314 THE "NEW TESTAMENT DISCIPLES." sentation of myself and the cause I advo- Harbinger, Sept. 1, '63. errors, even denying the Lord that bought In conclusion I regret the want of soul Harbinger, Sept. 1, '63. REPORT OF THE ANNUAL MEETING. to demand the names of the persons to whom J. R. G. alludes, or such informa tion as to enable us to know their where 315 abouts, or let him stand convicted of gra- REPORT OF THE ANNUAL MEETING, THE filling up of the schedules forwarded about the beginning of August reminds the churches that another year has nearly passed into eternity, that a time of reckoning has arrived, and that the result of the labors in which they have been engaged will shortly be contrasted with the work and labor of other churches. As the time draws on the sympathetic mind of the brethren is directed to the town at which the meeting is to be held, and towards which friends and messengers are hastening, where former friendships are renewed, new acquaintances formed, and the heart gladdened by the sight of fresh faces who have received the truth. It is peculiarly gratifying to arrive by a strange route at a strange place, and there find a kind brother waiting to welcome you, offering hospitality, and anticipating every want. An additional charm is lent to the occasion by the continued renewal of former friend All Good for his protecting care, and implored his guiding hand for that wisdom which alone would carry out to a profitable end the business for which we had met together. Bro. Timothy Coop, of Wigan, was requested to take the chair, and Bros. Edmund Fraser and Walter Ludbrook to act as secretaries. It was determined that the business should be taken in the following order : 1. Read statistical information contained in the schedules. contained in schedules. 3. Read the resolutions passed at the 5. Appoint Committee for the ensuing year. 6. Consider the propositions already read from the schedules and letters. 7. Consider suggestions and propositions not contained in the letters, if any. 8. Appoint place and time for next meeting. ships, and exchanging with venerable brethren those congratulations and ideas which in many instances are remembered with profit for a lifetime.- The returns contained in schedules Preliminary to the meeting a lecture from the several churches were read, was delivered in the Christian meeting together with schedules from new orgahouse, Bradford-road, on Lord's day, nizations, viz. Blackrod, Brighton, the 9th August, by Bro. Henry Exley, Earlstown near Warrington, Limeof Wakefield, on The Great Redemp- house in the Eastern part of the metrotion." On Monday Bro. King was ad-polis, Bristol, Portsoy, and Findochty vertised to deliver a lecture at the same near Banff, Scotland. These, on moplace, but detention on the railway tion, were recognized as sister churches, prevented his attendance. A telegram and directed to be placed upon the list was dispatched from Stockport, and of churches. Bro. Exley again addressed an attentive audience. 66 On Tuesday evening, the 11th, at 7.30 at the same place, the friends who had been gradually coming in all day assembled for the transaction of business. Again familiar well-loved faces appeared, some who were hitherto unknown to be henceforth well-known. The warm greeting announced that old ties were renewed, and in a short time the room was comfortably filled. Bro. William Turner, of Leigh, gave out a hymn-a brother in prayer thanked the Giver of The resolutions passed at Liverpool in August, 1862, were then read, and after soul-comforting devotion the meeting adjourned. On Wednesday, the 12th, at 9 A.M. the meeting was resumed. Letters were read from Glasgow and Mollington, and also the following from Bro. George Greenwell, resigning his office as General Evangelist : Dear Brethren, My health has failed me considerably during the last year, so that to a large extent I have been warring , with hostile influences without and within. Being convinced that I must be more at home, I feel the necessity of resigning my position as a General Evangelist. I may occasionally spend a few weeks where there is pressing necessity or cordial invitation, but I desire to decline the position which I have sustained for the last two years. Trusting that the good and noble men whom God has now raised up will carry onward the work efficiently, helped by your sympathies and prayers, I remain, dear brethren, in the communion of life, your affectionate brother, G. GREENWELL. The returns of subscriptions from churches and individuals to the Evangelist Fund, with balance-sheet for 1862-63, were then laid before the meeting. It shewed that there had been received from the churches a sum of £167 7s. 7 d., and from individuals £182 10s. 3d.; that the expenditure had been £337 0s. 11d. leaving a balance in hand of £10 16s. 114d. to be carried forward to the ensuing year. Bro. McDougall read a letter from a brother at Maraboo, Victoria, enclosing a sum of £5; also a letter from Bro. Dods, of Edinburgh, late of Banbury, containing a cheque for £50, and also one containing £10 from a brother who wishes only his initials to appear. