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CHRISTIAN ii\jSa AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST. VOL. 48—NO. 25. A RELIGIOUS AND FAMILY PAPER, PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN ATLANTA, GA. ERMB. —Clubs of Four, (83.00 each) per annum... 812.00 Clubs of Three, ($3.33 each) per annum... 10.00 Clubs of Two, (3.50 each) per annum 7.00 Single Subscriber 4.00 J. J. TOON - , Proprietor. “The Two Villages.” Over the river on the hill, Lieth a village white and still; All around it the forest trees Shiver and whisper in the breeze. Over it sailing shadows go, Os soaring hawk and screaming crow ; And mountain grasses, low and sweet, Grow in the middle of every street. Oyer the river, under the hill, Another village lieth still; There I see in the cooling night, Twinkling stars of household light, Fires that gleam from the smithy’s door, Mists that curl on the river’s shore; And in the road no grasses grow, For the wheels that hasten to and fro. In that village on the hill, Never is sound of smithy or mill; The houses are thatched with grass and flowers, Never a clock to tell the hours; The marble doors are always shut ; You may not enter at hall or hut. A)1 the villagers lie asleep, Never a grain to sow or reap; Never in dreams to moan or sigh— Silent —and idle—and low—they lie. In that village under the hill. When the is starry and still, Many a weary soul in prayer Looks to the other village there, And weeping and sighing, longs to go Up to that home from this below : Longs to sleep by the forest wild, Whither have vanished wife and child, And heareth, praying, the answer fall— “ Patience 1 that village shall bold ye all!” —Shadow of the Rock. Arrearages Due Our Missionaries. I received your letter. You refer to Dr. Sumner having been at Atlanta. I hope he may be successful in getting some one to col lect the quota of Georgia —and of each of the Southern States —to meet the indebtedness of his Board to their missionaries. I have been deeply touched by the gener ous movement of these brethren, to remit our obligation to them. That they who have done the work delegated by the Master to the churches, as essential to church-prosperity and Christian church-existence; who have taken their lives in their hands, and cut them selves off from the blessings of home, and society, and Christian associations; and who have been,alas !so much neglected and forgot ten by us—that they should now offer, in addi tion to what they have done, to pay the ex penses of the work, is there not something truly noble—something Christ-like in it? Is this not the depth “of poverty abounding to the riches of liberality,” which should fire us with admiration and gratitude? But another sense is mingled with this sen timent of our heart. I know these brethren have made this move in good faith, and from loving spirits. But, if they desired to ad minister a rebuke, how could they have more perfectly done it? What is the language of their proposal? “Brethren beloved —Bap- tists of the South—hundreds of thousands in number: Tfao billows have gone over you and swept away most of your substance, and you have need of all that remains to build up your ruined fortunes Do not think of us, your servants for Christ’s sake. The bil lows have rolled over us too —are now rolling over us —the billows of overwhelming neces sity; but our God lives, and we can trust Him. We would relieve your conscience by cancelling your debt, looking to our Master in heaven, that the hungry mouths of our children be filled, and the bitter tears of our wives be wiped away, and that the honor of our name be not stained. It was nothing for Isaac, bound on the altar,’that he carried, too, the wood for his sacrifice; nothing for Him, who hung on the tree, that He bore His cross to Calvary.” Here is holy sarcasm, which should peel us from head to foot, and mantle us with a quivering sense of shame and mor tification. The money thus given by our missionaries, should be gall in the heart, fire in the bones. Not coals, but fire-brands, are heaped on our heads ! The liberality of self-sacrificing men knows no limit. “Beyond their power, they are willing.” Paul could have wished himself accursed from Christ for his brethren. But, the providence of such generosity is to kindle a kindred sentiment in others. Jesus emptied Himself for us, that we should do the same for Him; He was sacrificed, among other reasons, to awaken a self-sacrificing spirit in His people. And one of the most humilia ting phases of our poor humanity, is' the sight of those who should be thecommunica tors of good to others, ever receiving, and receiving—as ii a matter of course and of right—at the expense of secret denials and pains which noble hearts are too noble to ex pose, and brave spirits too manly to ac knowledge, utterly unconscious of the signifi cance of returning good for evil, beyond that the giver gains the most, as “ it is more blessed to give than to receive!” The emphatic re fusal of our Convention at Macon, to be thus humbled and dishonored by the excess of our missionaries’ liberality, should thrill through the length and breadth o e our Southern Zion, and arouse to a more enlightened sense of duty, and a less partial application of the gospel precept: “Freely ye have received ; freely give !” Dr. Samson says: Apportion common ob ligations among the churches. Why not? This debt is ours, and we must pay it. It is said : “ Don’t say debt to the churches !” The counsel is predicated on the hypothesis that integrity is not at the base of personal religion. There is no piety without honesty. If we love not our brethren whom we have seen, how can we love God, whom we have not seen ? If our hearts