"One hundred and ten feet of a college, as you see this to be, four stories high, forty-four feet wide, of massive stone, surmounted with a roof and steeple seventy-five feet high, for strength and beauty seldom equalled, has been completed. "A scholarship, the funds of which were raised by the members of St. George church, New-York, has been paid; our fount of types, most munificently given through the liberal exertions of Sir Thomas and Lady Acland, of England, has been brought into use. The Right Hon. Lord Kenyon, in the name of his deceased daughter, the Hon. Margaret Emma Langham, (late Kenyon,) has given to this institution, what is so characteristic of his noble mind, and her most benevolent disposition while liv ing, and now most venerated memory, five hundred pounds sterling; the receipt of which was a most timely relief from great perplexing embarrass ments. "The accounts of our institution have been examined and brought up to the month of March last, to the no small satisfaction of all who felt a laudable anxiety in our welfare. By which it appears that the cost of the college, when taken separate from that of our mills, the building of the professor's house, the printing-office, the village dwellings, &c. has been less than one half the sum it would have cost by contract, had the same been farmed out at the usual prices. If this should seem extravagant, take the printed account of our expenditures in your hand, and go from this, the basement story of our building, through all the intermediate strong and well-finished rooms and passages, till your eye meets the roof, with its massive and thickly clustering timbers, and its well supported and lofty steeple, and then judge if half the usual cost be noticed. What reason this for congratulation, that we gave not out our building to contractors greedy of money however unconsecrated by the hand of charity. "It is not the least cause of gratitude to the Dispenser of human events, that no accident has befallen us during the process of our exten sive works and in no part of our country has there been more uninterrupted health. "Our number of students is now nearly ninety, six of whom this commencement receive their degrees of A. B., besides several who, in the intermediate time, have been qualified as teachers, now so much wanted in our common schools. "When I reflect on the facts of which I am now speaking, and compare the present state of things with the past, the language of amazement becomes involuntary. What hath God done? Who but he hath wrought this mighty work? Where now are the wild beasts that roamed so lately over this sightly hill, and listless bathed themselves in our flowing streams? They are gone, they are chased far away; and the language of science, and the voice of prayer and praise are heard in their stead. This lofty dome occupies the very spot where, the rude huntsman tells me, the wolf destroyed the deer in the thicket into which man's ingenuity could not pe netrate; and to what end is this quick, this mighty change? Is it to accom plish the aggrandizement of individuals in worldly wealth? Is it to seek the oppression of the poor, by entailing on their children the former great expenses of education? Blessed be God, the design is far removed from this. It is to cherish an institution of Christian education at a rate of unexampled cheapness, bringing science with all its blessings within the reach of thousands and tens of thousands of persons, who, by reason of their straitened circumstances, must for ever re main in comparative ignorance. It is to teach the children of the poor to become schoolmasters, to instruct our common schools throughout the vast valley of the Mississippi. It is to teach the children of the poor to rise by their wisdom and merit into stations hitherto occupied by the rich; to fill our pulpits, to sit in our senate chambers and on our seats of justice; and to secure in the best possible way, the liberties of our country. "This is the object of the institution of Kenyon College. This is the reason of our unremitting exertions to make our plan as extensive and permanent in its operations as it is pure in its design. And will not such a seminary be cherished by our common country? "At a time when the rich zone of our country, embracing more than fifteen degrees of longitude, from the Alleghany mountains to the Pacific Ocean, is now in the act of being peopled with a rapidity of settlement never before equalled; is it, can it be a matter of indifference, whether it be illuminated by science, or shaded by the darkness of ignorance? The lapse of one generation will decide this question. Unless something be done soon, more than has been done, the learning which our first settlers brought with them from more favoured regions, will, like the meteor, become extinct. Few, very few, comparatively, will retain a taste for letters, perhaps too few to revive a desire to diffuse them again among the people. Thus bringing ours to resemble all inland governments, abounding in