1870 - Strachan, A. The Life of the Rev Samuel Leigh - CHAPTER XVII. MR. LEIGH RESUMES THE ITINERANCY IN ENGLAND...

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CHAPTER XVII.

HAVING established missions in New South Wales and New Zealand, and remained eighteen years in connexion with those missions, Mr. Leigh returned to England in 1831. He had been the subject of affliction for some time before he left the colony, and suffered much from mental depression, occasioned by the death of Mrs. Leigh. Being incapacitated for public duty, he spent the following year, as a supernumerary, in Liverpool. This season of relaxation proved so far beneficial, that, at the Conference of 1833, he felt able to resume the itinerancy, and received an appointment to Gravesend. The year was fully occupied with the ordinary duties of the ministerial and pastoral offices, with frequent excursions into other circuits, to awaken a more general interest in behalf of the missions, and to increase the intensity of their missionary zeal.

In November, 1834, he received the following interesting note, from the Rev. G. Young, A.M., author of the "Life and Voyages of Captain James Cook, F.R.S.:" "I received from a friend some beautiful verses, composed by him on occasion of hearing you relate an interesting anecdote of your having seen the name 'Cook,' inscribed on a rock in New Zealand, while you were there as a missionary. As I mean to notice this incident, and insert the verses in my 'Life of Captain Cook,' which for some years I have had in view, and now intend shortly to put to press, I shall feel much obliged by your informing me, in what part of New Zealand you met with the inscription, and at what time, and what other letters or figures were inscribed on the rock, in addition to the name 'Cook.' Was there a date annexed, as the verses seem to imply? and, if so, what was the date? You probably took a note of it at the time, and will be able to give me the particulars correctly. I have been much encouraged, in preparing this Life of the prince of navigators, by the Earls Mulgrave, Carlisle, and Fitzwilliam, the Archbishop of York, and Archdeacon Wrangham." Mr. Leigh having satisfied the author on the above topics, his work appeared in due time.

The following is a copy of the verses referred to, with the introductory observations of the author. "On the main-land, two small pyramids of stone were erected on two different hills, and

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balls, beads, coins, and other European articles deposited in them. Yet these were not the only memorials left in New Zealand, to record the visit of our illustrious navigator: another was observed above seventeen years ago, by the Rev. Samuel Leigh, under circumstances particularly interesting. This gentleman, connected with the Wesleyan Missionary Society, who commenced a mission in New Zealand in 1822, paid a previous visit to the Bay of Islands, and other places in the northern part of that country, in 1818; and in one of his walks near the shore he was delighted to meet the name Cook inscribed on a rock. When Mr. Leigh, on his return to England, related the circumstance, the recital produced the following beautiful verses from the pen of a friend, which he has entitled--

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Mr. Leigh was enabled to prosecute his public labours, with very occasional interruptions, in several circuits during the following seven years. In August, 1842, he married Mrs. Elizabeth Kaye, widow of the Rev. William Kaye, Wesleyan minister. This lady he had known and respected for many years. Possessing a sound judgment, deep piety, and an eminently meek and amiable disposition, she was peculiarly qualified to sustain the dignity of his ministerial character, and supply the elements of social and domestic happiness. In conducting female classes, administering consolation to the afflicted, and removing little obstructions to the peace and prosperity of the church of Christ, the Wesleyan body possesses but few of her sex more successful than Mrs. Leigh.

Towards the close of the second year after his marriage, his

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former ailments returned with increasing severity, and compelled him again to retire from the regular duties of the ministry. He selected Reading as the place of his future residence, and permanently settled there in 1845. Although freed from all ecclesiastical obligation to stated labours, he yet felt that the vows of God were upon him; and under this conviction was incessantly employed for the church. In meeting classes, conducting prayer-meetings, visiting and relieving the sick poor, and preaching the gospel, he found a congenial and extended sphere of usefulness. Having no family of his own, he adopted two of Mrs. Leigh's nieces, whom he brought up in "the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Anne, the eldest, now the wife of a Wesleyan minister, is an "example to the flock." On the birth of her firstborn, Mr. Leigh said, "Let his name be Sydney: who can tell but he may yet become an Australian missionary?" Young Sydney was put down in Mr. Leigh's class-book, and made a weekly and quarterly contributor to the cause of religion.

