not seen are of no importance. The Apostle took a very different view of the matter, and the Apostle was not singular in this respect. In all ages the greatest orators, anxious to sway the minds of the people, had appealed to something far higher than our material interests, to something which, though not seen, was more lasting and more valuable than anything that was the object of sense. So, also, the highest of all poetry had to do with things unseen. Our own observation confirms the testimony of all the greatest human writers and thinkers of every age that the unseen is higher and more lasting than the seen. We might see this truth exemplified in ourselves. What is it that constitutes the commanding element in ourselves? Not the material strength, not the power of body, but the will, the will which no man ever saw or can ever judge of except by believing that there is something which controls man's actions and the forces. of nature.

The Archbishop urged that the unseen and the spiritual were above the material; that the world had not outlived the consideration of things unseen; and that they were vain attempts which would so explain the connection of all things with immutable laws as to remove a Governor Unseen from the world in which we live.

It is sometimes urged that "there may be these higher things, this higher world, but what can you know of it? Is it not the higher wisdom to profess your ignorance; to be content to labour in the low field in which you have some certainty; and to leave the higher things alone, declaring yourselves unknowing and ignorant thereof, unacquainted with these higher things if they exist?" In reply to this position the Archbishop said: "No; God has not so made us. We do not so exist as not to have faculties whereby we can rise to some knowledge of the higher things which are above us. Is there a truth, or is there no truth? If there is a truth there is something for ourselves, and we ourselves in our conceptions of truth may be approaching indefinitely near to the knowledge of the real truth. There are two words very common and familiar to all who treat on these subjects, common in all books, often used without being much thought of-subjective and objective. Is all truth subjective, or is there an objective truth? What time of day is it now? Look at your watches. They are all different-some nearer the true time, some further from it. These are the subjective conceptions of the true time; but there is a true time, though none of your watches may have reached it. Our conceptions of truth may vary, but they are approaching, all of them, to some knowledge of the real truth; and, if there is a real truth, and we have this sort of means of indefinitely near approach to it, God appears to have given us some sort of faculties by which, if we cannot grasp, we can at least approach the truth.

"We are right to seek for proof of everything which we believe; and God has given us the means of ascertaining by proof the reality of what we believe. He has stamped upon us certain great principles which we cannot doubt without being consigned to a madhouse. Your own existence-how are you to prove it? You accept it— the belief of it-as a principle stamped on human nature. That your senses give you a true account of what you see around you-how can you prove it? You cannot prove it; but God has stamped upon you, in virtue of your existence, a belief in the evidence of your senses. And so God has provided us with conscience as with consciousness. He has provided us with certain principles which we cannot shake off, and these are the helps and means and instruments whereby we rise to some understanding of the real truth. So, then, we have come to

this-the things spiritual are the highest and the most valuable. The world is not, thank God, too old to dwell upon them. They are not to be tested, like common things, in a material machine; but God has given us certain powers by which we may rise to the contemplation of them, and, if we are worthy of His goodness which is thus accorded us, we shall use those powers to know the truth to which He summons us."

ANOTHER WORD ON CONFIRMATION.

O the three cogent reasons assigned by "J. B." in the last number of Morning Light in favour of "a definite rite at a definite time," a fourth may be commended to the consideration of all New Churchmen, but especially to the attention of members of the forthcoming Conference.

In the Statistical Table appended to the Minutes of Conference there is a column for "members under

twenty," but there does not exist any authoritative or uniform method for taking the census of the Societies in this respect. The disadvantages of this disorderly sion the figures inadvertently supplied by one Society arrangement are obvious. It is said that on one occaunder the heading named really represented the number of members, young and old, of its Mutual Improvement Society, and thus exceeded considerably the total of its registered members above twenty years of age, many of whom by this error appeared twice in the returns. Moreover, the lack of a definite system of registration of junior members seems to operate against any kind of registration; for out of the sixty-four Societies included in the Statistical Table for 1877 only fifteen, i.e. less than one-fourth, make any return under this head.

