er from the efficient discharge of her mission. Above all, he
is averse to a policy of _laissez faire_. Believing that the Church has
failed to meet the increasing wants of the people, he is an eager
advocate and a liberal and intelligent supporter of missionary schemes.
At an ordination dinner held in Glasgow in 1868, Mr. Baird delivered an
address, in the course of which he pointed out that the missions of the
Church were in a languid state, and dragged along a dreary and miserable
existence. Although there were from 12,000 to 15,000 young men and women
arriving in Glasgow every year at an age when they should become members
of some church, the Establishment was getting barely sufficient from
that multitude to maintain its old numbers. He was afraid, he added,
that a great many had not the chance of joining any church, as none of
the churches were increasing in proportion to the population of the
city; and that, therefore, they would go on to swell the ranks of
heathenism and materialism. The results of the investigations recently
carried out in this city, amply vindicate Mr. Baird's almost prophetic
remarks. Mr. Johnston's pamphlets on the religious wants of Glasgow;
pamphlets issued on the same subject by Mr. Alexander Whitelaw, Mr.
Baird's hearty coadjutor in every good word and work; and the inquiries
made under the auspices of the association established for the purpose
of inquiring into the religious destitution of Glasgow, all tend to
prove that there are from 100,000 to 160,000 souls living without the
means of grace, and in a state of practical heathenism, in a city that
can boast of a Knox, a Chalmers, and other apostles of Christianity.
Thus, although Mr. Baird's figures appeared startling, and although his
forebodings may have seemed unnecessary, they have turned out to be
rather under than beyond the mark. But the zeal of Mr. Baird did not
stop at merely pointing out the evil. He exerted himself most
assiduously to provide a remedy. We believe he was one of the promoters
of a society formed for the purpose of extending the church
accommodation of Glasgow, and especially for the building of new
churches in neglected and necessitous localities. That society has
already done the Church some service. It aims at removing from the
Establishment the stigma that she has failed to keep pace with the
requirements of the population; and, despite the difficult and arduous
character of the work which it has assigned its