"That this Society sincerely sympathizes with Mrs. PRICE, of Bristol, in the loss she has recently sustained by the death of her very estimable relative, Mrs. Mary Hughes; and begs her acceptance of the annual medal, and of the Society's most cordial thanks for her numerous and very valuable literary contributions."* "That the thanks of this Society be presented to Mrs. THOMAS PINE, of Maidstone, for her literary contribution, our last new Tract."

Thanks were then voted to the officers of the Society, to the Rev. James Yates, of Birmingham, and the following gentlemen were elected into office for the year ensuing :

Treasurer, JAMES ESDAILE, Esq. Secretary, Mr. GEORGE SMALLFIELD. Committee, Messrs. J. Evans, J. Fernie, S.Hart, S. Hart, Jun., R. Holt, S. Parkes, W. Wood, J. Clennell, R. M. Imeson, R. Rogers, and Townsend.

Auditors, J. Todhunter, R. Fennell, and W. Frend, Esqrs.,

Collector, Mr. J.M. Edney, 2, St. John's Street, Clerkenwell.

About seventy of the Subscribers and their friends afterwards dined together, JOHN CHRISTIE, Esq., in the Chair.-In the course of the evening the company were addressed by Messrs. Fox, C. B. Sheridan, Frend, Bowring, Rutt, Hardy, R. Taylor, and Dr. T. Rees, on topics connected with the objects of the meeting; and the names of several new Subscribers were announced.

London Unitarian Book Society. AT a General Meeting of this Society, held on Thursday, March the 8th, it was resolved, that for the future the affairs of the Society should be conducted by a Committee of twelve gentlemen, including a Treasurer and Secretary, to be annually chosen at the Meeting in March; and the following gentlemen were elected as the Committee for the ensuing year :— Thomas Gibson, Esq., Treasurer. Dr. Thomas Rees, Secretary. Committee.

Rev. Robert Aspland, John Bowring, Esq., John Dowse, Esq., Rev. W. J. Fox, Thomas Gibson, Jun., Esq., Richard Holt, Esq., Mr. G. Smallfield, Edgar Taylor, Esq., Richard Taylor, Esq., James Young, Esq.

To Mrs. Mary Hughes, Mrs. Anne Hughes, and Mrs. Price, the Society is indebted for half its publications.

sionary Society.

THE First Annual Meeting of this Society was holden in George's Chapel, Exeter, on Friday, the 1st of April. The Rev. J. C. Wallace, of Totnes, preached the sermon in the morning, from Matt. xi. 5, and gave an interesting sketch of the history of Christian truth, accompa nied with animated appeals to the zeal and benevolence of his hearers. The devotional parts of the service were conducted by Mr. Smethurst, of Moreton, and by Mr. Maurice, late of Frenchay. In the evening, Mr. Martin was expected to preach, but he being prevented by indisposition, Mr. Maurice very obligingly gratified the congregation with a sermon on religious intercourse, which was heard with deep attention. After the morning service, the business of the Society was transacted in the chapel, when a lively interest was manifested by all present in the objects and success of the institution. In the afternoon the friends assembled. dined together at the Globe Inn, where the attendance was numerous, far beyond. expectation; upwards of sixty persons sat down to a simple and cheerful repast, and the company was afterwards addressed, on various topics connected with the purposes of the Society, and with the general interests of religious liberty and truth, by Messrs. Acton, Maurice, Wallace, Martin, Smethurst and others. The entire transactions of the day were highly indicative of a rising zeal for Unitarianism in these Western counties; and it was particularly gratifying to witness the number of young men who attended the religious services, and manifested a serious interest in the good work of dif fusing the truth.

The following is a general abstract of the Report of the Committee.

The Committee have a full persuasion, that sufficient good will appear from their report to have been effected by this Society, not merely to justify its having been originally instituted, but also to afford its friends a bright prospect of its future and certain usefulness, and, therefore, to interest them warmly in its continued support. And even with regard to the instances in which the Committee have not been able, for the present, to carry the objects of the Society into effect, the hindrances that have arisen are so entirely of a temporary and casual nature, as ought by no means to occasion despondency, but rather to awaken us to the necessity of a more lively zeal, and more spirited exertions.

