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wick. I saw the old 'meeting house,' now a wreck, and I preached in the new one, a very neat and well finished structure, with a handsome spire. These good people, nearly half a century ago, obtained ministers from Lady Huntingdon's connexion, and upwards of twenty years since they sought and obtained one from the London Missionary Society; the Rev. Mr. M'Cullum, a Highlander. At the first settlement Government gave them a glebe farm of nearly two hundred acres, on which they have erected a large and comfortable house. The farm is cultivated, and is worth forty pounds per annum. They have always been distinguished for their attention to education, having a grammar school amongst them; and, although they present a fine specimen of the permanently enlightening and purifying effects, amidst a population, of our Congregational polity and instruction. Dr. Vaughan, were he to visit Sheffield, would draw both illustrations and proof for a second edition of his work on Congregationalism. This Christian church, now upwards of seventy years old, yet lives; and one of its members is a fine old patriarch in his ninety-first year, who still attends public worship in fine weather.

"Several colonies have gone off from this parent, and have carried with them their attachment to their principles, and their noble and enlightened character. One is found at Keswick Ridge, about twenty-eight miles from Fredericton; another at Grandlake, some ten or twelve miles from Sheffield. It is observable that every effort has been made to make these churches Episcopalian and Presbyterian, but without success. Most violent attempts have been made to rob that at Sheffield of their glebe; the aged patriarch was actually in jail for a month in relation to it, some twenty years ago, but it would not do; they hold it still. Old Mr. M'Cullum has relinquished his charge. The church at Sheffield has a young man, a Seceder, preaching to them, and that at Keswick Ridge another Seceder; but they are immoveable in their attachment to Independents; so that these are merely supplies. Even as it is, they manage to give the young man at Sheffield £120 per annum, without assistance from abroad. He preaches at Sheffield, Grandlake, and another place about ten miles distant. He told me he wished we would send them a minister, for he was out of his place, and his presbytery would some day recall him. The people also were desirous to receive an Independent minister. With all his excellence, Mr. McCullum, as he became old, was unable to retain the young people's interest in his ministry; whilst some rather stirring Methodists entered and stole a part of the flock. They have succeeded in raising an interest in the neighbourhood; but I am told they are troubled with the Calvinism of the population, and I am satisfied that if an enlightened, judicious Independent, of good popular talent, and fond of the young, were to enter that field, he would reclaim a large portion of the wanderers from the good old paths of their pilgrim forefathers. The congregation, on the Lord's-day at the church, is a present above one hundred and fifty, under their unfavourable circumstances; and good assemblages are found at the stations. I do not think that a minister sent here would be a burden on your funds, and the sooner you send one the better.

"There are in St. John's a number of persons who have either been members of Independent churches, or who have been identified with our congregations in England and Scotland, on whom reliance might be placed for pecuniary aid; while for erecting a place of worship under respectable auspices, the general public would contribute liberally. Besides, at this juncture, peculiar importance is attached to the movement; and much to encourage it, is the settlement of the boundary question. and the consequent introduction of American capital and enterprise into St. John, Some of the finest timber in North America is found on the tract ceded to the Americans. They have the free navigation of the river for the said timber, and they must ship it in the British port of St. John, while they must reside in the British N. S. VOL. VII.

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city. Now our body is the only one to suit the New Englanders. The Americans are not at home in the churches of England and Scotland; and unless they happen to be Methodists or Baptists, they find rest in our folds. This prospect adds much to the importance of the present time. Before I left, there were Americans endeavouring to purchase property in the vicinity of the shipping. My decided conviction is, that after supporting your minister for the first year altogether, while the people bore the pressure of erecting their place of worship, and assisting them for one or two years more, the congregation at St. John would sustain itself, and ere long help your funds.

"You have been already informed that St. John, including Portland and Carlton, contains a population of upwards of 30,000. Notwithstanding the fearful ravages in the river part of the city by fire, there exist an elasticity and enterprise among its mercantile community, which promise great things in the future. Those ravages have been to a large extent repaired, and then, instead of wooden buildings, the burned district is now occupied with substantial brick structures. A large fleet of the finest vessels is often in the harbour; the city has every facility for building ships of the first class; and will now have a much increased trade. Built on a series of eminences, St. John affords the most pleasant spots for private residences, and they will be near enough to any place of worship that may be erected for the city. The climate is mild, but damp. Fogs are very frequent; they lie upon the city as they roll off the Bay of Fundy. The snow seldom lies much in the city in the winter, nor is the heat great during the summer. The truth is, the climate is not widely different from that of the north-eastern coast of England. More rain and fog, but less cold and heat than in clear, bright Canada. The climate immediately changes on ascending the river St. John, and at Fredericton there is little fog or damp, and a climate very similar to that of Montreal; it is said rather colder, but equally clear in the winter, and slightly warmer in the summer.

"The people resident at St. John are chiefly from Great Britain and Ireland, rather than natives of the country, and they have no appearance of injury from the climate; they are as ruddy and long-lived apparently as the population of our own glorious sea-girt island.

"My inquiries regarding the expense of living resulted in the conviction that it would cost a family about the same that it would at Montreal; not much difference ; and that difference probably in favour of St. John.