It seems advisable, therefore, that a definition of what the Conference means by a "member under twenty" should be made public for the instruction of the officials who have to supply the statistics of the various Societies, and the question of Confirmation seems to suggest a solution of the difficulty, if such it be. For surely when youths or maidens, having received "preparatory instruction in the doctrines of the Church," "make public profession of faith, and of an earnest desire to become children of God," the rite which ratifies this heavenly sentiment might with the greatest propriety form the qualification for their enrolment in the Conference statistics. Members under twenty" would thus simply mean young people who have availed themselves of a rite of "Confirmation" such as "J. B." foreshadows. C. H.

THE COMPANIONS OF OUR LORD.
II.-JOHN THe Baptist.
(Concluded from page 283.)

LSO significant in the highest degree, and of lessons most solemnly momentous, are the circumstances attending the martyrdom of John the Baptist. Representing in his life and character the literal sense of the inspired Scriptures, his death must of course symbolize the entire rejection of the truth which that sense embodies. John the forerunner, and Jesus, to whom he bare witness, both suffered as types of the Word, and both exhibited, in the manner of their execution, the determined hostility to every requirement of Divine order and justice, alike of the fallen Jewish Church, and of every persistently wicked

soul. There is, however, this difference; that while the beheading of John denotes the negation and perversion of the literal commandments of the written Word, the crucifixion of Jesus signifies the violation of the essential living Word, and of that Divine Humanity which is the Incarnate Word. These always go together, and follow the same sequence as the historical crimes by which they were foreshadowed. Where the Bible is falsified, Jesus will be rejected. Where a Divine revelation is denied, God will necessarily be unknown. In death as in life, therefore, John the Baptist is the precursor of the Lord, and manifests, in the treatment he experiences, the kind of reception to be accorded to Him of whom he testifies.

Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, the enemy and persecutor of John, and at length his murderer, is a type of the ruling principle in that natural and unregenerated mind of which Galilee-which, in order to emphasize this significance, is frequently named Galilee of the Gentiles—is an emblem. And Herod, at first, "feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly" (Mark vi. 20). The intellect of the natural mind is often thus impressed by the force and beauty of the inspired volume. It finds there many attractive promises, much soul-stirring eloquence, frequent narratives of delightful interest and pathos. To a certain extent it is awed by the sublime authority of truth, and so long as its own pleasure is not thwarted, it may even condescend to obey some of the Divine precepts. But by-and-by the unregenerate soul falls into the evil imaged in Herod's crime of taking to himself the wife of his brother Philip. Like every offence against the sanctity of marriage, this outrage refers, in its inner meaning, to the violation of that union between goodness and truth which is the very essence of genuine religion. The Lord's providence continually seeks to lead us into practical obedience to right; to induce us to love, and thus to do, whatever He reveals to us as a duty. Because such a conjunction of will and understanding is the root of all happiness, all excellence, all resemblance to our God, whose ineffable perfection is based upon the fact that in Him infinite love and wisdom make an eternal inseparable one, heaven itself is frequently compared in Scripture to a marriage, and the Church is described as "the bride, the Lamb's wife" (Rev. xxi. 9). Whatever, therefore, is contrary to Divine order, and results from a severance of the will and understanding, or from persistence in desires and actions known to be wrong, is represented under the offensive but appropriate figure of the various corruptions which defile and profane wedded sanctity. Thus the sin of Herod denotes the alliance of an instructed mind with a depraved heart and a wicked life. Such a condition is sadly general-in a greater or less degree, indeed, it is common to us all. And most momentous is the question, when thus circumstanced, how we are to receive the expostulations of the spiritual John the Baptist. For the entire testimony of the written Word is opposed to such a state. The Bible is the most practical of books. With mere theorists it has no sympathy. Those acting contrary to their convictions, neglecting the duties they recognise, and indulging in practices which their enlightened judgments condemn -those who, like Herod, violate the heavenly marriageit confronts with the uncompromising prohibition of the dauntless, faithful Baptist, "It is not lawful for thee to have her" (Matt. xiv. 4). Herod when thus admonished "sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison" (Mark vi. 17). Other sinners often do the same, striving to silence the reproofs of unwelcome

truth by consigning it to the dungeons of indifference and neglect.

