Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-07-02
How Chalmers Worked Miracles.

How Chalmers Worked Miracles.
DR.. Chalmers was much more than a
preacher. No sooner had he entered
on that great city parish lin Glasgow.
in which he had undertaken to be
Gods minister, than its terrible state
touched him very deeply. It included
in it much OF the worst part of the old
town, and the ignorance and immoral
ity which he found we're just appalling.
He determined to 60 through it him
self and know all about it. With one
of his elders accompanying him, be
went from house to house throughout
the whole dense parish. At first, rath.
er to his surprise, he was very cordial
~ received, but he soon found that it
was because he was connected with so
many city charities, and as soon a. the
people had got him in their houses
they began to appeal for help. This,
he felt, would not do /; it would utterly
spoil his religious work, so he at once
gave up his connection with every
charity, and let it be known that he had
nothing to give. For the moment this
led to somewhat cooler reception, but
as the people got to know the man,
they loved him for himself and for his
religious work among them. Then he
divided the parish into districts, got q
number of visitors to help him, and
established considerable number of
small Sunday schools. Inspiring his
helpers with his own enthusiasm, he
accomplished one of the noblest mis-
sionary works Of modern times. In
order to be able to grapple thoroughly
with the problem OF pauperism, he got
q new parish carved out for him, with
a population OF ten thousand, and ar
ranged with the authorities that this
parish (St. John's) should be entirely
left for the care of its poor, to him and
to his church. He was determined to
revive the old Scottish plan of having
the poor looked after by visitors from
his church, and their relief met by the
offerings in the poor's boxes at the
church doors. For the time he sue
ceeded wonderfully. Breaking up the
parish into small districts, he got every
household visited and known; the chill.
dren were sent to school; the people
were taught to help each other; non
attendants OF church were drawn in to
worship; and the relief expenditure,
which when he undertook the parish
had been 1,4OO year, in four years
was reduced to E2S0.
He chose out one of the worst dis
tricts in Edinburgh, the West-port, as
it was called-a nest eff narrow, squalid
wynds and courts clustering about one
main street. which was only rather
more public in its wretchedness and
vice. The district which he mapped
out contained about four hundred fam
lilies, some two thousand people in all,
of whom half were either beggars or
thieves, and not above fourth con-
nected with any church whatever. He
divided this neighborhood into twenty
districts, each containing about twenty
families. Over each of these districts
visitor was appointed-some we're
men, some were women-whose duty it
was to visit each family once week.
At their first going around, slip Of
paper was left with each family explain
ing the object of visiting; and then,
by leaving tracts by conversation,
sometimes by reading tho Bible or en-.
gaging in prayer, the visitors endeav-
ored to become friends to the people,
and to lead them to send their children
to school and take an interest in re.
ligion. He laid especial stress on
avoiding almsgiving as far as possible;
and even when he opened q school in
the midst of the district. he insisted
that it should not be gratuitous. Every
Saturday evening all the visitors met
together-Dr. Chalmers meeting with
them when his failing health permitted
to talk over their work, and to keep
up the interest and spirit of it. Moth.
ing could we'll be simpler than this
work, and yet in the end it changed the
whole character of the district, and
won it from squalor, ignorance and
vice, to decency, morality and Chris
tianity. After time it became sort
of missionary parish. On February
10. 1S47, little West-port church ;"
was opened for worship, and DR.. Chal-
mers administered the communion to
one hundred and thirty-two commune
cants, of whom no fewer than one hun
dred were from this poor district. He
wrote of that as "the most joyful event
of his life." It was almost the last
public event of his life, too. One
Saturday night, only three months
later, he was happily among his
household. though in failing health.
When the Sabbath morning came, they
found him dead. He had passed quiet.
ly away in the night.-From Brooke
He'ford's "Story Of Religion in Eng
land"
The long'expected map of Palestine,
drawn in twenty-six sheets, on scale
OF one inch to the mile, after the
surveys OF Lieutenants Gender and
Kitchener, r. E., is now reported as
complete and ready for publication.
1t has been photoziLcographed, under
the superintendence of Colonel Cooke.
r. f., the Director General of the Ord