After singing and prayer ;

The Chairman, in a brief address, referred to their dissatisfaction with the Baptist Missionary Society on points of doctrine, church government, and management. This, he regretted to say, had resulted in long-continued inaction on the part of many Strict Baptist churches, and the importance of its instrumentality seemed to have been forgotten. Providence had now, however, opened a mission field in connection with their own body. eight years ago, the "coupling iron" of the Baptist Missionary Society had broken, and part of the train was left behind, and afterwards "shunted' on the good old ways of the gospel. With these convictions he had consented to preside believing that the Strict Baptist Mission was a thoroughly scriptural organization.

About

A letter was read, apologising for the absence of Mr. DICKERSON, through indisposition; and

MR. PEARSON, the Secretary, read the report, which contained the following facts:

The mission station at Tulleygaum, hitherto supported by this Mission, has been necessarily relinquished in consequence of the death of Mr. H. P. Cassiday, of Poona, unless other instrumentality can be found for carrying it on; but a new station of a very interesting character has been opened at Colombo, in Ceylon, where a Strict Baptist church has been recently formed. Mr. Andriesz, the missionary here, is of Portuguese extraction, and formerly a printer by trade. He understands the Portuguese, Singalese, and Tamil languages, and will labour among all three sections of the population. A preaching-room has been taken in a good situation, and he has other stations in and around Colombo. He has already a good Bible class for young men, and a day and Sunday school are in operation, for which additional help will be required. Tract distribution will form an important part of his operations.

At the station at St. Thomas's Mount, near Madras, Mr. Thomas continues his

labours with indefatigable zeal in his four departments of preaching, house visitation, tract distribution, and conversation with inquirers. He meets with much encouragement and little opposition. He has also undertaken a Sunday school, and it is arranged to open a day school under a native Christian teacher, believing that the religious instruction of the young is one of the best adjuncts to a missionary's work in a heathen land.

The report continues as follows: "Thus we have two important stations in India and Ceylon, giving every promise of sta bility and growth. What the spiritual results may be we know not; but even apart from saving benefit, we regard the gospel as a tree whose leaves are for the healing of the nations, by exercising a healthful moral and social influence even over those who never experience its spiritual power. For this purpose we attach great importance to the establishment of Christian schools for the young, in which the children of the natives may be brought to see the folly and wickedness of idolatry at a time when impressions are more easily made and permanently retained."

The report concludes by referring to the increased support given to the Mission by Strict Baptist churches, from a conviction of the scriptural character of its principles and operations,-stating that with fields of usefulness opening around the present stations, they hope to find ample use for the funds entrusted to their care. Various Sunday schools had contributed the sum of £56 during the year, for which they are specially thanked.

Mr. Josiah Briscoe had been unanimously invited by the Committee to take the co-secretaryship, which he had consented to do. This appointment was confirmed by the present meeting.

The balance sheet was presented by Mr. Cooper, the Treasurer. The receipts (in-. cluding a balance of £76 at last audit, amounted to £223. The total expenditure during the year had been about £90; so that the balance in hand was increased to £133. This had encouraged the Committee, and other fields of usefulness would shortly be occupied.

Mr. Milner, in moving the adoption of

the report and the election of the committee and officers, said that he knew the report was true, and that no gloss had been put upon the facts stated. It was a pleasure to good men to send the gospel to the heathen; and if it exerted merely a moral influence, it was a desirable blessing. He had not been very active in the cause of missions, for reasons hinted at by the chairman. The Strict Baptist Mission had no paid officials, and the missionaries employed he believed to be sound in the faith. He respected the doctrinal sentiments of others, but he liked adherence to principle. It was not for churches or ministers to legislate in the kingdom of Christ, and to supersede his truth was no sign of love to him. With these views they asked with confidence for support.

