FOUNDATION STONE OF NEW SCHOOLS, DUDLEY.-Monday, 16th May, 1859, was a great day in Dudley, when, under a brilliant sky, and amidst most auspicious circumstances, the foundation stone of our new schools was laid by H. B. Sheridan, Esq., M.P. for the borough. The site is eminently suitable, being central, easy of access, and adjoining the chapel yard; and, when the spacious and elegant structure is built, the school and chapel will stand conveniently near to each other, and we shall have one of the most complete ecclesiastical premises in the town and district of Dudley. The services of the day began in St. Thomas's church, where the vicar of the parish, Dr. Brown, at his own instance, held a special service for prayer. In the

afternoon the church bells rang forth merry peals. Many flags and other public demonstrations appeared in the streets, in different parts of the town, which everywhere wore a holiday appearance. At two o'clock a huge procession was formed in Wolverhampton Street, headed by the Revs. T. Mills, H. Watts, W. Innocent, J. Wynne, B. Turnock, J. Howard, J. Maughan, C. Linley, J. Harker, &c., the trustees and principal members of the Wesley congregation, and consisting principally of the scholars and teachers of our Sunday schools. The streets were densely crowded with people, so much so that it was at one time feared that the procession would not be able to advance. The magnitude of the throngs, the number and variety of the banners and garlands floating in the breeze, the ringing of the church bells, and the bright sunshine, all contributed to make the scene very imposing. At three o'clock the procession entered the grounds of the chapel and school, where order was kept by a dozen policemen, under Superintendent Burton, and the public were admitted by showing tea-party tickets.

Mr.

Millward, the builder, had generously erected raised platforms for the convenience and comfort of our friends, and a vast assembly thronged the open space on which the school is being built; many parties also stationed themselves on the top of adjoining buildings to witness the scene.

The service commenced with singing the 306th hymn, read out by the Rev. J. Harker :

This stone to Thee in faith we lay."

Prayer was then offered by the Rev. P. J. Wright, who, being in the neighbourhood, kindly came to assist us; and portions of Scripture were read by the Rev. J. Maughan. The Rev. T. Mills then delivered an introductory and explanatory address, in which he said that the Sunday school has become an integral part of the Christian church. The Great Shepherd gave us special charge to feed the lambs of his flock, and suitable buildings for that purpose are as necessary as for public worship. We have long had two school-rooms in different parts of the town, which have long been inconveniently crowded, and which are wholly insufficient to meet the exigencies of this large and rapidlyincreasing population. It thus became a public duty to erect such a commodious school-room as is now being erected. In this building, two institu-. tions, whose discipline, whose objects, and whose funds are identical, will become one. The following is an accurate description of the school prepared by the architect, Mr. Wigginton, F.I.B.A. :-The structure consists of one large room 84 feet by 36 feet, a prayer-meeting room 30 feet by 20 feet, two class rooms 13 feet by 11 feet, one class room 20 feet by 12 feet, one 10 feet by 8 feet, and a library 15 feet 3 inches by 40 feet. The large room is in the centre of the ground reaching (including the loggia) from Rose Hill to the Wesley chapel burialground at the back. It is so constructed as to be divided in the centre to make two distinct schools, if required for day schools, 42 feet by 36 feet each. There are means of access from Rose Hill and from the chapel frontage; that from Rose Hill is by an open loggia (or porch) 27 feet long, and divided into three bays by arches, having two columns, with enriched capitals supporting them. The centre archway is for the entrance, and is 8 feet wide by 15 feet high. The others are filled in with ornamental balustrading. In this porch are two doorways for the schools, and on either side are the entrances to the prayer-meeting room, the large class room, and library. On the chapel frontage are two class rooms (contiguous to the platform, and to be used as retiring rooms for lectures, concerts, &c.), and two porches, thus giving four distinct entrances to the large room, three being three steps each, and one only one step-a desideratum in public buildings. The school is 16 feet high

