means of primitive Methodism, we may easily foresee the changes which another century will produce.

Having read Mr. Lynn's book with much pleasure and profit ourselves, we most cordially recommend it to the perusal of our friends.

An Evening with the Pilgrim Fathers; being an Address given to the Church of the Pilgrim Fathers in Southwark, on the Manuscript History of Governor Bradford, recently discovered in the Library of the Bishop of London. By the Rev. John Waddington, Pastor of the Church. Published in aid of the Building Fund. London: B. L. Green. 12mo, pp. 32; stiff covers. THE manuscript volume referred to is an original history of the colony of the Pilgrim Fathers, founded at New Plymouth, in America, written by Governor Bradford between the years 1630 and 1650. The MS. was never published, and was lost sight of for many years, but lately discovered by Mr. Waddington in the Bishop's palace at Fulham. We have seen this venerable manuscript, and were present at the meeting when it was exhibited to the public, and heard the interesting and impressive lecture which Mr. Waddington delivered on the occasion. In fact, by the special request of Mr. Waddington, as a personal friend, it was made our pleasing duty to examine this important document, while he read various extracts he had copied from its pages, and to notify their literal correctness. A word or two may be necessary to explain the circumstances which led to its discovery. Mr. Waddington is the pastor of the church in Southwark which originated with the Pilgrim Fathers, some of whom were imprisoned, and others martyred, for their conscientious adherence to the truth. It is deeply interesting to find a church still existing whose origin may be distinctly traced to the men whose piety shone with a steady unflickering lustre in the days of Elizabethan persecution, and whose emigration to America laid the foundation of that great Republic, which now vies with the most powerful empires of the Old World in commercial enterprise, and is probably destined to become the mightiest nation on the earth.

The connection of the Southwark Church with the Pilgrim Fathers being a matter of traditionary belief, Mr.

Waddington has for several years devoted much of his leisure time to searching in the political and ecclesiastical archives of this country for such records as might illustrate the history and character of the worthies whose unfaltering testimony, blameless lives, and manly fortitude under sufferings, asserted the truth and freedom of Christianity towards the close of the sixteenth, and in the early part of the seventeenth, century. In this undertaking he has been singularly successful. Several precious documents has he discovered, which, though musty and worm-eaten, have brought to light facts of profoundest interest in relation to the struggles, the sufferings, and patient endurance of men of whom the world was not worthy. Some of these MSS. we have seen, and others have been published. The connection of the Southwark Church with the Pilgrim Fathers and martyrs is now rendered indisputable by the clearest evidence. As Mr. Waddington observes:

"We cannot be mistaken as to its origin, for we follow the light afforded by the original papers of the Elizabethan martyrs and confessors, who were the precursors of the pilgrims. Henry Barrowe, John Greenwood, Francis Johnson, and Henry Jacob, were in succession immured here in the Clink prison; and we have seen in their own handwriting the clearest proofs that they pointed the way to the subsequent founders of New England, The martyr Penry, who suffered here, undoubtedly gave the first signal to the Pilgrim Church (formed in the house of Roger Rippon, in 1592) to migrate to the New World. The original petition of its members, now in Her Majesty's State Paper Office, places the matter beyond dispute."

Some time ago Mr. Waddington discovered the papers of the martyr Penry, from which he collected materials for & life which he published of that sainted man, who in the year 1593 was put to death by Queen Elizabeth for his religious principles, not many yards from the spot where we are writing these words.

Since issuing the above work Mr. Waddington has discovered the manuscript of Governor Bradford in the palace of the Bishop of London. How the book got there is not known, for it was written in America more than two hundred years ago. After the death of the author it was deposited in

the New England Library, where it remained for about 100 years, but from that period was lost to the literary world until lately. When found by Mr. Waddington in the Bishop's palace, it was not in the catalogue of the library, and no fact could be ascertained as to the occasion of its deportation to its present resting place. The pamphlet before us contains numerous extracts from this document, with a fac-simile of the writing, and various interesting observations by Mr. Waddington on facts connected with the author's history, and the departure of the Pilgrims to America in 1620.

