YARDLEY HASTINGS.

Presentation of a Testimonial to the Rev. William Todman, by the Marquis of Northampton and the Lady Marian Alford.

We understand that during the past three years, by the generous and distinguished assistance of the above noble personages, Mr. Todman has afforded gratuitous aid to upwards of one hundred agricultural labourers and their families, to enable them to emigrate to Australia and Canada, from Yardley Hastings and the immediate neighbourhood; and that the accounts received from most of them are especially interesting, novel, and exciting. We are glad, therefore, to be able to announce that the noble Marquis and his Sister have just testified their sense of Mr. Todman's efforts to improve the social and moral condition of the labouring classes, by presenting him with a very handsome silver-mounted inkstand, elegantly chased, and set in a beautifully polished walnut-wood stand.

RECOGNITION SERVICES.

Lancaster. Two very interesting services were held on Thursday, the 8th June, in High-street Chapel, Lancaster, on the occasion of the Recognition of the Rev. John Sugden, B.A., as Pastor of

the Congregational Church. The morning service was opened by the Rev. Henry Townley, of London, who read part o Ephes. iv., and offered prayer. The Rev. G. B. Johnson, of Darwen, gave the introductory discourse, founded on 1 Cor. iv. 17. The Rev. R. Slate proposed the questions to the church and pastor, and presented special prayer for them. The address to the pastor was given by the Rev. R. Vaughan, D.D., from 1 Tim. iv. 16. In the evening, the Rev. H. Allon, of Islington, preached to the church and congregation, on 2 Cor. viii. 22, 23, 24.

The neighbouring ministers, including some of other denominations, were present. Both services were conducted with great solemnity; the presence of God was evidently felt; and it is believed that the engagements of the day will be long remembered, and followed by the best results.

CALL ACCEPTED.

THE REV. P. Thomson, A.M., of Chatham, has accepted the unanimous and earnest invitation of the church and congregation assembling in Grosvenor-street Chapel, Manchester, to be their pastor, and expects to commence his ministry there on the second Lord's-day in July.

JERSEY.

CAUSE OF ENGLISH INDEPENDENCY, ST. HELIER, JERSEY.

We believe that when the claims of the English Independent Church in Jersey, under the pastoral care of the Rev. H. J. Chancellor, of Highbury College, are fully made known to the Congregational Pastors and Churches of this country, they will meet with a warm response from the devoted friends of the gospel. We speak from accurate knowledge of the facts, when we say that a case more deserving of the generous sympathy of the churches has never been brought before them,

in our day. We know with what zeal and disinterestedness the little band of English Congregationalists, in Jersey, have struggled to get the property of the chapel legally secured, for the permanent use of the denomination;-and we also know, that the prospect of great success is most cheering, if the funds can be supplied for such enlargement of the building as may afford accommodation for a body of people able to support a pastor in moderate respectability. The spirit of hearing is such, and the ministry of Mr. Chancellor is so well appreciated, that there can be no reasonable apprehension as to the

be raised, in England, for increasing the present dimensions of the Chapel.

Dr. Campbell, the Rev. T. Adkins, of Southampton, the Rev. W. J. Unwin, M.A., principal of Homerton College, and the Editor of the EVANGELICAL MAGAZINE, had several interviews with the Rev. H. J. Chancellor, (the Pastor,) and Mr. F. Patterson, Secretary to the Committee, in which they gave it as their opinion that no movement ought to be made to raise funds in England, until the Chapel was legally secured to the denomination. Their advice was cheerfully taken; and with a zeal greatly to the credit of the little cause in Jersey, the people have raised £200, and have accomplished the object at which they aimed. The deed of trust was passed before the Royal Court of Jersey, on June the 3rd; and the Attorney General of the island has declared the Chapel, by this deed, to be legally secured to the English Independents for

ever.

