the months of June, July, August, and September in every year, if they shall think it desirable for the sake of the visitors so to do, and whether there be a stated minister or pastor, or not." A former clause makes it imperative on the deacons to provide not only for the support of the stated pastor, but likewise "in obtaining all other supplies for the pulpit, whether the same are appointed by the said church, or by the trustees hereof," &c. Will it be believed that, in a subsequent part of the same deed, the following principles are set forth: "Fourthly, That every Christian Church has the right of managing its own affairs, independently of the jurisdiction, control, or interference of any other church, or of any ecclesiastical authority whatsoever; and, fifthly, "That the inalienable right is vested in every church of choosing its pastors and teachers?"

Now, it is because I believe these principles to be scriptural, and because, in the Blackpool Chapel case, there is a departure therefrom, that I have been induced to bring the subject forward. I have no personal or private feelings to gratify. My object is the public good; the desire to prevent the introduction of principles and practices which are alike unscriptural, and opposed to the polity of Independent churches. The church at Blackpool are a weak and feeble body; but I trust that on this account they will receive the more consideration and sympathy from the public, and that their weakness will not be made the ground of an unjustifiable attempt to wrest from them their "inalienable rights."

Some of the trustees are as much opposed to the obnoxious clauses of the deed as myself, and it was not until they learnt that the deed would be valid without their signature that several of them were induced to sign it; whilst (to their honour be it spoken) two of the trustees have persisted in their refusal to sign the document; and one of them addressed a letter to the church, explanatory of his reasons for this conduct, which, but for the fear of trespassing upon your space, I should have been glad to have transcribed.

Having thus defended the statements advanced in my letter, signed "No Popery," and shown that those of "X. Z." are at variance with fact; and also given proof that the clauses of the deed which have called forth my animadversions have been resisted and denounced by the church at Blackpool, I would express the hope that you would raise your voice against the inroad of such evils, which, though commencing in expediency, will ultimately be found to prove injurious to the Church of Christ, being, as I conceive, a departure from the principles which he has laid down in the Scriptures of truth. This is the more necessary, as, if my information be correct, the Blackpool case is not alone. As I am appending my name to this paper, I hope that all future correspondence on this subject will be verified by the signature of the writers. I am, dear Sir, Your's faithfully, SAMUEL BOOTHROYD. Southport, February 10th, 1851.

P.S. I would suggest that, if the subscribers to the chapel were not informed of the intention of its promoters, in reference to the trustdeed, it would only be fair to offer to return the VOL. VIII.

money; and, at all events, the Blackpool people ought not to be expected to contribute towards their own subjugation.

No. II.

SIR-The Independent Church at Blackpool having observed a letter, headed "Blackpool Chapel," &c., and signed" X. Z.," in the February Number of the WITNESS, feel compelled to offer respecting it a few remarks. This they do with considerable reluctance, as it is far from their wish to enter the arena of controversy.

The writer, "X. Z," states that there are two ways of perverting truth, viz., by intention and by carelessness; and that the latter, though not so wicked, may be as injurious as the former. He then reads to you, Sir, a brief homily on the importance of urging upon your correspondents the "strict necessity of inquiry into the truth of the statements they make, especially when these affect religious communities."

The writer strongly reminds us of him who preaches, "Do as I say, and not as I do." Has "X. Z." inquired into the "truth of the statements" which he has made respecting Blackpool Chapel? If he be not a "perverter by intentional falsehood," we do not hesitate to declare that he has not. Had he possessed the very first qualification of a writer, some knowledge of his subject, he could not have made such "random statements" as are found in his letter.

Prior to the year 1846, there had been a good deal of talk about a new chapel at Blackpool. In that year the following appeal was drawn up, printed, and widely circulated :

"To the Inhabitants of Blackpool, the Strangers visiting that place, and the Christian Public generally, the following case is respectfully submitted:

town.

"It has long been the wish of some of the followers of Christ in Blackpool, and of many who visit it, to erect a neat and commodious Congregational Chapel in the centre of the Their present place of meeting is far too small for the summer population, and its inconvenient situation prevents the invalid from attending it. To further the object contemplated, a committee has been formed to aid in procuring donations, subscriptions, &c., and it is proposed, probably at the expense of £1,500 or £2,000, to erect a chapel, school room, and minister's house. An eligible site has been procured, and it is intended, in the erection of the chapel, that elegance and economy shall be studied; its appearance will be inviting, and its size such as shall meet the wants of an increasing population. Several gentlemen have already signified their intention to contribute, and this appeal is made to the Christian public with the confident hope that, by their liberality and influence, a house for God in character with this interesting watering-place will be raised."

