ORDINATIONS, &c.

ON Thursday, April 11, 1822, was solemnized the public settlement of the Rev. C. T. Mileham (late of Highgate) over the second Baptist Church at PORTSEA. Mr. Henshaw, of the Wesleyan Connexion, read and prayed; Mr. Millard of Lymington delivered an introductory discourse, and addressed the church; Mr.Miall asked the usual questions, and received the confession of faith; and Mr. Griffin of Portsea concluded. In the evening the service was resumed, when Mr. Saffery, Jun. read and prayed; Dr. Newman of Stepney gave the charge; and Mr. Franks of Newport concluded. The services were conducted in the chapels of the Rev. Daniel Miall and the Rev. John Griffin, both which were kindly lent for the occasion. Mr. Tilly and Mr. Draper read the hymns.

APRIL 23, the Rev. J. D. Blakeman was ordained to the pastoral office over the Baptist Church, Mile Town, SHEERNESS. Mr. Groser, Jun. of Maidstone, stated the nature of a Gospel Church, asked the usual questions, and received the confession of faith; Mr. Giles of Chatham offered the ordination prayer, accompanied with imposition of hands, and delivered an impressive charge from Titus i. 7, “As the steward of God;" and Mr. Shenston of London addressed the church from Gen. xlv. 24, "See that ye fall not out by the way." The services were solemn and profitable, and the day was spent in the most perfect harmony and Christian love.

There is a pleasing prospect of usefulness and success to the pastor; 22 have been added to the church during the four months he has laboured among them; a large gallery has been erected; and the place is now so crowded, that it is with difficulty the hearers are accommodated with seats. The people are much retarded in their exertions by a heavy debt on their place of worship. The pastor, sanctioned by the neighbouring Baptist ministers, will shortly apply to the

denomination and friends for their kind assistance in aid of its liquidation.

APRIL 30, the Rev. Joseph Brooks was ordained as pastor of the Baptist church at WEST HADDON. Mr. Aston of Creaton commenced the service with reading the scriptures and prayer. Mr. Blundel of Northampton stated the nature of a Christian Church, asked the usual questions, and received the confession of faith; Mr. John Edmonds of West Haddon offered the ordination prayer; Mr. Bull of Newport Pagnell gave the charge, from 1 Tim. iv. 16; Mr. Hall of Leicester preached to the people, from 2 Pet. i. middle clause of the 4th verse, "That by these ye might be partakers of the Divine nature."Mr. Shakespear of Southam commenced the evening service with read, ing the scriptures and prayer; Mr. Joseph Gravestock of Old preached from Luke ix. 30 to 35. The hymns were read by Mr. Goodrich of Ravensthorpe. The attendance during the day was numerous, and the services particularly interesting.

MAY 7, Mr. Robert Upton was pub licly recognized as pastor of the Bap tist Church at Gray's Walk, LAMBETH.-Mr.James Upton, Jun. (Pop, lar) commenced the interesting services of the day withreading and prayer; Mr. Pritchard stated the Nature of a Gospel Church, and asked the usual questions. One of the members gave a brief statement of the origin and progress of this infant cause; the present circumstances of the church; and the leadings of Divine Providence in bringing Mr. Upton among them. Mr. Upton then gave a very affecting account of his own experience, and his confession of faith, which was highly gratifying and satisfactory; Mr. Bligh offered up the ordination prayer; and Mr. James Upton, Sen. gave a solemn and affecting charge, founded on 1 Petiv. 10, 11, and concluded in prayer.-In the evening, Mr. Wm. Upton of St. Alban's commenced with

reading and prayer; Mr. Belcher addressed the church from 2 Thess. iii. 1; and Mr. Tidd concluded.

From the statement given on this occasion, it appears that a few Christian friends, who resided in this neighbourhood, have exerted themselves on its behalf to a considerable extent, by opening a small place for public worship, and by establishing a Sunday School. The rent of both places amounting to £25 per annum, although they would not hold more than 120 persons, and the attendance being so great that numbers could not gain admission, the friends considered it their duty to endeavour to accommodate the inhabitants of this destitute and populous neighbourhood, by erecting the neat and commodious place where they now worship, which is well attended. The expenses connected with building are upwards of £900. About £200 have been raised, and a Penny-a-Week Society for the liquidation of the debt is in active operation. An opportunity will be afforded to the religious public to assist in this great and essentially necessary undertaking."

APRIL 10, 1822, the churches that constitute the HANTS AND WILTS ASSISTANT SOCIETY IN AID OF THE BAPTIST MISSION, met in Association at Ebenezer Cha pel, Portsea.

