as myself, and my circle of acquaintances Early Re- were not different. I was nearly as ignorant of reli- pfriences^ gious subjects as the child on the breast. I knew not the import of the Sabbath, and but little of the end of its services. The Divine Volume I never valued or read ; and until this time never, I believe, bowed my knee to God, and had been only a very few times in any place of worship. My character combined the two extremes of singular sobriety of conduct with the most hardened and daring impenitence and alienation from God. To this was added a love of solitude and of books, which gained for me, with the unthinking, a reputation both for worth and wisdom. To those vices which are the usual concomitants of youth and much vivacity, I was a stranger. I had no com- panions, whatever, either to seduce or reform me. I hardly remember that I ever formed one of a social meeting, whether for what is called innocent amusement or for riotous dissipation. In all this there was nothing of principle, but, probably, it tended to lull me. Be this as it may, my slumber was profound, for I was never visited with the slightest feeling of misgiving or of awakening of conviction or remorse. I was perfectly dead in trespasses and in sins. Amid all my sobriety I was addicted to one mode of sinning beyond measure — to an extent that is seldom known — this was profane swearing. This practice grew into a habit, and I became the terror even of the wicked. This, added to a temperament ardent to excess, and to lyassions impetuous and uuconfrollahle, rendered me at once a dreadful specimen of fallen nature and of alienation from God. My revolt was so deep, and my reformation from this sin so hopeless, that when the change came to the knowledge of my acquaintances, who were numerous, it was deemed false, because thought incredible and impossible." Prom this apparently desperate state Mr. Camp- bell was restored by the power that accompanied a sermon to which he listened when in his twentieth year. In October, 1817, he went to the University of 22 338 CONGREGATIONAL HTSTORy. [CHAP. XIT. St. Andrews, and, after attending tlie classes two years, removed to the University of Glasgow. Read- ing the " Life of Fletcher of Madeley " and the works of John Wesley, made him for a time a Wesleyan ; but being rebuked by a leader's meeting for preaching on Glasgow Green without their sanction, he took an independent course. After attending the lectures of Mr. Ewing and Mr. Ward- law, his doctrinal views became more settled, and he commenced a Mission amongst the weavers AtKiimar- ^t Kilmamock. Grappling with a suc- nock. cession of difficulties, he raised a con- gregation, built a chapel on his own pecuniary responsibility, and, to meet the claims of the builder, went on preaching and begging excursions in Scot- land and Ireland. Brought into more intimate relations with the Congregational body, he received an invitation to become pastor of the church at Edinburgh, which he declined in order to complete his arduous task at Kilmarnock. His countryman, „ ^ Dr. Henderson, obtained for him an ap- Hoxton . 1 Chapel, pointment to supply the pulpit of Hoxton Chapel for six weeks. Writing from Hox- ton, May 26, 1828, he says : — " Preached last evening and yesterday morning with much comfort and, if I mistake not, much power. 1 was just in one of my best frames, and enabled to state truths with force and clearness. House very crowded up to the door. It holds about 1800: has two galleries. I enjoyed the day very much, and feel quite fresh this morning. Mr. Thomas Wilson, proprietor of Craven Chapel, and his lady were with us in the evening." The young Scottish preacher, though pleased with his reception, had little respect for the judg- ment of his London hearers. CHAP. XII.] CONGREfxATIONAL HISTORY. 339 "If I mistake not, I was rather acceptable than otherwise, A great preacher in Scotland might utterly fail here. Excite- ment— excitement; effect — effect: these are everything. Pro- found and accurate views of the gospel are nothing, or next to nothing, with many. They come not to be taught, but to be touched and moved. 1 have made a beginning ; the Lord alone knows how I shall end. " June 9, 1828. — My decided preaching has excited displea- sure in certain quarters. I am not sorry for this. It abates however. Yesterday I preached with much comfort. In the afternoon I had enjoyed abundant power and liberty, and was given to know last evening and to-day that it has afforded deep and universal pleasure. I bless the Lord for this. I was very much in prayer last week, and I think He graciously rewarded me openly who sees in secret. I hope to go on now rejoicing in the Lord, and finding acceptance. The populace here require to be moved, and then they roll like stones down a hill. t,. -i , TT7- p l^hilosopliy We were very full last night— I mean yesterday, all of London day — very crowded. I see now the beginning of a pop^il^'^fy' little public emotion. A day or two is necessary before people's judgments are formed, and they learn who the person is. And wlien once the rush commences, excitement begins, and in London this is enough. I came hei^e an utter stranger to the public, and a season must elapse before I acquire anything like Scotch noto- riety. This mighty city is like a large pool, difficiilt to agitate from its magnitude ; but when it is moved, it is, from the same cause, like the mountainous heavings of theoceau. Dr. and Mrs. Henderson told me, that last Thursday's meeting was the greatest day they ever saw in Hoxton. "June 16, 1828. — I was enabled to preach yesterday with much decision, and I think to deliver my own soul. Our meetino-s were very crowded. In the evening Mr. Wilson was with us, and Dr. Baldwin Brown. I had strength given to speak with considerable fidelity. Mr. Wilson called here last week, and con- versed at much length. I preach at Craven Chapel, Wednesday, first, if the Lord permit. I am engaged to dine with Mr, Wilson, when I shall see a little more of him. He is a very influential man in this city and nation. I conceive him lax in his ideas of fellowship. He is no admirer of Scotch Independency, nor of Dr. Wardlaw. I was not wholly pleased with him on some of 340 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAT. XII. these points ; still, he is a noble man. He abhors sermon reading ; this is one of his great objections to Dr. Wardlaw. By the way, I have read none." Mr. Campbell was not satisfied with " London company," and kept quiet on preaching days. " I think," he says, " there is a great lack of conversational talent, not of talk, plenty of that, but it is just buzz ! buzz ! I am sick of this. Yet there is much good among them, and many, who, I believe, devoutly fear God. But their mindii are stunted in their growth, from ivant of culture and solitude.'^ The Kilmarnock " chapel case " was necessarily retarded in all this excitement, and when the term of supply at Hoxton was expired, the sum needed had not been obtained. The necessity arose, tliere- fore, for a second visit to London ; but at Hoxton there was no opening, for the people preferred the system of supplies in rotation, without a settled pastor. The good lady (a member of the visit to Tabernacle) at whose house Mr. Campbell was a guest, met the difficulty. Her pastor happening to call one day, she said, " Mr. Wilks, we have a young man, at present supplying at Hoxton, who, I think, would make a suitable col- league to you. He is coming back to collect for his chapel in October; you might think of him." The venerable man, now in his eighty-third year, acted on the sutyo-estion. After the death of his co- pastor, Mr. Hyatt, he had been left alone. It was arranged that Mr. Campbell should supply at the Tabernacle and Tottenham Court Chapels at the time mentioned. On the Friday evening preceding the Sabbath in which he was announced to begin his CHAP. XIL] congregational HISTORY. 341 work at Tottenham Court, Dr. Henderson introduced him to Mr. Wilks in one of the rooms : — " He was sitting with his hat on, pulled over his face ; his staff was between his feet, grasped with both hands. He took the hand of Mr. Campbell, and held it for a time, and said nothing. At last, with the utmost feeling and tion to affection, he said, ' The Lord bless you.' After Matthew- "Wilks another long pause, he added, ' May your wear well.' Then, after waiting in silence, he entered pleasantly into con- versation." The good old man had worn well for fifty-three years, but his work was now done. Mr. Campbell went, intending to hear him on the Sabbath morning, when for the last time he stood before the congrega- tion. He read and prayed, and then sent a message to Mr. Campbell, sitting in a pew, "I am very poorly. Will you preach this morning ? " Coming into the vestry from the pulpit, he took ofi* his gown and bands, and put them on the preacher. All eyes were fixed on the " supply " from Kil- marnock, standing for the first time in the Taber- nacle, with raven rocks, large prominent nose, shaggy eyebrows, gruff voice, but Sermon already famous, of an original type, and Tabernacle, very unlike any other minister in London. After service, the two preachers, old and young, met in the vestry. Mr. Wilks had prepared for him a basin of broth instead of wine, in those days offered to the minister. Pointing to an old arm- chair which belonged to Whitfield, he said to Mr. Campbell, *' That is Moses' seat, sir ; sit down." "If so," he replied, "it is not for me, sir, but for yourself." " Do what you are bid, sir." So 342 CONGEEGATIONAL niSTORY. [cHAP. XII, "Moses," for the time being, submitted to authority and took the seat. Handing the "basin of broth," i\lr. Wilks said, " Yon take a Httle of that, sir." The preacher, therefore, was comfortably refreshed, and not smothered with comphments. It is a grand thing for a preacher aiming at popularity in London, to begin on an occasion of high excitement, and at a time when there is no rival attraction. Mr. Campbell was fortunate in this respect. The lease of Tottenham Court Chapel had expired, and for the last time until its renewal, the congregation asseml)led in the chapel associated with the celebrity of Whitfield. Hence there was a great " crush." The Kilmarnock " supply " felt the inspiration of the scene, and of his theme, and in consequence the " town " was taken by storm. Mr. John Wilks was not quite so judicious as his venerable father. Mr. Campbell tells us that he Mr. John was plcascd to say, "That one of his Wilks. sermons contained many brilliant passages not inferior to the finest parts of Massillon." The Misses Wilks observed that " many ministers disgusted them with their conversation in their house." Mr. Campbell was on his guard, and says, " I am become very reserved, and take care to say little. I believe the approbation of John's single family would influence good Mr. Wilks more than two- thirds of the church." Much depended on the octogenarian pastor. " A week," says Mr. Campbell, " may leave two great churches without a pastor. The appointment lies wholly with him and three trustees, who, however, would always consult the church CHAP. Xn.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 343 in the election of a pastor. Mr. Wilks has the character of a * long headed, deep man.' He will probably wait a time to sift and try me, ere he speak." It was an anxious time for all parties *' waiting for the verdict." At length deacons, waitin^for managers, the church and all concerned ^^^ Verdict, came to an unanimous conclusion. Mr. Campbell writes : — *' January 19th. — Mr. Wilks and I were much together last week and had a deal of converse. He is a very prudent and profound man. He told me on Saturday, that he wished to see me on Monday, that is, this morning ; I went. " Mr. Campbell," he said, " our minds are made up. I have had a good deal to do to restrain the managers, especially Mr. Wilson, from bringing matters to a crisis with you. I kept them back that I might see all of you I could. Now, I tell you, the more I see of you, the more I love you. " January 26th. — Mr. Wilks spent the four days of last week almost wholly in going about with me, introducing me to the chief of his people. On Thursday night, or rather Friday morning about three o'clock a.m., he was taken ill, and has been dangerously so ever since, mostly delirious and speechless." In a lucid interval, Mr. Wilks saw Mr. Wilson and explained to him that all was settled. " He was rather better last night," continues Mr. Campbell. " Mr. Lawford, Mr. John Wilks, James Parsons and myself, went up yesterday at midday. He took little notice of j)gath-bed any but me. He looked at me often, smiled on me, of Matthew said some sentences to me distinctly, requested me "'"^^• to pray. When I was leaving, he said, ' May the good will of Him that dwelt in the bash dwell with you.' " January 29th.— I left Mr. Wilks last night a Kttle before twelve ; and returning this morning found that he was no more. He endured a great deal with astonishing patience, and then slept in peace." 344 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XII. Mr. Campbell now felt that lie liad readied the The Sue- summit of earthly greatness, yet with a CPSSOl* of Whitfield, deep sense of corresponding responsibility. Self-satisfaction to an undue extent was mixed with honest zeal. " I have had a competition," lie said, " with the first men of the nation, and am the successful candidate. It sui'ely cannot be that I am to preside over the greatest clmrch in the nation ! J(Jm Gamphell is noiv the second successor of George Whitfield, INlay his God be mine." In John Burnet, who entered upon his ministry at Mansion House Chapel, Camberwell, on the 12th joi^n of September, 1830, the cause of Noncon- Burnet. formity, and of civil and religious liberty had a great acquisition, Mr. Burnet seemed to blend the characteristics of three nationalities. He was born in Methven Street, Perth, on the loth of April, 1789, and had his early training in the public schools of Scotland, and was well instructed under the ministry of Mr. Finley, Dr. Andrew Thomas, and the Rev. W. Orme. On leaving Perth, he went in 1815 to Dublin, and shortly after accepted the charge of a Congregational church under the auspices of the Irish Evangelical Society. His manly bearing, frank disposition, open and pleasant countenance, and well- balanced mind, secured for him the cordial hospitality of the Protestant gentry, and his active sympathies and ready wit made him no less welcome in the cabins of the poor. He was equally in his element in the most refined circle and in trying to raise the most degraded. His thorough acquaintance with the condition of the south of Ireland, made him a competent witness in 1825 before a Committee of CHAP. XII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 345 the House of Lords. Preacliing everywhere, and watching over the interests of his more settled con- gregation, he had acquired experience and information of which he availed himself in the most felicitous and effective manner on the platform. He was the leading orator of the day in the pubUc meetings of London on all questions affecting the rights, liberties, education, and progress of the people. With con- summate tact, perfect readmess and ease, he could seize instantly the saHent points of a question and command the attention and sympathy of an admirino- popular assembly. Mr. Joseph Sturge and other leading philanthropists desired to have him as the representative of their cause in Parhament. His position therefore was peculiar, and affected to a certain extent his pastoral relations. Church order and discipHne he had little time to consider; it was enough for his people that he could instruct them from the pulpit. In the defence of Christian Missions, the advocate of Negro Emancipation, peace, the voluntary principle, and kindred questions, he liad ample scope for his oratorical powers ; and he gave himself to pubhc work freely and without reserve. The Rev. John Leifchild, returning to London in 1830, in more direct religious service was an invaluable helper. In Bristol he had maintained an honourable and useful LeifchUd^ position for sixteen years. Esteemed as a cifapdr^" friend and co-worker with Robert Hall, John ^^^^• Foster, and other celebrities that gave distinction to the great western city, and proving himself a match in the controversy on Catholic Emancipation with 346 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [oiIAr. XIT. Lis eloquent iieigliboiir William Thorp. After repeated invitations, he accepted the charge of the church then recently formed in Craven Chapel, a capacious and substantial structure erected at Carnaby Market, near Regent Street, by Mr. Thomas Wilson, and waiting for a minister who could occupy the responsible post with the energy and abihty required under the divine benediction to give effect to the enterprise. The adaptation of Mr. Leifchild to the sphere was complete. He gathered a large congregation, and kept the people together by the clear, faithful, and earnest preaching of the gospel, his vigilant care for all, and his warm attachment in particular for the young. With the hearty and systematic co-operation of the deacons, teachers, and visitors, he formed institutions which still remain in more than their original efficiency, and leaven the dense population of the vicinity with Christian truth, and alleviate to a large extent the sorrows, open or concealed, of the poor and afflicted. John Kelly* (born in Edinburgh, December 1, 1801) entered upon his ministry at Liverpool '^p''" in July, 1829 — a man of substantial worth, Kelly. •^ and of vigorous and well-cultivated mind. He was educated at Heriot's Hospital, Edinburgh, and, under the ministry of the Rev. Dr. Gordon was led to accept Christ as his Saviour, and to study the Scriptures with care and diligence that increased through life. Circumstances brought him to Ripon in Yorkshire, and, whilst staying a short time in * The Rev. John Kelly : a Memorial Sketch of the Life and IMiuistry of tlie ]{ev. John Kelly. By Rev. Edward Ilasaan. CHAP. XII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 347 that town he attended the prayer-meeting held in the chapel of which the Rev. Robert Martin was the minister. Being invited to take part in the service, the attention of Mr. Martin was drawn to the young Scotchman from the indications given of his intelli- gence and devotional spirit ; and, on further ac- quaintance with his pastor, Mr. Kelly was recom- mended to Idle Academy. In the midst of his course in this institution, he was invited, in January, 1827, to supply the pulpit at Bethesda Chapel, vacant by the death of the Rev. P. G. Charrier — an eminent minister, who, after a pastorate of twenty years at Lancaster, and of sixteen years in Liverpool, finished his consistent and luminous course amid the deep regret of his own people and of the entire community. After an occasional ministry of more than two years, Mr. Kelly entered fully upon his work in 1829, and was ordained in July of the same year. He made " full proof of his ministry." With no attractions of manner he gained a deep hold on the confidence and affection of his congregation. His sermons were so full of weighty instruction that his hearers in comparison felt something wanting in other preachers of greater brilliancy. With granite firmness he combined the sincerest kindness ; and concealed from the eye of strangers, there was in liim a hidden fount of sympathy — revealed to its full extent when it was most needed. The people formed under his teaching were men of great moral stamina — " Pillar-men " like Ormerod Heyworth, Thomas Blackburn, Alfred King, William White, Ebenezer Habershon, Samuel Lockhart, Charles 3-48 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. XIT. Robertson and James Stitt. For forty-four years, in relation to Evangelical Nonconformity — well- defined — " John Kelly of Liverpool " was a tower of strength. The agitation of the times and the growing hostility of Churchmen in many parts of the country to Dissent led to the formation of a Congrega- General Congregational Union for the pro- uSon. tection of the weaker churches — common defence against aggression in every form, and the wider extension of the Gospel in conjunction willi scriptural principles of Church polity. Formal conferences were held on the subject in London, in which the matter was freely and earnestly discussed. Various articles in reference to the subject appeared in the " Congregational Magazine," and the Rev. John Blackburn, one of the editors of that periodical, encouraged the sanguine expectation that, as favour- able opinions seemed to be ripening, notwithstand- ing the frank expression of manifold objections, he would have the honour of preparing the way for the immediate accomplishment of this important design. But, simultaneously with his zealous efforts, the ministers and laymen in the Dorset Asso- t he Dorset ciation worc equally intent on carrying out fsS""^*'""' ^ similar plan. A member of their com- mittee formed for this purpose on a visit to London in May, 1829, observing the isolation of Lidependent Protestant Dissenters, as contrasted with the more compact organization of other de- nominations, called the attention of his brethren to the question at the recognition service of the Rev. James Brown, on his settlement over the Indepen- CHAP. XII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. 349 dent Chnrcli at the Old Meeting House, Wareliani, October 14, 1829. Pour gentlemen of the Associa- tion met on the 14th of December in the following year, and entered into correspondence with ministers and others to ascertain their views as to the desirableness of a general union. Receiving en- couraging replies, they sent a series of these communications for insertion in the "World" newspaper ; and, beginning with the first letter of the Greek alphabet as their signatures, on January 6th, 1830, they continued them in order until January 20th, as " Beta," " Gamma," " Delta," when the Editor of the journal paused, because of an allusion made to " existing abuses of public funds vested for the support of Orthodox Christianity." The paper was " recomposed under the signature of Morinio, the ancient and Latin name for Wareham," and sent to the "Congregational Magazine" in March, 1830, but it was not inserted. The question was again mooted at the half-yearly meeting of the Dorset Association, held at Sherborne, April 14th, 1830, and it was agreed to bring it up for special and particular consideration at Shaftesbury in the autumn. In May, 1830, the Eev. J. E. Good— the " Alpha" correspondent — attended a meeting at the house of Mr. Blackburn, but the " reverend brother " did not stay to the close of the conference, and, therefore, " knew nothing more," as he afterwards said " than this, — that many highly influential and worthy persons in London were favourable " — not concerned, as it would seem, to ascertain the plans of the metropolitan divines. The Dorsetshire 350 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAr. XII. Association persevered with steady determination in their course until their comprehensive scheme of union was complete. It contained seventeen articles amplified considerably. Briefly enumerated they were — "1. To give a simultaneous impulse to the whole body of Independents throughout the country in any case of religious and national emergency. 2. To organize a complete system of itineracy for the country at large. 3. The establishment of new and pei-manent interests. 4. The universal diffusion of the best principles of Church Government. 6. A plan to supersede begging cases. 6. To protect Meeting- Houses from being perverted from their ojiginal design — an evil which calls for some prompt and powerful remedy. 7. To strengthen weak or declining interests. 8. To endeavour to prevent separations in cases where both parties voluntarily seek a reference. 9. To procure the impartial management and distribution of public charities. 10. To organize a general system of daily Christian education. 11. The gradual introduction of a better style of building in reference to our places of worship. 12. To endeavour to get rid of the enormous expense attendant on the renewal of Trust-deeds. 13. The attainment of some plan of remedying the defects of baptis- mal registers. 14. To procure a complete census of the Inde- pendent body. 15. To establish a Life Annuity Assurance Office for ministers. 16. To furnisli annually an Epistle to the Churches. 17. To establish friendly relations with, and to receive fraternal deputations from, the Inde[)endent churches in Scotland, Ire- land, and the Continent of Europe ; and, indeed, to promote friendly intercourse with the faithful in every part of the world." " ]\Iany other objects " might have been stated, but the Dorsetshire brethren contented themselves with "some of the most prominent." Some of the rules appended were curious. "A la}^ representa- tive," for example, " was not to be under twenty- five years of Mge." CHAP, xil] congregational histoey. 351 The printed "Address," dated "Wareliam, Novem- ber 26th, 1830," was sent to the editor of the " Con- gregational Magazine," with a request that he would give it immediate insertion. Mr. Blackburn read the document with astonish- ment. He was a pleasant and capable man, and had been translated from the pastorate of the village church at Finchingfield to that of the suburban church at Claremont Chapel, Islington, and called, moreover, to occupy the editorial chair ; yet these Dorsetshire provincials, by a strange act of preteri- tion ignored his existence, and made no allusion to his magazine. It was more than he could bear with equanimity, and in a " postscript " of the January number of the " Congregational Magazine," he ad- ministered to them a severe rebuke, and intimated that a Congregational Library and public rooms would be secured for the denomination in London, " Our brethren," said the indignant editor, " have forgotten unity in their zeal for union. Discourage not the scheme, pray for divine guidance, and before the ' ensuing spring,' the time named by us in October last, has expired, there will appear a plan, the result of long and prayerful deliberation, which we trust may unite all hands and hearts." The Committee for securing a " Denominational House " in their address, said : — " The library in Red Cross Street, founded by the venerable Dr. Daniel Williams, is now entirely under the management and control of trustees, selected exclusively from the body of Dissenters, nominally ' Presbyterian,' but actually, v. ith /'"gj'^ga- some exceptions, 'Unitarian.' The Baptists have a very Library respectable library and museum, connected with their ^"" „ ^^°" oldest academical institution at Bristol ; the Wesleyan Methodists have extensive rooms and premises appropriated to 352 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOEY. [cHAP. XII. their sole use, and to the advancement of their common interests, contiguous to their chapel in the City Eoad ; and even the small Society founded by the late Countess of Huntingdon, has the house in Spafields, in which her ladyship resided, for its accom- modation. " It is a circumstance creditable to the liberality of the Con- gregational denomination, that, though its members are the chief supporters of one of the largest and most flourishing of the exist- ing Missionary Societies, it is neither called by their name nor considered in any sense to belong to them. They have, there- fore, no right to the house appropriated to its purposes in Austin Friars, as the members of the Baptist denomination use that in Fen Court, where the business of their Missionary Society is carried on. " The ministers belonging to the Congregational Board, for many years held their meetings, for the transaction of business and for mutual friendly communication, at taverns and coffee- houses, until this became so seriously inconvenient, and indeed intolerable, that about a year since, they applied to the Directors of the London Missionary Society for permission to meet at their rooms, where they have since, as a special favour, been allowed to assemble, but expressly upon sufferance. " The Committees of the various Societies belonging to the Congregationalists, still hold their meetings chiefly at taverns, by which the respectability of the denomination is diminished, and great inconvenience often sustained." A Congregational Home was wanted as a " centre of unity, and a medium of intercourse to the churches scattered through the land." The lease of a plain building (formerly the City Concert Rooms, in Blomfield Street, Finsbury Circus) was purchased, containing "one large, handsome room, fifty feet long, twenty-five feet wide, and nineteen in height." Mr. Joshua Wilson offered to appropriate at once a large collection of books as the nucleus of a Non- conformist Library. " One gentleman subscribed £500, eight other individuals 100 guineas each, CHAP. Xir.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 353 seventeen others 50 guineas each, ten more 25 guineas each, besides many smaller sums." Mr. Wilson, in connection with the Library, entered into correspondence with his friends to found a " Congregational Lecture." This was the state of matters when the unfor- tunate Dorchester circular made its appearance. Further to endanger the project of a "General Union," the editor of the " World " devoted a page of his journal to a vulgar attack on the editor of the " Congregational Magazine " and the London Committee. " Oh, sir," he said, " it is not buildings we want, but the Spirit of the Fathers. They have, it appears from the maga- zine, actually laid out money in the purchase of a building, and it is affirmed that no authorized meeting on this subject can be held in London in any other place. Now we beg to ask, whither the authority to fix a place of meeting, not yet constituted, has been derived ? Was it from the Pope of Rome ? or the Head of the English Church ? or the Presbytery tade of'the ' of the Church of Scotland, or some living pope of "World" the nineteenth century? The first teachers of ^^^'P^P^'"- Christianity required no splendid buildings to mature their plans in; the very chief of them worked with his own hands as a tent maker, rather than be chargeable to the Churches ; they met in an upper room to transact the greatest business ever entrusted to the management of human beings. " Who is it that censures men of gigantic intellect and devo- tion to the interests of mankind ? — certainly not exceeded by any of their contempoi^aries — as guilty of aiding objectors, and confirming doubters by their attention to minute and meddling details. "The persons who have been assailed need no defenders ; and they are all men who deserve to be held in esteem ; but they will pardon us for saying, that if all other names were blotted out of their paper, there is one which none but the envious can pro- nounce, without recollecting that thousands are indebted to him 23 354 CONGrvEGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. XTI. for the highest blessings which man has ever been honoured of heaven to communicate. The men who take upon them to refer to such an one as a meddling intruder, know not what they say, or of whom they speak. They had better imitate his bright example. Let them do the work.'' And SO the scribbler rambles on. All this was sufficiently ridiculous, and, as the sequel proved, per- fectly harmless. Curiosity was excited, and Mr. Chaplin of Bishop's Stortford, and other friends of the in- tended Congregational Union, wrote anxiously to Mr. Blackburn for information. The project was in considerable danger, when the Rev. Henry Rogers came to the rescue, in a letter to the offended editor, written with characteristic force : — "My dear Friend, — As I am known to be on terms of intimacy with you, Mr. Durant, together with one or two more individuals, members of the ' Dorchester Committee,' Henry tave requested me to write a few lines to you (as UogiTc. one of the editors of the ' Congregational Magazine '), on tliC subject of the unhappy dispute between that 'journal ' and the ' Circular.' They are perfectly convinced that the whole has resulted from a little misunderstanding, which may be at present rectified by a little explanation, or a few minutes' personal interview ; but which, if agitated in controversy, may easily be aggravated into real offences and irretrievable errors. " I would state that the great object of this letter is con- ciliation, and the Dorset friends scarcely care by what means it is effected. They are quite willing to bury the past iu oblivion. They are not solicitous to inquire what are the grounds of the dispute, by whatever causes it may have been occasioned ; to which party merit or any blan.e attaches, or who is to have the transcendent merit of originating this at present ill-omened union. Although they can prove (I speak as an individual), if it were necessary, that letters from some of them were written, and published too, before a single syllable appeared AP. XII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. 355 on the subject in the ' Congregational Magazine.' All this, however, they are perfectly willing — or rather eager — to waive. Tbey feel that their object and yours is alike a imion, and they cannot but think it a lamentable thing that a project so important should be set aside, or even postponed, on account of some little misunderstanding, which may be so easily ex- plained, " On this account they dread exceedingly anything like a controversy, and implore you, as far as possible, to soften down the past, or hush it up in silence. This, they think, may be easily done, by your inserting in your next number, in whatever way you may think proper, their explanation of some of the motives which actuated them in sending out this circular, and, so far as they think themselves guilty in reference to the ' Congregational,' their apology also. "The 'head and front' of their offending, according to the ' Postscript ' (January), which seems to me, I must confess, to have been somewhat hastily penned — although, if written by you, I will answer for the good intentions and good spirit which dic- tated it— is, that in their circular they maintained a deep silence on the subject of the past exertions, and present and future plans, of the ' Congregational.' Here they acknowledge themselves in the wrong. Some notice was demanded of them, in all honour and courtesy. But, while they plead guilty here, they deny most strenuously that they meditated any insult. I am sure, on reflectioD, you will readily a-'quit them of this. It was pure tJiouffhtlessness. In some cases the parties were ignorant of what had appeared in the ' Congregational.' The ' Congregational ' also seems to take offence that the circular should appear from the country, when a plan was already concocting in London. The gentlemen of the Dorset Committee can state now what they could not state before — that it was, in a great measure, from the representations of the London ministers themselves, that they had resolved to pursue the course they had pursued. It was the avowed opinion of many London ministers, that the first impulse, as a mere matter of policy, had better be given in the country, lest any jealousy of the influence of the metro- politan ministers should be awakened. Another charge against the Circular is that it enters too much into detail — an opinion in which many very judicious men, I find, concur with you ; 356 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XII. and, perhaps, if I were to give my individual opinion, I sliould agree with you. — although I frankly confess that I did not see the matter in this light when the address was first prepared. I, however, merely express this opinion as an individual. The Committee have nothing to do with me, nor I with the Committee. It should be recollected, moreover, that the ' articles ' in the address were mierely laid before the consideration of the public. Having put you in possession of these facts — more especially of a distinct disavowal of any intention to depreciate the exertions of others in the same cause — surely you may, in your next, insert a paragraph or two which may conciliate all parties, which will at once account (if I may not say apologise) for the asperity of your ' Postscript,' and satisfy the friends in Dorsetshire. " I must say a word or two on the ' World.' It is because they have conciliation so ardently in view, that they so particu- larly dread any reply, rejoinder, or anything of the kind, -to the blustering fulminations of the 'World.' They beg me most vehemently to disclaim all connection with such a vagabond. Such a man would disgrace any cause, nay, I may say that his advocacy would be far more fatal than his opposition. He has done what lie has clone simply on his own resjioiisibilitij. They have not authorized him to say a syllable. That they have no connection with such a man would, I should hope, sufficiently appear, from internal evidence, in the leading article of last week; for, if the Dorset Committee be the man of 'gigantic stature ' he is graciously pleased to term them (and they all, I can bear witness, are 'men of good sense'), would they ever be guilty of such drivelling folly, as to doubt whether a Congre- gational Library and Reading Room would be of any use to the denomination or not ; or whether the efforts of those who have endeavoured to accomplish these objects, and whose reputation it has been for some time Mr. Bourne's business to assassinate — be praiseworthy or not ? I hope you will not lay a tissue of such nonsense as this at the doors of the Dorset Committee. They have not so far attained the ' Spirit of the Fathers.' Let Mr. Bourne, then, mt/ dear friend, labour on in his vocation of canting, lying, and slandering — it has nothing to do with the Dorset Committee. He may, perhaps, have represented himself as their organ, and attempted to identify his interests with theirs ; but they are anxious to cut clear away from such CHAP. XIT.] CONGBEGATIONAL HISTORY. 357 dangerous moorings as quickly as possible. He alone is respon- sible for what lie has said. Let me hope, then, that in your next number will come out a very effectual explanation. By speaking so explicitly about Bourne, I have cat off, I hope, all supply of fresh fuel for the flame. I know that you abhor controversy, and that you will not get into one if you can help it. I am busy, or I would write more. With the kindest of regards both of myself and Mrs, R , to yourself, Mrs. B , and family, — Believe me, my dear friend, " Yours ever affectionately, " Henry Rogers. "P.S. — I have been a sad fellow about the ' Congregational.' I am exceedingly obliged by your kind mention of me to the (Editor) of E R . May I hope for a short answer from you in a few days. Farewell." * (Postmark.) Jan. 13, 1881. The rising flame that threatened a serious confla- gration was quenched. In the February number of the " Congregational," the editor had the pleasure of informing his readers that all parties were prepared to act in harmony. Of the excellent spirit and aim of the projectors of the Union we have abundant evidence. Eears were expressed by some that the fi^eedom g j^t and and independence of the churches mie-ht :^"^ of the ■■■ _ ° -rrojfctora be endangered, and that instead of a help of the to the work of evangelization it would prove a hindrance by diminishing the resources of existing Societies. The subject was freely discussed for several months. A correspondent in the " Congre- gational Magazine," f in reply to objections, says : — "Do yoa propose the Union for the spread of the gospel at home and abroad ? This is the aim of Missionary Societies. Undoubtedly it is, and much has been accomplished by such glorious institutions. But, let it be remembered, that * Blackburn MSS. t 1821, p. 212. 358 CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. [CHAP. XIT. their extraordinary success, under God, lias been aclaieved by means of a most compact and extended Union, proceeding on the very principle which we advocate. The London Missionary Society, e.g., is composed chiefly of persons professing Con- gregational principles. Many ministers and churches of that denomination are, in their official character and relations, pledged to its support. It is nominally, indeed, a non Ecclesias- tical Missionary Society. It professes to hold no opinion, no principle relative to the form, constitution, and order of the Church of Christ. It professes to send forth missionaries only for the purpose of converting sinners from the error of their ■ways. The missionai-y may mould his converts into what form he pleases, or leave them isolated and without form. The fundamental principle of the Society pi^escribes nothing, and can consistently require no account of converts from its missionaries subsequently to their conversion. The fact, however, is, that almost all the missionaries of this Society are Congrega- tionalists ; they form the converts into Congregational churches, witness the Congregational union of churches in Polynesia, formed by the missionaries of this Society. " Now, it may be very striking and very gratifying to observe the natural operation of this Society, in favour of the Congregational order, though left altogether without any patronage or sanction ; but is it not fair to ask, might not the interests of true religion, according to our Congregational views, have been more extensively promoted, both at home and abroad, if our principles of order and discipline had been distinctly recognized by the Society, and it had appeared to care for the growth in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ of all the converts of its missionaries, and had required an account of the churches formed by them on the scriptural principles held by - the great body which composes the strength of the Society. Doubt- less the Society does feel that interest ; but it cannot consistently allow that interest to appear. To mention the subject at its public meetings as matter of congratulation that so many converts had been formed into churches of the Congregational order, would be considered offensive to strangers of other com- munions, and would be thought illiberal to the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Methodists, with a small minority of whom the Society stands connected. CHAP. XII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 359 " All other religious bodies are known in the missionary field according to their principles and their professions, but we are content to give this vantage ground up to every other missionary body, and, for the sake of a small minority — respect- able, worthy, excellent, doubtless, as individuals. We are content, also, to place at the disposal of every other missionary body the most glorious triumphs of missionary achievement, which they are right glad to seize, but which God has placed in our hands as the reward of perseverance, and faith, and prayer, and apostolic zeal ; placed in our hands, perhaps, to show that He distinctly approves the principles which we privately advocate, but which He loudly calls upon us puhlicly to avow and extend — principles which, if, as we trust they are, scriptural and divine, must extend, ultimately, ' from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same.' The Home Missionary Society stands on nearly the same footing as the London Missionary Society. These Societies would, we expect, (TvvOtio, put on an appearance still more flourishing and vigorous than they now wear, and no apprehensions for their stability would ever seize their conductors, were the Congregational churches to adopt them decidedly as tlieir own.'" A Provisional Committee, few in number, and very limited in pecuniary resources, met for the first time in the vestry of the Poultry Chapel, London, June 7, 1830, to promote the establish- ment of the Congregational Union, and meeting of T •ill ill Provisional issued an appropriate address on the sub- committee ject, dated January 24, 1830. A general g;;tt^'t83o. meeting of delegates, ministers, and officers of churches, about a hundred in number, met^ at the Congregational Library, Finsbury Circus, London, on Tuesday morning. May 10, and, by adjournment, on Friday, May 13, 1831, to consider the subject of a general Congregational Union, Eev. A. Douglas, of Reading, in the chair. After the reading of numerous communications from the counties, it 360 CONGREGATIONAL HISTOKY. [CHAP. XII. was moved by the Rev. J. A. James, of Birming- liam, seconded by J. B. Brown, Esq., LL.D., and, after considerable discussion, carried unanimously — "That it is liiglily desirable and important to establish a Union of Congregational churches throughout England and Wales, founded on the broadest recognition of their own dis- tinctive principle, namely, the scriptural right of every separate church to maintain perfect independence in the government and administration of its own particular affairs." A committee was then appointed to prepare a plan for the formation of the Union, which was Plan of the reported at the adjourned meeting, held Union. Q^ Friday morning, May 13, 1831, Rev. Joseph Fletcher, D.D., in the chair. The following objects were contemplated in its formation : — *' 1. To promote evangelical religion in connection with the Congregational denomination. " 2. To cultivate brotherly affection and sincere co-operation in everything relating to the interests of the associated churches. " 3. To establish fraternal correspondence with Congregational churches, and other bodies of Christians, throughout the world. " 4. To address an Annual Letter to the associated churches, accompanied with such information as may be deemed necessary. " 5. To obtain accurate statistical information relative to the Congregational churches throughout the kingdom and the world at large. " G. To inquire into the present methods of collecting funds for the erection of places of worship, and to consider the practi- cability of introducing any improved plan. *' 7. To assist in maintaining and enlarging the civil rights of Protestant Dissenters." A general meeting was held by appointment at First the Congregational Library, on Tuesday, Meetin^ May 8, and, by adjournment, on Friday 1832. ' morning. May 11, 1832, the Rev. Wilham Chaphn, of Bishop's Stortford, chairman, at which CHAP. XII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 361 about one hundred and seven members attended, with eight visitors. " I. It was moved by the Rev. J. A. James, seconded by the Rev. John Burnet, and resolved unanimously, — " That the report of the Provisional Committee, now read, be approved. " II. Moved by J. B. Brown, Esq., LL.D., seconded by John Brown, Esq., and resolved unanimously, — " That, in conformity with the resolutions of the general meeting held in this library in May, 1831, for the purpose of considering the propriety of forming a general Union of Congre- gational churches and ministers throughout England and Wales, THE Union be now formed.'' The Rev. J. A. James then introduced a paper, containing a declaration of the principles of faith and order of the Congregational body, Declaration drawn up by an individual * at the request °^i^'^\ J- "^ _ ^ and order. of several brethren in town and country, and which he proposed to read to the meeting, which having been assented to, the declaration was read at length by Mr. James. At the adjourned meeting, it was resolved unani- mously to invite the opinion of the associated minis- ters and churches on the following questions : — " Whether, in accordance with the example of our Noncon- formist ancestors, it be desirable to present to the inthlic a decla- ration of the leading articles of our faith and discipline ; and whether it be deemed desirable, that declaration should be made by such a statement as the following, which has been read, but not discussed, in the meeting of the Union, subject to such modi- fications as may be suggested and generally agreed on at the next annual meeting." With SO much care and deliberation was this weighty business conducted. * Eev. George Bedford, M.A. 362 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XII. At the general meeting, held May 8th, 1833, the Rev. Archibald Douglas, of Reading, moved a reso- lution adopting the Declaration of Faith and Order, which was unanimously carried. This orgajiization of scattered forces of the Con- gregational body was most opportune. Political excitement continued and increased. The reign of George IV. was inglorious, and the tiou oppor- personal conduct of the monarch dnni- nished respect for the throne. The repeal of the Test and Corporation Act, mainly by the persevering efforts of Lord John Russell and Lord Holland, in 1828, left great soreness in the exclusive friends of the Estabhshment. "The Constitution required," said Lord Eldon, "that the Church of England should be supported, and the best way of affording that support to her was to admit only her own members to offices of trust and emolument." One concession of Dissenters' rights led naturally to the assertion of other claims. The revolution in France of 1830 increased the demand for reform. The accession of WiUiam IV. in that year promised no amelioration. The people became restless, and in the rural districts the ignorant and misguided peasantry set fire to corn-ricks, and threatened to spread desolation through the country. Gibbets were erected on Pendenden Heath and other pubhc places, on which hung the bodies of "boys about eighteen or nineteen years old, but looking much younger," as a warniug; but the mischief continued. The demand for Parhamentary reform waxed louder, but the King, under the advice of the Duke of Wellington, offered the most determined resistance. CHAP. XII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 363 The ministry was defeated, and Earl Grey called to power immediately promised an ample measure of reform. On the 1st of March, 1831, it ReformBiii, was introduced by Lord John Russell, and ^^^^• debated over seven nights. Between seventy and eighty members delivered their opinions, and their speeches were read with great avidity. On the second reading the Bill was lost in a minority of twenty-two. The tide of pubhc excitement rose higher. The great middle class in the community seemed to be of one mind. Parliament was dissolved, and the election that followed was accompanied with formidable riots. The new House of Commons gave the ministers a majority of 1 36, and the fate of the Bill now depended on the decision of the House of Lords. The Bishops held the casting votes. Lord Grey, the Prime Minister, on the 3rd of October, 1831, said :— " Let me respectfully entreat those right reverend prelates to consider that if this Bill should be rejected by a narrow majority of the lay peers, which I have reason to hope will not be the case, but if it should, and that its fate should thus, within a few votes, be decided by the votes of tlie heads of the Church, what will then be their situation with the country ? Those right reverend prelates have shown that they were not indifferent or inattentive to the signs of the times. They appear to have felt that the eyes of the country are upon them ; that it is necessary for them to set their house in order, and prepare to meet the coming storm. They are the ministers of peace ; earnestly do I hope that the result of their votes will be such as may tend to the tranquillity, to the peace and happiness of the country." The Bishops gave no heed to this solemn admoni- tion. Twenty-one voted against the Bill, one prelate — the Bishop of Norwich — alone gave his vote in Riots. 364 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. XII. favour. The Bill was lost, and the frock of a prelate in the streets became the signal for insult and bitter scorn. The contention went on. At Nottino-ham the castle was burnt down because it was the property of the Duke of New- castle, and Bristol was fired by the populace to show their displeasure at the conduct of Sir Charles Weatherell. After a series of political changes and scenes of riot and disturbance, the Reform Bill was carried, on the 7th of June, 1832, and tranquillity was restored to the country. In 1834 the Irish Church was next dealt with by the Whig ministry. Out of 1400 benefices forty- one did not contain a single Protestant. Irish ' r ^ Church In 157 benefices no service was performed, the incumbent beiug an absentee. To govern this little flock there were four archbishops and eighteen bishops. Amongst other changes, sinecures were abolished, and the hierarchical staff was to be reduced, two archbishops and ten bishops were given to understand that they would have no successors in their sees. These decisive measures of the Legislature filled the clergy of the Anglican Establishment with serious Alarm of apprehcusion of further Parliamentary in- tho Clergy, tcrference. To ward off impending danger the Evangelical party earnestly called attention to existing abuses. Mr. Acaster wrote a pamphlet, entitled " The Church in danger from rians of 11-1^ Acaster, itsclf," in wliich he showed the peril oi and Dr. retaining " idle, drunken, and worthless Arnold. clergy," and the leaven of Popery in the Service Book. Lord Henley proposed a plan of CHAP. XII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 365 " Church reform. " Dr. Arnold* proposed an elaborate scheme for reconciUng the sects by giving them a share in the emoluments of the National Church, and free scope for all their pecuharities of faith and practice. " A Chnrch EstabHshment," he said, *' is essential to tlie well- beino- of a nation. The existence of dissent impairs the usefulness of an Establishment always, and now from peculiar circumstances threatens its destruction ; to extinguish dissent by persecution being both wicked and impossible, there remains the true, but hitherto untried, way to extinguish it hij comprehension. With re- gard to tlie Unitarians, it seems to me that in their case an alteration of our present terms of communion would he especially usefulS* Dr. Arnold aimed to make things pleasant all round by an elastic creed and a ritual accommodated to every variety of taste and feeling. These suggestions for amendment filled the High Church party with consternation. The Rev. WilHam Palmerjt of Worcester College, Oxford, says : — " We knew not to what quarter to look for support. A prelacy threatened, and apparently intimidated ; a Government making its powers subservient to agitators who Origin and avowedly sought the destruction of the Church, ^^e Tra!;ta. The State, so long the guardian of the Church, rian Move- seeking the subversion of its essential characteristics, °^®°*- and what was worst of all, no principle in the puhlic mind to lohich we could appeal. " There was in all this enough to appal the stoutest hearts." Mr. Palmer even in these " hours of darkness," did not give up the cause as hopeless. " I had myself," he says, " the gratification of promoting the first movement of reaction in 1832, by publishing in the * British Itlagazine,' which had been just established by a lamented friend, * Arnold's Principles of Church Reform. I Palmer's Narrative of Events. 