MR. JAMES MELLELEW.

Died, on the 17th of February, 1842, Mr. James Mellelew, aged thirty-one years, of Goodshaw chapel, Lancashire. This amiable young man was baptized by the Rev. A. Nichols, on the 10th of June, 1837, and became a member of the church at Goodshaw; and, on the 9th of March, 1838, he was chosen one of the trustees of the chapel. His ardent attachment to his pastor; affectionate deportment towards his brethren; zealous attention to the interests of the sabbath school, of which he was one of the superintendnents; combined with his liberal spirit and consistent character, will long embalm his memory to a large circle of relatives and friends. Having lived like a Christian, he died in the expectation of a glorious immortality, and his friends sorrow not as those who have no hope. On Sunday, March 20, his pastor preached his funeral sermon, from 2 Cor. xiii. 11, to an exceedingly large and deeply interested audience.

REV. R. GILL.

On the 2nd of March last, fell asleep in Jesus, in the seventy-seventh year of his age, the Rev. Richard Gill, who for thirty-two years sustained, with honour and usefulness, the pastoral office in connexion with the particular baptist church at Loughwood, in Dorsetshire. In the circle of his acquaintance Mr. Gill was greatly and deservedly beloved; his kind and affectionate demeanour, and the unspotted purity of his conduct and conversation, secured to him the respect and esteem of almost all who knew him. His ministry, through the divine blessing, was attended with a good measure of success, and his end was peace.

MISS CROGGON.

On Wednesday, March 9, 1842, died, in the full triumph of faith, at her brother's house in Dublin (the Rev. W. O. Croggon, superintendent of the Wesleyan missions and schools in Ireland), with whom she has resided for the last seven years and a half, Miss Polly Croggon, aged forty-four years. She was baptized, in the year 1817, at Falmouth, in Cornwall, her native county, by the Rev. Richard Pryce, then pastor of the baptist church at Falmouth, of which Miss Croggon's father was a deacon for many years. From Falmouth she removed to Walworth, and joined the church at Camberwell, under the care of the Rev. Edward Steane; whence, after the death of her father, she returned to Falmouth, and continued there until the time abovementioned.

She was brought to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus in early life, and was a

Christian greatly devoted to the divine serteacher at Flushing for many years, and subvice, having been engaged as a Sunday-school nected with the denomination to which she besequently employed in many institutions conlonged. Of late years affliction has been her lot; she was generally confined to the house during the winter; but she had learned to suffer, as well as to do, her Lord's will, and bore all her sufferings with great patience and resignation. As she approached the eternal world, her prospect of heaven, through the merits of the Redeemer, arose brighter; and, though she was long walking through the valley, she feared no evil; the rod and the staff supported her; God was the strength of her heart and her portion for ever. She was followed to the grave by the members of the baptist church in Dublin, as well as a great number of Wesleyan friends, including all the ministers residing in the city belonging to their

connexion.

MRS. HORSEY.

On Sunday, March 20, died, at Wellington, Somerset, Anna, the widow of the late Rev. Richard Horsey, in the eighty-eighth year of her age. She was the daughter of the Rev. Robert Day, the first pastor of the baptist church at Wellington. In early life her mind was deeply impressed with the importance of divine things, and, at the age of nineteen, she was baptized by her revered father, and received into Christian fellowship. During the whole of her protracted course she was enabled to maintain an unblemished reputation in the church and in the world. Her natural disposition was peculiarly placid and affectionate, and her deep-toned piety was distinguished both by intelligence and cheerfulness. Unremitting in the discharge of the varied duties of life, she continued to exercise a calm confidence, an unbroken and assured trust in God. The serenity of her soul was unruffled by the anxieties of the world, or by the intrusion of doubts and fears. The prosperity of the church ever excited her warmest sympathies, while the spiritual welfare of her beloved relatives and friends lay nearest to her heart. The closing scene was in beautiful harmony with the even tenour of her life. Amid the increasing weakness of her body, she retained in a remarkable degree the vigour and vivacity of her mind. On the morning on which she died she conversed with her accustomed ease, until at last she appeared to sink into a gentle slumber; but that slumber proved to be "the sleep of death." By a singular and striking coincidence, the very same day on which she had been received into the communion of the church below, after the lapse of sixty-eight years, her happy spirit was welcomed into the fellowship of the church above. Her fu

THE REV. L. J. ABINGTON,

Pastor of the baptist church at Ringstead, Northamptonshire, entered into his rest, on Friday, April 8, aged seventy-nine. It may truly be said of him, that his conversation was in heaven, his life was irreproachable, and his end was peace. In compliance with his request, the Rev. J. Jenkinson of Kettering improved his death, by a sermon from John vi. 37; on which occasion, so large an assemblage was convened as strongly to remind a spectator of the record of an inspired historian, "All Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, did him honour at his death."

