of the ministers and leaders have given missionary lectures in their own places of worship, and most of them in other places. Nearly all the ministers report favourably respecting the attendance at public worship, though some answer indefinitely, and two say that the practice of attending only in the morning is operating injuriously. The answers relating to the Sacrament reveal a very great need of improvement, and on this subject the Conference adopted the following resolution :-"That the Conference hereby urges upon the members of the Church the importance and privilege of frequent participation in the Sacrament of the Holy Supper." The age at which young persons are encouraged to become communicants was also inquired into. "The answers to this inquiry," says the President, various, from sixteen years of age to twenty, and to the time when they become members. My own opinion is that we should aim at preparing our children at the earliest mentioned age. In the Roman Catholic Church they reckon twelve, and in the Lutheran fourteen, as the age of commencement. time in this respect is associated with the old error that young people must sow wild oats. We should constantly strive to combat and root out this destructive opinion, for who, young or old, sow wild oats must reap a more abundant crop of wild oats.

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A late

The answers respecting the instruction of the children of members in Sunday classes, Bible classes, and house meetings are various. Both the ministers and leaders give attention to their Sunday schools. The replies to the inquiry respecting the growth of the societies and their influence in their respective neighbourhoods are such as to show that there is much to gratify in these reports, but great room for improvement. The societies which progress best in themselves are evidently those which are able best to give an account of their evident usefulness to their neighbourhoods.

The Secretary reports "a gradual but steady increase in the number of registered members of societies in connection with the Conference.' The total number reported for the present year is 4098, being an increase over the last returns of 297 members.' The applications of various kinds reported by the

The

Secretary were referred to one of the ordinary committees. From the report of this committee arose a large amount of the business which occupied the attention of the Conference. Applications for admission into connection with the Conference were made by the societies of Buttesland Street, London, and Clayton-le-Moors, near Accrington, both of which were complied with. Licenses were granted to Mr. Ramage, for Buttesland Street, Mr. Negus, for Northampton, and Mr. Heywood for Rhodes; and the case of Mr. Smith for the Middlesborough Society referred to the Committee of the National Missionary Society, until the application could come before the Conference in accordance with its rules. Pensions were granted to Rev. D. G. Goyder, Rev. T. Chalklen, and Mrs. Hiller. The sum of £50 was voted to the London Missionary and Tract Society in aid of their mission at Buttesland Street. position of the College occupied the anxious attention of the Conference, yet, while regretting its present condition, the interest receivable from the Crompton legacy and the Finnie Gift for College purposes was directed to be paid to the Treasurer of the College. A Committee was also appointed to see to the appropriation of the money. The Treasurer reported from the Secretary of the College that a donation of £100 had been generously contributed to the college by Miss Rogers, who had directed the election of ten gentlemen as life governors. This handsome donation will be applied to the liquidation of the debt, and will thus contribute to the improved financial condition of the institution. Its great want is adequate teaching power; and we sincerely hope that the new arrangements rendered necessary by the retirement of the principal may be such as give general confidence and to increase its usefulness. Some changes have also taken place in the relation of several of our public Day Schools to the Conference. More adequately to meet the requirements of the recent Education Act, and because no longer needing assistance from the educational funds dispensed by the Conference, several have withdrawn their applications. In relation to these Schools the Conference passed the following resolution-"That while rejoicing to find that these schools are able

to dispense with assistance from the educational fund, and wishing them abundant success, the Conference expresses its hope that the managers will continue to forward reports and statistical returns."

The Treasurer among other interesting matters which had come under his attention, reported, That the late Miss Charlotte de Soyres had bequeathed the sum of £700 to the Conference for the Society, Library, and School in the city of Bath. Miss de Soyres has also bequeathed the sum of £100 to each of the following Institutions of the Conference, viz., The National Missionary Institution, the Students and Ministers' Aid Fund, and the Pension Fund. These legacies, reduced by certain legal deductions, have been received by the Treasurer.

