co-operation, and the church's prayers, should attend the Sunday School. The minister should be invited, the parents visited, and the church asked to make the Sunday School a special object of prayer once a month at least.

It is true that there are difficulties in the way, and that very few can accomplish the work; but such facts only increase the honour of those who in spite of every obstacle press on in the path of duty with a single eye to the glory of God, and the recompense of the reward.

J. P. B.

GLEANINGS FROM THE LIBERATOR.-DISENDOWMENT OF ALL

SECTS IN IRELAND.

MR. MIALL's motion, which has stood on the notice-book of the House of Commons, was made, debated, and divided upon, on Tuesday, May 27th, under circumstances which invest it with not a little significance. It was pretty generally believed that an effort would be made to get rid of the question, either by preventing the making of a House, or by the usual expedient of a count out; and the fact that there was a ball at the Turkish Embassy, and that the next day was the Derby-day, increased the danger of such a result. The voluntary party, however, had taken effectual precautions to prevent this, and at the commencement of the proceedings, there was a large House, the Tory party having been assiduously "whipped" for the occasion, A discussion on an Irish evidence case was made to consume nearly two hours, and then Mr. Stafford suggested that it would be most inappropriate to commence such a discussion on the eve of the peace rejoicings, and moved the adjournment of the House. This proposal however, met with but faint support, and was withdrawn, and Mr. Miall then rose. He spoke for an hour and a half, and was listened to with marked attention throughout, while he enunciated views, familiar en

ough to Anti-State-Churchmen out of doors, but never before stated with such fulness in the House of Commons. The opponents of the motion appear to have been unprepared for a motion and speech which, instead of being based on the abstract principles of voluntaryism, took the ground of State policy as arising out of the present state of ecclesiastical affairs in Ireland; and their speeches were less effective than might have been anticipated. The most remarkable circumstance attending the debate was the seriousness with which the subject was discussed, the boldness with which the broad principles of the Voluntary party were enunciated, and the calmness with which they were received. The debate, which was a lively one, closed at midnight, when no less than ninety-five members, including tellers, voted with Mr. Miall. Twenty-six members also paired in its favour, and, therefore, no fewer than 121 members of the House of Commons have, in effect, given a vote in favour of separation of Church and State in Ireland! The bulk of the Liberal party voted with Mr. Miall, and there are in the list of the majority the names of Whigs whose votes were not looked for. We believe that this launching of the Irish Church question under new anspices and with new aims, is regarded in the House itself as a serious advance made by the party who are responsible for it.

Twelve years-six years-three years ago, what Voluntary would have ventured to predict that in 1856 the House of Commons would spend more than five hours in discussing an initiative proposition for separating Church and State in Ireland? Or, if a sanguine imagination had conceived the likelihood of such an event, who would have anticipated that no fewer than one hundred and twenty-one members of the House of Commons would sanction the proposal by their deliberate vote? Yet, after months of anticipation, not unmingled with misgivings, this is the proud position now occupied by the Voluntaries, as the result of Mr.

Miall's motion, on the 28th of May. The scarcely veiled intentions of politicians on both sides of the House, to shirk the discussion, if practicable, have been frustrated, and the vis inertia of Parliament has been so far overcome, that as many as 312 members have committed themselves to an expression of opinion on this, the first occasion that the question has been put from the Speaker's chair. At a single bound, therefore, that question has obtained a Parliamentary position, which places it in the category of subjects to be reckoned in the calculations of Ministers and Oppositions, to be dealt with by the press, and to be pressed on candidates at the hustings. Perhaps the most striking circumstance which marked the debate was the readiness and seriousness with which-the subject once fairly before it-the House of Commons entered on the

been

consideration of facts, principles, and proposals, which have wont to be regarded as matters of speculative interest rather than of any practical importance to the political class. There was no expression of impatience or contempt on the one hand, and but little manifestation of alarm and indignanation on the other. We have, let it be remembered, but just put our hands to this particular work, which, from the nature of things cannot be brought to an immediate conclusion. Members of Parlia

ment who are at present either hostile or indifferent, candidates for the next general election, and the leaders of public opinion everywhere, have to be dealt with judiciously and perseveringly, that there may, year by year, be decisive progress beyond the point happily reached on the 27th of May.

CHURCH AND STATE CONNEXION.

THE following significant passages appear in on of the Charges of the late estimable Archdeacon Hare, recently published. The subject is stated to be "The Mode of Con nexion between the English Church

and the State." "This," he says, "has led in divers cases to an intermixture and confusion of the offices and duties belonging to each; and one of the instances in which this confusion has prevailed, to the great detriment of the Church and of the whole nation, has been the practice of attaching civil penalties to spiritual censures. At one time this might be done without exciting much opposition; but for the last two centuries, during which the Church of Christ in England has been so grievously rent by schism, the inexpediency and injustice of such a combination have become more and more strongly apparent.

