her, and him also. Something occurred which led her to say, "You know, my child, I love you," and to her perfect surprise and joy he said, "Yes, mother, and Jesus loves me too;" from which moment the salvation of the Lord was apparent in him. He lived until the next day, and died rejoicing in the faith of the gospel. My friend, Mrs. K., is herself a most thrilling illustration of the power of healing. She says that Mr. Irving being down in their neighbourhood, he went to visit Miss Mary D. (now Mrs. K.) She had been then lying for a spinal complaint on an inclined plane four years. Mr. Irving said to her that it was not the will of God that she should be sick, but it was part of the devil's work. This Miss D. resisted, and said she was sure it was the will of God. But he prayed that the Lord would show more of His own truth. And so she and some others betook themselves to prayer to know the will of God in this matter. She read, meditated, and prayed a day and two nights. She had frequently attempted to rise before, and had always fainted; she had been carried from room to room, and to church, and laid always in the pew full length; but she had not set her feet on the ground for four years, nor even could she sit without fainting. But this wonderful morning, when quite alone, she said, "I can get up:" she rose, she dressed, she went out of the house alone, walked down the long avenue and along the high road, till she came to another avenue leading to the house, went up four pairs of stairs into the school-room, when they all looked at her as if she had been a ghost, and said, "Surely you have come far enough to-day." "Yes," she said; "but do you know how far I have been? I have been out on the high road and back again." They said, "We wonder that you were not terrified to be alone, for fear you should have fainted." She walked the next day three miles, and the next day five miles. Mr. Crawford said it was only excitement, and that she would be worse again soon; but she has never been poorly till now that the journey has so much excited her.

Another case of which Mrs. K. told us was that of Mary Campbell. She had had seven abscesses which had broken on her lungs, and she herself expected to die. Moreover, she had an enlargement of the heart. The physicians said that even if she could be cured of the one, the other would kill her. Mr. Story, her minister, was with her one evening with other friends expecting to see her die; she had been almost dying fourteen months; the bones were through the whole length of her back and arms; she could not move even her head. Mr. Story was obliged to leave her, and next morning, crossing over to Port Glasgow, the men on board the steamer said, "Have you heard what has happened to Mary Campbell ?" "No," said Mr. Story; "is she dead?" "Nay," said the man, "she is living and well, and has been alongside the steamboat, and if you will go to such a house in Port Glasgow you will see her." And surely he did see her, restored; and she has been quite well, strong, and plump ever since.

Miss McDonald had been unable to walk for twenty-two months. One day one of her brothers, not intending anything, but having been with others praying much about these wonderful gifts, came into the room where she was, and felt himself compelled to go near her bed and say, "In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk." She did rise, and has been quite able for everything ever since.

HOW TO MANAGE CHURCH FINANCE.

No. II.- Who's to do it?

BY A "LIVE" DEACON.

IT is beginning to be admitted pretty generally, Mr. Editor, that one of the revivals wanted amongst Christians is the revival of the grace of giving. Dissatisfaction with the long-continued mode of dealing with this department of Christian life and service is wide-spread, and expression has been given to it in manifold suggestions for increasing and methodizing the gifts of the disciples of Christ.

Some Christians have never reckoned giving amongst their graces: and certainly to have applied so rich and beautiful a word as grace to the niggardly, stingy, and selfish contributions they have doled out would have been an unpardonable profanation of the word. Instead of cultivating a spirit of generous and unselfish consecration of money to the Lord, they do all they can to suppress it. The last thing they think of doing is contriving how they may give more. They pray like a machine. They read the Bible through three times a year; not forgetting the Songs of Solomon and the genealogical lists of Nehemiah. They frame resolutions, and talk like a book; but they resent the idea that giving is a grace, or a means of grace, as if it were poison. If they break the alabaster box of ointment at all, they get away into a corner to do it, and carefully let free its contents inside a sealed receiver, lest the ointment should refresh any one besides themselves. Ask them for help: they have no money. It is all locked up in business. Yes, they took precious good care it should be. Plead for Foreign Missions. No; they do not see the good of sending money so far away from home. Try the Dorcas Society. You do not catch them so easily; they believe in "silent messengers" distributed at the homes of the poor. Advocate weekly giving. They object that it is letting your "right hand know what your left doeth," though poor right hand, forsooth, would easily carry the slight amount of knowledge their left would ever give. Plead that all their money is the Lord's. To be sure, they say, and they will keep it for Him. Argue for pew-rents: they prefer self-assessment. In fact, they object to everything that means giving, and will die clutching all the money they can.

