to understand, that unless justice in this respect was granted to us, we would be compelled, as a last resort, to go to Parliament itself. (Hear, hear.) But I find some of my friends are not disposed to agree with me on this subject. I am certain we shall have a tight battle for it in Parliament, and I am disposed to discharge every weapon we have before we enter on the last and decisive struggle. I am unwilling to go to Parliament with the landed proprietors. I know the battle will be a long and severe one. It is not the man who last draws the sword however, that is the first to sheathe it ; and, therefore, I should have liked had the Assembly done all it was in its power to do, before taking the field in Parliament. In reference to the case of our people, for whom we are about to enter into this contest, I may say I have seen more of their sufferings than many of our friends here have had the opportunity of seeing; and knowing what I do of their sufferings, I could not have blamed Mr Begg, had he burst forth into the most indignant reprobation of their oppressors which it was possible to hurl at them. He did not do so, and I am glad of it; but had he done so, I could not in my heart have blamed him. (Hear, hear.) I too, Sir, have been at Cannobie; and never shall I forget the scene that was there presented to my sight. I went to Cannobie amid snow and storm, and had formed the resolution within myself not to speak to the people of the privations and sufferings they were undergoing. I was glad, Sir, that I had formed this resolution, for I could not have trusted myself to speak to them of the wrongs they were called to endure. When I went from Langholm on Sabbath morning to the place where I was to preach, the roads were covered with the melting snow, the wind was biting cold, the Esk was roaring in full flood, and a more bleak and wintry prospect it is impossible to conceive. On turning a point in the road, I suddenly came upon 500 people collected together to hear the gospel; and so sudden, impressive, and desolate was the whole scene, that when it broke upon our view, the man who drove me to the spot looked in my face, and burst into tears. I never saw such a scene before; God grant that I may never see such a scene again. Had the Duke of Buccleuch been there, he could not have withheld his tears at the sight. The hardest heart must have melted to see so many, young and old, assembled on that open road, for the worship of the God of their fathers. A tent was erected for me under the leafless branches of a tree, which, in truth, afforded little protection to me or to them; but, Sir, I found I could not preach in that tent. It may seem to some an unaccountable kind of feeling in me; but you can understand it. I felt as if I could not preach in that tent while these poor people stood shivering around me. I have been much struck to find that, in very similar circumstances, when preaching on a bleak moor, Richard Cameron, in his wanderings, was accommodated with a tent; but he felt that, while the people stood unprotected around him, he could not preach in it. It was with the same feeling that, on this occasion, I could not preach to these people from the tent. I left it and took up my place upon the ground. Before I was half through with the sermon, lashing torrents of rain came down upon us, and soon I was almost as wet as if I had been dragged through the river that rolled by us in winter floods. On the conclusion of the service,-while the rain fell heavy,-I said to some gentlemen who were present, that it would be cruelty to ask these people to come back again; but with one voice they protested against my resolution, and said with an eagerness which bespoke the earnestness of their hearts, that if I would remain to preach, they would come back and remain to hear me if it were till midnight. I pronounced the blessing; they melted away like a snow wreath, and I repaired to a cabaret or small inn hard by, to spend the interval. While there, I stood looking out upon the open highway, and, thanks be to God, we have a highway, on which no lordly oppressor can stand between us and heaven,-and I saw an aged woman sitting upon the open road, waiting for the hour of service. She seemed a widow, old and feeble; and while the rain lashed over her, there she sat cowering under the storm. I pointed her out to a woman in the house, who said she had never seen such things before, and exclaimed, "It is enough to bring down God's judgments on this land, to see a sight like that." In the afternoon, to my amazement, I found about 600 men, women, and children, assembled, on the road, shivering in the tempest, the men cover

