and carried out the principle of strict economy; and, by his self-denial and economizing plan, he could and did generously assist the funds of the society. Some thought him too liberal, and have tried to restrain him; but his reply has been, "It is for the Lord, and he will provide."

Another feature in this good man's character was his persevering attention to the sick and afflicted. He was a frequent visitor at the house of mourning, and the subject of suffering, whether religious or irreligious, shared his prayers, counsel, and sympathy. This part of his conduct has left a fragrance about his name where he resided. "The blessing of many that were ready to perish has come upon him."

The character of Mr. B. was also marked by his increasing anxiety for the salvation of his family. He carried his Christianity with him when he went abroad, and it shone with peculiar lustre when at home. He had piety at home. His sorrowing family often refer to his affectionate advice, his earnest prayers, and deep concern for their eternal welfare. He was wishful to follow the example of Abraham, and "commanded his household, and his children after him, that they should keep the way of the Lord."

Our departed brother was often the subject of personal and domestic affliction, yet, "the grace of God was sufficient for him," and he endured as seeing him who is invisible. During his last affliction, which was very severe, and terminated in a short time his earthly career, he gave undoubted evidence, by his calm serenity, humble fortitude, patient submission, and cheerful acquiescence to the will of God, that he had been laying up treasure in heaven, and was only waiting the opening of the door, "to enter the marriage supper of the Lamb." He had many visitors during the few days he lay ill, all of whom felt his room to be hallowed ground, and the saint himself prepared for the celestial paradise. On seeing his relations and friends weeping, he said, "What are you fretting for? if I die, I shall go right away to glory." A short time before his death, he called his daughter to his bedside and said, 66 Sing for me," and then gave out,

willing to go up, or to stay a little longer here, as the Lord sees fit." During the night he was much worse, and at eight o'clock in the morning the silver cord was snapped, and the freed and happy spirit winged its way to the mansions of the blest, August 30th, 1850, aged fifty-one.

His death has since been improved by the writer, in our chapel at Westmore, to a densely crowded and much affected auditory. T. BOYCOTT.

RECENT DEATHS.

DIED, September 27th, William Hargreaves, a member of the Harpfield society. His illness was short. On Tuesday night he was at the fellowship meeting, expressing his purpose of living nearer to God, and on the Friday week following he exchanged worlds. "During his short illness," his bereaved partner writes, "his time was spent in prayer and praise, and pointing those around him to the Lamb of God." That Saviour he found precious to his own soul. Trusting in him, the fear of death was removed, so that in the prospect of it he could exclaim, 66 Glory, glory." He died at the early age of thirty-three years. G. GRUNDY.

JANE BARNETT was the widow of our devoted friend, Mr. W. Barnett, who fell a victim to the cholera in 1849. After being for some time the subject of deep convictions, she found peace in believing, at the age of nineteen or twenty. Soon after her marriage, in 1822, she became a member of the New Connexion in Manchester. Five years afterwards she came to Newcastle, when she joined the Ebenezer society. She was afterwards appointed leader of a class, and faithfully discharged the duties of her office. For the last ten or twelve years, however, our sister has been the subject of severe and exhausting affliction, almost entirely disabling her for the active duties of life, and depriving her, except at short intervals, of the privilege of attending the house of God. This protracted trial of her faith was, however, borne with Christian patience and submission to the Divine will. the close of life approached, she still retained her confidence in the Saviour, and realized the consolations of the Gospel; frequently expressing her joy in the prospect of the heavenly rest. At length, on October 16th, what had long been emphatically a "dying life," gave place to the glorious life of a higher and eternal world, in the fiftieth

As

year of her age. "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord." G. GRUNDY. DIED, at Manchester, November 27th, 1850, in the forty-second year of her age, Ellen, the wife of Mr. Robert Whitaker. Our departed friend was a granddaughter of the late Rev. Wm. Driver. In early life she gave her heart to God, and became a member of our society in Ashton. Her last affliction was long and painful, but from its commencement she was enabled to manifest entire resignation to the will of God; and though there were seasons of depression, yet there were seasons when she enjoyed sweet composure of mind, arising from a firm reliance on the love, the power, and the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and she died in the full assurance of faith. A more extended account may be expected.

C. J. D.

Dec. 13th, 1850. DIED, on the 7th December, 1850, in the forty-fourth year of her age, Mrs. Ann Roberts, of Waterloo, near Ashtonunder-Lyne. She had been a steady, consistent member of our Ashton society for some years. Her last sickness was,

for several weeks, extremely severe and painful. Her disorder being a cancer and ulcer in the throat, prevented her from taking any solid food, so that she was literally starved to death. Under these painful circumstances she was wonderfully supported by the grace of God.

