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Southern Christian CHARLESTON, S. C., OCTOBER 5, 1878. The Associate Editor is in charge of the Advocate for the present. We again ask the indulgence of our friends and brethren, who complain of our tardiness to publish their com munications. We are obliged to them for their favors, and promise as early attention to them as is practicable. We give preference to such articles as will lose their value from delay—arti cles of current value. We have many obituaries on hand, and parties inter ested need not be surprised if we get behind, and try their patience. This is a necessity we sincerely’ deplore. It is a necessity nevertheless. Governor Hampton is canvassing the claims of his administration and party, before great masses of bis fel low-citizens in different sections of the State. He was greeted with enthu siastic crowds hero in Charleston on Wednesday, the 2d inst. The Gov ernor can honestly look the people of both parties and colors in the face. He has passed the ordeal of a civil revolution, and stands approved before the tribunal of public opinion. .Next to thanking God, we feel like thanking Hampton, for the changes for the better we are realizing in South Carolina. The Columbia Canal is likely soon to be utilized for manufacturing pur poses. With the long standing issues between the Spragues and our State authorities finally and satisfactorily settled, we may look for the early erection of manufactories on the Con garee at the capital of our State. Ev ery patriotic South Carolinian looks with interest and favor on such en terprise. Without some such advan tage, Columbia can hardly bo expect ed to flourish. With it, she may be a great manufacturing and commercial centre. Why not multiply the manu facturing interest in South Carolina? We have the cotton, the water power, abundant market for our fabrics. We need capital and business enterprise. With the permanent settlement of our political difficulties in the interest of a good and strong government, the first of these can be obtained in plen tiful quantity, and wo trust that the second will not be wanting. The Collections. —It is full time thatour preachers be at the workofrai singthe amounts assessed their charges for tho various purposes levied by the Annual Conference. The preacher who expects to succeed in raising his share by his people voluntarily’ hand ing him tho amounts they ought to give, as they are moved to it by a sense of duty or an impulse of liber ality, will be disappointed. Tho preacher who hopes to raise the amount expected of him, as a result of his simple and candid statement of the case from the pulpit, will, in nine cases out of ten, be disappointed. Is “ disappointed ” the right word in these two last sentences? Does the preacher really expect, in either case supposed, to raise the amount? It is our duty, as preachers, to educate our people in Systematic Benevolence, from tho pulpit. Teach them that giving is a means of grace. That they are to give not primarily to missions, education, the support and relief of Conference claimants, and the like, but that they are to give to the Lord, —primarily to Him, and, in a second ary sense, to these others. “ Hon or the Lord with thy substance.” “ Them that honor me, I will honor.” Air. Editor : In answer to J. E. W., it may be said that “ Yeasting Seas ” and “ Instruments of Torture ” are certainly out of place in Circuits and Quarterly Conferences. But did it occur to the writer that where such existed by’ any’ such cause as indicated, there must be something radically wrong in both. None deny that Circuits need often to be stirred even to the very depths, and probing an ugly wound will torture; but does that prove that neither should ever be done? Better then the “Yeasting Sea” than the stagnaut pool, and still better the “ instrument of torture,” than physical or moral death. We should be glad that there is life enough to make a stir, and that pain is felt when the probe is used. But where is the necessity for either in the cases indicated? Pain is never felt under questioning (which is all a Quarterly Conference can do), when there is a full compliance with duty, and the Cir cuit never becomes a “Yeasting Sea,” under like circumstances. In places otherwise the preacher may be dila tory, or the people nearly dead. If J. E. W. be a preacher, he is open to the suspicion that his objection lies to necessity of “ farming the revenue;” if a layman, to any “ revenue " at all in church work. In either case, we think nothing could be gained by granting the wish to have no standard whatever in fixing the status of Dis trict. There are three conceivable methods of doing this; attention to the spiritual, material and financial. The first, embracing conversions, ad missions, baptisms, Sunday-schools. The second, church buildings, par sonages, school houses. The third, salaries and church collections. The first two are not as extensively set set forth in our minutes as the last. Hence this last furnishes the data for fixing the status of a charge. There is rarely a well rounded fiscal report that