their deep poverty—in support of the Society’s funds? Enough has been said, I think, to shew that it is no light thing, when it is required of us to give up our power of influencing others for their good; no light thing, when we are asked to provide funds for a minister, without inquiring whether he is good or bad; no light thing, when we are asked to lose sight of our responsibility in the application of gifts we have devoted to the glory of God. The last thing I proposed to lay before you was the testimony of the highest authorities of the Church to the character and services of the Church Pastoral-Aid Society;—I may safely challenge any Society in the Church to produce a more favourable one. The following was the tribute of His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury in the House of Lords, July 27th of the present year, in the debate on the Ecclesiastical Revenues’ Bill. After stating that “nearly 3,000,000 of our Fellow-Christians in this land are utterly cut off from the advantages of Religion and pastoral superintendence,” the Archbishop adds, “The funds of Queen Anne’s Bounty, for the augmentation of small livings, were only 12,000_l._ a-year; but considerable assistance in aid of that sum was derived from _the Pastoral-Aid Society_, and the Supplementary Curates’ Fund.” I notice, first, that if the Archbishop had thought the Society was doing more evil than good with its fund, he never could have mentioned it thus: secondly, that it is quoted as a Church Society, that is to say, as belonging to the Church, and doing good service in it: thirdly, that it is placed above the Supplementary Curates’ Fund, according to its proper place, both on account of priority of date and greater extent of usefulness. Other tributes of our spiritual Heads under Christ were given at the last General Meeting of the friends and supporters of the Society in May 1840, a period not greatly preceding Dr. Molesworth’s attack: The Bishop of LICHFIELD “_felt_, _on behalf of his diocese at least_, A GREAT DEBT OF GRATITUDE TO THIS SOCIETY; there being at that moment thousands, he might say tens of thousands, in that populous district, to whom _the word of God was faithfully preached_ every Sabbath-day, _who_, _but for the assistance of this Society_, _would have been without the means of grace_, _almost_, _if not altogether_. But his satisfaction did not arise merely from these selfish considerations, but because _he approved of the general principles on which the Society was founded_, _and the plans on which it was carried on_. _Those principles and plans had been_, _in some instances_, _misrepresented_, _or perhaps_, _he would rather say_, _misunderstood_. _There was an impression on the minds of many_, _that this Society preserved to itself a kind of jurisdiction independent of the ecclesiastical authorities_. _Nothing could be more erroneous than that_.” The Bishop of RIPON said—