her younger children, a boy of twelve years and a girl ten years of age, were kept in a whole day at school, to oblige them to learn the catechism, and they were threatened with being thrown into a cellar if they did not obey, but they have hitherto remained stedfast. The superintendent at has au thorized the schoolmaster to punish the children until they learn the catechism, and this was done from Feb. 9th to Feb. 12th. The guardian of the children provided them each with a catechism, and sent them to school, whereas they still refused to learn the task set them, they were not only beaten with a stick, but the master struck them in the face with his hand. Their guardian continued to send them to school, driving them out of the house with the words, "March to school" and scarcely leaving them sufficient time to take their dinner. He also pulled the boy by the hair and struck the girl's face, so that the children are quite intimidated and will not leave their mother's side. A few days ago I asked the little girl why she would not learn the catechism, to which she replied, "Because I do not believe what the catechism says, as I know the clergyman cannot forgive my sins." I must add that these children are well behaved, and have never before incurred punishment at school. The course of punishment was to recommence Feb. 16th, but I have heard no particulars since then. Their mother has been fined and a part of her furniture confiscated to cover the law expenses which she refused to pay. The two elder children are seeking the Lord, the boy especially prays earnestly, his mother has frequently found him kneeling in retired places, and in every difficulty he takes refuge with the word of God. Should all efforts to compel the children to learn the catechism fail, they are to be taken from their mother and committed to strangers. They are also prohibited to leave their own village, that they may have no opportunity for intercourse with us. Now, my dear brother, this teaches us to pray, and oh! do you pray with us that these young friends may be saved from becoming victims to the devices of Satan. Sister who was an authorized nurse, has lost the privilege of continuing her business. Everything we do or say is minutely reported to government, because pastor Plass who is a vigilant spy upon us acts as reporter. In consequence of his accusations, brethren and I have been cited to appear, for having admitted non-members to our meetings and for having had the Lord's supper at my house. For the latter offence I have been fined one hundred dollars, and the other two brethren each four dollars, and to pay the law expenses. We now wish very much to make an attempt to have these fines raised by the grand duke, and also to gain protection for the children. Should the brethren in Hamburg consider this plan advisable, I beg you, dear brother, to prepare two petitions, one for each case separately for us. But above all, cease not to remember us in your intercessions at the throne of grace. With affectionate regards to you all, I am, Your brother in Christ, &c. HOME. STOCKTON HEATH, NEAR WARRINGTON. On the evening of February 3rd, 1852, some of the friends of the Lord Jesus in this place, having previously been baptized upon a profession of faith, met for the purpose of being formed into a voluntary society of professed Christians whose objects shall be, to meet for divine worship, to celebrate divine ordinances, to promote each other's spiritual good, and to spread around them the knowledge of Christ, with a view to the conversion of Mr. poor perishing sinners. Hymns were sung, prayers were offered, scriptures were read, and after some appropriate remarks had been made, the friends rose up and gave each other the right hand of fellowship. Joseph Wilkinson, who has lived among them all his life, and who for some time has exercised his talents among them in preaching with acceptance, was most cordially chosen to be their pastor; and two aged brethren were elected to the deacon's office. The number of friends thus uniting is about thirty, most of whom were formerly members at Hillcliff. ISLINGTON. The baptist church and congregation at Islington Green (under the pastorate of the Rev. G. B. Thomas) have at length succeeded in obtaining a suitable piece of ground in Cross Street, at a short distance from their present place of worship, on which they are erecting a new chapel. The new building is of the early English style of architecture, the front being faced with Kentish rag, and stone dressings. In the centre is a large traceried window, with two aisle windows and gabled roof. On each side are entrance porches containing the staircases to the galleries, making a frontage to the street of seventy-four feet. The dimensions of the interior are sixty-nine feet by forty-one feet, the walls twenty feet high, from which the roof springs to the height of forty-six feet, of open timber-work of one span, stained and varnished. The floor is a slight incline to a raised platform at the north end for pulpit, baptistery, &c. The seats will be open. At the back are two vestries fourteen feet by thirteen feet each, and one fourteen feet by nine feet, capable of being