ed with their grey plaids, and these grey plaids of Scotland covering hearts as warık and generous as ever beat in the bosom of the best nobleman of the land. Two men stood beside me, whose countenances I can never forget,-bespeaking the thirst, the anxiety, the delight they felt in hearing the gospel. The hand of death seemed upon them; and, I believe, there was enough that day to send them to the grave they now may lie in, "where the weary are at rest, and the wicked cease from troubling." I felt, Sir, on that occasion, the propriety of not saying anything of the sufferings the people endured; but from what I have seen, I must repeat, that had my friend Mr Begg this night burst forth in indignant denunciation of the authors of such sufferings, I would have been the first to pardon him. (Hear.) He did not do so, and I am thankful for it; but I could have wished that the Assembly, before going to Parliament, had given to these noblemen and gentlemen, who, I am satisfied, are grossly misled and misinformed, an opportunity of knowing the real state of the case. (Symptoms of dissent from Dr Clason.) My worthy friend Dr Clason shakes his head; but let him read the papers and the magazines, and consider the reports of the stewards, and factors, and flatterers, and underlings of these men, and he will find that within their palaces truth almost never enters-cannot show her face. Dr Clason will not believe that our case is misrepresented to these men. I will give him an instance. Did I not hear the other day that my friend Dr Clason, at the Convocation, locked the door on all the country ministers, and compelled them to sign the protest? (Great laughter.) It is consistent with my knowledge that the most incredible misrepresentations of our principles are made to the higher classes, especially by the apostates and renegades, to curry their favour and patronage. (Hear.) I must just say, in conclusion, that I am not sure of some of these mileand-a-half cases of Mr Begg's; and I would not wish it to be considered as the deliberate judgment of this Assembly that all these cases are proper cases of complaint. (Hear.)

Mr SHANKS said it consisted with his knowledge that the Duke of Richmond had treated the Free Church people on his estates with courtesy and friendliness. He had not dismissed any one man from his service on account of his adherence; and he had given most suitable and convenient sites, except, perhaps, in the case already referred to, of which, however, he (Mr S.) knew very little.

The resolution proposed by Dr Candlish was then unanimously agreed to, and the Assembly adjourned at half-past twelve.

TUESDAY, MAY 27.

Devotional Exercises-Minutes read-Committee appointed to inquire as to Refusal of Sites in Carmylie and Kilmalie-Address to the Queen on the Anniversary of her Birth-Day-Overtures on Popery and Endowment of Maynooth considered, and a Petition to Parliament and Address to the Queen agreed to-Speeches of Dr Buchanan, Mr Begg, Dr Brown, (of Aberdeen) Hon. F. Maule, Dr Smyth-Report on State of Religion-Speeches of Rev. Mr M'Bryde, Dr Duncan, Mr Longmuir, Mr Carment, Dr Candlish, Mr J. Anderson.

The Assembly met this day at 1 o'clock.

THE INVERNESS MEETING.

On the reading of the minutes of last night's proceedings,

Mr SORLEY was understood to object to its being held that the Assembly had last night decided on having an adjourned meeting in Inverness.

Dr CUNNINGHAM concurred with Mr Sorley. He doubted whether the proposal of last night was fully in accordance with the principles by which the conduct and calling of General Assemblies ought to be regulated; and the idea of an extraordinary Assembly was making, perhaps, a little too much of the object which was in view. He thought, therefore, it would be better to have a meeting of the Commission in Inverness in August, which was a much more favourable season of the year. In the mean time, he thought the matter should be considered as perfectly open.

Dr CANDLISH Said, it was the understanding come to last night, that it would be

their duty, in the circumstances, to hold a meeting of the Assembly in Inverness, and that a Committee should be appointed to consider the competency, and decide on the best mode of carrying the resolution into effect, leaving it open to the Committee to consider whether it was a competent measure, or whether the object could be accomplished in a better way. What they substantially agreed to last night, according to his understanding of it, was, that they should have a full meeting of the members of Assembly in Inverness, with all the influence with which they could be invested. If they could not hold an adjourned meeting, they might call a new one. Dr BUCHANAN of Glasgow remarked, that the influence of the Assembly would be very much in the hands of the members themselves.

Mr BEGG said, that the Highlanders would not understand what was meant by a meeting of Commission. Something more formidable and impressive in appearance than a meeting of the Commission would be necessary. He reckoned it an object of the last importance; and since half of the Free Church is found in the Highlands of Scotland, and since their northern friends had not grudged for centuries to come to Edinburgh to attend the General Assembly, it would be an extraordinary thing indeed if they were found grudging one Assembly in the north of Scotland, when it was to take into consideration such momentous questions as the physical and moral evils under which they are labouring, and the importance of remedying those evils. Dr CANDLISH said, it would be for the Committee to consider how far it was practicable, and consistent with the proper mode of procedure for the Church to adopt. The minutes were then approved of.

Mr NIXON having stated, that doubts were expressed in reference to the cases of alleged refusal to accept of sites, said to be offered in Carmylie and Kilmalie, as mentioned last night, it was resolved, on Mr Nixon's motion, seconded by Mr Roxburgh, that as it was important to the Assembly, for the sake of the Church at large, as well as for the sake of those particular congregations themselves, that the matter be thoroughly investigated, a Committee be appointed to make the necessary inquiries, and report before the rising of the Assembly.

