the Union of the two Synods, few of the ministers had manses; but in 1853 a movement was made to supply the deficiency. The first effort produced upwards of £30,000; and a second added £20,000. The Manse Fund was intended merely to aid and stimulate congregations in providing homes for their pastors; and its directors seldom gave more than one-thirdand often not nearly so much-towards the expense of the erections. In twenty years the Irish Presbyterian Church contributed about £150,000 for manse-building; and at present upwards of 300 of its ministers are thus supplied with comfortable residences.

In 1855 the General Assembly held its annual meeting in Dublin; and, on this occasion, its proceedings attracted much attention. Two pastors, from the valleys of Piedmont, attended as a deputation from the Waldensian Church. It was noticed as a curious coincidence, that, exactly two hundred years before, an appeal had been made to the Irish Protestants, by Oliver Cromwell, on behalf of the Italian confessors. They were then suffering from a frightful persecution, inflicted partly by Irish cut-throats, who had fled from their own country in consequence of their share in the massacre of 1641, and who had found employment in the army of the Duke of Savoy. But two centuries had wrought a wonderful revolution. The fame of the Vaudois now filled all Christendom; and the presence in Dublin of these representatives of the most ancient Protestants in Europe awakened immense enthusiasm. Their appearance in the Irish General Assembly attracted a crowded audience; the spacious hall of the Rotunda, in which they were received, was filled to overflowing; and the ministers and elders listened with profound delight as the strangers proclaimed their accordance in doctrine and polity with the Irish Presbyterians. During their stay in the Irish capital, they resided under the roof of Dr. Whately, the Protestant Arch

The fund was called the Church and Manse Fund. Part of it was to be applied to aid in the building of churches; but the erection of manses was mainly contemplated. The second effort also included the giving some assistance towards the erection of schoolhouses.

2 See History of the Vaudois, by Peter Boyer, pp. 68, 73, 83. London, 1692. The Irish were to enjoy the valleys after the Vaudois were extirpated.

bishop of Dublin; and the Earl of Carlisle, the Lord Lieutenant, invited them to partake of the hospitalities of the viceregal table. They subsequently addressed large meetings in different cities and towns; and carried home a handsome contribution to aid in the work of Italian evangelization.

Four years afterwards, another meeting of the Presbyterian Assembly was held in Dublin, under peculiarly interesting circumstances. A religious awakening had been going on in Ulster, during the winter and spring preceding; and it had now attained such dimensions as to attract very general notice. It had commenced upwards of twelve months before, in the parish of Connor in the county of Antrim-a place where the people had long enjoyed the services of a faithful and able minister. Many who had thought little of the concerns of eternity became deeply serious; the House of God was frequented by increasing crowds; an unusual stillness often pervaded the congregation, as the pastor prayed or preached ; and not a few exhibited evidences of genuine conversion. The Revival spread to the neighbouring parishes-including the village of Ahoghill and the town of Ballymena; and then manifested itself in other districts. At first the work proceeded without any visible excitement; but, when it began to extend, and to be the universal topic of conversation, new and strange symptoms revealed themselves. Individuals sometimes cried out during service; and others fainted. It was no unusual thing to see strong men suddenly stricken with something like paralysis, and removed from the place of worship in a state of almost utter helplessness. In the present condition of the public mind, these phenomena were not incapable of explanation. The awful realities of a future world had awakened universal concern; conscious guilt oppressed multitudes; and, when a sight of the sinner's danger flashed on the mind with all the vividness of a new impression, the body itself gave way under the weight of the conviction. Persons of a nervous temperament are very likely to be affected when they see those around them swoon away; and the sympathy of large congregations added much to the excitement.

This remarkable awakening seemed to penetrate the whole community. It entered Episcopal as well as Methodist

VOL. II.

M M

congregations; but it made the most decided impression within the bounds of the General Assembly. It spread to Down, Londonderry, Donegal, and the adjacent counties; and it appeared in several Presbyteries in other parts of Ireland. During its continuance, the way of salvation was taught and illustrated with unwonted clearness. The scenes of apostolic times were reproduced; multitudes were overwhelmed with a sense of guilt; and some sought relief to their consciences by openly confessing to those around them how grievously they had transgressed, and how deeply they had sunk when wallowing in ungodliness. To the old question "What must I do to be saved?" the preacher returned the old reply of Paul and Silas, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Anxious inquirers were told that neither fastings, nor any other bodily mortifications, nor almsgivings, could avail to open the gates of the world of glory. The door of faith in Christ is the only means of access into the gracious presence of our Father in heaven. Jesus is the Way,. the Truth, and the Life. His blood cleanses from all sin; and by faith we apply the precious remedy. He gives the light of saving knowledge, and the love of God. We show the vitality of our faith by the purity of our practice. As the preacher expatiated on these topics, the congregation listened with profound attention; and, when the Spirit brought home the Word of promise to the heart, the countenances of not a few often beamed with satisfaction. When God teaches us, we see that the way of man's recovery is very simple, safe, and sublime. We have peace in believing.

