Such, then, is the object at which we have been aiming in our plea for Church meetings, conscientiously attended and properly conducted. If matters be as here set forth, then, we submit, that it is of the first importance that the question should be rightly understood, and this part of the economy of Churches fully carried out. Whatever trouble it may cost will be amply repaid. But why should there be any trouble in such matters? Every man who is convinced of its importance and necessity, has but to perform his own part, and the work will soon be done. If officers and leading men will make attendance a point of conscience, their example will go far to bring up the people; the old men will lead the young, and the will young follow the old, and when they become old themselves, continue to present a pattern to the generations following. Whatever be neglected then, let Church Meetings be attended to. Let the night be, as far as possible, fixed, and uniform, and let it ever be remembered; and, as far as practicable, let all the arrangements of social life and business be so adjusted as to leave that night open. Let it have all possible prominence, as that which gives light and life, needful impulse and practical guidance to all the movements of the Church. Let these things be done, and it will only remain for every Church to narrate the happy consequences; thank God, and take courage, and in his strength go forward.

ORIGIN AND FOUNDERS OF THE HOME

MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

SIR,-A generation has passed away since this Society was founded; but as inaccurate statements have obtained circulation respecting its origin, I beg you to insert as correct an account, as I believe you will be able to obtain, and which, indeed, I only can furnish; for the first thought originated in myself, though other agency brought it into action, after the announcement had for several years lain dormant. I had felt deep interest in Missions from my youth, when I attended the sermon of Dr. Bogue, at Tottenham-court chapel. This occasioned the thought, one day, to cross my mind, "Why should we not also attend to Missions at Home." I then wrote the leading article in the Instructor newspaper, and six or eight were on the subject, stating reasons, answering objections, and making appeals. Whoever may be in possession of the early volumes of that work, will find the articles, with characteristic titles, uttered in various leaders. I pressed the subjest so closely that an officer of the Missionary

Society wrote to me to remonstrate, lest I should lessen the importance of Foreign Missions; and the supporters of that Society kept a respectful distance from the Home Missionary Society, till it had become deeply-rooted in the soil of our Christian Church. As no leading men in the religious community followed up the hints, they were left to find their own way. Yet some good was effected, and in several localities in the country, a limited Mission was established with success.

Eleven years elapsed before the subject revived. At that time it was announced to me, by a friend, that two or three individuals had it in contemplation to form a Society for spreading religious knowledge throughout the neglected villages of Great Britain, and knowing my attachment to the object, he had recommended me as one of the Provisional Committee. The Committee met and soon increased, and I became a Provisional Secretary, having united my name with those of two individuals, known at the time in a limited circle, and chiefly occupied in village preaching and Sunday-school teaching. I was remonstrated with by the Rev. George Burder, for venturing to unite with men of no influence, and of whom I knew little; and he assured me that if I had not made myself responsible, he would not have admitted any notice into the Evangelical Magazine. It was intended to call the Society, "THE ALBION UNION," &c.; but two of our number, myself being one, strenuously opposed the title, as not being sufficiently definite and attractive, and we ultimately succeeded in calling it after the name I at first suggested, as likely to become the most popular, "THE HOME MISSIONARY SOCIETY." The names of the first movers in the matter were first appended to a public announcement of the intended Society, which appeared in the Evangelical Magazine for August, 1819, in which the first meeting for the public ratification of its formation was announced, before its name was altered, and the article, is headed, LONDON-Address to the Religious Public," and signed Thomas Thompson, Treasurer; John Bishop, Francis Newstead, and Ingram Cobbin, Corresponding Gratuitous Secretaries. Perhaps this Address, drawn up by myself, though printed at the time in the Evangelical Magazine, may not be improperly introduced in this place:

"The Missionary Society has been the honoured parent of many a noble Institution, to subserve the designs of philanthropy and religion. Since its establishment, similar Institutions have blessed the world. It has aroused the dormant energies of our own land, and the influence of its example has been felt in the deserts of Africa and on the banks of the Ganges. To look at our numerous Institutions, it would seem as if every barren spot of Britain were occupied; but there remaineth yet much land to be possessed! Some of our market towns, and many of our villages, are yet destitute of that Gospel which is received with joy by the brutal Hottentot and the bigoted Hindoo; and Otaheite is a well-watered garden,' compared with some of the districts at home! And shall we not care for our own household, and promote piety at home, as well as send the Gospel to distant lands? The propagation of the Gospel in our villages is an object of greater importance than many imagine. It would,

under the Divine blessing, increase our Church; the increase of our Church, would increase our means of usefulness, in agents, and funds; and the increase of our means would enable us still further to send the light of salvation to the remote parts of the world.

