rooms were decorated in the most tasteful manner by some ladies of the congregation, with evergreens, artificial flowers, and appropriate mottos from the Holy Scriptures, written in leaves, upon white drapery; and as the scene was abundantly illuminated by chandeliers suspended from the ceiling, and lights ranged along the walls, it presented altogether a striking and beautiful appearance.

After tea, many of the Sunday-school children, and others were admitted, who increased the number of those present to not much less than 500. The Rev. C. Porter was called to the chair, and contributed greatly by his address and eloquence to the enjoyment of the meeting. The following sentiments connected with education were spoken to by Messrs. Bristow, M'Alester, M'Dowell, Greer, Smylie, Boyd, Redmond, and the Chairman,

"The Queen-may her reign be long and prosperous; and may she feel, that the religious and moral education of her people will be the brightest glory of the nation, and the strongest bulwark of her throne."

"The land we live in-and may those religious and political contentions, which have so long marred her progress in moral and social improvement, be speedily banished by the spread of education."

"May vital religion so influence the heart, as that peace and goodwill shall prevail amongst all our Christian brethren, and the bonds which unite us together be more strongly felt, and more generally acknowledged."

"An educated people-the Christian's prayer, the philanthropist's desire; and may every attempt to attain this desirable object, whether by Sunday-schools, libraries, or mechanics' institutions, be favoured with the Divine blessing."

"The cause of Sunday-school education-and may it become, daily, more and more efficacious, in training the rising generation in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

"The conductors of the Larne and Kilwaughter Sunday-schooland may their zealous efforts continue to be crowned with that inspiriting success, which has hitherto resulted from their benevolent exertions."

"The Rev. C. J. M'Alester of Holywood-and our best thanks to him, for his eloquent and evangelical discourse, on last Lord's day.”

“The ladies—with many thanks for their kindness, in making such excellent arrangements for the present entertainment.”

"The Larne Sunday-school."

“The Larne and Inver Sunday-school."

"Our worthy and esteemed Chairman, the Rev. C. Porter."

"The members of the various religious denominations, who have favoured us with their presence, this evening; and may the spirit of Christian charity be promoted, by our assembling together."

The utmost harmony prevailed throughout the evening, and the entertainment was commenced and concluded by singing and prayer. Earlier on the same evening, the children of the school, to the number of nearly 200, (together with a few of the pupils from the Methodist Sunday-school, who had been invited as guests) were abundantly regaled with tea and cakes. Before they separated, Mr. Porter, in a simple and very appropriate address, pointed out to them the many blessings they enjoyed, and the various duties which they owed to their parents, their teachers, their neighbours, and their God.

NEW PRESBYTERIAN MEETING-HOUSE, IN THE PARISH OF RALOO, NEAR LARNE.

ON Tuesday, the 2d January, the foundations were cut out, of a new Presbyterian Meeting-house, which is about to be erected in the parish of Raloo, and which has long been very much required, owing to the distance at which many of the parishoners live from any Presbyterian house of worship at present existing. On this interesting occasion, an appropriate address was delivered to the assembled multitude, by the Rev. Mr. Glendy, of Ballycarry; and a prayer for the Divine blessing on the undertaking was offered up, by the Rev. Classon Porter, of Larne. A grant of an eligible site for building has been given in perpetuity, in the most generous manner, by Mr. Samuel Drummond, Drumahoe; and liberal subscriptions have been entered into by the parishioners, for the purpose of procuring a house of worship, "where (as stated in the heading of the subscription list) the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures, as the only rule of faith and practice, shall be maintained; the right of every man to derive, his religious opinions from the written Word of God, be upheld; and the subscribers and their descendants be permitted to worship God in peace, according to the dictates of their own consciences, none daring to make them afraid." The list of subscribers contains the following, amongst other names :-Rev. Mr. Glendy, £10; Rev. Classon Porter, £10; A. Barklie, Esq., Inver, £10; George Whitla, Esq., Inver Lodge, £7; Rev. D. Whyte, Ballee, £3; Rev. W. H. Drummond, D.D., £2; Rev. J. C. Ledlie, D. D., £2, &c. &c.

THE REV. WILLIAM CAMERON, who received his education at the University of Glasgow for the Church of Scotland, has succeeded Mr. Cannon as Minister of the Unitarian Congregation, Wakefield..

THE REV. JOHN GORDON, formerly travelling Minister in the Wesleyan Methodist connexion, and subsequently the able and active opponent of the ecclesiastical usurpations of that body, is now Minister of the Unitarian Congregation, Coseley, Staffordshire.

BOLTON DISTRICT ASSOCIATION.