Through this appeal money was contributed in Blackpool, and in most of the towns of Lancashire and West Riding of Yorkshire, and it was contributed under the idea that it was to be a bmâ fide Independent chapel. All the circulars which were issued, and appeals made from 1846 to 1849, were headed," New Independent Chapel, Blackpool." No statement was made that the trust should in anywise differ from those common to Independent places

N

of worship. The church at Blackpool contributed and collected to the utmost of their power, believing that the Deed would be similar to that of the chapel they were about to vacate.

It is not true that the visitors alone built the chapel; and built it for themselves. In a circular issued by the Building Committee, dated May, 1849, addressed to the inhabitants of Blackpool, we read-" It is for yourselves-for yourselves exclusively, during winter; and during summer, for yourselves and your visitors, on whose comfortable accommodation your prosperity so much depends."

It is not true that the visitors ever made any offer of the new chapel to the church, saying, "Our chapel is prettier than yours," &c. We ask, whence has "X. Z." got his quotation, for the above words are put in inverted commas ? No such words were ever heard or read by any member of the church until they were read in "X. Z.'8" letter. Is not the putting forth of this as a quotation shamefully deluding the public? The whole is a fabrication. Surely "X. Z," should study the homily with which he began his random expressions.

It was not until the completion of the building, and after the church had occupied it, that they knew of the intention to insert a clause in the trust giving the trustees co-ordinate power with the church in the management of its affairs. Against this clause the church solemnly protested, and its protest was supported by the Independent Churches comprising the Preston district of the Lancashire Union.

These protests were laid before a meeting of trustees and principal subscribers, held in Manchester, February 27th, 1850, at which meeting the above clause was erased. At the same time a motion was carried, that the trustees should have power to choose supplies during four months of the year.

The insolent tone and the offensive epithets which "X. Z." uses we pass over, only intimating that they have been painful to many of us, and injurious to our cause.

We exceedingly regret that we should be dragged before the public by such writers as "X. Z.," as we believe that enemies to our denomination will pervert our discussions, to the damaging of our common cause.

(Signed on behalf of the church,)
RICHARD HODGSON,
JOHN WADE,
Deacons.

The above was adopted at a Church-meeting, held March, 1851.

HOWARD'S FIRST VISIT TO THE CITIES OF THE PLAGUE.

From the Second Lecture, by the Rev. John Corbin, "On the Life and Labours of John Howard, the Philanthropist."

The year 1783, and three parts of 1784, the philanthropist spent at Cardington in comparative rest, though not in indolence; for he had schools and cottages-child, friends, and workpeople-all presenting their claims on his notice, and all sharing his time and attention. But there was one purpose of his life yet unfulfilled. Seven years before, he had indirectly felt some of the terrible consequences of the Plague.

What he had then experienced, and what he afterwards witnessed in visiting some of the hospitals and lazarettos on the Continent, awakened in his mind the desire to do something, if possible, to arrest the progress of that dreadful scourge, and to mitigate the sufferings of those on whom it fell, He had called the attention of the public to the subject, in the last edition of his book, and had tried to stimulate others to undertake this work of mercy. But his call was not responded to: the work was not done; and so far as appearances went, there was no prospect that it would be undertaken unless he did it. This conviction determined his course; and in November, 1785, he who had taken many a journey and braved many a danger, as the friend of the prisoner, now set out on an enterprise more perilous than ever, as the friend of the plague-smitten, and the afflicted. On this heroic undertaking Mr. Hepworth Dixon very justly remarks, "Mind of man cannot conceive a sublimer spectacle than is afforded by the apostle thus going forth voluntarily to encounter perils, from which other men are so eager to flee; for the good of strangers, to confront that deadly pest in its chosen seats, and at the imminent risk of his own life, win, if possible, the important secret of its causes, mode of propagation, and remedy."

There was at that time a certain quarantine establishment at Marseilles, that had gained a European reputation. In that he had intended to commence his new work; but, to the everlasting disgrace of the Government of the day, France not only forbad his inspection of the establishment, but forbad his entrance into the kingdom, on pain of arrest and probable imprisonment for life. But Howard was not the man to be turned aside, when he believed that humanity called for his services, and that duty bade him go forward. His friends did all in their power to keep him back; but it was all in vain his plan was laid; he resolved to go, and he went.

