prosperity, they poured out their souls to God in gratitude for the blessing which he had been pleased to confer upon them. He visited them upon this occasion, and he endeavoured to seize the opportunity of addressing them as to how they ought to employ the time thus placed at their disposal, so as not to give the masters occasion to say that it would be much better for them to be employed on the Sabbath, than to spend it in getting drunk; and if that Meeting could see the appearance of those poor men upon that occasion, it would greatly affect them. He wished that those who were called the friends of the poor in the House of Commons could have witnessed the sight it would have disposed them to be, in reality, what too many of them were now only in name, the poor man's friends. The Rev. Gentleman concluded by expressing an earnest hope that the Hon. Baronet, Sir A. Agnew, would persevere until he had carried the Bill, the whole Bill, and nothing but the Bill. whole world, and lost his own soul, it JOHN HARDY, Esq., M. P., said he was struck by the remark which had been made by Mr. Buxton, that the first use made by the negro population in the West Indies of their freedom was to put an end to Sunday markets,-that great disgrace to our West Indian colonies. Would that our senators in this country might imitate the example! One of the arguments that had been urged against legislation respecting the Sabbath was, that it was unnecessary, in consequence of the improvement that had taken place of late years in Sabbath observance. He did not see the improvement thus spoken of. But supposing it existed, he could not admit the cogency of the argument. It would be no good argument against precautions to prevent the small-pox, to say that the disease had been greatly diminished of late years. Another perversion of argument on the subject was the quotation of that saying of our Saviour, that the Sabbath was made for man. ment was used by Him who had said that his kingdom was not of this world. The quotation, however, was made by those who, in arguing that the Sabbath was made for man, meant no more than that man might spend it in any worldly way he pleased, for religion was altogether out of the question. They forgot, however, that in using those words, and in defending himself from an alleged breach of the Sabbath, our Saviour meant not to speak of worldly interests, but of those which concerned man's eternal welfare. He spoke in the sense in which he used the words, that if a man gained the That argu Sir ANDREW AGNEW said, that in the part which he had taken he felt greatly indebted for the support which he had received; and he should, therefore, be wanting in gratitude to this Society, to the Sabbath cause, and to Almighty God, if he did not now express his most humble thanks. The wish had been expressed more than once that day, and he doubted not that it had been expressed in almost every religious family throughout the kingdom, that this cause might ad vance; and every step was SO much gained towards the great goal. In that opinion he most cordially concurred. When he was first induced to give notice on the books of the House of Commons of a Committee to inquire into the laws and usages regarding the Lord's day, he was looked upon as a fanatic, and he had been so called to the present day. The fact was, the term "Lord's day" had become obsolete, and the simple employment of the term was sufficient to cause a man to be called a fanatic. But through the agency of this Society the public had become familiarized with the phrase, and he thought its use was calculated to bring them back to that source from whence the Lord's day was derived. The Report made by the Select Committee of the House of Commons was printed and circulated before the House adjourned; persons in various parts of the country, not their own masters, approved of the sentiments it contained; and in the following session the House was deluged with petitions on the subject. If he were permitted to tell a secret, he would inform the Meeting that there was no better way of influencing the members of the House of Commons, than that of placing petitions in their hands signed by the most respectable of their constituents. Whatever their private opinions were, they were much moderated by such petitions. His idea up to that period was still that of bringing in a moderate and partial Bill, and almost every Hon. Member stated that he should be happy to give him his support. He entered into conversation with them on the subject, and found their ideas were so ill-defined that no two of them agreed upon any one point on which they would legislate. In the few months which intervened between the opening of the session and the bringing in of the Bill, he was led to see that if he depended upon the promised support, he should be disappointed; and he therefore determined to bring before the House and the country the simple principle of the divine institution of the Sabbath. Three years had elapsed since that step was taken, and everything which had occurred during that period confirmed the propriety of the course he had pursued. He found it was impossible for them to make progress in the cause except as they could bring home to the constituency of this country the conviction of the divine authority of the Lord's day. If that sentiment could be impressed upon the constituency of the country, and through their instrumentality upon their representatives in Parliament, the avowed wishes of the constituency must be obeyed, and a law must be passed that every man should have an opportunity of worshipping the Lord on the Sabbathday according to the dictates of his conscience. Few things had given him more pleasure than the conduct of his Hon. friend, Mr. Hesketh Fleetwood, who, after the general measure was thrown out of the House, introduced one more partial in its nature. He gave that gentleman every credit for being actuated by the best intentions and the highest principles. He thanked every Hon. Member who had seen it