are not moved by noble exhibitions of human disinterestedness, how can we love Jesus because He first loved us and gave Himself for us? When our brethren went down into the well, did we not engage to hold the rope? Can we forsake them in their extremity, even though they say, overtax not yourselves, brethren ? If we do not relieve them, we burden them. If we do not feed them, we, virtually, starve them. And after David has withstood the Philistine for Israel, shall the hand of Saul not be with him? Is this too strong? The case is a strong one, involving the principle of fidelity to those in our power; and I feel strongly for our poor brethren. And I feel FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 1869. that, if our churches .do not pay their debt to these missionaries, the very stones will cry out against them, and the cry be hurled back in blighting on our spirits. But they will pay it. Let the case be fairly stated before them, and they will be eager to discharge the indebtedness. I could give some sample facts to support this opin- ion. And the prompt payment will give a new impulse to missions. It will make the churches realize more their relation to our missionaries, without which our missionary operations are bound together by a rope of sand; but, with a just sense of the relations which the several parts of our moral ma chinery bear to each other—i-the missionary looking to the Boards, the Boards depending on the Conventions, the Conventions on the Associations and churches, and the churches looking to the multitude of individual Chris tians of our faith and order—there will be a structure of strength and responsibility more admirable and more enduring than the so inuch-talked.-of Pyramid of Giseh. Will not brother Shaver stir the subject in the Indbx ? Will not the pastors bestir them selves in the matter? Will not thechurches awake to the just claims which rest upon them? Our Board has done all it can. It has done well and nobly. Let their hands be strengthened. Let our missionaries’ hearts be rejoiced. Let u« all feel better. And above all, by every consideration of justice and hu manity, and Christian love, let us do what is simply our duty, and pay the full amount of our debt to our self-sacrificing, and needy, and magnanimous missionaries. T. The Administrator of Baptism. Prattville, Ala., May 30th, 1869 The following letter, written a number of years ago by the late Dr. Manly, a copy of which I obtained shortly after it was received, from the pastor to whom it was addressed, gives the teachings of that learned divine upon a subject which is of much importance to our denomination, and deserves a place among his valuable writings. The matter considered, was the receiving a person into the church without baptism, who had been immersed by a Pedobaptist. J. I. L. My dear Brother: lam averse to writing for the papers, yet 1 have no objection to give my views to my brethren, when they request them. The questions you propose relate, mainly, to one point, i. e. the validity of baptism per formed by an administrator unbaptized him self, and disbelieving in immersion as the true and only mode. I think it is the duty of Baptist churches to reject all such baptisms, for the following (among other) reasons : Baptism, as a question among churches and denominations r.t the present <fay, is not a mere ceremony ; but a point vitally affecting the cause of truth. The mode of baptism tests our subjection to the authority of Christ, and involves the great principle of Protestant Christianity—whether the Bible alone shall be our rule of faith and practice. It is now conceded that immersion is the Bible mode of baptism: it is, then, of importance whether the Bible shall be consistently obey ed or not, in our professed service of Christ. The subjects of baptism is a question involv ing the spiritual organization of the church of Christ, and its separation from the world. If it were not for the Baptists, and their prin ciples, the families of professing Christians would, in a short time, constitute the church, regardless of their piety or spiritual fitness for it; and so, the visible church, as a dis tinct, spiritual organization, called out of the world, would cease. In other words, there would be no visible church: the world and the church would be the same, so far as man can see. In both views it is of unspeakable importance that the ordinance of baptism shall be kept, inviolate and honored, as Christ instituted it. In the cases referred to, although immer sion was practiced, yet it was rendered a nul lity on the part, both of the administrator and the recipient. The administrator did not perform it as a divine ordinance, or as an act of obedience to the will of Christ. His pro fessionsjand his practice both assure us that something else is more in accordance with the will of Christ; and he performs the act in copnpliance with what he considers an ig norantand objeotiouable prejudice—and quite unwillingly—and only to save a member from joining a Baptist church. Such a per formance cannot claim the respect of either God or,man. The recipient professes to be sincere in his preference for this mode ; but he is not consistent. While he proposes to honor the institution of Christ in one aet> (his own baptism,) he dishonors it by another, (his joining in fellowship with those who dis believe, despise and even ridicule it.) The Apostle says, “If I build again that which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.” This person destroys the Pedobaptist notion by being immersed on confession of his faith. This is a single act; but he proposes, by join ing a Pedobaptist church and holding fellow ship with them, to build up again the Pedobap