_SERVICE._
On one of the latest occasions when Mr. Balfour was permitted to attend
public worship, he stepped into the vestry at the close and said to the
present writer, with the light which sparkled in his eye when his spirit
was deeply stirred, and with the emphatic utterance which at such a time
was inseparable from his words, “Yes, service, service; _that_ is the
word for the Christian--service.” His whole walk was governed by the
principle of service. Every day of his life seemed to exemplify the
counsel of the Apostle, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do
good unto all men; especially unto them who are of the household of
faith.” And thus his footsteps were blessed. Wherever he trod, the grass
grew greener. Leven, Liverpool, Valparaiso, San Francisco, can all
testify to the truth of what we say. Yet, while ever ready in a good
cause to help and to give, he had a quick eye for the detection of
shams, and a certain power of making them shrivel up before him, more
by his manner than his words.
Much of the service he rendered was doubtless known only to himself and
the recipients. But if we examine his footsteps in any period of his
life, or in any sphere of his activity, we find traces of his
unquenchable generosity, his passion for doing good, for alleviating
suffering, for ministering help. “I _am_ my brother’s keeper” seemed to
be the motto of every day he lived.
When he was but a youth and had little to give, it came to his knowledge
that two ladies, whom he had known from his childhood in Fifeshire, had
met with adverse circumstances: they were struggling with difficulties,
and were in danger of having to leave their home. He immediately began
to send them what help it lay in his power to give; and in order that
this help might be increased, he gave up smoking and put some special
limitations upon his own daily diet. Self-denial in youth is the surest
guarantee for beneficence in manhood.
While speaking of kind deeds done in Fifeshire, it may be mentioned that
in after years it was his joyful privilege to take a large share in the
founding of the Greig Institute, which does an excellent work,
especially among young men, in his native Leven.
As his means increased his benefactions increased. On one occasion, when
business was very prosperous, he was restless at night. He rose and
paced his bedroom with rapid stride. When the anxious question was put
to him if anything were wrong, his answer was, “This will never do at
all: we are growing too rich: we must find new outlets for that with
which God has so abundantly blessed us. I was just revolving in my mind
what causes it would be best to help.”
A relation of Mr. Balfour died, leaving behind him four children who, he
had reason to fear, might be but slenderly provided for. He travelled to
the town in which the deceased had resided, to attend his funeral. At
its close, he stepped into the bank with which his friend had dealt, and
after some conversation with the banker, he wrote a cheque for a large
sum of money, and said, “Just add that to the account: and nothing need
be said about it.”
The following letter from the widow of a clergyman addressed to Mrs.
Lundie illustrates the point of which we are speaking. It throws
beautiful light, also, upon other features, such as the breadth and
catholicity of his mind; but we do not choose to break up the letter
into parts.
“---- VICARAGE, _October 2, 1886_.
“My memories of dear Mr. Balfour are very bright and happy ones. It
was at the time of the preparations for Mr. Moody’s visit to
Liverpool in 1875 that my husband and Mr. Balfour were first drawn
together. A very warm friendship sprang up between them. They were
one in their deep interest in things spiritual, and no differences
in other matters ever seemed of any importance to either. I
remember well on the occasion of an election in the town, when my
husband’s vote was recorded for the candidate who was being
earnestly opposed by Mr. Balfour, our hearts were cheered by his
calling at our house the evening of the Sunday he was spending in
Liverpool, to bring Mrs. Balfour to our mission-room service.
“The fact of their belonging to different Churches seemed to be
scarcely recognised at times. I can recall a letter we received
from Mr. Balfour in the summer of 1880, when there had been some
anxiety as to the appointment of a first Bishop for Liverpool. In
this letter he expressed his warm approval of the appointment made,
adding that he wished to mark the event by a little thank-offering,
and this was enclosed in a cheque for £100.
“I can scarcely trust myself to speak of my own deep indebtedness
to this dear friend. On two different occasions he sent my dear
husband abroad in the hope of restoring his failing health. How
sensibly impressed with Mr. Balfour’s wondrous liberality he was
may be best gathered, from a last message to him, from his dying
bed at Marseilles. ‘Tell Mr. Balfour, I will be among the first to
welcome him to the everlasting habitations.’
“But it was when I was about to leave Liverpool with my family that
the most touching proof was given me of his loving remembrance of
my husband. And now I love to recall it and love to tell it you. A
letter was brought me enclosing the large sum of £500. I copy our
dear friend’s own words, because they show the spirit in which all
his gifts were made. With kindest reference to the ministry of my
dear husband, his gift is mentioned in the most delicate and
beautiful way. He says, ‘I am sure you will be pleased when I
mention that the Lord has blessed us last year again with
prosperity in business, and from the sum, which He has graciously
committed to me as His steward, I wish to make a contribution to
your and Mr. R----’s children, which I am sure you will accept
from Him.”