does not indicate healthfulness at the other points, while the spiritu ality of a charge may well be ques tioned where there is continued failure in this. We trust, therefore, those “ Yeasting Seas ” are not indicative of wreck to the church, and that the in struments of torture may awaken life where there is any threatened death. We wish someone would give a better standard for marking pro gression than this, so offensive to some. C. How frequent is it that we do not, as Christians, realize the privilege of, being joyful and happy’! Duty’keeps us firm and steady ; but wo fail to en joy the sweets of obedience. A prophet of the Lord declared, “Al though the fig tree shall not bios som, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall y’ield no meat: the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; y T et I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Circumstances of poverty, bereave ment, ill health, persecution, may hin der for the time, hut should not de stroy our peace. The “cloudscovering our sky” is a familiar figure, and an instructive one. The clouds come not from the sun ; but from the atmos phere of the earth. Tho sun shines on behind these clouds, and after a while will disperse them. So with these other clouds that hide for a time from our eyes the Sun of Right eousness. They come from us and not from him. He shines behind these clouds with continued and undimned glory', and it is our constant privilege to bask in the sunshine of His pres ence. The difficulty lies not in the failure of God’s grace. No. It is in the want of our faith. Pestilence and Prayer. Governor Hampton has called our people to fasting, humiliation and prayer, in view of tho sad and sore affliction through which a portion of our country is now providentially passing. The Governor has done well. Aside from his own convictions and instincts as a Christian gentleman, it is eminently' appropriate that he, as our representative man, should give due acknowledgment to the public Christian sentiment of the State. The pray'er of Solomon, at the dedi cation of the temple is solemnly sug gestive in our present juncture. “If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpillar ; if their ene my besiege them in the land of their cities ; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; what prayer and supplication soever there be made by' any' man, or by’ all thy' people, Israel, which shall know every' man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth bis bands toward this house, then hear thou in heaven thy dwell ing place, and forgive, and do, and give to every' man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest ; (for thou, even thou only’, knowest the hearts of all the children of men ;) that they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.” We hold that Chureh and State are distinct, but not separate. Each has its function and duty. We, as Chris tians, owe allegiance to the State. The powers that be are ordained of God and every soul should be subject unto them, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. The subjec tion of the Christian citizen to the State’s authority and law is a subjec tion to the ordinance of God. This im plies that God is recognized by the State as the origin of its authority, and the sanction of its laws. The better the Christian, the better the citizen. The prayer of Solomon is not the obsolete prayer in an effete dy nasty. It has moral significance now. The Christian State of to-day is the legiti mate successor of the Christian com munity of Solomon’s time. We are as much authorized to pray for deliv erance from pestilence, as the people of God were then authorized to do so. God has not lost a particle of his au thority' and power. He is the same y’esterday, to-day and forever. Our only safe appeal from infidelity is to the word of God. We can afford to be laughed at and mocked if that means that God is laughed at also. After a while He will in turn laugh and mock. The safe side is God’s side. SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE. A prominent scientific gentleman, a few years ago, seriously proposed to the Christian world to test the efficacy of prayer. Let there be a hospital of pa tients for whom prayer should be made, and another for whom prayer should not be made, and then let the convales cence and recovery of these repectively decide whether God hears prayers for sickness and disease or not. The prop osition dishonors God. To accept it on the part of his people would be to wound Him in the house ofHis friends. The beauty and sweetness of prayer consists largely’ in the loyalty and submission of the supplicant to the purposes ofHis will. Prayer is noth ing worth that is not “ in the Holy Ghost.” Would the Holy' Ghost in spire our devotions to such an unwor thy end ? Would he not then act in consistently with Himself? Would He not dishonor the record He has made of Himself to approve a test other than His inspired word author izes ? Has he not already satisfied every reverent, reasonable mind ? Would any test satisfy any other? It ennobles and elevates our con ception of