inconsiderable. (Hear, hear.) And while for this we forget not to give thanks to the Great Source of all good gifts, we are bound to acknowledge, also with much gratitude, that for the present favourable position of this Fund we are indebted, under God, to the indefatigable labour, to the ceaseless zeal, and to the matured wisdom, of the Convener, Dr Robert Buchanan. (Applause.) God, Sir, has been very good to our Church, in lending her fit men for special acts in critical times. Some-alas! to our short sight, too many-their mission over, He has taken to Himself. There was a Welsh for the Church's exodus; there was a Chalmers to raise, consolidate, govern, and dignify her reconstruction; the name of Hamilton is inseparably connected with the rearing of her temples of worship throughout the land; that of Speirs-alas! only in name and memory present now-is as intimately associated with the obtaining of sites whereon these might be built. These men grace our halls no longer; they have been called to give an account of their stewardship at another and higher tribunal; and who can doubt that on each has been bestowed the gracious welcome-" Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." (Hear, hear.) For these men we can never cease to be grateful; but shall we be less so for those that still remain? Men of rare gifts—and, thank God, not few in number—whom I need not name; one of whom stands conspicuously our creditor in thanks on this occasion. (Hear.) This Assembly, Sir, surely will but ill discharge its duty, if it take not this opportunity of testifying to Dr Buchanan, in the most marked and emphatic terms, their entire acknowledgment of the wisdom and zeal which he has brought to bear on their great Scheme, and their deep sense of gratitude and obligation for his effectual labour on its behalf,-labour which has been crowned with success, only at the cost of much fatigue, anxiety, and no slight risk to his own health. (Hear, hear.) Aware as I am, Sir, of your personal objection to noisy plaudits in this place-(laughter and applause)---I am sorely tempted, nevertheless, to seek the excitement of a momentary emeute against your authority in this matter (great laughter and applause)— that Dr Buchanan may at once be assured, and that by no uncertain sound-(great applause) that he possesses not merely the entire confidence, but also the entire gratitude, of this Assembly, and of the Free Church of Scotland, for his faithful, disinterested, and successful discharge of the onerous duties which lay upon him as the Convener of the Sustentation Fund Committee during the past year. (Renewed applause.) It is true that we have not reached the mark at which we aimed, -which, and much more, is certainly within our reach, and which we must reach; and it behoves us-keeping this "must be" in mind to consider well what may have hindered in the time past, and what may tend to advancement in the future. As to the first, two very obvious reasons at once stare us in the face,-the monetary crisis of the past year, through which the country has come, or is coming, and a want of enlightenment in a large portion of our own people, as to their duty and privilege in this matter. We trust that, in God's good providence, the first will not continue and not recur. As to the second, Sir, it has always appeared to me very plain, that the only effectual remedy is the faithful preaching of the gospel. (Hear, hear.) It is by the preaching of the gospel that the gospel is to be sustained; for it is by the preaching of the gospel, as a blessed means, that men's hearts are to be turned to give unto the Lord as his work requires; they must be first turned unto Himself, before they can be turned unto His work-(hear, hear); -being made new creatures, and in consequence made not only willing but eager not merely counting it as their duty, but esteeming it their high privilege-to obey in all things the will of Him who hath "turned them from darkness unto light, from the power of Satan unto God;" finding it really but a small matter to contribute of their carnal things, unto Him who in spiritual things has poured out on them such large abundance. (Applause.) It was said last year in this place, by one whose voice, alas! is now mute, but who, "being dead, yet speaketh,"—and of the many weighty things that fell from him, I believe none to have been more weighty or true than this,-that the amount of the Sustentation Fund would just be an index to the amount of personal and vital godliness among the people of the Free Church. (Hear, hear.) Unconverted, a man may give, but he will give stingily and with a grudge; he will at all times give little, and will be ever seeking for excuse to give less. Converted, he will seek excuse, not to withhold, but to give; and, in giving, his sole regret will

