try. The conclusion to which an onlooker is forced to come is, that with such a good cause to labor for, and with such able and devoted men to labor for it, and with the blessing of God ensured upon it, success must at last come. A leaven, in short a covenanting leaven, is working slowly in that great mass, and by God's help the time will come when it will leaven the whole lump.

It was remitted to the Committee on the "Signs of the Times," to take into consideration what action, if any, may or can be taken by Synod in regard to matters bearing upon the subject of national reform in Britain.

The Report of the Ministerial Aid Committee shows:

That notwithstanding the depression of trade, which has existed during the past year, the liberality of the church has continued unabated, and the Committee have been able to supplement the amount of stipend paid by the smaller congregations to

the full extent of the minimum.

A deputation consisting of Rev. William Dick, and Mr. John Potts, ruling elder, was present from the Irish Synod. They both made addresses. Mr. Potts referred to the effort made in Belfast in Home Mission work.

More than a year ago a few members of the congregation asked permission of Session to open a branch Sabbath school in a very neglected and populous part of the town. This was readily accorded, and the necessary steps were taken at once. A dwelling-house was rented and a Sabbath school commenced, but it was soon found that this house was too small, and they have now built a large Mission House in the same street-Brownlow street-which was opened in February last. They have a flourishing Sabbath school, with an average attendance of about a hundred scholars, and a staff of good teachers numbering about twenty-six. They have also a weekly service in it, and many useful meetings.

Mr. Dick made an earnest and seasonable address, the subject, The Church in its relation to Worldly Glory and to Truth. The following is a portion of his remarks:

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The true glory of a church does not consist in numbers. Do not pagans outnumber Christians, and Romanists Protestants, and is not the Greek Church larger than the Lutheran or the Calvinistic community? Is not Evangelicalism in a minority among Protestants? And yet there is a stronger desire in the present day for outward growth in a church than for growth in knowledge, holiness, love of truth, or influence upon the world. * The glory of a church does not consist in mere influence. Unless that influence is for good it is nothing, and worse than nothing. Many are disposed to accommodate everything to a corrupt taste which they are divinely appointed to correct. * * *The church is managed as if it were a human institution, and is wisely adapted to the varying whims of the multitude. The earnestness required by God is frowned down, and is supplanted by the earnestness of sanctimonious pretence (that is, enthusiasm in regard to as much truth as is observed to be popular at the time), and by the earnestness of assault on some unpopular truth, which is conducted, like every pious fraud, ostensibly in the interests of God's kingdom and glory, but really for the interests and glory of men. * The church that is resolved, above all, to preserve its wholeness from division, and to add to its numbers, will have its ingenuity in compromise, and its forbearance towards error taxed to the utmost by the power of Satan in the hearts of a few innovators. The compromise that reaches to the necessities of mechanical union to-day may be far too short to reach to those necessities to-morrow. Every succeeding diffi culty will relate to some "one small matter." * * Men are called to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints, and yet they often deem the possibility of contention a decisive reason why some conscientious scruple should be given up. ** When this is accompanied with the kind-hearted expostulations of Christian outsiders respecting our extreme position; when there is great pressure exercised by friends or relatives without the church; when there is a perhaps just sympathy with many without, and but little complacency in many within the church; when there is a consciousness that few know of, and fewer care for, your self-denial; when there are instances, happily few, in which a Christian congregation in defence of its own niggardliness will actually attribute self-seeking views to the most self-denying ministry; when there is a conviction that no one believes you are being tested at all, or will give you the least credit for fidelity; and when by thoughtlessness you have come almost to forget the moral grandeur of a witnessing position, and estimate it increasingly by a worldly eye; we ask, is not this

