for the occasion by a female teacher, on India), singing, and instrumental music. The assembly, after listening to a few remarks from the Rev. R. Edleston, and joining in the national anthem, broke up shortly after ten.

On Sunday, the 18th, a sermon was preached by the Rev. R. Edleston, on India, and a collection made in behalf of the sufferers. The cause assigned for the revolt by the Rev. Canon Stowell and Cardinal Wiseman, viz., that it was a judgment for our not having done more towards Christianizing the country, was passed under review and combated, the opinion of the preacher being that the efforts in this direction had had the effect rather of precipitating the event. The discourse was listened to with great attention, and the collection amounted to £5. 11s. 34d. A brief correspondence has, it appears, arisen out of Mr. Edleston's discourse, which appeared in the "Heywood Advertiser," from the columns of which the previous notice was condensed. In Mr. Edleston's reply, which is an interesting production, but too long for insertion, he states more at large his views, explain ing that when he spoke of the attempts to Christianize the native population as one and perhaps the principal of the causes to which the outbreak was attributable, it was not his intention to cast any censure on the object, which is a most important one, but on the obtrusive mode in which in too many instances it has been underaken, especially by officials, and officers in the army, which imparted to the whole the complexion of an official rather than a private effort, and impressed the natives with the feeling that they had no refuge from Christianity but in revolt. It is also his opinion that the speeches of the Bishops of Manchester and Oxford, and those of Canon Stowell and Cardinal Wiseman, are calculated to increase rather than allay the apprehensions of the natives. The absurdity of ascribing it to a judgment, for not having laboured more in the work of Christianization, is forcibly exposed, since these gentlemen admit that of late years great and strenuous efforts have been made in this direction, so that the punishment, instead of having fallen on the delinquents, has fallen on those whose efforts were directed to removing the evil!

Embsay. From a circular which has

Mrs.

been kindly forwarded, we learn that the committee of the New Church Day School in this village have obtained the services of Mr. and Mrs. Farquhar, as master and mistress. A few years since they became favourably impressed with the New Church doctrines. Farquhar is the authoress of a successful prize essay on the Sabbath, under the title of the "Pearl of Days." Mr. Farquhar, who has occasionally officiated in the pulpit, will conduct the services of the society.

Dalton.-Celebration of the Centenary.-We have received from a correspondent the following interesting account of the proceedings of our Dalton friends, which we subjoin:

"Seeing that our neighbours were holding Centenary celebrations, and heartily approving their proceedings, we determined to add to our anniversary services a similar celebration, and to give greater interest and efficiency to these services invited our esteemed friends the Rev. E. D. Rendell, of Preston, and Mr. Marsden, of Leeds, to take part in them. The services commenced on Sunday, October 11th, when three discourses were delivered in the chapel, those in the morning and evening by Mr. Rendell, the one in the afternoon by the resident minister. The attendance at all these services was good, and the warmest interest was manifested by all present. I must not omit to say that the choir was aided in the services of the day by some of the first vocalists of the neighbourhood.

"On Monday evening a public meeting was held in the chapel as a Centenary celebration of the New Church. The subject proposed was the Prophecies relating to the General Judgment and the Second Coming of the Lord. The minister of the society, who was in the chair, opened the meeting by introductory remarks on the nature of prophecy, the importance of its study, and the necessity of a key for its correct interpretation. He was followed by Mr. Rendell, who discussed the prophecies relating to Judgment, and by Mr. Marsden, who spoke on the prophecies relating to the Second Coming. The meeting was again favoured by the presence of an efficient choir, and the per formance of several very beautiful an thems. Those who were present seemed both instructed and edified by the

addresses which were delivered, but all had to regret that the attendance on the occasion was unusually thin.

"These services were followed on Wednesday, the 14th, by a sale of fancy and useful articles prepared by the ladies of the congregation, aided by many generous friends at a distance. This sale was held in the school-room, which was neatly fitted up and orna. mented for the occasion. On the tables were arranged a great variety of articles; some of great beauty and exquisite workmanship, and others of a plain and useful kind. It was attended throughout the day by a constant flow of visitors and purchasers, and realized, with the proceeds of a public tea party by which it was concluded, rather more than £40.