Her patience and resignation were exemplary. At different times she said to the friends who visited her, "What could I do without religion now? All my hope is in my Saviour. Christ is precious to my soul. I have no doubts on my mind as to my acceptance with God, and the fear of death is taken away." In this peaceful state of mind she continued, until she was released from her heavy affliction, and raised to that better world, whose happy inhabitants shall hunger no

more.

The death of our late sister will be much felt at Waterloo, as her house was always open for the kind reception of our ministers and local preachers; and her assistance was cheerfully given on all occasions for the benefit of the Sunday school established there. JOHN DEAN.

THE CHAPEL FUND.-None of our Connexional institutions are more important and necessary than the Chapel Fund; and it is most desirable that its rules of management, with the proceedings and objects of the committee, should be clearly and generally understood. But, at present, this is far from being the case; and hence the partial attention and support it has obtained. Very many of our friends never receive a report, nor hear a word of explanation respecting it; others, having read or heard with misapprehension, fear that the committee are relieving trustees of their own proper burdens to the injury of other interests in the body; and even correspondents who, from being in direct treaty with the committee, should have thoroughly acquainted themselves with the conditions of their grants, have fallen into mistakes as to the time and mode of payment. Nor has it passed unnoticed that, while the writer of the late Conference address, has properly adverted to other Connexional departments of labour and usefulness, he omits-inadvertently of course-all reference to the Chapel Fund and its committee, as though they had no ex

istence; leaving them without one word of sympathy or encouragement. Under these circumstances, and as the time is at hand for making the annual circuit contributions to the Chapel Fund, a place in the Magazine is requested for this article; and it is commended to the careful and candid perusal of every one wishing well to our religious community. If fuller information be desired, it may be found in the printed reports of 1846 to 1850 inclusive; and which were duly sent to the respective circuits.

Mode of relief from the Chapel Fund, and rules of the committee:

1. The relief from this fund to our chapels has hitherto been derived from the annual contributions of our circuits, and from money borrowed on the personal responsibility of certain competent individuals, who hold, as security against loss from this liability, a guarantee signed by such number of our ministers and lay-friends as the legally responsible parties themselves deem satisfactory; and the money which has already been or may hereafter be borrowed, is to be repaid by annual amounts until the whole debt is liquidated. Most providentially, liberal assis

tance from the Jubilee Fund is now being rendered to the chapel committee; but, notwithstanding this very seasonable augmentation of our resources, the committee will, from time to time, have to borrow still further sums in payment of grants to chapels made by Conference.

2. Circuits asking relief are expected to direct the committee as to where loans of money may be obtained; and, also, in case of necessity, to provide at least one substantial person in their locality, to unite in the required Connexional security for the money so borrowed.

3. It is hoped that the annual income to the Chapel Fund will be considerably increased by such contributions from trustees in their corporate capacity as each estate may be able to bear.

4. The actual payment of grants being limited by the amount of yearly or other contributions to the Chapel Fund, the promises of the committee and Conference can only be fulfilled in proportion to the extent of its income.

5. Applications to be made to the Chapel Committee, through the medium of the secretary, as early after each Conference as possible; and, except in cases of unforeseen emergency and difficulty, never later in our Connexional year than the 31st of March; when lists of queries will be supplied, to elicit all the information which may be necessary for the guidance of the committee and Confer

ence.

6. Applicants are required to say whether the relief they ask is to meet deficient annual income of chapels, or to reduce the principal or debt on the premises; and also to state both the sums they propose locally to raise, and the amount of the grants which they ask from the Chapel Fund. The reduction should at least be sufficiently large to warrant the reasonable expectation of a future surplus income from regular resources, and under circumstances of but ordinary prosperity. The rule of the committee is, to recommend a grant equal to one third of the relief proposed, be the whole more or less. But to this there have been, and probably will continue to be, unavoidable exceptions; arising out of the much greater necessity or more ample local resources of some of the cases.

7. The committee of themselves have no power to vote or pay money for relief of chapels from the fund, they can only recommend; and these recommendations are made known in the annual report submitted to Conference.

8. All grants are recommended on

the condition that the trustees, so far as they have legal and equitable rights in their respective estates, shall in every possible case facilitate the settlement of chapels according to the model deed; nor except this be done wherever practicable, can the specified sums either fully or in part be actually paid, and in no other instance until, by a careful examination of all necessary legal documents, it be ascertained to the satisfaction of the committee that the property is secured to the Connexion.

