བྷ CORRESPONDENCE. practical realization of the views he so | warmly and powerfully expounds. 319 But Dr. Guthrie has broken the silence, to whom can we look more hopefully than quite inadequate," and that their smallAnd and tells us that "ministers' stipends are to the female portion of the Church, whose possible calamity next to the withdrawal of warm hearts are ever ready to appreciate the Divine favour. This is a startling stateness threatens the Church with the greatest the importance of such a cause, and whose ment, but no one is prepared to contradict active and zealous hands may accomplish it. Nay, more: we did not require any much in practically securing the success of the Church's efforts. On this ground childhood that we speak of a "poor information on the subject, but so accuswe hail the appearance of this letter. It minister as we would remark on the tomed to the fact have we been from is a powerful appeal not only of a zealous weather, and think no more about it. member of the Church to her fellow Whilst the other learned professions, and members, but of a sister in the faith to the those engaged in mercantile pursuits, may whole body of the Christian sisterhood. send in their own bills, our ministers, We rejoice to think that this letter will who can make no demands, are put off draw ample incomes because they can meet with earnest sympathy on the part with very small ones. of many, and we trust it may tend to urge a contemporary, "have no right to expect forward a movement which has just suc"Our laity," says ceeded, through the zeal of several first-rate theology dirt cheap." And yet that whilst they have to pay first-rate brethren, calling forth the liberalities of our ministers are expected to look like prices for articles in trade, they should get the Church in securing a minimum of gentlemen, and bring up their families £100 per annum to all our ministers, and accordingly. But for this the case would promises soon, with such aid as we expect Dr. Guthrie, "to wear a frieze coat, and I from all our friends, female and male, rich will thank no one for black. Give me be different. "Give me liberty," says and poor, young and old, to raise that liberty to rear my sons to be labourers minimum to £150. Hitherto we have been far behind in and the manse will enjoy the sun that and my daughters to be domestic servants, this effort, but as a young Church with shines on many a pious and lowly home; rising energies we are thankful to be able he is expected to be generous and hospito notice and record a steady progress. but to place a man in circumstances where To the Editor of the English Presbyterian Messenger. education, to breed them according to what table, to have a hand as open as his heart SIR,-Allow me, through the medium they call genteel life; to place a man in is to the poor, to give to his family a liberal of your Magazine, to address a few words these circumstances, and expect that from to the members of our churches on a him, and deny him the means of doing it subject which Dr. Guthrie handled so ably all, is, but for the hope of heaven, to in his closing address to the Free Church embitter life itself." Is this justice? or, Assembly in May last; viz., the mainte- I would ask, is it policy? How can we nance of the Gospel ministry. This is a expect our ministers to feed our souls, to subject which, from the nature of it, is bring out of the word things new and seldom touched upon in the pulpit. old, when they come into their pulpits Ministers urge their congregations to with their minds filled with care, their contribute to the support of missions at spirits weighed down with anxieties, from home and abroad, to pay off the debts on which they see no human escape. their churches, with other schemes of usefulness; but when does a minister ever to be remedied? address his people on the smallness of his systematizing our rate of giving. In the But how, it may be asked, is all this stipend, his difficulty in keeping out of first place by remembering as we enter Just by raising and debt, and exhort them, as he might, both the church door we are treading on holy from the Old and New Testament, to ground, and our first act there is in its remember their obligations to contribute own way an act of worship, giving of our liberally to his support? Because our substance to the Lord's cause. pulpits all combine to give not an uncer- Church members and adherents realized tain sound on this duty, but no sound at this, their offerings would not be so meagre all, perhaps it is our churches are so as they too often are, just the change that If all our apathetic on the matter. But whilst we happens to be in the corner of the pocket. A acknowledge the" omnipotence of words," minister's wife, remarkable amongst her is there no eloquence in silence? and are cotemporaries for plain speaking, hapwe in the habit of measuring our benefits pened one Sunday morning to arrive at to loved ones depending on us by their the church plate at the same moment as importunity in expressing their wants? two members, ladies, fashionably attired འ 1 were depositing their accustomed pennies. begin where he would have them, by She accosted them by saying, "I wonder" esteeming those set over them in the you would soil those fine gloves with Lord very highly in love for their works' copper." A like rebuke would not be sake." To express esteem is not enough. untimely now. This verse should be read along with those where the support of the Gospel ministry is enjoined, and