physical strength, without a moral power to direct it to the maintenance of its civil freedom. "Look round and mark the alarming features which designate the age in which we live. The state of Ohio contains a million of souls, one half of whom, being under the age of twenty, demand instruction. To teach this number, viz. 500,000 persons, how many instructors (deducting one fourth for infancy, and allowing twenty-five to each teacher) would be required? The answer would be 15,000. And do our public seminaries of learning afford this number of such as are inclined to teach? Far from it: although in operation for these many years, a few only are the sum of their yearly graduates, and still fewer those who have any thoughts of teaching others; perhaps not ten, and I might say with truth, not five in the whole catalogue of our colleges turn out yearly as teachers of our common schools. And is it to these sources that the public look for means to perpetuate the learning, and with the learning, the liberties of their fathers? The means to the end, in this case, stand, at the highest calculation, as 2 to 3000. To supply this great deficiency, whence can the state of Ohio look for adequate means? Will New England afford them, as she has hitherto in part supplied the southern states? Alas! New England does not increase as do our wants in this western world. As well might we say that one small fountain could irrigate an empire. We can no longer look to that part of our country for the supply of so vast a demand. We must supply our own wants, or our western country will resemble the internal parts of Asia and other despotic governments. Ignorance in the many, and art, cunning and ambition in the few, will soon find a tomb for the freedom of our country. We must furnish our own teachers; and, blessed be God, on the plan we have instituted, we have the means to do it. Having reduced the expenses to a scale of cheapness scarcely exceeding that of the most economical family in private life, we can command any number of students we are able to accom. modate. Give us our buildings, and we will supply your schools with teachers; enable us to complete our buildings according to our original plan, and our young men graduated in this seminary yearly, will exceed two hundred. "What reason then have we to pray for that help from our government which has been extended to other institutions with far less claims for patronage, on the grounds of extending to the poor the means of literature? Will not Congress grant us that which does not enrich them, but which, if granted to us, will make us rich indeed-rich in means of doing good in the most essential manner, by keeping the regions of the West from being overspread with Vandal barbarism? "If you say this language suits more an address to Congress than one to you, I confess the remark is just; and freely state that it is meant for them. This poor address shall be sent to each and all who compose our national legislature, with my most respectful regards and earnest prayers: The good will of our President I know we have, who, in an audience he lately afforded, freely told me he knew of no way in which the public lands could be given more to the benefit of the country than to colleges of learning. From this most favourable opinion, and from the singular goodness of our cause, we have little doubt of our complete success in applying to Congress the coming winter, for a township of land for the benefit of Kenyon College. What the senate once so freely granted, they wili grant again; and the house will not, for want of time, refuse to take up and consider so important a subject. Should this hope deceive us, so great is our confidence in the success of our cause on its simple merits, that we will go on in devising ways and means to that end-even were it to make personal applications to each and all the persons throughout our country-yea, we will not cease till the sympathies of the Protestant world are again awaked in our favour. "Gentlemen of this Convention, "Duties in payment of the debts of the college, caused me, in the course of last spring and summer, to go to the Atlantic states; and while there, being invited by the standing committee of the diocese of Maryland, I admitted the Rev. Merwin Allen to the order of priests, in Trinity church, Baltimore, and preached in many churches in several cities. "It was a matter of deep regret that I was not able to attend the then approaching General Convention of our Church in Philadelphia. Matters of great importance demanded my immediate return to Ohio. As I came through the northern counties, I made several appointments for Episcopal visitations of the churches in that region. These I had grace to fulfil in the following manner, viz. "In Medina, Sunday, August 9, 1829, there were morning and evening prayers and two sermons. The holy sacrament of the Lord's supper was administered to sixteen persons, and the apostolic rite of confirmation to four. The Rev. Mr. Wing assisted me. "After service on