dent of Columbia college, was called to the chair, and Mr. Talman J. Waters appointed secretary. The object of the meeting having been briefly explained by Mr. Floyd Smith, he submitted the following preambles and resolutions: It having pleased Almighty God, in his wise Providence, to remove from the church on earth his faithful ministering servant, the Rev. Cornelius R. Duffie, distinguished, as well by his assiduous and useful services in the various functions of the ministry, as by a zealous, constant, and efficient devotion to the interests of the several religious societies here represented, the trustees and managers of those societies, delight ing to cherish that sweet remembrance of the good, which flourishes long after they are called to sleep in the dust, would now indulge in grateful recollections of the beloved friend and fellow member whom they have lost He was, indeed, a burning and a shining light," setting forth the true and lively word of God both by the fidelity of his doctrine, and the sanctity of his life. In early years, peculiarly serious and conscientious; in his subsequent application to secular pursuits, respected and honoured for his integrity and correct principles; as a member of the church, devout, consistent, and every way exemplary; as a vestryman of the parish to which he belonged, conscientiously devoted to the responsibilities and duties thus devolving on him; and, in his ultimate devotion to the sacred work of the ministry, ardent, disinterested, sineere, and laborious, his life has exhibited the most delightful and instructive view of the thoroughly practical inffu ence of true evangelical faith. Eminently respectable for natural talents, and literary and theological attainments; sound in his views, and faithful in his exhibition and enforcement of the Gospel systeur of grace and salvation; and correct in his reception, and consistent in his maintenance and application, of the distinc tive principles of our apostolic and primitive church; he was justly regarded as one of the best and most useful ministers of our holy faith. The parish church of St. Thomas, in this city, and its numerous and highly respectable congregation, being the result of the divine blessing upon his short labours, commencing with a few families, in a small hired apartment, are splendid monuments of the assiduity and success of his ministry. Added to these views of his life and character, which are more peculiarly interesting to us who were officially associated with him in the several religious societies connected with our church in this city, we have also to notice, with melancholy pleasure, the strong hold which his distinguished virtues gave him upon all who were connected with him in any of the domestic or social relations, and especially those who knew him in the tender relation of a Christian pastor. Urged by these considerations, nothing doubting that we therein speak the cordial sentiments of our constituents, and feeling the consolation of thus giving vent to our own sin cere emotions, we unanimously adopt the following resolutions: 1. Resolved, That we cherish the highest sense, and the most affectionate recollection, of the many, great, and endearing virtues of our deceased associate and friend, the Rev. Corne lius R. Duffie, and deplore his loss as a severe bereavement both to the church of Christ, and to the several religious societies with which he was connected as trustee and manager. 2. Resolved, That the devout returns of grati tude are due to Almighty God, for those inauences of his grace whereby the church was blessed, in the person of him whose loss we now deplore, with a member so exemplary in every department of Christian faith, character, and conduet, and a minister so devoted, disinterested, and successful, in the discharge of his holy functions; and that our faithful prayers should be offered, that the effects of his life and doctrine may long survive his dissolution, and that God would incite and enable his surviving brethren to labour with an assiduity propor tioned to the increased need arising out of the loss of such f ithful men, and raise up others in sufficient numbers to carry on the great work for which his ministry is appointed. 3. Resolved, That our most respectful and affectionate condolence is hereby offered to our beloved father in God, the Right Rev. the Bishop of this diocese, on the loss which he has sustained of a presbyter so much and so justly beloved, and enjoying so large and well merited a share of his confidence; and that we devoutly pray that his pious, laborious, and well directed efforts for advancing the interests of the religion and church of the Redeemer, though de prived of so firm, so useful, and so enlightened a friend and supporter, may still go on prospering and to prosper. 