Another noble benefaction reported by the Treasurer is the purchase of the Palace Gardens Church, of which an account has already appeared in our pages. The church is freehold, and is situated in a district supposed to be well suited to the dissemination of the doctrines. The inscription on the building is remarkable. It is, "Christ the Head of the Church, and the King of Israel.' The generous donor has authorized the treasurer to obtain a suitable organ and to have the interior restored and decorated. The church is a gift to the General Conference, and will involve labour and responsibility to make it useful. At present the treasurer, Mr. Pickstone, and Dr. Bayley are a subcommittee of the National Missionary Society entrusted with its management. The donor, in a letter of June 5, writes, "I do not wish my name to be published as the owner of the church, and in making out the title simply state, it has been purchased by a friend to the cause through you."

The question of the incorporation of the Conference was again brought under consideration, and the memorandum and articles of association as settled by counsel were referred to a committee, whose report recommended sundry alterations and additions, which were adopted by the Conference and ordered to be inserted in the Minutes. A committee was also appointed "to take the necessary steps to obtain from the Board of Trade the licence of incorporation according to the above articles, to make

such alterations in these articles as the Board of Trade may require, and to draw up a Form of Bequest in accordance with the licence of incorporation; and when the licence has been obtained to print 1500 copies of the Memorandum and Articles of Association and Schedules, together with the licence, uniform in size with the Minutes of Conference."

Another subject which has of late years occupied the attention of the Conference has been the proposal to extend the uses of the Pension Fund by making it available for lay-preachers as well as the ordained ministers. After a full consideration of this subject it was resolved "That the present amount of the Pension Fund, together with the interest which shall hereafter accrue therefrom, be preserved intact for the original intention of the fund, viz., to aid wholly or partially incapacitated ministers and their widows; but that in future all funds which may be collected or bequeathed to the Pension Fund may also be applied, at the discretion of the Conference, to the relief of necessitous licentiates and other leaders, unless the donors or testators direct that their don ations or legacies be specially applied."

The following memorial, addressed to the Conference from the London Auxiliary of the United Kingdom Alliance for the Legislative Suppression of the Liquor Traffic, was received and ordered to be printed in our report of the proceedings of Conference. another resolution the Conference expressed an approval of the object of the Alliance. The memorial is as follows:

By

"Rev. and Christian Brethren, We approach you in the belief that your intelligent and religious sympathies are enlisted on the side of every legiti mate effort for the removal of the shameful and disastrous vice of Intemperance.

"The land mourneth on account of this evil, whereby not only are many forms of iniquity aggravated and extended, but a very great amount of Christian labour is continuously neutralised, which would otherwise be fruitful in good works and the improvement both temporal and spiritual of the masses of the people. Especially have we reason to lament the influence of drinking customs upon families in the sacrifice of infant life, and the misery

and corruption to which surviving children are exposed when one parent or both parents are the slaves of this dreadful habit.

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Among the public causes of this unhappy state of things, none compare with the licensed traffic in intoxicating liquors, according to the prevalence of which is the prevalence of social degradation, impoverishment, and crime, attended by an incapacity on the part of myriads to profit by the lessons of Christian wisdom and virtue; nor is there any reasonable hope that the public effects will be materially diminished while the public causes are legally sustained. It is found on the other hand that where the sale of intoxicating liquors is excluded from any place, large or small, the results are exceedingly gratifying, and have been reported as such by a special committee of the Convocation of the Province of Canterbury, before whom have been laid the facts relating to 1400 of these parishes and other districts.

"In order to render this exemption from our greatest social curse possible throughout the kingdom, Sir Wilfred Lawson, Bart., M.P., has brought into Parliament a Bill to enable the owners and occupiers of property in every locality to decide against the issue of liquor licenses therein by a majority of two to one; and it is believed that if such a facility were afforded by law for the expression and execution of public sentiment, many districts would avail themselves of the power and thus enjoy a pleasing reduction of poor-rates and other grievous burdens arising from the liquor traffic.

"It is, to say the least, only consistent with social justice and constitutional freedom that a choice should be permitted to the people of every locality in relation to a question so deeply affecting the common welfare.

"Impressed with these views, we are anxious, reverend and Christian brethren, to elicit your practical co-operation as a Conference; and we heartily hope that you will agree to petition Parliament in favour of Sir Wilfred Lawson's

Prohibitory Liquor Bill; also to memoralise the Home Secretary to incorporate in any Government measure of licensing reform the essential principle of the Permissive Bill. By so acting we humbly submit you will

assume your rightful attitude as Christian patriots and philanthropists in opposition to a great national scandal, and will assist to make the law a terror to evil-doers and a praise to them that do well.

