"The relation in which the Free Church stands to the Presbyterian Churches in other lands is nearly the same that it was when the committee gave in their last report. The only exception is to be found in the new position which has been assumed by our brethren in England. At their last Synodical meeting they formed themselves into an independent Presbyterian Church, holding by the Westminster Confession of Faith and the authorised standards of the Scottish Church; and to prevent all misapprehension in regard to the views which they held, they not only expressed their approval of the conduct which had been pursued by the members of the Free Church, and their sympathy with them under the sufferings which they had been called to endure; but they also emitted a declaration, embodying in clear and forcible terms the principles of non-intrusion and spiritual independence, as these have been understood and maintained by the Free Church. This decisive step, followed up, as your committee trust it will be, by the establishment of a college, promises, under God, to lead to the happiest results. The world seems long to have lain under the impression that Presbyterianism was a plant which could flourish only among the barren hills of the north. The measure which has been adopted by our brethren in England will effectually correct this error. In a few years English Presbyterians will cease to be dependent upon Scotland for the supply of ministerial services-a native ministry, thoroughly imbued with the English mind, will be reared among them-and Presbyterianism in its purest form will again take root and spread in the plains of our wealthy and generous neighbours.

"In last report it was stated that the Synod of Canada had passed certain resotions, approving of the principles of the Free Church, but at the same time expressing it as the mind of the Synod, that they were not called upon to take any practical These resolustep in consequence of the event which had happened in Scotland.

tions received the careful and repeated consideration of the committee, and the result of their deliberations was communicated in a letter, which was addressed to the Moderator of the Synod, on the 29th February, and which appears in the Missionary Record for the present month. A meeting of the Synod is to be held about this time, at which it is understood that the present connection between the Synod and the Established Church of Scotland will be fully considered; and with the example of the Presbyterian Church of England before them, your committee can look for no other than a similar, if not an equally satisfactory result. The same subject, it is believed, will be brought under the consideration of the Synods of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, at the next meeting of their bodies. But, waiting with deep interest to learn the issue of their deliberations, your committee cannot make even this brief reference to the Synod of Nova Scotia, without indulging themselves in the pleasure of stating, that the Presbytery of Cape Breton, within whose bounds there has been a blessed revival of religion, have intimated their unanimous adherence to the principles of the Free Church.

"Your committee are without any intelligence from New South Wales. "Letters have been received from Mr Macfarlane, Wellington, from the last of which it appears that he had heard of the disruption. 'How I grieve to learn that the much-to-be-deplored disruption has taken place in the Church. As for myself, I am comparatively ignorant of the merits of the case, except by what I glean from a stray newspaper which occasionally reaches me, or a controversial pamphlet. Earnestly do I hope, however, and pray, that God will arise and have mercy upon Zion,' and that the Lord shall build up Zion, and shall appear in his glory.' Peace be within her walls, and prosperity within her palaces.' For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within her.""

"While referring to New Zealand, your Committee have to express their regret that they have been disappointed in their expectation of procuring a minister for Nelson. This disappointment has arisen partly, if not principally, from the unhappy events by which that settlement has recently been disturbed. The expedition to New Edinburgh has also, in the mean time, been delayed; but the negotiations between the Government and the New Zealand Company will, it is hoped, issue in such an arrangement as will secure the entire confidence of the colonists, and enable

the intending emigrants to New Edinburgh, along with Mr Burns, to proceed to their destination at no distant day.

"In the month of November, an application was received for a minister from the adherents of the Free Church in Bombay, and a sum of L.150 was transmitted to defray the expense of his outfit and passage. At the same time, an assurance was given of an annual minimum stipend to the minister of L.360, along with a promise of the second sum of L. 150 for his passage, at the end of two years, if he should then be inclined to return home. By accounts subsequently received, it appears that a most eligible site for a church has been secured, and nearly the whole of the sum necessary for its erection has been realized. The noble zeal and Christian liberality of our Presbyterian countrymen in Bombay, must command universal esteem and affection; and, therefore, it is with feelings of the deepest grief, not unmingled with shame, that your Committee are compelled to report that they have failed in all their efforts to engage a suitable pastor for this interesting and important congregation.

