kill them, as they really believed, screamed out, and gave an alarm which might have been disastrous in its results.

The poor children were very unfortunate in another respect, for at the very time of quitting the chapel, a most tremendous storm came on, and lasted

for three hours, during which time the little ones, with their teachers, had to make their way by twos and threes first to their respective schools to tea and then home, unprotected, and, it most cases, drenched to the skin. Th day will be a memorable one.

Answers to Correspondents.

F. T., Southampton, and others.-We, of that day, this will be a pleasing a hear the Report of the Leeds Conference. will be published shortly.

Eliot, W.-The Auxiliaries have met before on several occasions with the Parent Committee on special business. The Union ought to be sustained in most vigorous operation; and while money is needed, and must be had, personal help and extended effort must be the claim of this noble Institution.

Edward Nicholson cannot attend, as he will see from the following arrangements, as announced:

surprising testimony.]

C. P. Deal. The "Text Book" is p lished in Dublin, and is a most valua companion. It may be had in Patern ter-row.

Alternate Teaching.-F. and G., Bra ford, take a class between them eve other Sunday. They say they could teach every Sunday, because it would "too much." Too much! What, de friends, fatigue, trouble, enduranc Strive to conquer these difficulties, learn that he only truly knows what "The Conference Meeting of the Mem-joy of teaching is who has the entire co bers of the Committees of the four London trol and undivided affection of his class Auxiliaries, with the Committees of the TRY. Sunday-school Union, will be held in Silver-street School-room, Jewin-street, Aldersgate-street, on Wednesday evening, July 12th, at seven o'clock. Mr. W. H. WATSON in the Chair. Subject: The present State of the Sunday-schools in London, and the best means of improving and extending them.' We earnestly trust that all friends entitled to attend this important meeting will be present, and endeavour to preserve the practical character of the proceedings.

E. N. C.-It was a promise-give time. Inquirer.-Cardinal Borromeo was the founder of Sunday-schools at Milan.

Chartist Meetings.-Teacher is thanked. In the neighbourhood of Bethnal Green, on Sunday, the 4th of June, a teacher of a Bible-class of twenty young men connected with families of the working classes, had not one late or absent. [To those who know the fear, excitement, and curiosity that prevailed during the whole

SEPARATE

E. B. There is no "Sunday-scho Union Insurance Society at 60, Patern ter-row." Why should there be? O friend must use his discretion. We not guide him in this matter, except saying, that we do not regard Life Insu ance as a species of gambling.

A Superintendent says he has tried Min priss's system, and approves of it ver much, but wishes to know if it could no be reduced one-half in price. This is matter which we can give no opinion o we wish it could be reduced, but the a thor is the party who must say, "Yes,"

"No."

W. S. S. wishes our correspondent, " W., of Nottingham," to explan a little more fully, the plan be would recommend for the removal of children and teachers from one class to another, and we can only say that our pages are freely open. Received with thanks. -T. MoodyJames Alexander.

SERVICES.

MR. MARTIN'S Lecture is now printed, and may be had of the Sunday-school Union, or Messrs. Partridge and Oakey, for One Penny, or Ninepence per dozen. Each Superintendent ought to let every teacher have a copy of this valuable address; and our ministers especially should be supplied.

THE EAGLE AND THE SERPENT.

THE eagle is a bird of prey, called by the Hebrews the lacerator. From wing to wing this bird measures eight feet four inches, and From beak to tail, four feet seven inches. There are eleven sorts of eagles. The eagle flies higher than any other bird; disowns its young whose weakness of sight prevents its looking towards the sun, and is of great courage. It has a very small eye, but a very quick sight, and it lives to a great age. Job's description of it is most beautiful :

"The rock is the place of his habitation;

He dwells on the crag, the place of strength,
Thence he pounces upon his prey,

And his eyes discern afar off."

In Deuteronomy xxxii. also,

Between the eagle, and the serpent, or dragon, there is a deadly enmity; the eagle seeking to kill the serpent, and the serpent destroying all the eagle's eggs it can find. So terrified is the serpent, that hearing the noise of the eagle in the air, it speeds to its den and there hides itself. [AUGUST, 1848.

NEW SERIES.]

I

THE LONDON CONFERENCE.

THE Sunday-school Union has held meetings of this character before; they are always useful, often most necessary, and at this time there was an urgent call for some such gathering of the Sunday school teachers of the metropolis. July is not a good month, but July is better than waiting till October; one meeting now will pave the way for another then, for depend upon it, the work to be done if wisely commenced, will require meeting upon meeting before can be accomplished. The four London Auxiliaries were entitle to send up all their members, and these members number 710 each being the representative of a Sunday-school in Union. Hene the very best and most able men were present, or entitled so to be It would have been well if all had been there. There were pre sent 159 members, 710 having been summoned:

In addition to this, there were present 30 members of Com mittee out of 41. There are 330 schools in connexion with th London Auxiliaries and their Branches, for whose representative 710 notices would be required. We are not prepared to say wha number of schools were represented in the Conference, but we thin not a large number.

The proceedings of the first evening hardly affords a fair op portunity of judging the feeling of the Conference or the plans of the Committee.

We presume the first object was to lay down an aggregate statement of the necessities of the Districts, and then to take up the various points and provide for the wants thus indicated. Four Reports presented by the Auxiliaries, furnished the data, and gave ample scope in right hands for vigorous planning and onward move ment. We will give the statistics thus presented in order; they are very important, and may be relied on.