John remained in bonds until the birthday of his tyrant (Matt. xiv. 6). Since birth, in the Scripture, relates to state, birthdays, or festive anniversaries of birth, are indicative of delight in the quality of such state, and of a desire to perpetuate it unimpaired. Herod's birthday consequently signifies a condition of entire satisfaction with the merely natural and unregenerate mind of which he is the type; an utter indifference to progress; a triumphant pride in present attainments. At such times the baser faculties of sense and passion, and of the loves of self and the world, are in their wildest exuberance. Herod makes "a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee" (Mark vi. 21).

In the midst of the festivities "the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod, and them that sat with him" (ver. 22). Herodias representing, as already seen, the corrupt and evil will, her daughter, Salome, will typify the affection for whatever is wicked and false to which such a will gives origin. Dancing expresses intense and active natural delight; which is, of course, good or bad according to its exciting cause. David's dance before the Ark denotes the holy joy of the regenerating soul when the principles and life of pure religion are becoming established in its midst (2 Sam. vi. 14). The dance of Salome, on the contrary, shadows forth the corrupt pleasure of the depraved mind in the contemplation and indulgence of wrong.

Infatuated by her performance, the king pronounced the rash promise, "Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom" (Mark vi. 22, 23). These mad words describe a sad, but far too common state. The king, in every mind, is the understanding; the sublime faculty given us that by its means we may rule our life in accor dance with truth and right. No one is half so royal as he who is genuinely wise, and who employs his wisdom to govern his passions. But when this position is inverted, and the understanding, instead of directing the affections, becomes their slave; when principle is subordinated to pleasure; when, in short, the king says to the damsel who has fascinated him, "Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee;" then, indeed, is insane folly rampant, and ruin nigh. And yet, how prevalent is such delirium! Some for the low delights of sense; some to gratify their pride of intellect, or wealth, or person; in all how many, and in how many various ways, are every day repeating the folly of the wild oath of Herod! are abasing their reason at the feet of passion, and pledging themselves to give her whatever thing she And the girl takes counsel with her mother (ver. 24) in other words, the corrupt will is called into exercise. The impulse which responds to the fatal weakness of the understanding proceeds from that evil heart which is "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jer. xvii. 9). Accordingly the reply to the king's proposal is proportionate to the magnitude of the iniquity by which it is prompted: "I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist" (Mark vi. 25). The voice crying in the wilderness of the unregenerate heart, "Repent," is to be silenced in the dust. This is always the aim of wrong desire to stifle the unwelcome monitor which prohibits its indulgence. The danger and evil of such conduct cannot be exagger ated, for if the soul intentionally destroys the truth, it loses the only means of subsequent amendment, since nothing but truth can lead us to goodness, and nothing but goodness can qualify us for heaven. The stipulated

asks.

