UNITY AND TOLERATION IN THE even the most blindly infatuated parCHURCH. As stated in the above notice tizan among us all take warning from of the Church Congress, this was one of the fact, that while we are fiercely disthe topics appointed for discussion. puting about the interpretation of a Three papers, representing the views rubric, the world is quietly discussing of the three schools of thought into the very existence of a God? A clergywhich the Church is confessedly divided, man accustomed to preach in a black were read. The one representing the gown happens to preach in a white one, Evangelical or Low Church was prepared and lo! the columns of a religious newsby Canon Garbett, the one representing paper-as though the thing were of the the High Church was read by Canon slightest atom of importance—are filled Carter, and the one representing the for weeks with angry controversy, at the Broad Church by Canon Farrar. All very moment when our leading reviews expressed the desire for unity, and are debating, with sad and serious pleaded for toleration of each other's eloquence, whether there be any life opinions. Only Canon Farrar, how- beyond the grave. The very sacrament ever, rose to the perception of the true of love and unity, of which a Wesley ground of unity. His address was and a Keble sing with equal gladness, throughout one of great eloquence and is made a wrangling ground of savage power. He said "Absolute unity and opposing ignorances. It is not of thought among men who think at by barren orthodoxes, not by elaborate all is a thing simply impossible. To ceremonialisms, not by multiplication none of us is it given, with a monopoly of dogmatic entanglements, not by the of wisdom, 'to see truth steadily and beggarly elements of archæologic symsee it whole;' and it is only vanity bolism, that the Church will live, The and selfwill which prevent us from politician of the faction, the controrecognizing how often the apparently versialist of the newspaper, the fugleman opposite truths we hold are not contra- of the party, will dwell on these things; dictory to, but only complementary of, each other. There never was absolute unanimity in the Church; but if it did not exist in the first century, it is not likely to exist in the nineteenth. Nay, more, such unanimity is not only impossible, but for us in our finite condition undesirable. Were every question about faith and worship absolutely settled with mathematical rigour of demonstration, then, to such as we are, truth would soon become a stereotyped formula, and religion 'the deep slumber of a decided opinion.' It is with the Church on earth as it is with the ocean. Its flashing ripples, its healthful purity, are due to the winds which sweep its surface, and the moon which sways its tides; and, apart from these stirring influences, its waters would soon stagnate into putrescent death. Yet waves and storms are but the agitations of its surface; the depths of it are untroubled; the heart of it is calm."/ but the soul joyful in God will know GENERAL CONVENTION OF THE NEW After pointing out some evidences JERUSALEM IN AMERICA.-The journal of unity, notwithstanding their many of the fifty-seventh annual session of diversities of opinion, he goes on to this Convention is to hand. It is a say "It is only when we occupy beautifully printed and neatly got up ourselves with the infinitesimally little publication of 114 octavo pages. The that the barren details of party polemics Minutes of the Assembly occupy the loom large through the distorting mists first nineteen pages, the rest are filled of vanity and passion. And may not with closely printed documents of great interest relating to the progress and work of the Church. "Whereas, It is well known that the Word of the Old Testament was written and has been preserved in the Hebrew language, that language having existed, under Providence, for that most essential use; and The Convention held its session at Cincinnati, Ohio, from Friday, June 1st, to Tuesday, June 5th. Thirty-two ministers and licentiates, and thirtyseven delegates, were in attendance. "Whereas, The vowels as they stand Mr. George Broadfield, who was present in the original, and the forms and from this country, received a hearty nature of the letters, with their signifiwelcome, and was invited to take a seat cative marks, cannot be rendered into with the delegates, and to participate in English, or into any of the modern lanthe deliberations of the Convention, guages of Europe, and hence the Hebrew "not simply as a tribute of personal is a more perfect containant of the correspect, but especially in recognition of respondences composing the letter of the the pleasant and affectionate relations Word than any other language; and which have always existed between the New Church in England and the New Church in America.' The report of the