There was a touch of delicacy about all his gifts, which made it easy
even for the sensitive to receive them. And though he loved his own
Church, and repeatedly said to us that he would live and die in it, yet
his heart went out to all of every name that loved his Master, as to
brothers and sisters.
What Mr. Balfour’s warm heart was capable of doing, even in cases which
might not seem to have a strong claim upon him, may be gathered from the
following statement, which a friend has furnished. For obvious reasons
names are not given.
“I had the good fortune to make Mr. Balfour’s acquaintance, when he went
out to South America in 1866 with Mrs. Balfour and his little daughter.
I was going to the River Plate with my wife and two young daughters, and
we were fellow-passengers. Owing to an accident which happened to the
machinery, we were obliged to put back to Cork for repairs, and were
detained there for a few days. We made up a party to visit Killarney and
other places, and we were all charmed with the brightness, geniality,
and gentleness of our newly-found friend. He was always on the alert to
do any act of kindness to the ladies and the little ones. Self seemed
forgotten or obliterated. On the voyage he visited the sailors a good
deal, speaking to them, reading to them, and distributing interesting
little books and tracts, of which he always carried a supply. We parted
at Monte Video, and did not meet again till his return from Chile.
“What always struck me in him was his quick and tender sympathy with the
sorrowing and the suffering. Inconvenience, discomfort, sacrifice, never
seemed to weigh with him for a moment, where he thought his presence or
his words would bring alleviation.
“Personally, I was on two occasions the object of kindnesses and
sacrifices which prominently set forth this beautiful phase of his
character. In 1874 I was ordered by my doctor to go to St. Moritz, my
wife being unable to accompany me. On informing him of my intended
journey, and remarking on its loneliness, he most kindly offered to
accompany me. Arrived at our destination, we met several congenial
friends, such as Mr. and Mrs. Donald Matheson, Mr. and Mrs. James E.
Matheson; and whether climbing the mountains or traversing the glaciers,
his bright and cheery presence gave additional zest to every trip we
made. I think I see him now starting with the above-named friends for
the Morteratsch glacier, as we sang in chorus ‘Safe in the arms of
Jesus.’
“During a drive one day, we passed through a village in the Albula Pass,
the greater part of which had been burnt down a few days before. He
stopped the carriage, made inquiries for the _Curé_, and a few days
later sent a handsome donation for the relief of the most destitute. In
another small village he called on the Protestant Pastor, and gathering
that his means were very straitened, he begged his acceptance of a
considerable gift.
“The crowning act of Mr. Balfour’s kindness and generosity towards
myself occurred under the following circumstances. In 1876, through a
succession of unfortunate business transactions, I was brought into such
a critical position, that unless I could obtain time and forbearance, I
was threatened with the loss of a large fortune, or the greater part of
it. I had never had any business relations with Mr. Balfour or his firm,
which might have furnished me with a reason for invoking his advice or
assistance. Moreover, at the time when my misfortunes were pressing on
me, he was overwhelmed with grief at the loss of his eldest son Alister,
which had taken place the previous week. Yet on receipt of a letter from
me, he telegraphed that he would come up next day--it happened to be his
birthday--and advise what he thought best to be done. He reached London
in the afternoon, spent several hours in my office, went carefully into
the statement I laid before him, and advised me as to what he considered
it necessary to do, in order to save my credit and my property.
Expressing his deep sympathy and his earnest desire to help me, he
returned that evening to Mount Alyn. In a few days he advised that his
firm was prepared to assist me with a large sum of money under most
favourable conditions, and that he had also induced another friend to
come forward with assistance. The temporary strain was gradually
relieved: my property was saved for my family. But for him it would have
been sacrificed. Although I and mine owed so much to him, he never in
after years alluded to the subject, and seemed to object to my referring
to all we owed to him. I have always reflected on this act of
self-renouncing sympathy as an index of his generous and noble
nature.... He was always so bright in his sayings and doings, that I
have often thought of him as one who was marching along, animated by the
strain of celestial music which those around him did not hear. Surely
there never was a nobler, braver, gentler, Christian gentleman than
Alexander Balfour!”
The Rev. James Towers of Birkenhead, whose ministry he at one time
attended and greatly valued, lost a daughter in 1859. Mr. Balfour wrote
him a letter of warm sympathy and enclosed a cheque, adding: “I have
reaped your spiritual things, and hope you will never refuse to share in
my carnal things.” Mr. Towers did not fully realise the depth of the
spring of gratitude which had been opened in Mr. Balfour’s heart, till
his retirement from the active work of the ministry in 1880. In a letter
dated the 13th of August in that year, Mr. Balfour says to him: “It was
under your ministry that I was first led to that entire surrender of my
heart to the Lord which marked an epoch in my existence, the gracious
results of which will be unending. While we live on earth we can but
faintly realise what is implied in the text, ‘A child of God by faith in
Jesus Christ.’”
