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And, as at morn's approach the shades are gone,
Thy words, O blessed stranger, have dispell'd
The midnight gloom in which our hearts were held.
Sad were our souls, and quench'd hope's latest ray;
But thou to us hast words of comfort given
Of Him who came from heaven.

"How burn'd our hearts within us on the way,
While thou the sacred Scriptures didst unfold,
And bad'st us trust the promise given of old!
'ABIDE WITH US.' LET US NOT LOSE THEE YET!
Lest unto us the cloud of fear return,

When we are left to mourn,

That Israel's Hope, his better Sun, is set!

O teach us more of what we long to know,

That new-born joy may chide our faithless woe ! "

Thus in their sorrow the disciples pray'd,

And knew not He was walking by their side
Who on the cross hath died.

But when he broke the consecrated bread,

Then saw they who had deign'd to bless their board,
And, in the STRANGER, hail'd their risen LORD!
"ABIDE WITH US!" Thus the believer prays,
Compass'd with doubt, and bitterness, and dread;
When, as life from the dead,

The bow of mercy breaks upon his gaze.

He trusts the word, yet fears lest from his heart
He, whose discourse is peace, too soon depart.
Open, thou trembling one, the portal wide,
And to the inmost palace of thy breast
Take home the heavenly Guest.

He for the famish'd shall a feast provide ;
And thou shalt taste the bread of life, and see
The Lord of angels come to sup with thee.
Beloved, who for us with care hast sought,
Say, shall we hear thy voice, and let thee wait
All night before the gate,

Wet with the dews, nor greet thee as we ought?

O strike the fetter from the thrall of pride!

And that we perish not, "WITH US, O LORD, ABide.”

*From the "Scottish Guardian."

Relating principally to the FOREIGN MISSIONS carried on under the Direction of the METHODIST Conference.

ANNIVERSARY OF THE WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

THE entire "Missionary Notices" for June and July, containing the Report of the Annual Meeting at Exeter-Hall, April 29th, occupy the whole of three sheets; whereas, two sheets are all that we can possibly allot to them, three sheets and a half being already, now that we come to the "Notices," printed off. We are obliged, therefore, however reluctantly, to omit a considerable portion of a document which, under other circumstances, we should have been glad to give without abridgment. But our regret is lessened by one circumstance. The abstracts of the Financial Report, and of that of the foreign operations of the Society, form a large portion of the "Notices." These will appear, and be perpetuated, in the Annual Report, which will speedily be published. To this, therefore, as well as to the unabridged "Notices," we earnestly direct our readers' attention. We have thought that, as something must be omitted, it would be better to omit that which will have its place in the Annual Report, than the speeches, which, of course, cannot be inserted there. Our references to the Meeting in another place, likewise, have the speeches as their principal object; and we do think, after much and anxious consideration, that we shall best fulfil the wishes of our readers, and, at the same time, answer the just claims of the speakers, by devoting what space we can afford, to the speeches of the Meeting, merely omitting such as, from the circumstances connected with their delivery, as being towards the close of the proceedings, and referring merely to the appointment of officers, and similar matters of business, -have not the importance of those which were directed to the great subject of the day.

Again referring the reader to the unabridged "Notices," we now only say that every part of the Hall was well occupied before the regular proceedings commenced, and that, soon after eleven o'clock, the Rev. Dr. Alder gave out the hymn, "Before Jehovah's awful throne." When this had been sung, the Rev. John Scott, President of the Conference, engaged in prayer.

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR GEORGE ROSE, K. C. H., late M. P. for Christchurch, on taking the chair, according to previous announcement, spoke nearly as follows:-My Christian brethren, there are reasons for which I feel that I ought to offer, if not an apoVOL. XXIII. Third Series.

logy, at least some explanation, in order that I may not be accused of presumption in presenting myself before you on this occasion, and charging myself with duties which I have undertaken under a cogency I felt to be irresistible, but which I am ill able to fulfil. I say, with per JUNE, 1844. 2 N

fect earnestness, and with Christian truth, that I cannot excite your zeal and energy by eloquence-if, indeed, you were to be led by human eloquence. But it is the eloquence of holy writ which has led you, under a sense of duty, to engage in this Christian undertaking. My voice, which is far from strong, is at this time rendered almost inaudible by local indisposition; and I fear, therefore, that I shall scarcely be heard at the distance of half a dozen benches from the place where I now stand. I have long ceased to attempt to address audiences in this Hall; but I could not, in the present case, resist the commands which were put upon me. It is now nearly a quarter of a century since I first conceived a warm and zealous interest on behalf of the Wesleyan Missionary Society. I have always avowed my attachment to that institution; I have avowed it, here and elsewhere, when my voice was much more audible than it is now; I have avowed it in print, appending my name to the document, and I challenged contradiction of my statements; but they were not questioned. It pleased the successors of those distinguished men who were at the head of the Wesleyan Missionary Society when my acquaintance with it commenced, to request me-I have no doubt for valid reasons-to occupy the position in which I am now placed. I am unable to form a due estimate of the power and extent of those reasons; but when the request was made, I felt that I ought not to hold back; for the strength of God is often exhibited in man's weakness. Those excellent men at whose command (I call it a command, because I acted upon it as such) I appear here, probably thought that the testimony of an individual who is considerably beyond the allotted age of man; who entered Parliament in 1794, and has only quitted it now in 1844; who has been employed a good deal in the public service at home and abroad; and who is not a member of your religious body; might not (so far as human testimony is worth any thing in such a case as this) be wholly destitute of weight. That testimony I most sincerely, anxiously, and warmly tender on behalf of this Society. I am happy as a member-and I hope a faithful one-of the Church of England, to declare here what are the feelings which thousands and hundreds of thousands of the members of that Church-and I speak of many of its most eminent men -entertain towards this important and useful Association. We must be con