366 CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. [CHAP. Xll. tlie Rev. J. Hugli Rose, a series of articles on dissent, wliich by means of a large mass of evidence derived from dissenting publications, directed attention to the small numbers, the difficulties and declining state of the dissenting interest. They formed the basis of several books (such as the letters of L. S. E. to a dissenting minister), which were directed against the principles and practices of dissent." The coarse, low, and offensive publications of L. S. E. did not effect all that Mr. Palmer so ardently desired. " These efforts, however," be adds mournfully, " could do little to dispel the fears to which we were continually subject." Mr. Hurrel Froude * took the same view of the threatened danger. " A downright revolution," he said, " had been effected by the Reform Bill. The changes lately introduced into the British Constitution bave enabled the dissenting and latitudinarian parties to overthrow any Government formed on exclusive principles, and no set of men will ever again share a preponde- rating influence except on the basis of concession ; in short, that an effort to secure to ourselves anytliing more than peace and good order, can end in nothing less than anarchy and confusion." Mr. John Henry Newmanf was of the same opinion, but he was in Italy, brooding over the ruined condition of the Anglican Church, and could not be personally consulted. Mr. Palmer, Mr. Perceval, J and Mr. Froude agreed to meet Mr. Rose and consult on measures to be adopted in this great extremity. They selected as the place of conference the rectory once occupied by Rowland Taylor, the martyr, and who had given the noblest example of Christian constancy when * Froude's Remains. t Newman's Apologia. J Perceval's Collection of Papers. CHAP. XII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 367 led to be burned at the stake at Aldham Common, near to Hadleigh, who to his weeping parishioners assembled to witness the mournful spectacle, he said, in a loud voice : — " Good people, I have taught you nothing but God's holy word, and those lessons that I have taken out of God's blessed book, the Holy Bible, and I am come hither to seal it with my blood." In that place, associated with the most hallowed recollections of the EngHsh reformation, these four AngHcan priests met to set in motion the Tractarian conspiracy, to approximate as nearly as possible the Church of England to the principles and practices of the Church of Rome. The Honourable Arthur Perceval, who was the preacher on the occasion, had the impious effrontery to say in his sermon : — " I stand where the martyr, Rowland Taylor, stood. May God in His mercy give grace to the clergy of this day to follow his example, and, if need be, to testify for the truth even unto death." It was not the intention of these reverend gentle- men to die except in the ordinary course of nature. Three of the party, after enjoying the pleasant hospitahty of their friend the Rector of Hadleigh, returned to Oxford to form an association to regain prestige for the Church of England, and an accession of sacerdotal power that should rival that of the Church of Rome. The Tractarian scheme was not developed at a single meeting nor by its first promoters, but the germ was rapidly developed. In the 'first tract addressed to the clergy, the writer asks : — 368 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. XII. " Should the Government and country so far forget their God, as to cast off the Church, to deprive it of temporal honours and substance, on loliat will you rest the claim of respect and attention which 1/ou make upon your Jlocks f Hitherto you have been upheld by your birth, your education, your wealth, your connections : should these secular advantages cease, 07i -what must Christ's ministers depend P Is not this a serious question ? AVe know how miserable is the state of religious bodies not supported by the State. Look at the Dissenters on all sides of you, and you will see at once that their ministers depending simply upon the people, become the creatures of the people. Are you content that this should be your case ? Surely it must not be so ; and the question recurs, on ivhat are we to rest our authority when the State deserts tis ? I fear we have neglected the real ground on which our authority is built, our apostolical descent. Speak out now, before you are forced, both as glorying in your privilege, and to ensure your rightful honour from your people. A notion has gone abroad that they can take away your power. They think they have given and have taken it away, they think it lies in the church property, and they know that they have politically the power to confiscate that property. They have been deluded into a notion that present palpable usefulness, produceable results, acceptableness to your flocks — that these, and such like, are the tests of your divine commission. Enlighten them in this manner. Exalt our holy fathers, the bishops, as the representatives of the apostles and the angels of the churches ; and magnify your office as being ordained by them to take part in their ministry." * This to begin with. The most ignorant, proud, and insolent Anglican priest, in virtue of tlio mysterious influence passing from the hands of a bishop, might according to this scheme claim to be Christ's minister, stand with a haughty sense of superiority at a measureless distance from any dissenting pastor however eminent for character, gifts, or usefulness. The clergy were then to claim the sole right to * Tracts for the Times. CHAP. XII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 369 administer the sacraments, and to hold the " keys of the kingdom of heaven," giving regeneration at baptism and the real body and blood of Christ in the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper. The people were to be told that the Scriptures were not the only guide in religion, nor yet perfect without tradition, and the " fathers ; " and that the clergy only were competent to interpret their writings. The poor serfs under their control were to be kept directly dependent upon the parochial priest, and made to understand that sins committed after baptism were hardly to be forgiven, and the doctrine of the Atonement as the only ground of a sinner's salvation, was to be kept in " reserve." The approximation to the doctrine and ritual of the Church of Rome was made as close as possible, so as not to incur the loss of their livings in the Church of England. To a clergyman anxious to keep a good conscience, there remained a most serious obstacle in the solemn declarations made in his subscription to the Articles ; but the subtlety of Mr. Newman devised an ingenious method for its removal, simply that he should say one thing and mean the contrary, using the words in what was called a " non- natural sense." This rule, if applied to the Ten Com- mandments, would qualify felons and murderers for the chief places in the Church. So by cunning and falsehood the " ark " of Anglican Establishment was to be preserved ; and that inquiry might be repressed and attention diverted from the immorality of the system, the people were to be charmed with an imposing ritual, gorgeous vestments, fragrant 24 370 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XIT. incense, fine processions, beautiful music ; and, as a pleasing novelty, candles were to be lighted in the day-time. The imposture succeeded marvellously. " The country is infested," said Mr. Henry Rogers in the "^Edinburgh Eeview," " by not a few young ' priests ' raving about their apostolic succession ; founding the most absurd pretensions on their mere sacerdotal character, though backed neither by experience nor wisdom ; boasting of the thaumaturgic powers they can exert in the administration of the sacraments; contending, not for the faith once delivered to the saints, but for wax candles, altar cloths, chaplets, crosses, crucifixes, and mummery of all kinds ; at the same time, modestly consigning all Protestants out of the Episcopal pale, either to perdition or the ' uncovenanted mercies : ' in a word, exhibiting zeal that is unacquainted with any other of the Christian graces, zeal that is not even on speaking terms with knowledge, faith or charity." CHAPTER XIII. Mr. Roby finished liis course on January 11, 1830, His last days were the brightest, the happiest, and the best. He was neither laid by ^ , , ■^ Death of through sickness nor enfeebled by age. Mr. Roby, None of his faculties were impaired, and the plans of usefulness he had formed were fully carried out : — " Just at the evening hour," said Dr. McAll, " when the shadows of advancing twilight had scarcely begun to deepen on his path, just before the winter of life, when its fruit was fully ripened, but its decay was as yet unperceived, he passed away at once from the toils and the sorrows of earth, and entered, or ever we were aware, into the rest and inheritance of heaven. " He had attained to the advantages of age, without its infirmities, to its maturity of experience, without its tardy decline. It had shed its calm and attractive radiancy around him ; but without its withering and blighting influences. Its serenity was in his features, and its crown was on his head ; but its cold hand had not yet chilled the glow of his affections, nor frozen the current of his soul. It looked forth indeed from his countenance, and imparted to it a beauty all its own. But it had not as yet breathed upon his joys and hopes, to blast them in their greenness and to consign them to decay. " Death, too, performed his ofiice as an angel of mercy rather than 'the king of terrors.' His approaching footsteps were so soft and noiseless, as not to disturb those slumbers which were soon to be succeeded by an eternal repose. And when the heaving of his breast was stilled for ever, and the happy spirit 372 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOEY. [CHAP. XIII. dismissed from the tabernacle of clay, it was by a touch so gentle that the last breath was wholly unperceived, no mortal struggle, no agonizing convulsions, marked the moment of the soul's departure ; and she was already towering on the wing, and far remote from all the toils and dangers of mortality, before the attendants had discovered even the preparation for her flight." The Rev. William Vint terminated liis active service under different circumstances. Idle Academy under his fostering care had risen to the dignity andAiredaie of Airedale College. The purpose of Miss Sarah Balme to devote two estates for the erection of a new building, was not legally effected by a will, but her surviving sister, Mrs. Mary Bacon, appropriated the property by a deed of gift to the object both the sisters had at heart, and with the desire to manifest their Christian regard for the tutor to whose self-denying labours the churches owed so much. But in 1829, he was laid aside by infirmities which unfitted him for work during the five remain- ing years of his life. The temporary care of the institution devolved to a considerable extent on the Rev. Joseph Stringer and the Rev. Thomas Rawson Taylor, a young minister of great promise, who died on the 7th of March, 1835. At the laying of the foundation stone of the Mr. HamU- new institution at Undercliffe, near Brad- dress, issi. ford, June 20, 1831, the Rev. Richard "Winter Hamilton delivered a characteristic address. The Trust Deed of the college, expressly provided that " there shall be therein taught and inculcated the doctrines contained in the Shorter Catechism composed by the Assembly of Divines convened at Westminster, and that — CHAP. XIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 373 " No persons holding any tenets different to those described shall have right or title to the provisions of this deed, or be able to exercise any of the powers or authorities hereby given, or become officers of or students in the said college.' " From these rudiments of speculative and practical the- ology," said Mr. Hamilton, " we have never diverged. These have been our solace and our song when persecution raged, these have been our stay and anchor in the more dangerous period of the calm, they were the watch towers by day, they kept our fore- fathers secure when all around them frowned, and can only keep us spiritually-minded, now that all around us smile, they make our dungeon sweet, and can only make our palace safe." On the 5tli of March, 1834, the College was opened, and, on the 19th of the same month, Mr. Vint rested from his labours, and entered on his reward. He was succeeded by the Rev. Walter Soott, who had been sent to Hoxton from the Church Rev. Waiter at Branton, under the pastoral care of Mr. ^"^"' Somerville, to whom, as we have seen, Mr. Vint and Mr. Taylor were also indebted for their early religious training, prior to coming to Airedale College. Mr. Scott had large experience at Rowell, and was held in great esteem. Robert Hall spoke of him as the " Jonathan Edwards of modern times." His physical energy was remarkable, and he attributed the con- tinuance of his vigour to temperance, simplicity of diet, and habitual exercise. In addition to his collegiate work he raised a new chapel, gathered a good congregation, and set a practical example of pastoral wisdom, diligence and fidelity. Some of the Dissenters in London, at this time, were in favour of comprehension, and others proposed fancy schemes of improvement. Soon after the defeat of Lord Sidmouth's Bill, Mr. Walter Wilson pubhshed a pamphlet entitled " Remarks upon the 374 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XIII. Present State of the Dissenting Interest, with Hints for Its Improvement," in wliicli he expressed his anxious concern that Congregational Churches should be raised to a higher degree of worldly respectabihty, and that everything should be removed in their order and mode of worship that might prevent the higher classes from uniting with them. " Notwithstanding the faults," he says, " that are discernible in the Church of England, and the just exceptions Pmpo^als ^^^^ ^^g taken to Diocesan Episcopacy, yet, the rendering respectable part of the community will sooner submit Dissent to them than to mob-ffovernment. It is a notorious rt-speetiible. " t .^ c fact that our congregations exhibit a dearth ot society, to well-educated persons, that has a strong tendency to drive them from their communion. Indeed, no other state of things can be reasonably expected, when even the minister him- self is often a fit companion only for rustics." Mr. Wilson had a decided objection to ministers going out to preach and make collections for Missionary Societies. He had also a great dislike to the statement of any religious experiences or any form of Christian profession on the part of persons joining the Church, and attached no im- portance whatever to purity of faith. " London," „. „ ^ he said, " mio^ht be conveniently divided into Hia Scheme ' & ^ ofPresby. four Prcsby tcrics, and some of the larger *'^* towns in the kingdom would comprise a single one," but no tailor or shoemaker should have a place in them. Each Presbytery should be " composed of twelve, or any other convenient number of neighbouring congregations," represented by the pastor and deacons, and two members chosen by each church. " These Presbyteries to assemble monthly, in rotation, at the different towns and CHAP. XTII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 376 villages of which they are composed, and proceed to business after the pubHc service ; the senior minis- ter, or some influential layman, being appointed moderator." The Presbyteries, moreover, should have power to ordain ministers, and prevent churches from electing unsuitable ministers. Mr. Wilson greatly disapproved of the "practice" amongst the Inde- pendents of putting forward young men to pray and exhort at church meetings. This "simple" scheme, including many other details, its author believed " would obtain for the Dissenters a larger number of respectable members." Mr. John Neale in a letter to Mr. Wilson inclined to a " moderate episcopacy," and poured contempt on the Congregational Union. Neaie and " Some future historian," he said, " may Episcopacy probably observe, ' it was conceived in folly, brought forth in pride, and expired in ignorance.' I should very much like," he adds, " to see a new order of Dissenters spring up out of the bosom of the Church to rescue scriptural religion out of the hands of sectarians, whether Independents or Baptists, and form not a Congregational Union, nor a Consolidated Union, but a Christian Union." The " principle of democracy," Mr. Neale feared, would ruin all. Much sympathy was felt by some gentlemen in the Metropolis with these views, and the scheme of Mr. Wilson above all was greatly admired, but in a properly constituted Congre- gational Church it was manifestly impracticable. An opportunity, however, soon occurred to test its practical value under the most favourable auspices. 376 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XIII. The chapels in which Whitfield preached were registered by him as " places of worship for Non- conformist congregations calling themselves Inde- pendents," though he died without leaving any Trust Deed. When the lease of the Tabernacle expired it was renewed ; while the copyhold of Tottenham Court Chapel was purchased at a cost of £20,000 — provided for in part by a mortgage, and the re- mainder by public subscriptions and the contributions TT- <-*v, of the conofreo'ation, on the condition of a Views or the o o ' TManagersof proper Declaration of Trust. Until this Whitfield arrangement — earnestly looked for by the minister and people — all the affairs of the two chapels were conducted by a few gentlemen called " Managers." These Whitfield Societies in the old age of the Rev. Matthew Wilks had nearly reached the condition so ardently desired by Mr. Walter Wilson. Every possible care was taken to prevent the semblance of vulgarity. No discussion was allowed at Church meetings, for the members had no voice whatever in the business of the societies. At Tottenham Court Chapel prayer-meetings had for some time been discontinued, and no mention was permitted fii^om the pulpit of Missionary Societies. Ministers who came as " Supphes " were directed not to read the Scriptures in the pulpit, and no Sunday school was recognized as associated with the " Tabernacle." The poor and the illiterate, therefore, might attend the services on the Sabbath or in the days of the week, but, being reduced systematically to a state of silent passivity, they conducted themselves as decorously as persons who had finished their education. Add to CHAP. XIII.] CONGIIEGATIONAL HISTORY. 377 this, all were required to kneel at the Lord's Table. Mr. Campbell, the "second successor of George Whitfield," stood appalled at the discovery of the actual condition of the people. Under Keformation this exterior decorum, moral corruption attempted had already begun, and he set himself, c^^rpbeii. with Knox-like courage and resolution, to effect a change. The managers clearly under- stood his aim, and resolved to thwart his plans. There was no time for delay. A little longer, if unchecked, the re-animation of the churches . o n • 1 Opposition would lead to earnest expressions of faith, of the and to acts of zeal beyond their power to '^^''g®''"- repress. They determined, therefore, to execute a deed directly opposite to the wishes of the people, investing the Trustees with the sole and absolute control of the ministers and societies in perpetuity. Their position was strong, and, as they supposed it to be, invincible. Secretly, they had invested the sum of ten thousand pounds in the funds belonging to the Whitfield Societies, of which the people knew nothing. This reserve capital was sufficient to meet any emergency in carrying out their design. In Mr. John Wilks, Member of Parliament, and the eloquent secretary of the " Society for the Protection of Religious Liberty," they had a leader and a legal adviser of the greatest repute, and at the height of his celebrity. His name as the chief manager was sufficient to ensure for them the con- fidence and approval of the rehgious pubhc. The gentlemen nominated for the trust were all respect- able ; and, in order to greater freedom of action, some of these were elected outside of the Tabernacle 373 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XIII. societies. But how were tliey to remove Mr. Campbell ? To their great relief, in the ardour of his zeal for church reformation, he unwittingly afforded them an occasion for the prosecution of their object, which they instantly seized. On a visit to the Church at Edinburgh, he received an invitation to the pastorate, and, using this unwisely, as a lever to move the managers in his own direction of church improvement, and announced his intention to resign, if his plans for promoting Conditional ^| spiritual interests of the people were of Mr- systematically opposed. The managers Campbell. -^ ^ ^ -^ V t.- 7 • I' resolved to treat the conaitwiiai resignation as explicit and unqualified, and gave the absent pastor a polite intimation that his services were no long^er needed at the Tabernacle, Moorfields. The following correspondence — somewhat abrupt — immediately ensued : — " LiBSART, House of Commons. "May 9, 1834, " Rev, and dear Sir, — Thougli surrounded by twenty mem- bers, I will not allow the post to leave without intimating to you that ministers will be provided to supply at Mr Wilks Tabernacle and Tuttenham Court Chapels reyularli/, Mhj U, and that you need not accelerate your return to ^^^^- toii-n lest the congregations should be destitute of preacbers on the Sabbaths and week-days, when you would have been expected to preach, if you had not tendered your resig- nation, and if it had not been accepted ; but that you may perfectly consult your own convenience in any arrangements you may make. I must also have the pleasure to state my hope that nothing may occur to prevent a presentation to you of the amount of an additional quarter's salary, as an indication that, though there has been a discordance from your views of church government, and a disapproval of your attempts CHAP. XIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 379 to alter that constitution and system which, under the divine blessing, had been so long and so happily continued, yet that all are sensible of your intellectual and moral worth, of your inde- fatigable industry, and of your devout anxiety, according to your own opinion, ever to do good. " These sentiments, from my heart, I partake, and, with the best .wishes for a heavenly guidance of your future course, " I continue, Eev. and dear Sir, " Tours very sincerely, " To the Rev. John Campbell. " John Wilks." " Edinburgh, May 13, 1834. " My dear Sir,— I have this day received yours of the 9th, and I perfectly comprehend its origin and object. I observe its kind expressions, and estimate them at their proper ^^^^^ ^^ value. By this time, I suppose, you will have dis- m^. c«mp- covered the mistake into which you have fallen J^^'j^^g^^ with respect to the import of my letter. As I ' have tendered no resignation, none can have been accepted. i only write, therefore, that you may undo any arrangements relative to supply, as I intend, God willing, to occupy my own place and pulpit next Lord's Day. I beg to negative the assertion contained in yours— that I have made attempts to alter the constitution, so-called, of the churches. This is untrue, and if any importance be attached to the charge, I dare you to the proof. I am the defender of that constitution against inno- vations. I alter it not. I stand by it ; and let the innovators look to themselves. " My dear Sir, yours, " To John Wilks, Esq., M.P. " J- Campbell." Mr. Campbell returned to enter upon his minis- terial duties at the Tabernacle, and found Mr. Mulley, at the request of the Trustees, ^^^^^^.^^ had pre-occupied the pulpit. Mr. Bate- irc.m , 1 ' n c Tabernacle man, the treasurer, who was m tavour ot ^^^^^^^ Mr. Campbell, conveyed a written message to the preacher who had usurped the place of the pastor, to the effect that the Rev. Mr. Campbell, the minister of the place, was there ready to perform his 380 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XIJI. usual duty ; and also tliat tlie Rev. Mr. Collison, who had engaged to preach that morning, had declined to fill the pulpit. Mr. Mulley read the paper, but returned no answer. Five minutes after, Mr. Bateman con- ducted Mr. Campbell to the foot of the pulpit stairs, that he might be permitted to preach, in the course of his duty, to his people ; but the door of the pulpit was locked, and the congregation, after this formal application, presently retired to worship in another place. This distressing ceremony was repeated every successive Sabbath. A long and wearisome correspondence filled the newspapers for many months, followed by a suit in Result of Chancery, and a most expensive arbitra- the contest, ^jgn, Until the case was finally decided in Mr. Campbell's favour, by the removal of the managers, and the creation of a new trust, securing the rights of the people, with the freedom and order of a Congregational Church ; the contest was, in every respect, unhappy in itself, but the result com- pensated in some degree the loss incurred. The minister of the Tabernacle, during the contention, was provided with an income by the support of Mr. Bateman, one of the managers, who held the office of treasurer, and the spirit of his ministry was pre- served by his vigilance in the pastoral care, and his unremitting diligence in the instruction given in the Sabbath schools and Bible classes. At the Weigh House, Mr. Binney made decided progress. The increase of the congregation rendered it necessary to erect a new chapeL At the laying of the foundation stone, October 16, CHAP. XIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 381 1834, he gave a remarkable address. The following passages may be taken in illustration of its tone and spirit : — " The Independents," he said, " were unquestionably the first who, as a body, advocated a generous and impartial toleration ; and if, when in power, they acted ia consistently by excepting ' prelacy and popery,' it should be remembered that it was in- consistent, that it was opposed to the wishes of their leaders, and that it was occasioned by the influence of other sects, since they never acted exclusively and alone. To them, under God, we are indebted as a nation, for whatever of civil or religious liberty we enjoy. We breathe thab liberty to-day. Our eccle- siastical ancestors, the founders and fathers of this „. .. p ,. Mr. Bin- Church, for nearly twenty years after its formation, ^^y^ could only meet for worship in comparative secrecy j Address at it was an object with them to be unobserved; ^ouse!'^^ their assembling together was illegal ; they were safe only by connivance, for they were deprived of civil security and protection. We rejoice in our altered circumstances. We exult in the thought that we can come forth and lay the foundation of our future sanctuary in the face of day, in the presence of num- bers, and under the canopy of heaven. We stand, in many respects, on an equal footing with the rest of the community ; and the day ^vill come when not a vestige of past oppression shall remain. The principles advocated by our ancestors have been gradually acquiring strength and ascendancy ; they are beginning to be universally recognized and diffused. The truth has gone forth, the fundamental and formidable truth— funda- mental, as the basis of religious freedom, formidable, from its simplicity, to the mightiest strongholds of religious intolerance; the truth has gone forth, that the civil magistrate is not appointed of God for the purpose of saving men's souls, hut of protecting each equally in saving his own ; that his province is not to preside over the Church, nor to modify, nor manage it ; that he is not required to legislate about her doctrines and ceremonies, to deter- mine respectively the true and the becoming ; but that leaving these to be settled by men, and by churches for themselves, he is to extend to all the shield of his protection, so long as they entrench not on the rights and Hberties of each other, and to 382 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP, XIII. exert for any the vigour of his arm, if it can be proved that it suffers in either from the usurpation of the rest. "In laying the foundation of a building for the use of a Church which has exi&ted for one hundred and seventy years, and which still flourishes in the profession and the maintenance of the essential truths which formed its cement and basis at first, it becomes us to rejoice in this extended period of vitality and vigour. We date our existence, as a distinct and organized society, separated from the secularized portion of the Church, by the mercy of God and the tyranny of the times, and directed to turn back to the spirituality and simplicity of apostolical order. We date this from the passing of the ' Act of Uniformity,' in the year 1662. The first three pastors of the Church were ministers ejected from the Establishment by that violent measure. We are reminded to-day, hy our present condition, of the melan- choly/ end of many kindred societies, whose rise was contemporary ivith our own. They originated at the same period, and pro- fessed, and gloried in the profession, of the same saving and sanctifying truths. The disappearance of many of them may be accounted for by causes altogether distinct from doctrinal defec- tion; of others, however, this loas the cause. They departed from the truth ; and then the God of truth departed from tliem. Error gradually crept in ; spirituality decayed ; a secular spirit toas first tolerated, and then caressed; coldness and formalism were diffused and propagated ; till at last, the dark icing of the angel of death cast its gloomy shadow over many a place where our fathers ivorshipped, and ' Extinct,' ' dead,' were written on the deserted and desecrated walls. " This fact is often urged against Dissent, held up as its curse and its condemnation ; adduced to demonstrate the danger of a system whicli has no legal security for the integrity of the faith and the uniformity of its ministers. I may be forgiven if I say that I believe it is well known that I have never attempted to conceal the evils of Dissent ; I think the evils of all sorts of Dissent ought to be exposed ; evils, by their nature, arc bad and debasing. The evils of Dissent are so. Whether it be tolerated, Dissent from the Church of England, or established Dissent from the Church of Christ, it is, therefore, wise in the supporters of both systems, to get rid, as speedily as possible, of any evils that may be peculiar to either. CHAP. XIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 383 " On proper occasions, I am never reluctant to admit the evils of my own system ; but, in the present instance, I must be permitted to contend that the death and hurial of anti-evangelical churches is not an evil, but a good. It is rather an excellence than an evil, quietly to inter what has ceased to live — ' to bury the dead out of our sight,' instead of embalming an inanimate form, or attempting, by some artificial excitement, to make a cold corpse appear to discharge the functions of a living man. The fact is (speaking without a figure) that all churches are necessarily exposed to the inroads of error. In spite of Acts of Parliament, creeds, and subscriptions, the Chv.rch of Englaiid is the most discordant and divided Christian deywmination in the land. The most opposite and conflicting opinions are professed and incul- cated by her sons^by men who have solemnly signed the very same identical declarations. The clergy are separated into parties ; the pretence that uniformity exists among them is a pretence, and nothing more, and every man knows it to be so, who has an eye to observe, or an ear to hear, or a head to think ; and every such man will admit the assertion, who has honesty to acknowledge what he cannot but perceive. And these dif- ferences of opinion are not confined to minor and insignificant matters, but, upon the showing, and according to the current language, of some of the clergy themselves, enter into the very essen- tials and fundamentals of the faith . Sence it is customary for them to speaJc of large tracts of the coimtnj in which there is only here and there a solitary clergyman ' who preaches the gospel,^ and this man is often represented as despised by his brethren, and persecuted by his neighbours, for his adherence to the truth ; hence, too, we hear of the ' gospel ' (the gospel, observe) being ' introduced ' into a place in which it had not been declared for thirty, or fifty, or a hundred years. By such facts, incessantly obtruded on our atten- tion, we are given to understand that anti-evangelical clergymen are an overwhelming majority. If any of an opposite character are elevated and dignified, the wonder is announced with triumph and trumpets, and we are thus left to the natural inference that in the high places of the Establishment spiritual religion is the exception and not the rule. Among the mass of the body it is said to be the same ; and yet these men are patronised and supported as the legal and authorised instructors of the people — the only persons whose orders are valid, and whose ministi^y is apostolical and 38-i CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XIII. who are therefore regarded with a bland sentiment of veneration and respect. Let this system, then, be contrasted with the history of anti-evangelical dissent. A minister of our order becomes a ' denier of fundamental doctrines ;' the consequence, is, that he is instantly discountenanced and proscribed ; he drags on for a while a heartless existence by the aid of some slender endow- ment ; one by one his attendants retire, till at length the sanctuary comes to look like a sepulchre, and is at last converted to some secular use ; while, in the meantime, the active and imperishable principles of our faith spring up under the cultiva- tion of other labourers, and flourish in new and multiplied churches. In the Establishment it is just the contrary. A sort of immortality is conferred on ignorance, imbecility, and error ; however dangerous and destructive the doctrines of the minister, he continues to be held up as the legal and legitimate guide of the flock, while the people, perishing and dying, have no power within their own parish to provide themselves with truth on their own principles. The church, though deserted and desolate, stands — stands as a building — the only authorized provision for instruction and worship, though it presents nothing but the monument and mockery of both. The principle of Dissent compels the evil to cure itself; the principle of the Establishment perpetuates and protects it. With us the faith flourishes, though the machinery decays ; with our brethren the machinery is pre- served at the expense of the faith. We rejoice this day that the faith of our fathers is among us in its integrity and vigour. We hope to leave it as an inheritance to our children, and we trust they will retain and transmit it inviolate to theirs ; but if not, wc rejoice in the reflection that the principles of our communion will confer upon others the liberty and the power, without waiting for the leave of civil or ecclesiastical superiors, to fill up the place of our degenerate descendants." In the address, as spoken by Mr. Binney on this occasion, there was not a word to which just excep- tion could be taken by any reHgious party whatever ; but when the document was printed, notes were added in confirmation of some points, and borne out by the testimony of many evangehcal clergymen, to show that the Establishment, as such, and not the CHAP. XIII.] CONGREGATrONAL HISTORY. 385 religious society witliiu it, destroyed more souls than it saved. The argument of the address was not touched ; no attempt was made to dispute the position main- tained ; but for the words contained in the Famous T , • n r • 1 • sentence prmted note an outcry was raised or mclig- in the nation and bitter resentment, re-echoed in ^°^®'- the publications of the Church of England through- out the land. Nothing could exceed the violence of the language employed in denunciation of " that man Binney." The address, in consequence, was in great demand, and the circulation was so rapid that it soon reached the " fifth edition." For years it was alleged that the words were spoken by Mr. Binney, by hundreds who never took the trouble to read the document for themselves. The odium heaped upon the Weigh House preacher was a sad disappointment to some of the Congregational ministers in London, and they did not conceal the mortification they felt in the sup- posed disgrace that would fall on the " Dissenting interest." At a meeting of ministers in the Congre- gational Library, good Mr. Hunt, of Brixton, is reported to have said, *' Mr. Binney has betrayed us. More than fifty clergymen have declared their refusal to shake hands with him." The loss on that account was undoubtedly on the side of the " fifty clergymen." Mr. Binney took the whole matter very quietly ; but it was time, in the last edition he intended to print, to ask the meaning of this general hubbub. Certainly, when he offered his clear explanation, his antagonists had little cause for self- congratulation. 25 386 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [ciIAP. XIII. In an Appendix (p. 37) to the fifth edition of the Weigh House Address, he said : — " To every Christian mind, it is unquestionably painful to mingle in controversy and engage in agitation. I can conceive of nothing sufficient to lead to the sacrifice, but such Mr. Bin- ^ sense of duty as shall make it imperative, and even Defence. i/mi! can never make it pleasant. To write, and speak, and act, in a manner that may give pain to many whom we respect ; to distui-b, perhaps, the freedom and harmony of private intercourse ; to be misjudged, misrepresented, calum- niated, shunned : all this must be expected, and should be prepared for by any who engage, in however humble a capacity, in the coming conflict of great principles. Posterity will reap the benefit of their personal sacrifice ; the clamour and the contest will be the prelude to a new state of harmony and order. The battle will end, at least ultimately, in the establishment of peace on such principles as shall render it permanent. To preserve our own ease, friendships, and reputation, at the expense of what we deem to be truth, is at once treason against God, and injustice to our country, our species, and our children. What should ive have been at this moment but the miserable victims of popery or idolatry, had not the Eeformers and the Apostles contended against the dominant establishments of their tifnes, each of them, doubtless, frequently applying to himself the melancholy excla- mation of the prophet, ' Woe is me, that my mother should have borne me a man of strife ! ' " But what will the battle be about ? and between whom will it be fought ? It will not be about any -particular plan of eccle- siastical reform : for, on whatever it may commence, it will come, I apprehend, to a struggle o)i the principle itself of an exclusive Establishment. It will not be between Churchmen and Dissenters ; but between both and the Legislature. No plan of Church reform will satisfy either party. If I were a Churchman, I should contend against any latitudinarian alterations, hy which the Establishment should be permitted to continue, but be made large enough to admit all other sects ; and, as a Dissenter, 1 should say, that I have nothing primarily to do with those improvements in the Articles or Offices of the Church, which her children may regard as important to themselves. On the first supposition, if I found the CHAP. XIII.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOliT. 387 Government about to adopt such alterations, I should beseech it rather to abandon us entirely, to give us up, to let us alone, to suffer us to become an Epiiscopal sect, with the power and liberty- possessed by others, of conducting our own affairs, of regulating our religious matters like religious men, independently of secular control or dictation ; and, as a Dissenter, I would plainly state, that such supposed alterations are not with us an immediate object, because they would not be to truth an immediate good. We wish the entire and absolute dissolution of the existing connection between Church and State ; the Establishment, as such, terminated the Episcopal community to become an Episcopal denomination, on a perfect equality with every other ; then, each of them may carry on its religious reforms for itself, or promote the improve- ment of the rest by reason and argument ; then, all may make such arrangements as they can conscientiously sanction, for the purpose of enjoying mutual communion, without the compromise of principles which they hold to be important. All sects stand in need of some religious reform — all may be brought nearer to what a church ought to be than any one of them is at present ; but this is their own concern — it is to be done by them as churches, and cannot be done /or them by any secular assembly. Each, if all ■were placed on a level, would exert an influence, direct or indirect, in promoting the purity and perfection of the rest ; and that one, which is now bound, and fettered, and enslaved, would be free to take full and efficient measures for its own. Still more, the question which is quite distinct from that of Establishments, of what kind and degree of aid a Government can and may render to religion, would be discussed with greater likelihood of agree- ment, when no particular denomination was exclusively patronized or intended to be so. " The dissoltUion then, of the existing anti- Christian ' Alliance ' between Church and State is the object at which Dissenters will aim, and aim at on serious, sacred, religious grounds ; identifying it with the honour of God, the peace of His Church, and the universal advantage of mankind. This, however much it may include, is that one thing, which, in the coming conflict, will be sought by them : that which, whatever else it may ultimately confer, shall at once and immediately secure from the Legislature, the extinction of compulsory payments to the Establishment, the opening of the universities to our youth, an 388 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. XIII. alteration in the law of marriage, and an equal right to the use of the national burying grounds, ' the place ' with many of us 'of our fathers ' sepulchres.' The battle, so much talked of in every Church publication which I have lately seen, will unquestion- ably come to this. Every pious and every patriotic man should feel that he is not permitted to be neutral. A judgment must be formed, a side taken, and every legitimate weapon appropriated and employed." The "British Critic " (an organ of the Oxford party) confessed to a certain liking for the minister at the Weigh House. " The author's name is Binney, ive i'ealhj know nut wJio T. Binney may he, but our readers will perceive that there is a good deal of strength and freedom in his sentiments, and they " British . . . . . . Critic " ^^^^ find, occasionally, no inconsiderable share of spirit and power in his manner of delivering them. Certainly, he is not polite, he does not mince matters ; but there are many things for which we like him. We like him for the vigorous idiomatic English of his style. We like him for his downrightness. We like him for the manly and straightforward determination with which he deals his blows. He does not keep us in doubt or in siispense : he tells us at once what we are to expect. Thousands speak in Mr. T. Binney. He appears to us the very impersonation of the genius of Dissent. We may be told of divisions among themselves : we may bo told of the distinction between the ancient and the modern Dissenters, between the Independents and Methodists ; but whatever be their differences, we verily believe that upon the question of Establishment or no Establish- ment they are agreed in their hearts ; and that tJiey agree with Mr. Binney. If not, let them state their disagreement, if not, let the Wesleyan Methodists, for instance, come out and separate themselves from the cause of which Mr. Binney is a champion ; they must now see what is wanted by another class of Dissenters which invites them to their pulpits, and let thein as plainly and unambiguously announce how far their designs and their wishes go. If they do not desire the destruction of the Established Church, Id them declare on what terms they are disposed to re-unite themselves with the Established Church. ' We pa/use for a reply. ^ " CHAP. XIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 389 The " battle " wliicli Mr. Binney predicted as at hand for some time had been waged, and now ex- tended through the whole line of Evangelical Non- conformity. The " U]iitarian controversy " separated parties that had heretofore acted in concert. Dr. Pye Smith's " Scriptural Testimony to co^ntrOTJisy the Messiah," Dr. Wardlaw's "Discourse ^^^JJ^' on the Socinian Controversy," and a pamphlet on the " Improved Version," by the Rev. Robert Halley, Avith other publications on the same topics had appeared, and the lines of demarcation were now more distinctly drawn — ^the tone of Non- conformist demands for religious equality was changed. Liberal Members of Parliament were given to understand that they could acquiesce in no legislative measure opposed to their deep and sacred convictions. Petitions for the removal of Dissenters' grievances were sent to the House of Commons from all parts of the country ; and, for the first time in memorials, adopted at public meetings in Manchester, Glasgow, and other large towns, prominence was given to the question of Disestablishment. Whig statesmen were embarrassed by a course of agitation no longer regulated by political ex- pediency, and some of them gave expression to their surprise and mortification. The Lord Chancellor Brougham, who appeared before a Committee of the House of Commons appointed to consider the state of the law, attributed the immorality in the lower orders in part to religious tracts. " Publications are now propagated," tie said, " and are read by great numbers, teaching them that the most infamous of 300 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [OHAP. XIII. characters — a man, for instance, wlio is about to be executed , , for the foulest murder, and from the moment he Chancellor becomes converted to some spiritual doctrine, is J3roughara s g^fe from retribution in another world — that imputation. . , . i -n i i ij a man commit murder, and will only become a fanatic, he is in acceptance with Heaven, and his murder is forgiven him. I cannot conceive a more pernicious doctrine." In reply to tins rash statement, Dr. Pye Smith said : — " Scarcely less pernicious is the imputation of such a doctrine (which it is pretty evident was in the Chancellor's mind) to the religious books and tracts which, not merely with pious intentions, but with an enlightened regard to the sobriety of Reply of scriptural truth, have been composed by many good Dr. Pye men, both Churchmen and Dissenters, and which, ""^ ^' happily for the intei'ests of religion and good morals, are largely circulated throughout our country. They must have been looked into with a very blameable carelessness, or in a determined spirit of perversion, before they could have been conceived to speak the sentiment thus ascribed to them — a sentiment which might, by employing a similar unfairness of con- struction, be drawn from many parts of Holy Scripture itself. " Our holding the belief of any truths, whatever, to be necessary to salvation, is onli/ because those have a vital power, that they are the life and nourishment of the soul, that they strike deep into the heart, and that they give a character to the whole man. Faith has no value which lies only in the intellect," In proof that Evangelical truth has no sncli effect as that attributed to its influence, Dr. Pye Smith, cited the remarkable testimony of Dr. Chal- mers, in his farewell address to the inhabitants of Kilmany, in which he showed the utter failure of his ethical discourses to effect a moral improvement in his parishioners, and the manifest and permanent change when he sought to convince them of sin, and pointed them to the atonement of Christ. CHAP. XIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 391 Notwithstanding tliis earnest advocacy of Evan- gelical truth against all antagonists, and the estab- lishment of the Congregational Lecture, for the exposition and defence of Christian doctrine, Evan- gehcal clergymen insisted that the objections of Congregational ministers to a Church Establish- ment arose from their collusion with Unitarianism. Dr. Pye Smith, in reply to Dr. Samuel Lee, explained their relative position and course of action. "At the time of the Bartholomew ejectment the Presby- terian denomination was the most numerous ; Dr. Lee and but, in sad consequence of a gradual declining ^^^^^ from the faith of its fathers, from about the year 1720, it has now become the least so ; indeed, I must profess my persuasion, that it is really extinct ; for the Unitarian body who wear the name, have long renounced everything in doctrine and church discipline which formed the characteristic distinction of their predecessors. Of necessii.y they must be taken into the census of the whole class of Protestant Dissenters ; and to their general respectability as gentlemen, men of letters and science, and patriots of high and unsullied integrity, I feel it an honour to bear testimony. In the intercourse of Government with the general body of the London Dissenting ministers, which has been necessary and frequent under all administrations since the resolution, this denomination has generally been prominent, purely in consequence of its leading members being more in the habit of conducting parliamentary and court affairs, and of holding inter- course with public men. Government can recognize us only as Dissenting ministers; it descends not to notice our internal distinctions. Hence, to those who look not beyond the surface, the appearance has been presented of a union of Orthodox Dissenters with Arians and Socinians, and copious abuse has been poured upon us in some of the periodical publications of the day. Our union with the Unitarians is purely civil and secular." This appearance of unity of sentiment between 392 CONGRErxATIONAL HIRTOKY. [OHAP. XITT. the parties acting together in the three denomina- tions during these discussions, led to the Separation -, . r, o ^ ^ l -\' i.' l oi Unita- desire for a peaceiui but distinct separa- the"Three ^^^^- '^^^ qucstiou had been agitated from Denomina- \^q time of the acccssiou of WilHam IV. to fioiis. the throne, when the address was read by the Rev. R. Aspland, a Unitarian minister ; and Dr. Rees, a reputed Arian, was presented as secretary to the denominations, to " kiss hands." The final decision in the suit of Lady Hewley's Charities, by which the property in litigation was transferred from the Unitarian Trustees to an Orthodox Trust, increased the difficulty of the opposing parties in acting- for the future in combination. On the question of Church Establishments, evan- gelical leaders were ranged in direct opposition. Controversy Rcv. Johii Augcll Jamcs and Dr. Redford E^tabUsh-' came prominently forward, with others, in ments. vindication of Dissent. Dr. McNeile and Dr. Chalmers appeared with many subordinate com- batants in defence of Establishments. Mr. James and his coadjutors were careful in their stronsrest statements on the evils of Estab- lishment, to temper them with charity. " Although," said Mr. James, " its basis is unsound, its superstructure is magnificent, its scriptural doctrines are the themes with which Luther, and Cranmer, and Knox llr^Jaines. assailed the Papacy, and eflected the Reformation; its divines have covei'ed its altars with works more precious than the finest gold of the sanctuary of Israel; its literature is the boast and glory of the civilized world; its armoury is filled with weapons of ethereal temper, which its hosts have wielded, and with the spoils they have won in the conflict with infidelity, popery, and heresy ; its martyrology is CHAP. XIII.] CONGEEGATTONAL HISTORY. . 