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MISCELLANEOUS.

soul droop within him, it was to see the highest things of the church neglected. A wicked man loves his child, and a foolish woman presses her child to her bosom; and shall it be said that the young disciples of the church could love the holy things of God and worship, and yet never partake of those representative elements which most assuredly give strength to those who worthily receive them to follow their Saviour in the regenerate life ?

The Rev. C. G. MACPHERSON, of Liverpool, enforced the demands of the church on her Sunday and Day schools, and in doing so, alluded to the angelic nature of teaching, and the importance it was that children should learn the catechism, and the leading doctrines of the church before they grew up, that their young minds might be stored with principles which would be of constant benefit to them in maturer life.

Mr. E. J. BROADFIELD, of Manchester, in a pleasant manner noticed the uses which the gathering of the members of Conference together produced; and in adverting to the value of Sunday-school instruction, shewed that it must be entered upon from the love of duty, and for the benefit of our fellow-creatures.

Mr. T. MADELEY, of Derby, proposed a vote of thanks to the Birmingham society, for the handsome and hospitable manner in which they had entertained the ministers, the members of Conference, and the visitors, and expressed his conviction that the more the miuisters of the church became pastors, the more would their usefulness be extended.

The resolution having been seconded, was carried unanimously; and it being now past ten o'clock, the meeting was closed by Mr. Madeley pronouncing the Benediction.

The series of evening meetings in connection with this Conference was brought to a happy conclusion on the Friday night. Every member of Conference and every other New Church visitor, of whose presence the Committee were previously aware, received invitations.

On entering the room, the tables laden with varied eatables and prettily decorated with flowers, surrounded by elegantly dressed hosts and visitors, and presided over by the ladies of the congregation, formed a very pretty sight indeed. After tea the whole of the com

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pany adjourned into the church, where the powers of the organ recently erected were displayed by J. A. Beaumont, Esq. (a distinguished amateur of the town), in a varied and choice selection of organ music. This in itself was no inconsiderable pleasure. The grand aria from Elijah, "Hear ye Israel," was introduced, and the genuine musical feeling evinced by both singer and organist delighted every one. During this time the room was re-arranged with seats in a manner that was evidently intended to facilitate social intercourse, as stated iu the circular. It must be confessed, however, that the numbers were somewhat too great to permit the attainment of this object without difficulty.

After the friends had re-assembled, the Rev. E. Madeley, on behalf of the congregation, expressed the warm feelings of welcome with which they had received the Conference, and the happiness that had been experienced in many ways during its visit. Mr. J. Bragg followed, and stated that it had been the anxious desire of the Birmingham society to accommodate every New Church visitor in their own houses. In this the Hockley friends kindly coöperated, and he was happy to say that the object had been achieved, except in a few instances where friends either failed to inform the Secretary of their intention to visit Birmingham or else preferred to seek their own accommodation on arrival. The Rev. R. Storry responded on behalf of the Conference. Mr. E. J. Broadfield speaking in place of the Rev. Mr. Rothery (who was expected to be present) responded on behalf of the visitors. The addresses, though mentioned together, were separated by a selection of vocal and pianoforte music, by the ladies and gentlemen of the congregation, aided by Miss Collins, Mr. J. C. Bayley, and Mr. George Broadfield, as visitors. The music was judiciously selected, well performed, and greatly enjoyed by the meeting. An interval for conversation was given, during which fruits, &c., were handed round. The happy meeting was brought to a conclusion by a verse of a hymn and the Benediction.

GENERAL CHURCH INTELLIGENCE.

BATH. The public have again enjoyed the opportunity of attending four services for Divine worship, conducted by Mr. Porteous, at our large and beautiful as

sembly rooms; and we have great pleasure in stating that the attendance, for this time of the year, was exceedingly good. Mr. Porteous's well-known style of address, attractive manner, and power of argument, added to the interesting subjects announced, viz., "The Second Advent and Millennial Times; " "The Renan Controversy,"-"What think ye of Christ;" "The Unpardonable Sin;" and " The Last Judgment," secured to him full, highly respectable, and attentive audiences. It was truly delightful to witness the deep interest manifested by all whilst listening to the lecturer, as he unfolded the truth of God in its varied forms. Many inquiries are being made, and we trust that much good will result from this visit,-verifying the Scripture language which says "My word shall not return unto me void; but it shall accomplish that which I choose, and prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

Arrangements were made for a teameeting, in the Council Chamber of the Guildhall, which was kindly allowed by our worthy mayor, Jerom Murch, Esq.; one hundred and thirty friends availed themselves of this opportunity, and a very pleasant evening was spent in listen iug to music and addresses. Mr. I. Pitman presided; and in the course of his remarks, referred to the depraved human principle our Lord took upon Himself in order to work out our full redemption, entering briefly, but most clearly, into minute particulars of that interesting subject. Mr. Porteous delivered two encouraging addresses on "The Christian Religion best suited to the Present Age," dwelling most lucidly on the importance of the New Church standing on a broad platform, and the non-admission of a narrow-minded sectarianism. An address was also delivered by our friend Dr. Barnes. A few minutes after ten, the meeting broke up, many on leaving expressing the hope that the time would not be long when we shall again enjoy other such meetings with Mr. Porteous.