"A minister's family would enjoy a small circle of intelligent society; though I imagine that in this particular Halifax has the advantage. I should think it quite needless for a minister to burden himself with a large outfit, as he can obtain anything he wants on the spot; yet, provided he lived actually at a sea-port, and his furniture could be taken out to St. John as baggage, for nothing, or nearly so, it would be as well to ship it. It is more than doubtful, however, whether it would pay for transport from the interior of England, and freight outwards. Most of our ministers bring vastly too much baggage. However, I had forgotten that Mr. Roaf has been recently with you, and doubtless talked with you on this point.

"The passage-money to St. John is usually low; it is a port so easily reached from England; and they have ships at all seasons of the year."

TRANSACTIONS OF CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES. "HEALTH OF TOWNS' BILL"-CONGREGATIONAL BOARD.-An act having been brought into parliament under this title, its insidious character was, a few meetings since, brought under the consideration of the Congregational Board. A committee of inquiry was therefore appointed, who brought up a report; which led to the unanimous adoption of the following resolutions :

"1. That the Board will always hail with satisfaction the adoption of any efficient means that may correct abuses connected with burial grounds, as well general as parochial, when such abuses are proved to exist.

"2. But this Board having maturely considered the provisions of a bill entitled 'The Health of Towns' Bill,' introduced into the Commons' House of Parliament during the late session, are of opinion that there are many serious and just objections to that bill being passed into a law, especially because First, If carried into a law, it would involve a gross violation of the rights of property in all those cases, and they are numerous, in which the burying grounds would be shut up by the enactments of the measure, and that without any compensation to the proprietors or trustees. Secondly, Because it would be a serious infringement of the sacred principles of religious freedom, by placing the burial of the dead, even in the cases of Dissenters, under the control of irresponsible committees, consisting entirely of the clergy and churchwardens of the Established Church; and Thirdly, Because it would sanction a principle of taxation unknown, happily, to the constitution and the laws of this country, that of authorizing committees consisting exclusively of ecclesiastical officers connected with the Established Church, to impose and levy a tax on the community for raising a fund in the administration of which they are entirely irresponsible.

"3. That the Board feel bound, in duty, for the above, among other reasons, to exercise their constitutional right of petitioning the legislature that neither this, nor any such measure, may be passed into a law; and that the petition now read be adopted, and that when duly signed, it be placed in the hands of some member of Parliament for early presentation in the approaching session.

"4. That the Secretary be instructed to have these resolutions published through the usual channels of communication to the public."

Return of the Rev. John Roar to Toronto.—On the evening of Thursday, the 27th of October, 1842, the members of the church and congregation, assembling in Newgate Street, Toronto, to the number of about two hundred, partook of tea together, as an expression of their joy for the safe return of their pastor, the Rev. J. Roaf, who arrived in Toronto the Saturday evening previous, after an absence of nearly seven months in England, on the business of the Colonial Missionary Society. After tea, the Rev. Samuel Harris, of Pine Grove, gave out a hymn, which was sung. The Rev. Mr. Lillie, tutor of the new seminary, then tendered to Mr. Roaf the congratulations of the deacons and members of the church and congregation, assuring him in their name, of the interest which they had felt in him during his absence, their pleasure in seeing him again among them, their desire for his long continued usefulness and happiness, and their readiness to co-operate with him in his endeavours to promote God's cause, whether amongst themselves or others. These he acknowledged and reciprocated with much feeling, declaring his warm attachment to his people, his warm attachment to his people, his anxiety to be useful to them in the Gospel, and his purpose to devote himself to their spiritual interests with increased earnestness and vigour. After which, he presented the assembly with an animated sketch of his engagements while absent from them, and of the present religious condition and prospects of England, so far as they had come under his notice, especially of the Congregational

churches. Appropriate addresses followed, from the Rev. Messrs. Harris, Pine Grove, and M'Glashan, Warwick, and Mr. Hickson, (deacon,) when the party separated, after prayer by Mr. Roaf, preceded by a brief but solemn address on the relation subsisting between himself and his flock, and the responsibilities thence resulting. The occasion was one deeply interesting, much calculated to encourage Mr. R. in his labours, and to excite and foster in all, those feelings on which the minister's usefulness and the people's edification so much depend. We are happy to add that, so far from the church being injured by Mr. R.'s absence, measures are being taken to enlarge his chapel, which was only built three years ago.

ENLARGEMENT OF THE INDEPENDENT CHAPEL, WORTHING, SUSSEX. -On Tuesday, November the 8th, 1842, the Independent Chapel, Chapel Street, Worthing, was re-opened for Divine worship, when the Rev. John Harris, D.D., president of Cheshunt College, preached in the morning; and the Rev. Joseph Sortain, B.A., minister of North Street Chapel, Brighton, in the evening. The devotional exercises of the day were conducted by the Rev. Messrs. Stally brass, Wiseman, Malden, Hall, Morgan, and Allen. The opening services were continued on the following Sabbath, when three sermons were preached by the Rev. J. Godwin, resident tutor of Highbury College, and the Rev. J. N. Goulty of Brighton. Notwithstanding the lateness of the season, and the unfavourable state of the weather, the collections were liberal. The chapel, which is a chaste and substantial structure, of the Anglo Norman style, and an acknowledged ornament to this delightful and improving watering-place, measures 44ft. by 47ft. and affords accommodation for six hundred people. The entire cost of the alteration and enlargement is about £700, towards which £350 has been already subscribed.

