Εικόνες σελίδας
PDF
Ηλεκτρ. έκδοση

have not been backward to follow, and it is to be hoped that the present board of management may soon find themselves relieved from further anxiety.

THE IDIOT ASYLUM AT EARLSWOOD.

In 1847 Dr. Reed conceived the idea of attempting to ameliorate the condition of the most helpless of all afflicted human beings-the idiot. A poor idiot orphan was brought to him, and his advice was sought as to what should be done with him. He looked around, and saw no public provision for the child save the workhouse or the lunatic asylum. Although engaged with the new Orphan Asylum, he no sooner detected this defect in the chain of public sympathy than he hastened to supply the missing link. Prosecuting his idea with characteristic energy, he established the Asylum for Idiots, first located at Highgate and Colchester, and ultimately removed to the Asylum at Earlswood, near Reigate, on the London and Brighton Railway. He gave unremitting attention to this institution, and the benevolent public have rendered it a support quite unexampled in the history of modern institutions-her Majesty the Queen, the late Prince Consort, the Duke of Cambridge, Sir Charles Forbes, Sir Morton Peto, M.P., Messrs. Monk, Peek, Mann, and Fox being amongst the first to contribute splendidly. It was not designed to afford shelter only to the helpless sufferer; but, by the application of the best scientific and medical skill, to elevate him to physical enjoyment and rational life. No expense was spared to arrive at this object, and the best ameliorative results have ensued.

Desirous to obtain all possible information with respect to the treatment of idiots, Dr. Reed, in 1851, visited France, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. In those countries he found but little distinction made between the idiot and the insane, and his inquiries there awakened attention to the subject. Save from Dr. Guggesbuhl, of Altenberg, he obtained little help, and commissions have since been appointed to visit

this country for the purpose of ob-
taining information with the view of
founding similar institutions abroad.
America, too, has evinced her desire
to co-operate in this new sphere of
Christian effort. Happily for the
poor idiots, provincial sympathy at
home is beginning to be felt in their
behalf. Edinburgh, Manchester,
Liverpool, and Leeds were also
visited by Dr. Reed, and lately by
the Rev. Edwin Sidney, M.A., for
the purpose of pleading "for those
who cannot plead for themselves."
A series of workshops are fitted up
where the world's outcasts are taught
by skilled instructors in carpentry,
shoemaking, tailoring, mat-weaving,
basket - making, bricklaying, and
household work; and a great many
are regularly engaged upon the farm
which surrounds the building.

THE ROYAL HOSPITAL FOR INCUR-
ABLE CASES AT PUTNEY.

As the establishment of this, his fifth charity, was undertaken by Dr. Reed in his sixty-seventh year, it may be termed the triumph of his old age. Its institution dates from a meeting at the Mansion House in 1854, and it now presents every mark of stability. It is unique in its object. Previously to its establishment, while there were hospitals professedly for the cure of all diseases, there was no relief for the destitute sufferer who was pronounced incurable. His increasing infirmity and the pressure of public business, already immense, were no bar to Dr. Reed's exertions in behalf of this new class of sufferers. This hospital, now in full operation, was designed to meet the requirements of two classes of cases-those who needed entire relief, and those who, in less dependent circumstances, might be contented with an allowance at their own homes. The total number relieved since the opening of the institution is 234. There are at present 149 patients; and the income of the charity is upwards of £7,000.

DR. REED'S CHARITABLE BEQUESTS.

Throughout the whole course of Dr. Reed's connection with these in

stitutions he never received one shilling from them, but was always a large, and often a secret, contributor to their funds. This self-denying devotion is still further illustrated by the following bequests :

£100 to the Wanstead Asylum, the interest to be applied for ever in the purchase of playthings for the children, to be given them at Christmas.

£300 to the London Orphan Asylum, the interest to be applied for ever to provide the children with suitable lectures on the natural sciences, to be delivered, with illustrations, each winter.

£1,000 to the Reedham Asylum for Fatherless Children.

£1,000 to the Asylum for Idiots. Finally, these institutions, thus endowed, the noble founder bequeaths to his country, "with an earnest prayer that they may be watched over with wisdom and benevolence; that they may be preserved in efficient operation; and that they may remain, age after age, memorials of that Divine charity which exalteth and glorifieth a people."

Thank God this is not, after all, an iron age, but one of distinguished Christian philanthropy. Never had the poor and helpless so many friends and benefactors; never had wealth and influence a more sanctified use than at the present hour. Let every one, according to his means, follow such examples, for in so doing they are treading in the footsteps of Him who went about doing good.

THE EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE. WHAT HAS IT DONE?

THE Evangelical Alliance is a great and glorious organization for promoting and manifesting Christian love and union. It arose about seventeen years ago, from the yearning which Christians everywhere felt for fellowship one with another, and for some ostensible mode of cultivating and manifesting that true affection which binds all believers together in spirit.

