God by meeting in Brother John Hedley's class, on the 20th of June, 1858, and from that time was most diligent in his attendance on this means of grace. It is believed that he never was absent from the meeting of the class but once, till his last affliction. What an example to older professors, who, on trivial pretences, neglect this excellent means of grace! Of the class-meeting he says, in a letter to his cousin, "I was led to think of the time when I entered class, and of the impression made on my mind. Oh, how I do love those meetings!-it (the class-meeting) is the crowning part of the day. While hearing one and another speak their experience of their trials and temptations, and of the goodness of God-God is with us, and our hearts burn within us, like those of the disciples of old, when journeying to Emmaus." He adds-"I hope you feel determined to live to God. I feel that there is nothing worth living for here. I feel determined that, with God's help, I will live to him, and will take the Bible for my chart, Jesus for my example, prayer for my weapon, and faith for my shield. My earnest prayer is, that we may all meet in heaven."

These extracts from our dear departed brother's papers show that he had found the way to the cross of Christ, and that he had found redemption there. He was now heaven-born and heaven-bound; and the following quotation evinces his possession of the Spirit of Him who came to seek and save the lost:-"I am glad," he says to his cousin in a letter, "to hear that you are going to have special services. May God bless you with much success! May there such a shower of Divine grace come down amongst you as to deluge the whole village! I cannot say so much for the Vale as I would like; we have had the droppings, but we are expecting the shower. Some have been let into the liberty of the children of God. The Spirit is still at work." He wrote thus before the foundation stone of the new chapel was laid. In everything connected with the building of the chapel he took a very deep interest. He and his worthy father assisted the brethren and the excellent superintendent of the circuit, the Rev. Lot Saxton, who engaged in that "work of faith and labour of love," with all their might; and he lived to see the opening of the chapel

for religious worship, and Sundayschool tuition, with heartfelt joy. A few days after the second Sabbath of the opening services (July 27th) he wrote as follows:-"I am led to make these resolutions, not that there is any merit in merely making them, but that they may be a stimulus to me; if I am likely to forget my duty, these resolutions may stir me up :-Resolution 1st. That I will pray to God three times in private, if possible, (he means daily) and also offer my prayers whilst at my daily toil." He then states for what and for whom he would pray, mentioning his parents, brother and sisters, the cause of God, and the scholars of the Sunday-school; those of his own class to be prayed for by name. "Resolution 2nd. That I will read the Bible every day, if possible, attentively, seriously, and as the word of God. Resolution 3rd. That I will be honest and strictly moral,

*

*

* loving and forgiving, dutiful and affectionate. Resolution 4th. To note down the chief events of the day." What excellent resolutions for a youth and they were not a dead letter. He walked circumspectly, redeeming the time, and became " a living epistle, known and read" of all around him.

Amongst his manuscripts we find remarks and sketches on various important and interesting subjects, viz., repentance; God is love; the parable of the virgins; the temptation of Christ; and the character, &c., of John the Baptist, all of which give evidence of an enlightened and devout mind, and may be considered as sure indications of a useful public life, if it had pleased the Almighty to spare him. His disease was inflammation in the bowels, which soon turned to mortification, and snapped the tender thread of life, but not before he had openly and boldly professed his faith in Christ Jesus; and he that believeth shall be saved."

We may in conclusion, for the instruction and benefit of the young especially, remark, 1st. Matthew Wardell was a trophy of Divine grace, principally through Sunday-school tuition. 2nd. He became a most devoted and excellent teacher, and gave evidence that he was diligently cultivating his mind with a view to future usefulness in the Church. 3rd. He was an affectionate and dutiful son. He honoured his parents. 4th. After

his conversion to God, he was an example of Christian piety and consistency to the youths of the Vale. Oh, that his early and unexpected death may be the means of leading them to Christ! Amen.

On the evening of the 7th instant, the Rev. T. Carlisle, himself a young man of much promise, preached an impressive funeral sermon on 1 Cor. XV. 26. The new chapel was crowded with attentive hearers. Never before did death produce such a sensation amongst the people of Jesmond Vale. Oh, that a glorious revival of "pure religion and undefiled" may be the blessed result! Amen and Amen!