Strokes of affliction fell fast and heavily on Mr. Towers year after
year, till five of his daughters were committed to the grave. Mr. Towers
narrates that, in consequence of the obligations connected with sickness
and death, he felt himself constrained to depart, for a season, from his
usual practice of dedicating a fixed proportion of his income to the
Lord’s cause. At the close of this period, however, with his family
greatly reduced, he felt warranted in resuming his old habit. He
accordingly gave £50. “What was my surprise then,” he says, “when about
the New Year I received a cheque for £50, the exact amount at which I
had assessed myself. Next year the same favour was repeated, and I am
quite assured in both cases it came from Mr. Balfour. This was the
Lord’s doing, and perhaps it contained a reproof to myself for
withholding, even at the worst of times, a portion so due to my
Saviour.... In a long life-time I have known many good men, and some of
them as devout as Mr. Balfour, but I have never intimately known one who
seemed so thoroughly, from the time he gave his whole heart to the Lord,
_to keep it for the Lord_, and to go from strength to strength without
looking back.”
The simple incidents recorded above are narrated not because they were
of an exceptional character, but as a specimen of the deeds of kindness
with which all the path of Mr. Balfour was strewed through life. Often
they were unknown save to the recipients, and sometimes those who were
benefited were ignorant of the source from which kindnesses had come.
We spoke lately of Mr. Balfour to a clergyman who holds a most important
position in an institution that was dear to his heart. “Alexander
Balfour!” he exclaimed, his warm heart touched by his memory, “Alexander
Balfour! If it had not been for him, I don’t know that I should have
been alive to-day. He used to come to me when I was run down by work
that put a strain upon the heart as well as the body, and he would urge
me to go to the country or the seaside for change, putting a cheque in
my hand to enable me to do it: and here I am to this day.”
The following letter was addressed to us by the Rev. Charles Garrett,
once President of the Wesleyan Conference. It is so graphic in its
description of some leading features of the character of Mr. Balfour,
and at the same time so characteristic of the writer himself, that we
cannot do otherwise than present it in its entirety, as it flowed fresh
from a loving and sorrowing heart.
“My acquaintance with Mr. Balfour extended over about twelve years, and
those years are studded with precious memories. He was the most princely
man I have ever known. The good of man and the glory of God were his
supreme ideas. It was his ‘meat and his drink to do the will of his
Father.’ My first acquaintance with him was at Mr. Moody’s meetings, and
the wonderful success of those meetings was greatly the result of his
influence. I especially remember the eagerness with which, at the
all-day convention, he grasped my proposal for the establishment of what
are known as ‘Cocoa Rooms.’ As soon as I had made the proposal, Mr.
Moody turned to him and said, ‘This is just the thing you want; will you
take hold of it?’ and his hearty reply, ‘I will,’ secured the success of
the movement. My suggestion would have been useless but for his
endorsement, and the British Workman Company is _one_ of his monuments.
“Soon after the establishment of the company, the time arrived when,
according to Wesleyan usage, I was to be removed from Liverpool. As soon
as Mr. Balfour heard of this, he came to me and said, ‘This must not be;
you are exerting an influence for good just where you are most needed,
and you must remain.’ I told him that the rules of our Church were never
relaxed on this point. With the impetuosity which was one of his
characteristics when his heart was set upon anything, he said, ‘But they
will have to be relaxed in your case.’ I thought it impossible, but he
set to work, memorialised the Conference, and brought such pressure to
bear, that, to my own astonishment, the Conference gave way, and I was
reappointed to Liverpool. This has changed my destiny and that of my
children. I established the Liverpool Wesleyan Home Mission, which has
now stations in various parts of the city, worked by a staff of two
ministers, seven lay-agents, and a number of voluntary workers. This
Mission is therefore _another_ of his monuments.
“As to personal kindnesses, they are almost innumerable. In every
imaginable way he cheered me on, and helped me in my work. He never met
me without words of cheer, and when help was needed it was given, as he
of all the men I have known knew how to give. When, ten years ago, under
multiplied labours, my health gave way, and I fainted in the pulpit, he
was at my house in a few hours, and everything that could be done to
assist in my recovery was done, before most of the members of my own
Church had heard of my illness. As soon as I could be moved he took me
to his own residence at Mount Alyn, and there for many weeks he watched
over me with more than a brother’s care. My restoration was mainly the
result of his kindness. My experience at Mount Alyn suggested to me the
importance of something being done to provide for the ministers of the
Wesleyan Church who might be in sickness without a Mr. Balfour to assist
them, and I set to work and raised a House of Rest at Colwyn Bay, where
ministers and their families should have such a rest as I had enjoyed at
Mount Alyn. A fund also has been established, by which other ministers
can be sent to Hydropathic Institutions without charge. Thus our
Wesleyan Ministers’ Rest Fund is _another_ of Mr. Balfour’s monuments.
Having said so much, do you wonder that to me his name is ‘as ointment
poured forth?’ ‘A prince and a great man’ fell when Alexander Balfour
passed away. He left a gap that can never be refilled.”
