METHODIST NEW CONNEXION MISSIONS ΤΟ CANADA AND IRELAND, Where Fifty-five Missionaries are employed in proclaiming the Gospel of Christ. NOTICE FOR JUNE, 1848. TREASURER.-As the Conference is so near at hand, the Committee deem it unnecessary to appoint a successor to the lamented Jon. Thornhill, Esq., but have requested the SECRETARY, The Rev. W. Cooke, Salford, Manchester, to receive monies, and balance the accounts for the present year. CANADA. The Committee desire to inform the subscribers and friends of the Mission, that a Weekly Newspaper, called "The Christian Messenger," is published under the direction of the Canadian Conference. This Paper represents those principles of enlightened freedom, which distinguish our denomination, and is an important medium of communication between the different parts of our Mission. Though adapted chiefly to the interests of the Canadian Mission, it conveys a considerable amount of general intelligence, calculated to interest and profit our friends in this country. The Committee therefore, cordially, commend this Paper to the support of the members and friends of the Connexion in general. A year's subscription, paid in advance, is only 8s. 4d., and every additional subscriber, will strengthen the hand, and encourage the hearts, of our Canadian brethren. Will you, dear reader, send to the Secretary your name, as a subscriber to this paper? W. COOKE, SECRTARY. [FROM MR. CROFTS TO THE SECRETARY.] Toronto, Feb. 8th, 1848. Dear Brother,-I now proceed to give you extracts from other letters which I have received from our Missionaries. The following is from the Rev. J. Caswell, and is dated "Flambro' West, Jan. 11th, 1848. "My very dear Brother,-I trust that you will pardon my neglect, in not having given you an earlier account of the state of my circuit. I have waited to give you some encouraging information. I know it must rejoice and cheer you in your arduous labours, to hear of 'peace in our borders, and prosperity in our palaces.' I am very happy to state that God has not forgotten the Ancaster circuit. Since our last Annual Conference, we have had many refreshing showers of divine grace. Harmony and brotherly love prevail in our societies. Our congregations are generally large, attentive, and devout. And, I believe, they who are in church fellowship with us, are generally looking to Jesus, and desiring to be like him.' "Near the close of last year, I commenced a protracted meeting in Wily's school-house, on the mountain. My prospects were anything but encouraging; indeed, 'your labour will be thrown away in that place; it is the most hardened neighbourhood in the province,' saluted me on every side. But, depending on the blessing of God, though single handed, I was determined to meet the great Goliath; and, blessed be God, the 'pebbles' of gospel truth sank deep into many hearts, the mighty enemy gave back, and there was 'the shout of a king in the camp.' Se veral came forward with strong crying and tears, who, I trust, are now in possession of the Pearl of great price. I never saw greater solemnity rest upon any people. All seemed to feel that God was there. A few have joined the church, and as there appears to be a great awakening, I trust others will be led to give themselves to God and his people. A few days ago, I received the following encouraging letter, containing a four-dollar bill, from the young people in that neighbourhood. 'Nelson, Jan. 8th, 1848. 'Rev. and dear Sir,-It is with feelings of deep gratitude that we-the young people of this neighbourhood, would essay to address you at this time. Deeply sensible of your moral worth, as a man, we value you much; but, more particularly, we respect you for your gifts and graces, as a preacher of the everlasting gospel. And seeing that on a recent occasion your la bours were prolonged amongst us with unwearied and indefatigable zeal for our future well-being, we hereby tender you our united thanks; and, as the great apos tle of the gentiles tells us, that those who preach the gospel, should live by the gospel, we have felt it to be our duty to make up something, in a pecuniary way, to that end. The enclosed therefore, dear Sir, is respectfully offered for your acceptance, which, we sincerely hope and trust, you will be pleased to accept. That you, and your dear partner in life, may long enjoy the blessings of life-that you may, under the influence of divine grace, be the honoured agent in turning many from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, is the sincere desire of the youths of this locality. 'Signed on behalf of the young people, 'JOHN BREMNER, School Teacher.' 