day school, and at their meetings for mutual instruction, and by the strong mutual affection existing between the pastor and his flock. The members of Conference must have been greatly pleased by the careful attention of the Birming

ham friends to their comfort both in pro.. curing them lodgings, and in arranging for them to partake of dinner and tea together during their sittings. Their individual hospitality too will long be cherished in remembrance.

BELOVED BRETHREN,- Having been engaged, as is our annual custom, in deliberating upon the concerns of our Lord's kingdom upon earth, we, the ministers and representatives forming the Thirtyfifth Conference, cannot return to our several homes without offering our congratulations and advice to you on the eminent blessings we enjoy by the mercy of our common Father and Redeemer.

The dispensation we rejoice in surpasses our highest hopes, our most exalted anticipations. In importance, in fulness, and in beauty, the most lively expectations of truth to be enjoyed, have fallen far short of the reality we experience. Before the Second Advent the human soul saw its Divine Author only through the dark clouds of the natural mind. The sun of heaven was obscured by the mists of ignorance, prejudice, and passion. The God of the universe was but too generally esteemed as the head of a sect whose votaries might anathematize all others to promote his glory. And those who possessed some portion of heaven's sweet spirit of love, tremblingly exclaimed, They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. Adored be his mercy, it is not so in his New Church. Our Saviour God has revealed himself as love itself and wisdom itself. He has removed the veil that shrouded his attributes. He has explained the appearances in the letter of his Word, which, though necessary to the merely natural mind, had bewildered many a pious inquirer after truth. And he has discovered to our delighted view that the un

wavering attachment of a friend and brother, the anxious and fervent affection of a mother's love, and the deepest emotions of a father's bosom, are but faint and feeble images of the inexpressible sweetness and unalterable depth of the the desire he has to bless his children: nay, that the dark abode of unceasing sorrow itself, is watched by his compassionate care, to mitigate its miseries. So that in very deed the Lord is good to all.

Not only has the person of the Lord been exalted in our perceptions above the cloud by which he had been previously obscured, but how different is the position in which we behold his Word from that in which it was before regarded. Men trembled for the ark of God. Assailed by hosts of adversaries, its apparent discrepancies exultingly displayed, its defenders sought rather to apologize for its statements than triumphantly to display its beauty and truth; satisfied if they could elicit enough of the sacred Word to afford authority for a meagre faith, the great mass of divine revelation was represented as of very inferior importance, as capable of being readily dispensed with, without damage to the high concerns of religion. But now, brethren, we know we have the oracles of God. All its pages are replete with saving truth, its apparently least interesting portions are full of weighty admonitions, or of encouraging counsels, and constrain us to wonder at its wisdom, and adore its author.

The Lord's kingdom above, hidden as it has been to the human mind, so that

speculation itself had almost ceased to notice it, has, to the eye of faith and practice, been fully revealed. Our hopes are now animated by our knowledge of heaven's increasing blessedness. Our faith in the great principles of love and obedience, is more than ever confirmed, for we see their results in a happy eternity. And from the harmony, magnificence, and happiness that reign there, our hearts throb with more fervent desire that the Lord's will may be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Truly may every member of the Lord's New Jerusalem exclaim with the Psalmist, "The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places, mine is a goodly heritage."

While however the Conference would sincerely rejoice with you over these invaluable blessings, they would faithfully remind you that superior mercies involve superior responsibilities. That the very plenitude of light we possess, presents a danger we cannot too anxiously avoid; that of learning the Lord's will only and doing it not. The truth as now revealed is so attractive, and leads to fields of contemplation so rich and so extensive, that, unless we are specially guarded, we shall become speculative rather than practical ;-permitting truth to be in us a faultlessly beautiful but lifeless statue, instead of a living power mighty to save. To avoid this awful delusion we would urge you, brethren, constantly to remember, that the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth, is a kingdom of uses; that every truth which does not terminate in practical goodness, is fleeting and unstable, and to us will ultimately be lost.

