NEW CHAPELS. DARLINGTON. A new baptist chapel was opened on Thursday, August 12th, in Archer Street, Darlington. The building is neat and commodious, and will accommodate 400 persons. Behind the chapel is ground sufficient for a large schoolroom, which is in contemplation. The total cost of the chapel, including the whole ground, is about £700. The Rev. S. J. Davis of London preached in the morning, and the Rev. R. Eckett of London in the evening. On Friday evening the recognition of the pastor and deacons took place, the services being conducted by the Rev. J. Fyffe of Shotley Bridge, Rev. G. Sample of Newcastle, and the Rev. W. Leng of Stockton. On the following Lord's day, Dr. Acworth of Horton College preached morning and evening, and on Tuesday evening, 17th, the Rev. J. G. Rogers of Newcastle preached. The congregations were encouraging, and the collections after the services were very liberal. SHREWTON, WILTS. A new place of worship has been recently opened in this village, under peculiarly interesting circumstances. There had been in it for twenty-nine years two baptist churches; the oldest having been originally a branch of the church at Salisbury, and the more recent one having acquired an existence from the secession of some clergymen from the establishment. Latterly, however, favourable circumstances having arisen for the union of the two, this has been very cordially effected under the combined pastorate of Mr. Mather and Mr. Charles Light, not only to the gratification and comfort of the friends immediately concerned, but of all acquainted with the two interests. But in consequence of the union of the two congregations, the vacated chapel having been converted into a British schoolroom, the other was found too small for the hearers who attended. With the approbation of several neighbouring ministers, the old chapel has been pulled down, and a larger one erected on its site. This has involved an expenditure of about £700, towards which the friends at Shrewton have contributed about £150, including the collections at the opening, when sermons were preached by Messrs. New of Salisbury, and Winter of Bristol. God has greatly prospered the cause there, and is continuing to do so through the labours of the excellent and devoted pastor, Mr. Charles Light, on whom the duties of the pastorate principally depend, on account of the advanced age and infirmities of Mr. Mather. ORDINATIONS. BROADSTAIRS. shire, was ordained pastor of the particular HORSLEY STREET, WALWORTH. The recognition of the Rev. Jonathan George (late of Harlington) as the pastor of the church of Horsley Street, took place on the 28th of July. The Rev. Mr. Wood of West Street, Walworth, opened by reading the scriptures and prayer; the Rev. S. Green of Lion Street showed the nature of a Christian church; the Rev. J. Angus, A.M. asked the usual questions of the church and pastor, and offered the recognition prayer. The Rev. E. Steane, D.D. of Camberwell gave a charge to the pastor; and the Rev. J. Adey of Horsleydown, addressed the church. BAMPTON, DEVONSHIRE. The Rev. William Walton of Liverpool, (formerly of Trowbridge) has received and accepted a cordial invitation to the pastorate of the baptist church, Bampton, and commenced his stated labours there on Lord's day, August 22nd. RECENT DEATHS. MRS. WATTS. Died at Woolwich, June 28th, in the sixty-ninth year of her age, after painful and protracted illness, Mrs. Watts, wife of the Rev. O. Watts. In the early part of life she was brought to an acquaintance with the truth as it is in Jesus, by attending the preaching of the Wesleyan methodists, and commenced a profession of religion in that body. In subsequent life she continued to exemplify the influence of the gospel, displaying in her conduct as a Christian, uniform decision and consistency. For many years it pleased her Heavenly Father to afflict her with bodily suffering and weakness, but she was enabled under it to manifest a spirit of cheerful resignation and submis Mr. Brook, formerly of Meltham, York- sion. In the relations of life as a wife and mother, her conduct was very exemplary, evincing a constant, ardent, and selfdenying desire for the welfare and happiness of those so nearly related to her. It was matter of much regret to her that her afflictions for many years almost totally prevented her attendance on the public means of grace, of the value and importance of which she was always deeply sensible. Having for some time entertained a conviction of the scriptural correctness and obligation of believers' baptism, at a somewhat advanced period of life she submitted to that ordinance, and joined the baptist church at Crayford, Kent. There she had access to religious privileges which she highly valued, and cherished a deep interest in the welfare and prosperity of the community to which she was united. With advancing years her infirmities increased, but she was also evidently growing in meetness for a better world. Under weakness and pain continually becoming greater she did not murmur or complain; but "in patience possessed her soul." Her sufferings in the last stages of her illness were particularly severe, and being attended with great insensibility, rendered her almost incapable of conversing with those around her. She expressed, however, her anticipation of entering on that rest which remaineth for the people of God, and longed to arrive at her heavenly home; and her final departure was easy and gentle. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." Her bereaved partner and family, while deeply mourning their loss, are consoled by the assurance that their loss is her gain, and that she has ascended to the enjoyment of that bliss which "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, but which God hath prepared for them that love him." MR. T. SYCKLEMOORE, CALNE. His The Baptist chapel, Castle Street, was difficult of approach, in consequence of some cottages, the property of the Marquess of Lansdown, standing between it and the street. The Rev. T. Middleditch, the present minister, obtained an interview with his lordship and represented the case. lordship kindly and promptly ordered the cottages to be removed, and agreed to give a lease of the ground to the trustees for ninety-nine years, at a nominal rent. The making a new entrance and repairing the chapel occasioned its being closed for some weeks. It was re-opened on Tuesday, July The Rev. James Smith of New 27th. Park Street, London, and the Rev. C. J. Middleditch of Frome preached on the In the devotional services, the occasion. Rev. W. Barnes of Trowbridge, Thomas of Sillifant of Corsham, and other ministers Wootton Basset, Stubbings of Sherston, assisted. The congregations were good, and the collection encouraging. this place is greatly revived, and in the sabbath school one hundred and fifty children are receiving instruction. The cause in DR. MERLE D'aubigné. In a note appended to the preface of his last work, The Protector, this distinguished writer says, "The author having observed that in England he is frequently called Dr. d'Aubigné, takes the liberty of reminding his readers that his name is Merle d'Aubigné; the latter appellation being assumed by his grandfather to prevent a name from becoming extinct which had deserved well of protestantism. As it proceeds from a matrimonial alliance, it is not sufficient of itself to designate the author." ALLIANCE. Died, August 21st, Mr. Thomas Sycklemoore, eighteen years deacon of the baptist OFFICIAL ARRANGEMENTS OF THE EVANGELICAL church, King Street, Maidstone; a steady, upright, uniform, inoffensive man, who without the advantages of wealth, education, or distinguished talent, adorned his profession, and rendered essential service to the church with which he was connected. MISCELLANEA. DUNSTABLE. At a late meeting of the British Organization at Edinburgh, the following conclusions were adopted : "That an office secretary be appointed, at a salary of £400 per annum." "That whenever the council shall consider it expedient, in consequence of the state of the finances, and with a view to other considerations, they shall be at liberty to employ a travelling secretary at £400 a year; and, in the meanwhile, the council shall be at liberty to make any temporary arrangements they may think proper for the visitation of the sub-divisions, at an expenditure not exceeding that sum." "That the recommendation of the interim com The first stone of a new baptist chapel for the use of the congregation under the pastoral care of the Rev. Daniel Gould was laid on the 11th of August, by Joseph Tritton, Esq. of Battersea. Many neighbour-mittee be adopted, and that the Rev. W. Bevan be ing ministers were present, whose addresses appointed by this conference itself, specially, the and prayers greatly conduced to the interest office secretary of the British Organization.” of the large assembly convened on the occasion. "That this conference would avail themselves of the opportunity of testifying their high estimate of the invaluable services of the Rev. Dr. Steane, hitherto the interim secretary; and, though his long connexion with his own congregation, and his position as editor of a periodical which has undertaken the especial advocacy of the Alliance, prevent their entertaining the hope of prevailing on him to continue in his present position, they affection ately request him to accept the office of an honorary secretary to the British organization." "That such portion of the report on the secretariat as has not been already decided upon by this conference, be referred to the executive council, to take such action thereon as it may deem expedient." "That the executive council be empowered to appoint such honorary secretaries as they may deem desirable." Mr. Bevan preached his farewell sermon