Being exempt from the constantly-recurring claims of the regular ministry, he was more at liberty to devote his intervals of health to the interests of the foreign missions. With a view to promote those interests, he travelled many thousands of miles, using all kinds of conveyances, at all seasons of the year, by day and by night. His public addresses were always characterized by perspicuity and earnestness. He gave vitality and action to every scene he described on the platform. His manly aspect and generous disposition inspired confidence and commanded respect. The reader may have been informed, that gentlemen travelling in a similar capacity, have, by adopting a respectable scale of charges, and a prudent economy in accomplishing their journeys, added considerably to their income by "gathering up the fragments." Without entering into matters of detail, we can assure him, that though Mr. Leigh's travelling expenses were supplemented by something additional from his own private resources, he generally returned from missionary deputations with an empty pocket. I find, from his correspondence, that, on one occasion, the accidental meeting with a friend, while passing through a provincial town, alone saved him from the necessity of selling his great coat. On another occasion, and under similar circumstances, he must have parted with his travelling cloak, had not an unforeseen hand relieved him in time to take his ticket for the next train. "A poorer than himself he could not see."

Those labours were continued with undiminished interest, on his part, till Monday, November 24th, 1851. On the evening of that day, Mr. Leigh, Mr. Puddicombe, and the writer left Heading, to attend a missionary meeting at Blackwater. While Mr. Leigh was addressing the meeting on the Australian mission,

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MR. LEIGH'S LAST ILLNESS.

he had occasion to use a paper containing some figures which he had previously prepared. On looking at the paper, he was surprised to find that the figures had entirely disappeared. Turning round to the writer, who was standing by his side, he inquired, "Can you see any figures on this paper?" He replied, " Certainly I do;" and, regarding this as an admonitory symptom, added, "Have the goodness to sit down, Mr. Leigh, and I will finish your speech." With this request he complied, and resumed his seat. At the close of the meeting, the writer took him by the hand, and said, "How do you feel now, Mr. Leigh?" He instantly replied, "I can complain of nothing but indistinctness of vision, and a little uneasiness about my head." The carriage was immediately ordered, and he returned to Reading. It was agreed to try the effects of a night's rest before calling in medical aid. The next morning the opinion of Dr. Cowan was solicited. After carefully examining all the symptoms, the doctor was of opinion, that, though severe, they might be mitigated, and further evil averted. During the following night, however, paralysis ensued, and the use of the left side was entirely taken away. He remained in this state, without much variation of symptom, until the beginning of March, 1852. On the 3rd of that month, he had a succession of shivering fits, which shook his whole frame, and produced great debility. In the evening he sent for the writer. On entering his room, he observed, "Though my head is much disturbed, you must speak to me about the sufferings and triumph of Christ. I wish to be wholly sanctified. I have always admired those lines of Wesley,--

Then, raising his hand towards heaven, he said, "Lord, I have often prayed unto thee since I have been confined to this bed, and thou hast as often answered me. Glory be to God!

I want to be saved this very night. Do, sir, pray that I may be fully saved, this very night." The writer, having complied with

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his request, and spoken soothingly to him on the infinite willingness of God to fill his whole heart with holiness and love, and of the sufficiency of Divine grace to impart these blessings to him now, again commended him to God in prayer. Calm, firm, and decided, he looked like a man fully prepared for some new and great enterprise. He passed the night tranquilly; enjoying realizing views of future glory, and a guarantee, in the abiding witness of the Spirit, that he would soon be in possession of "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away."