Committee on Ecclesiastical Affairs brought before the attention of the Convention the important question of an improved translation of the Word; and was requested "to proceed with such preliminary studies and compilations as it shall deem advisable, with a view to arriving ultimately at an improved translation of the Word." Subsequently Rev. Mr. Benade, who with Mr. Pitcairn and Rev. W. B. Hayden were made the accredited messengers of the General Convention to the General Conference in England, was requested "to confer with the brethren in England, who have this work in hand, and communicate to them the transactions of the General Convention, and of the Committee on Ecclesiastical Affairs, and also of the Sub-Committee of seven, who have had charge of the work, expressing the interest felt in this subject in the American Church, and our wish to cooperate in this work with the Church in England." The subject, as here requested, was brought before the General Conference by Mr. Benade in a speech of marked ability; no direct action, however, was taken by the Conference. Thus far, in this country, the question has been confined to private enterprise, and has not taken such hold on the general mind of the Church as to lead to the action of the Conference. Another question closely connected with the above was a proposal to promote the general study and extended use of the Hebrew language among the members of the Church. The subject was introduced by Dr. Burnham, and presented in the following preamble and resolution : "Whereas, It is important to men and to angels to secure the fuller and otherwise unattainable enjoyment of the inestimable blessings derivable from reading, hearing, and chanting the Word of God in Hebrew; therefore 66 Resolved, That, in order to realize these Divine blessings, an effort should be made to restore the Word in the Hebrew language to general use among the people of the New Church." "The General Convention, at its session in 1866, established a school for the preparation of young men for the ministry of the New Church, which has been in operation since that time, and has performed most valuable work for the Church; and the maintenance of such a school is one of the most needful and important uses to which the attention and energies of the general body of the Church can be directed." This statement is part of a preamble which, in continuation, informs us that "the pecuniary resources of the school, owing to uncontrollable circumstances, have been of late greatly reduced;" and leads to resolutions for sustaining the school, and increasing, as far as possible, its means of usefulness. The Church in America, as in England, has always given a marked attention to missionary labour. For some years past a general superintendence over this department of Church work has been exercised by Rev. Dr. Hibbard of Chicago. The Committee of the Board of Managers of the work of Church Extension recommended the following resolution,- "That the General Convention approves the plan of committing to the Rev. Dr. Hibbard the work of supplying the wants of feebler societies of the New Church, and receivers of the doctines, where the same are not provided for by any of the state associations, by his own ministrations and that of others, and that when a sufficient sum of money shall be subscribed or guaranteed for his support, the Rev. Dr. Hibbard be invited to enter upon his work." This resolution was referred to the Executive Committee, by whom it was approved, and finally adopted by the Convention for one year. Another project having a missionary purpose is a resolution,-"That the dissemination of the heavenly doctrines through the secular press be recommended to the favourable consideration of all New Churchmen in this country who find opportunities to co-operate in this work." In the preamble to this resolution it is stated that "there are in the United States about 5000 weekly papers; about 600 daily papers; and about 700 monthly, bi-monthly, and quarterly periodicals; and there are in the United States 2000 counties, in most of which are county papers that go into almost every family, and the editors of these papers often give our missionaries a lift by noticing their lectures, giving synopses of their discourses, and even publishing some of them in full; and in several notable cases series of articles have been published in these papers explaining and defending the new doctrines, and written by the editors, or by some New Churchman living in the place; and of the daily papers in the great cities, several have offered their columns to our writers, and have given extended notices, and even defences, of our doctrines. " These are a few of the topics which occupy the Minutes of the Convention. Into the many interesting particulars published in the Appendix our space forbids us at present to enter. The whole gives abundant evidence of zeal and high purpose, and of no small measure of success in the great work in which our brethren are so zealously employed. GERMANY.