9. On request being made for payment of a grant sanctioned by Conference, a form of certificate applicable to the case in question, will be sent for the signatures of the trustees; and which must be attested by the superintendent preacher for the time being. By another document, signed and attested in like manner, the receipt of each grant, its right appropriation, and the remaining debt on the chapel, are likewise to be acknowledged.

10. Detailed accounts of local contributions to reduce debts on trust premises, whether made in connection with grants from the Chapel Fund or independently, will, if sent to the committee, be published in the annual report of proceedings.

11. The committee are duly authorized to receive applications for their consent to the building and enlargement of chapels; and they are instructed to give such advice or to take such measures as the interests of the Connexion may require.

12. The committee are also directed to collect and preserve information respecting the legal security of our chapels and schools, the state and management of the property, as well as in relation to any other necessary particulars; and it is likewise their duty to offer counsel and assistance in the formation or renewal and enrolment of trust deeds, in the renewal of leases, fines, and other obligations incumbent on trustees or holders of the premises, and in promoting their economical insurance against damage by fire.

13. To enable the committee efficiently to perform these several duties, it is earnestly desired that, on all the subjects referred to, trustees and others concerned will make frank, full, and timely communications to the secretary.

Pursuing the course marked out in these rules, the committee have endeavoured to assist in legally securing, under good management, trust property to the Connexion; and so to lessen its

pecuniary liabilities, as to render it unoppressive to trustees and most valuable to its occupants. Since legalizing the Connexion by means of the Deed Poll, and the subsequent addition of a model trust deed-measures which while perfectly consistent with the liberal principles of the body, are essentially conservative of its Connexional character and interests-since the adoption of these measures has placed the community in a position effectually to secure or settle all its trust property in the most economical manner, twenty-three chapels have been settled by reference to the model deed, and at least the same number more are in course of similar settlement.

During the last five years, upwards of £17,527 have been actually paid off' from our chapel debts; and there are existing engagements on the part of Conference to pay off a further sum of £9631, which sum is to be met by contributions from trustees and others amounting to £15,136-making a total of proposed reduction of £24,767.

Circuit contributions for the year terminating May, 1850, amounted to £407 7s. 7d., being an increase on the past year of £26 1s. 10d. This increase is regarded with gratitude and encouragement; but a much larger annual amount is still required for the timely fulfilment of Conference engagements with trustees; and with less than £700 per annum the position of the committee will be one of embarrassment to themselves and of Connexional discredit. Such augmentation is believed to be quite practicable; and, for the sake of effecting the great and beneficial objects involved in their proceedings, the committee hope that it will be fully and speedily realized. It is very gratifying to notice, that in ten of our circuits eighteen bodies of trustees have presented gifts from their estates: from South street chapel, Sheffield, a remittance of £5 has been received, and from the others less sums; amounting to £22 7s. Now, if the whole of our trust bodies would, according to their ability, imitate this good example of their brethren, so as to yield the same average for each chapel in the Connexion, there would, from this source alone, be an annual addition to the fund of more than £330.

The collective amounts from some of our circuits are only small-disproportionate to their own local resources, and to the contributions paid in by other circuits. In the list of seventeen of our circuits, not a single individual subscrip

tion or donation appears; and in eleven others only one, two, or three respectively, are to be found. An improvement in these particulars is respectfully and earnestly urged upon our friends.

These efforts, the committee feel persuaded, injure no fund or interest in the body, whether local or general, but strengthen and benefit all; they form not an opposing, but a confluent stream of piety and benevolence, tending with others to the common good. So far as the proposed objects are accomplished, there will be on the part of the occupants, both ministers and people, a settledness and home-feeling in reference to our chapels and schools which must be conducive to their comfort and to the permanent prosperity of our cause; and the premises will cease to be investments for money lenders, under whose demands, and partly to meet them, too frequently the Gospel is at present preached and the church assembles to worship God. In proportion as congregations and circuits become freed from heavy and continuous drains on their resources to meet chapel liabilities, public collectionswhich in many instances keep the number of our hearers small--may and ought to become fewer; and our friends, being not less willing, will be better able to support the ministry, purchase our books, and contribute to our several Connexional institutions. Besides, the increasing annual surplus-eventually almost the entire income, and which surplus under the model deed is secured either for local or general objects belonging to the body, may and no doubt will be so applied as to prevent the necessity of so many circuits applying for annual grants from the yearly collection, or of their asking for so long a period the appointment of single preachers.