MISCELLANEA.

ADDRESS TO THE QUEEN FROM THE MINISTERS

OF THE THREE DENOMINATIONS.

On Saturday, April 9th, IIer Majesty received on the throne, in Buckingham Palace, the following address:

66

'May it please your Majesty,-"We, the general body of protestant dissenting ministers of the three denominations, residing in and about the cities of London and Westminster, beg to approach your royal presence, to express our heartfelt congratulations to your Majesty, on the birth of his Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, the heir-apparent to the throne of these realms. It is our earnest prayer, offered to the Great Disposer of all things, through the merit of the Divine Redeemer, that your Majesty may long continue to sway the sceptre of our beloved country; that the reign of your Majesty may be remarkable to the latest time from its connexion with the progress of knowledge, virtue, and true religion, among all the subjects of the British crown, and throughout the world; that the divine protection and favour may be especially vouchsafed to his Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, and that his name may be distinguished among the sovereigns of your Majesty's illustrious house, by the wise and beneficent exercise of his power, and by the enlightened and grateful regard of the generations to come." To this Address Her Majesty returned the following gracious Answer.

"I thank you sincerely for your loyal and dutiful congratulations on the birth of the prince, my son.

"It is my anxious and constant endeavour to promote the advancement of religious knowledge and of pure morality among all classes of my subjects; and you may rely on my support in your efforts directed to objects which I consider so praiseworthy and import

ant."

lowing Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The attendance at each meeting was very good.

SHREWTON, WILTS.

We are happy to learn from the officers of the baptist church at Shrewton, that the contributions received by the late Mr. W. Roberts while pastor there were not quite so small as stated in our last number, page 192. They say, "The fact is, that Mr. Roberts supplied his own pulpit but once in a fortnight, he being engaged at Heytesbury the other Lord's day; the church was therefore obliged to provide at their own expense other supplies. Farther, Mr. Roberts did receive more than £14 per year from the church for several years."

RESIGNATION.

The Rev. R. Langford has resigned the pastoral charge of the church at Sible Hedingham, Essex; and, at a meeting of the teachers of the Sunday school connected with it, held April 11, 1842, they, assisted by a few friends, presented their pastor with a purse containing six sovereigns, as a farewell token of their affectionate gratitude for his very valuable and efficient attentions as superintendent of the school during eighteen months.

MARRIAGES.

By license, at the baptist chapel, Sevenoaks, Kent, by the Rev. Thomas Shirley, Feb. 17, Mr. JOHN ASHDOWN GOLDING of Rose Acre, Bearsted, to MARIA, youngest daughter of the late Wm. SNELL, Esq.

At the baptist chapel, Chalford, near Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, March 13, by the Rev. James Deane, WM. CLIFT of Bisly to CAROLINE CLOSE of Minchinhampton.

At the baptist chapel Cowbridge, Glamorganshire, by the Rev. John James, Bridgend, April 7, the Rev. WILLIAM JENKINS, Dolau, Radnorshire, to Miss SPENCER of Craig-yr-eos, near Bridgend.

At the baptist chapel, Raleigh, by the Rev. J. Pilkington, April 14, 1842, Mr. SAMUEL GIGGINS to Miss ELIZABETH ZARGATT.

By license, at the baptist chapel, Soho Street, Liverpool, by the Rev. R. B. Lancaster, Mr. JOHN VICKRESS, jun., of that place, to Miss SOPHIA MARSHALL of Rushden Lodge, near Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.

CHAPEL CASES.

To the Editor of the Baptist Magazine. MY DEAR BROTHER,-There have appeared in your pages, at different times, many letters on the subject of chapel cases. May I be permitted to add another? Since the alteration in the postage I have been frequently receiving, in common with my brethren, applications by letter for donations, generally of £1, with a view to the prevention of personal applications. This plan has always appeared to me a good one, which only required general co-operation in order to its efficiency. But I am sorry to find that my brethren do not generally seem to give it their sanction. I know of one most deserving case, for which 300 circulars produced only £20; another, for which 100 circulars produced only £13; and another, for which 250 circulars produced only £5! I exceedingly regret this, because experience convinces me that, without any trouble, a very different result might be secured. I have been for some time in the habit of letting these applications accumulate until I get perhaps eight or ten; when I have taken some suitable opportunity of mentioning publicly the cases

which have been presented, reading at least a few of them, and announcing that if any of my friends were disposed to assist them generally, or any one of them specifically, I should be happy to receive and forward their donations. I have made no collection, but have left the result entirely to the voluntary principle. Nor has it failed. In each case I have received enough to enable me to send to each applicant the sum requested, and generally somewhat more. I did this only a few sabbaths ago, and had the pleasure of receiving and disbursing above £9.

