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Application of the Rev. J. Roaf for Support of a Mission at Drummondville, by Niagara Falls.

Allow me to present to the Colonial Missionary Society, its contributing and praying members, as well as its Committee, an application which has greatly interested my own feelings: it relates to Drummondville, a small town near the Falls of Niagara, of which you have such knowledge as words and drawings can furnish. I am no believer in describing or painting the sun or the Niagara Falls. While there is not in it the impiety, there is a degree of the folly and inefficiency, involved in making pictures of the Divine Being. Well, above the Falls on the Canada side is rising ground, on the summit of which a decisive battle was fought between the British and American forces, known as the battle of Lundy's Lane. There stands Drummondville, the Canadian town in connection with the Niagara wonder. It is not only the metropolis of its neighbourhood, but during the summer is visited by crowds of the pleasure-seeking and health-seeking travellers who resort to the Falls. In this place are three religious societies-a Methodist, a Baptist, and an American Presbyterian. You are aware that the American Presbyterians approach much more nearly to our views and usages than the Presbyterians of Scotland. They recognise the manifestness of conversion, and require evidences of it in applicants for church-membership; they freely use hymns, and a modern phraseology in psalms; they consult the membership in church proceedings; their Calvinism is less technical and harsh. Hence their members, in coming into the provinces, are commended to Congregational rather than to Presbyterian churches; and, in the United States, Presbyterian and Congregational ministers settle over churches of the other body. The American Presbyterian congregation in Drummondville, with several others, formerly received aid in behalf of their American pastors from the Home Missionary Society of the States. Latterly this Society has declined giving such aid; alleging, that on British soil American ministers laboured under disadvantages, and that the Colonial Missionary Society contemplated the very work in Canada for which the aid was sought. When applied to for aid as well as cooperation in common objects and church recognition, I have always had to reply, that while the Canadian brethren would gladly hold fellowship with these churches, the Colonial Missionary Society was unavoidably denominational, and thus unable to assist Presbyterian congregations. They informed me that they were willing to be in name and form, as they are in spirit, Congregational; but that their chapel property being Presbyterian, they feared losing it, if they gave a legal or technical advantage to their Scottish Presbyterian neighbours. Their ministers in the States have advised them to cast themselves upon us,-their feelings led them to take the same course, but their property held them back.

Well, at Drummondville, Christian sympathy with ourselves, and a panting for fellowship, have grown together with a sense of feebleness, and been greatly fostered by the settlement in the neighbourhood of several English Congregational families. After long resistance I lately consented to visit the spot, and confer with the parties desirous of our taking them up as a Congregational body.

After a steam-boat trip of thirty miles across the western angle of Lake Ontario to the town of Niagara, and six or seven miles up the steepbanked and serpentine river of the same name, I landed at Queenston, above which are rapids that forbid navigation; then five or six miles more on a railway, along which we were drawn by horses, and we were at the Niagara Falls and at Drummondville. preached to this people, and, as long as I could stay amongst them, visited. I found an earnest desire to have a Congregational minister introduced, with a view to the formation of a regular Congregational church, and, if they should be despoiled of their house of worship, the erection of another. There seems to be a doubt whether some of the adherents of the chapel would at once forsake it, were another Presbyterian body to go in and thrust their minister from the pulpit. The two elders, one of whom is an old English deacon, and most of the people, are ready to make the sacrifice.

I introduced to them the Rev. E. Ebbs, then of London (the Canadian London)-a minister apparently just adapted to the station. Besides being, in a general sense, an excellent man and minister, he is very prudent, forbearing, patient, and persevering. He has gone in, been well reIceived, and, after a trial of some months, is willing to do our and his Master's work there, if sustained. Less than sixty pounds per annum for three years is all that he or they ask; though my opinion is, that we ought not to consider that time sufficient for acquiring a power of selfsupport.