te the church and congregation of which he has had the pastoral care for the last ten years, at Newington, Liverpool, on the 25th of July, and has since removed to the metropolis. COLLECTANEA. PRUSSIAN DISCUSSION OF PÆDOBAPTISM. Speaking of Tholuck and his colleague Müller, La Reformation au Dix-Neuvième Siècle says, Thanks to these two men, a portion of the clergy of the province of Saxony, and a great number of students in theology at Halle, are well disposed towards Christian truth, and offer to the eye a restingplace, a sort of spiritual oasis, amidst the desperate barrenness of rationalism. These evangelical pastors generally meet twice a year, in fraternal conference, at Gnadau, a Moravian colony, situate on a line of railroad, a short distance from Magdeburg. Their last meeting was held on the 13th and 14th of April. They had decided to take as the subject of discussion the principal public acts of the pastorate; that is to say, the ordinance of baptism, the confirmation of catechumens, the administration of the Lord's supper, the celebration of marriage, &c. One of the members, pastor Brennecke, who appears to be rather of the old school of theology, (a une orthodoxie un peu arriérée) had been charged to present a series of theses on the first point. We quote some of them: "Infant baptism is clearly taught in St. Mark's Gospel (x. 16), where we are told that Jesus put his hands on little children, and blessed them. Private baptism, in case of necessity, has fallen into disuse only through indifference to divine grace and Christianity. Persons are wrong in neglecting it; however, a child dying without baptism, if it be not by any fault of the parents, is not lost. Private baptism would not be neglected as at present, if, in the instruction of catechumens, in sermons and in prayers, pastors were strongly to insist on the grace which is conferred by holy baptism on dying infants," &c. The remainder of the theses related to liturgical questions, and contained rules respecting the VOL. X.-FOURTH SERIES. As is sufficiently indicated by the names of their leaders, Tholuck and Müller, the membelong to that party of theologians who, bers of the Conference did not exclusively erecting the fact of the reformation into a principle and system, remain tied to the letter," in some sort inspired," of the symbols of that epoch, and do not move a hair's breadth from them, ne latum quidem unguem a phrasibus discedere. The theses of pastor Brennecke were warmly attacked. The chairman of the meeting suggested that the speakers should confine themselves to the practical part of the question, leaving the doctrinal points to be discussed when the Confession of Augsburg came up for examination, which was also to form part of the business of the Conference. He was not listened to, and they entered immediately on a thesis which declared pædobaptism to be 66 clearly taught in the New Testament. Powerfully opposed, it found few, if any supporters, and it was generally agreed that infant baptism is contained in the bible in an inferential manner only. Infant baptism, said some members, developing this idea, must be retained, because the usage of the church is not opposed to scripture. The latter is silent on the subject, the church ought to speak and to do as she has done, since, without pædobaptism, the church would be an impossibility." On this, an incidental discussion arose respecting the relation between ecclesiastical tradition and the teaching of the bible; it was resolved to make this one of the topics for investigation at the next meeting, and the assembly resumed the original question. If, agreeably with the protestant principle, said one, faith and grace come by the word, how are we to admit infant baptism, in which the word is addressed to a being who has not the faculties necessary to receive it? To this a member replied, that the word of God can be efficiently addressed even to inanimate beings, as is proved by the rock which, at the command of Moses, poured forth a refreshing stream. Here the doctrinal discussion ended. PERSECUTION IN FRANCE. I must conclude my letter by another statement, which affords one more proof of Romish intolerance. M. Thureau, an evangelist, had presided at some small meetings for edification at Grandcorent, on the frontiers of Switzerland. The priests at first opened a discussion with him on some points of controversy; but, having been covered with confusion in this conference, and not daring to meet him a second time on the field of argument, they invoked the support 4 B of the magistracy. This is always the great resource of the popish clergy. The magistrates had the weakness to comply with these base suggestions. Not only M. Thureau, but even the lady who permitted him to hold these meetings in her house, was sentenced to two months' imprisonment and a fine of fifty, francs! Their only crime was that of having