THOMAS WHITE.

Newcastle-on-Tyne.

ELIZABETH WRIGHT. Died on the 3rd of December, Elizabeth Wright, of Stepney, Hull, daughter of the late G. Kearsley, Esq., Ripon. She came to this city in an enfeebled state, for the benefit of her native air. But good air, excellent nursing at the house of her beloved mother and amid her affectionate kindred, the best medical skill, and the power of medicine, all failed to arrest her disease, and restore her health. During her afflic tion, she evinced deep sincerity, great anxiety, and holy fervour. Her trust in Christ, as her only Saviour, was firm, and she offered " up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears, unto Him that was able to save from death, and was heard in that she feared." Her doubts gave place to confidence, her anxiety to rest of soul, and her despondency to 66 a lively hope." She commended her family and kindred to God, and died in great peace, in the 55th year of her age

subject of great bodily afflictions; but Divine grace sustained her, so that she was enabled in patience to possess her soul. To the close of her life she was very anxious for the conversion of her children; five out of seven are already members of the Church, and one of them, who has long been the subject of anxiety and special prayer, has been converted since her death. Our dear sister was conscious of many infirmities, which she deeply lamented. She had no confidence in herself-all her hope was in Christ. Through faith in the great atonement she had full assurance of acceptance. The last day of her life she felt more easy, and was the subject of great calmness of mind. Under the influence of that composure, she fell into a profound slumber, and without a sigh or groan, and almost unperceived by those around her, she slept the sleep of death. "If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him." J. A.

MRS. HANNAH HOLLINSHEAD Died at Burslem, on Friday, Jan. 20th, 1860. She had been an orderly member of our society for near forty years, having walked with consistency and uprightness during the whole of that time. She was active and diligent in her attendance on all the means of grace; she was esteemed by all who knew her; indeed, it may be said she was blameless in the estimation of men, and walked in the fear of the Lord all the day long. After enjoying uninterrupted health for the greater portion of her life, she was suddenly taken with a violent pain in her side, from which attack she never rallied: it continued with more or less violence until she was called to her reward. She was confined by this affliction for thirteen weeks, and during the whole of that time she was never heard to murmur; she bore her severe affliction with Christian fortitude and resignation, often saying, "The will of the Lord be done!" I visited her frequently during her affliction, I think every day, with one or two exceptions; and I always found her calmly looking for the coming of the Bridegroom. Often has she said she desired to be with Christ, which is far better, uttering the words

"My God, I am thine!

What a comfort divine,

What a blessing to know that my Jesus is mine!"

As she drew nearer her end, her evidence became still more bright and cheering, and she longed to be goneas she said to me a short time before she died, "To be with Jesus for ever and ever!" At length the weary wheels of life stood still, and without the least apparent struggle-her sorrowing husband and daughter, who were by her bedside, for the moment did not know she was gone-she quietly fell asleep in Christ, in the 64th year of her age. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."

S. JONES.

JAMES HOLLINSHEAD Also, the sorrowing husband of the above, just one month and a day after

the death of his wife, was called to his eternal reward, having been a consistent member of our society for the space of forty years. For a number of years he had been afflicted with asthma; and, since the death of his wife, he sank rapidly. In consequence of his difficulty in breathing, he did not say much, still he could say the Lord was his portion. The night before he died, while I was talking to him, he said his hope and trust were in the atonement of Jesus Christ. On Saturday morning, February the 18th, I went in to see him, when he wished me to pray with him, and while I was praying his happy spirit took its flight to the paradise of God, in the 72nd year of his age. S. JONES.