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE EVANGELIST FUND, FROM AUGUST 1862, TO AUGUST 1863. Dear Brethren,-Your Committee has attained the completion of the year's labor, with the joyous consciousness of having successfully accomplished a difficult task, with heartfelt gratitude to God for the prompt liberality of brethren in the time of need, and with a renewed confidence, gained by a clearly defined experience, that acceptance of the path of duty, however thickly beset by difficulties apparently insurmountable, is sure to be rewarded by discoveries of a Divine Power and Provi. dence, before which mountains become plains and embarrassments vanish as mists before sunrise. Our subscription list will shew, that although old and generous supporters of the fund felt it their duty last year to employ their wealth on labors in their own localities-and thereby, as we rejoice to know, have added largely to the numbers of the saved the monetary loss thus incurred has, in the end, been more than compensated by the liberality of individual subscribers, at home and abroad, and the combined efforts of the churches. It does not seem expedient to us to put before this assembly the whole of the dif ficulties under which our work has been done, from the commencement to the close of the year, yet, as an aid toward clearing the path to a freer position, both for the Evangelists and the Committee for the coming year, it is our duty to call your attention to the following facts:-While increased expenditure was incurred by the last Annual Meeting, through the special efforts undertaken by it at Bristol and Liverpool, other special efforts, in the form of district evangelization, in four localities, made our income from these localities £90 the continuance of the cotton distress ef less than last year. On the other hand, fectually prevented us from realising any increase on last year's contributions from the Lancashire district. And doubtless the liberal sums contributed for the relief of the sufferers may also have drawn somewhat from the Evangelist Fund. A pru dent consideration of the question, "In what degree may these deductions be ex pected to affect our next year's income?" may serve in part to guide us in the amount of responsibility we now incur. recognition of the good hand of God, and We would sin against our own compelled fervent admiration of Christian character, did we not take this opportunity to express our deep sense of the unsolicited and noble liberality of one brother, resident at Dar win, in Lancashire, and another resident in Adelaide, Australia, whose aid in the past has so largely contributed to the spread of the gospel, whose increased contributions this year, together with other similar aid, was felt by all the Committee as a signal token of the watchful providence of Him who at the first gave the command, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." We desire also to make honorable mention of churches who, though struggling with lo cal difficulties, at once doubled their subscriptions when the difficulty of our position compelled us to offer the suggestion; and of earnest brethren who have done liberal things in sustaining extra labor in Liverpool, when the funds of the Committee could no longer sustain it. The only matters respecting the labors of evangelists claiming any notice from us, are, first, a letter from Bro. R. Dillon, of Bath, concerning Bro. Edward Evans and the Bristol effort; and second, two months labor of Bro. Henry Exley, of Wakefield. After a very short experiment in the effort at Liverpool, it became very evident that additional aid was needed in preaching and domiciliary visitation. Happily, both were obtained in a very efficient form in the wise and fervent labors of Henry Exley. Had funds permitted, the Committee would gladly have retained his services during the remainder of the year, assured from personal intercourse, from the testimony of churches, and from the ample fruit of his labors, that a good servant of Jesus Christ would have been thereby added to the number already engaged. Assured that this commendation will be amply endorsed by other testimony, we once more call the attention of the brethren to our altered circumstances as an association of churches for the spread of the gospel. We cannot say now that our greatest need is qualified preachers. Bro. Earl and Bro. Exley, both of them well accredited as such, are, we presume, ready