tist notion, all his life afterward. If this suits the person’s views of consistency and upright ness, and of giving a clear and decided testi mony to the truth, very well; but Baptist churches may well claim to be excused from giving their sanction to any such equivocal act. Because I would not be a party to any such inconsistency, and trifling with sacred things, I have refused, (and would again re fuse) to baptize a person who should declare it as his intention, after baptism, to join a Pedobaptist church. For all sincere and properly disposed per sons, the Baptist churches are open, in the regular way. They are located all about the country, and are reasonably accessible to all. Their principles are not concealed, and the differences between them and other churches may be fully understood by all honest en quirers. Those who embrace these principles and intend to uphold them honestly, decidedly and consistently, will join a Baptist church, at once. As for those weak or doubtful per sons, who choose to implicate themselves in conflicting systems and contradictory practi ces, before they apply to join a Baptist church—their conduct looks so much like en tering the sheep-fold, “not by the door, but climbing up some other way,” that the Bap tists may well treat both them and their prac tices with caution and reserve. But if they insist on being admitted, and give good evi dence of a sound conversion, and of having seen their error and inconsistency in the con duct referred to, let them be baptized by one who believes in it —who will do it honestly, and with decent solemnity. This, in my judg ment, is the only consistent, safe and proper course for the Baptists. Communion in the Lord’s supper, follows baptism. Among all the absurdities that ever were held, none ever held that a person, could fitly come to the Lord’s table, who had not been baptized, until Robert Hall, of England, started the notion a few years ago. Certainly, no chuach has promulgated such an idea. The church is rightly composed of baptized persons only ; and the sacred supper is an ordinance within the church and for the church, only. What ever would render it unfit and improper to recognize or sanction a person’s baptism, would also make it unfit and improper for such a person to be allowed to commune in a Baptist church. To oflfer them communion at the Lord's table recognizes their baptism, while it was their own act, we had nothing to do with it—they alone were responsible. But when we recognize and sanction it, in the manner above stated, it then becomes our act, and we become responsible. Asa Baptist, I do not intend to take the responsibility of any such acts or courses. The Baptists have a great mission to ac complish, a great testimony to bear for Christ, among those denominations who have failed to carry out the principle of reformed Christianity—that “the Bible, the Bible alone, is the religion of Protestants.” God grant that my brethren may bear this testi mony, firmly, and consistently, to the end ! that our glorious Lord, when he comes, may find (at least one small detachment) of his servants “keeping the ordinances as they were delivered unto them.” Fraternally Yours, B. Manly. University of Ala., May 12th, 1854. “Whereunto I May Continually Resort.” The end is sure, but my foot often wearies. Thorns and rocks sorely remind me that I cannot see the way clearly, and many a foe assails me in unlooked-for strength. Then I so often find myself alone and crying, “ O that I knew where I might find Him,” my Shepherd and Keeper, my Strength and my Life! It is not enough to know that He will meet me at the river; my soul needs .Him here, at every step of the toilsome way. Then, Omy Beloved, stay with me, that I may make Thee my continual resort. Let me never lose Thy hand, nor cease to see Thy face, for ‘ in Thy light shall I see light,’ and without Thee nothing i3. Thou knowest, my God, the un speakable yearning of my soul for Thy pres ence. With Thee only would I stay. I would be with Thee, like Thee, and have no will but Thine. When I get a glimpse of Thy love, it is as a fountain overflowing all else with gladness and beauty; but when I miss Thee, desert-silence, gloom, and barren ness fill all my path. Therefore stay with me, that unto Thee I may continually resort. Surely, then, in vain for me should the fowler spread his net, and surely, then, should his legion temptings flee away like shadows of the night. & Continually to Thee, my Saviour and my Song, My heart returns from far, unsatisfied; Stay Thou with me the while; my pilgrim heart along The weary way has none beside: Stay, stay continually. My hand had gifts, my Lord, too fondly counted o’er, And loved too well, for loving only Thee; See! One by one they’re gone, I hold them now no more, That Thou mayst all my treasure be: Mine, mine continually. Continually I turn my heart, my hand, mine eye In every hour, to find Thee still more near; O, Saviour, Shepherd, King, thou heardst young ravens cry, And Thou wilt heed each prayer, each tear, And Lov’st continually. Thou art my hiding-place, my buckler, fortress, tower, 0 Love, 0 Life, Jehovah-Nissi, Strength! Thou art before my face, I am hoi den by Thy power; All-Glorious, I’m Thine at length, Thou mine ‘continually.’ A. C. S. Rev. James McDonald. Another servant of God has gone to his rest.. A good man has fallen asleep in Jesus. James McDonald is no more among men ; he died at his residence, near Rome, Ga., April 25th ultimo. He was born in Lime rick county, Province of Munster, Ireland, in the year 1798, being at the time of his death in the seventy-first year of his age. It is much regretted that he left no record of his eventful life. It is known to many that he came to this country a confirmed Ro man Catholic ; but soon after his arrival, he became impressed that it was his duty to read the Scriptures. Under the influence of his early training, this thought took the shape of a terrible temptation ; and strange as it may seem in a country where religious free dom is enjoyed, the mental distress to which he became subject harassed him for ten years. His sufferings at last became intolerable, and in a fit of desperation he determined to enter the navy of some of the Central or Southern American States then at war, vaijily hoping he might lose in death what he felt unable to bear in life. For that purpose he took pas sage for Havana. On his voyage God was pleased to put forth the hand of his provi dence and direct him to the only source of rdief. The captain of the vessel discovered by his looks and actions that some strange horror was preying upon him, and became suspicious that he meditated self destruction. Being a Christian, his sympathy for the suf ferer impelled him to seek his confidence, and our brother was persuaded to impart to this kind man the cause of his distress. Before his arrival at Havana the captain did all he could to convince him it was not a mortal sin to read the Scriptures; this it seems he had been taught to believe, and was the cause of his trouble. He tried to lead Him to Jesus Christ as the only and great High Priest of the Christian’s faith, and the Saviour who alone could give him peace. Half convinced, but still sorely troubled, he landed in Ha- vana, and shortly for some cause was arrested anff thxpw-i i«■ < p. ison. The dun geon of the Dost. %f" - the Bethel of his journey. There God :,oefc him ; and the door looking eastw*?*d being closed, he beheld while looking heavenward a light and a glory he had never seen before. Here he cove nanted with God : If thou shalt deliver me hence, then will I rake “thy Word for the man of my counsel ” and I will walk in thy ways. He believe<Lsto the day of his death that God heard his prayer and delivered him ; for mysteriously a-friend appeared, and he was released. He immediately returned to the United States, made a public profession of his faith in Christ, and some short time after began to preach his gospel. In 1834 brother McDonald was pastor of the church in Montieello, Jasper county, dur ing which year he baptized the wife of the writer, and Mrs. A. P. Hill, the sister who is now preparing the memoir of her brother, Rev. J. E. Dawson. D.D., with a number of others who that yea- united with the church in that place. At Me close of the year he returned to the sea coast, preferring, (as he told the writer) to pleach to the colored peo ple, who received th? word qiore gladly than the whites in J«a. pL ahd Morgan. In the neighborhood of Brivbwiok and in Florida, he became the objeW, of great persecution ; his life was even thrljttened by his enemies, but he lived to see ti* last one of them come to his death. Amicfet this persecution and during the Seminole kar, he was obliged to ride alone to his appointments at the immi nent risk of his life; but putting his trust in his Saviour, he facejj danger continually in the lonely glades and swamps of that coun try through those tronblesome times. Brother McDonald was an extempore speaker, seldom using even notes in the pul pit ; his discourses, therefore, did not wear the ornate finish of the writer, but very often a stream of eloquence would flow from soul and eye and lip, electrifying his audience, and proving him one who by the assiduous labor of the student wouM have made himself known as a mighty man in Israel. He died a sufferer from a complication of diseases; and it is remarkable that having asked of God a cessaiion of pain before his death, his prayer whs answered, and after years of excruciating agony, he lay for two months calm and comfortable, with scarce a twinge of pain. Before his departure, he would sometimes call his wjfe and say to her, “Oh ! Theresa, I am to happy ; I do want to see Jesus, I want to s;;e him so much.” The deceased was married to Theresa A. Pendarvis, of Jacksonville, Florida, on the 15th day of May, 18,2. She survives him, and with a family or >ix children, mourns for one who in life they fondly loved, and in death lament, with a lively hope of reunion at the resurrection of the just. C. H. Stillwell. The Importance of a Gigli Seliool at Chapel Hil, Ga. (A composition by Miss A*A., published by request of 4be Tallapoosa and F:.*~bura Convention, held at Chapel Hill, May 29th.) Respected Audi eric and School Mates: Probably you may mink the subject of my composition is involved in too much intrica cy for the mind of a < nnmon school girl, and such I readily ad mi be true. Yet I hope you will Indulge niemaj-e expression of a tew thoughts upon the necessity and practicability of this enterprise. And, first, let us briefly consider the prac ticability. Nothing seems to be wanting to promote the science of true literature, but an increase of public sympathy, and a more ac tive and energetic encouragement by our parents and the friends of education, to men of learning, who are engaged in teaching and who are united in their efforts in trying to establish good schools amongst us, where all, from the highest to the lowest, may receive a thorough education. By being thus sus tained and encouraged, they are stimulated to press forward in the laudable and benefi cent enterprise of dispensing that instruction which is calculated to raise us to that scale of human greatness which our interest and hap piness demands that we should occupy. Secondly, the necessity of the enterprise. When we reflect upon the fiery ordeal through which we have recently passed, which