The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-04-22 00:00:00

WESLEyAN METHODIST FOREIGN MI3SION.

The fortieth ainnual• meeting of the Wareyan Methe.i
dist Auxiliary Missionary Society, for the Liverpool die..
trick, was held at the Brunswick Chaps], Muss-street, last
evening. Thera was a bop attendance, the chapel being
densely crowded, and amongqt the gentlemen on the
platform we observed—Rev. Messrs. F A West, Chettle,
Stead, Itaward, Pearson, Loraine, Ackrnyd, Pennington,
Cannock, Joutr, and Williams—with Messrs.. Sands,
Healy, E Healy, R Healy, D Badderson, R D Crook, Mor-
row, Leather, J Leather, Andrews, Baring, Bancroft,
Farnworth, E Davies, Hazlehurst, Crowe, Et &eat and F
Kitye. The Rev Robert Yonng, the Presidan k of the
Conference, and the Rev J r Jobson, of Bradford, atten •
ded as a deputation from the Parent Society:
William Brown, Esq., vans called upon to preside.
Oa taking the chair, he slid that he felt q Cite overpowered
from thie recestion he had received, and Ire hoped that they
would permit the secretary to read the report before hd
addressed them, as by that time he should haYa recovered
himself. '

The Secretary, the Rev. Mr. Hurst, then read a vett
lengthy report, detailing tee-operatiens-of the society, front'
which it appehred that • the tetel income of the society was
£119,000; and the receip's of the district were £34,46,
together with £352, collected by the children at Christmas
time, le ing an increase of .£1.34 91 10d above the income of
the preceding yk ar.
The Chairman, on coming forward, was received with
the greatest con iisl'y. He said that although he had been
a long time in public life, and had had on more occasions
than one to address public meetings, he assured the audience
that he never felt more honoured than he did in presiding
on that occasion, (Hear, hear ) They had all heard the
report of the proceedings of the mission read, and it could
enly convince them of what many of them before knew, of
the difficulties that those devoted men had to eeconnter in
their struggles, and it wourd seem that they to ere ready to
eaerigee, health, and even life, in doing what they conceive
their duty to their fellevveinaa. There was no doubt but
that a great deal of good had been done by the mis,iol-
aries who had been sent cll, and yet there was still more
to do. IU bad himself, during Isis life, had much to do
with the United Stites, and he had seen the good thirhad
been accomplished by the missionary egents who bad been
sent out. These w s one instance which was very remarkable,
and fully abow:d the value of the mission, aed with their
permission he would relate it to them. (Hear, hear.)
One of the agents visited a body of Indians on the borders
of one of the lakes, and he found the natives so ignorent
that they had not the slightest idea of a Supreme being, or
of the immortality of the soul. He had great difficulty in
convincing them that there was a Supreme Being, and that;
they had a soul, and the only way that he could
explain it to them, for they had not words to
exprees it, was by telling them that, they had
within them a little grit that never died. They were,
indeed, an ignorant race, for they thought themselves only
a little better than the beavers, because they could build
horses and the beavers could not. Time ran on, and in a
short tittle these beings got into a war with a
neighbouring tribe, and were successful. After the war,
some of the yonng mm took home some horses, but upon
examining the horses, as ttiev always did, they discovered
that they ware not the horses of their enemies, but belonged
to the white men. The chief of the teeibc remonstrated with
the young men for taking the horses anyteld them that
the white men had always behaved kind to th.:"42a, and had
taught them to be honest and truthful, anel they
were wrong in robbing them. Alexander, the Ohief
of the tribe, told -them that the horses must be
returned to the white men ; but there was a great
difficulty in doing it, for few had the courage to pass
through the hostile tribe. At last the chief stepped for-
ward and said, "I will go, and who will accompany me."
Several said they would go, and return the horses or
perish in the attempt. They did go, and reached the fort,
when they were asked how they got there, and a large
reward was offered them, but they refused to take it, and
said that they were only come to perform an act of duty'
and honesty to those who had been so good and so kind to
them, and would not receive any pay, and they returned
home again and passed through their enemies country in
safety. He (M:r. Brown) did not know where to find
a stronger proof of the benefits conferred by the Mis-
sionaries than that. Bat although there was a great dear
to do abroad, there was much to do at home. (Hear,
hear.) He was quite aware that it was necessary to raise
funds to accomplish the objects they had in view, but funds
were also necessary for endeavouring to Christianise some
of the brethern at their own doors, as well as to be sent
out to foreign parts. (Hear, hear.) In some of
the streets in that very town there were many
children who did not even know the name of their Maker,
it was therefore devoutly to be wished that the Wesleyan
Mission, who had taken such a great interest in civilising
mankind abroad, would, as far as they coup, endeavour to
make their brethren at home better men. When they
looked at the lamentable scenes which were daily brought
before the courts of justice, the ignorance that was'
manifested, they could bat feel mortification and disgust
that they had not been enabled to carry their good works
any farther than they had done. (Hear, hear) He was
very sanguine that, by educating the people, much good
would result, both morally and religiously, and he believed
that no people had done
,more in that point than the
society that he had then the honour of addressing. (Hear,
hear.) If they 1, oked at the condition of the poor in a
moral point of view it was painful, bat if they endeavoured
to educate them, they would be prepari:i them to
provide moral and religious instruction for thentee;7BB. In
his opinion therenever was a time when greater exertion,:
were more required than at the present, ft as the
nation increase:; in prosperity and wealth, it put greater
temptations within the reach of the poorer classes to do
wrong. (Edear, hear.) Of late they had found great
difficulty, crime had so increased, to find colonies to trans-
port their convicts, and they had been let loose upon
society as ticket of leave men, and they were the great
teachers of immorality and vice, but he did hope, that
during the ensuing session of parliament that some steps
would be taken to remedy that evil, and that they would
again resort to the system of transportation. He knew
that juries had great difficulties to contend with. In
some cases they were unwilling to take the life of a fellow
being, and they frequen•ly found a verdict of man-
slaughter, when the guilt of the individual was too elope..
rent to admit of mistake, and thus twelve men ceten
ignored the evidence, rather than take life. That was
very painful. He had recently ben reading a 'Very
interesting book, written by Mr. Phillips, a barrister, on
the subject, who gave a great many insta-c^s where per-
sons had been sent into eternity, and it was afterwards
proved that they were innocent. Now, what he (Mr.
Brown) said, was that it would be better for a thousand
guilty persons to escape, than that one innocent man
should lose his 1 fe. (Hear, hear.) He was opposed to
capital punishment. He thought that there was a great
evil in the law, because the punishments awarded were
not certain. The ignorant therefore thought that they
might pFC 'toe punishment as others had done, and therefore
they were in consequence less reluctant in committing
crime. There was another great evil that had to be con-
tended with, and which required a remedy, and that was
the state of the homes of the poor. (Hear, hear.) There
were many of the industrious artisans of this country had
to live in places that ware not fit for human beings. That
had a great tendency to demoralise them, and to take
away from them that self-respect that was so necessary for
their wellbeing. What they should do was to
endeavour to make their homes more comfortable,
and create in them a feeling of self-respect, which was so
valuable to all, and nothing would have a greater
tendency to accomplish that object, than by educatirg all
classes of the community. (Hear, hear.) Sundayirchools
had done much good, but he hoped the subjects he tad men-
tioned would have all the atteotion that could be devoted to
them. He then addressed the females, and exhorted them
to pay the greatest attention to their children, as in the pre-
cepts taught ley the mother much depended, and hs had sel-
dom found that when good and pure sentiments had been
inculcated by the mother, that they were forgotten in after
days. He concluded his address amidst the'cheers of the
audience.