My dear brother, have you, English Congregationalists-for Scotch Congregationalists seem to have made up their minds to do nothing in the matter-have you the energy, and liberality, and faith, to commit yourselves for £55 per annum for three or four years, to have a Congregational minister preach Christ the crucified within the sound, and beside the spray-column, of Niagara Falls? preach to the world's travellers who come to see this greatest of natural wonders? preach amidst the band of brethren, who, to join us and use our system, resist every offer, and sacrifice the house raised by their offerings and hallowed by their devotions? I would answer for the liberality to this cause of any one whom I could take to Chippewa, a small town about three miles from Drummondville, to which I was specially and most pressingly invited to go to see a sick person. There I found an English gentleman of property, who had married the daughter of the rector of his parish. He was evidently dying of consuraption, as tender in spirit as the gentlest penitent of whom I ever formed a conception; full of grief at the worldliness and uselessness to which he had surrendered himself in this country, in which he had found no religious services suited to his habits of thought; and about to leave a large family, for whom his only wish was that they were somewhere where they could be surrounded by the influences which blessed his youth. He brought out his books, which had been to him in the stead of a minister, and they looked like the library of an opulent English Independent. What desolations do many such British families in this country manifest, for the loss of all the religious services adapted to their habits

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Theology.

SOME OF THE CAUSES WHICH RETARD THE PROGRESS OF EVANGELICAL TRUTH AMONG CONGREGATIONALISTS.

By the Rev. B. Backhouse, Rodborough.

THOSE which immediately suggest themselves are, The want of greater union between effort and prayer; worldly conformity; the absence of personal effort and self-sacrifice; and the neglect of prayer for, and co-operation with, the ministry.

1. The want of greater union between effort and prayer. The fault of the past age was, that prayer took the place of action; of this, that action usurps the place of prayer. The routine of public duties has become the substitute for secret devotion. But it is in the closet we must prepare for the field; fetching strength from heaven for all the work and service of earth. It is here alone that our principles and affections, our plans and resolves, will be imbued with holiness, and wisdom, and "life from on high." If, then, the closet has been deserted, need we wonder that formalism has taken the place of devotion, lukewarmness of zeal, and indolence of self-denial?

2. Worldly conformity. The strength of Congregationalism has ever been in the piety of its members. But has not worldliness, of late years, like a canker-worm, eaten into our churches, and thus shorn us of our strength? Failing to live under the ennobling, elevating influence of spiritual things, have we not sought to bring religion to a level with our infirmities, and to work out the problem how little of heaven will suffice us-how much of earth we can enjoy? We have, it is true, increased our machinery for the conversion of the world; but without a corresponding increase of power to work that machinery. The extension of the church has been aimed at by us, apart from the elevation of its piety: hence our failure. In entering the circles of professing Christians, do we not generally observe, in their commercial transactions, their style of living, their choice of society, the tenor of their conversation, a greater practical deference to the maxims of the world than to the precepts of the Bible? Are they not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, by fearing to pursue the plain, self-denying course it enjoins? And this earthlyminded spirit is to be observed in the dress, temper, and conduct of the humbler as well as wealthier members of our churches. Can we then expect to prosper as a religious denomination? Impossible! Then would be falsified the axiom of the great Teacher: "Ye cannot serve God and mammon.'

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3. The want of more personal effort and self-sacrifice.-Though our various religious organizations have been and still are a great blessing to the world, yet have they not proved, in one sense, a bane to the church? God requires every Christian to be a missionary in his own sphere of influence. While necessarily seeking the conversion of the heathen by proxy, have we not carried out the same principle at home to an alarming extent? It is not enough to contribute of our wealth to the support of the ministry and the religious societies of the day: the blood of souls is on us if we fail individually to employ our every talent for their salvation. Have you not, my friends, as members of churches, criminally failed in this respect? What are you doing to enlighten and bless the vicious and ignorant who dwell in your immediate neighbourhood? Has the love of Christ constrained you to urge them to "flee from the wrath to come?" Our sabbath-schools demand the help of the educated and intelligent; are you giving such help? Have you learnt to decrease your expenditure, that you may augment your charities? or are you giving to God the surplus of your luxuries? With increased claims and means,

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are you not contributing the same sum to benevolent objects which you gave twenty years ago? Need we wonder, then, that Evangelical Nonconformity does not progress, when so little exertion and self-sacrifice are put forth? God only helps those who help themselves. Why sigh and cry we for the abominations done in Zion, if we put not off the mantle of selfishness, and gird ourselves for our Master's work? With the examples of a Thomas Wilson, a Harlan Page, a Thomas Cranfield, and a Sarah Martin before us, should we not be ashamed that we have done so little for the conversion of souls?