God to consider Him, work ing the counsel of His will, whether in the infliction of suffering upon the subjects of His kingdom, or in the gracious displays of His love and mer cy. His stately steppings fill us with awe and inspire us with confidence and love. “ The will of the Lord be done,” whether that will be a smile or a frown. The grace so to pray will put us into an attitude to accept God’s dealings—all of them —as right and good, because they are His. He knows what is best and does what is best, to those who love His will, be cause they love Him. In morals, as in physics, action and reaction are equal and in opposite di rections. Not only is the subject of my prayer blessed, but I also by' a reflex influence of its benefit, am bless ed also. I pray' for sufferers in New Orleans and Memphis, and God not only puts my' prayer to their account but to mine also. Tho more we pray for our afflicted brethren, the nearer we get to them and through them to our common Heavenly' Father. This service is not only an appropriate acknowledgment by tho State of its God ; it is a gracious opportunity for every individual of tho State. Let it not be that we have gone to the house of the Lord in vain. Let us covet and claim the blessing of that charity which blesses at once him who receives and him who givesi Personal Mention. Rev. Morris Evans has recently received the title of I). D., from the Kentucky Military Institute. Rev. Charles R. Hemphill has re signed the Hebrew Tutorship in the Columbia Theological Seminery. He held this office for four years, with credit to himself and with great ben efit to the students who received Iris instructions. He has been appointed Fellow in John Hopking University’, Baltimore ; and he expects to devote the two y'ears to increasing his knowl edge in the Classical and Oriental lan guages, under the guidance of Profes sor Gildersleeve and his learned asso ciates The British Government granted last y *ar 8500 to George McDonald, in consideration of his contributions to literature. The same to Mrs. Eliza Cruikshank, the wife of the artist, and 81,000 to James Prescott Joule, for his scientific achievements Dean Stanley, of Westminster Abbey, London, preach ed to an immense audience at Trinity Church, Boston, recently' taking as his subject “True Religion on the Point of Contrast between the East and West.” The Boston Post says of the distinguished preacher: “ The usual service of morning prayer having been read by' the Rev. Mr. Brooks, the rector, Dean Stanley pre sented himself at the reading desk, and immediately', in a quiet but dis tinct manner, repeated the invocation which, in the Episcopal church, pre cedes the sermon. He was dressed in the canonical black gown and cas sock we are accustomed to see, but to which was added, we suppose as dis tinctive of his rank and office at home, a bright scarlet collar. As compared with the heroic stature, the Apollo like figure of of Trinity’s rector, a rather insignificant personage; a slight built and stooping figure, with neatly cut gray hair and whiskers of the old Euglish style, and a face expressively full of a pleasant intelligence and dig nity, and a voice, not powerful, but generally distinctly' heard in this, for most speakers, very trying auditorium. His discourse, learned, eloquent, and appropriate, was read from his manu script in a didatic but earnest way, and without auy gestures, and was listened to with the closest attention to its end. The benediction, at its close, was pronounced in the most fervently devout and hearty' manner, and the great audience dispersed.” “Mrs. Jennie H. Caldwell, will occupy the pulpit of her husband, at Geneva, ill., (Rock River Confer ence!, while he is in Europe on a va cation of three months,” say's an ex change. The “ lectures ” will proba bly begin when he returns The Louisville Observer records the recent death of four Presbyterian ministers. Rev. J. 11. Rice, D.D., of West Ten nessee, one of the ablest and most in fluential divines of that chureh ; Rev. George Hall, of Port Gibson, Miss., seventy-three years old ; Rev. John McUamdbell, D.D., of Grenada, Miss., and Rev. A. N. Cunningham, D.D., an aged preacher, of Aberdeen, Miss. The three first were victims of yellow fever, the last dropped dead in the the streets of Franklin, Tenn Rev. William B. Landrum, the old est member of tho Kentucky Confer ence, preached a semi-centennial ser mon in the Methodist Church on Sun day evening, 22d inst. There has just been from the press anew book entitled 1 “The Life and Travels of Rev. William B. Landrum.” Dr. Di La Matyr, of the Southeast Irjdiana Conference, and the popular pastor of Grace Church, Indianapolis, having accepted a nomi nation as candidate for Congress, was, after considerable discussion, granted a location at the recent session of his conference, with a promise to receive him again into conference relations whenever he shall see fit to return to the work of the ministry Pres ident and Mrs. McMahon, of France, havo sent SI,OOO for the yellow fever sufferers Bishops Pierce and Kavanaugh were both present at the recent session of the Kentucky