On Saturday, May 1st, his symptoms assumed a still more aggravated form, and it was now obvious that his end was near; but his mind was peaceful and happy. The following night was passed in restlessness and suffering; and at six o'clock on Sunday morning, May 2nd, he sent a request that the writer would lose no time in coming to see him. On entering Mr. Leigh's bedroom, he perceived that his breathing had become difficult, and his utterance indistinct; but his faculties were vigorous, and his mind buoyant with faith and hope. It had been agreed that he should receive the Lord's supper in the afternoon; but it was now apparent that he had not strength to endure the fatigue. Throwing his arm across his chest, he said, "I have much pain here." The writer replied, "No doubt you have; but God is making arrangements for effectually relieving you. If you have commenced this sabbath in pain, there is every probability of your spending the evening in heaven, in fellowship with a great body of missionaries, and all of them, like yourself, returned missionaries. The change will be wonderful." He replied, "The change will indeed be wonderful; but all will be well. And as it regards the returned missionaries, Dr. Coke will be at the head of us." His attention being directed to Hebrews vii. 25, "Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them," he was reminded of the importance and value of a confiding faith in the atonement and intercession of Christ, at such a crisis as had overtaken him. He said, with some emotion, "But for confidence in Christ I should, even now, be upset; but 'though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.'"

He had the perfect command of his faculties, and continued to speak until within two or three minutes of his decease. At last the power of utterance failed, and, while heaving a sigh, the spirit retired from its "earthly house," to "a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." He was attended during his last illness by Dr. Cowan, a gentleman as distinguished for the ability and eloquence with which he defends the Protestant institutions of his country, as for the

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successful application of medical science and experience to the relief of suffering humanity. By Mrs. Leigh the tenderest offices of conjugal affection were discharged, by night and by day, with a cheerfulness and promptitude that greatly mitigated the trial through which her husband was passing to "the valley and shadow of death." Mr. Leigh was interred in the Reading cemetery, in the presence of a large concourse of people, of all classes and denominations. On a monumental stone placed over his grave is the following inscription: "In memory of the Rev. Samuel Leigh, first Wesleyan missionary to Australia and New Zealand, who died May 2nd, 1852, aged sixty-six years. 'When it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the HEATHEN; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.' (Gal. i. 15, 16.)"

The peculiar circumstances in which Mr. Leigh was placed, both in Australia and New Zealand, and the extraordinary interpositions of Divine Providence in his behalf, could not fail to impress upon him a remarkable character. With the exception of those of Dr. Coke, the results of Mr. Leigh's labours have been unparalleled in the history of the Wesleyan Missionary Society; and the time is not remote when the man to whom God assigned the honour of laying the foundation of the Wesleyan churches in the two sections of the globe so frequently referred to, will not be thought unworthy of having his name recorded on the same tablet with that "prince of missionaries," in the metropolitan church of Methodism. "In writing the life of Mr. Leigh," said Dr. Cowan to the author, "you have to define a character that combined all the elements of true greatness,--an original character."

We would place before the reader, in a few sentences, some of those excellences that more particularly distinguished Mr. Leigh, and were obvious to the most superficial observer of human life.

1. He was singularly qualified for the arduous duties assigned to him in the order of Divine Providence. He possessed a strong muscular frame, free from all hereditary disease; capable of enduring long-continued hunger, fatiguing journeys, exposure to cold and wet while sleeping in the woods at night, and the wasting labours devolving upon him during the day. His mind was of a sanguine temperament, eager and unswerving in the pursuit of its object, of indomitable courage, and imbued with the principles of true religion. These qualifications are indispensable in every one who would undertake a mission to uncivilized men. Indeed, all candidates for either the foreign or home departments of the Wesleyan ministry should be free from

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constitutional infirmity and hereditary ailment; for a constitution originally impregnated with the seeds of disease will not be able long to sustain the pressure of the heavy duties unavoidably connected with the office. In all cases mental fitness should be combined with physical competency.

