has now reached its sixth edition, is intended to contribute towards widening the range of instruction in schools, by showing how much of information on popular science may be communicated, and how the ordinary branches of school education can be made most practically interesting, and, therefore, memorable to children. Everywhere throughout this little volume, we see the observing, sagacious, tact-possessing, practical man. The style is scarcely so good as we should have expected from a Church of England dignitary, but in the worth and weight of the writer, this is the more readily excused. Mr. Dawes may be surpassed by some of his brother deans as a man of acquirement; he may be no rival of Buckland, in physical science, or of Milman, in varied literature; he may be far inferior to Peacock, in mathematical lore, and to Gainsford, in Greek scholarship; but he may well consider it as no mean distinction that he has done far more than any of these eminent scholars for the advancement of popular education. He is evidently a liberal, enlightened, patriotie man, in whom the love of Christ has not deadened or even weakened the love of country. Mr. Mosely's pamphlet, originally an address to a union of Church of England teachers, is full of useful, practical, and Christian advice, though we should, perhaps, consider it in some respects a little one-sided. We commend both these works to the schoolmasters of our Church, now a considerable and an annually growing body. To ministers and School Committees the perusal of these works may also be recommended. To raise the teachers from within and from without is one of the great desiderata of the day. In their respective ways, Mr. Dawes and Mr. Mosely each effect this desirable object. Presbyterian Church in England. COLLEGE COLLECTION. By appointment of Synod, the annual collection on behalf of the COLLEGE FUND should be made in all our churches on the third Sabbath of November. At the last Meeting of SYNOD a full Report was presented by the Committee, wherein the past history, present position, and future prospects of the Institution were detailed; the same appeared in the June number of the "Messenger," to which the Committee would now refer. In regard to finance, it was then stated that a sum of 500l. would be required to meet liabilities between the rising of the Synod and the date of the annual collection, and this sum it was proposed to raise, not by a public appeal, but through private application to certain members of our Church. It was further stated that, to equalise the income and expenditure, there was required an increase on the former of 150l. per annum upon the average of the last six years. The effort to raise the above sum of 5007., having as yet not been successful to the full extent, the treasurers are again under advance; and upon the result of the present collection will mainly depend whether the hopes of the Committee and the urgent recommendation of the Synod will be realized, as regards the increase of the annual income. The Committee may be allowed to state, that they doubt if the claims of the College upon the liberality of our people have ever been sufficiently recognised, or adequately responded to; and, without instituting comparisons between this and other schemes of the Church, it may be remarked, that, whilst these can in some degree regulate their expenditure by their income, the College requires a certain annual outlay which it is impossible to diminish. The Committee therefore trust that the present appeal will meet with that liberal response which the importance of the Institution and its pecuniary necessities so urgently demand. The winter session was opened on the 3d instant, with a lecture by the Rev. Professor Campbell, whose health the Committee are thankful to state, appears now to be re-established; and they have further the pleasure to announce that he and his colleague, Professor Lorimer, will again have the able assistance of the Rev. Dr. Hamilton and the Rev. Thomas Alexander. By order of the Committee, Treasurers. College Hall, Great Ormond-street, 21st October, 1854. HOME MISSION FUND. 8 10 100 £1 Association, Bewcastle, per Mr. George Routledge Association, London Wall, London, per Mr. Wm. Tulloch SCHOOL FUND. Collections received to date as under £5 15 34 5 11 0 2 17 0 2 2 50 1 15 0 0 12 0 25 19 3 212 5 6 £238 4 9 JOHN HENDERSON, Treasurer. London Works, Birmingham, Presbyteries' Proceedings. PRESBYTERY OF NEWCASTLE. THE quarterly Meeting of this Presbytery The minutes of former Meeting were read and sustained. A question was put, whether anything could be done to secure a fuller and more regular attendance of members; whether it was not a rule of the Court that absent members