has stripped us of luxury and wealth, and pros trated us at the bottom round of the ladder, we feel the importance of letting our ascend ancy be in knowledge and intellect, as well as wealth. Let not the ruthless destroyer strike a deadly blow to fqme also. When we con sider our present situation, as we now stand related tojthe great mass of society, it must be apparent to every true patriot and philan thropist, that a more increased and energetic effort to educate the rising generation, is de manded by every consideration of our future interest and happiness. Who, that reflects camly and dispassionately upon the subject, is not forced to the conclusion that one of the leading causes that brought about the recent terrible and disastrous war, was the great want of a thorough and proper education of the common people of this Government. Had our people generally been properly educated, may we not reasonably conclude that the calamities of the war might have been en tirely averted, or, at Last, its barbarous type and devastating effects, materially modified and ameliorated. And this leads me to speak of the equal necessity of a thorough education of the poor as well as the wealthy.. When we scan the pages of history, we find that some of the greatest minds that have ever controlled the destinies of nations have sprung from the humble walks of life. Biblical record in forms us that David, the sweet singer and ruler of Israel, was of humble parentage, and when a boy, was employed in the capacity of a shepherd. Many instances of this charac ter might be given, had we space. 1 mention but one other. One of the brightest stars in the galaxy of eminent American statesmen, was of humble parentage, and when a boy, was called the Mill-boy of the Slashes: to wit, the gifted orator and leading statesman of his day, from Kentucky, (the immortal Clay.) In the mind of many a peasant now, whose every moment is bestowed in wringing from the soil a scanty subsistence, there slumber mental powers which, had they been properly cultivated by early education and proper training, would hava elevated their possessor to the highest rank and position in society. Many a mechanic who is daily pursuing his laborious calling, is unconsciously in posses sion of mental faculties and powers which, if aroused and expanded by a proper education, would have enabled him to electrify senates and win that preeminence in society which men award to the majesty, of true genius. There occasionally arise peculiar circum stances which, aiding the development of the pent-up talent, cause it to burst asunder the trammels of poverty, and the peasant, through a sudden outbreak of.the mind, starts for ward to the place for which his intellect fits him. Asa bright instance of which, allow me to refer you to the late Chief Magistrate of these United States, who, we are informed, could not read when he had reached his ma jority. Ordinarily, however, the powers of the mind remain bound and fettered through life, for want of proper mental training, while, if the portals of some seminary of learning had been open to them, they might have trod with a Newton’s step the sublime firmament, or swept with a Milton’s hand the melodious harpstring. Ido not say that all can attain to these exalted positions in society; but I oo maintain that all can be very rrtuch itn proved an£ benefitted by a thorough mental training in youth, and the prosperity and hap piness of society thereby materially advanced. Then, fathers and respected friends, if you have anything to bestow upon your children for their future comfort and happiness, per mit me to entreat you, as you value their future happiness, and the future progress and prosperity of our common country, to pro vide early and amply for their early and thorough mental training, while the mind is pliable, thereby bequeathing to them an en during legacy which the intrigues and strate gies of men cannot wrest from their grasp, nor adversity’s chilling winds pluck from them. The time and circumstances are now propitious. I beseech you let not the oppor tunity pass by unimproved ; but let there be such an institution of learning permanently established at Chapel Hill, as may shed its beneficent rays far and near, and its good in fluence may be felt by all this entire region of country, to such an extent that future gen erations will rise up and call you Such i trust may be the result of your uni ted efforts. Chapel Hill, Ga., May 28th. 1869. What is Worship ? First of all, we answer the question nega tively. It is not ability to talk or write learnedly of religious things. It is not tear producing eloquence from the pulpit. It is not attention to human rules of religion. It is not building splendid temples in the name of God. It is not the sacrifice of means for others. It is not the act of martyrdom for opinion’s sake. All these things can be, or may be, found among those who never wor shipped God. The question recurs, what is worship? Let us listen to the answer of a great writer, Way land : “This worship,” of God, “con sists in no physical acts. It is not the per formance of an imposing ceremonial. It is not the offering up of costly oblations. It is not the burning of incense, or the procession of priests ; nor is it the seemly presentation of our bodies in the house of God, bedizened with all the adornment of costly apparel. Ah no ! It is something infinitely different from all these. It is the offering up of holy affections to the most holy God. Penitence for sin; the earnest purpose of amendment; the confidence of filial love ; the outpouring of gratitude; longing after holiness; the self sacrificing resolution to be in all things a follower of Jesus; the absolute