B B

to the wall-plate, and is cubical up the roof, the top being formed circular, and having open ornamental gratings for ventilation. The roof is supported by six principals, the whole of the timbers of which are wrought, and will be stained and varnished. The principal rafters have collars, supported by a large semicircular arch, or brace, the tympanum over the collar also being arched. They are supported on carved stone corbels. The school is lighted by twelve lofty circular-headed windows in the side, with three in the chapel front, and four in the Rose Hill end. The principal window is the central one looking towards the chapel, which is a rose window 10 feet 6 inches in diameter, and filled in with a double triangle making a star of six points, while the central window in the other end shows a star of five points. The roof of the prayer-meeting room (30 feet by 20 feet, and 16 feet high to the wall-plate), is partly open timbered, and is to be stained and varnished. The extreme height of the school, from the floor to the apex of the ceiling, is 32 feet, and the prayer-meeting room is 24 feet. The library is 16 feet high, and the class rooms 9 feet. All but the school will be re-plastered. Under the prayer-meeting room is a large kitchen 30 feet by 20 feet, with two large fireplaces. It is proposed to erect an oven and two boilers, with sufficient other accommodation for the getting up of large dinners, &c. The prayermeeting room has a retiring room attached, 10 feet by 8 feet. There will be a playground on each side for the boys and girls, with the necessary conveniences. The Rose Hill front is a modification of the Italian style, and shows two pediments, one on each side of the arched loggia, or wings. The chapel front has a central pediment, with wings. The fronts are to be erected with blue, white, and red bricks, nearly the whole of the cornices and moulded work being of that material. The keystones of the chapel front window will have busts of Robert Raikes (originator of Sunday schools), John Wesley, and Alexander Kilham (founder of the Methodist New Connexion). The whole of the building will be well heated and ventilated. The contract has been taken at £1,110, and it will be the cheapest public building erected in Dudley or its neighbourhood. The mode of entrance on the Rose Hill frontage was in some

measure rendered necessary by the ground, the fall of which is six feet in the entire frontage, which has caused a more than ordinary amount of groundwork upon the site. Mr. Mills stated that towards the cost of building the net sum of £304 had been raised by a bazaar held in August. That bazaar was the finest collection of articles ever brought together on such an occasion in Dudley, and was crowded with works of art and utility. It was got up chiefly by the liberality and labours of the ladies of the Wesley congregation, and evinced a large amount of the peculiar skill of which feminine fingers have an almost exclusive monopoly, a monopoly of which no act of parliament can deprive them. At the opening of the school another bazaar will be held, for which many more ladies are preparing than for the last, all of whose autographs will be perpetuated in a glass jar beneath the foundation stone; so that when, some hundreds of years hence, this building shall be demolished, it will be seen whose hands helped to build it up. Our excellent friend, J. Love, Esq., generously contributed £100 towards the erection. The following sums have also been contributed:-Mrs. Lester £30, Mr. S. Hill £30, Messrs. H. Hannay, and H. B. Sheridan, Esq., M.P., £25 each, Mr. Hewitt £20, and Messrs. J. Shedden, H. Smith, J. Houston, T. Clarke, T. Marsh, Cory, J. Hewitt, E. Brookes, W. Oakley, and Mrs. Lloyd £5 each. One class in the Mill-street school has contributed £15, and £3 10s. were given in small sums of a penny and upwards to see the silver trowel. Altogether about £200 have been contributed in local subscriptions. About £200 more will be subscribed, we expect. The entire proceeds of the sale of the Stafford-street school, £200, will be devoted to the new school, and the sum of £360, being £300 and £60 of accumulated interest, bequeathed by one of our friends, the late Thomas Fountain, Esq., for the daily education of children belonging to our Wesley congregation, is lent in perpetuity by the surviving trustee to the trustees of the school, subject to the interest at £5 per cent. per annum being devoted to the beneficent object of the testator. When all the subscriptions are got in, and when the opening services and the second bazaar have been held, it is hoped that the debt remaining on the school will not be much beyond the

legacy of Mr. Fountain, which is, of course, our own money. "I congratulate you," said Mr. Mills, "on the arrival of this auspicious day, a day which some have anticipated with high interest and hope, if not with impatience, and which the young people in this vast throng, who may be spared to old age, will vividly remember when years have blanched their rosy faces, and when their cheeks and brows are furrowed with the cares of this life. What merry and guileless hearted children will cross the threshold and perambulate the floor of this school! What sweet voices, as yet unheard on earth, will pour forth their melodies of praise within the walls now about to be raised! What lessons will be conned in that venerated volume that is at once the class book of the child and the statute book of the world! and what prayers of youthful congregations will ascend from this place to the "high and holy place where God dwells! What holy impressions will be made here! and what heavenly sympathies will be excited in hearts which have not yet throbbed, and which, having throbbed with the pulses of life, sometimes calmly, and sometimes wildly, will crumble like ours to dust! And what human spirits will go from this school, first to suffer and to fight in the bivouac and battle of life, and then to pass into an unknown world ! And yet that world is not unknown, for revelation has shed brightness on its obscurities, and angel voices and forms of life have come forth from that world to this. In this erection we work for eternity; and from this platform, while continental kingdoms begin to resound with the din of horrid war, we look forward to the golden visions which an ever brightening and magnificent future will reveal on the earth. At the conclusion of the introductory address, a suitable hymn was sung by the children and the choir. The Rev. T. Mills then read the parchment roll, which was deposited under the stone, and which contained much interesting information relating to the school. After this Mr. Mills deposited the roll in a large glass jar prepared for the purpose. A copy of the circuit plan for the current quarter, of the Minutes of the preceding Conference, of the Birmingham Daily Post for the day, and of the Methodist New Connexion Magazine for October, 1858, which contains an account of the Ba