2. Mr. Leigh was a man of earnest and unaffected piety. It is a melancholy spectacle to witness a minister, and especially a missionary minister, laden with the responsibilities of the sacred office, and himself without religion, or possessing only so much as is necessary to carry him with gravity and seriousness through its duties. Mr. Leigh was truly converted to God in early life; and "the love of God," then "shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost," constituted the basis of his character, and the germ of all his excellences. The religious principles co-eval with this event, were strengthened and matured by daily vigilance, reading of the scriptures, and prayer. His profound concern for the salvation of men originated in love to Christ. The price which He had paid for their redemption appeared to Mr. Leigh to enhance their value, and render it infinitely desirable that they should be made acquainted with the benefits which He died to purchase, and has gone to heaven to dispense. While his zeal led him to seek in order to save the lost of every land, it moved him to select the outcasts of the human race as the objects of his preference. To tell him that he had selected the worst, was just to awaken and kindle up within him all the sympathies of a generous nature. To assure him that to attempt their conversion would be to put comfort, health, and even life itself, in jeopardy, was only to fire his ambition to place himself "between the dead and the living," as the next victim, should the "plague" not be "stayed." Remind him of the loneliness of his situation, when "far hence amongst the Gentiles," the utter hopelessness of success, and the small amount of good which, under the most favourable circumstances, one individual would be likely to accomplish; that he might as well attempt to level the forests of either country with one axe, as to bring the barbarians of New South Wales or New Zealand to the knowledge of the truth by one voice; and he replies in the language of Paul, "None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." His heroism in danger, and patience in suffering, were nothing more than practical developements of the religious principle, "Love suffereth long, AND is kind. Love envieth not. Love doth not vaunt, is not puffed up: doth not behave itself unbecomingly: doth not seek its own things ONLY: is not exasperated: doth not imagine evil: doth not

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rejoice in iniquity, but jointly rejoiceth in the truth: covereth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." 1

To such foreign missionaries as may condescend to peruse these pages, we would say, with all humility, "Brethren, suffer the word of exhortation." We should be guilty of overlooking one important end of religious biography, were we not to call your special attention to this part of Mr. Leigh's character. We would therefore remind you, that your personal salvation, and the success of your enterprise, are mainly depending upon the cultivation of the principles we have just specified. A little reflection will convince you, that, without the daily accumulation of devotional power, it will be utterly impossible, in certain circumstances of temptation and opportunity, successfully to repel the seductions of the world, the appetite, and the devil. How can you expect the Spirit to "guide you into all truth," into the theory, experience, and practice of "all truth," if, by unfaithfulness to either God or His church, you are "grieving that Holy Spirit?" On what foundation can you rest your expectation of success, in your endeavours to negotiate peace between heaven and earth, if you forfeit your commission as Christian ambassadors? It is impossible that you should be able to look round upon the people of your charge, and say, "The seals of our apostleship are ye in the Lord," if you are aiming at other objects than the glory of Christ. If you suffer your devotional fervour to be cooled down to the temperature of the world's indifference, you become like the fig-tree upon which the anathema of the Saviour fell: "It soon withered away." O remember that the hopes of the Heathen, and the expectations of the churches, centre in you; that the eyes of Christendom are upon you; and that the labouring classes in Great Britain are contributing a portion of the produce of their industry to sustain your mission. We "beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God."

3. Moral rectitude was another distinguishing peculiarity in Mr. Leigh. With him there was no affectation of qualities that did not belong to him, and no exhibition of equivocal colours calculated to mislead the inexperienced navigator: every part of his conduct was natural, transparent, and real. As figures in arithmetic are the representatives of definite quantities, so the words and actions of this good man were legitimate emanations

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from a heart permeated with candour, truth, and goodness. Of him it might be truly said, that, from honest conviction, as well as "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh." It was a primary consideration with him, to keep his heart right with God; and his religious progress was marked by a continuous effort to bring his experience and practice to the strictest conformity to the requirement of "the first and great commandment," "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." By this standard he tested the validity of his principles, and the rectitude of his actions. While integrity of motive characterized his intercourse with God, and fellowship with His church, it carried him cheerfully through all the social and relative duties of the Christian life. He was satisfied with an equality of power and privilege, and desired no pre-eminence amongst his brethren; but every approximation to distinction, by means of human patronage, gained by the suppleness of adulation, was abhorrent to his feelings.

