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CONFERENCE.

MISCELLANEOUS.

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On Sunday, June 21st, our annual Sunday-school sermons were preached by the Rev. Dr. Bayley, of London, to numerous and respectable audiences. The church was crowded; not only were the pews filled, but forms were placed in every available space. The minister selected for his afternoon discourse the 1st and 2nd verses of the 19th Psalm. He gave a very clear and lucid exposition of the words of the text, first, as to their power and beauty in a scientific point of view, and afterwards shewed in a very marked and eloquent style, the great truths man might receive from a knowledge of their spiritual bearing upon his life and character, when passing through the states of regeneration, with a view to the creation of a new earth and a new heaven, wherein he can abide in a state of rest and peace. Immediately after the afternoon sermon we had a very heavy shower of rain, which led many of us to suppose that we should not have a large congregation; but to our surprise and pleasure, we had about the same number in attendance in the evening as we had had present in the afternoon.

The preacher made choice for his evening's meditation and instruction of the words of the prophet Malachi, chap. iii., verse 3. The subject was treated in an elaborate, well-matured, and masterly manner. The consecutive and orderly way in which the truths were presented left a great impression upon the audience, which was evident from the attention of the whole congregation. Every sentence contained great matter for reflection, and elicited from the hearers, when leaving the church, expressions of satisfaction and of the delight they had experienced in the day's proceedings. The collections amounted to £80. 3s. 04d. This sum being raised in the present state of trade in Lancashire, shews that both members and friends value the institution of Sunday-schools, and hence each came forward with a cheerful and liberal hand.

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In the morning the scholars assembled in the upper school, to the number of 676. This number, together with members and friends, gave a crowded and imposing effect. The singing of the children was truly delightful. Dr. Bayley addressed the children in an appropriate speech for the occasion, which gave great satisfaction, both to the children and friends. School being concluded, Dr. Bayley adjourned to the church, where he baptised 17 children, and during the week he baptised 13 children more,-making a total, during his visit, of 30 baptisms.

We have to thank our Argyle-square friends for Dr. Bayley's visit, and we think they will agree with us that his presence with us has been a work of love and use. The services of the day were very much enhanced by the excellent performance of our esteemed friend Mr. James Cunliffe, on the organ, and by the excellent vocal efforts of the whole choir.

Thursday Evening.-Presentation and Valedictory Meeting to Mr. Westall.A meeting was convened on Thursday evening, to commence at half-past seven o'clock, when there were about 700 present, for the purpose of presenting a token of respect to Mr. Westall, for his active and continued usefulness as a teacher and superintendent of our Sunday-school for so many years, and who is about to leave Accrington to enter upon the duties of a minister in connection with the Bolton Society. Mr. Bury was in the chair. After singing a hymn, Dr. Bayley offered up prayer.

The Chairman, on rising to address the audience, said it gave him great pleasure to see so many present on an occasion like this, because it shewed that the object in view was duly appreciated by all, namely, the resolution our friend and co-worker, Mr. Westall, had come to, in deciding to take upon himself the duties of a minister. He earnestly congratulated him for the wisdom of his choice, because in his duties and labours he would have meat to eat that the world knows not of. The teachers and friends, on hearing of his engagements, resolved at once to raise a subscription for the purpose of presenting him with a token of their esteem and love. He would, doubtless, in his new undertaking, have many trials and difficulties, but the Lord would be with him to comfort and bless him. He could

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assure him he would leave Accrington to take the pulpit at Bolton with the good wishes of all of us, and with all our prayers for his deep and lasting usefulness.

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The Rev. Dr. BAYLEY rose and said: My beloved friends,-It gives me great pleasure to see so many of you present this evening. It reminds me of the many opportunities I have had of speaking to you on similar occasions. It is delightful to all right-minded persons to see and hear of the doctrines of the New Jerusalem given from heaven by the Lord, being taught and received with an earnest desire that such truths should govern men's lives and characters. This delight is from no sectarian feeling. In our trials in the passage through this life, we receive consolation from the Word as opened by these principles, such as cannot otherwise be given. In death these truths are of that inspiring and cheering character that gives us confidence, like that which David expressed when he said "Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Thy rod and staff shall comfort us;' and when we contemplate the realities of the eternal world, we find in the teachings of the New Church a fund of instruction, giving us glorious views of the realities and happiness of the life to come, which makes it attractive with a beauty real, true, and wondrous, and which cheers us with hopes that gild and glorify the gloomy passage of the grave. In fact, the New Church gives us truths which cheer us all our journey through; and what is good for us here, we feel will give us happiness in heaven. If ministers were planted through the country to proclaim the glorious truths of the New Church, and were active in their office, a great amount of good might be done. hope, before long, to see more young men undertake the office of the ministry, and advance the cause of truth and goodness in the world. There is one friend on my right, Mr. Whitehead, who is well adapted for such work, and now that Mr. Westall has led the way, I trust he soon will follow. I have to thank you for honouring me with the request that I would make a selection of books to present to our esteemed friend, Mr. Westall; and I will briefly explain the principle on which I acted. Care needed to be taken lest he should be in possession of some of the works, and your present not be as useful as you

