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Society may be enabled, speedily, to enter some of those numerous and promising fields of usefulness, from which it is only deterred by the want of pecuniary funds. It is, however, to be observed, that my Resolution abounds with the pleasing sentiments of thankfulness to the subscribers and contributors to our cause; and such sentiments are becoming on this occasion. Financial Report most appropriately acknowledged this. A people who, without a single titled man associated with them in church membership, have raised £108,000 in one year, for men they never saw, are not to be despised nor condemned. Having now my abode in another part of the kingdom, I rejoice to be able to say that I dwell among a people high in Missionary feeling. Leeds District, including thirteen or fourteen Circuits, and which measures not more than twenty miles in diameter, has, I believe, within the last twelve months, taking into account all its contributions, sent to your Missionary

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Treasurer not less than one-tenth of the whole income of the Missionary Society for the year. God is with us, and is blessing us; and he will bless all who faithfully support his cause. I am glad also to have to state, that in Leeds men are trying themselves by the principles of Christian liberality set forth in the word of God, and inquiring of their Ministers what is the extent of their duty in this respect. That is what must be, and what I trust soon will be, not only in connexion with every society in Wesleyan Methodism, but also with every section of the church of Christ. It is also a reason for rejoicing, that the young are beginning to feel deeply interested in this work. The Resolution concerning the "Juvenile Offering,' passed in this Hall last year, and referred to in this Resolution, will, I believe, be cheerfully carried out by the children of Yorkshire; and I doubt not, that when the proclamation shall pass from this Hall, as it soon will, that the Old Missionary Debt is extinguished, both old and young will, with renewed vigour, aid your cause. There are several other subjects of interest referred to in this Resolution which are inviting to a speaker. There is "The Ladies Sale," of which I might speak from personal exIperience, as well as from written testimony; for never was work more cheerfully done or presented for any cause than that of the ladies of London, Dublin, and elsewhere. The Resolution also

refers to the Centenary Fund. Noble theme for any Wesleyan! You have a remembrancer of it in Bishopsgate-street. There is your monument of praise to God; and when the wintry blasts of time shall have fretted away every part of that, (but long may it stand!) this cause shall have monuments, -monuments of immortal souls from the South Sea Islands, from Western Africa, from India, and from other fields of Missionary labour, standing around the throne of God. My Resolution is,

"That this Meeting observes with deep and unfeigned concern the inadequacy of the regular receipts of the year 1843, as now reported, to meet the expenditure of the year; and indulges the earnest hope that every individual Member of the Society will practically acknowledge the necessity of increased liberality in the cause of Missions, and that all the Officers and Local Committees will feel themselves bound to promote the operations of the Society, by pledging themselves to more diligent and zealous exertion,—— so that the income of the current year, and of each succeeding year, may be equal to the necessarily increased expenditure. At the same time this Meeting rejoices in the success of the efforts which have been made completely to liquidate the Old Debt of the Society; and it gratefully acknowledges the aid received from the Centenary Fund towards that object, as well as the proceeds of the Ladies' Sales, in London, Dublin, and other places, and the liberal contributions from private individuals. It contemplates with satisfaction and gratitude the noble response which has been made to the Special Appeal circulated in December last, by large donations towards meeting the anticipated deficiency in the income of the Society for 1843; as well as the increased amount received under the delightful form of Christmas and New Year's Offerings from the children and young people interested in Missions; and the Contributions so promptly offered towards the restoration of the Mission Chapels in the West Indies and elsewhere, which were destroyed or injured by earthquakes or by other sudden calamities. And this Meeting offers its thanks to the supporters of the Society in general, under whatever form of contribution they may have aided its funds, and expresses its earnest wish and prayer that the support of the Missions now existing may be provided for, and that the Society may be enabled speedily to enter some of those numerous and pro

mising fields of usefulness from which it is only deterred by the want of the necessary funds."

The REV. DR. BUNTING then said, After the allusion in this Resolution to the Centenary Fund, and after what has been said by the mover of the Resolution upon that subject, I feel great personal pleasure in being permitted to call upon a gentleman to second the Resolution, who took a most active, a most zealous, and a most successful part in the proceedings of the Centenary Fund,

a man whose name is well known to most of you, George R. Chappell, Esq., of Manchester.