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Signed, on behalf of the London Auxiliary, WM. BREWER, M. D., M.P., President; GEO. DIBLEY, Treasurer; RICH. E. FARRANT, Hon. Sec."

The business of the Conference was virtually closed on Saturday morning, but the complicated nature of the regulations connected with the incorporation, and the necessity of care, delayed the completion of the minutes until the early part of the following week. All the proceedings were distinguished by an earnest desire for the advancement of the Church and the promotion of its orderly establishment and extended usefulness in the world.

ORDINATION OF MINISTERS FOR MISSIONARY AND PASTORAL SERVICES IN GERMANY AND SCANDINAVIA.

The report of the retiring President of Conference introduced the subject of two applications which were made for ordinations for missionary and pastoral services in other countries. We regret that our space prevents the publication of the admirable introduction of this important subject as given in the President's report. For this we must refer our readers to the printed Minutes. The following documents and action of the Conference is all our space will allow :

"To the General Conference of the New Jerusalem Church in Great Britain.

"The undersigned address the honoured Conference of the Lord's New Jerusalem in Great Britain, to request that Captain Adolph Theodor Boyesen may be ordained to be a Pastor and Missionary for the New Jerusalem Church in Denmark. Mr. A. Boyesen has been a receiver of the doctrines of the New Church about twenty years. He has also studied at the University of Urbana, Ohio, North America, where he was received by baptism into the Church. He has translated many of the New Church Writings from the Latin into Danish-Norwegian, and by his life and works for the spread of Divine Truth it is manifest that his faith is an upright one. He has also

preached for us, and has shewn that he can explain the spiritual sense of the Divine Word; and we therefore desire from the honourable Conference that they will accede to our request, and ordain the said Mr. Adolph T. Boyesen to be a priest of the New Jerusalem amongst us.

"COPENHAGEN, July 18, 1871."

This application is signed by 14 persons whose membership in the New Church extends from three to twenty years. The request was supported by the American Scandinavian Society, and by the Rev. Mr. Stuart of America.

The request for the ordination of Mr. Peisker for Germany and Switzerland was supported by a still larger body of signatures. There were two committees who signed the memorial, one representing over 200 members, the other over 50. To these were added requests and testimonies from friends in Switzerland, and the recommendations of English members of the Conference, and a strong recommendation from Mr. Midnight, whose zeal for the spread of the truths of the New Church in Germany is well known.

For the consideration of these applications an influential Committee was appointed, and by special vote of this Committee the American ministers were invited to take part in its deliberations. One of the candidates, Captain Boyesen, being present in the Conference during the sitting of the Committee was also invited to state the circumstances connected with his application.

After expressing his thanks for the assistance rendered to Scandinavia and Denmark by aiding the publication of translations of the writings of our great author, Captain Boyesen went on to say that the state of society in Scandinavia is unsettled. Many leave the churches, being no longer satisfied with the popular religious faith. Among these are earnest inquirers for the truth, many of whom are attracted to the New Church. In this distress the New Church should

be presented to them. They desire a public worship by a properly appointed ministry. At present there are no means to remove the dark clouds that hang over them, and the many who desire the truth and a worship in harmony with its teaching have not the means of obtaining these advantages. The brethren also who are already full

receivers of the heavenly doctrines desire this ordination for the baptism of their children and the orderly preaching of the doctrines, and both he and they think it most useful and orderly to obtain this ordination from a publicly recognized body of the Church, such as the General Conference in Great Britain.

The committee after a full consideration of the subject, resolved to recommend the ordination of the candidates, and adopted resolutions providing for future applications, which are to come before the Conference through the agency of the Committee of the National Missionary Institution. In introducing these resolutions to the Conference, the Rev. Dr. Bayley said-That the large committee of both ministers and laymen were, with one exception, unanimous in their recommendation of the adoption of the principle of ordaining ministers to preach the doctrines of the New Church and administering the Sacraments in other countries than Great Britain, and the regulations which he had to propose. He urged the importance of aiding New Churchmen who desire to become ministers in their own countries, and who wish to have the prestige and the encouragement which a respected body in England will give them when addressing their country.

men.