4 Resolved, That the several boards of managers of societies of our church, here assembled, affectionately reciprocate with each other, and cherish with their fellow members generally, emotions of the most sincereChristian sympathy, in the deprivation which they all feel of one be tween whom and them there has ever existed the strongest personal attachment, and who laboured with them, in their several spheres of operation, uniformly, faithfully, and efficiently; and that they feel deeply impressed with the duty of stirring up each other to renewed efforts for advancing the glory of God, the good of his church, and the spiritual and eternal welfare of their fellow men. 5. Resolved, That our respectful and affectionate condolence be tendered to the vestry and congregation of St. Thomas's church, for the severe and truly afflicting bereavement with which they have been visited; and that we assure them, that our devout prayers will be mingled with their own, that this heavy dispensation may be overruled to their good; that the affectionately cherished remembrance of their late excellent pastor, who so pre-eminently displayed the power and peace of the Gospel in his happy and triumphant death, may prolong and increase the effects of his faithful labours; and that they may be graciously provided with another as devoted to their best interests, and as true to the most scriptural and consistent modes of advancing them. But it is not only the public and official character of the deceased which claims for him the most grateful and affectionate remembrance. As a friend, and in all the endearing relations of domestic life, he was such, that a similar bereavement could not be more severe. While, then, we deeply feel the loss which the circle of friendship has sustained of so much sincerity, purity, and amiableness, and love to dwell on the characteristic disinterestedness and humility, which secured so much of the truest es teem, regard, and confidence, we should have still warmer emotions of sympathy for the amiable family in which he sustained the parental and fraternal relations with an affection so true, so endearing, and so unwearied. Therefore, 6. Resolved, That our warmest and tenderest sympathies are with the bereaved family of the deceased; and that they be assured that our's will be among the desires and prayers of many hearts, that God's supporting and consoling providence and grace may be ever with them; that the little orphans, especially, may be his peculiar charge; and that all their severe trials and afflictions may be overruled for their spiritual and eternal good. 7 Resolved, That copies of the foregoing preambles and resolutions be engrossed and signed by the chairman and secretary of this meeting, and be sent as follows:-One to the Right Rev Bishop Hobart; one to the secretary of each of the societies here represented, for insertion on its minutes; one to the vestry of St. Thomas's church, New-York; one to the family of the late Rev. Mr. Duffie; and one, with minute of the proceedings of this meeting, signed by the chairman and secretary, to the publishers of the Christian Journal, with a request that they be inserted in the next number of that work. The above preambles and resolutions were seconded by the Rev. Benjamin 1. Onderdonk, D. D., who, after a few remarks, read a memoir of the life of the Rev. Cornelius R. Duffie. The vote being then taken, the preambles and resolutions were unanimously passed. It was then, on motion of the Rev. George Upfold, M. D., seconded by J. Smyth Rogers, M. D., resolved, That a copy of the interesting memoir just read by the Rev. Dr. Onderdonk be requested for publication, in conneetion with the proceedings of this meeting, in the next number of the Christian Journal. The meeting adjourned. WILLIAM HARRIS, Chairman. TALMAN J. WATERS, Secretary. The following is the Memoir. Cornelius Roosevelt Duffie was the son of Mr. John Duffie, a respectable merchant of this city. He was born on the 30th or 31st of March, 1789, so near the precise point of division between the two days, as to have always rendered him doubtful which to consider as the anniversary of his birth. Of his boyhood nothing more is known by the present writer, than the uniform and affectionate testimony of the elder branches of his family, that the characteristic amiableness, modesty, purity, and seriousness, of his subsequent life, began very early to appear. Having duly qualified himself under proper instructors, he entered the freshman class of Columbia college, in November, 1805; the examination for entrance having been that year postponed, on account of the prevalence of the yellow fever at the usual period of opening the college. And then, when we met together in the college-hall, as candidates for admission into that venerable institution, commenced an acquaintance, which immediately became the strong and intimate friendship, that continued, not only without interruption, but, as far as my memory serves, without any abatement, arising from either word or thought bordering on coldness or unkindness, up to the period when God was pleased to take him to Himself. At college, he distinguished himself for the uniform propriety of his conduct, for the industry with which he pursued his studies, and for the respectability with which he acquitted himself at the private and public recitations. When in the freshman class, he was among the founders of the Columbian Peithologian Society, one of the two associations of students of the college, which still contribute, in no small degree, to its reputation, and to their literary advancement. Among his fellow students, he was, I be lieve it may be said without reservation, universally esteemed and beloved; while he enjoyed, in the highest degree, the confidence, regard, and approbation, of the president and professors. There are those now present, and many others, who share with me in the delightful, but now melancholy, recollections, attached to the period of our college