With an assumed name, and under the disguise of a physician, he hastened from the Hague to Brussels; thence to Paris; thence to Lyons; and onward till he reached Marseilles. All this time he was watched, and tracked, and thought as good as captured again and again. A spy had travelled in his company from Holland to Paris, and had watched him into his lodgings. Under the guidance of this spy, an officer of police had entered his bed-room in the middle of the night, and in answer to the question, "Is your name Howard ?" had received the characteristic reply, "Yes, and what of that?" The first thing told him when he reached Marseilles was, They are watching for you in all directions." And yet, in spite of all this vigilance and ill-directed energy, he got into the lazaretto-he saw what he wished to see-he heard what he wished to hear-he took the drawings and measurements he wished to obtain, and then went out again in safety. And now,

having gained the object for which he had braved so many perils, he made his way to Toulon. There he waited in secret through four days, at the end of which he got into a Genoese ship, and by paying a high price for his rescue, got safely landed at Nice.

He afterwards learned that he owed his escape from Paris to the following providential circumstance. The Government had then recently

been charged with making arrests on false or frivolous grounds. To ward off this unpopular rumour, they had begun to act with caution. On the very day of Howard's arrival in Paris, the prefect had gone over to Versailles, and had left word in the morning that "No new arrest was to be made till his return." When the officer went into Howard's bed-room, this prohibition had not been removed; and Howard took care that when he returned, with full powers to arrest him, the bed-room should be minus its occupant.

One can hardly forbid his imagination the treat of picturing to himself the intense mortification of these official gentlemen, when they found themselves baffled and beaten; while the illustrious man, whom they thought to make their prisoner, was rattling away over the great high road that led into the south; blending, very likely, with his morning devotions, the grateful acknowledgment, "Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowler; the snare is broken, and we are escaped."

After his arrival on the Italian shores, he went on with his investigations in all the principal cities of Italy, beginning at Nice and ending at Naples. Leaving the Continent, he sailed for Malta, where he found in one hospital belonging to the Knights of St. John, 600 patients, waited on by dirty, ragged, and inhuman wretches, who were either debtors or criminals, some of whom could amuse themselves with the delirium of their dying patients. His next halting-place was the small island of Zante; leaving which he sailed for the Asiatic continent, and landed at Smyrna. After remaining here several days, he made his way to Constantinople, where the plague was raging at the time of his arrival, and in the very midst of its ravages he remained for more than a month. Leaving the metropolis of the Turkish empire, he returned to Smyrna, and took his passage in a plague-smitten vessel bound for Venice. Here he underwent all the horrors of a forty days' rigorous quarantine. This was a deliberate act, resolved on for the purpose of learning by experience. He had, from observation and inquiry, learned much about the sufferings of the quarantine discipline; but he thought he should understand them better, and be better able to give his testimony respecting them, if he were to go and endure them in person. This he did; and he survived the sufferings and perils of the heroic act, though in more ways than one, it had well nigh cost him his life. After his liberation from the Lazaretto, he spent a week in Venice, and then made his way to the Austrian capital. Leaving Vienna, he hastened homeward through the midst of Europe, and reached Cardington in February,

1787.

If you follow him through all the details of this eventful journey, you may see him entering prisons, hospitals, pesthouses, lazarettos, and infected caravanseries, going where guide, interpreter, and even physicians refused to follow him, and visiting scenes which he dared not describe, for fear of awaking the alarm of the most courageous.

You may see him shunned as infectious by multitudes who otherwise would have courted his company, suffering repeatedly from fevers, and always while in the lazarettos from a burning pain across the forehead, tormented by millions of fleas and gnats, living for weeks

together upon nothing but dry biscuits and tea, and longing, though in vain, for a little of the skimmed milk that was freely given to his own cottagers at home.

You may see him in the midst of all this, drawing plans, writing descriptions, and collecting information-going about with the reputation and doing the work of an English physi. cian; at one time curing a young man at Smyrna who had been beaten almost to death at a bastinado; at another raising from the gates of death the favourite daughter of a wealthy Musselman, in Constantinople, and then refusing for the cure a proffered purse of £900 sterling, and asking instead a handful of grapes from the garden of the grateful parent.

You may see him refusing the invitations of mere politeness or kindness, whether they came from Ambassador, Prince, Grand Duke, or Emperor, lest if he accepted them he should be hindered in his great work, and the wretched and the suffering should be neglected.

