QUARTERLY OF THR REGISTER BAPTIST HOME MISSIONARY SOCIETY. JANUARY, 1858. MR. WEBB'S JOURNAL OF A MISSIONARY TOUR IN WARWICKSHIRE. In presenting a statement of our missionary operations in the county of Warwick during the autumn of this year, 1857, I feel I have, both for myself and my missionary companion, Mr. Nichols, of Northamptonshire, to acknowledge with gratitude the constant protection, the sustaining grace, and the kind tokens of approbation, which our Divine Master gave us, amid the dangers, the toils, and the pressing duties of a missionary tour extending over nearly five weeks-to God belong all honour and praise. In travelling 290 miles, chiefly on foot, we had much access to the people, both publicly and privately, and we have reason to believe that many hundreds heard the tidings of salvation from us, who are not in the habit of hearing them in any church or chapel; for we found non-attendance on Divine worship in many of the villages to be extremely sad. We collected the people together, and preached the Gospel eighteen times in the open air; and in places of worship we preached twelve times. Our congregations numbered from forty to three hundred. In fifty-two villages and hamlets we gave missionary visitations and tracts, and in many cases preached as well as visited. In numerous instances we enforced Gospel truths on the attention of travellers and others. By the way-side poor men out of employ received with much attention our exhortations, directing them to seek the favour of God through faith in Christ Jesus. We often felt amply repaid for our time and attention, by the cordial thanks we received from persons of this class, and cannot but believe that many of those wanderers have carried the impression of those weighty truths to other parts of the country. The gipsy tribe also received our missionary attention, the Scriptures were read and expounded, and prayer offered by the side of their camps. These homeless ones listened with sym interest to us while we opened the way of salvation, and pointed them to a home in the heavens. In one case an aged gipsy and his wife put aside their hot dinner and allowed it to get cold in order that they might hear our message, and the aged man put his hat off with the greatest reverence while we prayed for them to the great Father of all. We both felt persuaded that our religious service for their benefit was not lost. In various places we were invited to converse with the sick and dying, and many heard the Gospel from us, and listened to our prayers, whom we shall never see again till we meet them at the bar of God. The mansions of the rich, and large farm-houses, which have been passed over in former tours, have been attended to in this. Ladies and gentlemen accepted our tracts with courtesy and with kind wishes of success in our undertaking. One lady said to Mr. Nichols- "This is a very depraved village; I hope, sir, you will pray for it." This lady, to show her pathy in the object, presented my friend with a plate of grapes. Numbers of tracts have thus been handed to masters, to mistresses, and their servants; and thus a class, generally written down as unvisitable, have been visited. About 6,000 tracts, "British Messengers," and "Gospel Trumpets," have been circulated far and wide. For these we are indebted to the Christian kindness of Mr. Cross, of Bristol, to Mr. Drummond, Stirling, Mr. Winks, Leicester, and to the Religious Tract Society. Extracts from Dr. Spencer's "Pastoral Sketches," published as tracts by Mr. Cross, of Bristol, were peculiarly acceptable to the people. Several persons remarked that they had never read such a tract before, as the one under the title, "The Death-Bed" (despairing). The eagerness with which the tracts were sought after our preachings in the open air was indeed encouraging to us both. Many of our openair services were more than ordinarily interesting and impressive; we felt that the C Holy Spirit was evidently in our midst. | In the populous village of Monks Kirby, where I had never preached before, the people gathered around me in considerable numbers; while reading the Scriptures the thunder pealed above our heads, and the rain began to descend, increasing every moment; the people, nevertheless, stood; but, as we were getting wet, I was meditating a retreat, but the sexton of the church (episcopal), who was my hearer, promptly sent for the key of their large school-room, and invited me and the congregation in, which we readily embraced, when I, for the first time in my life, preached in a building connected with the Church of England. Standing behind the master's desk, I explained and applied the great truth" For God so loved the world," &c., to about 200 people; the closest attention was given, and feeling was evidently excited. I was informed that the service had awakened a general interest, and was the subject of general talk in the village. At Stratford-on-Avon, with the consent of the mayor, we preached at the market-house, in an open space, where five streets converge. The attendance must have been some 400; many werc working-men and youths, with a sprinkling of those whose appearance and manner indicated they were gentleman; the greatest attention and order were manifest, while we sought to unfold God's love to a lost world in the gift of his Son. We both thought this service was an illustration