Side by side with this letter, may be placed one from the pen of the
Rev. W. Hay M. H. Aitken, in whose remarkable evangelistic labours Mr.
Balfour took the deepest interest:--
“Alexander Balfour’s life is written on the hearts of many of us, and
will remain there as long as memory lasts.
“I made his acquaintance, I think, at the house of our common friend,
the late Mr. Rowe, of the Dingle. He had been up till then an utter
stranger to me, and I had no reason to suppose that he took any
particular interest in my work. Great was my surprise, therefore, when I
received a letter from him, some little time afterwards, containing a
cheque for £50, to be employed in helping forward my parochial work.
This, like so many of his gifts, was, if I remember rightly, entirely
unsolicited, and it was the first of a long series of acts of
benevolence, to which I was largely indebted for whatever of outward
success seemed to attend my ministry in Everton.
“The acquaintance thus commenced by unlooked-for kindness on his part,
and natural gratitude on mine, soon ripened into the closest personal
friendship, which did not by any means cease when my work at Liverpool
came to an end. I had therefore abundant opportunities of observing,
and, I may say, studying his character, and there are few whom I have
thus closely observed who have left so happy an impression on my mind.
Of his princely liberality it is scarcely necessary for me to speak;
for, though he was far from being ostentatious in his charity, it was
known to all. But I may say he was one of the few men one meets--alas!
that they should be few--who evidently felt giving to be one of the
keenest pleasures of life. He would almost lead you to feel that you
were doing the kindness in accepting, rather than he in bestowing, his
munificent assistance.
“But to pass on to other characteristics, it used to do one distinct
good to be thrown into contact with one who was so intensely, and, shall
I say, resolutely sanguine. He lived at the dawn of a millennium,
commencing already in his own enthusiastic anticipations. You would
never hear him talk nonsense about ‘the good old times,’ or find him
casting a wistful, lingering look behind. Poor dear old grimy,
drink-cursed Liverpool, with all its squalor and wretchedness, he not
only loved, as Adam may have loved Eden, but would insist upon regarding
as being within almost a measurable distance of a Utopian condition. And
it was not only to the town of his election, that these sanguine
anticipations were confined. He believed from his heart that God and
good and right are stronger than the devil and evil and wrong, and
therefore must carry the day. We should most of us add to this
confession of faith, ‘sooner or later;’ but whereas a great many,
perhaps a large majority, of Christian people would say ‘later,’ he most
emphatically maintained ‘_sooner_.’
“But there was nothing fatalistic in this hope. He believed in bringing
about the better state of things which he foresaw, and hence the breadth
and warmth of his sympathy with every effort in the right direction.
Though brought up amidst religious and theological surroundings, that
are usually, (whether rightly or wrongly), supposed to be narrowing, it
was almost impossible for him to be narrow. The largeness of his heart
expanded his mind, and rendered it possible for him to understand and
appreciate what he did not endorse.
“Like most sanguine people, he was impulsive almost to a fault, but then
his impulses were generous; and I observed, too, that he usually
selected for his most trusted friends and counsellors, men of a cautious
and prudent habit of mind, and that he allowed himself to be greatly
influenced by their advice, while he supplied the enthusiasm that might
otherwise have been lacking in their counsels.
“His religion was that of acts rather than words, yet when he did speak
on the subject of religion, one always felt that it lay nearer to his
heart than any other. When in his normal condition, his religion was
full of brightness, and in this respect he did indeed adorn the doctrine
of Christ. Strange that he, to whom the joy of the Lord seemed his
strength, should have been allowed to spend long weary months in the
dungeon of Doubting Castle, and under the most merciless treatment of
Giant Despair. Probably the causes of this trying passage in his
experience, though he knew it not, were mainly physical. At the same
time, it cannot be denied, that those, who enjoy the blessedness of an
unusually sanguine temperament, are liable to sudden and violent
reactions, and perhaps he may have been more affected by this than he
knew. At any rate his name must be added to the list of the many great
and good men--the best perhaps that earth has produced--who, at some
point in their history, have been permitted to fall into despondency.
Thank God the clouds were clean swept from his sky, ere the day closed,
and at eventide there was light.
“Dear, grand, noble man! his was one of the last figures that faded from
my eyes as I started on my voyage to America in 1885. Little did I think
that his voyage was so near its end. And when I returned in February
1886, he was again the first to greet me, as I stepped back on to the
shore of my native land. Perhaps he will be amongst the first of the
many dear ones to reach out a hand of greeting to his old friend, when
my last mission has been closed, and a longer voyage comes to its end.
Peace to his memory--we shall not see his like again!”
William Rathbone, Esq., M.P., whose name is a household word in
Liverpool, was one of those who not only felt the magic of Mr. Balfour’s
indescribable influence, but sought to fathom the sources of his
extraordinary wealth and fruitfulness of service. In a letter to us,
written after his death, Mr. Rathbone speaks as follows:--
“It is much more easy to feel than to express the loss that Liverpool
has sustained, in Mr. Balfour’s death. It is far greater than the loss
of the direct influence of his generosity, great as that generosity was,
or of his exertions to promote every good cause, unwearied as those
exertions were. The influence he exercised over us all effected far more
than his own means and time, devoted as they were to the service of his
fellow-men, could have accomplished.
