The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-10-13 00:00:00

THE CONGREGATIONAL UNION.

The 44th autumnal meeting of the Congregational
Union of England and Wales is held this season in
Sheffield, Rotherham, and the district. The chairman
is the Rev. Principal A.M. Fairbairn, D.D.

-
The opening meeting was held on Monday in the
Albert Hall, but it had been preceded by a meeting
of the special committee on examination in Scriptural
knowledge at Nether Chapel in the afternoon. The
Rev. Henry Batchelor, of Newcastle, presided over
the meeting, which was largely attended. The
Rev. Allan Mines, of Rock Ferry, having read
Psalm xlvi. and offered prayer, the Chairman de-
livered a devotional address, based upon the words,
"Come ye yourselves avert into a desert place,
and rest awhile."—We lived, he said, in an age
of wild excitement, and there was no time for medita-
tion; but for culture of devotional sentiment nothing
should be read but what was surely believed. Specu-
lation, argument, criticism should be banished. How
much men had in their understanding compared with
what they had in their hearts? Increasing work was
demanded of the Church. The Church must abound
in labours in future more than ever in the past. When
he thought what the Church was doing he bowed his
head with shame. Nevertheless, he sometimes re-
joiced. Much that was tianspiring made it evident
that their triumph would not be an easy one. Con-
flicts of a grave description were before them.
After prayer by the Rev. Elvet Lewis of Buckley,
North Wales, the Rev. T. Rhys Evans, Brighton,
urged the brethren to increasingly keep the sense of
God and of heaven alive among the people.—The Rev.
J. X. Nuttall, of Sunderland, concluded the devo-
tional exercises, and the chairman pronounced the
benediction.—Over one thousand delegates were pre-
sent.

On Tuesday the annual meeting of the Congrega-
tional Union of England and Wales was held in the
Albert Hall. The body of the hall was filled with
ministers and delegates, and the galleries with their
friends. The principal feature in the programme was
the delivery by the Rev. Dr. Fairbairn, principal of
Airedale College and the chairman of the Union, of
his inaugural address.
The Chairman, who on rising was received with loud
applause, delivered his inaugural address, the subject
of which was "Christianity in the Nineteenth Oen.
tury." Dealing with the relation of the Christian
Churches and religion to the age he maintained that
Christianity was full of unexhauated energies and
undeveloped capabilities, fitted to meet the deepest
and most urgent wants of the day. The evils of
the time were many, and lay on the surface. Any fool
could see them, and might well be wise enough
to reprove them. The sects were multitudinous;
their spirit was exclusive and fierce, nay, even cruel ;
yet the passion of intense sincerity was *nobler thing
than the eynicism of indifference or the superfine
disdain that could only despise the zeal for truth, not
understanding it. In spite of its shortcomings t:
religious life of to•day was strong, and full of purpase
and endeavour, and had accomplished much.. U they
did nothing towards the incarnation of Christ's mind
in Sogiety and the State-they- would find -that the
forces now coming tc.the front wopldkuottre resPectful,
to religion or even tolerant of it. _ _ _ _

_
The Rev. -.Dr. Burford Boobs (Londol read the
report of the Jubilee Fund Committee, which stated
that the account now stood at £280,000. Of this sum
£6,500 bad been placed unreservedly at the disposal
of the committee.
In the .siternoon;•the'Atlas and 'nth& works
visited by trianY of the delegates, and-in the evening
there was meeting tortheiMbert Mal fbr' the "dak*,
position and Isisforcement, of -free Ohl prliiOipteVi-.
-Id addresses irior&dotiveatektby gbito l' &licit am,.
,ri. :". 'i :.'t v Vs.•;,..t.
1. i ' 'Sl'444'l' 1.;-/...*''
THE *U.I4,DEk9F A., HITN.GARLA.S ~
~_. ';'a , - • MGR, ' - •- ' - "
AnTelnO*lessotPferd pAir'lditettress:A44sltot.eki'alti4V.o,o-Clect'-
yeaterdatireati-thf Ripsideot 94 Ael,arkiLdnal•
Cottri-read -the verdict 6/ the Court, finding rani,
13eanka, and Michael; Egely ,gu)10-,4-341). orin3e-of .
nilledely- and r0b1;714 I. Johrinn ,13fiirow .ok, :the
irti
' crime-n! " ' hal9r ow tho
n:4o;the deed. :Met ;:,
were all thee'. if eiloid
..to be - banged, -,T1341„:i
verdict is 'based iii7ifisly On the depositions of
Spanka and Pitely, and the deposition of Berecz
himself in the preliminary inquiry. Pitely and
Berecz were very much affected on hearing the Ben.
tence ; Spanka remained more compoied. All three
declared that they would appeal. Subsequently
Spanks stated that it was Pitely who strangled Judge
Majlath, that he did it before the gagging took place,
and that neither he nor Berecz had anything to do
with it. Pitely, who had persistently denied this in
the trial, seemed quite crestfallen and did not reply a
word.

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