CHAP. XV.

THE Eleventh General Conference was held at Derby, from Tuesday the 11th, to Friday the 14th of August, 1818=62; when the Rev. Robert HINDMARSH was appointed President, and the Rev. THOMAS GOYDER, Secretary. Six Ministers, two Missionary Preachers, six Leaders, and thirteen Delegates or Representatives of Societies, were present; besides other individuals from different parts of the country, and a number of the friends of Derby and its vicinity. {309} Fifty letters, chiefly addressed to the Conference, and describing the state of the several Societies, were read, and a Committee appointed to make such extracts from them, as they might think proper to be published with the Minutes.
The meeting proceeded to take into consideration the Minutes of the last General Conference; and, after reading the 7th Resolution respecting a Minister Superintendant, the appointment of such a Minister was postponed till the next Conference.
The Conference having entered into a discussion of the benefits that would doubtless arise to the Church at large, from the instruction of young men, who may become candidates for the Ministry, in the learned languages, came to the resolution of raising a fund for that purpose, to be called “The Literary Fund of the New Church.”
A Committee having been appointed to take into consideration the sentiments maintained by some of the Societies in the country, respecting the difference between the Holy Word and the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, and in what light the latter are to be regarded by the New Church, made their report of the conclusion to which they had come; when the Conference, after mature deliberation on the same, Resolved unanimously, That in their opinion the Word of the Lord is divine; that it contains a celestial, spiritual, and natural sense, by virtue of which latter it is in its fulness, sanctity, and power; and that the Lord, through the medium of the Word, has revealed to his servant Emanuel Swedenborg the internal sense thereof, together with the doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church. As, therefore, the latter are derived from the Lord, through the medium of the former, the Conference are of opinion, that the distinction between the Word of the Lord and the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, in regard to the above- mentioned doctrines and internal sense, is like the distinction between an inexhaustible fountain and its stream; or the sun itself, and the light proceeding from it.
The origin or commencement of Ordination in the New Church, as already adverted to in the Minutes of the Sixth and Seventh General Conferences, was again introduced at this Conference; when Mr. Robert Hindmarsh, the President, being the person who first performed that solemnity, with the full consent and approbation of a public meeting convened for the express purpose, as stated at large in this History, p. 68 to 73, was requested to leave the room, and the Rev. J. Proud, in his absence, was called to the chair. After a long, deliberate, and able discussion of the whole subject, it was Resolved unanimously, That, in consequence of Mr. Robert Hindmarsh having been called by lot, to ordain the first Minister in the New Church, this Conference considers it as the most orderly method which could then be adopted, and that Mr. Robert Hindmarsh was virtually ordained by the Divine Auspices of Heaven; in consequence of which this Conference considers Mr. Robert Hindmarsh as one of the Regular Ordaining Ministers. {310}
After some other Resolutions tending to promote good order, and the welfare of the Church, the business of the meeting was concluded, and the next General Conference appointed to be held at Derby, on the second Tuesday in August, 1819=63.

Mr. Charles Ley, a subscribing member of the London Printing Society, residing at Rotterdam, caused some time ago, an advertisement, announcing the existence of the above Society and that at Manchester, to be inserted in several of the Continental Journals; which has been the occasion of receiving far more information respecting the state of the New Church in the other parts of Europe, than has hitherto been known in this country. Several of the letters containing this information, are from different parts of Germany, two from Switzerland, and one from a very intelligent reader, a doctor of divinity, in Sweden. Those from Germany demonstrate, that there are various individual friends to the cause scattered through the different states of that vast country, who appear to be drooping in solitude without any knowledge of each other, no societies having hitherto been formed. In Switzerland, however, particularly in the cantons of Abbenzel, St. Gall, and Graubunden, there are Societies of seventy or eighty members and their families, who have been brought to the knowledge of the truth by the exertions of two parochial Ministers; but these, as well as the friends in Germany, find their progress greatly impeded by the want of books, there being but few of the works translated into the German language, and very few copies of these to be procured.
A new chapel at Upper Heaton, four miles from Huddersfield, in Yorkshire, was opened on the 19th of March, 1818. Three sermons were delivered on that day, and the place was crowded each time. Among the hearers was a Methodist Preacher, who declared that for some time past he had rejected the idea of three Divine Persons in the Godhead, but was now fully convinced that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Object a true Christian ought to worship. He has read some of the heavenly doctrines, and is in a fair way of becoming a full recipient, and perhaps a useful labourer in the Lord’s new vineyard.- Mr. George Senior is the regular Minister at Upper Heaton: he has preached to the Society, for whose use the Chapel is erected, above twenty years, in a house at Coln Bridge, in that neighbourhood. His manner is plain and homely, and therefore well suited to the generality of his hearers; but in zeal, affection, and an earnest desire to see “Jerusalem become a praise in the earth,” he yields to none of his brethren of the New Church.*
* This chapel was erected at the sole expense of Mr. Joseph Beaumont (Mr. Senior’s partner). Mr. Senior afterwards erected a chapel at Dalton, which was opened on the 21st of August, 1825, and to which the congregation from Upper Heaton removed. The late Mr. Joseph Senior afterwards so much enlarged and altered this building as to amount almost to a new structure, and added to it new and commodious school rooms and two houses adjoining, placing the whole in the Conference Trust. The original place at Upper Heaton was let by the proprietor to the Wesleyans for a mere nominal rent.- ED {311}
On the morning of the day when the last Conference was assembled, viz., Aug. 14, 1818, the first stone of a new Temple, for the use of the New Church, was laid by Mr. Proud, in an eligible situation in Derby. The ground was purchased by Mr. Edward Madeley, and the chief expense of the building, it is expected, will be defrayed by him.
The foundation stone of another new Temple was also laid by the Rev. M. Sibly, on the 19th of October, 1818, in Waterloo Road, London, for the use of the Society under the Ministry of the Rev. Thomas Goyder. The service was read with impressive effect by Mr. Sibly, and the assembled multitude was afterwards addressed by Mr. Goyder, who drew a rapid sketch of the leading features of the doctrines intended to be taught in that place. The Temple was finished in about seven months, and was opened for public worship on Whitsunday, the 30th of May, 1819. The Consecration service was performed by the Rev. Messrs. Sibly and Goyder, in the presence of a numerous congregation.
On Sunday, Nov. 8, 1818, was opened a neat and commodious place of worship, called the Tabernacle, for the use of the New Church in Leeds. The services of the day were performed by Mr. George Senior, of Dalton, near Huddersfield, and Mr. John Parry, of Leeds, who is the regular officiating Minister in the Tabernacle.*
* These three places of worship have all passed away from the Church.-ED.

The Report of the Ninth Annual Meeting of the London Printing Society states, that, in conjunction with the Manchester Printing Society, they have presented copies of all Swedenborg’s Theological Writings to the Universities of Great Britain and Ireland. The letters from the proper officers of those seats of learning respectively, accepting the proffered favour, and some of them acknowledging the receipt of the books, are such as might have been expected from men of candour and liberal feeling; they all announce their acceptance of the works with the politest acknowledgments of thanks and gratitude. As the Report justly observes, “this act of the Society may lead to important consequences, though probably for some time they may not become visible. {312} The students of learning and science are now provided with a purifying fountain of truth; and we need not doubt, that, under Divine Providence, all who may be prepared, by an affection of truth on account of its use, will be led to drink, and to direct others to partake of, the invigorating streams. Prejudices may be excited to opposition; but their efforts will fall harmless, because they cannot hurt that cause, which is under the protection of the Omnipotent.”
The Printing Society has also presented copies of the Writings to various public libraries in London; and the Committee is empowered to distribute, gratis, to circulating libraries, or otherwise, according to their discretion, books of the property of the Society, not exceeding in value thirty pounds annually.
The Report concludes with the following remarks:

“That the ground-work of the Lord’s new kingdom is extensively preparing, we feel assured, on taking a survey of the state of Europe, in respect to religion, politics, and literature. The circulation of the Holy Scriptures by that noble institution, the British and Foreign Bible Society, cannot but direct the attention of all ranks to the Sacred Volume; and we may reasonably hope, that the perusal of it will excite in some minds a desire to obtain a satisfactory elucidation of its contents. We might also notice the extent, and extraordinary exertions, of benevolent institutions, and the increase of liberal feeling in religious societies, which, if it does not remove prejudices, tends at least to destroy that rancorous spirit which too often attends them:- also, that such enlightened discourses are frequently delivered from the pulpits of the National Church, as plainly indicate the operation of that new celestial light, which beams upon every good mind that desires its sacred guidance. We might further notice the Christian spirit, which is beginning to connect itself with political transactions, more particularly manifested in the acts of the great Northern Powers:- also, that a spirit of inquiry seems rising in the literary world, which threatens the dominion of long-established opinions, unless some other arguments, besides that of their antiquity, can be advanced in their favour. If, in addition to these evidences, we have a firm confidence in the promises contained in the Word, respecting the final success of divine truth, we shall feel ourselves excited, under a strong conviction that we are engaged in the best of causes, to give it our best support.”