that the good old Gospel, when faithfully presented, is able to chain the attention of a throng in the centre of a town. The earnestness of the people in seeking our tracts, and the respect paid us afterwards, were proofs that the service had made some impression, and we were encouraged to hope that souls would be our reward. At another open-air preaching, a farmer, who had heard us, came forward, and placed a small sum in the hands of Mr. Nichols, to replace the tracts he saw him giving away. At this service, though we were preaching till after nightfall to a considerable number, yet the silence and attention was truly cheering. As we held more preaching services in this tour than in any former one, so in no case did we fail to secure an audience. This, with the interest generally excited, led us to believe that our great Master approved and blessed these labours. We often felt impressed with the need of missionary conversation in the villages. The ignorance of saving truth we observed often pained us. One aged man gravely asked Mr. Nicholls, "Who made God almighty?" A farmer, in the course of our conversation, candidly acknowledged that he was "destitute of even spark of religion." Mr. Nicholls faith fully and earnestly appealed to his conscience, and he expressed his thanks. In one case, we were appalled with the enormity of Mormonism; while conversing with a zealous woman of this creed at she stated, "that Jesus Christ had wives, and sons, and daughters," &c. We faithfully warned her of the fearful delusion she was under, and presented to her the plain Gospel. The value of Christian conversation and appeals will appear in the following cases. We have in conclusion to record with pleasure and gratitude, our deep sense of the kindness and sympathy we received from friends at Coventry, Stratford-on-Avon, and other places. Our prayer is, that their fervent wishes for success to attend these operations may be realized. The knowledge that we had a lively interest in their valued prayers often encouraged us. MR. WHITEHEAD'S JOURNAL OF MISSIONARY Having been accustomed as opportunities offered "to preach the Gospel in the regions beyond" my more immediate sphere of labour, I hailed with pleasure the request of the committee to engage for a few weeks in visiting the most destitute villages in these northern counties,-to make known, as I might be able, the way of life, by preaching the word, circulating tracts, and embracing available opportuni ties for conversation. The spiritual destitution of a great number of the villages and districts, which have been visited, indicative of indifference to eternal things, was frequently and painfully apparent. Commencing on the 7th September, I visited Butsfield, Cornsay, Tudhoe, Brancepeth, Beechburn, Billyrow, Towlaw, Ebchester, Lintzford, Heddon-on-the-Wall, Walbottle, Wylam, Oningham, Ovington, Corbridge, Juniper Dye-house, Slaley, Whittonstall Greenside, Barlow, Colliery Dykes, Annfield Plain, Happy Land, and Iveston. Some of these places were visited twice. Twenty-one times I was privileged to proclaim the truth as it is in Jesus, to very attentive congregations, ranging from 40 to 180 in number, attending at each place. The meetings were all held (it being too late in the season for the open air) in private houses or chapels, all spontaneously placed at your missionary's ser vice. About 1,944 tracts, kindly granted by the Religious Tract Society, have been circulated, and were, with some exceptions, most gladly received; in some of these places, tracts had never been, as far as is known, circulated before. The spiritual destitution, already hinted at, of several districts in these northern counties is fearful to contemplate. In many places "Satan" may truly be said to “have his seat,” the multitude evincing so readily their gratification in gross sin; "the man of sin" holds thousands in complete vassalage. Many of his victims seemed wishful to accept of tracts, but were afraid to do so, because of the priests; sabbath profanation | seems everywhere shockingly prevalent. Secular labour on that one day in seven divinely set apart for sacred purposes, is the curse of many of these villages in the north, especially where iron works and cinder ovens are established. There the vilest things are done there the "workers of iniquity" are most unblushing-there the manifestations of indifference to spiritual things is most complete, and God's cause at the greatest discount. The drinking system, as the radiating source of the aggregate of crime, is poisoning the very fountains of moral purity, and inflicting injuries that neither time nor law can repair. Thousands are living in utter ignorance of Divine truth, and altogether regardless of a future and an eternal state. Yet the interest excited warrants me to believe that if there were such aggressive labours on the out-field population of our various districts, more frequently better sustained-more systematically and extensively carried out-great results in answer to prayer and in dependence on the aid of the Divine Spirit, might confidently be expected. But for three things I should have been happy in being enabled to carry forward the work intrusted to me by the Committee much more extensively than I have the lateness of the season, September being in the north too late on account of harvest work then being so general, and