He admitted that if Swedenborg was judged by the creeds and popular teaching, and they could be proved to be true, then Swedenborg was in error, but contended that if measured by the Scripture standard, then the charges brought against him were unsustained and unsustainable. There was a very good attendance, and the lecture was listened to with interest all through, with the exception of occasional interruptions from Mr. Walsh, which, however, were speedily put a stop to by others in the room. At the close, an animated discussion took place, in which several gentlemen took part. One gentleman of Christ Church spoke favourably of the writings, and commended their perusal to all present. Mr. Walsh proposed a resolution, 'That in the opinion of this meeting the writings of Swedenborg are not worthy of being read by Christians.' A gentleman, who said he was not a Swedenborgian, proposed as an amendment, 'That in the opinion of this meeting the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg are worthy of being read and studied by all intelligent people.' On being put to the meeting, the resolution was carried by the narrow majority of four hands, but considering the fact that a great part of Mr. Walsh's supporters were mere boys, evidently taken there for the purpose, the friends of the New Church believe the lecture was a success."

SNODLAND.-The Rev. W. O'Mant, of Leeds, visited this Society in August, and gave two Sabbath's services, which were warmly appreciated. He did good service to our cause also by giving a lecture "On Swedenborg and his Claim and Mission," on the lawn opposite to Mrs. Hook's house. There was a good attendance, and a useful conversation followed. Rev. Mr. Marsden, the minister of the Society, has carried forward this matter every Wednesday evening since by giving lectures on " Heaven," a subject on which every one ought to have intelligent views. The Maidstone Telegraph newspaper called the attention of the public to Mr. O'Mant's lecture.

Birth.

Obituary.

Departed this life, on the 7th of October, in his 74th year, Mr. John Broadfield, of Cheetwood, Manchester.

Of a man whose modesty and humility were so characteristic, this simple announcement might for some reasons be considered a sufficient epigraph. He himself would have wished for no public eulogy, and it may be confidently said that the memory of his good deeds, the recollection of his sweetness, his gentleness, and his wisdom, will convey to his friends a far more faithful estimate of his career and character than any written words can. But it would be a strange omission if the desire to see some record of Mr. Broadfield's life in these pages were not gratified; and though this can only be attempted briefly and hurriedly, it will perhaps be more acceptable now than later.

Mr. Broadfield was born at Bridgnorth in 1803, and his love for the city and county of his adoption never made him forgetful of his ". own romantic town. One of the last of a long series of excursions with his grandchildren, which was made in the spring of the present year, included a visit to Bridgnorth, where it was his delight to renew the pleasures of his youth, and point out to those so dear the scenes of many pleasant memories. In 1817 Mr. Broadfield came to Manchester, where he served his apprenticeship, and if his biography should ever be written, it must be seen that the sincerity, rectitude, and manly independence, which were so conspicuous in his after life, were no strangers to his early years. After his marriage in 1824 he began to attend the services at Peter Street, and at a very early period he was attracted by the beauty, consistency, and, above all, by the practical character of the New Church doctrines. Among his papers have been found a series of admirable notes and studies suggested by sermons of the then minister to the Society, the Rev. R. Jones, and the careful and conscientious examination of the doctrines he was able to make soon strengthened convictions and aspirations which knew no enfeebling during the rest of his life. He speedily won the affectionate regard of the little band of worshippers who constituted the Society of Manchester and Salford, and

On the 17th October, at Colinfield, Wigan, the wife of Mr. John Johnson, F.M.S., Head Master of the New Jerusalem Schools, of a daughter.

he gained the friendship of many whose names will long be held in honourable remembrance. He very soon began that career of usefulness in the Peter Street Society which continued to the last, and he looked back to this connection as the means of his greatest blessings in life. He was appointed representative to Conference as early as 1830, which office he filled no less than twenty-nine different times, almost uninterruptedly from 1851 to the present year; the only exceptions being 1869, when he was in Germany, and 1874, when illness prevented his going to London. He had been a Trustee of Conference since 1846, and of the value of his services in both capacities it is needless to speak. Of the Manchester Tract Society he had been an active member since its foundation, and his services as Treasurer to the Manchester and Salford Missionary Society extended back to a period of nearly forty years. For an equally long period he had been an active friend, first to the Manchester and Salford Free Day Schools, and when these institutions were separated, to the Peter Street Day School. Of the Sunday School Union he was also a consistent friend, and had been a Trustee of its Building Fund from its establishment. Of Mr. Broadfield's relationship to the Peter Street congregation it would not be easy to give an adequate idea to outsiders, but it may be truly said that to advance the external and internal prosperity of this Society had been one of the chief occupations of the last twenty years of his life. He had been intimately connected with its management, and had filled various of its offices for nearly fifty years, and perhaps nothing could better testify to the affectionate regard in which he was held than the following letter from the Committee to the members of his family, who have acceded to a request that it should appear in these columns:

"Dear Friends,-On our own behalf, and as representing the Peter Street Society, we desire to give some written expression of our grief and theirs on account of the loss of our dear friend Mr. Broadfield. It is indeed no ordinary bereavement that we, with you, are now called upon to deplore. Mr. Broadfield's connection with the Society began so far back, and lasted unbroken through so many years, was motived by

an affection so warm and strong, so generous and fruitful, it led to his filling offices in the Church so numerous, and gave him opportunities, never neglected, for faithful and cheerful performance of duties so varied and important, that we cannot refrain from making some reference to them. As Treasurer, Trustee, Member of the Church Committee, Superintendent of the Sunday School, Representative in Conference, and Member of the Conference Council, -as an ever generous contributor of time, labour, money, and influence, to the Missionary, Tract, and other institutions of the Church,-our beloved friend rendered services as real efficient as they were warm-hearted and untiring. Never had the New Church a more loyal supporter. His thoughts. and affections delighted to act as its fostering fathers and its nursing mothers; and his public and private efforts for its good were so comprehensive, unselfish, earnest, and unflagging, that not all his unassuming reluctance to have them spoken of could prevent them from being very highly appreciated, both in this country and abroad, wherever New Church principles are cherished.

and

"With the Peter Street Society Mr. Broadfield's identification-long, close, and affectionate-was throughout most acceptable to his fellow-members, and eminently beneficial. His power of attaching others to principles he held dear, his zealous and persistent promotion of concord and goodwill, his ability and readiness to give wise counsel and cordial co-operation wherever required, enabled him to act as a uniting bond and consolidating force in the Society, very powerfully conducing to its prosperity, and to no mean extent lightening the pastoral labours and responsi bilities of its ministers. In these and many other respects we are very painfully aware that the loss of Mr. Broadfield must long be felt to be absolutely irreparable.

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"In the midst of our sorrow it is yet a pleasure to all of us to remind ourselves of the many felicities of this life which seemed to cluster congenially about our beloved friend. Endowed, while still in unbroken vigour, with leisure to devote his energies to that kind of work for the Lord and the Church which he most ardently delighted in, he was expressly happy in

this, that whatever his hand found to do he could do abundantly as well as with all his might. In his case, will, opportunity, and means were usually in a concurrence as delightful as in the case of others it is rare. Highly blest in the affluence of family affection surrounding him, and to which his heart so adequately responded, possessed, besides, to the last of

'All that should accompany old age, As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends,'

his seemed to be a visible exemplification in this lower world of the lot of the man whose blessedness is portrayed in the 128th Psalm :-‘Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in His ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion; and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel.' No one who knew Mr. Broadfield could fail to be aware that these felicities, to which we have ventured thus to advert, grew to a very large extent out of his qualities and character. It is delightful to know that they can only be enhanced and multiplied in his eternal home. Still, as ever, but far more than ever, the heaven within him must continue to produce a heaven around him. He will not need to relinquish the principles he so faithfully stood by whilst here. The life lessons he learned and practised so well amongst us he will not be now required to gainsay. The work he most intensely enjoyed whilst on earth will continue to engage his energies and rejoice his heart through all the eternal years. He will still, in the interior sense of the words, eat of the labour of his hands;' 'happy will he be, and it will be well with him.' Translated into the higher meaning of the promise, and with correspondingly elevated and augmented felicity, the Lord will still 'bless him out of Zion; and he shall see the good of Jerusalem all the days of his life,' a life that can know no end. Yea, he shall still see his children's children, and peace upon Israel.' "And now, dear friends, commending you to the Divine Source of all consola

tion, we remain, yours in loving and sorrowing sympathy,

"THE COMMITTEE." Until a few months ago, Mr. Broadfield enjoyed generally excellent health, and though he had not been so vigorous as usual during the early part of the summer, neither he nor his family were at all alarmed. He attended the last meeting of the Conference at Accrington, and spoke several times in his own characteristically forcible manner, both in Conference and at one of the public meetings. But a week or two afterwards he was compelled to remain in-doors; up to within a few days, however, of his departure, it was hoped that he might rally for a time, but the end came somewhat suddenly, and on the morning of the 7th of October he passed gently to

his rest.

Of Mr. Broadfield's private virtues more might be said than is possible now. In his lifetime it was his wont to minister and assist without letting his good deeds be known, and some of these have only come to light since his departure to his eternal home. In the hearts of a multitude of those who mourn his loss, there will remain the indelible impression of timely counsels, of seasonable aid in trials, of comfort in sorrow, or of a strong and guiding hand in hours of darkness. Among the numerous testimonies to his goodness and wisdom which grateful and sympathetic hearts have uttered since his removal, these are the words of good old men, his friends in past years, who have found his influence their best earthly hope; of some who look back to his generous assistance as the initial step of their success in life; of others who have been kept in the way of honour and virtue by his sympathy and encouragement; and of those who have been his colleagues and associates in works of well-doing.

Nor is it easy to define the distinguishing fruits of his character and the element of that charm which many realized in his very presence, and he had a firm conviction of the nearness of the other world, and an equally firm trust in Providence. He never doubted that if men would so regulate their thoughts and affections, that the Lord could be with them, peace and happiness would ensue; but he always insisted in the absolute necessity of co-operation with the Lord. He was charitable in the