mode of the Baptist's death is also of deep significance. The head, the loftiest portion of the human form; the seat of man's distinguishing faculties of reason and intelligence; the throne of expression, which beams in the eyes and trembles in the voice; is, in relation to the trunk and members, the symbol of what is internal with respect to what is outward. The beheading of John thus typifies the separation of the literal and spiritual senses of the Word. When this is done the truth must perish. If, for instance, we regard the Bible as an ordinary book, judging it by common standards, and explaining it as we interpret the productions of finite human minds, we destroy all the specific instruction of which it is intended to be the vehicle, and involve ourselves in inextricable perplexity as to its real nature and purpose. And if such severance is the result, not of ignorance, but design, that by dwelling merely on the letter we may bring the authority of Scripture into ridicule and impotence, we commit a grievous, soul-destroying sin, and are spiritually guilty of the murder of John the Baptist. The head was required in a charger, because a charger or large dish, like all the vessels mentioned in the Word, represents the knowledges which contain truth. We are apt to suppose that knowledge is itself truth, but this is a mistake. Truth is a Divine light which illumines the soul, a wine which makes glad the heart of man. Knowledge is the form in which the light is received, the cup in which the wine is stored. We may know, for example, that God is love; we may be able to repeat the fact, and even to commend it to others; but unless such knowledge is filled with inner light, unless we see what it involves, and obtain from its possession guidance and strength, how are we the better? And just as there are vessels for various purposes, so are there knowledges of different qualities; with the wicked, indeed, no knowledge which is not perverted into an instrument of evil and falsehood. Such, then, is the meaning of the charger in which the daughter of Herodias demanded the head of her victim. It denotes the delusions and sophistries with which the corrupt, deceitful heart seeks to confirm, and to push to the very uttermost, its criminal endeavour to destroy the power and life of the Divine truth.

The understanding sees the danger and degradation into which it is dragged by the corrupt will, and, like the royal murderer of John the Baptist, is "exceeding sorry" (Mark vi. 26). Yet what avails sorrow like his, powerless to protect the victim, mighty only to avenge him? For when the rational faculty has relinquished its sovereignty, and abandoned itself to the guidance of the appetites and passions, it permits their impious suggestion to take effect. A double reason is assigned for this defection: "For his oath's sake, and for their sakes who sat at meat with him, he would not reject her" (ver. 26). Because, in the state here represented, falsity combines with evil. Both powers of the mind rush into crime. The will and the understanding unite in the rejection of the commandments of the written Word, and through their concurrence the preacher in the wilderness is slain.

A knowledge of the spiritual representation of the Baptist is also necessary to a comprehension of the peculiar qualification with which the Lord tempered His splendid eulogium: "Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (Matt. xi. 11; Luke vii. 28). Literally, John's character is indeed unsurpassed among mankind, but spiritually it requires this exception. For he signifies the truth of the written. Word, which is natural truth, such as is also denoted by

"them that are born of women." Of this truth the outward utterance of the Scripture is indeed the most perfect example, because it contributes to the most exalted uses. Yet "he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater;" for the lowest and most general perception of the spiritual and eternal wisdom of the Word transcends indefinitely the highest power and glory of its letter. While, therefore, John is justly honoured for the clearness and vigour of his preaching, and the heroic magnanimity of his life and death, be it ever remembered that his function is external and temporal-a mere "voice crying in the wilderness " preparatory to the advent of the Divine Regenerator Jesus, who quickens the inmost heart and mind by His Spirit of Truth. While an acquaintance with the outward teachings of the Bible is prized and sought after as the best form of natural knowledge, let it be chiefly valued as a means towards that supreme heavenly wisdom which is enshrined in the interiors of the Word, whereby community of intelligence may be enjoyed with the angels,. and the soul may be illuminated by the light of the Lord. Himself. JOHN PRESLAND.

MORNING LIGHT AS A MISSIONARY OF THE NEW CHURCH.

W

E have on several occasions mentioned such efforts to utilize our weekly issues for the diffusion of New Church truth amongst "outsiders" as have come under our notice. Thinking, however, that some benefit might attend the recapitulation of these efforts in fuller detail, we give the following particulars.

Every week a copy of the current number is sent to each non-New-Churchman whose name or work is mentioned in connection with praise or blame (or even merely en passant) in its columns with the paragraph marked. This work is undertaken by the Auxiliary Missionary and Tract Society.