“He united, in a degree I have rarely met with in any man, or even in
any woman, the three Christian virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity. He
never seemed to doubt that any good object he undertook could be
accomplished, or that those whose help he sought would be less willing
to aid, than he himself was. By his genial faith and hope, he often made
people what he expected them to be; and even when he failed to make the
selfish unselfish, or the sordid generous, this did not seem to excite
anger or contempt for the individual. I do not remember ever to have
heard him express a harsh or severe judgment of any one; he had
indignation for the offence, but not for the offender. He was always
disposed to exaggerate the sacrifices and exertions of others while
unconscious of his own.
“It was this mixture of enthusiasm, geniality, and simplicity of
character which enabled him to carry others with him, and exert so
powerful an influence in Liverpool, in promoting education and those
schemes for the enlightenment and healthy occupation and amusement of
the people, by which he hoped to diminish intemperance and increase
virtue and happiness amongst his fellow-men.”
In smaller matters, the following extract from a letter written by Mr.
Balfour to Mrs. Lundie on the 20th December 1879 shows how he carried
out the Apostolic precept in reference to doing good to all men, but
“especially to them that are _of the household of faith_.” “I ordered a
bale of twenty-five pairs of blankets to be forwarded to you. They are
for distribution to godly poor, or to needy widows.” Countless deeds of
such thoughtful and comforting kindness were the work of the same hand.
It was his habit to make his birthdays the occasion, not so much of
receiving gifts, as of giving them.
At a late period of his life, when the demands upon him were excessive,
and, through the depression of business, his income was curtailed, he
printed a circular postcard regretting that he was “Unable to respond to
the appeal, owing to other numerous calls on his time and resources.”
But though this card passed through the printing-press, it did not go
much further. There were very few cases in which he could bring himself
to apply it.
A sphere of service which Mr. Balfour found to be most congenial was the
Liverpool Young Men’s Christian Association. When he first became
connected with it, the Association was housed in small and unsuitable
premises; it numbered but a scanty roll of members, and its influence in
the town was very limited. He saw what a reserve of power was in the
Association, and straightway set himself to the task of developing that
reserve.
He offered handsome prizes to successful students, he organised evening
classes of various kinds for young men in business, and to make
provision for these, additional rooms were secured. It was not long,
however, before he became convinced that, if the work was to be done on
a scale at all commensurate with the requirements of a great city, it
would be necessary to erect a large and commodious building, furnished
with convenient class-rooms, reading-room, lecture-hall, and all
suitable appliances. A site was purchased in Mount Pleasant, and on it a
stately and ample pile began to rise. Mr. Balfour was a constant visitor
to the building in the course of its erection, keeping a careful eye on
the quality of the work, and ready with suggestions for the perfecting
of all arrangements. His desire was to make the structure a model
building. He watched over it with a fond and unceasing interest, and
after encountering some unlooked-for difficulties, he had the joy of
seeing the work crowned with success. Before all was completed the cost
did not fall much short of £30,000. His friend Mr. Samuel Smith[B] was
closely associated with him in this labour of love, and both bestowed
munificent gifts upon the Institution. The services of Mr. D. L. Moody,
who was in England at the time, were secured to lay the
foundation-stone; and when the building was completed, the late Lord
Shaftesbury formally opened it.
Then followed the great work, of fitting the organisation of the
Association, to its enlarged premises and its enlarged sphere of
operation. This was undertaken with a devotion which esteemed no time
too much to spend, no toil too great to undergo, if only the object
could be furthered. Mr. Balfour was for fifteen years President of the
Association, and, largely owing to his ceaseless fostering care, he had
the joy of seeing his wishes in great measure realised. Mr. A. Ferguson,
who was for seventeen years Chairman of Committee, was ever ready to
co-operate. The roll of members steadily increased, the advantages
offered, material, intellectual, and moral, were multiplied year by
year, the Institute made itself felt throughout the city, and the
blessing of God manifestly rested upon it. A commencement also was made
of a Branch Institution in the north end of the town, which is too
distant from the central Institution, for easy access. Along with the
able and zealous men who were associated with him in the work, he saw,
ere he was called away, his plans carried out. Many young men have had
the seeds of divine truth lodged in their hearts in these Institutions,
many wanderers have been led back to the path from which they had
strayed, and many sufferers have been helped and comforted. The young
men of this great seaport form an exceptionally migratory class, and
scattered on distant shores, not a few of the members of the Liverpool
Association have carried with them, not only the desire to bless their
fellow-men, but the knowledge of the likeliest means of attaining that
end. Happily many remain in their own city, who are beginning to occupy
positions of influence and honour, which they adorn in the fear of the
Lord.