Sunday evening, I rode through an entire wood of eleven miles, to Mr. Sibley's in Grafton, where (Monday, August 10) divine services were performed, a sermon preached, and ten persons confirmed. The prospects in this parish are flattering. Though few in number, the parish is not afflicted by that incubus to all spiritual improvement in our Church, the influence of a bad man or two, of leading character, calling themselves churchmen. "On the 11th of August we rode as far as Columbia. Here I was seized with a painful complaint, and the Rev. Mr. Wing read prayers and preached; after which, I was so far recovered as to address the congregation, and administer the communion to seven persons, and confirm seven, and to ride to Strongsville, where I preached, and baptized five infants. "Next day we rode to Cleaveland, 12 or 15 miles; where, on the 12th August, assisted by the Rev. Messrs. Freeman, Wing, and Sanford, I consecrated to the service of Almighty God, a new building, 44 by 60 feet; of Gothic architecture, well built and neatly finished; cost $3000, $1000 of which, I am told, was given by friends in the Atlantic states, through the instrumentality of the Rev. Silas Freeman, and the remaining $2000 was raised by a liberal public in Cleaveland and vicinity. Much credit is certainly due to all persons, who have in so short a time brought to pass, under the smiles of a kind Providence, so excellent a work as this. "On the same day of its consecration, I confirmed in this building (now called Trinity church, Cleaveland) three persons, and administered the holy sacrament of the Lord's supper to about twenty. How devoutly is it to be wished that this little flock, now they have found a shelter, could also find a faithful pastor! "Next day, being August 13, the Rev. Mr. Wing preached, and divine service was performed in the village of Chagrin, on the lake shore, about twenty miles from Cleaveland. After sermon, we visited a sick person, (a grand-daughter of the venerable Dr. Mansfield, of Derby, Connecticut, so well remembered for his piety and steady virtues). At five o'clock the same day, the Rev. Mr. Wing read prayers,and myself preached in Painesville, twelve miles from Chagrin. "On the 14th I rode to Chardon, where the Rev. Mr. Freeman read prayers, and a sermon was delivered, and one person confirmed, by myself. Same evening I rode back to Painesville, and confirmed one person, and Mr. Wing preached. "The next morning, August 15, we set off for Unionville, distant about eighteen miles. Here I had the pleasure of meeting the Rev. Mr. Hall, who presented to me seven persons, who were duly confirmed. The Rev. Mr. Freeman read prayers, and I preached a sermon. On the same day we rode to Ashtabula, where our hearts were refreshed by seeing a neat church built and ready to be consecrated, and two clergymen from the dioceses of New-York and Pennsylvania, the Rev. Messrs. Murray and Glover, present on so joyful an occa sion. "Next day, August 16, St. Peter's church, Ashtabula, was consecrated to the service of Almighty God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. The clergy present were the Rev. Mr. B. Glover, from the diocese of Pennsylvania; the Rev. R. Murray, from that of New-York; and the Rev. Messrs. Wing, Freeman, and Hall, of this diocese. The morning service was read by the Rev. Mr. Wing, and the sermon preached by myself. "Thirty-one persons were confirm ed, and, the next day, one adult person baptized, and five more confirmed; making thirty-six in all confirm ed in Ashtabula. "There were two evening services, in which the Rev. Messrs. Wing, Murray, and Glover bore a considerable part. Such were the visible effects of the divine blessing on these ordinances, especially on the administration of the Lord's supper, which took place immediately after the confirmation, that we have every reason to bless God that he gave us grace at this time, and under such favourable circumstances, to visit Ashtabula. "August 17. The Rev. Mr. Freeman preached at Rome, and the next day the Rev. Mr. Hall officiated, and the Bishop addressed the congregation. In the afternoon of the same day we rode to Windsor, which, although the first parish organized by myself in Ohio, yet, I regret to state, is suffering from the divisions occasioned by differing opinions as to the place of putting up their church. The Rev. Mr. Wing had preceded me, and preached, to the great satisfaction of the people, the evening before my arrival. But I found no persons prepared for confirmation, and no preparations made for the sacrament. I pray God to pardon what is past, and give them grace to amend. "We did not reach Batavia till late on the 19th. On the 20th, a very large and attentive audience were assembled. The Rev. Mr. Wing read prayers and preached; the Bishop addressed the congregation on the ordinances about to be administered. Three adults and five infants were baptized. Confirmation was administered to twelve, and the holy sacrament to about twenty persons. dom have been witnessed