interests, without reference to motives of a higher character, they would make the most resolute and persevering attempts to raise up Africa; not to divide her broad territory amongst them, nor enslave her people, but in order to elevate her into something like an equality with themselves, for their reciprocal benefit." (Page 525.) to Then follows a powerful appeal to the best feelings of humanity, and to our national sense of duty, in favour of instant, strenuous, and persevering efforts, in despite of the difficulties and delay which may reasonably be anticipated; which appeal is urged by a consideration of the vastness of the benefit those efforts may instrumentally confer on Africa. "But I am well aware, that it is a case in which we must act under circumstances of considerable discouragement; and especially that of our great ignorance with regard to the real internal condition of Africa, both physical and moral. "Upon any other subject, the dimness of our knowledge would supply an unanswerable reason for pausing; but the state of Africa admits of no delay. The complicated horrors which are crowded into the space of a single month furnish sufficient reasons for all possible dispatch, and for adventuring on measures which, under other circumstances, would be premature, and probably rash. Better to fall into a thousand errors in the detail, and to incur the expense and mortification of the miscarriages they will cause, than to sit still, and leave Africa to her woful fate. "If nothing be done, Africa will be, at the end of fifty or a hundred years, what she now is, and we shall still be as ill-informed as we now are of the readiest means for her relief. But if we grapple with the evil, we shall either find ourselves in the right road, or grope our way to it; and the very mistakes we now make will serve to direct us aright hereafter. "I am not so sanguine as to suppose that we can at once, by a single effort, solve the problem which lies before us. The deliverance of Africa will put our patience and perseverance to no ordinary trial. We must deliberately make up our minds to large and long-continued expense, to persevering labours, and to severe disappointments. I wish not in any degree to conceal from myself, or from others, these truths. "But the question is, Shall such an mighty arguments which should prompt experiment be made? There are two us to such an undertaking: the intense miseries of Africa, and the peculiar blessings which have been showered upon this country by the mercy of divine Providence. With regard to the first, I need not again plunge into the sickening details of the horrors which accompany this bloody trade, and of the sanguinary rites which there bear the name of religion. Whether we look to the vast space which is there made a theatre of public misery, or calculate how many deeds of cruelty and carnage must be perpetrated every day in the year, in order to make up the surprising total of human distress, which, by indisputable documents, we know to be realized, there is enough to awaken the deepest pity, and to arouse the most energetic resolution. "Turning to the second consideration, we cannot fail to see how signally this nation has been preserved, and led forward to an extent of power and prosperity, beyond what almost any other nation has been permitted to reach. It is not to be doubted, that this country has been invested with wealth and power, with arts and knowledge, with the sway of distant lands, and the mastery of the restless waters, for some great and important purpose in the government of the world. Can we suppose otherwise than that it is our office to carry civilization and humanity, peace and good government, and, above all, the knowledge of the true God, to the uttermost end of the earth?'* And "Since that passage was written, Great Britain has refuted the idle, yet once the all-but-universal, doctrine, that confusion, havoc, and bloodshed must follow the extinction of slavery. with this doctrine of universal convulsion has also fallen the allegation, that Negroes will not work, except under the impulse of the whip. It is confessed, by every authority, that wages have charmed away what used to be called the natural and incurable indolence of the African,' I do not say a single word here upon the controverted question, whether the Negroes demand excessive remuneration. We may assume, for the sake of argument, that they are exorbitant. This may be a fault, though, under all the circumstances, not an unnatural or surprising one; but this does not touch my *The Rev. Mr. Whewell's Sermon before the Trinity Board." assertion, grounded upon all the papers which have been produced to Parliament, that, when satisfied with the rate of wages, they do labour industriously, and execute more work, in better style, and in less time, than when they were slaves. There never was a greater delusion than that Negroes could not be induced to work for money. "A nobler achievement now invites us. I believe that Great Britain can, if she