unnatural and factitious development of religious emotions, when exercises have been encouraged, feelings indulged, and spiritual things said and done, beyond rational propriety and warrantable experience. Cases of this sort often terminate and it is quite to be expected that they should terminate-in heartless indifference to all religion, in secret scepticism, in open unbelief, or in thorough and reckless depravity.

The fact is, that the religious training of the young, is at once one of the most important and noble, and one of the most difficult and hazardous duties that man can undertake. It requires judgment and piety, temper and tenderness, knowledge of the heart, discrimination of character, faith, and prayer,—with other intellectual and spiritual qualifications-to a degree which few imagine and fewer possess. In one form or other, it is the designed instrument, by which the church of Christ is to be preserved and perpetuated, wherever it has once been established and organized. It rests upon parents with an emphasis of obligation which it is impossible to exaggerate. Alas! most persons become parents without any conception of their prospective responsibilities, and "when, for the time, they should be teachers, have need that one teach them again what be the first principles of the oracles of God." In places of public education, religious discipline is, in an especial manner, the assumption and the discharge of parental duty. This circumstance obviously imparts to it a very tender and sacred character. It claims for it the profound and earnest thoughts of those by whom it is professedly undertaken, and it demands also for them, the hearty co-operation, the sympathy, and the aid, of those whose primary obligations they fulfil. THIS INSTITUTION PROFESSES DEEPLY AND REVERENTLY TO REGARD IT. I hope and trust that it ever will, in all its directors and all its agents, and in a manner as distinguished for wisdom as for zeal. In consistency with what I have just said, I must beg to remind the parents of the pupils, that very much depends upon themselves. They are not to expect that children, whose first years have been neglected, can be sent hither, and be made over again, as if by magic. They are not to wonder if the school be unsuccessful, when home and the holidays counteract its influence. Nothing can be done, in this matter, to any purpose, but as fathers and mothers give their support. Here, the principles and spirit of the domestic circle are all but omnipotent.

PRESENTATION OF THE ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA TO THE REV. ROBERT MOFFAT.

On Thursday, the 3rd of November, a social meeting was held in the Waterloo rooms, Edinburgh, on the occasion of presenting to the Rev. Robert Moffat, missionary to South Africa, a copy of the Encyclopædia Britannica, as a mark of esteem from friends in Edinburgh. The room was crowded in every quarter.

The Rev. Mr. ALEXANDER, of Argyle Square Chapel, having been called to the chair, introduced the business of the evening, by stating the object of the meeting, and the circumstances which had given rise to the presentation of the Encylopædia Britannica to Mr. Moffat; after which the Rev. Mr. GREY, of St. Mary's Church, in an eloquent address, called the attention of the meeting to the arduous and devoted labours of their distinguished guest, and the signal services he had rendered to humanity in introducing pure religion and civilization among tribes till then sunk in the grossest ignorance and deepest depravity; in which benevolent and pious labours he had been ably assisted by Mrs. Moffat, who, with her husband, had not hesitated to relinquish all the comforts and enjoyments of her home in England, for privation, suffering, and danger, among savages, for the sake of the Gospel.

An elegantly bound copy of the Encyclopædia Britannica having been brought in and placed on the table, the Chairman expressed the satisfaction with which he felt himself called upon to present to Mr. Moffat, a work which had been characterized by an eminent statesman, and the man of all others, perhaps, who from his varied attainments, was most competent to judge of such a work, as one of the most valuable and useful digests of science and literature that had ever been published in any country. After enlarging at some length on the value of such a work to any one situated as Mr. Moffat had been, and now expected to be again; and expressing a hope that, through the means of this book, the light of civilization might be diffused still more widely over the continent of Africa, the Chairman presented the work to Mr. Moffat, having first read the inscription, which was to the following effect :— To the Rev. Robert Moffat, of the London Missionary Society, this work, the ablest and most copious digest of human knowledge at present extant, is affectionately presented, by a few of his friends in the metropolis of his native country, and its vicinity, as a token of their respect for his character as a man, an expression of their admiration of his zeal and labour as a Missionary, and a memorial to him when he shall revisit the scene of his labours, of intercourse with Christian brethren in Scotland, the recollection of which will be retained by them so long as life endures."

