his love and strong attachment to Wesleyan Methodism. He died in great peace, after a short illness, supported by that religion which he had so long professed and exemplified. J. CROWE. 11. Died, at Gwennap, February 23d, Mr. John Skinner, aged fifty-nine, having been a member of the Wesleyan society about twenty-seven years. When about seven years of age his mind was under a gracious influence; but, associating with thoughtless boys, he soon lost his good desires, and remained a stranger to religion. In his twentieth year he was stirred up to seek the pearl of great price, and opened his mind to one of the Leaders in the Methodist society, who kindly invited him to his class-meeting. He soon afterwards obtained a sense of the divine favour, and was thus enabled to rejoice in Christ. But after this good work had been effected, he was powerfully assailed by his adversary to think, that the change he professed to have experienced was a delusion; and instead of resisting these evil suggestions, he so yielded to them that he cast away his confidence, and left the society. For some time he went on sinning and repenting, till, in the year 1814, a very great revival took place throughout the county, and John was once more deeply awakened. He began with a determination, by divine aid, not to rest till God again visited his soul; and, though powerfully tempted as before, he prayed most earnestly that he might be saved in God's own way. After many earnest applications to the throne of grace, the Lord had mercy upon him, and he was enabled to rejoice in God his Saviour. About seven years after this, he was appointed to be a Class-Leader, and discharged the duties thus devolving on him with great faithfulness. As a Visiter of the sick he was made very useful; and though on a Sabbath evening he felt frequently weary in body, yet he rejoiced in spirit that he could in any way do good to his fellow-creatures. He was a lover of peace, and zealous on every occasion to promote it. His walk was most consistent; and, by all who knew him, he was highly esteemed. Sometime after he obtained the divine favour, the remission of sins, he felt the need of an entire deliverance from the remains of the carnal mind. This great salvation he obtained and enjoyed till death, a witness that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin. For the last two or three years of his life, his health graVOL. XXIII. Third Series. 12. Died, March 24th, at BatleyCarr, in the Dewsbury Circuit, Mrs. Hannah Wilman. She was born at Earlsheaton, in the year 1765, of respectable parents, who trained her up in a strict attention to the means of grace in the established Church. The precise period of her conversion, or the peculiar circumstances connected with it, cannot now be ascertained, her early companions in the Christian warfare having reached the heavenly Canaan before her. Her first society-ticket is dated in 1788, so that she was 8 member for more than half a century. Having received the light of truth, she hid it not, but allowed it to shine to all around. Her zeal for God was peculiar, and led her to embrace every proper opportunity of usefulness. After her marriage, she lived at Daw-Green; and, in company with her husband, was regular in her attendance upon the early morning preaching. She often spoke with great delight of those holy men of God who first ministered to her the word of life. She would enumerate the names of Taylor, Oliver, Brammah, and others, and say, "How sweet their memory still!" Her first husband dying, after some years of widowhood, she was married to the late Mr. Isaac Wilman, and was for thirtysix years his faithful companion. Her practice of visiting the sick, and administering to their necessities, according to her ability, she continued until nearly the day of her death. About twelve months before she died, she was much harassed by the enemy of her soul, and brought into great heaviness. She mourned over her state both in public and in private; and earnestly sought, by prayer and in faith, JULY, 1844. 2 U a the grace that should be sufficient for her. At length she obtained the victory, and felt that again she could rejoice in God her Saviour. She often exclaimed, "Bless the Lord for what he has done for me. I am ready to die now." It was evident to all, that from this time she was rapidly ripening for heaven. She desired, though in submission to God's will, to depart and be with Christ. Her soul was much drawn out in prayer for the society of which she was member. She said, "I have been pleading for you; and I believe the Lord will blessedly revive his work among you." She also prayed very earnestly for her relations, and charged them to meet her in heaven. The last few days of her life, she was enabled to exult in God her Saviour; and frequently repeated verses and portions of Scripture, descriptive of her happy state of mind. When drawing near her end, she said, "Dying work is hard work; but to patient faith the prize is sure.' At another time she said, "With lamblike patience arm my breast." When once asked, if she were enabled to be patient in suffering, she exclaimed, "Yes; and I have neither doubt nor fear." When it was evident that she was sinking, it was said to her, "Our conflicts here will soon be past." She exerted all her remaining strength, and completed the verse, "And you and I ascend at last, Triumphant with our Head." These were her last words. Her spirit soon after took its flight to the paradise of God. THOMAS MURRAY. RECENT DEATHS. FEB. 20th, 1844.