What was admissible and might be deemed warrantable when the Church was co-extensive with the nation, became utterly unfit when a large part of the nation no longer acknowledged any allegiance to the Church. Besides, the clearer insight we gain into the true principles of jurisprudence, the more we recognise the appropriate office of the Law, and the distinct spheres of the Church and State, the greater repugnance must we needs feel to that which confounds them;

and

doubtless a more or less intelligent feeling of this kind co-operated in dictating the legal enactments by which the spiritual authority of the Church has been so sadly baffled, and almost annulled."

THE GOVERNMENT AND THE CHURCHRATE BILL.

The withdrawal of the Churchrate-bill, consequent on the reply of the chancellor of the Exchequer to Sir Wm. Clay's enquiry whether the Government would name a day for the discussion of the Bill in Committee, has led the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE of THE SOCIETY for the LIBERATION of RELIGION to pass resolutions, in which they state, that "looking to the advantageous position secured for Sir William Clay's Church-rate Abolition Bill at the time when Her Majesty's Government voted in favour of its principle, and proposed to amend it in Committee, they deeply regret that

the friendly professions of Her Majesty's Ministers have served only to prevent the further progress of the Bill this Session, and to disappoint the just expectations of its supporters both in parliament and in the country." They also "hold themselves released from all further responsibility in regard to the amendments proposed by the Government, and hope that any measure hereafter submitted to Parliament will be restricted in its scope and provisions to the simple and unconditional abolition of Church-rates." They further state "that the system thus for the present continued is one which the experience of this Committee requires them to characterise having been, to a large extent, sustained by systematic breach of law on the part of clerical and other Chairmen of Parish Vestries." They conclude by announcing that they "will be prepared to afford increased aid in the vestry contests now everywhere so ably conducted by the opponents of Church-rates, and which may be expected to go far towards extinguishing them without the interference of the Legislature."

TEETOTALISM.

I DONT DRINK WINE.

as

WHY!-1. Because "port, madeira, and sherry, contain from one fourth to one fifth of their bulk in alcohol, so that he who drinks a bottle, drinks nearly half a pint of alcohol, or almost a pint of pure brandy."

2. Because it is the most fascinating and therefore the most dangerous of intoxicating liquors.

3. Because I am convinced from the best medical authority, that it is injurious and not beneficial to persons in health."

4. Because it is expensive, and I think it wrong to waste money upon a bad article, which might be given to the poor, who can scarcely get bread.

5. Because the depressing, and debilitating effects upon the system

after drinking it overnight, prove it to be bad.

6. Because if I drink wine, I cannot blame my children if they also become wine drinkers.

7. Because a wine drinker cannot consistently reprove others who get fresh with drinking ale, porter, or spirits.

8. Because a great quantity of fruit is spoiled to make this wine, and a vast amount of the labour of our countrymen is exchanged for this dangerous article.

9. Because, being recommended by physicians as a medicine, it cannot be considered fit for the dinner table.

10. Because, at parties and public dinners, it is the constant source of disorder, tumult, and serious accidents.

11. Because drinking wine is a state of slavery from which I am determined to be free.

12. Because the brightest geniuses, the greatest men, and the most powerful nations, have been destroyed by wine.

13. Because it is the testimony of all lecturers and ministers who have made the experiment, that they can sustain more exertion without wine.

14. Because many a clever man has passed through the Gazette, who might have been independent; and many are in their graves, who would have been living, had it not been for their wine.

15. Because in abstaining, I am sure I am right, but all wine drinkers have their misgivings.

16. Because all nations have been so alive to the evils of wine drinking, as either to prohibit it, or to restrain its use.

17. I like "the fruit of the vine," or the pure juice of the grape, such as I believe Jesus gave to his disciples, and which was common in Judea; but port, sherry, and champagne, and every kind of fermented and brandied wine, I am determined not to taste.

MALT AND HOPS.

Many of think when you you drink ale, you are drinking the juice of the malt; but you are sadly

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mistaken. You expect good from this liquor, and you get evil, and this should lead you to suspect your mistake. Instead of ale being the juice of the malt, I assure you that ten pints of ale contain above nine pints of water. The other parts consist of a little of the hop, a little of the worst parts of the barley, and about two ounces of fiery spirit, exactly the same as whiskey. This is the intoxicating part, and is what druggists sell for spirits of wine." Barley soup, barley bread, and barley pudding are all good, and not intoxicating; but in making ale the barley is malted, mashed, and fermented on purpose to produce a liquor which is intoxicating, but not feeding. There is but five pennyworth of barley used in making two shillings' worth of ale, and one fourth of its feeding properties is taken from it in malting, one third in mashing, and one third in fermenting and fining, so that not more than a single pennyworth remains when you drink it. It is the spirit which it contains that stimulates you for a short time, and which you mistake for strength. So much then for "malt and hop" liquor.

RELIGIOUS

MAGNETIC ATTRACTION.