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wished it to be. I knew that he had already in his possession most, if not all, of the works peculiarly containing the doctrines of the New Church. I thought it best, then, to make choice of other books, which I was sure would be useful to him, commencing, of course, with the head of all books, the Holy Word. This copy, splendidly bound, and printed with large type, is one of the most useful, as well as ornamental, ever published by the Bible Society. I knew my friend was a great reader of history. My attention was therefore turned to the choice of what would be a good history, and I selected the Pictorial History of England, in 10 volumes, which are splendidly bound, as you see. This work is very different from some of the previous Histories of England, because these volumes contain facts which may be relied upon,-facts for the life of the people, and not only for kings and their wars. I have also selected Calmet's Dictionary, which contains the facts of the literal sense of the Word, and will form a very great addition to his library, and assist Mr. Westall in his treatment of the Divine Word. thinking over our friend's engagement at Bolton, I concluded that this meeting would rejoice to hear that Mrs. Westall should be regarded on this occasion. I have therefore, on your behalf, included 4 volumes of the work entitled "The Land we Live in." These volumes contain information respecting the different towns and the beautiful scenery of England. I know that ladies are always anxious to know what is going on now, and what is new at the present day. While her husband is studying England as it has been, Mrs. Westall will be refreshing her mind with England as it is. I next found that our edition of the large-print Hymn Book was ready, and I was just in time to procure the first copy that was issued for this testimonial; that also will form a nice memento to Mrs. Westall of your esteem. The young men who formed the first class, which Mr. Westall taught, wish also to add their tribute of respect on this occasion, by presenting him, as their teacher, with the 4 volumes of the Rev. Mr. Clissold's "Exposition of the Apocalypse;" and this will be doubly valuable from the most active in its suggestion being Mr. Eli Whitehead, now of Heywood. Reference was then made to Solomon's prayer for conduct

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ing the children of Israel, as recorded in 1 Kings, iii. 7, 9; and the spirit of Solomon's prayer was earnestly recommended to Mr. Westall as the spirit in which he should look to the Lord to guide his flock; and Dr. Bayley concluded by invoking the benediction of the Lord Jesus Christ upon him and them.

Mr. WESTALL said: My very dear friends,-I can assure you that it is with feelings such as I have never before experienced, that I rise upon this occasion to reply in acknowledgment of this testimonial of your goodwill. It is very pleasing to have one's labours appreciated, for it gives a promise-a hope that those labours may not be altogether unfruitful in use; and I do assure you that for this expression of your respect and esteem, for the very small services I may have rendered to our school and church, I return you my most affectionate and grateful regard. But, my friends, you have enhanced the value of this very valuable gift, by securing an opportunity for presentation when our good friend and former pastor, and in a large measure my educator, Dr. Bayley, could be here to present it; and thereby have you, this evening, brought before us a scene which to me is most deeply touching. These kindnesses at this time, and upon all occasions on which I have laboured with you, shall be treasured amongst the fondest of my remembrances, and the love which prompted them, I reciprocate to the fullest degree. I thank you most sincerely for this kindness to Mrs. Westall. Without the great assistance a good wife can render at home, but little can be done for the school or the church; and I can truly say that her delight has been, and is, in ministering to both. I also thank my friend, Mr. Whitehead, and through him those scholars of the first Bible-class I taught in our Sunday-school, for this manifestation of their affectionate remembrance. These books shall be a memento, not only reminding me of the many services in which I have been engaged with you, but also as a token of your sympathy and good wishes for me in entering upon the duties of the high and sacred position of the ministry. For the ful filment of this exalted trust, I feel more and more feeble as the time draws near, and I shall need, and do crave, the forbearance of the society to which I am

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going; but, above all, I pray for help to Him who alone can sustain me through all the trials, difficulties, and responsibilities of so elevated a trust.