Mr. Saffery preached from 1 Cor. xii. 7; Mr. Draper from Isaiah xlv. 22; and Mr. Russell, the preceding evening, from Jer. ii. 13. The brethren Yarnold, Franks, Rutter, Futcher, Glanville, Bulgin, Mursell, Shoveller, Saffery, Neave, and Mile. ham, conducted the devotional services. The afternoon was occupied in the business of the Itinerant Society; the report of which affords ample encouragement for renewed exertions; not only as detailing past success, but as exhibiting a dreary moral waste, yet unsown with the good seed of the kingdom. The next Association will be held at Salisbury, September 25. The brethren Russell, Draper, and Mileham, are appointed to preach; the former on Tuesday evening. It will be the annual meeting of the Assistant Mission Society; it is hoped, therefore, that the churches will forward their subscriptions and collections, remembering that the necessities of the Mission require their immediate and vigorous exertion.

THE Baptist and Independent Ministers connected with the ASSOCIA. TION for the ISLE of ELY and its Vicinity, held their half-yearly meeting April 17, in Mr. Norman's place of worship at Soham. Mr. Reynolds of Isleham preached in the morning from Ephes. ii. 12; Mr. Green of Bluntisham in the afternoon from Isai. xlix. 6; and Mr. Lee of Newmarket in the evening from Rom. x. 12-15. The services were very interesting; and collections were made in aid of the Baptist and the London Missionary Societies, amounting to £6 9s. 7d. The next meeting of this Association to be held at Barton Mills, on Thursday, Oct. 3.

HOMERTON ANNIVERSARY,

1822.

evening the Annual Meeting of the TUESDAY, June 25.-At six in the Homerton Academy Society will be held at the King's Head Tavern in the Poultry.

Wednesday, June 26.-At half-past eight, the ministers educated at Homerton Academy, or connected with it, will breakfast together at the King's Head in the Poultry. At eleven, a sermon will be preached before the ministers, and other friends of the Institution, at the meeting-house in New Broad-street, by the Rev. J. B. Innes of Camberwell.-At six in the evening, two of the senior students will deliver discourses on specific subjects in Theology.

Annual Examination of the Students Thursday, June 27.-At eleven, the Will be held at Homerton Academy.

IRELAND.

THE Potatoe Crop, which generally lasts till August, was completely exhausted a month ago, together with the greater part of the seed; and the exertions of the benevolent, in affording temporary relief, will be required to preserve thousands of the Irish cultivators from perishing for want before the supply of next autumn. A very numerous and respectable meeting was held for this purpose at the City of London Tavern, on the 7th ult. One lady has chartered a vessel for that country, containing 40 tons of potatoes, and 12 tons of oatmeal. Government also will assist and forward the object.

We extract the following letter from the Morning Post of May 8.

"To the Editor of the Morning Post. "Sir-As there are many thousands (I might with safety say millions) of persons anxious to contribute their mite towards the relief of the starving peasantry of Ireland, and towards procuring for them that of which they are, at this moment, so completely destitute, namely, seed for the ensuing season, yet do not like to take that | mite to a banking-house; I take the liberty to suggest, that a charity sermon may be preached in every church and chapel of every religions denomination, throughout the United Kingdom, on the first Sunday after you, and the other liberal Editors (if approving this idea) give it a place in your and their Daily and Weekly Papers; that the amount collected in England shall instantly be forwarded

to

any of the highly respectable banking-houses of London, who have so kindly and so promptly come for ward in this glorious cause, to contribute and to receive subscriptions; that all sums collected in Scotland shall be placed in the Bank of Sir W. Forbes, Edinburgh; and that all sums collected in Ireland shall be placed in the Bank of Sir R. Shaw, Bart. Dublin, to be appropriated by the Acting Committee for Ireland.'

6

LONDON SOCIETY

For Promoting Christianity among the Jews.

MAY 3 was held at the Egyptian Hall, Mansion-house, the Fourteenth Anniversary of the above Society, Sir Thomas Baring (President) in the Chair. Mr. Hawtrey (one of the Secretaries) read the Report. It appears that the Schools contain 38 boys and 44 girls; that a Jew was baptized at the Episcopal chapel in December last; that editions of the prophets are preparing in Biblical and in German Hebrew; that the sale of the Jewish Expositor has considerably increased; that Missionaries are receiving ins struction in the Jewish Seminary; that two have been already sent; that two more will be sent very soon; and that appearances are very promising at Amsterdam, Warsaw, Frankfort, Hamburgh, Gibraltar, Posen, &c. and even on the coast of Barbary. The speakers were Sir R. H. Inglis, Bart. Lord Calthorpe, Rev. Messrs. Simeon, Way, John Brown, Cunningham, Richmond, and Daniel Wilson; Wil liam Wilberforce, Esq. M.P. R. Grant, Esq. Lord Gambier, and the Chairman.