be, that he can do so little towards the cause of Him to whom he is indebted for every comfort in this world, and for every hope in that which is to come. (Applause.) Most fully, Sir, do I concur in the opinion, that it is not by the agitation of the platform, but by the agitation of the pulpit, that, under God, this great Fund is to be maintained and made to prosper. (Hear, and applause.) I do not mean to say, that public meetings, and visitings and exhortations of districts and congregations, are not useful, and needed too-have done much good, and will do good again; but I mean to say, that surely these means are wholly secondary to the great agent of the conversion of men's souls. (Hear.) The pulpit having gone before, and done its work, then the platform will tell, coming after. God's word having first converted, enlarged, and opened the heart, then man's word may stimulate and direct it. (Hear, hear.) But unless the work of God's Spirit precede, in the preaching of His word,-and this, Sir, I take to be the electric power, and these the magnetic wires and magic keys, which, when touched and moved by the Master hand, are to thrill our country to its centre-aye, from Pentland Frith to Solway (applause)—unless His Spirit precede and accompany, who can doubt that all other means must prove vain and illusory? (Hear, hear.) But this reminds us, Sir, that the whole gospel must be preached, and that faithfully. I crave pardon for the unseemliness of one so unworthy addressing thus so many reverend fathers and brethren; but there can, I fear, be no reasonable doubt that there still exists, within our Church, a certain amount of blinking of duty in this respect; and that with some clergymen there still lurks a mistaken delicacy, that restrains them from faithfully expounding to their flocks their whole duty in regard to this great Fund. (Hear, hear.) Surely, Sir, it has, long before this, been made very plain; if it had not, the reading of the Report would have made it very plain to-night,—that there is nothing secular, and nothing personal in the preaching of the sustentation of the gospel-(hear)—and that it is more than desirable that such restraint, such delicacy, such mauvaise honte should be heard of no more among us. (Hear, hear.) Better far, as has already been said in this house on a former occasion,-better far, that there be no Sustentation Fund, than that there be, on account of that Fund, no whole gospel. (Applause.) It is surely a very mistaken kindness to tell a man a part, and a part only of his duty, in matters which may imperil his eternal interests; and to leave that part untold, which existing circumstances may render the most important and pressing. (Hear.) It were a sad thing, in that great day of count and reckoning which awaits us all, that any man found faulty in his duty to this Fund should plead an excuse, and say, "I knew no better; and he to whom I looked for knowledge of my duty towards God and man, was on this matter either silent or ob(Hear, hear.) Sir, a heavy responsibility rests on the laity of this Church, if we fail in this duty, towards which God's providences so strongly urge us; but a responsibility as heavy rests on the clergy of this Church, if they fail in their part, the faithful exposition of sound doctrine, and the faithful enforcement of sound practice. (Applause.)

scure."

But, Sir, in the few further observations I would propose to make, I would, for obvious reasons, direct them rather to my brethren in the laity, and shortly advert to one or two matters which we are all too apt to lose sight of, at least for a time. And amongst other things, it were well that we remember, that our giving unto God in this Fund is not a matter of choice, but a duty; a duty to be met only in one of two ways,—either fulfilled, and God's word obeyed, or evaded, and God's word broken. (Hear, hear.) "Woe is unto me," exclaims the Apostle, "if I preach not the gospel." "Woe is unto me," may each one of us cry, "if I sustain not the gospel," the gospel at large, but especially the gospel of my own land, my own heart, and my own home. (Applause.) "Give unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar's," is a plain enough command as regards one half of man's duty; but the other is equally distinct," unto God the things which are God's." We know the consequence of failure as to Cæsar's portion,-prosecution, imprisonment, confiscation. And is God's law less exacting of what is His due? (Hear, hear.) Can we cheat God, and win, in the end? Can we rob God, and escape the fearful curse that attaches by His immutable law?" Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me.' "" Oh, let us rather " bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in His house;" and then we have His own word for it, that He "will