We subjoin the appeal of the Congregational Church at Jersey to their brethren in England, as well as the testimonials of their French brethren, and other documents. The space occupied is large for us; but we feel such an intense desire that English Independents may do their duty in this urgent case, that we have stepped out of our ordinary course. Why should not the Chapel-building Committee help, by a small grant, these deserving people? And why should not Coward's Trust vote them something, to show their good-will?

The Rev. Henry J. Chancellor, the Pastor, and Mr. F. Patterson, will commence their labours in a few days, in the metropolis, and we do hope that they will meet with the loving and generous reception they deserve.

in cash, and 20 qrs. of wheat rent (equal to £400) payable or transferable. In the early part of last year it became apparent that it would soon be necessary to enlarge the building, and at a public meeting, held in the Chapel on June 8th, 1853, the Church and Congregation unanimously pledged themselves to make every effort for providing the funds required for that purpose. During the period which has since elapsed, the number of seat-holders has so increased, that for some time past the Chapel has been too small to accommodate all who have applied for sittings.

There is every reason to believe that the work would ere this have been accomplished, but for the discovery that, in the purchase deeds, the Chapel had not been legally secured to the possession of the Church, which necessarily led to a suspension of the plans for the enlargement, as the Committee felt they would not be justified in soliciting funds, either in the Channel Islands or in England, to be expended on a Chapel which was private property.

After much deliberation, it was ascertained that the only means of removing this difficulty was, by paying off half of the 20 qrs. (£400) due upon the building, when, as far as it is practicable by the laws of Jersey, the property could be secured to the Church. This additional £200 would increase the whole outlay to £600, the cost of the enlargement having been previously estimated at £400.

To friends at a distance this might not appear a large sum to raise, but as only two years had elapsed from the time of purchasing the Chapel, and putting it in a thorough state of repair-as the number of seat-holders was small, owing to the size of the building,-and as, with few exceptions, their means were also small, it was evident, that it would not be pos

sible to raise more than £200 in the Islands.

As the maintenance of English Congregationalism in Jersey depended on the Chapel being enlarged, it was deemed advisable that the facts should be made known to some influential ministers in

2 H

Accordingly in January last, the Rev. H. J. Chancellor, the Minister, and Mr. F. Patterson, Secretary to the Committee, proceeded to England, and submitted the whole case to the Rev. Drs. Morison and Campbell, the Rev. W. J. Unwin, M.A., principal of Homerton College, (formerly of Jersey,) and the Rev. Thomas Adkins, of Southampton, each of whom cordially approved of the plan proposed, considered it would be warmly supported by the friends of Congregationalism in England, and moreover promised to call the attention of the British Independent Churches to the subject as soon as they knew the Chapel had been vested in trust, agreeably to the laws of the Island of Jersey.

Encouraged by the kind interest and sympathy manifested by the above ministers, the friends in Jersey, assisted by those in Guernsey, have, after considerable exertion, succeeded in raising the £200, with which they have paid off the half of the 20 qrs. due on the property, and have thus been enabled to secure the Chapel to the possession of the Church, by investing it in the hands of five Trustees approved by the Church.

With a consciousness of their utter inability to accomplish more, the Committee, in behalf of the Church, now makes this its earnest Appeal to the British Independent Churches for their assistance in raising the remaining £400 required for the enlargement of the Chapel, and the erection of a Sabbath school-room. For the Chapel to remain as it is, will not only prevent further progress, but it will also insure perpetual weakness and inefficiency to the cause; in truth, it appears impossible for it to remain as it is, if English Congregationalism is to be maintained in the Island. The work of extension is, therefore, one of paramount obligation. It is this view of the case which has induced the friends, notwithstanding the present unfavourable aspect of political affairs, to make such sacrifices in order to promote this good work.

The Island of Jersey has a mixed population of English, French, and natives, of nearly 60,000-the town of St. Helier

increased by visitors during the summer months, chiefly from England—and this is the only English Independent Chapel in the Island. Never was the Macedonian's cry, "Come over and help us," made under a more pressing sense of necessity than that under which the Church in Jersey now lies, in making this appeal to the generous friends of Congregationalism in England for their assistance, in order that this opportunity for advancing the kingdom of Christ and the principles of Congregationalism may not be lost.