-The following address from the "German New Church Society," ordered by the Conference to be printed in the Appendix to the Minutes, was inadvertently omitted, the address from the Society at Vienna being mistakenly inserted in its place. We publish it in our pages that it may be "After preliminaries and preparations, extending over several years, at a general meeting held on October 31, 1875, we organized ourselves under the name of the German New Church Society,' and adopted a constitution, by which we are pledged to work unitedly in the building up of the Lord's New Church. "At our second general meeting, held on September 12, 1876, a provisional church-order was adopted, which had been previously discussed and deliberated upon, and in agreement therewith, on the same day, five men appointed and ordained as ecclesiastical superintendents. were "These two general meetings, the proceedings of which are contained in the accompanying documents, were so fully taken up with other important business, that only in our third meeting, which was held on May 20, the wish was expressed to enter into relation with other societies, and the resolution was passed which resulted in the present address. "We hold out to you, who have for years laboured to attain the same end, and who in many things are far in advance of us, the hand of brotherhood. We assure you of our fraternal sentiments, and beg you to extend to us your brotherly feelings, and to sustain us by your moral support. Let us work together for the good of the New Church. "If you should desire our co-operation for any object of use, you will please to dispose of us. We, on the other hand, desire that you may allow us to apply to you at any time, when the interest of our great common cause demands it. "The Lord be with you and us. In the name of the German New Church Society, THEODOR M'CLENSUFEN, Pres. Theodorshof, near Rheinfelda, June 21, 1877." The THE ITALIAN MISSION.-The subject the recent session of Conference, and of this mission was referred during the supplied reports, at first to all daily recent sitting of Conference to a special London newspapers, but afterwards only Committee, by whom the questions were to such as inserted the paragraphs fully and carefully considered; and on which had been sent. The Daily News the presentation of their report, the inserted a report in five of its issues, Conference appointed another Committee The Standard in five, The Daily "to inquire into the prospects of the Chronicle in four, The Echo in two, The Italian Mission; to endeavour to effect Morning Post in one, and The Morning such arrangements with Signor Scocia Advertizer in one. Paragraphs were as shall enable him to continue his also sent to the London agencies of all services; to collect funds for sustaining the provincial daily papers, but although the missionary effort; to adopt such it is known that this plan was not other measures as they may deem desir- wholly ineffectual, statistics of its sucable for carrying out the work; and to cess cannot, for obvious reasons, be report to the next session of Conference." presented. At the close of the ConferThis Committee, after communicating ence a summary of its proceedings were with Professor Scocia and others, are forwarded to many weekly papers. satisfied that the Professor is quite com- appearance of this paragraph can only petent to carry on the missionary work be reported, with certainty, in The in Italy in an able manner. He is Christian Age, The Draper, and The engaged in translating into Italian The Nonconformist. Owing to the exertions True Christian Religion; he publishes of the Birmingham friends, daily reports a periodical entitled La Nuova Epoca; appeared in their local papers, and also he corresponds with priests and others; in a Liverpool journal. and he expresses his readiness to lecture on the New Church doctrines at Florence and other Italian cities. To enable him, however, to carry on this work, funds must be provided, as he has no means of his own. He estimates that less than £150 a year will not be sufficient, of which amount he hopes the members of the Church in Great Britain will contribute £80. The Conference has no funds at its disposal to appropriate towards this mission, therefore whatever sum is raised must be by donations from individuals, and it is earnestly trusted that our friends will not allow the opportunity to pass of furthering the important object of spreading a knowledge of the heavenly doctrines in that part of Europe. Subscriptions may be sent to the Rev. John Presland, 25 Rochester Square, London, N. W. ; to the Treasurer of Conference, Mr. Richard Gunton, 19 Oseney Crescent, Camden Road, London, N.; or to the Secretary to the Committee, Mr. Samuel Teed, 37 Colebrooke Row, Islington, London, N.; and will he duly published on the wrapper of the Intellectual Repository. AUXILIARY NEW CHURCH MISSIONARY AND TRACT SOCIETY.