is well worthy of consideration on many grounds, and on this for one, that we are not spending money in Ireland at present in the best possible way.
Our space is gone, or we had much to say, but we commend our readers to the Minutes, urging on them not to give a casual glance, but a careful scrutiny to each of the various accounts rendered; that by so doing they may be both led to require an expenditure which shall at once be economical in meeting mere personal desires, and liberal in forwarding schemes for the promotion of God's cause, and stimulated to support more generously the noble objects for which these funds are sustained.
We are bound to add one word of commendation as to the general arrangements of the Minutes; we do not remember in any previous year to have seen presented so concisely and orderly, the resolutions and details of Conference business. On the other hand, we have not seen any previous issue so marred by clerical errors; gross carelessness has been manifested in this respect, for these errors are found almost on every page.
We cannot conclude these hasty remarks without adding one or two comments on matters which seemed to blemish the Conference at Longton. In relation to the election of president, it would be more orderly and dignified if nominations and speeches were altogether dispensed with. In a Christian assembly nothing should be done which smacks of the hustings or polling booth. The Conference may be drawn away from a calm discharge of duty by an appeal to personal feelings, or an artful array of words. The practice of the Wesleyan Conference compares favourably with ours in this respect. The whole business of the election of president at Liverpool, was quietly discussed in a quarter of an hour, without any electioneering. It is supposed that the members of Conference have met together in the spirit of prayer, and that the Sabbath previous has been spent in seeking divine guidance upon the transaction of business; and it seems to be irreligious to have competing candidates for Conference suffrages, sustained by speeches from their own supporters.
It was with pain we observed also at Longton the evident growth of the number of committees. It was indeed gravely asserted, and accepted by the Conference, more than once, that business of certain kinds could not be introduced unless it had previously undergone the manipulation of a committee, and more than one committee complained that any attempt was made to amend its recommendations. Now this is an element
in Conference of which it must be very jealous, otherwise the power will pass out of the hands of the representatives into those of small groups who will be the virtual legislators of the denomination. It cannot be too strongly held that Conference has control of all business which concerns it, that it can alter at will the arrangement of a committee, or it can adopt any regulation with respect to any department of its administration, even if the authorised committee has not given to it its imprimatur.
În indulging in these slight criticisms we feel it unnecessary to offer apology; a denomination with such compact institutions, of such Scriptural polity and of such intelligent appreciation of sound doctrine, may well afford to allow, and even to welcome, the expression of kindly opinion upon the administration of its affairs; and what we have written, is offered in the spirit of strong attachment to the principles and hearty devotion to the interests of the body. Fervently would we pray that the present year may be one unexampled in the history of the Connexion for the triumph of its principles, the dissemination of its doctrines, and the multiplication of its members.
O thou Eternal One! whose mighty power
Did first create this earth, the sun, the moon,
The distant stars, which gem the azure sky,-
Each one the centre of a system, each
A sun itself to other worlds like ours,---
And still upholds, sustains, and governs all,
Direct our feelings as we contemplate
Thy wisdom in the present, and the past;
And, as we think upon Thy mighty acts
In by-gone times, oh! let Thy spirit bless
And guide us on our way; with heavenly light
Illuminate our souls, that we may learn
The lessons Thou intendst them to teach ;
Thy presence still be with us, open Thou
Our mental eyes, that we may understand
As we unfold the page of history,-
And, reading there Thy wondrous deeds of old,
Adore Thy power, Thy wisdom, and Thy love.
Borne by Thy spirit's might, we find ourselves
Floating in space; the earth itself without
A form by which to recognise its shape-
Whilst darkness dwells upon the wat❜ry deep -
Until God's spirit moves upon the face
Of waters, and we hear the words come forth,—
"Let there be light,"-and lo! at God's command,
The light burst forth, and He pronounced it good;
And from the darkness He divided light—
Calling the darkness, night; the light, the day!
Then said He, "Let there be a firmament,
The waters to divide, and call it heaven
And it was so; then the dry land appeared,
And brought forth grass, and herbs, which yielded seed,
And trees producing fruit, each of its kind—
Whose seed was in itself, and it was good.
This the third day; then said He,-" Let there be
Lights in the firmament, the greater light,
The sun, to rule the day; the moon, the night."
The waters then brought forth abundantly
That which had life; the fowls of heaven were next
Created, and the beasts of earth, and all
The cattle on a thousand hills, and then
The living things which creep upon the ground;
Then God made man in His own image, and
To him He gave dominion over all
The fowl of air, the creatures of the sea,
The beasts of earth, and all that it contained.
