the Fokien language, especially those born in this place. For the sake of these people, at Mr. Fraser's request, Si Bu arrived here from Amoy in March, 1857. His first efforts were made in a school, which appears to be supported by general subscription, and is under Episcopalian superintendence for Chinese girls, and subsequently in premises adjoining. Nothing was preached, of course, by Si Bu but the Gospel which he received in the wonderful time of the spring of 1854, at Pechuia, and nothing was spoken by those in whose company he was thus providentially thrown as to the ritual of the English Church. A house was generously prepared for him by the Episcopalians for preaching, and for four or five months he preached there without difficulty. About that time it was suggested that he should read the prayers of that church. He had never understood or been taught that there was anything specially to find fault with in the ritual; still he was dissatisfied, and saw it his duty to resist that proposal. A young man who had come in the ship with Si Bu, and had professed Christianity, did this part of the service, and afterwards another individual, who takes an active part in the "Church" mission to the Chinese; while Si Bu preached for a period of fully a year and a half more. By this time the attendance had increased greatly, and of those who did attend many came regularly; sometimes sixty or seventy persons would be present. At this time Si Bu's ignorance of Malay, and other causes, prevented him making himself and his difficulties quite plainly known to the Scotch congregation. He made up his mind to cease such connection as he had with the English Church people, from whom he had experienced very much kindness in many ways, and of his resolution he gave some months' notice, which was taken simply on account of the objections he had to the ceremonial of that church. Mr. Keasberry, whose mission is to the Malays, kindly allowed him the use of his Malay chapel at a certain hour on the Sabbath, in which he has continued to preach to the Chinese adherents of the Gospel up to this time, a period of two years-exclusive of a few months' absence in China in the end of last year. He now lives in a house hired by himself, in one part of which is held morning and evening worship. The number of persons baptized hitherto in connection with the Scotch Church is fifteen, of whom seven have returned to China. These are, however, not all who have joined themselves to the church through Si Bu's labours, as during the first period it was thought expedient to baptize the candidates alternately in the English church and in Mr. Fraser's. Since Mr. Fraser's departure, in the beginning of this year, Si Bu has been deprived of the counsel and encouragement he used to enjoy from him, and candidates have not had an opportunity of being examined for baptism." Mr. Keasberry has, however, with true brotherly kindness, given him what he so often needed and asked, encouragement and direction in his work in an isolated position. The Scotch congregation here have all along generously and willingly supported Si Bu, but owing to the difficulties of intercommunication, and many being men of business, otherwise much engaged, and some living at a distance from town, with other reasons, some may not have taken that apparent share in the work that might otherwise have been the case. It should be mentioned that the Chinese congregation have held the communion in Mr. Keasberry's chapel, along with the Malays, Si Bu making an address to his countrymen in Chinese. Now the work of a Chinese-speaking missionary here is first opening communica tion between the two parties-Chinese and Scotch professing Christians, and then seeking, with the gracious help of God, who has so greatly crowned this work, to put things on a more satisfactory footing, that the great work of the rescue of perishing souls be not hindered. We have had two inquiry meetings, from which it seems as if some were under impressions, and some profess to have found peace in believing. Si Bu and I have been preaching pretty much in the streets, where we get good and attentive audiences. But further particulars must be reserved for more inquiry and time. May God grant that this account of the work here cause many believing prayers to ascend for his cause in this place to his glory. Believe me, my dear Mr. Matheson, ALEXANDER GRANT. CORFU. Mr. Charteris, the death of whose wife we announced in our July number, writes to Mrs. Patison, the Secretary of the Corfu Ladies' Committee, under date Corfu, 20th June. DEAR MADAM,-It is drawing near the close of the quarter, and as you may have a meeting I sit down to write a few lines, though I have not very much to say. I have been endeavouring to give myself as much work as possible, and having strength for it I find that it keeps me from sorrowing so much as if I were to remain in the house. I visit the hospital several times a week. There is not much sickness, but there are a few cases of an interesting kind. Several of my hearers, about whom I have long been