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174 fait* lad jUptist. J. J. TOOK, .... proprietor. PUBLICATION ROOMS —4 A 6 SOUTH BROADWAY. Editor: Bev. D. SHAVER, D.D. OORHHBPONDIKO KDITOSS • Rbv. J. J. D. RENFROE, Talladega, Ala. Rev. 8. HENDERSON, D.D., Jacksonville, Ala. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1871. A Card. Notwithstanding my interest in the work, and my confidence in the future of the Sunday School Board, I have felt constrained to decline the posi tion of Corresponding Secretary. This decision is the result of conscientious conviction, on my part, that I do not possess the requisite qualifica tions for the kind of labor, which, under all the circumstances of the case, seems indispensable. With such an impression, I could not accept the office tendered me. I could not make a mere con. venience of a great Christian organization—could not subsidize the liberality of the churches as a means simply of personal support. It is my puipose not to leave Georgia. When I came to the State, five years ago, it was “ in my heart to live and die ” here. That feeling is in my heart now—unchanged, except that it is strong er. The Master, I trust, has a work for me among this people. His servants, my brethren, will help me to do it. 1 put myself afresh in His hands— and in theirs. May an honest desire to do good and to glorify the “ King in Zion,” avail to make the service I render in weakness, not altogether unworthy of “ their use and His blessing ! ” As I trace these lines, a vision of the brotherly forbearance and generous approval received, through five years, from the readers of the Index and Baptist, rises before me, and my heart flows out to them in grateful thanks. To the individu als, churches, and Associations, that have given unexpected expression to the wish for my contin ued connection with the paper, I feel a special in debtedness—an indebtedness which it grieves me to acknowledge in this inadequate manner, and which I can never discharge. It is with unfeigned and profound pleasure that I announce the completion of satisfactory arrangements between the Proprie tor and myself, to the end proposed by their kind ness. If there have been misunderstandings, let us number them with the things of “ the dead Pastand, once for all, bury them away out of sight; and, over their grave, strike hands, in un broken Christian charity, for renewed and effec tive co-operation as “ Brethren of the Good Work.” 1 would, not merely request, but urge , the friends of the Cause, and my personal friends, to give the paper a cordial support, to enrich its columns with the fruit of their pens, and to en large its circulation among the families holding “ one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Never was there more imperative need for a faithful press; never, richer promise of an abundant harvest from its agency. Shall we not “ discern the signs of the times” in this regard? Shall we not im prove them? D. Shaver. Prophecy—True or False. When Neander said, “ There is a future for you Baptists,” his words came to us all as a draught from “ The cup that cheers, but not inebriates.” This elation was natural, on the part of a peo ple, whose opponents have manifested a strong disposition to rob them of their past, espe cially as it remounts toward primitive anti quity. Under these circumstances, why should we not solace ourselves with such dis tinguished testimony, that an- inheritance of which we cannot be stripped awaits us ? Why should we not take pleasure in the thought, that, ruthlessly cast*otit from bye-gone ages, we shall yet, in large measure, “ call the age to come our own ?” But these delightful expectations, it seems, were all mere “ castles in Spain”—or “ in the air.” A greater —or can it be a less?— than Neander is here. A writer in the (Pres byterian) Christian Observer brings up quite a different “ report of the land” which shall be trodden by the foot of later generations, —the Millennial Canaan. He s a powerful writer —one able, with a single dash of his pen, to sweep the history of immersing cen. turies aside : as when he says, “ Ninety-nine out of every hundred that have ever been baptized on the earth, I presume, have been baptized by sprinkling !” But the power dis played in this feat, astonishing as it appears, is like the mere stroke of a straw. The blow from the club of Hercules comes, when he assumes the role of the Seer. In spite of the old proverb, “ he sows on the sands,” (that is, “ the sands of time,”) and yet reaps an abun dant harvest. He says: “ And now, suffer a prediction. I can pro phecy true. The prediction is this : W hat has been, is what shall be. He that was as a root out of dry ground, whose face and visage were more marred than the sons of men, will still sprinkle the nattons. Ten thousand ages hence, if time so last, the nations will be sprinkled. Who will prevent it 1 Who can thwart the divine intentions ?” Now, the very girdle of Jeremiah could not have been more thoroughly “ marred and good for nothing,” after lying “ many days in “ a hole of the rock,” than the Baptist cause must be henceforth, since, out of the heavens of prophecy itself, ‘ this rain de scends, these floods come, these winds blow and beat upon it!’ We might as well sign a carte blanche of capitulation at once, throwing ourselves upon the mercy of the “ conquering hero,” who, through the Observer, levels his guns against our strongholds with such disas trous effect. But if any in our ranks are un willing to surrender outright, in the face of the world, they can save appearances —can do the thing without seeming to do it—can be come prisoners of war with the privilege of wearing (but not using) their side arms—by embracing loose communion ! —And yet, on “sober second thought,” the prophecy is of human origin. Perhaps, “He who sitteth in the heavens,” will yet say of its authors: “ They prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.” We shall wait for the fulfilment before we ground our arms. Denominational Literature. Why have we no extensive depository of Baptist books in Georgia or Alabama ? Are our people insensible to the importance of bringing literature of that character into the hands of the young, the enquiring, the culti vated—into the hands of all, indeed ? This is a work which every pastor and every in fluential member of our churches should keep distinctly before him. We notice in one of the papers an example worthy of emulation. During the past year, a German Methodist minister disposed of $5,500 worth of books in his native tongue, issued under the auspices of that denomination j and six ty-four per cent, of his sales were made to THE CHRISTIAN INDEX AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST: ATLANTA, GA, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9,1871. parties outside of its communion. There has been no interruption of his pastoral labors meanwhile; and an enlarged success has at tended them. Is not this a more effective form of aggression, and a surer means of. progress, than habitual pulpit polemics? May not all our pastors do valuable service in that line? Will they attempt it? The Great North-western Fires. Some editors have started the question as to the causes of the late unparalleled fires in the North-western portion of the United States, intimating that a proper solution of these causes would furnish an interesting chapter in the psychological history of these times. We do not propose entering into any suck discus sion. We long since learned to exercise great caution in the interpretation of calamities. That God has purposes in sending such vast calamities upon a people, we do not doubt; but that the immediate sufferers of such visii taiions are “ sinners above all other sinners,” we do not believe. We do not envy the sen timents of that heart that can look upon the hundreds of thousands of sufferers—-men, wo men and children—who are suddenly stripped of every thing, with any other feeling than that of profound commiseration. Fire and water know no difference between the good and the bad ; and that a righteous God often involves the best and worst of men in a com mon calamity, the history of the world abun dantly proves. The greatest sufferer record ed in sacred story was himself the very model of patience. It has grown into a kind of proverb that calamities seldom come alone. They often come in clusters. Perhaps the reason of this is, that one calamity becomes the cause of another. Hence war, pestilence, and famine are aften found following in the wake of each other. Is it, therefore, a matter of wonder, that the harvest of depravity, the seeds of which were sown during the late war between the States, should be reaped, North, South, East and West? War is the school in which men graduate in depravity. It familiarizes the mind to every species of crime—murder, rapine, plunder. That the /ast multitudes of soldiers, after being accustomed to the use of the sword, the torch, and every implement of destruction, suddenly disbanded, and thrown upon the country, many of them without employment, should still attempt to carry on that system of plunder for which war had educated them, is not marvellous. General Sherman, when he left that track of smoul dering ruins through Georgia and South Carolina, may have been unconsciously edu cating a class of incendiaries, of which the ruins of Chicago, and more than forty villages in the North-west, are the sad results. He may have been unchaining a tiger, the ravages of which may spread much farther than these recent disasters. At all events, the subject is one deserving the serious consideration of every thoughtful man. For we, of the South, have suffered as much, and including the war, greatly more, from the torch of the incendiary, than the people of the North. “ Let us not be high-minded, but fear.]’ H. The Sect-Spirit against Baptists. At the recent meeting of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis sions, Rev. Mark Hopkins, D.D., President of Williams College, made one of those dis avowals of sectarianism, in which its inlens# ty of bitterness delights to voice itself. He alleged that the Board has “no denomina tional ends ;” that “ its object is not to spread Congregationalism, but only to spread the gospel abroad in the healing of every crea ture ;” and that “it is ready to send out every good man who is in accord with its object—a Methodist, Presbyterian, Congre gationaiist, or any other evangelist.” For his own part, “he would send out men to dig the wells of salvation, and let the people take their own way of organizing for the work.” There is a very pretty ring in all this. It calls up irresistibly a vision of Modern Char ity, mouthing out, in matchless falsetto, her “ latitudinarian and platitudinarian ” com mon-places. We are not in the least sur prised, therefore, when Dr. Hopkins pro ceeds to say that “ he would not send out a Close Communion Baptist,” because, ‘if he should visit his field of labor, the Baptist brother would not sit with him at the table of the Lord.’ What miserable wretches we must be, if unworthy to preach the gospel even to heathens—if it be better that “ the wells of salvation ” should remain undug, than that we should “ dig ” them—if * the healing of fallen fellow-creatures’ is pur chased at too costly a price, when effected through our agency ! O, loose communion ! why should the piquing of thy pride by what seems to us a necessary strictness, so harden thee against the very love of which ‘thou makest thy boast?’ Surely, when fidelity to principle, on the part of Baptists, is assailed in this style, if they possess the “ thirty-seven thousand ways of saying No,” which a French writer ascribes to Parisian women, they will employ them all. Two of the Dangers. In his recent work, “ the Conservative Re formation and its Theology,” Dr. Krauth says: “ Our church”—the Lutheran—“ be lieves that God has appointed baptism as the ordinary channel through which the Holy Spirit works a change in the nature of the child.” This shows, he tells us, “that God wishes to renew and save children ; and what so powerfully as this prompts the blessed as surance that if God fails to reach the child in His ordinary way, He will reach it in some other.” Now, the efficiency which Dr. K. attributes to infant baptism makes the piac tice fearfully pernicious : the prayer and faith of parents no longer seek a change of nature for the child—a change without which it must perish—because they hug to their bosom the false persuasion that this vital blessing has been already imparted ! And then, the “ as surance” which he derives from infant bap tism, to commend it, should serve as a po tent protest against its acceptance: by how much parents dream that God stands pledged to rescue their offspring through extraordi nary methods, if these be necessary, by so much are they tempted to neglect the dili gent improvement of the means of grace the “ ordinary way” of salvation to house holds ! By a two-fold plea, then, infant bap tism “ sews pillows to the armholes” of pa- 7 W. 1 ---IT 1 v rental slothfulness and lack of faithful effort; and what its advocate mistakenly alleges in its behalf, takes shape as a strong, invincible argument against it. Explanatory. In our article of the 24th August last, in regard to file’Alabama University, we quoted the Rev. TANARUS, A. Cook, one of the Board of Regents, and an Episcopal clergyman, as hav ing “ remonstrated” against electing so many of his own denomination to fill positions on the Faculty. We should have said he opposed that policy, and voted against two of the ap pointees. The word “ remonstrated ” was a stronger expression than perhaps we should have used. A late correspondent of our paper seems to think that the articles on our University, pro and con, have accomplished nothing. So far as we are concerned,we expected to accomplish nothing in the way of changing the policy of the Superintendent and Board of Regents. We only sought to place the facts before our readers. That much'has been done. H. Instability. —At the late session of the Indiana Methodist Conference, only one-third of the ministers were returned to their charges for the previous year, while two thirds were sent to new fields; and ‘this state of things forms no exception to the common results of Episcopal appointments in that Conference from year to year.’ “Change of pasture makes lat calves,” we know,—we know, at least, that there is an old proverb to this effect;—but what can contribute more effectually to ministerial leanness, than such instability in the office of pastor? Where it prevails, can the men who occupy the pulpit be termed pastors, in the truer, deeper sense of that word ? Are they not “ tossed to and fro,” hurried hither and thither, to a degree inconsistent with the best effect of their labors even as missiona ries ? Baptists have need to beware, lest, by failure to make adequate provision for the maintenance of the ministry, they incur the mischiefs of an itinerancy, more harmful be cause less regulated and systematic than that which obtains among Methodists. Shall they come into the reproach which the Tus caloosa Presbytery confesses, when—in ex planation of the fact that twelve out of its twenty-five churches are vacant —it says: “Giving to the Lord as His stewards, is a means of grace, of which, we fear, many of our people, and even whole churches, are igx norant?” Extraordinary Statistics. —A German Reformed pastor, not long since, giving a re sume of his labors for twenty-five years, sta ted that he had “administered the Lord’s supper to 19,746 communicants.” Such an item suggests a very grotesque image to our mind, of a Christian minister engaged, during the celebration of the solemn ordinance, in— taking a census of the parties who share it with him! The employment strikes us as one, which even the most circuitous associa tion of ideas, could hardly deduce from the words of Christ, “ This do ; in remembrance of ME.” We hope that among the numbers who unwittingly betrayed the pastor into so singular a departure from the spirit which ought to reign over the Lord’s supper, there was, at least, no Baptist “Pliable”—no im mersed believer bearing witness by loose com munion against immersion. Scientific Scepticism. —We have never felt the slightest apprehension, that any legiti mate conclusions of science can impair the authority of Revelation. The hand of God in His works cannot contradict the mouth of God in His word; for the two are, through out, regulated by the one unerring mind of God. (A writer in an exchange calls attention to the fact “ that some sixty years ago there were eighty theories concerning the past his tory of our planet, each of which was opposed to the Mosaic record, and that now all these theories are exploded.” This will always be the case. Wherever science, “ falsely so call ed,” traverses and assails Scripture, a truer science, coming after, will bring with it the decisive refutation. The real case in the Court of Reason, is—Science (immature) versus (developed) Science. Scripture is not a party to the suit at all, but dwells apart in the light and halo of self-evidence. The Cost. —At a recent Temperance meet ing in Exeter Hall, it was uniquely said that “ forty sovereigns ($193.60) placed on every verse of the Bible, would not represent the money annually spent in England for intoxi cating drinks!” This form of speech is em nently suggestive. If it were not for the covering over of verses of the Bible, by the hope of “ filthy lucre ” on the one hand, and by forgetfulness and unconcern on the other, there would be no place found for either the sale or the use of ardent spirits as a bever> age. Let the press, the platform and the pulpit see to it, that the verses of the Bible which bear on right and duty in the premises are kept uncovered. Are they covered, reader, a3 regards your memory? Do your lips cover them up in silence ? Pastoral Support. —An