Fifty copies of each week's issue are posted-forty-nine to that number of coffee and dining rooms in the E. C. London postal district, and one to the Notting Hill Free Library. These are folded in a neat printed. wrapper stating that they are sent by the Association,. and bearing also the request, "Kindly allow the enclosed to lie on your tables." This plan of distribution has been adopted from the considerations that not only are the former of these establishments very largely attended,. but that their frequenters live in all parts of the metropolis, and thus that the good sought to be effected is spread over a very wide area. This work is carried out by the London Association of the New Church by means of a fund subscribed several years ago for the purpose of starting a newspaper, a portion of which has,. by permission of the donors, been appropriated to this object.

Five hundred copies of every Missionary number (thefirst in each month) are purchased by the Missionary and Tract Society. Of these, 430 are sent to the principal hotels in the kingdom, with the words "For the use of the commercial-room" stamped upon each. The remaining copies are sent to the editors of religious. newspapers and magazines.

The above paragraphs place on record all the systematic and regular methods of circulating considerable numbers of Morning Light with which we are acquainted. We know, however, of several instances where one or more extra copies are taken by a kind friend of the paper and the "cause," to be by him placed in a public.

reading-room or other place favourable to its being read and appreciated.

We have chronicled several instances where special numbers have been widely circulated. Thus in our second issue we reported that 2400 copies of No. had been by the co-operation of two friends distributed to every clergyman and minister throughout Wales. And in our eighteenth issue we stated that a friend had sent a copy of the previous number, containing Rev. J. F. Potts' sermon on "War Fevers," to every member of the two Houses of Parliament.

In addition to these two special distributions several hundreds of the earlier numbers were sent to the editors of leading local newspapers in all parts of the United Kingdom.

We venture to commend these facts to the members of the Lord's New Church, to the end that so far as they may have means and opportunity they may do likewise.

The rapid increase of periodical publications, the enrolment among their contributors of the highest names in theology, literature, science, and art, and the consequent accession to the ranks of their readers of scholars and thinkers of every grade, is a remarkable sign of the times in which we live. Weekly newspapers and monthly magazines would seem to be now to a large extent occupying the ground which was formerly the sole province of books. Topics the most grave and themes of the deepest moment are discussed in the "weekly" which one reads at one's breakfast-table, or the "monthly" with which one wiles away a railway journey. Adapting itself, therefore, to this fashion of the times, the New Church may be able to present its exalted teachings in an acceptable shape to many minds at present wholly ignorant of them. Many a man whose only use of a tract would be to light his cigar withal, would doubtless extend a courteous hearing to reasonings which came to him in the well-known guise of a weekly paper.

Considerations such as these, in which those best qualified to judge will fail to detect more than an infinitesimal infusion of the merely "commercial" element, induce us to urge all those who are desirous to render real help to the extension of the New Church in the world to assist in the missionary circulation of Morning Light. The instances noted above will suggest many possible methods of so doing, and others will present themselves to the minds of any who desire by this means to obey the Divine command, "Freely ye have received, freely give."

RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION IN AUSTRIA.

DISSOLUTION OF THE VIENNA NEW CHURCH SOCIETY.

R

ECENT intelligence from Vienna gives a distressing account of the breaking up of the New Church Society there, after an existence of over twenty years, by a decree of the authorities. It seems that the Jesuits, kept under in every other country in Europe, Belgium too having displaced the Ultramontane party at its last elections, have in Austria at present a preponderating influence. It is a curious comment upon one of the resolutions of the Berlin Conference which seeks to provide for the recognition of absolute religious equality in the newly-formed states released from the rule of the Turk, that one of the signatory powers should practise at home so badly what it preaches abroad. This is a power, too, which claims to be civilized, and has its claim allowed; for has it not been asked to occupy, for the purpose of ensuring good government, two sadly-disorganized provinces on its borders? The irony of facts could hardly be carried further.

The condition of the Vienna Society during the past year may be described as favourable in almost all its aspects. Things went on in an orderly manner, and concord prevailed among its members. Divine service was well attended, and a tolerably good choir had been collected, which contributed greatly to make the services brighter and more devotional. Besides the Sunday service, spiri

tual instruction was given to the children on the Sunday afternoons, except on the last Sunday in the month, when a doctrinal class was held instead for the young men and women.

