COERCION AND MOTIVE. THERE are two ways of bringing re- | of Christ was, amalgamated, by a most sults to pass that refer to human conduct. The one is coercion by the power, and the other persuasion by the use, of reason. They are very unlike in their principles, and as much so in their modes; the one being compulsive, and the other persuasive-the one depending on force, and the other on thinking and appeal. unnatural alliance, with the functions of the temporal ruler. This melancholy departure from gospel principles opened the sad era of compulsive and persecuting measures first venting themselves upon Pagans, in the hands of Christian princes-then upon contending sects, settling questions of doctrine by the power of the sword-and finally by accretions and corruptions, resulting in the establishment of the Roman hierarchy, with the Pope at its head-making a system of cruelty and crime that for ages covered the earth with blackness, dishonoring God, and cursing mankind. The contrast between the measures of the Papacy, wherever and whenever it has held the power of the sword, and those which are appropriate to the gospel of Christ, is but little short of the difference between hell and heaven. The victims of the former have often been the most wretched sufferers that ever drained the cup of human misery; while it is, perhaps, not too much to say that the agents thereof, at least many of them, were the most hateful monsters that ever defiled or disgraced the creation of God, being too inhuman and corrupt to be owned by any but the devil. How unlike an apostle is a Roman inquisitor! The one preaching Christ, the other persecuting against the authority of Christ; and that, too, by methods the atrocity of which hardly finds its like Which of these principles is the appropriate one, in respect to the mission and purposes of Christianity in our world? If we take the Saviour and his apostles for models, we can be at no loss as to the answer. They never sought the aid of the civil arm-they asked for no persecuting disabilities or penalties against heretics or infidels. When standing before Pilate on the charge of of sedition, Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world;" adding the remark, that if his kingdom was worldly, then his friends would undertake his defence by force of arms. The great apostle to the Gentiles tells us that the weapons of his warfare were not carnal, but spiritual; and the entire labors of his life were based on this principle. He was content to preach the kingdom of Christ, to persuade men concerning Jesus, and then leave his hearers to judge and act for themselves upon their responsibility to God. Nor was any other principle ever recognized among the early Christians; though themselves the victims of persecution, they never acknowledged the compulsiveness in the annals of human wrong. theory, in any form, or to any extent, as properly belonging to the gospel. Lactantius, one of the primitive fathers, remarks, "Coercion and injury are unnecessary, for religion cannot be forced. Barbarity and piety are far different, nor can truth be joined with violence, or justice with cruelty. Religion is to be defended, not by killing, but by dying-not by inhumanity, but by patience. Bernard, another of the early Christians, observes, "Faith is to be conveyed by persuasion, not by restraint. The patrons of heresy are to be assailed, not by arms, but by arguments. Attack them, but with the Word, not with the sword." This, then, was the creed of the Saviour, his apostles, and all his followers; nor was any other known or thought of, until the spiritual kingdom And yet such an incarnation of evil is but the natural exponent of the compulsive theory applied to the propagation of religion; it is the terrible fruit of a false principle. Away, then, with the agency of force, the terrors of the civil arm! The kingdom of Christ has no place for them. They have never done anything but to corrupt and curse its administration. This is their history in all ages; and it always must be. Their tendency is to make monsters and demons in saintly robes. The true Christian, as such, asks no favor of the state for himself or his religion. All that he asks is, that the state would let him alone, and mind its own business, protecting him as a man, but leaving him to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience. Motive, and not force, is the Protestant and Bible the- | and holy living, these are the instruory of doing Christ's work on the mentalities of God's approval these earth. Bayonets and bullets are not are the only ones which man can lawthe divinely appointed means of grace. fully employ. Prayer and preaching, earnest thinking REPORT OF THE GENERAL MEETING, THE delegates from various churches | from the various churches were then assembled in the meeting-house at Wigan, at six o'clock, p.m. on Tuesday, the 26th July, and occupied the evening with prayer, singing, and mutual addresses, until half-past eight. On Wednesday morning, the brethren commenced their meeting at six o'clock, and after singing and prayer, proceeded to elect a President. Brother J. K. Tener, of Moree, Ireland, was unanimously called upon to preside, and Brother G. Y. Tickle, of Liverpool, to act as Secretary. It was then resolved, that the Resolutions of the Local Committee for the management of the proceedings of the meeting, be confirmed and adopted without any alteration. The 1. That the meeting on Tuesday evening be devoted to prayer and short addresses. delegates will assemble at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, when the reading of the letters from the churches will commence, and be continued during the subsequent sittings of the day until concluded; after which the various propositions contained therein will be discussed, a Report of the Evangelist Committee presented, and conversations and deliberations held on subjects bearing on the great object of the Meeting. 