There are some persons, however, who speak disparagingly of the Evangelical Alliance, and say it is

just an organization which now and then holds a meeting in Exeter Hall or some other commodious place, when the chief members do little else but conjugate the verb Amo through all its moods, tenses, and persons, saying one to another, "I love, thou lovest, he loves; We love, you love, they love," and so on. Well, in a world where there is so much hatred and strife, bitterness and bloodshed, it is a good thing for Christians to meet together, to declare and reciprocate the sentiment of genuine love. But the Evangelical Alliance has done much more than this. It is an organization, and, as an organization, it has worked, and produced some blessed results, a few of which may be stated:

1. While involving no compromise of the views of any member, it requires from all to maintain and advocate their own convictions with due forbearance and brotherly love. It seeks, by correspondence with Christians in different parts of the world, and by united action, to further the interests of vital religion among all

nations.

2. It has brought the question of Christian union prominently before the public mind, and produced a considerable alteration of feeling among Evangelical Christians of various communities.

3. It has brought the moral force of Christian union to bear successfully on the cause of religious liberty. It has rendered valuable aid to Christians in foreign countries under persecution, and it is, at the present time, taking active measures for the liberation of our suffering brethren in Spain.

4. It has encouraged and aided Christians in Protestant countries in their struggle with rationalism and infidelity.

5. It has held conferences of Christians from all parts of the world, in London, Paris, Berlin, Geneva, and other cities. The fraternal intercourse, devotion, and mutual consultation of such assemblies have been productive of spiritual profit, and have originated enterprises of great value for promoting

the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom.

6. It has convened many meetings for united prayer, and, by a committee formed by it, is now systematically engaged in promoting such meetings. During the last two years it has sent forth an appeal, which has been translated into several languages, inviting Christians, all over the world, to set apart the week commencing with the first Lord's day in January of each year for special and united prayer. This appeal has been responded to in every quarter of the globe, and has led to most blessed results.

7. By holding numerous social meetings in the private residences of Christian friends throughout the United Kingdom, it has supplied information of the work of God at home and abroad; and pecuniary aid for evangelical objects has, in many instances, been obtained from these meetings.

8. It has vigorously opposed the progress of Popery, infidelity, and the desecration of the Lord's day, and has given prizes of £100 each for the best essays on these subjects.

9. It has originated, among Evangelical Christians, various societies for united action-such as the Turkish Missions Aid Society, the Continental Committee for Religious Liberty, the Christian Vernacular Education Society for India, the German Aid Society, and the African Aid Society.

10. These are some of the results with which it has pleased God to bless the co-operation of Christians in the Evangelical Alliance.

But

even if no such secondary objects had been accomplished, the great value of the Alliance would still remain in its adaptation to promote and manifest union among the true people of God.

It has branches not only in the United Kingdom, but in France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey, Armenia, Africa, the East and West Indies, Persia, Australia, and New Zealand.

Hence, the Alliance is earnestly commended to the prayers and sup

port of its friends, and to the consideration of those who have not yet become members, but who are affectionately invited to do so. It is hoped that this statement of the case will induce some to give their hearts and hands to this Alliance, which responds practically to the memorable words of our Saviour, "That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."

THE SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE

SOCIETY.

ANOTHER benevolent organization has lately been established, called the Systematic Beneficence Society. The object of this society is simply to promote the principle and practice, amongst all professing Christians, of setting apart for God and the poor a stated proportion of our income, in general not less than one-tenth, however much more it may be. It does not distribute funds, nor enrol members, nor administer pledges, but employs the force of scriptural argument and appeal to convince and persuade men to "honour the Lord with their substance, and the firstfruits of all their increase." See Prov. iii. 9, 10; Gen. xxviii. 20-22; and 1 Cor. xvi. 1, 2.

Already remarkable results have followed, through the Divine blessing, its teachings. Thousands have adopted its lessons; hundreds of ministers are teaching the principles which they have learned from its publications; great movements, in different denominations, have originated in the convictions thus produced; tens of thousands of pounds have been expended in noble works of Christian usefulness; the continually augmenting funds of the great societies of all churches may be traced, in a large measure, to the indirect influence which has been exerted by the principles of the Society; and a spirit of steady and increasing inquiry as to the duty of Christians in this respect, is a most cheering sign of still greater progress near at hand.

This Society bases its claims on the following arguments and facts:

1. It holds that man is but a steward, a servant, and bound to glorify God with all he is and has.

2. That three classes of objects have been devolved by God on his servants, for each of which they are required to provide in due proportion, namely the cause of Christ and the poor; their own and their family's present support; their own old age, sickness, and dependent relatives.

3. That the proportion we should dedicate to God, as a first-fruit of our income, should not be less in general than what is inferrible from the standard and examples of Holy Scripture.

4. That, therefore, the Society encourages professing Christians to set apart a stated proportion—say, not less than a tenth of their means and income-for religious and charitable purposes.

5. That traces of the existence of the dedication of the tenth are found amongst the most ancient nations.

6. The Patriarchs Abraham and Jacob are spoken of as familiar with this proportion; and the Patriarch Job is represented as exercising a large beneficence.

7. It was formerly embodied with the Jewish system of economics, and became the basis of the large and exceptional claim of not less than a fifth of their means which was made upon them, whilst not inconsistent with the free-will offerings which they were encouraged to present to God.

