352 Intelligence.-Southern Unitarian Fund. at Selby, Yorkshire, was received into connexion with the Assembly, and that of York will, in all probability, be united with it next year. Since the last annual meeting several of the churches have established Sundayschools with success; while those which existed previously were represented as being in a flourishing condition. The letter from the church at Cranbrook, Kent, stated that, "Agree ably to the recommendation of the last Assembly, they had established a Sunday-school, and though it is not more than eight months from its commencement, yet more than 220 children have been admitted. The school was opened upon the liberal plan of admitting the children of parents of every denomination; and hitherto teachers have been procured out of the different societies, who undertake to conduct the children orderly to their respective places of worship." The Committee, appointed by the Assembly, two years since, recommended in their Report to this Assembly, the adoption of more vigorous measures for the revival of the General Baptist cause. Among other measures was that of raising a fund to defray the expenses of a more extended distribution of tracts tending to the promotion of morals in general, and the dissemination of their peculiar tenets in particular-of local preaching wherever there appeared a prospect of usefulness-and of lending pecuniary aid to poor or newly-formed societies, A resolution was passed by the Assembly, in approbation of the recommendation; it will, therefore, be submitted to the consideration of all the churches in the Assembly's Proceedings. After the business was finished, the ministers, representatives and their friends (about sixty in number) retired to the White Hart Inn, Bishops gate Street, to dinner. Several sentiments were given from the chair, which called forth very animated and appropriate speeches. The following were the principal: "The worthy Preacher Religious Liberty complete and universal"-"The Old General Baptist Cause"-" The Union of all Christians"-" Mr. Rees and the Christian Tract Society," &c. The ministers and their friends separated at an early hour. Report of the Committee of the Southern Unitarian Fund, read at the First The age in which we live is honourably distinguished by the formation of numerous associations for be nevolent purposes. The friends of religion and humanity by combining their efforts, have multiplied their usefulness. Relief has been administered to the bodily wants and infirmities of man; education has been provided for the ignorant, and knowledge placed within the reach of the inquiring. Nor have endeavours been wanting to bring back theological opinions to the simplicity of the New Testament. In many districts societies have been instituted for promoting the knowledge of the scriptures and the practice of virtue by the distribution of books. The London Unitarian Fund has forwarded the same object by the encou ragement of missionary preaching, Still it was felt by the friends of genuine Christianity in this neighbourhood, that something more was desirable. Missionaries have paid us but rare and transient visits. Our tracts have too often lain dormant in the libraries of subscribers. In some places small congregations have been formed which needed the countenance and assistance of their brethren. In others a disposition to hear Unitarian preaching existed, which it was impossible for individual ministers to gratify, however desirous, on account of the attendant expense, and the want of co-operation. In the desire to remedy or alleviate these evils this Society originated; and your Committee have the gratification of announcing, that, in the short period which has elapsed since the commencement of its labours in September last, they have all been attended to with encouraging success. In one instance pecuniary assistance has been afforded to a necessitous congregation, towards the maintenance of public worship. A number of useful works, with which we were liberally furnished by the Southern Unitarian Society, has been distributed in such a way as was deemed most likely to secure their perusal. By the union of preaching with the dissemination of tracts, there is reason to believe that the impression Intelligence.