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"Nothing could exceed the pleasant, cheerful, and happy feelings which were experienced and expressed by all present. In the evening the school-room was quite filled with persons present at the tea party, which was followed by a concert of miscellaneous music. the course of the following week, at a private meeting of ladies and a few other friends, a purse of gold from the proceeds of these meetings was presented to the minister of the society, and suitably acknowledged by him as an evidence of affection and an incentive to continued labour in the great and glorious cause of our Holy Jerusalem."

Birmingham.-Centenary Subscription, and Completion of Trust Deed.We have received a copy of a printed Report of the proceedings of our Bir mingham friends, in their effort to pay off £1,000. of the mortgage on their church, and to put the property into trust for the specific use contemplated in the erection of it, and are much gratified at the large measure of success that has attended their exertions. The pressure on our pages prevents our giving the particulars in the present number as fully as we could desire; we must, therefore, content ourselves with a brief outline, reserving a fuller account for the next. The following is a general statement of the matter:-The original mortgage amounted to £2,000.; the subscriptions raised towards its reduction are £664. To this the sums of £16. 11s. and £8. 15s., the former raised

towards the liquidation of the debt, and the latter towards the furnishing of a trust deed, which had been previously subscribed, were added, and £250. borrowed from the funds of the New Church Provident Institution, making together £939. 6s. 6d. The balance necessary to make up the £1,000., and to meet the various legal and other expenses, has been advanced by two members of the society, Messrs. Humphreys and Wilson. The following is a copy of the balance sheet appended to the report:

Treasurer of the Subscriptions in Account with the Society.

The debt of the society is therefore, mortgage, including the sum due to the Provident Institution, £1,250.; due to the two members of the society, £211. Os. 6d., making a total of £1,461. Os. 6d.

Manchester.We understand that the usual winter lectures, in Peter-street, have been attended by satisfactory audiences. Some people, we are informed, came many miles to hear the two lectures on the "Nature of the Divine Inspiration by which the Word is writ ten." The other lectures, on the "New

Heavens and the New Earth," &c., were well attended by strangers. At Salford also the Rev. J. B. Kennerley is still engaged in lecturing to overflowing congregations.

Also the winter course of lectures, by Mr. Rendell, at Preston, is very numerously attended.

Kersley.-A course of four lectures on "Marriage: its Divine Institution and Sanctions; its Nature, Uses, and Laws," had recently been delivered in the New Church in this village, by the Rev. W. Woodman. The following are the titles of the lectures-Lecture 1. " Marriage in its Divine Origin," Gen. ii. 21-24. Leture 2. "Marriage in its Abuse.Polygamy." Lecture 3. "Marriage in its Restoration," Matt. xix. 3-9, Lecture 4." Marriage in its Uses." The attendance at the first lecture was about two hundred, and at the subsequent ones two hundred and fifty. Great interest appears to have been excited by the subjects.

Leamington. We learn from an esteemed correspondent, that the authorities of this town have accepted the offer of the Swedenborg Society to furnish a copy of Swedenborg's Theological Works for the Free Library. From a discussion which afterwards took place at one of the meetings of the board of health, on the character of Swedenborg's writings, reported in the "Leamington Advertiser," and a leading article referring to the subject in a spirit friendly rather than otherwise to our author, it is not improbable the attention of the public may be directed towards them. Moreover, in consequence of Mormonism having been rife in the town, considerable excitement having been caused thereby, some copies of the Report of the Discussion between. the Rev. W. Woodman and Mr. Gibson have been laid on the table of the Free Library reading room, and appear, we learn, to be read with interest. What, or whether any immediate results may arise out of these circumstances, it is impossible to say; of this, however, we are assured, that the mental leaven thus hid will not the less effectually work because its operation is unseen, and that where it finds a congenial spirit its effects will in due time become manifest.