In compliance with the general wish of the Society, expressed on the day of

its institution, the Committee early di rected their endeavours to effect the introduction of Unitarianism into the principal towns in the north of Devon. From correspondence, both personal and written, with individuals in those parts, there appears good reason to believe that a respectable Unitarian missionary would there be likely to meet with a favourable hearing. The Committee had actually voted a certain portion of the funds of the Society to be appropriated to this purpose, and had engaged, for six months, the services of a gentleman well known to the Unitarian public as an efficient and successful missionary. But, unfortunately, (owing to circumstances which, as they have no connexion with the bu siness of the Society, it will not be necessary or proper to mention here,) the gentleman alluded to felt himself obliged to decline the engagement. The Committee regret that, since this disappointment of their sanguine hopes, they have not yet been able to find a person at once willing and competent to undertake this important work. The design, however, is on no account to be abandoned, and their successors, the Committee for the next year, may pursue the object with a well-grounded hope of success.

Soon after the formation of this Society, Mr. Martin, who was already engaged in missionary labours in Cornwall, came entirely under the direction of the Committee. This arrangement was made at the request of Mr. Wright, to whom the superintendence of Mr. Martin's mission had been entrusted by the Committee of the Unitarian Fund ;-and the expenses arising from Mr. Martin's labours during the year, have been defrayed by a grant of £20 from the Unitarian Fund, by an equal grant from the Bristol Fellowship Fund, and by the Funds of this Society.

In the account which Mr. Martin has delivered to the Committee of the result of his labours, he says, "When I returned to

Flushing,

in March, 1824, I found the society there going on well, as, through the exertions of Mr. Odgers and Mr. Stuart, worship had been regularly conducted, twice on Sundays, and once in the week. On my arrival I immediately set about forming the people into a church, in order to promote a bond of union. I also set on foot a tract system, on the plan of the Methodists, by lending them about from house to house. Our congregation here is numerous, considering the smallness of the population, and the prospect is very pleasing. Many persons, once much prejudiced against us, now regularly at

obtaining a small place originally fitted "In this place we have succeeded in up as a chapel by the Union Methodists, and it was opened for Unitarian worship, September 12, 1824. In addition to the morning and afternoon services of that day, Mr. Philp, of Falmouth, preached unable to gain admittance. Since then in the evening, when numbers went away the congregations have kept up, and notwithstanding many discouraging circumand still continue to prosper. Had we stances, we have prospered in this place, a more commodious place of meeting, have is small and obscure. We have only we should go on better, as the place we taken. We have lately established a Fel26 enclosed sittings, and these are all lowship Fund here, and the state of things Sunday afternoons and evenings, and on is encouraging. We have service on Wednesday evenings, and we celebrate A tract system has also been set on foot the Lord's Supper every three months. 64 times. in this place. At Peuryn I have preached

Redruth.

"Having obtained the use of the markethouse, I have visited this place frequently during the last summer, and latterly about once a fortnight. Sometimes after morning service at Flushing or Penryn, I have preached on Sunday afternoons at Redruth, and returned to either of the above places for service in the evening. At such times there has been manifested a great readiness to hear, and frequently the place has been crowded. Some here have been brought, I trust, clearly to see the truth, several of whom have lately gone on a mining expedition to Mexico, and we have severely felt their loss; but we trust that they are gone to sow the seeds of Unitarianism in that interesting country. Could regular worship be carried on at Redruth, a society might soon be established here, and I am not without

hopes of this being shortly the case. We are at present seeking to obtain a room to be fitted up as a small chapel. The population is very large, and the sway of Methodism very great.

Scilly Islands.