393 emblazoned with names dear and sacred to every Protestant, and at the present moment are to be heard from many hundreds of its pulpits truths, at the sound of which, accompanied as they are by the life-giving power of the quickening spirit, the dead in trespasses and sins are starting into life, and exhibiting a people made willing in the day of His power, which shall be as the dew of the morning. All this, I for one most willingly concede, and only regret that so much excellence should be united with what I must be allowed to call, and Churchmen have taught as to call, so much corruption. And should the Church be destined to fall, may its humiliation never be effected by the rude hands of the sons of anarchy, nor by the violence of political con- vulsions, nor by the confederacies of scheming speculators, but by the diffusion of those mild and holy principles of Christian truth, meekness, and love, lohich shall conduct its members bach to the simplicity of primitive times, ivhen believers were united upon the ground of voluntary consent, and were of one mind and one heart ; and may its requiem be sung, not by the voices and amidst the orgies of a ivide-spread and triumphant infidelity, but by a Christian nation, enlightened to perceive by correct reasoning, and so far sanctified as to feel by satisfactory experience, that the Bible and the Bible alone, without the aid of the civil magistrate, or the support of the secular arm, is sufficient to sustain the Church of Christ amidst all its difficulties, and to conduct it to final victory over all its foes. As Dissenters, we must be candid as well as conscientious. Let us avoid tbat bigotry in ourselves which we condemn in others, especially let us delight and bless God for the increasing piety of the Church of England, and feel it our duty as well as our happiness, to enter into all those religious associations which the public institutions of the present day afford us for co-operation with those who differ from us on these minor points. Let us dissent where we must, and unite when we can. Let us recognize piety whenever we find it, not allow our principles as Dissenters to chill the ardour of our emotions as Christians. If we cannot have uniformity of order, let us have unity of spirit, and recollect it is better to be of one heart than even in all things to be of one mind." Mr. Binney manifested equal candour in a dis- course on conscientious Nonconformity. After 394 CONGREGATIONAL ETSTORY. [OHVP. XIII. describing in the most glowing terms the attrac- tions of the Church of England and the Mr. Bin- , p i i ney'sCon- supcrior advantages oi a clergyman, lie nTrj'and^' examined the terms of subscription and Charity. ^^^^ rcstrictions imposed by the Ordination Service, and asks : — " What am I to do ? I see these things ; I feel them. I cannot advance to the act of subscription as if it were a thing that meant nothing. Shameless enormities flow from this. It is both in itself an act of wickedness, and necessarily the parent of many more. To promise to do what I never purpose doin to 500, on this occasion, however, 2 were neuter, 12 voted against him, and 130 for him. After con- siderable deliberation, he accepted the call, and entered upon his regular labours in July, 1839." In prospect, it seemed an arduous undertaking, but combining faith with marvellous energy, Dr. Halley struck out for himself a ministerial course in Manchester, more, perhaps, on the plane of the mass of the community. In a letter to the Rev. Alger- CHAP. XIV.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 429 non Wells, dated Plymouth Grove, Manchester, 2 1st September, 1839, he says : — " Yoa will be pleased to hear of the prospect of comfort and success which seems before me in Manchester. My unbelieving fears and anxieties are mercifully removed ; the cor- diality of the people and increase of the congrega- ot^Sr'^Hal- tion, are to me quite unexpected. I am told by the lej iu liis deacons it is impossible to accommodate the parties ^^"^ P°^^' who are making applications for seats. Still this may be only a little excitement of novelty, to be succeeded by a falling away ; or if it prove permanent, I may grow vain and unfaithful. Dear brother, pray for me, I entreat you, do. My position is awfully critical and important ; I feel it deeply, often painfully. One thing I will venture to say, my own heart is better for my comiog to Manchester, at least, I hope so." Wanting in spontaneity in the pulpit. Dr. Halley kept up his position by great labour. After he had been in Manchester two years, he says in a letter to Mr. Blackburn : — " Although I have every sort of encouragement, yet Friday and Saturday are most dreadful days to my flesh. What can this mean ? I have never heard of any other minister so affected. I dread no kind of mental labour but composition, and that is intolerable. Did you ever weep away the Saturday morning because you could think of nothing to write, or ever hear of any one else doing so ? " While Dr. Raffles was sitting at one of the Com- mittee meetings of the intended Lancashire College, on the 19th of February, 1840, he received the startling intelligence that his chapel Geor'^e was utterly destroyed by fire. But a short nu^^^i time before, at his suggestion, the insur- ance of the building had been completed Still the loss was serious. It proved, however, the occasion 430 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOEY. [OHAP. XIV. of the practical manifestation of sympathy from all sections of the religious community. Temporary accommodation in other chapels was freely offered to Dr. Raffles and his congregation, and funds were speedily obtained for the erection of a new and more commodious place of worship. At the opening ser- vices on the 21st October, Dr. Raffles was sur- rounded by his friends and ministerial brethren, and gave expression to his sentiments at the dinner with the heartiness that characterized his speeches on such occasions : — " Appropriate to the peculiar circumstance to whicli I refer, then there is my excellent friend and coadjutor, in this town, my pattern in all good, and great, and excellent works, tbe Rev. John Kelly, great is his honour. He stands cext but one to the Qaeen. And then there comes to close the Speech of solemnities of the day, the Rev. James Parsons, of Dr. rCaiu''8. . York. I mean no disparagement to the Archbishop of York, when I say that the diocese of Rev. Mr. Parsons is even more extensive than that over which the Archbishop pre- sides. If any one were to ask me, ' Is that Mr. Parsons, of York ? ' I fchould say, ' No, it is the Rev. Mr. Parsons, of Great Britain and Ireland.' The company must now pardon me if I pass by the service of the coming Sabbath morning " (conducted by Dr. Raffles) " land at once on the evening, and mention the name of an amiable, talented, and accomplished writer, a most powerful and efficient reasoner, and a most persuasive preacher, the Rev. Dr. Harris, known to all this world, and I believe in the upper world, as the author of ' Mammon,' the author of Mammon ! there is, as applied to him, something ludicrous in the term. The destroyer of Mammon would be the more fitting designation for my reverend friend. I am glad that the Rev. Dr. HaiT-is is present on the occasion ; it is only fit and proper that he should be here, for— and you must forgive this boast — if I have ever witnessed the extinction of Mammon, it was in the bosom of my own people. Was it a love of Mamracn •which reared the edifice in which we are now assembled ? Was CHAP. XIV.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 431 it a love of Mammon whicli has enabled them to erect this temple, leaving them only encumbered with a debt which is no encumbrance ? Then 'the last, but not the least! ' I will not say to whom Milton referred in these words, comes ray esteemed and beloved friend, the Rev. Dr. Hallet, the successor of my beloved and now-sainted friend, the Rev. Dr. McAll, and if I have one ground of lamentation in my theme, it is that that beloved and sainted individual is not present. Oh with what delight would I have welcomed him had he been living ? And how would his bright and beaming countenance have glowed this day, with intelligence, and affection, and love ; and how would he have fascinated and charmed, and riveted us by some of his transcendent eloquence ! But he is present, his spirit is mingling with us, he is bending from his throne of glory, and rejoicing in our joy this day. But let us do honour to his successor, the worthy successor of so great a man, whose labours have been crowned with distinguished success, and who is gaining favour and increased usefulness in the midst of the great community to which he, at length, by the providence of God, has been sent, and where, I trust, he will spend the residue of his days." CHAPTER XV. Having occupied so mucli space with biographical notices of the more prominent and influential leaders of the period under review, we must now take a wider range of observation, and leaving our insular position, try to make a circuit of the colonies.* The Colonial Congrcgationalists were late in entering Missions. Q^ ^i^ig ^e\d of missionary operations, and British emigrants were long left by all parties des- titute of adequate means of religious instruction. We have, in consequence, no proper records to aid us in the attempt to trace the footsteps of the earnest pioneers of the gospel in the distant and almost forlorn settlements. A. simple outline is all that can be expected under the circumstances. In St. John's, Newfoundland, a Congrega- tional Church was formed, in the closing quar- ter of the last century. The vicissi- St. John's, p 1 • • • /^^ • 1 • CI -J. Newfound- tudcs ot this mtercstmg Christian bociety, we learn from the following simple statement : — "In 1770, a house was hired for worship, in which Mr. Jones, then in the Artillery Company stationed here, presided. About 1775, Mr. Jones obtained his discharge, and visited England, * Sources of informatiou— "Canadian Independent," original correspon- dence ; Colouial Mi»8iouar_) Society's Reports, etc. CHAP. XV.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 433 where he was kindly received by the Rev. Christopher Mends, and other friends, who was regularly ordained to the ministry, and returned to his church. In 1790, a place of worship was erected, in which he ministered until his death, in 1800 ; during his ministry he had much opposition to contend with. The church records at that time show great determination and per- severance. After Mr. Jones's death, the pastors of the church were the Eev. Rutton Morris, John Hillyard, and Edmund Violett. In 1811 the church was enlarged, and about that period Mr. Violett left for England, intending to return the following spring, but the vessel in which he embarked, bound for Liverpool, was lost at the Isle of Man, and all on board perished. This was a great calamity to the church. Mr. Violett was so much respected by the community at large, and so en- deared to his own people. After him the Rev. John Sanderson and William .Tones Hyde, respectively, ministered to the church ; then the Rev. James Sabine took its oversight. He was only here a short time when two large fires occurred in this place, in the month of November, 1817 ; this so disconcerted him, that as S0071 as he could he emigrated to America, and a large number of the members of the church and congregation accompanied him. After a considerable delay we next had the Rev. Mr. Smett, who only remained in the colony about eighteen months, and proved a failure. We next had the Rev. D. 8. Ward, who remained with us until his death ; whose ministry extended above twenty years, and who set on foot the erection of our present place of worship." The interests of this church were watched over by the Hackney Trust. In a letter to the Rev. G. Colli son, dated 16th December, 1830, Mr. Ward says : — " Supposing from what has passed, that you would naturally expect to hear something about me and my prospects, I think it advisable to send you a line. You very kindly ex- pressed a feeling for me in my continued and jj^j. ^^g^YA necessarily unremitting labours in this town, to to Mr. which I am cheerfully and encouragingly devoted, but the weight of which I find almost too much for my powers of body and mind, although possessing a constitution originally 28 434 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XV. very good. I may indeed say that my labours increase upon me, the sphere for exertion enlarges ; but I thank God the almost un- remitting affliction in my head has been greatly abated by the use of the saddle, which for a few months past I have adopted. You very kindly proposed some relief for me. I felt your kind- ness. I thanked you much in my own mind ; I was disposed to avail myself of the assistance oiFered, which I neither expected nor deserved. I did entertain sanguine hopes of seeing home, and visiting my esteemed tutor and friend in 1831, but my prospect is quite defeated, at least for the present. I cannot, I dare not leave my charge under present circumstances. We have come in aiKong us a subtle, designincj, and an avoved enemy, Just hot from the Lord Bishop of Nova Scotia, hut originally from London — a Mr. Wix, made an archdeacon. He is endeavouring to make no small stir in the city. He preaches much, and deals out with a most unsparing hand his censures and anathemas upon poor Nonconformists. He has opened an evening lecture, as a reason for which he assigns the large attendance in our Dissenting places ; he has commenced Sunday-school keeping (in person), and has been very busy among our children. Cunning and plausible, ho has of course drawn away some from us and the Methodists, on which account it behoves me to watch and to work. I have indeed, nothing seriously to fear from him. Weak as I am, I feel quite competent (by the grace of God) to com- pete with him in this community. And I believe he knows it. Still I am persuaded you would say to me, ' Leave not yet, go on.' We have, of course, lost some few persons (professedly church people) but not many. Our congregations are very encouraging. Our people affectionate and unanimous. One and another is coming forward to join our communion, and our pecu- niary support is quite sufficient for all our present necessities. Earnestly as I long for home, and much as I should enjoy a little relief from now nearly seven years' hard and unremitting labour, by availing myself of your great kindness, I iind I must wait the results of what is before me a little longer, before I can indulge such a hope. And I trust I can add I do so with per- fect submission to His wise disposal, whose, I hope I am, and whom I willingly serve in the gospel. Your time, my dear sir, is I know, fully occupied ; otherwise, to hear from you would probably both strengthen and encourage. Hoio much viore could CHAP. XV.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 435 we have your presence for a season. It is now considered no for- midable thing to cross the Atlantic to St. John's. It is usually accomplished in the space of from sixteen to twenty days. Could you manage a summer's excursion, we would gladly pro- cure a most comfortable conveyance to and from (the port). You would do us much good, and would find society here quite as good, intelligent, and respectable, as w most places at home, and much better than in many. "And now, my dear sir, I must put you in mind of your kind promise of a bell, now much more needed than ever. Mr. Bulley, or Mr. Job, of Liverpool, would willingly give it a free conveyance. Whenever you are pleased to forward it, a line to Lieutenant Rogers, to the care of Calway and Sons, Linen- drapers, Tooley Street, No. 119, will, I am sure, meet with kind attention." The prospect of a "comfortable conveyance" and " good society," did not tempt Mr. Collison to take the proposed summer's excursion. The claims of the students at Hackney, no doubt, kept him at home. From a letter dated Halifax, February 29th, 1832, addressed to Mr. Roger Lee, of Clapham, we infer that civilization in Halifax, Nova Halifax, Scotia, was not quite so much advanced as Nova in the fisheries of Newfoundland. A Theological and Literary Institution was formed by the Baptists at Horton, near Halifax, in 1831, open to other denominations who might be disposed to avail themselves of its advantages. In their appeal for support, the promoters of its objects state : — " Young men are frequently found among the settlers used to their habits of living, and qualified, if any can be, to subsist on the scanty allowance to be furnished by the people, who desire to preach the gospel, and to obtain some previous mental improvement. 436 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XV. " Books," says the correspondent of Mr. Lee, *' are indis- pensable to our undertaking, and there are no opportunities here to procure them at a very cheap rate, such as the numerous stalls in London, and elsewhere in Great Britain, can afford." Mr. Lee sent a good supply by the brig Catherine^ but after anxiously waiting fifty days for the arrival of the vessel, the Principal of the Institution wrote under the apprehension of the loss of the expected treasure. His fears, however, were removed by the safe landing of the literary cargo. Young preachers, supporting themselves by manual labour, came to the Institution for a few more lessons, when they had saved a sum sufficient to meet their expenses; but the outlandish people caused j\qw difficulties, by raising objections to " human learn- ing," and perverted the Scripture, interpreting the "foolishness of preaching" as the "preaching of foolishness." Nova Scotia was sadly in the rear at that time. At the invitation of Governor Lawrence, a company of settlers came from Sandwich, in Massa- chusetts, to Chebogue, in Nova Scotia, ^ °^"^' on the 9lh of June, 1761. Many of their names are now well known in the vicinity — Pinckney, Frost, Cook, Robins, Ellis, King, Nickerson, Hilton, Trask, Clements, Scott, and others. In the year 1766 a building was erected for worship, and in December, 1767, a Congregational Church was organized. Mr. Frost, one of their own number, was chosen pastor, four of the brethren laying their hands on him in ordination. He was succeeded, in 1770, by Mr. Jonathan Scott. In 1781, Mr. Henry Alline, a "new light" from New CHAP. XV.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOllY. 437 England, arrived in Cliebogue, and caused great excitement and division, which seems to have become chronic under a succession of ministers, until the people were unable to obtain a Congre- gational minister, and accepted the services of Mr. Ross, a Presbyterian, who tried, but with imperfect success, to reduce them to his form of church government. LivEEPOOL, in Nova Scotia, was selected by New England people, in 1760, who invited Israel Cheevers to become their pastor. He preached in Liverpool. private dwellings, in the school-house, and other places, until a chapel was erected in 1776 — now known as " Old Zion " — by joint proprietors, some of whom became Methodists, and claimed the use of the building for worship according to their own views. The Congregationalists retired, but ultimately purchased the share of the Methodists, and returned to " Old Zion." Henry Alline was invited to stir up the people, who had been " frozen together " under the preaching of Mr. Cheevers. Alline' s converts multiplied rapidly, but their religion was of a very slender quality. Contention arose, and great disorder. Mr. Cheevers retired, and in August, 1782, Mr. Jonathan Scott, of Chebogue, was earnestly invited to come over and help them, but he could not leave his flock. Mr. Alline, in 1783, became pastor, but stayed only a short time. At Sheffield, in the township of Mangerville, on the river St. John, New Brunswick, a settlement was formed by emigrants from New Eng- Mangerviiie, land, who estabhshed worship in 1762. Sheffield. Seth Noble, their minister at the time of the Ameri- 438 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY, [CEAP. XV. can revolutioD, urged the people to leave the province and return to New England. But they said in reply : — " Are we to throw away tlie fruit of many years' prayerful industry, and leave, with precipitation, the place where God in His providence hath smiled upon us both in our spiritual and temporal affairs, and, destitute of support, cast ourselves into a place where the necessaries of life are hardly to be obtained, unless we could find a place where vice and immorality did not thrive, or, at least, where vital piety did not flourish more than here ? " Mr. Alline visited Mangerville in May, 1779, causing great agitation, which led to the formation of a second church. Mr. Scott was entreated, on the 17th of June, 1779, to come for a short time to Mangerville, but he did not accede to their request. A second letter was addressed — " To the Rev. Pastor and brethren of the Church of Christ at Yarmouth, in Nova Scotia. The Church in Mangerville, or River St. John, sendeth greeting, " Friends and Brethren, — We are sorry to acquaint you that, after a manifestation of God's goodness by a visible out- pouring of His Spirit in this place, there hath divisions and contentions arisen among us, issuing to an open separation, and setting up an Independent Church on a different system. In this situation, and being at present without a pastor and teacher, we lately wrote to Mr. Scott, desiring a visit from him, hoping that his presence might be attended with a blessing. We again renew our request, and earnestly hope that you will so far sympathise with us as not to deny our petition, especially when you may reasonably think that the cause of Christ suffers. Wishing grace, mercy, and peace may attend you, we subscribe ourselves your friends and brethren, "Isaac Peelet, Benjamin Brown, Moses Cobuen, Jonathan BuKPEB, Daniel Jewett, Jacob Nevers, Jacob Baeker, Humphrey Pickaed, Peter Mooers, Daniel Palmer." CHAP. XV.] CONGREOxATIONAL HISTORY. 439 A similar application was made to Mr. Scott from a church at Cornwallis, divided by the restless Alline, who renewed his visit to Mangerville in 1780 for six or seven months, and returned again once or twice, previous to his death in 1784. There appeared to be some little improvement in 1789, during the ministry of Mr. James, but, from defection in his character, it was deemed necessary to enter into a serious investigation of charges made against him. On the Sabbath preceding the meeting of the church, Mr. James made an announcement to his hearers to this effect : — "After many diligent inquiries, I am now frilly convinced that it is my duty, and I mean to throw myself into the Church of England, the most indulgent and least censorious Church in the world, the Church in which 1 first drew my breath." Mr. James intimated that he would perform divine service, according to the rites of the Church of England, " in that building of which he had possession." Mr. Perley, in the name of the Congregation- alists, demanded of Mr. James possession of the chapel. In a letter to ]\[r. James, dated " Manger- ville, 4th May, 1792," he says :— " If you were really inclined to become a minister of the Established Church, and others were inclined to have you so, go and prosper. Lay your foundation in truth and justice, and build up a church, and in doing so, I would bid you God speed. The Church has many flocks and herds ; the Dissenters have but this little ewe lamb. Tou will say the Dissenters will be paid the value of their improvements, and so no harm done ; but what if they should tell you those things were not intended for mer- chandise, why, then, they must be taken by force." 440 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XV. Difficulties increased, and the people were nnable to cope with them. In 1811, Rev. Duncan Dunbar was sent out by the London Missionary Society, but he did not continue long. In their correspondence with the Directors, tlie people strongly urged that a society should be formed specially for the colonies, to protect the weak and defenceless, and secure a permanent position for the ministers sent out. The time, however, for this was not yet come. At Stanstead, in East Canada, a township bor- dering on the State of Vermont, a few Congrega- -,, , , tionalist settlers from New Eno^land met for Stanstead, _ _ o East worship in the log barn of Captain Israel Canada. "^ . ° ^ W ood ; m number, ten adults, and as many children. This small company was visited at inter- vals by ministers from the United States. When they had no minister, the meetings were conducted by the professing Christians present. A church was formed in 1816, supplied by various preachers in Vermont, and in 1817 the Rev. Thaddeus Osgood became their pastor. As an ordained evangelist, he had travelled the entire circuit of the United States, and the greater part of Canada, and the Lower Provinces, mostly on horseback, to preach as he found opportunity, and to organize Sabbath schools. The Rev. A. J. Parker supplied the church in 1828. At SouTiiwoLD, in Ontario (Canada West), a Southwdid, church was planted when the surrounding Ontario. region was covered with an immense forest, and before the formation of public highways. In 1817, Joseph Silcox (born in Corsley, in Somersetshire, 1789), a member of Zion Church, at CHAP. XV.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 441 Frome, then under the pastoral care of the Rev. Timothy East, emigrated to Canada in 183 7, and with some others, was attracted to the fertile lands of the Talbot Settlements, where the Joseph Sii- Hon. Col. Talbot was acting as an agent for ^°^' ^^^'^• the Government, and as an inducement to settlers, was giving out the forest land of this beautiful country in two hundred acre lots to actual settlers, the only condition being that they performed " settlement duties," i.e., cleared and fenced a certain portion, and put up a log-house. In the settlement called " North Branch of Talbot Road," Mr. Silcox came, with his friends. " Roughing it in the bush," sleep- ing on the bark of a tree, and having to go about sixty miles to the nearest mill. His education being in advance of the other settlers, he was employed for some six months as a school teacher, boarding among the people, who were composed of different religious views. About the year 1819, they formed themselves into a religious society, and Mr. Silcox was set apart to the pastoral office, by a Mr. Philips and a Mr. Culver. The church, consisting of fifty-two members, was scattered in three townships with a preaching station in each, where service was held in a log-house or barn. In the latter part of 1821, Mr. Silcox, after spending four years in these back woods, returned to his native land for his wife and children, expecting to bring them to the house he had provided in Canada. He remained, however, in England to instruct his children, preaching on Sabbaths in his native village. On his return he found this " Church in the wilderness " scattered ; but with patience and diligence they were again 442 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XV. gathered, again to be dispersed in the time of the rebellion. In the absence of teachers of higher attainments the early settlers in Canada were glad to receive the gospel from men who had felt its power, though they had not been trained in theological academies. From a letter addressed to Mr. James Leslie, of Toronto, without date, but from internal evidence pointing to the year 1832, we learn the course they were led to adopt. " Deab Brother in Christ, — Perhaps you will be surprised at the liberty we take in addressing you as we are unknown to you by face, but hearing that you were acquainted Mr. Climie with your Bible, and knowing that you subscribed to Mr. largely toward the erection of our meeting-house, and hearing of your love to the poor friends of the Lord Jesus, we were encouraged by these circumstances to lay our case before you for your consideration and advice. We would have written you long before this time, but Mr. Paul thought it was best to wait till he introduced the subject to you in person, and he would then communicate with us ; but as we have waited in suspense and never received a letter from him yet, and hearing that he is in Essa, we now think it sinful to delay any longer, and therefore we now proceed to ask advice from every quarter that we think we can obtain it in a scriptural manner, in order to assist us in procuring the ordinances as Christ instituted them in all their primitive glory and excellence j and in order that you may be the better acquainted with our situation, we will now proceed to give you a short narration of facts concern- ing the rise and progress of the Church of Inuisfil. " Three years ago one of us, who now leads our worship, came to this place, and from the acquaintance that some of the neigh- bours had with him in the place that they last moved from, they wished him to commence a meeting on the first day of the week and lead the worship, which accordingly he did. After some time some gave evidence of knowing, to say the least, more than ever they had done before, and some who had a profession pi*eviously in the Presbyterian connection, began to CHAP. XV.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 443 call in question the foundation they were building on formerly. The way our leader led the meeting was in substance as follows : He sang praises, prayed, and read a chapter in the Old and another in the New Testament, and then wished the people to make remarks or ask questions on some of the portions read, but as all universally declined, he gave a few words of exhorta- tion. From this time he instructed us regularly, as there was no other instruction in the township at the time, except by Arians, and some of those who had been led astray by them, now attended the meeting led by our leader, and maintained the faith they once laboured to destroy. About this time the Arian teachers took their leave of Innisfil, and have never preached here since. Shortly after this a Presbyterian, a farmer, arrived here from Ireland, who gave evidence of loving ihe Lord Jesus, who attended the meetings ; and as there were now four males •with whom our leader could hold fellowship, he called on them in turn to pray in the meeting. Oar leader then proposed that if there were any way that could be devised for further edification it ought to be done, upon which our friend from Ireland proposed that there should be a verse given out to be studied through the week, and each to make remarks on it as he was ablci Accord- ingly after our leader's discourse was over some of us made remarks as scripturally as we could — our course of mstruction for some time was chiefly taken up tvith considering what the Bible told people in such a situation as we were in to do. " In this state of things we heard of Mr. Merrifield being in Toronto ; those of us who embraced the Independent principles were truly thankful, and looked on it as an opening in Providence for the further enjoying of the Lord's ordinance which He instituted for the comfort and edification of His body. Accord- ingly one of us was delegated to wait on Mr. Merrifield with a letter, to make known our situation, and ask his advice and assistance. Our delegate was received by Mr, Merrifield and the brethren in the house with him, in a truly Christian manner ; he said he was glad to hear such accounts, but at the same time he said that he could not advise at present, as he was expecting letters daily from England that might present encouragement difierent from the then present aspect of things. He approved of the manner we were conducting things, and advised us to go on as we were doing, and as soon as he received letters from 444 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XV. England he would let us know, or likely visit us. xVceordingly we waited till some time in the spring, when a letter came from Mr. Merrifield telling us of Mr. Paul, at the same time recom- mending him to us, and added that he intended visiting us in a few weeks, and if Mr. Paul suited us, and he was pleased to stay* we might have him ordained. Our leader, on the receipt of the letter, was delegated to go to Toronto, when he made known our inability to support a minister ourselves, as we were both poor and few in number, but added that if Mr. Paul was able to keep a school through the week we might be able to support him in connection with the school wages. Accordingly it was under" stood that if Mr. Paul's health recovered he should teach in order to assist in supporting himself. A subscription was then set on foot in Toronto and Innisfil in order to raise money to build a house to answer the purpose of a school and meeting- house ; the house has since been going on, but Mr. Paul's health never recovered to make him of much use to Innisfil, as all the instruction that he could render was only a little on the first day of the week, and sometimes his health was in such a state that he even could not give us a discourse. " We ought to have mentioned before this that when our delegate waited on Mr. Merrifield with our first letter, he told him the way that we conducted our meeting, with which Mr. Meirifield was well satisfied ; he likewise took the liberty of asking him if he did not think that we ought to get our leader ordained over us. He replied that if the brethren wished it, and he was satisfied with our leader's qualifications, that he would have no objections to ordain him over us, but added that he expected some missionaries from England shortly, and if any of them could be got to take the oversight of our church, that he would consider it preferable to one of ourselves, as he could give himself wholly to the ministry, and also that he was expecting letters daily from England, and as soon as he received word he would render us any assistance that he could. What followed was what we have already stated concerning Mr. Paul. " Last winter Mr. Merrifield visited us, when a church was formed consisting of six. We then enjoyed the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, and baptism to such of us as required it, and he gave us to know that he would ordain Mr. Paul over us if we pleased, but Mr. Paul being still weakly we thought he was CHAP. XV.] CONGEE GATIONAL HISTOEY. 445 unable for the pastoral care, and he, on the other hand, saw no way of being supported without being a burden to us more than we were able to bear, as no one gave any assistance toward his support while he stopped with us, except our friend from Ireland, who gave two or three shillings worth of produae a week or two 'before Mr. Paul left us. The reason, I suppose, that so little was done for Mr. Paul was that there came a Presbyterian to the place, and with their usual apparatus of subscription lists, etc., the people had signed upwards of ten pounds, so that there was nothing left for such as sought them and not theirs. Mr. Paul still being averse to being ordained over us in the then state of things, we told him that what we had been doing for him was not worth the name of support, but little as it was we were unable to continue it as our circumstances were very circumscribed. He said he tvell knew that, and that we had done more for him than toe were able to hear, and that it would be wrong for us to do for him what we had been doing, and added that he could not be of much use to Canada unless his health should recover, and thought he should go to Scotland ; but before he left us he seemed by his prayers and otherwise to be more interested in our welfare as a Church than ever he had been, and told us that he thought we ought to get one of ourselves ordained. We told him that brought us back to the ground that we stood on when we first talked to Mr. Merrifield, and that we had been all this time in suspense ; and also that he was now well acquainted with the qualifica- tions of our male members, and if he judged any of us fitting for the office of elder, that we hoped he would use his influence in Toronto in our behalf, and write us to let us know the result. After we were formed into a Church, we thought unanimously that it was the duty of the male members to attend to the duty of exhortation. Accordingly, after Mr. Paul was through with his discourse, he called on the brethren to exhort, and in Mr. Paul's absence our leader gave a discourse, and then called on the brethren to exhort. In this way we conducted things when Mr. Paul was with us, and in this way we still continue. ******** " Tou will see by this letter that our design of writing you at this time is in order that we may enjoy your advice how 446 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XV. we may glorify God — we wish greatly to enjoy the ordinances in all their primitive glory, and in order to attain them we wish to use primitive means. Eemeraber us at a throne of grace. If you could direct some Christian ordained brother to visit us, and set in order the things that are wanting, you would greatly add to our comfort and to the establishing of the cause of the Lord amongst us. Hoping that you will write us as soon as possible, I subscribe myself, iti the name and behalf of the Church of Innishl, " Your brother in Christ, "John Climie." This was truly " a day of small things." But all honour to the faithful few who, amidst straits, difficulties, and discouragements of every kind, sought to maintain the truth and to observe Christian ordi- nances when there were no better agencies to be found. At length the thoughts of a few earnest Christians in Lower Canada were directed to the formation of a Society to sustain feeble churches and to train pious young men for the Christian ministry. A meetiner was held in Montreal on the 20th of '& December, 1827, to establish the Canada Canada Home Mia- EDUCATION AND HoME MISSIONARY SOCIETY. ciety, 1827. Presbytcrians, Baptists, and Congrega- tionalists, agreed to work together on this Catholic basis. Mr. Wilkes, one of the committee of this new institution, soon after pro- ceeded to Glasgow to prosecute (at his own charges) his studies for the Christian ministry, and was authorized by the Society to inquire for suitable ministers of any of the tliree denominations, to collect funds for their outfit and passage-money, and, after preliminary correspondence, to send them out to Canada. Shortly after his arrival in England, CHAP. XV.] -CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 417 being at Sheffield, and staying at tlie lioiise of the Rev. T. Smith, M.A., he met the Rev. J. Gibbs of Banff, who had determined to sail for jj^ ^-^^^^^ America the ensuing spring. His views ^^^^■ were towards the United States. He was prevailed on to sail for Montreal, and to look at Canada first, which led to his settlement at Stanstead in 1830. Mr. Parker, who had preceded him there as a " supply" says : — " During the time of my stay in Stanstead, I had oppor- tunities of becoming acquainted with the moral and religious state of the eastern townships — settled mostly ^J at p t New Englanders — and comprising a population of more than 20,000 with few regular ministers of the Gospel. Under these circumstances there was an 'open door' and a manifest need of Christian and Missionary effort in the field. At that time, I had no knowledge that any Missionary Society in existence would adopt this as Missionary ground, but my heart was fixed ; and, although good and honoured ministers and loving Christian friends did not seem to give me a ' God speed,' I resolved to try. In a few weeks I was providentially introduced to an infant Missionary Society in Montreal, which had been originated by the sainted Kev. Mr. Christmas, the first minister of the American Church in that city. Mr. Christmas bad been removed by death, when in the prime of his strength and useful- ness, and the Society had not begun its operations, because no labourers had been found. I had, in the meantime, received ordi- nation as an evangelist, and entered at once upon a mission in the eastern townships. The ground where I pitched my tent in 1829 was the Black Part of Shipton. The entire township of Shipton comprised an area of some ISO square miles, was bounded on the west by the St. Francis river, and contained, at that time, a population of about 1500, mostly natives of Eastern New England. My chosen location, now Danville, was near the eastern corner of the township, and, as the world then was, it seemed to be the north-east corner of creation. Here it was not difficult to begin, for the very novelty of preaching exercises called out congregations. Years and experience have proved, 4^18 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XV. however, that it is much more difficult to hold on, in such afield, than to make a beginning. The Evangelical religious element was far from being a prominent ingredient in the character of township society in those days. Families of prayer, and more of consistent religious life, were few and far between. In due time opposition in various forms became manifest." The time of protracted and bitter trial was followed by a spiritual awakening ; and, on November 11, 1832, after much deliberation, a church of thirty-five members was constituted. During the winter, 1830-31, with the concurrence of the directors in Montreal, negotiations were entered into with the Rev. John Smith, Eev. John -nr a i n r~i^ i • Smith, M.A., then oi (iJasgow, havmg returned from the East, where he had laboured several years in connection with the London Missionary Society, principally in an Anglo-Chinese College — to proceed to Canada and commence the educational part of the Society's work. In order to obtain funds and books, Messrs. Smith and Wilkes Appeal, proceeded, in April, 1831, to London, 1831. ^.^^ issued an appeal in behalf of the object After a forcible statement of the case, they add : — " The parishes of England are now banishing their poor, the hospitals are sending forth their pensioners, and the workhouses their hapless inmates — all to the lakes and forests of Canada — • to people its wastes with those whom their overseers think unfit any longer to retain. " We despise not the poor, nor would hinder their emigration. God forbid that we should do aught to prevent the slightest chance to benefit them. But we say, shame on the selfish calcula- tion which thinks only of getting rid of them, which contemplates only their absence as the chief good ; which never dreams of their moral and religious culture, nor ashs even whither are they going, or what means are provided for their instruction.^^ CHAP. XV.] COKGllEGATIONAL HISTOEY. 449 The matter was soon after brought before the London Congregational Board, and unanimously approved. In response to the appeal, the London London Missionary Society gave one ^onar^^ hundred pounds ; a merchant in New Board. Broad Street gave one hundred pounds ; seven gentlemen gave ten pounds each ; a number of five pounds, and lesser sums. Among the five pounds, was a cheque handed by himself to Mr. Wilkes, by the venerable Rowland Hill, " Pay Canada five pounds, R. Hill." The nucleus of a theological library was obtained from various gentlemen. From articles that appeared at the time on the subject in the Congregational and Evangelical mao^azines, the attention of the Rev. RiGHAKD Miles was turned to the province. Kichard Miles Having recently returned from a five years' residence at the Cape, in Afi^ica, he came to London to converse with Mr. Wilkes on the wants of Canada, and the nature of the work there, and speedily made up his mind to proceed thither at his own charges, but in company with Mr. Smith. In August, 1831, Messrs. Smith and Miles with wives, and families, sailed from Greenock for Montreal. Mr. Miles settled in Montreal, and formed the first Congregational church. Mr. Smith became pastor of Union Church at Kingston, and took two students under his care. Mr. Miles says : — " A few months after my return from South Africa, I was powerfully aflFected by the appeals which were made on behalf of the moral and spiritual condition of this country. And after receiving a more circumstantial description of the wants of this extensive field from Mr. Wilkes, I resolved to resign my new charge at Nottingham, and once more to leave the land of my 29 450 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. XV. fathers, and assist in cultivating this moral desert. Unaided in this enterprise, but reljing on the providing care of our Father in heaven, I embarked with my family, and safely reached these shores. On my arrival at Montreal, I found that Congrega- tionalism was scarcely at all known, and that only one church of our denomination existed in the province ; and it therefore appeared highly important to raise, if it should please God, a Congregational church in that city. On the following Sabbath, with the countenance of three individuals only, I commenced my ministry in a schoolroom hired for the purpose. Those efforts it pleased God to bless : attention was excited, the congregations became larger, and at length a more commodious place was procured and fitted up for the accommodation of the increased number of attendants. A Sabbath school and a church was subsequently formed, and a new and suitable chapel was erected. Thus I had the high satisfaction and pleasure of seeing accom- ^ p plished what had been the object of my warmest gre^ational desires — the permanent establishment of the Congrega- Church in tional denomination in the most important city of Montreal. t>--ia • tm t(oi- t- iJritish America. Many were the dimculties, dunng this period, with which I had to struggle, and the infant cause was early deprived of some of its warmest friends by the awful and extensive ravages of the cholera. During my residence in Montreal, I endeavoured by correspondence to excite the attention of the British churches to the destitution and claims of Canada ; and unceasing were the efforts of Mr. Wilkes in response to my solicitations, but all were unavailing to arouse them to combined and vigorous exertion." Mr. AYilkes in Scotland at tliis juncture was not unmindful of liis mission. Durino^ the summer of 1832 he visited Canada, in the hope of founding a college, theological and general, on a broad basis, in harmony with the constitution of the Society, but failed in the effort ; for with one exception the ministers sent out were Congregationalists, and all parties seemed disposed to prefer denominational action. On his return to Scotland, he enlisted other ministers in the Canadian service, and intended to go out CHAP. XV.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 451 to York (Toronto) in the spring of 1833, a vacated place of worship in King Street having been purchased, but from some mismanagement the negotiation was not completed, and he accepted the charge of the Albany Street Church, in Edinburgh, still keeping in view the spiritual wants of Canada. Having received an urgent application for a minister, from the people of Brantford, Upper Canada, he submitted their request to his friend, the Rev. Adam LiLLiE, with whom he had enjoyed a personal Adam acquaintance from 1828. Mr. Lillie (born ■'^^^'^®- in Glasgow, in June, 1803) had fi^om boyhood attended the ministry of Dr. Wardlaw, and became a member of his church at the age of nineteen. After spending two sessions in the University of Glasgow, he entered the Academy at Gosport to be trained by Dr. Bogue for the service of the London Missionary Society, and then went to India ; but failing in health, returned in 1827, and was engaged as a private tutor until 1833, when he became assistant to the Rev. John Watson at Musselburgh. His health being restored, he was willing to labour in Canada in any capacity that might best promote the cause of Christ. He commenced his ministry at Brantford, where he remained for five years, and there initiated the move- ment which led to the formation of the Theological Institute for training young men for the ministry. The Committee of the Congregational Union, anxious to fraternize with the Cono^re- ^ Congregu- gational churches in America, resolved to tionai send a deputation to visit them. Though Deputation a voyage across the Atlantic, followed by. '°^'"^"^"*- pleasant journeys through the Northern States, is 452 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. XV. only a fine holiday excursion, it seems to have been regarded at that time as a most formidable under- taking. Months were occupied in grave considera- tion of the matter, and an active correspondence was carried on with " eminent " brethren to induce them to undertake the important mission. The Rev. John Angell James, the Rev. John Blackburn, the Rev. John Leifchild, the Rev. George Redford, the Rev. Dr. Bennet, the Rev. Algernon Wells, the Rev. John Burnett, the Rev. Dr. Fletcher, and the Rev. Joseph Gilbert, were each importuned to accept the honourable service. Some hesitated, and asked time for consideration. All felt the distinction con- ferred in being selected, but the thought of the *'. mighty deep," and the tender pressure at home, compelled them reluctantly to decline. At length the Rev. Andrew Reed and the Rev. James Mathe- son, sustained by the sympathy and the special prayers of their respective flocks, ventured on the voyage. A great public meeting was held prior to their embarkation, and addresses given appropriate to the interesting occasion. No practical object of marked importance was proposed in the visit, beyond a pleasant mutual recognition of English and American churches, and the general observation of the religious institutions of America. There is Meeting of "°^ ^^^® slightest indication in the resolu- Canadiau tious adopted, or in the correspondence in Ministers ... Bnd the rclatiou to the mission, that Canada entered *^" " ' the thoughts of the ministers or their congregations ; but when the English deputation arrived in New York, Mr. Miles, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Freeland, the pioneers of Congregationalism, CHAP. XV.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 453 took tlie opportunity to set before the m the condition of the British population and the claims of the struggling churches. " I went," says Mr. Miles, " over to New York to urge on these influential brethren the importance and duty, if practicable, of their visiting Canada, and bringing its claims before the British churches. In this they readily assented, Mr Miles, and on their return to England they warmly advo- cated the claims of these provinces on the sympathy of our denomination. Time, however, passed away, and the Congrega- tional churches of Britain still appeared to take bat little interest in the spiritual wants of their countrymen in this extensive and neglected region. Thus, when hope was nearly gone, a plan suggested itself, which appeared likely, if carried into effect, to give a fresh impulse to our cause, and ultimately lead to the long-desired, but long-delayed, efforts on behalf of Canada. This plan was that I should resign my charge in Montreal, aad endeavour to obtain an efficient successor, and then go myself and occupy a missionary station in a destitute section of the country. I anticipated it would not be so difficult to induce a suitable minister to come from Britain and occupy my vacant post in Montreal, as to induce ministers to come out to labour in the wilderness, without a prospect of the necessary support." Mr. Miles, in his distant and solitary outpost, did not know at the time that attention was awakened in the mother country to the claims of the colony. Drs, Reed and Matheson, on their return to England, gave this report respecting Canada :— " When we left England, it was not our intention to visit the British colonies. The claims made upon us were exceedingly nume- rous, and the time allotted to the discharge of our duties was so limited, that it was hardly possible -o^qIa " d '' to add to the services which we had already under- Dr. Mathe- taken, without leno^thening our visit to America, and !?° * j ' . . Canada. putting ourselves to considerahle inconvenience. Two deputations, however, from the Canadas, visited us at New- York in May (1833). They expressed their strong desire that, before we left the United States, we should visit them, and 454 CONGREGATIOMAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XV. obtain in the colonies themselves information respecting their present religious condition. They also stated their conviction that the present circumstances of the two provinces had produced a crisis in their religious affairs, and required, on that account, especial attention from the friends of religious England. In addition to the urgent requests of the hrethren v;ho called on us, they brought with them communications from ministers, mission- aries, members of the churches and others, pressing us to visit Canada. All that we could do at the time was to attend to their requests, if in our power. " The object proposed by such a visit we viewed as most important. We felt for our countrymen, and wished, if possible, to do them good. We h-dd. frequently heard, from unquestionable authority, of the religious destitution of the colonies. We were within a few hundred miles of them, and might, by personal inquiry, obtain information ; and by conveying this to Christian England, perhaps furnish additional reasons for attending to their pressing necessities. These claims, united with others, we could not resist. Accordingly, by postponing to the autumn some previously -formed arrangements, and lengthening our visit by two or three weeks, we succeeded in devoting to the Canadas the greater part of the month of June. It was, of course, impracticable for us to see much of the interior or newly- settled districts, but we decided on visiting some of the principal towns for the purpose of meeting with ministers and mission- aries who preached in the interior, in order to obtain from them statistical and other information likely to guide us in our estimate of the religious condition of the provinces. To secure this important aid, we forwarded letters to Montreal and Toronto before we left New England, requesting our friends in those places to bring together as many of those laborious men who were engaged in the newly-settled districts as could be conveniently assembled. " We visited Quebec, Montreal, Brockville, Kingston, and Toronto. In all these places we met with ministers and others ; and having no other object in view but to ascertain the truth, we were ready to receive information from every quarter where it was likely to be found. Everywhere we were received with Christian kindness and frank hospitality. The friends who had invited us received us gladly." CHAP. XV.