vinced that, in the present state of the world, we can ill spare anything of Christian co-operation among Protestants. We cannot afford even to be nice; and any over-refined or captious feelings ought to give way to the urgency of our position. The present times are marked by extraordinary dangers and difficulties; and I am anxious to contribute all the aid in my power towards bringing into cordial co-operation those who, if not separated, have at least been disunited. One of the last reflections which presented itself to my mind to-day was this, --that a singular providence of God is exhibited in the fact, that whereas it generally happens that when the nearest and dearest human friends seriously disagree, they are of all men most unforgivingthe dearest friends becoming the most hitter enemies; the most kind and kin dred feelings have existed, and do yet, to a considerable extent, exist, between the Wesleyan society and the Church of England. I conceive it is, at this time, of the utmost importance to the highest and dearest interests of Christianity, that that kind feeling should be cultivated and cherished as far as possible. The cause in which we are engaged is the common cause of the whole Christian world-common at least to all those who have thrown off the superstitions which enthralled our ancestors previously to the time of the Reformation. Our object to-day is to maintain the great Missionary cause; and if that cause be not nurtured and supported by all those who call upon the name of Christ, and who bow the knee to him, then are their professions of Christianity but little worth. Our first and highest duty is the cultivation of personal holiness; but the instant we step beyond that duty, I know not one so imperative as the communication of the word and knowledge of God to those to whom that word has not been imparted. How is the glory of God to be supported? What was the song of the angels at the Saviour's birth? "Glory to God in the highest." If this our first duty is neglected, we may be assured that no other can be discharged acceptably to God, and for the promotion of his honour. It may seem strange that the Fathers of the Reformation were engaged in no Missionary enterprises. It may be said, "How comes it that these men, who had a surprising knowledge of God's will, and the understanding of his dis pensations, and of the mysteries of the Gospel, had no Missionary institutions whatever?" It may be worth while to

refer to this subject for a moment, to rescue them from imputation, and ourselves from difficulty. They had a painful and a dreadful struggle to endure in Spain, in Italy, in Portugal, in Germany, and, above all, in France. They had to wage a physical, a moral, and a religious warfare; and they had no leisure to engage in enterprises of a Missionary character. It is, however, a curious fact, and it appears to be distinctly traced, that the Waldenses (who do not accept the name of Protestants because they tell us, and I believe with truth, that they never entered the Church of Rome) had, for centuries previous to the Reformation, Missionaries throughout Europe, engaged in scattering the word of truth. From this source, probably, arose our own Lollards and Wickliffites; and to it may be traced the origin of the Christian churches in Bohemia. At that time also, we must recollect, there were few opportunities of commercial intercourse, especially on the part of the Protestant powers. We must also bear in mind that, however strong the Missionary spirit might have been, there were no persons who could have been sent out as Missionaries, though the Church of Rome possessed, in its religious orders, an expeditionary army for the propagation of its faith; and at the time of the Reformation none but Roman Catholic powers of Europe (Spain, and Portugal) possessed colonies beyond its precincts, or traded extensively beyond its seas. But even years after the period of which I am now speaking the Missionary spirit slumbered. We learn from a recent publication, and it is a remarkable fact, that when the institution of the venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel was proposed in the reign of King William the Third, the leading men in Church and State held serious consultations as to whether it would not be a society of a most dangerous character-one that must produce most mischievous results. This fact shows how little men's minds were prepared, at that time, for such a state of things as exists at the present moment. It is the blessing of the Wesleyan body that the mind of their Founder (whose character and principles are more strongly impressed upon his followers than those of any uninspired man that ever lived) embraced the whole extent of Christian duty. He was the institutor of those Missions which you have to-day assembled to support. I may be allowed, perhaps, to make a few observations as to one of your Missions in particular,