exchange men tions a pastor, whose flock with difficulty paid him, one year, S4OO in cash, and the next year, with more ease, in cash arid provisions, $1 ,100. There may be, in’this fact, a hint of no little value to some of our churches; it may open before them a direct path to the comfortable maintenance of their pastors— and the bare possibility of such a result should prevail with them to act on it. Woman in the Church. —We gravely doubt whether a Lutheran District Confer ence in Pennsylvania did not strike the key note of a necessary reform, in, the decision that “ it is desirable to re-establish the office of deaconess in our congregations,” and that “intelligent, believing women should be reg ularly appointed by the congregations and inducted into office.” One thing, at least, is certain : That church makes but crippled pro gress, in whose membership no woman feels herself impelled virtually to'Assume the of fice of deaconess, (while ‘ she means not so, neither does her heart think so,’) by bringing female sympathy, tact, persuasion, tireless ness, into play, for the welfare of Zion. Every pastor finds his best helpers in such women, or is often saddened and foiled for lack of them. Now, if this ministry of service works such happy results, in the irregular, occa- sionat, unrecognized form which it has taken among us, would not a far more abundant harvest ripen from an open and well-ordered return to what seems authoritative apostolic precedent in the~*case ? We have actual— why not have avowed?—deaconesses^n our churches. Items.— Rev. M.' T. Yates, D.D., our mis sionary at Shanghai, writes, Sept. 11th, to the Raleigh Recorder: “My voice is much less serviceable now, than when I returned in February. I cannot speak more than ten minutes before I am forced to stop, by vio lent coughing. I ought to have remained in the States two yejrs at least. But rest there would have been impossible. Everything now looks as if it will become necessary for me to leave thq_country again. If I do, I think I shall go to Europe, where living is cheap, and where the language will force me to rest my voice. I mention thi3 as a bare possibility. Mrs. Yates, the native pastor and assistants, can carry on the work here. To remain here and not use my voice/is an impossibility.” The Baptist house of wor ship at Robertvilfe,'S. C., was burnt during Sherman’s march through the State It has been rebuilt, and, last month, the church, for the first time in-ilferly seven years, enjoyed the privilege of assembling where it was wont to worship, and celebrated the Lord’s supper. Let the breaches be repaired every where. With faith, and prayer, and liberal ity, it may be done. “Prof. J. W. Fow ler, formerly an Episcopalian, was baptized recently,” in connection with one of the churches of the Long Island Association, “and now feels it his duty to preach the gos pel. Henry Clay pronounced him one of the greatest orators in the country.” With $60,000 already secured for the Theological Department of William Jewell College, the Missouri Baptist General Association, at its recent session, resolved, by a rising vote, to increase the endowment of that Department to $300,000. This is the spirit that deserves success, and achieves it. A letter from Newton county, Missouri, states that a Bap tist church in that region recently “ organized itself into a Sunday school.” There is the true idea—the church, the 'whole church, a school of Christ for its own members, and for all the young who come within its influ ence! The Texas Baptist Herald says that man) of our ministers, who turned aside .five or six years ago, to secular pursuits for a living, have returned to their work the past year, with the most happy results. “ Proba bly, in no previous year has the ministry of Texas done so much work as in this. Not less than five thousand members have been added to our churches the current year, by baptism, letter and restoration. The whole State seems to have been pervaded by a deep religious interest.” *At Madrid, Spain, Rev. Mr. Knapp has baptized a young man of talent and scholarship. He had studied with Daubigne, in Geneva, but left in conse quence of a disagreement with his Professors on the subject of baptism. Ignorant of any such people as the Baptists, he had been much perplexed because he saw that neither Ro manists nor Protestants followed the teach ings and example N^Christ; but now he is happy in the truth.’- Rev. G. B. Taylor> giving, through the Richmond Herald, his impressions of Spurgeon and his church, says: “ I was much struck with the fact that this church, though so large, seemed to have a strong family feeling.” And what is more becoming, what more vital to the objects of the organization, than “ a strong family feel ing” in a company of ransomed sinners,” ac cepted in the Beloved,” and claiming the unity of the Spirit ? Mercer University. Please say, in next Index, that Rev. A. J. Battle has accepted the Presidency of Mercer University. With the blessing of God, he will enter upon the duties in July next, if unable to come sooner. Bro. Battle will visit Macon next week, to see the brethren of the Faculty, and view the surroundings in the field of his future labors. A cordial and hearty welcome awaits him in Macon, and all over the State. Mercer University is doing well. Students come in and constantly in crease the number. The Building Committee are making progress in their work, and ere long, the evidences of their wisdom will be seen by the passengers going into the city on the Macon & Western Railroad. The Brethren, Rev. Wm. A. Overton and Vincent T. Sanford, wilt open the Mercer High School, at Penfield, in February next. D. E. Butler, Pres. B. T. M. U. Madison, Oa., Nov. 4,1871. To the Baptists of Alabama. Dear Brethren: At the request of the Sunday School Board, I hope to meet you in your Convention at Montgomery. As the representative of the Board, I shall try to pre vail on you to inaugurate such a Sunday school movement in Alabama, as will