to devote themselves to this work, and in thus calling your attention to these brethren we thus transfer to the proper quarter a question which has been often proposed to the secretary during the past year: "Will the Committee engage Bros. Earl and Exley for the coming year?" Our reply the only one that became us-has ever been, "We are not the Committee for the coming year. Had we means in hand or in sight, we would gladly engage them both this year." Our brief experience at committee work has served to ripen the conviction, that if the means at the disposal of a committee are in the main ascertainable at the Annual Meeting, measures ought to be taken and the cost of the enterprise, make it plain to us that means for the year's labor are within our reach. Of the correctness of this principle your Committee have now no doubt, and stimulated by past experience and by the cheering prospect of an increase of competent and approved preachers of the gospel for the ensuing year, we have, personally and by letter, communicated our convictions to the brethren as opportunity has served, and have as the result, first, unqualified approval in each instance; and second, a very liberal contribution in aid of the labors of the year before us, as the following letter, in reply to previous letters from Bro. Coop, will shew. The writer is Bro. Archibald Dods, recently removed from Banbury to Trinity, near Edinburgh : Mary Cottage, Trinity, Edinburgh, Aug. 7, '63. Dear Brother McDougall,-I am glad to say I am a little better, although not able to attend the An nual Meeting. I here enclose a cheque, value £50, payable to Mr. Coop, as my contribution to the Evangelist Fund, which I would thank you to present at the Annual Meeting, with my best wishes to all the brethren, hoping that the meeting will be a good one, and have God's blessing. Yours truly, ARCHD. DODS. And on Lord's day morning another contribution of £10 was received from a bro ther, whose name we may not mention, but a few words of his letter may prove interesting to the brethren : stances have been unfavorable for me; and I cannot accomplish it this year, not for want of leisure or inclination, but I have not strength sufficient for the journey to make it agreeable. I came here about a month ago to recruit a little, this being my native place. My removal has dispersed my Harbingers, but before leaving I observed in one of the numbers (I think it was June), that the funds for the evangelists were likely to be deficient, I therefore send you £10 to help the good work. I did not intend to continue my subscription this year, as we have now, you are aware, an Evangelist Association in Scotland, and what I have to give goes there; but I have come into the possession of a little extra funds, and I purpose giving them as first-fruits to the Lord (Prov. iii. 9), and therefore this £10 is sent as a portion thereof." to make them known, as a necessary pre"I have not been at the Anuual Meeting of brethliminary to a prudent decision as to the ren since I was in Wigan. Many a time have I purnumber called to the field of labor. Some-posed and expected to be present again, but circumthing of this kind has been done-as, for instance, at Chester, in 1847, when fourteen churches gave as their probable contribution for the year's missionary work £175. We judge that no man who has the solicitudes of evangelist work to bear, ought to have needlessly added thereto care for the honorable sustenance of his family. His responsibilities to the tradesmen with whom he deals are indisputable, his means of answering them ought to be equally so; and this not merely for his own mental quietude, but specially for the honor of the cause he pleads. Let those whom it may please cover by ambiguous phrases our real relation to those who go forth from our midst, the common sense and the moral sense of men will ever decide that those who say, 66 Go, do this work," are responsible for their support while they do it. And if those who thus accept brethren to this work are responsible for the means, is it not desirable to know who they arewhether they be brethren tendering their counsel or expressing their decision (acceptable and thankworthy so far,) unendorsed with the means of fulfilling it, or those, whether churches speaking by their chosen representatives, or brethren, who, having considered the work, the workmen, There is, then, at the disposal of the brethren for the labors of the ensuing year, the sum of £70. Before we close our Report, we desire most respectfully to offer to the brethren assembled a suggestion respecting the selection of a Committee for the ensuing year; and this we do with the greater freedom, because of our conviction that the adoption of our suggestion will necessitate a change of the Committee. It is