FRIDAY, APRIL 21.

The Synod met this morning at ten o'clock, and was opened in the usual manner with praise and prayer, and reading a portion of Scripture.

THE DIRECTORY.

The Synod appointed the Committee on the Directory to have a sufficient number of copies printed for the use of the Church, omitting the questions to be propounded to candidates for license, ordination, or induction, and substituting the formula passed by the Berwick Synod of 1814.

HOME MISSION.

Consideration of the Report of the Home Mission Committee, which appeared in our last number, was resumed, and thereafter it was resolved to receive and adopt the Report; and while according their thanks to the Convener, Treasurer, Secretary, and Committee, desire to express the deep sense which they entertain of the many important services rendered to the interests of the Church by the managers and administrators of this most useful and valuable scheme.

BUILDING FUND.

After discussion the following Resolution was unanimously adopted :-"Receive the Report of the Committee, approve their diligence, adopt the regulations proposed in former years, as modified in the Report now presented, and appoint a Committee to prepare an appeal to be issued to the members of the Presbyterian Church in England, in behalf of the Building Fund, and instruct them to use all diligence to obtain by donations and annnal subscriptions such pecuniary resources as will enable them without delay, to carry out the objects of the Fund, and the recommendations of the Report. Further, authorize the Committee to transmit to the different Presbyteries inquiries as to the condition and prospects ofthe Churches and congregations within their bounds, and enjoin Presbyteries to give all facilities to the Committee in obtaining possession of the statistical information they may deem necessary to aid them in their work."

NEW EDUCATION BILL FOR SCOTLAND.

"1. That a large discretionary power should be placed in the hands of the Managing Committee; said Committee to consist of an equal number of ministers and elders of the Church.

"2. That the amount and mode of pecuniary assistance should be regulated very much by the special claims of each case, and by the condition of the fund itself, its resources, liabilities, and prospects.

"3. That aid should be given by loans with and without interest, on security satisfactory to the Committee, or by grants, or by both these means combined.

"4. That a different principle of distribution may fairly obtain, in the large towns and in the country districts, loans without interest, or with small interest, being in most cases sufficient in the former, while gifts are, in most cases, essential to the object in view in the latter.

"5. That before new erections are undertaken, where aid from the Building Fund is looked for, the Building Fund Committee should be consulted as to the plans to be adopted, the accommodation to be provided, and the expenses to be incurred.

"6. That returns be asked for and obtained through the different Presbyteries, in regard to the condition of the buildings of the Church, their wants, and prospects."

M.P. for Sunderland, for presentation to the House of Commons.

PSALMODY.

The Report of the Committee on Psalmody was given in by Mr. Chalmers, Convener. After discussion the following Motion was agreed to:-"Receive the Report, and reappoint the Committee, with the same instructions as at last Meeting of Synod; and with injunctions to use such diligence that the result of their labours may not fail to be put into the hands of the Presbyteries of the Church at latest on the 1st of January next, with the view to the Collection of Hymns being considered at next Meeting of Synod; and the Synod authorize the Treasurer of the Synod fund to pay the expenses of printing incurred since the printing of the first draft."

THE STATE OF RELIGION.

An excellent Report on the state of religion, which we hope to give in a future Number, was read by Mr. P. L. Miller, of Newcastle. It was resolved, "Receive and approve of the very interesting Report now read: re-appoint the Committee with former instructions, and urge on all ministers and sessions the duty of assisting the Committee to lay before next Synod a fuller Report of the state of religion within the bounds, assured, that in order to the promotion of the great ends of a Church of Christ

DAY OF HUMILIATION.

An overture was received from certain members of Court relative to the day set apart by Her Majesty the Queen for national humiliation on account of the war. The Court resolved in terms of the overture, and directed the ministers and sessions of the Church to see that the 26th day of the presenth month be duly observed in their several congregations.

CLOSING OF PUBLIC-HOUSES ON THE
LORD'S-DAY.

A Committee was appointed to prepare Petitions to Parliament against the sale of intoxicating liquors on any part of the Lord's-day, to be signed by the Moderator, and thereafter transmitted for presentation; that to the House of Lords to Lord Panmure, and that to the House of Commons to Digby Seymour, Esq., M.P.