CHURCH RATES. Ar our late Conference a resolution was passed expressing the sense of the Connexion as to the injustice and impolicy of exacting Church Rates from conscientious Dissenters, and calling upon our friends generally to unite in the adoption of constitutional measures for the removal of this vexatious source of contention.-(See Resolution 14, p. 48, in our Minutes of last Conference.) Soon after the Conference, petitions against Church Rates were forwarded by the President to both Houses of Parliament; and now the time has come for general Connexional action. The Bill of Sir John Trelawny has passed the second reading in the House of Commons, and the mover has agreed to delay going into committee until the 28th of March. But whether the Bill be maintained or frittered away in its leading principles, and whether it will be accepted or rejected by the House of Lords, will depend greatly upon the sense of the country as represented and expressed by petitions. The Church party are well aware of this, and are straining every nerve for victory or an advantageous compromise. Hence petitions are pouring in, and, in actual number, have

even exceeded those of Dissenters. The question, then, is-Shall the injustice be confirmed and perpetuated through our supineness, and that at a time when the persevering efforts of the "Liberation Society" have brought us so near to victory? Assuredly not. Let our own Connexion do its duty promptly, vigorously, and unanimously. Let peti tions go forth immediately from every congregation to both Houses of Parliament, and let them be confided to those members of the Legislature who will both present them and concur in their prayer. Action now, if united, prompt, and general, will probably decide the issue.

In order to guide our ministers and friends in this duty, we send forth, in the Magazine parcels, to all our circuits, an address and form of Petition, kindly and gratuitously furnished by the "Liberation Society."

OUR CHAPEL FUND. MY DEAR MR. EDITOR,-For the Secretary of an Institution to invite attention to its importance and enforce its claims on the public for patronage and support, is so much a matter of course, that I fear I shall not be able to make my feeble voice heard on behalf of this fund; not

even by those whose particular interest it is to regard me: but necessity is laid upon me, and therefore, whether your readers will hear or forbear, I must speak; for so am I instructed.

To say a word in favour of reducing and extinguishing debts on our places of worship and Sabbathschools, and securing them for the cause of God and the Connexion, and with them the adherence of our trustees and friends, appears superfluous. Yet past experience has shown it to be necessary. I trust, however, that a brighter day is dawning on us, and that the time is not far distant when our trust estates, instead of being constant sources of embarrassment and anxiety to our friends, will become unfailing sources of revenue, and planks of safety in times of feared shipwreck.

That Dissenters should so long, as to their places of worship, have practically disregarded our Lord's precept, "Owe no man anything but love," is surprising. It has seemed as though a direction, confessedly good for our temporal concerns, was an evil, and to be disregarded in our spiritual affairs as though the nearer our objects conformed to the mind of Christ, the further we might depart from His commands - as though the dearer we as Christians felt anything to be to us, the more careless we should be of securing it. Strange inconsistency this! Yet how long has it been manifested by Dissenters generally, and what losses of chapels, and friends, and money, have been the consequence! And how long and with what weight have these debts hung on Dissenters as a millstone, weakening, crushing, and dividing them! And what a constant cause for sarcasm have they served to the enemies of our Christian truth and liberties! Mr. Editor, I trust that the day in which we, as a part of the Dissenting community of our country, have thought little and cared little as to the incumbrances on our trust estates, has passed away for ever, and that our light in this respect may never again

become darkness-yeti with increasing light and knowledge, there must be increasing sacrifice of money on the part of our friends; we have not merely to correct past errors, but also to meet the increasing demands of our times-and to accomplish both of these objects will require the united strenuous and persevering efforts of all. May these be rendered! It is scarcely necessary, Mr. Editor, therefore, for me to say that to continue and complete the good work of reducing and paying off the debts on our estates, it is absolutely necessary that the subscriptions to the Chapel fund be very materially augmented.

As you may be aware, the fund is now in debt nearly £4,000; beside the grants promised but not paidwhich amount to a large sum. After payment of interest on the debt and other outgoings, the sum applicable to payment of grants, if the subscriptions do not realize a larger amount than was raised before the special effort, will not exceed £300. And, in this case, many years must elapse before even the present promised grants can be paid. Yet applications for others are constantly being made, and many are at this time before the Committee. As you may be assured, therefore, Mr. Editor, the Committee feel themselves in a very awkward position-to make promises which they foresee cannot be met before the lapse of many years, although the promises made are conditional on funds being raised, is very objectionable, and the nonpayment of the grants for so long a time very unsatisfactory. The question then arises, what shall be done? The grants cannot be paid without money-no more ought to be borrowed for the purpose, and it cannot be expected that the Connexion will be repeatedly making special efforts for this particular fund. It plainly appears, therefore, Mr. Editor, that the Committee must either cease making promises of grants, although this may retard the work, until present pledges are redeemed, and in future promise only what they receive; or the Connexion must meet

