DOMESTIC.

Warwickshire Unitarian Tract Society.

The forty-third annual general meeting of this Society was held at Kidderminster, on Tuesday, August 7, when the Rev. Stephenson Hunter, of Wolverhampton, conducted the devotional service; after which a sermon was preached by the Rev. John Harrison, Ph.D., of Brixton, London, from John xix. 39, "And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night."

At the meeting for business after the service, the chair was taken by William Talbot, Esq., of Whitville. Among the resolutions passed at this meeting was the following: "That the best thanks of this Society be given to John Francis, Esq., of Edgbaston, for his valuable services as Treasurer during the past year; and that in complying with the wish which he expresses, in a letter now read from him, to have some one else appointed to that office, the Society would respectfully offer him their most grateful acknowledgments of the faithfulness, punctuality and success, with which he has discharged his duties as their Treasurer during the last twelve years."

The subscribers and friends of the Society, to the number of sixty-five, afterwards dined together under the able presidency of the Rev. Matthew Gibson. The absence through illness of that able and zealous friend of the cause of Christian truth and freedom, George Talbot, Jun., Esq., of Honeybrook, was deeply regretted, and most earnest wishes were expressed for his speedy restoration to health; while the name of his venerable father, George Talbot, Esq., of Greenhill, proposed by the Rev. John Kentish, called forth the warmest expressions of grateful respect from the meeting. Various sentiments were delivered in connection with the objects of the Tract Society, and with the general interests of religious truth, education, freedom and charity.

Memory of Priestley.

On Sunday, July 29, Mr. Mill delivered a lecture at Bristol, the birth-place of Dr. Priestley, on the life and character of that great man. The lecture was

given at the request of the "Christian Reformers," and their large room, the Hall of Freedom, was crowded in every part. The lecturer commenced by remarking that there was no duty which the living owed to the dead more sacred than keeping the righteous in everlasting remembrance: they had gone forth weeping, bearing precious seed; and we come after them, rejoicing in the path of safety which had been beaten out of the hard rock by their bleeding feet. The great men who had thus laboured to prepare the way of the Lord were of various orders, and had gifts differing one from another. The patriot, the poet, the philosopher, the prophet, had a diversity of gifts, but the same spirit, varying as one star differeth from another star in glory, but all necessary to beautify the heavens and give light unto the world. The character of Priestley was next dwelt upon. He was much, but he was not every thing. He was wanting in brilliancy of imagination and in warmth of religious feeling. He was not spiritual as Channing. He had not the ardent zeal of Wesley, nor the rapt piety of Fenelon ; but he had a soul full of truth and God, a clear eye and a pure heart. He was so free from passion and prejudice, that it is not easy to find an uncharitable expression in his writings; but he fainted not in the day of adversity, and feared no man. His character as a divine and a philosopher was followed by a recital of the principal events of his life, which was concluded by reading the account of his death as given by his son.

The lecture occupied full an hour and a half, and although there must have been upwards of five hundred people packed into the room, it was listened to throughout with the deepest attention, and at the conclusion many were affected to tears by the touching narrative of his last moments.

Huddersfield.-The Unitarian congregation assembling in Bath-Buildings chapel, have given a unanimous and cordial invitation to the Rev. John K. Montgomery, of Torquay, to become their minister, which has been accepted by Mr. Montgomery, and he is expected to enter upon his duties there in October.

May 19, aged 72, ROBERT FLETCHER, Esq., of Park-Hill Road, Toxteth Park, Liverpool, youngest son of the late John Fletcher, of Liverpool, by Hannah his wife, daughter of Joseph Andrews, of Bolton-le-Moors. Mr. Fletcher was paternally descended from an ancient yeoman family, who had been long seated in the parish of Childwall, near Liverpool, some of whom were among the earliest supporters of the Presbyterian congregation at Gatacre, in that parish. His mother's family, the Andrews', have been seated at Little Lever and Rivington from the time of James the First. They are one of the few families among the ranks of the gentry who have steadily adhered to the Pres byterian cause from the times of the Commonwealth to the present day, as is exemplified in the person of their present representative, Robt. Andrews, Esq., of Little Lever and Rivington, whose only sister, Hannah Maria, was married to her cousin Mr. Fletcher, whom she survives. Mr. Fletcher was throughout life a consistent and firm adherent to the liberal principles of his forefathers, and was for many years a member of the Presbyterian congregation worshiping in the chapel of Toxteth Park. His remains are interred in the burial-place attached to that ancient chapel.