NEXT MEETING OF SYNOD,

It was resolved that the next Meeting of Synod be held (D.v.) at London, in Regentsquare Church, commencing on the third Tuesday of April, 1855, at two o'clock, p.m. The CLERK then proposed the thanks of the Synod to the brethren connected with St. George's congregation, whose ministers and elders and other office-bearers had shewn them the greatest attention and kindness. They were also much indebted to the inhabitants of Sunderland for the very hearty and hospitable reception they Lad given them on this occasion, and he was sure the Synod would long entertain a deep sense of the many favours they had received since they came here. If he might mention the name of one gentleman, it would be that of Mr. Hay, who had devoted so much of his time in order to pro

mote the comfort and enjoyment of members; and the recollection of whose exertions, as well as that of the families with whom they had resided, would be long cherished by the Synod. The Motion was eordially adopted.

The Synod was then concluded by sing. mg part of a Psalm and pronouncing the benediction.

Liverpool, Rev. John Park, of
Carlisle.

Manchester, Rev. Charles Thom-
son, of North Shields.

Newcastle, Rev. James C. Burns, of London.

London, Rev. Alexander Munro,
of Manchester.

Carlisle, Rev. John T. Paterson,
D.D., of Sunderland.

Liverpool, Rev. Alex. Murdoch,
of Berwick.

Berwick, Rev. Robert Wallace, of Birmingham.

,, Birmingham, Rev. Hugh Campbell, of Manchester.

Manchester, Rev. William Black-
wood, of Newcastle.

Sunderland, Rev. J. Anderson,
M.A., of Morpeth.

Newcastle, Rev. Jas. Hamilton,
D.D., of London.

London, Rev. Joseph R. Welsh,
M.A., of Liverpool.

,, Liverpool, Rev. George J. C. Duncan, of North Shields. Birmingham, Rev. Peter Lorimer, of London.

From the Minute Book presented to the Synod at its last Meeting, by the Rev. Dr. Paterson, of Sunderland, it appears that on the 6th of September, 1826, at Newcastle-on-Tyne, and within St. James's Chapel there, the then Presbyteries of Newcastle and north-west of England, agreed to form a Synod. Present, eleven The Rev. ministers and eight elders. Charles Thomson, of North Shields, was chosen Moderator; Walter Fairlie and John Pears, clerks.

This Synod again met at Newcastle on the 5th September, 1827. The Rev.

Sir Roland Ashton; or, a Tale of the
Times. By Lady LONG. London: Rout-
ledge and Co.
World Worship. By ELEANOR GRIFFITHS.
London: Nisbet and Co.

Florence Egerton; or, Sunshine and
Shadow. By the Author of "Aunt
Edith," &c. Edinburgh: Kennedy.
WE have classed these three works together,
exhibiting, as they do, as many types of
national mind and character. The first is
the production of an English authoress,
and pourtrays the practical character for
which the inhabitants of the southern part
of our "sea-girt isle" are proverbially
famous. In the second, the energetic
nature and wild freedom of the ancient
Briton find expression, blended occasionally
with what, under the reign of dark igno-
rance, assumed the form of the most
fantastic superstitions. While in the last,
the sound common sense and fervent piety
of Scotland, which have made her so re-
nowned among
the commonwealth of

nations, meet the reader on every page. "Sir Roland Ashton was first given to the world during the hottest period of the Tractarian controversy, and, we imagine, with the intention of neutralizing the effects of those fascinating, but insidious productions, professedly published under the editorship of the Rev. W. Sewell. Nothing, we consider, could be more effective against the spirit of mere "doing," which the above-mentioned class of publications, in a few cases with some success, inculcated than the "Tale of the Times." And, although the circumstances have changed since its first appearance, it is a book which possesses sufficient inherent interest and practical utility to merit a re-publication.

"World Worship" is an interesting and instructive volume, something really worth reading in this age of book-making. The authoress has breathed into it a considerable portion of the poetry and soul-elevating character of her "Welsh mountain home." The lesson she endeavours to impress upon her readers is one of the gravest import, and urgently called for by the exigencies of the times. We know

