scale for boys and young men, to secure them from the evils of idleness and ignorance. Here there was a greater difficulty than in the other school in devising occupation. The first employments consisted in making spills for lighting candles, and paper bags, and in reading and spelling; and the scholars were addressed on the importance of order, cleanliness, industry and honesty, and they were taught to sing a few verses, the meaning of which was explained to them. Great stress was laid upon having the rooms kept clean and in good order; and this point has been cheerfully attended to. As inconvenience arose from the work of instruction and industrial occupation going on together, a second cottage was engaged for the school properly so called. In the working rooms, the young men are now engaged in making carpet slippers, book-shelves, potshelves, candle-stands, chairs, mousetraps, cock-roach traps, trowsers, waistcoats, mending of shoes, and putting the tops on clogs. By the payments for work done to order, this school has been partly self-supporting. Both schools have given much satisfaction both to the scholars and to the friends who originated them. Bury, March 15, 1848.

Unitarianism at Devonport.

The prospects of the Unitarian society in this town are brightening. Founded, some thirty years since, mainly through the labours of Mr. Silvanus Gibbs, himself a convert from the doctrines of reputed orthodoxy, it gradually enlarged the number of its members, until, in 1829, a chapel was built, partly through the aid afforded by the Unitarian public, but chiefly by the congregation themselves; for although they had not much silver and gold to give, most of them being mechanics, yet they could work with their hands, and, accordingly, after the ordinary labours of the day were over, they employed themselves in rearing a temple to the honour and glory of God. A small house was subsequently erected upon a site which, as being contiguous to the chapel, it was considered desirable to secure; and the result was that the society found itself burdened with a debt amounting to about £420. At this time, when the debt was enlarged, the tide of success which had hitherto attended the society began to ebb; deaths and removals thinned

its members; and at length its devoted minister, whose services had, in a pecuniary sense, been wholly unrewarded, became physically incapable of officiating more than once on the sabbathday. For a period of eighteen months (during twelve of which the congregation had the benefit of the efficient services of the Rev. J. Forrest, M.A.), Mr. Gibbs obtained a respite from his labours in the pulpit, which were, however, once more renewed and continued up to the close of 1847, when he was obliged to relinquish the duties which he had so long and so faithfully discharged. In doing so, however, he had the satisfaction of knowing that, thanks to the beneficence of his friend, the late R. Cooke, Esq., the means had been provided by which the chapel debt could be paid off, and the services of a stated minister secured for at least two years, by which time it is hoped that the circumstances of the congregation will have so far improved, that, perhaps with some small amount of assistance from other quarters, they may be able to retain the services of an efficient minister.

At a meeting of the congregation, held in the course of the week following the retirement of Mr. Gibbs, the subjoined address to that gentleman was unanimously agreed to; and Messrs. N. Rundell, R. Perry, S. Andrews and T. C. Gould, were appointed a deputation to wait upon Mr. Gibbs for that purpose:

To Mr. Silvanus Gibbs.

Very dear Sir,-It was not without feelings of deep emotion that we, on Sunday, engaged in the religious services which, as was then intimated, you conducted for, probably, the last time. The severance of the ties of friendship or of kindred, even though it be for a season only, necessarily gives rise to sensations of pain and regret; but these feelings are enhanced to the highest degree when, as in the present instance, we, the members of a society meeting for the celebration of the holy offices of religion, are deprived of the public ministrations of one to whom, under Christ, we have been accustomed to look for those words of wisdom and of consolation which shall best fit us for the discharge of the duties of this life, and for a participation in the realities and blessedness of the life to

come.

We lament our deprivation the more, knowing, as we do full well, that advancing years and the infirmities consequent thereon have alone induced your retire

ment from the active duties of the ministry, to the faithful discharge of which, under the pressure of difficulties and in the face of obstacles which would have dismayed one of less faith,-your un recompensed services have been devoted (with but a brief interval) for the space of thirty years. For the earnestness with which, during that lengthened period, you have borne witness to the truth as it is in Jesus, for the ability and zeal with which, both in the pulpit and through the press, you have set forth the simple and sublime doctrines which we hold as believers in One God and Father of all, and of one Lord Jesus Christ, for the many and incontrovertible proofs which you have adduced, as well from Scripture as from the deductions of reason, in support of the glorious doctrine of "universal restoration,"-for the high conceptions of duty which you have enunciated, and for the earnestness with which you have ever sought to awaken our hearts to truth and holiness, we would now desire to offer you our most fervent thanks; and, in the testimony which you have thus afforded of your love for the gospel, we rejoice with joy unspeakable; for we have the blissful promise that "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those that love Him."

