Our agent, Mr. BERRY, whose labours have been greatly blessed during the past year, writes under date Nov. 5th. It is usual with me to furnish monthly letters, and as the progress made the last month has been encouraging, I am the more disposed to follow my old plan. I have in former letters referred to the great success

at one of my out stations, Clonmore, from which I baptized some twenty or twenty-four during the present year; and as many of them are unable to come to Abbeyleix, I

thought it better to form a branch church there, and have a monthly administration of the Lord's supper. As soon as the clergyman heard this, he forbade the man in whose house I had formerly preached, to admit me; and he being in the power of his landlord, and fearing the clergyman, refused me his house with evident and deep reluctance. Having, however, made my arrangements, went on the appointed sabbath determined, if no house was open for me, to preach in the open air. But upon my arrival, my joy was great when I found that almost every house was open to me, and I selected, and was actually admitted into the house of the clerk of the church. The people were indignant that such means should have been employed by the clergyman to put me down; and to mark the triumph of the truth more fully, I have received a message this day from the landlord's agent to occupy as a preaching room an excellent out-house. These things cheer me much, and I have so many candidates in that locality as to justify the hope that a considerably large church will be collected there. "Tis only a distance of thirteen miles from Abbeyliex. I do think the night schools I opened there for the benefit of the poor conduced to this general good. The people are very poor. I have more than thirty poor members, and should any kind friends send you clothes for the winter, I should be greatly obliged if you would send a box or two to my poor people.

again destroyed, and with it the hopes of the small farmer. The winter is setting rapidly in, intensely cold. Hundreds of families, continually arriving from every quarter in half famished with cold and hunger, are search of, at best, a precarious employment. In finding this employment multitudes are disappointed altogether; others, more fortunate, obtain an occasional day's work, hereby only prolonging a starving existence. And, in fact, the out-door labourer is prevented, by the state of the weather, from more than a day's work at uncertain intervals.

I have been in families where father, mother, and several of the children have had nothing to eat for the whole day, and where they were only too happy to have a little broth once in the twenty-four hours. Blankets, all the bed clothes, and every thing that could be converted into a means of removing hunger, were gone. And this is not a solitary case. I know the people well, honest, worthy people. and have known them long as hard-working, Oh! my

country! God only knows the issues as to thee! Dark, dark indeed, is thy prospect; thy situation cannot be conceived by a be mistaken for the workings of a fruitful stranger. The sober reality is too likely to fancy. Need I say, I have already drawn upon my private means in aid of such sore

distress. You could not-no Christian could have helped it. I knew you were away on a collecting tour, or I would have written sooner. delay longer;-matters are too pressing. I cannot, however, now Can I have a few pounds for relief now, and an allowance of say five pounds a month, will allow me this small sum with promptiduring the winter? I trust the Committee tude. Bis dat, qui cito dal. "Blessed is he that considereth and remembereth the

poor."

Will not some of our readers and friends help us in this matter?—We await their answer.

after detailing his labours, his extensive Mr. THOMAS, writing from Moate, journeyings, and his prospects of suc

cess, says:

The school at Moate has also increased and improved; great distress and nakedness however, hinder many of the poor children from attending: their poverty and misery are beyond all expression severe. There is no employment here whatever. I have seen several poor children entirely naked, and their parents in filthy rags, little better. Could you, my dear brother, send me some clothes and relief for them? I am sure will not be appealed to in vain on their

hear the word of life than at other times. The only reason I could assign for the change, was the fear of being called to eternity all of a sudden on account of the pestilence raging around. As soon as I observed their stony hearts at all softened, I lost no time in directing them to the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.

Mr. M'KEE writes thus about the schools in his neighbourhood:

I herewith enclose you the account of the quarterly inspection of schools in this district. The priests are giving all the opposition they can to the schools, particularly about Sligo and Boyle, which has caused the attendance somewhat to diminish. The character of the schools, however, has improved. The children are procuring more religious instruction than they formerly obtained. This I take to be most important. I estimate the value of our schools in a great measure by this. There are enough of schools to give a literary education in this country, at least in most places; but what is wanted are schools that will combine religious with literary education. Our schools are doing something in this way. During the past fortnight I examined all the schools in the district; but the two in the neighbourhood of Boyle, which are so distant, that I cannot visit them every quarter. I am happy to state that great good is being done in them. More than one half of the children are of Roman Catholic parentage, and they are obtaining an amount of religious instruction, which but for our schools we have reason to believe they would never have obtained. May the Divine bless ing rest upon all efforts for the spiritual welfare of the rising generation. The number of children at the seven schools under my supervision is 475.

JOHN MONAGHAN writes,

You will be glad to hear that we are going on well as usual. The people still gladly hear the Scriptures read and explained, and many of them seem to appreciate the truths brought before them with satisfaction and delight. We daily behold prejudice and superstition gradually decline and give way to the spread of gospel light and knowledge. A few days since, while passing through the village of Emlingahton, I was invited by a man_of the name of H- to come into

This

his house. On entering he said, "The last time you were here we quarrelled hard about religion, but I have since studied your arguments and am compelled to consider you right. You are now welcome to read to us, and you and I shall quarrel no more. invitation, from the most obstinate and bigoted Papist I ever met with, you may be sure, was hailed with joy. I then read the way of salvation with God through a several passages of Scripture, pointing out

crucified Saviour, to all present, for several of the neighbours had assembled during the time. Some of these parties have since applied to me for bibles, declaring that they now intended to read and study for themselves, which leads me to hope that however feebly the seed may be sown, the Lord will, in his own appointed time and way, sanctify it to the praise and glory of his

name.

ENEAS M'DONNELL says:

In visiting the house of a man named Battle, this week, I found three other men in the house who did not belong to the family. I read the first chapter of Peter's Epistle to them, and I strove to show them the folly of paying for getting soul-masses read for their deceased friends. One of the strangers, named Sfrom the county of Mayo, told me I was the first protestant he ever heard refer to Peter's writings; for, said he, all protestants hate him because they prefer Paul who wished to be made a pope in Peter's stead, and who, therefore found fault with every thing Peter did. I asked him to point out to me from the bible where Peter was called pope. He attempted, but most lamentably failed.

JOHN JUDGE, in a letter dated November 14th, amongst a number of interesting facts extracted from his journal, says,

Read and prayed in the house of Pat B, who heard me with great attention. After much conversation he said that he had derived more knowledge of the Scriptures from what I had read to him in the IRISH language than he had ever received from the priest with his LATIN masses. Said he, "I believe there can be no salvation by the priest-no salvation but by Christ,—the Saviour of sinners." The man earnestly invited me to call again.