We do not regard a desire to become eminent in the church as being in itself necessarily sinful; nor conclude, that the wish to avoid office must necessarily be religious. The apostle obviously intimates, that a man may innocently, and even religiously, "desire the office of a bishop;" but, in this case, the "work" and office must be combined. Where office and responsibility devolved upon Mr. Leigh, by the spontaneous suffrage of his brethren, he just looked upon it as enhancing his obligations to fidelity; and no circumstances, however arduous, could induce him to betray the trust. On relinquishing the general superintendency of the South-Sea missions, an office which was, even then, invested with considerable discretionary powers, he could say, with Samuel, "Whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received a bribe?" In the appropriation of the sums of money, or articles of barter, placed at his disposal, in the countries in which he laboured, he observed the most scrupulous regard to equity and economy. It is well known to the brethren who were then associated with him, that in all transactions involving the property of the Society, he evinced a more rigid frugality than when exchanging his own commodities. The savage would sometimes demand an inadequate, instead of an exorbitant, price; and when this was the case, Mr. Leigh would say to him, "The price you have named is not sufficient, and the true Jehovah requires me to give full value for your produce." In all his business dealings with men, he rigidly adhered to our Lord's injunction, "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so

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to them: for this is the law and the prophets." The law here laid down with such distinctness and authority, is of universal application; and just in proportion as the nations of the earth become impressed with a sense of their responsibility to God, will it govern the commerce of the world. It would be a remarkable thing indeed, (and, thank God, it has been of rare occurrence,) were a missionary so far to forget the peculiarity of his position, as to employ the smallest portion of the consecrated offerings of God's people, emphatically his "Lord's money," to any purpose not absolutely essential to his personal comfort, or the efficient working of his mission. Our Lord's admonition carries in it peculiar solemnity, when applied to the missionary: "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."

Mr. Leigh possessed a noble and well-constituted mind, which claimed the right to exercise independent thought on the affairs of the state or policy of the church; and was, at the same time, ever ready to give a respectful attention to the opinions of others, and to pay a dutiful regard to competent authority, whether civil or ecclesiastical. "Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report,"--these formed the substance of his "thoughts," and were interwoven with the whole texture of his life.

4. Mr. Leigh carried industry and punctuality into all the duties of life, and offices of religion. He considered the game of life too momentous in its consequences to be played heedlessly. His own observation had supplied conclusive evidence of the mischievous effects of indolence and irregularity on the reputation and success of the common tradesman. He had often marked how inconvenient those habits were to the man himself, the degree in which they obstructed his prosperity, and the amount of injury they inflicted upon others. In our judgment, such habits form a moral disqualification for the ministerial office; for whatever the intellectual character of the individual may be, they render it impossible for him to conciliate the respect, or command the confidence, of the public. Having no fixed system by which to regulate his studies at home, or his labours abroad, he is like a vessel at sea, without either compass, canvass, or rudder. The sailing qualities of the ship may be first-rate, and the nautical skill and experience of the commander unquestionable; but, in such circumstances, she must be entirely at the mercy of conflicting elements; and it must be owing to a rare concurrence of wind and tide if she escapes total destruction. The solemn words of Paul are as applicable to these habits as to voluptuousness: "She who liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth:" her whole life is a fictitious one; it

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wants all the substantial realities and enjoyments of life, while there is the positive death of virtue, honour, and happiness.

The Wesleyan ministry was intended to afford neither incitements nor opportunities for self-indulgence. Irregular habits are incompatible with its duties. The man who is charged with the instruction and supervision of a circuit, containing ten or twelve separate churches, with all their diversified and complex interests, and who is expected and required to promote the unity and prosperity of the whole, must either give himself wholly to those duties, or degenerate into a mere cumberer of the ground. No affectation of pulpit superiority should induce any minister either to neglect the less popular branches of his duty, or devolve them upon his less gifted brethren; for, unless every minister in a circuit takes an equal proportion of labour and responsibility, the work of God cannot be conducted to any successful issue.