We could have wished that efforts so untiring, and labours so earnest and selfdenying, had met with a larger measure of success. "It is human, indeed, to desire some rich success, and each generation expects to gather and taste the produce of its own toil." That our aspirations have not been fully realized, must not, however, have the effect of inducing in us the belief that "nothing is ever to be better, and that our faith in the progress of our religion must expire in the exclamation, 'Where is the promise of his coming?-for since the fathers slept, all things continue as they were, from the beginning of the creation" for it has been truly remarked by one of the most eminent of our living ministers, that "wherever we look to the chain of animal existence, to the faculties of the individual mind, or the stages of collective society-we discover distinct traces of the same general law, that in proportion to the excellence of any form of being, is its progress tardy and its cycle vast."

But, notwithstanding our desire that the fruits of your labours had been more strikingly manifested to the world, we cannot but feel that the causes for con

gratulation are not few. If the Unitarian body generally does not exhibit many signs of increase, no observant mind can fail to discern in other religious communities, in the halls of Legislature and in the temples of God, the evidences of an ever-onward movement towards the simplicity of that "faith which was once delivered unto the saints." The circumstances of our own society, too, are encouraging. With the prospect of the liquidation of our chapel debt, the services of an able successor to yourself in the pulpit, and a visibly increasing sympathy with our views among the members of other communions in our town and neighbourhood, we may anticipate the realization of the promise, that "in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

And now, dear Sir and benefactor, again reiterating the expression of our gratitude, we commend you and those whom you love to the keeping of our Father, "the righteous Lord who loveth righteousness, and whose countenance doth behold the upright;" and we pray that the remaining portion of your sojourn upon earth may, "like a sabbathday, glide softly by," until an entrance is administered unto you into that eternal sabbath where, "in the presence of God, alone is fulness of joy, and at whose right hand there are pleasures for evermore."

To this Address the following Reply was returned:

To the Members of the Christian Society assembling for public worship and religious edification in the Unitarian Chapel, Granby Street, Devonport.

Respected Friends,-I have to acknowledge the receipt of your affectionate "Address," recently presented by the deputation appointed for that purpose. You are correct in stating that advancing years and infirmities have alone induced me to retire from the active duties of the ministry, and are quite aware that for a considerable period I have struggled onward under impaired health, but unwilling to relinquish my post until a prospect fairly opened for obtaining a successor. The hope long deferred being now about to be realized, in consequence of the bequest of my late excellent friend, Mr. Richard Cooke, becoming at length available, and feeling that I could not continue my accustomed labours without suffering a prostration of physical power, I was constrained to come to the determination of closing them on the last Sunday of the year just terminated. Though the success formerly anticipated has not been fully real

ized, my humble exertions in the cause of truth and righteousness have not, perhaps, been wholly in vain; and it affords me peculiar satisfaction that those who, for a long series of years, regularly attended on my ministrations, have kindly appreciated them, and have also experienced their beneficial effects.

You know that I have been accustomed frequently to state the arguments in proof of the pure Unity and inherent Goodness of God; and I was induced to pursue this course from a deep persuasion of the intrinsic value of these great doctrines, believing them to be the fundamentals of genuine religion and the basis of the gospel dispensation, and being exceedingly desirous to fix them permanently in your minds, in order that your love of Him should be supreme, and that your love of His offspring might abound more and more. If "GOD IS LOVE," as declared by an apostle, and as inscribed on the front of our pulpit, then must He have created all intelligent beings for happiness; and if this was actually His design in their creation, that grand object must ultimately be attained, since His infinite wisdom and almighty power will, assuredly, enable him to effect it, with all the other purposes of His universal bene

volence.