ON Thursday, October 12th, the half-yearly meeting of the Bolton District Association, was held at Cockey Moor. The religious services were conducted by the Rev. Franklin Baker, and the Rev. Henry Clarke; the latter of whom preached a sermon, which was much admired for its excellence and spirit, "on imitating Christ; Matt. xi. 29, "Learn of me." The friends of the Association assembled after the services in the Chapel-rooms, where they dined together, to the number of forty, and spent the afternoon in conversation and discussion connected with the objects of the meeting. The ministers present, were the Revds. J. Whitehead, chairman, H. Clarke, F. Howorth, W. Maccall, and F. Baker, who respectively addressed the meeting, together with other gentlemen, on the subject of their congregational institutions, from whose reports it appeared, that exerions were being made in various parts of the district, to call public attention to the doctrines of Unitarianism, as well as to assist in the diffusion of just sentiments and Christian principles. The Meeting had to regret the loss of one of its members, in the premature death of Mr. Horsfield of Chowbent; but they were gratified to learn, that in another part of the district, Rivington, the vacancy was likely to be soon supplied by a young minister, recently from the University of Glasgow, Mr. Rowlinson, whose services in the congregation and schools, are expected to be highly beneficial. In the course of the afternoon, the Rev. Mr. Walker was introduced to the meeting, as a convert from the Church of England, in which it was his intention to have taken orders, but having, during his residence in Wexford, Ireland, had his attention directed to the doctrines of Unitarianism, which he was invited to confute, he soon felt the difficulty of his task, and at length relinquished it by renouncing his former opinions. The change in his religious sentiments becoming known to the clergy, he was exposed to a series of attacks, which first deprived him of his pupils, and then hunted him out of society. He is come to this country, with a view of settling with some congregation, to whom his services will be acceptable, and is at present officiating in the vacant pulpit at Chowbent.

In consequence of the increasing interest felt by the ladies and

the youger members of the congregations in the district to attend the meetings of the Association, it was determined to exchange the morning for an afternoon service, and to hold a tea meeting afterwards. The religious service will in future commence at two o'clock, and tea is to be provided at four. The new arrangements will be tried at Chowbent, where the members of the Association will hold their Spring meeting on the last Thursday in April, Mr. Maccall being the preacher, and Mr. Rowlinson being appointed supporter on that occasion. F. BAKER, SECRETARY.

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

We have received a letter from "a subscriber,” recommending that the Book of common Prayer, of the United Church of England and Ireland, should be revised; that all passages objectionable to Unitarians, and many of its frequent repetitions, should be expunged, and that in this certainly improved form, it should be adopted by a Unitarian Society in Belfast. We are aware that in England such a revision of the Prayer Book has been made, and is at present used in some Unitarian Churches; but in England there is a greater love for forms of Prayer, than there is in Presbyterian Ulster, and we are disposed to think that, however many may be attracted to the Established Church by its array of pomp and faishion, very few attach themselves to it, because of the Missal which it employs. There may be some among us, and we doubt not but there are, who, though they dissent from the doctrines of the Established Church, are held by her prayers' but we fear their number is not sufficient to warrant the experiment which our correspondent suggests.

We have received a letter complaining that, while in England the Unitarian Periodicals publish frequent reports of Sunday school annual Meetings, Congregational Libraries, and Tract Societies, no Reports of similar meetings in this country, are to be found in the pages of the Bible Christian. The complaint of our correspondents is just, but we will not admit the fault to be ours, unless he can persuade us that we possess the attribute of omniscience. We are sometimes amused at the indignation of our friends, because we have not published such and such obituaries and intelligence, although we have heard nothing of them till the censure assails us. We would, once for all, assure our friends that we cannot know what takes place in every parish at all times; and, while we confess our imperfection on this point, we would crave their assistance, to procure for us any intelligence suited to our pages-we will gladly insert it.

OUR attention has been particularly directed to the subject of Domestic Missions, by the little book whose title we have written at the foot of this page. The readers of the Bible Christian are already aware that the benevolent and pious Tuckerman, a Unitarian minister in Boston, U. S., has devoted himself for several years to the temporal improvement and the spiritual instruction of the poor of that city. Animated with the genuine spirit of Christianity, he undertook the mission of preaching the gospel to the poor-not merely of delivering discourses to the poor from the pulpit, but of practically preaching the Gospel to them, by visiting them in their dwellings, seeking out the haunts of misery and vice, discovering the necessities of the unfortunate and the needy that he might relieve them, and speaking to them in accents of earnestness and affection of their duties in time, and their prospects for eternity. Through the instrumentality of this apostle of the Poor, such missions have recently been extended in Boston, and introduced into other cities of the Union and very lately similar missions have been established, and are now in active operation in London, Manchester, and Liverpool. We rejoice that measures are thus in progress for the relief and instruction of multitudes that have been hitherto totally neglected. While many have been for years zealously engaged in attempts to

The Visitor of the Poor, designed to aid in the formation and working of Provident and other kindred Societies. Translated from the French of the Baron De Gerando, with an Introduction by the Rev. J. Tuckerman, D. D., of Boston, U. S.-pp. xxxviii. 191London, 1833.