Home and Foreign Journal, June 1855

. 1 1 1 <• >'. I / O' * w l $ HOME AND ■ .4 •• / /i-i JOURNAL. VOLUME IV. PUBLISHED BY THE BOARDS OF DOMESTIC AND FOREIG: RICHMOND, fUNEi 1865. - NUMBER 12. BOARD OF DOMESTIC MISSIONS. MARION, ALABAMA, JUNK, 1805. Georgia Baptist State Convention. During the «Mill of April, wo attended ibe annuil convocation of this dignified bod/ of effioient Baptisti. We did not ar¬ rive till Frida/ afternoon, and on entering the houie, found Jtdge Stocks in the chair, and Prof. Moll at his post as secretary. Tbe business had advanood quite through its preliminary details, and there vas a fair prospect of harmonious dispatch with the more important mutters to bo attended to. Tht delegation was unusually largo, and n it some of the ablcot and most popular niiisteri of Gsorgia. The Georgia Bap- luts hold a high rank among tkeir brethren of this Republio— many of their ministers beiig no little distinguished for strength of intellect, and fervid, soul-moving eloquent*. ThopWcote membership — episeopally called “/ay” membership— is also comprised of largo numbers of the intelligent of the state. In a word, we were proud to meet with such brethren. The serious organizations wore fully represented : the Foreign Missioi Board by Poindexter, the Domestic by Walker, the Publication Board, by Tustin, and the Bible Board by Dayton. Besides Buckner was there on behalf of the In¬ dians, and Daria for tho Bible Union- enough of officiali, in the opinion of almost any “ hard ahell" Baptist, to squander on benevolent objects all the loose change in the land. A Look at Churches in Alabama. On the last Lord’s day in March, in com¬ pany with Rev. S. Freeman, we worshipped with the Baptist Churoh at Ockmulgee— for maiy years under the pastoral charge of Rev. A. G. McCraw. Iter. W. U. Wilks, the pastor, had commenced the usual Satur¬ day seriice, prior to the accustomed church meeting, as wo entered the house. The Rid¬ den and unexpected ingress of two tall ministers — in physical stature we mean- disconcerted the preacher for the moment, and he paused to entreat that one of us would walk into tho pulpit and relieve him of the task he had begun; but ho was in¬ formed that tho two new comers would bo happy to hear tho pallor on that ocoasion. So at it he went again, with animation and spirit, and the people about Oak Grove say it was instructive and excellent, and needed no apoltgy from any one. We made some valuable aequiintaices at Ockmulgte, and received a small amount for domestic mis¬ sions, whioh will be enlargtd by the time cf the Convention in May. Hopewell, the ehurch over which Bro. Samuel Freeman presides, was the place where we spent, very pleasantly, tke first Sabbath in April. Having made several previous visits, we appeared among the Нора well people with large hopes of success for the benefit of tho perishing souls in our own land; but the long drought was pleaded, and, we presume, justly, so that we had to be content with less than would, under dif- fcrestcircumstaiocs, havo been given. The brethren and sisters there were very hind to nr, and will long bo remembered with pleasure and satisfaction. On tbe seoond Sabbath, we filled a pro¬ mise to bo with Rev. S. S. Fox, pastor of tbe Baptist Chircdi at TTotinlle. At nine o’deek, we addressed the Sabbath school, and at 11 o’clock, praached. Woodville is populated largely by Virgiiians, some main¬ tain by the pure “F. F. V.’s,” and, of course, we felt quite at homo. The good old Vir¬ ginia w el some was anjoyad in all tho. familial we visited, and we left on Monday morning, “neb pleased with our visit. It had been understood by ns before leaving home, that a contribution woald be made to domestic missions, but a Jacob had passed on hefare ns, aid arranged with Isaac for our bless¬ ing. Nor aosld we find, in the church, any place of repentance, though wa soaght it «refill/ by truthful fasts and common sense appeals. Nor, indeed, had she another for any ane, tinae, in tbe simplicity of her af- fsetions, she bad turned over tho s»m total of bar annual benavolinco to the foreign mission rani*. Ah me! that’s tho way of the world in these dry times, and its no use to repine, even if the erop, white and wav¬ ing in the dameitie field, should be left un¬ reaped. Ref. N. II. Bray, of Louisiana. This brother has been a missionary of tha Domeetic Board m Sabine Parish, for some¬ thing over a year. He is a man of limited education, hut has strong nature! gifts, great zaal and untiring industry. The com¬ munity on the field of hie labors, commend him highly, and petitioned urgently for hie re-appointment. Ha seems to be one of that class of persons whom God uso«— as form¬ erly, in Virginia— as pioneers, and whose self-denying labors ha largely blesac*. IV* give, below, an abstract from his report far the year ending Jan. 31st, 1854, t* show the patrena of the Dome* tie Board how some, and, indeed, most of the missionaries toil in the