Mr. Peisker was enabled to devote his whole time to the service of the Vienna New Church owing to the liberal contribution of £30 made by members of the New Church in England. With the assistance of this sum it seemed as though everything had been made smooth for the working of the Society in Vienna as a centre for the eventual establishment in Austria of the New Church. This prospect has, however, been shattered by the action of the Austrian authorities.

The members held the opinion that they were justified in adminis tering the sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Supper, and in celebrating marriages, without transgressing their sphere of usefulness, as laid down in their constitution, and also in the fundamental law of Austria. Indeed, as a Society of the Church, they thought it their duty to carry out the functions laid down in Holy Writ. For how is it possible to separate the particular from the general, seeing that they form a one? Indeed, as long as they by their Divine worship did not violate any of the rights of the State Church, and obeyed the existing laws, they naturally thought they were acting as sincere Christians and loyal citizens. This opinion was not of sudden growth, but had grown up gradually, and had been strengthened by the fact that on no occasion had the municipal authorities made objections to their procedure; nor had their actions as a religious body ever been limited by any order or decree of the Imperial Government.

A first notice was served upon them a couple of months ago. By it they were prohibited from exercising any particular ecclesiastical functions. This was followed soon afterwards by another decree, in which they were notified that their Society had been dissolved, and they were forbidden thenceforth to hold any meetings whatever. The reason assigned was a transgression of the law by the administration of baptism in their hall. The action seems to be most arbitrary, and it is a bad omen both for Austria and the times that the wind of reaction should blow there so strongly. It is a bad omen, because the collective wisdom of mankind has summed up its experience in the saying that pride goes before a fall; and Ultramontane ascendency is spiritual arrogance in its most odious shape.

Mr. Peisker means, we are happy to learn, to stick to his post, and we trust the assistance which the Church in England provided last year will not be withheld when misfortune has struck them so hardly, and when their scattered condition is likely to be a great blow to the resources of their minister. The scattered embers are in the greatest danger of dying out, and will require the greatest care to keep alive, so that they may when opportunity offers be again collected and form again a beacon of truth in the prevailing dark

ness.

ARGYLE SQUARE CHURCH.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.

HE Annual General Meeting of this Society was held at the above church on the evening of Wednesday the 17th of July. Tea was provided in the schoolroom at six o'clock, after which the members and friends assembled in the church, when at ten minutes past seven the Rev. John Presland was called to the chair. A hymn was sung, and the meeting was opened with prayer by the Chairman.

The minutes of the last Annual and last Quarterly Meetings were read and signed.

Messrs. Humphreys and Trobridge, assisted by Mr. Peters, were appointed Scrutineers to examine the balloting-lists for the new Committee.

Two ladies were admitted members of the Society.

The report of the Committee was then read by the Chairman, in which it was stated that since the last Annual Meeting the church had undergone a thorough restoration. The services were suspended on the 12th August, and the reopening took place on Thursday the 20th and Sunday the 23rd of September, the Sunday services consisting of a harvest thanksgiving.

The General Fund of the Society having been found to be inadequate to meet the necessary expenses, an effort was made at the January Quarterly Meeting to remove the deficit, and at that meeting subscriptions to the amount of £60 were obtained, and a sub-committee was appointed to collect further subscriptions. In a very short time sufficient subscriptions (including a handsome donation of £60 from Mr. Prowse) were raised to entirely clear off the deficiency.

This being a special effort, the Committee strongly urged the members to adopt some means to prevent any future recurrence of a

similar state.

The Manual had been a source of considerable expense and loss to the Society, which the Committee could not regard with com

placency; they were therefore under the necessity of announcing in the June number that the publication must be discontinued. On this being made known a cheque was sent to the Committee by Mr. Jeggins for the amount of the deficit to July 1876, as stated in the balance sheet of last year. The Committee have consequently decided to continue its publication.