The Third Missionary Report, published in 1819=63, though it does not “give so lively a picture of the growing prosperity of the New Church, as the two former Reports presented to view, still gives abundant reason to be thankful for the success, which has hitherto accompanied the Missionary efforts. The Church, like an individual in the progress of regeneration, has many difficulties to encounter: she is also equally subject to alternations of state; and it is not easy to determine which is most available in producing that perfection of strength and stature, to which the Divine Providence is imperceptibly conducting her. In spiritual as well as in natural things, the shade and obscurity of an evening state are no less necessary, than the direct influence of a brilliant sun; and an occasional absence of heat prepares for the more full reception and enjoyment of it. Every change of state, therefore, to which the Church is subject, while evils are regarded with aversion, may be said to contribute to its consolidation and permanent welfare; since it is an established law of divine order, that “while the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease,” Gen. viii. 22. {313}
These considerations are offered, at the commencement of this Third Report, because fewer Missionary journies and visits have been made during the past year, than in either of the two years which preceded; no Minister having been sent out, except Mr. Bradley, whose services as a Missionary have for some time been discontinued, partly in consequence of the inadequacy of the funds of the institution, and partly on account of his engagement with the Society at Newcastle-upon-Tyne as their stated Minister. Some few occasional visits have, however, been made by other Ministers, particularly one to Norwich by the Rev. E. Madeley, and another to Manchester, Ratcliffe, and Heywood, by the Rev. J. Proud. Of these, as well as of the Rev. J. Bradley’s journies, and of the state of the societies in general, the following extracts of letters, received at different times, will furnish satisfactory information:
“From Leeds (says Mr. Bradley) I went to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where I arrived on the 30th of October, in the evening. I soon found Mr. Brown and the other members of the Society, who received me in the most cordial and affectionate manner. Their place of worship is but small, but was generally well filled in the afternoons when I preached. Several, who sat under the Ministry of the late Mr. Roberts, had become lax in their attendance since his death; but my coming among them has stimulated them to attend again. No man, it appears, could have been more respected and beloved than was Mr. Roberts, by the Newcastle Society, and that without a single exception. On the first Sunday I preached to them, numbers of the female members, on my ascending the pulpit, burst into tears. They were thus affected, because no one had been in the pulpit before, since the death of Mr. Roberts. Divine Providence seems to have sent him to this people; and I know of no Minister in the New Church, whose labours have been equally successful with those of Mr. Roberts, for the last sixteen months of his life. He was considered the greatest preacher in Newcastle, not only by the receivers of the new doctrines, but by all who heard him. He generally read his discourses. Many most respectable members of this Society received the doctrines under Mr. Roberts’s Ministry, and still continue zealous promoters of the truth.
“We have two friends in North Shields, by whom I was desired to give a lecture in that town upon the doctrines; but it was difficult to obtain a suitable place. They made application for a Calvinist Chapel, but were refused. The Unitarians, however, who have a room fitted up with forms and a pulpit, lent it with great readiness. In that I preached on Tuesday evening, the l7th of November, at seven o’clock. Persons of various denominations were present, about a hundred in number, whom I addressed on John xiv. 1, ‘Ye believe in God, believe also in me.’ At the conclusion I pressed them to read the Writings of E. S., as they would therein find the important subjects of religion treated upon in a most luminous manner. After the service was over, a Quaker, who had been present, said I had spoken the truth. Another person, who had read a little of the doctrines, expressed himself highly gratified. One of the principal Unitarians also thanked me for my observations on the atonement, as great numbers of people thought they had nothing to do, but rely upon the merits of Christ. And an old lady said, they should never make her believe any more that we denied Jesus Christ.
“On Thursday, the 12th of November, I went to Sunderland, and was received by Mr. Coulson and his lady in a most cordial manner. The school of industry having been procured for our use, hand-bills were printed and circulated in the town, announcing that a discourse would be delivered by a New Jerusalem Minister and Missionary, on Wednesday evening, the 18th, at seven o’clock. {314} Upwards of two hundred persons, of respectable appearance, attended, and I addressed them from Isaiah lv. 6, 7. The audience listened with great attention, while I laid before them the doctrine respecting our blessed Lord: but when I began to shew, that man’s shunning evils as sins against God, was the way to acceptance with him, and not by faith only in the merits of Christ’s passion, there seemed a general motion throughout the assembly. One gentleman walked out in a manner which indicated the uneasy state of his mind, and a little after two or three others did likewise. The rest staid their ground. I had only one catalogue of the works with me. I read over to them a list of the Author’s works, and pressed upon their consideration the great necessity of looking into them. I assured them, that though there were few in Sunderland who had paid attention to them, there were great numbers in the kingdom, who read them; that the number was daily increasing; and that by those who examined them closely, they were considered as the greatest blessing, next to the Bible, that could be received by man. What the effect of this discourse will be, I cannot tell, as the people in Sunderland are generally inclined to Calvinistic sentiments. The Divine Providence will doubtless make all things tend to the ultimate prosperity of the New Church.
“On Friday evening, the 4th of December, I preached at a place called Jarrow, which Mr. Roberts had formerly visited once or twice. About sixty were assembled in a school-room; and though I felt a desire to disturb their prejudices as little as possible, my address to them appeared to be attended with no success. I have at different times and places, adopted almost every method of which I am capable, of setting forth the doctrines, and have uniformly found, that the most open and candid avowal of them meets with the best reception. An over accommodation of them to public prejudice, appears to have so much of merely human prudence attached to it, that with too much alloy of this description, they are prevented from producing their genuine effect.
“On Tuesday the 8th of December I went to Durham, but no convenient place could be procured to deliver a lecture in. I went therefore the next day to Witton Gilbert, a village about three miles distant from Durham, where I was given to understand some were desirous of hearing the new doctrines. I preached in the evening to about sixty persons, among whom were two Local Preachers belonging to the Methodists. This audience was not only ignorant of the doctrines of the New Jerusalem, but had never heard of a church hearing that name, nor had they heard the name of Swedenborg. I gave them in the first place some general ideas respecting the New Jerusalem, and explained a part of the 21st chapter of the Revelation, shewing them that nothing could be meant thereby but a New Church and its doctrine, and that the quality thereof was emblematically described by a city, its walls, foundations, &c. I then gave them a short history of E. S., of the opening of his spiritual sight, his converse with spirits, the genuine doctrines of the Holy Word, which were revealed to him, and opened to his understanding, and which he had written for the instruction of this and future ages. I then proceeded to lay before them the leading doctrines of the New Church, contrasting them, as I thought they were able to bear it, with the doctrines of the Old. I concluded with the doctrine of life, and requested them with considerable earnestness not to rest their expectations of heaven upon the charm of a few words of contrition uttered on a death- bed, nor on any thing short of that radical change understood by regeneration, which the Lord came into the world solely to effect. I adopted, on this occasion, the simplest form of delivery of which I was master; and was happy to find, that the discourse was universally well received. One of the Preachers said, he would willingly go ten miles to hear me again: and the other seemed to approve of the doctrines, on account of the charity which was manifested in them. Another person, who was supposed to be a very knowing and intelligent man, stated that he could have sat all night to hear. One observed that he had no doubt but these were the doctrines, that would set mankind right, and bring about that glorious state so much expected by Christians in general. An old gentleman, who is a great reader, and has been long noted for piety and wisdom by his fellow-villagers, said he could see very little difference in the new doctrine from the old, except in the article of atonement. The doctrine of the atonement may be considered as nearly the sole obstacle to the reception of the heavenly doctrines; the idea being so extremely comfortable to the natural man, that a person may be saved by merely addressing a few words to the Divine Being in the name of Jesus, and claiming an interest in his blood. Having been taught to place all confidence in this single point of faith, many, finding thereby, that a good life is not essential, seize with ardour the darling theme, sing it often with ecstacy, and consider the man that would wrest from them their misplaced confidence no less than their mortal enemy. Could some means be devised to make Christians in general ashamed of the absurd doctrine of the atonement, the well-disposed among them would, in all probability, give a ready reception to the doctrines of divine truth. {315} I regretted much, that I had no catalogues or small tracts to distribute among this people, as I think they might have been of great benefit to them. If the Missionary had a well-written pamphlet with him to sell at a cheap rate, entitled, The New Jerusalem Missionary, with a catalogue of the Author’s works annexed to it, I believe it would be of essential service to the Missionary cause, by preaching to the people at their own houses, when they had no opportunity of hearing a Minister.
“I preached, in the evening of the 13th of December, in Mr. Adamson’s Chapel, Walker Place, North Shields, to a congregation consisting of about three hundred in number. As I had heard that the Unitarians meant to attack me with a passage, which they thought would entirely confound me, viz., ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ Matt. xxvii. 46; to save them trouble I took it for my text, and thus escaped without molestation, although I understand nearly all the Unitarians in the town were present.
“I cannot conclude my account of this journey, without expressing my sincere thanks to the various friends belonging to the New Church, who by their countenance and support have so ably seconded all my endeavours to spread the truth. I feel that they are equally interested with myself in one and the same cause. Our friends at Newcastle have been particularly kind. The singers, and several others of the members, have attended me at considerable expense, and loss of time, to the different places round about, in order to make the meetings as respectable as possible. And I trust, that the blessing of Divine Providence will, in the end, crown our feeble endeavours with the desired success.”