surrender, in the presence of God, of the most secret and unsuspected sins; the cutting off of a right hand; the plucking out of a right eye; adoring views of the love of Christ that bring to the soul the consciousness of indis soluble union to Him ; the solemn consecra tion of our whole selves to Him, for time and eternity ; faith which confers victory over the world ; joyful anticipations of the day when, washed from every stain and clothed with tbe Redeemer’s righteousness, we shall be ever with the Lord. These — these are the offerings which, in the name of the only Mediator, we present before God when we come to worship in his presence. Wherever his people assemble to offer such sacrifices, the Saviour, in an especial manner, draws near to them.” YV. M. D. The Two Deaths. Lo, there in yonder fancy-haunted room, What muttered curses trembled through the gloom, When pale and shivering, and bedewed with fear, The dying /sceptic felt his hour draw near. From his parched tongue no meek hosanna fell, No bright hope kindled at his faint farewell. As the last throes of death convulsed his cheek, He guashed, and scowled, and raised a hideous shriek, Rounded his eyes into a ghastly glare, Locked his white lips, and all was mute despair. Go, child of darkness, see a Christian die! No horror pales his lips, or dims his eye, No fiend-shaped phantoms of destruction start The hope religion pillows on his heart; When with a faltering hand he waves adieu To all who love so well, and weep so true. Meek as an infant to the mother’s breast Turns, fondly longing for its wonted rest, He pants for where congenial spirits stray, Turns to his God, and sighs his soul away. — lt. Montgomery. Deferred Items. • BAPTIST. English Baptists. —The London letter of the Church Union says: “ The Baptist Union has had its meeting at which it was stated that during the past year 46 new places of worship had been erected, and 29 others en larged or improved, supplying seats for 18,- 000 people at an aggregate cost of nearly $500,000. In addition to this, 49 churches had been originated, making 2,447 belonging to the deamination. In some districts no increase hr.d occurred. For instance,-Corn wall, with a population of 370,000, has had the same number of Baptist churches for more than a generation. The total number of members was 231,506, an increase of 9,982. The Sunday school scholars numbered 267,- 396. The Baptist and Irish Home Missiona ry Society has 23 missionaries in Ireland; receipts $20,000. In this country many Con gregationalists are ranged under the figures of the Baptist denomination, and many Bap tists are reported by the Congregational Union as members of Congregational churches. The two denominations are so mixed that no separate statistics can be obtained.” This last fact illustrates the mischievous tendency of loose communion; aiid, since baptism is no longer a term of membership in many churches that practice loose communion, we cannot appeal to statistics to show that this practice is favorable to Baptist growth. Changes. —Rev. Robert Cade, for 17 years an esteemed and useful Primitive Methodist minister, was baptized recently in Bond street Baptist church, Toronto; and Rev. John Deavers, a faithful and efficient minister of the United Brethren for nearly a score of years, at Union City church, Indiana. Slander. —Rev. R. L. Collier, of Chicago, Unitarian, is reported as saying, in a late dis course on the “ orthodox hell,” that the Bap tist creed is, and from the beginning has been —that no unimmersed person can escape hell. Communion.-*—' The American Baptist says: “ In tolerating a difference of opinion in the matter of communion, Dr. Wayland stood, practically, on the same ground with a large portion of the Baptist churches of his day. Hundreds of members, like the lamented Crozer, of Philadelphia, have*entertained open communion sentiments, and yet remained un censured and unmolested, so long as they manifested a willingness to walk with the church of their choice. But when a member steps out and commences an active warfare upon Baptists and their principles on bap tism, avowing his determination ‘to drive them to the wall,’ the case become very dis- ent.” The Baptist also expresses the opinion that “the class of members who favor the views of Robert Hall, is by no means an in creasing one.” Baptists in London. —At a late quarterly meeting of Baptist ministers, Mr. Spurgeon said there were about two hundred and sev enty Baptist churches in London. Sixty or seventy of these are “ higher in doctrine and slower in usefulness ” than the average. He estimates the membership of the churches at $30,000. Baptism and Membership. —The Morning Star decides that it is not “ according to Free- Will Baptist usage to receive persons into our churches from other denominations by letter who have been sprinkled and are unwilling to he immersed.” And yet, even with this de nomination, loose communion wars against the Scriptural law of a baptized membership, since “ Christians who have not been im mersed may be received to the privileges of the church excepting those of voting and holding office.” Displaced. The Church Union thinJjjfl that Dr. Caswell was not reelected American Baptist Missionary Unuflß HpausQ he had avowed his willingness to communion views and practMl&j butrojlys that he received over a hundrf|B vote's,Sor more than a fourth of all that w«ipj "she Drift. —To set aside baptism term of communion, creates a set it aside as a term of membership. How strongly it tends in that direction is seen in this fact: “The open membership men, such as Landels and Brock, are evidently the lead ers of the English Baptists.” The Scriptural Style. —The Independent sees, if not “ cant,” the “ bad taste of an ignorant man who has not learned to prefer simplicity to bombast,” in the following quo tations from a Baptist pastor’s letter in one of our journals: “He says that a few Sab baths since he was ‘permitted to bury two with Christ in baptism,’ and last Sabbath two more ‘followed their Redeemer into the liquid grave,’ while three others will ‘in like manner put on Christ’ at the earliest oppor tunity.” PRESBYTERIAN. Strange Barrenness. —“ The report of the Texas Synod states that not a single man born and raised in Texas has entered the Presbyterian ministry during the last thirty years.” Diluting. —The Chicago correspondent of the Free Christian Commonwealth speaks of “ a large class who occupy Congregational and Presbyterian pulpits, whose principal business is to ‘diminish’ the word of God in such matters as original sin, eternal pun ishment, etc., etc.” Mission Spirit. —Rev. Dr. J. L. Wilson, Southern Presbyterian, recently said: “After being so deeply prostrated and distressed, we are now enabled to sjgnd out this year thirteen missionaries. Three have already gone to China, and four to the Indians of the South west. We would not speak positively, but it was his impression that no one of our churches had been so fortunate as to send out so large a number as this during the present year.” T CONGREGATIONAL. Romish Baptism. —A correspondent of the Congregationalisl asks: “Ought a person baptized in the Roman Catholic communion, to receive the ordinance of baptism on uni ting with a Congregational church?” That paper replies: “It has been, so far as we know, the universal custom of the Congrega tional churches in this vicinity, to consider the administration of baptism in the regular form of any Christian church to be sufficient, if endorsed by the consenting faith of the recipient; and therefore not to rebaptize in such cases as that to which our correspondent refers.” Obliterating the Lines. —An Orthodox Congregational church, in London, recently adopted this rule : “ That the membership of this church consist of all seat holders who have occupied and paid for sittings twelve months.” That is verging toward Episcopal usage; as in North Carolina, for example, where “ only one-fifth of the present male members are communicants.” But a writer in the English Independent well asks: How can a community acting on this rule be called a “church” on New Testament principles? Sect-Differences. —The Congregational ist thinks that the point of divergence be tween Baptists and Pedobaptists, New School Methodists and Old School Presbyterians, “is in underlying human nature with its di versities of essential taste, feeling, and way of looking at things.” Laxity. —A writer in the Chicago Advance says: “ We take exception to the statement that Pedobaptists will not commune with ‘ unsprinkled Quakers.’ It was hardly a month ago that a Quaker was received by letter into the full fellowship of Rev. T. L. Cuyler’s church, and there is scarcely a re spectable Pedobaptist church that would not indorse such an action. But the writer says, again, ‘All evangelical churches, with perhaps one or two considerable exceptions, hold bap tism to be prerequisite to the Lord’s supper.’ We feel compelled to pronounce this a grave misstatement. It is true that many Pedo baptist churches recommend (not in ther creed) that baptism precede the supper, but such re striction, if it be a restriction, applies simply to those within the pale of that particular church, and in no wise is intended to apply to casual visitors from sister churches. It is at most simply an order recommended by such churches to their own catechumens, and not an aggressive polity excluding Christians of other names.” Partial Close Communion. —A writer in the Congregational Review claims for churches of his denomination “the right and privilege to interchange letters of dismission and recommendation with the Presbyterian and Dutch Reformed churches, and to exclude the Methodists and Episcopalians because they receive persons to membership without re quiring a credible profession of ‘saving faith,’ and so cannot properly be considered ‘con gregations of faithful menthat is to say, they are not really churches.” Hybrid Churches. —The title, “ Presby gational,” has been invented by a correspon dent of the Congregationalist, to denote the sort of churches which exist in some parts of the West, which are about half Presbyterian, and the other half Congregational, in their form of government. Obliterating Landmarks. —“ Rev. Enoch Mellor, President of the West Reading Con gregational Union, in an opening address has strongly affirmed that there was no distinc tion, in the Apostolic age, between the com municants and the congregation. The Eng lish Independent in noticing this tells his brother that the practical result of his princi ple has been to make Congregational churches Arian and Unitarian.” This “principle” grows naturally out of Pedobaptism—and could not have obtained in the First Age, because Pedobaptism was then unknown. WHOLE NO. 2445. New Source of Supply. —Doctors of Di vinity heretofore have been “ created ” by secular Boards of College Trustees; but the Congregationalisl states that the rheological Seminary of its denomination at Chicago has tried its hand in that line, and the charter of the General Theological Seminary, New York, (Episcopal,) empowers' it to do likewise. Shall the rain wax into a deluge? Puritan. —Rev. Ray Palmer, D. D., not long since, spoke of “ the spirit of liberty ” as “ born on Plymouth Rock !,” EPIBCOFAL. Evangelization. —The Kentucky Episco palians send out ministers, by twos, to go into destitute places preaching from point to point, gathering up