denomination, the purse-strings of the wealthy will be loosened, new churches will spring up in every direction, and active working will put to flight jealousies and contention. Then our land will yield its increase, and God, even our own God, will bless us; and "Ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."

Subscriptions in aid of the British and Irish Baptist Home Mission will be thankfully received by the Treasurer-J. P. BACON, Esq., 69, Fleet-street, London, E.C., and by the Secretary, Rev. J. BIGWOOD, at the Mission House, Castle Street, Holborn, London, E.C. Contributions can also be paid at Messrs. Barclay, Bevan, Tritton & Co.'s, Lombard-street.

THE MISSIONARY HERALD.

OUR ANNIVERSARY.

ERY seldom within the recollection of those friends of our Mission who can look back on the greatest number of past years, have our annual meetings been ushered in under pleasanter circumstances, or with more devout and hopeful feelings, than those recently held, and of which we now proceed to give an account. It was very generally known that an unusually rich blessing had been graciously given to our brethren in their work abroad, so that the number of additions to the Mission Churches was very large, and, in India, specially, had surpassed that of any previous year. It was also known that in the Mission Churches, and among the European Christians in connection with them, there had been, and still was, a revival of religious zeal and devotedness which augured well for the future, and that, in happy correspondence with this state of things, the sympathies of the Churches at home had been aroused to a more prayerful and practical expression than heretofore. Hence the first of the series of meetings, viz., the prayer meeting at the Mission House, was characterised by a spirit of unusual fervour and thankfulness. All present seemed to feel that there was much reason to praise God, as well as to pray for a continuance of the deeper spiritual tone which His Spirit had imparted to them. This meeting was held on the morning of the 22nd April, and was presided over by the Rev. George Gould, of Norwich, an old friend of the Mission, and one whose interest has been long sustained, mainly, of course, from love to the work itself, but also partly by his wide acquaintance with our operations, and partly by his personal relations to some of our missionaries. His address was on our personal fitness to receive the answers to our prayers for the extension of Christ's Kingdom, and proved a very earnest appeal to self-examination, lest the hindrances should come from within. The words thus spoken were felt to be in harmony with the sentiments of those who heard them. The prayers that followed expressed those sentiments in a variety of forms, and the result was a deep sense of oneness of heart which made the meeting very enjoy

able and very hopeful. The brethren who offered prayer were Revds. Dr. Wenger, F. Trestrail, J. Bloomfield, J. P. Chown, and Mr. Gurney, of Regent's Park College.

The Welsh Meeting was held at Castle Street on Friday evening, April 23rd. Henry Richard, Esq., M.P., had promised to preside, con-ditionally on his being permitted to do so by his Parliamentary duties. At the last moment he found himself unable to fulfil the engagement, and the chair was taken by Mr. Llewellyn Jenkins, of Maescwymer, one of the most attached brethren of our Mission in Wales. All the speeches were in Welsh, and the friends who took part were the Revds. Lewis Evans, of Newport; Cornelius Griffiths, of Cinderford; J. G. Jones, of Port Madoc; and Dr. Price, of Aberdare. The devotional service was conducted, partly in Welsh and partly in English, by Mr. Harries, of Eldon Street. There was about an average attendance-that is, small; nevertheless, the interest and enthusiasm were unmistakable. The meeting, moreover, was rendered additionally attractive by the singing of a young lady, whose kind service was duly appreciated. The Welsh Meeting has never been a large one, but it is held partly as a tribute to the increasing earnestness of our friends in the Principality in connection with our great work, and partly in response to the feeling of the Welsh Baptists in London itself, who would grieve over its abandonment.

As usual the Lord's Day, April 25th, was devoted, in our metropolitan chapels to the Mission. Very few churches indeed now fail to comply with this arrangement. We are not yet in a position to say what was the pecuniary result of the appeals then made, but we have no reason for believing that it has fallen short of that of last year.