"Thinking a short voyage to these islands might improve my health, which has been far from good, and finding a vessel ready to sail from Penzance, I went in it

to St. Mary's, where I preached in the street on a Sunday morning to about a hundred hearers, among whom were the ministers of different persuasions sta tioned on the island. At the conclusion of the service, the Baptist Minister came forward and offered me the use of his chapel, which I accepted, and he gave notice to the people of my preaching there at nine. At the hour appointed I found a large, respectable chapel, and a good congregation, who heard me with the greatest attention. I also preached in the same place in the evening. The Baptist Minister invited me to his house, and accompanied me to Truscow, where I likewise preached in a small Baptist chapel to a very crowded and serious audience. The liberality of this worthy man I shall not easily forget; though so widely different in our views of truth, he treated me with the greatest attention and kindness to the last. I left behind me at St. Mary's many tracts.

Devonport.

"From the gratuitous and valuable services of Mr. Gibbs, and the exertions of some other members, the congregation here is kept up in a very respectable manmer. I had the happiness of spending two Sundays, and two week-day evenings with them, and had large congregations. Our friends here are alive to the cause of truth and holiness: they have a good chapel library, and a Fellowship Fund, which is increasing. At Devonport I have preached eight times."

Mr. Martin's report also gives a particular account of his having preached, generally to large congregations, at the following places, in Cornwall and Devon: Chacewater, St. Day, St. Agnes, Marazion, Goldsithney, Milor Bridge, St. Austle, Fowey, Looe, Stonehouse, Cawsand, Milbrook, Torpoint, Tavistock, Callington, St. Ives, Lostwithiel and Falmouth.

At Midsummer next a gentleman has kindly offered a room for Unitarian worship at Penzance, which it is hoped will be regularly supplied.

Mr. Martin also reports the following facts, which appear to be sound proofs that his labours in Cornwall for another year or two are likely to be productive of permanent good effects:-"The congregation at Flushing have raised the sum of about twelve pounds during the last year,--and there is every reason to expect that this amount will be increased during the present year, and also that some money will be contributed by the congregation at Penryn. We have now three assistant preachers, and another bids fair to come forward soon. When I am absent, my place is suvvlied by Mr. Odgers,

Mr. Stuart, or Mr. Welsford, and several times we have been favoured with the services of Mr. Philp."

Under these circumstances, and relying partly upon the hope of a grant for this object from the Unitarian Fund, the Devon and Cornwall Society have engaged Mr. Martin to continue his services for another year. And the Committee are fully persuaded that this Society, if liberally supported and prudently managed, may become the means of diffusing through the district which it embraces, a purer knowledge of that most holy religion which was revealed from heaven to promote the true glory of God, and the present and eternal happiness of mankind.

Half-Yearly Meeting of the Somersetshire, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire Unitarian Missionary Association.

THIS Association was established in September, 1824; its meetings are halfthe above three counties, as the committee yearly, and may be held in any town in for the time being shall determine. The first Half-Yearly Meeting of the members and friends of this Institution was held at Bradford, on Friday, the 1st instant, instead of the following Tuesday, as had been proposed, (the latter day having been found inconvenient,) and was respectably attended by friends from Bath, Bristol, Bridport, Yeovil, Warminster, Oakhill, Trowbridge, Calne, Frenchay, Marshfield, Christian-Malford, SuttonBenger, &c. The Rev. G. Roberts introduced the public service by prayer and reading of the Scriptures; the Rev. S. Fawcett delivered the long prayer; the Rev. H. Clarke preached a very suitable and truly excellent discourse from Luke xi 2, "Our Father which art in heaven;" and the Rev. Theophilus Browne concluded the service. Immediately after the public service the meeting of business commenced, H. E. Howse, Esq., in the chair. The Secretary read the Report of the Committee, which shewed that, if much had not been done during the short time the Association has existed, the committee had not been inactive, that they had used all the means in their power to gain information respecting the state of the Unitarian cause in the district, to form an estimate of the measures it would be most proper to pursue, and to prepare for future exertious; and, it appears, their attention is particularly directed to those places where the congregations are in a very low state, and where, without the fostering care of an association, there is a danger of the cause sinking. After the meeting of business,

