Since then, they had obtained such convenient accommodation-and since there was in the building a considerable number of students, to whom he hoped more would be hereafter added it now remained for them to provide means for the annual support of the institution."

Dr. Bunting feels satisfied with the results of the measure. At the session of the British Conference in August, 1852, after the presentation of the usual resolutions in respect to the Theological Institution, he arose, and, among other things, declared "that he was more than ever convinced that the institution was of God -of God in its origin, and in its progress to that state of maturity and extensive usefulness which it had now reached." Professor Vail, in his recent book on "Ministerial Education," gives the following facts respecting its management, &c. He quotes chiefly from Grindrod, a Wesleyan writer :—

"The experiment of a Wesleyan Theological Institution has now undergone a trial of seven years; and although it has had to struggle with some unforeseen and formidable difficulties, it has been triumphantly successful. The apprehensions which were entertained from the possible dangers of the scheme have proved groundless; and the hopes of its friends have been fully realized. The young preachers who have successively become its inmates have derived, from the course of tuition pursued, incalculable advantages: at the same time, their personal piety has been guarded and confirmed; their Christian humility has been promoted, and their zeal for the salvation of the souls of men has been encouraged; habits of study, of regularity, of order, and diligence, have been formed; and such facilities for future improvement have been furnished to them as, if followed out with assiduity and perseverance, will make them, by the blessing of God, good ministers of Jesus Christ,' and instruments of extensive usefulness to our community and the world at large.

in mental philosophy, one in logic, and one in geometry and algebra, and once in the week has delivered a lecture on the physical sciences. An additional tutor has sometimes been employed in the English and elementary department of instruction.

"The governor is specially charged with the oversight of the Christian character and conduct of the students. He meets them in class every week, inquires closely into their spiritual state and progress, and gives them advice and admonition as need requires. He is also expected to instruct them in the general economy and discipline of Wesleyan Methodism, and the nature and duties of the pastoral office.

"On the Sabbath the students are employed partly in supplying some of the smaller chapels of the metropolis; but principally, in conformity with the design of one of the original regulations of the institution, in preaching the gospel in the large and long-neglected districts of the metropolis itself, and in several adjoining counties. During the summer months an active and vigorous system of out-door preaching is maintained in the vicinity of places of public resort, or of great moral destitution.

"The institution is placed under a president and a committee of management, who meet once a month; there is also a 'house' subcommittee, which meets monthly, whose duties relate chiefly to the finances of the establishment, and to whom, in particular, is confided the inspection of its expenditure. A weekly board' meets at the institution house on the Friday morning, to whom the governor submits his plan of the students' appointments for the ensuing Sabbath, and any other matter, for counsel or discipline, which he may find necessary. The president of the institution exercises a watchful oversight of all its proceedings and an affectionate care for all its interests.

"Premises were rented at Hoxton, near London, and the institution actually went into operation in 1834. The first class numbered ten students, four of whom went on foreign missions. The second class, 1835, also numbered ten, five of whom went on foreign missions. The third class, 1836, numbered fourteen, five of whom entered upon the foreign work. The fourth class numbered thirty-one, thirteen of whom were sent into the foreign work.

"The above sum of twenty-seven thousand five hundred pounds is probably only about half the sum which has been appropriated to buildings alone, for the accommodation of the students and officers of the schools. This princely munificence of two hundred and sixtysix thousand dollars may well surprise us, when we remember that the whole membership in Great Britain is only about three hundred thousand. But this is not all. They pay about thirty thousand dollars every year toward the current expenses of these schools. According to the account of the treasurer, now lying before me, for the year 1849, the expenses of the in

Mr. Grindrod's account was written about twelve years ago.

eight hundred and fifty-three dollars and ninetytwo cents. These annual expenses are met principally by the contributions of the circuits."

"It is now an essential and prominent feature of Wesleyan Methodism. The following

is an extract from the Minutes of the British Conference for 1851 :

"What are the resolutions of the Conference with regard to the Wesleyan Theological Institution!