should send a note to the Clerk stating the reason of their absence; and whether this rule had, in the present inThe Clerk stance, been complied with? intimated that he had received such a note from Mr. Henderson, of Seaton Delaval; and it is known to the Court that Mr. Gordon, of Hexham, is in very poor health. No communication had been received from any other member. Mr. Wrightson produced a schedule of queries from the Home Mission, addressed to Wark, with the answers thereto. This paper being read, was approved of, ordered to be signed, and transmitted. Session Records and Communion Rolls were ordered to be laid on the table of the Presbytery, at next Meeting, for attestation. The proposals regarding the College curriculum, transmitted for the consideration of Presbyteries by order of Synod, were read. After some observations from several members, it was agreed that, as these proposals have an important bearing upon the literary character of the future students of the Church, it is very desirable that each member of the Presbytery should give them his earnest consideration. For this purpose the proposals were remitted to a committee of the whole Court, to report at an early Meeting. Next quarterly Meeting to be held in John Knox's Session-house, Newcastle, on the second Tuesday of December. Closed 0 10 0 with prayer. 0 10 0 1 00 0 10 0 0 10 0 PRESBYTERY OF NORTHUMBERLAND. THE quarterly Meeting of this Presbytery was held at Alnwick on the 10th of October last. The roll being called, sederunt: Messrs. Hoy, Anderson, Lennie, Huie, Cathcart, Fergus, Bannatyne, Edmonds, Forsyth, and the Clerk. In the absence of the Moderator, Mr. Bannatyne, the ex-Moderator, took the chair. The minutes of last quarterly Meeting, and succeeding Meetings, were read and sustained. Communion Rolls, from Morpeth, Harbottle, Birdhope Craig, Thropton, Branton, Wooler, and Bavington, were produced, and ordered to be attested, which was done accordingly. Communion Rolls not presented to-day were ordered to be produced at next quarterly Meeting. Messrs. Anderson, Bannatyne, Cathcart, Edmonds, Fergus, Forsyth, Hoy, and Huie, reported that they had taken up collections for the School Fund. Mr. Blyth reported that he had made a collection for the Foreign Mission Fund. In regard to Birdhope Craig, Mr. Cathcart reported that he had preached there, and declared the church vacant, and that the congregation had been provided with regular supply for the pulpit. The Presbytery re-appointed Mr. Cathcart as Moderator of the Session at Birdhope Craig till next quarterly Meeting. The Session of Framlington gave in a Report, which was ordered to be kept in retentis. The members present reported that they had severally acted upon the recommendation of the Presbytery in regard to offering thanks to God for the late abundant harvest. The Presbytery agreed to take into consideration the proposals of the College Committee, sent down by the Synod, regarding the curriculum at next Meeting. The next quarterly Meeting to be held at Alnwick, on the second Tuesday in January, 1855, at twelve o'clock, in St. James's Church there. Closed with prayer. PRESBYTERY OF LONDON. THE Presbytery of London met on the 17th of October. The Rev. George M'Crie, of Clola, being present, was associated with the Presbytery: A letter was read from the Rev. Richard Smyth, stating that his health continued so delicate that he deprecated the completion of his settlement at Hampstead. Professor Lorimer, after expressing his admiration of Mr. Smyth's attainments and talents, and his regret that a hope so nearly realized, of having settled in the neighbourhood an alumnus of our own College, was about to be frustrated, moved that the Presbytery accept Mr. Smyth's resignation, whilst deeply regretting the necessity which occasioned it. After a warm tribute to Mr. Smyth's piety and abilities from Mr. Weir, the Motion was agreed to. A communication having been received from the Presbytery of Kelso, intimating that the appeal against Mr. Wright's translation from Morebattle had been fallen from, the Presbytery agreed that Mr. Wright's induction at Southampton should take place on the 16th of November, the services to be conducted by Messrs. Chalmers and Weir, and Dr. Hamilton. Professor Campbell, on behalf of William Brownley, Esq., announced that the latter gentleman had completed the building of a church, in the Caledonian-road, Holloway, which he was now prepared to hand over to the Presbytery. With a grateful recog nition of this renewed act of zeal and liberality on the part of Mr. Brownley, the Presbytery appointed Professor Campbell, and Messrs. Robertson and Watson (Elders), to confer with Mr. Brownley, and report to the Presbytery the various particulars regarding its tenure, &c. Intelligence. BRAMPTON.