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drawn a number of persons from the town and its vicinity, who became stated worshippers at Chapel-Fold, it became necessary that greater facilities for worship should be provided, and, consequently, the Temperance-Hall was engaged, and for some time occupied; but as this did not in several respects furnish all the convenience needed, a part of the Cloth-Hall has been more recently taken, and fitted up at about £30 expense. A school has been already established, and is continued with hopeful indications of success; through the liberality of friends, a great part of the sum needed has been already subscribed.

REMOVALS. The Rev.J.Voller having resigned the pastoral charge of the Baptist church, Great-George-Street, Salford, Manchester, a number of friends, connected with the church and congregation, desirous of evincing their esteem for his character and services, met on Thursday, 30th Oct. last, in a social party, and presented him with a handsome copy of the works of President Edwards. The presentation was made by the Rev. Dr. Massie, in a kind and fraternal spirit, and appropriately acknowledged by Mr. Voller. Mr. Voller has since accepted a unanimous and cordial invitation from the Baptist church at Bishop-Burton, near Beverley, and commenced his labours there on the first Sabbath in December.

Mr. Liddell has resigned the pastoral charge of the Baptist church at Rawden, having entered into an engagement in connection with the church at PembrokeStreet, Liverpool.

The Rev. J. Morris, of Burton-uponTrent, has received an invitation to take the charge of the church in York-Street chapel, Manchester.

THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST.Rev. xiii. 18.-Professor Benary of Berlin, has shewn that the name of Nero, the first and most terrible persecutor amongst the Roman emperors, when written in Hebrew characters, amounts exactly to 666 in one way, and to 616 in another way of spelling

it. Now from the earliest times, both 666 and 616 occur in the manuscripts; how can such a coincidence be accounted for but by its accordance with truth? It is also remarkable that Nero is the sixth king of the Roman empire, according to the reckoning of Josephus, and the best Roman historians, (Rev. xvii. 10.) Also, that both before and after his death, it was long believed, with terror, throughout the Roman empire, that he should be wounded mortally, and reappear again, to take vengeance on his enemies. Galba was the 7th, "he remained but a short time."-(See Stuart on Rev. Exc. iii. iv.)

We are

THE NONCONFORMIST. pleased to observe that this valuable journal is to be rendered far more interesting

as a family newspaper, by enlargement to the extent of two pages, and by articles furnished by a greater variety of writers. We cordially wish it increased success. Dissenters are under deep obligations to its able and fearless editor. It has led them to reflect upon their noble and divine principles, and to perceive the duty of advocating them firmly at the present time. We trust the proposed alterations will obtain a great addition of readers; we only regret that every dissenting family has not seen all the past numbers.

THE BAPTIST RECORD.-Our Pædobaptist brethren have pronounced the Record to be the most "scholar-like" magazine belonging to our denomination. We think the editors of our other periodicals will not be jealous of praise which must be acknowledged to be justly due. It comprises indeed the usual amount of missionary and other intelligence given by other sixpenny periodicals; but its peculiar merit is that of introducing many articles of a higher cast than have hitherto been deemed popular. We should think it will be a favourite with our ministers and educated young people. We can testify that it is so to the extent to which we have known of its circulation.

A WORTHY EXAMPLE. The little Baptist church and congregation at ChapelFold, near Dewsbury, have been heavily pressed with debt, since the erection of the chapel in 1821. The friends there are all labouring people, and some of them very poor; yet they have in the past year, with much zeal, perseverance, and liberality, entirely freed their place of worship from this encumbrance. The amount of money needed was £230. £190 were raised on the spot, and £40 have been received by Mr. Allison from friends at a distance.

JOHN BUNYAN.-Amongst the names of individuals of whom statues are to be erected in the new Houses of Parliament, is that of honest John Bunyan !

BAPTISMS. On the first Sabbath in December, seven persons were baptized in Westgate chapel, Bradford. At least two thousand persons were present to witness the ordinance.

Goodall-Street, Walsall.-On Lord'sday, December 7, three persons were baptized by Mr. Williams.

MARRIAGE. In Westgate Chapel, by the Rev. H. Dowson, on the 16th ult. Mr. Wm. Whitehead, worsted-spinner, of Bradford, to Miss Mary Townend, daughter of the late Mr. Townend, woolstapler, of Bradford.

Leeds:

PRINTED & PUBLISHED BY J. HEATON, No. 7, Briggate;

To whom all communications for the Editors must be addressed, before the 15th of the month.