In another letter Mr. Bradley reports as follows:

“On the 7th of February I visited Mr. Senior’s Society at Dalton, a place that cannot be visited by a feeling New Churchman without peculiar sensations of pleasure; where every one may meet with conviction to a demonstration, how happy a society can be made by the exertions of an individual, possessed of the means, and a heart similar to the worthy leader of that Society. The place of worship was well attended morning and afternoon, which I understand is regularly the case.
“On the 21st of February I visited the Bolton Society. The congregations, morning and afternoon, equalled for number any I have ever seen in that place. The members communicated the pleasing information, that a considerable inquiry respecting the new doctrines had lately been made in Bolton, and that by many in the middle stations of society: and they seemed to entertain a confident hope, that if they could continue to be visited by the preachers from Manchester, their Society would flourish.
“March 3rd, I lectured in a Sunday school-room at Stockport, to betwixt four and five hundred persons, who behaved with great decorum, and paid great attention to the discourse. A considerable number of catalogues, addresses to the Christian reader, and Short Sermons on the Trinity, by the Rev. Mr. Clowes, were distributed among the people after the lecture; and there is reason to believe, that some good was done thereby.
“The visible effects of Missionary labours, and other means now made use of to extend the knowledge of the New Church doctrines, may not be so abundant as we could wish. And though in this respect we may labour, and others may enter into our labours, yet we will not rejoice the less on this account. The seeds of divine truth now sown may in a future generation bear abundant and precious fruit; nor may we be deprived of the benefits thereof, as the joy of angels is increased by the improved states of mankind upon earth. ‘Our labour then cannot be in vain in the Lord.'”

The Rev. J. Proud, of Birmingham, in a letter, dated June 14, 1819, writes thus:

“Having just returned from a visit to Derby, Manchester, Ratcliffe, and Heywood, I shall now give you a brief recital of my journey. I first went to Derby, preached there twice on the Sunday, and again on the Wednesday evening, to respectable and full congregations.
“On Friday I went to Manchester; the next day, with Mr. Ashworth, to Ratcliffe; preached there on the Sunday morning, and again in the afternoon, a charity sermon for the Sunday- school. Great was the crowd of hearers, and I suppose a hundred or two withoutside not able to get in. Collected L24 4s. 7d. Many friends from the neighbouring Societies were present, and I believe the service of the day was blessed to many souls. {316} A heavenly sphere seemed to surround us, and the Word of the Lord was, I trust, received in pure affection; and will, I hope, be treasured up in the mind and heart, and produce its happy effects and uses in the life.
“On the Wednesday following I enjoyed an agreeable excursion in a passage-boat, with Ministers and many friends, accompanying the children of the two New Jerusalem Sunday-schools of Manchester and Salford, giving them a day of recreation and pleasure; the amusements innocent; hymns sung; a band of music; a very fine day; and everything conducted in a regular, orderly manner; Mr. Agnew, the principal manager, a young gentleman deservedly esteemed and valued by the brethren.
“On Friday, the 4th of June, the anniversary of the Societies in the neighbourhood of Manchester, was held in Peter Street Chapel, It was numerously attended by Ministers, Leaders, and friends from various places. The meeting was truly interesting; harmony and love presided over it; many excellent and useful observations were made by Leaders and Ministers; and such meetings, I conceive, must be attended with great use and benefit to the Lord’s Church. Next day (Saturday) I went with Mr. Ashworth to Ratcliffe; the morning after (Sunday) to Heywood; preached morning and afternoon; in the afternoon a charity sermon towards assisting the Sunday-school and the Church; collected L10 6s. 2 3/4d.- very full in the afternoon; friends from different Societies present, including a few from Blanchester. The friends expressed themselves highly gratified by the services, and I hope some real good will be the result.
“On Monday I returned to Manchester; attended the coffee- meeting at the Rev. J. Clowes’s; a pleasing and heavenly interview; and on Tuesday I returned home.”

In addition to the preceding communications, the Third Missionary Report contains a variety of letters from private members of different Societies, from which the following are extracts:

From Mr. Joseph Kennie, Glasgow, Nov. 28, 18 1 8=62.

“The kindness of the Missionary Committee, in favouring our Society last year with a visit of Mr. Hindmarsh, has encouraged us to hope, that he would this year also be permitted to make another northern tour. The effects of his first visit are still apparent. Since then our Society is better known, and books are more generally called for. Our present number of readers is about thirty. Fifteen have subscribed our articles of faith, two of whom have since entered the spiritual world. A small Society has been formed in Paisley, a great commercial town, distant from Glasgow about seven miles, at which Mr. William Morton has been appointed Leader. They have of late informed us, that several of the Antiburgher congregation are reading the writings, though as yet, ‘secretly for fear of the Jews.’ But we indulge the pleasing hope, that they will soon appear openly, and demand ‘the body (the glorified Humanity) of Jesus.’ The Paisley friends are desirous that Mr. Hindmarsh would also visit them, and proclaim the heavenly doctrines of the New Jerusalem. I have now before me a letter from the Edinburgh Society, in which they request us to write to you, and say ‘that they are equally desirous with us, that the Missionary Society would send Mr. H., or some other one equally (or nearly so) qualified to plant and water the new vineyard.’ Thus, Sir, you will perceive, all the Societies of the New Church in Scotland, as with one voice, cry to their friends in England, ‘Come and help us.’ Nor surely will they cry in vain: that heavenly principle of charity, which reigns universally in the hearts of the citizens of the holy Jerusalem, will surely on the present occasion manifest its divine origin, by endeavouring to increase the peace, comfort, and happiness of all who are willing to hearken and obey. Hoping the Committee will consider the situation of our Societies, as being surrounded by immense numbers, who are (we trust) desirous of knowing the truth, that they may be made free, and that they will therefore send Mr. H., who is so able an expositor of the laws, manners, and customs of the holy city, I remain, in the name of the New Church brethren, yours, &c.”