The night is far spent, and the day is at hand, and the nearer we approach to the full enjoyment of blessedness, the more may we feel the attraction of Him whom our

soul loveth. Many years ago I read in the Arabian Nights" of a mountain of load-stone. Ships at a great distance felt its influence. At first their approach to it was scarcely perceptible. There was a declining from their course hardly to be noticed, and it excited little apprehension. But the attraction gradually became stronger until the vessel was irresistibly impelled onwards with increased velocity. At last it drew all the nails and iron work to itself, and so the ship fell to pieces. "The path of the just is as the shining light." When first the believer feels the love of Christ, it is like a mustard seed but it increases, and he is constrained by its influence to press more earnestly after the full enjoyment. At last the spirit can no more be kept at a distance from Him whom it loves. It flies to its embrace, and the body is dissolved. Haldane.

On my arrival at this Station in August, 1854, I found things at rather a low ebb. After twelve months' hard work, we were in a position last Conference to report a little improvement. In August last, we held our Sunday School Anniversary. The services were well attended,-the children gave general satisfaction in their examination, and the collection nearly doubled the amount of the previous year.

After the above Anniversary, the propriety of making an effort towards im. proving our chapel in this town became a topic of general conversation with our friends. For many years the chapel was lit with spirit burnt in lamps, but the supply of light was often very inadequate. To remedy this, the introduction of gas was proposed, and being a wood building, painting, and extensive repairs were indispensable; and a

VOL. XXI. THIRD SERIES.

MISSION.

railing to enclose a piece of ground in front was also necessary. But there were obstacles in our way. The main gas pipe was nearly 150 yards from the chapel, and it was reported that the gas company would not lay down a pipe for our accommodation. The raising of the money was to some a difficulty all but insurmountable; but to others it appeared much less formidable. Believing that talking would accomplish but little unless followed by action, a friend waited on the manager of the gas works-stated the particulars of the case-and received a promise that a gas pipe should be laid down to the chapel. A meeting was at once convened-many of the congregation as well as the members of the church attended, and after duly considering the matter, we came to the unanimous conclusion, that the necessary repairs

2 B

Should be done-the gas introduced-and sundry other improvements made. Several liberal donations were promised, and a committee appointed to see that the work was properly executed. Collecting cards were soon issued, and our friends went about the begging part of the work very cheerfully. In three weeks the chapel was lit up with gas, and we gave the stranger a hearty welcome with a tea meeting. The begging, giving, and working, went on rapidly, and in the course of a few weeks the chapel was painted-the ceiling white washed-railing fenced the piece of ground in front, the path round the chapel was raised-the pulpit altered and supplied with new furniture, and the other improvements completed. At this stage of our proceedings some of us thought another Tea meeting would not be out of place.

The meeting was held, and about 150 persons attended. After tea addresses were delivered by several ministers and friends-the throne of grace was implored-a sweet influence rested up

on us, and we were constrained to say, "Master it is good to be here." The profits of this Tea, with what we had raised previously, enabled us to pay all the Bills, and left a balance of a few shillings in the hand of the Treasurer. The work was done by our members and congregation; had we placed it in other hands it would have cost least £5. more.

RECEIPTS ;
Collected by cards 18 12 1
By Tea meetings 7 8
Sale of Old Lamps 1 4

Disbursements......

Balance......

9

0

at

I am sorry that I cannot report the conversion of hundreds, or even of scores of souls, during the year, as some of my brethren have had the happiness of doing; but a few have been hopefully saved, and for these few we will rejoice, and give God all the praise. W. H. H.

1. DIED, on Sunday, April 13th, 1856, at St. Just, in the Penzance Circuit, WILLIAM EDDY, in the seventysixth year of his age; and was interred the following Friday in the Wesleyan grave yard. His Funeral was attended by a large number of people, and hymns were sung most of the way from his house to the chapel. Br. Eddy has been a consistent member of society above forty years; during which he has for many years been a local preacher and a class-leader. In the worship of God he appeared with a smiling countenance, as if he delighted in the employment. In prayer he was fervent and much in the Spirit. In his preaching there was not much display of talent, but great zeal, and the Divine unction generally attended his labours. As a friend he was much respected generally.

I had the pleasure of seeing Br. Eddy the evening previous to his death, and on asking him if all was well, he replied that he did not expect to be much longer on the earth; he had been praying for the last forty years or more that he might be safe in death, and he had no fear; the sting of death was taken away.

May the reader and writer meet our

2. DIED, June 10th, 1856, at Dipper Mill, in the Shebbear Circuit, JAMES DAMREL, son of JOHN and GRACE DAMREL, in the 59th year of his age.

At the period of his birth and for many years after, the inhabitants of Shebbear, Bradford, and their vicinities, were living in a state of ignorance of the things which make for their eternal peace. The only religious services held in these parishes were, a single service in each of the parish churches on the Sabbath. No Sunday school existed, and no meetings were held for Prayer or religious conversation. The clergymen in the neighbourhood were unenlightened, and some of them openly immoral. Wrestling, Hurling, and other athletic sports, were very prevelant during the summer; and card playing, dancing, and cockfighting in the winter months. Family worship was very generally unknown, except in a few instan. ces; and though a measure of the "Form of Godliness" obtained, it is not known that any one realized the