The number of members returned to Conference was 264. Three members had been removed to the spiritual world during the past year; two marriages had taken place; and nineteen infants and eight adults had been baptized.

Mr. Pitman, the Treasurer, then read the report of the cash account from 1st July 1877 to 30th June 1878. The receipts had been £733, 16s. Id., and expenses £677, 19s. 3d., showing a balance in hand of £55, 18s. 10d. This announcement was received with applause by the meeting.

The Treasurer also read a report of the repairs fund account, which had been kept separate from the General Fund.

The receipts were £635, 2s. 2d., and expenditure £847, 7s. 10d., showing a balance due to the Treasurer of £212, 5s. 8d. Part of this amount had been promised, but further subscriptions would be required to pay off the balance.

Mr. Tarelli, in moving the reception of these reports, called attention to the scarcity of matter in the Committee's report in reference to the services of the church, one great omission being the absence of any mention of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, with statistics of the number of communicants. He wished to direct attention to the unsatisfactory manner in which that service had been participated in by the congregation recently, with the hope that an improvement might be made in future. It was much to be regretted that so many left the church when the Sacramental Service commenced, and that the minister's directions as to the mode of approaching and leaving the altar had been almost entirely disregarded. Referring to the Treasurer's report, he begged to congratulate the Society on having such a handsome balance in the hands of the Treasurer.

The resolution was seconded by Mr. Horton, and supported by Mr. Howe in a long and vigorous speech, in which he urged the Society to make greater efforts to influence the people in the neighbourhood of the church, and also to give greater support to the operations of the Sunday-school.

Mr. H. T. W. Elliott thought the Committee did quite right to present a business report rather than a report of the spiritual affairs of the church; he wished, however, the Committee would take the Society more into their confidence, and then such matters as the collapse of the Manual and other calamities might be prevented. Mr. Day also supported the resolution, and hoped the Lord's Supper would be more fully and more orderly participated in.

The Chairman in submitting the resolution said he was glad the reports had been so well discussed. The Committee were always anxious to take the Society into their confidence, but the difficulty had been to get the members to attend the business meetings of the Society. He was glad the omission of any mention of the Sacrament had been referred to, and stated that the average attendance had been sixty-six against fifty-seven last year.

It was moved by Mr. Jobson, seconded by Mr. Clark, and resolved, "That Mr. Pitman be requested to continue to act as Treasurer of the Society during the ensuing year.'

Mr. Hooker being unable to continue to act as Secretary, it was unanimously resolved that the best thanks of the Society be given to Mr. Hooker for his past services.

It was further resolved that Mr. Thul be the Secretary during the ensuing year.

The election of Mr. Thul causing a vacancy in the representation on the New Church Association, it was unanimously resolved that Mr. Horton be a delegate to the Association.

The report and cash account of the Benevolent Fund were read by Mr. Watson. There were seven pensioners on the books, and a balance in hand of £14, 155.

It was unanimously resolved that these reports be received. The ladies were then appointed to act as a Committee for the ensuing year, and Mr. Watson was reappointed Treasurer and Secretary. The report of the Day-schools Committee was then read by the Chairman. The Government grant £193, 9s., was less than last year, owing to changes of teachers. The report stated that the schools had now passed from the Society to the London School Board, an arrangement having been made for the Board to take the building for a year free of rent, the Board in return to put the schools into thorough repair and pay all rates and taxes during the year.

Mr. Rose read a report of the cash account, showing a balance in hand of £27, Is. 8d.

Mr. Tarelli moved the adoption of these reports, and congratulated the Society on at last being relieved of the burden of these schools, which ought to have been done at least five years ago.

Their children would now receive a thorough secular and moral education. If there were any members who regretted the loss of the schools because they would lose an opportunity of imparting dogmatic doctrinal teaching, let them now apply their energies to the Sunday

school, and make that institution attractive to the children in the neighbourhood. The day-schools had done a great work, being started at a time when education was much neglected by the Government. And they would still be carried on in a much more efficient manner than the Society could have done.

