physiologists simply to be, to a large extent, the result of the extreme profligacy and immorality existing there. (Hear, hear.) With this little exception, he said, that in all the statements they must feel the deepest interest, and desire to do what they possibly could to fulfil the wishes of Dr Roxburgh and his Committee. The cry was to help the Home Mission in the towns. Dr Roxburgh said "Send us ministers from the country." He for one had no objections to that; but there was another cry to his mind a great deal more urgent-not to ministers in the country, or ministers anywhere else, but to Church members in the towns. (Cheers.) If each man and each woman were doing the Home Mission work, what a help there would be given to the ministry of the gospel! They remembered that the wall of Jerusalem was built by every man building opposite his own door. Let that be the work-the work of laymen, Church members,-every one who had known something of what it was to be themselves brought under the influence of Divine truth. Let them go down to those lapsed masses in their immediate vicinity, and do what they could to bring them into the way of life. He believed that this was more urgently needed than the help of ministers in the country or anywhere else. It seemed to him that they were liable to get the false notion, as had been admirably said by their revered Principal, that all that was required was the building of churches and the preaching of the word. Not only might that be performed sometimes in a perfunctory manner; but, besides, mere preaching of the word seemed to him only a part of the great duty that was devolved upon them in regard to the Home Mission. Why was preaching so largely ineffectual? Because it was preaching to the dead! He was reading the other day the Life of Havelock, by Marshman, and was very much struck with a remarkable incident that occurred at the time that our gallant troops were cooped up in Jellalabad. A general massacre of the distant army had taken place. One day, a single horseman was seen galloping over the plain, and making for the entrenchment. The whole garrison were on the tops of the houses and walls, straining their eyes to see who it might be. Horse and man, fatigued and exhausted, reeled into the encampment. It was the solitary escaped one from the bloody field. Finding him senseless, almost unconscious, wild and scared, they could get no definite information as to what had taken place outside, or as to how many of their countrymen might be yet alive. They sent out patrols to scour the country, and give assistance to those that might yet be coming in, but none were found. They burned lights all that night as high as they could hold them. Buglers were sent out, and every half hour for three successive long weary nights, the buglers sounded the

advance. No response. The blast of the bugle rang sadly, though

clearly, over the waste plains of Cabul: and its note fell only upon the ear of the dead. There was no advance,-no response. He could not help thinking sometimes there might be an analogy here in regard to the preaching of the word. Why were there so few coming in? The voice of the preacher was powerless on the spiritually dead. They must be made alive. And how were they to be made alive? There was but one power, the Spirit of God. The south wind must breathe upon these slain men; and how was the Spirit of God to descend, but through prayer? There was, then, the duty of preaching and the duty of praying but there was more ;-and he spoke now to himself and his bre

thren in the laity. Their own life and conversation must be looked to and reviewed. (Hear, hear.) There were two ways of bringing the gospel before the lapsed masses. There was the preaching of Bible truth, and there was the living impersonation and illustration of the Christian character, the living epistle of Jesus Christ, that ought to be known and read of all men. (Applause.) He took it that the laity had much to do and learn in that respect. "The effectual and fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." There must be the "righteous man," their own personal walk and conversation, clinging to that righteousness which alone is acceptable in the sight of God. There must also be fervent, constant, importunate, beseeching prayer. But there was more needed than that still, there must be the working out of prayer-denois éveрyouμen-prayer worked out in all its substance faithfully. Must they not go down, every man and woman of them, to work out the means as they prayed, in order to make their prayer effectual? (Applause.) It seemed to him that that was the special duty of the laity. A friend here had said," Get a hundred elders to get up £100, in order carry on the Home Mission." He said Bravo! to that. But that was not enough; it was but one item. It was not enough to have men on the ministerial staff, or to have an increase to the number of the churches; it was not enough that they should walk carefully and circumspectly in their profession; it was not enough that they should have prayer-meetings, and abound in the mere act of prayer; all this was needed, and along with it, and perhaps, in one sense, above and beyond it all, they should have every man and woman going down to the lapsed masses, and being at charges with them, even as the prophet of old laid his live body in contact with that of the dead child. If they did not do that, the mere preaching of the gospel would be somewhat like the sounding of the bugle on those sad and solitary nights in the plains of Cabul. But if they were truly faithful in one and all of the details of such Home Mission duty, it would approach to scepticism and infidelity to doubt that the south wind would blow upon these dead bones-that mercy cloud would be pierced, and the reviving shower of blessing copiously descend. (Cheers.)