MR. CHAPPELL, who on coming forward was welcomed with hearty plaudits, said,-Sir, it gave me very great pleasure to see Sir George Rose in that chair first, on account of the kindly feeling which he manifested towards this Society, and the truly catholic spirit with which he extended his observations to other denominations of real Christians. Now we have you, whose name is Farmer; and I look on you, Sir, not only as a farmer, but as, in some sense, the landlord of this great Wesleyan Missionary field; and these are your tenants, and, Sir, it is the rent-day. Now, Sir, I really think you may be proud of your tenantry, -none, save yourself, can boast such an

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I do not know how you may feel at being the landlord of such a tenantry, but I feel proud and honoured that I am one of the tenants. Then, Sir, I have come up by the good providence of God to pay my rent. I did purpose to give £50 to send a Missionary to China; for when I read that other denominations had got Missionaries there, and called to mind that the Wesleyans had not, I thought it was a shame. I wrote, however, to Dr. Bunting, whose opinion I esteem, as I have good reason to do, and he gave me sufficient reasons why I should not now adopt that plan; but as the money was dedicated to God, although I changed my mind in one respect, I still came here to give you part,-a part you have had already. I did not, I assure you, expect the honour of being called before such a Meeting as this; but whilst sitting upon this platform, several thoughts crossed my mind, which I shall endeavour to embody. I thought that the first duty of every human being, upon coming to years of discretion, was the salvation of his own soul; and that the second was, love to his fellow-man. That is clear, at least, if I have been rightly instructed in that blessed book of

all books. Now, if that be right, we pray that God's kingdom may be extended, we pray for prosperity, and we pray for many other things; but if we do not labour to possess ourselves of the things for which we pray, our words are only wind. Here, on the one hand, it struck me, our prayers have been answered. There is an opening made for our labours, and for the extension of God's kingdom, nearly to every part of the habitable globe: and from every part which you do possess, you have had returns of success,-a proof that God honours your efforts, and blesses your endeavours. I shall not trouble you with a long speech, because I never had it in my power to make one; but allow me to observe, what are our means, and what we have to do. Here is the great cause of evangelizing the whole world; and God has honoured this little island by making it the depository of his word, and has commanded us to send it to all the world. If we feel that word to be of any value to ourselves, we shall not hesitate for a moment to disseminate its blessings as widely as we can. Take, then, for granted, that in answer to your prayers openings have been made for you, openings which, for the want of pecuniary means, though the benighted people are calling to you for help, you cannot embrace. Take it for granted, too, that God has raised up men, qualified and converted men, saying to the Committee, "Here we are, send us where you please;" who make no point of saying, "We should like to go to such and such a place;" but, "Here we are at your disposal, ready to be sent where we are most wanted." Here then is the work before us; and what are your means? that is the question. I am going on the financial part of the business, and I leave the rest to those gentlemen who are better qualified than I can be, and whose business it is to preach the Gospel and to practise it, so that, by their precept and by their example, we may follow them. In the first place, to begin with the smallest, we have our Missionary Baskets. They are very well in their way. Ladies are always well employed so long as they are doing anything in the cause of God. The next is the Juvenile Christmas Offering, perfectly right: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." But what are these things? Are they sufficient for a Committee to rely upon, in such a work as we have before us? I trow not. Then we have Dona

tions; and now and then some kind departed friend leaves us something in his will. That is all very proper; but I think it better to give when you are alive, and when you can see the beneficial results of your gift. However, I am not finding fault with any one who has left us a thousand or two at the bottom of his will. Nothing of the sort. Then we come to these Public Meetings: these are vitally important to our Society, and to the Missionary cause: here we see the fellow-feeling, the sweet sympathy, the kindly brotherly love extended to our distant fellow-creatures, and hear the prayers offered up that we may be the instruments in the hand of God of doing them good; and, depend upon it, we shall strive to do them good just in proportion as we feel the love of God in our souls. Another good which attaches to these Meetings is,-here assemble people from all parts of the kingdom, who will return to their homes, and, repeating what they have heard, and what has been impressed upon them, will urge upon their friends the necessity of contributing to the good cause as far as their means will allow, and may, perhaps, arouse them to greater exertion. But even this does not satisfy my mind: this alone would not, I think, justify the Committee in attempting to carry out so mighty a work as that which the Lord has intrusted to their care. And I feel that means must be found, because our Christian brethren going out to visit heathen lands, must be provided with a suitable outfit, and must be properly supported. To think of men leaving their native home, their friends, and all that is near and dear to them, for the love of God!-and shall they not be supported, those pilgrims in this holy cause? Who is the man that can eat his cake at home in peace, and think that his brother abroad, who is gone to conduct his heathen fellow-beings to Jesus, has none? No, Sir; on Annual Subscribers it is that I rest: here I take my stand, and here perhaps you will permit me to indulge for five minutes. I have looked over and perused the General Report, and I have re-perused it, and I find there are two or three out of some five-and-twenty thousand, that subscribe £100 annually; two or three subscribe £50; two or three subscribe £10; some few £5, a good many £2, and some £1. Now we see the same name in half-a-dozen Reports. Here is a dispensary,-a guinea; and there is a half-score of institutions I might enumerate, but it would be tedi