on the return of the labourers from the field it is too dark for open-air workshould the Committee again require my services in this way, I recommend that the time in this part of the country should be in June, July, and August, and then I should be able to avail myself largely, if not entirely, of the open air;—then being necessitated to return every week for my own work here on the Lord's day, where I have regularly three services, not having been able to make arrangements for the supply of my pulpit, the extent of my In journeys and the amount of service rendered were not such as were contemplated when I assented to the request of the Committee;—and lastly, heavy family affliction and bereavement prevented a few weeks' longer efforts. However, the little that was done convinces me of the necessity of greater things being attempted, and that each auxiliary to the Home Mission should arrange for, sustain, and superintend such efforts in their several districts. In every one of the places I was privileged to preach, I was urgently solicited to come back again as soon as possible, with the assurance of larger congregations still; and many were but too glad to have me for their guest. In visiting from house to house in some of these villages, I found many sick persons, who, but for these visits, would have been altogether neglected, to whom the word of counsel was given, and the way of salvation through a crucified Redeemer was explained, and in each case with great apparent acceptableness. one case a working man followed me and invited me in to see his wife, who had long been ailing, telling me that she was most concerned about her inability to attend to domestic matters rather than to those which pertained to her "better being," he himself having been once greatly awakened to deep anxiety about his soul; finding all to be so as he said, I gave a tract suited to the case, and urged home on the acceptance of each the Gospel of salvation. With tearful eyes and throbbing hearts they bent the knee with me in prayer, and when I left them they seemed much affected, and earnestly invited me to visit them again if ever I came that way. In none of these places is there a Baptist cause; but at Juniper Dye-house (where the father of Robert Hall was baptized in the year 1752), there were at one time regular services; now there are no Baptists, yet I obtained a very good congregation of very attentive hearers, and an earnest wish was expressed that I should ere long pay them another visit. May the good seed of the Word thus "sown in weakness," be raised by quickening power, in glorious fruit to the praise and glory of God. Donations and Subscriptions will be gratefully received on behalf of the Society, by the Treasurer, GEORGE LOWE, Esq., 39, Finsbury Circus, E. C.; or by the Secretary, THE REV. STEPHEN J. DAVIS, 33, MOORGATE STREET, LONDON, E. C. Much trouble will be saved, both to the Secretary and his Correspondents, if, in making payments by Post-Office Orders, they will give his name as above: or, at any rate, advise him of the name they have communicated to the Post-Office authorities. HADDON, BROTHERS, AND CO., PRINTERS, CASTLE STREET, FINSBURY, BAPTIST AND A PÆDOBAPTIST, IN THE PRESENCE OF A M. C. B. to P.-I am often surprised how you can satisfy your mind in the practice of infant baptism. P.-I make no doubt that it is agree able to the will of Christ; and that he "favourably alloweth it," according to the language of the common prayerbook. M. C. B.—But you cannot produce either precept or example for it in the New Testament, and nothing is right in religion but what is in accordance with that Divine rule. P.-I do not pretend that it is expressly enjoined in the Holy Scriptures, but it appears to me to be quite in accordance with the spirit of the Christian dispensation. M. C. B.-I have no doubt you think so, but the Scriptures authoritatively condemn every departure from their clear instructions. P.-True; but infants were circumcised under the former dispensation, and we ought not to imagine that the privileges of Christians are less than those of the Jews under the old law. M. C. B.-Do you suppose the Jews accounted circumcision a privilege? P.-Certainly; their children were introduced by it into the covenant of grace. VOL. XV.NO. CLXX. M. C. B.-And the females, to whom the rite did not extend ! P.-There is nothing said about them that I recollect. M. C. B.--I am always astonished when I hear an enlightened Christian, and especially a Calvinist, argue in this way; it appears to me so entirely at variance with the inspired records; and as to circumcision being accounted a privilege, you surely forget that the apostle Peter expressly declares, it was 'a yoke which neither their fathers nor themselves were able to bear."* P.-There is something so repugnant to nature, and pardon me if I say, something that appears so indecent in dipping men and women in water, that I cannot believe our merciful Redeemer would or could ever appoint it. M. C. B. Whatever God appoints, however painful it may be to ourselves, must always be worthy of himself, whatever men may imagine respecting it; but you have not considered the nature of the two ordinances of Jewish circumcision and Christian baptism, or you could not advance such an objection to the doctrine of immersion. P.-But you do not consider it indis *Acts xv. 10. |