and thus establish among us the Church to which we are attached? And I have been compelled to depress their earnest desires by an answer in the negative. "The stipend allowed to each Missionary for the last year was only $175; the remainder of their support depending on the contributions of the congregations among whom they officiate. The Missionary Fund, which is under the direction of the Bishop and a Committee chosen annually by the Convention, entitled "the Committee for Propagating the Gospel in the State of New-York," has for two years past derived considerable aid from the "New-York Protestant Episcopa! Missionary Society," who place their funds at the disposal of. this Committee; to whom, with the Bishop, the Missionary business is confided by the Canons of the Church. But the other sources from which the Missionary Fund is supplyed (the contributions of the congregations) have so much diminished in the past year, that the Committee, so far from indulging the gratifying prospect of sending Mssionaries to many places where they are wanted, will be under the necessity of diminishing the number of the present Missionaries, or of reducing their small stipends. My brethren, what is to be done? I see the contributions of Episcopalians extended to religious institutions not immediately connected with their own Church. I see their bounty flowing in channels that convey it to "earth's remotest ends," and yet many of their fellow Episcopalians in this State are destitute of the ministrations and ordinances of the Church, and unable, from their poverty, to procure them. Many of their own clergy are labouring as Missionaries on a scanty stipend, which, from the inadequacy of the Missionary Fund, must be reduced. It would be presumptuous, and it would be useless for me to attempt to control their bounty. But having seen and felt, being perpetually called to see and feel, the spiritual wants of many of those of whom I have the charge, may I not be permitted, in the strong impulse of duty, to askif the bounty of Episcopalians now generally distributed, were confined to their own household, till the wants of that household were supplyed; if their contributions for religious purposes were bestowed on Missionary, Bible, and Common Prayer Book Societies, and other institutions under the exclusive control of their own Church, would they violate any apostolic precept; any dictate of a sound and enlightened benevolence; or fail in the duty of extending in its purest form the kingdom of the Redeemer ?" Deeply sensible of the high importance of the matters contained in the foregoing extract, and of the soundness of the principles it inculcates, the Board cannot repress their desire, earnestly to recommend them to the serious consideration of their fellow Episcopalians. Let it not be said, that we are less solicitous for, and faithful to, the interests of our Church than other denominations; let us not be reproached for our indifference to the diffusion of religious principles, as maintained by our venerable Church. Our żeal, our exertions, our pious contributions are due to her. In the exercise of our benevolence and Christian zeal, let us invariably act upon the same consistent and prudential principles which govern us in the common affairs of life, and our Church will never want our best, our most ardent efforts for her good. The Board commend their suc cessors in office, and the interests of the Society, to the protection and blessing of the great Head of the Church. In its existence lose her own, And live and breathe in it alone; This is a Mother's Love. Its weakness in her arms to bear; To cherish on her breast, All of which is respectfully sub- Feed it from Love's own fountain there, mitted. FLOYD SMITH, Corresponding Secretary. On the New Year. By Bishop Horne. As the season annually returns when it pleaseth God to begin again his work, which men so often behold, of renewing the face of the earth, by commanding the sun to re-visit and cheer our world; where nature, during his absence, hath drooped and languished away, but is again to be raised from the death and deformity of winter, to the life and beauty of spring; until, by a silent progressive operation, the year be crowned with the loving-kindness of the Lord; are we not hereby directed to look up, by faith, to the great Luminary of the intellectual world; who declareth from his glorious throne, "Behold," I make "all things new;" beseeching him to rise upon us with healing in his wings; to visit us with the light of his countenance, and the joy of his salvation, that so old things may pass away, and we may be renewed in the spirit of our mind; to disperse the clouds and darkness of ignorance; to lay the wintry storms and tempests of disordered passions, and introduce into our hearts the calm and gladsome spring of everlasting righteousness and peace; to pour upon the year all the blessings of that glorious festival with which it commenceth; and, in