anxious, are in the hospital for perhaps the third or fourth time, and repeated chastisement seems to be blessed to them at last. I have arranged and catalogued, by the help of Mr. Howis, Scripture reader, the books of the hospital library, which consists of about 500 volumes, chiefly the works of the Tract Society. Many of these works are read by the soldiers when convalescent, and I hope some of them, at least, will look back to the time of sickness as one of profit derived from the publications of the Tract Society. I was also the means of procuring a grant last year for the use of the Tempe rance Institute, which has been enriched with donations of books from individuals who wished well to the cause, so that it has a very nice library. I regret to find that this institute is not at present quite so flourishing as formerly, but I hope it may rally again. Unfortunately the house occupied by it is situated in the centre of the town, in a very un-come-at-able place, yet the best which could be procured. This has told against it, and this is an evil which in Corfu is not easily remedied. The total abstainers are still to be numbered by hundreds, and I am persuaded that these exercise a very wholesome influence upon the garrison generally. On returning home from my Sunday-evening service, or on leaving the citadel any evening at nine o'clock, one rarely sees a man drunk, or a man, as used to be the case, carried in from the town by four soldiers. Besides my three services each Lord's day, I have three prayer-meetings in the week. This, with hospital duty as required, and with the Sunday-school and Scripture lesson on Fridays is a sufficient tax on my time and strength during this hot weather. I usually am compelled to leave some of this work undone during the month of August, and a part of September. I also have weekly a conversation or two with some Jew or Jews. I like best when I have only one opponent, for if there are more they are so distrustful of each other that they dare not freely express their sentiments. Reasoned with separately they are often very candid, and make admissions which really surprise and please one. Many of them will admit that ancient Judaism is effete, but they are like the Roman Catholics, who by doubting and disbelieving attain to nothing but a negative faith. What a poor attainment! yet in these our days it is not so much a matter for surprise as for regret and compassion. I do not know that anything very interesting has occurred since I wrote last, with the exception of the change in a company of the Royal Engineers, and the removal of a number of invalids by the McGaern, which left this last Wednesday, the 17th. Colour-Sergeant Copping, the acting sergeant-major, had led our psalmody for more than a year, and had in various ways done his best to promote the cause of Christ among us. He was a zealous friend of the temperance movement; he attended all the prayer-meetings that were kept up in the garrison Church, and those who attended them were so sensible of the value of his zeal for their spiritual good, that on Monday, the 15th, they presented him with a number of volumes, to testify their esteem for him. Then on the evening of the 16th we held a special prayer-meeting for those who were going away in our room, at which, in the name of my congregation, I presented to Sergeant Copping a handsome Family Bible, with two other volumes. The Bible and other volumes had inscribed in them a testimonial that they were given as a mark of our esteem for his Christian worth and well-doing, and also as a token of our gratitude for his having so long acceptably led our psalmody. At the same time I presented to Mrs. Copping, his wife-a pious, worthy woman, whose example is of great consequence in a garrison, and who is a help-meet for her godly husband -a handsome Bible of a more portable form, Col.-Sergeant Copping has been several years over his term, and is now about to retire from the service on pension, and to devote the remainder of his days to teaching or Scripture-reading, for either of which he is well-qualified. Our elder's grand-daughter and her husband, who is one of the youngest sergeants in the Engineers, have left with their company. They also received a handsome volume of Bunyan's "Holy War." Our elder and his wife have been thrown into deep affliction by the death of their daughter in India. When I came to Corfu she was a girl of twelve years old, and was rather dull; but in the course of a year her progress in the Sabbath School was very marked; and from year to year she improved both in head and heart, giving unmistakeable evidence that she had chosen the better portion which could not be taken from her. She was married in her nineteenth year to a worthy young man, Sergeant Davis, of the Royal Artillery, who has been twice parted from her first, to go to the Crimea; and second, in 1858, to go to India. sailed for India with two children; the youngest died on the voyage. On her reaching Calcutta her husband was not She there; her strength, if it be true that her disease is consumption. It