The Rev. E. D. RENDELL, on rising, said: It may be asked why I am here? I will tell you. It was by a mere incident that I happened to hear of your intention to present a testimonial to Mr. Westall, and so to express your attachment to him, and your good opinion of him and of his usefulness. I had before heard that he was about to leave Accrington, to devote himself to the ministry of the New Church, and that he had accepted an invitation to that office by the society at Bolton. I therefore concluded that it might be encouraging and useful to surround him with as many friends as possible; and that the presence of one who had been engaged in his work for upwards of 30 years would not be regarded as an intrusion. I desire to sympathise with him in the work which he is about to undertake, and shall always be delighted to hear of his success. The meeting was opened with a very beautiful prayer, in which the Divine was besought to communicate to our young friend those graces which would render him an efficient and useful worker in the ministerial office. May that prayer be realised! I am much pleased to learn that he has been so diligent and careful a student of those divine things he will have to teach, because I am sure that knowledge and care in this respect are essential to success. Much will depend upon the clearness and force with which the divine truths of the Word are presented to the people. It will also be important to his usefulness that those to whom he ministers should affectionately coöperate with him in realising the religious duties he has undertaken to perform. The members of his society should carefully unite with him in all his labours to advance the welfare of the institutions of the church. They should work and wait together, leaving the results to Him who knoweth the times and the seasons. The growth of a society, a church, is a gradual process; it will have to pass through many stages in its upward path; it will not be always day; a night will sometimes come. Man, by nature, is prone to evil, and therefore he must be the subject of temptation before he can be regenerated. He will have to learn what are the foes of his own household, and to fight against

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them. Our young friend will also have his external trials. The New Church ministry is not all roses and velvet; most of us have experienced some thorns and thistles in his path; and our young friend will do well if he prepare himself to meet difficulties which may arise. He will have much to learn which nothing but experience can properly teach. He will have many things to teach in private as well as public. His ministerial visitations will present him with many opportunities to inform, to comfort, to console, works which demand the exercise of much prudence, self-denial, and ability. He should also be ready with his kindly advice and assistance at all times, and feel it to be his duty to encourage cheerfully, even though he may sometimes find it requisite to discountenance eccentricity. The intellectual progress of a society will greatly depend upon the activity and intelligence of the minister. Our young friend should be as much as possible in his study, and embrace all suitable opportunities for becoming acquainted with the wants of his society. He should cultivate in himself, and stimulate in his people, a disposition to that quietness in which there is strength. A desire to learn on their part, a willingness to teach on his, those charities and duties by which peace may be maintained, the peace which has its root in the love of goodness, and the rejection of evil, are essential to maintain a good understanding between them. He will remember the divine statement "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few." This, indeed, may have some literal application to the present position of the church; but that is not its true meaning. The harvest denotes all those things of the church by which the soul is sustained in its spiritual life; and the labourers in this harvest are said to be few, because they are the humble: few denotes quality of mind, and not a limited number of persons. He will also remember that the Lord said "Fear not, little flock." This might have a numeral reference to the early condition of the church; but its true meaning is not in numbers. The flock are all those whs are in charity, and the little flock are principles of humble charity; these do not fear, because they are at all times witnesses of courage and exaltation from the Lord. Humility, therefore, both on the part of the minister and the people, will be

an element of success, of peace and progress. Of the realisation of these things I shall be delighted to hear, and so also will the church at large. And in conclusion, sir, permit me to take your hand, and to give you a most hearty welcome to the public work in the Lord's vineyard; and may the Lord bless and comfort you in every good and useful labour!