one word, by making it holy, to make it happy? A MOTHER'S LOVE. A MOTHER'S Love,-how sweet the name! A noble, pure, and tender flame, To bless a heart of earthly mould; To bring a helpless babe to light, And lull it there to rest; Then while it slumbers watch its breath, To mark its growth from day to day, To smile and listen while it talks, This is a Mother's Love. And can a Mother's Love grow cold? Nor weep for grief-for joy? Is this a Mother's Love? Ten thousand voices answer "No!" Ye clasp your babes and kiss; Your bosoms yearn, your eyes o'erflow; Yet ah! remember this ;The infant, rear'd alone for earth, May live, may die, to curse his birth; Is this a Mother's Love? A parent's heart may prove a snare; Her hand may lead, with gentlest care, Down the smooth road to hell; Thus do the blind mislead the blind, Blest infant! whom his mother taught The day-spring of the word; Behold that Mother's Love.* Blest Mother! who, in wisdom's patli, Taught by that Mother's Love. That Mother's Love!--how sweet the name! * 2 Tim. i. 5. and iii. 14, 15. } FOR THE CHRISTIAN JOURNAL. A HYMN for Charity Children. SOURCE of good and consolation, The widow's Judge, the orphan's Friend, From thy heavenly habitation, The blessings of thy mercy send On thy poor and helpless offspring, Who now thy gracious aid implore, Our voices raise, Submissive to thy righteous will, May we not murmur nor repine; Convinced, thy dealings to us still, Thou dost for our best good design, May we then walk in righteousness, Thy blessed Spirit guide our ways, Give us content with godliness, Riches, above what earth displays. [From the New-York Evening Post of November 16.] DIED, on Sunday morning, November 14th, at his residence in Stratford, Connecticut, in the 93d year of his age, WILLIAM SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL. D. late President of Columbia College, &c. Dr. Johnson was the eldest son of the Rev. Dr. Johnson, the first President of the College of this city, a man to whom the religion and learning of this country are indebted for many important services. He was born at Stratford, Connecticut, in 1727, and was educated at Yale College, where he received the degree of A. B. in 1744. He afterwards pursued his studies for some time at Harvard University, where he was admitted to the degree of A. M. in 1747, and his name has for several years appear. ad in the catalogue of that institution, as the oldest living graduate. He then applied himself to the study of the law, and his first appearance at the bar, forms an epoch The legal system of Connecticut was at in the legal history of his native state. that time exceedingly crude, and the irregular equity by which the courts were guided was rather perplexed than enlight. ened, by occasional recurrence to a few of the older common law authorities, which were respected without being understood. Dalton's Sheriff, and Justice of Peace, and one or two of the older books of Prece. dents, formed the whole library of the bar and the bench.-General literature and taste were, if possible, at a still lower ebb among the profession. Mr. Johnson, gifted with every external grace of the orator, a voice of the finest and richest tones, a copious and flowing elocution, and a mind stored with elegant literature, appeared at the bar with a fascination of language and manner, which those who heard him had never even conceived it possible to unite with the technical address of an advocate. At the same time, he rendered a still more important service to his countrymen, by introducing to their knowledge the liberal decisions of Lord Mansfield, the doctrines of the civilians, and afterwards (as more general questions arose) the authori ties and reasonings of Grotius, Puffendorf, and the other great teachers of natural and public law. He soon rose to the highest professional reputation, and after passing, with honour, through almost all the respectable elec tive offices of the colony, was sent, in 1766, by the colonial legislature, to England, as their Agent Extraordinary, for the purpose of arguing before the royal council, a great land cause of the highest importance to the colony. He remained in Eng land until 1771. During his residence in London, he became intimately acquainted with many of those great men, who, in various walks of science and letters, of the Church and the law, contributed to make that period of English history so splendid. Secker, Berkeley, the amiable and elegant Lowth, Horne, Porteus, Newton, Jones, Sir John Pringle, Wedderburn, Dunning, Burke, and Lord Mansfield, were among his warmest friends. Dr. Samuel Johnson, too, who had not yet learnt to hate the Americans, took a particular liking to his transatlantic namesake, claimed relationship with him, (though the connexion was never very clearly made out,) and after his return to this country kept up a correspondence with him for some years, ford conferred upon him the degree of During this period, the