JERSEY.-The annual general meeting of the "First Association of the New Jerusalem Church in Jersey" was held at the Temple, Victoria-street, St. Heliers, on Tuesday, the 12th July, at two o'clock. Mr. Brown, the leader, was called to the chair, who opened the meeting with an appropriate prayer. The report of the proceedings of the past year was read,

from which it appeared that five infants had been baptized, and one marriage and three funerals performed. The list of members was revised, by which it appeared that there were twenty-five on the books. The library contained 172 volumes, a great number of which had been lent out during the year. The school contained 18 scholars and 5 teachers. The report concludes by stating that through the skill and perseverance of M. Le Cras, the temple and other property belonging to the association was now placed in trust, under the new law, recently enacted by the States and sanctioned by the Crown. M. Le Cras gave a brief outline of the steps he had taken to carry out the resolutions of the associatiou, and which had been brought to a favourable issue only the Saturday previous, when the statutes of the association were enrolled, and the deed of trust recorded, both in the Royal Court. A vote of thanks was presented to M. Le Cras for the very able and zealous manner in which he had grappled with the difficulty. A vote of thanks was also given to the Rev. T. Chalklen, of Bristol, for his gratuitous services during his visit to the island. The Committee and officers were appointed for the ensuing year, and the former were desired to make some arrangement with the Lord of the Manor, who claims a compensation on the ground that the temple must now be taken and deemed to be held in mortmain, because it belongs to a quasi corporation, or body of persons who have the power of perpetuating their existence. M. Thomas De Faye was chosen representative of the society at the Conference.

In the evening the friends took tea at Alderbury Lodge, the hospitable residence of M. Le Cras, after which a delightful conversation ensued on the doctrines of spiritual Christianity, now unfolded in the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, at the second or interior coming of the Lord, when "all things" of his first advent are "made new," that

is, spiritual. The principal speakers were M. Le Cras, Mr. Brown, Mr. Thayer, and Mr. Binet. Mr. Chalklen made some excellent remarks on marriage.

A copy of the "statutes" was produced, in which the legal powers, duties, and responsibilities of the association are clearly defined. The surviving trustees named in the statute are Messrs. Thomas De Faye, Thomas Baxter, Richard George

Eveaux, and John Mallet. The fifth and sixth statutes, as being the most generally interesting, are subjoined :

"5. That the said temple shall for ever remain dedicated to the worship of our Lord and Saviour as the manifested God, and that the said trustees for the time being shall provisionally nominate the minister (if the by-laws of the said association should not otherwise provide), and that he shall not be permanently appointed or removed without the vote of at least two-thirds of a general meeting of the said association lawfully convened, to determine thereon.

6. That the minister shall be a person of good moral character, be well versed in the doctrines of the church, and that he shall preach the sole and exclusive Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose divine person there is a Trinity of Love, Wisdom, and Power, or Divinity, Humanity, and proceeding operation, which are commonly called Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and generally he shall preach the spiritual Truths contained within the natural sense of the Holy Word, as the same are taught in the writings of the Hon. Emanuel Swedenborg, especially in his Arcana Coelestia,' and his treatises on 'Heaven and Hell,' 'Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Love and Wisdom,' and 'Divine Providence.""

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Departed this life January 21st, at his residence, Bath-street, Oldham, in his 42nd year, Mr. John Tait. Mr. Tait was formerly of Embsay, but being called, in the course of Divine Providence, to follow his ordinary vocation in Oldham, he at once sought out, and joined himself to the small society of that place. His earnest advocacy of, and deep love for, the doctrines of the Lord's New Church, were beginning to bear fruit, in the gradual increase of the attendants at the society's meetings for worship and reading, when he was suddenly taken from this sphere of action, to the great grief and sorrow of all who knew him. In his last hours, when his body was racked with pain, his mind was serene, and he added his testimony to that of others who had gone before him, to the beauty and sublimity of the doctrines of the New Church. The late lamented Rev. J. H. Smithson preached the funeral sermon, in the Temperance Hall (the society's meeting-room being too small for the occasion), to a numerous and attentive audience, many of whom heard the subject "Life after Death," thus expounded, for the first time. The result it will require eternity to unfold; but we have reason to believe that much good was done thereby.