connexion with the deceased. These recall a general series of intercourse, and very many special occasions of friendly meetings, and mutual par ticipation in duties and in pleasures, than which nothing contributes more to memory's joys. He is gone, to whom we are indebted for recollections so pleasing and so soothing in the various changes and chances of this mortal life; but the recollections themselves will still be dear while memory performs its office. They will still, from time to time, remove, for a while, all that has intervened, bring us again in the beloved society of our early friend, carry us again to the bright days in which we were cherished by our alma mater, and engage us in the delightful pursuits and recreations which were rendered still more delightful, because friends, the beloved of our bosoms, were there to share them. And when the sweet illusion will be passed, and we return to the painful reality of seeing no more on earth one of the best and most valued of those friends, we will still indulge the hopeand be animated to the faithful use of the proper means-of meeting him again in the region of life, and light, and joy eternal. Having passed, with great credit, through the regular college course, my friend received the degree of Bachelor of Arts, at the commencement in 1809. He immediately began the study of the law under his distinguished relative, the present chancellor of this state. In about a year after this, he had the misfortune to lose his worthy father. By the advice of friends, he then gave up his professional studies, and entered on the flourishing mercantile business which his father had left. He continued a merchant for several years. During the last war, he faithfully performed the share of military duty, which was then required of every citizen not legally exempted from bearing arms. The circumstance is here mentioned, simply because it afforded another, Among the many proofs, of the uniform excellence of his life, and how, in every situation, he endeared himself to all connected with him. Many are the testimonies to the respect, attachment, and in many instances, warm friendship, which were then formed for him by his brother officers; and the fidelity and punctuality with which he discharged all the duties devolving on him. Although engaged in merchandise, he was not neglectful of literary pursuits, or of his privileges and obligations as an honoured son of his college. At the commencement of 1313, having complied with the requisitions of the statutes, he received the degree of Master of Arts. In the year 1816, he formed a matrimonial connexion with Helena, daughter of Mr. James Bleecker, of this city. This, as long as it lasted, was to him a source of the purest happiness. Always, in joy and in sorrow, that excellent woman was, in every respect, an help truly meet for him. During her life, it was obvious to all who knew them, as far as that knowledge can be shared, which personal experience only can impart in its blessed fulness, how truly she was, in the beautiful language of Addison, the "kind and faithful friend," in whom is "doubled all" our "store" of "worldly bliss." And when it pleased God to take her to Himself, not by noisy and officious professions, but by a deeply settled remembrance of her virtues, her piety, and excellence, and a dearly cherished meditation on her blessed change, and anticipation of being united with her in the kingdom of heaven, all who knew him intimately saw reason to say, with the greatest respect and admiration for affection so sincere and unbroken, Behold, how he loved her. For a few years after his marriage, his lot in life seemed blessed indeed. Peculiarly domes tic in his dispositions and habits, he loved his home, and had a home every way deserving of his highest love, His business prospered. And he had every earthly promise of a long, a successful, and a happy life. That wise Providence, however, to whom he had looked and trusted, with the confidence of a child, and the faith of a Christian, thought proper to order it otherwise. He experienced in business the reverses which, at that time, occurred in our mercantile community, with such mournful frequency, and painful consequences. He was ultimately obliged to bring to a close every concern of that nature. And here, too, by the strict integrity and honesty, which, reaping their rewards in his prosperity, did not desert him in the dark hour of adverse fortune, he still farther illustrated the uniform excellence of his character and life. About this time, in May, 1821, his good mo ther was taken from him. This afflictive event entailed on him, towards an amiable and interesting family of orphan sisters, the duties and obligations at once of brother and of parentduties and obligations, the discharge of which is evinced by a grief, and a sense of bereave, ment, which it were sacrilegious to attempt to describe. About three months after his mo ther's death, on the 17th of August, in the same year, he was deprived of the object of his tenderest earthly affection-the beloved wife who had added so much to the joy of his happiness, and taken so much from the grief of his misfortunes. She left four lovely children, one a babe but a few weeks old, now the only surviving son; the eldest, also a son, having followed his mother to the paradise of God, in June, 1824. A few months after the death of his wife, our dear