Mr. MOFFAT then rose and expressed his heartfelt gratitude to those kind friends who had presented him with a work which would be of such incalculable benefit to him in his labours. The present they had made him was too great for him; but he was relieved when he reflected, that the advantage to be derived from it was not to be confined to himself, but through him that it was to be communicated to the Betchuanas and other barbarous tribes of Africa. Often did he wish for such a work when he was in quest of information which would have been of essential importance to him, but alas, his sources of information were but few. After giving some interesting anecdotes of the people among whom he had been labouring, he took that opportunity of thanking all the kind friends who had contributed to assist the mission, and referred especially to the Marquis of Bristol, by whose liberality he had been enabled to provide himself with two instruments which he had often longed to possess, a telescope and a microscope. He would now be able to impress the Betchuanas with a more exalted idea of the great God whom we worship, and he considered himself now richly, furnished with books and instruments, which would enable him to prosecute his labours with greater success.

The Rev. Dr. BROWN, of Broughton Place Church, then gave a beautiful valedictory address, in which he expressed the earnest wishes of the meeting for the health, happiness, and prosperity of Mr. and Mrs. Moffat, and for his fellow labourers, Mr. and Mrs. Inglis, who accompany him to South Africa; and concluded by bidding them all an affectionate farewell.

After this, the Rev. J. WATSON, of Mussleburgh, in an impressive prayer commended Mr. Moffat and his companions to God. And thus ended one of the most gratifying and memorable meetings which it has been the privilege of the friends of missions in the northern metropolis to enjoy.

STATE OF THE FRENCH CANADIANS.

THOUGH an unwillingness to wound the feelings of any by exposing the degradation of this people inclines us to be silent, yet a conviction that we ought to make it known to the Christian world, constrains us to enter into some details respecting their pitiable state. The temporal condition of many, although hitherto bad, is now becoming worse. Their farms are exhausted by over-cropping, producing little, and that injured by the fly; and to crown the evil, mortgaged frequently to nearly their value. They are so ignorant of agriculture as until recently to sell their manure to old country neighbours, and even now in many instances are tempted to do so by the trifling remuneration it brings. Nor is it to be wondered at, when the same description of implements and system of agriculture prevail which their forefathers brought with them two centuries ago from the plains of Brittany.

At the present day it is computed that only one in fifteen can read, while scarcely any can write, and of even the rudiments of general knowledge there is an entire ignorance. It is true, in the cities and large towns, schools are beginning to be established and a better system of instruction employed; but in country parts the labours of the schoolmaster are principally confined to teaching by rote the Catechism of the Church of Rome, the communication of a scriptural or liberal education being not within the range of his ability.

The moral and religious state of the people is not less to be deplored, nor can it be expected to be elevated, when the Bible is denied them, and the Sabbath trampled upon by their spiritual guides. The after part of this blessed day, viewed by the Romish Church as a day of rest and worldly recreation, is spent by the priests generally in such occupations as card-playing, or more rarely in fowling. As for the mass of the people, after listening in the morning to a service the meaning and language of which they know nothing of, and having exhibited their finery and the beauty of their horses or vehicles; settled accounts with the village storekeepers, or concluded bargains with their neighbours, they return home to spend the hallowed hours of the Lord's-day in card-playing, story-telling, racing, shooting, cock-fighting, or in intemperance and vice. Happily there is a prospect that one of the fruitful causes of immorality among them will be removed, it being understood that the evils and remedy of intemperance begin to occupy the serious attention of the Romish bishops and clergy.

In elucidation of the ignorance and superstition of the French Canadians, we subjoin extracts from the communications of the agents of the French Canadian Missionary Society.

The Rev. Mr. Tanner says of those whom he has met :

"The greatest part are blindly submissive to their priests, and believe that they themselves can and ought to atone for their sins, by penances, and by giving money

to say masses. The most part of the penances which the priests impose, consists in reciting in Latin, paters and ave Marias. They believe that there are men changed into howling wolves and long-tailed beasts; that on All-Saints' day the dead leave purgatory and walk on the earth, and that blood would spring up if a Roman Catholic should dig in it.

As Lent is for them a time of penance, they dare not play then for money, but some of them play for prayers, that is, that he who loses shall recite a certain number of prayers, which God will place to the credit of the winner. Many of them wear medals and other things to preserve them from evil."

