to the Lord's will. One strong conflict with the enemy was permitted the day before her death; but she obtained the victory. This scripture was powerfully applied to her mind,-" Where I am, there shall also my servant be." After many similar indications, she lifted her hand, in token that Christ was precious, about ten minutes before she died. J. H.

March 30th.-At Dunkeswell, in the Taunton Circuit, Mary Tuck, aged fifty-one. She was brought to a knowledge of the truth under the Wesleyan ministry. She at once joined the Society, and to the day of her death continued an humble but devoted follower of the Lord Jesus. She was the subject of long and distressing affliction, by which she was often brought into heaviness. But, toward the close of her life, her confidence in the Redeemer was strong, and she fully resigned herself to the Divine will. On her dying bed she called her children around her, and most affectionately besought them to seek the Lord, and prepare to meet her in heaven. Shortly after her dying advice was given to her children, her happy spirit was released from the sorrows of earth, and admitted to the joy of her Lord. T. J.

April 20th.-At Walsingham, Mrs. Ann Plane, in her eighty-first year. When she was about thirty-eight years of age, a severe sickness was the means of leading her to seek and find salvation through faith in Christ. She joined the Society, and remained devotedly attached to it till the day of her death. Under a sermon by the late Rev. Ebenezer Stewart, she was induced to seek perfect love. This inestimable blessing shone forth in steady and active holiness, and in perfect patience under affliction and helplessness for three years. When her end came, she passed from the joys of holiness to the perfect felicity of heaven. R. T.

April 23d.-At Peasenhall, in the Framlingham Circuit, Mrs. Westgate, aged seventy-five. She had long been a consistent member of Soeiety; was of a gentle temper, very attentive and kind to the Ministers of Christ, and attached to" the things which make for peace" and for edification. In her last illness her mind was much supported, and her end was quite peaceful. This she signified, to the joy of her friends, when the power of speech had ceased.

D. H.

May 3d.-At Eastington, in the Dursley Cireuit, Mr. George William Francis, aged sixty. He had been a member of Society thirty-nine years. For the greater part of that period he was an affectionate and faithful Class-Leader. His piety was solid, he knew in whom he had believed. Under the elevating influence of religion, his amiability and modesty commended him to the esteem of all. Having witnessed a most satisfactory and edifying confession of the power of grace, during an affliction of five weeks, he died in the calm and full triumph of faith, his last act being a response to prayer. J. A.

At Sutton-on-Derwent, in the Pocklington Circuit, on May 3d, in the seventy-third year of his age, Mr. Richard Brown, who for more than fifty years had been a member of Society, and for thirty a zealous and useful Class-Leader. He bore an irreproachable character, and was highly esteemed by all parties in his neighbourhood. For the last ten years he was the subject of considerable affliction; but for seven days only, before his death, he was wholly confined to his bed. His sufferings were now so great as to prevent his saying much; but what he did utter was most satisfactory. Once he said, with evident emotion,

"When my sufferings most increase,
Then Thy strongest joys are given :
Jesus comes with my distress,
And agony is heaven!"

And he frequently exclaimed, with strong faith and holy joy," My Lord! and my God!"

S. R.

Died, in the Hayle Circuit, on Monday, May 6th, Mrs. Grose, aged eighty-four. She had been a consistent member of Society for sixty years; and she died, triumphantly testifying that "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." J. G.

May 6th.-At Portsea, after a short illness, Mr. Thomas Hill, of the Portsmouth Dockyard, aged sixty-two. He was greatly respected by the officers and men of the department with which he was connected, and in which he had been long employed. The members of his class cherish an affectionate veneration for his memory; as do also the children and Teachers of the Portsea Sunday-school, of which he was the senior Superintendent, and from which he was absent but five or six times during the long period of thirty-two years. His removal was unexpected: but he was favoured with the cheering presence of his Divine Lord as he walked through the valley of the shadow of death; and, with his departing breath, he commended his now mourning widow to the unfailing shelter of. "the Rock of ages."