Works of devotion, open communion with the Lord, works of self-denial; lead to the subjugation of evil; and works of virtuous obedience lead us to realize angelic joy. Let us then cheerfully obey our Lord, and work to-day in his vineyard, for, as said the Apostle of the Gentiles, "To every soul of man that worketh good, there is glory, honour, and immortal life."

The departments of practical duties we would most prominently press upon your consideration, are, 1st., the promotion of

your individual religion; 2ndly., the advancement of domestic piety; and 3rdly., the zealous and active discharge of your societies' requirements, and, especially, warm co-operation with your brethren in the promotion of the cause of New-Church education. These duties are of present and everlasting concern. We must not forget that all our capability to further the designs of God, by promoting the designs of man, depends upon our individual increase in holiness and wisdom. Redemption on the grand scale was only effected, that there might be in us individual redemption, a deliverance from sin. Heaven is only secured by the cultivation in our hearts of a miniature paradise of innocence, charity, integrity, and purity. That our bosoms may be the abode of these hallowed graces, let us be frequent and fervent in our supplications to our adorable Saviour, that he will be pleased to deliver us from our own infirmities and our sins, and make us images and likenesses of himself.

The practice of family devotion is of high and solemn import to us all. Families were doubtless instituted of the Divine Providence, that all the members, being united by endearing attachment, might promote each other's good, and above all their everlasting good. The exercises of religion in a family spreads a spirit of sweetness there; deepens the interest one portion of a household has in another's welfare; enlists the youthful mind in the service of its Saviour; awakens attention to the solemn themes of eternity; and establishes the dominion of the Lord, our heavenly Father, over all the beloved influences of home. How wise and how worthy of our adoption, then, is the exclamation of the venerable leader of Israel, "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord."

The third grand practical duty, which we would urgently press upon you as worthy of all acceptation, is, the encouragement and support of New Church education. This should be pre-eminently esteemed, for it is doubtless one of the most extensive evident signs and admirable fruits of the Second Coming of the

Lord. Before that period no Sabbath schools existed,-now millions of chil. dren are being taught in them to reverence the Lord. But what invaluable uses are such institutions capable of performing to the rising generation of the New Church! In them first impressions are made favourable to piety, order, and virtue. In them children are led to honour the Sabbath, and its Lord. In them kind attachments are formed, that tend to preserve in the paths of religion those who otherwise would sink into disorder and vice. In them the Church can act upon parents in a gentile state, who respect those who love their children, and try to do them good. In them the Church provides accessions to her ranks of useful and active members. And in them habits of teaching have already prepared the way for many young men to exert themselves in the ministry, and be a blessing to mankind. Such are the claims of Sabbath schools to the especial favour of the New Jerusalem. The Conference, therefore, would express its deep conviction that next to the ministry itself, New Church education is beyond all doubt, the most powerful means of acting on the mass of mankind, which the Church possesses. We would press, therefore, upon members of every class and age, to apply themselves to this exalted use, cheerfully, fervent

So

ly, and, above all, perseveringly. shall we see the holy influence of the heavenly kingdom diffusing itself among the sons and daughters of our country. So shall we behold them growing in grace and wisdom, as in stature; and while their beloved teachers and benefactors are experiencing the angelic delight of doing good, the prophetic exultation will be realized, "How goodly are thy tents O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel ! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lignaloes, that the Lord hath planted, and as cedars beside the waters."

Finally, brethren, consider that every truth from the blessed opening of the Word, that is now taking place, is of practical import. Let it be esteemed for its Giver's sake and for its own, and at once reduced to use. Work while it is day. It is the glory of our Church that all her religion has relation to life, and that the life of her religion is to do good. Let this be your glory, brethren, and rapidly we shall find the divine words accomplished: "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever."