the scattered membership, and in every way extending their church op erations. Literature. —“ The Church Journal com plains ttfat the literature of the Episcopal church is more meagre than that of any other denomination.” |||A Boast. —McCullough, of Del- Hj&pe, (EpiscddHgSaims that there are H 1,000,000 in the world ; that Kmthe AmcricjHggnSrch, the Anglican, the Mrme‘nian, thffflSPPs, and the Romish ! Baptise. —TjfafcsEnglish Church Times, Ritualistic, ssmut.The use of baptism is to I regenerate, butUMOes not matter a straw, so dong as the JußVite is performed, whether the agent df'lpHßieves in baptismal regen- The Reformers. —The Guardian, the or gan of the Bishop of Oxford and a Ritualistic paper, allows Dr. Littledale to say, without rebuke, of the English Protestant Reformers : “They were such utterly unredeemed villains, for the most part, that the only parallel I know to the style in which half-educated peo ple speak of them amongst ua is, the appear ance of Pontius Pilate amongst the saints of the Abysinian Calendar.” Confirmation. —At a recent confirmation in Baltimore, Rev. Dr. Mahan, of St. Paul’s church, presented a number of children be fore the bishop, saying : “Right Reverend Father in God, I present to you these per sons to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands in confirmation.” Pedobaptist Courtesy —ln the Newark National Sunday School Convention, in which all evangelical denominations met, Rev. Dr. Tyng, Episcopal, could not forbear a thrust at Baptist sentiments : “It does not make any difference, friends, whether we go down a thousand feet into the water, or have but five drops on the head. It is the Holy Ghost we receive. With this in our hearts the land is ours, and we are conquerers.” Why not spare our views as to the baptismal act this express contradiction ? Why suggest, by implication, the slanderous charge that we put the water in the place of the Holy Spirit ? Agreement. —Rev. Morgan Dix, of New York, (Episcopal,) in a recent sermon, spoke of the rites attending the Holy Eucharist, known to the Greeks as the Supper, to the Latins as the Mass, and to the Anglicans as the Eucharist, contending that its essentials were the same in each branch of the Catholic Church. The Black Crook. — The Bishop of Indiana has reprimanded one of his clergymen, for witnessing this infamous exhibition. Color Blindness. —Anew Episcopal church, lately organized in Washington, D. C., makes no distinction on account of color. A colored man who has been elected as one of the vestrymen, is also a member of the Board of Aldermen. METHODIST. Giving. —The contributions of the Wes ley ans of Great Britain tor specific mission purposes, the past year, amounted to $1.25 per member. Oppression. —“ The trustees of the Green street Methodist church of Philadelphia pub lish resolutions condemning as ‘arbitrary,’ unwise, and tyrannical the action of the pre siding elders in not regarding their petition for the appointment of their pastor, as has been the custom. They add : ‘We think the time has come when the laymen of the M. E. Church should assert that they have other rights than that of contributing to the vari ous institutions of the church; and among those rights is that of being consulted as to who shall minister among them.’” A Strong Figure. —A writer in the Southern Christian Advocate says that the “Hard Shell” Baptists, of his section, “preach predestination and the final perseverance of the saints, as strong as a total eclipse.” Boasting. —The Presbyterian says; One of our Methodist contemporaries has lately fallen into a strange exaggeration. He al ludes to the three thousand conversions on the day of Pentecost, and then gravely says that more than three thousand a day are ad ded to his communion through the winter months ! Now multiply 3,000 by 90, and we have 270,000. Has our contemporary really counted up that number ? Temperance. —The Methodist New \ork East Conference called upon’ church members to “abandon the patronage of those physi cians who prescribe alcoholic mixtures freely.” Membership. —The Western Christian Ad vocate says : Our Church is not strictly uni form in receiving members. In some parts of the country only those are received who give evidence of having met with a change of heart; in other localities, in addition to all such, those who are earnestly seeking the pardon of their sins are also admitted to pro bation. “Presbyterian.” —The New York Metho dist says: “Methodism*is essentially Presby terian, in both the Old and New Worlds. Here it is Episcopal in administration, but Presbyterian in constitution; its bishops are executive officers, not a distinct ‘order.’ BOMANIST. - American Romanists. —The Romish Tab let says: “The Catholics are not more than one-tenth of the population, even counting those who are Catholics only Jour days in their lives.” Want of Growth in America.—Arch bishop Spalding of Baltimore, in a recent Pastoral Letter, says : “While we are grati fied at witnessing so many intelligent persons throughout the country embracing the true faith, we are obliged to confess with sorrow that a greater number are lost to the churoh. There is no exaggeration in saying now what Bishop England felt it his sacred duty to state many years ago, that hundreds, nay thousands of souls annually stray away from the fold in this country on account <>t their early religious education. If we look for the descendants of those numerous Catholic fam ilies which have emigrated to this country during the past and present century, we will find that many of them have wandered away from the faith of their fathers, and not a tow of them are now ranked among the most tive and unrelenting enemies of the Lnurcn of God,”