BRISTOL BAPTIST COLLEGE.

The annual meeting of the friends and subscribers of the Bristol baptist college took place on Wednesday, June the 27th. A public service was held at eleven o'clock in Broadmead chapel, when essays were read by two students, Mr. John Davey and Mr. William Roswear. The essay of the former was on the prophetic office, that of the latter on the inquiry whether mental peculiarities among mankind are intended to be perpetual. A suitable and impressive address was delivered to the students by the Rev. E. Claypole of Ross. At the public meeting, which was held immediately after the service, the report of the committee and those of the examiners were highly satisfactory. The two senior students are about to continue their studies in Scotland. The number of students during the last year was greater than usual. The session terminated with twenty-one, and the following session will commence with an equal number. The expenditure was necessarily increased, but by no means in the same proportion as the number of students. It has exceeded the income, but the deficiency is nearly supplied by legacies, with which the college has been lately favoured.

BIRMINGHAM.

A resident in Birmingham says, "I am sorry that in the Baptist Manual for 1849 there are several considerable mistakes respecting our churches here. Respecting 'Chapel House Street,' there certainly never has been a baptist church there; and regarding St. Ann Street,' more properly Ann Street,' there was a small body of baptists met there, in the Infant Schoolroom, but for more than a twelvemonth have discontinued it.

You will therefore oblige Mr. O'Neill (and others), respecting whom there is also an error, by inserting in your next number the following corrected list of baptist churches in this town.

VOL. XII.-FOURTH SERIES.

RESIGNATIONS.

Five deacons of the baptist church at North Bradley, near Trowbridge, unite in requesting us to express their regret at the loss it has sustained by the resignation of the Rev. B. Wilkins after a successful pastorate of twenty-one years, during which he has baptized about two hundred persons, and seen the church increase from about 80 members to 160. They earnestly recommend him to any other church, as a faithful devoted minister of the gospel.

The Rev. S. M. Bell, pastor of the church at Welshpool, Montgomeryshire, being about to resign his charge, the health of Mrs. Bell requiring a removal in the opinion of her medical advisers, he is open to an invitation from any church of open communion principles.

COLLECTANEA. ERROMANGA.

Of Erromanga, where the devoted Williams fell a victim to the dark and cruel deeds of preceding voyagers, our missionaries write,

"Our prospects for that unhappy island are as dark as ever. The natives now use every scheme to get foreigners within their reach. They come off swimming with one arm, concealing a tomahawk under the other, and with a bag of sandal-wood as a bait. While the bag is being hauled into the boat, they dive under the keel, tip it over, and then strike at the white men with their tomahawks. They have taken several boats lately in this way. The Elizabeth,' Captain Brown, a sandal-wood barque, went ashore last February in a gale in Dillon's Bay; it is supposed that all perished in the wreck, except two, who reached the shore, but were killed directly. This savage state of things is not to be wondered at, as the sandal-wood vessels are constantly firing upon them. We know of some who, if they get a native chief within their reach, will keep him prisoner until the people fill boatloads of sandal-wood for his release. We have heard,

too, of natives being first mangled on board with a cutlass, then thrown into the sea and shot at. They call this redress for previous crime; but these are the very things which have made Erromanga what she is, and they are hindering our labours to a fearful extent in many other islands."-Missionary Chronicle.

THE LATE REV. MICAIAH HILL.

"The death of Mr. Hill took place on the 3rd of February, at a quarter past nine, A.M., in a native boat on the Ganges, about twenty-four miles below Benares. The immediate cause of Mr. Hill's death was a violent attack of diarrhea, continued for several weeks, added to the exhausting effects of a severe cough, from which he had long suffered."-Missionary Chronicle.

PRESBYTERIAN LIBERTY.

The United Presbyterian Magazine for June contains a detailed account of the proceedings of "the Supreme Court of the United Presbyterian Church" last May. From it we learn that the subject of reading discourses from the pulpit having been brought before the Synod, the following resolution was, after much discussion, adopted :-"The Synod having considered the memorials declare that the reading of discourses in the ministrations of the pulpit is contrary to the practice of this church, and enjoin presbyteries to take care that their brethren do not deviate from the ordinary practice of the church in this matter, except in cases where, for reasons shown, leave may be asked and obtained from the presbytery." At a subsequent sitting, however, it was agreed to declare, "That their decision relative to the reading of discourses in pulpit ministrations, shall not be understood as prohibiting from using their MSS. in the pulpit, such ministers as have been accustomed in time past to employ this mode of address."

DR. FLETCHER OF FINSBURY.

At the annual meeting of the Supreme Court of the United Presbyterian Church, a committee reported that "they had held full, free, and pleasant intercourse with Dr. Flet cher, and, in consequence, unanimously recommended that he be received into Christian and ministerial fellowship with the United Presbyterian Church." The Synod having unanimously adopted this recommendation, Dr. Fletcher was formally admitted a member and minister of the United Church, and being present, briefly addressed the Synod in acknowledgment of the decision."