THE REV. G. FIELD'S IMPRESSIONS OF THE NEW CHURCH IN ENGLAND.

To the Editor.

Dear Sir,-My apology for troubling you and your readers with this line is, that, in the last number of the "Repository," a notice of the "New Jerusalem Messenger" occurred, in which, from Mr. Field's "Impressions," &c. being mentioned together with some other articles in the same number, some might infer that his statements are indorsed by the church here, or at least by "The Intellectual Repository." I cannot for a moment suppose you intended such an inference, many things stated being of such a character that every member of the church in England would put in a demurrer against them.

The advantage to be derived from the candid observation and impressions of an intelligent foreigner will be admitted by every one capable of reflection; and had Mr. Field's communications been of this character, the writer of this communication for one would not have taken any exception to them. Some are so, but others are of a kind that the Editor of the "Messenger" (as we are informed in an editorial notice), would only admit them on Mr. Field's undertaking the sole responsibility of his representations. Indeed so carping a spirit pervades the later ones of the series, that had not reference been made to them in the "Repository," I should have deemed them undeserving of notice.

What will your readers think of a New Church minister assigning as a reason of the slow progress of the church among us, that in many cases the church-yard is used for interment? "When (he says) I found professedly New Church temples the inside doleful with monuments. .. and the outside a sepulchre of dead men's boneshow could I think the church could flourish, or even live (!), when thus buried in her own grave?" We opine in England, that the dead men's bones which destroy the church are to be found rather nearer home than the graveyard, and that the "inside doleful with monuments" is not to be within the walls of the building. Even the manifestation of the esteem by the Salford

Society in having the pulpit lining in black, is set down by Mr. F. as one of the impediments to the progress of the church.

But "every where, it seemed (to Mr. Field) the new wine was put into the old bottles of the old church, and that all the trees of the field had taken their place under the shadow of the bramble!" And in what do your readers suppose these old bottles consist? First, the church being placed in "a grave-yard;" and 2ndly, in the minister" conducting the service in a white surplice, like that of the Church of England's ministers," &c. Had Mr. Field duly considered the portions of Swedenborg's writings where he explains that the real ground of distinction does not lie in externals, but in internals; that externals may be apparently alike, but nevertheless really opposite in quality by reason of the diversity of the internals, whilst diversity in externals may exist coincidently with agreement of internals, he would not have designated the preaching of New Church truths in a surplice, "putting new wine into old bottles."

But here I must pause, and with your permission will refer to a few more points next month.

The Treasurer of Conference reports that £50. have been given by Mr. John Negus, of Northampton, to be divided, one-third each, to the "Students and Ministers' Aid Fund;" "London Missionary and Tract Society" and "Swedenborg Society." Also from Miss Agnes Russell, of Kirkaldy, Scotland, £10., to be equally divided between the "Students and Ministers' Aid Fund" and the "National Missionary Institution." He desires also to direct the attention of the members and friends of the church to the sale of the Magazine; this being the first month of the year, and the Conference having incurred an additional expense in the engagement of a sub-Editor, that nothing may be wanting

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to completeness, and deserve success, it is hoped that those who feel an interest in the progress of the church, and do not at present take the Magazine, will commence doing so this present month. The sum actually received for the "Students and Ministers' Aid Fund" is £145. 16s. 11d. The committee appointed to draw up specific regulations for dispensing this fund hope to present something to the members of the church ere long. The Minutes of Conference, to be had of Mr. White, 6d. per copy, should be read by every member and friend of the church. Societies which have received copies may remit the amount due by post-office order, to Richard Gunton, Lamb's Conduit-street, payable at the Post-office, London.

Dr. BAYLEY'S LECTURES IN OXFORD.