-Proceedings of the Scottish Unitarian Association. which each was calculated to produce has been rendered more deep and lasting. On the 28th of September a lecture was opened at the school-room of Mr. Stockman, Bishop Street, Portsea, by the Rev. W. J. Fox, which has been regularly continued, once a fortnight, and attended always by respectable, and on several occasions by very numerous congregations. Public notice was given for the following evening of a similar lecture at Gosport, where a room had been engaged for that purpose. Our intention was, however, frustrated. Bigotry had taken the alarm, and the person in whose house the meeting was to have been held had been so intimidated by the denunciation of both temporal and spiritual evils, that it was judged expedient to desist. A second attempt, shortly after, was equally unsuccessful. It is just and gratifying to record, that the measures adopted to prevent our assembling by some professing Calvinists were, by respectable persons of that denomination, indignantly disclaimed. At length the Old Poor-house was obtained, and on the 10th November Unitarian Christianity was first preached in Gosport, to an attentive and overflowing auditory, by the Rev. W. J. Fox, from Numbers x. 29, "Come thou with us and we will do thee good." Our subsequent efforts have been attended with considerable success. A room has been permanently engaged at Mr. Stubbington's, corner of Bemister's-lane; where scveral families, forming, it is hoped, the germ of a regular congregation, assemble every Lord's day for the worship of the only God. For the continued and regular support of these lectures, the Society is indebted to the services of Messrs. Brent, Fox, Fullagar, Lyons, Read, Saint, Travers, and Treleaven, who have cheerfully contributed their labours towards the great objects for which we are united. The ministers in connexion with the Society have also engaged to preach alternately, on the first Tuesday in every month, at Fareham. This measure has been adopted in conformity with the earnest wishes of the Unitarians in that place, and is expected to prove very useful in pro 353 moting their comfort, establishment and increase. The attention of your Committee has been much engaged by the situa tion of the congregation at Southampton, collected by the exertions of Mr. Travers, who has unfortunately been compelled by illness to relinquish his station. The chapel has been kept open on Sundays by Messrs. Fullagar, Saint and Read, and there is reason to expect that permanent arrangements will soon be made for the support of Unitarian worship in that town. The amount of subscriptions actually received during the past year has been 25l. 5s. 6d., of donations, 381. 18s. 6d. The expenditure, of which the different items have been sanctioned by the Committee, and are submitted to your inspection, is 53l.6s.9d. leaving a balance of 10l. 12s. 2d. in the hands of the treasurer. It would have been easy for the Committee to extend its operations, had the funds of the Society permitted. Limited however as they were, much has been done. Our brethren have been cheered by encouragement and assistance, and the pure word of life has been dispensed to numbers of willing hearers, to whom, but for this Society, it would only have been offered with the adulteration of human inventions. We rejoice that we have not laboured in vain, while we still look anxiously at the wide field of usefulness which remains to be cultivated. Aiming only at the divine glory and the good of man, we hope for the continued and increased support of our brethren, and the blessing of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the Southern Fund be an humble instrument, in the hands of Providence, of accelerating the time, announced by inspired prophecy, when there shall be One Lord and his name One, in all the earth! Proceedings of the Scottish Unitarian Sheffield, June 10, 1816. I am desired, by the Committee of the SCOTTISH UNITARIAN CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION, to transmit to you the following account of the Proceedings at the Fourth Anniversary of 354 Intelligence.-Proceedings of the Scottish Unitarian Association. the Institution, held on Sunday and Monday, May 12th and 13th, in the Unitarian Church, Glasgow. Delegates were present from Edinburgh, Paisley, Dundee, Greenock, Blackford, Daley, Port-Glasgow, &c. On Sunday, the devotional part of the morning service was conducted by Mr. YATES; and Mr. TORRENS, of York, delivered an excellent Discourse, on the Tendency of the Unitarian Doctrine to promote Love to God and Man, from the text, 2 Corinthians, chap. v. ver. 20. In the afternoon, Mr. YATES delivered his farewell Sermon, from the words, Philippians, chap. ii. verses 14, 15, and 16, "Do all things without murmurings and disputings, that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain." In the evening, Mr. SMITH, Minister of the Unitarian Church, Edinburgh, preached the Annual Sermon in aid of the Institution; the subject, the Tendency of the Unitarian Doctrine to promote Benevolence, from John, chap. xiii. ver. 35. The congregations throughout the day were very numerous and respectable. Between the morning and afternoon worship, the friends from the country, and many of those in Glasgow, both male and female, to the number of seventy, partook of some refreshment; and, between the afternoon and evening worship, about sixty persons, of both sexes, drank tea together. On Monday, the Society met in the Church at 12 o'clock, when, after joining in prayer, Mr. AULE, of Leith, was elected President of the Meeting. The Report of the Committee for the past