zaar, were also deposited in the jar. The glass jar was then handed to Mr. Sheridan, who deposited it in the cavity prepared to receive it. Next in the order of proceeding was the presentation of a silver trowel, with ivory handle and a suitable inscription, by Miss Lester, supported by Miss Wright, Miss Hill, and the Misses Hayward, these five young ladies having purchased the trowel and case. Just at this point-all necessary preparations having been previously made-every one immediately surrounding the platform was requested to remain stationary, and a photograph of the scene was taken. Mr. Millward then presented the hawk to the hon. member, who proceeded to perform the usual formalities connected with the operation of laying a foundation-stone, at the conclusion of which he was greeted with loud cheers. Mrs. Horton subsequently presented Mr. Sheridan with the mallet, Mrs. Sheddon the plumb rule, Mrs. Lloyd the level, and Mrs. Wright the square; after which the hon. member addressed the assembly. He said that he had taken his first lesson in the practical part of arts and sciences, and that that was the first time he had had the honour of presenting himself as one of the brotherhood of that ancient mystery-masonry. With reference to Mr. Mills's remark that that was not a political demonstration, he (Mr. Sheridan) thought it would require greater power than even Mr. Mills possessed to persuade him that the ceremony they had been engaged in did not in some degree assume a political character. The education of the people was to a great extent a political question. The object of all great statesmen was, as they avowed, to educate the people and then to surrender to them those rights which they admitted belonged to them, but which, without education, they thought them incapable of using aright. After referring to Sir Stafford Northcote, the former member for Dudley, who, Mr. Sheridan remarked, was a great authority upon educational questions, the hon. gentleman went on to say that every step made in the education of the people was a step in the prosperity of the nation, and therefore a political proceeding, and those countries which failed to educate their children failed to consider the political welfare of their people. Before education had spread as much as it now had, rebellions and

uprisings of the people were of common occurrence, and they were never followed by any commensurate good results. In Russia there was no system of education; and what was the consequence? Why, in the Crimean campaign, although Russia sent multitudes of well-trained troops against the forces of the allies, they were not sustained by those principles which animated the English soldier-a knowledge of his political rights and desire to transmit them to his children. In Germany there was a system of division in the principalities of the country which he had hardly hoped ever to be of so much advantage as it was now, in preventing one united great power going to war; but each of those divisions had their system of education, and the result was that education was spread throughout the 40,000,000 or 50,000,000 who inhabited that country. He thought the progress made in education in England was a feature of the age, and to show its extent he might mention that the Earl of Shaftesbury said the other day that there were 27,000 persons educated in the schools over which he presided. He (Mr. Sheridan) considered that was a remarkable fact, considering the effect it must have upon the community. He remembered reading in the work of a great statist that there were three million acres of land in the kingdom, which, if properly cultivated, would employ the poor people of the country, occupy all the surplus labour, and stem the tide of emigration which was then, and is now, draining the country of its bone and sinew. Another writer suggested that there were millions of uncultivated minds in this country, which, if wisely trained, would not only increase the prosperity of the countryproduce another Watt or Stephenson

add to the national power and wealth; but also-which was of far more importance-check the course of crime, and make those stone edificesour gaols-really sad and dreary, because depriving them of their sorrowful inmates. These were the considerations on the subject of education which gave importance to the proceedings of that day he might say of that hour. They had sown seed which he hoped would return a rich and satisfactory harvest. Mr. Sheridan concluded by passing a high eulogium upon the ministers of religion of all denominations, who, he said, demanded their admiration and esteem for the great

efforts they had ever made in the cause of education. Soon after the conclusion of the hon. gentleman's address the assembly dispersed, the greater part of them repairing to either the Lancasterian School Room or the one connected with the Presbyterian Church in Wolverhampton Street, to partake of the tea which had been provided. Both rooms were gaily decorated with flags, banners, flowers, &c., and were filled with most respectable occupants, the ladies of the neighbourhood supplying many of the trays, and presiding at them in person. A public meeting was afterwards held in the Wesley chapel, at which Mr. Sheridan presided, the following gentlemen being also present:

- Revs. T. Mills (superintendent of the circuit), P. J. Wright, of Nottingham; W. Cocker, of Manchester; W. Innocent, and C. Linley, of Birmingham; H. Watts, of Oldbury; I. Wynne, of Tipton; B. Turnock, of Bilston, J. Maughan, T. Dicken (Wesleyan), D. . Evans (Baptist), and G. Lewis (Presbyterian), of Dudley; and J. Harker, of Pensnett. The hon. member's remarks at the meeting were much to the same effect as, those previously uttered in the afternoon. Eloquent addresses on the subject of education in general, and on the importance of religious education in particular, followed from the Rev. T. Dicken, Rev. W. Cocker, P. J. Wright, H. Watts, &c.

LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONE OF A NEW CHAPEL AT JESMOND VALE, NEWCASTLE CIRCUIT. · On Easter Tuesday the foundation-stone of a new chapel was laid in the above village, which is situated about a mile from the town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. For a considerable period we have had a small society and Sabbath-school in Jesmond Vale, but latterly both the congregations and the school have much increased, and a larger place has become necessary; hence the present erection. The land has been generously presented by Sir William Armstrong. The ceremony of laying the stone was performed by our esteemed friend, John Allen, Esq., of Wallsend, who delivered a very suitable address. Mr. Allen was followed by the Rev. L. Saxton, who gave an address explanatory of the doctrines and ecclesiastical polity of the Connexion, and of the motives, intentions, and objects of the friends in originating and carrying out

the movement for a new chapel. At the close of the open air service, the friends adjourned to the old schoolroom for tea. In anticipation, however, that the school-room would be insufficient to accommodate the people, a second room had been provided. The anticipation was realized, and both rooms were filled.

After tea, two meetings were held. Over that in the school-room John Allen, Esq., presided, and the meeting was addressed with good effect by the Revs. W. Booth and L. Saxton, and by Messrs. E. Moore, sen., S. Hillaby, E. Hodgson, Wilson, and J. F. Buston. A letter was also read from Mr. T. White, who was unavoidably absent, expressive of sincere sympathy and best wishes. At the other meeting Mr. John Hedley occupied the chair, and addresses suitable to the occasion were delivered by the Rev. W. Booth and Messrs. R. Ovington, W. G. White, W. Sharp, J. White, and J. Henry. A good influence pervaded the meetings, and the friends separated under the best feelings.

The building is rapidly progressing, and will at no distant period be ready for opening. The chapel will seat about 150 persons. It will be nearly free from debt, and will be secured to the Connexion according to the provisions of the model deed.

Newcastle-on-Tyne.

L. S.

PENDLETON, MANCHESTER SOUTH CIRCUIT. To the Editor.-My dear Sir, It is now some time, I believe, since the Connexion, through the medium of its Magazine, heard anything about Bethesda Chapel, Pendleton. It must not be supposed, however, that during this period the friends worshipping there have been standing idle. The contrary is the fact. For several years past a steady and persistent effort has been put forth for the liberation of the chapel from debt-an effort which, I am happy to state, has at length attained its long-sought object; and now that the work is completed, some account of it may not be unacceptable.

The year 1856 found our trust fund encumbered with liabilities to the amount of £530. Of this, £370 was a debt remaining on the chapel premises; £105 had been expended in the paving of the side street; £32 in the purchase of a certain plot of duchy land, which, being immediately in front of the chapel

yard, it had been deemed desirable to add to the existing burial ground; and £23 in the transfer of the property to new trustees.

To assist the trust estate, a grant of £100 had, some time previously, been promised by the Conference, on the condition that £200 should be raised by the friends at home; and in order to secure this grant, a subscription was commenced. After the friends had done as much as they thought possible in this way, it was found that not more than £160 had been collected, leaving still a deficiency of £40. At this period the ladies were called into council, and to their ready wit a project soon presented itself. They formed themselves into small working sections of three to six or eight in number, and to each little band of labourers was given the sum of five shillings. This small sum was judiciously expended in the purchase of raw materials, which were speedily worked up into useful shape, then re-sold, and the process several times repeated-the ladies emulating the example of the "good and faithful servant" in the parable, whose "pound," by diligent usury, was made to "gain ten pounds." By this time, however, a few more subscriptions had been gathered in, which, with a surplus from the ordinary sources of income, amounted to £40, completing our claim to the grant. Thus towards the £530 were obtained £300, leaving a debt of £230 yet to be discharged. The ladies still carried on their sales; the moneys raised by their continued exertions were again expended in advantageous purchases, and the articles thus purchased were finally offered at a bazaar, held in Easter week, 1858. The amount realized by this effort, inclusive of the proceeds of a tea-meeting, held on the evening of the last day of the bazaar, was £130. At Easter, last year, therefore, the debt remaining was only £100. During the tea-meeting above mentioned, which was a time long to be remembered by all who were present, a promise of £10 was made by the chairman, J. Whittaker, Esq., conditionally upon our raising the remainder by Easter, 1859. At a meeting held shortly after this, other promises were made, pending on the same condition, of £10 by J. Wheatley, Esq., and of £5 by Dr. Teale. The friends now exulted that their redemption was drawing nigh; and although the bazaar had nearly exhausted their energies,