66 46 LANDSDOWN CIRCUIT. Mallory Town, Jan. 22nd, 1848. "Dear Brother Crofts,-I am thankful to you for your letter, bearing date the 3rd inst. All is right. I should be very glad if I could give you a more prosperous account of my circuit, but still I have no grounds for discouragement. been a year of great trial in these parts. This has There has been much affliction, and many deaths; yet the people do not manifest that great concern of mind, which ought to be exhibited under such visitations. We had a protracted meeting at Ganaroque, but we saw no visible good, done in this place; religion generally is at a low ebb. We have generally peace in our borders, and although, at present, I cannot write you of an increase, I think sincerely, we are bordering on better times than what we have had. We are taking up some new appointments, where the people have been much neglected, and where they at first manifested much carelessness about the preaching of the gospel; I believe the Lord will give us some fruit there. I am striving to wake up the church to the discharge of her duty, and then we shall see the wonders of God's love in the conversion of sinners." We have had a glorious week of it in Toronto, with our Missionary services. On Sabbath, the 6th instant, sermons were preached in the city and at Yorkville, on behalf of the Missions. evening, we held our Missionary meeting On Monday in the city. The chapel was filled- the speeches were excellent, the interest was kept up to the close; the collections and subscriptions, at sermons and meetings in the city, amounted to more than £46. On Tuesday evening, we had a Missionary Tea Meeting: nearly three hundred were present; there was everything to please. A couple of speeches were made, and the singers gave us some excellent pieces; all separated at ten o,clock, highly delighted with the proceedings of the evening. The proceeds of Tea Meeting, after paying expenses, will be £12 10s. evening we held another Missionary On Wednesday meeting in our chapel at Yorkville, which was indeed a good one in every sense. The speaking was excellent, and the collections on sabbath, and the subscriptions last evening, umounted to £10 3s. 9d. This makes in all, on the Toronto City circuit, £68 13s. 9d. It will be seventy pounds by the conference. The friends have done nobly, after having done so much for chapels. This evening I have just returned from opening a small chapel near the Blue Bell, à very destitute part of the suburbs of the city, about two miles and three quarters from the market place; we had a good attendance, and a good collection. in this place. We hope to do much good Since writing the above, I have received several other letters from our Brethren on different parts of the Mission, but it is utterly beyond my power to copy them now; I start in the morning on a Missionary tour, through the Hamilton, Ancaster, and Welland Canal circuits. Many interesting notices of what we are doing in Canada, appear in the Christian Messenger, which I think you would do well to extract for the Missionary notices. As far as I can learn, all our brethren here are at work, and labouring hard, to extend the cause in various ways. Yours, affectionately, H. O. CROFTS. MALAHIDE. "The Rev. F. Weaver, writes under date of Jan. 28, 1848:-'Dear Brother, the Malahide Mission is progressing. our classes are now very promising. We Some of held a protracted meeting in the township of Bayham, when sixteen united with the society, and they are likely to be useful in the church of God. We have also formed another very interesting class near the village of Vienna. The people in this neighbourhood have endured ecclesiastical intolerance for ten years, but they will endure it no longer. We have no doubt but the friends of freedom will give this people a hearty welcome. Though Bro. Weaver is the tallest man in our connexion in Canada, yet he writes the shortest letters, and the above is all he says about one of the most interesting revivals that has taken place in Western Canada for some years. "Brothers Weaver and Williams have commenced another protracted meeting in Bayham, which, if possible, exceeds in interest the one above referred to, but of this they have not written me at present. However, I have learned from another of our ministers, who assisted them for several nights, that when he left them on the 13th of February, forty souls had obtained the pardon of sin, and there were about forty more seeking mercy. The school-house is crowded to excess every night, and num bers have to go away because they cannot get admittance. Under these circumstances, the friends circulated a subscription for the building of a chapel, and three hundred dollars were raised for that purpose in two or three days. Several interesting cases of conversion to God were related to me, which took place while my friend, to whom I am indebted for this information, stayed with them; but one in particular is worthy of notice. "An old sinner, and a notorious fighter, who was the terror of that region of country, was pricked in the heart, and after seeking God for several nights, with strong crying and tears, obtained mercy. After obtaining the Pearl of great price, he stood up, and in a simple manner confessed what God had done for him, and earnestly begged the forgiveness of his neighbours, for having so frequently abused them. When he was thus engaged, an old antagonist of his came in, and stood at the