"The Conference gratefully recognizes, in the reports which have been furnished, occasion for augmented satisfaction in the original object and practical results of the institution, as well as occasion of renewed thankfulness to God; and trusts that these results will be regarded by its friends and supporters, and by the connection at large, as presenting a strong claim for its more general and liberal support.

"We learn from the annual report for 1852, that notwithstanding the agitation which has recently prevailed, and notwithstanding the fact that the agitators made this institution one of the prominent objects of their attacks, yet it has been nobly sustained, and returning peace will make it more than ever the object of affection to the Wesleyan Churches. The

annual grant from the Book Room is £500, and the interest on grants from the Centenary Fund £884 10s., which, together with the annual collection from the circuits, and the appropriation from the Missionary Fund for the education of nineteen students for the foreign field, nearly met the expenditures, viz., £6401 8s. 5d."

The controversy respecting the expediency of such institutions in the denomination, in this country, is still undecided. We have, therefore, avoided, as much as possible, any partizan view of the measure, in laying before our readers its merely historical and descriptive facts. It should be stated that this is but a branch of the provisions of the Wesleyans for theological training. They have another, and an effective institution, at Didsbury, Yorkshire, for the northern part of England.

A VISIT TO THE GUTTA-PERCHA

ONE

WORKS.

NE beautiful morning, a short time since, we found ourselves in a quiet and somewhat dirty thoroughfare, known as Wharf-road, City-road, London, the location of the factory of the Gutta-Percha Company. Provided with a passport, we entered their works, and spent a very interesting "leisure hour" in the inspection of the curious processes by which this truly wonderful production is adapted to such a surprising multiplicity of uses. It must excite astonishment in every mind that an article, the knowledge of which was so recently confined to a few Malayans, should within so short a time have given occupation to the two hundred persons employed in these works, to say nothing of the multitudes who, by patent and otherwise, are already engaged in its sale and manufacture throughout the land. For three centuries and a half Europeans dwelt on the spots where it is raised, yet, strangely enough, it remained unknown to them till the year

1842!

Were the present a fitting place for a grave dissertation, we might, perhaps, pen an interesting passage on the marvellous mode in which great discoveries are providentially adapted to particular periods in the world's history: but we refrain from this curious speculation: our business is now simply to describe things which came under our notice.

Just inside the gates of the factory, as we entered, stood a large wagon full of lumps of a substance somewhat resembling, at a distance, a load of cocoa-nuts, with the outward fibrous husk still on them. To the touch however, on approaching, the difference was sufficiently palpable; they were far more solid and much heavier than the objects to which they seemed to bear some resemblance. The following cut will give some idea of the general appearance of these oblong masses, which are about half a cubic foot in size.

A very common practice among the cunning barbarians is to extend the bulk and increase the weight of their lumps of gutta percha by inserting stones, while the substance is yet in a plastic state and is being molded into suitable sizes for transmission to this country. One shape, however, is by no means rigidly adhered to. We were shown some lumps fashioned into rude representations of ducks, with two little berries for eyes; representations of fish and crocodiles are by no means uncommon; while one lump has been received in the shape of an infant's head!

Leaving the yard, we were shown the "cutting machine," where an immense solid disc of iron was revolving vertically, about one hundred and fifty or two hundred times per minute, against an inclined shelf, down which the blocks of gutta percha were guided by a workman, and being caught by the knives inserted in the disc, they were rapidly cut into slices. The large stones molded into the lumps played sad havoc with the knives. One instance of this occurred even during the few moments we stood looking on.

Sectional View of a Lump.