will, under the favour of the Almighty, confer a blessing on the human race. It may be that, at her bidding, a thousand nations now steeped in wretchedness, in brutal ignorance, in devouring superstition, possessing but one trade, and that one the foulest evil that ever blighted public prosperity, or poisoned domestic peace, shall, under British tuition, emerge from their debasement, enjoy a long line of blessings,-education, agriculture, commerce, peace, industry, and the wealth that springs from it; and, far above all, shall willingly receive that religion which, while it confers innumerable temporal blessings, opens the way to an eternal futurity of happi ness. "I have already confessed, that I am not experienced or skilful in matters which touch the commercial part of the question. I tread this ground with diffidence. I say no more, than that it appears to me that, the soil in Africa being rich, and the people being found upon it, it is not advisable to carry them to a distance. It is possible, however, that some fallacy, unsuspected by me, may lurk under my theory, if theory of mine it can be called; but when I come to humanity, justice, and the duties of Christian men, I stand upon a rock. It may be, or it may not, that while we act under the impulse of charity to the most afflicted of mankind, we are also obeying the dictates of the most far-sighted policy, and the most refined ambition. It may prove, or it may not, that, while we are leading Africa to grow at home cheaper sugar than Brazil, and cheaper cotton than the United States, we are renovating the very sinews of our national strength. Be this as it may, without doubt, it is the duty of Great Britain to employ the influence and the strength which God has given her, in raising Africa from the dust, and ena bling her, out of her own resources, to beat down slavery and the slave-trade. "I am aware, that it is quite a different question, whether the means I propose are practicable, and likely to be crowned with success. It belongs to the nation to consider whether the suggestions now offered, and the policy which I have ventured to recommend, are likely to eradicate that mighty evil which desolates Africa, degrades Europe, and afflicts humanity. If it shall appear that my views are not chimerical; that they have some grounds of reason in themselves, and are fortified by a great mass of evidence of a practical nature; and if it shall appear, that, whether we look to the great interests of humanity, or consult the prosperity and honour of the British empire, it is our duty to proceed, undeterred by difficulty, peril, or expense; then, I trust, that steps will be taken, boldly and rapidly, for the accomplishment of the object." (Pages 525-530.) "But if it shall appear, that this and every other plan are likely to be futile, or if the Government shall not feel itself justified in braving the difficulties and expense which will be required, then must I express my painful conviction, that it would be better for the interests of humanity, that we should withdraw altogether from the struggle; better to let the planters of America satiate themselves with their victims, than to interpose our efforts, unavailing in reducing the magnitude of the evil, while they exasperate the miseries which belong to it; better to do nothing, than to go on, year after year, at great cost, adding to the disasters, and inflaming the wounds, of Africa. But I cannot contemplate such a result. I must hope better things." (Page 530.) Having given utterance to this burst of feeling, Mr. Buxton thus beautifully concludes : "The case is now fairly laid before the nation. It belongs to no individual, to no party; it is a distinct and isolated question. My desire has been to lay it upon the national conscience of Great Britain. There I must leave it; having fully stated what I believe to be the only remedy, and the best means of applying that remedy. "I find, in the sacred writings, a faithful picture of sorrows, such as those with which Africa is now afflicted; but I find also annexed to that description a prophetic promise, which we must fervently desire to see realized to miserable Africa : "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Before these days, there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neigh bour. "But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts. For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dews; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things." " Such an appeal to the national conscience and the public sympathy could not possibly be made in vain. Exeter Hall has already borne witness to the effect produced; and the combination of rank and talent, the union of persons of all political parties, and almost all religious persuasions, which was there exhibited, encourages the hope, that the "Society for the Extinction of the Slavetrade and the Civilization of Africa" will obtain support adequate to the greatness and justice of its claims. We entertain the most confident