arouse all the Baptist churches of the State to full perform ance of their religious duty towards the chil dren. The future weal of our denomination in the State demands that the Baptists of Ala bama shall take hold of the Sunday school work with boldness, firmness, and with a persevering and unflinching ardor. What we need, besides enthusiasm and untiring effort, is a general concert of action —a plan of action generally understood, and carried out by all, unitedly and harmoniously. You should have a State Sunday School Board, with officers so zealous and active that they will soon have District Boards or Committees, and, under the supervision and active co operation of all these, the entire State should soon be canvassed, energy" and enthusiasm infused throughout the whole State, aud the werk of the Sunday school put at once in a state of earnest and unremitting activity. This is a work that pays. It concerns every parent, and is the Christian duty of all. You have been overlooking and neglecting the great work too much and too long. It is time for you to wake up, and make such a glorious beginning, that the hearts of the friends of Jesus, everywhere, shall rejoice. I beg of you, therefore, to appoint, in Con vention, your State Committee, and your district Committees, and urge upon them intelligent zeal and activity. Authorize your State Committee to appoint a suitable Sun day school missionary, to travel among the churches, and arouse them to their duty, and prevail upon the subcommittees to work zealously, and appoint other Sunday school missionaries, within the bounds of their dis tricts. The churches of the entire State should support the State missionary, and each District or Association should support its own special missionary. Where practicable, the services of the missionaries of the Dom. Miss. Board may be made available. But Alabama must do her own work, and pay most of its expenses. She dare not neglect it or delegate it to other handsj and the money she raises for this purpsse, should be expended within her own borders. 1 expect to see you make a good beginning in this great work, and guarantee for you the full, hearty co operation, advice and assistance of the Board at Memphis. In view of this enterprise, I urge upon all of you to send or bring to the Convention, at Montgomery, funds to aid in carrying on the Sunday school work. S. Boykin, Cor. Sec. pro tern. 1 hope, too, that superintendents and pas tors will not forget to send the money to subscribe for the Weekly Kind Words, which is now fairly started. Florida Baptist Affairs. I desire to announce, through the Index, that the Florida Baptist Convention will meet in Gainesville, on the Florida Railroad, Fri day, November 24th, 1871. We extend a cordial invitation to any of our brethren from Georgia who can come, to be with us at that time. We very much desire to see our Bro. W. N. Chaudoin at the Convention, although the severe disasters which have befallen our people have deprived them of the ability to do much for missions just now. We have recently attended the fifteenth annual session of the Santa Fee River Baptist Association, which convened with the Lake City Baptist church the 7th instant. The meeting was pleasant and harmonious, though not so largely attended as usual, on account of sickness and high waters. The following resolutions were unanimously adopted : Whereas, The Domestic Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention has in past years extended a helping hand to foster and build up the Baptist cause, in our State; and whereas, the action of the last Florida Baptist Convention, in accepting aid from the Home Mission Society of New York, has been con strued by some as excluding the D. M. Board from our territory— Resolved, 1. That we disclaim any such intention ; 2. That we hereby express our gratitude and indebted ness to the D. M. B. for its past help; 3. That we encourage our churches that may be able to give to Domestic Missions, to let the contributions to this object pass through the treasury of this Board ; 4. That we would hail with pleasure the appointment of at least one missionary in each of our Associations by this Board, and whatever they might be able to collect upon their fields of labor, be applied to paying their salaries. The next session of this Association is to be held with the Pleasant Grove church, Alachua county, Fla. We were much grati fied to find that our brethren of Lake City had such a neat, comfortable house of wor ship. The house is new, stands upon the margin of a beautiful lake, and needs paint to give it a more attractive appearance. Our Bro. H. B. McCallum is the pastor, who is greatly beloved by his people, and enjoys the confidence of the entire community. J. H. Tomkies. Waldo, Fla., Oct. 17, 1871. East Tennessee Items. Duck Town Association. —This is anew body, formed of churches organized by Elder T. A. Higdon, of Mine City. It was organ ized the first week in October, with eight churches, and a membership of 471, and bids fair to be a power in the mountain regions of Polk county. Already, there is not a single Association in the South that exceeds this little body in the average to the member of the contribut’ons. During the next year, their benevolent contributions will amount to over SI,OOO. I know of no body of Christians working so nearly on the apostolic plan as the church at Mine City. They ail give largely, and are in a constant state of revival. Faith, giving and thanksgiving seem to con stitute the secret of their success. The General Association. —This body con vened at Knoxville on Saturday, October 7th. The representation was large—over 175—and quite a number of visiting ministers from all sections except Georgia and Virginia, from which States we expected a large number. Elder W. A. Montgomery was reelected President, S. J. Norton, Corresponding Sec retary, and J. L. Moses, Treasurer, and T. C. Karns was elected Recording Secretary. Stirring addresses on ministerial