-In accordance with its usual practice, this Society made arrangements for reporting in the public press the proceedings of The Society has recently received the following letter from Dr. Bush, of Bath, accompanied by a donation of £5 towards its funds : "The objects of your Society are all, in my opinion, exceedingly good. Long before your Society was established, it had often crossed my mind that such a one was much needed, and would be most useful, if worked with zeal and intelligence, in disseminating a knowledge of New Church truths far and wide. I now rejoice to know that such a society is not only in existence, but in good working order. You are quite right in endeavouring to enlist young active and intelligent friends to become corresponding members of your Society. As your Society is established for the purpose of extending a knowledge of New Church truths by every legiti mate means, will you allow me to suggest that you should, through the medium of The Intellectual Repository, or personally, respectfully invite all New Church authors to present two copies of their works-one to the Swedenborg Library, the other to Islington College. Two such libraries ought to be in existence for reference throughout all time. I say two, in case of fire. Ascertain from these libraries what books are wanting, and invite friends to supply them." the The Society has the pleasure to make known this suggestion of Dr. Bush, and Amongst other items of interest con- ness. Mr. John Harris has recently presented to the Society a complete set of his works, consisting of twenty-four volumes, principally bearing upon the relations of religion and science. the members of this Association was held in the New Jerusalem Church, Horncastle, on Monday, September 17th, W. Wallis, Esq., President, in the chair. The Secretary read the report, which showed increased activity on the part of the Association not only in the matter of lectures, but also in directing its energies into new channels. One hun dred and eleven copies of the treatise on The Future Life have been presented to clergy in the diocese of Lincoln, who have applied for the same. Of this number, thirty-three were rectors, thirtysix vicars, and the remainder curates or chaplains. Twenty-one copies of the Outlines of the Religion and Philosophy of the New Church, by Professor Parsons, have been presented to the head masters of the grammar schools in Lincolnshire. Lectures have also been delivered in various towns and villages, and missionary visits paid to Horncastle, part of the expense being met by the Association. The Treasurer's report showed a balance in hand, August 28th, 1876, of £7, 11s. 2d.; receipts from all sources, £17, 2s. 6d. Total, £24, 13s. 8d. The disbursements have been: for printing and postage of circulars, donations of books, etc., £10; lectures and missionary services, £14, 16s. Total, £24, 16s. 6d., leaving a small balance due to the Treasurer. Some proposed alterations in the rules were very fully discussed, and finally adopted with certain modifications; and it was resolved that the rules, as amended, be printed. It is intended, during the ensuing year, to offer the treatise on The Future Life (Heaven and Hell) to all ministers of dissenting bodies resident in Lincolnshire. Also, to offer a copy of the Outlines of the Religion and Philosophy of Swedenborg to each of the clergymen to whom the former work has been sent. The question of lectures was postponed for a time. A Committee of the Society has been established in Birkenhead, which it is hoped may prove the nucleus of a New Church Society in that town, and of which Mr. H. J. Whiteside, of 4 St. Paul's Road, Rock Ferry, is the President, and Mr. D. Henderson, Secretary. The Society has recently received special subscriptions towards its funds from Mr. Collett, of Cardiff, and Messrs. Butter and Dowling, of London. It has also arranged to hold its fourth A unanimous vote of thanks was given anniversary festival at Argyle Square to Rev. J. Presland for his kindness in Church on the 31st October. The acceding to the request of the committee Secretary, Mr. H. T. W. Elliott, 122 Englefield Road, London, N., would be happy to furnish information to any friends who might desire to co-operate in the work of the Society. THE LINCOLNSHIRE NEW CHURCH ASSOCIATION.-The annual meeting of and delivering lectures in Lincolnshire in the month of May last. A cordial vote of thanks was also given to Mr. C. Ingamells, editor of the Boston Guardian, for his kindness in affording opportunity for the insertion of excellent summaries of the lectures. The President read an address on the |