University of Ox Doctor of Civil Law, and he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, on the re commendation of Sir John Pringle, who was at that time its president. After his return to his native country, he again applied himself to his profession, and, some time after, was appointed one of the judges of the superior court of Connecticut. He also represented the state for some years under the old confederation. Upon the calling of the convention at Philadelphia, for the purpose of framing a new constitution for the United States, Dr. J. was sent as delegate from his native state, in company with Ellsworth and Sherman. Here he was eminently useful. Great as the talents of that illustrious assembly were, yet its deliberations were often impeded by jarring interests and local feelings. Dr. Johnson's views were all liberal and national, and, "seeking peace in the spirit of peace," he was frequently the happy instrument of conciliation between the jealousies and fears of the smaller states, and the claims of the great ones. The most peculiar and original feature of our government, is understood to have been suggested by him. He first proposed the organization of the senate as a distinct body, in which the state sovereignties should be equally represented and guarded, while the weight of population might be felt in the house of representatives. On the first organization of the new constitution, Dr. J. was elected a senator in Congress, and, in that station, largely contributed to form those institutions, and to lay down those rules which were hereafter to give to the new government its energy and direction. Among other acts of great public im portance, the bill for organizing the judiciary establishment of the United States, was drawn up by him, in concert with his colleague Oliver Ellsworth. This was not only a work of much labour, but of some address, as it was necessary to form a system which might not only answer the great ends of public justice, but, at the same time, preserve a great uniformity in the mode of its administration, and maintain the authority of the national government, without encroaching upon the state jurisdictions, or rudely innovating upon their established forms of practice. About this period Columbia College, which had fallen into decay during the war, was re-organized, and began to attract some share of public attention and patronage. In 1792, Dr. Johnson was elected to the presidency, and continued to fill that station with great dignity and usefulness until 1800, when, in consequence of the infirmities of advancing age, - he resigned his office, and returned to his native village, where he has ever since resided. Though retired from busy life, he retained, to the last, the vigour and activity of his mind, the ardour of his literary cu riosity, and the most lively interest in all that concerned the welfare of his country and of the Christian world. There are some noble lines of S. Johnson, which the writer of this notice has frequently ap plied to him, and no language could more happily describe his virtuous and venerable age. The virtues of a temperate prime, Bless with an age exempt from scorn or crime; An age that melts with unperceived decay, And glides in pious innocence away; Whose peaceful day benevolence endears, Whose night congratulating conscience cheers, Such age there is, and who shall wish its end? The general fav'rite as the general friend, His age so far extended beyond the ordinary lot of man, the purity of his life, the kindness and humility of his disposition, and the unshaken confidence of his religious faith, all conspired to invest his character with a sacredness which almost made him regarded as a being belonging to another world, though still lingering among us; and the feelings which his death has excited, are rather solemn than sad. His name is strongly associated with many of our most valuable institutions, and will continue to be venerable, as it has long been dear, to his countrymen. - In noticing the recent demise of the truly honourable WILLIAM SAMUEL JOHNSON, Doctor of Laws, of Connecticut, it should have been added, that he was for some time be fore his decease, the only surviving mem ber of the celebrated Congress of 1765; and we have been made acquainted, by Jonathan Hastings, Esq. of this town, who was secretary of the committee of Public Safety in 1774-5, of the following political anecdote of the deceased, which deserves to be recorded:--"In that year Dr. Johnson, in company with Judge Wolcott (father, we believe of the present Governor of Connecticut) applied to the Committee of Safety, then sitting in Cambridge, for per mission to repair to General Gage, to make an effort, if possible, that the horrors of war between England and America might be closed and averted. Permission was given, and these patriots repaired to Gage's head quarters, where, for two days, they exerted their talents, to effect the object of their wishes. But Gage was inexorable." Our informant adds, "I shall never forget: the zeal and eloquence with which Dr. Johnson acquainted the committee, on their return, of the interview he and his colleagues had with Gen. Gage. He had all the talents of Chesterfield, without any of his vices."