support, ministerial education, Sunday schools, For eign and Home Missions were delivered by representative men. An unusual interest was manifested in all these subjects. Twenty one missionaries have been employed during the year, and they report 31 new churches and 2,058 conversions. They have not cost over $4,000. Seeing that the Lord has so blessed us, we have appointed, so far, 28 men for the coming year. Over 100 conversions have resulted from their labors, so far. These 28 men will cost us about $1,200. Mossy Creek College. —An attempt is be ing made to secure an endowment of SIOO,- 000 for this Institution. Three or four thou sand have been secured already, and the work is just begun. Attempt and accomplishment are synonymous terms with East Tenessee Baptists. A. H. Our Church at Blakely, Ga. I have just returned from Blakely, Ga., where Bro. W. L. Crawford and myself held a ten days’ meeting with the Baptist church. The church has been without a pastor for about one year. They had a debt which troubled them, and we found the church scattered and discouraged. The good Lord met with us at the meeting, and most graciously poured out His blessed Spirit upon the church and congregation. The church was greatly revived, the church debt removed, and twen ty one gladly received the Word and were baptized ; and there were twenty-five added to the church, twelve of the number were young men. We closed the meeting with at least fifty mourners, enquiring what they should do to be saved. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within us, bless His holy name. The church at Blakely is anx ious to .get a pastor that has no family, to take charge of the church, and locate among them. Blakely is an inviting field for a young minister. The South-Western Rail road is now building a branch from Albany to Blakely, which will make Blakely a place of considerable Importance. The brethren will be preascd to correspond with any min ister that would take the care of the church. By addressing Mr. James 11. Wade, Blakely, Ga., they can get any* information desired. Thomas Muse. C'uthbert, Nov. 1, 1871. Excommunication. Whereas, Dr. J. H. Morris, who joined this (New Hope, Baptist) church, by letter from Bethel chuich, Chambers county, Ala., which letter was signed by Rev. John Comby, Moderator, and John N. Burden, Ch. Clerk, he (Dr. M.) professing to be a Missionary Baptist; and whereas , said Morris, after hav ing been elected pastor of tnis church, did, in a very short time thereafter, resign his pas toral charge and obtain a letter of dismission from this church, under pretense of removing west, shortly after which he settled in Fayette county, Ala., and joined an anti-missionary Baptist church, still retaining the letter he received from this church, also taking a letter from said anti church. The Clerk of this church was instructed to write to said Morris, demanding the letter given him by this church, and also, that he give satisfaction for his conduct. The Clerk wrote, some months siuce, but has received no answer. Therefore be it Resolved, by this church, 1, That Dr. J. H. Morris be, and he is here by excluded from New Hope Baptist church of Christ. 2. That from information received, since he obtained a letter from this church, we are satisfied that he has acted the part of an im postor, in that, while he acted as a Missionary Baptist, he was, as we believe, in reality an Anti. 3. That all Baptist churches are warned against receiving said Morris on the letter obtained by him from this church. 4. That this preamble and these resolutions be spread upon our church book, and that a copy be sent to the Christian Index and South Western Baptist for publication, with the request that all Baptist papers publish the same. By order of the church in conference, this 21st day of October, 1871. John C. Foster, Moderator. James M. Smith, Ch. Clerk. Romulus, Tuscaloosa county, Oct. 21,1871. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dear Index: I desire space in your col umns to make the following acknowledge ment of contributions received for our Semi nary : Columbus Association. —T. B. Slade, $1; M. J. Wellborn, $5; R. S. Kendrick, $1 ; John Huff, $5; T. P. Ashford, $5; Walter Dortche, $1; Miss B. Willis, $1 ; Mrs. T. B. Estes, $5. Friendship Association. — D. M. Sloan, $1; L. Jay, $1; Rob’t Keith, $1; J. H. Souter, $1 , E. M. Tiiarpe, $1; Jas. Carson, $5 ; H. T. Jordan, $5; Alex. Chappell, sl. Georgia Association. —T. J. Burney, $3; J. Ellington, $2; R. E. McGinty, $10; E. C. Hawes, $1; F. M. Wright, $5; Asa Chandler, $2.50; J. T. Wingfield, $10; White Plains church, sl2; (the last two amounts through the Finance Committee.) Rehoboth Association. —R. W. Fuller, $1; W. Beverly, $1; B. L. Ross, $5; “Cash,” $2; J. C. (Jheeves, $1; Mrs. I. J. Massie, $5; T. H. Stout, $5; vY\ J. Collins, $2 ; J. A. MoClung, sl. We have also received subscriptions amount ing to $417, which the brethren will pay at their earliest convenience. In addition to these amounts, received for the direct support of the Seminary, we have received for the support of Bro. Wm. H. Norton at the Seminary, s2l, in cash, (which Bro. Norton will acknowledge by letter,) and a number of pledges, which the brethren will please send direct, (by P. O. money order draft, or registered letter,) to Rev. Wm. H. Norton, Sou. Bap. Theo. Seminary, Green ville, S. C. I have received from the brethren of Geor gia, wherever I have been, nothing but cour tesy and kindness, and feel grateful for the kind reception they have given me. Let me beg that pastors will at once present the claims of the Seminary to their churches, and that individuals will at once send me a contribution. It is your Seminary, brethren. Will you not help us to meet current expenses 1 Ad dress J, Wm. Jones, Ag't. Sou. Bap. Theo. Sem., Washington , Ga. Congratulations and Condolence Extraor dinary action of the Episcopalians A Good Hymn Book. Baltimore, Nov. 1, 1871. This is the first day of November, and at