Mr. Palmer seconded the resolution, and spoke on "The expectations which scripture warrants as to the future spread of the gospel in the earth." He said that Scripture warranted us to conclude that the gospel would be preached in all the world, yet prophecy would justify the final consummation at any day. Still, the gospel, he thought, would be further disseminated. Scripture, like history, had a tendency to reproduce itself. What had occurred, would probably occur again on a larger scale. The gospel was the same in all ages. We preached the same truths as the apostles did,-had the same field and the same promise; and we might therefore hope for the same success. It was a general law of religion that all who profess it should propagate it. All God's people would be saved, independently of our exertions; yet means must not be separated from ends, and God would make them useful according to his design. Inaction was therefore criminal. He looked forward to an extension of the gospel; though the power of saving sinners does not lie in the gospel, but in the Spirit

of God,-not in the written word, but in the personal Word.

The resolution was carried unanimously. Mr. Woodard was the next speaker. His subject was-"The means by which the kingdom of Christ is to be extended in the earth." To everything there was a time; and God had a time for the accomplishment of his purpose in the gathering of his people. His purpose was absolute, and would be accomplished whether men live or die, whether ministers be few or many. The time also was divinely fixed for the raising up and sending his servants. It was absolutely necessary that the gospel should be preached; but in connection therewith a Divine Person was at work, with the Divine purpose clearly in view. The object of faith was not a creed, but Christ. Many reversed God's order, and exhorted sinners to repent and believe, in order to be regenerated; whereas faith sprung out of regeneration, and prayer arose from faith.

Owing to the lateness of the hour, Mr. Crumpton could not enter upon the subject assigned to him. He said that he was glad to be present, and the more he thought of the Strict Baptist Mission, the more he approved of it. Their thanks were due to the Chairman for his concise statement. If the glorious work of missions was to go on, the churches must unite. Error should be boldly opposed; but while they held the sword with one hand, they should use the trowel with the other. In his opinion, error had reached its meridian, and was declining. Truth must prevail, and Christ must reign. The speaker concluded by moving a vote of thanks to the Chairman, which was cordially seconded by Mr. Pearson, and carried unanimously.

The benediction was then pronounced, and the meeting separated.

MISSION.

God has wrought on the Continent of late. Hear him!

"Once more landed on the shores of this island, favoured by the God of providence and grace above all the isles on the globe, the editor* presents his fraternal salutation and grateful thanks to all the brethren in the Lord who have so long and so nobly sustained the glorious enter

Of the Quarterly Reporter of the Mission, published by Elliot Stock-price 2d,

prise in Germany and throughout the Continent, in which he has been engaged for nearly fifty years, and in which he is now assisted by one hundred devoted fellow labourers.

"The great political changes since 1848, and more especially the effects of the last war, have removed both the civil and ecclesiastical hindrances against which we have had to contend in our efforts to proclaim a free and full salvation through simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in his blood and righteousness.

"The change which has thus taken place surpasses all description, and shews anew that there is nothing impossible with the Christian's God and Saviour, and that when his hour is come to turn the captivity of his people all impossibilities vanish like smoke before the wind. He who sways the sceptre over universal empire has spoken to our oppressors 'in his wrath, and vexed him in his sore displeasure.' Our Emmanuel has appeared for his little ones, and has broken with a rod of iron those who said, 'Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.' (Ps. ii. 3). Ps. cxlix. has been verified in our experience, 'To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord.' We have, to the utmost of our means and ability, entered on the promising fields opened before us, in which our English, Scottish, and American brethren have rendered us the most efficient pecuniary aid, without which, indeed, so large an amount of missionary labour could not possibly have been carried out

"Much however remains to be done, and ought to be done promptly, as we have no guarantee that the wide open doors will remain so. The Mission Churches of our Union will find the men who can be sent forth into the inviting harvest fields, but we must still look to British Christians for a large amount of the funds necessary to supply them with what even the apostles of our Lord required, food and raiment.' And here let me entreat all Christians and Christian Churches, who have it in their power, to lay annually £60 on God's altar for the spread of the Gospel, to support a missionary of their own. They can have their choice as to the field of his labour in Germany, Holland, Denmark, Switzerland, Alsace, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Roumania, Austria, or Hungary. The quarterly

6

journals of the respective missionaries so engaged will be regularly transmitted to their supporters.