ADDRESS TO THE QUEEN.

Mr GREY said,-Moderator, on this auspicious day of the anniversary of the birth of her Majesty, I am sure it will be the mind of the Assembly to present her most gracious Majesty with a loyal and affectionate address on the occasion. No change of circumstances on our part will, I trust, ever change our feelings of loyalty towards our sovereign, or our attachment to the civil constitution under which we live. We have heard it said-I know not with how much truth-that our gracious sovereign is better acquainted with our questions as a Church than her Majesty's prime minister. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) And it is pleasing to know, that, by the command of His Royal Highness Prince Albert, an account has been written of the causes and character of our Disruption, by a most enlightened foreigner, who favoured us with his presence two years ago, (Mr Sidow.) That work is highly creditable to us, and, I believe, perfectly correct. I would hope that in this way the subject has been brought before her Majesty's mind; but, independent of that, I trust we shall ever prove ourselves good subjects, ready to obey magistrates, and prepared for every good work. I therefore beg to move that a Committee be appointed to prepare a loyal and dutiful address to the Queen, congratulating her on the return of her Majesty's birth-day. ("Agree, agree.")

The Committee was then appointed.

POOR LAW.

A copy of the bill for the amendment and better administration of the law relating to the relief of the poor in Scotland, was laid on the table, and it was agreed, if possible, to take the same into consideration to-morrow.

ENDOWMENT OF MAYNOOTH.

The Assembly next took up the overtures from the Synods of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Ayr, and Lothian and Tweeddale, and Presbyteries of Arbroath and Glasgow, on

Popery, and the proposed grant to the Roman Catholic College at Maynooth, and these having been laid on the table, and two of them read,

Rev. Dr BUCHANAN of Glasgow rose and spoke as follows:-Moderator, I cannot begin to address the house on this momentous subject, without stating that I do so unexpectedly. It was understood that the subject was to be introduced to the notice of the Assembly by a distinguished member, who was sitting a few minutes ago on the left hand of our assessor (Dr Candlish.) Therefore, I was holding myself perfectly unembarrassed, intending, no doubt, if opportunity offered, to make such observations as might occur in the course of the discussion; but certainly not at all believing that the responsibility would be devolved upon me of presenting the subject, in the first instance, to the notice of the Assembly. At the same time, I did feel the force of the remark made by a distinguished friend on the right (Mr F. Maule)" Is there no father or minister of the Free Church to rise to address the house on so exciting and important an occasion ?"-and having had the privilege of introducing one of the overtures into the Synod of Glasgow and Ayr, I did not feel that I could be silent, or refrain from stating here some of those views which led me to bring that overture under the notice of the Synod. The overture asserts, what is sufficiently notorious, that the present aspects of Popery are of a nature to excite anxiety and alarm. It is one of the most remarkable signs of the present times, how Popery is, on all hands, rising both in political influence and in influence as a superstition. We know the impression was long entertained, that danger from the side of Popery had altogether gone by,-that, in fact, the coexistence of such a system with the intelligence and liberty of the nineteenth century, was impossible, and men were beginning to wonder whether or not the impressions which our older divines had been accustomed to entertain in regard to those portions of prophetic Scripture that seemed to foretell a second rise of Popery,-a rise to great power and influence, before its final overthrow,-to wonder whether, after all, it would not turn out that these views of prophetic Scripture might not have been mistaken. The events of the present day seem rapidly confirming all which these divines had held and been accustomed to teach on the subject. It does seem impossible to look to the parts of the Scripture on the subject of that great mystery of iniquity, without coming to the conclusion which they were accustomed to maintain and entertain, that, from a height, a point of great power and prosperity, that superstition is to be thrown down,-that its end is not to be the end of a system dying out from merely natural causes, and under the operation of merely natural influences, but to be overthrown suddenly, at the very moment when imagining that her power is established over the minds and reasons of mankind, sitting as a queen, and destined to see no sorrow. We see, to all appearance, this state of things rapidly in the course of being realized. A few years ago, we should have been at a loss to conceive how this state of things could be brought about; and yet we now see how, from quarters the most unlikely and unexpected, aid to the cause of Popery is rapidly opening. We see, for example, a great branch of the Christian Church,-a Church which was accustomed to be so called, and to boast of itself as being the very bulwark of the Protestant faith,-I mean the Church of England,-we have lived to see that Church, instead of realizing that proud boast, itself rapidly becoming identified with the worst superstitions of the Church of Rome,-not merely furthering the progress of Romanism, but actually becoming itself identified with Romanism. (Hear, hear.) And then, on the side of the political influence of this system, how strange that that party, whose very existence as a political body, and whose whole past history, may be said to be identified with opposition to Popery,-how strange that that very political body, with some honourable exceptions, as you, Sir, stated in your opening address,—but in the main bulk and body of it, should be lending its influence to the furtherance of this baneful system! (Hear, hear.) I shall not venture to go over the wide field which this subject invites us to enter. I shall not attempt to trace the progress of Popery, working in both of these departments, both as a superstition and as a political power, both in this country and on the Continent of Europe. It is not necessary that I should tell any one here that, if Romanism has been gaining strength within the British dominions, it has also been manifesting re

