New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-05-15
RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.

Z
| ninety seventh Diocesan Convention OF the
| Protestant Episcopal Church in Pennsylvania
WAS held last week, 10 clerical and 100 lay
| delegates being in attendance. In the address
| Ia the Convention the need OF better sunday
| school instruction was urged. said Bishop
| Stevens The mere routine sunday school Is
| of little value. IL does not lay hold upon the
child's mind, nor does it mould the child,s char
acter. To very many children 1t Is sunday
| penance, which must be borne with becausc
| their parents require it-a drudgery which
vexes them, and which they release themselves
| from az soon IA possible. To many other child
| rem it becomes substitute for the public ser
vices of the Church, the Sunday school sup
| planting too much the worship of God in the
| great congregation. To others it is q mere
| drill roOm of catechetica words and phrases,
! which they cannot understand, and which, par
rot-like, they are required to repeat, and mostly
repeat in unison, that if the very child who
\ SAYS his catechm well in concert with Others
attempts to say it alone without being upheld
and prompted by the voices of the Others he
| most generally fails altogether 10 remember 1t.
| These things ought not So 10 be-. The Sunday
| school, as part of the Church, should be- NOR
tiSed into the Church and draw its strength from
| the Church. and bc guided in its OutgrOwth and
| expansion by the Church. The Church must
never relax its hold on the lambs of the iiOck.
| and the lambs of the flock must ever be taught
| that they belong To the one fold, under the one
| earthly shepherd, and under the one Heavenly
| Shepherd the Church thus ever taking the
hand OF the litilc cnd. ana llt Itilt clitN lilH
| ever clnging tO the hand of the Church. he
| Bishop suggested that the centennial of the
| Church might bc marked by the completion al
a new diocesan house, for which great nGed
| exists He also reminded tie delegates tilll
| the matter of canOnical legislation Tor the
better protection and custody of Church prop
| crty. especially rs connected with feeble ana
! dccayrd parishes would come up for action at
! the Convention. The address concluded With
a iorclblc appeal to the delegates To cherish
/ 4 D, ri 4ft, nf ,bp f'tUVPl
ROBERT HALL As A PREAcHER.-The Rev.
| Paxton Hood gives this graphic account oi one
| of Robert Halls sermons in village chapel ::
We remember to have heard a dear departed
! friend tell how, when "a boy, lac was taken by
| his father one still summer evening across the
| Northamptonshirc ficlds-I believe it was to
! the little town of lhrapstOne-to hear Robert
! liaN. IL was one Of those old village chapels
With the square Galleries. As in the instance oi
! Chalmers, the place was crowded with PLAIN
4 farmer folk and a sprnkllng OF Intelligent
/ ministers and gentry from the nclshhoTlood
| The minister came IN, simple, heavy but stu
| imprcssivc-l0o looking man, one whose presence
| compelled you "a look at MIN. In due course he
announced his text The end of all things Is NJ
| hand be- sober and watch etc. Quito unlike
! Chalmers, hlS voice was not shaltelug, but
| thin and weak. There was no action at all, or
| ONLY a Kind of nervous twitching of tie fingers,
| more especially rs the hand moved and rested
upon the lower part of the back, where the
speaker was suffering almost lnces'ant pam.
! AS hc went on beneath the deepening evening
shades falling through the windows Of the old
chapel his voice first chained, then charmed
and fascinated his hearers one after another.
! The whole place seemed as II beneath great
spell. ~ be- talked about the end, the spell
upon the people seemed Ia begin to Work lis'll
out into an awful, fearful rcStleSsness. lrst
one then another ro-, from his seat and stood
stretching forward On kind of fright and Won
dci. Stll there WAS no acton only the iol-
lowing on of that thin voice with a marvellous
WlfchcrN Of apt and mclodlOus words; but
through them the end of all things sounded
Ike some warming bell. More people rose,
stretching forward. Many of those who rose
FIRST az If thcy felt some strange power upon
th.m-thcy knew not Whlt-got up ana stood
upon thcir SEATS until. when the great master
ceased. closing lis pathetic accents, the whole
audience Was upon IT, feet intensely alive with
interest. ~ II each ore had heard m the dis
iiucc the Wc-3gc- and prcludcs OF the coming
end. and lclt that It VAS time 10 prepare. Ny
iri,ud used 10 speak of that ncycr-toTgottcn
moment. that summer evening IN the old chapel,
90, one of the most memorable III his Me
Ir.ilrs ~ rfrE CoVGO CorNTRY.--Yhe Non-
copGrmi.t understands that tie committee ot
the Baptist Missionary society have just re-
| c,il,d intelligence from their Congo mission
erie, which L. likely To orcasion con>iari1nl"
anxiety. u not. Indtcd, actual alarm. ana when
Lt- Htru made tir subject of special representa-
ZION f0 the British Colonial O.iicc. I'm the
month of January there entered upon thr RIVER
Congo % Portuguese eunhoat, having three or
four Roman Catholic priests on board ana these
PRIESTS have been sent to occupy San salvador
h,y came with all the pomp and t'tuu" ~
military and naval display they went zap 10
san Salvador escorted by % captain oi itr liir
iu -hc Portuguese Amy, los lieutenant ln Ihc
Da-v and hf force of marines; ana tHrF toph
VITA chem presents To the King ot san salvador
-c.-c, of rWn and gin. and firearms. SILVER
iuk ards and ,if,- AMI 70 cioWll-cilhci "i gold
nr OF lll,-for tac king himself. u l. alleged
that they lay" arrived 100 san Nal' idor, ana
thc report ot thr Miss .nuaiy >"rlrty VIII con
tain a letter from The hing Of Congo. Trans
lated W Mr.. GrcuirN. 10 whom II "a~ AL
dressed and who j. now In The Congo country,
Announcing "thc arrival oi thr important mis-
-.pu from h,, Majesty OF Portugal a. h.> Majesty
nt Como. " and porting that hc fhc klue' h1d
received q, Che hands of the ambl--ador> .
Golden crown AND certain present., thc llht oI
which De- bind never looked upon before. il is
further lll,-,i that these Jesuit priests are
under ii bond t0 remain I'VE year ia O' com
tr, aud that tire commander OF tn gnhhoat
has received orders 10 yl>lt the river once
month.
During the recent meeting of tie synod 81
Toronto and Kingston. AN overture was read
representing that The General Assembly Shouih
Do, asked 20 take action looking to providing
urw version of the Psalms IN metre. ~ ne
present version, owing to faults IN lrctrc could
not well be- usrd in the churches. Ihls overture
MA, submitted to the Prc,bytcry of kingston
and by Them referred to uic synod in 1919
bnt it VIA not considered until lNsO: when II
,yI, laid ON the table for the year. The key'
Andrew Wilson. of Kingston, SAID that AL
tLnnch this overture had been 50 long delayed
L, did MOI consider IL was the result of lack of
interest in this subject 10y the synod; lie hat
never heard "a word said against the uNe OF
Psalm, in public service. yet hat MAS the
reason that men had substituted some oth1r
HYMNS for them when it VIA on all hands
nclnowlcdgrd that they were the bcstf There
could be- no reason for this except defects IN the
mctrical version of the psalms now ~ use;
The revision had been adopted hy me nlt%d