are likely to sustain; others still continue to be molested, and harassed, and persecuted, in a variety of ways. Let it not be supposed, that I allude to the secession of weak-minded individuals from our ministry, on grounds of doctrinal disagreements Suches secessions, if prompted by sincere conviction, and conducted in aw peaceable manner, far be it from us to condemn. That it is the bounden duty of every individual to thinks for Kimself, and tod cleave firmly to whatever form of religion his judgment and hist conscience may lead him to prefer, is a principle in which we do most heartily concur, and although, for the time past, this princi-d ple has, in most cases, operated against us, yet the time is coming o and is not far distant, when it will operate, and operate decidedly," in our favour. Owing, Sir, to adventitious causes, and accidentald circumstances, we have hitherto been the chief sufferers from défection. Those causes and circumstances, however, are now in a greats measure removed, and I venture to predict, that the defections which may hereafter take place, will be almost exclusively from the ranks of our adversaries. The leading men amongst them areTM beginning to be known, ¶On › several recent occasions, they haveb incautiously dropped their masks, and discovered the real features of their character A re-action has commenced, and those mis representations of our religious opinions, which did us so muche harm at first, are now doing us good. Our people, also, have been thoroughly tried and tested. The weak and the wavering have been carried away; and those who remain with us, are allgood men and true. Up to the present period, our system of war gave me been almost entirely our sy theng of dress of our cause, we have been able to withstand the first farious onl slaught," without sustaining any considerable loss♪ toOur line remains firm and unbroken; whereas, in consequence of the ins judicious impetuosity with which the enemy advanced to the assault, his line has been thrown into confusion. Now, then, is the time for us to make a cool, steady, and determined charge. Now is the time for us to press on our repulsed and dispirited opponents; and to push forward into the very heart of their len trenchments.918At the same time, I trust, that we shall never have recourse to the unfair and unmanly modes of attack which have been employed As I said before, we do not

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Coconscientious secess from our flocks, but we do

and that most loudly, of the unworthy means which * have been systematically practised, in order to effect secessions, the very reverse of conscientious. We complain of the undue influence which landlords have, in several places, been prevailed on to exercise, for the purpose of detaching their tenantry from our ministry. We complain of the insidious attempts that have been made to obtain possession of our Meeting-houses and Congrégational farms. We complain, for instance, of the treatment which Mr. Campbell of Templepatrick is likely to receive from a peer of the reahnyes, Sir, a peer of the realm one of those dignified personages, in whose breasts generous and magnanimous sentiments might be supposed more especially to prevail-a peer of the realm has threatened Mr. Campbell with expulsion from a glebe

house and farm, which, from the first settlement of PresbyteriansTE in Ulster, have been regularly transmitted from each minister of Templepatrick to his immediate successor. You will naturally ask, what has Mr. Campbell done to merit such treatment?o For what offence is this penalty to be inflicted? On what ground is this ejectment to be brought? Why, Sir, in the first place, it is to be feared that Mr. Campbell's lease is not a good one. The only i title he can produce, is a rent-charge on Lord Templeton's honour