W. M. H.

May 15th.-Mr. John Hicks, of the Leeds First Circuit, aged sixty-nine. He was a native of Cornwall, converted to God in early life, and more than fifty years a consistent member of Society. His piety was characterised by deep humility and ardent attachment to the means of grace, his attendance on which was truly exemplary. His death was sudden; but he was found ready. He attended preaching in Brunswick chapel on the evening of the day of his death; and, on his return home, expressed himself as unusually profited by the service. He took his supper, prayed with his family, and particularly for his children, who lay near his heart, retired to rest, and before midnight was with his Saviour in Paradise. R. J.

THE REV. DR. HANNAH said, The impression, Sir, which the Report of this day produces on my mind, and, I doubt not, on the minds of many others, is, that the Wesleyan Missionary Society never enjoyed a larger amount of prosperity than it does at the present moment. (Cheers.) To God be ascribed all the glory of this and every good; and if His servants have, on some former occasions, presented their Ebenezers of gratitude to Him, they have every reason to do so on the present occasion. I heartily concur in the observations advanced by my excellent friend and neighbour, Mr. Heald; and I cannot but think that this is a truly jubilant occasion, an occasion on which we ought especially to rejoice in the prosperity which the Lord our God has given us. When were the agencies and operations of the Society more multiplied, more matured, more sustained? Survey the entire Mission field; let the eye fall on Southern and Western Africa, on the Friendly Islands and Feejee, on New-Zealand and Australia, and on other stations mentioned in the Report which we have listened to. Do we not see our agencies increased? Do we not see our agencies in active and successful operation? Schools are arranged, Christian institutions promoted, light diffused far and wide, and every sign, every token, given as to the extent and activity of the mighty machinery of this Society. (Cheers.) It is true there are some discouragements; but there is no abandonment of stations, no relinquish ment of the work. There is, indeed, an earnest endeavour to maintain what is gained, to mature what is already in progress; but there is no relinquishment of anything which the servants of the Lord have been pursuing. Never was such mighty machinery in operation as now; and for this we should "thank God and take courage." When was there such a large amount of truly evangelical success ? It is here we most thankfully take our stand. We see the machinery itself is large; and its effects are already most cheering. (Cheers.) You are indeed aware, Sir, that Christi

anity, as administered by our Missionaries, and by other Protestant Missionaries, in different parts of the earth, has had to deal with sin in its most appalling forms. It would be impossible to describe the atrocities which have existed, particularly in some parts of the earth, where God has favoured us with the greatest success. But Christianity, accompanied by Divine assistance, has reached many notorious examples of iniquity; and they have yielded evidence of true and scriptural conversion; it has turned darkness into light; it has supplied, from "the dark places of the earth, full of the habitations of cruelty," some of the brightest and most beautiful examples that now exist in the earth of a simple, fervent, and pure Christianity. (Cheers.) I have great satisfaction in learning, by a note just put into my hands, that the increase of church-members in the foreign Missionary stations amounts to more than 5,000. (Cheers.) We thank God that there is no want of a sign of prosperity in this respect,-in the increase of numbers. But we do not calculate our Christian success merely by statistics: we are aware of the value of statistics; they assist us in estimating and ascertaining the progress which the Society is making; but do we not know that there is a diffusion of light and truth beyond all that the most carefullyprepared statistics can reach? We know that truth is planted in many minds, and a living feeling awakened in many hearts, of which statistics can make but a partial report, or perhaps no report at all. We rejoice, however, in taking up these statistics, and estimating the success which presents itself to us in different forms and degrees; we rejoice that in this, the very thing which we covet, the very thing for which we pray and labour, God, even our own God, is with us. (Cheers.) Sir, we are not convened on this occasion for the purpose of planning or executing anything merely temporal; we have not met to maintain the defence of personal character; for we merge all those things in maintaining the great cause of our Saviour and the