was very hot in June, but we cannot complain of July. We have had very cooling and refreshing breezes from the north and north-west. I have to lose in a few days a company of Sappers, which is to be replaced by another from Portsmouth. There are several good men among those who leave. John Campbell Phillips, the grandson of our elder, left last Tuesday morning for Chelsea. He intends to qualify himself there to be an army schoolmaster. He is a promising young man, of solid talents, and is, I hope, already a child of God. He is only sixteen years of age. He is a communicant; and has a note from me to the Rev. Mr. Alexander. I remain, dear madam, EVANGELISTS. Correspondence. places where there was no such likelihood, inasmuch as they would be a perpetual To the Editor of the English Presbyterian Messenger. drag on the energies and resources of the SIR,-The letter of "Plebs," in your last Church." Now this principle is no doubt number, must commend itself to the judg- quite correct, but I would ask, is no attempt ment of every one who desires to see the to be made to retain or supply small places truth brought home to the masses in our because it cannot be done in the precise large towns. Allow me, however, to say a way in which the Church has hitherto acted word on behalf of some of the rural stations in regard to them? Unless I am much and small places of our church. I observe mistaken, the Methodists would not have from the last Report of the Home Mission been the powerful body they are had they Committee, that applications for supply not furnished the means of grace to places have been repeatedly refused from small which could not be supplied by a licentiate places, and I have reason to believe that or an ordained minister; and when the one or two stations are likely to be aban-progress of Methodism is considered, is doned because they will not, or cannot, pay there nothing to be learned (I do not say for the services of a licentiate. The Home wholly adopted) from their system? Our Mission Committee, in their last Report, Church can scarcely expect that her highly say, "There is one principle by which they educated licentiates will labour long or invariably desire to regulate their conduct accept of the pastorate of a place where the regarding new enterprises, and that is, that income is very small, and many discouragein our circumstances as a Church, it is ments and difficulties are to be encountered. highly inexpedient to commence opera- My object, therefore, is to direct the atten tions in any locality where there is not a tion of the Church or Home Mission Com strong likelihood of a self-sustaining con- mittee to the subject, in hope that some gregation being gathered within a reason- measures may be devised by which these able period. This principle has led them outposts may not be abandoned or left to repeatedly to refuse applications from small fall unsupported into the hands of the being more on the footing which they occupied in the Primitive Church. enemy. As an instance of what may be done out of the ordinary way, let me cite Michael Church, Herefordshire, where a few As regards the deacons I think that, as a farmers, anxious to retain their connection with the secularities of the Church. The class, they are far too exclusively identified with Presbyterianism, invited Mr. Hossack, original deacons were neither exclusively ot teacher, to conduct divine service in a dained to this work, nor did they exclusively school-room; and in your last number I follow it. The definition of the office known read that this rural station continues to amongst us is a refinement of modern times,. flourish (I understand without extra aid), ing of the word deacon is simply "minister;" and not the scriptural idea at all. The meanthat ordinances are regularly conducted, not minister of temporalities or spiritualiprayer meetings held, and that Mr. Hos-ties, but simply a minister. And it is usually sack's labours have not been in vain. so translated. Paul writes thus:-"In all Would a similar arrangement not be found suitable for some of the places, applications from which have been refused? Or are there no intelligent gifted men among our office-bearers or members who, with some kind of recognition by the Church, would willingly labour there notwithstanding all the discouragements? Are the operations of the Church to be circumscribed, and adherents lost to it because ordinances cannot be supplied according to a certain rule? Is not the supply of ordinances to places which are desirous to retain their connection with Presbyterianism, but cannot afford to pay (at least in the first instance) for the services of a licentiate, a great desideratum in our Church? Trusting the subject will receive due consideration, I remain, Yours respectfully, A MEMBER OF THE E. P. CHURCH. THE DEACONSHIP. To the Editor of the English Presbyterian Messenger, DEAR SIR,-I have read with some interest Mr. Ferguson's paper on the above subject. I cannot say, however, that his mode of treating it is satisfactory. Instead of quoting "The Authoritative Deliverance