The effort is noble, and demands our grateful acknowledgments. "The Church" has trebled its circulation during the present year. Still it does not occupy the position it should fill in the cheap literature of the day, nor wield the influence it ought in the body to which it belongs. We want it to be introduced into every Baptist family, to become the monthly companion of every young Baptist, and to augment the usefulness of all in the cause of Christ.

We are anxious to see the wish of one of our contemporaries realized, that the circulation of "The Church" may reach 20,000 copies monthly, before the close of the year. Start not, gentle reader! The proposal is not great! Its accomplishment not difficult! Can it be done? Why not? Let us see.

In the Northern counties we believe there will be found upwards of 12,000 members of our own body. Add to these the regular hearers, who are not members, and we may fix upon 30,000 persons as instructed in our views of truth. Of these, upwards of 3,000 are Sunday-school teachers young persons of both sexes, who have devoted themselves to a noble work, and who need all the aid which can be supplied, to fit them for it. Are we asking too much, when we say that a circulation of 3,000, in the North alone, should be secured for "The Church ?" It is only for every Sunday-school teacher to take it, and the work is done.

But "The Church" wishes to circulate every where. The editor of the Baptist Magazine was quite mistaken in speaking of it as specially adapted to the North. Our January number contains no article of merely local interest; but is equally suited to all parts of the kingdom. Probably the members of our churches amount to about 110,000 persons, and if we take half a

VOL. III. ENLARGED SERIES.

THOUSANDS?

Now

million as associated with our congregations, we shall be below the mark. are we too sanguine in fixing upon 20,000 as the amount of our monthly sale, amongst some 5 or 600,000 individuals? Besides, we imagine that of this number, not less than 15,000 are engaged in our Sabbathschools.

"The Church" is emphatically the poor man's church. Its cheapness is beyond all question. There is nothing like it in the annals of Baptist literature. We have taken the trouble to compare some periodicals with "The Church." The Baptist Reporter for January, contains in round numbers about 162,800 words, or 54,000 for a penny; the Baptist Magazine, for the same month, about 144,500, or 24,060 for a penny; and "The Church," for the same period, 64,650 for a penny!! For the present, we own Dr. Campbell exceeds us in quantity. He has supplied about 89,100 words for a penny. But why should he? We honour his name, owe a debt of gratitude to his enterprise; but we would emulate his example, we would equal his sucMay we not do it? The labour of the editors is gratuitous. The profit of "The Church" will be appropriated to its enlargement, and its improvement, which will be limited only by the zeal and cooperation of its friends. Let our readers aid us, and "The Church" may be, in point of cheapness, the first, as it is now the second, religious periodical in the world.

cess.

need this. Piety is low, we fear, in our churches. Form exists, profession abounds, but the spirit of true devotion is feeble. We wish to see it taking a loftier aim, and exhibiting its power in "works of faith and labours of love." The efforts of the editors will be in this direction, and for this end.

Alone, the editors

But we want aid. will be powerless. Their brethren must support them. The energy of thousands

will do what the feebleness of the few cannot. Give us a circulation of 20,000 monthly, and we shall command the chief element of power. Our means of usefulness will then be vastly augmented, and the power which our friends confer, will be repaid with great interest.

To the PASTORS of our churches we turn with deep anxiety. We ask their aid. They can do what we want. Let them link their influence with the undertaking, and we cannot fail. A word from them will secure our wishes, and establish our work. "The Church" is their friend. It will sustain their influence, aid their usefulness, and co-operate with them in seeking the conversion of souls, and the glory of God. The experiment is newit is important. Commend it then, brethren, from your pulpits, show it to your people, and our wished-for circulation will be realized, and our success secured.

To the friends of our youth, and to our self-denying SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS, we shall not appeal in vain. They will become some of our most valued co-operators, and our support will be mutual. We have long sympathized with their efforts, and will aid them in their important work. We shall try to enlist the sympathies, the efforts, and the prayers of the church in their behalf; and elevate those institutions to a higher position, in the estimation of the wise and holy. Aid us, then, in our noble undertaking. Not only let each one

take "The Church," but let all recommend it to their friends. The senior scholars in our schools may read it with profit.

That such a work is needed, we have testimony from all quarters. A minister from Ireland writes, Your work is one that is much wanted, and I will try to get as many of them as I can taken here." Another says, "I have read the first number with pleasure. It bids fair to be use ful. As a body, we wanted a cheap publication,-one intelligent, but yet adapted to the mass of the community. Yours is remarkably cheap, and as excellent as it is cheap. We must circulate it by thousands. 20 or 30,000 monthly should issue from your press." This is what we want.