June 13, at Chelsea, Mr. CHARLES CADE, after a sudden illness of two days. His life has been sacrificed in the faithful discharge of his duties among the poor, during the prevailing epidemics of fever and cholera. An affectionate widow, with two infant daughters, are left to bewail his decease.

June 25, after a short illness, in his 46th year, Mr. JOHN EDWARD LAKIN, of Dripshill, in the county of Worcester, eldest son of the late Mr. Henry Lakin, of Hanley.

Few characters could, equally with the subject of this notice, stand the close inspection which too often converts the objects of general admiration into beings of a far inferior stamp. Mr. Lakin's excellences were most highly appreciated by those who knew him best, and though universally and deservedly esteemed by all within the sphere of his influence, he was proportionally

endeared to that intimate circle of kindred and friends who shared most fully those daily proofs of tenderness and delicacy of feeling, and that unselfish consideration of others, which always distinguished him. He might truly be ranked with "the pure and upright in heart;" and by his total freedom from worldly striving after distinctions or gain, might be described as "not of the world though in it," and still actively engaged in its service. His piety was sincere and heartfelt, little apparent by profession, but manifested by its fruits. His family, which had for many generations belonged to the body of English Presbyterians, had gradually, in common with most of that persuasion, adopted Unitarian sentiments. In these Mr. Lakin was a sincere and devoted though unbigoted believer to the end of his life, manifesting, by its influence on his conduct, that his religion was no cold or unprofitable profession, but, in truth, "a well of living water springing up into everlasting life."

We cannot close this notice without copying the greater part of one that appeared in the Worcester Herald, as it strikes us as remarkably appropriate : "In his own neighbourhood his sound judgment and benevolent character were generally appreciated, and his uniform efforts to serve the poor, to whom he was a liberal master and considerate friend, will be long remembered; and by all who knew him, the recollection of his unassuming manner, his kindliness of disposition, and, beyond all, his unflinching integrity of principle, will be long cherished and retained. His inestimable value in domestic life can only be understood by those who have witnessed the devotion of his filial tenderness, as well as his conjugal, parental and fraternal affection. By the death of this gentleman, the country has lost one who has done much to promote the interests of agriculture, as well as by the improvement he has made in the breed of cattle. He was one of the most active members of the Worcestershire Agricultural Society, to which he had been appointed Honorary Secretary, and was about to proceed to Norwich, where he had been chosen one of the judges at the late meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society."

We have to record the death of Mr. ANTHONY NEW, of Evesham, in his 62nd year, on the 24th of July, after a short illness. He was the second son of the late Mr. Anthony New the elder, of the same place, and was born on the 14th of September, 1787.

To pay a tribute of grateful remembrance to a man of sterling integrity, sincere piety and great benevolence, and which is due to his country as well as to his friends, is the purpose of the following notice.

The spirit of our Puritan fathers, by which God wrought such marvellous things for England in the seventeenth century, driven back by the changes of affairs into the private acts and thoughts of men, found refuge in the homes of many pious families, and became a fountain of living water to purify the hearts of the faithful servants and preserve the peculiar people of the Lord. This spirit, united to the characteristic simplicity and industry of Englishmen, is the source of our national worth; and from it we trace the existence of that large middle class in this country who hold in various forms the principles of dissent from the Established Churchthe principles of the Protestant Reformation. How many of this class are happy in the remembrance of the inflexible integrity of a father, of the saintly piety of a mother, of the devout air of a family circle,-all of whom, inspired by the same gracious spirit, become the living witnesses of God, the faithful members of the church, the salt of the earth!

With the memory of at least two preceding generations, on both his father's and mother's side, warmly attached to the doctrines and principles to which he himself became faithful, the subject of this notice entered upon a life of active industry and Christian piety under such influences as we have above described; and he did full justice to them by unfolding them in a character of manly simplicity and Christian grace. Such a character possesses a public as well as a private value, though little allied to the qualities which constitute the public man, the winner of popularity or fame; and its influence is deeper, holier and more durable, though less noted and less extended, than that of the latter. It is good to know such a one, and his memory is blessed. In the midst of ordinary events he has done the work of his Heavenly Father; and the eternal interests of men have

been aided by his life. The world is better because he has lived in it; and departing he leaves peace behind him, like his Master.