-At Clifford, in the Tadcaster Circuit, Mr. Peter Harland, aged fifty-five. About thirty years ago he saw his guiltiness before God, and felt his misery. He was directed to the Lamb of God;" and, with an humble, penitent, and contrite heart, he was enabled by faith to rely upon the blood of a crucified Redeemer, and received a divine assurance of his adoption into the family of God. He joined the Wesleyan church, and maintained his connexion with it to the close of life. In his last affliction he was greatly favoured by the comforts of the Holy Ghost. A little while before his departure, he requested his two young daughters to sing that hymn which begins with, "There is a land of pure delight," which, he said, was "very refreshing." Shortly after, his sister, approaching him, said, "O, my brother, you are dying;" to which he replied, Well, Jesus is precious to my soul." Almost immediately after he expired. H. B. April 29th.-At Spring-Farm, in the Blackburn Circuit, in the thirty-seventh year of his age, Mr. William Tiplady. He walked humbly with God, was active in Sabbath-school duties, and, without bigotry, zealously promoted the interests of Wesleyan Methodism. After pa tiently enduring a long and severe affliction, he died believing in Jesus. 8. A. April 29th.-At Loughborough, John Payne, aged fifty-seven. He was formerly a drummer in the Volunteers and Local Militia, and a notorious sinner; but was truly converted to God under the ministry of the word. For fifteen years he was bold in the service of Christ, adorning his profession; and then died in the triumph of faith. Many were edified by visiting him in his affliction. S. F. May-At Loughborough, Thomas Guylee, aged sixty. For more than forty years he had been a Methodist, and upwards of thirty a Local Preacher. He was intelligent, consistent, and useful, but retiring. He died in the work. He had preached in the Circuit on the previous Sabbath, and had engaged in supplication at the prayer-meeting on the morning of the day on which he died. He was present at public worship at half-past ten, was unwell during the afternoon, but his medical adviser apprehended no danger; and at a quarter past ten at night, without a sigh or groan, was taken to his reward. His labours were highly acceptable as a Local Preacher and Leader; his piety was deep, and especially so for the last twelvemonth; so that his loss is deeply and generally regretted. S. F. May 4th.-At Macclesfield, Harriet Zleapy, aged thirty-five. About half an hour before her death she sent for the writer, and said, "I am dying I want you to commend my spirit into the hands of God." After prayer she said, "You must not leave me until the spirit is fled: it will not be many minutes." After a short silence, she sweetly sang, 66 Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah! Amen, amen! Praise the Lord!" A few seconds of silence followed; when she added, "Christ is precious, Christ is precious, Christ is precious!" and in a few moments, without a struggle or a groan, her spirit fled to the realms of light and glory. She has left a husband and four children, one of whom is only a few weeks old, to mourn their loss. R. J. May 7th.-At Ledbury, aged fifty-four, Mr. John Gibbons. Possessing ample means, he "lived in pleasure;" till, in the fortieth year of his age, he was powerfully and suddenly arrested by convictions of his sinful state, and danger. Bowed down by remorse, fear, and grief, he called upon God, who heard his " cry, and deli vered him out of the horrible pit, and the miry clay." His subsequent profession was satisfactorily established in the consistency of his life, with its heavenly principles. His anxious desire that others should possess the benefits of experimental religion, induced him to offer himself as a Local Preacher; in which office he did what he could. Integrity and devotion were prominent features in his character. His last illness was only of nine days' duration; and through the whole of it he rested his entire confidence in the atonement of Christ, and died in great peace. S. B. 1st. May 9th.-At Runcorn, Miss Gooddine; after a long fight of affliction, endured with lowly meekness. She was early brought to decision of character, under the judicious ministry of the late Rev. Lawrence Kershaw; and sustained a steady and unsullied Christian profession for thirty-five years. She was sincerely affectionate, loving peace, and delighting to promote the comfort and happiness of all around her. Living faith in the blood of Christ gave her unruffled tranquillity as death approached; and with her latest breath she sweetly said, "Jesus protects! O praise the Lord!" J. P. May 11th.-At Louth, aged fifty-seven, Mr. Michael Lill. In early life he became a subject of the regenerating grace of God, and was nearly forty years a member of the Wesleyan society. He possessed "the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit;" and for twenty-five years sustained the office of Class-Leader with great fidelity. His illness was protracted and painful; but he resigned himself into the hands of his all-sufficient Saviour; and, a little before he died, said, "O bring thou me out of my distresses! Thou art my salvation: in thee will I trust, and not be afraid." J. W. May 12th.