it impossible for the Church to err or be deceived. Is the Pope infallible? Are the Parish Priests infallible ? Are the Missioners infallible ? “I will give Ten Pounds for any commands of Christ or his Apostles forbidding the people to read the Scriptures, because it is dangerous so to do, or for any other reason. "I will give Ten Pounds for any command of Christ or his Apostles to adore the Host in the Mass, or to bow down to images. '' "I will give Ten Pounds for any command of Christ or his Apostles to ask the intercession of the Virgin Mary or any Saint. “I will give Ten Pounds for any command of Christ or his Apostles forbidding the Clergy to marry. Was not Peter a married man ? "I will give Ten Pounds for any passage of Scripture commanding us to believe the doctrine of Purgatory by Fire. "I will give Ten Pounds for any command of Christ or his Apostles to say prayers in a language not understood by the people. "Here, then, my dear friends, I offer £110 to these Missioners and to the Parish Priests on very simple conditions, and your own common sense will tell you that if the Church is THE true Church, outside of which there can be no salvation, its doctrines must, in some measure, agree with the written Word of God, which the Church of Rome admits to be genuine, authentic, and divine. The Priests of Rome are afraid of the Bible for this simple reason, it condemns their doctrines-it speaks of their Church as "The GREAT APOSTACY FROM THE TRUTH," and that, although it will last and flourish for a time, its final dcom is fixed in the everlasting counsels of God, and that destruction awaits all those who are found believing and trusting to her teachings at the hour of death. "I feel it right to say, that if the Missioners carry out what I have reason to believe is their present intention, namely, to visit this parish, I shall feel it to be my duty to have a course of Controversial Sermons in my Church to counteract, as much as lies in my power, the evil of their teaching. “Let us, one and all, 'contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints,' which faith is 'the gospel of the glory of the blessed God,' and which tells that God is in Christ reconciling the world (unto Himself, not imputing unto them their trespasses.' "Your faithful friend, "CHARLES MILLER, Rector." * GRATITUDE. A poor woman was rescued about five years ago from a state of the utmost degradation, mental as well as bodily, through the instrumentality of the Missions, and for the special purpose of testifying her gratitude, although in the greatest penury, every year since she has, by the dint of the most urgent begging, contrived to collect for the support of the Ragged School sums of money truly marvellous. On one occasion £1 163., last year (1867), £1 11s. 5d.-From a Missionary. * We have not space for No, 2 handbill. 66 "No peace with Rome!" he cried,* The English Seneca, whose gentle soul No fiery passions nurst, from hell supplied; He, whom calm Contemplation's sweet control Had soothed so gently, that Peace made her home With him-'twas he who cried, "No peace with Rome!" Not like th' impassion'd pair Besought their Master to command the air Not such was he who cried, with Rome!" "No peace Nor such are those to-day, This on our banner's lofty front we blaze"Christ's word is Truth, and all who this oppose, In holy warfare, we regard as foes!" How Rome does this! Open the Gospel tome, Not what she had from Christ, but what from home The added Articles that Pius gave,t Liguori's morals, and the Trent Decrees- And by that act discrown'd our Christ! and All who refuse henceforward to believe Nor injure one who loves what we con- The Second Adam as our Saviour sole, We war with principles and not with men! Our hearts against the overtures of love- Can mark this foul dishonour on Him Without a jealous throbbing of the soul? cease With her who thus insults Him-never peace. Amazed, we ask-what peace Have we with thee, O Jezebel? or thou With us-thou whose foul witchcrafts never cease? Remove that harlot's tire from off thy brow! Confess thy foul adulteries, and repent, No! never peace, but war! We say not, to the knife-that's not our sword While Rome is Rome, we'll cry-" No The Creed of Pope Pius IV. From "Protestant Lays," by the Rev. RICHARD GLOVER, M.A., Dover. N.B. As the Annual Report, now in course of issue, is replete with information from the Missions, we have omitted the customary insertion of Missionary Intelligence from this number of the BANNER. The Banner of the Truth in Ireland. JANUARY I, 1869. ANNIVERSARY PRAYER MEETINGS. HE friends of our Missions are again invited to observe, with prayer and thanksgiving, the birth-day of the Society, which this year completes the twentieth year of its existence. The 16th of January is the day usually set apart for the purpose, but as that day falls on a Saturday, it has been resolved to hold the Central Meeting for Prayer in the Society's Office, which is close to the Charing Cross Station, at Noon, on Friday, the 15th instant; and the Committee invite all friends, ladies included, to meet them on the occasion. They trust, also, that meetings for similar purposes will be convened, by their friends, in the Provinces, in their several auxiliaries. THE WORK DESCRIBED BY AN INDEPENDENT WITNESS. To Lieut.