that in the West Indies; for, as I am unfortunately connected with them by inheritance, I possess some local knowledge on the subject. I have been an earnest actor-though constantly a baffled one in the endeavour to promote the diffusion of the Gospel in the WestIndia islands. I thought it my duty to attest, in a pamphlet, what I know, and what I have seen, of the operations of the Wesleyan Missions. I declared that I saw morality, industry, a peaceable and orderly disposition, and a tendency to promote whatever is good, and to discourage whatever is bad, uniformly and conspicuously the fruit of the labours and exertions of the Wesleyan Missionaries. I may be permitted, I trust, to cite one single example in proof of the efficacy of their labours, and, what is of far less consequence, in justification of my opinion. There is a small Grenadilla island, which consists only of a single estate. One of the great evils attending slavery was, that in the WestIndia islands, even in the magnificent island of Jamaica, the population was not maintained. The Negroes generally were not ill-fed; they had land to cultivate; the climate to them was genial; but still the law of human nature was violated; the population was receding. The precepts of holiness of life inculcated by the Wesleyan Missionaries were most repugnant to the white population generally; and that accounts for the strong opposition with which the Missionaries had to contend. One of the most decisive tests to which the Wesleyan Missions can be subjected, would, in my opinion, be this,-the effects which the labours of the Missionaries, when brought into full play, produce upon the population of a particular estate. The fact I am about to relate I ascertained from a great West-India house, which is wholly unconnected with any Missions, Church of England or Wesleyan. The proprietor of this island had upon his estate about two hundred slaves. A Wesleyan Missionary was at the island for some months, and instructed the people in the truths of the Gospel; but he was subsequently obliged to direct his steps elsewhere. One of the natives, a man of singular aptitude of mind, and warmth of heart, who had embraced the truths of Christianity, became a sort of apostle to the people of the island. The proprietor, discovering the excellent qualities of this man, bestowed upon him his entire confidence; and under his management the estate prospered as it had never done before.

He

was almost like Joseph in the prison,― all confidence and trust were placed in his hand. This man required that all illicit connexions should cease among his fellow-countrymen, and that the rite of marriage should be observed. He had obtained a form of marriage, consonant with what he had learnt from his Teacher; and he performed the ceremony. On one occasion some gentlemen went to visit the estate, and obtained a holiday for the Negroes. The gentlemen expected that, according to the general custom, a dance would take place. The proprietor sent to the man I have mentioned to know what was to be done. "I have no dancing, master," replied he; "but I have five marriages to make." The gentlemen were astonished: they went and beheld the performance of the marriages, and heard an excellent address from the man inculcating conjugal obligations and duties. The population on that estate increased in a short time from 200 to 350. There is, as you are aware, a small West-India island called Dominica, which was for a long time under the influence of the Roman Catholics, and to which the access of the Gospel was most difficult. You will probably remember the dreadful earthquake by which the West Indies were visited in February last, which almost annihilated Guadaloupe, and seriously injured the island of Antigua, destroying thousands of lives. We feared that Dominica, where I have a small property, must have been greatly injured, if not destroyed; but, by a wonderful act of God's mercy, it was scarcely touched, and that only at the end of the island where the Wesleyan chapelwhich was destroyed-was situated. The chapel was in a part of the island where malaria was very prevalent, and the Missionaries had frequently suffered from its effects. Indeed, the chapel was on the point of being abandoned at the time it was destroyed. Under these circumstances, the people of the island came forward in a manner which contrasted most strongly with the conduct of the people of Barbadoes, some sixteen years ago, when they destroyed the Wesleyan chapel in that place. It was determined to rebuild the chapel; and by the libe rality of the Hon. David Stewart Laidlaw a new and suitable site was obtained. The foundation-stone was laid by Mr. Laidlaw, who is the President of the island, and is a valued friend of mine, who has the charge of my property, and to whom I have often had occasion to express my high opinion of the labours of the Wesleyan Missionaries. But this

was not all; for the Government of the island voted towards the rebuilding of the chapel the sum of £100. I feel that I have considerably exceeded the limits within which I ought to have confined my observations; but I may be allowed to refer for a few moments to a subject in which the Wesleyan body take the deepest interest, and which was brought prominently under public notice last year, the subject of education. I can attest that, when the fearful disclosures of ignorance and vice which prevailed in this country were made to the House of Commons last year, but one feeling of horror and dismay pervaded the Members of that House and the country generally: we thought that some immediate and powerful remedy ought to be applied to such an extensive national evil; we felt as if some fearful chasm had opened, full of awful disclosures. I am perfectly convinced from the intercourse I have had with those who last year proposed a measure of national education, that they did not bring forward that measure with any unkind feelings towards the Wesleyan body. They acted to the best of their judgment and understanding; for an earnest desire was felt to make, if possible, a combined effort of all the Protestants of the nation against this most alarming evil. I differed from them; for I believe I knew the Wesleyans better than they did. But I should not fulfil my duty if I did not state my decided belief that, in the proposition of that measure, they were not influenced by any unkind or ungenerous feeling towards you. I dif fered from them, however, on this question; I should have voted against the Bill if it had not been withdrawn; and I presented all the petitions from the Wesleyan body against the Bill which were intrusted to my care. I am well aware of one of the great causes of the alarm entertained by the Wesleyans. I trust, however, by God's blessing, that the apprehensions which they then felt, if not entirely removed, have been at least in some degree mitigated. A mephitic blast stole upon us from some fissure in the great volcano of Romanism; but I venture now to hope-and I mention it here because I am sure you will regard it with satisfaction-that the strong public feeling which has been manifested, and the address which was presented from thousands in the land to the authorities of Oxford, have produced a beneficial effect, and will, I trust, insure the inculcation of that sound doctrine which the fathers of our Church maintained. I may, perhaps, be allowed

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