thrown into one room. The ground is held on lease for ninety years, at a rent of £22 per annum. The builder's contract is for £2578, exclusive of £100 paid for fence walls and the redemption of the land-tax. The chapel is to accommodate not less than eight hundred persons, and is being erected under the superintendence of Mr. Barnett, architect, Gray's Inn. the above-mentioned token of their esteem. Mr. Newman having responded affectionately, two or three resolutions were passed, which afforded opportunity for suitable addresses from numerous ministers and other gentlemen who were present, some of our own and some of other Christian denominations. LESSNESS HEATH. Mr. Peirce having received and accepted the unanimous invitation to the pastoral office over the church at Lessness Heath, Kent, has entered on his stated labours. BROMPTON. The Rev. J. Bigwood has accepted the invitation of the congregation meeting in Thurlow Chapel, Alfred Place, Brompton, to become their minister, and commenced his stated labours on Lord's day, March 14th. FALMOUTH. Mr. Samuel Harris Booth, late of Birkenhead, has accepted the pastoral office in the baptist church, at Falmouth, and will enter on his public labours there the first sabbath in April. UNICORN YARD. The Rev. W. H. Bonner intends to retire from the pastorate of Unicorn Yard Chapel, Tooley Street, in the course of a few weeks. His address is, 20, New Church Street, Bermondsey. SHORTWOOD, GLOUCESTERSHIRE. At this place a large meeting was congregated on the 11th of March to offer an address of affectionate congratulation to the Rev. T. F. Newman, on the completion of twenty years' pastorate there, and to present him with a purse of one hundred sovereigns, the spontaneous contribution of attached friends and hearers. Mr. Newman was settled in the year 1832 at Shortwood, which had been the scene of the labours of Francis, Flint, and Winterbotham, who had successively entered into rest, and during the course of his ministry more than 630 members have been added. On this occasion near a thousand persons took tea together at five in the evening, and by seven o'clock the large place of worship was densely crowded. After singing and prayer, Mr. S. Leonard of Clifton was called to the chair. Mr. Francis, the senior deacon, read an appropriate memorial tracing the manifestations of divine goodness with which pastor and people had been favoured, and presented ROMNEY STREET, WESTMINSTER. On Thursday evening, March 18, a very and congregation and other friends was held numerous meeting of members of the church for the purpose of presenting the Rev. H. J. Betts with a token of their strong attachment, and an expression of their deep regret at his removal to Edinburgh. The Rev. B. Lewis was in the chair, supported by the Rev. R. W. Overbury, Rev. W. B. Bowes, Rev. J. H. Blake, and other gentlemen. The meeting having been opened with singing and prayer, a report was read, stating that the number of subscribers to the testimonial was 263, and that the subscriptions amounted to £27 11s. 3d., of which £16 16s. had been expended in the purchase of a copy of Bagster's Polyglot Bible, in eight languages, leaving a balance in hand of £10 15s. 3d. The bible was then presented by the Rev. B. Lewis with an appropriate address. Mr. Betts having acknowledged the kindness of his friends in a feeling manner, the Rev. R. W. Overbury moved the following resolution:-"That the subscribers to the fund desire to testify their esteem for Mrs. Betts, by presenting her with a purse containing the remaining subscriptions, and they request that she will receive the same as a token of regard from them, with their earnest prayer that the blessing of God may attend her future path ;" and the same having been seconded by the Rev. W. B. Bowes, and carried unanimously, the meeting was concluded by the Rev. J. H. Blake, with singing and prayer. Mr. Betts is expected to commence his labours in connexion with the church in Edinburgh lately under the pas toral care of Mr. J. A. Haldane, on Lord's day next, April 4th. CAMDEN TOWN. St. Paul's Chapel, Hawley Road, after repairs, was re-opened March 23, 1852, under very favourable auspices. The Rev. J. C. Harrison, minister of the independent chapel in Camden Town, read and prayed; and after a second portion of scripture and prayer by Mr. E. Pryce of Gravesend, Mr. Brock preached from 1 Cor. ix. 20, 21, 22. The company then retired to a convenient room in the neighbourhood for refreshment, after par taking of which, many sentiments both liberal and encouraging were expressed, and much kindness of feeling displayed. Service was again held in the evening, when the Rev. J. H. Hinton read and prayed, and Rev. J. Stoughton of Kensington preached from Matt. xii. 30, and Mark ix. 40, the minister of the place concluding in prayer. This cause is undertaken by the Rev. Edward White, late minister of the independent chapel in Hereford, solely on his own responsibility. Having recently adopted different views respecting the initiatory ordinance of the Christian dispensation, his labours will hereafter be devoted to the raising a baptist church in this extensive and flourishing neighbourhood, where many