read and expounded the bible before ten or twelve persons! The defendants immediately appealed to the Royal Court of Lyons. Let us hope that justice and right will triumph over these iniquitous persecutions. Evangelical Christendom. EXERTIONS OF THE JESUITS. These reverend fathers have founded several institutions at Lyons; among others, a Society for the Propagation of the Faith, It collected last year the sum of 3,575,755f. The expenses were 3,882,273f. The Romish journals use very pompous language in speaking of these receipts. "More than three millions [of francs] collected in a single year!" they exclaim," and the greater portion of this sum contributed by poor persons, who subscribe one sou a week each. Is it not an evident proof that there is strong faith, living piety, and immense charity in our church" If these apologists of Rome would take the trouble to examine what is doing in the reformed communions, perhaps their pride would not be so excessive. papists of all Europe have given three millions and a half of francs: be it so; but the English alone, for their home and foreign missionary, bible, and tract societies, five or six times that amount. Popery, therefore, has not such great reason to boast of its liberality. The it highly important at the present juncture that the church should make great efforts to supply the country more adequately with duly qualified teachers. Accordingly, they have recently sent letters of inquiry to the diocesan boards, in order to learn what force the church possesses, or is likely soon to possess, in the department of training institutions. The subjoined interesting digest of the answers hitherto received from the boards has been made by G. F. Mathison, Esq., .. It appears from this summary, that whilst thirteen training institutions continue to be efficiently conducted, according to the wishes and the means of their respective bishops and supporters, three of those institutions are about to be enlarged (Exeter, Winchester, and Oxford), and five new ones (at Derby, Bristol, Carmarthen, Cambridge, and in Hertfordshire), on a sufficient scale will, if the public afford adequate support, be ere long added to our national and diocesan system. "The committee of the National Society having considered the foregoing facts, and the importance of stimulating the establishment of church training institutions on an adequate scale, agreed to authorize endeavours to raise a fund for promoting the establishment and enlargement of diocesan training institutions throughout the country.” RAGGED SCHOOLS. The following anecdote illustrates one of the leading principles upon which these schools are managed: "Whilst a visitor was at a school, a boy of about thirteen was seen to be extremely violent and refractory, teacher endeavouring to lead him to the A second observation which I must make bottom of the class for inattention. He obon this Propaganda of Lyons, is, that its di- stinately resisted, and stamped with rage. rectors devote a large portion of their re- The master, observing the conflict, went to ceipts to sending agents-not among the the boy, and patted him gently on the head heathen-not among the French, who re- and cheek, and begged him to be a good boy. quire their spiritual assistance, but into In a minute, before the master had quitted protestant countries. I find from the report him, it came again to his turn to be asked of these reverend fathers, that nearly 200,000f. by the teacher one of the arithmetical queshave been employed to propagate Romanism tions of the lesson, when he cheerfully and in England and Scotland. This is fair warn-promptly cried out 48,' the proper answer. ing to all the protestant communions of your country. What is the character of the agents sent into Great Britain? What are their deeds? By what methods do they go about to seduce souls! I know not; for the Jesuits eminently possess the art of being discreet in their operations. But as you may be sure that these 200,000f. are not wasted, be on your guard against popish proselytism.Evangelical Christendom. ACTIVITY OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY. The Ecclesiastical Gazette states that "The committee of the National Society consider The crimson flush of anger had left his face; his countenance was as bright and placid as if the last few moments had not witnessed the storm that had agitated his passions, and he became at once quiet and docile. The visitor asked the master about him; he replied, That boy is the most unmanageable one in the school; he is clever, but very passionate. He has kicked my legs (happily he has no shoes); he has pelted me with mud in the streets. I have dismissed him from Two at York; and one at each of the following the school, but allowed him to come again on his earnest entreaty and promise of good conduct. If I had struck that lad when he was so irritated, or spoken harshly and angrily to him, his fury would have been quite ungovernable; but he can't stand a word of kindness.'"