great light would be thrown upon it if studied in connection with those parts of the Mosaic law where the portions allotted to the priests are so minutely described, as if no offering would be acceptable in God's sight if his servants were neglected. How different this style of giving to that of a London tradesman who died the beginning of this century. His contribution at the church door every Sabbath was half-a-crown. This came not from riches, but liberality, and the example has been a valuable heirloom to his family. Such instances of conscientious, systematic giving, are not unknown in our own day, Many of our congregations have been but they are, I fear, rather the exception pleading long, and apparently in vain, for than the rule. Then our special gather-seasons of refreshing." Now, though ings, monthly or quarterly, ought they God acts as a Sovereign, his language not to be more like the pouring out of on this head is very remarkable. In grateful hearts than they are, an oppor- Mal. iii. 10 he promises to "pour out tunity of bringing "all the tithes into the his blessing until there be not room storehouse." enough to receive it," on condition that Israel "bring all the tithes into the storehouse," saying, "Prove me now herewith, if I will not open the windows of heaven." What a noble thing it would be if the English Presbyterian Church were found celebrating this bicentenary year by a review of her shortcomings in this respect, and setting an example to other Churches of a more liberal order of things. "Bring the tithes of thine increase" is the Scripture command. What a glad surprise would it be to the office-bearers in our different churches if the people were to follow this command literally, as their business grew or speculations prospered, bringing according to calculation an offering to the Lord, "and a present to the man of God." People themselves would be astonished at how much they had been withholding from the treasury of the Lord. Sixpences would then in many cases become half-sovereigns, and shillings whole ones. Office-bearers should take the lead, stirring up the people by example and precept to make this the starting-point for larger stipends. And though I am neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, I will venture to predict that, as giving grows like grasping, all the other schemes of the Church will increase in proportion; and then what spiritual blessings might we not hope for! I am, Sir, Eeptember, 1832. Yours respectfully, But besides these ordinary collections, every congregation should have a more reliable source of income in the shape of a sustentation fund. This is a plan adopted with success in some congregations in the metropolis, where people are certainly beginning to be awake on this subject. By this means much larger sums are drawn than people seem to like to contribute in public. When members are thus found guaranteeing £10, £20, or £30 per annum, more or less according to ability, then managers are able even in small congregations to give their ministers To the Editor of the English Presbyterian Messenger, £300 or £400, aiming higher. And now MY DEAR SIR,-I have no wish to that the price of labour has risen, less than that is not justice. But some may say it prolong the discussion of the Hexis not possible to give more than we are ham affair; but perhaps you will aldoing to our own churches when there low me a word or two in reference to are so many other channels in which we some statements in Mr. Bell's last are obliged to give. "This we ought to | letter. do, and not to leave the other undone." 1. Mr. Bell says, "The union was And to withhold from our minister on entered on before we knew of such a this account is just like making him pay thing being in contemplation. It was our subscriptions to religious and benevo- something like a runaway marriage; the lent schemes. But, indeed, I always find that those congregations who are the what was going to take place till the parents on neither side were apprised of most generous to their ministers give the most to the cause of missions. It is not marriage was over." Not at all. The money that is so much wanted amongst two congregations agreed upon a "Basis us as a spirit of liberality, and God seems of Union," which "basis" was exceedto pour it out on those congregations who 'ingly advantageous to one of the parties; and then the representatives of the To the Editor of the English Presbyterian Messenger. English Presbyterian congregation came to us, asking us "to concur with, and DEAR SIR, Our Presbyterian brethaid in carrying out the proposed union." ren of Scotland and Ireland seem We declined to give our concurrence; determined to lend us a helping hand nay, more, protested against the union in taking England by storm. If the on the terms proposed, and sent our assault is to be successful, the plan of protest, together with the reasons of it, attack must be well organized. Permit to the United Presbyterian Presbytery me to offer a few suggestions on the for their information. And they, acting matter. upon the information, " agreed to apIf we are to reach the English point a committee to consider the whole people, it seems to me we must adapt case, and report at next meeting." It our agency to that end; and as far as I was subsequent to the appointment of can see, there is not much of such this committee that the union was special adaptation at present. As a entered into; and so far from being rule, we always wait until a number of ignorant of the contemplated union, the people residing in a place beseech us parents on both sides were apprised of for Presbyterian ordinances. what was going to take place; and on one side, at any rate, everything that could be done was done to prevent irregularity. 