On Tuesday morning, April 27th, the Annual General Meeting of the Members of the Society was held, under the presidency of J. J. Smith, Esq., of Watford, who introduced the business by a few pointed and. practical remarks. As usual, the Report of the Committee, the Balance Sheet, and the digest of the Minutes of the year were read at length, and the reading evoked an unusual amount of interest. It was felt that the work done, both at home and abroad, called forth thankfulness to God, and inspired confidence in our brethren. Other business followed, but it does not now demand attention, except in one notable particular. A wish had been strongly expressed by the Treasurer, by Dr. Underhill, and some members of the Committee, that we might commence the new year free of debt. This involved the attempt to obtain subscriptions to the amount of £1,143 15s. It was felt that such an attempt, if successful'

would be an appropriate tribute of thanksgiving to God for the mercies of the year, and it was hoped that it might lead to emulation through. our churches at large. Happily, the object in view was realised, and the announcement was made before the breaking up of the Members' Meeting. The following is the list of contributions:

Mr. W. R. Rickett

Marcus Martin

Sir Robert Lush

Mr. J. Rains

J. Barran

"A Thank Offering

Mr. John Houghton

S. S.

W. Thomas

25 0 0

The liberality thus shown will surely bear fruit during the ensuing year. We believe it will, and certainly there is need that it should. Our missionary staff has been largely increased; the Lord, in answer to prayer, has given us men. The necessary obligation follows: means for their support must be found. We beg our churches, and our individual subscribers, to consider this in a generous spirit.

The increasing popularity of the "Zenana" breakfast meeting had reluctantly forced the ladies of the Committee to the conviction that the Mission-rooms were not large enough to accommodate the numbers who were likely to come, and hence the large room of the Memorial Hall in Farringdon Street was hired for the present occasion. This meeting was held on the 28th April, and was a great success in point of numbers. The chair was taken by Sir Robert Lush, and the addresses were delivered by the Revds. Dr. Landels, Dr. Wenger, J. Trafford, M.A., J. Sale, and Rev. F. Trestrail. We are happy to note that everything about the Mission indicates life and progress.

At 12 o'clock, on the same day, the annual morning sermon was preached by the Rev. J. Cairns, D.D., of Berwick. This gentleman, by the courtesy and readiness with which he yielded to the Committee's request, as well as by the excellent service which he rendered in preaching that sermon, deserves very grateful acknowledgments. Nothing could be more generous and brotherly than the doctor's action in this matter.

The attendance was very good. Equally thankful are we to our old friend, the Rev. J. P. Chown, who preached the evening sermon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle.

The public meeting at Exeter Hall, though not so crowded as the year before, was, nevertheless, a very efficient one. The chair was filled by J. S. Wright, Esq., J.P., of Birmingham. The Rev. J. Collins, of Penge, prayed; and, after the Chairman's address, some able speeches were made by Revds. E. Gange, of Bristol; Dr. Mullens; J. Brock, jun.; and Dr. Cairns. This last gentleman kindly consented to take the place of the Rev. T. Morgan, of Howrah, incapacitated, through illness, from attending the meeting. The interest of the audience was sustained to the close.

The last of the meetings was that of the Young Men's Missionary Association, at the Memorial Hall, Farringdon-street. The chairman was G. Williams, Esq., of St. Paul's Churchyard; and the speakers were Dr. Landels; John MacGregor, Esq. (Rob Roy); Frank Wright, Esq., of Birmingham; and the Rev. F. D. Waldock, of Ceylon. The life and interest of this meeting helped to make it a fitting close of a very happy and useful series. May the feeling of devotedness to the Master and His cause, which, we think, was aroused by them all, be not only maintained, but spread abroad, and rendered effective to His glory, and the good of a multitude of souls!

Extracts.

The following extracts and summaries from the speeches and sermons of our Anniversary Meetings, are presented to our readers as either containing valuable information, or bearing directly upon some aspect of the great work we have to do. Everything was well said, and we wish we could reproduce it all; but our space, of course, forbids.

At the Zenana breakfast meeting, Dr. Wenger began his speech by referring to the labours of Mrs. Lewis in and around Calcutta. She was doing a most important work, and desired that no credit should be given to her, but rather that God should have all the glory. He went on to say, that in Calcutta a school was established by Mrs. Sale, and after being carried on for some time, was transferred to Miss Leslie. It was exceedingly popular, so much so that £1 monthly demanded for education was readily paid. Last year they were aided by the Rev. Behari Lal Sing, and it might be interesting for them to know that his daughter had been a Zenana teacher for some time. When the first child born to a Hindoo family was a daughter, there was distress instead of joy in the house. Supposing there were sons and daughters, the boys at the age of