departed friend finally, and after much most serious and conscientious deliberation, and much earnest prayer for the divine guidance, determined to carry into effect an inclination and desire, long ardently cherished, of preparing for the holy ministry. And this seems to be a proper period for pausing, and taking a distinct view of his history and character in that most excellent and valuable feature of them-his religion. His parents were pious and respectable members of the Baptist communion; in the principles of which, of course, he was, in early life, instructed. And never could devout parents wish more gratifying and encouraging evidence of the blessed effects of early attention to religious instruction, than appeared in the seriousness, conscientiousness, and piety, of this excellent son, as soon as his mind was capable of manifesting any character. When I first knew him, I loved him for these qualities, although I knew and saw that he was not a little tinctured with the ordinary prejudices against our church, arising often from ignorance of her real character, and therefore conscientiously and honestly cherished. Having been placed next to each other in our class, and continuing in that relative situation throughout the whole college course, it will not be surprising that among the many subjects of conversation that would naturally be introduced, our respective views of religion should form a part. From the peculiarities of the Calvinistic system, I believe he differed, as soon as he knew what they were. Never shall I forget the joy I felt, when once he asked me if the funeral service of our church was always the same, He had, the day before, heard it for the first time; and it made a deep and most favourable impression on his mind. Soon he purchased a Prayer Book, and would often comment to me on the beauty of many of its parts. He began occasionally to attend the services of our church; and continued to do so, with gradually increasing frequency, while he remained in college. Having satisfied his mind that there were peculiarities in the system in which he had been educated, that would prevent his ultimately adopting it as the religion of his choice, he commenced, soon after leaving college, an inquiry into the distinctive principles of several religious denominations. The result was a deliberate conviction of the duty of connecting himself with the Protestant Episcopal Church. This was, indeed, for us, a most valuable conviction. It was the conviction of a mind deeply imbued with pious sentiments, and a just appreciation of religious responsibility; a mind which had been swayed by prejudices against us; and a mind, raised by natural strength, and the improvement of a liberal education, above the influence of any other motives, than the clear and deliberate decisions of an enlightened understanding. He connected himself, as a pewholder in St. John's chapel, with the parish of Trinity church, in this city, and soon gave to him, who now mentions it with recollections of the most sacred and interesting character, the high gratification of receiving him, by baptism, into the congregation of Christ's flock. This was, to him, far from being a matter of mere form, or cold dependence upon outward rites. He immediately showed his sincerity and consistency by becoming a com municant of the church; and as soon as op. portunity offered, manifested his humble and faithful disposition to fulfil all righteousness, by receiving the apostolic ordinance of confir mation. Immediately after his connexion with the church, he became a member of our Tract Society, and was soon appointed one of its officers, and was, as he continued to the last, one of its most faithful and efficient friends. In 1816, he united heartily with others in esta blishing, and has ever since continued faithfully to serve, the Auxiliary Bible and Common Prayer Book Society; and at a subsequent period, was one of the active founders, and remained to the close of his life one of the most efficient friends, of our Missionary Society; of which, as a mark of respect and affection, his parishioners, within the last year, paid the requisite amount for constituting him a director for life. He, too, was one of the first, and most zealous, in the establishment of Sunday schools connected with our church in this city, and in organizing the Sunday School Society which is represented in this meeting. Such was the respect in which he was held, and the confidence cherished in him, that very soon after his connexion with the parish, he was elected a member of its vestry. In this station, also, he acted with his characteristic fidelity and conscientiousness. He ever bore in mind the spiritual character of the church, and decided and acted with a view to that; while he was also, in the most exemplary manner, careful of the temporal trust committed to the corporation of the parish. He loved his pas tors, both personally, and from a due appreciation of the character, importance, duties, and responsibilities, of their high and holy functions. It was truly gratifying to know, that when, in his adversity and his sorrows, we saw in him the serious and pious Christian, faithful in the discharge of all the Christian duties, and alive to every view of Christian responsibility, he had been equally so when enjoying the bright beams of the sun of prosperity. This, of course, gave us, at once, the