IGNORANCE AND CRIME IN BIRMINGHAM.

The annual criminal returns prepared by the superintendent of police in Birmingham, exhibit a considerable reduction in the number of juvenile offenders, taking the two past years as the standard of comparison.

In the first year, of the 845 committed for trial 117 were under sixteen years of age; in 1848, of the 436 so committed only 59 were under that age.

In the first year, 24 of these youths were sentenced to transportation, in the latter year only 5; the remainder being punished by short terms of imprisonment. The offences in which these boys are concerned are principally pocket-picking and cases of simple larceny.

The returns exhibit the usual results with

respect to the criminal classes, deplorable ignorance. Here are the results :

FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND.

The Assembly of the Free Church met in the Canonmills Hall, Edinburgh, on Thursday, 24th May. After sermon by the retiring moderator, Dr. Clason, Dr. Mackay of Dunoon was elected moderator for the year. It is noticed by the newspapers that the moderators of the assembly have assumed the cocked hat, a piece of ceremony to which they were accustomed in the days of their connexion with the establishment, and the resumption of which we have not seen explained. The mission secretary reported the following contributions the past year,-Home missions, £5320; eduto the various schemes of the church during cation, £15,198; College Fund, £4189; Foreign Missions, £11,065; Colonial Missions, £4007; Jewish Mission, £948; Building Fund, £4130; Canton de Vaud, £2587. Total, £49,214, being an increase over last year of £397. For special pur poses, distinct from the above, donations had been made amounting to £20,600. During collected for missionary purposes by the the nine years prior to the disruption the sum Church of Scotland was £108,778. During the six years since that event, the amount contributed to the same purposes by the

Free Church is £242,819. The report on the Sustentation Fund stated, that 694 ministers receive support from this source; that the sum collected during the past year amounts to £87,115, a decrease of £1881, as compared with the year preceding. The Assembly ordered that the stipend payable from this fund to each recipient be £122, exclusive of the rate paid on account of each to the Widows' Fund. From the report of the College Committee, it appeared that the number of students in attendance was on the increase, the roll having, during the past year, had twenty-six names more than during the year preceding. To aid in building manses, grants amounting to £17,600 had been given by the Manse Building Committee. Since its formation in 1843, as appeared from a statement of its public accounts, the Free Church has, in its denominational capacity, collected the sum of £1,865,512. We have great pleasure in recording this noble liberality.

THE WESLEYAN CONFERENCE.

The contest for the chair has been decided in an unexpected manner. It was expected, that the Liberal candidate would run the nominee of the ruling party very close, but the result has wofully disappointed that too sanguine calculation. The Rev. Joseph Fowler had but 29 votes out of 333; and, as he had precisely the same number in the ballot for Secretary also, it may be taken as showing the exact strength of the Liberal party among those entitled to vote,-a privilege confined to ministers of at least fourteen years' standing. But, as nearly six hundred ministers are present, the real strength of the party may be much greater; it being a fair presumption, that the rising ministry have more sympathy in liberal principles. The Rev. Thomas Jackson was voted into the chair by the suffrages of 265 of his brethren, and the Rev. Dr. Hannah was elected Secretary by 206; the only other candidates of mark being, for the Presidentship, the Rev. William Naylor, who had 39 votes; and the Rev. John Farrar, for the Secretaryship, who had 61. The successful candidates

belong to the ruling party, and are the theological tutors in the two Colleges at Richmond and Didsbury. Mr. Farrar belongs to the same party, and is classical tutor in the former institution. Mr. Naylor is supposed to hold moderate views, and was the candidate of the ruling party when it was thought expedient to have a President who would pursue a conciliatory course; but so it is alleged at least-when the appearance of a considerable increase in the Connexion encouraged the ruling party to think of adopting rigorous measures towards the extreme Opposition, they transferred their support, to the just dissatisfaction of Mr. Naylor, from that gentleman to Mr. Jackson, who, though of mild character, is highly Conservative.-The Patriot, July 26.

THE CHOLERA.

Numerous inquests continue to be held in the metropolis on the bodies of persons dying by cholera; but no official returns are published by the Board of Health by which the daily mortality can be known. In the provinces, since the rains that commenced Tuesday week, the mortality of the disease seems to have much abated. Portsmouth, Plymouth, Salisbury, and Bristol, are the towns which have suffered most. In some parts of London the inhabitants are taking the sanitary question up. On Monday night there was a meeting of the inhabitants of the Blackfriars district, for the purpose of taking into their consideration the rapid and alarming increase of the prevailing epidemic in their vicinity, and causing instant attention on the part of the authorities to the choked and defective state of the sewers, Dr. Evans in the chair. The bills convening the meeting stated also that great annoyance was created by the yards of some knackers, bone-boilers, and catgut-makers, who carried on their business in the vicinity, and offal from whose premises ran into a sewer, without any outlet, and which was in consequence in a very dangerous state. A memorial to the commissioners of sewers was adopted. At Lambeth, a sanitary inspection of the borough is being made. The cholera has also re-appeared at Edinburgh, but only slightly.-Nonconformist, July 25.