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 455 The transition from the long-settled towns of New England, the established seats of learning, the active commerce of Boston and New York to the bold and grand regions of Canada, but wild, unculti- vated and undeveloped in the occupation of French Roman Catholics and the Indian aborigines, with the impoverished emigrants clearing the forests, was as abrupt as the change in their personal associations. They did wisely in selecting the " leafy month of June" when the days were long and the air sweet and balmy. The natural scenery at that season was in itself sufficient to compensate any inconvenience (including the Falls of Niagara, the splendid river St. Lawrence with its thousand islands, and all the glories of nature on the *' Heights of Abraham; ") but hospitable and kind as were their " poor relations " in the provinces, they could not vie with the men of high degree in the " States." Everywhere the English deputation had been received with the most flattering recognition ; they had moved from place to place as in a kind of royal progress ; now they were to meet with men of whom indeed the " world was not worthy," noble in the lineage of heaven beyond any rank in heraldry, but poor, unknown to fame, and to listen not to studied adulation but recitals of distress. To do them justice, though in grievous haste, they con- trived to obtain information and to offer words of sympathy. Dr. Reed gave his best attention to his classical narrative of the visit to the United States. The Canadian part of the report was left to Dr. Matheson. Having a few hours to spare when at 456 CONGREGATIONAL TIT STORY. [cnAl\ XV. Coburgli, he visited a family in Hamilton township, whom he had known in England. Some Report of Til, Dr. Mutiie- parts of the road to the settlement were BOD. newly cut, and it required considerable skill to drive with safety. A few farms had been cleared, others were but just undergoing that process. After describiner the beautiful situation of the farm they occupied in England, and the fine scenery and cultivated appearance of the valley in which it lay, he adds : — " "What is ilieir situation now ? They have a log hut for a dwelling, and the only out-house is a smallei* hut of the same kind. There is but one apartment for the whole family, consist- ing of nine individuals ; a ladder, it is true, leads to an upper room ; but, judging from the height of the building, this must be a very low and inconvenient chamber. One of our meanest cottages at home affords convenience, which this family do not possess in theirs. I saw neither cupboard nor closet, and I wondered mucli where the provisions and culinary vessels were kept. Before I left, howevei-, I found they had a sort of cellar underneath, which they reached by removing one or two deals from the floor. How different from the cool and spacious dairies and neatly arranged closets of English housewifery. " The mother, as might be expected, feels their privations most. The daughters, of whom there are five at home, appear more willing to be reconciled to their new circumstances. Of actual fatigue and hardship, the father has had the largest share. " While they cherish resignation and hope, there is one circum- stance in their lot which occasions unmingled sorrow, and that is, their religious destUution. The mother feels as a Christian parent ought to feel in such circumstances, and it seemed quite a relief to her to tell me all her sorrows. She described the blank presented to them on the Sabbath : no place of worship nearer than Coburgh : no conveyance to carry them there ; and if they even could reach it, no instruction suitable for themselves or their children. She looked at them, and her heart sickened at the prospect of their growing up without religious ordinances and CHAP. XV.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 457 without a sanctuary. They meet, it is true, with a few neiglibours on the Sahhath, in a little log hut not far off, for singing and prayer, and reading the Scriptures; but she felt that this was far less likely to engage the attention, and impress the minds of young people, than the preaching of a faithful and affectionate minister of Christ would be. She trembled lest her children should become indifferent, and perhaps opposed to sacred instructions, and forget the good old way in which their fathers had walked. Fixing her streaming eyes on me, she addressed me with the most moving earnestness : ' Oh, if the Christians of England only knew our situation, and that of thousands around us, they would not rest satisjied till they sent men of God to preach the gospel to us. If they only knew a mother^s grief at seeing her children growing up without the means of grace, icould they not feel for us, ivould they not send us help ? Do tell them our case, and that of many around us, who would willingly attend the preaching of good men of any denomination. Only let such men come, and we tcill shoiv them all the kindness in our power.' I need hardly say, I promised to let her request be known at home, and to do all I could to help them." On the return of the deputation to London, the state of Canada was reported to the Committee of the Congregational Union, December 4, 1834, when it was resolved : — " That it appears expedient to this Committee that the claims of the Canadas be brought under the notice of the Directors of the London Missionary Society witii D^ir^c- at an early period, and that Dr. Reed and the ^oj's of Lon secretaries be charged with the same." ^^^^^' ^°^' The Directors voted £1000 for the object, and, on the strength of this grant, two missionaries were immediately sent out — William Wiiiiam Hayden and David Dyer. Mr. Hajden ^Tdd was born in Kent, May 2, 1789. His father ^^''• dying before his birth, he was left to the care of guardians who " intended to bring him up for the 458 CONGHEGATIONAL HISTORY. [ciIAP XV. Church," one of them having a " Hving " in his gift. When about eighteen years of age, he attended the ordination of the Rev. Arthur Tidman, and, from that time, became a decided Nonconformist, joined the church at the Tabernacle, and was sent to the Academy at Hackney. On leaving that institution in September, 1817, he was ordained to the pastor- ate of a church newly-formed at Heydenbridge, Northumberland, and, for eight years laboured incessantly as an itinerant in that district. He then removed to Frodingham, near Hull, where he re- mained for twelve years, preaching regularly in four villages. In 1835, John Williams, who was collecting funds for a missionary ship, pressed him to go with him to the South Seas, but he decided to accompany two families of his spiritual children to Canada, and established himself at Coburgh. Mr. Dyer was a graduate of the Sabbath school at Barbican Chapel, London, rising from the lower to the highest class, made assistant- teacher, then received into full standing, and sent out to preach, as many before and after him were trained in this admirable Christian institu- tion, under Mr. Mullens, the Superintendent, as preachers and missionaries for home and foreign service. Mr. Dyer was appointed to Hamilton in Upper Canada. This prompt movement on the part of the London Missionary Society, however kindly in- tended, did not adequately meet the growing necessities of the colonies. An appeal was made immediately after from CHAP. XV.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 459 the antipodes to the Committee of the Congregational Union on behalf of the neglected settlers ^ ^^^ in Austraha. The Eev. WiUiam Jarrett, ^^^^ pastor of a small church in Sydney, experienced difficulties and trials in his flock from their interference with his domestic affairs, increased by the officious meddling of the Rev. Mr.jarrett, William Pascoe Crook — a missionary useful ^y'^^^y in many respects notwithstanding, who, on a private account had withdrawn from the South Seas and regulated ecclesiastic affairs in Sydney. In the midst of his troubles, Mr. Jarrett was visited by the Rev. Frederick Miller, of Hobart Town, who cheered him by his fraternal sympathy and justified his course. Eorgetting their personal cares and troubles, both sent letters to the Com- mittee of the Congregational Union, representing the condition and claims of the Australian settlers. Mr. Miller writes from Sydney, New South Wales, July 3, 1834 :— " In consequence of a letter from an individual in Hobart Town, received by the Directors of the London Missionary- Society, and by them transmitted to the Committee of Highbury College, I emigrated to Van Diemen's ^r ''^j?/ Land, and arrived there in September, 1830. After Van Die- preaching in a hired room about eighteen months to To^'^ Land, a gradually-increasing congregation, a chapel capable of accommodating 300 persons, without a gallery, was opened for public worship, in which I continued to preach until com- pelled by illness, about two months since, to suspend pulpit engagements, " A short time previous to the opening of the chapel a church was formed. It consisted, in the first instance, of nine persons, who had been members of churches of our own order in England. The number of members at the present time is sixty- 460 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. XV. three. Some of them, I trust, I may regard as the seals of my ministry in the Lord, " We have, indeed, reason to be very thankful for tlie measure of success which the God of grace has been pleased to grant us. At ihe same time we cannot but feel that much remains to be done, not only in Hobart Town, but throughout the colony. Impressed by this conviction, we have recently organized an institution, entitled the Van Diemen's Land Home Missionary and Christian Instruction Society. The Committee of this Society, anxious to secure the services of a zealous and devoted minister to itinerate in the interior, applied through me, in January last, to the Rev. Dr. Burden, and the Rev. Messrs. Ellis, Blackburn, and Burnet, requesting them conjointly to select an individual qualified for this work. Most welcome will be the aid we thus hope to receive. At the same time, it will obviously be inadequate to the wants of the colony, the popula- tion of which is rapidly increasing. In illustration of this remark, I may mention that, on my arrival at Hobart Town, the population did not amount to 8000, whereas it now exceeds 12,000. There has been a rapid increase in other parts of the colony, but particularly at Launcestown, the principal town at the opposite extremity of the island. " 1 am anxious to witness the establishment of other con- gregations of our denomination in this colony ; for the accomp- lishment of this object, various facilities are now afforded. Among them may be mentioned the absence of a spirit of bigotry and hostility to evangelical religion ; the general acknow- ledgment of the fact that additional ministers are needed ; the conviction entertained by many influential persons, not pious themselves, that religious instruction is desirable to improve the moral character of the population, especially of the prisoners ; and the direct or indirect countenance which the present Governor (although an Episcopalian) affords to ministers of every denomination, who appear desirous of doing good. To justify these remarks, I may be permitted to mention that several of the settlers are accustomed to open their houses for preacliing, when a minister visits the neighbourhood. That some have ofl'ered to give land, etc., for the erection of a place of worship in the districts in which they reside ; that in one district (fifteen miles from Hobart Town), a public meeting was held a few months CHAP. XV.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. 461 since, at w hich it was resolved to erect a building as a chapel and school ; and to solicit subscriptions for that purpose ; and tliat at a settlement ten miles from Hobart Town, a small chapel has been built, which is usually supplied by a young man con- nected with our church. These are merely facts of an encou- raging character. Still, however, it must not be supposed that the colonists in general are taking, or likely to take, any decided steps towards providing religious instruction for those who are destitute of it. While many admit that more labourers are required, and some lament the paucity which at present exists, there are but few, I apprehend, who may be expected to originate, and to prosecute with energy and success, those measures which would issue in obtaining additional help. While there is no marked opposition to religion, and, in some instances, a will- ingness to assist in promoting it, there is, on the other hand, much apathy and lukewarmness, even amongst some of whom we might hope and expect better things. The fact is, that ministers are needed to rouse, and collect, and tinite the people that are now scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Many of them are willing to be instructed, and would, I am persuaded, welcome a faithful, zealous and consistent minister, were he to come amongst them ; but considering the tone which generally prevails, and the fearfully absorbing influence of secu- lar pursuits, there is reason to fear that many will perish for lack of knowledge, if it be left to those who are in need of in- struction to provide it for themselves ; the question arises, and I propose it for most serious and devout consideration, can Chris- tian ministers and Christian churches in England look upon this state of things with indifference? Ought they not to commise- rate the condition of those who are banished to these shores for their crimes, but of whose reformation and conversion surely there is hope, if suitable means be employed ? Ought they not to remember the many families that emigrate to the colony, some of whom are now destitute of the religious privileges with which they were favoured in England ? Is it not manifest, that if ministers be not sent forth throughout the land, the partial inte- rest now felt in concerns of a religious character, may be expected to diminish, and the apathy which is already painfully prevalent, to be perpetuated and confirmed ? Some persons will say. Let not ministers go forth until it appear that people are waiting for 462 CONGEEGATIONAJi HISTOEY. [CIIAP. XV. them, and tliat adequate support can be guaranteed to them. But is this prudence consistent with faith, and love, and holy zeal ? Can it be justified on Christian principles ? are none to receive instruction but those who first seek it, and avow their willingness to support those who afford it ? " These reiterated appeals made a deep impres- sion on the minds of the members of the Committee of the new ConOTesrational Union, but Congrega- . , tionai they had no funds at their disposah Their Minutes of own expenses were only met with diffi- Committee. Q•^^[{^J^ and by the aid of small temporary loans from each other. In reply to the Rev. J. Watson, who wrote to ask that a deputation might be sent to the Annual General Meeting of the Congregational Union of Scotland, they said : — " The Committee are not willing to do so, on account of the great expense incurred by the late deputation to America." The Minutes show the practical effect of the communication sent to them from the colonies. " Jan. G, 1835. — Mr. Blackburn read an interesting letter from the Rev. Fred. Miller, of Hobart Town, Van Diemen's Land. " A letter was read from Rev. Algernon Wells on the best means of supplying the spiritual necessities of the colonies^ Dr. Reed sent for Mr. Wilkes, then in Edinburgh, who had just received a " call " from the church at Montreal, brought by Mr. Joseph Savage, of that city, accora])anied by an urgent letter from the Rev. Richard Miles. In compliance witli the request of Dr. Reed, Mr. CHAP. XV.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 463 Wilkes came to London to unite with the deputa- tion from the Congregational Union Committee, in a renewed appeal to the Directors of the London Missionary Society. After an earnest discussion of the matter at the Mission House in Austin Eriars, the visitor from Edinburgh was asked to give his opinion. "Gentlemen," Mr. Wilkes said, "on the question whether it is, or is not the province of this Society to send faithful missionaries to your own countrymen in Canada, I have no remarks to make. But if you enter upon, ^eeiirig at / ^ ' the Mission or continue, the work, with the idea that it can House. be accomplished by voting £1000 to send out seve- ral missionaries to support them for a year, leaving them after that year to be sustained by such congregations as they may gather, you will do as much good as the preaching of the gospel for a year by a faithful man anywhere may be expected to accomp- lish by God's blessing ; but as to any permanent influence in the evangelizing of Canada, your £1000 may as well he cast into the Atlantic ; it must be nourished for much longer than a year." This plain speaking settled the matter, as we learn from the Minutes of the Congregational Union Committee. " Feb. 3, 1835. — On the spiritual necessities of the colonies, and the best methods of supplying them, the secretary reported that the subject had been fully submitted to the London Mis- sionary Society, at a special meeting summoned for that pur- pose on Monday, 19th ult., and that the Directors resolved to grant a sum not exceeding £1000 for the year 1835, to be distributed under the direction of a sub-committee from their own body, to aid in supplying the necessities of those British colonies in which the English language is spoken, and that con- sequently no further measures on the part of this Union could at present result from the resolution of December 4, 1834." For a time tbe matter of Colonial Missions was 464 CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. [CUAP. XV. left in abeyance ; but Mr. Binney, deeply concerned for the new settlers in Australia, pressed and "'°^^ their claims on the attention of his friends, pettiersin ^^^ called them too-ether to devise some Australia. & practical scheme for meeting their dire necessities. The Committee of the Union returned to the subject. " June 2, 1835. — Reference was made to the Resolution of the London Missionary Society, upon the grant made by that Society to the colonies, and its intention not to inures o establish any permanent agency in Canada. Re- gatioiial solved, That the Committee be specially summoned, '^"' on an early convenient day, to consider what course ought to be adopted by the Congregational Union to reUeve the spiritual necessities of the colonies. '' October 6, 1885. — Read a letter from Rev. William Jarrett, of Sydney, New South Wales — dated December 17, 1834 — furnishing an account of the religious necessities of that colony. " November 3, 1835. — On the Minutes relative to the letter of the Rev. W. Jarrett, of Sydney, being read, a conversation ensued upon the importance of affording the means of supplying the colonies with spiritual instruction, and reference tvas made to some flans adopted or under consideration, hy committees distinct from the Union; hut no resolution teas adojyted.'' Mr. Binney, intent upon the great object, issued circulars for the formation of a society, until the Committee of the Union determined to act. The Committee of the Congregational Union, in antici- pation of the General Meeting, in May, Meeting, IcSoG, made no allusion to the Mission in ^^^^' their programme, but prepared a resolu- tion in reference to the Rev. Henry Wilkes, M.A., as a delegate from the Congregational Union of Scotland, and R. N. Matheson, Esq., of Dublin, on behalf of the Congregational Union of Ireland. CHAP. XV.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 465 In the course of the proceedings of the General Meeting of the Union, May 10, the Eev. John Morison, D.D., of Chelsea, moved, and the Rev. James Matheson, D.D., of Durham, seconded: — " That this Union, having for its first object the promotion of evangelical religion, rejoices in the proposed forma- Eef ■ • i subject to me, and I am sure to you, so painful. I of Mr. Jen- scarcely know what I can say beyond what I have ""'8^- already said on the subject. My views are fixed. I feel no vacillation of mind or purpose. You say the purport of the question I referred to in my last is as I stated. " If I am to have any connection with the Irish Union as a Missionary Association, I cannot, you intimate, be an agent of the Irish Evangelical Society. You saw the resolution I seconded in Cork, that still expresses my views of the Irish Union ; my last letter expresses the same, from the purpose expressed in that letter I cannot recede. My connection with the Union can be as it has been, little more than the connection of approbation and sincere desire that it may be blessed, which desire I might express in the words, ' God-speed.' I have never given any one to under- stand that I would ever give or approve of giving the funds due to the Irish Evangelical Society to the Irish Union. To do so would be an outrage on common honesty ; supported as we are in Tralee by the Irish Evangelical Society, we feel bound in gratitude to that Society, to raise all the funds we can for it. But still there is in my view no inconsistency nor any injury done to the Irish Evangelical Society in making an appeal to the people in behalf of the Union to procure for it funds that would never otherwise have flowed into the treasury of any society. Whether such an appeal be made by myself or by an agent of the Union, there would in my view be nothing wrong in this. Nay, it would be right and good, viewed as a legitimate means of increasing con- tributions to the cause of God. " Acting on this principle there is, as I conceive, no violation 536 CONGREGATIONAL HISTOET. [CHAP. XVII. of common sense, justice or gratitude in being so connected with the Union. It certainly would not be ' moral ' in any agent of your Society to say (and the British churches would be right in so regarding it) ' I have a right because I am an Independent minister to be left perfectly at liberty to receive pecuniary aid from your Society to-day, and to do as I choose in matters tending to deprive you of all supplies and even of existence to-morrow.' The man who would so speak, or say what implied it, might well be regarded as non compos mentis. But who has said so ? or who has said what implied it ? Not I, certainly. I never intended to act in any way injuriously to the Irish Evangelical Society. I see nothing in operation of the Union that tends to the injury of your Society, much less to destroy its existence. If only a right spirit prevailed on both sides, both Societies might go on in harmony and do much good. I do not feel disposed to favour either Society exclusively. I wish both success in the name of the Lord. Were I connected with the Irish Union to-morrow, with which I do not know if I shall ever be connected, my con- nection with it would only be on the condition that I should be at liberty to act a friendly part towards the Irish Evangelical Society, and I should feel myself at liberty if circumstanced with it, as I am with the Irish Evangelical ISociety, to receive to my pulpit a deputation from the Irish Evangelical Society to plead its cause. The Societies are fraternal societies, and neither shall I have my agency, humble as it is, on the condition that I shall have no longer connection whatever with the other as a Missionary Society. " These are my sentiments, these are my feelings. With these sentiments I can be an agent of your Society. I am, and remain such. If not, my connection must cease. I depend on your kindness, my dear sir, to communicate to me, immediately after the meeting of the Committee to which you refer, the decision to which you may come with I'cspect to me, " And believe me, my dear Sir, " To remain yours very sincerely, "Rev. Dr. Vaughan. "J. Jenkinqs." With these views, Mr. Jennings wrote to Dr. Urwick : — CHAP. XVII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 537 " Tralee, February, 1841. " My veey dear Sir, — I have sent in my resignation of agency to the Committee of the Irish Evangelical Society, and this letter is to say that I wish now to connect myself, if agree- able to the Committee, with the Irish Congregational Union. It is unnecessary for me to say why I leave the Irish Evangelical Society, or to state my reasons for presenting myself to the Union. If required, I shall state them, but now I simply apply for connection with your Society, praying that the God of all grace may sanction with His blessing this step I have taken, and make me useful in His holy work. '' I remain, my dear Sir, " Tours sincerely, " To the Rev. W. Urwick, D.D., " J. Jennings. " Secretary of the Irish Congregational Union. " P. 8. — My present quarter with the Irish Evangelical Society terminates next March." The reply of the Rev. Noble Sheppard to the communications of Dr. Vaughan, breathes a spirit of true independence. " Mt dear Sir, — I received your letter of the 1st inst. yesterday, and deeply regret the occasion of its production. In every point of view it is indeed most grievous. My business, however, is to answer the inquiry it con- i^ev.^Koble tains. That inquiry is thus expressed, ' Whether Sheppard in future my connection is to be with the Irish . ° ^ Evangelical Society in London, or with the Dublin Union ? ' A preliminary sentence or two, explanatory of my present and past relation to these Societies may not be unnecessary. "My connection with the Irish Evangelical Society since I came to Sligo may be thus described. For four years I laboured and itinerated under its auspices in a district, the extreme points of which are sixty-four Irish miles apart, and for this I received five jyounds less than what it usually allows for mere travelling expenses. The last year I have received ten pounds more than that sum. I have also superintended the labours of as many readers as the Committee were kind enough to entrust to my care. " My connection with the Irish Congregational Union is that 538 CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. [CHAP. XVII. of one of its formers — one who was one of its office-bearers — one who is now one of its hearty well-wisliers, but, from locaHty and other circumstances, can be little more. I am not on its Committee, had never been its agent, have not received, and do not expect, any pecuniary assistance from it. " To your question then — ' With which shall be my future connection ? ' my answer is, with both, so long as they will permit me, or until either infringes on my Christian liberty. If the Irish Congregational Union made it a condition of my connection with it that I should leave the Irish Evangelical Society, we should forthwith separate. If the Committee of the Irish Evangelical Society should think my feelings towards the Irish Congregational Union expressed above is a good reason for closing my connection with them, they will act up to their convictions, I shall wish them God-speed. " Dear sir, Satan gets his work done by strange instrumentality; but, oh, what a delightful reflection that Ood's work is in His own hands, and that He never commits it absolutely to inferior agency ; otherivise, it would haveheen long since destroyed, not hy its malignant enemies, hut hy its erring friends. There certainly does not appear to me anything in the nature of the two Societies to hinder their cordial and efficient co-operation. At this moment your deputation is welcome as it ever was to my pulpit ; and, if any of my services were of any avail, most cheerfully would they be at the disposal of the Irish Evangelical Society ; but I cannot see why I should give up an association peculiarly accordant with my views as an Independent, and from which I have derived much pleasure and profit, because on an expediency question its conductors and those of the Irish Evangelical Society cannot, or, let me say, will not, agree. Believe me, dear Sir, " Most truly yours, " N. Sheppard." " Mr DEAR Sir, — I received yours last Sabbath. My situa- tion is not without difficulty. I am sincerely thankful for your prayer on my behalf. I have great hope that it will be answered, and that I shall be graciously directed in my present communi- cation. " I am not the advocate of the Committee of the Irish Congregational Union. I am not so vain as to suppose they need CHAP. XVil.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 539 my assistance, and I am in no way committed to the mode of their procedure, but I would just remark that the impropriety of their conduct cannot be so clear as you assume, when holy and wise men — fathers in Israel, such men as Dr. Wardlaw, Mr. James of Birmingham, and Dr. Clunie of Manchester declare deliberately that they, the Committee of the Irish Congregational Union, could not consistently, as Independents, accept the conditions you proffered, and that the stand they have taken, is the only one that self-respect, homage to their principles and their Master, however, would permit them to take. I merely mention this in passing. I would go further to meet the Committee of the Irish Evangelical Society than those eminent men would seem to approve. " I do not think it is quite like a Nonconformist, and more especially such a one as Dr. Vaughan to talk, as he has done, of minorities and majorities. When I attended as the humble representative of the Irish Union tJie meeting of the Congregational Union of England and Wales, in 1832, it was a small minority indeed, and a divided minoritij to boot, but I saw that the men who composed it were of the right stamp, and I anticipated what has taken place— that they would absorb and invigorate the masses. I hope I shall follow neither minority nor majority as such ; but, as you have mentioned them, I think it right to say, without meaning to deprecate any of my brethren, that had I implicitly to follow either in the present instance, unquestionably I should follow the minority, and so, I believe, would any mem- ber of that majority itself. ♦'A few remarks on the only remaining motive brought forward distinctly in your letter will elicit my views on the whole subject. You say, sure I am that the British churches will not think it wise, no, nor even moral in any agent of a society to say, ' I have a right, because I am an Independent minister, to be left at perfect liberty to receive pecuniary aid from your Society to-day. and to do as I choose in matters tending to deprive you of further supplies and even of existence to-morrow.' You may well be sure of the opinions of the British churches on the subject as thus stated, and, if you thought it of any consequence of the Irish churches ; but, dear sir, the statement is your own, and not mine. I never made it. I never implied it. / do not, I assure you, think that the meaning of the word Independent as a 540 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. XVII. denominational designation is, as a body which holds it, has a perfect right to do wrong. We have not the advantage of our more favoured English brethren, but we are not precisely in the state which such a declaration puts into our vioaths would at least imply. " I have no objection to the phrase ^pecuniary aid ' as it appears in the above extract. I do not wish to be hypercritical, far from it ; but neither you nor the respected assistant-secretary would like to be told, and you ought not to be told, that you received pecuniary aid. from the Irish Evangelical Society. Your valuable services are no more than compensated by your arrangement by the Committee ; but permit me to say this applies a fortiori to me ; during four years I received mere travelling expenses ; for the last year I received ten or fifteen pounds remuneration for labours. Were it a species of Begium Donum — a mere accession of means without involving additional definite and laborious duties, it would be ' pecuniary aid,' as it is (looked at, of course, as a transaction between man and man) it is inadequ,ate remuneration. After this remark I intended to present my declaration that it might be placed beside yours. I prefer, however, giving a simple state- ment of the light in which I view my position and from which I educe my proper course. " I am connected with the Irish Evangelical Society. I need not say that I approve of its ends, and of the theory of its means, but I think both you and the Committee will agree with me that considered pe/- se, it is most undesirable that the management of a society for the moral and religious benefit of such a singular country as Ireland, should be, shall I say it, in a foreign country, or the most part by foreigners, which, dear sir, however strange it may appear to you to say it, you most positively are, and as is natural, betray it at every step in your best intentioned efforts. The only valid reason, why this state of things should continue, is included in the humbling assertion, ' that we cannot conduct such a society ourselves.' Now, sir, though every inch an Irishman, I am not prepared to assert the contrary ; but I say, and you will say, that until we can not only assert but demonstrate it, we shall ever grovel on the earth, hopelessly degraded, and miser- able ourselves, and a drain, an incubus, and a disgrace to England. Will you treat us like a kind eastern despot, bestow upon us good, but never educate us to do good to ourselves ? " The Irish Congregational Union is fairly started ; in it the CHAP. XVII.] CONGUEGATIONAL HISTORY. 541 experiment is yet to be tried. Oh that it could have been tried without those collisions, those sad annoyances, heartburnings which as you feel are ' loathsome ' to every pious and well-ordered mind. I should be delighted if the Irish Evangelical Society not only existed, bat flourished during this experiment. I cannot believe that England is so thoroughly searched and appealed to, that the funds of the Irish Evangelical Society must be greatly decreased. Of one thing I am certain, that its working in this country will be greatly benefited. Its agents at this time are arousing by the friendly intercourse and rivalry of their youthful brethren, and the very supposition of any other than friendly inter- course between them appears to tne wicked and absurd. In the mean- time, the experiment will go on ; and should it succeed, will not you and the Committee be the first to hail it ? and exulting that you have not only 'Native Teachers ' in Ireland, in common with Raratonga, in Tahiti, but native Committees and native Societies. " God hitherto has remarkably blessed the Union ; and I say, without the slightest hesitation, we have had no such men for their work since the active days of Rev. W. Cooper. They have been able to do things in this country which the most sanguine thought impossible for many years to come. God has been the ' breaker ' up of their way. And would I, as an Irishman or a Christian, turn my back or keep aloof from them ? Oh, no sir, neither you nor the Committee would ask me to do so. " Here, then, dear sir, I am precisely where I was in my last letter, I will remain in connection with both Societies, while they permit me, or until either infringe my liberty. I can be a member of the Irish Evangelical Society ; I could advocate its cause most cheerfully, and I can at the same time be connected with an infant institution, which I have reason to think, has the elements of more efficiency for Ireland than the Irish Evangelical Society ever possessed. It may be moral obliquity in me, but I can go no farther. I can with a clear conscience receive its money for work which I mean faithfully to do, and yet (supposing the worst that can happen) with a friendly hand seek what some would call its destruction, but what I would prefer calling the emancipation of its spirit into a body more vigorous in it- self, and native to the clime where it is to operate. "I fear this will appear a strange conception of duty to you. I cannot help thinking, however, that if the Secretaries and Com- 642 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XVII. mittees were right in the late great movement, I cannot even here be very wrong. The Society was radically altered last May. Its peculiar characteristic was taken away. It is in truth another Society with a longer name from the Irish Evangelical Society of last year. The paid officers and Directors of the old Society united to destroy it (as most would say, who heard its cause advocated for the last quarter of a century, on the ground of its Catho- licity), did they do wrong ? Were they conscious of immorality in the transaction ? No ; they boast of the deed. They did it for Ireland's good and the glory of God, and the ' British churches,' assembled by their representatives, approved. My cause, I feel, should need no advocate with either. " I have been thus full, dear sir, because I thought it due to your full and generally kind letter. I wish from my heart the Irish Evangelical Society all the success its most ardent friends desire for it, and I again repeat, I am ready to do anything, or go anywhere, consistent with other duties to promote its interests. " I am, dear sir, with respect and esteem, " Yours very truly, " Sligo, December, 11, 18-10. " Noble Sueppakd." The discussion was watclied with great solici- tude by the friends of peace in England. Dr. Red- ford wrote to Mr. Wells from Worcester, November 23, 1840:— " My dear Friend, — You will not suspect me of a wish to inter- fere with the course of business, nor to fish in ti^oubled waters, and therefore I can confidently address to you a line upon the business, which by the time this reaches you, will be about to come before you. I have heard from Dr. Vaughan that there is to Letter of be a ioint meetinsr of the Union Committee and of ford to ' ^^^® Irish Evangelical Society Committee, and that a Mr. Wells. proposal for an arbitration upon the affairs of the Irish Evangelical Society, and the Congregational Union will probably be made, or at all events, the state of affairs will be discussed. All I wish to say is, that I earnestly entreat you (though perhaps, you do not need any such entreaty from me) to iinplore the brethren aasernhled to do their utmost to bring about harmony^ if it should he at the cost of feeling and sacrifice of some CHAP. XVTI.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 543 opinion. Whether they do this by arbitration, or any other method, I care not, so as we are saved from impending danger. Brethren on both sides of the Channel are ripe for an open rupture, but, ' blessed are the peacemakers.' "Ever since the British meeting I have been in corres- pondence both with Dublin and other places, and no language can express my fears and anxiety ^ipon this most painful affair ; if reconciliation is not effected the consequences on both sides will be most disastrous. The Irish brethren will and must tell their tale. The Irish Evangelical Society must defend itself. Opinion in England will be divided. The churches will be disturbed, the Irish Evangelical Society will inevitably suffer in the eyes of many, its resources will be diminished. Contention will get into our Congregational Union. You will be reproached by the Committee of the Irish Evangelical Society, and the whole body of your brethren throughout the three kingdoms will be in unpleasant contention with each other. Many will take one side and many the other, and some will take neither, but say it is in vain to attempt to do anything in Ireland, for they are not to be trusted. *' You are aware, perhaps, that James, Wardlaw, and other's are with the Irish Union, and many more ivill he as soon as they make their statement. I have read all the correspondence, and while I think both parties somewhat to blame, I cannot be persuaded to relinquish the hope of adjustment. " I have written strongly in several letters to Urwick, implor- ing them to listen to reason, conciliation, etc. •' Do your uttermost to bring about harmony ; pray for it; speak for it. I know your opinion will have great weight, and I trust it is decidedly with me, that almost any terms will be better for all than open contention, which must foUow desperate movements. Why may not the Irish Union Mission be a part of the Irish Evan- gelical Society ? I cannot see why, if the Irish brethren are con- ciliated and conciliable, which I hope they are. I trust you will all be aware that results of unutterable importance are depend- ing upon the deliberations of to-morrow. If you offer the Irish brethren a fair arbitration of difference and they refuse, you will place them in a false position, and they will find it ; if you refuse arbitration, they will make their way in England in spite of the Irish Evangelical Society. We shall all have more confidence in 544 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XVII. their administration of the funds than in the Irish EvangeHcal Society Committee, not as men or brethren, but from their local advantages. Excuse haste, and believe " Yours ever affectionately, " Geo. Redford." In anticipation of their visit to England, Ur. Urwick and Mr. Cooper, secretaries of tlie Irish Congregational Union, wrote conjointly to the secretary of the Congregational Union to ascertain their exact mutual relations under the altered cir- cumstances. Mr. Wells, in reply, 3rd December, 1840, after a clear statement of the course that had been pursued, added : — " The Congregational Union of England and Wales exists only for the promotion of love, harmony, and co-operation among the entire hody of Independent churches. Its influence Letter of , , , '^ '' , "^ , , ^ , , t Mr. Wells ^^^ "^ used Jor iw other end, and for that must be used to Dr. with uniform and patient assiduity. The Committee Mr. Cooper ^-^ ^^'^^ Union proposes, through you, dear brethren, to the Committee of the Congregational Union of Ireland, as also the Committee of the Irish Evangelical Society, renewed efforts for an adjustment with a view to co-operation in missions. The Committee knows that the brethren of the Ii-ish Evangelical Society will at once accede to the proposal. It hopes for a like readiness on your part. The Committee is encouraged to make this proposal because it has been strongly pressed by brethren in England, whose opinions have decidedly the greatest weight both with them and you, and who have moreover suggested precisely the mode of procedure that had been previously mentioned in the deliberations of the Committee, namely, that the assistance of brethren for counsel and concilia- tion should be sought. Let some convenient place of meeting be agreed upon. Let the brethren deputed from London and Dublin attend. Let any number of brethren named by these Committees, those of the English and Irish Unions, and of the Irish Evangelical Society, be invited to mediate and advise on CHAP. XVII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 545 the whole affair. Let no previous proposals of terms on either side be made, but let them all be left to grow out of the view of the facts and circumstances of the case taken by the brethren to whose judgment the united appeal is made. "This proposal, brethren, is the result of successive con- ferences, in which those interested in the question have sought wisdom from above, and have studied the things that make for peace, so that an answer to your communication should seem to have been unduly delayed — that delay has not originated in neglect — but in anxiety to discover and adopt the right course. Let this additional effort for co-operation be made. Let us not assume that adjustment is hopeless, but rather that we cannot fail of realizing it through our own cordial efforts, the assistance of brethren, and the blessing of God." The Rev. J. A. James wrote to Mr. Wells in a season of deep affliction : — "Edgbaston, Jane 3, 1841. " My dear Sir, — 7 have just left the led of my dying wife^ whose decease we have daily expected for the last month, and hourly for many days, to write a short (and it must be short) reply to your communication received by this day's post. " It is evident the Dublin friends are not prepared to concede their right of direct and independent appeal to the English churches for pecuniary support for the operations of their Society ; and if it is the object of the Con- ^j. ^ ference to induce them to chansre their opinion and James to r . . Mr. Welle purpose, on this point I think it will fail. I am not ]^841. prepared to condemn them for their pertinacity on this point. They must be best judges of what, all things con- sidered, is best for them, and cannot be expected to abandon a plan of operations which their conscience dictates to be the most beneficial for Ireland. " I am less inclined than I was to press this concession upon them ; nor do I anticipate so much evil as I once did from the existence and operations of two independent institutions em- bracing this sacred object. " The evil to be remedied and likely to arise, though it need not necessarily arise, out of this duality of societies, is a spirit of unseemly rivalry, jealousy, and hostility. The main good to be 35 546 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XVII. expected from the Conference, and it is not an inconsiderable one, is the establishment of a perfectly good understanding between the two bodies upon a basis honourable to both, and not likely to be subverted. It is altogether improbable I shall be able to attend the Conference should it be held. Nothing, however, but my own painful circumstances at home will prevent my being with you. Pity me and pray for me. May divine wisdom guide your counsels and acts. " Your sincere and afflicted brother, " J. A. James. " P.S.— I think it very desirable that the Conference should be held, even though I do not think there is much probability of its effecting a coalition. " Kev. A. Wells." Ultimately, after repeated and tedious negotia- tions, a satisfactory conclusion was reached, and a simple method of concerted operation adopted. CHAPTER XVIII. In ecclesiastical politics, Mr. Josiah Conder seems to have been the most trusted leader of the London Congregationalists, at this period. As a Mr. Josiah literary worker (in editorial articles, hymns, bonder, and the " Modern Traveller," etc.), every production of his pen, notwithstanding a certain aridity ^ was thoroughly " respectable." Under his safe direc- tion the march of opinion would have been regu- lated for the comfort and convenience of his party, and their present advantage. Trusting to time, the great " innovator," and the temperate discussion of the political questions of the hour, every remaining disability suffered by Dissen- ters might have been removed, without provoking the resentment of angry opponents. Petitions for the redress of " grievances " would have been con- sidered when Whig candidates required the support of Nonconformists at elections, with no great loss of respect to any who possessed the franchise. Some of the younger and more active men in the ranks, however, a little restive in this monotonous course, desired a more decided and rapid advance, seeking rather the triumph of principles than the mere advancement of sectarian interests. An Association 548 CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. [CHAP. XVIII. was formed, called the " Ecclesiastical Knowledge Society," wliicli Dr. Bennett* tells us gave great offence. " Its ' Library ' consisted principally of works on the defen- sive ; for so numerous and so oppressive were the impositions of the opposite party, that they left little leisure for Ecclesiasti- any other tactics. Personal abuse, and imputation ^\ S°^ of evil motives, were dealt out with no sparing hand cietj. against the writers ; but they confidently appealed to their tracts to prove that men might differ from them, without forfeiting the respect due to purity of character and sincerity of motive." Mr. Conder disapproved of this independent movement. " As I detested the ' World ' newspaper," he said, " so I eschew the Ecclesiastical Society, and all its works, and glory in having induced Vanghan and others to retire from it." To supersede all such irregular plans and opera- tions, the prudent journalist gave his support to another organization for a similar purpose. " Our ' Religious Freedom Society,' " he writes, March 1, 1840, " furnishes me with a great deal of work. My visit to Leicester was on this wise. It being thought advisable, on public grounds, to come to a good understanding with ■^^'',^?"". the reverend radicals of that place, and to put a stop oer B V i8it f 1 r r to Leicester, ^o the petty warfare they were waging against the London Committee, the Rev. Messrs. and , and the Secretary, were deputed to visit Leicester, to hold a conference with a deputation from the Leicester Voluntary Church Association Committee. Accordingly we left London by the eight o'clock train on Wednesday se'nnight, proceeded on from Blisworth station by coach, reached Leicester soon after four, where we were met by two of the deputation. At six we entered upon the Conference ; and after some hours' * History of Diescnters, 18C8— 1838, p. 353. CHAP. XVIir.