The Revs. Mr. West, Mr. Wallace, and the members of
the deputation, with several other friends of the mission,
subsequently addressed the meeting at considerable
length, and with great earnestness in advocating the claims
of the mission. In the e- urse of the meeting a collection
was made and most liberally responded to. A vote of thanks
to the chairman con :laded the business of the evening.

The Dumfries Courier winounees the forthcoming
pub'icwion of a " Duintlies Album," which will contain
contributions from Mr. Thomas Girlyle, Professor
Blackie, Mr. James _Hannay, Professor Nichol cfGlasgovr,
George Gilfillan, Mr. Thomas Aird,
Johnstone, &c.

AUSTRIAN CENSUS.—A letter from Vienna in the
Augsburg Gazette, says :—" Au ordinance has just been
published, ordering a new general census of all the popu-
lation of the empire. This will be the first carried cut
in a peifect manner throughout all the provinces cf the
Austrian empire, for that of 185[ was very bady executed
in Hungary, Transylvania, Croatia, and Sclavonia."

CONTINENTAL TBIEVES. —A band of fourteen young
thieves, aged from eleven to eighteen, has just fallen into
the hands of the police at Brussels. They have been car-
rying on for some some an extensive system of marauding
in the pubic streets and from shops. One of them conft ssed
that for the last month or six weeks he had managed to
commit twe thefts every day. Five shopkeepers are impli-
cated as receivers of the stolen property. One of these men
had pushed his business so far as to giva the thieves orders
before hand for e rtairt.articles, and promising them a good
Profit.