From Mr. James Meredith, Birmingham, Jan. 28, 1819=63.*
* Mr. J. Meredith, senior, was a very active promoter of the cause of the New Church, more particularly in Birmingham, where he resided. He departed this life March 9, 1848, in the 96th year of his age.- ED.

“I transmit you, through the medium of my son, L5. 10s. 3d., the amount of the penny a week subscription to the Missionary Institution; and embrace this opportunity of noticing an error that has (according to my idea) existed in the Missionary plan, and that is, an attempt to raise a Society in each place where the Missionary goes, when there has not been a sufficiently solid foundation laid for such all establishment. {317} I conceive, that the great point to be arrived at, is to make the heavenly doctrines known as extensively as possible: and were there a person, that was qualified either as Mr. Proud or Mr. Hindmarsh, unincumbered with a family, to travel the kingdom over; and in all respectable towns, where a suitable place could be procured, to preach and proclaim the new dispensation, being at the same time provided with some of the writings and small tracts for sale or distribution, it is reasonable to conclude, that great good under the divine blessing, would result therefrom. From Mr. Hindmarsh’s being so much younger than Mr. Proud, he would be most adapted of those two for such an undertaking; and were he to go forth in the same manner as on his northern journey, and be out a twelve month, dividing it into two parts, what an effort it would be for the blessed cause of the New Church! At the same time the advertising system might be in full operation, and thus by an union of means, a very imposing effect might be produced.
“When I read your last Report, I experienced a very delightful sensation, on being thereby made acquainted with what has already been done, and also with the pleasing prospect of the Church’s increase: for if we may judge by the sentiments contained in the Reports and letters from the various persons that have sent their communications, it assuredly does appear, that the Church is in a state of improving progression.
“I conclude with devoutly praying to the Lord Jesus Christ for his divine blessing upon your very laudible endeavours, and that his blessed spirit may guide and direct all your efforts and deliberations, and that you may be the happy means of making the New Jerusalem Church to become more and more a praise in the earth.”

From Mr. Joseph Clover*, Norwich, May 24, 1819=63, addressed to Mr. Hindmarsh.
* Mr. Clover was Barrack-Master at Norwich, and was extensively known and respected: he departed this life on the 10th June, 1824, in the 68th year of his age. He may be said to have been the founder of the Norwich Society, and he was also one of the Trustees of Mrs. Mary Berry, and, with his colleagues, gave to the Conference the first donation on its list, amounting to L300, and which is now called the Berry Gift.- ED.

“As I am satisfied in my mind that every circumstance, which relates to the success of the New Jerusalem, and a further extension of its heavenly doctrines, cannot fail to excite the greatest pleasure in you and our friends at Manchester, I shall without hesitation, proceed to give you a detail of what has lately passed in this city. My beloved friend, the Rev. E. Madeley, very unexpectedly, but to our great joy, arrived here on the 18th instant. Three days previous to his coming, the Rev. E. Beaumont*, Minister of the Ebenezer Chapel of the New Connexion of Methodists, with that love which truly marks the Christian character, came to tell me he should shortly take a journey into Yorkshire, and the use of his chapel was free for any friend of mine who might visit us. Thus a place was provided, and in readiness for Mr. Madeley. On the 9th, Lord’s day, He preached there three times to very full congregations, on the following texts: Rev. xix. 17. 18; Luke i. 68, 69; John xv. 1 to 5. On the Monday evening he delivered a lecture on the subject of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; after which several partook of those holy ordinances. On Tuesday he preached on Matt. xiii. 45, 46: the Chapel well attended.
* This we apprehend should be the Rev. G. Beaumont, who published The Anti-Swedenborg, in 1824, which was the means of calling forth that admirable defence of the New Church – An Appeal, &c., by the Rev. S. Noble- ED.
“On Wednesday morning his own affairs called him to Yarmouth, and with great regret we thought he had taken his farewell of us. But his blessed Master had more work for him to do in his vineyard. On Tuesday evening he returned, and delivered private lectures on Friday and Saturday evenings. On the Lord’s day, the l6th instant, he preached again twice, on Gen. xxxvii. 5-8; and Malachi i. 2, 3. The Chapel was fully attended, and the high satisfaction afterwards expressed by the people was truly gratifying. On the Monday morning he left us.
“Thus, by the divine blessing, the Holy Word has been faithfully preached in this city, and I trust to the benefit as well as satisfaction of many. During his stay with us seventeen adults and eleven children, total twenty-eight, were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; and sixteen partook of his blessed communion. May the Lord prosper and further with his continual aid this beginning of his own Church in Norwich; for it is he alone giveth increase.
“I have for some time been much perplexed to find a proper room for our little flock to meet in; and at the time of Mr. Madeley’s stay with us the place we used was under repair. {318} Since his departure I have hired one of the best rooms in the city, capable of containing rather more than two hundred. We met in it for the first time yesterday, and I trust by the divine assistance that it will in time be filled with true recipients of the heavenly doctrines of the New Jerusalem, many having expressed their desire to attend since Mr. Madeley preached.
“Thus, my dear Sir, has the Church assumed a visible appearance amongst us; and I have to solicit, from our friends of the Missionary institution, that support which we stand in need of. I am but a feeble instrument: we want more invigoration than I can offer. Rejoiced indeed, we should be, could we be favoured with a visit from you. My house would gladly welcome such a guest; and something towards the necessary expenses would no doubt be supplied. In the month of July would be a very suitable time. Let not the Society in Norwich be passed ever unnoticed. All things are in readiness; a chapel to preach in; a large room to lecture in; and many, many earnestly pressing me to request this favour of you. You will hear from Mr. Madeley his report; you will hear him express his joy, his delight, his satisfaction, the result of his visit. Come then, respected friend, come and gladden our souls, refresh us with instruction and information in the heavenly truths, and I hope Norwich will not be the least among the thousands of Israel.”

From Mr. Christopher Storry, Pickering, May 25, 1819=63.*
* The father of the present Rev. R. Storry, of Dalton, and Rev. T. Storry, of America, now a resident of Rhodes, near Middleton, Lancashire, and an active promoter of the cause in that village.-ED.

“I have several times purposed myself the pleasure of writing to you since the Rev. J. Bradley’s visit to this place, but have deferred it that I might be better able to state to you the effects produced by his very able and luminous lectures, delivered here on the evenings of the 13th and 14th of January last. What has come to my knowledge since his departure, I am happy to say, is of a nature calculated to excite the most lively feelings of gratitude and praise to ‘the only wise God our Saviour,’ for the many wonderful works he is, in this our day, performing for the advancement and permanent establishment of his New Jerusalem Church, which, we are assured from the records of eternal truth, shall go on and prosper until ‘the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the seas.’
“Mr. Bradley had not left Pickering many hours before a person called on me to inquire after him and the writings. Finding he was gone, she seemed quite disappointed, and said, if it had been in her power, she would have detained him some time longer; for she never was so happy under a discourse in her life, and had a great desire to hear him again. I gave her encouragement to persevere in her inquiries after the truth, and lent her the Doctrine on the Sacred Scripture.
“The next day Mr. and Mrs. K. of the Calvinist persuasion, sent for me with a view to inquire further about the doctrines, and to ask for some of the books to read. I gave them every information in my power, and lent them the Doctrine of Life. Mr. K. said he was highly delighted with Mr. Bradley’s lectures. He never saw the Scriptures so beautifully illustrated before, and was in a great measure convinced that it was genuine truth he had heard preached.
“I have conversed with many others, who attended the meeting, and who previously had some knowledge of the doctrines. These were well satisfied with the lectures, and spoke very highly of Mr. Bradley’s abilities, wishing much for an opportunity of hearing him again. Several others, who had never heard of the doctrines before, were quite astonished to hear them advanced in such a connected chain of argument, drawn from the Sacred Scriptures, and confirmed by sound reason nod experience. Even a few, who had looked upon the doctrines as visionary and fanciful, acknowledge, that they did not think it had been possible for any man to defend them in such a clear and able manner as Mr. B. had done. In short, the subject of the lectures has been the common topic of conversation all over the town; and I have endeavoured, as far as I was able, to keep alive that interest for the truth, which was now so generally excited. “After this public announcement of the doctrines of the New Church, and the effects of them having come to the knowledge of the Scribes and Pharisees, they were all dismay and alarm for the safety of their respective flocks. The Calvinist Minister was the first to betray his fears, and to warn his flock against the rude wolf, who would tear them from his fold. He therefore determined on ‘sounding the alarm,’ and gave notice that he would preach a sermon expressly on the Trinity. {319} I attended on this occasion; but to enumerate half the mysterious absurdities and contradictions that were advanced, would be perfect waste of time and paper. In drawing to a conclusion, he said he had preached that sermon, in order to counteract an attempt that had lately been made to disseminate the doctrines of Swedenborg in this town. He then gave a mutilated account of the Trinity held forth by E. S.; but on being afterwards remonstrated with, he acknowledged, both in private and in public, that he had been under a mistake with respect to the doctrines of Swedenborg, and had nothing more to say about them.
“Mr. Bradley’s lecture and this opposition have brought the doctrines forth to public notice more than I could have anticipated, and the reception they have met with generally is truly astonishing. We have it in contemplation to raise a weekly subscription to purchase books for the library, and to commence a reading meeting. But before we begin, we shall esteem it a favour, if you will give us your advice as to the best mode of adopting rules and regulations, so as to ensure its continuance and permanent establishment.”

