think, is most convincing; and I may add, that the greater portion of the collection was contributed by the people residing in this district.

I am sorry I cannot speak so cheeringly of our schools; they are both low at present. We are beginning to feel the influence of the Romish priest very much both here and at Bundoragha, and many of our boys and girls have been sent away lately, some to service, and others to your society's school in Galway. We must only hope that, after a little, we may be able to get up our numbers again. Our congregations have been very good, and Roman Catholics occasionally dropping in increases the interest. I must conclude, as I fear I have already said a great deal more than I had intended; but as I wrote, facts were continually coming to my mind. Our classes and lectures have been kept up, and pretty well attended. May God, for Christ's sake, bless all our efforts for the furtherance of his Gospel and for the winning of souls unto Him.

IAR CONNAUGHT.

(From the Missionary.)

The Romish bishop lately assembled twelve of the local priests in Spiddal, and did all in their power to get up a strong spirit of persecution, and to revive the system of exclusive dealing against the converts. They have, however, signally failed in the Spiddal Mission, and partially in the Invern and Killeen Missions.

Some of the people here came to me and said, "It is not right of the priests to require us not to speak, or deal with you or the converts, and we will not be guided by them." A few days ago a Romanist, in this neighbourhood, beat his neighbour's wife severely. The woman was dangerously ill, and her husband called on me to visit her, which I gladly did, and pointed her to Christ, and Christ alone, for salvation. In cottage visiting I called again and again on her, and also on her assailant, and pointed out to both parties the great necessity of living in peace and Christian love one with the other, and pointed out to them the advantage of settling this case by arbitration, and not enter on an expensive litigation. They were persuaded by

me to leave the case to an arbitration, and requested I would become arbitrator in the case, which I thankfully declined; and though summonses have been issued, your agents are at this moment sitting as arbitrators in this case, both parties having said, as I could not decide the case between them, they would have none other to adjudicate it but those connected with me. Such are the kindly and

confidential feelings entertained by the generality of the people in the neighbourhood towards your missionary and agents, though the priests have been for the last five Sabbaths cursing and denouncing us, or any person who should speak or deal with us. Indeed, the priest outdid himself in cursing on the 19th instant.

The priest called out by name, from the altar, on that day, some of those persons who receive your agents into their houses, but these persons spoke out like men in the chapel, and said they would receive your agents, and converse with us whenever or wherever they met us, and one of those denounced by him visited one of your agents, in his house, the following day. It is quite an unheard-of circumstance in this district to have any of his poor slaves dare reply to this tyrant priest, but particularly while on the altar.

The priests of this district are much pained at the Romanists standing to listen Sabbath after Sabbath to the Gospel preached in their beloved tongue, as they return from the chapel on the days on which the priest denounced us and our work so violently. Twenty-five remained on the road, outside the cottage in which I hold service; and, within three yards of me, with the windows down. On another Sunday, one of the priests walked up and down past the cottage, during morning service, but went away as I gave out the text. He was scarcely out of sight when twelve or thirteen Romanists were at the front window, and remained there during the sermon. Many of those who stand to listen, tell your Missionary and agents that they are surprised how any person, even the priests, could object to what they hear of our prayers and preaching; nay, but they never heard anything so beautiful in all their lives; others say, the reason the priests are so opposed to us is, lest the people should leave them, and that they would lose the money thereby.

A young woman has lately come out of Popery under our ministry. My dearly beloved but departed wife and I have, from time to time, for the last fourteen years, brought the truth, as it is in Jesus, before her, while at the same time we pointed out to her the soul-damning errors of Popery. She came here lately to dispose of some work, and stopped at my place. When service commenced, I was delighted beyond measure to see her walk in and join us in prayer and praise. She is ever since attentive and zealous in her attendance on the preached Word on every Lord'sday, and punctual at our weekly meetings.

Though much and violently opposed by a very clever priest, aided and assisted by the profound ignorance of the people, for not one in one hundred of the adults can read and write, nor indeed appreciate the value of secular knowledge; still, we have just cause to rejoice in the Lord, and to look forward in hope for a continuance of that blessing which He has hitherto vouchsafed to this portion of his vineyard committed to our care.

Opposition of Parents to Bible Reading.

"A LITTLE further on (writes a Scripture Reader) I was met by a young man. About six months ago I knew him to be an enemy, and to do all that he could to prevent our speaking to people. In some of my previous conversations I noticed a visible change in him; he takes handbills and listens to the Gospel he heretofore refused and abused. To-day he took a handbill, and said he was getting very fond of reading them, and repeated Ps. cxix. 9 and 2 Tim. iii. 15, 16, 17, with remarks on the excellency and value of the Bible. "Ah, man," said he, "if I read the Bible, where could I go? My father is dead, and my mother would not let me in."

THE

BANNER OF THE TRUTH IN IRELAND.

NOVEMBER 1, 1860.

000

The Clifden Confirmation.

TUESDAY, the 2nd of October, was an eventful day in Connemara. The Bishop of Tuam had announced his intention of holding a confirmation in Clifden Church, for the surrounding Mission districts, and the occasion was looked forward to with great interest, both as an important means of grace, and an evidence of progress in the work. At the commencement of the Connemara Mission, the confirmations of the Bishop of Tuam were amongst the most remarkable proofs of the advance of the Reformation, and many hundreds have, from time to time, come forward to bear their public testimony on the adoption of a pure faith. The aspect of the work in Connemara is now somewhat different from what it was at that early period. The converts have become settled and established in the country. Open persecution and mob violence are comparatively rare; and though there is constant watchfulness and opposition on the part of the priests, yet we trust we may say that the churches have rest, and, walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, are multiplied.

On the confirmation-day there was, happily, extremely fine weather, and as many of the converts had to come more than ten miles in order to be present, this was really a great blessing on such an occasion. At twelve o'clock the Bishop proceeded to the new church in Clifden, which, from its size and handsome appearance, looks well worthy

VOL. X.

M

to be the mother church of this large and interesting district. The church was well filled in every part, and it was truly a wonderful sight to see 600 Protestants gathered together for Christian worship in a place where, not many years ago, 30 or 40 would have been a good congregation. The prayers were read by the Rev. H. D'Arcy, the Rector; the lessons by the Rev. H. C. Eade, Missionary Secretary to the Irish Church Missions. There were also present the Rev. Messrs. MacCarthy, Noel, Brodie, Mollan, Fleming, Rudd, Ryder, Shea, Conerney, Donaldson, and Ashe. The first lesson was, by the Bishop's permission, the twenty-fourth chapter of Joshua, and many present felt the remarkable application of some of the verses to those who had been rescued from Romish superstition and idolatry, as, for instance, verses 14-18:-"Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods. which your fathers served, that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods; for the Lord our God, He it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed; and the Lord drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land therefore we will also serve the Lord, for He is our God." Many, we believe, who then came forward to declare themselves the Lord's servants could fully enter into the meaning of these striking words.

The confirmation sermon was preached by the Rev. W. C. Plunket, chaplain to the Bishop. It was an earnest and impressive discourse on the words, "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Cor. i. 9.)

After the sermon, the candidates came before the