and received a public expression of the members' wish to engage in it; Mr. Chandler, of Wedmore, gave an account of the introduction and progress of the gospel in that place, and read a letter of dismission of the twelve members from his church at Wedmore; and Mr.Winter concluded with prayer. In the afternoon Mr. Chandler began by reading and prayer; Mr. Winter addressed the newly formed church, from Isaiah lvi. 6, 7; and concluded with prayer. Mr. Chandler then administered the ordinance of the Lord's Supper.

MAY 23, 1824, a Welsh Church, (Particular Baptist,) was formed at Baker's Hall, Merchant-street, BRISTOL. Mr. Wm. Roberts, Glasgoed, commenced by reading and prayer; the Nature of a Gospel Church, Reasons for Dissent, Church Covenant, the usual questions, and the ordination prayer, by Mr. J. James, Pontrhy. dyrynn; Mr. D. Rees, of Ferry-side, was ordained to the pastoral office; and Mr. Wm. Morgan, Deacon. The charge to the pastor by Mr. T. Morris, Newport, from 1 Tim. iii. 1; to the church and deacons, by Mr. J. James, Pontrhydyrynn, from Phil. i. 27; Mr. T. Jenkins, Cefn, 2 Cor. v. 14, 15: Mr. Jabez Lawrence, 1 Tim. i. 15, to the congregation.

The prospect is very promising and pleasing among these Welsh friends; twenty-three united in the formation of the church, and twenty more have it in contemplation to procure letters of dismission from their respective churches in the Principality.

ON Thursday, June 10, the Rev. Richard May, late of Stepney Acade. my, was ordained over the Baptist church, at AMERSHAM, Bucks, formerly under the pastoral care of the Rev. Richard Morris.

In the absence of Dr. Newman, who was prevented by domestic affliction, the Rev. F. A. Cox, M.A. of Hackney, delivered an impressive charge from 2 Cor. iv. 2; the Rev. T. Griffin, of London, explained the nature of a Gospel Church; asked the usual questions, and offered the ordination prayer. In the evening the Rev. Wm. Copley, of Watford, addressed the people, from Psal cxxxiii. 1.

The devotional parts of the service were conducted by Brethren Sexton, Tomlin, Nash, Cooper, Clarabutt, Tyler, Hunt, West, Allom, &c. &c.

ASSOCIATIONS.

ON Monday evening, May 17, 1824, the Rev. H. F. Burder, M.A. preached the first sermon of the year, in behalf of the HOME MISSIONARY SOCIETY, at the Poultry Chapel; and on the following morning the Rev. Mr. Reynolds, of Romsey, preached at Crowncourt Chapel. Both the services were very interesting, and the sermons impressive. The Annual Meeting took place at Spa Fields, in the evening, when Mr. Alderman Key took the chair; and a crowded audience was addressed by the Rev. J. Reynolds, J. Fletcher, R. Marten, Esq. J. Edwards, (Secretary to the Baptist Home Mission,) &c. &c. Upwards of £400 were paid in and collected in the course of the evening. The receipts of the Society, for the last year, amounted to £6694 8s. 5d.

Kent and Sussex Association.

THIS Association was held at Rye on June 3rd and 4th, 1824. Mr. Groser, of Maidstone, preached from Isa. liii. 11, first clause; Mr. Giles, of Chatham, preached from 1 Cor. xv. 20; Mr. Shirley, of Sevenoaks, preached from Isai. liii. 11, last clause. The devotional services were conducted by Messrs. Cramp, of St. Peter's; Gates, of Sandhurst; Bentlif, of Maidstone; Down, of Wadhurst; Belcher, of Folkstone; Pethebridge, of Dover; and Noble (Independent) of Rye. The Circular Letter, written by Mr. Groser, is entitled, "The Necessity of the Influence of the Holy Spirit, to promote the Prosperity of the Churches." [Sold by Offor, 44, Newgate-street.] The new church at Dover was received into the Association. The clear increase of members, in twenty churches, is only 45: it should, however, be known, that 10 members had been dismissed from the church at Ashford, to form a new church at Brabourn Lees, From the small Association Fund, there was voted to assist the new church at Dover £15, and the new interest at Canterbury £20.

NOTICE.

WE are particularly requested to mention, that the services, connected with the Sixth Anniversary of the BRISTOL and BATH AUXILIARY BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIE

TY, will be held as follows:

On Tuesday Evening, August 3, Rev. Jenkin Thomas will preach at the Counterslip Meeting-house.

Irish Society.

WE commence an account of the proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Society, by extracting some remarks from the " British Press;" and as it is understood they were written by a gentleman of the Roman Catholic persuasion, who attended as the Reporter for the Paper, they may be considered as the evidence of an impartial witness of the Society's proceedings.

The state of Ireland having for some time past engaged a considerable portion of the public attention, every thing that is connected with it, or that has reference to its moral condition, consequently becomes a matter of interest. This Society states its object to be the promotion of the Gospel in Ireland, but it distinctly disclaims all attempts at sectarian proselytism. Its aim is to ameliorate the condition of the lower Irish, through the medium of religious instruction, unconfined to any particular catechism or creed. At the same time, however, its friends openly avow their firm adherence to the principles of the Reformation, and, so far as their operations are strictly in accordance with them, they may be considered limited; but, in every other respect, they leave the minds of those they instruct free to adopt whatever creed conviction may suggest, or conscience may approve. We should think the most ardent advocate of religious freedom could not object to this; and, therefore, although this Society is called the Baptist Society, yet, as its efforts are not directed to propagate any of the opinions peculiar to that sect, it appears to us that every sincere friend to Ireland might cordially join in promoting its suc

cess.