-Boston paper. Dr. Johnson retained to the very last the singular fascination of his manners and great power of colloquial eloquence. A sent Governor, who is the son of the late Gover • Judge Wolcott was the uncle of the pre nor Wolcott. gentleman of South-Carolina, of high standing, thus speaks of Dr. Johnson, in a letter recently written to his friend in this city. "In the summer of 1817, I visited Stratford, and never shall I forget the delightful hours I passed in company of your venerable and excellent relative. He car ried me back to his residence in England, and to the company of Johnson, of Mansfield, and of Chatham. The theme made him eloquent; and I shall ever consider it a happiness to have heard that eloquence which produced such an impression upon the royal council of England. Age, though it had impaired his person, and a little dimmed his eyes, had still left him a voice of the finest tones, which I can never for get."-Evening Post. Among the circumstances that should endear the memory of Dr. Johnson to the Churchmen of Connecticut, and indeed to sound Churchmen generally, ought to be mentioned his attachment to the distinguishing principles of the Church. He was a Churchman of the Old School-of the School of Andrews, of Leslie, of Potter, of Horne, of Jones, and of Horsley. He considered the Church as a divinely constituted society under Jesus Christ its head; and maintained that communion with this Church as the mean of union with its divine head, is to be preserved by submis sion to the ministrations of its divinely authorized officers. Having Having "diligently read Holy Scripture and ancient authors,” he believed that "there have been from the Apostles' times these orders of ministers Bishops, Priests, and Deacons," and that Episcopal ordination is the mode of obtaining a valid commission for the ministry. These are the principles which, at a time when Episcopacy was almost unknown in Connecticut, had induced his father, the Rev. Dr. S. Johnson, and his associates, Dr. Cutler, the President of Yale College, and others, to renounce their Con-> gregational or Presbyterian ordination, and to cross the Atlantic in order to obtain Episcopal orders. In the enlightened mind of Dr. William S. Johnson, these principles were not embraced from the prejudices of education, or from reverence to parental authority; but they were the result of an investigation which he did not deem beneath his acute and vigorous pow. ers. Animated by apostolic and primitive views of the constitution of the Chris tian Church, he cherished the warmest attachment to the Protestant Episcopal Church, which he considered as formed on the apostolic and primitive model; and ceased not, when disqualified by the infirmities of age for active exertions in her behalf, to express the most lively solicitude for her prosperity. Until the last moment of his life, though unable to hear the services of the sanctuary, he continu. ed to unite with the congregation in the prayers of the liturgy with the most reverential and edifying devotion. The Church, in Dr. Johnson, has lost a layman who was worthy of the age of Ignatius and of Cyprian; and who, warmly attached to her distinctive principles, adorned them by the fervour of his piety, and the purity of his life. We subjoin, as pertinent to this subject, the following remarks, extracted from an interesting life of the Rev. Dr. S. Johnson, the father of Dr. William S- Johnson, written by Dr. Chandler, of Elizabeth-town, and which are annexed by the editor of that work. "In the perusal of the preceding pages, the reader has no doubt been struck with the remarkable fact, that at the time when the Episcopal Church was unknown in Connecticut, the Rev. Dr. Cutler, the Presi dent of Yale College; Dr. Johnson; and that State, were led to examine the subject other eminent Congregational Ministers in of Episcopacy; and that their researches terminated in a resolution to obtain valid ordination from the hands of Bishops. This resolution was opposed to all the prejudices of their education, sanctioned and confirmed by the general belief and practice of their countrymen. It cast the most pointed and obnoxious censure on the religious constitution of their country, which every motive of interest and reputation urged them to respect and support. The important change in their views must therefore have been a reluctant sacrifice paid to truth. They could have been excited only by that confidence which a sense of the supreme obligations of truth inspires, to carry into effect a resolution which they foresaw would subject them to many worldly inconveniences, and to general odium and reproach, at a period when |