The speakers are limited to ten minutes. This is a brief oppor tunity, but it is a wholesome rule. Let all speak who can and will, but let none do so who are unprepared. A careful consideration and prayerful study of the magnificent movement before us, will bring every man fitted to speak well and wisely; but the mere rising on the spur of the moment to fill up the time, very rarely does service, and too often retards and deadens a meeting. We do consider the great questions to have been grappled with; let us hold

them fast.

We have school accommodation, will the church find us the

ldren? We must have a new and supplemental agency for the itation of absentee children, will the church supply us with itors? We must have pious teachers, will the church send us best of her sons and daughters? These three things done-the arch brought to see our need and feel our claim--to give a pure 1 holy sympathy-to stand by and give us strength-and the er details may be left with perfect safety to the Sunday-school chers in their own schools. We must affirm some such prinles as these, and seek at once to throw upon the church the full ponsibility of our effort. She must supply children, teachers, ds, and the Sunday-school will perform her work well, just in portion to the degree in which the church performs her duty. Let teachers meet in Districts, and with their ministers and arches present the case as we give it here, and we fully believe sympathy so much needed will be created, sanctified, and ratid by a desire for action, and a noble effort to achieve all we in most sanguine movements desire. We earnestly trust the Conence will evolve some thoroughly practical results. Our readers Il do well carefully to peruse the following report:—

The conference was held at the Silver-street School-rooms, on Wedsday evening, 12th July, to take into consideration the present state the Sunday-schools in London, and the best means of improving and tending them. Mr. W. H. Watson took the chair at seven o'clock, d Mr. Althans implored the Divine blessing on the proceedings. The CHAIRMAN then briefly stated the objects of the conference, and ged the importance of giving great attention to the schools in the etropolis, on account of the position they occupied, and the influence ich they exerted on the country at large. He then called onMr. CUTHBERTSON, who had been appointed to open the proceedings. e said on former occasions they had met to confer on great principles, ey had now met for action. The state of London had been canvassed of te, and the most startling facts had been brought to light. It had ached the ears of the parent Committee that the number of Sundayhools in London was not equal to the wants of the population; that en those at present in existence were not full; that there was a great ck of teachers to carry on the work, and that many of those engaged

were by no means efficient; that the state of schools was not better an it was twenty years ago; that as to the teachers, they were delining in respectability and zeal; that they would neither walk so far, or contend with the same difficulties which they formerly did. The eputations to various parts of the country found that London was very ar behind many large towns in the kingdom; that while in some places ne in five, and in others one in eight, of the population were Sundaycholars, yet in the metropolis the proportion was but one in eighteen. The question then before them was to inquire whether anything could e done to remove these evils, whether they occupied their right posion, and whether they had gained a proper standing in connection with other religious bodies. The elder scholars were retained in the schools

for a longer period, and the plans adopted in connection with the libraries was decidedly more effective. Their week evening classes meet oftener, and are better attended, and in many places it has become quite the fashion to attend the Sunday-school, while in the metropolis it is quite the contrary. Then, as to branch schools, large churches in the country have two or three such in connection with them, and they are worked most efficiently; but in London they were more isolated. Certainly in town there were more difficulties to contend with, but because of this are we to have less zeal? On the contrary, the obstacles we meet should tend to sharpen our powers, and lead us to bring every ex ertion to bear with the greatest energy. He was sure that the Com mittee of the Union were for an onward movement, and it was only for that meeting to say how they should move, and there were men at the helm fully prepared to come forward and carry out their views to the utmost. The Committee believed that many of their fellow-teachers were pursuing their work with zeal, and intelligence, and activity:

The CHAIRMAN then called upon the delegates from the various auxiliaries to read their reports of the state of schools in their respective localities.

Mr. W. S. GOVER presented the report of the South London Aux iliary. It stated the number of schools to be 107, containing 2,170 teachers, and 21,177 scholars, with an average attendance of 14,342 The following summary of facts was also contained in the statement read: One-third of the schools are nearly full-in some few instances they are not half full. Canvassing for scholars has been pretty generally adopted. There were numerous complaints of the great paucity teachers. The method of instruction pursued is chiefly on the collective system. The publications of the Union are much in use, and most of the schools have libraries-but some have none. The schools generally report that the interest of their libraries is well kept up. children are said to be regularly visited. Very few have meetings for the improvement of the teachers. The proportion of teachers who were formerly scholars is very large-probably more than half-and from half to two-thirds are reported as church members. A great variety of reasons are assigned for the short attendance of children at the morning school. Numbers of children in the immediate neighbourhood of some of the schools are totally uninstructed. To the short supply of teachers this and other evils are attributed.

Absentee

Mr. GAUDELIER, from the East Auxiliary, presented by far the most complete report of the evening, evincing a great amount of research and pains-taking. This Union is divided into thirteen districts; three which, from their extent, are called branches. The number of schools is 97, containing 2,011 teachers, and 19,627 scholars. The number of reported Church schools (not included) is 21, with 480 teachers, and 5,000 children; but as this does not embrace all the schools in the Establishment, it is difficult to obtain the exact proportion of scholars in all the districts, to the inhabitants. The number of persons under twenty years of age in four districts, is 186,677, being 86,667 more than the number of children in the schools of the four London auxiliaries. The condition of the schools, from some of the reports, show the following facts. There is a great want of teachers, many now engaged are very