ROYAL BRITISH INSTITUTION, For the Education of the Poor,

"Your most obedient, "HUGH DOHERTY." 144, Jermyn-street, St. James's, May 6, 1822."

In the paper of the following day it is suggested, that small collections might be made in private families also -the writer mentions having collected 15s. in his own.

In addition to the assistance rendered by collections at numerous public meetings, and by individuals, government is doing all in its power to supply with food our famishing brethren in Ireland. But all, alas! will be too little.

His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex not being able to attend the meeting, Mr. Alderman Wood, the founder of the Institution, was requested to take the Chair, which he did, and regretted the absence of the Duke of Sussex, whose indisposition (he said) could only be the cause of his non-attendance at the meeting.

Mr. Wilks, the Secretary, now read the Report, from which it appeared that the Institution was in a very flourishing state, and had met with the most liberal support of the public. Since the year 1813, the Society had received under its care 4,433 boys, and the number had been increased to 4,808; of these, 2,501 were taught to read and write, and 2,307 had been completed in the rules of arithmetic. Within the last three years, 580 girls,

had been admitted into the schools, and taught needle-work and the rudiments of education, and 217 now remained in the school, the dimensions of which were so very extensive, that more could be received. It also stated, that £3000 have been expended in the erection of two commodious schools, and there only remained a debt of £400. which it was anticipated would be liquidated by that day's subscriptions, and others in hand.

The school embraces the children of the poor of every denomination, without offering violence to their religious feelings, and is conducted upon the liberal plan of Joseph Lancaster, and the British and Foreign School, conveying religious and moral instruction only through the medium of the scriptures, to which some of the girls showed so great an attachment, that they saved all their little pittances of pocket-money, &c. to purchase Bibles for themselves.

After the Report was read, several of the children of the Institution were conducted into the room. They were neatly clad, and had the appearance of being well treated. Being placed in rotation, each of them produced some specimen of their forwardness in education in its various branches, and the needle-work and writing exacted the highest eulogies of the company. Several read passages out of the Bible.

The boys and girls present did not exceed ten or twelve years of age, and their examination elicited the warmest approbation. The most meritorious were rewarded with silver medals, with the impression of his Majesty's Coronation,

Society, and had distributed upwards of 80,000 Bibles and Testaments. The progress of the Society had been slow but sure, and extends now to twentythree counties out of thirty-two, and they looked with confidence to complete success, as the cause was not that of a party, but truly Catholic.

The speakers were, the Earl of Gosford, Mr. Steven, Lord Calthorpe, the Duke of Gloucester, Wm. Wilberforce, Esq. J. Grattan, Esq. John Scott, Esq. (Treasurer), and the Rev. Messrs. George Clarke and J. Brown, and Drs. Randolph and Thorpe.

PORT OF LONDON SOCIETY.

MAY 6, the Fourth Anniversary was held at the City of London Tavern, Lord Gambier in the Chair. The Rev. Dr. Newman shortly implored the divine protection and favour in a suitable address to the Throne of Mercy. It appears from the Report, that at most of the outports of the United Kingdom, seamen have now chapels devoted to their use; that preaching on board of private vessels has greatly increased; that the moral and spiritual welfare of this interesting class of men has been promoted in various ways; and that similar measures have been adopted in the United States, particularly at Boston. The unwearied exertions of " the British and Foreign Seamen's Friend Society" in esablishing devotional meetings of seamen under the Bethel Union Flag is honourably mentioned; a similar Society to which has been established at Gibraltar. The Floating Chapel is

MAY 4, the Annual Meeting of the above Society was held at Freemasons' Hall, His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester in the Chair.

The Report, which was read by the Rev. Mr. Ritchings, the Secretary, stated, that the number of the Society's Schools in Ireland had increased in the last year from 534 to 575, and that the number of scholars was 53,233. Thirtyfive of the Schools were under the superintendence of Catholic Priests, from which it would be seen how entirely the Society was divested of Sectarianism. The Society had received 1000 Bibles and 10,000 Testaments from the British and Foreign Bible

been established on the 4th of June, in honour of his late Majesty. Several anecdotes are related in the Report of the effects of religion upon seamen, and the great moral change now taking place among them. It appears from the accounts read by the Treasurer, (R. H. Marten, Esq.) that £136 17s. 6d. had been obtained by the monthly collections from sailors and others who went to hear the sermons in the Floating Chapel. The speakers were Edward Philips, Esq. High Sheriff for Wilts, Rev. Rowland Hill, Sir George Keith, Bart. Lieut. Fabian, R. N. the Rev. Dr. Newman, the Rev. Messrs. Griffiths, Henry, Hooper, Charles Hyatt, and George Evans, Lieut. Gordon.

the