of the members and hearers of our London churches already reside. It is hoped, under the divine blessing, a selfsustaining church will shortly be collected, an issue which present appearances greatly encourage. WESTOW HILL, UPPER NORWOOD. The edifice, an account of the laying of the first stone of which appeared in our number for September last, was opened for divine worship on Thursday the 25th of March. Large numbers assembled on the occasion, who listened with great pleasure to discourses delivered by the Rev. W. Brock, and the Hon. and Rev. B. W. Noel. The building is commodious and respectable, forty-five by thirty-eight, and is on an emi nence which commands an extensive and delightful prospect. The sum expended has been about £1750, and the sums contributed previously to the day of opening about seven hundred pounds. The assembly was however highly gratified by an announcement that one of the contributors who had given a hundred pounds, had determined to make his donation a thousand. When the collections made after the sermons are added, therefore, the whole cost will be nearly, if not quite discharged. RECENT DEATHS. REV. JOHN FRY. The Rev. John Fry, pastor in succession of the baptist churches at Coleford, Gloucestershire, and at Hatch, near Taunton, belonged to a race of Christian ministers now nearly extinct, and his name is scarcely known to the majority of the existing pastors of our churches. To this oblivion the afflictions of the closing years of his life greatly contributed, but by those who knew him in the earlier periods of his ministry he was highly esteemed, and but few of our pastors have enjoyed a larger measure of the confidence of their churches, or have been favoured with more encouraging success in their labours. Mr. Fry was a native of Prescott, Devon, and to the ministry of Mr. Thomas, a pastor of the baptist church in that village, he attributed his conversion in his seventeenth year. Mr. Wood, for many years the respected In 1805 he was baptized, and he and the late pastor of the church at Uffculme, after devoting two years to village preaching and to preparatory studies under the guidance of their pastor, were admitted to the Bristol Baptist Academy, then under the presidency of the late Dr. Ryland. After a residence of three years in that institution, he was invited to supply the church at Coleford, where he was ordained April 12, 1814; Dr. Ryland, and the late Mr. Holloway, then of Bristol, and others officiating on the occasion. At this time the chapel occupied by the church at Coleford measured only 30 feet by 18 feet. In 1815 it was enlarged to 52 feet by 35 feet, and in 1828 to 52 feet by 42 feet, its present dimensions; and, during Mr. Fry's pastorate, 256 persons were added to the fellowship of the church. The following ford to the Gloucestershire Association, in extract from the letter of the church at Colewho survive him for the memory of his miJune last, will testify the affection of those nistrations. "Amongst those who have been removed by death, we desire to make special and respectful mention of a former pastor of this church, the Rev. John Fry, who for a quarter of a century bore office amongst us. The closing years of his life were years of heavy affliction, but we confidently hope that and eternal happiness has commenced. his sorrows are ended, and that his infinite is held in affectionate and grateful remembrance by not a few of us, as one by whom we were begotten again through the gospel." He in the foregoing extract, will be learnt from a The afflictions to which reference is made circular issued on behalf of Mr. Fry and his family, at the close of his pastorate at Hatch, and dated November 28, 1845. "In the year 1839, the Rev. John Fry, for twenty-five years the successful and much respected pastor of the baptist church, Coleford, Gloucestershire, was left a widower with nine children, all of whom were then unable to contribute anything to their own support, months old. and the youngest was an infant only three "In connexion with his bereavement, Mr. Fry was visited with mental hallucination, which involved himself and his connexions in a series of embarrassments and afflictions, stripped him of the small amount of property which he possessed, and dissolved his pastoral connexion with the church at Coleford, where he had previously laboured with unusual comfort and success. and the conduct of Mr. Fry having restored "The mental excitement having subsided, him to the confidence of his Christian contook the pastorate of the baptist church at nexions, in the autumn of 1841 he underHatch, near Taunton. In this sphere he was permitted to labour with an encouraging measure of success; and his brethren who most intimately knew and respected him in his best days, rejoiced in the hope of his fully recovering his former standing and usefulness in the Christian ministry, and of his being permitted to pass the remainder of life in comfort and honour. In the inscrutable providence of Him who alone sustains the health of the mind as well as of the body, this hope has been, for the present at least, disappointed. In the months of May and June last, painful indications of returning insanity