"The need of such a Society is too plainly evinced. Nowhere is religion so ruefully neglected as in our own villages. In many of them the means of moral instruction are very scanty, and in the generality of them, the most daring profanity prevails. A few plain facts that have already transpired, will, perhaps, plead more powerfully on this subject, than a host of lengthened arguments. In the vicinity of Banbury, on the borders of Bucks, there are sixtyfive villages destitute of religious culture, and instruction cannot be afforded for want of means. In North Devon there are 40,000 souls, in one district, perishing for lack of knowledge. In Worcestershire there are 166,000 inhabitants, and probably only 10,000 hear the Gospel. Herefordshire is a land of darkness; and multitudes in the extreme northern counties know not God.' Sussex is not half enlightened; even in Surrey, where efforts have long been made for the inhabitants, near one hundred villages are destitute of the means of grace. Minor societies are totally insufficient to send the Gospel through the kingdom; County Associations can do but little against an evil of so much magnitude; and those counties that are in the most dreary state have the least means of assistance. Something must be done on a large scale to storm these strongholds of Satan, and to aid the minor institutions. What the Missionary Society are doing abroad, must be done at home, and the efforts of the Hibernian and Irish Evangelical Societies must be concentrated in a similar grand combination for our own land. A Society has therefore been formed for the establishment of Missions, under the title of THE ALBION UNION, for Promoting the Spread of the Gospel at Home.' Its design is to send out labourers to preach the Gospel in the dark parts of the Kingdom; to encourage efforts made for the same object to establish schools, and employ other means likely to forward the great work. And it calls upon all the friends of religion to co-operate in its exertions, and to come to the help of the Lord against the mighty. A General Meeting will therefore be held, for this purpose, on the 11th of August, at six o'clock in the evening, at the City of London Tavern, when the presence of all who are disposed to give it support, is earnestly requested.

"THOMAS THOMPSON, Treasurer.

Of the success of this appeal we have an account in the Evangelical Magazine of the following month, September, 1819;-" A numerous and respectable meeting was held at the City of London Tavern, August 11, at six o'clock in the evening, for the purpose of establishing a Home Missionary Society; Benjamin Shaw, Esq., in the chair. The resolutions stated, that the object in view was to promote the spread of religion, chiefly in the villages and among the lower classes of the people, throughout the Kingdom, by the distribution of religious tracts, the establishing of Sunday-schools, the

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preaching of the Gospel, the aiding of Associations, and other means of the like nature.' the interval, between establishing the preliminaries and forming the Society, Mr. Cobbin invited Mr. Dunn, and several other friends, to add to the little phalanx, and at the General Meeting, Thomas Thompson, Esq., was appointed the Treasurer; the Rev. Ingram Cobbin, the Rev. E. Dunn, Mr. Thomas Cope, and Mr. J. Newstead, Secretaries. The Resolutions were moved and seconded by the Rev. Messrs. J. Hyatt, R. P. Allen, G. C. Smith, F. Moore, S. Hillyard, J. Turnbull, J. Evans, and T. Wood; W. Stevens, Esq. and T. Thompson, Esq. The warmest feeling prevailed in support of the object, and subscriptions and donations were received to the amount of nearly £200."

An attempt was made at opposition by a small religious party, but it would not stand, and the opposers found it wise to unite. The names of Bishop and Newstead, which appeared among the earliest movers in this Society, soon disappeared. They did not wish to stand conspicuous, and modestly withdrew, and some who thought that Sunday-school Teachers were not of sufficient importance for founding a Society, advised, as in many other cases, that the truly working and useful men, having done what they could, should allow others to enter into their labours. Mr. Bishop became a Home Missionary, and, after a time, pastor of the Church of Newport, Isle of Wight, where a vacancy was left by the absence of the Rev. Daniel Tyerman, when he accompanied Mr. Bennet, of Sheffield, on a Missionary voyage round the world.

These are the simple facts. To modest and disinterested Sunday-school teachers, this Society is primarily indebted for its origin. The thought having been suggested, they followed it up, usefully and perseveringly. In a very few years, none will be left to unfold these secrets. I begin now to "number my days." I continued a laborious secretariat, and edited the Home Missionary Magazine, during some years, till 1827, after which it gradually declined and dropped. Yours respectfully,

I. COBBIN.

BLACKPOOL CHAPEL AND LANCASHIRE COLLEGE.

