and the extension of their usefulness depend upon their own Christian efforts, and their faithfulness to their Lord. 16. In conclusion, we have asked you, dear brethren, to perform a difficult task. We have asked you, in continuation of those improvements which, with so much zeal and discretion, you have already begun to introduce into the Mission, thoroughly to revise your existing establishments, whether schools, agents, or churches; and, while retaining all their best portions, to bring all within a certain prescribed expenditure. It is not money that you now need. We believe that the strength of your Mission lies not in its large outlay, but in the piety which it largely contains. It lies in your own spiritual life and influence as the leaders, bishops, and counsellors of these young churches; in the vigorous life, liberality, and devoutness of all your converts, pastors, preachers, and members; of the men and women so well taught, so truly led upward, and so greatly blessed. It is to that spiritual strength, vitality, and consecration we look for the future development and extension of the Travancore churches. They must increase; we must decrease. Truly founded, well instructed, wisely guided, they must spread and flourish. Our gifts and efforts, our share in the agencies of the Mission, must henceforth diminish and lessen, till it is confined to the support of yourselves, in whole or part; and some day you will yourselves be no longer needed. But as the rocky valleys of Travancore, and the broad sandfields of Tinnevelly, by human toil and skill and care, are becoming increasingly covered with their native palm forests, which adorn the land with beauty, and furnish food and shelter for man and beast; so may these churches of Christ, native to the soil, multiply and spread; may they bring forth fruit in old age; may they be fat and flourishing, and, as time goes on, may they contribute their full share to the glorious work of bringing all the nations of India to the cross of Christ. II.-YOUNG MEN'S AUXILIARIES. PUBLIC MEETING AT EXETER HALL. A public meeting of a very enthusiastic character was held in Exeter Hall on Thursday evening, Dec. 5th, to inaugurate the formation of YOUNG MEN'S AUXILIARIES to the London Missionary Society throughout the kingdom. The Hall was well filled on the occasion. Mr. Samuel Morley presided, supported by Rev. R. Robinson, Rev. Dr. Mullens, C. Reed, Esq., chairman of the Board; J. Kemp Welch, Esq., G. F. White, Esq., W. H. Willans, Esq., Rev. W. Fairbrother, Rev. R. W. Dale, Rev. H. Allon, Rev. W. M. Punshon, Rev. Dr. Edmond, Rev. J. Stoughton, Rev. J. Kennedy, M.A., Rev. S. Kennedy, Dr. G. H. Davis, Hon. A. Kinnaird, M.P., and many other Directors and friends of the Society. The proceedings were commenced by the Rev. S. Kennedy giving out the hymn, "From all that dwell below the skies;" and, after it had been sung, the Rev. Henry Allon offered prayer. The Rev. R. ROBINSON was called upon by the Chairman to make a brief statement concerning the Auxiliary which the young men had met to inaugurate. He said: Among the arrangements made by the Directors for our last anniversary in May, there was one specially designed for young men; the Rev. Samuel Martin, of Westminster, very kindly proffered the use of his large chapel, and Dr. Norman McLeod accepted the invitation to preach there; the vast edifice was filled, and while the fervid eloquence of the preacher secured undivided attention, the truths he preached touched and thrilled many hearts. Among the young men who called upon me the next day at the Mission House, there were some who said the work of Christ never appeared to them to be so glorious as while listening to that sermon. Among the many ministers present at that service there were two-the Rev. S. Kennedy, of Croydon, and the Rev. Arthur Hall, of Tottenham-who had a strong conviction that something spiritually practical must be the outcome of that service. We conferred together, and the issue was a determination to try and form a Young Men's Auxiliary to the London Missionary Society, whose aim should be the awakening of missionary zeal, the diffusion of missionary intelligence, and the raising of an annual guinea by each member in aid of the funds. My colleagues at the Mission House entered most heartily into the project; a meeting of young men, whose names had been furnished by London ministers, was convened at Blomfield-street, a working committee was then formed, and the Rev. Samuel Kennedy was appointed honorary secretary to that committee; and it is only due to Mr. Kennedy to state, that to his untiring zeal and disinterested efforts the movement owes much of the success it has already realised. The Directors have given their cordial approval to the movement, with the distinct understanding that it is to be carried on in close connection with the Mission House, and that the contributions are to be paid in, wherever practicable, through existing local Associations. Already the organisation has found such favour in the provinces that it has representatives in no less than thirty-five country towns and cities, including Birmingham, Brighton, Hastings, Cheltenham, Leeds, Leamington, Cardiff, Yarmouth, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Dundee. Thus, with a most encouraging present, we may look onward to a very hopeful future. The Directorsappeal to young men for the same reason that the apostle John appealed to them when he said, I write