When they are strong enough to walk alone, they will form organizations of their own, but for a time they wish to have the encouragement and support derived from the sanction of the General Conference-to feel that in their feeble days they have an elder brother stronger than themselves, part of a nation universally respected, and united in sympathy with the great sister nation in America. Every regulation, he said, has been carefully considered, and covers the whole subject, and if carried heartily, will cheer and animate our brethren in other lands, and commence the implantation of seeds of blessing, which will grow and spread and bear fruit in the great countries outside of Great Britain, thus doing our best to advance the happy time when all the peoples of the world shall become parts of one great family, and the Lord Jesus Christ be acknowledged as the Father and Saviour of the whole.

The Rev. R. Storry, in seconding the adoption of the resolutions, said

that Christianity is essentially missionary, and the adoption of the course recommended is the initiation of a movement which places the New Church in sympathy with the command of the Lord to preach the gospel to every creature. Wherever there are human beings, it is the mission of Christianity to seek their instruction and promote their regeneration; and the New Church, like the first Christian Church, has its mission of use everywhere. But the present condition and circumstances of the world are not those that distinguished the planting of the primitive Christian Church. Since the first advent, the press has been introduced into the world, and the wonderful providence which is over the Church has employed this powerful agency to disclose and promulgate the precious truths of the second advent. The consequence of this is that in all civilized countries the writings of our great author are more or less known, and intelligent and virtuous men are rising up into the hearts of some of whom the Great Head of the Church has put the duty of proclaiming the everlasting Gospel of His Second Advent by the living voice. Those to whom they are to minister desire an ordained ministry, and have expressed a desire that their ordination should have its beginning from the General Conference of the New Church in Great Britain. They are one with us in faith and life, and they desire to be one with us in the offices and ordinances of the Church. Had they chosen to originate these forms of order among themselves, we should doubtless have cheerfully acknowledged the validity of their offices. They have sought their ordination from us, and we shall rejoice to help them to a condition of order, in which they may reasonably hope to become instruments of spiritual blessing in their respective countries.

The motion led to an interesting conversation. One member objected to the motion, not, however, from any personal objection to the candidates, but because he considered that so important an innovation as the ordination of gentlemen who are not British subjects, and who intend to work only in foreign countries, should not be carried out without further consideration. The Conference cheerfully adopted the resolutions presented by the Committee, and warmly

welcomed our brethren to the great work on which they are entering. The resolution of the Conference was carried out by the ordination of these respected brethren in Argyle Square Church on the Monday evening following. The length at which we have given the proceedings of the Conference compels us to defer to a future issue the notice of this service.

CONFERENCE ARRANGEMENTS.

These were under the direction of a Committee of the Cross Street Society, aided by the sympathy and assistance of other members of the Church, and were so provided as to promote the comfort of the members of the Conference and to extend its usefulness. Tea was provided daily for the memIbers of Conference at the close of the business; and, in addition to the public service on Tuesday evening and the large assembly on Thursday at the Church at Kensington, several social parties were held during the week at the houses of members of the Church. Arrangements were also made to secure the services of ministers attending the Conference in the several Churches in London. On the Sunday preceding the Conference (August 6) Rev. R. Storry preached in the morning at Cross Street, and in the evening at South London, Rev. T. L. Marsden preached morning and evening at Buttesland Street, Rev. E, Whitehead in the morning at South London, and Rev. Mr. Presland in the evening at Argyle Square. On the Sunday following the Conference, August 13, Rev. Mr. Reed preached at Cross Street in the morning, and Rev. J. Presland in the evening. At South London, Rev. Mr. Rendell in the morning, and Rev. W. Woodman in the evening. At Argyle Square, Rev. Dr. Hibbard in the morning, and Mr. Wilkins in the evening. At Buttesland Street, Mr. Wilkins in the morning, and Mr. Best in the evening. At Islington, Rev. E. Madeley in the morning, and Rev. J. Hyde in the evening. At Hammersmith, Rev. R. Storry in the morning, and Rev. E. Madeley in the evening, And at Deptford, as will be seen in the notice of a correspondent, Rev. J. Hyde and Rev. R. Storry preached in connection with the opening of the New Church. At Argyle Square a number