SIR,-There are two ways of perverting truththere is the perversion of intentional falsehood, and the perversion of carelessness. The latter, though not so wicked, may be as injurious as the former. It therefore becomes a grave matter that you should enforce upon all your correspondents the strict necessity of inquiring into the truth of the statements which they make, especially when these affect religious communities.

We have an instance of random statement in a letter in the January Number of the WITNESS, entitled, "Blackpool Chapel," which it might be worth while for you to notice. It runs thus, "I am sorry to find that a considerable number of very young men (or rather boys, from seventeen to eighteen years of age), have recently been admitted to our Northern Institution, several of them the sons of ministers, whose prudence in the matter may be called in question." As a member of the Committee of the Lancashire Independent College,

I am in possession of the facts of the case. During the year 1850, there have been seven admissions. Three of the gentlemen admitted are more than twenty-one years of age; they are ministers' sons: three others are nineteen or twenty (one possibly eighteen); one of them is a minister's son; the seventh is the only one to whom the statement made of several will apply, and it is right to state that he is the son of a most conscientious man, who did nothing whatsoever by word or deed to induce him to choose the ministry as a profession. Such are the facts of the recent admissions into the college, which your correspondent ought to have learned, before imposing his statement upon you.

I did not mean to put this statement in the category of those which may be injurious; for I think the majority of Christians would rejoice with me, if the facts were those stated by your correspondent, and it has been partially so in former years. Many of our most efficient men have been the sons of ministers, who have early given themselves to God's work; possibly in answer to their fathers' prayers. I wish not to parade names; yet York, Leeds (as it was, and as it is), Birmingham, Norwich, and many other places will testify to the truth of my statement.

Next of Blackpool Chapel. The church there had a chapel of mean appearance, quite sufficient for their own wants, (for they are a small community and poor), but not sufficient for the visitors who frequent this watering-place in summer. They thought it right to build for themselves a chapel, in which, during four months of the year, they might have the means of grace administered to themselves. This they did at their own cost. Is there Popery in this? They then made an offer to the Blackpool church. "Our chapel is prettier and more comfortable than yours; you are welcome to its use when we are not wanting it. We will make it over to you, reserving to ourselves our right of conducting in it two services every Sabbath, for our own benefit-(the purpose for which we are building). We will build you also schools." This offer the church thankfully accepted. Where is the Popery in this? Should the church elect a pastor, he may conduct his services independently of the visitors at nine in the morning and three in the afternoon, or any other time he may select, so as not to infringe upon their rights. Moreover, there is a village called Poulton, about three miles from Blackpool, where there used to be an Independent interest, but the chapel has been some time closed. It is proposed (if not carried into effect) to re-open this chapel in connection with Blackpool, and here the pastor might do great good, by exercising his ministry in the summer months.

I submit, sir, that this letter in your January Number is calculated to excite suspicion and jealousy, where I believe and hope it does not at present exist.

Let me suggest a parallel case. A rich man builds himself a house at the sea-side, where, for four months, he may entertain his family and friends. There is a poorer man in the neighbourhood. He says to him, "I want my house but four months in the year; you may occupy it the other eight. But when I and my friends are there in the summer, you must be

content to eat at my table, and to share with me the conveniences of my house." Would not the offer be considered-generous? Could there be any right of complaint?

This, we think, is a parallel case. It must be remembered that a chapel at a watering-place, where the resident population is very small, is mainly built for the benefit of the large summer congregation, who, away from home, peculiarly need fitting religious services.

The sentence, "It was very well, therefore, for Mr. Fletcher to dwell on the Oldham-road Chapel, to the exclusion of Blackpool," is an insinuation of holding back the whole truth, from which his known character ought to have shielded him.

