The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1866-12-11 00:00:00

W INTERBORNE EITIC KL AN D.

Miuuoitsy Murroo.-1. public meeting, in
behalf of the Church Missionary Society, was held
in the parish church on Wednesday evening, Use
2lith oth The place (ay one of the speakersrsmarked)
seemed rather a strange one to use for such • pur-
pose ; end some, doubtless would deem it rather
[ inappropriate, bin taking ,into zonsideistion the
object of the meeting, and the act that there is 00
' other building in the parish large enough for the
purpose, all objection must be silenced; for it surely
cannot be wrong to hold • meetiag in • church for
the purpose of furthering the spread of those
doctnnes for the publication of which it was specially
erected. The weather, unfortunately, was very on-
propitious, it being a thorough tiath, gloomy,
Novemberith evening; and the inhabitants of towns
can hardly 'Dinars to themselves the aspen a little
nontre village assumes at such • time, and how
difficult locomotion is in nth a time and place,
when the only public light is the glare of the
village smithy, assisted by an occasional gleam
through the window or halt open door of a cottage
be the roadside. However, despite these obstacles,
the little church was crowded by an attentive
audience, some of whom had come a oonsiderable
distance to attend the meeting; and the speakers,
we were pleased to find, fully sustained the interest
of their hearers. One gentleman, indeed, told as he
would not have grudged going( ten miles to hear
such interesting addressee. The proondings were
Maned by the rector (the Rev. W. Churchill), who,
after offering a prayer, addressed the meeting in a
kind warm-hearted manner, commencing by expres-
sing his regret that the subscriptions given to the I
cease by his parish had not been larger; but stating I
that notwithstanding this, • warm interest was felt
in Stickland in the cane of minion'. Indeed, he
had been dined up by the young men in the parish
to get up the present meeting, and he enured them
that now they had stirred him up he was not going
to let than go to sleep they might depend upon it.
He Res many interesting pink:elan Iffiesbating the
progress al the missionary eine, sod vindicated th
Chime Mietiomory Society from slanders propagated
by penmen wholly ignorant of the noble work it was
performing. After making soon further remarks,
he called upon the Rev. Reginald Smith, who
expressed the pleasure he felt at hearing that the I
young me hi this parish entertained so lively an
interest in Use subject of missions, and traded they
would, as their respected rector had urged then in
his address, "do all they could to help forward Ibis
missionary isinsa." As an incentive to their exer-
tions, he gave • brief memoir of two well-known
missionaries, viz., Clandius Buchanan and Henry
Tacker. The former, after wandering over Soot-
land and the North of England, became • solicitor's
clerk, in which capacity be settled in LOoaoll,
where he happily became impressed with a love to
his Saviour, and genteelly entered the missionary
Nitric* mid became a sodas*, faithful, and energetic
labourer. Henry Tooker was one whose name
should be especially dear to his pressed andienoe, as
be was a native of Doreetabire—having been born in
Shaftesbury—and indeed, the rector reminded him,
on one occasion preached In that eery pulpit. In
only life he wits • medical man, but becoming deeply
impressed with vital christianity, determined to
devote his whole life to the missionary cause. He
accordingly joined the Missionary Society and was
sent to India, where he became the blessed instru-
ment of turning 2000 persons from idolatry to
christianity ; tailing health, however, compelled
him to return to England, but no sooner was his
health restored than he returned to the scene of bis
labours, and was amnia blamed in converting fifteen
hundred more. Thus did this admirable MA carry
out the apostolic precept to Christians "to be sited-
fast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of
the Lord,"—Mr. Smith gave many more exceedingly
stirring incidents, and indeed his whole address was
of a very earnest and interesting character, as also
was that of Mr. Stephenson, of Weymouth, who
succeeded him in the pulpit, and who earnestly urged
upon his bearers the necessity of very great exertion
being made to spread abroad the knowledge of the
Christian faith, and illustrated this by the fan that
if every clergyman in this country were seat to
preach the gospel in China, there would be barely
sufficient to press% to one-twentieth part of the
population of that immense *aspire. Len, however,
such facts might deter some persons from labouring
at all in • cause which seemed so hopeless, he re•
minded them of the conduct of a Moravian missionary
I who was not disconraged,tithough during his whole
inioistry he lied only mode two *coverts and partly
succeeded in coeverting • third. The greet engine
lof oonveniou, be urged, was the Word of God in
the native language, and it was a great cense of
I satisfaction that we bad the sacred scriptures either
wholly or partially translated into no lees
than 190 diffeient languages. —The Rev. Wm. Bury,
of Fifebead Deverill, who succeeded Mr. Stephen-
son, excused himself from saying much, as he We
addressing an audience wholly strangers to him, and
also from • place from which it was a novelty for
him to addrees an audience on such a subject. The
lßev. W. Cotter (rector of Houghton), who wound
up the mooniest, said he fe..red be most plead a
totally Jiffsreut exeunt to that Mr. Bury bad made,
for he was afraid the people of Stick land knew
I him too well in the pulpit to be interested at ought
be could ay to them—the hoar too was getting so
late that he did not like to trempass much longer
on their time—he, however, would urge them to
consider themselves in a similar position
to that of a valiant naval commander
of whom be had read in our war with
France, who distinguished himself by the courage
with which be defended and drew into port • convoy
placed under his charge. The heathen were by our
heavenly Father committed to us to bring safely into
the heavenly Canaan, and woe be to us live allowed
them tie be captured by the enemy. The meeting
closed by singing the well known missionary hymn,
." From Greasleed's icy mountains." A collection
was wade at the doors, to which all retpithded tattle
sliwasi of their ability.

BEAMINSTIII.
1. Ws are very sorry to beer thas Meting HAM',
req., solicitor of Beeminater, died at Hatoblande,
lietherbary, on Tuesday evening, the 416 ins., of
pesolysis, after s Joey short illness.