The committee earnestly hope that this communication may serve to obviate any future mistakes from applicants, to remove the misapprehensions of others, more widely to diffuse correct information, and induce a larger amount of annual support from the circuits.

But

I ought not to conclude without stating that our liberal treasurer, RICHARD BARFORD, Esq., AFTER SUBSCRIBING £500 TO OUR JUBILEE FUND, HAS

GENEROUSLY OFFERED TO GIVE TO THE

CHAPEL FUND AN ADDITIONAL SUM OF £300, IF £500 CAN BE OBTAINED BY THE COMMITTEE EITHER IN GIFTS OR

LOANS. Surely we shall meet with at least a few lenders of this amount, on

the written assurance of the committee to pay both interest and principalendorsed as that document would be by the honour of the Connexion.

W. FORD, Sec.

CONNEXIONAL RELIEF. We have great pleasure in announcing the following remittances from the undermentioned Circuits, towards discharging the debts on the Yearly Collection and Paternal Fund :-Alnwick £12, Birmingham £15, Boston £1 12s., Chester £7, Derby £10, Dewsbury £55 18s. 6d., Guernsey £25 7s., Halifax £82, Hanley £100, Hawarden £5, Huddersfield £74, Hull £30, Leeds £65, London £50, Mossley £30, Newcastle £15, North Shields £7, Ripon £20, Staley bridge £12 10s., Stockport £20, Sunderland £40 Total £677 7s. 6d. Thus it will be seen, that twenty-one circuits have already responded to the call of Conference, and raised either the whole or part of the amount apportioned to them. Had every other circuit done the same, the income would have been doubled, and at least one half of our debts already discharged.

But we are not discouraged, knowing that important local efforts have hitherto prevented several circuits from entering on this good work, yet they hold themselves responsible for their quota, and, ere long, their obligations will be most honourably discharged. Sheffield South, for instance, demurred, not to their assessment, but having just opened a liberal subscription for a new chapel, in an important part of the town, applied for permission to postpone the Connexional effort until next year. The annual committee felt the force of their appeals, but could not depart from the instructions of Conference. The result is, that our generous and noble-minded friends in Sheffield have made the necessary arrangements, and signified their intention to pay their share of the Connexional debt this year. Halifax and other places were engaged with bazaars, &c., which might have formed an excuse for deferring this effort, but, with a zeal and liberality which does them credit, they have already come forward, and paid at least one half their assessment. Even Alnwick, with its limited numbers and heavy local claims, set aside every thing that would interfere with the requirements of Conference, and, like the liberal few in Guernsey, have already placed every fraction required of them in the hands of the treasurer. These are fine expressions of Connexional

loyalty. They do honour to our friends in those places, and will, no doubt, be amply rewarded by the great Head of the church.

But in other circuits no local hinderances existed, and yet the treasurer has not heard from them. The committee regret this, but indulge a hope that it will not be needful to do more than thus call attention to the subject, and to the resolutions of Conference thereon, to secure the most cheerful and hearty co-operation. In such an effort as this, every circuit, and every society should do its duty. The most distant and obscure, like the more central and prominent, are all integral parts of the Connexion, and therefore morally responsible for the obligations of Conference. Every preacher, and member, and friend of the Connexion should look on these debts as his own, and be ready to assist in discharging them. The Conference-that is, your own representatives in Conference assembled —did their duty, and now it remains for you to do yours. Take the matter up as you ought. Preachers, leaders, stewards, members, and friends, this duty now devolves on you! It is already in your hands. We hope and expect a favourable issue. If it fails the fault will be yours. But will it fail? Can it fail? What say you-shall it fail? You say, No; it must not, it shall not fail. The demand is too just, and equitable, and, withal, so closely allied to the peace and prosperity of the Connexion, to allow us even to doubt or you to hesitate for a single moment. With such views and intentions, hasten to our assistance. Come now; come all of you, come as with the heart of one man; throw your best and noblest energies into this benevolent scheme, and ere long this desirable object will be accomplished, and the Connexion set free. Near seven hundred pounds have been paid off already, and your assistance will soon blot out the balance, and suffer it to dishonour and embarrass the Conference no more.

Every circuit is left at liberty to pursue its own course in raising the required amount, and as the year is now advancing, it is hoped there will be no further delay. Much depends on our superintendent preachers; and the committee confidently look to them to carry this important project into effect. Brethren, bring this matter before the January quarterly meeting, and take such steps as may be needful to raise your assessment. Those circuits that