4. The neglect of prayer for, and co-operation with, the ministry.-There is no relationship in which parties so act upon each other as in that between a minister and his people. If the members of a congregation be dependent for assistance in spiritual things on their minister, his ability thus to help them depends no less on their prayerful, active sympathy. The repeated entreaty of the apostle Paul to the churches he addressed was, "Brethren, pray for us." And if such a man needed the prayers of those to whom he ministered, how much more does the pastor of the present day! It is to the neglect of this intercession that we may, in part, ascribe the want of more power following and sanctifying the services of the sanctuary. Suppose, for instance, your pastor is not, in your judgment, sufficiently experimental; instead of blaming him, have you prayed that he may have a deeper personal experience of religion? Or he may seem to give an undue preference to one class of doctrines or duties; instead of dwelling on his deficiencies, have you prayed that the great Teacher may help him to "divide rightly the word of life?" Or he is not sufficiently earnest and affectionate: have you made these alleged faults matter of supplication before God, or of mere conversation, that he may be depreciated? Oh! did you thus intercede for your spiritual instructor, we are confident he would be better taught in heavenly things-better qualified to teach others. In his every sermon, his every visit to the sick, his every remonstrance with the careless and the profligate, his every attempt to deduce important truth from each portion of Scripture, he would increasingly exemplify the character of "a workman who needeth not to be ashamed; thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

With what confidence may a minister enter his pulpit-"that awful place," as the youthful Spencer used to term it-if he were conscious that his people, instead of decrying his sermons, and criticising his manner, were plying the mercy-seat on his behalf, and entreating that the quickening, illuminating influences of the Spirit might descend and rest on him! The preaching of the present day has failed being "in demonstration of the Spirit and of power," because the people, relying too much on the natural talent of their ministers, have not prayed that they may "be endued with power from on high."

Thus have we endeavoured to set forth some of the causes for the stagnation, at least, if not the declension of religion among us.

The means for their removal are within our reach. The cultivation of the excellencies whose deficiency we deplore are those means. What doth hinder the full outpouring of the blessing, if we remove the hindrances? Let us do our part; God will do his.

And are there not reasons and motives to induce us to do so? If I address myself to my fathers and brethren, are not our motives many and urgent for seeking the revival and extension of religion? Shall I name the high office we sustain―the example and commands of Christ and his apostles-our ordination vows the expectations which our people indulge respecting us-the denunciations of Scripture upon those who do the work of the Lord negligently-or the rich reward which now and hereafter awaits the faithful pastor? Should not the examples of our forefathers influence us? From choice, not

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necessity, we have adopted the principles of Nonconformity. We love to dwell on the pages of Puritan history-to contemplate the apostolic labours of Whitfield and Wesley-while many of us occupy pulpits once filled by men eminent for piety, learning, and usefulness; and shall we fail to take up the mantle of piety and devotedness which they have left behind? Oh! shall it not be said of the ministry of the present day, "The mantle of Elijah has fallen on Elisha?" Shall not this "great crowd of witnesses" inspire us with fresh vigour for the race, and fresh courage for the conflict?

Is not our position, too, at the present moment, one of vast responsibility? We, so to speak, are occupying the pass-the Thermopyla of the church. As champions of the church's independence of all state aid and control, and of a simple scriptural faith and polity, it is ours to decide whether the wiles of Satan shall shackle that independence, or the doctrines of sects corrupt that faith, or the policy of men destroy that polity. As our fathers were the stern and unflinching opponents of Romanism, Prelacy, and Presbytery, so, like David with his sling and his stone, with an unquailing heart, an unshaking hand, and an unerring aim, should we stand ready to hurl, in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the missiles of truth against the Goliath of error.

Need I point to the state of the masses around us? "Wrath is gone out from the Lord against them ;" and the plague of sin is fast sweeping them into perdition. Oh! shall not we, like Aaron, rush with the censer of truth between the living and the dead, that the plague may be stayed? The "destroying angel" is passing over our cities, our parishes, and our villages, smiting all who are unsprinkled with the blood of atonement; and shall we not, like David, intercede on their behalf, and urge them, "Be ye reconciled to God?"

