The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-06-19 00:00:00

WESTMINSTER ABBEY.

There were three services in the Abbey—the morn.
ing sermon being preached by the Rev. J. Puckle, of
Dover; the afternoon by the Rev. J. B. T. Eaton;
and that in the evening by the Right Rev. the Arch-
bishop of York.
At the afternoon service the corporate bodies of
London and Westminster attended in state, the Lord
Mayor and Common Council representing the City of
LoUdon ; the High Bailiff and Burgesses the ancient
City of Westminster. With the Lord Mayor were
the Lady Mayoress, Alderman Sir Robert Carden,
Alderman Sir Sydney Waterlow, Alderman Figgins,
Alderman and Sheriff Ellis, Sheriff Shaw and Mr.
Farrer (the High Bailiff of Westminster), and Mr.
Few, (the Deputy High Bailiff), headed the Bur-
gesses of Westminster. Lord Hatherley was present
among the congregation. The Rev. J. B. T. Eaton
took for his text the 10th verse of the sth
chapter of the first General Epistle of Peter—" But
the God of all Grace, who hath called us unto
His Eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye
have suffered awhile, make you perfect, stablish,
strengthen, settle you." The preacher, after dwel.
ling upon the suffering and pains in daily life, re-
ferred to the conclusions come to by one whom he
termed a most powerful thinker—John Stuart Mill—
in regard to the inequality of the distribution of sorrow
and suffering, that these inflictions should be propor-
tioned to the sin of each, and said that these views
evidenced that the great thinker had not grasped the
whole idea of the Redemption. He proceeded to point
out how often pain and sickness stamped the character
with good, and turned the man and woman from world-
liness and sin, and gave the means, too, to others to
bring forth sympathy, kindness, and the beat directed
charity, making helper and helped feel the truth of the
mystery that no man lived to himself or died to himself.
Upon the particular topic of the day, he urged that our
hospitals were the legitimate triumph of the Christian
faith, and he urged upon all the necessity of
taking part in that great and good work of helping
those institutions through the churches and places of
Christian worship. The work of helping so many
places of help to the sick and stricken as were in this
Metropolis might seem overwhelming, but this great
city could give its combined contributions, and then as
each brook came into a river, and the rivers ran into
seas, so the co-operation in this holy and Christians
work would be sufficient to do vast good. If they
followed out the example of their Saviour in helping
with their means, however small those means might
be, in times hence they would hear a voice saying,
"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least
of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me: enter
thou into the joy of thy Lord."

The collection in the morning, including a check of
£lOO from Mr. 0. Coope, M.P., amounted to
£l6B 3s. 3d. ; being a note for £5, £2B in gold, £3l 15s,
in silver, £l2 in copper, and £2 168. at the early morn-
ing offertory. In the afternoon, exclusive of a check
for 100 guineas promised by the Duke of Buccleuch,
the High Steward of Westminster, the collection was
--£46 10s. in gold, a £lO note, £5 ss. in check,
£4l 15s. 2d. in silver, and £l. Os. lid. in copper, making
£lO4 10e. 4d. The curiosities of the collection were a
franc, a silver groschen, and a counterfeit florin.