great sonth-west. “Week daya’ labor, 277; Sabbath days’ labor, 51; churches supplied,?; other sta- tioni, 22; prayer meetings attended, 8G; sermons preached, 281; exhortations made, 193; milea traveled, 4,113; religious visits to families, 206; persons baptised, 78.” It will be seen, from tho above report, that our brother has devoted the whole of tho year to active missionary service, ex¬ cept 37 days; that, taking hie sermons and addresses together, he has averaged one sermon and a quarter per day, throughout the year, and when it is known that the 4,000 miles were traveled on horsebaok through a hard country; the visits to fami¬ lies made in some places sparsely settled; that tracts and Bibles were distributed, Sab¬ bath schools organized, and much other ser¬ vice performed, tho churches ought to be satisfied with our brother’s work. Besides, the 78 baptized, scores were converted, who may yet obey their Lord in baptism, The Lord send us more of such rrtiisioneries. Things fo he Remembered. 1. That mueh time has already passed away, much bas been wasted, and but little, comparatively, rtmains to us. 2. That every one, when reading these lines, will b* nearer his end than he ever wai before, and will have less time left him and fewer opportmities for repentance, than at any former period. 3. That no promises are made in the Bible to old persois, many to the young, aid a return t* God, is invariably urged as an immediate duty to be attended to in the present time. 4. That youth, health aud a freedom from worldly entanglements, arc osnditioni in the life of man, most favorable to a cheer¬ ful and full development of Christian af- feetians. 5. That death, when sent to execute bis minion, is never diverted from his pirposo by riches, fame, honors, medicine, tears or prayers, but steadily, persovaringly, piti¬ lessly, and victoriously pishes oi hia conquests till bis work is finiskid. 6. That the laat and only preparation against the day of death, whioh Jebovah will aocapt, is “repentance towards God and faitb in our Lord Jesus Christ” MISSIONS ft OF THE SOUTHERN BAPT 1ST CONVENTION. me.” The negro made;«o farther reply, hnt looked meekly «demise ofjthia de¬ velopment of impiety. poor! African may be right. j' Collection st Table. We have heard of public collection m the week day and onUthe Sabbath, ha churehoa and at conventions, but we never heard of a tea table collection for m'lieioM till reoently. In the eityf.of Si. Louis, Ho., a blue-eyed, modest you4, the son of piois parents, conceived the idea of taking np a eolleetiou at his father'll tea tab for the benefit of domesti* missions. He passed ronnd the table, and the remit of 4* en¬ terprise was one dollar, which he sent on to onr treasnry. The Lord bloaiVtat little hoy, and ever keep him' the friend of nia- sioos ! i This Will Never ft . i W.lat will never do ! Why the falling of of receipts for domestic missions. The ro- eeipts from several ehurtbes, conventions, allocations nnd individuals, are less than they were from the same aonroes last year! We repent, this will nbVes do ! It must net 80 continue. Retrench in tho articles of dreae, fnrnitnro, tea, coffee, tobaaco, brandy peaches, anything or everything, bit in giving to domestic missions. God will not bless those wh* btgin the work of retrenchment at the wrong end. Hard Times. It was currently reported, but a few weeks since, that the parties in the fashion¬ able cirelei of Montgomery, Ala., have been narrowad down to; oily about two or three a week. Wfcat JtciH become of the fiddlers and danoing. “ . SUbbr-s-' ~ i Corn Bread. This article of food is ooming very muoh into nse just now, in several of the south¬ ern states, ewing U the scarcity and enor¬ mous price of flour. God grant that we may have even this leatinued, for from tho present (April the 25th) appearance* of the weather, the draught may continue, and a famine is not impossible. “Facts in Homan Live.— The number of language! spoken in the world nmonnta to 8,084—587 in Europe, 896 in Asia, 276 in Africa, and 1,204 in America. Tk* in. inhabitant» of tho globe profess more than 1,000 different religions. The number of men is abont equal to the number of wo¬ men. The nversge of human life is abont 23 years. One-quarter die previeus to the age of soven years; one-half before reach¬ ing seventeen. To every 1,000 persons, only one reaches 100 yeers of life; t* every 100 only tix mohes the age of 65; and not more lhan one in 600 live* to 80 veers of ago. There are on the earth 1,000,000,- 000 inhabitants; and of thoeo 83, 153,- 3*3 die every year; 91,884 every day, 3,780 every bonr; and 60 every minute, or one every second. These lossoe are abo* balanced by an equal number of births. — American Baptist Memorial. Oonversalion In a Stage Coach. A company of rowdies were complaining irreverently of the clouds of dust that were raised by the whoels ef the ponderous vehicle. A good looking, medeet negro ventured to explzin