Con ference. Bishop Pierce was unable to preach Prof. William Henry Waddell, of tho University of Geor gia, recently died at Milford, Va. He had been and was returning home when hi /suddenly died. Exchange. Independent: An aggressive Church will do ChrisVs work ; not an attrac tive one. Harper's Weekly: The basis of polit ical reform it. not unscrupulous will ; it is moral principle, wise judgment, sound views. Watchman : In the present state of public opinion, the law of the Sab bath is relaxed beyond auy known precedent in New England. Zion's Herald: Nothing that the country' could do for the laboring man would bring such immediate and ex tended good as the putting a stop to liquor selling. Examiner and Chronicle : If the poor man lovp s his rich neighbor as he loves himself, will he not delight in the thought of that neighbor’s abundance as much as if he possessed that wealth himself? Congregationalist: Naturalists have observed that when the price of hops and of tobacco is good, the men who raise them segm to have no conscience. But as the price goes down, that fac ulty becomes largely developed. Central Presbyterian : This love of money may' and does prevail among those who have but little of it, as well as among who have much ; and its blighting power is seen and felt over all the church. Christian Intelligence: There will be hard times in homes without love ; in families that have money for luxu ry, and none for charity ; in house holds unuflj|d so prayer and unblessed by faith iiitnr realities of a world to come. Observer: .Christians, who would maintain a Food report with them who are without, will please recollect that the Mullpr principal is cash. The man who lives within his means, and pays cash, will have a better reputa tion with God and man than he who, for a pretence, makes long prayers and shaves his own notes. Sunday-School Times : The first word to the church in the great com mission is “ Go.” The true test, there fore, of the efficiency of any church as an evangelizing agency is the“ go” in it—or the going out from it; the going after tho lost : the going to bring in outsiders. How much of tho “go ” is there in y’opr church ? That is the question j Literary 4'otices and Notes. Southern Historical Society Papers, published by authority of the Society, under the direction of the Executive Committee. Rev. J. William Jones, D.D.. Richmond, Va. This is a month ly magazine, devoted to the preserva tion of the biftory of the late war be tween the States. It will be invalu able to the future historian of the pe riod which it covers. An (Ecumenical Presbyterian Month ly is soon to be published in London. It is to represent in its pages all the bodies of Presbyterians represented in the Edinburgh Council. Dr. Blaikie, of Edinburgh, is to be editor. The first number will be issued on the first of next January. It is to be what is known in BtHain as a “Shilling Monthly,” subscription price in this countril 7 will be three dollars •A per annum. Life of Alexander 11. Stephens, by Richard M. Johnston and William Hand Browne. Philadelphia : J. B. Lippincott & Cos. This book is most entertaining read ing. We have not found a dry place in it. The authors have had the good sense and taste to allow Mr. Stephens to be his own biographer, as far as practicable. Mr. Johnston, however, makes a very’ good Boswell. He has been a very close friend of Mr. Steph ens for a quarter of a century, and uses well the opportunity' he has en joyed. We have here, in the most engaging form, the political history of the country as it occurred, under Mr. Stephens’s observation, colored, as a matter of course, with the bias of his judgment. The book is a valuable contribution lo the history of our times. This particular work has very' especial value in that it has Mr. Ste phens’s endorsement, as to its accura cy and faithfulness. It is most hand somely gotten out. We have not lately seen a more handsome volume. It is an octavo of 619 pages, clearly and distinctly’ printed on beautifully tinted paper, and elegantly bound. It is sold only by subscription. Agents are wanted in every county of the State. Address J. W. Ainger, (of the Eclectic Magazine), general agent for South Carolina, Charleston, S. C. Reynolds' New Pictorial Readers, Nos. I, 2,3, f. Reynolds' New Fifth Read er. Walker, Evans & Cogswell, Charleston, S. C. These Readers were very’ properly adopted by the State Board of Edu cation, at their late session, for use in tho common schools of South Caro lina. They were prepared by' the late Prof. Rey nolds, for a long time a dis tinguished professor in the South Carolina College. They' have been highly commended by' teachers in the Carolinas and Georgia. They are ex cellent school books. There is no doubt of that. To our mind they have especial claim on the favor and patronage of our Southern people and schools, in that they represent home en terprise. They were prepared, print ed and published at the South, and in South Carolina. Other things being equal, we ought to patronize South ern books. The Fifth Reader has spe cial value, in being a compend of choice Southern