"Brethren, millions on the Continent are sunk in infidelity and popery, while others in the Lutheran Church are deceived by the soul-destroying errors of priestly absolution and baptismal regeneration. Give us the means, then, to send forth faithful and devoted men, who shall show from the Scriptures that the only refuge from the wrath to come is Christ, and that the only medium of a full participation in his finished work is simple faith in him, wrought by the word of God and the teaching of the Holy Spirit.

"For the valuable support given to the Mission, for upwards of a quarter of a century, the Editor renews his warmest and most grateful thanks to all who have helped in the good work; and not less so for the aid sent during the present year to our four thousand suffering brethren in East Prussia, amounting to about £200, and by which many families have been kept from starvation; and for the contributions towards the erection of the large Mission Chapel at Hamburg, in which, in course of time, thousands will hear the name of Jesus.

"In conclusion, the Editor regrets that he has again to present himself in his well-known character as 'the Lord's Beggar;' he requires still fully £1,000, towards the liquidation of the debt on the large Mission Chapel at Hamburg, which he is confident the Christians in this country will cheerfully give. We have to pay our last instalment, £1060, in August, and as our poor members have already given and advanced on loan all they can command, I would entreat our long tried friends in this country to render us their generous aid to meet this liability. Let me only add the earnest request, brethren, what you do, do quickly, that I may return to the important post of labour assigned to me in connection with the whole Mission.

"With reference to the support of the Mission, first, by the contributions of our churches; secondly, by funds sent from America; and thirdly, by those sent from Great Britain; the following particulars may prove interesting :

"I. The Contributions of our own Churches.

"Our mission field is divided into four Associations. 1st. The North Western, comprising the Hanseatic Towns (Hamburg, Lubeck, and Bremen), the Duchies of Schleswig Holstein, the Grand Duchy

of Oldenburg, East Friesland, and part of Hanover. 2nd. The Southern, comprising South Germany, Switzerland, and Alsace. 3rd. The Prussian; and 4th, the Danish.

"These four associations form 'The Baptist Union' of the Continent, which holds its conferences triennially, and the committee of which sits permanently at Hamburg, under the presidency of the Editor, holding constant correspondence and personal communication with all parts of our mission field. To one or other of these associations all our churches belong. Those churches which support their own pastor are generally unable at present to do more; the others send their contributions to the committee of their association to be expended for the support of missionaries within the limits of such association.

66 II. The Funds sent from America.

"These are confided to the three senior missionaries (Messrs. Oncken, Lehmann, and Köbner), who, with Messrs. Braun and Schauffler, form a committee responsible to the American brethren for the expenditure of such funds in accordance with their wishes.

"III. The Funds sent from Great Britain. "As a matter of course, the Editor holds himself and is held, as mainly responsible for the right appropriation of these funds, which are for the most part confided to him personally. As President, he consults with the committee of the Union as to the needs of each district, and then, without preference for place or country, wherever additional missionaries are most needed, there they are appointed, and their support, wholly or in part, guaranteed from the funds received from England and Scotland. The result of this arrangement at present is, that the

Now, commending myself and my fellow labourers again to your prayers and your assistance,

66

"I remain, yours in Jesus, "J. G. ONCKEN. Hampstead, London, June, 1868."

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN AUSTRIA.

"The greatest triumph of religious liberty has been reserved for this most powerful stronghold of popery. At his bidding who sways the sceptre of the universe, Austria has opened her gates that the King of Glory may enter in to proclaim to the millions of that vast empire the year of jubilee!

"In the revolution of 1848 we obtained temporary access to Austria, and in a short time we distributed many hundred thousand evangelical tracts, and a very large number of copies of the Scriptures and especially of the gospels; but in the political reaction which followed, we were expelled from Vienna in a summary manner, and it is only now, after twenty years, that war has again opened the gates of benighted Austria to the emissaries of the gospel. Would that we could send out a hundred faithful missionaries to occupy the glorious field!