year was then read by Mr. GEORGE HARRIS, the Secretary. It stated, that two editions of Mr. Yates's Sermon, on the Duty and Manner of deciding the more important Religious Controversies, preached at the last Anniversary, had been printed; that Messrs. GASKELL, RUSSELL, and HARRIS, had, in the course of the year, volunteered their Services as Missionaries to the Institution, and had preached, with great success, at Cathcart, Renfrew, Partic, Rutherglen, and Greenock; that Mr. The following Resolutions were "That the cordial thanks of this Meet ing be presented to Mr. George Harris, "That it is the opinion of this Society, any other way they may deem proper. "That it likewise be recommended to "That this Meeting express their most cordial thanks, congratulations, and good wishes, to Mr. George Harris for his exertions in preaching at Greenock, as the Missionary of this Society; and to the regular attendants on his services in that place, who have exposed themselves in the cause of pure and undefiled religion, to the great discouragements and obstacles attending the first introduction of unpopular truth. "That the thanks of this Society be their Donation of Ten Guineas to Mr. given to the London Unitarian Fund for Syme, in order to enable him to continue his services to the Paisley Church. Intelligence.-French Protestants. That the thanks of this Meeting be presented to Mr. Smith, of Edinburgh, and to the Edinburgh Unitarian Association Fund, for their Donations of Books, Tracts, and Money; also to the Glasgow Unitarian Association Fund, for their Donation of 20.; to the Greenock and Port-Glasgow Unitarian Association Fund, for their Donation of 51. 5s. and to all the other contributors. "That Mr. George Harris be earnestly requested again to undertake the office of Secretary to the General Association of Unitarians of Scotland. "That the cordial thanks of this Meeting be given to Mr. Torrens, Mr. Yates, and Mr. Smith, who so ably conducted the religious services of yesterday. "That the Association have heard, with pleasure, of Mr. Syme's accept ableness and usefulness, and return him their thanks for his conduct. "That the cordial thanks of this Meeting be presented to the Rev. Dr. Rees, and the Committee of the Dissenting Ministers of the three denominations in London and the neighbourhood, for their able, zealous, undaunted, and persevering exertions, in calling the attention of the British public to the condition of the persecuted Protestants in France, in exhorting us to perform towards them the Christian duties of sympathy and nid, and in maintaining the great cause of Religious Liberty." The following persons, resident in Glasgow, were elected the Committee for the ensuing year :-- The thanks of the Meeting were then unanimously voted to the Chairman for his able conduct in the Chair, and the Meeting adjourned. At five o'clock a numerous and respectable company sat down to an economical dinner in the Trades' Hall. In the course of the evening many excellent sentiments were given, and many able speeches delivered, and the company separated at an early hour, every one appearing to be impressed with a desire of supporting, to the utmost of his power, an Institution, which has already, with its very limited resources, produced much 355 good, and which, if enabled to extend its benevolent exertions, would assuredly produce great and incalculable benefits to society. I remain in behalf of the Commit'tee of the Scottish Unitarian Christian Association, Your's sincerly, FRENCH PROTESTANTS. Williams's Library, Red-Cross Street, April 24, 1816. mittee of the Dissenting Ministers of At a Special Meeting of the Comthe Three Denominations, appointed by the General Body for InquirySuperintendance and Distribution of the Funds collected for the French Protestant Sufferers for conscience sake summoned to receive the Report of the Rev. Clement Perrot; who, from his eminent qualifications, the respectability of his character, and his personal acquaintance with the most distinguished Protestants in the South of France, had been requested to repair to that country, for the purpose of examining in the capital, and on the spot, the real situation of the Protestants, collecting evidence of their per secution, and arranging plans for the distribution of the money contributed for their relief: Rev. J. RIPPON, D. D. IN THE CHAIR: It was unanimously resolvedI. That the interesting and luminous Report now presented by the Rev. Clement Perrot, of his personal investigation into the past sufferings, and present situation of the Protestants, be received, approved and printed: and that the various verified documents, and articles of intelligence, illustrative of the Report, and forming an historical relation of the sufferings which the Protestants have endured, and are enduring, be prepared for the press, under the direction of the Rev. C. Perrot, and published with all possible dispatch. II. That the Rev. Clement Perrot, for the promptitude with which he complied with the request of this Committee, and undertook a long, fatiguing, and dangerous journey-for the diligence, the prudence, and the zeal with which he has executed the objects of his important mission-for the generous sacrifice of his time, his engage ments, and his personal safety-for the 356 Intelligence.