But what ought to be done with the manuscript? It was probably taken away among the spoils of the American War; and if so, it properly belongs to the people from whom it was taken. At any rate, as it was written by the Governor of the colony, himself one of the pilgrims, and contains, perhaps, the only current record of events as they occurred in the infant history of the state, it would be a graceful act on the part of British authorities, and an expression of kind and friendly feeling, to return it to our brethren across the Atlantic, that it may find a final resting place in the Pilgrim Hall of New Plymouth, where it would be appreciated as a most important document, and furnish valuable materials for a more complete history of the colony than has ever yet been published.

We thank Mr. Waddington for bringing this valuable manuscript before the public, and most earnestly do we wish him success in his enterprising efforts to erect a sanctuary, which shall stand to future ages as a suitable monument of the estimate in which the present generation holds the memory of the Pilgrim Fathers- an object worthy of the sympathy and support of all Denominations.

"Sacred Song." A Sermon preached in High-street Chapel, Huddersfield, January 3, 1858. By the Published Rev. John Ramsden.

by request. Brown, Huddersfield. THIS discourse is founded on Colossians iii. 16, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts unto the

Lord." Our brother considers the Nature, Object, Manner, and Results of this service of song. In reference to its Nature, he considers that the Apostle referred to the sacred poetry of the Old Testament, and hence he argues the propriety of Christians singing the poetical por tions of Scripture in public worship, but not to the exclusion of the hymns of pious and devoted men in modern times. The Object of Singing is next considered; the praise of Almighty God, the celebration of his perfections, and his wondrous works, especially the redemption of man. The Manner of this Service: -he would have care taken that the tune be adapted to the subject; he has no objection to musical instruments to direct and sustain the human voice; and he is favourable to the introduction of an anthem. The Results of this Service: the instruction, reproof, comfort, and joy of God's people, and the conversion of sinners. While agreeing with our brother in many of his views, and cordially uniting with him in his desire to render "the service of song" spiritual and profitable, we demur to the introduction of anthems as a part of our congregational worship, unless they be such as our congregation can unite in. We must ever remember that singing is, or ought to be, as much worship as prayer itself, and should be conducted in a manner as spiritual and devout as prayer is conducted. The great God whom we worship is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The Father seeketh such to worship him. What is it, then? "I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the understanding also. I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." No other worship can be acceptable to God.

Matthew Henry's Commentary. Pic

torial Edition. London: Partridge and Co., Paternoster-row. THIS is the first part of a new edition of the favourite Commentary

by Matthew Henry. It extends to Genesis xvii., and is to be completed in fifty-two parts, at one shilling each. The character of Henry's Commentary is so well known that we need not offer any remarks on it; but this edition is to be illustrated with 740 wood-engravings, and enriched with no less than an addition of 100 pages of closely printed matter, collected from the writings of Barnes, Wardlaw, Bridges, Henderson, Alexander, and Elliott. Thus this edition bids fair to be the best edition of Henry which has yet been published.

An Earnest Exhortation to Christian Unity; affectionately addressed to the Members of every Religious Community and Denomination. With an Appendix. containing Bishop Beveridge's Soliloquy on the Immortality of the Soul, and the Divinity of the Christian Religion. By the Chief of Sinners. 12mo, pp. 544.

THE design of the excellent author is praiseworthy, and the work is beautifully got up. Every good man will rejoice in benevolent efforts to heal the divisions of the church, and promote harmony and love among all its members. The style of the author is feeble and obscure.

Christian Missions in India. On the present state and prospect of Christian Missions in India; and the duty of the Churches at the present crisis of our Indian affairs. By the Rev. R. C. Mathers, M.A. London: John Snow.

A CALM, dispassionate, and sensible pamphlet on the state of India, and affording some valuable statistical information respecting Missionary labours in that country.