On behalf of the Conference,
Yours faithfully,

J. BAYLEY.

THE 33rd report is recently published, and we proceed as usual to give a sketch of its contents. It begins by stating that during the past year the society has published the Heavenly Doctrines, the Last Judgment and Continuation, the Sacred Scriptures, Faith, and the White Horse; and that the Heaven and Hell, the Divine Love and Wisdom, and the Coronis, are in the press.

Among the persons, as well as societies, to whom copies of some of the works were presented, were the popular writer, Mr. Dickens, the late lamented Dr. Ar

nold, head master of Rugby School, and the Rev. G. D. Haughton, author of the Essay on Sex in the World to come. Mr. Dickens, in his note of thanks for the work on Heaven and Hell, assures the society "that he will not reject the book unexamined," (he is at present quite unacquainted with it, save from their description,) and that it shall have his most careful and attentive consideration. Dr. Arnold, who had published two sermons on the Interpretation of Prophecy, in his letter to the secretary, written only a few days before his decease, intimates that he

had a notion that in a considerable part of what he then wrote he was in agreement with Swedenborg, although he had scarcely read any of the works himself, and was acquainted with their substance only through the accounts of others. The Report gives a Eulogium on Dr. A., copied from the Athenæum, of June 25, 1842.

The number of volumes issued from the society's stock during the year was 1584, of the retail value of 2957. 15s.

By the liberality of several individuals, additions have been made to the society's library, which, there is reason to hope, will, at no distant period, be rendered available for general use.

Some doubt has been felt as to the policy of incurring expense in advertising the works, the good that has been known to result appearing to be insufficient to justify much outlay on that account: but, as the society is established for the sake of publishing as well as printing the works, it seems both legitimate and desirable to adopt such a means of attaining publicity. As a proof that the Rev. A. Clissold entertains that opinion he has liberally contributed 201. for that purpose, with the promise of 51. a year towards the same object, on the condition that other friends will also contribute to the extent of 151. or 201. a year to be devoted to advertising. It is then for those members who coincide in this view to accept the challenge thus fairly given.

The sub-committee that had been appointed to make inquiries respecting the MSS. of Swedenborg have entered into communication with several parties, among others with the Royal Academy of Sciences at Stockholm. The Report contains translations of the letter of the secretary, Baron Berzelius, and of the king of Sweden's decree, fully establishing the right of the Academy to the MSS.

The subscriptions and donations have amounted to 2471., a greater sum than in any former year; and as 1657. had been received towards the current year, N. S. NO. 33. VOL. 3.

when the report went to press, there is good reason to hope the next account may be found equally gratifying, more especially if the societies that have not yet done so, will cordially respond to the ap.. peal that was made to them. From St. Croix, in the West Indies, 201. have been contributed by five gentlemen, who thus testified their zeal in the cause. legacy of 901. has been bequeathed to the society by the late Mr. Malalieu, who for a considerable period was treasurer to the Manchester Printing Society.

An attempt is now being made to establish a connection, on terms of mutual advantage, with the society at Boston, in the United States. It is proposed that the printing of the larger works shall be wholly executed in this country, the editions to consist of a greater number of copies; thus the cost per copy will be proportionally less. In order to make a beginning, and to shew that they are in earnest, the Boston society have sent over 281. for 500 copies of the Divine Love and Wisdom, now in the press.

A letter is inserted from Dr. Tafel, dated June 5, from which we learn that he has very nearly completed the great work of reprinting the Arcana Cœlestia in Latin, on which he has been sedulously engaged many years. Had he done nothing else for the Church, he would, on this account alone, have been entitled to its lasting gratitude. He is however indefatigable, and is simultaneously engaged on various works, either as editor or as author. He hopes soon to be able to proceed with Swedenborg's Diary. A short time ago he paid a visit to the brethren in Switzerland, who, he says, remain firm in the doctrines. To his other labours he has recently added that of lecturing on philosophy and logic, and has received the thanks of fifty young catholic priests that had attended his course of lectures.

Appended to the Report is an interesting communication, in Latin, from Dr.to one of the members of the committee. Ꮓ Ꮓ