Mr. WHITEHEAD, of Heywood, then rose, and said:-One of the loveliest virtues in human character is gratitude, and one of the ugliest vices is ungratefulness. It seems to me a most delightful thing to think kindly of one another, and to entertain agreeable feelings towards each other. I don't envy the man who cannot look back with pleasure upon that period of life in which he was dependent upon others for everything he had. I would not care to exchange places with the man who has not any good will towards those who helped him to acquire the means of forming his character, and of making his way through life. Well, now, we are met to night to do some. thing of this kind. We are here on purpose to tender our thanks to one who has endeavoured, both privately and before the public, to do his share of useful work in the world. We are here to thank him for what he has done, and to wish him God-speed in what he is going out to do. If there be any here who have occasion to join heartily in this, I am one. Looking back to a time when17 or 18 years ago-a number of us came into our friend's class in the Sundayschool,-the first, I believe, he had ever taken,—I cannot but feel a pleasure in thinking of the work we did under his direction, the little exercises in com. position, the short essays that we wrote; and then, not satisfied with what was done on a Sunday, he used to have us at his father's house on Wednesday evenings, to teach us grammar, arithmetic, and other kindred subjects. I do think that work like this, that nobody ever knew of but those who were concerned in it, deserves to be acknowledged. It is worth a great deal more than we can ever calculate. It took us at a time when we were ripe either for mischief or for work, and it gave us a turn in the right direction,—a turn which, in many instances, has been permanent. Some of those are now gone into the eternal world; others are thousands of miles away in different parts of the world; and

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some few are here; but I am quite sure that we all look back with grateful pleasure upon those times, and that we wish him as happy and as useful ones in the future. But, I think, we should not be doing right to neglect to remind you young people here to-night, that your opportunities are quite as great, and even greater, than any that were enjoyed in the past. We should be unfaithful if we did not tell you that your responsibilities are great too. We should be false to our trust if we did not tell you that it is only in the wise use of those opportunities that you can ever find any happiness worth having. Nobody ever was happy, or ever will be, except in the pursuit of a worthy object. You may follow after mere enjoyment until you become hardly anything but a mere animal; but you will never have any lasting pleasure in it. It is in improving yourselves spiritually and religiously as well as mentally, and in turning all your opportunities to good account, for other people as well as for yourselves, that you will have the best enjoyment of life. And then, again, it is not just for the sake of effecting a change in your worldly circumstances that I would urge self-improvement. It is because self-improvement gives you the greatest chances of use; and it is in usefulness, and usefulness only, that happiness can be found. A man who does not care to be useful, who sucks all in and gives nothing out, is a mere wart upon society, and nobody cares how soon such a one is out of the way. If you want to be really and lastingly happy, make up your minds to be something and to do something that will make the world better. I often think of the intense earnestness with which our friend Mr. Cunliffe used to address the young people in my time upon the importance of seeking self-improvement; and it always brings into my mind that beautiful verse from Longfellow's Psalm of Life

"In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of life,

Be not like dumb, driven cattle,

Be a hero in the strife."

I hope this is not the last meeting of this kind to be held here. There are numbers more with ability enough if they would only use it; and, certainly, the world has need of you and of all you can do. In conclusion, I will only say that it is with indescribable pleasure that I have come to night to join with you in

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wishing prosperity, and usefulness, and happiness to our friend. I hope also that numbers of the young people here may follow in his steps, and make themselves as useful in the world.

Mr. BARNES then said: Mr. Chairman and Friends,-At this late hour of the evening, I do not intend to trouble the meeting with any lengthy remarks, but it has occurred to me if we each only expressed our good wishes, it would be agreeable to our friend before leaving us. I remember him from a boy, and have looked upon his progress from time to time with great interest. I remember his first love being to investigate the various sciences, and it seemed that that would be his particular forte for life; but as he advanced in years, his taste changed for theology. The fact was, he commenced at the right point. His knowledge of science was a good groundwork for his spiritual reflections, and prepared as he is, I am glad he has resolved to undertake the duties of the ministry, because I do think that he will be a blessing. I think, also, that Accrington should do its portion towards supplying the New Church pulpit. We are sending one to that office. I feel pleased that we are commencing in the right direction; and I can assure Mr. Westall he will have my fervent wish for his prosperity, happiness, and usefulness in his sacred work.

Dr. PILKINGTON said: It was a late hour for him to attempt to make any remarks, for he observed it was then halfpast ten o'clock. He thought Accrington ought not only to send one young man out to the office of a minister, but many more, for he was positive the society had plenty of talent in connection with its members, and it only needed a firm resolution like that of our friend Mr. Westall to say that they also would bow to the will of the Divine Being, and go forth and teach the truths that they have received from the Word, which they are sure are from Good. I might tell you, continued Dr. Pilkington, many pleasing circumstances that give me delight in my daily visits. I lent the Rev. E. D. Rendell's "Antediluvian History to a clergyman, and after he had read it, he lent it to another clergyman. Hearing where the book was, I asked the gentleman for it, as I wanted to let another person have it, when he said'Do let me have the work a little longer, as I am delighted with it; and let me

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