of the Hiram Institute, and the very healthful appearance of the place, the pupils, and the surrounding population. Every thing seems substantial, neat, and convenient. The pupils look well;

and if an institution of both sexes, in mixed classes, at their time of life, could succeed any where, it will most likely succeed well in the Hiram Institute, and under the instructors that now preside over its destinies.

I have, in a very hasty manner, given a brief sketch of the anniversaries in Ohio. Relying mainly on my recollections, without notes, I fear I may have left out some things, and passed by some persons, that ought to have been noted. From Wooster, through the kindness of Bro. Porter, accompanied by Bro. Mitchel, we were conveyed home in his carriage, a distance of ninety-six miles, in two days.

Upon the whole premises before me, there is but one suggestion that I am constrained to submit to the consideration of one or two congregations, of whose doctrine and inefficiency I have heard from different quarters. With these exceptions, there is general life, animation, and advancement. These once flourishing communities have withered and wasted away, under the administration of a good man in each community, who, under the conviction of his official duty, has lectured his charge from one hundred and twenty or thereabouts, to about twenty persons; or, perhaps, in his administration, we should say, he has ruled them down in virtue of his office, which he believes to be indelible, and to which he cleaves with a tenacity equal to his love of life. In answer to interrogations on such cases, we uniformly advise the voluntary resignation, and, if that cannot be attained, the removal of the incumbent, rather than to suffer the last spark to be covered with his own ashes.

All men have not eyes to see themselves as others see them, and cannot realize their unfitness for an office which they only retain to waste and scatter the flock. Nor can they be made to feel that they are influenced more by a zeal for themselves than from a zeal for Christ. Yet they would, in any other case than their own, say, "It is better that one man should resign an office which he cannot fill, than that a whole church, after being reduced, by his inefficiency, from one hundred and twenty to twenty members, should finally perish, and that, too, by his own labors."

In one of our night travels to avoid the heat, we lodged with an excellent brother, whom I will not name, in a neighborhood where I once knew a church of some hundred and twenty members, which, under this blight, had been, by a good man, too, but misplaced, re

SERIES IV.-VOL. I.

duced to some one-sixth of its former number! And yet the remaining few had not courage or discretion to call for help, advice, or aid to strengthen the things that remained, and were ready to die. And he, too, as tenacious of his office as if he had been a blessing to the church. This case, and another one very similar, certainly might suggest, not only to the church itself, but to the brotherhood of the district, the necessity of an effort to prevent such a consumption, or, rather, catastrophe.

Upon the whole premises of these four anniversaries, I must conclude that the cause we plead is constantly extending its conquests and influences over one of the most intelligent, industrious, and prosperous communities in the State of Ohio; and that, too, amidst a great excitement, got up mainly by restive "Comeouters," abolitionists and disunionists, of all colors, creeds and parties. This, indeed, under the blessing of the Great King, is mainly owing to the prudence, Christian affection, and forbearance of the brotherhood in general; and especially to the wisdom and moderation of a ministry who, with ability and perseverance, faithfully and affectionately endeavor to maintain unity of spirit in the bonds of peace. In these respects they are not excelled by any portion of the Christian brotherhood known to me in any section of the Union.

The brethren, besides their contribution for the Jerusalem Mission, (amounting to three or four hundred dollars,) at the meetings which I attended, in accordance with an able presentation of the great need of home missions, by Bro. Melish, a delegate from a general meeting in Southern Ohio, have resolved to institute a home mission, commensurate with the whole State of Ohio; and for that purpose, to hold a State Convention at Wooster, commencing on the Wednesday preceding the third Lord's day of May next, at which it is earnestly solicited and most important to have a very full attendance from all parts of the State. We cannot, as citizens of the Kingdom of Christ, but pray and labor for the success of such an undertaking. A. C.

He that has never known adversity, is but half acquainted with others, or with himself. Constant success shows us but one side of the world. For, as it surrounds us with friends, who will never tell us only our merits, so it silences those enemies from whom alone we can learn our defects.

CHANCE.

2

OBSERVATIONS ON THE TÉRMS CHANCE, ACCIDENT, LUCKY, UNLUCKY.

To all who acknowledge Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as set forth in the scriptures, as Creator, Ruler and Governor of all events, seen and unseen in heaven and earth, and throughout all space known and unknown, the following reflections are submitted, at the close of a year during which numerous calamitous events have occurred, and fearful apprehensions as to coming events, in relation to the religious state of the professing Christian people upon this earth.

From the numerous awful events-the burning of steam and other vessels, railroad cars, buildings, deaths, loss of limbs, and other heartrending occurrences, daily brought to view, attributed generally to chance, or accident, while those who escape, generally attribute their so escaping to luck, or fortune, I have been led, in hope that those more competent may be induced to take up the subject, and draw the attention of all who fear God (in the scripture sense of the term fear) to examine their course.