Romanists are issuing their cheap works by thousands, from their press at Derby. Infidelity is polluting the public mind, through the medium of cheap literature. The Congregationalists are seizing hold of this important element of power, and working it nobly. The first number of their Christian's Penny Magazine, has had a circulation of 60,000. The rising mind of the community is hungering and thirsting for an improved aliment on which to feed. Our own body is occupying an increasingly important and responsible position, in relation to the church and the world, which only increased intelligence, and the most ardent love of the truth, will enable us to maintain. It is the full importance of these and other considerations before us, that prompts us to appeal for help.

We want a resting-place in every Baptist cottage. We want a sanctuary in every Baptist heart. Give us this, and our power shall not be abused; but shall supply additional motive for vigorous effort in the improvement of "The Church." We ask for nothing which is impossiblewhich is even difficult. Let but our friends will it, and our circulation next month will be TWENTY THOUSANDS!! B. E. S.

WILLIAM KNIBB-we adopt this simple designation, for the patent of his nobility was written in his character and work, and not in the conventional epithets which distinguish ordinary men-was born at Kettering in Northamptonshire,

on the 6th of September, 1803. He was the twin-brother of a beloved sister, who survives to mourn his loss, and who says of him, with brief but tender emphasis, "As a brother, I think few equalled, and none excelled him." He had four brothers,

Her

and three sisters, of whom two brothers, and two sisters are still living. His father died in July 1826, and his mother in January 1832, not long before his first return to England from Jamaica. anticipations, when she parted with him for the service of Christ in a foreign land, were thus realized. As she watched him out of sight, after he had bidden her farewell, she turned to a daughter who was standing by her side, and said, "That is the last look until the Judgment-day.' There was, however, no reluctance in the surrender which she had made. She felt as a mother, and hence the value of the sacrifices she laid, with an unfaltering hand, and with a suffering, but grateful heart, on the altar of God.

Two years before, when she had taken leave of an older son, who left her for the same Mission, while she gazed upon the carriage which bore him from her sight, she exclaimed, in the language of the Psalmist,-"If I prefer not thee, O Jerusalem, to my chief joy, let my right hand forget its cunning!" The same paramount regard for the claims and the honour of God, was evinced by her to the subject of this memoir, to whom, at parting, she gave this impressive charge, “Go, my son; and rather would I hear of the ship sinking, than that you live to bring a disgrace on the worthy cause." words sank deeply into his heart, and were often quoted by him, in reverential and affectionate admiration of the love and piety by which they were dictated.

These

In his last visit to this country, he repeated them to the writer, while travelling with him in Northamptonshire, and then added, his eyes filling with tears, and his voice tremulous with emotion, "I have worn them as an amulet, and, by God's blessing, they have preserved me amidst many scenes of temptation and trial." Oh! the blessed influence of maternal piety.

It exerted over William Knibb a power which neither time nor distance could weaken, and was acknowledged by him with a filial love and devotion which have never been surpassed. Among the many incidents which might be mentioned in illustration of this, one of the most touching and beautiful is that which occurred at the time of the insurrection, so called, in Jamaica, in the year 1832. When he was under arrest, and expecting to take his trial on charges affecting his life, he was most tenderly anxious for his mother. He had little or nothing to expect either ⚫ from the mercy or the justice of his enemies, and he looked for a violent death as almost inevitable. In that solemn crisis, he sent, through a revered friend at Kettering, a letter to his mother, assuring her, that if his life was taken, he should die innocent of the accusations which had been brought

against him. She was, however, mercifully spared all solicitude. Before any tidings of her son's danger reached this country, she was with his "Witness" in heaven, and where his "record" was, on high!"

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Had she lived, many facts, indicating his future eminence, might have been told of his childhood, for what is there that a mother's love does not retain in the memory? "The chief traits of his early character," says that beloved sister, who was closely associated with him in infancy and childhood, " were affection, unbounded generosity, management, and economy, accompanied with great vivacity." He was a very lovely boy, and a universal favourite with his school-fellows and playmates. Although in every game he carried away, by his skill and energy, the palm from all competitors, he awakened no jealousy, and provoked no anger. A little incident, in proof of his management and economy, may here be mentioned. In the play of marbles, he was a most successful winner. His gains from the sale of these to his less fortunate rivals, who bought from him again the means of carrying on an unsuccessful contest, were always first appropriated to the purchase of the "Youth's Magazine." By this method he obtained, for a long time, that useful and instruc tive miscellany, and when, to his generous heart, and tender conscience, a more excellent way" of getting this publication was suggested, it was immediately adopted, although demanding, on account of his slender resources, the most rigid selfdenial.