It must be obvious, therefore, that the judicious division and diligent improvement of time are essential to personal respectability and ministerial success. It is an easy thing to waste, in superfluous sleep, agreeable recreation, or unprofitable visits, such portions of time as would, if sedulously improved, enable an ordinaiy man to realize, in a few years, an intellectual fortune. When Mr. Wesley instituted a service at five o'clock in the morning, he saw that while it would prepare his people for the duties, sufferings, or bereavements of the day, it would also operate as a grand auxiliary in forming the character of his preachers. He knew that, as, in medical practice, the administration of a strong narcotic in the morning will induce drowsiness all the day; so, in the science of religion, the vigorous exercise of the faculties at an early hour is like winding up the mainspring of the watch, and will keep the whole mechanism of the mind in activity throughout the day. The writer had it from the lips of Dr. Adam Clarke, that Mr. Wesley would invest no man with the office of the ministry who could not be moulded to a conformity to so reasonable and important a rule of duty. What but the reluctance of apathy prevents the Christian minister from enjoying the benefits of early rising? Let the beauties of Divine truth be laid fully open to the perceptions of the biblical student, and the practice now so irksome to him will become a perfect luxury. Long before the hammer of the artizan has announced the commencement of a new day of mechanical industry, will he be found prosecuting his inquiries into the revealed will of God, "with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven."

Mr. Leigh could afford to be punctual in every thing, because he was methodical. No congregation calculated on waiting five

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minutes after the time, when he was to be the preacher. What must the man of commerce, the systematic tradesman, and orderly mechanic think, who, having been accustomed to the utmost exactness in commencing and closing the business-transactions of the week, enter the house of God on Sunday, where every thing should "be done decently and in order," and find an assembly kept in suspense by the uncertain habits of the officiating minister? They must surely conclude that, if he can swerve from the appointed time on so solemn and public an occasion, he is not to be trusted in reference to the more private, though not less important, duties of his profession. Mr. Leigh was sure to be at the bed-side of the afflicted, so soon as he heard of their illness, to unveil the cross, and reveal the evangelical remedy in death. After he became a supernumerary, he would preach in the morning, and reprove the people for late attendance; in the evening he would take his seat as a hearer five minutes before the time, and thus preserve his reputation for consistency. In this country there are many circumstances to remind the irregular minister of the necessity of punctuality; but in some foreign stations, and in the absence of such circumstances, nothing but the force of religious principles, producing great tenderness of conscience, can sustain the habit. Let the officers of the church conform to the apostolic order, which is, that they "wait on" their official duties, and not keep their official duties waiting "for them." "Having, then, gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering; or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness."

5. The spirit of Mr. Leigh was truly catholic. Many excellent men are so embarrassed by their doctrinal peculiarities or official restrictions, that they would consider it to be wrong, if not sinful, to diverge from the limits prescribed by their own ecclesiastical surveyors. Other branches of the universal church may be prosecuting some important enterprise, involving the honour of God and the salvation of men; but, unless they be allowed to act as the sole engineers of the undertaking, and to conduct its affairs within an enclosure which they themselves have selected and consecrated, they will not touch it "with one of their fingers." We see no valid objection to their asserting the dignity, and vindicating the authority and sanctity, of the ministerial office; but may not this be done, while they act like citizens of the world, and stand forth on the common platform of life, the avowed "friends of all, the enemies of none?" Surely they should rise above sectarian bigotry and vulgar prejudices, and