literature. It is al most entirely composed of selections from writers from the South. The following are some of the writers from South Carolina, whoso contribu tions enrich the book: Prof. Milos, A. Sachtleben, Legare, Henry, Simms, Grimke, Calhoun, Thornwell, Dr. E. T. Winkler, Maxcy, the Furmans, Hayne, J. S. Preston, Dr. E. Geddings, Smythe, Manly, Dr. W. Smith, Mrs. M. Martin, Prof. Woodrow, Governor Gist, Laßorde, W. M. Martin, and others. These books are handsomely printed and embellished, on tinted paper, by' the enterprising house of Walker, Evans & Cogswell, who are taking en ergetic steps to secure their introduc tion into the schools of the State. South Carolina Conference. Rev. E. S. Luro writes : “ I am happy to inform you that tho good Lord has graciously visited us with a revival at Monticello. The meeting was opened on Friday, 13th, by Brother R. C. Oliver and your correspondent, and continued by them until Saturday', when Brother Porter, our pastor, arrived. He had been providentially' delayed. The meeting went on, increasing in interest at each service, especially tho pray'er meet ings, which were held each morning at 10 o’clock, until Sabbath night, 22d instant. It resulted in twcnty'-four being added to the church, and six teen good and bright conversions. There were doubtless others, and a general revival of the membership, and some forty or upwards at the al tar for prayer the night the meeting closed.” Rev. J. 11. Zimmerman writes us: “The Third Quarterly Meeting for St. Matthew's Ct. commenced tho 14th instant. Brother Martin, our Pre siding Elder, was present, and preach ed on Saturday and Sunday, to the edification of the people, laying tho foundation for a good meeting on Monday morning. B(o the rsPl at. land Barber came to my' help, and preach ed day and night up to Wednesday' evening, with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. The people were exceedingly busy with their cotton, yet we had good congregations, espe cially at night. The result of the meeting was six accessions to the church, and as near as we could as certain about ten conversions, and the church was revived.” Rev. B. M. Boozer, Black's Station Ct., sends us an encouraging bulletin from his field : “ I am happy to inform you that the Lord has graciously visited us at Black’s Station. I have just closed a meeting which continued eight days, resulting in nine baptisms, and sixteen accessions to the church. .Some who were converted under the influence of the meeting joined the Baptist Church. A general revival was experienced among the membership. The work is still going on. 1 preached at the Station last evening, and one more ap plied for membership, making twenty additions at the station this year. Among those who joined there were three between seventy and eighty years old.” Rev. G. H. Pooser, Cypress Ct., sends us an item of news from his Circuit, which will prove of painful interest to the many acquaintances of the afflicted brother: “ Brother Daniel Knight, a steward at Branch Church, Cypress Ct., was stricken down with paralysis, while in Summerville, some weeks ago, but is improving gradually, and hopes are entertained of his partial recovery. He is a man of extensive business, furnishing employment to a large number of persons, besides being a very useful member of the Methodist Chureh, and a man of piety.” Rev. W. D. Kirkland, Mars Bluff Station, writes : “ VVe have just closed an interesting meeting at Friendship Church. Revs. G. W. Walker and J. C. Stoll labored with great zeal and effect. Back-sliders were reclaimed, the Church was quickened, and three promising members were added to our number. The gracious influences of this meeting were largely' shared by' our Presbyterian and Baptist breth ren, who attended the services in large numbers. “ Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity’.” Rev. W. A. Rogers, Winnsboro' St., in closing a short business note to us, announces his purpose soon to com mence protracted services at his church. He asks every follower of Christ, whose eye falls upon these lines, earnestly to pray God’s especial blessing to rest upon the meeting to commence at Winnsboro’,October 6th. Rev. W. W. Mood, Belmont Ct., at the close of a letter to the Publishers, says in a postscript to tho Editor: “ I have just closed a very precious and profitable meeting at Shiloh. Brother Dagnall, of the Goshen Hill Circuit, rendered efficient help lor several days.” The Christian World. There are 70,000 Christians gathered into the churches in Madagascar. Poly nesia is almost entirely 7 Christian. Dr. Schaff, who has been visiting Salt Lake City, expresses the opinion that Mormonism cannot much longer survive. The Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechism have been trans lated into Chinese, and are now in process of revision. Tho New York Ministerium (Lu theran) voted that women were not entitled to vote at the election of pas tors, or on any congregational matter. It is proposed to restore the old Elstow Church, where John Bunyan used to attend in his youth, and whose bells he used to ring. The German “ Tunkers,” at