the cause of the dusti thus: “De folks is so very bad, de Lord send ne rain, to make an think of der badness, and no rain may eeme yet for a long time.” Said one ef the rowdies; “You are religious, and do yon think Gad keep* the min back t* make men better 1” Said another: “When he gets rend/, I expeet he will send it, whether the people get better or not,” and said a third, mere hardened this the other two; “If he won’t send it, he ena let it aline; it is all the same to An Unlovely Young Man. Wo were recently a passenger in vohiole of public conveyance, where young man annoyed very mnch his ftllew passengers. He seimcd to be the son of opulent parents, bat had manifestly, ben very badly brought up. He was on bis way to his home in Mississippi, and had beon drinking freely. Silly remarks, vul¬ gar jests, profane speech and unrestrained impudenoc characterized his whale ««duet. Oh ! what a need for scores of missionaries for the south-west, where hundreds of such young men live. IIow sad the sight cf a healthy, vigorous young man, prostituting his powers to sueh low ends! Tke Next AbdmI Report. The next annual report will show sever¬ al hundred more baptisms than that did ef tbe past year. God has blessed tbe labors of his servants beyoed what might havi boon, under many discouraging circum¬ stances, expected. To his name he all the glsry! We Cannot Help it. Several applications fer the appointment of new missionaries to important stations, had to be tnswered adversely within the put few months. The petitioners are in etch cues disappointed, and some of them offended. Bat we itnnot hip it. It were useless to appoint without tbe means of paying for service performed. Let the reader attentively reflect on the following, and then aik himself if missions for the conversion ef the dying and perish¬ ing ought not to be liberally sustained: Rer. E. G. Sinee the subjoined article frem the Pa¬ cific Recorder waa written, Rev. E. G. Wil¬ lis his left the law and been ordained t* the ministerial office. Application wu made to the Southern Board for his appoint¬ ment to Oakland City. He was appointed, entered on hie work, had a home of worship erected, and is doing geod service. It must be gratifying to all Baptiits, who shall retd the article below, to know that the Baptisti hare a missionary and a meeting home in Oakland; “Oakland. — This is cno of the most lovely and desirable spots in California, pos¬ sessing a mild and delightful climate, shaded and protected from the heat ef the sun and the roughness of the winds by wide-spread¬ ing and ever green oaks, which add greatly to the beauty and comfort of the city. The p*pulati*o,at this time, numbers from 2,500 to 3,000, embracing many families, sufficient to form a pleasant sooicty. Although Oak¬ land has been called a hard place, we must be permitted to say, that after a residence there of three weeks, we have been led to be¬ lieve that in all California there is not aeity or town of tbs same extent, possessing a more -qui?t and oivij population , and more disposed ' to|conform themselves to all the requirements of law and good order. Oakland, like the other cities of California, has suffered in its growth and prosperity, from the unsettled state of land titles, but this cannot last a great while longer. When these matters become settled, the pleasantness of her cli¬ mate, we may say the uncommon pleasant¬ ness of her climate when compared with the olimate of San Francisco, will induce a large number of the business men of San Francisco to make that their place ef resi¬ dence, thus greatly increasing her popula¬ tion and adding to her society. Oakland must prosper if SanFraneisco proepers,aud will bear the same relation to the latter place, that Brooklyn dees to New York. Tke moral and religious advantages of the place must grow better as her population increases; the population being made up mostly of families, the moral aid religious influeie* must he stronger than if made up of а того laixsd class ef inhabitants. There is al¬ ready, a Presbyterian church organized, nnd they have a ohurch building partly finished. The Catholics, of course, have a ehuroh building and an organization; and the Bap¬ tists, if present prespccti arc an indication ef what is to he, will organize in a very ihort time. Subscriptions are now being made for the ereetisn of a Baptist ehurch edifice, and we hope, in tke course of four er six weeks, to be able to report it ready for didication. Thus much, we feel bcuud to lay for Oakland now; we hope to have mere to say at some future time. — foci fit Recorder. Reai ! Read! The piece holow, whieh we eut from an exchange paper, is deserving of very par¬ ticular attention. It shows that the gospel can penetrate the hearts of Catholics, and when it is considered that hundreds and thousands ef the adherents of the Papal 8ce, are scattered far and wido ever the Southern domeetic mission field, we should thank God and take