-S. S. Union Magazine. TRANSLATIONS OF GESENIUS. literary courtesy would have left the task to Professor Conant, if he chose to assume it, especially as he had shown himself so competent to its performance. But for some reason or other, this course was not taken, nor do we feel called upon to pass any further judgment upon the proceeding. Since the publication of Mr. Stuart's translation, Mr. Conant has printed a pamphlet of fifty-three pages, in which he exposes Mr. Stuart's errors with a considerable degree of minuteness. The Andover professor can find no ground of complaint in this. The charges are clearly and strongly put, and supported by the incontrovertible evidence of the original mistranslated passages. We have examined them carefully, and must say that the errors of Mr. Stuart are such that honest criticism could not pass them by. They materially diminish the value of his work, and show indisputably that he ought Mr. Conant having translated the eleventh to give it a careful and thorough revision; edition of Gesenius, is evidently no legal bar otherwise, the rival translation, which has the to another gentleman's translating the four-highest excellence of which such a work is teenth; but we should suppose a liberal susceptible, will altogether supersede it. The North American Review for July, in a literary notice of the two translations of Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar, made by Professors Stuart and Conant, and the recent pamphlet published by the latter, exposing the errors and inaccuracies of Professor Stuart, after speaking of the labours of Professor Stuart in Hebrew philology, adds the following remarks relative to the "grammatical melee" which has arisen in consequence, between these two eminent Hebraists. CORRESPONDENCE. ON MINISTERIAL EDUCATION. To the Editor of the Baptist Magazine. MY DEAR SIR,-As a member of the committee of the Theological Education Society, you are no doubt aware that my connexion with it as collecting agent is to cease with the present quarter, through my inability to procure upon its behalf what would justify my being further retained, even at my acknowledged moderate salary. I am sorry for my own sake, as well as for the sake of the society, that the fact is so, for it would give me the most sincere pleasure to see such a society suitably supported, and the salary in my circumstances was also to myself an object of considerable importance; but nothing is clearer to my mind, than that our brethren in general are by no means properly sensible of the necessity that exists for creating funds for the efficient support of institutions for training our promising junior brethren for the Christian ministry. I do not indeed believe that the advocates for an ignorant ministry are at all numerous. Even those that most loudly reprobate our colleges, would, I suspect, in very few instances, be willing to sit regularly under a ministry that was notoriously and outrageously ignorant; and our churches, though they may not have contributed sixpence in fifty years to all our colleges unitedly, when they are in want of a pastor, (whatever may be their means for supporting him) generally, if not always desire, very properly, to procure one that has the character of being well educated; and I am exceedingly mistaken if all that is wrong upon this subject might not without any great difficulty be speedily set right with all that are really worth conciliating towards it. Those that shut their pockets against such institutions, under the plea of an objection to men-made ministers, that they may either hoard up their wealth, or spend it in worldly gratifications, have I suspect in general a punishment in their own temper, and their want of real spiritual consolations, that would readily proclaim to them their sin, if they were not under a spirit of delusion; but a little right consideration on the part of our ministers, and the thinking part of our churches, would I hope induce a conduct of which they would not fail in a little time to discover the manifest advantage. What is wanting is for our educated ministers to reflect how it is that they have acquired their present standing; and for our uneducated ministers to reflect upon the difficulties they have had to encounter for want of a suitable training; and both should seriously consider the duty which this imposes upon them in reference to the rising ministry. Churches also that enjoy an educated ministry should have it urged upon them to consider seriously the source of their privilege, and our other churches should be taught how the want which they deplore may be supplied in their after necessity; and a very slight systematic general effort will soon be found to be all that is necessary to provide necessary funds, provided they are not to be |