door; (he had been fighting with him only a few days before,) and when he saw him, he pressed through the crowd, took his hand, begged his forgiveness, and began to exhort him to seek religion: the man burst into tears, and at the threshold they both knelt together. It was a sight which melted all present, to see these two old antagonists kneeling together, and the one that was converted, wrestling with God for the conversion of the other: and surely, Sir, there would be joy in the presence of the angels of God at that sight. Whether this meeting is closed or not I do not know." GOULBOURNE. The Rev. F. Shilton, writes under date of Feb. 17th, 1848: 'Dear Brother,-I received your letter containing a remittance, with thankfulness. In Fitzroy the cause is rising; instead of preaching in three places, I have now six appointments. In Huntly our congregation is trebled; I am just commencing a protracted meeting, and hope it will prove successful. In Goulbourne I have made two efforts to hold protracted meetings in vain, on account of the bad roads-the same cause has crippled our efforts in many ways. In Marlborough I have formed a new class, of eighteen persons: these have been brought from the world. Temporal matters in this region of country are in a bad state. The lumber trade has failed-potatoes have rotted-the fly has destroyed the wheat. I have had to spend £6 of my Missionary allowance for eatables. My very heart bleeds for the destitution of the poor. It is admitted by all that there never was such a year of poverty and disease in these parts. Our prospects on coming here were most cheerless, they are now brightening. It cost me upwards of seven pounds to come to the circuitI have not as yet been able to get one farthing of this. Please to observe, that want of sleighing is the great cause of this failure. Our circumstances will soon be better I trust. In Fitzroy, and Huntly, and Marlborough, there is every prospect of increase, and I do hope, by next Conference, we shall have a great ingathering. My heart is alive to the good of the cause, and I feel determined to do all in my power to promote its interests. Though, through the depression of public business, our finances are, and will be low: yet I do not feel discouraged, but greatly encouraged. We have harmony in all ovr borders-our congregations are growing, and I have no doubt we shall have a respectable increase by conference.' OWEN SOUND. On the Owen Sound, I learn that our brother Coates is labouring very efficiently and very successfully; but another man is much needed there. We have now four chapels either finished or in the course of erection. Our Missionary is now the only one that labours on that line of road, which is upwards of seventy miles in length. There are between three and four thousand souls in that line of road, dependant entirely on Brother C. for the word of life. We shall want about six additional labourers next Conference, but where they are to come from I know not; we cannot get them here. I do not think that christians pay that attention which they ought to Matthew, ix., 37, 38; if they did, we should not be so short of labourers. Under date of March 20th, 1848, Mr. Crofts again writes: You will be glad to learn that God is graciously reviving his work among us, in Toronto. We are holding a series of special services, which commenced last Tuesday evening, and we have already received some special tokens of Jehovah's presence and blessing. These services are to continue at least through the present week. On Friday evening last, we had some in distress for their sins, and others earnestly seeking a deeper work of grace in their hearts, and on yesterday (sabbrth) our congregations were much larger and more attentive than usual. I have to preach every evening in the week, and visit as many families as possible, each day accompanied with Brother Rolston, who most zealously seconds my endeavours, and takes charge of the prayermeetings after preaching. We have had two remarkable cases of conversion, during the two past weeks, through the blessing of God on our visits. The one was an individual named Armstrong, who was not a hearer with us. He was sick, and earnestly desirous to obtain the pardon of sin. One of our members called upon me to go and visit him. I could not accompany him, but Brother Rolston went, and plainly and pointedly directed him to the Saviour, and then besought the throne of grace on his behalf. In half an hour after Mr. Rolston's departure, he obtained redemption, through the blood of Christ, even the forgiveness of of Christ, even the forgiveness of his sins, according to the riches of his grace. In company with brother Rolston, I visited him last week, and found him happy in God, and rejoicing in hope of the glory that is to be revealed in us. The other case was that of a Mr. Hogan, a shoe-maker, who has been a regular hearer with us, since the opening of our chapel. Some time ago he was convinced of sin, and began to meet in class with us, but he did not obtain religion, yet