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 549 brisk debate, adjourned till ten the next morning. Oar next Conference lasted till near two. Then, having come to a satis- factory conclasion, we dined with the Rev. J. P. Mursell ; and left Leicester early next morning for Northampton. There we met a few friends by appointment ; and taking the train again at Blisworth, reached London in the evening. Our Committee have now at last decided upon energetic movements to defeat Sir R. Inglis's motion on Church Extension. A public meeting is fixed for the 19th, which will, we hope, be responded to by public meetings in all the great towns. I wonder what the Angel James says to the resolutions at Walsall. If he does not move now, let him expect his chapel to be burned down like Dr. Raffles'." The '* Angel" James greatly wearied with con- tention, was sighing for peace, and, as we have seen, feeling deeply his domestic bereavement. He had not lost his attachment to the principles of Noncon- formity ; but he gave his attention chiefly after this to works like the "Anxious Inquirer, encouraged and directed," " An Earnest Ministry," and " Re- vivals." Mr. Conder, on his return from Leicester, persuaded himself that things would go smoothly in the even channel of the Religious Freedom Society, and that the " Reverend Radicals" would conduct themselves with gentle propriety. During these public discussions the Building Committee of Lancashire College, having obtained funds sufficient to warrant the undertaking, made arrangements for the commencement of the intended structure on a beautiful site of seven acres at With- ington. The 23rd of September, 1840, was the day appointed for laying the foundation-stone by Mr. Had- field, assisted by Dr. Raffles. From a local journal we copy the following account of the proceedings : — 550 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XVIIT. "The weatlier, up to near the appointed hour, though not promising, was fair, and, for some time previously, great numbers of people, botli in carriages and on foot, resorted to Proceedings ^^^ gp^^^ -Qy ^ quarter to eleven o'clock, several ingFouiida- thousand persons had assembled, when a fall of rain tion-8toneof icegan. Under these circumstances a large temporary College! "^ platform, covered with canvas, was resigned to the ladies as the only means of sheltering them. The gentlemen who had assembled took up a position on the planks laid across the foundations around the intended corner-stone, which was slung ready for lowering to its final destination, and the service commenced with singing. " At this moment the scene was one of deep interest. The assemblage had become very large, and on the platform were upwards of one hundred ladies, including many of the young and beautiful, elegantly attired, whose countenances beamed with an animation which even the unpropitious state of the weather could not abate ; when an event occurred which put a temporary stop to the proceedings and threw a gloom over the occasion. The assemblage had nearly concluded the singing of the hymn when the platform gave way with a crash heard for miles distant. The whole of its fair occupants were precipitated in a moment to the ground. The calamity was so instantaneous and un- expected, that the bystanders seemed for the time panic-stricken. In a moment more, one universal rush seemed to be made towards the ruins of the fallen building, which resounded with the shrieks of its alarmed occupants, for the purpose of rendering assistance, and, if possible, rescuing them from their dreadful situation. But the work of rescue was one of difficulty and danger ; every plank that was trod upon might rest upon some limb, or endanger the lives of those whom it was desirable to preserve from further harm. Many of the relatives of the suflering ladies were necessarily kept long in suspense, owing to the difficulty of ascertaining amongst such a large assembly, who had, and who had not, escaped. At length, however, it was ascertained that no lives were lost ; but the frightful bruises which some of the ladies had sustained, repressed the feeling of gladness in their merciful deliverance. Miss Ann Hadfield, a daughter of the Treasurer, Mrs. E. Armitage, and her daughter, with several other ladies, were severely injured. During the whole time that CHAP. XVIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 651 the ladies were being rescued from their perilous situation the rain fell in torrents, and the only place of shelter at hand being a long, low shed for the use of the masons during inclement weather, beneath which the sufferers were placed till carriages could be procured to convey them home. The ceremony for which the meeting had been called was interrupted for a considerable time, and, under the distressing circumstances, necessarily abridged. Mr. Hadfield at length came forward to perform the task assigned to him. ' In the agitation of a time like that,' he said, ' his mind naturally reverted to the painful scene which they had just been compelled to witness, their first duty was to render to that Being, whose superintending Providence had kept them from more serious results, their grateful thanksgivings. Through the mercy and goodness of God, no lives were lost, and he hoped would not be, and he trusted that every circumstance which might make against the interests and prosperity of the institution they were about to rear might be overruled by the same superintending Providence which had left them cause for so much unaffected gratitude." The Rev. Edward Miall, one of the Congrega- tional ministers of Leicester, could not be brought into the state of mesmeric sleep so much j^^,^ e^- desired by the moderates in London. He Z/th^Nol was so impressed with the necessity of more conformist. decided action, that he proposed to relinquish his pastoral charge, in the first instance, for three years, and then entirely, in order to devote himself to the work of separating the Church of England from the State. He originated and conducted for this purpose the Nonconformist newspaper, and in the fourth number of that able journal (May 5, 1841) an article appeared, in which he charged the entire body of Dissenting ministers with the betrayal of their sacred trust. " JVe solemnly arraign the body of Dissenting ministers in England at the bar of truth. The time for triflirig has gone hy. 552 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cilAr. XVIII. The Establishment, a life-destroying upas deeply rooted in tlie soil, undisturbed, drinks up fresh vigour. It sprouts Mnif"er"/ again. It puts forth fresh branches. It sheds its arraigned at noxious seeds in our colonies. If there be evil in truth^^ *^* it, that evil is daily becoming confirmed, augmented, perpetuated. The curse is going down to our posterity, abroad to our emigrants, aggravated in its intensity. For our part, we are resolved to wash our hands of the guilt, lu the name of myriads, victims of an impious pretence, when they lean upon it, fatally deluded when they discern its hollo w- ness, rendered infidels for life, in the name of unborn generations of the untold millions that shall one day populate the distant dependencies of Britain, in the name of Christianity misrepre- sented, disgraced, downcast, trodden under foot by aristrocratic legislation, we charge the lody of Dissenting ministers with unfaith- fulness to sacred principles, evasion of a noble mission, and seeming recklessness of all the mighty interests at issue." From commendable meekness, or as some would say from native dulness, the ministers thus arraigned listened to their heavy accusation in mute surprise, and some of them seemed only to be half-amused. Their accuser was however deeply in earnest, and by close argument, clear statements of fact and powerful appeal, he produced settled conviction in the minds of his readers, and he was followed from the first by a Spartan band, compactly formed, by whom he was sustained in the arduous conflict. To rouse the slumbering and unfaithful pastors, Mr. Miall sounded an alarm. May 26, 1841. " If Dissenting ministers hesitate to break ground against this enormity, we earnestly implore them calmly to read the signs of the times, and ponder seriously the almost An alarm certain results of their indecision, the work will be Bounded. done, no human power can pievent that — the hours of priestcraft in this country are numbered. A spirit of hostility to it is rising and spreading through all ranks which must ere long overwhelm it. There are elements at work in the bosom of CHAP. XVIU.] CONGREGATIONAL HTSTORT. 553 society of frightful virulence and force, which the most trivial and unexpected event may presently be the flash to ignite and explode. The EstahlisJiment will he destroijed hy revolutionary and infidel fary, unless it he first peaceably put an end to by enlightened a,nd religious men. Let not Dissenting ministers be deceived. The storm that is gathering, and lohich they alone can avert, will be indiscriminate in its ravages. Not the Establishment only, but Christianity, which in the minds of many is identified with it, will be exposed to its pitiless violence. Let them look around them whilst yet there is time. The vast body of working men, the physical power of the nation, is it not wholly possessed by infidelity. Mark, we say, mark the intense bitterness of their hatred against the priesthood as a class — hatred excited and inflamed by the oppression practised upon them in the name of religion. Are Dissenting ministers prepared to withstand its outburst ? Do they intend to wait the coming storm ? Is it fair to religion, fair to the Church that they should do so ? By taking their stand now, they may imbue the minds of the lower classes with the truth, that Christianity is not oppression, does not sanction it ; that, far from standing in the way of freedom, it gladly lends a hand to help it forward. They may open the people's eyes to the fact that a State Church is not to be confounded with the lovely emanation from the divine mind, the gospel of peace. They will, at all events, have done their part, to rescue them from error. They will not gain the masses by inaction. No — reverence towards the truth is like to be forgotten in their hearts by the silence of Dissenting ministers on this matter. " Priestcraft must fall. That truth is written in light. With them it remains to decide whether it shall fall by the hands of religion or of infidelity, whether they ivill ride and control or perish in the storm." Assailed with so much boldness on opposite sides, it was imperative on the part of the Congre- o-ational ministers to explain their course, and to justify their policy. The Autumnal Session of the Congregational Union, held at Nottingham, in Octo- ber, 1841, was chiefly devoted to this purpose. Dr. Vaughan gave a lecture on " Congregationalism 554 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XVIII. viewed in relation to the state and tendencies of Modern Society," wliicli occupied two Lours and ,, ., thirty-five minutes in the delivery. Dr. Manifesto *' *' of the Con- MoHson gavc an address on " Congrega- Umon,^"'^'' tional Church polity, founded on the Bible, ^^'^^' and the Bible alone is the Religion of Pro- testants." Mr. Stowell read a paper on the " Purity of Evangelical Doctrine, secured by Congregational principles," and an elaborate manifesto was issued by the Union, entitled " Declarations of views and principles on various deeply interesting questions agitated during the present crisis, as they affect the duty and reputation of the Independent churches." In relation to the political principles and aims, the following statement is made in the document : — " Congrerjationalists not Political Dissenters. " No accusation has of late been more unsparingly and bitterly urged against Protestant Dissenters in general, and specifically against Independents, than this, that they are politi- cal. What is the precise meaning of the charge remains still unexplained. There can be no doubt it is urged in a bad sense. It is intended by it to accuse and condemn. In every such sense it is calmly denied. If it be meant of the principles of Indepen- dents— that they plead conscience, but are in reality influenced by faction, it is not so. If it be affirmed of their spirit, that they prefer the clamour and strife of political struggle to the calm virtues and peaceful walks of religion, it is not so. If it be asserted of their objects, that they have for their end political change, the overthrow of political institutions, the attainment of political power, it is not so. But being moved by conscience toward Gud, and guided by sacred Scripture, Independents are ardently aiming to promote the simplicity, spirituality, and purity of the Church of Christ. They would remove political influence and power out of the Church, they would separate the entirely distinct functions of the body politic and the body ecclesiastic ; and for this, those who would retain the political character and CHAP. XVIII.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOET. 555 alliances of the Church assail them as political. After bearing a long unheeded testimony to their views of truth on these sub- jects in their own religious proceedings, the altered state of the public affairs and mind summoned them into a more opened and observed witness for the same sentiments in public appeals to the nation and the Legislature. The evils against which they protest could be no otherwise corrected or even exposed. But these proceedings originated in religious motives, and were directed to religious ends. This meeting disavows, on the part of Independents, any political sentiments or interests peculiar to themselves. In things civil and political, Dissenters have no standing in this country as a separate body. They are known to the State, and recognized by it, as a distinct class in religion, and in religion only. " Frotestant Dissenters not in League with Boman Catholics, Soci- nians, and Infidels, for the Destruction of the Church Estab- lished in this Country. " Various classes of persons in this country, holding senti- ments on subjects of the highest moment, entirely opposed to those of Independents, unite in the wish to see the Church now established by law, no longer established by law. So far Inde- pendents agree with them. In the grounds of their wish, in the results they anticipate or desire from its accomplishment, they most widely differ, they are utterly opposed. Independents are firm, unchanged, uncompromising Protestants, as opposed to Catholics— they are of undoubted, strenuous orthodoxy, as the antagonists of Socinians — they are firm believers in the holy religion of Christ, against every form or degree of infidelity — the Episcopal Church in this nation, apart from its establishment by the State, and lamenting deeply the doctrine of sacramental efficacy taught in its offices, they yet venerate as an illustrious branch of the reformation from Popery. The changes sought by them in the ecclesiastical institutions of their country, they desire in the full and firm persuasion that their accomplishment would promote, in a degree not to be described, all the great interests of vital Christianity. The gospel, no longer associated with the coercion and penalties of law, would vindicate itself against the infidel by its own truth and power— Protestants, no longer divided by invidious distinctions, would unite for their common 556 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CFIAP. XVIIT. cause — tlie deep and wide chasm now separating large classes of the subjects of this realm would be closed — the Episcopal Church, no longer bound to its corruptions by force or fear, would grow pure and powerful for good amidst the genial influences of liberty — the various bodies of believers in this land would dwell in love so as under existing institutions they never can — the strength now expended in mutual contention would be employed in enterprises separate or combined for the advancement of their common Christianity — the entire Church, depending only on strength from on high, would be replenished with heavenly in- fluence from her Almighty Lord. It is only in the belief that such would be the results of the separation of Church and State, that Protestant Dissenters have desired so momentous a change. It is only in the ardent desire to realize these results that they have, amidst difficulty, contempt, and bitter revilings, sought for that separation. They know themselves to be animated by genuine patriotism. They entirely believe that their sentiments, carried into effect, would unspeakably improve the institutions of their country. They feel that they have more to lose by the overthrow of the British Constitution than the advocates of the hierarchy, inasmuch as liberty is more precious to Christians than wealth, grandeur, or power." Another question of more immediate interest than that of Disestabhshment affecting commercial . . „ interests and the g:eneral welfare of the Anti-Corn , " Law people was agitated. The distress of the manufacturing population in every part of the country, caused by the stoppage of the mills, led to a growing demand for the repeal of the Corn Laws. The Anti-Corn Law League came into active operation, and all available means were used to call forth an expression of public opinion, to which the Legislature would be constrained to take heed. Amongst other methods adopted for this purpose it was suggested that a conference of ministers should be held in Manchester. In the light of the corres- OHAP. XVIJI.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 557 pondence of Dr. Halley with the Rev. John Black- burn we may watch the movement from day to day. " Manchester, August 3, 1841. " Mt dear Friend, — 1 am induced to trouble you with a line to remove an impression which Miss Kennion tells me has got possession of your mind. You imagine, as she assures me, that I have originated, or at least -pj. Halley taken an active part in the Anti-Corn Law Convention. I heard from other quarters that such a notion was prevalent in London, but, as I care very little about prevalent notions, I took no pains to contradict it. But when I heard that you imagined I had become an agitator, it was quite time for me to disclaim the suspicion. I do not wish you to take any pains to set other persons right, as there are not a score of Londoners besides yourself to whose opinion I pay any regard. But to you, personally, let me state the facts. " Miss Kennion thinks you received a circular with my signa- ture attached. This, I apprehend, must be a mistake, as 1 have heard of no such circular. If you have received one it is a forgery. Of this I should like to be informed. It seems, how- ever, that to the paper inviting ministers to the Conference was appended a list of ministers present at the meeting from which the resolution to hold a Conference emanated. It is true that I was at that meeting. I received a note from Mr. Gr. Thompson requesting me to meet some ministers to consider the propriety of calling a Conference upon the Corn Laws. I imagined it would be a meeting of the Dissenting ministers, or some few of them of Manchester vrith whom I am accustomed to act, and with them I might converse freely. On my coming near the close of the meeting, I found a number of persons whom I had never seen before — a Catholic priest, Socinian preacher, Swedenborgians, Cowardites, New Connexion Methodists, etc., and some of our brethren from the neighbouring towns. I found the matter had proceeded further than I expected, and that the opportunity for free conversation with our brethren before deciding was lost. I offered some objections which I felt to the proposal, and stated that it was uncertain whether I could attend. Mr. Massie was the only minister of this town of our denomination then present, 558 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XVIII. but he seemed to be the most active man. I held up my hand, though with some hesitation, in favour of the proposed meeting, and moved that the resolution be referred to the Anti-Corn Law- League for their consideration, and strongly objected to its being exclusively clencal. For this, however, no one supported me. A Committee was formed, of which I refused to be one, and from that day I knew nothing more of the proceedings than the news- papers relate, or, at least, I knew but one thing, that they appended Mr. Fletcher's name to the letter to the Methodist Conference without his consent, and that the said letter was printed in the newspapers before the Conference could possibly consider it — I believe before they received it ; certainly before it was read to them. Not very courteous or proper treatment. " The matter, howevei', has become serious. Here is a great movement contemplated, and the only parties, so far as I know, preparing for it are Mr. G. Thompson and Mr. Massie. Mr. Thompson is undoubtedly the originator of the scheme. I have just received your Congregational Magazine and the Patriot, which says I have engaged to attend the Conference ; on what authority, I cannot tell. I am sure if you knew the overwhelming distress and ruin which is breaking down our manufactories, you would not have used the expression about the millocracy — their wealth has wasted away most fearfully, and they are now employing their workpeople at great and certain loss ; but the labourers cannot be dismissed without heartrending misery, if not a public convulsion. The manufacturers are struggling for existence. " But, I ask with much concern, what are we to do with the movement ? I fear the measures will be rash, ill-considered, prepared by Mr. Thompson, and supported by hosts of the various sections of Methodists and our minor brethren. Shall we abandon it ? Shall we attempt to regulate it ? What say you 1 What say your brethren ? Have you confidence in Mr. Thompson ? I write confidentially, as / should not like to encounter Mr. Thompson's vituperation, of which I have already tasted a little. I should like to have your opinion. As to dis- cussion, I apprehend the majority will be from this district, and they will support his proposals, especially as Mr. Massie and Mr. !McKerrow will act with him. " Since I wrote thus far, Mr. Fletcher has called. He says CHAP. XVIll.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 559 that he did aot approve of the calling of the Conference, but as he was unable to stay until the end of the discussion, he feels committed to it, and is now anxious to make the thing as good as possible. He is, therefore, inviting as many of his friends as possible to attend. I am not aware that Mr. Griffin, Dr. Clunie, Mr. Poore, or Mr. Morris, the other Independent ministers of the town, have expressed any opinion upon the subject, or taken any part in the preparation. I am told there is a great deal of interest excited in Manchester as to the part I am likely to take, and I find the leaders of the Anti-Corn Law League have written to som^e of our principal friends in. the congregation to use their influence to induce me to attend the meeting. I have told them that I exceedingly disapprove of such a procedure, and shall pay no attention to it. But I feel the necessity of acting with caution, and I think we shall act with some degree of concert. I mean the leading friends of the Independent body. What is the general feeling in London ? I expect there will be crowds of the preachers of the numerous minor sects in the manufacturing districts, very few of the Unitarians, very few friends of the English Catholics ; but letters have been sent to O'Counell to send over the Irish priests. How far this may succeed I cannot say. One or two clergymen of no eminence are expected, and a special application is to be made to Baptist Noel, who is at present in Manchester in seclusion, it is said, in private intercourse with the leaders of the Methodist Conference, now sitting in great dignity in this town. But this I think mere rumour. I have thus confidentially given you all the information in my power. I will publicly commit mtjself to nothing until I hear from you. I see in the Manchester paper to-day a letter from Mr. Massie and Mr. McKerrow to the moderator and ministers of the Kirk of Scotland. " Yours very cordially, " Robert Halley." After balancing the reasons for and against com- mitting himself to public action, Dr. Halley decided to attend the Conference, and reported the proceed- ings to his cautious friend in London. "Manchester, AugustlQ,\Q41. "My dear Friend, — I think you will like to hear some 560 CONGKEGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. XVllI. account of the conference of ministers of all denominations, and so far as I can I will send you a line each day between the sittings. The matter has assumed a fearful importance to the character of Dissenters. But first let me say how I stand related to it. After a good deal of consideration I resolved, on the advice of a judicious friend, to attend, as the parties are not pledged to any particular views, to speak upon any regular motion as mover or seconder, to interpose if I could do any good in discussion, supporting the best view of the matter. 1 resolved also to take an opportunity, if I opened my lips, to disclaim all connection with preparatory measures. " I must now correct a statement of my last, that G. Thomp- son was the originator of the meeting. Mr. Massie is the author, and worked it with the Anti-Corn Law League, and persuaded G. Thompson to unite with him ; and Mr. Massie has ever since been the working man, and he has worked like a horse. What I complain of is that he should not have conversed with his brethren in this town first, and allow us to consult ministers at a distance. I think it was not wise nor kind to proceed without consulting his own denomination. I think by some previous consultation our body might have been better prepared to act in some way or other with union. But of this I say no more at present. The meeting opened this morning at ten. Our Town Hall was fitted up with a platform, seats, etc., part for the members, part for spectators admitted by ticket, and part for ladies. It was certainly a splendid sight, and excited great interest. The street was crowded with people. I did not go until past twelve, when I found Mr. Adkins, of Southampton, in the chair. A committee had been appointed to recommend officers. They recommended four persons for four days, Adkins, Chaplin, Cox, Spencer fa clergyman). The provisional secretary (Massie) was to have introduced the business, giving an account of the previous arrangements, etc., but Dr. Smith begged to be heard, and read a long address, which the meeting heard very patiently for near an hour. Then Massie read his statement, then Dr. Vaughan moved that the meetings each day be introduced by a devotional service, and Dr. Cox seconded it, and Dr. Ritchie, of Edinburgh, supported it. Then arose a dis- cussion what sort of prayer ; and Mr. Hamilton suggested that the Lord's Prayer be repeated. I happened to be in the midst CHAP. XVIII.] OONGEEGATIONAL HISTOEY. 561 of half-a-dozen Catholic priests from Ireland, who were protest- ing against the proposal, but none of them had courage to speak out, when I rose, /, who resolved not to open my lips, and said I thought in a meeting of all denominations, the motion could not be entertained. I said that the priests ought at least to be informed of the intention, or if they happened to be a majority we must hear mass every morning. I said I had small doubts about the meeting ; but as I had come I would give my opinion. The chairman supported my views, and thought the motion should be withdrawn. It was, but with rather an ill grace.* Gr. Thompson and the Corn-Law League were then to be introduced ; but the stomach rebelled, and we adjourned for dinner, to meet at four o'clock for the evening sederunt — so every day. To-night we hear the Corn-Law Deputation, and to-morrow answer resolutions which a committee have prepared ; but it is now four o'clock, and I must go down to get a seat. — Yours truly, " Robert Hallet." "Manchester, August 17, 1841. *'Mt dear Friend, — After writing my letter of yesterday, I went to the meeting about an hour after it had commenced and could scarcely obtain admittance. The hall was crowded to excess, a large part being assigned to visitors, admitted by ticket ; when lighted it was a splendid sight. Mr, Cobden, M.P. for Stockport, was deputed to bring the case of the Corn-Law League before the meeting, which he did in a speech, I am told, of extraordinary talent and splendour. It was at the close before I arrived for the evening meeting. The chairman stated that the Committee had devoted that evening to hear statements of the condition of the poor in various parts of the country ; and certainly I never attended a more affecting meeting. The speakers kept strictly to the point ; there was a feeling of deep sympathy for the poor, and all political illusion was carefully avoided. This was recommended in a resolution from the Committee, and the only instance in which it was violated was by Mr. John Sibree, who introduced the present Government in opposition to the future, as if to raise a cheer ; but although the meeting consisted, I suppose, exclusively of Liberals, it failed, and people cried, ' No politics.' The principal speakers were Timothy East (badly), an * Private meetings for prajer were held by Congregational ministers between the services. 36 562 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. fciIA]'. XVTTT. operative Methodist (very well), Sibree (middling), Bailey of Sheffield (the best speech of the evenirg), Hearne, the Roman Catholic priest of Manchester (told of facts most appalling), Spencer the clergyman of Hinton (very well), the Kirk minister of Forfar (good but heavy), the Baptist minister of Lewes (middling), the moderator of the Secession Church, Baird of Paisley (very well), Winterbottom, a Baptist of Yorkshire (admirably). I left a Welsh brother speaking about half-past eight. The meeting was to close at nine o'clock. Chartists and Socialists were lecturing the groups in the streets. After I left the Earl of Ducie asked permission to address the meeting, which was refused.*' This morning I went late and several had spoken, among the rest. Dr. Vaughan made, I am told, a most beautiful speech. When I entered, the people were trying to cough down a Mr. Parsons f of Devonshire, one of our body, who trespassed for more than a hour and said little to the purpose ; to him succeeded Mr. Jerome Clapp with little better success; Berr}-, Leicester, Uni- tarian (exceedingly well). Several second-rate men of all denomi- nations in a second-rate way. Here 1 find I am too late for the post. " 19th. — Last night speakers. Two Catholic priests, one of them although evidently not familiar with the subject, was one of the most accomplished speakers I ever heard, in voice, gesture, etc. His fine appearance and perfect manner was a sad contrast to our brotherhood. The other, to the great surprise and delight of the brethren, said he recognized us all in so charitable a work as true apostolic clergymen, at which compliment the brethren were transported with joy and waved their hats with loud huzzas! What will the Tory papers say ? Then followed a Wesleyan true conference man, one of the 'hundred' — the only Wesleyan of that })arty present. He came from Birmingham, and said he was determined to come let who would oppose ; and, further, that wo need not despair of the Wesleyans, for if the Church came round Conference would soon follow. Then came Winter HamiitoTi, full of gibes, and puns, and witty turns, but I think not in his best manner. Giles of Leeds, Swan of Birmingham, Dr. Ritchie of Edinburgh (like a clansman), and several minor st.irs twinkled a little. The last speaker was Freeman, under the disadvantage of the people leaving. These parties moved several resolutions prepared by the Committee, all which were disposed of." * A mistake. Earl Ducie was invited to speali. f Of Ebley. CHAP. XVIII.] CONGREGATIONAL IIISTOEY. 563 ** Manchester, August 21, 1841. " My dear Friend, — It is difficult to pronounce an opinion upon tte late Conference. I viewed the experiment as fearfully hazardous, but 1 think it has been remarkably preserved from many dangers. I should, however, fear the recurrence of such meetings, although I think the expression of opinion by the ministers of our own denomination perfectly justifiable. Of the late meeting, I should say it cannot be viewed as the expression of opinion of our denomination. The persons present represent themselves as, at most, their own congregations, and, in each denomination, constituted but a small part. Yet, still, it was a very important meeting, and has excited amazing interest throughout the manufacturing districts. I felt rather jealous for the honour of our own body, and did not quite like the multitude of sects with which they were minyled, and the persons of all sorts who called themselves preachers. " Of the meeting I must say it was managed with amazing tact, skill, energy, and power. I do not think on any other subject, or in any other place, such a meeting could be obtained. This arose partly from the boundless liberality of the Anti-Corn- Law League, who furnished clerks, messengers, door-keepers, assistants of all kinds, printing, feeding, etc., at the will of the secretaries ; partly from the power, and energy, and untiring perseverance of the secretaries and committees. What a wonder- ful man this Massie is ! He has worked night and day — writing, talking, debating, contriving, watching, soliciting, refusing, urging — I know not what, and never tired. He must have nerves of iron. I verily believe he has done more business than I have done in the whole course of my life. Then there were many of the Manchester ministers, who devoted themselves to preparing measures, and several others who were scarcely ever in the Hall, but sitting in the committee rooms from seven in the morning until ten in the evening. Moreover, the thing never came to a Conference at all, but only a convocation. There was no discussion. The Committee took care to provide resolutions which were moved and seconded, and then to receive information. The room being ci'owded with spectators checked discussion^ which was, I think, fortunate. Besides, the feeling was so general in favour of the extreme view — no ' protection,' no * fixed duty ' — that no person on the other side would have any 564 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XVIII. chance. As an effort of generalship, nothing could have been more complete. So far for the meeting. I understand some of the more violent partisans have loudly expressed something more than regret that I did not ' come out ' like my brethren, and some unkind reflections have been made. But this I must bear. I did what I thought best. I have sent you the papers, and " I remain, yours very cordially, *' Robert Halley." While Dr. Halley, and ministers of equal rank, were shrinking and shivering for fear lest their reputation should suffer, or the honour of the denomination should be tarnished by contact with " minor sects," it was reserved to men less condiUon prominent to throw themselves, heart and °lo^L ^^^^' ^^^^ ^^® work of providing sustenance for thousands suffering from want and sickness, unwilling, in the direst extremity, to be- come paupers. In Stockport, 15,000 persons were left in this deplorable condition. Their case was examined, and reported to the Government ; a relief fund was established ; the attention of Parhament was called to the case ; commissioners sent down to institute inquiry, and the result printed in one of the Blue Books. The ministers of the " minor sects," and the Congregational ministers in a second-rate position, met weekly for conference and prayer, and held united meetings to instruct and comfort the people. The scenes of heart-rending misery they found in household visitation could never be forgotten by them, nor the expression of their gratitude for the sympathy and help they received, poor and inadequate as, of necessity, it could only be. After gaining some relief from the Legislature, as CHAP. XVIII.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOEF. 565 the result of a long-continued agitation on their " grievances," the Dissenters for a time yielded to a spirit of supine indifference. Their slumber, tending to a state of chronic torpor, was rudely \ .' -^ Bill for the broken by a Bui proposed m Parliament Education for the Education of Factory Children, chiidren!^^ Lord Ashley, in anticipation of the measure, proposed a Commission of Inquiry on the subject, and a remedy was quickly offered for the removal of the ignorance proved to exist. The House of Commons listened to the proposal with a degree of respectful complacency, and even the " Liberal " members offered no serious objection. But, on examining the 68th clause of the Bill, the Dissenters discovered in it a renewal of the penalties and restrictions that their fathers had laboured so strenu- ously to remove. A new rate was to be imposed, the Church of England was to be acknowledged as the " supreme instructress" of the nation, and the defenceless chil- dren of the poor were to be compelled to attend Church on Sunday, unless exemption was claimed on the ground of conscientious dissent. The House of Commons was immediately flooded with petitions against the Bill from all parts of through- the country. Sir James Graham asto- country. nished at the opposition, from his place in Parliament, offered Christian counsel to the divided religious parties, and presented for acceptance an amended Bill. " This," he said, " is my olive branch. I tender it in the hope that the harbinger of peace, ere long, may return with the glad tidings that the waters have subsided. Ou the part of the 5GG CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [iJlAl'. XVII f. Government, I tendei' this peace offering, in the spirit of Chris- tian charity and good will." On re-examination of the slightly-modified Bill, the Dissenters found that its obnoxious features Bill with- still remained, and resented it the more as drawn. ^ piece of gross imposition combined with intolerance. The " waters rose still higher," and the discomfited author of the proposal was glad for the sake of his own peace to withdraw it entirely. Having signally defeated the obnoxious measure, many Nonconformist leaders were anxious to give some practical proof that their opposition to it did not arise from indifierence to the evils of popular ignorance. Whilst maintaining with consistency their principles of non-interference of the State in matters of religion, they were anxious that the chil- dren of the poor should be provided with tionar^^ instruction in day schools, and that the Educatbn. simplc truths of Christianity should form an essential part of the system. A Confe- rence on this subject " constituted of delegates from the Congregational Churches of England," was held in London on the 13 th and 14th of December, 1843. On the motion of Mr. John Morley, seconded by Mr. Edward Baines, junior, Mr. Charles Hindley was called upon to preside. After " prayer for the Divine guidance and blessing," and an address from the chair, the first resolution was moved by the Rev. Dr. Rafiles, of Liverpool, and seconded by Mr. Samuel Fletcher, of Manchester — " That it appears to the present meeting, that in addition to those unchanging reasons in favour of education, which pi'ove CHAP. XVIIl.] CONGKEGATIONAL HISTORY. 567 sound intelligence to be essential to man's social, moral, and religious welfare, there are considerations, special to the present state of this country, demanding immediate efforts for the better instruction of the people." The second resolution was moved by the Rev. J. A. James, of Birmingham, and seconded by Mr. David Wilhams Wire, of London — " That the present meeting is fully alive to all the advantages of acting in union with Christians of other communions, for the advancement of the great objects of religious benevolence, not necessarily involving differences of faith and practice ; yet deems Congregational efforts for general education indispensable in the present state of this country." The third resolution, moved by Alderman Ker- shaw, of Manchester, and seconded by Mr. Greorge Hadfield, of Manchester — " That a subscription be now opened for this great work ; every donor, now or hereafter, as he may deem most advisable, to determine the appropriation of his donation, to the central fund to local efforts, to the British and Foreign School Society, or to such other institution for the training of teachers, as he may appove." The fourth resolution, moved by the Rev. J. Kelly, of Liverpool, and seconded by Mr. James James, of Birmingham, after considerable discussion was withdrawn to be substituted for the following, proposed by the Rev. A. Wells, and seconded by the Rev. R. W. Hamilton, of Leeds, carried with but one dissentient — " That this meeting, utterly repudiating on the strongest grounds of Scripture and conscience, the receipt of money raised by taxation and granted by Q-overnment, for sustaining the Christian religion, feels bound to apply this principle no less to the work of religious education ; and considering that the 568 CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. [CHAP. XVIII. education given by the Congregational churches must be religious education, advises most respectfully, but most earnestly, that no Government aid be received by them for schools established in their Ovvn connection, and that all funds confided to the disposal of the Central Committee in aid of schools be granted only to schools sustained entirely by voluntary contribu- tions." Other resolutions were adopted in relation to practical details. A large fund was subscribed, several gentlemen present giving a thousand pounds each, and Mr. Samuel Morley was appointed treasurer. The controversy on the question of national education that shortly after followed the formation of the Board, and the divided opinions caused by the keen discussion, necessarily restricted its operations, but, mainly by the exertions of the treasurer, it was kept in existence for several years, and the Homerton Training College supported by it, according to the testimony of the ablest Government inspectors, was pronounced to be one of the most efficient in the kingdom. The signal victory gained by the Dissenters over the Secretary of State for the Home Department^ followed by the " Disruption " in the Kirk Church of Scotland, May 18th, 1843, emboldened Movement. „ . the more advanced JNonconiormists to muster their forces for a combined assault on the citadel of the Establishment, j^fter many preliminary meetings for counsel in reference to the movement, a meeting of delegates from various parts of the country was heldattheTown Hall Library, Leicester, on Thurs- day, December 4th, 1843 ; when the following resolu- tion, among others, was adopted unanimously : — CHAP. XVIII.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 5G9 " That this meeting, impressed with the belief that the principle of national Establishments for the maintenance of religion is essentially Anti- Christian and nnjust, derogatory to the sovereign claims of the great Head of the Church, and subver- sive of the indefeasible rights of man ; that the practical work- ing of this principle in Great Britain and Ireland is productive of numerous and most deplorable evils, spiritual, moral, political and social ; that strenuous and systematic efforts are now being made to extend the range and to augment the efficiency of this principle, both at home and in our colonies ; that the introduc- tion to Parliament last session of the Factories Education Bill, by the Secretary for the Home Department, affords sufficient evidence that the existing measure of religious liberty enjoyed m this kingdom is, during the continuance of the compulsory system, unsafe; and that the present juncture of events distinctly and loudly calls upon the friends of the voluntary principle cordially to unite, and earnestly to labour, in the use of all peaceable and Christian means, to accomplish, as speedily as possible, a separation of the Church from the State — deem it expedient that a conference of delegates be convened, representing all persons in these realms who repudiate the principle of a religious Establishment, and who are of opinion that this is a suitable method of commencing a serious movement against it ; and this meeting do hereby pledge themselves to use their best exertions to secure the assembling of such conference at the place and time which may hereafter appear most nearly to accord with general convenience and with the demand of contingent events." Dr. Pye Smith, with the Christian simplicity and moral courage by which his whole career was characterized, identified himself Smith^and with the movement. He received in of°H™jj^^p*^f consequence a communication from the *«« /^ TT /-^ n • Academy. Committee of Homerton College, meetmg in Pebruary, 1 844, to which he sent the following reply : — " Mt Honoured Eriends and Brethren, — Permit me to return my best thanks, in this more explicit and permanent 570 CONGREGATIONAL HISTOliY. [cilAP. NVIII. manner, for the generous reasons and the kind manner of the desire expressed at your last meeting, that I would withdraw from my membership with the Anti-State Church Association. " If that desire could be met upon the ground of mere feeling, if compliance or non-compliance were a question upon which I could exercise my will, if it were an optional alternative, readily and gladly should I assent ; but it is not so. My originally uniting with that association was, so far as feeling could be concerned in it, most sti-ongly against my inclination. Perhaps I should not have had the courage to take that step entirely of myself. I was invited to it in a most grave, serious, and Christian . manner ; and therefore I could not refrain from giving due con- sideration to the question. It was and is a matter of conscience before God. The principles of dissent I imbibed from my father and my best early connections ; and they have been confirmed and raised to the highest degree of conviction by all my observa- tion, reading, reflection, and experience to this hour. This solemn and overwhelming conviction, as a very element of religious life, was expressed some years ago in more than one of my publications. " The sole design of the Society to which this letter refers, is to lay before our countrymen the evidence of Scripture, reason, and experience upon this subject; appealing to men's judgment and conscience, and the solemn sense of an accountableness to Him who demands our obedience and has given us His word to guide the manifestations of that obedience. " I have alarming apprehensions that, if the abolition of this iniquity be not accomplished by the peaceful means of scriptural argument and rational persuasion, if the professed disciples of Jesus Christ abandon their duty in this momentous cause, it loill fall into the hands of the men of the world and will be accomplished by some fearful convulsion should such a result be brought on, or at all aided through our indifference or supine- ness, we shall be answerable for the consequence, and who can estimate the greatness of our guilt." The proposed Anti- State Churcli Conference was held on the 30th of April, 1844. The Rev. John Burnet presided at the first session. Papers were read by Dr. Wardlaw, Mr. Miall, Dr. Pye Smith, Rev. J. P. Mursell, Dr. Price and others, and special CHAP. XVllI.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOLiY. 571 prominence was given to tlie religious bearings of the subject. " The truth is," said Mr. Miall, " that the political side of this question dwindles into insignificance when compared with the spiritual." " The most sacred principles," said Mr. Mursell, " the most powerful motives, the most holy cij„rc)i affections of ivhich the human heart is susceptible, shotild Conference, he embarked in the enterprise. A solemn sense of p^j^ara^ct'er""^ obligation to the great Head of the Christian Church, a vital concern for His glory and a godly jealousy for the spirituality of His reign, should distinguish it. It is, then, in the spirit and name of our divine Master we are to go forth, to endea- vour to rescue His cause from the degradation which has befallen it. Nor can we entertain too deep a sense of our dependence on the right arm of the Most High. It will behove us to seek His direction in every measure we devise. His blessing on every effort we make ; and while our opponents carry on the conflict in which they are engaged by the force of law, by the hand and influence of the civil magistrate, by pains and penalties and the fear of death, it must be ours to be mighty in prayer and to advance under the sanction of the apostolic banner, feeling that the ' weapons of our warfare are not carnal.' " Dr. Price in the pages of the " Eclectic " review ed the proceedings of the Conference with unqualified satisfaction. " We notice," he said, " as a .strildng feature of these meetings, the entire absence of all political discussions. Not a petition to Parliament, nor a memorial to the Queen, nor even a „ . „ ' _ ... Review of resolution expressive of a political sentiment was proceedings adopted. This was the more remarkable, as a great ^y Dr. part of the men assembled were known to entertain very decided political views, and to be thoroughly earnest in their maintenance. Still they met for a specific object, one paramount to all others, over which they had prayed, and for which, if need be, they were prepai-ed to make costly sacrifice. They therefore, as wise men, confined themselves to this, and the evidence of their single-heartedness and self-control, now before the public, cannot fail to make a deep impression. A proposition 572 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. XVIII. to send a petition from the Conference to Parliament, was submitted by a minister of deserved repute, but was withdrawn on a general expression of opinion unfavourable to its adoption. We need not say how many predictions this fact falsified, but we do trust that the utterers of such predictions will deem it befitting — an act of common integrity due alike to themselves and to their brethren, to acknowledge their error and repudiate the spirit under which they wrote. Never ivas any public meeting of Dissenters held so ahsolutely free from the charge alleged against this Gotiferencs, of being a means for the promotion of political ends, for the redress of civil grievances. The published address of the executive Committee, which had been extensively circulated, might and ought to have prevented such a charge, but no document will suffice to guard from error, if good men permit themselves to substitute their own imaginations for the avowed intentions of their brethren." These assurances of the non-poHtical character of the Anti-State Church Movement did not reconcile the editor of the Congregational Maga- zine to the movement. In an article in relation to the Conference, he said : — " The great question of the Establishment of a church by the State, may, and we think must, be regarded under two very different aspects — the Christian and the political. Objection of We may view the EstabHshed Church of this the Editor country, in its relation to the New Testament and of the Con- •" p i • i i gregational those high spiritual purposes for which alone we Magazine. believe the Church was founded by our Saviour. and we may view it in its relation to the laws of the land, and those lower and secular uses for which churches have been endowed and fettered by acts of Government. We may consider it as Christians concerned for the honour of Christ and the salvation of the souls of men — or as citizens concerned for the rights of the community and the advancement of its temporal prosperity. Both of these aspects of the subject have their respective claims, but these are of unequal magnitude, and they appeal especially to different classes of persons. The Christian aspect is that which has the strongest claim on the true Christian, and is that which he can commend to his brethren. CHAP. XVIII.