2. Mr. Bell says, "We instructed our clerk, in sending the resolutions to the sister Presbytery, to convey our fraternal regards, and say that we would be happy to have a conference with them in any way that might be mutually agreed on.' The resolutions came, so did the fraternal regards; but not one word about a conference, Strange, is it not, that of the two appendages to the resolutions, the most important one should have been omitted? A conference on the matter was what we of the English Presbyterian Presbytery desired; but Mr. Bell's statement would lead to the supposition that we had been offered this and had declined it. 3. Mr. Bell says, that the United Presbyterian congregation at Hexham "has been increased in numbers by a union irregularly gone into. That irregularity our resolutions censure." I can discover no censure of this irregularity in the resolutions. The following sentence is the only one in which there is any mention of censure; and how far it censures the irregularity I will leave any one to say: "It may, however, be submitted, whether it would not be an undue stretch of authority to visit with any ecelesiastical censure a departure from form on the part of those who, at the time of the occurrence, were not under this Presbytery's control." This seldom happens unless there is a We It appears to me that our Church ought to adopt an entirely new plan of action. By all means let immigrant Presbyterians have their wants attended to, and struggling congregations be assisted; but let something more be done than this. There are many towns in England where we have only to erect churches and settle men of average ability, to have at once flourishing congregations. But these towns will never seek us : we must seek them. If we do not, other reli gious bodies, more enterprising, will, and we shall be excluded. the various congregations. In Sydenham all the churches are crowded; in fact, it is necessary to have double services in the Churches of England in order to accommodate the people. Will nobody do something to secure our Church a footing in such a place at once? And there are, I believe, not a few such openings in the new neighbourhoods of London. If we would make our power felt in England, let us crowd London with Presbyterian Churches. There is room for a hundred there at least. Moreover, we must be prepared to act liberally in such cases. The English people must be familiarized by slow degrees with ladles, and collection boxes, and subscription papers. Let us not frighten them at first by begging. It is a penny wise pound foolish plan of proceeding. Let them taste the advantages of our system, and then they will be willing to pay for it. Our Church ought to be in a position to pay the ministers of such places for two or three years, irrespective of local contributions. For this of course Would it not be a good thing to we should require a distinct fund; but have one or two portable iron churches I have no doubt that if our people saw for new stations? A new church of that something really was to be done, any kind is always better than a hall; they would speedily put the necessary it acts as an advertisement. Had we means at the disposal of the Church. a portable iron church we might at Our timid policy ties up their purse- once set it down in such a place as strings. We need a church building Sydenham, and after a year or two, fund which could furnish means for the when it became too small, and the conerection of churches, and afford to gregation were able to set about erectwait for a few years to be repaid, ing a permanent structure, it might be wholly or in part. A fund that did removed to some other new station. nothing more than furnish money free Such a plan of proceeding would of interest would be a great boon. obviate many difficulties, and would Had we such a fund, we might at once be by far the most economical in the erect ecclesiastical-looking edifices and end. Will none of our rich members settle ministers in localities where try the experiment? It would be a success is certain. I may instance boon could such structures be even such places as Bath and Sydenham. hired out to new congregations for a In the former place there are many year or two. Yours very truly, Presbyterians scattered about among EVANGEL Missions. BRITISH GUIANA. CHRISTIAN COOLIES FROM CHINA. THE following letter from our excellent missionary to another periodical, shows the importance of that Christian watchfulness which follows our converts over half the globe, and seeks to shield them there from the evil influences of new and unknown regions. We trust the appeal of Mr. Douglas will meet with the attention it deserves. His welcome appearance among us at this season encourages the hope that all our missionary enterprises will, by his means, receive an impulse. The return of a missionary is not so frequent an event in our little Church as to be treated coldly, and this letter is a new proof how warm and |vigilant a zeal Mr. Douglas has carried with him to the missionary field. ("To the Editor of the 'News of the Churches.") "Amoy, June 3rd, 1862. "Dear Sir, I would desire, through your columns, to direct the attention of the servants of God in British Guiana to the coolies who sailed from this a