We now passed on to another department, where the gutta percha is separated from the dirt and all other extraneous matter which is often mixed up with it. Here we found several spacious tanks, into which the sliced gutta percha was cast, for the purpose of boiling, by means of the waste steam from the engine. Having been thus reduced to a uniform consistency, it is put into what is technically called a "teaser," which is something like what is known as a "scutcher" in a cotton-mill. This is a circular metal box, containing a cylinder, or drum, covered with rows of bent jagged teeth, which revolves about seven hundred times per minute. The shreds into which the gutta percha is thus torn fall into vats of cold water, and the gutta percha, being non-absorbent, floats on the top, whilst the various impurities sink to the bottom.

of the process. The "kneaders" are thick, strong iron boxes, about three feet long and a foot and a half deep, and are kept hot by being enveloped in a chest, or jacket, containing steam. Inside these boxes the mass of gutta percha, hot from the boiling tank, is firmly secured. The chest contains a drum, which, continually revolving, presses the doughy gutta percha without intermission against the sides of the chest. But we fear it is almost impossible clearly to describe the minutiae of the process of manufacture, without indulging in illustrations to an extent which our limits will by no means permit. At this stage it is easy to incorporate gutta percha with other substances; as, for instance, when it is desired to remove, to some extent, its rigidity and tenacity, and to secure a greater degree of elasticity, that object is effected by the admixture of india-rubber. This principle is already carried out to an astonishing extent; and what the ultimate achievements in this direction may be, time alone can tell.

It is now rolled out into sheets, or driven by curious and complicated machinery into tubes. It is also cut into longitudinal slips, for "driving bands,"* &c., which appear to be very useful; so much so, indeed, that we were shown a testimonial from an eminent brewing establishment, stating

We were told that some object to the use of gutta-percha "driving bands," from the difficulty experienced in joining them; but the following instructions will remove all obstacles in this direction. Cut the ends of the band obliquely at an angle of thirty or forty degrees, making the band rather shorter than the length required. Secure one end to a board or bench by a clamp, or a couple of nails. Having heated a piece of iron-say one inch broad and half an inch thick-to the temperature of a laundress's smoothing iron, so that it will soften the gutta percha without burning or discoloring it, place the iron between the cut edges of the band, pressing them against it, and keeping the band always in a straight direction until the edges are thoroughly softened, and in a sticky state. Then remove the iron, and press the two edges together as closely as possible, after which a couple of nails may be driven into the loose end of the band, by a heavy weight, or by means of a clamp, so as to make a smooth joint. A band of ordinary thickness may thus be rendered fit for use in ten or fifteen minutes, or even sooner, by the application of cold water. Flat joints may be made in like manner by shaving down the ends a little, so as, when laid one on the other, not to be much thicker than the other portion. Heat the surface of the splices, and press them together by a weight or clamp. Avoid heating the band throughout, and pare the edges when cold.

that their introduction had effected in respect to that single item of expense alone an annual saving of £30!

Perhaps the most curious application of gutta percha is that which we shall now attempt to describe. A portion of the machinery being pointed out to us, in connection with the numerous lathes in operation in various parts of the building, we were obligingly asked to notice anything peculiar which might strike us in two of the wheels above us. The fact was, that the portion of the machinery alluded to worked without any noise whatever; the cause of which was this :-The teeth of one wheel were of gutta percha, while those of the other, which worked in them, were constructed in the ordinary way of iron, thus avoiding the disagreeable noise necessarily caused by friction in such cases. This was certainly a very agreeable change for the better, and would save amateurs fond of mingling with the complicated operations of machinery many a headache, even if it had no alleviating influence on those who were daily accustomed to it. On expressing a doubt as to the durability of the thing, we were assured that the wheel in question had been in daily use for fifteen months, turning five lathes, without receiving any perceptible damage. It required no oil, but was slightly greased; and our conductor admitted that the results of this curious and interesting experiment had exceeded the most sanguine expectations. So far as the noise was concerned, it presented to us a most agreeable contrast with a similar pair of wheels a few yards off; and we therefore commend the hint to our manufacturing friends.

There is an old adage-not to be despised, however, on account of its antiquity

which was constantly recurring to us while inspecting various departments of this concentration of marvels—“Necessity is the mother of invention." The large wicker baskets in which gutta percha, in its earlier stages, is carried about from one portion of the machinery to another, had slips of gutta percha fastened round the handles. It had been put on while in a plastic state, and was therefore molded to the exact shape required by the hand of the party who was to use it; and being solidified by the application of cold water, form. Now it is sufficiently obvious, that it had permanently retained the requisite to any one who has to carry these large