this season you would suppose that we are shivering before the autumnal blast, or invo king the aid of anthracite to increase the tem perature within doors. But I am writing without fire, and the mercury at my side marks 70 degrees. Thus far, we have had but two or three days of weather which even a resident of the tropics would pronounce cold. The weather here, I understand, is usually most agreable until late in December. Then come the snow, and the hail, and the sharp winds, which are the usual concomitants of a northern winter. With tight houses and abnndant fuel, however, you are effectually shielded amid the severest weather. Allow me to congratulate the readers of the Index on your determination to remain in the chair editorial. I believe you are as cer tainly a born editor as Cowper was a natural poet. Any man who can keep files of news papers for ten or twenty years and remember everything of any importance in them, to such an extent as to be able to refer, when necessary, to any article sought, has a talent for the editorial tripod which falls to the lot of very few men. You might make a good secretary, but the editor is au “ accomplished fact.” When men reach your age, and even mine, they should make changes with caution, unless indeed the change is merely local, the work remaining the same. [Why does our correspondent use the word “ even” in the sense of “ still more I”] I have been pained to learn, through pri vate letters from Georgia, that our esteemed friend, Dr. N. M. Crawford, has been smitten with paralysis. A few weeks ago, you may remember, that I was predicting for him, when we met in your office, as he had not then quite entered on the seventh decade of life, ten years more of active work for Jesus. Bating a bronchial affection with which he was suffering, his mind and body appeared to be as vigorous as ever, and to give promise of the green old age. Little did w r e then an ticipate the trouble which was overtaking him. 1 remember that his distinguished father, after having been similarly attacked, recovered so far as to hold the Judgeship of the Superior Court and to render other im portant services to the State. I trust the son may yet be spared to do for the church, after his attack, what the father did for the State. These afflictions of our brethren call trumpet tongued to the healthy and vigorous to do with their might what their hands find to do. Did you notice the singular action of the House of Bishops, which recently met in this city, in regard to the import of the word “regenerate?” Without at all intending it, they struck the heaviest blow at infant bap tism which it has received from Pedobaptist hands in many a day. Verily, after the ac tion in question, this ordinance may say, “ l was wounded in the house of my friends.” We have now been gravely informed by a whole College of learned diocesans, in solemn conclave assembled, that the word “ regen erate,” used in their prayer book in connec tion with infant baptism, does not signify that the child has undergone any moral change whatever! Now, if this be so, I beg to ask, most respectfully, for what does the priest give thanks, when, after baptism, he thanks the Lord that the child is “ regenerate ?” He does not give thanks, it appears, for any moral change; for, according to the House of Bishops, the child, in this respect, is the same before as after baptism. Is it, then, for some intellectual change which the application of the water to the brow has produced for which the officiating minister gives thanks? Has his mind been so strengthened by the process that henceforth he will be in no dan ger of insanity ? Does the water impart such virtue to his mental powers that hence forth he will be able to master more readily the difficult problems in natural and intel lectual philosophy ? This, I presume, will not be claimed. Nor wiil it, I apprehend, be affirmed that the water has wrought any physical change. The child is subject to dis ease and decay before baptism ; he is liable to the same assaults afterwards. Hungering and thirsting and crying before the ordinance, he does thq same things afterwards. For what,„then, the question recurs, are the thanks rendered? The bishops have not informed us, and 1 am sure that I am unable to tell. 1 suggest that you refer this matter to my wor thy friend, Bishop Beckwith, who was in the College when this negative definition was given, and, if possible, procure from him a solution of the mystery. Should he still insist on saying that “the word regenerate does not mean any moral change,*’ tell him that Noah Webster (whose unabridged now lies open before me) says that regenerate means “ born anew ; renova ted in heart; changed from a natural to a spiritual state.” Tall him that Dr. Andrews defines regenetatio, the Latin word which is transferred to our language, to signify a “ being born again.” Tell him that Albert Barnes, an advocate of infant baptism, says the word regeneration, in Titus iii : 5, means “ anew birth.” Tell him, farther, that when a body of learned bishops dissent from the accepted definitions of our lexicographers and popular theologians, they produce per plexity in the use ol language. Tell him‘ once more, that when an old and commonly received definition of a word is repudiated, it would be more benevolent to furnish anew exposition than to leave the people bewilder ed by a mere negation. Upset by this action of the bishops, a mem ber of the Episcopal church called, a day or two ago, upon a Baptist pastor in this city, and addressed him, in substance, as follows : “My dear sir, lam in trouble. I have been supposing for some years that I was convert ed when I was baptized. But 1 have been told by my teachers that I did not then ex perience any moral change whatever. If I was not then, 1 have never been regenerated. What am Ito do? I prefer the baptism of your church.” And as the man spoke, he was overcome by his emotions. Copious tears attested the depth of his feelings. The minister