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 573 The political aspect is the only one which others are willing to advocate, or which they are able rightly to understand. " We are convinced that it is under the Christian aspect of the subject that the truth of our views, as Dissenters, is most evident. We think that it is ours to seek to influence Christian men by Christian considerations ; and that we should not take up any other work that would interfere with our success here. We hope that the followers of Christ will in general see that they can, with safety and advantage, resign the privileges of an Establishment before worldly men are led to conclude that the destruction of the Establishment would be beneficial to the nation. We would much rather witness the diflusion of Christian truth than the growth of any party in the State ; and deem the peaceful triumph of Christian principle far more desirable than the victory of political power. " We object to this Conference as a means for the promotion of religious ends, the right government of the Church of Christ, because, according to its constitution, it is to consist of Christians, Socinians, and men of no religion. They who in all their conduct are governed by the authority of Christ, and they who do not even acknowledge that authority ; they who supremely value the spiritual ends of Christianity, and they who care not for them, and do not comprehend them, are united together in this undertaking. The Conference must, we think, to be consistent, act on the low views and principles which are the only common ground on which its members can meet. Thus our religious influence, wherein our real strength lies, is neces- sarily diminished. Few will believe that we are animated by religious motives, and are seeking religious ends, if we court the counsel and personal co-operation of men who have no sympathy with us in these things — truth may, we think, be enfeebled by an alliance with the power of the people, as well as by alliance with that of the Government. "Again, we object to this Conference as a means for the promotion of political ends — for the redress of civil grievances — because we think that in such an object Christian ministers have no especial concern, and Christian churches and congregations, as such, no proper concern at all. We think that our ministers have nobler and better objects to pursue — that few are qualified for successful political agitation, and that all may be more •574 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAr. XVITT. usefully employed. Our Christian societies are formed for mutual improvement in piety, and for the extension of Christian truth and privileges to all. If they are ever made political associations, so far their Christian character must be obscured, and their Christian usefulness lessened. And should the new ])lan be adopted of giving organization to ministers, and the power of independent action, we think that the worst conse- quences in regard to peace and order are to be apprehended. Every society will have its rival factious, and a sad spectacle of discord will then appear. In conclusion, we cannot but regard the Anti-State Church Conference as liable to the same objections as the State Church itself. Its design is to employ worldly influence for the advancement of Christian objects, and to use Christian Churches for the promotion of political objects. We think that Christian societies should be used only for Christian endi, and that these will only be attained when sought by Christian means." This frank statement gave great umbrage to the promoters of the Conference, and called forth sharp rebuke. The suggestion that Socinians might join the Association was denounced as unworthy and libellous. To give practical demonstration of their displeasure, some of the subscribers of the Con- (jregational Magazine withdrew their support, and wrote to the editor letters of severe remonstrance. Dr. Vaughan, on the other hand, the foremost representative of tlie denomination, for his unrivalled eloquence on the platform of the Congregational Union, and commanding influence, felt that his party were compromised by the editor of the Dr Vaughan " Eclcctic E-Bview." Thougli Committed nnd the fo the ouerous eno^aofcmcnts of his new " ]5riti-eople in the trade would soon contract for everything that was wanted, and undersell us alto- CHAP. XIX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 583 getherj and we all know how ruinous these things have heeninjoint- stoch concerns, so that I will not have ant/ thing to do loith them ; and very nice sport it would be to the patentees to see the concern involved in debt and disgrace. I should be very glad if you would show this letter to Dr. Thomson, and any other friends you may see fit. The Doctor has obtained a great triumph, and we have got by it a fulcrum for a lever that may serve England and the world. Let us be careful how we improve it, and escape pecuniary ruin of the cause. The first thing will be to obtain legal informa- tion, and work upon public opinion, and the Bible Society espe- cially, and, by fighting the battle on Scotch ground, show what could be done by freedom of competition. " I find the three staple objections against emancipation of the Bible are — 1st, the insecurity of the text, which has been demonstrated to be safer the freer it is ; 2nd, the badness of the type ; and 3rd, the badness of the paper at Dr. Thomson's prices. It will not be difficult to encounter all these. A very excellent address has been sent me, printed in Liverpool by D. Marples, October 13 instant, which I hope you have seen. ** I remain, dear Sir, yours very truly, " G-EOEGE HaBPIELD. " Rev. John Waddington." The facts brought out by Dr. Thomson were communicated to the public in local journals, pamphlets, and at public meetings. It will be seen from the following note that some attention was given to the legal view of the case : — " BuNGAT, December 9, 1840. " My dear Sir, — I thank you for the proof of your this week's letter, and am glad to see by your letter written thereon, that you are condensing the matter as much as possible. T p I. • J J J.1- • • Letter of I, of course, having never passed under the imposi- ^^ Childa tion of hands, cannot be presumed to know anything about the labour of preparation for the pulpit, but I humbly think condensation is the essential quality of all effective composition. For the public papers, however, I may say that you may rely upon it, the public will not read, and do not even scan, very long newspaper articles. Short, close, hard, are the class of blows for 584 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. XIX. that kind of fighting. See how the Times does its work — slap, and take away its antagonist's wind, if he can ; but if unex- pectedly he answers, then never return to get into a roio. If I could ^ee you, I could point to a part in the monopolist, where, if you were to strike him, he would Jiuid till the wellcin toould tremhle. But I dare not write it ; no, T mustn't. " You will be pleased with Mr. Campbell's management of that part of his reply to Brandram and Brown's silly letter, which relates to nonpareil Bible. It will lead people to ask why, when the Bible Society pays fifty per cent, more for the nonpareil Bible to the King's printer than they could get it for in Scotland — ivhy should the Government also pay the said monopolist 2d, over and above the said 20f d. "What will they do with this ? " The trustees of Surrey Chapel have decided that it shall not be granted for a meeting on the Bible subject, *' Mr, McKerrow, as the proper person, should give Mr, Ashurst instructions, if they have decided that he shall proceed for a case on the validity of the patent. " Return me the enclosed note from Mr. Ashurst by next post. " My dear Sir, sincerely yours, " John Childs." Mr. BaineSj ALP., in a Committee of tlie House of Commons, obtained a report on the Bible printing monopoly of great importance, and clearer informa- tion was conveyed to the public. On a visit to Dr. Cam])bell, in London, Dr. Thomson supplied him with documents, of which he made effective use in the British Banner. This course, however, did not satisfy Mr. Childs, who took a printer's view of the question. In a letter dated Bungay, July 28, 18L1, he writes : — " "When your letter of the 1 9th arrived, I had gone to Leicester to pay ]\lr. Baines * the respect which I believe due to him. 1 am rather beset now for time, owing to the * jMr. Baines and 'Mr. Cliilds bad both suffered inipri-omnont for tlie non- payment of Church rates. CHAP. XIX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 585 loss of time in going thither, but I reply to you shortly without delay. " I think the meeting in Manchester will be a fine opportunity for mentioning of the Bible monopoly, and the better, for the fact that Catholics will be there, because they have no restriction, and there is no restraint on printing the Douay Bible without note or comment ; therefore, they can, with great propriety, I imagine, help to denounce the monopoly as such, after a fashion that will give an air of liberality to their expressions. " I have rested from carrying on my narrative of the progress of the Scotch abolition during the elections, as it would have been folly to have expected anybody to look at that subject while the excitement of the election lasted, I will come again in due time, there is no hurry ; and I dont suppose there is so much anxiety in the country to enrich Camphell, that whether I come again sooner or later, it will take anything out of his pocket, poor fellow / " I wish the Dissenting ministers, when they meet, may show that they understand the subject of Corn and Currency, with their relations to the bowels of mankind, and that they may exhibit more earnestness than they have done on the sub- jects of religious monopoly. On this latter subject I must say, with some honourable exceptions, they have damaged the cause of man's religious rights beyond remedy for tliis gfeneration." It is clear from this correspondence that no sano-uine expectation was entertained as to an immediate and decisive result of the proposed legal process for the removal of the monopoly, and Mr. Childs had evidently more confidence in his own mode of action than that adopted by the editor of the British Banner. In common with the Leicester Nonconformists, Mr. Childs attached httle impor- tance to the declamatory articles written by Dr. Campbell, though an effective agitator was desired to make the " Monopolist howl " and make the «' welkin tremble." 586 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XI5^. Dr. Campbell (" poor fellow ") mastered the facts of the case, marshalled them in order, and pressed them on public attention with so Success of ■•■ ^ Dp. Camp- much vigour that the Monopolist felt the insecurity of his position and surrendered by a reduction in prices that distanced all competition and left no room for any legal proceeding. The argument, appeal, and remonstrance that produced this effect came from the pen of Dr. Campbell. He asked no counsel, and received no help. He felt at liberty, therefore, to accept the offered terms of capitulation, and ceased to agitate. The Bible that before could only be obtained for 5s. 6cZ. might now be purchased for Is. 6(i., or 2s., and so of other copies in proportion. The service rendered, there- fore, by Dr. Campbell, in its moral effect was greater than any known to us ^from any other man of his time. The result of the sudden termination of the contest was undoubtedly disastrous to Dr. Thom- son, but chiefly from the circumstance that mentofPr. he had unhappily embarked in a scheme Thomson. ^^^ "Bible printing, and became involved in the most distressing embarrassment. In a letter dated " Coldstream, 8th November, 1847," express- ing his thankfulness for a communication written in his favour, he says : — " Here then, ' dear sir,' is the real state of matters. Being in great distress from my inability to meet pressing pecuniary demands, all arising from the large stock of Bibles throion on our hands, partly from the state of the times, but chiefly from the cruel and tmaccov/ntahle conduct of the Bible Society, I went to London, in September last, to ask the counsel and aid of my brethren in the ministry, and others among the influential friends of Bible CHAP. XIX.] CONGREGATIONA.L HISTOET. 587 Circulation. A meeting was called accordingly, wliicli you, with many others, were invited to attend. At that meeting, after a pretty long speech, I read the printed papers which I now enclose, and, after considerable discussion, it was agreed that one paper should be suppressed, lest unnecessary offence should be given to the Bible Society, and a deputation was appointed to wait on the Committee of that Society to state my circumstances and plead my cause, in the hope that the proposed testimonial to me might obtain the sanction of that great institution. " At a subsequent meeting it was resolved that, after hearing again from the Committee of the Bible Society, there should be another meeting in the Congregational Library, and a committee formed to adopt measures first for securing the sale of our heavy stock of Bibles so as to relieve the Free Bible Press Company, and subsequently to attempt raising a testimonial for the benefit of myself and my family. The chairman, Mr. Wilks, was in the meantime directed to write a kind letter to me, stating their intentions, with a view to allay the clamour of any troublesome creditors. Though merely for private circulation, I got it printed to save the trouble of transcription, and I send a copy of it also. It was understood, be it carefully observed, that I was now to be completely passive, and henceforward to leave the matter entirely in the hands of my friends. My hands are thus bound up, so that whatever you and others who take your view, may kindly see it fit to do, must not be done, as if through any suggestion of mine. And yet, under the terrible exigencies of the case, if you and others think anything can be done likely to serve the purpose in view, I shall indeed feel grateful." The incessant toil, keen trials and disappoint- ments and noble aims of Adam Thomson should never be forgotten in connection with the case of the Bible monopoly. He ventured beyond the resources at his command and suffered a heavy penalty. But as the pioneer of the movement, his name should stand first in honour. As editor of the Christian Witness and Christian Penny Magazine^ the service of Dr. Campbell to the oSS OOXGEEOATIONAL UTSTORY. [CITAP. XIX. Congregational Churclies was in its kind un- exampled— not only in the extensive circulation of these publications and in the creation from Christian ^ Witness, the profits of a benevolent fund of seven thousand pounds for the support of aged ministers, but still more in the sound instruction and healthy stimulus given to his readers at home and in the colonies. This unprecedented success arose from no meretricious attractions. The maga- zines contained neither pictorial illustrations nor sensational tales, but clear and consistent theology, practical counsels, and the fullest intelligence re- specting the principles, the order, the work, and influence of the denomination. Every number issued was expected with eagerness, and read with avidity from the notes of the editor to his corres- pondents to the last word in the text. The goodly volumes remain as a treasury of information on all points connected with the movements of the time and the interests of the denomination. On the 6th of March, 1846, Thomas Saunders GuYER, the exemplary pastor of the Congregational Church, at Ryde, in the Isle of Wiofht, Death of . . -, t -, ■ n\ ■ Eev. T. s. finished his useful and consistent course "^^'^' amidst the regrets of his flock and of the inhabitants of the town in which he had long been held honoured and loved for his active benevolence and exemplary character. It become needful to apply to the clergyman of a neighbouring parish, in which a family grave had been purchased some time before, for the interment of his mortal remains, and meeting an unexpected refusal, the following letters were exchanged : — •CHAP. XIX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORy. 589 Mr. T. S. Guyer, eldest son of the deceased, to the Rev. P. Hewett, Rector of Binstead, near Ryde. " Eev. Sir, — Mr. Colenutt having been appointed to wait upon you, to obtain your permission that the body of my father should be interred in Binstead churchyard, where the j^gf^g^j ^^ ^^ bodies of two of his children now lie, has told us grave by that you have refused to comply on the ground t^^J^^^^^'^, ' that he was a Dissenting minister. i he singularity of such a circumstance has led me to address you, and to request a corroboration of this statement from yourself. A compliance will greatly oblige, " Rev. Sir, yours respectfully, " Monday, March 10, 1846. " Thomas S. Gutee. " To the Rev. P. Hewett." Rev. P. Hewett to Mr. T. S. Gnyer. " SiRj — In reply to your letter of yesterday's date, I have to state that Mr. Colenutt, the undertaker, did request me to inter in Binstead churchyard the body of the late Mr. Guyer, minister of the congregation of Independents in the town of Ryde, and that I refused to comply with his request. "I believe, that if Mr. Guyer had died within the parish of Binstead, the law of the land, overruling the law of the Church, w^ould have compelled the minister of Binstead to bury him. But, as he was resident during his lifetime, and died in the parish of Newchurch, the law of the land does not prescribe any rule for such a case ; and in the absence of any other conflicting law, 1 am compelled to obey the law of the Church, which dearly forhids her ministej-s from using her office for the burial of the dead, for any that have stood in the same relation to the Church that Mr. Guyer did. I pray you to bear in mind that I am not acting upon a private feeling, but simply complying with the rule which the Church prescribes to me. I can honestly say, that if my refusal to comply with their wish is attended with pain to his friends, it is no less distressing to me to be the instrument o^ communicating that pain ; and I will add, further, that if in any case personal character could furnish a warrant to me, as a minister of the Church, 590 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [OHAP. XIX. jor deviating from my prescribed rule, it would he found in the case of your late father. " I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, " Binstead Rectory. " Philip Hewett. " P.S. — I see I have omitted to touch upon a point to which you have adverted in your letter, and which is not unimportant — namely, the fact that two of Mr. Guyer's children are buried in Binstead churchyard, and that my refusal to bury Mr. Guyer separates the father from the children in their death. One of these children was buried before my appointment to the living ; when the other died I yielded to the suggestions of my own feelings when I consented to lay her up with her sister. And I confess that, if I were now to listen to the dictates of feeling alone, I should at once consent to bury the father with his children ; I may have been wrong in the first act. I acknowledge that I ought to have made your father aware that the reception of his child was to he no pledge to him that his own hody should find its resting-place in the same churchward. I acknowledge that it was ill-considered not to have been thus explicit with the father. But there is a great distinction to he drawn between the circum- stances of those young children under teaching, and the father him- self, the minister and teacher of a congregation of Independents ; however, in so far as I have been instrumental in sundering them, 1 am desirous of repairing my fault ; and, as the penalty of former want of prudence, I will willingly chai-ge myself with the expenses attendant upon removing their remains to the same grave which their parent is to occupy, if such should be the wish of the family." This painful incident naturally caused great excitement in all classes of the community. The refusal of a grave to one whose excellence of cha- racter was admitted by the " rector," was felt to be an outrage on the feelings of a bereaved family and congregation, almost without precedent. A strong desire was expressed to counteract the indignity by some special manifestation of respect and sympathy. Eight hundred persons passed through the house iu which the corpse remained unburied, to take a CHAP. XIX.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOET. 591 last look at the countenance of their friend and pastor. A place of sepulchre was found in the chapel ; and Mr. Binney, in a funeral discourse, gave his testimony to the worth of Mr. Guyer, from personal experience when a neighbouring minister at Newport. Dr. Winter Hamilton, rising in the esteem of his ministerial brethren, and after successful authorship— literary, philosophical, educational, .and theological — was called to the Chair of ^ the Congregational Union in 1847. His Hamilton's inaugural address, in the meeting held in the Congrl May, was in relation to his favourite UnioD'i847. theme — sound evangehcal theology. He expressed his full conviction that the Congregational ministers held the faith of the Grospel in its sim- phcity and completeness. " It is the glory of our ministry," he said, " and pastoracy, to inherit the richest theology which any community could boast. I am confident that we are faithful to it. We are not ashamed of fixedness of belief. In the idea of God, Christianity can only be one, invariably the same. In the human reading of it we hold that there may be, and ought to be, certitude and precision. But the art of studying it may constantly improve. Its own applications to new forms of society and new conditions of mind may be as unexpectedly new. We may have much of which to disabuse ourselves, as that which we thought was taught by Scripture, but of which Scripture is utterly unknowing. Our very frenzy would be to dispute any fads of science from a zealous regard to revelation. The facts of science are the works of God. There phenomena are a species of revelation. They are proved by the evidence of our senses ; and though false theory, raised upon them, may contradict proper revelations the things themselves never can." A few days before the autumnal session of the 592 COKGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XIX. Congregational Union, held at York, the Rev. John Illness and ^^7' ^^^^^ ^ short illness, drew near his Deathof Q^^^ On the 8th of October his old J\ev. John Ely. friend and neighbour, the Rev. Thomas Scales, inquired if he had any message to the brethren about to assemble at York. "Yes," he said; "it must be a message of love." And then, after a short pause, and with much feeling, he added, " Peace be to the brethren, and love, with faith from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." Then, taking hold and affectionately pressing Mr. Scales' hand, he said, " May you have in your assembly, and in your proceedings, the wisdom that is fr^ora above, pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits. Keep to great principles, and on no account abandon or compromise them. I hope all our churches will adhere faithfully to the principles we have solemnly and publicly avowed. Discussions will arise. Court discussion, but avoid all bitterness. God, I trust, will guide and bless you. The God of love and peace be with you." On the following morning he " fell asleep in Jesus." Dr. Hamilton was deeply aflPected by the event. His own health had been greatly enfeebled, and he seemed to be crushed by the stroke of bereavement. In his opening address he said : — " Honoured and beloved Brethren, — Little am I fitted to address you. My heart is sore ; my strength is dried up. Tou Address of know ' such things have befallen me ! ' The stroke Dr. Hamil- which most I have deprecated, save that which might ^n at t e jj^ve fallen upon my dearest relationships, has Meeting. smitten me to the dust. I had rather have ' sought where to weep.' My brother, my companion in labour. CHAP. XIX.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 593 and fellow-soldier, has fallen at my side. I have closed his eyes, the earthly tie of thirty-six years* friendship — a friend- ship which suffered not the most superficial ruffling, or a momen- tary pause— is severed ! Paul could not have known Epaphro- ditus so long, could not have loved him more ; but mercy was had upon him which I might not presume to expect, which I was not worthy to receive, though the double mercy was to the departed, and I have sorrow upon sorrow. " I am not here the biographer of John Ely ; alas, I am but the apologist for my own weakness. Tet may it be recorded ; forgive the handful of flowers I strew upon his yet unhearsed remains, that rarely has character presented itself oS'ering so many titles to esteem, and consisting of such beautiful propor- tions, that few men and ministers could be so tenderly beloved, or so justly lamented ; and that, without ungenerously compar- ing him with others, scarcely could a greater void be created than he leaves behind. How lonely, how grave-like, grows the world to many of us. " Griefs, personal and even public, must yield to the tasks of dut^r. For thes^e, drying our tears, let us now gird ourselves. Like the patriarchs, we may only halt to compose a grave and rear a pillar, and then go on our journey. The victorious army encamps to bury its slain, but immediately breaks up for further conquest. The brevity and uncertainty of this life only makes it more serious. The less of time, the more importunate are our obligations. Others have laboured, and now rest from their labours ; let us labour, that we may enter into that rest.'' A number of representatives of the congre- gation were delegated to attend the funeral, and many other brethren accompanied them from York to Leeds. The day of interment came. About one hundred of the ministers of various communities preceded the hearse, along with the town mis- sionaries. The Rev. John Poxon, a minister of the Methodist New Connexion, who was present, says : — " The corpse was first taken to East Parade Chapel, the place where Mr. Ely had so long preached the glorious gospel, and was 38 594 CONGREGATIONA.L HISTORY. [CHAr. XTX. placed near the pulpit. Around it sat his venerable mother, his beloved wife, her only child, and his brother, and near Funeral of ^^ ^y^^^ ^j^g deacons of the Church. The chapel was ^" lilled by a multitude who loved him while living, and perhaps more than ever now he was dead. Dr. Raffles delivered the funeral oration, and the Hev. J. A. James oflered a prayer the most tender and touching I ever heard. He first expressed how sorrowful they all felt to meet on so sad an occasion, but thankful it was not to mourn over a lost reputation. ' The sur- prise would not have been so great,' he said, ' had they been called to follow another beloved brother in Christ (Dr. Hamil- ton) to his tomb; but he who had been brought so near to the gates of death had been in great mercy spared, whilst their friend, the honoured minister of that Church, had been taken to his rest in heaven. What has the West Eiding done ? ' he said, ' oh God ! that Thy hand should have fallen so heavily upon it. Sanctify the event, oh God, to the good of all. Make it a warn- ing and a blessing to this great town, to this congregation, to this Church, and to his brethren in the ministry.' ''The feelincr in the congregation had now become very excited. He now went on to pray for the aged and pious mother who sat at the feet of her beloved son, who had long been expect- ing to hear a sweet voice from heaven saying, ' Come away to the skies.' Next he prayed for the brother, who I believe, was a doctor in the West of England. Next he tenderly asked God to sustain and comfort the widow, till she and her sainted hus- band should meet again. Then oh, how touchiugly he begged God's fatherly care, guidance, protection, and blessing for the now fatherless child. " I stood near to Dr. Hamilton at the grave, and shall not for- get the big tears chasing each other down hia cheeks, as he was taking his last look of him he loved so truly. " When all was over, and we were waiting at the grave side in silence, singing was heard, it came from voices of young people, who were out of sight among the trees. They were lambs of the flock he had pastured so lovingly." The separation of Dr. Hamilton from liis de- parted friend was not long. He prepared the "Congregational Lectm^e" .for CHAr. XIX.] CONGREGATIONAL niSTORY. 595 ] S4!Q on the " Revealed Doctrine of Rewards and Punisliments," amidst great weakness and _ ,, , . -, . . -, Last Days pam, "often, he said, "it was impressed of Dr. upon him that he could not survive to complete his plan." Then under increasing debility and suffering, he wrote a beautiful and touching memoir of Mr. Ely. His last sermon to his own people he preached on the 7th of May, 1848, from the text "For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come" (Heb. xiii. 14), closing with the words of Bunyan's Pilgrim entering the golden city, " Which when I had seen, I wished myself among them." Finally, on the 25th of May, he preached for the Wesleyans at Rotherham, from the text, " Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus." He sought rest in change of scene, but the malady from which he suffered (erysipelas) would admit of no relief, and he turned his steps homeward. He had occu- pied a foremost place in anniversary meetings, county gatherings, the Leeds Philosophical Society, and wherever duty called him ; but he enjoyed most the sacred enclosure of the flock over which he had tended with tenderness and fidelity never surpassed. In his preface to the Lecture, he expressed his desire, " far from the tumults of controversy, to spend his few remaining days in the quiet blessedness of his pastoral duties^ Writing to the Church, June 1st, 1848, he says : — " Mt dearly beloved Feiends, — On reaching home, I found myself so worn and reduced by pain, as to preclude from all communication with you. My debility has been most intense, 596 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XIX. disqualifying me from every effort. Perfect, stillness was essential, but in that stillness I knew the Lord was God. I have felt nothing but perfect peace, and I cannot breathe from my sick bed a more hearty prayer for you than that you may enjoy the happiness which I have uninterruptedly experienced. " The nature of my severe aflliction," he says, in a second letter, " has operated both to indispose and disqualify me from any intercourse with that which is without. It has been attended with anguish and debility which I seek not to describe. The hand of God has been upon me, I have yielded to it, and blessed Him for every stroke. There has not been one too many nor too severe. I have neither questioned His right nor His mercy in dealing with me. I have no fondness for obtruding my personal experience, but surely a pastor may break a too secret reserve, I owe it to the grace and faithfulness of the Great Master to tell you how I have been sustained. He has not hidden Himself from me. I have been kept in perfect peace and proved the joy unspeakable. As I have never known a similar depth of bodily suffering and weakness, so have I never risen to such heavenly places ! The earliest prompting of my heart is to thank you, my affectionate flock, for all your kindness and sympathy — above all, for your prayers." As he withdrew into the inner circle of home, visited at intervals by Mr. Baines, the Rev. W. Hudswell, and other ministers, he expressed his growing confidence in the Redeemer, and his deep- ening attachment to the principles he had long maintained. On the morning of the 18th of July, 1848, he entered into rest, aged fifty-four years. His funeral, like that of Mr. Ely, was one of the most affecting interest. Two hundred children from the Bolgrave Sunday Schools headed the procession to the cemetery, singing with sweetness and solemnity the hymn read by Dr. OHAP. XIX.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOHY. 597 Hamilton at the close of his last sermon in his own pulpit — " We've no abiding city here ; This may distress the worldling's mind, But should not cost the saint a tear, Who hopes a better rest to find." The manifestation of sorrow on the part of the congregation, the assembled pastors and the general spectators, evinced the deep hold the Doctor had gained on the affections of all who knew him. Never people loved their minister more sincerely, and never had a people stronger reason for their warm affec- tion. This is a circumstance not without its sig- nificance. Some have insisted that the creed he adopted narrows the understanding and contracts the heart. The facts here recorded furnish the strongest proofs to the contrary. Mr. Binney, who occupied the chair of the Con- gregational Union in 1848, adverted to the loss sustained by the denomination in the removal of the two eminent ministers, Hamilton and Ely, and made special reference to Mr. Baines and Mr. Morley, who finished their course in the same year. " Since we last met," he said, " the grave has closed over the the remains of two excellent and venerable men, who for some years past have both been greatly withdrawn from -^j, gj^. public life, bat who, in their day, had each done ney's Notice something for general liberty and evangelical religion, g^jj^gj for colleges and missions, the denomination and the and Mr. Church, literature, piety, and benevolence among us. '"' ^^' I refer to the late Edwaed Baines, Esq., of Leeds,* and the late John Moelet, Esq., of Hackney. The lives of these two men, * Mr, Baiues died August 3, 18i8. 598 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. XIX. if "written as they might be written, would make a volume worthy the study of every young tradesman setting out in life. Very different, in some respects, in their course, they were alike in their end. Both rose into influence and wealth, and the one into public distinction and honour, by a course of exemplary industry, scrupulous uprightness, steady perseverance, firm and manly adherence to principle, moral consistency, sustained by religious faith, and from enterprise in business, which conscience could always approve and God be besought to bless, conducted with vigour, intelligence, and tact — qualities which it is no necessary effect of piety to impair. The conrse of Mr. Baines was more exclusively public and political ; but the weight of his position, and his personal and local influence, were always given, in many ways, to every cause of philanthropy and religion. Mr. Morley's course was more private, and more immediately connected with the denominational and spiritual action of the body. A man of weight and influence in the metropolis, long an officer in one of the first of its Congregational churches, interested for years in our academic institutions,- and identified with their government ; active as a member of committees of deputies, and boards of management and public charities, and in former years zealous and enthusiastic on many occasions of public interest and national excitement ; h's life was one neither without honour to himself nor barren of results to the cause of national freedom and of good old Nonconformist piety, to both of which he was linked as by an oath. It is a beautiful sight, that of those two honoured men, doing the different work which God sent them into the world respectively to do ; doing it so well ; spared to do it so long ; retiring from it so honoured ; and then, after spending some years of enjoyment and repose, mellowing and ripening as time advanced, falling asleep in a good old age, surrounded by a posterity worthy of their parents, amid the tears of grateful and sorrowing hearts, and followed to the grave by the respect and benedictions of their many friends in the Church and the world." It is a loss to tlie churches of the denomination that examples of Christian worth like those de- lineated by Mr. Binney have not been set forth in a permanent form for the instruction and encourage- CHAP. XIX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORV. 599 ment of those who have to begin their career in life, both in relation to their commercial pursuits and the duties of their Christian profession. The memoir of Mr. Baines has been well written by his son, who, bearing his name, has added to it addi- gtetoh tional lustre in a similar career. In a °[^\^- , Morley ny letter from the Rev. James Parsons, dated Kev. James Person ^ Harrogate, May 15, 1877, we received the following sketch of Mr. Morley, interesting alike from the Christian excellence of the writer and the subject of the notice : — " My personal acquaintance with the late John Morley, Esq., began during one of my earliest visits to the Tabernacle. There was then a suspension of intercourse for some years, though some members of his family, especially his son, Mr. Samuel Morley, and his only surviving daughter, frequently attended my ministry. On preaching at St. Thomas' Square, Hackney, where he was a deacon, in 1832, I was a guest at his house, and from that time I was privileged with an intimacy which, in con- nection with himself and his family, has constituted one of the greatest blessings of my life. " In person Mr. Morley was tall and dignified ; his counte- nance expressed intelligence, firmness, and benevolence ; and his manners were courteous, genial, and attractive. His character was one of true and solid worth, acquiring and pre- serving the high esteem of the whole circle who knew him, in social life, in worldly business, and in the Church of Christ. His personal piety was unostentatious, steady, and exemplary. He was a thorough Congregationalist, one of the best specimens of the body to which he belonged. In politics he was a Whig, of the school of Lord John Russell, except on the subject of national education, when he numbered himself with the friends of the ' voluntary system,' as opposed to the reception of Govern- ment aid. His retiring disposition prevented him from occupying a prominent position in public affairs ; but there were few men of his day whose judgment was eiititled to and exercised greater practical influence. His last affliction was prolonged and pain- 600 CONGREGATIONAL HISTOET. [CHAP. XIX. ful, and he died on the 10th of May, 1848, a day which, from a combination of circumstances, I have reason well to remember," Mr. Morley laid the foundation of the Mercantile Establishment in Wood Street, London, since en- Mr Samuel ^^^'g^d and consolidated under the able Morley, supcrvisiou of his son, Member of Parlia- ment for Bristol. For many years it has been looked to as a perennial fount of Christian bene- ficence. The more than princely liberality of Mr. Samuel Morley, it is not possible to estimate. His personal services, unequalled for their ubiquity and stimulating influence,* are well known in every part of the country, in relation to every cause of Christian * The following recognition of generous and long-continued help may eerve as an illustrative instance : — "To Samuel Moei.ey, Esq, M.P. "Beloved and Honoured Sir, — At the close of the sixteenth terie.'s of winter meetings, many of the working people of South London wlio have attended the gatherings and been benefited thereby, desire to show their sincere appreciation of your kicdneps in providing for so many years sufh a capacious meeting-place for their iusliuction and entei-tainment, and their Bocial, mora), and spiritual good. To not a few of us the Lambeth Batl.d Meetings have been the means of our introduction to a higher, nobler, and holier life, and for these inestimable blessings we are indebted in no sm ill degree to your Christian kindness and unceanng generosity. By your bene- volent consideration innumerable homes among us have been made happy, while whole neighbourhoodd and districts have become purer and more enlightened. Through tl e facilities you have thus afforded, temperance truth has proved the stepping-stone to peace, happiness, and hope, and in countless instances has become the handmaid to the gospel. We thank God fervently for having raised you up to be a succourer of many, and pray that your valuable life may long be spared, that your bright example may be widely followed, totlie gladdening of multitudes of hearts, the great advantage of our common country, and the increase of the knowledge and love of Christ. We have long wished in some way to mark our sense of your kindne-s by some tangible expression of our sincere admiration and respect, but have hitherto hesitated, knowing how little you regarded such tokens of good will ; but we have felt it impossible longer to refrain, and therefore ask your kind acceptance of tliis humble but earnest address of gratitude and love; it CHAP. XIX.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 601 philanthropy. Through all the conflicts of opinion, and under criticism sometimes harsh and unjust, his generous help, public and private, has been continued with steady perseverance, and has as often proved seasonable in a singular degree. It has been the happiness of Mr. Morley not only to receive himself the blessing " of those who were ready to perish," but to lead others Gi^ingand to share the precious benediction, not Working. simply by the contribution of money, but by com- bining with their munificence, careful inquiry, per- sonal and continuous activity and kindly sympathy, rendering the help given of double value. " The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it by the direction of the Lawgiver, and with their staves." Many examples of generous kindness in the past might be cited, and not a few noble "legacies," but the property devoted alone repre- sented the donor. Some in their lifetime might seem to be entombed in a pyramid of gold, unknown and inaccessible, until their benefactions, no longer in their possession, were turned to some good account ; but in the new fashion of giving and 'working set in "Wood Street," vital influence has accompanied the simply records the wishes aud prayers of multitudes of hearts, that; every blessing may surround jou and yours, so long as God may spare you to bent-fit and bless the world, and when the end shall come that you and they may form an unbroken family amid the glories and joys of heaven. — Sij^ned, on behalf of the subscribers, "Geo. M. Mukphy, " Henry King, "John Hkney." If similar acknowledgments of Mr. Morley's generous aid were made by the recipients of his bounty in the erection of chapels, the support of missions, temperance societiec, schools, and other benevolent institutions, the lecord would fill a volume. G02 CONGREGATIONAL illSTOIfY. [CHAP. NIX. service to an extent unknown before. If we are asked to explain our meaning, we have only to mention such names as Armitage, Barnes, Crossley, Crossfield, Hudson, Lee, Mason, Rigby, Scott, Salt, Sidebottom, Smith, Somerville, Spicer, and Wright, as examples, who with many others of kindred spirit have made it their business and dehght to devote themselves, hand and heart and purse, to the work of Christ. Yet much as this activity has accomplished, the reserve forces of self-denial have not been fully called out. The work of chapel building so vigorously carried on almost alone by Mr. Thomas Wilson, was ^, , taken up for a time by a few friends who Chapel ^ '' , Building. united with him to raise a Metropolitan ami]vrr!se"h Chapcl Building Fund. They built West- ^"''"'' minster Chapel and four others. Mr. Green erected Trinity Chapel at Poplar, and Mr. Seth Smith, at a cost of more tlmn twelve thousand pounds, built Eccleston Chapel* Pimlico, and had it vested in Trust for a Congregational Church. AVith the exception of these noble individual efforts, the work of chapel building then appeared for a time to cease. The ministers with large flourishing congregations monopolized the districts around them, willing to estabhsh a net work of schools and preaching stations, but discouraging every attempt to provide additional accommodation, even when all the elements for a working Christian Society were prepared, in the teachers and elder scholars who were kept all the Sabbath day in schools, as if to prevent them from making a new centre for an active church. * Opened October 11, 184-8. CHAP. XIX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 608 The Rev. Charles Gilbert called attention to the claims of London in a series of letters, ^ ^ Rev. C. and on February 19, 1848, a few gentle- Gilbert and men favourable to the object, met at the chapei house of Mr. Joshua Wilson and origi- ^^!^^^ nated the London Chapel Building Society. Subsequently the Rev. J. C. Gallaway read a paper at the autumnal meeting of the Congregational Union, held at Northampton in 1851, Rev. j. c. which led to the formation of the English ^an^-^y- Chapel Building Society. There was peculiar difficulty in obtaining a minister fitted to occupy a new chapel. Some serious and fatal experiments were made in this respect until corrected by experience, \yest- minster Chapel was successful from the first under the efficient ministry of the Rev. Samuel Martin.* Eccleston Chapel in the first instance pev. Caleb was not so favoured, the managers were ^^«^"«- induced to make a trial of the Rev. Caleb Morris. The Rev. A. J. Morris in a characteristic sketch, in describing the appearance of this remarkable preacher in the chapel at Fetter Lane, says : — " The building which, like a mystery, could be well seen only from the inside. It is unquestionably modern, yet has a feeling of antiquity. It is a place of worship, but more fitted to promote the spirit of devotion by the function of a furnace than a fire, by trial than by genial heat. The lower portion of the building is perhaps half filled with persons, mostly men, and in good part ministers in full or partial development, rather strong-minded and stronger-bodied too ; no worshippers of any parochial system, for they evidently live not ' hard by the synagogue,' but have come * We have an example of the clearness and thoroughness of Mr. Martin's pastoral teaching in his invahiable " Tracts for Inquirers." With the grateful esteem of all, he secured in a remarkable manner, by his example and personal sympathj, the confidence and affection of young men. 601 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XIX. from afar, as the Queen of Sheba, to ' hear the wisdom of Solo- mon,' and without forgettiug either that ' a greater than Solomon is here.' You ask of one the preacher's name, and whether he is expected to preacli this morning, to which you receive a some- what enigmatical reply, in a tone and with a look almost equally expressive of surprise, despondency, and fun — suggestive, on the whole, of the unwisdom of uninspired predictions. You wait, and, after sundry anxious peerings from the vestry door, and one or two brief interviews with clerical-looking members of the congregation, on the part of deacons in search of a substitute, the pastor enters the pulpit — a man you would look at a second time wherever seen, with features once handsome, and better than handsome now, and a deep forehead and expressive eye, full of thought and gentleness. The singing over, of which we will only say tliat — the joke is Bishop Blomfield's — it might be in fulfilment of the prophecy, ' the songs of the temple shall be bowl- ings in that day,' for our minister has little sense of poetry, and less of music, strange to say, considering his reverent devoutness of spirit, fondness for illustration, passionate sensibility to natural beauty, and that we have seen him burst into tears while gazing on a morning sun, — the singing over, a chapter is read, naturally, seriously, chastely, and then a prayer is not ' offered,' hnt prayed. It is not a theological lecture to the Deity, nor, while a suppli- cation in form, a soliloquy in fact, but such as becomes a creature and a child addressing a wise, and holy, and loving Maker and Father, There is no straining for originality, yet is every sen- tence fresh ; no introduction of irrelevant and unsuitable topics, yet is it singularly full and varied. In thought and words it is simple, solemn, and his own. After another illustration of the prophet Amos, the text is read out. Very probably you never noticed the text before, possibly did not know there was such a text. You soon feel, whatever other impression is made, that this man takes nothing for granted. Whatever else he is, he is himself. One of his infirmities is that he must seek real novelty, and hence he is tempted to make it if he cannot find it. He had a yearning, which grew to be morbid, and in its connections excessive, for reality and essence, and a corresponding distaste for forms of every kind. For many years he had not preached, perhaps, more than once in two or three of the Sunday services, and, when he lias, no one, not lie himself, could have predicted it ; CHAP. XIX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 605 and as it has been said of a living potentate tlaat lie is sncli a liar you cannot believe even tlie opposite of what he says, so our friend was so irregular you could not depend even on his irregularity. And then, he had a morbid shrinking from all the ordinary methods of attracting attention. While most are afraid of failing, he was afraid of succeeding as some men count success. " He was not adapted well for the pastorate. He lacked method everywhere, except in thought; and as to Coleridge, it is said that anything became impossible as soon as it was presented to him in the shape of a duty, so to our friend every- thing that was necessary was out of the question. He was not a man of business, and could not well work with others except upon conditions not always to be realized. He thought out thoroughly everything that he had to do with ; he knew that others did not, and most could not, hence he was 'impracticable.' Besides which, be it said, his nervous system was too nicely hung to bear the shock of much of tbe world's friction. But he could teach as few others. He loved it, he was qualified for it, and if he could have heen placed in fitting circumstances, and could have been left entirely free, would have been a prince of teachers." * With so little of the practical element in his nature, it was difficult to find the exact position for a genius so peculiar. " The fitting circumstances," at any rate, did not exist in the busy world of London. As Mr. Binney observed, the elements that entered into the formation of character of the representative men, who sustained large commer- cial undertakings in conjunction with extensive designs of Christian usefulness, are worthy of " study." If examined carefully, it will be seen that in early life they were trained to habits of sobriety, diligence, and economy — taught to reve- rence the Sabbath, and had a love for the Sacred Scriptures. From the outset of their career they * " English Independenf." 006 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XIX. manifested practical sympathy and kindly considera- tion of others. They were not intoxicated by success, nor chilled by the greed of selfish accumu- lation. Through life they retained their original simplicity of character, and felt, in all their acqui- sitions, the salutary pressure of the sense of responsibility. Faithful to principles they Eikanah bccamc " stroug," and their force in society Armitage. ^^^ ^^^ directed. When Sir Eikanah Armitage held for two years the office of chief magistrate in Manchester, society was menaced by the sons of violeuce ; but we are told — "The suffering and discontented multitude recognized, in him, a man who fully sympathized with them in trouble. It was known that, when young and poor, he had suffered with themselves. It was known that, now he was rich, he was generous and liberal to the distressed, and that he Jiad kind loords for all On the 1st of April, 1848, a Conference was held between the employed operatives and the mayor and magistrates, at the Town Hall, and information was obtained with a view to the relief of all persons in need of assistance. Twelve thousand persons had been sworn in as special constables, but Mr. Armitage's conciliatory and amiable conduct had a very marked effect in preserving order ; and his ability and success in the crisis were acknowledged by the Government in giving him knighthood." Sir Titus Salt, Bart., was a man of the same order. When he had realized a princely fortune, Lord Harwood said to him : — "How is it, Mr. Salt, that you do not invest your capital in landed property, and enjoy the remainder of your life free from the strain of business ? " Mr. Salt replied : — " My Lord, — I had made up my mind to do this very thing ; but, on reflection, I determined otherwise. In the first place, I CHAP. XIX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. G07 thought that by the concentration of my works in one locality, I might provide occupation for my sons. Moreover, as a landed proprietor, I felt I should be out of my element. You are a nobleman, with all the influence that rank and large estates can bring ; consequently, you have power and influence in the country ; but, outside ot my business, I am nothing ; in it I have considerable influence. By the opening of Saltaire, I also hope to do good to my fellow mejt." Sir Francis Crossley, Bart., with a simplicity and grateful recognition of his obligation to maternal example — even more honourable to him „. ^ . . , p n Francis than the distmctions conferred upon him — Crossiej, Bart recites the story of the early struggles of his family. In his speech on the presentation of a park to the people of his native town, he said : — " It is true, as my friend, the mayor, has said, that we have been friends, not of yesterday, but almost since we were boys together. And often have we discussed the philosophy of money. I recollect veiy well, as he has told you, once enterino- into the question, and saying, — when I was twenty years younger than I am now — that I saw a great deal of emptiness about this money-getting— that many were striving for that which they thought would make them happy ; but that it was like a bubble upon the water — no sooner caught than it burst. This, gentle- men, is, to me, not the proudest day of my life, but it is indeed the humblest, for I see much honour paid to me this day to which I can lay no claim. T have simply done what I have thought to be my duty. Had I neglected to do the thing which I have done, I should have been guilty of gross neglect — not so much to my fellow-townsmen as to the God who made me. And yet it is the happiest day of my life, because I see in it that which will maJce my fellow-townsmen a happy people for the time that I live ; and I have reason to believe they will be happy when I leave the spot which shall know me no more for ever. If I had been born of noble birth, or if I could have traced my origin (like some in this room) to a locg line of ancestors which came over with William the Conqueror — however true it might be, it might not 608 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XIX. be good to do so. Bat, since I am of humble birth, perhaps it Avill be allowed to me to say a little of those who ought to have the honour which is heaped upon me. My mother was the daughter of a farmer who lived upon his own estate, and, although the estate was not large, it had been in that family for many generations — first as tenants, and afterwards as owners. That little estate is over the hill in Shibden Vale, and is called the Scout. Her father made the same error that Jacob made. Jacob made too much of Joseph, and her father made too much of Mary. " My mother was sensitive and quick in disposition : she saw that right was not done to her at home, and she was determined to make her own way in the world, whatever the consequences might be. She went out to service, contrary to the wish of her father, in a little family at Warley. I am honoured to-day with the presence of one who descended from that family who engaged her as servant. I mean Mr. Oldfield, of Stocklane, who is vice- chairman of the Board of Guardians. In that service, in her own person, she did the work of kitchenmaid, of housemaid, and of cook, and, in addition to that, she regularly milked six cows every night and morning, besides which she kept the house, which was not a small one, as clean as a little palace. But this was not enough to employ her willing hands. Her mistress took in wool or tops to spin, and she would do what scarcely a girl in Warley could have done — spin that wool to thirty-six hanks to the pound — and thus earned many a guinea to her mistress, besides doing all the other work. My father, prior to the year 1800, was a carpet weaver. One night he was taking his ' drinking ' at the loom. He laid his black bottle at the side of the loom, but, by some means or otliei', it fell down and broke. In attempting to catch the bottle, he cut his arm, and it was with the greatest difficulty he could stop it from bleeding to save his life. He was for some time doing nothing, but one day his employer, Mr. Currer, said to him, ' John, do you think you could manage to tie up a loom, as you cannot weave ? ' John replied that he should only be too happy to try. His master tried him, and found him so expert that he never allowed him again to go to the loom to weave. He was going hard on with the business of courtship, but the proud farmer said that he would never allow his daughter to marry a weaver, or a foreman of CHAP. XIX.