The Report further states, that Mr. Lister, late a Methodist Preacher of the New Connexion, residing in the neighbourhood of Huddersfield, has for some time back embraced the heavenly doctrines of the New Jerusalem, in consequence of which he has been expelled from the Society of Methodists; but that he now preaches occasionally in the New Church, and, in the judgment of those who have heard him in Manchester, Leeds, and elsewhere, he is likely to become a most useful and valuable Minister.
From the information contained in this Report, the pleasing conviction arises, that the New Church, so far from retrograding, is actually advancing in her heavenly career. Wherever her voice is heard, the signal of peace is displayed. Her children, it is true, are as yet but young and tender: but there is reason to hope, they are growing in all the graces of love and innocence, which in due time will mature their character, and by union with the wisdom which is from above, prepare them to become the future bride and wife of the Lamb. May every member of the Church, therefore, keep perpetually in view, as the only means of attaining the perfection of the heavenly life, the necessity of shunning evils as sins against God, of renouncing the delights and pleasures that instigate to the commission of them, and thereby of keeping the interiors of their minds constantly open to the reception of love and wisdom from the Lord: and then, with the utmost confidence, may be expected the full accomplishment of all those divine promises, which are only now beginning to be realized in this our day. For He, whose Word is truth, and whose will is the salvation of his people, hath distinctly pronounced by the mouth of His prophet, “As the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater; so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. {320} Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree: and it shall be to Jehovah for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” Isa. lv. 10 to 13.

The Twelfth General Conference was held, agreeably to appointment, in Full Street, Derby, on Tuesday the 10th of August, 1819=63, and continued its meetings by daily adjournments until Thursday the 12th of the same month. Six Ministers were present, one Leader, and twelve Representatives from different Societies of the New Church, with a number of the friends of Derby and its vicinity. The Rev. ROBERT HINDMARSH was chosen President, and the Rev. THOMAS GOYDER, Secretary. After a suitable address from the President, respecting the object of Conference in establishing the New Church distinct from the Old Church, the Minutes of the last General Conference were read, together with upwards of thirty letters signed by different individuals in behalf of their respective Societies. The Revs. Messrs. Proud and Sibly were appointed to examine the letters, and to make such extracts from them as they might judge proper to be inserted in the Appendix to the Minutes.
The appointment of a Minister Superintendant of the New Church was deferred for future consideration.
On reading the 15th Resolution of the former Conference, respecting the establishment of a fund for the instruction of young men, candidates for the Ministry, in the learned languages, it was judged by the meeting that the formation of such a fund is, at present, impracticable.*
* This subject was entertained by the Forty-Seventh Conference, held in 1854; and resulted in the formation, in 1855, of the Students’ and Ministers’ Aid Fund.- ED.
A Missionary Committee for the ensuing year was then appointed, and the thanks of the Conference voted to those gentlemen, who had, with so much zeal and ability, performed the duties of that office in the past year.
On reading the 28th Resolution, concerning the establishment of uniformity in public worship, some conversation on its advantages took place, when it appeared to be the general opinion, that the adoption of such a measure would tend to unite the different Societies of the New Church more closely together. The subject was, therefore, ordered to be taken into consideration at the next General Conference. {321}
In consequence of the 36th Resolution, embracing matter of the highest interest to the Church, the President, after having digested a plan for settling places of worship in the New Church, for legalizing and rendering permanent the General Conference, and for forming a General Trust to receive and apply all contributions, legacies, &c., to the sole use and benefit of the New Church at large, submitted to the meeting proposals for carrying the same into effect, together with forms of such Deeds as appeared necessary to be enrolled in the high Court of Chancery. The forms of these proposed Deeds were not considered by him as perfect or complete in a legal point of view, but merely as rude sketches or outlines, containing the substance of what was intended; which, if approved of by the General Conference, and the members of the New Church at large, might afterwards be submitted to a professional gentleman, to be by him prepared and put into legal form.
The above proposed Plan and Conference Deeds having been read and approved of by the members present, it was Resolved unanimously, that the same be recommended to the consideration and serious attention of every Society in the kingdom, in order that the next General Conference may be better prepared to come to a decisive conclusion on their important contents.*
* This was the origin of the Conference Deed, which was passed and signed in 1821, and the Conference of that year is described as the first held under the Deed.-ED.
A plan was also read for establishing a Charity School, in connection with the Temple in Waterloo Road, London, for the instruction of poor children in the principles of the New Church, as well as in the most useful branches of education. The Conference was gratified by the perusal of the plan, but recommended in alteration in the first and second articles relative to the clothing of the children, which appeared to be not essential to the success of the Charity.*
* This effort was the foundation of the London Free Day Schools,- then called The New Jerusalem Free Schools,- and was the first Free Day School established in the Church. Mr. Geo. Granger was the master of it, during the whole term of its existence from 1820 to 1853.- ED.
After passing some further Resolutions, the next General Conference was appointed to be held at Derby, on the second Tuesday in August, 1820 = 64.

From the Eighteenth Report of the Manchester Printing Society, and from private letters, it appears, that a small Society has recently been established in Paris, at the house of M. Gobert, a celebrated Advocate, attached, heart and soul, to the interior truths of the Word. The Society, which consists of about eight persons, meets once a week to discuss spiritual subjects, to read the Works of Swedenborg, to promote, as far as possible, the knowledge of heavenly truth in others, and to cherish the love and practice of it in themselves. At present they possess but few French translations, though most of them are qualified to read the Latin, and some are well instructed in the original Works. {322} Their means for exertion as a Society are probably limited; but from their zeal and affectionate attachment to the cause of divine truth, it may reasonably be expected, as their individual endeavours are unremitting and their talents respectable, that the doctrines will progressively spread, and the Society proportionably gain strength by increase of numbers. It is a further source of gratification to find, that accurate translations of the Works into French, by J. P. Moet, late of Versailles, including all the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, except the Apocalypsis Explicata, with some of his Philosophical Works, have been purchased of his widow, by an English gentleman; that the manuscripts, in forty volumes, are now in London; and that, in all probability, the printing of them will shortly be commenced on the Continent. The name of the individual, who has made this generous effort for the advancement of the cause of divine truth, without any expectation of having his expenses repaid, though he himself is unwilling to be spoken of in this way, ought not to be concealed from the Church or the Public. It is JOHN AUGUSTUS TULK, Esq., of London, a gentleman of great property, an original member of the Church in London, and one of the most intelligent and cordial recipients of the new doctrines in Great Britain. The liberality of his views, in extending the means of information, on subjects of the highest interest to the human race, to every portion of the globe where the French language is either spoken or understood, claims the admiration of every well-disposed mind, and excites feelings of gratitude to the Author of all good, for having thus prompted, to an action of superlative use, one who is both able and willing to spread the doctrines of the New Jerusalem widely over the face of the earth.
The same Report above alluded to gives a favourable account of the progress of divine truth among the descendants of “the ancient Britons.” A gentleman, resident in North Wales, writes as follows:

“As far as my ordinary engagements will allow me, I continue to read every morning, a portion of our illuminated Author’s works; and the more I read and contemplate them, the more I am convinced of the sublime truths which they contain, and this from internal evidence in my own mind, to deny which would be to deny myself. That doctrines so sublime, and so deeply grounded in the uncorrupted sense of Scripture, should be rejected and perverted, is indeed a sad and astonishing consideration; but when we consider that this was the case with the Lord himself whilst manifested in the flesh, we can no longer be surprised, that, under his Second Coming in the Spirit, he should be again rejected by the Scribes and Pharisees of the present age. I have lately had the pleasure of introducing the doctrines to the Rector of our parish, when I was last in his company, who exclaimed, in great astonishment, “They certainly appear to me more than human;” observing further, that the doctrines were most comfortable and edifying, and that he should be happy in becoming a firm believer.

A clergyman of the Established Church, in the West of England, also writes: {323}

“I am deep in the Baron’s works; the more I read, the more I admire the Author. His book on the Theology of the New Church opens an inexhaustible store of new and original ideas; and his confutation of some of the most generally received doctrines of our Church, especially those relative to the Trinity, justification by faith alone, &c., appear to such a reader as myself unanswerable.”

It is not within the design of this History to notice occurrences that take place in any of the Old Churches: yet, in a case where one of the ablest and most conspicuous advocates of the new doctrines is personally concerned, it is highly satisfactory to record in these pages a tribute of affection and esteem, on the part of the congregation attending divine worship in St. John’s Church, Manchester, paid to their revered Pastor, the Rev. John Clowes, who had now entered upon the fiftieth year of his ministry in that place. This tribute consists of a Tablet of white marble, containing no less than ten figures in basso relievo, admirably executed by the celebrated Mr. Flaxman, R.A., and appropriately placed over the Rector’s seat on the right side of the altar. The venerable Rector is represented in the act of instructing a most interesting group of children, who are accompanied by their parents and grandsires, to signify the three generations which have attended Mr. Clowes’s ministry. Behind the Rector stands a guardian angel bearing a palm branch, expressive of the divine protection. In a word, whilst the sculpture itself forms a striking embellishment to the interior of this beautiful Church, yet, associated as it is with such a spontaneous and universal feeling of veneration and respect from the congregation, and with the virtues which have so eminently adorned the Christian Minister during his long and valuable life, such a memorial as this is perhaps without a parallel. The following is a copy of the inscription:

“To commemorate
the Fiftieth Year of the Ministry
of the
Rev. JOHN CLOWES, M.A.,
the first and the present Rector of this Church;
and to testify their
affectionate Esteem and Veneration
for the Piety, Learning, and Benevolence
of their amiable Pastor;
with Feelings of devout Gratitude to Almighty God,
who hath hitherto preserved,
and with their united Prayers that his Good Providence
will long continue to preserve amongst them,
so eminent and engaging an Example
of Christian Meekness, Purity, and Love,
The Congregation of St. John’s Church, in Manchester,
erect this Tablet.
MDCCCXIX.”*
* An Engraving of this Tablet will be found in the Memoir of Mr. Clowes, and in The New Church Reader. The Memoir also contains the affecting and interesting addresses delivered on the occasion of its completion.- ED. {324}

What renders this splendid compliment more honourable to all the parties concerned, is the circumstance, that it did not owe its origin or chief support to those members of the congregation of St. John’s, who agree with their venerable Rector in his sentiments respecting the Writings of Swedenborg, but to those who are unacquainted with those Writings, or adverse to them, but who, nevertheless, could not withhold the admiration which Mr. Clowes’s exemplary character has so strong a tendency to excite. A most striking instance is thus afforded of the power of amiable and consistent conduct in gaining the goodwill of those who differ from us in sentiment; and especially in this fact, – that the most active promoter of the measure was a gentleman, who, many years ago, carried a complaint against Mr. Clowes to the bishop of the diocese, for having in a sermon asserted the Sole Divinity of the Lord in a manner deemed inconsistent with the doctrines of the Church of England.

The Fourth Annual Report of the Missionary proceedings for this year states, that the Church is evidently extending itself in a variety of directions, and that new Societies are springing up in places, where twelve months ago they were little expected to make their appearance.
Mr. Parry, who has been chiefly engaged in paying visits to the Societies situated within twenty miles of Leeds, has had frequent opportunities of preaching to audiences, of which the greater part were entire strangers not only to the doctrines, but to the very name and existence of the New Church: and he has constantly found among them minds open to the reception of the truth, and grateful to the Divine Providence for having brought it to their ears.
Nearly the same has been observed by Mr. Pownall in his visits to Leigh, where the crowds that attended to hear him, and the earnest desire expressed by many of them to obtain further information of the great subjects of his discourses to them, were very remarkable, and give reasonable hope of the formation and establishment of a respectable Society in that neighbourhood.
Similar success appears to have attended the Missionary visit of Mr. Hindmarsh to Warrington, where he was invited to preach on the 20th of February in the Chapel belonging to the Independent Methodists. The consequence of this visit has been the formation of a new Society in that town, which meets together every week in a room hired for the purpose: and as they are very desirous of having public worship, means have been taken to supply them occasionally with a minister from Manchester or elsewhere. Mr. Hindmarsh, it appears, visited them a second time on the 28th of May, and their number is still increasing.*
* This Society is now extinct.-ED. {325}

In addition to this information, it appears, that another Society has been lately formed in a village called Woodhouses, near Failsworth, at the distance of five miles from Manchester, where a Sunday-school is established, and where the members have requested to be favoured with the occasional visits of Ministers. But although the Church, since the publication of the last Report, has had the satisfaction of numbering among its local or visiting Preachers, another successful labourer in the vineyard, a young man of excellent character and acknowledged abilities, namely, Mr. John Birchwood, of Manchester, yet the supply still falls short of the demands which are continually making by different Societies for the services of the Missionary or Visiting Ministers. In Leeds, Mr. Parry’s place of worship is occasionally supplied in his absence, by Mr. Lister, and Mr. D. Brooke, the former of whom has for a considerable time preached, and been well received by the people; and the latter has lately entered upon the same public duty, with the entire approbation of those who have heard him. The Societies of Bolton, Ratcliffe, Heywood, Stockport, Worsley, &c., are also attended by Mr. Pownall*, Mr. Briddock, Mr. Birchwood, Mr. Richard Boardman, Mr. David Howarth, and Mr. Thomas Ogden, as well as by the Ministers who have fixed congregations in Manchester and Salford, according to a printed quarterly arrangement, which the Missionary Committee have found it convenient and highly necessary to adopt, that the various places of worship within the limits of the Manchester district, may be supplied as frequently and regularly as possible, by approved and acceptable Ministers.
* Rev. J. Pownall was ordained into the ministry in 1824. He had previously been an active member of the Manchester and Salford Missionary Institution; but at a later period he seldom officiated. He died on the 18th September, 1845, aged 63.- ED.
At Derby, a place of worship, lately erected by Mr. J. Robinson, at his own expense, was opened by the Rev. R. Jones, on Sunday, the l8th of June; and another, now erecting by the Rev. E. Madeley, in the same town, it is expected, will be ready for opening in the course of a few months. Some opposition to the doctrines of the New Church, set on foot by a Dissenting Minister of the Baptist persuasion, has been experienced by the Society, in the publication of a pamphlet, whose author has most unfairly and unjustly misrepresented the nature and tendency of the theological writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. But the truth is not to be put down by such ungenerous attempts. On the contrary, it already appears, that, like all former oppositions of a similar complexion, good instead of injury has been the occasion of directing the attention of some individuals to the real doctrines of the New Church, and they have found what they otherwise might never have lighted upon, the pearl of great price, and immediately sold all, and purchased it.” Matt. xiii. 46.*
* It was resolved by the London Printing Society of the New Church this year, (1819), that the writings of Swedenborg, as far as they had been published, should be presented to Public Libraries, and the Committee were empowered to distribute books to the extent of thirty pounds in value annually. The first grant was to four libraries in the metropolis.- ED. {326}
From Edinburgh accounts have been received of Mr. Bradley’s visit to that city, in order to open a central and more commodious place of worship, than that which the Society had heretofore occupied. His services there appear to have been highly valued; and as he had an opportunity of preaching before many of the Scotch clergy, who came probably out of mere curiosity to hear the doctrines of the New Church, there is reason to hope, that the clear and satisfactory manner, in which he is stated to have laid them down, will not be without its use even to the learned as well as to the simple and unlearned.
From the letters contained in this Report the following are selected, as calculated to shew the improving state of the Church.