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breathe a spirit of benevolence, cheerful and expansive as the light and warmth of the sun, free and fertilizing as the drops of rain and dew that descend upon the fields of the husbandman. Free and independent in his principles and position, Mr. Leigh was always ready to advance "to the help of the Lord against the mighty," in co-operation with such as acknowledged the Christian atonement as the basis of the faith and hope of man. This liberality of sentiment and freedom of action he held in perfect consistency with a decided preference for his own system and people. Whatever his opinions were in reference to the prudential regulations of Methodism, he considered its ecclesiastical polity to be as near an approximation to the apostolic platform as is necessary to enable the church fully and faithfully to fulfil her mission in the world. Indeed, he considered it better adapted than any other to promote the knowledge and practice of Christianity amongst the nations of the earth. Entertaining these views and sentiments, he regarded every occurrence that interfered with its unity or progress as a real affliction, alike perilous to the interests of religion and the souls of men. Mr. Leigh was much exercised, during his last illness, by the audacity of Popery on the one hand, and the unsettled and divided state of the Protestant churches of this country on the other. But schism, issuing in the disruption of churches, is not peculiar to the present age; for neither the authority nor the supervision of the apostles themselves could prevent the developement of this sin in the primitive times. Nor did the apostle insinuate that the prospective schism in the Ephesian church would originate in either an undue exercise of authority or criminal remissness on the part of its "elders," but in other causes. He said, "I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." The men who originated schism in the Wesleyan church, combined with political dissenters, "of the baser sort," and made an attack upon the rectoral authority of the Conference. They did not accuse that body of having corrupted doctrinal truth, but only of having been unfaithful in dealing with some of its own conventional laws. They declared its assumption of power to be unscriptural, and then proceeded to clothe even laymen with the same prerogatives! Methodism, they said, was "Christianity in earnest;" and yet they assured the people that to support its institutions would be sinful. They denounced the enforcement of its fiscal regulations as being unjust and oppressive: afterwards they adopted those very regulations themselves, and applied the pecuniary proceeds to the purposes of faction. If Methodism had really needed the organic changes which these schismatics

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recommended, and were anxious to enforce, their own acts had so completely subverted all confidence in their honest intentions, that they could not have been admitted as parties to an adjustment of differences. We allow that other evils may exist in a church, where there is neither schism, corruption of doctrine, nor perversion of discipline: the spirit of the world may paralyse the legitimate functions of a church, and render the enunciation of the truth powerless: but we cannot conceive how schism should supply a remedy for any form of ecclesiastical evil. Upon the whole, it may be laid down as a general rule, that whatever interrupts the aggressive movements of the church of Christ should be solemnly investigated and instantly removed. To the Wesleyan community we would say, "Whereto ye have already attained, walk by the same rule, mind the same thing." Look at the claims of the world, your obligations to Christ, your vast resources, and your multiplied agencies; and then, "forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Unite with your ministers at home, and your missionaries abroad, in invoking a fresh baptism of the Holy Ghost and of fire: then let them go forth to "spread scriptural holiness over the earth." And neither the mammon of Great Britain, nor the idolatries of the East, will long be able to prevent the kingdoms of this world from becoming "the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ," and the Methodism of the future will supply materials for the brightest page in the history of the church militant.

CONCLUSION.

ALL who have written on the civil and intellectual condition of mankind, have admitted that the races among whom Mr. Leigh set up the institutions of Christianity were the most depraved on the face of the earth; that, in fact, they differed from the brute only in the shape of their persons and in the gift of speech. But if the gospel has effectually reached those extreme cases of human apostasy, who can question its adaptation to the diversified tribes of the entire family of man? Regenerated thousands stand forth, both in Australia and New Zealand, to attest its sufficiency to form their wandering hordes into worshipping assemblies, to endue the man-eater with the softest and tenderest feelings of humanity, to convert the ferocious cannibal into an industrious and peaceful citizen, and to transform even the devotees of Te Tani 'Wa into candidates for eternal glory. The mission of Mr. Leigh has demonstrated this. After witnessing this grand experiment, it now only remains for