newed power and influence on the Continent of Europe. What was it that overthrew the Liberal party,-the Constitutional party in Spain,-the Government of Espartero, but the revived power and influence of Popery? What is it that has been recently convulsing the cantons of Switzerland, but this power of Popery, which has recovered its influence through the operations of the Jesuits? And what at this moment is embarrassing the Government of France, and not indirectly threatening the stability of the throne of that country, but the very same power which is everywhere displaying itself on the theatre of the political world?-so that it may be truly said, that questions in connection with the Church of Rome are rising up and occasioning difficulties in all the States in Europe. But, without venturing to dilate on this general aspect of the question, let us view it more especially in connection with the portentous measure now before our Legislature, which has passed one of the Houses of Parliament, and is at this moment before the House of Lords. In that bill for the endowment-the permanent endowment-of the Roman Catholic College of Maynooth, we see one of the most painful evidences of the recovered power of the Church of Rome. We all know that, for any ministry to have ventured to propound such a measure five years ago, would have been to pronounce its own destruction; and yet we have lived to see the endowment,-yes, and the Conservative Government proposing that measure amid the cheers of the vast majority of the representatives of the people of this realm, and carrying it through the most popular branch of the British Legislature on the shoulders of a triumphant majority, and launched into the Upper House in circumstances in which, humanly speaking, we cannot doubt it will have an equally overwhelming support. Sir, it is apparent that these things are in themselves a very remarkable sign of the times,-a very remarkable indication that there has passed over the minds of the influential portion of the people of this kingdom a most perilous change; and if anything could increase the anxiety with which the passing of such a measure in the House of Commons must be contemplated, it is the argument, the general strain of reasoning, with which the measure has been supported. For what are the features which stand out most prominently in the course of that discussion on the part of the supporters of the measure? Are they not these? In the first place, that a vast majority of the legislators of this country disclaim the power of distinguishing, in matters of religion, between truth and error,-that they have proclaimed themselves in the face of the country and of the world, as being incapable of distinguishing what is truth from what is error; and if this be so, then we have ceased,-and let us look at the fact, and be humbled before God on account of it, we have ceased to have a Christian Legislature,-(hear, hear,)—we have ceased to have a Legislature which really recognizes the Lord Jesus Christ in his own glorious gospel, in his blessed Word,—as being himself the truth,-as himself supplying the rule by which, on all questions of duty and conscience, men, whether in a private or an official capacity, must uniformly be guided. And it is apparent, Sir, that if this be the state of things, then the Legislature of this country has ceased to be Christian; and assuredly it is not a Christian Legislature that disclaims the power of deciding between Christ and Antichrist. Then I say here, as I have said elsewhere, that we may congratulate ourselves in not being, as a Church, in alliance with such a Legislature-(hear, hear,)—because had we been in alliance with the Legislature, that alliance might have blinded us to our duty in relation to it,-(hear, hear,)—and might have diverted us from the right course, in reference to many public questions that are likely to arise. And I will say further here, what I have lately said elsewhere, that if it really be so, if the Legislature of Great Britain is to declare that it is no longer competent,-that it disclaims the power of distinguishing between truth and error, between the Church of Christ and the Church of Antichrist, then, Sir, I say, such a state of things does raise, and must raise, the question, which the Churches that are in alliance with the state will have to consider, whether they can remain in connection with such a Legislature. (Hear, hear.) But if these be the features which stood out with painful prominence in the discussion of this bill in the House of Commons, then I must say, without meaning to speak offensively in reference to individuals, that these principles are sceptical, and that they are substantially infidel principles. Such is one of