their late annual meeting, in answer to the question whether a visitor of another denomination should be asked to say “ grace,” decided negatively. It is said soven hundred Chinese in California have connected themselves with the Young Men’s Christian As sociation, with a view to instruction in Christian doctrine. The American Board has recently' sent out nineteen missionaries to its fields in Turkey, India, Japan, and China, ten of whom return to their old stations. A conference of lay'mon and minis ters of all denominations is to bo held October 30 and 31, in tho church of the Holy Trinity in this city, to dis cuss the question of the second coming of Christ. The Illiuois Conference was divided, at its late session, into the Indiana and Illinois Conferences. Wo havo now two Districts in Indiana and four in Illinois. This work shows a larger increase this year than for any year previous. Six were received on trial, and four by transfer. In tho two Conferences, fifty-five preachers re ceived appointments, and sixteen ap pointments were left to be supplied. The Thornwell Ordhanage began its fourth year on the Ist u 11., with a full school and every' vacancy filled. During the past year the average ex pense of the maintenance of each child has been about SBO. This in cludes every expense. The building has been recently improved by the addition of a comfort able piazza sixty feet long, and paid for. The children are all in good health, and full of zeal in their work. The Rev. J. C. Clough, of tho Bap tist misson to tho Telogoos, in Soutn ern India, between June 16 and July' 31, baptised 8,671 recent converts to Christianity. Over a thousand men ..cwu; ip nl anae hringingin their idols to tho missionary and renouncing their worship. A large portion date their conviction and conversion to the re vival that began in the spring of 1877, when their lives were saved from the terrible famine by tho canal dug through the efforts of Mr. Clough. The Western Conference was held by Bishop Doggett, September 5-9, at Wyandotte, Kansas. This is an immense body, including Kansas, Ne braska, Wyoming and Idaho Territo ries, and any other territory east of the Rocky Mountains and west of the Missouri State line, not included in other Conferences. There are three Districts, Atchison, Council Grove and Fort Scott. Twenty-four preachers received appointments; ten charges were left to be supplied. The Kentucky Conference recently held its session in Shelby'villo. Three were admitted on trial. Two were discontinued at their own request. Five were admitted into full connec tion. There are eight superannuated preachers. The characters of all the preachers were approved. One had died, Jeremiah Strother. $2,763.22 were raised for missions since tho last Conference. There was a slight in crease in the membership—now con sisting of 22,662 members, and 96' local preachers. Dr. Redford says, in tho Southern Methodist, that the ses sion was one of the most pleasant he ever enjoyed. The entertainment was fine and the preaching excellent. Bonds to the amount of more than two thousand dollars were taken, look ing to the liquidating of the indebt edness of the Nashville Book Concern. If the woman's missionary* societies keep on growing as they have grown in the past five years, they will soon overtake tho old established societies in point of receipts and extent of their work. Here is the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of the Presbyte rian Church, in the ninth y r ear of its existence, with eighty'-five missiona ries in the field, of whom twenty-three are in India, twenty in China, nine in South America, seven in Persia, and so on. There are also thirty Bible readers and one hundred and fifty na tive teachers. The receiptsof tneSocie ty for the year wore nearly' $84,000. The annual meeting of the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church has been held at Ocean Grove. According to its report it appropriated last year $62,000, and has appropriated this year over SBI,OOO. Twelve women are under appointment and expect to leave for foreign mission work next Fall. Japan eahs for nine more lady' missionaries. The decisive and judicious action of the House of Bishops in tho case of tho late Bishop of Michigan, is hon orable and wholesome for that partic ular branch of the Church, and a good example for the Church at large. No Church is dishonored by the miscon duct of one of its ministers, for the Church is not infallible. It is made up of imperfect men, all liable to fall, and the marvel is that so few, rather VOLUME XLI., NO. 31. than so many, are overtaken by'de stroying sins. But any Church is dis honored when it interposes objections and obstacles to the investigation of character and conduct, or manifests a disposition to conceal suspected wrong, lest disgrace ensue. Tho shame is not in having one black sheep in the flock, but in trying to make the world believe that a black one is white. “ First pure, then peaceable,” is a law for the Church. And as in its best estate on earth, the Church has unworthy men in her fold, she will best maintain her good name by promptly