highest confidence in the sincerity and reality of his Christian professions; and prepared the way for cheerful ac quiescence in the desire which he expressed, of connecting himself with the Christian ministry; because it was obvious that this was not the mere resource of disappointed prospects, and of a gloomy and joyless mind. Having, of his own will, gone beyond the then ordinary term of candidateship, especially for persons of his age, previous attainments, and standing in the church, and satisfactorily passed the canonical examinations, he was admitted to deacons' orders, by the bishop of this diocese, in Trinity church, in this city, on Wednesday, August 6th, 1823; and then, as one of the resident clergymen of this city, commenced, according to its constitution, his connexion with the board of managers of the New-York Bible and Common Prayer Book Society-a connexion, to the duties and responsibilities of which he ever manifested a proper and a practical sensibility. Having a family dependent on him, he was under the necessity of declining the acceptance of several parishes, then vacant, which would have rejoiced in his ministry, and in one of which, but for the circumstance just mentioned, he would have gladly settled. While, however, he re mained without any parochial connexion, a few gentlemen, anxious to have a parish established in the upper part of Broadway, in this city, solicited his consent to officiate in an apart ment which they would obtain, and fit up for the purpose. His consent was given; and in a hired upper room, in a house at the corner of Broadway and Broome-street, he commenced his pastoral ministrations in the month of October, 1825. The little congregation here gathered by his labours, experiencing such an increase in numbers, and attaining to such a character for respectability and efficiency, as to warrant the expectation of its permanency, was duly organized as St. Thomas's church, New-York, on the following Christmas-Day. Soon after, the wardens and vestry men of that parish elected, as its rector, the lamented subject of this memoir. He continued to minister among them with the most exemplary zeal, devotion, and industry. By no arts of popularity, for he had too elevated and too honest a mind to have recourse to them; by no adapting of doctrine or ministration to popular sentiments and popular liking, for he had too Christian a conscience for this; and by no sacrifice of the most perfect consistency as a minister of our own church, for he understood too well, and prized too highly, her distinctive principles, in their connexion with the best interests of the Gospel of Christ; but by his faithful devotion to the several functions of the ministry, and the commanding and winning excellence of his life and character, added to the manifestation of talents and learning of a superior order; he had the pure and holy satisfaction of seeing his little flock growing daily in numbers, until, rejoicing in their ability and encouragement to commence so good a work, they resolved to build an house of habitation for the Lord, where they might meet and enjoy him in the holy services and ordinances of his religion. The result was that splendid monument of the divine blessing on his assiduity and success, which should never fail to recall his memory, and to excite devout thanksgivings for the spiritual blessings which attended his ministry-St. Thomas's church. The corner stone of this truly beautiful edifice, and this edifice with which, now, the most interesting and affecting associations will ever be connected, was laid, in the absence of our own beloved diocesan, on a voyage and journey for his health, by the venerable senior bishop of our church, the Right Rev. Dr. William White, of Pennsylvania, in the presence of several of his brethren in the episcopacy, and a large number of elergy from various parts of the Union, then assembled in this city on the concerns of the General Theologi cal Seminary. The laying of this stone was on the 27th day of July, 1824. While the church was building, viz. on the 11th of October, 1824, in St Luke's church, in this city, Mr. Duffie was admitted to the holy order of priests, by the Right Rev. Bishop Croes, of New-Jersey, acting for our still absent bishop. The mentioning of this event recalls to my mind one of the very many evidences on which memory loves to dwell, of the characteristic humility and conscientiousness of our deceased friend. Although he had been longer than the appointed time in deacons' orders, and had been, for fourteen months, a preacher of the Gospel, and nearly a year a parish minister, he trembled at the thought of receiving the solemn exhortations, and taking upon him the solemn obligations, prescribed in the "Order 1 ing of Priests VW ICH TR WHY NOW the circumstance, he had a conversation on the subject, which filled him with admiration of traits of character that seemed to come nearer than any he had ever seen, to the most selfsubduing and humbling requisitions of the Gospel. On the 23d of February, 1826, our diocesan, then, by God's blessing, restored, in renewed health, to his diocese and friends, consecrated St. Thomas's church; and there our beloved fried then began those holy, unwearied, and fai hful services, which ended but with the short malady that closed his life. Sunday, the 5th of August, 1827, was the last on which he ministered within its