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the church to proceed, at once, to extend the blessings of the new dispensation to the world. But in doing this she must follow scriptural precedents. At present, she is in danger of forgetting that "the law is the schoolmaster" that must bring nations, as well as individuals, "unto Christ," and that the introduction of the gospel was preceded by a general awakening. Where would have been the utility of the evangelical labours of either Paul or Apollos, if John the Baptist had not passed over the field with his legal plough, and "broken up the fallow ground?" The soil being thus prepared, Paul and Apollos planted and watered in faith and hope, and "God gave the increase." While we do not admit, that the church can have too much of the gospel, we yet maintain that she may have too little of the law. At the present moment she requires an agency analogous to that of John Baptist; a few able expositors of the law, to "convince the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." It is the first duty of the church to supply this agency; for "THE WHOLE WORLD LIETH IN WICKEDNESS!" This fact must be seized, as if it embodied a new revelation from God, and published in every part of the globe, where Christ has an official representative. Were this passage of scripture properly explained by the church, and effectually applied by the Spirit of God, it would produce a moral earthquake, that would rouse Christendom from her apathy, and stir her Protestant population to the depth of their sympathies. If it be not an exaggeration, but an ascertained fact, that the "whole world lieth in wickedness," the fact is so momentous that it ought to be carried, by Christian statesmen, into the British senate, and urged upon the legislature, until it is endorsed by the grant of a few millions from the national revenue to relieve so dreadful a calamity. This fact must be brought forward in every pulpit in Europe with a zeal proportionate to the magnitude of the subject, and enforced upon the people with a devotional earnestness and frequency that shall compel them to believe it. The Christian pastor must carry the intelligence into the families of his flock, and ask them plainly what they can do for a "world lying in wickedness." This text must form a distinct lesson, in all the educational institutions in the kingdom, and be reiterated until the youth of our land shall rise simultaneously, and "consecrate the first-fruits" of their industry to the mitigation of this enormous evil.

While the contributors to the Wesleyan Missionaiy Society look with astonishment upon the numerous and extended fields which their agents occupy, the churches they have formed, the religious and industrial schools that have been established, the languages that have been subdued, the translations that have

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been made, and the numerous converts that have been won to Christ, from the worst forms of barbarism; let them ask themselves, whether they cannot, by increasing diligence, economy, and liberality, greatly augment the income of this truly noble and godlike institution? Let the collectors, now spread not only over Great Britain but the world, take up the affecting theme of the above text of scripture, and carry it round their respective districts with renewed heroism, dwelling, with a deeper emphasis than ever, upon the mournful condition of the human race, and urging with vehemence the claims of a "world," a "whole world, lying in wickedness." Let this fact, so often referred to, be sent by the electric telegraph to the widest limits of human society, be struck upon every coin that passes under the dies of the British Mint, be printed on all the symbols of wealth issued by the national Bank, and float in the breeze from the mast-head of every ship employed in conducting the commerce of the world! Let the conviction be once worked into the national mind, that "the whole world lieth in wickedness," and the racing-stud of "his grace" will be disposed of, and the proceeds applied to ameliorate so vast a calamity; the hunting-establishment of "my lord" will be broken up, and the thousands per annum, now laid out upon hounds and horses, devoted to the elevation of mankind; the theatres will all be closed, the "laughable farce" being changed into a weeping reality, and the one million now spent in amusement and recreation consecrated to the conversion and salvation of men. A few, at least, of the millions now expended upon "strong drink" will be thrown into the same treasury, and appropriated to the relief of the deep and universal evil complained of. The vast masses of the precious metals that now contribute to gratify "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life," in the banqueting-chambers and saloons of wealth and luxury, will be freely offered to recover a "world lying in wickedness."

When this shall have been accomplished in all lands, then Christ, as formerly, shall become "the Desire of all nations." God will then assist the church by extraordinary means to supply the universal want of mankind. The agency of man, being unable any longer to meet the demands of perishing millions, will be supplemented by a direct and summary interposition from heaven. "I saw another angel," says John, "fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." "And then followed another angel," who announced the effects of his ministry, " saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of her fornication." Then shall the prophe-

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cies and figures of scripture be fulfilled. The "handful of corn upon the top of the mountains" has germinated, "the fruit thereof has shaken like Lebanon," and yielded seed for the world: the "grain of mustard seed," "which indeed is the least of all seeds," has "grown" up, "become a tree," and now covers the earth with its "branches:" the tide of evangelical truth which has been rising, swelling, and flowing through successive centuries, now "covers" the channel of "the great deep." "The glory of the Lord is revealed, and all flesh see it together." And "now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." "The mystery of God is finished." "Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!"

THE END.