open the windows of heaven, and pour us out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." (Applause.) And we must further remember, that it is not enough that we merely contribute to this Fund-we must contribute conscientiously, according as God hath prospered us. According to that plain rule, there is a certain amount due by us to God,-a solemn, binding debt; not a sum definite and never varying, as we are too apt to imagine; but ever varying, year by year, and time by time, just in proportion to the amount of that of which it is a portion; it being not, as it were, a fixed rental, or a feu-duty from the estate; but rather a lordship due to the superior, and regulated by the amount of the estate's produce,―(hear, hear) ;—a sum which, in old times, was not left to conscience or to chance, but was exacted plainly, a tenth. And, without entering into the question as to how far such law is binding now, surely it were well that, when solemnly settling this account between God and our conscience, we call to remembrance what was His own declared will on this matter with His own people. (Hear, hear.) A certain amount of our money is as much the property of God as a certain amount of our time; both are "holy unto the Lord;" and we may as safely intermeddle with the one as with the other. The guilt of the Sabbath-breaker is not more heinous than that of him who withholds from this Fund what is its due. (Hear, hear.) Debts must be paid in full ere the debtor can hope for a discharge. It will not do to give a part only; we must give all. A composition is not received but in a bankruptcy. (Hear, hear.) And God's debt must be paid in full. Or shall we seek to compound with Him as bankrupts--bankrupts in love, in faith, in good works; bankrupts-ruined-not for time, but for eternity? (Applause.) Ananias and Sapphira made little of their fraudulent offer of composition, (hear, hear); and shall like conduct on our part escape unnoticed and unpunished, now when the Church of Christ is placed in circumstances not dissimilar to those in which that signal instance of Divine vengeance was displayed?-now, as then, there being a call on the disciples to contribute largely of this world's goods, and to have many things in common. (Applause.) And not only must God's debts be paid in full; they must be paid first. He ranks our first and highest creditor; His claim is prior and preferable to all others. (Hear, hear.) The first-born and the firstfruits were His of old time; they were claimed and given irrespective of what might follow-plenty or scarcity. His they were, and His they were given, at the time. (Hear, hear.) And let us not hope to serve God acceptably out of the mere superfluity of our riches. Shall we pay all else first, and just give Him what may happen to be over? Shall we seek to serve God with that which costs us nothing? Nay, rather, if need be, let us out of our poverty serve Him, as did the Corinthians of old, whose "deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality," and it was "counted a proof of their love." (Applause.) Nor let us be afraid of thus injuring our worldly condition. It is thus, on the contrary, that we are to "make friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness." (Hear, hear.) No man who has given aright to the cause of Christ is one whit the poorer this day for what he gave. (Hear, hear.) I remember well, last year, a respected elder from the north stating in his place in this house, that at the end of a season, during which he had been called on to contribute unusually large and frequent sums to the Schemes of this Church, he was surprised to find his books balancing just as before; and that, on looking back, he could not detect which of his comforts had been either limited or taken away. (Hear, hear.) What is given to the Lord is lent to the Lord; and the lender is sure of an ample return. "The silver and the gold are mine," says He; and it is encouraging as well as interesting to observe that He says this in connection with the rebuilding of His own house, under Zerubbabel, and in reference to the glory of the latter house being to become greater than that of the former. (Hear, hear.) There need be no fear of scarcity, unless we prove unfaithful to Him. If His house remain "waste, and we run every one to his own house," then we may expect "the heaven over us to be stayed from dew, and the earth to be stayed from her fruit ;" but not otherwise. It is a miserable, short-sighted, mistaken policy, that would seek to hold back from God what is His own, when He calls for it; when His providences plainly declare that He will condescend to receive it, and that He expects to receive it at our hands. Honesty is the best policy here, as in other things. (Hear, hear.) "Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of

all thine increase," here is the lordship. And it is not a one-sided bargain; not merely a giving of the inferior to the superior without equivalent return. The exchange is ample :-"So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." (Hear, hear.) It is as a sowing of seed. Let Dr Buchanan's five farmers think of that. (Laughter and applause.) "He that sow

eth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he who soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." But even if it were not so, oh, Sir, let us remember who it is that demands the sacrifice at our hands, if sacrifice there is to be,-" He who though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty, might be made rich." (Applause.)

Further, let us remember that ministers, to be useful in preaching the gospel, must be unencumbered with the cares of this world-must not be borne down and racked by anxiety for the maintenance of themselves and families. (Hear, hear.) In the old dispensation, we know that it was otherwise arranged; and that the Levites were left free to devote their whole time and labour to the service of the sanctuary. And we also know that our blessed Saviour, on both occasions of sending forth his disciples to preach the gospel, enjoined them to "provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in their purses," no change of raiment, "nothing for their journey, save a staff only," for "the labourer is worthy of his hire." And should not we do well to ponder the dialogue on their return :-" When I sent you without purse and scrip and shoes, lacked ye anything? And they said, Nothing." Would that the preachers of the same gospel could now say that from us they too have lacked nothing! (Hear, hear.) We have heard of the oppressions of the rich and powerful in the land falling heavy on the heads of some of the devoted men of this Church; and it may have been thought, that more than one may have thus been pressed into an early and apparently untimely grave. But, Sir, it is a solemn question which each one of the laity within our Church may well ask himself, Have I no blame in the sickness, and decay, and death of godly men? (Hear, hear.) Are my hands clean in this? Had I been more true to myself and to the principles I profess more true to the Church and to her great Head-might there not have been less privation and less distress among the outgoing tenants of the manse? (Hear, hear.) Have I left them to suffer all, in worldly things, and refused to take my own share? Is it that the men who fought, and nobly won the battle, have been left to defray the expenses of the campaign?-a thought from which even the honest pride of the worldly heart will recoil. (Hear, hear.) A heavy responsibility weighs on us in this crisis of our Church. Would God that we could all realize it; and that when we have to give in the final account of our stewardship here, we may be able to say that we sought anxiously to know our duty, and that, when known, we were enabled to perform it! (Applause.) And oh, Sir, let us have a jealous care lest in any way even though the temptation come to us in the guise of zeal and enthusiasm in the very cause-we endanger that Fund whose stability and advancement should occupy our chief anxiety. (Hear, hear.) Let us hold all private and personal considerations wholly subdued and out of the way. Let us beware of tampering with-let us beware of innovating rashly on that machinery which has worked well hitherto,-which has brought this Fund this day to more than £20,000 above what it was on the first year after the Disruption. (Hear.) Let us, above all, avoid,—carefully, prayerfully-whatever may possibly lead to disunion or disagreement among ourselves. (Hear, hear.) Let us be ready to sacrifice rather all personal convictions, however strong, if they be but minor, and on matters of mere detail. (Hear, hear.) For what responsibility can be imagined more fearful than that of him, who, in this our Church's crisis, should rashly, or even inadvertently, throw the apple of discord in the midst (great applause)—now when union and united effort are especially required. (Hear, hear.) Oh, Sir, let us seek rather to be "of one accord, and of one mind;" remembering the injunction, "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves." (Hear, hear.) "Let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing." (Applause.)