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Let such consider a few of the general expressions in use in reference to such events. "Oh how fortunate the wind did not blow in another direction, as most awful would have been the extent of the conflagration." By mere accident, when the wall fell and killed so many, I escaped by leaping from the window." "Oh by mere chance I caught the rope, which saved my life." "How lucky, we laid hold of the boat, and escaped while so many were drowned." By mere accident a branch turned off the gun, when pointed toward me, or I should have been shot." Some add, "how merciful was our escape, as the lightning struck the next tree to that under which we took shelter." The terin merciful, mentioned without a deep sense of gratitude uniformly following deliverance, is awful! I need not add more of such expressions as to the calamitous events of which we have daily accounts. see churches of various denominations burned, public edifices des troyed, while neither those who escape, nor those who sustain loss, publicly or privately acknowledge the hand of God in saving those who escape, or view it in any as a chastisement from God, designed not only to punish, but to lead to repentance and amendment of life. From a careful examination of the scriptures, I cannot learn that since the creation there has been any thing like chance or accident in the government of the world, or as to persons coming into or departing out of it. Life and death are under the control of God, (Rev. i. 18;) and viewing all the calamities of life as the result of sin, even those which are permitted to befall the children of God, designed as chastisements to lead to repentance, by reason of their departure from the Lord's commandments, as required and set forth in the scriptures, I conclude, did we see whence sufferings and calamities arise, and the course pursued by those who suffer, while all who are not so visited, are admonished not to think those who suffer as sinners above others, (Luke xiii. 2;) but should lead all who fear the Lord to repentance, and to flee to the cross, the only refuge for sin

ners. Were the sins of those who so suffer known to man, as they are to God, a solution would be found, but the day of judgment will reveal it.

God is not unjust, nor does he willingly afflict, while wrath is revealed against ungodliness, (Rom. i. 18;) the Christian is admonished, by every calamitous event, to examine himself, and in a particular manner, whether morning and evening special prayer and supplications are offered to God, through the Lord and Saviour, for guidance and protection, and at the same time keeping in view walking uprightly in the sight of God and man.

I have heard it asserted in relation to those awful judgments referred to, that such never befall any who fear the Lord, if on the day of calamity such had, in solemn prayer, committed themselves to God.

O my fellow-sinners never go to bed, nor go forth in the morning, until, alone or with your family, you prostrate yourselves in humble prayer, through the Lord Jesus Christ to be upheld, preserved and guided in all your ways, and that you may walk uprightly before God and man! The converted sinner will acknowledge God in all his ways. Independent of his daily, family, and private prayer, he never will allow any of his family to depart on a journey without entreating, by their united prayer, protection and preservation, and on their return, duly all assembled, and ascribe praise to God for their safe return. Ohow such a course secures confidence in the Lord, when we, as sinners, depend on the intercession and preservation of the blessed Saviour and Redeemer. To whom, with the Father and Holy Spirit, be praise, honor, and glory forever. Amen. In the spirit of the publican, J. BUCHANAN.

P. S.--The following passages are submitted for the consideration of all who may be desirous of examining this subject further: Amos iii. 16; Ps. ciii. 4, cxxxix. 1-12, lxviii. 20; Matt. x. 29; Acts xvii. 28; Ps. cxxi. 4; Isa. xlv. 7; Dan. x. 10–19; and.Rev. i. 18. Many more might be added; but the reader will please keep in mind that a sparrow cannot fall unknown to God, much less a living soul. It may be that we see children suffer. Accountability rests on parents. Did they, before departing, commit themselves and children to God? Was such their daily practice? The parents shall answer. Numerous children are "taken away from the evil to come." Children incapable of being instructed in the knowledge of God, suffer death of the body from their connexion with Adam, but_not having committed actual transgression, are saved through the Lord Jesus, the second Adam. The abounding mercy and love of God is seen in removing by death so many children from wicked parents, by whom they would, if spared, be brought up in sin, (see Matt. xviii. 14,) which proves that children, even infants, whether Christian, Turk, Jew, or descendents of Infidels, are among the triumphs of the Lord Jesus in glory. J. B.

NIAGARA FALLS, December 25, 1850.

THE above remarks are from the pen of Ex-Consul Buchanan, Canada West, a man who fears God and works righteousness, and

who has man's salvation and the Lord's glory constantly in his eye. While I perfectly accord with his views of the impropriety of the phraseology which he reprobates, and that the denial of a superintending Providence is implied and indicated by the use of the word chance, in the lips of a profane, sceptical world, I must observe, that the word is occasionally found in the Sacred Scriptures in a sense highly proper, and is used by the best of men, and even by our Lord himself, to indicate events the reason or cause of which we cannot see or comprehend. For example, our Saviour says, Luke x. 31, By chance a priest came down that way." This is equivalent to it happened, or it came to pass. Hap is itself chance, in common usage. Hence the phrase," By good hap" it came to pass. So both chance and hap are found in the book of Ecclesiastes-" Time and chance happeneth to them all." Chap. ix. 11. And so, again, 2 Sam. i. 6, "I happened by chance on Mount Gilboa." I quote this passage, not from inspired lips, but to show its acceptation as equivalent to happen, which occurs more than twenty times in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures. "It happens alike to the wise and the fool." Ecc. ii. 14, 15. "Now, these things happened to them for exam-. ples." 1 Cor. x. 11. Whatever occurs, the cause or instrument of which we do not perceive, is said to happen, or to come by chance. But of chance, we will ask with Alexander Pope, What is chance? And with him, we answer,

"All chance" (is) "direction which thou canst not see. But with the great Teacher we had better say, "Not a sparrow falls to the ground" by chance, or without the will, or permission, or appointment of God. Some copies read, "Aneu tees boulees tou Patros;" "Without the will of your Father;" which is, unquestionably, the sense. But we need not argue this point. We all believe and teach, that in the striet sense of the word chance, as respects God, there is no such thing. And as respects us, we use that word only to indicate that of which we cannot see the reason or the immediate cause; and thus the inspired writers use the term happen and chance.

As to "blind fortune" and "good luck," they are creatures of Pagan imagination. Luck was the Anglo-Saxon catch. A "luck of fish" was a good catch-a good hawl of fish; and thus lucky and fortunate were taken in a good sense, though etymologically they indicated neither good nor evil fortune, but mere chance; simply an event which could not have been foreseen, yet a link of a chain, the connexion and length of which was wholly inappreciable. Fortune, luck, and chance, as understood and used at the present SERIES IV.-VOL. I.

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