It should be mentioned that Mr. Balfour placed much value on efforts to
make the Association attractive and improving on the social side. He
delighted in inviting the members and their friends to large social
gatherings in the reading-room. And there, all aglow with animation, and
in friendliest relation with all the guests, he moved among them,
trusted and loved by everybody, himself appearing the happiest and
brightest of all the company. Sometimes, as is elsewhere stated, such
gatherings on a still larger scale took place on the green sward of the
fields of Mount Alyn.
Mainly through the public spirit and the munificence of Mr. Samuel
Smith, Mr. Balfour had the joy of seeing the magnificent Gymnasium in
Myrtle Street acquired for the Young Men’s Christian Association. There
the young men, under the able management of Mr. Alexander, have the best
opportunities for physical exercise and muscular development.
At a large meeting of delegates from Young Men’s Christian Associations
throughout the country which was held in Liverpool, Mr. Balfour told
what most endeared these Institutions to his heart. “I rejoice,” he
said, “that this Association has got on its very front and forehead the
word ‘Christian.’ We know very well that this word does not always, on
earth, carry with it the honour it should carry. The world rejected
Christ, and it will reject His followers. Don’t let there be any mistake
on this point: but I am thankful there are so many young men in
Liverpool and elsewhere who are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. You
see printed around the top of the hall of this Association the words, ‘I
determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him
crucified.’ These words, from the First Epistle of St. Paul to the
Corinthians, lead my thoughts from Liverpool and this hall where they
are inscribed, to Corinth where they were first read. Corinth was one of
the greatest centres of commerce in the Apostles’ days, and Liverpool is
one of the greatest centres in our days. St. Paul thought it worth his
while to address two of his principal Epistles, and to devote much toil,
to Corinth: shall we grudge to give hearty labour to Liverpool? St. Paul
knew that the seed sown in Corinth would be scattered with its commerce
to many distant lands; and we know that if Liverpool is largely blessed
of God, that blessing will travel with merchandise, will float in ships,
to far-off countries. Liverpool and Corinth, which I lately visited, are
linked together in my mind. As the Apostle laboured for Corinth, may we
labour for Liverpool; and He who was Paul’s Helper there will be our
Helper here. If we learn to know Jesus Christ as Paul did, we shall find
that salvation from sin is but the beginning of the business. What shall
the end be? With such a hope before us, we shall be able to bear
reproach, labour, everything for Him.”
Mr. Balfour had a picture of Corinth hung in the reading-hall of the
Association, which still reminds us of the sacred linking in his mind,
of that city with the city he most loved.
We must pause. We might go over a much wider range of charities in
Liverpool and elsewhere, and still meet with Mr. Balfour. But enough has
been said. He resembled the good King Hezekiah, of whom we read, “In
every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the
law and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his
heart, and prospered.” With a Lord High Chancellor of England who was
asked the secret of his multifarious achievements, he might have said,
“I am a whole man to one thing at a time.”
As we thus dwell on the generous deeds of Mr. Balfour, and yet find that
while he cared for others, God cared for him and his, we are reminded of
another of Liverpool’s citizens of bright memory, who was born so long
ago as 1685. We refer to Bryan Blundell, the founder of a charity of
which he himself, writing in 1751, thus speaks: “The charity school has
cost between £2000 and £3000, and was finished in 1718, at which time I
gave for the encouragement of the charity £750, being one tenth of what
it pleased God to bless me with; and did then purpose to give the same
proportion of whatever He should indulge me with in time to come, for
the benefit and encouragement of the same charity. So great has been the
mercy and providence of God in prospering me in business, that I have
made up the £750 to £2000, which I have paid to the use of the school;
and my children, six in number, the youngest of them now near thirty
years of age, are so far from wanting or being worse for what I have
given to the school, that they are all benefactors to it, some of them
more than £100 at a time. I may truly say, whilst I have been doing for
the children of the school, the good providence of God hath been doing
for mine.”[C]
It is the divine rule, “There is that scattereth and yet increaseth.”
God will be careful for the children of those who are careful for the
interests of His children. May men like Bryan Blundell and Alexander
Balfour who walk after this rule be multiplied in Liverpool and in our
cities--
“Till each man finds his own in all men’s good,
And all men work in noble brotherhood.”
Mr. Balfour had it for a guiding principle to give all he could while he
lived. He held it little credit for a man to give, when he left the
world, what he had no power to keep. Giving was one of the chief joys of
his life; it made him radiant. Hence those who love and labour for their
city are disposed to link him with Timothy, of whom the Apostle said, “I
have no man like-minded who will naturally care for your state.”
