MISSIONARY MAGAZINE.

Anniversary of the London Missionary Society.

FIFTY-THIRD GENERAL MEETING.

MONDAY, MAY 10.

Afternoon.-A Meeting of Delegates will be held at the Mission House, Blomfieldstreet, at Three o'clock, to which the attendance of Directors, both Town and Country, is respectfully invited.

Evening.-Episcopal Chapel (Rev. T. MORTIMER'S) Upper North-place, Gray's InnRoad, the Rev. WILLIAM WITHERS EWBANK, Incumbent of Everton, Liverpool, to preach. Service to begin at Seven o'clock.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 12.

Morning, Surrey Chapel.-Rev. GEORGE SMITH, of Trinity Chapel, Poplar.
Evening, Tabernacle.-Rev. JAMES PARSONS, of York.

The Morning Service begins at Half-past Ten, and the Evening at Six o'clock.

THURSDAY, MAY 13.

Morning.-The PUBLIC MEETING will be held at EXETER HALL, in the STRAND.* The Chair to be taken precisely at Ten o'clock, by

SIR EDWARD NORTH BUXTON, Bart.

Evening. An adjourned Meeting will be held at Finsbury Chapel, Finsbury Circus. The Chair will be taken at Six o'clock, by the

Rev. JOHN LEIFCHILD, D.D.

FRIDAY, MAY 14th.

A Sermon will be preached to the Juvenile Friends of the Society, by the Rev. SAMUEL MARTIN, of Westminster, at Poultry Chapel. Service to Commence at half-past Six o'clock.

LORD'S DAY, MAY 16.

Sermons will be preached, and Collections made, at various Places of Worship, the particulars of which will be found on the following page.

MONDAY, MAY 17th.

Evening. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper will be administered at the following

* Admission to the Hall will be by TICKETS, for the Platform, the Central Seats, and the Raised Seats, respectively. The Platform will be appropriated to the Directors of the Society, both town and country; the Speakers; and all Ministers who are Members of the Society.

A Committee for the delivery of Tickets will attend at the Mission House, Blomfield-street, Finsbury, from Twelve o'clock till Three, on Friday 7th, Saturday 8th, Monday 10th, Tuesday 11th, and Wednesday 12th of May.

Ministers who are Members of the Society will be supplied with Tickets for themselves and friends, by their sending, on any of the above-mentioned days, a list of such as are entitled to them, and who wish personally to attend.

VOL. XXV.

X

Places of Worship to those Members and Friends of the Society who are Stated Communicants, and who produce Tickets from their respective Ministers, viz. :

Anniversary of the London Missionary Society.

ARRANGEMENTS FOR SERMONS TO BE PREACHED ON LORD'S DAY, MAY 16.

TESTIMONIALS OF CONFIDENCE PRESENTED TO THE DIRECTORS OF THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

ALTHOUGH We have hitherto abstained from introducing any remarks in the Missionary Magazine on the subject of the following pages, our readers cannot be ignorant that a very painful controversy has for some time subsisted between the Directors and one of their own number, the Rev. Dr. Reed. Having first attempted to impeach their principles and conduct in the case of Tahiti, and his charges having been met by a brief and satisfactory explanation, he next assailed his brethren in the Direction with reference to China and the Jubilee, and their convincing reply produced another statement from Dr. Reed, in which he entered upon new ground, and sought to impugn their conduct in the administration of the Funds of the Society. His allegations on this subject, as well as in the former cases, were also fully met and completely refuted; and the Directors have now great pleasure in presenting the following expressions of confidence and affection with which they have been favoured, at successive periods in the course of the controversy, from the Friends and Members of the Society in every part of the kingdom :

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At a Meeting of the Committee of the EAST LANCASHIRE AUXILIARY, held in the Vestry at Mosley-street Chapel, Manchester, March 12, 1847,

1. That this Committee records its firm and unabated confidence in the Directors of the London Missionary Society; its cordial approbation of their general management; and its special approval of the prudent and pacific measures which they have taken in order to preserve the oppressed Natives of Tahiti from slavery and extermination.

2. That, in the opinion of this Committee, if the Directors had adopted the proposals of the Rev. Dr. Reed, (supposing them to have oeen made at the proper time,) either by sending through the country the British Consul, who, it was understood, approved of the expulsion of the Catholic Priests from Tahiti, or by procuring remonstrances of a more hostile tone and spirit towards France than those which were forwarded to her Majesty's Government, they would have alienated from the Society many of its most devoted friends, and incurred the danger of introducing fatal dissensions into some of its more powerful Auxiliaries. 3. That this Committee congratulates the Directors on the very effective agency which, through the blessing of God, they have obtained for the Chinese Mission; and is of opinion, that to call so promising an agency “a failure" is to pronounce a rash and hasty judgment, the tendency of which must be to discourage future attempts to promote the spiritual welfare of the vast population of China.