triumphs of His cross; (chcers ;) utterly forgetting self while we think of the apparatus already prepared, and the manifold success which presents itself to our contemplation everywhere, we should shrink from every feeling which would lead us to impede, or even attempt to impede, that great work which is blessing so many thousands with the light, and life, and power of salvation. (Hear, hear.) It is a consolation to know that this work cannot be checked. (Cheers.) The truth and power of Christianity have gone forth, and are achieving their own victories. It shall, it must, prevail, (cheers,) until the entire world is subjected to the dominion of the Lord's sceptre. (Cheers.) When were we favoured with a more encouraging measure of pecuniary liberality than at this moment? I have had some little opportunity, in the northern part of the country, of marking the spirit of different Missionary Anniversaries, the promptitude with which people in comparatively humble life came forward, the noble and truly generous contributions of the more wealthy, and various other efforts which, taken altogether, summed up and combined, present us the encouraging results of this day. (Applause.) For this reason, also, we should rejoice, and encourage each other to prosecute our labours. There is nothing wanted in the completeness of the machinery as far as it goes; and we see, and rejoice to see, that friends in different parts of the land are willing to cooperate with us, with heart and hand, that the great design we contemplate may be fully accomplished, and that the kingdoms of this world may become, as they shall become, the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ. (Applause.) I was delighted to hear, Sir, in the course of your valuable observations, that you referred to the spirit of humility. It is in the spirit of humility that we wish to prosecute the work that lies before us; that spirit of humility which prostrates man and exalts God, which holds man's wisdom to be folly, man's efforts to be weakness, man's success impossible, unless it please God to vouchsafe to us His presence; that spirit of humility which is still looking upwards beyond all the instrumentalities around us, and owning the hand and agency of the most high God. I concur most cordially in the remarks which Mr. Heald so impressively made upon this subject. We came together to-day to offer up our prayers to Almighty God, and to acknowledge our dependence upon Him;

VOL. VI.-FOURTH SERIES.

not only to say, but to feel, that it is not by any might or power we can command, but by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts, and by Him alone, that we can hope to be successful. (Hear, hear.) The spirit of faith will also, I trust, sustain us,that spirit of faith which reposes upon the supreme and everlasting truth which we have in the imperishable book of God. We admit nothing in competition or comparison with it. Holy Scripture stands alone, the fountain and well of truth; that on which we repose with entire confidence, because we know that it supplies the truth which is for ever settled in heaven, and cannot but prevail. Faith reposes in that great propitiation which holy Scripture constantly exhibits. We look to the Cross, and seek by the Cross to triumph. We point to holy Scripture, which everywhere exhibits that blessed sign of healing in this wide wilderness of the dying and the dead. We cherish this faith, and we desire this day to renew our faith in the promises which holy Scripture has so freely and so fully given of the more plentiful visitation of the heavenly Spirit. May I be permitted to add, that I trust we are all desirous of renewing and prosecuting our engagements in the spirit of charity, that charity which never faileth, which beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, and, if even hope itself shall expire, endureth all things;-(hear, hear;)-charity allied to truth, and truth allied to charity; truth and charity, charity and truth, blended harmoniously into one; that charity which leads us to love all, in humble imitation of the charity which our Lord and Saviour manifested,-a charity which leads us to love Him who first loved us, and, in the possession and increase of His love, to love all others for His sake; and to proceed in our course, looking for His blessing, and committing ourselves and all our concerns into His hands. Ephraim shall not envy Judah, neither shall Judah vex Ephraim, in such a case as this. It is gratifying to find that, in the Resolution now in my hand, other Protestant and evangelical institutions are connected with our own. (Hear, hear.) Peace and prosperity be to them all! (Cheers.) What we want to see promoted is not sectarianism, but Christianity. (Renewed cheers.) That was the spirit of our fathers; (hear, hear;) and that is the spirit which, by the grace of God, we will continue to cherish-Christianity in its own free and diffusive spirit, by whatever agency it may be promoted. To all other Pro3 D

testant and evangelical institutions that are labouring for the spiritual good of mankind we wish all success. May the Lord our God grant that the results of their labours in future may be a thousand-fold what they have been in the past! May He be pleased to bless us also, and grant that in the proceedings of another year we may pursue our course confiding in Him, and always looking for His promised aid! (Hear, and cheers.)