of precisely the same character as his previous visitation, appeared; and after milder means had proved ineffectual, and seemed only to aggravate the affliction, it became imperative to consign him to the kind and judicious care of Mr. Gillett, the respected proprietor of the establishment for insane patients, at Fairwater House, near Taunton, who expresses a favourable opinion of his ultimate recovery; a result which his friends cannot but earnesly desire. In the meantime, it is indispensable, either to resign him and his dependent family to the direction of the parochial authorities, or to provide for them by the united contributions of his former friends, and of such individuals, though personally strangers to Mr. Fry, as possess the means and the disposition to help in this painful emergency, and thus to prevent dishonour to religion in allowing one of its respected and useful ministers and his family to be reduced to the condition of paupers. There are at present five children to be provided for and put into a way of maintaining themselves, by being apprenticed to useful trades. It is hoped, from Mr. Gillett's report of the probability of Mr. Fry's recovery, that the provision for him will not require to extend beyond twelve months from the present time, and eligible situations for three of the children are already in prospect; but in the event of Mr. F.'s recovery, it can scarcely be expected that he will ever be able to resume the pastoral office; and the only provision for his old age consists in his being a beneficiary member of the Bath Soeiety for the assistance of aged and infirm baptist ministers, the annual proceeds of which have not averaged more than £10 for some years past. "About £20 have already been expended in connection with the efforts for his restoration, and with Mr. Fry's consignment to Mr. Gillett's care, and though the church at Hatch has kindly engaged to continue the salary till christmas next, that will scarcely suffice to sustain the family to that period, and liquidate the debts already incurred. It is not intended, however, to appropriate any part of the funds now sought to be raised, to the payment of debts, but it is expected that the expense of supporting Mr. Fry in the Asylum for twelve months, and of ap prenticing the children, and clothing them during their apprenticeships, will amount to the sum of not less than £180, in addition to the £20 already expended, and any surplus which the sympathy of the public may supply will be faithfully appropriated to the promotion of the welfare of Mr. Fry and his necessitous family. "Taunton, November 28, 1845." This appeal was very generously responded to, especially by Christians of various denominations in the vicinities of Coleford and Hatch, and by ministers and friends in other places who had known and esteemed Mr. Fry in the years of his happy and successful ministry, and a fund amounting to upwards of £300 was thus raised. By this fund Mr. Fry was maintained in the Asylum at Fairwater till it was deemed safe and expedient to release him from a restraint, against which he at first very strenuously rebelled, but to which, after his reason resumed its supremacy, he frequently referred in terms of unqualified and ardent gratitude to those who had placed him under it, and to the proprietors of the establishment for the kind and judicious manner in which it was exercised. From the same fund £40 were appropriated to each of the children who had no learnt a business for their future subsistence, or who were too young to have acquired that amount and kind of education which their position required. After these appropriations, the surplus, with annual exhibitions from the London and Bristol Baptist Funds, the proceeds of the Bath Aged Ministers' Society, and of the legacy of the late Samuel Broadley, Esq., provided an average allowance of about twenty shillings weekly, to Mr. Fry, for the payment of the expenses of his board, lodging, clothes, &c., and, also in addition to this weekly allowance, to liquidate the expenses of his last illness and funeral. A small balance is still left, which it is proposed to appropriate to the youngest child, and to a daughter rendered, it is feared, permanently incapable of supporting herself by a mental affliction of a similar kind to that of her poor father. On Mr. Fry's release from Fairwater, he was consigned to the care of a married daughter, then residing at Shaldon, and subsequently at Totness, at the latter of which places he ended his chequered and mysterious life, on the 25th of April, 1851. For sometime after he left the Asylum, though evincing no disposition to injure himself or others, his hallucinations continued, and it was feared that it would be necessary to put him under restraint for life. Happily the fever at length subsided; and to his undue and unnatural hilarity, and dreams of wealth and greatness, there succeeded a depression and gloom which con tinued to his death, and which it was pain-, fully instructive to witness. It is, however, gratifying to record, that his demeanour was strictly and habitually moral and irreproachable, that he was constant and regular in his attendance on the ordinances