MR. BRIGHT ON THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.

25

not in separate and independent halls but in connection with churches, so that the fruit of his labours may be gathered in and preserved. When he was here last he put in the sickle and cut down much corn, but alas ! alas! how much of it perished because it was not properly housed!

The diamond-digger may find many precious stones, but unless the lapidary be employed to cut and polish them they will be of comparatively little value. The landscape-gardener may break up whole acres of ground-in a few weeks he may plant trees, lay out beds, create islands, build rustic bridges, turn the dry land into pools of water, and then pass on to another place and perform equally wonderful feats-but what will become of the work he leaves behind him unless the general gardener steps in to care for it? Why, in a single season that newly-made and beautiful park will become a wilderness, and in a few years at most, it will become a proverb, and a byword, a veritable "Tom Tiddler's ground."

Let such as are

Even so it is with the work of the ministry. specially adapted for evangelistic effort be set apart for that service, and we venture to say that such work will be as successful in modern times as it ever has been in the history of the church, not excepting the times called Apostolic. Witness the success which has been achieved through the labours of Finney, Moody, Varley, and some of the men employed in the evangelistic work of the Baptist Union.

If this particular work is not done more extensively it is not because the Christian ministry is useless, but because the harvest is so great and the labourers are so few. We haven't a man to spare from pastoral work. And, of course, in pastoral work, which means instructing the ignorant, comforting the sad, inspiring the faint, exhorting the timid and the feeble, rebuking the wayward, steering the ship of the church, &c., the minister has but limited opportunities of working on the unconverted. The audience to which he ministers is largely made up of those who belong to the church, whilst the adult unbelievers form a very small proportion of his congregation. Thus is he doubly fettered. His chief work is that of a shepherd. But he has to combine with it the work of a fisherman, and when he lets down the net in his congregation, no matter on which side he casts it, so long as the fish are few the draught must necessarily be small.

We claim no more for the Christian ministry than we claim for Mr. Bright himself, and for the editors of our dailies. We should not like to test Mr. B.'s work solely by the number of converts he has made to his principles, much less should we like to test in that way the efforts of the rank and file of our M.P.'s. We believe that M.P.'s and editors of our newspapers are for the most part doing something good and useful even if they are not making converts to any particular shade of politics. And what we gladly accord to these workers in other departments, we respectfully claim for the Christian ministry, viz., that if owing to the circumstances we have mentioned the adult converts are not so numerous as others, yet nevertheless the weekly teachings, the regular edification, the frequent admonition, and the oft-repeated warnings, are quite as useful, quite as much needed, quite as well done, and quite as fruitful in good results as is the work in any department of human effort with which the ministry may with propriety be compared. J. FLETCHER.

First Report.

BY GEORGE WILSON M'CREE.

It is well for Nonconformists to know what the Clergy say. And they say many things we ought to know. Were I summoned before a public meeting to justify what I say about the Church of England, I should simply read from the Guardian, an influential journal published in the interests of the Established Church. Let us, then, take this

course now.

THE CHURCH SERVICES.

We declare that the present arrangements for "Divine Service," as given in the Book of Common Prayer, might be vastly amended. Is this charge the result of sectarian prejudice? It is what the candid clergy say. Thus, A Northern Incumbent writes:

"I have seen empty churches filled by (1) short services, (2) short sermons, (3) congregational singing. A stranger is brought to church by the influence of his friends or of the clergyman, or by curiosity, or the desire to be a better man. He likes the service till he gets to the end of the Third Collect. Then comes another service-the Litany, and a feeling of weariness comes over him; he feels it is all coming over again. His disgust increases when a third service, the ante-Communion, follows, and he is tired before the sermon begins. I believe that the comparative paucity of our communicants is owing, in a great measure, to the length of these introductory services."

NO LIBERTY IN THE CHURCH.

We enjoy freedom of worship. We can lengthen, shorten, vary, adapt, improve, or abolish any service as may seem expedient. The clergy are in dire bondage to a form as rigid as an iron bar. The clergy admit this. Some of them deplore it. Thus, the Rev. W. M. Puttock, of Hoxton, says :

"Do we not require far more freedom? Are our services, beautiful as we know them to be, fitted for missionary work? Most of our people can understand very little but the singing and the sermon when they do come to church. The language used in the reading-desk and the pulpit is not the language of common, every-day life. To begin with, we need a very simple service, a few hymns, extempore prayer, and a sermon delivered with considerable vigour; and then we want, in some way or other, to get face to face with the people afterwards."

Just so, but Mr. Puttock dare not alter a line of his Prayer Book, and if he did he would soon find himself face to face with his bishop, and that might be somewhat unpleasant. It often is.

CLERICAL MILLINERY.

There are some Nonconformists who laugh at Convocation. They have the superfluity of naughtiness. They should remember that we live in a strange world. Why should they say the Convocation is a solemn farce? But perhaps they may be right after all, for I have been reading the proceedings of Convocation, and, I find a debate on Vestments and

WHAT THE STATE CLERGY SAY.