"J. G. ONCKEN."

LYRICS FOR THE HEART. BY W. POOLE BALFERN.

A CREED WITHOUT-WITHOUT A

CREED.

MEN do not mind a creed without,
In prayer book or in steeple;
But Oh, a creed that conquers doubt,
Is strange to most good people.
A Christ intombed in holy books,

Who ne'er reproves their sinning,

Some worship oft with pious look,
And think his love they're winning.
But living truth subdues the heart,
A living Christ revealing,
To conquer sin will strength impart,
And bring the Spirit's sealing:

Will show our hearts from error freed,
And formalistic dreaming;
Give conscience too as well as creed,
Reveal the Master's meaning.

AROUND a table,-not a tomb,
He willed our gathering place to be;
When going to prepare our home,

Our Saviour said, "Remember me."

We kneel around no sculptured stone,
Marking the place where Jesus lay;
Empty the tomb, the angels gone,
The stone for ever rolled away.

Nay! sculptured stones are for the dead!
Thy three dark days of death are o'er;
Thou art the life, our living head,
Our living light for ever more!

Of no fond relics, sadly dear,

Oh Master! are thine own possest: The crown of thorns, the cross, the spear, The purple robe, the seamless vest. Nay! relics are for those who mourn The memory of an absent friend; Not absent thou, nor we forlorn! "With you each day until the end!" Thus round thy table, not thy tomb, We keep thy sacred feast with thee; • Until within the Father's home Our endless gathering-place shall be. From "The Three Wakings."

Dissent Justified: Being a reply to a Pamphlet entitled "Nonconformity Refuted," by a Clergyman of the Archdeaconry of Salop. By JOSEPHUS JUDSON, Wellington, Salop, London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row.

THE Hon. and Rev. B. W. Noel, has probably written the best book on the "Union of Church and State." The pious and lamented Hardcastle, of Waterford, has written a calm and excellent pamphlet,

on

"Dissent Justified; our author's title is "Dissent Defended." We observe far greater bitterness in the writings of churchmen than in those of dissenters. How is this? Do they feel the pinch of the logic of dissenters, or is it their superior education that leads them, like Gillmor in reply to Noel, to use such elegant language and exhibit such a sweet temper, as to suggest the making of Mr. Noel the "Chaplain of a floating Stink-commalee," or exclaim "I've gone through his gaudy tapestry, cut cut all the pattern, and reduced the whole mass to rags, tags, tatters, and devils' dust; or apply the language of Sidney Smith on Ireland to Dissenters in their endeavours to separate the Church from the State; "It is such a piece of anti-British villany that none but the bitterest enemy of our blood and people could entertain such a project. It is to be met only with round and grape, to be answered by Shrapnel and Congreve; be discussed in hollow squares, and refuted by battalions

Criticisms.

four deep; to be put down by the ultimaratio of that armed Aristotle, the Duke of Wellington., So the Salop clergyman thinks Dissent comes from the Devil; while Mr. Judson proves, very conclusively, that it is of God. We cordially commend this contribution to the cause of liberty and true religion.

John Wesley; or the Theology of Conscience. By the Author of The Pholosophy of Evangelicism. London: Elliot Stock. WESLEY was indeed a great man, and as we sometimes tell our Wesleyan friends, we believe he was one of God's elect, at which they generally smile a very gracious approbation. But like certain of the milch kine, that sometimes give a good pail of milk and then kick it over, so after giving some very precious gospel truth, he seems perversely to upset it all by some unscriptural exposition or sentiment. The present work appears to be a defence of a former one. "The Philosophy of Evangelicism.' We certainly do not agree with the author, in his theory, that sacrifice would have been needful if man had not fallen, nor can the text he quotes as a foundation bear the weight of the superstructure, "The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."

"If," says the author, "the words of scripture mean anything, they must certainly imply that the necessity for sacrifice existed from the foundation of the world, or, at all events, from the commencement