One labourer says:

"Several persons forbade me to read the Bible to them, believing that as soon as it was opened, serpents would dart out of it!"

Another writes :

"As I was leaving a house where I had been conversing with a number of persons, they all followed me to the door to look up to a cross which the Bishop of Nancy had erected on a mountain in sight, saying to me, that he had told them, that each time they cast their eyes towards it, and repeated a certain number of prayers, they would gain an indulgence of three hundred days." The writer adds :—“I took occasion to make them understand, that the wood and tin had no virtue in themselves, and that the more we looked to external things to gain heaven, the farther we should be from it, and urged them to look to Jesus if they wished to obtain peace to their souls.

"Romanism, it would seem," says the last Report of that useful Society, “is not in such a state of decrepitude as we have been led to suppose. In this province its efforts since the organization of this Society have been unusually strenuous. No means have been left untried that spiritual authority or the increased wealth which the legislature, by a recent act, has enabled it to acquire, have been spared to oppose our efforts and maintain its influence over the members of its fold. A religious publication, the organ of the Romish Church, is issued weekly in this city, which assiduously labours to caricature and vilify Protestantism, and to inculcate the dogmas and maintain the views of the Church of Rome. Tracts, and publications of the like description, are also in course of publication in large quantities and at a cheap rate. During the past autumn, the Bishop of Montreal undertook a journey to Europe, to obtain labourers to counteract the efforts of Protestants, and six friars or Jesuits, of high standing, have already arrived from France, and formed an establishment at a short distance from Montreal. Besides these friars, and some already in the country, other agents are expected, so that the most active influences are in operation to retain in this country the sway of that sceptre which in other parts is departing from the papal grasp. In Montreal a large and handsome seminary has been recently erected, on the front of which are conspicuously carved the arms and name of the Pope, along with those of the British Sovereign. This educational establishment, attended by some hundreds of children, is taught by several friars, called 'frères Chrétiens,' no doubt of that order which in former times was the most faithful and powerful upholder of the faith of Rome.

"But the principal means which Romanism employed this year in Canada was the Bishop of Nancy, a Bourbon refugee. Viewed as a demi-god by the ignorant, who flocked in great numbers to listen to his discourses, and attended by an escort of the Romish clergy, he rapidly went over the province, imploring the people to retain their religion, denouncing the missionaries, and enjoining the burning of the Bibles and publications distributed by them. In many places huge crosses were set up, to serve at once as trophies of his spiritual triumphs, and as means of retaining the influence of Romanism. One, eighty feet in height, was erected on a high mountain in this district, with all those circumstances of pomp and superstition with which the cere mony of elevating the cross among Romanists is attended.

**This increased activity on the part of the Church of Rome, demands a corresponding augmentation of zeal on the part of the friends of the truth. Compassion for the souls of men should prompt us to increased exertion. Your Committee would not place this Society in the attitude of contention with the Church of Rome, but they presume to say, that if influences are multiplied to do injury, the only course of duty for the benevolent mind is to multiply influences to do good. Hitherto Protestants have been most painfully indifferent to the existence of Romanism in this colony, and, like the priest and the levite of old, beholding the evil, have 'passed by on the other side.' The Mission at Grande Ligne and the efforts of this Society, may be called the first organized attempt ever made to promote the spiritual good of the French population of Canada. These exertions have had the unavoidable and foreseen effect of enkindling the zeal of the Romish Church. The attempt to diffuse the Gospel necessarily interferes with the prosperity of that church, and, as a natural result, its officers are aroused. Never were they more industrious, more determined than now."

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Favours have been received from the Rev. Dr. Campbell--Rev. Messrs. Charles Morse-J. H. Godwin-George Smith-J. Peggs--W. Owen-A. Newth—J. Mays— R. Chamberlain-J. Monro-Thomas Clarke-W. F. Sharp--J. C. Galloway-W. L. Alexander G. Taylor- Richard Jones-J. Sutcliffe-Thomas Binney-Thomas Mann-I. C. Brown.

W. Stroud, Esq., M.D.

Messrs. Joshua Wilson-C. J. Medcalf, jun.-W. Knewstub-Josiah Conder,
An Unknown Correspondent.

J. Blackburn, Printer, 6, Hatton Garden.