The Resolution was carried amidst loud cheers, which completely drowned every expression of dissent.

S. M. PETO, Esq., M.P. for Norwich, and one of the Treasurers of the Baptist Missionary Society, said,-The Resolution, which I have the honour to propose for the adoption of the Meeting, is as follows:

"That the circumstances of special encouragement and promise in which several of the principal Missions in heathen lands are now placed, resulting from the gracious visitations from above with which they have been favoured, and the peculiar facilities for prosecuting the work which various providential arrangements now present, impose upon the Society the imperative obligation to make every effort within its power for the purpose of raising those Missions to a state of greater vigour and efficiency."

Mr. Chairman and dear Christian friends, I have had the honour to receive from the officers of your Society a request to represent a sister Society on the present occasion; and, be assured, I accept that invitation with heartfelt satisfaction, with much esteem, with a hearty desire to reciprocate in every effort you make, and to tender to your Society my warm affection and my Christian love. (Applause.) Though a member of another denomination, I may say, with great truth, that I have long known, valued, and loved your Society; and perhaps, Sir, it may not be out of place, on the present occasion, for me to refer to the fact of my having had the honour, for many years, of being one of the largest employers of industrial labour in this country; and I beg to tender my personal acknowledgments to your Society for the great good-for the constant and unwavering exertion which it has made for the elevation of the working-classes. While you have cultivated the vineyards of others, your own vineyard has been well kept. (Cheers.) In fact, Sir, whether it is in the village Wesleyan chapel, or in your own mountain home, I confess I can always sit, with satis

faction, to hear the same Gospel; nav, more, sit down at the same table of our common Lord. (Applause.) We live, Sir, in times of no ordinary difficulty, and, at the same time, of no ordinary blessing. When we look at the providential means which, on every hand, are opening to us in every land; when we look at the increased means of communication with every part of the earth; and when we contemplate, at the same time, the close connexion into which distant lands are brought with our own, we must consider that these increased facilities of doing good bring with them a commensurate amount of obligation. (Hear, hear.) During the last year, many opportunities of usefulness have existed on the continent of Europe; and I rejoice, most heartily, that, in the very seat of the Papacy itself, there has been distributed a larger amount of the knowledge of the word of life than has ever yet been known; and we cannot believe that the good seed which has been sown will return void, but that it will gradually germinate and bring forth abundantly. (Applause.) The coasts of Africa, India, China, every part of the world, at the present moment are open to us; and I believe that the means of usefulness employed by your own Society, and by other kindred institutions, on the coast of Africa, will do more to exterminate the accursed traffic in our fellow-men than any other thing that we could do. (Ifear.) You will, perhaps, here permit me to mention an incident, which was brought to my knowledge by the Governor of Fernando Po, during a recent visit to this country, which will tend to show that the Chiefs of Africa, when enlightened by the Gospel, are capable of being elevated by views of the highest order, which will tend to render them averse to the continuance of this infamous traffic. During the last year, on that island, which is close to the coast of Africa, and near to the Gold-Coast, the son of one of the Chiefs was killed, in a fit of passion, by one of the natives, with a common cooper's hammer, when employed in his work. The Governor of the island caused him to be apprehended. He was tried by a jury of twelve of his countrymen, a verdict of "Guilty" was returned, and he was condemned to die. Before the day of execution, the Chief applied to the Governor for an opportunity of visiting the prisoner. Permission was given him; and the Governor told me, he should never forget the scene that presented itself on his return. Pallid, anxious, and