to

the

Dr WYLIE said he could not deny himself the pleasure of taking a part in the proceedings in regard to this most important mission. He would, however, limit his observations chiefly to the point of evangelistic deputations and open-air preaching. This was, he thought, a mode of operation eminently suited to the present circumstances of the country, which had been largely blessed. The deputies they had sent out had returned saying, with joy, that the demons of intemperance and profanity had been subject to them. They had found that the masses were not so much opposed to religion as to the formalism which is sometimes put in its room. Open-air preaching had the sanction of apostolic times. Christ himself opened the gospel on a mount, and in His great steps had followed the apostles, who sought men in the market-place and in the forum; and to the apostolic era the Church ought ever to turn for her great models of action. The heathenism of the land, he said, amounted, according to calculation, to eight millions. Grouped into one place, it would cover an area equal to the whole of Scotland, Wales, and the four northern counties of England. This heathenism was not the less real or dangerous that it was diffused among the mass of the country, and

the common

threatened to sweep away our morality, our liberty, our very Christianity itself. In presence of an enemy of so formidable a character, and in presence of trials and changes obviously impending, there was a loud call on our country to re-consecrate and re-baptize itself, and go up as one man to the conquest of the world. (Cheers.)

Mr MAIN, St Mary's, expressed, in the strongest possible terms, the sense of obligation which he felt to the deputations which had gone forth to the various districts throughout the country. When he was a minister in a country town in Ayrshire, the deputations were sent there, and they contributed most powerfully to enable him to do what, but for them, he feared, would not have been done-namely, to raise up a station into a full ministerial charge, with a church and manse, and where a most successful ministry is being carried forward. If they were enabled to plant a new church in the midst of a destitute population, they would have done something to perpetuate the cause of Christ, and to secure that the glorious gospel should be proclaimed to the very lowest of the population. His conviction was very strong, that they had, as a Free Church, attained to the maximum of their increase in one direction; and that; if they were to increase at all as they ought to increase, it must be by their striving to overtake the outlying population; and he had no doubt whatever that if they continued going forward as they had done, they would secure year after year new churches, and have new ministers planted where there was no denominational rivalry, where there was nothing but utter destitution. Dr Roxburgh spoke most impressively in regard to the large cities. But let him say in regard to the large mining populations that were rapidly ripening into towns, that there was a strong and absolute necessity that they should take advantage of the present opportunity, else in the course of a very few years they would have thousands of a population destitute of the means of grace, where they would find the difficulties tenfold multiplied of planting a gospel ministry in the midst of them. Not only must that be done, but it must be done now, because those populations were increasing year by year by thousands; and they never had a better opportunity for securing this object than they now had. And let him say, for the encouragement of those that went forth, that he felt that whilst they were doing great good in the way of saving souls,-souls that were peculiarly accessible at the present moment,— that the ministers themselves would be greatly benefited by such work, because, as the Principal had so impressively told them, they were all in great danger of falling into a routine, perfunctory style in the discharge of duty satisfied with doing their best, without aiming directly and immediately at the conversion of the souls of men. He knew nothing so fitted to shake a man thoroughly out of that style of the discharge of duty as to set him with the highway for his pulpit, and the open firmament of heaven for his canopy, to deal face to face with men whom he had never seen before and might never see again, having but a very few days to dwell in the midst of them. He is made to feel that whatever he meant to do, he must do it with all his might. A man in that position was driven back on the great central truths of the glorious gospel; he was made to bring these to bear directly and immediately on the understandings and the consciences and hearts of men; he would cease to reason before them, and begin to reason with them,—not in the style of intellectual gladiatorship, so as to exhibit an argument in favour of any gospel

doctrine or truth, but in the way of earnest and pleading importunity, striving to prevail with the people in regard to preaching, just as the old patriarch did with Jehovah in regard to praying, for as the one hung on the Almighty, and said he would not let Him go unless He blessed him, so would the other hang upon the people, unwilling to let them go until they had surrendered their hearts to the Lord Jesus. He urged the claims of the Mission on the liberality of the Church, and said that the Convener must not be permitted to resign. He was quite sure, as a member of the Home Mission Committee, that if he had given them intimation of that, they would have resigned in a body; because having accomplished so much already, and having given himself so thoroughly to the work, unless they had him at the head of it-at least for a season-they could have no security that this great enterprise would be carried forward with the necessary vigour and efficiency. (Applause.)