Mr. Hooker seconded the resolution, which was unanimously passed.

It was moved by Mr. H. Rowe, seconded by Mr. H. T. W. Elliott, and unanimously resolved, that the balance of £27, Is. 8d. be handed to Mr. Pitman, the Treasurer of the Society, and that the money, after paying any outstanding claims in connection with the day-schools, be devoted to the purposes of the Sunday-schools.

Mr. W. A. Presland read the report of the Sunday-school. There were 190 children on the register, namely, 106 girls and 84 boys. The average attendance was-morning, 51; afternoon, 115. The largest number attending had been 156, and the smallest 58. This showed a falling off from last year, which was caused mainly by the great want of teachers and want of active interest on the part of the members of the church.

Mr. Tarelli read a report of the Theological Meeting. A report of the Mutual Improvement Society was read by the Chairman, also the Librarian's report. The Manual report was read by Mr. H. Rowe.

It was unanimously resolved that these reports be received by the meeting.

A resolution was moved by Mr. Howe, and carried unanimously, to the effect that the new Committee be requested to take the condition of the Sunday-schools into consideration.

Votes of thanks to Mr. Alvey for a new minute-book, to the organist and ladies and gentlemen of the choir, and to the gentlemen who had occupied the reading-desk were unanimously passed.

It was resolved that Messrs. A. Day, Milner, and Pitman be the representatives at the Conference to be held at Salford in August next, that the subscription to Conference be sixpence per member, and that fifty copies of "The Minutes " be taken.

It was also resolved that the minister be requested to attend Conference.

Messrs. Hooker, Barnes, and Horton were appointed Auditors for the ensuing year.

The Scrutineers reported, and the Chairman announced that the following gentlemen had been elected members of the Church Committee: Messrs. J. Clark, A. Day, H. T. W. Elliott, A. Faraday, Jobson, Hooker, Keene, Milner, Peters, and Watson.

The doxology was then sung, and the Chairman closed the meeting with the benediction at a few minutes to ten o'clock.

THEOLOGY THE QUEEN OF THE SCIENCES.

HE 109th Annual Conference of the General Baptist Association assembled a short time ago at Westbourne Park Chapel, and was opened by the President, the Rev. J. Goadby, B.A., of Chilwell College, who after acknowledging the honour of his election for the second time opened the proceedings in a lengthy but very thoughtful address. Mr. Goadby took as his specific. subject, "Christian Theology and the Modern Spirit," and in dealing with it, and showing the action of the one on the other, he displayed a breadth of thought, and at the same time a robust faith, that in these days of either lax teaching or rigid literalism is not too often to be heard. The opening passages of the address dealt with, and acknowledged, the vast upheaval in the world of thought,. both scientific and theological, which demanded, the speaker thought, and was undoubtedly calling forth, a closer study of theology. "I am thankful," he said, "that now at last the public interest in theology has revived. Essays, it is true, are written by what we may perhaps without offence designate the advanced school of religious thinkers, on the decay of theology, and suggestions are made with the same air of lofty wisdom, that creeds had better be left to die of their own inaction. But it cannot, I think, be denied that just now there is a remarkable revival of interest in the study of theology. I should have been glad if the revival had come from friendly quarters, but whencesoever it may come the phenomenon is welcome. In the midst of doubt, discontent, and controversy, the queen of the sciences will once more renew her youth and resume her wonted place of dignity and power.' We cordially accept the conclusion of the President, and think we can see in it a fulfilment of something we have met with foreshadowed in the writings of Swedenborg.

ITEMS OF INTEREST.

99

We think that when persons act from their common perception, and not from their creeds, they are very apt to act like the sister in the following rather amusing story, which we cut from the columns of Bow Bells: "A minister was once preaching about heaven, and,