only of the means of grace, but also of the bread that perisheth, the Assembly relieve the following Ministers from their charges for a period not exceeding three months during the ensuing year, and appoint them to place themselves at the disposal of the Gaelic Committee, for the purpose of labouring in destitute districts of the Highlands and Islands; said Ministers to be members of the Presbyteries within whose bounds they shall be appointed to labour. Mr M'Leod, Lochbroom. Mr Kennedy, Dingwall. Mr Kennedy, Rosehall. Mr M'Leod, Rogart. Mr M'Lachlan, Cawdor. The Assembly record their thanks to the Convener, and through him to the members of Committee, and they re-appoint the Committee, adding the name of Mr Angus M'Gillivray." The Rev. Mr Macdonald of Blairgowrie, at the request of the Moderator, offered up a most earnest and impressive prayer for the blessing of God on the labours of these Gaelic ministers. THE WIDOWS' AND ORPHANS' FUND. Professor MACDOUGALL gave in the Report of the Widows' Fund Committee. From this Report it appeared that the Receipts were, Uplifted from Commercial Bank, being the deposits there as per last year's account, 6105 8 1 Annuities to Widows, I.-On Account Widows' Fund. Expenses attending the formation of the Scheme, salaries, and all other expenses of management, £189 0 0 341 11 61 £530 11 61 Annuities to Children, II.-Orphans' Scheme. 30 0 0 Carried forward, £560 11 6 Professor MACDOUGALL, in explanation of the balance-sheet, said there were several items that might appear large, yet the expenses were indispensable at the formation of the Society, but such as would not occur again. The Committee, from the experience they had had, are quite satisfied with the soundness of the principles on which the Scheme was based; and although they had not been able to adopt some suggestions that had been made to them this year, they hoped to be able to adopt whatever seemed practical and useful in the next. He would take that opportunity of stating the sense of obligation under which the Committee and the Church felt they had been laid to Mr Low their actuary, for the very able and gratuitous tokens which he had bestowed on the Scheme. But for Mr Low's service in this respect, they must have had several hundred pounds to pay to an accountant, and he was glad to say that Mr Low had agreed to become actuary at a nominal salary of £5. The Committee also reported that two donations had been received in aid of the Fund-one of £10, from "a Minister's Widow," through Mr Macdonald, the Secretary of the Sustentation Fund; and one, amounting in value to the munificent sum of £1155, from a Lady in Edinburgh, whose Christian liberality had, on more than one occasion, been strikingly manifested towards the Church, but whom the Committee are not permitted to name. This donation consists of Bank Stock, and is designed, by the terms of conveyance, to be applied, after the death of the donor, in granting annuities to children of deceased ministers above eighteen years of age, at the discretion of the Committee,-a preference being given "to such child or children as shall be blind, or otherwise disabled or incapacitated in body or mind.” The Committee farther reported, that the late Mr Burns, banker, Edinburgh, had, amongst various other bequests in which the Church was concerned, bequeathed to the Widows' Fund a sum of £800, payable on the death of his sister, Miss Burns. His executors, however, entertaining doubts regarding the intentions of the deceased as expressed in his will generally, had been advised to have the rights of the several legatees legally ascertained. The Committee had taken means to insure that the interests of the Fund shall be duly attended to in the process which has, with the above view, been raised by the executors. Mr BEITH of Stirling, said this was a subject which came home to the heart of every one of them. They must have been delighted to hear such a Report on such a subject. It could not but strike every reflecting mind that the arrangements of the Free Church were now becoming very complete. They had not, it was true, yet arrived at their full growth; but during the four years they had been in progress, they had seen established, and now in full operation, their Stipend Fund, their Manse-Building Fund,-their Church-Building Fund, or rather their School-Building Fund, their Education Fund, besides funds for the support of all the other Schemes of the Church; and now they had their Widows' and Orphans' Fund, which was entitled to their best sympathies and support. A reflecting mind could not fail to observe the hand through which all this had been brought about. It was God's power working on the hearts of men. The prophets have prophesied, the preachers had preached, and their preaching, by God's blessing, had reached the hearts and the consciences of men. He moved that the Report be adopted. Dr CANDLISH seconded the motion, and begged to add, that the thanks of the Assembly be given to Mr Low, as well as to Professor MacDougall. "The Assembly therefore approve of the Report, and record their thanks to the Committee, and especially to the Convener, for their services. Farther, the Assembly express the deep sense which they entertain of the important and valuable service which has been rendered to this Church by Alexander Low, Esq., accountant, in the preparation of the Widows' and Orphans' Scheme, and in the carrying of it into practical operation, and they request their Moderator to communicate to Mr Low this expression of their thanks." The Assembly adjourned at five, till seven o'clock. EVENING SEDERUNT. The Assembly called for the Report of the Committee appointed to prepare an Address to Her Majesty. The draft of an Address was produced, which having been read was approved of and adopted, and the Assembly appoint it when extended to be subscribed by their Moderator, and transmitted to the Secretary of State for the Home department, that it may be laid before Her Majesty ; and further, the Assembly ordered the Address to be recorded. REPORT ON CONTINENTAL CHURCHES. Mr LORIMER said,-After the statements of our friends on a former day, it is not necessary for me to go over the ground which they so well occupied. It is plain from their statements that the great struggle, which commenced a few years ago in Continental Europe, between Popery and infidelity, or superstition and scepticism on the one hand, and the truth of God on the other, is not abated,-that it continues as