fifty-four friends dined together; some important matters relative to the objects and plans of the Association were briefly discussed, and Messrs. Howse, Wawne, Wright, Clarke, Roberts and Browne, addressed the meeting. Mr. Roberts in particular insisted on the importance of the institution, and said, that had such a society as this existed seventeen years ago, when he came into this part of the country, some congregations now extinct and lost to us might have been preserved, aud he mentioned several such, where the places of worship had passed into other hands. The meeting resolved that subscriptions and donations shall be sacredly appropriated to such specific purposes as the subscriber or donor shall in any in

stance desire, whether it be the aiding congregations in a low state or missionary objects, and that a rule to this purpose shall be added to those already adopted by the association. Mr. H. Clarke conducted the devotional part of the service in the evening, and Mr. Wawne delivered a most judicious and impressive discourse from Luke xii. 57. The congregations, though not large, were respectable and deeply attentive; and the proceedings throughout the day were calculated to excite the zeal and encourage the exer tions of the friends of the cause, and to promote candour, liberality, mutual love

and Christian brotherhood. Several new members were added, and the amount of subscriptions, &c., received by the Treasurer during the day was £10.14s. 6d. April 18, 1825. R. W.

Quarterly Meeting of the Presbyte

rian Ministers of Manchester. The Quarterly Meeting of the Presbyterian Ministers of Manchester, and its vicinity, was held on Friday the 1st of April, at the chapel of the Rev. W. Harrison, at Blackley. The service was introduced by the Rev. John Gaskell, of Dukinfield; the Rev. T. C. Holland, of Manchester, preached a very excellent discourse on the necessity of zeal in contending for the truth, from 2 Cor. xiii. 8. After the service, the business of the Lancashire and Cheshire Unitarian Missionary Society was transacted. expediency of appointing a permanent Missionary in this populous district was considered; and the drawing up of a report on the amount of funds necessary for this purpose, as also on the future management of the business of the Society was referred to the Sub-committee, in order to be presented at the General Meeting in summer. Afterwards, according to the usual practice, the ministers and some lay friends dined together and spent the afternoon agreeably.

The

Unitarian Association, Battle District.

THE Annual Tea party of Unitarians residing in Battle and its vicinity, was held on Good Friday, and brought with it a renewal of those pleasurable feelings which characterized their last meeting. About two hundred and fifty persons of

both sexes were accommodated with tea in the chapel, being more than double the number present at their Association last year, and consisting of persons of various sects, probably more than a hundred members of the Established Church, a

circumstance which augurs well for the

spread of liberal principles, and is peculiarly gratifying as breaking that line of

demarcation which has been so long kept

up in provincial places between Churchmen and Dissenters. Mr. Blundell, of Rye, presided in the Chair; and addresses in favour of the doctrine of the Divine Unity, the Unitarian Marriage Act, Civil and Religious Liberty, the enlargement of science and the mechanic arts, and

against Negro Slavery, were delivered by Messrs. Blundell, of Northiam, Taplin, Groves, H. Weller and Jeakens. T.

Removals and Appointments of Mi

nisters.

THE REV. T. MADGE, of Norwich, has removed to Essex Street, as co-pastor

with the Rev. T. Belsham.

The Rev. Mr. DAVIDSON, of Dundalk, in Ireland, has removed to Jewin Street, London, as co-pastor with the Rev. Dr.

Rees.

Mr. BROWN, of the College at York, is chosen minister of the Unitarian congregation, at Hull; and Mr. TAGGART, of the same College, minister of the Unitarian congregation, Norwich.

THE Protestant Society for the protection of Religious Liberty, will be held at the City of London Tavern, on Saturday, May 14, at 10 for 11 o'clock precisely, when some distinguished friend of Religious Liberty will preside.

THE Annual Assembly of the GENERAL BAPTISTS will be held on Tuesday, May 24th, at Worship Street, Bishopsgate Street, London. Mr. T. Moore, of Godalming, is expected to preach. Divine service will commence at eleven o'clock.

THE Annual Meeting of the Society for the Relief of Aged and Infirm Protestant Dissenting Ministers, will be held at the King's Head, in the Poultry, on Tuesday, the 31st of May. The Chair to be taken at One o'clock precisely.