few days ago in the ship Lady Elma Bruce for that colony. Among them are several church members from the churches of Amoy and Chiohbey; the missionaries did not encourage them to emigrate, and indeed warned them that, through the difference of language, there would be great difficulties in the way of their obtaining spiritual instruction and superintendence in the special temptations to which they would be subjected as emigrants; such superintendence was specially needed by one or two of them who were under church discipline at the time of their leaving this. "As the emigration depôt happened to be very near the Missionary Hospital, many of the heathen emigrants had obtained some knowledge of the Gospel before sailing, and they were supplied with a number of Bibles and tracts, which, together with the influence of their Christian fellow-passengers, we would hope might be the means of spiritual good to them by the way. "May the Lord be pleased to induce the hearts of his servants in Guiana, and the missionary societies that labour there, to watch over these poor people, and the many who are similarly circumstanced. "Ever yours, "CARSTAIRS DOUGLAS." to seek the good of the poor people who still know themselves to have the blood of martyrs in their veins. The following account has been sent to the News of the Churches by a special correspondent. It will be read with satisfaction. "A deep interest has long been felt for those who, under the fire of persecution, sought refuge in those gorgeous valleys, whether on this side of the Alps or on the other. Think of those fifty thousand sheep fleeing to these mountains after the sack of Alby, by that butcher, the Abbé de Citeaux (1209). Think of the answer of the Baron d'Oppède to those who were entreating him to authorize them to go to Geneva: I will send you into the land of Hell with all the devils!' An answer no doubt flowing from the heart of the destroyer of Cabrières and Mérandole (1545). "On the invitation of the Protestant Committee for the evangelization of the country round Grenoble, the Evangelical Church of Lyons resolved to send two of her pastors and an evangelist upon a missionary excursion in the Hautes Alpes, the field of Felix Neff's labours. These were to meet with other brethren from different parts of the department, from the Piedmontese valleys, &c., and to undertake their peregrinations two by two, under the superintendence of an old and very dear friend of the Alpines, the Rev. W. Fremantle of Claydon (Bucks). The rendezvous was at the parsonage of Guillestre, a village about twenty-five miles south of Briançon, and surrounded by lofty mountains. On the top of one of these a cross, covered with tin, has just been erected to perpetuate the wonderful dream of Monsle, curé of Guillestře. The good man dreamt that the forum of Guillestre had been suddenly transformed into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and that the judgment-seats were set up in the very square of his parish! The judgment over, a copious dinner had been served, no doubt for the benefit of those who had been acquitted. It would appear that the curé told the story from the pulpit, but now the cross, with his name, repeats it to the world from the mountain-top. MISSIONARY EFFORTS IN THE HAUTES ALPES OF FRANCE. WHILE the Church of the Waldenses is reviving in Sardinia, and already extending its influence with gratifying success in many other parts of Italy, a movement is already in progress for reviving the sister church on the western or French side of the Cottian Alps. That interesting country where Felix Neff, during a laborious ministry, raised out of the depths of moral and physical degradation a people till his day almost totally neglected, has, since the loss of that noblehearted Christian philanthropist, been suffered to relapse into nearly its former condition. We are glad to learn, however, that friends, English friends, have appeared for their help, and that this summer an evangelistic effort which promises the best results, has been inaugurated by Protestants of both sides of the Channel. During the middle ages while the Duke of Savoy was desolating the valleys of Piedmont, the King of France was still more rigorously pursuing the wretched mountaineers of the valleys that open into France; and many a confessor and many a martyr from among that simple- "On Sabbath, 10th August, we held divine hearted but brave people, gave their testimony service at Guillestre, while our other brethren to the value of the religion of the Cross were preaching in different localities. The under the fires of Romish and royal perse- chapel being too small, we met in the minicution in dungeons, under the sword, on the ster's orchard. From 80 to 100 were rack, or on the gibbet. The truth thus present, of whom two-thirds were Romanists. identified with this region by a thousand One of the deputies from Lyons preached traditions is destined there still to find will-upon the parable of the unmerciful servant, ing hearers; and though ignorance pervades a subject which proved to be à propos, for the people, having been imposed on them by a cruel system of repression, more or less vigorously enforced in every succeeding age, sufficient liberty at length exists in France to allow the well-wishers of the Gospel cause while we were employed in exalting mercy the priest was denouncing from the pulpit the arrival of an Englishman 'with thousands of francs to buy souls, and who was distributing bad pamphlets and corrupt trans |