Ireland.

IN our last Number we stated, that at the Meeting of the Remonstrant Synod of Ulster, it was resolved to form a Fund for the protection of the rights of conscience, by assisting and defending injured or persecuted ministers and congregations, &c. We rejoice to say, that that Fund has been most generously and nobly commenced. In Belfast and its neighbourhood, six individuals have contributed one hundred pounds each; several others have given fifty pounds each; and great many twenty-five, twenty, ten, and five pounds have also been subscribed. The facts are highly honourable to the spirit and benevolence of the donors, worthy alike of their principles and character; nor can we doubt that such a sum will be eventually realized, the interest of which, alone, is to be applied to the objects contemplated, as will set at ease the minds and hearts of the honest and true, proving, in this instance, as in all others, that even in regard to this world, "honesty is the best policy."

Our readers will also be glad to learn, that "the Irish Unitarian Christian Society" is proceeding with good prospect of success-that the lectures at Belfast and Dublin have been well attended to the close-that similar lectures are delivering at Holywood and Moneyrea, and are likely to be productive of extensive good. The General Synod of Ulster assembled this year at Omagh. Its proceedings were not of particular interest, if we except an evident lowering of tone in the orthodox champions, occasioned, perhaps, by victory or by conviction-the opening of the Student's Examination Committee to the various ministers of the bodyand the following admirable Farewell Address of the Rev. William Porter, on relinquishing the Clerkship:—

"It will be recollected, Moderator, that at the last meeting of this Reverend Body, I announced my determination to adopt a certain procedure at the present; and, according to the established course of Synodical business, now is the proper time for carrying that determination into effect. During the intermediate space, the moment which has now arrived, has been to me the subject of many a painful anticipation. The moment has arrived, when a regard to principle, and a wish to preserve consistency of character, constrain me to resign the official situation which I hold, and to say "farewell!" to the General Synod of Ulster-to dissolve a connection which has subsisted for nearly thirty-four years-to separate myself from a Church, for whose ministry I was educated, and whose very name I was reared to reverence-a Church with which my early views, and plans, and ideal prefigurations of success in life were intimately associated-a Church, under whose care my best and happiest days have been spent; with some of whose members my sweetest and most confidential intimacies have been formed, and the recurrence of whose annual meetings was always a refreshment to my spirit. The rending asunder a connection such as this, gives a wrench to some of the most sensitive fibres that twine themselves around the heart of man. But, Sir, the peremptory call of duty must be obeyed. Where principle is

involved, feelings must be suppressed. Neither conscience nor honour will allow me to remain in communion with a body of men, by whom regulations have been framed for the effectual, though gradual suppression of doctrines, which I regard as doctrines of the Gospel-a suppression to be achieved not by the fair force of reasoning, but by the coercive operation of ecclesiastical enactments. And here, Moderator, I must do you the justice to state, that you were by no means disposed to cast out those Unitarian ministers who had actually entered the Synod. You were willing enough to let them "die off" quietly, knowing that it would then be in your power to fill up the vacancies made by their decease, with men according to your own heart. In other words, you were willing to connive at their remaining amongst you, on condition that they would act a time-serving part. You were willing to concede to them a species of toleration, provided they would show themselves utterly unworthy of being tolerated. It grieves me to say, that some of them have been so unmanly-I had almost said, so unprincipled-as to accept of the degrading indulgence. Yes, several of those persons who repudiated the Trinitarian declaration, are still constituent members of the Orthodox Synod of Ulster! But, on the other hand, I rejoice to think, that most of the ministers who declined taking the test, have discovered another and a better spirit. The men, with whom I deem it my honour and happiness to be associated, scorned to languish out their lives in a state of inglorious sufferance, and then leave their congregations as a legacy to Calvinistic successors. After using every expedient for obtaining a repeal of the obnoxious regulations -after waiting from one year till another-after remonstrating and re-remonstrating-after trying the effect of attendance and of non-attendance on your meetings-after doing all these things in vain, they renounced connection with you as an ecclesiastical body, and formed themselves into a Synod, constituted on principles truly Presbyterian-a Synod whose only creed is the Bible, and whose only head is Christ. As to the Clerkship, it is nothing more than a secular office, and might, no doubt, have been retained, notwithstanding my renunciation of ministerial communion with the General Synod. In fact, no sooner was it known that I had determined to join the Remonstrants, than certain leading members of this assembly spontaneously and earnestly urged on me the propriety of continuing to hold the secular situation, and deputed an aged and much esteemed gentleman, on whom my eye is now fixed, to assure me of effectual support. The members to whom I allude, were so numerous, their respectability is so high, and their influence so extensive, that no doubt could be reasonably entertained with regard to the practicability of the recommended arrangement. To these kind-hearted men, I take this public opportunity of expressing thankfulness which I shall never cease to feel; their intentions were most friendly. But I think they themselves must have been convinced, on reflection, that I acted right in declining their proposal. It was one to which I could not possibly accede. Would it have been possible for me to stand up like a statue, in the place which I have now evacuated, and