from our own experience that the social evil she exposes is one of almost universal practice. The words of the dying Nelly, mentioned in our last Number, "Ah, mamma, you taught me to live, but never, never, to die," are applicable, we fear, to a majority of the daughters of even professed Christian mothers. We wish every mother would read and ponder well the result, as exhibited in the volume before us, of the merely how-to-live education, unhappily becoming too prevalent; and we think she would shrink from incurring so fearful a responsibility, as an efficient agent in the destruction of those committed to her care. Some may have done so partly in ignorance, and those who might have taught them more efficiently the duty they were required to perform towards those tender infants which they gave to God, and received back in trust from him at baptism, may stand charged with culpable neglect; still the evil exists to an alarming extent, and the sooner rectified the better. As a means towards effecting such a desirable result, we heartily commend the present work. It should be in the hands of every mother. Were we inclined to criticise the volume in a literary point of view, some slight blemishes might be pointed out. It is evidently the production of an unpractised pen. But a little attention to style, with the talents which the work before us displays, and, above all, the earnest and vigorous religion that pervades the whole, give promise of a successful and useful writer. We may add, that her subject is by no means exhausted. And it were much more desirable if our "religious story writers" would concentrate their efforts each on some specific object, rather than waste their endeavours and render them comparatively fruitless by expatiating on all and everything.

"Sunshine and Shadow," we confess, somewhat disappointed us. The celebrity of "Aunt Edith" will not compensate, we fear, for the comparative inferiority of "Florence Egerton." The volume before us, however, is not without its use, and we imagine it was the use intended by the author, of pointing out the necessity of

The Sensibility of Separate Souls Considered. By CALEB WEBB. London: Houlston and Stoneman.

The subject considered by our Author is confessedly a difficult one, and one, moreover, on which considerable diversity of opinion exists. We cannot say that he has placed the matter beyond the region of dispute. Probably this were impossible. The utmost to which it is possible perhaps to attain is the preponderating probability as to the fact that the soul when separated from the body will continue in a state of conscious existence, while the quomodo may remain a disputed question. The greater part of the work before us is employed with the consideration of those texts of Scripture that have a bearing on the subject, and we are glad to observe that the writer has no sympathy with modern philosophers "falsely so called."

The

Selection of Private Prayers.-Morning. T. Nelson and Sons. 1853. MANY are able to dispense altogether with forms of devotion. But for those who require such aids, we scarcely know a more suitable work than that before us. prayers comprise a course for the different mornings of a fortnight, besides supplications for a communion occasion, a birth-day season, and the time of affliction. The sentiments are thoroughly Evangelical, the language is simple, scriptural, and varied. Like Mr. Nelson's publications in general, the volume is got up with great neatness, and, indeed, beauty of execution, while the price puts it within the reach of the very humblest, who desire to possess such a manual.

The Cherubim of Glory; or, Oneness of Man with God. London: Nisbet and Co. THE publisher has done his part well. The binding and typography of the work before us are unexceptionable. But we think our author has failed in his attempt to make a book. For anything the world

will be bettered by its publication, "the subject" might as well have been allowed to remain for ever "clear to his view," and "talked of among private friends," as he tells us it has been "for about ten years."

The following pamphlets will not require more from us than a brief notice :-An Historic Plea for Ecclesiastical Unity (Nisbet and Co.), will repay an attentive perusal; but although the "Westminster Standards" have done much for more lands than Scotland, yet we fear they are not likely soon to form the basis of an ecclesiastical union of all evangelical Churches. Mr. Freeman, of Fleet-street, has commenced the publication of a Library of Biblical Literature, in twopenny numbers. "The Story of Ancient Nineveh," "Israel and the Pyramids,"--and "The Dead Sea and its Explorers," form the first three numbers. They are suitably illustrated, neatly got up, and deserve an extensive sale. The able and eloquent address-Faith and Criticism-by Dr. Merle D'Aubigné, at the opening of the Presbyterian College in Belfast, has been published in a neat pamphlet by Mr. Shepherd. It is truly worthy of the author and the occasion. The following tributes to departed worth will require no commendations from us; by many they will be perused with a hallowed and grateful interest:

A

The Transfer of the Sacred Office. Sermon preached in the Presbyterian Church at Branton, on occasion of the death of the Rev. Newton Blythe, M.A., senior minister of that congregation, and the oldest member of the Presbyterian Synod in England. By the Rev. JAMES ANDERSON, A.M., of Morpeth.

Departed Worth and Greatness Lamented. A Sermon on the death of the Rev. Andrew Symington, D.D. By WILLIAM SYMINGTON, D.D., Glasgow.

By

The Consolation and Duty of Churches under the loss of Eminent Ministers. A Funeral Sermon, occasioned by the death of the Rev. William Jay. the Rev. JOHN ANGELL JAMES. [Owing to so large a portion of our space being occupied with the proceedings of Synod, we are obliged to defer the insertion of several literary notices till our next.]