2. That the letters from the churches be read alphabetically. 3. That all propositions contained in such letters be considered as the propositions of the churches sending them, and deliberated upon accordingly. 4. That all propositions be submitted in writing-those emanating from individuals to be seconded before they are discussed. 5. That inquiries be made of the delegates as to the state, operations, and anticipations of the churches, and, also, as to what means have been specially owned of God in the conversion of sinners. handed in, amounting to sixty-four, and the brethren were occupied several hours in their examination. All letters containing any suggestion or proposition were laid aside, and afterwards brought forward as motions for discussion. Communications were received from the following churches : The Letters received by Bro. Turner Moree July. Ditto, Louth.... 13 April 3. Bro. Magarey, Adelaide Bro. Henderson Balance of Interest 0 60 1 0 0 0 14 0 1 19 3 62 5 4 Wigan (Received subsequent to the Meeting: Sanquhar, 25 members; Dumfries, 25 members.) There are some fifteen churches from whom no report was received by the Meeting. 172 had been immersed during the year, but the exact number of de ths, and of those who have emigrated, withdrawn, and been excluded, could not be ascertained, and therefore our statistics are incomplete. The Annual Report of the Evangelist Committee was then read by Brother J. Wallis, and presented, with the Treasurer's Statement for the past year, which are as follow:— REPORT OF THE EVANGELIST FUND. In presenting the Annual Report of the Evengelist Fund, the Committee have not much to communicate to the brethren. The disbursements, as well as the contributions, have been very small during the past year, consequently there has not been much for the Committee to attend to in this department of labor. It is generally known that the churches in Fifeshire and Lancashire have formed themselves into District Associations; they support their own Evangelists, besides defraying the expenses of their laboring brethren. The churches also in Chester, Buckingham, Nottingham, and other places, pay the expenses of the different brethren visiting other churches in the neighbourhood out of their own private funds. This is no doubt the most scriptural method of evangelization, and could it be fully carried out throughout the country, the Committee in Nottingham might be dispensed with altogether. Every church is responsible according to her ability, for the spread of the truth in her own vicinity. She is to be as a light, a city set on a hill for that neighbourhood. It appears us, that the elders and officers in the days of the Apostles, were appointed to manage and to receive the necessary communications ther reference to them was unnecesfor such purpose.* sary: A suggestion from one of the churches for a General Sick Fund, then came before the Meeting, and the following Resolution was unanimously adopted: Resolved, That the brethren in all places be recommended to abide by the Apostles' teachings on Christian love and liberality, and to provide in the fel-zation in each district. lowship for the poor and distressed. If the funds are not sufficient in their own church to meet such claims, they are advised to make known their case to the elders of other churches, the Meeting being assured, that in no case of real distress could such an appeal be made in vain." Resolved, That the churches in various places be recommended to form themselves into districts, and appoint a Committee in each District, to co-operate with the General Committee in Nottingham, for the adoption of such measures as shall be found necessary to establish efficient means of evangeli One of the churches (Maidstone) having by letter recommended the adoption of some means for supplying tracts to different churches, the Meeting hereby wish to remind the brethren, there and elsewhere, that Brother King, of London, has already published a number of tracts at a very low price, and recommend that any of the churches who require tracts, should endeavour to make a selection from those published by Brother King. As regards the raising of a general fund for tract distribution, it does not appear to this Meeting at present practicable. It was considered by the Meeting, that the rest of the propositions contained in the letters were embraced in the following resolutions, and that fur * We shall be happy to publish, on the cover, the address of one brother and the place of meeting in any town, village, or city in the United Kingdom: but we earnestly recommend, when this has been done, that no brother or sister, personally unknown to the officers, be received into any of the churches, even for a single Lord's day, without a letter of recommendation from the officers of the church of which the parties stand as members. Let all the brethren remember, that as it was in the days of the Apostles, so it is now: there are those amongst us who have been righteously excluded from Christian communities, and who, in their occasional or frequent excursions, become nothing better than religions mendicants. From all such may the churches be delivered.J. W. Resolved, That Brother Wallis be requested to issue new editions of the following works, and that the brethren be recommended to disseminate them to the best of their ability, viz. :—“ The Essay on the Remission of Sins"-" A Tribute to the Memory of the Apostles" "Essay on the Holy Spirit, by Walter Scott"-" Essay on the Foundation of Christian Union, by