THE LATE REV. W. M. PUNSHON.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2228, 19 April 1881, Page 2

THE LATE REV. W. M. PUNSHON.

From " Men of the Time” wo loam that the Rev,- "William Morley Punshon, Wesleyan minister, was born in 1824, at Donc.ster, where his father was a draper, entered in 1838 the office of his grandfather, a timber merchant at Hall, where he obtained a position beyond his years, and soon became possessed with a strong desire to study for the ministry. He accordingly zealously strove to qualify himself to fulfil this self imposed task, and commenced his career at Sunderland in 1840, by undertaking the duties of a “ local preacher,” a preparatory ministerial office peculiar to Wesleyan Methodists. Four years later, after passing a short term ns a probationer at the Wesleyan College, Richmond, he accepted his first pastoral charge in the ministry at Marden, in Kent. The report of his success here was not long in leaching tto leaders of the Wesleyan connection. At the “ Conference ” of 1845 he was appointed to the ministry of Whitehaven in Cumberland, and, although only twenty-one years of age, hie reputation was such that people flocked to hear him from all parts. He ministered in various parts of the country, besides visiting the metropolis, where his addresses both from the pulpit and the platform attracted considerable attention. In 1868 ho loft this country for Canada, and married his deceased wife’s sister, a proceeding which led to his being struck off the “ Legal Hundred ” by the Wesleyan Conference. The lady with whom Mr Punchou formed this connection died in October, 1871. During his residence in the Dominion he was five times president of the Canadian Conference. Ho returned to England in 1873, and in July, 1874, he was elected president of the Wesleyan Conference for the ensuing year. Many of bis Gormans and lectures, published since his removal to London in 1858, are very popular, especially the lectures on "John liunyan ” and the “ Huguenots.” Mr Punshon has also published a small volume of poems.