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Departed this life, on Saturday the 20th of February, 1864, at Chatham, where he had resided for the last few years of his life, Mr. Richard Wills,

schoolmaster, aged 69. His removal was quite sudden and unexpected, he being apparently in perfect health the day before his death, and attended to his school duties. Still it was known to his

friends that he had been suffering for some years from a disease of the heart; but as he had not been attacked so frequently of late, it was thought that he was gradually recovering from the immediate effects of that fatal complaint. In writing to a friend, he says "I am perfectly aware of the dangerous nature of my complaint, and that in all probability I shall be called away very suddenly, but blessed be the Lord, I can say that death has no terrors for me. I am quite ready whenever He shall see fit to call me, whether it be at even or midnight, cock-crowing or in the morning." And again in another letter he writes "I have been a humble recipient of the heavenly doctrines of the New Jerusalem for more than twentyseven years. I have studied them I may say intensely for the purpose of life and doctrine, according to my humble ability, and do so still with increasing delight and avidity. Prior to my reception of the heavenly doctrines I was a local preacher and class-leader in the old Wesleyan connection." Thus lived and died this truly good man. He is gone to be reunited to his beloved partner, and

to enjoy those divine realities in a higher and better state of existence which the Word of Life points out as the certain inheritance of the righteous.

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Departed into the spiritual world, at St. Columb Major, Cornwall, on Friday, 17th of June, Mr. Robert Garland, aged 87 years. He embraced the heavenly doctrines at the same time as the late Mr. Wills, with whom he was residing, in the island of Jersey. Mr. Garland was uncle to the lamented wife of the late Mr. Wills, who died September 21st, 1841, and whose obituary appeared in the Intellectual Repository about that time. He was an ardent and devoted admirer of the verities of the New Dispensation; he used to say they were the joy of his soul." He was confined to his bed for the last six months of his life, from extreme weakness, otherwise he was without pain. He was cheerful and patient to the last; reposing with heavenly confidence on the bosom of his Divine Redeemer, he peacefully passed away from death unto life. "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace." The writer of this notice corresponded with him for the last 20 years, and his letters will be cherished by her as long as she lives, they breathe throughout so sweet a spirit of love to the Lord, and charity to our neighbour.

TO READERS AND CORRESPONDENTS.

All communications to be sent to the Editor, the Rev. W. BRUCE, 43, Kensington Gardens Square, London, W. To ensure insertion in the forthcoming Number, communications must be received not later than the 15th of the month, except recent intelligence, which will be received till the 18th.

National Missionary Institution, and Students and Ministers' Aid Fund.-The Committee meet on the fourth Monday in each month, at 36, Bloomsburystreet, at 6-30 p.m.

Missionary and Tract Society.-New address of Mr. Sandy, the Treasurer-Louisa Villa, Alleyn-road, Norwood, London S.

The Annual Social Meeting of the members and friends of the New Church in Scotland will be held in Glasgow, on Friday, 9th September, at Six p.m., within the Glasgow Society's place of worship, 61, Cathedral-street, when it is hoped there will be a good attendance.

Several pieces of Miscellaneous Intelligence have been excluded by the Reports of Conference proceedings; including "A Special Appeal of the Ipswich Society, for the liquidation of their Church Debt."

CAVE AND SEVER, Printers by Steam Power, Hunt's Bank, Manchester.

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Up to the year 1772, Immanuel Kant and Emanuel Swedenborg were cotemporaries. They were undoubtedly men who stood high upon the platform of the intellectual world; both exercised, and are still exercising, a very great influence in the world of thought; the one shedding a dim and somewhat uncertain light into the region of philosophical speculation; the other throwing a clear, sure, and steady blaze into that of theology and religion. As these two lately have been brought together, in the way of contrast, in an article in Macmillan's Magazine, and as Swedenborg has been, by the writer, put somewhat at a disadvantage by not being represented fairly in his relative position to Kant, perhaps it would not be unacceptable to the readers of the Intellectual Repository if I gave a brief synopsis of the general leading doctrines of Kant's philosophy, and then we shall be able to contrast them with the principles of Swedenborg in that same direction, viz., on our grounds of belief, for the purpose of shewing why Kant was led to write of Swedenborg as he did: even in despite of the facts which came to his knowledge, the truth of which he could not deny, he still maintained that such things as spirits, a spiritual world, could not be proven to exist. It is of consequence to look at Kant and Swedenborg in this aspect, if we would have the key to the reasons which induced Kant, after what he knew regarding Swedenborg, not to believe in the inferences to which these facts inevitably led, which would have been that Swedenborg was in open communion with spirits. I shall not at the present time enter into the question of the discrepancy of dates existing in connection with

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