eonrigi : TUE ROMISH nor’* COORAOS AND IZAL. A lad tea or twelve years old, came qiite regularly to the missienary ohapel of Mau¬ ritius Island. His psrents were Roman Catholics, and he wore around bis neck a string of bads with a crucifix hanging from it. One Sabbath day, the boy was very attentive to what was said by tbe mission¬ ary, who saw him take the beads from bis neck and pat them in his pocket. Whin tin service w as ended, the boy went home with his mind full of what he had heard. But he eoald not keen it to himielf. Oat of tke fulness of his heart he teld his mother what new and wonderful thing* the missionary hid said abont Jams Christ, hia love, his eufering, nnd his death. Bat he wu not satisfied with simply repealing what he had heard. He thought that if kil mother eoild he brought to the nistioa ohapel, she too would feel jut u he did. All threngh that week he tried to get her to promise that she would go with hia. Bit she wu very firm, aid would net g*. Indeed, she wu quite frightened to find what a little heretic her hoy had become, and she therefore led him away to the Catho¬ lic prieit. The mother tells her itory. The priest, very angry, threatens to. sepa¬ rate him from the only true Church, and t* bring upon him the most terrible eurses ud punishments in this world and in the text. The boy heard til, but he wu net moved by it. Hia mind was too well taught now to be easily tuned hack from the way of tilth into the path of error. There he stood, silent, but firm. He said little, but felt much. No doubt the prieit wondered to see so young a hoy show sueh courage and decisioa. The next Sabbath came. The mother supposing that tke threatening* of the prieit would prevent her son from going again to the mission chapel, or even wish¬ ing to do u, aiked him to accompany her to the Catbojio chnrch. As the ehapel waa only n little way out of the read whioli led to the ehurch, as soon ns’ they came near to the firmer, the little boy asked hia aether to pass close by it. To please him, she consented. They came opposite to the chapel, when all at oneo, to her great sur¬ prise, ho eaught hold of her gown, and hied with all his might to keep her frem geing farther, and to persuade her to go in with him to hear the missionary. The woman wu astonished and angry with her son’a conduct, but he was ao earnest in his en¬ treaties and efforts, that she at length let him have his way and went in. But there was a higher hand thau the boy's in this etrange affair. The woman, perhaps for the first time, heard of Jesus and of his salvation. Her mind was opened. New light fell upon its darkness. “ Oh, the goodness of Uod,” writes tho mission¬ ary; “her heart was melted by tho word, and she has ever since been a constant hearer;- and. we trust speh a wqrk of grace is begun in' both' mother and son,' os will- - find ill happy and most glorious censumm’a- lion in heaven.” You prajed шс Home. The subjoined touching story wo clip from the Ноше Mission Reoord. Let it be well pondered over; it teaches us the power of earneet prayer ; not only can it pray one to his earthly home, but to an heavenly one : “ A Mother’s Prater.— A mother h heard of the arrival of her sailor-boy eutside the Cape, and was awaiting his return with the anxiety a mother alone can know. With faith strong in God, she prayed for his safety. News came that the vessel was lost. “ The father, an unconverted man, who had preserved a sullen silence, now wept aloud. Tho mother observed, “ He is iu the hands of Him who doetli all things well,” and again the subdued and softened spirit bowed, commending her son and her hueband, in an audible voice to Ged. “ In the morning, the little gato in front of the dwelling turned on its hinges, the doer opened, and their soi, their lost, loved son stood before them. The vessol had been driven into one of tbe harbors on tbe coast, 'and wu safe. The father rushed to meet him. His mother, hanging on Ыя neck, earnestly exclaimed, ‘My child, hew camo you here !’ ‘ Mother, ’ said he, as the tears coursed dewn his sun-burnt face, 1 1 knew you'd pray me home.' “What a spectacle: a wild, reckleeu youth, acknowledging the cffieaoy ef prayer. It seems he was'aware of bis perilous situa¬ tion, and that he labored with the thought, < My mother prays; Christians’ prayers are answered, and I may be saved/ This re- fieotion, when almost exhausted with fatigue, and ready to give up ia despair, gave him fresh strength, and with renewed oeurage he labored ull the barber was gamed. “Christian mother, ртау for that soa who is likely to be wrecked in the stem of life, and his prospects Halted fewer. He may be savea Tie Best Learning. The aceoapliehid Seldes, os bis death¬ bed, said t* Archbishop Usher, “I hart surveyed most of the learning that is among, the sens of men, and my study ii ЫЫ with books and minuieripte on various яЬмоЦ jet, at this moment, I can recolleot nothiu^ in thvm all on whieh I eon rest my Will*