more solemnity and pious decorum. We trust they will soon build a church to the glory of God and the salvation of many souls in this place. Sel "The next day, August 21, I was in Warren, and in the evening I preached in the court-house, to a large and attentive congregation. "On Saturday, 22d, we held service in the new church at Boardman, Trumbull county, and the following day, Sunday, August 23d, it was consecrated, by the name of St. James's church. Much praise is due to Jesus Christ our Lord, for having put into the hearts of his faithful servants in this place, to erect this house to the glory of his great name. This being the third building which, during this tour, I had consecrated, my feelings of gratitude to the Giver of all grace were more than usual. A blessing, a visible blessing had attended me during this visitation of the churches on the Reserve, and no one felt it more deeply than myself. "During the past year, it becomes my duty to state that the Rev. Amos G. Baldwin left the state, and the Rev. Silas Freeman has taken letters dimissory from this diocese to that of Virginia. The Rev. William Preston was ordained priest, and has removed from his appointment as tutor in Kenyon College, to the charge of Trinity church, Columbus, and St. John's, Worthington." The Rev. Wm. Sparrow was elected secretary. The Rev. J. P. Bausman, the Rev. Wm. Preston, the Rev. Wm. Sparrow, and Arius Nye, John Clements, and David Prince, were elected the standing committee; and the Rev. B. P. Aydelott, the Rev. J. P. Bausman, the Rev. Nathan Stem, the Rev. Wm. Sparrow, and Wm. Little, Bezaleel Wells, Henry Brush, and John Bailhache, were elected delegates to the General Convention. The following preamble and resolution were brought forward and approved: "Whereas it has heretofore been con templated to establish a religious periodical paper connected with the Theologi cal Seminary and Kenyon College, and it is understood to be the intention of the president and professors soon to commence the work; therefore, "Resolved, That the same be strongly recommended to the patronage of the religious public generally, and in particular to the members of this Church." On motion, the following resolution was passed : "Resolved, That the members of this convention feel constrained, at the present time, when such great exertions are being made by the benevolent throughout our land, for the suppression of intemper. ance and of the profanation of the Lord's day, to express in this public manner their approbation of the same, and their earnest prayer that they may be crowned with abundant success." A resolution was also passed, recommending to the different parishes in the diocese, the formation of missionary societies, auxiliary to the diocesan one, for the purpose of diffusing a missionary spirit, and increasing the funds of the parent institution. The parochial reports present the following aggregate: Baptisms (adults 13, children 110) 123-marriages 21 -communicants 558-funerals 34. The next convention is to be held in Gambier, on the second Wednesday of September, 1830. The list of clergy in this diocese, prefixed to the Journal, makes the number fourteen, including the Bishop. For the Christian Journal. Preparation for the Ministry. In a work designed for the benefit of society, and especially of that sacred portion of it, the Church of Christ, novelty should not be so much consulted as the exhibition, and if circumstances call for it, the reiterated exhibition, of subjects of interest and importance. That named at the head of this article may be thought somewhat trite; but it is hoped that no true friend of religion and the Church will therefore throw it aside as unmeet to be se riously considered. The attention of rected to it with peculiar earnestness. the Christian world is at present diOur own Church is far from being insensible to its claims. The interests of Christianity are inseparably blended with it. The peace and prosperity of the commonwealth, and the general welfare of society, make common cause with it. The wise and the good regard it as a source whence are to flow the most abundant streams of virtuous enjoyment, the firmest support and the surest consolation in the trials and adversities of life, and all the happy and beneficial influences of the prospect of future blessedness. In the hope of contributing to the good ends proposed by this valuable Journal, I ask of the Editors permission to occupy a space of their present number, by a few reflections on this interesting and comprehensive subject. Many of the best friends of our Church, and of those who most ardently desired its increase in sound piety, rejoiced at the partial accomplishment, in the General Convention of 1826, of a measure which had long lain near their hearts as imperiously required by the state of our Church, and intimately connected with both its temporal and spiritual prosperity-the lengthening of the term of candidateship for the ministry. Before that time, the required term had been but |