his duty to bring in a more moderate measure; but he must in justice to himself remind the Meeting, that his duty had been very different from theirs. He had had to act the part of a pioneer; he had had to open the ground, and establish the principle; and until the principle was established, it was impossible to hope that they could legislate with success on matters of detail. He felt it to be his duty to stand upon that principle, and he would support it. He was reluctant to introduce a partial measure, lest it might be said that he had made a compromise; but he should rejoice when any other Hon. Member was permitted to introduce a Bill which might be useful to any classes, however few. A card had been put into his hand, and he would merely adduce the statement written upon it as an illustration, though it was altogether unnecessary for him to attempt to prove to that Meeting, that there was no truth in the imputation alleged against him, that his object was to oppress the poor, and to allow the rich to go free. card had been sent to him by Mr. Panther, a gentleman who had given some valuable evidence before the Committee of the House of Commons. Mr. Panther was a clerk to a canal carrier between Manchester and London, and had been induced to leave one situation, and take another where the parties had tried the experiment of stopping their boatmen from working on the Sabbath. They had been led to make the experiment in consequence of the dishonesty of the men They had determined to try whether allowing the men to attend divine service on the Sabbath would improve their principles. On the back of the card he found written, "Several boatmen on the line of canal from Manchester to London, have a petition ready to present to their employers to allow them to rest on the Sabbath-day. Some have offered one pound and upwards to defray the ex The penses of the petition." Mr. Panther, as he had said, had been examined before the Committee of the House, and he was asked, "Have you seen any good result from the experiment?" His reply was, "At the end of three months we could load a boat without an oath being sworn. It may appear but little to you, gentlemen, who know nothing of the details of our business; but before, their conversation was one continued strain of oaths." At the end of three months the observ. ance of the Sabbath produced that happy effect. The Chairman had applied the word pertinacity to him, and he (Sir Andrew Agnew) hoped that every lady and gentleman would be pertinacious in this good cause. When the question was first brought forward, many were desirous of seeing a more decent observance of the Sunday, who were not prepared to recognise the institution of the Sabbath. The preamble of his Bill recognised, in the most unquestionable terms, the divine origin and perpetual obligation of the Sabbath many of the friends of the Sunday drew back, and in their disinclination to recognise the Sabbath, forgot all their anxiety for the poor men on the Sunday. It was therefore with great satisfaction that he had heard the word "pertinacity" applied to him. METHODIST DISCIPLINE. Resolution passed at the Meeting of the Preachers of the Bristol District, QUESTION. What is the opinion of this Meeting respecting the proposals made of late to change the economy of Methodism, and the methods which have been employed to effect that change? Answer. We here record our undiminished admiration of that beautiful system of Christian order which God, by a remarkable course of providence, led Mr. Wesley to institute for the guidance of the Methodist community, and with which we have been solemnly entrusted by our fathers;-a system which, whilst it places the appointment of a salutary discipline, and its administration, in those whom Christ raises up as the Ministers and Pastors of his church, gives also to the people of their care the best guarantee for the character of the men who labour among them, and the most effectual safeguards against any improper exercise of pastoral authority. It was to observe ourselves, and administer among our people, this system as we received it, that we pledged ourselves when we entered the ministry; and we now repeat our solemn engagements, that we will walk by the same rule," and will consent to no alteration whatever, which will change any of the relations in which we stand to the church of Christ, or impair our ability to preserve the people of our charge in truth, in purity, and in love. We regard the Association recently formed in Manchester, and pompously styled the "Grand Central Association," as an iniquitous confederacy, organized to subvert the system that we so justly admire and love: under pretence of more VOL. XIV. Third Series. JUNE, effectually securing the liberties of our people, it is seeking, in our opinion, to put fetters upon the Ministers of Christ, by which they would be restrained in seeking to extend the influence, and preserve the order, of our Christian society; and we repeat, as our conviction, the sentiment expressed by the brethren of the London District, "that any union with the aforesaid Association is inconsistent with the duties, and, if persisted in, after due warning and admonition, will be utterly incompatible with the rights and privileges, of membership among us." We declare our conviction, that the Conference has, in no instance, invaded the rights, or trespassed upon the liberties, of our people; and that no intention was ever entertained by that body so to do. We offer our Christian sympathy to those of our brethren whom great talents and great usefulness have made eminent among us, and who, during the year, have been so wickedly maligned; we assure them, that we know the aspersions cast upon them to be utterly unmerited; and we are firmly persuaded, that with the strictest Christian integrity, as well as with great ability, they are serving their generation by the will of God." We here express, finally, our devout gratitude to God, for preserving the members of our society, in this District, in peace and Christian affection, and for the measure of spiritual prosperity with which he has favoured several of the Circuits. To our beloved people themselves we also present our affection1835. 