27

things of that sort. And this is what the Bishops say. Hear, for example, the Bishop of Oxford on

VESTMENTS.

"I rise to say a few words with very great pain, chiefly because I think that the whole discussion is extremely humiliating, not to us, but humiliating to the Church of England, of which we are Bishops-that it should be the main subject of interest and controversy what dress the clergy should wear. That it should divide us more than any other question and call forth a much stronger feeling is to me extremely humiliating; and often as I have been compelled to take part in controversies of this kind, both in this house and out of it, I can only say that I have never done so without a sense of shame."

Then ponder what the Bishop of Winchester says on Vestures."

"White

"I think nothing is more desirable than to see in every church in the country such decent ornaments as are suited to our solemn and simple worship, and would be approved by both Houses of Convocation and Parliament, and be acceptable to the country. I think that would be a consummation devoutly to be wished for. I quite agree with the Bishop of Oxford that nothing is so simple as the white vestures of the clergy, and at the same time nothing so beautiful. At the same time, whatever is proposed that will produce peace and purity in the Church I am willing to accept. If there is one thing I could not accept it is a surplice which does not reach down to one's waist, which looks like a pinafore on boys, and makes grown men look like children; but, barring that, I could wear almost any vestment. Still there is no vestment that I should like so well as the surplice, the stole, and the hood."

Well, if these Vestments will make the good Bishop holier we hope he may get them all. But think of the state of England, the Zulu War, the spread of indifferentism, the depression of trade, and the ravages of drunkenness, and then picture a conclave of Bishops considering for hours whether a surplice shall come to the waist or below the waist and how far it may come! But Bishop MacDougall spoke plainly on the Vestment craze.

“He had never fallen into that vestment craze which many of his brethren had; and he should consider it a hardship to have to put on alb, and chasuble, and other things, which he had seen them wear. The vestments seemed to accumulate upon some men in their administrations in a way which was perfectly ludicrous. He felt that when a man talked of vestments as a matter of conscience, he felt that man was a humbug.”

That was a little hard was it not?

Suppose a Baptist minister had

said it, how he would have been charged with rudeness and malice. (To be continued.)

Our Almanack for 1880.

PRICE ONE PENNY.

The Bayswater Chronicle of Nov. 29, says of the issue for 1880:-"The Rev. John Clifford, of Westbourne Park Chapel, has sent out quite a characteristic issue of this little publication. Every page, besides containing useful information, is besprent with the notes of culture and fervour which tell of literary power well burnished by perpetual use, and intense with the feeling which is only bred by face to face contact with men and affairs."

The Almanack has Illustrations of W. E. GLADSTONE, of a BRIGHT Box, and of OLD FATHER TIME, etc., from the firm of Cassell, Petter, & Galpin.

The Stories for the Young render it attractive to the children.

ALL GENERAL BAPTISTS SHOULD BUY IT.

The Boy Missionary.

A New Year's Story for the Young.

BY UNCLE JOHN.

"UNCLE JOHN," said Arthur Johnson, last New Year's Day, as he lifted up a pair of bright earnest eyes, after a moment's quiet thought, "when I'm a man I mean to be a missionary to the people in Orissa. I've thought about it, and I've made up my mind."

"Have you, Arthur," answered Uncle John, "I'm glad to hear that. It is a capital thing to have an aim in life. All your work will go on better if you think it's getting you ready for your work as a man. But why wait till you get to Orissa; why not be a missionary in London, and begin this New Year's Day?"

"I had'nt thought of that. Besides, I don't see what I can do."

"Oh, keep your eyes open, and your heart warm with the love of your work, and you'll find something to do."

:

Uncle John was called away; and Arthur was left alone. At once he pnt on his thinking cap. He had got a new idea. He had been reading about Livingstone and his travels, and had felt what a grand thing it was to be a missionary and being a General Baptist boy, had made up his mind that he would go and work in Orissa when he was a man. But the notion of beginning that very day had startled him. "How can I," he said to himself, "begin to-day? I don't know what to do. If I were in Orissa, I could "- -and just as Arthur was going to build such a fine castle of the good things he could do if he were only in Orissa, the door of the room flew open, and his brother George followed, storming away.

"What are you doing here, Art? Come along! will you! Here, it's nearly four o'clock, and we've got to be at the party in ten minutes. Look sharp, and get ready." Away went Arthur to prepare for the new year's party at the Russel's; and all his thoughts about being a missionary had vanished as quickly as he left the room where he had chatted with his uncle. Livingstone was no more. The Oriyas had disappeared, and visions of fun and feasting and abounding merriment rapidly succeeded one another in Arthur's brain.

And not without reason: for the gathering of the "young folks" at the Russel's was, as the boys called it, "a regular jolly affair." Mr. Russel was as young and as merry as any of them, and worked harder to find entertainment for his young friends than he did at anything else all the year round. Nor was Mrs. Russel behind in interest. Games of all sorts, noisy and quiet, much exciting and less exciting, rapidly succeeded one another, and the tables were loaded with plenty. Yes! and the boys were right in their idea, if not in their slang, that it was "a regular jolly affair.'