of divine worship, and that his letters to the writer of this notice, for many months before his decease, breathed an increasingly devout and Christian spirit, as well as increasing gratitude to those who had befriended him through his many and severe afflictions. His dying illness was so brief, and followed so closely on others which he had survived, that those who had taken the deepest interest in his case and had done most for the relief of himself and his dependent family, had scarcely been informed that he was dangerously ill when his death was announced. The little that is known of Mr. Fry's parents, and the history of some of his children, justify the belief that there was some native taint of insanity in his mental constitution, requiring only appropriate conditions for its development, yet it pleased the all-wise Head of the church to endow him with the gifts of the Christian minister, and to render him, for many years, successful in their use. Whatever of mystery is seen in this fact, we can only bow to the sovereignty which ordained it, and await the revelations of eternity to justify it. There was much to astound in some of the manifestations of this mental idiosyncracy, and some who witnessed them were strongly tempted to regard them as derelictions of Christian principle, rather than as phases of one of the severest calamities to which our common nature is liable. But the friends who most intimately knew him, and who, through all his aberrations, watched his movements and sought his restoration, have the settled conviction that his wildest and most astounding actions were the offspring of disease and not of depravity, and they have therefore the consolation of believing that he has himself, at length, attained that perfection and happiness to which he for many years so successfully sought to win others, and that they and he will ere long adore the wisdom and grace which made him the instrument of their salvation. MR. JOHN WILLIAMSON. preserving him from many of the follies and errors to which young men are exposed. * As he advanced in years these impressions were deepened by the ministry of Rev. T. Littlewood, at that time pastor of the baptist church, Rochdale, on which he was led occasionally to attend by his cousin, the late Rev. James Williamson, with whom he had contracted an affectionate intimacy, and towards whom he cherished an attachment which death only interrupted. His views of himself as a sinner, of the salvation of the gospel through the finished work of Christ, and of the necessity of renovation by the Holy Spirit, now became clear and decisive, leading him, in faith and penitence, to that cross which constitutes the only basis of a sinner's hope before God. Joy succeeded to sorrow, in connexion with the experimental knowledge of that great truth, "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." Under the influence of devout gratitude he began to inquire what was his duty in his altered circumstances; and, from a diligent perusal of the scriptures, combined with the counsels of his cousin and the instructions he received from the pulpit, he was led to see his obligation to unite himself with the Christian church. But a question of some interest remained to be disposed of; he had been trained originally among the independents, with whom all his family and relatives, with one exception, still associated-must he join a different communion? This led him to examine the subject of baptism with prayerful care; as the result of which he was immersed on a profession of faith, December 6, 1812. The amiableness of his spirit, and the uniform excellence of his character, so far commended him to the esteem and confidence of the church, that he was elected to the office of deacon in 1819; the duties of which he continued to discharge with equal prudence and kindness to the close of life. Indeed, from the commencement of his religious career to the closing hour of life, his public deportment was such as to adorn the gospel, and to lead others to "glorify God in him;" while in all the relationships of social life, as husband, father, brother, and friend, he was uniformly kind. In a high degree he possessed "the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is of great price." But in whatever esteem he was held by his fellow men, he cherished humble views of himself, and often mourned over his unprofitableness. "I feel," said he toward the close of life, "just as much need to adopt the publican's prayer now as I did in the first instance, and the same need of the blood of Christ to cleanse me from sin as when it was first applied to me." The subject of this brief notice was born in the neighbourhood of Rochdale, February 9, 1789. It was his privilege to be trained by religious parents to the observance of the Lord's day, and to regular attendance on religious ordinances. In his youth he sat under the ministry of Rev. R. Robinson, pastor of the independent church at Hall Fola, a village about three miles distant; when he received gracious impressions which were For a brief memoir of this excellent man, see never erased, and which were the means of Baptist Magazine for 1839. 2 F VOL. XV.-FOURTH SERIES. |