persuasion, that the hearts of our Wesleyan friends beat warm in this noble cause. It would be strange indeed, as Dr. Bunting justly remarked at the public Meeting, if a religious body which was among the first to think of the Negro, and which, during the last fifty years, has made a larger expenditure, both of money and valuable Missionary life, for Africa and her injured race, than many others have had the opportunity of doing, it would be strange indeed, should they prove indifferent to a plan which promises to confer such great and manifold benefits upon the objects of their sympathy and compassion; which proposes, not merely to deliver Africa from one of the worst of human evils, but also to confer upon her the greatest amount of positive good. While, with ourselves, they wish success to every judicious effort to diminish the slave-trade, by lessening the demand beyond the Atlantic, they will especially hail a scheme which has for its object to put an end to the accursed traffic, by means of a process which, under the blessing of Heaven, will tend to raise Africa to a place among the Christian and civilized nations of the earth. Extensive pecuniary aid is, however, necessary, to enable the new Society to enter upon the noble field of usefulness which has been marked out: and our Wesleyan friends, we trust, will bear with us, while we respectfully urge upon them the importance of a prompt expression of their zeal, by enrolling themselves, without delay, among the contributors to the Society's funds; and by uniting with their fellow-Christians and philanthropists of other names, to form Auxiliary and Branch Societies, for the diffusion of information in their respective neighbourhoods, and for enlisting the public generally in the support of the cause. Nor must prayer-earnest, believing, persevering prayer-be neglected. The greatness of the task to be performed, the multiplied difficulties to be surmounted, might well induce despondency, were we unduly to rely on human means. But with God all things are possible; and, in answer to prayer, his blessing will not be withheld; the word of promise shall be accomplished; and Africa, as a part of that renovated world which we now contemplate in the bright visions of prophecy, shall blessedly participate in the fulfilment of the prediction respecting Zion's prosperity:-"He will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord." RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE. RELIGIOUS ANNIVERSARIES LATELY HELD IN LONDON. (Concluded from page 499.) XV. THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN TEMPERANCE SOCIETY. THE Ninth Annual Meeting of this Society was held at the Queen's ConcertRooms, Hanover-square, on Saturday, May 9th. The Meeting was addressed by the Bishop of Norwich, the Chairman; the Bishop of Chichester; the Rev. Chancellor Raikes; Lord Teignmouth; Admiral Sir James Hildyar, &c. The Report, which was read by the Secretary, the Rev. Owen Clarke, narrated the pleasing effects of the various operations of the Society, in the spread of temperance, as well as in the powerful check opposed to drunkenness. XVI. THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN SCHOOL SOCIETY. THE Thirty-fifth general Meeting of the subscribers and friends to this institution was held at Exeter-Hall, on Monday, May 11th. In the absence of Lord John Russell, Sir George Grey, Bart., took the chair. The CHAIRMAN stated, that the object of the Society was, the education of the great mass of the people, not founded on the peculiar distinctions of any one denomination among the many into which the Christian world is divided; but, so far as the religious character of it is concerned, placed on the unerring word of God; and, therefore, the best calculated to prove an effectual antidote to that moral evil which daily experience convinces us is still so rife in the world, and to bring the light of scriptural knowledge into the minds of the people, and thus to promote their happiness here, and to prepare them for eternal happiness hereafter. The Report was read by the Secretary, HENRY DUNN, Esq. It commenced by referring to the decease of the Society's late President, the Duke of Bedford, and stated that the present Duke had consented to occupy his place. The model-schools continued to afford the same unmingled satisfaction which it had been the privilege of the Committee in past years so unequivocally to express. The experience of each successive year deepened the conviction of the importance of the training establishment. It also referred to the new normal school; and stated that, at least £20,000 would be required for the purpose of completing it, £11,000 being the whole amount yet received. In the distribution of the Government-grant, 78 applications from The to Fo British schools had been made. The BISHOP OF NORWICH moved the adoption of the Report. Among other observations, he addressed the following to the Meeting :-I would address a few words on the state of things between the Church