21 ate thanks, that they have not only stood apart from the unquiet men that would have destroyed our unity, and gloried in the discord and confusion they had created, but have preserved themselves, by the grace of God, uninfected by their spirit; and we beg to assure them, that we never had, we never can have, any interest separate from theirs :" we have them in our hearts," and we are theirs "to live and to die." RICHARD TREFFRY, Chairman, The above Resolution passed unanimously, with the exception of the Rev. Joshua Fielden. METHODIST QUARTERLY FAST-DAY. ***The next Quarterly Fast-Day for the Methodist Societies, according to the Rules of the Connexion, will be Friday, June 26th, 1835. Relating principally to the FOREIGN MISSIONS carried on under the direction of the METHODIST CONFERENCE. ANNIVERSARY OF THE WESLEYAN-METHODIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY. It is with feelings of gratitude to Almighty God for his continued benediction, that we record the recent celebration of the Anniversary of the Wesleyan Missionary Society. This occasion, always interesting and important, was anticipated during the present year with feelings somewhat peculiar, on account of various circumstances to which we need not here more particularly advert. We are happy to state, that the results have been in all respects satisfactory. The first of the three Annual Sermons before the Society was preached in the City-road chapel, by the Rev. James Dixon, of Liverpool, on Thursday evening, April 30th. A large and highly respectable congregation of the members and friends of the Society assembled in Great Queen-street chapel on the following forenoon, Friday, May 1st; when, after the usual morning-service had been read, the Rev. William Jay, of Bath, pleaded the cause of the institution in an interesting discourse. To this venerable Minister, whose praise is in all the churches" of every religious denomination, the Society is particularly indebted for the Christian liberality and kindness which he evinced, in thus affording to it, for the second time, on the occasion of its general Anniversary, the aid of his talents and influence. The third sermon was delivered in Hinde-street chapel, in the evening of the same day, by the Rev. Robert Newton, of Manchester, the long-tried and indefatigable friend and advocate of the Wesleyan Missions. On Sunday, May 3d, the usual Annual Sermons for the foreign Missions were preached in all the Wesleyan chapels of London, and its immediate vicinity, by the Rev. Robert Newton, the Rev. James Dixon, the Rev. William Reilly, of Dublin, the Rev. John M'Lean, of Sheffield, and the Preachers of the London District. On Monday, May 4th, the Annual Meeting of the Society was held in Exeter-Hall. According to previous announcement, the chair was occupied by JOHN HARDY, Esq., M.P., who presided with distinguished ability and zeal. The attendance was numerous beyond all former example; and several hundreds of persons were unable to obtain admission. The spirit of the Meeting was altogether excellent; and we are thankful to add, that the collections and donations received in connexion with this Anniversary (including, according to the usual custom, the collection at the Meeting of the London District Auxiliary Society, on the 29th of April, at which WILLIAM TOOKE, Esq., M.P., kindly presided) amounted to THIRTEEN HUNDRED and THIRTY POUNDS; being an increase of more than two HUNDRED POUNDS above the similar receipts of the last Anniversary; besides the very handsome contribution of £325. 2s., presented at the Meeting by the REV. ROBERT ALDER, from the Ladies of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the proceeds of a bazaar lately held in that town, for which the best thanks of the Committee are most respectfully tendered. Thus nobly and decisively have the supporters of the Society responded, not in word only, but in deed, to the appeals lately made to them, by friends and by adversaries, on the subject of Wesleyan Missions. At the Meeting of the parent Society, as at those of all the leading Auxiliaries lately held in various parts of the country, the determination has been evinced not to "stop" but to augment "the supplies." The following account of the proceedings at the general Meeting is abridged and corrected from the report given in "The Watchman of Wednesday, May 6th: too well satisfied how much these spiritual efforts have contributed of benefit and advantage to our common country, and to mankind at large, not to see, with pleasure, this Society, as well as others of a similar description, cordially uniting together for the purpose of carrying to the distant regions of the earth the tidings of the everlasting Gospel. I shall always see such progress, made by such Societies, with the deepest satisfaction. And when I look around me, and see by how many such a cause is supported, I cannot but feel grateful to that almighty Being who is pleased to prosper this design. Those who have recommended me to your notice, for the situation from which I have now the honour of addressing you, will give me credit for these feelings; and I ask of you to permit that to compensate for the want of any other qualification for which I shall have to claim your indulgence. I enjoy the comfortable satisfaction of being able to get through the duties of this day; for I feel that I am not here the arbiter of any species of combat, though it were a mere war of words, but I am here merely and simply as an individual, to join in the celebration of a triumph of the most pleasing nature; one, not of an arm of flesh, but of the sword of the Spirit; a triumph of knowledge and of truth over ignorance and error; of light over darkness; of Him who came to seek that he might save, over one that "goeth about as a roar In a ing lion, seeking whom he may devour." |