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But all this is passing away in the fuller knowledge of Christian privilege, and the general quickening of the Christian conscience. By the processes of "Natural Selection" and the "Survival of the Fittest," these specimens of the gracelessness of selfishness" are disappearing; and a type of Christian character of much finer tone and purpose is taking its place. I have heard Christians talk with a real glow of joy about the "privilege" of giving the money they have earned to God; and I have seen in poor and rich alike this 'fruit" of the Spirit in beautiful development. No better proof that the Lord Jesus is amongst us could be supplied than that of an eager, enthusiastic devotion of the whole wealth of Christian men to His service and glory.

The awakening has given gladdening signs of usefulness already. The Presbyterians, always sedulous in their devotion to this branch of church life, have been followed by the Independents, who have had several encouraging discussions, and passed the following resolutions as a basis for future action:

1. That the stipends of Congregational ministers are, as a rule, insufficient; that, in individual cases, the insufficiency is sometimes such as seriously to limit the usefulness of the minister; and that, in its general effect, it hinders the growth of Congregationalism as a form of Free Church life.

2. That in villages and rural districts, where £100 per annum is by no means the lowest stipend commonly received, the stipend of no recognized Congregational minister should, with the present cost of living, be less than £150 per annum; and that in towns and cities there should be a proportionate increase.

3. That it should be a recognized principle in the financial dealings of Congregational churches that the stipends of the ministers shall be augmented in proportion to the growing wealth and increasing numbers of the people to

whom they minister; and, as far as practicable, in proportion to the larger demands upon their resources which advancing life is apt to bring with it.

4. That it is imperative upon the deacons of the churches to take such steps as shall secure that the ministers' stipends shall be paid punctually, and, in other respects, according to arrangements made with him.

5. That with the view at once of economising resources and of providing a sufficient stipend, two or three small rural churches should, in some cases, be grouped under the pastoral care of a well-qualified minister, aided in his work by lay preachers.

6. That the delegates solemnly put on record their deep sense of the obligation under which the followers of Christ lie to hold their worldly substance for the service of Christ.

7. That this obligation is very imperfectly fulfilled by the members of Congregational churches, so far as a judgment may be formed from their offerings for the support of public worship and the maintenance of their pastors (though in this they may not compare unfavourably with the members of other churches).

8. That it is desirable that means should be taken to awaken the churches to a more adequate sense of their responsibilities in this matter.

All this is in the right direction. It casts the responsibility on the deacons. The Presbyterians, it is well known, have two classes of officers-deacons and elders; and the main business of the deacons is found in the region of finance, whilst the elders assist the pastor in the visitation of the sick, the exercise of discipline, and the restoration of the erring. The division of labour is power. The Independents, in the above resolutions, are obviously feeling their way to a conclusion which shall rest upon those who serve tables, the real as well as the nominal charge of the financial condition of the church. And I am more and more convinced every day of my diaconal life that we shall never get such a revival of the grace of giving as we want till our diaconate distinctly admits and adequately realizes that on it is thrown the whole burden of taking the initiative in securing such " a refreshing from the presence of the Lord."

At present there is a dim notion that somebody is responsible for the financial efficiency of the churches, but it is not quite certain who. The idea is that the burden lies somewhere between the people, the deacons, and the pastor, but the exact spot is not defined, nor the amounts measurably distributed; and so it happens when the finances are gloomy, the blame wanders about like Noah's bird, finding no rest for its tired wing until it settles on that long-suffering individual who has the nominal charge of the sacred ark.