"Come here, Arthur, will you," said Mrs. Russel, "I want you to take this plate of fruit to Fred Harper. He is upstairs in my bed-room. He fell down on a slide as he was coming, and hurt himself. Will you take that to him, with my love ?"

"Certainly," said Arthur, and he went, though not without a pang of regret, and saw not only poor Fred Harper stretched on a couch by a fire all alone, and looking the picture of vexation and moodiness, but also the ghost of his Uncle John, and seemed to hear him saying "Why not begin to be a missionary to-day? Here's your work."

"I will-I must," said he, conquering the sharp feeling of disappointment that rose within him at the idea of leaving the party; and seating himself at once by the side of Fred, he talked the cheeriest things he knew, recounted all the school tales he could remember, then found a book and read to him, got them to prepare for their charades in the bed-room and to tell Fred the words they were acting, and in short, by his tact and kindness, made Fred forget that he was out of the merriment downstairs, and almost forget the pain of his sprained ancle.

The time came to break up, and when Fred said "good-night" to Arthur, it was with a heart full of gratitude. "Good-night, good-night, Arthur, I am very thankful. You are a right-down good fellow. I shall never forget you."

Arthur had been a missionary: and when he gets to Orissa, as I hope he will, he will find that he does his work better for that bit of real missionary labour on New Year's Day, 1879.

Scraps from the Editor's Waste-Basket.

I. LIBERALISM IN 1880 will enter upon a new phase. The magnificent and unparalleled progress of Mr. Gladstone in Scotland will be the regeneration of the Liberal party. It ceases to be a criticism, and becomes a life. It is no longer a mere censor; it is, as it always must be, a Progressive Reformer. It passes out of the phase in which it merely says to its opponents, "You are wrong," at home and abroad, into that in which it stands up with erect form and courageous spirit, and pointing along a well-defined course, says, with a voice that imparts confidence by its ringing tones, "This is the way; walk ye in it." Conservatives can see what Liberalism would do with Russia, and with the "Sick Man." The principles of our foreign policy are luminously stated in Mr. Gladstone's speeches. Our rules in finance are transparent. Our attitude to intemperance and religious inequality is becoming more definite. The Liberalism of 1880, thanks to Mr. Gladstone, will be throbbingly alive, and therefore it must be an onward and upward movement; a movement based on the eternal principles of justice and community of interest, and will be carried forward with living energy, large ability, and signal success.

II.

WHAT POLITICIANS HAVE TO DO. -Is it too much to suppose that the last "Jingo" is converted to better ways, and that Great Britain and Ireland are satisfied with the "experiment" conducted through six years of Tory rule? We venture to think it is not. Of course, men whose interest is "war" will strain every nerve to keep the Tories in power. Licensed Victuallers who fear the destruction and limitation of their trade may come through a Liberal Government will vote for the maintenance of Tory dominion. The "Church," too, is Tory, and will be, in the main, so long as it is an established and vested interest. All who favour narrow class "interests" will be against the return of the Liberals to the head of affairs. But surely the mass of the people will say of Toryism, "It is enough," and will sink everything to get rid of it. Our plan in town and country at the election must be-First of all, we will make sure of having a "Liberal" returned. Nothing must be suffered to prevent that. And then next, we will

do our utmost that the "Liberal" shall be right on the question of "Local Option,' "Disestablishment," etc., etc. But first of all, we must strain every point to return "Liberal" M.P's.

III. How LONG SHALL THESE THINGS BE? GENERAL BAPTIST COURTESY.Really I am weary of writing on this theme. Line upon line, and pleading upon pleading, seem in vain. A letter is to hand from a friend in the North, who says: "I was at a large church in the Midlands with a friend; the service had just begun; we waited at the doors to be shown a seat till we were fairly ashamed of ourselves, and felt we must either force ourselves into a pew, or walk away. We were strangers, and quite unknown. Parties were passing and re-passing, and took no notice. No one lent us a book when we were seated. This is not the first time I have noticed it. Where has the Christian courtesy of the 'Generals' gone to ?" Ah; where indeed! Such behaviour in the house of OUR FATHER and the HOME of His children is insufferable. It makes one's skin creep to think of it. A hundred "woes" on the indifference, and coldness, and selfishness of such conduct, leap to the lips. How long shall the house of God be the nursery of social pride and selfish isolation-the costly temple of the frozen goddess of respectability! Brethren, these things must not be. Of all Christians we are the last who should be open to censure for such wicked neglect. With our glorious belief in the divine Fatherhood, in the pleading, yearning love of Christ toward all men, and in the universal work of the Spirit, we ought to be patterns of Christian courtesy and kindliness; and our house of prayer and praise ought to be the happiest home the sons of men can find. The "love that hopeth all things" hopes even for this.

IV. OUR MAGAZINE.-Our readers will not forget that this is a good time for increasing the circulation and usefulness of Our Magazine. We hear that in one of our churches the officers have decided to send a copy of the January issue to all those members who are not at present subscribers. This is a good plan; and the church will not fail of its reward in deepened interest in church work. Let deacons generally begin the New Year in that style.