of England and Dissenters, which, I think, deserves their consideration. We hear of Socialism: Socialism is abroad. What is Socialism? If I define it aright, it is a statement, that we are the children of circumstances; that circumstances are our masters, and that we are bound to obey them. Now, we, as Christian men, should reverse the order of things: we should make circumstances bend to us, and we should be their masters, and not their servants. But, to the application. There is, if I mistake not, according to the definition I have given, too much Socialism among Dissenters; as also in the Church of England. That is to say, we are creatures of circumstances. I am born of the Church of England; others are born members of the Church of England, and bred up in that persuasion. Few persons like to investigate and reason for themselves. They will be like their fathers before them that which they have learned, that will they follow, and never go another way. Is not that a bowing down to circumstances? Most assuredly it is; and therefore we in the Church are sometimes apt to trample rather too severely on those who are without the pale. But we are not the only guilty ones. There is quite as much Socialism amongst Dissenters. I speak that which I believe; and I will not disguise my sentiments for any man amongst Dissenters. They learn of Churchmen; they look at them through a tortuous, misty atmosphere, and consider them as I know not what. I wish Dissenters could but follow me into parishes that I could name in Norfolk. I think they would then form a very different estimate of the Clergy: they would not bow to circumstances; but they would acknowledge the merits of our Church. The Church of England stands upon a rock, provided its Clergy do their duty; and every day our Clergy are increasing in zeal and efficiency, and the active performance of every duty of their sacred calling; and as long as they do that, I consider it is the bounden duty of every conscientious Dissenter to support them, because they are the means, connected as they are with the State, and with great power in their hands, of disse minating far and wide the great doctrines by which we are to be influenced, and which we all hold essential to our salvation. First, I have spoken of the Clergy doing their duty: when they cease to do their duty, when and where they are apathetic, then it is time to rise; and I shall not then be found to be the man to disregard, but rather to be thankful for, zeal from another quarter. My friends among the Dissenters, I will speak a word to you. The Church of England, as long as its Clergy do their duty, will stand, in spite of every effort to overthrow it. The Church of England, whether by antiquity or by prejudice, no matter, is linked and entwined, and has taken root in the hearts of Englishmen. It is like an oak-tree: its roots penetrate deep into the ground; and it will blunt the edge of the sharpest axe which you can bring against it. I am willing to believe that every conscientious Dissenter is, after all, not the enemy of the Church that I belong to. I will conclude with a simile drawn from a Dissenter's lips. He is present, and, if he is to speak, I know he will envy me the pleasure of repeating an anecdote so creditable to him, and so applicable to what I have to say on the subject. That Dissenter, at a public Meeting at which I was present, said, that he was once standing at his father's door, in the picturesque scenery of the Lakes, and he saw before him the village spire rising, and at a short distance, right and left, an Independent chapel and a Methodist meeting. While he looked, a dark cloud arose it was the darkness of falling rain; but there was the sun behind it; and, while he looked, the bow of the covenant, the rainbow, rose and spread its ample arms, embracing the church and the chapels on either side. I, too, will make my simile; and with that simile I will conclude. The Church of England is the key-stone of one wide arch, under which every denomination may bask, or form a part. Remove that key-stone, and the arch will fall; and great will be the ruin it would cause. One remark more: we are doing our duty, I trust; and, therefore, I claim your assistance and support. When we fail, do your duty. In the mean time, if there is to be rivalry, let it be the rivalry of Christianity in a Gospel spirit. M. GUIZOT (the French Ambassador) rose to second the Resolution, amid long-continued plaudits. I am afraid I shall be but imperfectly understood; but if I am a foreigner by language, I am not a foreigner in heart. I shall speak sincerely, if not correctly. I thank you from my heart for your kind feeling towards me; but I thank you much more for what you have done, and will yet do, for the great and noble cause of public instruction. We express every day our feelings of compassion for the sufferings, miseries, and dangers to which so many thousands, I may say, millions, of our fellow-creatures are exposed. They want food, fire, and clothing, and we do |