The MODERATOR said he believed it was the intention of the mover and seconder of the resolution to intimate that the formal deliverance on this matter should be reserved to a future diet of the Assembly. Mr Wilson, on the part of the Business Committee, would assign, according to the standing orders, the special reasons for doing so.

Mr WILSON said there were two special reasons. In the first place, the general regulation in regard to the appointment of all Standing Committees; and in the second place, at an early diet of the Assembly, there was a large Committee appointed, with Dr Wood convener, to consider the overtures in regard to collections; and the special deliverance named on the part of the Committee regarded that very subject. They could not, therefore, take it up until they had the Report anent Collections for next year before the House.

The MODERATOR then announced that there was no further business for the present diet of Assembly. In reference to the proceedings of this day, it had been a matter of great anxiety to his own mind, as he had no doubt it was also to the minds of many of the members of this House, that as they had a very solemn, momentous subject to handle, they should be enabled so to deal with it as might tend to God's glory and their own edification, and to the furtherance of godliness in the Church and in the land. He now hoped that that subject had been so treated as to be helpful to those great ends; and he should exceedingly lament if it were allowed to be so unduly protracted as that from mere bodily exhaustion they might become wearied even of such a subject as this. He suggested that Dr Wood should conclude the subject with such observations as, in looking back upon the proceedings of this day, they might suggest to his mind. (Applause.)

Dr WOOD then rose and said—I have felt this to be a very pleasant, and I trust it will be a very profitable day. I have spent few such days, even in the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland. I have seen few such days, but I trust there will be something more than mere gratification from the proceedings of this day. Once and again I felt my saw that I was not alone in these feelings. When I listened to the adown heart melted, my own soul moved, and when I looked around me I

dress of Mr Nixon,

spirit, I felt that there were lessons in it that we all might take to ourselves; and it was my resolution, God helping me, to try to practise these

so full of truth, so full of good sense, so full of devoted

lessons when I returned to my work among my own people. Sir, I believe that my fathers and brethren around me felt much in the same way, and I think that we will go all back to our work refreshed by such a day as this. I trust that the influence of our conference this day will be felt on our proceedings throughout all the subsequent days of the General Assembly. When we hear of God's great doings in every corner of the land,-when we are told by one father after another, by one brother after another, of how God's Spirit is quickening dead souls, and refreshing living souls, in parts of the country where we had never heard of such a work going on,—we are encouraged to believe that, much as we have heard, we have heard but a small part of the truth. I thoroughly believe that this is the case,—that in many parts of the country God's Spirit is working quietly, yet effectually, in bringing sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope that there will result from this day's conference a more devoted spirit on the part of both ministers and elders. I trust that the members of our Church who have been present and heard what has taken place to-day,-heard the statements that have been made,—will do their part in working God's work among the many in the land who need to be attended to. I feel that it would indeed be a reproach to us, if, after having enjoyed so refreshing a day as this,-after having had our own souls quickened and stirred within us,— ‚—we would not give ourselves to the work the glorious work-of commending the Lord Jesus Christ to perishing sinners. It is unnecessary for me to detain you longer at this late hour, but I do trust that we may have an opportunity of communing together upon a future occasion regarding those practical matters that shall enable us to follow out, in our different spheres of labour, with effect, the impressions that have been made upon us by the conference of this day. The Assembly then engaged in devotional exercises, and prayer having been offered by Dr Grierson, the House adjourned.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 23.

REPORT ON STANDING ORDERS.

Sir H. MONCREIFF gave in the Report of the Committee on Standing Orders. He said that the first part of the Report relative to the mode of taking the vote had already been disposed of. The Committee had made some other suggestions, with the view of expediting the Assembly's busiThe Report of the Committee proceeded on suggestions made last year by Mr Mackenzie of Dunfermline; and he might state, if these suggestions were adopted, they would save at least one-half of the expense of printing. (The suggestions referred to will be found in the Report as given in the Appendix.)

ness.

On the motion of Mr WILSON, seconded by Mr EDMONDSTON of Ashkirk, the Report was approved of, and the suggestions of the Report passed into Standing Orders.

THE COLLEGE REPORT.

Dr HENDERSON then gave in the Report from the College Committee. (See Report in Appendix.)