It has also been my practice to lay before you, at different times, the evidences of our holy religion, shewing its supernatural origin and its high moral tendency, with the ample and solid grounds which it presents of a future life, especially from the momentous fact of the resurrection of its divinely-inspired Founder, and his ascension to the region of immortality. On the truth of these doctrines and their important consequences, I have uniformly endeavoured to afford consolation to the survivors of those nu

merous friends whom it has pleased our heavenly Father to remove from us during the last thirty years; and to impress on all the urgent duty of preparing for the enjoyments of that blissful inheritance where our risen and exalted Saviour is now participating the fulness of his Father's love. As many of our little flock are pretty far advanced in years, and cannot much longer continue in the present state, it behoves us to be truly anxious to advance steadily in the Christian course, so that when the appointed time shall arrive for taking a final farewell of "friends beloved and kindred dear," we may be enabled to look forward with humble hope to a happy re-union with them in the celestial abode of purity and love, never more to be separated.

"And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified;" and, with every wish for your improvement and happiness, I remain, Yours most affectionately,

SILVANUS GIBBS.

24, Garden Street, Jan. 5, 1848.

It will be perceived that, in the address to Mr. Gibbs, reference is made to a successor, who, it was believed at that time, would have been the Rev. William Mountford, of Lynn, as that gentleman had accepted an invitation to take up his residence in Devonport. He, however, afterwards found that in quitting Lynn he would be leaving a congregation without a minister; under which circumstances, Mr. Mountford will continue to officiate at Lynn, and the society at Devonport is consequently still open to an engagement with a minister. That some one will soon be found possessing such qualifications as are necessary to sustain and extend the cause of Unitarian Christianity in that place, we cannot doubt. Whoever may be called to occupy the vacant pulpit will find a good field for his exertions in Devonport. Although the congregation at present meeting for worship is small, and their position in life such as does not enable them to contribute much to the support of a pastor, the closest union subsists between them; and, in a population approaching 40,000, there is certainly room for a large and flourishing society. The town can boast very few, if any, wealthy residents, nor are there many of the extremely poor, which latter circumstance is in a great measure owing to the regular employment afforded to the mechanical and labouring classes in the Royal Dock-yard and other Government establishments. A highly prosperous Mechanics' Institute has long been established in the town, the number of members amounting to upwards of 800, and of those entrusted with its management three or four are Unitarians. Immediately contiguous to Devonport is Stonehouse, with its 10,000 inhabitants, and Plymouth with an additional 40,000, so that the future minister at Devonport need not wish for a much wider sphere of labour. It will also be agreeable to him to find in the Rev. W. J. Odgers, of Plymouth, a highly-respected and much-valued fellow-labourer- one who is distin

guished in his neighbourhood for the important part which he has taken in improving the condition of the masses.

Results of the Industrial Schools in

Aberdeen.

In

Since the establishment of the first Industrial School of Aberdeen, juvenile delinquency has been materially diminished, juvenile medicancy has been abolished, and adult crime is sensibly decreased. From the statistics of the Aberdeen prison, it appears that the number of criminals committed in the year 1841 was 879, and the average number there at one time was 115. In October in that year, the first Industrial School was opened. The consequences were immediately and beneficially felt. In 1842, the number of committals was lessened by 120, and the average per day was lessened 22. A small diminution has taken place each successive year. 1846, the total committals were reduced to 683, and the daily average to 80. The table of re-commitments which is given in the years between 1843 and 1846, shews that some important influence had been at work to prevent crime. In 1843, the number of first commitments was 430; in 1846, the number was reduced to 359. The number of re-commitments had in the mean time increased from 312 to 324. Old offenders became more and more desperate, shewing the inefficacy of criminal reformation pursued in our prisons. Of 2889 persons committed to prison during these four years, 1275 have been re-commitments. But the most striking proof of the efficiency of the Industrial Schools in repressing mendicant vagrancy, which is the great parent of juvenile crime, is afforded by the returns of the county police with respect to the number of vagrant boys apprehended. In 1841, the number of vagrant boys who fell into the hands of the police was 328. In 1845, they were reduced to 105; in 1846, to 14; and in 1847, to 6! Now the boys prefer the schools to vagrancy, or betake themselves to industrious occupations at home.

Testimony to the usefulness of the schools in diminishing crime has been borne by the Judges at the Circuit Court

of Justiciary. The prison chaplain (Rev. Mr. Strahan) in his report dated Oct. 31, 1847, says, Only four boys, no girls under 14 years of age, have been committed to prison since my last report. This is the smallest number of juvenile offenders during any of the preceding seven years' quarters. Of these boys, three have been convicted for the first time, and one for the fourth time. None of these boys had been in our crime-inthe-bud-nipping Industrial Schools."