You may see him, when some practical good was to result from it, consenting to a solicited interview with Pope Pius VI., and to another with Joseph II. of Austria; but distinctly stipulating beforehand that he would neither kiss the toe of the Pontiff, nor bend the knee in the presence of the Emperor.

You may see him offending the Grand Master of the Knights of St. John, by telling him of the vicious arrangements of his prisons and hospitals, and advising him to undertake their supervision himself; and then fearlessly pointing out to the Austrian Emperor the defects and mismanagement of his prisons, hospitals, and workhouses; and then mortifying the pride of a pompous Count and his Countess, who had called on him with a lordly air to patronise him by their visit, by telling the Count that the prisons in his district were the worst managed in all Germany, and by recommending the Countess to visit the female prisoners personally as the best means of rectifying the abuses of their management,-and then, as the haughty lady showed evident signs of mortification at such a monstrous suggestion, and with flaunting airs, hastened down the stairs as though her dignity had received a wound from which it would never recover-seriously reminding her that she was but a woman, and that "soon like the most miserable female prisoners in a dungeon, she would inhabit only a small space of that earth from which they had equally sprung."

And, finally, you may see him bracing his nerves in the midst of his perils, by falling back upon his religious principles; ascribing his escapes and preservations to the watchful care of Divine Providence, and thanking God that the approval of his judgment and the steadiness of his resolution did not leave him.

Apostles and martyrs had trodden the streets of some of the cities which he visited during this journey, and had been borne upon the seas through which he sailed; but never did an apostle labour with a purer motive; never did martyr suffer with a more heroic virtue.

thousand arguments," then I rejoice to see you have supplied that fact in the last number of the CHRISTIAN WITNESS; and what a telling fact it is. She, who merely heard the sound "through the chink of a cottage," of "mercy for me," was at once fixed, became a convert, and a decided Christian, and the wife of a gospel minister! One can imagine her husband is not an opposer of female prayer-meetings; no, the thing is too absurd to suppose; for we find his own wife became a converted character

through that precise agency. "She heard a female voice" giving the lines of the hymn, she was invited to form a part of that little company, and it was by a female that invitation was given. She heard the prayer presented, and the mouth that uttered those petitions was a female mouth. Oh, Sir! the conversion of that one soul to God ought to be sufficient to silence the fears, as also (to my mind) the foolish, if not sinful, reasons which have been assigned by some ministers, and deacons too, why female prayer-meetings should not be encouraged. This I can say, that, as an officebearer, I found that, during the time we had a female prayer-meeting, then it was well with us, and when it was discontinued things did not go on so well.

But, Sir, is the Scripture example to be set aside, or disregarded, lest some injurious influence should be exercised by females if the practice were encouraged? What a prepcs

terous notion ! Pious women meeting to pour out their souls before God, for some particular blessing on the Church, or ministry, or family, or individual; and after communing with their God, go right off and "exert some injurious influence!" Absurd! What "injurious influence" did Lydia and "the women who resorted " there, where prayer was wont to be made, exert ? Scripture does not reveal any, and we have no right to assume such was the case; rather, is not the contrary evident? Paul did not hesitate to go into that female prayermeeting, and "speak to those women;" nor did Paul's Master refuse to be present. No, he made one, and "opened the heart of Lydia," and it is not improbable that if ministers in the

SIR,-By an entry in the Congregational Churchbook of the venerable William Bridge, I find that, on the 27th of January, 1656-7, a letter was received "from severall churches in Kent, about some Questions what to doe concerning a Church among them, the greater part of them fallen to Arminienez me, which the Church tooke some time to consider of."

And, on the 24th of February, “An answer was sent to the letter received from the churches in Kent, as appears by the copy."

The copy here alluded to has been lost, probably for more than a century, as a separation took place in 1732; besides which I have found, in many church-books which I have had the honour to have entrusted to my care for transcription, to assist me in preparing "Bridge's Records" for publication, that while they frequently transcribed letters received by them, they very rarely entered copies of letters emanating from them.

Will you permit me, therefore, through the medium of your pages, respectfully to request the pastors and deacons of the elder Congregational Churches in Kent to examine their records, and if such a document can be discovered, that a copy of the same may be transmitted to me?

By so doing, you will confer a favour on, Sir, your obedient, humble servant,

Yarmouth, March 4, 1851.

JOSEPH DAvey.

