The ages of the persons who were buried may be classed as

follows:

In the past ten years 51 marriages have been celebrated in the Parish. The greatest number in any one year was 8, and the smallest two; but the average of the whole was rather more than 5 for each year.

Of these marriages 27 couple left the parish upon their marriage; leaving only 24 couple who remained in the parish.

Of the 24 couple who remained in the parish after their marriage, 5 had no children; leaving 19 who have had children. A comparison of the Baptismal with the Marriage Register for these ten years gives the following painful result. Of the first children of these 19 marriages, 2 were born 6 months after the marriage of their parents; 1 five months; 1 four months; 1 three months; and 3 one month: making 8 marriages thus painfully circumstanced; and leaving only 11 marriages without that public shame.

In the past ten years out of the 215 children who have been baptized, 14 have been illegitimate (9 male and 5 female). These have been the offspring of only twelve unmarried mothers. Of these children, 6 have been brought to the font out of only three different families-two out of each family, the mothers being sisters. The greatest number of these illegitimate children baptized in any one year has been 3 but no year has passed without, at least, 1 being brought to the font.

The following particulars are stated as some results of calculation, in order to help the mind in suggesting personally some results for application, which perhaps may hereafter be mentioned.

As 215 have been baptized, and 145 have been buried, 70 more persons have been born in the parish than have died in the same time: that is, about one third more.

About one fourth more females than males have died in the parish: that is, four women have died for every three men that have died.

But the women that do live to a full age, in general outlive the men for most of the old men have died betweee 60 and 70 years old, while most of the old women have died between 80 and 90.

It appears that about an equal proportion of male and female children have been born during the ten years, (102 to 106); and that about the same proportion of those above 15 years old remain in the parish at the end of that time (242 to 231): while there is a very striking difference in the proportion of male and female children remaining in the parish under 15 years of age (177 to 136). How may this be accounted for? Is it that young girls go out of the parish to seek their livelihood before the age of 15, and young boys are usually employed in the parish?

THE STRENGTH OF AN EFFECTUAL MINISTRY.

No. 1.

Part of an Address delivered in April, 1841, to a large number of the Clergy of the Church of Ireland.

"Who is sufficient for these things?" 2 Cor. ii. 16.

(The introductory part of the Address is omitted, as applying principally to the circumstances under which it was delivered. It is intended to insert the remainder in future Numbers. The whole address may be found in the ninth Number of "the Pulpit; or voice of the Irish Church." Published 8th of May, 1841, by Robertson, Grafton Street, Dublin.)

In the 14th verse of the second chapter of Corinthians, we find the Apostle giving thanks to God for an assured blessing which resulted from the ministry of the Word. 'Now thanks be unto God which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.' Here we perceive a thankfulness for the manifestation of the name of Christ-the manifestation of the ' savour of his knowledge in every place;' and then this savour is distinguished in three ways.

We who are the preachers of the gospel, and who carry the standard of the Lord Jesus Christ, are unto God a sweet savour

of Christ always; and there can hardly be a more solemnizing thought for a minister than this, that upon all occasions whenever the ministry of the Word is exercised, the minsters of Christ are a sweet savour of Christ unto God, whatever be the result, both ⚫ in them that are saved, and in them that perish.' What disclosures on this point will be made in that great day when we shall see and know, as we are now seen and known! But to be able to receive these disclosures we must wait until the time when he shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.'

While to God we are always a sweet savour of Christ, we are in two ways a savour to those to whom we minister: to them that perish 'we are the savour of death unto death,' and to them that are saved we are the 'savour of life unto life.' There is a taste, an odour, a savour in the ministry of the word of Christ -nourishing the principle of death, or nourishing the principle of life within us; and it is this which makes our ministry so awfully important, and which made the Apostle exclaim, 'who is sufficient for these things?' How loudly do our hearts echo 'who is sufficient for these things?' The Apostle, however, goes on to show that none are sufficient for these things; (this would appear from the way he puts the question) yet we may have such trust through Christ to Godward, as warrants an expectation of a favourable result, and therefore a sufficiency for these things, in order that success may be attained unto. But how? not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God.' (2 Cor. iii. 4, 5.) So that we find the Apostle, upon looking to himself, and to the greatness of the work, cries out, who is sufficient for these things?' but looking to the object for which God is pleased to commission his ministers, he says, we are sufficient,-not of ourselves, but our suffiency is of God.'