SIR,-I observe in your last Number an Article under the above head-an extract from a Sermon preached by the Rev. Dr. Raffles; in which, in relation to the temporal concerns of his hearers, he strenuously advises them to make their wills, and so, in regard to this world, to set their houses in order. Every one knows what a judicious man Dr. Raffles is, and every one knows also that his heart is so full of love and sympathy towards others, that he would be amongst the first, by his counsels, to consult the temporal as well as the spiritual interests of Christ's people. I have no doubt whatever that the excellent man referred to spoke as he felt when he advised Christians to make their wills; for, brought into contact, as for many years he must necessarily have been, with a large number of family circles, where he has witnessed or has been directly cognizant of the deaths of heads of families, he has doubtless seen and heard of the ill effects and unpleasantness arising from the intestacies of men of property. The extract you have given, therefore, is only a summing up of his experience upon the subject,-is only an utterance of his deep sense of Christian pro. priety. I quite feel disposed to occupy a little space in the CHRISTIAN WITNESS upon the same matter; but, as I have recently troubled you with correspondence upon another theme. "The Building Society System," which does not, as I humbly conceive, call for any further communication from me, I shall be short, as you have more important matter with which to occupy your sheets.

I would altogether echo back a full accordance with the sentiments of Dr. Raffles. And although my experience and observation in the law have been contracted by reason of my youth and other considerations, I have seen quite enough to wonder at the absolute folly and want of Christian principle which some people, unfortunately, have manifested in relation to their temporal concerns,-not unfrequently leaving those concerns in the greatest confusion, either by intestacies or unjust wills. I would, Sir, take the liberty of repeating in your columns my own views upon this very important subject, as those views were expressed in a humble Lecture on "The Laws of Real Property in England," delivered by me a few weeks ago at the Athenæum in this town. "I advise those of you who have not made your wills to do so

without delay. Ladies and Gentlemen, human life is ever an uncertain thing,-it ever hangs upon a brittle thread; for an accident may hurry us into Eternity, or a disposing legally voluntary mind may be destroyed by delirium or insanity. And as every domestic and civilized relation has obligations connected with it, as well as the relation which binds us to the Creator, who has said, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might,"-as the obligation lies upon the man of property to provide for his household by a just disposition of his worldly goods,-and as, among relatives, bickerings and heartburnings (insidious intruders upon domestic happiness and peace!) are frequently the results of intestacies, and as unpleasantness in families may be avoided by it, I ask you not to be so preposterous as to delay what your duties to your wife, to your sons, to your daughters, to your brothers, to your sisters-in fine, to your relative connections imperatively necessitates; namely, the making of a wise, and judicious, and just will. And, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would take this opportunity not only of guarding you against having your will, which is a solemn act, made by some copying clerk in an attorney's office, by some village scribe, or by some individual knowing not enough of the laws to guard you against involving your relatives and friends in expensive litigation, to

settle blunders which might have been avoided; but of so having your will made as to prevent your sons and daughters, if not from cursing your memory, from insinuating and casting reflections as you are slumbering in your tombs,— insinuations and reflections the necessary result of fathers and mothers not making, by their wills, an equitable and equal distribution, all circumstances considered, among their children. Oh, I detest from my very soul, the expression which is often heard, I'll cut you off with a shilling.' I detest from my very soul the idea that testators, by their villany, should afford opportunities for relatives to express their indignation that a sense of simple justice alone did not lead such testators to do the thing that was right, instead of making their wills and testaments speak, as from their tombs, their unkindness and cruelty."

I would say no more, except that I do most earnestly advise those Christian people who are wisely following out the advice given by Dr. Raffles, of providing for their families by testamentary disposition, to think somewhat about the numerous societies whose funds would be benefited by liberal legacies!

I remain, Sir, yours faithfully,

GEORGE PRINCE JOYCE.

Newport, Isle of Wight,

Jan. 3rd, 1851.

THE few and small productions with which Dr. Legge has favoured the public, have been of such a character as to excite a wish to meet him again; but he was in no haste to renew or extend the acquaintance, and for the pleasure of his appearance, on the present occasion, our readers and ourselves are indebted to others rather than to himself, since but for external pressure these seven discourses might never have seen the light, and the Church might have been deprived of the valuable boon which is now presented to her It was something for an audience to possess a minister who was equal to these dissertations, and something for such a minister to address a people that had the intelligence to appreciate them, and not only so but to press for their publication. These facts seem to have had their proper effect on the mind of the writer, who tells us he has "something else in his mind" of the same sort, but on a more extensive scale, and of a more ambitious aim." The public will be glad to hear the fact and anticipate with pleasure the hour that shall usher the contemplated production into the light. Dr. Legge, in his own quiet way, drily intimates that

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he is not much enamoured of the "ancient methods of setting forth divine truth;" nor is he much more pleased with certain other methods, which have recently come into vogue," adding, modestly, that in his view, there is a more excellent way than either, and with life and health prolonged, he does not despair of showing that "it is possible to set forth Christianity as in entire accordance with the scientific mind, the moral sentiment, and the aesthetic spirit of the age." Thus much by way of preamble; we must now indicate what has here been performed.