unto you young men, because ye are strong." The society, like a ship, has been labouring in financial "straits," and the prow is now turned to the young, as towards a "Cape of Good Hope;" and certainly all will be well with regard to this movement if young men will only act out the advice of an aged dying saint, who said to a youth at his bedside, "Young man! do all the good you can; in every way you can; to as many persons as you can; as long as ever you can; and make as little nois about it as possible.” The CHAIRMAN said-They met at a late hour, although he supposed, they were all advocates of early closing. He hoped that in the five minutes he should interpose between them and the first speaker on his list he might be able to add a little to the stimulus which he trusted they would all receive in the direction indicated. When he found that it would be acceptable to the young men contemplating the present meeting that he should preside over it, he felt very little hesitation in giving a hearty acceptance to their invitation. He had too much to do with young men in London, and had felt too deep an interest in all that concerned their welfare, to be disposed to withhold any service acceptable to them. He felt specially interested in the object of their meeting. He thought it most suitable that the Christian young men of London and of England should band themselves together to assist those honoured friends who were conducting with so much efficiency and integrity the affairs of their noble Institution, especially when they were in a position of financial embarrassment, difficulty, and debt. From circumstances to which he need not further advert, he felt the more called upon to unite in the present effort, because he had had his sympathies drawn out in the direction of home efforts. He believed, however, that by strengthening religion at home they ought to strengthen foreign missions. abroad. This ought to be the case, and perhaps would be found to be the case. He was afraid he could no longer reckon himself a young man, although his sympathies were still with young men; and he was anxious to join them in some form in their money effort. At the same time he attached more impor tance to the probable result of young men being brought to take an intelligent interest in missions than to the annual guinea they might collect. He could not help referring to one fact-that in a nation like ours, with its numerous colonial dependencies and vast commercial transactions, bringing them into contact with every nation on the face of the earth, there were solemn responsibilities resting upon them. If they looked at the wealth, the freedom, and the undoubted influence of England, and the profession of religion which attached to such a large number of the English nation, and the reality of religion, too, which, thank God, existed amongst them, the claim was very strong that they should enter a distinct protest against any lessening of effort. He was not indifferent to the social and political results which had followed the work of some of their most honoured labourers. He remembered Dr. Philip giving evidence on behalf of the oppressed Hottentots before a committee of the House of Commons, and no one could doubt the fact that politically those people had been blessed by his going to Africa. So, too, with regard to the labours of Williams, Knibb, Moffat, and a host of others; apart from the direct religious work they were enabled to accomplish, good had resulted from their efforts. He was glad to hear that ten thousand young men should be found to enrol themselves in that auxiliary. There would be no doubt of their success if only reasonable effort were thrown into their movement. While unable to offer himself as a member of the association, as a young man, he should be glad to supplement their ten thousand guineas with a thousand pounds. He offered this, with heavy liabilities resting on him, simply with a view to slightly stimulate the earnestness of a few who might be lukewarm, and as an evidence of his conviction that the London Missionary Society should be brought out of its difficulty, and that the people of the country would stand by the Directors, and enable them largely to increase their operations and to respond with greater liberality to the calls upon them. The question was asked of each one individually, What will you do: and he prayed each to give a thorough, genuine English answer to that appeal. The Rev. Dr. EDMOND moved the first resolution :— "That this meeting recognises the continued obligation resting on the Church to give the everlasting Gospel to the world, and rejoices in the past successes of the London Missionary Society." This resolution might be divided into two parts: it recognised an obligation, and it rejoiced in a fact. The meeting was asked to recognise the continued obligation of giving the everlasting Gospel to the world. What said the Word, the will of the Master? "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." Until that command had been obeyed the obligation continued. But had they gone into all the world? With gladness he could think of the multitude of places into which they had gone, but as yet they had not gone into all the world. If only one spot remained, and that a small corner of the earth, the law continued obligatory, and they dared not rest until that last corner had heard the Gospel. But his resolution asked them to rejoice in the past success of the London