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 609 weavers, and that one thing was certain, that if she ever married John Crossley, she should never see his face again. This was a great trouble to my mother, and, when she had been asking counsel from One who never errs, she settled to open her Bible and see what it said. Her eye caught the 27th Psalm and 10th verse — 'When thy father and mother forsake thee, then the Lord will take thee up.' She did not doubt after that, and eventually her father gave his consent to the marriage. Many years after that, for I must not be tedious, they took the Dean Clough Mill from that highly respectable firm, S. and J. Water- house — a name I can never take upon my lips without respect almost amounting to veneration, from the kindness which I know my father received from their father, and also the kindness which I have received at their hands. As my mother went with her usual energy to that place down the yard at four o'clock in the morning she made a vow, ' If the Lord does bless us at this place, the poor shall have a taste of it.' It is to this t^ow, given ivith so much faithfulness, and kept with so much fidelity, that I attribute the great success my father had in business. My mother was always looking how best she should keep this vow. In the days that are gone by, when it was a dreary thing to give employment to a large number of people, the advice that she gave to her sons was, ' Do not sell your goods for less than they cost, for it would ruin you without permanently benefiting anyone ; but if you can go on giving emploi/ment to some during the winter, do so, for it is a had thing for a ivorhing man to go home and hear his children cry for bread and not be able to give them any.' I recollect that one time my friend, Mr. Salt, calling on my mother, she said, ' You see, Mr. Salt, my sons have flown off", and have taken fine houses to live in ; but it won't do for us all to leave this spot.' She lived to a green old age, and she died in her 80th year, having lived to see her children's children's children. One of tie greatest treats she had in her old age was to fix a mirror in her room, so that, while lying in bed, she could see the happy countenances of those who were going to work, or coming back again. " There is one fact connected with this town which has given me great pain. It is a fact that many an honest, hard-working, intelligent working man does not believe in the existence of a God. What I am about to relate now is for the benefit of that 39 610 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. XIX. class, that they may not go stumbling on into an unbeliever's grave, as the horse rushes into the battle. What I am about to say now, is what I have not told to my dearest friend, not even the fair partner of my life— but, when she reads the report of what I am about to say, she will remember that on the occasion when I returned from the walk I ain about to relate, I asked her where those words were to be found in the Bible, ' The rich and the poor meet together, and the Lord is the maker of them all.' She is a helpmate in those things as well as every other. On the 10th of September, 1855, I left Quebec early in the morning for the White Mountains of the United States. I remember passing through some of the most glorious scenery on that day which I ever saw in my life, and, indeed more beautiful -than I believe steam power have brought us within sight of. I stood in the cars, from which I could see the top of the mountains covered with all glorious beauty. In America you have a much better chance of seeing the scenery than in this country, because, instead of going through the hills, they go round them. The wheels are not fixed to the carriages, as in this country, but they are placed upon swivels, and they go round curves where ours would not o-o at all. I remember that when we arrived at the hotel at the White Mountains, the ladies sat down to a cup of tea, but I preferred to take a walk alone. It was a beautiful spot. The sun was just then reclining his head upon Mount Washington, with all that glorious drapery of an American sun- set which we know nothing of in this country. I felt that I should like to be walking with my God on the earth. I said, ' What shall I render to my Lord for all His benefits towards me.' I was led further to repeat that question which Paul asked under other circumstances, ' Loid, what wilt Thou have me to do?' The answer came iminediately. It was this, 'It is true thou canst not bring the many thousands thou hast left in thy native country to see this beautiful sceneiy, and thou canst not take this to them. It is possible so to arrange art and nature that they shall be within the walk of every working man in Halifax 5 that he shall go and take his stroll there after he has done his hard day's toil, and be able to get home again without beino- tired. Now that seemed to be a glorious thought! I returned home. My prayer that night was that in the morning I might be satisfied when I awoke that it was only a mere CHAP. XIX.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 611 thouglat that was flattering across my brain, it miglit be gone ; bat that if there was reality aboat it there might be no doabt aboat it, and I might carry it into execution. I slept soaudly that night, and, when I awoke, my impression was confirmed. On the 20th of September, when I went to the White Mountains, 1 had no more idea of making a park than anyone here of build- ing a city. On the very day that I returned I felt as convinced to carry it out as I was of my own existence ; and never from that day to this have I hesitated for a moment. Whatever difficulties arose, I knew they might be overcome, and would be overcome. It is a happy day for me that I am permitted to see the result." CHAPTER XX. The field of Colonial Missions is too extensive for a general survey. We must limit ourselves to the notice of some points illustrative of the diflBculties surmounted, and the practical mistakes that had to be corrected. After the Canadian rebellion in America, minis- ters who had planted Congregational churches in „ , ,. , the British provinces, returned to the Relation of r ' Churches United States. In answer to a communi- with cation from Mr. Roaf, when in New York, ™^"'^^- requesting his opinion respecting the best course to adopt in relation to the American Home Missionary Society, Mr. Wells suggested that with the most friendly co-operation with the American brethren, it would be prudent to preserve the Colo- nial Society distinct, in order to avoid embarrassing complications. Mr. Roaf soon found liis position with respect to the churches left destitute by their American pastors, one of painful embarrassment. In a letter dated " Toronto, March 10, 1838, he says :— " I entirely acquiesce in the views of yourself and the Com- mittee with respect to the co-operation of the American brethren with ourselves in these provinces. Immediately upon arriving CHAP. XX.] GONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 613 here, I found a political feeling towards everytliing American, that entirely forbade the admission of any degree of American character into our proceedings ; and our late public disturbances have so increased this feeling, as to drive beyond the frontier several {I believe everyone) of the American ministers that were settled here. While, however, I bow to this evident neces- sity, I cannot but deplore it ; for not only do we lose -^^^^^^ ^f an amount of very valuable energy in the work of Mr. Roaf on evangelization, but many of the American residents *^^ p^^^j^^"' in this province are left without religious ordinances among themselves, and feel themselves excluded from associa- tions avowedly British. The congregations abandoned by the fugitive tninisters are scattered, and, generally speaUng, attend no public worship. May I live to see these Jews and Samaritans acknowledge ecclesiastically, as well as doctrinally, that ' Christ is all, and in all.' This reminds me of what I perceive likely to arise in several of our Churches, a proscription of parties for poli- tical opinions. In revolutionary and disorganized communities, this danger will arise ; and I trust that grace will be given to our several brethren to resist every temptation thus to corrupt the churches, which in all probability will be the model churches of future times. " I hope that our political distresses are now over, and it gives me pleasure to say, that all our ministerial brethren and their families are unharmed as to their persons (and what is more important) as to their characters. They have felt the general dangers, have been distressed by the spectacles of violence and suffering around them, and have, in one or two instances, been rudely treated. But while several humble Bap- tist ministers have been subjected to indignities and cruelties, our more immediate brethren have all been happily exempted from such violence. This we owe, perhaps, to our being com- paratively new residents, with but one exception. We have, I think, avoided giving offence to either of the political parties. Happy should I be to be able to give a similar testimony respect- ing the ministers of religion generally ; but their proceedings have been astonishing to all serious and moderate people. In this city a leading Methodist minister rode in the rear of an armed force, going forth to a battle in the neighbourhood, and rode in again at the head of the force, among the officers. The 614 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CUAP. XX. basement story of the Methodist chapel was used as a barrack in which the soldiers were served with whiskey, as well as other refreshments. " On the Lord's day a Scotch clergyman came in with a body of his people, and harangued them as soldiers at the door of the kirk here, while his own place of worship in the country was closed against the congregation. Another took arms and kept a bridge to arrest a rebel for whom a reward had been offered, and whom he expected to pass that way. An episcopal clergyman came seventy miles to present an address of congratulation to the governor on the Sabbath day, on which his church was conse- quently shut. Such are specimens of the state of things in what are called the churches of this country. Disgust and avowed infidelity are, I am informed, in all directions quite pre- dominant. To the glory of Christ be it recorded, that there are whole classes (though small) that have escaped such abomina- tions. The Scotch secession ministers appear to be holy, dis- interested, and laborious men. The Episcopal Methodists seem to have a simple regard to the salvation of souls, and other bodies may be supposed to afford hope of the preservation and diffusion of true religion. But the process of corruption has evidently advanced already in the communities that have come under Government patronage and payment. While, too, this lamentable deterioration is visible among the clergy and a part of their flocks, some have joined the insurgents, in order, amongst other purposes, to subvert this state of things. The accounts we hear of the state of our prisons are most affecting ; they are crowded with suspected persons, among whom are very many devout, and almost all give themselves up to religious exercises. Prayer, religious singing and discourse, and reading the Bible almost entirely occupy the prisoners, and some who have been released have said that they never before were in scenes of such true religiousness. Of some individuals we have reason to enter- tain hopes that in the prison in this city they have lately entered on the ' new life." " While Mr. Roaf was coDgratulatino^ himself on his freedom from party entanglements, and his suc- cess on winning " rebels " to the truth, the rumour was spread that he was personally disaffected to the CHAP. XX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOrvY. 615 Government, and in England lie was denounced in clerical speeches as a traitor. This exhibition of party spite was only natural in the class of people by whom it was indulged, and might have been left without particular notice ; but a more serious attempt was made to injure his reputation and to displace him from the influential office he held as the official representative of the Colonial Missionary Society. Writing to Mr. Roaf, dated April 4, 1839, Mr. Wells says : — " I am charged by our ministerial Committee to speak with all the respect and delicacy I can employ. I shall endeavour to do so. There is now in this country, from Dundas, or some other place near Hamilton, a Mr. E. B. Palmer, who has ti i . ^ ' _ ' Palmer a addressed both to Mr. Binney and myself communi- charges cations respecting your position in Toronto, and in m'^^r''. r Upper Canada generally, as most injuriously affected by your political reputation. He represents that you are regarded not merely as a liberal in politics, or a voluntary iu religion, but as a favourer of the rebels — one who sympathized with them and wished them success. He makes no charge cf overt acts on your part in any particular, only alleging nega- tives, that you did not comply with the governor's pro- clamation for a day of thanksgiving for the success of the Queen's arms, to be religiously observed ; that you did not, during the struggle, pray for the success of the Queen's forces, as a loyal man wishing British sway to be upheld in Canada ; that you did not separate yourself from your present congrega- tion when you found them suspected of disloyalty, and knew that but two of them volunteered for the Queen's service, and thus that political odium greatly damages your ministerial standing and usefulness. Now, my dear friend, you have the substance of these representations ; the animus in which they are given is not friendly ; the manner is not vituperative, nor without plausibility. Our brethren, the ministerial committee, to whom they have been submitted, while they do not allow them to shake their steadfast confidence in your loyalty, prudence, and integrity", nor for a moment to suspend or diminish their sympathy with you in most 616 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [cHAP. XX. trying scenes and arduous duties, yet feel that they ought not to conceal from you that such charges have been made, and having apprised you of the fact, they leave it to your own judgment and. feelings to notice them or not, and, if at all, in what manner. Mr. Palmer seems to act in this country as the agent of the party opposed to Mr. Dyer at Hamilton. If this communication, dear friend, grieves you, do not let it move or wound you too much. Suffer me to say, or rather an ' ai^ostle,'' ' Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.' Now, I am anxiously expecting a communication from you. I want to hear of Mr. Machin'a com- mencement and prospects. By the way, his expenses from New York to Darlington v^ere heavy. How does Mr. Lillie stand with his people at Bradford ? What is Mr. Baker's position at Kingston ? How does Mr. Hayden prosper at Cobourg ? God be praised for good tidings of the brethren Hall, Clarke, and Wastell. I want materials for the annual report, which must now be soon prepared. Please to give my kind and very respectful remembrances to Mrs. Roaf. We rejoice to hear you all enjoy good health. God bless you ! Peace be with you ! — Most affectionately yours." The Christian courtesy of Mr. Wells, and his tender consideration for the feelings of Mr. Roaf, softened the tone of this painful communication, yet with the consciousness of having pursued an upright and consistent course, the " charges" made against him in London naturally disturbed his mind. On the subject of the governor's proclamation, Mr. Roaf had already explained the course he had conscientiously pursued to the entire satisfaction of the Committee, and he now offered a defence against the other charges equally complete. " I never prayed,' he said, " without asking blessing upon my civil rulers. In this country I have always prayed both for the provincial and imperial authorities during our dis- r. oa 8 turbances, and before and since, I have prayed for guidance and support and usefulness to our rulers, for order, contentment, prosperity, education, and religion CHAP. XX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. 617 amongst our people. I have avoided everything llhe party prayers, I admit. I aimed at conducting our services so that all parties might attend them and be devotional, and in this I was so success- ful that all parties have remained religiously united in one congregation, and I believe in ours only, so far as this city is concerned, when I tell you that at the time of the rebellion we had two deacons — one an active reformer, the other a voter with the Government — that we had church members of each political party, that since that time we have elected two additional deacons, of whom one happens to be of the one party and the second of the other ; that we have not lost a member except by death and removals from the province ; that but two persons in the general congregation have left for political considerations. I think that my professions of impartiality and loyalty will be credited, as for separating myself from my congregation because of rumours, at such a period it never occurred to me. If there were traitors in my congregation the Government would be sure to separate them from me without my separating from them, and if it had been a congregation of traitors, and their treasons had been left at home, I should not have hesitated to preach the gospel to them. Only two are said to have taken arms for the Queen ; this I know to be untrue, but at the same time I never asked or heard how many thus acted. Many, very many, violent ' Radicals ' and reputed ' rebels ' were found in the ranks of the Government party as soon as the rebellion seemed to be a failure. " I do not, however, want to be understood as professing to have wished my friends to arm, for believing as I do that the termination of human life is one of ' the things that the Father hath reserved in His own power,' I would then, and now, if ministerially consulted, say ' to carry the implements of death is wrong.' Upon the whole, then, I am prepared to defend my course at the time referred to. I selected it with great care and prayerfulness. I knew the consequences to myself, our little church, and the general cause. I perceive the narrowness of my path and my accountability, and if I did wrong I am in great danger of doing wrong again. Upon a repeated review of my course, with all the advantage of com- ments and results, I think I did right. I shall be grateful for your judgment upon it. I have sincerely asked that judgment 618 CONGI^EGATTONAL HISTORY. [CHAP XX. before, feeling that an intelligent and pious observer is more likely to perceive the real character of a proceeding than one involved in it. Besides my prayers, as above described, I have two or three times preached at some length upon the divine origin of the social state, the identification of Providence with individuals, systems, and persons, the duties and interests of all subjects, and especially of Christians, and our special obligations of gratitude for the civil superiorities we enjoy. On these occa- sions I have not gone out of my way to find the topics, as they occurred in the course of expositions upon the Epistles to the Colossians, and from the Apostle Peter, Nor did I proceed to apply any general doctrines to the questions agitated here. I laid down principles, leaving the people to apply them. Both in this city and my minor stations there are indications that my political reputation is not injurious. As to the province at largo no evidence on either side can be obtained, but in the stations of our brethren. I informed these brethren of the statement made by Mr. Palmer, and they instantly ofiered to furnish a written attestation to the contrary. Through Mr. Wilkes you can at any time collect their opinions. One circumstance is strongly opposed to the idea of my reputation being injurious. I have introduced two ministers to their work in this country — Mr. Wastell and Mr. Machin. They both entered successfully, and have continued to make progress. Then again, on all hands, we have applications for ministers, and I believe on the whole are successful far beyond the average of ministerial progress in the country. " My dear Sir, I am not ashamed of the apparent egotism and boasting of the above remarks, truth and justice have called for them, and I dare venture on their utterance. Besides this I need, and (if I stay here shall need) the full confidence of your- self and the religious public of England. This confidence I wish and endeavour to have and to deserve, should Hose it you should have some one here in my stead, and knowing as I do in such a conjuncture of circumstances, my character and future useful- ness would be tenderly guarded by you, I am prepai'ed to say that if either through my own errings, or popular prejudice, Providence should weaken your trust in me, I shall be ready to withdraw from my post, without causing any uneasiness to the Society." CHAP. XX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOET. 619 The labours of tlie missionaries were abundant and self-denying. Yet the results were not always of a kind that would serve for a telling report. " With regard to my own sphere of labour," the Rev. W. Clarke writes from London, Upper Canada, 10th of January, 1840, " I feel more cause for encouragement than when I wi'ote you twelve months ago. It is true we have had no great awaken- ings and revivals during the year, but still we have not retrograded. The congregations at London are ?r®P^f . certainly larger than at the period referred to, while at almost every church meeting, we have received some additions to our number — nineteen during the year, and, blessed be God, some of them the fruits of my own ministry. With but one exception, my stations are as before reported, but in addition to those I have paid monthly visits to the townships of Soho, War- wick, and Bozanqnet. By consulting the map, you will find that the latter touches upon Lake Huron, and distant from London from forty to fifty-four miles. I have found that this station requires more time and labour than I can very well spare from the locality of London, but I have reason to believe my services have been appreciated, and rendered useful to souls. 1 have already informed you, there is a very general desire to have one of our ministers settled among them, and the people have entered into an agreement among themselves, to furnish sufficient 2yroduce for himself and family. You have also seen the very pressing application on this subject to the Colonial Mission. I do trust that some one may be found to take up this important station. My last visit was during the last month. I left home on Tuesday the 10th, and took my regular fortnightly appoint- ment at Squire Hills, seven miles in the direction of Warwick. On Wednesday morning travelled thirteen miles further to Amiens, in Soho, and preached at eleven o'clock, where a public- spirited merchant and a Captain White reside, much interested in our operations ; the former of whom has offered to welcome into his house a Congregational minister (if single) could one be found for that neighbourhood, and the latter generously offers to give a plot of ground for the erection of a chapel for our body. " On the Thursday morning, the snow having fallen six inches, I proceeded to Bozanquet in a two-horse sleigh, kindly lent me 620 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XX. at Amiens, and preached in the evening, as also on Friday, in Warwick. I spent parts of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, in conversation and prayer with different persons desirous of being formed into a Christian church on the following Sabbath ; and found upwards of thirty individuals able to give a reason of the hope within them. On the Sabbath a deep snow had fallen, and was still falling, but the house was crowded. Preached on the nature, design, duties, and advantages of Christian fellowship, united twenty-five in the bonds of Christian communion, and administered the Lord's Supper. It appeared to be a very affect- ing, humbling, joyful season. Afterwards held a church meet- ing, when two tried men were chosen deacons to this infant church in the wilderness. These were addressed on the nature of their duties, and commended to God in solemn prayer. At the close of these services the shades of evening began to appear, the snow was still falling, and many of the parties six or eight miles from home, with nothing but untracked bush roads. To return home that night was impossible. They were therefore literally littered down in three log-houses, and sixteen human beings were in the room in which I found part of a bed. In the morning, the snow was still fast descending, I left for home ac' half-past seven o'clock. The road was unbroken, and at twelve o'clock I had accomplished six miles. Left again at two with a youth of fourteen for my guide, and five miles through the bush to the Egremont road. The horses and sleigh fre- quently sank through the deep snow into the still deeper swamps. My steeds plunged and pressed on at the rate of nearly a mile an hour, until at length in a deep swamp, foaming and sweat- ing with fruitless exertion, they refused to draw another step ; and all our efforts to assist them were useless. It was seven o'clock, the night was dark, and snow falling. I was in the midst of the dark thick forest, the wolves howling in my rear, and every object that might form a clue to the Egremont road covered with snow. I unfastened the horses from the sleigh, and mounted one myself, and my guide the other. He preceded me, but soon informed me he had lost the road. I proposed retracing our steps, and by clearing away the snow with my hand, from the bark of the trees, I discovered the blazed lines (notched trees to show the way). At length with joy- ful hearts we gained the habitations of men, and having engaged CHAP. XX.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 621 a man with a yoke of cattle to fetch the sleigh out of the bush, I was welcomed with primitive hospitality, to a warm supper and a resting-place after the fatigues and anxieties of the day. At twelve the next morning the oxen arrived with the sleigh. The snow by this time was nearly three feet deep, when I recom- menced my journey, and arrived at Amiens, fourteen miles, at eight o'clock at night. Wednesday morning preached at Amiens, and the next day arrived safely at home, thankful to God for His preserving providence amid the dangers to which I had been exposed. " Please give my love to our beloved brethren, the Secretaries and Committee of the Colonial Mission. We are well, and do not regret coming to Canada, though we do regret that we are still so much dependent on the Society. Our chapel debt is nearly liquidated, and then, I trust, more will be raised for the minister." The difficulty of tlie Secretary at home increased in his work of collecting funds. As the Missions were extended, a larger amount of subscriptions was required for their support, and, in the vicissi- tudes of trade and the distraction of politics, these were not easily obtained. Mr. Binney was the principal helper of Mr. Wells, and he laboured often under great physical pain, lightened, sometimes, by his buoyant spirit, but not unfrequently increased by mental depression. In a note to Mr. Wells, 20th October, 1841, he writes : — " My dear Brother, — I came home last night. I was so ill all last week, I never was out of the house — never over the door but once. I had a large abscess in my left armpit. I could not travel on Monday. I had it opened — ^° Binney got some relief — and so came off yesterday. I preached on Sunday (because advertised, and having disappointed the people before) in terrible agony, with my coat cut open and my arm in a sling. I am still greatly out of health. I have made no way in the country. Weather wet. In constant pain. Kept indoors. All bad — very. 622 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XX. " I will write to Leach ; but if I preacli on Sunday it will only be once, and I cannot go. My people would not bear my going to a meeting the next week. You must ask Ashton, or some one who may be at Nottingham. I write this that you may do so. " How I wish you had been at Cheltenham when I was. Where I have been I was only a few miles from it. If I had been there and you could have come over to me and spent a day or two, and the weather had been fine, we could have rode out together on the outside of houses. Man, you would never have forgotten it ! The rides are glorious ; the scenery rich beyond description; hills and valleys covered over with poetry— the stuff itself, sir, not merely the elements and raw material. But you won't see anything of all this at Cheltenham ; it needs a day or two near Stroud, where I was. " How are you getting on ? How did last night go off ? I suppose you have seen Monday's Fatrtot P There is a long leader touching us all ; and then the letter to the Bishop of Winchester is extraordinary. It is just what we have been saying long, as reasons for our dissent— the substance, in fact, of my 'clerical nonconformity ' ; and now it is all urged on the Evangelical Churchmen by one of themselves. Will they ever learn to keep consciences? Drop me a line if you can. Wishing you well throughout the week,— Believe me, yours ever, " T. BiNNEY." The pressure on the Secretary for pecuniary supplies made liim urge tlie necessity for economy on the missionaries — sometimes inoppor- ciiforccdby tuucly — aud, impatient in the absence of necessity. j-ggnitg ^hat would help the finances of the Society, even the progress of the work sometimes filled him with alarm. If colleges were instituted, he feared that too many students would be sent out as preachers. A Canadian missionary was a kind of Centaur, but, from regard to the expense, Mr. Wells would say, "Why does 'dear brother ' want a horse ? He ought to keep near home, and give CHAP. XX.] CO^GEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 623 more time to study." If the congregation in tliese desolate regions raised only a small amomit for the support of a minister, he hinted that it would be well for the " dear brother " to remove to the States. It was the constant aim of Mr. Wells to keep up the credit of the Society, and, in order to do this, he would have every missionary of the intellectual stature required by his own standard. Men of this class, much to his disappointment, relinquished their stations and passed over to America. The Rev. J. C. Gallaway, missionary to New Brunswick, complained of the narrowness of his sphere, and the limited operations and resources of the Society. In a letter to Mr. Binney, assuming, in extent, the proportions of a treatise, he proposed, as a remedy, that a grand all-comprehending society should be formed, equal, in the scale of its plans, to the Propaganda at Rome. " As to the desirableness of the complete union of the Irish, Evangelical, the Colonial, and the London Missionary Society, into one grand Missionary institution, which shall r, i c •^ -^ ' ocheme or regulate all its efforts by the common-sense principle Mr. Galla- of making all its means available, to the utmost ^^^' possible extent, in diffusing Christianity, agreeably to the prin- ciples and usage of Congregationalists, wherever the best opening presents itself, I have no doubt ; nor do I think that our churches will, in proportion as the matter may be duly considered, by having one Missionary Society instead of three. There would be one appeal for contributions in the place of many, while the objects would be so enlarged, and combine so many interesting features, that this one effort would, in all probability, exceed the amount that is now raised by several. Simplicity and prac- ticability are important items in securing general support in any proposed undertaking.'' 624 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XX. This sublime idea did not commend itself to the judgment of the Secretary. Mr. Roaf gave him a gentle reproof for his want of faith. " You seem to me," he said " (pardon my freedom with you) to regard the rise of a cloud as sunset." But Mr. Wells had cause for depression. Some of the most valuable missionaries tendered their resignation, from growing dissatisfaction with the agency system. Neither ministers nor churches were willing to continue under the yoke of a direction in which they had no voice. It is singular to find animadversions on the system in a journal published at Demerara, from Mr. Ketley, the Editor of the " Guiana Congregational Record," August 7, 1844 :-- " Our attention has been directed," he says, " to a letter of Rev. Henry Wilkes, A.M , of the Colonial Missionary Society, to the secretary of that Society, the Rev, Algernon Wells, Mr. Wilkes ^f London, under date November 11, 1843, and criticized in ^ ^■ ^ ■, ■ ■, r^ -1 Demerara. subsequently published in the Congregational Magazine.' In it he suggests an alteration in the constitution of their Society, by ' making the ground missionary,' * giving missionaries a fixed salary ' out of the general fund, ' creating a machinery and bringing to bear on the population a missionary movement for funds,' and thus enable the minister to ' lay himself out to raise funds for the Society,' which he cannot without indelicacy do for his own support. " The suggestions, if acted on, would at once reduce tlie Independent Churches in Canada to a condition in which, according to the organ of the Congregational Union, they would be Independent Churches no longer. Mr. Wilkes perceives this danger himself, and therefore writes cautiously, we have too much confidence in the soundness of Mr. Wells' ' Kew Testament Congregationalism ' to imagine he would ever become a party to such a betrayal of his trust, or give to the State church advocates, and others, arguments and illustrations, with which CHAP. XX.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTORY. 625 they may deservedly reproach Independents as being faithless to their profession, and as holding principles which will fail them when reduced to practice. "We cannot but think there is ground for alarm, when a body of self-denying, laborious Congregational ministers can speak of departing from a field of labour like Canada to ' whither- soever the Lord will lead them,' thinking to ' clear their con- sciences ' by casting the responsibility on the British churches ; or, in order to obviate both, be willing to resort to methods which run counter to ' acknowledged ' principles of ineffable and eternal importance." A movemeut for the emancipation of tlie mis- sionary churclies in the West Indies from the S3^stem that was attended with the witherinsf ^ • a PITT • ^^^^ °^ influence of settled endowment, was carried Feam in on for some time by Mr. Ketley and the Rev. Joseph Waddington, Missionary at Fearn, in Berbice. The church at that station was prepared for indepen- dence on the same conditions as those observed by the church in Demerara, but by an adroit manoeuvre the intention was frustrated for the time. The Directors consented to the change if approved by the church by a resolution adopted in the presence of missionaries from the surrounding districts. Mr. Waddington took his boat to convey the brethren appointed for the purpose from New Amsterdam to Fearn, but while waiting for their arrival the cunning party of opposite views engaged another boat and reached Fearn before him, and by their repre- sentations alarmed the negro church members to vote for the " Society," rather than be cast off in the event of being left destitute in the future. On subsequent explanation the misdirected church ex- pressed their regret, but the report of the meeting was sent to the Directors in London, and acted upon 40 626 CONGEEGATIONAL HTSTOEY. [CHAP. XX. with promptitude, and tlie disappointed missionary was given to understand by Dr. Tidman that if lie hoped to reach his native land at the expense of the Society, he must leave that tropical climate imme- diately, though in the depth of winter. The question of independence was only postponed. The churches ultimately became distinctly Congregational.* In Canada, the position of Mr. Roaf became one of increasinof embarrassment. Of kind Embarrass- ... ins; position and uoblc dispositiou he was perplexed by the claims of the Mission stations on the one hand, and the constant appeals of the Secretary for the reduction in the expenditure. " I do not expect," he said, " that our Englisli missionaries will generally become independent of the Society, their expendi- ture is larger than of brethren raised in the country, and they do not (as this country requires) establish several stations together from which a salary could be drawn. But using them as pioneers, and replacing them with men of this country, then stations may be made independent, while they themseh'es will gradually get off your list." In the early days of the colonies, great incon- venience, siifferino:, and loss, was occasioned Mistakes of . , . .. * . , Colonial in tlic civil govcmment by the mistakes committed by the Colonial Secretaries, arising from voluntary ignorance, misrepresenta- * From the report of the meetings of the Guiana Missionary Union, in the"Eoyal Gazette," published at Georgetown, Demerara, March 23,1878, we find the prineiple of eelf-sustentation fully adopted. " The ministers," it is stated, " who took part in them, and the Churches to whom they minister, believe in and acton the principle that the worship of Almighty God ought to be maintained by the cheerful willing gifts of those who take part therein, and not by grants from the Colonial revenue ; whilst the taxing of Mahcm- medans, Hindoos, and Buddhists for the support of ministers of five or six denominations of Christians, they regard as a grievous wrong done both to these non-believers in Christianity, and to the religion of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." CHAP. XX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 627 tion or partial information. The Committee of the Colonial Missionary Society were liable in the same manner to fall into error in their distance from the scene of their operations, and the communications of their agents perplexed them by the applications for help on the one hand, and the continual request of the Secretary on the other to reduce the expenditure. They relied on statistics and the general report of their representatives, but in some instances they knew as little of the actual condition of the mis- sionaries as if they had inhabited another c^se of planet. Take for illustration the case of Mr. ^^^- ^^'^'^■ Geikie. On reference to the letter book and minutes of the Society we find the following entries : — Mr. Wells writes to Mr. Roaf, 30th September, 1847 :— " Steatford. — You wish to transfer Mr. Ge kie, junr., from the funds of your Society at twenty pounds, to those of our Society at forty. The Committee here, on the contrary, propose to give twenty, if you also will give the same, either currency or sterling, what you give they will give. Forty pounds a year currency or sterling. If your Canadian Society will give one moiety this Committee will give the other. " Read the letter of Rev. John Roaf (November 8, 1847), his views on the proposal of this Committee, that it should unite with the Canada West Missionary Society in the support of Mr. Geikie, junr., Stratford, each Society paying twenty pounds towards his aid. Mr. Roaf represents his strong opinion that such joint operations between the two Societies will be found inexpedient, tending to relax the efforts of the Canada Society, and to throw all the burden of such joint labours on the Committee. " Secretary was desired to thank Mr. Roaf for his valuable suggestion, and to express the concurrence of the Committee therein, also to inform Mr, Roaf that the Committee waits further proposals from hivi hefore taking new steps in the matter." 628 CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. [CHAP. XX. Mr. Wells writes, December 30th, 1847 :— " The Committee has directed me to thank you for your very just suggestion of the probable evils that would arise from the joint support of stations by this Society and yours, therefore Mr. Geikie, juu., had better stand connected with only one or other of the two Societies, and the Committee waits your further pro- posals as to which shall adopt his station, when you are adjust- ing your plans and arrangements for another year. " April 5, 1848. " As to the case of Mr. Archibald Geikie, jun., labouring at Stratford, we do not see our way to take his support on our Society, our funds are not adequate. We are now struggling ■with doubts of success to clear the Society of debt.'' All this time the Committee had no communica- tion with Mr. Geikie. He waited the results of their careful deliberations. According to their light they acted with admirable discretion and with no inten- tional unkindness. Mr. Roaf accommodated himself to his patrons, and received their thanks, and he had to shape his answers to the unfortunate applica- tions on behalf of the missionary, according to the changing circumstances. Bat vv^hat, in the mean- while, was the actual condition of Mr. Geikie ? This we learn from the following affecting letter to Mr. Binney : — "Brockville, Canada West, June 15, 1848. " My brother, Mr. Geikie, went to Stratford, in June, 1846, that is exactly two years ago this month. At that time there •was but one Congregationalist in the place, a lady, and to her husband my brother was introduced by letter from Mr, Roaf. At the end of the first year he had gathered a church in the village of, I think, at first eleven members, which has since, thank God, steadily increased. He had drawn around him congrega- tions which averaged 100 in the village, and considerably more in the country round about. He had three services each Lord's day, iu the village and at a station some miles out, and at CHAP. XX.] CONGRErxATIONAL HISTORY. 629 least one preaching in the week ; in conjunction with his friend, Dr. Hyde, of Embro, he had begun a Temperance Society, and had pushed it so that he had gained fifty members, though Strat- ford be a notoriously wicked drunken place. He had begun a mechanics' institute, in a simple way, of course, to deliver lectures on popular subjects to the people, and otherwise try to raise them, and had gained so great a hold on the public respect as to have been able to gather at a single subscription 300 dollars towards building a chapel. This was the work of the first year, carried on under very many disadvantages. The second year has been a repetition of the preceding, with equal success, all opposition being now overcome, and the subscription for his chapel raised to, I believe, 400 dollars. " In both years, as I have said, he had many disadvantages with which to contend, and among them poverty has not been the least. In the first his income was £25 currency from the Canadian Missionary Society, 70 dollars from the few people who were willing to help him when he went — in all, £42 10s. currency. From this sum he supported himself and his wife (whose sister is married to a brother of Serjeant Talford, F. Talford, Esq., of Froomefield River, St. Clair), and kept a horse besides. I need not say that he was sorely pinched and harassed. But after a while a gleam of hope came that his cir- cumstances would be bettered. . "About the close of the year (the first one) Mr, Mickle, of Guelph, visited his stations, and was so pleased that he forth- with strongly recommended Stratford to Mr. Roaf as deserving the aid of the Colonial Missionary Society, to have obtained which would at once have raised my brother from poverty, and have relieved his mind from gnawing cares. Mr. Roaf, on receipt of this recommendation, told me 'he intended to act on it.' That ' everything was very encouraging,' and even, if I remem- ber rightly, that Stratford was one of the most flourishing stations in Western Canada, as indeed it is. Disappointment, however, soon came. "After a time the statistics of each place were needed for your Committee, and, among others, my brother was written to. It so happened that the subscription paper for the second year had not been taken round when Mr. Roaf's letter came, requesting by a fixed time an answer to various queries, and one respecting the G30 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XX. amount raised for him by his people. In order to be within the given time, he sent back without delay, for there wei'e only a few days, saying that he had not got a subscription for the second year, but would send it as soon as he got it ; that, mean- while, all he could do, was to tell what he had got the year before, though his prospects were much better now than they were then. He told Mr. Koaf, therefore, that he had the previous years got 70 dollars, but that a false-hearted man, who had given 40 dollars, had withdrawn this sura. That, he belived, however, it would be more than made up, though he could not say how much moi^e till he got in his paper. Mr. Roaf had no sooner received this than Ids wlwle tone changed respecting the recommen- dation, in which he had been so hearty before. I used to see him frequent!}', and marked it at once. ' He would have nothing to do with Stratford, he would recommend none of it.' A week or ten days after the amount of the second year's subscription was sent, as had been promised, and showed ^25 currency as the sum raised in the village alone, with a likelihood of more from a Presbyterian congregation, that were hesitating whether to apply for a minister of their own denomination or stay by my brother. On getting this, Mr. Roaf changed again. ' A very different story. Yes, all things promise well. I'll recommend the place.' " Months passed on, and Mr. Roaf, who was to have recom- mended him so long before, at last wrote to your Committee. He told me of it after he had written, on my showing one day great mental distress at the thought of my brother's position. He pitied my deep nervous dejection, and kindly cheered me by saying that he had asked for £50 currency for Stratford, that it was likely it would be granted, and that I might write to my brother to keep up his spirits, that he was being attended to, and that he might hope for a change for the better soon. I thanked him from my heart, and wrote Archibald that he must trust God yet, that He had long been our God, and would not leave us, that He knew them that were His, and was ever mindful of His covenant. I told him also what Mr. Roaf had said to me, and added what I could of my own to cheer him, for he was depressed at the time. His wife, too, was sick, and needed a little animal food greatly, and he could not buy it ; he could not afford to keep a girl to help her, though she had never wrought before her marriage. OHAP. XX.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOllY. 031 Eveu the little income lie had came irregularly, the quarterly payment of this country Society's grant having been neglected by the Society twice running. He has more than once written to me when he had not even a penny in the house to buy postage, and I remember one day told me that he was going out to borrow four dollars to buy flour, as he had not any money of his own with which to get it. One letter touched my heart exceedingly by a quotation from Crabbe's beautiful sketch of the Borough Curate : — ' Yes, I may see my decent table yet Cheer'd with the meal that adds not to my debt ; May talk of those to whom so much we owe. And guess their names whom yet we may not know. Blest, we shall say, are those who thus can give, And next who thus upon the bounty live ; Then shall I close with thanks my humble meal. And feel so well— 0 God ! how I shall feel ! ' " At last, on the 7th of February this year his wife died, after only a half-hour's illness, having given birth to a daughter. She was young (only twenty- two or twenty-three), the wife of his bosom, of his youth, his world, and Grod had taken her away so suddenly. In his agony he resolved to take the corpse to my father's, and lay it beside his and my blessed mother, who had been his comforter in every sorrow, and had been taken from us only four weeks before. My poor brother had no friends in Stratford— no blood- friends, I mean— and so far away among strangers. He therefore left foi- Moore, where my father's house is, taking with him a woman to nurse the child, and a man to drive them and himself and the corpse. The distance was one hundred and twenty miles, but the weather was very cold, and the corpse would not soon decay. At Moore he laid it to its long rest beside our sweet mother, who herself had been so shoit a time away. " My father was a widower, and my brother was, now, and they stayed together for a time for mutual comfort. Indeed, my father would not suffer him to go back at once to the scene of so great a trial, lest it should crush his sensitive mind altogether. Before leaving Stratford he had thought he never could como back, and so wrote to the secretary of our Society that he felt so 632 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XX. • — at least, they tell me he did. But that the place might not be without supply, he got my father to write to me from Moore, as soon as he got there, asking me to get some one sent. I did so at once, in accordance with my brother's wish, so that there was only one Sabbath without preaching. A month passed, and the people began to fear that he would not be able to get over his sorrow, and might not come back, and to induce him they sent their condolence, and an earnest request that, if he could, he would return. The letter was signed by fifty persons, beside his church members. Its kindness prevailed, and he sent them word that he would not leave them, fixing the time when he should go back as the Sabbath after the supply had ceased. " Meanwhile, he wrote Mr. E,oaf, asking, as a private friend, if he thought there would be help given to Stratford from the Colonial Society, as it would ease his mind in the prospect of again labouring there. Before receiving this letter, Mr. Roaf had heard of my brother, having left Stratford, and seemed to think lightly of him for it, speaking to me of the ' strangeness ' of his going all the way to Moore at such a time, and leaving his station. At all events, he at once changed his mind about the promised grant, even though he heard that my brother was going back again. One would have thought sympathy was called for in such a case ; but instead of kind words, Mr. Roaf sent him the following answer to his letter : — " ' Rev. a. Geikie — Dear Sir, — I have received your letter of inquiry respecting the rumoured prospect of the Colonial Missionary Society sustaining yourself at Stratford. In reply, I can only say that whoever set such a rumour afloat spoke without authority, and that I can hold out no prospect of such an arrangement. Nor was I, until you reported it, aware of your separation from our Canadian Society, to which I should suppose you could with most propriety look for aid. Cases like your own, wheie occasional extra help is required, and where sudden separations between pastor and people are likely to occur, are better superintended by a provincial body whose members are at hand, than by a home Society which has to do its business through agents who are fully occupied. — I remain, dear Sir, yours ever truly, ' J. ROAF. 'Toronto, April 20, 181-8.' CHAP. XX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 633 " On this letter I would make a few remarks. 1st, The occa- sional help referred to was fifty dollars, granted my brother three or four years ago, while at Warwick, for a horse, and was never sought, nor expected, to be repeated. Mr. Roaf knows this, for I have told him it many times. 2nd. As to the * speaking without authority,' I can only say that Mr. Roaf told me many times that the grant was certain, and that it wanted only an official form from you (the Committee). 8rd. My brother never dreamed of sudden separation from his people till this affliction struck him down, and then it was only for a very short time, and not without having meanwhile procured a supply in his absence. If he ever thought of leaving before, it was only if he actually could not live in Stratford. " I now come, after all this weary history, to the particular reason of my writing you. It is this. I had occasion to meet Mr. Roaf after he had written the above letter to my brother, and he then, to my amazement, told me the grant was lost. ' It's done, there's no more about it. I'm done with your brother.' 