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as likely as any terrorism to make men surrender piecemeal the testimony of their fathers? * * A church that retains its separate position after giving up its distinctive principles-especially after giving up its differentia-loses its true honor, and reaches not to the worldly glory that tempted it aside. It becomes doubly poor, doubly mean even in the eyes of the world, doubly weighted with humiliation. It is frowned upon by a noble past; it drags the heavy clog of a present unrelieved and inexplicable obscurity, and has no hope for itself as a denomination in the future. Having gone in for " accommodation to the world, it may henceforth be well ashamed of its inferior meeting-houses, its small audiences, its wretched finances, its second-rate or third-rate everything. * * *The Covenanter who has no eye to see the prestige which truth confers a prestige in proportion to the breadth of the platform of truth, and especially to the fidelity with which unpopular truth is maintained, and who sighs rather for the prestige connected with numbers and wealth-may be tempted to give up some crown jewels of his church to buy some vulgar baubles in Vanity Fair; but he will not only give what is glorious to obtain what is vile-the birthright going for the mess of pottage-but will find, unless he immediately enters thereupon some richer church, that the returns, even in the baser kind, are exceedingly limited-that the mess of pottage is exceedingly small. An unfaithful minister, without the object of his ambition, is the most wretched waif in Christendom. He is, of all ecclesiastical men, the most miserable. The great duty of a church-and especially of a professedly Witnessing Church— is to maintain its distinctive principles. It is peculiarly dangerous for it to conciliate numbers at the expense of principle. * *Those who would stupidly tinsel it over, diminish or neutralize the moral influence of a witnessing position, i. e., the moral influence of a manifest self-sacrificing fidelity, while in a social point of view they only get more contempt, and that a contempt that is deserved, for they show that they are ashamed of being in a minority, and of suffering shame for the name's sake of a despised but exalted Master. Thus they are unjust to themselves, unjust to the world, unjust to a noble cause, and unjust to Christ himself.

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The Messrs. McDonald, the deputation to our church last year, addressed the court with reference to their visit, giving an account of the great kindness they had received, and presenting a short narrative of the condition of the church.

It was moved, seconded, and unanimously agreed to-"That the Synod express its great gratification at the cheering statements of the deputation with regard to the vigorous and prosperous condition of the R. P. Church in the United States, and the important work it is doing in the country. Synod would also express its very great satisfaction at the prospect of the Rev. Joseph Beattie, of the American R. P. Mission, Syria, visiting this country this summer, on his way returning to Syria to resume his labors there; and it desires to reciprocate those expressions of kindness and fraternal sympathy addressed to this court, through our deputation, by the American Church; and heartily, and with gratitude to God, congratulates that Synod on its earnestness and energy in the work of making known the great salvation, and also on its manifest fidelity to the grand Scriptural principles of the Reformation."

Rev. James Dick, convener, reported on behalf of the Committee on Covenant Renovation, and submitted a" Draft Preamble, Confession of Sins, Bond of Adherence, and Engagement to Duties." After consideration it was agreed to hold un adjourned meeting of Synod on the second Wednesday of July next, at 11 o'clock forenoon, in the present place of meeting, chiefly to take into consideration this paper on Covenant Renovation, and to have a conference on the state of religion, The next regular meeting of Synod is to be held in the same place on the Monday after the first Sabbath of May, 1878.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE IRISH SYNOD.

THE Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Ireland met at Londonderry, Monday, June 11th, at 7 P. M. Rev. Wm. Russell, the former Moderator, preached the opening sermon from Zech. 6: 13, first clause-" Even he shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory." The roll

embraces the names of twenty-nine ministers. Rev. R. A. McFarlane was elected Moderator.

The following minute was made of the death of Rev. J. P. Sweeney :

Synod, in putting on their records a reference to the decease of the Rev. J. P. Sweeney, late pastor of the Faughan congregation, which took place on 4th May last at a very advanced age, are desirous at the same time to give glory to God who sustained him so long in the ministry of the gospel, and made him an instrument, as we trust, of effecting much good in his day. Having attached himself in early life to the Reformed Presbyterian Church, he was ever ready to defend her principles and position with unflinching fidelity. While missing his well-known presence and his brotherly co-operation, and mourning the loss his congregation and the church have sustained by his removal, it is our earnest prayer that the solemn event may have the effect, under the divine blessing, of stirring us all up to increased diligence in our Master's work, and that, instead of fathers, he would take sons, and make them princes in all the earth.

Revs. J. A. Chancellor and R. Nevin were appointed to attend the Edinburgh Council.

The Annual Report of the Foreign and Jewish Mission was read by Rev. Dr. Houston. We take from it the following:

"While Dr. Martin and his family were still residing at Latakiyeh, towards the end of the year 1875, he visited Antioch, rented a house for a school, and engaged two male teachers, who appeared to be well qualified and were highly recommended.. This supply of an educational want in Antioch was duly appreciated, and, in a short time, the school was attended by a considerable number of pupils of different races-the children of Greek Christians, Armenians, Jews, and Fellaheen. Towards the end of autumn last year he took up his abode at Antioch, and since then up to the present time he has been proscuting the work of his mission in its different departments with wisdom and untiring energy, courageously encountering difficulties and opposition that were to be anticipated, with a gratifying

measure of success.