based upon the conviction that the chief work of this meeting is, first, to decide who it will sustain in the work of general evangelization; second, to indicate in a general way the most likely fields of labor; and this it does as it is aided thereto by the 318 REPORT OF THE ANNUAL MEETING. letters of the churches and reports of the evangelists. Now, as it is evident that this meeting cannot foresee nor prejudge the details of the year's labor, nor provide for contingencies that may arise, our suggestion is this.: that the brethren now assembled select a committee able to repre sent them, not only as purse-bearers and in the acknowledgment of competent evan gelists, but also and especially in the guid ance of the evangelists, with respect to the locality and duration of their labors in any given locality, in so far as those have not already been indicated by the Annual Meeting; and that this Committee avail it self of the letters of the churches and the reports of the evangelists, as they may be issued during the course of the year. We tender this suggestion on the ground of our unanimous conviction, that by the selection of a thoroughly representative Committee, in whose Christian energy, wisdom, and prudence you could confide assured that their acts would be guided by a comprehensive regard to the claims of churches for their respective localities, on the one hand, and by brotherly interest in the feelings, and due respect for the judgment of the evangelists, on the other hand-a more complete satisfaction would be given to the churches, a greater interest awakened in the labors of evangelists, a more effective aid rendered to the funds, and a wider and deeper efficiency given to the work itself. Having thus freely expressed our conviction as to what should be the character and position of any future committee, we shall be well content to leave the matter in the hands of the brethren now assem bled, praying that we all may be guided to a right decision. We are, yours faithfully in the Lord, WM. PERKINS, WM. TURNER, Harbinger, Sept. 1, '63. ed to Bros. King, Greenwell, Evans, and others, acknowledging their valuable services, thanking them for the way in which they had performed their arduous work, and expressing a hope that their lives might be spared during the coming year. Bro. Earl, who had also been pleading the cause in various parts, was recognized as a workman who labored efficiently for his Master, and whose services were highly appreciated. Bro. Greenwell's letter was then submitted to the meeting, when a vote was passed accepting his resignation and expressing heartfelt sympathy with him in his present affliction, and a sincere wish that he might be soon restored to such a state of health as would enable him to resume his work in the service of the Lord. Considerable time was then occupied in considering the latter part of the Report of the Evangelist Committee respecting their relation to and measure of control over Evangelists supported from the General Fund. Valuable suggestions were made, and the Report was adopted. - Bro. King having been requested to state his mind in regard to his own labors, intimated that he could not engage himself to the Meeting or to the Committee for the year ensuing-that it was his intention to continue evangelistic work that he would be willing to give further help to Birmingham, also to comply with the request from Manchester, and that in reference to other openings he would gladly receive the recommendations of the meetWM. MCDOUGALL.ing or, from time to time, the suggestions of the Committee, all of which would receive his careful and prayerful consideration, and have in the formation of his decisions considerable weight. G. Y. TICKLE, TIMOTHY COOP, After the reception of the Report a cordial vote of thanks was presented to the Committee, and its members were reappointed with the exception of Bro. Harvey, who excused himself on account of health and business engagements. Bro. Lewis Morgan was then appointed to fill the vacancy. The Committee therefore consists of Brethren Timothy Coop, John Corf, William Turner, William Perkins, G. Y. Tickle, W. McDougall, and Lewis Morgan. The services of the brethren who had acted as Evangelists during the year were spoken of with grateful recollections, and a vote of thanks was present It was then, after due deliberation, resolved that the meeting recommend that Bro. King be invited to give attention principally to Lancashire, as also to afford such aid to Birmingham as may be deemed requisite ; that Bro. E. Evans devote a considerable part of his labor to Bristol, Bath, and the neighborhood; and that the labors of Bro. Exley, after he has fulfilled an engagement for two months at Huddersfield, be left to the direction of the Evangelist Committee. |