searching her sanctuaries as with candles, and cleansing her holy places when vice is discovered. A mission has been established among tho Bedouins, in the neigh borhood of Damascus, by Lord Pol warth. It is under the general super vision of Mr. Mclntosh, of Damascus, who has Mr. Connor with him, study ing Arabic, to qualify himself for ac tive work and visitation. Mr. Mcln tosh, with a native teacher, recently spent two days among the Arabs, five or six hours’ ride north of Damascus, and was very much pleased with the results of his visit. At one place he tried to impress upon a shepherd lad that Moses and David, honored names with the Mohammedans as with the Christians, were once simple and low ly' shepherds like himself. At another tent he spent an hour reading from the Book of Job, with verbal illustra tions, to a sick shiekh, who was much interested with the visit, and promised to visit the missionaries at Damas cus. Thus he spent “ delightful hours, winding among the flocks and tents.” A young Bedouin is now completing his studies with Mr. Wood, an Amer ican missionary at Damascus, who will probably' be employed in this work if the means are provided to sup port him. Whenever the sons of God assem bled together in the olden land of Uz, Satan also attended the meeting, and was the most pious and demonstra tive of the whole assembly. A min strel performer, having in possession one of the theatres of Chicago, offered to give a cork and conundrum per formance on Sabbath afternoon for tho benefit of the sufferers of the South ern cities, if the Relief Committee would accept the proceeds. He was answered favorably' and with a “ God bless y T ou,” by the good chairman. We are not informed by what author ity the chairman of the Relief Com mittee bestowed this apostolic bene diction on the enterprise. However, the blank walls soon glowed with col ored postors announcing the “ Great Charity benefit.” And on Sabbath afternoon there was fiddling, clog dancing, and the usual attractions of shows of this kind. This thing is sheer humbug and hypocrisy’. Tho purpose of the scheme was to give an air of respectability to Sabbath pro fanity of the worst kind. Tho money paid in was not paid to aid the suffer-' ~ers, bs4 paid for eoarse and (tinder Grt?* cireumsTaucea) for sinful pleasure. To see behind aii -this, and to observe tho grotesque attitude of the devil, when he is trying to sham charity, is only necessary to connect the two ends of the scene—boisterous uproar over coarse fun on the Sabbath day, for the benefit of those'in the shadow of death and on the confines of a solemn eternity. God does not bless any such humbugs and shams. The London Freeman quotes from au address of Prof. Huxley at a recent meeting of the British Association. From the tone of this address wo should judge that Mr. Huxley’s mind is undergoing something of au “evo lution ” in regard to some of his more pronounced opinions. He spoke in the anthropological department, and the report says there were no fresh discoveries announced, but that an apologetic tone ran through the whole. Yet the theory of the antiquity of man, and that he exists in a fossil state, the product of a period long an tecedent to the Mosaic account, is still adhered to as au established truth. Prof. Huxley still insists that “ we have tho most astonishing accumula tion of evidence of the existence of man in ages antecedent to this. And that beyond all question man existed at a time when the whole physical conformation of the world was differ ent from what it is now.” But he admits that the evidence as to the time is of a very dubious character, and that there is not at present any positive knowledge on the subject. Per contra, the report of the proceed ings in another department of the As sociation is thus summed up: “ The run of things to day is very decidedly' in favor of the recent origin of man. In the geological section this question underlies the topics discussed. The glacial date of man in England had been very positively stated as found ed on the discovery of a portion of the arm bone of a man in one of the Settle eaves explored by' a committee appointed by the Asoociation. This determination had been made on the authority of Professor Busk, one of the committee. Mr. Tiddeman, the zealous secretary of the committee, had to-day, as his first work, to read a letter from Professor Busk, with drawing his opinion, and giving his judgment that the bone was that of a bear! Then Professor Dawkins, who has made the whole subject his own, by a large induction of facts showed that all the evidence of the contem poraneous existence of man with tho extinct animals in English caves sig nally failed, that there was no proof of any kind that man was pre-glacial or inter-glacial, and further, that even were it so, there is no proof that tho animals in question are of extreme an tiquity'. Other observations were made to the like effect as connected with various papers throughout tho day bearing on the subject. —Forgive ! Hon many will say “ Forgive,” and iind A sort of absolution in the sound To hate a little longer. Alfred Tehnyson.