In the Oxford Chronicle and Berks and Bucks Gazette of the 17th of October, there appears a favourable and somewhat full notice of the lectures recently delivered in that city, by the Rev. Dr. Bayley, of which we gave a brief account in our last. The subject of the first was, "Is the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to be of outward observation, or to be accomplished in Spirit only?" and that of the second, "The Word of God, and in what does its true divine character and holiness consist?" The first lecture is spoken of as being "very able and eloquent," and the subject of the second as being treated "in a very novel and forcible manner." We have not space to extract the resumé furnished by the Chronicle; suffice it to say, it gives a clear and condensed view of the subjects, and one, in our opinion, calculated to excite inquiry in thoughtful minds who may read it. The audiences, which numbered between four hundred and five hundred, are spoken of as having been very attentive. "After the lecture (adds the Chronicle), the Mayor of Oxford (Mr. Alderman Towle), in a short speech, returned thanks, expressing his concurrence in much that the lecturer had said, and the meeting then separated, apparently much gratified."

Departed this life, on Saturday morning, July 11th, 1857, Ellen, wife of the Rev. Samuel Beswick, pastor of the New York Society, United States, aged 36 years and 4 months. She was born and educated in the New Church, having been brought up as a scholar and teacher in the Sabbath-school of the Manchester New Church Society, England. She had but seldom heard any other than the heavenly doctrines of the New Dispensation, and her cheerful and hopeful spirit delighted to express itself in "the songs of Zion" which she had learned at school, and which embodied so beautifully the faith and sentiment of that glorious religion which opens heaven to all sincere and devout receivers. Whilst nursing invalid friends with affection and cheerfulness, she was herself seized with nausea and vomiting, which soon took the form of intermittent fever; and being away from home, and Mr. B. being on a missionary trip over Canada West and the Western States, she persisted in her attention to others, without any concern about herself, until she was prostrated with typhoid fever, which occurred on the day of her husband's return. Her illness then took the form of inflammation of the viscera, which ended in their ulceration. Her sufferings during the middle stage of the disease were extreme, and her patience was equal to the infliction. Not a single word of complaint fell from her lips during the six months of sickness. Her friends heard but few regrets, and in her husband's presence she was cheer ful to the last. Although in the prime and vigor of life, she was resigned to the change, and expressed herself to that effect with a singular calmness only one minute before she passed away. She was a devoted wife, a cheerful and sympathetic companion, an ardent advocate for the spread of the New Church, and without doubt has gone to a sphere of usefulness on a higher plane than the one from which she has been called. Several notices of her decease appeared in New Church periodicals, in America, to shew the high estimate of her character, as held by her American friends.

Died, August 29th, 1857, after a long and severe affliction, borne with great Christian resignation and fortitude, Mary, the beloved wife of Mr. William Botham, of Marlborough-terrace, Hull, and second daughter of William and Mercy Roebuck, of Berkin, near Selby, who brought her up in the faith of the Established Church, but removing to Hull in the year 1849, she became a hearer, and afterwards a member of the church, under the teaching of the Rev. John Pulsford, who was then zealously unfolding the truths of the New Church. She became an affectionate and thankful receiver of the truth, constant in her attendance on divine worship. The Bible was her guide and consolation-the writings of Swedenborg her special delight. She was a remarkable instance of the power of truth; her many virtues, her large-heartedness and goodness of disposition will dwell long in the remembrance of those who knew her. The Lord Jesus Christ was her only God, Saviour, and Comforter. She would talk with great calmness and cheerfulness of her approaching dissolution, often expressing her willingness to die, and saying, "I care not how soon I have to go, for I have a good home to go to."

A sermon was preached on the occa sion of her death by the Rev. John Pulsford, from 2 Samuel, xii. 23-“ I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." In the course of his sermon he remarked, "that it was now eight years since he had the pleasure of receiving Mary Botham into church fellowship, and felt grateful in being able to say (what he could not say of many) that she had never caused him a moment's pain or uneasiness, but on the contrary, by her cheerful disposi tion and simple faith, had often cheered and comforted him, and had now gone into the spiritual world with far stronger faith in rising to realise its beauties and blessings, than any of the congregation had that they would rise again from their beds to-morrow morning." Mary Botham is still living and affectionately watching, and waiting for the loved ones she left behind.