AUXILIARY SOCIETIES IN CONNECTION WITH THE PARENT SOCIETY. 1818 William J. Hubbard, Esq. Boston, Rev. Nehemiah Adams, Boston, 1833 Hon. Elisha Doane, Yarmouth, 1815 Rev. John Brown, D. D. Hadley, Rev. Samuel Gile, Milton, Rev. J. Codman, D. D. Dorchester, 2d Wed. in June. APPENDIX. Addresses made on moving the Resolutions on pages 25 and 26. REV. MR. SPAULDING'S ADDRESS, ON MOVING THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE REPORT. MR. PRESIDENT LET that Report go out, richly laden as it is with facts, to tell the world what the Society has done-that it has aided 2,258 young men in their preparation for the ministry of the gospel-700 of whom have already entered upon their work as messengers of grace to lost men, and 50 of. whom have gone to tell the heathen the story of the cross. Let it go out to tell the world what the Society is now doing-1,040 young men now aided, 100 of whom will enter the ministry the present year. Let it be published, to remind the prayerful and benevolent of the prospective usefulness of this Society to the church and the world. Ah, Sir, what prophet can foretell all the glorious results! What angel can estimate them, as the souls saved through its instrumentality come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of glory! And if for no other reason, let it be published, because this Society lifts high the standard of ministerial qualifications, and is raising up a ministry adapted to the state of mind in our country, and to the wants of a world. Such a day of mental excitement as the present the world never saw. In all the attitudes in which mind can meet mind, discussion, and argument, and eloquent appeal go on. Our wisest statesmen are inquiring for some regulating power, by which our liberties may be secured, and our prosperity become lasting and abundant as the waves of the sea. Of late, attention has been directed particularly to the West. Much has been said about the great valley, though half has not been told. Its extent and fertility, its mineral wealth, its commercial facilities, its moral and political power, have not been overrated. It must become the heart of the nation. The mighty muscles which bound its sides, and bind it into the system, and the thousand arteries which give it life and vigor, bespeak its power. Forty years ago, it was a mere child. Now, it is a giant. And if suffered to grow unimpeded, in 25 years, five millions will have become fifteen; in 50 years, there will be forty millions, and by the close of the present century, one hundred millions. The West, too, possesses a mind marked with strong features. Like its rivers, mountains and prairies, it is formed on a grand scale. The Ohio farmer, who annually floats with his produce 1,500 or 2,000 miles, to market, and the Missouri hunter, who takes his beaver as many miles west of St. Louis, and the merchant, who is almost as familiar with the streets of New Orleans and Boston, as he is with those of his own native Cincinnati, learn extensively the measurement of men and things. The western mind is also independent and fearless. Its rush is like that of the ocean wave. It is excitable and fond of excitement; so much so that even painful sensations seem preferable to the dull prosings of apathy. And while there is much intelligence in the West, so that their large towns and cities in some respects compare well with those of the East, still, there is a mighty mass of uneducated mind-of mind bearing the image of almost every nation under heaven, capable of being controlled by prejudice or fanaticism, or the wild frenzy of political ambition-and capable, too, with the blessing of Heaven, of sanctification and salvation. To pervert this empire of mind, the man of sin is awake;—to control it, the Roman abomination of desolation is at work. The problem-whether it shall be sanctified-whether the heart of our country shall beat free, and virtuous, and strong, and forever-this problem is to be solved. And its solution will turn on the question, whether we are to have a ministry endowed with the highest order of cultivated talents and piety, such a ministry as the American Education Society is furnishing. With this, we may be safe. Without it, sure as the frosts of autumn strip the forests of their foliage, we are undone. If proof is wanted, it comes from every page of the world's history. No where have knowledge and piety flourished-no where have law and the rights of man been respected, except where the labors of an enlightened and pious ministry have been enjoyed. Such a ministry is the ordained instrumentality of Heaven to restrain depravity, and promote all that renders existence desirable. And such a ministry we must have. When I thus speak, I do but echo a sentiment which is adopted by our most discerning men. The West, encouraged by your example and beneficence, is waking up to the work of educating her sons for the ministry. We feel that this work must be done, while other works of benevolence must not be left undone. And, Sir, it is our settled conviction, that if the giant, cradled in that valley, is allowed to go from the nursery with his depravity unchecked, when some emergency shall call forth his terrific strength, all the military power in the land will not be able to keep the gates of our freedom on their hinges. I