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ous to you to do so, in which there are the same names with the same amount of subscription. Then comes the Missionary cause, -a guinea! So that the salvation of the soul is put down only for the same amount as the cure of a slight hurt of the body. Now, is this a right estimate? If one pound is wanted for a dispensary, give it. But is the body or the soul of more value? Now, I cannot conceive that our people want principle, and, from what you have stated, I am perfectly satisfied that we have not only a people of the soundest and purest principles under heaven, but we have a willing people; and I have only mentioned what I have just stated, because I believe it is done for want of thought. The Centenary I shall never forget, if I live a thousand years. Nothing, in comparison, of Methodism did I ever know until then; and I don't think one half of our Ministers knew what the energy of Methodism was; nothing but principle would ever have brought those subscriptions to the amount at which they arrived, and caused them to be paid up as fully as they have been. Now, Mr. Chairman, you have your tenants, and they are honest tenants. You must "raise the rents. That is the point. The land is good. The more it is cultivated, the more it will produce. We are now getting on to a different system of farming. I see, lands are now producing double the quantity, because there has been a little outlay and a little exertion. Here it will be the same. But ours will be a harvest of souls. O, my dear friends, I did not intend to have told it you, but as it may be a warning to some of you, I will now disclose what has happened to myself. Three years ago, or rather better, I had realized what I thought was amply sufficient for my own wants, and for my children. I had six: God has taken one to heaven. I invested upwards of £30,000, which I thought was perfectly safe; and I said to myself, "Now, by the blessing of God, what I gain in my business I will give to Him." He tried me in another way. At one fell swoop, upwards of £30,000 made itself wings and flew away I am here to protest to you, to the honour and glory of God, that I thank him for it. There is enough left with his blessing; and without his blessing there is nothing that is worth any thing. I trust that I shall be myself better for it. I am satisfied he can bless my children doubly to what the paltry sum I should have left them would have done.

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They have enough, and with His blessing it will be sufficient. Now, my friends, let this be a warning. Do not think of laying up too much for your children: use it for God. I trust I shall, as I said before, be much better for it myself. I not only bow to his chastisement, but I can kiss the rod, and praise him for it. The REV. DR. NEWTON was then announced to the Meeting, and was greeted with loud and long-continued cheering. When it had subsided, the Rev. gentleman observed,-Mr. Chairman, I cannot say, as you well know, that I am unused to public speaking. But I do say, that, having spoken so long yesterday, in endeavouring to urge the claims of this great Society, I did think, that I might have been excused to-day. However, it seems my friends think otherwise, and we have learnt today to regard invitations from the Secretaries and Committee as mandatory. They are commands, and therefore we must bow to them. I do, however, most heartily congratulate yourself and your colleagues in office, and the Committee and the Secretaries of this Society, throughout the breadth and length of the land, on the improved and improving state of its finances. We have heard better tidings this day than some of us anticipated. We have heard better tidings this day than the fears naturally entertained by yourselves had led us to anticipate. I thank God that the appeal which was so suitably and so powerfully made to the public, has met with that practical reception of which we have heard this day. And we see, Sir, what an elasticity there is in our Connexion, (in Wesleyan Methodism,) that when once it is called on to make an effort, though it has made many an effort before, it can make another, and another; and, therefore, I, for one, will never despair. Reference has been made to-day, Sir, repeatedly, to the signs of the times; and, certainly, the times in which we live are of no ordinary kind,-times eventful, times changeful, times stirring, times, in some instances, startling. Heavings yonder, throes there, commotions, agitations, indicating, as I think, some mighty, not far-off, crisis in the moral world, the results of which will be either highly beneficial to mankind at large, or of the opposite character. I earnestly hope it may be the former. And yet I may now say, there are devout men, sincere Christians, who are looking on with intense interest, and who are almost ready to sigh, and say, with the trem

bling servant in old times, "Alas! master, what shall we do?" However, Sir, I am one of those who are disposed to take encouragement where even some good men take alarm. I look at all these movements,-I look at things to which repeated reference has been made during the proceedings in this Meeting,