8. There is nothing in the New Testament which relaxes the right and claim of God to the original minimum of one-tenth, which, as it existed before the Jewish system, cannot by its removal be displaced from the sure foundation on which it has ever rested.

9. There are reasons which explain the absence of any injunctions with regard to it during the continuance of the Jewish dispensation; but when these were removed, it was adopted by the Christian Church; and the general recognition of it by

the natural conscience and common sense of mankind has proved the main support of Christianity in the world.

10. The want of its full operation on the consciences of individual Christians explains their reluctance to contribute largely of their substance-leaves them without a guide for their givings, or a test of covetousness, and cripples the Church in her benevolent missions in the world.

11. The progress already made in the diffusion of these principles within the last ten years encourages the hope that the Divine blessing rests upon their advocacy, and that their general adoption will ere long abundantly repay the efforts required to secure it.

We may add that the Society has the Earl of Carlisle as its president, and a number of distinguished ministers as its honorary secretaries. The Rev. Dr. Cather is its general secretary, and is fully devoted to its advocacy and management. If its great principle can but be brought into full practical operation, there will be no longer any lack of means for Christian charity and evangelical enterprise.

This is a subject which requires grave consideration. The Society speaks of the contribution — "a tenth"-as a general duty. This is wise; for our impression is, that this proportion cannot apply universally and absolutely, as it would be much too large for some, and much too small for the circumstances of others.

POOR TOM; OR, SIMPLE FAITH ILLUSTRATED.

Those who have read the well-known, simple, touching story of "Poor Joseph," the London Porter, will, we believe, feel interested in reading the following account of Poor Tom:

A poor half-witted man, named Tom —, dwelling at -, got his living by selling pies to poor people. In this way he used to visit the low public-houses and every wicked place (for he delighted in wickedness), and there became the sport of the drunkard and harlot, as he was

half-foolish, and used to drink and swear with them. As he was one day selling his pies, passing through the low and wretched alleys, he entered the room of a poor dying sailor, and heard him, as he entered, say

"I am a poor sinner, and nothing at all,

But Jesus Christ is my all in all." The words struck him. He stood still and listened again, and the same words were the only utterance of the poor sailor

"I am a poor sinner, and nothing at all, But Jesus Christ is my all in all."

So deeply did these words enter poor Tom's heart that, as he went along, he could do nothing else but repeat them to himself. He wondered in what book they could be found, and was determined, if possible, to find where they were written; and, for this purpose, as it sounded like poetry, he borrowed a hymn-book from some Christians, who had taken an interest in him. He searched and searched, but could not find them. He next took up the New Testament, and there, to his great astonishment, found the substance and language of what he sought. He was deeply concerned with what he read, and it seems that here it was the Lord revealed himself to him; for at last, in the course of his reading, he came to the institution of the Lord's supper, and found it was the command of Jesus that his disciples should do as he had done before he was taken from them, IN REMEMBRANCE OF HIM WHO WAS THEIR ALL IN ALL.

This rested in the bosom of this poor man; and one day he went to the Christian friends who had lent him the book, and told them his thoughts, saying

"I am a poor sinner, and nothing at all, But Jesus Christ is my all in all; '

"and 'he commanded all those who love him to eat bread and drink wine together in remembrance of him.'" Their answer was, that he was a notoriously wicked man, drinking, swearing, and going to all sorts of bad places; that such an ordinance was never intended for him, for the

Lord would never get any honour
and glory from such. "Well!"
said Tom-

"I am a poor sinner, and nothing at all,
But Jesus Christ is my all in all; '"

and he went away. They were,
however, so much struck with the
man, that they determined to watch
him, and they requested a servant of
the Lord to go and see him. He 2
went, and had some conversation with
poor Tom, who said he should like to
do what Jesus said in the Testament,
"in remembrance of him; " but the
other answered that it was only for
the Lord's people; "and you are
aware," said he, "how well known
your character is as a drunkard, a
swearer, and one that keeps bad
company." To this he had no other
reply but-

"I am a poor sinner, and nothing at all,
But Jesus Christ is my all in all;'
"and I should like to do what Jesus
said we ought." So struck was the
individual that there was more than
nature working here, that he made
strict inquiries about him, and found
that he had not only left his abomi-
nable and vile practices, but had also
ceased to sell his pies, in order to get
out of the way of temptation. They
were most thankful to receive him,
as one who did know the Lord, and
loved him, feeling that the Lord
would get great glory to himself by
such a one. He adorned his pro- 2
fession with the most consistent life
and walk, enjoying much happiness
and peace with God; so much so,
that it was often remarked by some
Christians, who one day called upon
him, and, in the course of conversa-
tion, made the inquiry, "How is it,
Tom, you always enjoy so much hap
"Oh!"
piness? we are not so."
says Tom, "I suppose you want to
be something.

"I am a poor sinner, and nothing at all,
And Jesus Christ is my all in all.'"

BACKBITING AND MODESTY. Ir one could be conscious of all that is said of him in his absence, he would probably become a very modest man indeed.

[ocr errors]
« ΠροηγούμενηΣυνέχεια »