PREFACE. ITH this Number is completed another Volume of the United Pres WITH 6 byterian Magazine, not inferior in variety and interest, it is hoped, to the many that have preceded it. It has been our aim to combine subjects of general interest with those more strictly denominational; and while seeking to gain the attention of the Ministers and Elders of the Church, we have endeavoured, through The Home Circle,' to make some of our pages useful and pleasant for the young. The sketches of Rajput History' and of 'Early Church History' have been continued throughout the year, and will be found of permanent value. The Review of Current Events during each month is a feature of the Magazine which has long been highly prized, and to our fellow-helper in this department is due our cordial thanks. While seeking to foster an enlightened denominational patriotism, we have ever expressed sympathy with all Christian work and workers. We had expected that, through the successful termination of the Union negotiations with the Free Church, some modification might soon have been required in the arrangements of this periodical. In this we have been disappointed. By the action of the last General Assembly of the Free Church, the Union movement has been arrested, for the time at least, and it will therefore be needful that schemes of denominational improvement and advancement, which for a season were held in abeyance, should now be discussed and pursued with undivided energy. The Augmentation Fund,' 'The Theological Hall,' and 'Union in England' demand the earnest and thoughtful attention of the whole Church, and the pages of the Magazine afford a useful medium for the expression of general opinion on these and kindred subjects. May great |