MEETING FOR CHRISTIAN UNION, HELD BY MINISTERS AND CHRISTIANS OF Different DENOMINATIONS AT CRAVEN CHAPEL, LONDON, ON THE MORNING OF MONDAY, JANUARY 2, 1843.

THIS meeting was projected with a view of ascertaining the actual state of public feeling on the subject to which it related. It was, therefore, simply advertised beforehand in the religious papers of the different bodies of Christians, as a meeting for the purpose of declaring their fellowship in Christ, on the ground of their agreement in the fundamental truths of the Gospel, without any further or special invitation being given to any party or individuals whatever. This, however, proved sufficient to draw a large assemblage of ministers and people together, so that the spacious place of worship where they were convened was crowded from one end to the other, before the hour of service. The proportion of ministers would doubtless have been still greater, had not the time inadvertently fixed upon, been that on which the brethren of the Congregational denomination were assembled at the Library in Blomfield Street, for conference and prayer. As it was, however, the character of the attendance, and of the services, at the meeting, were such as to demonstrate that a large amount of kindly feeling among the various bodies of Christians, who hold the Head, does exist, and waits but for those who sustain the office of leaders to draw it forth, and embody it in associations and services of a similar kind, for the purpose of preserving and promoting the knowledge of pure evangelical truth among all, and in all parts of the world. It is saying too little to assert that the meeting answered-it exceeded by far the most sanguine expectation.

The service commenced with singing, and after the reading of the Scriptures and prayer by the Rev. Dr. Cox, pastor of the Baptist Church, Hackney, the following

address was delivered by the Rev. W. M. BUNTING, of the Wesleyan Methodist Connexion.

"Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!' The recent widely circulated overtures on this subject have scarcely reflected more true and heavenly honour on the man of God, from whom they came, than does this first practical response to those overtures on the revered minister and his congregation, who have succeeded in drawing it forth. How far the same signal may light up beacon after beacon throughout faithful Christendom, at once in welcome to our 'One Lord,' and in warning against a common invader—whither the whole movement may tend-nay, what step my brethren around me may agree next to take, in pursuance of the promise of this meeting-it is scarcely for themselves even to predict, until God shall have further counselled them by his servant who is to succeed me, in answer to the intercessions of our fathers. In the outset of a spiritual undertaking, the wisest men must often feel their way some time before they can clearly see it. But, forasmuch as it is to faith and courage' that God 'adds knowledge and temperance,' we reckon those the wise, who, at the voice of the great Forerunner, and from the instincts of the Spirit which he has given them, first go forth, scarcely knowing whither they go, save that Christ calls them, and is with them,—and not those, who, always last in any untried enterprise, are mere gainers by the experience and success of their predecessors, and would never know a step of the way that had not been previously made good for them. Nothing is more certain than that this movement is in the right direction; and he, whose word and Spirit both call the churches to something more like sympathy and concert than they have ever yet exhibited, will as surely encourage their simplest efforts to attain it-will control their zeal, prepare their way before them, progressively reveal their duty, and, as often as they are met together in his name, will not fail to be with them. The spirit and influence of every meeting for united worship, were that all, must needs bring us nearer to each other, because mutually nearer to God. Where do we so soon forget our discords and our rigours, as amidst the melody of hymns, and the balm of prayer? Were we but to repair at set times to these haunts of our Master's Spirit, to hear him utter over again his dying charges and intercessions, we should separate, under the cadences of his voice, renewed in the likeness of his love. Did he but lead us out as far as unto Bethany, to look up together into the heaven, which ever since his ascension has been left open to all believers, and to remind one another of the one hope of our calling,-at sight of his harmonious disciples, his hands would be again lifted up in prayer, and in power; and the blessing, which fell on the ear of the first eleven, would be reverberated to the very hearts-to the one heart, of us all! But more; only let us act in some way with one accord, and assemble sometimes in one place,—faithful to what he has already taught us, and tarrying for further guidance simply until we be endued with power from on high,—and soon will the Holy Ghost come upon us, as the Spirit of truth and wisdom; and the love, which has long panted for expression, will 'speak' freely and effectually, 'as that Spirit shall give it utterance.' The Lord will direct our hearts into the love of God, of one another, and of the world, which we must love ere we shall save it.

“Meanwhile, what, it will be reasonably inquired, is the GROUND, and what are the intended bearings, of that open union of Christians and Christian Churches, the exact pattern whereof it may please God to shew us in the mount of his presence, but of which this day's gathering is the earnest? Some answer to the inquiry will be found, I hope, in a statement, as compact as I can make it, of the fixed relation between what the Scriptures describe as the union, and what they strictly term the unity of the saints. In one golden sentence, which is our motto, Love rejoiceth in the truth.' Our unity is the basis of our union. It is needless to remind you how

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