This unusual movement was variously estimated. Someincluding Unitarians and Ritualists-mocked, and denounced the whole as a delusion; some hesitated to pronounce a verdict; and many recognized it as the work of God. Roman Catholics some of whom, here and there, were brought under its influence-withdrew from the communion of the Pope, and joined the Presbyterian church. A degree of odium was

1 Acts xvi. 31.

Shortly afterwards, a discussion took place in the Assembly as to the propriety of rebaptizing converts from Popery. The Assembly refused to sanction an overture to that effect—and thus admitted the validity of baptism by Roman Catholic priests,

occasionally brought on the proceedings, by the want of prudence and moderation now and then displayed. Persons in a state of alarm, and without any clear knowledge of the way of salvation, were incautiously permitted to address religious meetings; and it was not strange if these novices vented much folly and extravagance. But the Revival unquestionably left good fruits behind it; and some, who still adorn the Gospel, trace to it the beginning of their spiritual life. It imparted a higher tone to the zeal and piety of the Church; and improved, for the time at least, the morality of the districts which it visited. Drunkenness received a signal check; and crime in every form diminished. The 12th of July-the great Protestant anniversary of Ulster-was kept in Belfast in a way in which it had never been observed before. No drums were heard; the Orangemen indulged in no insulting demonstrations; and many of their dwellings resounded with psalmsinging and prayer. The number of prisoners for trial at the Quarter Sessions for County Antrim in October, 1859, was exactly one-half that of the previous year. At the Ballymena Quarter Sessions in April, 1860-when the Revival had been at work for twelve months in its central district-there was not a single case of indictment upon the record.1 At the Quarter Sessions for Londonderry of the same date there was no criminal business.2 The assistant barrister, in his address to the Grand Jury of Coleraine, adverted to the fact that, in a place where offences had formerly abounded, they were now so rare. "How," said he, "is such a gratifying state of things to be accounted for? I believe I am fully warranted now to say, that, to nothing else than the moral and religious movement which commenced early last summer, can the change be attributed." 3

The Revival occupied the earnest attention of the General Assembly at its annual meeting held in Dublin in 1859.

on the ground that they are the recognized ministers of a portion, though a very corrupt portion, of the visible Church. The number of converts from Popery, received into the Presbyterian Church during the Revival, imparted increased interest to this discussion. See Minutes of Assembly for 1861, p. 52.

1 The Year of Grace, by the Rev. Professor Gibson, p. 389. 2 Ibid. p. 390.

3 Ibid. p. 76.

Nearly two full sessions were devoted to its consideration. The discussions were conducted with much solemnity and good feeling; and many who were present declared, that they had never before been so much refreshed and instructed, by the proceedings of a church judicatory. In the end, the Assembly, with great cordiality, adopted the following Resolutions:

"I. That we desire to express profound thankfulness to God, that it has pleased Him to pour out his Spirit on so many of our congregations; and that we recognize, with reverence and awe, and at the same time with inexpressible joy, that sovereign and infinite grace, which, notwithstanding our many shortcomings, has bestowed on us such evident and abundant tokens of the divine favour.

"II. That, in the new and unprecedentedly solemn circumstances in which the Church is placed, we deeply feel the need of being directed by wisdom from on high; and would therefore now call on Him, who giveth liberally and upbraideth not, to bestow the spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind, that we may know what we ought to do in this time of special visitation.

"III. That, while the Assembly leaves to ministers to deal in Christian wisdom with individual cases as they arise, the brethren are earnestly reminded of the necessity of guarding, on the one hand, against cherishing undue suspicions of the reality of the work of the Holy Spirit; and on the other, of adopting any course of procedure whereby our people may be led to mistake bodily impressions, or even convictions of sin, for genuine conversion to God.

"IV. That, whilst gladly recognizing, as one of the most marked evidences of the genuineness of this work, the fact stated by all the brethren, that it has been originated and promoted by means of that system of saving truth set forth in the standards of the Church, we would earnestly entreat all our ministers and members to watch against the introduction, from any quarter, of error in doctrine or practice, lest Satan should get an advantage over us, and the Spirit of truth be forced to withdraw."1

1 Minutes of Assembly, pp. 775, 774.