and ministers of truth, in every evangelical denomination, may be found, wherever there is a necessity for them, in any part

of the land.

I remain,

Your faithful and devoted servant,

THE AUTHOR.

PREFACE.

THE

HE situation of the Baptist College at Stepney having long been found to be both inconvenient and insalubrious, and the necessities of the times requiring a larger number of individuals to be employed in the dissemination of divine truth, under its auspices, than could be there collected, it was deemed desirable, for the sake of obviating these disadvantages, to seek after a residence more spacious and a spot more salubrious, which, however, were found difficult to be obtained. At length the premises in Regent's Park, consisting of a large and elegant mansion, inclosed in its own grounds and plantation, were offered for sale, with immediate possession; and the Committee, with the concurrence of several liberal friends and patrons of the Institution, concluded the purchase, and made the few necessary alterations in the abode for its new destination.

Accommodation is thus provided, in a healthy

and most delightful locality, for twice the number of the ministerial students in the former College at Stepney, and for the instruction in general literature of individuals as lay students. The same plan of education will be here carried on as that which has been hitherto pursued, with all the additional means of future scholarship that can be afforded; the main object of the Institution being ever kept in view— that of training young men of devout minds, and of personal holiness, for the exercise of a thoroughly evangelical ministry, being furnished with wisdom and knowledge for rightly dividing the word of truth, and commending themselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

On taking possession of the abode, on October 16, 1856, the following Inaugural Address was delivered to the students in the presence of a large assembly of ladies and gentlemen of the Baptist and Independent denominations, with their respective ministers; and a religious service of singing, prayer, and reading the Scriptures, was held in connexion with it, conducted by some of the ministers of both denominations who were present.

Two other meetings were held on the same day at the same place, at which Sir Morton Peto, Bart., and Joseph Gurney, Esq., presided, and various

ministers and gentlemen addressed the assembly. The late Dr. Harris, President of the New Independent College in the neighbourhood, being referred to in that capacity, replied in the most cordial and fraternal manner, alluding to the single difference that kept them from being amalgamated in one body, and comparing it to the streamlet which ran between the two colleges, over which, however, a spacious bridge had been thrown, which rendered access to each both facile and delightful. It was the last address which he delivered in public; for though then in perfect health, he was soon afterwards summoned to rest from his comparatively short, but eminently successful and varied labours in the service of the Church of God, leaving many hearts sad with the thought that they should see his face no more, till they meet him, with all who have been faithful unto death, at the resurrection of the just.