hear doctrines which I hold sacred, denounced as damnable-hear them impugned, reviled, and, perhaps, misrepresented, without being at liberty to open my lips in their defence? Some of your future enactments will, of course, be directed against the cause of the Remonstrants. Those enactments it would have been my duty, in the capacity of your Clerk, to render as efficacious as possible, by clothing them in precise and determinate language; and do you imagine that I could be so mean-spirited as to undertake, for the sake of fifty pounds a-year, an employment which must have been to me most disagreeable and ungracious? Let us suppose a case by way of illustration. Suppose that I hold the situation of a subaltern in the army: by what appears to me the unjust and cruel decision of a court-martial, one of my nearest and dearest relatives is doomed to death-it is my duty to superintend the execution of the sentence, and give the fatal word which is to stretch my brother on the ground, a mangled corpse. In what light would I appear to the world-in what light would I appear to you-in what light would I appear to my own conscience-were I to be so unfeeling, so base, as to go through the soul-sickening task, rather than resign my commission? I trust, then, that my friends-and thanks be to God, I have many friends, even in this house-will not condemn the line of conduct which I have felt myself called on to adopt. But, Sir, though I can no longer officiate as the confidential servant of the General Synod, yet I owe to the members of this body, in their collective capacity, a debt of gratitude, which it will never be in the compass of my ability to discharge. There is only one lucrative situation which they have the power to bestow; and that situation they bestowed on me, though it was sought for by men, to enter into competition with whom, was in itself an honour. I have now

been your Clerk for nearly fourteen years. With what degree of ability the duties of the office have, during that time, been executed, it is not mine to say; but I do say, that with greater faithfulness they never have been, and never will be discharged.

In addressing you on the present, to me, interesting occasion, it has been my study to avoid as much as possible, every expression or allusion calculated to give offence. Most sorry should I be, to wound the feelings of a single individual in this assembly. I can safely declare, that, at this moment, I am not conscious of entertaining one unkind or unfriendly feeling. So far is this from being the case, that I now look back with regret on the little bickerings and contentions in which I have been occasionally involved with certain members of Synod. Perhaps there were faults on each side. I am free to confess, that natural temperament may have sometimes caused me to feel and speak with more warmth than I ought to have done. At present, however, all former hostilities are forgotten. They are lost in emotions of a very different character. Most sincerely am I disposed to hold forth the hand of reconciliation, and exchange forgiveness for every thing that is past. We are now going to part-in the name of God, let us part in peace. There is one circumstance, which has brought some early and affectionate recollections into my

mind, and given, in all probability, a deeper and softer tone to my feelings. I cannot refrain from mentioning it. This Meetinghouse is the first whose walls I ever entered, and the one which I continued to frequent, during the happy and innocent days of boyhood. Many, many years have rolled over my head, since it was last covered by this roof; and scenes of our youth-from which we have long been absent, revive, in all its freshness, the memory of former times-of times that are past, never to return. Well do I remember walking, when a mere child, down the alley in which I now stand, conducted by parental hands that have long since been cold, and accompanied by three affectionate sisters. Well do I remember standing up on the seat of the pew on which I now rest my arm, and gazing with reverence at the venerablelooking man who then filled the pulpit. That man, under whose ministry I was reared in early life, and who was the first clergyman under whom I was examined in the Shorter Catechism, was one of the eldest members of your body. Thus, Sir, it has come to pass, by rather a singular coincidence of circumstances, that my connexion with the General Synod of Ulster is terminated on the very spot, where, in a certain sense, it may be said to have commenced. Here it began-and, after lasting for half a century, here it ends. Here we first met-and here we part. Sir, and to all, once more, farewell!"