said to him, “My friend, I fear you are not converted. Just now, you have noth ing to do with the question of baptism at all . That is altogether an after consideration. Accept Jssus Christ as your Saviour.” The minister thus presented Christ to the man, who was evidently an awakened sinner; and after a few more words of conversation and prayer, the two separated. This is one of tile first fruits which hove some to my knowl edge of the action of the bishops in regard to the word regenerate. It would not surprise me if it were succeeded by a considerable harvest of such cases. Have you seen the cheap edition of the new hymn book published by the American Baptist Publication Society I It certainly has one merit. It costs only fifty cents. It is the cheapest book I know in the whole cir cle of hymn literature. Think of it: a thou sand hymns for fifty cents; that is, twenty hymns for one cent ! Nor is cheapness by any means the only merit. The book con tains many of the very finest hymns in the English language, both new and old. With such.a book, no pastor needs ever be at a loss for appropriate, beautiful and devotional po etry with which to conduct the worship of the sanctuary in the line of song. The hymn and tune book 1 have received, having purchased a copy of the Society. The type is so beautiful that the eye finds it a lux ury to rest upon it; whilst the name of the compiler—John M. Evans—is a guarantee that the music will be choice and applied in best taste. Theopiiilus. 8. S. Lessons for 1872. To the Baptists of the South : 1 have adopt ed, in Kind Words , for our Baptist Sunday schools, the same series of lessons that is published in the Baptist Teacher, of Philadel phia. This gives teachers and superinten dents the advantage of the Baptist Teacher and other publications, while the children will have the benefit of the lessons in Kind Words. These lessons will be written by Dr. B. Manly, of Georgetown, Ky., and will purposely be made easy and simple, yet clear and comprehensive. The text from the Bible will be published, and also such expla nations and questions as will render the les son comprehensible to young children, even. The school, therefore, that takes the weekly Kind Words will have a Bible lesson com posed of the text, all necessary explanations, and a catechism for distribution each week. I sincerely hope that every Baptist Sunday school in the South will subscribe for Kind Words , and reap the benefit of these admira ble lessons. I am glad to see that subscriptions for the weekly Kind Words are coming at the rate of one thousand per month, and yet very many schools do not take it. The price of the weekly is 50 cents per copy, where ten or more are taken. It supplies the place of Bible, catechism and commentary. Subscriptions in Georgia and Alabama may be sent to the Christian Index, or J. J. & S. P. Richards, Atlanta, or Rev. F. M. Hay good, Macon, Ga., or to S. Botkin, 361 Main St., Memphis. Rev. W. N. Chaudoin and Rev. T. B. Cooper are also agents for Kind Words. Items from S. W. Georgia. I. Friendship Association convened with Pleasant Grove church, in Macou county, on Saturday before the first Lord’s day in October. Dr. G. T. Wilburn was elected Moderator, Bro. J. 11. Cawood, Clerk. This is a large, intelligent and efficient body. It is also a growing body. At almost every session, we learn, churches are knocking at her door for membership. It is a liberal, missionary body, too: pays Bro. Buckner $1,200 to preach to the Indians in the far West; contributes SI,OOO or more, this year, in cash and bonds, to enlarge the endowment of Mercer; gives a handsome sum to the Southern Theological Seminary, at Green ville, S. C.; helps to pay Bro. Norton’s ex penses there this year; brethren subscribe for the Index and S. W. Baptist, and the Baptist, cheerfully. In a word, it is a capital body. The subject of Union Sunday schools, under any circumstances, gave rise to some diversity of opinion. The Association agreed to meet, hereafter, on Friday. 11. Houston Association. —On Friday be fore-the second Sunday in October, the writer started for the Houston Association, 43 miles distant. Down the River Road, on the east side of the Flint—no flint rocks here—we travelled; passing through Draytown, at 16 miles; now entering some of the best farm ing lands we ever saw, cultivated by 11. L. Dennard, Elijah Butts, John B. Lewis, Thos. Whitsett and others—lands wortli $25, SSO and even SIOO per acre—some of the plan tations having palatial residences, occupied by men who have plenty of money, are out of debt, and whose independence and hospitality are not surpassed by the fertility of the soil. This part of Dooly is a little empire within itself. Two objections: Ist, Too much Anti ism and “bald face;” 2nd, education is “be-, low par.” We passed near Fort Early, inhabited only by gallinippers, gophers, owls, etc.; crossed Blackshear trail, and passed along some to talities rendered memorable by awful savage atrocities. At the end of 17 miles, we reached Warwick, in the edge of Worth coun ty—one store a post office and two or three small residences—and travelling 10 miles more, plunging our Bob pony into two swim ing creeks and one pond, we reached the long looked for Red Oak church. But not an Oak could we see. Pine! pine! nothing but pine and ponds. No wonder the people are all Baptists' down here; for, without a doubt, there is muoh water in Worth county. We hauled out our chronometer, which told us it wanted 15 to 2 p.m. —just in time to be taq late for the “esculents.” We were tired and hungry. The Association had met, the tables were cleared off, and the sisters who manage the “ baskets,” had taken their places in the house, to hear that the letters from the churches are read correctly. There was no escape: we had to endure it until night. Elder Jesse R. Hortae was elected Moder ator, and A. J. Cone, Clerk. This is an old body, organized, perhaps, 43 years ago. It is large in numbers, and covers a considerable