The Sun.
London, England, 1858-02-23 00:00:00

EA tZ LY CLOSING ASSOCIATION.

Last night the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon preached in
the Scotch Church, Regent square (Dr. Hamil-
ton's), in aid of this very valuable organisation.
The place was well filled ; but, from the ad-
mirable arrangements which had been made in
regard to the issue of tickets, and the restric-
tion of the admission to persons who pos-
sessed them, it is not too much •to say that this
celebrated young preacher perhaps never ad-
lressed an audience, in a strange place, who
wage able to assemble and find seats more
comfortably than' the audience last evening. He
was assist,d in the preliminary devotions by the
Rev. Dr. Hamilton, He took for his text, "Gather
out the stones." Isaiah chap. 62; verse 10. On
this he fOuuded a discourse charaeterised by his
usual ability. The "stones" be described as
obstacles which it was the duty olChristian people
to remove out of the way of those who were thereby
prevented from hearing the gospel preached.
Amongist the various stones or obstacles which he
noticed, the first was the consecration of placed of .
worship ; but, he said, to remove this a one, they
would preach anywhere so that good might be done.
The second was the aba, ruse and unintelligible
style which preachers sometimes adopted, and to •
remove this, he said, they would be as plain as •
possible. The third stone was the inconsistencies
of people who professed Christianity, to remove
which, he said, Christians would strive to avoid
causes of offence. The • fourth stone was that
Christians were gloomy ascetics, men walking in
darkness ; to try to remove which, he said, Chris-
tians would labour to obey the injunction of the
Apostle, who commanded them to " rejoice in the
Lord alway." The fifth' stone was the long hours
during which many persons were obliged to labour,
which rendered it impo,sible, they said,:for them
to attend to the concerns of their souls. From
Monday morning till Saturday night, there was
nothing but work ! work 1 work I and if these
poor people came to a place of worship on the
Sundays it would require something as powerful as
the trump of the Archangel Gabriel to keep them
awake and atte: tive. They might well say
Christ's yoke is easy, but the yoke which a pro- :
fessedly Christian puhhc imposes upon me is other-
wise." This overworking was a stone which lay
in the path of thousands, and it was the duty of
Christian people to remove it. The rev. gentleman
at great length, and with much eloquence, showed',
that it was the duty of all those who profess andcall
' themselves Christians, if they were masters, to close
early, and, if they were merely customers, not only
not to shop late -themselves, but to. avoid deal-
ing at shops which kept open late 3 for others,
fie made a particularly touching appeal on behalf of
- the poor dressmakers, exposing very powerfully the
- criminal thoughtlessness of those ladies who, by the
tee, lateness at which their orders are often given, keep
these poor creatures at work night and day almost
continuously for the paltry sums which are doled
. out to them by their employers. Judging from the
'l4 long lows of carriages which lined the approaches
to the church, this powerful appeal was addressed
to the class which is especially blamable in this
regard ; and it is to be hoped, for the sake of
humanity, that it will not be utterly lost upon
those in whose hands the remedy rests. He said
;1i that, once riding with a farmer, the latter stopped
• the vehicle and got down to pick up a broken glass
'34 bottle, which he threw over the hedge, exclaiming
• as he re-entered the vehicle, "Ah 1 I lost a good
horse through a broken bottle like that, and I
IX' should be sorry Viat any one else should sustain
such a loss." -Ile urged Christian's to act on this
man's example, and remove every stone out of the
_ _

way, and particularly the obstacle of late hours,
which.he said prevented the thoughtless from being
impressed, stifled impressions where they did exist,
and even when a man became aanristian prevented
1;4 the development of the religious life. His'perora-
tion was particularly powerful, and at the cone 111-
sion of the service a collection was made in a►id .of
the society's funds.

Country Markets

CHELMSFORD-FEB. D.

% I The wheat trade to-day was in a rather animated ,
state, at about 1s per quarter over the rates of last week.
Spring corn unchanged.
Wheat, white, old, per s. s. S. 8.
qr. 45 51 Oats, per qr 24 29
I
new.... 45 51 Peas, Partridge 40 43
old 42 46 1 White.. 38 42
new 40 46 Boiling , 39 44.
Barley - 34 40 Dun 3$ 40
Chevalier 38 44 I Beans, Tick 36 .58
Grinding 23 32 1 Harrow ticks 36 440.,
Halt 70 73 1 Mazagan 35
Chevalier 72 73 1 Ditto, new... 35 '24

red,

COLCHESTER- FEB. 2f.

An active trade in corn to-day, and the transastionS
74' in wheat, must be quoted at the advanca of last week.
Barleys scarce, and readily taken at la per qr. advance;
other sorts a better sale. Beans and peas as before.
Prices to-daywere as follow :—Wheat, white 96s to 504;
red, 423 to 468; barley, 363 to 438 ; oats, 22s to 308 ; beans,
3faza.an' 31s to 363; middle and small, 361 to 40s;, P•Pa,
•
wlute, 408 to 42s ; grey, aos to 42a.
IoY4

Official Statement of the Quantities of Corn, &c., rocei'ma
in the port of London, from the following, volts, floal
Feb, 1 t to Feb. 20, both inclusive.

° a
y‘ Colchester ... 100( 40 581— -- 3g 3"
Harwich • 25155 (1575 3C 20 796
' Leigh ' 2041 lg
•al !Walden 11436,143 ( 300 1245 04 ou"