It becomes then an object of deep interest to those who are ministers of Christ, to inquire diligently in what way this sufficiency, which is of God, is usually imparted ;-by what means we may attain to the gift of that sufficiency;—and how we can best exercise that gift; manifesting it not only to others but to ourselves, in order that we may have the same confidence which the Apostle had such trust have we through Christ to Godward.' To do this requires a very close examination of the whole state of the case-It requires us to search into every part of the great machinery with which we are engaged. We may derive great benefit from thinking out, in some detail, the illustration employed in the Scriptures to picture to ourselves the purposes of our ministry.

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The Scripture tells us that we are fighting a fight; we are engaged in a great contest in a tremendous warfare-a warfare and a contest which are going on between the powers of heaven and the powers of hell; and in which the beings who inhabit this earth are deeply interested. They are the individual subjects of that great warfare which is actually going on at this moment on this globe; whether any of them see it or not; or whether any will not perceive it; yet an earnest struggle is going on by the Spirit of God and the powers of light, against the powers of darkness; and the character and design of this contest are fully revealed in the word of God. In applying this illustration of a warfare, which is constantly referred to in Scripture, we may inquire what are the means by which an officer in the great army of a Prince attains to the greatest power in the conduct of the affairs of that army-in leading on his portion of it to the destined point of victory? There can be no doubt that one of the most important steps towards the attainment of influence and power is a clear, comprehensive, and distinct view of all the parts of the battle, as they bear upon the object in view. If an officer, engaged in a campaign, enters the field with an undefined notion of his position -if he confine his thoughts to a partial contemplation of the danger and objects of his post, he may, indeed, be useful in some inferior station, but he is an individual who ought not to be chosen to conduct a large division of the army. On the contrary, an officer who studiously and with sagacity enlarges his viewwhose mind takes in the whole contents of the field—who well understands each particular object, and each particular position ; such a man is just the person to contribute largely towards the victorious progress of the campaign, and to exercise and call into effect that powerful influence which by his knowledge he has acquired. Such a man is, indeed, a useful instrument in the army; and so it is with the ministers of the great Captain of our salvation.

In order properly to apply this illustration, it is not enough that we should be well acquainted with the doctrines of Christianity, in all their parts and in all their bearings: it is of immense importance to consider the difference that exists between a clear view of doctrines, and the realizing of those doctrines in their proper effects. The doctrine of original sin-the doctrine of the atonement—the doctrine of the power of the Holy Ghost sanctifying the heart-all the doctrines of revelation may be registered in our minds; and yet we may be unable so to open the eye of faith as to see the actings of those truths of which we may still speak with masterly knowledge; we may not be able to make

this knowledge bear with power on the battle which is really waging. Now this is the great point; how to realize these doctrines is one of the most important inquiries in which we can be engaged, in order to secure success: we will, therefore, pursue this inquiry a little farther; in doing which it will be better to divide the subject into such portions as will bring before us all the various parties concerned in the contest.

I. As to the realizing to our minds of JEHOVAH himself, and His connexion with us. We are all agreed that God sent his Son into this our world—that the Son took flesh, and] that he, as the Son of Man, died for our sins-that he sent the Holy Spirit to sanctify our hearts, and to impart to us the inheritance of the saints in light. All this is plain doctrine-and all this we believe and teach; but the difference between one who preaches these doctrines effectually with large success, and one who preaches them with apparently less success, or none at all, is very frequently found to be this, (always remembering that in every degree our sufficiency is of God,") that an effective power seems to be given to that minister of Christ who turns these doctrines into facts; feeling the reality of those things concerning which many do but theorize.

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In the great contest God must, at all times, be realized as the great General-his ministers being the aides-de-camp: not merely officers who approach Him at stated times, or on special occasions, to confer with their Chief; but aides-de-camp who have access to Him at all times. We should walk with God continually-walk with him in a manner somewhat approaching to the literal sense of the term. The difference between the exercise of prayer upon occasions, and the habit of intimate and continual intercourse with God, produces great difference in the power of ministers. In the one case, the arrangement of duties, trying circumstances, difficulties, distresses, occupy the mind, and engross the great bulk of the thoughts; while prayer is resorted to now and again. This so far is well-but much more is wanted to secure the effectual influence of that sufficiency which is of God: for in the other case, the minister, whose ministry is largely effectual, is one who makes the arrangement of his duties, his difficulties, and his distresses, subjects of earnest consideration now and again, while he himself walks as conversing with God continually in heart about them all. The bulk of his thoughts take the form of intercourse with God: converse with God is that which makes him go forth to his work with full confidence. He walks with Him as with a companion, humbly pleading, as he proceeds, the promises of His word, and calling