vigorous and determined as ever,-nay, that it seems to grow in intensity with the progress of time and the development of events; and therefore the prospects for the future are at once solemn and hopeful. I shall not, after the statements of my friends, refer to the prosecution of the Evangelical Society of France, or of Geneva. My anxiety now is, rather that the House, and, through the Assembly, that the Church at large, should be fully aware of our financial position as Committee,-of the pecuniary obligations under which we lie,-and of the difficulties, the serious difficulties, with which we have to contend. At the same time, it is right and proper to advert to a few points of religious intelligence not comprehended in the information which has been already submitted. This, however, shall be very brief. In a communication lately received from Dr Merle D'Aubigné, I rejoice to learn, and I am sure the House will rejoice not less to know,-that a pleasing revival of spiritual religion is appearing among the valleys of Piedmont, in one of the most eminent Churches of western Europe. He refers to the instrumentality of Sabbath schools as having been much blessed for that end. He also alludes to the circulation of popular theological works, from a library which was sent out a few years ago from this country; and notices that, every Sabbath morning, before and after the service, each person hastens to the parsonage to procure a book. (Hear, hear.) He thus alludes to the state of Popery in this interesting valley : "Let us now say a few words upon the position of the Vaudois in regard to Popery. I told you last year of the convent recently built at La Tour, with its eight or nine priests, and of the object of this establishment. This year our priests are all activity; their great work is the conversion of the Vaudois. For this end they turn missionaries, they question the people they meet on the roads, who have an appearance of simplicity or ignorance; but as it is seldom upon the highways or frequented roads that they can engage in controversy either to be followed out or likely to produce fruit, they proceed to ask any one who has the air of taking the matter seriously, the place of their dwelling, and permission to visit them. It is, moreover, with great politeness that they accost people, addressing themselves especially to women who appear in poverty and misery, and to people incapable of rendering an account of their faith. They try in the first place to convince one of heresy, by invoking the history even of the country, which these poor people unfortunately know very little of. 'You are of the sectaries of the thirteenth century,' say they, disciples of a poor merchant of Lyons.' Behold their grand argument. They seek, then, to draw away those who listen to them from the submission due to the pastors,—to drag them from their influence. To arrive at this end, they profit by certain prejudices which have unfortunately got possession of the minds of the Vaudois population from its contact with Romanists." He next refers to the students : "The students in whom our friends in Scotland are interested, Vaudois and others, continue to give us satisfaction. This is the case, in particular, with those, to the maintenance of whom the Committee of Glasgow have contributed, of whom Mr Turner is the secretary, as also our worthy friend Mr Henderson of Pesth." There are twenty-six young men from Piedmont who are training for the ministry, nine of them under the superintendence of Dr Merle D'Aubigné and his colleagues. We e lately received from a friend on the Continent a copy of a very full and beautiful address sent from fifteen pastors and ministers of the Waldensian Church to their brethren the demitting ministers of the Canton de Vaud, in the course of which they distinctly recognise the great doctrine of the Headship of Christ, as contended for by this Church. At the request of a friend well acquainted with their circumstances, a small donation of books was lately sent by your Committee. In passing from Piedmont to Belgium, a country which a few years ago would have been considered a hopeless sphere of evangelical labour, the progress during the year has been decided. I rejoice to say, from the accounts received, that the progress of future years has been fully maintained. I can but quote a single sentence from a recent Report: "Without doubt, eleven pastors or evangelists, placed at the head of as many churches or stations, ten or eleven schools, three colportours, a depot of books and Belgian tracts, do not constitute a work very great in appearance; but, blessed be God! they constitute a solid work. In all our stations there are found good companies of sincere Christians, the number of whom is continually increasing." The most recent account from Belgium is contained in a letter from M. Jaccard, of date 28th April. "All around me," he says, "there are hundreds of families whom I visit, and who receive me as cordially as if I were in a Protestant country. What a blessed change has taken place in these two years." Again, "M. Jaccard, in the close of his letter, states that a vicar in the Church of Rome, in the vicinity of Liege, was about to quit her communion, with part of the inhabitants of his parish. From another source we learn that the separation had actually taken place,-that on the occasion the large church was filled,--that having read part of the epistle to the Ephesians, the preacher addressed the audience, who were greatly moved. It is added, that all the village, amounting to a population of between 600 and 800, are with him, except the Dean and the schoolmaster." In the neighbourhood of the same town, the Committee support a colporteur, who bears a high character for intelligence and piety, and whose varied labours have been much blessed. Mr LORIMER then quoted the following from the department of the Report referring to France : "The Committee support M. Cuenod, one of the demitting pastors of the Canton de Vaud, as an evangelical labourer in one of the faubourgs of Lyons. The scene of his labours is most important, embracing a population of 35,000, consisting almost entirely of the working classes, who are the prey of every error and corruption. In the recent Report of the Evangelical Church of Lyons,-a Church which numbers between 300 and 400 communicants, and which holds up the torch of the gospel in the very stronghold of Popery, it is stated that a rich blessing has already followed the work of