"Your Committee, along with Dr M'Farlane of Greenock, and Dr Buchanan of Glasgow, have failed also to obtain supply for the vacant charge at Antigua, referred to in last Report. Applications for ministers have been received from other quarters, to which, in the mean time, it has been impossible to return any satisfactory or favourable reply. Your Committee, therefore, are constrained to call the very special attention of the Assembly, and of the Church at large, to this deplorable lack of labourers for the colonial vineyard. They are anxious to have it published abroad, that in place of being able to occupy new stations, they have not been able to ascertain, after all the inquiries which they have made, that there is one minister or probationer to whom they can look to supply the stations to which they have already referred. They feel that they cannot press this subject too strongly on the consideration of the Church. The claims of our countrymen in the colonies are very powerful and affecting. The advantages which this country in general, and the benefits which many individuals and families among us, have derived from our colonial dependencies, should plead strongly in behalf of our Presbyterian countrymen abroad. They are also our brethren,-our kinsmen according to the flesh; and brought up, as they have been, in the principles of our pure and holy faith, it is long before they can forget the Sabbaths and the sanctuaries of their father-land. Yet there are multitudes among them who are abandoned to almost total neglect, and who are rarely, if ever, visited by one who can administer the ordinances of religion to them or to their children, according to those simple forms to which they are conscientiously attached. At the present time, too, the claims of our colonial brethren are particularly urgent. Year by year numbers are going forth from this country to distant settlements, and among these are many of the most intelligent and respectable of our people. And when it is remembered that other religious denomina. tions are now putting forth the most vigorous efforts,-when the signs of the times are considered, and, in particular, when it is considered that Popish and Prelatic churches are stretching out their arms to the ends of the earth, and acquiring an amazing influence in our colonial possessions,—surely the Free Church of Scotland will not suffer our countrymen abroad to be entirely destitute of the means of grace, or leave them a prey to those insidious and ensnaring errors which seem to be again insinuating themselves into power, and from which Scotland was delivered by the struggles, and the prayers, and the blood of those blessed martyrs, who secured to her both her civil and religious freedom. Your Committee cannot but believe that there are ministers and probationers belonging to the Free Church, who are not unwilling to devote themselves to the service of their countrymen in other lands. Meantime, the fact stands as has been stated, and your Committee could not do otherwise than bring it under the notice of the Assembly. It is a subject which should also be borne upon the hearts of our people. There is no doubt a call for profound and fervent gratitude, in considering the liberality of our congregations; but of what avail are all the funds which may be subscribed, without the men to whose support they are devoted; and will not our Church be involved in a glaring and grievous inconsistency, if she shall be liberal in furnishing the means, and at the

same time lacking in the supply of the ministers? Let the words of the Lord, then, be impressed upon all our hearts,- The harvest is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth labourers to His harvest.'

"The attention of your Committee has been painfully occupied by the state of affairs in the West Indies. There are few places-if indeed there are any-where there is a more urgent demand for able and faithful ministers; and it has been with deep regret, therefore, that your Committee have learned that the local Government have withheld from Mr Thorburn of Falmouth, and Mr Dennistoun of Montego Bay, the annual allowance which they were in use to receive, in consequence of their adherence to the Free Church. But a truly faithful and evangelical ministry is rarely unpopular, and the principles of the Free Church are precious to the hearts of Presbyterian Scotchmen in every quarter of the globe,-and it is with feelings of sincere delight that the Committee have to report that the congregations both of Mr Thorburn and of Mr Dennistoun have generously come forward to their support, so that there is every reason to hope that they will not be in a worse condition than they were when they received respectively L.300 from the House of Assembly.