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The Commission agreed to encourage Dr. Martin to open a medical dispensary in Antioch, to be conducted on the plan of Medical Missions, in which the free treatment of patients and dispensing of medicines is preceded by devotional exercises and brief discourses; and as soon as he might find it suitable to enter on this work, to grant him such a sum regularly as would meet the necessary expenditure. Our brethren of the Scottish Mission Committee readily concurred with us in this resolution, and at their late meeting of Synod, voted a definite sum for this special purpose. At the March meeting of Commission it was ordered to remit to Dr. Metheny, out of the Mission fund, the sum of twenty pounds, in support of the boarding school for Ansairiveh pupils at Latakiyeh, as this money had been expressly contributed for the yearly education of two pupils; and the Secretary was further instructed to convey to Dr. M. the sincere sympathy and condolence of the Commission in relation to the death of his late excellent wife. Dr. M. expressed, in reply, his cordial gratitude for these fraternal expressions of interest in his trials and work. In a former communication he had expressed thanks for having received from Dr. Martin, prior to his removal to Antioch, the sum of thirty-three Turkish pounds and one piastre, which he had handed to him for the support of the Boarding Schools, out of the remittance which had been sent to him by our two Synods in aid of Syrian schools. We have thus sought to manifest our cordial interest in the work which our beloved brethren of the American Church have so vigorously prosecuted at Latakiyeh, and the surrounding districts, with abundant tokens of the divine blessing.

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In the month of February last some one hundred and twenty pupils were attending the boys' school, and at a later period, besides Greeks, Armenians, and a few Ansairiyeh, there were seventeen Jewish children receiving instruction in the school. A night school was also opened in April last, and for a time increased rapidly in the attendance of pupils, so many as thirty being present at once; but when the Greek priests set on foot active opposition, it declined to about ten scholars. It afterwards increased again, and there is hope of it being in some time again largely attended.

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The latest communication received from Dr. Martin, under date of May 14th, gives a pleasing account of a public examination of the boys' school, which bears

gratifying testimony of the favorable impression made among the natives by the educational work of the Mission:-" On Saturday week our examination of the principal boys' school was held in presence of a large assembly of nearly a hundred men and boys, and perhaps fifty women and girls. The exhibition made by the pupils was highly effective, and did credit to themselves and especially to the teacher. The Jewish Hakem, the Persian Consul, and several prominent persons, sat on an elevated place. My friend, the Ansairiyeh chief, whom they call The Doctor,' was also present. The principal visitors seemed to wonder at the answering of the pupils. The teacher gave frequent opportunities to visitors to examine, of which, however, few availed themselves. An oration was delivered by teacher Ibrahim, on the advantages of learning, which was listened to with much apparent interest, and was applauded by the assembly. In the course of his address, he briefly sketched the history of Sir Isaac Newton. The twenty-fourth Psalm was sung throughout by a class of boys at the conclusion, to a tune which they had been taught. Already the interest in our schools seems to be distinctly revived since the examinations and the attendance has kept up better than we expected for the season and the circumstances. We thought it inexpedient to hold any examination of the girls' school, it being so short a time in operation. Nevertheless, I have as much satisfaction in the progress of the girls' school as in that of the boys. They can now answer a great number of questions in religious knowledge, and have commenced to commit psalms to memory. The desire to learn to sing our psalm tunes is expressed not only in the day schools, but also in the night school; and the Jewish Hakem especially desires that his little daughter may learn to sing as he heard us do, when he was present at our public worship. I give a lesson or two in music in our night school weekly, and occasionally conduct devotional exercises, making a brief comment on a portion of Scripture. The four teachers Waakaed have given me much satisfaction; their genial and social character has been favorable to the success of our work more ways than one."

Soon after Dr. Martin took up his abode in Antioch, he commenced preaching the gospel regularly on Sabbaths, and has continued since, up to the date of his last letter. His audiences consist of persons of different races, and have been occasionally diminished through the active opposition of the Greek priesthood. They now vary from fifteen to thirty persons.

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Prompted by an anxious desire to do something for the spiritual benefit of the Ansairiyeh residing in the neighborhood of Antioch, who belong, for the most part, to the Shemalayet sect and are specially difficult of access, Dr. Martin began on Monday evening, the 26th February, open-air preaching, and this service he has continued since on every Monday evening, in one end of the town or another, where the Ansairiyeh reside. The audiences differ from thirty to one hundred. The attendance at different times at these discourses has embraced some two hundred individuals. Women as well as men assemble, and good attention is given to the word preached. At the desire of the people in one Ansairiyeh quarter, a school for the children was commenced, but this had to be discontinued in a short time, through a false alarm, and the misrepresentations of the Greek Catholics. The Ansairiyeh Sheik, however, has written to Dr. Martin, deploring the ignorance of his people in breaking up the school. * * Dr. Martin has strongly expressed his desire to have two additional male teachers appointed for the Ansairiyeh. He has pressed upon the Mission Committee the great necessity of looking out for a second missionary for Syria.