Not that he is never to be blamed. Far from it. In some cases the pastor is guilty enough, and ought to accept the financial embroglio as a sure sign that he has missed his way, and either stepped into the wrong office, or else into a place entirely unsuited to his gifts. The difficulty of finding the wherewithal when the pulpit is held (not filled) by a thriftless, ill-adapted, and obviously defective preacher nobody but a deacon with that special experience knows. You may more easily get blood out of stones, than money from people in a temper of dissatisfaction. I have seen two or three churches in that dilemma, and have watched with interested curiosity the indirect and circuitous movements they have cleverly executed to prevent their impalement on the horns of said dilemma. For myself, I should without hesitation advise the same course that I follow with the clerks in my office. I do not transact business to pay inefficiency and keep men alive who have mistaken their vocation: and I think it the merit of our Free Church life that it fails to endow brainlessness, and to give a permanent place to ineffable twaddling. These very exceptional cases require firm and kind, open-hearted and manly handling, and then, though painful, they may be satisfactorily dealt with.

"But the pastor should preach about giving," interjects a deacon who feels the pressure of this responsibility. Undoubtedly he should. It is part of that whole counsel of God which he is bound to declare. But his endeavour will be to feed the springs of the Christian life with truth; to supply the stores of motive treasured up in Him who is the source of every grace; and to inculcate the duty of consecrating all possessions to the kingdom of Christ. This is far different from constituting him the chief and only financier of the church,

MINISTERIAL SETTLEMENTS.

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waiting to receive every suggestion from him, and resting on his shoulders the whole financial responsibility.

"Give us the money, and we will take care to spend it rightly," said a deacon, years ago. "It is the people's fault that our pastor has not enough. We can't help it. If they would give more, we would soon put this straight: but we can't make a fire without fuel." Just as though the deacons were merely a body of book-keepers, charged to keep accounts and nothing more. Far more noble and worthy is the post of the nineteenth century deacon than this. He is to look after the income and expenditure of the church, as the heads of a household look after the home. He is the custodian of the church's gifts, and the inspirer of the church's giving. He holds the place of a "breadwinner" to the community. He has to develop in the people the grace of giving. He is the church's apostle of beneficence. His message should always centre round the doctrines of Christian stewardship. He must show what is wanted, why it is wanted, and where it is wanted; and then invent methods of attracting or impelling even the selfish to part with their possessions and goods and lay them at the feet of Christ. He must be diligent in this business, fervent in spirit, at it constantly, at it heartily, at it with all his might, at it in word, at it in deed, and always as to the Lord, and not as to men. One such deacon in every church will work wonders, and two will bring the revival wanted.

MINISTERIAL SETTLEMENTS IN 1874.

Or the many points suggested by the new Baptist Handbook, one is so relevant to a discussion which has recently taken place on ministerial migrations; and has so much of the character of a lesson and a prophecy about it, that we may profitably call the special attention of our readers to it. On page 261 is a list of "ministerial settlements," and a statement of the Colleges from whence they have proceeded. One proceeds from Glasgow University, one from Manchester, one from Pontypool, and two from Bristol. Three are from our College at Chilwell Rawdon, Regent's Park, and Llangollen have each supplied a similar number; whilst the Pastor's College at the Metropolitan Tabernacle reports no less than thirty-four settlements-eleven times the number of the other Colleges highest in the list, and just double the contribution to the ministry made by them all put together.

The Congregationalists report twenty Colleges and seventy-one settlements; but New College, which stands the highest in power of supply, only reaches seven, and the others range on the level of Chilwell, Regent's Park, etc., i.e., at three.

The distinguishing exception is then the Pastor's College. Now we are not of those who think that the ministerial market, to speak in the language of political economy, is in any danger from a "glut." The principles of Free Church life contain within themselves their own corrective. Incapacity cannot endow itself. The friction of the pastorate work will gradually and inexorably send the weak to the wall; and bring a more suitable man into his place. Mr. Spurgeon's exceptional supply does not create the demand; it merely recognizes the true character of that demand, and produces the material exactly fitted to meet it.