-The foundation-stone of a new Presbyterian Church was laid here on Thursday, the 28th ult., by Robert Barbour, Esq., of Manchester, in the presence of the Presbytery of Cumberland and ministers of other of people from the town and neighbourhood. denominations, together with a large concourse After an excellent sermon, preached in the old church, by the Rev. Joseph Burns, of Whitehaven, from Ephes. ii. 20, the Rev. P. R. Crole, minister of the congregation, gave an historical sketch of its rise and progress from the year 1649 down to the present date, taken from records of Session and other authentic documents. After the congregation was dismissed and had re-assembled on the site of the new church, the ministers present, accompanied by Mr. Barbour, and followed by the Elders and Deacons, walked in procession to the spot, where the 100th Psalm was sung by the people assembled. Mr. Crole then read the 3d chap. of Ezra, offered up prayer for the Divine blessing on the undertaking, and afterwards cally sealed, containing eight different docupresented Mr. Barbour with a bottle hermetiments, to be deposited in the foundationstone. On finishing his interesting part of the work, Mr. B. was followed by T. H. Graham, Esq., of Edmond Castle, who, though an Episcopalian, expressed his esteem for Presbyterian principles and his interest in the service was then concluded by praise and success of the congregation at Brampton. The the benediction. The whole proceedings, including an interesting Meeting held in the evening, were calculated to make a favourable impression upon the community at large. *List of documents deposited :-(1.) "English Presbyterian Messenger," Sept., 1854. (2.) The Bulwark; or, Reformation Journal for Sept.. 1854. (3.) "The Actings and Proceedings of Synod at Whitehaven, April, 1852." (4.) Sermon on Christian Charity," by the Minister of the Congregation. (5.) "Historical Sketch of the Congregation from 1649 to the present date." (6.) A Catechism on the Government and Discipline of the Presbyterian Church." (7.) The Assembly's Shorter Catechism." (8.) "The Edinburgh Witness" for Sept. 27. Children's Messenger. THE RELIGIONS OF CHINA. him, and laid great stress on the duties of children to their parents. But he did not discourse about God, and left his followers in the dark regarding Him. When he died he left about three thousand disciples, who held his memory in great reverence. Through them his doctrines were spread through China, and he is now held to be the greatest benefactor of the nation. So great is the reverence in which he is held, that the people pay him divine honours, and every year sacrifice in honour of him, at one of these festivals, no fewer than sixty-seven thousand animals, and offer to him some twenty-seven thousand pieces of silk. THE Chinese are a nation of idolaters. With all their learning, arts, and civilization they are sunk and degraded by ignorance about God, and dark and foolish superstitions. It would be quite impossible for me to describe to you a thousandth part of the many false gods of China. They meet your eye at every turn. Their manufacture is an extensive trade; their temples many; their priests almost without number; and as for themselves, why they are so numerous that you may find amongst them gods for almost all your eyes can light on, or your thoughts dwell on. Then they have gods of the earth, the air, and the sea; gods of fire, water, wind, rain, thunder, lightning; gods of the sun, moon, and stars; gods of the rivers, mountains, valleys, plains, fields, orchards, gardens, houses; gods of every form of disease, or affliction, or joy that can fall to the lot of man; gods of war and gods of peace; gods of the rich and gods of the poor; gods for all ages, all ranks, all offices, and all trades. Indeed, you can hardly speak of anything for which the Chinese have not invented a deity. Wherever you go, you see their temples lifting up their gaily ceiled towers, and as you walk down the streets, you see in every shop the image This is very nearly as old as the Confucian, of some presiding god. Some of these idols but very different. The Toouists are exare very large, beautifully carved, and orna-tremely superstitious, and practise magical mented in a very costly manner. Some are of wood, others of stone, others of metalas silver or gold; others of paper, and some are simply pictures and paintings of the gods. All these idols do not, however, belong to one system of idolatry; for there are three distinct forms of idolatry in China, and I must try to give you some right idea of each. 1. The first is called Confucianism. This is the religion of the State, and is that