M. Cuenod,-that 200 families are visited by its agent in that district,-that what was formerly a theatre and public dancing-hall has been rented and turned into a plain and commodious chapel holding 350 hearers,—that a great stir has been created,—that the agents of Popery have applied to interfere and stop the meetings." The next extracts read by Mr Lorimer are the following, relating to the southeast of France : "In connection with the Evangelical Society of Geneva, your Committee directly support seven labourers in charge of four of the most promising stations of the Society in the south-east of France. As the journals of the agents are regularly transmitted to the Committee, and extracts from them appear from time to time in the Record and the papers issued by the Committee, it is not necessary here to enter into any details." After an allusion to the Society at Geneva, the Report proceeded : : "The Theological Institution at Geneva naturally reminds us of a similar seminary at Lausanne for the preparation of a ministry for the Free Church of the Canton de Vaud. It must rejoice the hearts of all the true friends of evangelical religion to know, that by the power and blessing of the great Head of the Church, there is now a Free Church in one of the most important Swiss cantons, and that in a state of entire organization. Your Committee are happy to learn, that though all connection between the ministry and the schools of education has been forcibly ruptured by the hand of a State hostile to the truth, recently there has been no disturbance of pastors or congregations in the worship of God. They rejoice also to learn, that an institu tion for the training of an educated ministry, conducted by four Professors, has been set up. While our brethren of the Free Church of Vaud still desire with noble disinterestedness and true wisdom to prosecute the great work of rearing and maintaining a Church of Christ in their native country, without leaning on the arm of foreign friends, your Committee have reason to believe that a contribution to the Theological Institution at Lausanne would, in present circumstances, be of felt importance. The Assembly, therefore, will not wonder at the anxiety of the Committee to devote the first donation which they can command to so laudable an object. They are the more desirous of testifying sympathy and encouragement, that the Lord, in His mysterious providence, has just deprived the Institution, in its opening infancy, of the services of Professor Vinet, whose name is honoured in all the evangelical Churches of the world, and whose labours to it would have been invaluable." In reference to the funds, it was stated that owing to the collection appointed for the Continental Committee being superseded by that for the Highlands and Islands, there had been a serious diminution, which was felt the more that the expenditure is necessarily rising in amount with the progress of the call. It is matter of gratitude to God, however, that, all circumstances considered, such a sum as £1405 has been contributed. The Committee were at present under obligations to agents to the extent of from £900 to £1000 a-year. The efforts of the Edinburgh Ladies' Association were noticed with commendation,-eight colporteurs being maintained by them in France, and one in Belgium. Associations have been formed in Aberdeen, Stirling, Kinross, Musselburgh, Kirkaldy, Rothesay, Greenock, Ayr, Dunbar, &c. A sum of £20 had been raised by the Free Church students of the University of Glasgow for the maintenance of a colporteur. Mr Lorimer stated that the number of collections last year was 499, and this year 233; and the amount of money received in collections last year was £1500; this year, £557. In regard to donations, in the former year the amount was £1100; this year, £828. He urged the importance of providing some regular and steady means of supporting this important object. Whatever was to be done in the matter ought to be done without delay, as their means were exhausted. Dr HENDERSON of Glasgow in rising said-Considering the attention which this subject has already received in the Assembly, it would be very unseasonable in me to do anything more than, in a few words, take the liberty of moving the adoption of the Report which has now been read by the indefatigable Convener of the Continental Committee. It is very difficult indeed, amid the many claims which are now made on the beneficence of the Church, for us to meet them all. We cannot, however, overlook the interests of the Church in connection with the Continent of Europe, where God has, at this time, in the course of his providence, set before us an open door. I think, when we have listened to the interesting Report just read, and when we look back on the statement made to the House by the foreign brethren the other day, we must have had this conviction deeply seated on our minds, that the fields there are white to the harvest, that there is a great work open, through the Spirit of God, for cultivating in the hearts of men a desire for the word of life; and one of the great recommendations of the scheme is, that it is the medium or means of operation, as I think, for creating supplies to that people thirsting for the word of life, and in a way the most economical; for I believe that in no other way could we on the Continent of Europe do so much good, as just by sending colporteurs over the land, carrying with them God's Word, which may, in numerous cases, notwithstanding the interdicts of Popery, have created in the minds of many, a longing desire for its invaluable treasures. From the very curiosity to see the thing that is forbidden, great good may be the result. A Jew once told me that the reason which induced him to turn his attention to the New Testament was, that he was forbidden to read it; but having once read it, he was by that means brought to a knowledge of the truth. Such is the mysterious way by which God works; and this being the case, we ought to take advantage of those longings to see that which they are interdicted from reading, gradually to introduce the people to the knowledge of that blessed book, which might otherwise have remained hid from them. I know that there is great difficulty in occupying this field. I do not know that we can multiply schemes indefinitely, and open so many doors; but as I know that, throughout the Church, there are certain persons who have a taste for continental operations, and that prefer to labour in that |