By order of the Chapel Extension Committee, (Signed) FRANCIS PATTERSON, Secretary. HENRY JOHN CHANCELLOR, Pastor.

St. Helier, Jersey, June 3rd, 1854. Testimonial of Jersey French Independent Ministers.

WE, the undersigned, being fully acquainted with all the circumstances connected with the above case, and cordially approving of the plan which is proposed, earnestly commend it to the Christian liberality of all those to whom it may be submitted. (Signed)

Henri Biaudit, Past. Chap. Indep., Halkett Pl.

Joshua Le Bailly, Deacon, ditto.
Louis Luy, Past. Chap. Evangélique.
Geo. De Garis, Deacon, ditto.
Clem. De Faye, Past. Chap. Ind., St.

John's.

Philip Roit, (Jurat) Deacon, ditto. Philip Messervy, Past. Chap. Ind., St.

Clements.

Testimonial of Guernsey Independent
Ministers.

The proposed plan for the extension of the English Independent Chapel, Upper Don Street, Jersey, must, we think, be deemed the most prudent. We trust that, with the blessing of God, the little community whose sanctuary is become too small will continue to progress in peace and concord; English Congregationalism may then at no distant day be in a condition to regain the ground it has lost in Jersey, and adequately to occupy the large and import

ant field which St. Helier presents. We unite with our brethren in the sister Island in recommending this case to the liberal aid of the Churches. (Signed)

is perpetrated, the press of this country gives the appearance of a greater amount of criminality than really exists. By a return laid upon the table of the House of Commons last year, we have the calen

By that return it appears, that in England,

CRIME

POPISH MORALITY.

CON

IN PROTESTANT ENGLAND, TRASTED WITH THAT OF ROMAN CATHOLIC COUNTRIES, AS STATED IN A SPEECH, MAY, 1854, BY THE REV. HOBART SEYMOUR.

MR. SEYMOUR said: "It has been remarked by many of our statesmen and politicians, that the calendar of crime in our Protestant England, and the standard of morality in our Protestant England, are of such a nature that we require new means and new measures to stay the inflooding of crime, and to check the deluge of immorality. An advantage has been taken of this by Romanists on the one hand, and by those who think with Romanists on the other, to maintain that we ought to introduce into this country nunneries and convents, and monkeries and confessionals, and all the machinery of Romanism, on this ground, that inasmuch as the motives, and the principles, and restraints which Protestantism has imposed upon crime and immorality have failed in this country, so we ought to introduce the motives, and restraints, and machinery of Romanism, to carry out that which our own principles have failed to accomplish. Now, in dealing with this argument, I feel that the true method is simply a statement of facts. It is our happy lot to enjoy the noble and ennobling privilege of a free press. From my experience of other lands, a free press ever seems to me the strong right arm that protects our civil liberties. A free press is the broad shield that protects our religious freedom; and therefore we may well, considering the greatness of its advantages, bear with the few evils that attend it. But among these evils is this, -that, by always exposing every crime, by dragging to light every iniquity that

on the charge of murder 74 persons. But, by a return laid upon the table of the House of Commons, a few years since, running through a period of almost three years, it appears that nearly 700 persons were committed for murder in Ireland during that period; which number, divided among the three years, will give something above 230 committals in each year; that thus in Protestant England there are only four murders to the million, and in Roman Catholic Ireland, even in the best period of her existence, there are nineteen to the million, and that thus Roman Catholic Ireland is more than four times more criminal than Protestant England. Look at Belgium, a Roman Catholic country, in the same latitude with ourselves, and therefore under the same climatic influences; and in that country, I am bound to state from experience, that we find more of the best spirit of Romanism, more of the piety and religiousness of Romanism, than perhaps in any other part of Europe. Now, last year, the number of cases adjudged was 537, and of cases not yet adjudged 307, giving a total of 844-in other words, an average of eighty-four per annum, which, compared with the population of Belgium at the last census-about four millions and a quarter-leads to a result of eighteen murders to each million. In France, it appears that the number of murders tried before the civil tribunals was 242; of assassinations, 269; of infanticide, 182; of poisoning, 47; of parricide, 32; and of military cases tried before the military tribunals, an average of 217; giving a total of 1089 cases of murder. Thus in France there are 31 committals for murder to each million of the population. But we pass from France into Austria, where there are committed for murder an average each year of 36 persons to each million. We pass from Austria to the