An extract from the North of Scotland Gazette will serve to shew what may be done by the law of kindness, when administered with forethought. It details a social meeting in the Juvenile School, at which several respectable persons were present, and took part in the proceedings.

"The progress of this school is remarkable. On the 17th of May, 1845, the police literally drove 77 boys into the soup-kitchens, where they were put through a process of cleansing, which at most finds its parallel only in the attempt by two benevolent old women to wash a blackamoor white. Food was provided for them; and in the afternoon some of their parents, who had poured imprecations on the police in the morning, scarcely recognized their own children. On the 23rd of August, 1847, the school thus so inauspiciously begun, assembled in the presence of a number of friends to the institution, in a commodious and excellent building in Sugar-house Lane. On the first seat were arranged 31 children, neatly and cleanly attired, though in rough enough, material, sitting in order, from the tiny little creature of three years to the stout girl of ten; on the next row, 46 boys sparkling with intelligence and delight; while the background was filled up by their parents, whose grateful looks and happy expression of feeling made a picture of the scene."

We may add, that the cost of the school in 1846, including salaries, food for the boys, material for their work, &c., was £296. 78. The food cost £167. 15s. But against this must be set the proceeds of their work, which amounted to £97. 7s. 3d. So the average earnings of the little fellows (nearly one-half are under ten years of age) amounts to one-half the cost of their food. The facts are taken from an article in the British Quarterly Review, No. XIII.

EDWARD KING FORDHAM, ESQ.

MB. FORDHAM was born June 5, 1750, at Therfield, a village three miles from Royston, on a small estate still in possession of one branch of the family. His parents were Dissenters, and members of the Independent congregation at Royston; and, considering the habits of the old Nonconformists, no doubt but that he and their other children were early accustomed to attend upon social religious services.*

When arrived at a suitable age, he was placed in a situation at Royston to acquire the knowledge of a business, in which he was afterwards engaged in that town during many years; and his judgment and caution in the management of it tended to a good degree of success.

Early in the year 1785, he was married to a pious lady, Miss Sarah Chantry, of London, and for a large portion of his life this matrimonial connection contributed greatly to his domestic comfort and happiness. In the spring of 1823, their union was dissolved by the death of Mrs. Fordham. This bereavement he keenly felt, but it did not lead him to complain or murmur; on the contrary, he evinced under his trial a disposition of mind becoming a Christian professor. In a letter addressed to the writer of this notice, penned a few hours after her death, he thus expressed himself: "I dare not complain, but wish to bless the name of the Lord. I know that he is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works."" He continued: "Having lost my kind and faithful friend and earthly monitor, may I look daily and hourly to my kind and gracious Father in heaven, that he

* One of their sons, Mr. Elias Fordham, was educated for the Christian ministry at the Dissenting Academy, Homerton, and for a short time was the pastor of the Independent congregation at Stowmarket, Suffolk. His religious views, temper and conduct being, through many years, much like those of his elder brother, lately deceased, they often held pleasant converse together, and were strongly attached to each other. Mr. Elias Fordham died, after a short illness, at Gannock, near Royston, September 23, 1838. The November number of the Christian Reformer for that year contains an interesting obituary sketch of this worthy

mau.

His attention was

Soon

then particularly directed to religious subjects, his mind became deeply impressed with their vast importance, and he began to take great delight in devotional exercises. He zealously entered upon that religious course of life in which he persevered till his end came. after, he considered it to be his duty to make a particular Christian profession, by joining that church to the services of which his youthful steps had been directed. Upwards of seventy years ago, he became a church member at the Independent meeting-house in Royston, i. e. a communicant at the Lord's table. Probably, for several years afterwards, his religious views were in unison with those generally entertained by that class of Dissenters with which he was connected; but before many had elapsed, he began to entertain doubts as to the accuracy of some of their opinions. Such doubts might be raised, and he might be led to the use of free inquiry upon theological subjects, by the perusal of Dr. Priestley's writings and others of a like kind. However, his religious sentiments gradually underwent a change, and more than fifty years since they were Unitarian. He was a believer in one God, even the Father,