will only add, go on in this good work. The benevolent will not suffer you to languish for the want of funds. And what is infinitely better, God will pour blessings upon you, richer than showers of gold. SKETCH OF REV. MR. HOBY'S ADDRESS. MR. PRESIDEnt— I rise with unaffected diffidence to take so prominent a part in the business of the meeting. A subject so vast and important might well employ an angel's tongue, while the excessive fatigue of the past Lord's day, and the long journey of this morning have quite unfitted me for any attempt to support the resolution. Indeed, it was to have been presented by a clergyman from another part of the continent, (Canada,) whose absence we much deplore. A Christian, and especially, a minister of the gospel, might under any circumstances find something to say in reference to a sentiment which will be so readily responded to by every pious mind. Resolved, That the subject of spiritual education as it respects the ministry, is, in all its bearings and relations, one of inconceivable importance to the well being of the church and the world. Without disparaging the advantages enjoyed in this age of reading, it still may be affirmed, that the kingdom of God is advanced mainly by preaching the gospel. This is the grand appointed means of converting the world. The precious treasure is thus deposited in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be more manifestly of God. I have listened to your Report with the deepest interest and satisfaction. I had not adequately appreciated the wide extent of your operations in providing an enlightened and competent ministry for this favored land, and for distant regions of missionary enterprise. Your operations are conducted on a far grander scale than I had imagined from the very cursory glance I had been able to take of documents kindly furnished by your Secretary. The sphere of your influence has become exceedingly widened; and while the church is edified and comforted by the labors of the men of God, who, under your auspices, are trained for the work of the ministry, you act in harmony with the injunction of the ascending Saviour, “ go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." In this work you are fellow-laborers together with God, who will humble the pride of man and confound his wisdom, while by the foolishness of preaching he saves them that believe.-We may not be able to agree relative to the precise period at which we have arrived in those prophetic intimations of the destinies of the church found in the book of God, but this may be regarded as the very crisis of the transition of the world to another and a better state, inasmuch as the vail of the covering over the face of all nations is rent, and many run to and fro to increase knowledge in the earth. I have been reflecting with inexpressible satisfaction upon the results of the ministry, the many hundreds, the thousands of laborers, who have gone forth under your auspices. They are not only stationed, each one a burning and shining light, as appointed by him who walks in the midst of his golden candlesticks, but each is the centre of his own circle, and those illumined by him diffuse also a light and influence around. Your resolution contemplates spiritual education in all its relations and bearings, and consequently comprises that culture of our youth under the holy influence of the gospel, which constitutes at once the prosperity of the church, and is the hope of the world.-That this consecration of time and property and talent to the cause of the Redeemer may result in the prosperity of Zion, as we confidently expect it will, the church must approach the Father of Lights, and with grateful adoration, do homage to Him for all the gifts bestowed upon his servants, and earnestly implore the illumination of his Spirit. Then shall the great principles of gospel truth triumph, and the antiquated superstitions of debasing idolatry, which have insulted an offended God, and ruined man, be swept from the earth. Among the Institutions designed to hasten on such a consummation, yours is signally adapted; and our earnest prayer is, that the Great Head of the church may continue to smile upon and prosper your generous labors in His service. REV. MR. HOLMES'S ADDRESS, ON PRESENTING THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION. Resolved, That the American Education Society is engaged in a design, which has a most direct and important bearing on the conversion of the world to Christ. MR. PRESIDENT,-The business of doing good, is unlike every thing else. Here, various classes may meet in the same field, and operate in perfect harmony, in producing one common result. The field is the world, and the end to be accomplished, its entire consecration to the Lord Jesus Christ. In the resolution which I have now presented, the American Education Society proposes to itself this object, and claims patronage on this ground. Every other benevolent enterprise has the same end in view, and asks the prayers and contributions of the church for the same reason. To worldly minds it may seem strange that so much machinery can be moved with so little friction. I apprehend, Sir, the true reason is, that good men think more about the blessedness of having the thing done, than the honor of having done it themselves. |