Kingdom of Bavaria, another country essentially Roman Catholic, and governed altogether upon Roman Catholic principles. It appears that, in Bavaria, on an average of 5 years, there was a total of 1554 cases; murder, 1083; poisoning, 51; infanticide, 420; giving an average of 311 per annum, or sixty-eight persons for every million of the population; not specifically stated to be murder, the number will be 30 to every million. I pass, with your permission, into Italy-into that country where there are popes, and cardinals, and prelates, and bishops, and priests, and monks, and nuns, in abundance, and where, if all the machinery of Rome is capable of restraining crime, it surely may be expected that we should find a perfect paradise as to the criminal calendar. Taking first the Kingdom of Sardinia, I find that, in 7 years there were 712 cases of murder, giving an average of 101 per annum; and taking the population of Sardinia by the last census, precisely 20 murders to each million. Passing from Sardinia into the Venetian and Milanese provinces, I have the return for two years, which gives precisely 450 cases of murder, or 225 per annum, and the enormous result of something like 45 cases of murder to each million of the population. And passing from Lombardy into Tuscany, of which we have heard so much of late years, of its freedom from crime, and its being a perfect paradise restored to our world again, I find, from the returns, that in a period of nine years, there were 757 cases of murder, averaging 84 per annum; and remembering that the population of Tuscany, according to the last census, is something like two millions of souls, we have something like 42 murders in each million. From Tuscany we proceed to the Papal States, where everything is wrapped in that kind of mystery and misty cloudiness which renders it absolutely impossible for a precise and accurate statician to come to any very definite results; but Dr. Bowring states, that in the prisons of Rome, in the year in which he was there, namely, 1832, there were imprisoned for murder in the Papal States no less than 580 persons, and, in addition to these, about 60 more

in two other principalities, making a tota of 640 cases of murder in that period. Now, no doubt a large portion of those are men who are undergoing the penalty of imprisonment for the crime of murder; yet, as near as I am able to make the calculation, the result is, that in the Papal States there are about 300 murders committed per annum; and considering that by the last census the whole population of Rome, and all the Papal States, is somewhere about three millions, we have the result, that in the Papal States the number of murders yearly perpetrated is at the rate of about 100 in each million of the population. I pass now to the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily; and I commence with Sicily. The total of murders there in one year was 176; the average of many years is 178; and considering that the population of Sicily is under two millions, we have as the result, that there are in Sicily about ninety murders to each million of the population," Mr. Seymour went through all the other Papal coun tries with similar results, and then went on to observe: "If time had permitted, I proposed leading you, through the ques tion of immorality, to show you that in that respect every Roman Catholic coun try in Europe is infinitely worse than in the crime of murder; but, as I am not anxious to trespass upon your time, I shall say but few words on that subject. It is so far delicate that it requires to be delicately handled; but one word shall not fall from me that will offend the most delicate mind present; and I would therefore entreat the earnest attention of the female portion of this auditory, and they may learn to what a depth of immorality and vice this country would be plunged in if we restored the nunneries, and convents, and monkeries among us. By the returns laid before parliament, it appears that the amount of illegitimate births in the City of London is 4 per cent. On looking at the returns for Paris, we find that the result is 33 per cent. On passing over to Brussels, the result is 36 per cent, On passing to Munich, the return is 25 per cent.; and in Vienna it is 51 per cent. I might carry on the same process of inquiry to every city in Europe, and the