professed by the Emperor, the great officers of state, and the learned classes; but it has the smallest number of followers amongst the common people. It owes its existence to Confucius, a very wise Chinese philosopher, who was born 549 years B.C. When he grew up to be a man, he became Prime Minister to the then Emperor Loo, but afterwards retired into privacy, and then gave himself up to the study of government and morality. In his retirement he collected together several historical books and odes, and wrote some works containing very wise and moral teachings. He particularly insisted on every man doing to others as he would that others should do to Although Confucius did not give his followers a system of idolatry, they formed one for themselves, made a god of Confucius, and to him added a long list of venerated ancestors and others, so that now they have many gods. These gods are not all of equal rank, neither are they all worshipped with equal honours at the same time. Every year the Emperor, as chief, decides what gods shall be chiefly worshipped, and with what honours. 2. Next to the Confucian, comes the Toouist form of idolatry. arts. They are great believers in ghosts and demons, and pretend to be able to hold intercourse with them. They profess to have power over diseases so as to cure or produce them by the aid of evil spirits, and sometimes to be possessed by them. They utter wild and foolish sentences which are taken by their followers for their direction in cases when they are at a loss as to how to act. The deities worshipped by this sect are very numerous. At their head stand the Three Pure Ones, and in their list are found gods of fire, gods of the stars, and many others. 3. The third system of idolatry in China is that of Buddhism. The Buddhists came originally from India, and are the worshippers of Buddh. Their system was first introduced into China about the year 58, and it has now become the most popular and extensive superstition in the country. It is the same religion as that held by the Buddhists in India and Ceylon, and the worshippers of the Grand Llama of Thibet, and that practised in Siberia. In all these countries it varies a little in its forms, but it is still the same in its leading doctrines. In China Buddh is called "Fo," and is always represented as a young man. Buddh, the founder of the sect, is said to have been deified when a little above twenty years of age, and so is always represented as of about that age in all the figures of him. The leading doctrine of Buddh was, that all things came out of nothing, and that at last all things will go back to nothing. They do not acknowledge any supreme and eternal God, and their system is in reality only a sort of atheism. The priests of Buddh are very numerous, and live single lives, in little fraternities, very much like monks, being supported by the gifts of their followers. The worship of Buddh consists chiefly of the frequent repetition of his name, and the saying over and over again before his image certain prayers. The temples of Buddh in China are beyond number. Many of them are very splendidly adorned, and in all of them are large figures of their gods. This is a very brief view of the religion of the Chinese, but it will show you that, however clever and learned the people are, they are all without the knowledge of the true God, and ignorant of the way of eternal life. So, dear children, men can rise high, you see, in many ways, but without the Gospel of Jesus, never know God, and live without hope in the world.— Rev. C. H. Bateman. THINGS THAT ARE COMING. MANHOOD will come, old age will come, and the dying bed will come, and the very last look you shall cast upon your acquaintances will come, and the time when you are stretched a lifeless corpse before the eyes of weeping relatives will come, and that hour when the company will assemble to carry you to the church-yard will come, and that moment when you are put in the grave will come, and the throwing in of the loose earth into the narrow house where you are laid, and the spreading of the green sod over it-all will come on every living creature; and in a few years the minister who speaks, and the people who listen, will be carried to their long homes, and make room for another generation. Now, all this you know must and will happen-your common sense and common experience serve to convince you of it. Perhaps it may have been little thought of in the days of careless and thoughtless and thankless unconcern which you have spent hitherto : but I call on you to think of it now, lay it seriously to heart, and not longer to trifle and delay, when the high matters of death and judgment and eternity are thus set so evidently before you. |