In attempting a tribute to the memory of Mr. Anthony New, we observe an absence of extraordinary incidents in his outward life, and a fulness of those excellences of character which the discipline of life is intended to develop. It is out of common things, and by common duties, that good men make holy lives; for God so surrounds us with opportunities to do his will, that none need seek or wait for singular occasions to serve him; for "all things work together for good to them that love God." His piety was instilled into his childhood, and for this he delighted to bear testimony to his mother, a woman of exalted and cheerful spirit, and firmly persuaded of the simple doctrines of Unitarian Christianity. By her his character seems to have been early trained to devoutness, deep and sincere, but absolutely free from all moroseness or bigotry. Among the outward means of grace by which his youth was fed, may be mentioned, after the Scriptures, of which he was ever a lover and diligent reader, the writings of Watts and Doddridge, and the Unitarian authors of the period; the enlarged views of the latter correcting the dogmas, without extinguishing the intenser spirit, of the former. Removed early from the school to the work-shop, he served a laborious apprenticeship at an employment which he subsequently abandoned for his father's business. This last he carried on jointly with his father and eldest brother, and devoted to it a long and active manhood, exercising therein an unwavering integrity that obtained the respect of a wide country neighbourhood. He retired from business about the age of fifty, and transferred his unimpaired energies to such public services as his native town required. In him all useful institutions found a generous supporter and an active member, and municipal and parochial affairs won a prudent counsellor and benevolent administrator. In the office of Guardian, which he held from the first establishment of the Poor Law in this district until his death, he earned the title of the Friend of the Poor, an honourable distinction, which the Board of Guardians have since recorded in the minutes of their public transactions. In his death the town and neighbourhood lament the loss of a public bene.

factor, and very many are the mourners who gratefully remember his private charities. Moral integrity and habitual piety were blended in his private character with a genial nature, and a happy and mirthful disposition, which gained the reverence and love of a large circle of friends. The young especially loved him, for he delighted to make them happy; and all honoured him who in the simplicity of an upright self-respect honoured all men. His manners were gentle and winning. He was a man of large but unostentatious hospitality, and also, whom the Lord loveth, "a cheerful giver." He was an affectionate husband, a wise and indulgent father, and a kind and liberal master. His house was devoted to peace and order, and to the service of the Lord. His faithfulness to the church was constant; he laboured in the Sunday-schools from youth till late in life, when his children were able to succeed him. Diligent in attendance on public worship, he was one of the chief supporters of the Unitarian society assembling in the Presbyterian meeting in Evesham. The health which his active youth and manhood had strengthened and confirmed, he preserved to the close of his life by unvaried temperance and moderation; and when the hand of God was stretched forth to summon him from this world, he put off his mortality without pain, and resigned his spirit to the Lord undisturbed by fear or suffering, and in the calmness of that peace which passeth all understanding. His last illness

was short; his dissolution rapid. In full consciousness of his end, he called his dear ones around him, gave them his blessing, and awaited the hour of his departure. "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace.'

His funeral was attended by the members of the Municipal Corporation, and a procession of the principal inhabitants of the borough, including persons of all parties and religious denominations. A further mark of the universal esteem was exhibited by a very numerous attendance at the funeral sermon, which was delivered at the Unitarian meetinghouse, on the 29th of July, by the Rev. Timothy Davis, the brother-in-law of the deceased, from the text Acts xx. 24.

Aug. 17, at 24, Park Street, Islington, deeply regretted by an extensive circle of English friends, HENRY COLMAN, Esq., of Salem, Massachusetts, U.S., aged 65. He had, we understand, made arrangements for returning to America on the day succeeding that on which he died. To many of our readers he was known as the author of "Consolatory Views of Death," "What is Religion?" &c.

Aug. 23, at his residence, 9, Albert Road, Regent's Park, of cholera, Rev. SAMUEL WOOD, aged 52, second son of the late Ottiwell Wood, Esq., of Liverpool. It is with sincere regret we record the death of this excellent and kindhearted man, of whom we hope hereafter to give a more worthy notice.

1849. July 16, at the Unitarian meeting-house, Ballymena, by Rev. F. M'Cammon, Mr. WILLIAM MORRISON to Miss MARGARET DEMPSEY. This being the first marriage solemnized in the chapel, a Bible was presented by

the minister to the bride.

Aug. 7, at the Presbyterian chapel, Bolton, by Rev. F. Baker, Mr. JOHN CURTIS, of Manchester, to Miss ANN CROSSLEY, of Bolton.

Aug. 14, at the cathedral, Manchester, E. BURY, Esq., of the Middle Temple, to ELIZABETH, youngest daughter of Alexander HENRY, Esq., M.P., of Woodlands, near Manchester.

Aug. 20, at the Old chapel, Dukinfield, by Rev. R. Brook Aspland, M.A., Mr. EDWARD WHARMBY, of Ashtonunder-Lyne, to Miss LYDIA BRIDGE, of the same place.