Mr. Balfour kept before him in his desk, an extract, carefully copied by
his own hand, from a paper by Dr. Duff of Calcutta, on “Liberality as a
Means of Sanctification.” He evidently framed his giving on the
principle it embodies. It is as follows:--“Men’s tendency by nature
being to trust in uncertain riches, so as to derive their contentment
and serenity mainly from them, instead of from faith and confidence in
the love and promise of Him who has at His command the boundless stores
of providence and grace,--the only effectual antidote of Divine
appointment is freely, cheerfully, and liberally to part with them, for
the benefit of the poor and ignorant; and thus to create and cherish a
growing sense of perpetual dependence on God, a gradual, and ultimately
complete, severance from all undue trust in the perishable substance of
earth, and a continued accumulation of treasure in heaven.” Perhaps it
was because Mr. Balfour so steadfastly followed this rule, that the
“perishable substance of earth” had so slight a hold upon him.
There exists in Liverpool a large class of children who are destitute,
suffering, and in many cases neglected. They are early left orphans, or
they find themselves from infancy in the slums of the city, amid an
environment unfavourable alike to material and moral well-being.
Attention had not been strongly directed to the condition of these poor
children, but some sixteen years ago the public mind began to be stirred
in reference to the matter. Mr. Balfour, when calling on Miss Annie
M’Pherson, so honourably known for her successful work in the rescue of
waifs in London, met her sister Mrs. Birt. With quick discernment of eye
and heart, he saw that one was before him, singularly fitted for
carrying on a similar effort in Liverpool. He invited Mrs. Birt to
Liverpool; and in a meeting of half-a-dozen friends, the work of
child-rescue was discussed. The thing was unfamiliar to the little
company, and difficulties were foreseen, but the faith and enthusiasm of
Mr. Balfour won the acquiescence of all who were present. Very modestly
and quietly the enterprise began. A few Christian ladies met to work
together and to pray for the perishing. Sympathisers came forward among
the merchants of Liverpool, and none earlier or more cordially than Mr.
Samuel Smith and Mr. S. Williamson, who has held the post of Chairman
ever since the Association began its benevolent career in Liverpool.
The movement has grown and prospered, under the blessing of God. Boys
are sheltered in one Home, girls in another. The Committee are taking
steps to erect a special building for the “Sheltering Home,” as it is
fittingly called. Meantime, every year, orphans and imperilled little
ones are gathered in by Mrs. Birt, are cared for, are trained, are
instructed in the gospel. The change wrought upon them in a few brief
weeks is almost magical. Drawn often from unclean and unkindly homes,
their hearts open, as the daisy opens to the sun, under the influence of
Christian love and the brightness of their new surroundings. Hope takes
the place of gloom, and perhaps of fear.
After preliminary training, the children are taken out to Canada by Mrs.
Birt herself, or sent out in batches under suitable superintendents.
Three thousand children have thus been rescued from want and danger, and
placed in happy homes in Canada. The present writer has visited many of
them there, and can bear testimony to the comfort and happiness which
they almost invariably find, in the Christian homes of farmers and
others selected for their reception. It is believed that not less than
95 per cent. of these children turn out good and useful citizens. For
the present, this method of rescuing and providing for our city waifs
seems the best and most effectual, as it is certainly the most
economical, known to us. Mr. Balfour delighted in the work, turned a
copious stream of his liberality into it, and in many ways encouraged
Mrs. Birt and her fellow-labourers. He was often present among the
little ones, and loved to watch their changing appearance, as the
effects of shelter, food, instruction, and kindness made themselves
manifest. He also visited the receiving Home at Knowlton, in the
province of Quebec, and satisfied himself in regard to the condition of
the children, when on the other side of the Atlantic.
For the rescued little ones, the land to which they go is a veritable
land of promise. When nearing the green and sunny shores of Canada on
one of the trips, a little girl said, with wistful look, to the writer,
“Is this the better land?” As we looked into her bright wondering eyes,
we seemed to read the thoughts which passed within. The squalor, the
hunger, the poverty, the harshness in deed and coarseness in word of the
slum, which she had called home, were all left behind. She had heard and
had been taught, with other little ones, to sing of a “happy land, far,
far away,” where such things had no place.
Bright sunshine bathed the beautiful shore of the St. Lawrence, peace
rippled on the quiet glancing waters, kindness was round about the child
like a garment. Was it strange if the enchantment of a change so sudden
and so great was upon her, and if in her little mind the thought of the
“land that is very far off” was sweetly blended with what she felt,
when first she gazed upon the fair land that was to be her earthly
home? May the green fields of Canada prove to this simple child, and to
many of our British waifs, the way to the country where the pastures are
yet more green and the waters yet more still.
Among the many objects which shared Mr. Balfour’s interest, there was
perhaps none which appealed more directly to his loving heart, none
which he regarded with more confidence and thankfulness, than this work
of child-emigration.
At the annual meetings of the “Sheltering Home” and of the “Ragged
School Union,” Mr. Balfour hammered with persistent energy at strong
drink, and the lavish facilities for obtaining it, as the main producers
of destitution and crime.
In Mr. Balfour’s wanderings the world over, it was the same with him;
his heart was always devising liberal things for the causes he loved. No
interest of travel, no novelty of scene, could repress his loving help.