The meeting was opened by the Rev. C. Woollacott, of Westminster, engaging in prayer; after which the Chair was taken by JOSEPH BUTTERWORTH, Esq. M.P. who opened the business of the day by observing that he was most particularly desirous of calling the attention of the company to the state of Ireland, having been himself remarkably struck by it during his visit to that country last year; he had visited their cabins, which were wretched in the extreme, and exhibit

rance even exceeded their poverty. While this state of things existed, it was the duty of England to do all in their power to teach them morality, and, till the scriptures were more largely disseminated among them, no mate. rial change for the better could be expected; there was a gentleman present who had witnessed some of the awful scenes that had struck himself, of ignorance, he was almost going to say-of idolatry. In the county of Roscommon there was a holy well, to which the natives annually made a pilgrimage, to the number of 15,000 or more, for the purpose of tasting its waters, which they supposed to have the power of cleansing from all sins, and, after performing what they hold to be a religious rite, they passed the evening in riot and drunkenness : while such gross proceedings as these took place in that unhappy country, it became all Christians to do their utmost in disseminating the light of the Gospel.

After the Report had been read, the Rev. Mr. Evanson, of the established church, a native of Ireland, rose, and said, "He felt additional satisfaction in moving that this Report be printed, as he was a native of that country to which their exertions were directed: it had been frequently stated that at such meetings as the present, little less than calumny had been urged as to the state of Ireland; while he deprecated this system however, he must express his detestation of that false delicacy that induced speakers to gloss over the misery of that country; it was not to be denied that a dreadful disease existed among the peasantry of that land, and he could bear such testimony as a nine years' residence in the county of Cork would afford, that the statements that had been made were in no degree incorrect. The Chairman had stated what he had seen, during his visit to that island, and he himself had witnessed the same sort of pilgrimages, which, not even the most strenuous supporters of the Catholic Church could venture to pronounce as likely to improve the morality of the people. It was grateful to him to know that these exertions were principally directed towards those two counties, one of which was involved in the most Cimmerian darkness, and

the other the hotbed of sedition: he was even borne out in his remarks by that most pestilent and detestable work called the Memoirs of Captain Rock, where it was stated that the Irish priests did not allow the people to read the scriptures, so that their only religion was Pastorini's Prophecies, and the Miracles of Prince Hohenlohe." The Rev. Gentleman concluded, by moving,

"That this Meeting, cordially approving of the Report which has now been read, resolved, That it be adopted and circulated at the discretion of the Committee, as exhibiting, in some measure, the importance and efficacy of Scriptural Instruction in restoring to the afflicted kingdom of Ireland those moral and spiritual advantages which have followed the reformation in other parts of the United Empire."

Rev. Mr. Morgan said, that no doubt could remain of the dark state of Ireland, and of the cultivation necessary to render that wilderness beautiful and fruitful. India, twenty-five years ago, had been, like the fabled Upas, spreading poison around, but had now yielded to the immortal benefits of the tree of life which was planted on the banks of the Ganges; such he hoped would now be the state of Ireland, and that they might see, as in the Principality of Wales, the preacher mounted on his little pony, going from farm-house to farm-house, preaching the glad tidings of salvation. He most cordially seconded the Resolution.

Rev. Mr. Anderson observed, that the Resolution he held in his hand applied substantially to the Irish readers of the word of God, and, when he considered what that word was, he felt uncommon pleasure in moving the Resolution. Idolatry almost covered the globe, and he even doubted whether Asiatic idolatry was so dreadful as European, that existed not only on the Continent but in Ireland; there was a material difference, however, between the system and its supporters-Popery he abhorred, but papists he loved; and, having made this distinction, he frankly confessed that the system followed in Ireland appeared to him nothing less than idolatry of the worst description, for there the holy wafer was worshipped as the actual body of Christ, which, to him was worse than all the paganism of Jupiter, or the idols of Juggernaut if Paul had been so shocked at Athens, what would he have been at Ireland? He moved,

"That this Meeting is increasingly

convinced with the experience of every year, that no means, under the blessing of God, is so well calculated to benefit the population of Ireland, especially those adults who are unable to read, and who can speak only the Irish language, as the employment of Irish Scripture Readers; and, whilst it rejoices that the Divine blessing has already attended the labours of those who are thus engaged, recommends that this mode of disseminating religious knowledge should be still more extensively employed, not doubting but that the liberality of the Christian public will readily meet any increased expenditure."

Mr. John Sydney Taylor, Barrister, rose to second the Resolution. The object of the Institution, whether tried by its own nature, or by the test of experiment, would be found productive of the most beneficial consequences; and what was that object? simply to convey a knowledge of the scriptures to the most forlorn and illiterate of the Irish population, through the most acoeptable medium, which was allowed to be their vernacular tongue. The principle was not new, it was only the application of it that was original, for it had previously been acted upon in other instances. It had been tried in Wales with effect, and it had, in the most important of our distant colonies, a salutary operation. In British India, no political movement-no triumph of the British arms, however splendidhad made any impression on the most degrading, cruel, and hideous system that had ever afflicted the heart. It was the spirit of religious instruction, conveyed to the heart of the Hindoo, through the medium of their native language, which inspired the just confidence, that terrors of barbarity began to abate, and that even the diabolical idol Juggernaut, surrounded as he was by his pale victims, and the ministers of vengeance and abomination, trembled to his fall before the ark of the living God. Could it be possible that this mode of instruction could have such beneficial effects in our most remote dependencies, and not be conducive to the social and moral welfare of Ireland? The people of Wales were not less attached than the Irish to their native language, to those popular traditions, and to the recollections of their independence; yet, by instructing them in the scriptures through the medium of their own tongue, they were not taught disaffection to the English