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It is very probable that the affectionate concern which, from an early period to the very close of life, he manifested for the welfare of the young, was first awakened by the reading of this excellent Magazine. The young were ever upon his heart, and in his thoughts. He seldom closed a public address without an earnest appeal to them, so full of pathos and love, that he always secured their attachment and confidence; and in every private circle, it was most delightful to see how quickly he gained their affection. And his influence was always used for their highest good. Even to the little ones, who sat on his knee, and hung on his neck, and with whom he would sometimes gambol on the floor, he has often been heard to speak of Christ and heaven, till their eyes were filled with tears, and it was evident that a more than transient feeling of interest had been awakened in their minds.

At an early age, William Knibb was sent, with his brother Thomas, to a Grammar-school in Kettering, the master of which was a clergyman of the Church of England. In this seminary, and in the National School, he received that edu

cation which was intended to qualify him for the business and duties of life. His mental powers were promising, and his progress creditable. In arithmetic he outstripped all his school-fellows, and he would have equally distinguished himself in other branches of learning, had he not been tempted, as many have been, by his natural quickness, and the ease with which he acquired every lesson, to neglect that vigorous and persevering application to study, which is essential to the highest scholarship.

It was, however, on the Sabbath-school in which he was taught, that he delighted to dwell, when reviewing, as he often would with his most intimate friends, the scenes of his childhood and youth. That school was in connexion with the Independent church, under the pastoral care of the late Rev. T. N. Toller of Kettering. William Knibb entered it with his two brothers, Thomas and Christopher, on the 30th of September, 1810. On that day this school was remodelled, and fifty-four boys were enrolled on its register.* "Your brothers," writes their honoured teacher to their sister, Mrs. Lea, "were all in my class ultimately, but Thomas and William at their first entrance. My memory will not serve me so well about the two latter as the former. Thomas was indeed an extraordinary youth. His powers of memory were prodigious. I once offered sixpence to the boy who should get me the greatest number of questions in one week, and repeat them correctly. Several of the boys acquitted themselves well, but Thomas beat them all-in fact, he did more than all the others put together. The whole of Watts's first, second, and third catechisms, with proofs! The Assembly's, and its proofs ! The whole of the Epistle of James, the first four chapters of Proverbs, and several Psalms; and although I kept at it till nearly nine o'clock in the evening, he did not finish, and I dismissed him with the sixpence, and my hearty commendations. With respect to William, he was a good boy, but more volatile in his disposition, and less disposed to study than his elder brother.

It was

in consequence of the very strong opinion I had formed in favour of Thomas, that I procured for him the situation with Mr. Fuller, and that also was no doubt the

introduction of William into the same situation. Upon the whole, I can say of William, that he went through the school with great credit to himself, and leaving a favourable impression on the mind of his teacher that time will never efface."

This valuable testimony affords another proof, that in the selection of instruments for the accomplishment of his most beneficent purposes, "the Lord seeth not as man seeth." Could it have been predicated that one of the three brothers who had been instructed in the Sabbath-school at Kettering, would one day become the champion and the liberator of the Negro slave, it is probable that Thomas Knibb would have been looked upon as destined for this glorious distinction. His teacher says, that if asked, after thirty-six years of constant labour in the work of education, to name who had given him the highest satisfaction, he should unhesitatingly pronounce the name of Thomas Knibb. His superiority in learning was obvious to all, and from a very early period, William looked up to his older brother as a counsellor, on whose wisdom, as well as affection, he could rely. In addition, also, to not having his mind so richly endowed, as that of his brother Thomas, with acquired knowledge, he gave no early indications of that extraordinary power as a public speaker, which afterwards placed him in the very first rank of popular advocates. He seems himself to have had no idea of its innate existence. Writing to his brother Thomas, in April, 1823, he says, "My talents for public speaking are but small;" and he afterwards expresses a fear, that this might be a hindrance to his being employed as a missionary. Yet this was the individual who, a very few years afterwards, so kindled the enthusiasm of a large and enlightened audience in the metropolis of Scotland, when he was denouncing the oppressors of the children of Africa, that the vast assembly responded to one of the gravest and wisest of his auditors, who, carried away by his resistless eloquence, exclaimed, "This is Demosthenes!"

All experience proves that the greatest benefactors of the world have been prompted to their noblest achievements more by the moral, than by the intellectual qualities of their nature. William Knibb would him