Now, my dear brother, I cannot help thinking that there is something so unobjectionable, so facile, and so efficient in this plan, if brethren would but generally act upon it, that if they will not, they ought never to complain of the disagreeableness of personal applications. The remedy is, I think, in their own hands. For my own part, I shall pay the best attention I can to applications in this form; but I am not disposed to encourage, in the least degree, the degrading and disgraceful system of ministerial mendicity.

I am, yours very truly, St. Alban's, March 23. WM. UPTON.

ON THE CLAIMS OF AGED MINISTERS.

To the Editor of the Baptist Magazine. DEAR SIR,-I have felt very much pleased that the claims of our aged and infirm ministers have been brought so prominently before our denomination in several of the late numbers of the Magazine; and I trust the subject will be reiterated again and again in the ears of the church, till those men who have worn themselves out in its service find that place in the sympathies and care of the denomination to which justice, their labours, and I think the word of God, entitles them.

We often talk of national sins, but the cold and cruel neglect of those men whose labours are seen in the increase and prosperity of the body is one of our denominational sins. As it is in reference to the Bath Society that your correspondents are endeavouring to awaken attention to the subject, I would just remark, that I have subscribed to the society for the last twenty years; and, from what I know and have heard, I quite coincide with the very just and important observations of Mr. Godwin in your last number. Its "local habitation and its name" operate to its disadvantage, however unjustly. I have mentioned it to several of our ministers, who were entirely ignorant of its existence. The society must now be known as extensively as the Magazine, and I trust both our churches and ministers will lend it their countenance and their aid. I have long entertained the idea that the Bath Society would form an eligible basis for a society which would embrace all our aged and infirm ministers.

I can hardly think of the situation of many of our aged brethren without shedding a tear. One of them came to me the other day, and said, with tears in his eyes, "My dear brother, four shillings a week is all that my aged partner and myself have to live upon. We are both above seventy years of age, and I have now been a preacher of the gospel more than forty years." My predecessor in my last charge was laid aside for three years previous to his death with an abscess formed in the back, and during the whole time he was supported, with his wife and six children, by voluntary contribution. A list of names from amongst church people, methodists, independents, as well as baptists, was obtained; for a considerable time a pound a week was received, ultimately it fell off to twelve shillings; out of this sum he had to subscribe five pounds a year to a Widows' Fund in London, which he had wisely entered for the benefit of his family. The remarks of many who subscribed, especially among the methodists, about the niggard liness of our denomination, often put me to shame.

As it regards myself, I preach to a large and wealthy congregation, who often raise £100 or £200 at a single appeal, for which I feel the flush of a just pride. They allow me

£110 a year. I have a family of eight dependent upon me, for whose food, clothing, and education, I have to provide. And I assure you, it requires no small economy to make all ends meet; and yet, I am happy to say, I owe no man in the world any thing but love. No minister can live more happily with a people; and if I wanted any thing, I have only to mention it. But, how can I provide for age, or my widow and family in the event of my removal by death? Out of my salary I cannot; and to what quarter am I to look ?

Now, I put it fairly to our churches, whether, with the limited incomes they allow their ministers, they are acting justly towards them. Had I a reasonable provision for old age, and my wife and children, no man would be more happy. Agur's prayer is mine"Give me neither poverty nor riches." Were any of our churches to communicate with their minister thus-" Beloved pastor, we feel convinced that what we give you is no more than sufficient to meet your daily wants, and we feel very uneasy, anticipating the period when age or infirmities may incapacitate you for labour, and have resolved to make some provision for that period, that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you:'" with what delight would a minister receive such a proposition! How it would encourage him in his work, and endear the people to his heart. May many of I write not my brethren be so cheered! these things to shame our churches, but as beloved sons I would warn them.

I remain, yours very respectfully,
Rich in Christ, but in the church
A POOR PASTOR.

Feb. 5, 1842.

To the Editor of the Baptist Magazine.

DEAR SIR,-Allow me, through the medium of your journal, to solicit your opinion, or the opinion of one or more of your enlightened correspondents, on the present mode of conducting the praises of the Most High by some of our churches. In the Christian society with which I have the happiness to be connected there exists a considerable difference of opinion as to whether it be justifiable, or decidedly wrong, to pay believers, or unbelievers, for leading the church in singing the praises of God; and whether a Christian church may with propriety admit to the orchestra persons whose only qualifications for so conspicuous a situation in a religious assembly are a fine or powerful voice, and a good moral character, without compensation. I am anxious to obtain information on these two or three points, for very important and practical purposes. A great principle, a growing custom, and considerable funds, are involved. ENQUIRER.

Feb. 23, 1842.