Thus passed the first six days! upon the seventh
He rested from His work and blessed it!
Our holy Sabbath, which He sanctified,
A day of rest when our week's work is done.
Oh let us prize our holy Sabbath day;
And, whilst we spend in worldly toil the week,
Still keep our Sabbath holy to the Lord.
Then God created Eve, that she might be
Her husband's helpmeet, but, alas! she proved
The instrument to lead him into sin,—
Tempted by Satan in a serpent's form,
She fell into the snare, and, having first
Tasted forbidden fruit, she took of it
And to her husband gave, who likewise ate,-
And eating, sinned against the only law
Which God commanded him to keep, and lost
Both Eden's garden, and his Maker's love!
Alas! what fearful consequences sprang
From that one act of disobedience :
God's favour lost,-that place of happiness
Wherein they dwelt, in which were planted all
The trees which are most pleasant to the sight,
And those which are the best for human food,
For ever lost to them, the very ground
Cursed for his sake. So that instead of fruit
Came thorns and thistles; and by toil alone
Could he compel the earth to bring forth bread.
Then Cain was born, and Abel, who kept sheep,
Whilst Cain became a tiller of the ground,
And moved by envy slew his brother, when
He saw the sacrifice which Abel made
Accepted by the Lord; whilst that, which he
Had brought, could find no favour in His sight;
Thus, all the offerings of worldly men
Are valueless in the pure sight of Him
Whose searching glance can probe our inmost soul,
And know the secret feelings of the heart,
And, if we have not there a love for Him,
Our utmost gifts are worthless all and vain.
How fearful is the rapid spread of sin;
The pleasant Paradise of Eden lost
By disobedience. Envy next, and then
Foul murder follows, and a brother's blood
Cries out for vengeance, and thus, step by step,
Crime follows crime, and with each deed of wrong
The soul becomes prepared for baser acts,
Till he, who would have scorned to crush a worm,
Little by little loses self-respect,
And fear of shame, and love of man, and God,
And his own soul, and the hope of future bliss,
And, by degrees descending, each fresh step
Sinks him still deeper in the gulf of sin;
Till finally impenitent, he meets
His fate, and plunges in eternal woe.
And thus the wickedness of man increased
After the death of Cain, till God, at length,
Repented that He had created him.
For, looking to and fro upon the earth,
Such deeds of violence and baseness stood
Exposed to His all-searching gaze, that He
Was grieved at heart, and said, "I will destroy
From off the earth, both man and beast, and bird,
And creeping thing, and all that I have made."
But Noah had found favour in His sight,
Therefore to Noah thus he spake—“Behold
This race which I have made, have broke through all
Restraints of piety and godly fear;
Virtue is all unknown, vice reigns supreme;
My altars are forsaken; none but thee
Is left to walk well-pleasing in my sight;
All flesh have grown corrupt, their evil deeds
Of violence and lust have filled the earth.
I will destroy them all, and thou alone,
Of all whom I have made, shall be preserved:
Thou, and thy wife, thy sons and wives with thee.
By a great flood will I destroy the world,
And all that it inhabits. Now, prepare,
An ark which shall contain thyself, and wife,
Thy sons, and their wives with thee, and of all
The living creatures I have made, and food
Sufficient for you all, that thou and they
May be preserved alive, until I see
My purposes accomplished, and the flood,
Which I will bring upon the earth to drown
This evil race, shall be dried up again."
Noah, obedient to God's law, began
His mighty work, and of the gopher wood
(Now called the cypress), hard and odorous,
And durable, built up his ark, in length
Three hundred cubits, whilst the width thereof
Was fifty, and its height was thirty; thus
According to the plan which God had given,
He built it firmly with cross beams and roof,
And single window but one cubit long;
And all the long, long years which it required
To perfect his great work, Noah still preached
Repentance to mankind-but all in vain.
Despite his holy life-the prophecy—
Enoch's translation-all the strong appeals
By which he constantly endeavoured still
To rouse them up to turn, repent, and weep
In bitterness of soul for all their sins,
And earnestly to pray to God, that He
Would visit them in mercy, and put off
Their threatened punishment, so much deserved,
And spare their lives, devoted now to Him,—
'Twas fruitless all, and vain-more wickedly
They recklessly went on, and ate, and drank,
And every evil pleasure still pursued,
Till all was ready, and each creeping thing
And beast, and bird, and Noah and his wife,
His sons, and his son's wives were entered in
The ark,—now fully stored with food for all.
Then God the signal gave: on the same day
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