The City on Fire! an Open Air Address. By the Rev. T. Cartwright. Manchester: W. Bremmer, 11, Market-street; London: Frederick Pitman, 20, Paternoster-row; Liverpool: G. Thompson, London-road.

THERE are some rousing remarks in this address, and it is a discourse well adapted for usefulness to a popular audience. We congratulate Mr. Cartwright on his earnest and well-timed efforts to reach the masses by open-air preaching, and fervently wish success to his labours.

Poems. By William Tidd Matson. London: Groombridge and Sons. WE have neither time nor space to do justice to this handsome volume in our present number, but hope to be able to notice it in our next.

OUR CHAPEL FUND. THAT THE MUNIFICENT GIFT OF £500 BY J. WHITTAKER, ESQ., AND OF £1000 BY J. Love, Esq., TO THE GENERAL CHAPEL FUND (SUBJECT TO THE CONNEXION RAISING, WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR, AN EQUAL AMOUNT) BE MOST GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED; AND THE CONFERENCE RECOGNIZES THESE CONDITIONS AS NOT LESS JUST TO THEMSELVES THAN BENEFICIAL TO THE OBJECT; AND THE BRETHREN PRESENT, BOTH MINISTERS AND LAYMEN, PLEDGE THEMSELVES TO PUT FORTH THEIR UTMOST EXERTIONS TO RAISE THE SUM PRESCRIBED TO THEM, AND WILL GLADLY ADOPT THE PLAN LAID

DOWN AND PASSED BY THE CONFERENCE FOR CARRYING OUT THIS MOST IMPORTANT OBJECT.-Resolution 42, Conference 1858.

There is nothing of an external nature more essential to the consolidation and prosperity of a religious denomination, and especially of a Connexion, than the security and unembarrassed condition of its chapel property. Without these two things we may have prosperity one year and desolation the next. We may build up at one time, and an adverse season may crush us at another; or the fruit of our toils and the products of our liberality in this generation may be the spoil of the agitator

in the next; and our children may see the sanctuaries reared by their fathers alienated from them, to be the theatres of discord or souldestroying heresies. To avert these evils and secure permanence and prosperity, so far as human forethought and prudence can secure them to the Connexion, is the object of the Chapel Fund. This Institution began with small resources, and, like many good things in our world, met with a cold reception and feeble support, and had to struggle its way upwards, through difficulties and discouragements of no ordinary kind. Its plan has been to afford help on principles the most rational, equitable, and sound-stimulating to local effort by proportionate grants, guided, however, by a discriminating regard to the ability of the assisted trustees, and requiring, as a wise and just condition of Connexion help, a legal settlement of the Trusts in accordance with the Connexional Deed. On this feasible and equitable plan it has sought to enlist universal sympathy and help, and, by effecting a generous confederation of the strong with the weak, to drive out oppressive debts from the Connexion; and, instead of embarrassments, to create a revenue; to displace discouragement by inspiring confidence; and to supplant laxity by a common bond of reciprocity and legal security. It was strange indeed that an institution thoroughly practical, so obviously disinterested, and so generally beneficial, should meet with so much apathy. Yet so it was. Thousands on thousands sterling were cheerfully raised to do good abroad, while a few hundreds annually were all that could be extracted for the salvation of the Connexion at home. We censure not the former, for it was no more than our duty, but it was a species of benevolence strangely contrasting with a marked indifference to the immediate claims of home-claims enforced alike by prudence, Connexional sympathy, and common justice. With the exception of a few special and annual donations, equally honourable to the

SO

practical good sense and liberality of the donors, the income to the Chapel Fund has been a continual testimony to our shame; and had no event roused us from our indifference, the promises made in good faith to anxious trustees, who had honourably fulfilled their conditions, must have been either inevitably broken, or indefinitely postponed.