To deacons and other leading members of our churches need I say, Sirs, how much is resting on you to remove the causes which hinder the work of God among us! Your influence for good or evil on your respective churches is often greater than that of the pastor. Your sympathy, counsels, and prayers would do much to infuse new life into the souls of ministers and people, and to quiet "troubles in Israel." How can your pastors adequately prepare for the work of the sanctuary if you laymen refrain from conducting even the business arrangements of the great societies of the day, and leave all to their oversight? We want an earnest ministry; but we need no less an earnest deaconship!

And shall I conclude without addressing the members of our churches and congregations? With you, my beloved friends, it remains to decide whether the future history of Congregationalism tell of decline or progress. Ministers and deacons are but units; you are masses. It is ours to lead on to the charge; it is yours to ensure the victory. Success, at one period, rewarded your toils; but present discomfiture prostrates your energies. Like the Israelites when smitten before Ai, so your "hearts have melted and become as water." "But get thee up; wherefore liest thou upon thy face? There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel! Thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you. Up, then, up; sanctify yourselves, and the Lord will do wonders among you. Let every man ask himself before God, "Is there not a cause,' so far as I individually am concerned, why the church or denomination to which I belong does not prosper?

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Has your piety declined? Then at once seek its revival. Has the closet lost its attractions? Henceforth let it be consecrated afresh by your tears, your meditations, your prayers. Has the friendship of the world banished the love of God from your heart? From this hour let that heart be the temple of the Holy Ghost. Have the services of the sanctuary ceased to

interest you? Let your constant prayer be, "Oh! send out thy light and thy truth; let them lead me; let them guide me to thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacle." Have the peace and joy which once possessed your bosom fled? Then "repent and do your first works," and the consolations of God shall not be small. Has the zeal that fired your soul to action become only as an expiring ember? Then seek a fresh baptism of the Holy Ghost. Have the talents committed to your trust been, till the present moment, kept folded in a napkin; unsquandered, but unimproved? At once go and trade with those talents in the support of the ministry and the sanctuary, and in the conversion of souls; so that, when the end cometh, you may receive your Lord's approval, and enjoy your Lord's reward. A world perishing, and a church hoarding! Strange spectacle!

Ministers, deacons, and people! let there be great searchings of heart among us, to ascertain the causes of religious declension, combined with a diligent use of means to effect their removal. Above all, let us exercise earnest, importunate prayer for the descent of the Spirit; and "times of refreshing" and Pentecostal conversions will again be vouchsafed. "And the former days" of our history, glorious though they be, shall not be remembered nor come into mind; "for the righteousness of Zion shall go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth!"

Spirit of the living God! descend! "Endue us with power from on high" while we tarry on earth! Ever direct and prosper us! "Arise, O Lord, and have mercy upon Zion; let this be the time, yea, the set time to favour her: for thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof. Save now, we beseech thee, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech thee, send now prosperity!"

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CONSOLATIONS FOR THE BEREAVED.

Wherefore comfort one another with these words," 1 THESS. iv. 18.

DEATH has lately been very active in our world. Its ravages have widely spread. It has slain its thousands. Piety presents no safeguard from its stroke. The lovely, the endeared, the pious, the useful, have fallen before it. Many, undoubtedly, who read these lines, have recently been to the grave which incloses their sweetest earthly hopes, in the person of husband or wife, parent or child, brother or sister. To such the following remarks are addressed, by one who has needed their support, and felt their value.

Consolation is one of the blessings of the gospel. It describes the Father as "the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort." The Son came "to bind up the broken-hearted;"" to comfort all that mourn." The Spirit sent by the Father through the intercession of the Son, is the "comforter." The saints are "to be comforted in all their tribulations: "Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God." There is no tear so bitter which the soft hand of Divine mercy cannot wipe away. No wound so deep and painful, which the balm of the

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gospel cannot enter and heal. And although nature feels, weeps, and trembles at the grave of the departed friends, the gospel calls our attention thence; declares the "blessedness of those who die in the Lord;" assures us of the resurrection of the just to "eternal life;" and exhorts us to "comfort one another with these words."

It is a great blessing that, when seeking comfort for our bereaved and lacerated hearts, we are not denied the privilege of contemplating the glory of cur departed friends. We may, and ought to read and study all that the Scriptures reveal concerning "the saints in light." "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which have fallen asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope."

Among the numerous considerations relating to the pious dead, which tend to soothe the sorrows of bereavement, we observe,

First, That no uncommon event has overtaken them. "In Adam all die." "Death passed upon all men, for that

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