"The expectation which your committee ventured to express in their last report with reference to an appointment to Madeira, has, they rejoice to state, been fully realised. The Rev. James Julius Wood, late of the Greyfriars Church, Edinburgh, has been labouring for some months in that island with the greatest acceptance, and with the most encouraging prospects of success. The labours of Mr Wood, in any situation, and at any time, could not fail, with the blessing of God, to be productive of much good. But it was a signal and most merciful dispensation of Divine Providence which led to his appointment to Madeira, in the peculiar circumstances in which that island is at present placed. The events which have befallen Dr Kalley have already occupied the attention of this Church. At the last meeting of the General Assembly, it was moved and unanimously agreed to, that it be remitted to the Colonial Committee to take under their immediate consideration the case of Dr Kalley of Maderia, to adopt such measures to procure his liberation (if it should be found that he is still in bonds) as it may be competent to them to employ; and farther, to convey to Dr Kalley, on the part of this house, the expression of their deep and unfeigned sympathy with him in the sufferings he has been called to endure for the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Your Committee have attended to these instructions; and it is already known to all the members of Assembly that Dr Kalley was liberated from jail on the 1st January. It is by no means certain, however, that the persecution of this eminent and honoured servant of God is now to cease. It is true, indeed, that the proceedings which led to his imprisonment, and of which he complained to the court at Lisbon, have been cancelled, and, in consequence, he has been restored to liberty. In a letter recently received, Mr Wood writes:- After the appeals had been decided in Lisbon in Dr Kalley's favour, the case again came before the Judge Conservator, Dr Negrao, in this island; and in the end of February he gave a judgment, finding that there was no law by which Dr Kalley could be punished, even supposing him to have done the things charged against him.' In pleading in one of the appeals against Dr Kalley, the public prosecutor said, I am thoroughly convinced that the crime of apostacy ceased to exist among us in virtue of art. 145, par. 4, of the Constitutional Charter, in which ample religious liberty is guaranteed to Portuguese citizens in the following terms:-" No one shall be prosecuted for motives of religion." When the absolute term no one excludes all exception of persons, and the very broad expression, “for motives of religion," embraces all that relates to the religious creed of every one, the only limitation to this ample liberty being the maintenance of our respect to the religion of the State. And although in Act 6 of the charter, it is declared that the Roman Catholic apostolic religion is the dominant religion of the Portuguese nation, this does not mean that all the citizens should necessarily follow it, but that they should respect it,—and, therefore, if these two citizens apostatized from our religion, though they did great injury to their souls, according to the creed that we follow, they did not commit any evil crime for which they can be

punished. And if they did not commit crime, neither can the appellant (Dr Kalley) be punished as accomplice; for abetting supposes the existence of crime, without which it cannot exist. Such, then, was supposed to be the law. The Judge Conservator had declared that Dr Kalley could not be punished for anything that he had done. And no Portuguese citizen, it was understood, incurred civil punishment by changing his religion. In these circumstances, Dr Kalley continued to prosecute his benevolent and pious labours with the greatest prudence, but with untiring assiduity and zeal; he continued to enjoy the favour and affection of the Portuguese-a deeper interest in spiritual things was awakened-the converts who communicated last year with the Presbyterian congregation, and against whom a prosecution was in consequence commenced, came forth from their concealment, and communicated lately with Mr Wood and his congregation. Many committed to the flames the images which they had been in the habit of worshipping, and it seemed more than probable that the word of the Lord would have free course and be glorified among these benighted people. But it is to be feared that these golden prospects have passed away for a time. In the letter which has already been quoted, of date 12th April, Mr Wood adds in a postcript, Since writing the above, I learn that the public prosecutor has appealed to the Courts at Lisbon against the decision of the Judge Negrao here in Dr Kalley's favour; so the business is not settled yet.' And yesterday morning a communication was received from Mr Wood, of date 4th May,-a communication which they are persuaded all the Churches of Christ throughout the world will receive with astonishment and trembling. It relates to a female being condemned to death at Madeira for having renounced the errors of Popery, and that, too, by a magistrate in the pay of the British Government. Mr Wood says she has been found guilty only of saying that images should not be venerated or adored, and that the bread in the sacrament is only bread. On the latter point it is alleged that the proof was defective. For such a crime the judge has sentenced her to suffer death, when it was competent for him to have punished her with a fine of ten dollars, or under. And this judge is also British Judge Conservator, (appointed and paid by the British Government), to whom we have to look for justice in the event of any of our rights as British subjects being violated.' The following is the sentence: -

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"In view of the answer of the jury, and discussion of the cause, &c., it is proved that the accused, Maria Joaquina, perhaps forgetful of the principles of the holy religion which she received in her first years, and to which she still belongs, has maintained conversations and arguments condemned by the Church,-maintaining that veneration should not be given to images; denying the real existence of Jesus Christ in the sacria hostia; the mystery of the most Holy Trinity; blaspheming against the most Holy Virgin Mother of God; advancing other expressions against the doctrines received and followed by the Catholic Apostolic Roman Church; expounding these condemned doctrines to different persons; thus committing the crimes of heresy and blasphemy punished by the law of the kingdom; and, though it be affirmed that nobody can be prosecuted for motives of religion (as a principle truly constitutional) it is necessary that the religion of the State be respected, and public morals be not perverted by words or acts that are condemned, as is expressly established in the fundamental law of the State, vol. cxlv. par. 4, which the accused in truth did not do. On the contrary, blaspheming against God and his saints, she gave over respecting the religion of the State to which she belongs, seeking to associate to her party those who nourished principles different from hers. This accusation cannot be eluded by the defence to which she has recourse, because it consists only in sustaining the illegality of the action, and the incompetency of the court to condemn in the penalties decreed by the ordinances, book ix. tit. 1. It appears that it belongs only to the Tribu nal ad quem to decide a question on all accounts delicate. Attending, then, to the fact that the crimes of which the prisoner is accused are found proven in the form decreed by the law of December 19, 1774, and ordinances of book v. tit. 2. par. 1, which says thus," And if he be a peasant, let him receive thirty strokes at the foot of the pillory with a cord, and proclamation, and let him pay two dollars." Observ. ing, moreover, that the aforesaid law of the 19th December imposes on those guilty