We give a brief extract from his diary in 1882, as a specimen of many
such:--“_Athens, May 18._--Devoted the day till four o’clock to writing.
Wrote to Dr. Trumbull my sympathies with Mrs. Trumbull and himself, on
the death of dear Mary. Made offer, subject to approval of Mr.
Williamson, Mr. Merwin, and himself, of founding a Training Institution
at Valparaiso, for Chilian school masters and mistresses, and of its
maintenance for five years.”
His brother-in-law, Dr. R. Roxburgh, writes: “I remember one day in the
autumn of 1883, when I was with Mr. Balfour in New York, he returned to
our hotel from the American Board of Missions in great spirits, saying,
‘I have found just the man for ---- (a missionary station in Chile), and
I shall have the pleasure of myself supporting him there.’”
An example, like that on which we have been dwelling, teaches us where
lie the real value of life and the true use of means. The weighty words
of Canon Westcott on this theme are well worthy of being pondered. He
says: “Life, then, we can see, consists not in abundance, in the
overflowing richness of unemployed resources; it springs not
spontaneously from the things which we possess, from our original
endowments, as the necessary product of natural gifts. It is the
opportunity of the individual to win for God, by God’s help, that which
lies within his reach; to accomplish, on a scale little or great, the
destiny of humanity as it has been committed to him: to consecrate, it
may be, splendid wealth to common service; to transfigure sordid cares
by a divine vision.”[D]
There were some spheres in which Mr. Balfour was asked, but did not
consent, to serve. He was on more than one occasion invited to become a
candidate for a seat in Parliament. The matter was carefully considered,
and it was his deliberate judgment that that was not the field in which
he could do best service. He used to say that his post was, to take a
share in the great work of educating that public opinion, upon which all
valuable legislation must be based. And doubtless he judged rightly. He
was in full sympathy with the Liberal party in the state, but with his
temperament and character, it would have been impossible for him to work
on party lines. He would have found himself in frequent and perhaps
impatient embarrassment, between the ideal at which he aimed, and the
possibilities of practical legislation. The man who laboured most, and
most practically, for the social and moral elevation of his countrymen
was his man, whether Whig or Tory. The great questions bearing on the
amelioration of the condition of the people, with which his head, heart,
and hands were full, were better served by him outside the House of
Commons.
He accepted a commission as Justice of the Peace for Denbighshire. In
that capacity he did what he could to check crime, and abridge the
sources of temptation in the county; but he felt, and perhaps chafed
under, the limitations which a fair consideration of all the interests
involved must impose on the action of every righteous magistrate, in
administering the existing license-law. The rate of possible progress
was painfully slow. This experience stimulated the desire for improved
license legislation, of which we shall have by-and-by to speak.
It is not possible for even the best of men to do the best of service in
every department. God has not so distributed gifts to mankind. Mr.
Balfour had, through life, to contend with the hastiness of temper which
characterised him in childhood. But he had gained such mastery over it,
especially in his later years, that many who were closely associated
with him saw no traces of it. So much cannot be said in reference to the
impetuosity which was natural to him. It had its uses, and helped to
overbear many obstacles in his career of beneficence. But it had its
drawbacks also, as his friends sometimes felt, if unable to arrive at
the same conclusion with himself. From the intensity of his own
convictions, he found it difficult to comprehend or brook divergence of
opinion, on points connected with what he deemed urgent duty, in the
interest of his fellows. Yet it was a fine thing to watch the struggle
which he maintained with his impetuous nature, and to see him at times,
after days of reflection, entirely abandon some cherished position, and
unconditionally lay down his arms. A certain sense of the danger arising
from his eager impetuosity appears in the circumstance, that the trusted
friends, to the test of whose criticism he was in the habit of
submitting his own conclusions, were men distinguished for coolness and
sobriety of judgment. And without unduly drawing aside the veil which
conceals the sanctities of the home, it may be added, that no counsel
was more valued by him, than that of his own wife; nor could he find in
his heart to persist in any plan or purpose, in which his eager
impetuosity was not buttressed by her calm and deliberate approval.
He appears to have enjoyed almost entire freedom from speculative
doubts, in religious matters. This immunity was favourable to the course
of Christian activity, in which he delighted. But it unquestionably
tended to disqualify him for some branches of service. He could not put
himself in the position, nor understand the perplexities, of men of a
speculative turn of mind. His grasp of “those things which are most
surely believed” among Christians, never relaxed. If a side-glance
rested for a moment on the agnostic or sceptical views of the day, he
immediately plunged into useful work, and was satisfied. He could not,
therefore, be a helpful counsellor of young men whose faith was
disturbed, or whose minds were unsettled by honest doubts. This task was
for others, not for him; unless, indeed, we recognise that a life like
his, of pure motive and of lofty aim, contained in it, an argument, more
potent than logic can formulate, for the reality of those principles
which had made him what he was.