at infidelity in its various forms and modifications, stalking abroad with unwonted daring, on the one hand, and at superstition with her pompous ceremonial obtruding herself on the other hand, and at extremes meeting in certain quarters; for the two things I have named are more nearly allied to each other than some people seem to be aware of. But, Sir, what of all this? To my mind it proves thus much evangelical Christians, who value the truth as it is in Jesus above all things in this world, are stirring. Evangelical Christians are, at least, in good earnest to maintain their Christianity. They are in good earnest in endeavouring to extend the influence and the blessings of that Christianity. They are in good earnest to send Christianity to the utmost parts of the habitable globe. Therefore it is, that the powers of infidelity and superstition have taken the alarm. They are alarmed in India. Even the Brahmins there are calling on their people to come forward in a way that they have not been wont to do; declaring, that unless they zealously maintain their religion, their religion is doomed to speedy and certain destruction. And are there not those at home who have taken the same alarm? And therefore it is, that there is that activity which we have lately witnessed on the right hand and on the left. Why has the enemy of truth and righteousness come down with great wrath, but because he knows his time is short; that his usurped dominions are now being attacked, east and west, and north and south? And there are so many points of attack at once, that the prince of darkness himself perhaps scarcely knows how to dispose of his forces. He feels that his kingdom is shaken, and that his own throne totters. But, though the enemies of truth are alarmed, we are not alarmed. We are quite sure that truth is indestructible. We feel that the truth of God must live, and that it must flourish and prevail when error and superstition shall have breathed their last. I think this will be the occasion, indeed I think it has already been the occasion, of our examining more particularly the motives by which we are influenced, in connexion with all

these Missionary doings especially, and the principles on which we act; and, my friends, it becomes us to do so. If our principles are not sound, let them go. If the ground on which we stand be unsound, let it sink beneath our feet. If the superstructure we are endeavouring to raise be framed of wood, and hay, and stubble, then let the fire consume it. But no, Sir; we have found firm foot ing. We stand on ground that will sustain us. Our principles are those of God's revealed truth; and we find they are as firm, and as sound, and as stable now, as they were when some of us began to act on them in a more public way more than a quarter of a century ago. Then, Sir, let the rains descend, let the floods of opposition come upon us, let the wind blow, and let the tempest howl, our structure will stand. Stand it must, and stand it will; for it is founded on a rock. And though, sometimes, as now, clouds and darkness may gather round it for a short time, what then? "Eternal sunshine settles on its head." Besides, I think all this will become the occasion of the manifestation of character, and we shall begin to know, better than we have done in by-gone years, "who's who." We shall begin to ascertain, who is for us, and who is for the adversary; for the time has come, as it seems to me, when any thing like a respectable neutrality can no longer be maintained. The man that tries to halt and waver will be exposed to the cross-fire of both, if he does not take care. The time has come when Moses is standing in the gate of the camp, and he is asking the question, "Who is on the Lord's side?" And Í trust that all the evangelical Levites will gather round about us immediately; and I trust also, that those who belong to Reuben, and Simeon, and Joseph, and Benjamin, and all the other tribes of the Christian church, will gather round the sacred standard too, and that we shall have many a specimen of entire devotedness, and sacrifice, and honouring God with all, and having God in all, and above all. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" And the different members and sections of the Christian church, of different descriptions, will recognise each other, not merely as being of the same species, but as those who belong to the same common Master, those who are fellow-servants in the same work, those who are fellow-soldiers, enlisted under the banner of the cross; and all pledged to do their utmost in the common

cause against the common enemy. I trust, that, having drawn the sword, we have thrown away the scabbard, and determined never to sheathe it more, and that we shall fight manfully; for we know it is written, that He, our Lord and Master, must reign, and all his enemies become his footstool. I sometimes indulge the thought with a pleasure that I cannot embody into language, that all this will be the occasion of bringing us to feel, and practically to acknowledge, our entire dependence on God. O! if we feel our dependence as we ought, that will lead us to more prayer: and if there be more prayer, there will be more power and more influence, and there will be more blessing. I am quite sure, that if there were more intercessory prayer for the influence of that Holy Spirit, without whom nothing is wise, or strong, or holy, without whose presence and aid our doings are nothing worth; if we were all sufficiently humble to feel as we ought, and to bend ourselves at the throne of the heavenly grace in united and incessant prayer, how would prayer open heaven, and how would blessings come down at home and abroad! Here is, if such a figure may be allowed, our Samsonian lock; herein our great strength lies. By prayer, we take hold of an almighty hand; by prayer we take hold of an omnipotent arm; and it has been well remarked, by an old writer, that "he that has the ear of God, has the arm of God." Let us see that we have "the ear of God," and we shall have "the arm of" his strength, "the arm of" his might, in which there is omnipotent power, stretched forth to help us, and to give success to our works. Then as to the giving. I am one of those who think there is an intimate connexion between praying and giving; and who think, that if you can only get a man, interested in a cause, to pray a great deal for its success, you have what you want. He will become not only an occasional donor, but a regular subscriber. And while I am grateful to those friends who have contributed to increase the funds by their money-baskets, and their sales of articles of industry, and their bazaars; and while I am especially grateful to my young friends, who have redeemed, in some sort, the pledge which I ventured to give, on their behalf, in this Hall, twelve months ago;-and I will dare venture to give another pledge; for I dare say, that, encouraged by my brother Ministers, they will, another year, come

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