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of the crimes of heresy the penalty of death, with infamy; observing, likewise, that now is abolished the said penalty of infamy and strokes, and that the greater punishment always includes the lesser; I condemn the accused, Maria Joaquina, to suffer death, as declared in the said law, and in the costs of the process which she shall pay with her goods. Funchal Oriental, in Public Court, May 2, 1844.

(Signed) JOSE BOREIRA LEILE PILLA OBLIGUERA NEGRAO.' "It is not necessary for your Committee to state that they are profoundly solemnized in laying this communication before the Assembly. It is not for them to suggest the course which it becomes the Assembly or the Christian public of this country to pursue; but this they may be permitted to say, that prayer should be offered up unto God unceasingly in behalf of this woman in the fiery trial by which she is tried; and not less fervently in behalf of that holy man of God through whose instrumentality she has been brought to the knowledge of the truth, and not for him only, but for the work of God, for which he has been so evidently raised up, and in which he has been so signally blessed.

"Your Committee have again to express their obligations to the Ladies' Association in Edinburgh, by whom the expenses of the mission at Malta are borne. Mr. Mackail has had various difficulties of a trying nature to contend with, but the Committee believe that he has manifested great firmness and discretion, and they cannot doubt that the embarrassments of which he has had reason to complain will soon be removed, and that he will prove an eminent blessing to that interesting island.

"An Association has been formed in Glasgow similar to the Ladies' Colonial Association of Edinburgh, and their views are directed to Leghorn, as a station which it would be desirable to occupy. A considerable interest has been awakened also in in behalf of Gibraltar. The general anxiety indeed, which has been expressed in regard to the Mediterranean stations has induced your Committee to request the Rev. Mr Stuart, late of Erskine, to visit these stations,-to enquire into the reli. gious condition of our countrymen,-to suggest what provision may be made for. them in the mean time,-to ascertain what difficulties will require to be overcome, and what probable good will result from their occupation.

"Ladies' Associations in connection with the Colonial Committee have also been formed, chiefly through the energy and zeal of Mr Jaffray, in various parts of the country, and by means of these your Committee cannot doubt that the contributions to the Colonial Scheme will be greatly augmented, and a deeper interest awakened · in behalf of our spiritually destitute countrymen in other lands."

Dr CANDLISH rose immediately after the report was read, and expressed his opinion that the painful subject last referred to in the report connected with Madeira should take precedence of all matters referred to in the report. It is one of the most solemn announcements, he continued, which can possibly be made in an Assembly of Christian men or Christian ministers, met together as a court of the Church of Christ; and it is one of the most ominous signs of the times to which our attention can possibly be directed, as indicating the continuance and unchanged spirit of that system which is already "drunk with the blood of the saints," and that the great warfare is again to be fought in our own day. All other considerations, however solemn, must be merged, for the present at least, in our deep and tender concern for that individual who is called on to undergo this fiery trial. Sir, it is our first duty to pray for her, that she may have grace to be faithful to her Saviour and her King. And it is our duty also, if the Lord will, to use means, if possible, yet to save her from this cruel fate. It cannot but have made every cheek in this Assembly to blush, to think that a British judge, in British pay, and appointed by British authority, should have been the first in our time to revive the punishment of death for heresy. It is surely the duty of this Assembly, not in any spirit of excitement, not in any such spirit as might tend to defeat the end we have in view, but with all solemnity, to take steps for the bringing of this matter under the notice of the Government of this country. (Hear, hear.) It is assuredly our duty, as regards the-unhappy individual, I was going to say, but I will not use that term (Hear)—for it hath pleased the Lord to put upon her this grace, that she