Having gone through the work with great care, we feel, in justice, bound to state, that this is not every day preaching; it would, indeed, be a matter for lamentation if it were, since by the majority it is not required, and to them it would not be suited; but assuredly there is a large and increasing minority for whom it is the very thing, and on their account it is greatly to be desired, that there might be a considerable dash of it in the ministry of all the chief places of human aggregation in these realms. It is the highest philosophy, baptized in the blood of sprinkling.

There is a numerous class of individuals -or rather a large body comprising several classes-who will here find the very thing they want, an instructor, a corrector, and a master-a man the first sound of whose footsteps will bring them a conviction that he is more than their equal, their superior, that he is capable of spanning their knowledge with his hand, and of analysing their feelings at a glance, of appreciating their honest difficulties, and of detecting their vain subterfuges. They will learn first to respect, then to fear, then to admire, and then to reverence him. They will quickly discover that Christianity is not at all the thing they had been accustomed to consider it; they will find grandeur where they had looked for debasement, and discover in the true Gospel, the sure and blessed remedy for all human woes, combining at once the highest good of the creature, with the highest glory of the Creator. If it be thought that this is setting the matter in a very high point, we beg to say that it is but a sober and subdued statement of the real character of the volume.

Discourse I. considers Christianity in harmony with man, as an intellectual being; here every page bespeaks the hand of a master; and the whole is concluded with an appeal which we consider, must have sunk deep into all hearts, -especially into the hearts of those for whom the discourses were more particularly intended.

Discourse II. shows Christianity in harmony with man as an imaginational being. There it is most conclusively brought forth, that Christianity is the perfection at once of the beautiful and the sublime. On this subject, the preacher descants with a sweep and an elevation which the Author of "Paradise Lost" would have perused with complacency and approval. Only a man with a considerable spice of the Poetic in his soul could have produced this magnificent discourse, which is worthy to take place with the best productions of the most distinguished preachers of the last half century.

Discourses III. and IV. deal with Christianity in harmony with man as a moral being. The might of the work lies here; here the preacher has put forth his utmost strength, or at any rate, a vast amount of intellectual power. Having now done with cold intelligence, and dazzling fancy, he draws near to the soul of the auditor, and deals with it, as

VOL. VIII.

under the all-piercing eye of the Eternal God! It is here shown that he who knows the nature of man, has adapted to it the scheme of mercy which is known as Christianity. Christianity is proved to be in harmony with conscience, which it enlightens, pacifies, and elevates, bringing the entire of human nature into conformity with its ideal, -stamping it with the image of God. On the point of pacification, the Gospel is brought forth in its beauty, fulness, and richness, with singular success. Dr. Legge having thoroughly established these points, vaults from his conclusions to a higher sphere, and proceeds at once to deal with the terrible subject of retribution. Here the provisions of the Gospel are brought forth with great fulness, both as meeting the demands of law and the necessities of the soul that has sinned. This is a discourse of great power. The discussion of our moral nature, under the treatment of Christianity, is one of the finest passages in the book. But as a whole, the oration is somewhat of a failure, both as to completeness and force, from the want of application. Having attained an elevation from which it became his duty, as it was his privilege, to thunder and lighten, and bear down upon the souls of his auditory, he unhappily satisfies himself with a single solemn and pungent paragraph of a few lines.

Discourse V. shows Christianity in harmony with man as a social being. Here Dr. Legge is very successful in showing that Christianity is the perfecter and glorifier of human nature. Viewed through the medium of the cross, subdued by him, reconciled to him, filled with his truth, and ruled by his love, human nature assumes an inconceivably beauteous aspect, and once more becomes worthy of the God from whom it came, and of that Saviour by whom it has been redeemed. Immanuel, the Head and Husband of the Church, the Head and Guardian of humanity, the Head and Judge of the Universe, is set forth with might and allcommanding pre-eminence, an object of glory and joy. We presume this will be, with most pious people, the favourite discourse, for certainly it presents its Author in the most endearing light. Here the Christian philosopher, philanthropist, and patriot, are all conspicuous. As we read, we love and admire the man, who displays such sympathy both with his fellow-creatures and his God.

G