the case by considerably increasing their contributions-and with them, therefore, the matter rests. This is peculiarly the trustees' matter, and to them I would particularly appeal, whether the beneficent operations of the Committee shall be stopped or retarded for want of funds? I do confidently trust that their response, and that of all our dear friends, will be, "No! By no means!" And that, headed by all our trust estates who have reaped past benefits, the subscription list for this year will be such as to give increased confidence and encouragement to the Committee.

I am, my dear Sir,
Yours very affectionately,

G. L. ROBINSON,

Secretary of the Chapel Fund
Committee.

Longton, February 10, 1860.

PROPOSED NEW PLAN

FOR

JUVENILE MISSIONARY

SOCIETIES, &c. &c.

MR. POLLARD, of Bradford, having forwarded a communication to the Missionary Committee, calling their attention to a new system of juvenile collecting, viz.,-that of securing regular subscribers of one halfpenny per week, instead of the old system of Christmas or annual cards, &c. &c., and setting forth the advantages of the new system, as experienced among the Wesleyans, a vote of thanks was presented to Mr. Pollard, and a committee, consisting of the Revs. L. Stoney, J. Taylor, and Mr. Pollard, was appointed to take the scheme into consideration, and report to the next meeting.

At a Missionary Committee meeting held in Sheffield, September 7th, the secretary of the sub-committee gave in their report, when it was resolved to have their suggestions embodied in a printed form, and to for ward a copy to each member of the general committee, that a change of such importance might be fully considered in all its bearings, prior to adoption, and so by this means give each member time to ponder over the scheme in its details, and furnish such other suggestions as might increase its practical value.

THE SUBJOINED IS THE SUB-COM

MITTEE'S REPORT:

"A sub-committee having been appointed to consider the best plans, &c., of organizing Juvenile Missionary Societies, and assisting juvenile collectors, so as to render their labours easy and successfull. have carefully considered the printed and other documents before them relating to the subject, and have endeavoured to possess themselves of every kind of information which would be likely to render their suggestions simple, practical, and efficient.

"The committee may say that, while engaged in the inquiry necessary to the discharge of their duties, they became increasingly impressed with the importance of some systematic plan of operation, and came unanimously to the conclusion, that it was desirable to supplant our present spasmodic method of juvenile collecting (which is often offensive both to the persons collecting and the parties solicited), for a plan that could be wrought out uniformly throughout the Connexion, one that would be in operation all through the year, and one less liable to fluctuation and uncertainty.

"The system which has been brought out, and is being adopted amongst the Wesleyans, has, with a remarkable uniformity, yielded an increase of treble the amount raised by the old method. As a proof of its efficiency, it is reported in the Bradford district that there are 169 Wesleyan Sunday-schools, 22 of which have already adopted the new system. And with what result? Why, while the 147 schools carrying out the old system of Christmas cards had during the year collected One hundred and one pounds five shillings and tenpence halfpenny, the 22 schools on the new system had collected the sum of Three hundred and three pounds six shillings and tenpence. The system is this:-EACH SCHOLAR

WHO CONSENTS ΤΟ BECOME A COLLECTOR, GETS EIGHT PERSONS WHO SUBSCRIBE ONE HALFPENNY PER WEEK, WHICH SUBSCRIPTION IS COLLECTED WEEKLY, THUS RAISING BY EACH COLLECTOR FOURPENCE PER WEEK, OR A TOTAL OF SEVENTEEN SHILLINGS AND

FOURPENCE PER ANNUM. This plan, as you will perceive, is easy for each collector; it lays the labour of collecting on a great number; it secures contributions which would never be obtained by any other plan; and the results, as