-Col. F. S. Gabb, Secretary Irish Church Missions. DEAR SIR,-I think it will be acceptable to the Committee of the Society for Irish Church Missions to have from an independent witness an account of impressions made on his mind, during a visit to one scene of their labours and efforts in behalf of our Roman Catholic fellow-countrymen. I may premise my account, by saying that I have hitherto had no special acquaintance with, or observation of, the work. Confiding in the judgment of the managers of the Society for promoting so good a work, as that of extending the light of God's Word, under the forms and system of our Reformed Church, I have never hitherto taken pains to examine into the subject. The period of my life passed in India has always seemed to me a sufficient reason for devoting my attention and my efforts more to Missionary work abroad, so that, beyond payment of my subscription and occasional attendance at a public meeting, I have not personally entered into the work of your Society; and I therefore think I am correct in designating myself an independent witness. In this capacity I shall endeavour to convey to you my own impressions of what I saw and heard. I shall avoid statistics, or proofs gathered from documents of any kind, endeavouring to set before you the testimony of an unbiassed mind, based on the personal observation of one who went with eyes and ears open, to see and to hear that which could be adduced for or against the Mission work. I started for Connemara on the 20th of August, and arrived at Clifden on the 21st, in time to avail myself of the opportunities afforded for inspecting several of the Missions, during the visit of the Rev. Edward Auriol and the Rev. E. H. Bickersteth, members of the Council for Missions. During the seven hours' drive in the public car, from Galway to Clifden, I had much conversation with my fellowtravellers on the subject of the Missionaries and their work. Among these were two Roman Catholics-an intelligent shopkeeper, and a commercial traveller-both well acquainted with Connemara for a long period of years. It became apparent very soon that there were converts in Connemara. This appeared from the objections made against them, and the way in which their existence was attempted to be explained away. The shopkeeper said, "None above poverty have joined the Protestant church." Great umbrage was taken, on my quoting, "To the poor the Gospel is preached," which was understood as if it excluded my well-to-do and prosperous informant from salvation. "But," said I, "converted in poverty, do they remain poor? and are they idle?" "No," was the reply; "Mr. D'Arcy would not suffer that; their pay would be stopped if they did not work." "Do they get any?" said I. "People say they do," was all the evidence adduced. The commercial traveller amused the whole party, by accounting for the presence of numerous congregations in the various Mission churches, during the visit of the Archbishop of Dublin. "There is," said he, "a very clever Reader, who, by a skilful use of blue calico and hay, made up numerous lay figures, which, being put upright in the back seats, deceived the Archbishop, who is shortsighted." I replied, "The inherent absurdity of your story is its own refutation," which effectually shut his mouth for the rest of the journey on that topic. It only exceeds in absurdity the way in which the priest of Clifden accounted for the presence of converts, by writing to the Dublin papers, after the appearance of Dr. Trench's letter to "The Times," in words to this effect, "There is, indeed, one congregation which, being transported from place to place, presented to the admiring gaze of the Protestant Archbishop the same body of converts, doing duty in many congregations!!" But there are converts, as I can testify, who are not ashamed to confess Christ, by attending the Sunday-school and the worship of our Church. I never shall forget the earnest faces of the large class of adults in Errismore school, on Sunday, 23rd August, under the teaching of the first Reader who had entered that neighbourhood twenty years ago, himself a convert of the Ventry Mission, whose outset in the work was signalized by a beating, administered by two men, under the immediate supervision of the priest. I cannot easily forget the impression made on me in the neat and, indeed, beautiful church of this place, when I assisted Mr. Ryder, a converted priest, in the service on that Sunday. The congregation was 120, in a place where it was difficult to see how so many could subsist. The responses were given by the whole congregation with life and fervour, and especially those of the Litany, read in Irish by Mr. Ryder. After service, I asked the Reader whether I was right in supposing all who stood in prayer, with the exception of an Englishman and his wife, were original Protestants, and all who knelt were converts from the Church of Rome? He replied, "You are correct, sir; and when I came out first from the Church of Rome, the apparent irreverence in devotion of many Protestants was a great stumbling-block to me." The number who stood in prayer were about twelve or thirteen. Now, on this particular Sunday to which I refer, five clergymen, unconnected with the Mission, attended five separate churches, all within seven miles or so of Clifden. The united congregations, counting only one service in the day, amounted to 590. Twenty years ago only one of these churches existed. Its congregation never exceeded thirty persons-more commonly it was only thirteen. That has been rebuilt, all the others have been built, and the congregations frequenting them drawn, in the great majority of cases, from the Church of Rome. In 1837, there were in West Connaught, churches, 7; licensed rooms, 6 total, 13. In 1862, there were churches, 28; licensed rooms, 29: total, 57. The five churches I refer to, viz., Clifden, Errismore, Errislannon, Ballinakill, and Sellerna, occupy but part of the territory for which Clifden church sufficed, in the days when little or no efforts were made to preach the Gospel to the Roman Catholic population. Four other churches and some licensed rooms exist in this territory. The congregations of these churches make up 350 |