MINISTERIAL EARNESTNESS. To the Editor of the Baptist Magazine. SIR,-Several articles have appeared at different times in the Baptist and Evangelical Magazines, on the low state of religion in our dissenting churches, which is indeed a lamentable fact.

In these articles various causes have been assigned for this evil, and various remedies

proposed as the means of a revival; but the writers have not mentioned what appears to me to be the principal cause, at least they have not given to it that prominence which I think it ought to have. I am of opinion, that the principal cause is the defective style of preaching among us in the present day. We need a more earnest style, one that aims at the heart and concience.

I pay an annual visit to most of the cities and towns of Great Britian and Ireland, which gives to me ample opportunities of knowing what is the style of preaching prevalent among dissenters generally, but especially in our own denomination. I lament to say, that it is not in my opinion calculated either to awaken the careless sinner, or to excite the believer to diligence in his Christian course. Most certainly there are exceptions to this statement, but they are comparatively few. I am not speaking of hyper-Calvinists, on whose ministry I never attend, but of those who maintain the true Calvinist doctrine, that glorious doctrine which ascribes our salvation to grace alone, and yet leaves without excuse the sinner who neglects to seek it. Often have I returned to my inn from the house of God, wondering how the preacher could deliver a discourse so entirely destitute of earnestness, and perhaps without a single appeal to the hearts and consciences of his hearers. I have said to myself, Was the preacher in earnest ? Oh, no, if he had been there would have been a corresponding tone and manner in his preaching, that could not have been mistaken. How lamentable to think, that many who call themselves ministers of Christ, whose office it is to beseech sinners to be reconciled to God, deliver their message with as much indifference as a lecturer on natural science. Under such lifeless preaching, surely it would be irrational to expect the conversion of sinners and the edification of believers. If there be no earnestness in the preacher, how can it be expected in the hearer ? As it is in the kingdom of nature so it is in the kingdom of grace, suitable means must be employed. "Now earnestness is a part of that system of means which God has in every age blessed to the conversion of sinners, and the edification of his church; for if it be the matter which God blesses to change the heart, it is also the manner which he blesses to fix the attention preparatory to this change. There is an adaptation as obvious in the latter as in the former, consequently the more earnest a man is, the more likely he is to do good as far as means go; and thus we find in every period, the most successful preachers have been the most earnest ones. "Where is a large congregation, a flourishing church to be found: There is an earnest Where, in what country, or in what denomination, does one such man labour without considerable success? Where do we find small congregations, dissatisfied or de. clining churches, and empty chapels? Certainly not where the ministers are as flames of fire. No matter where, or under what discouraging circumstances, such a man who is one of these sacred flames may commence his labours, he will soon draw around him a deeply interested and attentive congregation, no matter what may be the denomination

man.

with which he may be associated, he will not only excite the indifferent or subdue the prejudice by which he is surrounded, but will awaken interest and conciliate regard."

Who has ever read the life and sermons of the late Mr. Whitefield--a man whose ministry was more successful than that of any other preacher since the apostolic agewithout being convinced that under God his great success was to be attributed to his earnest appeals to the hearts and consciences of his hearers? Oh! for the spirit of a Whitefield to descend upon our preachers; then might we expect again to hear of the work of the Lord among us as in times that are past; but until we have more of that spirit we cannot rationally expect a revival of religion. I am, Yours respectfully,

A COMMERCIAL TRAVELLER.

EDITORIAL POSTSCRIPT.

Stepney College will be re-opened, Providence permitting, on Monday the 10th of September. On that day the students are expected to re-assemble, and on Wednesday the 12th of September the session will commence with the usual public services in the College chapel. Mr. Angus having found that the necessities of the college render it necessary to relinquish the hope of visiting India, intends at that time to enter upon his new vocation. No arrangement for the occupation of the vacant secretaryship at Moorgate Street has yet been completed, but Mr. Angus continues at present, as heretofore, to perform his duties there.

The Committee appointed to superintend the arrangements for the departure of our friend Mr. Timothy Moore for Australia, in accordance with an announcement in the Magazine for April, have engaged a passage for him and his family in the St. George, which is expected to sail about the 8th of August. As several donations which have been promised have not yet been received, they hope that the friends who have engaged to aid them will see the propriety of forwarding their contributions with the utmost promptitude, either to Mr. William Bowser, 2, Parson's Street, St. George's in the East, or to Mr. Richard Freeman, Honduras House, Commercial Road.

The bill brought in to legalize the marriage of a widower with the sister or niece of his deceased wife has been postponed to next year, as has been also the bill to which we alluded last month for granting a constitution to the Australian colonies.

James's Earnest Ministry the Want of the Times, pp. 275, 338.