Can there be a notion abroad in the minds of some, that calls to give to this Fund are less stringent-less a matter of religion-less a duty between men and God,than the giving to other schemes, especially to those of missionary enterprise ?

Why, what is this but missionary enterprise? (Hear, hear); the great Home Mission, the parent and the stock of all missions. (Hear, hear.) One to which not our whole energies, indeed, are to be directed; but which we are bound, (as the gospel was first preached at Jerusalem and to the Jews,) in the first instance, to see fully maintained; not merely on account of its own intrinsic importance, but because this is the centre and support of all else; as it flourishes so they will flourish; as it withers, so must they droop and decay. (Hear, hear.) And while we would not be for one whit less being thrown into the Foreign Missionary or other extrinsic schemes, we would protest loudly against aught given to these being made a pretext for withholding from the great Home Mission Fund, by which, as Dr Buchanan has said,-by which fund, according to human sight and human sense, the Free Church of Scotland must stand or fall. (Applause.) And let there be no dread, lest by liberality in giving to this fund, or rather, let me change the phrase, and say faithfulness,-for it is no matter of liberality to pay one's debt, whether to God or man (hear, hear)—we cramp our hand for others. "God is able to make all grace abound toward you," (says the Apostle to these same Corinthians, whose "deep poverty abounded to the riches of their liberality"), "that ye, always, having all sufficiency, in all things, may abound to every good work." (Applause.)

And now, Sir, apologising humbly to this House for having detained them so long-(applause)-there is but one point more to which I would allude, one which has been spoken of on former occasions, by others more competent, but one which, from its paramount and pressing importance, surely cannot be too prominently or too often under our notice. I allude to the vital necessity of doing all that is in our power, in regard to this Fund, with the view of securing to this Church a future ministry of high standing, both as regards social position and mental accomplishment. (Hear, hear.) Piety and zeal are very essential, we know, in the minister of God's Word; but, we know also, that they are not enough of themselves. "He must have a good report of them which are without." The first preachers of the blessed gospel of Christ were, indeed, the poor and illiterate fishermen of Galilee; but they were chosen, be it remembered, while the great Master was himself with them, to guide and counsel and instruct; and it was not until they had passed through a course of theology, such as can again fall to the lot of no mortal man-three years, night and day, witnessing His bright example, and learning of His wisdom; not even then, not until, besides, what may be termed a wondrous amount of classical attainment had been conferred on them in the gift of tongues at Pentecost-it was then, and then only, that they were sent forth on their true apostleship. (Applause.) And still more forcibly it cannot fail to strike us, that after our Saviour's ascension, when He would himself select an apostle for a special end, it is not now from the poor, illiterate, humble, labouring class-all honour to them notwithstanding-that the selection is made; but it is Saul-(hear, hear) —the wellborn, the eloquent, the talented, the learned in all the knowledge of the timebrought up at the feet of Gamaliel-high in class, high in natural gifts, and high in mental accomplishment. It is he who so successfully "becomes all things to all men," and is the very chiefest of the apostles. (Applause.) Let us remember the high status of ministry which we have had transmitted to our care; as if the Providence of the Disruption had said, "Such is the Free Church, see that such it is maintained." (Hear, hear.) And as we value the services of these men,-the Disruption men, and would fondly hope for like favour to our children and their sons, let us see to it that suitable endowment be provided and established now— (hear, hear)—that there may be no apology for worldly parents, or guardians of youth, holding back the talented and well-disposed of all ranks from devotion to this ministry. (Hear, hear.) Let the incomes of our clergy be respectable and sufficient now, at once; not as a lure to draw men to the pastoral office on that account, but that their scantiness may be no impediment in the way of those who otherwise might and ought to have come. (Applause.)

And now, Sir, let me say in conclusion, that while there is much cause for humiliation, self-examination, and self-rebuke in these things, yet surely there is not only much cause of thankfulness in the past, but also good ground for high hope and encouragement in the future. (Hear, hear.) The non-subscribers to this Fund,

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