-French Protestants. display his conduct has afforded, of these liberal and enlightened principles which have distinguished Protestant Dissenters among the benefactors of mankind for the important services which he has rendered to the cause of the French Protestants in particular, and to the interests of truth, liberty, humanity, and religion in general; merits the warmest gratitude and esteem, and that he be requested to accept the most sincere and affectionate acknowledgments of this Committee. III. That this Committee recognizing the sacred right of every man to adopt his religious creed, and to profess his religious faith without molestation, insult, or privation-considering the recognition of this right by human governments to be essential to the tranquillity and happiness of the world, and esteeming it as the first duty of Rulers and Magistrates to preserve inviolate that right themselves, and to guarantee its enjoyment to all classes of society, free from outrage, interruption, or disquietude-cannot review the whole history of the persecutions which the Protestants of the South of France have endured, and are enduring, without horror and indignation. That from the verification of documents before possessed, (the truth of which was never questionable,) and especially from the evidence now produced by their respectable friend, it is perfectly evident to them, that the persecutions so long and so disgracefully continued, have been instigated by bigotry and intolerance, and have been excited and directed by powerful leaders, against the Protestants, as the depositories of those religious and social principles, which must always render their possessors efficient and honourable in society-that political opinions have only been the pretexts under which the odious projects of their enemies were concealed, as Protestants were as prompt, and as sincere in their acceptance of the restored dynasty, as any class of Frenchmen whatever; that the impious, rapacious, and barbarous conduct of their persecutors, has exceeded the representations which have been made by the Committee, and has equalled in criminality that of the most guilty persecutors of ancient times;-that it is impossible to exculpate, at least from connivance, the local, civil, and military authorities, because the extent of the outrages the length of their duration the publicity of the crimes--the notoriety of the criminals-the uselessness of complaints from the sufferers, and the vexations to which they have been exposed-the confidence with which the robbers and murderers have acted, and the impunity and protection they have experienced, are equally unknown, in any country, where the magistracy, however feeble, has been active and sincere. That it is equally evident, that from some cause, which this Committee do not intend to assign, the higher departments of the Government have not taken a suitable interest in the dreadful calamities, which have been sustained by its faithful and honourable subjects-have not maintained equal security for the professors of the Protestant and Catholic religions;-but have appeared to entertain the most lively jealousy of the unsolicited interference of benevolent persons in this country-have neglected to give to the Protestants, and to Europe, any satisfaction, by demanding an account of their conduct from the local or extraordinary authorities-and, finally, have left the victims of persecution at the mercy of prevotal courts, composed of their enemies, who have inflicted on Protestants the most degrading and cruel punishments for alleged trifling crimes, and have honourably acquitted Catholics-covered with blood, and guilty of numerous and horrid murders. IV. That it was not the design of this Committee to procure for the Protes tants a temporary alleviation of their public miseries; or to raise an useless clamour, and then leave them a prey to persecutions more dreadful, because they are more secret, and because they assume the character of judicial pu nishments, instead of the outrages of banditti; but they were resolved to contribute, by every honourable means, to reinstate them in that security and comfort they had so long enjoyed, and their title to which they have never forfeited. While, therefore, the objects of their unabated solicitude are living under the most dreadful appre hension-exposed to the violence of hostile authorities-cut off from the enjoyments of civil society-fugitives from their homes-deprived of their sources of support, and prevented from exercising, on account of their religi ous opinions, their industry and talents-while many, from the absence |