But  even  with  this  aid,  small  and  seemingly  insuf
ficient  was  that  early  company.  Yet  it  had  within
it  the  true  principle  of  strength.  For  those  designs
sprang  from  a  simple  desire  to  obey  the  great  precepts
of  Christ's  Gospel,  to  act  in  His  strength,  to  declare
His  Name  by  His  appointed  instruments  to  those  who
sat  in  darkness.  He  of  whom  I  have  spoken,  and
who  was  looked  to  as  their  earliest  head,  at  the  desire
of  all,  sought  at  once  to  put  the  projected  institution
into  the  closest  relations  with  the  fixed  organization
of  the  Church,  and  to  commit  to  her  Primate  the  keep
ing  of  that  post  he  had  been  asked  to  fill. .  But  the
time  for  this  was  not  fully  come.  "  Out  of  weak
ness"  was  the  law  of  its  beginning,  though  having
within  it  the  true  principle  of  faith,  that  further  word
was  step  by  step  accomplished,  and  u  out  of  weakness
it  was  made  strong."  For  so,  with  humble  thankful
ness  to  God,  we  may  surely  say  this  day  it  is.  For
to-day  we  keep  its  jubilee;  and  that  it  should  have
survived  till  now,  this  is  a  great  matter.  Yea,  and
this  is  not  all,  but  from  that  smallest  seed  how  fruitful
are  the  branches  which  have  unfolded  all  their  goodly
proportions.  It  has  grown  strong  in  all  the  material

u  W.  Wilberforce,  Esq.