4. That this Committee offers its cordial sympathy and most affectionate regard to the Rev. A. Tidman and the Rev. J. J. Freeman, the able and laborious Secretaries of the London Missionary Society, assured that those gentlemen ought to be supported and encouraged under the severe and unmerited reflections which have been made upon them by one of the Directors, who, although ostensibly responsible for the manner in which those Officers conducted the business of the Society, appears not to have attended with sufficient regularity to have become well acquainted with their proceedings, nor to have stated in his place the reasons of his disapproval of their conduct; and who, therefore, ought not to have brought before the Public charges of repeated failure, which, if they are not utterly unmeaning, must be interpreted as charges of gross mismanagement. Samuel Fletcher, Chairman.

WORCESTERSHIRE AUXILIARY.

Resolved unanimously :—

1. That we, the Members of the Auxiliary to the London Missionary Society, for the County of Worcester, assembled in the City of Worcester, on this 23rd day of March, 1847, avail ourselves of this opportunity to express our deep sympathy with the Directors and Secretaries of the Society in the unmerited and unsupported censures which have been pronounced upon them in the recent publications of Dr. Reed.

2. That we desire also to convey to the Directors and the Secretaries an assurance of our unabated confidence in the wisdom and efficiency with which they have generally conducted the operations of the Society, both at home and abroad; and that, particularly in the management of the painful and difficult case of Tahiti, in the efforts they have made to obtain a supply of suitable labourers to occupy the inviting fields which China presents, and in their arrangements in reference to the Jubilee Fund, we cannot charge them with a deficiency either of discretion or activity.

3. That a copy of the above Resolutions be forwarded to the Directors and Secretaries, at the Mission- House, London, and that they be published in the Patriot and Nonconformist newspapers.

Worcester, March 25, 1847.

GEORGE REDFORD, Chairman.

At a numerous Meeting of the Committee of the BIRMINGHAM AUXILIARY to the LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY, held at Ebenezer Chapel, March 24th, 1847,

JAMES JAMES, Esq., in the Chair,

Resolved unanimously :—

1. That, from the knowledge we have derived, from our own limited sphere of operation, of what is involved in the conducting of the business of our Public Institutions, we can form some conception of the time, labour, and anxiety which must be devoted by the Directors of the London Missionary Society to carry out the designs and accomplish the objects of that great Confederation,-a sacrifice which, while it entitles them to the thanks of the Constituency, should secure for them the most candid consideration of their measures, and the kindest forbearance with any small mistakes into which the most sagacious conductors of human affairs are liable to fall.

2. That, without pretending to concede to them that which they would be the last to claim-an absolute infallibility in all their measures, we declare our cordial approbation of their general course of procedure, as characterised by wisdom, energy, and promptitude, and see no ground whatever for any censure to be passed upon them for their conduct in reference to Tahiti, the Jubilee Fund, or China.

3. That, having read with surprise and deep concern the groundless and unprovoked attack of Dr. Reed upon his co-Directors, we now express to that valuable body our sympathy under their painful trial; our regret that their time and attention, so important to the affairs of the Society, should have been diverted to establish their defence against so unmerited an attack; our congratulations on the satisfactory and triumphant manner in which they have vindicated their conduct; and our unabated confidence in their wisdom, fidelity, and zeal, for the future management of the business of the Society.

4. That we most emphatically disapprove of the remarks of Dr. Reed upon the esteemed Secretaries of the Society; and especially sympathise with the Rev. A. Tidman under the ungenerous attack made upon him, and beg to assure him of the high esteem in which we hold his talents, his faithfulness, and devotedness, in the important post which he now fills with so much credit to himself and advantage to the Institution.

JAMES JAMES, Chairman.

At the Annual Meeting of the Ministers and Delegates of the HULL AND EAST RIDING ASSOCIATION of Ministers and Churches, held in the Vestry of Holborn-street Chapel, on Tuesday, March 23, 1847,

Sir WILLIAM LOWTHROP in the Chair;

It was unanimously resolved :

1. That this Association is deeply impressed with the fact, that manifold infirmities are connected with all the efforts which we make in the service of our Redeemer and for the spread of his Gospel through the world; and that, conse