From Mr. John Parry, Leeds, Nov. 27, 1819=63.

“On Sunday, the 24th of October, I preached in the Methodist Chapel at Adwalton, where I had preached the Thursday evening before. As the circumstances attending this visit were rather novel, I will just state them. When I arrived at the village, I found a Methodist Preacher was there, expecting to officiate in the Chapel, although the people had informed the regular Preacher they should not want his assistance that day. He accordingly took possession of the pulpit ere I was aware. My friends were much dissatisfied at this: but as I was afraid of causing a dispute, and thereby blocking up the way in future, I concluded it was better for him to preach in the morning, and I proposed to occupy the pulpit in the afternoon. This was agreed upon. Accordingly in the afternoon I preached from John vi. 45; which led me to expatiate, in a plain and pointed manner, on the principal doctrines of the New Jerusalem. The people heard with great attention, and manifested considerable interest in the subject. The Preacher, who sat behind me in the pulpit, alone seemed uneasy. When I had gone through the discourse, I gave him an opportunity of making what remarks he chose; but he declined, saying the time was far spent. I had resolved, in case he had opposed, to reply. He seemed, as one of the hearers expressed it, completely disarmed and overpowered with what he had heard; so omnipotent is truth. The people expressed great satisfaction, and invited me to visit them as often as I could.”

From the same, Leeds, Feb. 10, 1820=64.

“In reply to the communication I have received from the Committee, dated Feb. 4, I would observe, that the Societies I principally visit are Keighley, Addingham, Eccup, Shipley, and Leeds, occasionally, Hull, Gomersall, and Upper Heaton. My general rule is to visit each of the principal Societies once in six weeks, besides supplying Leeds. As to the intermediate places, I designed, when I first embarked in this mission, to call regularly at Bingley and Bradford, in my way from Keighley and Addingham. But I have not been able to accomplish that part of the plan to my mind. I got a house licensed at Bradford to preach in. Three or four friends to the new doctrines live there, and it is their opinion that at present week-day lectures will not be attended, the minds of the people being so much occupied with political matters and general distress. I therefore turned my attention to Shipley in the neighbourhood of Bradford, where there is a good prospect of the reception of the doctrines. My plan is to visit them on the week-days, and as often as I can on the Sundays; also Bramley, about five miles from Leeds, a village where I have at length got an opening, and which requires my attendance once a fortnight.
“As to new Societies, I conceive one, and I hope a pretty numerous one, will be formed at Shipley. {327} I know of no place, where the prospect is better. I need not observe, New Church Societies are not formed so rapidly as others; it is a process which requires time, patience, and perseverance. In Gomersall and Adwalton there are several, whose minds are alive to the superior excellency of the New Church views; but as yet they are in connection with the Methodists. I hope the period will ere long arrive, when the seed already sown will produce abundant fruit. At Bramley also I trust a Society will soon be formed.
“As to hearers, I believe they are generally on the increase, and in some places considerably so. I can say with pleasure, that the congregations at Keighley, Eccup, Shipley, Leeds, and other places, are very good when I visit them; and, with one exception, I believe at other times also. Addingham is stationary, the prejudices there running strong against the doctrines. In none of the places is there any decrease of hearers that I know of, but a general increase is very observable. Upon the whole, I think they maybe safely calculated as follows:- Leeds from a hundred and fifty to two hundred; Keighley two hundred; Shipley from a hundred and fifty to two hundred; Eccup near one hundred; Gomersall about a hundred. I judge from my own observation at these places. The service of the Decalogue has only been partially used; but I am wishful to promote its adoption generally.
“As to the contributions, I cannot say exactly the amount likely to be produced; but I shall do all in my power to make the subscriptions respectable.”

From the same, Leeds, May 4, 1820=64.

“On the 16th of April I preached in the Chapel at Wheatley, near Eccup; and in the evening at Eccup, in Mr. Mawson’s house. Here our congregations are regularly good. The New Church here seems to advance with a steady peace. There is no Society I visit with more pleasure. Warmly attached to the new doctrines, they recommend those doctrines by a suitable life and conversation. They are indeed worthy citizens of the New Jerusalem.”

From the Rev. James Bradley, Newcastle-upon- Tyne, June 16, 1820=64.

“I received a letter from the Secretary of the Edinburgh Society of the New Church, dated the 17th of May, informing me, that they intended to open a new place of worship on the 28th, and that they had applied to you without success for a Missionary to open it; in which case their only resource was to apply to me. I submitted the matter to some of the leading members of the Society here, who advised that I should comply with their request. I arrived at Edinburgh on the 26th, and was cordially received by the friends there. Their new place of worship is called Skinners’ Hall, situated in Skinners’ Close, High Street, and calculated to hold about four hundred people. The publication of my name, in connection with the doctrines, did rot produce an effect like that of Mr. Hindmarsh’s. I was, however, both numerously and respectably attended. On the Sunday there were three services, and each time there were calculated to be upwards of three hundred people.
“It had been announced in the bill of publication, that I should explain some of the leading doctrines of the New Jerusalem. When I understood this circumstance, I thought it most proper to meet the expectation of the public, by choosing for my text those words in the 21st chapter of the Revelation, ‘Behold, I make all things new;’ which may perhaps be considered rather a motto than a text. Under its sanction, however, I dwelt pretty extensively on the doctrine of the Trinity; the assumption and glorification of the Humanity; human redemption; charity, faith, and good works; consequently regeneration. Besides, morning and afternoon I commented upon portions of the Holy Word as lessons; in the morning upon Rev. xix. 11 to the end, which furnished me with an opportunity of showing the nature of the Word, that it is written according to the correspondence of natural things with spiritual; in the afternoon upon Matt. xxv. 26 to the end, from which I shewed the views of the New Church with respect to the last judgment. In the evening I explained the true nature of heaven and hell, shewing how they are constituted, and on what principles; their arrangement into innumerable societies; also that there are three heavens, according to the declaration of the apostle Paul; the reason of there being three; that none are received into heaven, or rejected to hell, from mere arbitrary pleasure on the part of the Lord; that heaven is a state, and likewise hell; that all appearances therein originate in, and are expressive of, state; and that consequently a life according to the precepts of divine order is necessary, as without it it is impossible to enter into heaven after death. It was observed, that a marked and very serious attention was paid to the whole of this discourse. {328}
“On the Monday evening I addressed them from John xv. 13, 14; ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.’ From this passage I maintained, that the greatest friendship we could shew to each other was by the entire subjection of every feeling generated from an inordinate degree of self-love and love of the world; and that this was implied in doing whatsoever the Lord hath commanded us: by which we become his friends, i. e., become instrumental in promoting his great end in creation, redemption, and all divine operations.
“In two or three social meetings of the friends, I found some of those pleasures revived, which I have so often experienced in the company of those, who appear to have similar affections of good, and similar perceptions of divine truth.”

From Mr. Robert Hindmarsh, Salford, July 14, 1820=64.