To you,

This speech needs neither note nor comment of ours. But it does gratify us exceedingly, to be able to add the following paragraphs from the Northern Whig:

"That Mr. Porter's manly and conscientious line of conduct, has procured for him the approval of his friends, and the admiration of those who differ from him on abstruse points of faith, it is gratifying to know; and it reflects an honour on the times in which we live, to record the fact, that it has been resolved, by men of all creeds and classes, not to permit him to suffer a diminution in his finances, in consequence of his loss of the Clerkship. He is about to be waited on, with a request that he will allow himself to be indemnified for the sacrifice he has made in the cause of conscience and truth.

"That he will accede to this request, we sanguinely anticipate. -for he ought to bear in mind, that it is an honourable testimony, borne by the public, to his integrity and worth. Indeed, we may add, that considerable progress has already been made in raising funds to purchase an annuity for Mr. Porter's life, fully equal in value to the sum of which he has just been deprived. That all honest and honourable men will gladly join in it, and be anxious to bear a share in so good a cause, is what we anticipate;—and we shall only add, that society will be far more honoured in granting, than Mr. Porter will be benefited in receiving, this unequivocal testimonial of public respect and public gratitude.

ON Wednesday and Thursday, 7th and 8th July, the Synod of Munster held its Annual Meeting in the Presbyterian Meetinghouse, Prince's Street, Cork. Ministers were present from StrandStreet and Eustace-Street Congregations, Dublin, and from Lim

erick, Waterford, Clonmell, Bandon, Fethard, and Cork. The Rev. Mr. Dickie, one of the ministers of Limerick, read the Scriptures and conducted the devotional part of the service. The Rev. James Martineau, one of the ministers of Eustace-Street Congregation, Dublin, and Secretary to "the Irish Unitarian Christian Society," preached from Luke xii. 51. The Rev. Edward King of Bandon was appointed Moderator, and the Rev. James Armstrong of Strand-Street Congregation, Dublin, is the Clerk of Synod. Mr. Martineau's discourse was highly approved, and, on the motion of one of the Elders of Cork Congregation, it was resolved that it be printed at the expense of that society.

The different ministers and elders proceeded to deliver in reports of the state of their congregations. All seemed to be favourable, and evinced an activity in the Presbyterians of the Munster Synod, which must be attended with the best results to that body. In Dublin the ministers of Strand-Street and Eustace-Street have been delivering Lectures in support of Unitarian views of Christianity to crowded audiences; which exertion has greatly increased the permanent members of both congregations. In Limerick and Cork, Sunday-schools have been set on foot, both on the same general plan, that of the members of the congregations being Sunday-school teachers to all ranks of those who wish to attend. In Fethard the congregation has petitioned Parliament against Presbyterians being compelled to serve as church-wardens, and have been promised the effectual aid of Sir John Newport in procuring relief for the body at large. The congregation of Bandon is, with all the distresses of want and misery round it, struggling through its difficulties, and promises well. Waterford and Clonmel are also improving.

The ministers and elders were entertained at Dinner by the Cork Congregation, about sixty persons being present; and the ladies of the Society having invited them to tea, the party adjourned to the house of one of the members, where about eighty joined in social and cheerful conversation.

Scottish Unitarian Christian Association.

AN Annual General Association of the Unitarians of Scotland, for mutual co-operation and encouragement, was instituted in the year 1813. Its meetings were continued for various objects till 1824. Circumstances having latterly arisen which seemed to require the agency and superintendence of such an institution, a meeting was held in the Unitarian Chapel, Glasgow, on Sunday evening, 18th July. It was numerously and respectably attended. Mr. Harris commenced with prayer, and then gave a general statement of the prospects of the cause of free inquiry and Christian benevolence at Dundee, Tillicoultry, Lanark, Carluke, PortGlasgow, Greenock, &c. The Meeting having been addressed by various individuals of Glasgow, Paisley, and Dundee, it was Unanimously Resolved, to re-establish the Association. The following Resolutions, constituting the laws of the Association, were severally proposed and seconded, and unanimously adopted.,