hallowed walls. Then, it being a stated monthly communion day, he presented the bread of life, and the cup of salvation, to such as were present of 160 communicants of the parish, increased to that number from five, who, less than four years before, were all that belonged to his charge; and then he preached his last sermon from a text which, I am sure, will henceforward have connected with it, in the minds of his friends, the most deeply interesting and affecting associations"Here have we no continuing city; but we seek one to come." Hebrews xiii 14 It is impossible, and would be unpardonable, to notice my beloved friend's ministerial career, without dwelling, with delighted emotions, on the affectionate, parental, and unwe ried care which he took of the lambs of the flock of Christ. He loved to bring little children to their Saviour, by making them acquainted, in the most interesting and winning language, level to their comprehension, but stili interesting to all, with God the Father who made them, God the Son who redeemed them, and God the Holy Ghost who sanctifieth them. His well known, and it is believed, universally approved and admired, Sermon to Children, preached at the anniversary of one of the societies here represented, is one of many which he wrote for the same truly interesting and vastly important object; and the good effects of which, it is re sonably to be expected, and devoutly to be wished, will be manifested in many whom he has left behind, as lambs of his flock, when they shall have taken the place of their parents, and he themselves responsible and influential members of society and the chuch. Unhappily, I have hardly begun to speak of the very creditable and exemplary ministry of my brother, in the parish of his own forming, and the holy and beautiful house of his own rearing, before the afflicting call is made to notice the speedy and melancholy termination of that ministry in his early and unlooked for death. On this sad event, all who hear me have dwelt with the most poignant, but it was a sacred grief, and a grief, God be thanked, which has in it, if ever grief can have, the joy which cometh of the hopes and consolations of the Gospel. That death was calm, holy, peaceful, and triumphant; and calm, peaceful, and triumphant, not from the meagre and miserable motives which are the best that false philosophy can hold out, but from the sure and certain hopes of that Gospel to which true philosophy clings, as man's only guide, support, and comfort, in the natural yearnings of his heart for more of spiritual knowledge, and more of impart. But neither would the time to which I have been unavoidably limited in preparing this memoir, nor that, I fear already exceeded, to which I could be at all entitled from this respected meeting, allow me here to enter into particulars They probably have been, or probably will be, brought to the notice of all who now hear me. Suffice it to say, that in every view of it, its humility and its triumph, its faith, its hope, its charity, its peace, it dictates the fervent prayer-and should lead to a consistent frame of character and conduct-Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his. Sentence of Death. The most painful duty which a good man, of sensibility, who occupies a judicial station, can have to perform, is to pronounce on a fellow being, the awful sentence of the law, which is to remove him for ever from this world, and put a sudden period to his term of probation for the next. Of exercises of this description, we think that we have never met with one in every respect so proper and impressive, as the following by the Hon. William A. Duer, one of the judges of this state, in the case of the unfortunate man lately executed in Albany. It is such as all may read with interest and profit. We have, therefore, determined to place it upon our pages; and would particularly recommend to attention, that part of it which is so judiciously and pointedly directed against the too prevalent custom, worthy of all condemnation, of magnifying the evidences of penitence on the part of a convicted felon into traits of character worthy of a martyr in the cause of that very religion, for the most outrageous violation of the laws of which he is about to suffer. We would also bear our testimony against what may not improperly be called the arts used to work up the miserable wretch into a belief that he is actually to exhibit all the joys and triumphs of the death of saints. Let earnest and unostentatious measures be adopted to bring a criminal, about to enter eternity, to a just sense of his guilt, and the exercise of deep repentance and faith. Let us be thankful if he manifests proper evidences of these. Let us extend to him, as to a miserable being who should receive them with trembling, the consolations of religion. But let nothing be said or done by his spiritual guides and friends, or encouraged in himself, that will cause a moment's forgetfulness that he is a degraded and an infamous man, who should aim at suffering patiently his just deserts, but is totally unfit to exhibit either the hero or the martyr. JESSE STRANG! Hearken to what I shall say to you. You have been indicted, on the oaths of the Grand Inquest of the county of Albany, as a principal felon in the murder of John Whipple; to which indictment, on your arraignment, you pleaded not guilty, and for your deliverance put |