Missionary Society. Very heartily did he say that they and Christians of every denomination were called upon to rejoice in that success. He liked the name London Missionary Society, and it had many pleasant features about it. He thought of its venerable age. The other day he stood in Highgate Cemetery, where were interred the remains of one who was known and beloved by a far wider circle than his own denomination. He left the graveyard with this thought, What a grand thing by God's grace to live a life that, when it was closed, should evoke such a testimony of respect, and esteem, and Christian love as were seen illustrated that day. So with regard to their Society, it was a great thing for an association so to have conducted its affairs for seventy years that now it could, in a moment of its difficulties, appeal to those around it, and call especially young men to the rescue. The Society was cosmopolitan in its character. It had its agents in many continents; and if ever a society illustrated in its early days the old prophecy, "The isles shall wait for thee," the London Missionary Society had. In the South Seas, in India, in China, in the West Indies, and he knew not where, the Society had taken its rank and had planted its foot, and now there was an especial obligation on it to remember, that for it, and for all other associations, the field was the world. It had a martyrology of its own. God seldom if ever raised a man or a society to a position of prominent honour until He had cast that man and that society into the furnace. They were to be made perfect through suffering. The Society had had its martyrs among its missionaries and its converts, among the shepherds and their flock. It had its army and navy, and no armies did such mighty work. He was glad to hear of the proposal that there should be ten thousand young men to form an auxiliary, and he was sure that there would be more than guineas represented by such an auxiliary. Every guinea would be gathered with emotion, aspirations, and prayers that would do the collectors themselves more good than even the Missionary Society itself. He said-The resolution The Rev. J. STOUGHTON seconded the resolution. put the matter on the right ground: it was their duty to engage in the work. This duty did not rest on the amount of success which had accompanied their efforts in days gone by; it did not rest on any speculations of theirs with regard to the future state of the heathen; it did not rest on any mere general considerations of any kind; nor, indeed, exclusively on the passage of Scripture to which allusion had been made. There was another passage which covered all kinds of missionary work. Christ said that the Church was to be the light of the world, and they were to be lights in the world. The other day they might have seen the cabs going about with the words "No lamps" inscribed upon them. Now, the motto of Christians should be, “All lamps." Each one was to be a floating light, and to regard the Society as a lighthouse, which it was their duty to keep in constant repair in order that the light of Divine truth might be shed all over the world. There were all kinds of facilities for communicating the Gospel, and it was for them to avail themselves of those opportunities of usefulness. The time was when they might have asked, "What can I do for the conversion of the heathen? I cannot go myself, and I do not know how to help on the enterprise." They could not say that now. Here was a Society in existence, and there were other societies; by helping them they would be carrying on the important object in view. Mr. Morley had alluded to the importance of home work. Perhaps they did not consider that they were already employed in a variety of ways at home, whereas the Missionary Society was the only channel by which they could reach the heathen. A hundred thousand pounds might be raised for the Missionary Society, but millions were contributed for different branches of home operation. This should be remembered. They should not relax in their endeavours to do good to their fellow-neighbours and fellow-citizens; but the duty before them, the young, was to send the Gospel to the pagan world. It was mainly through the agency of that Society that they could perform this duty, and into the performance of it he asked them to throw all the energy of their souls. If they would be happy, they might be sure there was nothing like the happiness connected with work. There was, of course, pleasure in relaxation; but for himself he enjoyed relaxation because it was the fruit of preceding toil, and if a man did not work hard he could not have that sense of enjoyment which the person would feel who earned his holiday before he had it. He would also say that if they would have an intelligent enjoyment of their efforts in connection with that Society, they should make themselves well acquainted with its operations; they should study maps, ascertain the geographical position of the country to which missionaries had gone, and read such works as those which had been written by Moffat, Williams, Ellis, and others. More would be found in them to do their hearts good than they would find in the sensational novels which were now so popular. And, in closing, he would ask them to throw themselves into this great enterprise. They, had been told that the Society was in difficulty. This was not from any diminution of interest in its objects, but from the augmentation of its efforts, and |