-At Kingsbridge, Mr. John Pomeroy, aged seventy-four. He was brought to the knowledge of the truth, by a true conversion, about thirty-six years ago, and became one of the first members of the Methodist society in the place. He maintained a highly consistent character, both as a man and a Christian, and was respected by all who knew him. He was a Trustee, Class-Leader, and Local Preacher; and discharged with fidelity and acceptance the duties devolving on him. He was seized by apoplexy about seven weeks prior to his death; and this, in a great degree, deprived him of the power of speech. The few words he was enabled to utter expressed the calm state of his mind. Some of his last words were, "Perfectly happy. God is May 12th.-At Littleborough, Mr. Jacob Wade. He was favoured with religious instruction in early life; and, in 1805, he was scripturally converted to God, and joined the Wesleyan society. In 1809 he was made a Class-Leader, and filled that important office till his death. He was likewise long and usefully engaged in our Littleborough Sunday-school. His neighbours, of different Christian churches, all agree that he was a truly good man. Happy was his life,-for he lived in the Lord, fully sanctified; but still happier was his death,-for he died in the Lord, to his eternal gain. T. R. May 12th.-At Morpeth, Joseph Steele; who had been a member of the Wesleyan church fourteen years, and a Class-Leader the last thirteen months of his life. As his end approached, his bodily sufferings were severe; but he endured them with patience; and his mind was graciously preserved in peace. A short time before he died, his wife asked him, whether she could do any thing for him. To which he replied, "I want nothing but Jesus." And "Jesus" was the last word he was heard to articulate. He approached death with tranquillity and fortitude, "looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Н. О. May 15th.-At Colne, Mr. Valentine Thornton, about fifty-three years of age. From the time of his conversion to God, to the close of his earthly course, he adorned the doctrine of God his Saviour by a holy life. He likewise usefully and acceptably discharged the duties of a ClassLeader. He died in great peace. J. W. June 4th.-At Retford, Sarah, the beloved wife of the Rev. John Bolam, in the forty-sixth year of her age. She had been a devoted member of the Wesleyan church twenty-nine years. Her piety was deep and unassuming, being distinguished by godly sincerity, and exemplary regard for the spiritual interests of mankind. Her last affliction was painfully severe; but patience had its perfect work: no distressing solicitude was allowed to perplex her mind, or darken her prospects. After evincing great resignation to the divine will, she escaped to life, to realize the truth of an oft-repeated sentiment: "Tis better to depart; J. P. L. CHRISTIAN OBSERVATIONS ON PUBLIC AFFAIRS. AMONG the passing events of the day, the Christian will particularly, and with especial thankfulness, notice those which furnish, as several lately have done, unambiguous auguries of the continuance of the peaceful relations to each other of the various European states. War has its glitter, and its excitement, and its glory; and in the mysterious arrangements of that wonderful Providence which is "from evil still educing good," it may often be overruled to the production of the most important results; but in itself it is a vast tissue of unmitigated ill. The principles of the people who love it, must be thoroughly unsound; and one of the curses which it inflicts, is exhibited in the evidences of an extensive and increasing demoralization. We have seen, therefore, with no ordinary emotions of gratitude and joy, those friendly visits which have been interchanged of late between some of the principal European Sovereigns, and which, within the limits of our own memory, could not have taken place. Feelings of personal friendship will thus be called forth, which will supersede the jealous and apprehensive watchfulness occasioned by the unfriendliness which assumes that others are unfriendly, and seeks to guard against the aggression which it suspects. The Sovereign who has been the honoured guest, is not prepared to become easily the bitter enemy. We have been particularly impressed, however, by the recent visits to this country of the King of Saxony and the Emperor of Russia; each of whom might learn from his English excursion a lesson of no ordinary value. We can scarcely expect that Kings should recognise the great doctrine of divine revelation, that human and national affairs are governed by an observ. ing, ruling Providence, and that that Providence, in point of fact, is but the administration of our Lord Jesus Christ, continually directed to the same great objects which were contemplated by the awful occurrences of his voluntary humiliation, when we see that their subjects are so seldom brought to acknowledge it. But we have thought that the King of Saxony could not easily avoid the reflections which the sight of the Prince Consort of England, in the royal halls of Windsor, tended so powerfully to suggest. Three centuries ago, the Elector of Saxony, because of his attachment to the truth, saw himself despoiled of his dominions. His perfidious kinsman, Prince Maurice, a traitor at once to his religion, and to the head of his family, received, as the reward of his double treason, the transference to himself of the rights of the elder branch of the Saxon house; while the representative of the elder branch, the subdued, but not dishonoured, John Frederic, had to content himself with the position heretofore occupied by the younger branch. But the history of the Saxon Electors has been anything rather than a history of prosperity; and though, on the disruption of the German Empire, the title of Elector was succeeded by that of King, yet even this could not prevent the clouds from obscuring what some would call "the fortunes" of the country. It was Saxony that, to the last, adhered to Napoleon, and it was by Saxony that the heaviest territorial sacrifices had to be made on the final pacification of Europe. Comparatively humble indeed has been the position of the descendants of John Frederic, the Protestant Confessor. Instead of the wide domains of Saxony, they have held the principalities of Gotha and Cobourg, territories like some second-rate English town, with its circle of gardens. But-passing over, both former days, and the present circumstances of other members of the family, and looking only at the beloved and honoured Consort of Queen Victoriamight not the Saxon Monarch have reflected with advantage on the fact, that the son of Prince Albert of Saxe Co-bourg is the heir-apparent to the British throne; that the descendant of the deprived and wronged Elector, John Frederic, should his life be spared, will sway the sceptre of Protestant England? Nay,-again passing over the Saxon Elector, and looking to the maternal ancestors of the British Prince,-would he not see that if, two hundred years ago, the Elector Palatine and his wife were driven from their dominions be cause of their Protestantism; the descendant of their daughter, the Electress Sophia of Hanover, had, likewise because of Protestantism, become the Sovereign of one of the most powerful nations of modern Europe? Whether His Saxon Majesty thought of these subjects at all, or, if he did, how he thought of them, we, of course, cannot say; but assuredly the circumstances connected with the Protestant ancestry, paternal and maternal, of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, are calculated to awaken both pleasing and serious reflections in all who truly believe that "the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men." We wish that the Emperor of Russia would consider the same facts, and learn the lessons they are so well calculated to teach. But if, with the Statesmen of enlightened England, the doctrine of Providence, practically considered, is an unfashionable and prohibited subject, we cannot expect that it should meet with more favour from the "Autocrat of all the Russias," and the head of the Greek Church. But there is one lesson which he ought to learn. Where, on the face of the whole earth, is there a Sovereign whose waking hours are more free from all thought of treason or rebellion, or who sleeps more destitute of the apprehension of domestic treachery, than the constitutional Queen of Great Britain ? And where is personal liberty more completely, we will not say, possessed, merely, but enjoyed, than by her subjects? In England, the Emperor Nicholas may see how perfectly consistent is the true freedom of the people, with the safety, the happiness, the honour, and the power of the Monarch. He may see that the free and fearless expression of opinion, neither hinders the preservation of order, nor affects the supremacy of law. He may learn, if he will read the lesson that England now furnishes, what is his bounden duty to the millions over whom he bears rule. They call him "father;" and the great Father of all expects that he who occupies a position so awfully responsible, should remember that he, also, has a Master in heaven; that he is bound, not to occupy his mind in plans for the establishment of his own power, but to seek to make the people committed to his care fit for the enjoyment of every social privilege, and the fulfilment of every social obligation. They may not be prepared for the possession of those political privileges which are not only so safely, but so advantageously, committed to the citizens of a free State like England; citizens who are prepared by mental light, and freedom of soul, for political freedom and power. Spain, and Portugal, and South America (not to mention other countries) demonstrate, that the uneducated serfs and vassals of a spiritual usurpation, are totally unprepared for political self-government. By that usurpation, the way was prepared for a corruption which at length has issued in dissolution; and that same tyranny which has thus occasioned the dissolution of the social fabric, has deprived the people of the wisdom and power requisite for its reconstruction. The Emperor of Russia is not ignorant of the state of Spain; and the sight of England, wealthy, powerful, and free, with laws the supremacy of which all acknowledge, and which are administered by a Sovereign who reigns in the hearts of her people, might teach him what is his duty, even to seek to spread, among the masses who acknowledge his authority, that social vitality which should fit them for a free constitution, elevating them to their true position among the civilized States of Christendom, and increasing the true glory and power of the Monarch, even while limiting his despotism. Awful will be the account of the Monarch, in the day when the dead, small and great, shall stand before God for judgment, who, while no means were left unemployed by him to secure his own irresponsible power, sought not, avowedly and efficiently, to set in operation the various instrumentality by which the semicivilized nobles and serfs of a vast empire might be raised to the social state in which it is evident from the Scriptures that God intended men to live. The will of God, as explicitly declared in the volume which the Emperor of Russia acknowledges to be divine, is equally opposed to a wild and ferocious revolutionary anarchy, glittering with the false and corrupting splendour of military glory, such as the infidels of France and Spain would |