Ir is probable some of the thousands of Subscribers to this incomparably best and cheapest edition of the Works of Owen, have been thinking Messrs. Johnstone and Hunter rather slow in presenting the remaining portions of the first year's issue; but it is otherwise. Here, at one throw, is a batch of four goodly volumes of the doctrinal and the practical divisions. It matters not, of course, in what order they appear, since all will be right at last; the Editor and Publishers may, therefore, consult their own convenience in that respect, secure from any complaint on the part of their numerous subscribers.

The Volumes are edited with great care, and the whole style of getting up is such as fully to make out the promise of the prospectus. The various Prefaces and Notes are such as the case required, and will prove highly useful to the less erudite portion of the readers. Every fresh dip into the collective pages of this Prince of Divines only serves to increase our admiration of his boundless stores of spiritual wisdom, and our gratitude to Messrs. Johnstone and Hunter for bringing the mighty treasure in such a manner, and at such a price, before the British churches. We very heartily rejoice in

their enterprise, and only regret, not for their sakes, but for that of the public, that the noble roll of their subscribers was not fivefold.

Biblical Commentary on St. Paul's First and Second Epistles to the Corinthians. By HERMANN OLSHAUSEN, D.D., Translated from the German, by JOHN EDMUND COX, M.A. T. and T. Clark. It is now some five-and-twenty years, or thereabouts, since the appearance of the work of the Rev. William Lothian, M.A., Independent Minister, St. Andrew's, Scotland, on the Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians-a work which was then deemed by intelligent persons to be the supplying of a great desideratum, which had had no equal in its predecessors, and which nothing has yet been presented at all calculated to supersede. That volume deserved a far better fate than has befallen it. It being the production of a young man, comparatively unknown, in a provincial and northern position, it did not command a tithe of the attention which was due to it; and all experience shows how much depends upon the launching of such works, since, to a large extent, it is now or never with them. Had the work fallen into the hands of a clever London publisher, we can hardly doubt that by this time it might have gone through several editions, for it is a publication of very great merit. It was respectfully dedicated to the author's friend, the late Dr. Chalmers, who had a pew in Mr. Lothian's chapel, and there, with his family, very frequently worshipped.

The present publication, however, in no respect comes into collision with that of Mr. Lothian. It is an altogether different affair; in its own way likewise possessing great merit. Its principal features are exegetical and critical, dealing but little in the doctrinal, the experimental, or the practical. The volume forms a valuable addition to the author's publications on the Four Gospels, and the Epistle to the Romans. Mr. Cox has discharged his duty ably and faithfully, and proved himself a competent scholar, for the work required a knowledge of no fewer than four languages. It will be a welcome and valuable present to the Biblical scholars of Great Britain; but it will behove the less penetrating among them to read with care and discrimination, testing everything by the Word of God. For example,

in the seventh chapter of the First Epistle, speaking of the Lord's Supper, there is language employed which is very exceptionable, and may be mischievous. He says, "The Apostle treats it as a high mystery, which bears within itself a power to bless, and likewise to destroy." Taking this passage with the context, upon a conversation with Olshausen, it might have turned out that he was not very wide of the truth, after all; but his phraseology is certainly by no means felicitous. He is nevertheless a determined adversary to transubstantiation, and, so far, we like him. The subsequent parts of this interesting passage are well and correctly expounded. He says, "The Corinthians had partaken of Christ's flesh and blood unworthily, but they were not for that reason eternally condemned;" "the Almighty sought to recover them by chastisement-the Apostle by reproof." The volume abounds with interesting discussions, and is replete with useful learning; but still we must repeat the counsel we have given, that every reader shall take heed as he advances. If we might give a hint to the Messrs. Clark, who have done so much for Biblical literature, we would recommend attention to the paper, and also to the type. The paper is blue, much resembling that known as tea-paper," and altogether the appearance of the book is by no means such as it ought to be. More attention also, ought to be paid to the press-work. Our copy presents a soiled and unworkman-like aspect. It may be, however, that copies are made up from the exceptionable sheets, and sent for the benefit of reviewers. We do not say that such is the fact; but for the sake of these respectable Publishers and the general edition, we are willing to believe that it is so.

66

Lectures to Young Men on various subjects. By HENRY WARD BEECHER. With an Introduction, by Dr. DOBBIN. Ward and Co.

DR. BEECHER is one of the most distinguished men in the United States, and, than his family, there are few more eminent for genius and for piety. That venerable man visited England a few years back, where he met with the respect which was due to his talents, services, and character. Divers members of his family, both sons and daughters, are well known in the republic of Letters in the New World, and their fame has even travelled to the Mother