The students of the Pastor's College are obviously the men many of the Baptist churches want, or they would not allocate them so readily as they do. They are not all to our mind; and we should be sorry if they were. It is no desire of ours to have ministers shaved down to one gloomy, dead level. No College has a monopoly of genius; and it is obvious that the larger the number of men gathered within an institution, the greater the likelihood of finding incapables, men without "grit," who have mistaken their vocation, interpreting their vanity as a Divine call, reading yearning for usefulness as power, and the glib utterance of a few phrases gathered from a dozen different speakers as intellectual invention: but, for a similar reason, the greater is the probability that men of unmistakeable power and fitness will be found enrolled on the students' lists. The history of every College will sustain this broad statement.

This thing seems to be clear, that the students of the Pastor's College have the qualities the Christian life of Baptist churches is looking for. And what are those qualities? Not culture; for in this it is probable that the differences will not be decidedly marked. Not, surely, the fame of association with the most popular preacher in England. Such a prompting must be of transient duration and of weak potency. Not necessarily and perforce a conscious acceptance of the theology of Elisha Cole's Sovereignty, for of that many of the churches know little, and would pertinaciously resist much. It is rather, that they will have life, energy, devotion to the work of saving men, aggressive endeavour, spiritual heat. It is not, as some insinuate, that they despise the accuracy and fulness of culture, the advantages of finished mental discipline, the graces of a literary style; but that, acting on the instincts of the spiritual life, they put first what is first.

Other incidental causes in isolated cases may have been at work. George Eliot says, 66 People who live at a distance are naturally less faulty than those immediately under our own eyes; and it seems superfluous, when we consider the remote geographical position of the Ethiopians, and how very little the Greeks had to do with them, to enquire further why Homer calls them blameless." I have no doubt this has some weight in our own case. A novus homo, even if of inferior calibre, whose faults of growth are not known, has, it is obvious, many advantages against the article manufactured under your own eyes. But setting aside these and other subtle but telling influences, the fact is patent to observation that if our Colleges are to command the heartiest sympathy of the churches, they must increase the supply of men full of "go," of vivacity, and of fulness of life.

Whilst we naturally love with a special affection those on whom we have laboured, and for whose ministerial efficiency we have prayed and given; yet since Christ has no better gifts for His church than men, men filled with His Spirit, and fitted to utter His message and do His work, we heartily rejoice in all such men, whatsoever may be the route along which they reach us.

May our God bless all these institutions, and through them enrich the churches and country a thousandfold. JOHN CLIFFORD.

A TEST FOR MATERIALISTS.

THE following is so apposite and so forcible that we readily comply with the request to give it a place in our Magazine. It is from the Spectator.

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Two persons, a Materialist Lecturer and City Missionary met before a first class audience to discuss the question of " Responsibility." The atomic philospher went in first, and showed that the popular religious notion of judgment to come for deeds done in the body was inconsistent with any notion that can be formed of judicial righteousness. The first principle of justice is not to punish one person for the faults of another. 'But," said the lecturer, "science has proved beyond doubt that at the end of a few years not a particle in my body or brain remains; every atom has passed away, and the new matter forms a new man, who cannot be held accountable for the conduct of another." The audience seemed as enchanted as that at Belfast. Then arose the city missionary, whose wits must have been lively, and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen,It is a matter of regret to me that I have to engage in a discussion with a man of questionable character-with one, in fact, who is living with a woman to whom he is not married." Up rose in wrath, again, the materialist. "Sir, this is shameful, and I repudiate your insolent attack on my character. I defy you to substantiate your charge. I was married to my wife twenty years ago, and we have lived happily together ever since. This is a mere attempt at evading the force of my argument." "On the contrary," replied the city missionary, "I re-affirm my charge. You were never married to the person with whom you are living. Twenty years ago two other people may have gone to church, bearing your names, but there is not one atom in your bodies remaining of those which were then married. It follows, inevitably, that you are living in concubinage, unless you will admit that you are the same man who was married twenty years since." The philosopher was compelled, amidst great cheering, to allow that, somehow or other, credit and discredit for past actions must be granted even by materialists.