kept seeking. After my late tour, I missed him from the chapel, on the first Sabbath morning I preached. In the evening, I observed him there, and after preaching, he pressed up to the foot of the pulpit, and I saw at once that he was sick. He told me he was in a decline, and he feared that that would be the last time he would be able to get to the house of God, and then, with tears in his eyes, he desired me to visit him. I went the next morning, with Mr. Rolston and his class leader, and we found him desiring religion, but still destitute of the favour of God. We conversed and prayed with him, and then left him. On Tuesday last, in company with Brother Rolston, I visited him again, and when I looked at his wasting frame, I felt deep sympathy, and talked both very seriously and very closely. He burst out into a flood of tears, and asked with overpowering emotion, "How shall I know that my sins are forgiven?"--this question shewed me at once where he stood, and if ever the Spirit of God assisted me, it was in making plain to that trembling soul the way of salvation, through Christ. We both prayed with him, and then sung, and left him in the hands of a compassionate God. On Wednesday evening after preaching, I mentioned his case to the meeting, and begged the friends to pray for him, which they did most fer vently. On Friday, Mr. Rolston again Yours, affectionately THE LATE JONATHAN THORNHILL, Esq., OF STOCKPORT. At a Meeting of the Missionary Committee, held in Manchester, April 17th, 1848, the following resolution was unanimously adopted : "The Committee, in contemplating the painful dispensation, by which the late Jonathan Thornhill, Esq., the highly esteemed Treasurer of the Missions, has been suddenly called away, by death, from a sphere of usefulness, cannot but express their poignant sorrow, and their deep sense of the loss sustained, both by the Mission and the Connexion in general. The Committee feel it a duty to record their sincere respect for the character of their lamented friend, and their high. estimate of the services, which, for the space of nearly twelve years, he bad so cheerfully and efficiently rendered to the Mission: especially during a period when its depressed finances required that assistance which his station and ability enabled him to render. But while the Committee mourn over his departure, they rejoice to know that he was graciously supported during his affliction, by the consolations and hopes of religion, and they cherish the blessed expectation of meeting him again in their Father's house above. The Committee would also recognize their duty of entire submission to the will of God, neither impugning his wisdom, questioning his goodness, nor distrusting his faithfulness, but humbly casting themselves at his feet in profound resignation, and earnestly imploring such interposition of his Providence as may supply the present vacancy in our ranks, and such a measure of sanctifying influence from his Holy Spirit, as may render our bereavements and trials subservient to the spiritual good of the community, and productive of his own glory." Manchester, April 19th, 1848. WILLIAM COOKE, SECRETARY. THE METHODIST NEW CONNEXION MAGAZINE JULY, 1848. BIOGRAPHY. MEMOIR OF MRS. ANNE EVANS, BY REV. L. SAXTON. MRS. EVANS was born at Stourport, Worcestershire, August 30th, 1798. She had the advantage of a religious education; her parents being members of the Wesleyan Body. At a very early age she became impressed with the value of her soul, and the great importance of religion; and was remarkable for her thoughtful and serious demeanour, and the attention she manifested to the ordinances of God's house. Never, in early life, did she evince any desire for what is so common and so fatal among young persons generally-idle gossip, and a devotion to the giddy round of worldly pleasures. The things she loved, and to which she devoted herself, were of a better, purer, and more enduring character. She had found "a more excellent way," and in that way she walked. To the cultivation of her mental powers, and the acquisition of useful knowledge, she applied herself with becoming diligence, and with no inconsiderable degree of success. In several branches of knowledge she had, at a comparatively early period, become a tolerable proficient. The study of history was, from the days of her childhood, one of her favourite pursuits. At the age of ten years she had read, not in a cursory manner, but with care and attention, the whole of "Rollin's Ancient History," the leading facts of which she never forgot. This circumstance she mentioned some time before her death, in a conversation with her sons on the subject of reading. While, however, she paid unremitting attention to the improvement of her mind, and the attainment of other descriptions of knowledge, she never undervalued that which the Bible alone can supply. Other fields she explored, and with a thankful heart shared the pure pleasures they are capable of affording; but still the Bible held the first place in her estimation. U |