“The following account of a visit lately made to Warrington will, I hope, prove acceptable to the gentlemen of the Missionary Committee. Only two readers of the doctrines were known to reside in that town, and these, with another friend in the neighbourhood, applied to the managers of the Chapel belonging to the Independent Methodists, for the use of it for one day, that an opportunity might be given to some Minister to explain the doctrines of the New Church. This request was complied with, on condition that a collection should be made on some part of the day, agreeably to annual custom, for the benefit of the Warrington Dispensary. Hereupon I was invited to preach there on the 20th of February last, which I accordingly did, in the morning to about three hundred, when the collection was found to be more than double the usual amount; and in the evening to a congregation, chiefly of Methodists, computed to be about six hundred in number, among them a Unitarian Minister and some others of the same persuasion. The discourse in the evening, being on the subject of the exclusive Divinity of the Lord, excited a great interest among the hearers, many of whom afterwards expressed their approbation of what was delivered, and the conviction of their minds that the reports, which had heretofore been circulated to the disadvantage of the New Church, were altogether groundless, and unworthy of credit.
“Several of the Methodist Preachers and their friends, with the Unitarian Minister, and some of our friends who had accompanied me from Manchester, spent the remainder of the evening with me at the inn. The Unitarian Minister in particular made various inquiries relative to our doctrines, and was desirous of being informed, whether we considered that Jesus Christ was possessed of two distinct natures while on earth. To which I replied, that most assuredly we believe that he had a Divine as well as a Human nature; that without this latter he would have been incapable of hunger and thirst, of temptations, of sufferings, and at length of crucifixion and death; and that by virtue of his divine nature he performed miracles, overcame all the powers of darkness, and finally raised himself from the dead. I added, that so far from the circumstance of his having two natures affording matter of reasonable doubt or astonishment, the case is similar with man, even with himself, if he had in any degree entered upon the process of regeneration. For what is the character of a man’s selfish and unholy appetites, lusts, and propensities, derived by inheritance from his parents, and too often confirmed by the habits of an evil life, but a nature entirely distinct from that new principle of spiritual life, consisting in all the affections of love, and perceptions of wisdom, which he receives by regeneration from the Lord? And as it is the duty of every candidate for a blessed immortality, to renounce the inordinate passions and false pleasures, which are so gratifying to his old man, in other words, to his first nature; so it is equally necessary that he should put on, and equally a fact that he does put on, a new man, that is, a new or second nature, when through divine mercy he puts off the old man with his deeds, and becomes a subject of the new birth, usually called regeneration. Our Lord therefore says in the Gospel, ‘Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God:’ and again, ‘That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit,’ John iii. 3, 6. I then observed, that if in the case of’ every individual member of the Church, who has experienced the above process, it is manifest that he must be possessed of two natures, the one carnal, and the other spiritual, it is no less true, that our Lord, when on earth, and before his glorification or entire union with the Divinity called the Father, had also in like manner two natures perfectly distinct from each other, the one Human, and the other Divine.

“The Methodists listened to these observations apparently with satisfaction; but the Unitarian Minister seemed as great a stranger to the doctrine, as Nicodemus was of old, and this in all probability because he had imbibed the ideas, the arguments, and the reasonings of that particular class of professing Christians, with which he is more immediately connected, and who set it down as a kind of maxim, that a man is and can be possessed of only one nature; and consequently that our Lord, being in their opinion a mere man, could not possibly have any more. {329}
“Having satisfied himself with respect to this part of our views concerning the Lord, the young man, (for such was the Unitarian Minister,) after assuring me that he had no disposition to cavil, but merely to gain information, then requested to know, whether we considered, that a person entertaining his sentiments, and denying the Divinity of Jesus Christ, might not still be saved, equally as well as those who are of a contrary opinion. I answered, that I had no doubt but the divine mercy is, and would hereafter be extended alike to the Unitarian and to every other man; but that salvation, being founded not on any arbitrarious selection or determination on the part of God, but on the immutable and eternal principles of divine order, depended altogether on the state of man’s conjunction with the Lord; and this conjunction again depended on the quality and degree of good and truth received from him. If now the Unitarian, or any other professor of religion, be in good, but not yet in truth, especially in the truth concerning the Lord; that is, if he live in charity with mankind according to the best of his knowledge and understanding, though in great errors of judgment, he will, after instruction and reception of the truth either in this life or in the next, be eventually saved. But, on the contrary, should he confirm himself in his errors by fallacious reasonings of the understanding, grounded in evils of the will and life, and particularly should he obstinately and finally persist in a denial of the Divinity of the Lord, in this case he destroys in himself the capacity of entering into conjunction with him, and consequently, by his own act excludes himself from heaven. He was then referred to that passage in Scripture, where it is written, ‘The Stone, which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner. Whosoever shall fall upon that Stone, shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder,” Luke xx. 17, 18. I observed to him, that the Stone there spoken of is evidently the Lord as to Divine truth, and especially the doctrine of his sole and exclusive Divinity, which, however rejected by the spiritual builders or teachers, is yet the foundation, strength, and support of the true Church; that whosoever shall fall or stumble upon that Stone, whosoever shall consider his divine person and character as matter of offence, or repute the doctrine which teaches it as unworthy of being embraced, must of necessity be broken, or suffer a serious, perhaps irreparable spiritual injury; but that on whomsoever it shall fall, that is, in whomsoever there shall be found a confirmed, wilful, and malicious denial of the Lord’s Divinity, proceeding from an evil heart and life, such an one will bring upon himself a total and final destruction.
“After much conversation on these and other subjects, the company broke up at a late hour, each individual apparently gratified, and the Unitarian Minister in particular expressing his desire to be furnished with some of the writings of E. S. and his determination to read them with attention.
“Second Visit.- About two months after the first visit (having been in the mean time totally ignorant of the result or effect produced by it), I received a letter from Mr. Cadman, one of the friends who had procured the use of the Methodist Chapel, stating, that a Society was formed in Warrington, which met together every week for the purpose of reading the works of Swedenborg, that the persons who attended were twenty-six in number, and that they were desirous I would pay them another visit on the 28th of May. I accordingly went at the time appointed, and found that they had engaged a room capable of containing a hundred and fifty persons. I preached morning and evening, besides holding a meeting in the afternoon for conversation, and explanation of such difficulties as had presented themselves to the minds of an infant Society. Both young men and young women had questions to put relative to certain passages of Scripture, which seemed to oppose our views, especially with respect to the Trinity: but when they heard the explanations, they instantly perceived the truth, and unanimously expressed their satisfaction. They are all most anxious to have regular worship established among them, to be furnished with a library of books, and to be favoured with the occasional visits of some Minister or Ministers of the New Church from Manchester. I understand they still continue steadfast in their adherence to the doctrines, and notwithstanding the opposition which they have already experienced from some of the professors of Christianity, they receive almost a weekly addition to their number; and they have found it necessary to procure a larger and more respectable room to meet in, than that which they at first occupied.”

From the Rev. Edward Madeley, Derby, March 4, 1820=64.

“I have the pleasure to say, that our Society is greatly increased since our last Conference. {330} At our last quarterly meeting we admitted ten members. Several more have very cordially received the doctrines, among whom is a respectable gentleman, who was a close attendant at the Particular Baptist Chapel. This has caused a considerable commotion in Derby. There are at this time two publications in the press against the doctrines of the New Jerusalem, one by a Minister* of the General Baptist Society, and the other by a Minister of the Church of England.** I am aware whence this arises. Our happy Society is much more united, than it has heretofore been; and as its number is; greatly increased, our attendants in the afternoon and evening fill the place, so that we frequently have to bring out forms for the people to sit in the aisle. Our enemies in the spiritual world are uniting their power against us; but our Divine Lord is our support, and in him will we trust.”***
* J. G. Pike, – see below.- ED.
** This was for the most part a reprint of Wesley’s scurrilous paper, previously noticed. It was generally understood that with the minister of the Church of England two dissenting ministers were associated.- ED
*** A controversy of considerable importance arose in Manchester at this time between the Rev. W. Roby, and the Rev. John Clowes; which resulted in the publication of two admirable Letters of Mr. Clowes’s, and Remarks by a Layman, which completely demolished Mr. Roby’s blundering arguments and unfounded censures.-ED.