'Be wrote me asTiing about the grant, and I won't have people that ivill interfere and meddle with things half done.'' ' Til have nothing of the hind. The grant's gone.' After a time the reason came out. ' Your brother's a man that would leave a place at once ; let sudden feeling carry him away, forsake a cause, let it go to pieces, leave it on my hands, and I wont have men that give me trouble. I'll ivrite to the Committee, revoking my recommenda- tion, and that tvill end the matter.' " The self-imposed burden of the Colonial Society Committee of sole direction became oppressive to the Secretary. In a report of a special meeting held August, 1848— " The removal of several brethren from your service in Canada West into the United States, has much reduced the number of ministers assisted by you in that province, and with other circumstances, have raised doubts ivhether the agency system on which your operations have been ^^'■; Wells' conducted, has been successful, and ought to be tion. continued on its present footing, which is a subject of delicacy and difficulty, but of much importance, and ought to receive early and grave consideration. G34 GONGREGATIOXAL lllSTOKY. [CUAP. XX. " TJndei' all these weighty affairs and important prospects the Colonial Missionary Society requires to be worked with aug- mented vigour in correspondence, public appeals, office manage- ment, and efforts to obtain and send forth ministers. " This view of affairs presses strongly on the mind of your Secretary, and has brought him to take the long meditated step of tendering his resignation at the close of the current year." On the 31st December, 1849, Mr. Wells sent in a letter of resignation to the Committee. At the same time, Mr. John Remington Mills, identified with the Society from its origin, resigned his office as Treasurer. He was succeeded by Mr. James Spicer ; the Rev. Thomas James was appointed to the Secretariat. Mr. Wells, suffering from increasing weakness, was compelled to retire from his wonted place at Valedictory the Socicty's offico, and occupied himself Letters. ^^^ writing valedictory letters to the mis- sionaries at their several stations. " To Rev. John Roaf. " Upper Clapton, January, 1850. " I now send you an imperfect letter from a sick-room, in the fifth week of my confinement thereto. You will, therefore, not wonder that I have felt it a proceeding no longer to Mr Roaf. ^® avoided or delayed, to resign my office of Secre- tary to the Colonial Missionary Society. No longer young, my health yields, my labours increase, and my deficiencies nmltiply. Personal considerations warn me to narrow the range of my responsibilities, but the public interest still more imperatively demands this of me. To disengage myself from Clapton has become impossible. The Union seems to re- quire my prolonged service. The Colonial, therefore, must be committed to other hands. My next letter will probably be my last official communication. But too much of this already." CHAP. XX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOitY, G35 After the discussion of the affairs of the Mission, Mr. Wells adds :— " These, I think, are all the points of business brought under our notice in your very welcome letter, to which, indeed, it is proper I should not fail to respond in some other respects. Let me thank you for all your friendly and too partial references to myself personally. If I know myself, I am a very imperfect servant of the public — much over-valued by the estimate formed of me in the judgment of many whose discernment in general I should think clear and strong. Of your own failing spirit I hear with much more concern than surprise. May Grod brace and reanimate you for renewed efforts." " To the Rev. Henry Wilkes, M.A., Montreal, Canada, East. " Jmmarij 2, 1850. " This illness has been for some time working its way upon, me, and, being the result of fag and wear upon a frame far from strong, has taken a deep — though I hope not danger- ous— hold of my system. It warns me to seek Wilkea' diminution of labour, and to pursue only the quieter walks of usefulness. I shall quit my work and my brethren in this department with the most heartfelt reluctance and regret. My convictions that Colonial Missions are i}\Q first work and the toisest policy of Congregationalists, are at this time far stronger than when, thirteen years ago, I entered on the service of this vital cause — the sowing a handful of corn in the earth, the fruit of which will soon shalie like Lebanon. '• Farewell ! May all good attend you ! May trade revive, Montreal prosper, annexation die out, the English element in your city and province constantly increase, the pure Gospel have power, Zion Church send forth all around its sweet light, its healing waters, all debt be paid, and all hearts be glad ! Amen, saith "A. Wells." " To liev. T. Q. Stow, Adelaide. ^'January 7, 1850. " I write now from a sick-room, in the sixth week of my confinement thei-eto. Other duties have come on me, with both 636 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XX. greater numbers and increased weight. It is very painful to me to quit this beloved work. No change of thought or feeling occasions my retirement, unless it be such increased convictions of the importance of Colonial Missions, as make me thoroughly anxious to see them served by the more undivided energies of some competent Secretary." " To the Rev. Dr. Robert Eoss, Sydney, 'New South Wales. " Upper Clapton, January 10, 1850. " My vEKy DEAF. Sib, — It is never so much my duty as it is always my pleasure, to pen a letter for you. Ever since I bore a humble part in the negotiations and proceedings which issued in your mission to S3'dney, all along, during your ten years' course of blessed success there, it has been my joy that God guided you to the far land of your adoption, and has there so greatly favoured you, in your person, your family and your work. May more like years be added to your happy and useful course." " To the Rev. F. Tomkius, A.M., Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. " Upper Clapton, January 18, 1850. " The account you give of your labours, makes me ashamed of my own, while I cannot but hold you in honour, and thank God who has given you such a heart, and such Mr lom- strength, for your great work. Certainly, I concur with you that work is the happiest thing, the best pleasure in this world. Nothing equals a good day's work. No holiday or pleasure like that, especially such work as ours, in such a cause, for such a Master ! for such objects ! But, dear friend, ivork vnseli/, study health, do not be hurried or fretted in your labour ; a quiet, orderly course of effort is the way to acG077ipHsli great things, and to hold on for a long time. Do not think I give this advice because my own practice has been what I recommend, to you. Alas! no. This advice I give, because my own poor efforts have been impeded, and my own little strength wasted in impulsive excitement and irregular exer- tions. So I can present myself as a warning, if not as an example." Complaints were now made more openly of the CHAP. XX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOET. 637 agency system, and the sensitive spirit of Mr. Wells was deeply wounded by the reflections ^^^ ^_^.^^^ made on the conduct of Roaf, for whom of Agency he cherished the warmest attachment. ■^^''™" Writing from Upper Clapton, 29th January, 1850, to Mr. Wilkes, he says : — " To the Rev. Henry Wilkes, A.M., Montreal, Canada East. " Upper Clapton, January 29, 1850. " My DEAR Friend, — Yours of the fifth inst. just received, demands an immediate response, though it cannot be an official one. You will at once perceive that I refer to what you com- municate respecting affairs in the west of your great j^^^^^^ ^f country, and the representations of Mr. M. and Mr. Mr. Wells G. in relation thereto. Now, first, if those brethren ^.^j^^g are in a calm spirit, candidly seeking only the public good, they will surely perceive that appeals and exposures in our English religious journals, are the very last means to be employed, with deep regret and reluctance, only when all other measures have been attempted in vain. Has any suitable remonstrance been made to Mr. Roaf ? Has there been any attempt at friendly conference on public interests ? Have any specific cases of wrong doing been pointed out to Mr. Roaf? Is there, in the mind of any of our complaining friends, any well-adjusted plan for the better regulation of our Missions in your province ? I)o they really impute to us at home a design to huild up a tyranny or an indifference to the impartial application of all our principles and liberties to pastors and churches assisted by us. Let me intreat of you, dear sir, to put such considerations before the minds of your informants ; you will see I cannot address Mr. Boqf on the sub- ject, there being no accuser I could name, no accusation which I could specify. I cannot address Messrs. M. and G., because it is out of all question that I should be inviting proceedings or charges against my friend, he all the time ignorant of the whole matter, though I may, in fact, think it would be better for him that this open course should be taken, than that dissatisfaction should ferment till it explode. " Next, my opinion is that Mr. Roaf would be found open to representation to the effect that the time has now probably arrived 638 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [OHAP. XX. when some modification of tlie agency system liiilierto acted on in conducting missions in your province might he beneficial." Mr. Wells was spared the pain of intimating to Mr. Roaf that his removal from office had been determined upon by the Committee. He gradually sank under the power of disease. The new chapel occupied his thoughts, and he wrote an interesting tract on the House of the Lord, but he did not live Death of ^^ witucss its Completion, being called to Mr. Wells, eutcr the heavenly temple. He died December 29, 1850. Mr. Binney, after a discourse on " Life and Immortality," gave an affectionate tribute to his memory. " The Rev. Algernon Wells," Mr. Binney said, " was born at Peckham, in the county of Surrey, in the year 1794. He was put, when very young, to a plain but good English school, kept by John Ellis, a member of the Society of Fx-iends, who lived at Gildersome, near Leeds. It was one of the directions in the will of Mr. Wells' father, that his three sons (his entire family) should be sent to a Quaker school. When Algernon left school, he was placed with an ironmonger at Chatham, in Kent. Here he connected himself with the church under the care of the Rev. .T. Slatterie. He was soon encouraged to entertain the idea of becoming a minister. For the double purpose of receiving preparatory culture, and of having his principles and qualifications tested, he was placed with the Rev. Dr. Redford, then of Uxbridge. Here he was to assist in school teaching, while receiving assist- ance in prosecuting his studies. He was recommended by Dr. Redford to Hoxton Academy, in the year 1814, and I suppose entered it in the January following. At the termination of his college course he was settled over the Congregational Church, at Cogglesliall, Essex. He lived and laboured in this sphere twenty years. In 1837 he was invited to become the Secretary of the Congregational Union of England and Wales, and of the Congregational Colonial Missionary Society, These engagements were to have been without a pastoral charge. It was neither, perhaps, fitting, however, that such a man should be without a CHAP. XX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 639 church, nor was ifc possible to prevent churches soliciting his services. Eelinquishing, therefore, a portion of his income to the societies he was connected with, he became the pastor of the church at Clapton in the year 1839. Here he continued to labour, with regularity, acceptance, and success, till last spring when encroaching illness obliged him to desist and seek relief, from medicine and rest. He continued to decline as the year advanced, till growing suddenly worse about three weeks since, he lingered for a few days, when on the evening of Sunday, the 29th of December, he died. " As a boy he Hked to be alone ; and very often, I doubt not, when roaming about the burns and woods, he was brought into communion not only with external nature, which he always loved, and took to like a child, but with the Spirit of God, who thus early and gently drew him to Himself. That he had been thus drawn, would seeni likely from a touching incident which took place in his opening youth. When he had left school, and was going to Chatham from his mother's house (she was a widow, the boy had been fatherless from his seventh year), he had some way to walk, on that first journey of his into the rough world, before the expected coach could take him up. It was mid-winter and the snow lay deep upon the earth. As he went along, great thoughts, unwonted throbbings, new fears, recollections of the past, the unknown future— all came up into his young heart, and filled it nigh to overflowing ; and he kneeled down, kneeled on the snow, in the open field and under the dark sky, and he prayed saying, ' Father, be Thou the guide of my youth.' He gave himself up to God, and besought His protection. That protection was granted then, and was never withdrawn. He referred to the incident in his last illness and bore testimony to the divine faith- fulness. He, too, as in God's sight, and in the spirit of humble trust and dependence, put forth his hand, at that hour, to true, honest, manly work, and that hand he never withdrew. It was put afterwards to higher and nobler forms of service, but never to anything but with prayer and faith, and in the spirit of loyalty to God and duty. "He possessed remarkable talent for business. In his com- bined offices of Secretary to the Union and to the Colonial Missionary Society, in the latter of which I personally acted with him during the whole time he fulfilled its duties, it is hardly 640 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [OHAP. XX. possible to award him excessive praise. His wise suggestions, his efficient plans, his judgment in counsels, his prudence in action, his full official preparations for business, whether of private committees or public meetings, his talent for correspondence, his tact in difficulties, his beautiful addresses, printed or spoken, his bearing and deportment, spirit and tone — everything belonging to him, within him, and about him, marked him out as one whom God had peculiarly qualified for that kind of work which he did so well, and of which, therefore, he was called upon to do so much." One of the daughters of Mr. Wells, in a toucliing narration of his dying experience, says : — " About twelve o'clock on Sunday we fancied he was becoming unconscious. My mother said, ' Do you know us.' He roused himself, and looking very much Mmself, said very decidedly, but yet imperfectly, ' Oh, yes ! ' I was kneeling by him, and imme- diately asked him, ' Papa, dear, are you happy ? ' Four times he repeated in the same energetic way, ' Oh, yes ! ' after that he did not speak again." Separated from his faithful friend and companion in labour, Mr. Binney suffered from the accumulating public duty, and his capacity for work was diminished for a time, but he was spared for many years for effective service. His affliction proved the occasion of one of the most beautiful manifestations of affection and sympathy between pastor and people that have ever been witnessed. " Broomfield, near Manchester, April 26, 1852. " My dear Friends, — When I intimated my intention of ■writino" to you a letter to be read this evening, I expected to have been quietly in the country two or three days Letter of Qf i^st week. But although I left London on Thursday ^g't'j^g^"*^ last, I only arrived here on Saturday night, as I spent Churcli at the Friday at Amersham, where my youngest boy is House'^'^ ' ^^ school, which I had not previously thought of doing. This morning therefore (Monday) furnishes the first opportunity I have had of writing or dictating anything, and tlie first exercise of pen and speech I feel to he due to you. CHAP. XX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 6-11 " I cannot express to you Tiow deeply I have sometimes been affected by tbe thought of the suddenness with which my affliction came upon me. I seemed to myself, all the winter, to be in the enjoyment of the most perfect and vigorous health, and felt equal to almost any amount of labour. I was constantly at work in public duties, or private study and writing, and had no intimatiou whatever of what was approaching till the moment it came, when it smote me as with the stroke of an arrow. Everything was instantly at a stand ; regular duties had to cease ; projected labours had to be given up, and without a moment's warning, I had to retire from the business of tbe world and the engagements of the Church. The lesson, I hope, will not be lost upon me, or on you. It might have been the termination of all labour, instead of being (what I trust it is) only the temporary suspension of it. But it shows us all, how in the midst of health and in the fulness of power, we are all dependent on God's supporting hand, and ought to live under a sense of that dependence ; and it shows, also, that we never can be so busy and occupied but that if He please He can compel us to find time for rest and recollection, by providentially intimating how easy it would be for Him to compel us to find time to die. " In the present day, everybody, both in the Church and in in the world, is so over-occupied, so oppressed by calls and claims made upon them, that they are in danger of attending to everything hut themselves — their oion hearts and souls. And it is well when anything occurs to teach them personally, or by a public example, the tvisdom and duty of seeing well to their iiiward spiritual life, in addition to their being busied ivith secular concerns, the discharge of oficial duty, or the promotion of public objects. " While I cannot but hope that good will come out of my affliction, both to myself and you, I may yet express my regret for the interruption it occasions in the discharge of my minis- terial duties. I am happy, indeed, in the thought of the successful pains which have been taken by the deacons to secure the services of many honoured and excellent brethren, to conduct your Sabbath worship and administer the Word of Life. I am glad, too, of the assurance that the attendance of the congre- gation has, on the whole, been uniformly good. I earnestly pray that you may never meet without receiving some ' spiritual gift.' In the absence of the under- shepherd, may you have the 41 G42 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOEY. [CHAP. X7. most undoubted proofs of the presence of Him who is the ' Chief Shepherd and Bishop of souls ' ; and may that presence, and the rich blessing it ever binngs with it, beautify and enrich our union in His service when that union is again permitted to take place ! " Among the subjects which occasion particular regret to me, I may mention my inaliility to see some of tlie aged members of the Church, who are much a^iicted, and any others ivlio may he visited with calamity. In London, calling on people, simply as such, is almost out of the question. I do not pretend to do much that way, and perhaps I do not do enough ; but my conscience does not accuse me of neglecting cases of actual sickness or affliction, and I am sorry if there are any such at present which I cannot visit. I much lament, also, the sudden cessation of the Wednesday morning Bible lecture, which I greatly enjoyed, and from which I had hoped that much good would one day spring. The resumption of this is now, I fear, impossible till towards the close of the year. I hope, by God's mercy, to be restored to full duty and service long before then, and by that time, be justified in again adding the lectures to my winter labours. " My friends will permit me to hope that the prayer-meeting is not neglected. I am quite sure that I have the prayers of many in private, and in the family ; but I hope, also, that there is the social union of many in the week-night service. My own experience testifies to greater spiritual enjoyment, to deeper religious emotion, attending the Tuesday nigMs little meeting than the Sunday's greater and more public services/ And I doubt not you will find it good, like those of old that 'feared the Lord,' thus to meet with one another and to ' call upon His name.' " I feel I must not extend this letter, nor attempt to say all I would, especially as, from the circumstances already referred to, I am obliged to do the whole of this immediately and at once. I must not close, however, without giving some account of the state of my health. " The particular nature of my complaint is, I suppose, fully known to you. It is not, I have reason to believe, any decay of the optic nerve, depriving me of sight, but only a muscular afiec- tion, producing confusion and double vision, which time and rest may be expected to remove. The cause of my disorder lies, I believe, deeper than the mere effect of external cold striking the region of the eye. That deeper cause it is the object of my CHAP. XX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. 643 medical friends to reach and to remove ; and they aim at this partly by medicine and partly by enjoining rest, change, exercise in the open air, and so on. I keep making observations on myself, and ha' e noticed two things lately which I think important. While at Epsom I took cold, and Lad a severe attack of lumbago, and the consequence of this vras, that it brought back for a time the double vision and confused indistinctness of objects, which had been gradually giving way under medical treatment. Then last week, while in London, I had my mind a good deal exercised. I was obliged to attend to business of some importance on the Monday. I bad to have a consultation on the Tuesday with Mr. Travers, accompanied by my friends Dr. Cooke and Mr. Dixon, who have my case in hand ; and on Wednesday many things occasioning thought and anxiety had to be attended to, in the prospect of leaving home. As the effect of all this, I was sensible on Monday, when I got into the country, of a return of a good deal of that condition of the eye which I have described as having been brought the week before by cold. Now, these two things prove, first, what is a matter of encouragement, that the disorder is effected by temporary states of the body, and is not, therefore, in the optic nerve itself ; but they prove, secondly, that premature mental excitement, the exercise of thought aud anxiety, will also cause a recurrence of apparently subdued symptoms ; and there is thus a warning to both you and me, to be willing to wait long enough, that a return to service may not be soon followed by what may cause it again to be abandoned. " I think, my dear friends, you will readily and kindly excuse the shortness and imperfections of this letter, under all the cir- cumstances. I shall think of you on Sunday, when I shall hope to hold communion with you in spirit at the table of the Lord. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. May you increasingly feel the happiness of simple trust in His sacrifice, and work for your acceptance as sinners, and by the ' daily renewing of your minds,' and the supply of His Spirit, may you, as Christian believers, adorn the doctrine by all holy conversation and godliness. Commending you to God's holy keeping, I am, with all sincerity and affection, your friend aud pastor, "T. BlNNEY. " To the Church assembling for worship in the Weigh House Chapel." 644 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XX. April 27, 1852. — At a numerously attended church meeting, held this day. Dr. Cooke presiding, a communication was read from Mr. Binney, ad- dressed to the church, dated Broomfield, April 26, 1852. "Resolved — 1. That this church meeting most cordially sympathizes with Mr. Binney in the severe affliction with which -p ^ , , . it has pleased God to visit him, but desire to express of the their sincere gratitude that some advances to restora- Church. ^-Qj^ have been made. " 2. That this church meeting cannot but deeply regret the unavoidable privations suffered by the church and congregation, from the loss of services, which, under God's blessing, have con- duced, they believe, greatly to their spiritual advantage, and cannot but feel that the privation is equally experienced by their honoured pastor himself, by being so long disabled for duties in which he has had great satisfaction. Yet the meeting affec- tionately entreat that he will not resume his ministerial duties until there is not only a recovery of correct vision, but ground of confidence that he is secure, as far as can be ascertained, against the danger of relapse. " 3. That this church meeting feels a grateful sense of the kind interest shown by the ministers who have supplied the pulpit, or who have engaged to supply it. That Mr. Binney be informed of the great consideration shown to him and his people by his ministerial brethren, and that he be assured that all the responsibilities involved in these occasional services will be most cheerfully met. " 4. That a copy of the preceding resolutions be forwarded to Mr. Binney, with a grateful response to his letter. That the resolutions be read at the sacramental meeting next Lord's day, and that Mr. Binney's letter and the resolutions be entered on the minutes." June 1, 1852. — At a church meeting held this evening. Dr. Cook presiding, the following letter from Mr. Binney was read, and ordered to be entered on the minutes : — CHAP. XX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 645 " To the Church assembling for worship in Weigh House, Eish Street Hill, London. " Shandon, Helensburgh, May 31, 1852. "By the mercy of God, and, I doubt not, through your prayers, I am now able to address to you a few lines by my own hand, which I did not attempt to do a month ago. When I then communicated with you, I had to refer to my recent ^^piy experience of temporary indisposition on the one '^.^^^ hand, and fatigue and anxiety on the other, bringing back the disorder and indistinctness of vision which has deprived me of the power of serving you. " I am happy to say that since that period I have had no return of my complaint. I have, indeed, been perfectly well in my general health, and I have, for the most part, kept myself from protracted and severe mental occupation, so that I have not been exposed to relapse from accidental causes. Besides this, however, I am able to report that, having watched carefully several minute symptoms which I cannot particularize, I have had the satisfaction to notice their gradual disappearance, and I am willing to hope, and indeed believe, that some things which caused their return or aggravation some weeks ago, would not be followed by such a result now. The week before last I felt myself able to read a good deal, and even to write. Perhaps m the joy of exercising powers the suspension of which I had felt so much, I rather overdid it, for (though I am rejoiced to say there was no return of visual disorder) I suffered a great deal from severe pain in the left eye. That, however, with a little care, passed away, and with the exception of a very, very slight uneasi- ness yesterday, I have not had any return of pain referred to. "I am thus particular, because I am so confident of your interest and sympathy, and so persuaded that I cannot meet ^ your wishes better than by being particular. I think, also, that it is due to you to justify, by these statements, my adding a week or two to my proposed absence from public duty. Tou very kindly urged, in the resolutions which 1 received in reply to my last communication, that I would not hasten my return. I felt obliged by this considerate suggestion, but should be sorry to abuse it. " I was encouraged by it to extend my stay a little as 1 have done, and I think from what I have said you will see I have G46 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOltY. [CHAP. XX. done riglit. I have reason to be thankful for my restoration, tlie entire removal of the complaint of disordered vision, but I have need of caution in returning to the use and exercise of the recovered faculty. Permit me, my dear friends, to express to you the delight and gratification with v?hich I received through the deacoi;s a copy of the resolutions you were so kind as to pass at the last church meeting in reply to the letter I then sent you. " I thought it became me to write, but I was not at all prepared for such resolutions in reply. I had not thought of such a thing, and I must say that the fact of this being passed, the sentiments of the resolutions themselves, and the particular arcount of the meeting furnished by the kindness of Dr. Cooke in transmitting them, did altogether very greatly affect me. I was gratified by your kindness, affection, liberality, consideration, hut deeply humbled, I say it unaffectedly, hy the thought of my own unworthiness of so much of tvhat ivas expressed towards one. Your conduct, however, was only of a piece with what I have experienced for more than twenty years ; during that time there have been occasions ivhich have made great demands on you in various ways. I have never experienced at your hands anything hut what was hind, generous, and considerate ; and, though T will not affect to deny that though I have tried, though Avith many imperfections, to serve you earnestly, yet I do feel, on looking back, a painful sense of your kindness having often far exceeded my deserts. " I am anxious that this letter should be entirely written by myself, but I am beginning to feel that it will not be wise for me to extend it much further ; I must di-aw therefore to a conclusion without saying some things which I had intended saying. I cannot omit, however, expressing my satisfaction at the thought of the manner in which the pulpit has been kept supplied. I feel greatly indebted to my ministerial brethren for their kindness, and not less to the deacons who must have taken much trouble to effect what they have accomplished- Whether I can under- take and continue the full discharge of all duties or not, I am yet longing to get back again now and propose doing so the week after next. I hope to be able to take morning service on the third Sunday in June. I shall not attempt more that day. I earnestly pray that it may be the commencement of a fresh period of labour and usefulness, and the words of the apostle in the 1st chapter of the 2nd Epistle to the Corinthians (verses 3 to CHAP. XX.] CONGEEGATIONAL HISTt^fl^. 647 ] I) I may find a falfilmenfc amongst us so far as some of the things expressed are applicable to our case and circumstances as a church. " I am thankful for the accounts I have received from Dr. Cooke, whose particularity of detail has been most kind on his part, and gratifying to me. I am thankful that these accounts have been cheering and good in relation to the Church. No distress or affliction having befallen any. One exception, indeed, there is to this, in the comparatively sudden removal of a member whom I very highly esteemed (Mr. Hancock). I much regret my absence at this time of trial to his poor widow, who has been deprived of her sight for some time, and has thus /peculiar claims on Christian and ministerial sympathy. Let her have a place in your prayers and intercessions for one another. "And now, brethren, may grace be with you all, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is able to build you up, to keep you from falling, and to give you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified through faith, that is in Him. So prays your devoted and affectionate friend and pastor, "T. BiNNEY." The arrangement for transferring the oversight of the mission in Canada to the fraternal supervision of the churches in the country, was intimated to Mr. Roaf in a letter from Mr. James, April 4, 1851. " Our Committee," he says, " have most anxiously con- sidered the plan for the management of our affairs in your pro- vince. The inclosed resolutions are the result. I may say that some of our Committee entertain the opinion which you very definitely express, viz., that some indi- Agency vidual should be selected through whom our corres- abolished. pondence should be conducted, heretofore it was by yourself. Bioi others, being the ma,jority, are very decidedly opposed to this, as they consider it ' Diocesan Episcopacy.' It has not worked well in some parts of the world under the London Missionary Society, and it is agreed, is in opposition to the prin- ciple of equality which should obtain amongst the pastors and mem- bers of Congregational Churches. ' One is your Master, and all ye are brethren.' The idea, therefore, of appointing any one to 648 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XX. succeed you, was at once relinquished. The question then arose what other method can be devised ? In considering this, the Committee thought, all things being taken into account, that it was desirable to avail ourselves of the organization already exist- ing among you in the Congregational Union, and by two or three slight alterations, render that institution the medium through which our affairs shall in future be connected." With a new order of things other men entered into the labours of their predecessors. Dr. George Smith, eloquent, courteous, and devoted, took the place of Mr. Wells, as Secretary of the Congrega- tional Union, in conjunction with the Rev. Robert AsHTON, who, with remarkable care and diligence, has for many years edited the " Congregational Year Book," and still contiuues his valuable service. In the middle of the present century, much soli- citude was expressed by representative Congrega- tional ministers on the prevalence of sceptical opinions, and the attempts made covertly to diffuse them amonff youno: men training for the Scepticism . . & J & & ^ at the ministry, so to corrupt the fountain of of the religious teaching, and to poison, if possible, Century. ^^^^ wclls of salvatiou. Such assaults have occurred at intervals, from the time of the first pro- pagation of the gospel, and are permitted to test the fidelity of those to whom it is committed as a most sacred trust. Notwithstanding the long succession of defeats, the enemies of the cross appear now and then to renew their efforts to destroy the faith, set aside the Christian Church as an obsolete institution, and substitute for revelation the dreams of their own imagination ; but with every repeated attack, able defenders are raised up, to gain fresh victories, and the " foundation of God standeth sure." The CHAP. XX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. 649 words spoken at the annual assembly of the Congre- gational Union, May 11, 1852, have lost none of their force ; and in closing our own labour in this department of Congregational service, we adopt the sentiments expressed as most appropriate to the present time. "A tendency to Bationalism exists around us. The Bible is not ignored. Portions of it are deferentially assented to, not, however, as coming from God, or as being a Divine testimony, but merely on account of the self-commending j^^^^gss of nature of the subjects on which they treat, which Dr. Harris, is (as Lord Bacon remarks) giving assent to the ^^g^^ ' matter, not to the author, which is no more than we do to a discredited witness. Nor is even the " matter " received as containing any positive revelation from God, but simply as brightening and developing the contents of our own conscious- ness. The result is a baptized Deism, or natural religion with Christianity absorbed. Every religious denomination has its side of danger. Are we aware that lookers on, whether right or wrong, regard our danger as lying in this direction ? Do we, by- connivance, treat the matter lightly, and thus aggravate the evil ? Can we, as a body, fearlessly rebuke it, and calculate on a hearty response, confident that it exists only beyond the pale of our communion ? The mind of the Reformation protested against human dictation, only that it might yield itself the more unre- servedly to the Divine authority of Scripture. We profess to represent that mind ; and with this same sheet anchor out, our vessel can ride in safety. But to tamper with it is suicidally to cut and fray the strands of our cable while a storm is threatening, and there "are breakers ahead. In this connection, I heartily profess my gratitude for the able services of the British Quarterly. Its vigilance, fidelity, and perseverance on this and all correlative subjects, have, I conceive, laid the body, the entire Christian community, under great obligations. Others, yet farther gone in the Eationalistic direction, are impatiently await- ing the advent of some grand and all-eclipsing novelty. The principles which have originated all our existing institutions of piety and benevolence are not good enough for them. The 650 CONGREGATIONAL HISTORY. [CHAP. XX. power whicli has made missionaries and martyrs is not strong enough for them ; nor the doctrines which have transformed myi-iads, refined enough. Meaner souls may be satisfied with truth in the husk ; they must have the philosophy of the thing. A religion more complimentary to human nature, set to the music of man's nobleness, and pointing to his near apotheosis — this is the type they care for. In numerous instances, indeed, the state of mind we indicate exists only as a vague, blind feeling. But a feeling it is. And hence any one who interprets, and gives it utterance, and panders to it, is hailed by them as next to him "who shall satisfy it. " We are not insensible to the need of change. But an intelligent comprehension of our principles will show us, that the larger half of the change required must take place in those who call for it. They must abandon the Pto'emeian theory in religion, and be resigned to revolve around the sun. We thall feel that none of the conditions exist which would justify the expectation of a new advent of truth. What need of a new planet while the old earth remains stored with unknown riches. We shall remember that the Reformation was, not a departure from the Bible, but a return to it ; and that every religious impulse since has been given by the enthronement of one or other of its grand truths. We shall not assume, indeed, that we have all the truth in our keeping, but we shall feel that we have the means of acquiring it all, and that we have a heart to welcome it all as it comes. We can join with the loudest in the cry for progress. We exist by progress, and for it. But it is a progress which enhances the value of the gospel, because derived exclusively Irom it. In the oft-quoted language of our own Robinson, we ai-e to be ' ready to receive whatever truth shall be made known to us from the written Word of God,' not from the so-called inspirations of genius, nor irom the speculations of an d priori philosophy, but from the written Word of God. " Never was life a more serious thing than now. Never was the Christian life a more difficult thing, aud never were church life and denominational life at once more arduous, and more essential to the highest interests of humanity, than they are to day. Even the comparatively unthinking have an instinctive sense that principles older than humanity have at length entered the field ; that the real forces . engaged are spiritual. Only a strong CHAP. XX.] CONGREGATIONAL HISTOEY. 651 Christianity can live, or deserves to live, in sucli a conflict — a Christianity characterized by a spirituality which places it apart from the world, by a power which places it above the world, and by a self-denial which shall furnish it with resources for the recovery of the world. " Ours is, indeed, a position which requires a lofty piety ; piety which shall give us power with God, which shall render us the attraction and conductors of a transforming influence from heaven to earth. Did we but ideutify ourselves with the lofty ends to which our principles point, we should carry along with us the aid and agency of everything moving in the same direction. To place ourselves in harmony with physical law, is to arm our- selves with its might. To conform ourselves to moral law, is to clothe ourselves with its sacredness. But the church, or the community, that should place itself in direct and loving com- munication with God, would become from that moment a divine reality ; an open pathway, along which he would freely move, a power which would set all calculation at defiance. Only such a community can hope to become a power ; no other deserves the honour, nor could use it rightly if it had it. Spirit of the living God, baptize us all aa with fire ! " Our aim has been, in recording the facts of this history, to make the members of the great Congrega- tional family (with its branches widely spread throughout the earth) better acquainted with each other and with the Christian virtues, the noble testimony, the heroic struggles, the abundant labours and the willing sacrifices of their common ancestry, not for the inflation of vanity, but to strengthen their faith, to inspire their courage and to quicken their zeal, in the conflicts yet before them, and in the glorious work yet to be accomplished. Without a living faith, congregational union is impossible; and without the unity of spirit, there must be isolation, estrangement, and consequent dissolution. In the days of the Pentecost, " the multitude of them that 652 CONGEEGATIONAL HISTOKY. [CHAP. XX. believed were of one heart and of one soul^ In the memorable declaration of faith made in the last assembly of the Congregational Union, a thrill of common sympathy and affection was felt as, with uplifted hands, the brethren said we " stand where our fathers stood, on the one ^foundation.'' " That sublime act of Christian confession will bind all who joined in it more closely in love to each other and to their common Lord. Our strength as Congrega- tionalists is not in a mechanical organization, but in the new affection that can exist only in those who from the heart have obeyed the gospel. Let us then cultivate more diligently this blessed oneness. Let the brethren removed to the utter- most parts of the earth be made feel that no distance can separate us. Let the sentinel at the outpost know that in his lowly watch he is not forgotten. Let it be seen that the feeblest are not despised, and that the most obscure are not over- looked. Disciples of Him who made Himself of no reputation, let us check every feeling of rivalry and mean ambition ; we shall then advance safely and in perfect order, undiverted by rash and vain speculations ; we shall be clothed in the armour of light, not only invincible, but more than conquerors through Him that hath loved us. The achievements of the past will only be the prelude of greater victories of truth and mercy for the restoration of our ruined race and for the glory of Christ. APPENDIX. DECLARATION THE FAITH, CHURCH ORDER, AND DISCIPLINE OF THE CONGEEGATIONAL OR INDEPENDENT DISSENTERS. The Congeegational Churches in England and Wales, frequently called Independent, hold the following doctrines, as of Divine authority, and as the foundation of Christian" faith and practice. They are also formed and governed according to the principles hereinafter stated. PRELIMINAEY NOTES. 1. It is not designed, in the following summary, to do more than to Btate the leading doctrines of faith and order maintained hy Congregational Churches in general. 2. It is not proposed to offer any proofs, reasons, or arguments, in sup- port of the doctrines herein stated, but simply to declare what the Denomina- tion believes to be taught by the pen of inspiration. 3. It is not intended to present a scholastic or critical confession of faith, but merely such a statement as any intelligent member of the body might offer, as containing its leading principles. 4. It is not intended that the following statement should be put forthwith any authority, or as a standard to which assent should be required. 5. Dissallowing the utility of creeds and articles of religion as a bond of union, and protesting against subscription to any human formularies as a term of Communion, Congregationalists are yet willing to declare, for general information, what is commonly believed among them, reserving to every one the most perfect liberty of conscience. 6. Upon some minor points of doctrine and practice, they, differing among themselves, allow to each other the right to form an unbiassed judgment of the Word of God. 7. They wish it to be observed, that, notwithstanding their jealousy of subscription to creeds and articles, and their disapproval of the imposition of any human standard, whether of faith or discipline, they are far more agreed in their doctrines and practices than any church which enjoins subscription, and enforces a human standard of orthodoxy; and they believe there is no 654 APPENDIX. minister and no church among them that would deny the suhstance of any one of the following doctrines of religion, though each might prefer to state his sentiments in his own way. PRINCIPLES OF RELIGION. T. The Scriptures of the Old Testament, as received by the Jews, and the books of the New Testament, as received by the Primitive Christians from the Evaigelists and Apostles, Congregational Churches believe to be divinely inspired, and of supreme authority. These writings, in the languages in which they were originally componed, are to be consulted, by the aids of sound criticism, as a final appeal in all controversies ; but the common ver- sion they consider to be adequate to the ordinary purposes of Christian in- struction and edification. II. They believe in One God, essentially wise, holy, just, and good ; eternal, infinite, and immutable in all natural and moral perfections ; the Creator, Supporter, and Governor of all beings, and of all things. III. They believe that God is revealed in the Scriptures, a-» the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and that to each are attributable the same Divine properties and perfections. The doctrine of the Divine existence, as above stated, they cordially believe, without attempting fully to explain. IV. They believe that man was created after the Divine image, sinless, and, in his kind, pei feet. V. They believe that the first man disobeyed the Divine command, fell from his state of innocence and purity, and involved all his posterity in the consequences of that fall. VI. They believe that, therefore, all mankind are born in sin, and that a fatal inclination to moral evil, utterly incurable by human means, is inherent in everj' descendant of Adam. VII. They believe that God having, before the foimdation of the world, designed to redeem fallen man, made disclosures of His mercy, which were the grounds of faith and hope from the earliest ages. VIII. They believe that God revealed more fully to Abraham the cove- nant of His grace, and, having promised that from his descendants should arise the Deliverer and Redeemer of mankind, set that patriarch and his pos- terity apart, as a race specially favoured and separated to His service : a peculiar church, formed and carefully preserved, under the Divine sanction and government, until the birth of the promised Messiah. IX. They believe, that, in the fulness of the time, the Son of God was manifested in the flesh, being born of the Virgin Mary, but conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit ; and that our Lord Jesus Christ was both the Son of man, and the Son of God ; partaking fully and truly of huumn nature, though without sin, — equal with the Father, and "the express image of His person." X. They believe that Jesus Christ, the son of God, revealed, either per- sonally in His own ministry, or by the Holy Spirit in the ministry of His apostles, the whole mind of God, for our salvation ; and that, by His obedience to the Divine law while lie lived, and by His suffering unto death. He meri- toriously " obtained eternal redemption for us ; having thereby vindicated and illustrated Divine justice, " magnified the law," and " brought in everlasting righteousness." XI. They believe that, after His death and resurrection. He ascended up into heaven, where, as the Mediator, He " ever livetb " to rule over all, and to "make intercession for them that come unto God by Him." XII. They believe that the Holy Spirit is gi\en, in consequence of Christ's APPENDIX. 655 mediation, to quicken aid renew the hearts of men ; and that His influence is indispensably' neceebary to bring a sinner to true repentance, to produce saving faith, to regenerate the heart, and to perfect our sauctification. XIII. They believe that we are justified through faith in Christ, as " The Lord our righteousness ;'' and not " by the works of the law." XIV. They believe that all who will be saved were the objects of God's eternal and electing love, and were given by an act of Divine sovereignty to the Son of God ; which in no way interferes with the system of means, nor with the grounds of human responsibiUty ; being wholly unrevealed as to its objects, and not a rule of human duty. XV. They believe that the Scriptures teach the final perseverance of all true believers to a state of eternal blessedness, which th^y ar»^ app )inted to obtain through constant faith in Christ, and uniform obedience to His CO remands. XVI. They believe that a holy lif« will be the necessary effect of a true faith, and that good works are the certain fruits of a vital union to Christ. XVII. They believe that the sandification of true Christians, or their growth in the graces of the Spirit, and meetness for heaven, is gradually carried on through the whole period during which it pleases God to continue tbem in the present hfe ; snd that, at death, their souls, perfectly freed from all remains of evil, are immediately received into the presence of Christ. XVIII. They believe in the perpetual obhgation of Baptism and the Lord's Sopper ; the former to be admiuistered to all converts to Christianity and their children, by the application of water to the subject, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ;" and the latter to be cele- brated by Christian Churches as a token of faith in the Saviour, and of brotherly love. XIX. They believe that Christ willfina'ly come to judge the whole human race, according to their works ; that the bodies of the dead will be raised again ; and that, as the Supreme Judge, He will divide the righteous from the wicked, will receive the righteous into " life everlasting," but send away the wicked into " everlasting punishment." XX. They believe that Jesus Christ directed His followers to live together in Chrii-tian ftlJowship, and to maintai'i the communion of saints ; and that for this purpose, they are jointly to observe all Divine ordinances, and main- tain that church order and discipline, which is either expressly enjoined by inspired institution, or sanctioned by the undoubted example of the apostle and of apostolic chuiches. PRINCIPLES OF CEUECH OEDEE AND DISCIPLINE. I. The C( ngregaUt nal churches hold it to be the will of Christ that true believers should voluntarily asfemble together to observe religious ordinances, to promote mutual edification and holiness, to perpetuate and propagate the Gospel in the world, and to advance the gloty and worship of God, through Jesus Christ ; and that each society of believers, having ihtse objects in view in its formation, is ];r< perly a Christian church. II. They believe that the New Testament contains, either in the form of express statute, or in the example and practice of apostles and apostolic churches, all the articles of faith necessary to be believed, and all the prin- ciples of order and disciphne requisite for constituting and governing Christian societies ; and that human traditions, fathers and councils, canons and creeds, possess no authority over the faith and practice of Christians. III. They acknowledge Christ as the only Head of the Church, and the officers of each church under Him, as ordained to administer His laws 056 APPENDIX. impartially to all ; and their only appeal, in all questions touching their religious faith and practice, is to the Sacred Scriptures. IV. They believe that the New Testament authorizes every Christian church to elect its own officers, to manage all its own affairs, and to stand inde- pendent of, and irresponsible to, all authority, saving that only of the Supreme and Divine Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ. V. They believe that the only officers placed by the apostles over individual churches are the bishops or pastors, and the deacons ; the number of these being dependent upon the numbers of the church ; and that to these, as the officers of the church, is committed respectively the administration of its Spiritual and temporal concerns— subject, however, to the approbation of the church. VI. They believe that no persons should be received as members of Christian churches, but such as make a credible profession of Christianity, are living according to its precepts, and attest a willingness to be subject to its discipline ; and that none should be excluded from the fellowship of the church, but such as deny the faith of Christ, violate His laws, or refuse to submit themselves to the disciphne which the word of God enforces. VII. The power of admission into any Christian church, and rejection from it, they believe to be vested in the church itself, and to be exercised only through the medium of its own officers. VIII. They beheve that Christian churches should statedly meet for the celebration of public worship, for the observance of the Lord's Supper, and for the sanctification of the first day of the week. IX. They believe that the power of a Christian church is purely spiritual, and should in no way be corrupted by union with temporal or civil power. X. They believe that it is the duty of Christian churches to hold com- munion with each other, to entertain an enlarged affection for each other, as members of the same body, and to co-operate fur the promotion of the Christian cause ; but that no church, nor union of churches, has any right of power to interfere with the faith or discipline of any other church, further than to separate from such as, in faith or practice, depart from the Gospel or Christ. XI. They believe that it is the privilege and duty of every church to call forth such of its members as may appear to be qualified, by the Holy Spirit, to sustain the office of the ministry ; and that Christian churches unitedly ought to consider the maintenance of the Ctiristian ministry in an adequate degree of learning, as one of its especial cares; that the cause of the Gospel may be both honourably sustamed, and constantly promoted. XII. They believe that church officers, whether bishops or deacons, should be chosen by the free voice of the church ; but that their dedication to the duties of their office should take place with special prajer, and, by solemn designation, to which most of the churches add the imposition of hands by those already in office. XIII. They believe that the fellowship of every Christian church should be so liberal as to admit to communion in the Lord's Supper all whose faith and godliness are on the whole, undoubted, though conscientiously differing in points of minor importance ; and that this outward sign of fraternity in Christ should be co-extensive with the fraternity itself, though without involving any compliances which conscience would deem to be sinful. Simmons & Botten, Printers, Shoe Lane, B.C. fyv- jV I»J( V ^ 1^' U 4* *', ' % ¥. n i*J .1' -i' 'W r. 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