a title the validity or invalidity of which, rests with that no bleman himself to determine. In the next place, Mr. Campbell's offence is foul. He refused perversely refused to make ship wreck of a good conscience refused to disavow opinions which he was always known to entertain, and the free enjoyment of i which was virtually secured to him by his ordination contracts and, above all, she refused to submit to Synodical regulations, which strike at the very root of Presbyterianism 0970097 97/289001 mit was an easy thing for the Autocrat of Templepatrick, to lament, in a certain letter which he is said to have written, the distractions which have recently taken place in the Synod of Ulsterah It was an easy thing for him to address his censure of those distractions, to a man who had been their victim, but never, in a single instance, their authors and, armed as he is with the plenitude of power, it will be an easy thing for him to carry his un-i feeling determination into effect; but, when he shall have done so, will reflection on the magnanimous achievement afford bim much comfort? Will the thought of having driven forth a mor therless family from the house in which they were born, because their father dared to act the part of an honest man--will the re collection of an exploit such as this, enable the princely proprietor. of Castle Upton, to range through his wide domains with a lighter heart, and a lighter step, than he should otherwise have done? Will it communicate to his sumptuous viands a more agreeable relish? Will it procure for him softer slumbers, by night, or make him rise in the morning with a more approving conscience? Will it smooth the bed of death, and minister consolation to his spirit, when all worldly consolations fail? These are serious considerations, and not altogether unworthy even of a nobleman's attention. If this hereditary abborrer of religious liberality persevere in carrying his unrighteous threat into execution, he may be assured, that there are men in existence, who would rather inherit the simplicity, integrity, and the poverty of the oppressed Minister of Templepatrick, than succeed to the possessions, the peerage, and the principles of his lordly oppressor. Mr. Porter concluded by proposing, The friends, of religious liberty in the neighbourhood of Derryboy Bieni odt to nisiqarəo 9'W

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Mr. John Carr, of the Killileagh Congregation, lately under the pastoral care of the celebrated Rev. Henry Cooke, D. Dyreturned thanks. He regretted to say, that of late years, religious liberty seemed rather on the decline, in this part of Ireland. He felt satisfied, however, that this depression would not be of long continuance. Men may, for a day, cower beneath the sweeping blast of persecution; but there is an elasticity in the human mind,

which will not suffer the consciences of men to submit to a lasting prostration of every thing honourable and independent. The tide of the times, as had been happily remarked by Mr. Porter, is now setting In favourably to the principles of honourable integrity, and he had no doubt, but those men who had nobly resisted the storm, would yet triumphantly enter into a haven of security, bearing with them a conscience void of offence towards God and towards man. On the part of those men of Derryboy, who, through good report and bad report, had maintained their love for religious liberty unimpaired, he offered his sincere thanks, for the honour now. conferred on them; and he could assure the meeting, that to bes hold such an assembly as this, composed of the sterling integrity of this part of the Presbyterian Ulster, assembled in a part of the country where intolerance and extreme bigotry had long struggled for mastery over the consciences of men, was to him, and to those other gentlemen who had joined in this invitation to the Remonstrant Ministers, a gratification which would never be effaced from their grateful recollections/ob bued of yoil@zrade 11399 9781 97! When the health of "The Rev. Henry Montgomery, and the Belfast Institution," was proposed, Mr. M. remarked, that the Belfast Institution, and in particular the Collegiate Department, is eminently calculated to serve the objects which its founders had in view-namely, to diffuse over the province a valuable literary and scientific education; and to establish in the minds of our young men, a solid foundation of theological knowledge. But it has, like ourselves, been long struggling against great difficulties: it was founded on principles which were not calculated to give a preponderating influence to any party, and the illiberal of all pars ties became opposed to it. The men who founded the Belfast Ind stitution would have put down the reign of ignorance and dark ness! they would have introduced new light into the minds and views of men; and, therefore, like ourselves, they were assailed with the utmost virulence by those who loved to grope their way in n the pathways of old light, of ignorance, and bigotry. The crusade, however, of which we have seen such lamentable and devas tating effects, commenced with a desire to put down the Belfast Institution; and, from a small beginning, the attempt extended itself into an effort to crush religious liberty among the Presby terians of Ireland. It has not succeeded it will not succeed; the Belfast Institution has not fallen away from its first principles of enlarged philanthropy, which would promulgate a solid and libe ral system of education, free from the taint of sectarianism. And when I look around me, and see those now assembled here, who are the substantial strength of the country not, perhaps, the Co rinthian pillars of the state, whose ornaments do not always indie cate their stability but the solid and substantial pillars of the country, the wealthy yeomanry of the land, on whom we can cat all times rely, I do feel assured, that the efforts that have been made to put down men, who, for conscience' sake, have periled every worldly consideration, will not succeed; I rest assured, when I look on this most influential assemblage of the wealth and the information of the country, that there is a spirit abroad that