of the Free Church," and so profusely from "old and imperfect" copies of "Knox's Book of Discipline," &c., it would, in my humble opinion, have been more to the purpose if he had favoured us with the scriptural argument for the office and its functions. I am strongly of opinion that our theory of the diaconite finds little sanction in the New Testament, and that much good would result from a thorough reconsideration of the functions both of Elders and Deacons with a view to both offices things approving ourselves as the ministers (deacons) of God." Again, in Ephes. iii. 7, I was made a minister" (deacon). In Rospeaking of the Gospel, he says, "Whereof mans xv. 8, he styles "Christ the minister (deacon) of the circumcision." The term, therefore, is general, signifying "ministry," but not any specific ministry. The seven vi. were deacons or ministers in this general men whose appointment is recorded in Acts sense, and, when ordained to that office, had specifically assigned to them the care of the poor. Any one taking an unprejudiced mind to the perusal of that chapter can, I think, come to no other conclusion. The main facts of the chapter are these. The apostles are hampered with too much spiritual and secular work. Not that secularity defiled them, but the special charge of both departments was too much for them. In these circumstances they ordain seven men to assist them (not deacons-the term is not mentioned in this chapter, nor elsewhere, in connection with any of the seven men), and having ordained them, they assigned specifically this duty of caring for the poor to them. Their qualificationswhich it is well to note, and which were quite excessive for the simple duty of distributing funds-were that they were to be of "honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom." What follows? The Grecian widows are no longer neglected?-probably so, but that is not recorded. The result recorded is, that "the word of God increased, and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great number of the priests were obedient to the faith." But some will say that this resulted from the apostles' liberation from temporalities. The record does not say so, and it is unfortunate for this hypothesis that the narrative immediately goes on to relate the wonderful effects of the preaching of Stephen, whose wisdom, and the spirit by which he spake, they were not able to resist, and who preached so zealously that he suffered martyrdom for it. So much then for one of the deacons of the primitive Church, and his ordination to a purely secular ministry. Philip, another of these seven men, not only her str; T dive Church. desons I think that, as a ***isively there; SMITH AND VERPOOL. this, expi ublished as på port in our October and, so far as we are conc sum and substance of Mr. T ance. It was a simple recora Mr. Smith's statement is a very extra We have received a long letter from the are unwilling to believe that it was originRr. Walter Smith, formerly minister of ally written for publication in our columns. which appeared in our columns in October, far greater "damage" than the minute of of a report of the Presbytery of Lancashire, that its publication would do the writer St. Peter's Church, Liverpool, complaining In all sincerity, if not with grief, we say, received damage," he says, and therefore fore, afford him the opportunity which he 1860, by the publication of which he "has which he complains. We cannot, thererequests the insertion of a counter state- craves of inflicting injury upon himself. ment. Although this "damage" was done to Mr. Smith nearly twelve months ago, he seems to have been living in happy ignorance of the fact, until lately he was informed of the circumstance by a friend. Truly, if "ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise.' As for ourselves, we were as ignorant as Mr. Smith of the evil we had done him until we received his letter: and even now, we have only the light of this October minute, and his statement, to inform us upon the subject. But the facts of the case appear to be these.-About this time last year a memorial from two members of We are well aware that, in the history of the St. Peter's Congregation, there are painful passages of mismanagement and misfortune, of the consequences of which Mr. Smith had to bear a heavy share; but it cannot serve the interests of truth or justice to publish such a record of these misfortunes as Mr. Smith has sent to us; nor can it be studying "the things that make for peace" to describe the conduct of members of Presbytery in epithets such as respectable men of the world would not venture to apply to one another. [ED. E. P. M.] Notices of Books. The Twin Brothers.-By WILLIAM AN- THIS is another effusion from the indus- standing the labours of an arduous calling, Mr. Anderson finds time to produce little books which cannot fail to be read with pleasure and profit by old and young. The subject of the "Twin Brothers," is the difference between the reality and the profession of religion. In a narrative ingeniously constructed, Mr. Anderson |