A. Campbell""Essay on Primitive Christianity, by Dr. Richardson." It having been noticed, that Hymn Books were required in Great Britain, Ireland, and Australia, the former editions being exhausted, although neither of them had given satisfaction to the churches generally, and had, therefore, not been adopted by all. To have one Hymn Book, as well as one Bible, was thought desirable by all present. Resolved, That this Meeting promises to use every effort to aid and susof a new Hymn Book, to be arranged tain Brother Wallis, in the publication in the order of Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, agreeably to Ephesians v. 19, and earnestly press upon the attention of the brethren, the great boon that is thus likely to be conferred upon the churches. Resolved, That this Meeting views with deep interest the efforts now being "The made in the United States by Bible Union," for a revision of the Sacred Scriptures, and while we express our cordial sympathy with the movement, we hope and pray that it may result in furnishing a faithful transiation of the Word of God into the English language. Resolved, That a copy of the foregoing Resolntion be forwarded to Dr. Cone, of New York, President of "The Bible Union." Applications were received from four churches, that the next Annual Meeting might be held with them, but, as the meeting had not been held in the Principality of Wales, it was resolved, That the next Annual Meeting be held at Wrexham, on the last Tuesday in July, 1853, at six o'clock, p.m. Resolved, That the letters be handed over to Brother Wallis, to exercise his discretion in publishing any extracts of general interest. W. K. TENER, President. G. Y. TICKLE, Secretary. Resolved, That the thanks of this Meeting be tendered to Brother Tener, for presiding over its deliberations with so much kindness and urbanity; and to Brother Tickle, as Secretary. The following is a copy of the letter addressed to Dr. Cone by the Secretary, in forwarding the Resolution already quoted: 13, Rose Vale, Liverpool, 4th August, 1853. 'My dear Dr. Cone,-I esteem it a very great privilege, as it is a most pleasing duty, to lay before you the copies of two Resolutions adopted by the Wigan Annual Meeting of Delegates, on the 28th ultimo, by which the brethren in the Reformation, assembled from all parts of the United Kingdom, have desired to convey to the members of the American Bible Union, the expression of their deep sympathy in the great cause of Bible revision, to which your Society stands pledged, and their earnest desire for the success of this most glorious enterprise. "I am instructed to say, that the Resolutions would have been accompanied by some substantial proof of confidence and good will, in the shape of a contribution to your funds, but it was intimated to the Meeting, that you had funds already more than sufficient for the undertaking. This information caused the steps that were being taken to be suspended not, however, without its being understood, that should any necessity arise in the progress of the work for additional resources, the brethren would cheerfully respond to any call you might hereafter make upon them. "The objects of your Society stand in need of no recommendation; to state them, is sufficient to secure for them the approbation of all intelligent and good men. And beautifully have they been stated by Dr. Campbell, where he says, The only inquiries before us are, What has God said in the original Scriptures? and How shall we best express it in our English Scriptures?" Sufficient recommendation for any Society to have inscribed above its portals, so fair and heavenly a design. That God himself, who gave the Scriptures, may be your guide to its full accomplishment-and that He may enable you, by his grace, in due time, to present to his church and the universe, the treasures of his word in a pure and uncorrupted casket, in a text fitted to display, from its indisputable integrity, the glory, sweetness, and saving power of the truth--is the fervent unceasing prayer of one who subscribes himself, with unfeigned love and respect, dear Sir, your's in the Christian faith, "G. Y. TICKLE. "To Dr. Cone, President of the Bible Union, New York." THE PUBLIC MEETING. On Wednesday evening, a public meeting was held in the Commercial Hall, when three addresses were delivered to a very respectable audience. We extract from the Wigan Times of the 29th ult. the following report of the proceedings: "Mr. T. COOP was called to the chair, and after commencing the proceedings with a hymn, he read the placard convening the meeting, and briefly stated its objects. "Mr. FRANCIS HILL, of Sunderland, was then called on to address the meet ing. He said that though they could not reform the religion given to the been a departure from it, there must be world by the Apostles, yet as there had a return to it. Reform was a thrilling word, whether used in connection with social, political, or religious matters; but reform was most important in reference to religion. Never was there a period like the present. Every religious society was convulsed; and what had given rise to this, but the spread of education and a desire to know the truth? There was a cry for reform from every religious body in this country, and even from Rome itself; but it was impossible to reform Rome-they must therefore seek to destroy her, never, never again to rise. Every relihad its origin in the desire for reform. gious body since the time of Luther Mr. Hill then contended that the forms, usages, and doctrines now existing amongst professors of the Christian religion, were not founded upon the Scriptures, and therefore they ought to go back to the model church which existed in the time of the Apostles. Let all |