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will not submit to be trampled beneath the feet of aspiring menwho, to compass their ends, would shipwreck the liberties of the people, and put down, by every dishonourable means, the conscientious opinions of others. In quitting this subject, however, and in addressing myself more particularly to the business which has brought us together to-day, I feel there has been little left for ine to say, after what you have heard from the first gentleman who addressed you a man above all praise; whose amiability of heart, and kindness of manner, are the admiration of all his friends; and whose firmness, integrity, and incorruptible honour, are the proud boast of all who have ever heard his name pronounced, as the able and fearless champion of the rights of conscience.180 We have, however, received credit for much to which we are not entitled, Great praise has been bestowed on us, for merely struggling to keep a conscience. Had we not done so, had we tamely submitted to wear the chains that were forged for us, we would have been degraded even below our persecutors, We have been struggling to hand down to our families, a name and a character of which they will not be ashamed. Yet what is character and name, and all worldly considerations, compared with that privilege, for which we have indeed struggled hard-the right to worship God according to the dictates of our own consciences? In the next place, we have been struggling to keep principle in the world, and to transmit the principles of religions liberty to our descendants. Had a few of us yielded to the storm that raged around our heads, a different scene would be presented to us this day, Had we followed the example of men, who skulked into holes and corners, when the day of trial came on us, men not far from this, who are skulking even now, we should have indeed a very different prospect before us. But our struggles have not been in vain, nor shall they go unrewarded, for they were made to maintain the honour of our religion. We were accused of denying our Saviour; but if this were true, and if we had consented to deny our Saviour, then we would have bowed our necks to the yoke, and have escaped from the persecutions with which we were beset. No, nos it was because we refused to deny our Divine Master it was because we strove to maintain in the world the principles of religious liberty, that we were subjected to the trials through which we have passed. Are we to be told, that any men shall combine, and shall say, thus far ye shall go in the worship of God, and no farther? And was this to be borne, in this country; and with the light of knowledge and Christian liberty shining around, us? But, although these grounds were quite sufficient to cause us to break off from the body to which we belonged, it may be asked, why is your party so small?—why are your names so few? I will tell you some men love peace, though it be purchased at the expense of honour and truth; and rather than endure the war of persecution that was raised against them, many submitted, though the peace procured by that submission, was the peace of the slave, under the lash of his taskmaster. These are the men who say, you are too violent; could you not have waited? Wait for one year, and you will see what

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291 sdt snob eyed no wood edt 101 The Rev. Fletcher Blakely, and the Presbytery of Bangor."b It is well (said Mr. B.) that new scenes beget new associations; otherwise, I should feel it a difficult task to address this meetings to-day, for I have only just returned from the funeral of a venere able Elder of my Congregation, n, one of the firmest Remonstrants that belonged to our body; a man than whom there was not ar warmer friend to religious liberty alive; nor one, whose upright conduct in life was more worthy of our imitation and regard. Itd has been vilely asserted, that he changed his opinions at the hours of death: the falsehood of the charge is worthy of the base source from whence it sprung. I am glad of this opportunity of giving such an assertion the broadest contradiction: it is as foul as it is false. That good man went down to his grave, as settled in hisst hopes and in his thoughts, as he was in the days of his greatest vigour firmly relying on the mercy of God, made known through it Jesus Christ, his only Son, I thank you for coupling my name with the Presbytery of Bangor-a body to which I feel a pridea in being attached. We felt it our duty to separate from the bodyar to which we belonged; and I am glad the people are beginning toto take a right view of the measures t that led to that separation 2 Attempts were long making to forge fetters for our consciences so but the Remonstrants honestly resolved to hang their harps on o the willows of Strabane and Cookstown, rather than string thems to those measures, which they conscientiously believed to be untrue.