The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-02 00:00:00

THE REV. e. H. SPURGEON'S METRO-
POLITAN TABERNACLE.

Last night a meeting was held in the above
building for the purpose of giving the public an
opportunity of presenting a new year's offering to
the fund which is being raised for its completion.
The attendance was very large. Mr. W. Roupell,
M.P. for Lambeth, occupied the chair.
After singing and prayer,
The Rev. C. H. SPURGEON read the balance-sheet,
from which it appeared that the total money
received amounted to £24,164 7s sd, and the amount
required was £30,000. They hoped to be able to
collect £l,OOO that night, and having gone so far,
he felt sure they could not fail. (Hear.)
The CHAIRMAN, after, a few introductory remarks,
said they had met on the first evening of another
year in order to give their New Year's offerings
unto the Lord. They had come together, he felt
sure, prepared to give that which they could afford
to promote the great work to which they had put
their hands, determined not to look back, having
once put their hands to the plough, but to look for-
ward to the harvest in the future—a harvest of souls
saved from perdition through the instrumentality
of their pastor, the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon. They had
heard that gentleman read a financial statement,
which was clear and to the point. From that
they gathered two material facts—first, that the
estimated cost was £30,000, and that they had
towards that sum in round figures £25,000.
Mr. Spurgeon and the gentlemen associated with
him had a noble ambition that the glorious
building in which they then sat should be
dedicated to God without the pollution of a debt ;
it was not, therefore, expecting too much from
them if he expressed a hope, that before March—
the time the building was proposed to be opened for
worship—the deficiency of £5,000 would be made
up. They had the means to do so if they all acted
together. It was not by isolated efforts that great
works could be achieved, but by the united efforts
of thousands. If they all strove to their utmost,
that which would be difficult to the few would be
easy to the many. He was there representing the
feeling of true charity and liberality, which he be-
lieved existed in the present day. He was a Church-
man, and having been educated in the Church of
England, begged to express his heartiest wishes for
the success of Mr. Spurgeon. They (the Church
of England) did not forget that for the last seven
years Mr. Spurgeon had devoted himself to advance
the interests of various charitable and benevolent
institutions, without any regard to sect ; and, there-
fore, felt that he had a special claim to their sup-
port. It was calculating on a feeling of reciprocity
that he called on all those who were not of his
communion to lend a helping hand to a work which
would be an honour to Mr. Spurgeon and to every
one who had an interest in the well-being of the
south side of London. (Hear.) As chairman of the
meeting, it was his duty to ask their attention to
the various speakers that evening ; but he need not
do so in the case of Mr. Spurgeon, for he com-
manded not only their attention but their love.
(Hear.) He hoped therefore they would give ex-
pression to that love in a visible way, and give evi-
dence that they were not merely professing but
actively engaged in promoting the work in which
he (Mr. Spurgeon) took so deep an interest. And
when he reminded them that he was appealing on
behalf of the great voluntary principle, which
would give them churches without the aid of a
rate—(cheers)—which would give them soldiers
if they wanted them equal to any emergency,
and the principle of which that building was
an instance, he was sure he need not press the
subject any further on them. (Hear, hear, and
cheers.) If they did their utmost to raise the
required amount they would be buying a share
in a great joint stock company, the liability of
which they need not fear, but the object of which
they might say was one of the noblest enterprises
to which the energy of man was ever directed. He
hoped the year they were then commencing might
be fraught with happiness to them all, and that at
its end they might reflect with pleasure on the fact
of having commenced the year by putting their
hands to a good work. (Cheers.)
The meeting having been addressed by the Revs.
' It. Bushell, W. G. Lewis, D. Katterns, J. Trestrail,
&c., a vote of thanks to the chair closed the pro-
ceedings.
We believe that a sum exceeding £l,OOO was, from
different sources, raised in addition to the total
amount referred to above.

COUNTRY MARKETS.