Thanks to a gracious Providence, however, a few practical minds have taken hold of this subject, with a decision and earnestness which have so fully succeeded in enforcing its claims, that they are not likely again to be so strangely forgotten or neglected. The excellent Mr. Barford, of revered and beloved memory, saw the advantages of the Chapel Fund looming in the distance; and both by his personal labours, in connexion with the secretary, Mr. Ford, his annual subscriptions, individual responsibilities, and, finally, his handsome bequest, helped forward the good cause with an unsparing hand. As his sainted spirit rose to the skies, his mantle was caught by others who, with more ample means, are actuated by the same generous principle, and guided by the same prac tical wisdom. It was impossible for these friends to have selected an object whose claims are so immediately imperative, and the benefits of which are likely to be so abundant and permanent. Every shilling laid out in relieving and consolidating our trusts is seed sown in good ground, that will yield a rich and durable harvest of advantages, and give to the Connexion a power for future operations which would require a fertile imagination to depict. Our chapels and our home population are doubtless the grand sphere for our present exertion, and whatever we may do in extending the field of our mission operations, these immediate and pressing claims of home must have our liberal support; and that support to be liberal must far, very far, exceed anything we have hitherto accomplished.

A challenge has been given-a most liberal one-which the Con

ference has accepted, and the conditions of which the Connexion at large must fulfil. The resolution at the head of this article expresses the terms and their acceptance. Friends who have previously helped this fund by annual donations of £100, besides large contributions for chapels in their own locality and elsewhere, now come forward to offer, the one £500, and the other £1,000, for the Chapel Fund during the present year, on condition that the whole Connexion raise a corresponding sum within the same period. The amount required from us is not large when compared with the whole Connexion, but it is large compared with preceding contributions. To meet this duty effectually we must look it full in the face; and it is needful to state that it will require three times the amount of last year to enable us to realize the noble benefactions of Messrs. Love and Whittaker. It is evident, therefore, that there must be an effort far beyond the usual appeals and contributions. There must be special subscriptions or donations for this object; and to secure a successful issue, there is no time to be lost. Four months of our Connexional year are already expired, the claims of other Connexional funds I will soon be here, and to prevent a collision of claims and an inconvenient pressure on our friends, a general canvass should be set about without delay. We stand pledged to the obligation, and have published our determination to the world, and we must accomplish it. We can succeed, and succeed we must. It would be an indelible disgrace to ourselves, as well as an affront to generous friends, to forfeit the advantages proffered to one of the best institutions of the Connexion.

We are rejoiced to see that the effort has commenced, and commenced too in good earnest, in the north of England. In the Durham circuit the handsome sum of £210 has been raised or promised in a few days, and this is accompanied with a pledge to make it up to £250, besides Mr. Love's donation of £1000.

Nor is this the gift of a few wealthy friends, but the result of a common effort-embracing the smallest donations of the poor, as well as the largest sums of the middle classes> and the wealthy. Let any one examine the list, and he will be delighted to see how general and wide-spread the effort has been. On looking at the minutes we find that the Durham circuit has only 284 members, so that the contribution of £250 goes far towards one pound for each member. Doubtless something must be set down to a degree of personal influence, which many other circuits may not be able to command; but if a proportionate amount were raised, we should have about £15,000 instead of £1500. Surely, then, there can be no difficulty in raising the amount required. It only needs a determination to do it, followed by the early use of proper means, and the thing will be accomplished. The treasurer of the Chapel Fund will be furnished with means to carry on its important objects, and the Conference be in a condition to meet many of the engage ments which have long since excited the eager but sometimes forlorn desponding hopes of our burdened trustees. Complete success, however, will depend on the unanimity of the effort. Each circuit must feel its individual responsibility, and depend not on others, but on itself. Let each circuit resolve on realizing for the present year three times the amount of the past, and then there will be neither unequal burdens nor ultimate failure. The next Conference will see the object realized, and every circuit will have the satis faction of having done its duty, and an excellent institution, too long ne glected, will be placed in a position of efficiency; and every penny now given will come back to the Con nexion in benefits and blessings, with compound interest. We beg to refer our friends to the appeal from the secretary of the Chapel Committee, which has just reached us while penning these closing remarks. (See the second page of our Wrapper of the present number of our Magazine.)