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During the last four months Dr. Martin has put into circulation and sold to the natives a number of copies of the Scriptures in Arabic.

We feel gratified in reporting that again the Jewish Missionary Association of the congregation of Geelong, Australia, has remitted the sum of £14 10s. in aid of the Syrian mission schools. This was accompanied by a remittance from the same Association of £12 10s. to aid the cause of Syrian evangelization. This example of active effort and liberality on the part of a small congregation of brethren, on the other side of the globe, who, at the same time, contribute most generously for ministerial support, should rebuke and stimulate other congregations to imitate such zeal and enlarged Christian benevolence. The annual contribution of ten guineas, from the members of Kilraughts congregation, for the training of a native Syrian convert to the work of the ministry, was duly received, and lodged with the Synod's trustees, to be drawn forth and applied so soon as a suitable person shall be found for the service.

After the reading and adoption of the foregoing Report, the follow

ing resolutions were unanimously agreed to, on motion of the Secre

tary:

1. Synod strongly recommend to all the ministers and congregations of the church to adopt forthwith such measures as they may consider most suitable, for raising regular annual contributions in aid of the Mission Schools in Syria; and likewise recommend to the Mission Committee to use diligence in their efforts to obtain the services of a second missionary for the work of the Syrian Mission.

2. Synod tenders to the Rev. Joseph Beattie its cordial invitation to visit the church in this country, on his return from America to Syria, and to address as many of the congregations as possible on the subject of the Mission in Syria -the arrangements for the places to be visited to be made through the Secretary of the Foreign and Jewish Mission.

Dr. Houston, as Secretary and Treasurer of the Foreign and Jewish Mission, was authorized to defray the travelling expenses of the Rev. Joseph Beattie, while in Ireland, should he visit it.

The Report of the Colonial Mission refers to the presence of Rev. Robert Stewart, of Wilmot, Nova Scotia. It then proceeds:

The most important event in the history of our Colonial Presbytery during the year now closing, is the decision that, owing to certain difficulties in their way, our brethren have felt compelled, for a time, to abandon the proposed annexation with the United States Synod. The Minute of Presbytery reads" That we highly appreciate the fraternal spirit in which our proposal of union with the Synod of the United States was met; but inasmuch as our congregations could not fulfil the conditions of the Sustentation Scheme, we are constrained for the present to abandon the hope of organic union with that Synod."

The condition of the Sustentation Scheme referred to is, that every aid-receiving congregation shall contribute an average of eight dollars to each member, upon which a supplement will be given to the amount of eight hundred dollars per annum. Our congregations considered themselves unable to rise to this scale of payment, and, as ordinances could not be continued without aid from some quarter, it was decided that no change of relation should at present be made. Other difficulties in the way of the proposed change also existed, and the matter for the time is allowed to drop, our brethren, and we as a Synod, enjoying the connection which has so happily existed since the origin of the work.

The vacant Mission Stations of Littleton and Queens will receive such an amount of supplies as Presbytery is able to render, but all insufficient to satisfy the longings of the brethren in these places, and to build up the cause of our Lord. Our father, Mr. Somerville, continues to visit Horton and preach once a month, but how long his strength may be equal to this is questionable-not to speak of other posts where occasional preaching is given, and where there is an earnest desire for much more. There is abundance of work for him to do in the stations we have mentioned alone; and specially is it our duty to try and relieve an aged father of the double charge of Cornwallis and Horton, lying 26 miles apart. The resources of the church at home might be taxed somewhat heavily at the commencement, but surely the time has come when we should augment our ministerial staff in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick by at least one minister.

Speaking of the work in Australia, the report says:

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In an interesting communication from our brother, Mr. Moore, just received, he informs us of the dispensation of the Lord's supper, on the first Sabbath in April, which was accompanied with signs both of external and internal prosperity. new members were added to the church, and communicants travelled long distances to be present. From Melbourne, as well as western parts of the province of Victoria, frequent inquiries are made after the church represented by our brother, and earnest desires expressed for ministerial supplies by us. Melbourne, especially, is a neglected field, which would give an abundant harvest. It is said by some that had our missionary begun his labors there nineteen years ago, instead of Geelong, he would have had an overflowing congregation by this time. Mr. Moore visited Melbourne for a time, in hope that another laborer would follow, from the church